WIND Missional Community Dance Party

Christmas-Eve Candlelight Service

Time Magazine's Person of the Year - Pope Francis

Family on Mission - Pittsburgh, PA

Art

Museums ------- we don't need no stinkin' museums.

Following Jesus

Acts 2.42: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."

Like many of you know ------ I have been commissioned to start a new faith community (we are calling it The Anchor) in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina.  Many times I find myself in the midst of a conversation that starts with a question like: "How are things going with the new church?"  While I am in the midst of that conversation I often times find myself having to create a new paradigm of church for the person that I am talking to.  The reason for that is due to the fact that The Anchor just doesn't make sense to the large majority of Christians ------ and that is because we do not have any land, any building, any money, and we do not have a worship service.  Because of this lack of churchy type of stuff (we do not have committees either) ------ I have to explain this new paradigm of making disciples.  Recently I had a revelation in the midst of one of those explanations, and I wanted to share it with you all.

Before moving to Wilmington, I served for seven years at a local church here in North Carolina.  This is an awesome church where the people truly desire to be followers of Jesus.  While serving as the pastor, I oftentimes found myself pleading ------ even begging ------- for people to participate in some sort of Bible study.  We did really well and had about 50% of the congregation willing to participate in some sort of Bible study.  I also found myself pleading ------- even begging ------- for people to participate in some sort of mission.  That could be locally, nationally, or internationally.  We did really well and had about 30% of the congregation willing to participate in some sort of mission.  Lastly, I found myself pleading ------ even begging ------- for people to be in fellowship with one another.  To have a meal together (even with people that we do not know), spend time with one another (not just because we are family), and have fun together.  We did really well with that, and I would say around 75% participated in some sort of fellowship event.

Interestingly, as the new faith community called The Anchor ------ we have 100% participation in these three areas.  We have begun with Missional Communities and all of us study scripture together, participate in mission together, and fellowship together.  This is a radical departure from the paradigm of church that holds as the standard land, buildings, money, and committee meetings.  In many ways it reminds me of Acts 2.42.

What if the paradigm for the church was the standard of mission, study, and fellowship?  I believe we then would not have to spend as much time convincing folks to come into our air-conditioned buildings ------- because it will be natural to come together and celebrate the living God who has called us out of darkness and into his wonderful light.

To the Angel of the church in Willmington

Our first video at The Anchor.

Luke 14.1-14

This Sunday I will be preaching at Goshen Baptist Church in Leland, NC.  I will be focusing on Luke 14.1-14.  In this passage we once again see Jesus mess up a perfectly good meal by noticing how guests at the meal were trying to take places of honor (v7). 

In this passage we learn that Jesus is going to battle with the culture of reciprocity.  A culture that tries to win favor with neighbors and influential people so that favors might be reciprocated.  Instead, Jesus says that we are to invite people into our homes and hearts that cannot reciprocate.  Jesus says: "But when you have a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind."

When we live outside of the culture of reciprocity — the culture of back scratching — Jesus calls us blessed. He says that we are blessed when people cannot repay us. That when we give of ourselves — and we give to those who cannot repay us — that we are blessed. We are blessed by who we sit with and we are blessed by the God who repays. 

And this is the kicker — the blessing is found in the God who repays. It says at the end of verse 14: “for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” God is the one who is on the repayment side of the equation. This is God's responsibility — and this is God's good work. That Jesus has called us blessed when we surrender our all to him — and allow Jesus to use us for his glory in the earth.

Luke 12.32-40

This coming Sunday I will be preaching at Long Memorial United Methodist Church ----- 226 N. Main Street - Roxboro.  I will be focusing on Luke 12.32-40.  In the very last verse Jesus says: "You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." 

A proper understanding of the end times (eschatology) is to inform our current circumstances and situations.  Here Jesus says there is to be a readiness on our part ------ a readiness that allows us to be prepared for the end.  This end will come like a thief in the night ------- we do not know when it will happen ------ but we do know that it will happen.  Therefore, we are to be vigilant in efforts to live the totality of our lives for Jesus.  We are to be ready for action ----- ready at an unexpected hour to welcome Jesus (v36). 

