After almost 8 months of spending time in the book of Luke, we are finally making the transition to a new book of the Bible.

This week we read through the first chapter of Ephesians and then discussed the first 14 verses. It was quite an interesting discussion that centred on what it means for us to have all the spiritual blessings here and now to use in the world.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Sometimes we can get so caught up imagining what heaven will be like that we can forget to live full life here, believing that in Christ we can see change now, and actually have a role in blessing the world with our lives through the church. In fact the end of the verse itself explains that to us.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

I think when we hear fulfillment we think end times. but what if when Jesus came, He was the fulfillment? What if His coming was the beginning of the fulfillment? What if all things are under one head and with all the spiritual blessings we can begin to share that story with the whole world?

This is where many of us got excited. We can begin to take all our blessings and use them now, for the glory of God, to share the story of Jesus the fulfillment and hope of the world. Awesome!

Tags: the open house, vancouver, ephesians, church

Fiancees!
Originally uploaded by Hot Meteor.

This is a quick post to congratulate Adam and his new fiance Anna on their recent engagement.

Im stoked for them and can’t wait to journey to Alabama for the wedding

My bud Jason tagged me here. So here it goes: 1. One book that changed your life: A new kind of Christian (Brian McLaren). When I read this beauty about 5 years ago it sent me on a tail spin that I am continuing to enjoy to this day. 2. One book that you’ve read more than once: What, read a book more than once? Ok i read a new kind of Christian twice because i read it once before it was one of my text books for evangelism in Seminary. 3. One book you’d want on a desert island: Bible: The Message by Eugene Peterson. basically the bible, but this translation has helped me continue my reading of the Bible when at times I really wanted to let it go. This book gives me life. 4. One book that made you laugh: Searching for God knows what by Donald Miller. Not only hilariously honest but brilliantly written and as i continue to dream about writing i hope to write like him. 5. One book that made you cry: Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Powerful book about a boy’s life journey from Afganastan to America. 6. One book you wish had been written: The Transitioning Church in Canada: How the church can have influence in Canada by Michael Adams. I really respect this guys sociological work in canada and think he would put out a very good book in this field. 7. One book you wish had never been written: The prayer of jabez by Bruce Wilkinson…seriously what was he thinking? 8. One book you’re currently reading: The Long Tail: Why the future of business is selling less of more. Great book on the ideas of niche marketing, and i am finding it surprisingly relevant to my life and job. 9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: Sophies World by Jostein Gaarder. This book that I have read half of is excellent, and I really want to read the whole thing, but i have been saying that for 2.5 years. 10. Tag 6 others: Alastair, Donald, Jeffery, Kristin, Mike, Lacey, you reading this post — write your books in the comments or post them on your blog and let me know in the comments!

If anyone wants to keep in touch with what Alastair is doing in Orlando, check out his blog www.alastairthinks.com He has already wrote a number of updates…it’s great stuff.

Life as a pastor/church planter has incredible highs and lows, and I am beginning to think that a strong sense of oneself should be required for such a task. For example you get so excited about the peoples lives that are transforming and then they move; or you are stoked about how someone is seeking God in the person of Jesus and then they leave to try another religion. This is not a self pity blog post, in fact when i took the clifton strength finder last May one of my top five strengths was Self Assurance. Self Assurance is the ability to pick yourself up after many discouragements and keep going forward. However I don’t think it’s me that is so self assured, I think it’s my God in His mission. Let me explain… Today I had a great chat with Lacey, who is coming to join us for a year at the open house as a resident missionary. She is really excited with what God is doing in her life and how she can learn and play a significant role in the church and I am always pumped up after convo’s like that. Then right after the call, I find out that one of the people who has been checking us out is going to try out another couple religions in order to find the one that best fits with their worldview. Wow what an up and down moment of my day. One minute excited about someone who is willing to invest their life in Christ, and then discouraged by someone who thinks that Jesus is not for them. I have to say the hard news is always a struggle, so I decided to open my bible to my next reading (i’m pushing to read the bible in a year so i’m only on Genesis 10-12) and read the following verse:

1 God told Abram: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. 2-3 I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I’ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.” 4-6 So Abram left just as God said, and Lot left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him, along with all the possessions and people they had gotten in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan and arrived safe and sound.

