Acts 11:1-18

Word traveled fast back to Jerusalem about what had taken place in Caesarea, and when Peter arrived back home, everyone wanted answers. This had apparently been an issue before, because Luke explains that there was already a "Circumcision Party" - those who believed that a person must become a Jew (get circumcised) before becoming a follower of Jesus. It actually makes sense that they would believe this, because up to this point all of them were Jews. They didn't understand that Jesus had died for Gentiles as well.

Those of the circumcision party were not happy. They felt that Peter had gone against the Torah (Jewish law). Peter explained what happened. This hadn't been his plan. He had no idea that this was going to happen. But he did hear from God, and he was obedient - and look what God had done! He shared with the apostles (and all the brothers and sisters) what had happened, then ended his story with, "If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed int he Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way" (11:17)?

Then there was silence. I imagine that it was perhaps a long period of silence. What was the response going to be? No doubt they were just as perplexed as Peter had been when he was on the roof. They could have easily dismissed Peter, but there was one problem: they knew him. At least ten of these men had walked with Peter for the previous eight years. He wasn't crazy.

Their response was to glorify God and proclaim that God had granted "repentance that leads to life" to the Gentiles as well as the Jews!

Acts 10

While Peter was in Joppa, a Roman centurion named Cornelius was in his home in Caesarea (40 miles north of Joppa). It was the ninth hour (3:00), and so he was praying (devout Jews, as well as God-fearing Gentiles prayed three times a day: 9:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and sunset). Here's what we know about Cornelius:

• He and his entire household feared God
  
• He gave generously
• He prayed continually to God
• He belonged to a group known as the Italian Cohort (for some reason I think of Tony Soprano when I hear that)

During his prayer time he saw a vision. An angel told him to send for a man named Simon Peter. He didn't tell him why and he didn't give him any more information. He just vanished. Nonetheless, Cornelius had never experienced anything like this, so he obeyed. He sent two servants and a soldier to Joppa to find this man known as Simon Peter.

The next day, while the three men were traveling to Joppa, Peter was on the roof praying (I guess he was a little more devout than Cornelius, because he was praying at noon as well). He became hungry, and while he was praying he too saw a vision. The vision was of a great sheet descending from heaven. The sheet was filled with all kinds of animals, and a voice spoke, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." It doesn't sound like a big deal to us, but to Peter, this was ridiculous. Never before had Peter eaten any animal that God had called unclean (for a description of what God called clean and unclean, see Leviticus 11). He of course made this known to the voice. The voice said it again. Peter responded again. The voice said it a third time, and this time Peter hesitated before responding.

Remember the night Jesus was crucified? Peter denied his Lord three times. And then, after Jesus was raised from the dead, His restoration process for Peter involved asking him the question, "Do you love me?" three times. The "voice" now has his attention, but Peter is utterly perplexed. He acknowledges that the voice he has heard is God's, but it makes no sense. It is as if everything he has ever known is being challenged.

At that moment there was a knock on the door. The three men had found Peter. Peter came down and said, "I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?" They explained what had happened to Cornelius, and asked him to come with them back to Caesarea. He agreed, so the next day they began their travel back to Caesarea.

Cornelius was waiting for them, and he had invited his oikos (his friends and family). When Peter arrived, he explained to them that three days ago, he wouldn't have been caught dead in a Gentile's home, but now God had revealed to him that He shows no partiality, and accepts all who come to Him, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Peter went straight to proclaiming Jesus, and as he did this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening. The Jewish believers who had been traveled to Caesarea with Peter were dumbfounded. They never expected the Holy Spirit to fall on Gentiles! Peter, who had gotten it by now, commanded that they should be baptized.

Acts 9:32-43

I remember hearing Neil Cole say that after Stephen's murder, everyone left except the ones whose job description was leaving - the Apostles, or "Sent ones." God used persecution to get them all out of Jerusalem. It worked on everyone but the leaders. It seems that they hunkered down when persecution came. However, now we see Peter leaving Jerusalem and traveling twenty miles to Lydda. While there he healed a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been confined to a bed for the last eight years. Luke says that everyone who lived there "turned to the Lord" when they saw this.

From there he traveled another twenty miles to the coast city of Joppa. He traveled there because some of the followers of the Way from that city heard that he was in Lydda and came for him. A lady named Tabitha (Dorcas), who, Luke explains, was "full of good works and charity", had become ill and had just died. They thought that perhaps Peter might be able to do something. Peter came to Joppa, went upstairs to where Tabitha was, and commanded her lifeless body to arise. Immediately she was filled with life, and he presented her to the community. Once again Luke describes how this affected the city: "And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord" (9:42).

Acts 9:1-31

Luke uses strong imagery to help us understand Saul. In 8:3 we see Saul "ravaging the church", and now, in 9:1, Luke writes that Saul was "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord." Saul went to the high priest in Jerusalem and asked if he could take care of the problem they had. He wanted to stop these followers of the Way more than anything.

As he was heading to Damascus, he had an encounter with Jesus, the One he was really persecuting. Jesus knocked Saul off his horse, blinded him, and told him to go into the city and he would then be told what to do. Jesus then spoke to Ananias, one of the followers of the Way. When Jesus told him His plan, Ananias questioned Him. Saul was very dangerous. Why would Jesus want him to welcome this murder in. Jesus' response was that Saul was His chosen instrument who would carry His name to the Gentiles.

Ananias found Saul exactly where Jesus had said he would be. He laid hands on him and prayed, causing him to regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. He was then baptized.

Saul stayed there for a few days, proclaiming in the synagogue that Jesus was the Christ. People were amazed because they knew who Saul was. After a few days, though, the Jews tried to kill him, but he escaped. Some time later he returned to Jerusalem. When he got there he went to see the disciples, but they were afraid. Apparently Jesus had not let them in on this turn of events. Barnabas, however, believed Saul's story and convinced the others to allow him in. Pretty soon the Jews in Jerusalem tried to kill Saul, so he was sent to Tarsus, where he was from.

The Jewish leaders had to be acting out of fear by this point. They had no idea what to do. All they knew now was that their prized pupil was now a member of this heretical sect.

Luke ends this section by saying, "So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied" (9:31). This is a beautiful statement. Ever since Stephen was murdered, there was anything but peace. There was great fear, even among the leaders of the Way. But now Jesus had intervened and transformed the heart of the man at the center of that fear. Saul was now a follower of Jesus. Jesus had brought them peace. They were in awe of Jesus, and this led to a time of being built (maturity) up but also of reproduction. Fear never leads to maturity or reproduction, but peace and awe do.

Acts 8:4-40

Philip, one of the seven, went to Samaria and proclaimed Christ to those he met. He healed the sick and cast out demons. Luke says that the crowds "with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip" (8:6). One would think that this might have something to do with Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman a few years earlier (John 4).

A sorcerer named Simon watched Philip and was jealous. For many years he was the one with great powers, and everyone gave him attention. Even so, he was curious about the two-fold message that Philip was preaching: (1) good news about the kingdom of God and (2) the name of Jesus Christ. Many believed and were baptized, among them Simon the Sorcerer.

Word quickly spread back to Jerusalem, and Peter and John were sent to see it for themselves: the Samaritans had believed! They also came to lay hands on these new believers and pray that they might receive the Holy Spirit. When Simon observed this, he quietly went to Peter and John and offered them money if he too could do this. Peter rebuked him and warned him to repent. Simon obeyed.

