Been thinking about how the Kingdom grows lately. These thoughts have mostly come from my readings in Jesus for President and my aggravation with some poison ivy that’s sprouted up in our backyard.  Jesus says that Kingdom growth a lot like a mustard tree.

I hear that Jews were not too fond of mustard trees.  There were actually Jewish laws against them being planted in gardens.  The reason why is that they essentially took over the area, planting and sprouting and generally being a nuisance.  Those stubborn little bushes would pop up and ruin all the plans and purposes the farmer had for the garden.  No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t stop those tiny little seeds from spreading and getting into your garden!

Growing up, I always heard nice sermons about the remarkable power of a mustard seed - tiny as it is, growing into a giant redwood or something.  The only problem is, when you actually look at a mustard tree, its pretty scraggly.  Check out this mustard “tree” below that is busting out of some concrete in Bethany:

This insidious viral plant spreads like wildfire and is under no one’s control.  It breaks all kinds of rules about how plants are supposed to behave.  And what’s more - the fowl are supposed to take refuge in its branches!  This is not the cedars of Lebanon that Israel hoped the Kingdom of God would produce.  This looks more like a renegade sleeper cell just waiting to spread its potent seeds of destruction all over your lawn - and attract and house the worst kind of flying beasts - the kind that poop all over your car and hang out with the wrong crowd.

If we think about the Kingdom of God as Jesus taught about it, what might change in how we live as followers of Christ?  It might mean we see growth as slow and insignificant - rather than splashy and impressive.  It might mean that we are not just on earth to be “nice” to everyone and everything, but rather to help upend and nonviolently overthrow the prevailing systems that dominate and oppress humanity and creation.  Maybe it means we spread like a disease, or a terrorist group, or a clan of starfish. (an earlier post on that here).

The neat thing about mustard seeds is how potent they are!  But you have to crush them up for them to be of any use.  The Anabaptists used to talk about how everything on earth finds its purpose through suffering.  The delicious lettuce you eat in your salad started as a seed in the ground, and grew slowly to produce a head.  It was picked, shipped, and carried to your dinner table, where you rip it apart, cut it into pieces, and then grind at it down till it is no more.  And yet, if you hadn’t done that, the lettuce’s purpose in life would have been in vain.  What if the Christian’s purpose is not so much different from that lettuce, or that mustard seed?  What if Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was not just a one-time event for our esoteric sins, but actually provided an avenue and a model for us to experience our greatest purpose in life?

Jesus moves beyond mustard to talk about yeast mixed into dough, weeds mixed in with wheat, good and junky fish of all kinds mixed up in a net…all stuff that is a recognizable annoyance in the lives of his audience. It’s interesting that Jesus waits till the end (of time) to call out what is the weed and what is the wheat.

To the some, the mustard-tree Kingdom looks like a weed - to Christ, to the world, and to the marginalized, it is the bread of heaven!

We should find people of great influence in our peer group and in our discipline and listen to them. Because they differ slightly from us, these people sharpen us. Sometimes they are achieving such greatness that we feel a drip of depression looming in our seeming lack of accomplishment. But that only remains when we focus on our accomplishments or lack thereof.

Many would call this sort of activity “self-centered.” I contend that it is probably not “self-centered” enough. Perhaps we need to go even deeper into searching ourselves - we need to search inside of ourselves to find the still small voice instructing us. This voice trumps all external, peer-reviewed comparison. It says, “Keep running the race” and “fight the good fight” and “I will give you rest.” Man, I love that still small voice.

So apparently one good turn deserves another.

Trina and I just returned AGAIN from Chicago, our second trip there this semester.  Like most trips there, it was a world wind tour, though this one seemed to be right on target.   We had two main objectives.  Find an apartment, and meet with the CDEA.

When we left Chicago back in middle March, we weren’t sure whether or not we were following God or just chasing our own tails.  For the last 3 years we had been gathering contacts and notes about what we felt was a pull to Chicago to plant churches and to live as missionaries in an urban context.   When we went to Chicago in March, we were able to meet up with just about EVERYONE I had been in contact with for the last 3 years, and even pursued several job offers.

As we were flying home from Chicago, we both felt the same - we had worked our tails off to respond to what we felt was God’s call in Chicago.  We felt like we had tied all the knots, set the sails, and prepped the ship.  Now all we needed was God’s wind.  We felt like if he didn’t provide then, we could walk away from it all.  You might get the sense of this anxious waiting from my last post about it. 

