Archive for the ‘Upstream’ Category

Posted on February 19, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments

7 reasons why I like working with young churches

I am headed to Atlanta to be with my good friend David Putman at ChurchPlanters.com Velocity conference. So I am on the road again.

I always love going to MountainLake church near Atlanta. If you are attending this conference be sure to look me up. I would love to see you.

This past week while leading our Upstream Jet Set tour across Europe I was able to think about some of the reasons why I like to work with young churches or church plants on the field. This does not mean I do not like working with other churches. I am just making some observations about why new churches can be great in missions. I think they make great partnerships for cross cultural church planting teams, working along side a national churches, or a church plant on the field.

So here is my list.

1. They are self starters. Since they are church plants they usually know how to get things started. They live in a constant state of start up mode. They know how to start something out of nothing.

2. They can live with ambiguity. This is life on the mission field. We rarely know what lies ahead on the field. This is how church planters roll. They are fluid.

3. They are explorers. They love to take a look into the unknown. Their exploring often leads to creative ideas for missional living.

4. They have lots of energy. They work very hard. They do whatever it takes to get the job done.

5. They are bold in their witness. I have noticed that most of these planters and young churches actively find ways to share their faith in natural ways.

6. They are practical. They have a keen sense of what works and they move towards that end.

7. They are risk takers. They do not like to fail but they are not afraid of failing or taking a chance.

Posted on February 12, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments

Our excursion into Montpellier

On Thursday we  traveled from Montpellier to Paris. We had an awesome day in Montpellier. We split up into two’s and explored the city yesterday afternoon.

Here are some quick take aways about our time there.
We definitely just began to scratch the surface but I think we did well considering the amount of time we were in the city. When you split into twos then you can accomplish more for sure.

We prayed as we went about the city.

We all found good cafes to do some observing. As usual that is important to me.

Several in  the group had great conversations with people in the city to learn about the people and the city. Trying to strike up conversations is a must. There are usually one or two in a group that seem to do very well at this type of information gathering.

We found good maps at the train station. These were helpful to get us to the hotel on foot. We were lucky this time and stayed a hotel within 1 kilometer.

We talked to the hotel clerk to find out some things about the city and where to start looking at certain sections of the city. In a large city it is hard to see it all so we asked about the university that was there and decided to look and be around that section. We have noticed on this trip from ministries such as The Hamburg Project and The Berlin Project that they do well focusing on a part of the city and then developing their ministries and  church plants from there.

We also observed several “nodes” or gathering points for people and traffic. This city was unique that in the center there is no car traffic only foot traffic, bikes and trams. So you have this entire city center that is full of life. Large open areas for people to gather.

Several in the group did some quick Internet research on the city. They found out that nearly a third of the people were 25 and younger. The city has that kind of energy and feel to it.

We went into shops. Strategic consumerism is another place to gain information. Local shop owners can tell you a lot about their city.

We explored the boundaries of the city center and looked for major landmarks. We did not notice any evangelical churches and a fewer amount of Catholic churches compared to other cities. Granted we did not see it all but explored only in the city center. I would want to do more research in this area for sure. What is the current status of the gospel there?

The next  morning we went out again. We sipped on coffee and talked about the things that we learned together. Debriefing our time together and taking some notes about what we learned is helpful for the future.

I must say this type of activity is one of my favorite parts of these trips. I love going into a place and start trying to figure out the language, culture, people. I love dreaming with others about what work could look like here and how to engage the people with the Gospel. I am enjoying my time with this team from the Village Church. All of this  team  have traveled abroad. Several have lived abroad. You will see a video soon on www.theupstreamcollective.org from a guy by the name of Jason who lives out his life in an area of Dallas that is quite impressive.

I have been thinking some about why I think younger churches should be involved globally. These churches have lots to offer. I will write a post on that soon. I know they are teaching me a lot.

