May 20

HEY YOU… go to hell!

Posted in: Get Naked, LIFE, Peculiar Place, an outsider, blind introspect, the love of God

GOT YOUR ATTENTION… GOOD!

Listen, let us be honest with ourselves, we are losing a battle that is bigger than anything we have ever fought. Look around you right now, where you live, work and play. Someone you know and love, a stranger at the coffee shop, a co-worker who cries themselves to sleep every night is hurting, dying on the inside and ultimately is going to spend eternity in HELL because of you, me, we wont… we just wont do enough about it!

This is not a “church” bashing post, but this is a cry, a plea, an urgent message that i believe we all need to hear. If you are offended, good. If you think I have no room to talk, then stop thinking and do something. I don’t care! We are sitting by arguing with each other while we tell our friends, family and others to: GO TO HELL!!, by not BEING the CHURCH!!!

MY HEART BLEEDS…

my heart concerning the Kingdom of God. These are the things I believe He has sent me to teach a group of people that He has set aside for a peculiarplace. That’s what I believe and nothing can change that. Church growth strategies, marketing, and all the other “church planter” stuff is great, and honestly a must have to some degree, but if we believe God IS, and not was, if we believe in the depths of our heart that He is ALL powerful and has created us in His image, if we believe that like Abraham, Paul and others that He has created a place for us, if we believe that He is the one who moves on the hearts of people as He did Pharaoh, then what is the fuss about? What are we debating theology, doctrine and church “styles” for? I mean really! People are dying and going to Hell, not because we don’t have the latest and greatest, but because we are SILENT! Because our lifestyles don’t match our perfectly coordinated/programmed services, because our words are not the Father’s Words, because our prayers are so self-centered, because we don’t GIVE without looking to receive, because we don’t die daily to sin, because we make excuses about sharing the greatest gift ever given, because we stop falling on our faces to confess and repent, because we choose a “private” savior over a PUBLIC LORD, because we hide behind past hurts and pains and assume vulnerability is from hell, because we have tolerated and not LOVED… I could go on forever and I am just as guilty as anyone else as being caught up in these issues! I am NOT PERFECT, nor do I LIVE the PERFECT life and I will never pretend to be! What I know is that the way we LIVE, LOVE & GIVE can and WILL change the world, or at least the parts of the world assigned to us :).

I am simply looking for people who agree to come along side of peculiarplace and get their freaking hands dirty!! Looking for people of all races, backgrounds, experiences and cultures to DO SOMETHING instead of all this FREAKING TALKING! LETS BE THE CHANGE!!

Interested?

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May 19

making Him famous… GIVE

Posted in: LIFE, Peculiar Place

peculiarplace has decided that we are going to make Him famous through the way we GIVE.

GIVING BIG… GIVING BACK… GIVING BEYOND OURSELVES!

What are you waiting on? Why do you assume that hoarding  and heaping material, physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual benefits, blessing in a safety deposit box, saving account or your heart are whats going to satisfy you in the long run? People are hurting, dying, and losing everything right around us and yet we do nothing. OK, well we do Christmas, Thanksgiving and if they are lucky we do Easter. We go out and “give” to the “needy”. I am generalizing, and understand there are those who actually get it and GIVERS are who they are and GIVING is what they do!

peculiarplace, GIVING is a MUST! It is not some line in the Bylaws or some slogan that sounds great on marketing material, but it is who WE are! He is and has required it of us, so make no mistake, it is a principle that will be a building block for our celebration/gatherings as well as our daily lives. Give what? Give of your time, we have adopted John Hope Elementary School and will continue to pursue that relationship with a ferocious fervor. Give of your monies, we blessed Old Fourth Ward last Christmas by randomly giving away 2000.00 worth of Visa gift cards to the community. Give of yourself, your dreams, ambitions, love, heart, strengths, business, network, and and and… the list goes on forever JUST BE PREPARED TO GIVE AND GIVE BIG at peculiarplace.

Imagine a community in the heart of the city, who was not only proud of the community itself and its history, but proud of each and every individual in that community who COMMITED to play a part in making Him famous, bringing the community together, the schools better, the neighborhoods safer and bringing a nonnegotiable peace to the  life of its residents!!!

That is peculiarplace….

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May 18

HE ain’t no punk!!!

Posted in: To Know Him, blind introspect, leadership

Ive been pondering this post for some time now and finally have had it up to here with the frilly, hippie, tender to a fault image of Jesus that has been being portrayed for some time now!! He was not a PUNK! He was not and IS NOT some soft, daisy picking, kiss blowing chump!!!

HE ROSE WITH ALL POWER IN HIS HAND! HE DEFEATED DEATH, HELL AND THE GRAVE IN ONE FAIL SWOOP! HE TOOK ON ALL SIN, ALL SIN IN CASE YOU DIDNT READ THAT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, SO THAT YOU AND I COULD PARTAKE IN THE GIFT OF EVERLASTING LIFE AND BE COUNTED AS COHEIRS TO THE THRONE WITH HIM. HE LOOKED SICKNESS DISEASE IN THE EYE AND HEALED THOSE WHO BELIEVED. HE GAVE US A COMMANDMENT TO LOVE HIS FATHER WITH ALL OUR HEARTS, SOUL AND MIND AND TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER, AND THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS ARE THE ROD THAT THE CURTAIN OF “THE LAW” HANG ON!!!!

