Archive for the 'Missional Church' Category

On the Train Tonight

Published
by
Justin
on January 15, 2010
in From Out of Nowhere, Missional Church and Movements
. 4 Comments

Tonight I had ‘futbol’ practice…it was the first time I’ve been able to go since Matias was born…To get to the practice facility I take a train that’s a bit bigger than the metro and goes way out of the city.

Tonight is the story of two train rides that have a sobering similarity.

On my way out to practice it was rush hour. There were hundreds of people out and the train was packed. There was no chance of finding of seat so I stood with backpack squeezed in between my ankles, certainly too cramped for me to wear the backpack! I had to hold the bar up above my head to keep my balance. This reminded me of my days in Paris when I’d ride the metro there at around 5:30pm! I love riding trains like this, unless it’s all four of us and we have a stroller and two kids that are getting smushed! The diversity of the people here is remarkable. Each person with a past, a story, a place they are coming from, the experiences of their day. Who knows where they are going…what their home is like. Most people are riding by themselves and sharing nothing other than a seat with the person sitting next to them. All that to say, the metro was packed with people from everywhere…and when you stop to really look at other people, you can’t help but be touched by their humanity and really wonder who they are…at least for me.

My ride home from training was much different. When I walked down to the track there was only one other person waiting for a train. I walked down the platform to the back of the train because I knew that the exit where I would get off was down there. I had my headphones on so I couldn’t really hear anything, but in that particular station there is always the smell of oily railroad ties…I kind of like that smell. I sat there smelling the smell, hearing my music, and looking for the train with virtually no other sign of life in the station. It would have made for a cool photo shoot spot. When the train came into the station I walked up to the door that stopped in front of me. I pushed the green button to open the door and I got on the train. This time, instead of ’standing room only’ I had the pick of every seat in my car. I was alone. It was almost creepy…especially with my headphones on not being able to tell if anyone else really was on there with me. I looked over my shoulder a few time (as I often do in my neighborhood) to see if anyone was there because in situations like that, I don’t like surprises (not saying that the trains are dangerous at all in Barcelona…just saying I like to know if someone is behind me!) As we pulled into the Arc de Triumph station I stood up and looked around at all the empty chairs and realized something.

“Statistically speaking, there are probably just as many people on this empty train that follow Jesus as the crowded train that I rode on the way to practice early tonight: one…me”

I’ve probably said this 50 times at gatherings in the US…the reality in Europe is that when I ride the bus or the metro there is a high chance that I am the only Jesus follower on that bus or metro. It’s really a huge contrast to the places that I’ve lived before.

But tonight it was different for me to experience that reality like this. Being alone physically really heightened the truth that I am often very alone spiritually.

I guess there are two points to me processing this: one is to remind myself of the vacuum that exists here. I really believe that following Jesus is the hope for this life and the next…and it kills me that so many go through life never knowing the God who is Love…the love that brings grace, redemption, wholeness, peace…

The second thought that comes to mind is the story Paul when he was in Corinth and felt very alone. God reminded him that He had ‘many people’ in that city and that God himself was with Paul (Acts 18). I know that there are two kinds of people that God has here: one being other people that follow Jesus already (we’re trying to meet and connect with these people now), but the other being people that are seeking God…that God has already begun working in their lives and they just need someone to walk with them on the road. This is why we’ve come here…to trust God that we’ll be lead to these people and that they will with experience Jesus through us…and even better, taste and see for themselves that Jesus is who he claimed to be and that becoming ‘a learner’ of Jesus does bring the Life that Jesus said it would.

The beauty of living in the middle of a city (and sometimes difficulty) is that I just can’t escape human contact. I am constantly reminded of my smallness, my weakness, while swimming in this sea of life. I’m grateful for how this teaches me humility. I am also humbled by the work we have chosen to embrace…living out the Kingdom of God in a place like this seems small…like a mustard seed, or a bit of yeast, or something…but we look with anticipation to what is to come. I’m loving this lesson that I learned on the train…

A Movement of Dance

Published
by
Justin
on June 18, 2009
in Missional Church and Movements
. 3 Comments


I love this video because:

a.) I like dancing
b.)I like seeing spontaneous movements of fun
c.) I like thinking about the why and how things ‘get started’.

