Don't Worry About Putting "Christ" back in "Christmas": Let's put Jesus in our lives during Christmas

Living in America we as those who seek to live like Jesus hear a lot of calls of putting the "Christ" back in Christmas. We hear calls and pleas to not let people tell you "Happy Holidays" or even say "X-Mas" (did you realize that the 'X' is the Greek letter that starts off the spelling of 'Christ'?). But what we need to not worry about is putting the "Christ" back in Christmas - but keeping (or putting) Jesus in our life for Christmas.

We live in a post-modern world where even Christmas trees are under attack. For instance, at CSUF in the Titan Student Union, Christmas trees are outlawed becuase they have been deemed of religious nature. Do you know what is allowed though? A Holiday Tree. The difference? A Christmas Tree has ornaments and a tree topper - a Holiday Tree does not.

Now personally, I find this ridiculous because Christmas is far from a religious holiday. In fact, its roots go back to the Romans and Paganism - but Constantine and the Christian Empire adopted this day to celebrate the birth of Jesus (a great thing for us to do). But, since our culture is no longer that of Modernism and Christendom - this holiday in America is far from religious in nature. Importantly, I don't think that is a bad thing because Christians have used this as a way to stop living missionally. We began to expect that people would be willing to hear the gospel message or show up to church twice a year - Christmas Eve and Easter. We began to expect that uttering the very words "Merry Christmas" was a witness and that by putting up a nativity scene in our houses it was enough. I believe our adamant stance on Christmas and Christianity began to be a downfall and even a supreme example of how comfortable we had become inside the West and thus became lazy.

All this is stated, does not mean that I think what we had was wrong, it was just a different time in a different culture. What I do think it lead to was laziness and comfort (something Jesus warns against). What it lead to now is where certain sects argue over the right to say "Merry Christmas" or sing religious Christmas Carols in public schools (it was a story on AOL a couple of days ago). This is not what I believe Jesus had in mind when He told us to be the salt and light of the world.

Now, while I don't feel the need to fight over the un-Churched world about those things; I do feel the need to propagate the notion of how important it is to live missionally during the Chrismas season (also known as Advent). There's a short, great book entitled Advent Conspiracy: Can Christmas Still Change the World? by Rick Mckinley, Greg Holder and Chris Seay that gives tips about how to live a contrasting missional life that is showing a different picture then that of the cosumeristic culture we live in. So, I highly suggest making that a read.

But, after going through this Christmas season I've learned something - Christmas provides plenty of opportunities to live missionally and here are just a few:

• Christmas Parties: Need I say more? Go to them and hang out with those who are un-Churched. This is a great way to establish relationships and even show them something different. You might even be able to invite them to your church, or your house, or talk about what Christmas means for you. The possibilities are endless.
• Generoisity: There are many ways to play this one out, but the main key is to be GENEROUS! GIVE! Give to families you have a relationship with where you see needs. Be generous with your time and money.
• Joy: Coming up with one word for this one is tough, but "joy" is a good word. Do you show "joy" to the un-churched? How do you carry yourself? Do you let he holidays stress you out? How do you treat employees at the stores? To put another way, can people tell from one interaction with you during this season that you are filled with "joy"? *note: we should always have joy - but, at this time of year when the holidays should be happy and people freak out, joy can make a huge difference and lead to many conversations with strangers...
• Christmas lights: Now, some places won't allow it - but go big on your Christmas light display. Make it bright. Make it fun. Make it interactive where people want to pull their car over, or want to make a trip to see your house. Make it welcoming. Make it a place where they want pictures of it. Make it a place where they want to take friends to. Now, some people may not have the heart or the ability to do this I understand. But for those who can, turn your house into a missional Christmas display. One day, I hope to be able to give away Hot Coco and other goodies, all so I can better engage in conversations and build relationships. Heck, one day I'd even love to set up a giving booth where they can donate money and all the proceeds go to either Advent Conspiracy or some other credible, quality charity. All this with the purpose of getting to know people.

