Barnabas and Naomi

2008-09-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

"Father... We Are in Your Hands"

On Tuesday evening our son, Andrew, had emergency surgery for a problem with his colon. The name of the condition is intussusception and it involves the telescoping of one portion of his colon into an adjacent portion. In essence this condition causes the bowel to be squeezed closed and blood flow to be cut off to the effected portion, causing that part to die.
Andrew had to have that dead section removed. All went well, but now he faces a pretty tough recovery. He must wear a colostomy bag for around six weeks (a difficult thing for a 21 year old guy) and learn to take care of it himself. Right now, he is also feeling nauseous and everything he eats tastes like "metal" (his surgeon said that possibly both of these experiences are from the antibiotics). And... because his condition will require a pretty extensive recuperation time, he will probably not be able to continue his college classes this term... setting him back... just as he was beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel acedemically.
It's not coincidental (but truly Providential, I think) that I picked up a certain C.S. Lewis book to read while sitting by Andrew's bedside in the hospital. The book is, "Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer", and in one of these letters Lewis addresses the problem of unanswered prayer. Paraphrasing he says that we should not find it scandalous that our prayers are not always answered in the affirmative. If the Son of Man heard the Father say, "No", to his prayer in Gethsemane ("Father... if it is possible that this cup pass from me...") then why do we think that He will always say, Yes", to us?
Does the Father love us more than He loved Him? Do we love the Father more than Jesus did? Is our walk with the Father closer than Jesus' walk with Him? Are we holier than the Holy Son of God? Truly "the servant is not greater than the Master".
And yet... God does sometimes answer with a, "Yes". Isn't that amazing? In all this the most wonderful, "Yes", came to these requests... "Father, please help the doctors determine the cause and treatment for Andrew's condition, please keep him safe during this process and make him well, again." We are incredibly thankful for the Father's love and care for our son... and for the love and care that He will continue to show him throughout this recuperative process (even during those instances when He answers, "No").
And, we will continue to pray because while we may not know how the Lord will answer every time, we do know Him. We know that He is loving and He is good... and all his ways flow from who He is. We will pray for Andrew's continued physical recuperation (that it will continue to progress uneventfully... without infection, etal), we will pray that he will be able to learn all the new skills that he must learn (like dealing with his colostomy), we will pray for his emotional response to all this trauma (for quiet and peace in the midst of a slow process), we will pray for his spirit, that he will one day see that the Father's, "No", was the best answer that he could have received. But mostly, because in the end He is in fact good and loving, our prayer will continue to be, "Father, we are all in your hands...".

2008-09-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

Plank-Eyed Judges

I'm not even sure what they were talking about. I think I heard something about ,"people who were 'afraid' to challenge the claims of the Bible."

We were in a little bookstore in Great Barrington (a particularly "liberalish" little town in south western Massachusetts) that I overheard this young couple in conversation. Try as I might I couldn't quite "overhear" exactly what they were saying (darned 52 year old ears...) but this phrase I did hear, "Well... you'd have to be either mentally unstable or just brainwashed."

How did I respond (in my head, anyway)? "Man... these liberal (aka 'open-minded') folk can really be incredibly judgemental of those of us who are not quite so 'open-minded'." (Ironic, ain't it?) But, the irony went on... because right on the heels of that reaction came a new response... this time from the Spirit of God. I heard, "Don't you do that very same thing? Don't you readily and quickly draw conclusions (make judgements) about others... their beliefs and actions?"

And it's true... without really knowing anything about someone (and without having one whit of authority to do so) I become the great diagnostician of their "condition" (their guilt... error... mental instability... level of brain-washedness...)

Maybe I should try to 'overhear' Jesus a little more... something about, "taking the plank out of your own eye so that you can see clearly to remove the speck out of theirs".

2008-09-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

Hear... and Remember

So... our morning study at Oceanwood this year was entitled, "Into the Desert", and it was a study of the experience and significance of our spiritual desert experiences. The heart of the study was this, "Jesus, filled with the Spirit was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." Jesus was led... and He obeyed. And the devil met him there, with a strategy to lead him away from what the Father had called him do (to become the Savior of the world and the Creator of a new Creation). And, the devil's strategy? Tempt Jesus to reject who He was and so cause him to reject what he was called to do.

