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Viral: How Social Networking is poised to ignite revival

Several weeks (or probably more like months) ago I received the book "Viral: How Social Networking is poised to ignite revival" by Leonard Sweet as part of the Blogging for Books program that I am a part of through WaterBrook and Multnomah. So I'm finally getting around to reviewing this book.

I have to say this is probably the 15 or so book that I have read by Sweet. He is a machine when it comes to writing books, and probably puts out maybe 4-6 books a year. I have enjoyed reading his stuff before and figured I would enjoy Viral.

2 Things that I have to say before getting to the book is that:

1. Sweet does his research (or has a great team to do it for him). Almost every book that I have ever read comes with a ton of quotes, citations, and notes. Highly footnoted, studied, and researched.

2. Sweet loves his acronyms. (I believe that is the right word). First there was EPIC (Experiential, Participatory, Image Based, and Connected). Then there was MRI (Missional, Relational, Incarnational) and now in Viral it is TGIF (Twitter, Google, iPhones/iPads/iPods, and Facebook).

Sweet breaks down his book by the acronym TGIF. So the book is broken down into 6 sections looking at social networking in relation to Twitter, Google, iPhone, and Facebook. The first section is on Social Media as a whole and the last is wrapping up the book, the 4 in the middle are focused on one type of social media/networking. Sweet does a great job of connecting current technology and the possibility of both good and evil coming from our usage of the technology. He also advocates for the usage of the technology to further the Kingdom, the church, and to spread the good news of Jesus.

He also puts humans into two camps (though he also says that it is possible that your age doesn't truly define what camp you are in). Those two camps are Gutenbergs and Googlers. (Several places in the book he gives "tests" to see which camp you fall into).

Overall I enjoyed the book, though I didn't really gain anything new regrading social media, just helpful reminders. I try to spend time using Twitter, Facebook, my iPhone, and our website to further the Kingdom and share about Jesus and Veritas. I was again reminded just how important an on-line presence is these days, and am thankful that we have one (though I am sure we could do alot better by developing a social media strategy)

Here are some quotes that I found helpful in the book:

"They (meaning Googlers) believe there is more truth in relationships than in propositions."

"if you have the right theology but aren't reaching people and aren't in relationship with your culture, what does it profit a pastor or a church?"

"Christianity is and always has been a religion of incarnation. It puts on flesh and blood."

"New media creates new problems along with new opportunities. Shane Hipps riffed on Marshall McLuhan like this, 'No technology is neutral. Every technology has an innate bias, and it will use you. Once you become aware of its bias, you can use it."

I believe social media and networking can be helpful in the spreading of the Kingdom but it can also hinder it in many different ways. I guess my hope for Veritas and my own use of social media can best be spelled out by this quote from St. Teresa of Avila: "Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion looks out on the world, yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now."

Guest Blog Post

The other week I was asked to be a guest blogger for my friend Lisa Colon Delay, who I went to Kutztown University with. I thought I would repost what I wrote for her blog on my blog. Would love to hear your thoughts on it. Identity

For the last two and half years I’ve been planting Veritas, a missional community in Lancaster, PA. There are various challenges in this.

There’s the challenge of developing a Core Group for Veritas. There’s the struggle of seeking to do church in a whole new way in an area that has a fairly traditional view of what church is. There’s the challenge of balancing 4 part time jobs between my wife and me, a free lance job, two kids and keeping up with everything that comes with running a household. But the biggest challenge that I have been faced with revolves around the issue of identity.

All too often, whether in planting a new faith community, or just in life, we define ourselves by what we do. And we define our self worth from what we do, and whether we are “successful” or not. Maybe men do this more.

If I’m honest with myself, my self worth all too often is tied into how I perceive things are going. If we have a good Sunday, as far as numbers (even though we seek to define success by other metrics) I feel good about myself. If we have a bad Sunday, as far as numbers go, I feel horrible about myself and want to throw in the towel and give up. The biggest challenge I believe, at least for me, in this planting journey has been to remember this phrase, “It’s not what I do, it is about whose I am.”

Scripture says this about me, “he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:5), and “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”(Romans 8:15). Too often I say to myself (or Satan says) the very opposite of these words. I forget that I am a child of the King and that I am loved, not for anything that I can do, have done, or will do. I am loved period.

One thing that stuck from my years at seminary that has helped me confront this problem of identity is this simple statement, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you any less. There is nothing you can do to make God love you any more.” My identity is not in being a church planter, a father, a husband, or anything else that I try to define my worth in. My struggle is to remember that, and place my identity in the fact that I am a child of the Heavenly Father.

Elephant in the Room

What is one tough question you've always wanted to ask a Christian... and they wouldn't get offended for you asking?" Why are Christians so angry/intolerant? Do you have to be a Republican to be Christian? Why are there so many churches, don't Christians like each other?"

If you always wanted to ask these or other tough questions, than join us on Sunday June 10 at the Community Rom on Prince (19 North Prince Street, 3rd Floor above Prince Street Cafe) from 5:30-7:30 PM for Elephant in the Room.

We'll start at 5:30 with Free Pizza (though donations to cover the Pizza would be appreciated by not required) and drinks. Then from 6:00-7:30 PM we'll talk about the Elephants in the Room that you struggle with and we'll create a safe place to talk about them, wrestle with them, question them, and share them.

Bring some friends along who have their own Elephants in the Room.

Peace

The other week I was attending the Church of the Brethren Church Planting conference at Bethany Seminary in Richmond, IN. I got the pleasure of hanging out with some friends who I don't get to see very often. One of these friends lives and ministers in Seattle, WA. Turns out he was doing a workshop the same time that I was doing mine, so unfortunately I wasn't able to be at his. But he gave me the handout, which was a tour of the churches and ministries happening in Seattle. One of the ministry he highlighted was Church of the Beloved and he mentioned that they had some free music on their site, so I went and downloaded the music. (You can do that here...http://belovedschurch.org/hope

One song is called Peace and as I listened to it, I realized just how much our world, our families, our denominations, and our churches need this type of peace. Read the lyrics and pray that PEACE may start with you (through your relationship with Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit)

Broken conversations, broken people, we're broken Lord. Terrified illusions, seeking comfort, we're seeking more. We need each other more than we need to agree. Father, Son, Spirit bless us with your love, with your grace and peace.

Peace. Let there be peace. Let there be peace. Let there be peace.

Let us see and not destroy. Let us listen. Let us listen. Let us suspend judgement for the sake of love, for the sake of love. We need each other more than we need to agree. Father, Son, Spirit bless us with your love, with your grace and peace.

Love. Let there be love. (among us) Let there be love. (among us) Let there be love.