I hate to pollute this is a stand alone (and nearly disturbing) picture, but the question came to mind: “Did this guy intend to start a dance party on a hill, or did he just love to dance?”

For those of us who would like to see a Jesus movement happen…I offer this: Shouldn’t we just start dancing? Instead of talking about dance theory, how to properly dance, complaining about other people dancing wrong, and comparing our dance to others? I would rather be the guy acting like a crazy person and dancing for the love of it, than a professional dancer getting a grass stain on my butt while critiquing his form…and outfit.

Thanks to Mike G. and Zach L. for unearthing this for me.


This is what the Kingdom is all about

Published
by
Justin
on January 16, 2009
in Missional Church, News and To Think About...
. 2 Comments

I had tears in my eyes as I finished this story…and usually when I read ESPN.com I’m crying because the Colts lose another playoff game. But this time it’s because I’m so thankful that I’m a part of this Kingdom…

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

 

thanks to Brant at Letters from Kamp Krusty for posting this…

A Post Worth Reading: The Bible and communitas : The Forgotten Ways

Published
by
Justin
on December 6, 2008
in Missional Church
. 1 Comment

I read a lot of blogs…read is an overstatement..I browse a lot of blogs. But this post is worth reading:

The Bible and communitas : The Forgotten Ways.

If you don’t know what the heck Alan is talking about with words like ‘liminality’ or ‘communitas’ or ‘Apostolic Genius’, you should take some time to learn what they mean. They are not just buzz words for a new fad in church talk. His books do a great job of defining these things…the titles of them are: The Shaping of Things to Come, The Forgotten Ways, and a new one called ReJesus. They aren’t in a series, and I’ve only read the first two (until I get to the states and get a copy), but it’s good to read them in the order above as they build on each other. 

Imagine what the church is going to be in 20 years if things continue the directions that they are heading. If we merely do more of the same we’re fooling ourselves to think that we’ll bring about the change we hope for. These books, in a gentle way, point us in a new (yet old) direction…check ‘em out.

Slavery + Children = Global Reality

Published
by
Justin
on October 18, 2008
in Life and Missional Church
. 4 Comments

Here is a trailer for the Call + Response Film…

I love that quote, “Justice is what love looks like in public!” I need to put that idea up to 1 John and let God go to work on my heart.

Jen and I have some dear friends who do work in Cambodia named Don and Bridget. They’ve helped begin a ministry called AIM for Asia that is actively doing something about this issue on the front lines. Check out what they do and be a part of the solution…

Remember the days when…

Published
by
Justin
on October 13, 2008
in Head to Fingers, Missional Church and Theology
. 1 Comment

Remember the days when the simplicity of the Gospel was protected, taught, and fought for? Remember the days when leaders would rather stand alone with the Gospel, than stand in a crowed with a shade of it?

I read Galatians this morning and let’s just say…Paul really brings the pain here. Not in a, “You should do this, this, this, and that” kind of way. More in a, “Are you stupid? Why in the name of Jesus are doing this, this, this, and that as if it’s going to change anything?!?” I’m sure it was just a slip of the pen when he said that they were not intelligible, unwise, and foolish…no good pastor would ever say such things…

But here is my favorite rebuke of Paul’s…which would easily be included in a list of top 10 things teachers should say that they don’t/can’t/won’t anymore:

Galatians 1:8-9

Whoever tells you a good news that is different from the Good New we gave you should be accursed, even if he is one of us or an angel from heaven. I’m now telling you again what we’ve told you in the past: I’m now telling you again what I told you in the past: If anyone tells you good news that is different from the Good News you recieved, that person should be accursed.

