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Filter by Subcategory: {The Body Church} {Personal Reflections}

Rethinking the Wineskin - Book Recommendation
Posted on 2006--0-5- 8: 1:5:

Great book for what our church is discussing right now.

Book Description: In "Rethinking The Wineskin", Frank Viola takes a ground-breaking look at the nature and life of the early church through the lense of God's eternal purpose. The book discusses the principal practices that marked the New Testament church and boldly compares them to those of today's modern church. A must read for all who have a passion to see first-century ways restored to the Body of Christ today.

Buy it Amazon by clicking here. 

 

 

Choosing a Body
Posted on 2006--0-4- 31: 1:7:

I'd be interested to hear what priority people think is most critical when choosing which church to join.  This list could be used when choosing a Body Church for the first time or trying to decide whether to go with a Body Church that is being birthed from your current Church.  Here's the list in the order I feel seems right to me but please offer your feedback if you think differently because I'm honestly unsure.

 

1. The church I expect will most help me grow to become more like Christ

2. The church I believe I can experience the deepest interconnectedness with (similar lifestyles etc.)

3. The church where my gifts will be most free in their use and will be most needed

4. The church where I already have the best friendships

 

That's my first crack at it.  Now it's your turn... 

Definition Body Church
Posted on 2006--0-4- 28: 1:6:

Amy asked for a defintion of Body Church so here are some thoughts...

 

Yes, body and church are quite redundant and basically synonymous in the New Testament.  The problem is the definition of church has changed over the past 2000 years and no longer means anything close to what a body is.

A quick definition is a body church is an interdependent, interconnected group of Christians that have committed to one another to form a single body under the headship of Christ sharing the same mission, united by love and experiencing the full release of equally valued spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12).

Those of us who have been on this journey from day one feel we have become less of a body lately and are less interconnected because our structure has made it more difficult to grow more toward body life as we grew in size.

Body churches also must be receiving 5-fold ministry (Eph 4) and be under the protection and oversight of the city church (Acts 20).  One thing we've done well lately is the creation of a city church that can now support multiple bodies but this is a new concept (yet all over the New Testament - i.e. Romans 16) and we are trying to figure out how this works as well.

We believe that every Christian must identify with church on 3 levels -

1. Body
2. City
3. Universal

That's just a general overview but hopefully it helps.

Maundy Thursday
Posted on 2006--0-4- 15: 0:0:

Today is Maundy Thursday of Holy Week.  Our day to remember and ponder the significance of communion.

 

We've seen two young church planters die over the past few weeks and its made me think about my kids and how, more than anything, if I were to die while they are still young, I would want them to know how deeply I love them.

 

Jesus must have been thinking of a way to help his disciples and remember how deeply he loves each of them (and each of us).  He never wanted us to forget so he commanded us to regularly remember his ultimate demonstration of love for us through communion.

 

We can see, smell and even taste the love of Christ in communion.  Do I really experience the heart of Christ  for me when I take those elements, precious reminders of his body and his blood poured out in love for us.

 

Teach us Christ, to know and experience your love for us.  Help us to understand the love that drew you and kept you on the cross. 

Passover 2006
Posted on 2006--0-4- 13: 2:1:

Just finished celebrating the Passover with our community.  Great work all you who organized everything while our family bathed in the Florida sun and arrived just in time to enjoy the fruit of your labor.

I feel like this year I downloaded the experience and now I'm attempting to process.  Passover is full of so many symbols, words, flavors etc. I need time to let it sink into my heart (especially attempting to keep all our kids in line for the duration).

I think what struck me most during the Seder was the taste of the salt on the parsley representing the bitter tears of the Hebrews in slavery.  It made me wonder once again why God allowed them to spend those 400 years in bondage.  Remembering the generations of Hebrews who were born lived and died as slaves.

It reminded me how God takes the long view and deals with us as family lines as much as he deals with us as individuals.  I looked into the eyes of our children and once again remember that my life is more than the sum of the years I spend on this Earth but it is ultimately rapped up in the ripple effect of our children and their children - the mark we make on the whole of our family line.  Something our Father Abraham knew all too well – the first the grieve for the 400 years of bondage.

Come set us free Lord Jesus.

May God turn his face toward you and give you peace