Grand Opening at Moncton Wesleyan

What is Glory?

Glory seems to be one of those big amorphous concepts that we are all familiar with but which seems to me rather hard to define. In any given context it's meaning and nature may seem obvious but the problem is how many different ways this word is used.

God's glory fills the temple
All glory is the Lords (yet)
We give glory to God (and)
His glory is revealed in us

So - what is glory? Is it a flexible word who's meaning depends completely on context or is there one overarching, underlining definition who's nuances are expressed in the examples above. Is it a power, an experience, a manifestation, a metaphor? What is glory?

Prayer Retreat Score Sheet.

I made predictions - the results are shocking. I'll give the prediction, rate it RIGHT, WRONG, OR SO-SO.

1. We will worship and pray much and spend time in scripture little.
RIGHT - We did take some time to pray scripture (as paraphrased by people) and a few folks read scriptures as part of their prayers but most of that happened in part of one of 5 sessions. You sort of got the idea that God speaking to us through scripture, dreams, or "a word" were all on the same level.

2. Tongues will be used in an unbiblical fashion
WRONG - This was a harder call, One guy did pray loudly in tongues but a prayer or two later someone offered and interpretation. Her interpretations was much shorter than the guys prayer but his prayer was super repetitive so I'm thinking he was just repeating that shorter thought. There were a few other folks who prayed in tongues sort of quietly under their breath and I think you can make a biblical case for that being ok, especially in the environment we were in.

3. Someone will have "a word" for me
WRONG - Although I had a chance to share some meaningful stuff with another couple and Charismatics would call that "a word". I'm comfortable just calling it encouragement that God led me share.

4. I'll have fun with some great people who love God
SO-SO - It was an enjoyable experience but not really something I would call "fun" Frankly there was not enough time for fun (in the sense I meant), we were to busy praying. So I had a positive time with some great people who love God, but not much fun.

5. But there will be one jerk
WRONG - A few weirds but no jerk.

6. No one will know what the heck a "wesleyan" is.
WRONG - I'm not sure most people really knew but many of them had at least heard of us (which even pastors who have heard of the Wesleyan Church are rare around here) and there was a Salvation Army guy there who said - "ph we are practically cousins". In hindsight this was dumb prediction because this wasn't a random group of leaders but a group passionate about connecting across denominations so they would be more tuned in to other churches.

7. A couple guys will feel threatened by a new church
WRONG - I know there was a bit of this last year because another church planting friend of mine was there but this year church plants weren't mentioned at all until one of the very last prayers when a guy prayed what boiled down to God bless the new churches in the city and help them be effective. ( at least I think that's what he meant - my charismatic-ese is rusty)

8. The people with the worst theology will talk the most about "Unity" (There will be much talk of "Unity")
SO-SO - Although the idea of churches learning to get along and even cooperate was common the word "Unity" wasn't thrown around willy nilly, and it wasn't talked about like there was no real difference between us. It was presented and prayed for more along the lines of "where we agree, let's agree, where we can cooperate in mission lets cooperate, and where we cannot agree let's be gracious and understanding" And the main thrust of this came from the guy who is the biggest connector in the group. I actually thought it was a pretty solid view on the whole thing. To top it all of we prayed for God to bless, guide, and use the new Catholic arch-bishop here in Halifax. I thought that was just plain classy. (For those of you who don't know Catholics in Halifax are cool)

9. I'll develop at least one new and meaningful friendship
RIGHT - At least I think so. Time will tell but I suspect I could be really cool.

10. After a long and spiritually intense time of prayer and reflection and listening to God we will come away the sense that what is "on God's heart for our city" is that lost people find Jesus, the poor and lonely be served, Jesus be lifted up, and a list of other things that fit in the "no duh" category of mission. In addition to this there will be one other bullet point that is a bit weird but not bad.
SO RIGHT IT HURTS!!! - Here were the big takeaways. 1. We need to be "desperate" for God (as in loving him, focused on him, consumed by him) 2. We need to be desperate for the lost (ie care about them and their eternal salvation) 3. This care for the lost will require us to be more loving and welcoming. 4. Those who are in the "secular" world have a huge part to play in the mission. And although it's not at all "weird" it was at least a bit more specific - 5. We need to be extending a warm welcome, help, and the gospel to new immigrants to Canada here in Halifax. Colossal no duh's.