Not just once, but twice, does Paul make it clear that people who distort the freedom we have Christ (as he explains in the rest of this letter) should be accursed. Some translations say: condemned…one even says ‘condemned to hell’ (I think it’s for a little extra somethin’ even though it’s not in the greek…I had to look, thanks studylight.org!)

I think that if we get past the shock of Paul being so strong here, we can see something else. At this time in the Church, the purity of the Gospel was at stake. The Church’s message in it’s infancy could not be distorted and required protecting. If a corruption were to have occurred at this stage, then every offspring that this message produces would carry the same…wound. So, the message Gospel had to be purified of the untruths put on it.

Are any of view finding yourself asking the question, “uh, why did we ever stop protecting the clarity of the message of Jesus? Shouldn’t this be something that we still do?” I think this is a worthy question. And I think that Paul addresses it Galatians when he says, (1:10)

Am I saying this now to win the approval of people or God? Am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant.

This says all that I could.

Amongst all the things that Paul says are not important to a true Gospel, he says three things that we should chew on ’till our jaw hurts…I’ll leave you with these:

“As far as our relationship to Christ Jesus is concerned, it doesn’t matter [what laws we do or don't follow]. What matters is faith working itself out in love.” (5:6)

“[Use your freedom to] serve each other through love.” (5:13)

“Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is [following a specific law] or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.” (6:15)

Our Friends the Slyter’s

Published
by
Justin
on October 11, 2008
in Missional Church and News
. 1 Comment

I celebrate when I hear stories and see live of people who are loving God and doing what they love. This is the spot that I think God wants us all to be in. Our friends Tony and Tina have opened up a Grocery Outlet in Oregon and the local news put up a bit about them online. I’m not sure it’s in print or not…I hope it is!

Here is the link: Grocery Outlet Owners are Community Minded

There are few great lines that get put into this article…here are a coupld of my favorite:

“Owning our own store allows us to give back,” Tony said. “If we were working for another store, our hands would be tied, but here our hands aren’t tied. We didn’t do this to get rich – we did it to give back.

“I knew I wanted to do community service,” Tina said. “It’s important for both of us to get out there and talk to people. I think we compliment each other. Tony is going to join the (King City) Lions. We feel God granted us this store to be involved in the community. Our goal is to give back 10 times more than we get.”

I think that these would be words Jesus would have said if He owned a Grocery Outlet…

Tony and Tina…I want to publicaly (to all 5 of my readers) say that I love that you guys are doing this and I pray that as you live out your dreams that God will give you wisdom and prosperity. Some of us start churches, and others of us start businesses…and each are equally important and influencial in the Kingdom! Thanks guys for your example!

Simplicity

Published
by
Justin
on October 7, 2008
in From Out of Nowhere, Missional Church and Movements
. 5 Comments

I’ve been reading through 1 John the last few days. Today this part stuck out to me:

1 John 3:23

This is [God's] commandment: to believe in his Son, the one named Jesus Christ, and to love each other as he commanded us. Those who obey Christ’s commandments live in God, and God lives in them. We know that he lives in us because he has given us the Spirit.

The simplicity of this verse stands in stark contrast to the amount of all that I’ve read, heard, and lived in regards to being a follower of Jesus. My reasoning for this error is that we live a culture that values the pursuit of knowledge above most else. In the story of the Garden in Genesis…what does the serpent tempt Adam and Eve with? Knowledge. Abandoning the simple trust in their God, they chose it.

I wonder: In our pursuit of knowledge about God, scripture, and what we believe is Christian living; in what ways have we abandoned the commandment of God: to obey Jesus, and love each other.

I wonder: How would the world be different if we traded our talk, thoughts, and plans for loving others – for actually loving others?

I wonder: Will we ever be content with the simplicity of love? Or will we continually be tempted to add more to it? …maybe as a justification for our lack of obeying Jesus’ commandment to love?

I’m serious about this choosing love thing. We’ve done the knowledge thing for a long time and it’s gotten us only so far. I say we allow our knowledge to evolve into love and let God have a shot using that for a few generations.