:::Chiliiiiiii:::
Our Autumn Fest and Chili Feed was a rip-roaring success. My only regret is that I only ate the Cincinatti Chile and not the Moser's batch which I hear was quite good too. Let Brad and Michele Moser along with Paul and Lara Riley know how much you appreciate their cooking for this special time Saturday.
However, I would be remiss if I didn't express my personal appreciation for Kris Jittawait and Leigh Morris for their exceptional planning and hard work that made our Chily feed and Autumn fest a great experience for all of us. These two ladies go above and beyond the call and they deserve our thanks.
Did anyone else think it funny that the day we plan on a chillie/chilly/chelli/chili feed we end up having near record high tempratures?
One last thought for the day:
Happy Birthday Ty!!! Ty Kasper is 26 today.
:::Vehicles, Chili, Kids in Costumes:::
Don't forget the
Chili Feed and Autumn Fest this weekend! Also,
The Vehicles are leading worship this weekend. Don't miss it!
Scripture For Saturday Night
The Psalm:
121The Teaching Time:
John 4:1-4 and 6:28-33
Three Words..."missional"
Next week we will get into the other two words in this little series of posts. However, we are not finished with our discussion of "missional" but rather moving on to include the other two terms:
"organic" and "holistic".For those of you who have noticed it yet you can click on the "Friend of Missional" link on the right side of our blog and you will be directed to a site that has a lot of discussions about living a missional life. In addition, you can click on the little blue square with a ? in the middle of it, just below the "Friend of..." link and you will be directed to "Mere Mission" another site that has numerous discussions on the topic as well as links to other great sites. (I haven't figured out how to put their icon on our site but I do have the link set up.)
This past week I was reminded of something that Leonard Sweet has said about mission statements. "The church got the idea to have a mission statement from the business world and the church was ten years behind. However, the church has forgotten the fact that it already has a mission statement laid out in Scripture." Do you know what it is?
Here is a re-phrased (and abbreviated) version of that "mission statement". Let me know what you think.
"More disciples, better disciples-in Christian community-for the sake of the world."
Youth Pizza Party
This Saturday night during our regular worship gathering the middle school and high school youth are invited to a pizza party down in the basement at the Foundry. You won't want to miss it!
"Missional" is becoming a buzzword. Like many other terms that float around in the Christian media and sub-culture this good word is in danger of being misused, overused and missapplied to things that are decidedly not missional. I visited a large church recently that had a large display for it's children's ministry that made me think twice. The sign said: "let's get missional with kids".
I have no reason to suspect that the individuals who came up with that slogan are anything other than sincere. In fact, they may be honestly trying to help the children in their congregation adopt a missional outlook on life. However, I couldn't help but think that this term just might be used to enhance the children's ministry, promote their programs and grab the attention of these children's parents along with the other adults of the congregation. Until recently this word was not used outside the rarified air spaces of seminaries and evangelism/mission events.
It is a good word. It is a great word and very descriptive. However, I am not certain that I always effectively communicate what it means to live missionally. Rather than give you another definition (I'll do that later) I think it is good to see some
images of missional life. Let me know what you think about these.
(Click on the link above and read the brief but very descriptive post on living a missional life. You can also click on the "Friend of Missional" button at the bottom right to read some other thoughts on missional living from the blogosphere.)
***NOTE: Just found out that you need to click on the title of this post to go to the blog post that I want you to read. Or, you can cut and paste the following; http://blindbeggar.org/?p=315
Sabbath Image
Simon Ushakov, 1685
"The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath."Take time to rest and be reminded that God is the one making the world go around not you. Let your rest in God be that which drives whatever "ministry" he will call you to.
Women's Brunch Sunday Morning
The women's gathering is tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM at Hampton East Apartments clubhouse near 29th and Governeour. (Governeour is half way between Rock and Woodlawn.) Bring a dish to share. You won't want to miss it.
