UPCOMING GATHERING AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE CONFERENCE

Hey - this is just a reminder that next weekend (Halloween) is a big one for us - We are doing everything at the Fish House that weekend: The Spiritual Warfare Conference from 6:30 Friday night to 4:...00 pm on Saturday, then our Gathering will start at 5:00 in the upper room of the same location with a CHILi FEED, and go into a worship time with Stacy & Serit leading us in Israeli worship dance. After our open mic time, we will join the Fish House Crowd downstairs for a combined service where the message on restoring the Keys of spiritual authority in the Church will be given - that will be Halloween night. Our victory over darkness does not step aside for Halloween, it meets it head on!!!

For more details, go to The Journey Website: www.thejourney-ecmn.org

The Thing of Momentum

Today I am reading John Maxwell's book, "The 21 Most Powerful Minutes...", where he uses the life of Solomon to illustrate how momentum works in leadership. It is interesting to me how something comes to be called a "movement", as this implies an increasing momentum - people catch a vision and find a way to do what they see - to live it out, and in doing so they find that they have the power to make a difference.

I see this in The Journey EC house church network. How many of us as believers in Jesus have read how the early church lived with a sense of "awe" (Acts 2:43) at the power of God, meeting house to house (v. 46), and sharing what they had with those in need (v. 45), only to wonder why we don't see this today? We have asked ourselves, "Why can't we do this", and maybe we've tried to give it a go, only to find the challenge of a smaller, closer community more daunting than we thought.

But now I see people who have attended church for decades learning to become the Church - the dwelling place of God; And although the relationship part is a challenge and we make a lot of mistakes, we are excited to be walking out what we see in the accounts of the ministry of Jesus and His disciples.

As for momentum, we are learning the difference between the initial draw of "novelty" and the longer term connection to the mission. Actually making the shift from the "initial interest" crowd to the more long term group with the "get-it factor" can seem like a loss of momentum. It looks a little like a three stage rocket that drops a section after certain points in its journey to reach its destination, only we are actually seeing others added as the journey goes forward and becomes more defined. Maxwell makes some good points about what keeps momentum going:

1. Leaders who have accepted that it is in their hands;
2. Willingness to direct it rather than just ride the wave;
3. Continuing to fuel, and show the value of, the vision;
4. Catching people doing good things.

It is an amazing thing in the history of the world as we know it - this story of the Church. No one can get away from the proof that faith in Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom He brought, has only increased over the last two millennia. Even now when our willingness to adapt to changing culture is being tested once again, we see an amazing gift in the Church's readiness to move into a simpler mode, unburdened by buildings and big budgets. Generations who have generally held each other, and God, at an arms length as they attended weekly formal services in large sanctuaries are giving way to a more connected church - one who is bringing Jesus home for dinner. What a great picture of Jesus' desired result as he stands knocking on the door of our house...not just our hearts. I have often wondered how we could talk so freely about receiving Him in our hearts, when we had yet to welcome Him into our living rooms?

Can we agree to ask,

"Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth (starting in my living room) as it is in heaven." ?

Shalom

Bob Roby

NOTES ON HOW THE CHURCH IS LED

THE STRENGTH OF OUR WILL

Today I spotted an article in the September 21, 2009 issue of "Leadership Journal" by John Ortberg called: The Strong-Willed Leader: There is a difference between a surrendered will and a weak will. I was really encouraged to see this come to light, because over the 27 years that I have been involved with the church as an institution, I have consistently encountered teaching - both specific and implied - that God's plan for us is have no will of our own. I have observed that the resulting passivity of church culture in America, particularly as it is encouraged in the "laity" or attenders, is linked to the taking away of the "key" in Luke 11:52; It hinders those who are trying to enter the Kingdom, or domain of God. Then there is that disturbing statement in Matthew 11:12 about "violent men" taking the Kingdom by force.

So how do we square that Jesus both "set His face to go to Jerusalem" in Luke 10:51, and yet only always did what He saw His Father doing? (John 5:19) It doesn't seem a mystery to me any more. It has a lot to do with what we believe God wants from us, and what He will do if we bow our heart to Him. You see, every other god (and I use this term in the broadest sense) seeks to take power from us - to use us, and use us up. The true God is the only One who can afford to give us more power than He takes from us. (Note the promises in Acts 1:8, Ephesians 1:20, e.g.)But old habits are hard to break - we have been taught by our other gods that to come under the authority of another means we must disengage our will. At the same time we are doing this (which I beleieve is very offensive to God - kind of like bonevolent adoptive parents bringing a child home only to see him crippled by a constant, parylizing fear that they are going to beat and abuse him), He is all about the task of healing and rebuilding our will so that it is functioning again - evidenced by the ability to daily choose to follow Him. (Romans 8:14)

More could be said about this - and I hope that we as the Church will begin to grow in this understanding: that God comes to empower and repair our will, and to equip us for the spiritual battle field we live in. Passivity is not close to godlikeness - rather it takes an incredibly strong and healthy will for us to do as Jesus did in setting His face toward Jerusalem, for this where our cross awaits us...the one we are to take up daily as we follow our Savior.

Grace & Peace