Kingdom Come!

So what exactly was the NoBrand NonConference Retreat?

That’s hard to say.  Really. (One guy said he wasn’t sure if he wanted to come because he always thought of retreats - even mens retreats - as being kinda “girly.”  But he ended up saying this one was far from “girly.”)

Last year, I felt the Lord wanted me to spend some time with men this year, pouring into their lives in some way.  I endeavored to meet with younger guys and renew relationships with guys with some sort of history with me.  We have relationships from pre-JoyFull Ministries, days of ministry on college campuses, ministry overseas and now ministry with Globe and IGM.

After issuing about twenty-five invitations to friends, mentorees and colleagues from thirty years of ministry, we had a gathering of four guys and me at Beckwith Conference Center in Fairhope, Alabama .  These four guys – Casey, Eric, Ken and Jim – represented a history and revolving relationship with Phyllis and me of eighteen years to six months. 

The plan was to have a laid-back low agenda time with God.  We all wanted to hear His Voice and come away with a better sense of His Plan for our lives.

Arriving at Beckwith on Thursday evening, we spent time chatting and exchanging stories.   Casey brought Phyllis from Valdosta to Pensacola and we rode together to the conference grounds about an hour west.  We ate dinner together, then we watched the Globe BootCamp AOTW video   I’d not planned to do this but Jim was late arriving and the other guys wanted to see it.

Friday morning following breakfast, we spent time dwelling in the Word.  I taught about lectio divina and everyone scattered to different corners of beautiful Beckwith for an hour to read from Luke 10:1-24 and listen to God.  We then returned to discuss the “shimmering verses” that the Lord illumined to each of us.

Somehow, I’d pulled or aggravated an existing problem in my left shoulder.  The pain was excruciating but it came and went and was not (thankfully) constant, but it necessitated my resting often and not doing a lot physically.  Ice bags helped!  And prayer.  (In fact, by the time we left on Sunday morning, I was pretty much healed and pain-free.)

We spent a lot of time talking, exchanging stories and looking at Romans chapters 6-8 as well as deeply reading Luke 10.  We talked about church and missions and being missional in our approach.  We talked about being fathers and husbands and just being men of God.  We talked about losing our religious outlooks and taking on a real spirituality of grace.  I told stories of Africa and the Middle East and ministry successes and business failures and frustrations.

We watched a Brian Regan video and laughed a lot.

Saturday afternoon a couple of the guys went out in canoes.  I writhed in pain most of the afternoon, but then when we prayed again for healing – it came and the pain was gone.

And we agreed to begin – however we can in our own worlds and spheres of influence – BELLS.  We’ll see where that goes and how it happens.  I expect to hear a lot in the next few days and weeks.

We were all making great adjustments:

• Me, coming back from living outside the USA … developing the whole Globe training thing…
• Jim, working as a substitute teacher and looking to do a major mission trip this summer as well as get certified to teach rather than sub…
• Casey, changing churches because of conviction and expanding his work in many areas…
• Eric, resetting his defaults to take more risks in faith,,,
• Ken, looking at how he can move more in missions… 

We talked about doing another one of these in maybe October and expanding it to include another circle of friends and relationships.

We’ll see…

Happy 2008!

Well, it’s here: a new year.  And with it come hopes and dreams for things to be different and things to be the same… the hope for stability and the dream for change!

Thanks for reading this blog.  Some of you have encouraged me to actually do the blog!  And some have commented.  (I know commenting on blog.com is something of a pain because you have to actually “join” blog.com to post.  Sorry.  Maybe I’ll move in 2008…)

I have plans to do some other blogging. 

• Beginning soon, I want to review significant events for me and our small world in 2007. 
• I will begin a weekly exploration of what it means to be “The Sent People of God” in John’s Gospel.
• I’ll share our missional exploration of Michael Frost’s BELLS…
• I’ll publish “letters form our tribe” - email from friends and colleagues doing the stuff in other parts of the world…

And more than anything, I want to share hope!  And life!  I’m tired of hokey religious junk.  In me; around me.  I’m tired of pious empires insulated form the real world.  And I’m repulsed by plastic potentates that color our world and taint our understanding of Jesus, the Gospel and the Mission.

So to begin the New Year, here’s an interesting article from the Wall street Journal European Edition regarding hope and fear.  Here’s the challenge.  And we have the hope!

Happy 2008!

Well, I want to confess my recent sin…

For the last while I’ve made a conscious effort to commit myself to BELLS, a missional concept I stole from Michael Frost of The Shaping of Things to Come fame.  The acroctic of BELLS is as follows:

BLESSING: Who have you blessed this week through words or actions and what learning, encouragement or concerns were raised by it?
EATING: With whom have you eaten this week and what learning, encouragement or concerns were raised by it?
LISTENING: Have you heard or sensed any promptings from God this week?
LEARNING: What passages of Scripture have encouraged you or what other resources have enriched your growth as a Christian this week?
SENTNESS: In what ways have you sensed yourself carrying on the work of God in your daily life this week?

So, the other morning I had rushed to Farmer’s Barber Shop just over the bay from Lillian, AL.  I was in a great hurry because I was going to get a haircut (almost always a traumatic experience since moving back to the US, but that’s another story…), rush back home, shower and head to the Globe office.  Upon arrival, there was an older guy in the single chair of Rick Farmer’s barber shop, so I sat down and began to read the paper.  When I heard the older guy stir out of the chair and his wife rise to go, I arose myself headed for the barber chair.  As I did, another old guy (Lillian is filled with old guys!) came in the front door shuffling with a cane looking at the exiting guy and the empty chair.  It was obvious (upon reflection) that walking, even with a cane was a great effort.

I paid him no real attention, but made my way to the chair to get my haircut.  And that’s when it dawned on me: you could have really blessed that guy, if you’d have let him go ahead of you.  If you’d have let him take your place, it could have been one of your blessings of the day!

On my way home, I cried out to God: “Forgive me!  This is what I’m all about - hearing your voice and blessing other!  And here I am, I’ve blown it!  Again!  Too busy, too much in a hurry, too fast and furious to see a need right in front of me.!” 

I’ll chat more about BELLS at another time…  I want this to become the paradigm of living for me and mine in 2008… Maybe we can do d better job…