:: FUEL end of Jan

We decided to do guys cook and clean night at FUEL. So we made spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. All which was pretty stinking good. Chris was a natural in the kitchen. We invited some other friends over and played cranium. The highlight of the night was Marks imitation of the energizer bunny in a charades portion of the game.
I was thinking he looked a lot like that little monkey in toys that plays the tamborines. Everyone had a good laugh.

Times of just hanging out, eating together, and laughing help us keep balanced.

:: Comments in never never land

I found that the commenting system I had been using went down hard this week and all my prior comments have escaped to parts unknown. I am going to take that as a cue to switch commenting systems on this blog. I am going to haloscan. We'll see if they can keep those little bugger comments under lock and key and safe from harm.

:: Spiritual Formation

In my Christian existence I have found real spiritual meat in seasons where I have pursued spiritual formation through spiritual disciplines. Most of those seasons has been as I have crossed paths with someone who was into that or when reading on my own on the subject. Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster was one of the primary places that I learned more about spiritual disciplines.

Lately I have been going through Tony Jones new book: Soul Shaper. Soul Shaper is a primer on exploring spirituality and contemplative practices in youth ministry. I believe there is a deeper life of relationship with God that can be found through spiritual disciplines.

Today I ran across an article on the ooze by Richard Foster. Here is a quote:

You can probably detect that I am not overwhelmingly encouraged by the popular expressions of Spiritual Formation today. I'm not; too much is too faddish and too formulaic for me to be optimistic. And yet, we stand at a moment of great opportunity. Human need today is so obvious and so great that no honest person can deny it. People stagger under the burden of human wickedness. Evil is an open, oozing sore. Therefore superficial, half-answers will not do. Not anymore. Today, there is a great new fact in the contemporary interest in Spiritual Formation. And I view it as a source for enormous hope. This great new fact is the widespread belief that we can no longer bypass authentic, pervasive, thorough transformation of the inner life of the human being.

Read more

:: The foot of the cross

Sunday night a group of the res crew went over to the Colony to pray over the city we believe God is leading us to.
We prayed in the parking lot of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Good Shepherd is a place we are negotiating with on using their facility on Sunday nights.

In prayer we heard and prayed:
Let songs of worship be raised to heaven. This will impact what happens on a spiritual level in the Colony.
We are to be good shepherds to this community. Show us how to serve.
God is asking that we pursue pure hearts, not that we are perfect, but in pursuit of pure hearts.
God would encourage the wives in our community.
We are to serve other communities of faith. It's not about us. It's about the kingdom of God.
It is time to get going. The time of seeing other communities is done.

At the end of our time in prayer we noticed we had been right in front of a large cross in the yard. It seemed significant to us that our first prayer time in the Colony was at the foot of the cross.

:: A trip to Mars Hill

After Brennan Manning on Sunday we dropped by Mars Hill to lend some support to our friend Justin Nygren and the folks in their community.

I was so tired from the road trip from the weekend, staying up all hours in Lubbock and talking, then getting up early Sunday morning to get everyone to Argyle. I still enjoyed being there.

Mars Hill has an inviting environment. The room is filled with couches and loveseats making for a very intimate setting. The lighting is down low. Around the perimeter is art that was birthed in the community there. The seating all directs toward one corner of the room that is set up like a mini stage.

Kelly led some songs of worship and then Justin talked about Acts 2 which was pertinent for where their community is on the journey. They are looking at the basics and where to go next.

We all went out and ate at a Vietnamese place afterwards.

:: Thoughts from Brennan Manning

A group of us went to Argyle to hear Brennan Manning Sunday morning at Crosstimbers church. Here are some thoughts from his talk.

God loves stories. That's why he made each of us, so He could have so many stories.

Our perspective about the kingdom of God
We think people who go to church, who read the bible every once in a while, and pray every once in a while, and take a strong stand on abortion are real kingdom people. But really they are people who keep their distance from God. We want to get close enough to be warmed by the fire of God but not too close that we become consumed by the fire.

Did Jesus die so that we could attend a service on Sunday?

No Jesus died that we would be prophets, and lovers, and human torches on this world. We should be in awe of the cross. Let's marvel at the cross.

Will we dare to trust that God loves us as we are and not what we should be. The popular myth is: If I change God will love me. No, we come just as we are. The truth is: God will love us and because of His love we will change.

