The Ancient Future Church

We are here! In Atlanta that is!

What a ride we have had in these last sixty days since accepting the call of Jesus Our Shepherd (AMiA) to plant a new church in Northeast Atlanta. Throughout it all, His grace has always been sufficient and at times abounding beyond imagination.

We sold our house in eleven days. We give a nod to our fine agent Rush Denson. But even Rush would say that the greater kudos go the Lord himself. The market was against us. This we knew. But our particular street in Birmingham had one house in foreclosure and another on the market for 15 months. Two others had already been pulled from the market in the last year and rented as owners awaited better fortunes. And there are only 13 homes on the street. And yet the offer came quickly. And the transaction itself was as spiritual as they come. After the final walk through, we stood in the front yard with the buyer and one of her children and prayed blessings upon them and their life in this new home. The Lord gave us a sale and new friends in Christ to boot.

And the Lord provided here in Atlanta as well. At first, all our options were in three level townhomes. We like townhomes well enough but we wanted a neighborhood for the children. On a lark (which we soon realized was a prompting of the Holy Spirit) we asked about a home that was beyond our means. The buyer’s market made it possible. But the inspection found a significant water issue, one we imagined would scuttle the deal. To our surprise, the repairs were made and quickly enough for us to close the afternoon of June 17 having closed in Birmingham that morning. We moved in the 18^th.

The greatest grace came in the delight of our children in the move. Moves are not uniformly welcomed by eighth graders but this one was. Madison is loving the challenge and true to form, she has met most of our neighbors and already been invited to dinner. Dow and Whit are flourishing and Dow seems no worse for the wear hardly noticing that a flight of stairs separates us at night when the distance was three feet just two weeks ago.

We are praying without ceasing for our many blessings! All honor and glory be to God! His grace has been sufficient and even abounding beyond what we could ask or imagine.

In this past year, dear mentor and founder of Amistad Mission, William Wilson, and his Spiritual Life Ministry Foundation have graciously provided a home for my ministry as I discerned my call to plant Grace Community in Atlanta. That means of giving will come to an end on June 30, 2011. Support for us, as we launch this missionary endeavor, should be as follows:

To contribute to the new church, “Grace Community: An Ancient Future Church,” by mail, please send a check for “Jesus Our Shepherd Kingdom Project” to:

Jesus Our Shepherd Kingdom Project
c/o of Bill DeBardeleben
1003 Rockbridge Road
Stone Mountain, Georgia 30087

Jesus Our Shepherd is an AMiA Church and is of course a qualified 501(c)(3) for charitable giving purposes. The Kingdom Project has its own bank account and all the funds contributed to it will be used exclusively for this new work “Grace Community: An Ancient Future Church.”

Many thanks to William and likewise many of you for your continued support! Blessings in Jesus!

Over three years ago I was aiding the good people of Jesus Our Shepherd church in Atlanta in their desire to plant a new church. They had in years earlier conducted a capital campaign in order to build their first building. The raised a considerable amount of money for a church of 45 to 50 on any given Sunday. However, as they continued to pray, they felt the need to abandon a building of bricks and mortar in favor of building a people, a new church. Their prayers led them to grant to a qualified and called planter an amount that would go a long way in helping a church get off the ground. Their search for a planter, with which I was aiding them, had been, thus far, unsuccessful. They were obviously anxious. A prophetic word from the Lord came to me for them. “Be not anxious. You’ve already met the person meant to plant this church!”

Little did any of us know that, more than three years later, it would become clear I was that person.  The leaders of Jesus Our Shepherd and the Richardsons having been praying about this possibility since October of last year. We’ve met on a number of occasions. With each step the possibility of the partnership became more of a reality. A couple of weeks ago the leadership of Jesus Our Shepherd voted unanimously to extend a call to me to be their planter. The Richardsons had ongoing conversations that we needed to complete. Seeing them to the end, it became clear that this in Atlanta is the door that God opened for us, one that He has kept open for us and one He is asking us to enter. Today I met with the senior pastor and deacon of Jesus Our Shepherd, Tom Belt and Bill DeBardeleben, and enthusiastically accepted the call.

So today we launch “Grace Fellowship: An Ancient Future Church” of the Anglican Mission in the Americas. In the next 90 days we will transition physically to the Brookhaven area of North Atlanta. Meanwhile we will lay the ground work for this new work beginning with prayer and the forging of relationships with people on the ground. The work will begin organically, by walking the streets of Brookhaven and by hanging in the coffee shops of Brookhaven and inviting those we meet to join us to open God’s Word. From there we will respond to the favor the Lord gives. We pray the need for a living room will become the need for a conference room. We pray that when the time is right the Lord will lead us to assemble and thus worship will begin. Meanwhile, we will lay the base of communication, administration and pastoral care, such that when we are called as a community to engage the world, to go public, we will find it easy to focus on inviting, teaching and sending, all the while worshiping God with our lives and our public praise.

