Lead to the wilderness to die

OK this one is long but take a ritalin and read through this. It just might help you.

This blog is about of the the most common feelings in a believers life.... well at least mine. Have you ever felt like God lead out into the wilderness (a dry spot) just to see you die? Come on, be honest with yourself. Have you ever asked God why he has lead you to where you are? Well I have, and it stinks, just being real. This concept of feeling left alone is not a new as seen here. The question I think we all ask is why does this happen. Let me take a uneducated unintelligent look at that question. Well maybe I'm maybe not that bad, but there are defintely a lot of smarter and more intelligent people then me who could answer this question with scriptures and a 3 step process to turn it around. But hey you landed on my blog so you are gonna have to settle for my answer. ; )

First thing I want to point out is this, while in a spiritual wilderness it seems as though I always want advice on how to get out. Well, I heard someone say (I think it was Andy Stanley) "advice is the information you want from someone else but you already know the answer". All I have to say to that is get out of my front lawn and stop reading me mail! We KNOW what we need to do while in that dry place. The same thing we are always suppose to do, Follow Jesus Christ's life and example and to be in a continual relationship with Him.

I have this theory, I call it the onion theory. It goes likes this.... at everything there is a core truth and outside of that truth there are many layers. Those layers are what is visible but it is the core that makes it true. For example, I could show you something that looked like, felt like, and smelt like a sunflower and it could not be a sunflower. I may have built it using materials and scents and colors so that by all outward appearance it would be called a sunflower. But the truth is, its not. It does not possess the chemical makeup of a sunflower, at it very core it is NOT a sunflower. So where am I going with this... I was wondering the same thing just now. My point is we focus on the outward, we are more concerned with actions and everything around us; what we are experiencing, our job (or lack of), day to day life, our kids or someone's kids, or "what do others think of me", but what REALLY matters is our core... our spirit or as the Bible says "our inner man (or woman)".

One of my Joe-isms (those quirky phrases I always say) is "God cares more about your heart than He does your success". You know we.... actually I mean myself, really should stop thinking that I am smarter than God and that I should not be experiencing what God has for me RIGHT NOW. I'm reminded of 2 Corinthians 12: 7 - 10

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, [1] a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong

Its not about me, its all about Him. Whatever means He needs to catch my attention, whatever experiences need to happen, whatever the sovereign God decides to happen..... It ALL happens so that Christ in me may be glorified. Everything that happens in my life is meant to drive me through a 3 step process (OH GREAT here I go, I'm such a hypocrite, sorry) anyways... the process is this; 1) RECOGNIZE, 2) REPENT, 3) REGENERATE.

1) Recognize my sin... Recognize that I miss the mark (check the etymology of the word) in this case it is my own pride and self idolatry that thinks I should be experiencing something different. Its sin and its that simple, however thats not the end of the story.

2) Repent of my sin... or the fact that I am acting different that what God intended for me, I need to turn away from my own self righteousness and turn to the cross and allow the Holy Spirit to...

3) Regenerate my heart and mind to become more like who HE created me to be. Note: this process can hurt and will be painful but, it is like gold refined by the fire.

The good news in all of this is that Jesus Christ paid the price to freely give us the gift of His Holy Spirit so that you and I can freely experience this relationship with the Creator of the universe.

What is the Holy Spirit trying to get you to recognize, repent, and regenerate? Don't delay it, embrace it and GROW.

What is a Missional Church??

I want to put the overall general description of what a “missional church” is and try to flesh it out as far as what it will look like for our church on another post.  A missional church:

The missional church is a collection of missional believers acting in concert together in fulfillment of the missio dei (the sending of God).

The missional church is one where people are exploring and rediscovering what it means to be Jesus’ sent people as their identity and vocation.

The missional church is faith communities willing and ready to be Christ’s people in their own situation and place.

The missional church knows that they must be a cross-cultural missionary (contextual) people and adopt a missionary stance in relation to their community.

The missional church will be engaged with the culture (in the world) without being absorbed by the culture (not of the world). They will become intentionally indigenous.

The missional church understands that God is already present in the culture where it finds itself. Therefore, the missional church doesn’t view its purpose as bringing God into the culture or taking individuals out of the culture to a sacred space, however, being sent as a tool to point of the already existent Creator of the universe and the Triune Godhead.

The missional church will seek to plant all types of missional communities.

The missional church is evangelistic and faithfully proclaims the gospel through word and deed. Words alone are not sufficient; how the gospel is embodied in our community and service is as important as what we say.

The missional church recognizes that it does not hold a place of honor in its host community and that its missional imperative compels it to move out from itself into that host community as salt and light.

The missional church seeks to put the good of their neighbor over their own.

The missional church will be totally reliant on God in all it does. It will move beyond superficial faith to a life of supernatural living.

The missional church will be desperately dependent on prayer.

The missional church is orthodox in its view of the gospel and scripture, but culturally relevant in its methods and practice so that it can engage the world view of the hearers.

The missional church will be a community where all members are involved in learning “the way of Jesus.” Spiritual development is an expectation.

The missional church will help people discover and develop their spiritual gifts and will rely on gifted people for ministry instead of talented people.

I stole this post from a friend of mine. You can see his blog here. I only added the part about being to tool to point out the Triune Godhead that is already existent.

Communities of Grace vs. Communities of performance

This information is a re-post of material written by Tim Chester on the resurgence.

Communities of Performance
- The leaders appear to have it all figured out
- The community appears respectable
- Meetings must be a polished performance
- Failure is devastating, because identity is found in ministry
- Actions are driven by duty
- Conflict is suppressed or ignored
- The focus is on orthodox behavior (letting people think they have it all figured out)

Communities of Grace
- The leaders are vulnerable
- The community is messy
- Meetings are just one part of community life
- Failure is disappointing but not devastating, because identity is found in Christ
- Actions are driven by joy
- Conflict is addressed in the open
- The focus is on the affections of the heart (with a strong view of sin and grace)

What Does a Community of Grace Look Like?

Imagine such a church for a moment. Here's Andrew: he sometimes uses porn because he struggles to find refuge in God. Here's Pauline: she sometimes has panic attacks because she struggles to believe in the care of her heavenly Father. Here's Abdul: he sometimes loses his temper because he struggles to believe that God is in control. Here's Georgina: she sometimes has bouts of depression because she struggles to believe God's grace. When they come together, they accept one another and celebrate God's grace towards each other. They rejoice that they are all children of God through the work of Christ. And they remind one another of the truths each of them needs to keep going and to change. It's a community of grace, a community of hope, a community of change.

-- My Part --
Which community would you like to be a part of? Which community are you a part of? I think it is very important that we step back, sometimes way back, and make sure our beliefs are backed up by our actions. Does your life show real life, tangible grace? That statement convicts me to the bone and drives me to the cross asking for the Father's forgiveness and underscores the importance and absolute necessity of grace in my life.