Ancient Journey

The Ancient Journey Enters a New Phase

2011-08-22T02:21:00.000-05:00

This will be the final blog post on Ancient Journey...

In my previous post I described some of the new adventures that are coming about with the transition of Missional Monks from a podcast and online social network to a dedicated equipping organization. For quite some time I have been working on consolidating my various projects into one website and at 2am, August 22, 2011 it has finally happened! From now on you can find my writings and information about our various activities at MissionalMonks.com. You'll find all the posts from this site, plus information on The Gathering, The Academy for Missional Wisdom, the Missional Monks Podcast, the Missional Monks Network and, of course, Communitas & other equipping ministries on the new site.

So...see you there!

Where Do We Go From Here?

2011-08-12T00:19:00.002-05:00

A few days ago I watched a History Channel show on Rogue Waves. Basically, these are waves which can come out of nowhere and are at least twice as large as any other wave in the set. Often these waves are three and four times larger than anything in the area - and they can even pop up on calm seas. Apparently for a long time rogue waves were reported, but considered to be the excuses a drunk captain came up with to avoid the truth of his ineptitude...until people started catching them on camera. Waves of over 100 feet have been filmed, smashing into and completely destroying huge tanker ships and even oil platforms.

There’s a growing suspicion that these waves are particularly prevalent, and provide partial explanation for the strange disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle.

I was fascinated.

It wasn’t until the next morning that it struck me why these rogue waves captured my imagination. They are a perfect metaphor for the last several years of my family’s life. There have been storms, to be sure - even some that we were not sure we would survive. However, it wasn’t the storms that were the source of our anxiety, it was the random rogue waves which always seemed to come along in the calm seas after the storm had “passed.”

Our latest rogue wave came in the form of a series of disconnected (but utterly connected) bad tidings regarding finances. Without going into the boring details, I should be panicked right now...or selling a kidney. But what has been very perplexing is that I’m not. I realize the seriousness of the situation. I’m doing what I can to address it and “avoid the rocks” (in sticking with the maritime metaphor).

But I’m not panicking.

This baffles me. Why am I not a blubbering mess?!

At first I was afraid it meant I’d finally had a mental breakdown...the part of my brain controlling the self-preservation instinct had just dissolved or something. But, if that were the case (and yes, I seriously considered it enough that I had to actually rule it out), I wouldn’t be trying to do something about the situation.

I quickly ruled out both super-faith and Pollyanna-like naiveté. My faith in the face of risk has certainly matured, but I’m still plagued by doubt. My current lack of fear doesn’t stem from a confidence that “everything will be okay, because God won’t let the monster get us.” I have several years of empirical evidence to suggest that God is most certainly faithful and compassionate, but I do not take deliverance and rescue for granted.

Bad things still happen in this world, and it will continue to be so until Jesus finally and fully establishes the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. I can’t be so arrogant as to think God will keep all the monsters at bay, because there are too many people in this world that get eaten...and I am no more precious to our Lord than they. (Which is not at all to say that neither they nor I are precious to God.)

The other night, as we had this very conversation, a friend asked, “Are you just numb?” I could only respond, “Well...maybe.”

But I don’t really think that’s it either.

I think - and I hold this belief with humility, knowing that tomorrow it could look differently - that I’m just getting a bit peace in the midst of the storm. The storm is real; the chaos - like the fiery furnace that three Jewish boys stood before - is threatening. And from somewhere I’m being given the strength to respond, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from [this threat]. But even if he does not...”

I don’t know that this is a test...and if it is, I don’t know that we’ll be delivered at the 11th hour for our faithfulness. But even if we are not, we will not bow down to the idol of fear.

I don’t want to oversell it. There are too many people who love us for me to believe that my children will ever be truly hungry...there will be a place for them to sleep in peace. Perhaps that’s a source of peace as well. In the book God’s Economy, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove speaks to the wisdom of investing in relationships over financial security...perhaps for this very reason. Jobs have a tendency to go away, bank accounts seem to dry up. People who love you are much more valuable.

So, back to the title of this post: where do we go from here?

We’ve done what we can to streamline the budget, now we have a few short-term, a few mid-range and a few long-term plans.

For right now, here’s where we go.

Communitas

Over the last few years, I’ve been developing this six month process for groups (congregations, small groups, house churches, bible classes...or just a gathering of friends ready to move forward together). My doctor of ministry project (which is currently over half-way through the action phase) is focused on one particular aspect of the Communitas experience.

Communitas, which means a deep experience of community which is formed through a shared struggle, ordeal or common mission, combines online learning and dialog, with spiritual formation in community and practical engagement in missional life right where you are. Unlike other processes which either stress classroom learning or provide manufactured “practice” experiences, Communitas guides participants to begin learning what it means to live missionally by...well, living missionally.

I hadn’t planned to make Communitas available “to the public” until January. I was told pointedly this past week, “What are you waiting for?”

Message received. If you have a group of friends, a study group or an entire congregation that may be interested in this transformational experience, send me a message and we can talk more.

Seminar in Missional Living

In addition to the six month process, I’ve also developed a one-day seminar that can be hosted with your church or group in which we’ll address some of the basic biblical and practical concepts which can ignite the missional imagination.

This seminar can be incorporated into a church retreat - or even expanded to serve as the entire retreat focus - with very little advanced warning. This isn’t just an academic endeavor for me, its an orientation to faith that I live and breathe - if you need someone there this weekend, just give me directions.

Interim or “Relief” Preaching

I love my church family. One of the most endearing qualities of this group of people is a genuine concern for people over programs. Rather than just being willing to press on without me if I’m invited to speak somewhere on a Sunday, these folks are willing to find other ways and times to get together.

If your church is in a period of transition between preachers, I am available to preach on Sundays or Wednesdays - for one week or several, whatever fits your circumstances. I’m also happy to fill in for the preacher who just needs a week off - whether its for an out-of-town trip or an out-of-pulpit respite.

If your church is in or around the DFW metroplex I’d be happy to come spend time and share the good news of God’s kingdom with you.

We also have several other things in the works which we believe will cultivate a more sustainable rhythm for our family and ministry. Some of these should come into fruition in the next six to nine months, some over the course of the next couple years. This post is already too long to get into them all...but maybe I’ll post some further thoughts in the next few days.

The final piece I want to mention in this post is:
Support for Church Planting.

Just in the past couple months we’ve launched out with our new church planting effort, The Gathering: Burleson. We have a fundraising newsletter that we’ve put together with more information about our work in this area, and we would love to tell you more if you’re interested in partnering with us. We’re grateful for the community of friends who’ve supported us over the last few years, and we’re praying that God will raise up a few more to get us through the wilderness and into (we hope and pray and hope and pray) Canaan, soon.

If you would like any further information on Communitas, the Seminar in Missional Living, Interim Preaching availability or supporting our church planting work with The Gathering, please don’t hesitate to email, post a reply or just yell really loud.

bret@missionalmonks.com

Am I Crazy???

2011-07-24T22:56:00.001-05:00

In our group's discussions on "Missional Imagination" (part of my DMin project)an issue was raised that I think is appropriate to respond to publicly.

The question came in response to several disturbing passages of scripture - most notably the story of Abraham's call and willing response to sacrifice his son Isaac. Initially the question was, "what would you do if God asked you to kill your child?"

Another passage, the story of God speaking to Moses through a burning bush, brought up the comment that if one of us experienced such an event, we and everyone else would think we were crazy. So, after some discussion on both passages the follow-up question was (I'm actually paraphrasing a couple questions here) "If you claim to hear from God, people will say you're crazy. But who is to say that the crazy lady who kills her children and says God told her to, DIDN'T hear from God?...after all he told Abraham to kill his child."

Here are versions of my responses to the questions raised (with a little editing to keep confidentiality in our group) I'm basically addressing 3 questions:

1) Are you "crazy" if you claim to hear God?

2) How do we know that God didn't tell someone to kill their children?

3) How can we know who is and isn't hearing from God?

First, there is a difference between someone being CONSIDERED crazy and someone BEING crazy. The difference, in this situation, is whether or not the event being described actually took place. If someone, like Moses, actually did see a talking bush, they wouldn’t be crazy. If they imagined it, and believed it to be real, they would be crazy. So the question is whether or not it actually happened. Since this is outside the parameters of “normal” experience (especially today), we would immediately suspect they imagined it until evidence was provided to prove otherwise. But just because we consider them crazy doesn’t make it so.

