Jonathan Grubbs' Blog

What Does it Mean to be Like a Berean?

2011-03-20T17:39:00.005-04:00

What does it mean to be like or follow the example of the Bereans? When I was growing up in the independent baptist church I was taught about the Bereans in the context of everyone but the baptist's being wrong in their doctrine and the importance of always testing every teaching that is outside of the baptist church against what I had been taught in the baptist school and church that I was attending. But now that I am older and striving to follow the example of the Bereans, I have come to a different understanding of Acts 17:10-11.

In this passage we read: "Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."

While it IS true that they tested what they were taught, it wasn't their doctrinal statement that they were using for the testing, but the Scriptures, and we also find that passage says they "were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica". If we look back at those in Thessalonica, we will find that they weren't as open minded and didn't receive the word, but instead got jealous and plotted against those who were bringing the word.

What the Lord has taught me as I am learning to be more like the Bereans is that I need to be more open minded to the teachings of others and willing to admit that much of what I was taught for the first 20+ years of my life was not really based on the Scriptures but based on legalistic doctrine of men, which I now consider to be false teachings. I have learned to listen with an open mind, realizing that I have butchered the Scriptures from behind the pulpit when teaching what I have been taught without first testing those teachings against the Scriptures.

This is from the Berean Bible Society Website:

So, when we say that someone is a "Berean" we mean that they do two things: (1) They have an open mind and willingly receive the Word of God when it is taught to them and (2) But then, they check out what they were taught by comparing it with the Scriptures.

Both aspects are important. Some people are so closed minded that they will not even listen to anything new or that might threaten what they already know. Others are so gullible that they accept whatever is told them without ever checking it against what the Bible says. Both extremes are to be avoided.

A Berean is one who has a balanced viewpoint. We listen to what someone has to say because we are eager to learn the word of God more perfectly. We realize that we have not learned it all. But then, we take what we have heard and compare it with the Bible. Then, if both match, we have learned something and increased our knowledge of God's Word, rightly divided.

The Gathering Exists for the Going

2011-01-11T12:57:00.003-05:00

By Dave Black

Another good reminder this morning from Eric Carpenter that we gather for mutual edification, not for worship (worship is 24/7). But why mutual edification? I put it this way to my students: The gathering exists for the going. The commission of our Lord which comes upon every believer must be given highest priority (Matt. 28:19-20). This means that, as important as mutual edification is, we must put top value upon God's agenda for the church. There's nothing wrong in coming together to be mutually strengthened ... unless it keeps us from reaching our town and our world for Christ.

We err when we place too much emphasize on the gathering. "Don't greet anyone on the way" was how Jesus put it to His disciples. The Lord had a clearly defined mission for His followers. He had told them what to do and where to go. Now He's telling them not to get involved in anything that might detract from that mission. And -- please listen to me carefully -- even good things can do that. It's called the principle of priority.

The mission of the church is to point others to Christ. The calling of every Christian is to build redemptive relationships. So, having been edified during the meeting, do we feel ready to flow into a web of relationships and network them for Christ? If not, there is something wrong with the gathering!

Evangelism is the missing link in so much discussion about ecclesiology today. God's redemptive plan is at the top of His priority list, and each of us is privileged to have a part. How do we get to that place? First, make a definite commitment to be a Great Commission Christian. Second, have faith that God will use the witness of your serving lifestyle to win the lost. Finally, don't give up! Bathe the lost in prayer. Ask God for boldness and open doors. Develop a gift-driven life. Target receptive individuals.

Friends, think about it. Our involvement with church activities does not always lend itself to becoming redemptive people. In fact, it is even possible that our "mutual edification service" is actually an escape mechanism to avoid real involvement in the world as salt and light. Here's the principle: God sows saints (edification) in order to cultivate, sow, and reap (evangelism). You are the message. No one will receive Christ through you who does not first receive you. Our attitude, our whole demeanor, will be different if deep in our hearts we expect God to use us in His great harvest!

The gathering exists for the going. Got the point?

There are millions of lost sheep out there. We're sent to find them. This involves risk. It involves leaving our little happy holy mutually-edifying huddles and getting our hands dirty in the world.