Throw a Party

Here is the message and discussion questions from our Veritas gathering yesterday. So this morning we continue looking at our series called Scattered and Gathered, looking at the Scattered Nature of the church, (when we go out into the world. When we go to work, school, hang out in our neighborhood, etc… we are still church). And also looking at the Gathered nature of the church (when we are together for worship, prayer, service, community, etc..). We are looking at these two natures through the 3 relationships that each and every follower of Jesus should have. The OUT Relationship (living a missional kingdom life), the IN Relationship (living in relationship with other followers of Jesus or community in Veritas language), and the UP Relationship (living in relationship with Jesus through prayer, worship, meditation, etc… or truth in our language)

Two weeks ago when we started this series we looked at Mark 6:6b-13 where Jesus calls his disciples to himself, then sends them out two by two. And in that text, we see the 3 relationships played out. The UP..calling them to himself. The OUT…sending them out. The IN…two by two.

Last week we talked about the encounter that Jesus had with a Leper found in Mark 1:40-45. We talked about what leprosy was, and how radical an act it was for Jesus to touch him, and how we as follows of Jesus need to “get our hands dirty” so to speak and realize that in one way we all have spiritual leprosy.

Today we are looking at a passage in Mark 2:13-17 about an encounter that Jesus had with another person who many consider to be unclean, repulsive, and unredeemable. The passage in Mark 2:13-17 recounts the story of Jesus meeting and calling Levi (Matthew) the tax collector, and the response that Matthew had to that call, and the response of both the Pharisee’s and Jesus.

Let’s look at the text, “Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” What does this say to us this morning, gathered together 2,000 years after this story took place? Why is this story so radical in nature and what kind of radical life does it call each one of us too? This is what we’ll look at together. The first thing we see in this text is that Jesus went out to a lake, where a large crowd gathered around him, and since the large crowd was there, Jesus began to teach them. Mark doesn’t give us any clue exactly what that teaching might have been, but we can probably infer the teaching matter, due to the fact that most of Jesus teaching dealt with the Kingdom of God, where God’s rule and reign was a lived out reality, both now and in the future. So either after teaching or in the midst of his teaching, Jesus walked along the beach. As he walked he saw Levi (or Matthew which is his apostolic name) as his tax collectors booth and called out to him, “Follow Me” and Levi got up, left his tax collectors booth, and followed Jesus.

Now it was remarkable, that Levi got up and left his booth and followed Jesus, but it is also very remarkable that Jesus called Levi in the first place. You see Levi was a tax collector, which was almost the worst thing a person could be in Jesus day, in 1st century Israel. You see Tax collectors were despised as traitors and extortionists. They were the most visible collaborators with Rome, the enemy who were occupying their land, so they were traitors. And extortionists because they kept what they over-collected.

Let’s dig a little deeper into those two accusations, being a traitor and an extortionist. When a Jew entered the customs service he was regarded as an outcast from society. He was disqualified as a judge or witness in a court session, was excommunicated from the synagogue, and in the eyes of the community, his disgrace extended even to his family. So Levi and his family, would have been pretty much cut off from relationships with others in his community, due to the fact that he worked for Rome. So the only people he could hang around with was his family, and other “sinners” like himself. Also, a person could be a tax collector in a community by having the highest bid for the responsibility of collecting the taxes. The tax collector with the highest bid, would have to make up all that amount of money to pay the Romans, but to make any for himself, he would then extract from people as much as possible. This of course led to abuse and people ripping off the neighbors, and others within their own community. No wonder they were often hated and called sinners. Not only were they traitors to their country by working for Rome, the evil occupiers, but they also extorted their own flesh and blood to make a living. So there is something that each of us can pull from this part of the text. Maybe you feel like a Tax Collector this morning. Like you can’t be a disciple of Jesus, because you are a “sinner” and that you are broken. But I’m here to tell you today, that if Jesus called Levi, a sinful tax collector, to follow him, to be a disciple who makes other disciples, than each of us are being called as well. Jesus uses flawed, broken vessels to bring about his Kingdom. Whether it is a tax collector or a teacher or a church planter or you name it. We are all sinful, broken people who God is calling, so that we would follow him, devote our life to him, be a disciple, and then go and make disciples who make disciples.

I find it so awesome what Levi did next. Most of the time in modern Christianity, when someone begins to follow Jesus the church tells them, explicitly or implicitly to stop hanging around their old community and let the church become their new community. It seems like within 2 years most new Christians are barely connected with their old friends.

Levi, after having decided to leave the life of a tax collector, and follow Jesus, threw a party at his house. And because he was an outcast, the only people Levi could invite to the party were his family, Jesus, the disciples, and the many “sinners” that he did life with. And so Levi, invited Jesus to this party/dinner, and of course Jesus accepts the invitation. (As an aside, if anyone invites you to something, you need to say yes. All too often we invite people to our Christian things, but when we are invited to things we tend to say no. Say Yes next time you are invited.) So Jesus shows up and begins to eat with Levi and the “sinners” gathered around the table. Now you see in the culture of 1st Century Israel, eating with someone was a serious matter. To eat at the same table with people was a sign of friendship and relationship. Jesus was truly saying, by this eating at this party, that he was a friend of sinners. He gets attacked by the religious leaders because of the very fact that he was sent to call not the righteous but the sinners (which is a funny comment because it means all of us, but the religious leaders didn’t see it that way.) Jesus understood the power of eating with someone and what hospitality could mean in the life of someone. He understood that by eating with these tax collectors, and sinners, that he saying that I accept you, love you, and want to be your friend. I want to do life with you, and be in relationship with you. Jesus again realized the power of relationship. Do we? Jesus was known to be a friend of sinners? Are we? To live a Scattered Church life (a missional Kingdom life) we need to be known as friends of sinners. Let me close with a quote from a book called Untamed by Alan and Deb Hirsch about the power of hospitality and eating in living a missional kingdom life. “One of the most significant ways we can start changing our world is by practicing simple kindness and hospitality. We remember clearly when our friend Nick Wight suggested that if every Christian household regularly invited a stranger, or a poor person, or a work colleague into their home for a meal with the family once a week, we would literally change the world by eating. At first we thought that this was an overstatement, but upon reflection we actually believe it is true.” What would happen if we made a commitment to practice regular hospitality? What would happen if we made a commitment to table fellowship beyond the nuclear family three times a week? One time with people inside the community of faith, one time with people outside the church, and one spare? Just a thought…. So let’s unpack this in a deeper way in our time of conversation and dialogue.

1. What thoughts, comments, insights, questions, push back, etc... do you have regarding the Scripture text and the message?

2. What do you think God is saying to you? What do you think he is saying to us as a community?

3. What are you going to do about it? What do you think our community should do about it?

Jesus and the Leper

Here is the my text from yesterday's worship gathering including the discussion questions that we talked about following the message.

So today we continue our series entitled “Scattered and Gathered” looking at the two natures of the church, the Scattered nature, when the church goes out into the world to be his hands and feet, living as a missionary in every phase of life, whether as a teacher, student, social worker, business person, pastor, etc…. And the gathered nature of the church, when we gather together in community to pray, worship, service, build relationships, etc. We are seeking to look at the Scattered and Gathered natures of the church through the lens of the OUT, UP, IN triangle.

