New Thing Gathering - Self Leadership

Last week a few of us from Restore flew out to Chicago to attend our New Thing gathering at Community Christian Church. New Thing is the network of churches that we are a part of, all with the same passion for disciple making and church planting. It was a huge encouragement to learn how God is at work here in the U.S and in places as far as Eastern Europe. This was a great time of vision casting and connecting with other church planters.

During one the sessions Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church was interviewed and asked questions by the audience. He was asked "What advice would you give to young leaders?" His answer to this question was very sobering for me. He answered this question by telling us his greatest concern for young leaders which is our lack of self leadership. He went on to tell us that this is something his staff has been working on because they see the importance of healthy leaders if they are going to be good leaders of Willow Creek.

So what is self leadership? I have learnt from other leaders that the leadership of self is a journey and never a destination. This journey is intentional growth  and reflection in the areas of Relational Intelligence, Physical health, Spiritual formation, and our Mental health. When leaders take their growth in all these areas seriously they will be more successful in leadership of others. My goal for the new year is to be more intentional in my self leadership. Are you with me?

Healthy leaders reproduce healthy leaders, healthy churches reproduce healthy churches.

A Reason to be Thankful

Two weeks ago my parents flew out to Kansas City to spend some time with us for Thanksgiving. Now, I know we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, but it is always good to have some more family around for the holidays. I have to confess that I haven't done my research on the story of Thanksgiving but I can always benefit from taking a moment to pause from my busy schedule and count the reasons to be thankful.

After spending the past two weeks with my parents, I am reminded of the many reasons I am thankful for them. I am thankful for how they always come and bless us with some needed money. I am thankful for home cooked food that reminds me of home and my parents' Jamaican roots. I am thankful for how my parents support our vision to plant a church in the inner city here in Kansas City. But, I would have to say that the real reason I am thankful for my parents is because they both love Jesus, his people, and his mission.

As I sit here and write this I can't help but wonder where I would have ended up if it wasn't for my parents' commitment to Christ.
What if they would have given up on the church?
What if they would have stopped praying for me during my teenage years?
I can't say for sure, but I am confident that based on the environment that I was surrounded by as a teenager, it was my parents faith and prayers that helped me find my way back to God.

I spend a lot of my time with young men who have in the past, or are currently making bad choices. As I look into their eyes and talk about their choices and situations, in a weird way, I see myself. In most of these cases these young men didn't have both parents at home let alone both parents that Love Jesus.

Mum and Dad, thank you.

 

Thankful for New Opportunities (Update from Stephanie)

God continues to surprise me with opportunities He presents and work He lets me be a part of.  A little over a year ago when I began working for City Union Mission I was sure that was a door He opened for me.  Over the last year while working there I have had the opportunity to meet some amazing people, have been  challenged and stretched to work on areas in my own life and have learned more about homelessness and resources in Kansas City.  

Now I feel I am in another place of opportunity and am just as sure that God is opening this door as well.  About a month ago, the leaders at Restore approached me and asked if I would be interested in a position working with them in their student ministry. They have had an opening for a Student Community Director and have been praying about who the person would be to fill that position.  They also were thinking about what they could do to help develop me during the time Darryl is working with them doing his residency over the next 2 years and this seemed to be a possible solution.  In this position I will be working with the leaders who lead the students.  I will learn how to recruit, develop and coach people in leadership and work on growing in leadership myself.  I will have an amazing woman who will coach me and help develop me during this time as well.

I was very excited about this opportunity for many reasons:

1.  I love students and have always desired to have a job working with young people.  

2.  This position seemed to very specifically focus on areas in my life that I know I still need to grow in.  After Darryl and I attended the church planter’s assessment in February, they gave us each individual development plans for the next 2 years. Most of the things that were suggested for me are areas that I can work on in this position. 

3.  It scares me and excites me at the same time.  I was so excited but also scared as I know it will challenge me and take me out of my comfort zone.

