We had a great Chicago mission team retreat over the weekend.  It gave us some new perspectives on our philosophy of “team” and I believe the Lord spoke to us through Kent Smith about the importance of putting first things first…

…Many of the passionate followers of Christ I have come across in America are avid ministers.  They pursue missions and ministry with all their heart.  They believe that we are to “love as we have been loved” and “love your neighbor as yourself.”  But strangely enough, it is not uncommon for these same well-intentioned disciples to end up losing their family, or hurting people for the sake of “ministry”.

Many others enter into a life of service to God and leadership among God’s people for the pursuit of true community.  They see God as the triune, perfect community, and they believe it is part of the Christian life to experience that same communion with brothers and sisters.  The only problem is, my definition of community is almost always incongruent with your definition of community!  Therefore we’re always fighting each other in order to obtain that ideal community that never really existed in the first place.

These two things - ministry and community, quickly become idols in the minds of many disciples of Christ.  They are important and godly, but they are not God himself.  There’s something more central that ties these two things together - IDENTITY.

Finding one’s true identity in Christ is essential to truly entering into meaningful ministry and community.  Jesus shows us this in his own life.  He is affirmed in who he is at his baptism BEFORE he does a single miracle, preaches a single sermon, or rounds up any disciples.  His Father says to him and to all others listening, “Behold, this is my son, I love him, and I am well pleased with him!“  What that would do for so many mission teams and even your average Christian if they knew that they were deeply loved by a Papa who knew them first and foremost as his beloved child; BEFORE they ever did anything for him.

But we can only find this identity when we are living in intimacy with Father.   Jesus found regular space in his life to connect and love his Father.  They loved each other uniquely, madly, and constantly.  It was out of this cultivated, intimate relationship that Jesus was able to find his identity, and participate in ministry and community in powerful ways.  Jesus says, “I only do what I see my Father doing.”

Alongside connecting one on one with Father, he found it helpful to hear the intimate words of his God through a band of brothers; Peter, James and John.  These guys knew Jesus inside and out - they spent more time with him than any of the other disciples, and saw him through thick and thin: the night he cried in the garden before he was betrayed, the mountain where he was transfigured into a glorious presence, and there for miracles of resurrection…

I know I’m desperate for this kind of fellowship.  I admit that its more elusive than I ever realized.  People…I…am far too selfish.  I don’t want to commit to anyone else - I want to be my own rugged cowboy, going it alone.  I pretend that I can hear God and participate in life with him all by myself - and that just isn’t true.  There are times…often…that I can’t hear from God.  That’s when I trust on brothers who’ve got my back and help me with the manna from heaven; God’s continual words of LIFE.  It feels as if this kind of community comes and then goes before you know it.  “Either you’re moving, or everyone else is moving around you,” a good friend of mine once said.  It’s sad but true.  I feel like this is a hinge point for North American missions.  If we can’t find meaningful ways of finding intimacy with Father, both on our own and with a small band of disciples, then we will fail.

Jesus’ intimacy with Father continued into a large, wildly diverse community.  The crowds, the disciples, the townsfolk that new him…they were a part of how Jesus connected with God.  This is the choir of coordinated voices singing their love song with God together.

But thank God, there was no formula - no set of principles for us Americans to decipher.  Jesus’ means of connecting with God and becoming intimate with him was in constant flux.  I’m guessing that that bible reading plan you started Jan 1st is already slacking.  Maybe God’s ready for you to find another way to connect with him.  Ride a bike, write a song, meet someone new.  Whatever it takes to find deep, lasting connection with your Creator Father.

Thanks to Kent for pointing some of this out to me.  It is a goal of mine to live in the reality of my own identity in God.  I pray that missions in my life will flow not out of a sense of ungodly jealousy or sense of guilt, but out of who I truly am, and my intimate connection with Father.

Thoughts on the diagram?  Others?

