Once upon a time, our good friend and neighbor, Maurice, was just trying to get by as a fifteen-year-old in the ‘hood without getting any more counts on his record. To his (and our) dismay, he was jumped (for those story-readers unaware, this is when one or a gang of guys “jump” out, beat a guy up, and try to steal his stuff)….not just once, but twice….in three days. And the second time was much worse than the first. Sad, isn’t it? Our hearts really go out to this dear brother in need. Really. But that’s not the end of the story for little bro ‘Reese…
Now, the best person to take care of a fifteen-year-old would be his mom, right? Ah, but that wouldn’t work, for young Maurice’s mom was busy toiling away at her minimum wage job at the local grocery store. There just aren’t many breaks for people who can’t afford an advanced education and, unfortunately for a substantial portion of the population of Cincinnati, just happen to be a member of an often neglected, often profiled and mistreated minority. She couldn’t leave work or she would lose her job.
So a local pastor was called. “Is Maurice saved? Well, uh, I don’t know…..Um, I don’t think he’s been baptized…if so I’m pretty sure he was a baby….sir, to be perfectly honest I don’t think he’s in much a mood right now to pray a prayer or listen to why he’s going to hell…” So the pastor, sadly, was unable to offer much assistance.
Well, help was definitely needed. Maurice was bleeding, and his nineteen-year-old sister and two-year-old nephew were pretty shaken up. So they tried an elder. That’s his job, right? Take care of the church needs, and Maurice would stumble in every once in a while, especially when they were giving away free food and he hadn’t eaten for a day or two. “Yes sir, he’s pretty badly hurt…well, yes sir, he does live down in the city…yes, that part of the city…I realize it’s not the best neighborhood, but…sir, really I don’t see what that has to do with anything….I’m sorry, too.” Apparently, the elder didn’t want to bring his character into question. Maurice lived in a pretty rough side of town and he did have a bit of a criminal record, and the elder just didn’t know what the congregation would think if they heard he was down there. Honestly, it makes sense….I mean, prostitutes, drug dealers, gang-bangers, and homeless folk run around down there. Just think of the scandal…he may not be reelected for the church board of directors next year.
And then a college student walks by the house. Well, not exactly a college student…more like a college dropout. A white college dropout with tight clothes, tattoos, a nose piercing, and fairly sketchy body odor…Definitely not from this side of town.
Apparently he was visiting an old friend of his, a youth pastor he knew back in high school before his college days of binge drinking, parties, and several rather shady relationships…with both genders. He had been rolling through the stations on the radio in the car one day, stumbled across a very traditional Christian gospel station, and long story short, gave his life to Jesus. It was time to catch up with some old friends.
Anyways, he sees this family on the porch, shuffles up the cracked concrete steps, and asks if he can help (he was a Boy Scout back in the day). Why not, eh? Amidst some very skeptical looks, he receives a nod from Maurice’s sister and proceeds over to the lad. He takes some half-stained napkins from the table, as well as some band-aids and begins to patch up his cuts. Really, the physician’s work being performed wasn’t that impressive at all. But what he did next was. One person at a time, starting with Maurice, the college student begins to hug each member of the family… but not the quick, awkward acquaintance kind of hug. Rather, he embraces each person, holding them for three, four, five full minutes. Maurice opens his eyes and smiles…his nephew giggles and squirms…his sister begins to softly cry. The college kid then slips the sister twenty dollars as the police barge through the door and not-so-politely escort him to the sidewalk. He just smiles and waves…the nephew giggles and waves back, silhouetted by the flashing blues and reds.
So you tell me, who was the neighbor here?
(Some parts of this story are fictitious…many are not)
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Our View of God's Sovereignty
If God is Sovereign, then who resists His will?
If God makes one man rich, by His sovereign will, and another poor... who are we to criticize? or to act?
I mean, surely one can't take the position that it is WE who are responsible for the stewardship of justice and love down here, for that would be an affront to our belief in God's sovereignty...
unless we thought that maybe God is a tester of men's motives--that He delegates "trial portions" of His concerns, to... US.
but i don't know if we really think that. Seriously now... I really don't find that at the operative center of our decisions to leave suburbia behind, risk assault and worse on our streets, raise our kids in a warzone... no, it's not because of a belief about God's Sovereignty. In fact, if what we have done is in sin against the Sovereignty of God, we'll suffer the consequences for sure, okay...
but what we're about over here is actually about... well, just the plain, written commands of Jesus. We've (some of us) been praying for YEars that He would lead and change us into greater obediences to the plain commands of JEsus...into greater conformities to the descriptions of that Kingdom--that Community...
It is obscene to apply roundy arguments about sovereignty to the things that Jesus own words were so clear about, the whole time...
Whether or not we have all decided that God is a tester, we are all hoping to please him. its a basic desire to love him. John 14:15 and 21.
I mean, come on. You were in the room when we talked about this, weren't you? You spent like, years, listening to this without any word of outrage or comment of dissent. We sat at the table so many times, and you even said that this was right. Now you're gone and there's another whole in me.
If God makes one man rich, by His sovereign will, and another poor... who are we to criticize? or to act?
I mean, surely one can't take the position that it is WE who are responsible for the stewardship of justice and love down here, for that would be an affront to our belief in God's sovereignty...
unless we thought that maybe God is a tester of men's motives--that He delegates "trial portions" of His concerns, to... US.
but i don't know if we really think that. Seriously now... I really don't find that at the operative center of our decisions to leave suburbia behind, risk assault and worse on our streets, raise our kids in a warzone... no, it's not because of a belief about God's Sovereignty. In fact, if what we have done is in sin against the Sovereignty of God, we'll suffer the consequences for sure, okay...
but what we're about over here is actually about... well, just the plain, written commands of Jesus. We've (some of us) been praying for YEars that He would lead and change us into greater obediences to the plain commands of JEsus...into greater conformities to the descriptions of that Kingdom--that Community...
It is obscene to apply roundy arguments about sovereignty to the things that Jesus own words were so clear about, the whole time...
Whether or not we have all decided that God is a tester, we are all hoping to please him. its a basic desire to love him. John 14:15 and 21.
I mean, come on. You were in the room when we talked about this, weren't you? You spent like, years, listening to this without any word of outrage or comment of dissent. We sat at the table so many times, and you even said that this was right. Now you're gone and there's another whole in me.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
tip us up/tip us over
oh, that we were, as a Body, employing our means in the dangers of redemption in the world! How much clearer our talk of faith, truth and love would seem to the world were there unity and mercy among us.
as it is, we are a club, and barely interesting at that... a club that feeds on the dying among us... neglecting commands to follow men...
tip us up, Lord.
tip us over...
as it is, we are a club, and barely interesting at that... a club that feeds on the dying among us... neglecting commands to follow men...
tip us up, Lord.
tip us over...
poem on pipesmoke and guiness
slice me.
dice me.
would that His word sufficed me.
i crave.
i rave.
and walk upon the one who saves.
mercy
hurts me
a cross he gives me
hip out of joint
i follow,
limping...
dice me.
would that His word sufficed me.
i crave.
i rave.
and walk upon the one who saves.
mercy
hurts me
a cross he gives me
hip out of joint
i follow,
limping...
to anonymous
hey,
where'd you go?
you tried to rip holes in a post of mine, leaving clues as to who you were. i treated you as an anonymous, as you wished, but the words i replied with were heartfelt... what's the bind, brother? plough your ground. rend your heart. hear.
where'd you go?
you tried to rip holes in a post of mine, leaving clues as to who you were. i treated you as an anonymous, as you wished, but the words i replied with were heartfelt... what's the bind, brother? plough your ground. rend your heart. hear.
Deal with this
A Just Minimum Wage
By Holly Sklar and Dr. Paul H. Sherry
Forword by Dr. James A. Forbes Jr.
Copyright: Fall 2005
“Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and the needy.” – Prov. 31:19
-Wages are a bedrock moral issue. Wages reflect our personal values and our nations values.
-The minimum wage is where society draws the line: The low and no lower. Our bottom line is this: A job should keep you out of poverty, not keep you in it. The federal minimum wage was enacted through the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which also set standards for overtime pay and restrictions on child labor.
-The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour since September 1997. That’s more than eight years at $5.15 as the cost of living rises.
