weezer - pork and beans.

if you're a dork like me you'll recognize the references to the viral videos. 

new christ-mas.

i'd love to see where we go this year. in the past all i believe we have gone is to ourselves. the only thing we've done, and not to downplay it, was last year we cleaned out our closets and gave our coats. We were able to collect over 40 coats which was awesome. I know it takes time to think if you have an extra coat and maybe a little more to actually look and then bring it to church but what if this year we moved.

We're looking to collect 50 coats and blankets this year for a couple homeless shelters. That's nice. no, truly, it's a beautiful thing. But we also have the hope that we can make a difference in the lives of two people who work with Scott at OE. If everyone in the student and college ministry gave a present to each of these guys, that would be an awesome Christ-mas. With the love feast and the party for these guys from OE, it's gonna be awesome.

inadequate.

the more i come to know the call and will of G-d, the more and more i feel inadequate. especially since i have come into a position where Jesus instructs Peter to "feed my sheep," there the call resonates in my ears as well. are we to create an environment where the yoke is hard work and the burden is heavy or dwell in the freedom that comes through Christ?

so where does my inadequacy lead into the role i am in today? it dwells in my conscience. being the body of Christ - just what the eucharist is meant to be - we're called to be the hands and feet, the sacrifice, the temple to a world in darkness.

my heart cries out for those who miss it. many christians miss it. they miss the freedom that's to come because of Christ's blood. (ephesians 2:12-13) they miss the calling that we have in the Kingdom.

how are we to live in a Kingdom that burdens the sheep? how are we to be the ones creating the burdens because the sheep listen to us? where is the freedom that comes from that? it's almost as though we're just helping them hop from slave ship to another slave ship, just covering the name on the boat that makes them think they are free.

i do not have a clear conscience. at this moment i am inadequate.

Thy Kingdome Come

Thy Kingdome Come

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new church.

so it seems that church is changing, which is a good thing, with the culture. someone once told me that the church today is more healthy than it has ever been, even the first church seen in Acts. It made me think. I know that we miss the point today but did they a couple thousand years ago? You can read in the Peters and elsewhere the Christians fleeing to exile for fear of persecution and maybe to get away from the Empires at hand. The thing that I see today is that the Christians have become comfortable with the empire at hand. Well at least in America anyway. What makes America any different from the Babylon portrayed in Revelations who is a dirty whore? Enough bashing the bride. The church is the temple in which God dwells. We are to live in His Spirit which are His fruits. With love, justice and mercy. Forgiving and retaining sins. And following where the Spirit leads we need to humbly live among the whore and be a light in this dark world.

remember that...

...one time when Christians followed Jesus? 

today.

so i watched the nooma video "today" last night with the college community group. rob bell's point was that we need to focus on today and let the past be the past. not to continue to grieve or live in the past, but move on. i would have to say that if i was to put myself in the camp of living in the past it would be the nostalgia of the past. i do look into the past quite a bit. i remember how life was when my parents were together. i remember the summers of my youth. i remember how life was when i didn't have a job. i remember laughing with my friends. I remember places, smells, colors, people, songs and so on. they're both beautiful yet not there anymore. I agree with rob, that we need to move on. but we would not be who we are if we did not have those past experiences. they define us. they help us be who are. the good and the bad. but moving on is the fruit from which those experiences have generated from within. move on indeed.

sweet video from eric wareheim.

sweet video from the eric of Tim and Eric's awesome show - great job!

truly beautiful.

And I’m trying to make you sing
From inside where you believe
Like it’s something that you need
Like it means everything

And I’m trying to make you feel that
This is for real, that life is happening
That it means everything
I’m just trying to make you sing.

"The Lark Ascending Or (Perhaps More Acurately, I'm Trying to Make You Sing"

David Crowder

hmm...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

we do, we don't.

...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...

we suck. period.

but now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. there is no difference...

...and are justified freely by his grace though the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

we used to suck. period.

sucking sucks us down, losing the hope for a life.

desire for hope.

the picture of allowing the Kingdom of God to be living and active sets a hope within me that we can truly be as Israel was for the world in bringing people out of exile and back to God. Jesus reigning as King sets the tone in the way we should live, not as ones raising our swords, or turning to government or tucking our tails in between our legs and running back to exile but of love and mercy and justice. Though this is not the end to which our hope is set upon because He has already risen. He reigns as King in Heaven and soon will restore Earth as it is there.

