We continued our new series at our church (New Hope) this past Sunday entitled, “Six-Forty Series”. It centers around the various kinds of spiritual disciplines that help to nurture our relationship with God. The reason we are calling it “Six-Forty” is because of the format we are using to communicate timeless truths.

A few months ago, we came across how some Japanese architects were creatively formatting their design presentations to make them more focused, concise, and memorable. These design presentations, known as Pecha Kucha (which comes from a Japanese term for the sound of conversation), are 6 minutes 40 seconds PowerPoint presentations that contain 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each.

We thought this would be a refreshing way to communicate a Sunday message so we adapted the format to share insights into the spirituals disciplines. Following this particular 6 minutes 40 seconds presentation by Henry Nguyen entitled “Fasting”, our community of faith spent some time in group activities designed to engage thought and conversation around this week’s focus.

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope podcast (iTunes required) and feel free to follow along with the embeded presentation below. You will have to time each slide at 20 seconds increments if you want the live feel.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts about this podcast!

In a world where customer  is KING, it’s no wonder that many of us have culturally nurtured an unhealthy perspective of entitlement and voicing complaints. Whether it’s a standard, style, or service, it has become commonplace to feel that we have a right to complain if our expectations are not met.

Unfortunately, the same worldview has clearly permeated much of the Church. In addition, the emergence of new media has given incredible voice and influence to the average person, either for good or you know…

Are many of the complaints warranted? Honestly, I think many complaints about the Church are quite legitimate.

BUT… Please keep a few things in mind as you consider broadcasting complaints about the Church…

1. Think Change, Not Compensation
   • In a consumer-based culture, the goals of the complainer are often to (1) be heard and acknowledged by those who have wronged them and (2) receive some kind of compensation (usually, more than the fair amount) for the inconvenience or pain experienced. Rarely, if ever, do consumers think of bettering the business or organization that has wronged them during such interactions. As a result, complaint rarely leads to healthy change. It’s really about compensation, not change.
   • For those in the Church, this must NOT be our worldview. Even if we have legitimate complaints about how things may be run or communicated, our goal should NOT end with airing complaints nor seeking compensation. The difference in the Church is that the organization is not suppose to be primarily a “service”-oriented entity in the same way as a product. The center of the organization is NOT us! It’s actually someone named Jesus…or something like that.
   • Over the past 20+ years of being in church leadership, I’ve heard and participated in many movements that accurately pointed out the inadequacies of the Church. Unfortunately, many of these movements, at the end of day, did not provide an embodied alternative for how things were. Although many paradigms shifted philosophically, most defaulted back to an old methodology and system that created the problems in the first place while others shifted philosophically but did not possess a workable plan or system. A part of the problem was that our focus was centered around complaining for personal compensation from those in charge rather than towards a holistic effort for change.
2. A Rationalization for Paralysis
   • In my experience, it appears to be that those who often complain the most, whether in a company, church, or organization, have a tendency for using the complaint to rationalize away the energy needed for their participation and problem-solving. Whether it’s the language of burn-out, disconnectedness, new passions, transitions, lack of time or resources, etc., at the root of it is the reality that it is easier for us use our dissatisfaction as a reason for paralysis and inactivity than to do something about it. It’s true, complaining exerts a lot less energy and is more enjoyable than actually doing something about a problem. In many ways, there’s a sick kind of excitement in talking trash about someone else.
   • In the context of the Church, this perspective will result in discouragement for leadership, disunity, confusion, lack of motivation and energy, etc. It’s unfortunate that it only takes a few vocal individuals to drain the life out of a group.
   • Although criticism from a distance is tantalizing, please consider (once again) that the Church we highlight faults in is still Christ’s Church; a Church he loves, cherishes, and seeks to work in and through.
3. Difference Between a Freedom of Can and a Freedom of Should
   • I think it’s important in this conversation that we make a clear distinction between the freedom to say what we want and the freedom to say what we ought. Some historians have pointed out that our Constitution’s upholding of freedom of speech was originally instituted to make sure people had freedom to speak what ought to be said. In other words, it implied that freedom was deeply connected with some kind of moral responsibility. In light of the early Pilgrims coming to America to pursue religious freedom, it was important for our early fore-fathers to set in place a constitution that would protect our nation from what happened back in the motherland where unfair restrictions were mandated by the state.
   • In other words, just because we have the freedom and technology to be critical about the inadequacies of the Church, it doesn’t follow from there that we ought to be. Scripture is very clear that in moments of great trials, suffering, or injustice, our tongues can become a great source of evil (James 1-2). I think we must work towards better reframing our conversations, especially those that are overtly loaded with terms that bring baggage along with them.

