Another Step Of Fatih...

We like to talk about our lives with God as a journey. The language fits for a number of reasons, but that's probably another blog post. Suffice it to say, as a community we believe we are doing more than making plans, setting goals and making things happen. We believe that the God of the Universe is leading our little tribe, often in unexpected directions without lots of advance notice. (Sounds like the God of the Bible to me.)

What do I mean? Here's a recent example, our leadership came to the decision that we'll be moving at the end of August. Not to our new space- although we're hoping to be there by December. Instead, we'll be moving for a few months to a temporary space just a mile down the road from where we meet now. Why would we move twice? I've been asking that question too. The best and honest answer is: God seems to be leading us in that direction.

While we don't claim to have any special ability to decode the movement of God, this time it seems pretty clear. In case it helps, here's a recap of how we reached this decision:

• Our architects told us that we probably won't be able to occupy our new space until sometime near the end of 2008- roughly 5 months.
  
• We're in jeopardy of losing two of the spaces we use for our kids and teens each Sunday. Losing these spaces would put a serious dent in the great stuff happening for these age groups.
  
• Our adult gatherings have been consistently full over the summer. Even with people gone each week on vacation. With the fall looming, we have no room for growth. The most troubling thing with this is that God keeps sending us new people on a weekly basis. Example: A few weeks back 19 of our 66 adults had been around CNX less than a month.
• Our leaders filtered the above info and concluded that we couldn't stay status quo for the next 5 months. We pro/conned both adding a second service and moving to a new, larger space temporarily until we finish renovations at the Buck Jones bldg. For several reasons, the temporary space seemed like the best option.
• Then we got picky- asking God for the ideal space (w/in 2 miles of our current spot, with great spaces for kids, amenable to a short term lease, etc.). After praying this, I fully expected to find nothing of the sort and to start planning for the less ideal "two services" approach.
• Then we talked with Anne Caspar, the owner of a daycare and events hall that just happen to share the same building about 1 mile from where we currently meet. And you guessed it, she agreed to lease both facilities to us until our building is ready. We get tons of room to grow, first class facilities for kids- and a significant financial savings. Wow!
• God seemed to be leading clearly. After our leaders conferred, we found that we were on the same page: God was leading. We needed to follow.
  
• Announcing this news to our community this weekend confirmed what we had been sensing. We need to get moving!

So, there you have it. Two moves in 5 months. No big deal. As long as God is leading. And everyone is pitching in.

We'll need help getting the word out to everyone who is a part of the CNX community- including the folks we only get to see occasionally. We'll also need help moving things out of our current space and into storage by the end of August. Not to mention setting up and tearing down each week while we're in the new space. Good news- there's room for everyone!

Space to Pray Over

Here are some pictures of the new space we are praying over. It's certainly not a "done deal" and we continue to seek God's guidance. Will you join us in bringing the matter before God?

To Write Love On Her Arms

Recently Lance saw a young man with a tee-shirt bearing the inscription "To Write Love On Her Arms." It was so unusual that he looked it up on the internet, and found the story of a remarkable group of young people who became friends with a 19 year old woman who was depressed and addicted to cocaine, and how they used rock and roll and lots of love and compassion to help her.

This is a video of the young woman herself: Renee has a powerful story to tell, and so does To Write Love On Her Arms (definitely take time to read Jamie's version of this story on the site). This is a picture of the church rising, and God's hope being made real.

Click to comment and share where you have seen Jesus People bringing hope to life.

Should women lead in church?

Recently I had another person ask by what authority a woman could lead a church. You would think I'd have my answer down pat after 15 years of doing this. But I still don't, and as a result I started a conversation about it with friends. Here's what came out of it.

No agreement necessary
Churches don't agree on this issue any more than they agree on divorce, the virgin birth, homosexuality, the Pope, or drums and projectors in church. And honestly, most of the issues we argue and fuss about in the church are field mice, not tigers, and the forces that oppose God get a lot of mileage out of our being embroiled in them. The question of whether women should lead churches is a field mouse. You can feel one way or the other (and go to a church that agrees with you) but it is not a question which will lead to your salvation. In fact, you can get so tangled up with it that you never get on the road with Jesus.

Scripture
You know, I had the classes in seminary on the "texts of terror" so often used to keep women from leadership in the church. Paul takes both sides of the issue, depending on where you look. Jesus doesn't say anything about it, but women fund his ministry, travel and minister with him, and are consistently accepted (healed, touched, fed, loved) by him. There are powerful women of scripture who prophesy, lead, judge, and serve God's people in a multitude of ways.

