Back in my political science college days, there was an adage that politics makes strange bedfellows.  That was never more true than in 2010 America.

Last week, thousands of religious conservatives joined a political rally at the Lincoln Memorial where they sat at the feet of neo-con superstar Glenn Beck.  Beck led them in a rally cry to return to the Christian roots of our heritage.

As Russell Moore so sweetly points out, there is a heretical problem with the whole rally. http://www.russellmoore.com/2010/08/29/god-the-gospel-and-glenn-beck/

The Christian conservatives rallied around in a revival fervor drinking tea from a common chalice and following the newfound leader of the Christian conservative movement.

But, back in their churches, Christian conservatives would not associate with the likes of Glenn Beck.  They certainly wouldn’t call him brother.  Beck doesn’t even read the same Bible as Christian conservatives and follows a new revelation that evangelicals denounce.  As a Mormon, Beck is disqualified to lead any evangelical movement for revival.

Except, it is not an evangelical revival Beck is leading.  It is a political revival. As Moore says: “It’s taken us a long time to get here, in this plummet from Francis Schaeffer to Glenn Beck. In order to be this gullible, American Christians have had to endure years of vacuous talk about undefined ‘revival’ and ‘turning America back to God’ that was less about anything uniquely Christian than about, at best, a generically theistic civil religion and, at worst, some partisan political movement.”

So, in the interest of politics, conservative evangelical Christians find themselves dancing cheek to cheek with someone they otherwise wouldn’t take communion with — strange bedfellows indeed.

Too long we have been looking for an American gospel, when all along there has been a New Testament gospel that is far different than any American gospel has ever been or ever will be.  We probably won’t find it on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Sometimes you can’t stop to make changes but changes still have to be made.

I’ve been watching this little Chinese restaurant near a crazy busy intersection in Clarksville.  It’s not one of the giants, but a small mom-and-pop with great lunch specials.  Over the years, they have grown and now realized change is necessary but ceasing business to make change is not an option.

They have undertaken a creative approach.  The small building has a banner that announces they are still open.  Otherwise, there is no way you could imagine they would be open.  The building is surrounding by new walls going up, new roof being raised and construction moving right along.

I noticed one evening that the business appeared packed with patrons despite the chaos of construction all around them.

Change is necessary.  Usually, we must continue operations while making change.  Despite the chaos and turmoil that change creates, we have to keep committed to making it happen.

At the same time, we have to let go of the past to embrace the change.   If we have a clear focus on the purpose for the change, we can put up with the chaos.  If we lose sight of the purpose, we lose our commitment to the change.

If we hold on to the past, we risk become irrelevant.

We can’t fear change because of the inevitable turmoil and disruption.  Those are necessary and essential.

We most often avoid change because we aren’t sure where it will lead.  That is were courageous leadership is essential.  Wise leaders will know that change must happen and even know how to lead the organization there.  A vision for the future is an essential element of leadership.

Like the little Chinese restaurant, churches must have guts enough to suffer through change to keep reaching their objective.  Are we willing to endure enough chaos to make necessary changes?  After all, our purpose is much more important than the little Chinese restaurant’s.  Is our faith equal to the guts of the mom-and–pop Chinese restaurant?

“Color Cable TV,” announced the sign at one of those old roadside hotels that still hang around from a different era.

Back in the day when the sign was gleaming new, it likely would have boasted “Color TV” because that was a real drawing card.  But, is there anything other than color cable TV?

The idea of trying to make something old and worn out attractive by adopting some new features doesn’t work.  The fleabag motel may have cable TV, but it is still pretty much outdated and unappealing.

Embracing new concepts requires a different mindset.  It requires making major, significant changes, not just adding a few updated features.

When it comes to church, are we trying to offer color cable TV to a generation with high-speed internet and iPhones?

If we try to make church appealing to a new generation by adding a few updated features to the old concept of doing church, it is still old school.