Another issue is how we define and determine “normal.” Norms are typically determined culturally, not universally. For our highly modernized society there are any number of things which are considered superstition or even “crazy” which, even today in other parts of the world - or in certain segments of American society - are considered normal.

In parts of Africa, it is “common” to see demons. In Pentecostal churches it is common to “speak in tongues.” Who determines whether these things are crazy? Well... “we” do. (We being the people who live in that place; participants in that culture.) The collective community decides what is and isn’t normal. That does not necessarily mean that someone operating outside those boundaries is actually crazy.

In Moses’ time people were more likely to believe in “magical” or supernatural appearances than your typical 21st century American. But even then, remember, Moses wanted God to help him know what to say to people who most likely wouldn’t take his word about the appearance of God. Even if it may seem that way to us, theophanies (an appearance of or conversation with God) were not common even in Moses' day.

I was asked by a friend (who first raised several of these questions) what I would do if God appeared and asked me to kill one of my children. My first response was that it is hard to know what we would do if God showed up in front of us and said to do something. Maybe we’d be so overcome with fear we wouldn’t know what to do. I start with this because I think its foolish to confidently declare what we would or would not do if we were talking to God face-to-face.

It is also important to remember that, with the Abraham/Isaac story in particular, we only have a small picture of this story. What was the context? Did God show up in front of Abraham unannounced and say, “Hey, remember your son Isaac? Well...I’ve got an idea...”

Or, did Abraham look around at the other religious cultures of the area, notice that most of them engaged in child sacrifice and become convinced God was calling him to do the same? Did he then find a ram in the bushes where he was about to sacrifice Isaac and determine that God had been testing his faith and had provided an alternative based on his faithfulness? (*Some will say that this scenario isn’t possible because the Bible says “God said to Abraham” – but consider two things: 1) These early stories were transmitted orally for many years before being written down. 2) We have scriptural evidence that the details of the stories were sometimes changed to make specific statements – compare Exodus 18:17-26 to Deuteronomy 1:9-18 / Numbers 13:1-6 to Deuteronomy 1:19-24 / Numbers 13:26-33 to Deuteronomy 1:25-28 / Numbers 20:1-12 to Deuteronomy 1:37…in one speech Moses changes several major details. I’m not saying Abraham did this, just saying, we don’t know.)

Did God call Abraham to perform such an action and then stop it as foreshadowing for the very act to which Jesus would willingly submit in the future? Was this a way of showing humanity that God is going to greater lengths to redeem us than that we could imagine?

Or was it something else? We don’t know.

What we DO know is that God did NOT require Abraham to sacrifice his son and has never required any of us to offer child sacrifices. Beyond that, we know that Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross did away with the sacrificial system...and from the words of the prophets we can wonder whether the sacrificial system was ever what God desired in the first place.

For God to suddenly require me to murder an innocent child flies in the face of how God has always operated; it would not be consistent with the scope of Scripture, with the teachings or life of Jesus, or with what we know to be right. Child sacrifice is an abhorrent practice and to suggest that such a thing would be pleasing to God suggests some very distasteful things about God. As Hosea reminded us, "God desires mercy, not [blood] sacrifice." (Hosea 6:6)

Jesus extended that to say, "If you knew what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent." (Matthew 12:7) So for God to suddenly decide we should randomly murder an innocent child would be an unnatural departure from the very nature God has professed to humanity.

If "God" were to just suddenly say, "I need you to kill your child" then I would first question whether or not this "voice" was truly that of God. But, for the sake of argument, let's say it was. At this point I would begin to question if God has ever been good...and I would consider the possibility that Satan is right, we need to overthrow this tyrant.

BUT (and this is a very significant but), I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think God is an evil tyrant, I don’t think Satan is a noble revolutionary and I don’t think God would ask me to kill my child.

I don’t often make definitive statements about other’s motives or actions, but I will now. Those who claim that God told them to murder their children are either lying or crazy or else the good God we worship is a lie. And again, I don’t think its the latter.

Throughout history, people have used “God” to justify all kinds of craziness, whether it was Christians and Muslims killing each other throughout the middle ages; the extinction of entire groups of people (Germans killing Jews, European Americans killing “Native” Americans, Hutus killing Tutsis in Rwanda, etc); one people group enslaving another; men oppressing women; the rich oppressing the poor - all have claimed divine mandate to do so - and I believe they’re all crazy.

The question that seems logical here is, “How do we know who is and who isn’t hearing from God?” This post is already ridiculously long and it would be book length before we could exhaust this question, but let me suggest 4 important aspects.

1) Community. It is very important to have a community of faith surrounding us; praying and discerning with us whenever we feel we've gotten direction from God - be that in a general sense or a very specific calling. That doesn't HAVE to be your church, it can be a group of close and trusted friends and spiritual advisors - people who are serious about their faith and serious about listening to the voice of God. Community (not a new theme from me, I know) is an important corrective to many of our ills - whether they're overtly religious ills or not. It was to the Community of God the scriptures were entrusted in the first place - not individuals. Which leads to my next point...

2) Scripture. Does what you're hearing fit with the scope and trajectory of scripture? This is not the same as saying, "can you find scriptural permission to do this thing?" Scripture isn't a rule-book meant to give instructions for every event that crops up in our lives. BUT it is the story of God at work with (and in) humanity. In the pages of scripture we find a story of redemption that has progressed and continues into this very time. We turn to the scriptures for wisdom more than instructions - instructions are just information, wisdom is the ability to apply information to a given context. This wisdom comes from Scripture, but we need to remember that Scripture is the story of God at work with the people, so...

3) History. An awareness of the story of Judaism and Christianity - both what is found in scripture and what we can learn from both secular and church historians. This is true both for specific "callings" as well as more general matters - like the formation of a new church or church planting movement. Do you think what we're doing is new or unique? Not even almost. There have been reform movements similar to ours in nearly every generation - including MANY that took place before the Protestant Reformation. Some of these movements have had long lasting positive impacts...others have devolved into very unhealthy expressions of faith. Many of those which have veered into toxic faith have been those who shunned connection to and awareness of the history of Judaism and Christianity. And finally...

4) Theology. When faith lacks reflections on the implications of our theology (whether it is explicitly stated theology, or implicit - what we apparently believe because of how we function, regardless of whether we've thought it through) it is difficult to notice when we're moving in the direction of toxic faith and an improper or false "hearing" of God. I know because the "theologians" and leaders in churches have at times abused power or worked to control rather than serve the church, many people are distrustful...but what is needed isn't LESS theological guidance - it is godly, good, healthy, Christ-like and humble theological service to the church.

There are many voices calling for attention and loyalty. Discerning the voice of God in the midst of the chaos can be difficult - which is why we must be dedicated, as disciples of Jesus, to learning his voice and listening carefully together.

Innocent by Association

2011-06-22T11:31:00.000-05:00

I have a relative who spent time in jail because he was with a group of people who robbed a convenience store. It didn’t matter that they testified he had no knowledge of what they were doing. He was with them - guilt by association.

I wasn’t at the trial, but I seriously doubt that any lawyers suggested that the other people be acquitted because there was an innocent person with them - there is no “innocent by association” in our system of justice.

And yet, that is precisely what Abraham asks God for in Genesis 18.

Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.

Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

If you’ve read the story you know (and if you haven’t, check out the rest of Genesis 18) that this leads to a really interesting “negotiation.” In truth it isn’t a negotiation, God never counters. Abraham asks God to show mercy and God agrees. Then it just stops at 10. God never said, “Okay, 10, but that’s my final offer.” Why not keep pressing to 1?

One possible reason is that the numbers aren’t the point. This passage makes us uncomfortable because it seems like Abraham is teaching God about righteousness...so we explain it away. There are plenty of statements made (I’ve made several myself) about how God already knew Abraham would ask these questions. Giving Abraham a chance to stand up for others was God’s plan all along. But there’s 2 problems with that theory.

1. It makes God deceptive. He basically lied about his plans to Abraham in order to goad him into standing up for others.
2. The text itself never says anything to support this theory. From the perspective of the story, God was fed up and was ready to destroy everyone in the city (if “what he’d heard” was true...which is another interesting tidbit.)

Perhaps the “negotiation” ends abruptly because its really just beginning. The Bible doesn’t seem nearly as uncomfortable as we are about presenting God as one whose decisions can be swayed and mind can be changed by the pleading and reasoning of people. Moses did it a few times (see Exodus 32:9-14; 33:1-17), Abraham does it, the prophets repeatedly tell Israel that God will relent (see Hosea 11:8-9) if they’ll cry out in repentance and learn to seek justice rather than rebellion (see Isaiah 1...and the rest of Isaiah).