We thank those of you who have prayed faithfully over our search for God’s will. We thank those who have indicated a desire to partner with us as we move forward. We invite you to join us in launching Grace Fellowship. We covet your prayers and your trademark generosity. The grant from Jesus Our Shepherd, which has been enhanced greatly by the Anglican Mission in this first year, is not sufficient to meet of the all initial needs including things like necessary moving expenses and basic benefits like medical insurance premiums. If you are led to join us with your tithes and offerings, you may direct them as follows:

Jesus Our Shepherd Kingdom Project

c/o of Bill DeBardeleben

1003 Rockbridge Road

Stone Mountain, Georgia 30087

Jesus Our Shepherd is an AMiA Church and is of course a qualified 501(c)(3) for charitable giving purposes. The Kingdom Project has its own bank account and all the funds contributed to it will be used exclusively for this new work “Grace Fellowship: An Ancient Future Church.”

Regardless of giving, we beseech you to pray and continue the relationships our Lord has forged in years of ministry together. It has been and will continue to be a joy to labor with you for the cause of Christ Jesus.

As I sat in church yesterday I found myself very grateful for the sabbatical I am enjoying. The occasional miscue in public worship was like water off a duck’s back as I sat in the pews. My family even contributed to the mayhem. One of Whit’s musical toys sounded off – TWICE. All I could do was smile. I wasn’t in charge of leading public worship as I have been for nearly fourteen years.

It would be easy to forget and look outwardly today as if life itself doesn’t take a toll. But it does. As does ministry! I’m no Paul but I empathize with him as he recounts all the physical challenges he has faced in ministry and then adds “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of all my anxiety for all the churches.” See 2 Cor. 11:16-29. The daily pressure builds up especially for one who sees the church as set apart to achieve a very specific purpose, the reconciliation of unrighteous beings to a holy God.

In this day and age, full of ourselves as the chosen people, we have become far too worldly. Faithful leaders are forever swimming against that tide of secularism. How are we different? How is it we are consecrated or set apart? In any recognizable form? Pastors are under much pressure to be tidy and businesslike in church life when they know deep down that Kingdom life is messy and inefficient. The destination is clear but the waters that must be navigated can be exhausting. With the subjects of Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, we struggle to find the strength to keep our weary hands raised. We find ourselves “sluggish.” We “shrink back.”

And yet we are called upward, to another standard, to that of the indefatigable spirit. The letter to the Hebrews is a man up/buck up letter. It is crystalized in 12:3, “Consider him who endured from sinners hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” The remembrance of Jesus’ endurance itself has a transforming power. By the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit we can be transformed into His likeness, the likeness of the tireless one who endures for our sake, mine and yours. We need not remain weary. We can resist faintheartedness.

And there are earthly examples of people transformed in this very way. It blesses me to call John Rucyahana, the Bishop of Rwanda, my spiritual father. It blesses me more when he says to others I am his son, that I am Rwandese. 

Bishop John sets before us the example of an indefatigable spirit. If you do not know Bishop John or need a quick refresher, find a worthy of your time nine minute documentary here:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/april-17-2009/rwandan-reconciliation/2708/

Like Jesus, John has endured hostility and not grown weary. In my 48 years I’ve not come across anyone so tireless in his efforts at reconciliation, man to God and person to person.

All this is to say, it is possible to have our strength renewed. Lord thank you for respites. Thank you more for the transforming power of a remembrance and earthy examples of its reality.

The Happy and Blessed Family

Who would have ever  imagined that in the same year my 4th was born that my 1st would give birth to my 1st grandson. Not me. It is blessing upon blessing, undeserved and unmerited GRACE. Jayden Elisha Jarrett was born to daughter Mary Elizabeth and Jordan today at 4:40. All are well. Jayden was 8 lbs and 1 ounce and 20 1/4 inches long. The birth took place within four hours of arriving at the hospital. An old friend who is a L & D nurse drove Mary to the hospital with  Jordan just behind. The same nurse did all but pull Jayden into this world. We are grateful for this added comfort. We are grateful to God for what could be called an uneventful delivery.

God is good. ALL THE TIME!

Proud Grandfather

It is always a joy and an honor to share in what should be one of the biggest days of a person’s life. The joy is evidenced in the photo above. I can almost hear Robert. “You mean we can kiss now?”

However, marriage always leads to change beginning with a man leaving his father and mother and cleaving to his wife. Thereby the two become one flesh. And many other relationships are rightly altered and even subordinated by marriage. At times leaving and cleaving means physical relocation as it did for Mary Elizabeth and Robert. The distance that separates the Richardsons and Pirettis is a thorn in our sides.

