Putting Some Shape to TJP

Well we met last night, although not all the members were present, and it seems like we were able to bring clarity to what has been a long, meandering, and muddied discussion. I believe in my heart that this is what TJP needs to be, and that the form it will take (which I will get to in a moment) is a faithful expression of who we are and what we are to be about.

Throughout this discussion we have moved from talking about TJP being anything from a benevolent mafia, to a zine, to a church plant. Although each of those ideas had their merit, none of them seemed to capture the essence of who we are and what God was doing in us both individually and corporately. What has been manifestly clear through all these discussions is that each of us are in a sort of search mode in life, each of us on this journey called The Way are asking questions like "What is my life to be about? What is God calling me to? How do I overcome the encumberances like fears, insecurities, anxieties? How do I overcome the besetting sins in my life? What is God doing in my heart and life right now? What does it mean to follow in the Way here and now?" As a community we have not been intentional about these things in each others lives, or at least as intentional as is required given the gravity of the above questions. But there is a need, a deep and penetrating need, for us to be a community that is intentionally committed to pursuing these things together.

As Nate clearly remarked last night TJP needs to be a community intentionally committed to seeing Christ as the center. We need to be a band of disciples committed to our Master who is the center of our very lives and is Himself the Way we must tread. Just as Jesus' little band of disciples ultimately were called to go in separate directions (from India to Egypt, from Spain to Turkey), they all discovered during their time together what it is God was doing in their lives, and discovered the Christ who brought liberty, justice, and reconciliation both individually and corporately.

Some Clarifying Questions:

Question: What is The Jubilee Project's function?
Answer: The Jubilee Project exists to promote discipleship in the Way of Jesus as an integral component in kingdom life.
Question: What is the The Jubilee Project's form?
Answer: TJP's form is a quartely gathering of a community of disciples committed to following in the Way and encouraging each other as they follow in it.

Some Clarifying Values:
The Jubilee Project Values
1. Community as God's gift of companionship along the wilderness way
2. Reality, being both honesty and truth, as the only currency in which God deals and a primary means of formation in Christ
3. Grace as the center of the Gospel and the only way that reality of both ourselves and the world can be embraced.
4. Love as that which binds a community together in grace and reality.
5. Growth as essential to discipleship and the fruit of a life of love.

Where Do We Go From Here?
1. Is this something that each of us are committed to?
2. Establishing regular quarterly gatherings in which TJP form, function, and values are brought into the inner life of TJP. These would look like one weekend day every 12 weeks where we would spend time in community prayer, devotions, and Spirit-led truth talk in one anothers lives. To be sure these are not to be devoted to the consumption of beer and cigarettes, in fact I think it would be best if those things are marginalized as they can be a distraction and can impede to commitments of TJP.
3. Regular prayer for one another as we are listening to God on behalf of the others
4. Clarifying who TJP is and who it is not. This means deciding "who's in." What TJP is seems to necessitate boundaries here, not that we want to be aristocratic or cliquish, but to be committed to one another at this level would require a clear sense of who TJP is and who it is not. Right now it seems on our roster we have about nine guys (Jed, Nate, Aaron, Dan, Daniel, Josh, Justin, Jason, and myself) as well as some others. I am fine with opening it up to 2 or 3 others upon recommendation, but I can't see it being any more than that. If any of you are not willing or unable to commit now would be a good time to clarify that.
5. The blog can function as a forum in which we can post requests, emergency meetings (maybe there's a big decision and we need to pray for a member), regular quartely meetings and the details of those meetings, as well as posting things that are inspiring us or things that we would like to share with the other members.
6. Have a sort of "defining" meeting this fall where all of these things are talked through, clarified, and committed to.
7. Establish our next quarterly meeting and plan it.

Maybe God will use this to call us together to something more, or maybe He will use it to call us apart all for the sake of the kingdom. To God be the glory!

Looking forward to your responses

I Have a Dream

I have a dream… of a church that knows the Living God, that loves His holy Word, that takes up its cross and joyfully serves this world which it has been called to be salt and light within. This church would bear in itself the beating heart of Christ Himself, which pours itself out for the poor and afflicted, takes up the case of the widow and the orphan, the kicked upon and marginalized, the sin-broken and needy. This church would be a place where bones broken by sin can be mended, where hungry souls can be fed, lost souls can be found, and aimless souls be given direction. This church would demand people to be who they are, not a picture of who they think they should be, so that the transformative power of the Holy Spirit may be carried out in their lives in truth. There would be no need to strut about in this church with a false sense of strength and security, because God would dwell with us as our strength in the midst of weakness and our sure hope in the face of an uncertain world. This church will not tolerate the love of riches or the pursuit thereof that consumes this culture, but will be generous with the fruit of their labor as the Lord commands, they will live by faith in the providence of a loving and almighty God, so that the world around would be perplexed by a community not consumed by the love of things but constrained by the love of Christ that calls them to be the servants of all men, and in so doing courageously takes hold of the imperishable treasure awaiting them in eternity. This church would be humble, knowing well that God’s grace alone has given them reprieve from the crushing power of sin, they will not look at their work and enlarge their hearts with pride, but they will raise their hands thankfully to heaven that they have been made worthy to serve the Living God, knowing that the perfect work of God is miraculously carried out by imperfect people. Here, in this dwelling not made with bricks and stones, or the work of any man’s hands, but made with souls made pure through the precious blood of Jesus, the glory of God’s truth will shine out for all who have eyes to see, so that they too may join the unending chorus of the redeemed from all ages past, present, and future singing the praises of our great God and King, longing with all creation for the day when Christ returns to judge in righteousness and make all things new.

