Prayer for our Path

I found this prayer in something I was reading this week, and thought it was particularly appropriate to the current season in our lives.

We have been shown many paths

Laid out before us by our modern world.

Give us the discernment to walk on the path of your choosing.

As we love, may your love grow within us

And by the limitless thrust of your constantly-creating hand.

We thank you for the ways you hold us together

And guide us on our way;

Let your kingdom come.

- New Providence Community Church

Let us also pray for our friends who received news this past weekend that was less than what they were hoping for. They also are seeking direction; let us pray that God will point each of us in the direction He would have us go.

Grace and Peace,

Ryan

Our trip last weekend!

For those that might have wondered where I was last weekend, I was on a teen trip! My great friend Greg Pirtle was short chaperones for a road trip, and asked if I might be willing to come along. I said I would, especially if he allowed me to bring MY youth group (Kara and Becky!) - he said yes and so Taylor, Kara, Becky and I joined 40+ teens and chaperones from the Greenville Oaks Church of Christ up in Allen for a long weekend trip to Memphis! It was great and I was very thankful for the opportunity for Becky and Kara to hang out with so many wonderful Christian teens! Thanks to Hoover for preaching in my absence!

New Pics!

Now that is community! Amy Foster holding a sweet, sleeping Willow Colvin during our recent House Church Retreat! For more pics from our retreat, check out my facebook album!

OK, so I have been thinking about what it means to 'do Church'. Right now I am reading a very interesting book, and thought I would pass along this quote for you all to comment on!

'The image of much contemporary Christianity could be summarized as holy people coming regularly to a holy place on a holy ay at a holy hour to participate in a holy ritual led by a holy man dressed in holy clothes for a holy fee. Since this regular performance-oriented enterprise called 'worship service' requires a lot of organizational talent and administrative bureaucracy, formalized and institutionalized patterns developed quickly into rigid traditions. Statistically, a traditional one- or two-hour 'worship service' is very resource-hungry but produces very little fruit in terms of discipling people, i.e. in changing their lives. Economically, it is a high input, low output structure. Traditionally, the desire to worship 'in the right way' has led to much denominationalism, confessionalism and nominalism. This not only ignores the fact that Christians are called to worship 'in spirit and in truth', rather than in cathedrals holding songbooks. It also ignores the fact that most of life is informal, and so too is Christianity as 'the Way of Life'. Do we need to change from being powerful actors and start acting powerfully?'

-- From 'Houses That Change the World' by Wolfgang Simpson

THANKS!

Many, many thanks to so many who did SO much to make our retreat a success!

Thanks to Connie Bingham, who did our prayer material before the retreat. To Kara, Corey, Jonathan, and especially Holden (who made the extra effort to come), thanks for doing a great job with the music. To DeeDee, Amy Foster and Taylor for organizing the snacks and to all of you for helping to bring them. To Jamie for bringing all the fun games, and for Jeremy sharing his heart with us around the Communion Table. To Bill, Donna, Corey, Deanne and Amy Gibbons for being such wonderful small group discussion leaders. THANKS!

And to each of you who came and opened your heart to the Lord, and His plan, THANKS! May we continue to listen for the Lord as we journey together!!

Grace and Peace to you this day!

Friday Prayer Material

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If

anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last,

and the servant of all." [Mark 9:35]

Prayer: Lord of All: In serving others, the

ability You give me to love and the wisdom to love is

necessary. Show me where people need me and how to

best serve you and others in your Kingdom. Lead the

way Lord, that I may follow, and enable me to be

Your selfless servant. By the power of THE Name above

all names, Amen.

Thursday Prayer Material

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with

all your soul and with all your strength and with all

your mind and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.

[Luke 10:27]

Prayer: God of Everlasting Love: I need

the power that can only come from you to really love

other people. Please open my heart and fill it by

the power of Your Spirit to love You with all of my

heart and to also love others deeply. I need

your power to enable me to be less self-minded and

more other-minded. Along with love for others, grant

me also the wisdom to know how to love them and what

they need.

