Here goes a random post from the talk given at the KAMP's Gathering last week...
RHYTHM
Read this piece of truth over and over again. Read it slowly. Let it get in you. Let it move and affect you. This is Jesus telling us why he came, what his purpose is...and it's for you, me, us, the world to have life. Not church life. LIFE!
John 10:10 says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
I came that they (A)may have life, and have it abundantly.
I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [a]overflows).
My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
I came so they might have life, a great full life.
I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.
I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”
The last thing Jesus came to do was start another religion…He is the way and he showed us the way to reality, life as it is and should be
I hope last week we were confronted with stuff – for life to be a work art we must ask really difficult question about how we are living life.
We (as a church – a community of followers of Jesus living and learning to live the best possible way) wrestle with what the best possible life looks like
***Genesis 2: 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested [a] from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
The 7th day he rested
***Exodus 20: 1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Ten commandments begin with grace and mercy and then show us some guidelines for the best way to live
Living in rhythm goes back to how God made the world – how things really are and how they should be – we call this the Kingdom
Rhythm – pattern of beats in music (the audience clapped in rhythm) / particular music pattern / pattern of stress in poetry / any regularly recurring pattern of activity such as the cycle of the season, night and day, or repeated functions of the body (heart) /
Beat / pace / tempo / time / measure / cadence / pulse / regularity / pattern / progression / sequence /
Rhythm - knowing when to play and when not to play
Noise vs music – when to be on and when to be off
Sometimes life is less and less of a life and more of an existence…machine like…give and give…go and go…produce and produce…less and less of a life and more like an existence
God made the world with rhythm…6 and 1…created us to live with rhythm…without rhythm…less music and more noise…
When to be on and when to be off…when to play and when to rest…if you don’t know where the rests are…you butcher the song
***Mark 1: 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33The whole town gathered at the door, 34and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Verse 33 The whole town gathers to plug into jesus, take, needs met, giving
Verse 35 the next day while it was still dark jesus went off to a solitary place to PRAY –
The next day he didn’t go back out after it – what is Jesus saying to God?
There is a rhythm of heavy engagement and being alone
***Matthew 14: 12John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
***Mark 6: 30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
He is not just living this he is also teaching them how to live so that they may teach others
All kinds of people around wanting more…Jesus gets away
At this pace you are going to fry, burn out, be miserable
But what about all these people who need us? Let’s go rest
Jesus needed to rest…and he is teaching his followers to rest
***Luke 5:12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.[c] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
13Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.
14Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."
15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Mass numbers of people are coming to him
Verse 16 but he withdrew and prayed
Link these two ideas…you need to know he spent a lot of time alone
Jesus has these rhythms that he lives by
He knows when he needs to rest, when he needs time alone, pray, walks away,
Of all the people in the world that did not have a messiah complex….was the messiah
On off, engaged disengaged, with a crowd alone
Changing the world in 3 years and he spends a lot of time alone doing nothing…not in a hurry…saying no to large numbers of people who know him…rhythms he’s living according to
Leviticus 23:24
God commands the people to party, 7 major feasts, celebration or party some are days some are weeks, weeks of traveling with friends, eating, singing,
Resting and partying is sacred
Some of the things we most enjoy are spiritual
These scriptures shape the world Jesus lived in
What is God really like?
Day of rest, no regular work, throw a party,
Some of you will find a way to work, God is trying to teach us how to party
Verse 35 no regular work
Verse 39 day of rest, celebrate this for 7 days each year, party, food, music
When you think of god do you think of resting celebrating singing eating partying dancing as things god insists his people do…are these the images you have when you think of God
Rhythm is about your concept of what God is like…gogogo…or living in a rhythm of work and play, resting and enjoying
Less about rules and discipline…and more about what I think about God…what I produce or just that I am
What are the rhythms in your life?
What is your life really like?
Unsettled, restless, off-center,
Our culture has no comprehension of rhythm…gogogogoRESTgogogogogogogogoREST…it’s jerky
A revolutionary community that confronts culture, the message of Jesus confronts culture. Your culture is screwed up. That’s why the gospel is so dangerous. In our materialistic consumer culture, we go against it…there is a best way…and a wrong way.
