The Apprentice

The Apprentice:

It is interesting that the word “Christian” hardly appears in the New Testament. We use the word all the time, but the word “Christian” only appears in the New Testament, get this - 3 times. Compare that to how the ancient scriptures describe a follower of Jesus Christ. Nearly 300 times they are called “disciples.”

We reserve the word “disciple” for people, who are really, really serious about their faith, saints, people who are really holy, however we scale that. Here’s the crazy part, somewhere along the way we have come up with the idea that you can be a Christian in the Church but not a disciple. You graduate to become a disciple I guess through knowing more of the Bible? Going to Church? Tithing?

When Jesus walked on a beach one day beside the Sea of Galilee he begins to call the first two disciples, and because these guys were working in the family business meant they weren’t following another Rabbi, these guys are not the best of the best. The beauty of what Jesus calls us to is not made up of scholars alone, but of working class, young, old, rich, poor, educated and so called drop outs. What I truley love about being a disciple is that it is a movement for everyone.

Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"?
- 1 Cor 1:26 – 30 The Message;

We have no problem believing in God, no problem believing in Jesus? The stumbling block for many followers of Jesus and I guess the reason why we have added the label Christian to followers of Jesus is because we struggle with the idea that God believes in us. His call to become a follower, a disciple an apprentice means because of His authority you and I can take action, bring beauty to brokenness, and become peddlers of hope. You and I can live like Jesus and do what he did; the bible says yes even greater things. He believes in you and entrusts you with the pear of great price; The Kingdom


The question that remains is, ‘Will we accept His call and commission?’
Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations.

Once Upon a Time

Ivan Illich brilliantly said, “Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society, rather you must tell a new powerful tale, one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story, one so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and our present into a coherent whole, one that even shines some light into the future so that we can take the next step forward. If you want to change a society, then you have to tell an alternative story.”

Over the last three weeks we have invited people to come and tell their story, each week people have been inspired, encouraged and I pray awakened to write their own story this side of eternity. We are all part of a once upon a time moment…a true story… that's directed by God the father, every one's story is connected to His story or put this way, ‘for everything absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him - The Message Col 1:16

Many followers of Christ and not yet followers forget or don't realize that they are the story.
Paul said, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. " (eph 2:10)
Sounds a little heavy right? I mean you could pick up from reading this ancient text that this Christianity is all do, do, do. The fact is within this text we miss something living and life giving. The word workmanship comes from the Greek word poiema word poem. It is only used twice in Scripture yet conveys meaning that is almost breathtaking, and of great importance.
The word poiema is used here first to describe God's work of creation in Romans ; For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (rom 1:20 NIV)

Get this, with all our mistakes, selfishness and pride amongst other stuff, we are doubly a divine story in the penmanship of Our Sovereign God, when we give our lives to Him! How special is that! We are first a divine poem, art, story, part of His wonderful creation; but when we allowed sin to enter the world back in the garden , God wrote another divine story, that of the story of sweet redemption. Through Christ he rewrites us, recreates us all over again. Get this, It’s not about works it’s a love story of boundless grace and you and I become the story.

Outward Focused?

I am just back from catching up with a good friend who was in Armagh today on business, we met at the Bagel Bean (well worth a visit, cream cheese and mango chutney on a Jalapeno bagel, its amazing). Anyhow we got talking about Church, Christ and Mission. He heads up a thing called 'Face to Face' each week in his home town where a team head out into the streets and simply take risks as God leads them people. They don't have literature or free stuff all they do is rely on The Holy Spirit to show up and begin conversations.

This guy has been consistently on mission since I've known him (18 years) no matter if its in work, the street, the pub, he's always looking to see who the Father is calling to Himself and joining that conversation. The only thing that gets to him at times is the fact that he has lost 75/80% of his hearing. I guess you could call that an outward focused life, even though there are obstacles and times of doubt and discouragement, nothing ignites his soul more than seeing people come into relationship with God the Father.

I have to ask myself the question; "Am I really outward focused?"

Graciously;

Jason

Making space for another

Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person (lost) may not remain estranged from him (2 Sam 14:14)
This text reminds me of my mortality; I’m awakened to serve my generation to live deliberately, to get aggressive with the temptation to be apathetic which desires to steal my soul.

