BLeach

Desperate for God in Philadelphia

Wow. Finally got an hour break in the midst of all our driving, walking, praying, video shooting, building hunting, subway riding fun in Philly!

Last night we attended the Phillies game. Besides being pounded by the Mets it was a fun experience. We got the cheapest tickets possible and ended up in the upper deck. But we had a breathtaking view of downtown Philadelphia.

To be honest, sitting in those stands, watching a fight break out, and gazing at the downtown skyline made me feel so small. After the game we rode the subway down to South Street to experience the late night crowd. By the end of the night I was struck with a feeling that I've had many times during this recent journey. 

I desperately need God's help right now, maybe more than at any other time in my life.

I don't say this enough, but this opportunity to plant a church in the city of Philadelphia is so much bigger than me and our team. We don't have what it takes to pull this off. It feels like a massive challenge.

Fortunately, we serve an all-powerful God.

It could be that the most important blessing I'll receive in the midst of this journey is the opportunity to throw myself again, with childlike dependency, on the mercy and grace of God.

Real Transformation

A few weeks ago some of us from the Philly Project team visited Eastern State Penitentiary. This historic prison is located in the middle of one of our three focus neighborhoods in Philadelphia.

Eastern State was the first prison in United States history to attempt to reform prisoners rather than simply punish them. The goal was to make prisoners penitent, thus the name penitentiary.

The Quakers were instrumental in the philosophy behind the prison. They believed that the heart of every person was good. So if a criminal spent enough time in deep introspection he would eventually confront the evil in his actions and desire to change.

In an effort to force that introspection, the prison took solitary confinement to an extreme level. Prisoners were by themselves 23 hours a day! Furthermore, when they were allowed to spend a few minutes outside, they wore a mask so they couldn't see anyone else or be seen themselves.

As you might have guessed, this much intense solitary confinement didn't have the results that the well-meaning founders of the prison had intended. Instead, it caused some inmates to go crazy, and was eventually abandoned as too cruel a punishment.

Our time at Eastern State Penitentiary reminded me of the great lengths hundreds of politicians, reformers, activists, religious leaders, and philosophers have taken to change the human heart. Yet there's only one person who can effectively transform a person's heart.

Jesus Christ.

His passion to transform people in Philadelphia is why we're moving there to plant churches. Jesus has the power to do what no institution can do. And I believe his life-changing power will be experienced in Philly like never before!

Will I Become an Eagles Fan?

With the NFL Draft scheduled to take place tomorrow night, and the world, the state of Michigan, the city of Detroit, a few people I know wondering what the Lions will do with the second pick, I thought I'd answer one of the most common questions people have asked me since I announced we'd be moving to Philadelphia to plant a new church.

Will I become an Eagles fan?

There are a few arguments people have offered as to why I should become an Eagles fan.

• The Lions are losers argument: This is a weak argument. If I was going to switch my allegiance simply because the Lions aren't competitive, I would have done it about 25 years ago.
• The missiology argument: Doesn't a missionary seek to understand the culture and adapt values that are important to the people he's seeking to reach? This argument, admittedly, is better than the first.
• The parenting argument: When you have one child you don't think you'd ever have the capacity to love another child in the same way. Yet, parents who have additional children don't love the first any less. Their love simply expands. This is probably the best argument I've heard.

But still, here's my struggle.

For me, following a team is not a business transaction or missional strategy. It's a relationship. So I don't know how to make an intellectual decision to love another team.

I love the Pistons because I grew up attending games at the Palace with my dad. I still remember watching Vinnie Johnson hit the game winner at the buzzer to bury the Trailblazers for a second straight NBA Championship. 

I love the Lions because I grew up watching Barry Sanders embarrass helpless defenders in the open field. I still remember watching him break 2,000 yards in a single season at the Silverdome.

I love the Red Wings because I grew up watching Yzerman and the Russian Five bring the Stanley Cup back to Hockeytown. I still remember ordering pizza during late playoff games, making up a Red Wings special, and getting it.