So why in the hell do we sing songs of “praise” and songs of “worship” like he is our boyfriend? Or He is this hippie who is hanging out on the campus of Berkeley smoking weed and throwing up the peace sign to any and everyone, where free love reigns? Why do “WE” the church allow this REVOLUTIONARY LORD to be seen as a FREAKING PANSIE?

What man do you know who wants their LORD, their MASTER, their COMMANDER IN CHIEF, their COACH, their MOST TRUSTED FRIEND, their DEFENDER, their SHIELD, their REFUGE, their VICTORIOUS PROVIDER and KING to be a frail, soft PUNK?

CHURCH, MAN UP!!! GRAB YOUR SACK and GROW A PAIR!!!

HE WAS NOT A PUNK, HE WAS A MAN! He is love, He is a great listener, He is compassionate, He is a friend, He is truth, He is victory, I could go on forever, but one thing He is not or ever was is a PUNK. And we wonder why MEN dont want anything to do with Him? COME ON!!!!

Look, He never wore a haltertop, a dress or frilly flowers in His hair… so can we PLEASE paint a true picture of VICTORY and the ALL POWERFUL MAN WHO SITS ON THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER!

CAN WE, PLEASE?

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May 13

making him famous… LIVE

Posted in: Peculiar Place

peculiarplace has decided that we are going to make Him famous through the way we LIVE.

ITS THAT SIMPLE!

People NEED, MUST and WANT to see Him in the way “we” who follow Him live. Not just on Sundays or Mother’s Day or Easter, but everyday and in everyday situations! They need to see families growing stronger together in good and bad times. They need to see examples of how to handle “situations” that would drive most to brink of destruction. People, you neighbor, your coworker, your friend for 20 years MUST see you in a new light, pointing and headed in a new direction with PEACE in your front pocket and the Word in your heart!!

Teaching people how to live for Him, IN Him and through Him, that’s why we are being SENT to Old Fourth Ward. This wont be an event, but we will CELEBRATE. This wont be a social gathering where gossip and competition reign supreme, but we will “LOVE” one on another, support one another, relate and build relationships with one another. This is not and never will be a soup kitchen, not that anything is wrong with that (I can hear the chatter now), but we will give BIGGER, BETTER and HARDER than any other organization in the community in which “we” LIVE!!

making Him famous through the way we LIVE!! ..Living for Him, IN Him, and through Him!

Want to know more, email me lowens@peculiarlove.com… thank you!!!

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May 12

making Him famous… LOVE

Posted in: Peculiar Place

peculiarplace has decided that we are going to make Him famous through the way we LOVE.

Not the crap we see on television, that “out the side of your neck love” that most of us have experienced in our lives that have left us broken, searching, insecure, hiding, lonely and afraid to be vulnerable, but the LOVE that only He can share through us with anyone and everyone willing to receive it!

What’s the difference? I believe today we have dressed tolerance up in drag and called him love, hoping to fool those on the receiving end into thinking we actually would go to the ends of the earth for them. Hoping that they never see through our facade as we move across the room from them or ignore their plea for help. TOLERANCE IS NOT LOVE!

We are creating a place, a gathering, a community of “the church” for anyone and everyone who is curious, frustrated, broken, at their wits end, wanting more out of life, wanting to change their life, wanting to encounter face to face the God of truth, love and life, anyone who just is fed up with what they have and where they are and a place where LOVE truly RULES.

A place where all decisions are made in love, where we are treated with love and CORRECTED with love.

We are creating this place, this gathering, this community of “the church” in Old Fourth Ward, a historic and beautiful community in the heart of Atlanta!

We would love for you to be a part, whether physically, through prayer or giving (it takes money to do His work and if it were to fall from the sky… it would be counterfeit). Think about it, pray about… I would love to hear from you either way send emails to lowens@peculiarlove.com.

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Mar 25

spare change for CHANGE….

Posted in: 40 days

sounds a little to easy or simple right? but it is!!

On Monday, March 30th, at 7pm, at Danneman’s Coffee Shop in Old Fourth Ward we need YOU and YOUR spare change in the building for a chance to be a part of CHANGE.

For far too long “the forgotten” have suffered, going unnoticed, stepped over or stepped on, cussed out, viewed as a plague and/or ignored. Sure you stop and offered change, advice, told them to get a job, felt good because you let someone wash your windshield, or took them to get a bite to eat. But have you ever stopped, given up your day or an hour or two just to listen, talk to or share with. When you bought the meal or offered the employment suggestions did you even bother to find out who you were talking to? PROBABLY NOT!