"If you are the Son of God..."

The tempter challenged Jesus love relationship with his Father and I am convinced that our temptations come from that place as well. Can you hear the tempter's voice begin to whisper to you, "If you are a son of God... a daughter of God..."? ("Well, really how do you know... isn't that kinda presumptuous? Better not presume upon his love and relationship with you. ").

How did Jesus fend off these attacks? Jesus treasured in his heart a word from his Father and held onto this deep truth. Truly,"man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God...", and this word from the Father to his Son became the Bread of Life for him... and for us. What was that word?

"You are my Son... whom I love... with you I am so very happy."

Jesus was able to fend off the devil's strategies because he know something... he knew his Father's voice and his words of love and favor. Consequently, Jesus knew that the devil's "if"s were empty. And so with each one of us... in the face of the devil's "if"s... hear the Father say, "You (place your name here) are my child and I love you. I am so very happy with you."

Hear... and remember.

2008-08-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

"The Rain in Maine..."

Well, we have returned from Oceanwood Family Vacation Camp 2008, in lovely Oceanpark, Maine. In spite of the nearly constant rain, it was a very good vacation and a very good week with the Lord. It was also a very good week with our O'wood family.
On Saturday, as I was saying good-bye to one of our families, someone commented on the rain. (That was not really unusual since a day did not pass without rain... or without several commentaries on the rain.) Now, my reply even caught me by surprise... because it seemed like something maybe God might be saying. I said, "Yeah, it sure has been rainy... but I guess that God must know what He's doing. If it were up to me I would have made it sunny every day... and I probably would have spoiled the whole thing."
How true... how true. The theme for our morning study was (ironically), "Into the Desert". We looked at several biblical characters' desert journeys (Hagar, Moses/Israel, Elijah, John the Baptizer and, of primary consideration, Jesus). We also dug pretty deeply into our own past and on-going desert experiences. Even some of our new "campers" joined in and opened-up. There was a very real sense of love and compassion. There were listening hearts and encouraging words, both during "class time" and in the quieter moments around camp. We bonded together with the Holy Spirit's cords of love. It was amazing.
And, to no small degree, the rain contributed to this growing together. It kept us together... doing alot of on-camp kinds of activities. And, as we were just doing stuff together God did his "stuff". Though it was a rainy week... it was "desert-like" none-the-less (ie. the natural elements controlling and limiting our choices) and this wet desert was the context used by God to bless us.

2008-06-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

Dining With Dot and Mel...

On Friday evening (Cheryl) and I had dinner at the home of two very dear friends, Dot and Mel. Dot and Mel are on the senior-ish side of life. Dot and Mel enjoy their lives and their winter retreat in Florida. Dot and Mel are lovers of Jesus and have devoted their lives, home and family to him.

Now, Mel is a quiet gentleman and an excellent BBQer of spare ribs. He is wise and a good listener. He loves his wife, Dot, with a devotion that I can only hope I show for Cheryl when we reach that time of life.

And then there's Dot. Dot, is a gracious and generous woman. She is a seamstress who shows the love of Jesus by making gifts for persons who are going through medical struggles. She loves Mel and still finds ways to make their relationship grow. She is devoted mom and grandmother to her family ("Her children rise and call her blessed") and she is a true spiritual mother to Cheryl and I.

While my Spiritual Director, Jim, will say something like, "Let's listen together to what the Lord may be saying to you." Dot will say, "As I have been praying for you both... here is what I hear the Lord saying to you. Now what are you going to do about it?" And, while Mel is a master at the grill... Dot, in her straightforward motherly way, also really knows how to "turn up the heat".

Now, at some point, Cheryl may want to post some of the insights that Dot shared with her at our Friday evening dinner... I will leave that up to her. But, here are three items that the Lord impressed upon me from our conversation over dinner. First, Dot said that she thought that this blog was a good tool for me to use for journalling. But that I needed to be diligent about it. I told her that the Lord had already impressed upon me that I needed to use this forum as my journal and that, even if no one else reads it, I needed to be faithful about writing it. Dot's words were a confirmation. I simply need to be obedient to what I had already been instructed to do. This entry is the beginning of that obedience.

