Role Models

The student newspaper at McNeese, theContraband, interviewed us last week at www.HomeworkNight.com.

This is Ryan and Rachel on the cover of the paper today.  To which I say...GoJesus!

I'm going to pick up a copy today.

When we love on people and give of our lives to benefit people, it matters.  And people will notice.

The kids @ Homework Night are great, and the relationships forming as a result matter.

It's how a city gets different, because Jesus is Alive!

paul

theGospel: Hope pushing back hopelessness

I love how God made us all different, and the same.

When we get a new bookshelf at the Pettefer house, I get the hammer, drill and screwdriver, and April sits nearby with the instruction manual, and we put it together...together.

I like images and drawings.  They help me remember and remind me how to tell someone else what I learned.  So when we're building the shelf, I look at the drawings, April reads the instructions, and before long, we have a great looking piece of furniture assembled and ready to use!

I've been thinking lately about how God's Kingdom is at work right here, right now.  A friend used a 4 Circle drawing to share the big picture of God's story and I thought it was really helpful.  (I'll share it soon.)

The last part of that drawing is depicting the movement of God's kingdom that started when Jesus came out of the grave, and will be completed when He comes back.  When He does return, He will make everything right.  Until then, the earth has so much that is not right...  The evidence of the fall of man is all around: family destruction, self-destruction...and the pain of it is overwhelming.

So what is God doing now, using the people who have been made alive in Jesus?

He's about bringing Hope; bringing it to where hopelessness has set up camp and is pushing the accelerator speeding the downward spiral of death and decay.

Hope arrives in Jesus.  It enters people who turn to the Lord and see His rescue plan...and put their trust in God's grace in Jesus.  Then Hope steps out to touch people, people who without Jesus are feeling hopeless.  (Oh, I know that we put on masks and keep ourselves busy, trying to pretend it's not there.  But eventually, everybody gets to the point where we see the death sentence that comes from our rebellion from God, and the need for a rescue.)

Hope in Jesus is carried in the people who have been made alive by Him into every corner of the world, to shine His light and push back the hopelessness of a fleeting life apart from God.

I'm rejoicing that God is the One at work, using Jesus' body left on the earth, the Church, to move His kingdom forward.  Hopelessness doesn't stand a chance when  Jesus shows up.

Believing that theCityWillBeDifferent, paul

theGospel

Life, my friends, can be hard.

The weird thing is, life can be hard even when things are easy.  You don't have to be a single mom with 11 kids, or a young cancer-victim, or, for something less flashy, someone out of a job.

You can even be a guy planting a church.

When life is hard, apply theGospel.

I'm not saying this to be trite or whimsical, but to be sincere.

What I'm seeing more clearly about myself is how quickly the sense of energy which lies beneath my hope can evaporate.  I can go from lots of confidence to a feeling of, let's call is slow-drag, in a short amount of time.

What gives me value?  Where does my hope come from?  What animates my sense of direction and passion?

I was hanging out in God's Words on Monday, and after a little while, pulled out the video camera with this response:

My value, my hope, my energy to press on, my ability to endure in hard things, my capacity to not get the big head when I do well...all come from the Good News (theGospel means "good news") that my life is no longer my own. My life was spiritually bankrupt, and what God did was provide a way for me to trade my "death" in for Jesus' life.  Jesus can do this because He never sinned, yet he went to the Cross, which He didn't deserve, to pay for my sin in my place.  When the trade happened, my death got removed, and Jesus' life got planted inside of me.  So my death got traded for Jesus' life, and I now seek to live out of this new-birth by drawing on the Jesus-life inside of me, daily.  That is the Gospel-Centered Life.

I'm learning how to see everything through the lens of the blood-stained Cross and the Empty Tomb.

More to come,
paul

Community, on Mission Together

Last week at our Worship Gathering, I told the story of how God has used Jesus' Death Row Prayer in John 17 to impact me.  (I call it His "Death Row Prayer" because this was what Jesus prayed just before He was arrested, then put to death to take the punishment for the sins of the whole world.)

Around a decade ago, I read what Jesus prayed for everyone who would believe in Him through the message of His 11 disciples.  He prayed that we would be one, just like He and God are one.

