CHURCH

Surprisingly, the Bible never defines the church. Instead, it presents it through a number of different metaphors. One of the reasons why the New Testament gives us numerous metaphors to depict the church is because the church is too comprehensive and rich to be captured by a single definition or metaphor. Unfortunately, our tendency is to latch on to one particular metaphor and understand the ekklesia through it alone. But by latching on to just one metaphor—whether it be the body, the army, the temple, the bride, the vineyard, or the city—we lose the message that the other metaphors convey. The result: Our view of the church will become limited at best or lopsided at worst.

What is the main metaphor for the church that is found in the majority of the New Testament? It is a family! The writings of Paul, Peter, and John in particular all saturated with the language and imagery of family. (Gal. 6:10; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 2:19) Their favorite image is the family. Familial terms like “new birth,” “children of God,” “sons of God,” “brethren,” “fathers,” “brothers,” “sisters,” and “household” saturate the New Testament writings.

This is a huge contrast to the dominating metaphor that’s typically constructed for the church today is the business corporation. The pastor is the CEO. The clergy and/or staff is upper management. Evangelism is sales and marketing. The congregation is the clientele. And there is competition with other corporations (“churches”) in the same town.

But the corporation metaphor has a major problem. Not only is it glaringly absent from the New Testament, it does violence to the spirit of Christianity. Because from God’s standpoint, the church is primarily a family. His family, in fact.

Ask yourself this question: Is my church living in the reality of being the family of God?

CHURCH!

On Beat

Noise vs Music

The difference between music and noise is knowing when to be on, and when to be off. There is a clear rhythm in music and it can be heard when everything is on beat.

God made the world with a rhythm; 6 on and 1 off (6 days and rest on the 7th).When we don’t follow a rhythm, our life is less and less music and more and more noise. If we want experience next level living and master life, then we have to understand to have a life of rhythm and know when to be on and when to be off. If we don’t learn rhythm then we butcher the song that we were created to play. Do you ever feel that your life is always on, and you’re just going and you’re just existing, and you feel like a machine? You feel like you have less and less of a life. You were not created to just exist, you were created to have meaning and purpose. Life is about having rhythm.

Life will kill you if you don't find a rhythm. This is why God instituted the "sabbath rest". The sabbath rest was interpreted as a 24 hr period where nothing is urgent. A 24 hr period where your not in a rush. A 24 hr period where life is not moving fast. Slow down and see the joy of the Lord. There is a restaurant in my city, that have a huge deck where you can dine outside. Everyday at sunset people come to this restaurant and while the sun sets they applaud. They give the sun a standing ovation. They do this because the understand the beautiful site that they just witnessed. Slow down. Get on beat, and give God a hand for what you have seen in your life.

CHURCH!

Off the Chain

Liberation is a process not an event. There is a distinction between salvation and liberation. It is possible to be saved and still need liberation. Your personal sins have been remitted from the cross, but the after effects of the victimization that has been done to us still lingers. It is miserable being a Christian that is converted but still be bound by the oppression of your past that is affecting your quality of life. It is God’s will that you enjoy liberty. He wants you to be able to do the things that he called you to do without the constraints of past entanglements and problems. It’s a great thing to be free. But there is some residual effect of that which was done to you. It’s not based on geographical location, because you can leave the scene of the victimization but still have some residue that still haunts you. Deliverance can be difficult. It’s a difficult process because of a challenging problem that continues to manifest in your life Identification: Your experiences in the world shape what you call “normal”. You spend years defining yourself through the things or people that you are connected to. But once you get freed from a bad relationship, the struggle is now regaining a sense of “who am I now, apart from you?” (Children of Israel vs. Egyptians) What is this thing that posses us that we find it difficult to break our tie with our oppressor? You have to allow yourself to be blessed. Do not be afraid to be redefined. The way to break the tie of the past is to be fascinated with the future. You have to be intrigued with where your going instead of being attached and wrestling with where you came from.

CHURCH!

Sola Fide

When it comes to faith, everybody has it. I have often heard people say that they are unable to have the same faith that I do because it is just too hard. The idea that some people have faith and others don’t is a very popular, although it is not true. Everybody has faith! Everybody is following someone or something. Over the majority of modern history, Christianity has been under the scrutiny of the world’s religions for being “closed-minded” and believing that Christians are the only ones with faith and this is not true. No matter what your perspective is on life, it is a faith perspective. The person that says we are here by random happenstance is using faith to determine and follow that notion. An atheist is a person of tremendous faith. We are not talking about faith or no faith, belief or no belief. We are talking about faith in what? Belief in what? The real question is not if we have it or not, but what we have put it in.

