TransMin, Days II and III

OK, so I'm late. Even as I wrote the last blog my stomach was roiling and that night I had the unpleasant experience of seeing dinner come back with a vengeance. Enough unpleasantness...

DAY TWO

I arrived late due to aforementioned factors in time to hear Tom Morris and Aaron Porter of FBC San Luis Obispo. FBCSLO has had considerable success in reaching Lost Generation young adults (Cal Poly SLO is nearby). They show a profound insight on "emergent"* approaches to worship, church life and evangelism. This was followed by a panel discussion which included L-Generation adults, both churched, unchurched and various places in between.

Eddie Gibbs spoke in the afternoon; I like him, but I think I like him more in print that as a speaker. Unfortunately by dinner time my three hours sleep was catching up with me so I skipped the PM and drove the 44 miles home.

DAY THREE

My live-in nurse made me take some meds that almost made my brain flatline (I exaggerate slightly); I took solace in the fact that I'd already ordered the DVD of the morning session. Sorry, readers. Be sure to check the reflections over at www.hisbarkingdog.blogspot.com.



*For reasons I'll go into some other time, I dislike the term "emerging church." A more accurate term would be "church reaching post-moderns" (CRPMs?) but I don't expect that to catch on any time soon.

TransMin Conference, Day One

Was That Oink or Oikos? TransMin Conference Brings Home the Bacon

Registration at the 2008 Transformation Ministries Conference in Riverside, CA topped 700 as the association of churches formerly known as the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest met here for three days of seminars and inspiration.

The changing nature of the former ABC region was seen in the emphasis placed on the singular task of reaching the unreached post-Christian population. Over 400 attended a pre-conference workshop conducted by Tom Mercer of High Desert Church in Victorville, CA. Over the last 24 years, HDC has grown from 120 to over 6,000 on a weekend. The center of the church's life is expressed in the Greek word oikos (basically "extended household") which Tom believes to be central to the New Testament church's life and its evangelism strategy. HDC has succeeded in making this network of influence strategy central to its life.

[By the way, a suggestion to TransMin: put Tom's seminar on the website on streaming video for as wide a dissemination as possible.]

The evening session continued the emphasis--with wonderful worship led by a praise band of worship leaders from Hawaii to Arizona and the mass choir of Trinity Baptist of Moreno Valley, CA. Executive Minister Dale Salico spoke on the need to pass the faith baton from generation to generation, and compared the plight of Israel in Judges 2 to America, from the Builder Generation to the present. He balanced the need to act with the sovereign intervention of God.

More reporting tomorrow...

The Ring of Fire

With apologies to Johnny Cash, I found "Ring of Fire" playing in my head this afternoon. For DD readers outside southern California:

• Most of life goes on normally. Yes, 500,000 plus have been evacuated. That leaves 19.5 million in place.
• There are less people on the street. As today wore on, the San Gabriel Valley air quality went down. Yesterday, the Santa Ana winds made things very clear. Today, as the strong eastward winds break up, the smoke is swirling around. I had a small amount of ash on my car when I went out at around 3 PM.
  
• Now the sky is a weird orange; it looks like there ought to be a glorious sunset, when its the whole sky that's orange.
• We have the house locked down now (5:45 PM Pacific) and the air purifier on.

By the way, there's no reason to believe that this will affect the TransMin Conference starting Thursday.

Southern California Fires Threaten, Destroy Churches

This bulletin was just released from Transformation Ministries:

October 22, 2007

Southern California, from Santa Barbara to Lake Arrowhead to San Diego, is in the grip of severe wind-driven wildfires, threatening hundreds of homes and thousands of acres. More than 10 fires are reported in San Diego County alone. In many areas, the use of firefighting aircraft has been suspended due to high winds.

Many Transformation Ministries churches are located in or near the areas impacted by the fire. At this time, we have had no reports of damage to any of our church properties or to that of our church members. We praise God for that and trust that God will continue to protect the firefighters, residents, and property in the affected areas.

You and/or your church may wish to donate cash to assist Transformation Ministries churches and our members who may be impacted by the fire. These donations will be used to assist those families who may be displaced to obtain temporary housing, food, replacement clothing, and other essentials while they are out of their homes. Other needs will be assessed at a later time. We pray that the number will be small and that there will be no injuries or loss of life. Please send your donation to: Transformation Ministries, Attn: SoCal wildfires, 970 S. Village Oaks Drive, Suite 101, Covina, CA 91724.