So I sit here now with my summer class papers before me, and I have to tell you all just how good life is!  It was a pretty interesting paper, don’t get me wrong.  But I’m just so GLAD to have it all finished.  It seems like every time I get to the end of one of these semesters, I get a little more disillusioned to the idea of returning to school in the fall.  Good thing this is my last year.  Right now the plans are to take Christian Readings in Spirituality this fall with Jeff Childers, a G-R-E-A-T professor on early Christianity and has some great insights into the non-traditional communities (i.e. the ones you don’t read about in Acts).  He’s got whole books on the apostle Thomas’ missionary journey to India and Philip’s journey out to China and the orient.  I get goosebumps about that kind of stuff…then again, I’m a self-proclaimed nerd.

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Some big stuff in our lives right now; and I’m just asking everyone who reads this to pray.  We’re taking some big steps of faith, and we know that God will not let us fall.  We feel like we’re following his voice into a life that is joyful, sane, and sustainable over the long term.  Maybe I’ll write more about this later.

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Tomorrow I’m going to a friend’s 90-day AA celebration!   For 90 days he’s been clean and on a track toward recovery!  It’s been great getting to know him over these past three or so months, and I’m proud that he’s wanting me there tomorrow night.  He’s a great guy and our Life Transformation Group is becoming one of my favorite times of the week.

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I wish A-Rod would just hurry up and beat Barry’s record.  Hank Aaron is waiting too.  I don’t think I’ve met a single person who is happy to hear that Barry Bonds holds the record for home runs.  Too much mud in the water with his career.   Those are my thoughts anyway.

It’s been over a week since the last post, so for this post I’ll quickly just write some of the things going on:

I’m in a Life Transformation Group with (we’ll call him) B, a new friend from the restaurant I work at.   An LTG is simply just a friendship that is specifically focused on remaining authentic with each other, reading together from God’s Word, and praying for our lost friends.  It stays small (2-3 people, the 4th person is a sign that its time to grow into two groups).  Take a look here for some more info on all that.  B is fighting against some major addictions, and is ready to see Christ change his life.  Already he is interested in bringing a few other friends into our group.  Could this be the “person of peace” I’ve been praying for the Lord to show me?

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The 411 Project is coming along!  Yesterday some of us met with Monty Lynn, a business management professor from ACU.  We were interested in hearing his opinions on how to fund the 411 project, and how to incorporate ownership of land and property.  I was expecting some pretty straightforward legal mumbo-jumbo coming from a BUSINESS professor.  But Monty, being the man of God that he is, wanted us instead to really focus on listening to Jesus and discovering how best to move forward.  What a trip…now BUSINESSMEN can be Christians too? (I’m only joking!)

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Trina and I are thinking about making a trip down to Waco, TX in the near future to see a community that takes Acts 4 seriously.  That means that they share all of their possessions, and live in co-housing arrangements.  I’m excited to meet them because I’m always fascinated to see alternative ways to live the Christian life (they’ve been doing this for over 3 decades!).

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There are new friendships and relationships that are really going deep this summer.  My friend Sean and I are spending more time together - something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now.  He was in MRNA as am I, and so we have a lot of the same dreams and impulses.  I hope that we have a chance to talk about possibilities for shared ministry in the future.

Not only that, but this summer I’ve been given the chance to do more reading, more praying, and more discernment for what Katrina and I have in store for us in the future.  I’ve been hearing from God pretty loud and clear lately that we’re to spend our time in Abilene doing two things: heal and equip.  If you want to summit a mountain (or spend your life in mission in one of the world’s global cities), you’ve got to have a strong healthy body, and the right equipment. Katrina and I are not interested in only going up a 1/3 of the way.  We want to reach the peak without burning out.  We see our time here in Abilene as real life and ministry, as well as training and healing for what is to come.

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Well, here’s hoping some more posts are on the way!

