If Jesus were walking our streets [post]. . .

• He would be more critical of those who are theologically on target than those who are not.
• He would attend celebrations and drinking parties.
• He would possibly provide the beer.
• He would drink with the rest of us.
• He would spent a good chunk of time with those whom the religiously “pure” had no time for.
• He would interrupt some of our religious services by making unplanned announcements and controversial statements.
• He would tell stories that were relevant and attractive but not always immediately clear.
• He would spend a lot more time encouraging others to follow him than he would simply providing religious facts about himself.
• He would live courageously yet humbling.
• He would serve those who crossed his path.
• He would rub shoulders with the outcasts of society.
• He would demonstrate that theology is intended to be done in public and on the streets.
• He would go places deemed objectionable by the moral standard-bearers of society.
• He would make people feel both comfortable and uneasy.
• He would violate some of the rules of the religious establishment.
• He would desire to heal and not to hurt.
• He would be compassionate every day.
• He would be challenged (and in some cases hated) by the experts of our day.
• He would probably cause a lot of us to wonder if he is truly the one he claimed to be.
• He would keep his promises.
• He would most likely be criticized by a good percentage of the media.
• He would . . .

Also, peek around on the sight I found this on: The Porpoise Diving Life–Reality For the Rest of Us or Picking Up Where Purpose-Driven Peters Out by Bill Dahl.

1. Rice and black beans
2. Everything bagels, pancake mix, & 2 bananas
3. Pancake mix & bananas
4. Five pounds of potatoes
5. Ramen noodles and kool aid

We found it was definitely doable, tho’ not incredibly tasty. We estimated that we spend between $15-25 per day on food. Almost ten times what most people live on.

We looked at these verses:

“He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.” -Prov. 19:17

“If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.” -Prov. 21:13

“A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” -Prov 22:9

As one who ministers in a church, that isn’t a viable option. However, most if not all in my church congregation have no idea of the conversation and don’t see the need to change, at least not at the level of creating new paradigms. So what am I to do? How do I introduce renewal? Of course, I am not talking about aesthetic features as some have misunderstood what’s happening. If it starts with me, I must set the example.

• Prayer and worship: These must prevade my life at every level, becoming the driving force for every action no matter how mundane.
• Authenticity: I must be real with others, sharing doubts, frustrations, and struggles with temptations.
• I must be living out my mission in the world, seeking out the needy and meeting them where they’re at.

From Jason Clark’s Blog review of Emerging Churches, by Eddie Gibbs, Ryan Bolger:

1. Re-centering on the kingdom of God.
2. Engaging culture with out a sacred and secular distinction.
3. Communal: Faith as communal experience.
4. Listening to the outsider.
5. Serving those in need without ulterior motives.
6. Involving participants in worship.
6. Valuing Creativity/Arts.
7. Leading through networks than top down hierarchies.
8. Ancient and Avant Garde

From exagorazo from an article on Urbana.org:

1. Having a high threshold for membership
(high expectations for believers)
2. Being real, not real religious
(being transparent, authentic, with one foot in “the world.”)
3. Teaching to obey rather than to know
(a practical faith)
4. Rewriting worship every week
(Creative, participatory Sunday morning services)
5. Living apostolically
(each believer as a missionary)
6. Expecting to change the world
(aggressively engaged in transforming communities)
7. Ordering actions according to purpose.
(Ruthless aligning of resources with mission)
8. Measuring growth by capacity to release rather than retain.
(Not megachurches but multiplying churches)
9. Placing kingdom concerns first
(in contrast to denomination first. Thus, cooperation with other churches)

I wrote that when I resigned from my first church. Now, that deep perseverance is driving me to reenter the ministry. It is what I was created to do. I already sense the overflowing joy even though I have yet to accept a new position. It is the joy that comes from being in God’s will.
Much has changed in me: naivety has become humility, confidence has become reliance, knowledge has become wisdom. I am no longer a newlywed. I am a father of two. My life has purpose and responsibilities far greater and deeper than ministry (though it is a form of ministry). On this verge of something new…

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland…(for) the people I formed for myself tat they may proclaim my praise.” Is. 43:18-19, 21