 4.  I think it will help to prepare me for our church plant and is best for our long term goals.  While serving in this position I will also get to learn more about church planting and grow and develop in areas which I believe will prepare me for the church we plant in the future.

So, of course I said yes and accepted the position!  However, it was a sad transition saying goodbye at the mission.  I am continuing to work there one day a week until my replacement starts.  I am thankful for my time there, for those I met, and for all I learned.

I began last week with Restore and I love it.  There are so many amazing leaders serving the students and I have enjoyed meeting many of them already. I am looking forward to learning with them and working with them to help students find their way back to God and to mobilize Christ followers to the mission of Jesus.

I am thankful for the ways God continues to bring opportunities and people into our life.  It continues to be an exciting journey that we are on!  We are thankful for your prayers and support as you partner with us on this journey. To learn more about what we are doing, email: darrylanswer@msn.com

Three Magic Words

This week I had a meeting with my mentor, friend, and the lead pastor of Restore Community Church, Troy McMahon  to discuss my residency. Now, I love sitting down with more experienced leaders because I know this will make me a better leader,but there are those occasional meetings when I am shown that some of my choices are motivated by fear and pride. The truth is, sometimes I think I am being independent when I make choices with my life, but the reality is I have a hard time saying the three magic words. I NEED HELP. The scariest part for me in this realization is that I didn't know it was fear and pride that stopped me from asking my friends for help. I just thought to myself  "I need to figure this situation out on my own". But I never stopped to ask myself why? Why do I need to figure this out on my own when I am surrounded by such a great team of people? Is it because I am independent, or is it because I am afraid that people with think less of me? I think it may be the latter on this occasion. 

I can't help but think about the story Jesus told of the servants who were given talents according to their ability. One was given five talents, and returned five more to his master. The second was given two talents, and returned two more. Both were blessed to hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant!" The third and final servant was given only one talent, but because he was afraid of his master he decided to hide the one talent resulting in a harsh rebuke. I wonder what would have happened if that third servant would have humbled himself and asked the other two servants for help? 

This week has been a eye opener for me as I continue these early stages of leadership and am given the responsibility to manage a few "talents" at Restore. I will work to be faithful with a few, so one day I can manage much for the glory of God. I just have to remember to ask for help, especially when I am surrounded by a great team of people that I trust. 

Don't you wish there was a Restart button?

Its been 10 years since I became a follower of Jesus. I remember standing with some friends at the end of a CIY (Christ in Youth) Conference in Idaho with a heart filled with gratitude. I told God that he could use my life in whatever way he wanted. "I am yours...use me." was my prayer that night. A friend of mine gave me a book that same week, and in that book he wrote some words that have helped me on this journey of discipleship. He wrote "Darryl, Jesus loves you and his grace gives us the freedom to come back to him when we mess up. Never forget that you can always press the restart button". Since then my friend has passed away, but those words have been a constant comfort to me. Knowing that the grace and love of God allows me to start over gives me hope because I don't have to stay where I am.

I have to be honest, this week has not been my best. You can ask Stephanie, this week I have allowed my schedule to get the better of me resulting in me being super tired and short with the people that are closest to me. Can you relate? But the good news for us is that we can always "press the restart button". We have a Father that will forgive all of our mistakes when we come to him. Not only does God forgive, but when we come to him he never leaves us. There is hope because we all have the freedom to come back to God and "press the restart button".

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord" Acts 3:19

Broken relationships and the choices we make.

We have all experienced in one way or another the issues that come along with broken relationships. What I mean by broken relationships are those connections that we have with people that are fragmented as a result of selfishness, jealousy, anger, etc. If we are honest with ourselves, all of our relationships experience some form of dysfunction as a result of our own brokenness.

 

This week I was invited to discuss this topic with a group of boys in a mentoring program at Oak Park High School. I brought my friends Lucas and Michael along with me to lead the workshop. Lucas and I work together at Restore. Michael grew up in the inner city, and has recently become a follower of Jesus. We had a great discussion talking about the ingredients of healthy relationships and then about the ingredients that make up our broken relationships. We also talked about how our relationships influence the choices we make.

