Good Friday :: We Have Been Made Free

On Good Friday followers of Jesus all over the world consider the death of Jesus. The observation of Good Friday takes on many different forms. In some cases people engage in a solemn reflection of the Lord of all things taking on the weight of evil upon his shoulders for them. Some people begin a full fast that will end at the end of the day or on Easter Sunday, also using that to help them identify with the sufferings of Jesus on the cross.

Throughout the day it is common to observe the Stations of the Cross, those movements throughout the day that takes Jesus from praying in the garden to his death on the cross. I have found this to be helpful as I meditate on each moment leading up to Jesus’ sacrifice. Observing these movements on the way to resurrection help me to not only better know the cost, but see myself along the road as a participant in Jesus being crucified.

While it is easy and right to spend much of the day in solemn reflection on the cross, it is also important that we rejoice in the freedom that Jesus extends to us in his death.

In Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome he writes to them, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5). As a follower of Jesus death is the beginning of life. We participate in death with Jesus. We lay down our former lives, lives that are marred with sickness, sin, death, and evil. Part of our observation of Good Friday is about how we identify with the death of Jesus, because we have ourselves died.

Paul goes onto say, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6). As we share in the cross of Christ, our former self has died and we are no longer slaves. Good Friday is a celebration that we can leave the bondage that would seek our destruction.

There is something in this Lenten season leading to Good Friday that has brought a new level of clarity to the freedom we have in Christ. What I believe is not simply that chains have been broken, they have been taken away. As the former self was crucified, it was once for all, because Jesus died to in once for all (Romans 6:10). Jesus’ death is once for all time. That means that when we live recklessly in our freedom Jesus isn’t crucified again.

Jesus doesn’t have to forgive us all over again, he doesn’t get back on the cross (Hebrews 10:8-10). Rather Jesus’ message to us is the same as it was to the paralytic man, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning…” (John 5:14).

If we are in Christ, then we are free and that never changes. So as we walk through our day observing the beauty of the cross we must see it both as a somber reflection of our culpability in the death of Jesus, and the joyous reflection of our liberation from sin and death.

Death to Life::The Lenten Journey

For centuries the church has observed the season of Lent. The season of Lent is different from other seasons of the church year, it is a time for repentance and renewal. The focus of our time in the Lenten season is to identify with the suffering of Jesus, it is a season by which we walk the way of the cross, from death into life.

As we are gathered together this evening, beginning our Lenten season we are called to a posture of repentance, falling at the feet of Jesus admitting our sinfulness and our need for him. Beginning Ash Wednesday, and carrying on for the next 40 days it is a focused time of humility and confession, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

As Lent is our journey to identify with the suffering of Jesus, which calls us to repentance and renewal, the church over many centuries has developed three disciplines that assist us in this spiritual refining. They are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the threefold theme of Matthew 6.

Prayer. Let this prayer time be birthed out of a rich time in the scriptures, it should be a time of repentance and renewal, that we would ask the Lord to forgive us and build in us a clean heart.

Fasting. Be careful of your motives, don’t do this to loose weight. There are different ways to fast, you can drop a favorite food, you can choose to fast a full day each week, you can go on a partial fast for the entire season (except Sunday. Sunday is always a feast day, and celebration of the resurrection).
Give (Alms). Give to someone in need. Give a gift that goes beyond your normal giving, it i.e. be a giving that “hurts”. You should deprive yourself of something in order to help someone else.

Throughout the entire season pray that God will help you maintain your Lenten discipline as you engage in the season. Ask those in your Community to pray for you during the season.

The ashes are representative as a sign of repentance, it is a time for us to collectively as a family of faith mourn our sin and iniquity. As you come forward to receive the Ashes approach humbly, with a contrite heart.
As I stated earlier, our journey in the Lenten season is joining in the suffering of Jesus. It is a time that the church has set aside in each year that we would not simply talk about the “valley of the shadow of death”, but that we would actually walk through it. That taking up our cross and following Jesus would not just preach well, but that is would take root in our life and we would actually call ourselves to do it.