Some time after this an angel appeared to Philip and told him to go back towards Jerusalem and down to Gaza, which was a coastal city. He didn't tell him why, and Philip didn't ask. He just obeyed. On his way he ran into an Ethiopian eunich who worked for Queen Candace. He was on his way back from Jerusalem, where he had journeyed to worship. Philip saw that he had the Scriptures opened to Isaiah. Luke points out that the Spirit told Philip to go closer to the Ethiopian's chariot. Again, Philip obeyed.

Philip then asked a simple question: "Do you understand what you are reading?" The Ethiopian was obviously hungry to know truth, but indeed did not understand what he was reading. In fact, he said that he would never understand it unless he had someone to help him understand. The chariot stopped, Philip got in, and he looked to see what the Ethiopian was reading. It was from Isaiah 53. Luke says that Philip began with this Scripture and told the Ethiopian the good news about Jesus.

Right about this time they drove by a small body of water. The Ethiopian asked Philip if he could be baptized. Right after he came out of the water, he looked around and Philip was gone. He had vanished. Philip found himself in Azotus, about twenty miles north of Gaza. Understandably a little excited, Philip headed back to Caesarea (another 40-60 miles north), preaching the gospel to all he came in contact with.

Acts 7-8:3

Chapter 7 contains Stephen's speech before his accusers. The speech can be divided into two parts. In the first part, which consists of verses 1-50, Stephen recounts God's working through his people from the time of Abraham through David and Solomon. He has the crowd's attention. He believes the same things that they believe. Onlookers no doubt wondered what the big deal was. The "big deal" begins in verse 51. That's when things get ugly.

After giving this eloquent history, Stephen rebukes the crowd by saying, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit." He accuses them of murdering the prophets who announced the coming of Jesus, and then they murdering Jesus, the Son of God.

At this the crowd has had enough. They rush Stephen, carry him out of the city, and stone him to death.

No doubt there were other Jesus-followers watching. Imagine the thoughts going through their head at this point. The fun and games are over. This is really serious! Our friend has just been killed. Maybe they even questioned how God could allow something like this to happen.

Luke mentions something else that at the time seems pretty incidental - that those stoning Stephen laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. This is incidental because we've never heard of Saul before. We're about to hear a lot about him, though. Saul was a devout Jew. He had been raised by the right parents, educated in the right schools, and apprenticed under the right teachers (for more on Saul's background, see Philippians 3:4-6, Acts 22:3, & Galatians 1:13-14). Now he was about to be unleashed on the Church.

After Stephen's speech, most of the crowd believed that he was indeed a heretic who had to be stopped. This was all that the religious leaders needed. They commissioned Saul to go throughout Jerusalem and arrest men and women from the Church. After five years of relative peace, the Church was now about to go "underground." Luke mentions that all but the apostles fled Jerusalem. We will soon discover, though, that this too was a part of God's plan.

Acts 6

Things have been going so well for so long, and now the grumbling begins. The Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) believed that their widows were not being taken care of in the same manner as the Hebrew widows, and they wanted something to be done. So the Twelve gathered together and decided that if they were going to have time to do what they were supposed to be doing (prayer and preaching), then they were going to have to raise up other leaders to help sort out of the the messiness of community.

I find it interesting that the Twelve do not select seven men. Instead, they call on the community to select seven men. They did give them qualifications, though:

• A good reputation
• Wisdom
• Spirit-filled

Because of this delegation, Luke points out that the "word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith" (6:7).

Side note: This was a huge turn of events. The priests were the primary persecutors of the early church at this time. Another side note: I love the phrase "became obedient to the faith."

One of the seven men chosen was Stephen. Luke describes him as a man who was "full of grace and power." He had been performing signs and wonders, and therefore had attracted a large crowd. It also attracted opposition. One day that opposition accused Stephen of blaspheming God. Stephen was seized and brought before the council.

The Gospel of Home-Cooked Meals

From Ben Arment's blog, quoting Francis Shaeffer...

Don't start with a big program. Don't suddenly think you can add to your church budget and begin. Start personally and start in your home. I dare you. I dare you in the name of Jesus Christ. Do what I am going to suggest. Begin by opening your home for community…

L'Abri is costly... In about the first three years of L'Abri all our wedding presents were wiped out. Our sheets were torn. Holes were burned in our rugs. Indeed once a whole curtain almost burned up from somebody smoking in our living room...

How many times has this happened to you? You see, you don't need a big program. You don't have to convince your session or board. All you have to do is open your home and begin. And there is no place in God's world where there are no people who will come and share a home as long as it is a real home.

Acts 5:17-42

The high priest was still observing what was going on, and now knew that something had to be done. Keep in mind that to him, this was a group of radicals who threatened to destroy their faith. He had the apostles arrested again and threw them in the public prison. The next morning he came to interrogate them but they were not there. Luke mentions that everyone was "greatly perplexed" (5:24). What they didn't know was that during the night, an angel had rescued them and told them to go back to the temple and to continue to "speak to the people all the words of this Life" (5:20).

Sure enough, the apostles were outside continuing to do what they had been arrested for. The high priest was furious. He accused them of "intend(ing) to bring this man's blood upon us" (5:28). This was the heart of his concern. He feared for his life. Peter took the opportunity to once again rebuke them.

Now the high priest wanted to kill Peter and the other apostles, but a Pharisee named Gamaliel stepped in. He reminded the council of others who had led rebellions, but who had failed. His suggestion: "keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God" (5:38-39). They beat the apostles, warned them to stop preaching about Jesus, and sent them home. The apostles rejoiced that they "were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name" (5:41).

Acts 5:1-16

Up to this point, the overwhelming response to what God has been doing has been wonder and awe. Something is about to happen that will turn that response into fear.

There was a married couple in the church named Ananias and Sapphira. Just as many others were doing, they sold a piece of property and gave the proceeds to the community. What they didn't tell Peter and the others was that they had secretly held back some of the money for themselves. When Ananias came to Peter, God revealed to Peter what Ananias had done. He asked, "Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit." This money was theirs. They did not have to give any of it. Yet they claimed to be giving all of it.

After Peter finished speaking, Ananias fell to the ground dead. Three hours later Sapphira came in. Peter asked her if they gave all of the proceeds. She lied and, like her husband, fell to the ground dead.

I am guilty of far greater sins than this. They no doubt had done far worse than this over the course of their lives. Why was the judgment this harsh? As John Calvin said, "they hoped to give a little to God but get credit for a lot." It's important to remember that God looks at the heart, not just the actions. Perhaps Ananias and Sapphira (A & S) were present when Barnabas gave the proceeds from the sale of a property. No doubt there was a great deal of talk about Barnabas. Perhaps A & S wanted there to be a lot of talk about them. They wanted people to talk about how great they were. After they sold the property, they began thinking, "It won't hurt if we keep a little of this for ourselves, will it?"

One could also make the point that God was purifying His people for their own good. The Church was about to face some tough times, so holiness and purity were essential. Giving a lecture about holiness and purity is one thing. Seeing people die because of a lack thereof is something completely different.

The other effect of this is that many more (multitudes) believed and were added to the Church.

Raising Little Urbanites

Jason just sent me this article. It's from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan.

