the push and pull

Lately I have been having a really big internal struggle about the way things are and the way I want them to be. It's really difficult to sit back and watch your life and things you care about when you feel like you should get personally involved or voice your opinion. The thing I have to remind myself is that only God can change a situation and as much as I whine and complain about something I have to know that it is not always up to me.
I can be easily pessimistic and look at the downside to many things. It's how I was raised and has been ingrained in me since I was young. That push and pull has always been part of my life. It goes in cycles. That's part of growing in the faith as well. It's not all daisies and roses. I have days where I don't want to even get up or think about being a christian honestly. The alternative is so much easier. Caring about people and trying to be on mission is something I do not always want to aspire to. So what do I do with that?
That's where I believe perseverance comes into play. It's all about picking myself up in those times, striving to get closer to God and work on getting out of my stages of self loathing. Community plays a big part of that and having people who encourage and help me go through my struggles is part of the recovery. I guess what I want anyone to take away from this is a) you will struggle and b) when you do community comes into play now more than ever and being plugged in somewhere makes all the difference cause you can't make it alone.

i really liked this

What images do spirituality or spiritual activity conjure in your mind? I guess many people think of praying alone away from the noise of the family, or sitting in contemplation on retreat in a rural place. It’s about what I do alone, rather than what I do with other people. Spirituality has come to be about solitude, calm, silence.

In reality, though, this is spirituality for the well-off. It’s only for those who can afford to go on retreat or have space in their home where they can be quiet. It won’t work for the single mother in a small apartment. It won’t work for the migrant worker who goes to work at six in the morning. It’s not urban spirituality. And it’s not biblical spirituality

Biblical spirituality is about:

* Bible meditation, not mystical silence
* Passionate engagement, not rural retreat
* Growing together, not individual solitude

In other words, biblical spirituality, at its core, is about the word of God, the mission of God, and the community of God.

This was taken from http://www.theresurgence.com/ by tim chester

hmm

" The church is only the church when it exists for others"

Hey let's

move to the mountains and live in a cave and never bother anybody. I know this sounds like a phenomenal idea and in a sense a lot of christians have this mindset and they are not even aware of it. The cave is the world they live in cut off and isolated from people who do not believe, eat, drink, or share any of the same thoughts as they might. Where did we ever get the idea that segregation was a good concept? That not having any cultural relevancy is going to help the church grow and spread and share the love of Christ and the gospel of redemption to others. We are the new segregation in society and its pretty frightening. I read a quote from a church leader the other day about how they do not watch tv because of all the "crap" on it. How are you ever going to relate to anyone in your community if you do not know what's going on, what people are into, or even try to understand someone who is different from you. I have to say I am quite disgusted with the segregationist christian mindset, and if this offends you then I think its time you looked to make a change for the betterment of yourself and the church.
My friend and I were having a conversation last night about a label and that label was us being called southern baptist and when he said it the stigma of it hit me with such a disgusting taste in my mouth to be honest. I really dislike the term because a lot of the segregationist thinking comes out of that and fundamentalism. He then said something profound to me though that hit me with a lightening bolt, and that was let's take it back, let's make it our own, and show the love of Christ through that label. After pondering on it for a bit I do believe that we are all part of this church and instead of me isolating myself from it like they do from the world, I should embrace it and work to help rebuild it one brick at a time.

Disconnection: Imminent

Communication runs the world as we know it in all shapes in sizes, from the spoken to the unspoken forms. Without communication civilization as we know would cease to exist. Over the last twenty years we have had a boom in communication devices from computer, to cell phones, palm pilots, blue tooths, and whatever else you can think of. Now don't get me wrong I love new technology as much as the next guy, but have you ever thought about the downside to all these forms of communication?? I couldn't help but think how we are connected and disconnected at the same time. We are an impersonal society who does not engage each other. We will send a text across a room before having an actual conversation. In uncomfortable situations we put on our headphones as an excuse to disengage and withdraw into our own private worlds. I think we need to be careful to find a balance here and make sure we don't find ourselves on the other end of this spectrum. Just make sure you take the time to talk to people in person, start a conversation with a stranger, and not lose the art of making friends and building relationships. Turn off the cell phone every once in awhile and walk away from AIM. I am as guilty as the next person about this. Let's commit to engage people head on and see what a difference it makes.

