For the past 4 years or so our missional faith community, Missio Dei, has periodically gone out to clean up and beautify at Evergreen Cemetery (at Harvey West park).  It is owned by the Museum of Art & History, with the earliest headstone they’ve found going back to 1850. The city and the museum had a desire to see it cleaned up and become a safe family space like the park that surrounds it and a place to tell and celebrate the stories of history that make up Santa Cruz.

We’ve also been out there for several years at their family legacy day where they honor a family who is represented there, do headstone rubbing with the kids, host a tour, and at the event we serve ice cream.  They have wanted to make it a space where families could spend time and be comfortable enjoying the outdoor beauty of the area.

A few months ago we were helping at the Legacy Day and as we walked to get Ice Cream I mentioned to Sibley, who is one of the primary leaders of the restoration project, that I thought it would be pretty awesome to watch the movie The Book of Life there as part of the museum’s Dia De Los Muertos celebration.  He liked the idea and I let him know that our church family has a screen and projector that we could provide. He has the generator and popcorn machine, and the rest is history.  On Sunday we get to hang out under the stars and watch the movie.
That being said, some have mentioned that the idea of watching it in the cemetery is kinda creepy. Others have just given me that odd look when I tell them what we’re doing.  And still others in the Christian community I’m sure question it cause some of them already have some qualms about Halloween weekend.  So as I have been thinking about it, here’s a couple reasons I’m excited and think it makes sense:

• God cares about people and stories.
  The beautiful thing about the space is the rich histories and real life stories that are represented there (including this story of Louden Nelson, a freed slave who came to Santa Cruz, bought property, and left an endowment for city schools upon his death).  The Book of Life (as well as the tradition of Dia De Los Muertos) celebrates stories, the memories of people who have gone before us, and the value and power of love.  Those of us who are followers of Jesus are part of a larger story that shapes us, stretching back thousands of years. Stories shape us, including those of the areas we live in. It’s cool that we get to watch this movie with our families amid the memories of all those stories that make us who we are today.
• We have issues with death.
  We were having some great political and culture discussions among friends who all had differing opinions at my house the other night. One of them who has been a nurse for over 30 years stated that as Americans, we are very afraid of death. While a cemetery can seem like an odd place to have an event, much of this is because of our fear of the unknown and what our culture has made “graveyards” out to be. As people who believe that death has been defeated through the resurrection of Christ, wouldn’t it be cool to transform our ideas of a beautiful, old cemetery into a special place where another real and potentially beautiful part of our journey is recognized?
• It sounds really fun.
  Yeah, fun sounds like a good reason too. Watching movies together outside is fun, and it’s gorgeous out over at that park. We think part of being a community is having fun together and being out in our city. It’s another way of celebrating life. So that’s enough for me.

And yeah, if I’m being honest there is that side of me that thinks it’s fun to say we’re watching a movie in a cemetery on Halloween weekend. But that’s the Jr. Higher who still lives inside of me and gets out sometimes. 

As soon as that ended, life got nuts for me. Already, I had started rehearsals for Schoolhouse Rock, Live! which I am performing in at Cabrillo Stage. I had a week off from that when I traveled to San Diego to direct an Improv comedy festival for CYT. As all that was in process I agreed to co-direct Shrek Jr. for CYT Santa Cruz.  So last weekend was full days of rehearsing for Schoolhouse, and production meetings for Shrek in the evening, then for the past week I have spent all day directing at CYT Santa Cruz and then going straight to rehearsal.  It’s been a stupid schedule. All that in addition to trying to lead and think vision for the fall for Missio Dei. (So thankful for great leaders like Katie Garcia who led the charge on last weekends service project that I couldn’t make.)

Now I don’t share all this to whine. (Although I may be doing that a little.)
Unfortunately, when things get really busy, the reality is that the first thing to disappear is time spent centering myself and listening for/being aware of God’s presence. Time that I need in order to carry his peace with me into the chaos.
Today I have the day off.  I decided to intentionally lay low cause I’ve been having some throat and respiratory issues that need to heal up quick.
This morning I took some time for silence and reflection.  It was refreshing. And a reminder that even 5 minutes in the day to have some intentional silence can make all the difference.
It’s too bad that often the most important things are the things sacrificed when tasks and relationships – even really good ones – start to press in.
It’s not that I don’t have the time. It’s that I don’t fight for it and create the space.
Good reminders heading into the week before opening night.

