thinking

I feel like this season of ministry is one of defining and redefining vision, and clarifying vocabulary. I had a great conversation today w/ Matt and Sean, 2 pastors at Mosaic, about our partnership and future/continued involvement in the Mosaic faith community. It was great food for thought regarding defining who we are, what we're doing, the strategy to move forward, and the vocabulary we use in communicating it. I'll share more about that in the future, but right now I'll say it is exciting and overwhelming and a lot to think about all in once.

After the meeting, I asked K8 to drink from the fire hose, as I debriefed all that we had talked about in my non-linear and chaotic presentation. She's awesome. She understood it and gave good insights. She's awesome. Then I got in the car to run errands and drove by a church board which read "What God Ordains, He Sustains." Normally I nearly vomit at the cheesy stuff that people put up on those boards, but this was encouraging.

Later, as I sat to get into the Word, I found this gem from 1 Peter 1:3-8: "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

God has given all of us what we need to move forward w/ what He's called us to, whatever it is. When we keep our eyes on Him and not all the stuff we need to do in order to get from A to B. When we focus on Him and on these things (goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love) we are productive in what He has for us. This was a good word for me as we consider the tasks before us, and our faithfulness to Him.

why i work at the firehouse

Yesterday I worked at the Firehouse Cafe, as I do every Monday and Tuesday. Before my shift I prayed that God would help me to see what He was already doing in people's lives, to give me the insight into how I could be a blessing to others, and for opportunities to put in a good word for Him where I could. As my shift started, a semi-regular asked me what else I do besides making coffee. I shared that I'm a pastor starting a new church. She was very intrigued, so I shared my vision for the church. I imagine I'll invite her to things in the future. Next, I reconnected w/ some new friends who are not Christians. It was slow so I sat w/ them, laughed w/ them, heard what was new w/ them, and shared again about the church and the faith. I got their info and we will hopefully have them over for a meal and more good conversation. Then I chatted w/ another regular about a Tolstoy's book "What is Given to Men" (a must read), which I've read and he was returning. It was a cool conversation about faith. I'm not sure where he at w/ Christ, but books like that allow us to talk about Jesus together. Finally as the shift was ended, I spoke again w/ the owner of the Firehouse about our walks w/ Christ as they relate to our walks w/ neighbors, friends, and family. It was a cool day, an answer to prayer, and confirmed for me why I spend time there making coffee.

feb. prayer letter

I've posted the text of our Feb. prayer letter. Check it out at the prayer link to the left.

discouragement

It was interesting this past weekend. I preached at Mosaic about discouragement and the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast. My main point was that even though we may be discouraged and wonder if God is moving, the truth is that He is moving, and in fact creating a home and a feast for His people. Having preached in the evening gathering, we went home and began winding down for bed. When I turned off the light… guess what hit me in the nose? Discouragement!

Thoughts raced in my head, of what good I did that night, what would happen if no one joined us in the church plant, what we would do if it all fell flat. My own answers I'd preached hours earlier were not helping; I couldn't shake it.

The next morning I shared it all w/ K8. We prayed together that God would draw His church in. I went for a long walk before working at the coffee shop. I was feeling better, but still had felt the aftershocks of the short night of sleep.

Then when my shift was almost over, I got a call from a friend who told me he and his wife had been talking and decided to take the plunge and join us as we start the church. What a difference a few hours makes! I had started the day in the dumps of discouragement, prayed for encouragement, and then God brought encouragement. It was so awesome to receive a specific answer to a specific prayer. Just when you think God's not moving, He reveals a bit of what He's doing, and we praise Him for it.

I continue to pray that God would bring folk to us who will be a part of the first chapter of the church, but this was a specific boost I needed for that day. Cool, eh?