I am sure a lot of you are glad we will no longer be focusing on that word, but I have enjoyed it. We have one more week to examine our three books, "unChristian, The Emotionally Healthy Church, and Exclusion and Embrace." It has been a good journey, and I think it has started the conversation in the right way. Hopefully we have learned a little bit about disagreeing, learning, and growing together. We are going to be moving on to some (very) controversial topics, and it will be really good if we are able to disagree in peace.
Some things that we are looking forward to this week:
1. We have a bank account! So we can start tithing to our new church. Make checks payable to Refuge Community Church, and just try to give them to Chad in a discreet manner. This will enable us to do things we would like and use church money instead of always having some individual pick up the tab. We may also have some operating costs eventually, and it will be good to have it for that.
2. We need to get a website up and running soon. Once we have check cards and stuff, I will get with Chad to start the process of setting up a website.
3. I would like us to continue searching for a place to meet. The Ethiopian church Don was thinking of is in Aurora. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is not ideal. So since we have some time, we may look into some other venues.
4. We talked about the grieving process in the Emotionally Healthy Church this week. Then I found out today that a friend who recently left the mission was found dead in a hotel room. Talk about difficult. I am trying to think through it today, but it is kind of strange. I've never had a friend die before.
5. We finished "embrace" in Volf. Let me encourage you again, if you haven't begun reading this, do it. It is a difficult read, but it is 100% worth it. I love talking theology of any shape or form, but to me, this is the most practical theology imaginable.
6. This Wed we are having a Jeopardy night at the Arnold's house this week. 7 pm. be there. I will spill the beans on one category "Harry Potter."
7. We are looking for some type of service we can do as a community this month. I believe we will help one of our neighbors. Desiree has made a connection with her and she could use some strong backs.
Is there anything I've missed? As we continue this journey together, let us continue to pray for one another, spend time with one another, and just generally have a good time.
Chris
Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Ethiopians
That's right. Ethiopians. Hopefully we have found a temporary facility. My thought is that we can beg and borrow a place to meet for about a year, and then hopefully sometime in 2011 we will be moving into our own place. There are a couple I would like to see us investigate, so we will see.
There are a few other things we talked about the other night. One thing is doing some roundtable meetings in the community. I really think that this can be a good way to get some interest in who we are and what we are doing. Tanner brought up the idea to do some things at local coffee shops, I think that is a great idea. I think it would also be a good idea to do something at Denver Seminary and maybe Colorado Christian before we start, and then regularly at local universities after we start. I really need some people to help initiate some of that though, I feel like if we set the pattern of me doing most of this stuff, then that may be a pattern that we keep for the long haul. Not upset at all or saying anyone has dropped the ball, but I do want everyone to understand my reasoning for not planning all of this myself.
Some other things we talked about:
1. Chad shared that our early tithes will amount to about 750 a month. Hopefully that will be plenty to do the basic stuff we want to do.
2. Chad will be checking into some pros and cons of various banks for us to go with.
3. We talked about how the common perception of Christians is that they are anti-homosexual, from the book "unChristian"
4. We discussed having an upcoming game night. We need to figure out what games we want to play and where at. It will be Wed, Oct 21st.
5. I would like to monthly have some sort of game/fellowship night, and some sort of service project that the whole church participates in. This can really help our church body in more ways than we might think. We do not want to overprogram, but I do think we can make these things good servants.
6. We talked about how weakness and vulnerability can help us in our ministries, from the Emotionally Healthy Church.
7. WE talked about Exclusion and what it means. Let me encourage you to continue to evaluate ways in which you exclude others in your life. The main part of it was Cain and Abel. In addition, there is an important difference between judging and exclusion. It is acceptable to judge a specific action as evil, and not exclude the person who commits it. That is something I think postmoderns really struggle with.
If I forgot anything let me know. We are hoping to have a website up and running before too long. Love you guys and am excited about the change that God is bringing among us and among Denver!
There are a few other things we talked about the other night. One thing is doing some roundtable meetings in the community. I really think that this can be a good way to get some interest in who we are and what we are doing. Tanner brought up the idea to do some things at local coffee shops, I think that is a great idea. I think it would also be a good idea to do something at Denver Seminary and maybe Colorado Christian before we start, and then regularly at local universities after we start. I really need some people to help initiate some of that though, I feel like if we set the pattern of me doing most of this stuff, then that may be a pattern that we keep for the long haul. Not upset at all or saying anyone has dropped the ball, but I do want everyone to understand my reasoning for not planning all of this myself.
Some other things we talked about:
1. Chad shared that our early tithes will amount to about 750 a month. Hopefully that will be plenty to do the basic stuff we want to do.
2. Chad will be checking into some pros and cons of various banks for us to go with.
3. We talked about how the common perception of Christians is that they are anti-homosexual, from the book "unChristian"
4. We discussed having an upcoming game night. We need to figure out what games we want to play and where at. It will be Wed, Oct 21st.
5. I would like to monthly have some sort of game/fellowship night, and some sort of service project that the whole church participates in. This can really help our church body in more ways than we might think. We do not want to overprogram, but I do think we can make these things good servants.
6. We talked about how weakness and vulnerability can help us in our ministries, from the Emotionally Healthy Church.
7. WE talked about Exclusion and what it means. Let me encourage you to continue to evaluate ways in which you exclude others in your life. The main part of it was Cain and Abel. In addition, there is an important difference between judging and exclusion. It is acceptable to judge a specific action as evil, and not exclude the person who commits it. That is something I think postmoderns really struggle with.
If I forgot anything let me know. We are hoping to have a website up and running before too long. Love you guys and am excited about the change that God is bringing among us and among Denver!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Quickly...
Sorry for the late update everyone. Here are the things to prepare for Sunday:
1. Please bring a firm number of how much you think you will tithe. This is so we can accurately make a budget.
2. Please bring some ideas about how we can begin our facility search.
3. Think about how we can do some "round table" type of discussions in areas where you may be. These can help us get the word out about Refuge and can also help us get some ideas of what our community needs/wants.
4. We are voting on how the leadership team is selected. Think and pray about how you feel about that.
5. Think about things we might want on a website and how we can get that made. I think webhosting is pretty cheap, like ten bucks a month, so we can definitely afford that. A good website will help us in a lot of ways.
I am excited for what God is doing among us and what he will continue to do in our world.
1. Please bring a firm number of how much you think you will tithe. This is so we can accurately make a budget.
2. Please bring some ideas about how we can begin our facility search.
3. Think about how we can do some "round table" type of discussions in areas where you may be. These can help us get the word out about Refuge and can also help us get some ideas of what our community needs/wants.
4. We are voting on how the leadership team is selected. Think and pray about how you feel about that.
5. Think about things we might want on a website and how we can get that made. I think webhosting is pretty cheap, like ten bucks a month, so we can definitely afford that. A good website will help us in a lot of ways.
I am excited for what God is doing among us and what he will continue to do in our world.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Tacos and Squirt
That's right. We had tacos and squirt last meeting. I think we accomplished some good things, here is a brief recap:
1. We decided that we will have members, though we may end up calling them something else. We will allow anyone to join our church, they just have to go through our new members class. However, if someone is doing something that we believe contrary to God's will or that may hurt us as a church, we will encourage them to find ways to grow and to change their behavior.
2. In addition, we will have a leadership team to help make decisions. Initially, that will consist of staff (who must first be on the leadership team) and the rest of the founding core. Their job will be to make most minor decisions, and also to help facilitate the making of major decisions (such as buying a building, calling staff, budget approval). The leadership team will have town hall meetings leading up to the major decision, then they will present to the church an issue to vote 'yes' or 'no' on. Thus, the members of the church will have ratifying power, but we will not give multiple choice.
3. The distinction between staff and leadership team will be that staff will be selected to do a specific job within our church. They will also have the potential to be paid. I would like to license and ordain those people on the staff that we call 'pastor' (such as 'small group pastor').
4. We voted that Chad will be our treasurer.
5. We eliminated deacons from our church.
6. I will email a revised bylaws/constitution to everyone ASAP.
7. We discussed the need for a different kind of church in the United States.
8. We discussed how we can be an emotionally healthy church (Peter Scazzero, by the way, was speaking in the Denver Seminary chapel today).
9. I briefly gave a synopsis of 'Simple Church.'
10. Currently our staff roster is Jessica (church clerk), Chad (church treasurer) and me (pastor). We will add a small group pastor and hopefully a music pastor before long.
I think that is most of what we discussed. Please leave comments if you have thought of anything. And please leave prayer requests or praises if you think of any.
Next week we are going to cut down 'unChristian' to 5-10 minutes. I think we can do the book justice and save time for more difficult topics. Please remember, we need everyone to contribute to discussion. I am excited for what God is doing with us, and if you think there are things I can do to improve what we are doing or anything like that, let me know.
Chris
1. We decided that we will have members, though we may end up calling them something else. We will allow anyone to join our church, they just have to go through our new members class. However, if someone is doing something that we believe contrary to God's will or that may hurt us as a church, we will encourage them to find ways to grow and to change their behavior.
