Restoration . Community

Simply a Sabbath

2011-10-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

Most of us do not plan time for leisure and rejuvenation.

We do not include time in our schedules for leisure and rejuvenation. Have you ever pulled out your calendar and written “rest” during one of the time slots?

Despite believing in taking a Sabbath and despite believing that resting is good spiritually and physically for myself an my family I have never written a time or date on our calendar that reflects that.

God said David was a man after his (God's) own heart. He was basically saying David was intimately connected to God. Perhaps we can see some of this in the Psalms David penned. He ends Psalm 46 with this little verse:

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

The words translated as Be still are raphah yada
raphah: to sink, relax, sink down, let drop
yada: to perceive and see, find out and discern, to know, be acquainted with

Then word at the end of the verse Selah represents a poetic device that prompts the singer/reader to pause and to let the truth sink in.

Relax and you will find out that I am God.

The contemplative traditions of Christianity use this verse as a way to calm the mind and enter solitude. They pray the first part of the verse then pause to consider it, then remove the last word and repeat. It looks something like this:

Be still, and know that I am God
Selah
Be still, and know that I am
Selah
Be still, and know
Selah
Be still
Selah

I need to plan time... I am going right now to mark time on my schedule to be still and rest.

Simplicity

2011-10-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

"Becoming like Christ is a journey not a destination. Before we can make the necessary changes that will produce Christ-likeness in us, we must do a gut check to assess what clutter stands in the way." - Charles Swindoll

"Most of us say yes to far to many things"
This statement does not need much expounding. It is easy to say yes to things that are good and right and true. It is easy to see how your gifts talents and skills can benefit a cause. It is easy to feel the emotional tug of friends and family that seek to push you into doing something worthwhile that while a good thing is not your real purpose. It is very hard to say no to these types of things.

In his second letter to the Corinthians (11:3), Paul expressed fear that the crafty devil would seduce Christians away from the simplicity of their devotion to Christ. Using strategies such as legalism, moral compromise, and psychological theory, Satan is too often successful in his seductive attempts. Even the desire to increase knowledge can often lead believers away from the simplicity of their faith

As Shane Claiborne says "If the devil can't win you over to his side, he'll keep you to busy doing meaningless church work to accomplish Great works for the kingdom."

I have let go of many things, but I clearly have more to let go of...

The Kingdom of God is at Hand?

2011-10-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

"The kingdom of God as a real Part of our lives. I want that for you and for me. But the hardest thing in the world, it seems, is for God to have our full attention so that intimacy with him glows from within and can be seen by others as passionate and authentic." -Charles Swindoll

"Again and Again the words Deep and deeper appear in Willard's book. I want depth; I don"t want heights. I want substance; I don't want speed. I want fulfillment in my walk with christ, not just talk about fulfillment." -Charles Swindoll (speaking about Dallas Willard's the spirit of the disciplines)

These two quotes sum up my hope for intimacy with God. I want it to be so obvious that it shines, and I want depth.

God Help me to not only remember a time when our relationship was alive and vibrant, restore that relationship between us...

Aslan is on the move

2011-10-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

I feel like Lucy in the chronicles of Narnia when She meets Aslan for the second and third times.

The first time She and her brothers and Sisters meet Aslan it is an awesome and terrifying and beautiful experience. They are each changed and made to grow in new and profound ways.

How then do they loose sight of Him. How as the book series progresses do they have such a need to meet him again and yet again still?

At times we can loose sight of intimacy with God. I have...

Now in my life I feel something stirring, a nearly forgotten faint whisper.

Before any of her Siblings see Aslan again Lucy catches glimpses of him. He comes to her in the quiet times guiding her back to him.

I feel the spirit tugging on my soul...

I may have lost the plot for a short time, but He has not. He is right there waiting for me speaking in the quiet times waiting patiently for me to listen.

I believe help me with my unbelief (in intimacy with God)

2011-10-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Charles Swindoll says it was a simple verse that led him to see the desire for intimacy he had lost for God.

“[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” (Philippians 3:10, AMP)

My goal is intimacy with God (“that I may know Him”). Discipline is the means I can use to reach it (“my determined purpose”). Attaining it is not simple,automatic, natural, or even comfortable. To reach the goal requires returning to my first love.

Intimacy is developed through a warm, satisfying friendship that builds through the course of time.

So is it my determined purpose to know him and the power of His resurrection?

If I am honest it is not. But, as I think back I can remember when I was. I can remember when all I wanted to do was let go of it all and follow exactly what God had for me. I can remember driving down the highway, far from home, and having the check engine light come n. I thought OK God wherever she breaks down i where you need me. I was in such a close friendship with God I didn't have a concern about how I was going to get home, or what might happen to me on a strange highway at night, or even how I would get to work the rest of the summer without a car. I trusted God to care for me and was open to whatever adventure he had in store for me that evening.

I miss that openness...

My prayer for now is "God help me want to want this openness..."

Intimacy and Discipline

2011-10-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts on the church in Ephesus as Jesus presents it in revelation...

The church at Ephesus was a congregation many people would probably want to join. It was the up and coming place to worship with growth that was truly impressive. It was visible, since the town officials had declared a truce with them and allowed them to exist publicly. It had many good things going, especially its adherence to sound doctrine.

Why?

