Wolfgang Simson Starfish Videos

Here are the videos we have been showing on Sundays. Of course, the book is a free download here (wiki-version here), as is the earlier classic, "Houses That Change The World." We love St. Wolf:

Thurs night commissioning service

Meet some of the great folks we commissioned into Grace Covenant Ministry the other day in Kansas City:

-Curtis and Ruthanne Dunning/Fresh Fire Church, St. Joseph, MO (2 hour mark)
-Billy and Kim Gazaway (and family), Resurrection Life Church, St. Joseph, MO (2:01 mark)
-Aaron and Joella Grossoehome, Associate, Resurrection Life (1:53:11 mark)
(note time references run backwards, not forwards)


...all followed by a wonderful message by Kevin Clancey (more info on Kev, see facebook.com/RevKevRocks)

Watch live streaming video from gracecovenant at livestream.com

Live Videocast of Grace Covenant meetings, Kansas City

You won't be able to watch the food fights during meals and the all-nighters at Denny's...
But...how amazing is this ...you will be able to watch many of our sessions of our Grace Covenant family reunion/Ministry Conference from Kansas City next week
right here on this handy little screen below (or at this website)!

IF the session I am leading is broadcast, I might just give a shout-out to all of you...by name! (:

Some of you who are not able to go have a theory about what we do every year: we have toga raves or American Idol auditions in Hawaii.
Well, as this live video stream will prove, we are now able to fake a broadcast that makes it look like we are not! Schedule is below, and more info here, all times Central Standard (2 hours later than Calif).

Watch live streaming video from gracecovenant at livestream.com

Grace Covenant Ministry Conference 2010
February 2-5
“Greater Measures of Faith”
(Event Location: Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel-Kansas City, MO)

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Monday, February 1
7:00 pm Conference Praise Band Practice (Led by Spiesses and Tuggles)

Tuesday, February 2
10am-12:30pm Executive Board *Board Room (lobby level)
12:30-2:30 Lunch Break
2:00-4:30 Board of Ministry *Board Room
6:45-7:05 Pre-service Prayer *Board Room
7:15 Praise and Preaching: “Filling a Faith Vacancy” by Dallas Elder

Wednesday, February 3
9:30-10:30am Praise and Prayer Season: Shawn and Maryann Spiess/Dallas Elder
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00pm Teaching: “Faith to the Fullness of Favor” by Dallas Elder
12:00-2:00 Lunch Break
VisionVestors Fellowship Lunch
2:00-4:00 Inspiration and Equipping-Ballroom
(2:00-2:55) *Intercessors: “Gap Faith” Dave Wainscott/Nancy Boyd
(3:05-4:00) *Vision and Faithfulness: “The Power of a Made-up Mind” Steve Youngblood
2:00-4:00 VisionVestors Forum -Tiffany Room
Young Adult Ministry Connection -Hotel Restaurant

4:00-5:00 Board of Ministry- Board Room
6:15-8:00 GC Banquet Dinner-Golden Corral
*Meet in hotel lobby-Caravan leaves hotel at 6pm sharp
9:00-10:30 “Worship Out Loud” (Young Adult led) *Ballroom

Thursday, February 4
9:30-10:30am Praise/Devotion: Message-Raquens Turenne-Haiti
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00pm Affirmation of Leadership, GC Vision & Ministry 2009
12:00-2:00 Lunch Break
Missionary Fellowship Lunch
2:00-4:00 Missions Highlights Ballroom
2:00-4:30 Board of Ministry Board Room
4:00-6:30 Young Adult Fellowship Connection
5:00-6:30 Supper break
6:45-7:05 Pre-service Prayer *Board Room
7:15 Praise, Commissioning and Preaching: “Faith Launch” by Kevin Clancey

Friday, February 5
9:30-10:30am Praise/Devotion/Communion: Message and Serving-Nancy and Bert Boyd
10:30-11:30 Closing Remarks and Prayers of Blessings


Note: There will be an Infant Nursery (0-5 years) for morning, afternoon and evening sessions.

urgent prayer for pastor of our sister church in Haiti

This just in below.
Pray and watch for updates at this link.

