Paul Stewart

Dad Thinking on His Feet

I realized this morning about fifteen minutes before the bus arrived that today was my daughter's Kindergarten Halloween Party. She needed a costume. And fast.

I ran to the basement and threw open the "dress up" bin only to discover an array of torn polyester, broken tiaras and ragged "glass" slippers. What was a guy to do?

I decided pink was a smart choice, so I grabbed the first four pink items I saw. A boa. A skirt that fastened with velcro in the back (bonus). A princess cape (what?). And a cowgirl hat with flashing lights (still in operation).

I ran upstairs and said, "Great news Sophia! You are going to be a Princess-Superhero-Cowgirl!"

Honestly, I think she looks beautiful.

Script: Words that Changed the World

The central role of teaching at Gateway is to form and shape our lives into a part of the Christian story. Our goal is to help make sense of following Jesus in this time in history, which means we work hard to translate the scriptures from their first century setting into our post-Christian context.

But what about the scriptures themselves? What do these stories really have to do with me? Are they really inspired? inerrant? infallible?

Next month we will begin a new series entitled Script: Words that Changed the World. We believe the Bible is much more than a book of stories and rules from the past. It is a complete story which moves from chaos to order, from first creation to new creation, from the garden to the city. The Bible not only gives us a glimpse of the past, but provides us with a picture of the promises of God, which will come to pass in the future. God inspired the authors of Scripture to speak to all generations of believers and calls us to immerse ourselves in the narrative - both communally and individually - to interpret and live out that story today.

*Also, I've got to say that I am loving the design we came up with for this series! Our own Joey Leaming created this from the ground up. He is an incredible graphic designer and his skills just keep getting better and better. Joey works part-time at Gateway, but he is also available for outside work. Check him out at Arise Design!

Money & The Shrewd Manager

On Sunday we looked at Luke 16 where Jesus tells the very confusing parable of the Shrewd Manager. Essentially this money manager discovers he is going to be fired. So he calls in his master’s creditors, one at a time, and cancels a large portion of their debt. To the readers great surprise Jesus says, “The master commends the dishonest servant because he had acted shrewdly.” (Luke 16v8).

Is Jesus advocating dishonest business practices? No. This is a parable, and a parable is a story meant to teach one essential principle which the teacher would then apply in a substantive way (Luke 16v10-13).

This is a man who doesn’t have good purposes in life, he doesn’t even have an honest character, but Jesus says he does one thing right: he doesn’t go into drift mode.

He actually does something. He forms a concrete plan, and he executes it.

Jesus is saying that in this world, when people get fired up about a dream - even if it’s a selfish dream - people will become incredibly determined and creative about how to finance it.

But often the children of God, the people who have the chance to use their money and stuff to make a difference for eternity, they become oddly passive.

They just kind of drift…

Everybody wants to be a generous person. But there’s a danger in that. Because I have compassionate feelings sometimes, I can delude myself into thinking I’m a generous person when I haven’t really done anything about it. And this is the point of Jesus’ story. 

Jesus is saying: Nobody in this world just drifts into a life of compassion and generosity. Financial freedom does not require great wealth, but in our consumer driven culture, it does require great intentionality.

If you really believe that everything belongs to God and that you have received grace because of the incredible generosity Jesus showed on the Cross, then Jesus says, get at least as intentional and fired up as some guy who’s living his whole life just to pile up a bunch of stuff that ’s going to be discounted and sold on eBay five minutes after he dies.

Get at least that fired up.

A City Within a City

This month we launched Gateway’s brand new online community called The City. The purpose of The City is to enhance actual relationships within the church. 

So far we have been thrilled with the response. Nearly 80% of our congregation has already created an account and we’ve watched as connections have been made, groups have been formed and ministry teams have been empowered to serve our city.

The Staff uses The City to announce upcoming church-wide events, track contributions and spiritual growth. Small Groups use The City to share prayer requests and events. Members use The City to exchange goods and services in “The Marketplace.”

Best of all, The City is a great place for everyone to connect every day of the week.

The City is for anyone who attends Gateway. In addition to joining a Small Group and a Ministry Team, participating on The City is one of the primary ways people can connect with the Gateway family.