This is what I mean. Let's put Jesus back into focus during Christmas, don't worry about putting "Christ" back into "Christmas". Live missionally inside your community, your neigborhood, your city. Look for oppurtunities to use Christmas as a means to build relationships and let them see a life that demands an explanation - one that only Jesus can provide.

I Love This Place Enough to Have No Doubt - Missional Lyrics in a Secular World

As one lives missionally, occasionally one is going to come across parts of culture that catch their attention. As one seeks to engage culture, one will find inside a secular, post-Christian culture some art, some music, etc that will resonate and illustrate foundational truth. This just serves as an example of how much the Church must engage culture, not create a sub-culture, in order to redeem it with the Gospel and Jesus. In turn, this will create a counter culture and allow for the Kingdom to explicitly break forth.

One such example of this type of thing is from the secular band - Snow Patrol and "Take Back the City". Go listen to it and come back, here is the link...Snow Patrol's "Take Back the City"

When this song is played it reminds me of the Church's call of Nehemiah to love their city and take the Gospel to it. It reminds me of how much God loves the city and how Jesus wept over Jerusalem before he was crucified. It helps remind me of how important of a task it is for the Church and it's people to love the city in which God has placed them and called them to.

I just want to highlight some impactful lyrics:


God knows you've put your life into its hands
And its both cradled you and crushed
But now its time to make your own demands
(What are your demands for the city you live in? Are they that of Jesus? Why do we rely so much on the city, the world and not on God?)

All these years later and its killing me
Your broken records and words
Ten thousand craters where it all should be
(All the world, the city does is placate us...)

No need to put your words into my mouth
Don't need convincing at all
I love this place enough to have no doubt
(I love this place enough to have no doubt. These are the lyric that touch me the most. Do you honestly love your city enough, that you have no doubt that God has called you to it? Do you love your city to the point that you don't need to get convinced on mission? This is what I constantly get challenged with by this song.)


It's a mess, it's a start, it's a flawed work of art
Your city, your call, every crack, every wall
Pick a side, pick a fight, but get your epitaph right
Or you can sing til you drop 'cause the fun just never stops
(Of course its not perfect, that's why your city needs Jesus. Are you gonna run from your mission - or do you love your city enough for it to give your life to repairing it through the Gospel and Jesus?)


I love this city tonight
I love this city always
It bares its teeth like a light
And spits me out after days
(The world, the city, I love it. But it isn't going to go down with out a fight. Don't expect this to be easy. Don't expect this to not cost anything.)

But we're all gluttons for it
We know it's wrong and it's right
For every time its been hit
Take back the city tonight
(Its full of the good and the bad. We run to the city for the wrong reasons. Its time to run to the city with the Gospel and be the hands and feet of Jesus.)

This is one of my favorite songs of the moment. It is also, probably one of the best missional engagement songs out there. It shocks me how powerful and informative these lyrics are. My question for you is: Do you love your city? Are you willing to engage it with the Gospel and bring the Kingdom?Do you want to see Jesus take claim of His city? Do you want to see the Kingdom invade your city?

Establishing Monument Moments as Missional Monuments

As I sit in my chair of study early on the morning of Thanksgiving, Jesus begins to get my brain going and draws me back to a passage that He is always showing me stuff from. He is constantly taking me back to the book of Joshua chapters 3&4, to the story of Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan. This is a defining moment in the reign of Joshua as God uses it to show the Isrealites that He is with Joshua in the same way He was with Moses.

Honestly, take this how ever you want to, I'm not expecting God to part a river for me. Why? Well, firstly because I live in a city that has no rivers. Now, if God chose to part traffic occasionally on the 5 or 55 or 57 or 405 and especially the 91 - I would not complain. But, the point of this exploit was not the parting of the river but simply showing the Isrealites that God was with them. That God was up to something big. That they were His people and He was their God. That Joshua was not leading by Himself but through the power of God. The point in this story was the work God was doing, in this case crossing of the Jordan, but not the actual miracle itself.

