The Potential of the Local Church

"How do you see potential in a church located in a small town with declining population?"

The question hung in the air awaiting my response. I faced a room full of bible college students who were thinking about a future in ministry. A friend was teaching the class and had brought me in to give the students the  perspective of a small town pastor. Like the many of the students, I had been raised in the suburbs. I moved two years previously to Nashwauk, a small town on the Iron Range of Minnesota that had seen decades of decline. The sign on the edge of town said its population was 983, but I suspected that was only true on homecoming weekend.

In my first months at the church I learned that small struggling towns are very different than the fast growing suburbs. The pace of life and attitudes of people were different. Not only that, but it seemed like the all of the materials generated by the Christian resource companies were geared toward the suburbanite. They were expensive and they did not apply to our situation. For example, I had recently looked at an evangelism curriculum that spent half of its time talking about creative ways to meet your neighbors. In my town everyone already knows everyone! The reality is that in the Christian publishing industry resources are developed for churches with the money to buy them. 

Nashwauk's Central Avenue.

As I pondered my response to the student's question I recalled an article I had received from our district office. It was meant to encourage pastors. It was written by a church health guru and talked about the environment that would support a thriving church. It mentioned things like an "expanding population base", "an appropriate amount turnover of people in the community", "close to major population center", "large pool of people skilled in management" and so on. The writer went on to say that if you wanted to be the pastor of a healthy, vibrant, dynamic church you needed to make sure it was in this type of situation. If it wasn't, there was no way the church could thrive and the author suggested that you should go somewhere else. Nashwauk lacked any of the "preferred" characteristics. The article reflected the type of thinking that had led the student to ask the question, "How do you see potential in a place like Nashwauk?"

I got up from the stool I was sitting on and faced the student. "You want to know the potential of the church I pastor in Nashwauk?  I can state the potential and calling in four small words. Here they are: 'All people. All nations.'

"'All people. All nations.' That's where we are going. I believe that in the depths of my soul. The Lord has called that church in that little town of Nashwauk to make disciples of all nations, so that is what we are going to do. How are we going to do it? We don't have a clue! Instead, we have to try to walk so close to Jesus that he shares with us what He wants done. Jesus has said we are supposed to reach nations. That's the potential. If we are obedient, that will also be the reality."

In the years since that class, the group in Nashwauk has grown in its passion for reaching the nations.We have looked for creative ways to support missions around the world. We sacrificed to provide Kindles to all of the families in one particularly difficult field. We sent one family for three months to help pioneer an new work in a hostile place. We have had many people go on short term trips. We have had a growing burden to intercede for the nations of the world. Several of our youth are strongly considering serving overseas permanently. The church in Nashwauk is impacting nations.

But just as important, these four words have helped us to think like missionaries in our own locale. How can we reach the people around us with the gospel? How can we serve those around us? What does it mean to make disciples? How can we do it? How do we interact with those who have no church background? Are there things in our church culture that have nothing to do with the gospel that are hindering people from knowing Christ?

An Iron Range Prayer Warrior

An atmosphere of prayer and the ministry mindset has developed that has been wonderful. We have put on original dramatic productions, passed out hundreds of bottles of water, sponsored events, started a ministry in a senior center, initiated an archery program, helped start a food shelf and community garden, and engaged in an untold number of conversations with people. Hundreds of children have been touched by the church's outreach programs. Countless hours have been spent in our prayer room. All in a church in a small town with a declining population!

I have received two notes over the last couple of years that delighted my soul. Both came from people who had utilized people from our church in cross-cultural ministry. The first came in response to a week of ministry that our youth did in the inner city of Minneapolis. Our youth put on a creative arts camp that was attended by dozens of low-income neighborhood kids. Not only did our youth do a phenomenal job while enduring one of the hottest weeks in years, they prayer-walked and engaged in street evangelism, striking up conversations with people and sharing the gospel. One person decided to get her hair cut by a hair-dresser who spoke broken English just so she could talk to her about Jesus! The leader of the organization we worked with wrote that our youth were the most effective group he had ever brought in.

The second note came from a person who had worked many years overseas. They were struggling to open a new work in a difficult country. Our church sent one of our young couples with their two preschool children to help for three months.They endured living in a single cramped bedroom while working long hours helping start several business, teach English, and do construction projects. The note from the worker said, "your three months of service have been exceptional and you rank right at the top of the list of short-term workers."

