I have now seen it all. I went to Meijer the other day with one of my daughters, and I saw the thing which really lets me know that our kids are too entertained. It is a cart that allows the kids to watch TV while the parents shop. I know taking three kids grocery shopping can be no fun, but are we helping our children by allowing them to get TV in the cars, and TV in the carts at the store. This little venture will costs parents $1.00 to have the cart with TV, and only lasts a limited time. But are we really helping parents and children by constantly entertaining the kids with TV???

Shouldn’t they be thinking on their own, and learning how to be polite and wait and help?

Just my thoughts, on a society that needs Easy Mac and Cheese, and instant hot dogs, that all you do is zap them in the microwave, with the bun included, as if it is really tough to put a hot dog on a bun….

Addiction is seen as a bad thing. We are addicted to cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, caffeine, candy… You name it there is probably someone somewhere addicted to it. And we would all probably agree that these are not helpful things for our bodies or our life. However there is one addiction that needs no detox… A holy addiction to God! One that will help your life in the here and now and for the rest of eternity. An addiction you do not need to hide from anyone, and should be publicly displayed. One that does not claim that life will be a rose garden, yet will help you through the roughest situations. Rebel against addictions being bad, and cling to the one addiction that we can help everyone get: Addicted to God.
the Book of Days: living the new rebellion: 365 Ways to Ignite Your Passion for God and supercharge Your Life. puts it this way “God’s presence is never meant to be a recreational drug; He wants to be and addiction.”
God loves us so much he wants us to be addicted to him, so that we never think we can do it on our own, so do not think about God recreationally, but get addicted!

What is a rebellion? Merriam Webster defines rebellion as:
1 : opposition to one in authority or dominance2 a : open, armed, and usually unsuccessful defiance of or resistance to an established government b : an instance of such defiance or resistance (found at http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/rebellion)
Rebellion is something I believe Jesus did. He rebelled against the authority of the day. He rebelled against the thoughts of the patriarchal society. He rebelled against anything that kept those he loved in bondage. Why should we do any less?
I am now reading a book called the Book of Days: living the new rebellion: 365 Ways to Ignite Your Passion for God and supercharge Your Life.
Today’s reading was from Matthew 6:33 in the New Living Translation: Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (From http://www.biblegateway.com)
We are living in the new rebellion. We are a part of the world that cares only for itself, and how to make my stock rise. We are living in a time when we are paced to be the first person done, and the best at whatever we do. There is no time for stopping and smelling the roses, or seeing the beauty of God’s creation. We need it now, I mean we need it yesterday.If we can correct our vision to be the vision of the Kingdom, or as the book says, get a kingdom vision, our lives will come into a much clearer focus. The vividness of the colors in our lives will pop off the page, and the world around us will truly be alive as God created it to be. If we can only put first things first and pursue Him. Pursue the love He gave us, and the righteousness it brings. If we can pursue the new rebellion of it not being about me, or what I get, but it is about God and what can I do for Him.
The is really the meaning behind my name asacredrebel. You see I am merely a Sacred Rebel, trying to follow the guide of The Sacred Rebel, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
So will you join me, and pursue the rebellion above all things!

Have we completely lost all respect for the dead and the mourning? I was at a funeral on Ash Wednesday, a real connection for the “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” But as I was driving in this procession from the church to the cemetery, there were only a hand full of cars that stopped and waited for the procession to stop. Most people just flew by us, like they were completely oblivious to what was happening. I was taught in drivers ed. to constantly be aware of the cars and what was happening around me. These drivers seemed to have no clue there was a funeral procession. The thing that really got me going on this was the person who cut in front of me to get over in another lane, about 1/2 a mile down the road. He just pushed right in between me and another car, not worrying about how he might cause some of us to not be able to follow the procession if a light changed while he was in the line. He was concerend about himself and where he needed to be and how his life was going. He had no thought at all for this family who had just lost a loved one, he seemed to only be concerned with the few minutes he would lose by waiting for the 3 cars behind me to go by him to get over.
Are we that infatuated with ourselves that the world around us is not even visable? And if so what kind of Gospel message are we spreading?

