Familiar activity...

Sunday.

THE WELL.

My friend Chris Jones on the left getting ready to rehearse, yours truly on the far right, waiting to get behind the drums.

First time he and I did this was more than ten years ago. Funny thing about time, on the one hand it feels like no time has passed, so the 'familiar activity' you're doing comes real natural. I was able to 'feel' where he was going during the service and follow along like no time had passed at all. At the same time, with time, the simple truth is *a lot* of time has passed between then and now, there's no denying it.

We're older, more experienced. Prone to fatigue.

I think (more and more I'm realizing) that the trick is to keep doing those familiar activities ('cause they're the *stuff* your life is made of) while holding onto as much passion and positivity as possible in the doing.

I find it very easy (these days) to become disillusioned and tired. I find my 'edge' can be quickly blunted.

So the task at hand is to push through and find some kind of inspiration that will help me sharpen up, despite the fact that the thing(s) I'm doing are *very* familiar, and could easily become something I'm bored with or contemptuous of. I wonder if that pushing is the difference between those who keep 'producing' good work over the long term and those who just, peter out.

Yes, it turned out well. Worship was strong. People were moved.

'Familiar activity' (aka: work) got done.

We produced something.

T

this is a big one...

Momentous post.  Life changing.

Big moment.  You're looking at a shot of the landing page for our new church, THE WELL, coming to Burlington, ON, Canada this fall.

This is a really big deal.  I have the runs (TMI, I know...) because of it.  See, I've done this before--planted a church--and I'm not saying that to assert any kind of know-it-all-ness but rather in order to simply state that I know we're about to get our butts kicked.

All over Halton Region.

See, church planting, is playing for keeps.  You don't just 'start' one of these and walk.  My last church, which we planted in Janauary 2001 from which we retired January 2006, still haunts my dreams.  No joke.  I dream about them regularly.  Care deeply for them.  Pray that all will be well with them and that they--led by their leaders and the Holy Spirit--will see things through and persevere.

Five years there, at least a year and a half getting it ready and we left too soon.  This time, with THE WELL, I'll be damned if I leave it, at all, let alone early.  We're playing for keeps this time.

And I feel ready in a way that I didn't ten years ago.

I was 25 in 1998, had just launched my TV production firm, having resigned my job as a 'youth-church-planting youth pastor' and was trying to plant a second youth-church at a distance with our friends who had moved to Florida to take point while Niki and I did TV and drove south for two weeks out of every eight to help.

That thing tanked.

And that led us to try again, this time independently, with what would become 'Freedomize Toronto'.  Problem was we were too young.  Too young to know better (or much at all).  Too young to be humble.  Too young to be wise.  Too young to have suffered much.  Too young to know what was coming.

That thing grew--and is thriving today.

But, man, if you knew the stories that cropped up along the way you'd--with me--agree that we're all fools and Jesus builds His Church not through us but mostly in-spite of us.  Yes He uses us--and the people He brings us--but man do we ever make a mess of it.

My hope is that, this time, being 35, father of four, husband of 13 years and counting (and happily so) failure many times over, arrogant know-it-all laid low, sinner, idolater brought to his knees and his senses, preacher sidelined and brought out of retirement, entrepreneur despised by many in authority, leader followed by some and hated by many, son, brother, wanderer, visionary who talks too much and too soon, tough-minded stubborn donkey (as my business partner calls me) a lover of Jesus and a fool who's surrendered at last, will help me do a slightly better job.

For the sake of His glory and His people.

And it's not really my job to do but I do have tasks to perform and responsibilities to execute.

I'm sober.  I'm a little scared but not nearly as much as I used to be.  I'm eager.  I'm stressed but certain things will work themselves out as they always have a tendency to do.  I'm juggling what I do (and how) with the way the books will tell you it ought to be done all the while trying to listen to Jesus and find my way forward.

As He leads.

THE WELL.  A new church I'm already falling in love with.  Coming to Burlington--my home town--this fall.

(happy to be able to say this...)

Watch the site for details.

T

yes I know...

A lot of 'building' posts lately.

I could be because I'm building...

More than one thing in fact.

(since I'm up at 5:23am--and have been up since 4:00am--I might as well be more transparent than usual)

I'm trying to build a relationship with God.  I realize you're not supposed to say that you 'build' anything when it comes to God.  I get that it's His initiation our response.  My theology is winsomely reformed but I do feel like I've ratcheted up my vain attempts at grasping His hand as it holds resolutely to mine and, like I feel (as father) when my baby girl wraps her arms and legs around me and squeezes when I'm holding her, it's my hope that the Lord is smiling some at my weak grasping.

