The Blog Archives for Dwell Missional Church in Burlington, VT
dwellArchives
- August 2010
- July 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
twitterFeed
dwellTags
DwellBlog Archives: September 2009
No Podcast This Week
Ya know, it's funny how the Lord works.
I am beginning to realize that he has been teaching me something over the last few weeks, and that "something" is how there is a limit to my own ability - there is a thick concrete ceiling above my head when it comes to fixing things and making things right and pulling things off in my own strength.
Which I tend to try to do.
A lot.
Take this past Sunday for instance. I arrived early at the church, as usual, to get everything set up just so and to make sure the technology was all dialed in. As we set up the projector we realized that the power cord for the laptop was missing - it was on a couch watching football, no doubt, about 45 minutes away in Bolton. Nick, the hero of the evening, raced deep into the boondocks to retrieve the cord (going only the speed limit of course, as you would expect from a leader at Dwell).
We began our music time without projection and lyrics, and it was...wonderful. Incredibly, people poured into the space and seemed to melt right into the worship in progress, and voices were as loud as ever. You might even say that when the cord arrived with Nick 15 minutes later, and lyrics lit up the screen, there might have even been a decline in the atmosphere and mood. It was oddly less...special.
However, with the big white square lit with images, all seemed right with the world. Techbuggery would not foil our plans for the rest of the evening.
Or so I thought.
Until I went to edit the recording tonight.
Alas, sound/recording system snafoos abounded in the very sad excuse for audio from Sunday's gathering. And now I am blogging.
I wonder if my frustration at the editing controls (i.e., my macbook) tonight are any indication of a complete misplacement of all perspective and focus, if but for a moment; and alas, I hear a little voice whispering, "Yes." Look back, look back now, two days ago - what happened?
Well, I'll tell you. A miracle happened. 50 people from all kinds of backgrounds and cultures and subcultures and families and tribes gathered in a little old Methodist church because the Holy Spirit is doing a work in our day, a work that he began during a Pentecost feast some years ago, a work that continues against all odds, in 2009, in Burlington, VT. And what is that work, you ask?
Well, I'll tell you. It is the gospel work that began when Jesus split time in two by conquering that enemy called death and inaugurated a new era in which men's hearts would be brought near to God like never before and into his program for reconciling the world to himself. It is the work, the miraculous work, of the Spirit called the kingdom of God - the church.
There is no miracle on earth more beautiful than the church. Jesus died to save her after all, and he will bring his kingdom in its full glory someday to accompany his eternal union with her.
And so a podcast suddenly seems not so big-deal-ish.
And neither do my petty attempts at controlling outcomes and ordering events and generally pulling things off. Because the point is that I learn my weakness in lieu of his strength. The point is that I learn, as we read on Sunday, to approach his throne boldly for help in time of need, and to realize that there is such sublime blessing in the approaching.
Glimpse of Community
This is a post from my dad's blog MissionNow, and something he shared in our call to worship this week. It impacts me everytime I read it! So here it is, from Jim Hoag...
---------
I want to throw out some thoughts on a "worshiping community." Worship is huge. And it includes coming together as community to recalibrate around Jesus. To me it's equivalent to an event- a transforming God encounter. As I said last week, I have an increasingly greater appreciation for community. I also mentioned a kind of early intuition that 2010 was going to be a radical year for Dwell Missional Church. I believe the genuine "ethos" or life force of this community - the timely and necessary distinction this community brings to the mix - will continue to unfold and fill out more of its sphere of influence. And all of it flowing out from relationship with Jesus under the influence of His grace. Here is where Jesus is shaping community. How incredible is it that the church, unleashed as community, is the means of grace by which God chooses to express Himself (Eph.3:10)? I mean, even after you leave a community gathering, there is this profound, unbreakable, and mysterious continuity of it by which Christ is present (Eph.5:32). Dwell then becomes community in the greater community; a community testifying not of itself but as the Message Bible says, "opening up our lives to others, prompting people to open up to God..."
As we approach 2010, I believe greater understanding is coming about the way in which we inhabit community and move out from it; that is, understanding about the way of living in and out of the reality that God is forming - "which is His body." I love the body metaphor because with it you get a picture of this radical, living, anatomical connectedness. Though sometimes messy, there is this relational supply between the parts. It's this uncanny interaction between strengths and weaknesses. It's not the externalized or mandated "love of the brethren" stuff of religion, but the outflow of relationship with God that in some way actually accomplishes the work of grace.
As I said awhile back, we come together as community in worship to "reboot" - getting our "software" in sync with the "hardware" of God's Word and in fellowship with one another. This re-orientation around Jesus changes everything and empowers our witness. Why? Because "in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and all the riches of spiritual knowledge."
Lastly, Paul tells us,"Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it" and that we "are parts of His body-of His flesh and of His bones." I don't want to "time-share" in that, where I retreat now and then when life is getting a bit hectic. No, I want to live in that "body" reality, drenched in the Gospel, under His divine influence. See, in community, the grace Jesus brings to His followers and what they become by it is incredible! Between the Son of God "made flesh" and His Church, there is, again, this profound, unbreakable and mysterious connection by which He is present. This presence of Jesus (not just some vague "presence") is the reason for our joy. What better reason to gather in community and worship Him as community?
What is the Gospel?
I threw this video up on the Story page. Let me know what you think.
Announcing: a new Dwell/ing
Jim and Bobbi Hoag will be leading a new dwell/ing every Wednesday night, starting tonight! Here's the downlow from Jim:
Dwell/ing in the Finished Work: Wednesday nights, 7pm, Kids Alive Building on the corner of Elmwood Ave. and North St.
The focus overall is the preeminence of Jesus Christ and the depth of His finished work on the cross. God's great desire is to see His people built upon a sure foundation, bearing fruit, and walking in full assurance of His unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness. Jesus said, "All Scripture testifies of Me" and so Wednesday night will be given to the Word of God, strengthening our living relationship with Him, dwelling in the finished work.
We aim to be intensely missional, an important outreach of Dwell, and a major offensive against "Jesus Deficit Disorder" as we "look away from all that distracts unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith."
Check it out!
Baptism in Living Color
If you listened to the podcast we just posted from last Sunday, you'll have a perfect lead-in to the video below.
This is the baptism itself which immediately followed the gathering at the church:
Dwell Baptism 2009 from Kevin Gannon-Parada on Vimeo.
And this is the perfect place to announce that we have a new page in the Transmission section for original Dwell videos such as this. Look for more in the near future.