therstblog

Excuses are like ________, everybody has one. I’m sure you can fill in the blank. This may just be one of the hardest, but freeing post I’ve ever written, but here goes…

The reality is that I have fallen & am fortunate to say that I was able to get up.

I fell victim to not trusting God, I fell victim to the idea that my dreams & vision was contingent on “where” I was planting His church, I allowed the fear & excuses of others to become my own & lastly I believed that “the city” was larger than my God.

Today is a new day! I have decided that God can… It’s as simple as that & God will!! As large as my faith, He will deliver, as much trust as I put in Him He will provide!

Peculiarplace church WILL NOT be bound by the perceptions, fear or history of church planting in “the city”, nor will I make another excuse for me not trusting Him to be bigger than any city, community, any circumstance, situation or problem!

God IS! He is alive and well! He is the king of kings & the lord of lords! Period!!!

He called us to be fishers of men, not make excuses about why men weren’t accepting of the bait or why the lake was not producing a “catch”. We cannot drop our nets if we won’t even get in the boat!!!!!

September 12th of 2010 is the date set aside & asigned to the launch of peculiarplace church!! PERIOD!!

Love ya!!

I wonder if that’s the way we make communities feel…? You know. The way it feels the morning after an incredible night, event, indulgence… The heaviness, the worthlessness, the anxiety, the stress, fear, abandonment & most importantly the guilt… The morning after can have a horrible & unforgiven affect on both parties or all parties involved. So, I’m curious to know if this is the affect “we” have on communities, homeless, addicts & anyone else hurting when we show up PRELAUNCH on our white horse in our shining armor?

Do they know in advance that we probably won’t be serving them “like this” “post launch”? Do they wonder if this is service or advertising? Are we any different than the other groups that hand out thier sandwiches once a week then drive off making no connections? Are we using the hurt & pain of thier situations to tell everyone a “new church” is in town?

Seriously, these thoughts run through my mind as I dig deep into the identity of peculiarplace & the vision God has given me!

I’m not knocking serving! Not at all!! But my concern, questions & intent are aimed at the intensity at which we seek to “serve” our community “pre launch” & then we suddenly shift gears when the people show up.

I’m new to this, so admittedly all my thoughts could be dead wrong! And maybe they’re not!!!!

So, today we create & search for service opportunities that we can do now, but more importantly we are looking for things that we can continue to do long after we have launched!!

I refuse to leave Old Fourth Ward in the middle of the night to deal with the emotional earthquack of “the morning after”. We will stay, stand & stir up the transformative power of the risen Savior, Jesus!!!!!!!!

I know that this post may challenge a lot of people, i know that the title alone may send some running in the opposite direction, but i beg several minutes of your time to read to the end and answer the question. (honestly)

Listening to the radio yesterday I heard someone ask a question I have heard numerous times in the past, but yesterday was the very first time it made me sick to my stomach.

The question simply put out to the radio audience, was “If there was one thing you could change about your significant other, what would that be?”

OK. That is not the question you NEED to answer or NEED to be asking.

Why?

Simple. We have become one of the most self absorbed, self centered, self focused, self indulgent, get the point, generations, cultures ever. ME, ME, Me, I, I, imac, iphone, you catch my drift? The saddest thing is that the Church has taken on the same disguise. The Church has disrobed filthy rejected, disgusted, broke, and all we can stand and throw up is tales of How I Can Change You In 7 Days, You Need To Fix Yourself, and my favorite Give Me This or That and You Will Change.

I think we forgot what is like to be outside. We forgot what it must be like to be so desperate for life, for fulfillment, for a hug, for someone to say I love you, for it all to go away that you sell your body, that you smoke dope, that you leave what is natural and look to what is unnatural.

THE REAL QUESTION IS: What would I change about myself?

Maybe then, those that are far from God will feel more comfortable, more at ease and less judged to share, to love, to learn, to live, and lend. Maybe they will want to know that a PERFECT GOD loves IMPERFECT PEOPLE just like them, just the way WE are!

Let’s force ourselves to PURGE, VOMIT and rid ourselves of the toxins, the foreign objects, selfishness, self-hate, self-loathing, judgment, cowardice, jealousy, greed, etc.

So what would you change? Barf Bag anyone?