Monday, August 24, 2009
Slavery to Self
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.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Roots
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.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Spiritual Gardening
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.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Prayerwalking Story
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
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
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Catching Up
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
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
Monday, April 13, 2009
Awesome Easter
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
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
Monday, March 23, 2009
Living Sent in Okeechobee
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
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
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