Here's what comprises the typical American dream: Getting married, having 2.5 kids, and buying the house with the white picket fence, two-car garage, and well-manicured lawn. Here's what it usually doesn't include: hauling groceries up a fourth-floor walkup; dodging taxis, harried pedestrians and street vendors during the morning commute; and paying a premium for an apartment considered a walk-in closet anywhere else.

Read the rest of the article.

Acts 4

Peter had just given another scathing rebuke to the crowd, and things finally began to get a little scary for he and John. The priests and Sadducees were not too happy about being rebuked like this, especially by a fisherman. They decided to put them in jail overnight, thinking that this would shut them up. Luke points out, though, that during this time more and more people were coming to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and now the number of believers had grown to around 5000 men. That is amazing!

The next morning Peter and John were summoned before Caiaphas the high priest. Not at all intimated, Peter launched into another rebuke, reminding them once again that it was they who had murdered the Son of God. Luke writes, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished" (4:13). They had nothing to say. Furthermore, then man who had been healed was also in the room. There was nothing to say! In a last ditch effort to save face, they "warned" Peter and John to quit talking about Jesus...or else. Peter responded, "...for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard" (4:20).

After they were released they went to see their friends and shared what had taken place. This led into a time of prayer that ended with the ground shaking: "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus" (4:29-30).

Notice that they did not ask God to keep them safe. They did not ask for God to deliver them from the same people who had killed their Master. No, they asked for boldness. They also asked for God to do what only He could do. They asked for signs and wonders.

Chapter 4 ends with another beautiful account of community. Luke writes, "no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common" (4:32). Luke goes on to say that there were no needy people among them. The reason: People who owned property and land were selling it and giving it to the apostles for distribution.

Church Planting for Dummies

Is that title taken yet?

On my other blog, I'm starting to put together an administrative procedures manual (all three of those words sound so boring; I'll have to think of new terminology). We want to be a church that starts other churches, and I'm hoping that this becomes a practical tool for church planters. I know that Jason and I would have benefited greatly from something like this.

Prison

Here are some excerpts from a new article in Christianity Today.

698,000 inmates were released from prison in the last 12 months. Most will be behind bars again by 2009. How can we keep more from returning?

Some 2.2 million people (one in every 136 U.S. residents) are doing time in prison, according to FBI statistics. Add to that number another 4 million or more on probation, parole, or awaiting trial in local jails. This past year, prison populations grew 4.7 percent—the largest annual growth spurt in nearly ten years.

As prison populations have soared, the number of prisoners who are freed has also increased significantly. Prisons free at least 600,000 each year.

But most freed inmates have few marketable job skills. The lack of a job is a major risk factor for an ex-offender to commit a new crime. Researchers say the repeat-offense rate nationally is stubbornly high, at more than 60 percent.

The Justice Department also recently noted that black men make up 41 percent of all inmates, and Hispanic women are 1.6 times more likely than white women to be imprisoned.

Pat Nolan, head of Justice Fellowship (a PF-affiliate), told CT, "Locking up prisoners without doing anything to change their moral perspective or give them skills to live crime-free when they are released has made us less safe rather than more.

PF's Earley told CT that he believes new approaches are required to attack the chronic problem of repeat offenders. Worship services in prisons are not enough. "What is increasingly needed today," he said, "is a one-on-one relationship and helping them with their life."

Release from prison is when the hard work begins. "The first 60 to 90 days is the real tipping point as to whether they're going to make it or not," said Earley.

You can read the entire article here.

Acts 3

One day Peter and John were going to the temple for prayer (ninth hour prayer). A man lame from birth sat at the gate every day asking for money. As Peter and John entered the gate, the man asked them for money. Apparently he didn't make eye contact with them. He just spoke the words. This was probably the norm. Peter said, "Look at us." Eye contact is powerful in and of itself. But then Peter, revealing that his transformation was still taking shape, told the man that they didn't have any money to give him, but they did have something else to offer him. Peter said, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"

The man stood and began to walk, but before he was even in the temple he was leaping and praising God. Once again, those observing were filled with wonder and amazement.

Peter now had another opportunity to preach. He stood in what was known as Solomon's Porch. This would become the site of much of the public preaching done by Peter and the apostles. Peter once again cut right to the point - that they had murdered the Son of God. There was good news, though. They could be forgiven. He said, "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord..." (3:19-20).

Cooper-Young Festival

The Cooper-Young Festival is this Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it this year. Last year it was so hot, so we weren't out that much. I just saw the forecast, and they're calling for a high of 75 on Saturday. Nice!

Acts 2:42-47

I decided to separate this passage from the rest of Chapter 2 because it is so rich. Is this a description of the way a church should look today, or is it simply an idealistic utopia and unrealistic in today's culture? I don't know, but it sure sounds appealing. On the other hand, though, is it something that I really want?

You have to remember that the majority of these new converts did not live in Jerusalem. They were only planning on staying for a few days, and then would be returning to their homes. However, something amazing had just happened, and it appears that many of them stayed in Jerusalem. That would of course pose some problems. Where would they live? How would they be able to afford to stay in Jerusalem? What about their families back home?

Community happened out of necessity. Those who lived in Jerusalem opened up their homes to their new family. They shared everything they had. No one was in need.

Like all churches, we've been thinking through the issue of small groups. Everyone wants community, but we want it on our terms. The best community happens when it's not on our terms. True community isn't something that you can turn on and off. If community is happening, it's messy. Perhaps that's why I've experienced true community so little in my life. It brings to the surface a lot of "in your face" questions. Do I really want to sell my possessions and give to those who are in need? Do I want to open my home up to anyone, at any time. That's obviously not always the wisest thing to do (there's something called boundaries, and I believe that God has wired us with those boundaries).

That being said, I'm still faced with the question, "Do I really want to experience this type of community?"

Many people also find in this passage the primary functions of a church. This is found in verse 42. Tim Keller has a great little article on this that is worth reading. He lists the purposes this way:

• Worship and prayer
  
• Learning and edification
• Fellowship and community
• Outreach and evangelism
• Mercy and social concern

Acts 2:1-41

Finally the day of Pentecost arrived. Jews from all over would come to Jerusalem several times a year to observe festivals. God chose one of those festivals to pour out his Spirit and to birth the church.

For the past ten days this group of 120 had been together, devoting themselves to prayer. All they knew was that Jesus had told them to return to Jerusalem and wait. On the morning of Pentecost, while the city was crammed with people from all over, the Holy Spirit fell on the followers of Jesus and they began praising God in languages that they did not know. Others knew these languages, though. They were the languages of the devout Jews who had traveled from all over the known world to come to Jerusalem.

A large crowd gathered. A few onlookers were skeptical, believing that they were drunk. However, most were amazed by what was taking place. Peter stood up along with the eleven other apostles, and he addressed the crowd. Before going any farther, I have to go back in time. This is the Peter who constantly spoke up before thinking. He's the one who on one hand speaks up and declares that Jesus is the Messiah, but then soon afterwards rebukes Jesus when he says that he is going to die soon. He's the one denies Jesus after arguing with Jesus that denial was impossible. And he is the one whom Jesus restored. That Peter gets up and addresses the crowd.

He quotes from the prophet Joel. Everyone in the crowd surely knows this passage of Scripture. In that passage God declared that he would pour out his Spirit on his people. Peter then transforms into a bold preacher. He points to Jesus as the fulfillment of all of Scripture. And he tells the crowd that it was they who murdered him.

