Church As Body or MINI ME

some good posts and chats in below article

How do i get ME into the profile

#Hello - this is me

Church On The Way or In The Way?

I have to say - the bit i enjoy most in blogging is trying to come up with a headline. SO..... most important bits done.

Well well well well well.....well, why do we spend so much time and focus on getting well? ive picked up on How well is well enough when God uses a broken army in an earlier article, but really....What is taking centre stage in our expending of energy?

Ive seen several community birthings which have in my redactional view (stripping) have not become church at all. Usually it STARTS with a very noble cause such as: Finding Authentic Faith / Becoming The True Bride / Having Real Fellowship etc etc.... the list of well meant causes could go on and im sure you could think of a few - even a few worth embarking on a another journey after?
BUT...................... what ive seen has tended to have the LOST AS AN AFTER THOUGHT, "when we ARRIVE at a point of X then we will have something to offer the lost". Now i really do understand the gesture, but i dont see an arrival point in scripture, i dont see any ellement AT ALL of churchmanship....of being a disciple, whereby once we have crossed a certain 'inner vow or agreed value' line...we can then pursue the lost. In truth, in many settings we never get to this point - i dont htink such a point actually exists anyways. But while we shuffle forwards towards such an undivine human goal - we enflict the sin of not helping people come to faith cause WE or IT isnt ready.
BOTTOM LINE: You cant ever be church - if you are not extending kingdom into the hearts of the lost from the outset. What Jesus centred church can move forwards without the commission in its very dna from the outset? aspiration...a church maketh not - a disciple maketh not. Surely this from the start and on the way pursuit of the lost is what shapes us and makes us eternally rich now? How many saints live daily in hope deferred as the 'gods compassion for the lost breaks our hearts' reality of all of our cores gets surpressed once more.

So what ideals? what line have we consiously or unconsciously put before us that have become a stumbling block to the gospel? how long have you been working towards that place of arrival - how long have the lost that God has placed you in and around got to wait? What in truth would stop you from doing something about that tomorrow - now? and i ask myself the same. hope your cool with joining in the mud of my inner world for a friendly wrestle.

Dont Start With Church

Its well worth having a title that draws the eye in dont you think.
Good stuff from Diane in Uk / Michael in Cali. and Casey in Seattle.

"if you want to see kingdom established - dont start with the church"

I heard this recently, and in the context it was absolutely correct in my view. You could see that as we were beginnign to think through what it means to see Gods kingdom come on earth - in and through all things - that we were unable to do it when our paradigm was from the church of 'somewhere else' looking outwards.
I think thats the discipleship test to some degree also - our mental locatedness of being 'in' church or 'as' church will come up with quite differing result.
Im telling you folks - im totally screwed now my brain has downloaded this heaven stuff...... im feeling pretty unhinged in what a friend calls 'A Glorious Meltdown'.

Ok - im going to pick you up - right now - im going to transport you to the city of Prague in Czech Republic. Has an incredible reformer heritage which ended in blood - like many good stories. There are 1% Christians there, of which 1/4 % are evangelical types - the catholics arent much better and the rest state they are atheist.
You and your partner - or best friend are now immediately there for 5 years. What you gonna do?

Find a Church???? or Establish Kingdom as the Church where the Kingdom is absent?
If the latter....what you gonna do, whats your process? How is it likely to unfold?

Personally - theres this great Greek restraunt in a side street - foods really cheap - the under manager is Alexandra - its only been open a week and you can still smell wet paint. You can tell he is under pressure and is pulling out the stops - he called us in off the street with the offer of 'first beer is free' - done deal. He has blessed us materially and in his manner - God blesses those who bless us, I ask if we can pray for him personally and for his business to prosper. Some religious catholic background seems to lead him towards stumbling 'he doesnt know THEEE prayer' - i encourage him that he has to do nothing - just recieve at this stage - yet he throws his hands outwards and says loudly ' Jesus bless me and this business'
I go home tomorrow. But in our game - you are there for 5 years........ i hope you like greek food for some time to come, not too long though, your not looking to stay there - your lookign to see something begin with legs that can walk - not a crutch on you - could be eating home grown czech in a few weeks. Its possible you will make friends with Alexandra - find less busy times where you can drink together and become friends - your are coming to his world - you are 'coming to eat at his house today', the kingdom of God is 'come amongst him and his own'.
Thennnnnnnnnnnn you get to worry about the commission part two - youve gone - and in your going youve engaged - youve made wilful and intentional connections because this is the rest of your life. And i dont care if your 'a ministry gift to the saints to see them do this stuff' there is no 'others do it instead of you and you live out the commission vicariously' in Jesus. But i suspect some have made it so.
So - your helping them through to faith - your baptising from life to death - your instructing in not just the words but the ways of jesus - they are following him towards the lost...................and in following He Is Making Them...whatever they need to be but the bottom line is going to involve fishing for people.

So i guess this is discipleship in some respects. What do you think? Do you need to be uprooted to a strange place to gain perspective - to RE Allign yourself? Can you do it where you are..... cause im getting a real headache here trying to reform my life practices - my rythmns - my diary - even what me and my wife focus towards.
For 10 years ive been trying to fill my diary with Kingdom stuff - but to be honest - theres a fair bit of 'church' stuff in there.
So.... Heres the punchline..... "do i begin to re align my thinking towards making new disciples - or continue to focus mostly on the recovery of those who have been 'in' for a great many years.

