Tamara Buchan

Children of the Nations Food Assemblies Continue to Ripple Out

2009-07-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

This was a big weekend for Missio Lux as we continue to live out our desire to see everything we do multiplied, much like when one throws a pebble into a lake and watches the ripples continue to circle out!

We had a Children of the Nations Food Assembly at our June Celebration and it was such a gift to see people of all ages and from 8 different countries come together to assemble the food. But even more exciting was that 15 different people committed themselves to host a "Party with a Purpose" for Children of the Nations in their own spheres of influence.

This weekend three of these "Parties with a Purpose" took place! Between them, we put together as much food as the June Celebration, doubling our 8,000 meals to 16,000 meals! Many more of these will take place through the rest of the summer and even into the fall as we continue to move towards our goal of 40,000 meals!

Our Missio Community did this for our weekly gathering. My neighbor Nancy and I both sent out emails to our neighbors, friends, and Missio Community. When 4 p.m. hit, families began to stream through our door, until there was 25 kids and close to that many adults. I didn't even know several of the families because they came through Nancy's friendships. Many of our neighbors would never have come to the June Celebration but because they know us as neighbors and trust us to have their best at heart, they came!

The great thing about taking them outside the building and into our homes and work places is that we can expand the ripples and keep them going. We challenge others to host the "Parties with a Purpose" so that more and more people can experience the fun and purpose that comes with serving others.

It's always fun to see who God brings as a surprise. One of the best ones last night was the parents of our Danish neighbors. They loved it and couldn't wait to go back to Denmark to tell their friends about what they got to do, and observe their grandchildren doing something so powerful to shape their hearts of compassion and bring a more expanded worldview beyond our life in Sammamish, WA!

Right as we were finishing our food assembly, the rain began to fall. (I know it, it's not supposed to rain in Seattle in the summer!) We came inside and it was mass chaos as we gathered behind the 15 boxes to get a picture of the group, as well as eat the dinner that everyone brought to share. But, it was the chaos of life together, friendships being formed, and a joy over reaching out to care about the rest of the world.

Over and over, the parents told me how grateful they were for this opportunity. It is hard to shape our children's characters in this place of great affluence and social pressure. Anytime we can do something that helps us to care for others, our heart is expanded and our lives are shaped.

I can't wait to host another one. I have a "Party with a Purpose" scheduled for August 18th, so if you are in the area, come on by and experience the joy of serving!

Here is a video of our June Celebration Packaging Event. For more information visit http://www.missiolux.org/ or The Children of the Nations Website.

Our Sudanese Brother Arok Goes to Africa

2009-07-12T11:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday our Sudanese brother, Arok Garang, left for Africa. He has been in the states since year 2000, and has been back to the continent of Africa once, but has never returned to village, Palliyou, in Sudan.

His dream is to go back to the village to see what remains from the destruction that took place over 20 years ago when the Jinjaweed came and burned their village, raped the women and killed everyone; except the young boys in the cattle fields.

These young boys, between the ages of 3 and 7, began to walk and find one another. They eventually became known as the "Lost Boys of Sudan" and 15,000 walked over 1,000miles, without adults, to Kenya, where they lived in the Kakuma Refugee Camp.

Arok was a leader at Kakuma, having responsibility for over 500 of the boys. He is a leader who takes initiative, putting himself through college at Colorado University, without help. He is a man who grabs my compassionate heart because of how he is stewarding his life.

He lives to help his village and the people of his village. He took on responsibility for half of the orphan children when the Kakuma Refugee Camp closed.

We met Arok through our Sudanese friend, John Kher, who lives in Seattle. Arok and John divided up the children, each taking on 35 children to help find homes and to educate.

This is when Seeds of Hope Missio Community was born. It was birthed alongside, Missio Lux, and has provided boarding school tuition for 34 kids through generous sponsors.

Arok is going to see those children in school at Roots Academy. He will be able to film them and bring back their stories so we can continues to be inspired by the privilege of helping children whom the world has long forgotten.

This is what Jesus loves to do: to come alongside those that the world has made invisible. When we care for them, provide basic necessities such as housing, clothing, food and education, Jesus is delighted with us. When we help provide an avenue for education, we are moving in an area of justice, beyond compassion, when true transformation begins to happen.

Arok is also going to meet up with Angie, the Seeds of Hope Missio Community leader, and accompany her to Kodera, Kenya, where they will come alongside the village of Kodera. Pine Lake Covenant has befriended Kodera and has the privilege of being part of an enormous community transformation.

