Finding Life in the City— Together in Christ.

We are a home community of people who desire to love and walk with Jesus, and with one another.

We are real and sincere about our faith, but not legalistic and excluding.

We hope to be a home and assembly of many people from all different walks of life with a common foundation in Christ.

We desire to love truthfully, to live gloriously, to work passionately, to worship freely, to walk purposefully, to be a joyfully holy people — all together in Christ. God calls us individually, and builds us communally — so diversity and fresh perspectives abound. we’re not interested in dress-up, or “playing” parts.

You are welcome to come as you are, to be loved and to love.

A documentary on Joshua Blahyi is making the rounds of film festivals. Known as General Butt Naked during Liberia’s civil war, he led an army of child soldiers and was responsible for over 20,000 deaths. Later he became an evangelical preacher, traveling through Liberia asking for forgiveness. The film is said to raise questions about forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice.

It has provoked these questions: Can someone who did such horrible things truly be reformed? Is his transformation real or contrived?

Innumerable Christmas devotionals point out the humble circumstances of Jesus’ birth—among shepherds, in a crude stable, with a feed trough for a bassinet. When Jesus himself tried to summarize why people should take up the yoke of following him, he said it was because he was meek and humble (Matt. 11:29). Seldom, however, do we explore the full implications of how Jesus’ radical humility shapes the way we live our lives every day.

Humility is crucial for Christians. We can only receive Christ through meekness and humility (Matt. 5:3, 5; 18:3-4). Jesus humbled himself and was exalted by God (Phil. 2:8-9); therefore joy and power through humility is the very dynamic of the Christian life (Luke 14:11; 18:14; 1 Pet. 5:5).

The teaching seems simple and obvious. The problem is that it takes great humility to understand humility, and even more to resist the pride that comes so naturally with even a discussion of the subject.

We are on slippery ground because humility cannot be attained directly.

The rest of this article by Tim Keller at Christianity Today after the jump.

I saw a poster while waiting for the subway the other day, and the poster led me to this website offering a free book called Isaiah 53 Explained. It appears to be a book written by a Jew, primarily for fellow Jews, explaining how Yeshua is the fulfillment of Isaiah 53. The website provides links to read the chapter in both English and Hebrew. An excerpt from the free book below:

Having been raised in a traditional Jewish home, I fully understand the challenges of keeping an open mind to the possibility that Jesus is the Messiah. So many of my fellow Jews are searching for a deeper spirituality and desire an intimate personal relationship with God. Many of us have not found this within the Jewish religion, but we would never consider detaching ourselves from the Jewish community.

When I came to believe that Yeshua was the Messiah many years ago, I certainly had no intention of abandoning my Jewishness. I was looking for an authentic spirituality, and I imagine you might be interested in the same thing. I hope you might be willing to put aside—at least for a moment—the common belief that you cannot be Jewish and believe in Jesus.

After all, if one of our greatest Jewish prophets predicted the Messianic details that Yeshua ultimately fulfills, then we would certainly have the basis to believe that one can be Jewish and believe in Yeshua.

More than anything, I hope that as you read this brief volume, your soul will be deeply touched by God. I pray that your spiritual search for a deeper and more intimate relationship with the Creator will become a reality in your life as it has in mine. There is no relationship in the world more fulfilling—or one that brings greater joy and satisfaction—than connection with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The purpose of this book is not to persuade you to change religions, but rather to discover a new relationship with the One who made you in His image and created you for this relationship. Not knowing God is like not knowing your mother or father; it leaves a hole in your soul that can only be filled by discovering where you have come from. Without knowing God, it is difficult to answer the fundamental questions of life: Why am I here? What is my purpose for living? How should I live my life in a way that gives me the most fulfillment and helps me to be a better person? These are the questions that either plague us or propel us into the arms of our Creator.

May the Lord enlighten your path and give you the insight to understand Isaiah chapter 53—and to find a new and personal relationship with the God who made you and loves you.

Dr. Mitch Glaser
Jerusalem
May 2010

So the battle lines are clear, and there is little sign that either side will concede. As is typical of religious/political debates, though, the fundamental facts are often misunderstood. This FAQ from the nonpartisan, non-profit website FactCheck.org attempts to provide clarity without taking sides, so hopefully this will be useful no matter your opinion (and especially if you don’t have one yet!)