-The $5.15 minimum wage is lower in value than the minimum wage of 1950-which would be worth more than $6 now, adjusting for inflation.
-The 1963 minimum wage is worth more than $8 in today’s dollars.
-The real minimum wage-the wage adjusted for inflation-reached its highest point in 1968. It would take more than $9 to match the minimum wage peak of 1968, adjusting for inflation.
-College tuition (public or private) costs more than twice what it did in 1968.
-The cost of health insurance has risen so much that family coverage now costs more than the entire annual income of a full-time worker at minimum wage.
-The typical worker paid minimum wage is an adult, not a teenager living with parents. Most have high school degrees or more.
-No one should be trapped in poverty by low wages.
-$5.15 minimum wage = $10,712 a year
-It takes more than three jobs at minimum wage to support a family of four.
-We need a wage ethic to go with our work ethic.
By Holly Sklar and Dr. Paul H. Sherry
Forword by Dr. James A. Forbes Jr.
Copyright: Fall 2005
“Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and the needy.” – Prov. 31:19
-Wages are a bedrock moral issue. Wages reflect our personal values and our nations values.
-The minimum wage is where society draws the line: The low and no lower. Our bottom line is this: A job should keep you out of poverty, not keep you in it. The federal minimum wage was enacted through the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which also set standards for overtime pay and restrictions on child labor.
-The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour since September 1997. That’s more than eight years at $5.15 as the cost of living rises.
-The $5.15 minimum wage is lower in value than the minimum wage of 1950-which would be worth more than $6 now, adjusting for inflation.
-The 1963 minimum wage is worth more than $8 in today’s dollars.
-The real minimum wage-the wage adjusted for inflation-reached its highest point in 1968. It would take more than $9 to match the minimum wage peak of 1968, adjusting for inflation.
-College tuition (public or private) costs more than twice what it did in 1968.
-The cost of health insurance has risen so much that family coverage now costs more than the entire annual income of a full-time worker at minimum wage.
-The typical worker paid minimum wage is an adult, not a teenager living with parents. Most have high school degrees or more.
-No one should be trapped in poverty by low wages.
-$5.15 minimum wage = $10,712 a year
-It takes more than three jobs at minimum wage to support a family of four.
-We need a wage ethic to go with our work ethic.
Tonight at Chase House
sitting with Smitty. listening to Johnny Cash. Johnny's songs embody the criminal's grief and penance. i really relate to that. some of his songs are downright sad and kinda morbid, like "Delia's gone" and "Cocaine Blues", but I like them. I know Johnny was a christian and that his walk with Jesus was reflected in his identification with the convict and the crimina embodied a bold compassion... any of you who saw "Walk the Line" will see what is only the beginning of his walk with the Lord... i love the theme of rescue, and how the people who rescued him were criminals and sinners, themselves, in a way...
so, around the big table, we were Zach, Smitty, Lew, Chris Challis... Ryan visited for a moment. Guinness disappeared. Pipe smoke rose. Kids were all tucked in, and we all googled and looked into minimum wage stuff. Justice is perishing from our nation. Justice is especially perishing from the heart of the church people...
we have gravitated, by and large, to comfort and security--loved this world and the things in it. Pointing this out brings a lot of criticism--proof of truth... What i mean is that the American church has gravitated, as a culture, as a people, to security, money, suburban lifestyle, comfort...
I mean, there were a couple brothers here visiting from a multi-million dollar community, yesterday. I delighted to be able to share with them our love for... our addiction to... simple closeness to Jesus... I don't care what their multi-million does. I just want the brothers themselves at our table. them and their families.
i started this stuff here in a desperation for the love of the community of Christ... out of NEED, not out of a sense of knowledge or expertise. you see, i was really messed up before i found jesus, and serving him left me deeply scarred, as community after community took turns on me.
now, i'm starting to... not so much heal, as the scars are always with me, and the weaknesses are the dwelling places of God's strength, but to Grow in Grace...
...not so much HEAL, since the goal of Christianity isn't wholeness, as it is brokenness. it's all upside down. i'm looking for family that holds me up as i attempt to descend into the place of Jesus, who lost all to heal us...
and dear sister amy got questioned, and will undoubtedly be ostracised for "foolishly" obeying jesus' word and helping a man who needed...
o lord, awaken us! and save me!
so, around the big table, we were Zach, Smitty, Lew, Chris Challis... Ryan visited for a moment. Guinness disappeared. Pipe smoke rose. Kids were all tucked in, and we all googled and looked into minimum wage stuff. Justice is perishing from our nation. Justice is especially perishing from the heart of the church people...
we have gravitated, by and large, to comfort and security--loved this world and the things in it. Pointing this out brings a lot of criticism--proof of truth... What i mean is that the American church has gravitated, as a culture, as a people, to security, money, suburban lifestyle, comfort...
I mean, there were a couple brothers here visiting from a multi-million dollar community, yesterday. I delighted to be able to share with them our love for... our addiction to... simple closeness to Jesus... I don't care what their multi-million does. I just want the brothers themselves at our table. them and their families.
i started this stuff here in a desperation for the love of the community of Christ... out of NEED, not out of a sense of knowledge or expertise. you see, i was really messed up before i found jesus, and serving him left me deeply scarred, as community after community took turns on me.
now, i'm starting to... not so much heal, as the scars are always with me, and the weaknesses are the dwelling places of God's strength, but to Grow in Grace...
...not so much HEAL, since the goal of Christianity isn't wholeness, as it is brokenness. it's all upside down. i'm looking for family that holds me up as i attempt to descend into the place of Jesus, who lost all to heal us...
and dear sister amy got questioned, and will undoubtedly be ostracised for "foolishly" obeying jesus' word and helping a man who needed...
o lord, awaken us! and save me!
terrified
wait a second... are good christian folks actually gettin riled up because we are expressing a concern for the poor? how does that dynamic gel in any way with the fine christian image?
that's really terrifying. it shows that the church is perched on the edge of... nothing and worse...
how is it that we have arrived at this point: where basic christian concepts of love and generosity, hospitality and mercy, are questioned--even maligned? Lord, Save us! terrifying.
that's really terrifying. it shows that the church is perched on the edge of... nothing and worse...
how is it that we have arrived at this point: where basic christian concepts of love and generosity, hospitality and mercy, are questioned--even maligned? Lord, Save us! terrifying.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
sitting
sitting on a chair that cost enough to pay his rent for a month.
Typing on a comuputer that cost enough to pay two more months...
wearing shoes that could cover groceries for two and a half weeks...
In a building whose cost could have eradicated poverties for years in this city...
among a people whose homes' extra rooms could relieve so many famies
the pace of life... too fast for us to be real. real help.
real family. real friends...
the power in being salt and light is found, not in the passive essence of these things, but in the context of their placement...
a christian who is well off, who goes to the big church for his whole life, yearning to experience the adventure of the missionaries and ministers who tell the stories...
a christian who has been baked in mediocrity
drugged with affluence
distracted by entertainment culture
a christian who knows, deep within, that there is more
but is still plugged into the matrix...
trying to wake them up
kills them
and they try to kill me.
Typing on a comuputer that cost enough to pay two more months...
wearing shoes that could cover groceries for two and a half weeks...
In a building whose cost could have eradicated poverties for years in this city...
among a people whose homes' extra rooms could relieve so many famies
the pace of life... too fast for us to be real. real help.
real family. real friends...
the power in being salt and light is found, not in the passive essence of these things, but in the context of their placement...
a christian who is well off, who goes to the big church for his whole life, yearning to experience the adventure of the missionaries and ministers who tell the stories...
a christian who has been baked in mediocrity
drugged with affluence
distracted by entertainment culture
a christian who knows, deep within, that there is more
but is still plugged into the matrix...
trying to wake them up
kills them
and they try to kill me.
Friday, November 25, 2005
Deeeeeeeeds!!!!!!
i recently read over a post that I left last week, and I re-read a comment left anonymously by someone that counterpointed some of my assertions/statements...
part of that exchange was a discussion of motives and deeds.
this person asserted that motives, not deeds, were the main focus of the sermon on the mount. that Jesus is much more concerned with WHY we do what we do that WHAT we actually do.
I think this is true. I affirm this. Amen.
But what must Jesus think of all that we do NOT do? All the things we knew to do and did'nt? The one who knows the good he ought to do and does it not, sins. No?