But, back to the matter at hand.

What Abraham asks isn’t merely the deliverance of the righteous, but the deliverance (at least for now) of the entire city on account of the righteous. This isn’t the way the legal system works now, and it wasn’t the way it worked then. Guilt seems to have a wider circle of influence than innocence. And yet, one reason that this conversation in Genesis 18 is so important is that it points to a day when that will no longer be the case. In a way, this conversation is foreshadowing.

What did “the visitors” find in Sodom? They found a man who immediately offers them hospitality (in a very similar fashion to the way Abraham had received them outside the city). They also find a violent mob meaning to do them harm. Then this valiant and hospitable host steps out to stop the crowd and offers himself in their place, right? Nope, he offers the crowd his daughters. This is complete speculation, but I wonder if things would have turned out differently if Lot had offered himself as a sacrifice? Perhaps this would have been the righteousness that God was seeking in order to relent. Maybe not.

The speculation doesn’t really matter because Lot doesn’t offer himself, he offers his daughters. The visitors pull him back into the house and tell him to get out of the city.

In Romans 5, Paul picks up on this theme when he says that just as guilt came into the world through one man, now rescue has as well. The innocence of the one has finally spread to cover the guilt of the others. Unlike Lot, Jesus offered himself to the angry mob.

Genesis 19:27-28 is an incredibly depressing statement and yet it seems to be filled with meaning and significance:

Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

Abraham saw no life, no deliverance, just death and destruction. I think its interesting that the story comments that he went and stood in the place where he’d stood with the Lord the previous day. From Abraham’s perspective this must have been devastating - Even after an encouraging conversation, God has not delivered the city. What hope is there?

And yet the next verse is like postscript ending to a movie that lets you know without doubt that a sequel is planned:

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

The blessing of Genesis 12 which promised that others will be blessed through Abraham is starting to become a reality. The conversation is far from over...it is, in fact, just beginning.

Site Under Construction

2011-06-16T18:41:00.000-05:00

I've got a few major updates coming to the blog...as usual I've started one project and need to move on to others before this one is finished.

More info soon.

In the meantime, all blog posts will remain live on the site.

Thanks,
The Management

A Timely Retrospective

2011-06-16T13:21:00.000-05:00

As we prepare to once again launch a fundraising effort for church planting, I decided to repost this article I wrote on the cusp of our move to Burleson nearly three years ago. The details are different this time around, we're hoping to relocate to the other side of town, not to another state. We have 3 years experience in the ministry of planting churches and specifically working with people in this area. We've now been married over 10 years and for the first time ever have lived in the same house for over 2.5 years. We're hoping our next move will be the last for many years to come. As I reread this post, I was struck by how much things have changed and how much they have stayed the same. The economy got worse, then it seemed to get a little better...nationwide, organizations are giving less to charitable causes and non-profits while individuals seem to be giving more. Our prayer as we begin this process is that the Holy Spirit will guide us to connect with both churches and individuals willing to partner with us in the ministry of planting churches and equipping congregations to live missionally in their neighborhoods.

Bad Ideas and Ones That Just Seem That Way. Oct 3, 2008

So as you may or may not know, Rachel and I have been married nearly 8 years and we are about to (hopefully) complete our 8^th move together. Over the years we have become pretty proficient packers and movers, with a thoroughly tested and carefully revised system. Rachel has always been in charge of packing (I handle the garage, my closet and anything she tells me to do…). I’ve been in charge of moving day and take pride in the fact that when folks show up to help us load the trucks there are pretty much only two types of items in our home: boxes and furniture. When we moved from Mesquite to Dallas the total time from when the first box was picked up until we were all sitting in the new house eating lunch was 2.5 hours (that’s including the 15-20 minute drive to our new house).

But times they are a changin’. If you read Rachel’s blog you know that she normally has nearly half the house packed before we send the kids to grandparents’ house for crunch time. The jump from 2 to 3 kids has shifted the balance of power and we simply did not have nearly as much done. Wednesday when I took the boys to my mom, Rachel was sick – which meant that the whole day she had to herself to get stuff done without me or the boys in her way was…well, it wasn’t good. Then yesterday I spent the day battling off the ick as well.

However, last night as we prepared for bed, we felt that all-in-all we were in decent shape. Joey had been incredibly cooperative, we actually had several boxes packed, the garage was close to ready…and we still had all day today, Saturday, most of the day Sunday and Monday before the big day Tuesday.

But that wasn’t good enough for me.

While carrying some stuff out to the truck I accidentally walked into the side of an open drawer. That was not a good idea. Three hours later we were back home with seven stinking stitches. But you know, we still got a lot done today.

The doctor, after conceding that I wasn’t going to stay off my feet, requested that I at least spend an hour of so with my leg propped up so that the bleeding would stop (which it didn’t do the entire time they were stitching me up…it was kinda cool). During my long lunch break I watched CNN. There was plenty of talk about the bailout plan – which at that point was being deliberated in the House of Representatives. There was also plenty of talk about the overall state of the economy and the future for jobs and financial security for American citizens.

This isn’t a bombshell; things have been looking a bit dreary for quite some time now. And to be totally honest there have been a few people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them that we’re raising money to plant churches. “Now?” they often ask. A few have even come right out and said that they think this is a bad idea. Is the decision to step out on faith and plant new churches right now an idea comparable to kicking an open drawer while packing?

The short answer, I believe, is “no”.

It is true that finances are tight and we are asking people, in the midst this situation, to partner with us financially. It is true that many people are unsure about their job security. It is true that for many people the hope, optimism and general sense of well-being found in this country’s prosperity have been shaken. But that is all the more reason for us to be doing precisely what we’re doing.

Chris Chappotin, my new coworker, just read a book called Death By Suburb. I’m currently reading N.T. Wright’s Surprised By Hope. Both of these books, in one way or another, discuss the danger of putting our hope and faith in something less than God. I wonder how many people have been uninterested in God because a prosperous society has been providing them with liberal doses of pain killers - never truly addressing the problems in their life but effectively masking the symptoms in the short run. But (at the risk of overusing the metaphor) perhaps the prescription has run out for many of us.

I believe that today there are many people who have lost or are afraid they may lose their security net and I believe that those people are going to be more receptive than ever to hearing the good news of God who has come near; a God who has come to repair the broken systems of this world which lead to insecurity, fear and oppression; a God who has called us to work with him to reconcile, heal and restore his good creation.

I believe that people are going to be receptive, but there’s more to it than just that. I also believe that right now we NEED hope. Part of why folks are receptive is that the good news which we proclaim is something which we legitimately crave. The truth is that the Kingdom of God is breaking into this world, even in the midst of financial crisis. This kingdom has implications (as Surprised By Hope emphasizes) for life after death, life after life after death and even life BEFORE death!

There has never been a more appropriate time in our lifetime to be engaged in God’s mission; planting churches right now is a GOOD idea.

Those we are asking to partner with us are being faced with a big commitment of faith – trust me, I understand that very well. However, I am more convinced than ever that this is precisely the kind of risk we are being called to take in the name of Jesus. We have raised nearly 50% of our goal (for the first year anyway), we are moving Wednesday and we are convinced that God is opening these doors. We are also convinced that the hurdles which keep popping up this week are examples of spiritual warfare. I believe that the forces of darkness at work in this world should be nervous – not because of us, but because of the powerfully advancing Kingdom in which our citizenship resides.

We are talking with a few churches right now about coming on board as a supporting church for our family and the ministry of planting churches in the Burleson / south Fort Worth area. Several of these churches are considering one time or special gifts – which we of course appreciate greatly. Our church here at Tammany Oaks has agreed to partner with us for one year. We need other congregations to partner with us regularly over the next three years or so. Make no mistake, we’re still looking for individuals to join us. But perhaps your congregation or one you know of would be interested in supporting (or partially supporting) a domestic missionary family. Perhaps your church family also believes that it is time for the community of God to advance into the darkness in order to reflect light into every dark corner. If so would you help us get connected with your church? Would you be the voice calling your leadership to partner with us?

I have now officially shed blood for this ministry, and the 7 stitches (a good, holy number by the way) are symbolic of my commitment…not my inability to watch where I’m walking, as you may have thought. I pray that very soon we will have raised our full support (because apparently I really need to get medical insurance!!). In the meantime we are continuing to pray for the individuals and congregations that God is preparing to bring into our lives as partners, as well as the individuals and families that we are going to be blessed to be in relationship with through the ministry of planting new churches.