“Just make space. Attend to what is around you. Learn that you don’t have to DO to BE.”
-Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship

This year Rachel bought some workout videos called Metabolic Aftershock. It’s around 20 minutes of intense workout 3 times a week that is designed to speed up your metabolism.  It’s been worth the time and money. I’ve done some other programs in the past, but this one has worked the best so far, partially because it isn’t 1 hour or more, 6 days a week.

LOTS of people I know spend time and money on fitness and health. (Sometimes just money by donating to gyms we never head to. Been there, done that.)
We carve out time to exercise or rearrange our habits to eat a little healthier. Or at least make attempts.
We make time to take care of our mental health by doing recreational activities. I’m good at that one.

All of those are important and all of it is spiritual.
But I notice that in my own life and the lives of most of the people I know, it is caring for our souls and our active relationship with our creator that doesn’t get much thought, time, or intentional effort.  God will always be there, so perhaps it doesn’t feel quite as urgent.

This weekend our faith community is taking a sabbath period away to make space for God. From sundown(ish) Saturday to the same time Sunday.

As we have all attempted to navigate our spiritual journeys and twists and turns of life, I have often asked myself and others, “What do you hear the spirit of God saying about that?”

I strongly believe that God is involved, present, and communicating with us on some level.
We need to take time to be with God and to just BE.
We need tools to help us engage in that conversation.

Over the past several years, and especially over the past 8 months I’ve found a lot of value in some helpful contemplative practices for creating space to take care of my soul.
So this weekend we are getting away together with 2 primary purposes:

• Creating space to talk to and hear from God as we rest (or sabbath).
• Coming away with some tools to try using on occasion at home to take care of our souls, just as we do other parts of ourselves.

So I invited our local friend and a mentor to my wife, Kelli Gotthardt, to come and facilitate the retreat so I can be a part along with everyone. She is finishing her Masters in Spiritual Formation and is a gifted leader and speaker.
Click here to find out more details about our Space For God retreat.
And if you could use the time and tools, there’s still time for you to join us! Please do.

After the retreat Missio Dei Community will spend 9 weeks going through the book Space For God on Sunday evenings to continue learning and experiencing practices to care for our souls.

We will never experience life in loving union with God as long as the roots of our identity, meaning and purpose are grounded in something other than God.
-M. Robert Mulholland, Jr., The Deeper Journey, p. 112

I heard this quote not long ago and it stuck with me. It got me thinking about all the things that I am often tempted to find my identity and meaning in, other than God.
Thus, I started thinking about the things that in reality don’t define me. Or at least shouldn’t…

1. I am not a minister
Or a “church planter” for that matter. Or a leader of a missional community in Santa Cruz. One of the first questions that is asked when we meet people is, “What do you do?” I am lucky that my vocation isn’t just what I do, but really is who I am. But even at that, it is tempting to let my significance get wrapped up in that role. And when things don’t go how I think they should, that is bad news when that is where I am drawing my worth from.

2. I am not American
‘Murica. It’s a great place. Even with it’s issues and imperfections. But we have a tendency to worship a civil religion and get it mixed up with our faith. Being American somehow becomes entwined with or more important than not only being a Christian, but being a part of the global human race. It’s part of why I’ve been increasingly uncomfortable with pledging my allegiance to anything or anyone but Christ. But perhaps that’s another blog post.

When we traveled to Africa last year to work with Cherish Uganda, I had people who asked why we would help over there when there are so many issues here. I understand the question. I agree there are lots of needs to be met here and I want to be a part of sharing compassion and justice here, as well. I am also connected to and responsible for people in other countries as a member of humanity and that is important, too.

3. I am not Democrat or Republican…or Libertarian
Nowadays my Facebook news feed is full of articles and such about politics, whether from a conservative or liberal angle. It’s not gonna get any better with a way too long presidential race kicking into full swing. And I quickly start to get sucked into it all. Partially because politics is important as a vehicle for fighting injustice and I am still wrestling with what level of engagement I think is appropriate for the church. I admit I get frustrated that because I follow Jesus it is often assumed that I’m a Fox News conservative. I tend to want to make it clear that I’m not. But if I look for ultimate meaning, purpose, or salvation in politics I am going to be sorely disappointed.

