More Than Stone

When I had the chance to go to Mars Hill for the Isn’t She Beautiful conference. At that time, Rob Bell said that at the beginning of Lent, a plan would be unveiled for people around the world, that feel part of Mars Hill to get involved. Here is the XYZ, watch the video and if your intrigued, check out the site. It’s so cool.

Technorati Tags: Mars+Hill, Rob+Bell, poverty, church

Often times, I find that when I speak of idolatry, it doesn’t quite seem applicable to my life. I think that, though I know this isn’t true, I still think of idols as little statues that people worship.

Now, I know that’s not true. I know that we have idols in our lives. Sometimes we hear about people being idols. About money being an idol. Ok. I can see that. But aren’t there other idols that we currently accept in the church?

Comfort?
Education?
Class?
Safety?
Health?
The bible?
The church?
The nuclear family?

What do you think of these? Do you have more to add to the list?

I’m being challenged.

By God.

I think He’s saying…”Ok, Miss smarty pants….(at least that’s how I hear Him)…so, you’ve finally discovered that I’m about renewal, restoration and reconciliation. So, what are you going to do with that?”.

It’s easy for me to think about the poor…to go to Africa…to work with kids without parents…. and those things are part of what God has called the church to do. That’s the kind of stuff that excites me, the issues I feel passionate about.

What I don’t feel passionate about is going back to the churches where I have been hurt. Going back to the places and people that have wronged me “in the name of Jesus”. What I want to do is walk away from those people and places, shrug and say, “They just don’t get it.” However, for the last few weeks, through a variety of different situations, I’m afraid that God may be saying “Hey, dummy, renewal, restoration and reconciliation is for those people too.” In response, I say to God “Let someone else restore, renew and reconcile those people. They hurt me. That’s too close to home. I don’t wanna. Come on God, (in my best whining voice), let somebody else do that. They have hurt my feelings. A LOT. I want to feed the poor, volunteer at a homeless shelter, go to Africa again.” And if I said what was really in my heart, I would add, “I want to do things for the Kingdom, that I’m not as emotionally involved with.”

But perhaps, just perhaps, God is telling me to start where it hurts most. Start with the thing that I least want to do. Start in the place that I feel most vulnerable. Start in the places that I would rather walk away from.

To be honest, I’d rather not. I’d REALLY rather not. Tonight, however, I’m thinking that it is exactly what God may be calling us to.

Most Merciful God,

I confess that I have sinned against you,

in thought, word and in deed.

By what I have done and what I have left undone.

I have not loved You with my whole heart.

I have not loved my neighbor as myself.

I am truly sorry and I humbly repent,

for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me;

that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name.

Amen.

From Brother Maynard —undervalued missional/emerging blogs…..

Here’s what we’re going to do. Think of between 3 and 5 blogs which you think are under-rated, under-appreciated, or under-valued. More people should be reading them, in other words. They need to be blogging largely on EMC themes and topics, and they should not be on the list of leading blogs on these areas, say 150ish+ links on Technorati. Got your list? I’ll wait. If you come up with 7, that’s fine… you can borrow 2 from someone else.

To participate, copy this list into a new post on your own blog, and add the names you have to the bottom of the list, and encourage others to do the same. Your list will be about twice the length of mine, and people who follow you will have lists three times this length. It could get fairly long, but that’s part of the point — each link will help boost the undervalued blog’s profile… and you might even get some link love from it too! Include these instructions (this and the preceding paragraph). When you’ve done that, leave a comment here so we can keep track of who ends up participating. Sound like fun for the weekend?

1………………….
2…………………….
3………………………
GO!

ISN’T SHE BEAUTIFUL? A seminar for leaders celebrating the local church.

I just paid for my registration for this conference. I am so psyched! Registration fees are really reasonable!

Technorati Tags: rob+bell, mars+hill, AIDS, conference, don+golden

Interesting discussions lately.

John Smulo asks “What Does It Mean To Walk The Emerging Church Talk?”
Church-The New Exodus has generated disussion.

So, with all this discussion about how we do this new thing….how we change the way things are…how we walk this out…

Here is my challenge:

What one thing will you do, today, to make a difference?

How will you heal someone that has been hurt by the church?
How will you feed the hungry?
How will you live out the missional church?
How will you become a “new kind of Christian”?
How will you bring justice to the oppressed?
How will you be the incarnational Jesus to someone?

Imagine if we all committed to one thing, today. What might that look like? Could we really start walking out this revolution?

What is your one thing? I’ll start…..
Today, I will, start knitting the baby cap hat for “Caps to the Capital”.

Ok, your turn….let’s do this thing.
Technorati Tags: poverty, missional, emerging+church, justice

Moved Mountains

Just found this blog and he poses an interesting question about Church, why people are leaving and how it may/may not be hurting people. Check it out.

Technorati Tags: emerging, church, institutional+church