On the weekend I went to this totally amazing conference and met up with other people who have a heart to reach out to people in areas of new spirituality, an area where so many of my friends are. It was awesome.
And what was so cool, and got me repenting from a new church point of view, was that these were Anglicans, Methodists and Baptists, as well as some new church people too (it was put on by the Church Army). So often I have been given the impression that the new church movement can very much feel it is the innovator, the one pushing the boundaries, and yet this is so not true.
But it takes me back to where God keep bringing me back to - of how disunified His church is. If we did connect more with other denominations, see and hear the amazing things they have going on too then we would be so much more directional. Again I can feel God stiring this in my heart as He brings us to a place, interestingly, of starting something new here - but that is another story.
Oh I am sure there are loads and loads I could say but it is all still rumbling around in my head. I could do with a few days retreat to get my head sorted, but have stepped into a really busy week. Check out for yourselves some of the other blogs that talk about it
2churchmice - which is John and Olive Drane who are pioneers in this field
Jonny Baker - who is very enigmatic
Sally Coleman -found under Eternal Echoes and Emerging Feminist (oh I do wish I could learn to put links on this blog!) who is just so straight and so lovely and so awesome
And I will pop others on as I get in touch with them
ASBO Jesus has a great cartoon which says "Todays message is....." and someone saying "But I haven't put last week's into practise yet" And I feel a bit like this. I need some time to assimilate it all, and I'm not sure if I've really yet got my head round the 24/7 conference back in Sept!!!
Thursday 30 April 2009
Wednesday 22 April 2009
Jesus Washed Their Feet
I'm reading my way through Velvet Elvis. Really designed to make one thing lots.
In Jesus day a disciple would be encouraged to walk to so their close their rabbi that they didn't miss a thing he said or did, but this meant by the end of the day they had his dust on their feet.
What struck me is one of the last things Jesus does for His disciples is to wash the dust of their feet. That would've been His dust from their feet. And it was like symbolically saying that now they were ready to do their own walk, be the leader and have others walking close enough to them to get their dust on their feet.
I wonder, as we talk about discipling how often we encourage people, even want people, to walk close enough to us to see everything we do and say? How often actually we like to do our discipleship groups and then go home because we get tired, want our own space, etc. And also there are things about us we don't want others to see.
I was once a part of a group that walk this route and it was hard work and painful to be both the discipler and the disciplee. We were encourage to disciple and be discipled as we walked the walk. It was also a time when I learned as much about myself as I learned about those around me. It was a chance to examine me as well!
Often I think we, in the modern western church, do more instructing and probably mentoring then we do really discipling as Jesus was talking about.
Again is this a word, a concept, like community that we like to talk about but in the end don't really want to whole heartely enter into and want it to totally take over out lives? Is it like I was saying yesterday, as were the 2churchmice, that we talk a lot about these things but don't live them out?
In Jesus day a disciple would be encouraged to walk to so their close their rabbi that they didn't miss a thing he said or did, but this meant by the end of the day they had his dust on their feet.
What struck me is one of the last things Jesus does for His disciples is to wash the dust of their feet. That would've been His dust from their feet. And it was like symbolically saying that now they were ready to do their own walk, be the leader and have others walking close enough to them to get their dust on their feet.
I wonder, as we talk about discipling how often we encourage people, even want people, to walk close enough to us to see everything we do and say? How often actually we like to do our discipleship groups and then go home because we get tired, want our own space, etc. And also there are things about us we don't want others to see.
I was once a part of a group that walk this route and it was hard work and painful to be both the discipler and the disciplee. We were encourage to disciple and be discipled as we walked the walk. It was also a time when I learned as much about myself as I learned about those around me. It was a chance to examine me as well!
Often I think we, in the modern western church, do more instructing and probably mentoring then we do really discipling as Jesus was talking about.
Again is this a word, a concept, like community that we like to talk about but in the end don't really want to whole heartely enter into and want it to totally take over out lives? Is it like I was saying yesterday, as were the 2churchmice, that we talk a lot about these things but don't live them out?
Tuesday 21 April 2009
Stop Talking and Get Going
So far it has been an interesting morning checking blogs - this is not all I have done this morning but you really do not want to know the rest. All very home schooling mum/busy at home wife things!
Anyway I was reading 2 Churchmice and they are talking about how we talk about doing community but don't get around to it as life can get too busy, then Brian in Ibiza is reminding me about the whole thing of not just intimacy but involvement too.