Known for his love for New Testament Greek and passion for teaching, Dave Black is a husband, father, professor, author, preacher, lecturer, web journalist, and (above all) a sinner saved by God’s sovereign grace. You can find out more about Dave and read more of his articles and blog post on his website: http://daveblackonline.com

Using Google Docs to Manage your Finances

2011-01-08T11:37:00.005-05:00

Many people set a New Year's Resolution to get their family's finances in order. I know that is one of my resolutions again this year. Since getting my Cr-48 Google Chrome notebook I have been using Google Docs more and more. I decided to search the Google Docs Template Gallery to see if there were any templates to help me with this resolution. I found they have lot's of templates available for many different uses. Here are three in particular that I found that Alison and I will be using this year to help us keep our finances under control this year.

The Simple Budget Planner is a simple, automatic budget planner. Starting from your monthly income, this budget planner recommends spending amounts for common categories. All numbers are adjustable to fit your needs.
The FPU Gazelle Debt Snowball is a worksheet based on Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (FPU).
The Family Budget Planner is a yearly budget spreadsheet for family budget planning. Includes a detailed list of income and expense categories.

My Cr-48 Chrome Notebook - Days 2, 3 & 4

2010-12-21T22:03:00.007-05:00

My intention was to post an update every day, but Sunday and Monday have already past and Tuesday is just about gone. So far I am loving my Cr-48! On Sunday I only had to use my Windows laptop once. I started off the day with using the Chrome OS notebook as my primary computer, I was even able to find a site that had a decent Flash stream of the Redskins @ Cowboys game and watched most of the game on the Cr-48. When their stream died in the fourth quarter I did a search for another stream, but could only find one that required the V-Stream Windows plugin, that is when I had to boot up the Windows laptop. Other than that, I was able to do everything else I needed my computer for in the cloud with the Chrome OS notebook.

On Monday it was primarily used for basic Internet stuff like GMail, facebook, twitter, Extremeskins.com, and checking out the news stories about the lunar eclipse. I also did some Cr-48 and ChromeOS research online to find some neat things to do with the browser/OS like all of the "About pages" you can find by typing "about:about" in address bar on Chrome and for the Google Chrome Cr-48 power users, here's a tip: Press Ctrl-Alt-? to display the keyboard shortcuts.

If you were following me on twitter late Monday night, you would have seen that I was passing time waiting for the eclipse by doing what I could to make the Cr-48 battery get down to 0%. When it did, the screen went blank, flashed to a "crosh" screen, then shutdown. When I plugged it back in I saw that the Chrome crash recovery restored all of my tabs I had opened and saw that it showed that it would be 2:20 till a full charge again on the battery.

I also got a Google Chrome sticker sent to me from Google via UPS. I went ahead and applied to the top of the notebook. It looks pretty cool!

On Tuesday I took my Cr-48 to a meeting to use Google Docs to take notes during the meeting. Since there IS a basic file manager I was able to download the doc as a Word document and email it as an attachment.

My Cr-48 Chrome Notebook - Day One

2010-12-18T20:36:00.003-05:00

I've just about finished my first full day using my Cr-48 Chrome Notebook from Google as my primary computer. I have been able to use it for everything I would have done on my regular computer except for two things. I had to use my other computer twice today.

The first thing I couldn't do with the Cr-48 and had to break out my Windows laptop for was to use GoToMeeting this morning for my M-DAT Conference Call. It doesn't look like they have a linux plugin for GoToMeeting yet. I was able to do a test with DimDim and it works just fine.

The second thing I couldn't do with the Cr-48 and had to use my Ubuntu Desktop for was downloading the pictures off the camera. Actually, I downloaded them straight to my Iomega external NAS, but had to use the Ubuntu system to transfer them over the home network and upload them to my Picasa account.

I have read others who were complaining about Flash not running good on the Cr-48, but I have done several tests on YouTube, NFL.com and other sites and have not had any issues with Flash yet. So minus the two issue I mentioned in this post, everything else I have needed a computer for has be accomplished on the Cr-48, living in the cloud!