So will I become an Eagles fan?

Probably...but not because I make an intellectual decision to try and reach people or switch to a better franchise. I'll become an Eagles fan the same way I became a Lion's fan.

I'll watch a game winning drive with my son. I'll get caught up in the excitement of a city championship. I'll stay up late watching a playoff game roll into overtime.

And I'll fall in love.

Another Weekend in Philadelphia

Leah and I enjoyed three terrific days in Philadelphia this past weekend. Here are some random reflections.

• Several of our team members joined us for this trip. So good to introduce them to the five neighborhoods we've been focusing on.
• Leah designed a fun, interactive competition to help us tour the neighborhoods. It lasted Thursday and Friday and included trivia, neighborhood history, demographic info, and other random games. 
• I love my wife's creativity!
• After walking through each neighborhood, we'd gather on a street corner to share observations and pray.
• I can't even describe how helpful it was to get input from our team. I'm still processing much of what we experienced, but I think two or three of the neighborhoods emerged as our likely target.
• While we work to narrow our focus toward a launch neighborhood, we're simultaneously broadening our focus to see the city as a whole. One of the driving factors for our decision is to find a place from which we can launch our future church plants.
• In other words, we want to strategically position ourselves for continued multiplication.
• During this trip Philadelphia actually started feeling more like home. The weather was great, the city looked beautiful, and Leah and I talked a lot about what it will feel like to raise our family there.
• I'm also finding my way around the city much better.
• Being with some of our team members felt like being with family. This is a huge answer to prayer, since Leah and I are moving to a city without a pre-existing network of relationships.
• Philly has great food. I'm serious. Really, really good.
• I'm concerned about blowing up to 300 pounds.
• This trip was also the most exhausting so far. We started every day early and ended late. But spiritually and emotionally it was an invigorating three days!
• There is one thing that all five of our focus neighborhoods have in common--people! There are thousands of people everywhere!
• When Leah and I felt God calling us away from COTK, we decided it wouldn't be the size of an organization or ministry that would attract us, but the size of the opportunity. The more time I spend in Philadelphia the more my faith explodes. Planting churches throughout this city really is the opportunity of a lifetime!

There's a lot that will be developing with The Philly Project over the next few weeks. Stay tuned to the blog and our website to continue experiencing the adventure as it unfolds!

Five Focus Neighborhoods

Several people have recently asked us which neighborhoods we're investigating for our first church plant in Philadelphia. There are five on our short list that we're researching, exploring, and praying about. Here they are, in no particular order.

• University City
• Queen Village/South Philadelphia
• Fishtown
• Fairmount/Center City
• East Falls

It could be that God has a neighborhood in mind that isn't even on our radar yet, but these are the five that have caught our eye.

Narrowing it down is a tough process, because our dream is to plant many churches throughout Philadelphia. When I spend time in these neighborhoods, as well many others, my heart beats fast to see churches planted in all of them! But we've got to start somewhere.

Honestly, I feel like God will do something to direct us to a specific place. We're doing our part to investigate, research, and get to know people, but in the end we're waiting on God for direction. He has led us so directly to this point in the journey, I've got to believe that He'll take us to the right neighborhood.

Philly and the Startup Spirit

Fast Company just ran an interesting article titled Why You Should Start a Company in Philadelphia. It used to be that virtually all internet startups came out of Silicon Valley. But the article lists Philly as an emerging hub for entrepreneurs.

I've often considered church planters to be spiritual entrepreneurs. Just read Genesis 1. God is the author of the creative startup spirit! 

The article mentions several unique characteristics of the entrepreneurial culture in Philly, but I loved this quote about the interdependence of entrepreneurs in Philly. Would love to be able to say the same thing about church planters in the city!