We are excited for Arok to see Kodera because this is our dream for Palliyou. I will keep you posted on Arok's travels and story because this is one story of Missio Lux where God is at work in a miraculous way.

"And the Lame Shall Walk"

2009-07-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Healing Prayer Missio Community went to a prayer conference a couple of weeks ago with Global Awakening. The reports of healings taking place around the world are just extraodinary. Ordinary people are praying for healing and the blind are seeing, the deaf are hearing and the lame are walking. In the process, hundreds of salvations also take place as people see the power of God rising up within their midst.

But, what about the US? Is healing taking place here?

One of the first things we did at the conference was wait on God for a "word of knowledge." If he gave us a picture, a feeling in our body, a written word in our mind, a thought, a vision or a dream, we were to go to the front and give our "word of knowledge." About 50 of us did. What happened next was amazing. When we spoke what we got, people stood up if they had that ailment. Then we came together and prayed. Many people got healed. The teaching that the leaders gave was that if God shows it to a person as a "word of knowledge" it is his stamp that he intends to heal it!

Much of the conference was designed for the attendees to pray for others to be healed. There were several present in wheelchairs. One couple had a story that takes one's breath away.

On their one year anniversary, the husband had a stroke. He has been unable to move anything beneath his mouth for 24 years. His wife is his main caregiver. Many of our team spent all their prayer time praying for this couple. The first night that they prayed, he was able to move one hand, one arm, one leg was kicking away and his mouth was able to move at will. He was able to kiss his wife! This motivated our team and they kept praying; staying for hours after the conference actually finished.

This is the very exciting part! His pastor, not knowing that they had attended the conference, had a dream: a "word of knowledge." In this dream, the lame man was totally set free and was walking all around, completely healed. The couple is already proclaiming healing and looking forward to the day when he will be completely free. In the meantime, they have a strengthened faith, new hope, and a closer relationship with one another.

Healings are taking place in the US and they will increase. This is God showing us his love and power and that he is the ONE TRUE GOD!

We have a testimony every month at our healing prayer service. Guess who called and asked to give their testimony? The couple. I can't wait to hear it and to have my own faith strengthened through their experience. If you are in Seattle, we meet the fourth Tuesday at 7 p.m., July 28th this month, at the PL Sanctuary, 1715 228th Ave, Sammamish, 98074.

If you are out of town, wish you could join us, but look forward to my blog after it happens.

R n R this Summer: Refresh Your Relationship with Jesus!

2009-07-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Let’s Make Time for Some Rn’R this Summer: Relationship and Rest!

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself until it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. John 15:4

Refresh your relationship with Jesus; what does this look like for you?
Relax with people whom are important to you~enjoy the friends and family God has blessed you with.
Relish the opportunities for new friendships as you participate in Missio Lux activities.
Relinquish the summer to God~let him restore and revive you for the summer to come.
Rhythm: Jesus practiced a rhythm of life and as his disciples; so should we!

We are focusing on R and R this summer. As we live into the rhythm that God created us to follow, we will experience a life that is more fulfilling and fruitful than we ever imagined.

So, many of you have asked, abiding is a good idea, but how do we actually do it? What does it look like? How do we know when we are accomplishing it?

Great questions. My reflections for the next few weeks will include simple tips on how to live into the abide/bear fruit rhythm and to make the most of our summer plans to live into relationship and rest.

The best starting place is with Jesus. He taught his disciples, that’s us, how to live life and when we follow him, we tap into that deep place within us that releases joy so that even our bodies become better equipped to go through each day.

Here are a few simple tips for how to start spending time with Jesus on a daily basis, or to do something different which changes up your regular habit so that it feels refreshing and new:

Take the Spiritual Pathways Quiz and then identify ways to live into your preferred way of connecting with God. (http://common.northpoint.org/sacredpathway.html After you discover your highest preference, go and live it out! Reflect on what took place as you lived into that part of you that is brought alive by connecting with Jesus in ways that reflect how you are uniquely created.

Read through one of the Gospel books through the summer: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
Set a goal for each day on your calendar and ask the Holy Spirit to direct your understanding of the what you read. Journal about your reading. How did Jesus meet you in each passage?

If you desire to dig deeper, use a Study Bible or Commentary to assist you. (On line Commentaries available at : www.Biblegateway.com )

Do something active, but do it alone with an intentional desire to connect with Jesus.
Take a hike, a bike ride, sit outside on your deck, but get outside and enjoy the beautiful sights, sounds and smells of Seattle summer. Reflect on how your spirit came alive to God through the experience, and then tell someone about your experience.

