Godgrown

Updates from February, 2007 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Mark 4:34 pm on February 5, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

  The Others 

  I can’t believe it.  In less than 12 hours we moved all our stuff from one place to the next, and assembled everything we purchased from IKEA…I suppose the help from 15 friends throughout our various walks in Abilene of life didn’t impede our progress!  I am thankful to all of you who helped us move all our stuff!

  Already I am seeing a change in our lifestyle since moving toward a missional lifestyle in a district of town known for poverty and homelessness.  I am walking and riding my bike more.  I am seeing faces that look very different from my own.  I am praying for sidewalks and streets.  In general it seems our new locale forces me to be aware of “the others” (yeah, I’ve been watching Lost and I’m proud of it!) that now live around me…or should I say, that I now live around.
  Sort of interesting; I find that I am fearful of these “others”.  What has happened to me to make me afraid of anyone different from me?  Just because I see you digging in the trash, or wearing a black, rugged face doesn’t say anything about your heart; what God cares about most!  So why do I worry about what that man at the corner might do to me while I am waiting for the light to turn green?  Why do I check my door to make sure it’s locked?  Why do I look behind me as I ride my bike at night through the neighborhood?  When did I develop this fear?

  I don’t remember always having it.  I’ve always had a very diverse group of friends.  Friends that come from all over the world, and many walks of life.  But never poor friends.  Never drug addicts.  Never those who seem mentally insane.  These are my neighbors now.  These will be my friends.  I choose not to fear them – I choose to understand them.  Like it or not, we are living together, and I want to incarnate the Gospel in their midst.

  What will that look like?  I can’t be afraid of them.  I can’t be afraid of it.  I will let the Gospel rule.  I will let love rule.

  I want to see lives changed.  I want to see my own life changed.  I need humility.  I live among the largest church buildings in the city, and as I walk through their crowded parking lots on Sunday morning, I notice a man digging through a dumpster.

  What is he looking for?  What am I looking for?

  I pray for his humility.

  
   

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  Mark 2:33 pm on February 1, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

  Wikicclesia: Listening to the God in Each of Us 

  Our network of emerging, spiritual communities has been waiting a long time for this. Several of us have struggled over how to best connect our network with itself. We truly just don’t know the answer to “what about larger gatherings?” when people question us about our dreams for life in the Kingdom. We believe that finally God is showing us some important steps to take.

  For really the first time, the Jesus Family Network is hosting a gathering for anyone invested and leading Kingdom of God communities here in Abilene and West Texas. Organic churches, neo-monastic communities, life groups, families living as outposts for God’s Kingdom in poor neighborhoods, you name it – we’re desperate to hear from everyone, because we believe that the Spirit has things to say to everyone, through everyone. What is Christ up to in our region? What will it take for us to join him? I honestly don’t know the full answer to that – but I can contribute to the conversation, and through others I can learn so much!
  Here in a few weeks, we’ll take a Saturday afternoon and turn it into a beautiful web of conversations. Around tables, we will laugh, share, and search for God’s word for us. What would it take to see a vibrant family of Jesus in close reach of every person in West Texas? Then we’ll hop up from that table, and share what we’ve learned with another table, cross-pollinating the whisperings of the Spirit as we continue to share with more and more people. We’re calling it Wikicclesia because God’s church (ecclesia) is about hearing from the Lord through his people – a sort of mass collaboration (Wiki) that brings us closer to the Truth.

  This is our first attempt at living as a “starfish“. Wikipedia learned that when you release people to talk about what they are experts in, you see a huge proliferation of genius and breadth of insight. Of course, you also have to sort out the wackos…
  Nevertheless, I believe that the Spirit has something to say in each of us, and that we are missing out when our “church meetings” involve a singular “sage on the stage”. Why can’t every person who feels invested in God’s life share what he’s been up to, and benefit the whole body? In a sense, Wikicclesia is only the beginning.

  The Jesus Family Network is just as it’s name implies – a network that is coherently synthesized as a family; consistently sharing love and insight. I have seen this happen regularly in a smaller way through JFN, and now I believe God is allowing us to try things out on a larger scale. I have invited a few people that I know and think may benefit from being there. Others have done the same.

  This is about natural relationships, not about broadcasting the event on radio and newspaper. Those who need to be there will be there. And God only knows what will come of it!

  

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