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In design we deal with a concept called negative space. It’s the empty space around a design or image. Where negative space becomes compelling is when it’s used as a part of the design or image itself to bring a richer concept.

Sometimes when I’m reading Scripture it’s negative space or the story that isn’t told that grabs my attention. I’m intrigued by the untold elements as if they were withheld on purpose. Not because they weren’t important but because God encourages discovery.

What you find might not be life changing. It may not even be interesting. But, every once in awhile, it may just make what is there richer than before. The negative space can never replace what is actually said but once you have come to a stand still with a passage perhaps explore what isn’t there.

Ask questions. Step back from the scene and see what seems to be missing. How does it relate to what is there? Place yourself in the negative space. How does that make you feel? What you learn may challenge you, encourage you, or it might just make you think. Either way, the negative space of scripture might be a journey worth taking.

aside | Comments Off October 20, 2010

A church moving into a new location can be a very exciting thing. It creates anticipation and buzz. All kinds of questions begin to arise. At the Exchange my desire is that we would be a place to get answers to all those questions. No necessarily by any one individual or sermon but the exchange that takes place in the community.

What’s interesting in our move to this new location is  the buzz it’s created outside of our small church. People who are not even connected to our little circle are talking about our move. As people walk by they are intrigued by the renovations that we are doing. Some even stop in to ask questions even though we haven’t officially opened up to the public.

So today I thought I would ask the #1 question that we have been asked since we started working on the new location.

Question: Where has the ARK moved to?

Great question although some might be wondering why this question is pertinent to our new church location. The reason is the ARK used to be in the same basic building that we are now meeting in.

Answer: 240 Oak St NW, Cleveland, TN 37311

As more questions are asked you can be sure that I will answer to the best of my ability.

aside | Comments Off October 19, 2010

I don’t know about you and you might find this strange coming from a pastor but I don’t like tithes & offerings. This isn’t a debate as to whether tithing is even a biblically mandated New Testament church practice or not. I feel the terminology sets us on the wrong path.

If you look at the modern church many have stopped using the term “tithe” because of the whole New Testament debate. In order to not have to face that question we started to simply call it the offering. Say what you will about the idea of giving regularly to your local church but calling it an offering still feels a little like I’m trying to pay for something I did or didn’t do. Maybe I’m not worthy by Christ alone…I better bring an offering to make sure me and the Big Guy are square. It seems like many times we are still trying to earn something.

Perhaps it’s not even the terminology but the mindset and application that bother me. I strongly believe that followers of Christ should be generous people and even support their local church financially but the why is very important to me. Here are three things that I never want to control why people give at the Exchange.

Convenience – The tithe is an easy out and that’s why I don’t teach it. It’s too convenient. No prayer or thought, just deposit your 10% into your spiritual 401k and trust that God matches well over 100%.

Compulsion – The basket gets passed every Sunday morning and sometimes it feels like a robbery. You place some money in it with very little thought of why. You just know you’re supposed too or something bad might happen.

Circumstance – This is the main reason people give less than they should (TBD) or none at all. They know the bills that they have and so they adjust their giving based on what’s happening at the moment. Seems reasonable to me but it still isn’t God’s ideal.

So what am I proposing? I’m calling for a Psalm 40:6 focus on all of our giving. Here’s what it says in the Amplified Bible.

6Sacrifice and offering You do not desire, nor have You delight in them; You have given me the capacity to hear and obey. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.

Did you get that? No more offerings or sacrifices. Why? Because God has given us the capacity to hear and obey.

Christ was the ultimate sacrifice and offering on our behalf. There are no more to be made. Instead we have been given the ability to hear the voice of God on these matters and obey Him.

So the next time your church takes up an “offering” or you’re at the Exchange for our time of giving, don’t just give 10% because it’s easy. Don’t give because you feel the compulsive need too. And definitely don’t let your current circumstances get in the way.

Ask, hear, obey…

aside | Comments Off October 18, 2010

This is a big step for us but I wonder if it’s too big for the time we have allotted for it. It’s a step we have needed to take for a long time but I was naive then and unwilling to lead in that direction until now. Now that I’ve come to terms with that, there is an urgency to push forward.

