Death.  Always a great way to start a blog when you want to build readership.  Bet you’ll be quick to forward this link to all your friends.  No better way to get invited to a party than to start throwing the death word around.

Yesterday was Easter, so I thought it would be good to dedicate my early morning to re-reading the Resurrection Story.  But it wasn’t only the empty tomb that grabbed my attention.  The last chapter of the Gospel of John tells the story of Jesus conversation with his disciple Peter (if you don’t know the story, Peter had just vehemently and publicly denied knowing Jesus the morning of His death).

So Peter and Jesus were chatting, making things right, when Jesus said something that seems rather strange:  “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:18).

Huh?  But then the Bible explains itself:

“Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’”

The kind of death?  By which He would glorify God?  I thought this was Easter?  Pastels.  Bunnies.  Eggs.  Death?  Why does it always require death to glorify God?

As much as we talk about the unconditional love of Christ, there should never be any doubt – accepting that love is free, a gift, but that’s just the beginning of a journey.  The cost of following Christ, truly following Christ, is high.  All but one of Jesus’ disciples was killed, the other exiled to live alone on an island.  Do we really understand what Jesus asks of us?

Death.  Dying.  To Self.  To our perspectives.  To our kingdoms.  To our plans for our lives.  To our safety.  Our comfort.  Our selfishness.

Death.  Only death brings life…real life.

The quietness of the house tonight has made me introspective.  I’m pondering more than one unfortunate and sorrowful story of respected spiritual leaders, some of who I know personally, who are not ending well.  Years of effective service drowned in torrents of suspicion, accusation, or slowly found irrelevance.  As a leader who is just starting a new church-planting journey, I’m tempted to point the finger and say “that will never be me.”  But I’m tormented by the unfortunate knowledge of my own humanity.  Why do we hold onto things so long and so tightly?

It’s easy to throw stones when you sit where I am today…literally with nothing.  Nothing but a dream that’s bigger than my reality.  No massive throngs of people listening to me teach, no years of “successful” history to lean back into, no big salary.  When you don’t have much it’s not hard to let it go.  But after 5, 9, 18 years of “sweat equity,” will I still be able to withstand the allure?

Once again, Jesus was the ultimate example.  He personally invested in countless lives, was followed across the countryside by massive crowds, healed the sick and even raised the dead (you know His Twitter feed would have outnumbered even President Obama’s).  And right as His power and influence reached the point of critical mass, as the people were ready to crown Him King…

He died.  He died. He willfully died.

Jesus held everything loosely.  The One who owned it all to begin with never acted as if He owned anything.  I hope the same will be said about me.  I guess only time will tell.

As we worked today on populating the soon-to-be-launched second tier of CityCommunityChurch.com, I thought it might be good to spend a few posts explaining in more detail the values that are driving the planting of this church.

Number one for us is practicality.  We’ve coined the term “making Christ accessible to humanity.”  But what does that really mean?  Unfortunately, knowingly or unknowingly, I think a lot of churches today make it difficult for actual, normal people to see the reality of God through the lens of their own lives. 

As my buddy Nathan says…when Jesus died on the cross the curtain in the temple was ripped in two, representing the breaking of the barrier between God and man.  Why do so many Christians seem to be trying to sew it back up?

Our desire is to do everything humanly possible to present the truth of God in a way that everyone can understand and connect with.  When Jesus spoke to the crowds on the hillsides, he used stories and illustrations that spoke new life in terms familiar and easily understandable to all who heard. 

He was practial.  He was accessible.  We want to be, too.