The question though, is why did God choose to express Himself to the Isrealites and Joshua this way? Well, this is where Joshua chapter 4 comes into play. What I find so remarkable is that even from the very beginning of God's story that He reveals to us, He is constantly showing us that He is a missional God who is about drawing all the world to Himself.

After they have crossed the Jordan and God has displayed His power and His might, He issues a decree for the people to follow, one that if looked at through the Western Churches eyes, might be a little hard to understand. In 4:6-7 they are told to set up 12 stones in the Jordan as memorial. In verses 20-24 it is further explained: "And those 12 stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the people of Israel, 'When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these stones mean?' then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.; For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for as until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever." This shows us that our God is a missionary God. This is yet again an example in the Old Testament of why Jesus had to come. Jesus came to draw the world to Himself. Jesus came as the second person of the trinity to earth and lived in what is known as the 'incarnation'. He lived incarnationally, as fully God and fully man here on earth to draw the world to Himself and His Father.

But the key to this passage and why I write about it today on Thanksgiving is this. If you notice, in the pasage, God tells the people, after He has completed His work in their lives to set up a monument. This is not a monument for them to worship or pay homage to. No, it is one for them to see and constantly be reminded of the work of God in their midst. This is a monument that every time they see they are supposed to be able to tell their children why the God they worship is the true God. This monument is meant to be a monument that outsiders, sojourners, other nations will see and know that the God of Israel is the true God. This monument that God has them build is meant to be a means for the Isrealites to not forget who their God is, what He has done, and be able to easily and intentionally tell the missionary story of their God.

Which, coincidentally enough brings me back to our present day and even Thanksgiving. See, these 12 stones are a monument that are pointing back to a certain moment in time. While we do not all have a river parted on us, we all should have these moments, these stories of where God has been at move in our life. These are what I like to call "Monument Moments" and where we need to then turn these into "Missional Monuments". Think about it, even Jesus had Missional Monuments and Monument Moments. Read through the Gospels, Acts, and the Pauline epistles. Not to beat a cliched horse, but the cross and ressurection are the two biggest examples of a Monument Moment and Missional Monument, but Jesus had many more.

See, God is up to things in the world. He is calling us, His Church, to be a part of it. By taking part of it, we are to be salt and light to the world. By doing that, we should naturally have these moments where there is no other explanation other than Jesus; just like the Isrealites had no other explanation for crossing the Jordan. It is in these times, where our society has come to a point where we too easily forget them, where we don't stoop and remember. So, I say we must create "Missional Monuments" that force ourselves and the world to peer in, take a look and ask "What happened here?". Maybe the first step is to use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to look back on your year and see what God has been up to in your life. And, then see where your "Monument Moments" are and create a "Missional Monument" for you and your family or church. All so that we can easily point people to Jesus and show the world that God is on the move and here are some snapshots of what He is up to.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What are your "Monument Moments" for the past year? How can you turn these moments into "Missional Monuments"?

Studying Culture Through the Picture of Dane Cook

One of the greatest things about being on campus all the time is that I get the chance to see and study culture at one of the many places where culture is injected into the rest of the world - a secular university. Being on campus means that one must look at this place through Missiological lenses (studying culture through the eyes of a missionary). This is a discipline that can never stop, nor should it. But that means digging beneath the surface of what you see and figuring out how and where they need the gospel; figuring out what their functional saviors are; figuring out their idols; figuring out what/who shapes their world view. So one of the things that is prevalent is how much Dane Cook is idolized by the college community (students, not professors).

Now, let me pause here for a moment, pop culture is not the best or only way to learn about your culture - there are many ways, this is just one aspect to look at. For instance, Dane Cook is a celebrity who affects cultures. So we want to see how he is affecting culture and what that is doing. Make sense? Alright moving on...

