I don’t like this word angst in the context of anything holy. Angst was a word I lived in for so long that it holds a different feeling for me. With angst comes fear, anger, depression, and a whirlwind of emotions.

When I hear the word angst I especially think of punk music. Punk perfected angst against the machine, the suits, the corporations, million dollar businesses, and religion, everything wrong and corrupt with the world. Punk was the way to express angst as a way of life and coming together in unity to fight the good fight. Not this emo-angst crap you see in today’s pop-culture.

So when I read the title Angsty Like Amos I thought, Uh, I don’t think so. Who in the Bible is a punk? This Amos character doesn’t sound so punk and I haven’t been convinced in these 2 hours at Dwell. I was intrigued and annoyed with this all at the same time. When I left Dwell last week I instantly took the word angst and Bible out of the same equation. They could not be together and clearly no one that thought up this clever little name knew what angst meant.

So I dwelled on it for a couple of days. Zach is a punk guy and so is Nick; so why would they use this word - this word that causes me so much emotion - as a Christian term?  

I lamented, picked up the Bible, and read Amos. Well, I’m not going to lie, I didn’t see to much angst in Amos. I saw a devoted follower of God that brought the word of God to all the corrupt people in Israel to change their ways or else. And then it hit me as I took my focus off of the book and put myself into the context to what the story is actually saying.

It’s all angst- and punk-ridden.

I got hit pretty good with the scene as I started seeing Amos’ words more clearly, and I read it as I would read and old punk magazine. I got all emotional when I read it again and I could see the angst, the "sanctified angst" that Zach spoke of last week. I could see the warnings to change their ways before it was too late, before the judgment came.

Really, it’s best viewed as a punk song, and I’m going to do it as angsty as possible for you right now. Here's what the book of Amos might look like stripped down a bit like a punk song... 

Hear this word, people that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say unto their lords: 'Bring, that we may feast. The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: surely the days shall come upon you, that you shall be taken away with hooks, and what’s left with fish-hooks. Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel; because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

Hear this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel. The virgin of Israel is fallen, she shall no more rise; she is cast down upon her land, there is none to raise her up.

Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you say. 

CH: Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

Then answered Amos, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore-trees; and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me: Go, prophesy to My people of Israel. Now therefore hear the word of the LORD:

CH: Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

The Lord said: Smite the capitals, that the posts may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the rest of them with the sword; not one of them shall flee away, and not one of them shall escape.

Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob...

For, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, that say: 'The evil shall not overtake nor confront us...'

CH: Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

By now most of you guys know that Dwell is moving into a new space starting this Sunday, July 4th. The space is on 266 South Champlain St. and our first gathering will be with our sister church, Mosaic.

Something you might not know is why the blog has been a bit dormant of late. It's definitely because of general busyness, but it's also because we are gearing up for a new approach to blogging at Dwell, a community approach.

Pretty soon, several folks at Dwell will be posting to this Tumblr blog: The Daily Missioner. And posts from that blog will be fed directly to the Dwell site. 

And I think that there is something significant about these things, taken together. That something is simply that we are in a time of newness, a season wherein God is highlighting that this Dwell community is a part of the BIG NEW THING that God is doing in the world in general, a new thing called new creation.

Understanding new creation is easiest when you trace it back from it's fulfillment. At the conclusion of the Story, John the Revelator says this:

Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"

That final city, that final earth, that final dwelling place for God and his people, is already being created now, only to be finished then. New space, new blog, new Dwell - all of these small things are signs of the big thing, that we are God's people, newly created by the resurrected and ascended King in the power of his Spirit. We are his new people, and he dwells in the world through us, filling every thing in every way.

Indeed, making everything new, in Burlington and beyond.

In May members of the Dwell Community have been sharing their stories - real-life stories of struggle, life, redemption, love, and resurrection. This is one such story.

SUMMER
Ryan: My first impression of Rachel was reading her testimony. I identified with her struggles and sense of God’s rescuing love. I have heard hundreds of testimonies before, but hers impacted me deeply, even romantically. She was attractive to me, yet we had never met and all I knew about her was that Jesus was now the center of her identity. Our parents had been friends for years and had even suggested that we meet each other, but I brushed it off as another arranged meeting that would be disappointing. I had been praying for a life partner for years and realized that whenever the special woman arrived, God would have to arrange it and make it abundantly clear. Already, Rachel had my attention. When we met on her baptism day, I was even more impressed. She had a maturity that caught me by surprise and an openness that permitted our relationship to be molded.

Rachel: Last summer I spent long periods of time reading devotionals and talking with God. I had just returned to faith and was learning a lot about my identity in Christ. I was also writing my testimony for Dwell Church’s website since I was getting baptized at the end of August. I felt God was opening my eyes to His purpose for marriage and a spouse. I thought a lot about the characteristics I wanted in a husband, and I asked God to bring someone into my life who exhibited these traits.

One night I listened to a message by Allistair Begg on the Book of Ruth. Mr. Begg talked about marriage and how parents generally give good advice on whom their children should date. My parents had mentioned their friends’ son, Ryan Guilfoy, on more than one occasion. But Ryan was 33 yeas old… so I always ignored the idea. (I had decided never to date anyone more than 10 years older than I.) After listening to Mr. Begg’s message, I was reminded of my parents’ comments about Ryan. I remember talking to God and letting Him know they were clearly off the mark with their suggestion. Suddenly I got the impression that Ryan could be just the man I had been praying for. Although the reason wasn’t terribly clear at the time, God placed Ryan’s name on my heart. From then on I prayed for him… and his future wife.

FALL
Ryan: We spoke only briefly at the baptism celebration, but there was a spark of interest for both of us. Our families got together a couple of times in the week following Rachel’s baptism and it was enough to launch our friendship. Just before she left for school, I suggested Rachel send updates so that I could be praying for her. Starting the next day, we began writing letters to each other through email. It was wonderful! We learned so much about one another over that first month. Rachel visited again in October and we confessed our attraction to one another. We began dating! The letter writing continued with a couple of weekend visits in between. At Thanksgiving our families were together for the entire week. One of my favorite aspects of this gift from God is the friendship between our families.

