BLeach

My Struggle to Leave Detroit

Before tomorrow's official announcement of the city we're moving to, which at this point is ultra obvious thanks to my not so difficult clues, let me expose part of my heart that still feels a little raw.

One of the most difficult parts of this decision for me to process has been leaving Metro Detroit.  I've spent the majority of my life here.  When we started COTK it was with the intention of filling Detroit with church plants.  My family lives here.  I love the Pistons, the Tigers, the Wings, and even the Lions.  And up until recently, I believed I would spend the entirety of my ministry in the Motor City.

When I began to sense God releasing me, I had a tough time reconciling all of that.  And to be honest, it's still a struggle.  If you search the archives of this bog you'll probably find posts that at least on the surface seem to contradict this change my life.  And while I feel confident that God is leading us, I'm still concerned for Detroit.

This morning I bought a bag of salt at the gas station.  As I was paying, the attendant joked, "It's that time of year again isn't it?"  I laughingly said, "Maybe we should all just move to Florida," to which he responded, "What reason would any of us have to stay in  Michigan?"  I understand that mentality is prevalent.  It dominates our city.  I've pushed back on it for several years.  So it's difficult for me to join those who are moving away.

I don't believe that God is done using me in Detroit.  I will continue to support friends and ministries in this city with my prayers, finances, and encouragement.  I've also wondered if God might allow me to come back later on in my life.

I do know this.  During this process God has taught me to loosen my grip on my plans for the future.  I'll be slower to make sweeping statements that involve the phrase, "the rest of my life."  Really, as followers of Jesus, what right do any of us have to our own plans?  Jesus is a King, and his sovereignty gives Him the right to spend my life anywhere He wants.

Invincible

For years, GM symbolized the successful auto industry here in Detroit.  At one point, every second car buyer in the United States bought a GM vehicle.  That's why yesterday's bankruptcy feels as if something mighty has fallen.

Think about it though.  If you know history, then you know this isn't surprising.  Every company eventually falls, just like every empire.

The thing that deserves the most attention is not that a company has failed.  Rather, my attention is captured by the resiliency of another Kingdom.  The Kingdom of God will never be shaken.  It has, and will, stand the test of time.

I understand the tendency to feel insecure in an environment that feels so unstable.  I just hope we'll finally learn our lesson.  Security is not found in a business, a marriage, a school, a team, or even a church.  Security is only found by belonging to the one Kingdom that will never falter or fade.

Today I'm praying for so many people in our city who will be affected by yesterday's news.  But I'm also praising Jesus Christ, our Great King, for leading the most invincible enterprise in the history of the world.

My Revamped Thursday

One of the things that happened more naturally in my schedule during the first year of our church was community interaction.  No office + no people = plenty of time to spend in the community!

As a church grows so do leadership and administrative demands.  And when I recently evaluated my ministry schedule I discovered that I'm spending too much time working behind my desk on our own organizational needs.

From a theological standpoint, I think Jesus' story of the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep in search of the one that was lost has incredible implications for a pastor's weekly schedule.  Is there a healthy balance in the way we divide our time between the ninety-nine and the one?

In an effort to go back to my church planting roots, I've revamped Thursdays by devoting a chunk of the day to community driven projects.  Here are a few of the ways I'm beginning to spend that time:

• Greater involvement with the Berkley Chamber of Commerce
• Prayer over community issues and needs (one of our volunteers emails me news stories every week detailing various tragedies in our city)
• Strategic work on our evangelism and public relations system
• Personal relationship building with community leaders, business owners, and neighbors
• Personal follow up on recent guests (phone calls, notes, visits)
• Planning for upcoming outreaches (Easter, neighborhood pastors, special events, etc)
• Writing (blog, emails, messages) to encourage our church leaders to prioritize community service

Thursdays used to be my least defined day of the week.  I would usually knock out tasks before my Sabbath on Friday.  But this new focus is adding fresh purpose and energy to what is effectively the last day of my work week.

The Real Big Three

I woke up this morning to a big, bold, and potentially depressing headline on the front page of the Detroit Free Press. 

No Deal!