And what is up with the New Testament constantly asserting that we will be judged on the basis of our deeds?
Look it up. look up the word "deeds" and see what happens to the idea that it's WHY that matters.
THAT IS AN INCOMPLETE-NESS THAT WILL RESULT IN SIN. We must ADD to a constant confession of motive, a passionate activity of OBEDIENCE.
Bottom Line. No flesh gets out. We're all bound to it.
part of that exchange was a discussion of motives and deeds.
this person asserted that motives, not deeds, were the main focus of the sermon on the mount. that Jesus is much more concerned with WHY we do what we do that WHAT we actually do.
I think this is true. I affirm this. Amen.
But what must Jesus think of all that we do NOT do? All the things we knew to do and did'nt? The one who knows the good he ought to do and does it not, sins. No?
And what is up with the New Testament constantly asserting that we will be judged on the basis of our deeds?
Look it up. look up the word "deeds" and see what happens to the idea that it's WHY that matters.
THAT IS AN INCOMPLETE-NESS THAT WILL RESULT IN SIN. We must ADD to a constant confession of motive, a passionate activity of OBEDIENCE.
Bottom Line. No flesh gets out. We're all bound to it.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Vision Poem
What I'm seeing:
Homes.
Christian Homes.
Radical Hospitality
Christianity
Missionality
Neighborhoods with Christian Community
Christian Communities made up of saints
who are equipped
by leaders who increase people's
dependence on the Spirit
by their teaching.
Neighborhoods, City-Wide.
City-wide community
Community in Christ
the Church.
FROM WHICH
From which proceed
arise
emerge
Servanthood to Christ
in the form of...
the manifestation of the Spirit's gifting in the People
Servanthood to Christ
in the form of the Church
the gifts of the people
equipped
released
empowered
matured and sure
I see households living
INTERDEPENDENTLY
I see wealth set free
I see poverties destroyed
poverty of debt
loneliness
incapability of income
deficits removed
by sheer SHARING
Interdependence in SHARING
sharing wealth
food
sorrow
joy
posessions (think of the savings on lawnmowers, alone!)
Organization
administration
creativity in developing
new ways to share!
maximizing JUBILEE!
leaving stewardship in the dust, as we
embrace the
endless possibility of
Jubilee!
JUBILEE.
Christians loaning each other
Large sums of money
shifting debt from the
world's banks to the
father's family.
Christians banding together,
forming neighborhood
care
groups.
ministering to the poor,
the shut ins
the elderly...
It's hard for someone to kill you
when you love their grandma
so much
so well
so often...
a daily life that includes
neighbors
each other
the poor..
A Ring of Fire!
Christians leaving the false comforts of the suburbs
for a life of SHARING.
mission
life
love
service
our gifts being poured out
in our sphere of influence
daily...
our family life salting the earth
our city shining brightly
our community salting the earth
our love warming the world...
goodnesses will abound.
I see the warehouse... the warehouse I have feared
for the drain it's been.
finally born, again
of a new seed!
the Spirit.
I see the Warehouse emerging,
fully supported
well focused
from the communities of the city.
I see the ministries to youth and young adults
I see the community coming together there
I see the skatepark
the basketball courts
and Isee a higher way
a better course
instead of buying and
building the warehouse,
infusing our society and community even more thoroughly!
infusing all the civic spaces
with our presents
our presence...
instead of clubbing up
enclaving
forming ghetto
protecting ourselves
insulating
isolating
elevating ourselves
instead of forming up
by mammon and money,
being formed as the invisible church
the peculiar people...
why would we own something?
where is the need?
there is NONE.
there are 5 skateparks!
there are 100 basketball courts out there,
not including
our own, in the backyard.
(some boys came to the backyard
and asked if Chris
would form up ANOTHER 3-on-3 tournament)
There is no need.
There must be another level of renunciation.
We must leave behind the idea of ministering from our wealth!
We must learn to
serve as Jesus did
as jesus died
in a poverty
born of humility
never forgetting that we
are fundamentally
divine,
the judges of
angels.
and we are called
to lay down
our potentials
our divininty!
the power of the kingdom
to bear
sorrow
lack
need
infirmity
to sow
the word
in the soils
rocky
thin
choked
and fertile
of the world
we are not called
to a kingdom
that is of
this earth.
made of the things of the world
made of mammon
made of owning
controlling
running
setting up
but a kingdom that is of the
SALT.
the kingdom that changes
everything
by disappearing...
that brings joy
through
sorrow...
If His kingdom is not of this world
why do we try to further it
through buying up this world
today, no, last night, I realized that I DON't want to obtain the church building next door. you see, Joseph from YWAM asked me why I don't ask for it and use it to start something of our next steps.
But I see our next steps as people COMING. Moving into the city to LIVE. Renting, not owning stuff... Living as aliens and strangers in the world...
I mean, maybe owning a house, but not a bunch of facilities.
Focusing on being a community of love
becoming vulnerable,
healing one another...
Giving the world a glimpse
of the ministry of Jesus among the sick, again.
Coming
Living
Being
Becoming
Opening
Healing
Receiving
Giving
Showing the world.
I am hearing this.
I am seeing this...
I'm seeing the FARM.
I see a farm
within an hour's drive of the city.
I see a farm
with lots of acres
and cabins
and work
and people living there...
I see retreat
i see healing
i see silence coming
i see rest
i see green
i see space.
i see recovery of sanity
I see what was stolen given back...
i see recharging
refillling with life.
i see a family
of people
who live there
a year at a time, some.
fully, some others.
I see a family
of families
on a farm
that isn't an escape,
but is an embrace.
i see the poor at their table.
always enough
i see people working
i see weeklong retreats
i see weekend retreats
i see workshops
week-long
weekend
workshops
i see kids breathing free
summer camps...
camping
bonfires
big tables
I see a retreat...
Homes.
Christian Homes.
Radical Hospitality
Christianity
Missionality
Neighborhoods with Christian Community
Christian Communities made up of saints
who are equipped
by leaders who increase people's
dependence on the Spirit
by their teaching.
Neighborhoods, City-Wide.
City-wide community
Community in Christ
the Church.
FROM WHICH
From which proceed
arise
emerge
Servanthood to Christ
in the form of...
the manifestation of the Spirit's gifting in the People
Servanthood to Christ
in the form of the Church
the gifts of the people
equipped
released
empowered
matured and sure
I see households living
INTERDEPENDENTLY
I see wealth set free
I see poverties destroyed
poverty of debt
loneliness
incapability of income
deficits removed
by sheer SHARING
Interdependence in SHARING
sharing wealth
food
sorrow
joy
posessions (think of the savings on lawnmowers, alone!)
Organization
administration
creativity in developing
new ways to share!
maximizing JUBILEE!
leaving stewardship in the dust, as we
embrace the
endless possibility of
Jubilee!
JUBILEE.
Christians loaning each other
Large sums of money
shifting debt from the
world's banks to the
father's family.
Christians banding together,
forming neighborhood
care
groups.
ministering to the poor,
the shut ins
the elderly...
It's hard for someone to kill you
when you love their grandma
so much
so well
so often...
a daily life that includes
neighbors
each other
the poor..
A Ring of Fire!
Christians leaving the false comforts of the suburbs
for a life of SHARING.
mission
life
love
service
our gifts being poured out
in our sphere of influence
daily...
our family life salting the earth
our city shining brightly
our community salting the earth
our love warming the world...
goodnesses will abound.
I see the warehouse... the warehouse I have feared
for the drain it's been.
finally born, again
of a new seed!
the Spirit.
I see the Warehouse emerging,
fully supported
well focused
from the communities of the city.
I see the ministries to youth and young adults
I see the community coming together there
I see the skatepark
the basketball courts
and Isee a higher way
a better course
instead of buying and
building the warehouse,
infusing our society and community even more thoroughly!
infusing all the civic spaces
with our presents
our presence...
instead of clubbing up
enclaving
forming ghetto
protecting ourselves
insulating
isolating
elevating ourselves
instead of forming up
by mammon and money,
being formed as the invisible church
the peculiar people...
why would we own something?
where is the need?
there is NONE.
there are 5 skateparks!
there are 100 basketball courts out there,
not including
our own, in the backyard.
