It's been a while since I've written, and there's a lot that has happened, is happening, and will be happening soon. This post will catch you up...
- Summer - First and foremost, we'll be back in Montana for Micah and Sarah's wedding - so Missoula at the end of June, then near Billings for most of July. We're looking forward to this time tremendously, and we'd love to catch up with those of you who live there while we're back. Based on past experience, our time will fill up fast - so if you want to connect in person, please let me know ASAP and let's get something on the calendar!
- Surgery - Second, I'm sorry it's been a while since I've written. This is partly because back in early May I had a chance to go fly fishing in Wyoming (I think every apology is better when it involves a fish story).
It all started when my friend and mentor, Shane Sunn, invited me to join him on a men's retreat on the North Platte River, and then preach for him that Sunday. So far so good. On my second cast of the trip, however, I set the hook on a very nice fish and felt something explode in my right shoulder.
It was a big fish, but not THAT big. Evidently, a tendon that's been fraying for years picked that very moment to finally tear. Not a good feeling when you're fly fishing. It hurt a lot, and I missed the fish to boot. Grrr....
Of course, once the damage is done there's no point just sitting there watching other people fish. So with a little Vitamin A (for Advil) and some Odell's IPA, plus a some creative reconfiguring of my casting motion... well, I still managed to fish my way through the next two days and do my part to educate some fish.
It was a LOT of fun, and both fishing and friendship were excellent.
Unfortunately, it didn't cure the shoulder, and when I got back to Austin the diagnosis was clear: ruptured bicep tendon, surgery needed, followed by a 12 week recovery (with 6 weeks in a sling). Ugh. So much for my 2 weeks on the Bighorn this July.
(I'll probably still be there, seeing if I can learn how to cast left handed).
Thankfully, surgery went well. I now sport a nifty 4 inch scar on my right bicep, but things are healing. It definitely took more out of me than I expected, though, and I'm only recently able to type emails again. All that to say, this is partly why you haven't heard from me.
- The Future - The other part of the delay, however, is that there's been a lot happening in terms of calling and direction, and we've been waiting to see how things shake out. Sometimes God heats things up, but in a slow way. That's how the weather here in Austin has worked this spring - surprisingly cool so far, but with plenty of heat on it's way.
In some ways, that's been the story of our lives these past 8 months. And now, things are finally heating up, and we're very excited about what God seems to be doing. So in some ways, the rest of this post is really just aimed at bringing you up to speed with where we're at and what comes next.
As you may recall, we received a call from the EPC to plant in Austin back at the end of April. Since that time, we feel like God continues to bring clarity where we need it most...
Increasingly, we feel that God has given us a sense of LOCATION, that he wants us to focus our efforts on East Austin (close to downtown) - it's a rapidly gentrifying area full of young creatives (moving in), w/ people who are poor (70% Hispanic) gradually getting shoved out. There is a lot of need and opportunity - and very few church plants - in this part of town. That is extremely helpful, because it helps us know where to focus.
Even more significantly, we feel like God has finally started to introduce us to the PEOPLE who might be a part of the new All Souls - don't get me wrong; he's already connected us with lots of people who are interested in helping (especially with the brewery), but most of them are suburban Christians who probably won't be moving into the city to help plant an urban church. But now at last, God has also started connecting us with the kind of folks we met in Missoula - the un-churched, de-churched, Christians and non-Christians, who actually live in and near our target area and who resonate with the vision... we see interest and excitement and real live faces on the ground. That's extremely encouraging.
Finally, we're realized the WAY we plant this next church is going to be almost completely backwards from how we planted the first time.
I think most church plants tend to focus on getting worship off the ground (and when you're the full time pastor, that means you're the one that ends up doing most of the work), and then you eventually get around to spiritual formation and mission down the road.
For us in Missoula, it took 3 years before we finally came up for air and said, "You know, we need to get busy making disciples and helping them start to embrace the mission too." And at the end of 7 years, we felt like we were still working on that same thing. Hmm.