 

We answered these three questions:

• How does my relationship with my parents influence the choices I make?
• How does my relationship with my girlfriend influence the choices I make?
• How does my relationship with my friends influence the choices I make?

We concluded our time with a challenge for us all to take home. We all agreed not to use our broken relationships as an excuse for making poor choices. One of the guys shared that as a result of bad relationships modeled in his family he will not continue the cycle of brokenness but will intentionally reach out to others who may need a friend.

We had a great time with the group and were invited to lead another workshop next month. We are excited to see where this will lead us as we bring the Good News to our schools.

The NFL, The KC School District, and the Mayor...

The past two weeks have been more than eventful. Through a recently formed friendship with a gentleman named Rob, and a shared vision to see our schools and communities in the urban core improved I was asked to sit in on two meetings. The first meeting was with Mayor Sly James, the second with Airick West, the Chair of the Kansas City Public Schools.

I helped share our idea of coming along side the public schools with two programs. The first is a proven literacy program started by Kolby Smith, a former running back for the Kansas City Chiefs. Stephanie, Rob and I had breakfast with Kolby a week ago and got to hear his vision to not only impact the schools of Kansas City, but to take this program to every NFL city in the country. That's a big vision! The second program is an intentional mentoring program which matches students with adults that are in careers they aspire to go into. Through this program more people in the community can get involved in the lives of young people.

The Mayor and the Chair of the School Board both say they are interested in our idea, and both know that Stephanie and I are working toward planting a church in the urban core. We hope to form a citywide partnership to bring transformation to our communities in the urban core. We believe the intentional investment in our students with the planting of healthy urban churches will have benefits beyond academics, but also toward changed hearts and community transformation. Please be praying for us and our new relationships and opportunities for partnership.

Also, please pray for us as we continue to raise support while we are in our Residency at Restore Community Church. If you want to become a financial partner you can make checks payable to: Restore Community Church. In the memo line write "urban ministry-Darryl & Stephanie Answer".
Mailing address: 5559 NW Barry Rd, #305, Kansas City, MO 64154

If you have any questions about our ministry you can email me: darrylanswer@msn.com

Reconcile

Last week Stephanie and I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Minneapolis at the CCDA National Conference. Every time I go to a CCDA event I feel like I am with family. There is no need to explain to anyone why we do what we do, because we have all decided that we will live and work in places where no body else will go, not only for the development of that community, but because the Gospel compels us.
This year's theme was Reconcile, which has become one of our buzz words in the church, however, there seems to be very little action behind it. As a good friend told me a few weeks ago "Reconciliation is the new cool thing we all talk about, but if we can be honest, we don't really want to do it." The church continues to be racially, culturally, and socio-economically divided while our communities become more and more diverse.
My take away from this conference is that true reconciliation is not an event, neither is it reached when people from different backgrounds become friends. True Biblical reconciliation is when we all work together to return to the standard which God has set  in the New Creation, and drop our man made labels we use to identify each other.
Our time in Minneapolis was a great reminder to us that there are thousands of people around the world who love the poor, who are developing under resourced communities, and who are raising up leaders in those same communities. My prayer is that God will lead Stephanie and me to do this through the local church here in Kansas City.

Do you ever have doubts?

This week has been full of awesome wins! Stephanie and I have joined a small group at Restore and we are beginning to get connected. We are both looking forward to growing in community.
I have been given the opportunity to join one of the pastors of Restore in leading a Men's small group at Park University. This was our second week, and I can already see that this group will make a huge impact on their campus. They are hungry to learn, and will be a catalyst for change in their community.
Another win I am celebrating is our Expand Love team at Restore. There is a group of us on staff that are leading an initiative to help us as a church expand our love for God. This will be done through various activities and programs over the next year. I am really excited about this opportunity to serve the church and Expand my love for God and his people.
On a personal note, I have started a part time job as an Avid tutor. AVID is a college readiness program. It is a program that specifically aims at students who may not have a stable support system. I will be working in two high schools and one middle school. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Kansas City's education system as we work toward the church plant in the urban core, where about 50% of students will not graduate. There is also an opportunity to mentor some boys at Oak Park High School through Engage, which targets boys that are having a hard time at school. To learn more about AVID go to www.avid.org.

