often times the seemingly mundane can provide a great deal of insight

10.28.2009

German women, lost shepherds, and integrity.


Music is a mysterious thing.

I have heard it said that music is unique in that it has the ability to speak to a persons soul without their permission. What a weird thought. Something so beautiful can violate our beings.

I think that it is true. Music has the ability to trigger emotions in us. It can provoke us like nothing else, it can mesmerize us, and inspire us.

It can make things seem very sincere or passionate, like in church when someone is praying or nearing the end of a message and the guitar and keys fade in and gently manipulate peoples feelings. A pet peeve of mine... for the record.

It can even strike fear in us.

If you have ever seen a scary movie you know what I mean... the music used creates stress and tension in the viewer... the screeching strings irritate your mind and increase slightly in volume in order to prime you just as the psychotic masked killer jumps out. boom. scared.

or maybe, the killer doesn't jump out and it was just a cat.

instant relief from anxiety.

not nearly the same without the music.

major keys feel different than minor keys, and key changes are emotionally charged and epic.

My gramma used to sing songs to me when I was a little kid. She would sing hymns to me (rarely were the emotionally charged or epic - that would have been amazing though) they were, however, very soothing. They were old Lutheran hymns, so it is very likely they were at one point drinking songs. I would argue that there are few things more soothing than a sweet old German woman singing you modified drinking songs as you are falling asleep. Not always the case, but this particular combination was angelic.

Now, we can use music for better or for worse, and I am sure there are many opinions about what makes music good or bad. People feel very strongly about music, don't we?

Yes... yes we do.

Maybe it is because when there is music we identify with we have actually allowed the music to become a small part of our identity. therefore, to challenge my style of music is to challenge a part of who I am. Seems to make sense. Let's say that is in fact the case.

I am honored to live in a house filled with music. Most of the music you have likely never heard before because it is still in the process of being created. All of my roommates are very talented, and in a variety of ways. One is particularly gifted as a musician and songwriter.

seriously, it is like he was born to make music... and his music reflects this.

There is deep meaning in every one of his songs... the lyrics are saturated with deep thought and symbolism. It is poetic.

He pairs that with amazing melodies and harmonies, presented creatively with just the right sounds, rhythm, and tones in order to weave the lyrics into an ocean of beautifully produced sonic waves.

The music is a piece of him.

In case you were wondering, his name is Eben and his band is Lost Shepherds .

Music is a mysterious thing indeed. There was a musician who was very influential in enriching my faith and challenging my preconceived ideas. His name is Derek Webb, and he has continued writing and recently produced an album called Stockholm Syndrome. Good music, good message.

I was listening to some of his earlier albums from 2004 and 2005.


...
and in doing so was reflecting on how this music had presented deep truths and in doing so challenged me and as a result... I grew.

As I said earlier, there is good music and bad music.... we all have opinions on this, but maybe one way we can classify the music is not necessarily by how it sounds.. but on what it does to us... or in us.. or for us.

Some music is neutral, some is beneficial, some is detrimental.... but it all has the power to speak to our souls. Which is why we shouldn't just listen passively to what is being communicated and we should actually focus on the message.

Now... the focus of this is not on listening to "secular music" vs "christian music"... which I could see as an assumed next wave of thought, but something I care very little about.

I want to talk on "worship music" for a bit. If you are a Christ follower and have not recently taken time to examine the words you are singing during worship, I would strongly urge you to do so and to think through what is being declared.

Many times hidden behind a veil of melodic distractions are terribly self-centered or insincere cliches just waiting to echo through the church walls...inside which, they will remain. It is not the beauty of our voice or the passion in which we project our songs, but the sincerity of our hearts that will be pleasing to the Lord. If we don't deeply consider the words we are singing, how can we sincerely mean it?

Worshiping through music and song is an incredible form of praise and adoration, and because music by it's very nature is so powerful, we must approach this behavior with wisdom and maturity, especially as we become more accustomed to it. To sing with your heart is to know every word that flows from your mouth and to mean them. Just because something sounds extremely passionate, flowery, or spiritual doesn't mean it is true worship... true worship is a matter of offering praise and adoration to God in honesty, integrity, and sincerity.

Music is a gift we have been given.

Let us use it wisely.



