Monday, January 31, 2005
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Daniel
Daniel is a fixture, here in Clifton (University ghetto-Cincinnati). Long hair, red. Surfer-style speech. Rings on all fingers. Occult symbols around his neck on chains and strings... All the people who are daily in this part of town know him.
Sometimes he's violent. Usually, he's drunk... This morning, he was soaking wet (only his right leg, actually), incredibly drunk, forehead bloodied by a blow. He smelled like garbage and beer. He slept in the woods.
He needs our help. He needs some fresh clothes and a shower, some money for beer, some cigarettes. He needs someone to sponsor his existence: bring him comforts when possible--lunch, cigs, cash, bus tokens...
...someone to love him to the place of trust, to meet him where he's at... to associate with him. Someone who gives without pushing...
...gives without pushing off, "now I've done my job."
...gives without pushing away, "take it and leave me alone."
...gives without pushing "I'll give if i think you'll change."
Someone who would just sponsor a life on the street. just come and love Daniel, every chance they get.
So far, he's jesus.
I recently heard from a local church leader how difficult Daniel can be when they're trying to have service and he's sitting outside the windows, mumbling and yelling in a stupor. Their best remedy was to invite him in.
I like that. It didn't "work". What is "work"? He yelled, got violent, whatnot. He's Daniel.
Well, the invitation to civilize didn't "work" (though I suspect the Lord is pleased with it). What about the sponsorship of his life? People hunting down the local poor to give them gifts! To provide for needs.
You know what Daniel needed today? He kept mumbling about candles and a radio. That way, when he sleeps in the park he doesn't feel lonely and scared, i guess. He didn't explain.
Candles and a radio... good idea, Dan.
Sometimes he's violent. Usually, he's drunk... This morning, he was soaking wet (only his right leg, actually), incredibly drunk, forehead bloodied by a blow. He smelled like garbage and beer. He slept in the woods.
He needs our help. He needs some fresh clothes and a shower, some money for beer, some cigarettes. He needs someone to sponsor his existence: bring him comforts when possible--lunch, cigs, cash, bus tokens...
...someone to love him to the place of trust, to meet him where he's at... to associate with him. Someone who gives without pushing...
...gives without pushing off, "now I've done my job."
...gives without pushing away, "take it and leave me alone."
...gives without pushing "I'll give if i think you'll change."
Someone who would just sponsor a life on the street. just come and love Daniel, every chance they get.
So far, he's jesus.
I recently heard from a local church leader how difficult Daniel can be when they're trying to have service and he's sitting outside the windows, mumbling and yelling in a stupor. Their best remedy was to invite him in.
I like that. It didn't "work". What is "work"? He yelled, got violent, whatnot. He's Daniel.
Well, the invitation to civilize didn't "work" (though I suspect the Lord is pleased with it). What about the sponsorship of his life? People hunting down the local poor to give them gifts! To provide for needs.
You know what Daniel needed today? He kept mumbling about candles and a radio. That way, when he sleeps in the park he doesn't feel lonely and scared, i guess. He didn't explain.
Candles and a radio... good idea, Dan.
Purpose and Life
in the last entry, I posted some "randoms" from a four-man conversation in a local coffee shop. I'll be doing that from time to time. It's a way of letting supporters and friends in on what kinds of ideas are shaping our heart here.
at the end, you'll find a statement like:
"...making converts has been killing the church..." or something like that. I got a good comment from Justin on it. I want to respond in an entry, as well as the comment I posted in response.
first of all, I admit that statements like that come in the flow of a conversation and aren't the best for public posting... They can cause problems in their roughness and absolutness.
But I stand behind that statement. You see, the meaning of that statement hinges on the term "making converts". Jesus NEVER told us to do so. He spoke in terms of DISCIPLES, all the time. He also told us to BEAR FRUIT! And to LOVE one another... These are all precise, guiding articulation of Jesus' teaching on our purposes here.
Now we do find Nicholas, a convert to Judaism, in Acts 6. He becomes a Christian (after being a convert) and then is a deacon. Church history has some interesting things to say about this Nicholas, but that's not for here...
And Jesus speaks of conversion, too. He uses it in the imperative sense: "Convert, or perish." Repent is a good meaning here. Turn to me! You know?
So the noun form of convert, as well as the verb form, are surely Biblical language. But the PREDOMINANT commands don't say "Make Converts". This would be akin to saying "change people's minds" (which thing we do, since the love of Christ constrains us to convince men 2 Cor 5).
The predominant teaching of Jesus had to do with God, each other, the poor, the sick, prisoners, outcasts, forgiveness, giving away, love, obedience, fearing God, bearing fruit...
Now some say that this fruit is the fruit of "souls" coming into the kingdom, or "converts". This is a view of fruit that gives us a false assurance. There are so many who have a ton of converts--people whose minds are changed by their teaching and whatnot--people who have joined their Christian movements--but they don't have LOVE! They don't touch the poor--physically. They don't have time for kids and stupid people. They avoid the lowly and the needy.
But Jesus is commanding a life that loves (has genuine affection for) the poor, needy, outcast, sinner... a life that GIVES AWAY the stuff of the world and embraces the cross in the little, daily stuff... footwashing, toilet-scrubbing, child loving, homeless-hugging life.
...a life content with obscurity that sees Jesus in the face of every "least of these", His brethren... a life involved, swirling, mingling with the prisoner, the poor, the needy...
the sea of need can close over our heads. Let it. It's a good death.
We aren't here to solve the problem, but to drown in an ocean of loving them. funny thing--when you step out of the boat with this mentality, you FLOAT!
Our key...
Our source of purpose...
Our focus while on this earth...
is not all about propagating the faith.
It's about loving God. Loving God is seeing Jesus and serving Him in our neighbor! It's being His neighbor!
Purpose found in propagation is detrimental to the health of the church... that's because the health of the church is dependent on us seeing that it's "all about". Having a goal, a purpose that is bigger than the "movement", "institution", or any posterity or credit we get...
It's all about PLEASING THE LORD in the way we love each other and the world.
This includes preaching the word at all opps.
In fact, "converts" (rescues, salvations, saved souls) are the result of this love for God and our neighbor. The LOVE is the purpose. This is in contrast to "church growth" and "soul winning" purposes, which are a popular idol...
So, we all know that "church growth", "soul winning", "movements", "institution", "conversion", and "converts" are Biblical language.
But something deeply unspiritual and profoundly hindering has proceeded from this misplaced focus. We need to return to a focus that pleases the Lord. A good look at Romans 12, the whole chapter, will be medicine to heal...
This just a rant,
at the end, you'll find a statement like:
"...making converts has been killing the church..." or something like that. I got a good comment from Justin on it. I want to respond in an entry, as well as the comment I posted in response.
first of all, I admit that statements like that come in the flow of a conversation and aren't the best for public posting... They can cause problems in their roughness and absolutness.
But I stand behind that statement. You see, the meaning of that statement hinges on the term "making converts". Jesus NEVER told us to do so. He spoke in terms of DISCIPLES, all the time. He also told us to BEAR FRUIT! And to LOVE one another... These are all precise, guiding articulation of Jesus' teaching on our purposes here.