And what came to me is how often do we all sit around and have these amazing meetings about community, amazing meetings about being intimate with God and open and honest with each other, amazing meetings about being involved in things that we believe in, meetings about how we should be disciplining others. Am I the only one who talks but doesn't do? Who reads things but never puts them into practice? Who hears things but doesn't put them into practice?
I do hope I do more than I think I do but I also know how easy it is to pontificate rather than do.
Anyway I was reading 2 Churchmice and they are talking about how we talk about doing community but don't get around to it as life can get too busy, then Brian in Ibiza is reminding me about the whole thing of not just intimacy but involvement too.
And what came to me is how often do we all sit around and have these amazing meetings about community, amazing meetings about being intimate with God and open and honest with each other, amazing meetings about being involved in things that we believe in, meetings about how we should be disciplining others. Am I the only one who talks but doesn't do? Who reads things but never puts them into practice? Who hears things but doesn't put them into practice?
I do hope I do more than I think I do but I also know how easy it is to pontificate rather than do.
Friday 17 April 2009
God Involved in Creation
I had a thought in the car yesterday - Ian was talking about global warming and the worry that daffodils are enjoying the warmer weather and so are coming out earlier but there was a fear that the insects that pollinate them may only come out when there are enough daylight hours, so there was the fear that daffodils would not get pollinated and so would cease to exist.
Now what I thought was - if God can heal people's sight, grow legs, heal hearts, also heal emotional hurts and pains, release us from generational stuff that drags us down when we pray, then why can't we get praying for creation and expect God to start healing that?
I have a great heart for "and then I will heal their land" from Chronicles and other places, and have been involved in praying out curses from the land due to awful things that have happened, but again I wonder if I have missed some of this. I think too of the beginning of that verse which says "if my people will humble themselves and pray....." and I do wonder if with most of the climate change issues we have very much said this is man's fault for the awful way he has treated the planet so we as humans need to putting it right. So we work hard on what we can do, what we should give up, recycle, etc and all of these things I totally believe we should be doing, but do we really pray that God can change the things that are out of sorts because of our own selfish ways?
In fact how much of the bad stuff in this world is due to our selfishness? Most of it really, though we don't like to admit that with disease and deformities, but still.... So maybe we could get praying for God to sort out the mess we have made of this planet? and some of it will be technology, but I think some of it may just be God altering the DNA in certain things so they can survive.
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray............"
Now what I thought was - if God can heal people's sight, grow legs, heal hearts, also heal emotional hurts and pains, release us from generational stuff that drags us down when we pray, then why can't we get praying for creation and expect God to start healing that?
I have a great heart for "and then I will heal their land" from Chronicles and other places, and have been involved in praying out curses from the land due to awful things that have happened, but again I wonder if I have missed some of this. I think too of the beginning of that verse which says "if my people will humble themselves and pray....." and I do wonder if with most of the climate change issues we have very much said this is man's fault for the awful way he has treated the planet so we as humans need to putting it right. So we work hard on what we can do, what we should give up, recycle, etc and all of these things I totally believe we should be doing, but do we really pray that God can change the things that are out of sorts because of our own selfish ways?
In fact how much of the bad stuff in this world is due to our selfishness? Most of it really, though we don't like to admit that with disease and deformities, but still.... So maybe we could get praying for God to sort out the mess we have made of this planet? and some of it will be technology, but I think some of it may just be God altering the DNA in certain things so they can survive.
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray............"
Sunday 12 April 2009
One Size Fits All??
I am tired of seeing young people, and older people too, fall away from church, and sometimes from God too because they do not fit. I am tired of seeing people hurt because they are different from the crowd, and that they are not made, or not able, to shape themselves to fit in. God made them this way and we should honor those few who are different.
Yes I know we are all different but some do fit or just about.
I have seen this happen in big church and in small church and is university Christian unions where there is a tried and trusted program that does work for the majority, but for the few they want and need something different, but those running the program either are not willing or just do not understand about bending and changing.
Jesus looked at everyone differently. He went all the way across the Sea of Galilee to heal the man known as Legion. Ever healing that is recorded that He did is different.
We talk about pray about "give us the lost, give us the marginalized" but I just wonder if we do not know yet how to deal with the lost and marginalized in our churches already which is why God hasn't opened the floodgates, which He could if at any time, bringing in those with real problems.
Yes I know they come in in trickles, some stay and some go. Do we ever ask why?
I have prayed for a heart for the lost and God seems to be opening my eyes to the lost in our churches. I now need to pray and ask what He wants me to do do with what I see. I cannot believe God shows things without an plan on what next. I suppose again it is about being ready.