A summary of its main points, though I recommend reading the whole thing:

Q: Is it a mosque?
A: It’s a community center with a mosque inside.

Q: Where is the money coming from?
A: It isn’t yet known, as fundraising hasn’t actually started yet.

A particularly interesting section talks about wealthy Wenzhou, “China’s Jerusalem,” where an estimated 12% of the population is Christian. They profile a “Boss christian”, so-called because of entrepreneurial success. His name is Zheng Shengtao.

… a member of the provincial Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the government, and director of the Wenzhou General Chamber of Commerce. He has been ranked by Forbes magazine as the 395th richest man in China, with assets estimated at more than $400 million.

His consortium is called the Shenli Group, a name which translates literally as “God’s power.” It encompasses mining projects, real estate development and machinery.

Zheng believes that making money is literally doing God’s work.

“We have to be the salt of the earth. We don’t bribe officials to make money or make fake products or harm the customers’ interests or evade tax. We don’t think the wealth belongs to us. We’re just like bank clerks. It’s God who gives you the career and the wealth and asks you to manage them,” he says.

The wealth of the Wenzhou christians and their involvement with the government also sheds light on the underground house church movement and their reaction against state-controlled churches called “The Three Self church.”

“The state was trying to control us,” says one worshiper, who asked not to be named, “so we set up our own church not to follow the government, but to follow the God of the Bible.”

As the prayer meeting begins, a woman at the front of the room starts crying and praying into a microphone. Hundreds of people are kneeling on mats on the floor, wailing and rocking, tears dropping down their cheeks.

This is the new face of Christianity in China: the up-and-coming urban middle classes. Material needs met, they are now seeking spiritual comfort.

Pray for the church in China as they encounter growing pains of wealth, governance, and remaining in first love with the Lord.

Full story from NPR after the jump.

Sunday, June 27 – Friday, July 2, 2010
Farmville, VA

“THEY OVERCAME”

CTM is doing live webcasts of the messages.

The schedule for the video webcasts is: (all times in Eastern Daylight Time, which is GMT -5 hours)

“I have been thinking about the seasonality of our food after a conversation with a new [CSA] member.  She was wondering why the Bok Choi came and went so quickly.   A plant’s main job is to produce seed for the next generation. The plant matures and then tries to complete their cycle and  put out their seed head if we do not pick and eat it first.” Deb Kavakos, Farmer

Farming is tough work. Well, “roofing” is a more apt description in my case. Where there’s life, there’s pests. Here on our Chelsea rooftop, I’m

pixar's adorable little "aphie"

fighting birds and aphids mostly. Voracious emerald-green aphids feast on broccoli and pepper plants. Pixar cast the aphid as “Aphie” — the adorable little bug like harmless puppy Zoe.

little green vampire, image: oneil

Pixar got their casting all wrong. In reality, Aphids are merciless vampires. They literally suck the juice out of leaves and stems. You don’t see aphids when you look at the plant because they cling camouflaged under leaves. Deprived of juices, leaves shrivel and plants literally dehydrate. I check the garden a few days a week or the aphids take over.

Spiritually, I think we do well to ask the Lord to check us for life pests that we can’t see. Most likely, we won’t see the buggers ourselves.

What are they practically? Well, that varies for each person. There’s no guide. There’s the obvious blights like lust, greed, pride, hate, well you get the drift.

But there’s the not so obvious “good” like work, exercise, fellowship, and ack, if you can believe it Bible study. Somehow, we can turn anything into a life-suck. Anything preventing us from maturing also gets at the fruit of the Spirit and the good gospel seed.

Ask the Lord about it, and remember your main job.

headzup via grace

picture: guy lyons, LIfeWay

The generation called Millenials (18-29 year olds) today claim they are more spiritual, and less religious. Sounds like it might be good. But then dig a little deeper into what “spiritual” and “religious” mean. LifeWay has conducted a broad survey of Millenials and their religious life. LifeWay estimates that 85% of Millenials do not know Christ in a living way. That is a staggering number.