Rachel: I returned to Vermont excitedly awaiting my baptism. I knew Ryan and his parents would be there, but I tried not to think too much about it. I was just excited to express my love and faith towards God at this ceremony. However, while at the ceremony, Ryan was still on my mind. I felt like God was calling him to my attention. We spoke briefly after the baptism and I felt a connection to Ryan I had never experienced before. I got to know Ryan a little more during the week following the baptism. There was definitely a connection between us, but I really wanted to let God orchestrate our relationship if it was His will. Ryan gave me his email address so we could stay in contact while I was at school. I had asked God to put someone in my life to help me stay accountable while I was at school and Ryan was my answered prayer! I emailed him as soon as I arrived in Providence. The first month Ry and I learned a lot about each other and our relationship deepened. I really got to know him and his heart through our correspondence. God showed me that this man He had placed on my heart over the summer was going become my husband. Although I didn’t know how and when this was going to pass, I clung to the promise God had given me.

WINTER
Ryan: Christmas came and with it the undeniable confidence that our relationship was provided and intended by our loving God. Although we had been talking “long-term” since the beginning of our relationship, we finally spoke our love for one another in January. Once I told Rachel that I loved her, it was clear that I should ask her to be my wife. The question was: When and how?

Thank God for a father’s perspective! My dad listened to my thoughts and feelings and encouraged me to move ahead without hesitation. First I wanted to ask Rachel’s father, Brian, for her hand in marriage. And I wanted to do it face to face. Her parents had moved to Texas by then and I was determined to visit them without Rachel knowing. Everything seemed to line up for a quick trip and God protected and honored my travel, including the weather patterns, which seemed to affect all planes except for my flights. Rachel’s parents were thrilled with the engagement plans. (Of course, Rachel still had to say yes!)

After my trip to Texas, I became focused on a suitable ring for my love. I had a beautiful ring that used to belong to my grandmother and I wanted Rachel to have it, but I became caught up with the idea of creating something of my own. I worked with a jeweler to design a new setting. However, on the day before the proposal, I learned that the new ring would not be available. Discouraged, I asked the Lord why He allowed this disruption. He reminded me of the original ring and, more importantly, that He had been the one guiding and providing for our relationship. Unknowingly, I had started to take over with the ring. God lovingly removed the distraction and provided a better solution -- and a restored perspective. On Saturday, February 6th, Rachel and I met early in the morning, just north of Boston and drove to ocean to watch the sunrise. There on Singing Beach I asked the love of my life to marry me.

Rachel: When I returned to Vermont after Christmas, Ryan told me he loved me and I Iet him know that I felt the same. We talked about our future together and getting married. But first, Ryan said he wanted to ask for my father’s permission in person. I knew my dad wasn’t returning to Vermont until my graduation in May, so I looked expectantly towards that time. (However, I prayed that we would be engaged before then!)

In the meantime, Ryan and I decided to meet every Saturday in Concord, NH, which was about half way between Rhode Island and Vermont. Thankfully, I was returning to Burlington for an internship during my final trimester, so Ryan and I would be able to spend a lot more time together.

One week Ryan suggested that we meet in Boston. Ry used to live there and wanted to show me around. (We were also getting a little tired of Concord!). I gladly took him up on his offer. We decided to meet in Woburn and drive into the city together. On the way into town, Ryan announced we were not going to watch the sunrise in Boston but on the beach. The morning was cloudy and cold and I doubted that we would be able to see the sunrise, but I could tell Ryan was very excited about going to the beach. As we were walking toward the water, Ryan handed me a digital recorder and asked me to play it. Over the past months, Ryan and I had had lots of fun recording messages for each other while we were apart. Excited to hear what he had recorded, I pressed “play.”

I heard his voice reading from the Book of Psalms about the sunrise and the ocean. Then he said, “Rachel the sun rises and sets with you.” There was a pause on the recording and then he spoke again. He told me about his trip to Texas and asking my dad if he could marry me. He told me that my dad had said “yes.” The tape recording stopped. I was stunned! I turned to see Ryan drop to one knee. He looked at me and asked, “Rachel will you marry me?” The answer was obvious: YES! Then he placed his grandmother’s ring on my finger…

TODAY
We are so excited for the adventure God has in store and so thankful for all He has done and is continuing to do. Our lives and relationship are His accomplishment and we are in awe!

About 15 minutes ago I finished reading a fantastic book by @PastorChrisSeay called "The Gospel According to Lost". If you know me then you undoubtedly know I'm a Lost fanatic and I've been touting this book for the past couple of months. In the final chapter Mr. Seay tells a story. His friend Kyle, pastor of a church in Waco, TX, was preparing to lead his community in the celebration of the baptism of some young folks at his church. Then tragedy struck and Kyle was electrocuted and killed during the baptismal service. He did not get to preach his message that morning, but his sermon was found tucked away in his Bible. This is what the conclusion had to say:

Live. And Live Well.

Breathe. Breathe in and breathe deeply. Be present. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.

On a crystal clear, breezy seventy-degree day, roll down the windows and feel the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.

If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool autumn day to freeze your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be alive.

Get knee-deep in a novel and lose track of time.
If you bike, pedal hard...and if you crash, then crash well.

Feel the satisfaction of a job well done - a paper well written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well performed.

If you must wipe the snot from your three-year old's nose, don't be disgusted if the Kleenex didn't catch it all...because soon he'll be wiping his own.

If you've recently experienced loss, then grieve. And grieve well.

At the table with friends and family, laugh. If you're eating and laughing at the same time, then you might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then smell. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And taste. Taste every ounce of life. Because it is most definitely a gift.

So let's live, and live well.

Most of you dwellers know this, but I am fond of Twitter. 

Really fond of it.

[Subliminal message: Get an account now.]

I much prefer it over Facebook, which is fast becoming Mombook and is a cluttered mess of irrlelevant information much of the time; Twitter, on the other hand, is lightning-fast, highly relevant and taggable, and generally super informative. It's proclamation aggregation instead of (oft-inane) conversation.

Don't worry, not writing off Facebook, just yet - just stating the preference. To put it simply, I have never been yelled at on Twitter - on Facebook, happens kinda frequently.