A new generation of worshipers is not looking for a few upbeat songs and a speaker without a tie.  They are looking for a commitment to worship that embraces them.  It involves a different style of authentic relationships.  It requires a different approach to communicating.  No matter what the songs are, they need to be engaging.  And, no matter how the speaker dresses, he needs to be challenging them with solid, well-founded biblical truths presented in a way that is relevant to them and their world.

If we’re doing anything else, it shows.  The new generation we are trying so desperately to reach drives right on by.  And, our message goes unheard.

I’m giving up on Sunday school after deciding it is not worth the effort.

Because I have the opportunity to choose, I am deciding to put my efforts into building a community group instead.

Actually, I’m not totally abandoning Sunday school.  I will continue attending a traditional early hour Sunday school class but I won’t teach a class at the second hour.

I’m not advocating a mass abandonment of Sunday school.   If it works for you, that’s great.

After six years of teaching a young adult class, I foresee better potential investing in another format.  Sunday school can work.  And, my class could have been more effective with more investment from me.

But, it isn’t working.  And, just because it is the way Southern Baptists have done Bible study for the past 70 years or so doesn’t mean it is the way we have to do it.  And, it doesn’t mean it is the best way to do it.  It is possible that the model doesn’t work for this generation.

Semester breaks and military deployments create major attendance shifts in my class.  At best, there is little commitment from class members.  If there is something else happening for the weekend, they are gone.  Also, there is no expectation for attendance or participation.  They come, they listen, and they go on without apparent significant life change.

I believe that engaging God’s word and meaningful Christ-centered relationships will result in life change.

My prayer is that a group facilitator and I can connect with a community group from a wide age and social spectrum to develop interlocking relationships.  In the context of those relationships, we seek to bring about life change, encourage evangelism and create a global approach to missions.

There is a lot that can happen.  There is a lot that needs to happen.  I’m ready to explore a different approach.  Life’s too short to spend on investments that aren’t producing life-changing returns.

Being on campus from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. may seem like an interesting way to earn a living, but David Fischer sees that as his job.

And, he is more interested in developing relationships that lead to presenting the gospel and developing disciples than in making living.

David is a missionary to the campus of Austin Peay State University.  He is connected with Bethel Community Church but he is responsible for raising his own support.

Spending just an hour listening to David talk about his passion for the outreach to the campus makes me wonder why I’m not doing more.

During the school year, David has a Sunday evening worship service on campus that draws at least 100 students each week.  Students at the Sunday night service break off into small groups that meet after the worship service or at other times during the week.

It is in those small groups that students develop relationships that lead to discipleship.  That is important because without the relationships, discipleship is nothing more than harassment, David observes.

David has a key leader and two apprentice leaders assigned to each small group.  Those are the primary ones David is pouring his life into.  He is constantly in contact with those leaders meeting with them regularly, but not micromanaging them.

David says the relationships he develops and those his leaders develop are key to their ability to draw students and spread the gospel on campus.

David believes that the world can be changed by reaching college students.  And, he is convinced that reaching Generation Next will happen by going to them, not by asking them to come to you.

And, David says, it’s all about relationships.   It is working for David.  Have you tried it?

There are no pews in the church; or, there is no church in the pews.  The church is not in the pews or in a building or in a location.  If church is the church, it is scattered.

For the past month, I have been forceful in comments about challenging the status quo, changing to meet the challenge of this generation and having the courage to make a difference.

I have been called to move from generalities to specifics.  This is my manifesto.

I speak of my own local church but the truths apply to the larger church in general.

I love my church.  I am committed to my church.  I am passionate about my church.  Consequently, I am ready and willing to fight for my church.

The enemy with the potential of bringing the church down is not outside the church.  The enemy is within.  The enemy is present from the pew to the pulpit.  We must identify, challenge and fight complacency, apathy and mediocrity wherever they occur.

Identifying and achieving the objective will require rocking the boat.  It will require speaking out.  It will require taking a stand.  Humility is essential.  Timidity is unacceptable.

Making the church what it needs to be will require getting out of the pews because church doesn’t have cushions.  Remember the First Century church — the one we say we are modeling? Do we see them sitting in pews?  We occasionally find them gathered, but we most often find them scattered, on the move and in action.  When we find the New Testament church arguing – and we do find them arguing – it is generally about practice and never about worship style, budgets, building plans or staff assignments.

Changing the church is not about changing the pastor or the staff.  Changing the church is about changing me.  My church will never be missional, relevant, radical, primal, engaging, piercing or exciting until I am.  So, change is about me.

I am a man of unclean lips.  I live among a people of unclean lips.  But, I believe.  God, help my unbelief.

I can’t determine what programs work for you or don’t work for you.  But, I can for me.

I’ve taught Sunday school for the last 500 years (give or take about 465 years) with the past six being a young adult class.  When my commitment ends in a few weeks for this Sunday school year, I am shifting my energies to a community group.  That decision was carefully weighed.  I’ll explain later.

I have mentored and counseled young men for a least the past 15 years.  Beginning in January, I will make that more intentional, purposeful and directed.  I have found a model I want to put in place.

Being the church requires being flexible.  It requires being open to change.  It isn’t regimented, scheduled or programmed.  It is frustrating, time consuming, exhausting and draining.  It requires lots of grace, acceptance and relationships.  It is short on legalism.

But, we won’t realize that as long as we sit in pews daydreaming through another sermon.   We discover that out there where there are no pews, no stained glass windows, and no schedules and where sermons are lived out.  And, it doesn’t depend on professional ministers.  It depends on professing ministers.  When you look carefully at the New Testament church, the ministers are those who profess to follow Christ.

Last week, I was asked when this new ship would show up.  My response was, “when we build it.”  It doesn’t involve a committee.  It doesn’t require a vote. It is not covered in the by laws.  It doesn’t need a budget allocation.  It requires passion. It’s time to get started.  Are you ready?

This week, ABC News picked up on blog comments by Southern Baptist Seminary’s Russell Moore about the moral implications of the Gulf oil crisis.

ABC quoted Moore as saying, “We simply can’t be at the place where some evangelicals were prior to this of simply dismissing the whole idea of environmental protection as … Al Gore’s cause and the cause of hippies on their food co-op.”

A few years ago, I observed a new movement among conservative evangelicals to embrace environmental issues.

Perhaps Moore’s comments signal a breakthrough in conservative consciousness as he has a broad following among evangelical conservatives.

For 30 years now, religious conservatives have rallied with political conservatives which has encamped them with economic conservatives.  In the black-and-white world of politics, this has pitted them against environmental conservationists who for some reason tend to be painted as liberals.

Environmental issues are not exclusively liberal concerns.  Moore gives it a great perspective: “We’ve had an inadequate view of human sin.  Because we believe in free markets, we’ve acted as though this means we should trust corporations to protect the natural resources and habitats.”

Moore observes that the Gulf oil leak will perhaps awaken evangelicals to environmental concerns.  He points to the need to extend healthy skepticism to corporations.

Corporations are not our friends.  They are not looking out for our interests.  They are not looking out for the good of future generations.  They are not concerned about the environment.

But why should conservative evangelicals care?    Taking the Bible literally and wholly requires attention to the Old Testament.   It is there that God commanded us to be stewards of the earth he gave us.  Moore said that caring for God means caring for God’s creation.

God gave us a pretty good earth with lots of neat stuff to enjoy – not to mention the essentials elements for survival the earth provides.  We’re obligated to take care of it.  Moore says we need to hold the government, corporations and individuals accountable as part of our responsibility in caring for the earth.  Well said.

June Cleaver is dead.  So is Ward.  And Wally.  And, the Beaver, too.

Actually, the Cleavers only existed on television from 1957 through 1963.  But, they were the real American family.

In some ways, we still believe the Cleavers of Mayfield actually existed.  We programmed church to cater to the Cleavers who were consistent, dedicated, followed Dr. Spock, and predictable.

But, that family doesn’t exist.  Actually, it never did.

What does exist is a radically different family in the 21^st Century.  And, church needs to be different in order to have an impact.

I keep coming back to this question with haunting regularity – are we willing to change to meet the challenge of a new generation?

Meeting the challenge of a new generation requires us to be radically different.  That may mean different programs.  That may mean different schedules.  That may mean church looks radically different than it did 40 years ago.

It means that we have to challenge the status quo.  It means we must look at the objective.  It means the way we always did things needs to be evaluated.

I’m perplexed by the mentality of protecting the program to the point of going down with the ship.  The goal is not to save the ship.  The goal is to get to a destination.  The ship is only a means to get there.  If the current ship is sinking, then find another ship.

If the Beaver did something like staying on a sinking ship, Wally would say, “Beav, that was pretty dumb.”

I’m ready to try out a new boat.  Is anybody else interested in staying afloat?

Change is constant but it is something we constantly resist.

That principle was apparent this week as the Southern Baptist Convention went through a painful process of changing a hundred-year-old appropriations system that perhaps wasn’t working as well as it once did.

We fight to protect the process and resist solutions to reach the objective.  It takes courage to challenge the process.

I encountered a similar mentality in a meeting at the local church level this week.  We want to defend and perpetuate processes, programs and systems that have been in place for 50 years or more.

The thinking is that if we work harder and are more diligent at doing something that isn’t working then it will work.  We assume that the failure is not the system, but us.

It is imperative that we evaluate the program itself.  Let’s get specific.  If Sunday school, which has been a Southern Baptist hallmark since its heyday in the 1950s, is losing its appeal to a new generation should we change the program or try futilely to guilt the new generation into participating?

It is not that this generation eschews Bible study.  They desire a different method.

And, deacon visitation may have been effective in the last 50 years.  But — NEWS FLASH — this generation doesn’t want you knocking on their door.  No matter how much harder we try to get more people involved in the process, if the process doesn’t work, more people involved won’t make it work any better.

This generation is drawn to a worship experience because of relationships with people who are excited about their worship experience and talk about it.  Guilt is no longer a primary motivator.

So, here are the take-away points to ponder: Is your worship something people get excited about?  Are you so excited about your worship experience that others know about it?  Do you have a Bible study program that draws people because they want more of it or tries to guilt them into meeting attendance goals?

Keeping the objective in focus is more important than keeping the process intact.

It’s just a question of where you want to put your money.  Clarksville City Council members last week balked at a $2.3 million Edith Pettus Park renovation plan.

It’s a good idea, but an expensive idea, one council member observed before retreating to his upper-class neighborhood not far from both private and city-operated golf courses.

Isn’t Pettus Park within sight of the new multi-million dollar Foy Fitness Center?  How about the Governor’s Stadium complete with running track?  Isn’t there a swimming pool and tennis courts adjacent to the Foy Center?  What about the baseball fields, soccer fields, intramural fields, and just plain open fields, all within sight of Pettus Park?  Can’t the kids around Pettus Park just have at it with those facilities?

Oh, rats.  All those things are reserved for college students.  Just across the street, the kids in the hood have only Pettus Park to keep them occupied.  And, spending $2.3 million for a bunch of kids in the hood is, well, just not going to happen, the council member observed.

Within a few blocks of the hood are at least four big box churches with recreation facilities.  Surely kids in the hood are welcome there.  No, the doors there are locked tight.  You can’t just let anybody loose in those places, you know.

Some of those churches have made tentative efforts to reach out over in the hood.  But, there are problems with that.  It’s really not safe, you know.  You can’t take too many risks — back to Fort God secure behind the $75,000 electronically locking door system

The city?  The churches?  Individuals?  Who’s going to take the risk to invest in the kids in the hood?  There’s not much chance of it happening.  There’s just not much return on investment with a bunch of kids in the hood.  Now, about upgrades for that city golf course….