Hey everyone! This coming Thursday will be our first community outreach meeting! We are planning to have about every 5th or so of our meetings as directed toward helping someone besides ourselves!
This week we will be going to the house of a friend of mine's mother and father-in-law. His name is Chris. He's a great guy that I play hoops with on a regular basis. His father-in-law has had a heart transplant and is in and out of the hospital a lot and they could really use some help around their house. We will be boxing/bagging up things and moving things and generally helping them out in any way we can. It is a really good chance to show, not just talk about, what the love of God does to someone's heart - it certainly has changed mine!
We will be meeting in the parking lot of McAllister (see previous posts for the google maps link)at 6:45 PM and heading over to their house, kids and all, to hang out and help them, then to have a snack - Chris tells me that his wife makes phenomenal pumpkin bread - and then share communion together. It should be an awesome time!
The only thing Chris thought we should bring was boxes. I will check with him and see if that is still the case in the next couple days.
Hope that your days are full of searching for more than the usual more!
blessings to you all and see you Thursday!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Last Thursday
Hello! Last Thursday we had a great time together!
We enjoyed praising God and worshiping in a different way than usual. We spent some time looking at our hands and thinking about all that they do for us and how marvelously created they are. We talked a little about the anatomy and physiology of the hands - and how God made them so perfectly to serve our needs and His kingdom. Some chose to share, quite beautifully,how their hands have both been used for good and for less than good pursuits. It was a great time of rejoicing in the awesomeness of a God who would make us so wonderfully complex - as one of my friends, who is a doctor, once said to me, "The complexity of the body makes it harder to not believe in a God/creator than to believe. You almost have to try to not believe." It has really been cool, over these several weeks, to see how different people really enjoy worshiping in different ways!
After our praise time, we had time to share burdens and pray together. It is always such a relief to approach God about our needs!
Then I spent some time talking about the transformation I had seen in an angry little old man, over weeks of praying, ending in his seeking God, and then succumbing to his terminal illness. It is amazing what a change God can make in a person. I literally had the pleasure of watching this man's anger and frustration melt into love and smiles, as we prayed and shared together in the last days of his life. God can truly work this kind of change in any one's life! The truth is, most of us spend our time running after all kinds of things that don't really give much deep or lasting joy - this old guy chose to change his focus at the end of his life (facing the end of your life tends to challenge your focus a lot of times) and it changed his entire demeanor...we can change our focus now, and it can change every day of the rest of our lives!
Last, we shared communion. We had Melissa's homemade sour cream muffins and grape juice, but instead of having a speech of some kind, we listed to Communion by Third
Day - here's a link to the lyrics (of course they're not as good without the raspy voice of their lead singer!) http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/thirdday/communion.html
It was a great time and we hope to see anyone interested at the McAllister Center Address:
2351 N 20th St
Lafayette, IN 47904
(765) 447-9354
on 5/1/8 at 6:45PM - we will meet in the parking lot and go promptly together, kids and adults, to our community outreach where we will be serving someone else's needs around us!
More details will follow about how to preprare for this exciting evening!
We enjoyed praising God and worshiping in a different way than usual. We spent some time looking at our hands and thinking about all that they do for us and how marvelously created they are. We talked a little about the anatomy and physiology of the hands - and how God made them so perfectly to serve our needs and His kingdom. Some chose to share, quite beautifully,how their hands have both been used for good and for less than good pursuits. It was a great time of rejoicing in the awesomeness of a God who would make us so wonderfully complex - as one of my friends, who is a doctor, once said to me, "The complexity of the body makes it harder to not believe in a God/creator than to believe. You almost have to try to not believe." It has really been cool, over these several weeks, to see how different people really enjoy worshiping in different ways!
After our praise time, we had time to share burdens and pray together. It is always such a relief to approach God about our needs!