My Cr-48 Chrome Notebook - The Arival

2010-12-18T16:04:00.007-05:00

You may have heard the announcement from Google on December 7th that Chrome users in the US could apply to test drive a Chrome notebook as part of their "pilot program". Here is what they posted on their site about this new Chrome notebook:

The Cr-48 is the test notebook we designed for the Pilot program. It's the first of its kind.

It's ready when you are, booting in about 10 seconds and resuming from sleep instantly. There’s built-in Wi-Fi and 3G, so you can stay connected everywhere, and a webcam for video chat. The vibrant 12-inch LCD display, full-size keyboard and oversized touchpad let you enjoy the web comfortably. And at just 3.8 pounds with over eight hours of active usage and a week of standby time, it’s easy to take along for the ride.

I heard about this announcement during the day on December 7th, and filled out the application to be a part of the "pilot program" later that evening. I didn't know if I would be selected, but like all the others who applied I "patiently" waited and did more research about ChromeOS and the new Chrome notebook (Cr-48) that Google was shipping out to those who were lucky enough to be selected. After 10 days of waiting, I got a call from my wife before I went on my lunch break on Friday, December 17th to let me know that the UPS truck dropped a package off at the house for me. I have found many others, like Engadget who have posted "unboxing" videos, photos and reviews, so I thought I would post my own this weekend as I see if I my new Cr-48 Chrome Notebook can be my primary personal computer.

Here are some photos I took on my lunch break on December 17th of my new notebook:

Relationship Triangle

2010-07-09T00:11:00.003-04:00

Here is a diagram that I drew on a napkin for someone once to help explain how every relationship we have here on earth has to be a "relationship triangle" or it won't work. This applies to every relationship; husband & wife, boyfriend & girlfriend, parent & child, brother & sister, etc. No matter how hard you try to get close to each other, you will never get closer than the opposite sides of the wall that divides you. The only way to get truly close to each other is if each person in the relationship is focusing on their personal relationship with God. As you both grow closer to God, you will both grow closer to each other.

Test Post

2010-06-18T22:23:00.001-04:00

I'm posting from the command line in Ubuntu

My notes from the LIVE SENT/reSYMBOL Workshop

2010-04-29T21:51:00.015-04:00

I had a great day at the LIVE SENT/reSYMBOL Workshop with Jason C Dukes and Doug Dees! I really enjoyed hearing them share from not only their books, but from their hearts. I also made some great "Kingdom Connections"! Here are some of my notes from the day:

Live Sent - Jason Dukes (you can order a copy of his book here)

"Live Sent" is a metaphor for making disciples.

Jesus said "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21)

"Church leaders, it's not what you teach, it's what you emphasize."

We need to do more than just say the church is not just a building. We need to emphasize that and live as though the church is PEOPLE and that Jesus intended the church to LIVE SENT.

Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This "letter" is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:3)

Questions to determine if you are a self-church or a sent-church

Do people ask, should I quit my job to surrender to ministry?
When people in your church family think of "church" what three words come to mind?
Are people in your church family generally retreating from or engaging with the culture around them?
When you talk about missions do people think about a distant city, everyday life or both?
When discipling is said, do people think of a classroom or daily life?
How many people in your church family have friends who are lost, whom they introduce as friends.

Maybe we should invite people to "be the church" instead of inviting them to "come to church".

"Sometimes we are too busy trying to make the bride attractive when we are supposed to be bringing people to the groom, not the bride."

Jesus said we are known by our love through our togetherness, but our togetherness can't be the purpose of the church.

Ekklesia - people who unite around a common purpose.

We should come together around the purpose of "sentness" not the purpose of "togetherness"

What is "make disciples"?

lecturing vs. life coaching
linear program vs. ongoing process
get you ready vs. listen as you go
preachers vs. conversationalist

We are reaping what we have sown. So what we are sowing must change.

Don't say "church" in connection to certain prepositions like to, in and and from.
Don't say "We won't have church tonight because of ___________."
Don't spend the largest percentage of your week focused on Sunday morning prep, or 1/168th of your week.
Don't create more "church" stuff to take up everyone's time trying to "do church" keeping them from being able to "be the church".
Don't emphasize becoming a pastor or missionary as the highest calling.
Don't believe that local and global missions will happen if and only if the pastoral team creates and manages it.
Don't ever say "They are doing well now that they are back in church."
Don't get upset when someone in your church family doesn't show up to your "Sunday morning" gathering because they are out in the community "living sent".