I am convinced that these notes are a by-product of a church that refuses to have an "it is about us" culture. Instead it has an "all people, all nations" mindset. Seeking to walk more closely to Jesus, they are being used by him to accomplish his will of one day seeing people not only from the Iron Range but from every nation gathered around his throne. They are learning to think like missionaries and are willing to sacrifice their comfort and security for the opportunity to share their love of Jesus with others.

"You will learn many things here in this college," I said as my eyes moved from one student to another, "and all of them are meaningless and even dangerous if you try to apply them in ministry. Remember, unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Education is a wonderful tool that God can use if you understand that it is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom. It is walking with Jesus and doing what He says day by day that will unleash the potential of any local church. And the potential of every local church is nothing less than reaching the nations, because that is the heart of Jesus." 

As I stood there challenging the students to consider the potential of every church, I had no way of knowing how that little band I was pastoring in Nashwauk would impact my life. They would become dear friends. They would challenge, encourage, and inspire me. And one day a decade later my wife and I would have the elders over for dinner and tell them that we were being called to France. With tears in their eyes they would tell us that the Lord had already been speaking to them about it. It was with pain-filled joy that we all realized that sending their friend and pastor was the next step in church's journey toward their potential of reaching "all people, all nations." 

What I Will Miss (2): Snowplowing

Anywhere you find sand, whether at the beach, in a sandbox, in the backyard, or at the park, you will invariably find young boys playing with trucks. Actually, they are not playing, they are working. They are building roads, moving dirt, and digging holes. They are doing man stuff with man equipment. Bright yellow Caterpillar or John Deere trucks, graders, bulldozers and front-end loaders belching imaginary smoke work the sand until it is ready for civilization. These little guys approach their sand labor with the intensity of an Olympic athlete. There is work to be done!

Here on the Iron Range of northern Minnesota, the men never really grow up. Sure, their hands are calloused and their faces are weathered from being out in the elements, but somewhere along the line most of them made the decision that life is too short not do what you love. And they loved their sandbox and their trucks. So that's what they do. And they do it on a grand scale. The fortunate guys land a job at one of the open pit mines where they get to drive HUGE trucks like this one. You need to climb a ladder just to get to the door. You can move a lot of dirt with one of these!


Other guys work for the county where a major part of their job is maintaining roads. This means grading the gravel roads and snow plowing them in the winter.  When the forecast calls for snow they get a gleam in their eyes because they know that they will get to step into their plow trucks and spend hours pushing snow. One guy told me after church one day, "Pastor, there is nothing better than watching a big rooster-tail of snow coming off of the plow as you go down the road!"

One of my friends is a mild-mannered professor who teaches nursing at the local community college. After getting to know the Iron Range culture a little bit, it did not surprise me discover that he he owned a bobcat similar to the one at left. "Why do you need a bobcat?" I asked him one day. The look on his face said, "I have spent my lifetime teaching and just now have heard my first really stupid question." He patiently explained, "You use a bobcat to push stuff around, make trails in the woods, and move things. A guy has to have some fun, you know!"

I have also gotten into the act, but on the smallest scale possible: I have a plow for my four-wheeler. While is not nearly as macho as guys that get to drive the big trucks, there is something therapeutic about pushing the snow into piles and watching it fly off the blade of my plow. When there is snow in the forecast, I find myself hoping that there will be enough snow to warrant firing up the four-wheeler and spending an hour moving snow. Plowing is good for the soul.

Strasbourg doesn't get much snow. Even if they did get snow, I will be living in a two bedroom apartment with no four-wheeler. I am too old to go to the park and play with little trucks (except maybe when the grandkids come to visit!). I am sure that there will be days of that I dream of blizzards and plowing snow in the deep of a Minnesota winter.   

Karl moving snow.

I caused quite a stir one winter with this picture.

Our Minnesota home in winter.

What I Will Miss (1): 24/7 Prayer

I was sobbing.

Even through I had set it up, I was unprepared for what I saw. A wall in our new prayer room had been dedicated as a place to pray for unsaved friends. A simple sign invited people to write the names of their friends on the wall so others could pray for them as well.

Non-stop prayer had been going on the room for several days before I took a turn late one night. As I rounded the corner of the candle-lit room I saw that the wall was now covered with hundreds of names. Tears began to stream down my cheeks as I thought of the intercessors who had stood there praying for their friends. I placed my hands on the wall and began to pray for Jesus to break through into the lives of these people.

Then I saw something that made my knees buckle. Someone had stood on a chair so they could write at the very top of the wall. Above the names they had written in bold letters, "These people are the reason Nashwauk Alliance Church exists." Finding myself on my knees, I discovered that on the wall under most of the names another prayer warrior had scrawled, "I have to go, Lord, but I'll be back. I am not done praying for these people you gave your life for. I'll be back to pray again and again and again."

