Backseat Driver

"Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we can be." Ralph Waldo Emerson

2012-01-23T15:22:00.000-08:00

I am committed to the belief that God has unique and fulfilling plans for our lives that have been created to fit each of us perfectly. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope."

It is a wonderful comfort knowing that the great designer and creator, has designed and created you and me, for a plan that He wants us to walk in. Not only that, but also the fact that He is actively involved, and enjoys the process!
In Philippians 2:13 it says, "For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." The 'adventure of adventures' awaits those of us who say, "Yes, Lord, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven", Matthew 6:10.

Yup, this is exciting and great, but it is not always easy. Sometimes we wish we had some help.

The reality of this adventure is like all journeys - it has both mountain tops and valleys. Mountain tops are great, and we'd love to stay there as long as possible. But, however much we wish it were different, it is in the valleys and deserts where we are taught the deep lessons, where our character is forged, and our faith is grown and refined. It is in these places where we are open to seeing and understanding things that the mountains keep from us. These are also the places where we find ourselves disoriented, stuck, discouraged, or simply unsure of the next step.

Then what do we do?

One thing I love and value is serving on the board for a ministry called House2House www.house2house.org. I just returned from our board meeting in Texas, excited about a new direction that the ministry is taking to strengthen those who are on the journey of simple, organic and missional church expressions. Up to this point, House2House has done a great job in resourcing those interested in this movement through videos, books, training manuals, a resource website, and yearly conferences that bring opportunities to hear some of the pioneers of the movement, and gain encouragement from the fellowship of others on a similar journey. However good and helpful all these things are, House2House desires to move along with God on its own journey in our particular role to support and encourage the simple, organic and missional movement in a more relational manner.

The new focus and direction of House2House will still include some of the above resources, but will now also include coming alongside individuals, groups, churches, denominations and those who have already been participating in simple church (but who may need a boost), and do it through relational coaching.

In the next few blog posts here at Backseat Driver, I will be writing about what coaching is, the value of it to those of you in simple, organic and missional church, and how to take advantage of this new resource at House2House.

We all want to be inspired to be all that we can be. To overcome the obstacles that loom before us, and eagerly move forward in the unique and wonderful plans that God has for us. Sometimes, all we need is someone to come alongside us, encouraging, challenging, and helping us discover what God has put inside us "for such a time as this". Coaching can be a significant part of that process, and it may be something you would personally find beneficial, as you navigate through your own adventure.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Don't go where the path may lead, go instead to where there is no path and leave a trail."

Is God Organic, Jesus Simple, and the Holy Spirit Missional?

2011-12-29T16:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm on a writing roll. I don't post a blog for months and now two in a week. What's up with that?

I write this blog mostly on aspects of what I and others call organic, simple, and missional church. After a few conversations this week regarding the validity and definition of the terms, I've gotten a bit frustrated with how people are separating them from each other. That somehow they exist apart from each other.
Over the years, I've always made a point of joining them together, and now I'm even more committed to that practice. I'll use the example of the Trinity being One, but all separate parts with unique attributes and purposes.

For the purposes of this blog post, and not to form any kind of divergent theology, I'll make the point that God really is organic, that Jesus made it all simple, and the Holy Spirit is profoundly missional.

I've written so much in the past on this blog, about how I define the word organic. But for those of you who may be new readers, or old readers who need a refresher, here it is again.

Basically, organic means to me; God initiated, God activated, God generated, God cultivated, God sustained. God is the essence of what organic is. It's Him. Only Him.

Not the flesh, not good programs or strategies, not someone's current best seller on the topic, not current marketing techniques, or the latest fad in church growth. It's not "honey I shrunk the church" into the same form of church as what meets in a building every week, only now shrunk down to fit into a home. What is organic may meet in a building, or anywhere else. Where people experience organic church is really not that important. That people experience God in a living and present way, is what is important.

God and His initiatives, His agenda, His interactions with us. As Jesus prayed; "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." His will, now, today, everyday.

"Doing church" in this way assumes a relationship that knows how to listen in intimacy and requires abiding in Him. It is a relationship of close affiliation and attention to that "still and small voice".

It acknowledges that anything apart from Him is worthless.

It assumes that God has a unique plan for the day, and He wants to share that with us.

Jesus Himself, who sought the Father every day for the unique plans of the Father for that day, is our example in how to live simple church.
Jesus says that, "he did only that which the Father is doing". He didn't make up his own strategies, or complicated the instructions from the Father.

He just listened and obeyed. Simple.

If Jesus felt it necessary to walk in this way, why would we think we can do it differently?

Although simple, it does require some things from us. Effort to seek Him, practice in listening to Him, patience to wait on Him, and the faith to believe in, and move with Him. No wonder that some people quickly take the easy way and pull away from this dependent relationship with God.

Scriptures say, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:5-7.

Without this dependent intimacy, the flesh soon rises to substitute a replacement. Soon that substitute turns into a system, then rules, and finally a religion. And we all know that religion kills the Spirit. Same ole', same ole'.

At this point, some are satisfied to say, "that's good!" "Deep and abiding intimacy and fellowship, that's what it's all about!" Something like: "me and God, God and me, together the two of us, just like it should be!" La, la, la, la, ...........

To that I say, no, don't stop there! Your only 2/3 the way! This is not all about YOU!

Jesus and God were not satisfied to keep their intimate fellowship and relationship to themselves - they desired to share it with others! "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life". John 3:16

When Jesus left, he gave us the Holy Spirit to be the outward expresser of the Father and Son to us. The Holy Spirit is the missional communicator of God and Jesus. The outward and manifested reality of the Father and Son to us, so we can know and experience them in a myriad of ways.

The Holy Spirit has His mission - to reveal the Father and the Son and bring the reality of their existence to us. Missional.

We are called to share this mission also. To give the good news of knowing Christ intimately through the gift of salvation with others.
In all the relationships of our lives. To those who know Him, and those who don't.

"How will they know Him unless someone tells them, and how will someone tell them unless they are sent? Romans 10: 14-16.

That's organic, simple and missional church. Don't pull them apart.

The Refrigerator Family Album

2011-12-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

We hosted a Chinese student this fall in our home as she attended the University. When we were getting her packed up and making all the final arrangements for her to head back to China, she made the statement, "I want to be placed in your refrigerator." I blankly gazed at her, stretching out the moment as my brain worked fervently to decode the message. I have learned over the years through interaction with different cultures and languages, to use times like this as a fun puzzle game to figure out the meaning of words that may not initially make sense. This particular time it was taking me a bit longer to put the puzzle together, but finally I understood. "Oh, of course! We will place a picture of you on our refrigerator!" She smiled her big beautiful smile and said, "oh thank you, that will mean so much to me."

Now this might sound really stupid to you, and you may be thinking; what's this got to do with anything?

Our refrigerator, like many of yours, is full of pictures of our family and those we consider like family. It's like a giant photo album of those who are a part of our lives in deep and significant ways. Our Chinese student wanted to be considered a part of our special and extended family after she returned to China, and her picture on the refrigerator was a symbol of that and her continued connection to us.

I don't think many of us realize how rich we are, who have Christ, to those who dwell in spiritual poverty. We don't pay attention to how our light illuminates the darkness that some live in daily. We take for granted that we are members of an eternal and incredible "family with benefits" that others only see, sense, and long for, from a distance.

The scriptures say in Luke 11:33, "“No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light."

A light is meant to illuminate and be seen. It draws people to it as it dissipates the dark. It is up to us to put ourselves onto lampstands that shine with accessibility to those in darkness, so that the light of Christ may draw those in darkness to it.

This is not hard to do, because God has called us for this purpose - He has put within us the light of Christ to be His representatives, His ambassadors, His living reality of the family of God in Christ Jesus. Our pictures have been placed upon the "refrigerator of heaven" acknowledging us as His own special family members.

Are you placing yourself as a lampstand in places of darkness so that the light of Christ may shine forth?
A light, in a room full of lights, doesn't add that much. It was created to shine in dark places to be fully appreciated.
Find some dark places to shine out. See what the Light in you will draw to Itself, and who will want to be placed on your refrigerator door!

The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
Isaiah 9:1-3

Why Are We So Ineffective In Making Disciples?

2011-05-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

One of my classes at the University of Minnesota this spring was focused on adult education and particularly, how adults learn and retain that learning.
Let me share some basic points regarding adult education that many years of research have shown:

1. Adults retain 90% of what they learn if they teach it to someone else, and have immediate application of what they learn.

2. Adults retain 75% of what learn when they practice it.

3. Adults retain 50% of what they discuss in a group.

4. Adults retain 30% of what they see demonstrated.

Look at those percentages and think about it in the context of how it relates to making disciples. Paul told Timothy to be effective in his ministry of making disciples and extending the Kingdom when he exhorted Timothy's efforts with; "so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" 2 Tim. 3:17.
If we truly want to see a multiplication movement of the Kingdom of God, instead of the centralized "addition" model we have settled for, then we have to understand how this is best accomplished. This a accomplished when we use the most affective ways to teach, train and equip.

Jesus obviously knew how to teach adults. Although we have him on a number of occasions standing publicly and teaching the masses, the majority of His training of the disciples took place in demonstration, (raising the dead, healing the sick, casting out demons), discussion ("Who do men say I am?, What do you think?"), practice (He sent them out two by two, "You do it"), and go teach someone what you know ("go and therefore make disciples... teaching them to observe all I have commanded you"). The gospels are full of examples of these top four ways that adults learn and retain what they learned. Go through the gospels yourself, and highlight all the ways you find these top four ways of learning.

Now in contrast to these top four that we've covered, here are the ways that adults learn and retain the least:

1. Adults retain 20% of what they see and hear in Audio-Visual teaching

2. Adults retain 10% of what we learn through reading

3. Adults retain 5% of what we learn through lecture

Wow! Doesn't that resemble our dominant teaching/training practices of today? Almost all of what we do in 'making disciples' involves preaching and podium speaking at conferences, in churches every Sunday, and in the writing of books and blogs. Add some cool and entertaining video clips, and we have all the least effective ways to train up and equip a disciple for the work of the Kingdom!

Let's get real about all of this and start being more effective in producing disciples. I know I want to see a movement that is true multiplication and not stagnated or settling for a few additions.

We have settled for the pedagogical manner of downloading all the information we want people to know, and then think we have accomplished something powerful and impacting. Where is the impact?
It's pretty easy to give information download (I'm doing it right now and it's taking a couple hours of my day - not such a sacrifice). Taking this route to make disciples really has little impact, except to make names for ourselves (ouch!). Easy, noncommittal, pretty ineffective and totally Western in culture. It also is primarily done by only a small minority in the Body of Christ. Have we had enough of it yet?

The good news I see in all this, is that we ALL can do the top four in the list of effective ways to learn and retain that learning. All of us! That is how God designed it to be. We can ALL demonstrate, discuss, practice with others, and give away what we already know! We are all in unique places that we are called and equipped by God to do this in. Each of us!

We are not all called to be teachers, writers and bloggers that download information regularly and hopefully through the Holy Spirits anointing. That is a gift the Body needs and does grow from, but it is not the only, or even BEST way. The BEST way is for us all to demonstrate, discuss, practice with others and give away what we know! Even a new Christian has things to give away, and that is why we see so many new Christians bringing others to Christ during the first year or two of their conversion. Then what happens? They settle into passivity. They get taught to do so.

Come on Church! Let's get activated! Go activate others to make disciples through demonstrating, discussing, practicing and applying all that we know and turn the world upside down! Jesus has equipped and called us and provided all that we need. He is enough!

"Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and lo, I AM with you always, even unto the end of the age". Matthew 28:19-20.

Do'in the Stuff

2011-03-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite sayings is from a man named John Wimber, who began the Vineyard Church movement in the 1980's. He liked to say that; "we're all called to do the stuff".

The stuff, refers to the things that Jesus did like heal the sick, cast out demons, make disciples, multiply resources, raise the dead, hear clearly from the Father, calm the storms, bring the truth in word and action, all of which was ultimately bringing the Good News that it was the time of God's favor. Not only are we commissioned to do the stuff, but according to the Lord in John 14:12; I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Greater things than Jesus? I've heard people teach that Jesus meant a collective anyone and he, and this passage refers to the whole Church rather than individuals. To me it is clear in the passage that Jesus is giving a statement about each person (anyone) having an opportunity to do even greater works cumulatively through their lifetime, (since Jesus really only ministered for about three years), and that they would be doing the very same kinds of things that He did.

I think many people skip this passage, or take the corporate interpretation of it because they can't imagine a life of experiences that would include doing the things Jesus did, let alone greater things throughout the course of their lifetime!

But that's what Jesus said.

The issue is if you believe it.

If you do believe it, dose your life show it ?

My friend Neil Cole likes to say there are two types of people; those who live incredible stories of their own, and those who just tell other peoples stories. Which one are you?

We just had a weekend of "spurring one another on towards love and good deeds"(Hebrews 10:24), at the Organic Greenhouse training conference in downtown Minneapolis. There is incredible synergy that happens when God brings hungry people together, who want to get out into the world and actually bring the Kingdom of God to those who need it. People not motivated for any other reason than to share the love and goodness of God that they themselves have the joy to experience every day in knowing Christ.

I had the privilege of meeting and hanging out with such people this past weekend. Those who long to do what Jesus did and even greater!

A life like this requires faith, risk and boldly stepping out into the unknown -yet this is a life living and experiencing first hand their own great stories rather than telling the great stories of others.

You just can't separate great works from great faith. And great lives have both.

For so long multitudes in the Body of Christ have kept to themselves; praying,prophesying, teaching, helping, having a type of community that choses to be pretty oblivious to the world and opportunities around them. Living a life of some faith, but not great faith.

This has resulted in a church of little impact and few stories of greater works! But that is not what God has designed for us. He has promised and "is able to do far more abundantly beyond that which we ask or think, according to the power that works within us." Ephesians 3:20. He desires to give us great lives with great stories of His Presence!

Jesus said; "No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light." Luke 11:33.

We've been keeping our lights to ourselves. We've been keeping Jesus to ourselves. We have settled for little faith and comfortable lives. We've not 'asked or imagined' beyond our day to day thoughts and personal comforts. But we still have opportunities for great faith and greater works for the King and Kingdom! Each day gives us those opportunities if we look for them!

Let's "do the stuff" and live great stories of great faith for a great King!

Time to Grow Up

2011-01-12T07:28:00.000-08:00

In the previous blog post Longcuts, I shared that the expression of faith in simple, organic and missional paradigms of Christianity require intentionality on your part. Nothing is done for you. Your the initiator of the level of intimacy you want with God. Not only the initiator, but also responsible for your own maturity. Maturity is not easily or quickly attained, so the quicker we start on this journey the better. God expects us to mature, and Paul exhorts the Ephesians and us, in Ephesians 4:14-16 with, "Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature".

Children have everything done for them. We don't expect anything different, and neither do they. Of course, we want them to mature, to become more and more responsible for themselves in all areas. We move them into adulthood. We call this maturity. That is one of our main purposes as parents and adults in their lives.

Unfortunately, we don't have this same mindset in much of the church. The defining of maturity seems illusive, like a target we never hit or sure of where and what it is. We claim we are training, teaching, leading, etc. people into maturity, and yet they never seem to reach it! All through the process we communicate messages like: "you need me for your spiritual growth", or " without my leadership, you and everything else will fall apart", or "your not ready yet, and I'll be the one to know when you are".

No wonder we have people who are immature, insecure, without initiative and motivation. We have not been creating adults with all of our "ministry" but perpetual children and young adults never venturing out on living their own adventures in Christ. We have not made maturity each persons responsibility but rather someone else's job to produce it in them.

I home schooled my kids for most of their lives, and did it a bit differently than what I saw around me at the time.

I watched home school parents who dictated every lesson. They picked it, taught it, monitored the progress of the lesson, and then corrected it. The student was a passive participant really - just obeying the system. Many had official times to start, do a lesson, take breaks, and end. They even set up rooms in the house as special home school classrooms. Very official, and very professional looking.

I wasn't a professional. I knew I couldn't give my kids everything they needed for a good let alone great education. I went into it not as a teacher, rather as a facilitator of their learning.

I went into homeschooling with the desire to create an environment that stimulated a love of learning, which would ultimately be their motivation. I wanted to key into and release their own motivation for learning which ultimately is what would sustain the process throughout their lives. That meant finding out what that motivation was (what excited them) and letting that motivation direct much of their learning.

I also learned quickly that I needed to instill from the beginning that they were responsible for their studies, not me.

I'm always amazed that many in the Body of Christ, still look to others to constantly "parent" them and they never grow past adolescence at best. These people want everything done for them, and nothing much asked of them. They wait for others to tell them what they should do, think or volunteer for. They can't learn but through someone else's teaching. They can't lead because no one has "released them" to do so. They walk in only a shadow of what their lives in the Kingdom could be.

In some simple churches, there is the propensity to fall right back into this way of functioning together because it is familiar, and in many ways much easier for all involved. We have leadership that still often keeps others dependent upon them for constant instruction, guidance, inspiration, correction and motivation.

But we have incredible opportunities within the context of simple, organic, missional churches to foster environments of maturity. To create atmospheres that encourage initiative, creativity, responsibility and ultimately; "until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." I Cor. 14:19-21.

In the next blog post I'll dig into this a bit more.

Longcuts

2010-10-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

I like shortcuts.

These days I spend a lot of time walking through the University of Minnesota looking for short cuts to buildings in order to lessen the time and effort I need to spend in getting from one class to another. Since efficiency is high on my value list, I'm always looking for ways to streamline my day and my walking routes to spend less time in transit. I have found some routes that may save me a couple of minutes, or shave a few hundred feet off my path, but not enough to make that much of a difference in the end.

Frankly, the time and the energy I have spent trying out those shortcuts has actually had the opposite affect, and caused me to waste valuable time! No efficiency in that!

Although I'd like to think its all about efficiency, all this shortcut finding probably has more to do with laziness. I simply want an easier way. One that requires less effort from me.

Especially for those of us who are Americans, we highly value the "quick and easy" routes in everything from cooking to disseminating information.

Well, I hate to rain on your parade, but God doesn't seem to put the same value on shortcuts as we do. Ask the poor Israelites! They didn't get any shortcuts, but instead wandered for 40 years in a dry, hot, rocky desert! They are a great example of God leading their journey of discovery in KNOWING God into a longcut - (if there were such a word, but of course their isn't, because no one values taking a longer route to get somewhere and therefore create a word for it!)

In simple, organic, and missional life in Christ, you don't get shortcuts.

In fact, compared with the traditional structured Christian experience you may of had previously, this journey in Christ and fellowship requires A LOT MORE from you. It's a longcut!

Whereas before, spending a few moments of morning "devotional" reading was seen as sufficient time in the Bible. Or memorizing a verse or two from time to time was sufficient to allow you feel that you really knew the Word!

In O/S/M life, if you don't spend a large amount of time in your Bible on a regular basis, you dry up like a fig on a rock on a hot day! There simply is no short cut to the time you need to spend with the words of Jesus in His Word.

I recently had a discussion posted on my Facebook page where it was inferred that I was "duped" by a certain author and Christian leader. Before I could respond, a reader of that posting wrote what I wanted to say (probably better!). She wrote that if a person is in the Word regularly and diligently, it is not so easy to be "duped" by what anyone says. If your NOT in the Word constantly, but rather rely upon a meager portion of it, or what others TELL you it says, you will find yourself unable to know the truth from error. Hebrews 5:14 is pretty clear about this; "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."

No shortcuts.

Maybe you used to depend on the shortcut of listening to a 40 minute, hit or miss message, once a week to get instruction. A sermon to get a "new insight" to ruminate upon about that someone else determined you needed to know. You walked out surprised, saying something like; "I really got something out of that sermon this morning!" Or, just as often; "I should of stayed home today!"

In O/S/M life, you have to figure out your own lesson for the week, month, or season of your life. You figure it out by listening to the Author Himself, and hearing what is important to Him in your life at this time. After all, He is invested in you. He is the One with the Plan. He is the one who directs your paths. He is worth listening to and obeying.

This means you are in constant dialog and with an "ear to hear" - all the time! Prayer is not for intercessors or widows with a lot of time on their hands, but it is the vehicle of communication of a loving and involved Father into the lives of His children. Why would we want any shortcuts to that interaction!

There are certainly no short cuts to fellowship. No way! If you want fellowship, YOU have to take the mature initiative to get involved. Either by starting your own simple church, or connecting regularly with folks in a manner that can be all the way from structured to fluid. The form matters less than that you actually get together with folks for the "one anothers". That takes a lot of work. Relationships that live out life together 24/7 takes time, effort, energy and commitment.

Worship? No short cuts there. Where you used to simply show up for a 30 minute set, and participate in it if you were interested in the current worship team leading, or the songs that were chosen, now you have to design your own worship LIFE! Sing, play, write, paint, dance, pray, meditate - worship is up to you!

For a lot of us, we come from backgrounds that teach us short cuts in our expressions of Christianity. I get asked many times for the short cut "formulas" to organic, simple, missional church life. Of course, people don't use those words, but the meaning is clear..."I want and expect this to be easy, quick, full of fast returns, etc., how do I do this?"

There are no streamlined pathways of efficiency in your relationship with God. He calls us into a relationship of depth, quality and intimacy. That is a lot of investment. A lot of commitment, and a lot of time.

Nope, no shortcuts.

Longcuts! But longcuts to an incredible journey of depth!

Are you in ?

Every Day Opportunities

2010-10-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

What am I doing here?, I though to myself as I gazed around at the young faces in my college classroom. I'm old enough to be the mother of all those sitting here!

I was suddenly and painfully aware that I am on the downward curve of life, whereas these young people sitting around me are just beginning their adventure! I felt old.

Discouragement began to seep into my spirit. I pushed it away, and turned to the young woman sitting next to me and introduced myself, striking up a conversation before class started.

I was surprised to find her immediately opening up to me with quite a bit of personal information. She was a young single mom, working, going to school full time, and trying to make a life for herself and her young daughter. Alone. She began to share how she found it hard to identify with those around her at college, which resulted in her feeling even more alone. Whereas they could hang out in the dorms, go to parties, do homework with each other and enjoy the college scene, she had a far different life. The duties of a mother with a young child, maintaining an apartment, cooking, cleaning, keeping a part time job, etc. all came before homework and any social life. As she spoke, her voice quivered with the emotion she was holding back.

I listened to her pour out her struggles, to me a stranger, and I ached for her. This was the sort of thing she should of been sharing with someone who had known her much longer than 3 minutes! Maybe even someone like her mother!

I smiled, nodded, asked questions and all the while silently prayed the Lord would come alongside this young woman with all that she needed. She needed a lot, and only He would be able to do it!

I affirmed her commitments to her child as a mother, trying to get a college education to better her job prospects, and the inner strength she had to even attempt it all. That was all I could do before the professor began the class and our conversation was cut off.

I have prayed for this young woman ever since. I can't get her out of my mind. I am looking forward to other encounters she and I will have in the days ahead and how the Lord would want me to reach out to her and introduce Christ into her life. Even if I don't have any future encounters, I know my prayers WILL impact her life because I serve and pray to a God who is an impacting God!

The Bible tells us to always be ready to share with those around us the faith we have in Jesus. To look and see the fields ripe and ready for harvest. To be fragrance and light to those around us EVERY DAY of the great love and presence of Jesus. Whatever the context, He has prepared those around you to be receptors of Him. In some way, in some degree....we have opportunities before us. Are you looking?

I was so glad the Lord forgave my moment of self pity and refocused me on what really matters. People. And in this case, this young woman, who needed someone to care about her life and listen to her struggles.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." John 3:16-17

Being old enough to be like a mother to these fellow classmates, actually, isn't so bad after all!

Disciple Making In Brazil - Turning On The Key

2010-09-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

As the summer comes to an end, so does our motorcycle riding instruction for the season. Once again, I am amazed at the process of the average person with no riding knowledge or ability, going from; "where does the key go?" to riding tight curves at 15 mph, stopping quickly, swerving, and all with decent skill for someone with only 10 hours of motorcycle coaching!

I'd like to attribute it to Tom and my great coaching abilities, and to our own knowledge and skill in motorcycling. However, that is not the case. I started riding only in 2006, and Tom did not have that much more experience than me when we started. Of course we did pass the gruelling "training of the trainers" process (86 hours of insane intensity!) but that isn't the key to our students' rapid skill acquisition.

Rather, it is because of the intentional teaching strategy of the program itself.

The program teaches in the way in which we learn best; a small group of participants, a short verbal instruction, a visual demonstration, a time and "space" to practice, with a de-brief process at the end.

Small increments of skill are steadily introduced at each level.

Jesus taught like this.

He had his few disciples around him; the men and women who travelled from town to town with him getting "coached" in Kingdom living. He would give a teaching or a principle, demonstrate it, often times telling them to do it, and then later talk to them about it. With this manner of teaching, they were able to learn and be mentored in a short time and in a way that left powerful impact.

I don't know when standing up in front of people, teaching and downloading information and opinions, became known as disciple making and training in Christian Kingdom life! Disciples are made in much smaller contexts and with direct coaching and involvement in the process. If Jesus Himself followed this process of making disciples, why on earth would we do anything different and think it's achieving the same end?

Of course we also see Jesus speak to the masses, as in the Sermon on Mount. However, in His intentional training of His disciples, He did it small, concise, with practice, and in increments, getting them ready and prepared for His departure.

On our trip to Brazil, this principle was at work with the team we had and the results were astounding!

Three of the five young adults that went were my own kids. Now, my kids have grown up in an environment of ministering. Tom and I have intentionally discipled them to be able to hear God, and respond in faith with an action of some sort (i.e. prayer, a word, a direction, etc). Discipling our kids now is a matter of giving them new experiences to grow and mature in these areas and acting more as a coach in the process.

But one team member had not been a Christian for very long and had not grown up in a family that practiced faith beyond a trip to church once a year or so. Her exposure to the different aspects of what I call "ministry" (i.e. praying for the sick, dealing with the demonic, emotional inner healing issues, salvation, teaching, counseling, prophetic understanding, sharing The Word, and testimonies of God's faithfulness, etc.) were all new things to her. Completely.

She was like one of our new, totally clueless motorcycle students on the first riding day of class saying; "Where does the key go?".

Now a word here regarding the ministry trips I lead to this area of Brazil. It is in the Amazon River basin area. Sometimes we are in a large and modern town, and other times we travel on boat to more isolated jungle areas. We minister in organized church buildings, homes, on the street or in the jungle; the contexts change - the ministry does not.

