One day her older brother was trying to explain to her that she wouldn’t be able to marry her daddy.  She got very upset and declared, “I love my daddy – I will always love my daddy – and he will marry me because I’m his ‘Princess!’ Besides he will love me ‘No Matter’ what!”

Unconditional Love
I thought to myself – where did that come from.  The concept of unconditional love is a lofty idea.  Have you ever thought where it comes from?  A love that will always be returned to us!  If we are loved we will reciprocate. Who believes in such a thing?

Great Lovers
Recently I heard someone say, “If love is such a profound emotion, why is it that we love everything and anything?”  It seems that we are a culture of great lovers.  We love movies, shopping, ice cream, our pets, great meals, weekends, clear days in the Inland Empire, and rock and roll!

It is not just Americans.  What do people “love?”  Think wine, BMW’s, watches, lattes, sushi and you know the French, the Germans, the Swiss, the Italians and the Japanese.
At times it seems that we love even the most meaningless of things.  Could this fact point to our capacity to love more than we think?  So often we describe love in such superficial terms.  But how do we adequately describe deep, profound, unending love?

Profound Love
I believe it starts with the realization that we exist in a unique category.  That is, we are the object of God’s love! God first loved us and sent his Son that we might fully know his love.  A corollary to this truth is that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom.  How amazing!  Who wouldn’t respond to these facts?

Years ago, Solomon described the desperation that comes when we seem unable to capture the heart of the one we love.  The Scriptures teach us that God feels like this.  The Hebrews describe God and his love as immeasurable and unending.  If this is true than his sense of sorrow and rejection must be more deep and profound than we can imagine. God knows the pain of a love unreturned.

Ever wonder what you must do to be loved?  The answer is nothing.  The depth of God’s love is demonstrated in the fact that He loves you unconditionally and allows you to reciprocate freely.

Reciprocation Implications
Each month it is joy to interact with readers of Serve! and dialog about the implementation of the outward-focused-life.  Here are few ‘take-aways’ to ponder:

• Those you serve this week long to be loved and love to love, even if their loving may seem shallow.
• Even our superficial attempts of love point to our capacity for greater, God-depth love.
• The theological underpinnings of God’s love informs our love – that is God loves even if it is “unreturned.”  Hence we should as well.

Demonstrating God’s love in practical ways will point people to God’s deeper love!

John Edgar Caterson is co-founding Pastor of CoastlandTampa, a church-planter, writer, and co-collaborator with Steve Sjogren for the last decade. He  is currently living in Lithia, FL with his bride Kristi and three children.  You can also find him at www.bnmi.org

What is your role with Coastland?

Tell us (the short version) of how God called you into full-time ministry.
I was reared in the church, however when I was 17 I left the church and embarked on a spiritual quest.  After two years of searching and on the verge of suicide I accepted Christ and was called into ministry.

Tell us a little bit about your family. 
My bride of nearly 7 years is Kristi Leile.  She is the most adaptable, empathetic, creative person I know!  My son Gabriel Isaiah is twelve and desires to be a composer for film. Annabelle Grace is four and she recently announced she plans on be an author – “for she has something to share with the world.” Aliza Hope is two and is joyful, playful, & talkative.

What are your strengths?
I am a Strengths Performance Coach and I am very passionate about focused, strength-based teams.  My strengths are Strategic, Activator, Futuristic, Achiever, Self-Assurance.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I believe I will be planting clusters of churches, igniting the next generation of leaders, bridging like-minded, missional, outflow organizations, as well as writing & coaching.

Do you have any favorite movies?
I love the Count of Monte Cristo, Braveheart, Searching for Bobby Fisher, the Bourne Trilogy, & all the movies my kids watch [Elf, etc].

How many different countries have you traveled to?
I have traveled to nearly 50 countries – most with assignments related to my non-profit & missional calling!

You can get in touch with John Edgar (or JE, as he is known) by phone: 813-410-1471, or email: je@coastlandtampa.com ]]> http://johnedgar.voxtropolis.com/2007/12/22/coastland-tampa-buzz-get-to-know-je/feed/ http://johnedgar.voxtropolis.com/2007/12/22/risk-transition-and-misfires-on-two-coasts/ http://johnedgar.voxtropolis.com/2007/12/22/risk-transition-and-misfires-on-two-coasts/#comments Sun, 23 Dec 2007 01:29:03 +0000 johnedgar http://johnedgar.voxtropolis.com/2007/12/22/risk-transition-and-misfires-on-two-coasts/ I have been blessed to partner with a few of the leading “outward” movements on the planet – the Christian & Missionary Alliance, Mosaic, and CoastlandTampa.  All three invest in risk-takers.  This has been a year of risk and transitions as well as a year of some pretty good misfires.  In August I relocated my family from the West Coast to the East Coast.  Ironically, my misfires were not confined to one coast!