Secondly, Dot said that we needed to be attending a church. I gave her a number of reasons why we had not been doing so, all of which were related to how we see ourselves as called out of the "institutional church" and into a "house church"/ "intentional community" way of doing things. Her response was that in the interim, until we are actually doing what God has placed on our hearts, we are out of fellowship. As an act of plain obedience, she said, we need to be worshipping with God's people, praying for them and resisting the temptation to engaged in critique (criticism). I agree with that insight, will pray and locate a church to attend... and look forward to what the Lord might do in us as we obey.

Finally, Dot simply reconfirmed that we need to "get off our duffs" and begin to do what the Lord has prepared for us already. There are those in our community who want to love Jesus but don't know how to do this "church thing" (in fact the Lord has already led us to some who have asked us to provide some fellowship and worship for/with them). These are the people to whom we are called... so what's the hold up? Dot's counsel was to do something every day to minister to them and begin to gather them together. If you notice from one of my more recent blog entries, this is just a matter of obedience as well.

Seems to be a theme developing here... obedience ("Now that you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.").

(Thank-you Dot and Mel for a delicious meal, your loving hospitality and your insights from the Lord.)

2008-04-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Silencing the Voice of the Accuser

There are times when I feel the weight (pronounced "embarassment") of being called to be a misfit... called to care for misfits. I hear the old self-abusive/ self-destructive voices that say, "See... it's just like you feared. You are a 'misfit' in the church simply because you can't 'cut it' at this professional pastor thing."

But then I read (or actually have read to me by my Spiritual Director... Thanks, Jim) a passage like this from Scripture. "David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander..." (1 Sam. 22:1-2)

That describes a bunch of misfits if there ever was one. And, I am comforted that one of the great heroes of our faith, King David, at one of the lowest points of his life (on the run from King Saul) was sought out by the distressed, debt-ridden and discontented. He was a misfit himself and he became their leader.

Maybe I'm not good enough, or smart enough, to be a professional pastor (Lord knows I've tried...) but in the end that is something for others to judge. It is not even relevant because the truth of the matter is that my calling is something different (and that is why I am a 'misfit' with the clergy-types). I need to remember who I am, not the role that I am expected to play. I need to remember David (and for that matter Jesus himself who was always going to the sorrowful, damaged, struggling, sinful... because, "it is the sick who need a doctor..."). And, I need to pray that the Lord will put Satan under my feet whenever he comes with those ridiculous accusations and distractions.

2008-04-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

Some further reflections...

I wrote about a deep longing for the fulfillment of the ministry calling that the Lord has given us. It is like being stuck in time... frozen in "late winter"... with spring so close and yet so very far away.
But, even as I wrote those words, the Lord was stirring me to ask this question, "For what am I really longing in this 'late winter of the soul'?" Is this heart-ache really about the fulfillment of our ministry calling... or is there something deeper behind it?

Well... C.S. Lewis, in his allegory entitled "Pilgrim's Regress", says that our deepest longings, while seemingly related to something in this world, are in reality our heart's desire for God himself. We strive for what we believe will fulfill us (sometimes even things that are excellent and ennobling) but, even when we reach that "place" or attain that "thing", we find that we still want more. We find ourselves singing with Bono, "... I still haven't found what I'm looking for.".
And, the New Testament scholar N.T. Wright, In his book "Simply Christian", says that the universal human desires for things like justice, beauty, relationship and spirituality are really the "echoes of a voice". That voice is that of the Risen Savior and He is calling us toward his Kingdom.
Our problem is that when we experience these desires and longings, and go about seeking fulfillment in the "things" that are found in this world (many of which are perfectly great... and worthy of our desires), we usually give up the search to soon. We need to recognize that they are really hints and dreams and shadows and echoes of the One for whom our hearts truly and deeply ache. In this sense, being a hedonist is actually a good thing... but only if we refuse to settle for less than the true pleasure that is ours in Christ.
"The whole creation is groaning as in the pains of child birth and we too groan as we await the redemption of our bodies (resurrection and the commencement of the New Creation that will come in Christ at his return)." Romans 8

2008-03-11T11:35:00.001-07:00

"I'm not dead, yet..."