Dane Cook, is a comedian. It was very tough for me to write that sentence, because I really don't know if he can be called that. Honestly, up until about a week ago I had never heard any of Dane Cook's material - hadn't had the chance. But I've heard him talked about so much and I didn't understand him, all I knew was that college students are in love with him - especially college guys. So one night, I turned on Comedy Central and they were playing one of his live performances he gave. It turned out to teach me quite a lot.

I watched his entire 1 hour performance. I maybe only laughed several times, honestly I didn't think he was funny, maybe not my type of humor I'll admit. But, what stuck out to me was his candor and how he was not telling jokes but merely having a one hour monologue with his audience about the life he lived. For the majority of the show he was basically bragging about how crappy of a person he is. I was shocked and then came to this realization.

He is not a comedian. He is a preacher. He doesn't tell jokes he propagates a way of life. He evangelizes people to his way of life. He makes being a douche-bag acceptable and popular. He tells tales of his one nights stands and how he treats women and other people with total disregard and he gets huge laughter. Why? Because he is catering to the culture that has been established in America - a me first, consumeristic, disregard for other people. He is preaching his (false) gospel of humanistic hedonism (pleasure).

For instance, here is what he says about when he is on stage "You have to learn the crowd. I just pay attention to them so I can make sure I can make them laugh." One draws several points from this: 1) he's smart, no denying that. 2) he knows how to read culture and people - he is giving them what they want. 3) He is preaching to his followers, his converts and inviting them in to his way of life.

Now, I'm not saying he's starting a religion or anything. But, just illustrating how he is magnetizing and preaching a gospel that is contrary to that of the true Gospel, that of Jesus. One more quote, one that I feel that helps illustrate my point (and one of his more tame examples) "Three weeks ago one of my dreams came true. I finally got to see something I always wanted to witness live. I finally saw someone get hit by a car... Nailed!" He is a humanistic, hedonist preacher.

With all this said, what does he teach us about culture? Well, let's look at it specifically for college students. They love Dane Cook. They sell out his arenas and flock to his movies, Cd's, etc. Why? Because the life he is living is what they all want. He is living a life that is in the moment and about giving him glory and pleasure. He is worshiping himself. That is the American Dream, that is our culture, that is what college students think (at large).

Let me take this one step further, he is the fantasy of every college guy:
1) He makes millions without actually working.
2) He gets to work while dressing while he just got out of bed.
3) He gets to talk crudely and vulgarly and is dubbed the cool guy.
4) He gets to tell of his "chick banging" exploits without regard as to what it has done to the women.

The List could go on. But I'll end it there. What I'm getting at simply is this - Dane Cook is popular culture. No doubting it, young people love him (myself not included). If you like Dane Cook I'm not telling you to stop. In fact, as long as he's popular, I'll be listening and trying to understand him and his impact on culture and trying to glean as much info about the college mind and American society as I can.

Dane Cook is a preacher of the gospel of America. We need to be preachers of the Gospel of Jesus. A gospel of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:20-21). Because one thing is clear from him people are open to be preached to. People are looking for a way of life to live, one that will provide meaning and satisfaction - but its so much wrapped around their own personal satisfaction, which is something that we can never have our full of. Listen to Dane Cook and even though he has fame, money and women - there's something missing. Listen to college students - there is something missing. That thing missing is the Gospel of Reconciliation, the Gospel of Jesus. They need Jesus. I implore you look at your tribe, your culture and see how it needs the Gospel of Jesus to reconcile and redeem it.

Rethinking the End Goal of Church Membership

As a student, I get plenty of opportunities to sit in class and daydream. Now, mind you, my daydreams are not that of your average college student, especially those at a secular university. I do not sit in class and gawk at the girl in front of me and daydream about asking her out (like those seeking their MRS degrees would be)- instead, one daydreams about the Church and the Kingdom. In fact, on Monday, Jesus and I had our own little conversation and think session about Church Membership.