10.23.2009

lingerie and gasoline


In evangelical circles, there is something exciting and foreign about the Holy Spirit. There is a sense of adventure related to it, because we are somewhat unfamiliar with it, but we know that underneath that name there is a whole world of unexplored beauty and mystery waiting for us. It is intriguing and we are drawn towards it.

We know that beneath the title "Holy Spirit" there is something beautiful that we want to be made familiar with.

lingerie


Maybe not a perfect metaphor, but interesting to use in the title of this blog.

I have had conversations with others in the past where I have talked about how we have tried to make the church "sexy"

we use mood lighting, emotionally manipulating music and instruments, messages that are catered to congregational desires, cool graphics and videos, and attractive and well dressed people leading all of this in order to appeal to the culture.

Sexy.

I think we have done something similar with the Holy Spirit, but in doing so we have limited the Spirits ability to work in us and through us.

God is huge and unfathomable, and the way he works cannot be fully understood by man. By the power of His Spirit we receive gifts to use to his glory; prophecy, tongues, wisdom, words of knowledge, miraculous healing, signs and wonders. etc...

but...

We have romanticized this to the point it has become like a mystical fairytale, and in doing so we have limited the work of God in our lives and told ourselves that the Spirit only does these things for certain people. The "real spiritual" ones. This is a lie.

and...

in doing so we have forgotten what the significance of being a new creation in Christ and the implications and significance of this. We have forgotten our identity.

remember.. if you have accepted Christ as Savior, you have accepted everything that comes with that, including the Spirit He promised to you.

We have become enamored by the lingerie itself and it has become a barrier for us that we just cannot get past.

The lingerie is not as important as what's under it.

what is under it is for us.

man.. this is possibly the weirdest metaphor I have ever used... I'm going to keep writing though, I think it makes sense.

So... we should not hold at a distance the very Spirit that has been given to us. It is wonderful, it is beautiful, it is for all who accept Christ as Savior.

Get past the lingerie and accept what has been given to you.

gasoline


The other thing that I see happen with the Holy Spirit is that people will recognize it as important and ask for it without knowing why or what that means... which is ok

but

it is kind of like asking for gasoline because you know it is important and something to ask for. So you do.

Ok, you have gasoline... now what? It just sits in that nice red plastic waiting to be used.

What if I told you that you could put that gasoline into a car and it would allow the engine to run. Sweet!

but...

Simply knowing this information will not make the car run.. you must actually put the gasoline into the car, turn the key, and.. miracle of miracles.. it runs.

The Spirit of God being placed in us serves many purposes... but we must allow for those things to happen in our lives by taking steps of faith.

1 Corinthians 12 talks practically about a bunch of these things...

here is a summary...

The manifestations of the Spirit are all for the common good, but look different...

manifestations include

the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing spirits, speaking in different kinds of tongues, interpreting tongues.. and all these pieces work together for the sake of Christ.

we know what the spirit can do... and that we have been given that spirit, let us take steps of faith in allowing the spirit to do the work of Christ in us and through us.

so... what are our steps forward?

Let us look past the lingerie, accept what has been given to us, use the gasoline, and step out in faith in order to bring glory to God.

peace.

10.20.2009

blood, sin, and short-shorts...


I think everyone could identify a piece of their past that they regret, if they search deep enough. There is probably a lil something that you'd not want to be connected to you. Something that you did, something that was done to you, a way you reacted, something you didn't say when you should have. There are normally things that haunt us and that we try to move on from and forget.

I think that is normally the case.

There is one piece of our past identity that we absolutely love to hold onto though. It is something that enables us and stops us from ever reach our full potential, but we embrace it... not in spite of it.. but because of it. It is the ultimate excuse and it makes us feel humble. It allows us to be part of the worlds largest self-help focused support group.

sinner

We love to be identified as this. It is our excuse.

This is a rather messed up concept.

I ran track in high school. I wasn't the best.. but thinking back, I was pretty good at what I did. Ok, I was one of the best.. at least in our conference. I ran hurdles in both the 110 high and 300 intermediate. I ended up going to state in the 300's. What was that noise you say? Oh, my horn just tooted a little, but there is a point to be found here.

Let me tell you about this event.