Four Ways to Help "Live Sent"

Pray for wisdom on how to love those I live by and work with.
Connect with them over real life
Serve together locally and globally
Learn and live the ways of Jesus together.

We should be cultivating loving community on our street.

Our Sunday gatherings should be to celebrate the body "living sent" during the previous week and preparing to "live sent" in the upcoming week.

reSymbol - Doug Dees (you can order a copy of his book here)

Note: this session was very interactive so I didn't take as many notes.

Our churches are full of good people doing what they have been taught for many years.

Quit Comparing His Church Parts
Quit Frankensteining His People
Quit Squeezing His Bride

Discipleship: A disciple needs to be increasing in seeking the face of God, exhibiting the characteristics of Christ and following the lead of the Holy Spirit.

An Honest Question about "House Church"

2010-01-31T13:44:00.005-05:00

One of my friends recently asked me the following question on twitter:

How does a house church not grow into a "Sunday morning church" so to speak?

I think this is a great question that everyone learning to live our Christian lives outside of the walls of the legacy churches should be asking ourselves on a regular basis. This question applies to us whether we call our expression of the Body of Christ a "house church, a "simple church", a "organic church", a "missional community" or even if we choose to avoid any type of label for the way(s) in which we gather with other believers for the purpose of mutual edification and spiritual growth.

Here is how I responded via twitter in four tweets of 140 characters or less:

Many legacy churches started as house churches, they just never called them that & they started w/ the goal of being BIG churches

I like what @felicitydale said on her blog: House churches should be neither independent, nor permanent or they will not multiply

She went on to say: Each house church is a debriefing center and a sending center that sends people out. http://bit.ly/dnzssw

So I guess to answer your question, the best way is to be outward focused and "missional", learning to "live sent" together daily

I thought this question deserved more than a few tweets for a good response, so I thought I would post it here on my blog so I could invite others to join in on the discussion here in the comments. I myself have learned that for those of us who have spent most of our lives in the legacy church it would be very easy to let our "house churches" grow into something more traditional or to find another legacy church full of great brothers and sisters that we can become a member of and worship together within the walls of that legacy church.

But, I have also learned that God has commanded us to make disciples as we are going and "living sent" in the world that God put is in. I have learned that God can work through us much better when we are learning to "be the light" in the darkness, instead of only gathering to shine our lights with other lights. I think the key to not growing into a "Sunday morning church" as the original question is asking is for us to be very intentional about being outward focused and multiplying and not inward focused and simply growing in numbers.

Please join this discussion and share your answers to this question, How does a house church not grow into a "Sunday morning church" so to speak?

The Danger of Christian Sacralism and Statism

2010-01-01T11:32:00.003-05:00

This was recently posted on Dave Black's blog, I got his permission to re-post it here:

January 5, 1527, is a date that will always live in infamy for me. On that day Felix Manz perished at the hands of his persecutors.

The Reformation had become splintered and fractured, and the Reformers realized they now had two opponents: Rome and the Radicals. Zwingli, in a letter to Vadian in 1525, noted that the struggle with the Catholic Church was "child's play" when compared with the struggle erupting with the Radicals. As many of you know, I devoted an entire chapter in The Jesus Paradigm to the Anabaptists' views on soteriology and ecclesiology. It is my conviction that a rehabilitation of the positions of the Radical Reformers is long overdue. Whenever we downgrade good works, wherever we make sanctification some kind of appendage to justification, whenever we emphasize more what God does for us than what He does in us, we have become proponents of an unbalanced Christianity. The doctrine of justification by faith is taught in the Scripture, and I rejoice in it! But an emphasis on the forensic and juridical nature of our salvation can easily lead to a light emphasis on the "good works that God has foreordained that we should walk in them." In this regard, Luther's theology was decisively one-sided, and it was his disparagement of good works that caused him to collide with the letter of James.

