DISCIPLES JOURNEY

Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace

2011-12-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

from The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. ‘All for sin could not atone.’ Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world’s standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under grace from his old life under sin….

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man’ will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.

The Circus

2011-12-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

by Billie Hanks Jr.

Years ago, a little boy begged his father to let him go to the circus which had come to town. After doing his chores, he was given a dollar bill and sent on his way. As he neared the fairgrounds, the circus parade was in progress. When the clown at the end of the parade passed by, the little boy placed his dollar in the clown's hand and went home happily, thinking he had seen the circus. Many Christians are just like this little boy; they mistake the beginning for the end.

Lights

2011-12-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

by Billie Hanks Jr.

Once a lady came to her pastor complaining about the factory where she was employed. She wanted to quit working there because nearly all of the employees were non-Christians and they constantly used profanity. The pastor listened, then asked her, "Where do you put lights?" Disregarding the question, she complained about their wild parties, drinking, and dirty jokes. Again he asked, "But where do you put lights?"

Puzzled by his response, the lady went on to tell him that some of her associates at work were also involved in immoral relationships. A third time he questioned, "But where do you put lights?" Annoyed she said, "I don't know where you put lights. In dark places, I guess!" Suddenly, she realized what he had been trying to say.

Matthew 5:14-16

Community

2011-11-25T05:42:00.000-08:00

by Staci Worden

I wrote this three years ago after a life changing experience that I had. I am thankful for my community of Disciples Church - love you guys...

An event that caused me to deeply think about the importance of community and surrounding myself with people who know me wholly.

OK, here is the story... I took Garrett to the Bowlerama in Killeen for a birthday party. I was having nostalgic feelings for being in the area of my stomping grounds... GO ROOS...as I dropped him off. To kill some time, I took off to Nolanville to see my grandmother and arrange her medication boxes for the next two weeks. I was travelling on Business 190 through the club strip of Harker Heights, when I saw a person face down on the ground surrounded by 25-30 bikers and their motorcycles at the "All Bottoms Up" club. No police, no ambulance....I didn't think much of it until I saw a dark liquid all over the ground by the person. I quickly pulled over, grabbed my daughter, and approached the crowd to let them know that I was a nurse and wanted to see if they needed help!

I was either going to be welcomed warmly or made into a biker slave (just joking). They yelled she's a nurse and welcomed me warmly. Good thing for me :) I rushed to the individual on the ground, that no one was helping. A very nice lady dressed in all leather, bandana, braids, and heavy makeup grabbed Reese for me while I helped the wounded person. I feel bad for calling her just a person, but I didn't know who she was and why no one was helping her. I am thankful to the leathered woman for helping me with Reese and she was nicest person to keep her for me. The whole gang was. They babysat her while I assessed the injuries of the unknown person.

She was face down on the ground with blood oozing from her mouth and nose. She was breathing....The dark liquid I saw from the road was oil from her motorcycle, that had been moved. Her arms were tucked underneath her. I coud not assess her radial pulse because her arms were tucked, so I slipped my hand down her neck to check her carotid pulse and she had a good pulse. I spoke to her and she tried to nod her head, but I quickly told her not to move.

She had a small helmet on, so I leaned down close to her face and saw that she had several fractures. Her eyes were swollen shut. I smelled alcohol on her breath. She had a lot of bruising and swelling starting to take over much of her face. She was "snoring", and I could not figure out if she had completely lost consciencious at that point (she never responded again after my first assessment) or if she had an airway obstruction, but she was breathing, how well - I don't know.

I found out afterwards that the gang was leaving the club, and as she was pulling out of the parking lot she hit some gravel and lost control of her motorcycle, causing the accident.

I could give you a "why motorcyles are dangerous lesson, but I will refrain. Anyways, the police and ambulance showed up 5 minutes after I got there, so I stepped aside to let them tend to the "person".

I was shocked that when the police officer asked this person's name, not one of the people in the gang knew her name. They kept screaming at each other... "I think her name is Teresa"...." What is her last name?"....."No, that's not it, I think she got married".... I heard these same things over and over as I prayed for "Teresa". How could you be in a group of 25-30 people and not one of them know YOU?

I would hope that if I was the person on the ground, my community (my family, my friends) would know my name, would offer me a hand, would know my married name, would be willing to talk me through the pain I was feeling, hold my head, my hand, or just touch me to let me know that they were there. Audibly pray for me....

I am so glad that I have a community of family and a community of church. People who would be there for me and know my name. But I learned today, that there are people who do not....

Pray for "Teresa" for her healing, for her to find community, and most important to experience the community of our Savior, Jesus Christ... I may never see her again, but "Teresa" will be in my heart forever....

What If...

2011-11-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

N.T. Wright

How would it be if God were the kind of god who was always making snide or bitter remarks about us? What would worship and prayer be like if we thought God had been talking about us behind our backs, putting us down to others? How would we feel if we thought we couldn't trust God to tell us the truth, if he was always losing his temper with us? Well: how do people feel about us if that's what we're like? Wouldn't it be better in every way to be like God?

We Believe

2011-10-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

From Alex P. Cohen

What must we do to be saved? What must we do to retain salvation? What must we do to please God? What must we do to obtain God's blessings? What must we do to grow in grace? What must we do to express God's inner presence?

And on and on the questions go. Man is under the mistaken impression that he must do something to experience God. Man has devised a thousand and one methods to "activate" God.

With one simple statement, Jesus answers for all time every "What must we do?" question ever asked,

"This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

We believe.

The exercise of faith does not depend upon human will. It is the work of God. When faith arrives, man recognizes, accepts and affirms. It is automatic and effortless. He can do nothing else.

Worship Is More Than Music

2011-09-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

by Rick Warren

Worship is far more than music. For many people, worship is just a synonym for music. That say, "At our church we have the worship first, then the teaching." This is a big misunderstanding. Every part of a church service is an act of worship: praying, Scripture reading, singing, confession, silence, being still, listening to a sermon, taking notes, giving an offering, baptism, communion, signing a commitment card, and even greeting other worshippers.
Actually, worship predates music. Adam worshipped in the Garden of Eden, but music isn't mentioned until Genesis 4:21 with the birth of Jubal. If worship were just music, then all who are nonmusical could never worship. Worship is far more than music.
Even worse, "worship" is often misused to refer to a particular style of music: "First we sand a hymn, then a praise and worship song." Or, "I like the fast praise songs but enjoy the slow worship songs the most." In this usage, if a song is fast or loud or uses brass instruments, it's considered "praise". But if it is slow and quiet and intimate, maybe accompanied by a guitar, that's worship. This is a common misuse of the term "worship".
Worship has nothing to do with the style or volume or speed of a song. God loves all kinds of music because he invented it all - fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don't like it all, but God does! If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, it is an act of worship.
Christians often disagree over the style of music used in worship, passionately defending their preferred style as the most biblical or God-honoring. But there is no biblical style! There are no musical notes in the Bible; we don't even have the instruments they used in the Bible.
Frankly, the music you like best says more about you - your background and personality - than it does about God. One ethnic group's music can sound like noise to another. But God likes variety and enjoys it all.
There is no such thing as "Christian" music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune.

