the encounter

I recently read through “The Echo Within”. Its the story of one man’s pursuit of God’s calling and will for his life. One of the things I enjoyed most is that Benson was not talking about a calling separate from the life he was living, but instead the integration of Christ into the vocational life that he had.

Through real life conversation, Benson describes how he came to hear the echos of God within. I’m usually much more interested in the “how to” type books, but Benson weaves the “how to’s” into the stories of his own exeriences.

The jacket says the book explores:

• how to love the work you do, and the process of doing it
• ways to sense God’s pleasure in your pursuits, both in the pursuits and in you
• whether you fall into your vocation as a destiny or you chart that course
• how to begin living with added dimenions of meaning and purpose

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Looks like a HECK OF A LOT!

tall skinny kiwi shares ::

“He spoke about multiplying disciples by making them disciple-makers as soon as possible and through that process, they become leaders and church planters. Something that most church planters would agree to, right? However, as we studied Luke 10 (the sending out of the 72 leaders), this key principle emerged. God uses simple, uneducated, unresourced & unafraid men to prepare the way for God to plant churches among new people groups. God can do this with anyone who is available and willing to loose his life and renounce his ambitions.” — Anthony Testa on Victor John

tall skinny kiwi writes from a European angle but the application and principal is just as European, or Indian as it is for Americans, Texans and even encounter peeps.

This weekend in Netherlands is a special training for the Jesus Freaks from all over Europe. I was invited to be there but alas am still busy getting our truck ready for the road. Victor John is the teacher. He has helped start a church planting movement in India that now numbers 80,000 house churches and 3 million people. I am really excited about this weekend. Jesus Freaks came into being in the 90′s when some German punk and goth teenagers found Jesus and then started nearly a hundred churches across Germany and beyond. The growth later slowed down, possibly because they listened to Western teachers who told them how to do it [my opinion] but I really think the Indian church movements could point them in the right direction.

So what can encounter learn from India?
The importance of discipleship, the simplicity of starting house churches, the priesthood of all believers, the place of personal sacrifice, faith in the Holy Spirit. And a lot more? Anyone have thoughts?

Is God wanting to use your “mustard seed faith” to find that Person of Peace (Luke 10) in your neighborhood to revolutionize your neighborhood, our community of faith, Ellis County, Texas and the United States?

BTW if you’re looking for some great blog reading, tall skinny kiwi is a great place to start. Especially as he prepares to journey across Europe with his family in his tall-skinny-kiwi-mobile.

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Golden Rule
Originally uploaded by thePLOWblog (Click the picture to enlarge)

So in everything you do, do to others what you would have them do for you. This sums up the laws and the prophets.

How would you illustrate this verse? Use graphics, video, photos, stories etc and lets see what encounter peeps have up their sleeve…

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Jazz Theologian offers some interesting insight in what it means to live in the margins as Christians.

He suggests that rather that fighting to be in the majority and making sure we’re in charge or making sure we always get our way, perhaps we should recognize the joy of living in the margins.

But to live in the margins, two things are required :: Surrender and Choice.

Jazz Theologian writes ::

Surrender: We are being marginalized in this country and we can be OK with that. We live in a pluralistic society that is actively moving us out of power. I don’t think we should fight this, for power is not the goal of the kingdom-obsessed, love is. I like how King said it,

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice and justice at it’s best is love correcting everything that stands against love. (Martin Luther King Jr. August 16, 1967)

Choice: Jesus hangs out on the margins, he told us so in Matthew 25. There is an experience of Christ that can only be found when we choose to meet him on the margins and borders. King chose this life despite his middle class and educated life. Listen to this…

I choose to identify with the underprivileged, I choose to identify with the poor. I choose to give my life to the hungry. I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity. (Martin Luther King Jr. August 16, 1966)

Listening to U2′s new album today, Bono sings these words ::

I’m gonna stand up for hope, faith, and love/ While I’m getting over certainty/ Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady

Will we be willing to stand up for those living in the margins? Will we be willing to get over our certainty. Will we stop trying to help God as if God is some little old lady trying to cross the street? Will we instead submit to him and choose to follow him — regardless of where he leads?

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Sunday we talked about becoming Jesus to our neighborhoods and what that might look like and how it might change our neighbors and neighborhood. And we talked about how even the smallest things can have the greatest impact.

I received an email afterwards from someone who explained how it was all the “little things” people had done recently for them that made a world of difference in their life.

I also heard from someone who said he wants to put a “prayer box” at the end of his driveway for his neighbors to share their needs with one another.

I’m excited to think of all the small things we can do for one another that can change the world for each person. “You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world for one person.”

I love that no matter what your skills are, or talents, or passions are, God can help you find that “hero within” and use you to impact countless people around you.

Kinda like Carlos…

(HT Mosaic and Eric Bryant)

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