theCityShouldBeDifferent: theCityChurch@theSeawall - Lords Supper, Baptism, and to be a church For the City (followed by huge fun tubing!)

Monday, May 21, 2012

theCityChurch@theSeawall - Lords Supper, Baptism, and to be a church For the City (followed by huge fun tubing!)

These two are raising hands of Freedom in Jesus. You can see the tank we baptized them moments ago at the bottom of the picture. #FreedomIsHere

theCityChurch met to worship Jesus at the Civic Center Seawall yesterday, at Bor du lac Marina. It was warm (some said hot, lol), but so beautiful! We had people stop in and join us who were walking at the seawall.

In taking the Lord's Supper, we remembered Jesus, broken and slain for our freedom, and raised back to Life to demonstrate God's victory over our weakness!

We celebrated people deciding to follow Jesus, marking their lives as connected to his by being baptized!

And we challenged one another to be a church For The City - a church that partners with many others to be a movement of Jesus' church that brings God's Kingdom in a more real, more tangible way to our whole community.

We want the city and community leaders in government, education and non-profits to say, "If the churches here stopped their work in raising up families, healing brokenness in people, families and in the community; if the churches here stopped caring for the poor, if the churches here stopped showing us what humility and reconciliation were like (in actions, not just words), our city would be in terrible shape, and we would beg them to come back and reengage!"

We believe Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-23 can happen in our city in our day.

We exist so see the city different.

The baptizers and baptizees

the way we know it's working is if we are making disciples who are making disciples who are making disciples. Here is Pattie baptizing Sabrina. That's awesome!

Buried like Christ...Raised to walk a new kind of life!

Then the party continued, as we ate jambalaya and spent the afternoon boat riding and tubing!

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theCityShouldBeDifferent

Since #JesusIsAlive, then from #Goosport2Graywood #theCityShouldBeDifferent

theCityShouldBeDifferent.com

a move to Unite theChurchatLakeCharles.us

and Transform the city

through Building Capacity for Engagement

So That John 17:20-23 can happen here, now.

OK, that sounds good, but what does that mean? So here is an Example: We have this enormous industrial expansion headed to SWLA, bringing 25,000+ new construction jobs. There are lots of, say, young men in our area who are not meaningfully participating in the workforce, but who could certainly fulfill the unskilled helper jobs that will be a small portion of this large construction workforce needed. What they need to be ready for these jobs is some hope. We, church, are charter members in the hope trade. So, via relational engagement, we let the young men borrow some hope from us, inspiring some to begin working on improving their character and soft skills, getting ready for this meaningful work opportunity.

There are a bunch of kickers in this real-life scenario.

1.) The industrial construction helpers can make $15 an hour, and typically have lots of overtime. This scenario really stomps on the gas pedal in this way: a new entrant into the workforce in this situation can save enough to buy a reliable car in 1-2 months! That is hope building; dignity establishing!

2.) If we are going to see a thousand young men (that's my vision) pass through this opportunity, we will need a whole-bunch of support systems, meaning mentors, encouragers, soft-skills instructors, rides to work and more.

3.) When we engage with our real-life neighbors, in real-life serving, everyone's character, everyone's faith in Jesus gets a real shot at growing! It's what you call, Discipleship.

4.) When a young man gets a job that can pay $40k a year, they have real options! They can get more education and training. They can inspire those around them to follow them. They can be inspired by those who invested in their life for free and set them up for this situation, and they can help the next group of young men who aren't working get on board.

5.) When people from all corners of the city who are a part of the Jesus story get engaged together on a real-life mission worth doing, one that doesn't benefit any of the men or their churches directly, but the benefits are so powerful and real, then we get to build trust, relationships and capacity and see that Jesus unites and trumps race or class. We get new respect for each other and our capacity to do go and be real brothers is greater than we could have foreseen

...

Are you getting a little glimpse at the picture?

The people who follow Jesus are carrier's of the Hope of the World. We, in the Lake Charles area, have a beautiful opportunity to engage with our community, building relationships and helping lots of people see who Jesus is more clearly.

There is lots more to say, so stay tuned and, if you are intrigued, lean your voice into the mix. Contact Paul Pettefer at 337-794-9891, paul@employmentisbetter.com, @paulpettefer, or stop by the InterGalactic Offices of theCityShouldBeDifferent.com located inside Laundry World, 2712 Lake St, Lake Charles.