Yoke Of Christ

2011-09-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

When the believers in Galatia trusted Christ, they lost the yoke of servitude to sin and put on the yoke of Christ (Matt. 11:28–30). The yoke of religion is hard, and the burdens heavy; Christ’s yoke is “easy” and His burden is “light.” That word easy in the Greek means “kind, gracious.” The yoke of Christ frees us to fulfill His will, while the yoke of the Law enslaves us. The unsaved person wears a yoke of sin (Lam. 1:14); the religious legalist wears the yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1); but the Christian who depends on God’s grace wears the liberating yoke of Christ.

It is Christ who has made us free from the bondage of the Law. He freed us from the curse of the Law by dying for us on the tree (Gal. 3:13). The believer is no longer under Law; he is under grace (Rom. 6:14). This does not mean that we are outlaws and rebels. It simply means that we no longer need the external force of Law to keep us in God’s will, because we have the internal leading of the Holy Spirit of God (Rom. 8:1–4). Christ died to set us free, not to make us slaves. To go back to Law is to become entangled in a maze of “do’s and don’ts” and to abandon spiritual adulthood for a “second childhood.”

Sad to say, there are some people who feel very insecure with liberty. They would rather be under the tyranny of some leader than to make their own decisions freely. There are some believers who are frightened by the liberty they have in God’s grace; so they seek out a fellowship that is legalistic and dictatorial, where they can let others make their decisions for them. This is comparable to an adult climbing back into the crib. The way of Christian liberty is the way of fulfillment in Christ. No wonder Paul issues that ultimatum: “Do not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. Take your stand for liberty.”

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Ga 5:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

Death To Self

2011-09-17T07:13:00.001-07:00

By Alex P. Cohen

Death to self is the heartfelt desire of all who have experienced the new birth. We desire to see the self-for-others nature of God manifested in everything we do, say, and think.

How then does one know when he has truly died to self?

It's easy to think of dying to self in terms of what we do or don't do. Since childhood, we've been taught to focus on our actions. We gained our parent's approval if we behaved a certain way. As adults, we have success in life if we perform in a certain manner.

When it comes to spiritual performance, however, no matter how hard we try, no matter long we go at it, we are never quite satisfied with our efforts. There's always one more thing that needs to be taken care of. It becomes an endless struggle to do and to become.

Thankfully, as believers, dying to self is not something we have to attain to. We died to self on the cross with Jesus Christ. "You have died and your life is hid with Christ in God." It's something that has already happened. We express God's glorious self-for-others nature 24/7.

Watch and Smile

2011-09-14T18:24:00.001-07:00

Everyday Mission

2011-09-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Some days are crap. And sometimes that feeling lasts through the whole week, right? Ever had a month of Mondays? I once had about 10 years worth of them in a row. Do you know what helps when life isn't all that fantastic? Matthew 28:19. Huh? The "Go and make disciples" verse? Great. Just one more thing to add to my schedule! Not really.

This verse can be interpreted "As you are going about your daily life, make disciples." Not "Quit having a life and make disciples" or "On top of all the other stuff you need to do, make disciples." This is saying that making disciples is something that is a natural result of living a life led by Christ. As you go through your day, led by Christ, he brings disciple-making opportunities to you.

What if you woke up tomorrow morning and prayed "God, please show me how I can be obedient to your call to make disciples today." Not just on Sunday, at home team, or in your CO2, but in your every day life. At home, work, school, soccer games, etc. Ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities to be a discipler today. I guarantee that it will be harder to have a crappy day when you realize that everything is spiritual. Everything we experience in our day has meaning when we live on mission with Christ.

Grabbed by grace,

Tim

Make Disciples

2010-10-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

"And make disciples of all nations..." - Matthew 28:19

Over the last couple of years, I've been on a quest to find out what it looks like to "make a disciple". Oh, I've definitely seen my share of discipleship programs and initiatives. Most of them have contained good ideas, but I always felt like there was something missing. Some of these programs are basically intellectual exercises where you "learn" how to be a better disciple... sort of like a home study course. Many look like a younger person meeting with an older person once a week so the older person can tell the younger person all the stuff they know. Some use a basic strategy while others look like a graduate level theology course. Some people simply read the rest of verse 19 and 20 where it mentions baptizing and teaching and say "That's it. Discipleship is baptizing and teaching". The only problem is there are tons of people running around who have been baptized and taught lots of stuff, but they still don't look much like Jesus. We all know them. In fact, most of us have been them.

I remember sitting in my office one day, thinking and praying about discipleship. Frustrated that what I'd been taught didn't seem to play out in the real world. Then a thought came to mind... "How did Jesus do it?". I knew it was the H.S. talking. I felt like an idiot for not starting from the start. Didn't Jesus invent discipleship? Shouldn't we start by looking at his process? Not rocket science. I am slow.

How did Jesus do it?

In Matthew 4:18-22 we read an account of Jesus calling his first disciples:

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

This is probably one of the best known scriptures in the church. As a small child, I remember hearing it in Sunday School, accompanied by a baby blue felt board and cut out disciples, boats, and fish. All very colorful. But nobody ever asks the question...

Then what?

Okay, they ditched their dad in the boat. What happened next?

As we read Matthew, we see that Jesus did something most church leaders would never do. He took his brand new very green disciples and they immediately began to do ministry together...

they were there at the sermon on the mount...

he taught them the reason why he came...

how to deal with anger and lust...

to love their enemies and care for the poor...

to invest their lives wisely...

the golden rule and how to build their lives on him...

that being a disciple may very well cost them everything...

then he calmed their anxieties by calming the storm.

Then you know what he did? He turned to them and said, "Now it's your turn. Go and do what you've seen me do. Don't be afraid, because I'll be with you... and you'll have my authority... but you have to go."

Then it suddenly became crystal clear. Jesus didn't just baptize. He didn't just teach. He gave his life to his disciples... and he didn't wait until the crucifixion. It started in Matthew 4.

Who are you giving your life to?

?

GO.

2010-10-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..." - Matthew 28:18-19 ESV

The statement above represents the last words that Jesus spoke to his disciples before he physically left them. For the past three years they had heard him teach, but more than that, they had lived life together... blood, sweat, and tears. They were the first people since Adam and Eve to exist in true physical community with Christ at the center of their lives individually and corporately. And now, in a moment, life as they have known it would end. This was the last time they'd hear the passionate voice of their Messiah. This was the last time they would see his face weathered and look into his eyes that were like windows into the essence of life and love. This was the last time they would feel the warmth of his embrace and smell the outdoors in his homespun cloak. The past three years had been like a musical score, building to this. This moment on this mountian. The crescendo.

What would their Messiah say to them in this unforgettable moment? What final words could he gift them with? What would transition them into the next chapter of this incredible journey?

GO.

Why "Go"?
Simply put, because we want to stay. Throughout history mankind has had a desire to stay right were they are... where it's comfortable. With people who look like them, think like them, and talk like them. We see this early in our history with the men of Babel in Genesis 11. God told mankind to go an fill the earth, but they chose to stay and build a monument to their own greatness. 4000 years later, we see the same thing. Some of us tend to call our towers churches.

Why "Go"?

Because to stay is to live life on our own terms, finding fulfillment in what we've built or acquired... stuff, relationships, anything that isn't the real thing. Just like the Jews in Number 21:8-9 and 2 Kings 18:4 we take the blessings in our lives which are simply the products of God's grace and mercy to his children, and we turn them into our own personal idols. We begin to receive meaning and self-worth from what we have and who we have... instead of who has us.

Why "Go"?

Because not only was that Christ's mandate, it was the pattern of his life. Jesus Christ is our missional example. His life is what we aspire to, but not only that, his missional life is available to us today. Christ is still on the move, just as he was 2000 years ago. If Christ is our life, we must also go.

