Fellowship Project

Easter Baptism

2011-04-27T09:11:00.000-04:00

Baptism is so refreshing, and I'm not just talking about walking into brisk water. What an amazing picture of what Christ did for us, and also a public profession of personal faith in Him. It is so rich in imagery and meaning, rich in history and hope for the future. I love being part of a baptism, even if it is just as a witness, but especially as a personal participant. This Easter was even more special for me because of the baptism that took place in our pool.

Some of our neighbors have been walking with Jesus for a while now, each have their own story of their own journey and I can't tell their stories nearly as well as they could. Two of our neighbors have been falling in love with Jesus for the past few months and it is obvious to everyone around. Jesus is changing them from the inside out and it has been very encouraging to watch. They were both baptized as children, but felt like God was asking them to be baptized again, this time as a public display of His glory and of their commitment to follow Him.

So, this past Saturday after an annual egg hunt for the children we invited everyone to come celebrate baptism with this couple. It was such a special time. Joy, relief, peace, and excitement for all those in attendance who don't know or aren't walking with Jesus filled our hearts. Afterwards we had a neighborhood cookout and continued the celebration. Jesus is risen! Our neighbors have been buried with Him and raised to new life as well! What a great day it was!

May you be on the lookout for displays of God's glory. May you be on the lookout for people who need God's glory in their lives. May your life be a public display of God's love and grace. May we live as those who have been raised to new life in Christ!
Blessings,
Shiloh

The Church is a Funeral Home...

2011-01-11T16:48:00.003-05:00

I know that sounds a bit morbid, but hear me out. I've been reading a book called AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay and came across a story that got me to thinking about how churches (groups of Christ followers) die together.

The way I see it there are two main ways that churches die together. The first way is when they decide (either consciously or not) to hunker down inside their church walls and refuse to engage their community. Rather than focusing on a lost and broken world around them, they focus on keeping things they way they are inside their walls. They talk about their community a lot (usually in a negative way), and they wish their community would come to their church, and they might even do some outreach events to try to convince their community to come inside and be with them. But those in their community recognize the smell of death and know that it isn't any better inside there than outside. The church slowly (or or sometimes quickly) literally dies together and Christ is far from glorified.

The second way is what was so beautifully described by Hugh Halter. He describes a time when a new believer in their group (made up of Christ followers and those not sure yet) asked the question, "So... is this my church?" In his response he shared with her (and the others) the difference between a church and a faith community (which is what he says they had at that time). He went on to share with them, "We've given up our food for you; we give up our family time and personal interests to accommodate all of your spontaneous dropping by to talk. Half the time or more, we would really rather you stay away so we can enjoy our private time; but then we see you pull up in front of the house and we give another night up for you. We throw parties and gatherings for you and your friends all the time, and although it looks like it's all fun for us, it's a heck of a lot of work! In many ways, we've died for you; and if you want to be a part of a church, you'll have to die too. You have to give your life away."

Hugh goes on to describe how they took him seriously and so they prayed about it for a week and met the following week and voted unanimously to come and die together and be a church. He goes on to say, "Church is God's people intentionally committing to die together so that others can find his kingdom." Beautiful. The way I see it, all churches are dying, but some of them are leaving the stench of death, and others are intoxicating a dying world with the aroma of Life. Which kind of church are you a part of? What kind do you want to be a part of?
Blessings,
Shiloh

Life In Stereo

2010-12-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

Have you ever seen those pictures that are usually a bunch of scrambled shapes, or dots, or lines and don't make any sense and people tell you that they see a horse, or a dolphin, or a cross, or something in the picture. The first time I ever saw those stereograms I thought everyone else was crazy. I couldn't see it. All I could see were random lines and curves and squiggles, and definitely not a horse, or dolphin, or cross. For me, just like most people, seeing is believing, and I just couldn't see it.

I can remember the first time I started to see something. I caught a glimpse of it and it was absolutely amazing. I never knew what I was totally missing in the picture. I couldn't see anything and then all of a sudden there it was. But then I lost it and had to start all over again. After a while, my eyes adjusted and I could easily see the hidden image. How'd that get in there? Was it there all along? How did I miss it before? Once you can see in stereo, you become one of those spurring on the nay-sayers letting them know all that they are missing.

How about you? As you walk through life each day are you seeing everything there is to see? Or are there things hidden from your view that God wants you to see, but you just can't see them? You have to use spiritual eyes to see the world as God sees it. Some people call it walking by faith. There are things around us everyday that we totally miss because all we see is the blur of life. Take a step back from the blur of life and look at the world, the real world. It has always been there, we've just never had the eyes to see it. May we walk by faith and not by sight, seeing the world in stereo, physically and spiritually, and walking in obedience to what we see.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Priests

2010-12-03T12:00:00.002-05:00

I was reading through the book of 1Kings not long ago and a passage in chapter 13 stood out to me. Starting in verse 33, it says, "Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth." Those are strong words. I don't know about you, but destruction from the face of the earth isn't something I want said about my family.

What really captured my interest was this idea that anyone who wanted to be a priest he appointed, from all sorts of people. That got me to thinking, who should be a priest? Who shouldn't be a priest? And what is a priest anyway?

I'm certainly no expert in this area, but I want to share my thoughts anyway. First of all, the Jewish people had priests that all came from the same family. It was the family business, and they were all descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. You couldn't earn or buy your way in, it was reserved for that one family. There were plenty of other people who served God in all sorts of other ways, but the priesthood belonged to Aaron's descendants. So what jobs did the priests have that no one else could do? They were in charge of sacrifices and they were the only ones allowed to come into God's house, into God's presence. They were the ones that stepped in on everyone else's behalf to make things right with God.

There were, however, priests outside of the Jewish people, some of whom served other gods, and some who served the Lord. Melchizedek is the best example of a priest of God who was not a part of the Jewish people. This guy was important enough that a whole chapter of the book of Hebrews is written about him (read Hebrews 7) and Jesus is compared to him. Speaking about Jesus the writer of Hebrews says, "For it is declared: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.' The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God."

Jesus became a high priest of a new order, still based on ancestry, but not from Aaron. Jesus initiates a priesthood directly from God, where those born into His family by faith also become priests. Jesus initiates a priesthood where every person from all sorts of backgrounds can come into the presence of God and can offer themselves as living sacrifices to serve and worship Him.

Peter wrote about that, "As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." Peter goes on to say that even though we are coming from all sorts of backgrounds and we were not a special people chosen by God, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

The difference between what Jesus did and what Jeroboam did is massive. Jeroboam allowed anyone who wanted to become a priest, without any cause, calling, direction, or specialness. Jesus gives us all cause, calling, direction, and specialness and calls everyone who follows Him to be priests to the Father. Also notice that this has virtually nothing at all to do with worship services and church buildings. Yes, there are leaders within the church, and some have been called to special positions, but each of us that love and trust Jesus are priests because we have personal access to the presence and holiness of God and deal with him personally and not on behalf of others.

We should be very careful in what we allow others to do for us when it comes to our faith. Don't cast your position aside and don't elevate others to a place not given or even necessary. Praise God for teachers, and prophets, and counselors, and other leaders within the Church, but don't ever think that you need one of them to be forgiven, or to come to Him. "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16 There's my two cents. What about yours?
Shiloh

Biblical Misunderstanding

2010-11-01T21:14:00.001-04:00

Have you ever read a passage of Scripture and totally misunderstood it, then later read it again or listened to a message and realized how wrong you were?

A couple of weeks ago we were studying the book of Ephesians at one of our neighborhood BYOB (Bring Your Own Bible) studies. We were taking turns sharing thoughts and questions and passages that stood out to us during the week when one of our neighbors turned our attention to Ephesians 4:29. We read the verse and a few of us commented and then another of our neighbors shared that she had always understood that verse to mean that cussing wasn't right unless it was really necessary to make your point or to let the person you were speaking with know that you were serious. We all thought she was joking, but she wasn't. In fact she read to us her translation of that verse.

"No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear." (New American Bible) She had read that verse and her understanding was that foul language shouldn't be used except for edification, which for her meant something very similar to clarification or exclamation. For example, if your kids aren't listening to you and you were tired of telling them the same thing over and over again then this verse says that it is okay to cuss for emphasis.

After reading her translation I can totally understand how she came to that conclusion, but we read a few other translations and discussed them and came to a mutual decision that this verse probably isn't giving us an excuse for cussing. But that isn't at all the point that I want to make.

How many verses of Scripture are you misunderstanding? If you are like the rest of us, I bet there are plenty. That's why Bible study is so important. Read for ourselves. Examine the Scriptures. Read multiple translations. Chew on the words and meditate on the meaning. Discuss the passages with others and learn from their experience. As it says in Acts 17:11, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

Don't feel bad if you find out you've been dead wrong about a verse or passage of Scripture. Keep learning. Keep growing in your faith. Keep exploring and studying with others. Don't be a !@#$%. Just kidding. Blessings to you as you study God's Word.
Shiloh

Clergy Appreciation Day

2010-10-12T07:56:00.000-04:00

Those of you who know me know that I don't consider myself to be "clergy" although I do like the term neighborhood chaplain (read this post). So when I received a card this weekend from one of my neighbors in honor of Clergy Appreciation Day I was quite surprised. I've been a staff member in various churches in my past and I can recall a handful of times when I received a card or an email or a hug from someone expressing appreciation during the month of October (Clergy Appreciation Month), but this one stands apart from all the others. The handwritten note on the card simply reads, "Thank you for keeping our cul-de-sac family spiritually healthy."

I don't think I can take credit for that. The spiritual health of the families in our neighborhood is something much bigger than me, but what affirmation and encouragement. This card didn't come from one of the neighbors who have been worshiping with us Sunday mornings. It didn't come from one of the neighbors attending our Friday night BYOB (Bring Your Own Bible) studies. It came from a neighbor whose work schedule keeps her very occupied on weekends, but who still recognizes our cul-de-sac as a "family." Did you notice that in her note? She didn't say, "my family," or "our families," but "our cul-de-sac family." That's what I was talking about in my last post. I am so encouraged.

May the Father bless you and your family as you love those around you into His family.

Blessings,

Shiloh

Family

2010-09-24T09:52:00.001-04:00

I was challenged and refreshed by a statement that Alan & Deb Hirsch made at the Live Sent Conversation last week in Lakeland. They stated that our current conservative, American view of family isn't the same as the meaning usually conveyed by Scripture. The "nuclear" family of husband, wife, two kids and a dog (you get the picture) is not the same family that was represented when Scripture uses that word. Most of the time when you read the word "family" in Scripture the meaning is larger than the nuclear family that we have grown accustomed to. Other renderings would be household, clan, tribe, group of families, or even nation.

Think about a couple of examples. When Jacob moved his family from Haran back to Canaan and met his brother Esau on the way, Esau asked him, "Who are all these with you?" Esau had to ask because he had wives, children, many servants, and many animals traveling with him. Abraham traveled this way, and Jacob would do it again when joining Joseph in Egypt. Another example is when Paul and Silas were in jail and had an opportunity to minister to the jailer and his household. "The jailer brought them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God - he and his whole family." Family and household are used interchangeably here, including servants and other relatives that weren't necessarily part of the nuclear family.

In reality, most cultures around the world recognize family in this way, expansive and inclusive. We in America are some of the few that view family in such a limited and exclusive way. This was very refreshing to me because over the past three years Kim and I have lived in such a way as to include our neighbors as a part of our family and it has been so good.

Just recently we traveled together as a neighborhood family or tribe on field trips to local church gatherings. It was so cool to show up to a church gathering with a crowd of our own. I felt like Jacob showing up to meet Esau, a bit nervous, but knowing I was surrounded by family and meeting others who were also family. When we enlarge our definition of family, we engage the world around us in ways that we probably would not otherwise. May we see the world around us as a part of our family and invite them into our lives and into our homes.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Missional Church

2010-04-29T20:34:00.001-04:00

There's been a lot of discussion (at least among pastors and church planters) over the past few years about missional church. What is it? How is it different from traditional church? Can a traditional church be "missional"? What does a missional church look like? What makes a missional church missional? Is "missional" just a buzz word that will fade into oblivion in a year or two?

All of these are good questions that deserve to be answered, though I'm not sure I am qualified to give all the answers. I saw a video today at a Live Sent/reSymbol seminar in Orlando that I thought captured the heart of what a missional church is. In fact, I thought the video was brilliant. So, I figured I should pass it along to you and let you watch for yourselves. The video was made by Jeff Maguire and can be found at the website sayingitsimply.net. Let me know what you think.
Blessings,
Shiloh

The Chaplain Challenge

2010-04-14T21:15:00.001-04:00

Every neighborhood needs a chaplain. Let that sink in.

I'm not talking about a professional, paid-position, or title of chaplain. I'm talking about person who has a deep love for Jesus, and a deep love for his neighbors. I'm talking about a person who earns the trust of her neighbors so that when a crisis happens she is asked for prayer and comfort, and when there is a celebration he is asked to host. I'm talking about a person who offers hope to the hopeless (maybe in the form of a hug or prayer), rest to the restless (maybe in the form of babysitting), and food to the hungry (maybe in the form of a word of Scripture). I'm talking about a person who has invested her very life into the lives of those around her, and who has invited his neighbors into the depths of his being, behind the masks, to the core of who he is. Every neighborhood needs a chaplain.

Does your neighborhood already have a chaplain? If so, please share your story. If not, consider that God may be calling you to be the chaplain of your neighborhood.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Coaching

2010-04-05T21:24:00.000-04:00

I had a great adventure last week. God provided me with an introduction to coaching through Rick Wheeler and Bob Bumgarner of the Florida Baptist Convention. I'm not really sure what I expected, but my immediate thought was one of athletics when I signed up for this class. What I discovered is that this kind of coaching is more like a vehicle that carries people, you know like a stage coach.

I am still very much an infant in the coaching world, but here's what I've gathered so far from Coaching 101. We are all on a spiritual journey. Many of us get a bit stuck or go off course from the path that God has intended for us. Coaching is a vehicle that we can use to get back on the path that God has intended us to be on. "Coaching is a relationship with purpose - focused on facilitating change." I like to look at it like coaching is helping others discover and work out all that God has put into our lives. It isn't the coach who sets the agenda, or who has all the answers. We trust that God already has the agenda and all of the answers and that He reveals that to us as we listen and obey Him. What a great concept! It seems like I've read that before somewhere....