Wednesday Prayer Material

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, Who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

[James 1:5]

Prayer: My Dear Father, I need your wisdom to stay

on the path You have chosen for me. I ask that you

give me the wisdom to love and serve you and the

wisdom to love and serve others. I ask you for

wisdom for our group of believers as part of your

body, to know your desire for us and the path you

would have us take. Show us where we fit in Your

Kingdom.

Tuesday's Prayer Link

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

[Luke 11:7-8]

Prayer: My Lord, I want to seek you. I want to seek

Your Face wholeheartedly. I truly want to know You.

I ask you for singleness of heart and mind. Give me

the desire to seek You and Your Kingdom first above

all else. In Jesus’ powerful name, Amen.

First Prayer Link

Thanks to Connie Bingham, for doing all of these...each day there will be a new prayer prompt, so check back each day!!

Be still, and know that I AM God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth…for Who

is like the Lord our God, the One who

sits enthroned on high, who stoops down

to look on the heavens and the earth?

[Psalm 46:10; Psalm 113:5-6]

Prayer: Your Majesty, My Lord and King, the Great I AM: As I sit in still quietness today, reflecting on You, I ask that you reveal Yourself to me. Please help me forget myself today and show me more of Who You are…Your ways, Your greatness, Your glory and give me more understanding of just how Awesome and Wonderful You are. I ask this by the power Jesus’ name, Amen.

Opportunities

I feel really blessed by our efforts to extend the borders of the kingdom this past Sunday at House Church. For those not able to be present, I asked everyone to bring 5 $1 bills. I had 5 different envelopes...one for an orphan in Brazil, one to adopt a homeless man or woman at the Union Gospel Mission and sponsor them for 16 meals, two envelopes for two different folks who are out of work, and one for a friend who is desperately ill and often controlled by her husband. We were able to put about $30 per need in an envelope simply by everyone bringing 5 $1 bills! Awesome!

If you couldn't come, or would like to add to any of these envelopes, please bring some cash Sunday - I will have all the envelopes available, and then I will deliver the gifts with help from some of you this next week!

If you haven't been to the Greatest Gift Catalog Ever site, check it out at http://www.thegreatestgiftcatalogever.org/ You and your family can give real life gifts to needy folks right here in our own community this Christmas.

This Sunday we will be discussing Luke 22:7-38, and sharing our meal together during our normal House Church time. Hope to see you all then!

3D Glasses

It seems to me that the problem I have faced recently is that the story I though I was living as 'real' was in reality, a hologram. I looked at it, and the characters of my story seemed deep, rich and multi-dimensional. But then, when conflict entered the picture, many of these characters in my story turned out to be made out of cardboard and propped up with bricks.

Which made me think of these cool 3D Christmas glasses we own. When you wear them, first of all, you feel super sexy, because they are green with little Christmas bulbs on them, and, because, well, they're 3D Christmas glasses.

When you look through the glasses at the lights on the tree, you see the little light with NOEL written above and below the light. Whoa! Cool! Everyone loves these glasses. We paid $2.99 for them fifteen years ago at Drug Mart, but people still ooh and aah over them every year!

The down side is that when you take the glasses off, you realize it wasn't real. It was cool, it amazed me for a minute, but it was only a party trick. Which is fine if we are talking about a $2.99 pair of 3D glasses from Drug Mart. We got all the value that was required from them.

But it's not OK when we are talking about the community of faith. Too often, I think, people's experience of 'the church' resembles our 3D glasses. A certain person comes into a group of people who seem to be different. People who extol the power of God as well as the grace of God. These folks invite you to put on the glasses and you are moved by a song, a sermon or an event. Whoa! This is awesome! I wish I had a pair of these glasses to give everyone I know!'

So we continue looking through the glasses until one day the Christmas tree gets dry and brittle and combusts, threatening to burn everything down in its path. We take off the glasses to rub our eyes and decide whether or not we are dreaming, whether this is really happening or not. But as soon as we take the glasses off, we realize that nothing we were seeing before was real.

And now the person feels gypped, because what they wanted was an authentic experience of God, but what we handed them was a $2.99 pair of 3D glasses from Drug Mart.

I long to quench my thirst for the almighty though a day-in and day-out, authentic experience of God. And to be challenged by my community of faith to settle for nothing less. But even as I write these words, I am not sure exactly what this would look like. But, just as Columbus struck out to find a new world, I too, long to find this.

