Ben Sorte has done an amazing job setting the culture, sound and environment for worship at Open Life in Bonney Lake, but life has led his family on as a job opportunity just too good to pass up has presented itself.  So in his exit deep prayer has begun, and where we listen to God He tends to speak.

A couple weeks ago Jesus really began to stir within me that we should not rush into replacing the role of worship for Sundays at Open Life, but consider the needs of Bonney Lake’s music industry in our decision.  As a church we have been pursuing the vision of being a place that unchurched people love to attend, but not just drawing them to us, but more importantly we would go and find ourselves amongst those who would not just come to church and do life there…amongst the community…with them.  You know…like normal people of culture verses a subculture.

I personally have experienced the excitement that comes with doing life in the city and finding the favor of relationships with those who do not go to church turning into great and rich conversations about the church and Jesus.  And yes, even some decisions to follow Jesus have resulted as well as various visits to Open Life.  It is amazing what can happen if you will prioritize a conversation instead of a congregation!

Here is the challenge I have felt from the Lord.  Why should music be any different?  Why should the realm of musical art and gifting be any different from that of communication and influence?  Why have we restricted the role of worship and bringing glory to Jesus to the 20 minutes before a talk on Sundays or maybe a service some other day of the week?  Should we not pour our passions for music into the culture as well as into the congregation?  So what does that look like for our circumstances…for our community of Bonney Lake?

I believe it looks like someone who is active in the music industry who would desire to see others develop and raise up to be great musicians in our city.  They would probably find themselves in clubs, schools, music lessons, and open mic nights just as much if not more than  they would be in the church.  People would probably find themselves drawn to the depth of their music and how well they communicate about life through lyric and sound.  Every song would not need to be about Jesus, but the life that comes through Him would certainly shine through their expression.

Then out of their being present within community and this region there would raise up a music culture that would be drawing.  Not just a sub-culture of Christian music and worship, but truly a leading edge of music culture within our city and region.  It is the essence of excelling in the creativity that comes from an all creative Creator…God!

My eyes are wide open as I make the ask to many musicians who have been brought to my attention through referrals or just by Jesus opening my eyes to their abilities.  While it is a season where we are all rolling up our sleeves at Open Life to fill the need of worship week to week we are not in a rush, because we feel there is a person who will come and make a huge impact in our church and region through the God given talent, creativity and passion for community.

The adventure is full steam ahead and I for one cant wait to see who  this person will be.  Jesus is certainly starting a unique movement in Bonney Lake, WA and I for one am privileged to be a part of the story!

One of the issues he addressed was the need for daycare for teen mothers who are bringing their children to the daycares at the local high schools.  He suggested that the local churches open their doors to the teen’s children for free in order to raise them up in the faith at a young age.  Launch daycares in the local churches.

As I took notes it sounded good, but then inside of me, God stirred the desire to be a conversionist and redeemer.  Being more present and not making those in need always come to us.

The more I have pondered on it over the past few hours a fire began to burn in me reminding me of the fact that we can teach all the Bible passages and stories we desire to these young children of teens, but we can proclaim the gospel just as clear by raising up passionate people who love much and would serve in the daycares that are already in place at the schools.  These will be the conduits for the love of God to reach both the child and the parent, the curriculum and location don’t matter as much as the Jesus shining through those within community.

Even as I write it is hard for me to express the depth of this conviction that burns within me from the Lord.  We must begin to infiltrate our cities and be the gospel present.  How will they know unless someone brings it to them?  Let’s not always think come and bring, but go and be!

Just a thought!

I recently dialogued with a woman from another church near Bonney Lake.  She had faithfully served for dozens of years and was very proud of her accomplishments.  She asked what I attributed the growth of Open Life to and I expressed that many of the people who had begun to attend had come from a place of not being able to find a church that truly represented the heart of Jesus in scripture.

I further explained…they found great churches, but struggled to find a growing connection with Jesus.   So many have given up on church as the way to Jesus.  They think church is just a bunch of politicking, and more about themselves vs. truly being interested in sharing the gospel in a messy world.  Where is the justice for the unjust in our world…are they living the gospel outside the church or is that just a great plaque above the door as churches claim to be “the church exiting the building.

She then replied in a way that has had me thinking, “people will always say that about the church.  They are just looking for an excuse to leave.”