2. In addition, we will have a leadership team to help make decisions. Initially, that will consist of staff (who must first be on the leadership team) and the rest of the founding core. Their job will be to make most minor decisions, and also to help facilitate the making of major decisions (such as buying a building, calling staff, budget approval). The leadership team will have town hall meetings leading up to the major decision, then they will present to the church an issue to vote 'yes' or 'no' on. Thus, the members of the church will have ratifying power, but we will not give multiple choice.
3. The distinction between staff and leadership team will be that staff will be selected to do a specific job within our church. They will also have the potential to be paid. I would like to license and ordain those people on the staff that we call 'pastor' (such as 'small group pastor').
4. We voted that Chad will be our treasurer.
5. We eliminated deacons from our church.
6. I will email a revised bylaws/constitution to everyone ASAP.
7. We discussed the need for a different kind of church in the United States.
8. We discussed how we can be an emotionally healthy church (Peter Scazzero, by the way, was speaking in the Denver Seminary chapel today).
9. I briefly gave a synopsis of 'Simple Church.'
10. Currently our staff roster is Jessica (church clerk), Chad (church treasurer) and me (pastor). We will add a small group pastor and hopefully a music pastor before long.
I think that is most of what we discussed. Please leave comments if you have thought of anything. And please leave prayer requests or praises if you think of any.
Next week we are going to cut down 'unChristian' to 5-10 minutes. I think we can do the book justice and save time for more difficult topics. Please remember, we need everyone to contribute to discussion. I am excited for what God is doing with us, and if you think there are things I can do to improve what we are doing or anything like that, let me know.
Chris
Monday, September 7, 2009
Refuge!
Ok team. We had our first ever meeting last night. We discussed various and sundry things, made some decisions and overall it was a pretty fruitful meeting. Here are some things we talked about and worked on:
1. We voted on a name. "Refuge Community Church" slightly defeated "Levi's Table" in the closest ever vote in our history. I think it would behoove us to use the name "Levi's Table" on some ministry or something because I think it does convey quite a bit of who we are/want to be.
2. Jessica Cogsdil will be our church clerk. This will be a perfect fit for her as she is very detail oriented and does a good job of taking notes.
3. We are voting on a church treasurer next week. Chad and Mary Arnold were both nominated, so they will decide who we will vote to confirm or deny. Either would do a fantastic job taking care of our money.
4. Next week we will discuss a little who will be our pastor/minister in charge of small groups. I have suggested either Grant or Tanner take on that role, and I think either would do a very good job. I think it may be something we might take a little time to think on, because we won't start small groups until June of next year. That gives us some luxury in taking our time to decide who will head that particular ministry.
5. We talked for awhile about how we will determine membership of our church or if we will. I think generally the majority favored a membership of some kind, though it was certainly not unanimous. This is something we will probably want to revisit at some point down the road. This is a large decision in the life of our church and will have a large impact down the road.
6. We are planning on voting on church bylaws/constitution next week. Please, PLEASE read them before then and take some notes. It will be much more fruitful if we are all prepared for that.
7. We talked about trying to find someone to lead our music. Let's keep that in our prayers.
8. We talked about everyone coming up with a number of what they can tithe every month and bringing it in next week. This will help us to make a budget and decide what kinds of things we can afford to do as a church.
9. We talked about facility search. This is something that I think we need to touch on again periodically. If we don't have specific tasks then nothing will get done.
10. We discussed briefly the procedure for establishing ourselves as a non-profit company. This is something we really need to do sooner rather than later.
11. I mentioned that I would like us to be a staff led church. I think many times that has been a bad proposition, but I think for who we want to be it would be a good thing. It would simplify our structure and make our church policy much better, in my opinion. We did not nail that down, it will be part of our ongoing bylaws discussion.
12. We discussed some fund-raising. I think most of us are against fund-raising in general, but if you happen to know people who would like to tithe to us for awhile, that would be awesome.
I think that is most of it, though certainly not all. Please post some thoughts, and remember, the best way for us to find what is right is sometimes to argue. It is good to disagree, as long as we can do it peacefully and lovingly. I am excited to be on this journey with all of you... looking forward to what God does in us, through us and with us!
1. We voted on a name. "Refuge Community Church" slightly defeated "Levi's Table" in the closest ever vote in our history. I think it would behoove us to use the name "Levi's Table" on some ministry or something because I think it does convey quite a bit of who we are/want to be.
2. Jessica Cogsdil will be our church clerk. This will be a perfect fit for her as she is very detail oriented and does a good job of taking notes.
3. We are voting on a church treasurer next week. Chad and Mary Arnold were both nominated, so they will decide who we will vote to confirm or deny. Either would do a fantastic job taking care of our money.
4. Next week we will discuss a little who will be our pastor/minister in charge of small groups. I have suggested either Grant or Tanner take on that role, and I think either would do a very good job. I think it may be something we might take a little time to think on, because we won't start small groups until June of next year. That gives us some luxury in taking our time to decide who will head that particular ministry.
5. We talked for awhile about how we will determine membership of our church or if we will. I think generally the majority favored a membership of some kind, though it was certainly not unanimous. This is something we will probably want to revisit at some point down the road. This is a large decision in the life of our church and will have a large impact down the road.
6. We are planning on voting on church bylaws/constitution next week. Please, PLEASE read them before then and take some notes. It will be much more fruitful if we are all prepared for that.
7. We talked about trying to find someone to lead our music. Let's keep that in our prayers.
8. We talked about everyone coming up with a number of what they can tithe every month and bringing it in next week. This will help us to make a budget and decide what kinds of things we can afford to do as a church.
9. We talked about facility search. This is something that I think we need to touch on again periodically. If we don't have specific tasks then nothing will get done.
10. We discussed briefly the procedure for establishing ourselves as a non-profit company. This is something we really need to do sooner rather than later.
11. I mentioned that I would like us to be a staff led church. I think many times that has been a bad proposition, but I think for who we want to be it would be a good thing. It would simplify our structure and make our church policy much better, in my opinion. We did not nail that down, it will be part of our ongoing bylaws discussion.
12. We discussed some fund-raising. I think most of us are against fund-raising in general, but if you happen to know people who would like to tithe to us for awhile, that would be awesome.
I think that is most of it, though certainly not all. Please post some thoughts, and remember, the best way for us to find what is right is sometimes to argue. It is good to disagree, as long as we can do it peacefully and lovingly. I am excited to be on this journey with all of you... looking forward to what God does in us, through us and with us!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Interest meeting(s)
Hey everyone,
We are having an interest meeting tonight at our casa, and then one again in about two or three weeks. We are hoping to kind of let people meet one another and develop a certain level of comfort before we actually start meeting, plus it can help people that might be on the fence make their minds up. I'm excited for the meeting, I think it will help some of us see some progress on this journey we are on.
We will need to be prayerful during this time. There are several things that we ask God to help us on. I am waiting to hear about a promotion at work, I am fairly pessimistic, but it would be fantastic if I got it. It would open up an entry level job that hopefully Tanner could get, which would help with two areas at once. Tanner did get a job, but he would like something more permanent. Jessica got on the sub teaching ticket, but we can continue to pray that something more permanent comes open for her. We are incredibly grateful to have them both here and ready to go. The Kinsers move in a couple weeks. We need to remember their needs, housing, jobs and the hassle of moving all you own. They'll stay with us until they find a place, so pray for our puppy... na we are looking forward to it. Pray for our friends Don and Mike. They are New Life Program guys here at Denver Rescue Mission that are very comfortable in their call to help us with this crazy church. Pray for their sobriety and strength as the program can be difficult at times. But I am incredibly grateful for the things that I believe they will add to our community. Pray for those on the fence that they would join us.
As the home church phase cranks up, I will post weekly about the upcoming meeting and the previous meeting. This will give everyone a reference point and help keep the meetings cohesive. We can also post random tasks we will need to perform through the weeks to help keep us moving towards the goals.
Please post prayer needs and if you want me to email you a copy of the handouts for tonight, let me know.
We are having an interest meeting tonight at our casa, and then one again in about two or three weeks. We are hoping to kind of let people meet one another and develop a certain level of comfort before we actually start meeting, plus it can help people that might be on the fence make their minds up. I'm excited for the meeting, I think it will help some of us see some progress on this journey we are on.
We will need to be prayerful during this time. There are several things that we ask God to help us on. I am waiting to hear about a promotion at work, I am fairly pessimistic, but it would be fantastic if I got it. It would open up an entry level job that hopefully Tanner could get, which would help with two areas at once. Tanner did get a job, but he would like something more permanent. Jessica got on the sub teaching ticket, but we can continue to pray that something more permanent comes open for her. We are incredibly grateful to have them both here and ready to go. The Kinsers move in a couple weeks. We need to remember their needs, housing, jobs and the hassle of moving all you own. They'll stay with us until they find a place, so pray for our puppy... na we are looking forward to it. Pray for our friends Don and Mike. They are New Life Program guys here at Denver Rescue Mission that are very comfortable in their call to help us with this crazy church. Pray for their sobriety and strength as the program can be difficult at times. But I am incredibly grateful for the things that I believe they will add to our community. Pray for those on the fence that they would join us.