So we rejoice. And yet we ache. The marriage is bittersweet!

This past weekend I was part of wedding in Atlanta. It was a great honor and joy to play a small part in such a big day. The groom is a dear friend that I’ve watched mature from a reasonably responsible boy into a steady mature and believing man. He is now a naval officer and flies P3s. Quite proud of him and I rejoice in his choice of a mate for life. She is a committed believer and beautiful, inside and out

A side benefit was the reunion with some dear friends (fellow laborers) who have influenced me tremendously and whom I have been blessed likewise to lead and influence. As we gathered I realized I had on a favorite sweatshirt that was purchased about the time I came to know these folks, some 15 years ago. My favorite sweatshirt is 15 years old. It is frayed at the cuffs. It is probably out of style, not that I would know or care.

The sweatshirt is old. But I love it. It is incredibly soft. It is incredibly warm. It also bears the name of my alma mater, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, the place where I reached the pinnacle of my education. For a variety of reasons, I am unwilling to throw it out, give it up.

And so it is with us spiritually. Put off Paul says in Colossians. Put off Paul says in Ephesians (5:26-32). We are far too often wearing old garments we are meant to remove and discard. But sometimes the old garments are soft and, therefore, comfortable. Sometimes the old garments remind us of glory days gone by a far cry better than the times in which we find ourselves presently and, therefore, comforting. So we keep on wearing them.

What are these old garments? First, the t-shirt of falsehood. This means every form of deceit. It is every form of communication that is meant to mislead. Not every deception is an outright lie. Offering up part of the truth misleads as well. Sometimes we create a façade or schtick. They easily mislead. But it is a comfortable way of doing business. It holds challenge at bay. We are reluctant to give up the cover and comfort of the familiar attire.

Second, the sweater of anger. Be angry if you can’t help it Paul says but don’t let the sun go down with your anger unresolved. Don’t nourish that frustration. Don’t enlist others in your rage however justified it is. I wear this garment occasionally. I observe the sweater on others quite often. Quite an amazing garment to be found on a mature Christian when with blaspheming the Holy Spirit un-forgiveness is seemingly one of two unforgivable sins.

Third, the turtleneck of theft as in being paid for something you didn’t do. Fourth, is the pant of corrupting language as in that which destroys/breaks down. Fifth is the belt of grieving the Holy Spirit as in denying the power of the Spirit within one to fight evil and transform hearts. Sixth, is the all enveloping footy pajamas or coveralls of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice. Who doesn’t own a pair of those?

Oh so many comfortable clothes from which to choose, aging garments still donned by new people. We are meant to give them up. God will enable us take them off and stand naked ready for new clothes but only if we will submit to the transforming (sanctifying) work of the Holy Spirit. The work is achieved only if we are willing to give up that which is familiar, comfortable, and comforting. We must be willing to take it off and throw it out.

What’s in your closet?

What are you wearing now?

Recently I was asked the following question, what does it take to be a successful church planter? See my response below. Fellow ancient future thinkers, what would you add? What would you omit?

What does it take to be a “successful” Church Planter?

Of course “successful” is subjective and therefore resides in the eye of the beholder, make that the many beholders. Any measure of success, dare we create one, should begin with essential elements necessary to advancing the Kingdom. After all, any apparent success in the absence of these elements is to achieve something other than what Jesus started. That may be a very good thing but it would not be the church.

A successful planter has a heart for Jesus, a heart for the lost, and a heart for the found. Let me elaborate.

A HEART FOR JESUS

The successful planter will have a heart for Jesus. Even prior to the great commission John the Baptist said one would come after him who was mightier than he was. Elsewhere he added, I must decrease that he might increase. Others asked rhetorically to whom shall we go? Successful planters, like the disciples, realize in every way that they have come upon the one who is the fount of all wisdom and the source of all true life. Planters cease looking and point to Jesus as the one coming and the one to come.

The commitment of the planter to Jesus is unparalleled. When commissioned after Easter, the disciples were told they would be witnesses to the ends of the earth. Witness in Greek is the source of our word martyr. These fledgling planters would “witness” to the point of their own death and thus bequeath to us a legacy that sets the bar high. It was their own devotion or heart for Jesus that associated witnessing with rejection and death and ironically not acceptance and success.

And the content of the witness? The first Spirit filled disciples declared “the wonders of God.” A planter always points to another, one of infinite power, even in the face of great talent worthy of worldly recognition. A planter is never central to the success of a plant. He may sow. He may water. But it is the Lord who causes the growth. And the planter knows to give him all the credit.

A HEART FOR THE LOST

Luke 15 is to be appreciated above all others when it comes to those scriptures which inform the planters heart for the lost. The “religious” folk of Jesus’ day scoffed at the company he kept. Lost, sinful and broken people are scorned by the religious in every age. And yet Jesus chose consciously, in the face of opposition, to hang with them. More than that, Jesus chose to defend his presence among the tax collectors and sinners through stories about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son.