They lived in a culture of greed (Ephesus was THE banking center for Asian provinces). They lived among many wanted criminals (Ephesus was a city of refuge with no extradition). They lived in a culture that profited from the false beliefs pushed by a few greedy media moguls (Ephesus's chief export was Idols of Artimus and idols, including coins, were the main medium used to communicate propaganda throughout the empire). They lived in a city obsessed with Sex (The temple of Artimus was the largest structure in the whole province and was fill with temple prostitutes).

So it is no wonder that the church was able to step in and reach those who were lost and broken within this system. (if only the church were faced similar circumstances today, nudge nudge wink wink know what I mean know what I mean)

But there was something different from what the church had been and what it became...

In revelation Jesus says they had lost their "first love"

Their hearts had grown cold. They began by being in love with Jesus and sharing his grace with a broken people. But not now the cold doctrine has developed into their primary concern.

They are chilled down to their very hearts and Jesus is none to happy about it.

How have I become like the church in Ephesus?

Have I lost my first love?

Do I care more about Doctrine and Traditions than about those who are lost and hurting?

Is my heart distant from God's Heart?

“Distance from God is a frightening thing.God will never adjust His agenda to fit ours." -Charles Swindoll

So you want to be like...

2011-10-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

I am reading "so you want to be like Christ" by Charles Swindoll for my Pastoral Care class. I have decided the few weeks posts will be devoted to this book and its movements. I won't so much be writing a book review or even a summary, more a reflection on how it affects me.

Here is the tag line from the book:
In a world bent on enticing us away from growing deeper in love with Christ, how on earth do we become more Godly?

The book is structured around 8 spiritual disciplines that can help us grow in our relationship with God.

Sending and Expecting

2011-10-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Soon I will be sending my Wife off to a Keystone training (If you don't know then ask) and my kids off to Grammy's and Grandpa's House for the weekend. I really wanted to go with Kimberly to Keystone but my work schedule wouldn't allow it.

So now I will be home (working Saturday AND Sunday back to back shifts). I am expecting God to come and move in and with me. I feel an anticipation and for the first time in longer than I care to admit, I feel like we are open to where the spirit is leading us. I feel as if we have broken through a wall.

Have your way Lord...

Occupy a biblical world view

2011-10-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

So part of my pastoral care class it to evaluate and develop a solid devotional and prayer life.

As part of my Biblical interrogation class I discovered that I tend to read the bible with a strong dispostion toward the poor and oppressed. I don't see a problem with this in and of itself, I believe Jesus when he says it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for the rich to get into heaven. But the problem comes in when I have prejudged the rich and left them out of the gospel.

If I believe that Jesus can heal a meth addict, then I should have the same confidence that he can heal a stock broker.

All of these thoughts have come to the forefront as I watch the Occupy wall street movement unfold. I pray for these young radicals as they engage in what they believe. I can't help but identify with them, and wish I were there with them.

I know that the Kingdom of God will not come by revolution or political vote. But, I also know it will not come by sitting on the sidelines and not engaging with our world.

I wonder is Occupy wall Street a prophetic action? (camping out and peaceably calling attention to the sin and corruption of our system and leaders. I think all they need is to start cooking a bit of excrement, or perhaps they should challenge the stock brokers to call down fire on a pile of wood, or perhaps they should show that Politicians being involved with banks is like prophet being married to prostitutes...)

My prayer life will be full of requests and petitions for these folks this week.

The morning after

2011-10-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

How will I love my spouse to greater levels this week?

I think after my revelation last week about my inter motives and my authority issues I need to re-frame each of these questions.

How does my my need to seek recognition from those in by authority effect my ability to love my spouse to grater levels?

At first I didn't think this was an issue. But my e-coach poked at my answers a bit. He said he would be shocked to see that it was present in my work and ministry but not in my marriage. I had to think on this one quite a bit. In the end it was my wife who inadvertently made me realize my coach was right.

I often don't pick what movie we will see or where we will go out to eat (not that we do this much at all). I most often defer to her when we are in conversations with others about money, schedules, discipline, etc. Don't get me wrong my wife is very capable of handling all of these things, she runs our house and does it quite well. However, I think in many small ways I unconsciously don't pick the movie because I want to have her be in control.

So now the question...
What is the way forward here?
Its not as if I don't pick the movie on purpose.
It is not as if I think "I want to make her like me more" when I don't pick the movie.
I am not going to swing the other direction and demand authority in all household matters as my manly right, as I'm sure some guys do.
How do I find a balance?

Cycles of faith

2011-10-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

How is my personal faith being developed?

My faith has always been cyclical, that is it in comes in cycles.

At times I feel very connected to the God who created the universe. I sense the spirit moving in and around me and I have an intense sense of purpose. Other times I have a dark night of the soul or a spiritual winter. I feel disconnected and lost.

For a very long time I thought I needed to try to end or get over these disconnected times. I thought that it was something I had said or something I had done had polluted my faith. Like God was some 14 year old up in the sky that would get mad at me if I didn't call or text him after school.

In the last few years this theology has faded even as the cycles have continued. I think this is because I really have an understand of God's character and his grace. I no longer blame my self for theses cycles but I recognize that they are a part of my spiritual life.

In my experience God has always used hardship to shape me (as I believe he does for many people). I wounder if part of my issues with trying to get over these cycles have to do with my issues with authority.

I guess I will have to pray and meditate on this a bit. But just a knee jerk reaction is yup it does effect my relationship with Him...