Big jump from SE to Outflow!
In January Steve Sjogren’s book Outflow^TM was released.  I decided to take my community of faith, love, and hope through it.  I was excited beyond words.  I poured my life into the message, followed the game plan suggested in the pastor’s kit, and tried to get my leaders motivated.  I believed that:

Every leader desiring to influence and impact their God-given community must develop the practice of outflow.

However, I made the assumption that “everyone” would readily embrace showing God’s love in a practical way and noticing God, noticing others on a daily basis.  I assumed, “Hey, we have done the servant evangelism thing – on a once a month, event-approach.” I thought, “No big stretch for my people make the step towards outflow.”

I soon found that the step was really a big jump.  The harder I pushed the more it seemed to go in reverse.  Believe it or not we started to lose people – not a good thing when you are trying to grow a church.  I became frustrated and discouraged.  I even thought, they don’t get it!

I realized that I had to model it over and over – DNA is more caught than taught!  It is a process like compounded interest.  It takes time but eventually pays off (another risky aspect is to be willing to outflow because it is what Christ calls us to do regardless of the immediate payoff).

I had to take a step back in order to help my people make the big jump.  I had to strategically take my leaders with me to places like Starbucks and model buying the latte for the person behind us in line.  I had to take them out to eat and model the skill of noticing others.  I had to model the art of the “Triple-Tip” (budgeting 30% for the server’s tip – to make up for the average 10% they typically receive).  I had to pray that another leader in my church would get it, practice it, and become a fellow champion of outflow.  I thank God he sent me Bob Baker – who not only joined me in modeling it but stood up and said, “You know I don’t normally stand up to say anything but I have to tell you outflowing will change your life!”  More powerful was to hear him share about his experiences of outflow.  This really captured the attention of others in our church.

Youth are great at Outflow!
Throughout most of this year I have failed to recognize one of the greatest untapped resources for outflow – youth.  I have not been directly involved with middle school and high school students and my sonar was not tuned into this massive tribe.

Now I know you are saying, come on JE, duh!  But, I not talking about the fact that youth can outflow.  They can champion it.  Let me break it down with a seemingly unrelated illustration.

In the 70s, my parents were not always in the habit of making sure we wore our seatbelts. In turn, I still have to think twice about securing the safety restraint.  However, my four-year old daughter is pretty consistent in telling me to “buckle up for safety.”

In a similar vein, my twelve-year old son is my outflow conscience.  About a month ago I noticed that whenever he is with me, which is quite often when I’m out-and-about town, he has a pack of Big Red Gum to give to a waiter or postal worker or whomever we encounter.  He never fails to “remind” me to call the manager over to compliment our server or cook.  He is a practitioner and advocate of showing / communicating God’s love in a practical way!  He also nudges me if I forget to get the email of the person we have served, especially when the encounter has been divinely extended into a conversation (next month we will look at the importance and art of getting emails).  I now tell my son to see himself as my outflow partner!

Misfiring is part of the forward progress-process
I would suspect that many of you totally relate with my misfires.  First, transitioning your people from event-style, servant evangelism to outflow can be a bigger jump than you think.

• The obvious is to make sure you yourself outflow.
• Model & do outflow with your leaders.
• Pray and prompt them to become champions
• Empower them to become advocates as they share their stories of outflow.

Second, don’t miss some of your  outflow partners with the most potential, youth (so often right under your radar).

• Recognize that youth get it more than we think.
• Listen and learn from their simple/uncomplicated approach.
• Dub them as fellow ‘Knights’/partners of outflow.

This past week my daughter and I were shopping at one of the local membership-shopping clubs.  As were about to exit my daughter said, ‘Daddy, can I ask the girl for a smiley face when we leave?” The young woman at the door seemed preoccupied as she inspected our receipt and cart. I whispered to my daughter to make here request.  “Can I have a smiley face please?” my daughter asked.  I was blown away by the attendant’s reply. “No, we can no longer give out happy faces.”  I wasn’t sure whether or not she meant to say we can no longer ‘make’ happy faces on receipts.  Ironically, she wasn’t wearing a ‘smiley’ face nor ‘happy’ face. Needless to say my four year old was disappointed [she said, ‘Daddy, maybe we shouldn’t shop here any more. Let’s shop where people are happy].

