All photos removed at the request of Mr. Hyatt in the following e-mail:
 

Your webpage Tuesday, August 3, 2010 5:58 PM
From: "Bob Hyatt" <bob@evergreenlife.org>
To: "jegrimm3@sbcglobal.net" <jegrimm3@sbcglobal.net>
Hi-
I notice that on your webpage disciple21century.com you have an entire page devoted to me! Thanks! I'm flattered. One thing though- you have posted pictures of my infant daughter and my wife, without permission. Could you please take those down? I'll check in a couple of days to make sure they have been removed.
Thanks so much-

Bob Hyatt

Although the photos in question were taken from the internet and were not copyrighted, we have complied with Mr. Hyatt's wishes.
 

A graduate of Western Seminary, Bob Hyatt is the husband of Amy and the father of Jack, Jane, and Josie June. Bob is lead pastor of the 210 member Evergreen Community (Portland, Oregon) and a church planter with a passion for helping other planters.

Bob has felt drawn to pastoral ministry since the 5th grade- he's always known: this is what he wanted to do- helping people find relationship with God. This has worked itself out most clearly in planting the Evergreen Community in 2004.
His passions now also include helping/mentoring other pastors, blogging too much here and here, and buying the latest crap from Steve Jobs.
Bob loves his wife Amy, his son Jack, and his daughter Jane, and is struggling to put them ahead of everything else, including this church.
 

The Evergreen Community
 

The Evergreen Community: a PDX/metro church community meeting in various locations around town.
We now have three Sunday gatherings, two @ 10am.
Our Quimby/NW gathering . Our Hawthorne/SE gathering .  And one @ 5:30pm  Our SW gathering .
 

Sunday Discussions at EvergreenDress is casual; sermons are less lectures than a dialogue between speaker and audience; musicians play under battered dartboards. What Hyatt calls the “refrigerator buzz”—an undercurrent of discomfort with conventional evangelism that permeates Evergreen—has run off some members used to more traditional worship. “For people who’ve never had any angst or anger toward the church, Evergreen is kind of hard to get,” Hyatt says. “But for people who’ve told me, ‘This is my last church experience, and if this doesn’t work, I’m done,’ we offer a place to express that discomfort, heal from it, and move on.”
 

Dress is casual; sermons are less lectures than a dialogue between speaker and audience; musicians play under battered dartboards. What Hyatt calls the “refrigerator buzz”—an undercurrent of discomfort with conventional evangelism that permeates Evergreen—has run off some members used to more traditional worship. “For people who’ve never had any angst or anger toward the church, Evergreen is kind of hard to get,” Hyatt says. “But for people who’ve told me, ‘This is my last church experience, and if this doesn’t work, I’m done,’ we offer a place to express that discomfort, heal from it, and move on.”

 

X photo removed at the request of Mr. Hyatt Our Core Commitments Rather than view ourselves as a provider of religious goods and servics, we choose to see this as a covenant community- a group of people choosing to lean in with each other and to God, journeying together. In addition to our core values, we've identified some commitments that serve as some of the guiding commitments of this covenant community. on Life in the Way of Jesus- Evergreen is a distinctly Christian community, and though one does not need to be committed to Christ to participate in it, this community as a whole is committed to seeking God through the person of Jesus. For those who are following Jesus, this means commitment to living life in the way of Jesus, and to introducing others whenever possible through word and deed to the person of Jesus. We commit to time spent listening to God individually and as a community and to living out life in the way of Jesus for the glory of God, and the good of the city of Portland	sentness and alongsideness  “God sent His Son into the world, not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.” -John 3:17  “Just as You sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world.” -Jesus praying in John 17:18    For us, everything begins and ends with the person of Jesus- the Sent One who then sends us. Our fundamental identity as a community is not only gathered, but sent. Gathering is a necessary prelude to being sent. Why did Jesus spend so much time with the disciples prior to sending them? To teach and equip them. To change them and to prepare them. It’s in the context of being gathered around the person of Jesus, of leaning into and learning from Him together that we are changed, sharpened, refined and made ready... The problem with the whole church thing is, we rarely seem to get past the gathered part. At the end of the day, the whole purpose of Evergreen is not to gather on Sundays in a pub. We come together to do that which we can’t do as individuals (worship together, pray together, be in community), but our purpose as community is not just coming together- it’s going. A community following the Sent One is by definition a sent community. We say we are a “missional community” and that means we are a “missionary” community. A people who follow the God who left- who left comfort and privilege and went to live among those whom He wished to love and save.
Holistic, Missional, Christian Community What do we mean when we say we are a "holistic, missional, Christian community?" holistic:: we seek to integrate Christian faith into all areas of life instead of separating life into "sacred" and "secular". The claims of Jesus intrude on, infuse and revolutionize every area of our lives. We want to see people deeply connected to God in all of life; body, mind, and soul. We also desire to make a difference for people, not just spiritually, but emotionally, physically, financially, educationally, etc... missional:: our purpose is to be the Body of Christ, to incarnate Christ in a pagan culture. We accept God's challenge to live in the world without becoming a product of it. Our belief is that God intends Christianity be a way of life which sends us into the world to serve God and our neighbors, so that our world will look more like He intended. The church is never to be the withdrawn or isolated end-user of the gospel of Jesus; rather, we receive it so that we may be equipped and sent into the world to love our neighbors and serve "the least of these." In this sense, evergreen doesn't have a mission; it is mission. Christian:: we stand in a long line of those who have heard the call of Christ and have seen their lives revolutionized because of it. We seek to follow God by knowing His Son, listening to His Spirit and living out His Word. As Christians we see ourselves as a journeying people who are learning to live life with God in the way of Jesus. We represent a generous orthodoxy, rooted in the Scriptures and consistent with the ancient creeds of the church. community:: we believe that the Christian faith is a call to community, not individualism; therefore, we seek to establish a family of pilgrims on a journey of faith together