The 300 meter intermediate hurdles, which I would argue is the most difficult running event in track, is a dead sprint curving around 3/4 of the track with 8 obstacles reaching nearly three feet in height. You cannot just turn off your mind and run real fast. You need to run as fast as you possibly can while navigating turns, counting steps, and clearing obstacles... and you are surrounded and distracted by others doing the exact same thing with different timing. It is as mentally straining as it is physically challenging.

I still remember my first 300 race... it was brutal.

I was a freshman in high school and a pretty small guy. Not that I am a mammoth now, but freshman year of high school the high hurdle went up to my belly button, and if I remember correctly, the low hurdle was 3 inches shorter than that.

I had trained a little bit and the time had come for my first actual 300 intermediate race.

"On your marks"

So I go to the blocks and nervously take off my warmups. The track shorts were intimidating enough, now I had to run a race I had only trained for up to this point. I was on the blocks, waiting for an eternity to be released, so I could unleash my full athletic glory to the crowd of eager spectators. As soon as I thought the quietness would overtake me, I hear...

"Get set!"

I am set. I was born for this... right? With my butt up in the air, my heart beating like a timpani, and adrenaline saturating my veins.. I hear it.

!!BANG!!

I sprint like a madman. the first hurdle approaches, I calculate my steps... I clear it! Yes... continue sprinting.. I am a machine. I clear a few more hurdles and pay no attention to the other hurdlers.. I am in "the zone" There are just a a few more hurdles to go... but... wait... what there is something happening to my body. Did my alternator just putter out? All the energy in my 15 year old body vanished in seconds.. but somehow my legs kept moving. I managed to clear the next hurdle... my wobbly legs barely able to support my body, gasping for air as my heart tells my brain I am about to die, and my brain tells my legs that the race is not over. I keep running, if you could call it that.. at this point i was more like a toddler in a controlled fall. With all the energy I had left, I attempted to clear the next hurdle.

I didn't make it.

My body became entangled in the wood and metal structure, catching my legs and holding me awkwardly captive until my soft tissue grated against the ground staining the track with blood and pride.

I got up and somehow managed to pass over the final hurdle and finished the race dead last and disqualified, a little bit bloodied, a little more humble, and ready to train for the next race.


So... that happened to me, and I remember it very clearly. When I think back to my time as a hurdler, that painful event is not what I identify myself by. As my I matured as a hurdler my objective was never "not to fall". My objective was to clear the hurdles with grace and speed, and to do so faster than anyone else. I was a hurdler and I learned from the time I fell but did not base my identity on that time.

Is this making sense?


I had fallen - but my identity was not failure.

We have sinned - but our identity is not sinner.


As I mentioned.. we love this identity, and these are a few reasons why...

- False sense of humility
- Excuses our shortcomings
- Does not require effort or growth
- It is very comfortable
-
-
-

You can list others, I don't want to write any more of that.

This is the deal with being a sinner. If you have accepted the salvation offered by Christ, this title no longer applies to you, and for you to keep it cheapens the sacrifice he made and also implies that you're sins were not paid for.

Christ did not just die for our sins, He died AS our sins... trippy concept, huh?

That's right.

His blood paid the price of the new covenant God made with man it resembled the one God made with Abraham ... it was a blood covenant.

It was a bonding between God and Man where both sides of the pact share such a close relationship with each other that all they have or possess in this life is available to each upon demand. If this covenant was broken it it was at the cost of life. Can you guess which side didn't have what it took to carry this through? This is the reason man would sacrifice beasts to God and why Leviticus is filled with all the rules and regulations for how to do this. This was blood shed for our shortcomings of the blood covenant made between God and Man. It was the sin offering.

So, much failure and many years later, what happened?... a New Covenant.

with a very significant change.

This Covenant was between Jesus - Son of God and Son of Man.. and with God the Father.

Jesus represents Man in this new covenant...

Christs blood shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. Christ paid the price as our sins.

Bottom line.

Romans 6 talks all about this stuff. It says we are no longer slaves to sin...

So, let us stop acting as though we are still sinners if we have in fact been set free.

our identity is in Christ.

10.14.2009

Blessed are the rich...


... for it is harder for them to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

?

When did we begin reclaiming the concept of "blessing" with "getting more stuff"?