It is time to stop ignoring the man behind the curtain.

2011-09-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

It can be a scary and challenging thing to peek at the man behind the curtain. This is especially true if you are doing so in your own life.

Last night I had a very deep and personal conversation with my Prof/e-coach. We explored my own "layers" and driving motivations.

Why do I seek the approval of authority figures in my life, consciously and unconsciously?

Why do I have a persona that is full of bluster and confidence?

How deep does this persona run in my life?

It is time to stop ignoring the man behind the curtain.

Grace

2011-09-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

How can I develop a solid devotional and prayer life?

Another of the Questions from my Pastoral Care giving class.
Yes I know I have looked at this one before. I think I will be looking at this one several times as it is one area where I struggle.

I am going to focus on prayer this week and next to see if I can develop a more slid base.

I read today about a little girl, named Grace, who associated with the Missionary church who is struggling with Epilepsy. Because this is a personal thing for me I will be praying for her.

When I was 4 I began having seizures. The my parents were devastated to learn that I had Epilepsy. The doctors tried every medicine they could think of but to no avail. Most of the Meds had bad side effects and none of them helped.

Then a neighbor suggested my parents see a Pentecostal healer. They were hippies and didn't have much contact with the church or God, but they were desperate.

A guy in a big car came and picked me up. He took me to a little red church and asked me to help him unload his guitar (I carried a bag of cords). I watched as the little building filled with more people than I had ever seen in one place.

I don't remember much about what happened except I remember being in the sanctuary with singing and people running around. Then I remember being in a circle of people who were all laying their hands on me and crying out...

I never had a seizure again.

This week I will Pray for Grace three times a day.

Grace and Peace

Love without all the distractions

2011-09-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

How will I love my spouse to greater levels this week?

Kimberly and I have a unique opportunity right now. For the first time ever all of our kids are in school full time. This means on days that I am not working during the day we can spend time together. We can have grown up conversations with out stopping to explain what we mean in 5 year old terms. We can eat a full meal without having to get up three times to refill drinks or get more ketchup (we can even eat a meal that doesn't need ketchup).

This opportunity will soon pass, Kimberly is going to look for part time work for the holiday season and she is continuing to babysit Fletcher (a little guy we love dearly who's Mom and Dad were in our youth group).

So this week I will try to spend more time listening to her and engaging in whatever she wants to do. (boy I left that one way open didn't I)

Grace and Peace

A bold Payoff

2011-09-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes taking a big risk pays off, sometimes it doesn't. My big risk last week payed off big time! My boss commended me for being so bold and taking action. (It could have gone the other way)

I moved a bunch of fixtures and Product while She was away. It really opens up the front of the store and makes for a better flow to the registers. But I was WAY off the reservation with where it is supposed to be AND I did it with out proper approval.

But what I did is not as important as why I did it... I saw a problem and I heard a solution. One of my people had a vision for a better store front that was functional and pleasant. I tested the waters on how it would look and on how it would go over. Then while the iron was hot I struck. I worked hard (blood and sweat but no tears) and delegated lots of the work too.

Then all I had to do was hold my breath all weekend as I waited to see what My boss would think.

I took the risk, but I shared the glory.

When my boss said she loved it, I shared with her the parts each of my people had played in making it happen. If she had hated it I would have taken all of the blame. I guess that is just what I feel is the right thing to do (and perhaps that is why people follow me).

Grace and Peace

kids?

2011-09-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

How can my kids see more of Jesus in me this week?

This is another one of those questions from my Pastoral care giving class...

I am sometimes keenly aware that I am not the best representation of Jesus for my kids. IT can be hard to display the fruits of the spirit while one child is throwing their backpack on the floor (having been told to not do so several times) and the other two are busy fighting about who gets to sit on which place on the couch (and by fighting I'm talking about loud screaming).

Perhaps this is a case of friction vs traction.

See we often think of friction as a bad thing. We are told to smooth things over, and are wished that everything goes smoothly. But, with out friction you can't get much traction...

So I guess the fact that my children are trying at times means I shouldn't have much trouble finding traction in better showing them more of Jesus. This week I will take time alone with each of our children and really get in on what they want to do. I will look for teaching opportunities and serving opportunities.

Grace and Peace

Wired for change

2011-09-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

How has God wired me?

I thought of this question today as I did the unthinkable. I moved parts of my store around without permission. Not just moved a bit of product from here to there, and not just a small fixture. I had my crew devote time and energy to a MAJOR move, including disposal of an entire fixture.

This was a huge risk, but it was a calculated risk. I had talked the plan over with my boss and her boss in theory a couple of months ago and they liked it but did not expressly give the go ahead. I had measured twice marked the space out on the floor and used a borrowed wheelchair to test the isle spaces (I actually made them wider). I double checked the inventory levels and mad sure the company was not sending us more product than we would have room for.

So I went ahead and made the move while my boss was out of town. We'll see if it pays off or if she makes me move it back, or even fires me.

So How has God wired me?

I am a risk taker and a dreamer.
I am a catalyst who brings change.
I combine these two things and stir up all kinds of trouble.
(andd I feel alive when I do it)

:-)

I miss Rob

2011-09-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

So Rob Bell announced that he will be leaving Mars Hill Bible Church, and it made me sad...

At first I didn't understand why it evoked these feelings since I am not really connected to Mars Hill in any personal way. But then I considered...

