Weak Clay Jars
I’ve seen two recent blog posts that mention our weakness:
Ben from “Ben & Bet’s Weblog” with “Lesson # 1: Wonder Working Weakness.” (A report from his trip to Ethiopia, 2 weeks before our trip.)
Mark from “Called Out in Kansas” with “Strength Depending on Weakness.” (An excerpt from The Gospel Coalition blog.)
I learned something about weakness on our trip as well. Missionaries (neither short term nor long term) should not be placed on pedestals. Neither should pastors, evangelists, elders, or other church leaders. Any work is a work of God, and God will and can work through any of his children.
But, and here’s the connection to weakness, God will work through those who are weak in themselves. And, he works as we are obedient… not before. When we know that we can’t do something, and we begin to obey anyway, that’s when God strengthens us and works through us.
Eric is Thinking About Missions Too
My good friend Eric (from “A Pilgrim’s Progress“) has published a post called “Thoughts on Mission.” Apparently, while I was in Ethiopia, Eric was in Rochester, NY.
Reading Eric’s post about what he learned during his trip, I realized that I’ve learned many of the same lessons. Apparently we were doing very similar work (helping churches) on opposite sides of the world.
Here are the main points that Eric learned on his trip:
Unity in Christ bridges all gaps…
Ethnic diversity is beautiful…
Churches need to help churches…
Unstructured Christian fellowship is sweet…
Trips help you get to know one another…
Soil is different in different places…
Like I said, I noticed many of these same things while in Ethiopia.
I can’t help but wonder though… why do we easily notice these things when we spend times away from home, when the same lessons are obviously right under our noses at home as well?
Southern Maine Update
My friend Dan from Canada… I mean Maine… (at “The Ekklesia in Southern Maine“) was very nice to continually remind everyone to pray for Danny and me while we were in Ethiopia. If you remember (see my post “Looking for Ekklesia in Southern Maine“), Dan and his wife Stephanie has been seeking Christian fellowship in the Portland, Maine area.
Now, according to Dan’s update, it seems that God is bringing people into their lives. See Dan’s post “Weekly Update: 07.25.10.” In the midst of thunderstorms and other struggles, Dan and Stephanie are meeting other Christians. And, he says that they are learning that all of life (including thunderstorms) impacts our fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ.
By the way, Dan was quite the blogger while I was gone. If you haven’t read them yet, check out these posts:
Keep blogging, Dan!
John the Baptist’s Disciples and Wineskins
Bill at “NT/History Blog” has written a very interesting article called “The Original ‘Old Wineskin’.” He says that John the Baptist’s disciples were on the “cutting edge” of what God was doing. But, when Jesus came on the seen, they stuck with what John the Baptist was teaching – the old movement – the old wineskin.
You should read Bill’s post; it is very good.
Thinking about Bill’s post makes me wonder if we start to love the movement more than the mover. I think this could be true of any “movement,” include the house/organic church movement, the age-integrated church movement, the multiple elder movement, the participatory church meeting movement… yep, even movements that I think can bring some correction to the church. We can end up loving these movements instead of the mover. Then, when God moves, we stick with our movement…
What do you think?
Grocery Store or Garden?
Arthur (from “the voice of one crying out in suburbia“) is at it again. This time, he’s talking about “Gospel Grocery Stores.” Arthur quotes a book in comparing many churches to grocery stores, providing produce to anonymous people.
Instead, he says, churches should be more like community gardens, where the people work together to produce the fruit of their labor. He says:
The church should be more like a community garden and less like a supermarket. That might mean we need to spend a lot of time together. We might get a bit dirty in the process and there are going to be disappointments. Things might not turn out like we hope. If you have a garden and plant tomatoes, sometimes some of the tomatoes will have bugs in them or turn brown or fall off the vine before they are ripe. Sometimes it rains too much and sometimes it rains too little.