Job Promotion=Blessing

Big House=Blessing

Yacht=Blessing

Lots o Cash=Blessing

Now, I am not saying that those aren't nice things or that God is not a gracious provider... consider the lilies of the field...

but, this is a very interesting concept for me to wrap my head around. What do we call someone who has received a blessing... I think we say they are blessed.

Now, when we look in the old testament we hear a concept of blessing that much resembles our modern day concept. Let us take the story of Job... The story of a man who had seven sons, three daughters, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. The man was considered blessed. Satan himself said to God that God had blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds were spread throughout the land.

blessed=increase of stuff

Jacob is another example of this concept of blessing. The whole flock increasing story is an example of this. Jacob points out to Laban that he caused Laban's livestock (possessions) to increase greatly because the Lord had blessed what Jacob had been overseeing.

blessed=increase of stuff

There is a pattern that emerges sooner or later, can you guess what it is?

blessed=increase of stuff

This sounds like a rather dandy deal.

Then Jesus arrived and stirred things up. A giant crowd from Galilee, the Decapolis (which made up ten cities), Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan followed him. They would have been familiar with the old rule of blessing. When suddenly Jesus redefined what it meant to be blessed by saying...

Matthew 5

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

2
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


He essentially said,
"what you thought about being blessed has changed, and this is what it has changed to... learn it, live it, and receive your heavenly reward... forget what you thought you knew about blessing"

This ushered in a new season...

So, what does this mean for us? Well, Jesus did lay it out clearly... we have the opportunity to be blessed by God. He tells us what to do and what the reward is.

We can continue asking God to bless us and hope that he might hear... but in essence when we pray to be blessed what we are really asking is to; be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be a peacemaker, to be insulted and persecuted because of righteousness for the sake of Christ.

So, with this new season we look at some of those we would consider blessed after the changeover...

The Disciples -
insulted, persecuted, crucified upside down, beheaded, flayed alive, stabbed, stoned, beaten, burned, speared, and sawn in half... all for the sake of Christ.

Paul -
(his words from 2 Corinthians)

"I am talking like a madman--with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.
Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches."

Where does this leave us?

I suppose we fall into the same category as Paul and the Disciples, and I think we should strive to be blessed by God. Jesus told us what that means and what to focus on and showed us what it meant to live that out. His followers did the same. I think it is our turn now.





10.08.2009

getting fired




I HAVE NOT BEEN FIRED...



....at least not at the time I sat down and wrote this entry.



I have talked a lot about different issues that I have with the church and the way christianity has been softened in the United States.


I have posted a number of entries that have presented some strong opinions and voiced concern particularly about the church I work at...


A few days ago I was faced with a decision.


It started like this... Last week my boss sent me an e-mail letting me know that my performance review was going to be conducted. At first I didn't really think anything of it. It is a fairly routine procedure.


The way our reviews work:


I am given a number of questions about my job and asked to answer them honestly.


My boss is given a number of categories describing my performance and asked to comment on them honestly.


I then send my answers to my boss and we sit together and discuss these things.


pretty easy, right?


Well... question "F" came up....


oh, question "F"... why did provoke me this way?


Question "F" was...


"Is there anything your supervisor or NHLC can do to enhance your job satisfaction, or help you do your job better?"


it was a moment of truth.


I work in Outreach, and my supervisor is great... but as I have hinted before... NHLC could give me a hand...


I responded....


"Love God and love others. The more we teach on the importance of this combination and have leaders that show lives that demonstrate it, the closer we will get to having outreach change from an event to a lifestyle. It seems outreach has become an area where it is culturally acceptable (in the church) to be hypocritical. We can promote it and not live it, and it seems that we are generally ok with that pairing. It would be extremely helpful if the heart of outreach were to be revealed and explained, and for this to be taught from the pulpit. It is equipping the congregation to recognize the Gospel as good news and respond to their salvation in ways that demonstrate Gods love and mercy to those who are hurting and in need; physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It would be helpful if, as a community of believers and individuals, we recognize how the world has gotten darker, and we take responsibility and acknowledge that it is largely due to an absence of light. We have been called to be that light but have been hiding and protecting ourselves, and for outreach focused lifestyles to flourish, this must change. We have become the barns that we ourselves have built bigger, and the numbers of those being saved is not daily increasing, because we have not made that a priority, and when these things are addressed, my job will become much easier. Also, a pay-scale increase would be nice."



