Living on a...Mission...

Alright, time for another post. I was thinking about what to write about and that I should give a bit of an update. We went to a missions conference with Forward Edge International last weekend (President's Day) and got to meet a lot of great people and hear about FEI and their programs/mission. When we went to Haiti in October with our church, Solid Rock, FEI facilitated the trip, and Solid Rock has formed a partnership with the organization to continue with these monthly trips to Haiti. You should check them out here. They do short-term well!

E's job is slowly slowing down from a change in computer programs for their charting. It has been a hard transition, but we think that she can see the light at the end of the tunnel. She is a light in that place and their have been some interesting conversations with co-workers and I think she is starting to see the Spirit stirring in a couple co-workers, so pray that she has courage and continues to be Salt and Light and Love to these folks!

At the Portland Rescue Mission we have one more month of Winter Shelter. The First of April begins a new season where we only have the 50 bunks down stairs available. It is a big change for the guys that have been staying in the chapel on a regular basis. Hopefully we will be ready for the change and the new opportunity this will present for us night workers as we are less like babysitters and able to engage more in relationship.

So where does that leave me...oh yeah, living on a mission (or prayer or the edge). We have been going through 1 Corinthians at church now for about, oh, 6 months. We are on Chapter 7. Slowly making our way allows us to really look at the letter Paul wrote, but also to see comparisons for Portland and Corinth and how we can deal with the situations that we find concurrently in 2011 Portland that plagues the church and culture around 2000 years ago!  Last night (we go Saturday nights...it's nice!) and the past couple weeks, we talked about marriage. To hear that sermon, or any others (they are SOO good), go here!

One of the recurrent themes for us since moving back to Portland has been "living missionally". So, what does that mean? We had a good conversation with an elder about this, and it seems that it is something that we need to flesh out as a community. Something that we can't quite put into words at this point, but I think when we put it into action it makes more sense. It is about orthopraxy as a result of orthodoxy. Basically, what we do as a result of what we believe. What I believe should ultimately lead my actions. And my actions should point to what I believe. If I believe that God loves everyone, do my actions reflect that? If I go into another culture and plant a church that is a mirror of my church here, my actions show that the way the West does church is the only way. I hope that helps. If not, send me a message.

So what does it mean to live on mission? To me, it means in all I do, in my job, in my community, etc, I need to reflect Jesus. My actions should lead others to question what is different about me. I should reach out to neighbors, say hi to people I walk by, to care about the people I run into on a daily basis. Easy right?

How about this, let's hold each other up in prayer so that we can, as the Body of Christ, spread the gospel and the reason we are who we are (new creation) to those around us. Together we can accomplish more than we could individually. So challenge those around you to live like Christ, to reach out to those around you, to love your neighbor as yourself.

Forward Edge encouraged us to tell out story, because our story includes the redeeming aspect of Christ. Before Christ we lived for us, after Christ we live for Him. Everyone has a story. Go through your story to figure out how to be succinct and accurate, and through continuing to "live our stories" I think we will see a difference in our own lives, but also in those around us!

God Bless your journey!