Then I spent some time talking about the transformation I had seen in an angry little old man, over weeks of praying, ending in his seeking God, and then succumbing to his terminal illness. It is amazing what a change God can make in a person. I literally had the pleasure of watching this man's anger and frustration melt into love and smiles, as we prayed and shared together in the last days of his life. God can truly work this kind of change in any one's life! The truth is, most of us spend our time running after all kinds of things that don't really give much deep or lasting joy - this old guy chose to change his focus at the end of his life (facing the end of your life tends to challenge your focus a lot of times) and it changed his entire demeanor...we can change our focus now, and it can change every day of the rest of our lives!
Last, we shared communion. We had Melissa's homemade sour cream muffins and grape juice, but instead of having a speech of some kind, we listed to Communion by Third
Day - here's a link to the lyrics (of course they're not as good without the raspy voice of their lead singer!) http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/thirdday/communion.html
It was a great time and we hope to see anyone interested at the McAllister Center Address:
2351 N 20th St
Lafayette, IN 47904
(765) 447-9354
on 5/1/8 at 6:45PM - we will meet in the parking lot and go promptly together, kids and adults, to our community outreach where we will be serving someone else's needs around us!
More details will follow about how to preprare for this exciting evening!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Thursday Night 4/17
Hello everyone. We are planning a great time together for Thursday and hope that you all can make it!
Then on 5/1 we are planning our first community outreach night. This will be for the entire family, but we will still meet at McAlister Center at 6:45PM, unless it is posted otherwise.
We are batting around ideas right now. Several have surfaced. One is to try to go to one of the local homeless shelters or Lafayette Urban Ministries and volunteer for the evening. Another is to go to a local nursing home and hang out with some of the folks who don't usually get visitors. A third is to adopt one or two families - older folks or those in need and offer our assistance for the evening doing Spring cleaning, yard work, etc. - whatever they need.
Basically, we don't want to be a group of people completely absorbed with ourselves - we want to always be remembering that a huge part of our mission and focus is to be serving and caring for people - this is the way Jesus lived His whole life - even to His death!
We plan to be doing this kind of thing about every 5th meeting, so it is just part of our routine.
If you have ideas for what we could be doing 5/1 or on any one of these outreach nights (or for that matter things you'd like to see as a part of our regular times together) please post it, or email it to us at mjens93@insightbb.com
Hope to see you Thursday!
Then on 5/1 we are planning our first community outreach night. This will be for the entire family, but we will still meet at McAlister Center at 6:45PM, unless it is posted otherwise.
We are batting around ideas right now. Several have surfaced. One is to try to go to one of the local homeless shelters or Lafayette Urban Ministries and volunteer for the evening. Another is to go to a local nursing home and hang out with some of the folks who don't usually get visitors. A third is to adopt one or two families - older folks or those in need and offer our assistance for the evening doing Spring cleaning, yard work, etc. - whatever they need.
Basically, we don't want to be a group of people completely absorbed with ourselves - we want to always be remembering that a huge part of our mission and focus is to be serving and caring for people - this is the way Jesus lived His whole life - even to His death!
We plan to be doing this kind of thing about every 5th meeting, so it is just part of our routine.
If you have ideas for what we could be doing 5/1 or on any one of these outreach nights (or for that matter things you'd like to see as a part of our regular times together) please post it, or email it to us at mjens93@insightbb.com
Hope to see you Thursday!
Never Ending Sweeping
Down the road from where I live, at the main intersection heading into town, there is a road construction project of Epic proportions going on. It has been going on for months (years if you ask my kids) and will likely continue well into the summer. They are widening a 2 lane road that just could no longer accommodate the traffic that was traveling on it every day…it was getting crazier and crazier. The process is long and painful…first tearing up the old road, then bringing in dirt and gravel and leveling, etc, then the concrete. We have obviously been watching this process and its participants, day after day, for the longest time now, as we drive by them daily. My children, particularly my oldest, Emily, are so bothered by it, they have even forgotten why it is being done and are wondering if the whole thing was really a good idea in the first place. “I wish we could just have the road the way it used to be, dad.” This is not an uncommon statement on the way into town as we brave the construction traffic.