Now we do find Nicholas, a convert to Judaism, in Acts 6. He becomes a Christian (after being a convert) and then is a deacon. Church history has some interesting things to say about this Nicholas, but that's not for here...
And Jesus speaks of conversion, too. He uses it in the imperative sense: "Convert, or perish." Repent is a good meaning here. Turn to me! You know?
So the noun form of convert, as well as the verb form, are surely Biblical language. But the PREDOMINANT commands don't say "Make Converts". This would be akin to saying "change people's minds" (which thing we do, since the love of Christ constrains us to convince men 2 Cor 5).
The predominant teaching of Jesus had to do with God, each other, the poor, the sick, prisoners, outcasts, forgiveness, giving away, love, obedience, fearing God, bearing fruit...
Now some say that this fruit is the fruit of "souls" coming into the kingdom, or "converts". This is a view of fruit that gives us a false assurance. There are so many who have a ton of converts--people whose minds are changed by their teaching and whatnot--people who have joined their Christian movements--but they don't have LOVE! They don't touch the poor--physically. They don't have time for kids and stupid people. They avoid the lowly and the needy.
But Jesus is commanding a life that loves (has genuine affection for) the poor, needy, outcast, sinner... a life that GIVES AWAY the stuff of the world and embraces the cross in the little, daily stuff... footwashing, toilet-scrubbing, child loving, homeless-hugging life.
...a life content with obscurity that sees Jesus in the face of every "least of these", His brethren... a life involved, swirling, mingling with the prisoner, the poor, the needy...
the sea of need can close over our heads. Let it. It's a good death.
We aren't here to solve the problem, but to drown in an ocean of loving them. funny thing--when you step out of the boat with this mentality, you FLOAT!
Our key...
Our source of purpose...
Our focus while on this earth...
is not all about propagating the faith.
It's about loving God. Loving God is seeing Jesus and serving Him in our neighbor! It's being His neighbor!
Purpose found in propagation is detrimental to the health of the church... that's because the health of the church is dependent on us seeing that it's "all about". Having a goal, a purpose that is bigger than the "movement", "institution", or any posterity or credit we get...
It's all about PLEASING THE LORD in the way we love each other and the world.
This includes preaching the word at all opps.
In fact, "converts" (rescues, salvations, saved souls) are the result of this love for God and our neighbor. The LOVE is the purpose. This is in contrast to "church growth" and "soul winning" purposes, which are a popular idol...
So, we all know that "church growth", "soul winning", "movements", "institution", "conversion", and "converts" are Biblical language.
But something deeply unspiritual and profoundly hindering has proceeded from this misplaced focus. We need to return to a focus that pleases the Lord. A good look at Romans 12, the whole chapter, will be medicine to heal...
This just a rant,
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Rohs St. Cafe in Cinci...
randoms from a four-man conversation at Rohs St.
what do i need to do this stuff?
got utilities, still on.
got the mortgage, not foreclosed yet.
got enough food, indeed!
got friends.
TVs.
All kinds of truck!!!
we can just start!
we're terrible managers of what God's given us...
jubilee/ransom/stewardship
loving peoplesubverting the system
asking for lessgiving away what we do have.being a place to serve...
creating a place for lifechange to happen conversation to happen
putting ourselves on a shoestring to do it...
being a slave to the beggar...
past the idea of posessing god
no to making converts, yes to pleasing his heart...
how much of the giving to who asks is objectively for us?
what about when we run out? Then faith begins!
surely simplistic, but look what happens!
according to what we have, not don't?
making converts is killing the kingdom.
200 years of preaching religion has cheesed us out.
the healing comes in living the word
what do i need to do this stuff?
got utilities, still on.
got the mortgage, not foreclosed yet.
got enough food, indeed!
got friends.
TVs.
All kinds of truck!!!
we can just start!
we're terrible managers of what God's given us...
jubilee/ransom/stewardship
loving peoplesubverting the system
asking for lessgiving away what we do have.being a place to serve...
creating a place for lifechange to happen conversation to happen
putting ourselves on a shoestring to do it...
being a slave to the beggar...
past the idea of posessing god
no to making converts, yes to pleasing his heart...
how much of the giving to who asks is objectively for us?
what about when we run out? Then faith begins!
surely simplistic, but look what happens!
according to what we have, not don't?
making converts is killing the kingdom.
200 years of preaching religion has cheesed us out.
the healing comes in living the word
Monday, January 24, 2005
Beautiful Folly
I'm at the big, downstairs table. Seth has fish stick crumbs all over his hands, just waiting for a turn at the computer...
I love this chaos.
The mess is ubiquitous.
The systems too thin for the weight of our human debris.
The earthly man in me--the one who loves order, ease, consumption--recoils at humanity smeared all over our life.
The heavenly man in me--the one who has the fresh smell of rescue on him, demolished in humility--cries out "Grace to it! Grace to it!!!"
I've been looking into websites of people who are far down the road in establishing Christian communities, house church networks, and other "progressive" types of embodiments of the "Way".
Frankly, I'm humbled and I just want to cry for the blessing that God is giving us.
You see, I've been struggling for years with a yearning, a hunger, an emptiness that has filled me...
A thirst that killed my taste for fine wine...
I've been rendered a limping pilgrim--Jacob's trouble--school of the prophets and whatnot... "Ruined for the ordinary" as some have put it.
I was exposed to something.
Now I'm changed.
It has been passive, in a way. Yet I'm addicted, too.
Like when someone contacts with radiation and has to deal with aftereffects. Rosewood. Whatnot...
This morning, I was talking with some fine folk at a local coffee swill.
The topic of help was the focus of discussion.
How helping is a huge manifestation of love... then we got into it and started talking about the poor and the people who knock on our doors, once they find out we give.
We were talking about "wasting" on them. "strategizing" how to love them well in meeting them there, at the door.
about how love looks in the grind of the world...
The thought of wasting on the hopeless reminds me of Christ, and how he wastes on me. And how is it that I'm not poor? I love the reminder.
It's rubbing the rock in my pocket. The white one with a new name on it. The one I can't take out till the last day...
And what is hopeless, anyway? And don't we learn more as we go? And hasn't enough fear and selfishness constrained our money to ourselves and a little for the plate for long enough?
We discussed a "what if"What if you gave 10 dollars every week to a guy you know is a drug addict. You figger he's spending it on drugs, but you're not smart or motivated enough to come up with something better... You just have a bit of cash and you give it. And after four years, you've spent about 2000 dollars, right? And he knows you better. And by then he knows you know he's just lying and he starts to really think you might be someone he can talk to... And then he really lets you know what he needs... And things get changed!
Ten dollars a week is truly a dumb way to give to God. But this is the kind of thing it breaks loose.
No kidding. Oh, add in that a few times, he got angry at you and curses you... and that he robbed you (but you didn't know it was him).
When you get to heaven, your constant, durable kindness will be rewarded, no?
One of the people I was with this morning said, "yeah, but if I waste on the poor like that, what will I put in the offering plate?"
Do you think the world could see Jesus better if we kept our giving to the level of plate action we see today?
