Thoughts from the 2010 NACC

Encouraged . . . and Disturbed

naccblogs2010 — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:19:09 +0000

Holy, holy, holy,
All the saints adore thee.

I looked down at the floor of the convention hall, almost full with fellow-saints singing the old words, and I thought about Heaven.

I glanced down my row at my wife sitting beside Pat Merold who sat beside her husband, Ben. My preacher, Tom Moll, was on the aisle in the bleachers below me; beside him were Allan Dunbar and his wife. Bob Russell was a few rows ahead of them. All around us were people I didn’t know, and they were singing too. The scene made me think about how wonderful Heaven will be.

Wonderful, of course, because we will be awestruck by a face-to-face encounter with the God we serve now only by faith. But that’s not all. All of us will be there too, along with thousands and thousands in a crowd like the NACC worship service multiplied a hundredfold—a thousandfold!

What a grand reunion it will be!

But until then, we will look to meetings like the North American Christian Convention for opportunities to enjoy worship with saints from across the country and around the globe. It is a unique experience, one I feel privileged almost never to miss.

But it’s not just seeing and hugging and reconnecting that are so wonderful. It’s not just singing and praying. It’s not even the stirring content of so many sermons and workshops.

It’s the reminder of what others are doing in Christ’s name that challenges me most. Too easily I get consumed with my little world—my “big” problems, my self-imposed boundaries on my own productivity—and I forget how God is using so many others like me to accomplish so much for him.

The NACC lifts my vision off myself and my limitations. It reminds me that God is doing great things in California and Philadelphia and Maryland and Kenya. It spotlights models of sacrifice and service and encourages me to imitate them.

In the convention’s closing session, Gene Appel spoke of a visit he had with a destitute single African mother in her rural village. Afterwards, a friend asked him how he felt about the time with her.

He could muster only three words, “It wrecked me.”

This seems close to the response NACC president Ben Cachiaras wanted in the hearts of convention attendees. “Dear Lord, disturb us” he prayed before the convention and from its main session platform.

“The measure of a convention isn’t whether we had a great week here,” he said, as the Friday-morning session was ready to close. “What matters is whether this convention helps us transform the face of the church in our world.”

That in itself is a thought disturbing enough to move me toward new ways of serving God. I’m already looking forward to next year’s NACC for encouragement not to give up on that pursuit.

Mark A. Taylor, Editor
Christian Standard
Cincinnati, Ohio

NACC, Introverts and Conventions in Heaven

naccblogs2010 — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:40:38 +0000

I appreciate so much the efforts of Ben Cachiaras and the NACC organizers to make this a convention where we got to hear from several different voices. I’m so proud to be a part of the people who sat at the feet of these different voices to hear how we might all get closer to the picture of the church imagined by the prophet Joel and echoed by Peter in Acts 2—a community full of young and old, men and women, people from all corners of the world proclaiming, prophesying and dreaming together. I’m so glad we got to hear from a woman from Africa, a retired couple from Missouri and even people from California! I hope that this week together will truly be a moment that showed us what it might look like to go Beyond doing all the same things with all the same people in all the same ways.

I have to say that as an extreme introvert, conventions are always a little frightening to me. Especially that scary, scary exhibit hall. Knowing that at any moment I might run into some random person from the past, some former classmate, some kid from camp, some person I went to church with 20 years ago—some extrovert who won’t notice my obvious attempts at avoiding eye contact and awkward conversation–terrifies me. I find myself struggling with social claustrophobia.

But there were also some amazing run-ins. There were a few moments with people I had shared some leg of the race with but hadn’t seen for a while. Co-laborers. People who carry the same burdens. The same hopes. And with those people, the moment is always the same; Sometimes it’s spoken and sometimes it’s unspoken but the conversation, or the connection, is the same:

“How have you been?”
“I’ve had some good days. But I’ve also had some hard ones. There have been moments of great joy but there have also been wounds. There have been days when the hits didn’t feel worth it. There have been times I thought I might give up. But I’m holding on.”

Like I said, we don’t always say this out loud to each other but we say it just the same.