We "rough it" in all aspects. We don't stay in hotels but live with the people we minister to. That means we are "on call" to minister at any time that we're requested to do so. On one trip previously, I was using the bathroom when a knock at my door requested that; "when I finished, a couple was waiting for counsel and prayer". Sure enough, when I exited the bathroom there they were, just outside the bathroom door!

You get the idea. We eat, play, sleep, take bucket baths, use whatever is being offered as an outhouse, alongside those we come to serve. The only thing we do different is drink bottled water ( it just makes life a bit easier NOT to be running for the bushes or outhouse every few minutes).

This was the context our more inexperienced team member was tossed into. A challenge in every way for even the more "seasoned" minister!

Wow, did she ever rise to the challenge! She was an amazing asset to the team. She took her key, turned it on and took off!

She jumped right in, fully and without hesitation on the first day in Brazil. By bold and audacious faith, she stepped into the learning process and, in motorcycle vernacular; rolled on the throttle!

I saw how the small size of the team, the modeling that was being done, the freedom to practice and experiment in the learning process, along with encouragement and "de-briefing" later on accelerated her learning process. She was in a huge growth spurt!

I also saw another principle at work.

In the motorcycle classes, we have noticed that skill acquisition for a student who may have initially weaker skills or complete inexperience, is directly affected by those other people in the class and their skill and experience levels. When a weaker student is placed in a class of more experienced or skilled riders, the student acquires skill and gains confidence far quicker and stronger than those in a class of students who are at similar levels in their abilities.

People learn best when they are being challenged beyond their ability, surrounded by those a bit farther along in small, intimate, trusting and encouraging environments.

This young woman quickly made up ground that the others on the team had spent a lifetime in learning (albeit a young life, but a lifetime non- the- less). The peer modeling that was in front of her was powerful in it's impact upon her own progress. No sermons, books, seminars or conferences could of done what a few days with those a bit farther on the journey, could do in her gaining skill, confidence and ultimately testimonies of God's faithfulness in serving and ministering to others.

Are you in a place where your being challenged to grow beyond your present abilities and acquired skills and knowledge in the Kingdom?

Do you have others around you that inspire you to growth and new adventures of learning with Christ?

Are you discipling and mentoring others that you can coach in their new adventures with God?

It doesn't take a trip to Brazil to have a growth spurt or coach someone else in theirs. It doesn't take a motorcycle class to learn some new challenge.

It just takes you "turning on the key" and taking off on the adventure with some others, both ahead and behind you in the journey.

"Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo I AM with you always, even to the end of the age" Matthew 28:19-20

To Brazil and Back - Leading From The Rear

2010-09-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

Nothing unusual for the Amazon basin region of Brazil; the day was incredibly hot and it was only 10:00 AM.

My clothes gripped my body like a second skin saturated with sweat. Some 'community oriented ' sweat gathered together forming pathways like rivers down my back, and all I could do was let it flow! I was working intensely to keep the inflow of water feeding this sweating frenzy full, hoping to avoid the all too common affects of dehydration.

My butt hurt from the hard bench I sat on, my back hurt from all the gymnastics maneuvering needed to get in and out of such a river boat. I had already popped my first dose of Ibuprofen of the day and wondered if I needed to up the dose.

I was tired from an already jammed packed series of meetings, ministry and socializing (extremely draining for an introvert like myself), and I was working hard to keep the focus off my own self, and focus on why we were there. It's not 'all about me', and that's not always easy for our flesh.

I watched the team of young people excitedly disembark off the boat we had just traveled in, and take off into the jungle, unhampered by the heat which was consuming my strength and focus. I listened to them call out to one another full of the joy of adventure, as they made their way forward, without much more than a glance back at the two "old folks" struggling behind them.

I slowly found my way off the boat, through the water soaked bank, over a few rotting logs used as walkways, and into the humid bush. They were long gone in front of me.

I took swig of water, adjusted my pack and girded myself up with a prayer lately becoming more of a ongoing chant of; "help me Lord!" and moved forward, not leading this group from the front, but following from behind.

This trip was all about leading from the rear.

Ahead lay our final destination for the next 36 hours - a small, poor community carved out of jungle. Where we would spend the day and night visiting, playing, talking, eating and ministering.

As I had watched the young adults trek off into the bush, I felt a mix of joy and sadness. Joy that they were embarking on a wonderful adventure and journey with God for which they would forever be changed and stirred, and sadness that my similar adventures for this sort of ministry trek were nearing an end. I had done a lot of them, but knew I wasn't going to do many more.

Leading from the rear means you will eventually be left behind.

Each of us will find ourselves at some point, slowing down, making the adjustments necessary as our bodies decline with age and use. Finding that we just can't do the things we used to do, like we did them anymore.

Everything in me fights this process, because I hunger to be involved in the Kingdom moving forward, taking the former domains of satan for Jesus, and like my heroes "boldly going where no man has gone before!" (Star Trek).

But I know my focus needs to not be in my continued "doing" but in those who will come after me and continue on. An army is only as good as it's replacements.

It's not about me constantly doing everything myself, always in the demonstrating and teaching role. Instead, it is about me stepping back and allowing space for those coming up after me to experience, explore and practice Kingdom ministry themselves, finding my encouragement and support fertile soil for their growth.

That morning, as we left for this particular ministry adventure, I had told the group of young people; "You all know how to hear from the Lord. I trust your ability to discern His Will in what the ministry we'll do will look like for this trip. Go for it. I'll be supporting you and whatever you want me to do, but you've got the lead".

It ended up being a powerful 36 hours of impact and lasting fruit both in the team and in those villagers, and each one of those young adults said those couple of days were their favorite of the trip.

Are you living the adventure in Christ AND investing in those who will have their own wild adventures in Christ AFTER you?

The scriptures say in James 4:14 b; "You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."

Pretty minimal impact if your only concentrating on your own short vaporous life.

Elijah understood this and invested his time into Elisha who ended up having more than Elijah in power and impact. That's how it should be.

Jesus Himself, powerful and impacting, invested for a few short years into a group of men and women who would take what He invested into them, and increase it. He applies this to us also. It's an amazing scripture;

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

John 14:11-13

That's how it should be.

Leading from the rear.

Rocket Science Part II

2010-08-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was watching a television show on the orphans left behind after a country experienced severe war trauma. Children of all ages found themselves alone; dealing with the challenges of finding food, safety and a place to sleep at night. The need prompted the building of some large orphanages, staffed with those who would take care of basic needs such as; clean clothes, meals, a bed, some education, and a time and space to play with the other children. It was a great improvement over what many of these children had before the orphanage, certainly! But not ideal.

There was little affection provided to the children, and any individual interaction and encouragement on personal level, was just impossible with so many children to staff ratios. This resulted in the interaction being "corporate" rather than "individual" by the staff, and the children's personal, and emotional well-being was left to the children themselves to administer to each other.

Although their basic needs were met, the children were missing the best, and most basic of structures to provide what they needed to grow up in.

The small and intimate unit God created called a family.

A family that could not be replaced with a large, however good it was in meeting basic needs, institution; called an orphanage.

We are created to live and grow in families. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. There are good substitutes, but as the saying goes; "the good is the enemy of the best".

Families, are the best.

There is a lot of discussion of definitions these days about what defines church, and what does not. In recent blogs posts, I too, have been discussing aspects of simple, organic, fluid church from my perspective. I've also commented on where I see the movement at this point in time, and where I feel, we still need to go.

One of these areas that I believe still needs to change in our understanding, is seeing church as family (with all of its aspects,) instead of church as a gathering, a institution, a place we "go to", or "attend".

Church as family, is core to the discussion of what defines church. A family has certain characteristics that are shared, regardless of the culture or country it is experienced in. It can be large or small but the basics of a family stay the same. It is a universal structure, undisturbed throughout history in its form and function until recent years.

Now, you may be experiencing in your fellowship together, the sense of being "a family" with others already. That is great, and I'm preaching to the choir with you!

However, the majority of those who call themselves Christ followers do not experience this.

What is more often the case, (because we love to take words and water them down or change the meaning to suit our purposes), is that you are more likely having large group interactions. Interactions most likely on a superficial level, that function more as a organization, a school, a training center, a mass of people filling a building, a "congregation" instead of a family.

I've heard large churches of hundreds of people refer to themselves as "a family". I would agree in the broadest sense of the word (as the family of God), certainly. But I don't think any of us would really believe that a group of hundreds of people, could, and do, have the quality of relationships that would define a healthy relational family unit. That would be logistically impossible!

The phenomena of large churches creating weekly "small groups"," kinship groups", "cell groups", etc. in the last couple decades, as been a because we as humans are created for intimate, honest, consistent, committed relationships. The large group concept simply was not producing fruit and meeting the needs of people. This was obvious. The response was to add a small context to the large for that purpose. Again, good, but not the best.

Our relationships together are supposed to model after our relationship with The Father, and His Son (certainly words referring to familiar relationships of intimacy by their very definition!). Now THEY have a simple church - the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit!

God Himself, placed Jesus into a family to mature; "and the child (Jesus) continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom;and the grace of God was upon Him" Luke 2:40.

Jesus had his own simple church of relationships with the group of disciples around Him (men and women) that he treated like family members and when dying on the Cross, pointed the young John to his own mother for mutual care.

The book of Acts is full of simple churches that functioned as family both in the natural formation of a existing family; (Cornelius and Lydia), and the natural family with the addition of outside persons forming a whole familial unit of a spiritual family.

"Then he (Paul) left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all this household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized." Acts 18:7-8

We are not created to be birthed, grow, mature, receive discipline, accountability, intimacy, love and ultimately long term commitment in a university, a hospital, an organization, a business - and yet that is what we have turned "church" into. No wonder we have such little fruit and impact - at least in the areas where BIG IS IN! Our western preoccupation with big and thus "better" is a delusion, and I'll take on that issue in the next blog post.

Is no one paying attention to China, India, Africa, Iran and other places where the simple, small, home, neighbor to neighbor type of church is growing, producing disciples, and evangelizing whole regions?

Are we missing the correlation that they (the above mentioned) resemble Scripture more than our large corporate gatherings? In fact, our large corporate gatherings resemble more of the very institutions that rejected Jesus!

Do we simply ignore the fruit and impact of these small family expressions of faith that are "over there", and satisfy ourselves "over here" with fancy buildings, large staffs, programs that keep people busy and attendance numbers?

I had a conversation recently with someone I know who was updating me on a mutual friend who pastors a church. This person kept repeating to me; "They have 1500 people in their church!" I'd say; "Are they producing fruit worth 1500 people in the area?" .

However, each response of mine with a question of what those 1500 were impacting, was returned with; "they have 1500 people!" Clearly, the goal is the number of people. We are stuck in the western mindset that "quantity is more important than quality."

I read in my Bible and see that David counted his people as a response to Satan's influence.

"Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel." I Chronicles 21: 1

It then says after this was done, that "God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel", verse 7.

God rebuked Davids pride and it had terrible consequences. David, and ultimately the people themselves, who paid the price of the judgement, were punished for the pride of counting the people that God had given him to lead. What other reason would we have for promoting numbers over fruit, maturity, and ultimately - impact, if not pride?

Let me just go on record saying - numbers do not equate with impact. It certainly could! However, the very nature of the huge beast of numbers is like a lumbering giant; hard to move, fat and lazy through constant self feeding, self absorption and indifference to everyone.

Can pride trip up small groups? Absolutely! I'm not saying that large groups monopolize that sin. We all need to check our own hearts often and have the close, intimate, family type of relationships that can hold each other in accountability regularly!

I've seen many small simple churches simply a "shrunk down" version of a large fellowship with the same dynamics and results! I'm not making an argument necessarily for the size, as much as the essence of "church as family". That said, having a healthy family with more than a dozen or so people would offer great challenges in the every way. I don't think the historical track record for "large" is a good one. That said, I'm looking forward greatly to when Christ returns and makes us into one large family in a way that only He can do. In the meantime, we will function best as small family units (natural and spiritual) of fellowship.

I'm not one to trash anyone else in how they practice fellowship in the Body of Christ as a Christian. In fact, I work hard as someone who values bridge building with traditional and the simple church expressions. If your happy with where you experience God and the life in Christ with other Christians, then great! I'm not out to convince anyone to leave their "happy place" of fellowship. However, I do feel that there is much more to experience in living a 24/7 paradigm of Christian fellowship, in families of intimacy, accountability, commitment and real Christian love, as well as provide a natural interaction and inclusion with those who don't know Christ that the simple, organic and missional paradigm offers above all else.

I recently read a blog post from someone who is supported in full time ministry defending the practice of large amounts of people attending weekly services for an hour, regularly supporting the projects that the leadership determines warrants funding and volunteer service involvement, and ultimately calling that church.

I'd call that a school, a place to involve yourself in a project or mission for a season - not a church.

My friend John White is passionate about describing church as family. John encourages the basic familial unit of a husband and wife as a "church" and calls them CO2 (Church of Two), and from that basic unit, as in nature, new life results with the birth of children (natural and supernatural) and the church expands. In fact, he has invested his life into training and establishing such churches with the ministry he leads called LK10. If you'd like to read more about this you can at; http://storiesfromtherevolution.blogspot.com/2010/07/co2-hyatt-family-1.html

We need to see church, and our fellowship together, more as a family, and function as such. If we continue to see it as a "thing we do" or "a place we attend" we will function more like those orphanages where basic needs are met, but real family dynamics lacking.

This week I'm off to Brazil with my kids and two other young people to experience mission, relationship and ministry together. I got a letter this week from one of the "father's" of the simple church that one of the young people joining us is from. In it he says; "Take care of our boy!"

Now, that's the concern, love, support and commitment of a family man!

"But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction, and makes his families like a flock. The upright see it and are glad; But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth. Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things. And consider the lovingkindness of the Lord" Psalm 107:41-43

It's Not Rocket Science

2010-08-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

At this point in my life, my kids are almost grown up.
They are forging into their unique life paths, testing, experimenting and learning on their own the faithfulness of God in new ways as adults with adult issues.
I see the fruit of their dad and my labors on their behalf, to form a family, these past 24 years. And labor it was!
From learning how to live as a couple, birthing and raising children, struggling with our selfishness as we strove to die to ourselves. Laying down our own agendas for the sake of the health of our family. The trial of figuring out parenting while doing it (and making lots of mistakes you pray won't wreck them). Seeking God continually for wisdom, guidance, patience, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and asking Him continually for more than what we, as husband and wife, as parents, had to give each day. A complete labor of love, and not without cost and trials. It's a lot of work to have a family!

What formed, unfolding slowly, was a family of five. A family committed in love to each other, seeing the good, the bad and the often really ugly stuff in each other. A family who nurtured, equipped and built character in each member. A family that is outwardly focused in launching three young persons uniquely into their destinies and hopefully starting new families of their own! A family filling the hearts of the parents with gratitude and awe. If I've participated in anything of any value in my life, my family is it. No ministry can compare, no achievement more valuable. No fruit as sweet.

Sound like church to you? Probably not.

Do you instead, think of a large building, with all the latest technology, modern and awe inspiring, filled with hundreds of people every Sunday?
Or do you think of the charismatic, dynamic, thought provoking preaching platform that you take pride in when telling others of "where you go to church"?
Possibly your one that goes to church every Sunday simply out of guilt and worry about what everyone else will think if your not there with a smile on your face and your weekly check in; "Hi, how are you?", before moving to your regular seating position.
Maybe you meet in a cool "third place", where the coffee is good and the atmosphere trendy.
Or possibly, your one of the most recent 7% polled that claim they have church in their home.

If you do, I want to challenge you that your still seeing church as a place to go, some place to attend for a specific time, to give or receive something that makes you feel it was worthwhile. Now, that could be a business, a community event, a project of value, a job, college, a mission, but that's not what I believe Christ refers to as His Church, His Bride, His Body.

Whatever the venue for how you find fellowship, intimacy, accountability, maturity and ultimately fruit in your life as a Christian, do you think it is a good representation of the word "family"? You see, because I believe that family is exactly how God wants us to view our fellowship together. He even went to all the trouble to create the first one with Adam and Eve, and THEN even had the humility to set Jesus into the most humble and nondescript kind!

Why? Simply to raise children in the most healthy way? Or is it to give us the blueprint for forming strong, meaningful, intimate, lasting, and fruitful relationships for eternity?
Why would God continually use the word Father, to describe Himself in relationship to us, and Jesus as His Son, and our brother (as well as Saviour, Lord, King).

If God sees us as a family, joined as a living Body, relationally intimate and nurturing, why do we keep taking it to institutional, organizational and superficial levels of intimacy?

Maybe because most of us come from unhealthy, dysfunctional examples of family. We have not experienced an example of what healthy families look and act like. We may even be fearful or uncomfortable with those kind of relationships because we've learned "families are not safe, good places", and we protect ourselves now from further hurt and disappointment.

Whatever your reason, it does not change the fact that the ultimate way for us to experience God, Jesus and the life of The Body of Christ together, should be experienced in the context of families.

Families where the leaders (the parents) invest in each other with mutual support and encouragement. Without competition, power struggles, selfishness, or ambition obeying the scriptures in; "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

Families where everyone lives within the natural rhythms of life together. Sharing the normal, every day experiences that make up the essence of our lives, not just the super highs like a wedding, or the super lows as in illness or death, but everyday life issues. The good, the difficult, the joyous, the defeats, all shared together. Life, not snippets of life moments.

Families where forgiveness, understanding and long suffering flows. Restoration is valued. Commitment; a given.

Families where love and relationships to one another are forever! Not until you move to another state or "church". That is our western "here today, gone tomorrow" mentality of relationships, not family.

I think God, as The Father, set us in natural families to give us the model for His Divine Families. We mess up the model with all our imperfections and wounds, of course.

But the model still stands there for us to learn how to love, serve, relate, multiply, train and all the rest.

The scriptures are filled with good and poor examples of families - the basic unit of relationship for us to learn from, for a reason. They are not just bedtime stories we've read to our children, or areas of Scripture that we skim over.

We are living epistles to it ourselves.

To think of families as the basic model of "church" and the living out of our faith in Christ may be something you need to rethink and evaluate. You may think it's way too simple a concept and your brain may baulk at the idea. After all.....

..... as the saying goes...it's not rocket science.

God is Moving! Third Shifters; Are You?

2010-06-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

God is moving, and it's not just in China, India, Iran and other places.
He's moving here too - in the United States.
Where, you ask?
The Scriptures tell us; "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. John 4:35

The fields are there. The harvest is there.
The problem lays with us, and our inability to recognize either one.

Or maybe we recognize it, but choose passivity.
Either way, we're missing out on one of the biggest blessings of our lives. To be used by His Hand. To see God change a life. To witness the supernatural reaching Love that floods a broken and bruised life and changes it forever.

Jesus encountered this dullness of perception, and apathy of involvement, in the folks around Him. People doing all sorts of "religious activity" but with little fruit or impact. People who should have, but did not see the activity of God. Or, they saw it and remained aloof from it.

In John 5, Jesus found it necessary to remind the Pharisee's, when they persecuted Him for healing on the Sabbath (not a condoned religious activity), in verse 17 with; "But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."
He's saving the lives of those who have not known Him, but have asked questions like; "Are you real God?" "Show me if you exist!" "Help me!" God replies; "Here I AM!" when "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

God is moving and Jesus has made it possible for us, you and me, to be the instruments of that moving.....if we're watching for it, if we are willing, and if we make ourselves available. The choice is ours.

I shared in the last blog post, about Third Shifters being those who ultimately make the biggest and most transformational impact of the Kingdom. Mainly because they make up the larger group of those who can cause impact.
First Shifters are few and trekking into new territories. Second Shifters are busy teaching and creating systems and building blocks.
It's the Third Shifters who are the heavy lifters, so to speak. They, by their shear mass, can reach into the lives of people and make a difference through those relationships and encounters.

Here is a recent unedited testimony a friend of mine sent me after he participated in a day of watching God move in our city. Read how God is moving through average, obedient people responding to His leading:

"We had about 120 people at the water baptisms tonight and the LORD gave us a spontaneous word of instruction that we were to go out and every person was to invite someone to the gathering for dinner. After the spontaneous outreach we had about 200 that we fed and loved on and led many to the Lord!!! Then we went down to the beach and had over 20 water baptisms (we had only 4 scheduled but the Holy Spirit poured out so dramatically that we had 16 spontaneous first time believers or rededications). Here are a couple of the stories. Wow!

There was Allah Mohammed Hussein. (Spelling) A 17 year old Iraqi Muslim who lost his sister a year ago. He called out to God for help and Jesus came and comforted Him when he was in Iraq. He Has been in the United States for only 6 days and was out running and stopped at the pavilion we were at. A brother invited him in and he couldn't believe how much love he experienced. He decided to surrender his life to Jesus so that He could be cleansed of his sins and start over with God. He was baptized in the lake with the others. Then there was Brenda. She was a native American. She had been part of an Alcoholics Anonymous program for the last 14 months. Just today she texted her friend and told her she really wanted to surrender her life to God. She was out walking by the pavilion where we were gathering and stopped to listen to the preaching. A sister approached her and she gave her life to Jesus and was baptized in the lake with the others. Then there was Amby. A latino young woman with a new baby. She talked with one of our Spanish speaking brothers and wanted to give her life to Jesus. A leader joined him and led her to the LORD. She started weeping as she was filled with the Holy Spirit. We had many hmong families who joined us for dinner and got prayer including a man named Tao whose arm was hurt and a couple people prayed with him and Jesus healed him. He got to experience the Holy Spirit in a significant way and a powerful witness was released to him."

Pretty exciting stuff isn't it?
God is moving!

This was in a park in St. Paul, Minnesota with a group of men and women who themselves are largely new Christians. They happen to be lead by a group of leaders who teach from the beginning of their walk with Christ, to hear and obey. They are taught that God wants to and will move to reach out and save the lives of people. They expect it - and listen to His instructions on how, who and when.

God is moving. Now. In the United States. In your city. In your neighborhood. He wants and waits to use YOU!

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Isaiah 6:7-9

Your commissioned and sent!

Third Shifters; Bringing Impact

2010-06-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

Recently I received a publication from an organization that plants churches in Iran called Elam Ministries (www.elam.com or www.iran30.org). Here is something I want to share with you from that brochure:

"While it is safer to plant a church in the West, it may actually be simpler to plant one in Iran. Go to a church planters' conference in North America, and you will hear about budgets, programs, marketing campaigns, and the need for a good worship set. Attend a conference for Iranians, and you get a different picture. They'll talk about starting by sharing Christ with friends and family, gathering new believers for a weekly Bible teaching and fellowship, and then encouraging and praying with them to go and share with their friends and family."(Elam Ministries, Issue 2, 2010)

Let's look at the points they make:

1. Start with friends and family
2. Study the Bible together
3. Get together for fellowship
4. Empower, encourage and pray for each person to go out and share Christ in their "okios" (spheres of influence)

Simple, Organic and Missional. Every believer in Christ can do it.

This is the way the Kingdom has been extended since the book of Acts, and the rest of the New Testament, was written for our instruction and encouragement.

The Apostle Paul, Barnabas and others as "First Shifters", carved out through their missionary journeys "The Way". They pioneered new territories and laid foundations.

Then, those like Timothy, Titus, Apollos and others "Second Shifters" began to build on those foundations.

It was the "Third Shifters" however, that I believe created the impact and real expansion of Christianity and the Kingdom of God. The masses of normal, regular people living out their faith and commitment to Christ in every day life.

The names of most of these people we don't know. Although the Apostle Paul does from time to time in his letters, acknowledge some of them and their faithful work in the Kingdom.

It is these nameless, faceless, empowered, obedient Believers in Christ that God really works through in profound and powerful ways. This group of people multiplies itself over and over, causing transformation in neighborhoods, cities, regions and countries. This is the group of real impact.

Here is a testimony from an Iranian couple who have gone into a deeply Islamic city from the Elam article;

"We started with two people who were Christians, but had no Bible teaching. We met with them and began to disciple them. The Lord blessed us and now we have twenty faithful believers".

Another church planter who oversees over 20 house churches says:

" Our churches grow through our members. We started with one family in Tehran. We would visit them in their home for worship and fellowship. We taught them the Bible and encouraged them to share Jesus with their friends and family. They did, and the church grew." (Elam Ministries, Issue 2, 2010)

Felicity Dale, a friend of mine, recently posted an article called; 15 Reasons Why We Don't See Harvest (www.simplychurch.com/2010/06/12-reasons-why-we-dont-see-harvest). In it she offers some suggestions as to why we are not seeing a lot of harvest that I would encourage you to read and contemplate. Even better, join in the conversation!

In my opinion, we will not see the results that are seen in China, India, Iran and other places until the Third Shifters begin to faithfully, simply, organically and missionally walk out their faith in the natural rhythms, circumstances and oikos' of their lives.

"But you are a Chosen Race, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a People For God's Own Possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light" 1Peter 2:9

Start proclaiming, and let's see the Book of Acts come alive in our own time and lives!

Second Shifters - The Communicators

2010-06-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

You can go to almost any grocery store these days and find foods with an Organic label. The term has become in vogue and put on everything from produce to clothing. But be warned. Not everything that is labeled "organic" has met the qualifications for that identity.

In fact, the label Organic has been so misused and slapped on anything someone wants to call Organic in the last couple years, that new stringent requirements are being put into effect before a product can legally claim that title. That's good. It keeps the integrity of the label and then we all know that what we're buying is the real thing.

We are in a similar place with the Organic, Simple, Missional expression of Christian life and fellowship. Organic labels are being slapped on anything someone wants to call by that name. Any why not? It sounds green, cool and trendy - and that's important to some people. I wrote a little about some of this already in the April post called "The Human Hijacking of Organic".

This issue needs to be addressed over and over because the the repercussions could be the difference of this initiative of God being either being squelched, or ultimately nurtured.

In a recent Twitter post, a friend of mine asked; "Will the real Organic please stand up!". For some of us older folks, we remember a television show called; 'To Tell The Truth' that was popular and used this phrase in it's conclusion of the show. In the show, three people would claim the name and identity of the only one true individual with that name. The other two would fake it as best they could, looking, speaking and acting as much as possible as the real person of that identity. The judges job was to discern the real one.

With the influx of multiple definitions and explanations of the word Organic, it becomes even more important that we continue to stand for what is truly Organic and not let the term, and ultimately the expression of it, find itself far removed from its true essence.

So how do we know what is really Organic or just a transferred label?