One of the participants in this Epic drama of road construction that we have had the pleasure to “meet” (the quotations are there because not only have we never met her, we have no idea what her name is or really much of anything about her) is the little old lady who lives on the corner. How does a little old lady that we don’t even know find such significance in our hearts? I’m glad you asked.
As a part of the project, the state of Indiana claimed a portion of this little old lady’s front yard. She previously had always kept it very neat and tidy, with pretty flowers and perfectly manicured lawn. It is not a fancy house…probably a 3 bedroom ranch with plenty of room for what she needs. Now, I’m sure you can imagine what back hoes, dump trucks, bulldozers, concrete mixers and an endless parade of workmen have done to her lovely little yard. It has been torn to shreds. I mean, literally, in shambles. There have been huge ruts and ditches, mud caked equipment and men, giant 4 foot sewer drains, and countless other things in her yard. It is filthy!
What’s interesting about her reaction to all this is what has bonded us to this little old lady. She sweeps! Yes, sweeps. Day after day, she can be seen sweeping what is left of her driveway, as if to say, “I may not be able to get rid of all you workmen and all your filth, but the part that is mine, will be a clean as I can make it.” It’s quite strange, on any given day, you can see her out there with her ordinary, common, household broom, sweeping out the dirt, right next to giant piles of muck and mess and ripped up road. It is quite a contradiction to see this little old lady working so hard to keep things clean day after day and realizing that she’ll never do it. No matter how many times she sweeps off her drive, it will just fill up with nasty dirt all over again…probably about 5 minutes after she’s done sweeping! Until that road is finished and all the workmen go on to another job, she will never even get close to her goal of a clean drive! It reminds me of the time my dad was teaching me to rake leaves on a windy day in the Midwest. He reminded me that if I raked against the wind, I’d simply be raking again in a little bit, if I raked with the wind, I would fare much better.
When I look at that lady, I see something of myself. You see, I have a confession to make. I too was a sweeper! I swept and I swept and I swept and I just couldn’t seem to make anything very much cleaner. In my case, I tried and tried and tried to fill my emptiness, the longing in my heart for something (although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it), the desire within me to live for something more than…money…fun…pleasing people…achieving lots of success and fame…etc…etc…etc. All these things and on I swept. Each day trying to sweep away my inner sense of dissatisfaction and loss, and each day realizing that it was still there. The piles of dirt, the machinery, the road crews, and the filth kept piling up on my driveway and I could not get rid of it. The American way of life had filled my head with the idea that if I just worked hard enough, if I bought enough, climbed the “ladder” enough, played enough, had fun enough, then I would find satisfaction, peace and joy. The problem is that I was just like little old lady, there was no end to my sweeping.
Then I realized that learning about this Jesus and how He loves me, and how I can love Him and all the people around me He loves so much might break the cycle of sweeping and help me find more. He came in and finished the road, repaved my driveway, and then handed me a broom and He took hold of one of those massive backpack blower things right next to me. Together we have been cleaning up the mess that life in the American dream had been for me. What’s more? I have found a sense of joy and fulfillment and peace that I never previously dreamed was possible. And, I am part of something much greater than just me – it would be best called a construction project of Epic proportions.
One of the participants in this Epic drama of road construction that we have had the pleasure to “meet” (the quotations are there because not only have we never met her, we have no idea what her name is or really much of anything about her) is the little old lady who lives on the corner. How does a little old lady that we don’t even know find such significance in our hearts? I’m glad you asked.
As a part of the project, the state of Indiana claimed a portion of this little old lady’s front yard. She previously had always kept it very neat and tidy, with pretty flowers and perfectly manicured lawn. It is not a fancy house…probably a 3 bedroom ranch with plenty of room for what she needs. Now, I’m sure you can imagine what back hoes, dump trucks, bulldozers, concrete mixers and an endless parade of workmen have done to her lovely little yard. It has been torn to shreds. I mean, literally, in shambles. There have been huge ruts and ditches, mud caked equipment and men, giant 4 foot sewer drains, and countless other things in her yard. It is filthy!
