it isn't about us

instrument of peace

2009-07-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

make me an instrument of your peace,
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

~st. francis

The Justice Creed

2008-08-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

We believe that God is just and that God loves justice.

God delights in just laws and rejoices in just people.

God liberates those who are oppressed by injustice and is grieved by unjust people and the unjust systems they create and sustain.

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, and God's kingdom belongs to those willing to be persecuted for the sake of justice.

To God, justice is a weighty thing that can never be ignored.

We believe that Jesus came to display the justice of God, in word and deed, in life, death, and resurrection.

The justice God desires, which Jesus taught, must surpass that of the hypocrites, for the justice of God is a compassionate justice, rich in mercy and abounding in love for the last, the least, the lost, and the excluded.

On his cross, Jesus drew the injustice of humanity into the light, and there the heartless injustice of human empire met the reconciling justice of the kingdom of God.

The resurrection of Jesus proclaims that the true justice of God, naked vulnerable and scarred by abuse, is stronger than the violent injustice of humanity, armed with weapons, conceit, deceit, and lies.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is here now, convicting the world of sin and injustice, warning that God's judgement will come on all that is unjust.

We believe that the kingdom of God is a not a matter of superficial things but is justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Empowered by the Spirit, then, we seek God's kingdom and we seek God's justice, for the world as it is has not yet become the world as God desires it to be.

And so we live and work and pray, until justice rolls down like water, until justice flows like a never-ending stream.

For we believe that God is just, and the true and living God loves justice.

Amen.

~Brian McLaren

The Invitation

2008-01-24T10:26:00.000-08:00

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

~Oriah
© Mountaindreaming, from the book The Invitation published by HarperSanFrancisco, 1999 All rights reserved

the context of the whole

2008-01-10T16:22:00.000-08:00

"We all become important when we realize our goal should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole."
~Kimya Dawson

2007-11-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

“Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it. Bitterness sours life; love sweetens it. Bitterness sickens life; love heals it. Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes.”
-Harry Emerson Fosdick

Love wins.

whatever divinity we can lay claim

2007-10-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

"Whatever divinity we can lay claim to is hidden in the core of our humanity and when we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine."
~Bruce Springsteen

when living water dies...

2007-08-27T15:28:00.001-07:00

when living water is cut off from the source, it becomes stagnant and dies.
in that death it does nothing but churn within itself and become poisonous.
don't go near the water cut off from the source.

2007-08-20T15:08:00.001-07:00

This summer I learned a lot from a friend. He was often quoting Augustine and Mother Teresa and the like to me during our many discussion of faith and the church.

One quote (from Augustine) that really jumped out at me was:
In the essentials - unity.
In the non-essentials - liberty.
And in everything - love.

Now, we all know that exact quote doesn't come directly from scripture. But I'm of the opinion that it's a good one nonetheless. And I think that the idea is definitely displayed in scripture. So with that said:

Too many times we get up ourselves about various "traditions" within the church that frankly don't matter. Traditions of, "smoking is wrong!" and "drinking is wrong" and "you have to serve communion every week!".

They cause disunity. (I'm not sure that's a word - but it is now.) Things that were never meant to cause division do.

I think it's time we start giving a little and not being so up ourselves and our theology that we write off anyone and everyone has a sinner merely because they don't adhere to the same convictions that we do.

Just because you think smoking is wrong doesn't make it a sin.
Just because you think swearing is wrong doesn't make it a sin.
Just because you think drinking is wrong doesn't make it a sin.

And on the same token, get off it when someone holds to their own convictions not to drink or smoke or cuss or [insert whatever here]. For some people it's permissable and for some it's not.

But when it comes down to it - it's not something that should divide.
So don't let it happen.

Freedom in Christ is something that we should be glad to have. But definitely not something to be waving around to excuse what we do. After all, it's not about you. It's ultimately about God.

Yeah, sure, you're free to do anything within the boundaries of the law given by God. But are the things you do pleasing to him?

"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake— the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way.For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.-1 Corinthians 10:23-33

love, hope and faith

2007-07-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

Thus, it is that love is not without hope,
hope is not without love,
and neither hope nor love are without faith.

__St. Augustine__

the New Covenant vs. the Old Covenant

2007-07-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about the New Covenant vs. the Old Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:7-18). If you don't have a Bible handy, go to http://www.biblegateway.com and look it up.

It amazes me that over 2000 years after Christ died, a heartbreakingly large portion of the church still believes in a ministry where the Old Covenant of "death and condemnation" is still used as a viable option in today's society. Sure the "fire and brimstone" ministry might have worked on some scale but the fact remains that this type of ministry ends up hurting the cause more than helping it. We can no longer continue to reach out the the marginalized and outcasts among us with tracts and billboards telling them that they are going to hell in a hand basket. This type of ministry leaves people feeling hollow and resentful.

The ministry of the New Covenant brings life instead of death, meaning instead of insignificance, hope instead of despair. And that makes this covenant far outweigh it's predecessor.I think Paul said it best when he told the Corinthians to "Do everything in love." (1 Corinthians 16:14) I don't profess to have all of the solutions, but I think that's a good start.

There IS another way.

heaven below

2007-06-19T21:19:00.001-07:00

Who has not found heaven below
Will fail of it above.
God's residence is next to mine,
His furniture is love.

__Emily Dickinson__

stop one heart

2007-06-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

__Emily Dickinson__

our credo

2007-06-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

Although this site isn't about us.... Here are a few things we stand for...

We believe that this world is not as it should be and that another world is possible.
We believe in a better way of living that brings the kingdom of God down in the here and now.
We believe that we are called to love God and love people, and that in all things love wins.
We believe in living a revolutionary life, living differently than the masses, and loving passionately and without restraint.
We believe that in living incarnationally, we are restoring a broken earth, mending broken hearts, and reclaiming all things to beauty and wholeness, subsequently making the world a better place.
We believe in living for others rather than ourselves and putting aside our own pride, comforts, and desires in order to serve those around us.
We believe in a world where the marginalized are no longer outcasts but are embraced in love.
We believe that Jesus is drawing all humanity to himself, reconciling the world to God through the willing sacrifice of flesh and blood.
We believe in forgiving those who refuse to forgive us, forgiving enemies who seek to steal, kill and destroy, and forgiving those who seem impossible to forgive.
We believe that all this brings into fullness an abundant life of joy, wholeness, and completeness in our being.