General reflections:
-Charismatics tend to imply that everyone is, wants to be, or is on a journey towards being one.
-Charismatics have a really easy sense of humor, not in a good way.
-Not that I thought it would be stupid but the retreat was more meaningful to me than I thought. There was this one older pastor who fit well into the "dear old saint" category and he had such a soft and devoted heart for God. He was cool. I don;t get to spend much time with those folks and it's good to.
-Worshiping with Charismatics is sort of like going to a buffet. Generally good stuff but to much of it and always a couple weird things that make you say what was that?
-There are some solid spiritual leaders in this city and I gained some respect for some guys I was pretty neutral towards before.
-It's sad to be just how hurting, broken (in a bad way), insecure, and frightened some Christian leaders are.
-I'm blessed to be planting a church where there aren't ancient traditions and institutions I have to shed blood to overcome. One guy told a story of being raked over the coals for throwing out a broken wall clock because someone's grandmother had given it to the church - ridiculous.
-I'm blessed to be a Wesleyan (and not just for all the obvious theological reasons : ) There were several folks at this event who were going through rough (some really rough) patches in their ministry and that's normal but so many of them sounded like they were so alone. I can't count the number of people I can call up or go see when stuff hits the fan. I don't think I have ever felt that level of aloneness in ministry.
-I'm blessed to lead the people I do in the church I do. Connected to the two points above - we are on a mission together and it's not to preserve anything, protect anything, or really even to establish anything. It's a mission to make disciples and we will do whatever it takes to make that happen and nothing else. And although I could call one of a host of pastor buddies when times get tough I'd be just as quick to talk to some of the guys in my church. Guys who love me, are on my side, don't expect me to always be strong, always have the answer, or always have it all together. I have no idea how people lead congregations in which they do not have close, tight, meaningful friends. I'd go nuts.

Predictions

Seems like this time of year everyone is making predictions. I'd like to make a few of my own but not about the NCAA, NHL, MLB, or US presidential campaign, no I'd like to make some predictions about a prayer retreat I'm going on this week (Thursday - Friday). When I get back I'll post about how accurate my predictions are. For the record I'm actually quite excited and looking forward to it but for entertainment sake I'll likely emphasize the more cynical points. After all, I am a happy cynic. First some quick background. It's a let's all get together affair billed as "a time for relationship building, encouragement, and listening to God for what's on his heart for the city." In my experience there are generally 3 kinds of "churches/pastors getting together events."

1. Ecumenical - these are mainliners (Anglican, United and other "Jesus who?" types) and maybe some catholics if they are really hardcore.

2. Evangelical - These events bring together people from dozens of different denominations and independent churches, 98% of which will have the word "baptist" in the title.

3. Experiential - These events generally happen to seek an experience (with God) and tend to be lead by and lean toward the charismatic / Pentecostal side of things.

This event will be of this type. How can I tell? First of all they promo talks about the heart of God (and even clearer give away would have been the "Father Heart of God) and second of the 10 people who are listed on the invitation 1 is Vineyard, 1 is Independent Charismatic, 1 is Charismatic Mennonite, 2 are PAOC, 1 is independent Charismatic and the others I don't know well enough to say but I got $50 that says most of them would be along the same lines. That said most of the ones I know are great folks, have been very supportive of Deep Water, and are spiritual leaders in our city.

So here are my predictions in no particular order:

1. We will worship and pray much and spend time in scripture little.
2. Tongues will be used in an unbiblical fashion
3. Someone will have "a word" for me
4. I'll have fun with some great people who love God
5. But there will be one jerk
6. No one will know what the heck a "wesleyan" is.
7. A couple guys will feel threatened by a new church
8. The people with the worst theology will talk the most about "Unity" (There will be much talk of "Unity")
9. I'll develop at least one new and meaningful friendship
10. After a long and spiritually intense time of prayer and reflection and listening to God we will come away the sense that what is "on God's heart for our city" is that lost people find Jesus, the poor and lonely be served, Jesus be lifted up, and a list of other things that fit in the "no duh" category of mission. In addition to this there will be one other bullet point that is a bit weird but not bad (I believe last years one was that God wanted christian couples in halifax to have babies).

Tune in sometime after Friday for the results.