incarnation

"As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world" (Jn 17:18). Think about it for a moment: The sovereign Lord of all creation - who's ways, means, and thoughts are unknown (except for what He chooses to reveal), who is infinite, all powerful and all knowing - came and lived among His creation in a limited body and in a manner where that creation could understand and relate. GOD (underlined) came and overlapped His life on earth w/ ours; He became our neighbor, bringing God's peace and restoration w/ Him. This is a piece of His incarnation on earth. Awesome! God the Father sent God the Son to live next door to us, and now God the Spirit has been sent w/ us to be incarnate in our world. We are called to mimic Christ and truly become neighbors to our community, bringing His peace and restoration w/ us. As we narrow our neighborhood search down, we are, at the same time, discerning what strategy of incarnation God is calling us to pursue in that neighborhood. We want our lives that overlap w/ those in our community, our neighbors. We desire to move in synergy w/ what is already happening there, while breathing the breath of life into those we encounter and partner w/. This "incarnation" will be different in different places. Last week I met with an awesome pastor in the Birchwood neighborhood of Bellingham, Cameron Garcia of NW Community Church. His incarnation in Birchwood is seen in community development. Mitchell and Rachelle Senti's incarnation is at the Three Trees Coffee House in downtown Bellingham, while my homies at Mosaic church in Bellingham do a blend of working both in and out of church, focusing on service. Incarnation, our "being with" our neighbors has different faces. Our desire is to plant a church and live a lifestyle that is both in, for, and with our neighbors, to borrow a thought from Baron Miller, meaning we are literally IN the neighborhood we focus on, advocating FOR the betterment of our neighborhood, and doing it all WITH our neighbors. We want to be like Christ in, for, and with that place.
As you pray for us and our discernment, please pray that the Holy Spirit would counsel us in the best way we can be incarnate in the neighborhood He is calling us to. You can click on the prayer link to the right for some specific incarnational strategies we are praying through. I will be praying for you, that God would counsel you as to how you can further be an incarnational presence in your neighborhood. Please contact me if you want to daydream and brainstorm together about this. And may God bless you in your incarnational journey.

regret

Today I am a bit angry at myself. I was having a lunch meeting w/ a Bellingham pastor, when we were interrupted by a guy sitting in the booth next to us. Prior to the lunch, I had prayed that God would use me to encourage this pastor and anyone who crossed my path. This interruption was an invitation to encourage. This man had overheard our conversation about church and mission, and decided to ask who we were. This man expressed he has heart for ministry and for God. He also told us he had just moved to town, is looking for work, and is living w/ relatives (and has until March to find his own place). The pastor gave him a couple resources to check out, and then he returned to his booth. As we left we said goodbye to the man, but I felt a tug at my heart to grab his contact info and to pray w/ him. I did neither. I feel like God opened the door to, at least, encourage this guy, but I was blind to the opportunity. As I got in my car to go home, I decided to drive by the restaurant to see if he was still there; he was not. I regret not acting upon the Spirit's leading. I wonder how often I miss out on the chance to breathe life into someone's day, b/c it wasn't on my terms. Those moments of "ministry surprise" catch us all off guard, especially when we are preoccupied w/ something or someone. And yet, we can not ignore them. My prayer for myself, and you, is that we will learn to be aware of the big picture around us, open to the Spirit's leading, and have the clarity to act in the midst of surprise moments. And, I am reminded that in God's sovereignty, He chooses us (w/ all our imperfections and flaws) to partner w/ Him in ministry. So, I pray that God will encourage that guys today, despite my "miss", and resolve to submit myself more to the Holy Spirit.

pick a number

We have moved from trying to discern where the church plant will be in Whatcom County to now discerning where it will be in the city of Bellingham. Our initial leanings are to one of the neighborhoods surrounding the campus of Western Washington University (number 15 on the map). If you know Bellingham this means we begun our search in the neighborhoods of Sehome, York, South Hill, Fairhaven, and Happy Valley (numbers 11, 14, 16, 17, and 19 on the map. The map is from www.livebellingham.com/ if you're curious). This is the initial circle where I've spent the last couple weeks praying through the places and looking for neighborhood hang outs / gathering points. As I finish this initial "look/prayer over" I'm going to return the the neighborhoods that God left an impression and spend some significant time in the neighborhood's coffee shops, parks, etc. to try and get to know folks there. During this month I'm hoping to connect w/ ministry, church, and community leaders, as well as key individuals, to network and begin discerning together both where we'll be, but also who we'll focus on and who will join us. "People and place" is out prayer. I'm also hoping to check out some Bellingham social and neighborhood networks of interest, whether its running clubs, neighborhood associations, service clubs, or something along those lines. When we feel a definite leaning toward a certain section of town, we'll begin looking for a place to live that will facilitate our vision of ministry. Then we'll move from Lynden to Bellingham, and jump further into outreach. It is an exciting and scary time, which forces us to always put ourselves before the cross, seeking His direction and submitting to His will. Anyone up for an adventure?