4. I am not straight
So there’s this pretty intense discussion in church worlds right now about how LGBT inclusive churches and denominations are or should be. That is not a discussion I’m looking to have on this particular post. However I do think it’s worth noting that a big point being missed in many of these conversation is that of identity. This one is tough because our sexuality really is a huge part of who we are. But no matter what my orientation, my identity shouldn’t be rooted in that. There are plenty of men in the church world who define themselves by some cultural macho image of what it is to be a straight man and some church cultures not only allow, but encourage this. Not cool. Before we have arguments about what you think is or isn’t OK, let’s talk about what is defining our identity. That is the primary conversation and is the same regardless of orientation.

5. I am not evangelical
Yeah. That word. Besides the fact that I really DON’T want to be defined by that word at all because of what it’s come to mean (see Fox News conservative comment above), I should be wary of being defined by any church movement or denomination. I am also not Baptist, mainline, Anglican, Catholic, etc.  All have some beautiful parts and some crumminess. Doctrine and tradition is valuable so far as it draws us to the source. Our labels usually screw that all up.

6. I am not a sinner
Now that one may get some push back from my more fundamentalist friends. A common Christianese phrase I’m not a fan of is, “I’m just a sinner saved by Grace.” I understand what the point is. Yes there is some truth to it as well. But I will live into whatever I continually tell myself defines me. I think it’s interesting that none of Paul’s letters are addressed to “the sinners in (fill in the blank).” They are to the saints. In the language of scripture, yes, I was a sinner at one time. But that doesn’t define me. I am a saint. Who also happens to fall short of God’s ideal for me regularly. But those shortcomings are not who I am.  When my kids misbehave, I’ve tried to get into the habit of reminding them they are good kids and invite them to live into that truth rather than tell them how bad they are.

I often find it easier talk about what I am not rather than what I am.  While I did just spend a whole post defining what I’m not, I admit it’s more important to know what or who I am.
I am beloved of God.
Period. His creation. His kid. And so are you.
Not cause of anything I do or stand for or represent.  Just cause I am.
Rooting my identity in THAT truth brings life and relationship with God.
Some of those things above are byproducts of that, but they aren’t the source.

What identity, meaning, or purpose are you finding outside of a rootedness in God?

As most of you know, my mom passed away 4 years ago.  Obviously, it was a rough season.
With that came some money she left behind as an inheritance for us.  A huge blessing wrapped in an unsettling blow.
As we budgeted and sought to be wise with what we had received, we intentionally set aside some of that money and said, “Let’s do something special for our 10 year anniversary that we never could have dreamed of doing otherwise.  My mom would like that.”
Honestly, she would.  I’m not just saying that.  She’s probably a happier about that than the parts we gave to church and non-profits.

Truth be told, I really wanted to take Rachel to New Zealand. By far my favorite place I’ve ever been.  But the timing didn’t work out with seasons, jobs, and flight costs.
So as we searched for other options, Rachel came across the idea of Mombasa, Kenya.
Neither of us had ever been to Africa.  So the idea of experiencing something new together sounded appealing.
However, we had always dreamed of visiting Africa for the sake of humanitarian efforts and Christ centered missions opportunities.
By the way, part of what we tithed from my mom we also set aside for the purpose of short term missions. We really believe in them, both for the sake of the good they can do and the life-changing power they have for those who go.  Pretty sure that’s deserving of a post all of it’s own.

So we said, “Hey, let’s invite our faith community to join us on our anniversary trip!”
OK, maybe we didn’t wuite present it like that.  That’s just kind of awkward.
but we did figure we could have them join us for part and mix “business” with “pleasure” considering we were flying over.

So after all is said and done, the result has been the experience of a lifetime while my sister and her husband split kid watching duties for us with Rachel’s parents.  We have had the opportunity to relax, experience insurmountable beauty, already be challenged by the confrontation of the reality of poverty and developing countries, and breath, centering ourselves on Christ together as we get away.
And in a couple of days we get to greet 4 of our best friends to share that leg of the journey with.

So there ya go.  Now you know.
(I guess that was a little Uganda backstory too.  But there’s a little bit more to that one.)
Really hoping to find the time to share some pictures and videos here when I find the time.  Maybe before we leave.  Maybe not til after we get back.
And to follow the missions part of our trip, click here for our Missio Dei Community Uganda blog.
Thanks for sharing the journey virtually.

Kind of out of the blue, here is a rough idea of the conversation Micah and I had in the car on the way to pre-school this morning.

Micah: Why did the bat almost kill the guy in the Bible?
Me: Huh?
Micah: It says the guy is half dead or something?
Me: Oh, you mean the “Good Samaritan.”