Peter says that we shouldn't be surprised when we face the trials that will come our way. This desire is not one that many agree with as they are blinded by that which they are blinded by. Just as the desire to be loved... "Do we reach for nothing in life because our reaching opens us up to tragedy? Because of it's vulnerable nature, desire begins to feel like our worst enemy." (from the Journey of Desire) I do believe we choose our own battles. Do we always choose the battles that we will always win? What makes the ones we choose to fight, even though the odds are against, worth fighting? Is it all in vain, knowing that we will fail?

When Jesus said "repent and believe" it was not as we think of today. N.T. Wright says that Jesus wasn't necessarily challenging people to give up sinning and have a religious conversion experience. He was telling his hearers to give up their agendas and to trust him for his way of being Israel, his way of bringing the kingdom, his kingdom-agenda. Jesus wants our whole life. He wants us to align our importance to what's most important. Is it worth it? If we truly listen to and follow where the Spirit is leading, does it mean we should be scared of tragedy? Does this sway our desire to being not as challenging or simple enough that it becomes comfortable.

This extends itself.

Choosing love will open spaces of immense beauty and joy for you, but you will be hurt. You already know this. You have retreated from love countless times in your life because of it. We all have. We have been and will be hurt by the loss of loved ones, by what they have done to us and we to them. Even in the bliss of love there is a certain exquisite pain: the pain of too much beauty, of overwhelming magnificence. Further, no matter how perfect a love may be, it is nevere really satisfied... In both joy and pain, love is boundless. (The Awakened Heart)

Will our desire leave us empty or disappointed?

Do our desires set us up for failure?

Even in the pursuit of "God's Will," are we led to complacency? 

tangible kingdom. thank you.

i want to thank everyone who participated in reading the tangible kingdom with me. it was an interesting adventure especially with all the events that were going on at the same time, nonetheless it was great. knowing now how hard it is to get soo many people reading and reviewing a book... let's do it again! 

any suggestions for reading...

tangible kingdom. week four.

the tangible kingdom. chapters 10-12.

Attractional Approach

Unbeliever is invited to church

Unbeliever confesses belief

Unbeliever repeats a prayer (baptism)

Believer joins church

Cognitive discipleship

Focus: Counting confessions

Believing enables belonging

Incarnational Approach

Sojourner is invited to belong

Sojourner confesses interest

Sojourner experiences the good news

Sojourner participates in community

Experiential apprenticeship

Focus: Transformation

Belonging enables believing

hmm...

as i said before about my dad, he believes but does not follow. i would have to say the same with my mom. one of the biggest reasons why i love the incarnational approach is that i see my mom and dad being who they are in this setting. What i get from them is that if they go to church they feel better about themselves, well my mom anyway. It's like she's back on God's side and not only from my mom do i see this but i see it from many other people. Just because she sacrificed a Sunday of sleeping in or from being with the thousands of animals she loves at home so she can go to church, it's redemption. But not lasting. She'll soon feel guilty about not going and then hit it up a month or so later. She's missing out. The pain and guilt that she bears has been a burden she carries herself. It's hard to see them view the church like this.

tangible kingdom. week three.

there is very good discussion going on. this past week was the week that i wanted to push some conversation going but some other things got in the way. Had no power at my house for a few days and the church got flooded.

Continue on with the next 3 chapters and hopefully I'll be able to throw in some questions here and there. These next chapters were very intriguing and helped see our culture in a different light!

PREESH!

tangible kingdom. week two.

thoughts. opinions. ah-hah's. things you know already or agree with...

Chapter 4. U-Haul

What both excites you and scares you about the potential of a new spiritual road trip?

If Jesus were to trim down your Christian experience to his essentials, what would he remove? what would be left?

Chapter 5. Moving Violations

As you think about the church engaging the world with more than just tweaks, what expectations do you need to change, delete, or embrace?

Chapter 6. Posture

How are you willing to advocate for people while they live lives that are in opposition to the way of Christ?