What’s interesting about her reaction to all this is what has bonded us to this little old lady. She sweeps! Yes, sweeps. Day after day, she can be seen sweeping what is left of her driveway, as if to say, “I may not be able to get rid of all you workmen and all your filth, but the part that is mine, will be a clean as I can make it.” It’s quite strange, on any given day, you can see her out there with her ordinary, common, household broom, sweeping out the dirt, right next to giant piles of muck and mess and ripped up road. It is quite a contradiction to see this little old lady working so hard to keep things clean day after day and realizing that she’ll never do it. No matter how many times she sweeps off her drive, it will just fill up with nasty dirt all over again…probably about 5 minutes after she’s done sweeping! Until that road is finished and all the workmen go on to another job, she will never even get close to her goal of a clean drive! It reminds me of the time my dad was teaching me to rake leaves on a windy day in the Midwest. He reminded me that if I raked against the wind, I’d simply be raking again in a little bit, if I raked with the wind, I would fare much better.
When I look at that lady, I see something of myself. You see, I have a confession to make. I too was a sweeper! I swept and I swept and I swept and I just couldn’t seem to make anything very much cleaner. In my case, I tried and tried and tried to fill my emptiness, the longing in my heart for something (although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it), the desire within me to live for something more than…money…fun…pleasing people…achieving lots of success and fame…etc…etc…etc. All these things and on I swept. Each day trying to sweep away my inner sense of dissatisfaction and loss, and each day realizing that it was still there. The piles of dirt, the machinery, the road crews, and the filth kept piling up on my driveway and I could not get rid of it. The American way of life had filled my head with the idea that if I just worked hard enough, if I bought enough, climbed the “ladder” enough, played enough, had fun enough, then I would find satisfaction, peace and joy. The problem is that I was just like little old lady, there was no end to my sweeping.
Then I realized that learning about this Jesus and how He loves me, and how I can love Him and all the people around me He loves so much might break the cycle of sweeping and help me find more. He came in and finished the road, repaved my driveway, and then handed me a broom and He took hold of one of those massive backpack blower things right next to me. Together we have been cleaning up the mess that life in the American dream had been for me. What’s more? I have found a sense of joy and fulfillment and peace that I never previously dreamed was possible. And, I am part of something much greater than just me – it would be best called a construction project of Epic proportions.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Thoughts about God's goodness and the Faithful Prayer
4-2-8 Ghandi and Rob Bell
A couple months ago I was reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. Some of the things in that book I really like – so it will probably come up again, but tonight I want to talk about a section where he gave voice to some thoughts I had had for a long time and hadn’t had the clarity to phrase them so well (thanks Rob!). He was talking about truth. I love the topic of truth so he had me hook, line and sinker from the beginning, but the crux of what he had to say was that there is goodness all around us (I know there’s bad too, but stay with me) and that that goodness is God’s. Furthermore he asserts, and I agree, that we need to claim the goodness we see around us as God’s. It may not be fully being expressed as God intended it, it may not even be associated with anything else Godly at all, but the goodness, the true goodness in the world comes from God and we Christians are way too timid about the awesomeness and wonder of our God. The truth is, we need to see the good around us and understand that it is a gift from God, distorted as it sometimes is, nevertheless originating from God. Use the example of the birth of a child. This is a wonderful example of God given wonder. It may happen in ungodly circumstances, or into downright evil family situations (believe me, I’ve seen both), but it is still, in its rawest form, an amazing thing, full of God’s goodness. There are things like this all over the place and we don’t give God credit for it, nor do we celebrate the greatness of our God in ALL the earth.