The Anabaptists assailed this imbalance, as did they did all forms of state coercion. If they were opposed to "christening," it was only because they were opposed to the "Christendom" this practice represented. For this insistence upon a "Believers' Church," separate from the state, Manz was bound and sent to the bottom of the Limmat. Oh yes, there were cries of "Freedom of religion" -- as long as you supported the right religion. And thus the Christian sacralism of Constantine became the Christian sacralism of Luther and later of Calvin.

What amazes me the most is how willingly and joyfully the Anabaptists went to their deaths. Conrad Grebel, a colleague of Manz, wrote, "He that is baptized has been planted into the death of Christ.... True Christians are sheep among wolves, ready for the slaughter." Zwingli, defender of the sword, died on the battlefield, caught between two "Christian" magistrates doing their duty. To me, Manz -- call him a Rottengeist, call him a Winckler, call him what you will -- died a far nobler death.

P.S. The battle against sacralism and Christian statism fought by Grebel and Manz did not end in the sixteenth century. Here are but a few Anabaptistic emphases that I think are still applicable today (taken from chapter 3 of TJP). The Anabaptists believed in:

serving instead of ruling
suffering instead of inflicting suffering
breaking down walls instead of isolationism
biblical authority instead of ecclesiastical tradition
brotherhood instead of hierarchy
the towel instead of the sword
the headship of Christ instead of that of any pastor
the way of peace instead of "just war"
the church as a living organism instead of as a human institution
the reign of God instead of a political kingdom
the catholicity of the true church instead of sectarianism
the power of suffering instead of the cult of power
the Bible as a book of the church instead of as a book of scholars
loyalty to their heavenly citizenship instead of to the principalities and powers
Spirit-orientation instead of forced structures of church life
being a "light to the nations" instead of a Christian enclave
knowing Christ instead of merely knowing about Him
faith that works (in both senses) instead of dead orthodoxy
effectual grace as a living reality instead of as a theological dogma
every-member ministry instead of clergyism
baptism into Christ instead of baptism into a denomination
a unity that is lived instead of a unity that is merely extolled
welcoming the despised and marginalized instead of ignoring them
a hermeneutic of obedience instead of a hermeneutic of knowledge
individual conscience instead of theological conformity
volunteerism instead of professionalism
allegiance to Christ instead of allegiance to the state

The Power of Praying Luke 10:2b

2009-12-11T21:57:00.007-05:00

During the first few months of 2008 my family started praying Luke 102:b together as a family. I had first heard about the "Luke 10:2b Virus" from John White through DAWN Ministries a few years ago. For those who are not familiar with the "Luke 10:2b Virus", on October 2, 2002 John White and Kenny Moore were discussing Great Commission strategies over breakfast. In reading Luke chapter 10 the found that Luke 10:2a identified the first critical component, that is, the laborers. The harvest is not the problem. The critical missing component is an adequate number of harvest workers and Luke 10:2b says do one thing: ask the Lord of the harvest for them.

White, a former pastor who now humbly refers to himself as a "house church coach," and Moore, Southern Baptist Director of Church Planting for the State of Colorado, at that point covenanted with each other to pray the Luke 10:2b prayer together every day possible from that moment on. In the following 30 months, they followed through on this pledge about 700 or 800 times—and encouraged others to do the same, thus starting the "Luke 10:2b Virus".

I had prayed this prayer myself from time to time, but never made a commitment to really beg the Lord of the harvest for workers until the first few months of 2008 when my family made the commitment to pray this prayer together daily for our neighbors and for our city. We caught the "Luke 10:2b Virus" and here are what we can now see as the results:

Over the last 12 months I have come into contact with and have started networking with one of the pastors of a local "mega church" who has a passion and goal of planting millions of "simple churches" around the world. This is the same "mega church" that played a major role in helping produce two great online "simple church" videos for House2House Ministry.

The Lord spoke to me last Spring and told me I was going to the House2House National House Church Conference Labor Day weekend. I told him if He wanted me to go, then he would have to make it happen, because I knew I couldn't afford the airfare, hotel room, conference registration and other misc. expenses. He answered by putting everything in place in a way that He took care of 100% of all of the expenses.

