place

i know each of you has a home. think in your mind of home. now why is that place home? what is it about that place that makes it home? what about an encounter with god? is there a certain place where you "feel" god more than anywhere else?

when we are really honest, we know that god is everywhere. place does not matter that much to him. but also when we are really honest, place matters to us. so it matters, but it doesnt, but it still does. this is a tension we live in.

so this week, i want us to discuss (dont hold your breath, i know), what kinds of things we would like to have as far as facilities go. place does not matter that much for a church, but it matters incredibly. what things about a church make it seem like home? how can we cultivate a place of worship with the building itself? one thing i love about nexus is that we tried to make it where our building would tell a story. someone could know what we are about by being shown the facilities and having some things explained. what ways can we do that in denver?

i dont want anyone to misunderstand, it is much more important who is in the space than what the space is, but i also think we should strive to have an excellent place, even if it is not that way at first. so. lets just throw out ideas. they can be complete, or incomplete, they can just be thoughts, or they can be things you are passionate about seeing. lets just keep in mind, we will not be able to do everything, but i think this is something good to think about a long time out.

as always, lets be praying for one another. i know we can pray for tyler as he is in the land of florida, wanting to end his life, for bethany as grad school decisions are being made, for tanner as he is going to the middle east and spain, for robin and i as we are beginning to move, for grant as he looks for a job and as he and desiree settle in. i may not be up to date completely, so if im behind just update. hope you all are well.

representatives

ok. i dont know if you are like me, but this stupid "way of the master" thing is making me crazy. my friend matt the other day said some lady approached him and just started rattling off questions. didnt ask his name, didnt say anything about caring for him, nothing of that, just started into questions about his eternity. and the thing that makes me crazy about this whole deal? we are lumped into a category with those jokers.

so i started thinking about what all that means. for me, it means i have to begin to really think through things before i say them, because when i say them, that also says something about my wife, it says something about my church, it says something about each person within the church, it says something, most importantly, about the god that we profess to worship. fair? i dont really know, but fact? no doubt.

so, as im thinking through that, i also come to the realization, that although we should be very careful in remembering that we represent eachother, we also have to love with some recklessness those that are outside. so much so, that sometimes our name must be dragged through the mud a little bit. jesus was, after all, a friend of prostitutes and tax collectors. not great company. so it would seem that we are trying to practice the dialectic, as the great dr. roark would remind us. so, i guess for us to discuss, how do we keep each other's reputations clean, while at the same time loving those that would make us seem very unclean? what difficulties do you think this presents? how do we overcome those? essentially, where do we go from here?

and, if you need prayer, please say so. we need to be supporting and lifting eachother up even now, from what seems a large distance of time.

context

something i have been thinking a lot about lately, is that everyone, everything has a context. i know this lady that comes into starbucks fairly often. shes a bit on the rude side sometimes. i have heard she is not a very good sport when it comes to athletic events. so sometimes i am tempted to write her off.
but then i get to thinking. this lady lives in brownwood. not only that, but she is probably nearly forty and single, and no doubt lonely. so when i am tempted to write her off, i realize that she has a few reasons to be a little bitter. now, this doesnt mean she maybe shouldnt be a little more pleasant, or maybe a better sport, but it also means that i should look on her with a grain of salt.

every person we meet has some sort of context. each has hurt, maybe is in the process of hurting, maybe has never felt truly loved. as christians, as the church we have an obligation to see deeper, to really try to see people through the eyes of god, which means that sometimes we have to forgive things before they are asked, and look at people with a graceful eye. what are some ways you have looked on people in an ungraceful way? what are some ways we can cultivate that at our church? how can we forgive people for these shortcomings while at the same time not condoning poor behavior or allowing them to be jerks? what are some other thoughts on this in general?

still, if you have need of prayer, or if there is something you would like to discuss on here, let me know. i am exceedingly excited for what god wants to do in denver, and what he is doing in each of you as we all prepare.