I think the key statement, the tipping point, so to speak, was when Peter said, "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

Later on in the book of Acts, Paul makes statements like this and then is stoned or run out of town. But this is not what happens at this moment. Those who heard Peter "were cut to the heart", and their response was, "Brothers, what shall we do?" (2:37). Peter's response:
Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (2:38).

What an amazing day! After Peter's sermon, 3000 people believed, were baptized, and became a part of a dynamic new community that would later be known as the Church.

Acts 1

Jesus was murdered during the Jewish Passover, and was raised from the dead three days later. There are fifty days between Passover and Pentecost, another Jewish holiday. Luke records that Jesus spent forty days with his followers, speaking to them about the Kingdom of God (1:3).

Before ascending, Jesus told them to return to Jerusalem (the one place they never wanted to go back to). He told them to wait there until they received the Holy Spirit. They obviously didn't understand that completely, but they obeyed. The first statement in verse 12 is very vivid to me: "Then they returned to Jerusalem." Jesus is gone again. He's told them to go to the place where he was murdered. It surely was a long Sabbath day's journey (1:12).

They did get one thing right, though. They devoted the next ten days to prayer. The eleven apostles were there, along with "the women" and Jesus' family. 1 Corinthians 15:7 says that during those forty days Jesus spent time with his brother James, and James finally believed that his older brother was the Messiah. Up to that point, only Mary believed, and she too had her moments of doubt.

Chapter 1 ends with Peter standing up before the 120 and declaring that Judas did what he did so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled. They now had to find his replacement. They prayed, then cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias.

Acts - An Introduction

So I'm going to start blogging my way through the book of Acts. This has been my favorite book for several years now. I love the story of the early church. The book spans thirty years, and over the course of this time Christianity grows from a relatively small group of 120 people, to so many that they are seen as a threat to the Roman Empire. During that time we have great stories of faith, sacrifice, and transformation.

First, a little background. Acts was written sometime before 64 AD by Dr. Luke, who also wrote (yes, you guessed it) the gospel of Luke. Luke doesn't write about Paul's death under Nero, which many believe took place in 64 AD. Therefore most scholars believe that it was written before he died.

Love Portland

I'm a big fan of Imago Dei in Portland, OR, and of their pastor, Rick McKinley. This past Saturday hundreds of members of Imago showed up in different locations to serve their city. McKinley gives a great wrap-up reflection on his blog. There are some really good insights there. I'm ready to be this type of church.

NC First Service

Here are a few pictures from our first service.

Two Chapters a Day

For the past few months I've been trying to read two chapters of the Bible each day. For the most part I've been doing pretty well. I'm planning on starting the book of Acts on Monday. I think that's fitting with our first service and all. Bill Hybels spoke about the early church at the New Church Conference last April. I didn't go, but I've listened to it. Here's my paraphrase of what he said...

There was once a community of people who were completely devoted to God. They were so devoted to God that when He told them to go, they went. They would do whatever God told them to do. In this community there was a radical love for one another that broke down every kind of wall there is. Each member used his or her spiritual gifts, and they knew that they were dependent not only on God, but on one another as well. They believed that God could perform signs and wonders, and because of this, they regularly stood in awe. The people in this community of faith burned with passion to take the gospel to their world. When they were threatened and told to stop, they met in an open room and prayed not for God to stop the Romans, but for courage to spill their blood. There was once a community of faith like this.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big day. I'm excited, a little nervous, and actually a little numb. We've been working so hard for the last few months, and I have no idea what to expect. We've said from day 1 that we're not just going to be about a weekly (or monthly) service. We want Neighborhood Church to be about a lot more than that. At the same time, though, we've spent a lot of time getting ready for this (did I say that already?), and therefore it's pretty important. We go from a handful of people knowing who we are to a lot more. We'll just have to wait and see how many that actually is.

Damien Rice - Volcano

Mandy and I went to see Damien Rice at the Orpheum a few months ago, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. He had a drummer and bassist, and the sound they put out was amazing. There are lots of clips of this song on YouTube, but this was the closest to the arrangement that he did that night. It of course doesn't do justice to seeing it live, but it's still nice - nice and beefy as I like to say.

Andy McKee - Drifting

I first heard this fella after reading another blog, and fell in love. I'm glad I got to see him play before just hearing it. I downloaded two of his CD's off of emusic, and I listen to them almost every day.

Imogene Heap - Hide and Seek

I first came across Imogene Heap when she was one half of the band Frou Frou. "Let Go" is one of the tracks on the awesome soundtrack to Garden State. This song was on a Paste CD. I remember putting it in the CD player and listening to it five or six times the first go around. Check out some of her other live videos on YouTube.

My Little Drummer Boy

Today Adam and I went to Yarbrough's to pick up a pair of speakers. While we waited, Adam discovered electronic drums.

Ten Years of Church Planting

Ten years ago I was 22 years old, fresh out of college, and living with three friends in Nashville, TN. I moved there without really knowing why, and started working at a Christian bookstore, making minimum wage - not really a part of the long range plan!

One evening in September, 1997, my roommate, Andy, told me that a friend of his was helping to start a church, and they were looking for a worship leader. They wondered if I might be interested. Up to that point, I really knew nothing about church planting, but I was definitely interested (yeah, no more bookstore job)!

A week or so later I met with Mark Jackson, and he told me about his plans to start The Church@Hickory Hollow. I loved what I heard, and I felt that this was why I had moved to Nashville. It excited me to be a part of something like this. The amazing thing was that several weeks of talking took place before they ever heard me play the guitar, and that was a good thing, because I didn't really play the guitar that well at the time.

We spent that fall building a core group, and in January, 1998, we had our first public worship service. We definitely had humble beginnings. That Sunday morning I led worship, with my then-girlfriend Mandy singing with me. I set in a swivel chair because I couldn't stand and play the guitar. I dropped my pick two or three times that morning. The swivel chair was nice because I could turn around to adjust the sound to fulfill my other role as sound tech - not that I really knew what I was doing there either.

The Church@Hickory Hollow holds a special place in my heart. This was mine and Mandy's first church together - just about everyone in the church showed up on June 12, 1999 to watch us get married. I was also given lots of opportunities to serve and use my gifts. I had my first opportunities to speak there. I got to work with small groups, to equip and develop leaders, and to lead a band. This was also the place where God laid on my heart a desire to start churches. Because of this call, in September, 1999, I started feeling like God might be calling us to get more training in this area, and one year later we were in the San Francisco Bay Area.

So now ten years have passed. I'm back in Tennessee, though it's now Memphis instead of Nashville. And I now have the opportunity to help start another church. My life is good. God has allowed me to not only dream, but to see my dreams realized. I am truly grateful to Him for this.

Neighborhood Church

We're less than one week from our first service. Pause...that's kind of hard to believe. This has been a dream for a long time, and it's finally here. Exciting, yet very scary. There are still a few things that need to get done, but all in all, I think we're ready.

It's easy to be overcome by stress during times like this, but every time that starts to happen, I'm reminded that this is Jesus' thing, not mine. He said that He would build His Church. He's the One who draws people to Himself. He's opened and closed all of the doors that needed to be opened and closed. He will grow this church the way He wants to grow it.

So what's our role? Just to trust and obey. It's really that simple. Oh, and not to freak out over every little detail. That comes back to being a child, which is something else that's easy to forget.