For some churches a big move would be purchasing their first piece of property or moving forward on some big building campaign. We just rented a small space in the center of Cleveland, TN. But when you have been portable and in most cases with absolutely no visibility, moving to a high trafficked area that is yours all week is pretty big.

There is an urgency because I know it’s the right step and it’s a much needed step. It marks an important phase of our church community. To explain what that phase is is outside the scope of this post but trust me, it’s a phase and it’s important for us to enter it.

The impatience I am feeling is because we should have done this sooner but for one reason or another I wasn’t ready. I had my eyes on a future that may or may not ever be to the degree that the needed present was lost to me. I guess I feel the need to make up for lost time and that has a tendency to make me a bit impatient.

My apprehension is the easiest to explain. This entire project is well outside of my own abilities. There is construction, remodeling, electrical, and many other areas that I have no skill or knowledge in. Furthermore, the one who has the most experience in these areas also has a job of their own and a new baby. I wonder how much he will be able to accomplish without a lot more help before he just can’t do anymore. Mind you he is the backbone of this whole remodeling. I also fear the longer that it takes the more we may decide doesn’t “need” to be done and settle for far less.

What does any of this mean? It simply means that I feel an urgency in the direction that I believe God is leading us. I am battling impatience because of the time I alone have wasted. And I am extremely uncertain that we can accomplish it all on time. Which means over the next week and a half I will be doing everything I can to learn what needs to be done and how to do it. I will be working with very little rest to see this project completed. And if for some reason we don’t make it, it will not be because I didn’t fight with all my strength to see it through.

And I won’t turn anyone away who wants to help…

aside | Comments Off September 29, 2010

Last night 5 men embarked on a journey to take out a load bearing wall and replace it with an appropriate support system.

The offending wall

The offending wall

The funny thing is that four of us are really desk jockey’s. But we all have a strong work ethic and got busy stripping walls and all kinds of other demolition.

The offending wall a little closer to being knocked down.

The offending wall a little closer to being knocked down.

A little more demolition and we were ready to raise the supports and start chipping away at the wall. Tearing down a wall is hard work and as I type this my whole body aches and I have blisters and gashes all over my hands and arms. Even my finger muscles hurt.

This is how far we got by 12 AM

This is how far we got by 12 AM

Ii may not look like much but I promise you that was a lot of work done in the 6 1/2 hours we were there. I just want to say a special thanks to the guys who worked last night.

They are (in alphabetical order) Clark Bryant, Ed Curry, Zach Skaggs, and Kevin Stover. And a very special shout out to my wife who got us food and beverages for the work night.

There is a lot more to be done over the next week and a half so if you want to be involved please let me know when you are available and we will find something for you to do. More to come.

aside | Comments Off September 29, 2010

In my last post I shared some of the things that I feel we’ve taken away from our previous meeting spaces. In this post I want to share some ideas that will protect the things we loved and minimize the things we didn’t like so much about those locations. This is still in the conceptual phase and we may not do things exactly like this…but we may.

Children (Half and Half) - This is not a reference to Solomon cutting the baby is half. It simply means that I think we will keep the children with us for half the service and let them have a more age appropriate time the other half.

I believe that children can learn a lot from watching and worshiping with their parents and other adults. I’m thinking we will keep the children with us during the first half of the service and then let them have a more age appropriate teaching time. This means the parents will be able to partake in the message with no distraction or worries while the children can do the same.

Teaching - For the 20 to 30 minutes the children are doing their own thing we will have a more structures time of teaching for the adults. Exactly how this time will be used is still veiled in  a little mystery, even to me. I know that I will be doing more teaching in my usual style but will try to be opening up to messages from others a little more and even creating times of discussion.

Small Groups – We have all come to love the discussion time that we have been having in our home setting and I want to nurture that as much as possible. While we will be trying to make time for that in our regular teaching time we will also be focusing more heavily in small groups. Small groups is where this format works best and and I know Ed has a lot of vision for them in the near future.

Space – We are a community of artists in one way or the other. Writers, teachers, musicians, and general creativity. I want our space to reflect that. Not just in decor but in our gatherings as well.

As far as decor is concerned we want to hang local art, move to couches instead of chairs, as well as many other creative ideas. Our children’s area will be small but it will be amazing. Our hope is that the whole space will show this excellence in art.

