Listening to Dallas Willard's "Hearing God," has been amazingly refreshing. He said something today that really struck me (I listen to him while I run, so he really did say.)

"But in the lives of NT personalities—especially Jesus himself—there is a great preponderance of strictly—nonphysical—communications between God & his people. Vision, dreams & angels continue to play some part—as I think they may do today. It would not be too much to say, however, that where these phenomena were the main, as opposed to the occasional, means of interaction, it indicates a less developed spiritual live both in the individual & the church group. I am not trying to be judgmental here; I am merely trying to be helpful in pointing out the kind of life with God into which we should expect to grow—a life in which one hears from God amid & frequent times of conversational prayer."

I am always troubled by those who NEED another HUGE experience & can't seem to hear him in the daily, which there is nothing normal about it, life. There is no spiritual non-spiritual flesh/spirit dictonomy. Certainly not in the eyes of Jesus. I love what Dallas says in this book.

"some assembly required'

i took the subject title from steve greggs teaching www.thenarrowpath.com "some assembly required"

it is no secret that i am disillusioned with our western evangelical church model. it generally leaves me wondering what am i doing, once again, going thru the motions. and yet, i am in church at least once possibly twice every sunday:) because i am aware that there is "some assembly required"

i attend different churches as i am trying to know the "body of christ" in all of santa cruz and possibly monterey counties. i am achieving that, i think:)

still always in search of finding a place "God shows up, in presence and power" rarely have i observed this. exception of course...the Jesus movement and the after glow of that.

lately tho, and i am going out on a limb here, because i know none of us are perfect, and i have only attended a handful of times, but there is this sweet little group i found (found me) that i can almost think i sense this!!!

they are called "antioch church" and they are a vineyard based church that came here from san luis obispo. although in the early 80's i have visited the slo church too. also we know lonnie frisbee, our ground zero man for the Jesus movement came out of calvary chapel and then vineyard church.

antioch church, left without a building when our vets hall closed it's doors is now meeting in "the next door space" a comfortable space right next door to the rio theatre. santa cruz, soquel ave. they meet at 6:30 pm sunday nights.

i have gotten to know their pastor sean mcmasters as he has come consistently every week, bringing coffee and chai to our wed. drum circle. he also has personally gotten involved in the life of my own kids, simply by spending time with them. sean has also spent personal time with people in and around drum circle. a one on one type a guy!

i have to say this type of "grassroots" outreach is extremely rare for "pastors" and yet they are servants and sheperds biblically speaking.

sean does not know i am writing this, i did not ask, but i am impressed with this little group that has managed to come away enough from the "model" and just be Jesus to people!

God Bless you guys!

I'm going up to UCSC on Monday to pass out a flyer with this info on it. Give me some feedback if you will.

What if you used your spring break to serve in a city where poverty & hopelessness reign? Consider taking 3 days to serve with other groups in Oakland who desire to see a city transformed.



Who: You & some other incredible people.
What: Serving the less fortunate in Oakland; by working with various community groups, serving those groups & the poor.
Why: Because many live without hope & we can choose to help them or ignore them. I vote to help them!
When: March 22, 23, & 24. On Wed. the 24th we will serve in Oakland for the beginning of the day & then serve at the drum-circle that evening in Santa Cruz.
How: We’ll network with a couple of different organizations in Oakland & join them in their work to serve the poor.
How much: $150 for room, gas, & food.

Sponsored by: The Bridge Collective: Bridging the gap between what is & what should be.

Do I have to be a Christian to follow Jesus? Christian historically means: Little Christ; & this title was given by those who were outside of the believing community to describe those within it. You are a Christian...a little Christ. However, as times change, so do definitions of words: Gay for example used to mean happy, now it means, almost exclusively, homosexual; & there are many other examples…stoked, gnarley, bomber, wicked, crazy, bad, sick!

Christian.