"Set your minds on things above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." - Colossians 3:2-3 ESV

Next: "MAKE DISCIPLES".

You Cannot Live In Sin

2010-10-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

by Neil Carter

Did you know that you cannot live in sin? Well that's exactly what Paul says in the first two verses of chapter six! He anticipates the objection that grace encourages people to sin in order to get more grace. Apparently, some had accused Paul of encouraging sin in just this way (Rom.3:8), and he replies with a claim that will knock your socks off! He asks, ''How shall we who died to sin still live in it?''(6:2). Do not attempt to dilute this radical statement with theological qualifications. He said you can't live in sin. I know exactly what your response is (so did he), but hold on and let him finish this entire section of the letter (chapter 6-8). But before we move on to what Paul says next, let John reinforce this truth in his own incredible words.

First of all, John says of Christ, ''in Him there is no sin'' (1 John 3:5). But we are ''in Him.'' Doesn't that mean there is no sin in us, either? Keep reading. ''No one who lives in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him'' (v.6). If this is not enough, read this one last arresting statement: ''No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed lives in him; indeed he cannot sin, because he is born of God'' (v.9). How does that declaration strike you?

What we are beginning to see is that we are merely vessels, either of wrath or of mercy (Rom.9:22-23). Just as a branch can only produce the fruit of whatever tree it belongs to, so a vessel does not have an identity of its own. It receives its identity and purpose from whatever it contains. Because we are vessels, we have always received our identity from someone else. But sin has deceived us into thinking that we have an independent identity which we constitute by our actions. This is the great lie, and it continues to deceive both unbelievers and believers to this day. For the rest of chapter six (vv. 12-23), Paul uses the metaphor of slavery to describe our condition. A slave has no life of his own, but must do whatever his master tells him. That is all we have ever been! But sin deceived us into thinking we were free men (and women) while all along we were ''slaves to sin'' (vv.17,20). This deepens our problem because, now that we are believers, we still believe we are free men and thus capable of going back under sin's mastery. Therefore, whenever we act like sinners we are sinners, and we've gone back to our old selves. But what we do not see is that we are now slaves of righteousness!

Redefining Church

2010-10-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

Disciples Church is about more than just starting another church. It's not about simply making more of the types of churches we already have. In a very real sense, DC is about redefining "church". By that, I mean changing the perception many pre-disciples have of what church is all about. Polls show that many pre-disciples have a very negative view of the church institution. Rather than just reading what books say about this, I encourage you to conduct your own "poll". Talk to the pre-disciples you do life with every day. Ask then what they think of when they think of church. If they share negative experiences, simply say "I'm so sorry that happened to you. What do you think church should be about?" Their answers will probably be eye opening and insightful. Shouldn't we care what pre-disciples think about us? Shouldn't we ask about what's important to them?

Prayers

2010-09-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

As you continue pray for our family and for Disciples Church, here are some areas of focus...

1. Staci's employment. My wife, Staci, is an RN and works for Scott & White Hospital in Temple. For about a year, she has worked the 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift in a very critical care environment. As we make this transition in our lives, we both feel that a daytime job would work much better for our family and our calling. Please pray for us as we look at different options. We want to make sure we're following the Lord's lead on this.

2. Our house. Less than two years ago, we bought a new home in West Temple to be near our community (a large percentage of The Vista lives within a few miles of our home). At that time, we didn't know God would be calling me to plant Disciples Church in Harker Heights. We feel that in order to plant a church in Harker Heights, we need to live in Harker Heights. This is not a requirement for everyone on our launch team, but it is for us. So, we'll be putting our house on the very weak market. We know that if this is God's plan, he'll make it happen.

3. DC Funding. Much of the new church start up funding that was once available has dwindled in a weak economy. This makes support from individuals more important than ever. If you'd like to know how you can support Disciples Church, please contact me at tim@thevistacommunity.com

Please feel free to send me your prayer request also. You can also post them on our Facebook group wall, or on this blog. We love you guys!

Graced,

Tim

DC Ministry Model

2010-09-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

DC Gatherings

We don’t believe “church” is something that happens once a week when we get dressed up and put on a spiritual facade. Or a place we get together to talk and sing about things we may or may not actually believe. We believe we are the church… not all of it (the church includes all disciples everywhere), but a local expression of it. Throughout history, disciples have gathered together and scattered together. We believe both practices are essential to building healthy, reproducing disciples.

Large Group: Although gathering together once a week for teaching and corporate worship is not “church”, it is beneficial to the church. Problems always arise when the church shifts its focus from the mission to the event. It’s very easy for the large group gathering to become the mission. We believe that instead of being the mission, corporate gatherings should exist to refocus us on the mission, equip us for the mission, and celebrate the grace of God that allows us to participate in his mission.

At DC Large Group gatherings, you’ll find real people that have a genuine interest in you and the things that are important to you. You’ll experience real worship through relevant music, creativity, and people sharing their real life faith journeys. You’ll hear teaching that focuses on who Christ is and who he’s created us to be. You’ll be given the opportunity to connect with a Home Team where the Large Group teaching is expanded and applied to our everyday lives.

Common Ground: Like the Apostle Paul, we seek to find common ground with all people. We believe that since we are all created in God’s image, and are all part of the human experience, common ground always exists. The problem is, as time passes it’s very easy for disciples to lose sight of the common ground they have with pre-disciples. If we allow this to happen, we are in danger of existing in a “Christian bubble” where everyone pretty much looks and thinks just like us. We no longer connect with those on the “outside”. Seeking common ground is an essential element in the life of a missional disciple.

At DC, we look to establish common ground by intentionally putting ourselves in places where disciples and pre-disciples can form relationships in non-threatening, neutral settings. We do this by organizing and participating in community events, recreation activities, and service opportunities. Our Home Teams also host monthly parties where pre-disciples in our social networks are invited to come and enjoy life with us.

Home Teams: We believe that true discipleship cannot exist outside of Christ-led community. Jesus himself formed a community of 13 men and they spent the next 3 years living life together. He taught them truth, then filled in the gaps with the way they saw him live his life. Just like the first disciples, we need to see the Gospel lived out in community. Our Home Teams are our missional communities where teaching is put into the “real world” and applied to our everyday lives.

Disciples Church - Values

2010-09-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

Disciples Church is...

Simple.
Our lives can be overwhelmingly complicated. The life and message of Christ is not.

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified…”
- 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV

Reproducing.
We believe a true disciple is a reproducing disciple and a healthy church is a reproducing church.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
- Acts 1:8 ESV

Discipling.
Our momentum is fueled by intentional apprenticeship - all disciples investing their lives in the lives of others.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”
- Matthew 28:19-20 ESV

Missional.
Simply put, we are sent. God has intentionally sent us into our social networks and spheres of influence. Wherever we go, we are on mission.

“...The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”
- Isaiah 61:1 ESV

Incarnational.
The life of a true disciple is the life of Christ. By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are bearers of Christ and his mission is our mission.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…”
- Galatians 2:20 ESV

Relational.
We continually seek to build new relationships with pre-disciples so we can bring them into our lives and communities where Christ is glorified.

“A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her ‘Give me a drink’.”
- John 4:7 ESV

Communal.
We live in community because we were created in the image of a communal God. We cannot effectively know God, function as the church, or reproduce disciples outside of Christ-led community.