While it would be offensive to the text to suggest the 99 were left without care and concern, one cannot deny that the ninety-nine were left in order to find the one that made the fold complete. And in the lost son we find a man insisting on his own way and finding the result a life of squalor. He is living a life that defiled every Jew and indeed finally every human. Yet the arms of his father are flung wide open when he humbles himself and starts toward home. The insider, the older brother, like those scoffing at Jesus couldn’t find it in his heart to celebrate. But a feast followed because the father and by example the kingdom celebrates when one of the lost are found.

Such wisdom led the Apostle Paul to say he would become all things, to all men, that by all means, some might be saved. Strikingly, Paul calls us to distance ourselves at times from the rebellious believer but not from the great unwashed.

In 2 Corinthians 3, the same Apostle Paul reminds us of the chief role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the disciple. That work is to transform us into the likeness of the Son. The Son has a heart for the lost. The disciple has a heart for the lost or the work of the Spirit remains undone. If the disciple, then the planter.

See attached article “The Church’s Downward Trajectory Explained.”

A HEART FOR THE FOUND

A successful planter has a heart for the found, those whom God has chosen to redeem. Salvation is the beginning of a greater work that is meant to be achieved in us. The greater work is sanctification or being transformed into the likeness of the Son. The planter appreciates the fullness of the work to be done. Having done it himself, the planter helps others with an inventory that reveals what transformation the future holds.

Does the believer know love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? These are sincere promises that can be achieved by the grace and power of God. The planter must become pastor and be up to shepherding the found through this growth. As Peter says this is to help them be effective and productive in their own life in the footsteps of Jesus. The planter is a pastor and teacher who loves the sheep and leads them to growth which equips them for greater works of service.

As one found among many the planter continues in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and the prayers. He enjoys the company of those entrusted to his care. He eats in the homes of others and breaks bread with a glad and sincere heart. To this kind of “grace” fellowship the Lord adds daily to its number.

These elements, a heart for Jesus, a heart for the lost and a heart for the found, are vital. To build upon something else may be good but it would be a foundation other than the one given to us.  Too many churches are pursuing principles (matters of the mind) and not pursuing relationships (matters of the heart). A planter leads people to the value of the one vertical that in the end transforms all others horizontal.

Beyond all these essential things, being well versed in matters of church growth, leadership and management are helpful. Indeed I would submit to you that one can build a successful church with the latter nonessentials without much commitment to the former essentials. However, one can never advance the Kingdom of God without the former, the essentials, and indeed the Kingdom quite often gets advanced without a hint of the latter. The apostles themselves bear witness to this. They had increasingly the right heart and with the exception of Paul they did not seemed schooled in the methods and yet they managed to create something that God used to find me/us.

The About page speaks of a tension in which we must live as Christians. Tension is inevitable, as inevitable as our desire to avoid it. We prefer resolving tension. Tension reducing exercises, a glass of wine to take the edge off, prescription meds, many use some or all of these to avoid tension.

The Truth be told we are invited into tension. Joost de Blank in his work “UN – Comfortable Words” reminds us of the nature of the call. “God so loved” is followed by “’he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already.’ Spiritual choice and moral decision are always required.” Sobering isn’t it? Wasn’t it T.S. Elliott that said we can only handle so much of the truth?

A friend recently sent me a consoling note wondering if I am at odds with a people who want their ears tickled as described in 2 Timothy. Short answer is “of course I am.” Indeed the struggle is external. But it is internal too. I cannot avoid it any more than anyone else. Want my cake. Want to eat it too. Can have anything I want. Can’t have everything I want. Frankly, I’d rather you tell me otherwise.

Ancient Future Church is filled with a people who want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. No ear tickling allowed. Not a fire and brimstone preaching that uses law to produce guilt without ever extending grace. Or feckless mainline preaching that promises grace without law leading to guilt.  By the way, the community church version of the same feckless preaching is law lite commonly known as health and wealth. No, none of these. Instead truth! Truth that creates tension! You mean I am guilty and I am loved?! Now that’s sensational! It is transforming!

Cheap grace does not transform. Cheap grace, the content of feckless preaching when there happens to be any content, tickles the ear. Bonhoeffer famously captured our desire to eliminate tension this way:

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”

 You can draw a crowd with cheap grace. But you can’t make disciples with it. Because grace isn’t cheap.

Stress desirable. Not doom and gloom but joy and godly sorrow (the hardest to reach are those who acknowledge no pain). Tension required. Cast suspicious eyes on all efforts to remove the tension. On your efforts. Mine. Other’s. Especially other’s!