I'm writing this on Holy Saturday as I work on the sermon for tomorrow. This whole week has been an awesome time of reflection and contemplation; in fact, I've felt strongly that this week has been an important one for the future of our community (of communities) - and there's been all of the intensity, and even difficulty, associated with something important.

To put it simply, Holy Week is huge, and it has been both a beautiful and serious time for me thus far.

Last night, though, was the first taste of the fruit of this week's labors: the Good Friday gathering. I cannot express how profoundly impacted I was by that hour, by Trevor's poetic account of the Passion, by Josh's ongoing musical genius, by Grant's unbelievable contemplation mix, by all of our wonderful readers, and, all told, by this fresh experience of the death of our King.

By the way, you can grab the audio from last night on the Sermon page, or just subscribe to the feed.

So, Twitter. I found myself tweeting (and sometimes 'booking) Good Friday thoughts all week; and others were doing the same thing. So here are some Good Friday tweets to meditate on this Holy Saturday as we await celebration tomorrow: 

Jared C. Wilson: 

Tim Smith:

Neil Cole:

Nick Hoag:

Len Sweet: 

Me:

And one from Facebook (cuz it exceeded 140 characters):

And finally...

Ed Stetzer:

Here's a little piece from Palm Sunday that I expanded on a bit. I hope it sends you into this week with a hope that enables you to face anything this life has to offer.

"When we look at life and ultimately death – the fact that all of this is going to come to an end for every single person on this earth – our outlook on life starts to change. The reality of death is the primary cause for just about every 45 year-old you see driving a red Miata (and really? A Miata? Wow). Holy self-help books, batman.

Here's a quote from Rick Mckinley of Imago Dei that really resonated with me,

We all, at some point, come to face the reality that life has NO MEANING if resurrection isn't true.

And Jesus came and was raised from the dead to once and for all show us the true purpose of life. Jesus is the point of our lives (whether you believe or not) – and his kingly position does not mean that He's to be a supplement or an add-on (He's not the protein shake you drink between meals – He's the meal). His resurrection changes everything – it means that my outlook on life no longer has to keep ignoring the ending (because that's what we do, we ignore it). We can embrace the fact that in the end, death will not win because Jesus has conquered it for us.

Our God is the God of the living, and His love is stronger than the power of death. This invitation to believe is an invitation to finally live for the purpose you were meant for – The king invites with expectancy, ready to lead you and desirous that you believe and follow. When we put the whole weight of our trust in the resurrection (and we stop holding some of it back for if we get the raise, or if we get the A on the paper, of if we get the girl) we are free from being constantly swayed by our circumstances. We can rest in His finished and completed work, and finally begin to live."

I leave you with, quite possibly, the best "resurrection" scene from any movie.. ever.
And BE WARNED, it starts a bit violent and completely ruins the movie if you've never seen it!

But more on that in a minute..

Before I had totally put my faith and trust in Jesus I was always searching, searching for the thing that would make me happy, that would fill the void and "fix my brokenness" (though I wouldn't have put it that way). Like Jack from 'Lost' says, "I'm broken and I was stupid enough to think this place (the island) could fix me". This is how we all are isn't it? We think the summer-time or the new video game or the car or the girl or the boy or the degree or the career or the house or the money are going to once and for all make us happy, satisfied, and fix us. Even if we don't go around saying that or admitting it, when we're honest with ourselves it's how we live... and all of those things are incapable of making it happen.

This is why Jesus had to come. He came to breathe His resurrection life into our skeleton bones; He came drenched in love, for no other reason than to see us truly alive and reconciled with Him... and His love is stronger than the power of death. In His death and, most importantly resurrection, He has purchased new life for us, true life that surpasses anything this world can offer. Even our unworthiness, though it seems insurmountable at times, pales in comparison to the strength of His resurrection love. It is no match.

Because of who He is and what He's done, because He died and was raised for us, our lives have one purpose - Crown Him, Stand Him Up. Adore Him, love Him, and worship the God-Man who was raised to conquer death for you. His love is specific, it's tangible, it's real, and it was fully realized in His resurrection. When the weight of your trust has been fixed on the resurrecting power of what Jesus has done for you, you can finally embrace the mission and purpose and meaning your life was meant for, even in the here and now, in the daily routine. We aren't here to simply bide our time until we get to heaven - our actions in this life hold much greater worth than we often realize. To 'crown Him' and to 'stand him up' is to join in with creation, the 'everything that breathes', giving our lives to the one who has given us life. Check out this quote from NT Wright:

The point of the resurrection is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die...What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it...What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God's future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether (as the hymn so mistakenly puts it...). They are part of what we may call building for God's kingdom.

Jesus came drenched in love for us. He came to see us go from broken, searching and lost, to found. To see us go from dead and depressed and un-fulfilled to ALIVE, at peace, and one with your creator. Our job is so simple (and yet, so difficult thanks to our pride). All we must do is once and for all put down our walls, open up the gates to our heart, and let Him in. His invitation is always there, His hand out-stretched always.

But of Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people." - Romans 10:21

Even when all we have done with our lives is lived contrary to the way we know we are supposed to and to the way God intended, His hand is still held out, drenched in love, ready and waiting to bring life to our skeleton bones.

I love the Olympics. I love gymnastics in the Summer and figure skating in the Winter. Kind of cliché for a girl to say, I know, but it is true! This year was no exception, as my husband and I would sit down for dinner, we would watch them slide around the ice in glitter and sometimes to bad music. But this year, my attitude was a bit cynical. I never really noticed how many times these talented people would fall. We noticed that after the first fall, they would have trouble nailing the consecutive jumps. And I found myself being disappointed and uncomfortable. Are we demanding too much perfection? Do we demand reality be perfect, and when it fails to be so, can't move on? But the beauty was that those athletes did move on. Failed jump after failed jump they continued. One girl broke my heart as I watched her fall three times, but continue with a smile and determined energy. She finished with a smile but after the music ended her head fell into her hands and she mourned.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians that we as Christians are to run a race. His analogy was perfect, because in his time, that culture had the exact same Olympic games were it ended with an endurance race. The one champion would walk away wearing a crown of pine. The Christian walks away from life with an imperishable crown. Paul says "I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air." How many gold medalist do we watch beat the air when they finish? We are asked by Paul to live our lives with the same focus and determination as these athletes we watch, only our goal is not selfish, but selfless. It is training and it is a daily. But we are not alone, if we look to our right and to our left, we should be surrounding ourselves with others who are running the same race. Support and encouragement come from our Christian community. We can all relate to the doubts that fill our head, fatigue from work and victories in the name of our Lord. We are all to be looking to the same finish line. When we fall down or feel like a failure, God still loves us. It is inevitable that we will fall, but it is the getting back up that counts. 

