bonfire night

marshmallows were roasted, the fire burned ferociously, the girls played some form of baseball I've never seen; we had some good talks, had a nice visit from some old friends, argued (nicely) about the 6 days of creation, heard a scary story about beach bathrooms, and had a nice sleepy van on the way home...

what was your favorite part?

walk, study, live, go (a mission statement)

Following Jesus is a journey.

And the journey is all about change. None of us wants to stay exactly how we are now and never change! A static life is misery. When you look back at your life, aren’t you glad you’ve been constantly changing? Throughout life, we naturally experience physical change and psychological change. In the same way, God wants us to experience a continual spiritual change. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 says we "are being transformed into his likeness." Jesus is calling us to walk with Him and to allow ourselves to be continually transformed.

Jesus hasn’t called us to this life of transformation without giving us help. He has given us some very important tools to help us along the journey: the Spirit, the Bible, and Community.

These three tools are essential for every follower of Jesus. They are the guides that help us as we continue the journey. The Spirit is our inner guide, always speaking and leading - we just need to learn to listen! The Bible is God’s words to us. It is an awesome gift that we should not take for granted. The third tool is community. A person can walk in the Spirit and study God’s word all by himself, but he won’t fully experience transformation unless it is in the context of community. God made us to live in community. People who isolate themselves end up going crazy. Imagine trying to understand life or God or the Bible completely on your own! Some people try to do that... and we call them psychotic. Community provides the counsel and guidance and protection that we all need as we journey on this path of change.

In this new college and career group, we want to create an environment where you can grow in your understanding of these tools. We want to always start by acknowledging the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and asking Him to guide us. We want to help you learn to study and love God’s word. We want to develope a community that is truly diverse and truly united.
But it can’t stop there! We don’t want to become ingrown and inward focused! We also want to cultivate a community that reaches out and thinks missionally. We want to create opportunities for community service, short-term missions, and helping other ministries.

Please take some time this week to reflect on this mission statement and read the scriptures:

We desire to :
walk in the Spirit - learning to listen and obey (Galatians 5:24-25)
study God's word - allowing it to inform/transform our worldviews (2 Timothy 3:16)
live in community - celebrating our unity in the midst of diversity (Ephesians 4:1-16)
go to the nations - bringing His message of transformation wherever we go (Matthew 28:18-20)

Why is Community Important?

As I've been preparing to lead this new group, one question keeps coming to the front of my mind: "Why is community important?" I know it is important. I know it is part of God's plan. I've experienced the joys and benefits of living in community. But why did God design us as human beings to thrive in community? What is it about community that God is after? As this new "community" begins to form over the summer, I want us all to be asking these questions.

We shouldn't just meet together once a week because it's a good, churchy thing to do. What's the point of that? Then we'd just be having another meeting to go to - another obligatory service to attend. No, we should meet together because as we meet, a community will be developed. Relationships will be forged and renewed. But this brings us back to the question: "Why community?"

I have some ideas about why God wants us living in community, and I plan to share some of those thoughts when we get together next Wednesday. In the meantime, what do you think?

First Gathering Coming Soon!

Our first gathering is on Wednesday, June 13th at 7pm.
We're going to eat BBQ and spend some time talking about the group and getting to know one another better. Please feel free to bring friends!
We're looking forward to it,
Andrew and Brini