Do you really need to do this to add that or have you bought into a system that is screwed up or a system that says you have to say yes to every good thing…confronting even a Christian culture
God says Go Go Rest Party Celebrate Go A little more rest party celebrate go a little more
When you don’t live a life of rhythm…it kills us
Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.
There is a time for everything...a rhythm...your rhythm...
Friday, August 31, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
The Art of Living.
This Sunday's KAMP's Gathering was a wonderful coming together of community and Kingdom.
The Art of Living
John 10:10 says,
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
I came so they might have life, a great full life.
I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.
I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”
Jesus is saying - I came that they may have the Best possible life
Living the way, in the flow of Jesus is the best possible way to live
A community (a church) of Jesus followers would be a group of people learning to AND living the best possible kind of life.
A church – those people know how to really live OR learning how to really live.
If you are following someone that claims to bring the best possible way to live then a follower of Christ, a disciple, is Serious about learning to live well .
If we miss this we are missing something core about what it means to be Christian.
The best possible way does not mean the easiest, painless, clear (last thing Jesus says is a question to god / wrestles, tough, friends desert him).
Matthew 28:18 says, “18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
If we miss verse 20 we miss a lot.
Jesus commanded how to live as God created them to live and then to go and teach others how to live. Master teacher talking to his students/disciples to go and teach. The master is teaching us to do what the master does. What is Jesus the master of? LIVING
I went to my 10th high school reunion this summer…full of recalling the past…Remember when we went here…remember that…remember when that happened…the best encounters I had were with those that had moved forward…those with whom I could celebrate today, now with.
Matthew 6:34 says, “34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus is wrapping up a long chapter about all sorts of things…giving to the needy, prayer, fasting, money, worry and he says, each day has enough trouble of its own. You have today and today has its own issues and baggage. Tomorrow will bring its own stuff, issues and hassles. We don’t’ have tomorrow, we have today.
James 4:14 says, “14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
Talking about people who boast about what they will accomplish tomorrow. You don’t have tomorrow, no guarantees, you have today, let today be enough. Be here in this day, because tomorrow will bring its own stuff and you don’t even know if you’ll have a tomorrow.
Its not just that my head gets filled with tomorrow, my head gets filled with yesterday. Regrets, work that didn’t get done from yesterday waiting for me tomorrow, relationship or discussion, conversations that turned bad, things left undone.
What’s on your palm pilot, in your phone, planner, on the fridge, calendar, to do list, on the back of your hand (Alan), what’s facing you tomorrow, what’s in your head right now? What’s still following you from behind, what do you need to fix, what didn’t get your best, what have you avoided, blown off that’s coming back around? What’s coming or what’s already been?
Today has it’s own issues, we have enough here, now, today. Today is enough for today.
Being Fully Present
Teaching his followers to be fully present. Jim Elliott said, “Wherever you are – be all there”…not somewhere else.
Kids when they talk to parents repeat themselves like crazy, saying it several times in a row
Kids have grown up learning that when you talk to dad you have to say things several times because dad is someplace else. They sense it, when they are safe, loved, when dad is here…
And all they have ever known is a dad who is working or thinking about work. They have learned to say it several times because that’s what it will take to get dad dialed in here.
The work is never done, now is filled with tomorrow and yesterday.
How often are we fully present, here, now in this place with these people thinking about this?
Jesus says let today be enough for today.
Exodus 24:12 says, “12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."
We miss this in English but get it in Hebrew, original language. “Stay here” – to be or exist / be here. Climb the mountain and BE here. God understands that we will set out to climb the mountain and we will immediately start thinking about going back down and that we will never Be on the top of the mountain. We miss the whole point of the journey. We go and go and go and when we reach what we want we’ll find something else to strive for. Not on your way here or down, but here, now, fully present.
How often are you fully present?
And what in our modern culture keeps us from ?
Take the cell phone for example.
Ten years ago just over 30 million people used cell phones. Today just over 200 million people use cell phones.
Worldwide, there are more than 2.4 billion cell phone users, with more than 1,000 new customers added every minute.
