One Solitary Life

* * *
He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty

He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself

He was only thirty three

His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The only property he had on earth

When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind's progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life

“Glory to God
in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men!"

Christian Community as a Colorful Quilt

I am from a Christian tradition where the women of the church used to get together to create beautiful, hand-crafted quilts. Over the years I have seen some pretty amazing quilts lovingly stitched together by sisters who laughed, talked, prayed and sang together as they gathered around the quilt frame. To my eye, the most beautiful quilts are the ones that have a great variety of colors and shapes stitched together. I think the same thing is true of the Church. Christian Community is most beautiful when it is composed by people of different sizes, shapes and colors who are carefully woven together by the love of Jesus. Why have Christian folk worked so hard through the centuries to make sure that everyone looks the same, acts the same and thinks the same.

I think there are a couple of reasons why we work so hard to look and think alike. The first has to do with the sin of self-centeredness. The first murder recorded in the Bible was committed by Cain who lashed out at his brother, Abel. Cain was a tiller of the ground and Abel was a tender of sheep. Rather than celebrating what was different about his brother, Cain hated what was different. That was the beginning of a conflict that continues to this very day. Cain and Abel were the first conflict between Farmers and Ranchers. That conflict continues to this very day along with others like Labor vs Management, North vs South, White vs Black, Christian vs Moslem, Democrat vs Republican, Pro-life vs Pro-choice... It is a sin to assume that being different is a bad thing, and those who are different from us are necessarily our enemies. It is the sin of self-centeredness; the belief that the world must revolve around the way we look, think and act.

* * *

Another reason we are attracted to those who look, think and act like us is because it is a whole lot easier to be "In Community" with those who are like us. If we are all conservative Repulicans or all liberal Democrats, its a lot easier to get along with each other. We can afford to be intellectually lazy because the people we hang out with readily support our point of view. If we are all middle class, white protestants or all working class, hispanic catholics we don't have to work at understanding and practicing cultural sensitivity. We can afford to be insensitive and biased. But when we come together as different shapes, sizes and colors in the same quilt, the red squares need to be connected to blue triangles. Lord have mercy! How can that be Right let alone Possible? It is Right because God purposed to created each of us as a unique, one of a kind, custom designed child of God. And it is Possible only as we are willing to be woven together by the hand of God with other parts of the quilt. And we will only stay connected if we are held together by the amazing bond created by the love of Jesus. -- Bob

Looking for Information or Transformation?

The focus in many of today's small groups has shifted from Spirit-led transformation to just another teacher-student Bible study. But exercising every member's spiritual gifts is vital to the effectiveness of the group. With insight born of experience in more than twenty years of small group ministry, Joel Comiskey explains how leaders and participants alike can be supernaturally equipped to deal with real-life issues.

Notable Quotes

"Only God's supernatural power can draw people to the truth and liberate them to be all that God wants them to be."

"What excites me most about small group ministry is the intimate home atmosphere in which God has the perfect opportunity to change people's lives, prepare them for ministry and further His kingdom work."

"People are inundated with information; what they need is transformation."

"Sensitive small group leaders ask the Holy Spirit to manifest the needs of the members, knowing that the best agenda is the one that meets the needs of those present."

"The church is a hospital-not a performing arts center."

"Gifts are not primarily related to institutional maintenance. Gifts are related to the building up of persons and are best exercised in direct person-to-person contact."

"In a loving environment, group members are willing to risk and use the gifts they have."

A Story Worth Telling and Hearing

How should Christians respond to violence? Many of us are still locked into an Old Testament way of responding: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But Jesus clearly calls us to make a different kind of response. The following story illustrates a Christ-like response to violence during a very tense time in Jos, Nigeria. Carol and I lived in Jos before returning to the States several months ago. The story is shared by Dr. Danny McCain, a friend of mine who teaches New Testament Theology at the University of Jos. -- Bob

* * * * * * * * * * * *

During the religious crisis in the city of Jos, Nigeria in 2001, the closest church to my house was burned. This was the Emmanuel Baptist Church. The pastor there is a young man who is one of my former students at the University of Jos. His name is Sunday Gwona. I was very proud of the way Pastor Sunday led his people during and after the crisis. I want to tell you a couple of stories associated with him.