After you engage in these abiding activities, leave me a comment and let me know what happened, that way we can build on our relationship!

Celebrate Recovery: A Community of Grace

2009-07-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

This article will be featured in the Pine Lake Post Sunday. Celebrate Recovery is our kingdom ministry shared by Missio Lux and our parent church Pine Lake Covenant.

For the past 17 months, a unique community has developed on Monday nights here at PLCC.
This community, a partnering ministry between Pine Lake and Missio Lux, gathers for a meal, worship, testimonies and sharing in a circle of confidentiality -- all familiar features of small group growth.
But Celebrate Recovery (CR) is distinctive because of the environment of grace and hope that is present from the very start. At CR, the emphasis on God’s love and the freedom to face struggles and hurts provides a place of safety and learning. Healthy challenges are offered within a community where you can take off your mask and allow others to know who you really are.

This culture of grace is what makes Celebrate Recovery a distinctive community of refuge and hope. The experience of being in a Christ-centered group that welcomes and encourages everyone to acknowledge their “hurts, habits and hang-ups” is drawing more and more people. Hear the witness of those who have experienced that freedom and support in their own growth in Christ.

One man writes: “The guys’ time together has been very meaningful. We can let down our guard and see how much we are the same, how we are not….people who had to keep a secret. The freedom to share openly removes the power our secrets have over us. This makes it possible for us to deepen relationships and be there for each other through life’s battles.”

The uniqueness of this type of connection has not gone unnoticed.
Another man describes it this way: “We're like pioneers. Our fathers would never have come together like this to share their lives and their struggles.”

“I've never before felt I could trust other men,” says a participant. He highlights the power of this grace-filled environment to bring about change: “The unconditional love and support I have received through Celebrate Recovery has changed my life. It has given me strength and is truly what I believe God intended the church to be like.”

CR’s structure provides the framework for this expression of Christ’s church. One member of the community explains that the consistency of the program “provides a safe environment where (we) realize we aren't alone in our daily struggles and that there is hope.

People at CR don't fix or judge others; they share truth and grace over time.” “The sense of community and support is awesome,” says another. “God's love is real in accepting loving people.”

One woman describes her experience this way: "It feels good to be here; I am glad I can go someplace where I can be real." "I'm glad I have a place where I can check in," says another woman. "It feels safe here; it feels like coming home."

Celebrate Recovery is a grace-filled community, because Jesus Christ is the foundation of all that happens. If you are longing to “come home” to a place where you can experience the power of God through accepting, loving people, where you don’t have to hide your true self, check out this Monday night gathering. You will find grace!

By Sharon Anderson and the Celebrate Recovery team

R n R this Summer!

2009-06-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

Have you read The Power of Full Engagement?
The byline is “Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal.”
The basic premise of the book is that we have the best performance when we have intense periods of energy exertion, followed by a period of intentional rest.

This is a great concept; but the authors did not come up with the idea! Actually, it comes out of the first chapters of the Bible when God showed us his ideal rhythm for life. He created the universe for 6 days, declaring creation good and humanity very good, and then he took a nap!

Seriously, if God needs the rest, why do we ignore the basic rhythms of our body, soul and spirit?

Jesus took it one step further in John 15 when he gave us an invitation to hang out with him, calling it “abiding.” Read this Scripture as you hear Jesus give us one of the great keys to living a life of fulfillment:

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
I am the vine, you are the branches; those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Jesus’ invitation to us flies in the face of our culture. We hear and often believe that if we just stay on the treadmill of life we will be more successful.

But, Jesus tells us that if we learn to abide with him, finding ways to connect with the One who Created us, we will make an impact on the world; with our families, our vocations, our neighbors, our missio, all of it. It comes first with abiding and then going out to expend our energies on meaningful work.

One of our Missio Lux’ values is to live lives of purpose, balance and simplicity. We are seeking to model a different way of life to our culture; one that will attract people’s attention and cause them to take notice.

No one is going to notice us if we are constantly stressed; we will just blend in with the rest of the world. However, if we intentionally seek to live the rhythm of resting and working, of abiding and bearing fruit, back and forth, in balance with our natural rhythms, people are going to notice and want what we have because it is so appealing.

So, our summer plans are going to follow Jesus’ priorities to abide and bear fruit. We have been through an intense season of laying a foundation for a new way of living our faith andit’s time for some R n R: Relationship and Rest.

