Here is a little more of the rough copy from a book that I am working on. Please give feedback. I would like to know how what is being written is coming accross. Thank you.

Pioneering
There are probably always those who are pioneering something new, but there seems to be certain seasons where there is a greater demand for those who are willing to travel on trails that cannot be seen. It seems to me that we are in one of those seasons now. Across the Body of Christ, there is an inward call to cultivate a culture that is beyond what we have known, a culture that reflects the heart of God and the power of His Kingdom. Like salmon swimming upstream, there is an urge to go against the flow of the inferior “norm” and swim against the current in hopes of finding something fresh and pure. It seems that in many movements and denominations, hearts are awakening from slumber, and these waking hearts are not satisfied with the status quo. There has been a revelation that where we are is not where we are meant to stay.
Revelation: An invitation to go somewhere.
Revelation is a scary word for some, but it should not be. Paul prayed that the Father would give the church at Ephesus the spirit of “wisdom and revelation” to know Him better, so we know that revelation is not a bad thing. But what is it and what do we do with it? When God blesses us with new revelation, we are not coming up with new truth, but we are seeing His truth in a greater light than before. The word revelation comes from the word “reveal” which means to see what we have not seen before.

My wife and sister like watching a show on TLC called “What not to Wear”. The concept is simple. People nominate a fashion challenged friend to receive a wardrobe makeover and get tips from two fashion experts. The show usually includes a video tape of the nominee explaining why they dress the way they do, a trip into the 360 degree mirror, and the fashion experts making fun of every item in their wardrobe as the unfashionable clothes are tossed into an “ole school” metal trash can. Sound fun? Things do get better for the nominee after the fashion experts show them some suggested new outfits that they think would improve the nominees overall fashion sense. (By the way, just to be honest, I think that most of the outfits the experts pick out are equally hideous to the nominees clothes which may explain why I would probably be a nominee for “What Not to Wear: the Big Man Edition”) The nominees (which by this point are no longer nominees, they’ve been picked so they are now fashion candidates?) are given a $5000 gift card and are commissioned to go buy a new wardrobe based on Stacey and Clinton’s advice. Sometimes this part is funny, sometimes it is painful, but day one of shopping is spent with the fashion challenged person going from store to store trying to find the right items for their new look. Stacey and Clinton are back at fashion headquarters monitoring the progress on there little monitor. (Hmmm) This usually translates into a lot of gasps, “oh no’s” and at least one “I don’t know what she’s thinking.” Day two is great fun, because the fashion experts go shopping with the afore mentioned fashionless one. After more sarcasm and humiliation, somehow the poor soul manages to spend $5000 on new clothes and is rushed away for hair and make up. At the beginning of this little story, I told you that my wife and sister like watching the show, but what you may not have known is that somehow, despite my best efforts to escape the room when I hear the theme music, I always end up watching the whole episode. Why? Because at the end of the show, things almost always end up working out better than anyone expected. Stacey and Clinton are transformed from stuck up fashion snobs that make fun of people to gushing compliment givers that “just can’t believe how great you look”. The very last segment of the show is when the send the newly fashionized person(N.F.P.) back to their friends and family for “the big reveal”. As the cameras show footage of the N.F.P. getting ready for their big night, producers interview family and friends who say things like “I can’t wait to see what has been hiding under there” and “I am so nervous, I can’t wait to see the new Shelia”. Then the moment comes and the N.F.P. steps through the doors and reveals their new look. Some people clap and cheer, some stand there speechless and usually at least one person will cry. Why? They have just witnessed revelation. The “new Shelia” is not actually new, she is the same “Shelia” that her friends and family have loved for years, yet they are seeing her in a new light and so everything about her seems new. So revelation isn’t creating something new, it is seeing what was always there in a new light.

I have been doing an awful lot of thinking lately about the importance of living in the right kind of culture. It has been a “theme” on the desktop of my mind for a little over a year, but over the past few weeks the file has been expanding and the whole issue has become more important to me.