Second Shifters, your task is to wade through all the pablum and find the real thing and communicate it well using your gifts and influence.
It won't be easy. But, I believe most Second Shifters are those with gifts of teaching, discernment and are Truth Seekers. God has put within you a desire to "know how something works" and how to apply it for use. God has given and equipped you with all you need to take the baton from the First Shifters and Explorers to transform the wilderness into settlements. Your those to lay foundations of what is to be built upon by the masses who will adopt Organic life and allow God to flourish in their individual oikos's (spheres of influence).

Just to reiterate what I say over and over in my blogging, I will continue to define Organic Church as: that which is initiated by God through a intimate and dependent relationship with Him and then expressed naturally and uniquely through that relationship to others. Be it through how you fellowship, with whom, and in what place, the primary feature is that it is the initiative of The Spirit of God for His unique and natural outflow of Himself through the life of a believer to those around him. It has far less to do with a form, a style, or something to be copied and eventually placed into a model.
Jesus is our perfect example of this, seeking the Father each day for instructions as to how and with whom, He was to interact with on that particular day. A lot of variety, a lot of unique interactions, a lot of fruit because it was born and initiated in the will of the Father. That's organic.

Okay, so maybe you disagree, or have found some other alternative definitions. That is to be expected. Who am I anyway? The challenge is for you Second Shifters, the Implementers, to take your role and position to communicate clearly, effectively and accurately just what is in essence; Organic.

As I said previously in my last blog post; communication at this point of implementation becomes far more important because the impact and scope is so much greater, than during the exploration phase. There is a lot at stake with this phase and Second Shifters have a huge responsibility. Portability is a necessity if there is to be any real change or impact. But, portability of the real thing. Not an impostor, an adaptation, or revised humanized religiously acceptable version.

In marriages, friendships, work relationships, parent/child interactions - basically any relational connection, communication is always a challenge.

Communication is both the delivery of what we're saying, AND the receiving of the message.

Some people think that good communication is just in the delivery. They spend all their time on putting as much information out there as they can, oblivious to how it is being received and possibly misconstrued. Both delivery and reception have equal validity in creating and sustaining good communication, and it's not an easy thing to accomplish. Our own ideas, past history, emotions, hurts and just the skill of picking the right words, all make it challenging. Really listening to someone else, without imposing your own thoughts or words to what their saying is extremely difficult and a skill that takes time and practice.
Those of us who are married know you can say one thing to a spouse and it can be received in an intirely different way! Or with a teenager who heard something completely different than what was said.

The First Shifters primarily explored the wilderness of doing/being church and mission differently. Second Shifters teach and communicate it for the adaptation. Third shifters are the majority and it is they who will bring real transformation and impact. If each one reaches their own oikos, their own spheres of influence and relational connections, widespread impact can occur. The scope of reaching the world with the Good News of Jesus, all of a sudden, takes on the proportions of places like China, and India, where God is moving powerfully through each Christian, not just the few.

With the next blog post I want to explore the Third Shifters...........

First and Second Shifters in the Organic Movement

2010-05-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

In the early 1990's, I heard someone speak on the radio about the simple way church was done during the early formation of Christianity. They mentioned a series of tapes available from different teachers on the subject, that Jim Rutz had put into an album called, "Open Church: Lions In The Pews". I sent for the tapes, and listened to them many times over. I checked their claims with Scripture, prayed for discernment, and eventually passed them around to all my friends. I resonated with the messages and concepts on these tapes, and soon Tom and I were on the journey of discovery in Simple/Organic/Missional Church.

When I first began to talk to people years ago about this topic, it was challenging to find words and communicate accurately this new paradigm of thinking about church. I struggled to describe and "re frame" for people, this new (but old,) lifestyle of simple Christianity. I used words and descriptions like; "living church 24/7" , "being church", "living like a missionary in my neighborhood, work, coffee shop", "having simple church", "full time but not paid", "I don't go to church, I am the church", "church is relationships not buildings", "release of the laity","church in the home", "fluid church", etc.

I predominately encountered the "huh?" response. In Minnesota, we call it the "deer in the headlights" look. Most people didn't have a clue of what I was talking about! I know some thought I was in major error, if not apostate. Others, I just confused. Painfully, I had a few relationships distance themselves from me for it.
Those were some lonely and often very isolating times. You ask yourself, and God, a lot of questions and usually don't find the answers you want. Such is the life of faith.
However, the unmistakable Spiritual Fruit that we saw in our own lives, the lives of our children, the lives of those we were reaching out to, was a continual affirmation of our direction.

That was then, this is now.

Now, I believe, we are transitioning into different times.

The words I mentioned above, their concepts, and those practicing the life and journey of organic, simple, missional living are becoming more and more mainstream terms. We have great authors who are writing books, blogs and doing regional teaching/trainings to communicate the stories, definitions, and particular aspects of the paradigm.
More and more people are stepping out of traditional churches and exploring this Christianity of less church activity and more God intimacy. Mega churches, traditional churches, multi-site churches are beginning to seek out certain aspects of this movement that they want to incorporate into their expression of church. Major Christian publications are writing and discussing it. Just Google the words house church, simple church, missional, open church, organic church to see the multitude of links!

We've moved into the second shifter phase.

Second shifter is a great description for the natural progression of going from exploration to implementation. Where the ideas, concepts and ultimately a new paradigm of living, begins to take root into the culture as more and more people adopt its principles and concepts. (Thanks Trey)

In the exploration phase, those who function like "Lewis and Clark" discover and set the trails.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with American History; Lewis and Clark were explorers who opened up the western United States to settlement in 1804. They were called the Corps of Discovery. Their journey was short, but of huge significance. They are known to have opened up everything west of the Mississippi for settlement. In just a couple decades, the west was forever changed. They opened the way for the second shifter phase.

The implementers.

The implementers are those who take the information of the explorers and actually use it for settlement. They make it available and useful, giving definitions, application. Communicating these in such a way that allow for the settlement phase to take root.

Communication at this point of implementation becomes far more important because the impact and scope is so much greater, than during the exploration phase. Portability is a necessity. However, there is a lot at stake with this phase. Second shifters have a huge responsibility.

In my next blog post, I'll share some of my thoughts about that...........

SEE - Search, Evaluate and Execute in Organic Church

2010-05-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are motorcycle riding instructors for the State of MN, certified by an organization called MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation). In the classroom portion of the motorcycle instruction curriculum, we teach a strategy for motorcycle riding which goes by the acronym SEE. The S is for search, E for evaluate, and the last E for execute.
We teach riders to "SEE" constantly while driving their motorcycle, and that it is a never ending process in riding a motorcycle.

Search and pay attention to all the details of things going on all around you. Use your eyes and ears to search and gain information. What do you see?

Evaluate. What are your options and the possible scenarios and courses of action you could take with what you've seen and heard? What will your response be to what you've seen? What are you going to do?

Execute an action based upon your evaluation. Commit and move.

The Bible tells us to have eyes and ears that hear what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. To each of us, individually and uniquely, through our relationship with Him, He is communicating with us. Have we learned to listened? Have we learned to hear His Voice above all others?

He is our teacher and instructor. He is committed to conform us into the likeness of Christ and accomplish the plans and purposes of God, in and through us. He has a strategy for accomplishing this in our lives.

A strategy birthed in Him and initiated by Him - that's organic.

It's not following a model or technique. Rather it is following the Biblical principles that teach us to listen, obey, mature, how to have authentic relationships, live in a lifestyle that incorporates Him into every interaction.

Similar to my husband and I instructing the individual motorcycle riders in our classes in affective riding, Gods strategy for accomplishing Organic Kingdom Life also involves our seeing/searching, evaluating, and executing. And like our SEE acronym in riding; it is a never ending process!

Here are some of His own words to us on the topic of see:

Ezekiel 40:4
The man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the house of Israel everything you see.
Mark 8:18
Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember?
Isaiah 41:20
That they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Jeremiah 23:18
"But who has stood in the council of the LORD, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened?
Mark 8:1
And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?
Revelation 3:18
I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
Deuteronomy 1:33
I who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
Ezekiel 34:4
You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.
Matthew 10:11
"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave.
1 Corinthians 2:10
but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

And to evaluate (understand):

1 Chronicles 28:19
"All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan."
Psalm 119:125
I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.
Philemon 1:6
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

And to execute (act):

Philippians 2:13
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
2 Thessalonians 1:11
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
Philemon 1:6
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

Organic Kingdom life is a never ending process of seeing(searching), evaluating and executing alongside the Holy Spirit who is the faithful Guide. He will get you to where you need to be. No doubt about that! The choice is ours. Will we learn to let Him guide us and live a life of faith and adventure of not knowing where the road will take us on our journey to the finish line?

God give us faith and ears to hear!

The Human Hijacking of "Organic"

2010-04-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

What is it in our human nature that thinks that we can take something God initiates and make it 'better' and mold it into our own style and paradigms ? And after doing so, claim it was never God after all because of its ineffectiveness?

Time and time again, God grabs our attention with an incredible invasion of our time and space with something that is obviously HIM. His fingerprints show a clearly divine, supernatural, and completely Scriptural initiative.
It doesn't take long before we take what He has begun and try to do it better.
To do it our way, 'the new and improved' marketable and human version. Taking control seems inevitable.
Remember the old Frank Sinatra song; "I'll do it myyyyyyy way!"?
Why do we end up making this same mistake and quenching, or at least watering down, what God is doing time and time again? Why aren't we learning from our past history?

Unfortunately, this is our human nature from the beginning of time, so I may be fighting a losing battle in even writing about it. But I am compelled to. I just can't sit by and see it happen in the simple, organic, missional movement without using my voice, and any influence I may have, to stay the trend of the human hijacking of the move of God.

I've been so privileged to have seen some of the most beautiful areas on earth.
Places of creation that take your breath away in their beauty, vastness, power and impact. The Rain Forest, coastlines, canyons, endless mountains, rich river valley's, forests of vast diversity and splendor, incredible rock creations and colors, rolling prairies, colorful deserts, peaceful meadows...I could go on and on.
I never tire from seeing the intricate beauty and great creativity of God in His creation. It is evident that He is truly the Master Artist!
Seeing His Hand in creation humbles me, exhilarates me, restores me, and awes me. I glorify God for His power, love and attention to details - all for our benefit and His expression of Himself.

I glorify God because it is obvious that it is His creation and His alone! No one could even come close to duplicating what He has already done.

I've also been to many places in the world that are considered to be the greatest creations of humans hands too. Renown cities for their architectural fame and claims to beauty, art and history. Palaces, gardens, cathedrals, art museums, bridges, historical ruins, ports, plazas, monuments, and so many wonders of human ability, talent, knowledge and effort. Great works of human hands, and albeit inspiring, they are in a far limited sense when compared to Gods creations.

The very best humans can offer, is far inferior to the least of God's creation. Like someone once said; "the good is the enemy of the best"!

Humans want to imprint themselves into God's work. We make improvements and adjustments for better "fit". We water it down to lukewarm. We enhance and organize. We put Spirit led initiatives into a system so we don't have to be wondering "what's going to happen today Lord?" We make it strategic and marketable for the masses. We take pride in the work of our hands and minds.

I remember seeing Mount Rushmore for the first time. My exclamation stunned our tour guide when I exclaimed; "Oh, they wrecked that beautiful mountain!" I couldn't understand how anyone could think that those carved human faces enhanced the mountain cliffs that they were carved from!

Being dependent upon Him daily for instructions and guidance takes a lot of time and effort. We have to slow down, listen and often wait.
It's easier, quicker and far more ego flattering, if we make our own way. We take what He started, make the adjustments we think it needs for consistent use and value and put it into action. We then feel good about our imprinting. We like the "new and improved" version because we see ourselves in it. And we like other people to see us in it too.
We are carving our own faces into a smaller version of Mount Rushmore.

When God brings in a manifestation of His will and Presence, it is like a bomb goes off. Chaos! Everything is shaken up. Man made systems of dead works, religion, and gnostic doctrines are exploded into fragments. The status quo is challenged, the equilibrium of a nice comfortable religion is thrown into upheaval, and blinders are removed. God steps in to claim once again; His Purpose, His Plan, His People, His Church.

We have seen this in the current move of God. The organic, simple, missional movement has shaken the status quo of "doing church". It has confronted much of the religious systems that have existed for years.

As the organic, simple, missional movement becomes more known and widely practiced, it inevitably becomes imprinted with human hands. In the process it begins to loose much of what was originally a part of it. How presumptuous and prideful that we as humans think we can always make improvements on God, but we do. The result is the we are far from the original when we do this. We delude ourselves into thinking we're not. Things not even remotely "organic", "simple" or "missional" are being touted as such, and they are far from it! You can read article after article with claims of being organic that are nothing but "same ole, same ole".

Neil Cole talks about this in his books, (Organic Church, Organic Leadership) and in the Greenhouse Training that CMA offers (www.cmaresources.org). He uses the example that when we make a copy, then copy the copy, and so forth, soon the copy is so diluted that the original is completely lost. We are left with a distorted, and vague imitation of the original. We have people now doing this to the organic, simple, movement. They are taking the original, and making copies of copies and calling it organic, simple, missional when it has very little of the original in it. Instead, it has become a revised and humanized version. It's full of imprinting.

One of the greatest aspects of this present move of God, is that it works on the premise that everyone can hear God and do what He says (simple), that He has something to say and wants us to respond (organic), and everyone is invited to share in it if they want (missional).

It believes that God actually can instruct the average Joe/Jane Christian in "the way he should go" that will make an impact of eternal significance. That each person is valuable to "the plans and purposes of God", regardless of ordination and professionality. That we can, and are expected, to walk like Jesus when "He did only that which He saw the Father doing. "

Leadership is seen as serving, self-sacrificing parents who want more for their "kids" than they want for themselves. Leadership that seeks to encourage (you), release (you), empower (you) and launch (you) rather than follow (me), (my) vision, (my) plan for your life, support (me and my). Leadership that really believes in and lives out; "that you may increase" and "I decrease". Church is viewed and participated in as "family", relationally sharing life together, living in natural rhythms and flows - not just having meetings and "doing stuff" together like a work crew.

This is a life and faith of complete dependency upon God as "the author and perfecter of our faith." "Of growing up into all aspects of Him".
Not dependency upon a leader, a church, an organization, a system or institution.
It is a movement of the whole Body of Christ growing into maturity and being available for impact. Each person strategic.

Yup, you and you alone are responsible to read the Bible for yourself, to seek God for understanding and obey what it says. You are responsible to pray and develop intimacy with God on your own. To recognize His Voice above all others because it is so familiar to you. That's maturity. It is a movement of each of us fulfilling our design and purpose in Christ.

"until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13), and "we are to grow up in all aspects into Him" (vs 15.)

Just like snowflakes and grains of sand - no two are exactly alike in their design and formation, and yet in their coming together as one, they seem like one and the same! And in their mass, they are formidable! Believe me, living in Minnesota, one learns the impact of one flake of snow joined with others! It's called a blizzard, and that's impact!!

We have another opportunity in these days to be teachable and trainable by The Spirit so we can fully experience and participate in this incredible time in history. We have choices to make. Will we allow the Spirit free "artistic creation" in our lives, or resort to the comforts of doing it ourselves? Will we choose to take responsibility and mature in Christ, or remain dependent children tossed around? What will we do?

Lord help us!

The Puzzle Master

2010-04-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

One of my daughters loves to put together jigsaw puzzles. The huge, challenging 2000 piece kind. I am amazed at her patience and diligence, and even more so, that she actually finds the process both fun and relaxing! For me, the process is frustrating, slow, and frankly a bit overwhelming looking at all those pieces that somehow will fit together and form something recognizable from the chaos of pieces.

My daughter starts doing the puzzle by sorting through the pieces one by one and placing them into piles of similarities. Then she begins to slowly join them together with another piece that has some of the same features but still uniquely itself. Eventually she will find the ones that fit perfectly beside it.
In time, she will have whole areas that are joined and slowly, the puzzle begins to form into the picture on the box cover.

God is doing the same with us. As the great Puzzle Master, in diligence, patience and purpose, He is forming us into one larger picture of His Kingdom. I'm confident He is enjoying the process of putting it all together piece by piece, group by group into His finished work. He has cut and designed each of us to uniquely fit alongside other pieces and then into groups of resemblance to be joined with still other groups, and eventually into one whole.

Completely strategic and completely His to work out.

Let me give you one story from my own life that illustrates this.

In 1995 we started a 501 c(3) ministry called 'Outreach To The Nations'.
We wanted a "vehicle" of ministry that would encourage and enable people sitting "in the pews" to get out into the mission field and to use their gifts and abilities in Kingdom ministry. No superstars, few if any, professionally trained, none with flashy gifts or notoriety. Just regular, faithful, average Christians loaded with the riches of Christ to share with the world.

Our first trip was to a seminary in southern Brazil. We went down with a team of four guys and me, to do a conference on the Holy Spirit. (I could write a whole lot on what happened in that week on so many levels and topics, but I'll save that for other future blog posts. )

Suffice it say, that God showed up and did all the things He loves to do; heal physically and emotionally, grant deliverance from satanic strongholds, bring conviction of sin resulting in repentance, offer salvation and new life, and to call, empower and release into Kingdom service.

It was powerful, supernatural, incredible, and oh so much fun!

Many students touched and changed as a result of this week, invited us to bring ministry teams to their home regions of Brazil when they graduated from the seminary. I did take teams to a few different areas and had fruitful ministry, but one area proved to be the puzzle piece I was meant to be connected to above the others. It had "perfect fit" written all over it.
I have been going back to this particular region of northern Brazil with teams since 1995, planting people into the Kingdom of God and coming alongside Brazilians in their ministry callings.
Disciples have been made, churches of fellowship formed and established, training, mentoring, equipping, strengthening and encouragement of the work of God have all come from many years of ministry working alongside one Brazilian man that is more than just a "ministry contact". He is closer to my heart than any earthly brother, and we are completely fitted to each other in what we are called to do, and do together. We don't speak the same language or come from the same culture or environment. And yet, we "get" each other and work side by side in union and fruitfulness. It really is a manifestation of the Puzzle Master, working out His purposes in the bigger Kingdom puzzle. Fitting and knitting His pieces together.

When we do see the Puzzle Master's Hand in our life and the strategic connections made for divine purpose, it's encouraging and exciting! We all want to be counted in the larger purposes of God and that is what we were created for. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:9-11

The longer I live, the more I am awed by this act of the sovereign formation of His Church, His Bride, His Body. Jesus said, " I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail over it". He is certainly is "doing the work of My Father" even now on earth as He places us in His strategic places of connection. This gives me great encouragement and strength as a lowly little puzzle piece with only limited views of the bigger puzzle formation.

Missional Paradigms In Flux

2010-03-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

There we sat, Tom and I, just married a few months, in front of the pastor we were told to see to help us decide our future. Bubbling with excitement and eager anticipation of a great new journey ahead of us, we said to the man sitting behind the big desk separating us from each other;

"We want to serve the Lord full time with our whole lives. We want to help people find salvation and a life in Jesus, as we have", we said. "What should we do?"

His unenthusiastic reply was: "Well, Tom you need to go to seminary or Bible school, as you need theological preparation before you go anywhere or can be used in ministry full time".

"Okay, what about me? Should I go too?" I said eagerly.

I was told it didn't matter if I went or not, since I was a woman and in a supportive role to Tom's calling. (Yes, I really was told this, and it was only the first of many more such comments to come to me over the years, but that is another topic to someday write on).
He suggested nursing school for me, or something else that would supplement our income if we needed it.

He continued on, oblivious to my obvious deflation, directing us onto the mission field as a "better fit" for us with:

"Then, you'll need to pick a country to go to and live in. Find a place, people group or culture and get prepared in what you'll need to set up a ministry there. You also need to begin to raise the monthly financial support you'll need for years, so start cultivating relationships with those who will give financially to you and your ministry."

We didn't follow his advice, and someday I'll share what we did instead. But for the sake of this topic, let me summarize the advice points that he had given us:

1. Training and education are required preparations for Christian ministry
2. Ministry is seen as a profession
3. Men are seen in the primary and crucial ministry role, women are supporters to that role
4. You need to "go somewhere" to live to be considered a missionary
5. Relationships are sought out and cultivated so they will financially support your professional ministry

Humans like systems. We like to organize our beliefs into workable and manageable systems and then set up our strategies to achieve them effectively. At some point in history, we began to do this with the Kingdom mandate to "go and make disciples of all the nations" that was given to all those who believe in and are followers of Christ.

In our created system of religion, we formed distinct ministerial jobs; professions of service and positional status and accessibility. We separated men and women, young and old, trained and untrained, usable and unusable, the really important roles from the not so important roles.
A few such categories I'll list are; " Missionary" (full time or short term).
"Pastor" (Executive, Worship, Senior, Children's, Youth, Women's, etc) . "Full time" (important ministry) vs "lay" unpaid (less important ministry).

In Frank Viola's book, Pagan Christianity, he covers much of this. I would recommend it to you for further biblical study on the subject, so I won't go into all it's history and formation. Instead, I want to relate the negative affect this theology has had upon our seeing each member in the Body of Christ as a "sent one" (apostle), an ambassador and full time representative of Jesus and His Kingdom. Each one necessary and having all the qualifications needed because each one is filled with the Holy Spirit who has all that we require.

As Neil Cole, Alan Hirsch and others have written about so much better than I could ever do, we are infused with the DNA of Christ when we become believers. All that we need is found in that Jesus DNA. It's not Jesus AND education, Jesus AND credentials, Jesus AND .....whatever gives us qualification and credibility.
Sure, we can add education, training, and all the systems of organization and classification we want. It doesn't necessarily enhance us, in fact, I think it can hinder us because we begin to rely upon our heads, our training, our qualifications, over the Holy Spirit and His empowering.

I've been writing the last few posts on some people I know who are living out being sent ones. Sent ones everyday, in all the contexts of their lives in obedience and in love.
These are not people who are professional missionaries, pastors or in any way would meet the criteria that the pastor years ago instructed Tom and myself with. And yet they are incredibly anointed and fruitful in ministry. Their lives are impacting people around them with Christ.

The story of the Samaritan woman illustrates this so well. Not only was she a woman (highly unqualified in that culture), she was also a Samaritan (low in stature), and a woman likely held in disdain for her many husbands and boyfriends. She was about as unqualified as a person could get, and yet in her short contact with Jesus, she became a missionary. A sent one with a message that she delivered to her village, and they responded to it. She had the DNA.

I'm not in any way, criticizing those who call themselves full time 'missionaries' or 'professional pastors' who serve here or live in other countries through the endorsement and financial support of others. However, I am wanting us to rethink our paradigms of missional calling.

What should be natural and a part of normal life for all of us should not be made into a professional job that only the few are called and trained to do.

My desire in writing on missional life, is to bring some balance back into our lives and theology. We have separated mission from our lives in Christ for too long.

Stories From the Trenches 4

2010-03-23T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Apostle Paul, in exhorting Timothy to purposely multiply himself in ministry, said these words; "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." 2 Timothy 2:1-3

What characteristics do we look for in finding such men and women?
Certainly character, a history of faithfulness, a knowledge and practice of the Word of God, consistent prayer and service to the purposes of God. I'd also add a hungry and passionate desire for more of God and His Kingdom made manifest.
We like to think that finding such men and women is easy, but after living many decades, I can attest that they are not so easily found. Complacency is far more common than hunger in most people. Faithfulness is rare. Initiative even rarer.

I think Jesus addressed this issue when he taught his disciples the following;

"Then He said to His disciples, " The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." Matthew 9:36-38

I pray this regularly, and I recognized answered prayer when I met Matthew and Elisa.

I met Matthew and Elisa a year and a half ago, as they were in the process of deciding how to step down lovingly and gracefully, from a leadership position at a traditional church they attended. They had done some reading and were intrigued with the simple, organic approach to church. What is commonly called "being church" as opposed to "doing church". They felt like the Lord was leading them in this direction. Like sponges, they soaked up the concepts of simple, organic and missional life and soon were off and running with it.

Elisa, being raised upon the mission field is passionate about living a missional life. Where as many people don't have a natural outward focus, Elisa sees everyone as a potential Kingdom family member. She is giving, intuitive, warm and reaches out to people with ease, making them feel like they have value. She has the ability to cross cultures and build bridges of commonality into peoples' diverse lives. Independent, confident, and a risk taker, she is not afraid to experiment and try new ways and venues that enter into the lives of those around her. Every aspect of her is apostolic.

Matthew is a self described "geek". Where as some of us are 2 or 3G (high speed data transmission capability), Matthew's more like 4 or 5G (do they even make 5G yet?). He is smart on so many levels it could be intimidating, except that there is nothing about Matthew that would cause you to feel intimated. Instead, he's more like a familiar brother; warm, welcoming and incredibly patient with those who have a bit slower "processor", like myself!
He is a deep thinker who loves to contemplate concepts, principles and their implications to life in Christ and how to manifest these Kingdom aspects with purpose and longevity. In spending time with Matthew, you come away feeling like you've been challenged to "go a bit deeper" into understanding the mind and heart of Christ and His Word. He may be "brainy" but often times he seems led by his heart, and it is obvious that his heart is led by God.

I like to say of Matthew and Elisa that "no grass will ever grow under their feet!" They are a couple with purpose and initiative. They are intent on producing lasting fruit and giving their lives in service and honor to the Lord.

In just a year and a half, here is some of Matthew and Elisa's Great Adventure.......

Matthew led a coworker to the Lord, discipled and baptized him in apartment swimming pool and per request of this new believer, celebrated with Martini's (see the whole story @ http://www.cmaresources.org/article/a-cocktail-party).

Elisa established a friendship with an Iranian woman (not a Christian) in her apartment building, and asked if she would allow her to pray to Jesus to heal the woman's 2 year old son who was not able to walk at all or sleep through the night. Elisa prayed, the child was healed, and the two days later he was running around like any normal 2 year old, and sleeping through the night for the first time. The woman acknowledged Jesus healed her son, and even witnessed to her Muslim husband about it. Elisa connected her to some Iranian Christians who were able to speak Farsi with her and continue to teach her about Jesus. This woman is now back in Iran, hopefully sharing with other Iranians how Jesus healed her son.

Elisa has reached out to a number of her apartment building neighbors of various ethnic backgrounds. Sharing food, cooking tips, parenting advice, marriage/relationship counsel, prayer, practical help and more, she has created bridges for them to Jesus.

Elisa and Matthew have both started a number of LTG's (Life Transformation Groups) that have been instrumental in people coming to know the Lord and being discipled in Him. Elisa, like most women is relational. So she adapted the concept of an LTG into a more relational form that fits how women interact with each other and thereby taking a tool and adapted it to her environment. Totally missional.