A New Day Dawns

2011-06-13T07:30:00.000-05:00

In the summer of 2005 my world turned upside down. I was a youth minister at a church in Dallas, only a few months away from finishing grad school at ACU and we'd just found out Rachel was pregnant with Micah (our now 5 year old). Life seemed to be progressing in fairly predictable fashion. My job seemed secure, my family was growing, we lived in a house we planned to buy in a nice but affordable Dallas neighborhood. We had some exciting things happening in the youth ministry. It wasn't all rainbows and lollipops, there were frustrations and struggles, but all in all, things were good.

Then one Tuesday I was told that the leadership of the church had decided to eliminate my position at the church. In one conversation the rug was pulled out from under us. I began looking for another job. We had grown to love Dallas and had very good friends there...but to find another ministry job would most likely mean moving. For months I searched. Time and time again we found ourselves among the final 2 applicants for a position - several of which were still in the DFW area - and every time someone from the selection committee would call to say they were very sorry but they'd decided on the other guy. In one week I got a call from one church saying they felt like they needed someone a little younger, another saying they wanted someone a little older...and another that just wanted someone else. I felt like I was the momma bear's porridge AND the daddy bear's porridge.

After 6 months, and jobs in insurance adjusting, Barnes and Noble bookshelf alphabetizing, bounce house set-upping, disaster relief child caring and even a few random jobs, we were invited to move to the New Orleans area on a one year contract where I'd work as an outreach minister in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The first year and a half were brutal. We were still wounded from our previous job loss...and in hindsight were probably not in the best state-of-mind to relocate to a disaster area. However, our one year contract became nearly three years, the outreach ministry position became the preaching ministry position and Tammany Oaks became our family.

I began spending time at local coffee shops and cafes. I met and developed friendships with people who had little or no desire to ever step foot in a "church building." It became apparent to me that in order to truly connect with such folks we'd need a very different approach than what we were used to. We began to discern a call to church planting.

So, we told Tammany Oaks what we were thinking and our desire to take up this calling in north Texas - to be sent home as missionaries. I was nervous, I'd been dropped by a church before, how would this one respond? My fears proved to be unfounded in this instance. For six months we remained at Tammany Oaks while we raised support - in the midst of church family that prayed over us and pledged a year of financial support themselves, and friends who are still very dear to us.

Four of us had left Texas in April/May 2006 and five moved back to north Texas in October of 2008 (Josiah was born in Covington, Louisiana, but still secretly on Texas soil as I'd had a bag of that beautiful sandy-loam smuggled into the delivery room...) We began working with Christ Journey, a young church plant in Burleson. I spent time developing spiritual formation and discipleship processes for a house church based ministry, got to know waitresses and strangers in the park, started new house churches and began working on a doctor of ministry in missional church studies at SMU. My school studies were helpful and have led to the development of a training resource for groups - particularly established congregations who wish to begin connecting with people like the ones I'd met in south Louisiana coffee shops...and Burleson coffee shops.

But the real learning took place in the midst of the Christ Journey community and our attempts to cultivate a missional community in the midst of Bible belt culture. I gained insight into the struggles that come with planting churches in an area that author/professor/church planter, David Fitch recently described to me as "extremely comfortable with church."

I learned about the limitations of and the need for godly leadership in young communities of faith. I learned about the inherent relational risks associated with an approach to faith that calls you to invest in one another beyond merely attending events together. I learned about the difficulty and the necessity of leading as a fellow follower, co-laborer and travel companion and the danger of abdicating that calling.

I learned the importance of serving the poor and connecting with neighbors as central elements of life as a disciple of Jesus - experiencing life as "the scattered church" ...and I developed a whole new appreciation for the value of gathering regularly for worship - life as "the gathered church."

I struggled with the role of preaching and proclamation in a culture that values dialog over monologue...and am learning how to navigate that path.

I learned to recognize the need for structures that benefit organic growth and learned how stunted that growth will be without such structures.

My learning is far from complete. But my family and I, along with a few other families have now been sent out by Christ Journey to continue the ministry of planting churches. The Gathering is already connecting with others and inviting new friends to taste and see that the Lord is good. Just as planting an apple tree means planting apple seeds, planting churches means planting not the finished fruit but rather a seed, which is the good news that Jesus himself planted - The kingdom of God is at hand!

Since we moved to Burleson we have been supported financially by a combination of raised support and part-time (and sometimes full-time) jobs. As we launch out on this new phase of our adventure, we are once again seeking others to partner with us financially. In addition to our ministry with The Gathering, I'm currently working several part-time jobs (4 to be precise, along with completing the final stages of my degree at SMU) and am in the process of starting a non-profit ministry called Intentional People, formed around Communitas, the process I've developed through SMU. Rachel currently has 3 jobs of her own (in addition to caring for the infamous Wellsbrothers).

One of our primary goals for fundraising is to be able to raise enough support to let go of a few of these other jobs in order to devote more time to church planting and Intentional People.

We have put together a newsletter which describes The Gathering and Intentional People, and provides information about how others can partner with us. If you, someone you know, your church or another group may be interested in learning more about either of these ministries, please leave a comment, email me at bret@intentionalpeople.org, or send me a message on Facebook or Twitter.

Prayer for Friday, June 10

2011-06-10T07:30:00.000-05:00

Scripture for Friday

Acts 14:20-28

20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders[a] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24 After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25 and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

Prayer: Fruitfulness in Our Own Lives
Lord of the Harvest, we know that it is from the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks. We pray that you will continue to cultivate the soil of our hearts so that our lives will produce much fruit for you. We desire to be the change we hope to see in this world; we long to live as citizens of the kingdom that is at hand and which we anticipate arriving in fullness. Only the Almighty God can bring about this kind of change in our hearts. When we've tried to produce this harvest ourselves, our efforts have been exhausting and fruitless. We turn to you, O Lord of the Harvest, as the one who brings growth. We call on you, the Faithful One, to do what you've promised. And we pray with confidence, knowing that you desire this more than we do.
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Final Thoughts
Today is the final day of our 7 weeks. I am so grateful that you've participated in this process with us. As I look at all that has happened since Easter Sunday, I am once again amazed by our God. As usual, things have not progressed as I anticipated...and as usual, I rejoice that God is at work beyond what I'm able to see in the moment. 7 weeks ago, I expected this Sunday to be the launch of fundraising for Intentional People and had no idea what sort of timeline we'd be working with regarding a new church plant...

Well, we've made a lot of progress with Intentional People, but we're moving the official fundraising launch forward to September, when we'll be participating in a Missional Church Conference in St. Louis. Yet, our new church plant, The Gathering, has already begun! The Christ Journey community encouraged us to move forward and three families decided to join us.

Since then, Brandy, a friend I met at Denny's nearly 3 years ago (who was quite uninterested in "church" at the time), has also joined us. Several months ago she moved to Fort Worth and with her work schedule hasn't been able to be part of our worship gatherings. However, Ron and Shandy Stogsdill (participants in The Gathering) were able to offer her a job with better hours and she told me yesterday, "Just so you know, I'm in."

Rachel Elder, another member of our community, invited her friend Paula to join us for a swimming party for the kids a couple weeks ago... This past weekend Paula made the comment, "I've never enjoyed being part of a church service like I did today." She was one of the first to sign up to bring food for our meal this Sunday... Thank you for your prayers, I believe God is hearing them.

Prayer for Thursday, June 9

2011-06-09T07:30:00.000-05:00

Scripture for Thursday

Acts 14:1-7

1 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the gospel.

Prayer: Fruit for the Poor and Oppressed
Lord of the Harvest, if our service in your name isn't good news for the poor in our community, then it isn't good news. You are the God who declares freedom for the captives, deliverance for the oppressed and hope for the hopeless. Almighty God, we pray that you will take our meager offerings and multiply them so that no one among us will go without. We pray for the faith to give generously and sacrificially and we pray that you will direct us to the places and people who most need to feast on the fruit that you have provided. Lord of the Harvest, we pray for you to send out workers into your fields; we long to be counted among those workers and we eagerly anticipate the new co-workers in your kingdom that are even now being prepared to serve alongside you with us.

Again, for weeks now, we've prayed for the poor and oppressed in our community. What have you learned from this process? What opportunities have arisen...were you able to respond? In the past month and a half my family has witnessed our son raise over $1000 for people in Japan; we've seen a young single mother get a new computer and a new job, a struggling family get a new car, hungry people receive food, thirsty people receive cold water...and each of these gifts came from regular people who would not normally consider themselves wealthy (at least by US standards).