Yeah, Arthur’s right. It’s hard work.I wonder if the “hard work” is the reason that many people choose to skip that part and jump straight to the fruit of another’s labor?
Looking for Ekklesia in Southern Maine
Dan, a good friend of mine, lives in Southern Maine – the greater Portland, Maine area. He and his wife are looking for a more relational (organic) expression of the church and for other believers who are interested in relating to one another outside of traditional church structures.
Dan recently started a blog called ‘The Ekklesia in Southern Maine.” He hopes this blog will help him work through his understanding of the church (“ekklesia”) and to connect with other believers in Southern Maine.
Jump over to Dan’s blog and offer some encouragement to him. Plus, if you know someone living in the Portland, Maine area, send them to Dan’s blog too.
(By the way, Dan’s wife Stephanie blogs at “Dead and Domestic.”)
A New Blog Tour and a Response
About a month ago, I reviewed the book Exponential. Now, there is a response to my review and other reviews at the EngagingChurch site: “Reader Review Trends in Exponential Blog Tour.”
Also, Koinonia announces another blog tour for John Dickson’s book The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission. What is this book about? The author says, “A central aim of this book… is to show just how all-encompassing is the Bible’s call to be involved in God’s mission.” Sounds like a good aim to me.
So, if you’d like to apply for a review copy of the book (and possibly win a signed copy) and take part in the blog tour (meaning you’ll review the book during the specified week), then jump over to this post and sign up: “The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission: Blog Tour and Giveaway.”
Called Out In Kansas
There is a new blog to watch named “Called Out in Kansas.” This new blog is written and published by Mark, a reader and frequent commenter on this blog. For example, Mark wrote the comment that I published in a post called “Serving When Not Spiritually Gifted.”
Mark says that he plans to write about many topics, but perhaps specifically about community:
The content will vary I’m sure, but the things that seem on my heart lately regard matters of the body of Christ, i.e., looking to see an accurate expression of the person of Christ in the earth today.  My most commonly used word recently seems to be community, so I’m sure I’ll speak plenty about this.
I’m looking forward to reading more of Mark’s thoughts, and more examples from the community that he’s told us about.
Another Word on the Word
Jon (from “Jon’s Journey“) has finished (I think?) his study on the use of the phrases “word of God,” “word of the Lord,” and “the word.”
He concludes – correctly, I think – that we should not equate “Scripture” or “Bible” with “the word of God” (or one of the related phrases). Note that this does not mean that God does not reveal himself to us through Scripture, only that the two cannot be equated.
Jon ends his study with this “question/concern”:
Is there a potential problem when we call the Bible the Word of God, or use language like “you need to spend more time in the Word.”? Or when studying the Word of God means studying the Bible?
Is there a chance we miss focusing on the Word that lives in us? Learning to seek Him first and listen to His voice.
I do believe God speaks to us as we read the Scriptures with a listening heart. But He also speaks to us at other times. I think the Word of God is simply whenever God speaks to us. Jesus is also called the Word. He was and is God’s message to us. Is that the Word we are listening to?
What do you think?
Blogging I Love
I love blogging. I know, that comes as a surprise to you. But, it’s true.
However, there is a type of blogging that I love more than most. What kind of blogging is that? It’s when a blogger reads another blogger’s post, and then responds with his or her own thoughts. Then, it gets even better when another blogger picks up the topic and continues the discussion.
I’ve seen this happen a couple of times recently, and I wanted to point it out. Here are two “threads” that I’ve been fortunate to be a part of recently:
Elders
“Thinking About Elders” by me
“Also thinking about elders” by Arthur
Church as Family
“It Doesn’t Take a Village… It Takes a Family” by Eric
“All in the Family” by me
“Family Matters” by Danny
A couple of years ago, I started a “chain blog” on the concept of “city church” that was designed to encourage just this sort of interaction. Perhaps I should start another “chain blog”. (Read this post for more information about “Chain Blogging.”)
What topics would you like to see several bloggers write about and discuss?