Posted on February 10, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments

Italy

This was the first time that I have visited Milan and Turino. One thing that we have been talking about as we have traveled south  are the similarities and differences of the different cities.

We started our journey in Denmark and now we are in France after visits in Germany and Italy.

We have noticed several things. One particularly obvious thing for me is the language. It was quite amazing in Denmark at the level of English the Danes could speak. As we went to some more diverse areas of the city where immigrants lived we would find some language challenges but when we approached Danish people they usually did very well in English. I still believe long term workers there would need to learn the language to get into the heart language of the people but for a strategic short term teams then the language issues there could be less of a barrier.

As we moved into Hamburg and Berlin we noticed a more diverse culture and less people who could speak English but usually you could get around and talk to people at some level.

When we moved into Italy and France much of this seemed to change for us. I have countless times tried talking to the people in Italy and France in Spanish when they could not understand English.  I usually do well at making mistakes in language situations. Some say it is a gift, or a curse. grin.

Two things that stick out to me apart  from language issues.

No matter where we have gone as we have talked with nationals and people ministering cross culturally in these areas the consensus is that less than 2 percent of the people are evangelical.

The second part is no matter how hard we try we cannot be cool enough to make it work here. It is a God thing! Only the Lord can open up the hearts of the people here. I pray He will use us on this trip. I pray the Lord will use churches like The Village to engage Europe. I pray for all of my fellow workers in Europe who are day in and day out living out there lives here and dying to self. I know the Lord is faithful and He alone will sustain you and give you opportunities.

Posted on February 7, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments

Jet Set Trip Weekend

Our jet set trip really should be a planes, trains and automobiles trip. We have used all three today to get from Germany to Italy.

Really impressed with the team from The Berlin Project. This is an initiative of Redeemer in NYC. As we talked with their pastor and listened to his story he has such a heart for that city and is working hard at planting other churches in Berlin. I like church planters that want to plant churches that plant churches.  Here is there site but it is in German.

We stopped by Milan this morning on our way to Turino and was able to visit Jason who is a friend of mine who lives there. We should have his video up in the next day or so on our Upstream Blog. He has a great ministry with atheletes in Milan. You will want to check out his video.

Tomorrow we are going to meet with some new contacts here in Turino for us. We will let you know how that goes.

Meanwhile we are going to enjoy at least three great things about Italy:

Espresso

Ice Cream

Food

Posted on February 4, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments

Copenhagen Day Three

I am on the train from Copenhagen to Hamburg, Germany. I am reflecting a bit on some conversations that we have had over the last few days. I feel it is quite important as we go into a city to find locals who can inform us about the city and the people who live there. One conversation took place at Cafe Retro in the central part of the city. In this case we were talking with two local believers. One of them told us about the Jante Law.
The Jante Law was an observed form of behavior but put into a set of rules by Danish author Aksel Sandemose in his novel A Fugitive Crosses his tracks.”  Wikipedia says that the Jante Law “refers to a pattern of group behavior towards individuals within Scandinavian communities, which negatively portrays and criticizes success and achievement as unworthy and inappropriate”.
Here are the 10 Jante Laws our cultural guides spoke of earlier…

Don’t think that you are special.
Don’t think that you are of the same standing as us.
Don’t think that you are smarter than us.
Don’t fancy yourself as being better than us.
Don’t think that you know more than us.
Don’t think that you are more important than us.
Don’t think that you are good at anything.
Don’t laugh at us.
Don’t think that anyone of us cares about you.
Don’t think that you can teach us anything.

If you were living in Denmark how would the Jante law affect the way you live and interact as a new person in the community?

Posted on February 3, 2010 - by Larry - 1 Comment

Copenhagen – Day Two

This week I have been able to spend some time with Grady  here in Copenhagen.

Grady is a photographer and his wife is an artist and writer. They both are incredible examples of artists who are  living out their lives as salt and light in any community in which they live.

We have had several cups of coffee this week in Copenhagen. You will find a great post that he wrote while here this week here.