We have scheduled a retreat for January 8-10, 2010. This week I have asked many of you to play one role or another during the course of that retreat. I would again encourage you to free your calendars and come along as we seek God's face together.

Thanksliving

One of the most painful lessons to learn these last few months has been the awful truth that the 'reality' I had been living for the last several years was, in reality, a hologram. It looked good, liked the eagle on the credit card, but it simply wasn't real. I knew this because of all my 'close' friends who apparently forgot that I existed overnight. Friends who had accepted love and hospitality from our hand but then turned their backs on us when we were no longer useful to them. Folks who claimed to follow Christ, who claimed we were 'family', yet couldn't be bothered to lend a hand when we were down and nearly out. This has been a most bitter pill to swallow for someone who has preached community and togetherness within the body of Christ throughout his entire adult life.

However, this bitter pill has also made me more conscious of those relationships that are sweet and solid and true. It has made me even more conscious to say what I mean and mean what I say. So, in that spirit, I offer you these 10-ish statements of Thanksliving this November, 2009:

1. Wisdom, coupled with belief, is a powerful entity. I am so thankful to Betty Nelson and Bobby Hoover for providing me with both. They both believe in me, but also are not afraid to offer me their wisdom when they think I need it. For this I am deeply grateful.

2. I believe that Joy and Hope are the most noticeably 'different' qualities in a Christian's life. I Peter says that you and I are to 'always be prepared to give the reason for the hope that we have.' This would seem to suggest that folks should notice something different in us, something joy-full and hope-full, and then ask us about it. In the face of extremely difficult times DeeDee and Earl have always been just such a breath of fresh air in my life. You guys are like a cool Summer Breeze that never seems to stop blowing, even when times are tough.

3. Faithfulness and Fidelity are traits I value above all others. Greg and Bill, I appreciate the way you have stuck by your guns in the past months. From the meeting about 'wineries' forward, you have been completely consistent and forthright, even when you felt I needed to change something I was doing. But you have never treated me differently than you had previously. To my entire House Church, and especially to the group that hosted the 'meeting' - Bill, Donna, Greg, Betty, Bobby and Terry, I say thanks for your willingness to stand tall for what you believe to be right.

4. Stepping up to the plate is hard to do, but we always seem to grow best in times of adversity. It seems like it forces us to take steps we wouldn't ordinarily make. I was so aware of this one Sunday at the Elliott barn when Ray suggested that he had been on spiritual autopilot but he was now awake and listening for what God had to say. That was such a powerful moment for me. I also remember asking Connie to close us in prayer on one of our first Sundays, and she looked at me and said, 'I would be honored'. And I knew that those words were COMPLETELY true. This painful experience was opening doors before my very eyes.

5. Sometimes the most beautiful moments come in the simplest activities. There are some Sunday nights, when we have shared the common meal at AXIS, and had our devotional, when I look around the room(s) and smile. Different groups will be deep in conversation, laughing and talking and sharing community. I LOVE IT!

Then out of nowhere, someone will say something, or I will break into one of my comedy routines or someone will do something goofy, and then Taylor will start laughing. Now let me tell you, there are few pleasures in life as rich as Taylor Price laughing deeply. Her eyes roll back in her head, and briefly her breathing is suspended. Then she rocks forward, while she waves her hand in front of her face, telling us not to do anything else, or she may explode. Recently we have added Amanda McLemore to this mix, and to get the TWO of them going is a rare pleasure indeed!

Or it might even be out at my fire pit on a Tuesday evening, a place Keith Bailey loves and calls his own. We get to talking and laughing, and I am trying to keep Kara from disturbing the ladies Bible study that is going on inside, because she is so loud, boisterous and full of life. Few people I know enjoy life like she does, and it is infectious!

Or it may be our wonderful book club, which rarely studies the actual book assigned, but more often than not really DOES Church.

Small, simple, everyday moments that make for a rich life.