According to a 2004 MIT survey, the cell phone is the invention people hate the most but can't live without.
In a 2005 University of Michigan study, 83 percent said cell phones have made life easier, choosing it over the Internet (76 percent). But an additional 60 percent said they find cell phones somewhat irritating when used in public.
15 percent of Americans have interrupted sex to answer a cell phone (whereas 0
percent have interrupted a cell phone call to have sex).
38 percent of 2,119 people (names available on request) said it was fine to use the cell phone in the bathroom.
The BBDO survey found that 75 percent of cell phone owners had it turned on and within reach during their waking hours, 59 percent wouldn't think of lending their cell phone to a friend for a day, 26 percent said it was more important to go home to retrieve a cell phone than a wallet.
A study by Telephia, a mobile industry tracker, found that Americans averaged 13 hours a month - with users ages 18 to 24 racking up close to 22 hours.
Technology is wonderful and allows us to accomplish things BUT It also affects our ability to be fully present. We have more ways to connect and get a hold of each other and we are as lonely and isolated as ever.
The Sabbath is a good beginning to a life, fully present.
Exodus 20 – God is forming a community of people that will live in his flow and he gives them some basic ideas on how to live in the flow of God.
Looking around not ahead or behind.
24 hour period where nothing is urgent…my cell phone has an off button…I use it…when are you unavailable…fully present and uninterpretable…what day of the week do…your worth does not come from work, school…regardless of the messages you are sent…what day of the week do you no go to the office…not just checking your calls...remind yourself that God made the world not you…the world keeps going because of God’s work not mine…
A day all of our work is done even if it isn’t …blow some things off in the name of Jesus
A day busy being…blocked out 2 hours staring out the window…we BE…we enjoy…reminded that God made the world to enjoy…busy being…more than a day…concepts…ways of living…the Sabbath bleeds and overflows…it’s not a day its an understanding…a way to live…present on one day…you find it affects you…come more alive…that day spills into others…There is a God and I am not He…
Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath. We are not trying to cram man into religion, but the best possible way of life.
QUESTIONS
When you think of your life, what was the best time?
Have you ever tried to make anything in your life how it used to be, only to find out that you really couldn’t?
Does your life today look like you would’ve imagined it five, ten, or twenty years ago? If not, what are some things that you would never have imagined? Are there things in your life now that make you long for certain times in your past when things were different?
Do you believe God has provided us with everything we need in our lives today? If so, why do you think so many of us still tend to look to the past for how we would like things to be?
Are there things in your past you haven’t thoroughly dealt with in order to move on?
Do you think we can live our lives today to the fullest if we’re in some way still stuck in the past?
What does it mean for you to be fully present?
If you’re in any way stuck in the past, are there people around you who might suffer from you not being fully present?
Who do you need to make amends with? Who have you missed?
Is there anything in your life that needs to be dropped and let go?
What part do you think you’re supposed to play today? Is your life in a place where you can fully embrace today and play your part?
Take a minute of silence to be fully present.
The Art of Living
John 10:10 says,
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
I came so they might have life, a great full life.
I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.
I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”
Jesus is saying - I came that they may have the Best possible life
Living the way, in the flow of Jesus is the best possible way to live
A community (a church) of Jesus followers would be a group of people learning to AND living the best possible kind of life.
A church – those people know how to really live OR learning how to really live.
If you are following someone that claims to bring the best possible way to live then a follower of Christ, a disciple, is Serious about learning to live well .
If we miss this we are missing something core about what it means to be Christian.
The best possible way does not mean the easiest, painless, clear (last thing Jesus says is a question to god / wrestles, tough, friends desert him).
Matthew 28:18 says, “18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
If we miss verse 20 we miss a lot.
Jesus commanded how to live as God created them to live and then to go and teach others how to live. Master teacher talking to his students/disciples to go and teach. The master is teaching us to do what the master does. What is Jesus the master of? LIVING
I went to my 10th high school reunion this summer…full of recalling the past…Remember when we went here…remember that…remember when that happened…the best encounters I had were with those that had moved forward…those with whom I could celebrate today, now with.