I proceeded to read several articles detailing the Senate's refusal yesterday to approve a bailout for Detroit's "Big Three" automakers.  After reading about looming job losses and a collapsing economy, I noticed a familiar feeling settling into my spirit.

Fear.

Now I'm remembering something I recently read from a book by Dallas Willard.  The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow or require our minds to dwell upon.

So I'm making a shift, from trying to predict the unpredictable future of Detroit's big three, to receiving into my spirit God's big three.

• Love
  
• Joy
• Peace

God's big three are the fundamental dimensions of the fruit of the spirit.  We often think of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) in the plural.  But the Bible doesn't describe many kinds of fruit.  It is one fruit, the fruit of a life being transformed by the Spirit of Jesus. 

God's big three are not just emotions, although they are certainly associated with positive feelings.  No, they are deeper than feeling and more consistent than circumstance.  They are the state of being, and the way of life of the Christ-follower. 

And it's our association with the real big three that will determine our influence in Metro Detroit in the day's ahead.

Fields Will Be Bought Here Again

Jeremiah 32 begins with Jeremiah in prison.  Zedekiah put him there for prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem.  While suffering for his prophesy, God told him that he was going to run into his cousin who was going to ask him to buy a piece of land, and that when he did, he should buy it.

This of course was confusing to Jeremiah.  Why invest money into property in a city that's about to be leveled?  Yet God told him to buy the land and bury the deed.  When Jeremiah asked why, God simply responded, "Fields will be bought in this land again."

Faith is the courage to invest resources into God-ventures that no one else may recognize as fruitful at the time.

My friend Norflette leads a church on the East side of Detroit in a depressed neighborhood.  Houses around his church are selling for $500.00.  No one is moving into the neighborhood.  Yet he and his family are investing their money, their dreams, and their lives into the city.  They believe people will buy property there again.

Some church planters decide where to locate by looking for the fastest growing communities.  Then there are others who are called by God to move into places that are being abandoned. 

They believe, like Jeremiah, that God's promise is more concrete than property values.

Championships and Community

Well, it's official.  The Stanley Cup is making its return to Hockeytown!  I'm excited for several reasons.  For starters, now I'll be able to go to bed a little earlier:)

Whenever one of our teams makes a playoff run, it's amazing to watch the effect they have on our city.  Championship teams bring people together from different racial backgrounds.  People celebrate from the suburbs and the city.  The wealthy cheer.  People with less money wear their jerseys.  Championship teams build community.

It seems to me that community happens almost spontaneously when a group of people with a common goal raise their voices for the same team.

Jesus Christ is building a championship team.  He's closing in, not on the Stanley Cup, but on a victorious return to earth.  Meanwhile, with expectation, His Church cheers His arrival from our unique, local, strategic positions.  We have a common goal to seek the welfare of our cities.  And we have even have a theme song of praise to our King.

Today I'm excited about the Wings.  But my experience with championship community won't end with the parade.  I'm a part of a blended local church.  We belong to a global movement. 

And our team is making a run.

A Vision for our City

It's tough seeing Mayor Kilpatrick's mug shot every time I pick up a paper or turn on the news.  Detroit already suffers from a rough reputation across the country.  It's time for our city to begin making positive news.  For this to happen, it's imperative that all followers of Jesus spend more time praying for our city then whining, speculating, complaining, or gawking.

This week at Church of the King is Week of War.  Tonight at our midweek prayer service we'll be praying over Metro Detroit.  We'll be specifically praying for the urban blueprint in Isaiah 65.18-25 to become reality in our city.  It's an awesome collection of characteristics that will define the New Jerusalem.

• Public Celebrations and Happiness (v 17)
• Public Health for Children and the Elderly (v 20)
• Housing for Everyone (v 21)
• Food for Everyone (v 22)
• Enjoyable Employment (v 22)
• Prosperous Economy (v 22-23)
• Blessed Pregnancies without Abortion (v 23)
• Strong Family Units and Legacy (v 23)
• Total Absence of Violence (v 25)
• Unusual and Diverse Relationships (v 25)

Since Jesus told us to pray for heaven to come to earth, we'll be asking Him to make the New Detroit look like the New Jerusalem.  This vision is a blue-print for change.

