faithrunner

I've been at the Exponential Conference in Orlando for over 24 hours now, and I have been impressed with the shared message of those who are leading it . Every clan has its tribal leaders, and Dave Ferguson and Alan Hirsch seem to be the chiefs who set the agenda, but many others add their take on all things "missional" here. I heard Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson and their team first. Ferguson and Ferguson are the authors of Exponential , and starters of Community Christian Church in the Chicago area. Their "Leadership Path," while not new (what is?) is practical advice to help us develop leaders. The best quotes, "Don't skip a step" while training leaders and "Everything I learned about church planting, I learned in small groups." Neil Cole woke me up this morning as he bounced through his original work, Organic Church . I had read (and read reviews of) his Organic Leadership with the Ph.D. cohorts at DBU , and had sensed ...

Below is a simple plan of reading and meditation to prepare you for the Celebration of the Resurrection in the morning. Morning: Read Exodus 12:1-13 This is the institution of the Passover meal that commemorates God’s deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt. The Jewish people observe this meal in the form of the Seder meal once a year according to the instructions in Scripture. As you read this passage notice the purpose of the lamb, its shed blood, and the importance of the unleavened bread. Noon: Read Matthew 26:17-30 Jesus gathered his twelve closest disciples to observe the Passover meal which was part of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:17-20) Jesus identified the unleavened bread, which represented the absence of sin, with his body. He also identified himself with a cup of blessing as the blood sacrifice of the Passover lamb. As you read the Bible, find your place in the story as you recline with the disciples at the table. Afternoon: Read Matthew 27:11-66 Re...

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on what we have dubbed Palm Sunday, he continued his mission call for people to "change how you live, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand [in me]." Jesus' presence that day confirmed God's promise to make Abraham's spiritual descendants more numerous than the stars in the heavens was still the Storyline for all time . The events that followed in Jerusalem that week established Jesus as the Promised One and the Rescuer for all peoples. Vision, for me, is what the mission looks like when it is complete; ( Jesus On Leadership ) and, the Scriptures provide a picture of Jesus' completed mission in The Revelation of John, Chapter 7 (verses 9 and 10): After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in ...

This past Saturday members from Legacy Church joined members from St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Community , Collin Creek Community Church , West Plano Presbyterian Church , and over 900 others for the Seton Soles 5K run/walk. 250 volunteers provided support and encouragement to all who participated. The purpose of the run/walk was to raise funds for the Monsignor Henry V. Petter Endowment Fund , which exists to support "work in outreach and justice" in Plano and Collin County. Henry Petter has served as a priest at St. Elizabeth Seton for almost twenty years, and he is a runner. He will retire in the near future, and he wanted his legacy to be something that dealt with the systemic issues that oppress and exclude people from the necessities of life . The church knew this and created the endowment in his name and the run to raise the funds. Two things about the event please and challenge me . The first was, as Blair Richie of CCCC said Saturday morning, getting Catholi...

My mother's birthday was Saturday, April 2. On that day she turned 80. Yes, count 'em, you Pine Covers, 80; and, to celebrate this milestone of maturity she decided to skydive! When asked, "Why would you do such a thing?" she said, "I always wanted to do it." However, when she announced she planned to jump out of a plane on her birthday this past Christmas, that was the first I had heard about it. Her daredevil desire to plunge to the earth at 120 miles-per-hour from 2.5 miles in the air for a minute and then hang from a nylon parachute harnessed to a man half her age had somehow come alive late in life. My mother is not a risk taker. She's a great-grandmother who teaches Sunday School each week and hosts a book club once a month. Her big adventure each week is driving to Palestine from her farm in Grapeland for groceries. She helped my Dad with the cows and projects on the farm up until about two years ago and they traveled in an RV around the ...

I knew the conference would be different. When we drove into the parking lot of the " For the City Center ," hand written signs on paper sheets guided us to the entrance. No buses or vans emptied their cargo into the parking lot; normal people carpooling like Austin residents would want us to, climbed out of their cars and made their way to the building. Inside, Austin Stone Community Church has done an awesome job to provide a contemporary and durable space for their intentions there. We registered and made our way into a gym-like room and sat around round tables--about 20 of them. M&M's and peanuts in plastic plates were our center piece and bowls turned over with a hand written number on it told us we were at table 6. When we started Hugh Halter stood on our level between two white boards and before a screen with one-color, PowerPoint slides projected on it. Senior member Bob L sat on a stool to the side like a father watching his son bat at a Little League g...

As we continue to read through the Old Testament as part of our year-long reading of The Story , the blood, gore, and annihilation we read about disturbs many of us . Isn't this sort of thing the very reason we are bombing Libya as I type and why we invaded Iraq and why troops remain in Afghanistan? The killing of innocent people cannot be tolerated in a civilized, free society.   If this is so, then, how do we resolve God's actions under the old covenant with the God we know through Jesus in the new covenant? Let me refer you back to an earlier post where I tried to explain "the anger of God" in the OT . I equated God's anger toward Israel to a parent's loving anger as he or she parented a rebellious teenager. We can get that. But what about the slaughter of indigenous people under Joshua and the Judges' leadership, for example? That's a bit harder to get your head and heart around than a frustrated God with his defiant people. Here's a...