They together, have started a number of simple churches, experimenting with such things as: the gathering of established believers who know each other already, the gathering of those who don't know each other, or a mix of pre Christians and established Christians. They have tried to "turn" a group established already, into a more organic expression (it didn't work), and have gathered people to study various aspects/books/concepts in simple, organic, missional life.

They put up a website (www.rawreligion) to be a place to connect and disseminate information, testimonies and stories for those interested in the simple, organic, missional life.

Matthew has begun to form relationships with those on the same journey to network and co-labor with them in the area. He offers himself as available to those who are seeking to know more about simple and organic church, even though he himself is new to it, he has learned enough already to impart to others valuable insight. He told me recently that when he is asked how to "do" simple, organic, missional church, he replies; "it's characteristics you walk through and not a model you follow". Along this line of teaching and training others in simple, organic, missional life, they are planning a Greenhouse Training weekend in the near future.

Did I mention that they have been on this journey for just a year and a half? I know people who have walked this journey for years and have not learned, practiced or born the fruit of this young couple.

And did I mention, they are parents, (their second child due any day now), Matthew works full time, and in addition is studying in an intense program for Cisco certification?

In a recent conversation we had together, they made this comment; "we have such itchy feet, and we want to be more involved with Kingdom work than we are able to right now! It's frustrating!"

Here is my prayer;

Lord! Give us more Matthew's and Elisa's!!!

Stories From The Trenches 3

2010-03-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had your dreams and visions squashed by someone to whom you looked for support and encouragement? Have you been told to leave the work of ministry to those who were the 'professionals'? Or inferred that you needed to reach some ambiguous and obscure place of wholeness before you attempted anything of significance?

What would be the impact if someone you looked to for guidance and support, said to you after you poured out your idea for ministering to broken people; " you can't do ministry and have a house church! You have too many issues in your own life and family!"

That's what Becky heard a few years ago.

Most people would wallow in discouragement, pain, bitterness and anger. Maybe even quit.
But not Becky. She isn't a quitter, and neither is her husband Scott. And fortunately for them, God is not easily deterred from His plan to honor their destinies in Him either!

Scott and Becky bought a large, beautiful, historic home that is referred to as a "fixer upper". Most of us are afraid of fixer uppers, because they cost time, energy, and money. They require more than most of us want to invest. It takes a certain type of person to envision the end result over the demanding and exhausting process to get there.

Scott and Becky saw the potential of the house. They saw what it could become.
They accepted the work it required as part of the investment for the end result. A home that would hold a lot of people. A home for community. A home that would welcome people into a family. Even if those people were a "work in progress", a fixer upper, that God Himself was renovating.

Here's some examples of what I'm talking about.

Their son, struggling through some of his own issues, played in a hard metal, "screamo" band that in no way could be considered a Christian version of that genre. Scott and Becky wanted to find bridges into their sons life and with his friends, and so they invited the band into their home for their practices. Yup, into their home. Smack dab in the living room.
So, here was the metal band, screaming loudly, guitars, drums and amplifiers pounding away in their living room a few days each week. Most of us would of said; "not in my house! No demonic, angry music allowed here!" But Scott and Becky saw it as an opportunity. An opportunity not without sacrifices on their part, but sacrifices they were willing to make for the end result.

Scott and Becky began to build relationships with the band members, feeding, talking and getting to know them and their lives. Soon, one of the band members joined Scott in a bible study and allowed Scott to begin to pray over issues in his life. This young man, eventually received Christ, and although he is still struggling, he continues to stay in contact with Scott and Becky. He knows he has a place in their home and in their hearts.

Marsha is such a person who also knows that she has a place in this family. Beloved and valued even when she struggled with drug addiction, Scott and Becky always kept the door open in their heart and home for her. They loved, encouraged, supported and spoke truth with Marsha. They continued to invest in her and share the realities of God's love with her in consistent and real ways. They were committed to Marsha through the good and the difficult seasons of finding salvation, relationship, healing and freedom in Christ.
Now, Marsha, growing in her faith and commitment to Christ, is in turn, investing in her friends who are still entangled in drugs. She is imparting to them the same love and commitment and the door of hope that Scott and Becky shared with her. With Scott and Becky beside her in it, encouraging and supporting her like healthy families do.

Scott is not a trained musician. No one would hire him for a worship leader, and yet, he is exactly that. When I met him, he only knew a handful of cords on a guitar. But it was enough for him to pack up the guitar and drive over to the neighboring nursing home to play for the residents there once a week or so. Why? Because he says that he felt "God wanted him to". When he does these sing-a-longs with the elderly, he feels the presence of God and he feels Gods pleasure. And he loves doing it!

Scott and Becky pray to be vessels in the hand of God, and ask for opportunities. They ask; "Who can we reach out to today Lord? How can we touch someone with your love?" Then, they respond. Organic (lead by God), simple (natural, relational, and easily implemented into normal life) and missional (outward). They are walking in the ministry that God placed within their hearts, fits who they are, and is doable given their unique life and availability.

Because Scott and Becky have started a couple simple churches, they get asked a lot" how do you start a church?" and Becky replies; "you just love people and let God start it with those He is touching. It's really not that hard."

God has a plan for each one of us. A destiny that is unique, fruitful and tailored specifically to who and what we are. He looks for willing vessels to work through, and partner with, because He chooses to and takes great pleasure in it.
Do you believe that? Do you live knowing that God desires to take your life and your uniqueness and make it into something supernatural, powerful and lasting? Your visions, desires and longings are there for a reason and for fulfillment in Christ. If you've been shut down in the past, or have been discouraged or disillusioned, it's never to late. Tomorrow is another day, with new opportunities and adventures.
Go for it, and see what God will do with your life!

"This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ' Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 4:5-7

Stories From The Trenches 2

2010-03-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

Blaine is a man responsive to God. He listens and obeys. Simple. He allows God to manifest Himself and His purposes. He lets God be God. Organic. He reaches out to people in every context of his life to introduce Jesus, and enters into their lives as someone who cares. Missional.

A few years ago he and his wife sold their large 2,400 sq ft. home on 10 acres, and purchased a fourplex in a lower middle class neighborhood. They gave away what wouldn't fit into a small two bedroom 750 sq ft apartment (one of those in the fourplex), and moved in. Their hope was that the remaining 3 apartments would be used for ministry. Over the years many struggling people have lived for free, or subsidized by Blaine and Glenna. These various tenants have heard the gospel and seen it lived out in and through this faithful couple. They have been valued, listened to, prayed for, fatherly counseled, helped with finances, car troubles, relationships, drug abuse, mental illness, and more. All the messes that come with peoples broken lives, does not deter Blaine. His ability to love, extend mercy when needed, have incredible patience and perseverance with people, is evidence of The Spirit working incredible grace through him. People recognize it and respond to it. He prays with people and the problems that they are facing in life, giving Christ an opportunity to reveal Himself. He is a true shepherd. And he lives experiencing God move powerfully and strategically in the lives of people.

Let me tell you a couple stories.

Blaine gets his hair cut about every 4 weeks. He has one hairdresser that he purposely chooses to use, and has built a friendship with her over the years. One day, she was obviously sad and even started crying into his hair as she was cutting it. Blaine asked what was going on, and soon she was sharing with him about her daughter. Her daughter had been alienated from her for a long time and the longing to know she was okay was overwhelming her that day. Blaine said; "God knows where she is and He understands you want to know also. He understands your love for her." He said; "Let's pray and ask God to show you she is okay".
Blaine prayed while she cut, and as she was finishing up, a commotion in the doorway drew their attention. The very daughter they were just talking about, and Blaine had prayed for, came walking in through the door. The mother, awestruck said; "you won't believe who just walked in the door!", and ran to greet her daughter.

Want another?

After many months of coming alongside this young man, Shaun called Blaine to receive Christ. He then wanted to be baptized. Blaine encouraged him to invite someone to support him in his baptism and to be a witness to it. Antsy to be baptized, Shaun moved quickly and found someone who volunteered an apartment building pool. This offer however, quickly was withdrawn when the building host saw some rough looking, and not all sober, people outside the doors of the apartment waiting to get in for the baptism. Shaun had invited 18 friends from his old life to be his witnesses and they were eager to see Shaun get baptized, even though they didn't have a clue why.
Not allowed in building, they were all standing together on the sidewalk, and one of the invited guests said; "I know someone who manages another building and we can go over there!" It was a call for "party on!" and they all quickly left for the new destination. Blaine, a bit concerned with this new direction of events began to pray; "What is going on Lord with all this, and what do you want me to see? "
As they arrived at the new apartment pool, these street guys, who Blaine describes as "a little rough and rude" took over the pool, kicking out previous users making it ready for their friend Shaun and his baptism. As Blaine entered the pool and looked around at those who Shaun had invited to be his witness's, God answered Blaine's earlier question; " these are my sons that have not received me yet". They listened to Shaun's testimony to Christ in his life and watched him be baptized into a new life. They even toasted to it! Now, that was a baptism!

One more story.....

Blaine and his daughter Shera, were sitting in a coffee shop with some of her friends who had gathered together that evening to hang out. In a short time, the conversation turned to issues related to faith, Jesus and the existence of God. Blaine and Shera found themselves in the midst of answering questions and discussing issues that the girls brought up. One girl said "my parents don't know this Jesus, and I wish my sister would know Him." Blaine replied; " we have authority and can pray with assurance and He will show Himself to your sister. Why don't you ask Him right now to reach your sister? " The girl prayed a simple request and at that moment the sister herself walked into the coffee shop. This is the reality of the God we serve, He waits for us to ask Him to get involved!

I think Blaine is living in the reality of his faith, and that God Himself wants eagerly to respond to our requests that others would know Him!

Blaine and Glenna have started many simple churches over the years.
One of their simple churches was with a group of developmentally disabled adults, and they would both say it was the most precious of fellowships.
Blaine begins LTG's (Life Transformation Groups, cmaresources.org) regularly with guys he leads to Christ. He isn't the hub of the wheel however, and quickly has them forming their own groups.
He works with a Recovery Ministry leading a group of pre and new Christians into wholeness and life in Christ. He has recently joined with a local guy who functions in evangelism and is bringing the needed discipleship aspect to that ministry, getting the new Christians into simple fellowships for their growth and maturing.

All this, and he still manages to work a full time job on the side, and have valve replacement surgery on his heart! God has given him a stronger heart physically to keep up with his spiritual heart! What a man, what a friend, what an inspiration! Go Blaine go! May your impact increase!

'But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.
1 Samuel 2:34-36

Stories from the Trenches 1

2010-02-23T10:05:00.000-08:00

Harrison and his wife Aleare, are originally from Liberia, Africa.
They survived the recent Liberian war, not without incredible struggles, and came to the United States intent on serving the Lord and His church. For many years they functioned as pastors in the traditional style of church. Harrison; one of the pastoral paid staff, and Aleare; the unpaid, unofficial but functioning, pastoral staff. A common situation in traditional church structures today. They spent their days ministering to the congregation; preaching, counseling, doing hospital visits, weddings, and funerals, fathering and mothering those in the church. They were beloved leaders and highly esteemed.

Then, something started to uninvitedly tug at them. Something organic began to grow in the soil of their heart. It didn't grow out of discontentment, disillusionment or frustration.

It grew as a desire for something more.

Harrison and Aleare began to have a hunger for those not in the church, to experience the Great Shepherd. They wanted to pastor the pastor-less. Something missional began to take root.

God took their own experience as refugees, and gave them a burden for refugee and immigrant families here in the U.S.
They had an ever increasing desire to minister to the African American community that shared their neighborhood.
And a long held dream of an "inter cultural" style of fellowship where diversity on many levels gelled, began to stir up once again.

It was simply not possible to change their focus and ministry to these areas while they were on staff at the traditional church. The church paid them to minister to the congregation and expected them to pastor those within the fellowship, not those outside of it.
Harrison's pastoral position was their main source of income. Although Aleare had just begun a daycare business in their home, they didn't have enough children to make it financially viable on it's own.
It was a moment of decision, and one not without incredible struggles.

Harrison resigned from his salaried pastoral job, and although no one really understood his reasons, they blessed his departure as best they could. He began to take nominal paying temporary jobs. Often working overnight shifts, standing on his feet while working on a conveyor belt, or loading and unloading boxes. He worked a myriad of jobs and most of those physically taxing, (and this isn't easy for someone in his 50's ). In a tight economy, with the lack of jobs available, Harrison took what was offered.

Aleare did childcare in her home with the families in their neighborhood. Investing her time and energies in this, soon more children came, and in a short time they had the maximum number of children allowed.

However, finances were tight, their ego's flattened, positions of prestige gone. It was hard on many levels, and yet they kept going. They had begun a journey of exploration and adventure and they were fully committed to it, regardless of the difficulties.

First, they did what they knew how to do, and that was to rent a space and invite people to come. The trouble was, that in doing this, they only saw "transfer people" coming to their gatherings. It took on the form which is commonly called in the simple church circles as; "Honey, I shrunk the church". This wasn't what they wanted. They wanted to reach unchurched people. Those that wouldn't come into a church building, for whatever reason.

Soon they stopped using that rented space and began to have church, by being church, in their home. Sometimes in formal gatherings, and other times in impromptu fellowship of one sort or another. They began to actively shepherd the families of the children of the daycare in their home. Teaching parenting skills, marriage counselors, single parent support, advising about life decisions, going with them on trips to the hospital, tangibly loving and supporting these daycare families, non of whom claimed to be Christians. In essence, they became a part of their lives and had opportunities galore to minister. The soil was fertile. God was working it!

Harrison was having continual opportunities to minister at his menial jobs. People were curious and had many questions as to why a trained pastor would be working alongside them in such a job.

Something started to happen. Not unlike the days when Harrison was leading a small group of war refugees throughout the countryside of Liberia seeking safety, food and shelter during the war. He had refugees again. This time, the war was the spiritual battles for their eternal life, and he and Aleare were called to journey with them to find true peace and life with the One who gives it.

Suddenly they were pastoring those not yet Christians.
They were ministering to those who needed a physician.
A father and a mother to the fatherless, the orphaned, and those along the highways and byways that Jesus proclaimed in Luke 14: 21-23;

'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' ²²" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'²³"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.

Harrison and Aleare are on a unfolding mission of the life of Christ in the trenches. It changes and transforms itself constantly. God is a good guide and continues to lead them, making course corrections when needed. He knows the pace for this couple. He knows what He has "in store for those who love Him". Exciting and unnerving, they find themselves hanging on tight to the Lord and seeking Him with renewed expectations to work in powerful and incredible ways. When they came over to our home the other night, they were like young children excitedly sharing all the ways God was moving. Their enthusiasm was refreshing and inspiring! That's what we are all created for; experiencing the life changing power of Christ on a regular basis! To be agents of that transforming power of Christ, not only in our lives, but the lives of those around us.

They are living organic and missional; following Jesus daily in His unfolding to whom He wants them to minister and come alongside. They are seeing Him open hearts and transform lives that have never known the riches of those in Christ Jesus. A network of intercultural fellowships are forming naturally and powerfully through relationships, and living naturally through life with one another.

Harrison and Aleare are courageous and faithful servants, pastoring the pastorless.
As heirs, they are living in some of their inheritance even now. What a blessing that is!

Lord give them more!!!!

Now, onto Blaine........

Missional Lifestyle - Time to Grow Up

2010-02-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

If you've been reading my blog posts, you know I've been talking about the missional aspect of our life and faith as more than just theology, but as a lifestyle of faith in action. Action that is precipitated by the initiation of the Holy Spirit.
It's "seeing something the Father is doing" (Jn 5:19). No more, no less, and then walking in it with Him.
That's organic. It's all about His initiation and direction.

However, you get to be the vehicle of it.
That's missional. YOU being His hands, His feet, His mouth, His heart.

That's simple right? God directs, we follow.

Simple yes. However, living a simple, organic, missional life requires something of us; foremost, learning to listen. I would guess, that most of us have gotten a bit slack on listening. We likely spend more time in talking to God rather than hearing from Him. We come up with a plan, pitch it to Him and then deceive ourselves into thinking that we are walking in what He wants, when in reality it is what we want.

It also requires some other things we've most likely become a bit slack in.
Things such as; trust (restful peace), humility (it's not all about me), love (it's all about you), willingness (I'll do it), obedience (I'll do it when I don't want to), patience (it might take a while) and perseverance (it might take a long while).

Living by faith rises to whole new levels in this lifestyle. Going from the comfortable and accustomed routine, to live in some degree, as explorers. Stretching our faith with the unknown elements that accompany this course. It's not for those who need a '5 Step Manual to Organic Life Success'. God calls us to live by faith, and that means not knowing all the details. Most of us are not used to that. We have lived with pre-packaged and constantly an abridged version of Christianity for a long time. We are used to having all the answers provided for questions we haven't even asked yet! We are like those in scripture that are "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth". 2 Timothy 3:6-8 . We've been eating regurgitated, spoon fed food for a long time, and it's become like our processed foods, low in nutritional value and ultimately unhealthy.

We've lost our confidence to see our individual strategic value and contribution to Jesus and His Kingdom. We are like those in the movie (Neil Cole shows this in Greenhouse) called, The Life of Brian. Everyone in the crowd that was gathered calling out to be told what to do and ultimately how to think. We have had top down directed leadership for so long, we have long ago adapted to the group mentality, blindly following and complying to whatever is the latest "vision" promoted to us, and in the process, losing our own unique individuality to be strategic.

Do you know in other countries, where there is a trained leadership vacuum that Jesus is building His Church, disciples are being made, and transformation is happening? Simple, ordinary people who don't have PhD.'s in theology, pastoral leadership, missiology or anything close, and yet they have what they need for what God wants from them, because He is their supply. Completely and sufficiently. They are strategic for what God accomplishing. Sometimes I wonder if we are not seeing some of the same transformations that are occurring in other countries because we have relied upon our own acquired training, qualifications, and techniques to do it.

Your Bible and the Holy Spirit are capable guides. You have The Equiper Himself living within you. The living and active word of God working in accordance with His will, accomplishes His plans if you abide in Him. What else do you need?
"As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him."
1 John 2:26-28.
There are helpful tools out there. Great writers, books, websites and blogs that will help you in paradigm shifting. There are a variety of conferences and weekend training opportunities that will encourage and connect you with others on similar paths. But the bottom line is; God is enough.
We are linked and joined in a Body to keep us strong, encouraged and our rough edges smoothed out from time to time, but in the end, you, and you alone have to take your life and allow God to do something amazing and supernatural with it.

More and more people are talking and writing about the new buzz word "missional", but I suspect few actually are living it. Like a lot of things; it's often easier to talk about something rather than actually do it.
Those that are living the mission, I would venture to say, are unknown, nameless and faceless folks that quietly live faithful lives of being salt, light and the fragrance of Christ to those around them. You might think that the simple, organic and missional is all about those few well known names of people actually writing about it and leading conferences on the topics. Praise God for those who can run out front and give us some coaching and inspiration to keep the path. In reality however, it is being lived out daily by folks you have never, and will never, hear or affiliate them with this movement. A movement that is not "top down" led, but from the bottom up. It really is grass roots.
A few years ago, Felicity Dale wrote a book called; An Army of Ordinary People. The book tells the stories of some such unassuming, no name people that are living the organic, simple and missional adventure. Felicity has just revised and updated the book, so you may be interested in reading more about these testimonies of lives making an impact.

In a similar way, let me brag on some of my friends that are 'living the mission' in their own adventures. Each uniquely designed by God to be doing exactly what fits them in "such a time as this" in their lives. They are faithful stewards; living to multiply what they have been given in the time they have been given.
They would be the first to claim that they don't have a clue to what their doing, and isn't that refreshing! God gets all the glory and credit!
I'm privileged to know these and others just like them. May you be encouraged by their stories as well in the next few blog posts, and press on in your own adventure of missional lifestyle.

These people don't have organizations backing them up with support, money, involvement, etc....they are on their own. Most work secular jobs and still live a life in "full time ministry". They will likely never write a book, speak at a conference, be in the "cool" discussion groups online or off. They are divine nobodies. Incredibly, and powerfully impacting those around them. Simply, organically and in mission.

Let me start with Harrison and Aleare.........

Missional Gnosticism

2010-02-07T14:28:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'm pinning for the days of summer. Riding my motorcycle with the wind whistling through my helmet (head protection trumps my hair blowing in the wind). Finding new places to explore in companionship with my husband and friends. Experiencing the sense of adventure that being on a motorcycle offers. I'm thinking a lot of riding these long winter days and in how they can be a great illustration for my current blogging on the missional lifestyle.

It is simply not possible to ride a motorcycle by just knowing all about them. You could be the most knowledgeable person on the planet when it comes to the physics, mechanics, and even riding finesse on a motorcycle. You can go to seminars and read all about the skills needed to be a great rider, but without ever getting on one and gaining the skill yourself, it is static knowledge at best. It's knowledge that doesn't get the bike out of the driveway.

There must be practice for anything to take root within us. Our faith in Christ is no different. The Kingdom principles are meant to be put into action. We simply cannot live within our heads. As much as we love to learn (not unlike our Greek forefathers), in the esteem and acquisition of more and more knowledge and inspirational messages, that is just not going to cut it! We are becoming fat with our knowledge and discussions. We are a gluttonous, and it's time for a workout!

We have this incredible fascination with knowledge. Our fixation in the church these last few decades has raised teachers, and the teaching gift itself, way above all the other gifts in the Body. We have neglected or a best sidelined, other gifts necessary for the Body of Christ to be functioning in fullness. Our tendency towards Gnosticism grows not only in the Body of Christ, but also as our culture aspires to greater and greater knowledge. We live in the day of experts!

We have some great teachers here in our area, famous for their gift, who draw people to their church solely on their teaching gift. Is that church or a school? I know people who want mainly to associate with those who have written books, are sought out as conference speakers, and known for their intelligence and teaching. I've heard folks say they wouldn't attend a conference if the speaker wasn't well known. Isn't this the favoritism we are warned against in the scriptures?
We almost seem to be addicted to the acquiring of knowledge and deceive ourselves that we never have enough of it. We are forming our profession of faith in Christ into a singular aspect; knowledge. Emphasizing this one area over all others.

It reminds me of an a old Star Trek episode, where the life form the Enterprise crew encountered in space was just one huge disassociated head. They had a heck of a time with this creature who ruled above everything with incredible pride, actually swelling larger all the time, and completely disassociated from a body. We are called a Body, connected together, where all parts are necessary for health and wholeness. In fact, we're told to esteem those parts that seem "less esteemed".

When I teach motorcycling, we teach one night of classroom information. Four hours of a very good introduction in the knowledge needed for the mental aspects of riding. And let me tell you the same thing I tell my students; that riding a motorcycle is 80% mental and 20% physical. You must be a "smart" rider, to ride well and for a long time.
However, the majority of training is spent on actually practicing the physical skills needed to ride. Putting the mental lessons into action.

Each lesson has a short teaching, then a demonstration of what we want the student to do, and then they spend the majority of time on practicing it themselves.

The skill is learned by doing it, not just knowing about it. When the basics of that skill are acquired, and that varies with individuals, we move on to the next lesson. We don't expect mastery, but the basics to be built upon in the future practicing of the skill.

Neil Cole likes to say that; "we are educated beyond our obedience".
The training Neil and Paul Kaak developed in Greenhouse, (cmaresources.org) is set up as one weekend of teaching and scriptural exegesis, followed by a year of practice and application of it with monthly peer interaction and support. Not too dissimilar to our motorcycle training. The key is in the application. The practice of what we know.

The scriptures exhort our tendency for more information without application and says; "that we look into a mirror and then go away and forget", and "don't just be hearers of the word, but doers also." What most of us need is not more teaching, but to do something with what we already know! That's what makes our faith real, and the essence of our proclamations having some credibility and authority. It's not a promotion of "works", or gaining the approval of God by "doing" something FOR Him! I am so tired of hearing people refer to obedience as works of flesh and legalism.
Our faith cannot be separated from our actions or it is no faith at all.

The scriptures say that Satan himself knows the scriptures and can quote them quite well. It is not enough to know what the Book says;, we must practice it! It is the reality of the day to day living out of what we profess that makes it count. There has to be application. Don't be deceived by thinking that learning is the end goal.

The journey in mission for His disciples is much more than gaining knowledge. You simply cannot read or discuss your way into a lifestyle of missional impact. Get out of your head, and go bring some application of your knowledge to those who need it. They are all around you. Go and make some disciples of Jesus, plant some of Him into the world, be the fragrance of Christ the Lord, whom we serve in joy, grace and privilege.

Marathons of Divine Purpose

2010-01-27T07:19:00.000-08:00

Since last November I've been blogging on the paradigm of 24/7 missional life as simple, daily expressions and opportunities available to us to be a vehicle of God's purposes to reveal Himself to those on the earth. A common everyday life of missional practice, beyond our previous theology and behavior of looking to events and specialists to "do the work" for us. Instead, each one of us taking the opportunities to live out the realities of Christ in our lives to those around us in multiple venues and spheres that make up our own individual lives.

One of the most awesome aspects of living this life is that it is fine tuned by God to fit perfectly who we are, where we are, and what we are. We don't have to find the version of what we like and try to clone it. Instead, it is already within us. However, it does take our ability to listen, cooperate, initiate and obey what has already been laid out for each of us. As Paul says; " Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Philippians 3:11-13

Our temperaments and natures play a large part of how we pursue life, and the pace of it. Most of us are somewhere between two extremes; the phlegmatic, laid back, slow moving turtle types and the fast, ground chewing, quick leaping, jack rabbit types. However, unlike the children's book regarding the turtle and the hare, we are not in a race against each other. We run in our own race. The race that is "set before us" which Paul refers to. An individual, unique and God directed race path. One long marathon of divine purpose for which we are given the freedom to choose the pace and whether we stop frequently or not along the way.

In riding a motorcycle, you can stay upright moving pretty slowly if you have acquired good balance, but if your stopped too long you tip over. If your in a boat with no wind or motor propelling you, it's said that "your dead in the water" and that's not what motorcycles or boats were created for! They are vehicles to be upright and moving somewhere. Both are directed by the rider or a captain for a journey. "With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith." 2 Thessalonians 1:11.

He is our captain. Rider extraordinaire. Hopefully we are learning to balance our lives, keep upright in our hearts and conscience and be continually filled with the Presence and "wind" Himself. Submitting joyfully and obediently, "For in him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17: 27-29.

This is incredible when you think of it. That the Creator of the universe, whom I can't even begin to fathom and understand, actually chooses to use the cracked, damaged, completely fallible humans He calls both "dust" and "His People" for anything of value and purpose. He has wonderful races for each of us that are "above all we could ever ask and imagine" if we choose to run those races by pressing forward into them. You can't just talk about a race to actually participate. You must move your feet!