Our mission is simple: Connecting our City to Christ.  And if that happens there just isn't any aspect of culture that shouldn't change.

Click here if you'd like to access the prayer guide including notes and prayer points.

Economic Trouble::Entrepreneurial Opportunities

It seems that everywhere I travel these days, people respond the same way when they find out where I'm from.  "Wow, that's a hurting city."  Meanwhile, Metro Detroit's economic troubles keep prompting me to ask this question.

How can I be an entrepreneurial leader in a depressed economy?

How should pastors lead during economic trouble?  How should Christians live?  And most importantly, how do we inspire both spiritual (church planters) and business entrepreneurs to work for the welfare of the city. 

School closings: So what if churches started building some? 

Foreclosures: So what if churches started transforming houses into hospitality centers?

Unemployment/Cutbacks/Layoffs: So what if churches started creating job opportunities?

If you want to know what I mean by the term entrepreneurial leadership then read the story of Acts.  I don't think it's coincidental that church leaders risked everything at a time when churches owned nothing.  I'm wondering if materialistic gain makes us more cautious; if owning buildings makes us less likely to risk them?

Just about everytime I gather with area leaders the conversation turns to the economy.  We start talking about people who have lost jobs and moved to better markets.  Giving usually comes up because it's going down.  Yet instead of worrying we ought to start dreaming!

What would it look like if a group of Jesus-inspired, entrepreneurial leaders, faced a threatening economy with the guts to launch new Kingdom initiatives?

Personally, I'd love to figure out how we can start cross-training church planters to launch churches and businesses at the same time. 

Anybody interested in a church planting MBA?

Our Segregated City::2

On Monday the Detroit News ran an article arguing that many metro blacks feel isolated in the suburbs.  If you live in Metro Detroit, I'd really encourage you to take five minutes to read it.

This article made the same claim as the one I referred to in my last post.  Metro Detroit is the most segregated city in America. 

The article also quotes Pamela Dalton, a single mom.  She doubled her mortgage payment to move with her kids from a four bedroom house in Detroit to a two bedroom flat in Grosse Pointe.  Her reasoning?  "I'd rather deal with racism then a drug dealer."

Ouch.

In light of my message this past week one of the faithful black members in our church reminded me that minorities might feel suspicious when a white pastor calls for racial reconciliation.  I feel sensitive to that.  I think some white pastors have called for diversity from a colonial mindset, thinking that if they could create room for minorities in their churches then they could really help them. 

In light of the struggles in our city, I see myself starting from a different place.  I'm trying to help my white brothers and sisters.  I'm trying to help them in the same way some others helped me, to resist pointing another finger and to look in the mirror.  Together we can take ownership of our role in creating segregation, and be proactive as we work for change.

The cross really works.  The churches of Metro Detroit have an opportunity to prove it.

Our Segregated City

Yesterday I wrapped up our fall series of DNA messages by sharing the vision behind our fifth core value.  Racial reconciliation has been central to our dream since day one.  We're not all the way there yet, but we're on our way.

A few years ago the Detroit News sponsored a study of the most recent US Census numbers.  They came to the conclusion that Metro Detroit is the most segregated city in the country.  Of cities with more than 100,000 residents, Livonia is the whitest in the country.  And Detroit has the second largest majority of African Americans of any city in the country.  Actually, about nine out of every ten African Americans in Metro Detroit live in five communities (Detroit, Highland Park, Southfield, Pontiac, and Inkster). 

As American history will show, segregation is costly.  Segregation makes it more difficult for minorities to get good educations and high-paying jobs.  But segregation hurts the church most.  It mutes our message.  Why would anyone believe the cross can reconcile them to God if it doesn't even reconcile us to each other?

For those of us in Metro Detroit who believe the cross does reconcile, leading the country in segregation statistics is unacceptable. So we're accepting Jesus' call to the ministry of reconciliation and committing ourselves again to becoming a blended church.  We're standing against segregation and provoking change by pursuing personal relationships across racial and social lines.  And we're moving toward the day that Metro Detroit shows up at the opposite end of the list.