As the home church phase cranks up, I will post weekly about the upcoming meeting and the previous meeting. This will give everyone a reference point and help keep the meetings cohesive. We can also post random tasks we will need to perform through the weeks to help keep us moving towards the goals.
Please post prayer needs and if you want me to email you a copy of the handouts for tonight, let me know.
Friday, July 3, 2009
JULY?!
GUYS! It's almost time to crank this thing up and get started. I am pretty excited.
Robin and I were very excited to welcome Jessica and Tanner to Denver almost two weeks ago. Hopefully you guys are getting settled in and find jobs quickly. That is one thing on top of my prayer list at the moment. In just a few weeks we will be moving in Grant and Desiree. Bethany is going to delay awhile, but she is still looking to come. Then we have some people that are already here that are thinking about joining us. Overall, I think we will have a really good group for our fall home-church and then we will be in a good place to transition next spring.
The more I talk with people around our age and a little older, the more I get the impression that what we are doing, what we are going to be about, is exactly what they are looking for. The difficulty with our generation is that oftentimes we/they want to be involved with something great, but are not as willing to work hard to make it happen. So part of our challenge is to get people and let them know that serving needs to be a high priority.
All that to say, we need to be sure that teaching during our home church phase is a high priority to us. Those of you who have volunteered for certain topics, continue to think about those topics. I challenge you to think about ways that are less conventional to teach that. Video clips, quizzes, music, whatever you think will help to teach your particular subject better. We are part of an ADD generation, so keeping our interest is very important. If I can help in anyway, I would be happy. I may write up some thoughts I have had on your particular subjects and shoot an email with them, not that you have to use them or anything, but just to help get started. I have had a lot more time to think and stew on these things. Is there anything we can be praying for? Tanner and Jessica would probably like to find jobs. Grant and Desiree might like a place to live. Anything else? Looking forward to it!
Robin and I were very excited to welcome Jessica and Tanner to Denver almost two weeks ago. Hopefully you guys are getting settled in and find jobs quickly. That is one thing on top of my prayer list at the moment. In just a few weeks we will be moving in Grant and Desiree. Bethany is going to delay awhile, but she is still looking to come. Then we have some people that are already here that are thinking about joining us. Overall, I think we will have a really good group for our fall home-church and then we will be in a good place to transition next spring.
The more I talk with people around our age and a little older, the more I get the impression that what we are doing, what we are going to be about, is exactly what they are looking for. The difficulty with our generation is that oftentimes we/they want to be involved with something great, but are not as willing to work hard to make it happen. So part of our challenge is to get people and let them know that serving needs to be a high priority.
All that to say, we need to be sure that teaching during our home church phase is a high priority to us. Those of you who have volunteered for certain topics, continue to think about those topics. I challenge you to think about ways that are less conventional to teach that. Video clips, quizzes, music, whatever you think will help to teach your particular subject better. We are part of an ADD generation, so keeping our interest is very important. If I can help in anyway, I would be happy. I may write up some thoughts I have had on your particular subjects and shoot an email with them, not that you have to use them or anything, but just to help get started. I have had a lot more time to think and stew on these things. Is there anything we can be praying for? Tanner and Jessica would probably like to find jobs. Grant and Desiree might like a place to live. Anything else? Looking forward to it!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Its clean-up time, its clean-up time...
Anyone else remember singing that song at church when you were getting ready to go? Or maybe its just me being crazy again...
Anyway, it is clean up time for us. Robin and I, and to a lesser degree Rufus, are preparing to move into a house. It's not everything we ever wanted in a house, but it meets our major requirements for the immediate future. It is a house. And it has a yard. The rest was negotiable. We are going to be getting a grill pretty soon after moving, and we intend to have you over when you move here.
Tanner and Jessica are gearing up to move, just a little more than 20 days and you guys will be here. Bethany, Grant and Desiree we are not as sure on dates, but we know you guys are gearing up too. If it seems like things are finally getting rolling, good. I can hardly wait to see what happens in our community.
A few thoughts I have been having. Prepare to be stretched. It is going to be difficult at times, we are trying to do what few churches actually do, and that is to be the church first and foremost. That means it will take quite a bit from each of us, but it will only be as much as you can handle. I believe God has called a special group of people to do this together, and I believe he knows what he is doing.
Prepare to work hard. This goes some with the first, but, honestly, I would rather you just wait until Palm Sunday of 2010 to join us if you are not ready to work. That doesn't mean it won't be fun, but it does mean we should expect one another to be committed.
Be prepared to fight for one another and for our church. Sometimes it gets really easy to expect things to be easy. But I have found that in any relationship worth anything, there are times that I have to be persistent, that I have to fight to keep it moving and to keep it going well. It will be no different as we are starting a church.
Prepare to have a great time. Just because it will be hard, just because we may have fights and we may struggle at times does not mean that we also won't have fun. We are made for relationships, with each other and with God, and I believe that when we are working at those, we will feel fulfilled.
I believe in each of you. I know that God has gifted us all uniquely and purposefully. I am incredibly excited to serve with you, and soon.
As you are moving, how can we pray for you? If you have not signed up for a lesson or two from the last post, it's not too late. If you want to wait a little while, that is fine too. The main reason I wanted to get that up here is so people who wanted a lot of time to plan could do so. I mentioned before I am working days again, so that is awesome. I have found that I have a lot of time to connect with the guys in the program now, and that is really fulfilling. Any job leads for anyone?
Anyway, it is clean up time for us. Robin and I, and to a lesser degree Rufus, are preparing to move into a house. It's not everything we ever wanted in a house, but it meets our major requirements for the immediate future. It is a house. And it has a yard. The rest was negotiable. We are going to be getting a grill pretty soon after moving, and we intend to have you over when you move here.
Tanner and Jessica are gearing up to move, just a little more than 20 days and you guys will be here. Bethany, Grant and Desiree we are not as sure on dates, but we know you guys are gearing up too. If it seems like things are finally getting rolling, good. I can hardly wait to see what happens in our community.
A few thoughts I have been having. Prepare to be stretched. It is going to be difficult at times, we are trying to do what few churches actually do, and that is to be the church first and foremost. That means it will take quite a bit from each of us, but it will only be as much as you can handle. I believe God has called a special group of people to do this together, and I believe he knows what he is doing.
Prepare to work hard. This goes some with the first, but, honestly, I would rather you just wait until Palm Sunday of 2010 to join us if you are not ready to work. That doesn't mean it won't be fun, but it does mean we should expect one another to be committed.
Be prepared to fight for one another and for our church. Sometimes it gets really easy to expect things to be easy. But I have found that in any relationship worth anything, there are times that I have to be persistent, that I have to fight to keep it moving and to keep it going well. It will be no different as we are starting a church.
Prepare to have a great time. Just because it will be hard, just because we may have fights and we may struggle at times does not mean that we also won't have fun. We are made for relationships, with each other and with God, and I believe that when we are working at those, we will feel fulfilled.
I believe in each of you. I know that God has gifted us all uniquely and purposefully. I am incredibly excited to serve with you, and soon.
As you are moving, how can we pray for you? If you have not signed up for a lesson or two from the last post, it's not too late. If you want to wait a little while, that is fine too. The main reason I wanted to get that up here is so people who wanted a lot of time to plan could do so. I mentioned before I am working days again, so that is awesome. I have found that I have a lot of time to connect with the guys in the program now, and that is really fulfilling. Any job leads for anyone?
Monday, May 11, 2009
Home church basics
Ok, so as you all know, I plan on us meeting as a "home church" from September 2009 until Palm Sunday of 2010. Then we will start with our public worship meetings and such. Basically I want us to try not to grow until after this home church phase. I think it will give us a good time to get comfortable with each other and with what we would like to be as a church. All that to say, here is what I envision us doing for those six months or so before we "go public."
Each week I plan on us enjoying a meal together, thus we will rotate where we will meet. Hopefully each home won't have to host more than once a month. I believe that this will do several things for us. Namely, it will build our community. It will also prepare us all to build community in the future. Plus I think it helps us to learn about one another in a fairly informal setting.
Then I plan on us learning and discussing our church together. For the first eight weeks, I would like us to work through three different books. "unChristian" by Kinnaman and Lyons, "The Emotionally Healthy Church" by Scazzero, and "Exclusion and Embrace" by Volf. Now, I am not usually a "work through books in small groups" type of guy, but I think using these three as a foundation for who we are will really help us. The first, "unChristian" basically sets up why it is important to plant a church. It talks about people our age and their response to church in general. "The Emotionally Healthy Church" is the best practical church book I have read. I am usually not a fan of those type of books, but this one is exceptional. I think it will help us to avoid many pitfalls most churches suffer from. The last "Exclusion and Embrace" is mostly about forgiveness, but it is also about living in a world with people very different from you. Obviously I have read all three, but I would prefer not to teach through each. I am working through each and making tentative 8 week plans for each. Now, since we will be talking about each a little bit each week, we will not take a long time with any of them. I think that will help our ADD generation.
After that, I have us going through some of the more difficult things we will deal with as a church. The reason I have us going through those books first is so that, hopefully, we will have some perspective on how to disagree and still belong to the same church.