Everything we are doing this summer has R n R in mind:

Celebrations are going to be at Beaver Lake Pavillion and will be simple picnics designed to give us space to connect with God and one another, and tell the stories of what God is doing in our midst.

Concerts in the Park in Sammamish are awesome ways to connect with friends and enjoy a fun concert. We are meeting every Thursday from July 9th to the end of August.

Missio Communities are encouraged to practice a different rhythm, making gatherings simple, fun and filled with much room for relationships. Invite those into your experiences which will benefit from some R and R!

I will be practicing a rhythm of reading, reflecting, resting, writing and praying through the month of July. I am looking forward to what this season will bring as I stop the activity and meetings and abide; restoring the creative side God gave me.

But, best of all, find ways to connect with Jesus that are meaningful to you. If you like to hike, take a hike and spend time connecting with him. If you like to hang out in your hammock in your backyard reading, do it with permission! Jesus wants us to be relaxed and enjoy his company.

Next week I will be passing on some ideas for new ways to connect with Jesus through our Missio Lux summer of abiding. Until then, go have some good R n R with those around you!

What's Pinning You Down?

2009-06-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

I broke my hand two months ago. I ended up needing surgery to put pins in to keep my left pinkie knuckle at the hand in place. The healing took place as scheduled; the doctor was always pleased with my progress when he examined it.

But, one day my car door slammed right on the place where the bones broke. Wow, did that ever hurt! I knew I didn't ever want to do that again.

My hand was fine except that one of the pins that was put in place to provide protection for healing was now dislodged and was becoming more and more painful as the days wore on.
I finally had to move the surgery to remove the pins up by weeks because the pain and swelling was intensifying daily and making my hand do double healing.

I started thinking about how the pins are a word picture for our childhood defense mechanisms against dysfunction and pain in our lives. The pins represent coping realities that we adopt so that we are protected against the poor decisions of the adults and other children around us. They keep us safe from breaking apart completely.

But, as we become adults, if the pins are still in place, they can actually cause destruction instead of healing.
The coping mechanisms can keep us stuck and in continued pain, rather than providing relief.

Why?

Because we no longer need them. We have become adults and can become healthy functioning people. We can let go of those things that appeared to keep us safe as children, but are actually hinderances when we "grow up."

Jesus wants to be the surgeon to take the pins out. My surgeon was my hero Friday because within hours after the surgery, I knew I was set free. The pain was gone and the swelling began to recede. It was worth it to me to go through the pain of the surgery to find myself in a better place than before the surgery.

Jesus invites us to enter into the pain of healing so that we can be set free.
He invites us in John 10 to enter the gate and then to go and find green pastures.
The amazing part of his invitation is that he is also the gate.
So, we are invited on a healing journey through him, so that we will be free.

Missio Lux has foundational ministries of healing and recovery. I just returned from our monthly healing service and am always so uplifted when they are finished because I see how pins gets removed through prayer to the surgeon Jesus. Celebrate Recovery meets every Monday night and many pins are also removed in the Christian 12 step lifestyle that CR models and teaches.

Do you have any pins that are dislodged and need to come out? Respond to Jesus' invitation to enter into the gate where you will find him ready to heal.

It's all about Relationships; part 1

2009-06-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Missio Lux is learning a new way to live.
We have been impacted by Jesus' words in John 15 where he speaks about the rhythm between abiding and bearing fruit.
Some more regular words say the same thing: rest and work, relationship and adventure, downtime and pushtime!

I am anxious to discover how living this rhythm intentionally will affect us.
At the core of it is a call to relationship.
Jesus wants us to spend time with him in relationship.
He knows that as we do that we will be built up, loved well and given new energy to love the people around us.

One of the most important relationships we have is our marriage.
Last night the girls and I gathered around the television to hear "John and Kate's announcement." I felt so sad when they said that they were separating, and on a path towards divorce. The words "I need to do what's best for me" still echo through my ears.

I loved the show in the early days. Watching John and Kate's delight in parenting their 8 children was so much fun. But, eventually I saw the pattern begin to take shape that so many of our marriages fall into: control/passivity/control/passivity.

This is the challenge of marriage; it comes out of the fall.

Adam was passive when he stood by and watched Eve eat the apple. He didn't do anything to stop her; which was an abdication of his rule over the garden. Eve, on the other hand, was quick to bite when the serpent challenged her thinking on "who was really in control." He lied to her, making her believe that God was holding out on her--that he held all the control and it wasn't for her good.