Last week we looked at the passage in Mark where Jesus calls the twelve to himself, and then sends them out two by two. We talked about the idea that in that verse (chapter 6 verse 7) we see all three of the relationships that a follower of Jesus should be living out. We see the UP when Jesus calls his followers to himself. We see the OUT when he sends them out, and we see the IN when he sends them out, not alone but two by two. So we see last week the foundation of where we are headed for the next several weeks.

This week and for the next several we are going to focus on the scattered nature of the church, or in our Core Values/Vision terms, the missional kingdom life that followers of Jesus should be living out. In fact, during this part of the series we will be looking at stories, teachings, and instances where Jesus is living out this missional kingdom life all found in the book of Mark.

So turn to the second book in the New Testament, which is about 2/3 of the way through the Bible, and right after Matthew. We are going to look at Mark 1:40-45 and see what it might say to us today gathered together 2,000 years later. Mark 1:40-45 says, “A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the Law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.”

So let’s unpack this radical, subversive text together from two perspectives. The perspective of Jesus and the perspective of the Leper. And we’ll see this text has to say a great deal to us know matter where we are on our journey.

First, let’s look at the text from the perspective of the leper. In the ancient world, leprosy was one of the most horrific diseases known to humankind. Not only was it damaging to the body, but also to the whole person. Leprosy, also called Hansen's disease, is an infectious disease that is characterized by disfiguring skin sores and progressive nerve damage. Skin lesions are the primary external sign. Left untreated, leprosy can be progressive, causing permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. Contrary to folklore, leprosy does not cause body parts to fall off, although they can become numb or diseased as a result of secondary infections; these occur as a result of the body's defenses being compromised by the primary disease. Secondary infections, in turn, can result in tissue loss causing fingers and toes to become shortened and deformed, as cartilage is absorbed into the body.

Probably the worst part of Leprosy wasn’t what happened to the body, but what happened to the soul. The way people treated lepers, in Jesus day, was problematic. In the OT, God said that when there are lepers among people of Israel, the should be quarantined and examined. Lepers had to dress like people in mourning for the dead, because they were considered the living dead. They had to warn people around them by crying out “Unclean. Unclean” whenever people were near them.

Not only was that bad enough but the prevailing attitude and thought towards Lepers were 1. You are the walking dead and unclean. And 2. You deserve this because this is your punishment of God against you. Jewish custom also said that you should not even greet a leper, let alone touch one and you shouldn’t get to within 6 feet of a leper. One Rabbi bragged that he threw rocks at Lepers to keep them far from him.

So put yourself in the shoes of the Leper. You have been touched in a very long time. You haven’t been looked out with compassion in a very long time, just disdain and disgust. And you haven’t been near anyone for a very long time. Just think of the courage needed to approach Jesus and speak with him. To approach the son of God, knowing that you are considered unclean, unworthy, and a throw away.

So what Jesus does next surprised not only the Leper, but I’m sure everyone around him. He was filled with compassion or pity for the Leper and then he reached out and touched him. Could Jesus have just said, “Be healed” and not touch the Leper? I’m sure of it. But he realized that the Leper needed not only physical healing from the disease but also emotional and spiritual healing and one of the best ways for that was to touch the leper.

So maybe this morning you feel like that Leper. Like you have been treated like the early lepers were. That you think you are unclean and you are condemned by God and man. That the religious leaders of our day want nothing to do with you. And that you feel that you are so unclean and sinful that Jesus would and could never touch you and heal you of your brokenness. If that is you this morning, look at the story again and see Jesus, moved with compassion for you, reaching his hands down to you, and cleansing you from sin, and healing you. That there is no sin, no level of brokenness, no way of being outside the grace (shown by his touch) of Jesus. He loves you just the way you are, “leprosy” and all. And he wants to heal and cleanse you from sin, and brokenness. He wants to restore you as well to wholeness, forgiveness, and to a new community.

Now let’s turn the picture and look at this story through the lens of Jesus. Jesus had been probably told all his life about the laws surrounding lepers and what you did and did not do. And so that fateful day, with the religious leaders looking on, Jesus is approached by a Leper asking him for healing and wholeness. So Jesus, filled with pity reached out and touched him. Some texts say that Jesus was filled with compassion, some say anger, some say he was indigent. But whatever it was, Jesus saw a human being caught up in the brokenness of the world. A human being who was bound up by sins effect on the world.

He wasn’t put off by the “unclean” leper. He wasn’t repulsed by the man’s condition. He didn’t throw rocks at the leper to keep him back 6 feet. He reached out his hand, laid it on the leper, and with that touch cleansed him from years of pain, separation, and brokenness. Jesus then told him to show himself to the Priest, so that he could be declared clean. Jesus not only knew that he had to heal him from the leprosy but also heal with relationally, communally, and emotionally. Only when a Priest declared someone clean could the leper rejoin society, rejoin his family, and his community. Jesus cared not just about his physical healing, but he also cared about the man’s emotional, spiritual, and relational healing.

Jesus entered into the brokenness of the world. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands “dirty” with the real issues of the world. He didn’t create a holy huddle or bubble around himself and all the “righteous” ones and keep all the riffraff, and sinners out. There wasn’t an in and out with him. He literally reached out and touched the brokenness and sin of the world.

So just a question…why is it that the tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and other “sinners” loved hanging out with Jesus but the “tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and other sinners” of our day probably don’t feel that way about Christians? All too often we have created an in and out, us vs. them world. We have been too content to stay in our holy huddle and Christian subculture and not enter into the mess and brokenness of the world. We have been afraid to the reach out our hand and touch the “unclean” of our world.

To live out the scattered nature of the church, we as followers of Jesus need to take our cue from Jesus, and enter into the brokenness of our world. If we are truly to live out a missional, Kingdom life, we need to take light into dark places, and not just be content to take light into light places. We need to reach out our hand, pop that Christian bubble, and touch people that others have condemned, marginalized, or brushed aside. We have to reach out to people who consider themselves unworthy of God’s love, who consider themselves too far gone to be redeemed, and too unclean for anyone to care about them.

So now that we have looked at this text from both the perspective of the Leper and the perspective of Jesus, let’s look at the text through our own perspective. Let’s unpack what this text might be saying to you and I and what it looks like when the rubber of the text, hits the road of applying it into our daily lives, both as individuals and as a community.

1. What thoughts, comments, insights, questions, push back, etc.. do you have regarding the text and the message? 2. Who are the "unclean" in our world? Who have we tended to marginalize? 3. What is God speaking to you about and what are you going to do about it?

Scattered and Gathered

Here is the text from today's message dealing with the Scattered and Gathered church as well as the discussion questions that we talked through. Would love to hear your thoughts on the questions as well. Since January we were in a series called STORY, looking at the stories that Jesus told that literally changed the world. We finished that on Easter Sunday we the story of the resurrection of Jesus, and how through the resurrection, Jesus has started the process of recreating all things, to set them to right again.

So today we will be transitioning into a new series that will last until the end of the summer, as we spend the time delving deeper into our Core Values and why we do what we do, and why we gather in the way we gather. We’ll be taking the time to focus on the why and then following that we’ll be again most likely returning to our monthly rhythm.

