The Paradigm Shifts Series

(Or put another way, the lessons we’ve learned along the way.)


Before you dive in, I should mention that you will find many references to "we" in this series. The other part of we is my friend, pastor and fellow visonary Ben Connelly. He has his own blog you can check out as well. In many ways, he is smarter than me and more gifted than me and I am blessed to have been on this journey with him.

Now, let's set the stage, shall we...

In thinking about church, have you ever stopped to consider these two things:

1. Jesus was on the planet 30 years before he began His ministry.

2. What verses did Jesus give us on how to do church? Wasn’t there a sermon on the church like there was a sermon on the mount?

On the first question, my guess is building relationships, engaging the culture and praying for his mission. On the second, the answer is nada. Or is it? If He taught us that we are His kingdom and that we are His church, then when He taught us how to love and how to live and how to serve, He was speaking on how to do church. Somewhere through time, we have gotten caught up in doing of church and forgot about living the church. Somewhere we said to God, “I got this” and then went about creating our version of church. How disappointed in us must He be at times?

The largest lesson for me in this City Church journey has been the shift in my paradigms. A paradigm is a set system or model that forms the basis of something – in our case belief. I listened to the teachings in my church and accepted them as true and correct, but never looked for God’s truth in Scripture. I left the labor of obedience to Scripture to other people – mainly pastors or “holier” people than me whom I trusted and then followed what they said. I, like many, have spent countless hours debating “once saved always saved,” hymns versus contemporary worship, announcements then message then offering or message then offering then announcements. Time well spent for the Kingdom for sure.

Like most of you, I have spent a lifetime of following my paradigms. And when I ask myself “what is keeping me from living in incarnational, missional community?” the answer is simple – ME!

My City Church journey has been one of deconstruction as much as construction. Of breaking down my paradigms of old and replacing them with Biblical truth. The following is a list of some of the top paradigm shifts we have been through on this journey. These are ones that you may have to go through yourself or at the very least accept to be living on mission. These “nuggets” came through self evaluation, prayer, debates with God (guess who won) and living life with others as incarnational family.