If you posture remains humble and open, while our goal focuses on mutual change, I think we will be far better off as Church than simply airing our complaints via whatever mediums available. Not to mention, don’t you want to be a part of movement that brings change by identifying and embodying how the Church could be rather than what the Church is not?

Throughout my twenties, I had

A few weeks ago, my friend Michael Trent (aka @churchbartender) shared with me an idea he had been wanting to actualize for awhile. The idea is called Dirty Church.

Michael told me about an experience he had with a facilities person years ago when he was a youth pastor. While trying to cheer up a young person by making funny faces up against a glass door, the facilities person railed on him about the mess he was making. In response, Michael instinctively said, “Jesus is coming back for a dirty church and a spotless bride!”

Dirty Church is about recognizing that God is pleased when we use what He gives us. In this case, it’s referring to church facilities.

In light of our mutual agreement that church facilities are meant to be used to the fullest, we decided to create some Dirty Church Awards! In partnership with the Idea Camp, the Dirty Church Awards are being created to bring awareness and conversation to the use of the buildings / facilities that churches have in their hands. We are in talks right now with a few conferences that may want to present these awards during their conference.

Last Friday, Michael and I hosted a Tokbox conversation with close to 40 viewers online about possibilities. There’s no doubt that people think these awards would be a fun way to remind the Church to use its facilities well and often for ministry.

We Need Your Help!

We are building some criteria or characteristics of a Dirty Church right now and would like for you to contribute any ideas or examples you may have.

• What makes a church a Dirty Church?
• What kinds of Dirty Church Awards would you like to see?

In the next few weeks, we will begin to create a few categories and open conversations via social media to allow for nomination for the Dirty Church Awards. We are currently working on developing a simple blog for the awards. In addition, you can follow the latest updates on Twitter via the hashtag #dirtychurch.

Please let us know if you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about Dirty Church.

In hopes of all churches becoming dirty,

Charles

Several months ago, I initiated (with a TON of help from friends) a hybrid conference called “the Idea Camp” (www.theideacamp.com). The idea was simple… create a free conference that would help people with ideas move collaboratively towards implementation. The hope was to create a conference where the main focus would be on the networking and mutual learning of its participants. The working presupposition was that the crowd will always be  smarter than any one speaker. Therefore, our goal was to create a platform where we could leverage the wisdom of the crowd through intentional interaction.

High hopes? Most definitely! Risky? Of course! Full of Potential? Absolutely!

With very little money in hand, I began to ask friends to participate in the formation of a movement of idea-makers. To my surprise (quite honestly, shock!), many began to jump on board with this crazy idea of hosting an Idea Camp together. As a result, thousands have been impacted and inspired to pursue their ideas with others. There have been countless stories of friendships birthed, projects shared, and ideas formed through our gatherings. For some, the Idea Camp has become a catalytic launching pad for their ideas!

Where is Idea Camp now?

The momentum of the Idea Camp has opened up doors for us to host conferences in other parts of the country. Our next Idea Camp will be in Washington DC (Aug 28-29) with a focus on compassion/justice and then in Portland, Oregon (Nov 11) where we will focus on the Church regaining credibility in the city. In addition to these Idea Camps, our hope is that we could also partner with existing conferences to provide a unique platform for idea engagement. We don’t exist to compete with other conferences, but rather, to compliment and support.