Let me state this. I love the Church (global) and the church (local). I believe you cannot have a church without the Church and vise versa. They go hand in hand and as a future pastor, future church botanist, I spend lots of time dreaming about what the church could be and the expression it could take in a local environment. Most of the time I have these think sessions it is usually big picture stuff about how the church and the Church can better reach it's community - it's city. But this time, it was being inquisitive about a part of the church, I've never fully understood and that is church "membership".

Again, I love the church. I do. But, correct me if I'm wrong - are we not all members of the Church once we encounter Jesus? Not only that, I agree that we are all commanded to be a part of the Church - and the church. Now, one of the ways that previous generations before me have did that is by allowing one to become a church "member". There is nothing wrong with that - but from past experience of being a "member" - what's the point? One spends at least a month of their life sitting inside a church building learning what this church is all about and where it stands (all good things to know) and then from there they want to make sure one knows Jesus (an important thing as well. After this one gets voted in, and is allowed the "privileges" of a church member (i.e. voting, discipline, etc), one almost becomes a share holder of the church (a good thing yet again). And that's it. You can vote at business meetings. You show up on Sundays, maybe one other time a week - you are a member, a super-Christian and thus can now be officially allowed to lead in one's church.

Now don't get me wrong, I've gone through the membership process - it's valuable, but its end goal needs some help. Now, the church one is currently at - does not have membership. They tried it, no one did it. So, they rethought things. They just want one to be connected. If one wants to be a leader, one has to go through training. Heck,now one feels far more like a member of this current church then he ever did at the one where he was a "member". This non-member church doesn't have business meetings - instead, during the main services they have "family conversations" were they incorporate it into the main portion for all to hear...

Here's what I'm getting at - why does the American Church feel the need to have members if all it does is just help us put boundaries on our attendees?

Membership is a tricky thing. I believe in having membership - but it is extra-biblical (not a bad heretical thing, but not a mandatory, have it or you are a heretic kind of thing). So, if I believe in membership, what is the point? There are lots: I agree that it is a good way to make sure your leaders are equipped - so it is training. I believe it is a good way to talk to your people about what the vision for your church is all about and what God has uniquely called you to express for the Kingdom. But, really, membership? We are all already members of the Church and a class won't make me any more or less of a member of the Church. Which lead me to this conclusion.

As with everything in the Church and church - it is about Mission. So, leadership training is about the mission (equipping leaders to fulfill the mission); casting the vision of your church is about mission (because your church is about mission and that is the vision). With the lens of the gospel and vision, what if membership was no longer about a class and being able to call yourself a member, now being able to lead, being able to vote, etc - but what if it was about mission?

What if instead of voting them in as members, after the membership class is over they now become sanctioned as missionaries to their communities? What if membership classes are now about missionary commission? What if by the time one is through the membership class, they are now official "insert church name here" missionaries to "insert name of city here". Therefore, membership classes are there to emphasize to your people that being a member of both the Church and the church is about mission, about being missionaries. Thus by the time one is commissioned they are not a "member" but a "missionary", an "ambassador" of the Church by the church for the Kingdom to the world - starting with their community.

The Art of Missional Living//be willing to get off the plan for your day

So, the journey of a missional leader and follower of Jesus leads one down many paths. In fact, on Monday night I was faced with one yet again. After being in class from 11am-645pm and working from 7pm-11pm, I was tired and ready to go home and do homework and sleep. Unfortunately though, due to horrible parking on campus and my refusal to get to campus early to find a good spot, I was parked at the back of Lot G (which for those who don't know CSUF, is on the corner of Yorba Linda Blvd, near the arboretum and Goodwin field) - it's quite a hike, even for a scooter.