The tension of faith is not a new one. Paul argued this point for the Gentiles that had received Christ in Galatia, when they faced the challenge of what to believe, how to believe and what should be the expression of their belief. (Gal 4) This argument transcended time and raised its head again in the 16^th century and was the wedge that created the Reformation and formation of the Protestant church. Martin Luther stated that Sola Fide (Faith Alone) is “the principle on which the church rises or falls.” John Calvin later affirmed this statement by saying that “justification by faith is the principle hinge by which religion is supported”. But the message the moves through the minds of men for the dawn of time is how to get the all knowing, almighty, all seeing God on your side. Mankind seeks acceptance, and questions what will be enough to get the thumbs up from the creator.

The fight of faith was exposed in the lives of the first family with the first sibling rivalry between Cain and his brother Able. This story of a favored offering that sparks untamed anger and leads to ultimate destruction is a conflict between Cain and Able, but it is an insight for works vs. faith and even deeper, religion vs. revelation. Psychologically man becomes uncomfortable with the notion that what I do, what I participate in, and what I offer through my actions may not be good enough. What can I do to be enough? I mean, we live in a quantifiable world. I know when enough is enough with every intersection of my life, but this invisible God leaves this unquantifiable gap between humanity and divinity. But does He? Does an all knowing, all seeing, all powerful, almighty God leave justification to be an ambiguous undefined subject in our existence?

This is the question that man attempts to answer with the creation of religion. Man uses religion to restore himself to God due to his unpleasing fallen state. But there is a fatal flaw in religion. Religion will always find its strength in what my hands do themselves. Religion puts the emphasis on the work that I do. The problem with religious justification is that what I do is already flawed, if I am doing it for myself. Religion only gives you the credit for what you did. Religion will always honor itself and a faith in that is misleading. This is the tension that Cain found himself in. The work that he did with his hands; the plowing, the tilling, the hoeing, and the harvesting was not acceptable enough. This was because Cain was his work. Cain was his religion and to separate the two meant destruction to who he was, not knowing there is a difference between religion and revelation. True faith brings about revelation. It was this revelation that Able operated in. If man is going to be in right standing with God, it is going to take blood. It is the shedding of blood that will redeem a fallen state of man. Able had the revelation from God that it is not about what I raked and hoed and labored to do. But it is through only what God can give that I can obtain righteousness. Because what God demands, God will give. What God asks, God will answer. What God needs, God will supply.

“It strikes us, when year after year our longed for perfection of life does not appear. The only thing one can do is accept the fact that you’re accepted. This is grace. You may not know more than before. You may not feel different than before, but everything it transformed”-Paul Tillich

CHURCH!

Going Outward

Gen 12:1-4: Real pivotal point in scripture. God is creating a new initiative for connecting in a relationship with the people that He calls His own. This doesn’t mean that this is the first time that God communicates with His people, that is obvious because God was in a relationship and communicated with His people since Gen. 1, but things change in this chapter. God comes to Abram and says I want you to leave everything that you know, because I’ve got something different for you. This something that God had in store for Abram was a blessing. It was something that he had never seen or experienced before. This blessing was so gigantic that it would change his life so much that Abram would have to change his name.

God’s Blessing is:

Instrumental: God’s blessing for Abram does not end with just Abram. It was not just a single blessing for one person. Abram received the blessing so that he could become a blessing. It was received to be distributed. Abram is a new means to an end. The good life that Abram was promised and did receive wasn’t just so that he could chill and enjoy it, and live life playa style. Abraham has become a medium of God’s blessing.

So the same suit fits us. We are not just chosen, or predestined, elected or called, just to be called. God says that you predestined to be holy, you are called to be a Son of God, you are chosen for His glory. These things exist as windows of opportunity for us to be something outside of ourselves for someone else. It is not just about me.

Universal: God’s blessing is in response to the sin separation in the world. God’s blessing is no respecter of ethnicity, color, political affiliation. God’s blessing doesn’t pay attention to policy, or timeline, or economy, or even morality. It’s for everyone, everywhere. God invited Abram to live out this blessing and to become a light in a dimly lit world. Abram says yes. But as generations pass, more and more people forget that the plan was to be lights and they disconnect from the mission.