One of the first christian books that really had a major impact on me was Velvet Elvis. It woke me up to the possibilities that this Jesus movement held. I have since subscribed to the Mars Hill Podcast, traveled to Grand Rapids to join with them in worship, and read and watched everything Rob has done.

The vast majority of my spiritual formation happened through Mars Hill.

So for me this is a time of transition as much as it is a time of transition for Mars Hill. Sure I will not be as personally effected as they will (I have hundreds of hours of pod casts from Mars hill to go back and listen to), but I will be changed by his departure.

Grace and Peace

Why Preach

2011-09-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

Why Preach

Some of my old thoughts I was rereading today that struck me

The act of preaching and teaching is a powerful act of imagination, an offer of a new image through which perception, experience, and finally faith can be reorganized in alternative ways (not of this world but in it). Preaching and teaching to me is primarily a chance to summon and nurture an alternative community with an alternative identity, vision, vocation.

Transformation is what lies at the heart of my motivation for preaching and teaching.There are only rare texts in the bible that are holding actions, everything else in the bible urges us to move towards an alternative to the dominate culture. People do not transform their lives because someone explains an abstract theological point to them. But people can and do in fact engage in transformation through the hearing and living out of the message. We do not need to adjust our theology to match our practices, but we need to adjust our practices to match our theology.

That is what makes me get fired up, it gives me a reason to spring out of bed early each morning and begin my day fresh with a new step. I believe in the power of transformation, and I believe that God has equipted and called me to help him lead others into that transformation in their own lives.

My wife also feels this call, however, it plays out different for her. She is far better at the one on one discipleship relationship than I am.

Why all these thoughts on Preaching and Ministry. I get to Preach on Philemon!

$$$

2011-09-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

So here we are having been living on the grace of God for a while now. I sometimes wonder what it will be like when we don't have to wonder where we will get the money when something else goes wrong.

Each time I go to God with this issue he reminds me he has continued to care for us...

When I was worried about an emergency like a dentist bill, my dentist came in and offered to treet us free for the duration of my time with the PLI.

When both of our vans died He ministered to us through some friends and they offered us their car with the option to pay them later (and they still have been gracious about it).

When our laptop died, he sent us a note book via some friends.

An unsolicited check from friends in Pennsylvania arrived at our door, the next day we found out that my check had been shorted the same amount (we would have not been able to buy groceries with out the money).

So as I pray for relief on this front I am reminded that I don't need it. God is present among us and he has not failed to care for us. Instead of being worried about all the money in our bank account We are freed to be present in the moment with Him and each other.

Grace and Peace

P.S. God if you happen to know a Plumber...

Where does the time Go

2011-09-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

"Superpastor is always available to talk to everyone and accomplishes great things but always has time to stop and talk and never misses anyone's birthday and if you are sick he's at the hospital and you can call him at home whenever you need advice and he loves meetings and spends hours studying and praying and yet you can interrupt him if you need something - did I mention he always puts his family first?..." _Rob Bell

So this is how I feel right now. I am taking two Classes, working 40 hours a week, Doing ministry, and still trying to be a father and husband.

Don't get me wrong I love being on the move, I hate not having anything to do. I often find myself thinking "Okay so I have 10 minutes before I need to leave what can I get into..." I don't think I could operate any other way. I also LOVE most everything I am into. School is really fulfilling (though my wife keeps telling me I don't need to be such a perfectionist and get 100% on everything), Work is by turns drudgery and rewarding, I love digging my hands into the earth and gardening, I get a fulfillment from teaching, and being a Husband and Father is AWESOME!

So I feel I really need to find time and space to rest and renew on a regular basis. My schedule @ B&N keeps me from having a weekly Sabbath, but I know I need something.

2011-09-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

One of the questions I am supposed to answer for my Pastoral care giving class is:
How can I develop a solid devotional and prayer life?

This is a question I have struggled with for some time now. I often wonder is this it? Shouldn't I be deeper, shouldn't I pray more, shouldn't I be more spiritual?

I struggle with this notion that I should be a super christian who spouts Bible verses at all the right times (I don't have ANY verses memorized). I struggle with the idea that I should be a "prayer warrior" who prays for hours a day (I pray maybe once a day). I struggle with actually reading the bible as devotional material (I tend to study it and pick it apart always with an eye on how I can communicate it).

So I don't have any answers on this yet...
I would love to hear your thoughts.

Grace and Peace

Grunge & Theology

2011-09-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have been reading the book "Encouragement" by Larry Crabb and Dan Alendar for my Pastoral Cargiving class. The book explains the concept that we all carry baggage around that we picked up somewhere along our journey.

I am also reading "Grasping Gods Word" for my Biblical Interpretation class. It talks about what we bring to the text before we even open it and try to dig in.

The convergence of these two ideas have me thinking about where I come from and what I bring to the text. I think this is best expressed through music (You are lucky that I am not physically present with you right or you might have to hear me singing).

I grew up with parents who listened to Rock n Roll. I am named Tommy because my parents <3 the WHO. I was familiar with everything from the lighter stuff like Aerosmith to the much heaver Black Sabbath. The music my parents loved morphed throughout the 80s and became heaver and more complex. Five minute guitar solos by men who had more hair products on than most women I know of were not uncommon.