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

Another favorite moment of the Olympics is the winners ceremony, where the gold medalist sings their national anthem and their flag is raised highest. What song will be playing when we meet our Lord face to face? My guess is Amazing Grace.

When we've been here ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun.

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we've first begun.

I had an excellent conversation with friends this morning over bacon.

I mean, the conversation wasn't about bacon, it was over bacon, like a conversation over coffee.

It was about justification.

Anyway.

We read Romans 3, talked, and then flipped over to Romans 4. And this was striking:

But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

The striking thing was that while Romans 3 - along with the vast majority of evangelical thought - associated justification with the cross, here Paul connects it directly to the resurrection.

Which is mysterious.

Of course, it's really only mysterious if you have a limiting view of justification. You may have heard, but in recent years there has been quite a hubub in evangelical theology regarding the nature and scope of justification. Just what is it, and to what does it pertain?

Better, how far does it go?

I am no pro, but it strikes me as odd that this is such a problem. Now, I know that there are issues regarding the way that some of the newer theology treats the doctrine of imputation - whether the righteousness of Christ, that is, his obedience in life to the law of God, his moral perfection, is credited to our account at the moment of faith, rendering us righteous before the Judge's bench. NT Wright, for one, has presented a different view on this finer point (with which I don't entirely agree).

But if we take a traditional view of imputation (and I think we have to, in light of 1 Corinthians 5:21) and also try to apply the discoveries coming at us in the newer scholarship, what do we get?

I think we get a more-than justification.

It's not that it's more than justification, ya know, as if justification is not enough. It's that justification is more than we thought it was, and not less. That's the kind of justification that this justification is - the more-than kind.

Let's be honest. More often than not, when Paul talks theology in Romans, he also talks about the relationship between Jewish folks, Gentile folks, and the new folks called the church. If we talk justification and don't talk about that, we are not talking about justification the way Paul did.

Why are justification and the bringing together of Jewish community and Gentile community into a new community so directly connected? It's because justification is as relational as it is judicial.

Which brings us back to the mystery.

When Paul adds, with brilliant nonchalance, that Jesus was "raised for our justification," he means that justification would not be effective without the resurrection. He means that justification is not merely about the vicarious satisfaction of judgment through the blood of atonement; it is about the vindication of the Son.

Because in the resurrection, the Son is vindicated as the Son, and raised to his proper relational position before the Father.

(See, God's a Father, not just a Judge.)

At Dwell, we've been studying the Story of the Lost Son. After spending his trust fund on the equivalent of a Vegas binge, the son realizes that he is no longer good enough to be called the father's son. Yet upon his return, something amazing happens:

But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.

I think this is the more-than picture we need to really get the doctrine of justification by faith. Justification is not merely right-standing before the Judge and a pardon from punishment; it is rather a resurrection and reinstatement unto full sonship in the family of God. This is what happened to Jesus, the firstfruits, when he was raised from the dead - sin could not separate him from the Father, the relationship had to be restored. His righteousness cleared him, and the Father vindicated him by raising him up to his right hand.

Likewise, by faith in Jesus and not by works, we are raised to full sonship in the Father's house, even though we don't deserve it - we are never good enough, but Jesus was, and we are in him.

Incredible!

And the more amazing thing is this: Justification means right relationship with the Father as sons and a restored place at the family table - that is, in the new community, the church. Justification means that through Jesus we are all raised to life in the kingdom of God, Jewish folks and Gentile folks alike, male and female, slave and free, because there is no distinction.

Justification means that the walls of religion, gender, ethnicity, and social status have been destroyed! All can be brought back to perfect relationship with the Father and unmatched community with one another!

And as we are reconciled to the Father and into his community, we are also sent to be about the business of reconciling others...and the world. Justification is the fact that we have been made right through Jesus, in a community of those who have been made right through Jesus, who are about the Father's work of right-making in the world through Jesus.

And that's more-than.

[Zach is the Leader for Teaching at Dwell. You can check out Zach's personal blogging at http://thenuance.tumblr.com.]

We are not meant to be self-sufficient - life in community is a better life than one of isolation. - @PastorChrisSeay

As Zach has said in the past, Dwell's origins were found in homes - homes filled with people who genuinely loved Jesus and loved each other. We have continually seen that God does not want us to "go it alone"; just as He is a community (the 3-in-1), so are we to simply 'be' community - engaging each other relationally, preferring each other over ourselves and our own needs, carrying each other's burdens, and simply doing life together as He directs our steps.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. - Acts 2:42-47

As the Dwell community has grown, our desire for this close-knit feeling of community has only intensified. We currently have 3 intentional hangouts each week called Dwell/ings; this particular Dwelling happens every Tuesday night at 7:30pm in Burlington. We talk together, eat together, laugh together, encourage each other, pray with and for each other, and open up our Bible's together in hopes that God will meet us where we are and lead us forward as one, unified community - and that is exactly what He does.

I no longer want to see people choosing to go it alone, choosing a worldly, cavalier “freedom” that masquerades as liberty but actually isolates them from the full provision of God’s grace. - @jimhoagvt

I feel so blessed to have been 'grafted in' to this amazing gospel community and cannot wait to see how God shapes us and uses us for His Kingdom in the future. If you ever want to become a part of what God is doing at Dwell here in Burlington please contact us and we will make sure it happens.