However, I am weak, and my mind is limited, and my dreams cannot capture the height and depth and splendor of what God intends for His people. I need the help of His Spirit, in the fellowship of my brothers and sisters to understand that part of this dream that He has placed in them that only they can see. They can share what they have been given, what they will gladly lay down their lives in service of; so that this vision of a church would not be the work of any man’s hands, but birthed by God and given reality through the power of His Holy Spirit, so the name of Jesus would be lifted high in all the earth.

If God has indeed called us to plant a church, He will have to confirm this as we seek diligently after Him. My hope is that God would give us a dream of this church that is bathed in His presence and sustained in His strength and established by His will. So I would ask you, how is He guiding your hearts, and what is your dream?

TJP Meeting This Weekend

It looks like Sunday August 26th in the late afternoon/evening will work for the most people. Is there anyone who would like to host this gathering? Do we want to do a meal? If so who's bringing what? When exactly (I'm thinking 6ish)? If you can make it, RSVP as a comment here, with if you want to do dinner and if so what you'll bring.

Interesting Developments

To say that the last few months have been interesting is an understatement. A growing family, a career change, and God knows what else lies ahead. I have had a lot rattling around in my mind over the last few months (maybe even longer than that) regarding the idea of planting a church, and I have been content in having it be an item for discussion and prayer for further development far off in an undefined future.

That all changed a couple of weeks ago. On the 6th of August I was laying in bed in the early morning and heard God's call. He reaffirmed the calling He gave me when I was an 18 year old kid. It seems a bit bewildering given the struggles I have gone through in the last decade, but it was as clear as if He were speaking in my ear. I also have sensed clarification on this (which still needs more prayer and confirmation), that the ministry of the Word which God is leading me towards is in the context of church planting. Needless to say, this has been a lot for January and I to process as we contemplate next steps.

We have met with Drew Goodmanson, his wife, and David Fairchild (elder/pastors of Kaleo Church in San Diego, an Acts 29 Church) to discuss some future options (training and development). January and I have much to be praying about regarding this, and I would covet your guys prayers as well. This may very well have some profound implications for TJP in the coming years, but we will have to see where God leads. For now, I would simply ask that you all would be praying for January and I that we would hear God and discern His leading and be obedient to his call.

Piper on Church-Planting

All of us should watch this, it hit me like a freight train. Mighty words from a man of God.

meeting

Sam spoke of a meeting soon, so what are thus and then the available dates that we have to offer?

Good Conversations and the Cross-Centered Life

In the past ten days I have had a few conversations that have been extraordinarily illuminating; one with Jed and Nate, another with just Jed, and one with Daniel. They were kind of gestalt conversations (gestalt is like those pictures where you look at it one way and it looks like an old woman, but then you are told if you look at it another way it is a young woman, and then you see her, the young woman), where I saw all those who are contributors here as a group of friends, but saw them differently... in a revelatory way. I realized that though our friendships were good, our identity as a group had stagnated. There were moments of openness, truth, encouragement, and confrontation, yet for the most part we had become a bunch of mirror's reflecting back to one another that we were OK as we were (in terms of our foolishness, coarse joking, sinful habits, etc...) and that change was not encouraged. We could have great theological, philosophical, or cultural conversation; yet as I looked into my own heart and listened to the hearts of others, personal spiritual transformation and growth in Christ were seriously atrophied. But what was even more revelatory was that, at the center, each of us were profoundly struggling: sinful habits were not changing or even worsening, fears, anxieties, and various sorts of spiritual bondage were occuring in each of us and instead of being a community living together and moving toward liberty and freedom (remembering we are The Jubilee Project "proclaiming liberty to the captives"), we were either being left alone in our entangling sin and encumberances or being confirmed in it by the foolishness of the group. Hear me though, I am not saying this is entirely true of us, but it is, never-the-less, a reality. I cannot imagine doing anything regarding ministry together if we cannot first be a group who itself is moving toward the goals it proclaims to others. If we cannot be a core community moving toward "liberty, justice, and reconciliation" than we have no business multiplying a movement into others lives.

In reflecting up on this, particularly in relation to my conversation with Daniel-bro, the Spirit led me to the cross of our Lord and Savior. It is a sign to us. The cross is not a neurotic defense from dealing with our sin (individually and communally), i.e. "we've been forgiven, our past has been dealt with, now lets move on to do things for God." But rather, it is a sign to us (both individually and communally) to give courage to enter deeply into our own "decietful and wicked hearts" and find that grace truly does come to the "chief of sinners." If we open to the Spirit, He will take us down deep into the hellish depravity of our hearts, and there at the center He will reveal the love of God in Christ. The cross tells us that all our fears, insecurities, shame, guilt, pride, self-aggrandizement, and sin ultimately are the worst kind of sedition and effectively murder the son of God. If we enter this journey together we will hear ourselves the indictment that Paul pronounced on "the rulers of this age" who did not understand the wisdom of God and thus "crucified the Lord of glory." But in entering this journey down into our our own dead hearts we will discover the life of God, the resurrection of the Christ. That though are hearts are filled with all kinds of evils, the explosive resurrection life of Christ will awaken our dead hearts and overcome those evils by that awesome power which overcame Death and Hades. This is a clarion call for this community to enter together into the journey of a lifetime, and without question it will take the lives of us all, we will all be crucified daily, and yet if we lose ourselves for His sake we shall be found, we shall live.

THE REQUEST

I have been a thinking....let us set up a prayer request section on this thing. I love you all and I am willing to spend some time with the Father lifting your supplications up to Him. Please join me in this venture.