(some boys came to the backyard
and asked if Chris
would form up ANOTHER 3-on-3 tournament)
There is no need.
There must be another level of renunciation.
We must leave behind the idea of ministering from our wealth!
We must learn to
serve as Jesus did
as jesus died
in a poverty
born of humility
never forgetting that we
are fundamentally
divine,
the judges of
angels.
and we are called
to lay down
our potentials
our divininty!
the power of the kingdom
to bear
sorrow
lack
need
infirmity
to sow
the word
in the soils
rocky
thin
choked
and fertile
of the world
we are not called
to a kingdom
that is of
this earth.
made of the things of the world
made of mammon
made of owning
controlling
running
setting up
but a kingdom that is of the
SALT.
the kingdom that changes
everything
by disappearing...
that brings joy
through
sorrow...
If His kingdom is not of this world
why do we try to further it
through buying up this world
today, no, last night, I realized that I DON't want to obtain the church building next door. you see, Joseph from YWAM asked me why I don't ask for it and use it to start something of our next steps.
But I see our next steps as people COMING. Moving into the city to LIVE. Renting, not owning stuff... Living as aliens and strangers in the world...
I mean, maybe owning a house, but not a bunch of facilities.
Focusing on being a community of love
becoming vulnerable,
healing one another...
Giving the world a glimpse
of the ministry of Jesus among the sick, again.
Coming
Living
Being
Becoming
Opening
Healing
Receiving
Giving
Showing the world.
I am hearing this.
I am seeing this...
I'm seeing the FARM.
I see a farm
within an hour's drive of the city.
I see a farm
with lots of acres
and cabins
and work
and people living there...
I see retreat
i see healing
i see silence coming
i see rest
i see green
i see space.
i see recovery of sanity
I see what was stolen given back...
i see recharging
refillling with life.
i see a family
of people
who live there
a year at a time, some.
fully, some others.
I see a family
of families
on a farm
that isn't an escape,
but is an embrace.
i see the poor at their table.
always enough
i see people working
i see weeklong retreats
i see weekend retreats
i see workshops
week-long
weekend
workshops
i see kids breathing free
summer camps...
camping
bonfires
big tables
I see a retreat...
Mornig Prayer Nov. 22
writing this morning...
we met for prayer at the table
two candles lit...
a lantern/lamp burning
JP
Zach
Me
some tea for me and JP...
and as we prayed, as has been the case with greater intensity, i sensed a hypocrisy in our prayers of thanksgiving... as we prayed thanksgivings and praises, I could hear the pretenses of men afraid to grieve... afraid to lay hold of that high-current conduit of Gods grief--that utterness of sadness over the lost sheep and the shepherds with no plan for its rescue.
Shepherds who feed themselves...
and I saw us all, there. we have been afraid to grieve...
to grieve the reality that we aren't yet that community that we yearn to be...
that the kingdom HAS NOT come
that his will HAS NOT BEEN DONE.
that the love isn't present
that we're still ripping each other to shreds
that there arestill so many idols...
that the religious leaders and teachers
strip the land bare of fruit.
that the false church spends billions
while the poor die, daily.
that the sheep are misled,
into pits where they die.
twice the sons of hell as their leaders, they are doomed forever...
for where there is a corpse,
there the vultures will gather.
to mourn...
that we are living in the darkness. that there is so much sin, AMONG US! That we, each other, sitting here, are still partners with the darkness in our flesh. That we far too often look to the flesh for comfort, strength, and help.
When all the while we have pushed Jesus to the outside...
We read Isaiah 30-33
and Isaiah 49-51, too...
we're living in a time when the Lord is calling us to war like the men of old, trusting in, relying on, listening to, HIM.
He told them to do ridiculous things! Gideon, David, Saul...
and when they were too conventional, relying on their own thoughts and ways, or going down to Egypt for strength, or going to Damascus or assyria or wherever for help, He cursed them and punished that generation...
We are being called to radical focus of dependence on Him, alone.
We are being called to radical redirection of repentance.
we met for prayer at the table
two candles lit...
a lantern/lamp burning
JP
Zach
Me
some tea for me and JP...
and as we prayed, as has been the case with greater intensity, i sensed a hypocrisy in our prayers of thanksgiving... as we prayed thanksgivings and praises, I could hear the pretenses of men afraid to grieve... afraid to lay hold of that high-current conduit of Gods grief--that utterness of sadness over the lost sheep and the shepherds with no plan for its rescue.
Shepherds who feed themselves...
and I saw us all, there. we have been afraid to grieve...
to grieve the reality that we aren't yet that community that we yearn to be...
that the kingdom HAS NOT come
that his will HAS NOT BEEN DONE.
that the love isn't present
that we're still ripping each other to shreds
that there arestill so many idols...
that the religious leaders and teachers
strip the land bare of fruit.
that the false church spends billions
while the poor die, daily.
that the sheep are misled,
into pits where they die.
twice the sons of hell as their leaders, they are doomed forever...
for where there is a corpse,
there the vultures will gather.
to mourn...
that we are living in the darkness. that there is so much sin, AMONG US! That we, each other, sitting here, are still partners with the darkness in our flesh. That we far too often look to the flesh for comfort, strength, and help.
When all the while we have pushed Jesus to the outside...
We read Isaiah 30-33
and Isaiah 49-51, too...
we're living in a time when the Lord is calling us to war like the men of old, trusting in, relying on, listening to, HIM.
He told them to do ridiculous things! Gideon, David, Saul...
and when they were too conventional, relying on their own thoughts and ways, or going down to Egypt for strength, or going to Damascus or assyria or wherever for help, He cursed them and punished that generation...
We are being called to radical focus of dependence on Him, alone.
We are being called to radical redirection of repentance.
5GOD, the Master, The Holy of Israel,
has this solemn counsel:
"Your salvation requires you to turn back to me
and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.
Your strength will come from settling down
in complete dependence on me--
The very thing
you've been unwilling to do.
16You've said, "Nothing doing! We'll rush off on horseback!'
has this solemn counsel:
"Your salvation requires you to turn back to me
and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.
Your strength will come from settling down
in complete dependence on me--
The very thing
you've been unwilling to do.
16You've said, "Nothing doing! We'll rush off on horseback!'
this is a rebel generation,
a people who lie,
A people unwilling to listen
to anything GOD tells them.
10They tell their spiritual leaders,
"Don't bother us with irrelevancies."
They tell their preachers,
"Don't waste our time on impracticalities.
Tell us what makes us feel better.
11Don't bore us with obsolete religion.
That stuff means nothing to us.
Quit hounding us with The Holy of Israel."
a people who lie,
A people unwilling to listen
to anything GOD tells them.
10They tell their spiritual leaders,
"Don't bother us with irrelevancies."
They tell their preachers,
"Don't waste our time on impracticalities.
Tell us what makes us feel better.
11Don't bore us with obsolete religion.
That stuff means nothing to us.
Quit hounding us with The Holy of Israel."
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Assaulted on the Street
Last night, after dinner and time with the team from YWAM, two of our young men from our group were walking down the street to retrieve a car from the parking lot of a nearby church. As they passed the corner of Chase and Fergus, two young men ran out, asked them if they were from here, and one of them punched Michael in the face...
Michael is a new member of our community here. He is the son of a very praying mother, over on the West Side, in Cheviot.
he has been a professionally sponsored Biker (like bikes on halfpipes and obstacle courses with tricks and all, like backflips) for a while, traveling the world and whatnot. He is very experienced in the things of this world, but some months back he became a follower of Jesus, a Christian, and now he is in "training".
When Michael got home, his nose had stopped bleeding, and there was almost no swelling of the cheek that had been struck. He was angry. he was contemplating what was done in his "old world". In his "old world", he and all his friends would come out and beat up whoever did it, adn all their friends, too. So this was a really different world he was in, last night, as we all bowed and prayed for his attacker, our neighborhood, and all...
Michael is a new member of our community here. He is the son of a very praying mother, over on the West Side, in Cheviot.
he has been a professionally sponsored Biker (like bikes on halfpipes and obstacle courses with tricks and all, like backflips) for a while, traveling the world and whatnot. He is very experienced in the things of this world, but some months back he became a follower of Jesus, a Christian, and now he is in "training".