If you are aware of members of your church or community that your church is assisting, please notify Paul Bennett at (800) 299-3448, extension 878, or Lorena Rosales, extension 891. Tell us of the need and how we may support your relief efforts.

We will seek to use all donations to assist families and persons impacted by the fires. In the past, the funds available have exceeded the need for assistance. Should there be an excess of monies, that excess will be added to the Pastors Emergency Fund to assist pastors and church staff members who experience emergencies.

For those who will attend the Transforming Churches Conference beginning October 25 through 27, the offering taken at the Conference will be to assist wildfire victims. You may also speak to me at the Conference with questions or needs related to the fires.

Blessings in Jesus' name,

Steve
Steven L. Roblee Minister of Mission Advancement Transformation Ministries Toll Free: (800)299-3448, ext. 879 Direct: (626)408-3879

I noted on Mark Roberts' blog that the church destroyed in Malibu was the outstanding evangelical Malibu Presbyterian. Read the full story with pictures here.

Upcoming: TransMin Conference II

Just a notice: the second conference of Transformation Ministries will be next Thursday-Saturday. Yes, I know that TransMin is the continuation of ABCPSW, the Southern CA Baptist Convention, etc. But this is the first time when a church from Maine will be represented! Therefore I plan to blog impressions nightly.

The conference is in Riverside, CA, 44 miles from Temple City, at the Riverside Conference Center (pictured above). That's close enough that I don't plan to stay over, but to commute.

Heads up, stay tuned, and all that.

Blogging Barna

Sometimes as I read a good ministry book, I make a simple summary of the key ideas. I just finished reading a George Barna book for 2002 (better late than never), and did the same. I'd love some lively exchange on the ideas here. By the way, this is much better than his Revolution (2005) where I think some of the wheels came off his idea cart.


Ministry Implications of George Barna’s
Grow Your Church from the Outside In
(Ventura, CA: Regal, 2002)

Observations

1. Unchurched people can’t stand what they see as hypocrisy
2. Unchurched people are convinced that they don’t have time for church
3. In America, most people who accept Christ do so between ages 5-13
4. The unchurched see themselves as self-sufficient and not as “lost”; but they do connect to being seen as “spiritual explorers”
5. Unchurched people are most likely to connect to churches in which they see that members really care for one another
6. Unchurched people are more likely to respect churches that care for the needy of the community
7. Unchurched people are concerned about their families, and open to help with family life
8. The unchurched feel they have little time for passive activities, such as simply attending a worship service
9. Concerts and festivals are the best venues for connecting with the unchurched and establishing a positive image that become the basis for later personal invitations. (VBS and films are not effective venues.)

My question for discussion: although I have a list of implications, I didn't put them here. What are some of the implications as YOU see them?

Rescue from the Ravine

Tanya Rider's car being removed from the Ravine


Maybe you remember the story from last week about a woman who went missing and the relentless faith her husband had that she hadn’t just run off.

Tanya Rider, 33 of Maple Valley, Washington, was found September 27, eight days after she went missing. Her car had gone off the road into a ravine, covered by brush. Her husband Tom reported her missing, but was told by police that they thought she’d run away. Tom wouldn’t take that for an answer. He pressed police to start a search.

Tanya's car had tumbled about 20 feet down the ravine and lay buried below heavy brush and blackberry bushes. Rescuers had to slice the roof off to get her out.

Tom Rider said he had been just sitting down to take a polygraph test at the King County sheriff's office so officers could exclude him as a suspect in his wife's disappearance, when officers told him the car had been found. They used her cell phone signal to track her to the ravine.

Tom Rider should get some kind of reward as the man who wouldn’t give up. He explained that he knew that Tanya wouldn’t just run away, and he was convinced that she was in some kind of trouble.

You might say, he had faith in her. He knew what she was like, and running away just wasn’t her. But maybe more important was the faith that she had faith in him. Tanya was certain that Tom wouldn’t give up.

In the same way, Jesus saw us in the ravine, and He wouldn’t give up on us. At great cost and misunderstanding, and at personal risk, He came for us. And now he says to us, “I know you’re broken, banged up and near dead. Just put your trust in Me and I’ll get you out of here.” That’s the simplicity of faith: He is our rescuer. That’s what Savior means: He rescues us.

And now He says to us, “Repent, and believe the Good News. I’ve come for you. It’s going to be all right. Let's get you ought of here.”

God is good! That's Jesus alright--the one who goes into the ravine to find us. The one who will not give up.