Did you get that?  I'm thinking that Jesus and  God are tight.  He prayed that the people who believe in Jesus here would be tight like that.  Legit.

Then, He said what would happen if we were one, like He and the Father are one: "May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me."  That blew me up.  Jesus prayed that the followers who would come after His original 11 disciples would be one, and that our togetherness in Jesus would be a living expression that the rest of the world would see.  And when they saw that they would believe that God sent Jesus.

It's Saturday morning, I'm at my favorite coffee shop, and just met a new friend.  She believes in a God, but thinks that Jesus is just a good teacher, not God's unique Son, sent as a savior to rescue a lost and dieing world.

I'm not sure of every detail of how God is planning to show her His incredible Love and Rescue plan, expressed through Jesus.  But I know it is going to include her experiencing Jesus through the body He left on the earth.

That Body, of course, is the church, the collection of people in a place who have been given soul-life, if you will, through putting your faith in Jesus.

I'm praying that my new friend will see us accurately re-present Jesus in us, as a Community of Faith, on this mission together.

Calling us to Pray...like our lives depended on it

Jesus, right before He is arrested, turned His focus to Heaven, to His Father, and prayed.

He started the prayer with these words, "The Hour has come..."

I think we get several "the hour has come" moments in our lives.  For me, one of those is now.

So, I'm calling our start team for theCityChurch.us to pray.  For the next 30 days, we are to pray, every day, for theCity, for our city, for the Kingdom of God to happen here like it happens there.

Jesus' "Death Row Prayer" in John 17 is so beautiful, painting a vivid picture of the the mission and heart of the Father.  Jesus is on mission, and He did it with His Father, He says, and with His followers.  And He prays that we, those who follow after Him, would be One, just like He and the Father are One.  That way the world will know that God sent Jesus.  I'm just crazy enough to believe that Jesus wants to answer that prayer in our city in our day.

So, in line with Jesus' prayer, we are going to pray together every day for the next 30 days.  Text, call, Facebook Chat, in person, over coffee, on the way to work, smoke signals...  Be creative, be intentional, and be real.

The Hour Has come for theCityToBeDifferent because Jesus is Alive!

Walk for Education. 200 friends...making the city different!

Today was really fun.  It started at 7:30 this morning at the Lake Charles Civic Center, with the Walk for Education.  About 200 of us walked for 3 miles, on MLK Day.  Our goal was to ignite a movement in our city to re-assemble a village of caring people, centered on people who follow Jesus, who wan to invest in the lives of children in need here.

It was fantastic!

I'm uploading video now, and will add to this post later tonight.

Can you feel it?  It's God at work in the LC.

Oh Yeah!

paul

p.s. Check out the pictures and initial video at HomeworkNight.com

New Year, New Worship Gathering Location...Same Jesus!

We just got back from Passion 2011 about 2:30 am on Wednesday Morning.  It was a trip full of Jesus, the catalyst of transformation in all who went, and really exhausting.  No rest for the weary, however: I've spent all of Wed, Thu and Friday working on Homework Night with my awesome friend, Willie King.  (I'm so pumped about God's work in changing our city through this Movement!  Post coming soon.)

And, in the middle of that, God provided a super cool place for our Sunday Worship Gathering, Stellar Beans Coffee!  I've loved this place since it opened.  The vibe is cool, the location is where we were headed (downtown), and the owner is so great to work with!

So, I guess what I'm saying is...Go Jesus!

Worship is what happens when someone meets Jesus, full on.  It's a response.  A way of life.  Our theCity start team and friends  gather to sing and pray and hear from God's Words.  We Gather Together (Worship and Community) and Send each other Out (Missional Community).  I love it!

You are welcome to hang with us.  Jesus is where it's at.

Passion 2011: Jesus!

Jesus.

He is how we got here, since everything was made by Him.

And He's why we are here, since everything was made for Him.  (Colossians 1:16)

We're at a gathering of college-age people in Altanta, Passion 2011.  There are 24,000 Jesus followers here.  

But the main One who is here is Jesus.  The spotlight is on Him!