As many of you know, our friends at Divine Ministries Orphanage in Haiti are located in the city of Port Au Prince. We knew they were effected by the earthquake but we did not know to what extent. Today, God has answered our prayers. We received notice that not one of the family, staff, or children in Daniel Jean's care was killed or injured. Here was Zach's response:

I am weeping as I write this, and I must give thanks. God, you are astounding in your redemptive grace - light in darkness, light in darkness, light in darkness. We believe you will preserve this family - Lord help our unbelief. "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever." Amen.

God's goodness to Daniel and his children in the midst of this horrific tragedy gives us hope that He is still working and moving and faithful even though the situation seems so bleak. Seemingly negative things that have been happening at the orphange recently (such as not being able to acquire a house adjacent to their home) now can be seen as the gracious hand of God as that house was flattened. We are taking a special offering at Dwell tomorrow night so please be praying about how you can help.

Here are some additional on the ground prayer requests from Daniel:

1) Daniel says to just stay in prayer.  EVERYONE he meets is on their knees, confessing Christ Jesus as Lord, repenting, and coming to know Jesus as their Savior.  This is a Revival that is unimaginable, happening in the most unexpected and undesired circumstances.  When humbled and "ruined" to this level, it seems that no one is left unwilling to recognize their own need for someone to rescue them!

2) Pray for basic necessities: There is no food and water.  Everyone is desperate... but as Daniel's Faith of Christ has taught us over and over, he simply said over the phone "I am believing God for everything we need, and I am already thanking Him for providing it."  He adds to that "I believe God to keep us safe, and Jesus saves us.  Not one of my kids is lost!"

3) Shelter and Safety: they are living out on the street unprotected against the desperate and despairing all around, have no home, no possessions, and are in a situation worse than a war zone.

4) The injured: perhaps more pressing than the dead in the streets are the injured.  He mentioned some with ghastly injuries that are in torment now, with no one to re-set bones, bandage open wounds, even apply an antibacterial ointment let alone pain killers for severe injures (many crushed arms and legs- or even lost).  They have NOTHING.  We prophesied an outbreak of the Spirit's gift of healing, that miracles would abound as human capacity dwindles to zero.

5) The dead: they are everywhere.  There is immediate grief all around them, shock, horror, and stench.  Their is no capacity now to bury the dead.  Daniel said "I never even imagined I would see this with my eyes.  So many people cry out... they have lost their wife or kids."  It is beyond description.

6) Sickness: Pray against the outbreak of sickness from these bodies, injuries, lack of nutrition, and most of all the lack of water.  This has the potential to claim more lives than the earthquake.  Lord, send intervention before more are lost!

Let us join hands in prayer for this situation and believe that God is at work as He has already proven He is. Thank-you Jesus.

When I woke up this morning I had a feeling of dis-belief. I kept thinking about how amazing our community is and how awe-struck I am at the goodness of God. I love you all and hope these pictures from our recent gathering on 01/10/10 (taken by Dweller Redmond Deck) will encourage you to think on the unique and important part that you play in this amazing community called Dwell.

"..from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." Ephesians 4:16

I realize there's been a blog shortage of late, so here are excerpts from the writings of two other dwellers, Jim Hoag and Trevor Rushford. Both are bits about community, and both are about what community might mean for us in 2010:

First, Jim Hoag:

Part of true Christian vision, especially in this coming year, is to see Christ-transformed people transformed into a people, and so transform the world. Many evangelicals have missed that middle term. For some reason much of the the church was not seen as a foretaste of a new society; but rather as a club for the new individual. Yet we were made for relationships where, as believers, we could welcome the "whosoever" and become deeply engaged and shaped by a loving, social reality called the church. Here would be the entering wedge of the Kingdom of God into larger society.

I no longer want to see people choosing to go it alone, choosing a worldly, cavalier "freedom" that masquerades as liberty but actually isolates them from the full provision of God's grace. Instead, this year, I see a group of people gathering to encourage each other in the common task of seeing God's kingdom embodied and embedded in their work, in their families, in their towns, in their recreation; in the "midst". This gathering is ekklesia; it is biblical community, a foretaste of the new heaven and new earth. By grace this community accepts people where they are but by that very same grace, encourages them not to remain as they are. (Without getting too complicated, this evolves as people are identified in community and realize who they are in that context). And this is powerful because its power is centered on living out the Gospel. It will be relevant to its world because it lives the life of the kingdom in the world, not apart from it. Let 2010 bear witness to the growth, increase, influence and impact of true, genuine, biblical community.

And Trevor:

2010 and my main focus: A Relational Community - Not just a community.

I want to focus on a relational community where I actually care about my neighbors and not just have them. I want to be more involved with everyone in my life. I want them to see me for me for the first time in my life. Sure, they've seen the broken and messed up me for so long, that the real me maybe a bit of a shock to them. With this new found love for God and Jesus, it scares some people in different ways and it even scares me. I mean, I hated religion and God up to about a year ago and hear I am professing my undying love for him. I'm worlds apart from myself already and it's overwhelming.

So what and how am I going to obtain my goals for 2010? I have set out a clear blue print of what I want to do this year and all the events I have planned out and I left time for the unplanned, the spontaneous events that will most certainly come up. There are no real guidelines per say on what I'm trying to accomplish, I guess I just want relational stories, memorable stories, and a kinship with my fellow brothers and sisters. And why wouldn't I want that? That's what Jesus wanted and achieved on an enormous level, and that's a part of what his legacy has been all along.

I have always had a lot of people in my life and some real strong relationships along the way and they were the real deal. I want to achieve these relationships through Jesus now. With out having to knock down my walls to get through to someone else's walls.

Happy new year, everyone.

It's weird.

I've never really used the word "Advent." Never had a reason to.

If you didn't grow up Catholic or maybe Lutheran or something, you probably don't use it either. It's "Christmas" in the evangelical world. Christmas. Sure, there might be an Advent calendar or an Advent wreath, but those are just traditions, odd ones at that, and the real show, the real thing worth getting excited about is Christmas.

But I'm excited about the word Advent this year, and I've been using it a lot, especially when I talk at church and even when I pray. And there are a couple of reasons for this.

Here's Reason #1. It's different. That's lame, I know, but I like the word and I'm using the word first and foremost because it's different. And so using a different word makes me think about the season differently. And that's good. I'm viewing the season through a new lens.