Summer

It seems that my life as been consumed with details the last two months. A lot goes into starting a church, and it's felt like every time I check something off my list I remember two more things that need to be added to it. In some ways I'm ready for September to be here. I guess I think I'll get to rest then, but that's when the fun really begins. So here's a list of some of the highlights of this summer:

• Mandy has done an awesome job with our children's ministry. It's going to be top notch.
• We have a great facility. For $100/month we get four hours and as many rooms as we want. We also found out today that we can rent a closet for $60 month. It will hold all of our stuff, and means that we don't have to buy a trailer.
• We came up with a name. It's Neighborhood Church. Our website will be live in a few weeks. The web address is www.ncmidtown.com
• Postcards advertising our first service (September 9) will be mailed out to 5000 households the first week of September.
  

And now a few things about our family.

• Adam has been potty-training the last few weeks. It's definitely a new phase of life - for us and for him. He's starting to get the hang of it, though.
• My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago. She had her second round of chemotherapy yesterday. She is supposed to have six more treatments, and they take place every other week. She has been very strong. The doctors have no reason to believe she won't be completely cured by the end of the year.
• Mandy and I have had a really great summer together. Things are finally beginning to take shape, which means a little bit of stability for us. We're trying to plan a vacation for this fall. We'll both need it.
• My mortgage business has been pretty slow the last five weeks, but that's primarily because the whole market has been lousy. I'm hoping it will pick back up in the new few weeks.
  

I think that's enough for now. As crazy as this summer has been, I am so thankful to be able to do what I'm passionate about. I never want to take that for granted!

MagicJack

You might be aware that Sunrocket shut down, practically overnight, last week. I've been looking into other VOIP companies but haven't decided on anything yet. In the meantime, I forwarded my Sunrocket number to my cell phone, and tonight I ordered MagicJack. For $40, I get a local phone number and unlimited calling. Not bad. I don't think it will end up being a replacement for my home phone, however. I was actually looking for an inexpensive way to have a phone/phone number for the church office. This is even cheaper than Skype. We'll see how it works in a few days.

Mandy

My wife is a remarkable woman. She has spent the last four days potty-training Adam. He's not as far along as we had hoped, but he's making progress. Mandy has been so patient and loving. For the first two days he ran around naked, which he very much enjoyed. He went through four pair of underwear in three hours yesterday. Again, she has been very patient. And right now, as I am writing this, she is on the way to Kroger with six South Korean students here for the Orff conference. She tells me that two speak a bit of English. She was planning on picking three of them up from the airport and bringing them to the University of Memphis. When they arrived on campus, there were three more young ladies, and none of them had any clue how they were going to get food during the weekend. Once again, my lovely wife came to the rescue.

I asked her what I could do for her, and she said, "Let me sleep in tomorrow morning."

Done. I may even make her breakfast in bed!

More talk on Public Schools

Wendi Thomas wrote a great article in yesterday's Commercial Appeal. Many Central Gardens residents are encouraging their neighbors to support Idlewild Elementary School. Here's the article.

What is the Purpose of Prayer?

Yesterday I was going through one of my journals and discovered a post from 2 ½ years ago that was at the time quite a revelation from God. The unfortunate thing is that this time it was just as much of a revelation (which means that I didn't do much about it the first time). Here's the revelation: for most of my life I have had a warped understanding of prayer. There, I said it.

I've looked at prayer primarily as a "Trust and Obey" issue. I've never really had trouble believing that God will not only take care of me, but that He knows what is best for me. I've always felt that God knows all of my needs and will continue to provide for those needs. I've believed that He will close and open doors as He sees fit, and therefore my job is just to walk. When He opens a door, I should go through it. When He closes a door, I should yield. If that is my attitude, then what is the purpose of prayer? Or better yet, why should I bother with prayer? God knows what I'm going to say, doesn't He? He's going to take care of my needs regardless, right? Efficiency is the key word here.

My revelation then, and my revelation yesterday, was that God is not very concerned with my efficiency. Prayer is not about getting things done. Prayer is about relationship. At the time I first realized this I did not have a son. I now understand this better. My relationship with Adam has nothing to do with accomplishing something. I spend time with Adam because I love him. I desire for our relationship to continue to grow and develop. Intimacy comes as the relationship deepens. The relationship between father (Robert) and son (Adam) is a picture of the relationship between Father (God) and son (Robert).

God is not too busy getting things accomplished that He can't spend time with me. Neither should I be too busy that I can't spend time with Him. It does go back to my understanding, though, because understanding and belief determines behavior. I'm happy to say that my understanding is changing, and I trust that my behavior will also begin to change.

Marketing my biz

Today I began phase 2 of my marketing campaign for Midtown Mortgage Group. My website is finally up and running. This week I'm planning on letting everyone know that my site is up. Tomorrow I am going to go to three real estate offices to introduce myself. I'm going to come with a stack of business cards and a fruit basket that my lovely wife helped me assemble. Finally, I'm going to put together letters to my new clients asking them for referrals and/or testimonials for the website. May was my first month of production. I really love this new job. I love the marketing, the education component, as well as the whole real estate business.

Road trip for the Grisham men

This morning Adam and I went to Shelby Forrest. During all of my years in the mid-south, this was only my second time to visit "the park", as Adam put it. "The park" is spread out across 13,000 acres. Some park, huh! Our first stop was the mighty Mississippi River, where we spent twenty minutes skipping rocks. I wish I had pictures to post, but I forgot my camera. Next time...

We did a lot of driving, stopping every now and then to eat goldfish crackers and drink juice. All in all it was a great outing. Our entire trip lasted a little over three hours. We'll be going back very soon. This time we'll be bringing Mom with us.

Everyday Salvation

This morning I've been reading Grace-Based Parenting, by Tim Kimmel. Mandy stumbled onto this book about a month ago, and is about half-way through, so I decided to start it this morning. It's spurred a lot of thoughts in me, and I decided that one of them might be worth blogging about. One of the chapters is on secure love. The premise of the chapter is that we need to love our children as God loves His children.

The author tells the story of being at a hotel for breakfast one morning when he spotted a mom with an infant and a four-year old boy. The boy was excited because there was an "all you can eat" buffet. When the waitress came to take their order, the mom said that she and her husband, who was on the way down from his room, would take the buffet, but the little boy was going to have cornflakes. You can imagine that the little boy was less than thrilled by this declaration. When the dad came down, and saw his son crying, he convinced the mom that since they were on vacation, they should let him have the buffet. She reluctantly agreed.

The little boy took a little of everything, including things that he normally wouldn't have tried...but this was vacation, and this was a buffet! When he sat back down, his mother scolded him for getting so much food, or more importantly, so much unhealthy food. The author points out that at this moment the little boy's countenance fell and his joy left him.

So what does this story have to do with the title of this post, "Everyday Salvation?" As I was reading this story, I thought back to the passage that Jason taught from a couple of weeks ago. Matthew 13 is the parable of the sower. You can read it here if you'd like.

We've all been like this mom, whether it was with a child, a spouse, or a friend. We've allowed, as Jesus puts it, "the worries of this life" to choke out the word. I don't believe that Jesus was referring just to the first time we hear the gospel, or even the first time we accept the gospel and put our trust in Christ. I believe that salvation comes everyday. In other words, the seeding of the gospel into our lives takes place everyday. The question is, "What is our soil like?"

On days when I am impatient, unloving, bitter, frustrated, unpleasant (the list can go on and on) - is it because my heart (my soil) has not been in a place to receive from God?

If so, then how do I prevent that from happening tomorrow?

