Just some random thoughts on church. Enjoy.

· The church will be a place of refuge for the lost. This includes those lost spiritually, emotionally, financially, etc.
· The church will be a place of connection.
· The church will be a center of worship of God for being God.
· We will revel in God's grace as we practice dispensing his grace to our community.
· We will be known for our service, sacrifice, study, and solidarity.
· Leaders will be given opportunities and mentors.
· Everyone from all walks of life will be included. Love will resound in our midst. It will shine from our hearts, heads, and hands.
· We will be a place for the outcasts. We will include special needs people as they are God's creation.
· Truth will be met by grace. We will not dilute the word in hopes of gaining ground with people.
· We will be simple. We will do the necessities and do them well. We will not be bogged down by extra weight.
· We will have an understood what and how of church.
· We will be a house of prayer and yearning for God to do great works. This will be done in an expectant manner. God does not need us but uses us.
· We will be a church that is connected with fellow churches. We are not alone in the battle and therefore must unite with the universal body.
· We will not only focus on our local church but will think globally. Therefore, missions will be a must and practiced through monetary donations and actual trips.
· Our people will know the truth of the Bible and will have it practiced. They will feel uncomfortable if they do not embrace the truth and life of Christ.
· Our people will know the reality of the universal church. We will not live and worship in a bubble but will see and feel the hearts of our brothers and sisters.
· We will tackle social problems.
· We will tackle social and cultural attacks on Christianity.
· We will systematically analyze every facet of the ministry to ensure quality and efficiency.
· Leaders will be sought out based on their willingness and acceptance of the ministry philosophies, not on being all-stars. This will ensure fluidity rather than personal agendas being followed.
· We will be a historically aware church with details of liturgical worship in a contemporary setting. We will look to our faithful ancestors for guidance and wisdom.
· We will practice the spiritual disciplines necessary for growth, both ancient and current.

Ever wonder why your church might not be running as smoothly and efficiently as Jesus would like it to? Well look no further. Read Simple Church. It is a great book for those already entrenched in an established church or for those looking to start something new.

http://www.alittleleaven.com/2008/07/false-christ-in.html

Click the link above for some crazy stuff about a guy claiming to be Christ in Siberia.

Homophobic

I am currently reading unChristian, which is a social commentary of Christians by non-Christians. Oddly enough, the majority of people do not think that Christians are very Christ-like. I have peeked into this book for quite some time now and finally purchased it a few weeks ago. The funny thing is that as I have been reading it I have not really found any information that I didn't already know. Not that I am a sociologist or anything, but most of the common assumptions and attitudes proposed in the book are pretty dead on. Christians have an image problem that is mostly caused by our own doing. And one of these is homophobic.
So the other night Mel and I are driving home from somewhere and I see this rainbow striped VW Bug. Plastered on the side of it is "FAGBUG.com." At first I couldn't believe that someone would have this on their car, so ofcourse I have to check out the website. Interestingly, it is a woman who had a rainbow sticker on her car and as a result, someone spray painted "fag" and "you are gay" on the side of her car. From there she decided to keep the words on her car and travel the US in order to raise awareness for homosexual rights and the like. Along the way she has encountered many trials and much support but it made me wonder why is she in my little town of Phoenix? Do I want that going on here? As a Christian, and one in seminary, do I think that she should be driving around with FAGBUG on her car? What if children see that?
I guess I simply wonder how Christians, and ones looking out for sinners who need Christ, might address such situations. I know I am to love but to what degree? How can I show support for the homosexual agenda and still hate the "sin"? How can I love my gay neighbor as myself and yet distinguish between loving people and loving sin? Just thoughts on what is commonly a controversial subject.

Theology of 3-year olds

My wife and I are part of a church plant in Syracuse. It is called Catalyst and we meet at Nottingham High School. I have the privelege of teaching the 3-5 years olds. This usually means I have three or four kids, mainly girls. This past Sunday I had my usual 3 young ladies (ages 3, 3, and 4) and they were wonderful. Instead of using our typical DVD program to pass the hour, I taught them from a book. It was way too wordy so I was forced to improvise. The amazing thing was to see and hear these little girls talk about how Jesus helps us when we pray. They have no clue the theological ramifications or doctrinal bases for prayer but they still believe. How often I need to have this child-like faith. Rather than worry, I need to pray. And in the words of Leah, one of the three year olds, "Jesus will make us happy." How true.

Blogging

Well, if you were curious, I am new to this blogging phenomena. I hope to be able to take everything I have ever read, written, seen, experienced, or merely thought about and concisely record it. Hopefully there will be some earth-shattering material but we'll see. My main hope is to get the love of God out there and discussed in ways that, perhaps, haven't been done before. I am passionate about the area I live in and want to see people's lives changed because of the love of God. I am in seminary and thus I have a naive elementary vantage point from which I think I can change everything. Hopefully, you do to. Well, here we go...