This however is not a time that is about beating ourselves up over our iniquity. It is a time that we recognize the beauty of the road to the cross, and ultimately the cross itself. What I love about Lent is that it can strip us of the false pretenses we try and live our lives in, and open us up to the magnificent power and beauty that comes through giving of ourselves for the good of others.
The Lenten season is about showing us that the power of the Spirit of God is what carries us through each moment of our lives. That Jesus’ suffering and ultimate sacrifice opened the way for us to live each day in great confidence, to face suffering and even death knowing that God our father, creator of the universe, Lord of all is with us.

Lent is a time that exposes us to idolatry in our lives, and pushes us to reconcile to God. It should help us to not receive the grace and mercy of God in vain, by recognizing that “He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf.”
Lent is also a time for us to bask in incredible act of saving that Christ has done. It is a time when we repent, but also joyfully acknowledge the beautiful reconciliation that has come, because of suffering and death. It is a time to be assured of the salvation that Jesus has brought into our lives and into the World. It is a time that we recognize that marvelous light has burst forth from death.

Let me close with these words from the Apostle Paul:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,“In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

Ash Wednesday::Season of lent

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent, time carved out in the church calendar to consider and reflect on the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ on behalf of all creation. For centuries the Church has practiced the observance of Lent. It has been a time to practice and observe repentance, identify with Jesus in suffering, and deepening our understanding and thankfulness for the reconciliation, restoration and redemption found at the Cross.

Traditionally Ash Wednesday is observed by a full fast, then 40 days (minus Sunday’s) of fasting. During this time we use the discomfort that comes with the Fast to, in a very mild way, participate in the suffering of Jesus and grow in our recognition of what he did on our behalf. You will notice that there are more than 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. While this is certainly a time of reflection and contemplation, there is also an element of celebration. Therefore each Sunday the Church would gather the fast would be lifted as to not hinder the activity and celebration by the church body.

Lent is a beautiful time in the life of the believer. It is a time that can help us grow in our relationship with the Lord, and with each other. Part of our commitment as a church KALEO Communities will be observing Lent. We will be joining Bread & Wine, another local church, in observing Ash Wednesday. You can join us as we move into this magnificent season of the Church year.

Ash Wednesday February 10, 7pm Warner Pacific University.