If Jesus walked up to the front of this building this morning, looked over the crowd, and then walked straight to you and looked you in the eye, What would his face reflect, his voice reflect. Would it reflect "Your not working hard enough, your not meeting the standard, I am so disappointed in you." No, it would more than likely reflect "thanks for coming here this morning in search of me, thanks for helping that lady out this week, thanks for a heart that wants to know me." Jesus wants to know us.

Is your Christianity a moral code or ethic or a love affair?

I was ambushed by Jesus . . .
told some testimony about his six months living in a cave in the desert. He was encountered by the love of God one night while in prayer in the cave.

Most Christians God is way too small - the God of the word is way larger

True words from Christ are those that are burned on your heart. Words from Him burn on your heart.

On the day you experience the love of Jesus Christ, nothing in this world will ever be as beautiful, no man or woman can touch that love.

Nothing in this world can compare with one true touch from God. It was a good morning and a time to refocus on the incredible love of our incredible God.

:: Ambassadors

This weekend Chris, Mark, Justin, and I made a roadtrip to Lubbock to pick up some furniture. We hung out at Shane Kuhns Friday night and Saturday. For lunch we went over to Rosas and had a colossal amount of chicken and beef fajitas. As always good food seemed to ignite some really good fellowship. I have a suspicion good food is linked to Holy Spirit inspiration, but its just a theory.

Our conversation turned to being ambassadors of Christ. Shane was sharing how we are not at home here on the earth but are ambassadors. This seemed to spark much conversation. We talked of how ambassadors are not at home where they are at (they are strangers and aliens there). They are emissaries for another country. As followers of Christ we are not to be at home here on this earth. Our allegiance is to our home country (the kingdom of God). We are to represent our home country where we are at. The laws we are under are not the laws of where we are stationed but the laws of our home country.

We talked about how this relates to the Lords prayer. In our a united states vernacular if we were talking about being an ambassador to Ireland we might read.

My President, who resides in Washington, we honor your name. Your kingdom (the u.s.) come, your will be done in Ireland as it is in the States. Give me today what I need for my task. We are committed to keeping our hearts upright to serve our country. Help me to keep my countries interests at the forefront of my energies, help me not get distracted by the matters of Ireland. Deliver me from my enemies. For the states is the honorable place, with all power and glory forever and ever.

We realized afresh that we are stationed on the earth to represent the kingdom of God. Jesus said "seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you". Our allegiance is to our home not to this earth.

:: Grace

Mike, Chris, and I met today to do some planning with what God is showing us in mind. For all of us grace seemed to be at the forefront of our thinking. For Chris it was extending small graces to people in our everyday lives. For me it was preparing to bring the ministry of grace to those who visited our community. And for Mike it was thinking about how we could equip others to be instruments of grace wherever they are at.

We have decided to dedicate February to talking about, studying, writing about, praying about, just focusing on grace. What is it? how can we be instruments of it? What is Gods grace like?

We want to be containers of grace sloshing out everywhere we are. We realized we are a community of grace.

:: Fuel 3 Feb

Tonight we had our meal together. It was baked potatoes with all the fixins (thats a true Texas word for all the extra stuff you can have). We had communion at the end of our meal. I asked people some things about Jesus suffering on the cross that they appreciated. We truly remembered the enourmous sacrifice he made.

Some comments were:
"Its good to know His motivation was love for us, not I have to go save these dang humans out of a big mess, be back soon"
"He didn't talk back at those who were cruel to Him. I hope to attain that someday."
"The story about Him is so authentic, it talks about how ugly it was and all He had to endure."
There were others that I'm not remembering. We then tore a piece of the bread and ate in remembering and then drank juice remembering His brokeness and pain and love and compassion. It was a sacred moment.

Our conversation after dinner was one of how does God speak? how do we hear him? what are some misconceptions about His voice? and what are obstacles to hearing God?

We spent time praying and then ended our evening.

:: I like my kids

You know before your a parent you think: What if I don't like my kids? Wouldn't that be odd. I was thinking today how I really like my kids. Of course I love them, but beyond that I like them. There personalities are unique and I like that.

Ethan is an amazingly creative thinker. The questions and observations he has make me think. Whether its his seeing glimpses of heaven in the clouds or his Dad did you know? Those did you knows have wonder in them.

Callie is incredibly sharp academically but also thinks about real life issues at 9 years old. She also articulates what she thinks well verbally and on paper. I think she writes as well now as I did beginning high school.

Yea, I know some of you are thinking "Don't they irritate you sometimes?" yea sometimes they try my patience. That is probably more my struggle than theirs though. And yea they do immature things that need some correction and training, but I still do also.