In his epistle, James is writing to the twelve tribes who were scattered abroad (vs 1). Tribes of Jews familiar with the teachings of Moses and the Prophets. Many, were probably teachers themselves. But the assumption James makes is that they are little soft on not what they know, but in doing what know. He says in 1:22 "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves".
It's easy to talk of faith and not put much of it into action. It's easy to spiritualize complacency and call it "waiting on God". Certainly, I'm not advocating a life of frenzied activity and works. There are times to "be still and know that I AM God". However, love is a verb. And action. Faith is a risk. It requires a movement (no matter how timid) forward. Our words must have substance, or they cease to have any worth. Talk is cheap, the saying goes.

I think God is quite able to direct us down the right paths on our marathons of divine purpose.

James 2: 18; "but someone may well say, "you have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works and I will show you my faith by my works"...Even so faith , if it has no works is dead, being by itself."

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

2010-01-10T09:44:00.001-08:00

I love how God uses the vernacular of our day, and the culture we relate to, in communicating Divine messages at times in our lives. Of course, The Word of God trumps anything else and is sufficient for "everything we need pertaining to life and Godliness", as the Bible says. But God does on occasion, speak to us using the things around us in our common everyday life. A fig tree, a stable, the foal of a donkey, the formation of clay pots, fish, children, the dirges of the day....are just a few examples of this.

What an amazing God we have who desires to communicate with us intimately, clearly and continually in as many ways as He can! He wants us to know Him, to have a relationship with Him that can easily recognize and respond to His voice. I will never get over my amazement and gratefulness with that kind of love from a God to those He created from the dust.

On one of my own intimate occasions of fellowship with this great God, I heard the words from the chorus of the old movie; The Wizard of Oz.

It happened during a extended weekend of waiting on God, intercession and fasting with some friends many years ago. I was surprised to hear the words to the song playing in my head during an especially intense time of prayer. The words of the chorus of the song are as follows:

Follow the Yellow Brick Road. Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Follow the Yellow Brick, Follow the Yellow Brick,
Follow the Yellow Brick Road.

As the words played on in my head, a picture unfolded of a long golden road and I was placed upon it. I walked along its path, a bit hesitant at first, and within a short time it led me to many different people, one encounter at a time. With some of these encounters, I knew I was in a different environment and culture than my own. But many encounters were in places I had some recognition of or felt vaguely familiar to me.

The golden road led me to someone specific. A divine connection designed by God for His purposes.
There was no randomness in these encounters. Each person seemed to be waiting for me and received me with some kind of recognition, although we had never seen each other before. Some were old, some young, male, female, some very, very destitute, some not, some broken, some crippled, some needing healing, deliverance, hope, compassion, encouragement, direction and love. Many were fellow Christians, and some were not.
To the world; most were seemingly insignificant people, lost and forgotten to everyone around them, but not to The Lord. I instantly knew what they waited for as I stood there with them, and I saw it given through me to them.
Once this occurred, I was whisked back onto the yellow brick road, following it to my next destination. This went on for some time. When it was over, I was exhausted, stunned, amazed and full. Faith, excitement and longing deep within me cried; "yes Lord, send me", show me Your Paths, let me run this golden road!

We all have yellow brick roads to follow that led us to those around us that the Lord wants us to find. Those that we have been given the invitation to be a part of the ongoing ministry of Jesus to those on this earth. As He sits on the right hand of the Father, he leads and guides us as his hands, feet, voice and ambassador. He gives us the provision of all that we need to walk in his ministry. Jesus said that "we will do even greater works" than he himself, because he was going back to His Father and leaving the assignment to us to fulfill through His power and grace. Wow! What a privilege, what a gift, what an honor!

Listen, for He is speaking....for you too....follow the yellow brick road.........

"May Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven!"

Mission Possible VI: "Just Go Now!"

2010-01-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite books that I read to my children when they were young, was the Dr. Seuss book; Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! The essence of the book is simply telling Marvin K. Mooney to "go", repeatedly. It never says where to go, or why to go, but just to go. Marvin can go by foot or by cow; he can go by skates, skis, or flying hat. He can even go by a crunk car (an imaginative and creative vehicle!). Just go Marvin!
But Marvin is a stubborn fella, and needs lots of prodding.

In the previous blog posts I've written, hopefully, I've made a case regarding Jesus and The Father acting in mission. The Bible clearly is a book on mission. From beginning to end, God reaches outward. He is always on the move, revealing Himself. I've already shared many passages and examples that God is a seeking and saving Father, and such was the mission of Jesus. And further, that we are His ambassadors, apostles (sent ones), and disciples left on earth to further His mission. All of us are called to be His witness, His fragrance, His light and salt. It's not a calling for some elite few, like the Marines' slogan: "the few, the proud", but for every one of us who call ourselves followers of Christ. Just like Marvin K. Mooney, we are exhorted to "go" and please "go now" by the Spirit of God. It doesn't matter the ways or means by which we go, (that is left up to us to creatively explore). Just go!

So what keeps most of us from going? Fear, laziness, procrastination, selfish absorption, busyness, past failures, bad theology, time management, all can bog us down into doing nothing. We console ourselves in our complacency thinking we're living by grace and not by works. In many circles these days, obedience is on par with legalism, and sacrifice passe'.
Please don't misunderstand me saying we need to start "working" for God, or living a lifestyle of frantic and fleshly works. I don't advocate that at all. Grace is a daily importation given to us to experience anything of God. I live by His dispensed and empowered Grace daily. But the fact remains, we are called to act on what we believe, and show our faith and love by our actions.
I challenge you to spend some time reading in the book of John, chapter 14, and see how much Jesus himself (in addressing the disciples with important "last minute" emphases) mentions the words of love, obedience, work, do, evidence, command.

The truth is, we show our love by obedience. Obedience is an action, not a thought process. An action presupposes we are doing something that communicates our love for God!

In the last blog post, I shared some ways of thinking and acting missionally in the daily contexts and aspects of our normal lives. Using the abilities, skills, talents, knowledge, gifts and proximity to people in our neighborhoods, jobs, and daily activities to enter into the lives of the people around us. To create relationships and bridges that allow us to be an influence and agents of love, grace, forgiveness and hope.

If fear seems to overwhelm your desire to go, start with small things that have little risk and see God take your small step into greater leaps. Fear only has the power you allow it to have over you. Jump in and see your fear turn into fun!

Have you failed with some attempts in the past? Great! We learn best by our mistakes. Take what you've gained from it and try again with a new and improved version. Jesus doesn't hold our mistakes against us as we are growing, as many of our human relationships do. He urges us forward, giving us grace to grow and space to learn. He is excited when we try, regardless if it isn't perfectly excecuted. We grow in humility when we fail, and our character is formed to be even more honoring of Jesus. We should love our failures for what they achieve in Kingdom terms, and not let our pride keep us stuck in immaturity.

Procrastinator? Accountability is your best friend. We are not islands. All of us are created to need one another. Find someone in your life who will encourage and hold you to your word and the true desire of your heart to reach out in mission. Procrastination can easily be overcome by involving others who will go with you, and gives momentum to an action prompted by faith.

So time is your issue? Let's face the truth, we have time. We have the time for the things which we choose to have time for. Yes, we live busy lives, getting more and more complicated each year it seems. But we are in charge of how we "book" our time slots, and I think the issue is more of priorities than time. What do you really value? That is how you will allot your time.

I know people (and I'm one of them) who can spend hours on the computer each week (Facebook anyone?), or watching movies, favorite television shows or reading books, blogs and articles. I can diddle away a whole afternoon and have nothing much to show for it, and its easy to do. However, I do make time for working out, getting dinner together, spending time blogging, being with my family, visiting with friends, building connections and relationships, living simple church, and more because its important to me. I spend time in the things I value and prioritize with my actions. We all do this, consciously or not.

Often times, combining things together helps in using our time in more of a missional and intentional way. For instance, I will ask a neighbor to join me in grocery shopping and doing it together we build relationship while doing a task that takes time. Or, we'll invite someone to join us in our family "play" events like camping, game playing, BBQ's, where not only are we having great family time, but we are also giving our children a chance to see living missionally is natural and easy.

You don't always have to "make a new slot" of time to live missionally, you just need to start thinking incarnationally. Inviting people into your lives and the unique way it unfolds each day, week, month and year.

Reframing life; from slots of time that you have available, into a life that is available. Available and obedient to allow Jesus to live through you in His mission to seek and save, to heal and restore, to free and grant hope and life eternal.

Marvin K. Mooney, will you please GO NOW!

Mission Possible: Part V "Big Bellies!"

2009-12-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

Let's get candid here. I'm going to tell you the truth.
Do you know you have a big belly?

More than just a 'bit of a pot', but a really large girth, and your ready to burst!

As a follower and a disciple of Jesus Christ, your belly is made to be big. God designed us to be holding tanks and reservoirs of Him. Full to overflowing. Ready to burst and to be spilled out.

John 7:38; "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

I have been talking about living a missional life in these last few blogs. Living in such a way that the people around you, who don't know Jesus, can come to know Him because they know you! They can have a taste of the living water, and begin to see what they are missing!

Too many Christians I know have few, if any, friends that are not believers. They surround themselves with people who believe and look exactly like them. They are content to keep the living water flowing back and forth within their select group. I'm not saying this is wrong, but I am saying that we are missing the whole purpose of Christ, if all we do is keep the water to ourselves.

This is not what Jesus did. It is not how the Apostle Paul made an impact in every region he journeyed in.

Jesus was known for "being a friend of sinners"; prostitutes, tax collectors, corrupt businessmen, Samaritans, and people discarded from the religious circles of the day like the lame, the lepers, the demonized.

Jesus could of kept his time on earth limited to hanging out the the disciples. Enjoying his teaching time with them every day for three years; teaching, talking, praying, training. But he didn't do that! Instead, He sought people out and entered into their lives.

It's just too easy, safe, and frankly selfish, for us to water ourselves and each other and let those who don't know the Living Water, remain thirsty. That is NOT why we are filled to overflowing! The very idea of "overflow" illustrates water that cannot be contained. It fills us up yes, and then it spills out, and it spreads to those around us.

Look, we've spent enough time on ourselves haven't we? Aren't you full enough yet?

For years, and in many contexts of both traditional and simple church circles, I have heard the phrase; "We aren't ready yet!"

WHAT?

We have been reading book after book, blog after blog, going to conferences year after year, getting prayer, ministry, words of "whatever" for years! Isn't it time for us to stop spending "our riches" on ourselves and spend it upon those who ARE really empty?

Jesus said, to the disciples gathered around him who were amazed that He had been speaking with a Samaritan woman; "Lift up your eyes and LOOK on the fields, that they are white (ready) for harvest." John 4:35. He was demonstrating how to look beyond their little group, and to see "what the Father was doing" in reaching the unreached. Jesus stayed in the village of Samaritans for two days and the bible says that "many more believed". This was a new concept to the disciples, who were content with a message for and the fellowship with, those they were familiar with.

It's time to step out folks. Into the great adventure of missional living.

God has the plan. He knows where He is leading us in touching the lives of people not familiar to us.
God takes what He has placed within us, and empowers it. He takes what is in the natural and makes it super natural. He waits on us to make the first move in faith, and then He adds the impact. The power, the affect.

For example; my husband can really hit a baseball. In fact, at one time he was on the Minnesota Twins farm team being coached to the big leagues. Hitting a baseball over a fence was fairly natural to him, but it was all in his own strength and ability. However, if there was a "rear wind" as he got to the plate, he hit a home run every single time!

That is how it is for us. We step up to the plate, bat in hand, and swing at the pitch, knowing that the Spirit of God is our back wind, empowering our natural ability to supernatural home runs! The good news is that we ALL make the team. No one is benched, unless you bench yourself!

Okay, let's talk practicality. Make the discussion more than just my ramblings. How can you live missionally in the practicality of your daily life with those who don't know Jesus yet?

What ya got?

Are you good with budgets and managing money? Help someone you know who needs to learn and manage their money better.

Are you good at construction, plumbing, electrical, etc.? Do you know how many men and some women, who would love a mentor/teacher to help them with a household project that they are intimated by because they don't know how to do it? You be the one willing to come alongside to teach them.
Cars? Can you fix and teach some basics? Motorcycle rider? Can you invite some neighbor you've seen on a motorcycle to a ride and lunch one day and get to know them?

Are you a good dad or mom? There are so many young men, women, and couples don't have true fathering/mothering and someone helping them be fathers/mother themselves.

Can you cook? How about teaching a young couple some great recipes and doing them together building a relationship? Have a neighborhood cooking party to share recipes.
Like kids? Know any young couples who can't afford a night out and a babysitter? Offer to be the babysitter sometime.
Are you an encourager? An optimistic person with coaching gifts? Find out the dreams and hopes of a neighbor or co-worker and make yourself their greatest encourager and supporter.

Like to BBQ, do campfires, and roast marshmallows? Make it a regular event and fun for all! Make your house the fun house on the block!

Are you good at parties? How about giving a birthday party for a neighbor or their kids. Go all out on the decorations and make them feel special and celebrated! Or a wedding, baby or housewarming shower?

Do you like eating out? How about taking some folks out that can't afford it or even buy them a couple gift certificates as encouragement for their marriage, birthday, life, new job, etc.?

Do you like shopping? How about taking a elderly person or someone without transportation around shopping? You'd be surprised how many older folks live around you and don't have much money for food. Their cupboards are often quite empty.
Do you listen well and like to hear stories? Older folks have great stories, are often isolated in their homes and are quite open to a new relationship.

Do you have a car to drive people without transportation to doctor appointments, job interviews, errands etc.?

Been down to a state job search site recently? It's a place loaded with people to help write resumes, practice job interviews, drive to interviews, and encourage.

Do you like cross cultural venues? Lot's of refugees live in every area of the country. Plenty of folks who are living isolated and lonely lives. Legals and not, does it really matter? Help them learn English, understand papers that come in the mail. Be an advocate for them in a new culture and help them navigate it. Help them set up their households.

Like to vacation? Ever think of taking someone who can't afford it or isn't in your Christian club?

Love Christmas? How about going out and buying the "whole celebration" of a tree, ornaments, food, decorations and gifts for a family you know is struggling this year financially, and you could bring Jesus to them this Christmas?

Look around you. Use what skills, gifts and knowledge you have. Listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Serve. Build relationships. Love authentically. Be there and be accessible.

The people around us are not a project, but are instead are an offer of a relationship. In our culture, we're not so good at relationships. We want the quick, the uncommitted, the 'no strings' and 'no cost' kind of outreach into people's lives. But we can change.

We can touch people in every context of our lives if we choose to do so. We can be to those around us the fragrance of Christ and a light in dark place. In closing, I'll tell you a story from my own life that illustrates this.

I had built a friendship with an Iranian family that came as refugees. They spoke no English, and knew only a few distant relatives living here. I helped them learn English, set up a home, get enrolled in schools and find jobs. We spent time together, eating, shopping, doing a lot of pantomime (which works as a great language bridge) and building a friendship. I had a number of opportunities to pray for them, and share about my faith and the differences with their own (Baha'i). One day, I was invited to a party in the Iranian community and my friends took me around and made introductions. They were speaking Farsi, and I eventually asked them after about the fifth introduction; "How are you introducing me? It sounds different than a regular introduction of my name?" (by this time I was learning basic Farsi). My friend replied that she was introducing me as; "the one who shines like the moon in a dark place".

Mission Possible: Part IV " A Servant First"

2009-12-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

Many years ago, I had a dream one night that changed my life in a dramatic way.

In the dream I was on the banks of a river that was flowing fast and deep. I stepped into the river and walked upstream wanting to find its source. After a time, I reached a fork in the river. On the left side of this fork, it was clear that this was the side with the main source of the water. The right side, in contrast, had barely enough water flowing in it to cover my feet. Of course I wanted the deep water, and to follow it to the source!

As I walked upstream in the river on the deep side, I saw in the distance what appeared to be a huge city on a mountain from which the river flowed. The city was all white and illuminated, and yet full of color. It was magnificant and breathtaking and I innately knew the Lord dwelled there, and THAT was where I wanted to be!

As I excitedly made my way up to that city, I hit an invisible barrier that stopped me short. Two men suddenly appeared and stood on each side of me, blocking my way. I was irritated with them, and told them I wanted to be let through so I could go on up to the mountain, to that city to be with the Lord. Why would they stop me from that?

They shook their heads no, and pointed to the other river, the shallow one that I had quickly passed by as I chose the deeper side, and they said; "No, you must learn to be a servant first".

I looked over to that sad trickle of water and saw that it lead to and through a run down and neglected town. The water slowly moved through the center of it, and in some places even appeared to dry up altogether. The people looked horrible! They were poor, shabby, beaten down and seemed to wander aimlessly throughout the broken town.

I died inside.

Go THERE? I gazed back up to the beautiful mountain and couldn't believe it! I could be on the mountain, in the presence of the Lord! I could be in the deepest of all water, filled and satisfied, but instead I had to go where there was barely any water? And to make it worse, with people who looked like they didn't care one way or another about it!

Then I saw the word "RUTH" written over the town. I was sunk, and I knew it.

The meaning of the name Ruth means friend and companion.

I understood what was wanted of me. I was to go and be a friend and companion to those destitute people, living with them in their sad little town.

I would serve them.

I would serve the One who wanted me there.

Jesus comes to us, to serve us in our own little destitute worlds, so we can know Him and the Father.

In Matthew 20:28, Jesus says of Himself; "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

He sends us to serve in His likeness.

In Philippians 2:5 - 8 it says; "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus; Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on the cross!"

It's easy to serve ourselves and seek the deeper water of fellowship with the Lord. That comes pretty natural to our self centered nature. It's even fairly easy to serve the Body of Christ and those who appreciate and understand the core of what motivates us.

It is not easy to serve those who don't know Him and walk blindly in the dark. To be light, salt and the fragrance of Christ is much more challenging and draining with those who live for the world. The warfare involved adds even more difficulties to overcome.

But it is our calling.

Jesus said in Matthew 4:12-13; "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means; I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners".

We are all called to be missionaries to the world around us. To befriend those in it, as Jesus did, and come alongside them as companions. To live the message of Christ before them and with a credibility that comes as we serve and love them, entering into their lives through relationship.

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written; "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10: 14-15

Consider yourself sent........

Mission Possible: Part III "Yes We Can!"

2009-12-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

When Barak Obama used the phrase "Yes, we can!" in his campaign for President, it touched something within people, and I'm not talking about politics here. We all want to feel we have purpose and a unique contribution to make in life. We are created to be ignited, set apart and set lose for the purposes that God holds in His Heart for us.

It's not for the few, the chosen or the special. It's not for the paid, ordained, and trained.

It is for each and every one of us!

The choice of knowing Him, and these purposes to their fulfillment however, is our choice. And we make these choices on a daily basis.

In the previous blog posting I mentioned how Jesus lived a missional life, and how He is our example.

First, and over all, He lived in continual intimacy and fellowship with the Father. As the result of this fellowship, it is clear that His mission was to bring that same intimacy and restored relationship with God to mankind through salvation. Each day God, the Father, gave Jesus opportunities to reveal this personally to people in a variety of ways and contexts. Jesus received His daily "memos" of what was on the agenda for that day from the Father. The fruit of this is evident. It is incredible how much Jesus accomplished in the short three years of living this missional lifestyle of "only doing that which The Father showed him to do".

What kind of impact could we each see in our own lives if we believed and acted in such a way!

Jesus said in John 14:12; "I tell you the truth, that anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father".

Do you believe Jesus meant these words, or was he being overly enthusiastic about the potential of those who believed in him and acted on it?

Could we see the lives around us transformed like that of Zaccheus, the demoniac, Matthew, Mary, Paul, the Centurion, the Samaritan woman and so many others?

Yes, we can!

In 1 Cor 1:5 - 7 Paul addresses the carnal, immature and weak church of Corinth with these words; " in everything you have been enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you. So that you are not lacking in any gift. "

Just how do you interpret the words; in everything, enriched, in all, not lacking in any?

I'd say that's pretty unambiguous.

Now, do you really live and act like you believe it?

The Apostle Paul says in 2 Cor.13:5; "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?"

If we have Christ in us we have all that we need! We are rich! We are loaded with supernatural everything!

If we are lacking, it is only in our belief to know this is true.

Just what do you believe if you don't believe this? And if you do believe it, are you acting like it? Remember also the scriptures exhort us to not just be hearers but doers of the Word so it takes root in us and becomes a reality in our lives.

In Luke 24: 45 it says Jesus "opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures" and charged them to go out and preach what they were given. In 24:48; "You are my witnesses of these things".

You have gifts, talents, skills, abilities, and more that God wants to use to touch others that don't know Him. And these are meant to be empowered by His Grace, directed by the Spirit. To be His witnesses. His ambassadors. His message.

Go out and be missional in His power, promise and strength!

Yes, we can!

Mission Possible: Part II "Yes to Mission!"

2009-12-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

There is a controversy brewing and I just don't get it.

It's all about the word missional. "To be or not to be", borrowing from William Shakespeare.

I've been hearing and reading discussions in the Body of Christ, and in particular the Organic, Simple and Missional movement, about the value, worth and sequence of being missional.

Debates and conversations over things like; "does Christology proceed Missiology" or vise versa ? "Worship, not mission, is the ultimate goal for the church." "Missional is really a covering for the works of our flesh." "There is too much emphasis on being missional, and we need first to have more fellowship with Jesus and with each other in community".

I'm personally frustrated with these conversations.

How can you have intimacy with the Lord and NOT live in a "mission". A mission that others would know Him! Intimacy results in an alignment with the desires and heart of God. His heart is missional! He wants His creation to Know Him!

Worship is the ultimate goal over mission?

Mission is worship. Mission is obedience. Obedience is worship.

Jesus honored the Father by obeying Him in all things, the first being His being willing to come to earth and live among us for awhile and then dying for our sins. His prayers were heard because he was submitted to the Father. My mission is to worship Him with my life and with all that I have been given. Far more than the songs I sing or the money I give. Remember the parable of the talents? I want to multiply it all to honor and worship Him.

We honor the Father, as Jesus did, when He walked in their shared mission to provide redemption and relationship to humanity. Jesus did only that which the Father told Him to do, every day. He had the overall mission, and then the day to day missions. If you study the daily life of Jesus, you see that He was the epitome of living missional. He could of sat on top of the mountain every day, basking in the intimate presence of God, but He didn't. How blessed we are that he instead revealed the mission of the Father each day to people in a multiple of ways.

God Himself is mission and the source of all mission.

Mission is not initiated by the flesh of men, but by the Spirit of God.

He gave His only son, SO THAT others may know and experience the incredible relationship of knowing Him. That's His mission and desire (that all would come to the knowledge of Him.) Without mission, no one would know His great love!

I know Him, and this incredible gift He "missioned" to give me 25 years ago. I want others around me to know and experience what I have! It's too awesome and incredible to keep to myself! It is the Spirit of God within me that initiates and motivates this, not my flesh. It's not our flesh that pursues mission, it is the Holy Spirit working out the desires of the Father and Son.

Jesus told the disciples to wait until they received the Holy Spirit and then they would "go out" and tell others and make more disciples who would be filled with this same Spirit. When they did receive Him at Pentecost, it motivated them into the greatest missional movement the world has experienced.

Jesus is my example in all things. Jesus is the ultimate model of living a missional life that was full of intimacy with the Father, fruitfulness and perfect obedience. He said, if you see Me, you see the Father, and as He sent Me, so I send you.....

That's enough for me.........

Mission Possible: Part I

2009-11-11T12:10:00.000-08:00

I love watching movies like the Jason Bourne trilogies and Mission Impossible. These guys are extra-ordinary in every way.

Smart, strong, multi talented (is there anything they don't know how to do?). They have almost super human abilities to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks. They have incredible drive and purpose persevering through difficult and injurious events, improvising great feats with whatever is available to them at the time. They make an impact everywhere they go.

They accomplish their mission, every time.

I'd like to be a Jason Bourne; strong, capable, invincible, multi-talented and really smart. He is just good and successful at everything he attempts!

In reality, I'm probably more like Gideon (Judges 6). He was wasn't like Jason Bourne at all! In fact, on the surface he was about as far from Bourne as you could get. He was kind of wimpy and weak, pretty average, fearful, not all that smart and hardly a leader in the community. Not someone you'd think would make any kind of impact and complete any mission of value.

But hey! My (and yours too) lucky day! We don't live in the world of Jason Bourne.

Instead, we live in the Kingdom of oxymoron's; the Kingdom of God. Where our weakness's are not a liability. Instead, they are an asset! A Kingdom where we do have missions to accomplish and lives to impact.

Scripture says; " There are not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. " (1 Co 1:26.). The Apostle Paul says of himself; " I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling", ( 1 Co 2:3.) He goes on to say that his weakness resulted in a "demonstration of the Spirit and of the power of God" vs. 4. As good as Bourne is, he can't even come close to someone walking in the power of God! Talk about invincible!

Gideon with trumpets and pitchers, defeated an enemy.

A stone in the hand of a young David brought down a giant.

A widow in Zarephath said; "I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl, and a little oil in the jar", (1 Ki 17:12) Yet, it multiplied for many "days" to feed the three in her household. Scripture is loaded with examples like these.

God does not cease in doing impossible missions through weak people. Rather, we falter in our belief that He will do it through us! We are looking at ourselves, instead of an awesome God!

In John 6, Jesus asked Phillip how to feed the multitude of people gathered on the mountain who had gathered to listen to Jesus. Phillip comments that with what they have in their purse, it was not sufficient to buy food for the multitude.

Andrew however, saw the potential of "the small" in the hand of Jesus. He didn't know how the insignificant contribution of 2 fish and 5 barely loaves would help, but he offered it anyway, trusting Jesus would do SOMETHING with it. And Jesus did! Something powerful!

Today, most of us only have a couple fish and maybe, a few loaves. Our trumpets are rusty and dust filled. Maybe our jars and purses are empty. We're feeling pretty wimpy and weak.

We're seeing what we DO NOT HAVE, instead of what we DO HAVE!

Are we thinking like Phillip or Andrew?

We are called to be obedient with what He gives us.

To use it!

That is so simple really.

Whatever you have in gifts, abilities, relationships, venues, and material goods, are opportunities to see the Kingdom of oxymoron's manifest. Watch Him take it, use and multiply it into fruitfulness and acts of His power that you never knew was possible. He will!