I think ‘someone’ at ‘corporate’ missed ‘something’ whenever they came up with this new policy.  After all, whom are they targeting? I thought families were among the customers they were after?

Well, membership-shopping club hierarchy are not the only ones that miss the boat. Two thousand years ago, the disciples of Jesus were always missing what was important. One story in Luke 18 gives an account of the disciples attempting to send the children away from Jesus.  They seemed to have good intentions – trying to keep Jesus from getting overloaded. But still, they missed the point. I love Jesus’ response, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  In a sense, it was like him saying, ‘Hey guys, this is our market, they should be our priority.’

I am thankful that there is a place I have found in our community where they understand ‘smiley’ faces and ‘happy’ faces.  Every time I go to our local community center a friendly staff member greets me. As a matter of fact if I happen to be having a bad day, I stop by to see Connie or Jennifer or Kathy [they always have a ‘smiley’ face to give out].  Each Sunday, I can count on a smile from Ryan, Jed, Matt, or the plethora of happy young staff ladies waiting to serve our community. The entire staff is a shining example of a group who understands service with a smile. My church community has been encouraged by their dedication. More than that, I have been inspired!

It is no wonder that look forward every week to taking my daughter to community center to get a smiley face!

We can learn much from this concept of making rounds.

Any ‘outflow-oriented’ church-planter, pastor, or leader desiring to influence and impact their God-given community must develop the practice of making rounds.

‘Making rounds’ is the regular, intentional practice of noticing and running into people time and time again in order to serve your way into their heart so you have the opportunity to introduce them to Jesus Christ. It is a lost art that needs to be recovered if we are to live and serve the way Jesus did things.

Learning to make rounds is so rewarding. For the past six weeks, since relocating to the Tampa area, I have made it part of my weekly routine to stop by the local branch of my bank.

I have noticed that all of the tellers are from South American countries.  By practicing my limited knowledge of Spanish, sharing photos of my family [I believe a family photo is a powerful tool that communicates that you are safe and not a predator], and asking them a few questions I have had the opportunity to pray with a half dozen of the tellers.

There are also a number of people I have been running into time and again who have come to me. One example is Carmen. She is from Venezuela and managers a local day laborer company.  Coastland Tampa hired her company for a few projects and I had the opportunity to interface with her. I learned that she is recently married and extremely interested in spiritual thing.  Over the last month she has stopped by our outreach office to ‘touch base’ and talk about her spiritual journey.  My wife and I have schedule a double date with Carmen and her husband.  I am convinced that they will be part of the Coastland Tampa community.

The key to making rounds is learning to notice your way into people’s lives.  Pay attention to people’s names.  Look them in the eyes.  Notice their surroundings – photos on their desks.  Notice their glasses, the latte they are drinking, etc., etc.

Here are a few other lessons I have learned along the way of making rounds.

Anticipate those ready to be harvested will be downcast.

“When wheat is ready to be harvested” - what Jesus was referring to - the heads leaned down… So too when those ‘ready’ for input or even harvest come our way, they are often downcast…  But it is necessary that we look past their initial mask to what they are really experiencing in life… most are good at the mask-wearing thing.

Ask probing questions.

The fastest way to get down to brass tacks is to ask a couple of probing questions:

“How you doing?”

Then wait for a few moments - after they say the expected “Great”
- Ask again, “No really, how are you doing?”

When they tell you about what they are into / how they are approaching life with it’s problems, simply ask them,
“So how’s that working for you?”

Then let them talk… trust me they have a story to tell.

Listen to their stories.

It is imperative that we listen.  Jesus listened his way into untold numbers of lives - like the woman at the well in John 4. I love verses 39-41:

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days [bold and italics mine].  And because of his words many more became believers.

Interesting that given the women’s reputation, Jesus stayed two days with them.  Why? Because, he understood the value of making rounds – noticing, serving, asking, and listening.

I invite you to join the movement of noticing people by making rounds.

After all, over the past month people in the news have been falling all over themselves apologizing.

In New York, the disgraced broadcaster Don Imus apologized for racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team. In Washington, DC Attorney General Alberto Gonzales apologized for the firing of eight U.S. attorneys before the Senate Judiciary Committee. In Blacksburg, Virginia the family of Virginia Tech killer Seung-Hui Cho apologized, stating that they feel “hopeless, helpless and lost” and are “deeply sorry” for his “unspeakable actions.” Finally, last month in Los Angeles, Alec Baldwin apologized for his angry, scalding words to his 12-year-old daughter Ireland.