(listening to a wonderful album right now)

I'm trying to build a relationship with my wife.  We've been married 12+ years and are still going strong.  Quite a few marriages around us--contemporaries of ours--are currently dissolving and that, if nothing else, has caused us to re-examine our life and be thankful for the joy we have together.  Certainly marriage takes work, but we've always worked at it and as a result (and largely due to God's kindness to us) we're doing fine.  I have noticed a tendency in me lately to be a bit more snippy with her than I should.  Note made.  Apology to follow later today.

I'm trying to build a family.  My kids both drive me crazy and make me nuts I love them so much.  It's like a tsunami came to live in my life permanently.  It would take more words than I'm currently willing to write to describe the messes they make and the dances they dance and the topics they discuss and the frustrations they express and the fights they get into and the disobediences they undertake and the kisses they give each day.  Suffice it to say they're glorious and 'glory' means 'heavy' and that's a right description of what it's like trying to live with, and lead, them.

I'm trying to build a career.  This is one of the toughest aspects of my life these days.  Looks like I'll be heading back into bi-vocationalism after a brief (three year plus--so maybe not so brief--sheesh has it been that long?) detour into living my life as 'just' a TV and film producer. Needless to say the journey back to embracing what it means to plant and pastor a Church has not been one casually undertaken.  I could say so much about it I'm thinking of writing a book. Problem is, I don't know whether to write that book first or this really fun adventure story I've been toying with for years.  I think the former is the more immediate and therefore might prove the most presently fruitful.  Anyway, it's enough to say that I've slowly, carefully, hopefully-humbly taken enough steps now that it's inevitable.  I've talked about the principle here before.  

You keep putting one foot in front of the other long enough and sooner or later you've walked off a cliff.

(and since I'm jumping anyway)

The Church will be called 'THE WELL'.  It'll launch (Lord willing--cause with these things you truly never know exact dates 'till a couple weeks out) the second week of September (the 13th) but I think we'll start meeting in the space to pray and dream the last Sunday of August then do a 'run through' the first Sunday of September (the 6th).  My hope is to locate our services in the heart of downtown Burlington (my home town).  I've locked a worship leader for the first four months.  He's my 'pseudo-godfather'.  A real musical genius (think James Taylor) and a man who knows a thing or two about suffering therefore knows the value of worship.  I've also got another genius friend of mine willing to help with the 'look feel' of the services and of the materials we'll use to help people know what we're up to.  We're also going to put together some simple promo stuff.  You can see his work here, and here.  I've also mapped out the sermon series for the first year.  I've never preached in series before but I feel strongly that this next 'season' should be oriented that way.  I'll be doing my best to connect the theme of each series to a key theme that's 'on the radar' in pop-culture each month while keeping the 'meat' of each series (and each sermon) firmly rooted in an exegetical study of portions of a book of the Bible.  

First series will be 'What IS Church' rooted in Galatians and connected to the whole 'Back to life (school) Back to Reality' ethic that drives our Septembers.

T'will be interesting to see how it goes.

If you're someone who likes the whole 'Church Planting' thing you'll enjoy this blog for the next while.  If you're exclusively a TV or movie person just be aware that my posts will reflect this reclaimed bi-vocationalism which will re-shape 'supernatural film school' a little in contrast to what it's been since I started 'cause I started the blog after retiring from my first Church plant--and probably because I'd retired from my first Church plant.

Hope that's cool with you.  If not--and you'll be leaving shortly--I'm glad to have spent some time with you and hope that my reflections on my journey have been useful to you in some way. I'd love for you to stick around and promise to not turn into something stupid and religious. The whole reason I do both preaching and producing is 'cause I think stupid religion and stupid religious folk (like I'd be were it not for God's kindness, a 'wordly'--in the best sense--wife and lots of suffering) are the last thing we need more of in Church or in entertainment.

(plus I'm still producing up to 208 episodes of TV this year, have a new drama series in development with the people who created this, am trying to executive produce a graphic novel based on a script I hope to produce as a film sometime in the next century, and I might have some 'one on one time' [as an INTERVIEWER, relax...] booked with this girl next month that I figure you're going to want to hear about...)

But you're going to do what you're going to do.

And I have a shed to build.

T