So I have been wondering, is that really true?  Is there really 80,000 people out of the 91,000 in our region who have chosen to make excuses to leave church, or has the message and reality of Jesus just not been made real yet?  Personally I think what she said is an excuse for the church not to change in order to be more present in the lives of those who need Jesus.

The church gets super comfortable doing what they do and when someone no longer sees Jesus in what they do, they blame the people vs. stepping back and asking the hard questions about what they are doing.  Is Jesus asking them to do what they do, or are they doing what they do out of habit, history and tradition?

If people are deciding to give up on the church, if they are not finding Jesus in what we do, we need to make deep changes.  My suggestion is we go to the scriptures and ask ourselves what the church would look like today if Jesus were to tell us how to do it all over again.

Would it look the same as we are doing it?  Have we really heard from Jesus in our design or are we doing what is familiar?

What we do know…thousands do not have a growing relationship with Jesus and we can make a difference in their lives.  We have the message…that is the most important thing, the method must be flexible.

Have you ever heard someone say God has asked them to give something up, but yet they have nothing more fulfilling to offer from their sacrifice?  I find that highly contradictory from what Jesus exemplified in scripture.

John 10:10 says that Satan came to steal, kill and destroy, but that Jesus has come so that we could have life and life more abundantly.   Not have life with a lot less than those who have not chosen Jesus.

When we give something up there is something greater on the other side of that sacrifice to pursue.

I have given many things up in my pursuit of making more room and time for my relationship with Jesus, but all that sacrifice has led to an amazingly fulfilling and adventurous life of pursuing God’s will for my life.  To lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.

How could you want anything less than all of what life has to offer?  Sometimes it is in sacrifice that we make room for the greater things.  My life is at the most rewarding and fulfilling place ever.  I am full with the wonders of life, my family, my kids, my friends, my community, our church.  God has truly blessed every sacrifice with an unlimited pursuit of greater good.

Don’t just sacrifice to claim surrender, sacrifice to make room for the greater pursuits of life.

What we did have was culture!  We have an open culture with a firm grasp on being the church Jesus spoke of and modeled in scripture.  A culture that is more present in community and makes a tangible difference in the community, not opposing it, but adding value to it.  A church that has it’s entire focus on the first time guest with no church experience.  Where every Sunday is for the new, and not building a culture of comfort for the “member”.  Always looking out…

But staring us in the face are always questions of elements we need to process, fix, work on and tweak.  But in the Beta culture of our world this is good!  Thus this article resonates….give it a read: The Beta Principle.

Truth be told, his love for humanity was so powerful he couldn’t help but show his emotion.  You see it on Extreme Home Makeover, Undercover Boss and Amazing Race.  People moved by the power of someone’s story, and the realization that they can be more than they ever knew, making a difference in this world.  It’s the realization that they can love people more than they ever realized possible.

Recently I have felt this deep love for Bonney Lake.  No matter the person, place or circumstances I bump into people…I just love them, want to serve them and add value to this city and region.

I love my neighbors, our neighborhood, our girls school, the parents we meet at the games, the employees of Starbucks, the Chamber networking friends I have made, those at the D & W Wine Cellar, the Mayor, the employees at Regal, and pretty much anyone I meet throughout the week.

I think the key is this, for the past year I have slowed down to actually meet people and not just pass them by on life’s journey.  I have taken interest in their lives and made time to learn from them how to better invest into this city and other individuals.

Another key, not just looking at what has been done, but what has yet to be accomplished.  I believe God has been doing great things for years in Bonney Lake, but looking ahead He desires to do a new thing.  Seems like every time I go somewhere there is someone who has been thinking about reconnecting with Jesus or trying to find out just what Jesus is all about.  The hearts of many are being stirred.

The core of our culture of church believes that if we will be those who exemplify Jesus to our community we are going to have to do it in new, relevant way but holding firmly to the timeless truths made clear through scripture.  If we will reach people who have never been reached we will have to do things we have never done.

Will we love enough to listen and learn the needs and ways of our cities?  Will we be strong enough to weep over those needs until we hear our directive from God to meet those needs?

You have to love to care, you have to listen to serve and you have to act to exemplify the love of Jesus to this generation.

Why is it we think it would be better to speak with someone away from the table vs. bringing out our ideas at the table?  I have fallen into this trap many times.  I walk away from a meeting that I was invited to thinking my idea was better, but the problem is, I didn’t mention it; therefore, the idea that may have been a bit worse than mine made it to the surface and I walk away frustrated that we chose to do something I thought was not the best.  But whose fault was it?  Mine.