But most of the time it is a wonderous thing to me that I really like my kids. I have this suspicion that God is like that. Sure, we do immature things sometimes, but I think mostly He likes us and looks forward to spending time with us.

Thanks father God for reminding me that you mostly look forward to spending time with me and that you like me.

:: Approaching a large gathering place and time

We understand that church is not an event or place, it is a community of Jesus disciples going forward in extending the kingdom of God. Our goal in starting Resonance is not to only have times in peoples homes but to have a large gathering where we create an environment for people to come and experience the presence of God.

We are actively pursuing a place to create that environment in the Colony. Sunday nights is the time we have chosen to begin. I am hopeful we will find a place to meet at the front end of February. Our prayer is to use a church building that is not in use on Sunday nights and that we can bless the congregation of people who we connect with.

:: What theologian are you?

"Sin is incurable by the strength of man, nor does free will have any validity here, so that even the saints say: 'The evil which I do not wish, this I do.' 'You are not doing the things which you wish.' 'Since my loins are filled with illusions,' etc."

You are Martin Luther! Yeah, you have a way of letting everyone know how you feel, usually with Bible quotes attached, and will think your way through the issues, although sometimes you make no sense! You aren't always sure of yourself, and you can change your mind about things, something you actually consider a strength. You can take solitude, especially with some music.

What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson

:: Fuel 2 January

Tonight we discussed some biblical postures of worship. Even that the most important posture of worshiping God is the posture of your heart. Authenticity is when our heart is saying "yes" to God and our outward actions are mirroring our heart.

We also talked about how coming to God to worship Him with our hearts is about community, not about a bunch of individuals worshipping. There is a different perspective for each of us as we realize we are coming to Him as community and our worship is about the whole community coming before His presence, ala Psalm 95.

Chris took us through a movement in Isaiah as we focused on coming into Gods presence. We sang with interludes of Isaiah 6 being read between songs. During that time we wrote out those obstacles that kept us from seeing God on a piece of paper and then put them in the fireplace. The fire was about us giving these items to God and then allowing Him to work in them. It wasn't about them being instantly gone. We recognize this is a journey we are on and along that journey there is wrestling that happens.

Mike also had a dream he felt was from God and shared it to our community. I ask him to send me a copy and will post it at some time.

I am privileged to have some people around me that are committed to this journey and most of all a God who is king of every king and over every other god. (psalm 95)

:: Indie Allies

Indie Allies seems to be growing some momentum in Dallas. Twelve of us met last night at Insomnia coffee bar. We had Kelly from Journey community, Kelly from Mars Hill, a few of us from Resonance, Abigail from the Greenhouse in Ft. Worth, John who is pastor of Axis a young adults group at a local church, Kevin, Erik and Heather, and other friends.

We talked about the heart of evangelism: authenticity, sincerity, and a heart to serve others. Discussion went many different ways. We actually had a couple of prayer requests at the end, people not only prayed but gave pertinent scriptures to those involved. There was a good sense of Koinonia as we headed out.

:: mission - community - mayhem

mission . community . mayhem was a conference for the emerging church held in the midwest. Take a look a some of the conversation on Jeremiah Smiths weblog.

Here is a statement from Brian McClaren at the conference:

I became a Christian in the Jesus movement days. I’ve come to know a lot of Jesuses through the years. A Calvinist Jesus. A TV preacher Jesus. A Pentecostal Jesus. A CBN Jesus. A big Republican Jesus. I haven’t seen a democratic Jesus in a while As a kid I remember the picture of Jesus embracing all the different kinds of kids (Black, Asian, Native American, etc.) I feel like as an adult I’m trying to learn who that Jesus is. Ever feel like you need to unlearn about 2/3 of what you know? I’d like to start a new movement called Fundamentalism. There are only two fundamentals. Love God and Love your neighbor.

Wow, what a statement? What if these two fundamentals became our ecclesiology, our doctrinal statement and were what all our values were centered around?

:: Missional communities: the dancing hand of God

I was reading an article on Allelon called leadership within missional communities by Todd Hunter tonight which is a great read by the way. Anyway Todd reminded me of something John Wimber spoke of. In 1 Corinthians 12 the word manifestations which is the greek "phanerosis" can refer to the dancing hand of God.

That is such a beautiful picture to me that these gifts of the spirit or graces that God gives manifest on people as God hands dances around the body of Christ. There is a flow and a gracefullness to that picture. It is as if God is creating His own movement within His people and imparting portions of grace.