Upon returning from the Conference I found another local pastor who had recently stepped down from his role as one of the pastors of a local church where he had been for the last 10 years. His reason for stepping down was because the Lord is calling him to start a "movement of missional communities in the Central Florida region". The area he is focusing on is right here in my town of Sanford, FL.

I have also been contacted by someone through SimpleChurch.com who has been learning about "house church" over the last year through the denomination he happened to be connected to. He contacted me because he wanted to meet to find out if other people are doing "house church" and if it's possible to do this without being attached to any denomination, especially one that has a lot of extra rules and requirements that are not based on the Bible.

I have also been reunited with one of the young men who was part of the youth group from my old place of worship from six years ago, where I served as the youth pastor for about five years. He is interested in hanging out more to learn more about "organic church" and "missional communities" and how "simple churches" can work to fulfill the Great Commission.

I am now working with all of the above mentioned and many others that the Lord has brought into my life over the last 12 months to plan an Organic Greenhouse with Neil Cole from CMA Resources, to be hosted at Northland June 11th-13th, 2010.

My wife and I have a new love for our neighbors and have been teaching our children how to love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind and how to love their friends and neighbors. We are learning how to "be the church" where we are planted, instead of trying to "start a house church" with all of our Christian friends while ignoring those lost and dying around us. We are learning how to truly love and care about those around us and how to be among them, and we have learned as Greg Paul wrote in God in the Alley, that "being among people means being in their midst, not outside. It means being with them, not being over them."

I now have my cell phone alarm set to 10:02 a.m. and continue to pray the Luke 10:2b prayer where ever I am when the alarm goes off. I have encouraged others to do the same, as I have seen the real results of taking the time to commit to begging the Lord of the harvest for workers!

My request to you is to do the same, set your alarm to 10:02 a.m, catch the "Luke 10:2b Virus" if you haven't already and join me in begging the Lord of the harvest for workers daily. Let me know what results in your life from this virus!

Stages in the Journey of Simple/House Church

2009-12-09T13:45:00.002-05:00

Roger Thoman has been reflecting, for some time, on the stages that he has seen and experienced in the simple/house church journey. I thought he did a great job identifying and explaining these stages that I myself have also seen and experienced in my own, now six year, simple/house church journey.

I have listed the stages here, but you will need to visit Roger's blog to read more about each stage and join in the discussion with the others who have commented on his blog.

Letting go of old paradigms of church life.
Exploring New Testament gatherings.
Re-boot to Jesus.
A new missional heart and longing.
Fresh discovery of our own passions, spiritual gifts, and calling.
Integration of an organic, fruitful lifestyle with organic gatherings that support it.
Our kingdom influence spreads and even becomes reproductive in its impact.

House Church Action Plan

2009-10-17T15:32:00.005-04:00

LEAVE your comfortable Christian activities, go outside your comfort zone, and take the time to build and invest in relationships with those around you like workmates, neighbours, and students.

FOCUS on living in such a way that Jesus’ message is clearly expressed through our lives. We can trust God to do the rest.

LIVE as a participant in the natural activities of culture while maintaining lines of clear conscience and non-compromise.

LOVE generously, genuinely, and with no sincere strings attached.

LISTEN in a way that demonstrates interest in others.

BRAINSTORM and pray for specific ideas about living on mission. For example ... Adopt a park. Adopt a family. Help a neighbour. Start a storytellers group. Donate to a food bank. Volunteer at a homeless shelter.

CHOOSE an activity you can do as a house church.

GO and just do it.

FOLLOW-UP the activity with a meeting as a group to prayerfully determine what worked and what did not.

READ Hugh Halter and Matt Smay’s book The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community.

Used with permission from @oikosministries. Taken from the latest edition of Starfish Files (Canada's house church magazine), now available for download from the Oikos Ministries Web site.

