The(Salvation) Army has a longstanding tradition of taking the gospel to the streets - we were relevant in our day... Uniforms relate to the British Empire's fondness for Militarism... and our music comes from the Music Hall. To honour the Army (and ultimately God) we need to learn new things and not just repeat the past.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies will step in and take care of his flock, the people of Judah.
He'll revive their spirits, make them proud to be on God's side.
God will use them in his work of rebuilding,use them as foundations and pillars,
Use them as tools and instruments, use them to oversee his work.
They'll be a workforce to be proud of, working as one, their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud,courageous and vigorous because God is with them, undeterred by the world's thugs.
We need to throw off the shackles of the mindset that sees Church as a specific place, towards a mindset that sees the Church as a community of believers. We must turn aside from evaluating our missional effectiveness in terms of numbers through the doors of our buildings, and instead look at the way lives are being touched. Most important, we must begin to see that each of us who claims to be a Christian is part of the Church, and we must start acting like it.
Our Army is loaded will all kinds of people. We need every one of them. We need you. There is a place for all who love the Lord and desire to serve Him and there is a place for those who don't. The Kingdom of God is open. Hallelujah!
Now we need to be open as well. We need to be open to all people, whether they like us or not. They can even say some pretty rough things or treat us poorly. We still need to be open.
We need to be open to God...open to His love and to His forgiveness...open to his commands and open to His discipline...open to His people.
The sign on the door of our heart needs to be "open."
Certainly the needs addressed by the Salvation Army are not fading away. Let's hope the organization can successfully renew itself and re-confirm its relevance for meeting those needs.
...effectively...closed down for the day and we're encouraged to 'get out there' and make relationships with our friends.
Sabbath is a weekly day of rest in which we cease from our weekly tasks and pressures in order to rest and be refilled. In fact, the term Sabbath comes from the Hebrew term shabbat, which means “to cease or rest.” Exodus 20:11 states “in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” God felt so strongly about the need for a weekly day of rest that He called all of Israel to observe a Sabbath rest once a week.
On the Sabbath, we’re called not only to cease from working, but also to empty ourselves of our need to accomplish, produce, and worry about our lives for one day so that we can be refreshed and refilled. It’s a day for us to stop working towards becoming and simply focus on being. One great benefit of Sabbath keeping is that we learn to let God take care of us – not by becoming passive and lazy, but by giving up our feeble attempts to control our own lives and simply resting in His provision.
...a gathering for leaders in the church to become informed and exposed to future-culture. It is a space where select leaders can create, dialogue, collaborate, innovate, serve and ideate around the important topics shaping the church’s future role in culture.
EU (Good)
CHARIS (Gift/Grace)
EUCHARIST
The Eucharist is usually thought of as a ritual in which we acknowledge and reflect on this good gift of God. It's seen as a "thing" you do... But what if the Eucharist were to become a whole way of life?
A leader's life is an endless process of constantly being broken and poured out.
The Eucharist is not just a ritual - it is a whole way of life.
A church is invited to be a Eucharist to its community - broken and poured out...
The church is the only organization that exists for the benefits of it's non-members.
Does the church exist for its own ego or as a good gift for the world?
Luke 22:18 - "Do this in remembrance of me."
What if Jesus was using this in a broader sense of saying, "Do this (what you see ME DOING) in remembrance of me?" ...an invitation to be a living eucharist for the world we live in.
Too often, we try to reproduce another church's Eucharist without being broken or poured out. The reason it worked there in the first place was because SOMEONE poured out. So we need to ask the question: What does it mean for me to be a Eucharist to these people (in our communities/culture) here and now?
A question they have been asking at Mars Hill: If our church was removed from our community, who would protest?
What does it mean to be a "good gift" to our community?
There is always a cost... If Eucharist is "pouring out" you must allow time to pour back in.
Where are you in the Eucharist rhythm?
Ethnos is a community aspiring to:
• Love our multicultural God and neighbor
• Grow into the likeness of Jesus
• Serve those in our community, especially those who are oppressed and hurting
• Witness to the person and work of Jesus, the Savior of all peoples
… an eclectic group of thinking individuals who are either active Salvation Army members or with some connection and/or history with the movement. “Contemplative activists”, might be a good description of the group.
"I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me.
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Just thinking outloud. We MUST get busy. I'm tired of talking. The early Army used to arrange busts by 50 or so Salvationists in uniform rushing into a brothel, putting women in the middle of the crowd and escorting them to private homes to be cared for as long as needed. Are we ready?
...in this day and age of religious wackos taking over the world I do love quoting Jesus and reading some of the things he said in the Bible. Because it's so disarming, so simple, so true. It cannot be argued with. "Let he who is without sin..." Oh man.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
dad, husband, coach, trainer, speaker, church planting addict, new media geek, lifelong learner.I promised to add Steve to my blogroll, so here goes
Why did you decide to stop?Both Brian & one of my real favourites, Randy Bohlender
Great question. Really, it’s a number of things. But, most of all I want to delve into other creative projects and I feel my time is getting crunched. Not to mention that it’s hard for me to be a lite blogger. I’m either all in or, well, you get the picture.
*smiling at people (who initially may not be smiling at you...)
*a simple nod of the head to a stranger in acknowledgement as you walk past one another
*a wave accompanied by a friendly hello to those sitting on a porch nearby
*introducing yourself first and then inviting them to share their name with you..."Hi, my name is Heather, good to meet you ma'am. What's your name?"
*Remembering the names of those neighbors you've met and the next time you see them, calling them by their name. "Hey Miss Sadie, good to see you. Remember me? We met last week. I'm Heather. How you' doin' today? Need a hand with anything?"
*Stopping to chat a minute on a front porch - if someone is calling to you in the street from their house (a Hey, hello or c'mon up here a minute) don't be be shy! Grab that opportunity to walk right up to them and enter into a conversation...this makes a 'front porch hello' the norm for your next visit, and before you know it, you'll be regularly doin' some "front porch settin' sippin on some sweet tea 'ike it ain't no thang"...
This is the begining anyway...it all flows out of that.