My thought was toward our emerging communities being missional. I know God extends his grace in the context of the community of faith, but I also contend that God uses this community as it goes into the world (workplace and marketplace) in the very same way. His dancing hand wants to use us to impart grace upon those we are around every day. We are part of Gods creative movement on the earth.

I liken this with a play that has two acts. For a complete story you have to have both parts. For us as the community of faith we come together and experience Gods presence. This is act 1. In it He gives us encouragement, love and empowerment. Act 2 is the natural progression of the story. We then go and extend this love, encouragement and empowerment to a broken world that has not experienced His love.

May we not only be the recipients of God dancing hand, but the vessels through which God works in our generation.

:: Blog census

Take a look at various blog information on the NITLE Census News. One interesting graph shows what percentage of bloggers are male, what percentage female, a group, or unknown.

:: Bloggin connections

I got to hang out with Chris Marlow today at Starbucks. Chris is another emerging foursquare church planter who is about to plant in Raleigh North Carolina. Chris and I met through bloggin. I think we have alot in common and may even work together on a church planting bulletin board. It is interesting to me, there seems to be this grassroots thing that God is doing all around the U.S. that involves people from all denominations and no denominations that call themselves emerging. I see it as God moving on the hearts on men and women to reach a generation for the kingdom. I pumped to have met and connected with yet another kindred heart in the kingdom.

It was cool to hear about Chris vision to not only plant a church but plant a church that plants churches (say all that fast five times).

:: Fuel moves into 2004

Tonight at Fuel we ate dinner together.

After dinner we went over our calendar and then began to talk of what God was doing among us.

As Resonance moves into 2004 the Lord is giving us some simple guidance and encouragement:

1. Simplicity:
In a world that is busy and noisy we are to simplify. Simplify our lifestyles so we can embrace being disciples of Christ and embrace being on the disciples journey with a community of faith.

2. Prayer, Praise, and the Word are to be a centerpiece at Resonance.
This may not happen in exacting slices like 20 minutes for prayer, 20 minutes for the word, and 20 minutes of praise. We think God is going to be creative and meld these three. The form that takes may be different each time we meet. But these practices of touching the eternal God are primary in our ecclesiology.

3. God is going to give us a second wind
As we have made this transition and began this new journey there has been much pruning in our lives. We believe there will be some fresh wind that catches our sails and helps us get to Gods desired journey. Zephaniah 3:14-21 outlines: God will take away your judgements, He will rejoice over us with gladness and He will bring exiles to us.

4. We are shedding old skins and putting on new clothes.
Leaving our lives of last year have been tough, especially the things we loved about them, but we hear God is helping us shed old skins that we might embrace a new time and fresh clothes that will be a blessing to the kingdom of God.

5. The message of God's incredible love at the cross is what we are to preach.
We are pretty sure that today if the gospel was packaged the Ressurection would be in bright colors and in bold glittery print. There might be a small tagline on the back of the package in letters hard to read: to get ressurection you must first go to the cross. Yet it is the cross that is significant in showing us how much God loved us. In the cross there is great sacrifice, their is pain and suffering, there is incredible servanthood. It is at the cross that Gods love for us shines the brightest.

:: devotional life

I have decided to begin to use innerterranova as my devotional blog this year. I will then have thoughts, images and unlearning as my primary thoughts and faith stories as an emerging church expo. My desire is to stir the word in my heart this year in blog form.

:: Kansas City

I just got back from my yearly trek to Kansas City for the "One Thing" young adult conference. Shane, Chris, Justin and I made the journey this year. As always the Lord met us in some dramatic ways while there. There is no way you can be in 24 hours of worship, have hours to sit in the IHOP prayer room, and listen to God speak to you to a variety of ways and not be different in some way.

The "one thing" conference is set up with three major sessions each day. They lead off with about an hour to two hours of worship, ministry time, and a speaker. It seems there is musician after musician that come from the IHOP group themselves that are very gifted but at the same time have a heart for worship that lead the worship times. Of course Charlie Hall, Delirious and Jason Upton also took us into the worship of the King. There are so many times in worship at the conference that I would stop worshiping because God was either speaking something to me in my heart or He was having me just be still before His awesome presence.

Then there are the prayer rooms that go on while the conference is going. Since IHOP has 24/7 prayer and worship, they move the prayer times to the convention center while the conference is going on. The prayer room has a worship team leading prayer and worship musically. You see hundreds of people praying, reading their bibles, or just resting in the presence of God in the prayer rooms. I found myself just hanging out and praying this year there often. I think our whole group was like that.

More later . . .