Removing our barriers to God's providence

This quote is taken from Patrin 5.2 of the Psalters. It speaks volumes about the things we choose and choose not to face with Christ. Thanks to the Psalters for being open and real about their faith. May we all face the challenge to live closer to God this next year.

"The road has felt closer to home in that there is none. No roofs and fences to put my evils under or behind; less physical spaces and places to ease my weary head of its fears. I am held out more in the open where my First Love is all to turn to. I have had to rely on Him in situations I preferred not to. As a result He is present to my senses more. It has been fascinating to see how He provides for what I had so often provided for myself." - captain napkinz from the Psalters

Great clip about Evangelism

The Welcome Mat Is Out

As per our discussion Tuesday night, the door is open to new participants who may not be interested in leading groups themselves. As you invite folks, please suggest that they bring a Bible. Where no Bible is available, I certainly have many here to loan out. I hope you all are as excited for the possibilities here as I am!!

We will continue to study in 2 Kings, looking at the parallels to the stories we have studied from 2 Chronicles.

With the next meeting coming on Thanksgiving week, there may be conflicts for folks we want to invite. Don't let that slow you down. They can always come the next week! If you get a firm yes from someone, please let me know so I'll have enough to drink on hand.

2 Kings it is, Todd

We had talked about looking at Hezekiah's story in 2 Kings 20, I believe. Isaiah 39 also speaks to the same part of the story - Hezekiah's test after God showed him a sign. I was looking at the Isaiah piece today.

We'll meet at my house at 7:30pm on Tuesday. Does anyone know of any new folks coming this week?

2 Kings

Hey everyone... we are in 2nd Kings this week. Do you remember which chapters Jim?

Directions to Alli's house

From Candelaria and Eubank, go east on Candelaria and take a left on Morris. After the apartments on your left you'll take your 3 left. That's Chapala Place. (It's the left before Comanche.) My house is the 5th house on the left. There'll be a NM Tech car in the driveway. My address is 10208 Chapala Place. My phone is 292-9157, if you get lost. See you around 7:30 pm tomorrow. Happy Election Day! Alli.

November 4th meeting

Hey!
Do we want to meet at my house to give Jim a break? I live about 5 minutes from him - near the intersection of Morris & Comanche. Let me know and I'll give directions.
Happy Halloween! Alli

young adult conference in Albuquerque

Check this out... http://www.faithcya.com/home.aspx?igid=67047 I think it would be a good thing for as many of us to go to as possible. These are great speakers and the principles will apply to whatever group of people we work with. It's 60 bucks a piece, but I am working with them to see if we can get a group rate or something. Let me know if you are interested in going.

great quote

The perfect church service would been one we were almost unaware of. Our attention would have been on God. C.S. Lewis

Location update for 10/14

Patti will be running close on time tomorrow, so let's meet at my house instead this time. Most of you know the way but here are the directions.


View Larger Map

10004 Matthew Ave NE: from Eubank and Candelaria take Candelaria east. Turn right (south) at the second street, Christine NE. Turn left at the first street, Matthew Ave NE. We're the first house on the right (10004). My red Ford Escape will be in the driveway.

This week

We are on chapter 29 of 2 Chronicles this week. I was very enlightened by chapter 28 and I know 29 will not let me down :) Just a reminder, we are meeting at Patti's house at 7:30... looking forward to it!

Second Chronicles Reading

Just a reminder to everyone that we will begin our worship study reading Second Chronicles, chapter 28. My recollection is that we will study a chapter a week of 2Chron to the end of that book and then we may turn to The Acts of the Apostles or another Old Testament book for more study.

Big Idea to Consider

I'm wondering about something. This may sound crazy, so bear with me, please. In past years a youth director friend of mine and I have considered what it would be like to spend a night with the homeless folks in downtown Albuquerque. A couple of years ago I asked a few men at St. Stephen's to consider spending a night out with me, but got no takers. It is a crazy idea after all.

I am wondering if any or all of us would be willing to consider spending a night outside with folks in downtown ABQ, perhaps over Thanksgiving weekend? A homeless ministry I have worked with in southeast Ohio does this on Good Friday night and they call it a Fast from Shelter.

I have never been able to shake the idea that I have no idea what a homeless person really has to experience. One night is a taste only, it proves nothing. One night could, however, bring us closer to the Jesus who spent so much time with those on the outside of society.

This is an uncomfortable, unusual idea, I know. Can we get closer to knowing what exile is through such an experience? Would we develop a deeper sense of thanksgiving through it? Thoughts?

Directions to Patti's

Here are the directions to my casa!

From Central and Tramway. Go one block east to 4 Hills Road and turn right (you will go behind the Smith's) as you come up the canyon/arroyo stay in the right hand lane, there are a few turn offs, just stay in the lane. At the top of the hill the road "Y's", but your in the right lane so just continue to the right. You will go through 2 stop signs, they are kind of far apart. After the 2nd stop sign you will immediatly go through an arroyo, take your first left. You are now on Matador. Our house is up on the right...the address is

1012 Matador Dr SE

It is the just to the west of the 2nd house that's for sale.