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ”.
- 1 Corinthians 12:12 ESV

Disciples Church: Vision and Mission

2010-09-22T05:58:00.000-07:00

Our vision...

Christ living in us, through us, as us; renewing our lives, our community, and the world.

The mission...

Because of Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and new life in us, Disciples Church exists to be a reproducing, missional church movement fueled by reproducing, incarnational disciples.

Disciples Church will begin meeting in Harker Heights in January 2011. For more information on how you can be a part of DC:HH, contact Tim Worden: tim@thevistacommunity.com.

The Reason for Disciples Church

2010-09-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

Statistics indicate that traditional methods of reaching pre-disciples are no longer effective with many people groups. This is especially true for post-moderns who tend to distrust institutions, including the religious institutions. Many people have an interest in the spiritual, but don’t see the church as the pathway to becoming a more spiritual person. Many also admire Jesus, but wonder why their experience with the church doesn’t match up with their perception of him. As the church, called to be on Christ’s mission to “make disciples”, we must redefine what “church” means to many pre-disciples. We must live our lives with “Gospel intentionality”, following the leadership of Christ through the doors he has placed in the lives of the people to whom we are sent.

Traditional church, emerging church, missional church, whatever we call ourselves, we must work together to reproduce disciples in ways that work. Many of our church models have a great vision and mission, but their structure is not easy to reproduce or sustain. Because of this, the goal of Disciples Church is not to simply be another church, but to work with other churches in building a missional discipleship movement.

Church planting pioneer Dr. George Patterson categorizes churches in three ways: “the elephant” - big and difficult to reproduce, but powerful; “the rabbit” - small and highly reproducible; and “the rabbi-phant” - a combination of the two. DC seeks to be a “rabbi-phant”. Instead of building up, we want to “build out” by forming a reproducing network of highly effective churches working together with common vision, mission, and values. Our goal is to combine the resources of “the elephant” with the effectiveness and reproducibility of “the rabbit” so that “Christ in us” will be revealed to all people.

Disciples Church

2010-09-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Many of you have heard by now... before long the life for the Worden family will look quite a bit different. In early 2011 our church (The Vista) where I've been on staff for the little over three years will be sending us to plant a new church in Harker Heights, TX. Harker Heights is just east of Killeen and is the fastest growing area in our county (Bell). The idea of me planting a church isn't a new one. Anyone who's been around me for the past five years knows that's definitely a passion of mine. The idea of me planting in Harker Heights is somewhat new. Well, I won't say that idea is really new either, but me accepting it as God's plan for me is. You see, Staci and I are very familiar with this area. Staci grew up there and I used to teach at Harker Heights High School. Sometimes things can just be too familiar. Maybe that's one reason it's taken a while to say "yes". Another is that God just had to chip away a bunch of "junk" in our lives before we were ready. He's had to cut out some things that we've looked for meaning in outside of Christ. I assure you, this is an ongoing process! As our friends and our community we ask you to join us as we turn the page and face the next chapter in our lives. Here are some ways you can do this...

1. Pray. Please pray for our family, our launch team, and our future church. Pray that we will be led by Christ to the people and places where he is already at work.

2. Support the work. If you agree that this is God's calling on our lives, and you are able to support the work financially, that would be a huge blessing. This can be in the form of a one time gift, or monthly contributions. Support can be send through our sending church - The Vista Community Church with the memo "Disciples Church".

The Vista Community Church
606 N Wall St
Belton, TX 76513

3. Join us. Over the next few months, I'll be sharing the vision of Disciples Church with people everywhere. We're trusting God to build the community that will serve as our Disciples Church launch team. If you feel that God may be leading you to join the team, please let me know. I'd love to share the vision over lunch or coffee.

I'll also be teaching at The Vista on Sunday October 10. That morning I'll announce the dates and times for our Disciples Church interest meetings this Fall. In these meetings, we'll discuss the Disciples Church vision in more detail. There will also be a Q&A where you can ask questions about the church plant and how you can be a DC supporter.

Thank you for all your prayers and support! Staci and I (and Garrett and Reese) are so blessed to have you in our community. Stay tuned to this blog for more updates on our lives...

Graced,

Tim

The Mystery Of Noticing

2010-05-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

by April Terry - doableevangelism.com

“Imagine living in a place (a nursing home) where you are ignored or not understood. People assume that you don’t think because you can’t communicate, but imagine that once a month a group of people come along and they look down into your eyes and they notice you. They notice that you are in there still thinking, still understanding in whatever capacity that you are able. They notice it and in noticing, they are giving you hope that it could happen again. Suddenly, those fifteen minutes become so much more important than the icecream social that you enjoyed the day before. Love doesn’t come by shoving a cup of ice cream into someone’s hands. It comes from the spirit.

Our ministry (to seniors) isn’t anything special other than that we are there and that we notice. In noticing, we are more aware of what’s going on inside the eyes of those we greet. Anyone can do the music, the prayer, and the message, but not everyone notices. Not everyone makes that exchange that gives hope to those who thought they were invisible. We humans need each other. We need to be needed and noticed.

If you haven’t noticed anyone in a long time, then you have been asleep. You have allowed unimportant trivial matters to rob you of one of life’s greatest secrets. You have the hope that others need, but you have to take notice first. You have to look into the eyes, see the soul, and make the exchange. No one can do it for you, and if you aren’t doing it, you are missing out on one of life’s beautiful and unique mysteries.”

Relationships

2010-05-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from the book Relational Intelligence by Steve Saccone

It's hard to find to find anything that matters more than relationships. To understand the full gravity of the power and significance of relationships, we have to look at the origin and source of them. Relationships didn't begin as a human initiative, but instead as a divine one flowing from the center of who God is. God didn't create human beings because He somehow needed us; rather, He created human beings as relational because He exists as a relational being. His desire for us is to enjoy the kind of community that He experiences within Himself. God is not a lonely being searching for community, because He has community within Himself (Father, Son, Spirit). Although I cannot comprehend this mystery of how God exists in this capacity, I do know that human beings have been created in His image and likeness, which involves being created as relational beings. What matters most to God is relationships, and that's why they are the foundation of the human economy.

Interview With A Two Year Old

2010-05-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

Our two and a half year old daughter, Reese, was interviewed about her daddy (that would be me) at daycare the other day. She brought home the results. I thought you might be interested in what I look like through the eyes of our baby girl...

Q1. What is your Daddy's name?
A1. Daddy Tim

Q2. How old is your Daddy?
A2. 1

Q3. What is his favorite color?
A3. Green

Q4. What is his favorite animal?
A4. Horse (she has since changed this to "donkey")

Q5. What work does Daddy do?
A5. At the store

Q6. What does he like to watch?
A6. Baseball and football

Q7. What is Daddy's favorite food?
A7. Spaghetti-Os

Q8. What is his favorite drink?
A8. Sweet tea

Q9. How do you know when Daddy is upset?
A9. He takes away my toast.

Q10. Why do you love your Daddy?
A10. He always carries me.

Bonus information - Dad has a Jesus book.

Enjoy,

Tim

What Have We Done To The Gospel?