As we journey through Lent toward Easter, I want to be mindful of the dangers that surround this season and threaten the soul of a community and the soul of a pastor
What danger? The temptation to bait and switch.
Every year I need to remind myself that Easter is not a marketing opportunity. The resurrection of the Son of God is not an opportunity to market our programs or build "my" church, even under the guise of concern for lost.
And as I feel the pressure to create a winning, life-changing sermon for those who may only come this one time a year, I especially have to remember: It's not about me. (Please wait a minute while I repeat that to myself a few times.) Why? Because heaven forbid we should ever do community in such a way that communicates that our main avenue for people coming to Christ is hearing the Gospel preached from the mouth of one person, rather than hearing it preached from the mouths (and lives) of the whole community. If, in your community, more people are becoming Christians on Sunday than during the rest of the week, I think you may have a problem.
Times like Easter and Christmas are dangerous for us because we begin to see them as something different from what they really are for the life of a community. This is where a more robust engagement with the Christian calendar really helps. It focuses our communal life on the events of the life of Christ all year around, and keeps us from seeing "two big outreach event Sundays!" every year in Christmas and Easter.
Yes, a lot of people come to a Sunday service once or twice a year, and they are more likely to come on Easter than just about any other time. And yes, the Holy Spirit is amazing, drawing people to Himself even through our goofy Easter pageants and songs (or our smoke machines and laser shows, if that's your thing).
The danger in giving in to the impulse to do something radically different, humongously big and special at these times is what we communicate both to our community and those we are inviting to become a part of our community. What we subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) communicate to our people is that their job is to invite people who are not in our churches to come on Easter Sunday morning so that the pastor and the drama team and the worship guy and (possibly) the Holy Spirit can take a whack at them.
I know that's overstating, but believe me - I've been there. And that's what "event evangelism" and "big" Sundays communicate, I think. Regardless of what we teach about reaching out to others, what we say through our Sunday Show actions communicates that it's not the job of the average person to introduce people to Jesus. Leave it to the pros with the degrees and the training and the gifts.
In other words, "You get ?em to church, we'll get ?em to Jesus!" How empowering is that for people?
I would much prefer we both explicitly and implicitly communicate a model that includes befriending people; enfolding them into the rhythms of our lives; sharing the highs and lows (and how our faith informs those) with them; and integrating them into home groups, dinner times, and the big and small events of our lives. How natural would it be after all that love and enfolding that they become a part of our community, even before they believe? And when they believe, they believe because they've seen and tested the reality of a life of faith, as opposed to simply watching a special Sunday morning service where the band rocks extra hard and the pastor has a few more funny stories than normal.
Easter is dangerous because it's here that the attractional model reaches its zenith - or maybe its nadir - every year, as thousands of churches try to do "something special" in the hopes that their people will invite others to come and be bait-n-switched into a relationship with Jesus. And we all see what other communities do and are tempted to compete in the misguided effort to keep up.
Yes, I said "bait-n-switch," because that's what it is. If we're not careful, we could end up really disappointing some people. How? By "offering" them less on subsequent visits. Less pizzazz, less oomph. I'd be pretty disappointed if I got Cirque Du Soleil the first time I went to your church and the next week I got Phil and Ted's Bargain Circus.
I was super impressed to see another church planter dial it down a couple of years ago after hearing about the disappointment of some people who came to Easter services one year and came back the next week to a completely different (and less exciting) show.
Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying we shouldn't take advantage of increased visitor attendance and preach the Gospel and hope that God does something amazing in people's lives. I'm just saying that if your strategy is to wait for someone to wander within range of your homiletical canon and then fire on them in hopes of scoring a hit, or worse yet, doing some cool things in the hopes that they might be lured within range, then I think there's a better way. Less defined, less able to be controlled by the pastors, less likely to be bragged about at pastor's conferences or to be written about in a book, but better - people loving people into your community and into relationship with Jesus.
It doesn't take mailers, banners, lightshows, and lasers every week; just a bunch of loving, welcoming Christ followers. People who genuinely care. People who are seeking relationships with other people and sharing life with them. A competent all-community gathering where things work well, so as not to be a distraction from what God wants to do that morning, sure. But less of a focus on Sunday mornings as the center of community and more of a focus on the spiritually-forming life of the community that revolves around Jesus Himself.
And all of this is vital for us to think through at Easter because I remain convinced that what we win people with, we win them to.