Prayer for Wednesday, June 8

2011-06-08T07:30:00.001-05:00

Scripture for Wednesday

Acts 10:23b-48

The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”

30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues[a] and praising God.

Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

The Global Community as a Harvest Field
Lord of the Harvest, as often as we overlook the harvest field in our own back yard, we are often even more unaware of how you are moving in distant lands. We confess that too often our focus in too narrow, our vision too clouded by our supposed limitations. Open our eyes Father, to ways that we can partner with others who proclaiming the good news of new life "over there," just as we are doing here. God, we pray that these connections will serve your advancing kingdom and that they will also serve to remind us that you are not a regional God. You are the Lord of the Harvest, at all times and in all places. We worship you as such.

During the last few weeks, we've been encouraged to connect with different resources and groups operating around the world. Have you taken the opportunity to communicate with anyone? If so, would you share their story with us? I plan to challenge The Gathering to partner with someone financially, to encourage them regularly and pray for them often - I challenge you to do so as well.

Prayer for Tuesday, June 7

2011-06-07T07:21:00.000-05:00

Scripture for Tuesday
Acts 10:9-23

9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three[a] men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”

22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

Tuesday Prayer

The Local Community as a Harvest Field
Lord of the Harvest, we thank you that in the midst of your concern for all creation you do not forget to respond to the cries of individuals. God, we confess that the same is not true for us. We allow ourselves to be consumed with our own drama or we become enthralled with stories of more exotic places. Father, if your kingdom can break in anywhere, it can break in here. We believe, forgive our unbelief. Holy God, open our eyes to the people who live across the street or who drop their children at the same school as ours; people who we have seen but not truly seen. Lord of the Harvest, give us eyes to see as you see. We pray that your name will be proclaimed in Burleson; we pray that the hopeless will find reason to rejoice and those in darkness will see your great light.

What does the gospel have to say to your neighborhood? For 6 weeks I've been asking you to look around with intentionality. What have you seen? WHO have you seen? What is the next step that you need to take in order to engage more fully as an ambassador of a kingdom that can literally change everything for those who will embrace it? Participants in The Gathering have already invited some "dechurched" friends to share life with us (and have already seen God producing fruit from those actions) - will you pray for us to continue living with this kind of intentionality?

Prayer for Monday, June 6

2011-06-06T07:30:00.004-05:00

Scripture for Monday

Acts 10:1-8

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

Prayers for a Fruitful Church

Lord of the Harvest, we pray that your church will be fruitful. We do not want to be like the fig tree that didn’t produce. Our desire, O God, is for church to be vibrant and healthy; an organism that is growing and reproducing as you designed. Lord, as we begin the process of cultivating a new church, planting the gospel in our neighborhoods and community, we pray in faith knowing that you desire to bring about growth. We ask for the courage and faithfulness to serve as workers in your harvest field and we pray those you are even now preparing to send out as well. God, we pray that Intentional People will produce fruit for your kingdom as well. We pray for those with whom we will come into contact. We offer our lives and our efforts to your kingdom for the purpose of cultivating and equipping disciples who engage more fully in your mission. We desire, O Lord of the Harvest, to be a beneficial resource to your church. God, we offer ourselves to your service, use us as you see fit.

Our new house church met together for worship and a meal yesterday. 10 adults and 9.5 kids spent nearly 4 hours hanging out, discussing faith and what it means to be faithful, eating mountains of lasagna, studying Genesis...and going back for more lasagna. Afterwards a friend that was visiting with us made the comment, “I’ve never enjoyed being ‘in church‘ like I did today.” We made the decision to call our new church, “The Gathering.” We are harvesters and we are fruit from the harvest - God is gathering us together and we in turn are sent out to gather others in the name of Christ. Would you spend a few minutes today praying specifically for The Gathering? Pray that God will continue to produce fruit in our lives and that our growth in discipleship will be a compelling witness to our friends and neighbors.

Season of Prayer, Week 7

2011-06-05T07:30:00.000-05:00

Scripture Passage for Daily Reflection

Acts 10; 14:1-7, 20-28

Thoughts for the Week

I have heard it said that “God didn’t call us to be fruitful, only to be faithful.” I understand the sentiment behind that statement - it is easy to get caught up in a competitive game of justifying ourselves by counting “converts,” increases in giving, attendance and other numbers games. The true measure, according to those who make this statement, is whether or not we (individually or corporately) are faithful to God and the way of Jesus. We plant the seed and care for the soil, but it is God who brings the growth.

And yet, we could look back to the beginning of the Bible and notice that God’s command to the first people was, “be fruitful and multiply.” I think a case could be made that while that text is speaking about the need for Adam and Eve to have children and populate the earth, it is also a prophetic text speaking forward to the mission of God’s people (don’t be satisfied keeping the blessing of relationship with God to yourselves - invite others into this life with you).

However, if we choose to stick with the claim that we should first pursue faithfulness rather than fruitfulness, we must be careful not to create a false dichotomy. There’s no need to see these two matters in competition with one another. Indeed it is God who brings the growth, and both scripture and experience testify that God is quite interested in bringing about this growth. If we are faithful we should expect to see fruit. We’ll see it in our own lives and the lives of those with whom we come into contact - Jesus said that fruit is the evidence of a healthy organism (whether its a fig tree, a disciple or a community of disciples).

Remember Jesus’ statement in Luke 10 - the harvest is plentiful, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his field.

For the church, fruit and harvest represent BOTH continually maturing lives of discipleship among the faithful AND introducing new people to the life of faith (those whose hearts the Holy Spirit is already at work preparing). If new people are “joining” the church but discipleship isn’t taking root in their (and our) lives, this should be an enormous red flag for the community of faith. However, we should also be concerned when months and years pass while the same group of people sits around looking at each other wondering (or not even thinking about) why nobody else seems drawn the message we’re proclaiming.

This week our prayers focus on the harvest and bearing fruit. I am convinced that if we are committed to living out the matters we’ve spent the last 6 weeks praying; if we live with gratitude, wisdom, faithfulness, courage, intent on discipleship, seeking partners, focused on God’s mission, then God WILL bring about fruit and growth in our lives and in our community. If we turn our attention to these matters in the church, in our local community, in the global community, among the poor as well as in our own lives, the Holy Spirit WILL bring us into contact with people who are searching for God even if they aren’t aware of it yet.

Certainly it is possible to put the cart before the horse in regards to “growth.” That is part of the reason we saved the theme of harvest and fruit for last in this season of prayer. However, in both our church planting work and in the ministry of Intentional People, we are engaged in serving others because of the work of Christ - the work of remaking creation and inviting all people to take their place around the table with Jesus.

Prayer for Sunday - The Lord of the Harvest

Lord of the Harvest, we praise you for your concern and compassion for all people. We rejoice that you have done all these things so that people everywhere may seek you and find you, though you are not far from any one of us. Lord, we give you thanks for the ways in which you have brought about growth in our lives and in our communities. God, we pray that we will continue to live fruitful, productive lives as your disciples; that our love for one another, for you and for our neighbors will be evident to all. We desire these things, O Lord, because we have seen them first in you. You are the God of steadfast love, you are the Holy One who has not stayed far off, you are the Lord of the Harvest. Father, we pray that you will continue to work in us and conform us more fully into your image. You are the only one who is worthy of emulation and you are the only one who brings about new life.

We began this season of prayer by focusing on gratitude and joy for what God has been doing, and we begin this final week with gratitude for the fruit and harvest that God has already brought. So...where have you already seen evidence of God bringing about growth in your life? For what do you need to express gratitude to God as we begin this week?

Prayer for Friday, June 3

2011-06-03T07:30:00.010-05:00

Scripture Passage for Daily Reflection

Acts 13:1-3 (New International Version)

¹ Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

Friday - Our Place in God’s Mission

Missionary God, your Story is majestic and captivating. We pray that you will bless us with the ability to see how our story fits into your Story. Jesus promised us life to the full and we want to claim just such a life. It is our prayer that you will reveal ways in which each of us can find meaning and fulfillment through joining in your mission of reconciliation. Father, so often we struggle to see the ways you have gifted us to serve your kingdom, and we confess that even when we do see, we are often bound by our own fear and lack of faith. May the character of our church be one of active discipleship, where we are regularly poured out for your kingdom and your mission. We pray that you will use Intentional People to open our own eyes as well as the eyes of others to the simple, tangible ways we can join you, the Missionary God, as you are remaking creation.