This time around is going to be very different. We'll be starting with discipleship and mission right from the get go - basically inviting people (Christian or otherwise) into our lives as we seek to follow Jesus together, each in our vocations. Ours will be trying to get a brewery up and running (and if that doesn't work, I'll get a job). Their's will be whatever job or career God is calling them into.
But together, we'll be focusing on BEING disciples of Jesus on mission together - working our work, getting to know our neighbors, loving the city and praying for Christ's kingdom to come. Learning how to live out of the gospel. Learning how to yoke ourselves to Christ.
In some ways, we'll be asking a lot more of people up front this time around (at least if they're Christians). If they want to ever see this thing become a church, then they're going to have to invite friends and become leaders and give sacrificially (rather than just expecting the pastors to do that). But we think that's actually going to be good for all of us - and it's one of the built in benefits of bi-vocational ministry (it forces you in this direction).
We'll probably begin meeting weekly in September. When we have 3-4 groups with 20 people each, then we'll be ready to worship. It's church planting in reverse. And it's beginning now! :-)
- The Need - So what comes next? Well, we continue to work on the vocation part (getting the brewery off the ground), and we're very encouraged at how this is going. It's amazing at who God is connecting us with to help us. I think we have a very high chance of success, but we also realize it's a marathon, not a sprint. This thing is going to take some time, especially if we intend to do it right.
In the meantime, we need to raise 2 years of personal monthly support by October, when our sabbatical runs out. More specifically, that means we have 4 months to raise an additional $3000/month in support (we have about $1000/month in support right now).
I'd like to ask you to stop and think about that for a moment.
In some ways, it's a lot of money (I realize many of you reading this probably make less than that). But when it comes to planting a church, it's downright austere - just the bare essentials for living (food, bills, rent) with a wee dram left over for hospitality and outreach. There's nothing for savings or retirement. And it still requires Marilyn to work (almost full time now).
But that money is going to allow us to plant another church like All Souls - this time in a much larger, more expensive city - all for a fraction of the cost of the first church plant. It's pretty amazing, really.
Remember last fall when we asked the question: "What if we only had $100K to plant a church?" Conventional wisdom (at least in presbyterian circles) says you don't even try.
But I think God is showing us a way forward, that it IS possible to plant churches that reach our culture for a LOT less money.
And now we have the opportunity to actually do it.
By God's grace, we're willing to try, but we're going to need your help...
- If you're someone who prays, would you please start praying HARD that God would provide the funds to try and plant All Souls Church of Austin?
- If you're someone who considers us your friends, would you please consider investing in us for the next 1-2 years? (we need 30 people to give $100/mth, but it would mean the world to us even if you only gave $10 or $20 a month)
- If you're someone who can afford a six-pack of beer or a bottle of wine, would you please consider giving that up once a week to support us instead (that right there could easily translate into $40/mth)
- If you're in a church, would you consider introducing us to your pastor or missions committee (or better yet, acting as a cheerleader on our behalf). We're willing to come, to cast vision, to preach, whatever.
- And for details on how to give - go here (and holler if you have questions).
I think of how many people encountered something utterly unique at All Souls Missoula (and yet utterly ordinary, in the big picture of Christian history) - and I think of all the people yet to have that experience here in Austin.
We'd like to do something about it, and we'd love to have you be a part of it.
As always, we appreciate your friendship more than you can imagine, and we look forward to what God is going to do next.
Hope to see you this summer or talk to you soon.
We'll be sending out snail mail, we're trying to put together a kickstarter-esque video, and we're going to try and talk with as many people in person as we possibly can. Please feel free to share this email with friends, or to read it to your church.
And may we all be haunted by God's message to the exiles in the great city of Babylon: "Work for the shalom of the city where I have sent you... for in it's shalom, you will find your shalom." (Jeremiah 29:7)
May Christ melt our hearts with a love for his people, wherever they might be found!
Blessings in Jesus,
Christian & Marilyn