Do you attend Gateway? Interested in joining The City? REQUEST AN INVITE

How Mission Shapes our Technology

The first-ever Social Media Summit is this Saturday. The Summit is specifically designed for ministry professionals looking to expand the reach of their ministries in the realm of social media. Really looking forward to hearing from Brandon Donaldson, Sam Duregger, Sam Mahlstadt and of course, Mr. Social Media himself, Justin Wise! 

Chris and I will even be leading a workshop exploring some of the ways Gateway has selected and utilized social media.

The Gospel and Electronic Culture: How Mission Shapes our Technology
Contextualization is the incarnation of the gospel in a new culture. To reach a new culture, the gospel must enter, challenge, and re-tell the story within the new culture. But it is essential that we have a proper sociological and theological understanding of electronic culture before we jump right in. The church must engage technology not with naïve embrace, or fearful rejection, but with discernment, creativity, and purpose as we articulate the gospel in a digital age. In this session we will begin to evaluate technology, discern its effects, and utilize it to communicate the gospel.

There are still a few spots available. Hope to see you there!

Pastor as Curator

In Rework, Jason Fried writes that what makes a great museum is not just what is on the walls; it is what is not on the walls. What someone said no to. This is the role of a curator.

The curator makes conscious decisions regarding what to collect, research and display and what not to. If you take all of the possible art in the world and put it into a room it’s not a museum, it’s a warehouse. It is the curator’s job to take an entire universe of options and decide whether or not something makes it into a museum.

I think one of the primary roles of a pastor is that of a curator. To identify spiritual gifts, talents and abilities lying dormant in the pews and bring them to life. To inspire artists and writers and entrepreneurs to contribute their gifts not just for a profit, and not just to make a point during the sermon, but for the common good of the community.

Just this week at Gateway I’ve come across an improv actor, a drummer, a videographer and an insurance agent all willing to contribute their expertise to building the kingdom.

Trinity Grace Church in New York City recently did a series ‘Calling All Artists’ within their community to submit their craft. I am not sure if what follows is anything they had in mind, but it absolutely blew me away.

 

There is so much potential sitting within our congregations to communicate God’s truth, grace and love. It is the pastor’s job to find it.

Dorothy Sayers on Faith & Work

"In nothing has the Church so lost her hold on reality as in her failure to understand and respect the secular vocation. She has allowed work and religion to become separate departments, and is astonished to find that, as a result, the secular work of the world is turned to purely selfish and destructive ends, and that the greater part of the world’s intelligent workers have become irreligious, or at least, uninterested in religion.” - Dorothy Sayers

Social Media Summit

I’m really looking forward to The BeDeviant Social Media Summit next weekend! Not only do I get to present alongside some pretty great people, it is being held right here in “the greatest city on earth!” 

The Summit is specifically designed for ministry professionals looking to expand the reach of their ministries in the realm of social media. The Summit will be a day of learning the “why’s” of social media while also digging into the “how-to’s”. Chris and I will be talking specifically about the role of social media in church planting. 

The fun begins Saturday, October 23rd in beautiful downtown Des Moines.

Owner to Steward

Remember the final scene of “It’s a Wonderful Life?” George is in trouble, and people just come streaming in and say, “Here. Take my stuff.” One person gives a watch, and the officials who are supposed to be arresting him begin to give their stuff.

This is what the church is like. A church is not just one more organization. Organizations often are concerned with fundraising, and it doesn’t really matter where the funds come from. If you can get one person to give all the money, that’s fine.

A church is different. It is about becoming a community of stewards. Every time that transition happens in another person, the community becomes a little stronger.

Every time one person crosses from the “owner” category to the “steward” category - whether they have a lot of money or not - a supernatural dynamic is released in the community, because the heart of the community is becoming a little more like the heart of God.

Gateway Life

So excited about this month's edition of Gateway Life - our monthly e-zine highlighting the stories and events that help shape the life of The Gateway Church. Click HERE to read about our outreach in a local coffee shop; a powerful story of struggle, addiction and freedom; and our mission to one of the most devastated countries on earth.