So... that is what I wrote.


My performance review was yesterday.


My boss thanked me for taking the opportunity and being open and honest, and I received much positive feedback from here (I have talked with her about these things before)


This review will now make it's way up the chains of command...


but... this is the difference.


I was given a choice. I could keep expressing my thoughts on this blog and hope that some people become challenged, encouraged, and motivated to ask questions or take action.. and that could be it.


But I had the opportunity to share my opinions with those who can make a change, and I did.


When I have brought this up to others, I am asked things like...


So, did you get fired yet?


When is your last day?


Do you think you'll be getting fired then?


As you might have noted, there is a common theme in the responses. And though they are said in slight jest, I think it is important that I wrote what I did in the manner I did.


I also think it is important that you know I wrote what I did to who I did, because if I am going to continue to post things here, I need to be willing to stand behind my opinions when it counts and be bold enough to put things on the line in hopes of transformation.


So... I thank you for taking time to read this, and look forward to sharing more with you in a few days. Peace.


-Jreux



10.05.2009

three things


I recently heard about a church plant in Midway...

Midway is the area in Saint Paul that I live in... I remember my first impressions of this area from when I was younger. I grew up in Roseville, which is a city directly North of Saint Paul. There is a main street called Snelling that goes between the two cities, and it is a very interesting drive if you pay attention to the surroundings.

Anyhow..

When I was younger, one of my friends wanted to go to this neighborhood, I think it was to get a piercing. I was probably 15 years old at the time and he was a bit older than me. I remember the change in surroundings as we entered Midway. It was kind of intimidating. I didn't recognize any of the stores... which was unusual, since from a young age you are blasted with so much advertising that you can become more familiar with these corporations than you are with the majority of kids in your classroom. Everything was old and weathered... like they had payed their dues, even the people seemed to be cut form a different cloth. The cozy residential area morphed into a busy concrete jungle. and I kind of liked it.

Years later I found myself living in this area, very close to the tattoo parlor we visited years before. I lived in a slummy apartment behind Ax-man surplus and just a stones throw away from the Turf Club. Across the street from us was a JJ's Fish n Chicken. Our apartment was in the news the morning after a guy was shot in their parking lot.

I ended up moving to a house in the same area with a few of my friends and we have been in this place for a while now.

In all honesty though, this is a great place to live. It is a diverse and friendly area with fantastic people, food, drink, and music. It is On the Saint Paul side of the Twin City divide, 10 minutes away from anywhere you'd want to go, and 20 minutes away from anywhere you'd need to go. I live in a quiet neighborhood and have some amazing neighbors... one guy even asked if he could help us when we were moving a piano into our house. Midway is fantastic.

and a recent church plant thinks so too.

Bloom

That is the name of the church. Check them out.

They are only 4 weeks old and have intentionally planted in this area because there are not many churches doing what they are doing in this area.

They are trying to create a service that will explain the message of Christ to people who have not yet heard it.

Sounds simple, right?

Well, that is kind of the point. The pastors of this church have much experience with larger suburban churches and have been in staff and pastoral positions in the past.

They have "three things" - title that they are going to focus on.

1. Jesus - Understanding who Jesus is, what he did, what the gospel is, and what that means for people today.
2.People - Belong, believe, behave.... approaching people with an attitude of grace and love, regardless of there beliefs or background.
3.Community - Building friendships and networks of support inside the church and also having a positive impact on the community outside the church.

That's it.

But what about a really awesome choir? Or a a dramatized version of "the passion" complete with live camels, or a brothas to mothas ministry?

Well, I am sure that a focus on Jesus, People, and Community will begin manifesting itself in more specific ways.. but they have seen how complicated things can get and feel called to focus on these three things.

refreshing.

I will admit, I was kind of a skeptic the first time I went to the church, so the next Sunday I went back and listened and learned. They are presenting a series that is focusing on the Gospel.

It is called "The Gospel. Period."

You can listen to their podcast soon.

I also had a chance to hear from their pastors as they explained how Bloom started and what heir focus is. I am hopefully going to be able to sit down with them in a one-on-one setting to learn some more.

It has been encouraging.