I started thinking about how someday, this will be the conversation we will have with all kinds of people—even people who may be strangers now. We may still get to have this kind of meeting in heaven, probably still in July, and we’ll have the same conversation. We will remember the good parts. We may be weathered but we will have held on. It will be a beautiful moment, full of nostalgia, warmth and celebration.

Then I started wondering what it would look like to look at people that way right now. Knowing that someday we may end up in the same place, at the same throne, with the same King. What if we treated all people as co-laborers, runners in the same race? What if we met every person with that deep welcome of Christ? We have many of the same wounds. We hope for the same victories. And we all have days we struggle to hold on.

It was a great convention and it reminded this extreme introvert of the value of eternal community. It reminded me what it feels like to be at home but not home yet.

Laura Buffington, SouthBrook Christian Church, Dayton, OH

NACC Teen Convention

naccblogs2010 — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:43:55 +0000

Well I am the one who is supposed to blog for the Teen Convention at the North American, but I’ve been rather busy all week long so I figure better late than never.

As a lot of you know there were only two teen sessions and a night time concert. The students joined in with the Adults for the main sessions. The two main speakers were Todd Clark and Francis Chan. Talk about an all star team; I hung onto every word they said. Both men were extremely talented and really called the students to Go Beyond simple Christianity. Worship isn’t just a going to the temple anymore, but rather Christ dwells in us and we are called to worship everyday (Todd Clark). Francis challenged the students to take discipleship more seriously, in his message he told the students that raising your hand during an altar call doesn’t make you a Christian, you have to pick up your cross and follow Jesus. Both of them were phenomenal and got great responses from the students.

What can you say about the worship band Mostellar, frankly they are just great guys who love God. They are extremely talented and mixed upbeat and serious worship together to create and amazing worship time for the students. I know I was dancing up on my camera stand while the kids were fist pumping.

Despite all of the other great features I would say my favorite would be Amena Brown’s poetry. You get a lot of speakers, and you get a lot of musical worship, but rarely do you get a unique talent like hers. It is great to experience new forms of worship, and Amena’s heart is strong in her love of God. Her words flow together beautifully and in such a creative way. I hung onto each of her words and loved every moment.

I’d say I enjoyed the Student Teen production immensely, everything flowed together and the students really enjoyed it. The only thing I would say that I didn’t like was the students joining the adults for the main session, I’m in college, not too far away in age from the teens, and I can honestly say they get bored in the adult session, their brains just don’t think the same way. Teens just aren’t focused on the same things as adults, they haven’t had the same life experiences, and they’re a whole new generation. Hopefully they go back to having the night sessions separate too.

Never want to end a blog on a negative note, so I will just say “GREAT JOB” to all of the people that worked together to make the NACC Teen Sessions run good and smooth. I had a really good time, and according to the students, so did they.

Ryan Evans

The Rock and the Rabbi

naccblogs2010 — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:34:34 +0000

I am so excited to write about a night that included a dance contest, t-shirt canons, rocking chairs, soulful a capella music, “Pump Up the Jam,” chicken bucket offering containers and corny jokes (I’m looking at you, Ben Cachiaras, and that “off the rocker” comment). And that was just the warm-up. And now for our feature presentation…

At the very least, or maybe very most, tonight’s performance of The Rock and the Rabbi was a great reminder of the call on the church to take the black, white and red words of our Scriptures and give them texture and sound and life. We are tempted to treat the arts as the sideshow to the sermon but they are a vital part of our proclamation of the story of God and the world. We are tempted to communicate the facts and forget the story. To say the words but to miss the music.

The Rock and the Rabbi’s mix of spoken word drama (I have to confess that I had to fight the temptation not to associate our narrator with William Shatner) and music focuses on the narrative of Simon Peter’s relationship with Jesus. Simon Peter is, of course, the disciple most of us understand the best. We understand him because he never understands anything. And that’s how we feel. Like Simon Peter, our lack of understanding doesn’t always stop us from talking. Or acting impulsively. We get why Simon Peter jumps out of the boat to try walking on water. We get why Simon Peter wants to tame the wild God he sees on the mountain at the moment of the Transfiguration. And we probably get why Simon Peter is embarrassed to say he knows the God who is under arrest. This isn’t just the story of Simon Peter and Jesus—it’s the story of us.