First, I need to be aware that God longs to have a daily, intimate relationship with me. He didn't create me, save me, and then put things on auto-pilot. His desire is to commune with me daily. His desire is to plant the seeds of the gospel into me on a daily basis. Let's remind ourselves of that truth.

Second, I need to confess my sins. I need to be in a place where I can receive everything that God has for me.

Third, I need to have faith that God can change me, that He can change my heart. I need to believe that the gospel can make me into a different person - a more loving person, a more patient person, a person with self-control (for the rest of this list, read this passage).

Here’s the good news in all of this. When the gospel finds good soil, it produces a crop, up to 100 times what was sown.

A Year of Eating Locally

I just read this article from Salon. It's an interview with Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Poisonwood Bible. She and her family spent a year living on a farm in Virginia. More specifically, they spent a year living off of the farm. Her newest book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life is one of the results of that experience.

Here's a great quote: "If we can't, as artists, improve on real life, we should put down our pencils and go bake bread."

Here's another one:
When told that the book was funny, she replied, "Hooray, that's my goal: to write pages a reader will want to keep turning. I'm a storyteller, not a minister."

Whoa. Settle down Barbara.

One final quote. This one's really good, and it's the primary reason I wanted to post this...

Food is the one consumer choice we have to make every day. We can use that buying power in a transaction that burns excessive fossil fuels, erodes topsoil, supports multinationals that pay their workers just a few bucks a day -- or the same money could strengthen neighborhood food economies, keep green spaces alive around our towns, and compensate farmers for applying humane values. Every purchase weighs in on one side or the other. It just isn't possible to opt out. Otherwise, if you're going to eat food, you belong to some kind of food chain. The goal of this book is to reveal that truth.


Read the entire article here.

The Patience of Faith

One of my favorite books is My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. This is yesterday's reading. If you're looking for a daily devotional, and have never read this, I encourage you to check it out. You can find it online here.

Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says - "I cannot stand any more." God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. For what have you need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. "Though He slay me, yet will I wait for Him."

Faith is not a pathetic sentiment, but robust vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You cannot see Him just now, you cannot understand what He is doing, but you know Him. Shipwreck occurs where there is not that mental poise which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life, you fling yourself in reckless confidence on God.

God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. There are spots where that faith has not worked in us as yet, places untouched by the life of God. There were none of those spots in Jesus Christ's life, and there are to be none in ours. "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee." The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvellous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.

As I was reading this I thought about a comment I heard from Tim Keller. He said that many times we feel that God has no right to stretch us like this. He believes this is due to a warped view of grace. If we feel that in some small we are accepted by God (that we are saved) by our good works, then there is a limit on how much God can ask of us, how much God can stretch us. However, if our acceptance comes totally and completely through God's grace, then there is no limit on what He asks of us.

This is no doubt a little scary, but it can also be freeing, especially when we begin to understand that God's working in our lives, even when it is so difficult, is the best thing for us.

Substantially United

By Julian of Norwich

God showed me something small, no bigger than a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed to me, and it was as round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and thought: What can this be? I was amazed that it could last, for I thought that because of its littleness it would suddenly have fallen into nothing. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and always will, because God loves it: and thus everything has being through the love of God.

In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God preserves it. But what did I see in it? It is that God is the Creator and the protector and the lover. For until I am substantially united to God, I can never have perfect rest or true happiness, until, that is, I am so attached to God that there can be no created thing between my God and me.

Source: Revelations of Divine Love

Photos from Q

I forgot to bring our camera to Q last week. Turns out that was ok. My pictures wouldn't have turned out near as well as these.

How do you best connect with God

Here is the link to the Spiritual Pathways Assessment.

The Relationship Between Music and Worship

Worship is much more than singing. So often we associate music with worship, and, therefore, if we don't sing, or if we don't connect with God through music like some people do, we feel a little inferior. Are we missing something? My hope for this Sunday evening is that we leave understanding a little more about what worship truly is.

Saying all that...today I read this post about singing. I agree with the author that there is something about a community gathering to sing praises and adoration to God, our Creator and Father, and to Jesus, our Savior and King. It's a good read.

Church & Culture Pt. 5

"How is Christianity to be distinctive in a culture where everyone assumes themselves to be Christian?"

This is a very important question for us. I wasn't faced with this question near as much in the bay area as I have been here. I'm discovering that even in our neighborhood, this question has to be asked.

The following are excerpts from a post I read this morning that deals with this question.

This was the context in which I grew up. To put it charitably, most folks in my home town thought of themselves as Christians. Some evidently were by their profession and their lives. Some, no doubt, were not. But, most people didn't condemn themselves or think so poorly of themselves to self-identify as "practical atheist" or "unbeliever." Even the poolhall hustlers and the alcoholics claimed they knew God, "always said their prayers," and the "God knows their heart."

Many assumed the label "Christian" because they were certainly not practitioners of any other religion. They were not, for example, muslims. In fact, until I returned home during my sophomore year in college as a professing muslim, very few people had ever seen a muslim. No, everyone at least believed in some way, and that made most everyone "Christian" since that was either a family or community legacy bequeathed to all. Nominalism.

The more I think about the situation, the clearer it is to me that in trying to reflect genuine Christian distinctiveness in a nominal Christian culture definitions are critical. The root problem might be described as a failure to define "Christian" and Christianity in terms that bring into sharper contrast regenerate and unregenerate life, in terms that stress spiritual conversion, faith, grace, love and hope over and against moralism, patriotism, and spiritual relativism.

Insights on Worship

Greg Laurie writes on worship in today's Harvest Devotional:

A number of words in the Bible are translated "worship." The one used the most often means "to bow down and do homage." Another biblical word for worship means "to kiss toward." Put the two words together, and you will have a good idea of what real worship is. We worship God because He is worthy. In doing so, we bow down and pay homage to Him. That speaks of reverence and respect for God. But we also "kiss toward" Him, which speaks of tenderness and intimacy.

Worship

I have been studying on the topic of worship for this Sunday evening. This morning Mandy came into my office and told me that I needed to see what Adam was doing. As I walked into the kitchen I heard our Hillsong United CD playing. Adam, dressed in only a diaper, was walking around his room waving a Memphis Grizzlies Flag. It reminded me of the story of David dancing before the Lord (2 Samuel 6). What a great picture of worship!

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

Church & Culture Pt. 4

I'm learning more and more about the church's role in shaping culture. Mark Batterson, a pastor in Washington, DC, has a good post on this subject. He gives four ways that the church engages culture.

1. Ignore it
   The more we ignore culture the more irrelevant we’ll become. And if the church ignores the culture, the culture will ignore the church.
2. Imitate it
   We can imitate culture, but imitation is a form of suicide. Originality is sacrificed on the altar of cultural conformity. If we don’t shape the culture, the culture will shape us.
3. Condemn it
   We’ve got to stop pointing the finger and start offering better alternatives. If the church condemns the culture, the culture will condemn the church.
4. Create it
   We can compete for culture by creating culture. In the immortal words of the Italian artist and poet, Michelangelo: criticize by creating. At the end of the day, the culture will treat the church the way the church treats the culture.

We've all seen these first three ways of engagement, and have come away wanting something more, something different. You can read his entire post here.

Jim Collins on the Best Advice He Ever Received

I read this article last week, and have been thinking about it ever since. Jim Collins, author of Built to Last and Good to Great, shares about a conversation he had with Peter Drucker shortly after Built to Last came out. Here are a couple of excerpts from the article:

“The huge thing he said to me was, ‘Do you want to build ideas to last, or do you want to build an organization to last?’