See you on Tuesday!!! My home phone number is 294-5430, if you get lost!

Liking what is going on...

Just wanted to say, I'm feeling better knowing that the next few weeks, at least, we have a direction. I was feeling lost. For me personally, it will be good to find out why we are named "X-ile" and where that name came from. Thanks everyone!!!

9/29 do-over

If you didn't see Todd's reply to my last post, we'll try again this week at 7:30pm in the Walgreen's parking lot at Lomas and Carlisle. Then we will head together to the park. It's a do over since only Todd and Tracy were there.

What's the plan for 9/29?

I understand this week's meeting was way understaffed. Was there any agreement among those in attendance about what we'll do next week? Worship in the park?

A new face for worship

September 16th was X-ile's first foray into worship in public. A good first effort and a good time was had by all. Readings from the Bible, questions and discussion. Prayer. Sharing. Relationships built. Good stuff.

Our next meeting is tonight, Tuesday, 9/23 at 7:15pm. We'll meet in the parking lot at the back of Walgreens at Lomas and Carlisle. We'll walk from there to the "hidden" park (McDuffie Park) to think through next week's worship.

Today is my birthday. I only mention it to explain why I don't think I'll be there tonight. I need some time with my kids together and we haven't been getting it lately. That's the birthday present I need today. We're going out to eat somewhere. Please keep me and the kids in your prayers. I'm struggling with a decision that I don't want to make.

It would be great if someone would post the results of tonight's discussion later this week. Thanks.

X-ile OUT

Hey,
How did this first X-ile outing go? I was thinking about you all! See you, Alli.

With a longer view down the pike

We're not ready to take this far yet, but we will eventually need to consider how we'll handle our offerings to God and neighbor through the community. The Relational Tithe may be a good source of ideas, if not a structure from which to build. Here's a link to their principles of giving https://www.relationaltithe.com/understanding.php . We could register our own relational tithing group on the website, linking us in solidarity to the other groups as a network, not as a binding relationship.

We'll need to work on becoming a recognized non-profit organization. The paper work is fairly straightforward.

Again, this isn't something we need to act on immediately, but it will need to be addressed eventually. Our finances are part of our spiritual response to God's blessings in our lives and must have a plan/goal. This is a place to begin the conversation.

Next meeting on 9/16

We may not be ready for prime time, but we are ready to begin experimentation with worship. Last night we agreed to meet at Brickyard Pizza (Central SE, between Yale and Harvard) on Tuesday, September 16th at 7pm. We'll bring readings from the Revised Common Lectionary for Sunday, September 21st to use in our worship. We'll also consider stretching ourselves early by participating in the "open mike" night that evening. Whatever we select is liable to be secular music that is applicable, rather than praise music or a hymn. It'll be noisy, so consider how we each might contribute with some sort of art on hand (sketching, photography, etc.). We may even bust out and make conversation with other folks in the restaurant. Sharing of a meal. Sharing joys in prayer and praise to God.

What else did I miss, friends?

Different Bat Time, Different Bat Channel

So this week we are going to meet on Sunday at 7:30 pm at Redbrick Pizza. Here is what I propose: What if we discuss this week what worship could look like in a pizza place/bar, and then from there plan some sort of worship experience and try it out at the same place next week. I would still like to talk about the non-negotiable idea that we started conversation on last week, but we can do that in the context of worship planning perhaps. What do you think?

An Amazing Emancipation for Religion: E. Stanley Jones

I find myself at a spot in time when I'm reading quite a bit of E. Stanley Jones and I came across this in my daily reading yesterday.
"The Holy Spirit came upon the waiting group not in the Temple nor in a synagogue but in the upper room. And the upper room was a home (Acts 1:13-14). The Holy Spriti came upon them when they were in the most common place-a place where we all live-a home. Under that apparently insignificant fact lies a deep significance. It was an amazing emancipation for religion. For up to this time religion had been associated with sacred places...Now the center of gravity in religion shifterd from services to service....Religion was put where it belongs-the human heart....Holy persons gathered together make a holy place, not the other way around. This coming of the Holy Spirit on persons, rather than on places, was one of the most important happenings in history. It took religion out of the magical and put it in the moral. And in doing so universalized it. And further it saved the Temple. For the Temple was no longer the center-the persons in the Temple were. As such the Temple could be used."
From Mastery by E. Stanley Jones

Is what we are looking at - X-ile, a way that God might begin to save the Temple of the Modern era, Church with a big C?

I'm looking forward to catching up with you all next week!
Dana

More thoughts on worship

Tonight's meeting was a bit quicker than they have been normally and attendance was low, but it allowed us to get to know each other better. The discussion was much more relational than theological. It's all part of what we need anyway.

Sometimes it is very illuminating to read and search the Bible using different translations from time to time. Your mind's eye catches something you haven't seen before. That happened to me as I was looking for more passages on worship this week. I searched "The Message" and found this in 1 Corinthians 14:24-33.

