A Timely Retrospective

As we prepare to once again launch a fundraising effort for church planting, I decided to repost this article I wrote on the cusp of our move to Burleson nearly three years ago. The details are different this time around, we're hoping to relocate to the other side of town, not to another state. We have 3 years experience in the ministry of planting churches and specifically working with people in this area. We've now been married over 10 years and for the first time ever have lived in the same house for over 2.5 years. We're hoping our next move will be the last for many years to come. As I reread this post, I was struck by how much things have changed and how much they have stayed the same. The economy got worse, then it seemed to get a little better...nationwide, organizations are giving less to charitable causes and non-profits while individuals seem to be giving more. Our prayer as we begin this process is that the Holy Spirit will guide us to connect with both churches and individuals willing to partner with us in the ministry of planting churches and equipping congregations to live missionally in their neighborhoods.

Bad Ideas and Ones That Just Seem That Way. Oct 3, 2008

So as you may or may not know, Rachel and I have been married nearly 8 years and we are about to (hopefully) complete our 8^th move together. Over the years we have become pretty proficient packers and movers, with a thoroughly tested and carefully revised system. Rachel has always been in charge of packing (I handle the garage, my closet and anything she tells me to do…). I’ve been in charge of moving day and take pride in the fact that when folks show up to help us load the trucks there are pretty much only two types of items in our home: boxes and furniture. When we moved from Mesquite to Dallas the total time from when the first box was picked up until we were all sitting in the new house eating lunch was 2.5 hours (that’s including the 15-20 minute drive to our new house).

But times they are a changin’. If you read Rachel’s blog you know that she normally has nearly half the house packed before we send the kids to grandparents’ house for crunch time. The jump from 2 to 3 kids has shifted the balance of power and we simply did not have nearly as much done. Wednesday when I took the boys to my mom, Rachel was sick – which meant that the whole day she had to herself to get stuff done without me or the boys in her way was…well, it wasn’t good. Then yesterday I spent the day battling off the ick as well.

However, last night as we prepared for bed, we felt that all-in-all we were in decent shape. Joey had been incredibly cooperative, we actually had several boxes packed, the garage was close to ready…and we still had all day today, Saturday, most of the day Sunday and Monday before the big day Tuesday.

But that wasn’t good enough for me.

While carrying some stuff out to the truck I accidentally walked into the side of an open drawer. That was not a good idea. Three hours later we were back home with seven stinking stitches. But you know, we still got a lot done today.

The doctor, after conceding that I wasn’t going to stay off my feet, requested that I at least spend an hour of so with my leg propped up so that the bleeding would stop (which it didn’t do the entire time they were stitching me up…it was kinda cool). During my long lunch break I watched CNN. There was plenty of talk about the bailout plan – which at that point was being deliberated in the House of Representatives. There was also plenty of talk about the overall state of the economy and the future for jobs and financial security for American citizens.

This isn’t a bombshell; things have been looking a bit dreary for quite some time now. And to be totally honest there have been a few people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them that we’re raising money to plant churches. “Now?” they often ask. A few have even come right out and said that they think this is a bad idea. Is the decision to step out on faith and plant new churches right now an idea comparable to kicking an open drawer while packing?

The short answer, I believe, is “no”.

It is true that finances are tight and we are asking people, in the midst this situation, to partner with us financially. It is true that many people are unsure about their job security. It is true that for many people the hope, optimism and general sense of well-being found in this country’s prosperity have been shaken. But that is all the more reason for us to be doing precisely what we’re doing.

Chris Chappotin, my new coworker, just read a book called Death By Suburb. I’m currently reading N.T. Wright’s Surprised By Hope. Both of these books, in one way or another, discuss the danger of putting our hope and faith in something less than God. I wonder how many people have been uninterested in God because a prosperous society has been providing them with liberal doses of pain killers - never truly addressing the problems in their life but effectively masking the symptoms in the short run. But (at the risk of overusing the metaphor) perhaps the prescription has run out for many of us.

I believe that today there are many people who have lost or are afraid they may lose their security net and I believe that those people are going to be more receptive than ever to hearing the good news of God who has come near; a God who has come to repair the broken systems of this world which lead to insecurity, fear and oppression; a God who has called us to work with him to reconcile, heal and restore his good creation.