Community Not Competition

One of my favorite places to frequent in Portland is a shop called Pips Original Donuts and Chai. They have an incredible product. Bitesized donuts made right when you order them, so they are hot when they are served to you. Six different handmade Chai tea drinks, each uniquely concocted and delightful. They have collaborated with a local coffee roaster, Extracto Roasters, and prepare all of their coffee beverages with great care.
Now you may be wondering, “am I reading a food article right now?” The answer is no, but I want you to know how good the product is. It is incredible, but that is not the main thing that keeps me coming back, day after day (when I say I frequent Pips it might be an understatement). What has me keep coming back each day, what makes me tell everyone I know about one of the tastiest treats in Portland, is actually the embodiment of their business philosophy.
Community Not Competition.
It is incredibly inspiring to watch not only how the staff at Pips interacts with people who come in everyday. Always genuinely happy, always friendly, joyful, helpful, and patient even when the line is out the door and down the street.
Shortly after arriving in Portland I had the pleasure of meeting Nate, who owns and operates Pips alongside his wife Jamie. We talked about Portland, and all that he had seen throughout his life as he has lived there. He then began to tell me about how he works with other business owners, coaching them toward their goals and dreams. He shares the story and philosophy of how Pips does business and it is without prejudice.
It’s not just that I heard Nate say these things, I have seen it. It is not an uncommon thing to see Nate sitting down with a business owner who is trying to figure out their niche. He listens to where they are at and then provides whatever help he can in the journey, even to the point that I have seen him go back behind the counter, grab some of their product (bottle of Nutella, or small container of candied bacon), hand it to them and say here try this maybe this will help. It is also a common thing for them to pump other businesses on their social media outlets.
What I have realized is that hearing and watching all of this unfold before my eyes gave words and handles to something my heart has been longing for, for a long time. What I believed about how the local church should operate in any given city, is to work for the good of the city. Realizing that we are all a part of the same family, we have one Father, one God who unites us together in His family (Eph 4:4-6).
The church, in all her beautiful expressions, should embody the idea of community not competition.
This can be particularly hard, when starting a new church. It is easy to get lost in how many people you are engaging, how many people are participating, and how many people simply identify with what I am working toward.
What I believe, however is that we need to have a Global view of the Kingdom, when starting a new church. It is not that, I believe we shouldn’t have multiple expressions of the church, I do, but I believe that our view of the church must be bigger than one expression in one neighborhood. Call it crazy, but I think that what made the church so explosive in various times throughout history, was a vision that saw the church reach the nations. It pushed the church into places it may never have thought it would be.
I am also convinced that having a more global view of the church breeds a certain unity among church leaders in a city. It helps us to connect to a city in ways that we never thought possible, because we can inherently do more together than we can a part. It is why I believe Jesus prays so emphatically for the unity of his people (Jn 17).
Let us not strive to silo ourselves out into our individual “christian” communes but strive for a united Church, a Holy Catholic Church, if you will. A Church that is united in proclaiming the victory of Christ in every city it exists. A Church that shows the unity of the family of God. This is how people will know that God is not just present and active, but that God is good and unifying.
May the peace of Christ dwell on you and in the Church uniting all things to himself. Amen.

Our Journey to Portland.

Mt. Tabor Park overlooking the cityscape.

Over the past year Kristen and I have been discerning how the Spirit of God was leading us. Just before the birth of our son, God was making it clear that it was time to prepare for something. Although I was sure what it was, I was not ready to face it. In mid-January it was very clear what the Spirit of God was directing us to do, it was time for us to step out and plant a church.

For me this was quite scary. I knew what that would mean, and although I knew that the Father would care for us and provide everything we needed to accomplish the task, I held a level of unbelief. However as Kristen and I worked through this I came to my senses and received what the Lord would have for us. I knew that our call to plant a church would take us to an urban unreached area of the U.S.
As we began to understand the leading of the Spirit further, we never imagined where He would lead us. Portland, OR.
In a stroke of genius one morning as we were talking about what the Lord was doing in leading us to plant a church, Kristen says to me, “what about the Northwest?” As any good husband would respond, my reply was “are you nuts?” See that was not my plan. My plan was for us to head to California, I had it all worked out, and although in any church plant there are big elements of faith involved moving to California had the least possible risk in my mind.
As I stepped back from the conversation and began to ask the Spirit to lead and guide our family, it was very clear what we had to do. We were going to the Northwest to plant a church. Now growing up under the influence of the wonderful decade of the 90’s much of my tastes have been shaped by music, style and culture that have come out of the Great Pacific Northwest. Needless to say how the Spirit was leading us intrigued me greatly.
As we looked at the two urban areas of the Northwest, Portland and Seattle, the Spirit simply began to burden my heart for Portland. The glaring need for the Gospel in the city became incredible evident. The need for the church in Portland was magnificently clear.
Through a chain of random relationships I was connected to people in the Pacific Northwest, and Portland to begin exploring how the Lord would use us there. We made our first visit ever to the city in April 2014, and that was the final confirmation for us. We knew that this was where the Spirit was leading us, and we knew that we had to come and make disciples there.
As we walked the streets of Portland, saw the people there and experienced the culture our hearts burden for the people. As Jesus send out the seventy-two he said: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2). I don’t think that this scripture has ever been made more real to me than while I was in Portland.
The harvest in Portland is so ripe, but the laborers are so few. The city is so wonderfully close to the Kingdom. People there are spiritually sensitive, they have an incredible love for humanity and justice. To introduce the Gospel into this and see it take root, is the beginning of something magnificent for the Kingdom of God.
So this is the adventure we are going to embark on in 2015. Kristen and I will be moving to Portland, to start a church. We will move to Northeast Portland, and begin to embed ourselves into the Mt Tabor area. We covet your prayer and support in this adventure. You will be able to keep up with what we are doing through the website: http://www.kaleopdx.com.