Be honest… how do you really feel about the homeless in your area? how do you feel when you see someone or smell someone before you see them? How do you feel when you are bombarded with request for help, for change, or for any kind of communication from them?

What you do differently if it were you? Seriously, what would you do or how would you “survive”? Ever think about it?

On Monday, March 30th, you will EXPERIENCE first hand stories of the FORGOTTEN! Please COME OUT, BRING YOUR SPARE CHANGE, AND STOP TALKING ABOUT DOING SOMETHING AND LETS DO SOMETHING!

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Mar 10

What if…

Posted in: Get Naked, the love of God

What if ….

This is it, nothing else but a commision, mission and call to go and make disciples

There was no healing or money

There was stoning and killing any and everyone who professed His name

There were counties and cities and states that denied you access or made it very clear that eminent danger was a result of visiting them

You lost everything; money, house, cars, cell phones, clothes, famly and friends because you decided to follow Him

You were asked to go to some places that didnt like the color of your skin, or the fact you have tattoos

You were to lose your sons, daughters, wife and most of your friends

Would you still serve Him?

Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, and pick up our cross and follow Him.

Are you merely serving and following to get “something “, or are you following because you love Him?

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Mar 09

Why the Old Fourth Ward

Posted in: Church Planting, Get Naked, Peculiar Place

I have been asked this question several times. Although, never as much as, “Where exactly is Old Fourth Ward or O4W?” I can answer both of those and have decided to do that here now.

Why?
It reminds me of myself.

I know some of you were expecting some super spiritual answer, but this is the biggest reason I know. Its not quite there yet, a work in progress, its bursting through the seams with promise and potential, its a diverse mix of experiences, lifestyles, cultures, and creativity, it has a past that only makes its commitment to its future that much stronger, its located in between right now and yesterday (downtown and the historic MLK centers), its safe and not so safe… I could go on, but at the end of the day it is just like me. I feel at home there. I have watched it grow into who it is over the lat ten years just as it has watched me grow. I remember when it wasnt so pretty and clean. I know there are some who remember the same about me. So, besides God allowing me to be a part of what He wants to do there, this is the reason. Any questions?

Where? Old Fourth Ward, O4W, is located between downtown Atlanta and Little Five Points. Two of the biggest landmarks I can think of, that the casual visitor or resident would actually know where they are. More specificaly its West border is Piedmont, North border is Ponce de Leon, its arbitrary East border is the Beltline, and its Southern border, for me anyway, is Edgewood Ave. Im hoping the map will help you out…. Any questions?

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Mar 05

a good investment…

Posted in: Get Naked, blind introspect, grow, leadership

Are you a good investment? Does the influence, words, wisdom, challenges or even correction cause a proactive “reaction” in your life, visible to everyone? If someone was to take time out of their schedule to offer you “wise counsel”, and I stress “wise”, would you respond immediately or have to go and pray about it for 40 days, then decide? Is the research a possible investor might need to decide whether or not to invest in you readily available or are you masking it all, hiding it in the dark corridors of your mind, creating the illusion of togetherness? How are you presenting your portfolio? Why should someone invest in you? Do you have proof of previous investments that can shape, good or bad, the opinion of future investors?

I am asking myself these questions right now! I want to be “the good investment, the best investment” that anyone would want to take part in. I don’t want to be the flash in the pan, latest hot “stock” that you have got to be a part of, only to fizzle after a quarter of remarkable results. I WANT TO BE THE LONG TERM STRATEGY, for those seeking to impart wisdom. I want to react, respond, fix, adjust, amend, change, quit, begin, implement, and create the desired results immediately. I want investors, both current and potential to see in me the desire to be ALL God has called me to be. I want the roots of their investment to run deep, deep enough to withstand the worst of storms and attack. I desire to be that investment!

With desire, there must be a plan, a call to action, a strategy… their must be work. I must be vulnerable, open, and transparent. I must be WILLING!

So today, I am letting you know that I am WILLING, and am giving you permission to speak into my life. To invest in me, with results promised.

you have permission to speak freely…

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Mar 05

renew in me…

Posted in: 40 days

Father,

i love you! I know i don’t always act like it, or it appear that I even appreciate your love for me, for that I am very sorry. You have given me life. You have changed the outlook for my future. You have given me the most beautiful family and an opportunity to serve them. You have called me righteous even though I was  grimy, filthy and dirty. You called me your favorite son, even when i was not my own favorite person. You have challenged me to be all that you purposed me to be. You loved me when I didn’t love myself or anyone else for that matter.

For that father, I say thank you! I say thank you!

Renew in me a clean heart, that I might serve you. Renew my mind to no longer think like me, but to think like you! You alone are God, my Shepard, my Lord, my King, my Friend, my Father, my Direction, my Light, my Desire, my Hope, my Provision, my Safety, my Shelter, my Protection, my Banner, my Guide, my Comfort, my Love, my Strength, my Passion, my Courage, my Wisdom, my Strategy, my Accountability, my Lover, my Answer, my fear Fighter, my EVERYTHING!!

body bent and head bowed (for you old schoolers)

lloyd

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