In addition, there are a few other striking stats that’ll sober you right up and give a little perspective about this generation:

Six out of 10 say their religious faith is very important in their lives today

Sounds promising, right? That is until you get to the part where even among people who believe they are going to heaven because they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour:

68% did not mention faith, religion or spirituality when asked what was “really important in life.

Well, that doesn’t account for how they are really living out their Christian lives, right?

Two-thirds of American “Millennials” – those born between 1980 and 1991 – call themselves Christian, but far fewer pray or read the Bible daily, attend weekly worship services, or hold to historical positions on the Bible and its teachings.

Still, I don’t think this is as bad as it sounds. Or maybe it’s worse. Mainly, this means that Millenials, at least those that are Christian will want more reality in their walk with Christ and less filler. Says Thom Rainer, Pres&CEO of LifeWay:

Millennial Christians will not settle for business as usual in our churches. They will not be content with going through the motions, programs without a purpose, and spectator Christianity. They take their faith seriously, and they have little patience with churches that focus most of their resources on the members. These Millennials are serious about taking the gospel to the nations and to their communities.In the midst of all the bad news, there is good news. Radical commitment from radical Christians. If a few Christians turned the world upside down in the first century, we have no reason to doubt that a few million can do it again in the twenty-first century.

In any case, I think it is clear that the Lord desires to move in a fresh and powerful way in this generation of Millenials.

The question is how did we get here, and the answer is sought after in a related article on CNN asks the question, “Are there dangers to being spiritual, but not religious?”

spiritual, not religious

One voice that resonates with many in the “more spiritual, less religious”:

Nazli Ekim, who works in public relations in New York City, says calling herself spiritual instead of religious is her way of taking responsibility for herself.

Ekim was born in a Muslim family and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. She prayed to Allah every night, until she was 13 and had to take religion classes in high school.Then one day, she says she had to take charge of her own beliefs.

“I had this revelation that I bow to no one, and I’ve been spiritually a much happier person,” says Ekim, who describers herself now as a Taoist, a religious practice from ancient China that emphasizes the unity of humanity and the universe.

Jesuit priest, James Martin says the answer boils down to egotism.

“Religion is hard,” he says. “Sometimes it’s just too much work. People don’t feel like it. I have better things to do with my time. It’s plain old laziness.”

Sources: Dana, Sammy.

USA Today article covering the report.

Two good summaries of the LifeWay findings by Thom Rainer and Ed Stetzer.

picture: One Hope

As the eyes of the world’s soccer fans focus on South Africa, here’s an opportunity for us to pray for this country.

Millions of people will hear the Gospel during the 2010 World Cup, thanks to the united efforts of scores of organisations like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Ambassadors in Sport, Athletes in Action, mission agencies and thousands of churches in South Africa and other nations. One Hope is conducting Soccer Clinics in 15 countries, using a ‘salvation soccer ball’ similar to the Worldless Book.

Just one example of outreaches in South Africa is by Living Hope in the Cape Peninsula who are running games-focused sports events with a Christian perspective twice a week for children ages 4 to 17, nightly cup screenings and a competitive tournament each Friday. The centrepiece is the “Two Oceans Soccer Cup” where 5-on-5 games will be played along with both soccer skill and life skill sessions. All of this is being conducted by 4 churches in various areas, reaching up to 1,500 children during the long South African school holiday that coincides with the 30-day tournament.

Below, are a collection of audio slideshows produced by South African ministry Living Hope. They are all under 4 minutes, and it is wonderful to hear the voices of South Africans who are sharing the love of Christ. They also discuss specific prayer items for each community:

Red Hill, South Africa. LivingHope

Masiphumelele, South Africa - Living Hope

Capricorn, South Africa. Living Hope

Ocean View, South Africa. Living Hope

If you don’t have time to view these, here’s a quick list of prayer items:

• Unity among the various church groups and denominations to put aside differences under the headship of Christ
• Young generation grow up loving and following Christ
• Wisdom to know how to best teach life skills like hygiene and work opportunities
• Parents, especially fathers be vital and strong role models in families
• Drug addicts discover full satisfaction in Christ
• Drug dealers convicted of sin and follow Jesus
• Pray big prayers for South Africans because He is a big God!

via: OM, MISSION NETWORK NEWS, Living Hope; HCJB