Partly because it is such a young church and it is planted in my neighborhood and it starts making me dream a little bit, but also because it is so basic.

three things.

This seems like a more rational and sustainable concept than the one-stop super shop Saint Marks International Jesus House Community Church of Hope model...

It would make sense that different congregations would have different focuses that were more specific... It is probably tempting, however, to add things on over time.. even with good intentions. But when this happens, maybe it can end up distracting us from our initial calling or giftings...

While I am speaking about a church body, I think this is true for people as well.

It is very easy to add things on, especially in the United States, where we largely identify ourselves by our achievements or social status. When that is all stripped away though, their is something at our core. A doctor might be a dancer, a poet might be a mechanic, a Director of public relations might be a missionary to China.

Sometimes a musician is a musician though, and when that is the case.. beautiful music, that resonates from the soul, dances through the air to bless others.

What are you? When everything is stripped down and removed and you ask yourself that.. what do you find?

Big questions. It is a interesting society that makes simplifying life so amazingly complicated.

As long as we keep asking questions though, I think we are in a good place. Peace.

-Jreux

10.02.2009

A Conversation with Shane Claiborne


I was on the road with a friend of mine. We were heading down to a small university for christians, outside of the Twin Cities. Conversation was going well and we were anticipating our arrival as we raced the daylight down the asphalt ribbons interrupting the green open pastures.

Upon arriving at the university, my friend and I wandered around looking for where his friend, Shane, was going to be sharing. He had connected with Shane several times in the past and they had built a friendship based off of those times together. I had read his book "Irresistible Revolution" and was encouraged and motivated by it, so I was looking forward to being introduced as well..

We deciphered the wallpaper of advertisement on the hallway wall, and followed some signs to the room he was sharing in.

We walked in, and i could not help but laugh...

It was like being at a middle school dance. There were a bunch of starstruck, doe-eyed college students staring awkwardly in one direction and Shane Claiborne sitting by himself quietly on the other side of the room. It was amazing... as though he had just suffered defeat in a riveting game of red-rover. Apparently Shane was going to be speaking in a large chapel the next morning, and this was a smaller scale gathering of some university christian club... A setting like this is more intimate and allows for people to actually talk to the speaker... which added to the awkwardness of our middle school dance situation.

So, we enter... and I am captivated by this anomaly. I was probably looking at the students the same way the students were looking at Shane... just replace "starstruck" with "confused" and "doe-eyed" with handsome.

anyway... back to Shane.

My buddy immediately started talking with Shane and they were reconnecting and catching up... (I think this blew the minds of our spectators) and then I am introduced to him by my friend and the three of us talk briefly before Shane was called up to talk to this small gathering of anxious scholars.

So Shane talks, and it was good, and Shane sits back down next to me and we carry on a conversation.

I was in the middle of working with some other staff at my work turning a the idea of a community house into a reality (which it now is!)

So, I had some questions.. mainly about what the biggest challenges have been. I figure if you know how to come against the biggest challenges, you will experience firsthand the best results.

This is a summary of what he said...

paraphrased

" If at any time the community becomes exclusive or inward focused, it will die. The danger we see in community is just that. Our sights begin to focus on ourselves and how we can better who we are... and there is a certain amount of that which is needed, but if that is our only focus... the community dies. Also if at any point the community becomes exclusive, it will turn incestuous and slowly but surely rot away from the inside. A healthy community will be inclusive and outward focused"

Now... It has been a while since we talked.. and this is probably paired with my own thoughts.. but I think he offers some great insight, and not just for a community house.

The church is considered to be a community of believers. While Shane was talking specifically about his experience with community in Philly, I think there is some serious cross-over and insight about what has happened with the church at large.

That community seems to have erred on the side exclusivity and the focus also seems to be mainly directed inward. If this is the case, then the state of the church and it's health might be able to be better understood and hopefully counteracted.

Let me clarify... I am not trying to badmouth the church for the sake of complaining. That is pointless. I am willing to point out it's shortcomings in the hope that change occurs and awareness is raised. I know that many entries I have written have had a similar direction... I do not think that invalidates their relevance.

Increased knowledge equals increased responsibility, and while God requires obedience and not sacrifice, sometimes our obedience requires sacrifice. Peace.

-Jreux