I think we need to spend our livelihood on each other.
Giving to get each other free!
And helping all the poor in our neighborhood!
Giving to all who ask.
Lending without expecting in return...
This comes from the Bible...
It's beautiful folly. beautiful folly.
and we're banding together to get beautifully foolish, here.
I visited a group of beautiful fools about a year ago.
they were a community of Christians, bound together to reach their city, living in community, loving and worshipping Jesus in a deep, real way.
I expected a warmer welcome. I found them selfish, closed, cold, and blind. I criticized them. They seemed haughty and self-satisfied (like I feel I am). They were cool and they knew it. I was an outsider to them, just like in the churches where I've seen JEsus pushed to the side.
I was disappointed.
They didn't know some of the things I thought they should.
But I hope I can be like them. Because today, I see that they're way better than I am. That I can only hope to make the kind of mistakes that they have. I'm way behind them. And as for all those churches I mentioned--Grace to it! Grace to it! They have made all their mistakes trying to serve Jesus. May we make ours with them...
I'd be honored to make twice as many mistakes and fall short at half their distance!
I love this chaos.
The mess is ubiquitous.
The systems too thin for the weight of our human debris.
The earthly man in me--the one who loves order, ease, consumption--recoils at humanity smeared all over our life.
The heavenly man in me--the one who has the fresh smell of rescue on him, demolished in humility--cries out "Grace to it! Grace to it!!!"
I've been looking into websites of people who are far down the road in establishing Christian communities, house church networks, and other "progressive" types of embodiments of the "Way".
Frankly, I'm humbled and I just want to cry for the blessing that God is giving us.
You see, I've been struggling for years with a yearning, a hunger, an emptiness that has filled me...
A thirst that killed my taste for fine wine...
I've been rendered a limping pilgrim--Jacob's trouble--school of the prophets and whatnot... "Ruined for the ordinary" as some have put it.
I was exposed to something.
Now I'm changed.
It has been passive, in a way. Yet I'm addicted, too.
Like when someone contacts with radiation and has to deal with aftereffects. Rosewood. Whatnot...
This morning, I was talking with some fine folk at a local coffee swill.
The topic of help was the focus of discussion.
How helping is a huge manifestation of love... then we got into it and started talking about the poor and the people who knock on our doors, once they find out we give.
We were talking about "wasting" on them. "strategizing" how to love them well in meeting them there, at the door.
about how love looks in the grind of the world...
The thought of wasting on the hopeless reminds me of Christ, and how he wastes on me. And how is it that I'm not poor? I love the reminder.
It's rubbing the rock in my pocket. The white one with a new name on it. The one I can't take out till the last day...
And what is hopeless, anyway? And don't we learn more as we go? And hasn't enough fear and selfishness constrained our money to ourselves and a little for the plate for long enough?
We discussed a "what if"What if you gave 10 dollars every week to a guy you know is a drug addict. You figger he's spending it on drugs, but you're not smart or motivated enough to come up with something better... You just have a bit of cash and you give it. And after four years, you've spent about 2000 dollars, right? And he knows you better. And by then he knows you know he's just lying and he starts to really think you might be someone he can talk to... And then he really lets you know what he needs... And things get changed!
Ten dollars a week is truly a dumb way to give to God. But this is the kind of thing it breaks loose.
No kidding. Oh, add in that a few times, he got angry at you and curses you... and that he robbed you (but you didn't know it was him).
When you get to heaven, your constant, durable kindness will be rewarded, no?
One of the people I was with this morning said, "yeah, but if I waste on the poor like that, what will I put in the offering plate?"
Do you think the world could see Jesus better if we kept our giving to the level of plate action we see today?
I think we need to spend our livelihood on each other.
Giving to get each other free!
And helping all the poor in our neighborhood!
Giving to all who ask.
Lending without expecting in return...
This comes from the Bible...
It's beautiful folly. beautiful folly.
and we're banding together to get beautifully foolish, here.
I visited a group of beautiful fools about a year ago.
they were a community of Christians, bound together to reach their city, living in community, loving and worshipping Jesus in a deep, real way.
I expected a warmer welcome. I found them selfish, closed, cold, and blind. I criticized them. They seemed haughty and self-satisfied (like I feel I am). They were cool and they knew it. I was an outsider to them, just like in the churches where I've seen JEsus pushed to the side.
I was disappointed.
They didn't know some of the things I thought they should.
But I hope I can be like them. Because today, I see that they're way better than I am. That I can only hope to make the kind of mistakes that they have. I'm way behind them. And as for all those churches I mentioned--Grace to it! Grace to it! They have made all their mistakes trying to serve Jesus. May we make ours with them...
I'd be honored to make twice as many mistakes and fall short at half their distance!
Got Skills?
Like a carpenter to build up shelving and get our first floor kitchen finished? It's simple stuff, and I do it so slowly... and poorly... and so many of our people are so in over their heads in the good stuff God has given them, and we don't represent a very deep skills pool, y'know?
anybody got skills?
anybody got skills?
Trimbles!!!
Huge welcome to the Trimbles, who will come with their 3 kids to visit us, this week, for a couple days...
Come to the table...
Come to the table...
Bansens' Visit
Shawn and Ginger.
Hannah and Eli.
Thank you for your visit.
Thank you for sharing food with us.
Thank you for sharing your husband, Ginger, as he got dirty and scraped up, putting wiring into the First Floor bathroom in the Chase House...
Thank you, Shawn, for sharing your heart and life with the little band of Grubbykupp. We owe you a debt of love... We're with you guys as you look into your missions calling...
Thank you, Steve Ulery, and Joanne, for all you put into the visit--extra electrical supplies, and love and fathering to two of the most godly people we know...
Thank you Jesus for the Bansens' visit.
Hannah and Eli.
Thank you for your visit.
Thank you for sharing food with us.
Thank you for sharing your husband, Ginger, as he got dirty and scraped up, putting wiring into the First Floor bathroom in the Chase House...
Thank you, Shawn, for sharing your heart and life with the little band of Grubbykupp. We owe you a debt of love... We're with you guys as you look into your missions calling...
Thank you, Steve Ulery, and Joanne, for all you put into the visit--extra electrical supplies, and love and fathering to two of the most godly people we know...
Thank you Jesus for the Bansens' visit.
Prayer night Sat. Jan 29
Come to the table! arrive between 8pm and 1am...
Chase house
1320 Chase Ave.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45223
Chase house
1320 Chase Ave.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45223
Last Night's Meeting
Hey, It was super for me to just relax after dinner and enjoy listening to everyone just getting to know each other. It was also for me to share a kitchen corner and 1/2 bowl of potato soup with a dear, local person who came for help...
help... what is help? I think Help is a sign of love. Help is effective giving... Sometimes we give what's not needed. Sometimes we give what's not ours to give. But sometimes we get it right and HELP someone... Those are the times that I live for. I don't know if that was last night, though. Usually I never know if I did do that. I fly by instruments, ya know? Blind...
Dinner was potato soup.