So, I have these topics divided into certain types of categories. "Discipleship" will hopefully bring us along on our journey in knowing Christ. The topics I have for that are "Bible" for 4 weeks, "Calvinism v Arminianism v Open Theism" for 4 weeks, "Church Polity" for 3 (this will be more of a discussion of how we want to run our church, not riveting, but necessary), "Trinity and Christology" for 2 weeks, and closing with "Eschatoloty" for 3 weeks (study of last things). The parts I want to lead in this section are "church polity" and the last week of "Calvinism v Arminianism v Open Theism" but I would say all the other topics are up for grabs if there is one you would like to teach. In the "Calvinism etc" study I have us spending one week on each belief system and then one week discussing the pros and cons of each.
Then I have a category of "Service" where we will spend three weeks each on various difficult topics on our world today. I see us being able to serve our community by mediating between the Christian church and our secular society. The topics I see us looking at, in this order, are "Consumerism" where we can discuss the idol of stuff, "War/Violence" where we can look at the various opinions about this difficult topic, "Gender Roles" obvious..., "Abortion" obvious again, and "Homosexuality" but we could extend this one to "Sexual Ethics" in general. Let me know. The only one of these that I would like to teach is homosexuality. But if someone is really passionate about that I would be willing to have someone else teach it.
Last, I have us working on "Mission" wherein we will discuss some of the various religions we will encounter. I plan on us spending at most 20 minutes on each of these per week, with two weeks each per religion. I have: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age, Atheism, Christian Science, Jehovah's Witness and Mormonism. I am comfortable, in fact I would prefer, if I don't teach any of these.
Now, I am open to changing this plan, but I do have reasons for having it the way I have it now. I purposefully loaded some of the more controversial things toward the end. I think that will give us some time to get comfortable with one another and hopefully disagree peacefully on some of the less touchy subjects first. However, that presented a difficult decision, because I didn't want us to have two really controversial topics during the same week. So I purposefully separated "Bible," "Calvinism etc," "Abortion," and "Homosexuality."
There are several reasons that I would like everyone to teach, but since Grant was the only one to respond to that and he responded in the affirmative, I will take the silence as agreement. Grant, feel free to take any of those you would like to teach, but I think you would be good at working through "The Emotionally Healthy Church" because there is some counseling background to it, I think you would do well with any of the discipleship areas, and "War/Violence" but I am fine if you aren't interested in any of those. I would like it if Tanner taught about Islam, but if someone else really wants that one that's fine too. Let me know guys.
I got moved to days, finally. While not a promotion, I am hoping to get a promotion soon. Who knows. We are still looking for a rent house, so pray for us. I'm not really worried, we still have a long time, but it would be nice to get that locked down soon. What about the rest of you? Anything we can pray for you for?
Each week I plan on us enjoying a meal together, thus we will rotate where we will meet. Hopefully each home won't have to host more than once a month. I believe that this will do several things for us. Namely, it will build our community. It will also prepare us all to build community in the future. Plus I think it helps us to learn about one another in a fairly informal setting.
Then I plan on us learning and discussing our church together. For the first eight weeks, I would like us to work through three different books. "unChristian" by Kinnaman and Lyons, "The Emotionally Healthy Church" by Scazzero, and "Exclusion and Embrace" by Volf. Now, I am not usually a "work through books in small groups" type of guy, but I think using these three as a foundation for who we are will really help us. The first, "unChristian" basically sets up why it is important to plant a church. It talks about people our age and their response to church in general. "The Emotionally Healthy Church" is the best practical church book I have read. I am usually not a fan of those type of books, but this one is exceptional. I think it will help us to avoid many pitfalls most churches suffer from. The last "Exclusion and Embrace" is mostly about forgiveness, but it is also about living in a world with people very different from you. Obviously I have read all three, but I would prefer not to teach through each. I am working through each and making tentative 8 week plans for each. Now, since we will be talking about each a little bit each week, we will not take a long time with any of them. I think that will help our ADD generation.
After that, I have us going through some of the more difficult things we will deal with as a church. The reason I have us going through those books first is so that, hopefully, we will have some perspective on how to disagree and still belong to the same church.
So, I have these topics divided into certain types of categories. "Discipleship" will hopefully bring us along on our journey in knowing Christ. The topics I have for that are "Bible" for 4 weeks, "Calvinism v Arminianism v Open Theism" for 4 weeks, "Church Polity" for 3 (this will be more of a discussion of how we want to run our church, not riveting, but necessary), "Trinity and Christology" for 2 weeks, and closing with "Eschatoloty" for 3 weeks (study of last things). The parts I want to lead in this section are "church polity" and the last week of "Calvinism v Arminianism v Open Theism" but I would say all the other topics are up for grabs if there is one you would like to teach. In the "Calvinism etc" study I have us spending one week on each belief system and then one week discussing the pros and cons of each.
Then I have a category of "Service" where we will spend three weeks each on various difficult topics on our world today. I see us being able to serve our community by mediating between the Christian church and our secular society. The topics I see us looking at, in this order, are "Consumerism" where we can discuss the idol of stuff, "War/Violence" where we can look at the various opinions about this difficult topic, "Gender Roles" obvious..., "Abortion" obvious again, and "Homosexuality" but we could extend this one to "Sexual Ethics" in general. Let me know. The only one of these that I would like to teach is homosexuality. But if someone is really passionate about that I would be willing to have someone else teach it.
Last, I have us working on "Mission" wherein we will discuss some of the various religions we will encounter. I plan on us spending at most 20 minutes on each of these per week, with two weeks each per religion. I have: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age, Atheism, Christian Science, Jehovah's Witness and Mormonism. I am comfortable, in fact I would prefer, if I don't teach any of these.
Now, I am open to changing this plan, but I do have reasons for having it the way I have it now. I purposefully loaded some of the more controversial things toward the end. I think that will give us some time to get comfortable with one another and hopefully disagree peacefully on some of the less touchy subjects first. However, that presented a difficult decision, because I didn't want us to have two really controversial topics during the same week. So I purposefully separated "Bible," "Calvinism etc," "Abortion," and "Homosexuality."
There are several reasons that I would like everyone to teach, but since Grant was the only one to respond to that and he responded in the affirmative, I will take the silence as agreement. Grant, feel free to take any of those you would like to teach, but I think you would be good at working through "The Emotionally Healthy Church" because there is some counseling background to it, I think you would do well with any of the discipleship areas, and "War/Violence" but I am fine if you aren't interested in any of those. I would like it if Tanner taught about Islam, but if someone else really wants that one that's fine too. Let me know guys.
I got moved to days, finally. While not a promotion, I am hoping to get a promotion soon. Who knows. We are still looking for a rent house, so pray for us. I'm not really worried, we still have a long time, but it would be nice to get that locked down soon. What about the rest of you? Anything we can pray for you for?
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Quest for the Holy
"All of us, if we only knew it, are on a hunt for the holy, for a life that cannot be reduced to the way we look or what we do or what others think of us. We are sometimes reminded of it by the persistent legends of the Quest for the Holy Grail-- the chalice from which, at his last meal with his disciples, Jesus drank with them the wine that became his promise and command, his life in them. It is the holy cup from which we drink the holy life, the life that Jesus set before us when he said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Abundantly... There are numerous variations on the hunt for the Holy-- holy grail, holy places, holy men and women, and perhaps most wonderfully, Holy Scripture... the quest for something other than and more than muscle and money keeps reappearing in unlikely guises. We are after something-- more life than we get simply by eating three meals a day, getting a little exercise, and having a decent job. We're after the God-originated and God-shaped life: a holy life." The Jesus Way by Eugene Peterson
I read that and I thought about the journey we are all embarking on together. It has not been easy for Robin and I so far, and I will tell you it probably won't be easy on you when you get here, but this is a quest worth working for. We are not so much trying to revolutionize church, as to truly BE the church. Unfortunately, the church in the United States has focused on so many things; legislation, programs, socializing, converting nonbelievers, that we have forgotten to BE the church. I think some of those things happen naturally as we are truly being who we are called to be, and some of them may never cross our mind.
I do know that I want us to focus on being the type of church that God desired, a holy church; a church that values black, Asian, Hispanic, white and anyone else that may walk in; a church that has both wealthy and not so wealthy (which we all fall into); a church that helps addicts and that allows addicts to help us (believe me, if you spend some time here at the mission you will learn about honesty and transparency, two things sorely missed in most churches); a church that wants to help people regardless of which sin they struggle with. I think we can be that church. We won't be perfect, but I plan on us being honest. And I plan on us seeking holiness.
One thing I am considering is having everyone else teach a part of the home church segment of our meetings. So, for example, one week I have us discussing Consumerism, the nature of the bible, and Islam. I would like it if I could teach the part about the nature of the bible and allow someone else to teach the other two parts. What do you guys think about that? Does anyone check this anymore? I know its hard for me to update because I know you guys will be here soon and we can talk about it, but I also want to have most of the leg work done when you get here so we can hash out details. Let me know. Pray for us, we are looking for a rent house for this crazy dog and I would like to be home at nights, instead of working.