Pastor Raquens called me a few minutes ago with this message: Today Pastor Oseme of Haiti went into Port Au Prince to meet with the American Consulate. While he was there he was kidnapped. He is now being held for ransom. Unless $1500 US is paid in ransom by tomorrow, Pastor Oseme will be killed. It would appear that the logic here is that being Pastor Oseme went to the American Consulate that he has contacts in the US who would pay. Otherwise, Haitians would not kidnap another Haitian. Pastor Raquens and I agreed that right now we need to bath the situation in prayer and pray for his release. Remember Peter was released from prison by the power of prayer. If the Lord shows us something else to do we will do it. But for now we need to generate as much prayer toward pastor Oseme, his captors and his family as possible. We will give updates as we get them. Please seriously pray and get the word out to other intercessors at this hour.

Blessings.
Dallas

SOME OF OUR HAITI TEAM:
The staff at St. Marc's school from left to right: Associate Pastor Jean, Professor Onel, Madame Dina Oseme, Professor Samuel, unknown professor, and Pastor Desir Oseme.

steering cats is evil...Len Sweet and Reggie McNeal quotes on planning

"It could be you're spending too much time planning and not enough time preparing. The planning mode leads to dissonance. The modulation mode leads to consonance....There is no evidence that 'planning' leads to a brighter tomorrow. Never has. Never will. Ask any gardener... Modulation means replacing 'plans' with metaphors and songlines of preparedness. Modulation means replacing a philosophy of 'results:' (production, sales, cash flow, net profit, membership gains...) with a philosophy of "resonance 'where power and success reside not in rank or position but in relation and being.. What organism plans its life? What person can plan his or her future? Can you plan your love? Life is false to formula.. In our world, planning is worse than a mistake-it's an evil.. Ever try to steer a cat or a puppy? No one steers a living thing, it moves forward one step at a time. No living enterprise moves forward by 'planning'.. When you come to a pothole, you don't need a srategic plan to get by. You improvise. After a brief pause, you ad lib your zig zags until you regain your bearings."

-Leonard Sweet , Summoned to Lead 76-77




"New Reality Number Five is the shift from planning to preparation.. Much of what has ultimate effect on the church happens outside it it and its control...Typical approaches to the future involve prediction and planning. This works OK in a world that experiences significant continuity. It doesn' t work in the current environment. Planning tends to be incremental, pushing what we currently are doing into a world that we imagine wil be the same as today. Incrementalism as an anticipatory strategy is dead,, The Bible sounds a recurrring theme : Go0d wants his people to pray and prepare for his intervention ...It is God who declares 'I know the plans I have for you ', in Jer 29.11. He does not say 'I am waiting for you to develop plans I can bless." I am not against planning. I am just suggesting,.the North American church has settled for (its imaginations, plans and dreams).. The future belongs to those who prepare for it, not plan for it. If the North American church is going to make the leap off the sigmoid curve and avoid the sure death guaranteed by incrementalism, it will have to shift its beginning point from present to future"

. -Reggie McNeal, The Present Future, 92ff
http://www.nextreformation.com/html/general/present.htm

Adopt a Jesus...in Fresno

Don't miss the free film screening, the Fresno premiere of "Adopt a Jesus," including conversation with its maker/ producer, Brandt Russo.
Free! Hosted at Fresno Pacific University
Fri Jan 17, 7pm, Ashley Auditorium
PDF MAP

Here's an audio interview about the film (and the story behind it) with Brandt Russo himself that our man Ken Adams himself just did:

Subscribe Free
Add to my Page

PART 2 OF INTERVIEW HERE

The film?:
"For 14 days, we travelled in a bus that ran on used cooking oil. We picked up hitchikers and listened to the stories of the homeless, and those who devote their time to caring about them. We survived on the street skills that Brandt Russo acquired from the time he spent on the streets of Houston and hitchhiking throughout the US...
This is our story "

DVDs will be for sale at the event for $15..
Faceboook page for this event

Watch the trailer here( "I just spoke with the associate pastor, and y'all will have to move on"):

• Film website
• MySpace
• Brandt's website

Tom and Brenda: They be sober...even at the bar

Who says there's nothing good on TV?

