Updates from October, 2005 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Mark 10:21 am on October 19, 2005 Permalink | Reply  

    The answer is in the burrito. 


    So here’s a question for ya – when God gives you a specific calling to be a leader for a Christian community, and then opens doors to give you the training necessary you’d expect he’d just drop opportunities for life-long, full-time ministry right in your lap. But NOOO! He sends you this wild curve ball instead! Instead of setting you up nice and pretty with a great church that will take care of your family and your health plan, he sends you a vision of a “new way to do church” altogether. This way is powerful, dynamic, authentic…and moneyless.

    It’s true that simple churches (like those that meet in houses) actually give MUCH more than your average church does proportionally – (6% of Christians in traditional churches tithe, 50% of Christians in simple churches MORE than tithe!) – but what happens when you drop down into an area where there IS NO church?

    I know that I have been blessed by God to be the initiator of a new church planting movement in a city. I’m really struggling this morning with God’s gifts and visions he’s given me up to this point, because I’m beginning to see a huge leap of faith I’m going to have to take in the next few years. How will God provide for Katrina and I? How will all this preparation take shape in a life-long ministry (without the benefits of healthcare I’m guessing?).

    The answer is in the burrito.

    This Friday, we’ll be sharing some of these (and other) questions and frustrations with my professor Kent Smith. We’ll be meeting at a Mexican Restaurant for the best burritos in town.  He teaches Organic Church Planting, and is the missions coordinator for North America at ACU. I’ll let you know how that goes.

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  • Mark 9:39 am on October 14, 2005 Permalink | Reply  

    It’s FRIDAY! 

    ACU’s Centennial Homecoming is this weekend, and you can TELL! Tents set up all over campus, whole buildings covered in purple and white tissue paper…it will be a blast. I want to get as much homework done as I can before this evening’s events begin.

    —————–

    Reflection from 2 Samuel 2:18-23! I thought this was pretty interesting. So David is trying to gain control of his kingdom now that Saul has been killed. However, Saul’s son is starting a civil war of sorts. The army commander for the rebel army is named Abner, while David’s main man is Joab. Both, very powerful, respected men. Joab has a younger brother named Asahel, who is known for his long distance running. As these verses play out, Abner escapes a battle only to find Asahel chasing behind him. Asahel chases his enemy for what seems to be all day without rest. Finally, just as Asahel catches up to Abner and prepares to attack, Abner trusts his spear into Asahel, killing him.
    So why tell this story? I am a runner, but not just with my feet. Our entire culture is running, and we do a great job of running without stopping to consider what might happen if we actually catch up to what we are chasing! Are our greatest desires literally killing us? Asahel’s might have been to become as popular as his great older brother; but what is your greatest desire? As people walked past Asahel’s dead body, the text says they “stopped, and stood still”. God convicted my heart as I read this, for just like those who stood still, I realized how often my drive for success and acceptance among my peers might end up killing me, and that stillness might bring me back to my senses.

    “Be still and know that I am God…”

    ————-

    And now for something, completely different!
    I found a nifty blog you might be interested in. Its a group blog, a network of simple house churches living out their journey for all to see. Click here.

    Have a great one. And for those at ACU, spend some time with alumni who have been here years before. It is always amazing to meet those who have gone on before us!

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  • Mark 11:26 am on October 13, 2005 Permalink | Reply  

    Love of the Irish 


    Currently Reading: The Celtic Way of Evangelism, by George G. Hunter

    This book does a great job of describing the purpose and function of the people of God in the task of evangelism. Picture this: you arrive in a city on a buisness trip. The hotel your company has reserved for you swears they never got the reservation. So you are stuck; homeless. Walking hopelessly down the street, you notice a man waving at you. You walk over to him, and after hearing your story he offers you a place with his family during your stay. Upon entering his “house” you see it is more like a monastery, complete with monks, gardens, and activity. You pass by several of the “cells” that the monks live in, and you begin to wish you had happened across another stranger. Still, you are thankful for his kindness, and as you approach your room you find it is the master! Its bed pillows are softer than the ones you have at home! It has a jacuzzi! This is the life! A feast is prepared in your honor, and several of the monks break their fasting to eat with you. Amidst the activities of service, you hear the monks offering prayers to God, thanking himfor the food, but also prayers for washing the dishes, sweeping the floors, and riding their bicycle! This is truly a community that understands God, and they seem to undestand where you are coming from too. Could this possibly be God reaching out to you through these people?

    These are the Celts of the 5th and 6th century. Hospitality and evangelism were the two most important values to their monasteries; a cornerstone for their entire Christian experience. These Celts created church much differently than the prevailing world understood it; “unorthodox” to the world, but indigenous to Celtic culture. Ownership of their own faith had transformed into a God-movement that could not be stopped.

    What can we learn from these Celtic peoples? I am asking myself what it means to live out-loud for Jesus in the midst of a community. What makes the church different than a Kiwanis Club? Are hospitality and evangelism still so intricately linked in our faith communities today? What would happen if we took seriously the parable of the Good Samaritan?

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