What In The World Is God Up To?

Last Sunday we had our first gathering down at Liberty Place (thanks Matt for capturing it through pics you took). We asked people who were interested in starting things up at Liberty Place to show up. And over 600 popped in for the party. What in the world is in store when we launch Liberty Place for good on March 7?

Things feel different right now at LCBC. Like we are on the edge of new life.

I love the local church. I love the potential of the local church and the power that is contained within it. It is the power to breathe life into the world as the Spirit puts Jesus on display through his body. What a sacred thing.

And this is why I love our approach and strategy with multiple campuses throughout the region. The church isn't a place. It is a people. A people spread out through neighborhoods, schools, pubs, coffee shops, and places of work. It is a people committed to making Jesus famous and putting this new way of life, this kingdom way, on display wherever we may find ourselves. And so as we launch campuses into the very neighborhoods where our people live, we implicitly communicate that the gospel isn't about you coming to us, it is about us coming to you. It isn't about us getting to God. It is about God getting to us.

The word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood. And so will we.

I am bored with the idea that church is where we all get together for an hour on Sunday's to sing some songs, hear a message, and shake a few hands. That doesn't interest me. It really never has. I think what most people want is to be a part of a movement. To be a part of a transforming work in their own lives and in their communities. People want to see addictions broken, marriages restored, kindness extended to strangers, and the poor taken care of. People are longing for the church to rise up and be what it is supposed to be in this world. And as that happens Jesus will be made famous. Because it is his work. His church. His life.

And this is the claim Jesus makes. That he came to give us life. To make us alive in ways we never have been alive. This is what I get excited about. If this message of Jesus is truly life giving, it ought to permeate and affect ever aspect of our lives. I have the feeling that, like me, most people are tired and bored of the Christian faith being relegated to just "coming to church".

But what if Christian faith was really about being changed and transformed by a faith in Jesus that was so real that we would be would be willing to give our very lives for it.

What if we could be changed... if we could experience what it means to be fully human and brought to life at home, at work, with neighbors, wherever we found ourselves... I think people are yearning for that kind of faith. The kind that affects all of their being. The kind that is contagious. I know that's the kind of faith I want.

What is about to happen? It is estimated now that since the year 2000, Lancaster, York, and Berks counties (all bordering each other) have grown by 104,000 people. If you add in Chester county (also bordering Lancaster County) you would add in another 58,000 people who have moved here. Which means that in just the last decade, there are over 150,000 people that have moved into our surrounding counties. We are in the fastest growing region in PA. 150,000 people that need grace, love, Jesus.

Seriously, what is about the happen?

My heart beats very fast when I think about the potential of the church. Of LCBC.

The best is yet to come.

Why I Haven't Posted In A While

Because I haven't had much to say.

I guess the truth is I have had too much to say. My thoughts have been swirling with lots of things and I haven't had the ability to really articulate most of them.

My thoughts have been all over the place about our winter retreat we took our 7th and 8th graders to. Incredible.

My thoughts have been everywhere with some of the things that are happening here at LCBC. Lots of energy, lots of change, lots of conversations. I feel like we are a cusp of big things at LCBC and what God wants to do in this region through his church.

My thoughts have been running wild with my family. Silas is 1 now. Sienna is about to turn 4 and I just find such fulfillment in my family. And yes, Silas is taking his first steps. Wobbly though they may be.


So I have felt overwhelmed at trying to articulate all that has been in my heart and mind recently. And the difficult part is that I have felt pent up as a result.

More later...

Lords Prayer // This Day

Read
Matthew 6.9-13

Think
“Give us our food for today…”

At times we are at a disadvantage in reading the scriptures. We simply miss some of the subtleties of what is being said and done. Matthew’s writing has the most Jewish influence of all the gospel writings and there are threads and themes running through Matthew that most of us in 2010 non-Jewish America simply miss.

Some say that Matthew is making a significant point with the chronology of the events of the first few chapters so that the Jewish listeners connected it back to their own story in the Torah (the first 5 books of OT). Think about how beautifully constructed it is.

Matt. 2 - Jesus leaves Egypt. Sound familiar?

Matt. 3 – Jesus enters into body of water and “crosses over”. Hmmmm?

Matt. 4 - Jesus enters into wilderness for 40 days. Seems like I remember wilderness and 40 from another story.

Matt. 5 - Jesus goes up onto a mountain and gives instruction. But I remember another someone going up onto a mountain and receiving instruction.

You get the point.

But it puts these words into another perspective when we consider the first listeners would have been thinking about Exodus, Moses, and their journey out of slavery. Because it was on this journey that God provided bread for them each and every day. They called it “manna”. And we learn in Exodus 16 that God would give them “enough for each day.” Which sounds eerily like Jesus’ words when he says, “Give us our food for today…” God’s people were instructed not to collect more “manna” than they needed for that day.

However, some lost confidence that God would really look after them, so they hoarded the manna. And I get why they collected more. I would be lying if I said that wouldn’t have been an issue for me. I have two kids and a wife to feed… and I can put down some food as well.