When Michael got home, his nose had stopped bleeding, and there was almost no swelling of the cheek that had been struck. He was angry. he was contemplating what was done in his "old world". In his "old world", he and all his friends would come out and beat up whoever did it, adn all their friends, too. So this was a really different world he was in, last night, as we all bowed and prayed for his attacker, our neighborhood, and all...
YWAM Visitors
I'll try to put in a picture of our guests from Youth With a Mission today, but I want to tell you about their visit while I still have the time to type.
It's about 6am.
It's wicked cold, like 20 degrees.
Last night, a team from the YWAM base in Chico CA arrived at our home. Seven of them, to be exact. They're part of a 50-week tour of the Church in America. They spend one week visiting the Church in each state of the union. This tour includes Alaska and Hawaii.
Presently, our good (like, bestest) friends, the Bansens, are at that very YWAM base in Chico! You can check out their adventures on their blog, listed in the LINKS to the right.
This team includes members from Australia, North Carolina, New York, Northern California and stuff. 4 ladies and 3 guys. Joseph, I-Ka, Yu-Hi, Jennifer, Shelley, Elfie, Ian... Thank you guys for sharing your lives with us, here.
JP grilled delicious burgers, outside, in the cold, for us to have for dinner.
We spent the night in conversation, with a little time in song. It was pretty wonderful, okay? Today, we'll meet at the house here, fix breakfast, pray and sing, talk and teach, Lunch, go out into the 'hood and pray, come home and serve a bit around the house, and sing and pray and have dinner, and sing and pray and talk and teach and go to bed. Tomorrow we'll make the morning meal, sing and pray, and they're gonna have to go... and we'll miss 'em.
It's about 6am.
It's wicked cold, like 20 degrees.
Last night, a team from the YWAM base in Chico CA arrived at our home. Seven of them, to be exact. They're part of a 50-week tour of the Church in America. They spend one week visiting the Church in each state of the union. This tour includes Alaska and Hawaii.
Presently, our good (like, bestest) friends, the Bansens, are at that very YWAM base in Chico! You can check out their adventures on their blog, listed in the LINKS to the right.
This team includes members from Australia, North Carolina, New York, Northern California and stuff. 4 ladies and 3 guys. Joseph, I-Ka, Yu-Hi, Jennifer, Shelley, Elfie, Ian... Thank you guys for sharing your lives with us, here.
JP grilled delicious burgers, outside, in the cold, for us to have for dinner.
We spent the night in conversation, with a little time in song. It was pretty wonderful, okay? Today, we'll meet at the house here, fix breakfast, pray and sing, talk and teach, Lunch, go out into the 'hood and pray, come home and serve a bit around the house, and sing and pray and have dinner, and sing and pray and talk and teach and go to bed. Tomorrow we'll make the morning meal, sing and pray, and they're gonna have to go... and we'll miss 'em.
Can't be doneI
yesterday somebody said that Christian communities like ours almost never take off in the Midwest. They were someone with pretty good exposure and credibility. They were saying that the "work ethic" interferes with people's development of the spiritual life: that people are so ingrained with an ethic of "live by working hard" that the Gift Life of God that is the Church's matrix is difficult for them to appropriate...
Well, I think that Christian communities almost never take off, period, no matter what ethic people have. And I don't care too much. I just know that we're here and we have no plans to leave. We have very few of any plans... We're just a family... And yeah, we want to accomplish simplification so we can have more time for giving and helping.
In fact, if I had to point out the one binding point of our community development, right now, it's that we're all so scattered and busy by means of our occupations and the pursuit of money to pay bills and debts... Yep. We have to Work.
Well, we're looking into a life together that's all Gift, so there is a lot to look forward to. We need to set things right, but haven't the power. We're in debt. We're selfish. We're broken. We're dirty.
Not a problem. Seriously. We should all just put it to prayer and wait for the mountains to move. No kidding. We can all join together and watch those mountains move. Together. In prayer and waiting. In patience and silence. With praise and thanksgiving. Watching and waiting...
Watching and waiting...
Well, I think that Christian communities almost never take off, period, no matter what ethic people have. And I don't care too much. I just know that we're here and we have no plans to leave. We have very few of any plans... We're just a family... And yeah, we want to accomplish simplification so we can have more time for giving and helping.
In fact, if I had to point out the one binding point of our community development, right now, it's that we're all so scattered and busy by means of our occupations and the pursuit of money to pay bills and debts... Yep. We have to Work.
Well, we're looking into a life together that's all Gift, so there is a lot to look forward to. We need to set things right, but haven't the power. We're in debt. We're selfish. We're broken. We're dirty.
Not a problem. Seriously. We should all just put it to prayer and wait for the mountains to move. No kidding. We can all join together and watch those mountains move. Together. In prayer and waiting. In patience and silence. With praise and thanksgiving. Watching and waiting...
Watching and waiting...
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Faith and Works
Okay, this post is an "in your face".
There are times when the apostle Paul gets "foolish" and vindicates his own behavior. He has to be forced to it by concern for the welfare of his listeners...
Well, I did some of that over there in a comment war with an anonymous commenter. I got fiery and I got kinda intense.
But the hill I'm ready to die on is about faith and works.
You see, it's simple. Acts 26. Paul preaches that you have to bear the fruit of repentance.
Jesus presents the message town to town, "turn around your living--the kingdom of God is at hand"...
James slaughters our pride and exposes the truth: show me your faith without works and I'll show you my faith by what I do...
What? What does this undermine?
It undermines our complacency.
As for devotion to serving the poor... I can't believe that someone thinks it's in any way detrimental to the Christian message to advocate us all getting closer to that... I can't believe that it's offensive to express that we need to go further in our efforts to love... that we need to release more of our stuff... that we need to relinquish our hold on the world...
I know that it seems kinda pollyana, but it's not. We have some devastating scriptures weighing on us. there is a judgment coming, and anyone who claims the name of Christ needs to not only cease from sinning, but turn to Love and Justice and walk out a new righteousness. This one comes from faith and is accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit to walk it out.
Think about this. This is so simple. This isn't legalism. We're not advocating earning God's favor. We're just standing in the line, calling, "repent".
There are times when the apostle Paul gets "foolish" and vindicates his own behavior. He has to be forced to it by concern for the welfare of his listeners...
Well, I did some of that over there in a comment war with an anonymous commenter. I got fiery and I got kinda intense.
But the hill I'm ready to die on is about faith and works.
You see, it's simple. Acts 26. Paul preaches that you have to bear the fruit of repentance.
Jesus presents the message town to town, "turn around your living--the kingdom of God is at hand"...
James slaughters our pride and exposes the truth: show me your faith without works and I'll show you my faith by what I do...
What? What does this undermine?
It undermines our complacency.
As for devotion to serving the poor... I can't believe that someone thinks it's in any way detrimental to the Christian message to advocate us all getting closer to that... I can't believe that it's offensive to express that we need to go further in our efforts to love... that we need to release more of our stuff... that we need to relinquish our hold on the world...
I know that it seems kinda pollyana, but it's not. We have some devastating scriptures weighing on us. there is a judgment coming, and anyone who claims the name of Christ needs to not only cease from sinning, but turn to Love and Justice and walk out a new righteousness. This one comes from faith and is accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit to walk it out.
Think about this. This is so simple. This isn't legalism. We're not advocating earning God's favor. We're just standing in the line, calling, "repent".
Zach's Xanga post
Here's Zach's most recent post. it caused a firestorm of criticism.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Trying to put action into words in Northside:
its been a week since Chris came to live with us...and we have had a blast...we worshipped on Sunday together...and again last night...i have seen the community gather around him and provide rides, time to talk to him. its beautiful...
We told Chris, being that he is a Christian, early on that we reject the American Dream - or its Way of Life...we told him our goal is not to make him independent - that is living by himself with a car and a nice job...self sufficient. We told him its our desire that he would become family - if not to our Christian Community then to another...which means interdependence.
He moved in with the idea that it was only going to be a few days.... its been a week...and we are loving it - especially when he cooks for us. Chris, Lew, and I went pretty in depth on Christianity last night...talking about some serious bible stuff...shook Chris up alittle...but he is freakin tough...we told him our community is a place where he can ask tough questions of the faith...and have the freedom to work them out with the Spirit...we told him not to just accept our answers...but to wrestle with them.