So anyway, I feel very blessed to know that God is directing my path using a new vehicle called coaching, and I look forward to sharpening my skills and seeing how God uses that to guide and encourage others. If you are interested in learning more about coaching you can watch some video taken from a coaching workshop similar to the one I experienced last week. I hope to share many more insights as I grow in wisdom and experience. Until then, may you lean not on your own understanding, but allow God to direct your paths.
Blessings,
Shiloh

The Journey

2010-03-30T21:21:00.004-04:00

I heard a quote yesterday while at a coaching conference that I thought was absolutely brilliant. Here it is: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others." The context of this quote is our life journey, specifically our spiritual life journey.

Why is it that we prefer the fast lane? Why is it that we prefer to go alone? Is it the speed of life? Is it that we don't really want to be inconvenienced by having others around for our journey? Or is it that we are afraid of having people so close to us that the might see us for who we really are? No matter what the cause, it is time for us to re-evaluate whether we are in the mood for speed or distance.

Let me share an example of how far we have pushed ourselves toward the need for speed. I was recently reading a missions magazine that had an advertisement for "Evangelism Tools for the Twenty-first Century." The ad exclaims, "You can reach people for Christ without leaving your house!" and asks, "When can you find the time to reach out to those people between all of the other things you have to do each day?" If those thoughts resonate with you, then face the facts, your cruise control is set and these ads might as well be billboards whizzing by on the interstate of your life journey.

I don't want to spend too much time here (since we have so little time to waste), but let me simply ask the question again, do we want to go fast... or far, in our journey with Christ, and with others? Let me know what you think.

Blessings,

Shiloh

Shifting Our Thinking - Part 4

2010-01-07T10:52:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope your new year is blessed as you seek the Father and His will for your life. I have been blessed as I continued reading through Missional Renaissance by Reggie McNeal. I've been summarizing the three shifts that he outlines in his book that individuals and churches will need to make if they are going to thrive and reproduce spiritually in today's culture. So far I summarized the shift from an internal to an external focus and the shift from program development to people development. This time I am going to summarize the shift from church-based to kingdom-based leadership.

I've discussed leadership quite a bit over the past few months here in this blog, so I will primarily share Reggie's thoughts and words here. He says, "Church-based leadership... can be described as institutional, maintenance-oriented, positional, pastoral, church-focused, and highly controlling. Kingdom-oriented leadership is more akin to the kind of leadership we see at work in the early days of the Christian movement, in its apostolic era. A different set of descriptors captures the character of this leadership: organic, disruptive, personal, prophetic, kingdom-focused, empowering."

He points out that "in A.D. 30, no one had a church job... There was not a sense that church leaders served church members in a customer service relationship." He reflects that at some point in history, "The biblical idea that followers of Jesus are called to live out his mission in the world became replaced by the substitute agenda of church members expressing their religious devotion through church activities superintended by clergy... Instead of being spiritual leaders in the kingdom of God, partnering with his mission in the world, we have created leaders to run the church."

Therefore, in order to shift to a kingdom-based leadership, "Missional congregational pastors now pastor the community, not just the church. They deliberately develop relationships outside their traditional church role". He continues, "Some missional leaders forgo traditional church roles. Some take jobs to connect missionally with a culture that will never come to church." As examples he shares the stories of chaplains of businesses and sports teams, and people who work as managers of grocery stores, teachers, restaurant owners, and construction workers. Personally, I really like the idea of community chaplains. In fact, just the other day that was how I described myself to my friend Einar. He sees me kind of like his personal rabbi, and he told me that he always thought I would be a pastor. When I described to him what I am doing in my neighborhood and called myself a community chaplain, he liked the description and said that he hoped it would catch on and spread to other communities. I totally agree.

Reggie also uses the description of viral agent to describe a kingdom-based leader. He says, "Viral agents search for opportunities in the routines of people's lives. Day-care centers, schools, community baseball diamonds and parks, local health clubs, professional organizations, workplaces, art and entertainment venues - all are places where chances to be a viral agent abound... Just as viruses look for any way to gain entrance and infect a host, these kingdom leaders look for any way they can to gain entrance to people's lives to 'infect' them with God's love for them."

He also points out the need for empowering others. "This pastor doesn't need to be the star of every show; he doesn't even need to show up at most episodes. He plays the essential part of empowering leaders to pursue their callings and passions. He strengthens others' obedience by creating a culture where they can say yes to the Spirit. And he celebrates the heck out of their successes."

Finally, kingdom-based leadership is personal and relational, where we invite others into our story and onto our journey with God and they in turn invite others. It is where we lead by example and coach others to do the same. Reggie says, "Missional leaders experience what God is doing and then tell others about it." Reggie asks the question, "How did Jesus train leaders for the movement?" He answers, "He invited them to observe what he did, promising them on occasion that they would and could do what they saw him doing. After long hours of ministry, he routinely debriefed they day's events and teachings. He sent his disciples out on assignments before they were ready, knowing they would make mistakes. He would then debrief their experiences to help them learn from those experiences... Movement leaders can and must still be prepared this way."

Blessings,

Shiloh

Shifting Our Thinking - Part 3

2009-12-26T14:06:00.004-05:00

Continuing on through the three shifts highlighted in the book Missional Renaissance by Reggie McNeal, I am up to the second shift, from program development to people development. This shift seems very subtle at first glance, but once you fully grasp this concept you will see that this is a monumental shift in current church thinking and actions. "The key idea is moving away from a program-driven church culture... [where] the church takes its measure from the quality of its programs rather than the quality of its people... In the program-driven church, you begin with programs and look for people to make them happen. In a people development-driven culture, you begin with people and then use established programs or whatever else it takes to help them grow."

So what's the difference? Reggie uses a brilliant analogy in his book. He answers the question, what would the YMCA look like if it operated like a program-driven church? He states that the resident trainer would probably challenge us to prove our commitment to the Y by getting on all the machines in the room, and he would show us a picture of Mr. Universe to reinforce our goals and predetermined regimen. Sounds a bit silly, doesn't it. But, what does the YMCA do? According to Reggie, the resident trainer simply asked him, "What would you like to accomplish at the Y?" He continues, "Based on my response, he customized for me a path through that room. He didn't let his training overpower me. I'm sure one quick look at me had him thinking of several things I should have wanted to accomplish on those machines. But he invited me into the discussion, he earned my trust and made me more receptive to his advice."

Where and when does spiritual growth take place? Is it through weekly church activities? Perhaps. Should it also take place as we go through life, each and every day? Absolutely. We know that we need to grow closer to the Lord, but how and who is going to help us? When we invest in others and invite them into our lives we offer to them the support they need, and we receive the support we need to grow. The church is a group of believers that are living life and learning to love the Lord, together. It takes each of us to develop healthy believers. Why else would there be so many "one-anothers" in Scripture?

We can debate forever how we got into this predicament, but ask yourself, "Are people better off for being a part of this church, or are they just tireder and poorer?" If you have no idea how the people in your church are doing spiritually (or you know they are struggling), that is a pretty good sign that we have been measuring the wrong things, the successes of our programs and not the successes of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let me end with one more quote from Reggie. "We should feed hungry people. But when their stomachs are full, we should also teach them or mentor them or find them work, whatever we can do to elevate their capacity to provide for themselves. This moves them from being mere charity cases to being people. This turns our external ministry from being just another program of engaging church people in activity into engaging them with people as God's partner in his redemptive mission. God is not more interested in developing people inside the church than those outside it." Boy, that sure sounds like it's going to take a lot of time and will probably be pretty messy. You bet it will.

May you be the resident trainer to those around you who need to begin a workout with Jesus, and in doing so may you be the blessing to others and be blessed as well.

Shiloh

Shifting Our Thinking - Part 2

2009-12-15T15:12:00.003-05:00

Last time I introduced the subject covered in the book Missional Renaissance by Reggie McNeal. I highlighted the 3 shifts that he says people and churches are going to make if they are going to join the missional movement that is spreading across the world. This time I want to introduce the first shift: from an internal to an external ministry focus.

For a few years now I have seen a trend developing among our local churches. Many churches seem to be almost completely focused on themselves, their ministries, their programs, their members, their budget, their calendar, etc. This seems natural if all you have known is a church life that has in inward focus, but seems rather awkward once your eyes are opened to those outside of the church. Sure, we schedule a few programs and activities to try to reach our communities (usually programs on our church campus), and we have weekly visitation or some other type of evangelism ministry, and some churches even go so far as to plan short-term mission projects or to collect food or shoes or toys for needy families. All of that is good, but sort of misses the point. According to Reggie, "Moving to an external focus pushes the church from doing missions as some second-mile project into being on mission as a way of life."

Another way of putting it is this, "People don't go to church; they are the church. They don't bring people to church; they bring the church to people....Jesus followers live the truth; they don't just study it." That is the first shift in a nutshell. We have to realize that the church is the people of God acting together as His body, bringing His message to the rest of the world. Somehow we have gotten confused and think of church as a destination, and some even think of it as the final destination. Reggie says that when people think of church as the destination it is "as weird as believing airports are more interesting than the destinations they serve."

So instead of telling people about our church and all the great activities that it provides, we can be free to tell people about our Jesus and the abundant life that He provides. Instead of giving huge chunks of our time to gathering all the salt and light together in one place, we can be free to spread salt and light all around our communities. Instead of relying on one person to plan a mission project, or an evangelism project, or a relief project so that others can participate, every person is released and encouraged to look for ways to be on mission everywhere they are already going.

Reggie does a great job of laying out specific ways that people and churches can shift from an internal to an external focus in their prayers, leadership, calendar, finances, facilities, and technology. I want to offer a few of my observations as well. Sunday mornings are one of the best opportunities for Jesus followers to interact with their neighborhood. I have done numerous prayer walks on Sunday mornings and I am always impressed by how many people are out mowing their lawns, tinkering on their cars, sprucing up their yards, kids playing, etc. Some of my best conversations with people who don't follow Jesus happen on Sunday mornings, when most Jesus followers leave their neighborhoods and are gathered together in buildings. Wouldn't it be great to have the freedom and encouragement to engage our neighbors some Sunday mornings? I've heard of some churches that designate one Sunday a month to community engagement (prayer walking and community service). They usually gather together later in the day to share stories of what God did earlier that day. Awesome!

Another observation is that many churches spend so much time, energy, and resources on a few programs designed for outreach, but they aren't willing to spend even half the time, energy, or resources on programs in their community. Why not adopt a school, or community center and plan activities in cooperation with community leaders at that school or community center? The churches that I know that are shifting to these types of practices are making huge strides in being Christ's ambassadors to their communities.

Is your church more like a country club or a mobile clinic? Is it more focused on making the gathered comfortable and entertained, or on equipping and sending people out to help the hurting? We need to gather together in order to send and be sent, not gathering just for the sake of gathering. That is the first shift.

May God guide your hearts and minds toward the people He loves, and may you be free to focus your gaze on the things that grab His attention.

Blessings,

Shiloh

Shifting Our Thinking - Part 1

2009-12-02T09:26:00.005-05:00

I've been reading a book by Reggie McNeal called Missional Renaissance that is absolutely awesome! I would love to claim that he plagiarized me, but most of what he has published I never wrote down, it just kept swirling around in my head. As my kids used to say, maybe he has E-S-P-N. Anyway, I'm not very far along in the book, but he addresses a few issues that really struck a chord with me and I wanted to pass them along to you. My apologies to Reggie if I use so many quotes that you decide not to read the book for yourselves.

According to Reggie there are 3 shifts that people and churches must make in order to engage the missional renaissance:

Shift from an internal to an external ministry focus
Shift from program development to people development
Shift from church-based to kingdom-based leadership

First off, what does he mean by "missional renaissance," and secondly, what will each of those shifts look like in a real-world, practical way?

According to Reggie, "The missional renaissance is changing the way the people of God think about God and the world, about what God is up to in the world and what part the people of God play in it. We are learning to see things differently, and once we adjust our way of seeing, we will never be able to look at these things the way we used to."

He continues, "the missional church is the people of God partnering with God in his redemptive mission in the world." Finally he says, "The missional life... is a way of seeing oneself as partnering with God in daily life, executing the mundane as well as pursuing the sublime, with an intentionality of blessing people and sharing the life of God with them." As we have covered before, it is all about loving God, loving others, and living sent.

But what does that look like? According to Reggie,

"These three shifts call for a new scorecard for the missional church. The typical church scorecard (how many, how often, how much) doesn't mesh with a missional view of what the church should be monitoring in light of its mission in the world. The current scorecard rewards church activity and can be filled in without any reference to the church's impact beyond itself. Since it is a fundamental truism of human nature that 'what gets rewarded gets done,' it is completely understandable that the current scorecard promotes the internally focused, program-based, church-based side of the ledger. We must develop a scorecard that supports the other side of the shifts: externally focused ministry, people development efforts, and a kingdom-oriented leadership agenda. This new scorecard, more dimensional than our current one, will highlight new behaviors that will support and accelerate the rise of the missional church in North America."

Rather than trying to tackle all three shifts in one post, I am going to split them up and highlight them one at a time. Hopefully this will generate some good discussion and feedback on each one. May you live a life that is full-filled, and not just filled full.

Blessings,

Shiloh

Making Sense or Making Sents?

2009-11-12T08:26:00.003-05:00

Right up front I have to give credit to a couple of people. First to Dawn for drawing my attention back to the question, "How is this supposed to work?" How is it supposed to look serving others instead of leading (lording) them? What does it look like to "be the church" instead of just "going to church?" Those are great questions and they don't have easy answers, or at least they don't have one-size-fits-all answers. I also have to give credit to my friend Jason who has done are really good job expressing what I believe are the answers to many of those questions. Jason has written a book called "Live Sent" and I have mentioned him and his ministry many times before. If you are looking for a good book to plunge you into this discussion, then I recommend reading his book first.