You know, it's called the City of Brotherly Love and I actually think they mean it when it comes to startups. Philly is small enough and intimate enough that most of the entrepreneurs actually know each other. There's an unbelievable sense of community. Launching a startup is really hard and emotionally trying and there are a bunch of great networks and communities that build a really tight net and support groups. Philly Startup Leaders has hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs actively helping each other. It's a really interesting community in that way.

Let's plant some churches!

A Sunday in South Philly

Today was another fun day in Philly. I had the opportunity to preach twice, at Highway Tabernacle in Center City, and then Resurrection and Life in Nicetown.

Center City and Nicetown are very different neighborhoods. Houses in Center City hover around the one million dollar mark, while five shootings took place this past week in Nicetown. Yet it's great to see local churches representing Christ in both places.

We also spent a few hours this afternoon in South Philly. We ate at Johnny Rockets on South Street. Love the vibe! There's so much diversity on South Street. I get excited seeing so many different kinds of people in one place. 

We drove from South Street a few blocks south to Queen Village, which is another unique neighborhood in South Philly. Leah really loves the houses on Queen Street.

South Philly is home to a lot of Irish Catholics. In other words, green everywhere! I've never seen this many people so excited for St. Patrick's Day this early!

Leah left about an hour ago to drive back to Pittsburgh. I miss her and Gabs already. I'll be here until Thursday. Looking forward to meeting a few young church planters tomorrow. Then Jeff Leake arrives Tuesday and we'll spend a few days at Valley Forge Christian College. 

I'm not exactly sure what to do tonight. I think I'll walk and try to find some pizza.

Later!

Friday Morning in Philly

This morning I did Rocky's run. It was cold and raining, but I put my head down, braved the winds, and made it to the Art Museum. Pretty exciting to run the steps for the first time. I resisted the urge to throw my arms in the air at the top of the steps. Didn't want everyone to know I'm new to the city!

Spent this morning in University City at Saxby's Coffee. I love seeing so many college students. My heart starts beating faster when I think about the fact that there are 170,000 college students within a few miles of where I'm staying in Center City. We've got an amazing opportunity in front of us.

Getting ready to head to the airport to pick up Leah. Can't wait to see her!

Worship Under the City Lights

I took a walk tonight through Center City Philadelphia, worshipping and praying--but mostly worshipping. I walked to the Art Museum but stopped short of the steps. I'm saving them for my first run, in honor of Rocky. Maybe in the morning.

So many thoughts ran through my mind, but two of them dominated the others.

First, God's greatness feels tangible. The buildings, the architecture, the history; it all seems to boast about the greatness of a city shaped by the hands of men. But the reality is that this city, in all its man-made greatness, is less than three hundred years old. Yet under the city lights, I worshipped an eternal God who will reign long after the influence of Philly has faded.

Second, I'm honored to serve God by loving this city. Sometimes in this season of transition I get to thinking about the "sacrifices" I'm making. But tonight those temporary inconveniences were all put back in perspective. The truth is, there's no sacrifice involved with this assignment. It's a joy to obey God, and the ultimate adventure to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

How Far Must a Missionary Go

I arrived in Philadelphia yesterday around noon, and met Brian Bolt. Brian is planting discipleship homes and churches in Pittsburgh, modeled after the ministry he was discipled in, Victory Outreach. I got to spend the afternoon in West Kensington getting to know Pastor Titus and some of the other Philadelphia Victory Outreach leaders. 

They were patient with all of my questions and taught me a lot about the city. Vision oozes from these guys! They've already bought three buildings on their block and are praying in the rest of them! They work toward total transformation of lives, which in turn transforms the neighborhood.

Last night Brian hooked us up with tickets to the Sixers game. I'll be honest. I felt a little dirty, like I was cheating on the Pistons by sitting in another NBA team's arena. Now I'm wondering if a commitment to good missiology has to impact my allegiance to Detroit's sports teams. I know Paul became all things to all men, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up the Pistons and Red Wings! 

Pray for me!