I am not pointing any fingers, as I see this as an across the boarder thing in so many Western churches I have had the privilege to be a part of.
Whilst walking the dog this morning and pondering this I felt God saying we need to be be praying for these people, in fact for all people who come to know Him, to find out where they do fit in the Body. Not in just in our congregation but we need to be bold enough to know what else is out there in the whole Body, to stop seeing just our congregations as a whole Body, and be willing to take people, lead them, release them, to the places where they will fit. But that this will mean again more time, more time spent getting to know people, their hopes and dreams, their gifts and talents, but also getting to know more of what is out there in the larger Body.
It is a bit like the discipleship thing - it is something that will take up lots of time and energy with very little noticeable reward in this world.
Yes I know we are all different but some do fit or just about.
I have seen this happen in big church and in small church and is university Christian unions where there is a tried and trusted program that does work for the majority, but for the few they want and need something different, but those running the program either are not willing or just do not understand about bending and changing.
Jesus looked at everyone differently. He went all the way across the Sea of Galilee to heal the man known as Legion. Ever healing that is recorded that He did is different.
We talk about pray about "give us the lost, give us the marginalized" but I just wonder if we do not know yet how to deal with the lost and marginalized in our churches already which is why God hasn't opened the floodgates, which He could if at any time, bringing in those with real problems.
Yes I know they come in in trickles, some stay and some go. Do we ever ask why?
I have prayed for a heart for the lost and God seems to be opening my eyes to the lost in our churches. I now need to pray and ask what He wants me to do do with what I see. I cannot believe God shows things without an plan on what next. I suppose again it is about being ready.
I am not pointing any fingers, as I see this as an across the boarder thing in so many Western churches I have had the privilege to be a part of.
Whilst walking the dog this morning and pondering this I felt God saying we need to be be praying for these people, in fact for all people who come to know Him, to find out where they do fit in the Body. Not in just in our congregation but we need to be bold enough to know what else is out there in the whole Body, to stop seeing just our congregations as a whole Body, and be willing to take people, lead them, release them, to the places where they will fit. But that this will mean again more time, more time spent getting to know people, their hopes and dreams, their gifts and talents, but also getting to know more of what is out there in the larger Body.
It is a bit like the discipleship thing - it is something that will take up lots of time and energy with very little noticeable reward in this world.
Tuesday 7 April 2009
God is so great!
Had an interesting talk with a friend last night and am just amazed how God has His own way of doing things!
We had invited him to a Christian healing meeting and when he came we were really disappointed that he got involved with praying for people and catching them as the Spirit took them out. We were really hoping God gave him a big blast!
Well it turns out that God did give him a big blast, has really changed some stuff inside of him, his wife is really happy, and he is hearing lots of amazing things from God.
Just made me think - esp as I do all this motivational giftings stuff how easily we can miss with God wants to do with people and how God wants to do it in His way. This friend is so obviously a servant motivated person, which I missed as he is a high "C" so very organised and precise. But God had to deal with him whilst he was serving or he would never have got touch.
Thank you God for being in charge
We had invited him to a Christian healing meeting and when he came we were really disappointed that he got involved with praying for people and catching them as the Spirit took them out. We were really hoping God gave him a big blast!
Well it turns out that God did give him a big blast, has really changed some stuff inside of him, his wife is really happy, and he is hearing lots of amazing things from God.
Just made me think - esp as I do all this motivational giftings stuff how easily we can miss with God wants to do with people and how God wants to do it in His way. This friend is so obviously a servant motivated person, which I missed as he is a high "C" so very organised and precise. But God had to deal with him whilst he was serving or he would never have got touch.
Thank you God for being in charge
Wednesday 1 April 2009
The Point to Further Education
It struck me in mid conversation with friends the other day, as we were looking at a college prospectus, talking of what we thought our kids might do next, and someone said about how in Japan they don't do art or dance type further education; that it is all mainly maths, science and business studies based.
What struck me was that in Japan they are encouraging their young people into careers that will further their country whereas we do encourage ours to go for something they'll enjoy and "get something from" whether this leads to a career or not.
Should we be looking to further education for pleasure as an individual or should we be looking at something that will work towards the good of the whole??
What struck me was that in Japan they are encouraging their young people into careers that will further their country whereas we do encourage ours to go for something they'll enjoy and "get something from" whether this leads to a career or not.
Should we be looking to further education for pleasure as an individual or should we be looking at something that will work towards the good of the whole??
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