2010-03-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

"...The Gospel has not touched down on Planet Earth for many Christians. When and where the Gospel lost its place in the everyday life of believers is a mystery, but there is no doubt that it is not informing most of our basic life issues. We often end up shrinking the concept of the Gospel down to a small set of beliefs or doctrines that have no practical effect on our daily lives. At the same time, we neglect to live out the greater story. Imagine what could change if the Good News of Jesus was allowed to shape and inform all the areas of our lives." - Tangible Kingdom Primer section 3.1

I've seen statistics that say about 50% of all men in our country struggle with pornography addiction. The percentage of men in the church that struggle with this is virtuality identical. Some statistics indicate that the divorce rate is even a little higher among church goers that it is in the general population. "The Gospel has not touched down on Planet Earth for many Christians". Why is it that for so many of us "in the church", what we profess to believe doesn't seem to impact our daily lives very much? To the casual observer, do our lives look much different than anyone else's? Is the Gospel easily detectable in our lives? Is it actively restoring our lives and the lives of those around us?

If not, why? What have we done to the "Good News"?

Together,

Tim

Walking By Faith

2010-02-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

Major W. Ian Thomas

How do you walk by faith? By exposing every new situation to the Lord Jesus who, as God, lives in you through the Holy Spirit... The Lord Jesus claims the use of your body, your whole being, your complete personality, so that as you give yourself to Him... He may give Himself to you... that all your activity as a human being on earth may be His activity in and through you; so that every step you take, every word you speak, everything you do, everything you are, may be an expression of the Son of God living in you... You discover that the Life you possess as a born-again Christian is "of Him, through Him, and to Him" every moment you are here on earth. You may be thinking, "If such a life is totally of Him, through Him, and to Him, then where do I come in?" You do not. That is just where you go out! That is what Paul meant when he said, "For me, to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). God credits only one Person with the right to live in you, and He is Jesus Christ; so reckon yourself to be dead to all that you are apart from all that Christ is... It is for you to be. It is for Him to act. Rest in Him... Why do so few Christians enjoy this miraculous resurrection Life? Mostly because they are educated out of it. They are taught to repudiate the indwelling presence of a risen Lord, and instead they are told to do their best for Jesus, to emulate His example, to flex their own spiritual muscles, to stand up and be counted, to clench their fist and throw out their chest. They are taught everything except to repent and to recognize that you and I were created to be inhabited by our Maker. They are taught to beg and say "Please" instead of saying "Thank You" as they relax and rest in Christ.

True Rest

2010-02-26T08:32:00.000-08:00

Major W. Ian Thomas

Christian rest is not inactivity. Christian rest is rest because He carries the load... It is passivity only if you consider God to be passive, and only if you consider the Lord Jesus to be a weakling and incapable of running His own kingdom as King, and that of course is blasphemous. If I think that by stepping aside and letting God handle it, nothing is going to happen, this only indicates that I do not really believe in God or in the competency of Jesus Christ. I am assuming that if it were not for folks like doing the work and keeping God in business, He would be in bad shape... Christ is in action, and you in your humanity are simply the clothes of His divine activity. This is the rest of faith. You relax, almost like a spectator, except that it is your hands with which He is at work, your lips with which He is speaking, your ears with which He hears the cry, and your heart with which he loves the lost.

This is what it looks like to truly live "incarnationally". All of Him. None of me. What could be more restful? - Tim

Simplified Missional Living

2010-02-24T12:19:00.001-08:00

By Jonathan Dodson - Pastor, Austin City Life

Eat with Non-Christians

We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations. Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.

Walk, Don’t Drive

If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox or convenience store, walk to get mail or groceries. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, carrying along a 6-pack to share, bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Last night I spent an hour outside gardening with my family. We had good conversations with about four of our neighbors. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet, and some people.

Be a Regular

Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places at the same times. Get to know the staff. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of leftover pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use them for church gatherings and occasionally give them to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a regular.

Hobby with Non-Christians

Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try city league sports or local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons, such as sewing, piano, knitting, or tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.

Talk to Your Co-workers.

How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form moms’ groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively non-Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.

Volunteer with Non-Profits.

Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take a Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!

Participate in City Events

Instead of playing Xbox, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, cleanups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.

Serve Your Neighbors.

Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, or fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Be creative. Just serve!

Being Missional

2010-02-24T12:17:00.000-08:00

By Tim Worden - Missions/Community Life Pastor, The Vista

If you’ve been hanging around The Vista lately, you’ve probably heard a word that may not sound familiar. That word is missional. Simply put, missional means sent. Being missional is not the same as appreciating and supporting missions. It’s not necessarily even going on mission trips or giving significant sums of money to evangelistic causes. All those efforts can definitely be good, but missional people’s main gift is themselves. As missional people we primarily see ourselves as bearers of Christ himself. When we show up, He shows up. We believe that God intentionally puts us in places so that people can get to know Him when they get to know us. As missional people we see our entire lives as an opportunity to minister in whatever situation our sovereign God puts us in. We don’t have to plan missional. It’s not something else we’re supposed to do. It’s something God has called us all to be. The problem is, most people that have come in contact with the church have been exposed to a whole lot of “do” and very little “be”. Although being missional may sound like a great idea, we may still struggle with how exactly to pull it off. Unfortunately, many of us have never seen it in practice. We have a need to be “discipled “ in missional. With The Vista, our goal is to do this together in Christ-led community. To be discipled together by the one who invented missional (and I think you know who that is). That’s the whole purpose behind our COM Groups going through The Tangible Kingdom study together; to see our calling as missional disciples lived out together in community. I recently asked one of our church leaders “What would happen if we lived every day with the same missional intentionality that we have when we go on a mission trip?” She answered, “We would completely change our world in no time”. I think she’s right.

Your God Is Too Small

2010-02-24T12:14:00.000-08:00

J. B. Phillips
There are doubtless many reasons for the degeneration of Christianity into churchiness, and the narrowing of the Gospel for all mankind into a set of approved beliefs; but the chief cause must be the worship of an inadequate god -- a cramped and regulated god who is a 'good churchman' according to the formulas of the worshipper. For actual behaviour infallibly betrays the real object of the man's worship. All Christians, whatever their Church, would of course instantly repudiate the idea that their god was a super-example of their own denomination, and it is not suggested that the worship is conscious. Nevertheless, beneath the conscious critical level of the mind it is perfectly possible for the Anglo-Catholic, for example, to conceive God as particularly pleased with Anglo-Catholicism, doubtful about Evangelicalism, and frankly displeased by all forms of Nonconformity... The ultra-low Churchman on the other hand must admit, if he is honest, that the God whom he worships disapproves most strongly of vestments, incense, and candles on the altar. The tragedy of these examples -- which could be reproduced ad nauseam any day of the week -- is not difference of opinion, which will probably be with us till the Day of Judgment, but the outrageous folly and damnable sin of trying to regard God as the Party Leader of a particular point of view.

Divine Rebel

2010-02-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

T. Austin-Sparks

God gives a vision, and every God-given vision has unlimited potential and possibilities. But all too soon the vision is laid hold of by men who never received it by the Spirit. Then the grapes of Eschol turn to raisins in their hands. So very many of the living fruits of the heavenly country have suffered in this way and become dried, shrunken, and unctionless shadows of their early glory.

Successors, sponsors, or adherents build an earthly organization on a living movement of the Spirit, born with fire in the heart of some prophet. They imprison the vision in a tradition. A message becomes a creed; a heavenly vision becomes an earthly institution; a movement of the Spirit becomes a work, which must be kept going by the steam of human energy and maintained by man's resourcefulness.