6. HONESTY. Rare and beautiful though it is, I have begun to experience it within the community of Christ in recent months. From finding out that a certain blonde sister tried smoking and driving her daddy's truck at age 13, to a certain brown brother who helped his older siblings in their illegal escapades because his hands were the smallest, I have begun to know the people I worship alongside deeply and honestly. Sure they have foibles, but how awesome is it to know someone inside and out? To know that you can truly depend on someone and that you know the real them. I mean, I have known Stacy for over 8 years, but have now learned more in the last 6 months about her than the rest of that time combined, and how great a gift is that? Stacy is a treasure!

And I know I already said this, but it is a powerful thing to be in a group of people where Donna can say 'What the Hell does that mean?' in response to part of the sermon, which was a VERY truthful response that I am sure many people have wanted to express during the sermon time. Or to have Jeremy Walraven ask one of his really deep questions because he feels like he can! Those are GREAT moments!

7. FAMILY. Let me tell you about family. Family is being allowed to feed jello to Amy Foster after her surgery (she HATES to let anyone help her) - or Anne bringing us dinner when we are stressed out beyond belief - or the joy of watching my children watch Becky Bingham come through the door - or having Betty Nelson as a surrogate mother - or having so many people around who also love your children - or having your best friends fly back from Panama at the darkest hour of your life. Now those are experiences of family.

8. HOME. Lester, Taylor and Caitlyn have all mentioned how much they feel at home, well, in our home. Yet for me I feel the most at home within the safety and proximity of this group of people. Even when Jamie and Jeremy are being robbed once, twice, three times a lady - sorry, couldn't resist :-) - there is the book club showing up at their door, coming to help pack boxes and get the stuff out before anything else can be stolen. And I swear to you, in those moments when their 'home' was being transported down to David and Cindy's house, there was still a feeling of home to me, because we were together, sharing even in the painful moments of life.

9. Youth and wisdom coming together. My children get to have a fun 'kid' song each Sunday. Donna doesn't always want to play along :-), but I will assure you that someday Nathan, at least, will remember doing Church in his home in such a way that he truly was a part of what was happening.

And to have young couples like Jamie / Jeremy, Corey / Deanne and Robert / Sofia, right alongside folks like Betty and Bobby, who are perched on the entrance ramp of their ninth decade on this earth. To have teens like Kara and Becky, as well as 'mature' folks like Jack, Theresa, Bill, Donna, DeeDee and others who have been around people of faith for quite some time now. That is truly a 'community of faith'.

10. To have a community of people that value the arts - from JP's guitar playing to Donna's sewing - to Greg's artwork - to Kate's jewelry - to Kara and DeeDee singing, for all of these and more, I am truly grateful. I was blown away at the response to our little coffee shop night, and I look forward to more opportunities to share as we use all of the avenues God has given us to express ourselves for His glory.

11. Finally (I did say 10-ish!) I am remiss if I do not include my wife, who lovingly cleans our home every week so that we can have house Church and AXIS in her space. She never complains about cooking or cleaning or having so many people in our home, but always plays the role of perfect hostess, even though she now works full-time, and for that I am grateful. I could ask for NO BETTER partner in my life than Amy, and even as we celebrate 18 years together, it get better and richer every year.

So, all that to say, THANK YOU! For being a part of our lives and sharing the blessing of who you are, THANK YOU! And may we all continue to be richly blessed as we seek His face!

Grace and Peace

Ryan

House Church Retreat

Hey, everybody! Hope you are keeping your schedule clear January 8-10 for our upcoming House Church retreat in Dallas. Charles Kiser from the Storyline Christian Community in Uptown Dallas will be coming to share the story of what God has been doing in their recent Church plant. We will also be using different House Church folks to serve as small group facilitators and resource speakers. MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW! Don't allow other things to crowd into your schedule...this is an awfully important event in the life of this little group!

To get a good count, please let me know by December 1st if you plan on going so we have enough hotel rooms. We will be staying at the Springhill Suites in Addison. The price is $50 / person for multiple people in a room, more if you think you snore too badly and have to have your own room! :-)

This price includes lunch and dinner on Saturday, as well as your room and retreat materials (Breakfast is also included in with your room price). We want EVERYONE in our House Church to come, so talk to me if money is going to be a difficulty. We will probably meet to leave Friday around 6pm at our house and head up the George Bush Turnpike to try and beat the traffic. We'll grab a quick dinner somewhere and get settled in at the hotel! Click the picture above to get a detailed schedule you can print off!