Our own Sts. Tom and Brenda McCann are featured in this KMPH Channel 26 feature story on
"We Be Sober." They just happened to be at a company party at the Elbow Room Bar...not a place they usually hang out!

(Though I have video of Tom hanging at an even more shameful place here..see this secret video, skip to 6:50, click here!! Shhh!)

Watch the Channel 26 video of Tom and Brenda here.
They show up around 1:20. Tom has a killer smile, but they only used the interview with Brenda (:

Story here:

$30 Ride Home can Save you Thousands in DUI Fines

Honored

Wow Thanks Dave! I truly feel honored to possibly contribute to your blog.

My thoughts today are still on the miracles I saw last Friday night. I was invited by my nieces to their discipleship conference. Its called "The Threat". I sat next to my nieces friend and for some reason I was unable to speak the whole night to her. This is really weird since as you know I usually have something to say. Well apparently God did not want me to speak at that moment. This 15 year old girl needed to watch these teenagers as they spoke on what the world has to offer and what Jesus can do for your life. You see she was not a christian. Well at the end of the night she went up for prayer from my niece Danny who is also 15, and accepted the Lord. After that I had lots to say to her. It's was just a great reminder that you really must pay attention to that still small voice. If I had spoken before I was supposed to I may have intimidated this young girl. She would not have been able to hear and see the message that The Lord had for her. By watching my nieces she was able to see that other young people are willing to stand up for what they believe. Wow!!! So today I am just remembering that and how much I hope to always hear that still small voice and keep my mouth shut. By the way I am super proud of my nieces too. They are 18, 17, and 15 years old and what diciples they are. Thanks again Dave.

"...I believe in the Israelite"

Here is the U2 Christmas song we talked about today. This song is on a special Christmas album you can get for spending 15 clams @ St. Arbuck's..Starbucks donates a buck to the Global fund for each CD they give away.
Here below is a post pasted in from my blog about the song when it first came out last year:
-----------------------------------

With the delay of a promising new album until February (hopefully),
U2 fans were of course thrilled to hear that the boys had recorded a special song for release today (World AIDS day) with the launch of RED Wire Music

(video ab0ut the launch below):



But even I was taken aback at what it was.

First, U2 is not (with a few amazing exceptions) at their best at cover songs.
It is a cover of Greg Lake's (ELP) 1975 "I Believe in Father Christmas."

It was actually basically a new song for me.

The vibe of U2's version is great (Edge's chime etc), it's basically a prayer(like all songs they write or beg/borrow/steal/steal back) and hey, the lyrics even mention the Virgin Birth and heaven and hell...

and Bono's third favorite word (hallelujah) ...(:

Though it usually seen as an "anti-commercialism of Christmas song":

"I find it appalling when people say it's politically incorrect to talk about Christmas, you've got to talk about 'The Holiday Season.' Christmas was a time of family warmth and love. There was a feeling of forgiveness, acceptance. And I do believe in Father Christmas." -Lake

"People say it's antireligious...when in reality it was really objecting to the commerciality of Christmas.. it's about the joy of giving" -Lake, audio here

There is some debate over how much for (or against) Christ the original lyric it is. Many see it as disillusioned atheist's profession of hope without Christ. Some even see it as a Lake's way of confessing conversion to Christ:

"They sold me a dream of Christmas,
They sold me a silent night,
They told me a fairy story,
Till I believed in the Israelite."

