The UNREASONABLE GOD!

God is UNREASONABLE.

He asks us to step into the unknown and do the impossible so that he has a powerfully clear high platform to show the world that He's still God -- still in charge, still the ONE, still Jehovah, still the Manna-Maker, Soul-Provider (a long time before the song), and our First & Last Greatest Hope for life lived properly.

I'm digging into 'The Sermon Maker' by Calvin Miller and uncovered a quote that you've got to read and let sink in. On page 26 Miller posts this quote from 'The Spire' by William Golding: "Even in the old days He never asked men to do what was reasonable. Men can do that for themselves. They can buy and sell, heal and govern. But then out of some deep place comes the command to do what makes no sense at all--to build a ship on dry land; to sit among the dunghills; to marry a whore; to set their son on the altar of sacrifice. Then, if men have faith, a new thing comes."

This is my story in the call to launch Phos Hilaron Church. Totally unreasonable and impossible unless God Himself meets our need and gives us success--and to this point He has!

Jeff Fuson serves as Point Leader for Phos Hilaron Church near Louisville Kentucky. Jeff's # 1 passion is being a husband and daddy. A close second is seeing people grow spiritually. As a Professional Speaker Jeff also serves as a Keynote Speaker & Trainer crafting & delivering high impact keynote addresses & training events for Entrepreneurs, Banks, Credit Unions, and small to medium sized non-profit & for profit enterprises. He's got one incredible wife and 3 awesome children.

What I learned at the KOA

Mist on the mountains, birds singing, sun on the way and the stream singing just a few yards away. AND, I'm online with High Speed Wi-Fi--what a wonderful world. I'm at the KOA (Kampground Of America) RV Camping with my sister and her family and Julie and the boys. We've squeezed a lot of fun into our not-guite 4 days here. We've tubed down the river several times, swam til we're water-logged, rented banana bikes, fished a lot for trout and gotten blanked, burned hotdogs over a campfire and learned to live in tight quarters.

Along my journey here at the Cherokee, North Carolina KOA here are a few things I've experienced and a few things I think God may be saying to me....

1. Fish with the Green Worm like that guy over there! He's caught 5 since we've been standing here and you need to quit fishing with whatever you think is gonna work and just follow what others are doing that are catching fish. (my dad talking to my oldest son who was rigging up some unusual cantraptions for fishing with absolutely no hits)

In my life there are so many times that I'm operating on a pioneering spirit model filled with innovations that may or may not work because no-one else has crossed the great divide before. Dad's comment to Joshua was said loud enough for me to hear and it sure makes me wonder. At PHC we're big on innovation and we're trying some unusual contraptions for 'fishing' -- some of which seem to work great and some of which we need to cut the line on and change to the 'green worm'! Not sure which are 'green worms' for us yet, but I'm listening and watching to see what Jesus is fishing with and we'll change to his plan pronto! By the way, we started the day fishing with corn because we saw a fella haul out a huge Rainbow Trout fishing with corn. Talked with the same guy later in the day who was not fishing with the 'green worm' and was not having great success and he let me in on a secret. They changed bait all the time to see what the fish would bite as the barometer rises and falls and the fish change their minds about what seems tasty throughout the day. Where's the next 'Green Worm'?

2. Cousins are a great gift! My boys have had a blast with my sister's boys. They've done a lot of life together over the years but this is definitely a high point in 'boy-land' as they romp, ride, swim, dance, watch movies, cozy up 5 thick in a tiny space in the 'Fifth Wheel' and burn stuff in the fire. God, we are blessed beyond belief. Thank-you.

Being here reminds me of the good gifts of being involved in a close-knit faith community like Phos Hilaron Church where many of us experience 'cousinliness' even though we may be miles away from our flesh-n-blood families. It's good to have a cousin to scorch a marshmallow with!