People went to the meeting room so early and just sat around. Judy comes and gets me and I'm talking to JW in the kitchen, loving his visit so much (I love you, JW). I wish everyone would come to our meeting night, every time... That the potato soup had no bottom, that we ate everything in our house in one night...
It was cold in the house. Wicked cold, but not too bad, y'know?
Then I took up the guitar and we had some songs... Want more of that stuff? Come on prayer night, ready to minister to Jesus... the next one is this coming saturday...
Then we opened up and I read Psalm 114, 115 from the Daily Psalter readings of the Anglican Church...
At "the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S, abut he entrusted the earth to it's peoples" we had to kind of laugh. That accounts for the problems!
Then we looked into the end of Job. How this young buck, Elihu, called out Job and his three friends for what they were... How God condemned Job's friends' advice, vindicated Himself, and gave Job brand joy. How Job prayed for the three.
But we went away asking, "How could Job's friends have done better?" and "could I have even done as well as they"?
you know, one of their faults, for all their good intentions and pious efforts to show Job wrong and God right (and job was wrong. and god was right. just not like they thought) their fault was that they tried to help Job without understanding what was going on.
They thought it was your garden variety "this guy sinned and now God's smiting him".
But it was the fairly rare "this guy is so righteous that God is betting on him for sport with Satan".
Tough call from where we stand. How does that bear on how we look at each others faults, and trials.
Hey, we don't need to fix each other. We don't have to stop each other fromhaving disasters. And we'd better watch out what conclusions we jump to, eh?
help... what is help? I think Help is a sign of love. Help is effective giving... Sometimes we give what's not needed. Sometimes we give what's not ours to give. But sometimes we get it right and HELP someone... Those are the times that I live for. I don't know if that was last night, though. Usually I never know if I did do that. I fly by instruments, ya know? Blind...
Dinner was potato soup.
People went to the meeting room so early and just sat around. Judy comes and gets me and I'm talking to JW in the kitchen, loving his visit so much (I love you, JW). I wish everyone would come to our meeting night, every time... That the potato soup had no bottom, that we ate everything in our house in one night...
It was cold in the house. Wicked cold, but not too bad, y'know?
Then I took up the guitar and we had some songs... Want more of that stuff? Come on prayer night, ready to minister to Jesus... the next one is this coming saturday...
Then we opened up and I read Psalm 114, 115 from the Daily Psalter readings of the Anglican Church...
At "the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S, abut he entrusted the earth to it's peoples" we had to kind of laugh. That accounts for the problems!
Then we looked into the end of Job. How this young buck, Elihu, called out Job and his three friends for what they were... How God condemned Job's friends' advice, vindicated Himself, and gave Job brand joy. How Job prayed for the three.
But we went away asking, "How could Job's friends have done better?" and "could I have even done as well as they"?
you know, one of their faults, for all their good intentions and pious efforts to show Job wrong and God right (and job was wrong. and god was right. just not like they thought) their fault was that they tried to help Job without understanding what was going on.
They thought it was your garden variety "this guy sinned and now God's smiting him".
But it was the fairly rare "this guy is so righteous that God is betting on him for sport with Satan".
Tough call from where we stand. How does that bear on how we look at each others faults, and trials.
Hey, we don't need to fix each other. We don't have to stop each other fromhaving disasters. And we'd better watch out what conclusions we jump to, eh?
Spiritual Gift of Criticism
Now, don't get me wrong. This isn't going to be about becoming mamby-pamby mushmouthed pushovers... but i've come to realize that there's something that has to be said:
Now, you may have seen me in action--at coffee shops around Cincinnati, throwing down radical Bible teaching, showing Jesus for the radical subversive, commanding Lord, King of Spirits, Truth, Life, The Way...
You may not have, but have heard that I'm solid in the message, holding to it in my personal life and preaching it hard in places where it's not heard...
or you may be visiting me from afar, skipping my blog for the angst and honesty of my journey...
but there's a huge problem in the christian life, lately.
It's the thought that criticising is helpful... that telling others what they're doing wrong is enough... yes, it's very often necessary to do that, but it's rarely enough.
Think about the speck and the plank! Usually, when we want to point out something in someone else, we have to go back to ourselves... Then we'll have the ability to HELP...
This isn't the road to sentimental relativism. It's the road to true effectiveness...
So next time you think you know something that someone else really needs, STOP. Do you pray? How much? How long? Try it. Now, some more. Wait. Wait. Ok. now, STILL STOP!
Look to yourself! Get your own life right. Forget about correcting the wrongs around you for a second with your tongue! Fix them with your renewed life! With words that come from love, not just knowledge!
Go discover afresh your own need, guilt, and the degree to which you're loved and forgiven... Then bring THAT to others!
As it is, we're just talking each other to death...
But remember that there is a time to share. The Bible says we're to correct each other, rebuke, admonish, and encourage... Don't neglect to use Words of Life on each other... Eph. 4 says to speak the truth in love... So don't stop what is right, just "righten" it up!
you see, you don't get to not speak. you have to speak to each other... otherwise, we'd be Benedictines, with vows of silence and no laughter. You have to share, and speak for each others' comfort and strengthening.
But look deeply to yourself! And I will to myself. And you bet that I'll end up doing more than just telling you what's wrong! I'll be there to HELP, if you truly want to follow Jesus.
If someone doesn't want to follow, it becomes evident soon enough to the One who sees that... He alone knows how to deal with it...
Now, you may have seen me in action--at coffee shops around Cincinnati, throwing down radical Bible teaching, showing Jesus for the radical subversive, commanding Lord, King of Spirits, Truth, Life, The Way...
You may not have, but have heard that I'm solid in the message, holding to it in my personal life and preaching it hard in places where it's not heard...
or you may be visiting me from afar, skipping my blog for the angst and honesty of my journey...
but there's a huge problem in the christian life, lately.
It's the thought that criticising is helpful... that telling others what they're doing wrong is enough... yes, it's very often necessary to do that, but it's rarely enough.
Think about the speck and the plank! Usually, when we want to point out something in someone else, we have to go back to ourselves... Then we'll have the ability to HELP...
This isn't the road to sentimental relativism. It's the road to true effectiveness...
So next time you think you know something that someone else really needs, STOP. Do you pray? How much? How long? Try it. Now, some more. Wait. Wait. Ok. now, STILL STOP!
Look to yourself! Get your own life right. Forget about correcting the wrongs around you for a second with your tongue! Fix them with your renewed life! With words that come from love, not just knowledge!
Go discover afresh your own need, guilt, and the degree to which you're loved and forgiven... Then bring THAT to others!
As it is, we're just talking each other to death...
But remember that there is a time to share. The Bible says we're to correct each other, rebuke, admonish, and encourage... Don't neglect to use Words of Life on each other... Eph. 4 says to speak the truth in love... So don't stop what is right, just "righten" it up!
you see, you don't get to not speak. you have to speak to each other... otherwise, we'd be Benedictines, with vows of silence and no laughter. You have to share, and speak for each others' comfort and strengthening.
But look deeply to yourself! And I will to myself. And you bet that I'll end up doing more than just telling you what's wrong! I'll be there to HELP, if you truly want to follow Jesus.