I heard it recently stated that “intimacy in a group as the foundation of community” is a decidedly modern idea. While I didn’t have much knowledge on the subject and the statement caught me off guard without a chance to respond to it, I did a little further researching on the topic.

If we are to say that from a Western perspective intimacy is a relatively modern notion, then we would be correct. In Western history, much of what would have been understood of as community before the Modern period was based more on national identity. More and more however, historians and anthropologists are discovering that intimacy were essential to non-Western civilizations as well. The Incan civilizations, the Pyrenees, and myriad African tribes among others see intimacy as central to belonging to a community.

The basic need of knowing and being known is a global need that can be experienced only in true community. This is not just “intimacy” “authenticity” or “emotionally bleeding all over the table”; it is something much deeper. This cannot be done in massive groups, but must be practiced in groups that fight for each other’s hearts – warriors for each other’s souls. This is the distinctiveness of Christian community: that we understand our community to flow directly out of the unending love seen in our Heavenly Father. This love is characterized by a dying and a living again for the sake of the other. Something that can be done in groups where people know each other deeply and prayerfully engage in life and death together.

Until the digital and electronic age, such community was limited to physical proximity, but now this kind of community can be continued indefinitely. Now even when people move away from each other, spiritual community can continue. Phones, email, and blogs are all ways of listening to the heart of our spiritual siblings, and encouraging each other to live out this self-sacrificing community in the relationships we find ourselves in.

What one must be careful of is not holding so tightly to the virtual relationships that God is not able to reproduce the gift of community in new relationships he has given you. We must connect with virtual friendships that encourage us to recreate the kind of community we have experienced with them with another brother or sister that is in close proximity to us today.

Finding one or two others who will fight for your heart and give of their lives to help you live. That is what community with and in Christ is all about.

We’ve made it! After 3 weeks of being stuck in sicknesses, deathly ill felines, and other issues that were bugging us, we are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel!

Yesterday during home group I was amazed as I realized that this was the first time everyone who has made any kind of commitment to our spiritual family was present together around the table. What a blessing! Its been great finding ways to let the LORD lead our time together, rather than sticking all the responsibility on one guy. Tomorrow night our church and another house church is meeting together to celebrate the 4th of July, and we’re doing the cookout thing, then heading out to see some spectacular fireworks. Mmmm. The more and more we hang out with each other as a group, the more we feel and become more like a true spiritual family. I’m loving it!

With about 8-10 people in the group, the size is just about perfect for getting to know each other, and praising God with everyone contributing. Any more than what we have and there is a chance for a couple of people to sit in the background, letting other people take center stage. If our church continues to grow, we may have to begin thinking about multiplying!

It was great meeting Trey’s fiancee last night. Jessica is a great girl, and I hope she felt loved by everyone in the group. During a conversation Trey mentioned to me that I would be in their wedding, coming up this August!? I almost flipped out! Trey and I have gotten to be so close over these past many months, (through our LTG, and just hanging out) that now seeing him getting married…I almost feel like my brother is getting married or something. I guess that’s what happens when you enter into true Christian community. What a blessing.

I’m anxious to get out of the way and let the Lord lead our house church. It is easy for the guy with the most knowledge to take the reigns and make it his own little project. I’m working hard to refuse the roll of “leader” each and every week. (Some weeks I do better than others.) I suppose its all in the effort of seeing God speak to every heart, not just one. I was reading from 2 Esdras on Saturday, and noticed something about leadership. Ezra was spending time alone with God, listening, and receiving visions from the Lord. Meanwhile, the people were anxious for a word from Ezra about what God had told him. Ezra gets upset and yells at all the people saying something like, “Get off your lazy butts and start listening to God yourselves!” That is a model of leadership for me! I don’t want people to follow me around, anxious to hear the next thing God has said to me. I’d rather people learn to listen to God for themselves, and get better at doing it over time. Then everyone has direct access, rather than one guy/gal hording all the resources!
So those are a few things that are going through my mind right now.