Well, I have been thinking about this from time to time, and then over the last week I have been watching, for the first time (I know I am so behind the times) the movie Ghandhi as I exercise in the evening. Well, the more I watched, the more I was at first intrigued by this little man in his loin cloth, then as the story continued to unfold, I became almost enthralled by him and perplexed at how this man was Hindu. Then, as I watched and thought, I began to realize that Rob Bell and Ghandhi were coming together in my brain (I know it can be a very confusing place!). I began to see that all the goodness of Ghandhi was not non-Christian per se, even though it was acted out by a non-Christian person. Follow me here, Ghandhi was actually following Jesus’ example of life. The amazing power that this little Indian man in a loin cloth unfolded on the British Empire was the very power of Jesus’ philosophy. This is remarkable! Do you get the fact that even without the worship of Jesus, even without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which comes with the relationship we have with the risen Christ, even without the blessing of the one and true Sovereign God, the very truths and practices of Jesus, acted out in a nation, brought justice and peace and independence! That is just so cool! Imagine how much more power we have, armed with the ideas, philosophies, and truths of Christ and plus having His indwelling Spirit, and the blessing of His Father, the almighty God of all! There is nothing that we cannot overcome!
` The kicker is that Ghandhi really believed the philosophies and the truths of Christ. He believed in living a life of love so much that he advocated sending the British out of India not to jeers and pain, but to love and respect, even after it was clear his cause would triumph. He believed in humility and caring for the “least of these” so much that he disavowed all wealth and lived in relative poverty (the Son of Man has no where to lay his head). He believed in turning the other cheek so much that he really did. If only our denominations, our leaders, our churches, our people, our Christians could believe like that and have the relationship of Christ too, the results could be astounding.
The Faithful Prayer
Lord, pound me with the message, over and over and over that
1)You are faithful
2)You will always be with us
3) You will always take care of us
4) You will provide for us
5) You will give us fun
6)None of life’s struggles matters in the light of who You are and Your love and sacrifice for us
7) In Your eyes, I am worthy
8)In Your eyes, I have nothing to prove
9) In Your eyes, I do not need to have money, or success, or control, or even any idea of what will come next to be loveable
10) In You, there will always be enough
money…fun…joy…satisfaction…wonder…peace.
I can trust…completely!
Please help me, in my moments of weakness, to remember.
A couple months ago I was reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. Some of the things in that book I really like – so it will probably come up again, but tonight I want to talk about a section where he gave voice to some thoughts I had had for a long time and hadn’t had the clarity to phrase them so well (thanks Rob!). He was talking about truth. I love the topic of truth so he had me hook, line and sinker from the beginning, but the crux of what he had to say was that there is goodness all around us (I know there’s bad too, but stay with me) and that that goodness is God’s. Furthermore he asserts, and I agree, that we need to claim the goodness we see around us as God’s. It may not be fully being expressed as God intended it, it may not even be associated with anything else Godly at all, but the goodness, the true goodness in the world comes from God and we Christians are way too timid about the awesomeness and wonder of our God. The truth is, we need to see the good around us and understand that it is a gift from God, distorted as it sometimes is, nevertheless originating from God. Use the example of the birth of a child. This is a wonderful example of God given wonder. It may happen in ungodly circumstances, or into downright evil family situations (believe me, I’ve seen both), but it is still, in its rawest form, an amazing thing, full of God’s goodness. There are things like this all over the place and we don’t give God credit for it, nor do we celebrate the greatness of our God in ALL the earth.
Well, I have been thinking about this from time to time, and then over the last week I have been watching, for the first time (I know I am so behind the times) the movie Ghandhi as I exercise in the evening. Well, the more I watched, the more I was at first intrigued by this little man in his loin cloth, then as the story continued to unfold, I became almost enthralled by him and perplexed at how this man was Hindu. Then, as I watched and thought, I began to realize that Rob Bell and Ghandhi were coming together in my brain (I know it can be a very confusing place!). I began to see that all the goodness of Ghandhi was not non-Christian per se, even though it was acted out by a non-Christian person. Follow me here, Ghandhi was actually following Jesus’ example of life. The amazing power that this little Indian man in a loin cloth unfolded on the British Empire was the very power of Jesus’ philosophy. This is remarkable! Do you get the fact that even without the worship of Jesus, even without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which comes with the relationship we have with the risen Christ, even without the blessing of the one and true Sovereign God, the very truths and practices of Jesus, acted out in a nation, brought justice and peace and independence! That is just so cool! Imagine how much more power we have, armed with the ideas, philosophies, and truths of Christ and plus having His indwelling Spirit, and the blessing of His Father, the almighty God of all! There is nothing that we cannot overcome!