It seems as if in our American day & age the term Christian has deviated from its original meaning so far that I feel comfortable asking: Do I have to be a Christian to follow Jesus? Do I have to talk like Christians talk? Act like they act? Behave like they behave? Dress like they dress? Even though they look cool, it all smells the same: Christian. Jesus? No doubt there are many Christ-like aspects to modern day Christianity; yet at the same time, there seems to be a lot that isn’t centered upon the person of Christ, but upon a culture that has been created by his followers called: Christianity.

I believe a great deal of people are turned away from following Jesus not because of who he is & what he stands for, but because of a belief that baptism is a symbolic rite of passage into a club; A Christian Club, & they aren’t attracted to what they see. Maybe in certain places in the U.S. where "Christian" is the norm, but in the Bay the reaction is negative.

Christians, whom God has chosen to reside in by his Spirit, who possess life itself, don’t seem very alive. Don't is more predominate than do. Certain conversational subjects are taboo. Materialism masked behind spiritual language is routine. Spiritual conversation is often Christian gossip. When their faith is pressed we are invited into shallow pools of thought & encouraged to steer clear of deeper waters, where mysterious questions are laid to rest. Do they actually believe everything they claim to believe? Their lack of conviction doesn’t seem very convincing. Too, how could you belong to such a large group of people (Sunday Worship) yet have so few real friends? Who are you? Your confusion is confusing. Sarah Palin?

Do I have to be a Christian to follow Jesus?

One of the things in our culture that disturbs me is: Idol Worship. Not, wooden statue I bow down to, Idol Worship, but Celebrity Worship. It seems as if our culture is driven by the famous: Brad Pitt, Demi Moore, Jack Johnson, Michael Jordon, etc. When we think of what we want to look like, how we want to perform, are we successful or not, we are presented with a who's who in the area we desire to grow in or emulate.

Sadly, church life is little different. As I confront challenges in my vocation I am handed, quite readily by my friends, the shining examples within Christianity who have "risen above the fold." Communication: Rob Bell. Evangelism: Louis Palau. Programmatic church: Rick Warren. Signs & Wonders, Church Growth, Para-Church, Satellite Campuses, etc; These are our celebrities; & not only do we have them, we desire them, emulate them, covet them; but can we think beyond & through them? (I think very highly of our celebrities; they are in fact outstanding people)

In grad school the president, whom I thought a rather weird man, said (paraphrased), “One of the biggest problems I see in churches today is cookie cutter church. Instead of fasting & praying to find out what kind of church God wants in a specific local we latch onto the ‘what worked there, if implemented correctly, will work here.’ Therefore, we cut off God’s creative arm for the local church.” But why would I settle for what God has for me when I can have what Joyce Meyer, or Bill Johnson has? Why be me when I can dress like so & so? Too, when asked about my church I don’t assume people are really asking within the context of what God has for me in Santa Cruz; I think we’d agree we want to know why I’m not enjoying the success of John Ortberg or Dan Kimball. "Haven't I read their books? It describes everything they've done. You can do it to for: 14.99!"

The average church is 85 to 100 people. This is a problem, or so I’m told. This isn’t God’s plan, or so they tell me. Without a shadow of a doubt, those of us with an “average” size church realize we aren’t all that God wants; & who could argue with that? Think of this: when you tell a man he isn’t measuring up, he’s “small,” at some point in time he’ll see the gift of his community not with potential, but with disdain. Why wouldn’t he? We don’t celebrate churches of 85; we celebrate those who have risen above this level. We talk of the famous & they don't have small churches.

Yet only so many of us get to become famous as servants of Christ (paradox?). We idolize the few, while the greatest potential within our movement is relegated to: “Performs below par.” Sad. Combined, the average churches far outweigh the potential of the “rich & famous.” Yet if a man is convinced he needs to be somebody else than he’s probably not gonna’ be who God created him to be.

We love celebrities. We emulate our idols. We judge ourselves by them. We want to be celebrities. They're a part of our life & it's not as fruitful as we think.

God speak to me about me. Let me covet what you have for me & not what another man has.

"In Luke's gospel, Jesus waited until his followers asked him for a prayer; & the reason they asked was because they saw what he was doing. Something tells me there's a lesson there." N.T. Wright: The Lord & His Prayer.