Remember that line out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail"? What a funny movie!

It's like the time of the plague in Europe.

I can hear the ox-cart man..."Bring out yer dead!"

Now, they're hauling me out to the cart..."I've got one... here's yer nine-pence"

But wait... hold on... "I'm not dead, yet. I think I'm getting better."

It's been a very long time since I posted to our blog... but, really... (well, you know the line).

Naomi and I are alive and relatively well... trying to survive another eternally long New England winter. At this time of year my whole body and soul begin to ache for Spring. The signs are there... the Red Sox are playing baseball in Florida, the clock gets turned one-hour ahead and our basement is flooded.

It is so close that I can just about reach it. I can almost feel the warm sun on my face and smell the newly-thawed dirt (mud?)... I can almost see the garden beginning to break through the patches of gray snow and dead leaves and hear the birds in the morning through my bed-side window (OK... I just couldn't stand to leave it closed any longer). Almost...

The other day I was asked in what season of the year I thought I was experiencing spiritually. Without hesitation I said, "Late winter...". Lately, it has pretty much always seemed to be late winter. We (Naomi and I) have Kingdom dreams for the future (see our inaugural post on this blog) and they glow brightly... just ahead of us. This call is real... this vision is real... and the ache in our hearts is real. It's a hope-filled, yet frustrating, time of the "year".

Well, the answer that the Lord revealed in the course of this discussion was this... "Mark, you want (and you pray) for my Kingdom to come and My will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Great! But, Mark, you are so focused on the future and so immobilized by your heart-ache that you miss the opportunities to let my kingdom come and my will be done on the way to the future. I will minister through you all along the road."

"Father... help me to lower my eyes to the to the road before me and look for the hurting people there. Like the Samaritan, help me see the ones who need a touch from the Father. And satisfy my heart-ache so that I can find contentment in ministering in the here and now... even as we look for the fulfillment of the journey." Amen.

2007-05-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

Jesus is What...?

It’s funny, just this past weekend, I saw a church sign board that made that very statement, “Jesus is Lord!”. I guess they were trying to really say something… to take some kind of confessional stand. But, I began to ask how the “Average Joe” would understand that statement. I dare say that most people would not even notice it. Of those who did, I’d guess that most would just say, “Duh… of course” (thinking that that is simply his churchy title… You know, Lord Jesus Christ…). It would be like saying George Bush is President.

So, what does that mean to the “man on the street”? We might be able to describe to them the requirements of the Lordship of Christ (Take his yoke… take our cross… walk the narrow road… lose our life… etc.). But, first (for this seemed to be what Jesus proclaimed first), how will the Lordship of Jesus make a real difference in his or her life (If we notice, as Jesus went about proclaiming the Kingdom it made a real life difference… demons were exorcised, people were healed, sins were forgiven, Sabbath was proclaimed and good news was preached to the poor.)?

We do need to proclaim the clear testimony, “Jesus is Lord!”. But we need to proclaim that testimony in living ways. Any thoughts??

2007-05-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

The Hunger is Out There...

I spent the past two days at a conference on Spiritual Formation sponsored by my old seminary, Gordon-Conwell. Here are some observations:

*There were probably 250 participants.*I'd guess that the median age of those attending was around 47.

*There seemed to be more women than men.*They seemed to come from a broad range of evangelical expressions (Liturgical, Charismatic, Non-Denominational, Baptistic, etc.).

*They seemed to come from a pretty broad spectrum of socio-economic places geographic locales.

*And here is my number one observation... the hunger for something real and deep and true and living was burning in the hearts of those present!

Now, here is my less than scientific data. I had lunch with two different pastors (one whom I have known for a while and one whom I just met). Both are from New England (and you can't get much more traditional than this region of mine). They both expressed that what they were hearing about the contemplative life, spiritual disciplines, sabbath-keeping, spiritual formation, spiritual direction, et al. was striking a major chord in them. No, that's too lame a description. The spark in their otherwise drawn faces said something like, "Didn't our hearts burn within us...".
One said, "I'm candidating at a church. I'm going to tell them that my ministry will be a contemplative ministry." Now that's quite a risk. The other said, "I don't know how I can do this but we (his congregation) need this." Another big risk (trying to introduce the deeper life to a bunch of comfortable New Englanders).
God is up to something. He is bringing many to the liminal edge. They feel the pain and see the hope of something new... they are just not sure how to get there. Join the club.

