Psalm 103:8

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

How to Make a Beautiful Garden

1. Clear out everything that's not beautiful, or that you just don't want there. Kill the things that might come back later.
2. Decide what beautiful things you want to put in your garden.
3. Plan them out in a nice way, making sure that they're in a place where they can get lots of sunlight (things don't grow well in the dark).
4. Dig holes for the new plants, and put them in.
5. Fertilise everything.
6. Mulch everything, to lock it all in, keep the weeds away, and improve the soil quality over time.
7. Water everything thoroughly.
8. Over time, make sure you keep taking out the bad things that come up, and watering everything. You'll need to trim the beautiful plants too from time to time, to keep them nice and to train them to grow in the right ways - otherwise they will get ugly. They might look a little ugly at first when you trim them, but they'll come good and look even better afterwards.

Be aware the initial set up is very quick (most gardens you can completely turn around in a day), but the care and love to help it grow into a beautiful place takes a very very long time - growth happens very slowly, but slow growth results in stronger and more lovely gardens.

What is A Good Story?

A character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.

- from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, a brilliant book by Donald Miller.

Here are some more of his perceptions, seemingly unrelated, but most probably not (like much of Donald Miller's writing!)....

"When you are born, you wake slowly to everything. Your brain doesn't stop growing until you turn twenty-six, so from birth to twenty-six, God is slowly turning the lights on, and you're groggy and pointing at things saying circle and blue and car and then sex and job and health care. The experience is so slow you could easily come to believe life isn't that big of a deal, that life isn't staggering. What I'm saying is I think life is staggering and we're just used to it. We all are like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we're given - it's just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving in over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral."

David Crowder Band - SMS [Shine]

Here's a very cool song, and a very cool video, from the David Crowder Band. The song is called "Shine."

Lily's World

I love Lily's imagination, even if it does worry me a little. We were going on a bear hunt this morning, and this is how it ended up.

Lily: Oh no! We found one! And it's not a friendly one!
Me: Oh no! Quick, run away!
Lily: Quick quick quick quick quick! Run all the way home, up the stairs, under the covers into bed.... Oh no! We forgot to shut the door! Quick! Slam.... Whew.
Me: Whew.
Lily: I don't want to go on a bear hunt again.
Me: Me neither....

Lily: Oh no! It got in the door!
Me: Oh no! Oh, it's alright, I'll get it with the vaccuum cleaner. Bang.
Lily: Bang bang bang bang bang!
Me: Phew, it's all ok now. We got it.
Lily: Now it looks like a sultana.

A Prayer for Our Church

From "Living the Resurrection," by Eugene Peterson....

Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you with a deep sense of gratitude, care, concern, devotion, love for you, and desire to live responsively to you. We sense that we're with friends in your company of followers - friends who share the life of resurrection and want others to get in on it, notice it, and begin participating at the centre of what you're doing rather than on the periphery. We pray for strength and discernment to understand the culture we are in - the deadening effects, the seductive lures.... We ask your blessing on your church - scattered and dispersed and so much of it in despair. We pray that wherever we are and whatever places we go back into - whether it's pew or pulpit - we may be part of this resurrection life, knowing that you are present and doing your work. You're not anxious about what is going to happen or whether this is going to work or not. It's worked a long, long time and will continue working. Mostly, keep us faithful, attentive, adorational, sacrificial, and personal. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Sorry

I just realised how arrogant the song "How Great is Our God" might sound if there were any non-Christian people listening, or people from other religions. I've used that song so many times when I've been leading worship, and I hadn't even thought about it in that light until now. I really hope I haven't offended anyone.

It makes me sick to think how many times we've offended people (in any number of different ways) without even knowing it. I really apologize for anything I've done in the past that's been arrogant or insulting. I wish I could apologize directly to the people who've been offended. I'm sure there are probably a few.

Good

I love the last chapter in Rob Bell's book, Velvet Elvis, about the restoration of the world, and how the church joins with Jesus in bringing this about. If you can get a hold of it, I encourage you to read the whole chapter. 

Here are some of his thoughts....

"To be a part of the church was to join a countercultural society that was partnering with God to create a new kind of culture, right under the nose of the caesars. These Christians made sure everybody in their midst had enough to eat. They made sure everybody was able to pay their bills. They made sure there was enough to go around. The resurrection for them was not an abstract spiritual concept; it was a concrete social and economic reality. God raised Jesus from the dead to show the world that Jesus is Lord, and it is through his power and his example and his Spirit that the world is restored...."

"...so many passages about the early church deal with possessions and meals and generosity. They understood that people are rarely persuaded by arguments, but more often by experiences. Living, breathing, flesh-and-blood experiences of the resurrection community.... To the outside world, it was less about proving and more about inviting people to experience this community of Jesus' followers for themselves...."

"It is when the church gives itself away in radical acts of service and compassion, expecting nothing in return, that the way of Jesus is most vividly put on display."

This is why generosity is such a big part of what we're doing in this community - whether or not people become Christians because of it. This is the heart of God and the way of Jesus, helping people to experience the kingdom of Heaven, right here, right now.

"I am learning that the church is at its best when it is underground, subversive, and countercultural. It is the quiet, humble, stealth acts that change things." I love this idea of the underground, subversive church.

"I am learning that the church has nothing to say to the world until it throws better parties. By this I don't necessarily mean balloons and confetti and clowns who paint faces. I mean backyards and basements and porches. It is in the places we live and move with the people we're on the journey with, that we are reminded it is God's world and we're going to be okay.... The images Jesus used were of banquets and feasts and celebrations. What do we do at parties such as these? We eat and talk and dance and enjoy each other and above all else, we take our time. What does Jesus do almost as much as he teaches and heals? He eats long meals. As Christians, it is our duty to master the art of the long meal."

Surprisingly, this subject of meals has been covered quite a bit in books I've been reading lately! - In Living the Resurrection, Eugene Peterson points out that enjoying meals with his disciples was one of the first things Jesus did after his resurrection - clearly showing that this is to remain a key part of the new community. And in Eats with Sinners, Arron Chambers speaks of it as one of the most important ways to share the heart of God with people outside the church. Eating with people is good for your health, in every possible way. We'd already decided that eating together was going to be a major part of our church, but it's sure nice to hear these thoughts echoes by theologians, and by Jesus himself. That's my kind of church!

An Interview with Greg Boyd

Neue Ministry regularly chats to leaders and innovators in Christian ministry, and I love listening to the podcasts that come from these conversations. Here's an interview with Greg Boyd that I found interesting - especially the discussion on his recent book.

Click here to listen to the interview, or you can find the Neue podcast on iTunes.

In this episode of the Neue podcast, Senior Editor Josh Loveless interviews Greg Boyd about the controversy that seems to follow him. They talk about how he dealt with losing a thousand people because of a sermon series he did as well as his book The Myth of a Christian Religion. Click to listen now or subscribe at iTunes.

Lily's World

Lily: Daddy, I really love dancing. I'm a singer, but I'm definitely definitely a dancer.