IDC - John 7-11

Last night at IDC we talked about Jesus announcing himself as the Water of Life and the Light of the World. In John chapters 7-9, the timing of what Jesus is talking about takes place during the Feast of Tabernacles. In researching this passage of scripture, I found a couple of really great explanations of why Jesus called himself these things.

During Jesus' day, the participants saved up water and each day they would pour it out in the temple in remembrance of the water being poured from the Rock, which supplied for the Israelites in the desert. Picture Jesus standing in the temple as this ritual took place and declaring "Anyone who thirsts let Him drink of Me..." No wonder people got riled up whenever he started talking like this. He was comparing Himself (rightly so) to the Rock that followed the Israelites in the desert.

Also during that time, they erected four bowls with numerous wicks burning brightly for the first seven days of the Feast. These were massive candelabras, 75 feet tall. On the last day of the feast, they would extinguish the light to remind themselves that these were not the true lights, but only point to it. Imagine again, Jesus declaring to everyone at the feast that He was that true light of the world.

Both of these events took place on the last day of the feast.

Jesus was a master of taking what was happening around him and making it into a spiritual lesson that unpacks it so everyone can understand. This should be our prayer that we, like Jesus, can help others to connect with God through the events of our everyday life.

Special thanks to www.parkstreet.org/pulpit/studyq04/061106.shmtl

IDC - John 1-6

At our IDC (Intentional Discipleship Community) meeting last week, we started discussing the first 6 chapters of John. We're trying to work our way through the Gospels and Acts and Romans. With the Gospels, we're approaching them with these questions: What do we see Jesus concerned about? How do they apply to me? What can I take away from these stories of Jesus' life?

Some things we talked about this past week:

* It seemed that no matter how many supernatural things Jesus did and said, people still had trouble doubting him, or worse, wanting more of the flash than the substance. A good question to ask ourselves was: is that how we would respond if we were there then, or better yet, how do we respond to him now?

* Jesus was not concerned necessarily about drawing attention to himself. Like at the wedding in Cana, he only shared his miracle working power with the servants and his disciples. Are we drawn to spiritual experiences so it looks good on us, or that people will think we're something special?

* Jesus was always concerned about the marginalized, those who could be taken advantage of, the ones who the culture left out. Example, turning over the money-changers' tables in the Temple, speaking to the woman at the well, healing the man at the pool. He never seemed to care what the PC police thought of his actions. He healed on the Sabbath, he broke the rules of engagement with people outside of the Jewish culture, and he cared more about what God's opinion was than that of the religious elite. What motivates us? How much do we allow others to shape who we are or who we aren't by their opinions or judgments of us?

* Jesus challenged the religious to look beyond their understanding of the Law to see the principles of life behind them. Religion was not to be a box, or a prison, but a relationship with God and his children. The needs of others were more important than the religious rules or regulations of the day.

* How would we respond to Jesus if he came to earth as he did back then, or if we had lived in his day? Would we have followed or doubted?

Any thoughts?

off-road review

I want to share a review of a great new book for emerging leaders and those seeking to understand how to minister to our culture today. It is called: "Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders" by Dr. Earl Creps.

I have been reading emerging ministry books, postmodern ministry books, etc. for about 5 years now and it is what has helped to define me and remind me that I'm not crazy for feeling the way I do about church and Christianity as we know it today. This book is one of those books that have helped to redefine me once again.

After reading so much stuff that comes out, you begin to hear the same things over and over again, but this book is fresh. It is packed full of truth and application, not just a bunch of observations from an ivory tower.

I appreciate Dr. Creps' ability to be a "doctor" but not sound like one. I appreciate his ability also to be humble in his observations of himself as well as this new world/culture in which we live. I love his handling of ministering to the "sought." Not the lost, or the heathen, or the sinners, but the "sought," because we have so forgotten with our own spiritual lives and ministries, that there are whole lot of people out there that the Father is looking for, and He wants us on the search party.I also appreciate the separation of the personal and organizational "disciplines." So many books focus only on the organization or only on the personal, but for any ministry to have balance, one must have both arenas of disciplines operating.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who truly cares to make an impact on the world as it is now. The world has changed and it's time the church take notice. If you haven't noticed it, or want to know about it, check this book out. Maybe you're already involved in "emerging/postmodern" ministry, this book will help to connect you and solidify you in understanding who you are and where we're going. Thanks, Dr. Creps. You have helped me.

new beginnings

Today marks the beginning of a new blog. I feel like I’ve had a dozen blogs over the last couple of years, but I’ve only had 3 in maybe 5 years. But this one has new significance. Like everything else in my life, it’s time to make a change. Over the last six months, I have found myself leaving the church I spent 13 years in as member and 11 years as a staff pastor. I have found myself no longer deriving my income from ministry and after a weird period of about 10 weeks, I am now in a job in “the real world.” My family and I have settled in a new church, outside of our tradition of charismatic/Pentecostalism for the first time in over 20 years. Yet through all of this upheaval, we have found that God does not and has not changed. In fact, He’s become more real to us in a tangible, practical way than any of the “spiritual” experiences before have ever made Him.

We are on a new road now, so it is appropriate we share this new road with new, as well as old, friends. We are building a group of people who want to know God and love Him without religiosity that teases to know God, but only siphons out a bit of God when it is convenient. I will try to share some of the things we’re learning in this community. After we’ve been together for a while, we’re going to pray about eventually becoming a church, but right now, we’re just friends with our Bibles and hearts open. Follow along the journey if you would like. The more companions the better.

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that. For what the world needs are men and women who have come alive." Gil Bailie