Matthew 6:34 says, “34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus is wrapping up a long chapter about all sorts of things…giving to the needy, prayer, fasting, money, worry and he says, each day has enough trouble of its own. You have today and today has its own issues and baggage. Tomorrow will bring its own stuff, issues and hassles. We don’t’ have tomorrow, we have today.
James 4:14 says, “14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
Talking about people who boast about what they will accomplish tomorrow. You don’t have tomorrow, no guarantees, you have today, let today be enough. Be here in this day, because tomorrow will bring its own stuff and you don’t even know if you’ll have a tomorrow.
Its not just that my head gets filled with tomorrow, my head gets filled with yesterday. Regrets, work that didn’t get done from yesterday waiting for me tomorrow, relationship or discussion, conversations that turned bad, things left undone.
What’s on your palm pilot, in your phone, planner, on the fridge, calendar, to do list, on the back of your hand (Alan), what’s facing you tomorrow, what’s in your head right now? What’s still following you from behind, what do you need to fix, what didn’t get your best, what have you avoided, blown off that’s coming back around? What’s coming or what’s already been?
Today has it’s own issues, we have enough here, now, today. Today is enough for today.
Being Fully Present
Teaching his followers to be fully present. Jim Elliott said, “Wherever you are – be all there”…not somewhere else.
Kids when they talk to parents repeat themselves like crazy, saying it several times in a row
Kids have grown up learning that when you talk to dad you have to say things several times because dad is someplace else. They sense it, when they are safe, loved, when dad is here…
And all they have ever known is a dad who is working or thinking about work. They have learned to say it several times because that’s what it will take to get dad dialed in here.
The work is never done, now is filled with tomorrow and yesterday.
How often are we fully present, here, now in this place with these people thinking about this?
Jesus says let today be enough for today.
Exodus 24:12 says, “12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."
We miss this in English but get it in Hebrew, original language. “Stay here” – to be or exist / be here. Climb the mountain and BE here. God understands that we will set out to climb the mountain and we will immediately start thinking about going back down and that we will never Be on the top of the mountain. We miss the whole point of the journey. We go and go and go and when we reach what we want we’ll find something else to strive for. Not on your way here or down, but here, now, fully present.
How often are you fully present?
And what in our modern culture keeps us from ?
Take the cell phone for example.
Ten years ago just over 30 million people used cell phones. Today just over 200 million people use cell phones.
Worldwide, there are more than 2.4 billion cell phone users, with more than 1,000 new customers added every minute.
According to a 2004 MIT survey, the cell phone is the invention people hate the most but can't live without.
In a 2005 University of Michigan study, 83 percent said cell phones have made life easier, choosing it over the Internet (76 percent). But an additional 60 percent said they find cell phones somewhat irritating when used in public.
15 percent of Americans have interrupted sex to answer a cell phone (whereas 0
percent have interrupted a cell phone call to have sex).
38 percent of 2,119 people (names available on request) said it was fine to use the cell phone in the bathroom.
The BBDO survey found that 75 percent of cell phone owners had it turned on and within reach during their waking hours, 59 percent wouldn't think of lending their cell phone to a friend for a day, 26 percent said it was more important to go home to retrieve a cell phone than a wallet.
A study by Telephia, a mobile industry tracker, found that Americans averaged 13 hours a month - with users ages 18 to 24 racking up close to 22 hours.
Technology is wonderful and allows us to accomplish things BUT It also affects our ability to be fully present. We have more ways to connect and get a hold of each other and we are as lonely and isolated as ever.
The Sabbath is a good beginning to a life, fully present.
Exodus 20 – God is forming a community of people that will live in his flow and he gives them some basic ideas on how to live in the flow of God.
Looking around not ahead or behind.