[In a nutshell, this is a story from the book of Luke about a man who is beat up and mugged.  The religious folk walk past and avoid him completely, and finally a guy from Samaria helps the guy, takes him to an Inn, and gets him cleaned up.]

Me: Oh, you don’t mean a winged creature, right? You mean like a baseball bat.
Micah: Uhhh…I don’t know.
Me: The guy gets beat up and then someone finally helps him.  The picture in the Bible was probably with a bat, huh?  That story tells us we should help all people, right?
Micah: Did he use a bat?
Me: Probably not in real life, but that’s how they showed it in the picture.
Micah: Why did they beat him up?
Me: well they were bad people who took his money and hurt him really bad.  Which we shouldn’t do.  Does that make sense?
Micah: Yeah.  But why did they use a bat?
Me: They probably didn’t actually use a bat Micah.  The point is they hurt him pretty bad.
Micah: Was it a baseball bat?

The fact that he could NOT get off the idea of the bat wa kinda humorous to me.  I was really trying to move him on to the big picture of the story, but he was really stuck on what that bat was all about.

It got me thinking about how much we tend read scripture like Micah too, though.
How often do we get stuck on some stupid tree instead of seeing the whole forest?

What do I mean?
Let’s see.  How about we all spend a bunch of time arguing about whether or not the creation account was literal 24 hour days or not.  We can argue all about the Hebrew words and whether science is reliable or not.  And in the process, let’s totally forget about the fact that however you look at it, the point of the whole text is to give us awareness of a God who is creative, beautiful, involved, and brought all things into being.

Or, on this Good Friday, dare I step on some toes and suggest that we tend to do this with the cross and the nature of the atonement.
Atonement – in terms of theology, the reconciliation of people and God.   Repairing the relationship of us and the creator.
There are several theories of how Christ’s atoning work is accomplished.  Penal substitution (he took our punishment from God cause we all suck), Christus Victor (he conquered death), ransom theory (he gave himself as a ransom and released us from the authority of evil), or moral influence (he models and fulfills the message of his life, self-giving love) among others.
I come from an evangelical tradition that leans heavy on substitutionary atonement to the degree that you might as well not be a Christian if you don’t buy in hook, line, and sinker.

C.S. Lewis is one of the more brilliant and respected Christian thinkers of the 20th century.  By the way, he actually leaned more on what is called the “Perfect Penitent” theory, rather than substitution.
In Mere Christianity he writes this:

Now before I became a Christian I was under the impression that the first thing Christians had to believe was one particular theory as to what the point of this dying was. According to that theory God wanted to punish men for having deserted and joined the Great Rebel, but Christ volunteered to be punished instead, and so  God let us off.  Now I admit that even this theory does not seem to me quite so immoral and so silly as it used to; but that is not the point I want to make. What I came to see later on was that neither this theory nor any other is Christianity. The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start. Theories as to how it did this are another matter. A good many different theories have been held as to how it works; what all Christians are agreed on is that it does work.

In other words, we all know food gives us nutrition.  Sure it can be helpful to consider ways that this may happen, how the proteins are broken down, etc., but the more important part is it does. So keep eating.

I’m trying to learn to get a bit less caught up on the trees, and pay more attention to the big picture Jesus has for us as his followers.
For me as his kid.
For our faith community as a family.
What’s important today?  Jesus died, I’ve been made new as a result, and he set me right with the creator of the universe.  Now I get to experience his alternate reality on a daily basis.
Thankful for a reminder today from my 5 year old budding theologian.

Oh…by the way…wanna celebrate that with us this Easter Sunday?
Eggs. Plastic and edible. Not at the same time. Those are 2 different categories.
Join us for brunch.
Click here for more info.

Lay your life down. Your heartbeats cannot be hoarded. Your reservoir of breaths is draining away. You have hands, blister them while you can. You have bones, make them strain— they can carry nothing in the grave. You have lungs, let them spill with laughter. With an average life expectancy of 78.2 years in the US (subtracting eight hours a day for sleep), I have around 250,000 conscious hours remaining to me in which I could be smiling or scowling, rejoicing in my life, in this race, in this story, or moaning and complaining about my troubles. I can be giving my fingers, my back, my mind, my words, my breaths, to my wife and my children and my neighbors, or I can grasp after the vapor and the vanity for myself, dragging my feet, afraid to die and therefore afraid to live. And, like Adam, I will still die in the end.