Can you imagine your life powerful and impacting?

God wants it to be.

In fact, He waits on you to see Him prove it.

Your weakness's are your assets but only if you see it as so. They are not limitations to Him. Our God is waiting and willing to show you! We have the most powerful Source that ever existed in and through us, wanting to reveal Himself to and through us so that the world may Know Him!

We don't have to be the Jason Bournes of our times to accomplish the mission. We just need to step into the missions available to us every day. Trusting God and the Kingdom of oxymoron's to manifest itself as we step into our 'mission possibles'.

In the words from the old Mission Impossible series of the 1960's and 1970's: "Your mission, should you decide to accept it....."

Live Changes and Become the Model

2009-11-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

Most of us would probably view ourselves as teachable and trainable; that we have not become set in our ways, practices, and ideas of interpreting and expressing our faith. That we remain open to the mid course correction opportunities that come our way.

In reality however, making a change is difficult. Remaining teachable throughout life is a challenge. It takes a lot of humility and courage. As we mature, we're supposed to know more right? Or at least have people thinking that about us.

Not everyone wants to take the leap into a mid course change that often feels like free fall from the cliff of status quo.

The simple, organic, and missional Christian walk is filled with opportunities for mid course corrections, and the free fall is real. It can be pretty unnerving and unsettling.

The good news is that God provides not only the parachute but knows exactly where to place our landing. On His target, if we trust Him to do so.

When I teach a motorcycle riding class, I do a "demo" before each lesson. We model for our students what we would like them to learn and then practice it for a while on the riding range. Many people come to our classes with previous riding experience and they have developed some techniques that at best are okay, but hinder them from riding more skillfully and effectively. At worst they are harmful and even dangerous for them. The value of having a demo for these riders is more than just instructional, as it is for the new riding students. For the more experienced riders it means they have to make a conscious, and often dramatic change in how they think, ride and maneuver the motorcycle. For some, they can't make the change and continue on doing as they have always done. For the new students however, no mid course corrections are needed. They have an advantage. They don't have to change, they just learn.

I don't see much of a difference in the paradigm shifting going on within the Body of Christ at this juncture. Doing things "as we have always done them" is being challenged, and the rules for what church is or isn't, are being explored. New "demos" are displayed before us, and we are all in a learning curve of change. Some can make the mid course corrections, and others cannot.

We are in a teachable moment in history. A time where change is in the wind.

The Kingdom is being discussed outside of seminary by folks without theology degrees and they are doing these discussions in their homes, work places, coffee shops, bars and all sorts of unorthodox settings. People are actually reading their own bibles for instruction rather than just listening to an hour of teaching once a week. Those who have not been "full time paid ministers" are finding out they too are called to serve the King in full time, 24/7 obedience and availability, and they are challenging the notion that there is sacred work and then there is secular work. The whole Army is being called into action, rather than the few, and the momentum forward is evident.

Not too unlike when Jesus Himself walked the earth. The ultimate teaching moment! Another time where change was in the wind.

He was after all; "just Joseph's son". Those He called to join Him in this radical change were fishermen, tax collectors, women and nobodies! He had church on mountains, in boats, at wells and in homes. He did such unorthodox things like spit in dirt and smear it in blind eyes, forgive a woman caught in adultery, share the Kingdom with prostitutes and tax collectors, healing on the Sabbath and breaking the sacred rules on a regular basis. It was like He carried a big banner that proclaimed; "I came to bring change and bring it more abundantly"!

Those who watched and learned from the "demos" of Jesus and made the midcourse corrections, prospered in Kingdom terms. Those who didn't, remained stagnant in their institution. White washed tombs, blind leading the blind.

Ivan Illich, was an Austrian philosopher critical of contemporary institutions like education, medicine and economic development. He spoke about something called counterproductivity; which is the concept that describes a phenomenon that when an institution reaches a critical point and forms a monopoly, without knowing it, they begin to impede their own performance.

This is what happened to Israel. They started out with the very Words of God, handwritten on stone tablets with His own Hand. And there was more! A great book written of the love and commitment of a God who desired relationship with those He created.

Remember the Tabernacle? The very Presence of God hanging out with His people! Wow, the first God in a Box! But that was His box of making...not the one we put Him into. There is a big difference. Jesus came to us again in a box of human form.

Pretty quickly in time, the words of love and fatherly instruction became institutionalized rules, formats, and all about performance. Systems, professionalism and elitism replaced intimacy, simplicity, dependency and the value of each life in Kingdom realities. Jesus saw Israel as sheep without a shepherd, harassed and downtrodden.

We have our own form of institutionalized counterproductivity today.

In the book of Matthew, 18:3-4, Jesus says; "Truly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven".

Children are teachable. They accept their dependency. They make the corrections needed when confronted with the instruction.

My motorcycle students that are new to riding, have the openness and humility to take the instruction and learn. Some of my more experienced riders also humble themselves and make the corrections in how they ride and maneuver the motorcycle.

What about us? Are we teachable, trainable and humble enough to make any mid course corrections that the Holy Spirit is leading us into? Can we become and stay as little children and experience all of the Kingdom as we live out this simple, organic and missional life? Can we jump into the unknown, trusting our free fall to the One who knows where to land us?

One of my favorite quotes from Ivan Illich is where he says; "We can only live changes; we cannot think our way to humanity. Every one of us, every group, must become the model of that which we desire to create."

"O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever." Ps 131

Harold

2009-10-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the earth lost a great light.

A light that burned brightly in the the love and incredible grace of Christ. A man who exemplified the character of Jesus in every aspect of his life.

Harold received his heavenly reception and the open arms of the Lord he loved and served all these years.

I'm sure it was a party! A reception of joy and honor for a man who spent his life in passionate love and service to The One; the Source of Harold's passion.

I'm sure "His Master said to him, 'well done good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master." Matthew 25:21

Now that is something to look forward to! Running into the welcoming arms of a Father well pleased and excited to hold and affirm you!

The short time I knew Harold was long enough to see the example of a man who exemplified so much of scripture. Harold loved Jesus. Harold loved people. He was a gentle man, familiar with suffering and patient endurance. His character was evident.

Harold leaves a legacy of the realities of what Jesus can do through someone willing to live their life as a servant because they love the Master more than anything else. He was faithful in every context of life. Husband, father, friend, pastor, teacher, counselor, evangelist, and so much more. Many lives have been impacted by this gentle man who saw ministering at Sam's club with his coworkers, as important as pastoring a church of fellow believers in his home country of Brazil.

He was salt, light and the fragrance of Christ wherever that was and in whatever circumstance. He was a witness of the realities of a life lived for Jesus and His Kingdom.

What will be our legacy?

Can we be affirmed as faithful servants, obediently listening and obeying the Lord? Will we be known as bearers of light and hope to those around us lost in darkness?

Do we leave in our daily running through life, a wake of the fragrance of Jesus? Is our saltiness bringing healing to wounds and the questions of life and suffering? Does our character speak of Christ before anyone even hears about Him? Is our love evident and our grace impacting?

I don't know about you, but my goal is to have a reception like Harold had yesterday when he met the Lord face to face in heaven. I want to know my life glorified and honored the One who gave it to me for a purpose.

"Aproveite a festa" Haroldo!

It was a blessing to know you on this side of heaven! Thank you for an example to follow and for being my friend. I will miss you.

Unpleasant Training

2009-10-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I long to live in a cabin somewhere up in the mountains of Idaho, Wyoming or Montana. Somewhere beautiful, serene and isolated.

A place of quiet that penetrates your soul.

A place where gazing up at the immense and endless sky, puts life into healthy perspectives.

A place of simple living and restful existence.

Maybe I'm tired. Maybe it's a time in my life where all the forces of nature, age, the experiences of the daily life of urban struggle are all coming together as a crucible. Maybe it's attack and battle fatigue. Maybe character issues that are needing adjustment. Maybe some and all of the above!

I suspect, as always, that God has a plan in it all, even though I only see it in dark glasses these days.

In the end, it doesn't really matter how I got here, or for what great purpose I find myself struggling in these days. What does matter is my response to it.

I watch my new puppy happily bounce through each day, as if today, this moment, is the BEST day yet!

Each article on the floor is a new discovery, and every room is a hidden adventure waiting to be explored. Every person she greets is the most important in her focus and affection. Her excitement over their presence overflows. As cute as she is, she is also undisciplined and untrained. At only 8 weeks old she is a cute, bouncy little bundle of potential, and that potential will take some effort for it to emerge.

Training is the only way for that potential to be fulfilled. The only way for her to mature and learn obedience to our commands. She won't like some of it and will surely try our patience during the process I'm sure! It takes a lot of commitment and effort to patiently teach her. Rewarding the behaviors we want and discouraging those we don't. Dog training is not for the weak and passive. In the end however, we will have a great dog to enjoy!

In the Book of Hebrews, it says of Jesus that; " although He was a son, he learned obedience from the things which He suffered." The definition of suffer is: to undergo or be subjected to pain. To permit, subject or endure oneself to. It is a verb, which means that it is an ongoing action.

It's an amazing thing to think of Jesus, the perfect son of God, pleasing to Him in all his ways, needing to suffer to learn obedience. Just think on that a minute.

Was it in part, the Son learning to identify with all that is human? To forge the path ahead for our training in suffering and obedience? Was it only about the Cross and the cost of that act on our behalf? Somehow, I think it also had to do with ministry that used up his strength, patience and fortitude as he walked in his own humanness and with the realities of relating to the humans around him. Jesus did get tired! He "endured" much of his time on earth. Read about the many times he "went away by himself", or "sent the disciples across" without him. When he proclaimed; "how long do I need to be with you?", it sounded like someone a bit "people weary". He was familiar with rejection, alienation, persecution and all those types of suffering.

Regardless of the reasons why and when Jesus suffered that we can theologize forever over, the bottom line is that he did learn obedience through suffering.

Hebrews continues on to tell us that; " for those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives" and; " it is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons."

"Discipline is not pleasant at the time", but the Word again says, " yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness".

So, my response? (Well, if you want to send me an airline ticket and a cozy mountain cabin to hold up in for a few weeks, I'd love it! Just kind of kidding!)

At the deepest core of my heart, above all else, I want please the Father and Son. I want my life to honor their love and eternal commitment to me. Whatever it takes. What other choice is there for someone who has freely chosen to submit joyfully to the One who is everything good and right?

Although I'd love the cabin in the mountains, and the peace of those surroundings, I will subject myself to God. Begging for more Grace and strength to do what He says I need to do when I find myself in this training session. I will do what the Word says, which is to "strengthen feeble knees" (keep standing), and "hands" (stay involved) and "make level paths for my feet" (stay in Him, His Truth and Word).

In some ways, it may be easier to train my puppy than the Lord training me, but I will submit myself to the Ultimate Trainer and reach my full potential!

May you also.

Learning is Doing

2009-09-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

On my last blog post I spoke on the real struggle of organic, simple and missional life. It's not an easy path for those who like knowing where they are going on a tangible daily basis. You just don't get all the information you'll need for this journey as a set up manual when you step into it.

For most people; figuring it out as we go, with the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit as our guide, can be disorienting and uncomfortable. Some of us don't like adventures all that much and want the map! We are used to being told what to do, believe and sign up for!

Like the children of Israel, after leaving years of captivity for the promise of a land of inheritance and fruitfulness we, instead of saying; "give us manna!", proclaim; "give us the manual!"

However, God has a land of inheritance for each of us that is unique, tailored and fruitful. It's imperative that we learn and discover it on our own with Him on that one of a kind journey.

We don't get the manual, instead, we learn by doing it with Him. The Teacher of all teachers.

When my kids were little, I had to make a conscious effort to help them learn to do things for themselves because I knew it was better for them, even if it was not better for me. I wanted my kids to love the learning process, so they'd continue to grow and learn all their lives and in every context. From a selfish and convenient perspective, it was easier, quicker and more efficient if I did things for them. They on their own, usually produced large messes as they figured out to feed themselves, dress, keep up their room, brush teeth, make cookies, do science projects, term papers, etc. I was okay with the messiness of learning because I knew the end resulted in truly acquired skills, learning and confidence. I could of done many things for them. I could of instructed them in every detail, closely monitoring and controlling the process. However, would they of really learned, or just learned to be good at following instructions and a controlling parent?

In the journey of learning a simple, organic and missional life, we want the manual of instruction to study and contemplate over first. We think we learn by gathering all the information we need first, and then do it.

We listen to various speakers, take some notes and contemplate what we learned. We fill our brains with information, examples, models, other people's testimonies and maybe try out some of what we've read or heard about. We wait until we have what we think we need and then try some of it out. Enevitably, we make a mess. We struggle. We hate the process because it has messes and failures. We look like complete wackos to those around us who are watching the whole experiment. We evaluate all the things that went wrong and re-evaluate the whole paradigm. We wonder if we ARE wacko! We want more information and instructions. Then, we'll be successful! NOT!

As humans we learn by certain ways. Auditory (hearing), Visual (seeing), and Kinesthetic (doing). We can learn by any of them, but one will dominate the others as our best learning style.

As a homeschooler, it was important for me to ascertain what learning style worked best with my three kids. Once I determined which one dominated the others, I tried to incorporate as much as I could of that learning style into their learning process.

As we age, we usually become more "balanced" in our learning styles. However, one learning style increases in it's effectiveness as we age, regardless of it's previous dominance or not. That is the Kinesthetic or the "doing" learning style.

As some of you know, Tom and I are instructors for motorcycle safety riding courses for the State of MN.

We go through a long and extremely intense training process to become licensed instructors.

One of the things we learn as instructors is the best way adult learners acquire skills and retain information.

Adults learn quickly and retain the most through using their gross motor skills first.

Then, once that is acquired, the learning moves to fine motor skills and into our thinking process.

In other words, actually using your body in the learning process comes before the thinking and understanding of that skill if you wish to really learn and incorporate it.

Whether your into motorcycles or not, ride along with me a bit as I use them as a good example of what I'm talking about.

Let's say your riding along and you want the motorcycle to lean to the left (as in a curve to the left). In order to do that you must press the left hand grip. Vise versa for the right. No one understands this until they actually get on the motorcycle going about 10 mph, press the hand grip in the direction they want to go and see the bike lean and go in that direction. It makes no sense in our brains until we actually do it and see the affect.

If I'm teaching someone how to find the friction zone (the area where releasing the clutch engages the power of the motorcycle's rear wheel and you begin to move forward), no amount of explanations help until the student actually gets on the motorcycle and feels the friction zone for themselves. Since they are using their hands in new ways, balancing a couple hundred pounds and feeling pretty nervous, they inevitably stall the bike a few times in the process! Who cares? They have felt and thereby learned just what a friction zone is. Now, they can continue to improve their skills until it is a smooth and thoughtless maneuver.

Of course, all our learning is individualistic. Some students learn quick and others need to spend a bit of time to master the process. However, by actually doing the skill first, as opposed to thinking and understanding it, the skill is acquired. Motorcycle riding becomes less stressful and more fun as skills grow and confidence blooms!

It is a similar process in learning the simple organic and missional lifestyle. You must experience it (and in my motorcycle analogy; kill the motor a few times) by doing before it really starts to take shape and make sense. It can look messy, and you may have a lot of starts and stops. (You may feel like a new student on a 250lb motorcycle, a complete klutz and one who will never be a track racing star, but your moving!) Your really living out your faith in new ways, and experiencing God in the ways of Job who said "I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you".

Be encouraged by your learning process. Learn by stepping out and doing some of those ideas you have in your heart. Let the Holy Spirit show Himself faithful to His Words in 1 John 2:27; "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as his anointing teaches you about all things; and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him."

We have another saying in the motorcycle community; ride your own ride. It means, let those around you ride their machines in the skill and abilities they have, and you ride within yours. We are not in any competition, any striving for the status of "best rider". Rather, we ride the ride the Author and Perfector of our faith has designed for each of us. Unique and exciting, full of the joyful ride of His ongoing faithfulness to us.

The Journey of Discovery

2009-09-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of conversations with people who are struggling with the blind adventure of the simple, organic and missional church life.

I hear things like; " I don't really know what to do!", "I wish someone could show me how this works!", "I tried that/that, and it didn't work so what's wrong?", "What is this supposed to look like?", "Is there a manual or something I can follow?", "Can you give me a blueprint to work from so I know what I'm supposed to do?"

I empathize with these questions. These are real struggles from hearts that want to "do it right" and have been trained to follow models, leaders, organizations, and manuals so that what they do is "successful" and "correct". I resist the tendency, which is so easy for me, to tell them what to do. Instead, we start talking about what they are learning in the process, what their goals are for living this organic simple life in Christ, what the Scriptures say we should esteem, and that it is okay to try different things and even fail a few times in the process.

God is certainly capable to get us where we need to be, when we need to be there, with all that we need in the process. The bottom line is; He is faithful.

Have you ever heard that saying of on "a need to know basis" ? I think that fits well with His leading of us. He takes us one step at a time. He gives us what we need to know and understand when we need it to lead us forward in faith. He also lets us struggle.

Most of us don't want to hear that we learn best by what we struggle with and figure out on our own. We also don't like to hear that failure is a better teacher than our successes. In fact, I recently read a medical study that concluded that we actually grow more brain cells when we fail! How's that for "organically" rewarding our failures? What incredible Grace!

I believe, God is taking us each on our own wonderful, unique and unmapped "Journey's of Discovery". That is what the journey west, of the explorers Lewis and Clark's into the then unknown, was called.

For those of us who admit to being " a Trekkie", you'll be familiar with the saying; "of boldly going where no man has gone before". I like to use the Star Trek motto to illustrate what the journey in the lifestyle of simple, organic, missional church is like. No manuals, no maps to follow, no clear guidelines and directions (yet,... just give it a few more years and the experts will have the '5 steps to simple church success' available soon at your local bookstore....sorry, my cynicism again).

We do have some great folks out there who are sharing their own journeys of what they are learning and experiencing. Giving us some understanding of what this whole simple lifestyle is all about. Lewis and Clark types who, are on the "Journey of Discovery", just like the rest of us, but are a little further along on their expedition and keeping great journals.

Tom and I have been doing something different this summer. We have been taking short three or four day "mini" vacations on the motorcycle, but we've been doing it in a totally new way from how we have done it before.

In past years we have had a general plan to our vacations. Not completely, but we would have an idea of where we were going, where the scenic spots were, where the camping areas and the places available to us for lodging, eating, getting gas, etc would be. We would, once in a while, drive off the planned course and see what we could discover, but that was the exception. Most of the time we just followed the mapped course we'd laid out together in the kitchen over a couple of nights.

In these vacation expeditions we'd also have a definite goal and agenda of what we wanted to see, experience and accomplish. We don't have the name "driver" for nothing, and some days the only goal seemed to be how many miles we could push through in a day!

This summer however, has been different.

Instead of loading up the car and luggage carrier with all our necessities for camping, our suitcases full of "stuff" that we'd maybe use, coolers packed with food and drink, we packed small bags that fit into the limited spaces on the motorcycle. Usually not more than a change of clothes, our rain gear, a couple bottles of water, basic toiletries, a bible and extra jacket. We'd take along a map, but only for the sake of getting us back on track if we got disoriented and lost out on the back roads of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

We load up and take off in a matter of minutes (verses hours), heading out of the city, in the general direction we wanted to go. We would find some road unknown to us and take it, just to see where it would lead. Often times it would lead to some great and awesome place that we would never of found on our own. Sometimes we would find ourselves at a dead end, where we would have to turn around and go back a bit until we found another road and take that for a while. We found some incredible places and experiences that made us look forward to what new things we'd discover tomorrow! We felt alive and revived. Resulting in thankfulness for all that we saw God bless our journey with each day. A beautiful road, a person to encourage or pray for, finding new friends in towns we'd never of known, creating memories and special times of enjoying life together in the goodness of God. It was simple (unencumbered and portable), organic (let's see what unfolds naturally in the process) and missional (what other lives can we bring some aspect of the nature of Christ to today in our encounters).

When Lewis and Clark made their journey into the western wilderness some two hundred years ago, they went not knowing what they would encounter with each day and decision of direction. Sometimes, the river they travelled just took them along it's natural path and when that was no longer possible, they found their way through mountain passes and vast prairies with sometimes the help of those native to the area. They recorded information, observations and drew pictures of what they were discovering and wrote it in journals for those who would be following in the future. Even though this would be the beginning of the westward movement of settlement, each of the pioneers soon to head west on that journey still had to discover, on their own with just a few journal notes of information and helps, the path to where they would eventually settle.

Tom and I driving along this summer on the unknown back roads of MN and WI, not knowing where we would eventually end up that night was exciting, rewarding, adventurous, fun, a bit unnerving, tiring and stressful at times. All of the above and more! I wouldn't give up one moment of it.

The simple organic and missional church life gives us no GPS, maps and instructional directions. Instead, we have the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in the direction we are to go. We get to learn how to follow Him in a dependent and intimate way. When He says; this is the way, we go that way. We learn to have ears that hear. We learn to discover, on our own with Him, the unique adventure that Jesus has planned for us to experience more of Him and what He has in store of us while we walk this side of heaven. To know Him, and walk daily in an intimacy that is fresh, alive, exciting and dependent. We have the ultimate "journal", the Word, that has all that we need pertaining to life and godliness. We have the journals of others on similar journey's that can encourage and aid us, but in the end, we find our own Journey of Discovery with the Author of it all!

In the vernacular of motorcycle trekking............."enjoy the ride"!

Droppings of Self Promotion

2009-08-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Online recently, I saw a post that said; "check out this article written about me".....and gave the link so you could read all about how important this person had become in their area. I know others who push their writing so they can get "best seller" status and increased marketing and notoriety. They may say it's so that more can be reached with their message, but come on!

Is God incapable of getting anointed messages out and impacting those He wants to? Look at the self published (or practically so) book called The Shack. Whatever your view about it, it was a book of impact that changed and gave people a new perspective on the love of God. Only after it had been read by millions through word of mouth referral, did a larger publisher pick it up and market it. To its author, it was like lighting a fire in a forest of dry tinder! He lit it and watched it explode! God did all the work of promotion.

Okay I admit it, I'm a bit critical of people who need to draw attention to themselves and tell everyone how important and influential they are becoming and drawing attention to everything they are doing. Being an introvert myself, it seems completely egotistical and self absorbed to promote oneself. Not to mention, unbiblical and unwise (look at Jannes and Jambres, Miriam and Absolom.)

Why not let other people herald your virtues, if you have any to herald, that is. Or even better, trust God Himself to spread your influence and fruitfulness in His own way?

I understand we all seem to have a need to feel relevant and valuable in the scheme of life. One of our "Basic Needs" according to the sociologist Abraham Maslow, is to feel our life has meaning. He calls it the need for esteem that is given by others around us. If this theory is a valid observation, and I have no reason to doubt it after seeing the reality of it over many years of life, than what is God's plan in addressing it? He made us, knows us, and He must have the spiritual "filler" for this need we have to be valued and esteemed.

The world fills this need by self promotion and noted elevated status. The filler is notoriety.

In the world being known is equated with success, achievement and validity. Big is better. Being known is "getting big". We have descriptions like; he's a big star, she's made it big, star status, popular, VIP (VERY important person), acclaimed speaker, major leader, and others like; Father of the City, Apostle to the Region, Prophet to the Nations, big ministry, a large pulpit, (oops,.....sorry for my sarcasm)........

The world revolves around these values, especially in the West, and we live in a culture of fixation with this type of success, VIP status, and fame.

However, those who live to honor Christ are exhorted to be different.

According to Jesus, we're supposed to be "in the world, but not of the world". We are supposed to look different, act different and impact differently. Not through VIP status, but through humility, obedience and the power of the Holy Spirit to do what we cannot.

Jesus, like the lowliest servant in a household, washed the smelly, dirty feet of fisherman, tax collectors and unknown nobodies. Nobodies, who through their obedience and power of the Holy Spirit would impact the world in less than 70 years.

Like John the Baptist, we are supposed to decrease that He may increase. Do we really see this in ourselves and each other? Are we seeing more of the nature and life of Jesus in us as a movement and as individuals or just a lukewarm version of the normal human experience?

Let's be real here, wouldn't we rather increase? Don't we enjoy the notice and praises of men?

In every movement of the Spirit of God, there is a wondrously fresh beginning. God surprises us and takes unknown, insignificant and often the least qualified people and releases a powerful effect through them. Those we would never consider as influencers, and Kingdom shakers are, in the Hand of God, useful albeit very human tools for His purposes.

Some Old Testament Biblical examples of this are Gideon, Sampson, David, and Deborah. Often unwilling, seemingly insignificant unlikely choices of influencers for the purposes of God. Some New Testament examples would be Timothy, Peter, the Samaritan woman, Matthew and Zaccheus. Weak, un-esteemed, corrupted, young, female, uncircumcised, abhorred, unknown, blue collar,....you get the idea.

There seems to be a theme with God and whom He chooses.

He likes our weakness, our insignificance, our obscure and often unlikely raw material. He values our knowing just how really incapable we are without Him. He loves to manifest the BIGness of a God who is the only one who deserves to be called a star and a VIP.

If we fill our need for significance with the accolades of those around us, we're on the way of Balaam who sold his gift for status, money and power. And the Pharisee's who prayed to be noticed, esteemed and admired, whom Jesus called white washed (and inferred empty) tombs.

I admit, I'm becoming a bit cynical, even downright disgusted with the self promotion going on. I know I have my sin issues, and would not want to give anyone the impression in writing this, that I don't struggle with the flesh as much as anyone. Even having this blog and wondering if anyone reads it, indicts me and is an internal conflict of my own. My flesh is ever before me and I too need the grace of God to decrease so that He may increase every day and every year in my life.

We have an opportunity and a choice, at this time in history and in this present move of God to use ordinary, simple and seemingly insignificant folks, to be people of impact for the Kingdom of God.

If we'd choose His notoriety over our own......

"Thus says the Lord, Heaven is My throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where then is a house you could build for me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being, declares the Lord. But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word". Is 66:1-2

May He look our way!

Droppings

2009-08-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

I'm back to blogging.

I have a lot of stuff swimming around in my head leaving plenty of "droppings" that I need to dialog about. I'll admit to being someone who has strong opinions and ideas about certain things. In fact, I can get pretty downright dogmatic at times. Of course, opinions being such as they are, most of us think that our own are correct.

I am no different.

That said, however, I love to be challenged with some new angles of thought or different perspectives. I like my rough edges sanded off by those around me.

So, sand away in the next few weeks as I share some of my thoughts and perspectives with you. I'm looking forward to it!