3. It's good to be away from the computer and cell phone. We've had very little 'outside world' access over the past week and my spirit has needed a break from the constant barrage of emails and cell phone chatter. I'm glad that there are still a few places in the wolrd where we can disconnect. As an American born-n-bred leader I'm addicted to 'busy' and have been raised on quaint sayings like 'If it is to be it's up to ME!' that fuel my self-centered addiction to actions that I'm confident will win the day and change the world. But, Jesus didn't exhibit my kind of frantic behavior and self-confidence. He exhibited HUGE God-fidence and often rested and waited for God to take action and then He joined His Father in taking the next step. God wired us for 'sabbath' -- a day a week to rest and relax and rejuvenate and a day to hand the world back to it's rightful King and let Him take the reigns and run the globe. Practicing Sabbath (and, for me it is a work in progress to truly hand the world back to God and to relax on the Sabbath) by relaxing more and working less and by conscientiously handing the world back to God are vital for my long term effectiveness, soul health and body care. It's a gift from God that I am learning to allow myself to receive with more readiness to dive in to rest fully and leave the big stuff to God. It's humbling and freeing and power-giving all at the same time to Sabbath....I'm learning.....and practicing. In many ways the future of the endeavors I lead may depend more on my ability to Sabbath well than I've ever imagined because it consistently removes my hands from the enterprise and keeps God's all over it!

4. A lone sparrow just landed near my feet and began to hop even closer as if to remind me of Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount to relax and KNOW that God is gonna provide--not because I'm good or because I'm deserving --but, because He's God and providing abundantly for His creation is a God-Thing to do. I battle worry these days as our fledgling church moves through summer and as the day my 18 year old daughter heads off to college comes closer by the hour now and we need some serious cash-flow to move her along. So, I need to hear and see and be reminded at a deep level all the time about how much God loves me, us, and Phos Hilaron Church. From the outset He has provided all that we've needed in spades at just the right time. He's resourced us in miraculous ways over and over again. Summer is a tough time on ministries anyway and especially for a start-up enterprise like ours. No question we believe we're called to do what we're doing in the manner we're called to do it, but we're not sure that everything we're doing is a 'green worm' and I'd like to be around long enough to figure that out! I've heard it said, and say myself that 'What God Originates He Also Orchestrates' and that has been proven to us over and over again. I have a front-row seat to miracles on an almost daily basis! My faith is being grown and I get to see God provide for PHC and my family in miraculous ways over and over again, but it still unnerves me at times! I'm learning to trust Him.

Back to vacation -- the rods & reels are waiting nearby...

Learning a lot out here in the wildnerness!
Jeff Fuson

Jeff Fuson serves as Point Leader for Phos Hilaron Church near Louisville Kentucky. Jeff's # 1 passion is being a husband and daddy. A close second is seeing people grow spiritually. As a Professional Speaker Jeff also serves as a Keynote Speaker & Trainer crafting & delivering high impact keynote addresses & training events for Entrepreneurs, Banks, Credit Unions, and small to medium sized non-profit & for profit enterprises. He's got one incredible wife and 3 awesome children.

Church Planters Zany Ride and a Cool Mantra to boot!

The Ride of a Church Planter is a bit zany....

-most of us come from something fairly stable career-wise and jump head-first into the raw thin-air of 'not-yet-ness' and the dream of a new church that will add to the collective Kingdom firepower in a fresh new way.

-most of us believe we have a new angle that MUST COME TO LIFE or the world will remain unchanged -- totally unacceptable for those of us who are driven to influence others and outcomes in the world

-we attract the best and brightest dreamers in the world -- most of whom are just like us -- we have very little notion of how to put the wheels on the wagon we're imagining so we need technicians and engineers and people who can sequence information inputs and outputs --and that puts us at odds because our internal processors are so vastly different -- so we have to grow people skills out the yang to be able to work with those who see the world way differently and in much more crystalline black and white than we can imagine

-we postion our families on the brink of financial ruin

-we fuel work-a-holic tendencies

-we put our people loving selves on the line of attack from those outside AND inside the church and wonder why this can feel like a lonely enterprise at times

AND, we revel in the notion that God DOES USE US.

HE DOES EMPOWER US.

HE DOES ALLOW US TO SEE THE MIRACULOUS WHEN HE BRINGS BREAD RIGHT WHEN WE NEED IT.

HE GIVES US THICKER SKINS TO DEAL WITH THE BARBS TOSSED OUR WAY BY OTHER 'CHRISTIANS' WHO JUST CAN'T SEE THIS AS A VERY GOOD IDEA.

HE GRANTS US EVEN MORE TENDER HEARTS THAT ACHE FOR OUR BROKEN FRIENDS.

