Emergent Brethren

Here is a link to a growing movement that some might be interested in.

I am becoming a fan of Scot McKnight… Recently I read Scot’s newest book, “The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking how you read the Bible” and really appreciated the encouragement to look at our relationship with the Bible in a new light. Especially appreciated his in depth application of the process he shares in the final chapters of the book, where he looks at women in ministry in the bible. Great read!

I also very much appreciated Scot’s book “The Jesus Creed” and am using that material along with his devotional book Living the Jesus Creed as my Lenten theme at Community of Joy.

Scot has a way of getting you to think differently and more deeply than you might otherwise think. Highly recommend these books.

Some of you may know that in September of ’09 my wife and I will be taking our Veritas ministry from a ministry of Hempfield COB to a Church Plant. We currently have 8 total people on our core group and are still looking for some more. If you know of someone in the Lancaster area who might be interested, let me know. Also if you would like to be on our prayer team, let me know.

The title line above is our vision, mission, and core values statement. Over the next 2 days I will share with you the driving force behind Veritas as we move forward into Church Planting. Today I will focus on the first core value that is describe in the word community.

Our First Core Value is A Safe Spiritual Search: A Community where people experience genuine love and care. We see Jesus with the woman at the well, showing her love, grace and acceptance. Despite what society said about this woman, he cared for her in a very real and profound way, which changed her life for all of eternity. So we picture Christ-followers loving each other and the world around them. We picture safe places to seek truth where questions, doubts and struggles are okay and something to be shared, not hidden. We picture Christ-followers and those who are yet to be Christ-followers in close relationship with each other. We picture a community full of love, grace, compassion, and mercy, following in Jesus’ footsteps. For this to happen, we see people gathered in homes in the Marietta, Elizabethtown and Columbia area on a weekly basis. We see gathering around tables during these gatherings to eat together, pray together, share together, and be in relationship with each other. We see open and honest dialogue centered around the Scriptures. We see people gathering together not just once a week but throughout the entire week. We see people exercising together, going out to movies and dinner together, hanging out with each other, and spending time together.

Tomorrow I will focus on another word in our vision statement, the word missional.

Sometimes I really love the “Way I See It” comments on the sides of Starbuck’s cups. Today, I had the following comment on the side of my cup:

The Way I See It #299

There is a subtle difference between a mission and a promise. A mission is something you strive to accomplish– a promise is something you are compelled to keep. One is individual, the other is shared. When a mission and a promise are one and the same. . . that’s when mountains are moved and races are won. Hala Moddelmog, President and CEO, Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

I was struck by how Hala separates mission and promise, declaring that mission is an individual activity. Certainly, someone can be on a personal mission. But in the church, we think of mission as a collective activity, both in terms of the “Great Commission” and your local church mission.

However, I really love the last sentence that when mission and promise are one and the same. . . What does it take for mission and promise to be one and the same for your congregation? Do we sometimes develop mission statements in our local congregations without promises?

What do you think? What’s your experience? What do you see that works?

Jeff