Overcome by the presence of God, burdened for the unsaved, and the awed by privilege of being a part of such a church, I sobbed there on the floor until my hour in the prayer room was over.

Regular seasons 24/7 prayer have been the hidden foundation of what God has done at Nashwauk Alliance Church. The unseen labor of prayer warriors as they give themselves to prayer has drawn us closer to God and filled the church with a sense of His presence. We have seen people come into the Kingdom, people healed, financial breakthroughs, marriages renewed, and relationships mended. When I traveled overseas to Brazil and the Middle East it was incredibly comforting to know that the people at home had decided to cover my trips with non-stop prayer. It has been amazing to be a part of this radical group of praying people.

How it all Started

Our church had gone through the normal "we have a new pastor" burst of energy and settled into a comfortable routine. One morning while I was praying, a question that I couldn't shake kept coming into my mind: "What am I doing that requires any faith at all?" The more I thought of about it, the answer was "nothing". Unsure of what to do about it, I headed off to our annual area pastor's prayer retreat at Big Sandy Camp.

Scott Stinson was the prayer facilitator during the retreat. He kept quoting from the book Red Moon Rising by Peter Greig. The quotes stirred a hunger in me and I bought the book as soon as I got home. It turned out to be the story of a 24/7 prayer movement that was spreading across England. The concept was simple enough. Greig and his friends had set up a prayer room in their church and invited people to sign up for an hour to pray. The church had intended to pray for a week, but wound up praying non-stop for several  months before taking a break for Christmas.

As I prayed about it, I felt like this was the faith step that God wanted us to take. He wanted us to give it a try. Being a man of not-so-great faith, I approached the elders about doing 72 hours of prayer. I figured that if nothing else I would talk my wife into taking a couple of hours each day and I would take the rest! The elders agreed and we set up the prayer room. I was amazed to discover that people eagerly signed up. Several volunteered to take the late night hours. When we got to the end of the 72 hours, we kept on going for the full week. Since that time we have done regular seasons of 24/7 prayer. Sometimes we go a week. Occasionally we go for two. Once we went for forty days non-stop. These times of prayer have been the fuel that has fired the ministry here. I have been amazed at the creativity of people who set up the room. Our team of late-night intercessors have a commitment level that inspires me. This prayer room ministry will be one of the things I really miss as I head to France.

A Taste of Red Moon Rising

This poem was written by an anonymous prayer warrior in a prayer room in Reading, U.K. It will give you a sense of the book Red Moon Rising. It will also give you a feel for the burden carried by many of the intercessors who frequent our prayer room.

 

What am I Bid?

Suddenly I find myself in a giant hall. Surrounding me are thousands of young people,

battered, bruised and broken. Then suddenly I hear a voice.

"What am I Bid?"

A young girl stands out before the crowd of leering, sneering men.

"What am I bid for this piece of flesh?"

The men start to cheer and shout figures:

"Ten," "Twenty," "Fifty," "One hundred."

What can I do, God?

I start to bid. I have to save her.

The cost becomes huge, and I begin to waiver.

Can I afford this?

What price will I pay?

The dream stops.

I am alone again. But the faces are real enough:

Sarah being into prostitution;

Mike with a revolver in his mouth;

Kat covered in cuts and bruises;

John falling into crime;

Laura alone and desperate;

Steve, heroin needle bulging into his vein.

"What am I bid?"

The voice shatters the silence. The auction is on again.

The bidding has begun.
It continues day and night until the end.

Most of the bidders desire only to use and abuse.

Satan drives them on.

And so I find myself in the auction.

Will I watch or will I bid?

The price of a single life is huge.

The currency is prayer.

The cost is massive, but the prize is glorious.

 A life for a life.

What am I bid?

Stuff and More Stuff

Shortly before we announced that we were moving to France, someone asked me about a passage from the gospel of Mark.

  As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.' " "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."  At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"  Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark 10:17-30 NIV)

They wanted to know if Jesus meant selling everything literally. Are we supposed to sell everything to follow Jesus? Most preachers would say that we must be willing to sell everything. But why is the response to "just being willing to sell everything" almost universally a sigh of relief? And why didn't Jesus explain that he meant it figuratively?

Our move "from one river to another" has caused me to ponder this passage again, because it will require us to sell or give away almost all of our possessions. Shipping is expensive and the cost of storage is high, so we are having some huge garage sales this spring. We are selling our house. We are selling our three cars, our two boats and our canoe. We are selling our lawn mowers and our four-wheeler. We are selling our knick-knacks and our furniture.