If someone doesn't want to follow, it becomes evident soon enough to the One who sees that... He alone knows how to deal with it...
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Like a bad dream
it feels like a bad dream... i thank more deeply for every day since... your mercy broke me free...
I'm deeply confronted by the scripture in Hebrews where it says, "without [holiness] noone will see the Lord" as I examine my heart and life... YOu see, it's happening. We're about to see development of all kinds of mission and vision and ministry stuff. All that threatens to be so gratifying (because God is surely with us) that it might distract me from the path of pilgrimage--the path of holiness...
you see, all the intensity of moving, living together, and preaching and teaching all the time has distracted me substantially from my LIFE. Yep, I've suffered a disconnect from the source... Hewn out broken cisterns that don't hold long, adn forsaken the spring of living water...
and it's now that I'm hungering to deeply connect/re-connect with the Spring... That'd be Jesus. That'd be through prayer and the word...
In fact, when the work got demanding in the early days, the apostles appointed deacons because they had to be dedicated to prayer and the word!
now one of the kids is crying, so I'll be back soon...
I'm deeply confronted by the scripture in Hebrews where it says, "without [holiness] noone will see the Lord" as I examine my heart and life... YOu see, it's happening. We're about to see development of all kinds of mission and vision and ministry stuff. All that threatens to be so gratifying (because God is surely with us) that it might distract me from the path of pilgrimage--the path of holiness...
you see, all the intensity of moving, living together, and preaching and teaching all the time has distracted me substantially from my LIFE. Yep, I've suffered a disconnect from the source... Hewn out broken cisterns that don't hold long, adn forsaken the spring of living water...
and it's now that I'm hungering to deeply connect/re-connect with the Spring... That'd be Jesus. That'd be through prayer and the word...
In fact, when the work got demanding in the early days, the apostles appointed deacons because they had to be dedicated to prayer and the word!
now one of the kids is crying, so I'll be back soon...
Folks are starting to visit!
This is wonderful. We've got friends from Northern Indiana, the Bansens, visiting today. Shawn and I will wire in some lighting and receptacles in the Kitchen and Bathroom on the first floor. The kids will all play (Hannah, and Eli with our Aaron and Seth)
The roads are fairly impassable, as it snowed last night, late, but we're ok. Happy to be together, in Jesus, today.
There are three young men, with JP in the fore, who are pioneering into a vision for the next "household of grace"...
They'll join together and carve out a mission to christ in themselves, each other, and our neighborhood... It's a little like when guys became monks, but much different for many reasons, too...
Less than 30hours work/wk.
availability for conversation with neighbors
inward journey in prayer and holiness
outward journey in being good samaritan neighbors...
stuff like this will get worked out...
...with fear and trembling...
The roads are fairly impassable, as it snowed last night, late, but we're ok. Happy to be together, in Jesus, today.
There are three young men, with JP in the fore, who are pioneering into a vision for the next "household of grace"...
They'll join together and carve out a mission to christ in themselves, each other, and our neighborhood... It's a little like when guys became monks, but much different for many reasons, too...
Less than 30hours work/wk.
availability for conversation with neighbors
inward journey in prayer and holiness
outward journey in being good samaritan neighbors...
stuff like this will get worked out...
...with fear and trembling...
Monday, January 17, 2005
buttkickin teaching
there was buttkickin teaching the other night at housechurch. we loved it. Thanks to Mr. Weiss (check out his blog) for talking about how to judge between false and true teachers.
other teaching came from Scriptures in:
Matthew 24
1 Thess. 4
2 Thess 2
1 John 3, 4
Rev. 13
Daniel 9, 12
Zech. 12
read it! live it!
other teaching came from Scriptures in:
Matthew 24
1 Thess. 4
2 Thess 2
1 John 3, 4
Rev. 13
Daniel 9, 12
Zech. 12
read it! live it!
Electrical Need
Hey, There's an electrically trained brother coming from Indiana, this weekend coming. Pray for our work on the house. He's Shawn Bansen. His wife, Ginger has been Judy's friend for like 14 years. Their kids, Eli and Hannah, are adorable and fun...
It'll be a GREAT weekend! Thanks, guys...
we also have no way to pay for all the supplies for the work... Hint Hint... anybody got cash?
It'll be a GREAT weekend! Thanks, guys...
we also have no way to pay for all the supplies for the work... Hint Hint... anybody got cash?
Dollar for you
I'll give you a dollar if you read this and comment, or email me... especially if your last name is dollar...
Windows
Tonight I put that plastic stuff, the stuff that shrinks with a hairdryer, on two of our upstairs windows... I also replaced two light bulbs in two kitchens... Trying to deal with a giant air conditioner in the 3rd floor kitchen, too... I thought I had to take it out, only to learn that that would take a 40 ft. ladder, working outside (it's like 5 degrees, Farenheit).
Razzafrazamuffruffnblaggablagfrazzinfraz...
Sometimes you feel like the big joke of the family... the one they all can make jokes about to bring levity to their own lives... the dupe... good natured... honest to a fault about my mistakes...
but i'm frustrated, because it seems that others can point it out without limit, because it's true, and I have to just suck it up... but there's more to life than self-improvement. There's grace. And my soul ends this day craving grace... I'm gonna try to steal away with some...
Aah to sit and be. To end craving and chasing and just exist... dwell... abide... To cease from the pursuit of knowledge, understanding... to quit banging my head against the wall and just be Known...
This is my favorite part of live. To me, it's the place of really living... I crave... It's the best...
In this crazy American dream, we don't think straight about this... It's more of the Eastern kind of thing... We're more western, i guess... something about the decline of Western Civilization. Blablablehbla...
Well, we're looking forward to the Bansens coming on Friday. Shawn's a junior electrician and we're gonna totally knock out some stuff... The way it goes around here, there'll be a lot of setbacks and we'll end up smokin' pipes... who knows?
Hey Micah! Bring Marla and all the kids. It's a swell thing to have a house full of folks, when all the work's done and our job is to hang and dwell on Jesus. Or just to leave off the work after a hard half-day, and eat and pray and talk...
Razzafrazamuffruffnblaggablagfrazzinfraz...
Sometimes you feel like the big joke of the family... the one they all can make jokes about to bring levity to their own lives... the dupe... good natured... honest to a fault about my mistakes...
but i'm frustrated, because it seems that others can point it out without limit, because it's true, and I have to just suck it up... but there's more to life than self-improvement. There's grace. And my soul ends this day craving grace... I'm gonna try to steal away with some...
Aah to sit and be. To end craving and chasing and just exist... dwell... abide... To cease from the pursuit of knowledge, understanding... to quit banging my head against the wall and just be Known...
This is my favorite part of live. To me, it's the place of really living... I crave... It's the best...
In this crazy American dream, we don't think straight about this... It's more of the Eastern kind of thing... We're more western, i guess... something about the decline of Western Civilization. Blablablehbla...
Well, we're looking forward to the Bansens coming on Friday. Shawn's a junior electrician and we're gonna totally knock out some stuff... The way it goes around here, there'll be a lot of setbacks and we'll end up smokin' pipes... who knows?