10 Marks of a Missional Community

2009-10-09T00:41:00.004-04:00

It's members love and talk positively about the city/neighborhood/pocket of people they're sent to.
Members speak in language that is not filled with pious tribal or technical terms & phrases.
Members don't use disdainful and embattled language about their city/neighborhood /pocket of people.
They apply the gospel to the core concerns and stories of the people of the culture/city/neighborhood.
Engaged w/ the lit/art/thought of the culture & can discuss it both appreciatively & yet critically.
Deep concern for the poor and generosity with their money.
Purity and respect with regard to opposite sex.
They show humility toward people of other races and cultures.
They do not bash other Christians and churches.
Seekers/non-believing people will be invited & will come & will stay to explore spiritual issues

I got these 10 Marks of a Missional Community from a series of tweets posted by the Austin Stone Missional Community twitter account starting on September 28th. You can follow them on twitter at @AustinStoneMCs.

Connecting with your Tribe(s)

2009-07-30T20:13:00.002-04:00

It's been over four months since my last blog update, I guess the handful of people who were reading my blog may wonder where I have been. For those of you who don't know, I guess I should explain.

Things at the office have been keeping me really busy as my responsibilities as the IT Director at Strang Communications increased when the IT Department increased in size, merging with the Digital Media Group which is responsible for all of our Internet projects including our Web sites, Email Newsletters, Social Networking, etc.

I started working at Strang in the Internet Department in 1998, but was promoted to IT Director in April of 2008, so the last year I have not been directly involved in any Internet related projects. These last four months have been very "stretching" but also have provided me a great opportunity to expand my responsibilities as a leader within the company.

In my personal time I have been doing a lot of reading of both some work related books like Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin, Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson, Monday Morning Leadership: 8 Mentoring Sessions You Can't Afford to Miss by David Cottrel & some non-work related books like He Loves Me! Learning to Live in the Father's Affection by Wayne Jacobsen, Like Your Neighbor?: Doing Everyday Evangelism On Common Ground by Stephen W. Sorenson, The Rabbit and the Elephant: Why Small Is the New Big for Today's Church by Tony Dale, Felicity Dale, and George Barna, Search & Rescue: Becoming a Disciple Who Makes a Difference by Neil Cole.

One thing I have learned by reading all of these books is that I am part of many different "Tribes", and it is my responsibility to learn how to connect with all of these different "Tribes" in many different ways. I guess that is what I have been doing over these last few months, is learning how to connect with these different "Tribes" both personally and professionally.

I can't promise that I will post many more blog updates in the coming months, but I can share with you where you will find me on-line, connecting with my "Tribes". You can keep up with me and everything that is going on in my world by "following" me on twitter here: http://twitter.com/jgrubbs or becoming my friend on Facebook here: http://facebook.com/jonathangrubbs. You never know, you may find out that you are also in some of my "Tribes".

New Blog Layout

2009-03-12T22:28:00.001-04:00

After six years with the same blog layout, I thought I would try something new. Let me know what you think about the new layout. I will be adding some more widgets and tools in the coming days.

BoneMan's Daughter review by Jonathan Grubbs

2009-02-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to read an Advance Reading Copy of BoneMan's Dauguters by Ted Dekker. I submitted the following review to Christian Retailing magazine. You can read the edited version the published on their Web site here: http://tinyurl.com/dybpgq

BoneMan's Daughters, the first general market targeted release from popular fiction author Ted Dekker, is just as intense and suspenseful as Dekker's Christian market releases, including the best-seller Three. The book takes the reader on an emotional and spiritual journey, as the author puts the characters through hell on earth, tearing them down, stripping them of any pride or judgment of others, humbling them in a way that helps them understand that they are just as capable of the same evil that lurks within the villain that torments them.

After being taken by the serial killer Boneman, who breaks the bones of his victims without breaking their skin, Bethany is able to identify with her captor. She is very much aware of the shallowness of her mother's love, and is scarred by the abandonment of her father, Ryan Evans. After facing his own traumatic life-altering situation, her father would take on the whole world, even a serial killer if he got the chance, to save his daughter, but more than that, win her trust and her heart back to himself. Ryan seeks to rescue her while wondering if he will find her too late, after she has already been broken and killed. This father's devotion to his child, mirrors that of the Heavenly Father for His children. Dekker has such a great talent and ability to keep your adrenaline flowing, and your heart wrapped around his characters.