I read that and I thought about the journey we are all embarking on together. It has not been easy for Robin and I so far, and I will tell you it probably won't be easy on you when you get here, but this is a quest worth working for. We are not so much trying to revolutionize church, as to truly BE the church. Unfortunately, the church in the United States has focused on so many things; legislation, programs, socializing, converting nonbelievers, that we have forgotten to BE the church. I think some of those things happen naturally as we are truly being who we are called to be, and some of them may never cross our mind.
I do know that I want us to focus on being the type of church that God desired, a holy church; a church that values black, Asian, Hispanic, white and anyone else that may walk in; a church that has both wealthy and not so wealthy (which we all fall into); a church that helps addicts and that allows addicts to help us (believe me, if you spend some time here at the mission you will learn about honesty and transparency, two things sorely missed in most churches); a church that wants to help people regardless of which sin they struggle with. I think we can be that church. We won't be perfect, but I plan on us being honest. And I plan on us seeking holiness.
One thing I am considering is having everyone else teach a part of the home church segment of our meetings. So, for example, one week I have us discussing Consumerism, the nature of the bible, and Islam. I would like it if I could teach the part about the nature of the bible and allow someone else to teach the other two parts. What do you guys think about that? Does anyone check this anymore? I know its hard for me to update because I know you guys will be here soon and we can talk about it, but I also want to have most of the leg work done when you get here so we can hash out details. Let me know. Pray for us, we are looking for a rent house for this crazy dog and I would like to be home at nights, instead of working.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Catching up on the classics
Since I have copious amounts of pseudo-free time at work these days or nights I should say, I have been reading some classics that I never read when most people read those sorts of books. I read "Tale of Two Cities" first and then read "Crime and Punishment."
There are two main characters in "Crime and Punishment" a woman named Sofia and a man named Raskilnikov. Raskilnikov was a murderer. He killed an old pawn broker and her sister in order to get their money. A large part of the novel is the study of his psychological state in the aftermath of his crime. The only person he confides in is a woman named Sofia.
Sofia became a prostitute in order to help feed her younger step siblings, stepmother and father. Sofia commits her crime out of selflessness, Raskilnikov out of pure selfishness. Somehow they find each other in the midst of all the craziness and Sofia falls in love with him, for some reason. He has told her and her alone of his awful crime, and she loves him anyway. He is rude, irritable and hard for her to love, but she continues nonetheless.
The end of the novel finds Sofia following Raskilnikov to prison in Siberia. She has loved him and followed him for more than a year, when he finally breaks down and allows grace to transform his heart. He loves her and the find a way in a world that doesn't quite love murderers and prostitutes.
As I think about what our church ought to be, I think our church ought to be a place for the Sofias and Raskilnikovs of the world to find peace. We must all face up to the dark deeds of our past, and of our hearts. That is the only way we can truly accept one another and ourselves. Those people should not find solace only in one another, but in the church of Jesus Christ. This is, I believe what can set us apart from "normal" churches. We must work with one another to set aside pretense and own up to the ugliness that is inside.
Is there anything going on with anyone? Do you need us to pray for you? Have any thoughts on our small group training stuff? I am thinking that maybe after the first few weeks we can have other people lead parts. This will break it up and help everyone to have some ownership. Hope you are excited to be moving to sunny (at the moment) Denver. Oh and we are going to see Death Cab for Cutie on July 14 at the Red Rocks. You are invited. 40 bucks per ticket.
There are two main characters in "Crime and Punishment" a woman named Sofia and a man named Raskilnikov. Raskilnikov was a murderer. He killed an old pawn broker and her sister in order to get their money. A large part of the novel is the study of his psychological state in the aftermath of his crime. The only person he confides in is a woman named Sofia.
Sofia became a prostitute in order to help feed her younger step siblings, stepmother and father. Sofia commits her crime out of selflessness, Raskilnikov out of pure selfishness. Somehow they find each other in the midst of all the craziness and Sofia falls in love with him, for some reason. He has told her and her alone of his awful crime, and she loves him anyway. He is rude, irritable and hard for her to love, but she continues nonetheless.
The end of the novel finds Sofia following Raskilnikov to prison in Siberia. She has loved him and followed him for more than a year, when he finally breaks down and allows grace to transform his heart. He loves her and the find a way in a world that doesn't quite love murderers and prostitutes.
As I think about what our church ought to be, I think our church ought to be a place for the Sofias and Raskilnikovs of the world to find peace. We must all face up to the dark deeds of our past, and of our hearts. That is the only way we can truly accept one another and ourselves. Those people should not find solace only in one another, but in the church of Jesus Christ. This is, I believe what can set us apart from "normal" churches. We must work with one another to set aside pretense and own up to the ugliness that is inside.
Is there anything going on with anyone? Do you need us to pray for you? Have any thoughts on our small group training stuff? I am thinking that maybe after the first few weeks we can have other people lead parts. This will break it up and help everyone to have some ownership. Hope you are excited to be moving to sunny (at the moment) Denver. Oh and we are going to see Death Cab for Cutie on July 14 at the Red Rocks. You are invited. 40 bucks per ticket.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Core training
Here are the basics of what I am thinking right now:
We will meet together for roughly 6-7 months as a "closed group" which means we won't invite outsiders to join us or anything like that, and then on Palm Sunday of 2010 we will hold our first "public worship service." So the common question would be what will we do for those first six months. Basically I would like us to focus on five primary roles of the church; Mission (which in most ways encompasses all the rest), Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship and Service (couldn't fit a "-ship" in there). In some ways we will focus on each of those things every week of our core group.
Here is how I see each meeting going:
1. We share a meal together and just relax some (Fellowship)
2. We pray for our church and our hearts together (Worship)
3. We discuss some basic theology together (Discipleship)
4. We discuss current world events and how we can respond (Service)
5. We discuss other world religions and how we can relate to their followers (Mission)
As I'm sure you noticed, these things all overlap to a certain degree. That is good. Now before you get worried, I don't see us spending more than 2 or 3 hours a week on this meeting, which is probably less than you would spend serving at church or going to church. I would like us to visit 4 or 5 churches in the area during this time and discuss what we thought about each, strengths, weaknesses, what can we try that they do, etc.
I am working on a month by month breakdown, but I can give you the basic thoughts so far: Each month we will rotate topics, so for instance, in September I have us discussing Mormonism, Environmentalism and diversity of thought within the congregation (may not sound theological but I think it is). So then in October, we may switch to something like Islam, War and the nature of the Bible.
I don't think we will be able to cover everything, but hopefully this small group setting will prepare us all for the many questions and issues we will face as a body. I think this will give us time to get comfortable with each other and to know where we stand on some very important issues. The reason I am blogging about this 5 months out is so you can give me some thoughts and I can change things around. Also, please share any prayer requests you might have. I am working nights right now, so you can pray that that is a short lived shift. As always, I am so excited to see all your shining faces move up here.
We will meet together for roughly 6-7 months as a "closed group" which means we won't invite outsiders to join us or anything like that, and then on Palm Sunday of 2010 we will hold our first "public worship service." So the common question would be what will we do for those first six months. Basically I would like us to focus on five primary roles of the church; Mission (which in most ways encompasses all the rest), Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship and Service (couldn't fit a "-ship" in there). In some ways we will focus on each of those things every week of our core group.
Here is how I see each meeting going:
1. We share a meal together and just relax some (Fellowship)
2. We pray for our church and our hearts together (Worship)
3. We discuss some basic theology together (Discipleship)
4. We discuss current world events and how we can respond (Service)
5. We discuss other world religions and how we can relate to their followers (Mission)
As I'm sure you noticed, these things all overlap to a certain degree. That is good. Now before you get worried, I don't see us spending more than 2 or 3 hours a week on this meeting, which is probably less than you would spend serving at church or going to church. I would like us to visit 4 or 5 churches in the area during this time and discuss what we thought about each, strengths, weaknesses, what can we try that they do, etc.
I am working on a month by month breakdown, but I can give you the basic thoughts so far: Each month we will rotate topics, so for instance, in September I have us discussing Mormonism, Environmentalism and diversity of thought within the congregation (may not sound theological but I think it is). So then in October, we may switch to something like Islam, War and the nature of the Bible.
I don't think we will be able to cover everything, but hopefully this small group setting will prepare us all for the many questions and issues we will face as a body. I think this will give us time to get comfortable with each other and to know where we stand on some very important issues. The reason I am blogging about this 5 months out is so you can give me some thoughts and I can change things around. Also, please share any prayer requests you might have. I am working nights right now, so you can pray that that is a short lived shift. As always, I am so excited to see all your shining faces move up here.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Two months?!
Ouch. Sorry team. Really should have been updating more. I'll just give everyone the quick run down on what has been going on up here in the mile high city, then tell you what I've been contemplating, and then end with a promise to blog more frequently.
As you all know, we got a dog about a month and a half ago. It was not very well-advised, but he is so darn cute. Robin was sold, and I had to take advantage while I could. So a lot of our time has been consumed with crazy old Rufus. He is getting huge, and will only get huger. He is pretty fun though, and we meet a lot of people because of him. Hopefully dog parks will be like Refuge #2. I recently got a pseudo promotion at the mission, instead of driving trucks around all day, I will be watching facilities at night. I am not excited about the hours, but I am excited about the raise (even if it is slight) and the fact that they made it seem temporary until they can find me a position like a chaplain or something. So all that to say, tomorrow night I start working nights. I am bummed, but I know it is temporary so hopefully it will only be a few months.
