I'm Coming Out Of The Closet

That's right. No more hiding in the shadows of church dogma.. or behind the sacred, "You must love the sinner and hate the sin" propaganda that good Christians everywhere have decided is the rallying call to gospel purity. I'm coming out and it's scary.. I mean, what if people no longer respect me?


Or, Jesus help me- what if people don't like me!? Dude, what if I stop getting invitations to speak at revivals and special events... or become the boring subject matter of the latest juicy gossip of my pastor "friends!?"

OK, enough of my sad attempt at being melodramatic... all that stuff has happened to me before. Honestly, it's been happening to me since I answered God's call to be in the ministry 23 years ago. It all started when I began inviting my unchurched friends and coworkers to church. Stop. There’s something you should know before we go on.


My friends were not of the “church-going” breed- we were all Headbangers, complete with mullets and bandannas. And we worked at a saw mill... but they were my friends- I could identify with them and I knew God could use me to reach them- after all, God wanted to have a relationship with them, too.

And then it happened... a respectable member of the church shared with me that I would have to part ways with my friends and coworkers because, “You come from a respectable family- you shouldn’t be hanging around such troubled young men” and the clincher, “We don’t need people like that in this place.” Huh? I couldn’t believe it. Is that what he thought of ME before I cleaned up my life? My eyes were forever opened to a dirty, little secret held by many in the land of the hallowed crosses: “If you’re not one of us then you can’t possibly be one of Gods.”

In the past three years I have done two things that have landed me on the "Judas Iscariot's Most Wanted Evangelical Pastor's List." First, I started pushing for the reformation of the current failed drug laws, including the legalization of medical marijuana.


Secondly, I became more intentional about reaching out and loving people within the LGBT community. Both are huge justice issues for me and remaining silent would put me at odds with Jesus- and that wasn't happening.

Here's another little shocker I've learned: You can hate your neighbor as long as her politics flies in the face of what’s most popular in your church. It’s even quite permissible in some churches to break God’s laws of justice and mercy as long as the act is preceded by saying, “You know what the Bible says about that, right!?”

Perhaps that’s my struggle... and the reason why I have to come out of the closet. I DO know what the bible says. And it says a lot about loving my enemies, showing forgiveness, feeding the hungry, welcoming the outcast, healing the broken- and not just for show; but living a life of radical hospitality and extravagant love among the spiritually dead, physically broken and socially unacceptable by welcoming them ALL into the church family in the name of Jesus!

One word of warning- radical hospitality and devotion to Christ will offend friends, family and especially church folk who will think you now play for the dark side. I’m coming out of the closet... the Pharisaical closet- and it feels great! What about you?

What Makes A Great Church?

"We think the Mac will sell zillions, but we didn't build the Mac for anybody else. We built it for ourselves. We were the group of people who were going to judge whether it was great or not. We weren't going to go out and do market research. We just wanted to build the best thing we could build." -Steve Jobs

What makes a church great? Is it the style of worship it offers on Sunday mornings or the number of outreach events scheduled in a year? Is it the well-manicured landscape of the grounds or the artistic flow of the sanctuary?  Perhaps it's the leadership- a dynamic preacher or pastoral counselor- that makes a great church. Maybe it's all of the above... or, *cringe* none of it.

The answer will vary by the person you ask. If you asked the recipients of the church's food pantry right after receiving groceries, they'd probably say, "Oh yeah, they're great church!" Or maybe if you asked the parents of the little girl who was just asked to sing a solo for the church's new-all-star-spangled-contemporary-modern-worship service, they would tell you, "We have a great church!" Catch my drift?

Everyone has an opinion of what they believe makes a great church and that's cool as long as folks understand that the vision God gives to a church and it's faithfulness in carrying out that vision is what makes a church great- not how well we are at pleasing people. Moses couldn't do it and neither can you.

At Fellowship, God has given a clear picture of what he wants us to look like: think "Island of Misfit Toys" and you're almost there. When a leader gets God's vision seared into her conscience- anything short of being faithful to that vision is less than great. Don't be the church across the street or down the road- be the church that God is calling you to be.

When you are faithful to God's vision sometimes you will meet others expectations and sometimes you don't even come close. When this happens you don't change your vision you simply let people change their church.