` The kicker is that Ghandhi really believed the philosophies and the truths of Christ. He believed in living a life of love so much that he advocated sending the British out of India not to jeers and pain, but to love and respect, even after it was clear his cause would triumph. He believed in humility and caring for the “least of these” so much that he disavowed all wealth and lived in relative poverty (the Son of Man has no where to lay his head). He believed in turning the other cheek so much that he really did. If only our denominations, our leaders, our churches, our people, our Christians could believe like that and have the relationship of Christ too, the results could be astounding.
The Faithful Prayer
Lord, pound me with the message, over and over and over that
1)You are faithful
2)You will always be with us
3) You will always take care of us
4) You will provide for us
5) You will give us fun
6)None of life’s struggles matters in the light of who You are and Your love and sacrifice for us
7) In Your eyes, I am worthy
8)In Your eyes, I have nothing to prove
9) In Your eyes, I do not need to have money, or success, or control, or even any idea of what will come next to be loveable
10) In You, there will always be enough
money…fun…joy…satisfaction…wonder…peace.
I can trust…completely!
Please help me, in my moments of weakness, to remember.
This is a Summary of our last meeting
We had a great time of worship on Thursday night! We enjoyed some time to praise God by hearing a prayer ( see attached) and then having some time individually to pray and express to God how cool He is and how thankful we are by either drawing pictures or writing something to Him. Some chose to share them and it was really fun to celebrate God in a different way! After all,our faith is Good News!
Then we took some time to share any burdens that people felt like sharing and prayed for them. It is so helpful to be able to share our concerns with people who really care!
Then, at the end we talked about how cool it is that God's goodness is everywhere and as Christians we can see and celebrate God's goodness all around us - even in places that we don't usually see it. I have attached something I wrote that goes along with it.
Then we had a different kind of communion. We celebrated the risen Christ reminding each other of his death and resurrection with Banana muffins and glasses of grape juice. We decided that there is no reason that communion shouldn't be a more celebratory enjoyable event sometimes and sometimes more grave and serious. We are so glad our God is alive!
Last, we took a moment to make some commitment to God regardng our walk with Him.
Don't forget - as a Christian, our God is awesome and His goodness surrounds us! Celebrate today!
Then we took some time to share any burdens that people felt like sharing and prayed for them. It is so helpful to be able to share our concerns with people who really care!
Then, at the end we talked about how cool it is that God's goodness is everywhere and as Christians we can see and celebrate God's goodness all around us - even in places that we don't usually see it. I have attached something I wrote that goes along with it.
Then we had a different kind of communion. We celebrated the risen Christ reminding each other of his death and resurrection with Banana muffins and glasses of grape juice. We decided that there is no reason that communion shouldn't be a more celebratory enjoyable event sometimes and sometimes more grave and serious. We are so glad our God is alive!
Last, we took a moment to make some commitment to God regardng our walk with Him.
Don't forget - as a Christian, our God is awesome and His goodness surrounds us! Celebrate today!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Our Beginning Part 2
What began More than More? We began with a sense of having needs and deep cravings in our guts for something more than the American dream of always getting more, being more and achieving more.
We believe in Jesus Christ and that He is the answer to the emptyness felt by so many people in the world. Yet it seems we so infrequently hear this amazing fact broadcast with all of the gusto it should be in our Christian churches.
Even worse, we see churches treating people who do not do things just the right way so badly. We see churches that are focused on everything but the really cool message of Jesus and that there really is...more than more! We see oceans of people who have no interest in church, but love the idea of Christ and living a more full life.
We mourn for the losses in the church, but long to share His love in an environment that is not restrictive on how people can meet with and touch God.
The previous posting is a summary of what we seek to beand what can be expected at meetings.