We go OUTWARD because this is what God is like. God doesn’t just exist for Himself, and God doesn’t live just for Himself. He wants His love to be on display to everyone. We go OUTWARD because the heart of God goes OUTWARD. This is what He is calling His church to. So what can we learn as a church about this.

A good life is not about talking about all the things that you would not do just because you have been called by God. I used to think that living such a good life meant explaining to people what I don’t do now. “I don’t do this”, and “never do that”, and “you can’t do this until”, and “you may have done that, but you need to feel sorry for it”; are all things that we have heard or said about the “good life” we have in God. But a good life goes beyond the type of books you don’t read, or movies you won’t watch, or that type of people that you would never hang out with. A good life is more about what we choose to do. How do I choose to spend my time? Where do I choose to give my money? Who do I choose to associate with and why? Who do I invest in? What am I passionate about? How has God shown me love, so that I can show that to other people? When you live life in such a way as this, you become compelling and not repelling. What is it for you? How can you find and promote the divine in the daily?

Jesus calls his church to be a compelling force for good in the world. God uses people as agents of change, to relieve suffering and fight injustice; living out the transforming message of the resurrected Jesus. We believe that the church is at its best when it serves, sacrifices, and loves caring about the things God cares about. We were created to live for something larger than ourselves.

CHURCH!

It's All Good!

The style of the beginning of Genesis is as a Mesopotamian poem. There is a rhythm that is created in this poem. “It is good” continues to pop up time and time again. The “good” is woven into the beat and rhyme of the scripture. The scriptures even end with a new rhythm, “it is very good”.

Death, destruction and curse are temporary invaders. The story begins in Chapter I; not in Chapter III. The story begins with good, not with curse. Sin, death, corruption, curse, and exclusion are not the way God intended things to go. These things come in later in the story, after God claimed that everything was good. The world with these temporary invaders isn't how God made it; it isn’t the way God intended it to be; and it isn’t how it will be forever. So that means, there is no amount of human sin can push out the good. This is because sin was simply a second thought. God made it and said “IT IS GOOD!” The world was already good before anything contaminated it or invaded it. This statement only holds true if you believe the story begins in Chapter I and not Chapter III. If you believe that the world was good before it was invaded, this should make a huge difference with the way that we live on earth today.

Everything that God created is good. He will continue to prove the things that he created are good. We see this happen from time to time in places that we would not expect. Don’t completely write anything off, because God will always prove that something He created is still good. If we believe that the story starts in Chapter I and that the resurrection is a reality, then we believe that life can come out of any dead situation. We want to reclaim the good, where ever we find it.

The Resurrection Story is about the pivotal moment in time where death, destruction, disease, pain, hurt and any other temporary invader gets ousted. The invaders have been removed so that we can live the why we should have if we had never been invaded. Now that the invaders are gone lets get on with the life He intended. Let’s CELEBRATE as we go UPWARDS.

We believe that the world the Lord God created is good; and that He creates people in His image and no amount of darkness can erase that divine imprint. Because we believe that all of life is sacred, we look for God’s fingerprints everywhere. We celebrate the divine in the daily; pursuing lives of hope, gratitude and worship. God invites everyone, everywhere into this way of life, and we believe that it is the best possible way to live!

CHURCH!

God is Spirit, so what does that mean?

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

If I were to ask you to explain God’s spirit, what would you say?

Explain the Holy Spirit without using any “Christianese” (i.e. Holy, Trinity, God Head…etc)

For some of us, because of the way that we have heard other people explain the Spirit, we stay away from trying to explain it. Probably because we feel that it is this weird unexplainable thing, because we don’t really get it. We believe it, but we just don’t get it. There is also another spectrum that just believes that anything that has to do with the Spirit is crazy and loony and you don’t touch it with a 10 ft pole. But over and over again in the scriptures you have this affirmation of Spirit.

For thousands of years throughout human history, people have understood that the spirit is similar to the air that you push out of your nose, and inhale through your nose. Our physical breathe is somehow a representation of a far deeper unseen force that is what gives us life. In the ancient middle-eastern culture, the word for breath is the same for spirit. There is awareness that there is a life-force that you either posses or you don’t, and to have it means life, and to not have it means death. This same life-force is somehow connected to you breathing.