As Ben pointed out, it’s not just the failures we share with Simon Peter, it’s also the call we share. To follow Jesus. And following Jesus may very well lead us through storms, up mountains, through deserts, into cities, towards crosses. Every morning, every moment, every decision is a decision about whether to follow Jesus or turn back.

And I was reminded by one of the songs tonight, about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, and his great decision to surrender. His willingness to say through tears, and blood, that it wasn’t his own will that mattered but the will of the Most High God. And that however the two parts of the Trinity had worked this out, it involved some pain on the part of Jesus. That he willingly surrendered and that it had something to do with his love for people like Simon Peter, and me and you. That’s a rabbi I want to follow. And sing about.

I do have to say I’m not sure if I would have been as engaged in the night if I didn’t have the task of blogging about it. It may be because I had already seen the show ten years ago. It may be that the style of the show worked better ten years ago. Or it may just be convention overload (that’s probably it). But I do love storytelling and I do love the effort. And I really loved the moment when “The Rock” sang the great confession that Jesus was the Christ just as “The Rabbi” sang that Simon Peter was the Rock. I suppose I will always love the moments when we see Jesus for who he really is and he sees us for who we really ought to be.

Laura Buffington, SouthBrook Christian Church

Capturing the Rhythm of Jesus

naccblogs2010 — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:05:40 +0000

“Come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay” (Psalm 70:5).

Only the Holy Spirit could have known that I would be asked to blog about a topic that I am in the midst of working through at this moment! I’m in a season of transition, asking the question, “What’s next, God?” But I have been in the desert places, even having to get counseling for “work addiction.” So, George Ross led me today to streams of living water, and I hope you will join me in drinking deeply of the wisdom he has gained from learning to follow Jesus out of his own desert places.

George pegged the essence of ministry fatigue and gave me (and I know many others) a simple course of action within which to grasp the process in the only way God would desire…by following the way of Jesus. The way to Christlikeness is to follow Jesus out of our desert places as we trust God to transform our souls from desolation to consolation (thanks, Desert Fathers).

I was challenged to look at the two realities George presented in light of my desire to be transformed into the image of Jesus:

Reality 1: Ministry is a gift that blesses others and fulfills us as we “represent Christ and re-present Him to others”. I had to ask myself the question, “Am I looking at my ministry as a gift today?” Or, am I looking to the next thing to do when God may be asking me to “be.” I think God is more interested in whether or not I look more like His Son today than in how much I accomplished.

Reality 2: Fatigue is a threat to ministry – Have I grown weary in striving to do well instead of being faithful in my well doing? There is only one antidote to fatigue in ministry…and it is God. He is all the refreshment I need if I will simply come to Him to drink deeply when I am being tempted by an enemy who hates my ministry. If, as George stated, we would all capture the rhythm of Jesus as He looked to the Father, more of us would stay actively and healthfully engaged in ministry with greater kingdom effectiveness and longevity. We all know about burnout and its dangers, but so many are unable to recognize it before it overwhelms us!

For me, the whole key to George’s message was contained in the example of Jesus who, after a season of busy and exhausting ministry would “disengage from people and stuff to fully engage with God so that He could re-engage in ministry.” It is paradoxical that ministry can be the very thing that keeps us from fully engaging with God. We are so busy doing for Him that we don’t spend time with Him. If Jesus took time to rest, pray and be refreshed and renewed by the Spirit, how much more do we need this?? It’s arrogance on our parts to think we can keep pushing ourselves to exhaustion and still be effective for the kingdom.

Thanks, George, for this simply-stated, yet deeply profound look at ministry in the flesh, as compared with the simplicity of the way of Christ. My prayer today is, “Father, teach me how to be continually attentive to Your voice so that I might know when it is time to disengage and be fully present to You and with You, so that You can transform me into the image of Your Son. Show me how You want to use me as I re-engage in life-giving, kingdom ministry…by cultivating the rhythm of Jesus.