As we expand, we are working hard to create resources for the local church that would help its professionals better integrate their faith with Kingdom purposes. Our hope is that a movement that focuses on the overall Kingdom will yield amazing results that will tangibly impact the world.

An Invitation for YOU…

We hope to keep all of our Idea Camps FREE for the participants. We’ve worked hard to keep expenses down by using technology to maximize our investment from sponsors. As long as there exists support from our friends, we will keep this conference free.

Some of you have asked how you or your business/organization could support the Idea Camp. First of all, it means the world to us that you would ask! Secondly, it shows that you have been positively impacted by our efforts. You have no idea how this humbles us and inspires us to keep doing what we’ve started.

Here are some ways you and others may help:

• Pay What You Want Option – Our Idea Camps will continue to be free for anyone who desires to participate. In addition, if anyone would like to support the Idea Camp, we will welcome tax-deductible donations (see below for contact).
• Become a Sponsor – For those who would like formal partnering opportunities with the Idea Camp, please take a moment to review the Sponsor’s Guide we created by clicking: idea-camp-sponsors-guide-june-09 (Also see one-page conference synopsis for the Idea Camp DC here – the-idea-camp-dc-synopsis)
  
• Help Us Get the Word Out - Please help us get the word out via your channels of influence (e.g., blog, facebook, twitter, speaking opportunities, etc.). You are our greatest advertisers because you embody the values of the Idea Camp.
• Pray for Us - This is definitely the most important way you could support us! We believe that this must be a conference led and formed by God’s Spirit. Our gatherings would mean little without his presence and guidance. Please continue to pray for us.

For those who would like to send support, you may send your tax-deductible donations payable to Xealot (with the memo Idea Camp) at:
The Idea Camp / Xealot
Attn: Abe Lim
18842 Teller Ave
Irvine, CA 92612

* We are currently working to set up an online giving option. In the meantime, you may send donations via check or paypal by using their check option.

There’s no doubt that something amazing is forming through the Idea Camp. We would love nothing less than to have the privilege of doing this together with you! We look forward to hearing from you.

In friendship,

Charles

We kicked off a new series at our church (New Hope) entitled, “Six-Forty Series”. It centers around the various kinds of spiritual disciplines that help to nurture our relationship with God. The reason we are calling it “Six-Forty” is because of the format we are using to communicate timeless truths.

A few months ago, a friend of mine (Jeff Shinabarger) told me about how some Japanese architects were creatively formatting their design presentations to make them more focused, concise, and memorable. These design presentations, known as Pecha Kucha (which comes from a Japanese term for the sound of conversation), are 6 minutes 40 seconds PowerPoint presentations that contain 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each.

I thought this would be a refreshing way to communicate a Sunday message so we adapted the format to share insights into the spirituals disciplines. Following this particular 6 minutes 40 seconds presentation entitled “Simple”, our community of faith spent some time in group activities designed to engage thought and conversation around this week’s focus.

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope podcast (iTunes required) and feel free to follow along with the embeded presentation below. You will have to time each slide at 20 seconds increments if you want the live feel.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this podcast!

During this past Sunday’s talk, I had the privilege of updating our church (New Hope) about our future direction and partnership with NewSong. It is definitely an exciting time in the life of our ministry with amazing opportunities for Kingdom impact.

If you are connected to our ministry, this is definitely a podcast you will want to hear!

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope podcast (iTunes required).

The following is a copy of the presentation used during the talk:

I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this podcast!

My friend Ciona Rouse sent me a link to a couple of great videos of a project she is currently working on called, “Pray with Africa”. Here’s a brief description found on their website (www.praywithafrica.com):

Pray With Africa is a viral movement to inspire people to connect across continents, to pray each other’s prayers, and to put those prayers into action. It is about building relationships and bridges between here and there and changing the world through prayer. Our hope is to inspire millions of people to pray together harnessing not only the immense power of prayer but also the immense power of a worldwide community working together to make a difference.