Today we start the series “Scattered and Gathered” looking at the two natures of the church, through the lens of the OUT, UP, IN Triangle. The two natures of the church are the Scattered Church- that when we scatter into our various life situations (jobs, neighborhoods, school, etc..) believe it or not we are still church. We are just scattered church. The other nature of the church is the gathered church, when we come together as a community to worship, serve, build community, and all that we do when we are together.

So for the next several weeks we are going to look at the Scattered church through the lens of the OUT part of the triangle as well as really push us in both our individual and corporate OUT lives (Launch festival, 1st Friday/Art Walk, Final Survival Kits, etc…) But before we dive to deep into that, I want to unpack the biblical basis for the scattered and gathered church and the OUT, UP, IN of a follower of Jesus’ life.

Let’s look together at the second book in the New Testament called Mark. Mark 6:6b-13 says this, “ Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. “

Now what does this say about the two natures of the church and the OUT, UP, IN life of a disciple? Let’s look at this passage, in particular one verse that, to me, summarizes what each follower of Jesus should be about, as well as what each community of followers of Jesus should be about as well.

In Mark 6 we see Jesus going from town to town preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. In the passage preceding the one we just read we see Jesus going back to his hometown of Nazareth where he entered the synagogue and began to teach the people gathered there. Unfortunately it didn’t go very well there, as they wonder who he was to teach them about the Kingdom, as he had grown up there, and they all knew his mother, brothers, and sisters. But Jesus didn’t stop there, he continue to go from town to town preaching. In the second half of verse 6 we find that he is becoming an itinerant preacher going from town to town preaching. And while it doesn’t say exactly what he was preaching, we can make an inference by the other gospels and other instances where he taught and preached. The inference we can make is that he was teaching about the reality of the Kingdom of God that was breaking in all around them. (What Jesus taught about the most was the Kingdom of God)

So Jesus, while going from town to town teaching about the Kingdom of God, is training, discipling, and teaching his own 12 disciples what it means to live out the Kingdom of God reality in the midst of their present reality, where it doesn’t seem like the Kingdom is breaking through. They are watching him day in and day out. They see him preach. They see him heal people. They see him interact with religious leaders as well as those who the religious leaders wouldn’t be caught dead with.

So in the midst of all this we bump into verse 7 which says, “Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.” I think it is in this verse we see the 3 parts or 3 relationships (if you will) of a disciples’ life.

The first thing we see in verse 7 is this phrase, “Calling the Twelve to him.” We see this as the first part in the sequence of verse 7. Jesus calls the 12 to him, and, I believe, imparts some learning on them. I believe he took that time to unpack some additional information that they would need when they were sent out to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God themselves. The disciples sat at the feet of Jesus before they got up and sought to do what Jesus was doing. In calling and training them, Jesus was preparing them for the day when he would commission them as his representatives in the world. The disciples were living out the UPWARD dimension of their lives as they spent time listening to, learning and being trained by Jesus.

What about you and I? Have we spent the time at Jesus feet before being sent into the world to “preach” the good news of the Kingdom of God, and the gospel of Jesus? Our UP relationship with Jesus is how we abide in him. As his disciples, we are to model our lives after our Master. We (the branches) must abide in him (the Vine) if we are to produce fruit (John 15). Our efforts are worthless if we do not have the UP in our lives. We will be fruitless with out it.

So after being called to Jesus side, and spending time in the UPWARD part of their relationship with Jesus, we see the next statement, “and began to send them out” This is the OUTWARD dimension of a disciple of Jesus. In the gospel of John, Jesus said, “As the father has sent me, I also send you.” Here Jesus is sending his disciples to do the same things that Jesus did: preaching, healing the sick, and freeing people from demonic possession. In fact, some people call the twelve, the twelve apostles which points at the fact that Jesus had sent them out. In fact the word apostle means one who is sent.” So Jesus sends them out into the world.

You see Jesus never lost sight of his Father’s vision- to reach out to a dark and dying world. He came to seek and save what was lost. He came to love a world that didn’t know what love was. He came to live a life of forgiveness in a world were forgiveness wasn’t practiced. He came to sacrifice self in a world that was all about the self. He lived an outward focused life which was about the other, when every one else around him was only inward focused.

He was calling the disciples to live a sent life, making a difference in the world around them. He is calling us to the same OUTWARD life. To care about the world around us, more than we care about ourselves. To bring light to a dark place, love to a place where there is no love, hope to a place without hope, and joy to a place with no joy. To be individuals and a community that bring so much blessing to the community, that the community would grieve if you (or I) or our community suddenly left the community. That’s what it means to be sent out, to live an OUTWARD life.

Lastly, we see this phrase in verse 7, “two by two”. Jesus knew that they couldn’t do it alone. They needed each other for encouragement, strength, and friendship to be about the mission of the Kingdom of God. Also Jesus was probably referencing the Old Testament law of having two witnesses to collaborate a report. Deuteronomy 19:15 says, “One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” The smallest indivisible unit in the Kingdom of God is two. Jesus practiced this principle in his own life, and he taught it to his disciples. He did not send the disciples out alone to do the work he taught them. We see it in verse 7 but we also see it through the life and ministry of Jesus including when Jesus sent for a donkey, two disciples were dispatched to lead the animal back. Jesus’ followers were not meant to be Lone Rangers. We were designed to have an INWARD life as well.

We see in this passage, and many others within the Bible, the fact that we find ourselves and true fulfillment not in isolation, not even as we engage with one another, but rather when we relate to God through one another. The challenge for the church is to emphasize the communal nature of the Christian faith and to commit to authentic expressions of that nature.

Jesus, in this passage, promotes the understanding that church is both scattered (scattered into the world to make a difference and be a blessing), and gathered (gathered to worship, work, pray, fellowship, share, etc..). That we aren’t just church right here and right now. We are church on Monday morning at 9 AM, or Wednesday afternoon at 2 PM, just as much as we are church on Sunday at 10:30 AM. And we see it, as I have been unpacking, best in verse 7 which spells out the 3 Dimensional Life that we as individuals and as a community should be living out (UP, OUT, IN).

But what does that mean on the ground, in the everyday that we live. What does it look like when the rubber hits the road? These are the questions that we are going to unpack together in our time of conversation and discussion.

Discussion Questions: 1. What are your thoughts, comments, insights, questions, push back, on the message and the Scriptures that we just looked at? 2. Which one of the 3 Dimensions do you struggle the most with (OUT, UP, IN)? Why? Which one comes most naturally to you? Why? 3. As you look at our community, which one do we struggle with? Which one do we "excel" in? 4. Share some concrete ways of growing in all 3 areas both individually and corporately.

Jesus the Gardener

About a year and a half ago, we moved from Marietta to my house to meet as a Core Group. When we did that we stopped recording messages, and since we have moved to Lancaster and the Community Room we have yet to record the messages. This is definitely something that I want to get back to. But until then I thought I would post the Easter message that I preached and the discussion questions that we talked about after the message. The message is called Jesus the Gardener.

