Open letter to Ordinary Community Church

Hey OCC family,

Man, our weather was a lot to overcome yesterday at the park for the baby dedication and I just wanted to pass on a few thoughts I wanted to share a bit more but couldn't really communicate as my pages were ripping through the wind.

First, thanks all for coming (and for those who couldn't share in this gathering, you were thought of and missed). Its so incredibly important that we make time for each other and to be in community to one another. We are literally spread out all over the Cincinnati metro area, including northern kentucky, and its a real legistic challenge to come together, especially with
these gas prices. But community is not an option for us, its a calling and our spiritual lives can't live without it. As you journey in your individual house churches, I want to encourage you to practice the spiritual discipline of presence to one another. There are many things that creep in and steal our time from being together, guard your house church times fiercely. Put up boundary lines around that time, budget it in as a non-negotiable and then reap the benefits of a loving, spiritual, Christ-filled, Spirit-Driven community that deeply loves you and is committed to you. When it all comes down, this is all we have that is eternal. Invest in such things. (Matthew 6:33)

Secondly, the vows we made to each other and the parents to their children are a really big deal and also eternal. We are a subversive community living out the values of the Kingdom of God, not the values of the culture and empire we live in. Pay attention to your children, cherish them, love on them, make them your vocation, bless them, discipline them gently, learn from them, show them appropriate touch, give away encouraging words, be their protector, be their provider, show them the ways of the Kingdom of God. In doing so, you will knit within them a healthy sexuality, a sense of wholeness, intimacy and communion with God and one another. Our world and ourselves cannot give this, it comes from parents and a community that lives by a different set of rules, ones submitted to the heart of the Father.

One of the things I wanted to do but scrapped in lieu of the weather was to take communion together before we prayed over the families. We need to emphatically state that we can't do this on our own. It is only because of Christ and his
Kingdom that we can share in this life. Everytime we can celebrate the table of God in communion or a shared meal, we are participating in part of something we will do forever. Christ invites us to his table of blessing, one overflowing with the life of God. Eat of it daily, drink from it deeply and don't forget to give it away to the hungry and thirsty around you and in your neighborhood.

I am reminded tonight of the ancient vows of the early church who committed themselves to:
1) Simplicity - not participating in the wealth of this world. Making decisions to deny self in order to be freed to love our neighbors. In a sure or an unsure economy, simplicity is the model of Jesus who had no place to lay his head. Its not about having wealth, its about not desiring it and being content with daily bread. Contentment is the language of the free in Christ.

2) Availability - not participating in the pace of this world. Making decisions to be quiet, seek solitude and budgeting time to be available to God and to one another. Loving our neighbor does not come naturally, it comes from an inner commitment to be available to them first.

3) Vulnerability - the admission that we are yet broken. Being broken before God and our brothers and sisters we trust to allow the healing of the Cross to continue to wash over us. It is in our honesty and openness that we make our wounds accessible to God, and whatever He can touch, He can heal.

My love and affection for each of you is sure and forever. I choose to belong to you as my spiritual family, my Church on earth. I don't know exactly what God has in mind for our future, but I believe He is not done adding to our number. Be open to giving the Kingdom away.

King Jesus is on the move amongst us, let's submit ourselves once again to follow Him. As we do the curtain to heaven becomes just a thin veil and His life will pour out all over us more and more the deeper we go. Let's not give up now, we're just getting started. Can't wait to see y'all at the finish line someday.

May the love and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection be upon you and your home this night,

Chris

The Revelation of Hope

So we all have good days and bad days. Last Sunday night, I had a bad day. A series of things triggered me and I felt trapped, alone, codnemned and accused. All I felt was pain and it brought up childhood issues that I haven't felt in a long time. In a conversation with my wife where we were processing things together I lost me temper in a way I can't remember since I was a teenager. Where do things like that come from? That's for another day.

Today, I feel a bit of that revelation of hope. Its not in circumstances, that hasn't changed much. Its mostly in relationships. A relationship with a God that is not done w/ me yet. A God who is calling me to deeper intimacies with Him. A God who is calling me into deeper works of redemption on earth. A God who is breathing in me words of prophecy that haunt my dreams.

