This past Sunday at Storyline’s worship gathering I shared probably my favorite conversation (=sermon) in a year. (Granted, I only preach about 12 times per year.)
It’s about changing the world.
Give it a listen if you have time and let me know what you think.
You can find it here. The title is “The Power of One.”
(By the way: you can find the video reference from the first part of the conversation here.)
Posted in Conversation | 2 Comments »
One thing I love about church planting is the immediate solidarity and partnership I sense with other church planters in the area.
Many of us are younger and are much more ecumenically wired. We’re not threatened by each other. We don’t have kingdoms to lose. We’re a part of the same kingdom. We’re on the same team. We need each other to reach and bless the whole city. We’re sickened by turf wars and competition. We want to work together.
This week we’ve been grieving with one of our friends on mission, Kevin McGill. Kevin started Koine Church, a network of house churches in downtown/old east Dallas.
On Monday, Kevin and Koine closed their doors because of a lack of funding.
We rejoice for their ministry. It wasn’t for naught. It goes to show the great challenges of starting churches in the city…or anywhere for that matter.
Today we’ve also been rejoicing with a new friend on Mission, Matt Cote. Matt is the lead pastor of Concept Church, a new church that meets in the Magnolia theater in West Village.
It’s affirmation that we’re in the right place that others would move to join us in the work of church planting in the city center of Dallas.
I’m looking forward to ways we might partner together in mission in the future.
Please pray for the McGills and Koine as they transition to the next step. Pray for Matt Cote and he gains his bearings in a new context. Pray for us as we continue to live on mission as a community.
Posted in Church Planting, Mission | 2 Comments »
In 2008, we started a Storyline Christmas tradition as part of the Advent Conspiracy: taking up an offering for a global service organization that serves the cause of justice. In 2008 we gave to Touch A Life, an organization that helps liberate children from slavery in Ghana, West Africa.
This Christmas we decided to continue the Advent Conspiracy tradition by making a donation to Made in the Streets. Made in the Streets serves streets kids in Nairobi, Kenya. They provide shelter, food and education to kids who would otherwise be left to roam the streets.
Watch this video to hear a story about Laurent, a young teenager whose life was changed by the ministry of Made in the Streets. Charles and Darlene Coulston, founders of the organization, tell the story.
A special connection is that South MacArthur Church of Christ, one of our partnering churches, is heavily involved in supporting Made in the Streets. It’s exciting to me the way Storyline is now able to come alongside South Mac in mission in this small way.
All are welcome to make a donation to help God’s work through Made in the Streets.
Storyline is accepting tax-deductible donations until Friday, January 8, here. If you’d like to make a donation directly to Made in the Streets after January 8, you can do so here.
We have the special opportunity to present Storyline’s gift to Charles and Darlene Coulton this weekend at our January worship gathering.
Posted in Justice, Mission, South Mac, Videos, Worship Gathering | 1 Comment »
I want to extend an invitation to all you readers out there in the blogosphere to participate in a conference hosted by Mission Alive, our church planting resource organization.
The conference is called Genesis: Recreating Missional Life. It takes place March 18-20 at the Richland Hills Church campus (one of our partnering churches).
The basic question of the conference is, “What does it look like to participate in God’s mission in our own contexts?”
This conference is for followers of Jesus who want to dive deeper into missional rhythms for life. It’s for church planters who want to embed such rhythms in their new churches. And it’s for established churches who want to revitalize their missional lives.
I’m excited about this conference for two reasons.
One – I’m not sure I’ve seen so many ministry resource people of such caliber together at any conference experience hosted within the Churches of Christ.
Here’s the keynote list: Hugh Halter (author of The Tangible Kingdom), Randy Harris (enough said), Alan Hirch (co-author of The Shaping of Things to Come), and George Hunsberger (co-author of Missional Church). You can see more about the presenters here.
The presenters are individuals who aren’t just talking about living on mission; they are themselves living on mission and helping to pave the way forward for the rest of us.
Two – The structure of this conference is unlike any other I’ve ever participated in.
Most conferences have large venue keynotes for the high caliber, internationally-known presenters (e.g., the Hirch’s of the world), then mid-sized venues (50-100) for presenters with local or regional influence.
