"etcetera whatever" by: over the rhine

so as i was parousing my old xanga site yesterday, i came across several poems i had written. i will be re-publishing them here one at a time. some are good and some... well, some are a little painful. i'll start with the good ones though.

pens won tonight, as did the cubs. my fantasy team did decent. overall, a good day for sports. life is good right now.

thinking a lot lately about what "missional" means and how to communicate and share the missional vision. might blog a little bit each day of what i am understanding. first, missional means going TO the people, not expecting them to come to you. a lot of what we do in the church is what a friend of mine describes as "lobster-trap" evangelism. we conduct sporting leagues, organize events, and do all kinds of other "ministries" with the intent of getting people into the church. once they are in, the church then makes what may be a gap in logic by assuming that they will stay. to follow the analogy, they get the people into the lobster trap and then close it on them. definitely trying to think this through. on one hand, i don't want to throw all our evangelistic programs in this mold out. some of them are extremely successful and there are many people who can trace their conversion experience to this type of ministry. on the other hand, i don't think we are being true to our calling in the great commission by choosing to draw them in instead of going out. Jesus did not say "now get everyone in the world to come to you." no, he said "now go out into the world..." that is part of what missional means. it means encountering your community. it means serving your community. it means meeting your community exactly where they are and not where they should be.

okay, as promised: "one" by jeremy daniel bixler (written in the summer of 2005, a monumental time in my life)

i sat at home plate assessing the situation
one run down, one inning left
the men were weary
the battle was fierce


two gave up
three just left
four made an excuse
and five went home


all were gone but one
who had never left my side
and that voice rang through the dugout,
one asking “what now boss?”


i thought of what to say
to give a speech or to motivate
i finally found the words:
"just stay, one”


one sat with that unblinking stare
i had known all too well
and as i closed the door that night
i left one to see it through


one sat at home plate assessing the situation
one run down, one inning left
one was weary
the battle was fierce

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"you're worried there might not be anything inside. but that you're worried should tell you that's not right. don't try to see yourself the way that others do, it's no use..."