Lamentations 3:40 "Let us examine our ways and test them"

Endurance

2009-05-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

The first year Tom and I were married we decided we go up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness for a canoe trek. The BWCA is located in Northeastern Minnesota, and has a million acres of wilderness, with over 1,000 lakes and streams, and more than 1500 miles of canoe routes. Beautiful, rugged and isolated. In our youthful optimism we thought; "no problem"!

We mapped out a trip that would cover close to 100 miles in 10 days, going deep into the more isolated areas of the wilderness. At the time, 10 miles a day didn't seem like an unrealistic goal, but we based that on what we could easily accomplish on the lakes and rivers we had grown up canoeing. Those usually did not require much, if any, portaging. However, this trek would require many portages, and some quite a distance. Our canoe which we would be portaging weighed 75 lbs., (heavy but durable against the rocks). Tom's backpack was 75 lbs, and mine was 65 lbs. (Who knew that dehydrated foods and noodles could weigh so much!) We practiced lifting and carrying it all a few times, finding it heavy, but doable. Our confidence was high! This was going to be great!

We quickly discovered how much this trip was going to challenge us. It would challenge us emotionally, physically, spiritually, and as a newly married couple. We would gain a whole new perspective on the word endurance.

The first day was great and our goals met. Easy portages, great weather, and smooth waters. We tried fishing for our supper, but with no luck there, we were happy to boil up noodles for a nice dinner. All in all, our expectations were met. As Tom would say; "nice!"

It went steadily and consistently downhill from there. Now the real trek was "game on".

Storms on lakes that came up quickly and powerfully. Three foot waves causing us using all our strength and skill just to stay afloat, but inhibiting us from making progress to the shoreline and safety. Portages that were really bogs and sank us up to our hips. More storms that kept us in our tent for two full days, anxious that the trees blowing down nearby would not land on us! Mosquitos that were really more like sucking, flying bats, and black flies that were so thick you breathe them. More portages that were rock cliffs instead of nice level paths and far longer than the rods listed on the map. Rapids that dumped us and all our gear, causing us to lose time and miles just to dry everything out. Portages that were supposed to be there (the map said so) but were not, and required us to forge new ones through dense woods. Exhausted and completely spent, some nights we didn't even bother with a fire and cooking (yes, our noodles), but crawled into our tent and sleeping bags wanting sleep more than food.

I remember one night, waking up to the sound of heavy breathing outside our tent, and that unmistakable smell of bear. Trying to remember if we hung our food packs far enough up and out of reach, I was so exhausted that I couldn't even stay awake to pay attention to the situation. All I wanted was more sleep, the bear could do what he wanted.

Everyday we talked about quitting. However, we had reached a point in the trip where going back would of been longer than pushing forward. Talking often turned into arguments of blame, frustration, and impatience. We were dependent upon each other in whole new ways. We could only make it through the trip if both of us endured. If each of us kept the course and carried their load.

I remember often thinking of the verse where Jesus said to pick up our cross and follow him, as I picked up my pack, hoisted the canoe overhead and slowly trekked forward. It gave me a whole new perspective on its meaning. His burden may be light, but often our cross's are heavy. Sometimes moving forward is difficult.

In the end we accomplished our journey. We did our 10 days and 87 miles of wilderness adventure. We lost weight, gained muscles, learned about our weakness's and strengths. We learned to guard our tongues and keep each other focused on the mission for the day with encouraging words and attitudes.We had a new appreciation for each other and that kind of bonding that occurs when you endure some hard and difficult times together. And, we didn't eat noodles for many years after that trip!

It's been 25 years since this infamous canoe trek. Yet, I think about it and all the things it taught me often.

I see a similar journey in our lives as followers of Christ. We start out so confident in our own strength and capabilities and how much "we're going to accomplish" for the King and Kingdom. We, in our naivety we think we will not have difficulties that test our endurance, challenge our faith, cause us to question, and wear us down. Yet, the walk of a Christian is one of endurance. We are destined to persevere through storms, rough portages, unforseen difficulties, and situations that require us to depend up each other and the Lord.

Paul talks about endurance in 2 Timothy 2, verse 10; "I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory".

Paul endured for the goal that by his steadfastness, others would come to know Jesus. That his endurance had a purpose and affect.

Again Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 11 with a list of things he endured; labors, imprisonments, beatings, stoning, lashing, shipwrecks, dangers from rivers, robbers, countrymen, hunger, thirst, cold and exposure. Then he adds the internal pressures of his concern for all the churches.

In the end, he concludes that for the sake of Christ, it is all worth it.

" Consider it all joy, my brethren,when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing". James 1:2-4

Organic Leadership Track

2009-05-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

In my 1/2 acre yard over the last 15 years, I have planted many different varieties of trees, shrubs, flowering bushes, vines, perennial flowers and of course; my annuals of vegetables and flowers. With the exception of my vegetables, I rarely plant more than one of the same kind. I purpose every year to find some new addition to my yard that will add something unique, something special. I have plants that flower only in the spring but what beauty they bring during those short weeks! I have vines that continue to grow and spread wide that produce the most beautiful flowers all summer that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Some shrubs that add great wind protection and privacy, giving a great nesting place to birds. A bush that turns bright red and orange in the fall, rightly called the "burning bush".

I think God does that with us. Planting us in a large garden, chosen and placed to add something unique and special. Our purpose is to add whatever it is to the garden that we are created for. To bear fruit in accordance with "our kind", as the Scriptures say.

Organic Leadership is based on who we are naturally. Not leadership based on business models of leadership gifts, qualifications and charisma. It is "organic" to who we are and what we have been given to serve with.

Naturally and uniquely adding what has been given to you for the Kingdom of God. Growing where you are planted, faithfully and obediently.

In Matthew 21, Jesus is in discussions with the religious leaders of the day who are questioning his authority. Jesus relates a story of a vineyard that has not produced any fruit, and in fact, have abused those who tried to produce any fruit from it. He says in rebuke; "therefore I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it", (vs 43).

Organic Leadership is something that produces fruit of the Kingdom. Fruit in many forms and with impact. It has influence and an authority that is not positionally based but in self sacrifice; "whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave", Matthew 20:27-28.

Ezekiel stood by the banks of a great river that flowed out of the city of God. Everywhere this river flowed, life resulted. He gives us a description of the trees that grow on the banks of this river in chapter 47:12; " By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fall. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."

Organic leadership is based on dependency, humility and intimacy. As Jesus taught us; "I only do that which I see the Father doing", John 5:19. Not with great ideas, programs, strategies and steps to success. Regardless salary, stipend or honorarium, Organic Leadership is serving out of love, privilege and the desire to be a servant at any cost.

Neil Cole will be leading three sessions in the Organic Leadership Track; Pulling the Weeds From the Garden of Leadership, on Friday night. On Saturday morning; From Movement to Monument. And the final session for the conference on Saturday night called; Organic Leadership. I will be leading a session called Igniting People to Purpose, on Friday afternoon.

Living The Mission - The Simple Church Track

2009-05-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia; "A simple church may meet anywhere; with or without trained leaders, formal liturgy, programs or structures. They meet to facilitate relationship, discipleship, multiplication, mobility and member ownership. The term is used interchangeably with the terms like organic church, essential church, bodylife, relational church, micro-church, and the most common being house church."

This track will explore the values and practices of simple church.

On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, Tony and Felicity Dale (house2house.com, simplechurch.com) will introduce you to what happens in a simple church gathering. They will share from years of experience in starting and multiplying simple churches and mentoring others in the process. If you have wondered how to begin a simple church or you have some questions as to how it functions with leadership, children, money, teaching, how often to meet, when and how to multiply, etc., this would be a great opportunity to learn from seasoned leaders.

Friday and Saturday morning, John White (LK10.com) will be leading 4 sessions from his philosophy on simple church called; The Seven Practices. Beginning with intimacy with Jesus, then growing naturally to spouse, to family, to neighborhood, to community and finally; a region. (These practices can be read in detail on the website; www.LK10.com.)

If you want to hear how Jesus makes planting a simple church a possibility for all of us, this series of workshops will inspire, equip and encourage you!

APEST

2009-05-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

Living The Mission - The APEST Track

Have you ever wondered about how God has gifted you? What He put within you specifically to serve and work alongside Him in Kingdom expansion? What your passions, interests, and personality aspects say about your gifting and purpose?

What made the Apostle Paul successful in his ministry and yet he struggled often with interpersonal relationships? How did Barnabas see the potential in Paul before anyone else and took the time and energy to invest in him? What made Phillip present the gospel so clearly to the Ethiopian Eunuch and as a result, evangelise a whole nation?

APEST stands for; Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher. Alan Hirsch and Brian Schubring have developed an assessment test (taken before the conference, and done online in about 10 minutes) that will help you understand how God has equipped you. This workshop presents the 5 gifts listed in Ephesians 4, from the premise that we all have elements of these gifts within us since God wants us to reproduce ourselves and equip others for the Kingdom.

This is a highly interactive class. The same session is offered on both Wednesday and Thursday for you to choose from and allow you to take in other workshops. On Saturday both groups from the Wednesday and Thursday night sessions will gather together and do some "urban trekking" which will be fun, stretching, impacting and full of individual coaching and encouragement.

In order to come prepared for this workshop. Please take the APEST assessment test online before hand and come to the conference with the results page printed out to discuss in the workshop. There is an extra $10 charge for the test(online), and another $10 for workbooks that will be given during the session.

The team from LVC (Leadership Vision Consulting), who works with Alan Hirsch (The Forgotten Ways, The Shaping of Things To Come, REJesus) and developed by Brian Schubring will be leading this exciting workshop.

Living The Mission - The Missional Track

2009-05-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

What is missional?

Christian vernacular changes constantly, and definitions change as a result. The meaning and value of words change with the wind, and because of that, I want to make sure we are using the term in the same way for the purposes of this particular Track in the conference.

Many books have been written and will continue to be written as people grapple with the word and how to define it. I think personally, that the essence of 'missional' is described well throughout the book; The Shaping of Things To Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. I'm not a smart as those two, nor do I think I have the complete understanding as of yet. However, I have to attempt to communicate what I believe about the word missional, for the Track's description in today's blog.

Being missional is NOT a new word for the Emergent Church. It is NOT something only a few do "full time" or on special "mission trips" slotted into convenient spaces in our lives. It is NOT a program to be instituted in a traditional church or house church to be highlighted every once in a while.

The word missional is an adjective. In grammatical terms, it describes; "what kind of" in reference to a noun. We are the nouns. You, me, us, as the Body of Christ.

Simply put: we are the message.

Jesus calls us salt, light, fragrance, witness's. All of those have emitting qualities. All are adjectives describing us.

We are in a working partnership with the Creator.

He has allowed us to be a part of the Missio Dei; the extension of the Kingdom of God. As Jesus was the representative of God, so we represent Jesus. Moment by moment, day by day, year by year, our lives are a constant living epistle to the realities of Jesus and His Kingdom.

If we are part of the Body of Christ we ARE missional. We are those who represent the King and the Kingdom.

Whether we do that well, or choose to ignore it, it is part of our identity in Christ.

This Track will be exploring this paradigm and removing the obstacles that have hindered us from living more fruitfully in our missional identities.

On Thursday night, Neil Cole will be discussing how Jesus makes disciples. How He empowers us to partnership with Him in this process in the session called; Search and Rescue.

Ed Waken will be inspiring us to see the simplicity of living as representatives of Jesus and what things have kept us from doing so on Thursday night and all day on Friday in his sessions titled; Discovering What Has Been Stolen.

Finally, Tony Dale will explore the variety of avenues that are available to us as we live missionally in the business sector on Friday morning in the session called; Kingdom Apostles/Entrepreneurs.

The Transitional Track in the Living The Mission Conference

2009-05-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

Let's begin these next few blog posts regarding information on the tracks we offer in the conference with the Transitional Track. What is that?

God is always moving to build His Church and release the knowledge of Himself through The Kingdom. How many times did Jesus refer to the phrase; "the Kingdom is upon you" to indicate to his followers just what this Kingdom was like?

The Kingdom was not in form or structure, but in essence, atmosphere, authority and influence.

Study, books, and conversations are happening today on the various aspects of what particular structure is valid and biblical for the Kingdom to be expressed and lived. I'll leave all those conversations to those who are far smarter than I am, and those of biblical scholarship.

I'm a pragmatist. I know that God works with us wherever we are in our present understanding of structures. He desires obedience and rewards faith. He wants us all to be transformed and transformers!

We are all on continuous journeys of living out what we know at the given moment in obedience and faith. All those journeys are unique, even if they do hold aspects of commonality with others on similar journey's.

In the Transitional Track; conversations, experiences, tools, and ideas for what is now referred to as simple, organic and missional will be explored as expressions of the Kingdom within any structure.

The Transitional Track in this conference is for those who like some structural aspects of what we are lately referring to as "traditional", "conventional", or the term I dislike; "institutional" but have become hungry for more influence and essence of The Kingdom in that expression of structure.

This track will especially focus on hearing specifically from the Lord what He is telling YOU about the Kingdom and the structure you worship and serve Him in. No models, no formulas, no 10 Steps to success, but the encouragement to explore some new paradigms of thinking and possibilities.

This track has sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 7-9 PM and facilitators are Brian Williamson, Ed Waken and myself.

Living The Mission

2009-05-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

I complain about our long Minnesota winters. The long dead months of white on grey. Endless days of dormancy, cold and the lack of color. Then the world around me changes. The buds of new life in all their various forms and colors arrive, noticeably more vibrant because of the long winter from which I emerge.

In June, we will be having a "spring moment" available for us. A time for those things within us that may have become dormant, pruned back, or transplanted into new gardens, to spring back into life. A season of being watered, fertilized, and mulched. All necessary for life, growth and weed control. A time for the buds abiding in the Vine, to blossom with the promise of coming fragrance and fruit.

In the Book of John, chapter 15, we hear Jesus talking with his disciples about this. He says; " You did not choose Me but I choose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain," vs 16.

We are created to bear fruit. Lasting fruit. Fruit that will bring glory and honor to the Vine Dresser and the Vine.

For this reason, I'd encourage you to attend the conference Living The Mission; The Journey in Simple, Organic, Missional Church, June 17-20, 2009 in Bloomington, Minnesota. A few days to come together, water one another, get some fertilizer and weed control. A time to come out of winter dormancy and become revitalized for a season of "bloom". A time to "spring forth" with expectations of new beginnings.

For brochure on the conference in PDF, printable form: www.rawreligion.com/living-the-mission-conference/

For registration: www.cmaresources.org/greenhouse/living-the-mission-conference/

Living The Mission Conference June 17 -20 in MN

2009-04-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

Soon, very soon! I almost have all the details up and ready to post. You'll be able to find it on rawreligion.com. by the first week of May (my goal!) The other websites of house2house.com, cmaresources.org, simplechurch.com, LK10.com will have limited information but will provide the links to the website with all the information you'll need on the schedule of workshops, in-depth descriptions of them, conference location, costs, hotels and other housing(dorm)/camping (yes, we have great camping close to the location if you want to camp Minnesota!), area attractions, food options, maps, registration info and how to contact me with questions.

Now, .....I want to give you a glimpse of the different "Tracks" of interest for the workshops that we will be offering. Remember to check next week on the web page (rawreligion.com) and you'll find the tracks listed in depth. If you click on that track it will take you to a page that will list all the workshops for that track and the speakers leading them. Here is a general overview of the different tracks:

Organic Leadership - What is it, what does it look like, what makes it different from previous leadership styles and structures. Neil Cole, Katie Driver

Simple Church Basics - Learn the basics of doing simple/house church with Tony and Felicity Dale in their two workshops.

With four sessions facilitated by J0hn White you'll be exploring the Seven Principles of LK10, in planting simple churches. These sessions will build upon one another during the conference and we'd encourage you to stay with John's sessions to get the most from the training and tools.

APEST - A team of folks who work with Alan Hirsch (The Forgotten Ways, APEST.org) will be leading this track on discovering through various ways, the unique makeup of your gifting and how to use that in Kingdom mission. A pre-test, offered on the website will be a prerequisite to this class. More on that will be listed on this track page.

Organic and Missional Transitions for Conventional Church Style - It's not about the structure that people fellowship in, but in their engagement in simple, missional, naturally organic lifestyles that brings transformation. Brian Williamson, Ed Waken, Katie Driver

Missional Track: Spreading The Good News of the Kingdom - From making lifestyle evangelism easy and natural, to hearing inspiring stories and examples that "fit" with who you are. See how God is using business's for mission, transformation and provision for the Kingdom. Ed Waken, Tony Dale, Neil Cole

Special Workshops -

Taste of Greenhouse (same training offered twice during the conference)- For those of you who want to know what the Greenhouse weekend intensive training is all about, this 2 hour "taste" will give you an idea and you'll want more!

Panel Discussion with Speakers - Here is your opportunity to access the various speakers whom you might of missed by taking other workshops. Questions, issues and your various experiences in living the mission, will be done in panel forum for mutual edification and sharpening of each other for Kingdom transformation. No workshops will be scheduled during this time so everyone can participate who desires to.

Later on, in this blog, I'll go over with a bit more depth, some of the workshops and what the speakers bring to their sessions.

All of the sessions will be done in discussion forums. We want your participation, the giving of your input, asking of questions, sharing your own stories and journey's. As iron sharpens iron, we hope to learn from each other in an atmosphere of mutual edification. We lift no one up as experts and professionals. Those sharing as workshop facilitators are learning as they walk in obedience to the Lord in their lives, and are the first to admit that. That said, we are blessed to have some pioneers and trail blazers to this movement of God in these days.

In keeping with the simple/organic/missional paradigms of each member of the Body of Christ being a valuable asset in the Kingdom of God, we hope you gain encouragement and strength from our days spent together in Bloomington, Minnesota!

Put the dates on the calendar for June 17 - 20 !

Living The Mission:The Journey in Simple, Organic, Missional Church

2009-04-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to introduce you to, and give you a little "taste" of our speakers, their workshops and contributions, at a conference we will be hosting here in June called; Living The Mission: The Journey in Simple, Organic, Missional Church.

I'm hoping you'll find something of value and interest that will encourage and strengthen you in your journey of living out your faith with intimacy, impact and purpose, especially in the context of simple, organic, missional church paradigms and you will plan on attending all or some of the conference.

As you follow this blog over the next few weeks, I hope you'll find yourself as excited as I am about it, and join us here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area June 17 - 20, 2009.

I will be getting up a web page with all the details in the next week or so, and from there you will be able to access all the details and information regarding the various "tracks" of specific topics offered, the schedule, workshops, registration, costs, housing, area activities, etc. I will also be posting it on my Facebook page, cmaresources.com, house2house.com, LK10.com, or you can email me at katiedriver@msn.com.

I am convinced that we are finally beginning to see the WHOLE Body of Christ being "thrust out into the harvest fields" for greater Kingdom purposes. There is a hunger in people to be activated to fulfill the missions God has purposed in His Heart for them. Unique and diverse these missions are, with each member walking in obedience and for His Glory.

We have incredible possibilities before us. As I wrote in my previous posts of Nameless Servants and The Unit, may we become humble, obedient servants and join together in the mission that Jesus spoke to in His last words to the disciples;

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying; 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I AM with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

Nameless Servants

2009-04-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

Years ago a man prophesied that the Lord would raise up a new breed of people. A nameless and faceless Kingdom people. Men and women of impact that would accomplish through the Spirit of God, incredible Kingdom advances. A people who would not build ministries and reputations, but be wholly committed to humility. A breed of people where the only reputation known, was the reputation of Christ.

A while back I studied revivals. One of my favorite was the Indonesian revival that was on and off during the last century. Teams of Christians would go into all the various islands and villages in small groups of 2-5 persons. They were only known by the number given to their team. In one season of increased revival, this is how much of it was described;

"Team #123 reports 3 healings, 12 salvations", "Team #87 reports 6 healings, 25 salvations, 1 dead raised"," Team #195 reports entire village received Christ after village leader healed from death bed and restored through prayer", "Team #11......" You get the point...

No one will know who these faithful servants were, outside of those who participated with them until heaven. They were simply being obedient ambassadors. Gratefully serving and with the zeal of those who know the great value of the riches of the message they carried. The only name remembered was the name Jesus.

For those of you around my age (agh!), you'll remember the popular show on television called "The Invisible Man". Through a botched science experiment, this man became invisible. He started out fine, enjoying his anonymity, but soon became quite evil. Driven by his flesh to acquire power and notoriety he eventually had to die.

The final message of the movie was that being invisible would ultimately destroy someone because of the isolation, lack of recognition and power available to them.

That is the system of the world we exist in. To be invisible would mean death to us. Our ego and self worth destroyed. But we are not of this system. We are called to a better way.

In Matthew 20, the mother of James and John went to Jesus to ask that her sons be awarded to sit on the left and right of Jesus in heaven one day. The disciples were irritated about this, and because their flesh had been snagged, went to complain to Jesus about it. Jesus responds with: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for the many" vs.25-28.

Whoever remembers the names of servants and slaves?

Only the Master, and that's the One that matters.

The Strength Of The Unit

2009-04-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

There is a television show that I watch called "The Unit". It's made up of a team of Special Forces soldiers that take on impossible missions. They are only successful because they take their individual talents and skills and apply them together as one Unit. Each member on the team are experts in their own unique way. Success in their individual expertise and role is necessary for accomplishing the mission. If one falters in his role in the Unit, the whole Unit suffers, and so they work together to keep each member strong and engaged.

There is no competition between Unit members because the purpose of the Unit is the mission and it's success.

In a battle fighting an enemy, you want the soilders around you to be strong, engaged and doing their individual part in the battle. Because if their not, it leaves you all vulnerable, and you all fail.

We don't benefit from competition with each other. Our biggest weapon against the enemy is the strength of the person and persons fighting next to you. Encouraging and strengthening them with your words and actions should be your priority. If they succeed, you do too! And it in no way diminishes your value in the army, in fact, it enhances it!

Paul says in 1 Cor. 3:3; "for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshy, and are you not walking like mere men?"

I know some people that just cannot say anything encouraging and affirming to anyone else. They seem to believe that if they built someone else up, that would in some weird, warped way, diminish them!

They place themselves in competition against a fellow soldier. They are fighting the war as an individual and they are showing their own insecurities, low self esteem and fears.

The Scriptures give us some examples of this, as unfortunately, it seems to plague us as humans beings from the very beginning:

Joseph, and the jealousies of his brothers, who resented the attention and affirmation of Jacob with Joseph.

Cain and Able, the first brothers. Cain became jealous and resentful that God liked the sacrifice of Able more than his. Instead of giving a better sacrifice the next time and learning from his error, he decides that killing Able solves his problem and he doesn't need to change.

Jacob, striving against Esau for the higher blessing and using manipulation and deception to achieve it.

Paul and his rebuke of those who "measure themselves by themselves" and then would position themselves against Paul, whom he refers to as the "super apostles". Those who also preached the gospel "for selfish gain".

The deeds of the flesh; "enmities, strife, jealousy, dissentions, factions, envying.....become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.." Gal 5

We can walk in the Spirit and not in the above manifestations of the flesh. However, that is not enough to create a strong and capable army. We must seek to build up, strengthen, encourage and think "of one another as more important than ourselves".

Not being able to offer encouragement and affirmation to someone else is a sign your insecure, threatened and walking in the flesh. You don't want another brother/sister to feel empowered because that would harm your sucess and self esteeem. How ridiculous!

We are only as strong as our parts. We're not in this for ourselves, our own glory, our own self worth and esteem.

We're part of a Kingdom, a Divine Unit, called out to a battle that requires that we EACH are successful in our roles.

We are equally valued, esteemed and loved. There is no favoritism with God.

Since we have this as Truth, we need act like it and make encouraging one another a priority every opportunity we have.

Bound Fast

2009-04-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

I've been writing about Kingdom relationships these last few posts because I am passionate about the Body of Christ getting "rightly related", as the Scriptures say, to one another. I'm back to using the movie Lord Of The Rings as an illustration in today's blog post. For visual learners like myself, it is a great movie to use to give us a visual picture to work from.

From start to finish, battle scenes make up a large portion of the movie. The battles are not against other Middle Earth dwellers, but some ugly demonic things called Orcs and Uruk-Hai. Orcs and Uruk-Hai never stop in their pursuit, and no matter how many of them are killed, more fill in as replacements. Sure, they are easily vanquished. It seems that one swipe of a sword is enough to take them out. Even so, it's only a momentary victory. Replacements are being made in deep caverns of darkness, and they will be back.

Doesn't this mirror our own lives and the battles that engage us? Every day, something arises that requires the use of our sword. Armor that is ours to wear and apply is a necessity for our day to day encounters. Our journey with Christ is one big series of battle scenes.

Sometimes I get tired of fighting off the Orcs and Uruk-Hai that interupt my journey and the lives of those around me. Just when I think I can take a rest, I find out quickly that Orks never rest. Instead, they wait for an opportune time to strike.

In 1 Chronicles 19, David has sent out his army and mighty men, under the command of Joab, to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Arameans. Joab divides the army into two divisions. He will command one and Abshai the other. Joab says the following; "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God," vs. 12-13.

The words; be strong and courageous in that passage, have the same meaning. The word in Hebrew is Chazaq, and it means to be bound fast to, to support, to make firm, and it is frequently used to describe battle scenes.

The Body of Christ, the Family of Believers, the Church, is called out as an army. A group of "mighty men". Warriors. We have a Kingdom to advance together and we have been equipped to do so.

An strong and advancing army has some specific qualities to it. It is made up of soldiers that are available and ready. Soldiers that pay attention to the battle around them and where they can assist and support fellow soldiers. They are also bound fast to one another.

In our individualistic, self-focused, self-sufficient lives; being bound fast to one another in the battles of life is challenging. A lot of us prefer to valiantly stand alone in our battles because we are taught by our culture and traditions to do so. We stay away from the battles of others because we're tired from our own. We're taught "not to get involved". And sometimes, we just don't care enough to be bound to someone's battle.

An army is only as strong as it's committed soldiers. Committed to each other and the cause they fight for.

How far could the Kingdom be advanced and the army strengthened this week, if we were to be like Joab and Abshai; bound fast to one another?

"If they are too strong for you, then I will help you. If they are too strong for me, then you shall help me."

Look Around You

2009-03-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Once in a while my husband quotes the phrase; "so heavenly minded your no earthly good".

I love that statement because it goes straight a point of truth.

It is so easy to become entangled in our minds. Our thoughts can consume our days and sap our energy for anything else. We can become prideful and arrogant because we have become enamored with our own beliefs. 1 Cor. 8:1 says; "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up". Knowledge can be like a lot of hot air, puffing up in our head and hearts. But love is a an action. It has substance and produces fruit.