Well, on my scoot back to my truck - Jesus decided to remind me that in order to live missionally it means holding all of my life loosely (thanks for that phrase RockHarbor) - even when I'm tired, been on campus all day, have homework to do, and get to be back at campus by 830am for my 9am class on Tuesday - which means that I don't control when or what I'm doing, I just go by the moment, by the seat of my pants so to speak, hold my life and plans loose and see what Jesus has in store for me each day. Like I said, on the ride to my truck there was a random, middle aged woman walking the middle of the street that runs in the middle of the parking lot. As I go by her she flags me down and asks me what street she's near, so I tell her. Then I keep scooting, because I have things to do. And I hear a voice saying to me "Give her a ride. Do it." But, I ignore it because I have things to do.

Then, I get to my truck, I take it slow wrapping up my scooter and she's near me and my truck. I look her in the eyes and ask her (knowing that I can't ignore that voice in my head) "Can I give you a ride?" With which she looks at me with big eyes, just floored that a college student would offer to give her a ride. She gladly says "Yes, do you know where Garnett Ave is?"

Now let me pause right there. Before you starting thinking I'm the perfect missional person. I'm far from it. There are more times then not where I hear these voices and ignore it simply because I am "too busy". But, that night, thankfully, I did not let my own will happen and get in the way. I hate it when I do things like that - because I know that I'm called to love and serve those in need, but at times it just feels like such an inconvenience. But,this I know, I have the rest of my life on earth to continue learning how to die to myself and rely on the sanctification of Jesus in order to help me fully live out the mission of Jesus and the Gospel.

Now with that interlude having happened, I'll continue my story. I'd love to say that in this short ride she decided to follow Jesus as that would be a lie. But, I can guarantee you that she encountered Jesus. Driving with her for that short ride, I got to know her and her story, asking tons of questions. Her name was Francis. She was a beautiful woman that God created uniquely and placed his finger print on. And her story was quite sad (too much to type about). But inside this process, I was praying for her, just simple things.

Then we pull onto Garnett Ave. Our time is over, she thanks me and gets out. I tell her it was my pleasure glad I could serve her in this and I go to turn around my truck down the rest of the street. As I come back around she waves me down in the middle of the street. She then tells me more of her story: how she lost all her money at the Pomona track and how during her time down here her boyfriend and her have gotten into fights and she broke up with him, but you see, the problem is here motorcycle is right out here and its out of gas and it happens that this is her boyfriends house. She apologizes in advance saying that she feels bad having to ask me for this and asks me for $5 for a tank of gas, sayin she'll write me a check. I look her in the eyes and call her by her name and say "Francis, I love you. Let me serve you in this way. No money is needed. Just let me do this for you. I've been blessed with so much, let me bless you tonight. It's been a pleasure to get to know you tonight. If I have cash in my wallet it's yours." (coulda said more, but remember I was tired - shoulda talked about Jesus more) Sure enough but what is the only bill in my wallet - a $5 bill... So I drive off and pray for this child of God, Francis.

Now here's some quick things I learned from this about Mission and Jesus. Firstly, living out the gospel means so much - be the hands and feet of Jesus at all tims. Second, be open. The best missional moments are the times you don't plan. Third, missional living means inconvenience - but remember we are called to live as Jesus and carry our crosses - wasn't Jesus placed at the ultimate inconvenience for having to carry our sins on the cross? Fourth, we have been blessed to be a blessing - even if it is only a rid and a five. Fifth, in our cashless society it is tough to be generous and a blessing to other if we don't carry cash and just carry plastic. Carry cash - small bills because even a five can allow someone to encounter Jesus. Be counter cultural and carry cash so you can freely give it way. Sixth, never stop praying. Don't be afraid to share. Ask questions about her. Seventh, one thing I missed, I should have asked to pray for her - but I forgot...

Gospel and Community - an example of Missional Living

Over the past several months, there have been two things becoming more and more crystallized in my mind as the Holy Spirit leads me and Jesus prepares me for ministry. Heck, these two things that I'm learning are actually one thing, or two sides of the same coin. This is all a part of what it means to live missionally - one must have the gospel and community. They are essential.

