TJP Fall Gathering

Gentlemen, I would like to call our first fall gathering. How does the date(s) of Friday November 2nd and Saturday November 3rd sound? I am trying to get the beach house in Imperial Beach and we could all meet up Friday evening and stay until Saturday evening. For those who couldn't make Friday, we could just have you come on Saturday. I would also like your input regarding what the time should look like, who will facilitate what, basically what's our plan. Post your comments and I will put together what seems to be a consensus plan and we'll go from there.

New Longshot Post

It's been a while, but one of Sam's comments on TJP and Dan's devotions from the OT spurred this meditation on. Here it is.

Be Thou My Vision

I have been thinking a lot about some of the conversation that has followed the last TJP meeting, especially in regards each of our battles with overcoming besetting sin, temptation, fears, insecurities, and anxieties. I know that these are perplexing issues that I am definitely facing in some powerfully real ways (I would be happy to share this with you guys here, but for the sake of brevity I wont). In the midst of this God brought some encouraging thoughts to mind:

To be certain, we must do battle with these issues. But the end goal is not to overcome sin or grow in godly confidence (though God certainly wills these things for us), rather it is to know and behold Christ. This is the end goal, and the essence of our eternal life. Often I find myself on the loosing end of my own battles with insecurity, fear, and cowardice, however I do find it very encouraging that in the midst of the fight I can be "fixing my eyes on Jesus..." Inner transformation seems to be a whole lot more realistic in the radiance of His face. Be encouraged brothers, in the midst of the battle you can find strength and grace simply by looking upon Him. Do what the old hymn says:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full on His wonderful face
And the things of this world will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Prayers During The Squal

I'm writing this post as the first cry for the brethren's help in our movement to push eachother towards Christlikeness. As most of you know I work in a tough industry...spritually that is. I am surrounded by the feast of the world and I have all it's fixings at my finger tips. I'm getting ready to start another round of trade shows for the next two weeks and I feel the need to call in the reinforcements. Ya see, the thing is that I can not trust myself in these types of settings. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. So many times I've thought that I could handle it and then I end up with some broad.
I don't really know what else to ask of you guys but to pray for me, send me texts, or even come hang out one night and keep me in line. Whatever the Lord leads you to do than do it.
I thank you guys and I will rest in the confidence that the Lord will give me strength and deliver me from any form of evil.

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.