So, what is “culture“? I looked it up, ( I will get into more detail later) and the first thing that stood out to me was that the first definition for “culture” was the word word “cultivate”. In order then to get a better understanding of culture, let’s check out the top two definitions for cultivate from Websters On-line Dictionary:

1 : to prepare or prepare and use for the raising of crops; also : to loosen or break up the soil about (growing plants)
2 a : to foster the growth of

Interesting to say the least. I am a visual thinker, and the picture I get from both of these definitions reminds me of farm life and crops. A farmer who wants to have a successful farm must take time to prepare the fields for fruitfulness. He needs to consider the commitment that it will take to nurture and tend to the crops to bring about the return on his investment. (The SEED)

A farmer cannot simply buy good seed and then throw it to the wind and expect to get the maximum yeild from his field. He must first consider his field, and make preparations for the seed to go into the ground. THE KEY TO MAKING HIS FARM WOR, IS CREATING A CULTURE FOR LONG TERM FRUITFULLNESS. I am not a farmer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. (Sorry, it’s late and my mind just went there.)

Consider the parable of the sower, or I think a more accurate title, the parable of the soils. (Matt. 13 amongst others) What was the key to determining fruitfulness? There was after all, quite a difference in the amount of fruit. The range was from nothing to 100 times the amount of seed sown. So was the difference in what method was used in sowing the seed. Were there different sowers? Maybe there was something special about the 100 fold seed? It seems from what we read, that difference was in the condition of the soil.

Jesus was talking in this particular passage about the condition of the heart of man, and how there are differences in the way that hearts receive the seed. While my thoughts about the importance of cultivating culture are broader than what was directly talked about in this passage, I think that the truth from this scripture illustrates the importance of having the right kind of conditions for growth.

Let’s jump over to my life in 2007. In the missional community that I am a part of, there is always something going on. And most of the time, I can honestly say that we are seeing lives impacted for Jesus in some way or another. I do not say this to brag in any way, in fact seeing lives impacted does not fulfill the calling on my life, or on the life of the team that I lead. I have spent many years watching God be God. He is amazing and His Gospel is really good seed. I have grown weary of seeing inconsistent results. I am not talking about how big a church grows, I am talking about how deeply a life is transformed.

Our current ministry is aimed at being and doing church for those who won’t go into church. We deal with a lot of “ungodly” people. It is so refreshing to be able to share life with these beautiful people who don’t have a need to impress with religious chat or Bible trivia. They just let all there stuff, for better or worse, hang out. I don’t want to paint a overly dramatic picture, but the truth is: MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE MORE DESPERATE FOR THE REAL JESUS THAN AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS. It is not that they get it right away, in fact most of them struggle for some time before giving their heart to the Lord. It is just that they realize their life is not working out so well.

We have been blessed to see many of these people give their heart to Jesus, and as a part of seeing the great commission fulfilled, our community is committed to try to disciple them. Again, we have seen some success on our journey, but when you know that there is 100 fold possibilities, settling for less is disheartening.

So how do we make the jump from tending a average garden, to reaping 100 fold fruit on a consistent basis? It would be very dishonest for me to even pretend to have all of the answer, but my heart has been provoked to cultivate the field.

I am hoping to do a series of posts around this topic. I would like to invite you to get involved in the discussion and consider the cost and benefits of living in a community that is willing to take the time to cultivate a culture that will embrace, foster and advance the move of God. What will it take? How can we get started? There is so much to explore, but I believe the world is waiting to see the manifestation of these types of communities.

Contending for Culture. It won’t be easy. We may have to walk as pioneers to lands where we have never been. We may have to prepare fields for planting that won’t yield fruit for years, but it will be worth it. Last thought. Consider the life of John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed). Here was a simple man who spent a great portion of his life clearing out weeds, preparing soil, and planting seeds that would take years to mature into fruit bearing trees. In many cases, he planted in the “wilderness”, but his planting help prepare for future generations that would come after him. There is no way of accurately knowing how many acres of brush were cleared, or how many seeds were planted. One thing that we do know is that there has been an exponential harvest that continues to this day.