I also know a guy that will be graduating from the program who really wants to be part of our church. He is a great guy and really getting his life back together. I think he will be a great addition. Further, there are several guys who have offered their expertise if we need to refurbish a building or whatever. I know an electrician, a welder and a carpenter. Plus a stone-worker. I also know of a building that could be a good fit, unless it is condemned. I am going to start asking questions, but rest assured no decisions will be made until we are all together.
I have been working in my head on our "core training" or whatever we are going to call it, and I can't wait for fall to get here. Some things I plan on us walking through include: finding ways to disagree peacefully, other religions, political hot topics (abortion, death penalty, Iraq war, gay marriage, etc), sharing our faith, controversial theological issues (Calvinism v Arminianism v Open Theism, the nature of scripture, prophecy, etc) and I was thinking we could visit other churches together to discuss what we thought. We will have around 6 months of working together before we "go public" as it were, so I think these will really be good things to work on. If you have stuff you want to discuss let me know.
I will blog more frequently. What can we pray for you for? We are excited to have you guys here soon. Pray for us, we are hoping to find a way to move into a rent house of some kind this summer. We would have to find a way out of our lease or whatever, but we want to have a yard for Rufus and more room to have people like you over.
As you all know, we got a dog about a month and a half ago. It was not very well-advised, but he is so darn cute. Robin was sold, and I had to take advantage while I could. So a lot of our time has been consumed with crazy old Rufus. He is getting huge, and will only get huger. He is pretty fun though, and we meet a lot of people because of him. Hopefully dog parks will be like Refuge #2. I recently got a pseudo promotion at the mission, instead of driving trucks around all day, I will be watching facilities at night. I am not excited about the hours, but I am excited about the raise (even if it is slight) and the fact that they made it seem temporary until they can find me a position like a chaplain or something. So all that to say, tomorrow night I start working nights. I am bummed, but I know it is temporary so hopefully it will only be a few months.
I also know a guy that will be graduating from the program who really wants to be part of our church. He is a great guy and really getting his life back together. I think he will be a great addition. Further, there are several guys who have offered their expertise if we need to refurbish a building or whatever. I know an electrician, a welder and a carpenter. Plus a stone-worker. I also know of a building that could be a good fit, unless it is condemned. I am going to start asking questions, but rest assured no decisions will be made until we are all together.
I have been working in my head on our "core training" or whatever we are going to call it, and I can't wait for fall to get here. Some things I plan on us walking through include: finding ways to disagree peacefully, other religions, political hot topics (abortion, death penalty, Iraq war, gay marriage, etc), sharing our faith, controversial theological issues (Calvinism v Arminianism v Open Theism, the nature of scripture, prophecy, etc) and I was thinking we could visit other churches together to discuss what we thought. We will have around 6 months of working together before we "go public" as it were, so I think these will really be good things to work on. If you have stuff you want to discuss let me know.
I will blog more frequently. What can we pray for you for? We are excited to have you guys here soon. Pray for us, we are hoping to find a way to move into a rent house of some kind this summer. We would have to find a way out of our lease or whatever, but we want to have a yard for Rufus and more room to have people like you over.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Vision
Hey guys, I have a guy that I work with who sounded really interested in thinking about being part of our church. I thought it would be a good idea to develop a one-sheet synopsis of who we are and what we want to be about to give to people that are thinking about joining us. I am going to copy and paste it here. I wanted to get some of your feedback before I gave it to him, or to anyone else for that matter, because this is something that you have as much ownership as I do. So, let me know what you think, and if you have any thoughts on the covenant. I can email it to you if you would like also. If I haven't heard from you guys in a couple days, I will go ahead and give him what I have.
**Refuge Community Church** will be a church plant in the Denver metro area. We plan to start as a small home group in the beginning consisting of a committed group of 10 to 20 people who will make up the original “core” of the church. We will begin meeting as a “core” group in the Fall of 2009 and plan on our first “public” service being around Palm Sunday of 2010. This will hopefully allow for our basic group to share a vision and dream for the future of **Refuge Community Church** and to allow us to move forward in a unified way when our public services begin.
So there we go. Let me know if we can pray for you guys, I know it can be stressful thinking about the big move. We are excited to have you guys join us soon.
**Refuge Community Church** will be a church plant in the Denver metro area. We plan to start as a small home group in the beginning consisting of a committed group of 10 to 20 people who will make up the original “core” of the church. We will begin meeting as a “core” group in the Fall of 2009 and plan on our first “public” service being around Palm Sunday of 2010. This will hopefully allow for our basic group to share a vision and dream for the future of **Refuge Community Church** and to allow us to move forward in a unified way when our public services begin.
Why another church? We feel that the current churches are not doing an adequate job of reaching twenty-somethings or the large population of homeless and addicts in our world. We believe that these are groups that are often underrepresented because they do not necessarily tithe very well. However, we also desire to take Jesus seriously when he calls us to care for “the least of these.” We know that God has the strength and resources to take care of us financially. We will certainly not turn away people who are not in those particular groups, but we want to be a church that really seeks to help and reach out to those particular groups.
In addition, we feel that sometimes the best way to get away from problems of previous churches is to start fresh. We want to foster a certain amount of teamwork with other churches in the area, while also helping established ministries. We believe that we are all working to the same goal of sharing the love of Jesus Christ with the world.
We believe that the purpose of a church is to be a community of Christians who make up the “body of Christ” in a very real way. We want to do the work of God in our world. We want to be like family to one another and want to seek in a very natural way to incorporate more people into our group and hopefully expand our influence throughout the city, state, country and world. We believe it is our job to carry out the mission of God in the world. God wants all men and women to know that he loves them and that salvation is available to all.
What denomination will **Refuge** be? We have decided that due to a certain amount of baggage that goes with different denominations that we will be “non-denominational.” We do not want a name to get in the way of a person seeking the salvation of Jesus Christ.
How will **Refuge** be run? At the beginning the church will consist of a very small group of 10 to 20. During that time we will make all decisions based on discussion and vote. However, eventually we will adopt either an elder system or a staff led church. This will be decided during the Fall meetings of 2009.
Why all the crazy *** around **Refuge**? Because this is not our official name yet. We have adopted Refuge as our working name, and if it is ratified by vote early in our meetings, it will be our official name.
So there we go. Let me know if we can pray for you guys, I know it can be stressful thinking about the big move. We are excited to have you guys join us soon.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Random thoughts for today
Sorry I haven't blogged much lately. I really look forward to the day when you are all here and I can just post some stuff to think about leading up to our bible studies or whatever.
Anyway, I have been thinking about a lot of things lately, so I am going to throw in most of them out there and just see what you guys think.
First, I am working on drawing up some sort of covenant we can all agree on. Obviously I will send it to you all and you can look it over before, but I think it could be a good way to kind of agree on certain things as a team and a church. Some things I am thinking about including; something about helping the church financially when able, helping physically when able, attending, moderation in things like drinking and smoking cigars or pipes, the refusal to complain and gossip, agree to go to the other person in the church if there is a problem. What do you guys think about those things? The last thing I want is some list of legalistic things for us to stick to, but I also don't want us to pretend like freedom in Christ means we have no responsibility to each other.
Second, there are a lot of guys at the Rescue Mission who I think will really want to help us. Most of them have skills in manual labor, like drywall and painting and stuff like that. This is assuming we have a place to work on, but I know at some point we will hopefully have a building of some sort. I know these guys love to get out of the mission every now and then. They will be happy to help us and we can just give them a little lunch. For those of you who helped at Nexus, I know you will be excited and relieved by this. Some of those guys even have electrical and plumbing skills. There are also guys who are musicians there. One of them is staff, so he might be willing to help with music for awhile.
Third, it may seem like a long ways away, but you will be here before you know it. And we will be meeting as a small group before you know it. And we will have our first service before you know it. Don't put off getting ready to be here. Plan as best you can now, look for jobs online, it might not even hurt to apply for some. And most importantly, be praying that God will provide for us.
Fourth, it is amazing to me how many people Robin and I have met in our jobs that are excited about Refuge. I could guess 20-30 that might come and visit or check out our small groups if they were already started. That number will grow dramatically when you are all here and working. There is a huge group of people that want a church like the one we are preparing for. It will be some work, but I think it will be nothing but rewarding for each of you.
We are excited and anticipate all the great things you will all do when you get here. You are all awesome and I couldn't ask for a better group to do this with. Let me know what we can do to help you guys with the move, and post any prayer requests as usual.
Anyway, I have been thinking about a lot of things lately, so I am going to throw in most of them out there and just see what you guys think.
First, I am working on drawing up some sort of covenant we can all agree on. Obviously I will send it to you all and you can look it over before, but I think it could be a good way to kind of agree on certain things as a team and a church. Some things I am thinking about including; something about helping the church financially when able, helping physically when able, attending, moderation in things like drinking and smoking cigars or pipes, the refusal to complain and gossip, agree to go to the other person in the church if there is a problem. What do you guys think about those things? The last thing I want is some list of legalistic things for us to stick to, but I also don't want us to pretend like freedom in Christ means we have no responsibility to each other.