The culture I grew up in was distinctly poor and urban. That meant most all of my peers listened to Rap and soul, mostly Gangsta Rap. By Jr High I could stop outside of school on any given day and watch a "battle" in which several young boys would rap at each other in an attempt to garner the attention of the crowd while putting down other would be rappers.

Early 1991was a pivotal point for me.

A band called Nirvana released their second album "Nevermind." They had taken rock music and striped it down to its bare bones. They only had three members, avoided much of any solos, and it was questionable if they even brushed their hair (so no hair products). Though they drew their influences from some punk they avoided the angst I'm gonna burn it down crap that so defined punk. Their blue jeans, flanel shirts, and gist of their lyrics was the polar opposite of the Rap stars.

Their influence has run so deeply in my life that it unconsciously defines who I am. Not that I worship this band or any of the others (Grunge became a movement based out of Seattle). But the way that they stripped away the veneer and rejected the glamour and gloss so prevalent in our culture left its mark on me.

So now as an I study theology and consider what I bring to ministry I have come to recognize that I bring a need to strip away all the junk I see plied up in the church, a need to tear off all the things that have attached themselves to the cross. In the hope that a new generation will be able to meet Jesus and embrace his loving grace.

We need some Celtic Christians

2010-05-13T06:02:00.000-07:00

Celtic Christians adopted the principle of indigenous Christianity from St Patrick and even extended it. They learned about 'monasteries' from Eastern Christianity, perhaps through visits to Gaul and the Eastern Church. Then they radically adapted the idea of the monastery to their own context. The resulting community was so different from the eastern monasteries that they needed a distinct term monastic communities. These communities produced an unusual approach to the living out of Christianity, that had a sharp contrast to the Roman forms and rituals.

First, the monastic communities produced a less individualistic and more community-oriented approach to the Christian life. Their Christian faith and community addressed life as a whole and as interdependent. Celtic Christians especially engaged barbarian imaginations through storytelling, poetry, music, and visual arts.

Secondly,The Celtic Christian movement proceeded to multiply mission-sending monastic communities, which continued to send teams into settlements to multiply churches and start people in community-based life and full devotion to the Triune God. The strategy of these monastic communities varied from one context to another, and yet all looked similar to each other.

They multiplied then sent apostolic teams from the community to reach settlements within the region. These teams would engage the local culture, establish relationships, and form a new community which would then send out apostolic teams from the new community to reach other settlements within the region.

The Roman model for evangelism consisted of presenting the Christian message, inviting people to decide to believe in Christ, and welcoming them into the church and its fellowship if they decided positively, similar to the Western church in the modern era. The Celtic model for evangelism, on the other hand, took this in pretty much the opposite order, allowing them to belong before they believed.

In other words, the first step was to establish community or bring them into the fellowship of the community of faith. Then, within the fellowship, the next step was to engage in conversation, ministry, prayer and worship. Finally, in time, as they discovered that they now believed, they were invited to commit themselves.

The relevance of the Celtic Christian story to much of what Western Christianity faces in the twenty-first century should be apparent. First, a host of new Barbarians populate the our world once again indeed, they are all around us. Second, these "barbarians" are increasingly similar to the "barbarians" that the movements of Celtic Christianity reached. Third, most churches think (though it is seldom verbalized) that these new "barbarians" are unreachable, because they are not 'civilized' enough to become 'real' Christians."

I believe we need a new generation of Celtic Christians to launch a new generation of urban monasteries.

Who gets in?

2010-04-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

Let me begin with a couple of cheesy jokes. These are jokes a speech maker (preacher) would traditionally use to get a little laugh out of his audience before carrying on with his sermon, but I think they also illustrate a much deeper point about our version of Christianity here in North America.
Joke 1:

A woman died and went to heaven. Upon arriving at the Pearly Gates, St. Peter tells her she does not automatically get into heaven by the way she lived her life, but that she must simply answer three a questions.

She is relived that she has a chance to get in despite her mistakes, and so she takes a deep breath and says "OK ask away". St. Peter asks her "Have you lived a good life?" She answered "um I did the best I could..." I see said Peter. "Do you think you deserve to get into heaven?" "Yes Please?" The woman answered.

Then with a solemn face St. Peter asked Her The final question "spell Love." She answers "Loev.. no wait..." Laughing St. Peter says "Good enough your in. Hey I've been here awhile, could you please watch the front desk for a few minutes while I take a break?"

Not wanting to seem ungrateful the woman agreed.

As soon as Peter walked around the corner the Woman's ex-husband appeared at the gate. "What am I doing here? Did I die?" Then he fell silent when he recognized his ex-wife manning the desk at the Pearly Gates.

"Don't worry all you have to do is correctly answer a few questions my dear," the woman said with a sly smile on her face.
"Have you led a good clean life?"
"Not exactly."
"Do you think you deserve to get into heaven?"
" Um, Yes."
"Spell Chrysanthemum." The woman smiled at the worried expression on his face and said "sorry I guess you can't come in."

Joke 2:

One day the St Peter noticed a line up of people waiting to enter the pearly gates of Heaven. He approached the angel he had left in charge and asked "whats the hold up, why are these people standing around? Ether their names are in the Lamb's book of life or not. Lets get them moving."

"Oh they are definitely all in the book." said the angel. "But, the gates won't open, apparently Heaven is full."

"It can't be full," replied St Peter incredulously. "If there names are in the book then there MUST be room for them."

He called the other angels over and asked them to investigate. After a short time it was confirmed that Heaven was indeed full and the names of the people waiting were in the book.