“I said I wanted to build ideas to last.

“He said, ‘Then you must not build an organization.’

“His point was, the moment you have an organization, you have a beast to feed–this army of people. If you ever start developing ideas to feed the beast rather than having ideas that the beast feeds, your influence will go down, even if your commercial success goes up. Because there’s a huge difference between teaching an idea and selling an idea. In the end, what are you in a battle for? You’re battling to influence the thinking of powerful, discerning people. If you ever abuse that trust, you can lose them. So the moment that arrow changes direction, you’re dead.

“He said something else important: ‘The real discipline comes in saying no to the wrong opportunities.’ Growth is easy. Saying no is hard.

Alcohol & the Bible

Last night our church had a great discussion on what the Bible has to say about alcohol. For those of you who want to read more, I'm posting links to some of the papers and articles I've read over the past few weeks.

Alcohol, Abstention & Redemption

Alcohol, Acts 29, & the SBC

Beer and the Bible

Christianity & Alcohol (wikipedia)

Christians & Alcohol - Four Myths (pdf link)

Good Wine and Glad Hearts

Link to Southern Seminary's audio on this (along with some commentary)

SBC Resolution on Alcohol

The Bible and Intoxicating Beverages

Wine in the Bible

What Does the Bible Say about Alcohol - A Systematic Study

New friends

This weekend we got to spend a little time with Lindsay's church planting friends from Vancouver, Kyle and Anna Martin. Here's a link to the new church they've started.

Easter Egg Hunt

Our first annual Easter Egg Hunt turned out to be a success, despite having to move it to our house because of the cold weather. We had around 30 people, including some new neighbors who we had not met yet. We had the actual hunt outside, but everything else was inside. We had games, food, lots of eggs, and even a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny!

Not a Chance Event

By John Howard Yoder

The cross of Christ was not an inexplicable or chance event, which happened to strike him, like illness or accident. To accept the cross as his destiny, to move toward it and even to provoke it, when he could well have done otherwise, was Jesus' constantly reiterated free choice; and he warns his disciples lest their embarking on the same path be less conscious of its costs.

Source: The Politics of Jesus

More on Global Warming

Here are some recent links on the issue of the church's role in global warming...

Jerry Falwell's sermon, "The Myth of Global Warming"

James Dobson calls for Richard Cizik to resign as vice-president of the National Association of Evangelicals


I read this and shudder. There's a part of me that just wants to ignore these guys and hope they go away. On the other hand, though, I do believe that this is an issue that the church needs to be informed on.

If you're interested, you can read an earlier post on Cizik from a Fast Company article.

The role of prayer in our church

This past Sunday night Jason taught from 2 Corinthians 3 & 4. It seemed to me that the crux of the passage, and the evening, came with verse 4 of chapter 4: “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” I think that God wanted us to camp out on that verse for a little while. Do we believe this verse? If so, what do we do?

First and foremost, it heightens our awareness that we are totally and completely dependent on God for salvation. Verse 14 of chapter 3 says that only Christ can remove the veil. There was a sudden realization within our group that we don't really pray, or at least we don't pray as we should. How desperate are we to see the veil lifted so that our friends can see "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ?" The good news is that God wants this desire to grow in us. I thank God for reminding us of this.

The second thing I came away with was that though darkness is all around us, God has created us to be light in the darkness: "For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ". A room can be completely dark, but one small light can penetrate this darkness. This again is God's grace. We may not be much, but we are light. We may not be many, but we are light.

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."


If you want to read more on this passage, here is a great sermon by John Piper called "What Makes the Good News Good?"

Marks of a Missional Church

This guy is a prof at Fuller Seminary. This appeared in his blog over a year ago, but I just now stumbled upon it this morning (at about 4:30 - I couldn't sleep!)

1. What are the marks of churches (people) who live missionally?
They no longer see the church service as the primary connecting point with those outside the community. Connecting with those outside happens within the culture, by insiders to that culture who express the gospel through how they live.

If that question and response got you thinking, check out the rest of the post.

The Guts and the Gutters

By Edwina Gateley

We cannot know the God of the guts and the gutters unless we have traveled deep enough within ourselves to touch and experience our own guts - where God lives, and unless we have reached out far enough beyond ourselves to smell and sit in the gutters - where God squats.

Source: I Hear a Seed Growing

The Ballad of Big Mike

This week a few of us have been talking about the state of public schools here in Memphis. Yesterday I started reading (listening to, actually) a book by Michael Lewis called The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. It's about a kid from Memphis who goes from living in Hurt Village (what is now a part of Uptown) to attending Briarcrest Christian School and playing football. He's now a sophomore at Mississippi State University, and will no doubt be a top pick in two years.

I think this book is going to shed some light on the whole private school/public school debate, at least for me. The NY Times published an excerpt of the book. Click on the title of this post for the link.

Where's Amazing Grace?

(This post is by Lindsay Cade. It was originally posted on the Project Mustard Seed site).

Recently, a church minister was found to be human. Consequently, he was fired. Well, that's not entirely true. He quit before they could hang his dirty laundry out to dry in the town square. The head pastor gave some hope to the situation by saying that the church would pay the minister through May. This would give him some time to find another job. Last wednesday, the church voted to stop paying him.

You see, the church ran out of grace. They were taken aback a few months ago when they found out the financial secretary had stole about a quarter of a million dollars from the church. The church, after months of investigation, decided to let the secretary pay back the amount over the same period of time she had been stealing it. They showed her grace by never going to court with this crime.

So where's the amazing grace? It was used up over the last few months.

You ask why I mention this? Because I'm the daughter of the minister I just told about. These are the things I think of when I hear the word "church"--Scandal, lack of grace, witch hunts, gossip and a standard that I could never meet even though I sold my life to it.

My story is just one of the many you'll find in Cooper-Young. Most people are recovering from church. Some have given up completely.

Growing up, I committed myself to meeting the standard that religion puts on us. I felt pressure to uphold the image of a leader--stronger than most and godly, good, christian. It wasn't until about two years ago that I gave up trying to uphold some type of image. The truth is I'm human. I'm just like you. Some days I win battles. Some days I lose them all in shame. My songs speak of wanting to be free. I'm not beyond the law that God gave us to follow, but I am somehow forgiven by grace.

So before we all go any further, I just want to say that I'm a mess. Get up in my business if you have to. Don't let me pretend to be more than I am. That's what community is to me. That's what church maybe should be.

I might go back to harlotry with that scar deep inside of me.
I've got something that's in me and I want to be free.
There's not a place where you can escape.
There's not a person who will fill the space.
Running, Screaming, Crying out in emptiness,
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me
All alone.
Run with him into the sea.
The water's deep but so is he.
Look to him for all you need.
Breathe in deep.
You'll never find until you seek.
He waits for you patiently.
Run to him recklessly.
I want to be free!

A Gospel that Produces Holiness

By Theodore Jennings, Jr.

If the gospel is about transformation, how is it that two thousand years of proclamation have had so little effect? How is it that the gospel of Jesus Christ, so far from producing radical change, has instead become a cloak for avarice and arrogance, for a willful deafness to the cry of the poor and of the earth itself? … It is only possible to speak of the gospel as a source for a remedy of the planetary crisis that we face if we are talking about a gospel that makes possible, indeed requires and in fact produces, a radical and visible transformation in all dimensions of life. Only a gospel that produces holiness, scriptural holiness, can transform the economy of death - or rather, abolish it and give in its place something that can really be “good news to the poor.”

