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Mark 2:14 pm on August 26, 2010 Permalink | Reply
Tags: shepherd

Permission to Enter – a short story

1 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant,7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.8 All who came before mes were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

— Jesus, John 10:1-6

We can trust Jesus, because he alone enters through the sheep gate as the Good Shepherd. Imagine the walls in this story; they are the defenses we erect in our lives to filter out the bad and keep in the good. It is the membrane of our emotional and spiritual hearts. Walls are a good thing! Most sane people don’t want just anything entering into their sacred garden in their heart. It is the place where one’s deepest secrets, regrets, fears and hopes reside.

So many live with broken walls allowing thrives of all kinds to jump the fence to kill and destroy the most important thing to them, their heart. Abusive boyfriends, commanding bosses, marketing and advertising, conceited religious teachers, and more find the cracks in your wall and penetrate unwelcome into the darkest corners of your life.

Only Jesus has the right to enter through the gate. He comes in directly, not slithering past your defenses. Your guard with him is still up- you’ve been burned before. But he has a different quality to him, no one has ever walked so honestly through “the gate” before; its always been through cracks and crevices- sneaking in without notice or invitation.

It is almost as if he was both the key and the door to your very heart- the longing and the fulfillment simultaneously.

Learning to follow Jesus out of the confines of your broken-down heart with it’s crumbling walls is the process of spiritual formation. Jesus has every intention of meeting you where you are, but loves you too much to leave you there.

Instead of chasing and driving you out the door of your cynical, skeptical, fear-filled heart, he begins to speak to you. He begins to woo you and convince you that he is worth trusting- that his voice is one you can listen to.

Others have entered your heart in the past, and they too were interested in getting you outside your walls of safety so they could take advantage of you; exploiting your beauty, taking your money, or simply adding you as another notch on their belt. Each time you fell for it, you felt dirty, cheapened, commoditized. Once past your walls, they terrorize you and force you through your gate and out into the dangerous wild- you just kept running and running…until you looked back and found yourself once again, alone…vulnerable.

Tricked again, your heart is pillaged.

Jesus is dramatically different- he speaks to you, coaxes you- stands at the doorway of your heart, getting to know the real you. He doesn’t seem interested with pillaging your heart- he wants to lead you out of it’s confining walls. You step carefully toward him, he is not chasing you around the pen, driving you and beating you. He continues to speak to you as you follow him- he’s the leader here- and it is so comforting to hear his voice speaking to you! You and he are on a grand adventure now! Great vistas and pastures are yours to delight in together! And now more sheep begin to join the flock- strange, different-looking sheep, so different that the only thing you have in common is your Shepherd.

This is a story of overcoming and transformation, about learning to listen to a voice that loves you rather than myriad others that want your destruction. Learning to listen and learn Jesus’ voice and trust him enough to follow him is the most critical skill to learn in this life. Nothing else even comes close.

Mark 8:55 am on August 16, 2010 Permalink | Reply
Tags: 1918 Flu Pandemic, bathroom remodeling
The Symptoms and the Disease

There are two kinds of churches out there. (Hold with me your disbelief for just a moment.)

The first are those that look into the Gospels, Acts, and the whole of Scripture and see the methods by which the community of God experienced revival, expansive church growth, and lives changed. They then begin to mimic the methods. They set up revival meetings, plan altar-calls, organize regimented discipleship tracks, push church growth strategies (“What color should we paint the bathrooms?”) and more. They are well-meaning and genuinely want to experience what they read in the Bible. The early church’s explosive power of love and transformation is compelling…but ultimately unsatisfying.

The second kind of church hears the story of the people of God throughout the Scriptures – reads Acts 2:42-46 and does not get teary-eyed at the amazing community formed, the dynamic teaching, miracles, or sharing that seems to be ubiquitous in the early church. No, the externals are not what they get fired up about- they want the wine.