Finally an angel came back with the answer," I know what the problem is" he said "It's Jesus, He keeps sneaking people in over the fence!"

These are both common enough jokes for a speech maker to use. But I think they tell us a lot about our indoctrination in a certain way of reading the bible.

For instance I'm pretty sure we can all think of someone who is not going to "get in to heaven." Considering none of us get to sit on the judgement seat, this judgement is based only on our own perceived concept of what a good person is. Humans are very good at creating in and out groups, cool people and losers, hot and geeky, popular and well you get the idea. Unfortunately that carries over into our christian lives too.

Despite Paul declaring "there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." We seem to be comfortable with the boundaries that have been laid out by those who came before us.

It would appear to me that we have become far too religious and have let that sap our faith. A religious person is a person who considers whether a fact is acceptable to his religion before he explores it. As opposed to a person who has faith, who explores first and then considers weather or not he wants to accept the ramifications.

My point is that just because someone thinks that certain kinds of people are excluded from faith, doesn't mean God agrees with their interpretation. Who gets to decide who is in? After all we are only human. Our best guess is probably laughable from Gods view point.

For example a person living in the southern parts of the US 200 years ago would have believed that slavery was a foundational christian belief, and that only Anglo Saxon men were getting into heaven. I believe they would have a stronger (and better) faith for questioning that "fundamental truth."

Questioning our religious beliefs and doubting our man made doctrine is a far cry from doubting God. It is perfectly acceptable, maybe even necessary to question the thoughts, opinions, and understandings that past generations have formed into religious doctrine.
So:

What people or groups of people are excluded toady?

Why?

Do we show that we are thankfull?

2009-11-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

"When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just." -Jesus

We have committed to serving the "the least of these brothers of mine" (Matt 25). As part 0f this some of the folks we are in community with, poked around and discovered that of all the soup kitchens and places that serve meals no one serves any food on Thursdays. And so we agreed to serve the homeless and nearly homeless dinner every Thursday. Its a small thing to us but we found it to be huge to others.

Folks came prepared to serve, but soon found themselves being served. One man took time to listen to a homeless man and was blown away as the second man described his life and explained that this was the first hot meal he had had in days. A woman was moved to tears as people gratefully accepted her home-made meatloaf. Another woman found herself so identifying with these brothers and sisters that she felt offended when she perceived that someone had offended one of them.

When it comes to Thanksgiving...

Almost all of us "give a dinner or a banquet" each year on a Thursday in November.

How can we really say we love others if we are unable, or unwilling, to interrupt our comfortable lives to be with them?

How could we refuse to eat with them on this Holiday?

How can we call ourselves followers of Jesus and yet ignore his instructions on this?

And so if you are looking for our community this Thursday you will find us with turkey, pie, and everything in between eating together with our brothers and sisters who don't have as much as we do.

**Christmas eve also falls on a Thursday** ;-)

new format/purpose

2009-06-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

The format/propose of this blog to date has served its purpose... That was to communicate the radical actions that have sprung from the dreams God has layed out before us.

But

We feel that we NEED begin new conversations (or perhaps join others in very old ones) in our city/area/world.

I resonate with several others in our community as they express the calling they feel that this the time is ripe. I have had that same thing breathed in to my soul, and we have had it reinforced over and over in the last couple of months. Forming an alternative community has been a burning desire that has now reached a boiling point for us. We can no longer wait around, for what has become the institution, while our generation and the next stumbles through the darkness.

We do not think we are ready, we have not arrived. But I once heard it said that if your vision can be done with out God's intervention, that is if you can do it on your own, then it's not big enough. I have also heard it said that you should look for where you see God at work and and join him there. Well we see God at work in the hearts of our generation, but that has not yet translated into a substantial local manifestation of the body.

SO

We seek to become a body that will allow us to gather and organize in ways that are new (or ancient), worship, teach, and live in ways that are different than the way the local church meets currently.

We also seek the guidance and wisdom that we have yet to gain, that we believe only a our elders and those of past generations who have walked this path before community can provide for us.

We will hold all of that in tension as we move forward.

We are now one part cohort (hosting monthly open-source conversations in the community), one part church (living and serving together).

How does all of that hit ya?

At the end of the day we cannot ignore what we believe to be the call of our King, to gather and begin the conversation.

And so this blog will henceforth be the official web presence (at least until further notice) for the restoration.community Emergent village cohort. We are glad to be called a friend of emergent village, and look forward to living the dream God has inspired for us.