Living is the same thing as dying. Living well is the same thing as dying for others.

Wilson, N. D. (2013-07-30). Death by Living: Life Is Meant to Be Spent (Kindle Locations 1028-1034). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Once a month I get together with a group of pastors in Santa Cruz.  Each month we read a book one of us chooses (or pulls up a review on the phone when we are often negligent in reading), then get together for lunch and drinks (what kind of beverage tends to depend on the restrictions of each persons tradition – sure glad I don’t have any) and discuss the book and our lives and ministries with each other.  I am so grateful to be doing ministry in a place where we get along, encourage one another, pray for each other, and hang out with each other despite our extreme differences in backgrounds, faith traditions, and the ridiculous perception by some, both inside and outside the church world, that we are in “competition” as church planters and leaders.  But enough about that…

We get together today and this time I actually read a good portion of the book. (Trying to make as much progress as possible before heading to Aptos BBQ.)  Death By Living by N.D. Wilson.  I was going to post a portion of the above quote to Facebook, but had too much to say and thought to myself, “No self, you should blog that quote.  Remember that thing?  The word is short for weblog.  You can share a few extra thoughts. Good luck.”

All that to say, I dig the quote up there.  Great book from an author who reflects on his life and experiences and encourages us to really live life.  The concept of the story that we live in has been a great parallel to our journey through the grand narrative of God we have been spending time in at The Hub with Missio Dei Community.  Also as I consider possibly being involved in an improv opportunity next year, I love the reminders of what stories are and what makes good stories.

Point of this post? (Aside from disjointed verbal processing…)

1. I love being connected to other missionaries in Santa Cruz and spending time together.
2. That’s a great quote up there. Read it and be inspired today to live well today.
3. Stories are powerful and important.  We need to tell them more often.
4. Check out the book. It’s worth while.
5. Oh, and I need to blog more.

So #5 wasn’t really mentioned above.  And I promise I’ll stop mentioning it in every post after 1-2 months between them.  But I was telling the guys last time we met, my favorite songwriters to listen to are the ones that inspire me to want to try and write music.  That’s when I know they’re good.  This book inspires me to want to tell more stories, live better stories, and  write some more.  This may be a poor writing sample, but hey, gotta prime the pump.  When you haven’t pumped water out of a well for a while, there’s a lot of sludge that comes out til it gets flowing.  If I worry about editing less, perhaps I’ll actually blog more.
You’ve been warned.

Curious what my other friends are being inspired by these days.
Books, music, stories, art, circumstances, victories, defeats…
Do share…

Believe it or not, I just saw Nacho Libre for the first time las week.
But I digress…

I was 22 when I was baptised at Knott Avenue Christian Church.
I had been baptised as an infant in a Catholic church.
So when I got a card saying congrats, my mom informed me it was a waste of time cause I was already covered.  But hey, double dipping never really hurt anyone, right?

Actually, as I read scripture, I came to understand baptism as something significant to do by my own choice.
I had been a follower of Jesus for a little while, then. I was in a season where I was learning what it meant to really let God be in charge of my life.  I saw that baptism was something that Jesus instructed people to do and even modeled himself before he started his ministry.  Baptism is a powerful picture of identifying with Christ’s death and resurrection.  And while many see it as a cool symbol, I also can’t help personally but believe that there is more to it as well.  I think there is a mystical nature to the practice where Christ is present and uses it to reinforce and bring about transformation in our hearts and lives.
All that to say, I think baptism, while it doesn’t “save” you, is a pretty significant event.
Hey, technically I guess based on our church affiliation now I’m a Baptist, so might as well go with it.

So when my sister told me she had decided she was going to get baptised, there’s no way I wasn’t gonna drive down to San Diego to be there for it.
She’s been a Christ follower for a long time now.  So while it might not signify some huge decision or life-changing event, I think it’s significant. It definitely communicates something about God’s continual work in her life.
Rachel had to work so the boys and I packed up the car and headed south to Chula Vista.
We surprised my sister and possibly added some more stress to her life considering my aunt and uncle were staying at the house, too.

Saturday evening at the beach was the baptism.
Here’s a few shots of her getting dunked.

 

 

 

I had a great time BBQing with her church out on the beach.
And it was awesome to see multiple people baptised out in the (chilly) ocean that evening.
Such a fun, powerful, and creative way to celebrate how God is working in people’s lives.