I also need to say right up front that this is not the end of the discussion, but merely the beginning. This needs a lot more dialogue and fleshing out before we will see people in masses living this way. Jason has a section of his book near the end that I believe to be incredibly powerful. As I was reading it, a question grabbed ahold of my heart and and won't let go. When it comes to church planning (calendars, programs, ministries, services, etc.) are we doing what makes sense, or are we doing what makes sents? (Thanks Jason.) You see, the number of people that show up for any of our functions isn't nearly as important as the number of people who will take what they see and hear back to their homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods.

We do what makes sense to us (usually because it's what we've been doing for years and years), instead of doing what makes sents - people who are walking Jesus everywhere they go. Can they be the same thing? Sometimes, sure. But are we even asking the question, and really giving thought to the answer. Many times you just can't measure what makes sents. It is easy to count an offering, or attendance at an event, but how do you measure the impact of a neighbor who opens his house to his spiritually unsettled neighbors once a week for a meal and a blessing?

I believe that if those responsible for church calendars and budgets really gave thought to that question, "Are we doing what makes sense, or what makes sents?" there would be some serious changes to what gets added and what gets left off. And I'm not just saying that we should add more discipleship programs or more missions trips to the calendar, though for some churches that wouldn't be a bad idea. Let me share what Jason writes on this subject.

"It is great to serve the local community. I AM ALL FOR THAT!!! Our church family certainly tries to do that. But there is a difference in stressing the importance of signing up for a local missions service project and stressing the importance of people living as a letter of God's love to their family, their neighbor, in the marketplace, in a local and global community, and on the web everyday. The difference is that you don't have to sign up for the everyday. You don't add that to your schedule. It is your schedule. It is 'as you go' as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:18-20... You simply BE THE CHURCH, be on mission, living sent every single day at every single moment to every single person you encounter. Loving them as Jesus loved and how the Spirit prompts you to love them."

As we ponder how to spend our time, energy and money within a local church body, we should consider how we can best spur one another on toward living that kind of life. Our church calendars and budgets should reflect a priority for making sents, not simply making sense.

Blessings,

Shiloh

PS - Let's begin talking about the how's for doing this. What can that look like in your context?

Thoughts on Leadership - Part 2

2009-11-04T09:30:00.004-05:00

Well I didn't intend on waiting a month between these posts, but as you know, stuff happens. The good news is that I've had more time to think and reflect and learn new things about Leadership since the last post.

In the past few months I have had one particular statement and theme repeat itself quite a few times. Just a few days ago it was repeated again. Eric Voelz was a guest at our local Reproducing Churches gathering here in Ocala. Eric is a missionary Bible teacher who lives in Sweden. One statement he made was that we (church leaders) tend to find natural leaders and try to make them into servants, but what Jesus did was to call servants into leadership. Neil Cole said something very similar at the Live Sent Conversation. My paraphrase of what he said: We look for leaders who will serve, but God looks for servants who will lead.

Most church leaders put a high priority and strong emphasis on service and servanthood. Many of them also struggle with being treated like servants. Most local churches that I know treat their pastors and other leaders very well. Some even seem to be placed on pedestals, but I'm not so sure that's a good thing. I'm not saying that we should be cruel and disrespectful to our pastors and church leaders, but I think we treat them too much like CEO's of corporations and not enough like Shepherds and spiritual advisors.

I hope I'm not too bold in saying this, but I think there are plenty of pastors out there who shouldn't be, and plenty of invisible servants who ought to be leading and influencing others in their churches.

I was thinking just the other day about how we focus so much time and energy recruiting people for positions in churches. It seems like there are never enough workers for all the ministries that the church wants to offer. We have spots to fill, so we offer leadership training, and classes and on and on. Could it be that we have to struggle so hard with this stuff because we are doing it all wrong? Maybe we shouldn't be looking for leaders at all.

Maybe we should each look for opportunities to serve others as God leads us. Some will feel called to serve a few, some will be called to serve many. Service inspired by our Savior is contagious. Followers of Jesus love to serve others, but they are very hesitant to lead, especially in areas where they aren't comfortable. Maybe churches should only offer ministries and services if and when they have servants who feel compelled by Jesus to serve others in that area. And if that means we don't have a particular ministry, then that's okay.

Leadership isn't about motivating (manipulating) people into doing things they don't want to do. Godly leadership is about serving others, no matter what the cost. Wouldn't you follow someone like that anywhere they asked you to go with them? I know I would.

Blessings,

Shiloh

Thoughts on Leadership

2009-10-05T15:50:00.004-04:00

This entry is way overdue, but better late than never, right? The Live Sent Conversation was a great time of refreshing and recapturing my attention on issues relating to living our faith among the people we interact with daily.

One theme that was repeated by many speakers throughout the Conversation was Leadership, specifically within the church. For the sake of a shorter blog and limited time I am going to include some of the thoughts that I wrote down about leadership as I listened to various speakers. Then, in part 2, I will comment on some of those thoughts. Just in case it isn't clear, these are not quotes, but paraphrases.

Jason Dukes: As leaders, are we teaching others that their everyday lives are more important than our Sunday messages?

Alan Hirsch: Jesus has gone from the Lord of the church to the captive of it.

Damian Gerke:
· Most organizations look just like their leadership.
· Coaching is helping someone be in a position where they can succeed.
· We create environments that require leaders-in-training to look just like us.

Neil Cole:
· The greatest leadership trait is humility. Humility has nothing to lose because it is not trying to gain anything for itself.
· Insecurity in leadership is an ugly thing and causes us to do really stupid things.
· A true leader is someone who gives himself away.
· We look for leaders who will serve, but God looks for servants who will lead.
· Leadership is not a position or title. Leadership is influence.
· The key to profound leadership is transformation.
· Irresponsible leadership has created irresponsible, codependent churches who rely on their leaders to tell them what to do, what to watch, wear, eat, drink, etc.
· Self-preservation is a death sentence. Letting go will bring life, but it may come through death.

Slavery to Self

2009-08-24T09:36:00.003-04:00

My personal time with the Lord this morning was dominated by one theme, slavery. I hate to admit it, but this summer has been a rough time for my personal times with God. I fell into a pattern of coasting by on second-hand intimacy and memories of past encounters. This morning the Lord emphatically chastized me for this and brought to my attention over and over again how this relates to slavery.

I spent some time in Galatians 4 where I was reminded that I am a child of the King and an heir to the Kingdom, but I was also reminded of how childish I was acting and that even royal children have less freedom than slaves. I am a victim of self-induced slavery. In spite of knowing my own limitations and knowing my Father's unlimited grace, I have chosen chains over His loving arms. I have chosen a cage over freedom.

I read a quote this morning from Miles J. Stanford that said, "Sad to say, the only believers who are interested in freedom are those who have come to the place of hating instead of hugging their chains." He goes on to say, "When the believer begins to really see the cross for what it is - a place of death - he is inclined to hesitate about choosing such fellowship." I know this summer has been a time where I have chosen to hug my chains and live independently of the Lord's freedom. I have not chosen to die to myself, to choose the fellowship of the cross, but He has not given up on me.

Stanford continues, "The old 'I' has no contribution he can make to the Christian life and service; he can never be harnessed to the purposes of God. Death is his decreed portion... We will be ready to take up our cross when self becomes intolerable to us, when we begin to 'hate our life' as spoken of in Luke 14:26. This deep burden of self and hunger to be like Him cause the function of the cross - crucifixion - to become attractive. The long devastating years of abject bondage make freedom in the Lord Jesus priceless - the cost becomes as nothing to us!"

In spite of the chastizing, I am encouraged this morning and feel ready to release my grip on my chains and embrace freedom again. I feel ready to walk in maturity as a child of the King and to embrace the cross as the place for my self. May we walk together toward the cross, and through the cross, toward freedom.

Blessings,

Shiloh

Roots

2009-07-06T09:00:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I had a great conversation with some pastors from different cities in FL. These guys are walking Jesus in their communities and planting the Kingdom around them. Really good stuff. As we were meeting together one of these pastors (check out his blog) told a story that was funny, sad, and profound all at the same time. I'm not going to retell his story, but I do want to share some of my thoughts since hearing that story.

Have you ever taken a potted plant and planted it in the ground? I have on occasion, but recently my wife planted some marigolds, both from seeds and from pots. Initially the potted marigolds looked much better than the ones planted from seeds because they had already had flowers and there was no waiting involved. After a while the seeds sprouted up and they caught up to the potted marigolds in size and beauty. Then we didn't get rain for a while and the marigolds didn't get watered. Guess what happened? The formerly potted marigolds quickly withered in the sun and almost died completely. The planted marigolds struggled as well, but took much longer to wither and recovered as soon as they received some water. At this point, the planted marigolds are big and beautiful again and the formerly potted marigolds are dead. What do you suppose is the reason for the difference? Simply put... the roots.

Plants that grow in pots are bound to that pot. Their roots intertwine and ball up and if left in a pot long enough they will almost completely fill the pot. If a potted plant is pulled out of its pot and placed in the ground, its root structure stays similar to how it was in the pot, very intertwined and balled up and very few roots are able to get nutrients out of the ground to support the plant. If you want to help the potted plant grow in the ground you need to rip the roots apart and point them outward into the soil. It sounds awful to rip the roots apart and from the plant's perspective it is probably very painful. But without the ripping of the roots and aiming them outward instead of inward they wither quickly and usually die not long after they are planted.

Planting from seeds takes much longer to see growth initially, but their root structure is much healthier and they will almost always catch up to the potted plants and are much stronger in difficult circumstances. Their roots don't need to be ripped apart because they are free to spread and grow from the very beginning.

Most churches and church plants can be grouped into these categories as well. Many churches are potted. They are bound to their pot and their roots are stuck inside, completely intertwined. They may have a stray root that finds its way outside of the pot, but it is rare. Many church plants are simply potted plants that have been pulled from their pot and put in the ground. Their roots are still bound and turned inward and while they look good on the outside (especially initially) they usually wither quickly when struggles come, and often completely die after a relatively short time. Sometimes churches are split apart and new churches are planted out of that process. While it looks awful and is painful for the church, it often leads to healthier churches in the end.

There are some churches however that start from seeds. These churches aren't groups of people that are coming from another church (pot), but they are springing up from the ground after the seeds of the Gospel of the Kingdom have been planted. They don't look like much initially, but after some time they are much stronger, healthier and more beautiful than the potted church plants.

Both planted and potted plants can be beautiful and fruitful, but it takes attention and intention to make that happen. We need to be spiritual greenthumbs always ready to learn how to plant and grow more effectively. Otherwise we may wake up one day and notice that all our plants have withered and died. May our spiritual gardening skills increase daily and may our plants be fruitful and multiply.

Shiloh

Spiritual Gardening

2009-06-02T07:53:00.005-04:00

I live an unbelievably blessed life. God has been so much more faithful to me than I to Him, and I really have no idea why. I would like to think that my heart means well, but I know myself well enough to know that isn't always true. For the past year and a half I have spent a lot of time sharing with and praying for my neighbors and looking for opportunities to walk Jesus among them and plant the Kingdom of God right where I live. I have been very intentional about it at times, but the past few months have opened my eyes to something new.

I took a job with the Census Bureau to help cover some living expenses. When I took the job I was under the impression that it was going to be a part-time, flexible hours kind of job that would allow me the time to continue my ministry and make some money as well. It turned out to be a full-time, 9-to-5 kind of job that almost totally sapped all my time and energy. Fortunately, it was temporary and has run its course. In spite of my disengagement from my neighbors and ministry in general, God did some amazing things during that time.

Have you ever planted a seed in a cup (or maybe in a garden) and checked it every day to see if it had sprouted yet? I did this as a kid many times and it always seemed like it took forever to sprout. Sometimes it never did (mostly because I forgot to water it). Some seeds sprout quickly and others take much longer. Nothing that we do can speed up how long it takes for a seed to germinate and sprout up, although there are some things that we do that prolongs the process. God used these past few months to show me that I needed to step back a bit and give Him the time to germinate the Kingdom seeds that Kim and I had planted and watered.

Easter Sunday was the day that we really saw the seeds sprouting. God was bringing spiritual growth and life to our neighborhood and it was so exciting to see. We have tried to be faithful to continue to water the seeds by offering to meet with our neighbors for spiritual discussions and prayer and friendship and in spite of my general disengagement and unavailability lately, God has continued to bring more and more growth.

Kim and Sue (one of our neighbors) planted a garden a few months ago. In fact, it was about the same time that I started my job. It has needed a lot of work, especially preparing the soil and watering and weeding. But it has been so cool to see all these different types of vegetables popping up out of the earth and getting bigger and bigger and bearing fruit. Now we are already beginning to harvest some of the beans and cucumbers. Soon we will have tomatoes, carrots, onions, squash, peppers, and on and on. What an awesome picture God has given us of what He is doing in our neighborhood.

We are now starting to see some fruit in the lives of our neighbors and I know that it is only going to get better and better. Please pray for the Kingdom garden that has been planted in SW Ocala. There is a lot of watering a weeding left to be done, and some spiritual insects will try to come and eat our fruit, but God is so faithful and we are so blessed.

May you begin to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and water the spiritual garden in the place where God has asked you to be. And may you be patient as you wait for the seeds to sprout. And may you celebrate abundantly as the garden grows and fruit is born.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Prayerwalking Story

2009-05-26T13:21:00.002-04:00

I've been promising stories and I finally have the first of hopefully many. This is from Ronnie Walker, the pastor of a local church. I hope you are challenged and encouraged by this story.

During the fall, 2008, First Baptist Church Belleview engaged in 40 days of prayer walking. An area within a five mile radius of the church campus was mapped out, with that large geographical “pie” divided into 8 pieces or zones. Eight zone leaders were enlisted, and they in turn were challenged to enlist 10 other people to join them in prayer walking their respective zone. The enlistment system worked well and 80+ people were enlisted.