24 hour period where nothing is urgent…my cell phone has an off button…I use it…when are you unavailable…fully present and uninterpretable…what day of the week do…your worth does not come from work, school…regardless of the messages you are sent…what day of the week do you no go to the office…not just checking your calls...remind yourself that God made the world not you…the world keeps going because of God’s work not mine…
A day all of our work is done even if it isn’t …blow some things off in the name of Jesus
A day busy being…blocked out 2 hours staring out the window…we BE…we enjoy…reminded that God made the world to enjoy…busy being…more than a day…concepts…ways of living…the Sabbath bleeds and overflows…it’s not a day its an understanding…a way to live…present on one day…you find it affects you…come more alive…that day spills into others…There is a God and I am not He…
Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath. We are not trying to cram man into religion, but the best possible way of life.
QUESTIONS
When you think of your life, what was the best time?
Have you ever tried to make anything in your life how it used to be, only to find out that you really couldn’t?
Does your life today look like you would’ve imagined it five, ten, or twenty years ago? If not, what are some things that you would never have imagined? Are there things in your life now that make you long for certain times in your past when things were different?
Do you believe God has provided us with everything we need in our lives today? If so, why do you think so many of us still tend to look to the past for how we would like things to be?
Are there things in your past you haven’t thoroughly dealt with in order to move on?
Do you think we can live our lives today to the fullest if we’re in some way still stuck in the past?
What does it mean for you to be fully present?
If you’re in any way stuck in the past, are there people around you who might suffer from you not being fully present?
Who do you need to make amends with? Who have you missed?
Is there anything in your life that needs to be dropped and let go?
What part do you think you’re supposed to play today? Is your life in a place where you can fully embrace today and play your part?
Take a minute of silence to be fully present.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Good Ideas Get Mileage.
I am always jotting things down - ideas, questions, statements, quotes, thoughts, etc.
So, here are several of those not yet shared jots...
God is changing the church, and that, in turn, will change the world. Millions of Christians around the world are aware of an imminent reformation of global proportions. They are saying in effect: Church as we know it is preventing church as God wants it.
Leaders don't congregate to talk about, leaders do.
So, here are several of those not yet shared jots...
God is changing the church, and that, in turn, will change the world. Millions of Christians around the world are aware of an imminent reformation of global proportions. They are saying in effect: Church as we know it is preventing church as God wants it.
Leaders don't congregate to talk about, leaders do.
Can a church look beyond self-preservation to the fact that 3billion people live on less than $2 a day.
Our culture is waiting for a church to put on display and live the way of Jesus.
I have no energy for controversy - I'm looking for the truth.
The term evangelism is destructive because it suggests you should be doing this thing over there.
We are always telling people about Jesus with our action and our inaction.
I get this sense that Jesus is here among us watching quietly what is being done in his name and he is appalled.
You cannot build something beautiful with a sledge hammer.
It's either a journey or its not and if it's a journey the scenery changes.
We are a movement led by amateurs...that's a good thing, amateurs are lovers.
Our Values Determine What We Will Say Yes & No To.
Loving God Is The Greatest Commandment So It Is Our First Priority.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
A New Kind Of Question.
The Kingdom is…we are his witnesses (Acts 1:8).
The Kingdom advances...by our stories (Rev 12:11).
We spent this past Sunday evening at KAMP's asking ourselves some questions?
As I've mentioned before - we want to be a community that asks the right kinds of questions.
So, consider...
What does it look like (imagine) for us to BE the church here and now?
Where is God already at work among us?
In what ways are you joining God there?
What places in OKC does the Kingdom of God need to break in?
What or who are you giving yourself to right now?
What are you most passionate about?
What are your dreams for the Church?
What new revealed truth have you experienced?
If you were asked to go and express church life, what would you do?
Where would you go?
Who would you go with?
Where do you see and experience the Kingdom of God that is already and not yet here?
What does a faith look like that you can pursue with integrity?
What is most important to you?
What are the few things that God has given you to do?
Who are you in community with and what are you doing to affect change in the world?
What does it mean to be the people of Jesus?
What opportunity are you now pursuing?
What does it mean for you to trust Jesus here and now?
What is your best memory and/or example of community in life?
What does it look like for you to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength & your neighbor as yourself?
What would you say are the top three places of need in our community?
What do you imagine the kingdom might look like if it broke in there?
What are some creative simple ways that you, your family and your friends could represent the kingdom in those areas?
What keeps you and those you know from being signposts of heaven in your community?