HE HELPS US CARE PASSIONATELY ABOUT NEIGHBORS WHO ARE NOT YET AMPED IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

WE GET TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF SEEING 9 PEOPLE BAPTIZED AT OUR FIRST BAPTISM EXPERIENCE......(happened for me at Phos Hilaron Church on Sunday, July 6, 2008!)

So, this is the ride of a lifetime in a lifetime of rides!

We've seen God do more incredible things in the past few months than in my entire life. It's more fun to play at the edge than you can imagine -- yes, scary and it doesn't feel very 'safe' at times, but what in life is truly 'safe'?

Helen Keller basically suggested that 'safety' is overrated when she was quoted as saying,

Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature . . .

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.

Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

That could be a church planters mantra!

Amazed that God can even use ME!!!
Jeff Fuson

Jeff Fuson serves as Point Leader for Phos Hilaron Church near Louisville Kentucky. Jeff's # 1 passion is being a husband and daddy. A close second is seeing people grow spiritually. Jeff also delivers impacting training events for Entrepreneurs, Credit Unions, and small to medium sized enterprises. He's got one incredible wife and 3 awesome children.

Helen Keller on Teaming Up!

"Alone we can do so little;
together we can do so much."

- Helen Keller

Leading a Volunteer Revolution is an amazing ride because I get to see the absolute best in people as they stretch and sacrifice and go the extra miles to benefit others. Launching Phos Hilaron Church has been a huge joy because I get to work with some of the most passionately gifted people on the planet. To work with them this week at 'Phorce Phield' -- our home-based version of a Backyard Bible Club or Vacation Bible School -- was a powerfully rewarding experience because it reminded me of the power of 'we'!

'WE' can do so much more than 'ME' -- no matter how great 'ME' is.

As a leader I'm fully convinced that when God's Volunteer Movement gets fully awake, energized and empowered that there'll be a revolution like this world has never witnessed. Imagine the collective firepower of the Body Of Christ on the move to solve the great challenges of the world. Rick Warren identifies 5 Global Giants in his PEACE plan that challenge the Church to rise up and be THE Church that Jesus imagined when he trained the original core team for the work of advancing the Gospel.

Let God Arise and the People of God Follow His Lead!
Jeff Fuson

Creative Risk & Launching at the EDGE of Disaster

As a church planter who chose to launch with a staff I think a lot about stuff I didn't have to think about as a Youth Minister at a large church - like how to make payroll for the team every couple of weeks. And, God is full of surprises -- like the fact that we've made it every single time and that He's given us everything we've needed right when we've needed it. He has been out in front of us the whole way.

There's no question that a cash infusion would allow us to do some really cool marketing campaigns and add some video production gear to boost our creative team capabilities a notch or three, but the 'needs' are being met.

Lesson # 1 for me = God is IN this with us and HE's resourcing the movement

Lesson # 2 for me = What God Originates He Also Orchestrates (originally spoken by Troy Dobbs)

Lesson #3 for me = Launching with a strong creative / missional edge drives some 'normal' church people away, but it draws those with a missional heart and a will to impact culture. It's a natural filter.

Lesson #4 for me = 'risk fatigue' is lurking among our team and in my heart all the time. Sometimes we ask ourselves if we should keep pushing the missional and creative edges because we know that it 'costs' us in terms of reaching more 'churched' people right now who could help resource the movement. But, we also know that 'playing it safe' invites a slide back into 'church as usual' which is death to the dream of Phos Hilaron Church. The core of our dream is to reach those who are M.I.A. (Missing in Action) from the Kingdom and those who are P.O.W.s (Prisoners of War) and in our hearts we know that this means that as leaders and as a body PHC must 'cowboy up' and risk playing behind enemy lines, going hand to hand and heart to heart in our neighborhoods, and taking it to the streets in all ways possible. So, we ask for courage to dance at the edge of disaster where God can show Himself strong and abundantly able to do what He wants to do to resource this movement.

Lesson #5 for me = Play to Win or Head to the House. Since God is in this we don't have to 'play it safe' and we don't have to protect our gains and play 'not to lose' -- we can stay aggressive in our methods and dreams and actions (don't read that as obnoxious and 'in your face' , rather read it as taking creative risks to advance the Kingdom of God in creative, compelling missional ways). So, a personal mantra related to the enterprises in my life these days is 'Play to Win'!