Our gatherings should be no different. Lot’s of local art and talent. We would like to do a completely unplugged open mic night as well as other gatherings that will bring the community together to “exchange” their talents with each other.

There is a lot more to be looked at but I think that should get us off to a good start. What are your thoughts? Do you have any ideas?

aside | Comments Off September 24, 2010

In light of the transition to our own full-time location I thought it might be a good idea to explore how we will try to maintain the things that we have learned about ourselves throughout our journey as the Exchange.

What We Learned From Meeting in a Theater

Teaching: One thing I have taken away from our experience at the theater is that we do like having a structured time of teaching both for the adults and the children.

Children: Separating the children for a portion of the service is challenging for a small church but has huge benefits for both the children and their parents.

Space: There are a number of issues here. A larger space made us feel more separated when we gathered with people we knew best. Also, the separation between fellowship and service time really didn’t fit us. Having to transition to “spiritual time” just felt unnatural whereas a more homogeneous gathering just feels right.

Another issue with the theater was anything we did we had to set-up and tear-down each week. This prevented us from being able to capture our own personal style.

What We Learning From Meeting in a House

Teaching: We really enjoyed the hearing from everyone that our discussion based teaching time afforded. There is so much wisdom and passion in each and every one of us that sometimes goes untapped. Sometimes that worked against us and it was hard to keep any focus and so some discussion would get derailed.

Children: We loved having the children as part of our gathering time. We are a family of families and everyone being together enhanced that value. It definitely had it’s challenges as well.

Young children have a hard time behaving during extended adult discussion and that makes their parents uneasy because they feel they are inconveniencing everyone else. These parents also can’t enjoy the discussion as much because they are having to keep the kids out of trouble.

Finally. these are some topics that can’t be comfortable discussed with younger children present and that can stifle conversation some.

Space: It’s small and because it’s someone’s home it doesn’t really allow for personalization of the community. I would also assume that it’s also very invasive and taxing on the person who owns the home.

The fact that its small isn’t an entirely bad thing. Too small can be a problem but just the right size small foster interactions between individuals who might not have had them before. Our house experience did that for us. Also, being in a smaller place allows the space to not feel empty. I’m now of the opinion that there is a correct size for us at each stage of our growth and that too small or even too big will affect us adversely.

So these are the things that I think we have taken away from our last two locations. In my next post I’ll share a preliminary plan to maintain the things that we loved about these experiences while minimizes the challenges we have discovered.

Until then, am I missing anything? What else have we learned from meeting at these two very different locations?

aside | Comments Off September 22, 2010

Two and a half months ago we stopped meeting at the Premiere Movie Theater. We had no other place lined up so it was most definitely a step of faith.

The basic thought was the theater didn’t fit who we are and was much larger than we needed which made it difficult to do well. It was also far out of town which made us almost invisible. Even with all it’s down sides the space was comfortable. So comfortable that it didn’t challenge us to be who we were supposed to be, So we left.

Since that time we have been meeting in one of our homes and tried that whole home church thing on for size. It definitely had it’s challenges. No space for kids and a living room is a little small even for our size. So we kept looking and have finally secured a location that I think is going to be the perfect first step for our community of Faith.

Our new home is 2173 North Ocoee Street.

Let me give you a small list of all the benefits this new space affords us.

  • It’s cheap - By that I mean it is inexpensive enough that it will add absolutely no financial strain on us as we move forward.
  • It’s cheap - I know I already said that but what that also means is that we can afford to fix the place up just as we want it from the very beginning. I think it’s going to look pretty awesome when it’s done.
  • It’s highly visible - Up until now every location has been almost completely hidden from the public eye. This location offer plenty of signage in a high traffic area.
  • It’s within walking distance of Lee University - Let’s be honest. We love the students there and it’s nice to be so close for those who may like to join us.
  • It has plenty of parking – The other businesses in the area are all closed on the weekends and evenings so we have the run of the place. I estimate there is space for about 30+ cars at our location alone and plenty of empty space right next door.
  • It’s our all week long – No more setting up and tearing down. And we can have events all through the week if we like. This opens up the possibility to start an open mic night and other types of events.