Its been awhile

The Godfather 3 which I thought was quite a terrible movie especially when compared to the first two had one shiny gem within it, a line of dialogue from Al Pacino that I have not forgotten to this day. Right before he has a heart attack he shouts, “As soon as you find you’re way out, They pull you back in!!!” Now I might be off on the accurate word for word translation on that but I think you get my point. That line has been haunting me in my own life the last few days. I think that sin for me personally does that. It’s when you think you have put something from your past that you struggled with behind you and feel immune to it, it comes right back out to get you in full force and if you aren’t careful it can put you right into that same abyss you were once in feeling cut off and separated from God. I have been finding myself lately flirting with things from my past that I know are sin and I should totally not be putting myself in those positions. Thankfully God in His grace and mercy has helped me to remain on mission inspite of myself.
I bring this up to say that lately there has been so much transition with my job, moving, the church plant, stress, distraction, life, time, or whatever excuse that I have not been very accountable in my life to my friends or church community. This makes it very easy for those old temptations to creep in, especially for me. I find that community is the glue that binds and the relationships and honesty with those people that helps me stay on mission. No man is an island, and to go about it with that approach especially in your faith is ultimately going to result in failure. You need people to be involved in your life to keep you humble, honest, faithful, and accountable. I thank God everyday for the people He has brought in my life the last year. They have helped me in so many ways that they will never know. I pray everyone finds community like that. I look at them as my extended family. Maybe to some that’s extreme but I believe that’s what being the church is all about.
In closing on this I want to say I have not talked much about the charter colony church plant at all. Well reality has sunk in and I am here and we are doing this thing. Do I think it will be easy? No. Do I think its what God wants? Absolutely. Everyday I see the opportunities and challenges He has before us here. There are so many un-churched and de-churched people who need to be reached with the loving and redeeming message of Christ. I want to ask everyone who reads this to keep myself, Steve, Nate, Jessie, Katie, Dave, Nina, and James in your prayers. I think this is going to be the most challenging thing we have ever done, but I wouldn’t have asked God for a different group of people to do it with. To everyone back in Lynchburg!!! I haven’t forgotten you. I love you guys! I wish Jt and crew the best and I am constantly praying for you. You guys are still my family too!!
On one last side note: This is a shameless plug for everyone to come to my Christmas party on Dec 13th. Please let me know if you need an invite on facebook or anything else.

make haste

Life isn't getting any longer. I'm sitting here in a hotel in North Carolina right now with my window opening listening to the traffic go by and just being alone in my thoughts. You really can understand yourself better when you travel all the time, it gives you the opportunity to step outside of your life and look at things from a different perspective than being caught up in the same circle of friends and people and evaluate whats important or not. Lately I find myself giving in to internal struggles and anger and bitterness towards people and that's totally not who I want to be. I just see us as christian's with so much potential and it's upsetting how petty we are as humans. We get so distracted with each others quips and shortcomings and not focusing on growth, development, relationship, or community. We are so fast to point out who's right and wrong than trying to reach understanding. I do it, you do it, we are all guilty here. We really have to start making a conscience effort to be transparent with each other. I want people to speak truth into my life and I would like to do the same especially since we are the church. I have two words to give you that have been burned into my head after reading acts the last two weeks(Thanks to my esv study bible which I am plugging right now as one of the best resources you can possibly have)and those words are TAKE HEART!!!!!! Im taking heart personally in the fact God will deliver me from my internal struggles, through my anger, through my bitterness. I want to continually seek him in prayer and reading and studying to reach understanding and clarity. I encourage everyone to act now on getting on mission, putting God first, throwing aside squabbles and distractions. Live missionally as we tend to say. Impact people. Go out of your way to say encouraging things, loving things, and relational building things to people you come in contact with. Let's not strive to be different in how we live but actually do it. I would love for everyone including myself to apply this practical application to our daily routine. Let's not forget our purpose. Let's not forget our reasons for being. Life's too short, make haste!!!!