A few weeks went by.   We waited.

Katrina went down to Austin, TX with the MRNA gang while I stayed up in Abilene to focus on my COMPS oral defense that was coming up.  She had an amazing time down there and met some amazing people (I really wish she would write a post about that!).  Through the workings of what can only be the Holy Spirit, Katrina came back a changed woman.  Her boldness in the face of some of our doubts was inspiring to me.  We had decided earlier that Katrina might be the one to hear from God WHEN we need to leave for Chicago.  She came back from Austin saying we were ready to go.

That was nice, except we still didn’t have a job, or any kind of church planting network to work with there.  But TWO days after Katrina got back, we got a call from Lance Hurley, executive director of the CDEA (Chicago District Evangelistic Association).  CDEA wanted to support us, and Lance wanted us to meet the rest of the board!  Totally a confirmation.  We didn’t know how we were going to afford another trip up to Chicago, but then God provided funds that we didn’t even ask for!

So our trip in April (2nd trip - 24-29) was a focused trip to pick out an apartment and meet with the CDEA board, mostly consisting of church planters, and ministers.

Our time in Chicago was very encouraging.  We found an AMAZING home in the city, close to the train, a wonderfully diverse neighborhood with a university nearby, not to mention the beautiful Lake Michigan only a few blocks away!  Our new friends in the CDEA were very affirming and gracious, and we were surprised by their ability to boldly consider this opportunity for an exciting, innovative, church plant in the city.   They also committed to supporting us financially in a big way and hope to help out even more in years to come.

We’re super psyched!!!

We’ll be moving to Chicago at the end of May.  Until then, we’re just waiting to see what God has up his sleeves!

Here’s a great shot of Katrina and our buddy Annie in a magnolia tree…g-e-oORGEOUS!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately (and been hearing a lot lately) about how God speaks to us and through us. Last night I was reading from Eugene Peterson’s “Eat this Book”:

God speaks. When God speaks things happen. Holy Scripture opens with the words, “God said…” ringing out eight times, and after each sounding we see, piece by piece, one after another, elements of heaven and earth coming into being before our eyes and then climaxing in man and woman formed in the image of God. Psalm 33 compresses Genesis 1 into a sentence: “For he spoke, and it came to be…” (Ps. 33:9). That sets the stage for everything that follows in our Bibles, this profuse outpouring of commands and promises, blessings and invitations, rebukes and judgments, directing and comforting that makes up our Holy Scriptures. (p. 60)

God’s spoken words create. They bring us together. They always involve risk, and they always set us up for joy and peace. They seem to be spontaneous and never condemning. He is our Rock, and He is always here. He goes before us, and he is our shepherd. He is the only one who can truly and totally empathize with us. When everything else falls away, He remains.

Katrina and I just returned from our survey trip to Chicago. We connected with a bunch of leaders involved in different ministries and job opportunities up there - just about everyone I’d been connecting with for the past two years were on our two week schedule.

As a church planter, there’s only a few ways to make a living (in no particular order):

1. Work for a church planting organization.

2. Work for an established church, either as a “church planter” supported by the congregation, or doing church planting as part of your pastoral duties.

3. Get a job in the workforce.

All of these have pros and cons. All of them are being considered/prayed through right now by yours truly and my beautiful bride. I’m waiting on hearing back from several groups, and I know that now this whole thing is in the Lord’s hands. For three years we’ve worked toward what I’ve described as a “calling” to Chicago. If everything fell through right now, I’d be okay; I’d know I worked hard to check every “open door” we felt drawn to.

I’ve heard that sometimes one spouse hears a specific call, but the other spouse hears the timing for that call. As we’re considering all this, I’m really listening carefully to what Katrina is saying regarding timing.

What makes sense in the midst of all this discernment? I KNOW that the Lord has called me to Katrina. Before Chicago, before jobs, before ministry…she comes first. My calling to her is real, and now. This process of discernment has propelled me to love her more than ever, and to appreciate how the Lord has gifted me with an amazing woman. Everything else could fall through, and as long as I was still with her, it would be enough.

Please be in prayer for us during this important time of waiting and listening.

If you’d like to see photos of our trip, you can check them out here: