Called Out

There are some times in life when happenings around the globe grip us at a core level. For some reason, the recent earthquake in Haiti has gripped me in that way. I find myself thinking about Haiti, a place I've never been. Crying and praying for people I've never met.

Yesterday, I recorded a couple of my thoughts and a prayer with the help of my good friend, Fred.



The two best things we can do for our friends in Haiti are to pray and give.

Pray for:

• Physical Needs (like food, water, shelter, medical treatment)
• The Removal of any obstacles that would prevent help from reaching the need
• Peace
• Strength
• Courage

And don't forget to give. Here is how we're responding at Indian Creek Community Church:

1. 100% of personal or corporate contributions to Indian Creek’s Live Out Haiti Relief Fund will be forwarded directly to the relief effort. Give online and designate the funds where it says “Other” and write Haiti Relief in the “comments” section. We will also take a special offering this Sunday.
   · In the coming days, we will partner with others such as Heart to Heart International's Global Distribution Center work in KCK. As we have news about the volunteer mobilization, we will pass it on. If we hear of opportunities to provide on-the-ground assistance, we will pass them on, but with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army taking on major roles, civilian opportunities to serve may be limited.
   · We will gather supplies for Care Kits containing a specific list of practical hygiene items as soon as an Indian Creek leader steps in to lead it. We have all the instructions to accomplish this as a church! If you want to lead this effort contact Dave Geenens at Dave@inhancedleaderhip.com
2. We have a partnering relationship with The Church of God in Haiti, The Church of God (Anderson), has a significant presence in the country, with 233 congregations and 32,000 constituents. You can make an immediate donation to the Disaster Relief Fund by clicking here.
3. We are friends with Troy and Janet McMahon who lead Restore Community Church in Kansas City, MO. They partner with C3 Missions- the Global Orphan Project, http://theglobalorphanproject.org/, to build orphanages and clinics for children living in extreme poverty.

We continue to look for the best ways to help the most people. After all, that's what it means to follow Christ. We are his hands and feet of love, compassion, mercy, and provision.

Here's the question that I've been asked a lot lately: what's different about Indian Creek - Gardner?

I think that question is coming from two different angles:

1) How will it be different from Indian Creek - Olathe?
2) How will it be different from other churches in the Gardner area?

I'm going to tackle question #1 today, and #2 later this week.

Let's just be blatantly clear for a moment. We are planting another campus of Indian Creek Community Church. That means we're one church in two locations. Maybe another way to think about it is this: this fall, we added a Sunday night service at 5:00pm in Olathe. In 2009, we'll be adding services in Gardner.

Our vision and mission won't be changing. In fact, it's the whole reason we're expanding to a new location. We are completely committed to helping people find their way back to God. That's what we're about down the tips of our toes. It's our driving vision.

When we talk about how we're going to do that, we simplify it down to six words: Love God, Love People, Live Out. That's our mission, our way of life.

As we plant locations all across the KC Metro, these things aren't going to change.

However, at every location, we will have a series of objectives, strategies, and tactics that may vary, as we see fit. After all, every community has its own unique needs, opportunities, and challenges.

As I dream about Gardner, I get excited about a helping build a community of people who genuinely and authentically love their neighbors and long to see them know Christ. I get excited about being at the forefront of a movement of justice and generosity throughout the community. A movement sparked by a community of people who intentionally, generously, and sacrificially serve their city. A community that meets the needs it sees, combats the inequities that it faces, and warmly welcomes anyone as a part of the growing family.

What about you? What do you see in Gardner?

Been loving the thinking of Ed Stetzer lately, here's an excerpt from one of his blog posts:

We can put ourselves in a position to talk about the gospel through an understanding of culture. Paul didn't ask the people to come to him; he went where they were. He listened. He examined. He learned. Then he spoke. We can do the same thing.

It's called cultural engagement. But not in the surface-level, doing-what's-hip-so-people-will-like-us variety that we sometimes see played out. It's being relevant in the look-at-what's-happening-at-the-core-of-who-people-are-variety. It's loving people as they are but then showing them a better way.

In Athens the culture of the day was one of debate. That may not necessarily be the best mode of conversation in your circles. But maybe a helpful approach is to look deeper at the themes of films as a way of entering into talks about what seems to be driving or motivating humanity today--and then having conversations about a new way of life. Maybe it's time to read books of substance so that you might have conversations of substance. Maybe you need to go to the places where real people live real (and sometimes messy) lives and have honest conversations. Regardless of the method, it's about meeting people where they are and then giving them the choice to go further.

Wander through your own Athens. Look at the cultural idols. Let this burden your mind and spark your imagination. Let godly passion drive you to say "Give me Athens or I die." Then confidently share the gospel with those who may see its uncluttered message, trust its validity, and receive its Savior--Jesus Christ. You don't have to make the gospel, God, or the Bible relevant. They're already relevant. But we need to find relevant means to communicate that eternal truth.

As we look toward planting a campus of Indian Creek in Gardner, this ideology is at the core. How do we meet people where they are? How do we share the timeless truth of the love and hope of Jesus Christ in a way that directly intersects with the needs of those around us?

There's really only one way: be with people. Know them. Become invested in their lives. Hear their joys, struggles, triumphs, and pains. Celebrate the good, grieve the loss. As God's messengers to the world, He's asking us to get up-close and personal with people. But, how?

Want a simple idea?

Have your neighbors over to your house. Keep it simple. Invite a few families over for a low-key Christmas dessert reception, a simple time of getting to know one another at a personal level. Invite one family over for dinner.

It doesn't have to be fancy. It just has to be real.

That's what we're longing to be able to do in Gardner. Meet people where they're at, and share the transforming love of Christ with them in how we live our lives.

Would you join us on the journey to reach Gardner?