So when we talk about spirit, there is an understanding that we all have of something that animates us at a physical level, but being represented as something that keeps us alive at a far deeper level—this is called “spirit”. So if I were to make a couple of observations about spirit, without using “Chrisitianese”, I would describe “spirit” like this:

Animating Energy: When we say “spirit”, we are talking about an energy that animates things. There is a certain language that is used when we discuss spirit. “I need my spirit lifted.” So with this language, we build an understanding that this “spirit” is like electricity that we plug things into.

Non-Material Essence: There are material realities: dirt, trees, bones, blood, food etc. In contrast, when we talk about something spiritual, we are talking about something that is non-material. There are things that we can engage with our natural senses,(i.e. Taste, Touch, Smell, See, Hear)but then there are realities that are just as real but they are not material. They are a non-material essence.

Sensory Transcendence: There are realities that go beyond my five senses and they are just as real, (even though I can’t access them through my five senses) as these things. Here is a simple example: When I embrace my wife, I am wrapping my arms around her physically, so we can feel each other touching, but I really love her, and she can’t feel that essence of my love with her arms. So there are these realities that we live with everyday, that you cannot access or prove them, but yet they are just as real as things that you can hold in your hand. So when you say that someone is “spiritual”, you are saying that they are tuned into realities that transcend what we can access with our five senses in the material or sensory realm.

Each of us has an inner life. We all have an inner command center that essentially runs the show that we call “our life”. From this command center we make decisions, whether or not it is subjective or objective. We make decisions whether they make since or not. But it is this inner life, signals something to us that something may or may not feel right. We see this at work when we meet people. We see this at work when we hear something. We see this at work when we experience certain things. Some of us are more in tune with it than others, and that is ok. But no matter what the case may be, we encounter these feelings in the daily. Jesus knew in His spirit is what the text explains. Walking in the spirit in everyday language is being so connected with the divine in the daily that God’s spirit begins to shape, and fill, and control (not dictatorly)our inner life. These people that have allowed the inner life to be shaped by God are so contagious. They are a joy to be around. They are the ones that we want to be around. To be shaped by the spirit of God means to have your inner life that sees another reality than the current one, and that propels you into the manifestation of greatness on this earth.

To ask for God’s spirit is to say: “I am spent, and I need something to animate me, because I can’t do it myself.” Walking in the spirit is finding a permanent connection to God’s animating energy that fuels your inner life so much so that the effects are seen in your outer life. “God I am at the end of everything that is me, and I need your SPIRIT.”

CHURCH!

What time does your service start?

When people find out that I am a pastor, there is usually a series of questions that they ask me: “What is the name of your church?” “Where is it located?” “What time does your service start?” Most of the time I will answer those questions directly with the proper responses, but there are other times I may insert some broader answers that make them stop and question my answers. They may ask: “Where is your church? And I will say, “right here”. Or they may ask: “What time does your service start?” And then I will say, “what time is it now?” Yes these answers are meant to a little sarcastic and confusing, but they usually help people understand that church is more than just an event, or a time, or location. The church is a movement. A movement that was never supposed to be constrained and constricted to a finite place and time. The church is a continuum that can function in any variable. The reason why my sarcastic answers confuse people, it because we have adopted traditions that are contrary to the first century church.  

Look at John 4:4-21

Jesus had a conversation with a woman about where people should go and worship. Jesus was taking a break at a well, and he met a woman there. Now the woman was at the well at an unusual time. She did this because she was ashamed of who she was, and what she had done, so she didn’t want people to see her. But she ran into Jesus.(of all people to run into right) After a pretty confrontational conversation, she recognizes that not only is Jesus Jewish, but he was a Jewish Prophet. This opened up a whole new world of questions for the woman. As a Samaritan she had a totally different religious background than Jesus. It was even decreed that Jews and Samaritans where not even allowed to be associated with each other, not only sitting at a well, in a common area discussing faith. But the woman liked what Jesus was saying and wanted to be a part of the freedom that He was offering.

So the woman asked Jesus the deepest theological question that she could think of: Where should I go worship? She said,” Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.(vs. 20). I love the response that Jesus gives her; Jesus tells her that there will be a time where none of that matters. Essentially Jesus tells the woman, you go worship wherever, and whenever you want to. If you want to have worship at this well, you are more that welcome to do so. Jesus set her free in thinking that the power of God that we experience can tied down to a location. God is bigger than a location. God is bigger than an event. God is bigger than our religious traditions. We cannot trap God and expect to control Him by our own religious experiences.