The Kingdom of God is at hand and you and I (and everyone who has ears to hear) have been invited to not only live as citizens but also serve as ambassadors of this renewed community. Look around, everything you see is part of your Father’s creation - some of it has been restored, some is in the process of being restored and, sadly, much is resisting. I challenge each of us to look at the world through fresh eyes today. How would the “normal” things you encounter look differently if you viewed them as a representative of the true, loving King? Would you share one specific example?

Prayer for Thursday, June 2

2011-06-02T07:30:00.011-05:00

Scripture Passage for Daily Reflection

Acts 11:19-26 (New International Version)

19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Thursday - Commissioned for The Poor and Oppressed

Missionary God, by rescuing Israel out of slavery, by anointing the young shepherd David as king, by sending Jesus into the backwater neighborhood of Nazareth you have repeatedly modeled your concern and compassion for the poor, the weak, the oppressed and the marginalized. Protect us, Lord God, from the world’s tempting narrative of the “beautiful people” and the powerful. Lord, we want to love others as you’ve taught us. We pray for holy contentment with enough and a holy discontent when some go without while others have a surplus. We pray that you will teach our church to share our resources with one another and with others. We pray that you will give us the wisdom to learn from the poor, who have much to teach us about faith in your provision. Give us the courage to give freely and sacrificially when we can serve as tools of your provision. We pray that you will open doors for Intentional People to organize and collaborate with others in meeting the needs of local communities.

What does it mean to be satisfied with enough? Are there areas in your life where you need to learn to be content in God’s enough? Are there ways in which your abundance could be simplified to share with those who go without? These questions can be a mere intellectual activity...or they can lead to real, meaningful action. The choice is ours.

"Five OverReactions..." by David Fitch

2011-06-01T16:43:00.000-05:00

The following is a post by David Fitch - author/professor/church planter in the Chicago area - copied with permission from his blog: Reclaiming the Mission.

Recently, we had the opportunity to interview David, along with Jamie Arpin-Ricci and Jason Coker, for the Missional Monks podcast (not posted yet...hopefully soon.) I very much appreciate David's leadership and his commitment to cultivating healthy communities of faith that "reclaim the mission" of the church without jettisoning the healthy contributions of the past.
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Five Over Reactions That Kill Community: Navigating Community in the Post-Evangelical Backlash
by David Fitch

Most of us have faced “church-abuse” in one way or another. Perhaps we’ve experienced the abuse of “being judged,” the abuse of being manipulated to do something by someone telling us it is Biblical, the abuse of being manipulated to do something by a leader for his/her cause under the auspices that this is God’s Mission, the abuse of being manipulated to support more programs at your local church under the guise that this also is God’s Mission, or maybe the abuse of being manipulated to “make a decision” for Christ and/or get someone else to make this decision under the fear that we’re all going to hell if we don’t. Have you experienced sany of these abuses?

I think you could interpret alot of post-evangelicalism as a reaction to these abuses. In their wake, we get overreactions. So we often hear people gathering for church saying: all judgment is bad, the Bible’s authority is purely personal, all authority in the church cannot be trusted, we don’t need organized church, and conversion is abusive. We overeact to these things by rejecting these things. I contend such an overreaction to the point of rejection is catastrophic for the formation of church life together, family life and personal transformation into Christ. These days, every pastor has got to be able to lead through these overreactions and keep them from becoming rejections. Here’s the five rejections with some of my observations on how to think about them in shaping a community of Christ for His mission.

1.) Rejection of organization: Many of us have been turned off by the excessive programming of modern evangelical church. They are tired of being over busy. They find church controlling as it centers everyone’s life in the church organization away from mission. Soon, life becomes about keeping the organization going as opposed to living in Christ for God’s Mission in the world. Many (especially us missional’s) as a result reject organization. I think we who are pastoring need to nurture this reaction into a healthy appreciation for organization that facilitates mission. WE need to nurture a healthy resistance to organization whenever it deviates from mission. We need to cultivate organic organization that organizes around life in the neighborhoods. Yet we must pay attention to the organizing that is necessary to bring people together into networks for life together (1 Cor 12, Eph 4 etc.). Let our organization stay organic, de-centered, de-programmed always directing people into becoming the social presence of Christ in the neighborhood. Without such organization, the community will be a frustrated morass.

2.) Rejection of Authority in Leadership: Many of us have been abused by the pastor who acts like an autocrat ordering the whole congregation (and staff) under his/her rule for the purpose of achieving “his” vision. The reaction by many has been to disavow leadership in toto (I get accused of that a lot). We who are pastoring need to nurture this over-reaction into a culture that recognizes the decidedly servant-charactered leadership of the Christian community. Always acting in submission to one another, the pastors model the shared nature of life together under His Lordship. This is a flat leadership led by multiple pastors who are empowered to act in the authority of their gifts. This in turn empowers the congregation to recognize authority in their own gifts. Without such leadership the community will die. I have written much on this elsewhere

3.) Rejection of Judgment: Many of us have been abused by harsh judgment by people who don’t know us, who do it out of a sense of superiority, and who do not empathize or bring love/forgiveness/hope in Christ Jesus. This kind of judgment in the church is a denial of Christ. This has led us to reject judgement altogether. Yet we need judgements – i.e. discernments of the truth in our lives. We who are pastoring need to nurture this overreaction into a culture of love where love means commitment to the growth of the other in Christ. This demands we learn how to speak truth ONLY in love and care for the other. We start by admitting we are incapable of telling the truth to ourselves apart from a community of the Spirit. And so without truth-telling in love and submission to the other, we will all go on in our lies. We need to learn how not to lie. There will be no healing, no salvation part from learning the truth about ourselves. We do this by learning to live together out of His love, acceptance and humility always willing to hear and confess our sins (Eph 4:14-15; James 5:16). Such a culture of love will not judge those outside the community(1 Cor 5:12-13). For those inside the family however we are committed to judge/discern as we do it together in mutual submission. We need truthtelling, discernment and judgement for life itself . Without it the community will dissolve into a mutually enabling sin addicted dysfunctional mess.

4.) Rejection of authority in Scripture: Many of us have been abused by heavy-handed abusive narrow interpretation of Scripture by pastors. Pastors have taken Scripture and abused it to manipulate people into their own agendas under the auspices of the Scripture as God’s Word. This has led us to reject the idea of an authoritative Scripture altogether. It then becomes a book of human experiences with God to get in touch with individually. But this is the Story of our lives in Christ. It orders the way we see the world and participate in life with God and His mission. We who are pastoring need to nurture this overreaction into a respect for the authority of the text as it carries the authority of Jesus handed to the apostles and then to us. We must preserve its unique authority in our midst and learn how to read it together as a community in submission to the Lord always holding interpretation up to the confirming work of the Spirit in our midst. Without the Scripture the church becomes an identity-less people without a Story.

5.) Rejection of Conversion. Many of us have been abused by altar calls, by threats of going to hell, all in the name of getting a decision. This sometimes excess coercion/manipulation has led us to reject conversion altogether. But there can be no entrance into the Kingdom’s dynamic power apart from repenting and entering what God is doing through Christ in the bringing of His Kingdom into the world (Mark 1:14). We who are pastoring need to nurture this overreaction into a full appreciation of each one’s intentional entrance into God’s Kingdom and what He is doing in the world. We need the means to invite those who “belong before they believe” into the Kingdom life via a conversion – a move from one world into the next. This is personal and intentional. This is baptism. Without conversion, the church will forever wander in the wilderness, never being intentional about what God has done, is doing, and will do in and among us.

Hope this helps. What other abuses in the church have led to overreactions that can in turn be nurtured towards a new faithfulness?

Prayer for Wednesday, June 1

2011-06-01T07:30:00.024-05:00

Scripture Passage for Daily Reflection

Acts 9:1-22 (New International Version)

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. ²⁰ At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. ²¹ All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” ²² Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

Wednesday - Commissioned for the Global Community

Missionary God, you are worthy of all praise because you are not a regional god...you are the creator and sustainer of all people, all places and all times. As we seek to follow you into our neighborhood we pray that you will also keep us mindful of the vastness of your kingdom and the love and compassion you have for people everywhere. We pray that you will protect us from the narrow-mindedness of nationalism, tribalism and other self-serving mentalities. Missionary God, we pray that you will guide our small community into not only awareness of the struggles of those far off, but also to ways we can respond to your call regarding those places. We pray that Intentional People will have opportunities to partner with disciples and communities strategically placed by you to serve as your ambassadors to people across the globe.