It is hard for me to believe it has been 2 months already. It seems just like yesterday I was writing the first newsletter article. Well we are beginning Lent this week and I have been reflecting on who I am and who we are and where we are going. Are we ready to go the road less travelled and venture into the unknown, or are we going to go about this safe and easy?
I say this for many reasons. I have been thinking about issues, worship, who we are and who we welcome here. I found a document on the computer called Who is Welcome Here? I have read this and wonder about its origin, and if this is really what we all think here? I know that Pastor David wrote this document. I am going to quote part of this document, the part that says who is welcome here. “We want it to be known that those of different nationality, ethnicity, culture and heritage are welcome here. We want it to be known that those who suffer from addiction to drugs and alcohol (whether they are recovering or not) and their families are welcome here. We want it to be known that women and children are welcome here and that they will not be harassed or abused. We want it to be known that in this congregation you can bring children to worship and, even if they cry during the entire service, they are welcome here. We want it to be known that those who are single by choice, by divorce, or through the death of a spouse are welcome here. We want it to be known that if you are promiscuous, have had an abortion, or have fathered children and taken no responsibility for them, you are welcome here. We want it to be known that gossips, cheats, liars, and their families are welcome here. We want it to be known that those who are disobedient to their parents and who have family problems are welcome here. We want it to be known that gays, lesbians, and members of their families are welcome here.” Is this really what all of us think, or believe. I know after reading the statement I have no problem saying yes absolutely this is who is welcome here. The problem with me saying that though, is Hosanna is not my church, meaning Hosanna does not belong to me. None of us can say who is welcome here, because Hosanna is not any of our’s church. Hosanna is one of God’s congregations in His church. We are a part of the body of Christ and what does that mean? It means a lot of things that we could spend a lot of time working through. In the scope of what I am thinking about here, it means that we can not say who is welcome here. We can not say who is welcome here, because everyone is welcomed into God’s community. We are all welcome, for “we’ve all compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us,” (Romans 3:23 from The Message). We all need to be here, but that begs the questions why we are here?
I am here because God and Hosanna called me to be here, and you are here because you have found something in this community of faith that draws you here. We are all here for something, but is that part of our humanness, part of our brokenness? The real reason we are all at worship, is because God is worthy of our worship. God is worthy of our praise. Worship is about what we can do for God, and what we will do for eternity for God. Celebrate at the holy table, and sing praises all the time. Worship is us giving to God, and giving Him our time, talent and treasure. Worship is not about what we get, but what we can give.
So I am still pondering…
Issues…
Worship…
Who we are…
But I have to say that all are welcome here, because God welcomes everyone, and we should to.

For any one who was reading my posts, I am still here.

Even though it has been a while I am back and going to try and do this more often.

After a long last semester in Seminary and a looooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggggggg call process, we are finally settled at the place God has for us to be. We love it here in Grand Rapids, OH. It is a wonderful community and a great place to live and raise our family. The church is wonderful, Spirit filled, and happening place for God. We are looking forward to many long and happy years here.

Sorry for the lapse, but look out world I am back….

Do we think that by getting the people we think we need our lives will better?

How will our churches be better by getting the right people in it?

Are we so arrogent that we think we could design a better group of believers than God?

Do we really believe that we will not meet those who do not know God if we do not do a mission start?

Why do we always look for the cookie cutter model to do things and then complain about conferences when they do not give us all the answers? Jesus was not about the answers, he was about the questions. He asked quesitons, and usually answered questions with a question. We need to embrace the unknown and go into it with Jesus, and know that he is always with us.

Will getting the wrong people out of our groups make us better? Can we remove the sin hat plaques are churches? Why is that we judge the people that need the support of the church and Jesus the most? The single mother who is now pregnant again from a differnet man… We judge her and the Cathoilic church says she is no longer welcome at the table. Who’s table is this? And if you answered rightly that it is Jesus’ table who are we to say who is welcome and who is not?

Let us love everyone as Jesus loved? Questioning our world, and grabbing everyone, because they are the ones we need.

What do you expect when you go to a gathering of the radically indiginous Jesus people?

Is it always the same? Could that be because not all of the are “radical”? Are all gatherings of those who worship God emerging?

What do you expect when you go into a gathering of a worship of God?

Do you expect to meet the Father there?
Do you expect to meet Jesus there? Or did he come in with you?
Do you expect to meet the Holy Spirit there? Or has the spirit always beenwith you?

