Life Can Be Radically Different

I've decided to do my personal Bible reading in The Message at least for 2006 if not indefinitely to further jar my senses from what I think I know about God. Today, I was reading in Mark 6 where Jesus sent out the Twelve in pairs. The passage really challenged me that our calling to be on Mission with Jesus is the same.

Missional is a buzz word that you often see affiliated with Emerging Christianity. The three passions of EC that attract me the most are: spiritual formation, community formation, and missional action. I think Jesus' commission of the Twelve really breaks down the missional component for me. I love the simplicity of Jesus' plan. Listen to His instructions:

"Don't think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple. And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way."

That so describes the type of relational evangelism and community formation that I believe we are called to fulfill. No extra equipment, no fundraisers, no gimmicks, no luxury, no sales pitch, etc. Just be the you God made you to be. Be content. Be humble.

Verse 12 really describes our calling: "Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different." We are definitely on a journey without a particular destination in sight, other than to follow our Guide. The simplest description of our task is to live and preach "with joyful urgency that life can be radically different." That's it. We're not pushing a denomination or a religion, no list of rules, just hope. There is a another Way, a better Way, to live.

I love that in the wake of their journey they left lives touched by the grace of God. "They sent demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits." That is such a beautiful description of the end product of living on mission with Jesus and following His lead. Darkness is dispersed and lives are made whole, not the least of which are our own.

I hope and pray that we may never assume to be more than we are and that we hold out hope to the world that life can be radically different. We have no greater proof than the difference He makes in our lives.

Organic Church

Next Wave has a great interview with Neil Cole discussing the Organic Church. Cole's recent book on the same subject is entitled Organic Church, Growing Faith Where Life Happens. He says you can't buy a church or set it up using a cookie-cutter approach. Rather he emphasizes replicating DNA in communities where lostness is evident and Christ is needed. He also has some great points on church finances in the Organic Church as it relates to staffing and ministry resources.

Life Cycle for Church Planting

I wanted to share an article that I found at Missional International Church Network on "Starting Churches Missionally" by Neil Tibbott. In the article he describes a life cycle approach to church planting that he describes as "a more organic, spirit driven approach... that honors a process we can all learn from as we follow Christ together."

Lessons in the Gifts

Welcome to the 21st century! Yes, I know it started six years ago, but I just got my first iPod for Christmas. I wanted an .mp3 player just so I can listen to my favorite music in my car while working. After doing my research and seeing the depletion of .mp3 players from store shelves leading up to Christmas, I came to only one conclusion. iPod is the way to go. I discovered that the 30GB iPod video/photo model was only $50 more than the 4GB iPod Nano. It became a no brainer for me. I realize it's bigger and has a hard drive versus a compact flash player, but it's perfect for me and way more storage than I need (I'll regret that statement in 3 years). With my new iPod I've also discovered the world of podcasting. Now that is first class.

We also got a junior tent, sleeping bags, lanterns, and the like for our two boys, in addition to other things. I did my fatherly duty of laying in the tent Christmas afternoon with my boys playing on top of me, making my outdoor nap a pipe dream. While laying there enjoying the lazy sun and cool breeze, I remembered how fun it was to go camping as a kid and just be outdoors in general. For a split second I thought maybe I should buy a bigger tent and take my family camping. I'm still trying to psychoanalyze where that thought came from.

As I laid in the tent, I began to think about how opposite the two gifts were. The iPod represents the cutting edge of technology and the hottest trend, while the camping gear was definitely retro, even primitive, but I enjoyed them both. It reminded me of this conversation that we are having about emerging ecclesiology and the reality that in order to go forward sometimes you have to go backwards.

I have to come to believe that this new move of God among His people is paved with core truths of scripture tested in the authentic faith of the saints of the ages. I have long been fascinated by spiritual disciplines, early confessions of the Church, and simple practices of the first believers. It has been very reassuring to me to find so many of those engaged in this conversation on the same path back in time to find the roots of our Christian tradition. It reminds me of discussions we had in college (Louisiana College, Alumni 1999) trying to deliniate the traditions of the church and our own preconceived notions from what really happened in the Bible. Most of the people I have encountered in the emerging church are simply trying to know Christ more fully so that they might be more like Him in every area of their lives. I saw that they are encouraging friends of the emergent church to display the new emergent logos on their sites, books, conferences, etc., so here's my contribution for the time being:



While I had a precusory introduction to many of these ideas in college, I did not fully engage this dialogue until the fall of 2004. Since that time, I have begun reading the Bible differently. It is fresh again, and its boldness takes hold of me. I come to the words with an open mind reading with different lenses. I made the misunderstood comment several weeks ago in church that the longer I am a Christian the less answers I think I have. When I was younger and more indoctrinated, I had an answer for everything, and of course, there was only one right answer. Now, I am humbled in awe of the greatness of God, the love of Christ, and the nearness of the Spirit. It doesn't bother me to gladly tell someone, "I don't know." Over the years, I've learned to be content, even thrilled, with the mystery. I can be satisfied with not knowing because I know the One who knows, and He knows me.