At the start of the process it was incredibly painful. At first I thought it was because of the memories tied up in our possessions. There is a picture that hung in my father's office, a piece of furniture that we have had our whole married life, and the fishing lures that have been with me since childhood. It is hard to give those things up, but that is only a small part of the pain. As I have worked through the pain I have realized that it came from two main sources.

The first was pride. Our American culture trains us to equate a person's value with what they possess. Important people have a lot of stuff. Cool people have the latest technology, the trendiest clothes, and new thing-a-ma-jigs, unless one is part of some hip counter-culture group, but even they strive to buy the same "vintage" things. We define ourselves by the things we possess. 

The second source was that "things" have a tendency to become a place of refuge. Inside the walls of my castle I have a lot of things that give me comfort. I can always retreat to my favorite chair and sip freshly ground coffee out of one of my many mugs. I can lose myself in my library of books or an endless variety of shows on television. I can head out onto the lake on my pontoon and escape. Things become a source of refuge, peace, and security.

As we get rid of our stuff an interesting thing is happening. It feels like freedom. Freedom from the tyranny of things. Freedom to enjoy life. Freedom to really trust Jesus to meet our needs. Freedom that comes from finding our identity in Christ. Freedom that comes from truly grounding our security in the rock that is Jesus.

Many years ago I heard a story about a well dressed silver-haired man who slipped into a church and sat down next to a jeans-clad teenager. Apparently the man felt compelled to share some of his wisdom. "Young man, when I was your age I remember being down to my last dollar. I had nothing but the money in my wallet. I put it all in the offering plate and asked the Lord to provide for me. Son, I want to bear witness to you that the Lord has provided beyond my wildest dreams."

The teenager looked at the man's shiny shoes for moment. "Sir," he said locking eyes with him, "I dare you to do it again!"

The gospel is a radical thing. It goes to the root of how we live our lives. It asks us to order our lives around the values of the Kingdom of God rather than the values of the world around us. Jesus may not call you to literally sell everything to follow him, but it is hard to say that "things don't matter to me" as we consume and hoard more than we really need. For most of us it would take an act of God to get us to just get rid of our excess! So let me suggest that you take a moment to read this blog and then start the process of living with less. 

Why Change Rivers?

I am the pastor of a healthy church. I have wonderful friends and live in the part of our state where everyone goes on vacation. Why would I leave it all and move to France? I have been asked that question dozens of times. It does not make sense to people. Things are going well here and I am moving to a place where I do not even speak the language.What am I thinking?

It has been suggested that it is a matter of money. Perhaps the church in France is paying me more and I would stay if I got a substantial raise here. No. A thousand times no. With the cost of travel I am probably taking a pay cut. It is not a matter of money.

It has been suggested that this is a career move up the ecclesiastical ladder. My plan, they say, is to stay a couple of years and then return with "international ministry" added to my resume. No. That is wide of the mark as well. We are applying for a 10 year visa.

Some have talked with me at length about the church here in Minnesota and the church I will become the pastor of in Strasbourg. They are looking for the rationale behind the move. Thinking strategically, they are searching for the reasons that this makes sense. Some have drawn up a list of pros and cons. They wind up scratching their heads as to the wisdom of what we are doing.

The answer is surprisingly simple. I am a Christian.

Unfortunately, the idea of what it means to be a Christian has become so diluted that the word has lost its meaning. Even for those who regularly go to church, the basic gospel message has become so obscured that many are confused about what being a Christian really entails. Evangelists and preachers have presented the gospel as a means of avoiding hell. "You don't want to go to burn in hell, do you? Come up front. We will wait for you," they plead. Then they have people repeat a two sentence prayer and assure those that respond that they are "saved". Most leave the service unchanged and the evangelists crow about all the souls they have "won".

How foreign this is to the Scriptures! The Bible teaches that we are, by nature and deed, rebels against God. The penalty for this rebellion is death and hell. Thankfully, Jesus Christ offered his perfect life as a sacrifice for our sinful lives.His death offers us the hope of forgiveness. But how does any of this apply to us? What must happen so that the gospel is effective for us personally? To put it simply, "What must I to do be saved?"

The Biblical answer to that question is that a person must "repent and believe". It is not simply belief in Jesus, but repentance that is required. Satan himself knows that Jesus is the Son of God and died for sin. Belief is not enough. We must repent. This means we must change our way of thinking or reverse our course. Repentance is turning away from sin and toward God. The gospel is an opportunity to have a new leader. It means that one can leave rebellion and choose obedience. To become a Christian means to leave everything in life to follow Jesus. There is no salvation without forsaking our rebellion against God and His authority. The opportunity to repent and return to obedience is pure grace.