Since January our community has been walking through a series called STORY where we have been looking at the various stories that Jesus told that literally changed the world. Today we again look at a story, not necessarily a story that Jesus told, but a story that Jesus lived. And when I mean story, I don’t mean a fictional story. I mean a real story that really happened that really changed the world and in fact continues to change the world, day by day, person by person, faith community by faith community. This story is obviously the reason that we are gathered together on this Resurrection Sunday (or Easter if you like). The story of the resurrection of Jesus is more than just a great bedtime story, it is a story that provides meaning, hope, purpose, redemption, wholeness and healing to those who seek to live out a resurrection life 2,000 years after it happened.

So today we are going to explore that story, what it means, how you can be a participant in it, and in changing the world.

Now we have a few different choices for which part of the story we are going to explore, and which story out of the 4 gospels (the story of the life of Jesus). I have chosen one I believe that when we unpack it, we’ll see the gospel in a whole new light, we’ll see the resurrection in a whole new light, and we’ll see our roles as followers of Jesus in a whole new light. So let’s turn to Luke 20:11-18 and begin to unpack this resurrection story and find out how it has changed the world, and how it invites us into the story, and into helping to change the world.

“Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.”

So we know from the first verse in chapter 20 that this happened on the first day of the week, and we also know from the previous chapter that the tomb that Jesus was laid in was in a garden. Now that we know them, it might strike you as having heard something about the first day of the week, and a garden somewhere before. Where in the Scriptures does the first day and garden show up? At the very beginning in Genesis 1. These things show up not only in Genesis but also in the story which we read, and also at the end of the story in Revelation. But why does John refer us back to the Creation account, why was Jesus raised on the first day, and why was the tomb in a garden (which harkens back to the Garden of Eden)? John’s gospel has something to communicate about humanity and the whole cosmos. This is a story about creation (or should I say recreation) just as much as Genesis 1-2 is a story about Creation. John wants us to understand that Jesus was with God before the creation of the world and then chose to become part of God’s earth as a human being. Jesus’ life not only enters into cosmic history, but somehow affects all of creation itself. It is very important to keep that in mind when we return to this story.

So in John 20:11 we see Mary Magdalene standing outside the tomb weeping when the “gardener” shows up. This seems familiar and so back to the original creation story we go. Back to Adam, who was place in the garden as its overseeing gardener and is given a green thumb to nurture it, to make creation flourish. And somehow in these two stories we see the connection between the first gardener, Adam and the second gardener, Jesus. Mary doesn’t realize it at first, but this gardener is everything Adam and humanity failed to be: God’s untainted image-bearer. We also see this connection between Adam in Jesus in other places in the New Testament. In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth we read these words which connect Adam and Jesus, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” And also a few verses later we find these words, “So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” Jesus is the beginning of a new humanity or another way to put that is that Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of the process of God recreating the world. Jesus is re-created first and then someday the rest of humanity who are in relationship to God will be re-created along with the rest of the created order. When Jesus walks out of the tomb on that first Easter morning, hope for something more invades reality. God in Christ begins a whole new creation in the midst of this world’s brokenness. So Jesus comes out of the tomb that first Easter morning and the first person to see him is Mary Magdalene. At least she doesn’t initially see him because she is weeping. She doesn’t know what has happened. Now just the fact that Jesus chose Mary Magdalene to first appear to post-resurrection says so much about the upside down kingdom that has started with his resurrection.

You see the law courts of that day would not recognize the testimony of a woman, but Jesus did. If this story was made up or fabricated, would they have made their first witnesses to the resurrection, women, who were commonly, if unfairly, regarded as unreliable witnesses? I don’t believe so.

So through her tears she sees an angel and then she hears a voice and turns and sees someone. She thinks he’s the gardener. It’s a great mistake to make, because as I’ve said before, when Jesus is mistaken for a gardener we go right back to the creation story in Genesis 1-3 and begin to see the resurrection as the re-creation story. And it’s a way of saying, this is the garden and here is the Gardener and he has actually put the garden back to right. And will fully put it back to right at the end of all time, as described in the end of Revelation which also happens to end in a garden, the Garden of Eden restored, the way the world was supposed to be from the start.

So Mary sees Jesus and he speaks her name, not the name that we’ve had up till now in the Gospel-Maria, the Greek name, the name a Roman Soldier would have called her- but the name Miriam. Our English translations don’t pick this up, but that is what is in the Greek, Miriam. Miriam, the name she was always really called. Jesus calls her, through her tears, calls her by her true name, calls her to a new identity, which she’d never imagined before but being the one who is going to be the first witness of the resurrection.

Now Jesus calling to Mary (or Miriam) and giving her a new identity should also take us back to the first Creation account. The first Adam named the creatures. The second Adam renames his creation, gives them a new identity, a new purposes, a new life, a new hope, and a new creation. In fact new creation happens first in Jesus, through his resurrection, than happens to those who come and meet Jesus, and then those who have met Jesus and who have become new creations (2 Cor. 5:17) are given something to do, to become agents of New Creation, working with the gardener Jesus to set the world right again. To help restore, redeem, renew, reconfigure, and recreate the world how it was always meant to be. Jesus started it with himself, continues it with us, and then will totally complete it at the end of the age.

But what does this all mean to you and I sitting here 2,000 years after the resurrection, in a day and age in which it doesn’t seem like the resurrection and the recreation isn’t moving forward, but going back.

Let me throw out some thoughts, and then we’ll unpack the idea of being a gardener and this act of new creation together.

If John 20:11-18 is a true story (and I believe it is) than this is the scene of the new Garden of Eden, one where God and humanity are reconnected, where reconciliation is forever woven back into the fabric of the world. Since Jesus truly is re-embodied, resurrected, then he is the tender, the keeper, the cultivator not just of the garden but of a whole new creation. He is the new Adam for a new community of people who live and act and worship in light of the resurrection. There are many ways this new creation is lived out. In the new creation both men and women announce the good news, that we have returned from exile, that God is present among us, and that the powers and principalities in our society do not have the final say. Like Mary, it doesn’t matter who you are or whether you had a role in the story up to now. This is why we also talk about the new creation in terms of new associations. There is an Easter way of relating to one another that doesn’t spread across families or ethnicities, but allegiance to Jesus and his way. From this point on, Jesus’ disciples become a social force, people who announce peace and who are for all people. They are a resurrection movement, a movement of people living within the reality of the new creation.

Discussion Questions: 1. What thoughts, comments, insights, questions, etc... do you have about the passage or the message? 2. What is the significance of Jesus being confused as the gardener? What is the role of a gardener and how does that tie in ultimately with Jesus, and also then by definition with those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus? 3. What does new creation look like in our world? Share a story or two of examples of new creation/resurrection happening in your life, a life of a friend, or in the world at large. How can we participate in new creation? 4. So how should you and I live as individuals and as a community of faith that seeks to live out resurrection/new creation? Give us some concrete ideas and thoughts.

