looks like some people were just waiting to here what i had to say, so here are my thoughts on lumps and beyond
[start greg's editorial on lumps]
1) involvement with the church
i think after some period of getting adusted thru lumps to make scbc one's church home, feeling like they have some of a supportive fellowship network and serving in the body, lumps ppl ought to seek out body-relationships outside of our small niche group (20-somethings). as mature christians, we need a variety of relationships in our life. looking at a biblical model, we need all the barnabas, paul, and timothy's in our life. older mentor christians, younger christians to disciple, and peer christians to run the race with. i think that perspective is really just a starting point to look at how we ought to be involved with the body. i'd really encourage someone who's been at lumps and sunset for a while to consider how they can be invested in other areas too (e.g. youth ministries, serving with sunday services, sunday school, church prayer meetings, missions trips, musical productions, etc). also last but not least...consider being baptized and being a member too.
2) lumps people transtioning out? within the church?
a few people have started down that path already. if people don't feel that phileo is the right culture for them, i hope people can be proactive in seeking out fellowship or areas of service in the church. previously, that's a role that the community groups were envisioned to have taken. cell fellowships like that are just waiting for the right people with the heart, vision and desire. even informal relationships are cool. there are some lumps ppl who meet up with one or two others for outside prayer and accountability.
i've always felt that real fellowship, isn't overly structured, but happens organically. that's exactly how lumps grew. a small handful of people had the desire for fellowship; they're needs weren't being met by the current fellowship structure. so they met up with pastor jerry and started meeting casually. the rest is lumps history. (i wrote up the hostory on lumps a while ago...i'll publish it on the web one of these days.)
3) needs not met by lumps (and shouldn't be met)
i think looking at the model of the church body, each part has a specific role. that's how lumps is (and should be) in relation to the entire church body experience at scbc. lumps is great at being an accessible meeting point for recent college grads, seeking out peer fellowship and a body culture similar to what many have come from in college.
there are a lot of limitations to lumps:
- a narrow age range of 20-somethings (not so many people with considerably greater life experience than you).
- it's hard to really structure and foster deep accountability when trying to accomodate about 70 people in very limited small group times.
- sometimes lacking is the intense, focused studies which some need (e.g. apologetics, theology, men's issues, women's issues, other super focused stuff).
those are all things which should ideally be a big part of our lives as christians. but you know what, just cuz it's not in lumps does not mean you can't have it. lumps really sets the ground and resource framework for 20-somethings to find all of that within scbc and among lumps ppl. lumps cannot and should not be made to be the all encompassing church experience. people ought to really look for it on their own and seek after it, not just wait for things to be presented to them.
if you're really identify with some of the above lumps limitations, i bet you that if you were to look and make your search known, you will very quickly find the resources and people to meet with. (if you need help, just lemme know, and i can probably point you in the right direction.)
if you were around a year ago, you know that for a while lumps tried to be everything to everybody to the best of our ability. as a result, it was really hard to do anything well at all. resources, time, energy, and focus was splintered off in multiple directions. particularly with the development of the late late ministry(young adult), we saw how a focused lumps can play a really complementary part of the body and church experience.
[end greg's editorial on lumps]
so that was a lot to share. it's been something that i've been acutely aware of about lumps for the past year. i know there are a lot of people who've been around lumps for a while, seeking something more. some people are getting past the 20-somethings mark and are wondering where to go. some people are looking for something deeper, like discipleship. that's all good...and it definitely should be attained. if that's you, i hope you know that you're not alone, and that what you're seeking for isn't that far beyond your grasp. just ask and seek...and it'll be given to you.
thoughts? counterpoints? other related considerations? feel free.
if you guys are tired of blogging on your own sites, and don't like any of the recent threads on this blog, try any of the following questions you want. i've chatted recently about this with different people, and i know this has been top of mind for different people.
1) for a 20-something who is a regular at lumps and attends scbc, how should they be involved with the church?
2) where can you imagine (hopefully or realistically) lumps ppl going beyond lumps? (i.e. transitioning out)
3) what spiritual needs do you feel aren't being addressed by lumps? can there be some needs that are better not addressed by lumps?
this ought to make for some good talk, as scbc is starting to address church vision and larger framework. it's pretty much, what do you think our spiritual path can be connected to the church? this ought to be an interesting.
if no one posts...i'll just continue to make this my personal blog on lumps and answer my own questions with fat book-length posts. ha. :P