I smile everytime i hear Chris talking about being with us during the holidays...i.e. "Hey Lew you think on Thanksgiving we can give away some turkeys to the poor?" it seems we maybe working with a local Church to help shelter the poor when it gets really cold this winter...Chris loves the idea...he said the Lord is leading and affirming Him to helping (indeed leading us) with this.
i am emotional...sorry....but last night...was beautiful...i was talkin on the phone last night outside and looked thru the window and saw Chris setting at the table with my roommate Chris Deering (who is not white, and i mention this for a reason) and he was teaching him something...then i saw Michael...a wealthy 17 yr old from the burbs sit at the table and join the convo. its beautiful seeing what an alternative community looks like...what the Church is supposed to be.
before we went to bed Chris (our homeless friend - fyi is doesnt have any legs below his knees, so he is in a wheelchair) and i smoked out on the porch...and talked...he asked me about fasting...i read him Isaiah 58 - the fast the Lord desires...we laughed...he told me his perspective on Job, he can relate to him. Mclaren said 'if you want to know what the bible means have someone who is oppressed or poor explain it to you b/c it was written by the poor, oppressed, and enslaved to the poor, persecuted, and oppressed'. (perhaps this is why its difficult to read as wealthy rich Christians - if you are reading this from a computor screen you are most likely wealthy) Chris is my teacher...and elder...and is teaching me a great deal...the Spirit is leading us both.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Trying to put action into words in Northside:
its been a week since Chris came to live with us...and we have had a blast...we worshipped on Sunday together...and again last night...i have seen the community gather around him and provide rides, time to talk to him. its beautiful...
We told Chris, being that he is a Christian, early on that we reject the American Dream - or its Way of Life...we told him our goal is not to make him independent - that is living by himself with a car and a nice job...self sufficient. We told him its our desire that he would become family - if not to our Christian Community then to another...which means interdependence.
He moved in with the idea that it was only going to be a few days.... its been a week...and we are loving it - especially when he cooks for us. Chris, Lew, and I went pretty in depth on Christianity last night...talking about some serious bible stuff...shook Chris up alittle...but he is freakin tough...we told him our community is a place where he can ask tough questions of the faith...and have the freedom to work them out with the Spirit...we told him not to just accept our answers...but to wrestle with them.
I smile everytime i hear Chris talking about being with us during the holidays...i.e. "Hey Lew you think on Thanksgiving we can give away some turkeys to the poor?" it seems we maybe working with a local Church to help shelter the poor when it gets really cold this winter...Chris loves the idea...he said the Lord is leading and affirming Him to helping (indeed leading us) with this.
i am emotional...sorry....but last night...was beautiful...i was talkin on the phone last night outside and looked thru the window and saw Chris setting at the table with my roommate Chris Deering (who is not white, and i mention this for a reason) and he was teaching him something...then i saw Michael...a wealthy 17 yr old from the burbs sit at the table and join the convo. its beautiful seeing what an alternative community looks like...what the Church is supposed to be.
before we went to bed Chris (our homeless friend - fyi is doesnt have any legs below his knees, so he is in a wheelchair) and i smoked out on the porch...and talked...he asked me about fasting...i read him Isaiah 58 - the fast the Lord desires...we laughed...he told me his perspective on Job, he can relate to him. Mclaren said 'if you want to know what the bible means have someone who is oppressed or poor explain it to you b/c it was written by the poor, oppressed, and enslaved to the poor, persecuted, and oppressed'. (perhaps this is why its difficult to read as wealthy rich Christians - if you are reading this from a computor screen you are most likely wealthy) Chris is my teacher...and elder...and is teaching me a great deal...the Spirit is leading us both.
The Scriptures, in Hebrews 13, and Matthew 25, put a real standard up to us that Jesus is the Stranger and the homeless poor among us...
I don't care what anybody's motives are! I don't care what theological tweaking we may need or what hypocrisies we may still be enslaved to, right now. I care that Christians realize that there is a claim placed on them by the God who inspired Scripture.
The claims of Scripture about the role of the homeless and the stranger and the sick and the prisoner and the hungry and the thirsty are so RADICAL...
YOUR DINING ROOM
YOUR EXTRA BEDROOM
YOUR EXTRA THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS
these are claimed by God for PHYSICALLY HELPING PEOPLE.
1 John 3 says that we are to love with deeds. I don't care about hypocrisy. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 7 that evil is with him when he's doing good! I don't care about motives so much anymore! I see that CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR INCLUDES ACTIVE INTEREST IN AND RELIEF OF TEMPORAL SUFFERING.
I'm SCARED that we may miss the point with how snarled up things are getting.
One of the big problems is how rare this kind of behavior is.
We all ought to be employing our resources more and more constantly to relieve the suffering of those in need, especially believers who are in need, but not limited to them. I mean, isn't that the POINT of what Zach is trying to communicate?
It's just far too rare.
We should be kinda "ho-hum" about these things by reason of our experience with them. Rather, we are all knee-jerking about the implications of theological nuances and issues about motivation...
Would to God we all got less sophisticated, more childlike, and busied our lives intently with the activity of redemption that is born out of intimacy with Love, himself.
I don't care what anybody's motives are! I don't care what theological tweaking we may need or what hypocrisies we may still be enslaved to, right now. I care that Christians realize that there is a claim placed on them by the God who inspired Scripture.
The claims of Scripture about the role of the homeless and the stranger and the sick and the prisoner and the hungry and the thirsty are so RADICAL...
YOUR DINING ROOM
YOUR EXTRA BEDROOM
YOUR EXTRA THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS
these are claimed by God for PHYSICALLY HELPING PEOPLE.
1 John 3 says that we are to love with deeds. I don't care about hypocrisy. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 7 that evil is with him when he's doing good! I don't care about motives so much anymore! I see that CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR INCLUDES ACTIVE INTEREST IN AND RELIEF OF TEMPORAL SUFFERING.
I'm SCARED that we may miss the point with how snarled up things are getting.
One of the big problems is how rare this kind of behavior is.
We all ought to be employing our resources more and more constantly to relieve the suffering of those in need, especially believers who are in need, but not limited to them. I mean, isn't that the POINT of what Zach is trying to communicate?
It's just far too rare.
We should be kinda "ho-hum" about these things by reason of our experience with them. Rather, we are all knee-jerking about the implications of theological nuances and issues about motivation...
Would to God we all got less sophisticated, more childlike, and busied our lives intently with the activity of redemption that is born out of intimacy with Love, himself.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
check out these readings at the end of the post.
This Morning, we wrestled hard with God, at the 12-Man Table... By the lamplight, we laid down our hearts in regard to our situation here in Northside, cincinnati.
You see, we have Chris living in the Big Living Room, Tim (exchange son from Germany) living in the 1st Floor Quarters, The Rosses on the 2nd Floor, and the Third Floor Dwelling is occupied by Prari and Lauren. Chris has no legs and has been homeless. He is a brother in the Lord with a good reputation for living harmoniously and good deeds and has proven a real help to daily life, cooking an sharing... He loves the Word and risks a lot to serve the Lord, preaching and sharing with the homeless and the drug dealers he rubs elbows with.
We're getting callbacks on apartments for Chris, but everything is too expensive. We have people shuffling around their living arrangements soon, too, so there may be an ability to combine roomates and what not to get price down for Chris. But all the details are so hard to sort out. I just can't make sense...
You see, JP and Prari are gonna get married in April. That's gonna create a spot on the Third Floor of our house, and over at the Guy's house, too.
That'll shuffle things around.
I'd like to prep up our First Floor Quarters for someone like Chris, with Zach as a roomate, or for Zach and Smitty, or some combination that would maximize the use of that important first-floor room. Mr. Weiss used to live there, but he's not sure he will, again. He's presently in CA.
There are people wanting to move into our area to get into our community life, too. I worry for them. None of us are very sure of what will be forming up in the next months. There's a strong desire to craft a common life built around simplicity and prayer, out of which will come mission and Family Life for the Church.
Meanwhile, everyone involved so far is still very used up in their personal struggle to juggle all their details and debts. There are students who work fulltime as well as schooling to the max. There are newlyweds and soon-to-be-weds who are thrashing out the first steps of togetherness. there are homeless brethren who are sheltering with us. There are tons of kids around...