A Prayer For Today's Church

The other day while I was outside watching my kids playing in this beautiful weather I was re-reading a chapter in a book called "Story, Signs, and Sacred Rhythms" by Chris Folmsbee, which is a Youth Ministry book. I was rereading the chapter for a meeting that I was to have later that night for the Youth Ministry that I work for part time. It was then that I found this amazing prayer that resonated strongly with me when I first read it, but when I read it the other day I was struck again how profound the prayer was but also how applicable to our lives in the midst of planting this missional community in Lancaster.

The prayer was written by Arthur A. Rouner Jr. and is a book called "Someone's Praying Lord." Here is the excerpt for the prayer that Chris Folmsbee highlights.

Dear God, this is Your Church. We don't own it. You own us. You called us to live Your life, to do Your work. to see Your vision and dream Your dream.

If what we've talked about today is not Your will, if it's not Divine but of the Devil- destroy it, Lord, before we take one step. Show us by some sign that it is wrong, all wrong!

But if it's right- God, help us move! Help us move out and claim that future, help us take our stand, and be the church You put us here to be.

Oh, Jesus Christ, who gave Your life away to show Your Church how it might live: Don't let us be afraid of the adventure. Don't let us pale at the thought of giving away more than we ever had before. And don't let us have faint hearts when we are faced with the chance to do something big, something dangerous, something difficult.

May this prayer encourage you, challenge you, convict you, and inspire you, as it has encouraged, challenged, convicted and inspired me.

Elephant in the Room

This coming Sunday our community will be hosting our first ever Elephant in the Room (our take on the idea that our good friends at the Renew Community- http://renewcommunity.org/ and J.R. Briggs- http://www.jrbriggs.com/ hold every so often called Doubt Night) from 5:30-7:30 at the Community Room on Prince and will include FREE Pizza and Drinks. The bulk of the night will be focused on those Elephants in the Room that we all have. You know the doubts, questions, struggles, etc.. we have with our faith, with church, with God, with Christianity, etc... that all too often we hide because "Good Christians don't doubt." But I believe that doubt is an essential component to faith. Many others, including many writers and theologians have written about the role of doubt within faith. Here are but a few of them:

“Doubt is but another element of faith.” (St. Augustine)

“Don’t expect faith to clear things up for you. It is trust, not certainty.” (Flannery O’Connor)

“It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.” (G. K.Chesterton)

“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” (Rene Descartes)

“The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth.” (Pierre Abelard)

I could go on with many other quotes but I think these make the point that faith and doubt aren't on opposite ends of the spectrum, like we so often think, but that doubt can help us into a deeper faith. We don't necessarily want to put the seed of doubt there, but we realize that if we are all honest we all have those elephant in the room questions. This is just our attempt with this event to ask questions together in a safe environment with no preaching, no judging, no pat answers, but sharing our struggles together as a community.

So if you want a place to share your elephant in the room questions and doubts, if you love a good theological discussion (not debate) and/or you need a safe community to help you wrestle with your questions and doubts, then please come out on Sunday night March 4 from 5:30-7:30 PM at the Community Room on Prince (19 North Prince Street, 3rd Floor above Prince Street Cafe in downtown Lancaster) for Elephant in the Room. And please bring your Elephant, we want to have them in the room that night.

Insurrection

Several weeks ago I got an e-mail from Mike Morrell who heads up the SpeakEasy book blogging program. The e-mail was about the latest offering from Peter Rollins called Insurrection and the opportunity to review the book. As one who loves to read books, I jumped at the chance to read Peter Rollins, as I have heard some of his stuff but have never read any of his writings. I got the book and dove right in, but life got crazy around December and January and it took longer for me to finish the book, and even longer to sit down and write this review. One of the reason that it took longer to finish the book (besides the busyness of life) was the fact that I'm really not sure what the ultimate point Rollins was trying to make with this book. I mean I know what the back cover of the book says, "Rollins proclaims that the Christian Faith is not primarily concerned with questions regarding life after death but with the possibility of life before death." but I really struggled seeing that played out in the book itself.

Sometimes as I was reading the book I found myself wondering if Rollins wanted to be "controversial" for "controversies" sake. Take for instance the discussion early on revolving around the idea of atheism and Jesus. A quote from Page 21 bears this out, "What we witness here is a form of atheism, not intellectual- Christ directly addresses God as he dies- but a felt loss of God. In the Gospels according to Matthew, and Mark we read of Christ crying out in agony, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' This is a profoundly personal, painful, and existential atheism. Not an atheism that arises from some rational reflection upon the absence of divinity but rather one that wells up from the trauma of personally experiencing that absence." I looked up the word atheism and found it to mean, "the doctrine or belief that there is no God." So I struggle to put together the definition of atheism with Rollins idea that Jesus, on the cross, was in some way, an atheist, because he experienced the loss of that connection he had with God.

There was some things in the last half of the book that I strongly agreed with, and resonated with, mostly revolving around the idea that to believe in the Resurrection shouldn't just be a existential belief system, but an embodied lived-out reality. Or put differently, in Rollins own words from his blog, "Without equivocation or hesitation I fully and completely admit that I deny the resurrection of Christ. This is something that anyone who knows me could tell you, and I am not afraid to say it publicly, no matter what some people may think…

I deny the resurrection of Christ every time I do not serve at the feet of the oppressed, each day that I turn my back on the poor; I deny the resurrection of Christ when I close my ears to the cries of the downtrodden and lend my support to an unjust and corrupt system.

However there are moments when I affirm that resurrection, few and far between as they are. I affirm it when I stand up for those who are forced to live on their knees, when I speak for those who have had their tongues torn out, when I cry for those who have no more tears left to shed."

Here are some quotes from the book that I resonate strongly with.

"The one who commits themselves to the task of helping people really enter into doubt, unknowing, and ambiguity needs to be ten, twenty, even a hundred times better than those who sell certainty." (I'm not saying it's wrong to have strong beliefs, but I truly believe the church needs to be a safe place to ask questions, to struggle together, and to be open about our doubts and not pretend to have it all figured out)

"In order to participate in the Crucifixion, we must find leaders who openly experience doubt, unknowing, and a deep mystery, leaders who see these as a part of the Christian faith and important in our ongoing development of a healthy and properly Christian spirituality."

"Eternal life is thus fundamentally a transformation in the very way that we exist in the present."

"The incarnation tells us that if we want to be like God, then we must be courageous enough to fully and unreservedly embrace our humanity."

"If we were to cut open the body of Jesus, we would not find two hearts or some unique cellular structure."

"The claim I believe in God is nothing but a lie if it is not manifest in our lives, because one only believes in God insofar as one loves."

"So for the Christian, a new range of answers to the question, Do you believe in God? arises. Answers such as, I aspire to, ask my friends or more importantly, talk to my enemies."

"Resurrection houses a deep violence, an ethical violence. It is not a violence directed against individuals, but rather a violence directed against those systems that would oppress, destroy, and bring death."

I could go on with some more quotes but I want to end with a story that Rollins shares that probably impacted me on a personal level the most as well as share a video of Rollins being interviewed by Rob Bell unpacking some of the themes that would become the catalyst for the book.