Topic for Sunday

Hey, everybody! Hope you are having a great week! Our text(s) for the weekend are going to be from the 19th and 20th chapters of the book of Luke. The first story is from Luke 19:11-27, the Parable of the Ten Minas and the second is from Luke 20:9-19 and the Parable of the Tenants.

These two passages deal with stewardship issues that have been very much in the front of my mind after reading the book for book club entitled 'The Hole in our Gospel.' Hope you will take a chance to read over these texts ahead of time so we can be ready to share on Sunday!

Book Club Schedule

Hey, everybody! I don't know if you are interested in book club or not, BUT I THINK YOU SHOULD BE!

So you would know and could join if you would like, we will NOT meet this next Tuesday, November 24th, but we will meet the 1st, 8th and 15th of December at our house, 6:30-8:00pm. We will be using some video curriculum from Donald Miller during that time, which coincides with his new book, called 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years'.

Taylor Price and I highly recommend this book to you. I think it is the best thing he has written since 'Blue Like Jazz', and a very well constructed book. He makes his case for about 150 pages, and then really jams his point home in the last 100 pages. We won't ask everyone to read it, but would encourage you to at some point.

We will take off the 22nd and 29th of December for the Christmas Holidays and resume on January 5th (no, the NCAA Football Championship game is on the 7th, Bill!). The book we will be reading is called 'Have a Little Faith: A True Story', by Mitch Albom. It is a fairly short, easy read and even better than 'Tuesdays with Morrie', in my opinion. It is a $23.99 hardback book, but currently available from Amazon.com for only $9.95.

Hope to see you on Tuesdays!

I am in love with a hypocrite

He loves both saint and sinner

The life long faithful - the death bed beginner

He loves the tax xollector and the tax evader

He loves Luke Skywalker and he loves Darth Vader

He loves the home of the free and the land of the brave

The poorest of the poor with child labor slaves

He loves those who are both pro-life and pro-war

Just as those who are pro-choice and for elevating the poor

Yes - I am in love with a hypocrite

He loves burnt orange and crimson red

He hooks’ em horns and flips’ em down

He loves the smiles of the victors

And the losers’ tears and their frowns

He loves good guys just as much as the enemy

He loves Steven Spielberg and he loves Ron Jeremy

He loves Obama and McCain and he still loves George Bush

He loves Osama and T. Pain and those who pull weight and kick-push

He loves the raging alcoholic

Just as the man who’s never touched a bottle

He loves the obese who can’t get out of bed

Just as much as the bulimic runway model

He loves left brained analyzers and right brained creatives

He loves immigrants with an accent just as much as the natives

He loves those with bank accounts and those who only fold cash

He loves those dressed in white and he loves Johnny Cash

Yes - I am in love with a hypocrite

He loves the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers

He loves Irish Catholics and the Puritan Quakers

He loves Hip-Hop and he loves Rock’s Roll

He loves salsa - meringue - and R&B soul

He loves Garth Brooks and Stevie Wonder

Myley Cyrus and Jay-Z

He loves Reba McIntyre and the Jonas Brothers

N’Sync and Ice T.

He loves non-supernatural atheists

Just as Christians who live by the Bible

He loves Hindus - Muslims and Buddhists

Simon - Paula and American Idol

He loves communist China just as much as the U.S. of A.