If you you no longer use words to communicate the gospel, what would you do?

not to be biased about some great stuff but i believe "Posture" has the potential for some extra discussion. Let me hear your views.

tangible kingdom. week one. take two.

well i have talked with most of you and it seems as though the books don't travel quickly. so, for those of you who do have your books, i'd like to hear your thoughts. for those of you waiting we'll act as thought this is the first week and on Thursday of next week we'll go over chapters 4-6.

if you have any questions let me know.

one thing that seems to stick out in the book for me has been from the 3rd chapter. there was a guy who wrote a letter to Hugh and was telling about his struggles in the church. that he feels that an old pastor like him isn't relevant anymore and is trying to catch up with the times. Hugh's comment about the letter and many other places throughout the book is that they are all very well needed. They are the foundational pieces for the movements of change that have been happening in the church. They are the ones who have shown us Christ. They are the ones that have helped us the Kingdom.

tangible kingdom. week one.

thoughts. opinions. ah-hah's. things you already know but agree or don't agree with...

as you ponder the metaphor of the sailor, the village, the wreckage, and the people, reflect on your own experience from the church. What aspects have been meaningful, and which experiences do you hope to put behind you?

describe some times in your life when you've wanted to tap out on God and the activities of the church.

describe the last time your heart broke for someone.

Matthew 5:13 - what are some ways you believe we're losing our saltiness?

what do you think the increasing disinterest of the culture toward church means for the future of the church?

do you feel tensions about your faith?

have you noticed the Jerusalem and Galilean distinctions in your own church experience? How?

purpose with passion.

a few years back i picked up Blue Like Jazz and Through the Painted Deserts and Searching for God knows what by Donald Miller and was floored by the beauty of roaming the country in the journey of awakening. Not that there was any purpose behind it but a passion of the freedom that can be found in life. I fell in love with the Bohemian lifestyle. I never went to the extent to follow through with the way of living cause that would mean that i'd have to give up the luxury's i have gotten myself into. So it was a step that I never made. I do feel as though myself am on some wavelength there though.

A few months after reading the books by Don Miller I picked a book called On the Road by Jack Kerouac. If you haven't read it, you're missing out on some great entertainment. The similarities between those books are the searching and the enjoying of life. But both lead down different paths, maybe similar but the destination is not the same.

I've seen this journey also in the movie Into the Wild. The journey and experiences are the appealing part in it all. the freedom. love. people. Being a unique individual with knowing there are other people there to help you grow in and express your uniqueness. We're created for a purpose that is to express the glory and wonder of God.

There are a group of people who fit everything in together of this passion for life into a purpose that won't fade or come to an end with no fulfillment. I see this in the people who want to be apart of something big but don't want to be big themselves. I see this in people who long and hurt for one another. I see this in people who share each others burdens. Of all the prenotions these characters give in the books, they are all, for the most part hated by the world. or the american side of it that i know of. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says this: 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.

I see a journey of knowing the beauty God has revealed to us but it will take far beyond the time we have here on earth or in heaven. This is the journey i seek. The beauty of the Kingdom of Heaven.

the tangible kingdom.

as i have said before, the books that i've read in the past year have been the perfect series of books that I could of ever processed. Starting with Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne I have never been challenged in such a way to change the actions of my personal life in the world. Moving into the Kingdom of God I've read This Beautiful Mess by Rick McKinley, The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian Mclaren , Sex God by Rob Bell, Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and now just finished the Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay.

I don't think I would have finished any of them if they hadn't peeked my interest in some way. i did try to read the Kingdom of God is Within You by Leo Tolstoy but it failed in my understanding. There are still more books to read and thoughts to process but i do know i need to throw up at some point and bottle it in some way. All these views need to be organized into the heart of what God has called the church to me.

The Tangible Kingdom has been an inspiration to see the church in better light. I've seen the church in practice as to the definitions Halter and Smay bring. Such as attractional. Most of the churches in America say to anyone, follower or non-follower: come to us. The missional church says: just look. If you are truly living in the Kingdom of God, loving and caring for one another with a transparent and unashamed attitude the gospel will be lived out in your life thus showing everyone Jesus. An all inviting attitude that will show people who Jesus is and revealing to them a way in which they can come and know Jesus too.

Halter and Smay also help get a better understanding on the culture in America and the different contexts people are in with their beliefs. This is all too important because of the generations that have morphed into one another, like a homeschooler that is actually cool. is that possible? it is my friend! so, very important to see the differences. Western, Eastern, PostModern and Gospel Response.

After all this input I really don't know if I can fully puke it out in comprehension. It just doesn't make sense when I try to describe. I know it's beautiful. I know it's the Kingdom of God here on Earth. I know it's hope for all who have lost hope. All i ask is for wisdom. I have feared and  revered the Lord, because I know this is way over my head. Give me wisdom.

christian Vs. disciple - what's the difference?

A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
"But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, 'There's the person who started that building and couldn't afford to finish it!'

"Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can't, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

"Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! - Luke 14:25-35

RELIGION INCORPORATED

market strategies
demographic studies
million dollar buildings
exclusivity
stained glass fortresses
perfect pews all in a row
filled with suits and ties
building programs
land acquisitions
flee the inner city
build in the suburbs
lock out the freaks
post ushers like guards
bow to the rich
ignore the poor
fail to penetrate society
ignore the screams
close your eyes
to the war in the streets
build thick walls
isolate yourselves
pile the salt
hide the light
don't get dirty
react too slowly
grip dry tradition
play church
while the spiritual graveyard
inches closer
to your indifference.

Kingdom come.

hope...

is the breath that gives faith the beat love needs.

who is she.

Then I heard another voice from heaven say: 

   "Come out of her, my people, 

      so that you will not share in her sins, 

      so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 

 for her sins are piled up to heaven, 

      and God has remembered her crimes. 

 Give back to her as she has given; 

      pay her back double for what she has done. 

      Mix her a double portion from her own cup. 

 Give her as much torture and grief 

      as the glory and luxury she gave herself. 

   In her heart she boasts, 

      'I sit as queen; I am not a widow, 

      and I will never mourn.' 

 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: 

      death, mourning and famine. 

   She will be consumed by fire, 

      for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

i thank God.

for putting people in my life to cover my shortcomings. new Kingdom come.

just so i don't forget.

yah so i think the next big thing that will be used as interactive entertainment will be the integration of the web and television. Being able to watch TV while you surf the web, vice versa. You might think this is already happening but it's not. As your watching TV, say a commercial comes on for Papa Johns Pizza. This commercial in some way wets your appetite for some pie and you want to indulge yourself. So while the commercial is being played you can click on the link to order your pizza, in a separate window, order, pay and have it delivered. This can be the case for all ads "selling" products. As far as the TV programs that are out there, it will be integrated throughout the show. Let's say your watching a basketball game. Throughout this game you there are numerous facts that you might want to know for the team. During the game you might want to click the teams name for general stats about them or if it comes down to the details, while the game is being played and the players are running up and down the court, click on one of the players so you can get specific stats about the player. This could be done for all sports.

Another thing that could be done throughout a TV show could be little details that the producer might want to add to make the show a little more interesting. or going back to the consumer consumption, advertising companies can add their links to the products in the shows that the cast are using. 

You can do all of this without having to switch back and forth from either a desktop or laptop and the TV.

just to make life a little more simpler for the fat(used all three ways: fat as in huge, large or obese. fat as in, i've got money so i can whatever i want. fat as in, phat.) American.

so you say you want a revolution.

would anyone agree with me that the Christian church is beginning to stir with an emotion of change? with more love and hope to offer to a hurting world?

have you ever questioned...

...why the church has children's and student ministries? not that i don't feel supported or that i'm left all alone, but why are there separate ministries if normally the church is "family oriented."

i'd like to hear some responses if anyone actually reads this.

i know there are some churches out there that focus on family as a whole. NorthPoint in Atlanta has a big show that they put on for the family, and it's great but... it's a show. is that what the church is? entertainment for the family?

there's also a church in Portland called Imago Dei that i believe shoots for the intended purpose of a family church. i wish i knew more.

the traditional model, which has become the contemporary model, has a separate "service" for each of the age groups. this is actually what goes on at our church. being my first take with children and students, i'm only prone to go with what i know and what i've experienced before. it's okay, but i know there's more to it.

there's gotta be more. where is it?

the true Kingdom.

if you want to build a ship, don't summon people to buy wood, prepare tools, distribute jobs, and organize the work, rather teach people the yearning for the wide, boundless ocean.

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

a future not our own.

it helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
the kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

we accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

no statement says all that could be said.
no prayer fully expresses our faith.
no confession brings perfection...
no set of goals and objectives includes everything.

this is what we are about:
we plant seeds that one day will grow.
we water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
we lay foundations that will need further development.
we provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

we cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
this enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
it may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

we may never see the end results...
we are prophets of a future not our own.

-Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador

prayer.

at times i dread it because it's time consuming. and others because of who is praying with me. i would have to say that 99% of the time my outcome is one for a change of heart. i do feel better. it's worth it. but prayer.... what is it? why do we need to talk to G-d to make us feel good about ourselves? when we pray with others, why is there judgement? is it selfish on our part when we pray? if G-d knows everything why do we even need to pray?
as i'm understanding a bit more of G-d's Kingdom, Revolution, Dream, etc. i see that prayer is an act just like baptism to show our commitment to G-d. we are not in control. but our concern for other's in G-d's Kingdom is G-d's concern. we are called to love. in our faith that we believe G-d is watching over us, there's hope. hope for a better future and love for the entire Kingdom. we make a commitment through prayer to give us hope that we're not in this alone.

church deconstruction.

if we would take away everything the church is today, the good and the bad, what is left. we would go back to the beginning of it all. whether the beginning may be the early manifestos of God's Kingdom or the start of all time.

what did it look like in the beginning?

for one: it was good. but in the process of "being" it got all mucked up with sin and the things that don't matter.

another: it was what it was meant to be. simple and pristine.

so what things today make church, church? what would you take away, from what it is today and all the bitter taste it leaves on the palettes of peoples tongues, to the simplicity and originality of restoring us back to God.

take away everything, the good and the bad:

- the music - the hymns - the projector - the powerpoint - the slides - the computers - the production team - the cameras - the tv evangelist - the healing - the miracles - the building -  the steeple - the chairs - the pews - the coffee bar - the sunday school - the "core" classes - the children's ministry -  the youth group - the nursery - the preschool - the parents night out - the mothers of babies club - the sports teams - the prayer - the dress clothes - the mohawks - communion - offering - loving other people - giving to the poor - caring for widows and orphans - random acts of kindness - having hope - purpose - prayer - the confession of sins - baptism - cheesiness - being fake - special music - family - trust - easter lily's - the bible

so leave all the people, take away everything that has been called "church". what you have left is Jesus and people. if we started all over again, how beautiful it would be. the fruits of the Spirit. purpose. meaning. a life worth living. people who love. one's that care for all people, good and bad. being provided for when you have nothing. giving everything that you have to the ones who don't have it. 

the church.

we live and move in the mystical.

we started a new series last sunday speaking mainly on the kingdom but ramping up with how and why the kingdom got established. i would say that i do have a grasp on understanding G-d's Kingdom but i can't explain it. 

If we look at John we see the beginning of it all.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." 

John 1:1-5 NIV

One of the first "ah-hah's" was when i read that, i mean really read that for the first time. Jesus was there. He was there with G-d in the beginning. at Creation. Jesus was there. But Jesus never denied this.

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 

Matthew 16:16-17 NLT

When we look at texts like this we see that God was the one who revealed the deity of Jesus. This also shows proof for a King. One who rules this world. One that shows proof through the unexplainable. 

I tried to communicate this in a way that would truly be a "BAM", in the face but i couldn't quite pull it off. At the end of John 1 we see the first instance of Jesus revealing his deity.

As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

John 1:47-49 NLT

So to get the "BAM," i took the words from Mark Moore in his book The Chronological Life of Christ: Volume 1 From Glory to Galilee. 

"Nathanael is deeply impressed that Jesus knew him. Then Jesus says. in so many words, "Oh that was nothin', watch this: I saw you sitting under the fig tree!" This so impressed Nathanael that he confesses that Jesus is the Messiah of the God."

Through the unexplainable G-d reveals himself to us. He shows us what His kingdom looks like. We see the story unravel that includes us as characters interacting with the one in the lead role. Jesus is King!

full house.

today we should be getting another roommate. that will be a total of 5 people in our house. i would have to say that this experience for the last 2 years has changed my life quite substantially. there are some things that need to be changed though. in order to be adequately living in God's Kingdom, my attitude and actions need to change. i need to be a leader.

new year.

if resolutions were something we did every month or everyday, would we be better people. looking back on the previous year i can say i enjoyed it. as any previous year i have grown. i know myself more. i've gotten more wise. i've learned from my mistakes.

if we were to surround ourselves with people who make us better, would our resolutions become a reality. do we see the fruits of what true community means. i am aiming for simplicity. i have not told many people my plan and when i do i feel as though it's more about me than what the outcome is. i see that there are many hurting people in this world. many hurting people who can't see God because their not really looking. i personally don't think this is for every minister but i am looking to wean myself from getting paid by the church. something things that are lacking that the church isn't embracing is community and devotion. by living in community with a group of people who love each other really shows love for one another. i would have to say that many people who have beef with the church is the example that it sets, this could be by a number of people or by just a single person.

i want to do my best to show God's love. this is all i can come up with right now. there is more.