What is This Thing All About?

This morning I shared the following with our community. It was an attempt to draw attention to things that have been happening the last few months and flesh out what I think God is doing. I hope it made sense to everyone. There were some way-cool stories preceding this that confirmed (at least to me) again how God's kingdom is indeed among us.

The Vineyard – What Is This All About?

My observations…

Simply Put: A network of people who follow Jesus and seek his Kingdom

· Why network? Because network implies relationship, and relationship is key. The language of “church” can be confusing.

· This “network” is bigger than the people who show up to worship together on Sunday mornings. It includes anyone who we are in contact with that is a kingdom-seeker. Since “We don’t just go to church, we are the Church,” we can and should think a lot bigger than the people with whom we worship.

· A network can be centralized or decentralized, closed or open. Ours is certainly open and decentralized. No one is telling you who to hang out with or be friends with or even that these people are to be your primary group of friends. Go develop community and influence people for the kingdom of God wherever you want. However, remember that authentic Christian community comes about when we look at each other in light of what Jesus has done for each of us. And when that happens, it’s special and should be cherished.

· This network should be as unorganized and as unstructured as possible. Before all the organized and structured people go berserk, let me explain. Relationships must be allowed to freely form in order for the Good News of God’s kingdom to infiltrate our neighborhoods, work-places, schools, and families. Structures are to serve us, not us serve them. Here’s a helpful way to think about this. Most churches or Christian organizations operate as umbrella organizations. Everything is fine and dandy as long as what you are doing fits under the umbrella. Imagine our network as an upside-down umbrella. The network exists to support from underneath and therefore can bless a wide-range of people and kingdom activities.

· The closest-knit elements of the network will be little groups like ours who remain interconnected and interdependent. Soon we will naturally have to spawn another group because of size concerns. But don’t think in terms of the group splitting or replicating – think budding. Imagine a rose bush and how it launches out another branch that will eventually form leaves, buds, and flowers. People will emerge to start a new group and the process of budding will begin. As the group goes out and begins its own journey together, each group will continue to nourish the other through common relationships, resources, and shared experience.

· Beyond faith communities who worship together, the network will support a few other structures to serve people who are following Jesus and pursuing the kingdom:

1. Missional Structures – Can be big or small, organized or unorganized, local or international. The primary missionary activity for most of us occurs within our families and through the course of our natural, daily lives. However, often God calls us into more specific (and often risky) ventures aimed at subverting the status quo and demonstrating the reality of God’s reign on earth. It’s important to remember – it’s his mission, not ours. We discover it and join in where he leads. We must be intent on becoming the kind of people who are free enough to hear and follow God into mission when he calls. One more thing: Mission always happens in the context of community.

2. Learning Structures – As followers of Jesus, we must choose to become his apprentices and learn from him. This does not happen simply by sitting and listening to someone teach once a week. Teaching happens, but learning is the goal...and learning is a collective effort. For example, if there is something you want to learn about the Bible, find a few other people and learn together. If you get stuck, ask others for help to point you to the right resources. Find people who just naturally teach – T and I call them “sofa preachers” – and hang out with them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. “We grow by asking the right questions, not by getting answers.” – Gordon Cosby. There are countless ways to learn in order to grow as disciples of Jesus, we just need each others help to figure it all out.

3. Support Structures – People’s lives all around us are in a constant state of disaster. There is no shortage of people who just need a safe place to deal with themselves and God. Many Christians are just as bad off as non-Christians when it comes to things like depression, anger, guilt, broken relationships, and lack of authentic community. The kingdom of God presents an unparalleled opportunity to invite any and all broken people into a setting where God’s grace, love, mercy, and provision reign supreme.

· Obviously, all of these structures interrelate and overlap. We are supported in our life as disciples of Jesus at many points. No one point is more important than another and we can all equally participate.

· The Vineyard as a network of people is primarily about love, service, and becoming a blessing to the whole Church. But don’t think for a second that we are just a benign little group of people with a “spiritual hobby”. It is the witness of the Old and New Testaments, culminating in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the formation of God’s people, the Church – that the world is being turned upside down. We carry a deeply subversive message. There is nothing in the world more revolutionary and life-altering than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.