I had an old coach who pulled us aside before a big game and gave us a great pep -talk that started something like this, 'Boys, it's not how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose. And, if you lose, don't come back...' He was just kidding, kind of...

And, if I said that to Phos Hilaron Church I'd be kind of kidding, but kind of serious, because the church in America has become so preoccupied with 'pretty and nice' that we've forgotten that our leader took the ball across the goal line up a dust covered hill spattered with his own blood--not pretty, but effective! Sometimes winning does matter and sometimes winning God's way is to play hard and do the gritty work of advancing the Gospel in unorthodox ways. If you wonder about whether God is into 'unorthodox' ways consider how He brought salvation to us -- a Virgin, a baby, a cross! Not orthodox, but ultimately EFFECTIVE.

Just thinking today!
Play to WIN or Head to the HOUSE!
Jeff Fuson

Mighty Casey Up to Bat -- A Re-Take on a Classic

I'm in the office today preparing a talk called 'Swing the Bat' about Power Investing from Jesus' perspective in Matthew 25:14-30. I came across this cool audio as I was doing research that I thought you'd enjoy.

Check in out here.

Worship at Phos Hilaron Church in the morning will help people take the chance that they've been afraid to take!

Swing the Bat,
Jeff Fuson

Command & Control and Prime Time Churches

"I think the Web lives an always Prime Time model. I think older channels, like television, still think they control what is Prime Time."

Mitch Joel of Twist Image

It's the end of the world as we know it --and, I feel fine!

The sky is falling!

Chicken Little

The landscape under our feet is shifting & shakin and rockin & rollin' but the sky is definitely not falling -- at least not today.

I'm 4 months into the full-on Launch of Phos Hilaron Church and most of the time it's total blast because we get to think about what we're doing in new ways and ask important BIG QUESTIONS about why we do what we do in churches and about where 'church in America' is going. Thus, where we need to be trekking on our journey with God to bring the Great News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to life in their lives.

I spent 3 years of hard study and prayer and near desperate attempts to get God to quit bugging me about launching Phos Hilaron Church. In that study time I learned that the church in America is being 'de-centered' and pushed to the fringes of society. I think a partial reason that many push back on Christian Churches these days is because so many of our churches are based on Command and Control and there's an inherent distrust of that mode of operation among the American public overall. When people sniff command and control in a setting they catch a deep visceral sense that somethings amiss and they run for cover like seeking shelter from a frayed power line whipping & sparking on a wet side road after a thunder storm. Yet, most churches run on a command and control model that would make General Patton proud.

The challenge is that most churches don't know that they've been de-centered and still try to play as if they control all the chips in the game and that they get to 'broker God' to the masses. They operate as if God is only available at our fine retail establishment -- aka 'our church building' --where we'll dispense a little God to you in return for some of your time, attention & cash. But, we'll dole Him out to you, hungering peasant, when we want and how we want.

Now these ideas of 'brokering God', 'de-centered church' and 'command and control' all work together. Overall we in the Church Leadership Positions haven't figured out that 'God has left the building' a long time ago and He's out dancing in the streets with real people who are encountering Him whenever and wherever they choose. That is, He insists on doing what He wants when He wants with whom He wants through whatever medium He wants -- He simply won't allow us to 'broker' Him. It's a seismic shift from the 'Communism Model of Chruch' where the Clergy decide when, where, and how the peasants will get some God to a web empowered people who can get what they want when they want it in whatever size, shape and color they want it NOW. This shift is more hugemongous than we can imagine.

I was in Poland a few years ago and I was mesmerized by the Poles who were running out of the shadows of command and control communism into the bright free sunlight of the Online world. I've never met people who knew how to get more from a laptop over the Internet than these bright people. Their pent up hunger, almost desperation. for 'more' of everything, pushes them to leverage the Internet in bold new ways to deliver the goods that they seek. God is on the loose in the world with a power that dwarfs what the Internet is bringing to people and He's been 'online' for all of eternity and his 'Universe Wide Web' (UWW, not just WWW, is a massive tome waiting to be mined!) is available to all -- whether they ever come to our 'church' (aka, building)! This is HUGE and demands our immediate attention. We must change NOW rapidly.