Hey Micah! Bring Marla and all the kids. It's a swell thing to have a house full of folks, when all the work's done and our job is to hang and dwell on Jesus. Or just to leave off the work after a hard half-day, and eat and pray and talk...
I was wrong, I'm sorry, I love you, please forgive me...
I'm struggling with criticism.
I mind help in seeing what I already know about me: that I'm a redeemed, beloved fallen person who contains glory and love, yet falls so short so often... That I sometimes make choices to act and not to act based on my selfishness and wickedness...
Yes, I mind it. I really do. You see, I already Know! Knowing that I'm an oaf isn't the problem! Knowing that I was a degenerate sinner, a failure, didn't measure up, wasn't living up... These are what I cut my teeth on! No need for further poundings from everyone else...
I'm not building my life on being on the ball, or being in control. Don't get me wrong! I CARE! I care that the resources God grants be used in a way that glorifies Him, but the PEOPLE keep getting in the way. You see, in a choice between getting all the "i"'s dotted and comforting the lonely heart of a penitent sinner with the Word, I'm all over the heart.
There are so many, too. They surround us. And my yard's a mess for it... Now am I copping out that my yard's a mess because my house is so full up of souls? yep.
But let's take it back to when... you know what? my house has always been full of souls...
Did you ever hear of Jonathan Edwards? Greatest theologian of the Great Awakening? He couldn't get his own wood cut. He was the author of "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God". He was the real deal, and he couldn't keep his lawn cut, either...
Years back, a genteel Christian brother put his arm around my shoulders, leaned in, and with gravest concern said that he was grieved that my witness to my neighbors was so poor, because my lawn wasn't mowed often enough.
I'm out. If that's the way it works, I'll never make it. I have too many 3-year olds, too spirited a wife (read: wisdom from God), too many foreigners in my home, too many Bible studies for new believers, too much LIFE...
I'm out of that system. I signed up for the God who loves the sick, not the perfectly healthy. I've been frustrated that I'm still so imperfect, but now, I'm sticking it out there that if i'm not perfict enuf fer u, tuf. ckeep it 2 yersilf fer a wile...
but if you see need in me, a place where you can help, beyond pointing out my little faults, messy house, and the like, JUMP IN. Are you a good woodcutter?
My friend JP is a great woodcutter. He believes in me, deeply. He mowed the lawn this summer while I worked on other stuff... At the end of the day, we're both exhausted. At the end of the day, it was all about Jesus... And he never rails on me...
You Know?
I'm not talking about just a little criticism, either. It's important to share hearts and minds adn find servanthood for real with each other. I'm talking about a culture of criticism that comes from our consumeristic ideal as rich americans! It's of the evil one, man.
So next time you think of "helping" someone by "sharing" their faults with them, think about that they probably know and are already ashamed...
Think of how there're are likely a few more desperately important and damaging things lurking under their surface that they'd love some help with, but you're so hard on them for the small stuff that they retreat.
day after day,
month after month.
disconnected
lonely
afraid
lighten up and get under a load with someone, man... girl....
I mind help in seeing what I already know about me: that I'm a redeemed, beloved fallen person who contains glory and love, yet falls so short so often... That I sometimes make choices to act and not to act based on my selfishness and wickedness...
Yes, I mind it. I really do. You see, I already Know! Knowing that I'm an oaf isn't the problem! Knowing that I was a degenerate sinner, a failure, didn't measure up, wasn't living up... These are what I cut my teeth on! No need for further poundings from everyone else...
I'm not building my life on being on the ball, or being in control. Don't get me wrong! I CARE! I care that the resources God grants be used in a way that glorifies Him, but the PEOPLE keep getting in the way. You see, in a choice between getting all the "i"'s dotted and comforting the lonely heart of a penitent sinner with the Word, I'm all over the heart.
There are so many, too. They surround us. And my yard's a mess for it... Now am I copping out that my yard's a mess because my house is so full up of souls? yep.
But let's take it back to when... you know what? my house has always been full of souls...
Did you ever hear of Jonathan Edwards? Greatest theologian of the Great Awakening? He couldn't get his own wood cut. He was the author of "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God". He was the real deal, and he couldn't keep his lawn cut, either...
Years back, a genteel Christian brother put his arm around my shoulders, leaned in, and with gravest concern said that he was grieved that my witness to my neighbors was so poor, because my lawn wasn't mowed often enough.
I'm out. If that's the way it works, I'll never make it. I have too many 3-year olds, too spirited a wife (read: wisdom from God), too many foreigners in my home, too many Bible studies for new believers, too much LIFE...
I'm out of that system. I signed up for the God who loves the sick, not the perfectly healthy. I've been frustrated that I'm still so imperfect, but now, I'm sticking it out there that if i'm not perfict enuf fer u, tuf. ckeep it 2 yersilf fer a wile...
but if you see need in me, a place where you can help, beyond pointing out my little faults, messy house, and the like, JUMP IN. Are you a good woodcutter?
My friend JP is a great woodcutter. He believes in me, deeply. He mowed the lawn this summer while I worked on other stuff... At the end of the day, we're both exhausted. At the end of the day, it was all about Jesus... And he never rails on me...
You Know?
I'm not talking about just a little criticism, either. It's important to share hearts and minds adn find servanthood for real with each other. I'm talking about a culture of criticism that comes from our consumeristic ideal as rich americans! It's of the evil one, man.
So next time you think of "helping" someone by "sharing" their faults with them, think about that they probably know and are already ashamed...
Think of how there're are likely a few more desperately important and damaging things lurking under their surface that they'd love some help with, but you're so hard on them for the small stuff that they retreat.
day after day,
month after month.
disconnected
lonely
afraid
lighten up and get under a load with someone, man... girl....
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Prayer Nite
Tonight is a prayer night at the Chase House... Tom's already here. It's 7:39. We're going in.
We Need Help!
I'm happy to say that we're in over our heads, here in Cincinnati.
Unless God does some really powerful stuff, really soon, we're dead.
There are more than a few brothers called to this new kind of work (a rehash of the old kind) who are in over their heads, too.
We still don't feel we have any rights beyond what the Bible describes, but we're asking you to join us by Helping. Love looks like help. Good advice is good, but help helps. Call, email, or come to find ways to do it...
Unless God does some really powerful stuff, really soon, we're dead.
There are more than a few brothers called to this new kind of work (a rehash of the old kind) who are in over their heads, too.
We still don't feel we have any rights beyond what the Bible describes, but we're asking you to join us by Helping. Love looks like help. Good advice is good, but help helps. Call, email, or come to find ways to do it...
Lewminator Blog Revived
Hey! for all of you who want a more personal look into the world of Lew, check out Lewminator. I've started posting there, again.
Don't forget to click on the blogs in the margin of this one to see what's up in the world of Cincinnati Jesus Freak Blogging...
Don't forget to click on the blogs in the margin of this one to see what's up in the world of Cincinnati Jesus Freak Blogging...
I'm Saaaaaad! You Made Me Saaaaad!
Seth woke up today from his nap (we saw the Spongebob Movie and he fell asleep on the way home) and proceeded to... well, he just moped, whined and cried and was really SAD...