One’s interaction with the Hirsch’s of the world at such conferences is usually limited to a big screen, bright lights and a seat about 100 rows away from the stage.
The Genesis Conference, on the other hand, is designed for deeper dialogue and personal interaction.
From the event brochure: “Genesis is a new kind of conference. It models learning in community….Participants develop practical paradigms for recreating missional life. It cannot be done by more listening, more speeches, more thinking! It can only be done in dialog.”
The conference models such community learning through conference, cluster and cohort groups. Keynote presenters make presentations to the whole conference (limited to 400 people). Keynoters and other speakers then cycle through clusters (35-45 participants or 4 cohorts) to have deeper conversation about their material. Participants in cohorts (8-12 people, usually from the same church or with similar ministry roles) then gather together to talk about implementing what they’re learning in their own lives and ministries.
Can you imagine the benefit of sitting down with someone like Alan Hirsch and 30-40 other people to talk about living missionally in your own context?
I’m looking forward to journeying with a cohort and facilitating interaction for a cluster. This promises to be a powerful learning experience.
You should come! All are welcome. Spots are limited so sign up as soon as possible at TheGenesisConference.org. Early bird registration ($135) ends 12/31/09.
Posted in Church Planting, Community, Mission, Mission Alive, Richland Hills | Leave a Comment »
One component of Storyline’s structures for spiritual formation is the retreat setting. Who says youth groups are the only ones allowed to have powerful retreat experiences?
Retreats have powerful potential because they help us break away from our normal rhythms to look at our lives from the outside. They are helpful for evaluation, introspection and goal setting. We form special bonds with others as we grow together in retreat contexts.
To date, we’ve developed three retreat experiences in the Storyline Community.
The first is Marvelous Light, associated with the season of Lent (February), which seeks to facilitate spiritual cleansing, confession and the reception of grace.
The second is City on a Hill, associated with the season After Pentecost (May), which seeks to equip people to live on mission just as the church did after Pentecost.
The third, and most recently developed, is Illuminate. Illuminate is also connected to the latter part of the season After Pentecost (November – it’s a long season!).
My co-worker, Ryan Porche, spearheaded the development of Illuminate. In Ryan’s words, from the Storyline website:
Developing a personal worship life is crucial for a follower of Jesus. And yet, not everyone relates to God in the exact same way. Illuminate is designed to equip followers of Jesus with tools to grow in their personal relationship with God. The retreat introduces a number of spiritual disciplines, and also provides opportunities to experiment on your own. Illuminate is a rich time in the presence of God!
I participated in the first Illuminate retreat with about 20 other Storyliners on November 20-21. In the weeks that have followed the retreat, I’ve felt more connected to God than I have in a long time.
Here are a few personal highlights for me from the retreat experience:
Thank you, Ryan, for your hard work putting this retreat together. I can’t wait for the next one (November 5-6, 2010)!
Posted in Dependence, Life Change, Spiritual Formation | 2 Comments »
This is an awesome music video by Jairus Withrow, an intern with Storyline this past summer. Several Storyliners made cameo appearances in the video, including Mr. Ryan Porche.
From the J.Withrow website: “The ‘10,000 Words’ Music Video…[is] a modern day parable about a selfless rap artist, a confused world, and an evil liar.”
Watching the video reminded me of a metaphor Brian McLaren shares in his book More Ready than You Realize. The good news of the kingdom of God, he says, is like a good song. People hear the song – music of love, hope, peace and grace; it gets stuck in their heads; they begin to sing along with it; then they start to dance to it; before you know it, more and more people are moving in sync to the same song.
Bravo, Jairus, for singing the Song in a way that people can’t help but to listen.
I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more from Jairus in the future. In fact, he’s starting a new band called Bus Seven. If you like what you saw in the music video, stay tuned for more at his website!
Posted in Videos | 2 Comments »
We’ve begun a new series of videos we’re calling Storylines – personal stories of Storyline people who are discovering their place in God’s story.
The makings of the first Storylines video began with five people praying together about a year ago.
We – the Kisers – had just been sent out by the Riviera (now Tribeca) church with a small team to start the Trianon church.
