Things Break

By Tobin Marsh

This side of the resurrection
In the brokenness, defeat and sorrow
Is where lie all the deep lessons of my life.

Nothing wants to be broken,
And yet everything must be broken.
To never break is to lie stagnant and eventually die.

Things break.

I break now and again.
Picking up the pieces can be an act
Of profound faith.

Source: Servant Stories

Converted Everyday

By Anonymous

Be converted to love every day.
Change all your energies,
all your potential,
into selfless gifts for the other person.
Then you yourself will be changed from within
and through you
God’s kingdom will break into the world.

Source: Rule for a New Brother

John Piper at Passion

Here's the transcript from one of John Piper's talks at Passion last week. The message was titled "How to Deal with the Guilt of Sexual Failure for the Glory of Christ and His Global Cause."

Article by Gordon Cosby

Gordon Cosby started The Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC, in 1946. I first heard about this church about three years ago, and it has had a profound influence. Actually, it was through them that I first heard of the Inward and Outward Journeys. I felt that this was such a simple way of explaining the church.

I'm happy that Mr. Cosby is still writing. Below are excerpts from a new article that he's just written. Here's the link for the entire article.

To neglect context is literally fatal to a living faith. For me, in the context of my life and era, I am finding that there are two ‘givens’ - necessary components - for a true embodiment of God’s community.

First, I will be part of a small family group of extreme ‘opposites’ - people who represent diversity in terms of race and ethnicity, economics, education, personality and temperament, in all ways - for the express purpose of letting our inner lives be known by one another. This means I will listen to the pain of unhealed wounds, really taking it in to my own inner being and bearing it with others, not shaking it off as soon as I’m able to forget it. This small group becomes for me my primary family. We represent all whom Jesus loves and is seeking to reconcile, bringing us together in deep intimacy.

In this small family, we not only hear each other’s pain and hurt but we also seek to lessen that pain in concrete ways. Together we lift the extreme heaviness of one another’s burdens, and in this way participate in lifting the misery of the ages. We also talk with each other about the pain brought on by the disparity of wealth and privilege and poverty among us, the wounds we’ve experienced through racial hatred and our inability to forgive and ask to be forgiven. We share our resources of money and wisdom and time to ease the pressure of carrying our burdens alone. As we face ourselves and each other in all our rawness and yet don’t run away, we move beyond the ‘principle of reconciliation’ and find a way to be family.

Second, I will be a witness of this good news of reconciliation - telling others of Jesus, who IS the good news. I find that most of us talk more freely of justice, peace, righteousness, being enemies of Empire and lovers of the poor than we do of being lovers and followers of Jesus. We easily ask each other, “How are you doing these days?” but the more important question, “How are you and Jesus doing?” goes unsaid.

Spiritual Transformation

I spent a little time this weekend organizing my office. I ran across this quote that a friend of mine gave me awhile back. If I remember correctly, it's from Dallas Willard. If it's not verbatim Dallas Willard, it's definitely inspired by him.

Spiritual transformation into Christlikeness requires conscious, clear-headed and public commitment to living as a disciple of Jesus Christ. That is, to a decision to give our lives to him as his constant students, learning from him how to live all aspects of our lives as he would live them. Evangelism should be understood as a call to receive the gift of such a life.

More About Project Mustard Seed

When we talk about Project Mustard Seed, we talk about three journeys that we are on.

1. The Upward Journey
This is the journey of spiritual formation. We have been created in the image of God, and for relationship with God. We follow Jesus as our King and our Teacher. We help others come to know and love this God. The Scripture that comes to mind is Matthew 22:37-38, which says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."

2. The Inward Journey
We were never meant to walk this journey of faith alone. Spiritual formation cannot happen apart from community. We need people around us who love us, encourage us, admonish us, and above all, urge us towards maturity. A key verse for us is John 13:34-35, in which Jesus said, "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other” (The Message).

3. The Outward Journey
The outward journey is one of mission. Just as Jesus gave His life away for the world, so we are to do the same. The Church is the called out, sent forth people of God. The second commandment that Jesus gave in Matthew 22 fits well here: "and love your neighbor as yourself." The question, "who is my neighbor?" must obviously be asked. We are called to love our neighbor across the street as well as our neighbor across the world. We cannot afford to be ignorant of the world's problems. We believe that the Church is called to be on the front lines of ending poverty, disease, and injustice.


Even as I post this, I am excited to be a part of a community like this. Todd Hunter defines the church as this (I think he got it from Dallas Willard):
"The cooperative friends of Jesus, seeking to live lives of constant creative goodness through the power of the Holy Spirit, for the sake of the world."

I think this is a great definition of a community that I'd like to be a part of. I'll probably update this posting from time to time.

If you're at all familiar with the Church of the Saviour, you'll see that we've been influenced by their life and their writings.