How could you remove those obstacles?
The Kingdom advances...by our stories (Rev 12:11).
We spent this past Sunday evening at KAMP's asking ourselves some questions?
As I've mentioned before - we want to be a community that asks the right kinds of questions.
So, consider...
What does it look like (imagine) for us to BE the church here and now?
Where is God already at work among us?
In what ways are you joining God there?
What places in OKC does the Kingdom of God need to break in?
What or who are you giving yourself to right now?
What are you most passionate about?
What are your dreams for the Church?
What new revealed truth have you experienced?
If you were asked to go and express church life, what would you do?
Where would you go?
Who would you go with?
Where do you see and experience the Kingdom of God that is already and not yet here?
What does a faith look like that you can pursue with integrity?
What is most important to you?
What are the few things that God has given you to do?
Who are you in community with and what are you doing to affect change in the world?
What does it mean to be the people of Jesus?
What opportunity are you now pursuing?
What does it mean for you to trust Jesus here and now?
What is your best memory and/or example of community in life?
What does it look like for you to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength & your neighbor as yourself?
What would you say are the top three places of need in our community?
What do you imagine the kingdom might look like if it broke in there?
What are some creative simple ways that you, your family and your friends could represent the kingdom in those areas?
What keeps you and those you know from being signposts of heaven in your community?
How could you remove those obstacles?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Eucharist.
The Eucharist is an example to the church to serve others.
John 3: 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Is the world that God so loves seeing and experiencing this kind of love from us (the church) today?
God's love is for the world, all of it, everyone, everywhere.
At the center of our faith is the understanding of the giving of the Son.
And at the center of our faith is the idea and worldview that people are worth dying for (rob bell in Sex God).
The way that God fixes things is not through power and empire but through Jesus, a broken man on a donkey. It is a power that does not coerce with a sword but serves with a towel.
John 13: 1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.[a] 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Jesus now shows his disciples the full extent of his love.
Having taken off his outer garment, Jesus was left with his tunic, a shorter garment like a long undershirt. Slaves would be so dressed to serve a meal. Jesus tied a linen cloth around his waist with which to dry their feet, obviously not what one would expect a master to do. A Jewish text says this is something a Gentile slave could be required to do, but not a Jewish slave. On the other hand, footwashing is something wives did for their husbands, children for their parents, and disciples for their teachers. A level of intimacy is involved in these cases, unlike when Gentile slaves would do the washing. In Jesus' case, there is an obvious reversal of roles with his disciples. The one into whose hands the Father had given all now takes his disciples' feet into his hands to wash them.
1 John 3: 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
For the love that is evident in the laying down of life at the crucifixion is also demonstrated in the laying down of life in humble service in the footwashing. In the footwashing we have "an acted parable of the Lord's humiliation unto death" This is what God himself is like--he washes feet, even the feet of the one who will betray him!
Philippians 2:1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Luke 22: 19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Maybe He meant do this - do what you have seen Me doing. Be a living Eucharist. Think of the Eucharist not just as a ritual but as a way of life. Eucharist means “be thankful.”
Whenever you serve, you are breaking your body and pouring your blood. It is Jesus through us.
The Eucharist is not a product. Everybody has to ask the difficult question, “How can I be a Eucharist?” There is danger in churches copying what other churches are doing because it is not their Eucharist.
EU (Good)CHARIS (Gift/Grace)EUCHARIST
The Eucharist is usually thought of as a ritual in which we acknowledge and reflect on this good gift of God. It's seen as a "thing" you do... But what if the Eucharist were to become a whole way of life?
A leader's life is an endless process of constantly being broken and poured out.
The Eucharist is not just a ritual - it is a whole way of life.
A church is invited to be a Eucharist to its community - broken and poured out...
The church is the only organization that exists for the benefits of it's non-members.
Jesus makes it clear that his way, unlike conventional religion, judges its effectiveness based on the benefits it brings to non-adherents.
The church is only the church when it exists for others.
Does the church exist for itself or as a good gift for the world?
Luke 22:18 - "Do this in remembrance of me."
What does it mean to be a "good gift" to our community?
