imagining how the church can reorient around mission

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prayer for peace, a prayer for courage in charlottesville

As I arise this morning to pictures and videos of a church full of people worshipping (some who I know personally) while a group of angry, torch bearing white supremacist rallied outside in Charlottesville, my heart is in knots. I honestly feel sick.

It feels like our world is going insane.   May God give my brothers and sisters who are there grace, courage, and protection and… May God give the same to white Christians to use their voice to speak out against the hatred that is seemingly growing in our land (many who were quick to use their voices in protest of BLM rallies). Sadly, I hold little hope that they will use that same vigilance and protest regarding what happened last night.   May Christ, who is our peace and has broken down every wall, raise up his true church. r

church planting as movement

I say to people all the time, “The church is born with a Womb.” That is maybe a strange way to put it, but in my experience, churches rarely conceptualize themselves as church planting movements. Church plants and planters are courageous types, forging new territory for mission, reaching people that more historical churches cannot. That said, church planting usually is seen as a single act, planting a single church, rather than preparing from the very beginning to be a missionary movement. I have always believed that we don’t see movement because we fail to see ourselves rightly. When we planted Immanuel 3 ½ years ago, we framed into the very DNA of our being not only the need but also the priority to multiply. And, not just disciples, but discipling communities (btw – IMHO, this is a critically significant aspect of discipleship). Discipling is a communal venture. Our hope and intention, at Immanuel (the plant that I help lead) is to not only be a presence of shalom in the West Central neighborhood of Spokane but that that shalom would be extended to other neighborhoods in our city, regions and even countries. We are purposely shaping our priorities to live into God’s dream of multiplication.

A Liturgy of Peace

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I wanted to put this out before it moved from the front of my thinking. A few of us have been very concerned about the increase in violent activity in our city (here is a different recent post about this). The question I have been grappling with is what is the church’s response to such issues. To be honest, the complexity of urban violence is beyond me. What can be done? What can I do? I am not sure.

Liv Larson Andrews

One thing we (Eric Blauer and Liv Larson Andrews) arrived at was we did not want to become desensitized to how these brutal acts fractured shalom. I believe many Americans are becoming fatigued by the constant cascade
of news of this kind; that they are in a way de-selecting it for their possible choices of issues to be concerned about. read more

Hatred or Love, Vengeance or Mercy

Screen Shot 2013-08-23 at 9.06.54 AM

I awoke this morning
to two very different bits of news.

The first was on CNN
about another senseless and seemingly random murder…this time in my own city. We’ve finally made the top story on CNN. Unfortunately, it was for
reprehensible reasons. Two teens beat a World War II vet to death yesterday
not far from my home. An 88-year-old man! This is immediately on the heels of
the similar senseless shooting of an Australian youth living and going to
school in Oklahoma by 3 other teens, apparently because they were “bored.” Although,
there does seem to be some race motive behind that act. Many in Australian at
this point are measuring whether coming to the U.S. is a reasonable venture
because of fear of this type of violence. There is even gestures of a “Boycott”
of the U.S. read more

Listen Then Act

Phil Blog Four Photo

“Do not have your
concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the
Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” 
-Hudson Taylor

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Lk.
5:16) read more

I know who you are

Jessica Blog Four Photo copy

My mom has had cancer for almost five years.  She prays that she will live to see her three
daughters get married.  Last summer, the
first one of us daughters had her wedding in our front yard.  My mom wept: It was like God was giving back,
gift-wrapped, her deepest desire that she had surrendered fully to Him.

 
read more

Move It! ‘Cause you really ‘ought to

Zach Blog Four Photo copy
    There is something heartfelt and immediately piercing about praising God with
movement. There is a part of ourselves, our physicality, that we have neglected in our
worship. And because of it we have lost touch with our emotional souls; our movement
and our emotions are intricately linked. It is hard to lie and keep the world out when you
are engaged in authentic movement. I have found that some of my most honest and
vulnerable moments have been when I have used movement as a form of worship.
    Our bodies, our movements, I think, are that last piece in our worship; the piece
that connects it all together. I cannot express how freeing it is to use dance and
movement to pray and worship God, and at the same time, I cannot express how hard it
was to get to that place. It is not natural for us to be open and vulnerable with each
other. It is not natural to be uninhibited in our emotion and movement. So we have
learned to worship unnaturally: keeping everything inside locked up tight. But I don’t
think God wants us to worship only with our voices; I think we glorify Him most when we
are authentic and honest with each other. And I think that we could do that better if we
all learned to move a little more; to dance a little more. David danced, after all, as did
Jesus. So why can’t we?

Zach

The Church: A Banquet for Your Friends or a Refuge for the Poor?

Melissa Blog Four Photo

Then
Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite
your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors;
if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you
give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and
you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)

             The great
eighteenth-century hymn writer and ex-slave trader John Newton marveled at the
far-reaching impact of these words spoken by Jesus in Luke. “One would almost
think this passage was not considered part of God’s word, nor has any part of
Jesus’ teaching been more neglected by his own people. I do not think it is unlawful
to entertain our friends” he says, “but if these words do not teach us that it
is in some respects out duty to give preference
to the poor, I am at a loss to understand them.” Looking at the current state
of the American church, one can’t help but wonder if the “luncheon or dinner”
Jesus was referring to could be what we call our church service today. We spend
so much time catering our churches to our friends, brothers, sisters, relatives
and neighbors, that we completely disregard those Jesus is calling to invite
join us in our “banquet.” read more

Being Missional Will Kill Me

Kate Blog Three Photo

    Relationship. This is the word I keep coming back to the
more I learn about the true calling of the Church and the people of God.
Everything centers on the idea that to be a “city on a hill” we have to have
relationships with the people around us that will allow them to see what the
family of God looks like and what being a dedicated disciple of Christ really
means. And, yes, I love the idea of “doing life” with fellow Christians and
living in a way that shows what the gospel is about.

    BUT, I am terrified
at the idea of relational. I’m not kidding; I am not good at first impressions, holding coherent conversations, making
small talk, meeting new people, etc. Don’t get me wrong, God has given me a
heart for people and I love being around those whom I already know, but for
some reason God also made me a person that would rather stay in a corner than
engage others. So when I think about starting conversations with strangers and
putting myself out there with other Christians, it scares me. read more