On the second Sunday of the crisis, which was the first Sunday that we could go to church, Pastor Sunday assembled his congregation in a little mud walled community center about one kilometer from the burnt church building. There were no seats in this building. Some sat on logs. My wife and her mother and I were given the seats of honor which were little low benches about ten inches high. The service was all in Hausa and my Hausa is very poor. However, I understand enough Hausa and the pastor slipped into English enough that I understand what he said. Before he preached his sermon that morning, he said he wanted to make three statements. He said, “First, I am grateful that no one in my church killed anyone.” Certainly many Christians had blood on their hands on that Sunday morning. However, Pastor Sunday said that he had gone around through the community where some of his church members lived and some of the Muslim people in that area said, “Pastor, thank you for the way you taught your people. Your people helped to protect us.” So Pastor Sunday was proud that his people did not kill any Muslims.

“Second,” he said, “I am grateful that they did not burn my church.” We all looked at him a bit incredulously. We were meeting in this little small uncomfortable place because the church building had been burned. But Pastor Sunday continued. He said, “Inasmuch as no church member died during this crisis, they did not burn our church. They only burned the building. We can rebuild the building but we could not bring back to life any of our members who die. So I am grateful that they did not burn my church.”

He continued. “Third, I am grateful that they burned my house as well.” He had been living in the parsonage and the parsonage was burned with everything in it. Pastor Sunday continued, “If they had burned your house and not my house, how would I have known how to serve you as a pastor? However, because they burned my house and all my possessions as well, I know what you are experiencing and I will be able to be a better pastor to you. So I am grateful that they burned my house as well.” To me, these were amazing statements coming from a young pastor. And they were an illustration of true Christianity. Who can find fault with this kind of Christianity. This is not just a veneer of Christianity over evil thoughts and attitudes. It is a true reflection of Jesus’ teachings.

About a year ago, Pastor Sunday was invited to make a presentation to the state administrator while the state was under a state of emergency. In fact, all of the community leaders in the Angwo Rimi area were invited, both Christians and Muslims. When it was Pastor Sunday’s turn to speak, he said something like this. “It is an unfortunate reality that my church was burned twice but that is not what I want to talk about. Your excellence, I want to tell you about the third time that people came to burn my church. On their third attempt, one of my Muslim neighbors came out and said to the would-be arsonists, “You are not going to burn this church. If you want to burn something, there is my house. You can burn my house if you need to burn something but you cannot burn a house of prayer.” This immediately got the acting governor’s attention and he demanded to know the name of the person who had done such a thing. His name was supplied to the governor.

After the meeting, the Muslim community leaders came up to Pastor Sunday and said, “Pastor, thank you very much for what you said to the governor. We are most grateful.” Pastor Sunday said, “There are other things that I could have said. I could have told him about the thieves that keep breaking into the church and I could have told him about some of your boys who come into the church compound and defecate. However, I thought that we are all mature people and we can solve these problems ourselves.” The Muslim neighbors assured him that that is what they wanted to do. So on the following Sunday afternoon, Pastor Sunday invited them to his church. He reported that several of the Muslim leaders came and entered the church. When they entered the church, they all removed their hats. And they all took refreshments from Pastor Sunday. The pastor showed them where the people had been breaking into the church and where the youths had been defecating on the church ground. And the Muslim neighbors assured him that this would never happen again.

About three weeks ago, during the church service, a Muslim child threw a stone over the church wall and broke a window of a vehicle. A few minutes later, a little Muslim girl came and knocked on the church gate. She reported to someone inside that she had seen the boy who threw the stone and she could take the church members to him. They followed and they soon caught the boy. He admitted that he was the one who threw the stones. The case was taken to the police. However, as soon as the service was over, Pastor Sunday was informed. He went to the police station. He learned that there were two boys involved and that their parents were Muslim neighbors to the church. The parents soon came and were very chagrinned over what had happened. Pastor Sunday immediately withdrew the case from the police, assuring them that they were mature people and could handle the situation.

The church estimated that it would cost about 15,000 Naira to replace the wind screen. The Muslim families were poor families. Between the two families, they were able to come up with only 10,000 Naira. The windscreen eventually cost 20,000 to replace. However, the church absorbed the rest of the expense. When the Muslim neighbors discovered that the church had paid the other 10,000 Naira to cover up for the bad behavior of their own children, they came back to Pastor Sunday with the greatest humility and gratefulness. They told him that they never wanted him to leave that community and that they would do all in their power to make sure that the Immanuel Baptist Church stays in the community and is protected from any further damage.