Could it be that Bono has (in a similar "theological correction" sense as he did with "People Get Ready" see 10/6/05 post here) changed the original "till i believed in the Israelite" (the narrator is talked into believing) to "But I believed". Which changes...everything. No longer is the narrator lamenting being sold a bill of goods about Christmas/Christ, but celebrating belief in Christ in spite of the religious way "they" manipulated him into "believing."

LATER NOTE: As always, I should've checked Beth's blog first. I just found her post on facebook:

Beth is delighted at U2's completely reworking the theology of ELP's "Father Christmas" for their cover of it today, by only changing, wait for it.... *two words*.

ok ok it's been pointed out to me that a switch from past to present tense should count as a word. THREE words.

Oh, now I hear the other lyric tweak, Bono says "I believe," dropping the d, and the doubt.

...DELIGHTED, indeed! Thanks, Beth! She found more:

I had to smile in admiration at the very minor but very thoughtful lyric changes that turn Lake's text into something not just potentially, but authentically, U2ey. Did you catch them? "They sold me a Merry Christmas, they sold me a Silent Night, they sold me a fairy story..." is transmuted into something more like Popmart's "I wanted to meet God but they sold me religion" by one little shift: no longer did "they" keep selling "till I believed in the Israelite"; no, they can try to sell such holiday fantasies all they want "but I believe in the Israelite."

And the end of the original second verse, one assumes the implication is that the once-hopeful little boy awakes, exhausted and bleary-eyed, to witness his father dressed as Santa and realize the whole thing's a shuck ("I awoke with a yawn in the first light of dawn and saw him -- and through his disguise.") But U2 create a whole different feel by taking out that one little "and," so that the narrator now says that he watched in hope, woke at dawn, and "I saw him through his disguise." Another idea that we've heard many times before from this band.
Beth Maynard

Regrading the subtle, sneaky, subversive "through his disguise" change, catch Bono's subtle "holy smirk" as he is about to convert that line; he knows exactly what he's doing!

So...watch the official version already, by clicking below; buy the song to support a good cause:

Click to watch

Inevitably, it's also on YouTube:

As is Lake's 1975 video, filmed in Israel:


..and his 1994 version:

ELP (and not just P) finally recorded the song as a group.

Here below Greg Lake and his co-writer are interviewed about the song.."it's about the sadness of a child discovering things aren't all they're cracked up to be..." Lake even talks about uh, hiring a stripper for the song:

As the song says:
"The Christmas we get, we deserve."

I dare to believe, though Bono didn't change that last line, in the U2 version, he didn't have to. It now means something completely different. It's not only the prophetic punchline now, it's a theology of grace....again.

Some wonder (see ELP review here) by his later lyrics and interviews if Lake even became a Christian

Holy Hamburgers, Batman

Eating a hamburger within view of the Temple Mount captures for me the sacredness of all of life. Munching on fries while within earshot of worshippers at the most sacred and contested real estate on


the planet..

Is that sacrilegious?

Hanging out and laughing with my son and Charlida ( far right, photo at top); it felt like we were just as much in God's presence and "at worship" as the
Muslims at the mosque;
Jews and Christians at the wall...

as we ate. It was what Wolfgang Simson calls a church "meating." Holy Church.

"Church buildings ARE sacred," Mark Driscoll says,

"....like everything else."

There is no secular...or spoon.
Or secular spoon, for that matter.
Or secular food to spoon...

Don't stone me, I am just paraphrasing Tozer:

Everything depends upon the state of our interior lives and our heart's
relation to God. The man that walks with God will see and know that for him
there is no strict line separating the sacred from the secular. ..The Apostle
Paul teaches that every simple act of our lives may be sacramental. "Whether
therefore ye eat...."

Eugene Peterson:

"It is common among people like us to look for ways to free ourselves from
the humdrum, escape as often as possible into ecstasy, devise ways to live
separated from the clamor of traffic and family, associate as far as possible
only with people of like mind, and engage in disciplines and ways of dress and
speech that set us apart from 'the others.' Scripture says:

Forget it."

("Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places", (p. 86)

Madeleine L’Engle:

"There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred; that is one of
the deepest messages of the Incarnation."

And Jesus:

• It's not about real estate, but our real ESTATE, he told a Samaritan outcast(e).
• Mountains are matter; and don't matter. It's about spirit and truth.
• Mountains maintain. Life is missional.
  
• The counterfeit of worship in "spirit and truth" is inevitably "place and fact."
• We are gnot gnostic.
• Duel dualism.
• If catholic can have nuts for communion, why can't we?
  
• Hellenism can get hellish.
• church is people, not place
• There is good reason there is no word for "spiritual" in Hebrew.

By the way, since Rabbi Adam wants to know..and because it's a great spot,
the restaurant is The Quarter Cafe.. Check it out.

Also, someone has suggested that laughing when someone farts can be heartfelt worship...

(that did happen on the last Israel trip, but I won't mention any names...)

Every place I have set foot is holy ground.

The Temple Mount included.
The toilet included.

Even church buildings might count.

St. Jamie, in an amazing blog post found here, even found Jesus in the most "unlikely of places":

church.

!!

For another take on eating hamburgers in Israel, see this.

The Porpoise-Driven Life

Dark Irish Gaithers Worshipping on Crack..something like that

Duhb is a worship band (uh, something like that..)
that comes out of ikon, the church (uh, something like that..)
that Peter Rollins is pastor (uh, something like that..) of.

• Audio of their "fractured, broken, and beautiful"
• An '05 interview with one of their members
• Jonny Baker's review

Warning: this ain't the Gaithers (or Gaithers on crack, though it may sound like it)..and it isn't that other worship band from Ireland who have also used the "dubh" word..

PS..that word...of course..means 'dark'. Sounds like church and God to me:

Let's start with this 'darkness' thing - not the rock band, but the title and vibe of the CD. Was there a concious effort to create something different to the usual christian happy worship music?

Dubh pronounced Duv is Irish for Black (and not dark as the sleeve note states). But the title is intentional. like the cloud of unknowing, sometimes what we experience is the absence or darkness of God, certainly the inexplicable and unreasonable.

Re mood/vibe :It wasn`t a question of trying to be different, to be alternative to something other than happy tunes . Rather, the CD is a flawed attempt at trying to capture the spirit of an Ikon service: full of questions, fragmented, fragile. And contemplative. Still passionate but also incomplete. Its also important to note that our ikon services are all held in a dingy pub, with the bar open to all. Its hard to see in there sometimes !

link

Dessert with 2 Humble Christians

Join us for an informal, dessert-provided evening with two humble Christians....Christian Humble (real name) and wife Brittany..
This wonderful young couple will be joining us to share about their call to Dominican Republic. Come be inspired, learn how to help, pray for them and have them pray for you. Imagine being called to the mission field is times like these..but that call is a version of what most of you are going through is this season of shift..

We have know the Humbles for several years..Christian was raised up in our sister church in Oakdale, then took a leap of faith and moved to Kansas City to another sister church to intern.
Brittany has already lived in the DR, as her parents Rick and Carie (many of you know them...and some of you have been there, as Sonya and I have) are our missionaries there..

Don't miss this night..if you do, you'll have to keep hearing, "Man, you sure missed a great night."

More on the amazing work in Dominican here


Location:

539 W. Celeste,
Fresno, CA, USA Earth
just se of Palm/Bulllard, turn E on Morriss by the 7-11, R on Winchester, R on Celeste, 3rd house on left

559.436.1794

Map



Christian's Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=541695797&ref=ts

David Letterman and Sammy Davis Jr. Came to Our Church Today

Yes, we showed these two clips at the gathering today.
What dis these have to do w/anything? Maybe you had to be there
(something to do with Africa, and temple tantrums @Christmastime, isn't that obvious?
If you really wanna know, leave a comment below for scottispottis, he takes the best notes)
...........................but you should enjoy.
If it makes you feel better, we also showed this and this. (:

David Letterman works the McDonalds drive-thru.
Note: he did Taco Bell here


Archie Bunker meets Sammy Davis, Jr.:

Chris Seay on Advent Conspiracy in Liberia:

Chris Seay on Advent Conspiracy in Liberia

One Community's Upside Down Christmas Tree

More

"only in America does that happen, " Martin Smith told us

Keltic Ken (hey, why is Ken not signed up as a contributor to this blog yet?!) and I were able to interview Martin Smith of Delirious..