Like I said, this has been an awesome week of wins, but there have been moments throughout the week where it was like there was a small voice saying "You can't do this". There have been moments of self doubt in the midst of wins, and it's in those moments when I realize I have made this about me. If I can be honest, its so easy to forget that this is God's work...not mine. Doubts rise when I make this about me. I know this is something we all wrestle with so I hope my honesty can bring some encouragement. Let's remember that God is on mission and we get to join him. So let's be honest, without Him we will fail, but with Him we are able.
Please keep Stephanie and I in your prayers. We thank you for your prayers and support.

Email me at darrylanswer@msn.com if you have any questions or want to join us in this ministry.

A new chapter

Stephanie and I have transitioned out of our position at First Baptist Church, and this week began a leadership residency at Restore Community Church here in Kansas City. This journey began with Restore a year ago, and now after months of conversations, and our completion of a church planters assessment we begun the leadership residency .
The intention behind the residency is to learn church planting and leadership development from Restore, and in return Stephanie and I will teach them all we know and continue to learn from our friends and partners in the inner city. The end result will be the planting of a reproducing church in the inner city that empowers people to live out justice, reconciliation, and redemption. Another result is to see more movement towards true unity and reconciliation in the Church of Kansas City. Stephanie and I will be with Restore for two years before we move into the community and launch the inner city church.
 We are both really excited about this opportunity, but we also acknowledge that there will be challenges along the way. Not only will we be learning about church planting from Restore, who are about to launch their third location in March, but we will constantly be wrestling with how we apply what we learn to the urban context.
During this time we will be raising support, a total of $30,000 for each year of training. These funds are to cover our living expenses. We have been sharing this ministry with friends and family and are continuing to ask people to join us as prayer partners and as financial partners. If you would like more info on how you can join us feel free to email me at darrylanswer@msn.com.
I will be using this blog as a weekly journal so become a follower on the page, and I will also be sending a monthly newsletter to all who decide to partner with us on this journey. Again feel free to contact me with any questions.

If you feel led to support us financially you can make checks payable to Restore Community Church.
Put "Urban Ministry - Darryl & Stephanie" in the memo line

Restore Community Church mailing address: 5559 NW Barry Rd, #305, Kansas City, MO 64154

Thank you all.

Exponential 2012

                                 


Last week I was in sunny Orlando, Fl for the largest gathering of church planters in the nation. Exponential is a gathering of more than 4000 church planters from around the world. I had the opportunity to learn from many church planters and practitioners from around the globe, and see what they were doing in their communities to see the Kingdom of God expanded. The theme for Exponential this year was "sifted", taken from Luke 22. All of the speakers during the main session spoke on this subject. I would have to say my biggest challenge came from Wayne Cordeiro who said "We are not ready for ministry until we have been sifted. Knowledge is not enough".

I also went to the Mosaix Pre-Conference which is put on by the Mosaix multi-ethinic church network. This network exists to catalyze a movement of multi-ethnic churches for the sake of the Gospel. The founder of this organization is Mark DeyMaz. Their website is www.mosaix.info.

On Wednesday night I spent the evening at a New Thing event at the House of Blues. This was an opportunity for planters to get acquainted with the New Thing network. Our speaker for the night was Michael Frost, well known author and speaker. To learn more about New Thing visit www.newthing.org

This was a great week of learning and connecting with other like minded church planters from around the world. I look forward to next year.

2012 CCDA National Conference Promo 1

I'm normal, you're different.