Remember, Jesus said that HE would build His church (think people- not steeple) and that not even the forces of evil would overcome it. Be faithful to God's dream of what your church should look like and you'll find greatness in making disciples of Jesus Christ. After all, what makes a great church is great people and I am blessed to lead a whole flock of 'em....

Following Jesus,

Charles

The Back Nine

Nine years ago this week, Denise and I began a dangerous journey- ok, so it wasn't really dangerous- but it was radical. We moved our family out of the comfort and security of small town life into the unknown of a new city to start Fellowship Church. Start a Church? Yeah, that's what I said when my District Superintendent approached me with the idea. I had no idea how to start a church- or even where to begin. I was actually quite comfortable leading a traditional church to growth- building trust, loving the people, being a friend, working in the community- all the stuff that comes naturally to me and stuff that I had enjoyed doing for the first nine years of ministry. I mean, I cut my teeth on small-town church life… but how in the world do you start a church with seven people meeting in a bank?

The answer is with prayer- and lots of it… and reading a ton of whatever I could get my hands on about starting a new faith community. Over the last nine years God has taught me lots about people, faith, and ministry... and I've learned something about me. So I thought I would share some of the things I've learned- in no specific order...

• Be careful what you start because it will become a tradition… and soon.
  
• Change is necessary and inevitable.
  
• Broken people do broken things.
  
• All people are broken.
  
• Never run in dress shoes.
  
• You will have a different group of people with you at 350 than you did at 50.
  
• Sometimes you will make decisions that no one will "get."
  
• Never take it personal when people leave your church or organization even if they say it's because of you; just thank God for the season you had together and move on.
  
• You will not please all people- so don't try.
  
• Continually cast the vision God has given you.
  
• Get used to saying, "I'm sorry" and "Will you forgive me?"
  
• Invest your time and energy with the people who have bought into your vision not the ones who are test driving it.
  
• Laugh at yourself often.
  
• You don't have to have people around you at all times.
  
• Take risks to move the organization forward- but don't be stupid- I have done both.
  
• Failure should occur frequently. It builds character, experience and wisdom.
  
• Feed yourself spiritually. You can't feed others what you don't have.
  
• Make sure to wear the spouse's hat and parent's hat before any other hats.
  
• Set boundaries that benefit your health and stick to them.
  
• Your best days are always ahead of you.
  
• Forgive yourself.
  
• Always be grateful for soldiers and their families.
  
• Smile.
  
• The grass is always greener over a septic tank. (Ok, I didn't learn this- but it's true!)
  
• It's ok to read stuff other than the bible.
  
• You don't have to apologize for being yourself.
  
• As much as it depends on you- have fun.
  
• Ministry is hard work.
  
• Ministry in a transient community is harder work.
  
• Nothing is more exhilarating than leading someone to Jesus.
  

The coolest thing I have learned is… I love what I do!

Happy Nine years and counting, Fellowship!

Anyone Following You?

I love Twitter. I love to scan down the list of tweets from folks that I follow and see what's going on in their world or getting the latest scoop on the news. Its fun, fast and an easy method of communication. I also like adding my own bit of "what's happening?" to the twitter world for my followers. I don't have many followers but I do get a charge from connecting with the ones I have in 140 characters or less.

In the leadership world communication to your followers is a must and vital to leadership development. And what you communicate is just as important as how. Look at how Jesus led his disciples. His leadership involved more than sermons or lectures- he invested in each disciple as an individual. He connected with each one- knowing their strengths and weaknesses- and led accordingly. How do you invest in your followers? I use the following:

(I) Inspire- Taking time to share a personal victory or defeat makes a leader both aunthentic and transparent. It also connects the follower to the leader on a deeper level which builds the trust needed to sustain loyalty to the vision.

(N) Nurture- Showing genuine care and compassion to the folks you lead is not an option. Taking the time to ask, "How are things with ya?" and then actually listening goes a long way in leadership development.

(V) Value- As you invest in your leaders you'll want to tell them over and over how important they are to the mission, vision and goals that you are trying to accomplish together. When your followers feel valued they are more open to honest feedback and constructive criticism which is often necessary in leadership development. Also taking the time to get to know your followers- their family, hobbies, likes and dislikes, passions and so on- will increase you effectiveness in leading them.