Kim Butts, Harvest Prayer Ministries

Francis Chan’s Message

naccblogs2010 — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:01:01 +0000

After having heard so many people say so many positive things about Francis Chan, I was looking forward to his presentation this morning. He seems like a great guy, committed to his family and well-grounded. His stories were fun and even repeatable (great illustration on asking his daughter to clean her room), but on the whole, I have to admit, the message was a little less than I expected.

Fred Craddock always says listeners are looking for insight. He is right. I am listening to sermons for inspiration, for sure, but mostly I am seeking new insight. Didn’t get much this morning. I guess my overall opinion was that he aimed a bit low for his audience. I’ve done that. I understand.

I am not sure he knew who we were. I don’t mind when people refer to us as a denomination, but I prefer when they preface it by saying, “I know you guys don’t see yourselves this way, so let’s say denomination with a small ‘d’ and go with that.”

I was sitting next to Don Wilson and he said, “We know the importance of discipleship, we just haven’t figured out how to measure it.” Yep. So let’s talk about that. How do we measure discipleship? Why should we measure discipleship? Or maybe let’s get a bit more specific about discipleship.

What I did enjoy was his Chan’s ease with the audience, and the authenticity of his faith. I always like the phrase, “You can’t preach beyond who you are.” Who Francis Chan is seems beyond doubt. I get why he and Todd Clark are friends – cut of the same cloth – genuine and sold-out committed.

Whether Francis Chan or any other “big league speaker” of this current age, I am fascinated by our fixation with the current celebrities. I imagine Peter would have been a faith celebrity – maybe even Paul – at least in theological circles. Jesus – I’m not so sure.

And so it goes.

Paul Williams

BEYOND trophies of the world

naccblogs2010 — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:42:02 +0000

Tony Dungy stopped by the NACC today for a Q and A with Ben Cachiaras. Led by a team of pee-wee football players Dungy jogged on stage the same way he used to jog across the field at the Hoosier Dome. The thing with Coach Dungy is that he’s just as much at home with a crew of 12 year olds as he is with a Super Bowl Team. How does he move between the two so seamlessly-so easily, so naturally? It might have something to do with the character lessons he learned from his Dad and some key male role models from a young age—and a mother who was sold out for Jesus. Chuck Noll, Donnie Shell and a host of others were referenced as Coach Dungy talked about character and leadership. But above all, Dungy pointed again and again to the leadership of Christ. He learned early on that leadership is not about being served, but serving. As far as Coach Dungy is concerned, the person who helps others succeed will eventually, like cream, rise to the top. He has sought to take Jesus at His word; against conventional wisdom he has put Jesus’ shepherding leadership into practice on the football field and in life. Ben asked him about Michael Vick, rather than talk about a guy with a troubled past, Tony focused entirely on a guy with a future. He believes in people…It’s refreshing – isn’t it – to not only hear such words but to see them so evidently practiced. Here’s a guy who talks about putting Jesus’ leadership into action and does it…on the football field (where others said such a laid back, humble, even keel approach wouldn’t work) and in life where he gave up football to focus on family and mentoring. We learned Tony and his wife recently adopted–why? Because he was putting his commitment to life into action! Because of his commitment to be an every day – common – disciple of Jesus, Tony is uncommon in this world. Asked about ministry, Tony minimized his Super Bowl winning the Super Bowl, saying that winning a worldly trophy is great but not comparable to what’s at stake in helping people find Jesus and mature in Him.

I talked to the Colts mascot on Tuesday, listening to story after story about Tony Dungy, he said “Coach Dungy is the greatest man in the NFL.” Next time I’m at an NFL game I am going to watch and see how many head coaches have time for the team mascot. Next time I’m at church I’m going to see how much time I make for the little ones…here’s the question…are you just as much at home with the least of these as the greatest. Thanks Coach-for the lesson in common discipleship!

Brett Miller, Minneapolis