The overall theme deals with the issues of the pain of abandonment and rejection, and the ever increasing problem of Faithlessness that faces society today. It is a picture of the importance of a father in the lives of not only their children, but their children's mother as well. Without the father, we are broken. Longtime Dekker readers will once again be captivated by this book, although some Christian readers may find some of the language in the mainstream-targeted book questionable.

AndroidTapp.com will be giving away a New T-Mobile G1

2009-01-13T22:32:00.002-05:00

AndroidTapp.com will be giving away a New T-Mobile G1 cell phone (a $450 value)! Plus Free shipping as well. The winner will be chosen at random. Promotion starts Monday 11:59pm CST December 22, 2008 and ends Monday 11:59pm CST January 19, 2009. There are several ways to enter the promotion and win, multiple entries are allowed based ONLY by the criteria at the following URL: http://www.androidtapp.com/androidtapp-tmobile-g1-cell-phone-giveaway-promotion/

A Thought from Dave Black

2008-08-25T20:37:00.001-04:00

Hey, fellow pilgrims! Here's something to do today if you have a spare minute. Go to your church's website and see who in your church is mentioned first. My guess it's gonna be the leaders (elders, pastors, staff, etc.). There will probably even be a nice photo of your pastor. Think about that. What is that telling visitors to your site? That the people who count first and foremost are the "ministers." But if we're all ministers (as the New Covenant clearly teaches), why not highlight what the so-called laity are doing? For example, you could mention how brother so-and-so is visiting the nursing homes, or how sister so-and-so is working in the local food pantry, or how the congregation is having a prayer meeting for missions, or how this family is passing out tracts, or how people are getting together during the week for fellowship and Body-building. Put their pix on your home page, rather than your pastor's. Why not revamp your home page to make it a little less top-down and a little more bottom-up? You know, sort of like Jesus (Mark 10:45) or like the way Paul greets the saints in Philippi first, and then mentions their overseers and deacons, almost in passing (Phil. 1:1)? Come to think of it, in most of the openings to his letters he doesn't mention the leaders at all!

Just a thought....

Source: http://daveblackonline.com/blog.htm

The Shack by William Paul Young

2008-08-13T21:28:00.005-04:00

The author of The Shack, William Paul Young, joined Steve Brown Etc. to talk about living in a jacked-up world full of pain and loss and…full of a God who loves us. I encourage everyone who would like to know more about this book to listen to this fun interview with Steve Brown.

I went to Walmart to purchase this book after seeing the author interviewed on James Robinson's television show. My wife and I loved this book, we are sharing it with many family and friends. If you do a Google search for this book you will find many in the Church who are very critical about this book. Most of these critical reviews I have read seem to take parts of the book out of context of this fictional story, however. I think Wayne Jacobsen has done a good job of answering the question, Is The Shack Heresy?

Visit TheShackBook.com for more on the book and visit WindRumors.com for more from Mr. Young.

The 2008 season is here!

2008-07-30T13:34:00.002-04:00

Preseason Week 1:Redskins (0-0) vs. Colts (0-0)

The 2008 season is here!

The Redskins will open the NFL preseason against the Indianapolis Colts in the 46th annual Hall of Fame Game on Sunday, Aug. 3 in Canton, Ohio.

The contest will kick off at 8 p.m. ET at Canton's Fawcett Stadium and will be televised nationally on NBC's Sunday Night Football.

Are We Willing to Wash Osama's Feet?

2008-06-11T15:45:00.003-04:00

http://gregboyd.blogspot.com/2007/11/washing-osamas-feet.html

Spiceworks: Free Network Management Software

2008-04-24T00:20:00.001-04:00

Spiceworks (http://www.spiceworks.com/) is free network management software designed for networks with up to 250 devices. It combines inventory, monitoring, reporting, troubleshooting, help desk and community Q&A into one easy-to-use application. It enables you to quickly and conveniently inventory the hardware, software, and patches that reside on your network; monitor your network for new software, license compliance violations, low disk space, offline servers, low printer supplies; report easily on the information you need to manage your network; troubleshoot any issues with your network; run a simple help desk; ask questions to the Spiceworks community of IT professionals worldwide. Spiceworks requires no agents to be installed and managed.

Only Grace by Matthew West

2008-03-26T22:03:00.001-04:00