I asked him “Why Copenhagen? As I have been here over the last few days his answer makes total sense.

Copenhagen is a city full of artists. They feel a kinship to the arts. They believe that this is a part of the world that as a family they could live long term and really connect with people and have a ministry through a relational context.

I also asked him about where do they desire to live in Copenhagen? He says they are looking for a place that strikes  a balance between being close to where artists spend a lot of time such as galleries or cafes and to where as a young family they can develop relationships.  Intentionality is important in missional living.

If you are interested in learning more about their ministry you can send an email to info@theupstreamcollective.org

For a look at some of his work please visit my gallery page.

Posted on February 2, 2010 - by Larry - 2 Comments

Copenhagen – Day one

Observing a couple of things about the culture.

First, it is really a bike culture. It seems that there are more bikes than cars and on top of that  it is snowing. While many of us would stay inside by the fire on days like this many people in Copenhagen are riding their bikes everywhere. I could not imagine how many bikes would be on the street if the sun was shining and it was warm.

It is also a Cafe culture. You know this pleases me. There are cafes everywhere. I am trying out most of them. Mostly with large windows and many candles to give it a warm feeling.

Our group from The Village made it in this afternoon from the states. We have our first meeting this afternoon at a coffee shop this is also a cultural center.

As we begin our time this afternoon with the group one thing that we will talk about are the three streams of culture that I see in Europe.

• A decline in Institutional Christianity
• An increase in the influence of Islam
• An increase of a post Christian worldview

We see these in most European cities. This afternoon we will begin to talk to some people in Copenhagen about these three streams.

More soon.

Posted on January 30, 2010 - by Larry - 2 Comments

New Skybridge Site

We have just completed a re-launch of our site.

I hope you will check it out and join this community.

Normally we have four categories of members

1. Those thinking about working in Europe and looking for ways to do that and prepare for being salt and light here.

2. People who are already working in Europe and looking for ways to connect with ministries and obtain training for living out their lives incarnationally here.

3. We have some US churches who want to partner with people who are working over here in the marketplace. We believe it is extremely important for the marketplace worker to have a supporting church for prayer, accountability and potentially projects that will enable them to minister here. If your church is interested in this please let me know.

4. We also have church planters, church planting teams and people in existing mission networks here in Europe as  a part of our community.  Our Skybridge members want to connect with meaningful local ministry and this is where much of their community is found. We have Skybridge members in quite a few European cities and they are often looking for ways to connect.

If this interests you then I hope you will join Skybridge.   Check it out at www.skybridgecommunity.net

Next Week I am leading a Jet Set Vision Trip with the Village Church in Dallas. I hope you will follow along on this blog, twitter and our Upstream Site. as we travel to four different countries and look at ministry opportunities, learn about local cultures and have various missional conversations.

Posted on January 18, 2010 - by Larry - 2 Comments

Cross Cultural Church Planting Assessment, Part Three

Last week we took a look at some of the competencies that are important for church planters in North America. Today I want to discuss briefly the idea behind behavioral assessments.
In behavioral assessments a person’s past behavior is a good predictor of their future performance. For example one can make a prediction on a person’s “initiating” ability if you can look at their past performances regarding the ability to create some thing from nothing. If I were to ask you “tell me about a time where you started something from nothing” how would you respond?
If you were to say for example that “when I was a teenager I needed some extra money. I decided to start mowing yards to have more money.  I designed and printed  publicity brochures and handed them out to my neighbors and friends. I got  a few customers and did a pretty good job with their lawns. They told others about my work.  Soon I could not do all of the work so I hired a few others to help me mow the lawns.”  In this case the person started a small business. In my opinion this person demonstrated the ability to start something from scratch.