The Bible says that we are "prepared for works of service" Eph 4:12. That is, whatever transformation God works within us is not an end to itself.

It is transformation for a purpose.

Our "talents" are to be used and multiplied. That we may "live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work" Col. 1:10

When we read the scriptures regarding the life of Christ, we read his words AND his works. He

Himself said his works validated his claim of being the Son of God.

Is it possible that we keep our heads in such spiritual loftiness that sometimes we miss out on the opportunities that are opened to us on a daily basis? The disciples of Jesus did.

Jesus was tired. He sat down at a well and waited. Soon, she appeared and an interaction begun. The result of that interaction was that a woman, and "many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him, because of the woman's words,.....he stayed two days and because of his words many more became believers." Jn 4:39,40,41.

As far as disciples were concerned, they were on their way back to Galilee and unfortunately had to pass through this undesirable region of Samaria. It was inconvenient to stop here, and that Jesus actually was wasting time talking with a woman, and a Samaritan at that, was just plain confusing. They were even more surprised that Jesus wanted to spend a couple days there! They had places to go (the villages of Judea) and important things to do (hang out and be a part of the ministry). Not waste time with women and Samaritans.

Jesus gave them a reality check.

"Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest?' I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe and ready for harvest." Jn 4:35

Jesus took them out of their thoughts and intellect that knew how to interpret the seasons and said; look! Open your eyes and see what's in front of you. Ripe hearts, prepared and waiting to be harvested into the Kingdom. Today is an opportunity for impact.

Our eyes need to see around us the opportunities that are available and waiting for us. Our fields that are ripe and ready. They are there if you get out of your head and start looking.

The neighbor who we've just waved to from our car from time to time. The store clerk we see every week at our grocery store or favorite gas station. A co-worker that has been quiet and isolating themselves. The barrister at the coffee shop we regularly visit. Our mailman.

Simple, ordinary life interactions that can have everlasting affect if we'd take the time to look.

Salty Lives

2009-03-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ever stuck your tongue on raw salt? Wow! Instantly, the brain recognizes the intensity of its flavor. We then respond with two possible reactions; we either hate it or want more. This aspect of salt; the affect of it, is crucial in understanding what Jesus means when He refers to us "as the salt the world." Mt 5:13

We're supposed to be different. We're supposed to cause a reaction. We take our saltiness, or lack of it, into every aspect that makes up our lives.

Salt can do many things with the properties it holds. It is a substance that can be both positive and negative in its affects. It can preserve, heal, corrode, destroy, enhance flavor, and it is placed in practically everything these days. It is in most of the packaged and prepared food we eat, the things we drink, cosmetics, household cleaners and detergents, and for those of us who live in the colder climates, it's poured all over our roads during the winter. It is simply and profoundly integrated into our lives in every way.

Think of the impact of one chemical element.

Jesus wants us to be like that. Causing a reaction of some sort in the relationships and "oikos's" of our lives. A spiritual reaction. Something of eternal value and substance.

To be agents of healing and restoration.

To be those who preserve of what is good in one another.

To be ones to draw out and enhance the unique flavor of each of us.

To act in corroding and destroying unscriptural truths that permeate our lives, culture and world.

To be responded to with; "I want some more of that!", in our relationships.

Salt is meant to be used for a purpose. It is to be cast upon something for it to have an affect. If it sits and accumulates it becomes dead and toxic. Think of the Dead Sea. It has the highest salt concentration of anywhere on earth and it is completely toxic to anything living. The only thing it is good for is to float upon it. It is dead because it has no outlet. It's salt accumulates but is never flowing out.

We are not meant to achieve saltiness for ourselves but to be in constant distribution of it for the sake of others and the Kingdom of God.

The new and trendy low salt models we have as consumers may be good for our physical health, but Jesus means for us to be highly salty. To loose any of our saltiness places us on the verge of being "usless". His words, not mine.

We have workplaces, homes, neighborhoods, gatherings, hang-outs, clubs and all sorts of venues this week, this month and this year to be salt the world needs. To cause some sort of spiritual reaction with lasting and enduring affect.

Carry You..... continued

2009-03-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

It was 3 AM and I was on the phone for yet another night of battling unseen, but very real fears.

"Why can't I take the stupid pill?" I cried into the phone.

" You can. It will be okay if you do," was the quiet response I heard back.

"No! I'll become addicted, dependent on them, and then what?" I argued. "I can't do it!"

She gently replied; "You won't. It will be okay. I know it will. Let's pray and ask God to give you peace about taking it".

I could tell I had awoke her from sound sleep. Again. Sleep that she needed for herself in her demanding job that she would be going to in just a couple of hours.

"Why won't He just make me go to sleep without it? He can do that as easily as give me peace about taking a stupid sleeping pill! I don't understand why He's letting me go through this!" I cried out in frustration and exhaustion.

"I don't know why, but I know He loves you and He'll get you through this" she said, and then began to pray for me. Simple requests for rest, peace and the presence of Jesus.

I felt a little bit better. I could sense a far away shimmer of light peeking through my dark night. I hesitantly placed the pill of sleep into my mouth, washed it down with a quick drink and cuddled up next to my soundly sleeping husband.

"Your sure I'll be okay?" I quietly murmured.

"Yup. You'll be okay. Have a good sleep. Love you", my friend said, and I hung up the phone.

She was right. I was okay, and I was going to become more and more okay as the days progressed into months and I found stability once again in myself. She was also right about another thing; she did love me. Not in words, but in action.

John 13:34 says; "Love one another". How easy that sounds but so difficult to really do. We think of love as a feeling of fondness, affection and warm return. And those can be elements of love. But, love is a verb, as the Christian Pop Music band DCTalk used to sing. An action. A demonstration to communicate the value of someone. God loves us, so He gave us His Son in an act of love. We have value to Him and He acted in love to communicate that value.

The Bible speaks of other aspects of true biblical relationships that are part of our being "rightly related" as a family together in the Body of Christ. Aspects that my friend, my "Sam" had shown me.

"Care for one another" 1 Cor. 12:25. The definition of care is to be watchful, to give attentive assistance to one in need.

"Bear one another's burdens" Gal. 6:2. To lift the load off their shoulders and place it upon your own.

"Comfort one another" 1 Thess.4:18. To give comfort is to give strength and hope. Freedom from pain, trouble and anxiety.

"Encourage and build up one another" 1Thess.5:11. To give back courage, to strengthen and empower.

"Regard one another as more important than oneself" Phil 2:5. In my attitude and thoughts I will think of you and your circumstances of life in a manner that trumps mine. I choose to serve you first.

"Serve one another" 1 Pe 4:10 I will take the above regard, and move it into action.

In a post Neil Cole put in his blog on December 19, 2008 (Cole-Slaw.blogspot.com/), he lists 22 different "one another's" in the New Testament. What would happen if we, as members of One Body, called out to be a spiritual family, actually lived out and incorporated these into our lives and relationships? Would the world finally begin to see something unique in our love for one another? Would they see something so pure and real that it would draw them into seeking The One who is evident through it?

Let's give it a try.........

"I can carry you!"

2009-03-17T07:39:00.001-07:00

My favorite line from the movie Lord Of The Rings comes in the final stages of the journey of Frodo and his friend Sam who accompanies him. Frodo has been carrying the ring to its destruction in the fires of Mordor. Frodo is exhausted, has lost his belief that he can complete the task and is ready to succumb to failure. He tells Sam that he cannot complete the journey, he is giving up, it's all over. Sam, himself exhausted and weary, lifts Frodo up into his arms and says;"I can't carry it for you Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you!"

In our lives, we all experience times similar to Frodo,when we are completely worn out from the circumstances of life. Our faith is shaky, our optimism gone and our vision skewed. It's in those times that we really need a Sam. Someone who will come alongside us, pick us up, speak encouraging words, and have the optimism and faith that we are lacking. Someone who says to us; "I can carry you!".

Many years ago I went through a difficult time and found this out in a very personal way. Within a two week period my father suddenly died, Tom was laid off his job and I herniated a disk in my lower back making any movement excruciatingly painful. I was in emotional loss and physical pain, and that was more than I could handle. I began to have panic attacks and incredible anxiety. I couldn't sleep at night and that only heightened the intensity of everything else. I went from being a strong, independent, capable person, to being a weak, needy and empty one, within a couple short weeks.

I had many friends come over, stare at me on the couch, shake their heads and leave. I didn't hear anymore from them. I was not the same person, and they didn't know how to relate to me in my present state.

I had some friends like those of Job. Friends that tried to analyze my circumstances and counsel me out of it. They likewise, after a few attempts to fix me, left and I no longer heard from them either.

And finally, the friends who thought, if they ignored me and the state I was in, maybe when I got out of it, we could just pick up where we left off like nothing happened.

I was seeing friendships "drop like flies" during that period of my life. I saw just how shallow most of what we call relationships are. If I hadn't been so depressed at that time anyway, the truth of that realization alone would of been enough to push me into it!

The Apostle Paul mentions the desertions of some of his friends when he needed them on a number of occasions. Jesus Himself experienced it when all the disciples ran away from him at his arrest and hid themselves. Sometimes we will have only God Himself to see us through difficult days. However, I believe that although we will have some of those times, most of our difficult seasons in life are meant to be shared with each other.

We're not made for solo journeys. We are created for relationship. We are not called to our own islands of experience. We need each other in our experiences. We are called to be a family. A healthy, mutually interactive and supportive family where we "seek to the welfare" of each other above ourselves. That costs us something.

Tomorrow I'll share more about the "Sam's" that God gave to me personally during that difficult time in my life. What they taught me about relationship and the importance of learning what God intends for us to have with each other in the family of God.

Three Legged Races

2009-03-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, I used to enter contests in events at family reunions, 4Th of July celebrations, summer community youth programs, Girl Scout camps and the like. There were two contests that I usually had a chance at winning; one was the water balloon/egg toss, and the other was the three-legged race.

In the three-legged race I'd bind our our ankles and knees together and then squeeze the other persons hip into mine with all my strength. When we ran the race tightly joined with each other, our two bodies becoming one, we would cross the finish line in victory. What made you successful at the three-legged race was if you could get so tightly connected to the other person that you began to move as one.

Those who lost, lost because even though they may have been connected, they were loose and weak connections. They were not tightly bound. They had connections that did not hold together through the forward movement of the race. Those teams usually fell down again and again, and often were disqualified because they spent more time on the ground than in the race!

Most of the Church is like this today. We are not tightly linked together, but instead loosely connected with superficial relationships of convenience. Since we are living and functioning as individual parts we often find ourselves falling and floundering. I hear again and again, people say, they feel isolated and alone in their journey.

Can you imagine a human body functioning in a way where it was not intimately connected and functioning as one? In fact, there are diseases of the immune system that parts of the body act as individuals and then attack it's own healthy cells. These cells are not functioning as one body and the results of that are devastating. This is not God's plan for our physical or the spiritual body.

In the book of Ephesians it says; " Christ the Head....from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." 4: 16.

If we, as the Body of Christ, are not tightly held together, we are in danger of falling again and again. Like those who couldn't complete the three-legged race in my illustration.

We need to be fitted and joined to one another. Tightly bound. It is the only way we can move forward and grow.

Are there those in your life that you are tightly bound to? Those that you can run the race with joined hip to hip? If yes, then great! Be an example to us and encourage us with what you have learned and walk in.

If not, why not? It is part of your provision in the Body of Christ to be so joined. Find the few around you that God has placed in your life for such connections and get tightly bound. You determine how tight the bonds are.

Paul exhorts us in 1 Cor. 9:24; "do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win."

May we all win our three-legged races!

Community

2009-03-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Community existed at one time in our nation. Not what we think of as community in our modern times. Today, we call the suburb or neighborhood we live in, our "community". In today's reality, all that means is the place where our house sits, our shopping takes place, and our kids go to school. We have changed the meaning of community into just a geographical location. If we are still attending a traditional expression of church, then we may consider the congregation of people that we see there once or twice a week; our community. We see them, say "Hi, how are you?" and "bye" and move on. But is that what real community is?

In most of our history as a nation, we had what I believe, to be a better example of community. In those days, they not only lived in proximity with, but entered into, one another's lives in powerful ways. People ate regularly in each other's homes, seeing food as an avenue of fellowship. If someone was experiencing hardship, food was shared generously with the knowledge that the next time, they may be on the receiving end. Building projects involved most of the community members in one aspect or another. People put aside their own lives and concerns and put in long and arduous labor for another's well being. When sickness and health issues arose, many times people exposed themselves to possible infection to nurse the sick. Others took on the job to keep up with chores, children and daily living requirements of those incapacitated, adding to their own personal responsibilities and making for very long work days.

My mother and father used to tell me stories from their childhood, growing up in The Great Depression, of the 1930's in the U.S. Both lived in small rural northern MN towns and both grandfathers were able to work minimally during those years. One, worked on a railroad. The other in the iron ore mines. Not high paying jobs, by any means. Both families had gardens and some livestock on their small town lots. And both families cared for and supported many other families and individuals during the years of The Depression who had no income, no gardens and no livestock to eat from. But this support was not out of a surplus of my grandparents supply. Rather, it came from their own small portion that was barely enough for their own families. My mother tells of having underclothes made from flour sacks, and getting to eat either the back portion or 1 wing of a chicken for her dinner. But, my grandmother canned for hours, food harvested from the garden, to give away to folks who needed it and were worse off than them.

Let's be honest. This is pretty far removed from how we live in community with each other today. Sure, we don't have the Great Depression that would force some of this. Yet, anyway. Most of us live self-sufficient insular lives, paying our bills, taking vacations, buying "stuff" and every once in a while, we may give a few bucks away to someone who may need it. If we help someone with a building project they may be doing, we help if it fits into our scheduled lives. If someone is sick or incapacitated for awhile, we tell them; "we'll be praying for them." If we do actually involve ourselves, we put it on our calendar for a couple days and see that as a sufficient amount of time given our own crammed lives.

About ten years ago, I remember visiting with a friend who was planning for the pending disaster of Y2K . They had taken me downstairs to show me all the food, water and necessities they had been stocking away for this looming crisis. It was incredible, to see all their work in laying this immense supply of provisions. I made the comment that, even though it was a lot of supply, it probably wouldn't last long once the neighborhood found out about it! They'd be THE house of provision for the neighborhood! His response was; "well, I've been thinking about purchasing a gun, just in case something like that would happen. So our provision is protected and we are okay through that time." I blurted out; "You'd shoot someone?" I was glad to hear him say; "no, I don't think I could do that, but I could scare them away!"

Okay, this is not a situation for our normal everyday lives. At least, I hope not. But, it does give an example of what we do all the time. Our focus is not, otherly. Our focus is; me, my, or our. We have lost touch with; they, them, and those. We have lost understanding of community. and even more sad, we as Christians have missed living in relationship with each other as an example to the world around us. "They will know us by our love", is surely not obvious in our daily life interactions.

What if this house of provision, in the above illustration, laid up all these food stores SO THAT they could be a household living in real community for their neighborhood? Isn't that one of the lessons we learn from Joseph and God blessing him with knowledge of pending drought upon the land, SO THAT ultimately God would be revealed and His people seen as a blessing of His love?

What if we began to really enter into each others lives in ways that cost us something, inconvenienced us, or meant that we might not have enough for ourselves?

Maybe we can learn this without a disaster that would force some of this to happen. That is my hope. I'm getting tired, at my age, of learning things the hard way. I desire real community. I long for relationships of impact into one another's lives that are on a deeper and truer level than I have thus known. I want to see living in my neighborhood make a difference to those those around me in powerful, life sharing ways. I want to see "Thy Kingdom Come, On Earth As It Is In Heaven".

How about you?

Lord help us....

Kingdom Relationships

2009-03-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

I going to begin a series of writing on Kingdom relationships. Obviously, that's a huge topic, and one I certainly won't be able to cover completely. Nor do I have any more than my perspectives to offer. That's why I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section following the posting. Most blogs are not intended to be a discussion , but I'd like to try and move this topic into one.

In the Simple/Organic/Missional movement, God is teaching us what it really means to be "linked and joined together". What kind of bond is that?

There is a hunger in the world and the Church, for "right relatedness" to each other. We want more than what we've had. What does that really look like ?

A lot of us feel like our struggle through life is pretty much a solo act and we long for connectedness at a deep lever. Our American individualism is hindering us from what is healthy and needed. We know our lack. How do we experience his provision?

Recently I found myself feeling a bit like Elijah. When Elijah felt like a solo act. Not one of Elijah's most triumphal moments. In the end, God's answer for Elijah was not one we might expect.

In 1 Kings 19, Ahab had put out an order to kill the prophet Elijah and all the other prophets of the land. Elijah had prophesied a severe famine upon the land years earlier and Ahab was angry. Obadiah, who worked for Ahab, but was secretly a follower of God, had hid 100 prophets in caves and provided food and water for them. Elijah, knowing the danger to his life, fearlessly challenged Ahab and all 850 false prophets to a showdown. God showed up powerfully, and confirmed once again His Supremacy. Elijah killed all the false prophets, prayed for rain to end the drought, and outran Ahab's chariot to Jezreel. (Wow, what a day Elijah had! He was really tracking with God and feeling the anointing!)

Once he arrived in Jezreel, he hears that Jezebel is out to get him, and he becomes afraid and flees. He then spends a long time on the run and in hiding, becoming more and more despondent. He begins to whine to God about the state of his current life and ministry. He wants to quit. He's tired. He feels alone.

What is God's response?

I read no condemnation in the passages that address this state where Elijah finds himself. No response from God like; "look what I did through you!", "when are you going to grow up?", "pull it together Elijah!" Instead, God patiently listens to his complaints, tells him what he needs to know (that God has 7000 other followers out there and Elijah is not alone), attends to his physical needs and exhaustion , and speaks to him gently through a quiet breeze.

He is going to give Elijah a partner.

It says in verse 21 that; "Elisha followed Elijah and ministered to him".

I think most of us can think of situations similar to Elijah's in our journey with Christ. Maybe we don't see fire fall from heaven to burn up rocks, but we certainly have experienced great times of feeling a glimpse of the Kingdom in fellowship, ministry, and life events. We see God move in powerful ways and we are feeling pretty good about it. We are optimistic and full of faith for the future. We feel a boldness that we know is God confirming Himself in us.

Then comes something that is like a Jezebel. Some situation that knocks the wind out of us, sets us off balance and steals our confidence. We begin to wallow in the same whining of Elijah. We isolate and find ourselves far from where we used to be. We feel completely alone in our struggle. How does this happen?

In John 10:10 Jesus says that the enemy comes to "steal, kill and destroy". What is a better time for that then when we are vulnerable and with our guard down because we are basking in the wonders of the moment? At no other time are we really more vulnerable to such attacks. The fact of Kingdom life is not if we go through these times, but when.

Isn't it awesome that God does not chide us for this vulnerability but instead gives us an example, like Elijah, to strengthen us and encourage us for when we go through such times? Peter sure had some of these moments, and so did Thomas. David writes of many such times in his life. Paul says in 2 Cor 7:5-6 "...our flesh had no rest but were afflicted on every side; conflicts without and fears within. But God who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus".

Titus's coming encouraged and strengthened Paul. It brought him comfort. In a similar way that Elisha gave strength and comfort to Elijah. There is something so powerful about the relationships God desires us to have. Persons to walk the journey with. People designed to comfort us specifically for the particular passages of life. Elisha was really only with Elijah a short portion of his life and ministry, and yet at a very crucial point for both of them. Titus likewise. In those short spans of time, God was able to work powerfully in their relationships together for mutual benefit. They were strong and deep relationships. Kingdom relationships forged with a different kind of bonding.

I spent an hour on the phone with someone last week who was my Elisha or Titus. I greatly needed this brothers' comfort and perspective. I have gotten used to fending for myself and getting along without much in comfort. But getting used to something, doesn't mean it's healthy. I have often felt like an orphan. That is not Gods design for any of us.

I need to learn a lot about Kingdom relationships. I have glimpses of them, from time to time in my life. I know God has a provision for me, and for all of us, that is far above what we can imagine. That's what I want.

No Girls Allowed

2009-02-26T14:17:00.001-08:00

No Girls Allowed. Have you ever seen that sign? You probably won't see it anymore since everything has become a litigation frenzy, but it's still out there.

Sometimes the roadblocks for a woman called to minister in the Kingdom of God can be difficult, and often times, overwhelming. Difficult to establish any credibility when your not given any opportunity. Overwhelming, when you just get tired of the whole battle.

25 years ago, my husband had been involved with a hockey outreach ministry for a number of years before we met and married. He'd go on trips to isolated Native communities in Ontario, Canada and forge relationships with the people there using the sport of Hockey as a common interest. An outreach was planned by this ministry soon after we were married and it's preparation begun. Both of us wanted me to be involved with the outreach, so we approached the leader with our interest. His response was that I could go and participate as a cook, but not as a member of the team of ministry. He reminded me that serving in the kitchen was truly ministry and not to see it differently. I wondered why, if it was so great a ministry, I didn't see any men on the kitchen and cleanup team!

His response sparked some candid rebuttal on my part. I finally persuaded him that I would help in the "ministry" of cooking and clean up, but I would also like to be a part of the outreach ministry with the Native people whenever I could get out of the kitchen. He never endorsed me for any of that, but did allow me to go on the trip. And I did do my kitchen duty to submit to his leadership. The other women involved all stayed in the kitchen the entire time. I alone escaped that confinement and joined with the guys in ministry. I found a ripe and ready field to minister in outside of the kitchen and that was exciting and fruitful! That for me, was real ministry.

A friend of mine, John White (LK10.com) speaks often about our design. Those things that make us unique and designed for a purpose. We can look backward in our lives and see how that unique design was apparent even as children. A design with a purpose in the Mind of the Creator.

I grew up playing with the guys. There were only a couple girls in the neighborhood and I found I liked playing with the boys better. I'd organize the building of forts, tree houses, crayfish catching, exploration adventures and salamander hunts. Jimmy A was my best friend for years. Together we'd plan and organize teams for capture the flag, army, cowboys and Indians, baseball, dodge ball, flag football, tag and whatever game we had interest in and gear for. But I wasn't a "Tom Boy". I loved being a girl and dressing up to look pretty. Sometimes I'd play house with my baby dolls, build cities for my barbies, leap around the house in a tutu or in flowing Arabian scarves as a princess of the Far East. I liked being a girl, but I felt totally comfortable as a girl in the world of boys and that made up the majority of my friendships and camaraderie.

There are those who would say that my design, and God unfolding that throughout my life, needs to fit into a certain box of acceptable ministry venues as it relates to the Kingdom. I don't always hear those words, although I have had many such exchanges. But I certainly feel the affect of those beliefs.

Many years ago, one leader I was submitted under, pulled me aside one day and asked me to withdraw from the church planting training my husband and I had enrolled in. He said that since I was the one gifted in leadership on the team of my husband and I, and not my husband, we would not be able to continue in the training program. A woman could not be the primary church planter because she could not be in a leadership position that was "over" men. I asked him; "what do you do with Deborah in the scriptures? She was in leadership "over" men, and was supported by her husband and Barak, the head of the army of Isreal?" He responded with; "Deborah was an exception." I responded with; "how do you know I am not an exception?"

(I won't go into this persons' lack of understanding of what true Kingdom leadership is. He clearly sees it as a top down position. I'll save that discussion for another blog post.)

So did God make a mistake in creating me uniquely designed? Has my creation in my mother's womb and then reflected throughout my life experience gone amuck? Why has He made me comfortable in circles of men with similar gifts and calling and yet bar the door to entrance?

I used to ask myself these questions a lot and finally had to concede that God doesn't make mistakes. He is not a sadist. The error must be human.

In the book of Genesis, God says we are intentionally and uniquely created in the Imago Dei (the image of God), both male and female. We are created for a purpose. We are created to bear fruit and to honor Christ. Our living out that created unique design is an act of worship. It is obedience.

Can we please take down;" No Girls Allowed," and encourage us all (male and female) to walk in obedience and in the fullness of our unique design for His purposes and Kingdom?

Self Delusions

2009-02-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

I'm not a huge fan of the show, but our family does enjoy watching the tryout episodes for American Idol. We are intrigued with the high level of self delusion that exists with contestants that believe they have a quality singing voice that will propel them into the music business. But they don't! They probably shouldn't even sing in the shower! No amount of convincing themselves or others will ever change that fact. It's living in another reality to believe differently, and some of them most likely prefer living in that reality of their own making.

How much do we, as believers in Christ, also choose to live in realities of our own minds that have deluded us to what really is the truth?

In Proverbs 23:7 it says; " For as he thinks within himself, so he is." The word for think in this passage is Sha ar in Hebrew, and it means to open, to act as a gate. A place of controlled access to the city.

When we don't watch the gate (our thinking), we can allow all sorts of things into our being and that has the ability to effect our actions. Once we begin a pattern of acting, it becomes ingrained in us and difficult to change. Therefore, it is really important we guard the gates and think in line with Truth.

An example from my own life reflecting this is being a woman called to leadership in a man's world these last 25 years. Men in leadership positions have many kinds of responses to me.

Hostility, indifference, limited acceptance, awkwardness, suspicion. With a very few; but more and more in recent years, encouragement and affirmation. (Praise God!) Of all these responses, suspicion always seemed to have the most affect on me.

There was a teaching that went through much of the church years ago regarding the "Jezebel Spirit". Of course, it was taught as a spirit within a woman that wanted to control men and basically take over. This was a woman that could, and would, seduce a man into sin. Any woman with assertiveness and confidence, was suspect and watched carefully. I felt watched a lot. Couple that with their indifference, awkwardness and limited acceptance, and you had a powerful force to affect my thinking. It didn't take long for me to think and act in line with the belief that most men in leadership saw me this way and I began to misjudge and misinterpret as a result. A man with whom I had recently come into fellowship with, was one such misinterpretation of the truth. In our interactions, which had been very limited, I had made the assumption that he was suspicious of me. I limited my contact with him and felt the hurt of misjudgment. It was me however, who had misjudged. I called him at one point, confessed what I thought he was thinking in regards to me and realized through our discussion that I was wrong. My own experiences, wounds and assumptions had incorrectly determined what I believed to be truth. I had a faulty gate and had fallen into self delusion.

Watching the American Idol tryouts remind me to take a look at areas in my own life that I'm living in self delusion and faulty thinking. Areas that I may be convinced of their validity, but convinced in error and thereby causing my actions to reflect that error.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect". Romans 12:2