Blessings, Mark

2007-05-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

No Business Like Church Business

OK... now I'm probably going to irritate some folks.

Here's my take on an old song, "There's no business like church business..."

Let's get real for a second. Search your heart and answer thefollowing question, "What is the main concern for most churches?" OK... Here is the answer (IMHO): survival.

We seem to assume that the items high on God's eternal "to-do" list go a little something like this:

#1... Rescue the First Church of Bluffington... (they're my favorites... what would I do without them?)
#2... Love my Creation (even the humans),
#3... Offer salvation to each and every person on earth.

And, to survive we need to keep our focus squarely on the business of church. We need revenue for the upkeep of our physical plant (church building),
for upper management salaries (pastoral staff/ CE Director/ etc.) and for marketing (the Sunday Service aka the Sunday Matinee, clever outreach, etc.). In the end, we will hopefully have sufficient numbers of "giving units" secured that we will be able to... let's see... love more people and offer the Savior to them? In your dreams... but not in the day light. No, our hope is to be able to have a bigger building, a larger staff and a more "attractive" show.

Sadly, it seems, God's actual concerns (#s 2 and 3 above) get over shadowed. Afterall, we don't want to do anything that might jeopardize our prime objective... which is survival. And loving people and serving them and respectfully and graciously offering them the salvation of the Savior is... well, it is messy... and risky... and may in fact jeopardize our very survival (just take a look at the book of Acts).

May the Father enable us to make the structures and processes that we use in our churches servants of God and of people... and not God and people servants of those same structures and processes.

Barnabas

2007-05-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Another Progress Report

Just wanted to keep things somewhat updated. I say "somewhat" because it is clear that I have already broken my previous "promise" to be more diligent with my posting ("Oh, yeah... do bettah nes time."). All I can say is... "Sorry". As I continue, I think that it may become clear why I have not been a very faithful blogster these days.

OK... so what's the story? Well, things are nutty at our house. Our second daughter, Joanna, is going to be married on June 2nd (yes, of this year...). This will mean that, since our oldest daughter (Rachel) was wed last July, we have had the "pleasure" of hosting two weddings in the span of one year ("pleasure" is in quotes because it IS a pleasure to celebrate these wonderful weddings... it is also very stressful and time consuming... and expensive...).
You'd think that wedding preparations would be enough to make us all pretty whacked-out... but, oh no... we needed more. You see, since our daughter and her new husband, Dan, will be living in the third floor apartment of our triple- decker, we have been doing alot of renovating. Actually, my hard working wife has been renovating that apartment (along with the soon to be newly weds)... demo-ing, spackling, sanding, painting, etc., etc., ad infinitum!
And what have I been doing? Well, because the newly weds will be residing on the third floor that means that our baby (19 year old, Andrew) has moved into our guest room on the second floor... and his music rehearsal space will be relocated to the cellar. So, I have been "enjoying" my own remodelling projects (a loft bed and shelves in the new bedroom... and partitioning-off, "sound proofing" and creating a raised floor in the cellar).
Enough already, you say? Not nearly. Joanna will be receiving her Bachelor's degree this month and I have been asked to offer a prayer at the Bacalaureate service the evening before. AND... our oldest, Rachel, will be singing at Carnegy Hall (as part of a choir debuting some composers new work) which will mean a weekend in NYC (Yes, I will proudly wear my Red Sox hat all around "The Big Apple"... OK, not at Carnegie Hall... but everywhere else!). That's it... I'm exhausted, already. Do you see why I have not had time to post anything?
Nor have we had time to really act on the dreams and visions that are always present in our hearts and minds. We've taken a few baby steps... I am currently reading a book on how to create and run a Bed and Breakfast (Oh yeah... did I mention that a B and B is how we see God bringing this to fruition? I'll add more about this later...). I am also going to be attending a conference at Gordon-Conwell Seminary on Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Direction. Small steps but important, I think.
So, please keep us in prayer. No, really... I mean it. God is so great to us! He is so patient. He is working in all our circumstances and He is working deep within us to prepare us for the work to which He has called us. It's all good!!
Love, Mark (Barnabas)

2007-01-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

How Did We Get Here?

