The Long Game

In our culture, we want things now. We don’t like to wait. We will actually pay five to ten times as much to get it tomorrow rather than waiting seven to ten working days for standard delivery. Today’s kids probably do not even know what an encyclopedia is - not when you can google everything in the world and have an answer in thirty seconds. When we are done shopping at the big box store, we spend three minutes scanning all the open lanes to see which has the fewest customers with the fewest purchases, just so we can save three minutes in the check-out line. We hate waiting.

We even like our evangelism microwave-style. We want three points and a prayer - or a clever diagram we can draw on a napkin - but, even as impatient and time-crunched as today’s culture is, the canned, elevator-speech methods of yesteryear, while perhaps appealing to the evangelist, are becoming less and less effective. To today’s listener, questions like, “If you were to get hit by a car today, where do you think you’d spend eternity?” only bring to mind the telemarketer. And I don’t know about you, but I hate being hung up on, and I would rather not be on anyone’s “Do Not Call” list.

So, what is the answer?

Relationship.

But why is that? On the surface, it seems counter-intuitive. It seems like the less time people have, the more brevity they would appreciate. But here is what I think is happening. Our frenetic pace and information overload has pushed people toward two extremes - gullibility or skepticism. But I see this as an opportunity, because, now, the only style of evangelism that really works is the style Jesus taught.

What can move the gullible away from the conman? Relationship. What can move the skeptic away from suspicion? Relationship. The old saying, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” has never been more applicable than it is today. 

Perhaps now more than ever before, clever methods and persuasive words are failing to bring people into a real, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, because people are either drawn to the flashy and shallow or they are rejecting the whole thing outright. The only way to overcome this is to do what Jesus did. 

We need to eat with people. We need to build margin into our schedules so we can respond to needs. We need to be intentional about relationships, not so we can evangelize them, but because trust takes time and trust displaces both gullibility and skepticism. In order to truly follow Jesus’ command to “love our neighbors as ourselves,” we need to follow Jesus' example and commit to the long game. Because, when we build relationship for its own sake, we do not have to be clever or persuasive. We can leave that to Jesus.

A BIG move for Quest

This is a press release we sent out 9/10/15:

Quest Church of Arlington Heights is partnering with St. Peter Lutheran Church and, beginning September 13, will hold their worship gatherings in the St. Peter Life Center. In this new venue, Quest’s worship will begin at 3:30 pm every Sunday. Previously, Quest met Sunday mornings in the Campus Life Teen Center, downtown, but has outgrown that facility.

St. Peter learned of the need, and offered a solution that would benefit both, and extended a hand to Quest. They offered their “Life Center,” which would seat all of Quest Church’s current members comfortably, and make room for considerable growth. Pastor Micah Greiner, Lead Pastor of St. Peter explains, “We recently made a significant investment in our Life Center to make it fit for worship. We have all sorts of plans for how we are going to use it for worship, but we didn’t even anticipate that God was going to ask us to use the space to bless another church! When the opportunity was before us, it felt like Jesus was lifting a veil over our eyes that allowed us to see how what He had prepared far exceeded what we could have imagined. We actually feel blessed to be able to let our space bless others!”

From October 2013 through May 2014, Quest Church met at the Metropolis Performing Arts, then relocated to the Campus Life Teen Center. Although that venue has worked well up to now, Lead Pastor Ed Taylor explains that Quest’s attendance growth required a change. Knowing it would be a big change for Quest to meet in a more traditional church setting, and knowing that, if they did, they might have to move to a less traditional time for their gatherings, Taylor and his team weighed their options. Having been very active in the Arlington Heights Ministerial Association, they extended a plea for possible locations where they could share space. From that plea, they connected with Greiner, who says, “I first met Pastor Ed and the other pastors from Quest through the Arlington Heights Ministerial Association, and we struck up a quick friendship. When I saw the need for a new place of worship for Quest, I responded, not actually thinking it would work out. Our building is in use almost constantly.”

Taylor and his team have been thrilled with the relationship that is growing between Quest and St. Peter, but Quest Church is no stranger to partnering with churches and other community organizations. In fact, one of Taylor’s earliest contacts after he arrived in Arlington Heights was Pastor Randy Thompson of Cross and Crown Lutheran, Arlington Heights. Now, through that connection, Quest partners with Cross and Crown and The Orchard to offer a laundry ministry for the homeless.

Also, all summer, Quest has partnered with Christian Church of Arlington Heights to provide a monthly supper for the homeless every second Sunday evening. And, during the fall and winter months, Quest Church also plans to continue its partnership with the Congregational United Church of Christ by providing a dinner meal once a month for their homeless ministry.

Quest has been active in the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce, where Taylor holds a small leadership role, they have been “Red Shirt” volunteers at the annual Frontier Days celebration and part of the set-up and tear-down crews at the Taste of Arlington Heights, and they have, at different times, teamed up with Breakthrough Ministries, WINGS, Hands-on Suburban Chicago, Northwest Compass, and Community Threads. Also, Taylor is a member of the planning committee for the Mayor’s Annual Prayer Breakfast.

Taylor says of these partnerships, “From the beginning, it was never our intent to minister in a vacuum. We always intended to partner with other organizations, both secular and religious, knowing that we can accomplish things together that we could never dream of separately. We never intended to re-invent the wheel; we always planned to scan the horizon, see where God was already at work, and join in. That’s why this partnership with St. Peter feels completely natural to us.”

As a gift to their new neighborhood, Quest will hold a family event called Quest Fest, September 12, 3:00-6:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public. It will be held in the field behind St. Peter, at 111 W. Olive Street, Arlington Heights. There will be bounce houses, popcorn, sno-cones, cotton candy, outdoor games, music, and other fun activities. Come and get to know the Quest Church family.

In order to commemorate this new partnership, Quest Church will hold a ribbon-tying ceremony September 13, with the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce at the conclusion of their 3:30 pm service, at the St. Peter Life Center, 111 W. Olive Street, Arlington Heights. Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes and Chamber of Commerce Director Jon Ridler will be present for the ribbon tying. The public is encouraged to attend this event.

Says Taylor, “For the last three years, in all that we have done, it has always been our goal to become the church that Arlington Heights needs, and we pray that this partnership will be a great stepping stone to help us reach that goal.”

For questions about Quest Church, please contact Pastor Ed Taylor at 309-712-6495, or visit the website at www.Quest-Church.com.

What would Jesus do?

The other day, I was manning a booth for our church at a local "Taste of..." event when a middle-aged guy came up and asked me, "How can I get rid of my sins?"

Right then, I suddenly realized I didn't like any of my answers to that question. I had officially lost my elevator speech. I fumbled and danced around the issue, partly because he was clearly baiting me.

He was obviously a Christian guy who, for whatever reason fancied himself the Chicagoland doctrine police, and I felt like he'd thrown down the gauntlet, and here I was, with no shield and sword to protect myself.

So he was baiting me, but also I realized most of the pat answers that were rattling around in the darkest recesses of my brain were pretty dusty, and were no longer resonating with me.

After this guy left, feeling like he'd trumped me with his question, I found myself wrestling with shame that sprang from my apparent inability to put Peter's command to "always be prepared" into action, but more importantly thinking, "Wait a minute. What was that supposed to accomplish?"

Was he supposed to be representing the seeker to me? If so, he failed. Honestly, what's the likelihood that any modern seeker would EVER ask that question? I'd say it's about zero.

After he was long gone (of course) I came up with the perfect response. I thought, "When he asked, 'How can I get rid of my sins?' why didn't I just do what Jesus would have done, and say "Why do you ask?"