You see, usually when Seth wakes up he's kinda ornery. "shubup girfrend!", "ba'hedd", "go 'way!", hitting with his cool wooden sword (thanks Robert Seifert from Germany for hand-crafting these wonderful battle implements for my sons. They're GREAT for boys and I love them!) It's cute, it's terrible, it's life here... Our girls are patient and take cover upon wake-up. Aaron grabs his own sword, or the extension from the vacuum, and I power up to lecture and put kids in their rooms...
But this was one of the sad wake ups. He was just SAD. Judy was dealing with him. I was restringing my guitar and trying to learn some new songs for our meetings... And I got sick of round after round of him being so whiney, so I told Judy to gently explain to him that he couldn't be all whiney, give him a snack and send him to play in his room... It's sort of that "I'm not gonna let this get to the point where I'm mad" kind of approach when there's so much going on. I don't know that much about kid-raisin' technique, but I don't let the boys push us over. I kind of insist on better behavior, y'know? Insistant instant inconsistent... anyway...
Sad.
Well, Judy didn't do that. And I love that. She did wiser, more graciously. She took him to the upstairs couch, sat with him, listened to him, held him... She mothered him.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm Saaaaaaaad! I'm Saaaaaad! You made me Saaaaaad!"
No explaination needed, Judy just held him and loved him and said, "Oh honey, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
It didn't need to make sense. She didn't need to learn why, what or anything. She just loved on him...
That moves me. That hits me right in the deep needs of the heart. We all need someone to not care why, what or anything, but just to hold us and say "sorry", for nothing that they did but you were sad...
In the deepest of myheart, I'm sad, too. It's the planet. This hostile rock we live on where even the houses called Love's house are often cold and critical, fearful and unfaithful, has put the sadness in our deepest of hearts...
Romans 8:20
"for the creation was subjected to futility"
God did this. This is how it should be, so that we can know love, and hope for home! Living in hope.
Hope is blessed emptiness. Falling into a dream of the floor...
You see, usually when Seth wakes up he's kinda ornery. "shubup girfrend!", "ba'hedd", "go 'way!", hitting with his cool wooden sword (thanks Robert Seifert from Germany for hand-crafting these wonderful battle implements for my sons. They're GREAT for boys and I love them!) It's cute, it's terrible, it's life here... Our girls are patient and take cover upon wake-up. Aaron grabs his own sword, or the extension from the vacuum, and I power up to lecture and put kids in their rooms...
But this was one of the sad wake ups. He was just SAD. Judy was dealing with him. I was restringing my guitar and trying to learn some new songs for our meetings... And I got sick of round after round of him being so whiney, so I told Judy to gently explain to him that he couldn't be all whiney, give him a snack and send him to play in his room... It's sort of that "I'm not gonna let this get to the point where I'm mad" kind of approach when there's so much going on. I don't know that much about kid-raisin' technique, but I don't let the boys push us over. I kind of insist on better behavior, y'know? Insistant instant inconsistent... anyway...
Sad.
Well, Judy didn't do that. And I love that. She did wiser, more graciously. She took him to the upstairs couch, sat with him, listened to him, held him... She mothered him.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm Saaaaaaaad! I'm Saaaaaad! You made me Saaaaaad!"
No explaination needed, Judy just held him and loved him and said, "Oh honey, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
It didn't need to make sense. She didn't need to learn why, what or anything. She just loved on him...
That moves me. That hits me right in the deep needs of the heart. We all need someone to not care why, what or anything, but just to hold us and say "sorry", for nothing that they did but you were sad...
In the deepest of myheart, I'm sad, too. It's the planet. This hostile rock we live on where even the houses called Love's house are often cold and critical, fearful and unfaithful, has put the sadness in our deepest of hearts...
Romans 8:20
"for the creation was subjected to futility"
God did this. This is how it should be, so that we can know love, and hope for home! Living in hope.
Hope is blessed emptiness. Falling into a dream of the floor...
Friday, January 14, 2005
Prayer Night
This Saturday (tomorrow Jan. 15, 2005) is a prayer night! Come between 8pm and 1am, and stay till you're done. It's all about Jesus and the Body. A time set aside for Spirit ministry and ministering to the Lord in praise and prayer...
Everyday Glories
Tom came over the other day, Wednesday. We love it when Tom comes over. He's just like a member of the family. We look forward to having him for a neighbor for years to come. pray that he not be taken from us.
Kids screaming through the house--Seth is sooo three-years-old! Johannes (judy's dad) is staying with us, again (he's been in California for the last few months). It's great to have him here.
I started a blog for him. I'm excited about it. You see, he produces these little "epistles". They can be fairly rough and imprecise in the English language department, and they cut the fat off the issues... he's quirky, unapologetic, blunt, and sometimes cuts deep. But I'll tell you this, as someone who's lived with him for ages (like 13 years!), He is a gentle man. He doesn't cut to kill, only to heal. He is gentle and soft spoken, seasoned with suffering and perseverance. He has raised four mission-hearted children, and has godly grandkids, too! I'd like all of you to visit and comment. www.johannesweiss.blogspot.com
I hope people really start to support Grubby Kupp. I haven't asked for a lot yet. I haven't felt that we were ready to "start" in earnest. Now, we've got people looking to move to the neighborhood to join the feast...
The girls are well. School is a rough place. They struggle in the urban culture. But they are growing and doing well. I am proud that we live where we do, in a day when so many flee the inner city. I love that the girls are experiencing the real america, not just the suburban dream... With all its flaws, I'm in love with our neighborhood...
Aaron's homeschooling is going well. Judy is busy in her work with the students. I'm crunched in the press of my division between ministry and students, though.
The weather has been warm and cold, lately... And I'm gonna make coffee and sip.
I hope you are blessed!
Kids screaming through the house--Seth is sooo three-years-old! Johannes (judy's dad) is staying with us, again (he's been in California for the last few months). It's great to have him here.
I started a blog for him. I'm excited about it. You see, he produces these little "epistles". They can be fairly rough and imprecise in the English language department, and they cut the fat off the issues... he's quirky, unapologetic, blunt, and sometimes cuts deep. But I'll tell you this, as someone who's lived with him for ages (like 13 years!), He is a gentle man. He doesn't cut to kill, only to heal. He is gentle and soft spoken, seasoned with suffering and perseverance. He has raised four mission-hearted children, and has godly grandkids, too! I'd like all of you to visit and comment. www.johannesweiss.blogspot.com
I hope people really start to support Grubby Kupp. I haven't asked for a lot yet. I haven't felt that we were ready to "start" in earnest. Now, we've got people looking to move to the neighborhood to join the feast...
The girls are well. School is a rough place. They struggle in the urban culture. But they are growing and doing well. I am proud that we live where we do, in a day when so many flee the inner city. I love that the girls are experiencing the real america, not just the suburban dream... With all its flaws, I'm in love with our neighborhood...
Aaron's homeschooling is going well. Judy is busy in her work with the students. I'm crunched in the press of my division between ministry and students, though.
The weather has been warm and cold, lately... And I'm gonna make coffee and sip.
I hope you are blessed!