The Muslim neighbors saw a true picture of Christianity. I do not know whether any of them will become Christians. However, I know that there is certainly a much greater likelihood that they will become Christians after these incidents than before. Pastor Sunday and the Immanuel Baptist Church are well on their way to rehabilitating the image of Christianity in the Angwo Rimi community.

WHO
is on the
Lord's Side?

One of the Latin America's cruelest dictators died yesterday. General Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, lead a military regime that killed thousands and detained and tortured tens of thousands of his fellow countrymen. His reign was one of the bloodiest in our hemisphere. The thing that I find most disappointing about Pinochet's reign of terror is that his military coup was supported by the CIA and indorsed by the U.S. government.

Pinochet is one of a long list of unsavory characters who have been indorsed and supported by our government. In the name of political expedience our government put Sadam Hussein into power; the same Sadam Hussein who became known as the butcher of Bagdad. Not long ago we sold weapons to Iran; the very same Iran that is part of today's "Axis of Evil." Our political loyalties and alliances change from season to season because they are often based on short term political goals rather than time honored values. The reasons given for this politcal shell game go something like this: "We need to hold the line against Communism... We need a friend in the Middle East... We need to protect American interests in the region..." What about, "We need to do what is RIGHT, no matter what!"

As followers of Jesus we are called to seek first the kingdom of God. This means that our view of the world is shaped by the values of Jesus and the ethics of his kingdom rather than the shifting sands of political expedience. -- Bob

Are you in tune with God's Mission?

What images do the terms Mission and Missionary conjur up in your imagination? For the past hundred years or so, most Protestant churches in North America have understood the church's Mission as the the sending of Missionaries to Africa, India or some other exotic places to share the gospel and win people to Jesus. We only refer to those who head off to foreign destinations as Missionaries. The rest of us stay home, go to church, try to be good Christians, and occasionally contribute money to those who are engaged in "Real" mission work.

Two things have happened to change our understanding of mission. First of all, many of the places where North American missionaries have gone, now have thriving churches with gifted indigenous workers and leaders. That has greatly diminished the need to send missionaries from North American. And secondly, many of us recognize that we need to develop a more adequate understanding of our mission as followers of Jesus. After living in Africa, I am convinced that those of us who live in North America live in one of the most challenging mission fields in the world. All of us need to think, work and live as missionaries in our increasingly lost culture. In recent years a lot has been written about the Missional Church. If you do a Google search you'll find numerous blogs, websites and articles that focus on the Missional Church. Here is how some define Missional Church:

• Being Church rather than going to church
• Equipping for mission rather planning church activities
• Community of faith rather than Sunday gathering
• Meeting others needs rather than meeting our needs
• Incarnating Jesus' values rather than doing religion
• Lifestyle evangelism rather than evangelistic programs
• Priesthood of all believers rather than professional clergy
• Growing Disciples rather than adding members
• Working for social justice rather Christian consumerism
• Living as servants rather than going to a Sunday service

You can go to Africa if you want. You will meet some incredible people and have some awesome experiences. But you don't have to go to Africa to live the life of a missionary. Every time you walk through your front door you enter one of the most challening mission fields in all the world. -- Bob

Americans are really into makeovers. TV shows that have cashed in on the makeover mania include: Extreme makeover, I Want a Famous Face, Nip/Tuck, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and The Swan. But one show we'll never see on TV is Extreme Makeover: Church Edition. If the scenary at Church is going to change, it will be up to those of us who are serious about following Jesus to change it.

Jesus was pretty clear about the "Religious Makeover" he wants to see in the lives of those who follow him:

• Our ACTIONS need to match our WORDS (Matt 23:13)
• TANSPARENCY needs to replace HYPOCRISY (Matt 23:14)
• SPIRITUALITY must replace MATERIALISM (Matt 23:16)
• FAITH must replace religous FORMALITY (Matt 23:23)
• MAJOR issues trump PETTY problems (Matt 12:24)
• What'sINSIDE matters more than what's OUTSIDE (Matt 12:25)
• RIGHTEOUSNESS replaces mere RELIGIOUSITY (Matt 23:27)

Even though Jesus addressed these problems centuries ago, they still persist today and will continue well into the future unless we throw away our Religous Makeup and ask God to do an Extreme Makeover in our lives. -- Bob

Want GOD, but not Church?