We are contextual beings. We live in a particular place at a particular time in history. This is universal and inescapable. That means that, and listen carefully here, we cannot be everywhere at once. Therefore it stands to reason that we must take seriously the need for networks of local communities, each working with God in their particular location. Short term trips and other experiences can be ways for us to serve people all over, but for the long-term presence of Christian community to be felt, we must acknowledge that God’s mission is bigger than us and our church. What can you do, today, to be more intentional about connecting with, supporting, or encouraging someone who is living on mission with God “over there” somewhere?

Prayer for Tuesday, May 31

2011-05-31T07:30:00.016-05:00

Scripture Passage for Daily Reflection

Acts 8:1-8 (New International Version)

¹ And Saul approved of their killing him.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ² Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. ³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

⁴ Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. ⁵ Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. ⁶ When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. ⁷ For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸ So there was great joy in that city.

Tuesday - A Mission to and with the Local Community

Missionary God, we pray for the wisdom to avoid the temptations to focus on grand adventures in far off lands while ignoring the realities in our own back yard. We believe life with you is possible and we believe it is possible here. Show us how to fulfill our mission and honor our commission in this neighborhood and community. God, we trust that you are already at work in Burleson - and we rejoice for the ways in which we’ve already witnessed that. Grant us eyes to see more clearly the ways that your Holy Spirit is already changing hearts and lives and allow us to join you in that ministry. We pray for those who are working to fight injustice, battle loneliness, drive out despair; for those who are intent on hope, committed to compassion and reflecting your light. We ask for the chance to join them in working with you. We pray God that Intentional People will be able to inspire and empower people to see these things in their own communities. And we pray, Missionary God, that these efforts will always bring praise and honor to your name rather than our own.

I know this is something I’ve called us to previously...it seems worthy of repeating. As you go about your normal routines today, keep your eyes open to places in your community where God is already at work around you and consider how you can join in God’s mission. Also be on the lookout for strongholds of darkness where the life, light and hope of God needs to break in...how can you be an instrument for God’s kingdom in those places? If you’ve already identified some of these places, share with us! And...what ways are you already (or planning to) joining God in those places?

Prayer for Monday, May 30

2011-05-30T07:30:00.014-05:00

Scripture Passage for Daily Reflection
Acts 6:1-10 (New International Version)

1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

Monday - A Commissioned Church

Missionary God, before Jesus ascended, he commissioned his church to go and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything he had commanded. We confess that we have often left that calling unheeded. Where we have sought to build our own empires rather than serving your kingdom, forgive us. Where we have sought to find the minimum requirements for attaining salvation, rather than living full, adventurous lives on mission with you, forgive us. Wherever and however we have refused to answer your call, forgive us. We pray for the strength, as your church, to follow not only your commands, but to also follow YOU into the dark places all around us. Missionary God, we pray that Intentional People will serve as a resource to your church as it seeks to live more fully into your commissioning.

As a church we desire to live intentionally as a commissioned community of disciples. Will you pray for the Wells, the Stogsdills, the Myers and Rachel Elder as we seek to not only live this way but also teach our children, friends, neighbors and coworkers to live this way? Will you pray for the Perrys and Wells as we seek to cultivate Intentional People into a resource for assisting Christians and churches all over to live in this way? Finally will you also take a minute to pray for your own congregation and other churches in your community to continue moving deeper into this kind of life? (If you want, send me an email or leave a comment here with the names of churches you’re praying for and I’ll pray for them too.)

Season of Prayer, Week 6

2011-05-29T07:30:00.020-05:00

Scripture Passage for Daily Reflection

Acts 6:1-10; 8:1-8; 9:1-22; 11:19-26; 13:1-3 (NIV, via biblegateway.com)

Thoughts for the Week

The good news, as Jesus declared, is that God’s Kingdom is at hand. Yes, it is still in the process of becoming fully established on earth as it is in heaven, but its here, its real, its tangible. No more anxiously awaiting the Messiah, no more wondering if God will set things right...it is happening now, as you read these words. What Jesus calls us to do is simple (which is not the same as easy): We must open our eyes, adjust our gaze and turn our attention to what God is doing...and then accept the invitation to join in. For too long we’ve understood “repent and believe” to be a primarily cognitive endeavor. We think of repenting as merely not sinning anymore...how’s that working out for us, by the way?

To repent is to change course. Again, this can be co-opted by a narrow moralism which encourages us to view ourselves (the repentant) as better than others or (perhaps more damagingly) as vile sinners...worms if you will.

In truth, the beauty of repentance, of fixing our eyes on something more trustworthy, is that it enables us to gain a more clear picture of reality. We aren’t better than others - we are all created in the image of God, we just haven’t all seen it yet. But neither are we worms - we are all created in the image of God, we just haven’t all seen it yet. You are a beloved child of God, invited to take your place as a steward of God’s creation; an ambassador of God’s kingdom tasked to serve as an agent of light, hope and life.

Jesus said, “everyone who believes in me will be saved,” but that doesn’t mean just believing God exists (remember, even the demons believe that...and they shudder at the thought). Believing in Jesus means we believe in his mission - and his mission actively involves those who believe in him. Our baptism is not just a ritual that absolves sin, it is a commissioning.

Imagine a man kneeling before a king, having a sword tapped on each shoulder. When this man rises he is a new person - Sir SoAndSo. This new person has a new identity, a new calling, a new responsibility. Can you now imagine this newly knighted SoAndSo sitting down once a week, listening to the stories of the King and tales of gallant knights...and then going back home to muddle through life as a peasant (perhaps taking an occasional bath and looking down at the “dirty” peasants) until the next week’s story telling?

We aren’t just saved from our sins, we’re saved from a pointless, meaningless life. The good news is that the kingdom of God is at hand...and you are invited in with a role to play. This has always been the way God has chosen to operate with humanity. God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve and gave them work to do...even after “the fall.” God called Abraham, blessed him for the purpose of blessing the whole world, and gave him work to do. God called to Moses from the burning bush and gave him work to do. Jesus called disciples to himself, showed them the Father, and gave them work to do.

None of this has ever been mindless drudgery. This isn’t busy work. While God could have chosen to go about the mission of restoring and reconciling creation alone, for some reason, we’ve always been invited to serve as junior partners and co-creators with the Creator.

If you believe in Jesus, you are called to live as a disciple; as one who learns the ways of the master in order to do the things the master does and live the way the master lives. If you are a disciple of Jesus you have been commissioned to join the mission of God in this place. The question before each of us is, “how will we respond to our commission?”

Sunday - The Missionary God

Missionary God, we praise you because you have not stayed far off. Father, we thank you for creating the universe and we thank you for walking in the garden. Let all God’s children rejoice because our Lord has come near! God you knelt in the dirt to form the first people, you called Moses from the burning bush, you spoke with Abraham not only in visions but also as a visitor who received his hospitality! You called to young Samuel as he slept, wrestled with Jacob as he tried to do the same and it is you with whom we wrestle to this day. We worship you because not only did Jesus empty himself and become one of us, but in so doing, he stepped into the cycle of violence and defeated death. You are the Living God! We ask you to strengthen us as we seek to follow you into the neighborhoods of Burleson. We pray that your hand will guide Intentional People as we seek to equip others others to follow you into their own neighborhoods. Missionary God, we praise you because you have not stayed far off...you are the One Who Comes Near and we want to be people who reflect your image in this place.

When you peel back all the layers of motivation, the core conviction for both planting churches and starting Intentional People is the Missionary God we serve. From the very first chapter of the Bible we witness the activities of a God who has never been content to remain aloof from the lives and struggles of humanity. The Genesis story teaches us that God has not only come near (repeatedly) but has also (repeatedly) invited us to meaningful work in God’s creation and kingdom. Therefore, all our efforts grow out of our theology...rather than the other way around. In addition to our communal prayer today, will you also pray that God will lead us into contact with people whom the Spirit has been preparing to hear this amazing story of the Missionary God?

Prayer for Friday, May 27

2011-05-27T07:30:00.000-05:00

Partners and Community for Ourselves
God, Community of Love, you have created us to live in community rather than isolation. We pray, for our own continued health, that you will surround each of us with friends and family committed to a shared vision of following you together. We pray for the leadership of Intentional People, that these families will continue to cultivate trust and friendship, so that each will be nurtured and encouraged to continue serving others. We pray for our new church plant, that relationships will be strengthened and cultivated so that we will continue to move forward in discipleship with joy and passion. In both of these endeavors we continue to pray for those you are raising up to partner together in different ways. Grant us wisdom and discerning hearts to protect one another from those who would do us harm and guide us forward in cultivating community in the places where you have placed us.