Experience
I didn't grow up in a church with a model of women in leadership. My experience of being called into ministry started the first time I ever saw a woman lead a worship service; I was about 25 years old, and utterly astonished by the power of that service. A year or so later Jesus came to me in a dream (very Biblical), and invited me to enter the life he led; guiding, being in relationship with, and teaching his people. My pastor and community affirmed this call, and here I am. Were all of us wrong? Could be. And I'm okay with that. I feel ready to face God and tell how I spent my life.

Err on the side of grace
My girlfriend Alicia had this wonderful thing to say: "If I’m going to err, I’d rather err on the side of freedom to serve Christ. I think the radical freedom God offers us in Christ — some have called it scandalous — has to be more than just freedom from… Yes, we have freedom from sin, freedom from rules, freedom from fear. But, we also have freedom to… We are free to serve, free to worship without fear of God’s rejection, free to love God and other people in wild and extravagant ways. For me, that’s the heart of pastoral ministry." You can read the rest of her thoughts here.

You shall know them by their fruits
The best response I heard to my inquiry came from my friend Mary Jo, who posed (and answered) the question this way: Does God have the power to call women into ministry if God chooses? If God has the power, how do we know if God has used that power to call women into ministry? As John Wesley said (and he got it from Jesus): by their fruits.

I'm good with that.

Meet a modern-day Paul

by Marty Linn

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " Acts 20:35 (New International Version)

My perspective on the life of the apostle Paul is that he was so totally convicted by his experience of Jesus that he gave up everything to embrace a life of serving the world and encouraging everyone he encountered to follow the Way of Jesus. He became completely reliant on God for all provisions for his life and God provided it to Paul through God's people.

Recently I have gotten to know a modern-day Paul. Some of you met him when he was at Connections in February: his name is Wadsene.

Wadsene lives with his father, who was a preacher and never had much money with which to support his family. When Wadsene was a child, they sometimes had only mangos to eat for an entire week at a time. Wadsene said that growing up he understood that in order of prominence, God was first, the Haitian President was second, and missionaries were third. The reason missionaries were so prominent? They could bring their families something to eat other than mangos.

Wadsene is a US citizen but he chooses to stay in Haiti and serve his people. He is the administrator for the ministry called Horizontal Love Ministries, which offers food, medical care, and other services to elderly persons in the city of Les Cayes and south Haiti. From time to time, HLM brings the individuals they serve together. They play dominoes and other games and enjoy each other's company. When it’s time to go home, none of them want to leave.

All of the workers at HLM are volunteers; Wadsene says that he is somewhat embarrassed at times because he cannot pay them. Wadsene is actively involved in the care giving as well, and rides his bike to visit the various individuals who receive HLM's services.

He tries to have a few dollars to give when he visits someone. One time when he was visiting a 70 year old man he didn’t have any money, and Wadsene apologized for not having anything to give him. The old gentleman told him he shouldn’t apologize because just the fact that Wadsene was visiting him had changed his life. Seeing Wadsene visit, the people in his community had changed their perceptions of the older man and had begun to watch out for him and give him food. Wadsene says that even the smallest gesture or deed in Haiti is significant. Wadsene put it well: "I have a lot more than the boy with two fishes, and look what the Lord did with that!"

Wadsene was recently able to buy a small piece of land, and his dream is to build a 3 to 4 room house in which the people he serves can live.

I am grateful that Connections is already supporting this ministry but I also think we can do more. Haiti is a hidden corner of the world where this ministry may well be the only hope some people have to see Jesus. As we enthusiastically pursue growing the kingdom here, I propose we also consider doing the same there.

Matt Answers Monster Questions: How do I know when to wait for God to lead or to figure things out for myself?

I think a lot of people talk about waiting to hear from God to either do what they want to do or to not do the things that they know they should do.

We are not automatons (mindless robots) waiting for the next instruction from God. We should be in a relationship with God. People who are in a relationship are in communication and will know what actions:

1. Enrich the relationship
2. Erode the relationship
3. Have no effect on the relationship

Often WE want what WE want and will pretend that God wants that too or that God may not have an opinion on it.

The best way to get on the same page with God is to:

1. Serve others: in your home and at your job.
2. Give your honors to God: your titles, your accomplishments, your status.
3. Let go of material things: Identify the thing that you value the most and ask yourself if you could give it away.
4. Meet with others who want to know God.
5. Study God’s word.
6. Pray.