(E) Engage- Don't be afraid to stretch your followers as you dream together. Many people are motivated when challenged by their leader. If the challenge results in failure take time to learn from the failure- if there is a victory, take the time to celebrate together.

(S) Smile- Or in my case, grin really big! You have to have fun. Working with people is often exhausting- leading people can literally suck the life right out of you! Take time to have some fun and laugh together.

(T) Thank You- There are no substitutes to saying, "Thank you!" and the more creative you are in saying it the louder it will be heard by your followers.

The number of people following you may not be important but the way you communicate and invest in those that do is crucial to your leadership and your organizations success.

Run To The Battle

Everyone knows that one of the most important tasks of every leader is to move people out of their comfort zones. I absolutely agree. Nine years ago when Denise and I first moved to Clarksville to start Fellowship Church we were certainly leaving the realms of the comfortable and the convenient. I still remember facing the temptations of taking the easy road- defining "Church" by what came natural to me, using previous successful models of church growth, doing church traditionally as others expected- hymns and three point sermons, putting the care of "members" wants and needs first and everybody feels good and we all go home. Yeah- no. Couldn't do it.

This church had to be different- something in my heart, burning, piercing- would not let me do church as usual. I felt a sense of desperation- a deep need- on the part of the people. The people here in North Clarksville were lonely, even in a crowd- even amongst family and friends. They were lonely, broken, and beaten down and I could see it. No doing church as usual- not here- not on the battlefield. God was calling us to reach the least, the last and the lost- and it would not be easy... or pretty- but following Jesus rarely is.

Nine years later and I still battle the temptation to take the easy approach to ministry- to do church as "everybody else does it." The enemy whispers, "Just give in and pamper the good church folks, don't challenge them to grow in their faith. Cater to their whims and stop worrying about the poor and homeless. Quit being so concerned for people struggling with alcohol and drugs and eating disorders. Stop trying to reach the soldiers- they don't need or want Jesus. You need to focus more on the children of the members of this church and less on the children and teens that don't go to church. And would you lay off trying to reach out to the people who are gay or lesbian? You are only upsetting and ticking off the good church folk."

Yes, I hear the enemy's whispers- and sometimes the enemy shouts at me through good church folk. But I am keenly aware of what it is that my savior calls me to do. So, I keep singing-

"Some people want to live
Within the sound of chapel bells
But I want to run a mission
A yard from the gates of Hell
And with everyone you meet
I'll take them the gospel and share it well
And look around you as you hesitate
For another soul just fell
Let's run to the battle
Run to the battle" - Steve Camp

Joyfully running-

Chaz

My Intro

Kinda new to the blogging world....at least writing one... and coming up with a name- wow- I haven't put that much effort into a title since being graded for a homiletics class at Emory. Lol... The name, oh yes, the Polyester Pulpit. I wanted something that reflected my past- my heritage as a follower of Christ, growing up in the bible belt in the 70's & 80's where being creative meant using velvet stickers in Sunday school and precooked macaroni glued to tin can was art and, of course, polyester was king.

I use the imagery of a huge, hard-wood pulpit to convey my passion in communicating the Gospel of Christ- something with a flare of the ancient- yet fresh, modern, burning, vibrant- alive... something futuristic. A message that is both ancient and future. Bill Easum puts it best when he refers to the current trend of missiology as Ancient-Future, yeah, I like that...so there you have it: the Polyester Pulpit.

What will I say? I want to talk about servant leadership and communication, the gospel and radical life transformation- as well as movies, graphic novels and comics and how everything intersects with the spiritual. I want to share from my twenty one years experience serving the local church as pastor, teacher, team builder, church-planter, communicator and on special occasions, referee.

My nature is to be an encourager-a cheer leader- an on-the-field-screaming-you-can-do-it! kind of guy. And if sharing from both my hurts and hang-ups as well as my wins in life will help someone else become a better leader- then awesome. If not, I still get to enjoy communicating- and thinking about the Polyester Pulpit...

Having fun,

Chaz