Jesus would be confused with our modern day church model. Jesus only used the word “church” only twice in the gospels. Jesus said more about circumcision than HE did about church. This was on purpose, because His favorite word was kingdom and His focus was disciples. Church is simply an extension of the kingdom of God with His people, where ever they are. This is what the “gospel” is all about. The “gospel” is made of people. The gospel has its power because people propel it.  We need to release God’s people and not retain them to an attraction.  We don’t need them in our churches, we need them in God’s world.“No empire building, No control, No Glory.”

This is the church that God is calling us to. This is the church that I want to be a part of. This is the church that you should be excited about joining. Not a building. Not an event. Not a time. God is calling us to a world that needs us, because it needs him. So what time does your service start? It starts right here, right now!

CHURCH!

808's and Heartbreak

I might be a little late, but as I was trapped in the Dallas/Love airport for 5 hours, I had the opportunity to completely absorb Kanye West's latest album-808's and Heartbreak. Now opinions start flying as soon as you mention Kanye and his musical expressions or musical genius, but this is not a musical review. This is simply an interpretation of Kanye's innovative music.

Regardless of being a fan or not, we are all aware of the darkness that has entered into Kanye's life with the death of his mother. Anyone who has ever lost anybody close to you will agree that it seems that you can never escape the darkness of death. But the darkness gains it's depth when we overlook the pain that someone is facing. This is what Kanye is explaining to us. You see an "808" is the sound used to create the booming base that we can so easily recognize in hip-hop music. An 808 is loud and it's presence can not be overlooked. On the other hand, a heartbreak, in contrast is very private and silent. We can't hear each others heartbreak because of the distraction of the 808 that we hear.

Pain is pain and we all experience it, but pain loses it power when people pay attention. The most powerful thing that I can ever do is say:"I know what that feels like". We can stop being human beings for each other. We have to dig deeper that the surface "I'm fine". No you are not and that is OK that you aren't.

Sacred history is littered with people that are referred to as heroes, but they experienced great heartache and pain. The bible is full of stories of people that dispel the belief that when you do things for God, everything will be great! It is actually filled with people that do everything right and everything falls apart. We have to understand that you cannot control people, places, or things, or most importantly--GOD. The freedom your life needs, begins when we trust no matter what uncertainty life unveils.

Let's look past the 808's of life, and assist each other with the heartbreak. Now this is genius.

CHURCH!

Inspiration from the Atmosphere

Life is too short...

Life isn't too short. Not sure who began this false accusation against life. Maybe it was some adventurist that was trying to promote a vicurious lifestyle. On the other hand, it may have been developed by a team of synics to portray life as a meaningless wrinkle in time. What ever the case may be, life isn't too short. The reason we allow this false statement to transform into a mantra is because we are not using life as we should.

There is a very small statistic of people who claim to have found the meaning of life; others continue to search, and the journey continues without the true answer. I have been invited into the first group, but I am uncomfortable until this minority becomes the majority. So here it is. Only continue reading unless you are ready to completly embrace a change. Only continue reading unless the quest for meaning has left you exhausted.

Ok. I'm glad you are still here. The meaning of life is....enjoyment. Life is here for you to enjoy, and everybody knows that you never want something to end that you enjoy. You see, we were created to always work, or push, or stress, or consume. No. You were created to be envolved with the rest of creation as an apprasier. Your life determines what in this world should be appreciated. Therefore, when we appreciate things that are empty and meaningless, then life mirrors the same.

Listen to the wisdom in Deutoronomy 6:1-4. God the Father of all known creation says, the only reason the decrees and commands were generated so that you may enjoy life. Enjoy life...? Doesn't sound like the typical voice of God, but it is. God is telling us that He puts rules into place, not to hold us back, but to release us to the freedom of enjoyment. Maybe the reason you haven't seen this level of enjoyment is because your life is marred with too much.

The key to enjoyment is simplification. I know this is a challenge, but underneath the layers of your life, is your peace. The question is, how despirate are you to want to experence the freedom of enjoyment. You next level of enjoyment begins right now!

A man that doesn't work doesn't eat, but a man that doesn't work smart doesn't live. Choose life!

CHURCH!