Three Words: Missional, Organic, Holistic
If you are like me you are relieved by the fresh cool air that has descended upon Wichita this past week. It reminds me that we really do have four seasons in this part of the country. (Even if some of those seasons last longer than others.) This cool weather also reminds me of the movement of time and the fact that our little congregation has been together now for over a year. I realize some of you have only been with us for a few months or a few weeks. Others of you started out this adventure with us. I am glad that all of you are a part of this little community of faith. It is an honor and a real pleasure to be serving God together.
Today I want to begin a new series of posts called
Three Words. The three words we are going to explore are ideas that I shared in the early days, last fall, of our community. I think each one gives special meaning and direction to the life of our church and to the ministry that God has called us unto. The three words are:
missional, organic, and holistic.I'll begin with the word
missional. None of you who read the blog regularly will be surprised that I am including this word in this series of posts. Last year, when the Wheatland Mission was meeting primarily in home groups we discussed what being a
missional church meant. I was encouraged when, after a few months of meeting and discussing this subject, I began to hear our people articulating for themselves what being
missional was all about. Translating this idea into their own words gave me a clear sign that the concept was taking root.
Today I want to review this idea a little bit by sharing a few key concepts about being a
missional church and living as
missional people. The word missional sounds a little bit like the word
missionary because they come from the same latin root,
missio, which means "sending". A missionary is one who is "sent" for the purpose of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, sharing the Gospel, and leading people to Christ. A
missional church is one which doesn't primarily consider itself a congregation that "sends" missionaries but as a congregation that is itself "sent". A community of Christians who are deliberately sent into the world in which they inhabit for the sake of Christ, for the sake of those who do not yet know him, for the sake of God's Kingdom.
Throughout our history as a church, even though it is quite short, we have considered it important to give money and resources to the poor and to support various church planting and missionary groups. We have supported inner city churches in Wichita, New Orleans, Haiti and Columbia. This is good and we will continue to share our resources in this way. However, let us take this a step further and begin to see ourselves as the
ones who are sent.
Being a Missional Church means that we view ourselves as missionaries to the culture in which we are immersed. We are a people that have been called by God, gathered as community and sent to the world.
The Divine Hours...a disclaimer
Greetings all! A few days ago I posted a brief description of the
Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle and gave you a link where you could view the daily prayers that she has compiled in her book. These are found on the
Explore Faith website. While I love the
Divine Hours and have confidence that the prayers are very compatible with biblical Christianity, I must admit that I don't bear the same confidence toward everything on the website.
Brad Moser and I visited the other day after both of us reviewed some of the material on the
Explore Faith website. We both felt it wise to convey a bit of caution when reading some of the articles posted on it. While there may be some good stuff there I think it is important to be discerning and cautious when reading any material like that. By the same token, I think it is wise and appropriate to even examine what I teach and share with me any concerns you might have.
With that being said, I do want to encourage us all to consider using the
Divine Hours as a means of enhancing our walk with God. Phyllis Tickle does a great job at compiling Scriptural references, hymns and prayers prayed throughout the history of our faith into a daily format that, I believe, will be very edifying for any follower of Jesus.
The Divine Hours
All of us need a boost in our prayer life from time to time. In fact, it is important for us to regularly examine and evaluate our experience of prayer. It is one of the primary ways that we experience God's presence and there are times when we need to consider new options to direct us in our times of prayer.
The "Daily Office", sometimes known as "The Divine Hours" is an option for prayer that I would encourage all of you to consider.
"The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle is a manual for fixed-hour prayer. It presents the prayers to be prayed at the divine hours of every day: Morning prayers, for prayer between 6 and 9; midday prayers for praying between 11 and 2; and evening prayers to pray between 5 and 8, and help us gently close the day.
Praying the hours enjoins us to stop, let go of all that occupies us, and focus on the sacred at regular intervals throughout the day. Suddenly, every day becomes holy, for every day is laced together by our appointments with God."Click on the following link, set your time-zone, this allows you to navigate to the right set of Scripture and prayer for your time of day and explore the value of praying the "Divine Hours".
http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html