Defining Transformation Through Lordship.

Every moment of our life is an opportunity for the Gospel. Some call it everyday mission, some call it gospel intentionality, and some call it kingdom citizenship. Whatever you call it the point is our lives are not meant to be compartmentalized, but to be lived wholly, in which things simply bleed together in one great reflection of what/ who our identity is in.

“Jesus is Lord”

This is the single most identifying statement that someone can make, especially when their lives actually reflect the statement and they are not just words. The question we have to ask ourselves though is what does it mean for Jesus to be Lord. Sure there are a lot of cliche’s that you hear from various pastors on a sunday morning, or that you read in your favorite blog, but what does it mean?

First, I think it means that as hard as it may be we have to move out of old habits. See if Jesus is really Lord, then we are submitting to a new way of life, one that is actually life giving and not draining. This is what most people miss. Coming under the Lordship of Jesus Christ means that we are taking on a new identity. It means that who we once were is now redefined by who Jesus is, what Jesus did, who Jesus is now and what he does now in the world.

We must decrease that He will increase.

Second, we have to take a view of ourselves that actually reflects our new identity. This means that the things I say and the things I do actually have to magnify the greatness of Jesus Christ in our lives. We find this ever so clear in the life of the Apostle Paul. As you read through the narrative of Acts, in one instance you have a man hell bent on the irradiation of this new idea, Christianity. In the next instance he encounters Jesus as Lord, and as he did everything changes.

It didn’t matter how backwards it looked to people, Paul was going to no longer work for the destruction of the church, but rather that it would be built on a solid foundation. Paul would alter everything he knew to now make much of Jesus Christ, rather than purge the idea from the first century world. Paul would sacrifice what defined him, to be redefined by Jesus.

In many cases we think that redefinition might completely change who we are, but what I believe happens under the Lordship of Christ is that the best things about us become the tools of which Christ uses for his kingdom.

We dont really loose all of who we are, in fact in the case of the Apostle Paul the Lord used his zealousness to magnify Himself. Lordship is us finding the fullest sense of ourselves through Jesus. Lordship is what makes us whole, it is what fills an emptiness that everyone seems to have, and it is what gives meaning to what we are doing in every moment of life.

So when we say Jesus is Lord, what we are saying is we have found the very thing that completes us, that is restoring us to the way that we were suppose to be all along. That we are living our lives for something so much greater than our selves.

Why I think the church is more than simple community.

It is not uncommon to hear someone reference the church as the community of faith, and that is not an inaccurate description. I have done it, and I have heard hundreds of others use the description as well. Although it may not communicate the depth of relationship that the church should have with one another.

Community is kind of a catch all word that can reel in a lot of different types of organization, it also seems to be a very disarming word, and often is very helpful in speaking with people about the church and its function. Here me loud and clear THIS IS NOT A POST ABOUT NOT USING THE WORD COMMUNITY. In fact I think we should use it, moreover I think that it really helps people get over a lot of baggage that comes with the word church. What I am proposing in this post is that we understand, and can articulate what we mean when we say community.

I have found over the years that in a culture where words can facilitate a multitude of connotations, it is incredibly important that we clarify how we are using any certain word so people know what we are talking about. So when I talk about community in reference to the church I am talking about a very deep relationship between people that binds them together in a much more significant way that mere affinity.