The one thing we should find is a group of people so moved by the fact they can do nothing to obtain a relationship with God, yet this is freely given to them. They will be so moved by the grace that they are compelled to do good things.

The Spirit will be present, Jesus will be there,and the Father will be there also…

That is what you should find….

Yet is it?

Do you have your d-min? Are you ready to exercise your d-min?

This conference is interesting… and seems to be a little bit more of a networking…

I have had a lot of really good conversations. I do miss my family, my girls, and my wife. I look forward to seeing them and welcoming our newest daughter into the world. I have made some great new friends, learned more about some old friends, and have learned a lot about myself.

The emerging church is an interesting beast… The church is something we need, meaning the ELCA or whatever large denomination you are with is something we need. As Karen Ward says “we all need someone in the dingy.” We all need to go out ahead of the rest and scout out what is happening… We need to be in the dingy, and scout out the place, and seek out where God is working to go there and join God. But if the dingy does not have the big boat, then the dingy will be lost in the greatness of the waters, and without the dingy, the main boat will not really know what is coming up…

That is why the emerging church is the hidden church coming up… Making itself visible. the church is a thriving organism, a living being. It is kind of like planting a resturant. If you are with Friendly’s, then you would scout for a location that does not have a Friendly’s, and then you would get the floor plans from corporate, and you would get the menu from corporate, and you would get mock schedules from corporate, and you would build and do this Friendly’s. Now you could tell the people who would come, because they are the people who go to Friendly’s. If they like Friendly’s they will come… But yet think about the organic resturant. If you wanted to do a resturant to atract the community. Then this would have to be an organism, a living being. One would have to do a study of the community. You would have to discover their likes and dislikes. What they were allergic to, and what they found to be foul. If you discovered that over 50% of the population was lactos intollurant, then you probably would not want ice cream to be one of the main menu items. The resturant would have a different feel depending on the community. The floor plans would be different for Orlando, then in Gettysburg. the menu would be different. It is contextual and it is a living organism. It is what the people in that community want and need. Why do we think there should be a cookie cutter method to the church, when the model of the contexual emerging church applied to other things, leads us to the conclusion it will always be different?

Exercise your d-min and go forth in the dingy serving God.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in prayer in Letters and Papers from Prison:

You have granted me many blessings;
Now let me also accept what is hard from your hand.
You will lay on me no more than I can bear.
You make all things work together for good for your children.

This came from a session on understanding the emerging church, where we went off by ourselves and thought about what it is that we have to do. Not what we want to do, but what do you have to do. You know there are people who play music, because they have to. Te play when ever they can because they can not help but play. Or people who paint because that is all they can do. It does not matter if any one ever buys their paintings, they still have to paint. So what is it that you have to do? What is the passion for your life that totally consumes you and makes you move to be in the world? That one thing that you have to do all the time you can?

And in doing this one thing you will be willing to fail publically. A person you has to write poetry will write it even if she/he does not make any money, and people say their work is garbage. A person that has to paint will be the same way. Even if people laugh at their work, they fail publically, they still must paint. We have to be willing to risk failure, in the view of others, to be real and to be ourselves. Yet if we risk at something that is our passion, that which we must do, it will not really matter if we fail or not. Failure is that which makes us stronger.

The question comes in whether we are really doing that which we must…

Are we just in love with the dream of a big church? Are we in love with the dream of a big ministry that highlights our abilities? Are we in love with an idea of what we envision ministry to be? Are we in love with the dream giver?

We need to be inlove with the dream giver, and allow others to be themselves, and meet them and walk with them and introuce them to the dream giver, or walk with them in their relationship with the dream giver. Relational understanding of community.

Community is presented to us in the dream giver. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A community. We need to be with each other in relationship, just like the one who calls us and gives us the dream we have. We need to be relational and real. We needto be realso the patterns of relational dischipleship spread, but it is not like cancer. We need to be real and about ministry in the world, so that the congregation is not eaten alive by being cancer and consuming itself.

Let us be real and relational. In love with the dream giver, and remember it is not about us…

And I will end with a prayer from Girolamo Savonarola:
Lord, I pray not for tranquility, or that my tribulations may cease;
I pray foryour spirit and your love,
that you grant me strength and grace to overcome adversity;
through Jesus Christ.
Amen