"24 But if some unbelieving outsiders walk in on a service where people are speaking out God's truth, the plain words will bring them up against the truth 25 and probe their hearts. Before you know it, they're going to be on their faces before God, recognizing that God is among you.

26 So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight. 27 If prayers are offered in tongues, two or three's the limit, and then only if someone is present who can interpret what you're saying. 28 Otherwise, keep it between God and yourself. 29 And no more than two or three speakers at a meeting, with the rest of you listening and taking it to heart. 30 Take your turn, no one person taking over. 31 Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special from God, and you all learn from each other. 32 If you choose to speak, you're also responsible for how and when you speak. 33 When we worship the right way, God doesn't stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony. This goes for all the churches - no exceptions. "

Paul offers some pretty clear instructions to the Jesus followers in Corinth and beyond.
+ Be plain in speech so that visitors will be able to fathom what you're saying.
+ All the followers should come with something to contribute in worship.
+ Don't let anyone hog the meeting time.
+ No speaking or praying in tongues without one who can interpret for the group.
+ The choice of whether you speak and what you say and how you say it is your responsibility.
+ Worship should bring harmony not confusion.

The mainline churches are mostly used to having a small group of people who handle the details of worship. What Paul is suggesting here would be a radical decentralization of the process and a radical reliance upon the Holy Spirit to provide the spiritual food for worship.

It makes me hungry. Any thoughts?

August 26th meeting at Cafe Dalat

We agreed this week to meet at Cafe Dalat (5615 Central NE, just east of San Mateo) at 5:30pm. It's a Vietnamese restaurant. www.cafedalat.com The vast majority of the menu items are under $9 each.

Distilling worship

We have been spending a lot of time lately talking about what the essence of worship is. As mainline Christians, most of us in the cornerstone group are accustomed to the usual three songs, a message, a prayer and an offering. That's an oversimplification, obviously, but it's not far from reality. But is that all there is to worship? Are we getting everything we should in the process? Are we adding things that don't belong?

I had a conversation with a friend this morning about how we are looking at the idea of worship in a variety of settings. Once we have the essence of worship in mind, then we need to begin to figure out how worship is accomplished in a coffee shop, a park, a home, a bar, a mall, or wherever.

In our discussion at Garduno's this week several ideas came up. Worship is praising God. Worship is connecting to God. Worship is relationship. Worship is growing. Worship is surrender to God and is therefore intimate. Worship is possible by one's self, but is most often a communal experience.

I was looking through Jesus' "sermon on the mount" in Matthew 5-7 this morning. It always challenges me. Today I was reading from "The Message" and discovered this heading: "A Life of God Worship." "Uh," I thought, "this ought to be applicable to our discussion." The interesting thing to me is that I wouldn't have normally labeled this a teaching on worship. Eugene Peterson, the translator, is guiding us towards a broader, and perhaps a more authentic understanding of what worship is and can be.

My digested version of the text comes out with Jesus pointing us towards: Giving over getting, Focusing on today (being present in the moment), Focusing on God's reality, not the world's masquerade, and Recognizing God's hand in everything.

Birthing a new community of faith

It is hard to believe that just a few months ago this community of faith was only yet a dream in the minds of a couple of fired-up United Methodist clergypersons in New Mexico. God has moved us to join together and begin seeking the members of our cornerstone group. This cornerstone group will be the seed for growth of the community and the incubator for its practices.

We seek to realign the Way of Christ as practiced in The United Methodist Church by forming a community of those beyond the margins of the mainstream church. There are many people who have been hurt or dismissed by the imperfect actions of the Church. Those people need to know that Jesus can be found in other places that are ready to be more flexible and more open than many churches. We contend that both the old and the new can coexist for the benefit of what Jesus called the Kingdom of God.

Our premise is that the modern church is comparable to the Jerusalem Temple of the Israelites of old. For a long period of time the Israelites relied upon the Temple as their sole place of worship. During the Babylonian exile, the Temple was destroyed and synagogue worship began to be practiced. It was community based. Even after the rebuilding of the Second Temple, the synagogues continued. Today we face a mainstream Christian religion dominated by "temple" worship: Many coming to the central locus of worship. We generally lack the synagogue component: An abundance of more local places to worship in more intimate ways bringing the faith out of the walls of the church buildings to where the people are.

Imagine a community of faith emerging from a mainline denomination that has no building, nor wants one. A community of faith built entirely of bands of people willing to explore new practices of Christian faith using Wesleyan roots and themes. Imagine worship taking place in the community - in a bar, in a coffee shop, in a park, at the mall, or wherever the Spirit leads! A community where contributions are almost entirely used for the needs of the community. If a participant in a band has a need, or a friend of a participant is in need, the community will be able to respond with prayer, service and financial support, if called for.

We will be missional, relational and incarnational. We will be out in the community for practically everything we do. We strive to live up to the example and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. We seek to be bearers of Jesus' love in a world suffering from a drought of such love. We believe that the relationships built between the members of the bands and their relationships with God are integral to the potential to grow as humans.
There is a concurrent effort to build such a worship community in Houston, Texas. Please keep this community in your prayers. We will post more information on the organization as the language is polished and clarified.