When we talk about community I would like to suggest that, what we are really talking about is the idea of communitas. Communitas is the idea of something incredible happening that drives individuals to find one another because there is a commonality in the incredible experience.

In Alan Hirsch’s book The Forgotten Ways he dedicates a chapter to the idea of communitas. In the chapter he talks about some research done by an anthropologist named Victor Turner, who studied rites of passage among several African people groups. He coins the term liminality which is the idea of a transition process accompanying a fundamental change of state or social position. Turner connects this with the idea of communitas, which is the comradeship that is forged in the testing conditions of liminality.

Communitas is therefore always linked with the experience of liminality. It involves adventure and movement, and it describes that unique experience of togetherness that only really happens among a group of people inspired by the vision of a better world who actually attempt to do something about it.

Alan Hirsch—The Forgotten Ways 

A community of people may or may not change anything. They may just simply be happy hanging out together, with little to no goal of ever impacting something externally. A community of people might not ever experience life together, in a way that creates the feeling of family. But, the church that is something deep. As we read the early narrative of the church in Acts we see that people had an experienced that pushed them together. This experience was not simply affinity, it was deeper, it was the extraordinary transformation of the heart that came from the Gospel that made being family possible.

The church is a deep family, it is a family linked together because of the transformation they have all commonly experienced with one another. It is this experience that causes people to give up what they own so that another does not go without, it is what moves you to reach into the darkness and shine the light of Jesus ever so brightly. It is the beautiful moment when you kneel down at the side of someone who is at the wits end and you advocate for them, even when that puts you in harms way.

The church is birthed out of people transformed by the Gospel and that bond being what drives them together. The church is a beautiful picture of the community that God has in himself, that we see in the trinity, it should communicate to the world a sense of hope and love and beauty.

Church has to be more than simply community, because communities come and go but the church will never cease. It will never die, it will never fail. The church is God’s vessel to proclaim the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, and to support one another as we engage in the task. The church is there when no one else will, be and the church is the expression of Jesus’ love for humanity on earth.

It is a high calling to be the church and not simply a community. Maybe that is the problem. Maybe the reason people see a decline in people connecting with the church, believing that the Gospel is real, is because we have simply let an inferior understanding of what the church is take over. We have stopped being a community bound by the adventure, experience, and transformation of the Gospel. The church needs to rediscover what it is that binds it together and regain its active place in the world, regardless of the circumstances.

The Firestorm of Public Opinion.

I have come to the table late in the firestorm of World Vision’s previous decision to change their hiring policies regarding homosexual’s. Yesterday World Vision released a statement reversing this decision, but the firestorm rages on. I am personally brought to consider a variety of different things as I read others responses and comments of responses.

First, I have read some very fair and intelligent articles on every side of the discussion. People who are adamantly opposed to the idea of a Christian identifying organization who would hire homosexuals, people who want to approach the subject in the heart of reconciliation, and people who have no issue with World Visions briefly help hiring practice. What concerns me in many of the articles that I have read is the demonization of the opposing side.

We have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). I believe this means that look to see people, christian and nonchristian alike, in the way that Christ would see them. We should interact with the world in the same way Christ does. When we demonize people we bring condemnation, and Christ did not come to bring such condemnation. Christ came that we might find life, and live life abundantly. We must be incredibly careful how we engage sensitive subjects, especially those that people find a piece of identity in.

Jesus said “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). I bring this up not to say that you have to accept something you are convicted is against biblical teaching, but to say that love transcends a persons lifestyle choice. We must be about revealing Christ to everyone, those who profess Christ and those who do not, and how we do this is through our love of them.

When you love someone you peaceably dialogue with them, you try to be careful not to be hurtful, and you desire good for them. In many of the articles and comments I have read, I fail to see people who spout “biblical truth” acting this way. In the age of social media and the ability to provide unthoughtful social commentary, we forget that even in these moments we represent Christ. I wonder how well a lot of folks are representing him?

