haven prayer update – march twenty ten

Alan and Luanne leading a workshop on healthy relationships.

Friends,

It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve written a prayer update for Haven. Many of you have journeyed with us for a long time: have prayed for us, sent in unsolicited checks, asked about how we were doing and cared for more than just how the church is doing. Many thanks and praise God for you. Really.

It’s been a full 2 years since an update. We’ve been to India… twice. We’ve launched two house communities. Have seen breakthrough in people’s lives. Have learned to love in deeper ways. Have tried stuff that succeeded. And have tried stuff that failed.

So let me ask you to pray through the following and when you get a chance, read through the rest:

1. Movement of Jesus – Way over and above the progress of “Haven” as an entity, we long to see a movement of Jesus and his Gospel in the Bay Area. That we’d begin to see our desperate need for Jesus and stop being so damn afraid of stuff: finances, being hurt, lack of control and failure. That we’d stop filling our time and heart with things that don’t matter. And come and rest in the embrace of a loving Father. Pray specifically that God would prepare hearts and that we would find our way to them.
2. House Leaders by NAME – Pray for our house leaders by name… they both need it and will be encouraged that an army of people all over the world are upholding them in prayer. Here goes: Dave, Rachel, Sergio, Lisa, Warren, Lisa, Billy, Alan, Luanne, Sarah… and me. That we would grow in our love for God and lead with a keen ear towards the Holy Spirit.
3. Movement of Missionaries – Not so much that we’d all become “professional” missionaries. But that we’d recognize our identity as “sent ones” to our world, carrying with us the seed of power in the message of Jesus. Our goal: train everyone to be missionaries: people on mission to love God, love people and help others do the same.
4. Yourself – Pray that you would no longer delegate the work of the kingdom to the professionals and start getting in the game. It’s way more fun and God gets big real fast. Just start listening to God and just do what he tells you to do. Go.

UPDATE

A few stories that capture what’s been going on this past 2 years:

India

Over four years ago, we prayed and God pointed us to India. We didn’t know why or how. And for 2 years we kept looking for ways to learn about and find viable partnerships in India. And for 2 years, we couldn’t find it. We then had the privilege to go to Japan and Africa to see what God’s doing there – it was amazing. And yet God was still pointing his divine finger towards India. About 2 years ago, I met an Indian pastor here in San Jose and told him about our situation. He then pointed us to Bible Faith Mission… and so began our journey with India and BFM.

a blip

We had another monthly worship gathering today. This was our 85th worship service [we met weekly for almost a year and then switched to monthly for about four]. And when you look at it that it was just another worship service. A blip on the church time line. One that we’ll likely forget. No miraculous healing happen. No new receptions of Jesus. Under-attended because a bunch of people were out of town. Not my best teaching day. Not Warren’s best worship leading day. Just another blip?

Maybe not. I’ve talked often about having different definitions of success. Not measuring by the numbers [though numbers are not irrelevant] or the budget [this is completely irrelevant]. A more didactic blog post bullet-pointing the proper ways to measure church health may follow. But in the mean time, signs that God is truly alive in us even on a subpar-under-attended-worship-Sunday:

drive-by culture

Really brilliant observation by Seth Godin with so many parallels to the church today… some quotables:

“The net has spawned new ways to create and consume culture… [including one that] is distracting and ultimately a waste. We’re creating a culture of clickers, stumblers and jaded spectators who decide in the space of a moment whether to watch and participate (or not).”

“My fear is that the endless search for wow further coarsens our culture at the same time it encourages marketers to get ever more shallow. That’s where the first trend comes in… the artists, idea merchants and marketers that are having the most success are ignoring those that would rubberneck and drive on, focusing instead on cadres of fans that matter. Fans that will give permission, fans that will return tomorrow, fans that will spread the word to others that can also take action.”

The problem is that following Jesus inherently asks for more than a “click” or the distant attention of a spectator. When we focus on the nurturing/building/developing of true followers of Jesus we will not be able to talk about things like “critical mass” anymore. All of our measurements for success need to change. Ultimately that seems biblical – but will we as the church wake up to that?

May comment more later… but just wanted to share an astute commentary with y’allz.

Driveby Culture and the Endless Search For Wow

The net has spawned two new ways to create and consume culture.

The first is the wide-open door for amateurs to create. This is blogging and online art, wikipedia and the maker movement. These guys get a lot of press, and deservedly so, because they’re changing everything.

The second, though, is distracting and ultimately a waste. We’re creating a culture of clickers, stumblers and jaded spectators who decide in the space of a moment whether to watch and participate (or not).

Imagine if people went to the theatre or the movies and stood up and walked out after the first six seconds. Imagine if people went to the senior prom and bailed on their date three seconds after the car pulled away from the curb.

The majority of people who sign up for a new online service rarely or never use it. The majority of YouTube videos are watched for just a few seconds. Chatroulette institutionalizes the glance and click mentality. I’m guessing that more than half the people who started reading this post never finished it.

This is all easy to measure. And it drives people with something to accomplish crazy, because they want visits to go up, clicks to go up, eyeballs to go up.

Should I write blog posts that increase my traffic or that help change the way (a few) people think?

Should a charity focus on instant donations by texting from a million people or is it better to seek dedicated attention and support from a few who understand the mission and are there for the long haul?

More and more often, we’re seeing products and services coming to market designed to appeal to the momentary attention of the clickers. The Huffington Post has downgraded itself, pushing thoughtful stories down the page in exchange for linkbait and sensational celebrity riffs. This strategy gets page views, but does it generate thought or change?

oversaturated

I think I’m now being honest with myself about the oversaturation of info and technology. I find my mind constantly bouncing back to checking twitter or facebook. I skim read stuff now because my attention span is too short to actually read through things. I haven’t really read a book in a while, opting for titillating tweets – even blogs become too belaboring. I even find myself getting mentally burned out from playing Words for Friends. It might be from my dominating victory over warjianrumoelliu! But I’m probably just tired from eeking out a win after being pummeled for so long.

The last few days, I’ve been trying to reduce the clutter – especially after our retreat last weekend. And re-learning just to listen to God simply and quietly. I hear him – but it’s much easier when there aren’t tons of things competing for my ear. Not being a super-high energy person, I’m aware of my fluctuating energy levels. The silence with God fuels me – the constant demands from “information” wear me down. Could be my classic introvert disposition. But no matter… we all need reflection, alone time, space to process. Lisa quoting Serg’s dad during their trip to Mexico last week, “When the world is quiet, you can hear the voice of God.” Or something like that.

Side observation: I restarted the new Albom book that Sarah got me. And what I realize is that blogs can never compete with books when it comes to good prose. For the sheer fact that it takes time to craft a piece of literature. You can’t shortcut time. Mitch Albom may not be Jane Austen. But Mitch Albom ain’t Perez Hilton either. For the record, I don’t read Perez Hilton.

I can’t take an all out fast on it because I have a few key relationships/conversations that are maintained through some of these outlets. But I will reduce it substantially and share this with a few people and ask them to keep me accountable. And look forward to enjoying more of the voice of God, focusing well on the things I need to do and finishing books I’ve been meaning to read.