Caleb having asked about baptism in the past, I was hoping for some good conversation with the boys about it, too.
On the way home I asked Caleb if he saw the baptisms.
“They were boring. They just put people under water.”
Oh well. Maybe later.
Proud of my family and how my sister and her family are so committed to following Jesus in their lives.
It was well worth the 8 hour drives there and back.

“Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with…”
Mark 10:39

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Romans 6:4

Worship through music isn’t something we’ve done a whole lot of since starting as a faith community.
Why? We want to create a comfortable place for anyone to join us and just have good conversation about faith and Jesus.
Let’s be honest.  If you don’t “get” the musical worship thing, 10 people in a circle in a living room singing Kumbaya seems a little weird. (FYI – we don’t actually sing Kumbaya. The songs are much better than that.)
As one respected leader once said to me, “Remove as much as the freak factor as possible.”

That being said, it’s also a huge part of who I am as a leader and who we are as followers of Jesus.
It’s a way for those of us who follow Christ and/or love music to connect to God.
And this seemed like an appropriate season to spend some time in prayer together.

We’ve been trying to incorporate more creative ways of connecting to God for people, too.
We’ve been spreading art supplies and altered books materials around the room for people as well.
One of my favorite parts about last month was my friend Todd joining us.
He ended up with my old job as a music teacher at Ceiba.
He grabbed an old 2nd guitar we have in the house and played along.
A little bit later he moved over to the piano and followed along on that.

With some people singing, and others doing art around the room, it created a really cool relaxed participatory feel.
So much worship music at churches today is about presentation, and it was fun to be able to freely express our prayers through different mediums and instruments without feeling the need to “rehearse” beforehand.
My friend Kevin recently described our community’s worship through music as being less like a concert and more like a campfire.
I like that. Stickin with it.
I’m looking forward to doing it again this weekend as we pray for our community as we launch into a new season of ministry this fall.
Feel free to join us.

How about you?
Just out of curiosity…musical worship, makes sense and you love it or not your thing and aren’t feeling the group karaoke?
I’d be especially interested to hear from my friends who don’t go to church regularly but have experienced it about what your perception was/is.

Alan Hirsch: Communitas, not Community [VERGE 2010 Video] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

My original intent in posting it in relationship to Missio Dei Community is the Communitas idea of being on mission together.
Of being Comrades.
Of having each other’s backs.

But closely tied to that is what he has to say about safety vs. danger.
It’s a conversation I’ve had with several friends recently.
One of my least favorite cliches I hear in church land…

“The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.”

Ugh.
Bull.
Best place, absolutely.
But I usually hear this in terms of not having to face challenges, peril, or even death.
Try telling that to the Apostle Paul…

 I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones,three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
2 Cor 11:23-27

The movement of Jesus was one that was subversive.   ALL of Jesus’ inner circle were killed for what they believed.
I hear people talk about the culture having too much influence on the Church instead of vice versa.  It usually revolves around some moral hot button issue.
But I’m way more concerned by the influence the consumer culture and the American dream have had on the movement of Christ.
The idea that Jesus wants us all to live comfortable middle class lives with a nice house and a nice car is bogus.
(I know…easy to say from a middle class faith leader with a nice home and nice car.  The irony isn’t lost on me.)

But I really believe that Jesus isn’t all that concerned about our safety, security, comfort, or convenience.  In fact, if you’re feeling really comfortable in life, I’d challenge you to consider if you’re really stepping out in faith and allowing Jesus to show up.
It’s not very comfortable.
When we left a fairly good paying, secure job at a church over 3 years ago to raise support, take side jobs, and start a new faith community with a couple of people in our living room, I was actually kinda surprised by how many people didn’t get it and thought we were nuts.  Then again, I guess we kinda are.
It’s been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, and continues to be.  There have been lots of discouraging times and hurts along with some amazing victories and valuable relationships.
Looking back and seeing God show up at every junction has been amazing.

I think I’m starting to ramble.
What’s my point?
I’m not sure.
(Communication 101: know your desired outcome/central purpose from word 1. Fail.)
Except maybe to say that I really don’t think Jesus is that concerned about our safety and comfort.
How that plays out for each of us will look a little different.
But when we start to make safety a core value of the Gospel, we inadvertently remove most of the heart and power of the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed.
Without risk, there’s not a whole lot of need for faith or God.
And usually that means getting pretty uncomfortable.