Monday's Mini Message 4-6-09

Reconciliation means to make peace where there wasn’t peace before. God wants to put everything back together, and that includes us. God wants to balance all of us. That means everything. Holistically: your heart; your will, your mind; your intellect; your emotions your past; your wounds; your failures; your worries; your anxieties. The things that keep us wake at night. Our addictions. Our Compulsions. It’s the struggles we have and we seem to never get rid of. When the bible speaks of salvation it is speaking of something that is holistic. Every last part of us back together. The same thing that can happen across the universe through Christ’s death has been extended to you and me. In every aspect of my being I should have total peace in.
We are going INWARD because we value wholeness. We want to be the people that are whole healthy people, who have stared our junk in the face, and our wounds, and all the painful stuff from the past, and are making peace with who God is, and who we are.
When we go in the INWARD direction we find out that our identity is marred and flawed. And we are trying to be someone else. Coming to peace with who you are and who God made you to be is coming to terms with who you are, and being ok with that. It is when we start asking fewer questions like; “Why am I not like so-and-so, and why do I not look like that? We spend our lives wishing we were someone else and we feel uncomfortable in our skin. To be whole is to go in the INWARD direction more and more and learning more about you. I’m ME and I am tired of being someone else. This is who God made me, and I am going to learn to be ok with that. And then celebrate that, not because I am so great, but because God is. The INWARD direction is getting more and more OK with who we are. Now once we can do that, we will see so much more and get so much more done!
We are committed to going INWARD. We are dealing with, and digging up the painful stuff that has been covered up. We are defining what is means to allow salvation to be holistic. And what it means to let God’s light to shine into every last area of our lives. We want to be the people that sees the junk, and the trash, and lets it out.
Jesus doesn’t just want to give us a ticket to heaven. No, He wants to heal and mend and put you back in balance with how life is supposed to be, here, now, today. Because you can be a “Christian” and be “saved”, and sing all the right songs, and actually be miserable. So you can be a super Christian and haven’t even begun to experience salvation. As we move INWARD we will see peace where there was not peace before. This is the life of one that follows Christ.
When we choose not to move INWARD and into this peace that is being offered, it is destructive. When we use what others have done to us as an excuse to not receive reconciliation we are destroying ourselves. Because we are driven by things that we are unaware of. There is a mystery behind the mystery, and we will continue to struggle, and wrestle and live fragmented lives until identify them and come to peace with them.
We believe that God wants to redeem every part of us, and that Jesus’ message of salvation is holistic in nature. We believe that all of life is spiritual life and that all of our fears, failures, and broken hearts can be restored and made whole. We value the INWARD journey because we want to be fully integrated people: mind, body, soul, emotions, and experiences all offered together to God.

CHURCH

Monday's Mini Message 3-30-09

Spiritual Life is a journey. It is about taking what we learned about our roots, and moving forward into new definitions as our life is shaped throughout this journey.

As a community we are going backwards so that we can move FORWARD. We have to know where we have been, so that we know where we are going. It is our turn! It is our turn to enter into this stream of redemptive HIStory. It is our turn to enter into the story and push it FORWARD.

Moses is told by God that there are some people in bondage, and I want you to go get them out. Now ever since then, for thousands of year; across the ages, across continents, across ethnic groups, across people groups, across national boundaries; God has been setting people free. Bringing them from dark into light, from bondage to freedom, from slavery into liberation. And we still live in a day and age where thousands of people are still in some form of bondage. And everyday people just like you and I set out to set them free. It is our part in redemptive HIStory. It is the same story for thousands of years, it is just our turn. It is the bible world view that every act of generosity, and kindness, and love is a part of sacred redemptive HIStory. We are wired to be a part of this HIStory. We were not made to just accumulate and consume. No. We were made to join God and tap into the stream and reclaim God’s vision for the world. That’s why we feel a certain way when we see certain people, or read certain books, or watch certain movies, or hear certain songs, because we were design to absorb the story and move it FORWARD!

So being a Christian isn’t random floatie spiritual ideas. Being a Christian is saying, God here: I’m a real person, in a real place, at a real time, could you please use me. And when you do that you are joining Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, David, Mary, Jesus, Peter, Paul, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr, Barack Obama, and Me. You are joining a HIStoric line of people who said God, will you please use me to serve your world.

