What do you think of this?
"Jesus has risen and thus the new creation has begun; therefore, we have work to do."This is a quote from one of my favorite writers, N.T. Wright. He is a leader in the Anglican church, British and a very warm hearted, Bible drenched and Spirit led Christian. (Forgive my effusiveness.) I heard him recently share this thought in a podcast conversation between him and Anne Rice. (She is the author of the vampire novels made famous by
Interview with a Vampire and now a Christian.)
I think this quote says a lot about living life missionally. What do you think? I know that I haven't given a lot of context to this quote but I will soon. At first glance what does it spawn in your mind and in your heart?
Trinity Prayer
Trinity Prayer by NT WrightFather almighty, maker of heaven and earth:
Set up your kingdom in our midst.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God:
Have mercy on me, a sinner.
Holy Spirit, breath of the living God:
Renew me and all the world.
Way To Go Ladies!
Way to go ladies! Our worship time Saturday was a time of growth and learning and I am proud that all of you are a part of the Wheatland Mission. I specifically want to thank Michel Moser, Roxanne Reich, Kris Jittawait, Irene Hoyer, Alyssa Hamilton and Marci Laffen. Your contributions were wonderful. I want to thank the all women drama troupe of Lois Pierce, Michelle Snodgrass and Michelle Bartlett. (By the way, we got the message.) Michele Thiessen, you did a great job of getting the group interacting with one another. Thanks for keeping it a lot of fun. Laura Murfin, way to go on the guitar! And of course, I want to thank Calana for doing a great job in leading worship and, it should not go without saying, for so much more.
There are a lot of you who did things that I was not aware of but I want to express my appreciation to you as well. Thank you all for making our worship gathering a great experience.
This past Saturday night those men among us who are married were reminded once again, with great grace and sensitivity to our ego, that we are all the greater beneficiaries of the benefits of marriage. In other words, we are indeed blessed.
The Foundry is moving and so are we?
Some of you may have recently heard the news.
The Foundry, the congregation that has graciously allowed us to rent their facility, has purchased a building. They closed on their new property this past week. The property is located south of Seltzer Elementary near the Woodland Lakes Neighborhood. (Southeast of the intersection of Kellog and Greenwich) They purchased the facility used by
Heartland Community Church.
The Foundry has extended an invitation to us to move with them to their new facility and continue to lease from them on Saturday nights. Also, they will not be moving until October.
So what does this mean for
The Wheatland Mission? It means we have some important decisions to make. Allow me to share what I believe the decisions before us are and the order in which they must be made.
1) Before we decide to go with the Foundry we must decide whether or not The Wheatland Mission will continue to meet on Saturday Evenings. Do we want to continue with our current time or would we rather move to a Sunday morning time? (Or, another time entirely such as Sunday nights?)
2) Then, we must decide if we want to accept the invitation of The Foundry and meet in their new facility.
3) Or, do we want to find a new facility for us to use for our worship gatherings on the weekend? (If we choose to look for our own facility we must consider the lease versus purchase option.)
Let me ask you to do three things. First, please pray about this. These are not lighweight decisions nor are they simple. If you are like me you may discover that you have mixed feelings about when and where to meet. We are loathe to embark on any decision without first seeking God's clear and direct guidance.
Second, talk about this issue with one another and with me. Our conversations about these issues will enable us all to think about them more clearly. In addition, your input is very useful. I want to know what you prefer but I also want to know what you believe to be best and God's leading. This is especially true if what you believe to be best is in conflict with what you want. (This happens to me quite often.)
Third, ask questions and share concerns. If you have questions about how this process is going please ask. I may not always have an answer but if I have one I will share it with you. Also, if you are concerned or worried about the direction this process is going let me know too. This issue, and all issues related to the life of The Wheatland Mission, are heavy on my mind all the time. Sharing your questions and concerns will aid in this process significantly.
There is one other important fact for you to keep in mind. As we search for a new location, whether that is continuing with The Foundry or moving out on our own, that which is best for our children's will be foremost in our mind. Ministry to our young people is crucial and ministry needs for children allow less flexibility than those for adults.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and please commit special time to praying for this situation.
Missional Living
A learning community of practicing disciples...this phrase highlights an important part of my dream for the Wheatland Mission. It is a bit general but I believe it captures the essence of where we are to go and I also think it is an apt description of the type of life Jesus described for us in the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20.
The quote below is another pastor's perspective on what missional living looks like.
"A missional community is a group of Jesus' apprentices who so trust his brilliance and mastery of life, that they learn from him how to be like him for the sake of the world. Through this apprentice/master relationship, the community journeys together to become the fullness of God and thereby become a finite earthly expression of the infinite Tri-Community just as Jesus was in his earthly life. A missional community is about becoming by grace what Christ is by nature. As the community experiences this, wherever the community members live their daily lives, they are learning how to easily, naturally, and routinely embody, demonstrate and announce God's life and reign for the sake of the world around them."What do you think of this? How would missional living look different than your previous church experiences?
Trinity Sunday...this week!
Icon of the Holy Trinity by Andrei Rublev
The Christian Calendar is divided into two seasons or "times". The first season, which begins with Advent and proceeds until Pentecost, is described as
extraordinary time. It is called such because the focus of this season is on the life of Christ. We anticipate his birth and arrival through Advent, celebrate his arrival during Christmas, witness and imitate the beginning of his ministry during Epiphany, journey with him to the cross through Lent, mourn his crucifixion and celebrate his resurrection during the Easter season and witness the gift of his Spirit during Pentecost. For one half of the year we are fixated on the life of Christ and seek to form ourselves around the model of his life lived for us.
The second season or "time" is called
ordinary time. It begins right after Pentecost and extends through to the beginning of Advent at the end of November. There are fewer special days during ordinary time but it begins with what has become known as
Trinity Sunday. This is a special day to commemorate and reflect upon the Triune nature of God.
This weekend we will be reminded of the importance of the Trinity in our daily lives. Too often we think of the Trinity as some theological abstraction and fail to appreciate all that it means for our daily lives. We noted last week that the Trinity can be seen in the first chapter of Genesis and the intimate community within God. The verse below offers us one of the more explicit references to the Trinity in the Bible. They are Paul's closing words to the members of the Corinthian church.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. II Corinthians 13:14
Learning Communities...Practicing Disciples
The following is from Brian McLaren's new book,
The Secret Message of Jesus. This paragraph is his attempt at paraphrasing all of the great commission passages from the Gospels. (Mt. 28:19-120, Mk 16:15, Lk 24:49, Jn 20:21, Ac 1:8) The words in bold highlight what I long to see our church become.
You can't keep the secret of the kingdom to yourselves. I am now sending you, as the Father sent me, to communicate the good news of the kingdom of God. Those who receive your message, you should form into learning communities of practicing disciples so they learn to live according to my secret message, just as you are learning. You should not do this in your own power, but you must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. And you shouldn't stop at the borders of your own culture, language, or religion, but you must cross every border and boundary to share with all people everywhere the secret you've learned from me--the way, the truth, the life you've experienced walking with me.