Grace and Peace
Tom

The new house

2008-09-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

So it has been a while since I posted, because of all that has happened, so I will try to recount what has been developing.
After much searching, we found a house a block and a half away(perfect location). We put in an offer and negotiated a deal with the bank that owned the property. It was a long and difficult process... I was often reminded that I was to act like Christ even in the face of the junk the world throws at us.
My parents used a vacation , and then all of their time too (no seriousul they worked every day all day) and my wife's parents loaned us the money so we could fix the house up. Once again My Dad proved to be the most resourceful and able handyman the world has ever seen.
We prayed and prayed that God would prepair the "road" ahead of us so that we could transform the lives to our new neighbors. As we began conversations with the neighbors we learned that most of them didn't even know the house was empty. There had been no sign in the front yard, even though the house had been empty for almost a year. That tells you how many people in this area know their neighbors.
There has been much copper thevery in our city in recient times, yet this house remained untouched. The roof had alot of damage, yet the leeking inside had caused minamal damage. I get the feeling that God had placed a sort of vale or protection over the house, because it's where he wanted us to be.
So we spent about a month and a half, renovating almost every room in the house. We found mold in a bedroom wall and in the basement. We fixed some plumbing and electrical issues. We had a roofer reshingle the roof.
And then moved...
All of our students came out to help. The realestate agent gave us a moving van for two days. And God provided clear weather. No seriously it poured the minute I shut the back door of the moving truck. And not like a little sprinkle eather, it was the long torent of an angry storm that has been pent up waiting to rain for two days. It caused big time flooding all over our city ( I was ready to build a boat and start looking for animals).
So far the house has been wonderful, providing us with more room, and it has solar heat and room for a garden :)
I'll write more as I am able.
Grace and Peace

endings and new begginings...

2008-06-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

We have made the decision to buy a house... This was a tough decision but after careful consideration we have decided to find a space a little more suited to our family.

We will limit our search to the surrounding few blocks, because we have already started to cultivate community here.
We will also prepare the Bryant street house to be a blessing to someone else...

Has the church (body of believers) traded its effectiveness for a few cattle?

2008-05-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

In the year 1519 the Aztec empire was at is peak. It had beautiful highways, huge temples, & pyramids, and extensive aqueducts. It had a population of over 15 million, its own language and an advanced calendar.When the legendary explorer Hernando Cortes arrived there he expected to see savages. Instead he was taken to a metropolis then called Tenochtitlan. “The City” He marveled “is as large as Seville or Cordoba.”By 1521, just two years after Cortes first arrived there, the Aztec empire which traced its roots to centuries before the time of Christ had collapsed. A similar fate befell the Incas. The Spanish army captured the Inca leader in 1532. Again the animation of an entire society took just two years.The Spanish armies seemed unstoppable. With the winds of victory at their backs the headed north. It was there that they encountered the apaches. The Apaches who hadn't put up a single town or pyramid seemed primitive. The Spanish were unable to tame or control the apaches. They had no centralized government to take out, and no buildings to destroy. The Apaches however were able to actively resist the Spanish. The raided every thing in sight that was even remotely Spanish. You'd think that to an army like the Spanish the Apaches wouldn't stand a chance. But the Apaches were able to wrestle effective control of northern Mexico away from the Spanish. This wasn't an single accidental victory. The Apaches were able to hold off the Spanish for over TWO HUNDRED years!How did they do it? The Apaches won because the distributed political power. They were decentralized as a society. Basically there is no Montezuma (the emperor of the Aztecs) and no Tenochtitlan. The Apaches had a Nant'an, a spiritual and cultural leader. The Nant'an lead by example and had no coercive power. Tribe members followed the Nant'an because they wanted to not because they had to. Now the very bad ending...The Americans (of European descent) entered the picture. They too found it impossible to defeat the Apaches. Until they decided to give them some land and a few cattle. And with in a few years the Apache society had fallen apart.

**These thoughts were inspired by the book “the spider and the star fish, the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations” If you want an in depth look at this kind of stuff I suggest you check it out.**

Has the church (body of believers) traded its effectiveness for a few cattle? How so?What's next?

Community Garden!

2008-03-06T10:57:00.000-08:00

Over the past few years we, Restoration Community, have been trying to reclaim abandoned spaces and trash filled places in our neighborhood. There is an empty lot between the parking lot of the building where our comunity gathers (church) and the house our community has remodeled for us to use for youth gatherings. The Church has agreed to let us use the space so we are excited to begin “practicing resurrection” there. Some folks in the neighborhood are excited to begin gardening with neighbors and friends, and now we have some contacts with an organization called Neighborhoods Inc. that will make it possible for the gardening to be on a much better scale.

We are going to plant a community garden to grow food for our neighbors. The neighbors will be invited to help plant and care for the garden. This will of course give us chances to bump shoulders with them and build relationships.

Probably many of them will not participate at first. But that's OK, the point is that as we harvest the bounty so that we can share with our neighbors. I am reminded of a little group in South Barrington (Chicago) who went door to door selling Tomatoes and asking people what they thought of Church. It kinda gave them a picture of the spiritual landscape. This group was headed by a guy named Bill Hybels, you may have heard of him.

I have been praying for God to help us... We need so much to get this started.

Another neighbor?

2007-08-10T05:28:00.001-07:00

Sad news...

Our friends who lived in the house down the street have decided to move. They are moving into a house that borders the country, while still staying in the city. I cannot fault them, the house is beautiful and the yard is amazing. Their kids will be able to attend a better school system, or at least a better resourced one. However we will miss having them so close.

On a happier note Our friend is moving into the house. Once again my Dad is responsible for the repairs 'n stuff the house will need. And our friend is new to the faith... It is amazing to see someone so new to the body to act so missionaly. She will bring her family and a huge heart to our little community.

I love watching God work. I'm sure I heard him laughing as I questioned why he would move Matt and Mandy out of our neighborhood. He had a different plan all along...

Grace and Peace

P.S. As I wright this update it is may 2008... Our new neighbor is in a close disciplining relationship with Kimberly, She is growing strong in Christ and is reaching out to help save others. God truly worked in strange ways here.

Our City is Changing Because God Sent Us!