If you have an interest in this kind of experience, please join us.
We will meet every other Thursday evening. The next will be 4/17/08.
Meetings are 6:45-8:00 PM at
Full-screen
McAllister Recreation Center
Address:
2351 N 20th St
Lafayette, IN 47904Get Directions
(765) 447-9354
Childcare is provided.
Hope you can join us!
We believe in Jesus Christ and that He is the answer to the emptyness felt by so many people in the world. Yet it seems we so infrequently hear this amazing fact broadcast with all of the gusto it should be in our Christian churches.
Even worse, we see churches treating people who do not do things just the right way so badly. We see churches that are focused on everything but the really cool message of Jesus and that there really is...more than more! We see oceans of people who have no interest in church, but love the idea of Christ and living a more full life.
We mourn for the losses in the church, but long to share His love in an environment that is not restrictive on how people can meet with and touch God.
The previous posting is a summary of what we seek to beand what can be expected at meetings.
If you have an interest in this kind of experience, please join us.
We will meet every other Thursday evening. The next will be 4/17/08.
Meetings are 6:45-8:00 PM at
Full-screen
McAllister Recreation Center
Address:
2351 N 20th St
Lafayette, IN 47904Get Directions
(765) 447-9354
Childcare is provided.
Hope you can join us!
Our Beginning
What we want to be:
Good news
Fun
Celebration
Depth
Teaching
Praise
Support
Simple
Flexible
Basic
Serious
Passionate
Spirit Filled
Real
Relevant
Humble
Selfless
Biblical
Truthful
Unafraid
Bold
Seeking
Accepting
Always asking for more faith
Focused on the needs
Consistent in time and place
Varied in experience
Interested in bringing in outsiders
Interested in serving the community
Additional social events
What we want to get away from:
Too much stuff and pursuit of more in the world
Church and church people have hurt and burned tons of people in the US
Focus on programs, structure, organization, buildings
Purely social Christianity
Superficiality
Oblivious Christianity – misses the need
Episodic Seeking – seldom gains ground
Sense of defeat at the hands of the world and helplessness at what we see around us
Rigidity in “the way things are done”
Occasional discipleship – does not grow
Fancy words and jargon
Running away from the hard questions
Separating our religion from our daily lives
Any sense of personal perfection or “having arrived”
Placing doctrine or organizational success over love and ministry
Judging or generalizing those who are different than us
Each gathering will have:
Time for prayer, individually and as a group
Time to praise God and worship Him, with freedom to do this any way you choose
Time to recognize those around you
Scripturally consistent teaching
Time to make decisions and commitments
Some kind of communion, or at least recognition of Christ’s sacrifice for us
Good news
Fun
Celebration
Depth
Teaching
Praise
Support
Simple
Flexible
Basic
Serious
Passionate
Spirit Filled
Real
Relevant
Humble
Selfless
Biblical
Truthful
Unafraid
Bold
Seeking
Accepting
Always asking for more faith
Focused on the needs
Consistent in time and place
Varied in experience
Interested in bringing in outsiders
Interested in serving the community
Additional social events
What we want to get away from:
Too much stuff and pursuit of more in the world
Church and church people have hurt and burned tons of people in the US
Focus on programs, structure, organization, buildings
Purely social Christianity
Superficiality
Oblivious Christianity – misses the need
Episodic Seeking – seldom gains ground
Sense of defeat at the hands of the world and helplessness at what we see around us
Rigidity in “the way things are done”
Occasional discipleship – does not grow
Fancy words and jargon
Running away from the hard questions
Separating our religion from our daily lives
Any sense of personal perfection or “having arrived”
Placing doctrine or organizational success over love and ministry
Judging or generalizing those who are different than us
Each gathering will have:
Time for prayer, individually and as a group
Time to praise God and worship Him, with freedom to do this any way you choose
Time to recognize those around you
Scripturally consistent teaching
Time to make decisions and commitments
Some kind of communion, or at least recognition of Christ’s sacrifice for us
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