Acts 5

I was teaching acts five on Wednesday and discovered how Psalm 118 shaped the Apostles' ministry. I am emboldened by what i see them doing. basically evangelism is telling others that the amazing stuff happening in their community is a result of God raising Jesus from the dead. When someone is healed, the apostles said, "jesus did that." And they were willing to say it to anyone, anywhere. And they didn't avoid confrontation. In fact they practiced ministry in Solomon's porch because it was the meetingplace/marketplace between temple Judaism and the gentile world. Itwas the mediating space between the holy of holies and hell on earth. where the saints and the sinners met together.and they turned the porch into a school, a hospital, and a soup kitchen. As a result, the community gathered in that public space became a sign of the kingdom of GOD announced by Jesus. What if we could be the kind of church that was open, public space where people might gather to receive the gifts of Jesus---healing, forgiveness, food, water, shelter, peace, compassionate mercy, economic justice through sharing. I pray that others might come to see and hear the apostles' ministry in Acts as an example of our own baptismal vocation in this age.

Acts 5

GOD, you are so cool

God is awesome. I love when a group of people get together and you can tell Jesus is there somehow. I love it when a group of people are all on the same page and are ready to let God use them to accomplish the mission. tonight we were able to take the next steps in creating a space in our building for relational ministry to occur. like solomon's porch, we are preparing to open a marketplace of free and necessary items (clothes, household goods, food, other stuff) for our neighbors. we have seen how faithfulness has been multiplied at the open door clothing bank in lititz. every year for five years Lititz methodist increased its output of generosity, providing school kits and backpacks to families. five years ago they made 75 school kits. this year they made over 840. five years ago they gave out no backpacks. in fact in the course of about three years they started giving away backpacks for kids--from 320 to over 800. amazing. loaves and fishes, man, loaves and fishes. God sees abundance. we see scarcity. God creates a way in which economic justice might occur in a local community through a spirit of generous sharing that embodies the faithfulness of God. God is awesome.
Jeff neikirk has agreed to teach confirmation...and in our situation that means to walk with and mentor three to five young people. Also awesome.
I am learning about being a mission church training mission servants. we are not a full service church, said my friend Shawn. we are a mission school and a worshipping community of disciples following Jesus. So the goal is to invite and encourage people to become part of the training and practice.
The prayer class I'm leading right now has been neat too. I think it will become a repeatable learning experience. maybe annually. a way that we train small groups to pray...
"For God alone my soul in silence waits." psalm 62:1.

a youthful church

I am sick of youth ministry being the red-headed subordinate step-child to the real adult church ministry of our modern,aging congregations. When youth ministry is a subculture of the Christian ed. comittee and afforded an annual "youth Sunday" appearance and a small budget for "activities", the church fails to empower, equip, and encourage the leadership of people under the age of forty. Most youth ministry is done outside of the congregation in our synod; in LYO events. Again, youth are discipled and equipped at these events, but not so much into a daily, weekly rhythm of life in congregations. Many return from youth events with spiritual power and find congregations unwilling to release them into ministry and leadership.
A generation of Americans chose to keep their children under their authority by creating longer dependency in a demographic called "young adulthood". Young adults are not full adults, see. Not capable of the management-style leadership of their savvy parents.I get tired of my elders sitting around a room criticizing this next generation, not realizing that I am in the room--boldly leading a church that is largely being stifled by an unyielding generation of adults.
So, I met with Jay Eckman. He believes, as do I, that it is time to build a church of youthful leaders. There are plenty of faithful adult disciples under the age of forty who are ready for authentic Christian community that embraces the mysteries of God, the stewardship of all creation, and the cruciform mission of suffering love for the sick, poor, isolated, marginalized, oppressed, and hungry neigbors. I wonder if, as we connect various conversations that are occurring around us, a new church community might emerge? What might a church look like whose leaders and followers are all under the age of forty? What moght a church look like whose worship, learning, and service is conducted by those same young adults who are currently disconnected from their parent's or grandparents church? A church that embraces a DNA of spirit-led innovation, cross-centered love of neighbor, and a deep commitment to God's Word, Holy Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. I wonder if God is calling us to be a new kind of church with a new way of life together. We shall see.

the conversation continues...

So, what began as a conversation at a coffee shop, became a weekly conversation between Rodney Martin and me. Rodney is a progressive Mennonoite pastor in Lititz. He has the missional/emergent DNA and is involved in dialogue with the Greek Orthodox church.
Rodney and I invited Brian to join the conversation, which has become a missional order. We are a sort of brotherhood, meeting weekly for intentional prayer, dwelling in the Word, and conversation. We are growing. We have invited Ryan, a cutting edge emergent/postmodern community leader from the Brethren church. And we have invited Shawn, B in C church planter, who is building a community of faith in the city of Lancaster called Inner metro green. We will continue to invite others to become part of this order or way of life. We see ourselves as the next wave of catholic evangelicals, who envision and embody a missional communion as the body of Christ in our local context. We do not need to create a theological statement of commonality in order to practice the gospel together. This Monday afternoon we will celebrate the Eucharist together! We are using a daily lectionary and prayerbook published by the Lutherans. We will read 1 Corinthians 11 as a common source of our practice of the Lord's Supper. We will pray Hippolytus' eucharistic prayer and use other prayers from the pre-schismatic orthodox church as a visible practice of unity. This is amazing. Unprecendented? Maybe. Have Lutherans and anabaptists shared a commitment to WOrd and Sacrament fellowship, and a commitment to becoe the church in mission together, too? I know many ministeriums that server their communities together. But do they celebrate sacramental worship? My hope is that this fellowship evolves, expands, and develops a mission of hospitality whereby leaders from a variety of traditions might come to the one table to share the bread of life.