Writing from Long Beach
Written: Jan. 28th
Here I am in Long Beach, CA writing from a coffee shop. Rob (a new son of God as of Easter '06) and I came out to the Organic Church Movements Conference. The first night Neil Cole, author of Organic Church, stood up and shared his heart. It wasn't polished; his video clips didn't even work! He just shared his heart. "'Doing church' organically is messy," he said. Hurting people hurt people. It's not coreographed. You can't control it. Most of all, as a worker you focus your energy and your emotion on people rather than filling seats in a crowd. He confessed the temptation to take the easier road, but he also expressed how the Lord alone has renewed his strength after a very hard year in ministry. And that, yes he is staying faithful to the call. We continue the missional journey because it is worth it, not because it is easy.
Organic church is hard. It's hard because life is messy. Hurting people hurt people. We act out in all kinds of ways -- impatience, withdrawal, isolation, resentment, anger, & so on -- because we hurt. In the economy of the Gospel, victory comes by way of surrender, but on the road to sweet surrender it's all pretty messy. As I listened to my friend share his journey, I felt God working in my own heart -- strengthening my resolve, affirming me, and convicting me of my own areas where repentance is needed.
As I sat in a forum on "organic church" (i.e. house church, simple church, etc.) in the Black community, one man reaching out to some well known hip hop artists in L.A. shared a prayer. He challenged us to ask God to teach us to love people. He reminded us that this will often begin at home with our spouse and that this prayer can revolutionize our hearts as God begins to answer. A friend to the left of me was weeping, and my own heart moved as I reflected on what God has been doing in me since I first prayed that prayer. And feeling that He has more to do in me, I promised to pray it again. Renew us. Give us a love for people, Oh God.
If you get this tonight, pray for my safe travel. (I'm on an overnight flight back to NYC in a few hours). Overall, a great conference well worth the travel. God is certainly up to something.
Here I am in Long Beach, CA writing from a coffee shop. Rob (a new son of God as of Easter '06) and I came out to the Organic Church Movements Conference. The first night Neil Cole, author of Organic Church, stood up and shared his heart. It wasn't polished; his video clips didn't even work! He just shared his heart. "'Doing church' organically is messy," he said. Hurting people hurt people. It's not coreographed. You can't control it. Most of all, as a worker you focus your energy and your emotion on people rather than filling seats in a crowd. He confessed the temptation to take the easier road, but he also expressed how the Lord alone has renewed his strength after a very hard year in ministry. And that, yes he is staying faithful to the call. We continue the missional journey because it is worth it, not because it is easy.
Organic church is hard. It's hard because life is messy. Hurting people hurt people. We act out in all kinds of ways -- impatience, withdrawal, isolation, resentment, anger, & so on -- because we hurt. In the economy of the Gospel, victory comes by way of surrender, but on the road to sweet surrender it's all pretty messy. As I listened to my friend share his journey, I felt God working in my own heart -- strengthening my resolve, affirming me, and convicting me of my own areas where repentance is needed.
As I sat in a forum on "organic church" (i.e. house church, simple church, etc.) in the Black community, one man reaching out to some well known hip hop artists in L.A. shared a prayer. He challenged us to ask God to teach us to love people. He reminded us that this will often begin at home with our spouse and that this prayer can revolutionize our hearts as God begins to answer. A friend to the left of me was weeping, and my own heart moved as I reflected on what God has been doing in me since I first prayed that prayer. And feeling that He has more to do in me, I promised to pray it again. Renew us. Give us a love for people, Oh God.
If you get this tonight, pray for my safe travel. (I'm on an overnight flight back to NYC in a few hours). Overall, a great conference well worth the travel. God is certainly up to something.
posted by Jared | 9:00 PM
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