Immanuel

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

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.

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

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

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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!
7. 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.
8. 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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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