I feel hope in a wife whom I celebrate Mother's Day with today. A woman who is exactly my opposite. A woman who is the best partner I could hope for. A woman who is committed to me in the good and the bad. On our wedding day she vowed that "when the tough times come, I'm not going anywhere" and has proven just that. She gives me my space, but she also pursues me and I never thought I would find somebody like her. She actually does complete me, its more than a movie line.

I feel hope from amazing friends. Like really amazing friends. Friends I've gone to war with and friends I'd go to war for. I can't mention y'all by name but I need you to know that your words and presence have brought hope to my life. You love me in ways I can't hope for myself. You believe in me and stick with me when I can't find my way. You affirm the places I find myself and earily your lives and thoughts often parallel my own. You have been the revelation of a Kingdom come for me.

I don't always know who I am and where I'm going, but for tonight I have the revelation of hope and that is enough.

peace,

The good, the bad and the ugly of church

I'm doing final teaching prep for the second night of a New Testament Survey course here in a few minutes and just reflecting on tonight's topic of Acts and the explosion of the 1st century movement known as Christianity.

I want to make sure to challenge traditions, expose myths, reveal truths, make space for reality, talk the good, bad and the ugly. I can't think of a topic I care more about. Being the people of God on earth in mission to a fallen Creation is my vocation. With all the talk in blogdom on being bi-occupational, building the Church is my vocation, just not my occupation.

We need to continuously ask a lot of questions about how we're doing being the people of God on earth. We can't be comfortable nor content so long as their is suffering, hunger, injustice and lostness in our world. Until the final consumation of all things and the Resurrection, we have work to do. We are invited into this redemptive work and that's a pretty big deal. The author of life invites us to participate with Him in His restoration. We can become agents of His restoration, that's a pretty freakin' big idea.

I hope to pet the dog's fur the wrong way tonight. Shake up commonly held positions so that we come together not on how we do church, but that we ARE the church to the world. Some days we're good, some days we're bad and some days we're ugly, but never give up. Ever since the first Century, those followers of Christ have always had a pesky habit of Rising Again!

peace,

Blog Lesson

In the 5+ years I've been blogging, I've learned at least one thing. Never blog at 3:43 a.m. in the midst of a sleepless night, nothing good can come of it.

peace,

Joey Gruber passed on to Kingdom Fullness

On the right of my blog has been a donation PayPal button for a 3 1/2 year old incredible little boy who had been suffering with a form of brain cancer and last night passed on to Kingdom fullness peacefully at home in the arms of his Mom. Please pray for the Gruber family, this breaks all of our hearts.

Here is the last blog post a couple days ago from Joey's Dad:

We are always glad to type messages here to share information about Joey. It lets us update everyone without having to repeat ourselves too much. We get so many messages, in many loving ways, and wish to send only a brief reply. Thank you in advance for giving us some privacy right now. Joey needs some rest and would be better without too much stimulation. We continue to pray and we will talk to you soon. To our great friends from work, Thank you for your love and support. Thank you for your genuine concern for our situation and protecting our livelihood in our absence. May God bless you and yours. To our friends and neighbors, Each morning and night we live of our lives so close to one another. We realize that our daily activities, even hardships and trials, are shared like family. We know that you are here for us even when our response is quiet. We could not ask for more than friends who are like family. To our dear family, Every time we face trouble, alone or together, we remain bound. Our strength and value has been built growing up with you. As youngest siblings, we will always look up to our brothers and sisters, and we have learned all the best about parenting through our moms and dads. We are blessed with strength from the love you always have for us. To Joey’s friends and caregivers, You will always have a most special place in Joey’s heart. Remember childhood all of your life. Try not to be sad for long periods of time. There is always a new episode of your favorite show coming up soon, or a book to read, or another game to play. And, To Claudia, I have rarely seen two people look at each other with such comfort, and share each others company with such great compatibility. It is like your souls have known each other long before you ever met. God bless you, your beautiful sister and your mom and dad. To Stacey, You mean the world to Joey. To say that you are #1 would be an understatement. Every single thing that you do is with love and good intention for him. Your motherly intuition has protected him and kept him safe all of his life. In no other arms has he felt so safe. With no one else does he enjoy himself as much. He loves you more than he could ever bring to words, and he loves you most of all. I also love you with all my heart. My love for you has grown because of Joey, and because of your love for one another. May God protect us and keep us together, as His, forever. To Joey, You are the best part of our lives. You have been given to us. We are blessed with you as our son. We have come to know great things in this world because of you. We have also learned how delicate these things, and our lives, may be. The fear of losing you is terrible and only God knows how much your mommy and I can endure. But, please know that we are best able to face each day because of you, and that our love for each other is greater because of you. We find everything we need in life, and many of the things we want, but the very gift of you, is the greatest thing we’ve ever had. Continue to be our beautiful son, always with God, and prayerfully here with us. More love than we could ever say, Mommy and Daddy.