Second, there are a lot of guys at the Rescue Mission who I think will really want to help us. Most of them have skills in manual labor, like drywall and painting and stuff like that. This is assuming we have a place to work on, but I know at some point we will hopefully have a building of some sort. I know these guys love to get out of the mission every now and then. They will be happy to help us and we can just give them a little lunch. For those of you who helped at Nexus, I know you will be excited and relieved by this. Some of those guys even have electrical and plumbing skills. There are also guys who are musicians there. One of them is staff, so he might be willing to help with music for awhile.
Third, it may seem like a long ways away, but you will be here before you know it. And we will be meeting as a small group before you know it. And we will have our first service before you know it. Don't put off getting ready to be here. Plan as best you can now, look for jobs online, it might not even hurt to apply for some. And most importantly, be praying that God will provide for us.
Fourth, it is amazing to me how many people Robin and I have met in our jobs that are excited about Refuge. I could guess 20-30 that might come and visit or check out our small groups if they were already started. That number will grow dramatically when you are all here and working. There is a huge group of people that want a church like the one we are preparing for. It will be some work, but I think it will be nothing but rewarding for each of you.
We are excited and anticipate all the great things you will all do when you get here. You are all awesome and I couldn't ask for a better group to do this with. Let me know what we can do to help you guys with the move, and post any prayer requests as usual.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
God is with us
Christmas time used to be my favorite season when I was a kid. I mean, not a lot of kids have to wait 362 days between opening presents. But when it finally hit, I had my birthday, then three days later Christmas. It was one of my favorite weeks as a kid. But then getting presents wasn't as big of a deal to me. So for a long time, I didn't really like the holiday season. I had to deal with family for extended periods, some of whom I didn't care much for, and I had to miss out on time with my friends. So for a good amount of time I didn't love the holidays.
But for the past few years I have started to really think about what Christmas means. I've started to appreciate all the cliches about the "reason for the season," and all that. Just the other day on my way home from work I was listening to the song "O Come O Come Emmanuel" and thinking about what it really means that God came and made his dwelling with us. Eugene Peterson translates part of John 1 as "the word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood."
So back to the cliche. For the longest time people lived in our world with little or no hope. If there was a God, he wasn't much involved in their lives, or so they thought. For the Israelites, they had lived in disobedience for so long, God had good reason to abandon them. Then in a tiny town in a corner of a Roman province, God was born in the flesh. For me, I believe that this event signaled an actual change in the nature of God. God became something he wasn't before. God was so heartbroken over the condition of humanity that he was willing to become flesh, to learn to talk and walk, to love and to be hurt, to live among the people he so cared for. God knew the only way to reach his prodigal sons and daughters was to journey far from home and live among them. This is the reason for the season.
I was thinking about all of this the other day at work. I work with former drug addicts, alcoholics and homeless men. Sometimes they are a hard group to love. But not so hard when I think about the life of our savior. When I take the time to think about the fact that these are Jesus' precious children and they are the ones he is so passionate about saving.
One of the passages I have been trying to keep in mind as we moved is that short phrase about the word moving into the neighborhood. In the same way that God moved in with us, he is calling us to move in with those in Denver that are hurting. The incarnation is the chief model for ministry and I encourage each of you to ponder that as you begin making plans to move. I believe very strongly that we can make a difference here. I think we can make a difference at Denver Rescue Mission, and in whatever places you all end up working. I am excited to see what happens, and I want to encourage you that God will reward your faithfulness. Its normal and ok to be worried, to be scared and to think it won't be easy. It won't. It hasn't been for us. But, as Dumbledore tells Harry on many occasions "there is a difference between what is easy and what is right."
We are praying that the Kinsers will have enough money while Desiree is finishing her masters. We are praying that God would help provide for Bethany so she can save some for a little pad when she gets here, what else do you guys need? Pray for us, we are hoping Robin can get back into hospice sometime soon. Pray for me, I am thinking I will be a chaplain for the Air National Guard, its a good deal, part time and good ministry opportunities, but I will need to lose 10 to 15 pounds and hope my physical goes well. Pray that God will provide us with a place. I loved what we were able to do with our place at Nexus, and hope we can do something like that here in Denver. Pray that God would provide a musician. Anything else?
But for the past few years I have started to really think about what Christmas means. I've started to appreciate all the cliches about the "reason for the season," and all that. Just the other day on my way home from work I was listening to the song "O Come O Come Emmanuel" and thinking about what it really means that God came and made his dwelling with us. Eugene Peterson translates part of John 1 as "the word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood."
So back to the cliche. For the longest time people lived in our world with little or no hope. If there was a God, he wasn't much involved in their lives, or so they thought. For the Israelites, they had lived in disobedience for so long, God had good reason to abandon them. Then in a tiny town in a corner of a Roman province, God was born in the flesh. For me, I believe that this event signaled an actual change in the nature of God. God became something he wasn't before. God was so heartbroken over the condition of humanity that he was willing to become flesh, to learn to talk and walk, to love and to be hurt, to live among the people he so cared for. God knew the only way to reach his prodigal sons and daughters was to journey far from home and live among them. This is the reason for the season.
I was thinking about all of this the other day at work. I work with former drug addicts, alcoholics and homeless men. Sometimes they are a hard group to love. But not so hard when I think about the life of our savior. When I take the time to think about the fact that these are Jesus' precious children and they are the ones he is so passionate about saving.
One of the passages I have been trying to keep in mind as we moved is that short phrase about the word moving into the neighborhood. In the same way that God moved in with us, he is calling us to move in with those in Denver that are hurting. The incarnation is the chief model for ministry and I encourage each of you to ponder that as you begin making plans to move. I believe very strongly that we can make a difference here. I think we can make a difference at Denver Rescue Mission, and in whatever places you all end up working. I am excited to see what happens, and I want to encourage you that God will reward your faithfulness. Its normal and ok to be worried, to be scared and to think it won't be easy. It won't. It hasn't been for us. But, as Dumbledore tells Harry on many occasions "there is a difference between what is easy and what is right."
We are praying that the Kinsers will have enough money while Desiree is finishing her masters. We are praying that God would help provide for Bethany so she can save some for a little pad when she gets here, what else do you guys need? Pray for us, we are hoping Robin can get back into hospice sometime soon. Pray for me, I am thinking I will be a chaplain for the Air National Guard, its a good deal, part time and good ministry opportunities, but I will need to lose 10 to 15 pounds and hope my physical goes well. Pray that God will provide us with a place. I loved what we were able to do with our place at Nexus, and hope we can do something like that here in Denver. Pray that God would provide a musician. Anything else?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The weather outside is frightful
It is currently 4 degrees here in Denver. So, for those of you moving before long, buy coats and scarves and sweaters. I'm sure you can get some great deals early summer right before moving. I love the cold, so I enjoy it, but Robin, not so much. For those of you who don't keep up with college football, Boomer Sooner, my Sooners are going to the National Championship game and the QB just won the Heisman.
Anyway, I just finished my first few days of work, and I really hated it the first two days, but I really like it Friday. I basically drive a truck around town for Denver Rescue Mission. The best thing about it is one of the guys who is in recovery goes with me. We had a great time talking and getting to know one another. I think the best thing for all this is that hopefully some of these guys from the Rescue Mission will come to our church. I would really love us to be in close contact with this group. The guys are of course pretty rough, but I would bet Peter was too.
The other great thing is Robin is meeting a ton of people that could be part of our church. There are a lot of people here that are hungry for a different kind of church. They want a place where they can be themselves and not feel like they are judged. So, I can only imagine how many people we will touch when you all get here and we are all working at different places.
Thanks for sharing those prayer requests, we will keep you guys in our prayers. For us this week, pray that I will learn my route quickly, that I will get in shape quickly (I have to make weight for the Air Guard gig), that I will get all my stuff in soon and that Robin will find a job that she likes better. I am praying that you guys will all get here soon, I can't wait to get started! I am looking around everywhere for ideas about where we can meet, so pray for that too.
Also, I was thinking about doing up a little covenant for the core of our church. Just something we can all agree that we will do certain things and support one another in certain ways. What do you guys think about that? What would you put in it if you could?
Anyway, I just finished my first few days of work, and I really hated it the first two days, but I really like it Friday. I basically drive a truck around town for Denver Rescue Mission. The best thing about it is one of the guys who is in recovery goes with me. We had a great time talking and getting to know one another. I think the best thing for all this is that hopefully some of these guys from the Rescue Mission will come to our church. I would really love us to be in close contact with this group. The guys are of course pretty rough, but I would bet Peter was too.
The other great thing is Robin is meeting a ton of people that could be part of our church. There are a lot of people here that are hungry for a different kind of church. They want a place where they can be themselves and not feel like they are judged. So, I can only imagine how many people we will touch when you all get here and we are all working at different places.
Thanks for sharing those prayer requests, we will keep you guys in our prayers. For us this week, pray that I will learn my route quickly, that I will get in shape quickly (I have to make weight for the Air Guard gig), that I will get all my stuff in soon and that Robin will find a job that she likes better. I am praying that you guys will all get here soon, I can't wait to get started! I am looking around everywhere for ideas about where we can meet, so pray for that too.
