Godgrown » Organic Church

The Mission of Gardening

Mark — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:01:26 +0000

One house church in the Underground Network has made it their mission to reclaim an abandoned space in a Chicago city park. This plot of land was used as a literal trash dump for anyone passing by, making the quarter-acre of land a blight on the entire neighborhood in which the house church was located. The project was started February 2011, where a few folks in one house church drew up some plans for a vegetable garden in this space – and in April they picked up the trash and filth, and built a raised-bed garden – with fresh, rich top soil.

Their goal was to follow the spirit of 1 Cor 1: 28, 29 – “For God chose things despised by the world, things considered as nothing, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers to be important…” They invited the entire neighborhood to participate, including several gardeners, many of whom were skeptical of the project’s success. Over the year, more and more volunteers contributed their efforts. There was a good sized harvest (for first time gardeners!) and all the grown produce was enjoyed by neighbors and during the house church gatherings. It was beautiful.

In November 2011, that house church gave birth to another house church, which brought in the neighbors who had worked on the garden – now they knew that there was a Christian church behind the garden, and they wanted to be a part of that kind of church – so this new house church is planning in 2012 to expand the veggie garden, and they are dreaming of opening up a new farmers market to invite regional farmers to sell their produce alongside this little urban garden’s yield.

All this, from an abandoned lot.

“God chose the things despised by the world, the things considered as nothing, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important – so no one can boast in the presence of God!”

Stay Soft

Mark — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:25:30 +0000

I’m reading Exodus 8 alongside 2 Corinthians 3 today — In Exodus, its the story of the 10 Plagues – exhibiting the hardness of Pharoah’s heart toward letting the Israelites go – he just couldn’t see the obvious evidence right there in front of him – he couldn’t understand that it was him doing the harm to the country! He was torturing his own people by refusing to listen to to the will of God.

It reminds me of Libya’s recent dictator, and Syria’s current debacle where the leaders of the country were obviously insane for destroying their own nation. It was a classic example of the leader becoming obsessed with their own power, and end up eroding that power by trying to hold on to it. In Pharoah’s case, as in Gaddafi’s and so many others, it led to the end of their very lives. Power has such compelling, addictive qualities, and trying to relinquish it is eternally difficult.

But I am reminded of a “hardness of heart” far more sinister than even Pharaoh’s or Gaddafi’s.

In 2 Corinthians 3, The hard heart is not in a single person, but an entire nation. What started with an ecstatic worship experience at Mt. Sinai, where Moses was so close to the glory of God that his face had to be covered with a veil, as it was shining with glory! Such was God’s glory that the Israelites asked not to be put it it’s presence for fear that they might die. After all, look what happened to Pharaoh!

Overtime, however, the hardness of heart creeps in like plaque, undoing the raw, beautiful experiences that brought us to the convictions we hold to today. The hardness of heart in Israelites case feels more like the ebb and flow of the ocean on the rocks – at first it’s effects are imperceptible, but overtime, it’s power over stone is undeniable.

In my life, the “hardness” I experience looks more like the Israelites’ picture of the problem, rather than Pharaoh’s. It is the slow erosion of previous joyful worship experiences, of my earliest convictions, and sense of orientation. It amounts to a casual walk through the woods- where the paths continue to wind and turn; at first the journey is light and enjoyable, but soon becomes a frightening, disorienting maze without end.

So! Hold on to your heart. Hold on to hope! Cynicism and doubt are a relentless downpour in our world. Check your sources of input – do you watch nothing but the news? Do you read anything but doom-and-gloom? Then pick up a book of poems! Pick up the Gospels! Keeping your heart soft is possibly the most important task on earth, and its a daily habit.

A Breakfast of Words

Mark — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:40:14 +0000

I LOVE breakfast – it is absolutely an essential part to my day. Eating a simple breakfast of fried eggs each morning gives me lean proteins and nutrients I’ll need to stay feeling full and energized all morning. Oh, and don’t forget the piping hot, dark coffee. Yes, a morning with coffee and eggs is a morning that proceeds a beautiful day. Breakfast… I guess that’s why they call it that - you are “breaking” your “fast” — it is the longest distance between meals each day – from 6pm to 6am – its a full 12 hours of fasting! Don’t you want something GREAT to break the fast and begin the day afresh?

What goes into your mouth is important, but Jesus says that what comes out of your mouth is even more important. In fact, the words you speak, not your diet, are what make you healthy. Just look:

“What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’” — (Mt. 15:11)

What is the FIRST thing OUT of your mouth each morning? Can you even remember?

Think about it for just a minute. Each and every night you close your mouth, and you live in silence for many hours. In all the rush and noise of this world, you make it a daily habit to spend close to a 1/3 of each day in utter darkness and silence. Kinda beautiful, eh?

But what breaks that “fasting” from words? How do you greet the new day? Is it with blessing or cursing?

Why not start this new year with a resolution to have a “Breakfast of Words” – give yourself a simple phrase or sentence to greet each new day.

I had noticed that my days were starting off on the wrong foot – and I came to believe it was the mindset in which I was approaching my days – if the first things that roll through my mind or off my tongue are, “Shoot – I’ve forgot to call that guy yesterday,” or “I feel groggy and awful,” imagine how the rest of my days went! I had enough - I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

Since then, I’ve been doing a little “holy experiment” trying it out, and I’ve lived to tell the tale. And I’ve got to say – its GREAT!

Each morning, I’ll say this as my eggs are cooking:

“Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever, AMEN.”

I don’t know about you but if you say that, even if you begin without “feeling like it” – by the end, you just might have a slight smile on your face. You remember that no matter how you might feel, or what might be going on in your life, a regular diet of these words (or something like them) will change your day. And if you can change your day, you can change your week, month, year…even your life.

Its the simple things like this that make the biggest difference. New Years Resolutions don’t have to be BIG – they just have to be consistent.

Take a daily “Breakfast of Words” – start your day’s dialogue in a place of joy, centering, and purpose. And see what happens!