Click the word "posts" on the podcast box below, then click "Dave/Delirious"..

Several relevant issues to this blog, in order of appearance in the interview:

-Car crashes and discernment
-becoming missional
-the natural end of the band
-Compassion Art
-"You don't have to believe to belong"
-"Where do the record stores file you guys?"
-Getting cult-followers into Christian bookstores

Killer quote:
"That seems to be only in America that they want to do that."

My only argument with Martin is when he
Subscribe Free for future posts Add this player to my Page

says, "I'm a poet, not a church leader."

Poets ARE church leaders.
In fact, see this.

More on Delirious:

"What I learned about God/church through Delirious lyrics"

Car Crashes make the Church Delirious

"Is there such a thing as Christian music?"

"Our song 'It's OK' caused controversy because of the word 'hell' in the lyric, and has been pulled from several Christian stores in the U.S., despite the fact it has touched many people profoundly. For us boys, this is a case of 'let's keep anything impure away from the church' when, in my opinion, purity is all about bringing justice to a God-less society.." -Martin Smith of Delirious
context: an article on Delirious lyrics that God has used

interview with Beth Maynard of U2 Sermons

KKeltic Ken and I interviewed
Beth Maynard
for KRDU about the U2 faith connection.
Full of good stuff, of course.. like the quote "a recipe for distance."


Subscribe Free
Add to my Page

And what does all this say about God?

So, I'm joined to Fresno in Spirit. If there were ever a group of people in which I felt understood, though miles away, it's gotta be Fresno.

A strange thing this is (I know, I sound like Yoda). But in all seriousness, it is strange. That people so far away would feel like home.

Yet, God seems to operate through oddities (at least in my life).

***************************

I believe that God's calling is inherent to every individual and as the "individuals" that we are, some of us are conventional, Sunday church-goers in suits who'd rather not partake of a cup of wine or a cold beer. And it's ok. God sees the heart. Perhaps I may not be able to relate to my suited, non-wine/beer drinking brother in Christ on many levels, maybe I'll feel judged by him or awkward in his presence, but, on a core level, we are part of the same family. We share the same spiritual DNA.

Others (like me and like many of the folk in Fresno) are odd (yes you know you are... and that's why I love you guys), we lead unconventional lives... or not... but the way we view our relationship with God differs from mainstream Christianity.

And that's the beauty of it, that no matter how many times I've walked the streets of my very southern city, thinking that I really don't fit into mainstream Christianity and/or mainstream society and/or life in general... or that the four churches over here really aren't my cup of tea... which sometimes saddens me (couldn't I have been more normal and have felt content in a "normal" church, for Pete's sake?), the truth is that God DOES NOT make mistakes.

Jeremiah 1:5
New International Version (©1984)
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

I'm not a mistake. The way I view life, the nuances that make me, "me"... My hurts, my hopes and dreams, my fears, my questions, my love, my smiles, my songs... these are not mistakes.

Some of us are anti-system, some have a deep questioning of institutions, some of us may feel a bit rebellious, a bit of an outsider (I know I do) some of us walk around a bit blindly, knowing that we love God and Jesus, but hey, that's about all we know.

And it's ok.

Not all of us are called to be spiritual giants or mountains of wisdom. Through our small efforts, through the muck we think we are spiritually, God is operating. Little by little. But rest assured that life and a path given to him (even if we take it back every week or so) will be guided by... him.