"There was once a young man called Caleb who was obsessed with gathering up possessions and gaining status. He was so driven by the desire to succeed that, from an early age, he managed to become one of the most prominent and influential figures in the city. Yet he was not happy with his lot. He worked long hours, rarely saw his children, and often became irritable at the slightest problem. But more than this, he knew that his lifestyle met with his father's disapproval.

His father had himself been a wealthy and influential man in his youth, but he had found such a life shallow and unsatisfactory. As a result, he had turned away from it in an endeavor to embrace a life of simplicity, fellowship, and meditation.

Caleb's father had taught him from an early age about the problems that come from seeking material and political influence, and he warned Caleb in the strongest possible way to embrace a life that delves deeply into the beauty of creation, the warmth of friendship, and the inspiration derived from deep and sustained reflection.

Caleb's father was an inspiring man, well loved by all, and Caleb could see that his father, while living a modest way, was at peace with himself and the world in a manner that his friends and colleagues were not. Because of this, Caleb often looked with longing at his father's lifestyle and frequently detested the path that he had personally chosen. Yet despite this, he was still driven to pursue wealth and power.

It was true that his father was a happy and contented man, but he was also concerned about his son, and on any occasion when they spent time together, he would criticize Caleb for the life he had chosen.

But one day while Caleb's father was reflecting on his son's life, a voice from heaven interrupted him saying, 'Caleb is also my son, and I love him just the way he is.'

Caleb's father began to weep as he realized that all these years he had been hurting his son through his disapproval and criticism. So he immediately visited his son's house and offered a heartfelt apology saying, 'Please never feel taht you have to change what you do or who you are. I love you without limit and condition just as you are.'

After that day, the father began to take an interest in his son's life again, asking questions about what he was doing and how his work was progressing. But increasingly, Caleb found that he was no longer so interested in working the long hours. Soon he started to skip work in order to spend time with his family and began to take less interest in what others thought about him.

Eventually, Caleb gave up his work entirely and followed in his father's footsteps, realizing that it was only after his father had accepted him unconditionally for who he was that he was able to change and become who he always wanted to be."

And here is a link to the interview of Peter Rollins by Rob Bell: Insurrection Video

Widening the Circle: Experiments in Christian Discipleship

A few months ago I attended a book discussion at Lancaster Mennonite High School that revolved around the book "Widening the Circle: Experiments in Christian Discipleship" which was put out by Herald Press and edited by Joanna Shenk. The topic of the book revolving around discipleship and new forms of being church intrigued me and so I took my friend Jeff and we went, even though I am not Mennonite.

A few weeks later I got the chance to receive a copy of the book from Herald Press to review it and blog about it. It didn't take long for me to read it but it has taken me some time to digest it and also have time to write about it.

The first thing that I will say about this book (and it is in jest) is that they didn't widen the circle enough to include other experiments in Christian discipleship from an Anabaptist perspective. I say that in jest because I know Herald Press is a Mennonite Book Publishing House and so I should not be surprised that all the of the experiments mentioned are all from the Mennonite perspective. I would have liked to seen other experiments that are thoroughly Anabaptist but not necessarily Mennonite. Maybe some day someone could compile some stories from communities who are planting new faith communities and are experimenting in Christian Discipleship and are part of the wider Anabaptist movement (Brethren in Christ, Church of the Brethren, Mennonite, etc...)

So being a part of the Church of the Brethren (I couldn't bring myself to call myself Brethren) I was interested to read this book from an "outsiders' perspective. The thing about that "outsider" perspective is that it only lasted a few pages, as I could thoroughly identify my experience in the Church of the Brethren with what I was reading. I realized again that Mennonites and Church of the Brethren are so closely related. The things that were shared, struggled with, embraced, "fought over" and the values that underlined each chapter are the same regardless of being Mennonite or Brethren.

I would have to say that the chapter that has stuck with me the longest and had the most profound impact we me was Chapter 15 called 'ThirdWay Community: From MegaChurch to Mennonite" written by Seth McCoy. The reason that it struck me the most was because the similarity in my journey with the journey that Seth is on (though I have never worked in a Mega Church). Seth was a Youth Pastor, so was I. He began reading "Anabaptist" books from the likes of N.T. Wright, John Howard Yoder, and also Greg Boyd (who he then went to work for at Woodland Hills). I came into Anabaptist thought and theology much the same way, but also had the benefit of being part of a Youth Group and a Community which embodied the values and theology so that it became the air I breathed and I became Anabaptist almost by osmosis.

The quote that resonated the strongest with me and was almost like Seth got into my head and into my thoughts is this quote from Page 178: "Three churches have been planted in our neighborhood in the last year, all using 'seeker sensitive' models. Honestly, I am a bit jealous. After all, it would not be difficult for ThirdWay to do the same thing. But since most of us have experience with rapidly growing churches, we recognize that the Sunday morning service can easily become the main focus. This still leaves folks feeling lonely and making discipleship difficult."

I also loved that Seth got to answer questions like "What has been hard about planting a new faith community?" and "What has been joyful about planting a new faith community?" I loved his answers and his openness and authenticity behind them. We are in much the same place as Veritas, and it helped to know that there are other people planting new faith communities from an anabaptist and missional perspective out there and that we aren't alone in this journey. (So thanks Seth)

The other two chapters that spoke to me the most was Chapter 13 entitled "Letting Go of the American Dream" by Mark Van Steenwyk and also Chapter 16 about the Little Flowers Community written by Jamie Arpin-Ricci. The one quote, which stood out to me and hit me square in face, from Chapter 13 was, "To turn toward God, one must turn from Empire. The Kingdom of God and the American Dream are essentially incompatible." OUCH!!! That is a hard pill to swallow, but I believe it is true.

And the one quote from Chapter 16 that struck me, revolves around the idea that we seek to play out in Veritas, is in relation to the importance of Scripture and Community. "The historical and practical foundations of Anabaptism, where community is the central place to interpret Scripture, have been critical to our continued formation as Little Flowers Community."

The one issue that I struggled with a great deal, not only in this book but also in my dealings within the Church of the Brethren, and also in wider dealings with those in the Anabaptist circle is best summed up by a quote from Chapter 14. In this chapter the author says, "The Mennonite Church taught me to pursue justice." Now at first glance, it looks great. We are definitely supposed to be about justice and making the word a more just place. But when we look deeper, this, to me, is a sad statement. That justice has replaced Jesus as the primary focus of a faith community. If something replaces Jesus, no matter how good, right, and worthy it is, it is still idolatry. If the author would have said, "taught me to pursue Jesus who led me to pursue justice". (which I believe He does) than all is right. But unfortunately justice has, in my opinion, taken the central place where Jesus should be. This issue, I believe, is common not only in the Mennonite Church, but in other Anabapstist communities, as well as the wider Christian community.