Second, it seems pretty clear to me that people may not know what World Vision really is. In the way the many people seem to be responding to the issue, it seems to me that many folks believe that World Vision is a church of sorts. Lets be clear World Vision is not the church, or a manifestation of the church.

By their own description here is what World Vision is: “World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.” The result of their work is to bring relief to the poor.

This second point is the one that personally gives me much concern for many of the people writing articles and commenting on articles. World Vision is not the church, they are not suggesting that this be the stance of the church, nor are they bringing any sort of attack on the church. World Vision is a non-profit corporation, they are a business that collaborates with Christians of many different varieties. This in many cases will mean you have very broad sweeping policies. In many cases what I have read has equates the World Vision to the church and that simply isn’t so.

Here is the rub for me: organization like World Vision largely exist (this might sting a little) because the church as it exists all over the world is neglecting its responsibility to care for people. Christ’s commands are abundantly clear, that we should be proclaiming the Kingdom both in our words and our actions. The church should be advocating for the poor, bringing relief to injustice, caring for widows and orphans, visiting the imprisoned, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, the list goes on.

Many church bodies all over the world shrug off their responsibility to organizations like World Vision, then demonize them for things they disagree with. People call into question others standing with the Lord, and they proclaim that they are now less than Christian, yet when push comes to shove the people speaking the loudest might not be willing to take on their responsibility as a kingdom citizen.
Jesus regularly dealt with a group of people like this during his time on earth. The Pharisees were a group of people that liked to remind people of all the rules, and all the things that the law described as sin, yet when it came down to it they didn’t seem to care about their own violations of the law. Jesus dealt sternly with these guys, he was clear in calling our their hypocrisy. Often times I wonder if Jesus walked the earth in our cultural context, now many of us would be called out by Jesus.

I pray that as followers engage and every changing world with the Gospel, that they would do so in love and peace. I pray that as we deal with one another it would be in the reflection of Christ. I pray that we would speak the truth in love to one another, remembering it is the Holy Spirit that brings conviction. I pray that we would live in understanding with one another, seeking to be peacemakers through the Gospel.

New Life Means New Life.

It is not uncommon to hear someone who is a follower of Jesus talk about about being born again. We find this idea in many places of scripture. Most of the time when people are referencing this idea, they often will recite some part of John chapter 3.

In John 3 we read a story about a leader of the Jewish people, named Nicodemus, coming to Jesus by night and talking to him about the idea of being born again. It strikes me as an interesting conversation. You see Nicodemus opens the conversation by acknowledging Jesus as a great teacher with great power. He says that Jesus must have a special relationship with God because he would not possess such a power otherwise.

Jesus’ response, however pokes at how little Nicodemus really knows about the kingdom of God. This sticks out to me because you wonder what it was in Nicodemus’ greeting that triggered the response from Jesus. I think Jesus knew that Nicodemus’ idea of power was skewed. I think that Jesus knew that Nicodemus really didn’t know real power.

I know the same is true for us. We can see things in life and recognize the power that exists within those things. We might even be able to perceive some sort of divine touch in those things, but I think what Jesus is getting at in this passage is, unless we experience rebirth our eyes remain dim to what is really going on.

Jesus goes on to talk about the flesh and the spirit.

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”(John 3:5-8 ESV)

I think that when it comes down to it, we have to acknowledge that faith comes out of our encounter with Jesus. Jesus gives the wind as an illustration, and I think it is pretty solid. We can see the evidence of the wind. We feel it, smell it, and see the effects of it as it moves through the trees. However we dont know where it is coming from, we really dont know where it is going, it just exists.

Faith is similar. We begin to know faith as we experience it happen in our life. We may not understand it through and through, or even know all the who, whats, or why’s about it but it’s there. It manifests itself in our life through the evidence of things we do every day. I think this is why it is so important for us to live new lives in Christ.