He's the One we are leaning our lives into, even while He is giving us the power to run towards Him.

And, He's the One we are longing to look like, to live like, to serve like, to love like!

We're starting day 3 of Passion 2011.  Today and forever, let's be a people longing to look like Jesus!


Love, paul

Light of the World

Jesus IS the Light of The World.  That's why Christmas is a big deal.

In His first big sermon, Jesus made a bold pronouncement.  It defines how His ministry, His Kingdom, is going to spread like a crazy virus and cover the earth.

Jesus, in a wildly risky move, told a rag-tag bunch of desperate people who had Hope because they had been  with Jesus, these prophetic words:

You Are The Light Of The World.  

I would not have done that.  Turn my world-changing ministry over to a bunch of messed-up people.  But, I'm not God.  I don't have the capacity to put the Life-Changing, Sin-Forgiving, Grace-Giving, World-Redeeming power of a Risen-From-The-Dead Son of God, Jesus Christ, into messed up people like me.  Like you.

But God does have that kind of power.  

Jesus is the light of the world.  And He puts His light in those who follow Him.  That makes His followers like Him...Light of the World.  

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  Matthew 5:14-16

Being the Light of The World, that is an Identity, and a Job Description.  

When someone puts their trust in Christ, God puts Jesus inside of us.  That makes you Son, Daughter, of God.  That's a game changer, and then some!  Identity.  

And in response to what God has done, is doing, and in anticipation of what He is going to do, we love God back.  God is bringing His Grace to the world, through Jesus-Follower, who make up His Church.  He's using the church to bring His Truth and Grace in Jesus to people.  People matter to God, so He sends out everyone who has encountered Jesus to love people, to re-present Jesus to them.  God lights up a person, in Jesus, and tells him to let that light shine so that the whole city sees it and gets into Jesus.  Job Description.  

Christmas is a great time to see God's gift to the world, Jesus, and respond back by loving people.

God isn't finished.  So, neither are we.  

theCityShouldBeDifferent

P.S. City changing stuff in the works, a path to love children and connect the city.  I'm so pumped!  Keep checking back and I'll fill you in very, very soon!  (Just so I'm clear, this movement will be part of the Job Description category for people who follow Jesus!)

Treasure (& ToysForTots)

We're going through Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in our Sunday morning worship gathering.  We've gotten to the Treasures in Heaven part, Matthew 6:19-24.

Like so much of what Jesus said (and the whole Bible), this is so intriguing.  And so simple.

A couple questions are easily pulled from this reading:

Today, in our area and culture, what is Treasure on Earth?

And what is Treasure in Heaven, today, December 4, in our city?

Really, what do you think these two look like in our day, our city, our lives?

I don't think Jesus is all that hard to understand, here.  He's Inverting what His hearers (and more pointedly, the religious teachers of the day) were expecting from a Messiah, or Savior.   Seems like they were expecting God to serve them, bless them, and validate them and their goodness.

Jesus is saying that God will come to you and bless you...but He does so out of His love, His Radical Grace, because we're in desperate need, not worthy of any good thing.  And the result of God's rescue is that we will be different, be changed, be a people who, in response to what God has done through Jesus, are longing to look like Jesus.

A people longing to live and love like Jesus did.  Doing that stores up Treasures in Heaven.

Let's take this teaching of Jesus at face value.  It's the stuff that makes a city different.

P.S. Two cool city changing things came into view this week.  One serving children longer-term, and I can't wait to tell you about it in a couple weeks!

Another that's practical and happening this week: we're providing some help to ToysForTots, sorting toys in their warehouse one evening this week.  (Two things I LOVE: Kids smiling @ Christmas and the Marines!)  20 people for 3-4 hours to black out barcodes and sort the toys by age and boy/girl.  We're getting the day and hour selected today, and I'll update it soon.

Store up some treasure - come and serve with us!  Leave a comment or contact paul@theCityChurch.us and we'll get you there.


P.P.S.  I gave this talk last year about Treasure.  I'm including this story in tomorrow's talk @ theCity.  I re-listened to it today and got so excited, I had to post it here.  Go Jesus!