Here is the first one: All of life must be living out the Gospel.
That is a big statement, I know. What does that mean? It means that Jesus came to establish a people that were to be about the business of the Father (just like Jesus was), aka, establish His Kingdom on earth. It means that in all we do in our lives, we must be embodying the gospel - not just to those who do not know Jesus - but to those who do know Jesus. Our lives must be gospel led, gospel business, kingdom lives.

Point two which ties directly into this, is that we must live these gospel lives in community. Why? Because God lives in community as the Trinity present in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Not only that, God has always been about creating a people. First through Adam, then Noah, then Abraham, then the Isrealites and now the Church (with the capital C, not the lower case c). He's always about blessing a people to be a blessing to the world. In our world today that is the Church.

But in this gospel life lived in community it is an enormus task with lots of variables from scenario to scenario - the common linkage is that we are supposed to live life in such a way that as individuals participating in community we live such lives that the world demands an explanation, and the only explanation is the Gospel.

Jesus has been teaching me a lot about that recently. The Holy Spirit is growing that passion in me continually. Today, tonight, God gave me an oppurtunity to put this into practice. Before I share my story, I must preface it by saying that I'm not perfect at this. By no means. I fail, and fail a lot. This is one of the times I feel I have gotten it right.

Today, a brother of mine gave me a phone call. We help each other do life together and are developing a stronger bond all the time. He called, while I was in RH Student Ministries @ South County. Sent him a text and found out it was important. Snuck out and gave him a call. Where he shared with me the news that his girl friends dad had died on Thursday.

I'll admit, not the phone call I expected. Don't know what I was expecting, just not that. So we talk and find out the details, I'm heart broken, say goodbye and go back to the students. For the rest of the day it was hanging over me, I was broken and sad for two people I love. All I wanted to do was be with them, and grieve with them, and pray over them.

Then, the 9pm @ RockHarbor Central Campus begins. We sit through it and I realize that the response time is the ideal time to pray for him and her. So, after the message when response time hits - I pull him aside and ask him to come with me to the prayer room. Again, a note, I'm by no means perfect. But it is here, where I get to pray with him, pray over him, and lift him up. It is here, where community happened. Where life was done together, where it was all laid bare and made sure that for the sake of the Gospel whatever was needed from me he had as I'm there to keep him upright.

After that I asked if I could pray over them both. So he brought her in. It was sad, she's a beautiful, energetic woman who loves Jesus and I could feel and see the heaviness in her soul. I hug her and spend time grieving. It is after this that I look at them both, and do life, and live community of the Gospel out with them and share my heart, how I'm here for her, for him, for them. And then, prayed for these two amazing people who love Jesus and each other, that model a Godly relationship to the world, through the Gospel in their community.

The Gospel embodied in community. It hurts. Its tough. Its worth it. We just model ourselves after our perfect example, Jesus, till he returns and takes away things such as death. Remember, after all, even "Jesus wept".

Welcome to "Therefore the Cross"

When studying the Bible there is a basic rule you are taught and that is whenever you see a therefore, you are supposed to ask what is it there for? So therefore, I have been bantering around for about a year different names and phrases for a potential church plant that I feel God beginning to cultivate in me. So, one that I'm serious bantering about is "Therefore the Cross".

Why? Because this encapsulates the missional nature of the Church. What is the Church there for - the cross. What is the cross there for - the mission of Jesus. What is the Church there for - the mission of Jesus. Now, i'm still developing this out. But, I feel like this shows what the church is all about and when explaining the name of the church you have the vision of the church and you also can have the gospel included in your name. Plus, I just think it sounds cool.

But this blog will be completely devoted to my journey on this and my journey and lessons that I learn from being a young missional leader. So, this may get updated often or not so often. We will see what happens. But God is continually showing me insights on how to love the city of Fullerton and live out His mission in this city. So I'm sure I'll be posting here on a regular basis.