We are exploring what it means to live out the teachings of Jesus and how to articulate them in fresh and new ways. That means we may fail, because we are going to try things may not work, but it’s ok because we aren’t the first, just new. So if church for you is a place that you want to be routine, and predictable, and stable, this is not the place for you. Because deep in our DNA is exploring and trying new things that express God in different ways, but all to move the story FORWARD. Because it is not about us. It is not about us being comfortable. It is not about us having all our needs met in a perfect little Christian bubble. It is not about us going to a little Christian corner, it is about making a difference in the world. It not about our own little feelings and our own language; it’s about God reclaiming the world and asking us to do our part.

Because we see faith as a journey change is assumed. Innovation is expected and rebirth is welcomed. Welcome to the Ancient-Future Faith!

CHURCH!

Mini Message 3-22-09

If we want to go forward, sometimes we have to take move backward, to understand the forward motion. But we are moving backward because we want to know and define where we came from.  If you are a Christian then you are part of an ancient historical stream, thousands and thousands and thousands of years old. It is a stream of people that believe that we are not just here by random happenstance, but that there is a creator that put this world together. A Creator that has redeemed us, and a creator that has a plan for this world. So being a Christian is having a historic faith about how the world was created, and what it means to take action in the world with a God who made it.

All a Christian is a person that says: ‘there are these things that Jesus taught about compassion, and injustice, and mercy, and the interaction with other humans on this planet, and I am going to go with that”. I am going to base my world around those things. This is a beautiful stream to be connected with.

 So when we dive into our roots, we have to be honest. You will find in our roots really great things, but at the same time you will find things that are dark and that are not so good. So part of being a Christian is excepting the dark things that are also part of our history. The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Hunts, American Slavery; these are all things that were done by other Christians in the name of Jesus, that Jesus had nothing to do with. It was dark, but it is a part of our linage. The bible has been used in the wrong way. It has been used to manipulate, coheres, defame, oppress and exploit other people, all done against the will of God.

We see ourselves in a long line a generations, taking part in the endless conversation between God and people. We believe the bible to be the voices of many that have come before us, inspired by God to pass along their poems, accounts, stories, and letters of response and relationship with each other and the living God.

To know where we are going, we have to know where we’ve been.

CHURCH

In the spirit of the new release of my book, here is a sneak peek. Enjoy!! =)

You Are Too Tough!

 Growing up, I like any other normal child, enjoyed watching television. My fascination was really with movies. My grandfather and I spent countless hours watching them. He watched what is considered the nostalgic channel. We would watch movies and talk about the time period and place where he saw the movie for the first time. There was a movie that I remember, and it stared one to the greatest actors of our time, Paul Newman. The film was “Cold Hand Luke.” In it Newman played the role of chain-gang Luke. There is this memorable scene where Luke is challenged to fight. The challenger was much bigger than Luke, and had a history of many victories. With the instigating cheers of the other prisoners, Luke accepted the challenge. The two men sized one another up, then Luke threw the first punch and missed. The fight continues for some time. The cheers of the inmates increase, but Luke is losing. Every time he gets hit with a punch, his already frail body falls to the dusty ground in pain and exhaustion. After many falls, cuts, and bruises on his face, he continues to get up. Then with on last punch his challenger sends him directly to the ground. His eyes were swollen shut as he laid there in a daze, appearing to be defeated. The others yell his name coaching him to get up, but he can’t. Then the bully comes over and grabs Luke’s beaten body and takes him back inside to lay him down on his cot.

When I saw this powerful scene, I asked myself, did Luke lose the fight? I submit to you that even though Luke’s body was beaten to the point of unconsciousness, he still was considered a victor. Because he decided to fight to a point were he couldn’t fight anymore, his enemy became his only support. He did not give up and did not quit. He possessed a drive that propelled him into victory and he didn’t even have to fight anymore. He gained respect, and never was challenged by anyone in that prison.

I want to let you know that if you posses a drive, (which can only be imparted by God) to keep standing up every time you get knocked down, you will receive a victory that you didn’t have to fight for. The purpose of this book is to encourage you in the midst of your trial, and to give you strength in your struggle. We have to understand that everything that occurs in our life is to be used as the launching pad to elevate us into our destiny. Do not regret your experiences. As you read, picture yourself in a gym exercising and becoming stronger from every repetition that is completed. Enjoy reading and I pray that something is imparted into your life that will revolutionize your thinking and your outlook on every challenge that you face. You are too tough and you cannot be beaten. 

