Can you see clearly?

A few years ago I caught an absolutely hilarious MythBusters episode where they tested the theory that  it is IMPOSSIBLE to walk in a straight line blindfolded.  They took it to the extreme, used sight canceling goggles, earplugs, etc.  so that no outside influence could affect their ability to find a direction.  And this picture is roughly like what the walkers' paths looked like.

When they interviewed the walkers, each person described in detail how good they felt they were doing, how straight they seemed to be moving, how on target they thought they were. Each was sure they were going to be the exception to the rule.  Wow, were they wrong!   Without the point of reference in focus, guiding them straight, they simply could not stay on course AT ALL.

And that, my friends, is what life is like.  Without an external point of reference we flounder and spin.  I truly believe we each want what is best for ourselves and our families, but I know that people feel at best uncertain about what that actually looks like.  The human tragedy aspect of it is that regardless of how we feel we are on target, our lives end up looking like the picture.  And who wants to reflect on a life shaped like that at the end of their days?!  "I worked too much.  I didn't really know my kids.  I never forgave my father.  I should have spend more time with my wife.  I never did anything of meaning."

The Good News, is that we have a simple and accessible guiding standard in Jesus.  Jesus taught a paradigm-busting set of truths, establishing himself as a model of living that no one in the history of humanity has undone or superseded:  
1. Love God. (Keep your eyes on the Way, the Guide, the King.)
2. Love one another. (Serve and welcome and give.)
3. Do not judge. (Because nobody's perfect - least of all you and me.)

For 2000 years, no one has articulated human excellence better than this. The entire Biblical history is summed up in these. No one has defined right living more clearly or succinctly, and no one has established a better paradigm for our health, well-being, and living a life of blessing.

Ultimately, it is up to each of us.  We are free to roam, free to circle, free to meander.  Or we can make the choice to stay as close to the Way as  possible... and see how He will guide us in living a life we could only otherwise imagine in its richness and blessing.  

See you Sunday at 10! We believe this one hour spent worshiping together will change every other hour of your week for the better.  Invite a friend - you may never know the difference it will make in their life!

Have you had to relocate?

We moved every year or two for over 20 years!  Think of that!  Many of those moves were local as leases came to an end or new home purchases became available.  But regardless of reason, every year or two, we would pack everything up and relocate to a new house or apartment to unpack and call it home.

We laugh sometimes about feeling like gypsys, packing up and deciding what was necessary to keep or get rid of.  It was always in the back of our minds, the need to move it all.  At some point we stopped decorating, donated the wall art, and just settled for something a little more generic.

I guess God was preparing us to be a portable church.  Moving and packing up all the sound equipment, signage, marketing, and food each week has never felt impossible as other veteran portable church leaders described it would.  We just did the work and streamlined as much as we could to make it easier.  

Interestingly, as we live into what having a space of our own, a home for the church is going to feel like and how our work habits will change, I was most struck by the vast difference in how we communicate identity, values, personality than the school building we rent.  Now let me clear, we LOVE the schools that have hosted us so kindly. Concrete block, painted school colors, communicates institutional identity and efficiency to an ever-growing and changing student body.  If we were describing Big Life Community Church and a public school, I doubt there would be many of the same words or phrases used. We are simply aiming for very different targets.

Just like our personal homes communicate our identity, beliefs, taste, and comfort levels, our church environment does as well.  We are so looking forward to describing our creativity, warm personal welcome, passionate belief in redemption, and authentic faith in Jesus through the walls, floors, seating, etc. We are ready to welcome, encourage, and share Jesus in a way that is truly our perspective and that does not need to be tossed on a cart, and packed up in 15 minutes or less!

As Geoff described in his message Sunday, communicating authentically goes to the heart of what church is called to do.  Communicating warmth, safety, and our redemptive faith as a congregation is vital. We are getting really good at doing that one on one and in the portable setting.  Every person you greet and welcome or serve alongside feels that.  However, we believe it is going to be feel radically different - uniquely US - when we are able to do it in our church home as well as person to person!  

Huge progress on the building fund this week!  We are SO excited to get in and get to it!  It's getting closer!!!  Check out the donations rolling in below! Way to go church!!!

See you Sunday at 10!  We believe this one hour a week will change every other hour of our lives.  Invite a friend - you may never know the difference it will make in their life.

"...God longs for our faithfulness in the life He has given us." James 4:5

What a powerful statement.  In the middle of James' rebuke of faulty Christianity, he reminds us of the point of the entire history of humanity; it's the entire Bible in a sentence! God desires with deep and holy longing for us to be faithful inside the life he gave us.

This is so powerful we need to stop and think.  Often we believe we need to make some changes BEFORE we can be faithful. We wish we had different people around us.  We imagine a different job.  We envision different habits, fitness, health...

But God's longing, God's deepest hope for us, is not about different.  It is about now.

Right now, right where you are, how can you be a faith-filled?

According to Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)
Faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hoped for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
 
Faithfulness lives as FACTS that which the senses do not have revealed.  God's part is to be God.  Our part is to believe it as FACT even when we can't feel it or see it.

  So go back to think about your ordinary life.  What God facts can you live right where you are now?

• Can you live peace, patience, and trust in Jesus' name - while DRIVING?  Can you get to your destination without road raging or getting caught up in the negativity Chicago-land - believing as fact that you will arrive unharmed and in the proper time?  (Practicing trust, patience, long-suffering, surrender...)
  
• Can you pray a blessing - even if through clenched teeth - for the coworker or family member who is on your very last nerve - believing as fact that they are placed in your life through God's reasons and holy purposes?  (Doing love, servanthood, blessing, patience, hope, and redemption.)
• Can you operate as fact that God will provide for your financial needs?  Can you live generously and give away some of what God has given to you knowing God has given it and is providing already for all you need? (Living trust, contentment, gratitude, and generosity.)
• Can you be a peace-maker in this season of political enmity? (Being blessed as a child of God.)
  

God's deep, holy desire is for us to live, perceiving as real fact, His goodness, His blessing and providence, His authority over all the things of the earth - in the middle of our ordinary, daily lives - even when our eyes don't see it.

See you Sunday at 10!  We believe this one hour a week will change every other hour of our lives.  Invite a friend - you may never know the difference it will make in their life.