Psalm 37:5

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

****************************

In God's kingdom, there is something for everyone.

My two years in this city have been marked by periods of extreme loneliness, a mistake or two (which God kindly saved me from, it could have been a lot worse) and a bunch of surprises.

For instance, many of God's blessings came from unexpected people. Mostly gay. I really don't have Christian friends in this city. I tried. I really did. But the only friends that came my way were gay. One was my roommate, whom I met the first day I came here. A lovely man who (though not prone to physical demonstrations of kindness, he says so himself) hugs me, kisses my cheek and just plain shares the love. The other was a colleague who just waltzed into my life and decided I was worth loving with all his heart. These gay friends dote on me, accept me, help me out financially (they furnished my apartment when I had no money to do so). And Christmases and all major holidays are spent with them. They have become family. Did I look for them? No... Was I a horrible sinner that went astray and thus met them... Ummm... nope. Quite the opposite, I was looking for God's deliverance with all my heart back then.

And the support I looked for at church, but did not find, I found in them.

Isn't God odd like that? Or is he "normal" like that?

And how about my "church", the ones I consider MY church? You guys are all in Fresno.

And what does all this say about God?

That God works in mysterious ways? The cliche is true. We may really never know what he's up to in our lives. We may not understand his times, we may be surprised at those he chooses to bless us. All we can really do is keep living, keep praying, commit our path to God, hold on to the faith, not lose hope, help someone out there with time, money, prayers (so much of it is about others, isn't it?) and enjoy and give thanks for the wine (or beer) we have every once in a while with the neighbors.

Love you Guys. Don't forget to drop a prayer or two my way. ;)

******************

Romans.

8:26 - [In Context] Also, the Spirit F68 helps us. We are very weak, but the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We don't know how to pray like we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us. The Spirit begs God for us. The Spirit speaks to God with deep feelings that words cannot explain.

8:27 - [In Context] God can see what is in people's hearts. And God knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit speaks to God for his people in the way that God wants.

8:28 - [In Context] We know that in everything God works for the good of those people that love him. These are the people God called (chose), because that was his plan.

"most guys do" : pregnant dancing with the Trinity

We had a great time today, this first Sunday in Advent...I spoke on, as I do every year, what Jack Hayford calls "The Mary Miracle." It's always a
highlight of the year for me.

We

• bounced on Rob Bell's trampoline,
• kicked off the Advent Conspiracy,
• prayed to U2's "Yahweh,"
• partook of some deep sharing,
• read from St Henri's journal,
• did some Trinitarian dancing..

..and all became pregnant.

.......well you had to be there.
(if you were, post thoughts in the comments section below).
Or see this post from a couple years ago:

Mary Rocks!

Every year, about this time, I love preaching on Mary...(and I am a Protestant!..(:

...or am I? Maybe I used to be!..I'm not Roman Catholic, but how important are categories like Protest-ant any more? And what am I/are we now, anyway: emerging, misisonal, ?? Post-Protestant...pre-Christian...whatever!) It began years ago with Jack Hayford's little book "The Mary Miracle" (reisssued as The Christmas Miracle, no doubt because someone feared the title sounded too 'Catholic'!!)).

In Paraguay in 1998, I risked preaching a sermon (and I did..photo evidence right here) in Spanish about how we are all to become spiritually "pregnant" like Mary... (Just imagine how that might have come across..."Come to the altar and get pregnant"..!)

Can't wait to hear how I preach it this year(: ...

especially in light of the Nativity movie, and the Scot McKnight book..)

It is tempting to preach something like this..

The point?

"Mary is, to that extent, the supreme example of what always happens when God is at work by grace through human beings. God's power from outside, and the indwelling Spirit within, together result in things being done which would have been unthinkable any other way."
-NT Wright, Luke for Everyone , p. 11.

Come to the altar and get pregnant.

This year, several wanted to follow up with the resources on the Trinity, as we noted how Mary got caught up in the perichoresis: the dance of the Trinity (see this) when Gabe announced her pregnancy in Luke .