The strategy involved prayer walking on at least two given dates with the intention being to pray solely for the purpose of asking God to show us how and where He might be working in the zones we were covering. We wanted to hear from Him by way of seeing things which might prompt us to recognize Him at work in the neighborhoods. Our teams came back with refreshing reports as to how God showed them some “indicators” where He was at work, or in many cases some “indicators” or “prompts” which He used to guide our intercession. For example, many empty homes were discovered, and many homes with for sale signs. The implication was that many people are in transition, and by that, in some sort of crisis due to relocation. There was a sense of heaviness in many neighborhoods. This all came from observations and impressions given by the Holy Spirit. In no case did we engage people in conversation on this phase of the prayer walking effort.

Then, in the spring we engaged in a 40 day period of prayer using a prayer guide titled “Seek God for the City” distributed by Waymakers ministry. This 40 day period ran from February 25-April 5. During this 40 day period we did a prayer walk (covering our respective zones again) with the intention to ask the Lord to let us engage people and pray with them as He provided the opportunity. Those in my zone had great experiences and several opportunities to pray with, and before, people. In our portion of our zone, Alice (my wife) and I had several occasions to pray with entire families. Several of these were families having yard sales for the purpose of just trying to “make ends meet” during the tough economic times. In one instance, the Lord directed us to stop and introduce ourselves to a man and his children. As we did we discovered that he directs a Christian recovery program for men being released from prison. It was a very definite Divine appointment!

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of our prayer walk however, was our asking God how He would use us to invest in the zone; how we might personally connect with a family for a longer period of time and disciple them toward the Lord. As we prayed for that, the Lord placed a young family on our hearts…a family living in the zone we were prayer walking, though we had not engaged them during any of the walks. We knew this family from prior contacts through the parents of the young man. With them on our hearts, we went to their home. We told them openly that the Lord had put them on our hearts as a result of praying in their neighborhood. We further asked them to join us for lunch on a given Sunday, and at lunch we asked if they would be interested in doing a seven week structured Bible study, offering to come to their home every two weeks in order to cover the seven sessions. They agreed. We began going, and to our blessed surprise they are soaking in our efforts to invest in them by way of very elementary Bible study and discipleship.

During our most recent time with them (Alice had baked them a cake…always a good way to “sweeten” a relationship) they were clearly attentive and appreciative, stating at the end of our session with them, “we recognize that God put you in our lives.” We acknowledged to them that we recognize that God had put them into our lives as well, and that it was all a direct result of prayer walking their neighborhood. Further, we have told them that they are now responsible for their entire neighborhood, and that we will walk with them in the effort to reach their neighbors for Christ. We expect to do some things with the neighborhood children during the summer, and perhaps just simple hamburger cookouts to assemble other families and connect with them In any case, the entire connection has come about as a result of simple prayer walking…walking with Jesus through a neighborhood asking Him to show us where He is working and allowing Him to make the connections.

Awesome! A great book on prayerwalking is called "Follow Me: Becoming a Lifestyle Prayerwalker" by Randy Sprinkle. Another free resource is this pamphlet called "Prayerwalking Made Simple" by Chris Scofield.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Catching Up

2009-05-10T20:30:00.002-04:00

It's been almost a month since I updated this blog, so I have a ton of things to say, but I am going to keep it short and sweet. There are two main things that need to be updated. First, I want to share a bit about the Exponential Conference and then I want to share some of the great things that are happening in my neighborhood since Easter and the last blog entry.

Unfortunately I didn't get to stay for all of Exponential, but the days that I was there were absolutely great. I spent the first day and a half with two guys Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, authors of the Tangible Kingdom and co-pastors of Adullam in Denver. Really good discussion on "Missional Practices" that was relevant to local churches and church planters. I also heard from other great speakers like Erwin McManus and David Ferguson, but the main reason I went to Exponential was to spend time with Hugh and Matt. I've got a ton of notes and highlights, but I want to share a few of them with you.

First, I took a bunch of notes about the idea of faith communities and churches. I wrote that faith communities are groups of people who are exploring spiritual issues together. Many of them may even be following Jesus, but many may not. A church is a group of people who are committed to following Jesus together; who are committed to God, to each other, and to being an expression of Jesus to the world together. A faith community needs Christ followers to give direction and Truth to the spiritual journey that those in faith community are on. People are seeking spiritual guidance from each other, the internet, and many other places. The Church should be committed to becoming part of faith communities so that each community can become part of the Church.

Another thing we talked about was the difference between being a believer in Jesus and being His apprentice. Apprenticeship is learning by doing, not just watching or listening or reading. Apprentices are apprentices because they are in process of becoming like their Master. Jesus chose His disciples because He intended for them to become just like Him. Are our churches doing a good job of making apprentices?

I guess that's a pretty good transition into what's going on in my neighborhood. Easter was a major transition point for us. Before Easter we were a friendly bunch of neighbors who appreciated each other and occasionally shared spiritual things together. Since Easter we have been a faith community. My neighbors are great people, but not many of them are "church people." They have relationships with God, but they're still exploring what that means exactly. The great part is that we have begun exploring that together. Just this weekend, one of my neighbors asked if we can discuss how to "keep the faith" in difficult times. Another one asked if I could give him some reading assignments and meet to talk about it weekly. He takes his spiritual journey seriously, but just doesn't know where to begin.

I am so thrilled that these men and women have included us on their journeys. I pray that I would be an encouragement to them and that Jesus would use Kim and I to help them become apprentices of the Master. What an honor and privilege. Maybe one day down the road we will be a group of people committed to loving God, loving others, and living sent together.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Awesome Easter

2009-04-13T20:20:00.002-04:00

I hope your Easter was blessed. My Easter Sunday was one of the best I've had in a long time. For the second year in a row we celebrated Resurrection Day with our neighbors. Last year was great, but this year was even better.

We started the day off by hiding some eggs all over our cul-de-sac and releasing our egg-hunters to scavenge and collect as many eggs as they could. The kids had a blast and the parents had an even bigger blast watching them move from yard to yard like a swarm of locusts. Then we had everyone over for a potluck brunch at our house. Great food, great fellowship, and everyone was there. We noticed last year that no one in our immediate neighborhood went to church on Easter Sunday. That surprised us, so this year we invited everyone to our house and we literally had everyone show up (around 30 of us).

After brunch we rounded up all the kids, sang a couple of songs, and Kim shared the Easter story using Resurrection Eggs. Very cool. If you've never seen them, check out this website. Then we kicked the kids out and plugged in a short video that compared our relationship with God to musical instruments that are either in tune or out of tune. Very simple, very profound, and a very good discussion starter. We ended up spending the better part of the next two hours sharing what a relationship with God looks like, feels like, smells like, sounds like, etc. And not just a relationship with a god, but with Jesus, the Risen One.

We shared our doubts, our failures, our confidence and peace, both those of us that are intentionally following Jesus as His disciples and those who are on a spiritual journey, but not exactly sure about the details yet. The raw reality of life unmasked among neighbors and friends was very refreshing and encouraging. We all experienced a small glimpse of what heaven on earth can look like.

My prayer is that each of our lives are in tune with Jesus. May the sweet, sweet song of our Savior be clear in our minds and in our hearts.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Living Sent in Okeechobee

2009-03-23T15:15:00.002-04:00

I had such a great time this past weekend. I was invited to go down and spend some time with a few of the pastors of Okeechobee as they got together with a church planting coach. I was also invited to spend Sunday morning with the folks of Everglades Baptist Church and shared some of the journey that the Lord has taken me and my family on over the past few years.

I was so encouraged by what the Lord is doing in and through these pastors and through the people of Everglades. Everglades has four priorities that it emphasizes: High View of Scripture, Kingdom Families, Spiritual Multiplication, and Church Planting. They have been using the resources of Church Growth International and are seeing God do awesome things in the communities surrounding their church. For example, they have been giving out a workbook called Good News For You to their members and ecouraging them to begin leading their neighbors through the workbook with the intention that their neighbors would begin a relationship with Jesus and would begin following Him. They have seen a tremendous response to this and are now in the process of preparing to plant new churches among these new believers and within neighborhoods that have few Jesus followers. Please keep this church and these new believers in your prayers that they would continue to be bold with the Gospel and that they would see entire communities transformed by Jesus.

For more information about this method of church planting you can visit the Church Planting Institute Online for details. Please continue to keep these pastors and others in the Okeechobee area in your prayers.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Family Leaders

2009-03-18T10:35:00.003-04:00

This post is the third and final continuation of Priests and Pastors.

In some ways it may have seemed like I left a leadership vacuum at the end of my last post. How can churches exist without clear leadership? Even leadership teams still have one person that they eventually answer to, right? They can't; and yes they do.

I am absolutely not against leadership within the church. Jesus was never against leadership, just bad leadership. My main points in the last two posts were simply that every one of us has been given the privilege of being a priest/minister/ambassador for our Lord and King and we shouldn't neglect that or even worse abdicate it to someone else, and Christ's Church wasn't intended to be lead by one man (pastor or otherwise) who gets completely overwhelmed by everyone dumping every responsibility on him.

A very good analogy for the Church is a family. We are a family of believers, God's family. I'm not going to take the time to point out all the reasons and references why this is a good analogy, but if you are wondering, start looking in Scripture for words like mother, father, children, and family and see how many times it refers to God and His relationship to His people. Okay, so let's say that the Church is God's family. Just like any other family (especially really big families) there are roles that each person plays in the family, and there are disputes and squabbles and times for discipline and correction, and there are times when decisions must be made for the entire family. So what are the Scriptural guidelines that show how families are to resolve those disputes and make those decisions, etc?

The roles of fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, daughters, sons, grandparents, widows, and so on are all reasonably explained in Scripture. All of us are created equally, but each of us has a unique place and role and function within our blood family as well as within God's family. First-born males have very different roles from their sisters or younger brothers. There are three main points that I believe come out of this that are crucial to understanding leadership within God's family.

First, mothers and fathers have the duty and responsibility to love, nurture, raise, and train their children until those children have families of their own. This is true physically as well as spiritually. In fact, at some point it becomes the responsibility of the children to take care of their own children and their parents who have raised them. Simply stated, there are seasons of leadership within every family. Let's not neglect our appointed time to lead, or reject the leadership of others when it is their time.

Secondly, not all people are able to lead in the same way. First-born males are given responsibilities that others in the family aren't ever given. Husbands are given responsibilities that wives are never given (and wives are given responsibilities that husbands are never given for that matter). Apostles, pastors, deacons and others who have been called and chosen by God are given responsibilities that others will not be given. To me it makes perfect sense that Paul would tell Timothy, "If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?" Exactly!

Moses was an amazing leader of God's people, but it took his father-in-law to point out that he was leading in the wrong way (see Exodus 18). He had become "the man" and took all responsibility upon himself for leading God's family. Jethro pointed out rightly that "The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone." He told him to "select capable men from all the people - men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain - and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens." Not all of these men were appointed to serve thousands, some were appointed only to serve ten, and some were not appointed at all.

Here's my final point. In God's family we have only one Father, and there is only one First-born Son. Between them, they have ultimate responsibility for appointing leaders, for choosing the seasons for their leadership and how many they will serve, and for making decisions for the Family. Each of us has a role and function within the Family. Those that are called on to serve as leaders must ask the Father who they are to lead and for how long. And if any significant decision needs to be made, it is not theirs to make, but only to follow the decision of the Father.

Leadership in God's family is a wonderful thing. Each of us have been chosen to lead others in some way for some season. May we all be faithful to the responsibilities we have been given and truly bless and respect those that have been given greater responsibilities within God's family.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Pastors

2009-03-14T16:36:00.002-04:00

This is a continuation of the last post on priests, so if you haven't read that one you might want to start there.

As I stated in a comment in the last post, pastors are a very important part of the Church. They are one of the five groups of people listed in Ephesians 4:11 that were given to the Church by God "so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Sounds pretty important to me.

A quick study in the New Testament on pastors might surprise you though. In most translations the word pastor or pastors is actually only used once (in Eph 4:11) and literally means "shepherd." There are other words that people assume mean the same thing as pastor, like bishop or overseer, but even if you include them, they are only mentioned a handful or so times to describe a person other than Jesus.

Perhaps most surprising of all, I have yet to come across a passage of Scripture that identifies any individual (other than Jesus) as any of those things, pastor, bishop, or overseer; and I have yet to see anything that would indicate that every local church had a pastor. In Revelation, the messages to the seven churches never include a single word about pastors, though there is a mention of false apostles. In Acts 13, the church at Antioch had prophets and teachers, and five of them were named, though Paul and Barnabas were set apart and sent to others. Even the church at Jerusalem had a council made up of apostles and elders (see Acts 15).

Can I make a statement that may seem a bit heretical? During the first days of the Church, I don't think every church had a pastor, certainly not as the leader of the church. I think leadership was usually done with a team approach, utilizing apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders, and deacons. I don't think every church had all of these people, but I don't think a church was supposed to have one man in leadership of a local church either, no matter what title you give him.

I think we have done a great disservice to pastors. They have a very special place and role in the Church, but we have elevated them far beyond where they are supposed to be. We have almost completely neglected our responsibility as priests and ambassadors and have decided to pay pastors to do almost everything for us. Is it any wonder that we are seeing so much turmoil among our pastors? For example (as cited in Death by Church by Mike Erre):

80% of pastors believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively
90% feel they are inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands
50% of pastors' marriages will end in divorce
70% constantly fight depression
23% confess inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church
1500 pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches
The majority of pastor's wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry

Maybe it is time to seek the Lord and seek the Scriptures to find out what the leadership of the Church and of local churches is supposed to be. Maybe it is time for the followers of Jesus to be the Church, the body of Christ. Maybe it is time to show our pastors that we are done being spectators and bench-warmers and that we are really going to seek the Lord and do what He says. I can't think of anything more encouraging to do for our pastors than that. What about you?

Priests

2009-03-10T13:31:00.005-04:00

I have a Jewish friend that recently told me I was his Rabbi. That totally humbled me, but it was really encouraging to hear. He told me that about the same time a particular theme kept coming up in my reading and in my personal times with the Lord. That theme was the priesthood of common people.

Have you ever thought about how we pay people to "do ministry" today? In general most people don't share their faith with others, or go to visit people in hospitals or prisons (unless they are family members), or teach others about God or the Bible. That's what we pay pastors and missionaries to do. For whatever reason we expect pastors, reverends, priests, missionaries and maybe elders and deacons to do those things, because that is their job after all, and we can choose to help if it fits into our schedules.