Any real (or seeming) departure or diversion from the recognized and traditional order of creed or practice will sooner or later become heresy, to be violently suspected, repressed, and cast out. What was, at its beginning, a spiritual energy-producing living organism, expressing something that God really wanted and to which He gave birth has too often become something which the next generation has to sustain and struggle hard at to keep going. The thing has developed a self-interest, and it will go hard with anyone or anything interfering or seeming to interfere with it. The Spirit has become the prisoner of the institution or system, and as a result the people become limited spiritually.

All along the way the Spirit must be referred to and deferred to. In anything in which the Spirit may have His liberties limited, the Spirit will be a rebel.

Are you sure THIS is the Christian life?

2010-01-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

Steve McVey

Law will cause a person to say, ''Lord, help me to do the things you want me to do.'' In other words, ''Help me keep your rules.'' Grace will cause a person to say, ''Lord Jesus, I am abiding in You and You in me. Express Your Life through me in any way You desire.'' It isn't uncommon for Christians to think that God has a long list of things He wants His children to do. But in 1 Thessalonians 5:24 we read, ''He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.'' Not only does Christ call us to the Christian life, but He will also live it for us.

When God determines to bring us to brokenness so that Christ can live His life through us and we keep trying to live it ourselves, things will keep getting harder. When does it stop? When we reach the end of our self-sufficiency and have given up all hope in our own resources. Peter Lord has said, ''Wouldn't it be awful to spend all your life trying to make God an apple pie, only to die and discover He never liked apple pie?'' To ask God to help us live for Him is to request some sort of divine blessing on our effort to ''do what He wants us to do.'' But that isn't what God desires. Being preoccupied with serving Christ more than with Jesus Himself is a subtle threat to every Christian. Self-effort is the essence of legalism. It is pointless to pray to God to help you to live for Him. That may be your goal, but it isn't His.

''Come to Me, all you who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from
Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is
light.''

Give Up?

2010-01-24T11:50:00.001-08:00

Cris Norris

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

So we read that passage and say "sure that's perfect love and I can try and work hard and love like that-with prayer and focus and training".

What is it in our vanity that we think for a moment that we can get past patient, which by the way means that someone could come into your day and drive you completely insane continually and all you do is look at them and love them, further without the inward gritting of your teeth just trying to bear this person for one more second. In fact lets dumb it down, what about the example of a child at play and they have a drum as a new present and they beat that drum non-stop in every area that you are in and finally of course you explode. Well, that perfect patient is just that; perfect. Patient with everything we do (all our stupid actions) every moment of everyday, no matter what.

Try that on for size--that is far more impossible than not murdering someone today. You see all those old commandments are child's play compared to new "Perfect Love Commandment". The new commandment is completely impossible. In fact if you go through the list and really think about each thing that love is-it is so easy to realize that the human in us cannot come close to this model of our Father.

So let's stop. Stop and step back and realize that we can have all the actions of super little Christians and still fall far short of perfectly loving everyone. So do we give up? Sure if you want to, I have found it to be very beneficial in my life. To give up and realize that because of your position in Christ you now have that very thing inside you. We all can love as Christ loved because he will love for us-in our union of Spirit that we live in.

Paul calls us saints because we are put into a position with Christ to love perfectly. Realize we had nothing to do with it, thankfully because chances are we would have messed it up. We are in this union with Christ because of God's action not our own. God sent his Son as a replacement and then allowed us to join him in resurrection and a new life in union with Him and union with all who realize who they now are.

If we are given the position of President of a corporation and given the big office, big chair, big salary and big responsibility; do we then go and make copies and take out the trash and work the mailroom. No, we understand this tremendous responsibility and we lead, we are an example, we think and concentrate on bigger things. We allow the people that we employ to do the thing that we employ them to do and we do our part by watching over it and nurturing it. So if, we are put into the position of a union with God through the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, then stop going back and working in the basement and thinking you're in charge of scrapping the scum off of toilets. The real power over sin is to realize you have perfect love to give and nothing can overcome that in your life, because your life is Christ. (Checkout Paul in Galatians 2). When you wallow in sin, look up and remember your position, not how you feel or what you're doing, but ask is this my position-is this perfect love flowing from me? If not, then let it, because it will.

The Divine Center

2010-01-04T08:32:00.001-08:00

Richard J. Foster

''Earlier I spoke of God on the periphery of my life. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I was on the periphery of His life. It was I who needed to come into the Center, the Core. It is one thing for God to come into us (and a very necessary thing), but it is quite another for us to come into God. In the first instance we are still the center of attention: in the second God is the focal point. When God comes into us we still have a certain kind of autonomy: . . . when we come into God we have come IN. He is in all and through all and above all. This is no infantile pantheism, as if God could be captured in His creation: it is a marvelous majestic monotheism - one God from whom all life is sustained. It is life out of the Divine Center.

The focus of Christian simplicity becomes more clear when we change the image flow from God coming into us to our coming in to God. ''Christ in you'' was certainly an important theme in Paul's teaching, but his favorite and more frequent image was of us ''in Christ''. In the latter case, Christ has become the reference point and we are making the movement into Him. When we are in Christ, our deeds and words are of one piece because they both flow from a single Spring''.

From: Freedom of Simplicity by Richard J. Foster

All Things

2010-01-04T08:06:00.001-08:00

Steve Pettit

Ask the Crucified One who authored his death and He will reply, ''My Father.'' If crucified by the will of God, as horrifying as the experience was, it must end in triumph! ''The fullness of joy is to behold God in every-thing!.

Seen rightly, even pain and suffering are agents of God's steadfast love, escorting us into glory. He will expose our inadequacies, but only to reveal Himself as our adequacy. He will identify our weaknesses, so his strength might become ours by experience.

when we begin to see life with GOD at the center, we have ears to hear Him say, ''I dug your pits of fear, in order to intimately fill you with my perfect love. I dashed your house of dreams to personally build your house of life on unshakable reality. I meant your hellish despair . . .it drove you into my heavenly hope. I caused you to experience that haunting hollowness of heart so you might be filled, intimately and personally filled . . . with MY LIFE.''

Living Water

2009-11-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

Linda Bunting

The body of Christ is thirsty; almost dehydrated from not knowing where to find the living water that Jesus refers to when speaking to the woman at the well.

When he tells her he has water she may drink of and never thirst again, she immediately says; BUT ... ''I do this or that'' ''but we worship here or there'' ... to which He replies; ''Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, (of self-effort) nor in Jerusalem,(external ways to judge your spiritual life) shall you worship the Father for He must be worshiped in Spirit and Truth ... The LIVING PERSON of Christ IN YOU ...

Most of us have had our days searching in all the wrong places; outside and not inside our common human vessels where the pearl of great price, the living person of Christ himself resides.

II Cor.5:17 ''If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new ...'' because; 11Cor. 5:21 ''He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him ...''

Total exchange ... He became us so we can become Him ... and it is for now; not when we die and go to heaven ....

The Prism Of Union

2009-11-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

Paul Anderson-Walsh

Through the prism of union, rather than the prison of performance, I can see that sanctification is simply recognition. That it is not a progressive rectification of one's behaviour but rather a progressive recognition of your new identity. What was to me the cornerstone of the Christian religion (a contradiction in terms if ever there was one) that sanctification was a process of becoming holy has been replaced by the axiom of union, which is to know that I AM.