A church out in Portland came up with this thing called Advent Conspiracy which is all about viewing the Christmas, I mean Advent, season a little differently. At Dwell, we've gotten excited about this mainly because part of our mission as a community is to engage those in deepest need, just as Jesus has engaged with humanity's deepest need; and AC fits that part of our mission, like a glove. Christmas is about giving? Then certainly it is about giving even outside of family and community lines to those on the highways and in the hedges of life.

Next Sunday, we'll donate the entire offering to help fund a clean-water well in the developing world (because nothing is more necessary than clean water) and to meet needs at the Jean's orphanage in Haiti. The minimum we will donate is a thousand dollars. Can you get some money in the box next week to put it over a grand?

And here's Reason #2. This one's easy. I love Christmas so much because I love Jesus so much. And Advent reminds me, whenever I say it, that Christmas is so wonderful because Jesus is so wonderful. Let me explain...

"Advent" is from the Latin "adventus" which means "coming"; Advent is the season when the Church celebrates the first coming of Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. It is a season in which we relive the anticipation of men and angels leading up to that day in Bethlehem when a Savior was born, a King in a nasty barn, bundled up in a feeding trough. And we relive it because we want to remember and not forget - we don't want to become numb to the fact that the world lay hopeless and enslaved and oppressed and exiled and dark before light and love and hope burst forth in the birth of this baby; that no one had seen God, and for 400 years no one had heard God, and then suddenly God was HERE, God with US, God become flesh, moving into our neighborhood!

How incredible this is! How incredible that God became man to identify with me, to identify with me all the way down to the gutter of life, all in order to rescue me from the slavery of my sin and myself, to redeem the world from the effects of all sin, to bring in a new kingdom of justice and peace.

Reliving this is remembering the meaning of gift: that Jesus emptied himself of all that was due him as the Son of God to live the life I could not live, die the death I should have died, and thereby give me life now and forever by his sheer grace; that he broke down the walls to seek and to save the lost and create a whole new society of reconciled reconcilers who now live to make him known by doing the things he did.

And that is why I love Christmas. That is why I love Christmas carols and Christmas trees and Christmas presents and Christmas stockings and Christmas cookies and Christmas breakfast, because all of it is celebration of and representation of The Gift.

Advent means that it's all about Jesus. All about the fact that he came. And that he came to us.

So this year, for me, Christmas is Advent.

Or maybe, Adventmas.

Merry Adventmas.

The Aims of Jesus: Gutsy Table Fellowship
I want to focus on Jesus' habit of table fellowship with sinners. The religious avoided at all costs table fellowship with the irreligious. It was considered immoral to be at table with sinners. But Jesus' meal-time practice shattered all religious and social order. His blatant fellowship made a powerful impression and ignited some of the fiercest opposition. This was eating, mind you.

But it was different than even John the Baptist's method. Jesus maintained revolutionary contact and communion with sinners. John required repentance/ conversion first, then communion. Jesus radically (what a pastor!) reversed the order: communion first, then conversion! What was Jesus doing? He fitted his practice to His proclamation. The kingdom of God is here and whoever wants to can enter it...now. All who were considered unblessed (unfit) were now considered blessed: the poor, the tax-collectors, the social riff-raff and maginalized. How can the words of Jesus take on incarnate shape? At His table! Jesus considered his table fellowship a foretaste of the great banquet where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will dine.

Amazing Grace...How Sweet the Taste!
Jesus believed that welcoming grace had inherent power to generate repentance/conversion. Certainly Zacchaeus is Exhibit A. The grace of God named Jesus initiated communion with Zacchaeus and we know the result. Jesus' mission valued reconciliation both with God and with man. Jesus lived that reconciliation in grace. Were Pharisees and the religious elite welcomed to Jesus' table? Yes, of course; it was a table of grace. Yet the elite, for ethnic, moral and religious reasons refused the table and considered Jesus a blasphemous, rebellious trouble-maker. Oh, had they known.

So What?
Well, many have turned evangelicalism into a new form of Pharisaism by demanding repentance first and then, only then, is communion (at the table) legitimate. How we can do this in the face of Jesus' message and meal-time habits is difficult to fathom...

This Christmas, maybe all of us can set up some sort of "table", a revolutionary table, set up intentionally for the disenfranchised, those of the back alleys, the highways and hedges; those on the outside looking in.

[You can check out more of Jim's stuff at his blog, MissionNow.]

For as long as Dwell has been in existence, we have consistently gathered together in homes for friendship and spiritual conversation. We've just felt, instinctively maybe, that this is how community works - not just in a building once a week, but day to day, house to house, coffee shop to coffee shop.

As our Sunday gathering has grown, God has given us a vision for dwell/ings - a collection of smaller weekly gatherings that act as both a community enhancement for folks who join us on Sundays and a missional opportunity for our friends and neighbors outside of the church. For a while, we had a Tuesday dwell/ing going on at Border's bookstore downtown, and that was fun; and there was another one on Wednesday happening at our old Sunday gathering spot, Kids Alive.

But by God's grace, things are expanding.

Starting this month, the dwell/ings number three, two of which are in Burlington, and one of which is actually up NORTH - in Milton. And there's a reason for that. The reason is because this summer a guy named Trevor decided that he would follow Jesus, that he would leave behind the old self and embrace the new self in Christ because, really, that's who he was always meant to be. He got baptized. He and his wife Sunny came into covenant. And they live, with little Gavin and Chloe, in Milton.

Because the kingdom of God is present and real and growing, Trevor was talking all about Jesus and Dwell with his friend Jac, who told her friend Harold at work who happened to be a follower of Jesus, too. Harold and his awesome wife Nicole came to Dwell and soon came into covenant. Harold and Nicole live in Milton, too.

Now, Dwell/ing North is my dwell/ing, so I'm a little partial. It's amazing. It's incredible. Each week we eat food (a lot), laugh (a lot), and chat about what we've been reading in Don Miller's latest; we pray for each other and encourage one another and talk about how to build a better story and redeem our city and redeem the world.

But the point is that whether you live in BTV or up North, you are welcome to join us in doing life together, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the way Jesus and the early church did. It's a bro-down and a sis-down that is nothing less than beautiful because it's all a part of this wonderful thing called the kingdom of God.