They want the disease- not the symptoms only. They want God’s Spirit to fill them today, but not just like it did in the early church. God Spirit is always taking hold of people who don’t assume what will happen to them after it does. They aren’t forecasting revival or common purses, or neighborhood restoration projects…they are simply desperate for God’s Spirit! Now, they will still pick out colors for the bathroom – but it will be an afterthought; because they’re focus is not anxiety-driven (“What will make people like us and make our church grow?”), but rather God-driven (“We are so focused on our love for God that our growth as a community and transformation as a people is a unnoticed byproduct of God’s love to us.”)

Catch the disease – don’t yearn for the symptoms. People can tell the difference.
Katrina, miller, Katrina and one other person are discussing. Toggle Comments
- miller 10:12 am on August 17, 2010 Permalink
  
  don’t many churches start out as the latter and become the former?
- Mark 2:47 pm on August 17, 2010 Permalink
  
  I think so Miller – good thoughts. Its possible that we could drill that down to people too – first we listen to God, then we speak humbly of God, then we speak boldly for God, then we make others listen because we think we are God. — that’s a botched quote from somewhere…
- miller 3:15 pm on August 17, 2010 Permalink
  
  yeah… love you man, and i miss you tons! when you get ready for a sabbatical, you and Katrina need to come see us
- Katrina 12:27 pm on August 19, 2010 Permalink
  
  Hey Miller – what’s the nearest airport??
- miller 5:38 pm on August 19, 2010 Permalink
  
  Albuquerque! but we can pick you up and bring you home!!!
  
  when you comin’???
- Katrina 12:03 pm on August 23, 2010 Permalink
  
  We will start saving. Will be in Abilene for lectures – the first time to TX since we moved. Will you be Abilene then?? Say, we fly into Albuquerque…. Is there a time that works better for you than another??
Mark 8:47 am on August 11, 2010 Permalink | Reply
Tags: Articles (50), CMA Resources (2), CO2, Life Transformation Groups, LK10 Community (3), micro (2)
Micro Rhythms

Our Micro is really blossoming in some wonderful and formative ways. (Read more on the Micro Layer.)

It began with going strictly by the LTG brochure you can read all about on CMA’s website, 25-30 chapters of God’s Word each week, 10 character-conversation questions (accountability) and praying for the “sojourners” in our lives. We then tossed in some material from CO2 (Church of 2), learning to tap into what is going on in “my heart, your heart, and God’s heart.” We found both of these structures helpful and we flow pretty seamlessly between both of them.

We read plenty of God’s Word. We use YouVersion.com‘s free, customizable Reading Plans to stay in sync with each other – each day reading the same Scriptures and dwelling in the Word – letting God speak to us as we cultivate a spirit of “listening prayer.”

We check in with each other…as close to daily as possible. At the end of our reading and journaling, we take 5 minutes to write an email to the group – writing what we thought about, prayed about and heard from God during our reading. It gives us a daily “check-in” opportunity, even when we are not meeting up with each other in the flesh. When we meet up once a week, we don’t have to spend all our time going over the minute details of our life because we already know! Instead, we check in spiritually -

“What are the deep issues of your heart, today?” “What are you hearing from God? What are you doing about it? How can we help you?”

We usually have more than enough to share with each other!

We confess sin to each other. Each week we ask, “Is there anything we need to confess today?” Sometimes its sin that is shared, other times its a testimony! When sin is confessed, the others listen closely to the one confessing, and when everything is said, they respond by saying,

“I hear what you are saying. You’re right – this is sin, and wrong…but God forgives you.”

Hearing these words is like salve to the soul…

We pray for harvest workers and for the lost in our city. We meet at 9:00am-10:30am each week – and at 10:02am our cell phone will chime reminding us to pray the pray we read in Luke 10:2 - “Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest to cast out workers into his harvest field!” We take a few moments to thank God for what he is doing in Chicago, and to plead that God open up the hearts of those we know who are searching for truth.

After 9 months – this is what our Micro looks like. It has embedded within it the seed of a faith community – and while our group may not look exactly like others that start, our rhythms can easily be passed on and re-molded in countless ways. Have you thought of trying it? It’s AWESOME! More and more Micros are starting in our house church network all the time, and I believe it makes us healthier.

I wouldn’t give up my Micro for anything – it is a chance to be real. It is a band of brothers. It is the core and starting place of mission. It is life transforming!