I was reading in Exodus 19 a passage of Scripture that blew me away. God told Moses to tell the rest of the freed slaves (the Jews), "'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Awesome! God set these people free in order to make them priests.

Rob Bell comments on it this way in the book Jesus Wants To Save Christians:
"Priests? A priest mediates the divine. To mediate is to come between. A priest comes between people and a god or gods. A priest shows you what his or her god is like. When you go to a temple or shrine and you see the priest there - what they do, what they say about it, the rituals they perform - you get a sense for what their god cares about, who their god cares about. So when God invites the people to be priests, it's an invitation to show the world who this God is and what this God is like."

So the Jews were chosen to be messengers, ambassadors, witnesses, priests of who God is to the rest of the world. And guess what... so are we! Peter wrote a letter to Jesus followers scattered all over the world, and he said, "you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God."

The people of God are people who make up a Kingdom of priests. Each of us has been called out of darkness and into light and each of us shows the rest of the world who God is. Paul put it this way, "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." We are appealing to others on Christ's behalf to be reconciled. Isn't that what we pay our pastor to do? Even if that were true, are you willing to pay someone to do something that He has chosen you to do? I hope not.

If you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God, then you are a priest. And with that comes the responsibility to show the rest of the world who God is, what He cares about, who He loves. If we call Jesus, "Lord," then we ought to be ready to stand in the gap between Him and those who don't know Him and introduce Him to them.

May every citizen of the Kingdom live this life as a priest of the Living God, presenting Him to the world as Savior and Lord.

Gut Check

2009-03-02T09:39:00.002-05:00

About a month and a half ago my family started going through one chapter a week of the Gospel of John using a DVD Bible. The way we do it is we listen to the entire chapter and then talk about it a bit, especially if we have any questions. Then we go through it again stopping every time we have a question or comment. Then after we have gone through it a second time we share our favorite part and the part that we think is the most important. I have thoroughly enjoyed these times with my family. Yesterday we went through John 6 and I saw something that I've never really put together before.

In the beginning of John 6 Jesus felt compassion for the people following him around and decided to bless them with a meal since they were in a remote place. His disciples didn't know what to make of it since there were thousands of people and the disciples weren't sure where they were getting lunch either. The point is that Jesus treated a whole bunch of people to a free lunch.

The next day Jesus and His disciples were in a city across the lake so the crowd followed them hoping for another free lunch. Jesus chastised them for it and told them to do God's work instead. So they asked what God's work was and Jesus told them "to believe in the one He has sent." So then they proceed to tell Jesus that they need proof that He really is the One, and they specifically mention proof that involves... you guessed it, food. They were still looking for a free lunch. In fact, not only were they looking for one more free lunch, they implied that they wanted a free lunch every day (see vs. 31).

Jesus was undeterred, but also determined to test the sincerity of these "followers." So He begins to tell them about the bread of life. He declared, "I am the bread of life," and they began to grumble. He clarified for them, "This bread is my flesh," and they began to argue. He said to them, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." This horrified them. I don't know about you, but I've never heard a pastor proclaiming the benefits of cannibalism and vampirism from the pulpit before (He was teaching in a synagogue). I have to think that some of them literally got sick to their stomachs. Every mediocre Jew knew that they weren't allowed to drink blood, and here the Rabbi is telling them that they have to drink His blood to have life. It's no wonder some of them thought He was demon-possessed.

It says that from that time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. I guess so! Jesus blessed them with a free meal. They liked it and wanted more. Jesus wanted to give them much more, but not literal food. He wanted to give them eternal nourishment and eternal life, but He knew their motives and caught them in their own snare. After many left He asked His chosen twelve if they wanted to leave too. Peter answered for them, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" They probably didn't understand what Jesus was talking about any more than the others, but they understood that they had no other Lord to follow.

Here's the gut check. Why do we follow Jesus? Is it because He blessed us with a material blessing and now we want more? Is it because He healed us and now we want more? Is it because the crowd around us was going so we tagged along for the show? Is it because we heard about Jesus and were curious to see if He was the real deal? All of those are good reasons to start following Jesus. But we can't hang on to those motives for following Jesus. At some point we have to move to the point where we say, "I don't understand and I don't know what's going on. It feels like you are asking me to leave (vs. 67), but I don't have anywhere else to go. I am following You because there is no one like You. Only You have the words of eternal life."

Am I looking for a free lunch, or am I seeking the Bread of Life? May you hunger for the Bread of Life that satisfies every hunger for all eternity.
Blessings,
Shiloh

The Anti-Jesus Question

2009-02-26T08:20:00.004-05:00

The Lord has been rocking my boat for the past few weeks and I am going to attempt to gather some of these thoughts and give them enough order and structure to make sense. If I fail at doing that I'm sorry. Bear with me and join in the conversation.

I've recently been thinking about some of the things that Jesus was "against," and therefore some of the things that were against Him. I've had a lot of help, so don't think that I'm coming up with all this on my own. Some of the books that have contributed to this discussion I'm having with the Lord are Jesus Wants To Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment by Robert Farrar Capon, and The Jesus of Suburbia by Mike Erre, as well as some messages by Ronnie Walker of FBC Belleview.

Some of the things that were "anti-Jesus" were the evil one, the Roman empire, and the Jewish kingdom. The evil one is obvious. Even before Jesus entered the public spotlight He was tempted by the evil one to take the easy route, opt out of God's plan, and corrupt Himself in the process. One of His chosen disciples was lured away by the evil one and betrayed Jesus into torture, humiliation, and death for just a few coins. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Jesus was also against the Roman empire. I doubt I can do justice to this discussion in this short summary, but everything about Jesus was anti-empire. Caesar was the incarnation of power through intimidation, fear, and domination. Jesus was the incarnation of power through humility, love, and submission. The Jewish people were waiting for a Messiah who would come and destroy their captors and restore Israel to an eternal empire, conquering the rest of the world. Jesus was the Messiah who entered the world in a manger, and conquered the world through His own death. He told His disciples, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them. But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life —a ransom for many."

Jesus wasn't anti-kingdom, but He sure was against the established religious kingdom of the Jews. Some of Jesus' harshest language is directed at the religious leaders of His people. He flipped tables and chased people with whips. He did things (like heal on the sabbath) and said things (like call God "my Father") just to aggravate the religious leaders. In fact, in one passage in Matthew, Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites, sons of hell, blind guides, dirty dishes, whitewashed tombs, descendants of murderers, and snakes. That's harsh.

But Jesus subjected himself to the temptations from the evil one, to the laws of the empire, and to execution at the hands of the religious leaders. He was subject to them, but He was also sanctified, set apart, sacred in spite of them and within them. He was subject to them, and yet totally subverting them at the same time.

And that is where we live. Subject to temptations and attacks from the evil one, to the laws and culture of the empire, and to the hypocrisy and blindness of religious institutions. None of us are exempt from these forces around us. We can try to ignore them, but that changes nothing. The real question is one of whether we are going to follow Jesus, or whether we are going to follow an anti-Jesus. If we submit where Jesus subverted... if we live this life subject to, but not set apart from... we are choosing an anti-Jesus over the real Jesus.

If we find ourselves constantly giving in to temptation, over and over, again and again, we have chosen the evil one, an anti-Jesus. If we love our country, our economy, and American Idol more than Jesus, we have chosen the empire, an anti-Jesus. If we are so busy doing things at a church building that we don't have time to spend with our families or with our neighbors who don't know Jesus, we have chosen the religious kingdom, an anti-Jesus.

Maybe this doesn't rock your boat as much as it does mine. My boat is being ravaged by this storm and is just about to be swamped and I'm trying to wake Jesus to calm the storm, but I realized He is out there walking on the water and beckoning me to come with Him. Will I follow? Will you?

Shiloh

the discipling continuum

2009-02-24T11:44:00.002-05:00

Hey guys,
You may already browse through the links I have listed for other blogs that I regularly read, but just in case you don't I wanted to encourage you to check out the latest post at Jason Dukes' blog, "as i live sent daily". He's got lots of good stuff on his blog, but this latest one called "the discipling continuum" is a really good one. I encourage you to check it out.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Where is Your House Built?

2009-02-13T08:47:00.002-05:00

One of the interesting things about living in Florida is that houses here are by and large built on sand. Yes, they do pour concrete slabs on top of the sand and that does help, but it is very common for sink holes to open up near or even under your home and mess everything up. Even if a sink hole doesn't swallow you, every home I've ever lived in here in Florida has settlement cracks proving just how stable that foundation really is.

Case in point, my wife and kids all go to the same school which is relatively new (this is the third year it's been open). The stress of the first week of school this year was heightened when two sink holes opened up on the school grounds. One was in a retention pond and another was in the parking lot. Ever since then our school parking lot has looked like a cross between a crime scene and an oil-drilling expedition. Needless to say it has been an adventure getting the kids to and from school this year.

Anyway, back to where our homes are built. You probably remember Jesus talking about being careful about the type of soil to build your house on. In Matthew 7:26, Jesus says that a foolish man builds his house on sand. Now I'm not trying to make a commentary on building practices here in Florida, but I do want to comment on the comparison that Jesus made here and in Luke 6.

You see, I don't know what I used to think about this parable, but recently something jumped out at me. Both the wise and foolish builders are hearing the words of Jesus. The difference is that the wise man is actually doing what Jesus said to do. The difference is obedience.

There are a lot of good people who listen to the words of Jesus today and have absolutely nothing to show for it. They are living in houses built on sand. Jesus said in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" That's a really good question. Do you think that there may be people in our churches today who hear the words of Jesus and call Him "Lord" that are going to end up in complete destruction? I sure hope not.

James says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." There is a really big difference between hearing Christ's words and doing Christ's words. Psalm 112 says, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands." It goes on to talk about everyone else who is blessed by someone who hears the Lord and obeys Him; his chidren, his household, the upcoming generation, the poor. "Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever... His heart is secure, he will have no fear."

Why is his heart secure? Because he was wise enough to build on a firm foundation. A foundation of hearing the words of Jesus, and then doing what He says. May God bless your house as you build on a foundation of hearing Jesus and doing what He says.
Shiloh

Spiritual Reproduction: The Kingdom is Spreading

2009-02-12T09:01:00.002-05:00

In case you didn't know, I've been working on a "workbook" describing spiritual reproduction for the past few months. Most of the material in this workbook comes from the 15-week long 2x2 Training that I take members of local churches through. It isn't exactly a companion workbook though. I've had a few requests for material from people who can't come to these training sessions either because of proximity or time constraints and so I decided to try to put the training in a stand-alone format.

I'm at the point now where I feel comfortable sharing this workbook with others who are interested in reading it, exploring it, using it, and sharing it with others. I wouldn't say that it is finished, but it is ready to be consumed, digested, and edited based on feedback. Therefore, there is no copyright at all. It is completely open for use, reproduction, propogation, etc. Use anything you want from this workbook and if your conscience allows you can even take credit for it.

All that I ask is that if you read it, please send me feedback. If you use it, please, please send me feedback. If you like it, please share it with others. And if you don't like it, please let me know why. You are my editors and I really appreciate your input.

So how do you get a copy of the book? Email me at FellowshipProject@gmail.com and I'll send you a copy. Many blessings,
Shiloh

Balance & Alignment

2009-02-06T10:33:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that a month has passed since I was in Chattanooga and got to enjoy being with my former supervisor, some close friends that I don't get to see very often, and many staff members from churches all over the southeastern US. I enjoyed this trip for a whole bunch of reasons, but one of those reasons was that I got to share about what I am doing now and how it has its roots in what God taught me while I was preparing for and living in Africa. What I am sharing here is a synopsis of what I shared with them a month ago.

I have learned as a follower of Jesus that there are two critical areas to keep an eye on when it comes to a personal journey with God and intimacy with Christ: balance and alignment.

Balance is about keeping things in perspective and in order - a healthy balance - and it involves all sorts of things like time, money, excercise, study, prayer, family, work, and on and on. If my life is out of balance in one area, everything else is affected.

Alignment is going in the same direction as God's will for my life. As God reveals Himself and His plans and purposes for my life, I have to choose to align myself with His will, or be in a constant struggle against Him.

The decision to go to Africa was one of alignment. I felt like my life was fairly balanced at the time and Kim and I knew that it was God's will for us to go, but it took a lot of prayer and determination to keep aligning ourselves with His plan over the course of time that it took for us to actually be on our way. What I didn't realize at the time was that I needed more than an alignment. I needed a whole new set of tires! In the years of 2005 and 2006 God took off my old tires and gave me a new set, and plenty of opportunities to balance and align them with His will.

My old set of tires took me on a journey that focused on church activities for myself, my family, and the people that I met and spent time with. My new set of tires took me on a journey that is all about intentionally bringing Christ into all of the normal activities that me and my family and friends and neighbors are already involved in. There's nothing wrong with church activities, but if that's the only place to find Jesus, then we're in big trouble.

The journey I'm on now still needs balance and alignment just like before, and still requires corrections just like before, but the journey looks and feels a whole lot different. For example:

I don't "go to church" any more. I take Christ with me wherever I go and if there are others who know Him gathered together, we are the church in that place.
I don't evangelize people any more. I take the Presence of Jesus with me and look and listen for God-ordained opportunities to share Jesus with people through my prayers, presence, actions, and words.
I don't rely on books or classes to disciple people any more. I look for people who are hungry for Jesus and His Word and I invest myself in them and invite them into my life, knowing that together we will grow more and more like Him and can help each other when we fail.

There are many believers, pastors included, who are flying down the highway totally oblivious to the fact that they are out of balance and out of alignment. They are numb from the constant vibration and tired of pulling the wheel one way while God is trying to steer them off the highway and into a service station. Some know something is wrong, but have no idea what to do about it. Many are awakening to that feeling all across the US.

The Fellowship Project is an invitation to followers of Jesus to pull off the highway and into the service station. It is an invitation to get a new set of tires that will allow them to see the Church and the world differently and will allow them to naturally reproduce their faith in others and to see God's Kingdom expand as a byproduct of that.