He loves Sarah Palin and he loves Tina Fey

He loves Fidel Castro and Kofi Annan

He loves gumbo and etoufee -- egg drop soup and won-ton

Yes - I am in love with a hypocrite

He loves Dancing with the Stars

And the cow that jumped over the moon

He loves the great white hope Larry Bird

And the black hall of fame quarterback Warren Moon

He loves the Yankees and the Red Sox

The Steinbrenner’s and whoever owns Boston

He loves the Cowboys - and yes - Jerry Jones

No matter how much the new stadium cost ‘em

He loves the overachievers in life

And those who believe c’s get degrees

He loves the man who just won’t stop running

And the woman who prays for him on her knees

He loves Brittney Spears on stage

And Brittney Spears when she’s bald

He loves Michael Vick on the football field

And when the prison guard calls

Yes - I am in love with a hypocrite

He loves the black sheep in the family

And the pink elephant in the room

He loves the immorally tolerant

And the intolerably crude

He loves warm fur coats and the people at PETA

He loves steak and potatoes and vegetarian fajitas

He loves stone builders and those who cast the first stone

He loves Mother Theresa and he loves Sharon Stone

He loves those who sprint and those who can’t walk

He loves the eloquent speaker and those who don’t talk

He loves red-headed pastors and Jewish Rabbi’s

He loves those fervent in the congregation and

those who gossip and tell lies

Yes - I am in love with a hypocrite

He loves both saint and sinner

The life long faithful and the death bed beginner

The only thing he doesn’t like is the sin - but he loves the sinner

The only thing he dislikes is the sin - but he loves the sinner

As a matter of fact - he hates the sin - but he loves the sinner

Therefore - he is NOT a hypocrite - that’s what my ego calls him

He is NOT a hypocrite - though our culture expects him to choose sides

He is NOT a hypocrite - although he loves those we love and

he loves those we hate

Yes - he goes by many - many names - but has only one Son

Neither of them are hypocrites - they merely desire for us to be one.

-- Will Richey, December 2008

I am very proud to say I commissioned this poem from Will for our Advent Service in 2008. I am more proud to know Will and count him as a friend and brother. He is ridiculously gifted and every time we get a chance to do something together, I am always better for it. Many of you have asked for the text to the poem, so here you go!

DOING Church

Ok, so tonight I was with a group of people who DID Church (that's a Bill Akins-ism). The strange part was that we were at UTA when it happened.

A few of us went to a Postsecret event held tonight at the Bluebonnet Ballroom in the University Center at UTA. If you aren't familiar with Postsecret, you can go to www.postsecret.com to see what the phenomenon is all about. It is the brainchild of a man named Frank Warren who invited people to send him their secrets on postcards. Later he created a blog which he still updates five years later with secrets he receives each week. He has also created five books from the postcards, the latest book dealing with issues of death and spirituality. WARNING: some of the messages are R-Rated. They purport to be real secrets and Warren's goal is to create a community for people to be able to truly share what is hidden deep inside of them.

At the event tonight he showed several examples of his postcards and also spoke on his experience of knowing so many of people's secrets. He then opened up a couple of microphones, and allowed folks to share with the crowd!

One young lady spoke of all the love she has to give, and how afraid she is that she will never find that special person to share her love with. As she closed her tearful statement another young lady called out from the crowd, 'Me, too!'. Then from the other side of the ballroom another young lady said, 'I'm afraid of that, too.' Finally, a third lady stood up and shared emphatically that she didn't meet that special someone until she was 37 and so the young lady should not give up hope. It was a beautiful thing, and a powerful evidence of community.

The interesting thing for me was I had this sense (not sure if it was exactly a vision or not) of Christ standing in the middle of this community with arms outstretched, responding to the deep and real hurts people were sharing.

But secretly I wondered...have we in the community of faith offered the same opportunity to people that they were receiving tonight? The opportunity to share things that folks are desperately afraid of, and help them to lay those fears down at the cross? And then I thought, how many folks within our tiny house Church are nursing these same types of secret fears?

How can we help them to see the beauty and truth David speaks about in Psalm 3...I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. To find comfort in God and surround people with a community who refuse to remember your lowest moments.

I want to be THAT people.

Grace and Peace

Ryan

Thanksgiving

Lauren Winner said in her book, Girl Meets God, that she had maybe been truly THANKFUL a couple of times in her life. Not a fleeting moment of thankfulness, but a season of realizing how TRULY blessed we are.

Tomorrow we will focus on part of Luke 17, in verses 11-19, and the story of ten lepers. All ten were healed but only one came back to be thankful to the one who healed them. Jesus asks, 'but where are the other nine?"

Come prepared to share things you are thankful for as we prepare for the season of Thanksgiving we celebrate in this country.

AXIS Retreat

A little video from our retreat in September!