open source theology
Profoundly Disturbed on the Fourth of July (Redux): God, the Flag and the End of America
Author's note: This article was first published in the summer of 2003. Shortly thereafter, my church employer and I…uh…parted company.

"We had taken a time that belonged to the worship of God and turned it toward the appreciation of a country, a political system, a flag. We said that we were worshiping God through the singing of those patriotic songs, the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance and the rest, but in fact we were worshiping America."
Author's note: This article was first published in the summer of 2003. Shortly thereafter, my church employer and I…uh…parted company. It was God's way of getting me off my rear and into the church plant that I am now leading, but at the time it was a little scary. To their credit, the church, in letting me go took good care of my family and did their best to put a positive spin on things (both of which I am very grateful for). But the bottom line is that in this era of charged political debate, the evangelical church in America seems to have come down on the side of those who say dissent is somehow unpatriotic and that to be a Good Christian also means being a Good American. I again offer this article in the hopes that those now planning a good ol' patriotic Fourth of July Service (on Sunday this year) will think twice… and perhaps instead of singing the Star Spangled Banner, will spend time praying for victims of war and terrorism alike, for our enemies and for peace in our world.
Our call to worship that 4th of July weekend was This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land. After the Color Guard presented the flag, we stood, said the Pledge of Allegiance and then sang The Star-Spangled Banner. Our worship set included The Battle Hymn of the Republic, My Country 'Tis of Thee, America the Beautiful and God Bless America. We even finished the service by asking the congregation to sing along with Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA ("I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free…").
And through the whole thing I couldn't help but think how moving it was with flags draped from the ceiling, how well-done the music sounded with the drums beating a military cadence throughout… and how incredibly wrong that we were doing any of it.
Who Are You?
The word that the New Testament uses to describe those of us who belong to God's Kingdom, yet still reside here on earth is "strangers." The idea is that our citizenship has shifted to another country, that we have become aliens- people who reside in one country, but whose allegiance, heart and destiny lie with another. The writer of Hebrews says it this way: "For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. " (Heb. 13:14, NASB). He praised those who were able to recognize their status here: "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth."
Strangers, citizens of another Kingdom, those whose heart is set on another place. Yes- we are to pray for our leaders and seek the peace and welfare of the area where God has placed us, but we need to be exceedingly careful of becoming attached to this temporary residence of ours- even when it comes to its finer qualities.
So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt?
As I read the Old Testament accounts of exile, particularly the story of the children of Israel in Egypt, I'm struck by the picture that God was drawing: His people, under oppression in a country not their own, longing for the one who would come and lead them out to the promised land. I have no doubt, and we can see from their complaints in the desert that the region of Goshen where they resided was nice, relatively plague-free, perhaps less wicked than the areas of Egypt that surrounded, but it was still Egypt nonetheless. Can you imagine if the Israelites had become so enamored of Goshen that after almost 400 years there, they had begun to write songs about Goshen, pledge their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to Goshen, and had begun to think of Goshen as being the greatest land on the face of the earth ("God Bless Goshen!", "And I'm proud to be a Goshenite, where at least I'm still plague-free!"). I think an objective observer would have rightly asked, "You foolish people! Are you forgetting that this is not your home?"
While we can appreciate the ways that God has blessed us here in America, to lose sight of our status as aliens, to become enamored of this land in which we live, to forget that someday One will come and lead us out would be nothing less than foolish.
More than just foolish, I think some of the ways in which we celebrate our "Godly American Heritage" in the context of a worship service may even be directly contrary to the Gospel. Jesus said, quoting Isaiah, "My House will be called a house of prayer for all nations…" as He rebuked the temple authorities for falling down on the "house of prayer" part. I wonder if, by allowing nationalistic displays into our corporate worship time, into God's temple the Church, we are falling down on the "for all nations part."