In this text I see the God of mercy, sweet mercy, I see His character, God is good, He’s not bent on destroying people but He is creatively coming up with ways to bring the nadach (Hebrew) lost back to himself.
God is coming up with different ways of bringing the lost back to himself. We need to get in on them, lift our eyes to see white fields.

God is doing something unique here at the Vineyard in Dungannon
“Our job like experienced surfers is to recognize a wave of God’s spirit and to ride it. It is not our responsibility to make waves but to recognize how God is working in the world and endeavour to join Him”. Rick Warren

I can’t live without seeing life change and no Church will live without lives being changed. We are not called to survive history but to serve humanity. I love Starbucks, well I love the Starbucks experience and if you’ve been in that experience you might have noticed a statement on the wall ‘Starbucks changing the world one cup at a time’; I love their passion, I’d love us to have a passion that changes the world one soul at a time. Let me warn you that just like the caffeine there is an addiction when you start to see the few and the ones and two’s come to know Christ.

We need to make room for them when they come and so on May 10th we will be adding another service. Our new service will be 10am and then we will have another service at 11.40am. Both will be identical and offer the same children's programs.

It's harvest time!

12th April 2009

Tomorrow we kick our Easter celebrations off at 8.30am on Castle Hill, The site was the ancient King of Ireland, Hugh O'Neill's Home, which I think is very cool and very kind of Dungannon council to open it up for us. Here's what's very cool though, all around the world on the Sunday the 12th April 2009 every tribe and tongue will sing, read, worship, some will dance, some will worship in silence, some will turn it up to 11 but all of Christs Church will confess and celebrate His literal physical resurrection.

No matter what our difference is regarding doctrine or worship style, tomorrow the body of Christ with one voice will declare "He has risen, He has risen indeed!". I love that

Jesus the REVOLUTIONARY

We have had a novel idea at the Vineyard with our Easter series that we kicked off 3 weeks ago, we have decided to look at Jesus for 6 weeks.
What I find strange here in my small part of the world is that many followers of Jesus give the perception that they revere Paul more than Christ, that if we say anything about Paul it would be close on blasphemy, Paul is often quoted by many more than Jesus Christ

We are looking at Jesus the Revolutionary who is changing assumption's we have grown up with, we have hit the reset button and are searching for Him anew.

Jesus steps on to the world stage with this message "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near" Repent: change the way you think. I think that repentance goes deeper than repent for our sins.

He's asking people to change their thinking because He is bringing a revolution.
It Is Here!
Jesus’ acts of authority and his confrontations with Satan force people to ask ultimate questions: Who is this? What is happening? As we look at Jesus, we find that his every action is a revolt against the system called religion and against the powers of darkness.

There is only one kingdom, undivided, that has come, is coming, and will come. This Kingdom is a Revolutionary Kingdom. When the kingdom draws near everything changes, the presence of the Messianic king, the outpouring of the Spirit, the coming salvation, the forgiveness of sins, the healing of the sick, the resurrection of the dead, eternal joy, the liberation of the captives, the judgement of sin, and the newpeople of God in a new Jerusalem, are all present with every in-breaking of the kingdom.

Have we repented enough to see the Revolutionary Jesus or are we living with false assumptions?

Lucknow

First full day in Lucknow, North India. This morning we (Brian Cummings) and I headed to one of the Good Shepherd Churches which is part of the OM organisation. We were meeting on the roof of a school.

Yet again I'm amazed and humbled at the peoples hunger to gather together as the Church, to sing and worship without a Redman, Thomlin or Young, they pray like the Acts 4 prayer meeting (I'm guessing never attended the Acts 4 prayer meeting).They love to hear a message of the Kingdom and are eager to come and get prayer. The Kingdom is breaking out here.

What is it that makes the Kingdom moments? hunger? expectancy? the quest to seek His face? These I will wrestle with at least for this week until I get back home and start working on creating environments and atmosphere.

Next week we kick off a new series at VCD called 'Jesus the Revolutionary' so here's teaser for week one. "The West is not the center of Christianity. Asia, Africa and Latin America is—with Christianity exploding exponentially."

Brian prayed with a lady we prayed with in August who was deaf but now she can here but wanted prayer to be able to speak. We wait to here her testimony.