Back on Sunday, we asked you to be praying for financial, prayer and ministry partners for both Intentional People and our church planting efforts. Has God put any names on your heart? If so, would you consider speaking with them about these ministries? Please also feel free to contact us with names of these potential partners. Are there ways in which God may be laying it on your own heart to join with us in some way or to take the next step toward deeper connection? Again, we are extremely grateful to you for joining us in this season of prayer. We thank God for your partnership in the gospel.

Prayer for Thursday, May 26

2011-05-26T07:30:00.000-05:00

Cultivating Community with The Poor and Oppressed
God, Community of Love, we want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We want to be known as "friends of sinners," we desire to show solidarity with and developing community among the poor, the overlooked, forgotten and oppressed. Open our eyes to see these people which our society tries so hard to ignore and open our hearts to see them instead as you see them, as your beloved children. God we pray not only for opportunities to extend hospitality to the poor, but also for the grace to receive it. Grant us the honor of affirming the dignity of your image bearers who may have, this very day, been denied that birthright. God we acknowledge that among impoverished communities there is much darkness, sin and violence. We pray that you will bring light, repentance and peace to these places and that you will use us as your cracked and humble vessels in doing so.

Today, would you ask God to reveal ways in which Intentional People can serve as an encouragement to the poor and oppressed? We pray for partners and a growing community of people working together to eradicate the darkness around us through the Light of God that is within us. We have been blessed as part of Christ Journey to serve the poor in this area, and have cultivated some lasting friendships. We pray that this will continue as we launch out with our new church planting work as well.

Prayer for Wednesday, May 25

2011-05-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

Cultivating Community in the Global Community
God, Community of Love, we are citizens of your kingdom which transcends national and ethnic boundaries. Teach us, Lord of Light, to see this world through your eyes and not be blinded by narrow, nationalistic thinking. Holy God, we pray that Intentional People will serve as a resource for inspiring those whom you are preparing to serve in various ways throughout the global community. We place our hands, our talents and our lives at your service to bless and encourage others wherever you may send them. In the same way, Father, we pray that our local church planting work will not lose sight of your love and concern for all people everywhere. Guide us in loving and caring for those who live across the street and together with them, in being mindful of those who live across the oceans. As citizens of your vast empire, God, Community of Love, erase from us any selfish desires or agendas for building empires of our own. We confess Jesus the Christ as both our savior and our Lord, to the glory of the Father and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Do you know someone who is working to build community or bring hope amidst the global community? If so, we would love to connect with them and perhaps even interview them for the Intentional People Video Project or the Missional Monks podcast. As we pray together, we invite you to think about and approach God with us regarding those we can partner with to inspire others.

Prayer for Tuesday, May 24

2011-05-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

Cultivating Community in the Local Community
God, Community of Love, we know that you bless us in order that we will be a blessing to others. We pray that your wisdom will guide us into the midst of our neighborhoods and communities to model and invite others into a life of community - with you and with one another. Father, teach us to see the ways in which you are already at work bringing people together and allow us to serve as your co-laborers and ambassadors. Lord, we ask that Intentional People will serve to bring people together in their local context, working alongside you in community. We pray that you will show us those you are raising up to work in your fields - we pray that your Spirit will cultivate those relationships and produce a great harvest. God, Community of Love, we pray that through our work of planting the gospel in north Burleson, we will be aware of the people you bring across our paths - give us eyes to see and ears to hear so that we may make the most of every opportunity.

Be intentional today about looking for people that God may be bringing into your life. Cultivate awareness of those around you - often the only thing that keeps us from being able to have a positive influence for the kingdom in someone else's life is that we simply aren't present in the moment. God is already at work all around us.

Seeing Christ in Others

2011-05-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

One of the best books I've ever read is Victor Frankl's, Man's Search For Meaning. As a Jewish survivor of the holocaust, this man would have gotten a pass from the world for spending the rest of his days embittered and angry. But he saw things differently.

In the book, Frankl notes that other people can take just about everything away from us. They can take our freedom, our money, our dignity, even our life. The one thing they cannot take (which is the one thing we're often must willing to give them) is our ability to choose how we will respond to a situation.

No one can "make" us mad, distraught, happy, excited, bored, afraid, etc. Each of those emotions are generated from within and while our knee jerk reactions may be beyond our conscious control - though they are heavily influenced by the conscious choices we've made in previous situations - we are always able to choose to respond in a healthy or unhealthy fashion.

But this is difficult. So very difficult...for all of us I think. It is not easy to be truly self-differentiated (meaning we do not derive our identity from others or our relationship to them). It is hard to not allow our circumstances to dictate our emotions. Those who struggle with road rage know just how hard it can be to retrain your emotional responses to certain stimuli.

Though I often roll my eyes at her for it (dramatically and in front of her...less rude that way) my wife is right to correct me for saying "I HAVE to do" such and such, instead of "I GET to do" those things. Its minor, but it is part of training myself NOT to go negative, when a positive response is right in front of me.

When we worked together in south Louisiana, my friends Tod Vogt, Marcus Mathis and I decided to enact a “cynicism free zone” whenever we met together. It is easy (and often funny, let’s be honest) to provide a running commentary on the folly and flaws of others, to second guess their motives and to generally make ourselves out to be innocent martyrs. But typically, we aren’t any more innocent than they are evil.

Yes. There are people who have given themselves over to evil. There are other people who operate almost exclusively from selfish agendas. Then there are many, many people whose motives are mixed...and most of them live in our mirrors.

I used to really struggle (I still do, but I'm slowly improving) with what one wise friend called "anger fantasies." I've talked to enough people to know I'm not alone in this: you play out a conversation in your head before it happens, anticipating all the hurtful things someone could say - and then you plan your response. By the end of it, you're furious at this person as though the conversation actually happened!

Similarly, you begin imagining what somebody meant when they made a certain comment and then you extrapolate that into a whole conspiracy theory of malevolent behind-the-scenes stuff.

More often than not, the conversation never goes that way (unless you stick to your anger script and take it there) and the other person meant something totally different in their comment. But still, like the proverbial dog in scripture, we habitually return to this disgusting practice. No other non-Jesus person has the ability to change that on which we choose to focus our mental energy - you're the only one actually in your head.

One of the strongest convictions I gained from my studies in psychology is that just about everything is nature AND nurture. We may have a genetic predisposition to be glass-half-empty kind of person...but if we don't feed it, that perspective will wither and die. If we choose to focus on cynicism and negativity, then even if we were born with a cheery disposition, chances are we'll have more in common with Oscar than Elmo.

Recently, thanks to a free kindle download, I discovered another book: UNconditional? The Call of Jesus to Radical Forgiveness by Brian Zhand. This book also begins with a page from the holocaust. There is a story of Jewish man who was called in to sit at the deathbed of a Nazi soldier in search of forgiveness from a Jewish person...ANY Jewish person. The question that this man later asked was, is it necessary or even possible to offer such forgiveness? Interestingly enough, I was reading this book when the news came out that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by US special forces.

In both of these situations the conclusion that seemed inescapable is that 1) without the example of God's love and forgiveness modeled in the life of Christ it is difficult to imagine offering forgiveness to those who have truly wronged us (or humanity) and 2) because of the example of God's love through Jesus, it is essential that we offer such forgiveness.

If this is possible and necessary in scenarios of such vast significance, it stands to reason that it must also permeate our daily relationships as well. In order to life in this way we must not only seek to live as Christ lived, but also to see others as Christ sees them...and even to see Christ in them.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, let us not only seek to be Christ to others, but to see Christ in them. I'm convinced that success in the latter will lead to success in the former. It is increasingly common these days (and I am so glad for this) to hear people talking about seeing Christ in a person asking for money on a street corner. It is perhaps less common to say that we saw Christ in a person we know personally and with whom we disagree, or who we feel has wronged us. Its even less common to hear someone say they saw Christ in someone they deem an “enemy."

How would our daily life change if we set out to see Christ in every person? That doesn’t mean we condone every action or turn a blind eye to injustice and sin. It does mean that we recognize that our true enemy isn’t flesh and blood but the powers and principalities of darkness. It requires us to focus our mental energies on things which are beneficial and not destructive; we must avoid the temptation to turn every comment into a slight or every action into an attack.

Of all of Paul's letters, my favorite is definitely Philippians. So I let Paul have the final words of encouragement in this post:

Philippians 4:4-9 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."