How did we get here?... That's a good question.

I guess it all has to do with our calling. You see God has been leading us away from the "conventional" church for a long time and we have fought God for a long time. (Here's a hint... not a good thing to do...).

When I was in seminary back in the 80's (OK... no comments... and no, Gamaliel was not my OT prof.!) God began to call me toward a "different" ecclesiological path. He planted in my heart a desire to do "Intentional Christian Community". And, given that, you'd think we'd just go for it (being young and sassy seminarians)...

But, did we listen? Well, with our hearts, yes... but there were bills to pay so we shelved it in favor of a more typical way of doing church. We tried to incorporate some of the blessings of the indepth fellowship that Community offers in our conventional setting... but alas... there were services to prepare, budgets to argue about, evangelism to conduct. It didn't really work.

Over the next 24 years the flame of this vision burned brightly at times... and smoldered weakly at others (We rest in the promise that the Messiah does not extinguish a smoldering wick!). We have tried to do regular church stuff, really we have. The results have been less than successful. (A church plant that grew to no more than about 25 in five years... a wounded church that, after taking me on as an associate, watched us leave to follow a "calling" to plant a "contemporary" church in the area (and incidentally, take with us the organist, choir director and the youth leader and her husband... not good)... another plant (the "contemporary" one) that grew to no more than 50 in seven years (which I resigned from because of burn-out and disagreement with my elders... and finally, another staff position which ended because the senior pastor made some decisions that changed the whole leadership structure of the congregation.

Now, you'd think that we might just throw in the towel... decide this pastorin' thing wasn't for us. But, we can't. That would be in disobedience. The Holy Sprit continues to call us... and the people to whom we have ministered have confirmed that calling over and over. And others continue to call us back into ministry. (Right now we are just working... praying... planning and waiting.)

What then? We are now in a place where we believe that we will obey the call to do the unconventional thing... or do nothing at all. We cannot see ourselves going back to the typical church structure (business-shaped, Sunday service focussed... a church for the many...). We must go on and be pastors to the few... those who have not been able to fit in with the many... and do it in a community of safety... that prepares them to leave the safety of that place and "boldly go where no one... neither themselves nor others... had ever thought they'd go".

2007-01-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

This photograph was taken at Plum Island, MA. This little guy was having a wonderful beach day... on a lovely summer afternoon... January 6, 2007!

2006-09-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

What's Wrong with You...?

Sometimes, these days, I find myself asking myself questions like these, "What's wrong with you? Why can't you just do things the "normal" way? What is wrong with the status quo, anyway? Why do you always have to be so odd?"

This new thing that God is bringing to life in us and through us... it's so "different". We talk about a church that's not like most other churches... being a pastor in a way that's not like most other pastors... doing ministry in a way that's not like most ministries. It's just all so complicated. Why can't I just be a good boy and do what I'm supposed to do?

And, then, I wonder at the answer. Is it some kind of neuroses... not being able to just blend in... having to make myself stand out and, thus, appear important? Is it a function of my A.D.D. ... that I can't sit still... that I must tinker with things? Is it sin... a tendency to rebel against tradition and the "acceptable" way of doing this pastoral ministry thing?

I listen to my own heart for a time, waiting for a reply to these questions. And I listen to the Father speaking through the deep thoughts of my heart. And, this is what I always hear from him, "Yes, Mark, any of these could, at any time, play a role in your life and my calling. You are who you are. You are a human person... with neurotic motives and whole/holy motives, with disabilities and abilities that I have given to you... sometimes compelled by sin but often guided and moved by my Spirit. "

"But Mark", He continues, "I have chosen you and I have chosen Cheryl. And I will use all of who you are, and all of who Cheryl is, to carry out my will. My heart breaks for those who are broken and can't seem to find a place, a family, to really belong to... a place where I will heal them." And then He adds, "Now, stop asking all these silly questions and get on with it."