Source: Good News to the Poor

A great example of the outward journey

The cover story of today's Commercial Appeal is on Brinkley Heights Baptist Church, a church that is reaching their community by starting with children. After a three-year old girl named Jessica was killed in 2002, Pastor Tim Cox decided that he had to give his life to fighting for these children. In 2004 the Brinkley Heights Urban Academy was opened. They now have 55 students, ages three through the second grade. My mother has been teaching music at the academy for the last two years.

Here's the entire article.

Memphis Mentoring Programs

Carmen mentioned the following links the other day.

The Amachi Mentoring Program

Big Brothers/Big Sisters

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

Some tips on having a quiet time

I ran across this blog this morning. In four previous posts, the author talks about the what and the why of a quiet time, and in this post discusses the how. This is a great help for anyone who has struggled with setting aside a portion of each day to spend time with God. Here are some excerpts, as well as the link.

The essential elements of the quiet time are prayer to God and meditation on Scripture and this can take a number of different forms. After talking about what it is and why it is important I thought I would give some practical advice for those who want to start or reboot their quiet time.

While there are some exceptions to the rule, I am convinced that it works best for most people to set aside a particular time each day for private worship. So pick a time: in the morning before work, at work on your lunch break, or before you go to bed in the evening. These quiet times of worship before the face of God are an essential element to your spiritual health. Consider that time sacred. Guard it. Look forward to it for what it is - you are meeting with God!

People sometimes set good, if big, goals for themselves when beginning or restarting this discipline. Unfortunately, instead of building up to those goals they attempt to immediately master it all. My advice is, if you have been disengaged in this discipline for a while, start small. Pick an epistle, commit yourself to reading one paragraph a day, write down any thoughts you have on that passage. Pray for God’s blessing, provision, guidance, etc (more on prayer in a minute). This may wind up only being 10 to 15 minutes in length, but that’s fine. The important thing is to get this discipline going in your life. I have found that once you start it, it is easy to cultivate it and see it grow.

Rich-poor gap keeps widening

This article was in the Commercial Appeal on Monday. Here's an excerpt:

A McClatchy Newspapers analysis of 2005 census figures, the latest available, found that nearly 16 million Americans are living in deep or severe poverty. A family of four with two children and an annual income of less than $9,903 -- half the federal poverty line -- was considered severely poor in 2005. So were individuals who made less than $5,080 a year.

The McClatchy analysis found that the number of severely poor Americans grew by 26 percent from 2000 to 2005. That's 56 percent faster than the overall poverty population grew in the same period. McClatchy's review also found statistically significant increases in the percentage of the population in severe poverty in 65 of 215 large U.S. counties, and similar increases in 28 states. The review also suggested that the rise in severely poor residents isn't confined to large urban counties but extends to suburban and rural areas.

About one in three severely poor people are under age 17, and nearly two out of three are female. Female-headed families with children account for a large share of the severely poor.

According to census data, nearly two of three people in severe poverty are white (10.3 million) and 6.9 million are non-Hispanic whites. Severely poor blacks (4.3 million) are more than three times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be in deep poverty, while extremely poor Hispanics of any race (3.7 million) are more than twice as likely.

Persecution

Open Doors has compiled a list of 2007’s 50 worst countries for Christian persecution. Those considered to have severe limitations or worse are:

1. North Korea :: severe persecution
2. Saudi Arabia :: oppression
3. Iran :: oppression
4. Somalia :: oppression
5. Maldives :: oppression
6. Yemen :: oppression
7. Bhutan :: oppression
8. Vietnam :: oppression
9. Laos :: severe limitations
10. Afghanistan :: severe limitations
11. Uzbekistan :: severe limitations
12. China :: severe limitations
13. Eritrea :: severe limitations
14. Turkmenistan :: severe limitations
15. Comoros :: severe limitations
16. Chechnya :: severe limitations
17. Pakistan :: severe limitations
18. Egypt :: severe limitations
19. Myanmar (Burma) :: severe limitations
20. Sudan (North) :: severe limitations
21. Iraq :: severe limitations
22. Azerbaijan :: severe limitations
23. Brunei :: severe limitations
24. Cuba :: severe limitations

Articles worth reading

Over the last few weeks I've come across a couple of really good articles that I thought were worth linking to.

Living a Transformed Life Adequate to Our Calling, by Dallas Willard.
I was first exposed to Dallas Willard's writing about eight years ago. He's never been easy for me to understand (he teaches philosophy at USC). Still, I've attempted to read his books, and in doing so have been shaped by them. This is a 24-page article that seems to be his attempt at summarizing his previous works. If you've ever wanted to know more about the Kingdom of God, discipleship, or spiritual formation, this may be worth spending some time on.

We Aren't About Weekends, The Christian Vision Project's interview with Bob Roberts
Bob Roberts is the pastor at Northwood Church in Keller, TX. This church seems to truly understand why they exist. Roberts give a great explanation not only on the role of the church and its members, but also on the tasks of transformation and shaping culture.

Happy Valentine's Day

Last night Mandy and I spent our 10th Valentine's Day together. I'm very fortunate to have such a beautiful, loving, caring, understanding, and patient wife! She has put up with a lot living with me for the last seven years (10 years dating). I love you, Mandy!

Scientists issue new statement on global warming

Some excerpts...

"The observed widespread warming of the atmosphere and ocean, together with ice-mass loss, support the conclusion that it is extremely unlikely that global climate change of the past 50 years can be explained without external forcing, and very likely that is not due to known natural causes alone," said the 20-page report.

The phrase "very likely" translates to a more than 90 percent certainty that global warming is caused by man.


Here's the entire article.

Cast of 24 of Larry King

Here's the transcript of January 9th's Larry King Live, featuring the cast of 24.

Retreat this weekend

Tomorrow Jason, Barb, Mandy and I are heading to the Tennessee River for our first of hopefully many annual retreats. First of all, thanks to Charles and Pat Ennis for the use of their new "river" house. Our first of five interest meetings starts January 21, so this will be a great time for us to get ready for that. It's also going to give us an opportunity to reflect on this year, and to give thanks to God for all He's done.

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."

The Art of Haggling

I went to India a few years ago, and one of the many highlights of the trip was learning the art of haggling. We haggled for rickshaws mostly, knowing up front that the price quoted was going to be much higher than normal. One day we went to an outdoor market. While we were walking around, and man asked us if we would like to buy a small toy flute. I really didn't have need for a small toy flute, and on top of that, it was expensive. I believe he wanted 300 rupees for it, which is the equivalent of around $6 or $7. I politely told him that I wasn't in the market for a small toy flute at the time, but I would keep him in mind if anything changed. For the next hour, when we would come out of a shop he would be there, offering us a sweeter deal. By the end of that hour, I had come to understand two things: First, I needed a small toy flute, and second, I was learning the art of haggling. By the time it was over, he had sold it to me for 30 rupees, and 90% discount from the original price. I of course was feeling very proud of myself. (Of course, I also realize that the small toy flute was probably worth 10 rupees, but that's another story).

So...why in the world am I bringing up this story? It's because I just read this article. Now you too can learn the art of haggling. It works here in the U.S. as well.