The Experience

I grew up with rules. Lots of rules. Don’t eat this. Don’t say those words. Don’t think this. And on and on. A good Christian family. And I’m not sure the rules growing up were all bad- I’m not sure how to teach heart to my own kids!

The Bible says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV)

I wonder if sometimes my spiritual experience was similar to this… A form of spirituality, but denying the power that God could actually do anything in my life to change it - so we talked more and more about what we were supposed to do and not do and hoped that we could change.

However, the power of change is not within US! The power of change is - according to Jesus - is in Him! Could it be that we are simply missing it all when we focus on the guilt and trying to convince ourselves that we are supposed to do something else to “be good enough!”

In the book Irresistable Revolution, pg 269 it says, ”

Growing up, I was told that good people go to church. And then I looked around and watched the news and found a church full of sick people and a world that had some decent pagans. And I studied sociology. My studies taught me that the higher a person’s frequency of church attendance, the more likely they are to be sexist, racist, anti-gay, pro-military, and committed to their local church. And I figured if that’s what it  means to be a Christian, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be one, or whether even Jesus would want to be one, for that matter. I wondered why Jesus didn’t take back his religion. As I’ve heard my old mentor Tony Campolo say, “If we were to set out to establish a religion in polar opposition to the Beatitudes Jesus taught, it would look strikingly similar to the pop Christianity that has taken over the airwaves of North America.”

The only solution I can see is if we finally grab a hold of two foundational doctrines of  Jesus - confession and repentance.

To confess our problem - I have a problem, I can’t do it, I can’t fix this stuff. I put on religion like a jacket, but in the end I’m just as messed up as my neighbors; I’m just as selfish as the people I’ve looked down on - and I can’t deal with it any longer! I choose authenticity - admitting my problems!

To repent - to turn away - to turn to the only One who can do a stinking thing to help us - the Almighty God - Lover of the Universe, and Champion of Lost Causes.

Oh, Mighty Jesus, change us… Make us a trophy to the universe that You can change lives.

It’s 11:47 pm, and I just got home a little while ago. I just got back from about 12 hours in my Envoy with Jerry Woods. We just drove our route we are going to take on October 15 - as we ride bikes 300+ miles for Project Patch. (For more information on our ride, click on KTSY’s website )

I’m looking forward to our trip even more now. We traveled some great roads -and saw some great countryside! It was beautiful! Waterfalls coming out of the side of a mountain (a lot of mountains!), a lot of cows, a nice older man with a great beard who gave us directions back to Old 30… It was wonderful.

And what was crazy is that some of the place we went were so close to the Interstate. Now, I love the Interstate - it’s such a quick way to get from point A to point B. But, there is something magical about getting onto slower roads and seeing some amazing land.

The difference, really, is just getting off the rat race and slowing down a little.

Reminds me of a spiritual journey. Sometimes life may look pretty dull - but simply slowing down, and getting away from the rat race is often a simple way to experience the beauty of a spiritual journey.

So - slow down a little; take some time to see God’s wonder….

My wife has returned home! I’m so happy!

I have a lot of respect again for single parents. And mine single parenthood was only for a few days. The fun thing was it gave me some great time to bond with my kids.

Balancing schedule, things to do, job, and making time for kids is really hard! I’m excited though that I took some time to just be with the kids. Work on building a fort; get ice cream cones, etc.

As we are on the 40 Days of Purpose together, take a little time to just be with God - relax, listen, read, and renew your purpose!

The Experience is strange. Ok, maybe unique is a better word. But, it’s definitely different from many churches. In this series - Why Do We Do What We Do? I’d like to look at some of the exterior things we do and examine why do them - based on deeper things that are unique about The Experience.

Walking in The Experience can be intimidating. There, in this room that looks like a gym, an auditorium, and who a little bit like a concert venue, is a bunch of round tables and chairs. Nope, no pews, rows of chairs, or anything like it.

I still remember when this idea first came into existence. There was a group of people at our old house on Montana in Caldwell, ID. It was summer and quite hot with no air conditioning - just a bunch of fans. And someone said they’d always thought that a church should just be made up of tables and chairs. And suddenly, it was just one of those things that I knew was right - right then, right there.

The Experience is a spiritual family. It’s a spiritual family for people who aren’t sure about traditional church. Families are all about connection, connectivity, and conversation. People get together for family reunions and… talk. I met someone the other day who was talking about her cousin and how they rarely saw each other, but their love was strong anyway. And, family reunions were for connection.

The tables are because we believe strongly that community is one of the cornerstones of a spiritual walk with God. And there’s nothing like sitting down, around a table, enjoying conversation, discussing life to bring people together.

The tables are a very significant statement that things are different here. But they are different because we value honesty, transparency, authenticity, and realness. And that’s why we sit around tables - it helps us engage in community.

Join us for community!

When I was in college, I worked one year in the campus chaplain’s office. I noticed that most of the time, it seemed, by boss - the chaplain - was attending meetings. I commented that it must be nice to be paid to go to meetings. Meetings that plan other meetings. A world of meetings.

I’m in a world of meetings. Last week I went to the Summit Leadership Conference at Willow Creek Community Church outside of Chicago. Thursday through Saturday noon of meetings.

I’m now at Pastors meetings in McCall, ID. I missed last night because I was on the way back from Chicago - and got to the camp at 2:00 am this morning, and now I’m in another meeting.

Meetings may not always be as fun as I originally thought. Numb butt can set in. Brain fatigue. An ADD mind can go crazy.

But, I’m not as bitter as I might be. Last week was inspiring, empowering, and encouraging.
I have a new vision for meetings. A united community searching for the answers of God. If we are the body of Christ, then us coming together should be the body of Christ uniting to work together.

At The Experience, I’m looking forward to a new set of meetings. Meetings that will happen at all levels of The Experience - Leadership Team; Ministry Leaders; Volunteers; and all of the family.

No! Not more meetings! No, maybe not meetings for the sake of meetings, meetings that are people talking and never resulting in change or life transformation. Instead - meetings focused on prayer, fasting even maybe, repentance, and seeking the will of God for a vision for The Experience.

And not just a vision! We’ve talked vision since we began. I believe in a strong vision. I believe that without vision, people perish. But, at The Experience I’m not sure we can succinctly state our vision in a clear, simple, powerful way. And, more than that, that vision then translated into specific, measurable goals. And those goals translated into a strategy that moves us forward and gives us a way to achieve our goals - which fulfills our vision.

Incredibly importantly is that we journey through this - and this is not going to be a quick process. It’ll be a long journey that will take months. Because, most importantly, it must be vision, goals, and strategy that the whole Experience family is passionate about. That we own together.

Why is this important? Because we must make disciples for Jesus Christ. Why?

1. Because God told us to. Matthew 28 - the great commission - go and make disciples.

2. Because it’s the only thing that lasts beyond our life.

3. Because it’s why The Experience is here. We are not here for ourselves. We are not about ourself. We are about Him.

4. We must do this together. The Experience is not me; the building we rent; the leadership. The Experience is the family members in The Experience.

So, I’m excited about a world of not meetings, but a searching together to hear the voice of God in the community. We’ll be talking more about this in the future - of course.

So, back to meetings for me…. I’m feeling ADD….

Brian