I was sitting at an Applebee’s this last spring with a great leader, Mike Rima (lead pastor of Lake City Community Church in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho).  He spoke of how to lead a large church in a collaborative environment.  He pulled out some sugar packets and placed them in the center of the table as he drew up an illustration for us.  He circled them up and said, “when I ask for ideas I put the need on the table and step back to listen how people dialogue through solutions or ideas”.   He continued, “when he would hear an intriguing idea he would scoot back into the conversation and ask for someone to expound on that one, then scoot back away to let the dialogue continue.”  After a bunch more conversation on this he admitted that many times he would come to the table with what he thought was the best idea, but they would find a better one after collaborating.

I so value collaboration, but sometimes it can be frustrating if people around the table don’t speak up.  And it is even worse when they pull you aside later to tell you the idea they didn’t have the courage to come up with in the collaborative environment.  If you have been invited to the table…speak up.  You are there for a reason and have valuable perspectives to invest in vision, ideas and solutions.

Enjoy the teams you serve on and speak up…only through your insight will your organization, church or family land on the correct steps to lead into the future.

As we pursue the coming weeks we will be carefully watching our numbers and proceeding with the vision of moving into a larger venue within the coming months.  We currently meet in what is called theater #7, but theater #6 holds twice as many people and has more accessibility than does #7.  We wanted to start small and go Big.

In the coming weeks we will be unraveling more and more vision as we look at what defines us as individuals, what we mean when we say Open Culture, what is church “not”, and then conclude with the reality that someone is gonna get it (this whole Jesus thing).

I am still just on cloud Nine for the insight, input and encouragement we have received from those who were present.  We run the risk of this thing exploding and actually doing what we believe it is going to do…impact the lives of 80,000 people in our region, leading them into a growing relationship with Jesus.

Love this thing called the church…especially when done the way Jesus designed it!

Out of the church and into the community,

Thad

Life is beyond busy, but I believe that I am not in this community of Bonney Lake for no reason…there is a purpose to my living here and if I will be a part of this great community I better know the people.  Being a listener the other day I heard that one of the Barista’s was engaged.  I congratulated him today and we engaged in a great conversation.  He asked about Open Life and the process of getting it started.

I shared with him how amazing it was to load in this Monday and hear the sound and see the place as our environment to bring Jesus to Bonney Lake and the passion and excitement stirred him.

That would have never happened in a drive thru line.  Try it…don’t allow yourself to be so busy that you cannot pop into a place…resist the drive thru unless the kids are asleep and watch what God will do with the Open Life you are leading.

Leave some margin in that life and enjoy the moments that opened to you!

Open Life is going to be on the Big Screen!  Starting November 13^th before every movie at the Regal Tall Firs 10 in Bonney Lake and the Longstone Place 14 in Puyallup you will see a 15 second commercial for Open Life.  You will also have a chance at seeing a spot in the Lobby twice an hour while movies are in play.  In an effort to increase the exposure of our launch in January, we will be marketing our website and service times in these two Regal Theatres.

Jesus would have been in the Theatre, so would his disciples.  He went where the people were, verses trying to get the people to come where he was.  What would it look like for us to take this same approach?  Open Life!  Paul stood up in the coliseums and proclaimed the gospel, and so will we!

We will be handing out candy there on Halloween from 3pm to 6pm…and we are pursuing Regal to let us hand out free hot chocolate to those in line for Big Release nights such as Twilight on the 19^th of November at Midnight.

We want to be where the people are.  Although some may think we are losing our minds to go to this length, we think we have just lost our religious prejudice against the world.  We are to be in the world but not of it according to the prayer of Christ.  This puts us smack dab in the middle of the will of God.

So, was the previous generation wrong about their convictions about movies, tv, music?  Let’s just say their eyes were so strongly on holiness and purity, that they were fogged in about the mission they were sent out on, to seek and save the lost.  To go places and do ministry in areas that would necessitate prayer and intersession so that they would not be tempted.  Instead of going at the places that caused temptation, they eliminated risk and avoided certain industries and practices.  But this generation is willing to give of their lives for the mission of God.  Willing to run into the fire to save lives that will perish without our help.  We may get burned, but we will save some.

I honor the previous generations, but I also know that our methods have left us in a gap of irrelevance to this world we live in.  We are going in…with eyes wide open to the places of need in order that we may reach some.