The John Dobbs Experiment

Pray for John.  He has agreed to have his head surgically removed for scientific purposes.  Rather, we should pray more for his wife.  It is going to be a challenge for her to lug her husband’s head around so that he can keep his ministerial appointments.

Seriously, John called me today to talk about my last post, Consumer Christians.  We may not be the brightest bulbs in the room but together we manage to produce a few watts of bright ideas.  This is one of those ideas.

John is going to come up with a list of four or five people from the church he preaches for.  At some point, this week or next week, they will meet over dinner or coffee.  Instead of harping from the pulpit on our need to be counter cultural revolutionaries he is going to appeal ,face to face, for these few brothers and sisters to join his experiment.  His mission.  He is going to ask them to help him turn the tide - to create a congregation of gimme, gimme’s to one where the prevelant mood is, “What can I do today for a specific brother or sister.

The five participants will be charged with the mission of hitting the church doors on a chosen Sunday with the intention of purposefully saying something positive and encouraging to the one they have chosen.  It can be something as simple as, “Hey, I’m glad we go to church together.  I like you.  You make me excited to be here every time we meet for services.”

At some point after  Sunday the group will meet again to talk about their experience and what it did.  They will do this for four Sundays in a row choosing new people every week while reaffirming to the others they have encouraged that they are still thrilled to get to worship with them week after week.

Meanwhile, John can keep those of us who are interested in the results informed via his blog.  The goal is simple.  It is a token of our resistance to the cultural drift of meism.  It is our way of fighting back.  Rebelling.  It is our way of preparing our people for works of service.  It is our way of demonstrating to God that we do not believe the worship experience should be defined as meaningful only when we get our way.  It is our way of equipping rebels to hit the church doors heaven-bent on being an active blessing in someone’s life.  It is our way of being crucified.  It is our way of singing Jesus first, yourself last and others in between.  That is where true kingdom J.O.Y. is found.  It is our way of shifting the greedy spotlight off of ourselves and directing that light on someone else.  It is our defiant battle-cry that we seek, above all else, to walk in the steps of Jesus.  It is our way of saying sermons, songs and formats do not for us make worship.  We say, boring sermon, uninspired music and the same old format - Who cares?  As long as we get to serve somebody else we will be just fine thank you very much.

I can’t wait to see what happens in Mississippi.  I want John and his group to know that Craig and Amy will be with them every step of the way.  The two of us vow to do at Memorial Drive, in Tulsa, what you will be doing there.  It’s going to be exciting to compare notes.

John, did I get all that down right?  And please, keep your head - attached.

love ya,

craig