So, what's wrong with me? Plenty... but that's OK. To HIM be the glory!

Yes, Father. No more questions.

2006-09-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

What if...

Someone once gave this definition of insanity, “Insanity means doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.” Now, I don’t want to imply that we church-goers are insane but, sadly, this sounds like a description of most of our congregations.
Maybe it’s because we are people who cherish the firm foundation of the Word of God, and the consistency of our church traditions, that we tend to inadvertently elevate the forms and strategies of what we know as “church” to a place where they are normative for time and eternity. It’s like the comment made by the man who would read only the KJV, “If the King James Version was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.”
We look at our church and realize that we aren’t living-out the character and mission of Jesus. We’re stagnant, or worse, we’re losing members and losing money. And, because of these losses, we’re losing steam and losing hope.
We’ve tried everything… working harder, studying longer, praying with power and fasting more faithfully. We’ve changed our church name to something relevant (like “The Sanctuary”), we’ve become “seeker sensitive” and started a candle-lit and meditative Tuesday evening service at a local bar. We’ve experienced “Forty Days of Purpose”, ignited an “Evangelism Explosion” and rigged the sanctuary for satellite feeds and multi-media presentations… until… we are exhausted and we pretty much just slip back into the status quo. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
What if there might be a different way of “doing church”… one that frees us to serve the Lord as individuals and as a community… that actually brings a restorative peace and rest… that renews us and enables us to serve the Lord with gladness… that liberates us to be fully who we have been created by God (and re-created by him) to be.

What if…

Sounds pretty sweet, doesn’t it?

2006-08-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

New Ministry Strategy

The Vision:

Vision is often created when a need intersects with a calling. For most of my life I have been aware of my calling, in a general sense, to be a pastoral shepherd. My wife, Cheryl, has come to see that she, too, has some very specific pastoral gifts.
But, growing over the course of our nearly 20 years in ministry we have come to recognize a need that is not being met with any solid success. There are too many people who wander through life wounded and weary, feeling unloved and unwanted, unaware of the love of the Father, unable to access a full life and unable to fully grasp the gift that they are in the Kingdom of God.
Now, even when these wounded and weary ones come to our churches, which should be where they will find healing, refreshment, acceptance, love and encouragement, they usually find that most churches are unable to provide this type of truly nurturing environment. Because of the constraints that traditional western church structure creates, most churches aren’t able to assist these persons fully grow into Christ-like wholeness and freedom. Consequently, they often wander from church to church, never finding their place of love and service in the Kingdom of God.
Our vision, then, is to create a community of Christian believers (a “church”… and yet not like most churches) that will serve as a place of refuge… a place of wholeness and renewal for all those who are a part.

Purpose Statement:

…to create a nurturing community whose purpose is to enable people to find wholeness in Jesus Christ and to fully express their giftedness, blessing others both within the community and beyond.

Some Defining Values:

Mentoring and ministry to the “wounded and weary”… focusing our care on those who do not seem to fit into a typical/traditional church environment.
More person focused… mentoring and nurturing individuals so that they may know the Life of Christ for themselves and give themselves away for others.
Endeavouring to keep in step with what the Lord is doing in the Church at large, particularly as He is making known God’s great Love… the Father’s Heart… for all people.
Ideally, connected to a larger community…
Openness to the creativity of the Holy Spirit… “New Wine” requires a new wineskin and a different type of church like this will require creativity in determining how we can effectively care for others.

Objectives:

Draw together this community dedicated to finding wholeness in Christ and discovering each one’s giftedness. This community will focus on close relational ministry (“house churches”) and not on a larger weekly worship service. It will have as little infrastructures as possible. It will focus on honoring and worshipping the Lord and enabling others to live for him and one another. It will not focus on its own success or even its own survival.
Because the best environment for focused personal ministry would be one that would allow for day-to-day interaction and mentoring, an intentional community will be developed where some will participate as residents. This residential community will grow out of the “house churches” previously established.
Eventually, in order to make this community available for any who wish to take part, we may begin having some type of larger worship service. (But, only if it can keep from becoming the central event each week.)