Legacy

They laid my wife down on the paper covering and tucked a kind of bib into her pants before they unzipped them and pulled them partway down. The mood lighting was set and the room was warm. The woman with the sonogram wand was gabby and was talking faster than a NASCAR mile. She was sucking on a peppermint. "Move, baby, move", she said. Through the curtain of the sepia static, a little body appeared. A tail-like spine, bird-wing arms, a ginormous head, a little ball of moving slush that was the heart, like a tiny ember of the sun. "So you guys sure you want to know what baby is?" the woman said through the peppermint. Yep, we said, we want to know. "It's a boy. There's his little member", she said. The fetus moves his arms his hands as if he was shielding his face from the tabloid paparazzi. The fetus can move his arms at 4 months old? He has a mind of his own already? He was a mouse, a bird, with a heart going a mile a minute, and I felt the legacy beginning. I couldn't wait to hold that little man in my arms. Seeing him starting his life, without really much input from us besides nutrients and a sperm and an egg and a lot of exhaustion and cramps on the part of my wife-it didn't matter. He is already living his future. He's my legacy!

CHURCH

Success Overdrive

As I prepare for another work week of squeezing the thousands of things that I need to accomplish into a five day gap, I contemplate “What next?” As I continued to ask the same rhetorical question, my list expanded. This question is really endless and can be very overwhelming. I am answering the question with more tasks, but really, what is next? How far or deep to I want to take it. What am I trying to prove? What goals just absolutely have to be accomplished? We all have a drive, and that is cool, but when does a normal drive, shift into ‘OVERDRIVE”?

Why is it that often when we get what we want, we still feel empty? We work so hard to succeed, but our lives just end up becoming more about us. I will tell you why, success is like lust, she’s good to the touch. She’s good for the moment, but she’s never enough. And everybody’s had her. And success can turn on you.  Considering the current climate of our world, I know it is hard not to go into a mode of doing everything you can to protect what you already have and do everything utterly possible to survive. (The next survivor series should be Survivor: Corporate America Edition) But when do we say enough is enough. And at what point do we let faith and favor take over?

When David said that he never saw the righteous forsaken, this was an absolute. God doesn’t take care of us out of necessarily, but out of obligation. The examples that we are currently faced with are reality simply to make God’s obligation absolute truth. The Sabbath was man’s obligation to promote God’s responsibility. When we rest, when we let go, when we take a break, we are saying God I trust you with this, here you take over. So this next week, hustle hard when needed, but Sabbath when commanded and let God take over.

CHURCH

Bringing Sexy Back

Forget about Justin (although I have to admit I'm a fan), Jesus was the one who brought sexy back.

Think about it. Since Day 1 (meaning Gen. Chapter 1) the purpose of God's creation of man kind was for connection. We were in the garden and the word says that we were in constant connection with God. This all soon changes when disobedience took place therfore bringing disconnection. The curse or punishment was disconnection not just from God but also between the Earth and each other. God created the disconnection, but he didn't leave without a way to reconnect.

Our sexualtiy is what He left us with. Think about it. When we follow after just the sexual act of physical sex we are attempting to connect with a person on he most intimate levels. Sex creates a euphoria that brings momentary joy are pleasure. But this euphoria is not just limited to physical sex, some people have even said that there are natural chocolates that give you a rush that is simiular to orgazism. Our sexuality is our ablity to connect to the world around us and enjoy it. This is what separates us from animals and angels. Neither one was created like us. Animals have sex but is is nothing more than an instinctive act that only results in procreation. Angels don't have sex but they have a permanent connection to God, but man was given both.

So let me finish. Man was disconnected but he left us with a connection and that is our sexuality. Our sexuality is two fold. It is being aware of our disconnection, but it is our attempt to reconnect to our world and enjoying it. This is why sexulaity cannot be limited to sex itself. The cool summer breeze on your face is sexy. A man holding a newborn baby is sexy. A woman holding a puppy licking her face is sexy. A walk on a beach barefoot is oh so sexy. These things give us a euphoria that compares to nothing else, and it is great. These things help us enjoy the things that God created just for our pleasure. The bible says that "all things were created by Him, for Him"(Colossians 1:16). That means everything.

Jesus came to reconnect us. Not only did He come but He died and rose as proof of the reconnection.

CHURCH