Is your relationship with the Lord out of balance? Is it out of alignment? Are you ready for a new set of tires for this journey with Jesus? If so, pull into the service station today.

Many blessings,

Shiloh

Live Sacred, Live Sent

2009-02-06T10:19:00.003-05:00

This article was written Adam Hammond, a staff member of FBC Belleview. The Lord is doing some great things among the people there and I loved what Adam wrote here. It really challenged me and stretched my thinking about what living sent means. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Shiloh

Living Sent, at its core, is about expanding the kingdom of God by bringing glory to the Father. When Jesus walked the earth, His mission was to do the will of the Father, to be obedient to the point of death. ("I glorified Thee on the earth having accomplished the work which Thou has given me to do." Jn 17:4) Thus, if we are to use Jesus as our example, we must first understand our objective. Jesus said in John 17:18-19 "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth."

The important point here is to notice that Jesus does not send us out "any ole way." The word "sanctify" in verse 19 means to hallow, to treat as holy. Jesus understood that He was from the Father sent to do the Father's work... His instruction and holiness lay in His oneness with the Father. We receive our instruction as verse 19 says, in truth. This truth is what sanctifies us, it is what sets us apart in holiness. It is truth that sanctifies us and enables us to live sent.

Living Sent is not about going anywhere. It is about "walking Jesus" among whoever and wherever you are. It is not a program or prayerwalk, as good as those things may be. It is about Christ in you. We cannot live sent if we are not living set apart. We cannot look to culture for was to witness to others, we must look to Christ. He is the difference that others are looking for and in Him you get the opportunity to display the Holy among the profane. Jesus will draw them, you just follow Him. Live Sacred, Live Sent.
Adam

In, but not Of...

2009-01-27T12:47:00.004-05:00

I know this is a subject that has been discussed over an over again for millenia, but just in the past couple of weeks I have entered the discussion with some of those in my circle of "churched" friends. (Yes, I know I am slow; and yes, I do still have a few "churched" friends.) Actually, we weren't really talking about being in the world, but not of the world. We were talking about whether it was more important to be culturally relevant or Biblically relevant. We came to the conclusion that we as followers of Jesus must be culturally sensitive, but Biblically sound. We walk the way of Jesus, as revealed to us through Scripture and the Spirit of God, but we should do so in a way that can be understood by the culture around us.

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth." Psalm 86:11 That should be our priority, but it should be done in such a way that it penetrates and influences the culture around us. Unfortunately, it seems that too often we have switched the order around and we have elevated cultural relevance to the point where we have become Biblically sensitive at best. Too often we order our lives around the cultural norms and then check with the Bible or our pastor to see if that lines up with Scripture instead of ordering our lives around Scripture and then checking to see how that lines up with culture.

I am pointing a finger at myself here, so don't feel too offended. But since I'm already offending some, I might as well take the next step. I hear Christians from more traditional churches bash "contemporary" or "emergent" or "seeker-sensitive" churches for doing this very thing. They claim that they water down the Gospel and the preaching in order to attract more people into their churches (cultural relevance) and have abandoned sound Biblical doctrine in the process. In some cases, they are right and it is a shame. But on the other hand, some of the traditional churches that I have visited have supplanted Biblical doctrine with tradition as their highest standard. Their church culture has become more important than Scriptural commands and they have done the very thing that they accuse other churches of doing. "We've never done it that way before" takes priority over clear Biblical commands.

A mentor of mine shared with me a long time ago, "There are a lot of things in the Scriptures that aren't in our churches, and there are a lot of things in our churches that aren't in the Scriptures." Why is that? Is it because we have followed cultural norms even in our churches without checking to see what the Lord had to say about it?

Now, I know I've offended some of you so let me offer you a blessing and my prayer. May each of us seek God's Way first. May we have the courage to follow His Way only. May we challenge others around us to seek His Way and follow it with us, no matter whether they come from a pagan culture or a churched culture. May we never stop seeking His Way.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Walking Jesus

2009-01-23T12:23:00.002-05:00

A good friend of mine sent this to me a couple of days ago and agreed to let me share it with the rest of you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Shiloh

Over the past few weeks I have been reading a book by John Eldredge called ‘Walking with God’. The author talks about 3 levels of a believer’s walk: 1) being a believer 2) being an obedient believer and 3) having an intimate relationship with God. During my reading I began to think about this and I believe that in my life being an obedient believer must be further defined or divided. At first we learn to be obedient to His Word, following his commandments. Second, we learn to be obedient in spiritual things and spiritual decisions of our lives after seeking and hearing from Him. But there is a third step or level of surrender. Not just surrendering to God’s will that is made known to us in His Word, or even His will that is made known to us about spiritual decisions, but to be completely yielded to our Father, to be a living sacrifice, we must also seek his will in the rest of our lives – even the parts that seem to be mundane or normal, like what are we going to do this weekend or on our next vacation. This changes our mindset from seeking Him in preparation for and while we are doing Work, to seeking him always. Obviously as we yield more and more of our lives becoming more obedient, we become more and more intimate with our Father.

I have realized something since being back in the states about walking Jesus. Overseas your entire life is ministry because every time you step out of your door you are in the middle of lostness. Going to the store or to dinner you are walking Jesus among the lost. Overseas you are more focused and more dependent on God, but here in the states it is so easy to separate or segment our lives – now I’m doing my to-do list and running errands versus now I’m doing ministry. I’ve been guilty of not walking Jesus at all times, and I’ve realized that this is a part of my life that has not been yielded to Jesus.

Some quotes of John Eldredge about knowing God:
“An intimate conversational walk with God is available and is meant to be normal.”
“Intimacy with God is the purpose of our lives.”
“The goal of our existence is to know God, love Him and live our lives in an intimate relationship with Him.”

Leroy Light

Proselytes vs. Disciples

2009-01-22T08:53:00.002-05:00

I had a great time with the Lord this morning and I just had to share something that came up. I have been reading through a book called "Lead Like Jesus" and there is a story in there by Avery Willis that struck a nerve with me. He describes a time when he was president of a seminary in Indonesia when he was convicted of his leadership attitude. He read through Matthew 23 and heard the Lord correct many things that he was doing poorly or wrongly. Verse 15 jumped out to me when Jesus said, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert (proselyte), and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are." Really strong words from our Lord.

Avery shared his own personal convictions of how he had been making converts instead of disciples and that concept struck a nerve deep within me. Am I any different from the Pharisees here? Are you?

There are many similarities and overlaps, but there is a significant difference between proselytes and disciples. Proselytes change from one set of "rules to live by" to another; they change religions. Disciples don't follow rules, they follow a Person. So what's the difference, what's the application? In our attempts to "win people to the Lord" are we giving them a set of rules to live by, or are we giving them Jesus to follow?

Another way to look at it is like this. If someone decides to become a Christian and all we give them are teachings about Jesus, then we have missed the boat. Satan and his angels know much more about Jesus than most people in church on Sunday mornings. We must know Jesus personally and decide to trust Him with everything and follow Him anywhere, no matter the cost. There is a big difference between knowing about President Obama and knowing President Obama personally. There is an even bigger difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus closely enough to follow Him.

Do you think the first disciples knew what they were getting into when they heard, "Come follow me?" Maybe not, but they knew enough to leave everything and follow Him. What are we following? A set of rules to live by, or a Savior? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not _____________?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23) What will I fill in the blank with? What will you fill in the blank with?

Am I making disciples, or simply making converts to another religion? Am I giving people a Lord to follow, or a set of rules to live by? Am I showing others the way of Christ with my life, or talking about Jesus like I would a Hollywood star? What about you?
Blessings,
Shiloh

Gather Round the Bus Stop

2009-01-18T09:31:00.004-05:00

Over the past several years we have noticed there are several school bus stops in our area of Ocala where a vast number of children of all age groups gather to await their busses each morning. We first made this discovery when our nearby church was attempting to build a youth group. At that time we discussed ways in which we could interest these young people in participating with our church youth group and the best we could come up with was to invite them. This approach failed.

Recently Linda mentioned that she believed God was burdening her to pray with and for these parents and children and told me that she was determined to visit these bus stops weekly, preferably on Mondays. During each visit she would simply ask both parents and children if she could pray with or for them and, if they had any specific needs or concerns needing prayer. As Linda explained this ministry to me I heartily agreed and immediately thought of our phase one 2x2 Fellowship training “saturate the land with prayer.” I suggested that she contact Shiloh immediately and ask him to circulate her idea among the faithful in hopes of uniting many believers in a concerted prayer for its success.

Linda has outlined the following process for this ministry:

Locate and select target bus stops (SE 56th Street Ocala, FL)
Set a launch date
Engage other believers to saturate this ministry with prayer
Humbly approach these bus stops weekly asking adults if we could pray for their children – or children if we can pray for them specifically
After a “yes” response, pray for:

Childs safety on the bus and at school
For children to make good choices through the week
For children to do their very best in school
For specific requests

Possible opportunities that may develop as friendships are built and prayer needs arise:

Prayer expands to multiple bus stops over a larger area
Mom’s Bible studies
Children’s Bible studies
Couples Bible studies
Introduction of family worship times
Summertime fellowship activities including,, block parties, puppet skits, back yard Bible Clubs w/ storying

Once these weekly prayer times are established at specific bus stops, we begin praying for a “Prince or Princess of Peace” to carry it forward so we can move onto a new bus stop and reproduce, again, and again.

Children as well as parents living in today’s world encounter problems associated with broken homes, peer pressure, teachers, financial stress, and so much more. Our hope is for the bus stop prayer ministry to offer hope and peace in these areas with the ultimate goal of people coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and then reproducing similar ministries everywhere.

Please join us in prayer,

Daniel & Linda Draime

Way Behind

2009-01-18T09:17:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I blogged so I am way behind. I have all sorts of things to share, but I have been convicted recently of sharing too many of my stories and prayer requests and not enough stories from others that are walking in this faith experiment called Fellowship Project with me.

So, I am going to be catching up by sharing their stories as well as mine. I hope you enjoy.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Immanuel

2008-12-30T16:05:00.002-05:00

Ever since I was told about the Advent Conspiracy and read their tag line, "Christmas can still change the world. Give Presence," I have been captivated by that last line. Give Presence. What an awesome privilege we have to give the presence of Christ to those around us. God so loved the world that He gave us the first Christmas present, and that gift was His Presence. Jesus was the child of promise, Immanuel, God with us.

The truly amazing thing to me is that we can give that Presence of Immanuel to those around us, friends, family, coworkers, even strangers. If the Presence of Immanuel is within us, then we have the opportunity, and even the responsibility, to give Jesus to others. Just as Jesus, the baby, was born in the mess of a small-town stable, Jesus can be born in the messiness of the lives of those around us. So the big question is how? How do we Give Presence? How do we give the presence of Immanuel to others?

Here are four ways that we can Give Presence: prayer, presence, actions, and words. By praying with and for others we are bringing a living example of a life of faith into their lives. By investing ourselves in the lives of others and inviting them into our lives they will be able to see and experience the Presence of Immanuel simply by being in our presence. By being sensitive to the needs of the least of these and meeting those needs, we are acting as the hands and feet of Immanuel. Finally, by speaking the Words of Life and Truth into the lives of those around us we are injecting them with the Living Word, the Creator and Savior of the world.

Christmas has passed for 2008, but Giving Presence is something that we can and should be doing all year long. May God bless you richly with the gift of Himself as you give the Presence of Immanuel to those around you.
Blessings,
Shiloh

The Butterfly Virus

2008-12-10T16:21:00.002-05:00

I met with a buddy of mine in Orlando last week and he said something as we were finishing that has been stuck in my mind ever since then. I figured if I blogged about it maybe it would get stuck in cyberspace and out of my mind. He said something to the effect of discipling was like an infection. I've been captured ever since.

What an amazing concept, discipling (leading others to follow Jesus) is like an infection. I think he said something about a staph infection, but I'm going in a slightly different direction. While I was in my shower one morning this week (which is one of my favorite places to talk with God) this idea was still nagging at me and I decided to call it the Butterfly Virus.

Think about it. Somewhere in your past you came in contact with someone who had been transformed by the power of God and it so infected you that your life has been changed and will never again be the same. We are new creatures emerging from our old, dead cocoons after being infected by this virus. And we are highly contagious. This transformation from the old to the new, like a caterpillar to a butterfly, is so captivating and unbelievable that anyone who gets close enough to someone going through it will catch this virus themselves.

So if this virus is so contagious, why don't we see thousands upon thousands of people transforming before our eyes as they begin to follow Jesus? I think it is because we get stuck in the cocoon. For whatever reason, we don't fully emerge as new creatures. We get stuck somewhere between the old and the new (and that's a whole 'nother blog). It is only when we have the Life of Jesus within us and a lifestyle of following Jesus that we emerge from our cocoons and infect others with this Butterfly Virus. But if that happens...

If that happens, we could have an epidemic on our hands. People all around being transformed by the Life of Jesus and infecting others with the same virus that infected them. Awesome! Finally, there is a virus out there that we don't have to be afraid of catching or passing on! So go ahead, spread the virus.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Love God. Love Others. Live Sent.

2008-12-03T15:46:00.002-05:00

Have you ever heard the saying that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole? I've been thinking about this a lot lately and in the context of the Church I think this is absolutely true. Each of us as individuals have our talents, abilities, and giftings, but it is only when each of us contributes to the whole that something magical happens and the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. I think that is one of the most amazing things about the Church.

You can see this idea come to life in another way. Look at wikipedia. At first glance it is a pretty normal encyclopedia website, but with one huge difference. Anyone can add input to the discussion. If you are an "expert" on a subject, or even if you just have information that no one else has posted yet, you can add your voice and information to the collective whole. No one person knows all of the information posted on wikipedia, but anyone has access to all of the information posted there.

Our unique experiences, giftings, and expertise are blended together to form something incredible. That is a picture of the Church. Unfortunately sometimes our local expressions of the church don't look anything like that. Many of our local churches look very homogoneous (vanilla in simpler terms). I'm not even talking about race here, although that could be another discussion. What I'm talking about is the idea of sameness. I think it is usually very subtle, but most of the local churches that I know want all of their members to be the same: in their beliefs, in their approach to worship, in their attendance and service, even in their dress. I'm all for unity within the church, but sameness doesn't equal unity.