Faith is what lets us see the evidence of new life, and new life means that we dont have to live the same way we did any more. We lay down all that crap that hindered us from living a full life before, and we want to see other people get rid of all the crap that hinders them from living a full life. This is the what makes the Gospel good news. We don’t have to live the way we once did any more, we can live fuller lives that have greater meaning.

Our lives change because we can finally see that God really does love us, that he is not some big cosmic jerk. What we see in Jesus’ words to Nicodemus is that God really isn’t condemning people, but that he is trying to rescue them.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17 ESV)

New life, means new life. It means that we recognize that someone has finally thrown us a life preserver and is bringing  us back to the boat. We embrace this new life and all that comes with it. We live in the power of the new life that Christ has given, and then we try to help others discover the new life that is available to them too. 

God is not being selective, he is trying to rescue, redeem, and restore the world and he is asking us to join with him. He has given us everything we need to partner with him, simply have to continue living in the new life that he has given us, and lay down the old life we once lived in. I think we people see that, when they see the greatness of Jesus Christ magnified and manifest in our daily lives it is undeniable and new life can be had by the people around us.

Be the Church pt.2

Because I don’t think that one post will do the topic justice here is part deux.

In this post we will talk about the scattered nature of the church. First, I want to start off by saying I think the need to distinguish between gathered and scattered comes from a western context, and is not as clearly depicted in scripture as we might find. Of course there are clues for us that the church existed in a gathered/ scattered form, but as discussed in the post last week I believe that the Church is always gathered in some form.

What is presented in the New Testament is the idea of a church in the city, that is dispersed throughout the city. For example, Paul’s letters are addressed to “the church in [insert city name here]”. Now it is very possible that in some cases that letter would have been shared in the gathered presence of the believers, or it might have been passed around from house to house being read by the church.

I point this out to say that even in the cities where the church was more decentralized than the next it was still one church. The phenomenon in a western culture/ context are the variety of churches that exist in one city, that largely don’t interact with one another. Now I am a product of this. It has been the only form of the church that I have known, but I have become more convinced in the last few years that for the church to REALY be the church in a western context we have to see a great ecumenical movement.

As I read the scriptures it seems to me that the church is most effective in a more decentralized form. When you have pockets of the church all over the city there seems to be a greater opportunity for the Gospel to permeate every part of the life of the city. This is where the ecumenical part comes in. As the body of Christ we have to work together, we need to keep the main things the main things and work toward seeing the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

We have a few examples from scripture that highlight what I am talking about. In Luke 10 Jesus sends out the seventy-two to go out into the places where he was going to go. Before Jesus sends them out he taught them the things that they were going to need to know to accomplish the mission he would give them. He gave them specific instructions to follow and sent them out two by two. A few things we need to catch here: 1. Jesus modeled and taught them what they needed to do, 2. Jesus gave specific instructions about what they should do in their adventure, 3. Jesus sends them out in pairs.

The church is a sent body of believers. There is a time for us to learn what we need to do, this happens by walking shoulder to shoulder with someone doing what they do, walking where they walk, and hearing from them the teaching they have. It is a time for a transmission of knowledge and action. We should go out knowing exactly what we need to do, and we should always go out in the context of community.

In Acts 13 the church in Antioch what worshiping, and God send to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the mission. They were leaders of the church and it was time for them to leave. Because the church was united they were able to hear the direction of the Holy Spirit, and although I am sure it was difficult for them, they were able to send them out.

For us to see real kingdom movement, for us to actually BE the church we have to unite in Christ, gather for equipping and training in the mission that is before us, and then send people to go and do the work. The church gathers, it is always gathered, but the church also scatters. We have to embrace both and realize that the two are not mutually exclusive but work in harmony with one another. We cannot scatter as lone wolves out in the wilderness, we have to travel in some sort of pack. When we gather it should be pointed in helping us refuel, and be equipped to back out into mission.