There are already plenty of people around the world doing that very thing. Instead, we are asking people to pray with Africa—to be in relationship with others across the world and, through those relationships, change the world for the better.

I love this concept! As one who has traveled to Africa, I can say with a level of certainty that many parts of Africa are seeking for more than simply physical help. Rather, many in Africa desire a prayerful partnership for Kingdom purposes. It’s not just about giving, but rather, the mutual sharing of life and mission.

Are there many who still need physical resources? Absolutely!

Nevertheless, this movement rightly reminds us that we must never forget the privilege and beauty that God has relationally given us with his children around the world.

Here are 2 short videos that highlights the mission of Pray with Africa:

Pray With Africa

I had the privilege today of interviewing Mark Horvath of InvisiblePeople.tv and Grace Yi of PATH LA. Both of them are good friends and regular participants at New Hope.

I invited them to speak on the current reality of homelessness and poverty in America along with practical insights on how people can get involved in making a difference.

This particular interview is an addendum to the series we just finished entitled, “Crossroad: A Theological Praxis from the Streets”. It was important for our community to hear two people from our community that seek to embody the compassionate justice that Jesus desires all of us to live by and modeled for us in the Gospels.

Several interesting thoughts were birthed during this 50 minute interview including thoughts about the social trendiness of compassion, self-awareness while serving the poor, the prostitution of causes, and biblical responses to poverty.

In addition, both Mark and Grace shared with us about opportunities around the country for all of us to get involved with in the near future. You’ll just have to listen to find out!

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope podcast (iTunes required).

The following is a copy of the presentation used during this interview:

I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this interview!

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters of Current TV, are awaiting trial this week in North Korea. They were taken into custody and were charged with illegally entering the country back on March 17th. If convicted, they could face time in one of North Korea’s notorious labor camps.

Ling and Lee were originally on the border of China-North Korea reporting on the life of defectors from North Korea. At this point, it is not clear as to how they were captured and taken into custody.

In light of recent actions by North Korea with missile testings in defiance of the UN, many speculate that this case will be deeply connected with nuclear weapons negotiations.

Lisa Ling, the well-known journalist and sister of Laura, stated recently in a message sent to a Facebook group following this story (which I happen to be a part of), “Our families have been very quiet because of the extreme sensitivity of the situation, but given the fact that our girls are in the midst of a global nuclear standoff, we cannot wait any longer…”

The family members have chosen to become more vocal about the case due to the trial coming up later this week. Please take a moment to watch the interview below from the Today Show earlier this morning:

If you want to support the efforts of those seeking the release of Ling and Lee, here are some suggestions:

• Sign a petition to the government of North Korea for the release of these two journalists by clicking here.
• Join the Facebook group created to keep everyone up to date with opportunities for mobilization by clicking here.
• Visit the following blog dedicated to seeing their release: www.liberatelaura.wordpress.com
• Follow the story via Twitter Updates: www.twitter.com/liberatelaura
• For those of you from a faith perspective, please consider spending some intentional time praying for the release and safety of these two.

This past Sunday at New Hope, we finished our series of teachings called, “Crossroad: A Theological Praxis from the Streets“. This series focused on developing a theology rooted in the streets as exemplified by Christ’s interaction with humanity during his time here on earth.

This series is designed to encourage, challenge, and inspire the hearer to reconsider the stories of Christ’s interaction with people on the streets in hopes of developing a practical theology for day-to-day ministry, especially outside the walls of the church. I invite you to listen and interact via this blog about the topics introduced during this series.

This particular message is entitled “The Answer“. It explores the reality that God uses pain to connect with the deepest needs of humanity. Instead of simply focusing on strengths to minister, this message invites the listener to connect with pain. In addition, it explores how God actualizes “the answer” to the world’s needs through us.

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope podcast (iTunes required).

The following is the keynote presentation used during the teaching:

Also, here is the video clip used during this message:

I look forward to hearing from you after you listen to this message.