I still remember our first gatherings with our teammates, Patrick and Lauren Cone. We concluded the end of our meetings, as we do to this day, with the “empty chair prayer” – a prayer that points to the symbolic empty chair in the room as a way of reminding us of our mission to connect with those who are disconnected from God and/or Christian community.
In those days, there were more empty chairs than filled chairs.
One night after the empty chair prayer, Patrick scanned our empty living room and said, “You know, not too long from now, this room is going to be full of people. They’ll be overflowing to the dining room table and hanging out in the kitchen. I can see it now.”
Over the course of the next several weeks we began to pray during our empty chair prayer for one of Patrick’s co-workers. Patrick mentioned having good conversations with her and that she was a bit hesitant about church.
Then he started inviting her to join us for a house church gathering. And after a while, Deborah came.
I remember having emotional conversations with Deborah when she first started participating. She was in the midst of some pretty big life transitions and was putting the pieces together again.
In the months that followed, I saw Deborah grow and blossom in ways only God was capable of facilitating.
Before we knew it she was coordinating justice initiatives for our house church. This summer she organized the Neighbors’ Cookout that Storyline hosted in partnership with SoupMobile that fed hundreds of our homeless friends.
I remember nights when Deborah came to house church gatherings tired and drained from a long work week. She would say, “I’m so tired, but I wouldn’t miss this for anything. This charges me up. This is my family.”
Last month, in a living room full of people, the Trianon Church sent Deborah with a team of people led by Patrick and Lauren Cone to start the fourth Storyline house church.
Deborah is hosting the new church’s gatherings at her huge antique house in old east Dallas.
Just a couple weeks ago, four people sat around the living room in that big house and prayed for God to fill the empty chair again with those who are disconnected from God.
This story shows Storyline’s values for dependence on God, mission, life change and genuine relationships in action.
I pray God repeats this story hundreds and thousands of times in the Storyline Community in the years to come.
Because the Storyline Community – the Church – exists for people like Deborah.
You can also view this video and others at the Storyline website.
Posted in House Churches, Prayer, Reproduction, Videos | 3 Comments »
We introduce to you Chloe Rae Kiser. Chloe – for the house church leader in the church of Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:11). Rae – for my Grandmother’s middle name – Geneva Rae Kiser – a woman of great faith and perseverance.
Chloe was born at 12:29 p.m., Friday, October 2. She weighed 8 lbs. flat and was 19.5 inches long.
I giggled and cried off and on for several hours after she was born. It was a magical thing.
What once was thin air is now flesh and bone and ligaments.
What once was nothing is now someone.
What once was a dream in the mind of God, as one of my friends would say, is now body, soul and spirit.
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth….from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise…. (Psalm 8:1-2)
Last picture as a family of three
Chloe gave Ryan a Buzz Lightyear toy for her birthday = Ryan has to like her
Big bro and little sis with mom
See her little finger? See me wrapped around it?
First picture as a family of four
Turn up the volume and watch this video to the last second…seriously:
Posted in Family | 15 Comments »
The last month has been a flurry of transition. We have many changes – good ones – sitting on the horizon of our life.
The most fun is that in the next couple days we’ll welcome little baby Chloe into the world.
We’ve painted the nursery (= a wall of the master bedroom), put up the crib and changing table, and been showered with many pink gifts.
Chloe was the name of a house church leader in Corinth, Greece back in Paul’s day (cf. 1 Cor. 1:11). She had such clout that some from her household communicated with Paul about problems in the Corinth house church network and he responded by writing what is now known as 1 Corinthians.
We hope that our Chloe will carry on the legacy of kingdom leadership embedded in her name.
I’ll blog again when I have pictures and updates. Your prayers are appreciated.
————
Our family expansion has called for us to transition to a more suitable nest – one that will have room for Chloe (other than a closet) and poise Ryan for good education.
We are, therefore, in the process of closing on a handsome little house in east Dallas/Lakewood, about 10 minutes from the city center.
We’re looking forward to the way this new location will help us to connect more with the young families in Dallas and experiment with more organic structures for children’s spiritual formation. It’s an exciting part of Storyline’s future growth and development.
My wife has endured almost eight years and eight moves chasing our dreams in the kingdom of God. God bless the woman. I know she’s looking forward to this transition into a more permanent dwelling space.
