chasing has emerged?

I want to thank you, Kim, for starting this blog, and for faithfully following God's call. I know this book study/blog study group sort of petered out and I think that is for a reason. (although I don't claim to know what it is) I have discovered in my own chasing of lions that the lion in the pit with me is none other than myself. I thought it was the 'church'... when we started this...what I've started to hear lately... is that working within the church is part of what God is asking me to do. I'd like to say differently.. really... would like that not to be so (I have a hunch that is a bit trickier than going out into the community...lol)... but also I've learned that God's mission in this world is not waiting around for churches to effect change.

I don't need the leadership team to authorize anything, I don't need the people in the church to validate where God is leading me, I don't need the worship team design to implement a worship service that is actually authentic and not watered down by fear offense. (no offense intended) I don't mean to imply that I am alone. Certainly this is God-led and I have no doubt God will provide resources and people along the way. And.. also to be clear... I have no specifics as to what I will be doing...

Because what is emerging is a deeper faith. What is emerging is a new call, a call to move into a new shift of priorities and practices that God is building in my prayers.

"..our societal systems are perfectly designed to yield the results we are now getting" a re-quote from Brian McLaren

"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it" ~ Albert Einstein

I think I better understand now the use of the title.. deep shift... that McLaren uses.

the importance of looking foolish

"We try to be too reasonable about what we believe. What I believe is not reasonable at all. In fact, it's hilariously impossible. Possible things aren't worth much. These crazy impossible things keep us going." - Madeleine L'Engle

resources
- 1 Corinthians 1:27-30
- Looking Foolish

share your thoughts
- Mark says that part of spiritual maturity is caring less and less about what people think of you and more and more about what God thinks of you. Do you feel like you are missing out on blessing because you're too afraid of looking foolish?
- What does your foolish wishlist for Peace look like?

grab opportunity by the mane

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them." - George Bernard Shaw

resources
- Colossians 4:2-5
- seizing opportunities

share your thoughts
- Do you agree that your destiny is determined by whether or not you seize the God-ordained opportunities presented to you?
- How do you live in prayer mode?

everything must change tour

My mother-in-law knows I'm a fan of Brian McLaren and sent me a link to deepshift.org. I'm thinking of going to the session in Washington D.C. - March 7 & 8. Anybody else up for a roadtrip?

Update:
Darn - I think this is the same weekend as the women's retreat. Decisions, decisions.

butterfly effects

What are the small changes, the seemingly small choices made at Peace that have magnified over time and been a blessing? Share your experience in a comment.

chapter 6 - playing it safe is risky

"On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or as I suspect, does not one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning." - Annie Dillard

resources
- Matthew 16:24-28
- taking risks

share your thoughts
- There is no such thing as a risk-free faith. What risks are stopping you?
- Every decision we are faced with becomes a crossroads of sorts.
- Do we need to give up something good to experience something great?

chapter 5 - guaranteed uncertainty

"To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways; we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should rather be an expression of breathless expectation." - Oswald Chambers

resources
- Acts 14:21-28
- embracing uncertainty

share your thoughts
- What if we sought God with some ancient intensity instead of spending all our energy trying to eliminate His surprises?
- You have to do something counterintuitive if you want to reach your God-given potential and fulfill your God-given destiny.