Thoughts From Catalyst

2009-10-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, Staci and I were at the Catalyst conference in Atlanta this past week. If you aren't familiar with Catalyst, it's basically a huge gathering (13,000) of Christian leaders from pretty much everywhere. Honestly, this is not really my favorite kind of thing because (a) I'm not crazy about crowds and (b) I'm not a huge fan of "Christian culture"... but we did hear some tremendous speakers. The docket read like an evangelical "who's who". Here are some of my favorite quotes from the week:

"God takes full responsibility for a life wholly devoted to Him." - Andy Stanley (quoting Charles Stanley)

"My responsibility is to be obedient to God and trust Him with the consequences." - Andy Stanley (quoting Charles Stanley)

"It's not about who's on your side. It's about who's side you're on." - Andy Stanley

"Incompetence irritates me, but overconfidence scares me". - Malcolm Gladwell

"The medium is the message" - Shane Hipps

"You are a eucharist. You must be broken and poured out for the healing of the world." - Rob Bell

"Sometimes we're so busy with what we're building that we don't see what we're becoming" - Reggie Joiner

"I haven't been soaking in the grace of God... so I haven't been displaying it." - Francis Chan

"We must think we're God, since we're trying to control every situation." - Priscilla Shirer

"You are made in the image of what you desire." - Louie Giglio (quoting Thomas Melton)

Perhaps these quotes will speak to you as they have to me.

"It's good to be home" - Tim Worden

The Christian Life

2009-09-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

Gene Edwards

The Father indwelt His Son here on this earth for thirty-three years. The Father lived the Christian life inside Jesus Christ. It was the Father's life, and the Father's life alone, which lived the Christian life inside your Lord. It is the Father's life, and the Father's life alone, that ever lives the Christian life. It is the Father's life, and Father's life alone, which will live the Christian life in you. Embrace a formula or a list in order to ''live the Christian life,'' and you are doomed to frustration.

But on the day you quit trying to live the Christian life ...then you will finally give Him the freeway to live out in you what is so easy and so simple and so organic for Him to do. Hopefully, you just got set free from a long list of do's and don'ts (the ''do's'' you can't do, and the ''don'ts'' you always do). Why look so shocked; stop and think about it. You never were any good at living the Christian life. Admit it.

Method or True Gospel?

2009-09-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Tim Worden

Redemptively loving and serving each other and our whole community... isn't that what real church is? I've really moved past focusing solely on the method in which we engage people with the Gospel. I definitely think it must be relational, allowing Christ's love to spill out, but whether this is done in the context of a monastic community, house church, emergent church, or even a more traditional church... I really don't think that's the point.

The point is... what is the nature of the Gospel that we teach and live?

Is it a Gospel of self-effort, guilt, and obligation? Is it a Gospel that talks about Christ's death for our sins, but never displays the active, living Christ that is continually at work in us and through us? Show me that church and I won't care where they live or what kind of songs they sing. I'll see Jesus... what else matters?

How He Loves

2009-09-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

John Mark McMillan

He is jealous for me
Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great your affections are for me.

Oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us so.

So we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way

That he loves us.

Thank you, Adam... for worshipping with this song last Sunday. I've heard it many times, but I guess it just started to sink it this week.

Christ is enough,

Tim

Community

2009-09-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Rick Warren

"Community is not built on convenience...but on the conviction that I need it for spiritual health. If you want to cultivate real fellowship, it will mean meeting together even when you don't feel like it, because you believe it is important."

The Mystery of Union

2009-09-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

Dan Stone

Paul's teaching to believers focused on a great mystery. To the church in Colossae he wrote of

''...the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.'' (Colossians 1:25-27)

Christ in us. That is our only expectation of experiencing and expressing the glory of God. Elsewhere, Paul expressed the mystery in another way:

''But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.'' (I Cor. 6:17)

Actually, the words with Him aren't even in the original Greek. The translators added them for clarification. So:

''The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit.''

He or she, a spiritual being, who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit. There are two... they are one. You and He are one.

We are one spirit with God. We function as one. We are not absorbed into the Lord, however. There is an I and there is a He, but we are joined to Him and we function as one. It is a function of cooperation, like a union of gears that mesh together. Our union with God doesn't mean that we are so swallowed up in God that we lose our identity. But neither is there a separation. Rather, the two function as one for the purposes of the greater one, God.

He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. That is a mystery. One plus one equals one. How can that be? The divine and the human are one.

Until we know and live out of our union with Christ, we will nver fully manifest the life of God within us. Some of it will inevitably shine through now and then, despite us. But for the most part we will manifest our own merely human life.

Until we know union, we are constantly confronted by the illusion of separation. ''God is up there; I am down here. How do I draw close to God? Give me a plan. Give me a program.'' Plenty of people are ready with the answers. ''Read your Bible. Pray. Study. Witness. Tithe. Take communion. Here are the plans. Here are the programs.''

But once you know your union with God, there's nothing left for you to do. Oh, you may still do some of the outer things. But you aren't doing them to get close to God. You and God are one. There is no more separation.

When you begin living out of your union with Jesus Christ, you move beyond Christ plus anything, no matter how good it might be. ...We live and move and have our being in God, who is our life. We are saved by His life. He is our life.

Christ lives out His life in us funny old you, funny old me. We have all kinds of different shapes, forms, and fashions, all kinds of interests, all kinds of diversity, all kinds of uniqueness. Praise the Lord. We don't have to look like, act like, talk like, or be like anybody else again. We are free to be ourselves. People see us, but we know it's Jesus living through us.

Are You Righteous or Sinful?

2009-09-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Dan Stone

There's a deep rut in the Christian faith, as most believers experience it. It's like a ditch that you run your car into and can't get out of. Unless God tows a believer out of the rut, he or she will never fully live out of their union with Christ.

The rut is this: most of us believe that in the depths of our being we are both good and bad. Or, to put it in theological terms, we are both righteous and sinful. Using a common illustration, we believe that we have within us both a white dog and a black dog, a good nature and a bad nature, that are fighting for control.

But that is not true. It is vital that we know it's not true, because if we believe that we are both righteous and sinful, it will be impossible to live out of our union with Christ and to rest, trusting that He lives through us moment by moment. Instead, we will be focused on ourselves, on getting our act together, on winning the war that supposedly rages within us, trying to suppress the bad part of us so that the good part will reflect the character of Christ. This endless self-effort is the complete opposite of what Paul wrote:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God... (Galatians 2:20)

The only way out of this dilemma, of believing that we are both good and bad, is to understand that the realm of the spirit, above the line, is singular. It is one. The realm of appearances, below the line, is a duality. It is two.

In the realm of appearances, there is constant evidence of good and evil, both outside and inside us. If we judge by appearances, we arrive at the logical conclusion that we are both good and bad. That looks entirely valid. Christians have believed this for centuries. Except for a small minority who have come to know their true identity in Christ, the whole Christian world accepts the lie. Unfortunately, although something may not be true above the line, if below the line we think it is true, it still controls us. We must choose to live out of what is singular, rather than what is dual.

The realm of the spirit, the singular realm, is eternal reality. That is where our spirit being lives, and where our true identity is settled forever. The realm of appearance, although we must live in it in the here and now, is false as far as our identity goes. All of life depends on which realm is ultimate reality to you: the realm of spirit or the realm of appearances. That's going to determine what you believe and how you live.

Choosing to believe that you are not both good and evil can be difficult. All of the external proof, all of the apparent evidence, all of the sight, supports the opposite: that you have two natures. ''You are good, yes, a little good, but boy, you are still wicked; you are still evil.'' Only the Holy Spirit can reveal to you that you only have one nature, not two. In the core of your being you are not both righteous and sinful; you are only righteous.