[Follow Zach and Trevor on Twitter]

It was a job all about color, and color was a main part of what I loved about design and being creative. Color says so much, it communicates on a whole other level, just like God. Colors have cultural meanings, historical meanings, can be "on trend" or passé, and communicates with no words. And in the last three years, I have learned more about the language of color. Such as red means passion or danger, blue means calm and serene, yellow is warm and happy, white is pure and clean, black is impure or moody. The human eye can take in and recognize over a million colors. There are different levels of complexity of eyes in various organisms, the simplest "eyes", such as those in unicellular organisms, do nothing but detect whether the surroundings are light or dark. Lightness and Darkness, good and evil, pure and impure are main themes that run through out the entire Bible.

Paul relates the gospel to light in 2 Corinthians 4: 1-6: he says

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not loose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, buy by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the gods of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of God should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Light is detected by our eyes and it allows us to see beautiful colors. Our eyes are either symbolically full of light or full of darkness. Opened or closed.

So as we come into worship, we should have a singular heart and opened eyes for Christ Jesus alone, and know that His light shines into this world, opening blind eyes to see his truth and reveal the saving gospel of peace, giving hope here and now.

I love this lyric by Switchfoot: "The shadow proves the sunshine."

In the summer of 1994, at the ripe old age of 10, I was sitting in the family living room watching MTV (like all good Christian boys do). A song came on (this was back when there was this thing called "music" on MTV) and I was in awe. I had never heard a song like this before. It was fast, it made my heart beat faster, it made me smile, it just flat out got me pumped about life. The song? Basket Case, courtesy of Green Day. I had never heard this thing called "punk" before and when I heard this song I was truly never the same again. Something about it struck a chord in my heart... this was it, this was how music was supposed to be, this was how it was supposed to make a person feel... it just felt geunine.

Webster's definition of the word genuine is simple - "Not Counterfeit; Authentic".

Makes sense I suppose.. but for me, it goes beyond that. When I encounter something truly genuine - be it a song, or a person, or a perfect summer day, or a truly great movie, or a kiss from my wife at the exact moment when I need it most - I feel it's a glimpse. A glimpse of the world we are all longing for; the world we know should exist, the world every human being on earth is searching for, but can't find because it's been cracked, broken, and torn to pieces (thanks to us). When I encounter something genuine, my heart feels whole, I'm filled with hope, and I usually can't stop smiling or can't stop crying, one or the other.

So, back to the trip. Here I was, on this fateful "bachelor bro-down" trip to Jersey, the very place I fell in love with punk rock. I was with my best friend on this earth, and we were going to a punk rock show. We weren't trying to do what brothers are supposed to do before one gets married, we weren't trying to listen to cool kid music to be...cool. We were simply being who we truly are - two dudes who love Jesus and love Punk Rock.

And let me just tell you, it was amazing. It was one of the greatest days of my life. Multiple times that day I saw authenticity. I saw guys playing music, not to make a lot of money or to get recognized by a label, but because they loved it. Plain and simple.

The Bouncing Souls were one such group. Their tattered and torn Marshall amps were a perfect picture of what they are all about. They've never made the crazy money, never been on MTV, never been very popular, but they are doing what they love, for the people who love them, and it shows. The lead singer came out into the crowd and shook probably 100 kid's hands as he sang. These kids were why he was out there. He was why I drove 6 hours in the pouring rain and stayed in some doo-drop inn off of route 46. And he knew it and was grateful and gave it his all, not for himself, but for the people. It was flat-out genuine.

Don't believe me? Take a gander at these lyrics, imagine the most perfect punk rock chords behind them, and then you might start to see it:

I've met some people along the way,
Some of them split some of them stay,
Some of them walk some walk on by,
I've got a few friends I'll love till I die

From all of these people I try to learn,
Some of them shine some of them burn,
Some of them rise some of them fall,
For good or bad I've known them all

We live our life in our own way,
Never really listened to what they say,
The kind of faith that doesn't fade away
We are the true believers
We are the true believers

In retrospect, that trip was a huge pivot point in my life. Not only was I about to get married, but on the trip down Zach and I talked about this bible study thing we were doing and how it had truly become our church. How maybe it was time to just call it that and go for it. That maybe it was time to recognize what we had known in our hearts for some time - that this was the most genuine and authentic expression of Jesus and His community that we had ever experienced. It wasn't forced - we weren't doing it because we had to - we were doing it because it brought us closer to Jesus than we had ever been before, because our relationship with our creator was flourishing in the midst of this community of Jesus followers that we were simply 'doing life' with. We had experienced the opposite, the Christian life that's built on rules and regulations, on behavior and how you dress, and we were never going back.

It is my sincerest belief that this is exactly what Jesus lived, died, and was raised for. He died to bring us back - back to the relationship that Adam had in the garden, where everything was "right", where everything was as it is supposed to be; man walking with God in perfect harmony. He didn't leave his home in heaven and come down to us to tell us to try harder and to clean up our acts. He came to fulfill and redeem the one relationship in our lives that will never disappoint and will forever fill that hole inside all of us. To put this world to rights in the most mind-blowing way possible. By dying for us. By rising from the dead, conquering sin once and for all, and ascending to Heaven, to sit on his victiorious throne forever as a sign and seal that it is finished. Like Josh prayed on Tuesday, he is the "Defender of our Hope", and he will defend it to the end (Matt. 28:20, Heb. 10:11-14, Rom. 8:38-39).

When I encounter the "genuine" in my life it always brings me back to Jesus. It's like a giant flashing arrow pointing right back to Him. When I saw the genuine in Greg of the Souls that day, I saw Jesus. I could see the desire in the kids that we were reaching out to him for the genuine and I could see the desire in his eyes to produce the genuine. And yet punk rock and the bouncing souls can't quite do it can they? They're still just fallible dudes in a fallible world. They can't save all those kids from the depression and anger they all harbor inside, no matter how much they'd like to. This is why Jesus came. If we could do it on our own, then there was no need for Him.