Father, our hearts break for them, come and be their hope and peace this day.

Being Ready

First of all, to keep up with the conversation, Check out Aaron's roll here:
blog roll

I want to state emphatically and upfront that I am Pro-Church. I am pro- the people of God on earth living in and asking for God's Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. As I pray for God to build His Church, there is a flipside to that . . . that means everything is negotiable and needs to be willing to be sacrificed at the altar. For me, that meant firing myself from paid ministry and taking a bi-occupational role. Thanks to Kevin Rains for reminding me that our bro, Chad Canipe (who passed onto Kingdom fullness in March 06) would say that we have one vocation, to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33). However, in that, we may have dual occupations or even a triad occupation. I'm not alone in having had worked as many as 3 jobs at a time to make ends meet to follow the calling of God on my life.

Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat—I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I'm leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn't, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God."

Luke 19:23-27 (The Message)

But what I want to re-iterate is that everything needs to be submitted before God. Our expectations of what a comfortable American living has to be submitted. Our expectations of where we hold community meetings has to be submitted. Our assumptions of what we envision our role in the church being has to be submitted. Our financial margins and use of physical resources has to be submitted. Our sense of comfort and security has to be submitted. Where God calls, God provides and that will come at least in the form of daily bread. If we claim to follow Christ, that has to be enough for us. We have to be very careful to guard against making "professional" what is a spiritual role.

It is the sense of entitlement that I am speaking against when it comes to vocational roles in ministry. I am not against the idea of being paid, I am against the assumption that its the way it always has been and always will be. God does not owe us anything! Not a job, not a title of honor, not an air-conditioned office nor full time hours a week to be a spiritual leader. Now his provision may emody all of that for you, but we have to be okay if it doesn't. Truly, his grace needs to be sufficient for us and its not our place to demand more. Don't run from suffering, embrace it. Let it change you. Let it bring you to deeper exeperiences of God's hand on your life. Sweating blood on your night of Gaethsamane crying out to God to take care of your family is what dependence on Him looks like sometimes. If he desires to move in a different mode of paradigm, in submission, we have to be ready to go with him because there is no one else who holds the words of life.

So in this discussion I want to say that we as the Church need to be ready and willing to do whatever it takes to be the people of God on earth and embody his mission here. If it means bi-occupational for a generation or two because of economic and cultural factors, then so be it because the Church moves on. The Church is not bound by the factors, figures and the oil prices of this world. We can change, adapt and transition in new ways because we listen to a differnt King. And that King demands singular allegiance.

peace,

striking a nerve

Ok, this issue has some really thoughtful and reflective people/friends posting on this subject so I wanted to list them here so you can check 'em out. I'm really digging their thoughts, experiences and voices on this issue of money/vocation/future church.

Steve Lewis

Kimberly Knoll

Mark Evans

Alan Creech

Glenn Johnson

Daniel So

Mike Bishop

Jason Evans

I'm sure much more is to come. Stay tuned.