Paul tells us that those who confess that "Jesus is Lord" will be saved. It must be remembered, however, that in the days Paul was writing that the confession that Jesus (not Caesar) was Lord carried with it severe consequences. Perhaps it meant to the loss of life itself. Certainly it meant the loss of social status and income. It meant changing allegiances and changing kingdom loyalties. Following Jesus meant then and means now that we will become enemies of the world.

If Jesus were to step up to the microphone to address those that came forward at the end of most crusades, his words would be different than of the typical evangelist. "You want to be part of my kingdom? Great! I love you! But know this: the world is going to hate you. You are going are going to have choose if you want to be a popular and successful in this world or become my disciple. You have to decide right now if you want to serve me or money. You cannot serve both. I might ask you to sell everything and I will mean it. I might ask you to leave your family on this journey. You want to follow me? Fantastic! Just remember, I have nowhere to lay my head and I am heading for the cross. Still in? Then let's go." And with that Jesus would walk out the door leaving the slick-haired evangelist behind pleading with people to pray his two-sentence prayer. 

If we take the time to read the gospels we will discover that while Jesus attracted large crowds, he had few disciples. When the crowds heard his call to follow him they thinned to a handful. They loved the things of this world more than Jesus. They walked away from Him and the eternal life that could be found through a relationship with Him.

I am convinced that the call to follow Christ is at the core of the gospel. Radical obedience is not simply for the clergy or monk. Obedience is simply the evidence of repentance. All of us are called to follow Christ wherever he leads us. 

Fourteen years ago Jesus called me to follow him to Nashwauk, MN to to become the pastor of the Alliance Church there. It was painful to move away from family and friends. But the joy of following Jesus is incomparable! Now Jesus has called me to Strasbourg to become the pastor of Trinity International Church. It hurts to leave family and friends. But the joy of following Jesus is incomparable!

So why am I moving to France? The answer is surprisingly simple: I am a Christian.




I

Why Another Blog?

Blog: n. a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.

The High Bridge in St. Paul

I have lived most of my life within a few miles of the greatest river in North America: The Mississippi. When I was young I canoed and water-skied in its waters. I hiked its shores and explored its caves. I watched steamboats filled with people and barges filled with grain make their way down the river from St. Paul. I dreamed of being Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer.
 

The Mississippi near Grand Rapids, MN

For the past fourteen years I have lived two hundred miles north of St. Paul. Here the mighty Mississippi is little more than a large stream. These years have been filled with the sounds of the wilderness. We see eagles and deer almost daily. Bears and wolves are less frequent, but still a reminder that we live in untamed country. The silence of the wilderness is broken by the wind in the trees, the call of the loon, and the haunting howl of the wolf.

The Rhine River near Strasbourg, France

Our lives are about to take a dramatic turn. In a few months my wife and I will move 4500 miles to Strasbourg, France. We will live near the Rhine River, one of the great European rivers. Starting high in the Alps, the Rhine flows over 750 miles through cities such as Basel, Switzerland, Worms and Cologne in Germany, before finally ending in the North Sea.

My boyhood home of St. Paul traces its origins to the building of Fort Snelling at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers in 1819. My new home city of Strasbourg traces its origins to the building of a fort at the confluence of the Ill and the Rhine Rivers...in 12 BC! My boyhood home has a cathedral that was built about a hundred years ago. My future home has a cathedral that was started almost a thousand years ago.

A chocolatier near our new home.

My current home is in the wilderness. It is surrounded by towering pines and has a view of a quiet lake out of three sides of the house. My future home will be two bedroom apartment. It is within walking distance of bakeries, chocolatiers, a couple of grocery stores, and a dozen wonderful restaurants. 

My native tongue (and my only tongue) is English. I can drive for over a thousand miles and never need to speak another language. In my new home I will walk down the street and struggle to buy bread at the bakery. The people in my new home speak French and we are only a couple of miles from Germany. Strasbourg is truly an international city and dozens of languages can be heard as you walk its streets.

This blog will be a journal of sorts. I will write of my thoughts and the things I learn as my wife and I embark on this adventure. Hopefully you will learn something about what another part of the world is like. Perhaps you will begin to understand why we decided to sell everything we own, leave our family and friends, and move half-way around the world. Perhaps this blog will allow you to experience our adventure with us. And maybe it will inspire you to embark on a great adventure of your own.