When is the last time you heard a sincere apology? A heartfelt, “I’m sorry, please forgive me� is p-o-w-e-r-f-u-l! Unfortunately, those who spend their existence inside the walls of the ‘Church’ are so often oblivious to this earth moving dynamic.

Recently one of my favorite local coffeehouse managers made a statement to me that cause me to take a step back. He said. “I think the ‘Church’ should apologize.�

I asked, “What for?�

He said, “For being so hypocritical and so irrelevant!�

Wow! Now that hits a nerve! I love it when someone is so honest.

And let’s be perfectly clear about this: I think he is right! I have been chewing on what we should do about it 24/7 since then. I thought of silk-screening T-shirts that say, “Please Forgive Me.� I bet many people would appreciate it. When people ask “Why the shirt?� I would simply say, “Because we as the Church have failed enormously at just being the Church in so many ways . . .�

Another friend of mine gave me an idea. He said, “Maybe you should preach through an original series called, “WE ARE SORRY FOR . . .�

That would be a powerful series! What if we apologized for being hypocritical . . . judgmental . . . legalistic’ . . . irrelevant’ . . . acting holier than thou’ . . . etc.

I don’t know about you, but there are plenty of people I run into in my neighborhood, at my kid’s school, at the mall, etc. who would love an apology from the church for any of these.

I have always been in awe of the contrast between the prayer of Pharisee and that of the tax collector in Luke 18. Notice they both went up to the temple to pray. Just maybe . . . we ought to opt for the posture of the tax collector . . . “But he stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.�

Recently I heard someone say, “If love is such a profound emotion, why is it that we love everything and anything?�  It seems that we are a culture of great lovers.  We love movies, shopping, ice cream, our pets, great meals, weekends, clear days in the Inland Empire, and rock and roll!

It is not just us Americans. What do they love? Think wine, BMW’s, watches, lattes, sushi and you know the French, the Germans, the Swiss, the Italians and the Japanese.

At times it seems that we love even the most meaningless of things.  Could this fact point to our capacity to love more than we think? So often we describe love in such superficial terms. But how do we adequately describe deep, profound, unending love?

I believe it starts with the realization that we exist in a unique category.  That is, we are the object of God’s love! God first loved us and sent his son that we might fully know his love.  How amazing! Who wouldn’t respond to this fact?
Years ago, Solomon described the desperation that comes when we seem unable to capture the heart of the one we love.  The Scriptures teach us that God feels like this.  The Hebrews describe him and his love as immeasurable and unending.  If this is true than his sense of sorrow and rejection must be more deep and profound than we can imagine. God knows the pain of a love unreturned.

Ever wonder what you must do to be loved?  The answer is nothing. The depth of God’s love is demonstrated in the fact that he loves you unconditionally and allows you to reciprocate freely.

In the first six verses of the New Testament [Matthew 1:1-6] we find the names of four women. Their names are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.  A number of years ago I heard a friend refer to them as “skeletons in the closet.� For many centuries people in Christendom would have preferred to keep them in the closet, so to speak, and not have to deal with their appearance here in the lineage of Jesus the Christ.  I have often asked the question, “What is going on here?�  Upon reviewing their unusual and scandalous stories in the Old Testament [Tamar – Genesis 38; Rahab – Joshua 2; Ruth – Book of Ruth; and Bathsheba – 1st Samuel 11] .  .  . I am led to ask, “Why did Matthew included these names?�

Throughout the years a number of notable theologians have tried to make sense of their inclusion in the opening paragraph of the ‘Gospel According to Matthew.’ In the Fourth Century St. Jerome concluded that Matthew included them because they were all sinners.  Therefore, the Good News is that Christ died for sinners just like these women.  That might be true, but what about the men in the passage? Weren’t they sinners as well?

Martin Luther looked at these names and stated, “Tamar and Rahab are Canaanites, Ruth is a Moabite, and Bathsheba is a Hittite. Yes, Christ died for sinners, but he also died for foreign sinners.�  For Luther the passage was about missions.  He felt that Matthew 28 and Matthew 1 are ‘brackets’ around the gospel.  The Great Commission states to go into all the world . . . and the first paragraph of Matthew tells us who all the world was at the time – Canaanites, Moabites, Hittites, and Jews.