Also, I was thinking about doing up a little covenant for the core of our church. Just something we can all agree that we will do certain things and support one another in certain ways. What do you guys think about that? What would you put in it if you could?
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thanksgiving
Sorry for the long delay in posts, the truth is I have been a bit beat down by not having a job. I just didn't want to constantly blog about being beat down. So all that to say, I finally got a job! I will be working for Denver Rescue Mission. It is anything but glamorous, but I will be helping people and working full time. We will have enough to pay our bills and to live well, and that is all I can really ask for. In addition, I think I will try to serve as chaplain for the local Air National Guard. This would be part time, and I can do it in conjunction to the church. It will be a great place to meet and minister and I'm pretty excited about it. So, really, thank you for your prayers, it was a tough couple months, but no one said it would be easy.
Also, we had our first Thanksgiving here. Our friends Chad and Mary came, and some family and friends of theirs, and Robin's sister. It was laid back and we had a really great time. We are so excited about celebrating with all of you next year. We want to also start a tradition of helping at a local shelter or something like that for lunch or breakfast and then getting together to eat dinner together. You are all invited. I don't have much more to say, but one of the things I was really grateful for (and still am) is all of you. Its a big deal to say that you are going to spend your life doing things of eternal significance instead of things that will make your rich or comfortable.
So, please just pray that the Air Guard thing will work out, pray that there will be no scheduling conflicts and that all the little things with it work out well. What can we pray for you for?
Also, we had our first Thanksgiving here. Our friends Chad and Mary came, and some family and friends of theirs, and Robin's sister. It was laid back and we had a really great time. We are so excited about celebrating with all of you next year. We want to also start a tradition of helping at a local shelter or something like that for lunch or breakfast and then getting together to eat dinner together. You are all invited. I don't have much more to say, but one of the things I was really grateful for (and still am) is all of you. Its a big deal to say that you are going to spend your life doing things of eternal significance instead of things that will make your rich or comfortable.
So, please just pray that the Air Guard thing will work out, pray that there will be no scheduling conflicts and that all the little things with it work out well. What can we pray for you for?
Monday, November 17, 2008
Peacefully Disagree...
One of the things I think is incredibly important to any community, is the ability to peacefully disagree. I don't know how many of you check up on my blog, you're not missing much if you don't, but I have just been blogging lately about the controversial topics of politics. Now, I have some opinions that I don't expect you all to share. In fact, I am pretty confident that outside of Robin and Grant, most of you are going to disagree with me on quite a few political issues. Does this mean that we are unfit to start a church together? I sure hope not. But one thing it does is force us to focus on people more than ideas.
We need to be committed to each other more than we are to certain ideas. Some ideas are worth dividing over, but not too many. Here is an unacceptable way to disagree about a certain idea.
Person A: I think such and such is a good thing.
Person B: You obviously do not believe in the bible or the God who wrote it. Repent or you will be judged.
Person A: You obviously hate everything and will go to hell.
Now, that is clearly an oversimplification, but hopefully you can see the basic premise. If someone disagrees with us, that does not automatically mean that they are pagan heathens that hate God and the bible. In fact, they could love God just a much as we do. They just happen to disagree with us. So how do we disagree in a good way?
Person A: I think such and such is a good thing.
Person B: While I know that you area person trying to follow God, I would disagree with your assessment of such and such for this reason.
Person A: That is understandable, let's talk more about this in a nonthreatening, uplifting way.
I realize that is an ideal, and it is rare. But hopefully if we are all building toward that type of idea, we can work together to focus more on our commitment to one another than our politics or whatnot.
Lastly, I know some of you are saying "blah blah blah, Chris you have said this before." Yes I have. And I plan on saying it again and again. I think one of the worst things we can do is think that because we disagree that we are unfit to do this thing together. We all agree that God wants to use us in Denver, and we all agree that working together to start a new kind of church is the way. We will disagree on some specifics, but we have to make sure that we always agree on our commitment to one another. Thoughts?
I am starting my teller job on Wed. I'm not excited, but there are two jobs that I have applied for that I would love, so if you could just pray that I am the only applicant I would love that.
We need to be committed to each other more than we are to certain ideas. Some ideas are worth dividing over, but not too many. Here is an unacceptable way to disagree about a certain idea.
Person A: I think such and such is a good thing.
Person B: You obviously do not believe in the bible or the God who wrote it. Repent or you will be judged.
Person A: You obviously hate everything and will go to hell.
Now, that is clearly an oversimplification, but hopefully you can see the basic premise. If someone disagrees with us, that does not automatically mean that they are pagan heathens that hate God and the bible. In fact, they could love God just a much as we do. They just happen to disagree with us. So how do we disagree in a good way?
Person A: I think such and such is a good thing.
Person B: While I know that you area person trying to follow God, I would disagree with your assessment of such and such for this reason.
Person A: That is understandable, let's talk more about this in a nonthreatening, uplifting way.
I realize that is an ideal, and it is rare. But hopefully if we are all building toward that type of idea, we can work together to focus more on our commitment to one another than our politics or whatnot.
Lastly, I know some of you are saying "blah blah blah, Chris you have said this before." Yes I have. And I plan on saying it again and again. I think one of the worst things we can do is think that because we disagree that we are unfit to do this thing together. We all agree that God wants to use us in Denver, and we all agree that working together to start a new kind of church is the way. We will disagree on some specifics, but we have to make sure that we always agree on our commitment to one another. Thoughts?
I am starting my teller job on Wed. I'm not excited, but there are two jobs that I have applied for that I would love, so if you could just pray that I am the only applicant I would love that.
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Cost of Discipleship
Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes this in his book "...But now he has come, and his call goes forth. Faith can no longer mean sitting still and waiting- they must rise and follow him. The call frees them from all earthly ties, and binds them to Jesus Christ alone. They must burn their boats and plunge into absolute insecurity in order to learn the demands and gift of Christ. Had Levi stayed at his post, Jesus might have been his present help in trouble, but not the Lord of his whole life... before he can believe, the utterly impossible and ethically irresponsible situation on the waves of the sea must be displayed. The road to faith passes through obedience to the call of Jesus. Unless a definite step is demanded, the call vanishes into thin air, and if men imagine that they can follow Jesus without taking this step, they are deluding themselves..."
I was just sitting here at home being bummed. I was finally offered a job, part time teller at Wells Fargo. But it is a job. I will take it and look for something full time. But I was just sitting here being bummed out, feeling dejected. So I decided to read, something I haven't done since getting a new video game (which is awesome by the way). So I picked up "The Cost of Discipleship" by Bonhoeffer. And it really hit the spot. I was bummed, but now I feel affirmed. Robin and I burned our boats. We plunged into the insecurity of the sea. We haven't washed up to shore yet, but I feel more hopeful. God has given us enough for now, and I believe he will continue.
You may be pretty apprehensive. Its normal. It will be hard sometimes. But I promise you, it will help you to learn what it means to be a disciple. Not everyone who is a disciple is called to come to Denver, but if you are called, God will take care of you. I am hopeful. God has shown a pattern of using those who throw caution to the wind and follow his leading. I see a lot of you that are doing that already. You are moving to a state where you only know Robin and I. You are coming to a church that does not exist yet. You are staking part of your life on the dream that we can make a church that is not perfect, but one that tries to be perfectible. I am so grateful to have people like you coming to join us soon. I am excited for the kind of church we can make together. I believe it will be hard, but a long time from now, we will all look back with a certain pride and know that God used us because we burned our boats, and cast ourselves into the sea, and into the hands of God.
What can I pray for you for this week? I applied for a job at Denver Rescue Mission. It is full time, and it will probably not pay well. But I would love it.
I was just sitting here at home being bummed. I was finally offered a job, part time teller at Wells Fargo. But it is a job. I will take it and look for something full time. But I was just sitting here being bummed out, feeling dejected. So I decided to read, something I haven't done since getting a new video game (which is awesome by the way). So I picked up "The Cost of Discipleship" by Bonhoeffer. And it really hit the spot. I was bummed, but now I feel affirmed. Robin and I burned our boats. We plunged into the insecurity of the sea. We haven't washed up to shore yet, but I feel more hopeful. God has given us enough for now, and I believe he will continue.
You may be pretty apprehensive. Its normal. It will be hard sometimes. But I promise you, it will help you to learn what it means to be a disciple. Not everyone who is a disciple is called to come to Denver, but if you are called, God will take care of you. I am hopeful. God has shown a pattern of using those who throw caution to the wind and follow his leading. I see a lot of you that are doing that already. You are moving to a state where you only know Robin and I. You are coming to a church that does not exist yet. You are staking part of your life on the dream that we can make a church that is not perfect, but one that tries to be perfectible. I am so grateful to have people like you coming to join us soon. I am excited for the kind of church we can make together. I believe it will be hard, but a long time from now, we will all look back with a certain pride and know that God used us because we burned our boats, and cast ourselves into the sea, and into the hands of God.
What can I pray for you for this week? I applied for a job at Denver Rescue Mission. It is full time, and it will probably not pay well. But I would love it.
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