I think there is a deep-rooted suspicion in most of us that God will really come through in providing for us. Or at least providing for us in the way we think God ought to.

We tend to see the world through the same lens as those first Israelites so many years ago – the lens of scarcity. In the end, many of us are suspicious that there just isn’t enough manna to go around. So we keep a little more than we really need.

Have you ever seen a store advertisement that said, “One Day Only Sale”, or “Biggest Sale Ever”? What are these marketers doing? They are playing off of our suspicion that there really isn’t enough to go around. Not enough clothes. Not enough cars. Not enough iPhones. Not enough Bowflex’s. So if we don’t get on this deal, we may miss out. If we don’t get our manna now, there might not be enough for tomorrow.

But Jesus once again calls us into a life of beautifully simple trust. And this prayer puts that kind of trust on display. The trust really isn’t that God will give us what we need. What we are really trusting is that God may know better than us what we really do need.

This is all God ever promises. Enough for today. Tomorrow has enough worries of it’s own. Just trust that you are given enough for today.

Just enough for today.

Just enough for today.

Pray
God all things in heaven and earth belong to you. You provide exactly what we need and when we need it. Help me today to trust that you will give me just enough for today and that this is sufficient. Give me just enough food for today. Give me just enough love for today. Give me just enough grace, patience and kindness for today.

Today I say no to hoarding more manna and trust that you will give me a new batch for tomorrow.

Live
There is something so good about “counting your blessings” every now and then. Take some time today and focus on all the good God has given and provided for you. Think relationally, materially, and spiritual blessings as well.

Lords Prayer // Daddy God

This weekend, I'll be heading a bit south of here, North East, MD, with about 180 7th and 8th Graders and adults who love them. We're heading to Avalanche, our winter retreat for Middle Schoolers. Part of the way we prepare our leaders going is to send them daily reflections on some of the concepts we will be exploring with students this weekend.

Over the next few days, we will walk through the Lords Prayer in Matthew 6 almost line by line and look at what it reveals about who God is and who we are.

So here are the some of the reflections we sent leaders. I'll post them day by day.


Read
Matthew 6.9-13

Think
“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.”

The week of Thanksgiving was a good week for me. I was keeping the kids all week while Jenny was away. In the middle of that week, Silas suddenly learned to put his tongue to the roof of his mouth and sound out the word “Da-Da”. He kept repeating it, over and over again, like he had found his purpose in life up to that point.

There is something intimate about the word “Daddy”, “Dad”, or “Da-Da”. Nobody else calls me that but my children. And they call me that because of the special relationship that we have.

I am their daddy and they know it.

In Luke’s account of this prayer (Luke 11), it is the disciples who ask Jesus to teach them to pray. And it’s like Jesus says, “Okay, I’ll teach you to pray. Start by saying, ‘Daddy…’”

The word Jesus used here was the word “abba” which was an intimate name for your daddy.

Perhaps Jesus knows that in a world where God feels distant, we need to be reminded that God is actually close. That he is near us. That he is our daddy. Our father. Our papa. Our abba.

I would suggest that most of us get the “may your name be kept holy” part of that first sentence. We know God is God. Holy. Perfect.

But sometimes our Daddy God gets crowded out and we forget that this holy God is intimate, close, and delighting over us as a daddy delights in his children.

Your Daddy doesn’t just love you, he likes you as well.

Your Daddy is touched that you would even take a moment to reflect on him by reading this.

Your Daddy sings praises over you.

Your Daddy knows you are a child and has patience for you.

Your Daddy is honored that you would even take 2 minutes to crawl up in his lap and talk about your day.

Your Daddy dreams of ways to provide for you.

So as we prepare for Avalanche and exploring this Daddy God of ours, may our day be filled with thoughts of our loving Father.

Pray
Today, simply say this prayer to the rhythm of your breathing. As you inhale, say, “Father…” and as you exhale, say, “I belong to you.” Repeat this until it becomes engrained the background of your thoughts.

“Father, I belong to You.”

“Father, I belong to You.”

Live
Throughout the day today, as you think of it, write down times in your life where God has proven himself to be close and intimate to you. Write down those moments where you have felt the closeness of your Daddy God.

When I Want To Smile...

Did Anyone Else See The Sunset Last Night?

Like radiant light of sunset sky
Your love has caught my wayward eye.

Like cold wind blowing through my bones
Spirit move, and make your home.

Books of 2009

Jenny and I spent some time last night reflecting on 2009. One of the things I started thinking about were the books that shaped me. So here is a list of some/most of them.

Prodigal God by Tim Keller

Faith and Doubt by John Ortberg

The Fidelity of Betrayal by Peter Rollins

The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns

The Search To Belong by Joe Meyers

Justice by Michael Sandel

Out of Egypt by Anne Rice

Road to Cana by Anne Rice

Take Your Best Shot by Austin Gutwein

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

The Porning of America by Carmine Sarracino and Kevin Scott

The Grand Weaver by Ravi Zacharias


What did you read last year?