However, I would then ask a follow up question “can you tell me about a time where you started a ministry?” I ask the “follow up” for I want to try to establish a pattern of that behavior. The more times I can see that pattern in their life then the more accurate of a prediction that I can make.
So to continue this “fictional assessment” let’s assume the person being assessed then answered:
“Well, in college I was talking with some of the guys on our hall and they kept talking about spiritual matters. They had all sorts of questions. I decided to start a bible study for people who were spiritually seeking. We started in my dorm room but it quickly grew too large for the room. I identified some potential leaders in this group. I spent some time training them and then we started these groups on other halls and in several places on campus”. Again this guy demonstrated the ability to start something from nothing.
In the church planting world I would say this person has potential in one key component of being a church planter. He has the ability to start something from nothing. He has shown me this in at least two specific examples from his past experiences.  In church planting assessments “the more longstanding the behavior, the greater its predictive power.” Behavior Description Interviewing, New Accurate, Cost Effective by Tom Janz, Lowell Hellervik, David C. Gilmore, Prentice Hall, 1986.
By indirect observation of behavior you can take a zoom lens into the past. By looking into the persons past we can gain a handle of their behavior consistencies that can allow us to have some understanding of their future performance in a given context. The more recent the past behavior, the greater its predictive power.
Next week I am going to write a post about if this can potentially be applied to a church?

Posted on January 11, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments

Cross Cultural Church Planting Assessment, Part Two

I have been thinking about what would the differences be between the competencies needed in church planting in a North American context in comparison with other parts of the world. There are at least two factors that we need to consider.
1. The type or model of church plant.
2. The cultural context of the church plant. In other words I think the needed competencies could look different in Asia compared to South America.  However, I believe there are some competencies that are important regardless the culture.

There has been much written and discussed about church planter assessment. For an excellent article on church planting assessment take a read at this article from Scott Thomas of the Acts 29 Network.  Towards the end of his article you will see 13 Characteristics  of a church planter from Charles R. Ridley.

Ridley’s 13 characteristics is  probably the most utilized list for church planter assessment over the years.

1. Visionizing Capacity: Ability to project a vision into the future, persuasively sell it to other people, and bring the vision into reality.
2. Intrinsically Motivated: Approaches ministry as a self-starter and commits to excellence through long and hard work.
3. Creates Ownership of Ministry: Instills in the people a sense of personal responsibility for the growth and success of ministry and trains leaders to reproduce leaders.
4. Reaches the Unchurched and Lost: Ability to develop rapport, break through barriers, and encourage unchurched people to examine themselves and commit to a walk with God and lead people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
5. Spousal Cooperation: Creating a workable partnership that agrees on ministry priorities, each partner’s role and involvement in ministry, and the integration of ministry with family life.
6. Effectively Builds Relationships: Takes the initiative in getting to know people and deepening relationships as a basis for more effective ministry.
7. Committed to Church Growth: Values church growth as a method for building more and better disciples; strives to achieve numerical growth within the context of spiritual and relational growth.
8. Responsiveness to the Community: Adapts the ministry to the culture and needs of the local residents.
9. Utilizes Giftedness of Others: Equips and releases people to do ministry according to their spiritual gifts.
10. Flexible and Adaptable: Ability to adjust to change and ambiguity, shift priorities when necessary, and handle multiple tasks at once.
11. Builds Group Cohesiveness: Enables the group to work collaboratively toward a common goal and skillfully handles divisiveness and disunifying elements.
12. Demonstrates Resilience: Ability to sustain oneself emotionally and physically through setbacks, losses, disappointments and failures.
13. Exercises Faith: Demonstrates how one’s convictions are translated into personal and ministry decisions.

Which of these are important in your part of the world?

Digging Deeper about Behavioral Assessments: The categories were from a research conducted by a behavioral psychologist by the name of Charles Ridley. You can find out more about him here. His resume is quite impressive.
Another resource you may want to take a look at would be  Discovery Tools . You can download this under the available resources section.  This is a pre-assessment tool from the Church Planting Village for potential church planters that some people use.

More on cross cultural assessments next week.