another week and another gathering of our simple church

In this new season that God has called me into, I feel that it is really important to document the experiences and lessons learned. I hope that others will be able to take and learn from the things that I have experienced, and I think it will be awesome to look back at the things that were happening nowadays sometime in the future.

Tonight we met again for our simple church gathering. About 20 of us cram in together in Kelly's apartment. It's such a cool vibe though at least from my point of view. The small area allows us to really engage with one another. You can't really disengage as much when your in such tight quarters. We are still trying to figure out how to do things and how to adjust to different locations and different ways of doing things. So things are kind of rough. We still run into issues of starting on time and what not, but its great because while we are waiting everyone is engaging and enjoying one another's company.

When everyone was kind of settled, we spent some time in worship. Josh played some songs for us, and then Malina and Brittany led us into some time of prayer. Before that, they shared some amazing prophetic insight into what God was showing them about the campus in their time of prayer. It was really cool to hear their insight. We split into groups of 3 and prayed for one another and for the nation especially on a day when we remember the events of 9/11 eight years ago. Kelly then led us in a time of testimonies where we got to hear some of the things God was doing in peoples lives during the week.

After that, we went into some time in the Word. I guided this portion of the night. It was kinda crazy though because I was feeling really tired and worn out after being really excited and pumped for most of the day. But I pressed through it and had some people praying for me. I shared some of my testimony of what God has been doing in my life this week too. Then, we all read through Scripture together. We read through Luke 4:14-30. Stephen printed out the passage for all of us, and I brought some colored pencils so people could mark some of the things that stood out to them. We spent about 10 minutes on our own reading through passage before we discussed it together.

We had a pretty good discussion. I think we spent over an hour just talking about things that stuck out to us in the passage and what God was speaking to us through it. It was amazing to hear different people's insights, and it was cool to see how everyone was getting involved and engaged.

We chose to read through Luke because I really feel like God has some special things for us to glean from this particular Gospel. In reading through history of the Bible, I saw how Luke and Acts are books that are meant to be read together in two parts since they are written by the same author. In my mind, it makes sense that we should be looking at the book of Acts together because it really speaks to what we want to see God do in our campus. But I found it even more powerful to see the connection between Luke and Acts. What stood out the most to me is that one of the main themes in Luke is that of Jesus' ministry to the Gentiles and to the outcasts of society. Luke 4 really emphasizes this in showing where Jesus quotes form Isaiah 61 in which He talks about he has been anointed to preach to the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, and the downtrodden. So one of Luke's major themes is to show Jesus' heart for those on the fringes of society.

I thought this was really powerful because as a ministry I feel as if God is calling our community to really minister to the fringes of society. The image I get is of a lighthouse in the center of the community emitting a light that travels outward. However, that light only goes so far. Where I feel like God calling me to is the boundaries, or fringes of what one can see on a map. As we go outward, the light surrounds outer edges and begins to move inward as well to meet the light coming outward. I may have spoken a little about this before, but I believe that it really conveys this idea that God has called us to seed out those who are the hungriest for Jesus - the places in which Jesus is already at work if we would only begin to have God open our eyes to see. I think it is cool to see how Luke and Acts are connected in that way. Luke shows God's love for the Gentiles and then Acts continues to show how the Apostle Paul took this idea to the next level.

So ya, I don't know. There is still so much I'm learning and still so much I don't understand. At the core of everything we are doing, I believe that we are learning more about the heart of Jesus and seeking out why He did what he did. Josh said something really powerful today when he mentioned how we aren't merely looking to be Jesus to others, but that we are looking at how Jesus is already work in them.

Anyway, needless to say, it's a cool journey we are on. I have no idea what I have gotten myself into, but I think that's ok. I know that once I find it out everything is going to change. It's a constant process in which we continually go after God's heart. It's happening. Slowly but surely. I'm realizing that it has been a pretty crazy, emotional week. My gut instinct is to keep pressing the pedal and going forward. But I realize that the biggest breakthrough I have experienced this weekend is when I have been broken, face down on the ground in my weakness. I realize how even now I have a short term memory. God works in our weakness, and it is not my brilliant tactics or methods that will change things, it will be God working when I have nothing else to offer.

So I must slow down, and believe that God is at work in his perfect timing. It's a fun adventure. I just have to remember to relax and enjoy the ride. God got's this. He wants to show up way more than I want him to. That's reassuring! ;)