These little moments in my life have become reminders, and rather than fizzling back down into depression and sadness, these moments now lead me directly into the arms of my Savior, who has secured a place for me and has forever filled that hole in my heart. The result? A desire for a continued, authentic relationship with Him and the people around me. A desire to walk with Jesus as my best friend, to recognize Him as the only true savior this world has to offer, to take Him at His word, to believe everything He has placed in His perfect scriptures, and to to give every last breath I have to seeing His name proclaimed on this Earth and lives changed because of it.

I am so blessed to be a part of this community and the people in it. May we all keep our eyes focused on Jesus, never wavering, and enjoying every genuine moment along the way.

- - -

Without further ado, here's a video from that day courtesy of the offical dwellChannel on youtube (keep your eyes peeled on it for more vids to come!)

Quick Disclaimer: I was not going for perfection with my little flip video camera that I smuggled into the joint. It's messy, the sound is rough, and I got banged around the entire time...but how often do you get to see big pastor Z scream his head off at a punk rock show?!

---------------

deconstruction, pt. 1

Not sure if anybody has heard Regina Spektor’s song “Laughing With”, but it’s been making the rounds in the evangelical blogosphere of late, and I caught a glimpse a couple weeks ago. And I like it, a lot.

It actually reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend yesterday. The thought I got after the conversation was, Deconstruction. We Christians are in the business of deconstruction now. Because when you think about it, what most folks believe about God and the church and Jesus and the faith called Christianity is largely or at least partly a strawman, a caricature, an imbalanced broadstroke of one-dimensional summation incapable of getting the nuance – the truth that’s all in the emPHASis.

Our conversation went kind of like this:

Do you think this or that lifestyle is wrong or sinful?

Well, yeah, but the question becomes what you mean by sinful. If by sinful you mean “bad,” as in “those people who live that lifestyle are bad,” as in “we people who don’t live that lifestyle are good,” then you don’t have a biblical understanding of sin. That understanding of sin works fine if you are looking for a religion of moralism, but not if you are looking for a redemption-spirituality like Christianity. And that’s just it – the religions of the world are generally about defining what’s bad and what’s good and doing your darndest to be on the good side (as Nick explained well last Sunday, check the podcast). And Christianity is about redemption.

The wholiness of God (missp. intentional) brings with it the implication that anything less than his wholiness is incomplete, broken, lacking, missing the mark. Most people say, “I’m not perfect, I’m just human” and by this they mean that they are not whole like God is whole but instead they are fractured, a cracked Eikon as Mr. McKnight would say. They fall short of the perfect design, fall short of the sheer glory of God. And in a whole biblical-theological sense, that’s sin.

The other piece to consider in this equation is brought out nicely by the song:

But God can be funny At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they’re about to choke

Is it crazy to say that God hates sin or sinners? Is it crazy to imagine a God of wrath? Because this is the way most traditionalist, conservative evangelical types present God, at least when they “begin” their presentation. The reason strong, pulpit-based, political campaigning against gay marriage or abortion seems justifiable to some Christians is because God hates sin, and he intends to judge sin, and so making public the anger and judgment of God towards sin is a good thing, they say, perhaps even “preparing” one for the gospel message of Jesus’ forgiveness. The problem here is that the longer one lingers in the anger and judgment of God – and evangelicalism has been lingering for over 20 years in its culture-warring and politicizing position – the more forgiveness becomes overshadowed, secondary, and even superfluous to a good-guy moralistic subcultural movement.

And this is American Evangelicalism as we know it.

I want to coin a phrase at this point in the diatribe, and it might be completely unoriginal. It’s this: the Preceding Love of God. This is my understanding of the gospel, and it runs somewhat counter to the modern evangelical version which is based on the old pseudo-Reformation Law-then-Gospel method (popularized in recent days by Todd Friel and the uber-annoying Way of the Master gang).

In my opinion (for what that’s worth), Preceding Love is the biblical emphasis to which the Christian church must return, by and large, if it is to properly represent Jesus in the next century. I think that Preceding Love is the heart of the Christian faith and presents the antidote to the culture-warring false gospel.

To begin, instead of focusing on a broken-moral-code understanding of sin, a Preceding Love emphasis takes as its starting point creation and Fall, not Sinai and Law. Only when creation and Fall are properly seen as the fountainhead of sin can Sinai and Law be properly understood as contributing to and exacerbating the preexisting problem of sin (which is exactly Paul’s understanding of the Law’s [or the Torah's] weakness according to the flesh and its sin-increasing tendency, cf. Ro. 7). And I like to locate God’s fundamental response to man’s rebellion against him not in Joshua (where God deals militarily with pagan nations in Canaan) or in the Prophets (where God deals militarily with his own nation Israel), but in Genesis 6:6-8, where God prepares to deal with humanity in general directly through the hand of nature:

And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with the preceding love of God since it seems to directly precede judgment. But look carefully and see God’s heart: Very early on in human history, after mankind broke his relationship with God and began to worship creation instead of Creator (Ro. 1), thus allowing brokenness to enter all his relationships, the Lord was so grieved (NIV: “his heart was filled with pain”) that he considered stopping this downward spiral before it got any worse. What we see here is not some capricious pleasure in punishing immoral lawbreakers, but rather an emotional moment of decision where God could have prevented what is surely now the most tragic series of events one could imagine: human history itself.

For one thing is beyond debate: Human history has been nothing short of a death-machine.

Yet in this Creator’s heart, there was a deep-seated unwillingness to end it; and this is the place, in the crisis moment of God surveying human sin and destruction in the early days of history, that I think we can locate the genesis of his preceding love.

Since God did not, in fact, end it all in the Great Flood but rather purged the young world of desperate evil in hope of a better future, promising never to do it again, then everything after, and certainly everything in our own 21st century experience, is marked decisively by his preceding love.

Even our existence is owed to the fact that he loved first and did not prolong his judgment.

(We love because he first loved us.)

We call these visits "Blessing Nights", and they include bringing a meal for the guests at the Shelter, bringing other items that the guests might be needing that month, and having a time of singing and spiritual conversation to encourage the guests. The pictures above were taken at our September Blessing Night, during the music time, which was awesome.

If you are interested in attending the October Blessing Night (Friday October 30th), please contact us. We'd love to have you join us!