There is always a cost... If Eucharist is "pouring out" you must allow time to pour back in.
John 15:9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 3: 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Is the world that God so loves seeing and experiencing this kind of love from us (the church) today?
God's love is for the world, all of it, everyone, everywhere.
At the center of our faith is the understanding of the giving of the Son.
And at the center of our faith is the idea and worldview that people are worth dying for (rob bell in Sex God).
The way that God fixes things is not through power and empire but through Jesus, a broken man on a donkey. It is a power that does not coerce with a sword but serves with a towel.
John 13: 1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.[a] 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Jesus now shows his disciples the full extent of his love.
Having taken off his outer garment, Jesus was left with his tunic, a shorter garment like a long undershirt. Slaves would be so dressed to serve a meal. Jesus tied a linen cloth around his waist with which to dry their feet, obviously not what one would expect a master to do. A Jewish text says this is something a Gentile slave could be required to do, but not a Jewish slave. On the other hand, footwashing is something wives did for their husbands, children for their parents, and disciples for their teachers. A level of intimacy is involved in these cases, unlike when Gentile slaves would do the washing. In Jesus' case, there is an obvious reversal of roles with his disciples. The one into whose hands the Father had given all now takes his disciples' feet into his hands to wash them.
1 John 3: 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
For the love that is evident in the laying down of life at the crucifixion is also demonstrated in the laying down of life in humble service in the footwashing. In the footwashing we have "an acted parable of the Lord's humiliation unto death" This is what God himself is like--he washes feet, even the feet of the one who will betray him!
Philippians 2:1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Luke 22: 19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Maybe He meant do this - do what you have seen Me doing. Be a living Eucharist. Think of the Eucharist not just as a ritual but as a way of life. Eucharist means “be thankful.”
Whenever you serve, you are breaking your body and pouring your blood. It is Jesus through us.
The Eucharist is not a product. Everybody has to ask the difficult question, “How can I be a Eucharist?” There is danger in churches copying what other churches are doing because it is not their Eucharist.
EU (Good)CHARIS (Gift/Grace)EUCHARIST
The Eucharist is usually thought of as a ritual in which we acknowledge and reflect on this good gift of God. It's seen as a "thing" you do... But what if the Eucharist were to become a whole way of life?
A leader's life is an endless process of constantly being broken and poured out.
The Eucharist is not just a ritual - it is a whole way of life.
A church is invited to be a Eucharist to its community - broken and poured out...
The church is the only organization that exists for the benefits of it's non-members.
Jesus makes it clear that his way, unlike conventional religion, judges its effectiveness based on the benefits it brings to non-adherents.
The church is only the church when it exists for others.
Does the church exist for itself or as a good gift for the world?
Luke 22:18 - "Do this in remembrance of me."
What does it mean to be a "good gift" to our community?
There is always a cost... If Eucharist is "pouring out" you must allow time to pour back in.
John 15:9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Best !@#$ Newsletter.
In response to the Mars Hill Update email sent earlier this week...
"Dude! Best damn newsletter I have ever read. Thanks for the inspiration. Very few people get it like you do. Updates like these revitalize my faith in THE church in OKC."
I trust you can find the humor and honesty in the explicative...
"Dude! Best damn newsletter I have ever read. Thanks for the inspiration. Very few people get it like you do. Updates like these revitalize my faith in THE church in OKC."
I trust you can find the humor and honesty in the explicative...
Thursday, August 2, 2007
My Tribe.
Just beginning to work through "The Present Future" by Reggie McNeal.
It's a book that was released and has been in circulation for several years now.
But the timing now seems right for it to become my read.
Friday night I will be giving several copies to my friends.
And just before the table of contents page I find these words:
To the new tribe;
You know who you are.
May your tribe increase!
There's a world counting on you.
Love our tribe.
Ben.
It's a book that was released and has been in circulation for several years now.
But the timing now seems right for it to become my read.
Friday night I will be giving several copies to my friends.
And just before the table of contents page I find these words:
To the new tribe;
You know who you are.
May your tribe increase!
There's a world counting on you.
Love our tribe.
Ben.
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