These are just a few of the reasons I’m so excited about this new opportunity. I hope that you are all as excited as I am. Watch your Facebooks, email, and phones. We are going to need some help getting this place up and running.

One last announcement. We are projecting to be in our new location as early as October 10th and no later than the 17th.

Everyone spread the word, The Exchange is coming to a neighborhood near you…

aside | Comments Off September 20, 2010

“He who has ears, let him hear.” ~ Matthew 13:9

It is no surprise to anyone who spends any time at all with me that I seem to have a hearing problem. My wife would probably say that it’s her most loathed quality about me. She isn’t being cruel about a physical disability because the hearing problem I have has more to do with my attention than my ability.

A perfect example of how this plays out is on the ride home from work each day. My wife and I will be in a conversation and it will come to a lull. At this point I start thinking about what I need to get done, listening to something on the radio, or just starring aimlessly out the window. That’s when it happens.

I’m not exactly sure at what point it happens and that’s the problem. She has already spoken a few sentences to me and I’m just tuning in. What did I miss? I have no context and so I have to ask her to repeat herself. This never goes over well. Especially since I seem to do it almost daily.

I wonder if I do that with God. Am I so preoccupied with my own stuff that I miss entire conversations with Him? Am I so distracted by the busyness of my own life that when I finally tune in I’ve already missed half of what He said? Perhaps the problem is not my ability to hear but what I allow to so wholly capture my attention.

aside | Comments Off September 14, 2010

Now before you skip right to the end and leave hate comments, hear me out. I’ve thought long and hard as to whether I should write this post or not. It’s a sensitive topic and I get that. Perhaps, if you are like me, the thought of any kind of book burning sounds ludicrous.

I tried to play devil’s advocate and see things from both sides, I have thus created my top reasons why a Qur’an book burning might not be as bad as some of us thought.

  1. It’s Good for Book Burning Christians Because It Shows Progress - For a period of almost two hundred years (only eight hundred short years ago), Christians throughout Western Europe were involved in what we know as the Crusades, in which many Christians burnt living Muslims. At least now it’s only their Holy Book. It’s nice to see we’ve grown up some.
  2. It’s Good for Muslims Because It Exposes a Simple Truth - Muslims aren’t the only ones with wacko factions that do things that embarrass and shame those trying to prove we aren’t all crazy. To my Muslim friends, you and I aren’t that different; let’s grab a bite to eat and lament the silliness of others in our faith.
  3. It’s Good for NON Book Burning Christians Because It Takes Focus Off of Our Own Shortcomings - Let’s be honest: as long as there are crazy Christians burning books and banning everything, no one will notice whether or not I’m a gossip, a liar, a cheat, or just a plain pain in the you-know-what. When stacked next to these people, we all look like saints, even if we are in total disobedience to God.
  4. It’s Good for Church Seekers Because it Narrows the Focus – If a church hosts a book burning, then its obvious they aren’t the church for you. Thank you book burning churches, you’ve made the decision for countless seekers just a little bit easier.
  5. It’s Good for Humanity Because it Reveals the Mercy of God - If someone was going around using my name to do crazy things like burning books, there is no telling what I would do. But God hasn’t destroyed them yet, so that’s good for all of us who do crazy things both in and not in his name.
  6. It’s Good for the Economy Because it Increases Cash Flow - All these people who think burning the Qur’an is such a good idea probably don’t have a stockpile in their closets for just such an occasion. That means they have to go buy them. The bookstore that was struggling to stay in business just got a surge of patronage. Which brings up another point…
  7. It’s Good for the Qur’an Because it Probably will Fund it’s Next Printing - With bookstores everywhere selling out of the Quran publishers will see a need to increase production. Soon there will be dozens of Qur’an’s in every bookstore and maybe one in every home. Can someone say “Best Sellers List”?

So, as you can see, although the idea of a Qur’an book burning seems like one of the most ridiculous things someone could do, it’s not without its merits.

Now it’s been back and forth as to whether any Qur’an burnings will take place or not but if they do I hope this list makes you feel a little better about it. And if it doesn’t I invite you to print one hundred copies of this and have a blog post burning in protest because that is a completely logical thing to do.

aside | Comments Off September 10, 2010