You're not alone. Millions of people sincerely want to grow spiritually, but many rarely if ever attend church services of any kind. If this sounds like you, there is hope and help... There is a movement rising of people who are finding faith in a revolution that is both ancient and new. This is life out-of-bounds, beyond imagination, and more dangerous than ever before.

There are almost as many reasons why people don’t go to church as there are people. Some have been hurt or disappointed by church problems or abuse. Others don’t trust clergy or church leadership. Many have discovered hidden motivations like greed or ambition and different kinds of hypocrisy. A big percentage feel that the church hasn’t lived up to its promises to do good in the world and has, instead, sometimes been a force for evil. For some, it just feels like a waste of time or an annoying social event. There are even those who feel like their faith would actually be healthier outside the walls of the church. A large number of people simply fail to see how church makes a real difference — does it really matter or change anything?

If you listen carefully to all the reasons that people don’t want church, there is one thing you will not hear. No one says the problem is Jesus. That’s because most of us know deep down inside that all these church problem’s break Jesus’ heart. How can we know that? Because the problems with organized religion in Jesus’ day hurt him deeply and even angered him. He wasn’t shy about pointing out the sickness of religious leaders and their abuse of their followers.*

The good news is that Jesus didn’t come to sell us church. Although some people use Jesus’ name to say “be nice” and “go to church,” nothing could be farther from the true message of Jesus of Nazareth. So if Jesus didn’t come to make us into mild-mannered church goers, what did he come for? In his own words: “I came so you can have real and eternal life, more and better life than you ever dreamed of.”†

In other words, Jesus came to start a revolution — forever changing life on planet earth. For centuries since he has been calling people to “come, follow me”‡ on his amazing and aggressive mission to remake the world. He calls his followers into a lifestyle of a deep connection to God that overflows into the lives of others for their real good. This is not about becoming a boring person. Nor is it about knowing certain thoughts about God or keeping a list of rules. It’s not even about regularly attending a worship service. It’s about becoming a traveler with God himself in his grassroots movement to transform our grey existence into vibrant, bold living.

Thousands of people who want God but not church are joining Jesus’ revolution. They are learning a radical lifestyle of purpose and meaning right where they live — among their friends, family, and coworkers. They are courageously engaging people’s problems through brave and innovative action. They are connecting with others around dinner tables, beside backyard grills, in living rooms, and many other places.

(I really liked this and other blogs at rUrevolutionary.com. Check it out. -- Bob)

We Need Jesus!

Jeanne Guyon wrote Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ in 1685. For more than 300 years this little book has helped thousands of people to have a deeper and more intimate walk with Jesus. Here is an excerpt from the first chapter. -- Bob

Once the Lord spoke and said, "I counsel you to buy from me gold tried in the fire that you may be rich." (Revelation 3: 18) Dear reader, there is gold available to you. This gold is much more easily obtained than you could ever imagine. It is available to you. The purpose of this book is to launch you into this exploration and into this discovery.
I give you an invitation: If you are thirsty, come to the living waters. Do not waste your precious time digging wells that have no water in them. (John 7:37; Jeremiah 2:13)
If you are starving and can find nothing to satisfy your hunger, then come. Come, and you will be filled.
You who are poor, come.
You who are afflicted, come.
You who are weighted down with your load of wretchedness and your load of pain, come. You will be comforted!
You who are sick and need a physician, come. Don't hesitate because you have diseases. Come to your Lord and show Him all your diseases, and they will be healed!
Come!
Dear child of God, your Father has His arms of love open wide to you. Throw yourself into His arms. You who have strayed and wandered away as sheep, return to your Shepherd. You who are sinners, come to your Savior.
I especially address those of you who are very simple and you who are uneducated, even you who cannot read and write. You may think you are the one person most incapable of this abiding experience of Christ, this prayer of simplicity. You may think yourself the one farthest from a deep experience with the Lord; but, in fact, the Lord has especially chosen you! You are the one most suited to know Him well.
So let no one feel left out. Jesus Christ has called us all.
Oh, I suppose there is one group who is left outl
Do not come if you have no heart. You see, before you come, there is one thing you must do: You must first give your heart to the Lord.