So here you go..

Here is the Rob Bell clip:

Here are the books referenced, in order from most scholarly to down-home:

• "The Trinity and the Kingdom" by Jurgen Moltmann (much of it readable here)
  
• "Flame of Love" by Clark Pinnock, chapter 1, "Spirit and Trinity" (read page 21ff here)
  
• "Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Nature of Christian Service" by Stephen Seamands (read most of it here)
  
• "Delighting in the Trinity: Just why are Father, Son and Spirit such good news?" by Tim Chester (he's part of the Crowded House church planting movement in England)
  

You might start with the third volume, I know no theologian more practical and pastoral..one dedicated to living out theology in praxis in community, family and world... than Steve Seamands. The book is hugely helpful in applying the most "theological" and apparently "unpractical" doctrines of all to life and ministry.

How does the doctrine and reality of the Trinity impact everything we say/do/pray/decide?

"The Trinity is the language in which Christian truth is spoken. It gives shape to the truth. The Trinity is not peripheral, let alone optional. It is the marvelous, wonderful heart of our faith." [Chester, p. 17]

Here are several posts from my blog on the topic of Trinity, including

"Trinity as model for church...and computers"

and

"The Trinitarian Nature of Leadership," by Len Hjalmarson


-------------

Trinity: My name's Trinity.
Neo: *The* Trinity? Who cracked the IRS d-base?
Trinity: That was a long time ago.
Neo: Jesus...
Trinity: What?
Neo: I just thought... you were a guy.
Trinity: Most guys do.


"Organic church life is not native to this planet.
It began before time in the Godhead."
-Frank Viola 2/4/09

News from Peru

Here below are the latest newsletter and plans from Ken and Cathie Metz in Peru.
Just click (or right click) on each page to enlarge, read and rejoice.

(If you have not seen the movies of our previous trips down there, click
this for 2004, and this for 2005.. But a warning, you are basically signing up to go with us next time if you do.)

Note: a helpful summary, with new pics, is here in the Grace Covenant newsletter..
--

Below: Sept 2009 newsletter

Below that: 2008-2009 report, and plans for the future

CLICK ANY PAGE TO ENLARGE AND READ:

Meet St. Shelley of the Pink Cross, former porn star and new friend of ours

Here's a TV feature on Shelley, a former porn star whom we will meet and bless soon..
thanks to Keltic Ken, whose audio interview with her is here.

Dogs Home Alone

May or may not be true, when the video says,
"These people were always finding water all over their pool deck and furniture, every time they came home, after being away for a few hours. They thought the neighborhood kids were watching for them to leave, and using the pool. However, they could never catch them doing it. So they set up their video cam and watched the pool area. This is what they recorded....
v"
More likely:

Transparency Blessings

Well, I for one have been blessed the last few Sundays when different friends and family at Third Day have shared their recent struggles, missteps, challenges. I think that God opens up so much more healing when we share. We can know how to pray for each other more effectively.

Wow, there is plenty to pray for these days!

I suppose some might think that I don't share much. I know one brother poured his heart out awhile back, and then wondered why I didn't do the same. I don't have any great answer for that, except that I often think that many of my day-to-day experiences and minor struggles do not seem like a "big deal" to me. That may not be accurate, it's just how I feel. I don't want to rob my friends by not sharing enough, though. The truth is that much of the time I feel very blessed and thankful (i.e. not in crisis mode).

One of the things that trips me up is talking in a judgmental or disparaging way about others. I probably behave better at 3D than I do elsewhere, so maybe you haven't picked up on it. Deep down, I want to build people up rather than tear them down. So if you think I've stepped over the line, please keep me accountable, and pray that God would anoint my lips for encouragement. That's my full disclosure for the week.

And thank God that we trust each other enough to be real.

Watch this: no bouncers @this church

Who let these nuts in from 25-37 seconds? Scary...no bouncers at this church?