Abram was asked to go to a land where he knew no one, and had no idea why other than that he would be blessed and be a blessing to others…and in fact i’m not sure if he even knew God’s voice or who that was that told him to go there (many people were polythestic in those days). But perhaps there was something innate, inside him, inside all of us that leads us in a direction toward God and a purpose that we can’t totally explain…so we just follow. What if God did create each of us with the ability to know His voice, to know when He is calling, and to know how to follow. With so many other voices in this world competing for attention or tempting us to leave the voice we hear from God behind I wonder if one sure sign of maturity is knowing God’s voice and knowing how to follow? When I read my bible today I heard God’s voice crying out, “I want to make My name great and known in Vancouver, I want to use my creation to bring it about, and I will bless you in this world, in your journey if you plan to bless the world with My love, My hope, My justice, through the church that you are starting for My glory.” I will go forward…

After spending some time with Karen Ward at Church of the apostles I decided the next day to visit extreme Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church. Listening to Mark was like doing the Grouse Grind here in North Vancouver. Firstly, they took just as long. My first time doing the grind was last week, and it took me 1 hour and 2 minutes. Yesterday was the first time I heard Mark preach and it was 1 hour and 10 minutes. The differing sections (the sermon and the grind) were similar. During the first 15 minutes I was feeling my way around, skeptical of some, wondering what the hype was all about, and passing a few people on the way. The next quarter was a little easier, i began to loosen up, enjoy the message and I had that “this isn’t so bad,” kind of feeling. When i hit the 3rd quarter i began to sweat and sweat hard. The intensity rose, the speaker was longer winded, and even though i was now having trouble continuing on it seemed like the terrain was getting stronger (both the trail and Mark), i had many doubts that i would make it. But it would have been more dangerous to go down or leave the room than to keep going. Then the final quarter, the last 20 minutes or so. Brutal at some parts, easier at others, but i could see the light at the end. I had hope and I knew i could finish. As i came out at the top of the grind (and out of the doors after the sermon), i felt a satisfaction that i made it through. It was long, it was hard, it was intense, but it was worth it…however i probably wouldn’t be able to handle something like that again for a little while…especially not every week.

Took a trip to Seattle today to have dinner with Karen Ward and visit Church of the apostles. I’m currently sitting across the street from the church in Icon coffee utilizing their free wireless, and dreaming about what our church might become over the next few years. This part of Seattle is so similar to where we live on commerical drive and i am excited about connecting with Karen and chatting about her journey and process to where she is now. Karen is passionate about her community, which we are as well at the open house, which reminded me of a cool quote I came across from The Shaping of Things to Come:

To be theologically true to the meaning of the humanity of Jesus, we have to recognize that Jesus was who he was, not only because he was God, but because he was formed through his real engagement with his social milieu. (pg 36)

How connected are you with your community in which you are trying to church plant, live, minister, whatever?

It is really hard to not polarize yourself entirely when you raise a concern on an issue. I am finding this out a lot when I say my bit on how things “could” be done in our churches. I went through this really polarized time in my life where I would say that everyone should change the way they are doing stuff because I had a better way, but more and more I realize that it is all about context, and that the “way” of doing things should connect with the culture the “activity” is being done in. This is not to say that some of my early, less generous critique was wrong, but it may have been wrong for certain situations. I am in that place now…wondering about what I am doing with the open house, and what might need to change due to the culture we exist in. Yet I don’t want to critique the others because we’ve decided what we might change. However, if we already were nervous by the way we were doing things up to this point…after today’s meeting we could be could be downright fearful.

Jessi has a great post about how God has been answering prayer for her and Mike’s new baby which i think will arrive in about 2 weeks! crazy. check it out almost all the people are members of our church community!