No, there's nothing wrong with patriotism in the sense of rooting for your team and appreciating your country. But when it becomes more than that… For C.S. Lewis patriotism could be dangerous in that it could serve as a means to wrest man's focus from where it belongs toward something very temporal indeed.
"Let him begin by treating Patriotism… as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely part of the cause, in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent arguments in can produce…"
"A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God: himself."
And there it is… What was bothering me so much during that 4th of July service wasn't so much that we were celebrating America (believe it or not, I actually do have some warm feelings for my country). It wasn't so much what we were doing, as what we weren't. We had taken a time that belonged to the worship of God and turned it towards the appreciation of a country, a political system, a flag. We said that we were worshiping God through the singing of those patriotic songs, the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance and the rest, but in fact, by the true definition of worship- recognizing worth- we were worshiping America.
The End of America
It's not wrong to love our country. We can be proud of our humanitarian efforts throughout the world. No one gives more money and other types of aid to developing nations than the USA. We can be proud that we are slowly coming to live out our creed: All men are created equal.
But even in our more patriotic moments, we shouldn't forget some of the painful aspects of our history such as our treatment of Native Americans, the damaging effects of which can still be seen today. We shouldn't whitewash our history of slavery and our support of dictators around the world when it served our purposes. And most of all, we mustn't forget what America really is. In Adventures In Missing The Point, Tony Campolo puts it this way: "America may be the best Babylon the world has, but it is still Babylon nonetheless."
We live in Babylon, folks. It's a world system that transcends borders, is dominated by American-style consumerism and exploitation, and is fundamentally opposed to the Kingdom of God. More than that, it's a system which will someday be brought to a terrifying and glorious end by the coming of God's Anointed One. Yes, someday Jesus Himself will sweep America, along with all the other babelistic towers we have built, into the dustbin of history.
And, the Bible says, at this the people of God will rejoice. (Revelation 18:20-19:4)
So if we know that someday we as the Church will cheer the fall of America and the rest of the nations of the world, what should be our attitude now?
How Should We Then Celebrate?
We need to make sure that the message of our worship environment (the message people intuit when they walk into our building or sanctuary) is consistent with our doctrine: Our allegiance belongs to Christ alone, we are citizens of another country, and we are looking not to the country in which we live, but to a heavenly one. Probably the best way to do this in the context of the 4th of July would be to honor God and worship Him as the one who brings freedom of all kinds, not the least of which may be freedom from tyranny.
We can thank God for His blessings, ask His forgiveness for our national sins and offer the freedom of Christ to all who are there, American or not.
Expatriate or Ex-Patriot?
I lived for two years in the Netherlands as an "expatriate" - someone who lives as a non-citizen in a country not their own. I learned a lot of things, but most of all, through the homesickness I sometimes felt, even in the midst of loving my experience of living abroad, I learned an excellent model for our time here on earth. We are, all of us who know Christ, expatriates- living for a time in a foreign country. We can enjoy it, but if we ever stop feeling homesick, we are in trouble.
So, next Fourth of July, go ahead and light off some fireworks, thank God for the freedoms you have, enjoy a nice parade or picnic… but maybe leave the Star-Spangled Banner out of the worship set, okay?
 

For Bob Hyatt, the 40-something, ball-cap-wearing lead pastor of the Evergreen Community, anchoring Sunday church inside a beer hall where bitters, stouts, and golden ales flowed freely the night before is a good way to shine a beacon—and a warning—to the faithful.

“It says that we don’t fit the stereotype of the anal-retentive sort of Christian,” he says, sitting at one of the communal tables at Lucky Labrador Brew Pub in Southeast Portland. “It also helps to weed out the type of Christians that wouldn’t fit with us. But most importantly, meeting in a public space embodies what we’re about: we don’t want to hole up in some building with big doors and be a sanctuary from the world.”