Death To Self

2009-09-23T14:02:00.001-07:00

Alex P. Cohen

Death to self is the heartfelt desire of all who have experienced the new birth. We desire to see the self-for-others nature of God manifested in everything we do, say, and think.
How then does one know when he has truly died to self?

It's easy to think of dying to self in terms of what we do or don't do. Since childhood, we've been taught to focus on our actions. We gained our parent's approval if we behaved a certain way. As adults, we have success in life if we perform in a certain manner.
When it comes to spiritual performance, however, no matter how hard we try, no matter long we go at it, we are never quite satisfied with our efforts. There's always one more thing that needs to be taken care of. It becomes an endless struggle to do and to become.

Thankfully, as believers, dying to self is not something we have to attain to. We died to self on the cross with Jesus Christ. ''You have died and your life is hid with Christ in God.'' It's something that has already happened. We express God's glorious self-for-others nature 24/7.

Seeds

2009-09-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

There's a universal law of nature that says new life cannot take place without being preceded by death. Jesus himself spoke of this when he said "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." A friend of mine brought this up to me today. He asked the question, "Is a seed really dead"? That got me thinking. Scientifically, it is not dead because it contains life deep inside...but this life is not visible. In the seed, life exists, but it is not "active". The only way to see the life contained in the seed is to give it up for dead. To bury it and be done with it. If we decide to hang on to the seed and cherish it, the life it contains...the very reason for the seed's existence...will never be realized. It will never grow. It will never "bear fruit". It will never accomplish its purpose.

Are you a seed?

I'm Blogging. I Blog. I'm a Blogger.

2009-09-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

Tim Worden

So this marks my official re-entry into the "blogging world". I hope you enjoy...and I hope I can keep up with it better this time. If you have a blog, I'd love to see it...please send me a link.

Now back to Texas vs. Wyoming...

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

2009-09-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

Tim Worden

I had lunch with a friend today. He was telling me all about a very unusual town in Minnesota. 13 years ago God started moving in the hearts of the religious and municipal leaders of this town. They began to meet together and pray that John 17:21-23 would become a reality.

"that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

In the past 13 years, God has answered their prayer. Evangelicals, Catholics, Protestants, and Pentecostals have put their theological differences aside and united together in Christ for the transformation of their city. They have put their desire to be "the church" above their need to be more right than the next guy. The town has experienced a total reformation. I LOVE this story...but I have to admit that I'm not completely there yet. I desperately want to be at a place where seeing Christ in action is the most important thing...but I'm still a work in progress. Years of sectarianism has ordered my thought processes in a way that is not easily overcome. And then there's always that pesky pride I have to deal with. My friend says that he believes God will move in our town in the same way. I hope so.

And I hope I'm ready to join him.

"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." - Jesus

Shoes

2009-09-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

Tim Worden

As I was dropping my daughter off this morning at a local daycare owned by Jesus, I looked around at the traditional, established church attached to it. It really is beautiful. I love the statue of Jesus in the courtyard, even if the kids on his lap do have tiny heads. Reese loves it too. She asks to see Jesus every morning. What she doesn't yet understand is that she sees Jesus in her teacher much more clearly than any statue can depict. I really do understand why some people feel comfortable at "church". It provides security and warmth. It's familiar. It's comfortable. It's an island of sanity in a complex and confusing world. I wish that were true for me. If I were one of those people, my life would be so much easier. Unfortunately, for me church has never seemed to fit just right. Always somewhat awkward. Kind of like a pair of shoes that's tight in the wrong places. I squirm to get comfortable. Circulation may be getting cut off...I wonder if some of my toes will end up needing amputation? People say, "After you wear them a while, they'll fit fine". I wonder. I've tried quite a few different pairs now with similar results.

Maybe I just have weird feet?

Maybe I prefer to feel the grass between my toes...

Out Of Love

2009-09-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

Tim Worden

The statement I'm about to make may shock some of you. It may even make some angry. I hope not, because my intention is not to convince you to turn your back on anything you hold dear or sacred. I am simply sharing my heart...and wondering how many of you can relate...

I don't like church.

Let me clarify...I LOVE "The Church" as in the "Body of Christ"...His people...His bride. A person cannot be a follower of Christ and hate what He loves. I am not questioning my faith in the person and deity of Christ. Outside of a sovereign, omniscient, loving God...life does not make sense.

What I am confessing is that I don't like church " the institution". The corporation. The routine.

I struggle on Sunday mornings when I drive past children in my neighborhood riding their bikes while parents that I haven't had time to meet are looking on from their driveways.

I wonder how we can continue to invest so much and get so little in return.

Where are all the changed lives?

Where are all the new disciples?

If Jesus of Nazareth walked into church next Sunday, would He recognize it?

I want a revolution.

Amos 5:21-27

21 “I hate all your show and pretense—
the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
22 I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.
I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
23 Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,
an endless river of righteous living.

The Empty Pot

2009-09-12T08:04:00.001-07:00

Derek Taylor

Rejoice and be glad, you empty vessel. Be glad that God refuses to honor your self-effort. Be glad of this time of af fliction, this time of frustration, this time of fruitlessness - this time of hunger and thirst of your soul. For when you accept yourself as you are -- as the ''nothing'' of an empty vessel - without condemning yourself any longer, the promise is that you ''shall be filled!'' Indeed, you already are -- and in His time the manifestation will come forth.

All Centered In Christ

2009-09-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

Norman P. Grubb

Life in the human must always be a tension, a constant propounding of problems with no adequate solution, a constant oscillation between the pleasurable and the painful. But when we raise our sights from the human to the divine, the whole picture changes. All started with God, all ends with God, and there is only One with whom He has to do: from eternity to eternity all is centered in Christ. Therefore whatever intervenes in history, whether pleasant or unpleasant, must be caught up into the stream of His purposes of grace in Christ.

The Calf Path

2009-09-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

Sam Walter Foss (1858 -1911)

One day, through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as good calves should;

But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail as all calves do.

Since then two hundred years have fled,
And, I infer, the calf is dead.

But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.

The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way;

And then a wise bell-wether sheep
Pursued the trail o'er vale and steep,

And drew the flock behind him, too,
As good bell-wethers always do.

And from that day, o'er hill and glade,
Through those old woods a path was made.

And many men wound in and out,
And dodged, and turned, and bent about;

And uttered words of righteous wrath,
Because 'twas such a crooked path.

But still they followed - do not laugh -
The first migration of that calf.

And through this winding wood-way stalked,
Because he wobbled when he walked.

This forest path became a lane,
That bent, and turned, and turned again.

This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load,

Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.

And thus a century and a half,
They trod the footsteps of that calf.

The years passed on in swiftness fleet,
The road became a village street;

And this, before men were aware,
A city's crowded thoroughfare;

And soon the central street was this,
Of a renowned metropolis;

And men two centuries and a half,
Trod the footsteps of that calf.

Each day a hundred thousand rout,
Followed the zigzag calf about;

And o'er his crooked journey went,
The traffic of a continent.

A hundred thousand men were led,
By one calf near three centuries dead.

They followed still his crooked way,
And lost one hundred years a day;

For thus such reverence is lent,
To well-established precedent.

A moral lesson this might teach,
Were I ordained and called to preach;

For men are prone to go it blind,
Along the calf-paths of the mind;

And work away from sun to sun,
To do what other men have done.

They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,

And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.

But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf !

Ah ! many things this tale might teach -
But I am not ordained to preach.