We can take this one step further, for Jesus Christ’s earthly side can teach us so much! If the mothers and grandmothers in Jesus’ family tree were Canaanite, Moabite, Hittite, and Jew, then Jesus was indeed the mixed racial Savior of the world and this is indeed Good News!  I believe that Jesus not only shed His blood for the world on the cross; He got his blood from the world.  This is Good News for a world torn by race, a world torn by class, a world torn by all kinds of schism, paternalism, and feelings of superiority.  Jesus Christ came and died for ALL of us.  I thank God that Jesus Christ is color blind, class blind, gender blind, etc.   God’s Word tells us that “He came unto his own.� Jesus Christ knows who we are! For in a manger, two thousand years ago He became “one of us!� We must never forget this. It is my prayer that this Advent season you might thank God for sending His Son and embrace the love, forgiveness, and new life that He offers even to “skeletons in the closet.�

The problem is that most of us who call ourselves Christians are so busy with day-to-day living that we may be unaware of the needs outside the walls of the church.  Most church members seemed puzzled about how to help and serve those who are not interested in the ‘Church.’ 

Jesus Christ clearly stated what the church is to be about: 

“’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’� (Matthew 22:37-39). God’s Word is clear. God wants the church to see outside its walls. God has in mind a church that would be ever-increasing in heart and size.  It should be the ‘Church Without Walls.’ In the classic passage, commonly known as the great commission, Jesus Christ shares the simple elements of his heart: 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:18-19). 

For the past year, I have been reminding my church community that ‘We exist to love this city into relationship with Christ.’ It is not nearly as hard as we might think.  We need to only take a glance at our community.  Mother Teresa once said, “It isn’t necessary to move to Calcutta to do something significant.�   

I agree! There are so many people in need all around us, if we would only stop to look.  Can you imagine if we stopped and asked if there are any single parents where we work that might have a need?  Is there is a disabled child in our neighborhood?  Perhaps there is a family we know that cannot afford medical insurance?  These needs and a myriad of others cry out to be met! 

One gift that God has given each of us is the gift of ‘servanthood’. How incredible it would be if we used that gift to reach out to our community with the love of God!  I have adopted the belief that ‘small things done with great love will change the world.’  I also have come to realize two corollaries: first, there are unlimited creative ways to share the love of God in Christ Jesus and second, it only takes a few people to make a big difference.  

Tomorrow, Sunday, November 19^th the Church Without Walls will launch in the Inland Empire.  Don’t miss your chance to be part: www.iechurchwithoutwalls.com

Our community of faith. love, and hope moved into the new community center yesterday! What an amazing place! The atmosphere was great and energy was high. We also began our new spiritual conversation on living a life beyond ordinary. Here are our opening dialog [it will appear this Saturday in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin].

“How can I live a life that is beyond ordinary?� I must admit that at first I was taken back when a college student recently asked me that question. But I shouldn’t have been. After all, we are all searching to get more out of life. We even dream of living an extraordinary life!

How do we live an extraordinary life? In the book of Philippians [1:1-11] God invites us to experience the very best of life. Experiencing God’s best is not based on our circumstances but on our choices. God not only invites us to experience the very best of life but God enables us with “depth of insight to discern what choices to make – what is best.� Bad circumstances don’t guarantee a bad life but our choices shape our lives. An extraordinary life begins by making extraordinary choices. By making extraordinary choices we can break out of the routine, the blasé, and mediocrity.

I believe that we are ordinary people invited to experience an extraordinary life. We can make extraordinary choices to create a remarkable future and change the world around us.

But why should we start to make extraordinary choices? For one, as I already stated, we are all long deep inside for something more. I also remind myself on a regular basis that our present circumstances are the results of our past decisions.

Yet, the most compelling reason to develop an ability to make extraordinary choices is wrapped up in our future. Our future is being shaped by our present choices. What seems like insignificant decisions today have larger ramifications in the future than we realize. When we choose poorly, we shape our future with pain and tragedy.

In the closing scene of The Last Crusade Indiana Jones had to choose the right chalice after watching another man die by drinking from the wrong cup. The first man “chose poorly.� I love when the knight tells Indy, “You have chosen wisely.� Ironically, or not, when faced with his “life or death� choice – Indy reminds himself of what should inform his decision. He was to look for the “cup of a carpenter.� How simple, how profound!

At our Community of Faith, Love, and Hope we believe that people who make extraordinary choices have two characteristics. They have mastery over their own lives because Jesus has mastery over their life. Second, they are magnetic. They are upright yet not self-righteous. People are drawn toward them. They have freedom others see and want. They can point others to Christ as they are asked how they are able to live they the way they do.

What choices should you make? You might want to begin by choosing to follow Jesus Christ and allow Him to transform you from the inside out. I pray that as you do, you will start making extraordinary decisions and experience a life beyond ordinary!