We’ll probably not move in until January after we’re able to do some minor renovations.
Please pray for us as we transition to a new place.
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As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Ryan and I decided to pursue part-time jobs to replace part of our salaries from Storyline. For two reasons: 1) it allows us to model what it looks like for ‘normal, working people’ to lead house churches and live on mission; 2) it relieves some of Storyline’s financial burden in our transition to financial sustainability.
At the end of August I took on a part-time sales job with a friend’s start-up company.
The job is very flexible. I can work my 10-15 hours/week from just about anywhere.
And, I don’t have to sell anything to my peers here in Uptown – which is the only way I could see myself doing sales. I was wary of the kind of relational dynamics it might create if I was sales rep / church planter to some of my disconnected friends.
So far, I’ve really enjoyed the challenge. I’m wired to talk to people and to persuade, so in some ways it’s a natural fit.
The job does have its share of ups and down. I’ve had to develop patience and deal with disappointment when things don’t go the way I hope they will. I’m learning to push through rejection and cranky responses. In those ways I suppose it’s similar to other work I’m currently doing.
My main concern initially was that the sales job would drain energies I would otherwise use for the work of church planting.
Not so. Turns out I am indeed extroverted. Talking to people energizes me, no matter what it’s about.
Perhaps the greatest thing about this job is that the sales cycle ends in December. If I do great, that’s great. If I’m terrible and don’t end up liking it, the sales cycle ends in December. I can move on to other things.
Please pray for my co-worker, Ryan, as he begins to look for part-time job opportunities as well.
————
I’m currently going through a coaching certification track with Mission Alive and CoachNet.
Turns out it’s perfect timing.
We’re working toward starting the fourth house church in the Storyline Community later this month. The first Storyline house church (Tribeca) has a new leadership team of which neither the Porches or the Kisers are part. Our church planter in residence, Micah Lewis, is working with us until next August. A seminary student at Dallas Theological Seminary is joining us as an intern over the next several months. We hope to start a couple more house churches beyond the fourth by February 2009.
In the midst of all this development in the community, I’ve sensed God calling me into more of a coaching role. Rather than spend a lot of my time as an on-the-ground house church leader, I’ll come alongside and support other on-the-ground house church leaders.
I’m thrilled about it.
I just finished reading a fantastic book, Coaching 101, by Bob Logan and Sherilyn Carlton.
I’ll post a review of the book soon, as well as what I learn in my Coaching Lab on October 9-10.
Pray for me as I develop as a coach – that God will have mercy on the poor souls that I coach, and that I’ll grow as a listener and encourager.
Finally, praise God this long post made it to the blog! I wrote this exact post a week ago and it was deleted somehow as I posted it. I hadn’t saved it. It took me a week to work up the resolve to write it again.
Posted in Family, House Churches, Leadership, Mentoring, Sustainability | 4 Comments »
This Thursday we’re hosting the Best Practice Luncheon in partnership with the Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce.
“Best practices” is a familiar term in the professional world. The phrase refers to those methods that produce the best results in any given industry by the most effective means.
The idea behind the event is that our best practice as professionals is our own personal development – inspired by Earl Creps’s thought: “My best practice must be me.”
My best practice is me.
Your best practice is you.
We’re pleased that Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins has accepted our invitation to come speak on this topic. Watkins is the first African American D.A. in the state of Texas. He was recently featured on 60 Minutes and in D Magazine (see the provocative article here) for his work to free men who had been wrongly imprisoned. He is turning the justice system upside down with his approach and is turning heads nationwide.
Watkins will share about his own personal development after coming into a position of great power and being the object of intense criticism.
I heard him speak at a Central Dallas Ministries prayer breakfast in April and he was fantastic.
If you’d like more information you can visit www.storylinecommunity.com/luncheon.
Registration ends today so hurry and register if you’d like to attend. Lunch is provided but seats are limited. It’s open to all. Register by sending an email to info@storylinecommunity.com or RSVP to the Facebook Event.
Please pray for the success of this event and that it will open doors for deeper conversation about personal development and spiritual formation among our young professional peers here in the Uptown area.
Posted in Justice, Spiritual Formation | 2 Comments »