Overall, I was appreciative of the chance to read and review "Widening the Circle: Experiments in Christian Discipleship" and want to thank Herald Press for the review copy of the book. It was good to read about new faith communities exploring discipleship from an Anabaptist perspective and it was good to know that we aren't alone in this experiment in Christian Discipleship. (I should also thank Joanna Shenk for the hard work she did in compiling all the stories in the book.)

Lancaster Newspaper article about Denison Witmer Concert

Lately it seems like the things that Veritas has been involved with (whether directly or indirectly) has gotten a good deal of press. Below is an article that was published in the Sunday January 22 edition of the Lancaster Newspaper talking about the upcoming Denison Witmer concert scheduled for Saturday night. Wanted to put it here for people to read. Caught up in the music of life Native singer-songwriter Denison Witmer will play free show in city

Originally Published Jan 22, 2012 00:06 By MICHAEL SCHWARTZ Correspondent

For a guy with a new studio, new record, new label, new North American tour — and a new baby — Denison Witmer has an unabashed, downright sentimental fondness for the old.

On stage, the 35-year-old singer/songwriter still plays a generous helping of songs he wrote when he was 19, and he's outfitted his recording studio with vintage hardware such as a Trident mixing console and reel-to-reel tape machine to lend pristine digital tracks a bit of the warm, analog grit of classic records from Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello.

Witmer's two-month tour will crisscross the United States and Canada starting in early February, but local fans can see him play an intimate warm-up gig for free at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Community Room on Prince, above Prince Street Cafe in downtown Lancaster.

A self-described writer of "straight-out-of-my-journal-type songs," the Lancaster County native is a prolific composer of deeply personal songs that, while uniquely Witmer's, evoke artists such as Leonard Cohen, Neil Young (sans Crazy Horse) and contemporaries Iron & Wine.

Witmer, whom AllMusic once described as "an almost awkwardly honest lyricist," likened his performance approach to "covering my own songs."

"There is no real, definitive version of a song," he said. "What's on the record are just the sounds and harmonies I was interested in at the time."

A common thread runs through all great art, Witmer said, be it music or any other creative endeavor. The artist has to "allow space for individual interpretation."

"It's not my job to say what's true and what's false," he said. "My job is to create a space where something true can reveal itself, and with my music, I'm really on a journey to reveal something to myself."

Witmer's new album, "The Ones Who Wait," comes out March 6. This is his ninth record, but his first release with the Asthmatic Kitty label. Witmer said his process making this record differed from every other project he's done, in that it began as a relatively modest idea, but tragedy, blessings and life's tumult in general morphed it into something much bigger.

"This started as an EP," Witmer said, "but my dad got sick, and I came back to Lancaster. … He passed in February 2010 and I needed time to grieve and regroup, and then I came back into the studio and just kept writing and recording."

Witmer, who lives and records in Brooklyn, N.Y., built his studio in what had been unused warehouse space until a friend stumbled upon it and recognized its potential for recording. It needed a lot of work, though, so Witmer and his fellow musicians would only get out the guitars after a full day's work installing drywall.

During this period, Witmer's wife became pregnant, and their first child was born earlier this month. This all made for a heady two years, Witmer said, and it in turn helped him record his most ambitious project yet.

"There were all these big life events," Witmer said, "and I felt myself being swept into something, rather than the usual going into the studio and just laying something down."

Witmer doesn't claim to have made the greatest record in history, nor does he think that was the point. "Some songs are always going to be better than others, but that doesn't matter," he said. "What's important is to keep going forward and doing things that you find creatively fulfilling."

Denison Witmer will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Community Room on Prince, above Prince Street Cafe, 15 N. Prince St. For more information, visit denisonwitmer.com or asthmatickitty.com/the-ones-who-wait.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/571837_Caught-up-in-the-music-of-life.html#ixzz1kdHDIUAv

Merchandiser article about upcoming Denison Witmer show (with a shout out to Veritas)

Below is a copy of an article that came out in our local free paper called The Merchandiser about our upcoming concert with Denison Witmer. Concert Debut To Feature Denison Witmer

By Dayna M. Reidenouer

“What would our neighborhoods look like if we were more intentional with our relationships with our neighbors?”

That is the challenge put forth by the collective of friends, organizations, and artisans who formed the community initiative, “#iheartlancity.” (The “pound sign” is also called a hashtag; it is used by the interactive Internet site, Twitter, to group comments by topic.) The association is dedicated to drawing people together to form connections, share resources, and prepare for hard times, said founder and spokesman Jeff McClain.

As its debut event, #iheartlancity will host a free, intimate concert with international performer Lancaster native Denison Witmer on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room on Prince, located on the third floor above Prince Street Café, 19 N. Prince St., Lancaster. The doors will open at 6:45 p.m. Singer-songwriter Matt Wheeler of Mount Joy will also perform. He will be accompanied by a violinist and a cellist.

“Matt Wheeler is a great local performer, (with) unique songwriting (abilities), and (he is) witty on stage,” McClain explained. “He and Ryan Braught (of Veritas Church) are part of the planners, dreamers, and visionaries (who first thought) of doing concerts together in this space and inspiring ways to reach out to our city neighbors.”

Hosting a concert featuring Witmer has been a long-standing dream of McClain’s. Witmer’s music could be classified as “neo-folk,” a style McClain says is perfect for the venue.

Witmer grew up in Lancaster County and graduated from Lancaster Mennonite High School. According to Witmer’s publicist, he has been recording and performing for almost a decade since being discovered by Don Peris, producer and guitarist for Innocence Mission. Although Witmer, his wife, and their newborn son live in Philadelphia, he still retains ties to the county; his mother and one of his three brothers still reside in the area. His father’s death in 2008 is much of the subject matter of Witmer’s new album, “The Ones Who Wait,” which will be released in February on Asthmatic Kitty Records.

“I love Lancaster,” Witmer commented. “I've always been excited about the creative arts scene in Lancaster, and I enjoy being able to dive back into it from time to time.”

While not overt, Witmer’s Mennonite roots have had an impact on his songwriting.

“Growing up Mennonite, I grew up with a lot of beautiful hymn-singing. I don't specifically write hymns, but I think the sacred space that (hymns) create is something I've always strived to re-create in my own songs,” Witmer explained. “I like things with a sense of awe, mystery, and simplistic depth... For me, the most complex things are easier to reach through the simplest of measures.”

At the concert, Witmer plans to perform a variety of songs from all of his albums, but he will likely focus on a few of his newest songs. He will also take requests from fans.

There is no charge to attend the concert, but donations toward the production costs will be accepted.

“It's a free show because music is something that brings people together, and offering high-quality live music free of charge breaks down any monetary barriers and gives the audience a chance to share a powerful moment together,” Wheeler explained.

For more information about the concert, readers may visit www.iheartlancity.com. The artists’ websites may be accessed at www.denisonwitmer.com and www.sonicbids.com/mattwheeler.

Millersville Advertiser - 01/18/2012

Willow Street Advertiser - 01/18/2012

Hempfield-Mountville Merchandiser - 01/18/2012

Manheim Township Merchandiser - 01/18/2012