I believe that people are going to be receptive, but there’s more to it than just that. I also believe that right now we NEED hope. Part of why folks are receptive is that the good news which we proclaim is something which we legitimately crave. The truth is that the Kingdom of God is breaking into this world, even in the midst of financial crisis. This kingdom has implications (as Surprised By Hope emphasizes) for life after death, life after life after death and even life BEFORE death!

There has never been a more appropriate time in our lifetime to be engaged in God’s mission; planting churches right now is a GOOD idea.

Those we are asking to partner with us are being faced with a big commitment of faith – trust me, I understand that very well. However, I am more convinced than ever that this is precisely the kind of risk we are being called to take in the name of Jesus. We have raised nearly 50% of our goal (for the first year anyway), we are moving Wednesday and we are convinced that God is opening these doors. We are also convinced that the hurdles which keep popping up this week are examples of spiritual warfare. I believe that the forces of darkness at work in this world should be nervous – not because of us, but because of the powerfully advancing Kingdom in which our citizenship resides.

We are talking with a few churches right now about coming on board as a supporting church for our family and the ministry of planting churches in the Burleson / south Fort Worth area. Several of these churches are considering one time or special gifts – which we of course appreciate greatly. Our church here at Tammany Oaks has agreed to partner with us for one year. We need other congregations to partner with us regularly over the next three years or so. Make no mistake, we’re still looking for individuals to join us. But perhaps your congregation or one you know of would be interested in supporting (or partially supporting) a domestic missionary family. Perhaps your church family also believes that it is time for the community of God to advance into the darkness in order to reflect light into every dark corner. If so would you help us get connected with your church? Would you be the voice calling your leadership to partner with us?

I have now officially shed blood for this ministry, and the 7 stitches (a good, holy number by the way) are symbolic of my commitment…not my inability to watch where I’m walking, as you may have thought. I pray that very soon we will have raised our full support (because apparently I really need to get medical insurance!!). In the meantime we are continuing to pray for the individuals and congregations that God is preparing to bring into our lives as partners, as well as the individuals and families that we are going to be blessed to be in relationship with through the ministry of planting new churches.

Update from the Field...er, classroom

Two days are down and I’m about 58% confident that I’m going to survive. For those who don’t know, I recently had the privilege of beginning a new course of study with SMU to work on a degree in evangelism. It has already been an amazing experience.

My first round of classes started this week. There are 5 of us taking the class: an African-American female who is a Methodist Pastor in Louisiana, a white female Methodist Pastor from south of the metroplex, an African American male Methodist Pastor working in urban ministry in South Dallas and a Church Planter from Nepal...who is the son of a Hindu High Priest and has planted 47 churches and 100 house fellowships with his team in Nepal since 2001. And then there’s me.

We have only spent a few hours with each other, but there have already been some incredible conversations from this very diverse group of people. We’ve heard stories of tragedy and trauma as well as stories of great success and victory...and then we’ve heard stories about “beating the brahman boys,” which made me laugh so hard that I almost passed out...very doctoral of me I know, but its a great story that I’d be happy to tell you some time.

Everyone who knows me well at all is aware that I am a huge nerd. My friends' responses to the news that I've begun this program tend to fall in one of two categories. An clear example can be seen in the replies to a facebook status update that said I was getting ready to start my first class. One person replied, “I’m a little envious” and another sent me an email warning me not to let those academics ruin my ability to connect with “regular” people.

For my skeptical friends let me describe (very briefly) our professors. Dr. Sylvest just retired from SMU and is teaching this course as adjunct faculty. He was a professor at Perkins (the theology school) for several decades. Today he gave us all acorns as a reminder to continue cultivating the seed of spiritual life that God placed within us. It could have been really cheesy, but this 73 year old man has shown such genuine concern for Christ and for us as ambassadors of Christ that instead it was quite moving. Make no mistake, his mind is sharp and we aren’t just sitting around singing campfire songs...in fact, I suspect that tomorrow we’re going to be put through the ringer as we begin presenting the case studies we’ve been preparing. But this is FAR from ivory tower egg-headedness!

Our other professor, Dr. Somers-Clark, has worked as a supervisor for clinical pastoral education (basically, hospital chaplaincy) for many years. She shared some personal stories yesterday regarding some of her struggles in ministry that helped me know immediately that this was a person whom I could trust to process through the ups and downs of serving people in the midst of their ups and downs! She has a disarming way of asking questions which elicit greater reflection and insight...and she also knows how to ask questions which push through the bluffing and posturing and expose what’s really going on under the surface.

