Emergent Brethren

For those not on my Veritas prayer list, I thought I would take this space to share some prayer requests with the Emergent Brethren community (btw…have a great time at Annual Conference….have some great conversation at the Emergent discussion…wish I could join it). If you want to be on the Veritas prayer list…please drop me a note.

1. Purple Door Arts and Music Festival: Every August at Ski Roundtop a great music festival is held that brings the best alternative music, great speakers, and art in all forms. The Purple Door Arts and Music Festival takes place August 14-15. We thought it would be a great place to promote Veritas. So we sent out a registration form and a deposit for a booth, and this weekend heard that we were accepted. So Praise God. We’ll have a booth where we’ll be giving out literature about Veritas, a CD with original music from various people within our Community, Coffee Mugs, chocolate, and other random stuff. Pray that God would bring people by the booth, that we would have great conversation with people, and that many will check out the booth, and Veritas as well. Praise God for the opportunity to be involved at Purple Door.

2. English Presbyterian Church: It is now official. We will be officially meeting at English Presbyterian Church in Marietta for our Sunday gatherings (10:45-12:45) starting on September 13. Pray that this relationship would be a blessing to both parties involved, that we can bless English Pres by our presence, and that God would be honored/glorified by this arrangement. Praise that this part of the details in planting Veritas is officially done.

3. Core Group Development: We have been having lots of people over for dinner and dessert the last few weeks…and its been fun…my wife is an amazing woman. Anyway….we had a great meeting with Chris and Carmella Tress and look forward to having them check out our Core Group sometime in the near future. Also on Saturday we met with Tobias and Amanda and will be looking forward to having them check out our Core Group this coming week. I am excited about these two couples and what God is doing in their lives, and what they can offer to Veritas and the Kingdom. Pray that they would connect with others in our community and that they would feel God’s call to join Veritas. Pray for our Core Group nights on Sunday nights as we worship, pray, study, and share together.

4. Finances: Our Finances are coming together slowly but surely. This weekend Lampeter COB sent a check for Veritas..so praise God for that. We are also going to be sending out support letters in the very near future. Pray that God would take care of the finances that we need, that the letters would be well received, and that God would bless those who receive the letters. Pray for wisdom and discernment when it comes to finances.

5. Job: Continue to pray for me as I seek to find a part-time job (I really haven’t done any looking but will be in July). Pray that I would find one that would connect with what I am doing with Veritas. Pray for a flexible job. I truly believe that we can make it work by being part-time Church Planter/part time other. (Instead of part time planter/full time other…which is good). Pray that God would guide me to the right one.

6. Missional Opportunities: Pray for us as we work on some outreach events including a FREE Car Wash (Saturday’s was a wash out…God washed everyones cars…) and a Block Party on August 29. Pray that we can connect with people, share the love of Jesus in real and practical ways, and pray that we can also share a little bit about the mission, vision, and dreams of Veritas.

Thanks so much for your prayers and friendship..they mean the world to me….

Things seem to moving forward with Veritas as we work towards our September 13 launch. Here are a few exciting things that we are experiencing right now.

1. We have signed a lease for one year with English Presbyterian Church in Marietta for only 400 dollars a month. I believe this will be an amazing partnership with English as we begin and develop and grow. I still feel that in the future we would love to inhabit a place where we can develop a third space (whether business or not..I’m not sure…) much like a previous post.

2. We are having many conversations with people about joining our Core Group. I had a meeting on Monday night with a great couple that we connected with through setting up a time to go visit a church in Bucks County called The Well. I also have a dinner with a couple on Saturday night.

3. The Pastor of the Well also let us know of someone else in Lancaster county who was part of the Well and is now in Lancaster county…we’ll see where that leads.

4. Finances are slowly coming together…to a point that I think we can make a go at this on a part-time level, and I won’t need to work full-time and work on the church plant as well.

5. Saturday morning we are doing a FREE Car Wash to bless the community.

6. Monday night we are having dinner with Jonny and Jenny Baker from Grace in the UK while they are here teaching at Lancaster Theological Seminary. I met Jonny when he was here 2 years ago, and then again when I went over to London 2 years ago. I am looking forward to that.

7. Visiting the Well on July 5 and looking forward to the experience and talking with the Pastor.

All in all I am really excited about the journey that we are on, and what God will do in the future in and through us. That doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous, scared and worried at times, but I do know that God is in control and he will take care of us.

Thursday I got to attend a seminar given by Alan Hirsch (co-wrote ReJesus and The Shaping of Things to Come with Michael Frost and wrote The Forgotten Ways) at Valley Forge Christian College. It was an awesome day which again convinced me about God’s call upon our lives, and the kind of church Veritas will become.

Here are some thoughts that he shared that stuck out to me:

1. The problems in the church will not be solved by the same thinking that got the church into the problems in the first place. (I think that is a quote from Albert Einstein with church added in there)

2. Constantine is still exercising our imagination when it comes to the church.

3. Church= lack of imagination. We have lost the sense of imagination.

4. All truth equals subjective change. (Soren Kierkegaard)You are your truth. You must live out your truth.

5. Embodiment is important in the transmission of the gospel. We are the best chance of people seeing Jesus.

6. Discipleship must tackle consumerism.

7. We don’t think our way into a new action, we act our way into new thinking.

8. Action is crucial as part of discipleship.

9. Mission is not something that the church has to dream up. It comes straight from the heart of God. God is a missionary God. God is deeply redemptive. (Missio Dei- the missionary God or the mission of God.)

10. If you are a Christian you are a missionary.

11. Enter into the community. Be a part of the community. Listen to the community. Then we ask two questions: What is Gospel for these people? What is church for these people? Church follows mission.

12. If you can’t imagine it, you can’t do it.

13. What we need are missionally responsive, culturally adaptive, organizationally agile, multiplication movements.

14. Don’t plant churches…plant the gospel.

These thoughts have been running around my head since Thursday. Take time to chew on them. Wrestle with them. I know I am and we at Veritas will be as well.