At this point, it's herculean just to MEET together, because all our schedules are too busy! How are we to remodel a room? How are we to arrange a home? Judy works like 80 hours a week (she is World Famous in her field!). It's hard to even hang out, and we still struggle on basic stuff... I spend my time stretched between my student supervisions and the pressing concern to help this ministry community grow... getting into the word/getting the word into people...
So, we're really stretching ourselves and looking to God to fill in what is lacking. We're dwelling in the willingness to stay here and the thankfulness that our first steps into community have taught us that we need to simplify and sacrifice more...
and a key in leading here has been to avoid compulsion, as I encourage people on the Way. I mean that, as a teacher and overseer in the Church, I strive to leave that "holy vacuum" where the Holy Spirit is truly the teacher for people... as a result, our folks are looking at serving God, not as replicas of Me (ministry gurus) but as EMTs and Nurses and Mechanics. I am ecstatic! and "lost"... I can't see where we're going, but It'll be god who gets us there...
Here are our readings:
Psalm 90
1God, it seems you've been our home forever; 2 long before the mountains were born,
Long before you brought earth itself to birth,
from "once upon a time" to "kingdom come"--you are God.
3So don't return us to mud, saying,
"Back to where you came from!"
4Patience! You've got all the time in the world--whether
a thousand years or a day, it's all the same to you.
5Are we no more to you than a wispy dream,
no more than a blade of grass
6That springs up gloriously with the rising sun
and is cut down without a second thought?
7Your anger is far and away too much for us;
we're at the end of our rope.
8You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed
since we were children is entered in your books.
9All we can remember is that frown on your face.
Is that all we're ever going to get?
10We live for seventy years or so
(with luck we might make it to eighty),
And what do we have to show for it? Trouble.
Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard.
11Who can make sense of such rage,
such anger against the very ones who fear you?
12Oh! Teach us to live well!
Teach us to live wisely and well!
13Come back, GOD-how long do we have to wait?-
and treat your servants with kindness for a change.
14Surprise us with love at daybreak;
then we'll skip and dance all the day long.
15Make up for the bad times with some good times;
we've seen enough evil to last a lifetime.
16Let your servants see what you're best at--
the ways you rule and bless your children.
17And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
confirming the work that we do.
Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
Ecclesiastes 12
1Honor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,
2Before your vision dims and the world blurs
And the winter years keep you close to the fire.
3In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.
Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.
The shades are pulled down on the world.
4You can't come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.
The hum of the household fades away.
You are wakened now by bird-song.
5Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.
Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.
Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.
Yes, you're well on your way to eternal rest,
While your friends make plans for your funeral.
6Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over.
Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.
7The body is put back in the same ground it came from.
The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.
8It's all smoke, nothing but smoke.
The Quester says that everything's smoke.
You see, we have Chris living in the Big Living Room, Tim (exchange son from Germany) living in the 1st Floor Quarters, The Rosses on the 2nd Floor, and the Third Floor Dwelling is occupied by Prari and Lauren. Chris has no legs and has been homeless. He is a brother in the Lord with a good reputation for living harmoniously and good deeds and has proven a real help to daily life, cooking an sharing... He loves the Word and risks a lot to serve the Lord, preaching and sharing with the homeless and the drug dealers he rubs elbows with.
We're getting callbacks on apartments for Chris, but everything is too expensive. We have people shuffling around their living arrangements soon, too, so there may be an ability to combine roomates and what not to get price down for Chris. But all the details are so hard to sort out. I just can't make sense...
You see, JP and Prari are gonna get married in April. That's gonna create a spot on the Third Floor of our house, and over at the Guy's house, too.
That'll shuffle things around.
I'd like to prep up our First Floor Quarters for someone like Chris, with Zach as a roomate, or for Zach and Smitty, or some combination that would maximize the use of that important first-floor room. Mr. Weiss used to live there, but he's not sure he will, again. He's presently in CA.
There are people wanting to move into our area to get into our community life, too. I worry for them. None of us are very sure of what will be forming up in the next months. There's a strong desire to craft a common life built around simplicity and prayer, out of which will come mission and Family Life for the Church.
Meanwhile, everyone involved so far is still very used up in their personal struggle to juggle all their details and debts. There are students who work fulltime as well as schooling to the max. There are newlyweds and soon-to-be-weds who are thrashing out the first steps of togetherness. there are homeless brethren who are sheltering with us. There are tons of kids around...
At this point, it's herculean just to MEET together, because all our schedules are too busy! How are we to remodel a room? How are we to arrange a home? Judy works like 80 hours a week (she is World Famous in her field!). It's hard to even hang out, and we still struggle on basic stuff... I spend my time stretched between my student supervisions and the pressing concern to help this ministry community grow... getting into the word/getting the word into people...
So, we're really stretching ourselves and looking to God to fill in what is lacking. We're dwelling in the willingness to stay here and the thankfulness that our first steps into community have taught us that we need to simplify and sacrifice more...
and a key in leading here has been to avoid compulsion, as I encourage people on the Way. I mean that, as a teacher and overseer in the Church, I strive to leave that "holy vacuum" where the Holy Spirit is truly the teacher for people... as a result, our folks are looking at serving God, not as replicas of Me (ministry gurus) but as EMTs and Nurses and Mechanics. I am ecstatic! and "lost"... I can't see where we're going, but It'll be god who gets us there...
Here are our readings:
Psalm 90
1God, it seems you've been our home forever; 2 long before the mountains were born,
Long before you brought earth itself to birth,
from "once upon a time" to "kingdom come"--you are God.
3So don't return us to mud, saying,
"Back to where you came from!"
4Patience! You've got all the time in the world--whether
a thousand years or a day, it's all the same to you.
5Are we no more to you than a wispy dream,
no more than a blade of grass
6That springs up gloriously with the rising sun
and is cut down without a second thought?
7Your anger is far and away too much for us;
we're at the end of our rope.
8You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed
since we were children is entered in your books.
9All we can remember is that frown on your face.
Is that all we're ever going to get?
10We live for seventy years or so
(with luck we might make it to eighty),
And what do we have to show for it? Trouble.
Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard.
11Who can make sense of such rage,
such anger against the very ones who fear you?
12Oh! Teach us to live well!
Teach us to live wisely and well!
13Come back, GOD-how long do we have to wait?-
and treat your servants with kindness for a change.
14Surprise us with love at daybreak;
then we'll skip and dance all the day long.
15Make up for the bad times with some good times;
we've seen enough evil to last a lifetime.
16Let your servants see what you're best at--
the ways you rule and bless your children.
17And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
confirming the work that we do.
Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
Ecclesiastes 12
1Honor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,
2Before your vision dims and the world blurs
And the winter years keep you close to the fire.
3In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.
Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.
The shades are pulled down on the world.
4You can't come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.
The hum of the household fades away.
You are wakened now by bird-song.
5Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.
Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.
Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.
Yes, you're well on your way to eternal rest,
While your friends make plans for your funeral.
6Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over.
Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.
7The body is put back in the same ground it came from.
The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.
8It's all smoke, nothing but smoke.
The Quester says that everything's smoke.
Mornings
Lately, there's been a good bit of morning prayer going on.
We get up and meet at about 6am every day, here, except on weekends...
On mondays and wednesdays, it's with folks down at North Pres. We had been meeting at the Sidewinder, but Kim over there changed to later hours and now we're at NP. It was neat meeting in a "neutral" Location where we were tucked into the back room, praying over Northside and cinci and our people... Now we're in a church prayer chapel. Nice, too. But I notice that the tone of our times has a different feel to it now... I'll ponder that and see what it is...
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we meet at 6am at the Chase House to pray. We started this off using the liturgy of Morning Prayer from the Book of common prayer, of the American Episcopal church (Anglican--Catholic Lite).
We were meeting in the Big Living Room, at first, but lately we're at the 12-man table because Brother Chris sleeps in the Big Living Room.
So there we are, precious souls at table with Jesus in the earlies, thanking and beseeching away... dark but for candle and lamp, praying from the Scriptures. We left off the daily lectionary, as the Spirit is moving so strongly in directing our Scripture reading by our journey together... The liturgy was in the way of the Word, a little.
On Fridays, we have Study, at the 12-Man Table. We're in the book of jeremiah. Third week, third chapter... The good and the bad are both ugly in Jeremiah...
I'll comment on our reading this morning on Lewminator...