So, the work we’re doing is quite rigorous, but its sole purpose is to further challenge and equip us to love and serve the people we come into contact with and to help them do the same.

Okay...back to reading...must not look like an idiot tomorrow.

What Did You Say You're Doing Again?

That is the question we’ve heard again and again since we made the announcement of our upcoming relocation for the purpose of planting churches. Some people haven’t heard of “church planting” others have heard of it but have no idea what it means practically.

To put it simply, we are going to be missionaries in the Burleson/south Fort Worth area.

Rachel, the Wellsbrothers and I have accepted this calling after A LOT of prayer, discussions, wrestling, debating, waiting, thinking, talking, studying, researching and more praying. I’ve felt a calling in this direction for quite some time and I believe that God has used our time here in southern Louisiana to prepare us for precisely what we are about to do.

But some people still wonder what it means to “be missionaries.” At the most basic level it means that we are looking to introduce people to Jesus and call them to join us as we seek to follow him as disciples. We’re prayerfully hoping to start neighborhood Bible studies, house churches, worship gatherings and new churches in general.

More specifically we’ll be partnering with Christ Journey, a 3 year-old church planting church in Burleson (www.christjourneylife.com). Initially, I will be assisting CJ in the area of spiritual formation; working with the intentional processes of evangelism and discipleship – of inviting people to this journey with Christ and assisting them as they become and mature as followers.

We believe that becoming a fully integrated, committed and participatory member of the body is a process rather than solely an immediate event. My role will be to evaluate and cultivate this process, and to both encourage and challenge our community as we continue to journey together. Some of the aspects of this process currently include 3 to 4 person Formation Groups, the 10 week Foundations course, as well as the Marvelous Light and City on a Hill retreats.

Formative events such as these are an important part of a faith community. However, I intend to focus the majority of my time on relationships, even when in the context of events or activities. I want to invest in people more than programs. We’ve already had the opportunity to begin getting to know a few folks from Christ Journey. Thanks to an internet workgroup blog, I get to collaborate with worship planning. We also recently began reading and discussing a book together.

Christ Journey is also preparing to launch a second worship gathering. As this becomes a reality, Chris Chappotin, the Lead Minister/Pastor at Christ Journey will take the leadership role in one service and I in the other. Our prayer and goal is that this will serve as the foundation for the first church plant of Christ Journey.

Since we've already begun collaborating together on worship planning, Chris and I intend to continue working together (and with others) to study, discuss and plan the worship experiences at CJ. I am excited that this approach will allow us to continue to work in community rather than isolation, yet also provides us with opportunity for nourishment - we both will have a worship gathering where we can participate not as someone "in charge."

We'll also focus on developing leadership and launching new house churches and worship gatherings as part of our dream to see the gospel advancing into new communities all over the south Forth Worth area.

For some, the term “house church” is a bit ambiguous and may even have a different meaning than our context. A house church is basically a gathering of several families, usually in someone’s home, for a time of teaching, worship, fellowship and encouragement. House churches are an intentional component of Christ Journey, and a primary source of discipleship and spiritual formation for our community. This is not the same as individual families staying home on Sunday and declaring that they are having “house church.”

Okay, so here’s the deal.

We, like most missionaries, are raising support for this ministry. While we were not offered a salary from Christ Journey (though CJ is handling our funds as they come in) we are very excited and have already begun working in faith.

This means that my family and I are looking for partners willing to support us on a monthly basis, annually or even with a special donation. Donations can be made to Christ Journey on our behalf, which means that they are eligible for tax write-offs. If you (or someone you know) would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact me – we should have information packets available very soon and, as anyone who knows me will testify, it won’t be hard to coerce me into talking at length about our calling and what we need.

Thanks to everyone who has already served as encouragers and prayer partners. We are extremely grateful to those who have already begun supporting us and we would also like to thank in advance those of you whom the Lord is currently preparing to join us as financial supporters.

For those who are interested, donations can be mailed to:

Christ Journey Church
P.O. Box 3283
Burleson, TX 76097

(checks can be earmarked "Wells family support" or something similar)