I dont think there is such a thing as a discipleship course to be fair - and i run a few. Im sure theres space for deliberate pushes - but a disciple it maketh not - we can smack butts and say 'there you go' now your a disciple. I havent seen a single one reproduce in all these years, not just my stuff either, as i look at what others are providing to 'make disciples' also.
Heck - i could be saying to you MOP UP all those whove been church for years and still not been discipled. Im not - im telling you personally to re produce.

Part of our 'pshyche' has led us to have friends in such a way that we are a hub - and our capacity for new people is quickly gone. Some have this 'friends with everyone for life' thing which needs adjusting too. Many believers are saturated and full with people - could even begin to reach someone new as they are now obligated. Im sure we are borderline 'sinning' in how Christ came to us - and we joined a new family - so christ has found it hard to come into our bilogical one - but we talk about those 'unreached' family members where new meet more regularly with our new one - that just seem a little out of whack? I wonder if this isnt an 'empire issue' tangled into the mix? Empire and Church as separate from life, would lead us to save people away from their contexts to this spirit filled one, So...... does Christ really come to eat with us - and our family - or is he a sharp shooter who picks us off in the street?

If i am to follow some of this stuff through - some of my now friends are going to have to see less of me - some of our 'real community' sacred cows are going to have to die. As long as we see this emerging church journey in centristic ways - our capacity soon shrinks - we now have an ideal to achieve and fragile relationships to maintain - and traditionally - thats as far as this thing gets.
If we are making disciples - we are about the same business - are we likely to cleave to one another less? - im sure this must change our thinking an practices here in some way - - - do you think?

That Christian Word

Most Unhelpful Word In My Life????? = "Christian"!! Why? because it seems to have irreversably lost any significant meaning in my view - well.... today at least, ask me again tomorrow.
I have met so many people recently who talk 'Disciples' and 'Followers of Jesus' that its really provoking me. I know a great many Christian, for whom the word Christian is an 'adjective' - it is a description of a point of view, a political allignment, a belief in a system instead of a belief in a divine person, a membership to a 'viewpoint' club, an association to a locatable static people group etc etc etc. I met these guys in Prague recently who make Disciple Making Disciples...end of story.
The help people come to faith, become followers of Jesus, Disciples with a mandate to reproduce.

I could pretty much gaurantee that i could walk into 9 out of 10 Christian (adjective) households and not find a single Disciple (verb) who is making Disciples. See what i mean??? In fact, i could walk into any of the 3 huge congregations in my town, ask everyone to stand to their feet and say "sit down if in the last 10 years you have personally brought someone through to faith - discipled them and seen them discipling others" How many would sit down? A handful maybe, perhaps less once we have gotten through the corporate maze of corporate padding "Wellllllllllllll, i met this guy at work - brought him to a guest service - he 'responded' and has done alpha - even done a discipleship year" to whom i would want to say 'HEY - Get Back On Your Feet'. It really does make you wonder just how many of us, if faced with Jesus saying 'this is what it means to follow me - this is how you have to live and lay down your lives for the lost and each other' just how many would walk away. Heck - i wish he would, at least i would know who im working with.

Wouldnt it be good to know who the disciples are amidst the christians???? if you catch my drift.
Wouldnt it be so good for all the Christians to have to ask if they are disciples, and if there is any other kind of Christian?

HEAR MY CONFESSION OH LORD - I am an unworthy sinner - i am an idol worshipper - i have worshipped at the feet of my own idealism, i have wrongly focused my attention for the last 15 years on trying to get Christians (adjective lord) to become Disciples (yes verb lord) who are making Disciples. Hense, i have seen very few people come to faith in recent years and i myself would have to have stayed standing up in response ot my own questions. Father help me make disciples, who reproduce, father help me be a disciple who reproduces because i have THOROUGHLY LOST MY WAY in this regard. Father continue to rebuke me through your holdy spirit where i have been a butt talker, where i talk like i love the lost, but have deferred my hopes onto others to become Disciples to get the job done. Sorry

Heck................................... and Heck Again................ How many of the people i track with are Disciples? How many of them have gotten stuck on trying to get Gods will done regards the lost through others.....still on that hillside trying to work out if they want to be disciples. Lets do it in a day................. this is what a disciple IS............ this is what it means to Follow Jesus - You GO Where He Is Going................ what? No, you dont want to ? What? Youve got a headache, see you later.
G

back in a jiffy

Hi - i'll be back in the flow next week, a few tasty torments to unpack from some time away in Prague with equally wierd... wierd beards like me - except the girls, athough some of those had beardy armpits which is cool outside of the uk, as is "the smell of a real man" as your a real loser if you use anti persperant - thats just for girls...the ones with the hairy pits.
Isnt it good that our cultural differences born out in the flesh does not get in the way of Godly connections. Hoorah. So - like i said - back soon. Im off to Miss England in liverpool now where my 17 year old is representing our town - gonna be a crazy weekend.
g