Joe Kamphuis
Husband, father of three, pet owner, and pastor. Currently pastor of the Chelwood Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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Posted in: Rightsizing Smaller Congregations
My question relates to when an organized congregation should consider moving from "organized" to "emerging" status, and whether there are advantages to be an "emerging" church as opposed to an "organized" church. Do you have any thoughts?
Posted in: Rightsizing Smaller Congregations
Thank you Keith. I appreciate your perspective, and am grateful for your shared experience. We will keep it in mind. Blessings!
Posted in: 10 Things Not to Say to a Grieving Parent
Thank you for sharing. I am so sorry for your loss. I see that you miss your daughter very much, and I pray God will comfort you and guard your heart in Christ Jesus with His daily, hourly, moment by moment peace.
Posted in: What Bible Verse Gives You Hope for 2017?
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever." (Revelation 11:15)
This verse gives me hope because it reminds me that no matter what we face in this world, Jesus Christ reigns now and forever. I know that this world, my life, and the lives of those around me are held firmly in His hand. Therefore I enter 2017 (a year of unknowns) with absolute confidence in Him.
Posted in: What Difference Does It Make When You Put the Word Missional in Front of the Word Church?
Thank you Kevin. I really appreciate your take on this subject, and look forward to reading subsequent editions.
I am also moved by Alan Hirsch's comment, "It is not that the church has a mission, but rather that the mission of God has a church."
Posted in: Organic Church
Thank you for your comments, Larry and for sharing the anecdotal story.
However, my question goes a little deeper than simply the logistics of hosting a weekly worship gathering. I asked if there are those who have "intentionally" chosen not to have a building. The intention is to focus ministry energy in the community in a more expeditionary manner. The intention is to purposely find a kingdom partner in the community with whom the church can serve in exchange for meeting space when it is needed. The service would be to incorporate the people from the community organization into the worship gathering. For example, here in ABQ we have a number of special needs folks who worship with us each week. I wonder if we chose to focus our ministry and even worship gatherings to serve that population's needs; meeting in their space. Then also using their facility for space to develop disciples within the serving congregation as well as the population served.
The intention is to be wholly "organic"; a living body integrated fully into our community.
I am not sure this model of ministry will work everywhere, and I am not even certain this is the model that everyone should follow. I only wonder what it might look like for those who have been called to intentionally partner in this manner with their local community?
Thanks again, and I invite any further comments you may have.
p.s. I am almost certain that this model will require the "pastor" to find bivocational employment.
Posted in: Organic Church
Thank you Ken. You definitely offer a lot of "food" for thought. My assumption would be not to meet in people's homes, but in a facility owned by someone in the community with whom we can build a ministry partnership.
My biggest concern is that the building can be seen as a "safe" place for the congregation, but viewed as a "members only" club by folks in the community. If we are to be seen as missional, and connected to the community, I think we offer some level of vulnerability by being willing to meet in another's "space".
In my humble opinion, "church" is not primarily about a worship gathering or a Bible study, but rather the people serving the community, being Christ's hands, feet, ears, heart, and at times His voice. In order for that to happen we need to be intentional about engaging our community.
Posted in: Please Stop It with the Older Brother
Thanks for the corrective, Josh. If people are using the older brother in the way that you describe, I wholeheartedly agree they should stop. However, recent developments of which I am aware, based on the book The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller, cite the older brother as Jesus' target because of Luke 15:1-2, "Now the tax collectors and 'sinners' were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" Jesus' target is the Pharisees and teachers of the law, who have misunderstood God's love and desire to reach the lost. In light of it, as elder brothers (those like me who were raised in the church, etc.) we are called to join God in His reckless, prodigal love for sinners and the lost. This is how I have understood the use of the elder brother, have you heard that before?
Posted in: Ministry of Place Pt. 2: Living in "Place"
Thanks Allen. You took the words right out of my mouth. So confirming to know you remain a good friend and kindred soul on this kingdom journey. May God bless you and keep you and use you to advance His kingdom in your new home.
Posted in: Living the Kingdom
Hi Allen. Thank you for the reminder. This offers good encouragement and validation for what we are trying to do at Chelwood. I used to feel the same way about "saving souls" until I read John Ortberg's new book Soul Keeping. In that book, Ortberg shares Dallas Willard's definition of the soul. Willard says the soul is the will, mind, and body together, so that in order to care for our soul and the souls of others we must be concerned about all aspects. It involves the will (or personal choices), the mind (in every respect that implies), and the body (our physical condition matters for the care of our soul). I think that is a great way to think of the soul, and gets us out of thinking of a "soul" as our state in heaven after we die. What do you think?
Posted in: Downton Abbey and World Missions
Thank you for your comments, Steve. I agree, North American churches are developing more of a missional focus, however I do not believe that a missional focus in North America should occur to the detriment of missions in and with the majority world. If anything this should spur us onto a view of our role in global missions (local, regional, cross-cultural, and worldwide). I pray that is what will happen as God's people are reawakened to prioritize Jesus' great commission from Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15.
Posted in: Downton Abbey and World Missions
As an agency, we also need to emphasize that partnership in the gospel is not limited to financial partnership, but also includes prayer and service. In fact, CRWM has increased its number of volunteer missionaries over the last few years by more than 100%! God is good.