2007-07-20T11:05:00.001-07:00

We are a ragtag collection of surrendered and transformed people who love God and others. We are transfixed by God's story and His heart for our city. We are mesmerized by the idea that this is not about us, but all about Jesus. We are not perfect, we have not arrived but we are moving toward God's dream for the world. We invite everyone, no matter where their starting point may be, to join us in the journey. We are seed throwers and fire starters, hope peddlers and grace-givers, risk takers and dreamers, young and old. We seek to unite what man has divided, empower the poor, strengthen the weak, embrace the outcast, seek the lost... We reject unfounded categories that divide the world into uniquely sacred or purely secular. We strive to discover authentic community by serving together, playing together, worshiping together, living life together.

Our city is changing because God sent us.

Disturbing developments...

2007-07-17T14:08:00.001-07:00

One night after the kids were in bed We were disturbed to find a circus of lights outside our windows. There were a dozen or so police cars...
Our Neighbor, we didn't even know his name had committed suicide... God please forgive us...
We will redouble our efforts to save our world.

Settling in

2007-07-15T12:33:00.001-07:00

We settled in very quickly. But we found the neighbors quite standoffish, OK we didn't work as hard to reach out to them as we should have. And as Life has a way of doing we got complacent. We were tied up in work school and church to the point of ignoring our neighbors.
Then one summer day we received a 15 foot trampoline as a gift. It took all day to set up, and the neighborhood kids keep coming to check on the progress. It made me remember how much God misses them.
About this time a Brother (not Genetically) of mine Daren said he felt God tugging on his heart to start an after school program for the 5th and 6th grade kids in the neighborhood. We asked for and got a ton of old computers donated and had a couple of guys from our community spent a lot of time Frankensteining (rebuilding) the computers into something we could use. They also set up a network to connect them to the Internet.
I don't typically buy the if you build it they will come, but they came. The best thing is most of the kids aren't from our community, we are missing that age group, they are from our neighborhood.
I am so happy that we are finally able to reach out to our neighbors... Even if it is only a start.

Moving in

2007-07-14T07:43:00.001-07:00

We prayed and prayed about the move...
When moving Day came we found our selves unprepared, despite packing for weeks in boxes I recycled from my job as a bookseller. With three children below age 5 we just had so much stuff of move. It all just seamed a little overwhelming.

But as moving day progressed we found our selves surrounded by the people of our community (church). A few brought vehicles to help including; a van, the church van, and a truck and trailer that our friends (the Hubbards) had to borrow from someone.

People just showed up to help. One guy (mike) came with out even stopping to put his shoes on... All of our stuff was loaded and unloaded with so much care. We ordered pizza, witch some one from our community stopped to get. Everyone ate and laughed and helped us unpack.

It was almost like living in the first century church. There was so much love and caring in this little community of believers. My eyes water even now as I think of how so many came to help unbidden.

I believe this is how God designed us to exist.

The Neighborhood

2007-07-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

As we worked on the house almost all of the neighbors stopped to ask questions. They ALL had a story or two about the house. Through this process we were able to learn as much about the house as the neighborhood, and even more about our new neighbors.

This also gave us the opportunity to tell them why we were restoring the house. That is that we, in our small way, were joining God in his quest to restore all of humanity.

Our mail carrier (yes we usually have the same one) said, "Churches are all about money. I don't know why you are here but it's great." We have had many chances to learn about the history of our neighborhood form him, and he has had the chance to see followers of Christ are not at all like the televangelist he sees on T.V..

RE-Construction

2007-07-11T13:35:00.001-07:00

The first thing I need to clarify is that not everyone in our community was on board with the whole urban renewal project. And that's OK because we love each other we were able to wrestle with and accept each others viewpoints even if we can't come to an agreement.

Some saw the houses as a wise investment. Others thought we should buy more property for future building space. And some just didn't want to buy any more property. But in the end we were able to purchase and remodel the house as a community.

I strongly hinted at the idea that my father would be great at leading the charge to re-construct the house. This gave us some input so that the house would feel more like home. Plus I know my father can pinch a penny till it screams. So we used many things from Habitat For Humanity's re-store :). And used almost all volunteer labor.

I love the idea or reusing as much as possible. I am so sad when I see how much our culture wastes just have something look new ans shinny...

The house turned out great.

How it all began...

2007-07-07T03:27:00.000-07:00

OK so events did not happen as quickly as I will post them here. Mostly I'll be posting things from my journal, stories and stuff about how we came to be here.

At the time this all began I was reading a fantastic book by Shane Claiborne called the Irresistible Revolution. Did I say it is a fantastic book? Be careful it is actually a rather dangerous book.

My wife and I were looking at tangible ways we could get into the lives of the people all around us. And then it happened... We discovered our community (church) had purchased an abandon crack house behind to the church!

So we wrestled with the idea of how we could use this opportunity to do what Jesus taught us... Love people.

We had some friends who lived down the street from the house in another abandon house our community had purchased. They pushed us to move into the neighborhood...

At the time we lived in an apartment. But it was in a nicer part of town. Now we had a choice to make. We could choose the safe rout, staying in the nice part of town with good schools. Or move into this neighborhood and find ways to interact with people who were far from God.

Did I mention Shane's book is dangerous? As he described the neighborhood he and his community purposely moved into I found my self thinking yea that's what we have to do. Now the neighbor hood we moved into is NOT as poor as his. But it is about as close as we could get.