We see an incredible picture of unity in Revelation when we read that people from every nation, tribe, and tongue will gather together to worship the Lamb. Do you think that all of those people worship the same way, or agree on every point of doctrine, or dress the same way right now? No chance! They will be united in their love for and worship of the King, not in the way they think, act, look, speak, or dress.

All that to say that we need to review what is really important and essential to the DNA of Christ's Church. His Church will have His DNA. So what is His DNA? I think it can be summarized by three commands that Jesus gave to us. He told us the greatest commandment was to love God with everything within us, and the second commandment was to love others that way as well (see Matthew 22:36-40). Just before He left the earth He gave another command with all of His authority, to go and make disciples (see Matthew 28:18-20). He sent us, just as His Father sent Him. Love God. Love Others. Live Sent. That is Christ's DNA. If we are His followers, it should be our DNA as well.

Everything we do in a local church should reflect that DNA. Our budgets, our gatherings, our programs, our calendars, our ________________. Everything. Will that lead to sameness? I doubt it, but it will lead to unity. Think about your home church. Is your church showing the DNA of Christ's Church? Does your budget and calendar and bulletin reflect Christ's DNA? What about your own life? Does your schedule and checkbook reflect Christ's DNA? If we are honest with ourselves, we have a lot of work to do. So let's get started. Begin today. Love God. Love Others. Live Sent. Pass it on. Spread the virus of Christ's DNA. You'll be glad you did.

Blessings,
Shiloh

Advent-ure

2008-12-01T12:01:00.002-05:00

Advent may not be something new to you, but for a bunch of different reasons, it is new to me. I wasn't raised in church and then as an adult the churches that I attended didn't celebrate Advent. I heard the word here and there, but for the most part I really didn't know much about it until just recently. Now that I know more I have to say I think Advent is really cool.

I don't want to spoil the surprise for you if you aren't familiar with it, but I want to share with you a couple of the Advent adventures that I'm having this year. First of all my wife and I decided to participate in Advent by inviting our neighbors to our house for weekly celebrations. We kicked things off last night and will continue on Sunday evenings until Christmas. Some of my adult neighbors participated in Advent as children so they are more familiar with it than I am. We lit the first candle and read some Scripture and prayed together and talked about the meaning of Advent and all of the symbolism invovled. Along with the adults we had eight kids (ages 10 and under) so we had some great discussion of what everything means and why we do this and why we do that. One little guy doesn't really know the difference between Jesus Christ and Santa Claus so we had a good time of sorting through the mess of what Christmas has become. My prayer is that each of us in my neighborhood would really know the difference by the time Christmas comes this year.

Secondly, a friend of mine in Miami introduced me to a concept called the Advent Conspiracy. Have you ever seen a video that makes you want to stand up and clap, or to shout out loud? That's what I felt like when I saw the video that promotes what Advent Conspiracy is all about. If you have a few minutes of down time over these next few days, please visit www.AdventConspiracy.org and check out this idea. Watch the video, it is awesome! If nothing else read this slogan and really pray about what it means to you.

Christmas can [still] change the world. This year, Give Presence.

May you be richly blessed by the Presence of the King as you give your presence to others.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Status Report

2008-11-17T16:44:00.002-05:00

I sent this out to my prayer support team, but I wanted to add it here as well so that anyone could read where the Fellowship Project currently stands and what is on the horizon.

Two families from two separate local churches have now completed the 2x2 Training and while they are still a bit unsure of where to go from here, they are completely devoted to hearing from the Lord and "Bringing Life to People" wherever they go. They are investing themselves into the lives of people who need Jesus and are sharing principles of the training with other believers in their home churches.
During this cycle of training, and again during the evaluation time it became evident that there are some changes needed to the structure of the 2x2 Training to enhance it and allow the people going through it more opportunities to really "catch" the ideas and principles that we are learning. As a result, the next cycle of training will look a bit different and will probably be extended by a few more weeks. The next cycle of 2x2 Training will probably begin in January 2009 and I am already talking with about a dozen people who are very interested in going through the next cycle.
I have been working on putting the meat of the 2x2 Training into a written format. It's not so much a manual as it is a workbook. The first draft is almost complete and should be ready by the end of the year. Once it is complete, it will be available for local churches and individuals to use as the Lord leads. I am really excited about this because I have recently had a good number of discussions with pastors and leaders that have followers of Jesus that want to live missionally, but need guidance and training and this tool can help.
New opportunities for partnering with local churches have opened up recently. I am in the process of working with ReproducingChurches.com to establish a local gathering of pastors, church planters and other believers who want to gather together monthly for prayer, encouragment, and challenging each other to live missionally and to lead others to do the same.
I have recently connected to a local church that is "one church of smaller house churches that meet during the week to grow together in living the way of Jesus." They are a church plant that is still working to completely find its identity and there are many opportunities for us to help each other. I can offer training to their leaders that will equip them to reproduce believers, disciple them, and release them to establish new house churches as a part of their greater community. They offer me an opportunity to see first hand what their church looks like, to see what struggles they are having, and to point those going through the 2x2 Training to another example of how churches can reproduce.
A partnership with churches and church planters in Gainesville is on the horizon. Specifically, things are in progress to start a new work on the campus of the University of Florida. I'm not sure how involved I will be with this ministry, but I am very excited about everything I have heard about it so far. Hopefully sometime early next year there will be couples from five to eight local churches that will be trained to plant themselves among the students at UF with the intention of seeing a movement of students coming to faith and walking with Jesus over the next few years. Awesome!
I've been in discussion with another local church in NE Marion County about hosting a Fellowship Project Forum in early January. The plan is to have sessions on a Friday evening and Saturday morning and other churches are welcome to attend. More details to come.
We are having Advent Celebrations with our neighbors every Sunday leading up to Christmas starting on Nov. 30. Please keep this in your prayers, and pray specifically that my neighbors would find the gift of faith in Jesus this Christmas season.

I'm super-excited about what the Lord is doing and what He is going to do. May you find riches in the love of the King and find warmth in His embrace.

Blessings,

Shiloh

Pray Like a Muslim

2008-11-11T12:33:00.003-05:00

Hey I stumbled across this blog post and it resonates with me so much that I had to post it here as well. I hope the Spirit speaks to you through this man's story.
Shiloh

Take it like a Man by Rick Spruill
Muslims

Posted November 8, 2008 at http://www.independentmail.com/blogs/take-it-man/2008/nov/08/take_it_man/

This evening after watching Clemson get so far behind the Seminoles it no longer mattered, I headed over to Target for some bibs for Ella.

Nothing spectacular. Just a random Saturday evening errand.

Little did I know I was in for a sight that very nearly knocked my flip-flops off.

As I was leaving the Target/Lowe’s ginormous parking lot area, I noticed a small man, curled up on a towel on the driver’s side of his small car.

At first, I thought the man was sick, or perhaps even injured. Or, perhaps he’d dropped his car keys and was groping around in the fading light in search of them. Pulling closer, I realized this small man was not sick, injured, or searching for his car keys.

He was praying.

He was facing east. It was dusk. And, he was praying.

Obviously, the man was muslim. The towel was his prayer mat.

He was following the muslim ritual of evening prayer, facing Mecca, before the sun fell below the horizon.

It was undoubtedly the fourth of five prayers this man will pray today before he turns in for the night. Muslims pray at first light, at noon, in the early afternoon, at dusk, and once again after full darkness.

As I sat in my car and watched him, I noticed he paid no attention to anyone, or anything else. Cars passed, gawkers gawked, and this simple man prayed until his prayer was done.

I was at Target to buy bibs. And, he had obviously been at Target to buy something, too. But, when the time came, he stopped dead in his tracks to pray.

I was just hoping to get home in time to watch Alabama finish off LSU.

As a Christian, I do not agree with the theology behind Islam; however, as a man of faith, I cannot help but respect this man’s discipline, purpose, and total disregard for what other’s might have thought of him.

He was going to pray. Location, circumstance, and outward appearances made no difference to him.

I guess you could say that it had a profound impact on me.

I hesitate to raise my hand during worship. Don’t wanna look stupid.

If I dropped to me knees in the Target parking lot and began pleading for the souls of my lost family members, I bet my wife would call 9-1-1 thinking I’d had a stroke. Yet, this man’s wife sat quietly in the passenger’s seat. She was not the least bit surprised her husband was stopping everything to pray.

I guess what I’m getting at is that, while I do not envy this man’s belief system, I’m somewhat envious of how much he is sold out to it.

And I struggle to come to grips with the fact that, while this man believes he must work his way to heaven, I am freed by the work my Savior has already done. And yet, it’s that man who is willing to act out his faith in the parking lot of Target.

What would happen if I stopped in my tracks in the parking lot of Target, fell to my face, and prayed for the guy here in my apartment complex whom I know is searching for the Truth?
God help me. I’m worried about what people think and how it might look. And my friends are dying spiritually.

Lord, help me. My knees are weak. My priorities are completely whack.

What's your aroma?

2008-11-07T09:56:00.002-05:00

I have had an old thought buzzing around in my mind over the past few days so I figured I'd try to put it down in this blog and see if that will clear it up some. Did you know that you have an aroma? Now some of you may have a literal aroma that those sitting next to you can really smell, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the "smell" of your life and personality that others see and hear. Some of us have very pleasant aromas like flowers, or freshly baked cookies, or a sweet perfume and others have an aroma like a skunk that just sticks to you and you can't get it off.

The point is this, if we are followers of Jesus we may actually have more than one aroma. We may have the aroma of Christ and our own personal aroma as well. We need to agree with John the Baptist and pray that our aroma would decrease and Christ's aroma would increase in our lives. When people see you and hear you and interact with you, are they smelling your aroma, or the aroma of Christ?

Paul said to the believers in Corinth, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?" Paul encouraged believers to become the fragrance of Jesus to those around them. That didn't always mean that people would enjoy that aroma. To some you can smell just like that skunk, but let it be because you are carrying the aroma of Christ and not because you really smell like a skunk.

All through the Old Testament offerings and sacrifices were made and God was pleased with the aroma of the offerings. Paul encouraged the believers in Rome to, "offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." May our living sacrifices of daily dying to ourselves and allowing Jesus to live His life in us and through us be a fragrant aroma, pleasing to the Lord each day.
Blessings,
Shiloh

One Another

2008-10-30T11:36:00.003-04:00

Have you ever wondered why there are so many references to "one another" in the Scriptures? Maybe you relate better to others than I do. I am generally an introvert and like isolation and independence, but this week the Lord has really shown me how important it is to be connected to one another, especially the one anothers in the body of Christ.

It is so easy to get discouraged, or to be lazy, or to be tempted when we isolate ourselves from others. I've had kind of a tough week. To be honest I've had a tough month or more. Some of it I have brought on myself, but much of it has been totally out of my control. I don't know if it has been just the difficulties of life on earth, or if it has been spiritual warfare directed at me and my family. But I PRAISE GOD in the midst of all of these struggles because I know that He is here with me, and I also know that I feel His presence and hear His words when I am with others who share my love for Him.

I have been so encouraged by people this week. Friends that I know are praying for me and expecting me to be in prayer for them. Teachers that have struggled through life's pains for much longer than I have, and yet still smile and have a peace that surpasses understanding. And strangers that have I a bond and connection to that is so strong it seems like we've known each other for years. It is in weeks like this one that I know why there are so many "one anothers" in Scripture.

Thank you for your prayers for me and my family. Thank you for your prayers for the Fellowship Project and those wrapped up in this faith experiment. Thank you for your encouragement. Thank you for your presence, in my life and in the life of others. Thank you for being the body of Christ and allowing His healing presence to flood into the people and places that you visit each day. May God continue to fill you with His presence and that you too would feel the encouragement of the Lord as you meet with one another.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Impending Doom

2008-10-27T07:49:00.002-04:00

How do you react when you feel like a disaster is inevitable? Most of us get disillusioned and even disgusted. We feel a lot like the people standing outside of Noah's ark watching the floodwaters rise. We know we should do something, but what does it matter? Destruction is coming so why should we even try? If that is how you are feeling these days with all the financial problems that our economy is in, or if that's how you feel about this upcoming election, or maybe for a totally different reason, I want to offer you a ray of hope.

What is something we can do no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the sitution, no matter how disastrous it seems? We can pray! Never forget that we have the privilege of communicating with the Creator and Sustainer of all life any moment that we have the desire to. No matter what our needs are, no matter what has happened today, we can (and should) always come to our Father in heaven. What's the use if we are facing impending doom? First of all, if we know Jesus as our Lord we are never facing impending doom. Secondly, those are the moments that we are most childlike and most need to come to our Father for support, protection, and encouragement.

Maybe we don't know how to pray in this situation. No worries; the Spirit will pray for us, in us, through us. Jesus' first students didn't know how to pray either, so they asked him. The model that he taught them is still amazing and powerful today. He told them to pray to the Father, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Wouldn't this world be a better place if it was run like heaven? That is a profound prayer. It is simple, it is powerful, and most importantly, it is already being answered.

I have to thank author and speaker Jack Taylor for this next incredible thought. Something else is impending. Something wonderful. God's Kingdom is coming! It is coming, but am I fighting the inevitable, or am I praying with God, "Your kingdom come?" Am I actively praying for God's Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven? Am I asking for it to happen now? Am I actively participating in the process of restoring this earth to the place of grace that it was intended to be? It is coming. We do believe that, don't we? If so, then let's start acting like it by pleading with God that His Kingdom comes quickly and that He would use us to make it happen.

Don't get caught up in the gloom and doom politics or economics, or anything else that our enemy can throw at you. Remember to pray. Remember our Lord. Remember His Kingdom is coming. It is near. It is within us.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Prayer Priority

2008-10-20T16:10:00.002-04:00

I was really struck recently as I was reading through an entry in My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers. He wrote, "Prayer doesn't equip us for greater works - prayer is the greater work." It got me to thinking about my own personal priority of prayer. I totally agree with his statement in theory, but does it show up in my practice? I truly believe that prayer is the greater work, but is it the greater work in my life?