Recently I had the opportunity to preach at my church on the subject of "unity" from Ephesians. This topic has been on my mind a lot lately, especially since I am reminded more and more about our divisions within the Church. We divide over race, economics, politics, etc, and never stop to consider the implications of our division. If we listen to our conversations and watch how we live it would seem that the Church is doing a poor job in believing that the Gospel transcends all of our division. We have convinced ourselves that it is OK to worship with people who look like us and who have the same political views. We have forgotten that as followers of Jesus we are a new humanity. God has made a new people who are identified by their love for one another. We say "I'm normal...those people are different, so how can I worship with them?"  We have no problem accepting Paul's teaching in Ephesians of people being reconciled to God through Jesus' work on the cross, but we have a hard time accepting the fact that we are also to be reconciled to each other. Jesus was clear about this in his prayer  for the believers in John 17, and Paul is also clear in Ephesians and other places in his letters. 

Is it possible for people from different backgrounds, different perspectives, and ethnic groups to be united for a common cause? Sadly, the church has not been setting the example. Since this is the case, I asked the girls basketball team from North Kansas City High to help me with this They are a diverse group of girls that consider themselves to be a family. They really love each other. Their love for each other is the main ingredient that makes their team successful. Yes, they have times when they argue and have conflict but they understand that if they don't take the time to work it out they will lose! I spent an afternoon with them and did a video interview. Check the link to see the video. You can also listen to my message on my church website.

I believe Christians should be leading this conversation beacauase we are the only ones that have the solution  to this problem. We are to be agents of reconciliation in our homes, in our communities and in our churches. If we don't then we will lose! 

Lady Hornets win the Northland Classic

On Friday night the North Kansas City girls varsity basketball team won the Northland Classic tournament, which was held at their high school last week. Stephanie has been spending time with the girls during practice and before games and is slowly becoming a mentor for some of the girls.  Stephanie has also been adopted as the team chaplain and now leads the girls in prayer before every game.
We are so proud of these girls and are looking forward to the rest of the season.

Go Hornets!

Sunday Morning Breakfast

On Sunday the high school small group that we lead had their first Sunday breakfast. They decided a few weeks ago that they needed one Sunday every month or two where they could have a big breakfast and invite their friends that would not usually go to a church. All the kids brought the food and we had a great time eating and getting to know each other. We even had most of the North Kansas City girls basketball team show up for the 9am service and the breakfast that followed. After we had all eaten I gathered everyone for a brief explanation of the breakfasts and I shared the Gospel. Only one of our visitors fell asleep.

We are really excited about our next breakfast, which will happen March 4th. I have been asked to preach, so we will have the youth lead the service and I will speak. I am so excited to see how these new relationships will continue to grow. I love working with teenagers!

Fortress, Savior, Partner?

On Saturday I had the opportunity to teach a workshop at a small urban youth workers training that was held at the City Union Mission where Stephanie works. My topic was :Engaging the Community. This is a topic that I am very passionate about so I was excited and honored to be asked to share with the group of leaders who have more experience than I do in the area of urban ministry.
I took the time I had with them to share a few things that I had learnt in my training through CCDA last year in Chicago. This information was redefining for me in how churches and organizations can be more effective in engaging its local community. We looked at 3 types of churches/organizations that are described in the book Communities First by Jay Van Groningen.
First there is the Church/organization "in" the community, also known as the fortress. This church/organization does not desire to influence the community or desire for the members of the community to influence it. This is the commuter church/organization that takes up space in the community but does benefit the area in any way.
The second is the church/organization "to" the community, also know as the savior. This church/organization desire to bless the community, but only on its own terms. This church/organization limits the influence the community stakeholders in its planning. The community may benefit in some way from its programs.
Thirdly, is the church/ organization "with" the community, also known as partner. This church/organization desires to influence the community and desires for the community stakeholders to influence it. This church/organization serves and develops the community for reasons and with methods that bring transformation. This church/organization is a contributor to the community.
After reading these what do you think the community surrounding your church/organization would say about you? Are you fortress, savior, or partner? This is a hard question, but for those of us working in under resourced communities we must work toward being partners with the community so that Jesus is made known and communities are transformed.
Let's rebuild from the inside out!