We get up and meet at about 6am every day, here, except on weekends...
On mondays and wednesdays, it's with folks down at North Pres. We had been meeting at the Sidewinder, but Kim over there changed to later hours and now we're at NP. It was neat meeting in a "neutral" Location where we were tucked into the back room, praying over Northside and cinci and our people... Now we're in a church prayer chapel. Nice, too. But I notice that the tone of our times has a different feel to it now... I'll ponder that and see what it is...
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we meet at 6am at the Chase House to pray. We started this off using the liturgy of Morning Prayer from the Book of common prayer, of the American Episcopal church (Anglican--Catholic Lite).
We were meeting in the Big Living Room, at first, but lately we're at the 12-man table because Brother Chris sleeps in the Big Living Room.
So there we are, precious souls at table with Jesus in the earlies, thanking and beseeching away... dark but for candle and lamp, praying from the Scriptures. We left off the daily lectionary, as the Spirit is moving so strongly in directing our Scripture reading by our journey together... The liturgy was in the way of the Word, a little.
On Fridays, we have Study, at the 12-Man Table. We're in the book of jeremiah. Third week, third chapter... The good and the bad are both ugly in Jeremiah...
I'll comment on our reading this morning on Lewminator...
Thursday, November 3, 2005
Quick News/Next Steps
I'm working on turning orthopraxy into childsplay.
Zach is out of the military, finishing up his degree... Out soon...
JP is teaching at an orphanage school. He gets a lot of flack for being so creative and neat. (from admin)
Prari Moved into our third floor. She's contemplating nursing school and Africa.
Smitty is finishing up his degree this year, then looking into living missionally in our neighborhood... He's looking for a local job.
Danielmatt and Christine are gentle and kind, serving humbly at Chase House, loving everyone. She is a nanny and DM is a lab-tech at UC, working on becoming a cancer-researcher...
Judy is excelling at her job with CIEE (exchange students). She is internationally known for being really awesome!
Aaron is learning kickbutt BMX skills from Michael (pro rider with S&M) who just became a Xian... this is so good for aaron. He's 11, and last night Zach spotted him and Michael talking to the local drug dealers, showing them tricks on their bikes... My son is so cool! So unafraid! I'm so proud.
Seth is the cutest, orneriest little 4 year old. We just had his 4th at Chuck E. Cheese
Chris Deering is teaching at Life Skills Institute. I think he's assisting, rather. He's really into Hip-Hop.
Lauren is living on our third floor, too.
Ryan, her boyfriend is now myfriend, too. So great to have him all the time around here. I saw a pack of cigs in his pocket last night and wondered if he knows how much I love him, or if he thinks i look down on him... I really love this guy! and i smoke a pipe! you should switch to a pipe, Ryan!
Aaron, Chris Deering's nephew who came to stay here and finish up school at LFI, is excelling and is awesome with our neighbors...
Maurice got baptised. So did Monty. So did carlos...
These guys got baptised by the Baptist Chapel. They barely know anything. It's time to show and tell...
There is a lot more happening, pics to post, and stories to tell, but I find that i don't spend much time on the 'puter here lately...
Zach is out of the military, finishing up his degree... Out soon...
JP is teaching at an orphanage school. He gets a lot of flack for being so creative and neat. (from admin)
Prari Moved into our third floor. She's contemplating nursing school and Africa.
Smitty is finishing up his degree this year, then looking into living missionally in our neighborhood... He's looking for a local job.
Danielmatt and Christine are gentle and kind, serving humbly at Chase House, loving everyone. She is a nanny and DM is a lab-tech at UC, working on becoming a cancer-researcher...
Judy is excelling at her job with CIEE (exchange students). She is internationally known for being really awesome!
Aaron is learning kickbutt BMX skills from Michael (pro rider with S&M) who just became a Xian... this is so good for aaron. He's 11, and last night Zach spotted him and Michael talking to the local drug dealers, showing them tricks on their bikes... My son is so cool! So unafraid! I'm so proud.
Seth is the cutest, orneriest little 4 year old. We just had his 4th at Chuck E. Cheese
Chris Deering is teaching at Life Skills Institute. I think he's assisting, rather. He's really into Hip-Hop.
Lauren is living on our third floor, too.
Ryan, her boyfriend is now myfriend, too. So great to have him all the time around here. I saw a pack of cigs in his pocket last night and wondered if he knows how much I love him, or if he thinks i look down on him... I really love this guy! and i smoke a pipe! you should switch to a pipe, Ryan!
Aaron, Chris Deering's nephew who came to stay here and finish up school at LFI, is excelling and is awesome with our neighbors...
Maurice got baptised. So did Monty. So did carlos...
These guys got baptised by the Baptist Chapel. They barely know anything. It's time to show and tell...
There is a lot more happening, pics to post, and stories to tell, but I find that i don't spend much time on the 'puter here lately...
Then he told me about the significance
yesterday i spent the day with Andy, out at skateparks shooting video. it's the first time that i've had any footage since I was 15 or so... it's interesting, 17 years later to see myself skating at parks... bald, bearded, heavier... i love it...
i hope to drop a few pics here for you...
but the thing i have to say centers around my inner desire to justify the appalling wastefulness of my skate habit... you see, I skateboard almost every day. Whether it's down to the store on my longboard, or dropping by the local bowl for a turn on the way home from dropping kids at school... and it's risky. and it's kinda expensive: shoes, boards, bearings, bluejeans...
When i'm out there doing that, there's almost nothing being "made". No quantifiable result for the time spent... Ephesians has this verse in it:
"Redeem the time, for the days are evil."
It challenges me all the time as I stumble through life, praying that God guide me and work through me...
So, I'm looking at the skateboarding thing.
One time, this guy talked to me about working with a major City-Wide ministry to start a big skateboarding program. I don't want to. You see, when i am out there, just being me, with Jesus... I am nucular! (not nuclear, nucular)
I am nookyooler because Jesus really does Spiritually live in me! There is a real angelic presence that accompanies me! I'm a secret agent, under cover for Jesus... I look just like some old punker who never grew up! And I skate ok enough for kids to really remember me... forget that, though. Have you seen my beard? It's like sticking out like 4 inches straight out from my face now!
So, i've found a significance in this thing... the fact that, as a skater in whom Jesus lives, I carry the real presence of Xist in me to these people, I'm really on mission, every day I'm there... sometimes I get orders to speak, but mostly I skate joyfully, thankfully, pray, grieve, and hope for the day of His coming to the hearts of these people!
How often are these people with a pastor? I hear it all the time: "I've never even met a pastor before!" and "I've never known a pastor that wants to talk to me". These conversations rock my world! The fields ar full of people in need of love and truth! and there I am, out there!
i hope to drop a few pics here for you...
but the thing i have to say centers around my inner desire to justify the appalling wastefulness of my skate habit... you see, I skateboard almost every day. Whether it's down to the store on my longboard, or dropping by the local bowl for a turn on the way home from dropping kids at school... and it's risky. and it's kinda expensive: shoes, boards, bearings, bluejeans...
When i'm out there doing that, there's almost nothing being "made". No quantifiable result for the time spent... Ephesians has this verse in it:
"Redeem the time, for the days are evil."
It challenges me all the time as I stumble through life, praying that God guide me and work through me...
So, I'm looking at the skateboarding thing.
One time, this guy talked to me about working with a major City-Wide ministry to start a big skateboarding program. I don't want to. You see, when i am out there, just being me, with Jesus... I am nucular! (not nuclear, nucular)
I am nookyooler because Jesus really does Spiritually live in me! There is a real angelic presence that accompanies me! I'm a secret agent, under cover for Jesus... I look just like some old punker who never grew up! And I skate ok enough for kids to really remember me... forget that, though. Have you seen my beard? It's like sticking out like 4 inches straight out from my face now!
So, i've found a significance in this thing... the fact that, as a skater in whom Jesus lives, I carry the real presence of Xist in me to these people, I'm really on mission, every day I'm there... sometimes I get orders to speak, but mostly I skate joyfully, thankfully, pray, grieve, and hope for the day of His coming to the hearts of these people!
How often are these people with a pastor? I hear it all the time: "I've never even met a pastor before!" and "I've never known a pastor that wants to talk to me". These conversations rock my world! The fields ar full of people in need of love and truth! and there I am, out there!
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