As a part of the training that I lead others through I stress the importance of prayer. Prayer saturation is the first step in the process of spiritual reproduction. I teach others that without prayer the whole process is stunted and won't progress to maturity or reproduction. Our last cycle of training was completed in May. After that training was completed we did an evaluation and I was convicted that not enough emphasis was placed on prayer, even though it had the place of priority on paper. Throughout this cycle of training I have been very vocal about prayer as a priority, but when I am really honest with myself I realize that talking about prayer a whole lot doesn't accomplish much.

There is a huge difference between talking about something and doing something. It dawned on me that if I was spending a great deal of time and effort in prayer, both privately and within the training that I lead, that I wouldn't need to talk about it being such a priority. Anyone paying any bit of attention would already know that because of my actions. Maybe I have been so vocal about it lately because I have spent such a meager amount of time and effort in actual prayer.

Maybe you have a similar area in your life, maybe even your prayer life. Maybe like me you have been placing an emphasis on prayer, or Bible study, or some particular ministry, but that priority can't be measured by actual practice. It is time for me to lead by example and allow prayer to truly be the greater work in my life. May you join me in this discipline and may we all see the blessings from it.
Shiloh

Kingdom Planting

2008-09-29T12:56:00.002-04:00

Have we devalued the Gospel? I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but have we packaged the Gospel into something so small that we can present it in 30 seconds? Have we reduced the Good News of the Lord Almighty to something that either ends with a prayer (completing the transaction) or emptiness and aggravation? We would never do something so profane on purpose, but is that what it has become?

Has the Gospel become a product that we are selling, like eternal life insurance? I truly hope not, but I can't help but wonder. The Gospel is so much bigger than a 30 second presentation that ends with an invitation to pray a prayer. Certainly there is a place for that, but is that all there is to it?!?

Think with me for just a moment. This world was created as a wonderful place for humans to live, love, and rule over. What an amazing creation that included us! Unfortunately it included our ability to reject God's best, God's plan for this world and for us. We certainly did that, not only in the past, but continually day by day we reject God and His plan. Praise God, He never gave up on His plan to plant His Kingdom on earth and to have us as His governors of His creation. He sent His only Son to this world to reconnect us to His plan, to His Kingdom. His sacrifice gives us the ability to reconcile with God and reclaim our place in His Kingdom. Daily we are invited to become Kingdom citizens and to begin the process of restoring this world to the greatness it was destined to have. The Kingdom of God is amazing already, but just imagine what it will be like in the fullness of time, when all things are created new and everything (including us) will be perfect!

As I try to wrap my mind around that Good News I realize that my job has never been to plant churches. How can I plant the "body of Christ" anyway? I realize that my job is to plant the Kingdom everywhere I go. Sometimes that comes in the form of words spoken to people, but other times that comes in the actions that I take while walking the aisles of Wal-Mart or driving to and from school each day. Sometimes planting the Kingdom comes simply from bringing the presence of the King into the darkness of the lives of those who don't know Him yet.

Let's reflect on the greatness of the Gospel and may we never reduce it to a formula or worse yet, a product that we are trying to sell someone, or to convince them to pray a prayer that will end all their worries and struggles. We owe that to them and to our King.

Blessings,
Shiloh

Taste and See

2008-09-25T09:38:00.002-04:00

I was reading this morning in Psalm 34 and I came across a familiar verse that says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him."

I've been doing a lot of thinking, reading, reviewing, praying through and processing since the Blossom conference last week. One of the main issues that keeps going through my mind is one of stance or posture. I wonder what type of posture the Church has been taking regarding how it views itself in the world? Most Christians that I know or meet recognize that the Church in America isn't very healthy, but what kind of posture have we taken? I remember teaching a study in my home church a few years ago describing "Survival Mode Vs. Thrival Mode." Has the Church in America taken a "Survival Mode" mentality? I truly hope not.

If the Church becomes a castle or a bunker in order to try to ride out the storm of the current culture in the US, we are in a dire situation. Jesus wasn't sent to this earth for the survival of the Church as we know it. God so loved the world, not the church, that He sent His only begotten Son. That includes us, but it also includes a whole bunch of people that aren't in our churches. If we take a posture of survival, we aren't going to be in a position of readiness to go and share, or to follow Christ wherever He leads. After all Jesus said, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it." (Matthew 10:39)

I'm reading a book called, "The Tangible Kingdom" by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay and in it there is a quote that I want to share with you. It says, "What makes the gospel good news isn't the concept, but the real-life person who has been changed by it." I think we need to take a posture of "taste and see." I truly believe that if the Church could show the world that it is in the business of life transformation (like Jesus is), it wouldn't have to beg people to come. It wouldn't have to figure out ways to get more people in so that the doors of their buildings wouldn't close. Are we inviting people to taste God's goodness, or are we inviting them into our bunker to hide from the moral decay of America? If we are truly "tasting" the Lord, there is no doubt that we will see His goodness. If that is our posture, our stance, then others might be persuaded to "taste" for themselves too. That is was God's Kingdom is all about. David knew it well. Do we?

Blessings,
Shiloh

The Post Office

2008-09-22T09:24:00.002-04:00

I had a great time at a conference this past week in Orlando. The conference was called Blossom and was hosted in part by Reproducingchurches.com. I was reminded of many great truths and learned a bunch of new things and connected to other Christ followers that have a heart for Jesus and His Church. Over these next few days and weeks I am going to share a few of the things that God impressed on me throughout this conference.

The most powerful image that I took away from the conference was the image of the post office. (Click here to see a video.) That may not seem too powerful to you, but let me explain why it hit me the way it did. God sent His message of love and hope and Good News to the world and delivered it in person. Jesus hand delivered the message of God's love to the world. He was the Message. The message of the Gospel was then written on the hearts of those that love and follow Jesus (see 2Corinthians 3). Jesus said to His followers, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." (John 20:21) One of the most crucial roles of the Church is the role of the post office. Post offices receive letters and messages, sort through them, and deliver them to people all over the world. The local church is to be a place of sorting and sending the letter carriers of God's message. We are a sent people and our local church is our post office. Awesome!

If you are interested in reading more about living as a sent people you can check out Jason Dukes' blog at livesent.com. May God bless you richly as you carry the Message of Christ to the world.

Blessings,
Shiloh

Fresh Manna

2008-09-11T12:49:00.002-04:00

I've been learning a lot about myself as I have been reading through the Psalms. Today I realized how much I am like the Israelites when they were told to gather fresh manna each morning, but they stored leftovers anyway (see Exodus 16).

Today as I read through Psalm 28 I saw David's hunger for a fresh encounter with the Lord. He wrote, "To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit." Wow, now that's a serious desire to hear from the Lord. Not me. I am all too hasty during my quiet times with the Lord to recall previous encounters, previous words, previous feelings of His presence. I am content with leftovers far too often.

I used to hunger for the Lord's fresh manna every day. The time I spent living in Africa, so far from my "home" and my comfort zone I was so much thirstier for the Living Water. Now that I am back and have settled in again I am content to eat leftovers of what the Lord blessed me with before. The problem with that is that when the Israelites who kept the leftovers went back to it in the morning it was "full of maggots and began to smell." The manna of the Lord that is given to sustain and nourish us is given each day. The manna that was honey to my lips yesterday may very well be sour today. Lord, may I desire your Word to come to me fresh each day just as David hungered for it.

May we all hunger for God's fresh manna each day.
Blessings,
Shiloh

Poured Out

2008-09-02T09:21:00.002-04:00

Have you ever had one of those "Aha!" moments during your quiet time with the Lord? Or maybe an, "Ohhhhh!" moment, or even an "Huhhh?"

This morning I was reading in Psalm 23 and the Spirit showed me something that I had never seen before. Verse 5b says, "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Many of you probably know that anointing with oil is symbolic of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Well this morning I finally caught the idea that your cup has to be filled before it can overflow. Yeah, I know, sometimes I can be a little bit slow to understand some things. In case you are interested, I am going to recap my journey this morning.

Before I read Psalm 23, I read some of My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers. It was there that I started this journey. The first quote that got my attention was, "God has only one intended destiny for mankind - holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use... He came to save us because He created us to be holy." How many times have I been obedient to God because I wanted to receive some kind of blessing from Him? More than I would like to admit. Too many times in my life I have drawn close to God in a time of need, only to see that desire slack off and distance to creep in during times of comfort.

Then I read further, "If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts." That thought exploded in my mind. God created us for holiness, but not to keep, but to give away just like Jesus did. The Life of God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit that is being poured into my life is intended to overflow into the lives of those around me so that they too may be filled. Isn't that the picture of Jesus. His life was being poured out over and over again until His blood was literally poured out for our forgiveness.

I was drinking a cup of chai (tea) while reading and thinking about all of this and it occured to me that my heart was similar to that chai, very cloudy and impure. If I were to take that cup of chai and slowly add pure water to it, something beautiful would happen. The chai would begin to overflow and with each passing second the liquid inside would become more and more clear, more and more pure. Eventually, the cup would be full of pure water and that purity would continue to overflow to everything surrounding it. That is a picture of Psalm 23.

No matter what situation or circumstance I am in, I was designed to be filled with the Spirit. Not just filled for my sake, or for my own blessings, but for the sake of overflowing to bring that Spirit and those blessings into the lives of those surrounding me. May you and I be filled to overflowing with the love and Spirit of Jesus Christ that those around us would be saturated as well.

Blessings,
Shiloh

New 2x2 Training

2008-08-20T13:13:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! I sure have dropped the ball on keeping you up to speed with what is going on with the Fellowship Project, but I'm ready to start making it up to you. First of all it's good to have my wife back from Africa and school back in session, at least sort of back in session. Kim had a great time and was really blessed with the opportunity to return and visit with some friends in Africa. Once Tropical Storm Fay has moved on we will be able to have the kids really back in school. This year Kim and all three kids will be at the same school so we are glad to have everyone located together.

As far as the Fellowship Project is concerned there are actually a bunch of things going on, but I'll just give you a couple of highlights. First, we had a team from Sparr Baptist Church come and do a Backyard Bible Festival in our neighborhood just before school started back. It went really well and I've gotten some great feedback from our neighbors on how much they appreciated that team coming and spending their day with the kids in our neighborhood. Thanks for your service and love for people.

Secondly, we will begin our second cycle of 2x2 Training this Tuesday, August 26. I am really excited about our training this time around for a whole bunch of reasons. I feel like I have a bit better grasp on what it is that we are trying to do and why we are doing it. We have a family that is going through the training a second time and will be leading portions of it. We have some new faces that are from a different church so our influence is expanding. And some of the families in my neighborhood have begun to meet occasionally for worship and spiritual discussions so that is very encouraging. In addition to all that I will begin to share with local churches a "seminar" version of the Fellowship Project which will explain the why's, how's and who's of Fellowship Project and Indigenous Church Planting.

Please keep those individuals going through the 12 weeks of training in your prayers as well as those local churches which are going to host a seminar and which are sending their members for training. If you have any questions about 2x2 Training, Indigenous Church Planting, or the seminar that I am presenting please feel free to respond to this blog, or send an email to FellowshipProject@gmail.com or call me at 352-425-9832.

May God bless you richly as you follow our Savior in loving and serving those around us.
Shiloh

Two Somewhat Random Thoughts

2008-07-16T15:20:00.002-04:00

I have called this the Fellowship Project because it is an "experiment in faith," but I recently read an article that really challenged me about how I view my neighbors and those around me. The article talked about how most evangelism efforts, and many Christians leading those efforts, view people more as "projects" and not so much as people. When I take time to include someone in my day or intentionally invite my neighbors over for worship, or even for a burger, am I looking at that person as my project, or my neighbor? Unfortunately, that's not always an easy question for me to answer. I know how it feels to be someone else's project and it's not that appealing. As I search through Scripture I don't see Jesus ever treating someone as a project. In fact, most of the time people were coming to him, not the other way around. I also see Him sending His disciples out into homes and into communities and even giving them permission to "give up" on people who weren't interested in what they had to say. But as they went they began to see the world and the people of the world the way that Jesus saw them, with love and compassion and with a desire for them to know God intimately and love Him deeply. I have to keep that as my focus as well and not get too tied up with results for this project that God has placed me in.

On a somewhat related thought, I finished reading a book called "I Sold My Soul on eBay" by Hemant Mehta. Mehta is a self-labeled "friendly atheist" who visited dozens of churches and evaluated their services on how they were doing, at least from an atheist's perspective. The book is pretty interesting and sometimes very insightful. There are obviously some things that he disliked that you and I would applaud as believers, but overall the book was a good read. There was one quote near the end that I want to share with you. It hit me personally and I want to give it more thought and examination, especially as it pertains to Fellowship Project.

"...many churches boasted about their rate of planting new churches. However, starting a new church is nothing to be proud of - not unless that church is working to improve and serve its community, including all the people who live there. In situations where Christians limit their help to other Christians, the church seems to be more a religious club than a true ministry to others." ~ Mehta

What do you think?
Blessings,
Shiloh

Welcome!

2008-07-08T15:54:00.002-04:00

I know, I know! I am just now entering the world of blogging, threads, and social networks. I know I am slow, but this old dog is learning some new tricks! I am really excited about where Fellowship Project is already and grateful for all the prayers, ideas, advice, support, and hard work that so many have already put into this. For those of you who aren't familiar with Fellowship Project let me share briefly what it is and what we are doing.

April 10, 2006 my family and I were living in Africa and God began formulating an idea for how to share the love of Christ with people back in the US, not through programs, but through everyday life. The past two years have been exciting as God has unfolded His idea and I have gained clarity through prayer, talking with many others, and reading some great books from guys who have had the same idea given to them by God. Fellowship Project is still in its infancy, but this past February we formed a partnership with a local church who are sending members to be trained to walk Jesus wherever they go.

We finished the first cycle of 2x2 Training in May and are preparing for our second cycle of training in August as well as making preparations for a seminar to introduce Fellowship Project to local "Legacy Churches" which should be ready to go in late July or August as well. There's a ton more to say, but for now that is enough. I hope to share frequently through this blog and strongly encourage feedback, questions, and advice from anyone and everyone.

May God richly bless you as you seek His face.
Shiloh