In this proper understanding of eschatology we begin to see that we are to live holy lives devoted to the one who is worthy of our time, attention, and preparation.  For this readiness is to involve the totality of our lives, for it is all consuming, because we await our master's return (v36).  How are you making yourself ready for the unexpected hour of our master's return?

Luke 12.13-21

This coming Sunday I will be speaking at Faith Harbor Church in Surf City, NC.  We will be focusing on Luke 12.13-21.  In this passage we have Jesus share with us a parable.  Jesus has someone call out in the crowd that he should settle an inheritance dispute.  Interestingly, the man who calls Jesus out regards him as teacher ------ but then proceeds to make demands. 

Jesus goes on to tell the man that life is not about the abundance of possessions (v15) ----- but instead life is something more than that.  That is when we are introduced to the parable of the rich fool. 

The fool is really a good business person.  He has a bumper crop one year ------ and because of his bumper crop he decides that he should build bigger barns to store all of his grains and goods (v18).  Rather than being considered an apt business man ----- Jesus describes him as a fool.  He is a fool because that very night his life is required of him. 

At the beginning of the parable we do not see a clear direction on where Jesus is going to tie this parable into the inheritance question.  But at the end the connection is clearly made.  Storing up treasures on earth is a false form of being rich ------ instead true riches are found in the Lord (v21).  The key turning point for the business man ------ is when he talks to himself (v19).  Instead of consulting the Lord on what to do with the grain and goods that he has accumulated, he only consults his own soul.  For the Lord had something else in store for him, and all the wealth he had accumulated will go to someone else. 

In what ways have we accumulated wealth and possessions, but have not consulted the Lord about what we are to do with those things?   

Go and Do Likewise

I do not get to preach very often ------- so I thought I would post this sermon that I preached a couple weeks back.  It was delivered at Grace United Methodist Church in downtown Wilmington.  Check them out here.  Here is the sermon:

A Community on Mission

The nature and mission of a missional community is to get messy for Jesus Christ. We are to be recklessly excellent in living out our cruciform life in love with God and loving our neighbors.

During the summer of 2008 my wife and I visited London. If anyone visits London, they will notice that they end up visiting many churches. The thing is, when you visit these churches, you are not going to worship—instead, these churches are becoming more and more like museums—ornaments of the past. Just a small handful of people attend worship on Sundays—but they pay their staff and their bills because they are treated as a museum. They charge strangers [they like to call them tourists] money to go into their doors—and people want to go there to see where so and so murdered such and such at a certain place in the 11th century. The Churches in Europe are dwindling to such an extent that they are nothing but places that tell of what they used to do in ministry. They have become museums that used to be about the work of God—but now they are just playing Church. This is a terrible tragedy—houses of worship that used to do awesome things for God are now more concerned with making sure the cobwebs stay off their pews. From this dilapidated position, I want to ask what is the nature and mission of a missional community?

When we turn to scripture we find a particular God—the God of Israel. This God creates in God's self one new humanity and reconciles both groups in one body through the cross (Ephesians 2.15-16). When we turn to scripture we see that the God we serve is a God who sends, the God who acts, and the action is missional because it is the action of salvation for the world. As a result of this revelation we now know that the God we serve is a missionary God and that we are to be missionary people.

As the church we have forgotten who we are—much like the tiger who has been brought up around goats and thinks that he is a goat. In many ways we have turned our buildings into museums and funded our salaries by charging strangers [tourists] to come see the remains of our institution. The church is to be about mission—because the God that we serve is a missionary God. It would help a great deal if we were to stop calling our local churches, “churches”, and instead call them mission-outposts. Mission-outposts that look at themselves as constantly reaching out to the people that surround them—and transforming the world around them. The church is to be missional—and the church is to affect the cosmos by transforming the world for Jesus Christ.

The mission and nature of the missional community is to get messy for Jesus. We get messy by being disciples that make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The church is missional and that is going to be messy—and from this dilapidated vantage point it is almost as if God is looking at the mess and calling it good.