We, in the Church business, face the same challenge that the Network Television Industry does. We can no longer dictate when 'Prime Time' is nor how people will 'consume' our product. So, the quote that I opened this blog with reminded me of what we wrestled with in early 2007 at JAVA--my favorite Coffee shop so far. (Although, I really like LaVida Java a lot, too / conversely not a big 'Bucks fan because they don't offer free wi-fi which is the bread of life for a nomadic church starter !)

Our core launch team wrestled with the notion of buiding a church for 2017, not just for 2007 and we realized that we're up against an incredible task -- like racing across shifting sand barefoot in a sandstorm. The terrain is being shifted by wind and seismic forces that have been pent up for decades at least while we try to navigate back to 'center' so we can set up shop and dictate the game via a 'command & control' model. The reality is that there is really no more 'center' for us in the Church world just like there's no more 'Prime Time' for Network Television. The best they & we can do is try to garner market share from an increasingly multiplexed consumer who holds all the 'attention' cards in her/his hand.

I think American Idol is getting this right -- they've got a show that does garner feverish 'prime-time' behavior AND they also allow people access to much of their content online so that people can consume the show in a variety of ways. Plus, they allow the audience to participate in what's going on by voting for contestants, thus giving the 'Wii' Generations a way to play along. Now, at Phos Hilaron Church, we're wondering how to do the same sorts of things -- allow people to 'consume' what we're producing in a variety of ways --both in 'Prime Time' settings (Sundays at 10 AM at Tinseltown in Springhurst a couple of Sundays a month and throughout the community the other Sundays doing Service Worship & Parable Worship Experiences) and via the web. We're working hard to produce live Worship experience that go beyond just consuming another worship experience (the # 1 hobby of the average American consumer-Christian), but we've got a long way to go. The good news is we're asking some tough questions about why we do what we do and how we can morph consumers into contributors and spectators into participators (thanks Rick Warren and the P.E.A.C.E. Plan for some great ways to think about this). ,

Some things we're always wondering are things like this....
-how we can help our people be a part of Worship experience rather than just watch the 'professional Christians' worship for them?
-how can we invite participation rather than just spectation (is that a word?)
-how can we allow the people of Phos Hilaron Church to collaborate in building the worship experience?
-how can we invite people to share in our experiences via the web -- and, not just how they can download a podcast of our worship event, rather, how we can empower a collaborative learning network of wanna-be Apprentices of Jesus?

And, these notions, force me as the point-leader to always question Command and Control and it begs me to share power and to allow others to play along and to participate --not just to watch me and consume what I'm 'preaching'. Some days I'm better at this than others!

So, in an always ON/Non-PrimeTime world where people can TiVo most experiences of their lives how can we, in the church-business, continue to engage participators and not just passify consumers?

At Phos Hilaron Church we're wrestling with these issues moment by moment and we're building a 'high-participation' model by asking people to worship in new, more participatory ways like Service Worship Experiences. And, it's risky, because Consumer-Christians have a hard time shifting from spectating to playing. But, we believe that the 'Wii' Generations want to be 'in the game' rather than watch the game, so we're choosing to race after P.O.W.s and M.I.A.s who need church to allow them to participate & contribute rather than just consumer another mash-up of songs, prayers, & preaching.

We're tinkering, toying, and plowing new ground so pray for us that we'll have stamina and resources for the Westward Expansion needed to help the Church in America move along on shifting sand.

We're leaning into 2017 as we build out Phos Hilaron Church and I've got to tell you that God has provisioned this journey in miraculous ways over and over again. (yes, there have been some sleepless nites for a few of us as we've wondered if we can pay the bills one more time and every single time, right on time, God has given us just what we need) WOW, what a ride.

De-Centered, recovering command and control leader, on a mission from God! (Blues Brothers)

Have a great day!
Jeff Fuson

p.s. One of the most excellent resources that helped me begin to think about this was Reggie McNeal's work called "Present Future". I read the book and then our Core Launch Team for Phos Hilaron Church studied the Present Future DVD series. This got a lot of the academic stuff and theological stuff that was pounding on my heart into a format that people with a lot less time and energy for that sort of thing could get and take action on quickly. Big KUDDOS to Reggie McNeal for a fine piece of work that brings a lot of Theology, Demography, and other 'ologies' into an actionable package.