There's No Virtual Church
In the early 1950s when Robert Schuller and others across the nation combined a growing car culture with “Church,” they believed they were reaching a segment of the population traditional church wouldn’t or couldn’t. “Drive-In Church” allowed parishioners to hear a sermon, sing some songs, even receive communion and give—all without the fuss and muss of face-to-face interaction. Except for a through-the-window handshake from the pastor as they rolled away.
And while they may have been able to point to a number of folks who “attended” that otherwise might not have, the question of what was being formed in these car congregations through limited interaction, a completely passive experience, and a consumer-oriented “Come as you want/Have it your way” message, meant that (thankfully) after a brief period of vogue, “Drive-In Church” has remained a niche curiosity.
The problem with the drive-in church model isn’t that it isn’t church—it’s that it is just “church” enough to be dangerous. What this almost-church does is park people in a cul-de-sac where they have access to the easiest and most instantly satisfying parts of church while exempting them from the harder and more demanding parts of community.
And while I’m glad such an absurdity has remained on the fringe, as I watch the discussion about “internet campuses” I can’t shake a certain feeling of deja vu.
Following close on the heels of the video venue push is that of the internet campus: real-time streaming of a church service, but with the added features of “live interactive features like lobby chat room, message notes, communication card, raise a hand, say a prayer, and even online giving.” At least 35 churches in America are doing internet campuses, with more jumping on board all the time (http://digital.leadnet.org/2007/10/churches-with-a.html). By one estimate, 10 percent of Americans will rely solely on the internet for their “religious experience” as early as 2010.”(http://www.denverpost.com/technology/ci_7228105)
Is this a problem? Something we should be concerned about or resist? Absolutely. Because it’s malforming for those involved (whether they know it or not) and because it’s sub-biblical.
The problem, in my mind, with virtual community and internet campuses isn’t that it’s not church... it’s that it is just church enough to be dangerous. Because it has all the easiest and most instantly gratifying parts of community without the harder parts, it ends up misshaping us.
In an internet campus, for example, I never need to listen to so-and-so tell me about their hard week (again). I see no needs around me and so feel zero compulsion to move to meet them. And that’s the problem. The lack of all of that forms me in a good way.
Calvin’s definition of “church” is where the Word is preached, the sacraments are received, and church discipline practiced. That’s a good summary of the defining characteristics of the New Testament ecclesia and a good summary of the main problems with internet church.

Is the word preached “at” an internet campus? Absolutely. In fact, the Word preached becomes the centerpiece. Church is boiled down to singing a few songs and hearing a message.
And while internet campuses provide a great sermon delivery vehicle, and even allow you to virtually raise your hand in response, what they don’t do is allow you to be known and missed. You can’t stand at the end of the gathering and ask for help moving. You can’t help tear things down and clean up afterwards. You can’t look after someone’s kids while they pray with someone else. You can’t take a visitor out to lunch. How can our community be a sign and foretaste of the kingdom when our method of gathering keeps us from ever physically serving, loving, or being present to one another? I know how participating in a congregation begins to make me more like Jesus. I’m unsure how that happens with an internet campus.
I know that “virtual” baptisms are practiced online. I know too that every week thousands in virtual communities practice virtual communion, if not together, then at least simultaneously. And I have to wonder, Why can’t they see that’s not enough? That simultaneous is not the same as together, and that taking communion in this way completely misses the whole point?
As for discipline and accountability, some say that online churches encourage more transparency in the chat rooms and virtual lobbies of internet campuses. But how is the pastoral care of prayer and recommending a good book, accountability, in-depth counseling, and church discipline practiced? Short answer: it can’t be. Because of the nature of internet relationships, only what people choose to reveal will ever be known. Internet churches are no help for the wife whose husband really needs someone to open a can of Driscoll on him—unless, of course, you can get him to wander into the virtual lobby.
As for equipping: How does one become a leader in an internet church? Is it being made a moderator of the chat room? What does it mean to “desire to be an elder”? How am I confirmed in my gifts in an internet church? How do I exercise them?
The internet may present a wonderful way for me to connect with the larger Church, but it can’t—and shouldn’t—replace connection with a local church community. My fear is that like the drive-in church, internet campuses have that potential to make half-formed Christians who believe one of the highest values is convenience, not service—what I can get, not what I can give.
In a world struggling to retain its humanity while being drowned in technology, and in a culture fighting to remain deeply connected to a few while filtering through thousands of Facebook “friends,” the Church can and should be a counter-culture. We should use technology, but we must not let it shape (or misshape) us.