Thursday Night Glory
Last night was our Thursdsay night study at Lookout Joes, in Mount Lookout cincinnati.
JP, Rachel, John L, Britt, Meaghan, Brother Tom... All of you, I love you...
It was so easy to kick back and relax with such a group of deep believers... We looked intently into some killer scrips. We're looking into the 2Tim 22 and following... The implications of this are life shaking...
only the unshakeable remains!
JP, Rachel, John L, Britt, Meaghan, Brother Tom... All of you, I love you...
It was so easy to kick back and relax with such a group of deep believers... We looked intently into some killer scrips. We're looking into the 2Tim 22 and following... The implications of this are life shaking...
only the unshakeable remains!
Living with people is a crucible... When I say living with people, I don't mean just living in a nice big house with my family... And when i say a crucible, I don't mean for people in general. I mean it for me...
And when I talk about being in a crucible, you might want to drop me a "sorry you're having a tough time" comment on this blog entry...
But I'm trying to describe my joy to you. There is JOY in being in the crucible--being exposed and purified, liquified and skimmed.
In our journey, we have seen "living with" include the passing of Judy's mom after hospice care, the arrival of two beautiful exchange daughters, daily joy with a 3-yr. old, working out the details of a house-church ministry in the inner city, a marriage (i've been thinking that one first, don't worry), three jobs between us, our partner/brother in ministry living upstairs, grandpa living on the first floor, life changes in our living room, HUGE meals with LOTS of people... The best Christmas of my life, this year...
There's a pervasive sense of adventure, risk, and love... I'm constantly being called to change from evil to good...
That's what I wanted to write about. Aversion to change.
And when I talk about being in a crucible, you might want to drop me a "sorry you're having a tough time" comment on this blog entry...
But I'm trying to describe my joy to you. There is JOY in being in the crucible--being exposed and purified, liquified and skimmed.
In our journey, we have seen "living with" include the passing of Judy's mom after hospice care, the arrival of two beautiful exchange daughters, daily joy with a 3-yr. old, working out the details of a house-church ministry in the inner city, a marriage (i've been thinking that one first, don't worry), three jobs between us, our partner/brother in ministry living upstairs, grandpa living on the first floor, life changes in our living room, HUGE meals with LOTS of people... The best Christmas of my life, this year...
There's a pervasive sense of adventure, risk, and love... I'm constantly being called to change from evil to good...
That's what I wanted to write about. Aversion to change.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Chase House Work Needs: a list
Ministry/1st Floor Life:
Kitchen-
-Wiring in Countertop Range (220v) from box downstairs
-Vent the Range through the floor and out the basement window
-paint the kitchen
Servant Stairs:
-Rip out carpet (miserable light blue, stained to death by asphalt from drive)
-Paint steps 2-tone brown and white, texturize
-paint stairway a light color
Wiring/Electrical:
-Lighting and receptacles need to be installed in the house. It would be fine to run exposed conduit and wire moldings. Whatever it takes to get the place RUNNING with light and power.
Meeting Room:
-build temporary wall between Mtg. Room and Downstairs Hospitality Quarters.
-Paint
-Lighting (i'm thinking track lighting, here.)
Hallway/Dining Room/Atrium:
-Strip Wallpaper
-Paint
-Lighting-- the whole place is running on lamps. It's dark, and not energy-efficient.
This is a list of the First Floor Hospitality Areas that need work. We want you guys to come help out! It's a great way to get into what's going on here! Comment here to get involved!
Ministry/1st Floor Life:
Kitchen-
-Wiring in Countertop Range (220v) from box downstairs
-Vent the Range through the floor and out the basement window
-paint the kitchen
Servant Stairs:
-Rip out carpet (miserable light blue, stained to death by asphalt from drive)
-Paint steps 2-tone brown and white, texturize
-paint stairway a light color
Wiring/Electrical:
-Lighting and receptacles need to be installed in the house. It would be fine to run exposed conduit and wire moldings. Whatever it takes to get the place RUNNING with light and power.
Meeting Room:
-build temporary wall between Mtg. Room and Downstairs Hospitality Quarters.
-Paint
-Lighting (i'm thinking track lighting, here.)
Hallway/Dining Room/Atrium:
-Strip Wallpaper
-Paint
-Lighting-- the whole place is running on lamps. It's dark, and not energy-efficient.
This is a list of the First Floor Hospitality Areas that need work. We want you guys to come help out! It's a great way to get into what's going on here! Comment here to get involved!
House Meeting:
Today's house meeting, the second of our special series, was really fruitful... We looked at some of the accomplishments of the year:
-Dining Room useful every day, not totally overtaken with Chaos. Nice 12-top table...
-Meeting Room is developing very well.
-Floors finished, carpets out on curb.
-Normal Weekly Cleaning on schedule for 1st floor.
-Exercise Area established in Basement.
-Bookshelves built in study.
-books out of basement.
-two nice, new wheeled gargabe cans!
-Latches on all bathrooms, bedrooms.
-Common kitchen Progressing: first Stove wired in.
-Banister fixed on servant stairs to first floor...
We are very grateful to all the people who are helping us. Thanks for the time you're putting into the establishment of a house of ministry in a generation that is discovering Jesus in the "unlikelies".
Today's house meeting, the second of our special series, was really fruitful... We looked at some of the accomplishments of the year:
-Dining Room useful every day, not totally overtaken with Chaos. Nice 12-top table...
-Meeting Room is developing very well.
-Floors finished, carpets out on curb.
-Normal Weekly Cleaning on schedule for 1st floor.
-Exercise Area established in Basement.
-Bookshelves built in study.
-books out of basement.
-two nice, new wheeled gargabe cans!
-Latches on all bathrooms, bedrooms.
-Common kitchen Progressing: first Stove wired in.
-Banister fixed on servant stairs to first floor...
We are very grateful to all the people who are helping us. Thanks for the time you're putting into the establishment of a house of ministry in a generation that is discovering Jesus in the "unlikelies".
I'd like everyone to notice that Judy's dad, Johannes Weiss, now has a blog. His teachings are solid, Biblical, and Spiritually right-on. Sacred Cow Beef sold here, without money and without cost. Click the link right here, or in the margin, and catch a hardy bite of truth!
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
First in a While
It's been so long since I've posted here... Most of my free time, my "blog time" is going into wrestling with Seth and Aaron, loving Judy, and leading this small band into battle...
The Rosses have had a great fall and winter. Aaron's homeschooling situation is going well, developing into a household lifestyle of learning... I look forward to seeing how much he learns by the time he's ready for college. He's become an avid reader, polishing off ten chapters of Redwall per day, at least, lately...
Dad Weiss has just arrived for a week visit from his place in CA. I'll fill you in on more, soon...
Lew
The Rosses have had a great fall and winter. Aaron's homeschooling situation is going well, developing into a household lifestyle of learning... I look forward to seeing how much he learns by the time he's ready for college. He's become an avid reader, polishing off ten chapters of Redwall per day, at least, lately...
Dad Weiss has just arrived for a week visit from his place in CA. I'll fill you in on more, soon...
Lew
Monday, January 10, 2005
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