So, the curses were given. Men will struggle to succeed in their work and in relationship through their lives. Women will struggle to trust God and their husbands--so we do what seems right: seek to control our situations. The only thing about it is when we seek to control, we push our husbands into passivity, which only makes things feel more out of control.

Or, maybe it is the passivity of the men which causes the women to step up and try to control. It doesn't matter which comes first, the outcome is always the same: misery.

This is what I increasingly saw happening in John and Kate last year. Passivity from John, control from Kate. As the pressure built, their patterns became more and more entrenched, until their marriage blew apart all together.

The Bible has great wisdom in it. Jesus knew this pattern of marriage relationship and he showed us how to counter it and live into the new life of grace. It involves two key concepts: one for men and one for women.

Ephesians 5 tells men to love their wives and tells women to respect their husbands.

Why is this? Because men have a hard time loving their wives, staying present spiritually, emotionally and physcially--it's much easier to focus on the challenge of making a living.

Women have a hard time respecting their husbands; trusting that both God and men have their best interests at heart.

The Gospel is both simple and hard. The concept of love and respect is simple. But, it is oh, so very so hard to live it out.

It takes support.
It takes us caring about the people in our midst and asking the hard questions: "Did you treat your husband with respect this week?" "Did you treat your wife with love, caring for her and nurturing her heart this week?"

As we continue to live into our Missio Communities, we are structured to be able to ask those questions and offer our support. We are able to hold one another accountable for living it out. We can even confess when we are far from love and respect.

I have to believe that things could be different for John and Kate if they had that level of support. They could have stopped the trainwreck long ago, before it got to this point.

It's all about relationship, and as we take time to be with Jesus and rest, we get clarity on how we live into grace, rather than the curse from which he died to set us free. We can learn to walk in the new way of love and respect and in the process, model a lifestyle that others want to live out too.

Importance of Fathers

2009-06-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

Today is Father's Day.

It's a day where we get to appreciate and affirm our fathers for their importance in our lives.

Our family is in San Francisco where my husband goes every week to work, so he can most fully financially support our family. My Dad is in Denver and has just walked through a very trying time of taking care of my Mother after heart surgery; he's been called into a place of care that he has never been challenged to live into until now.

The lives of my husband and my father have gotten me thinking about the importance of fathers in our lives.

Both men in my life have modeled sacrificial living for the sake of their families; putting aside their own comfort for the good of those around them. This is what the Bible calls men to do; model their lives after their heavenly father and the sacrifices he made on our behalf.

Our Heavenly Father gave us everything he had.

He gave us his son. His most important relationship given sacrifically so we could know how much he loves us. He didn't withhold anything from us; contrary to the lie that the Serpant told Adam and Eve in the Garden--instead he gave us everything.

Our Heavenly Father teaches earthly fathers how they are to live to model love and commitment to their family. I can't underestimate the deep importance that fathers carry for how they model God to their children.

I listen to a lot of people. Almost to the person, I hear how their view of God is formed by how their father lived and treated them. I wish that fathers understood the deep privilege and responsibility they carry because of this reality: it is their most important role in life.

Missio Lux has some amazing fathers in it. I see the love they carry for their children as the families walk through our door together. I see the investment they are making in their children spiritually as they take seriously the role of growing them up as people of faith and good character. I see their desire to grow spiritually themselves so they can model that for their wives and children.

But, we have a long way to go to influence all the people around us. Every generation that continues the broken father influencing their broken children continues to the cycle of brokenness, instead of wholeness and healing.

My dream for the next year is to significantly multiply the awareness and response of how important fathers are in our lives to bring us to a life of freedom and wholeness that Jesus offers everyone.

Thoughts about the American Church in 10 years

2009-06-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've been reflecting on the changes that have taken place in our Culture in this decade.

Now I'd like to reflect on the changes that I believe will take place in the Church in the next decade.

Here are some of the trends we already see in people:

People are coming to church less often
Many "consume" going to the church that has the latest and greatest....preaching, worship, youth group, you name it.
Loyalty to denominations are very low
Kids coming out of youth group who go to college often leave the church altogether
A significant number of people are biblically illiterate
Giving patterns are trending more towards "causes" than church budgets
People listen to several voices through podcasts, radio, etc.

Here are some of the trends we see in churches:

a movement towards multi site congregations
a desire to become missional
laying off of staff from economic downturn
naming churches without identifying denominational affiliation
fewer leaders are seminary trained

So, with these trends, what will change?

I see a church in 10 years that will look very different than we know now.

It will be very dispersed, with communities meeting all over the cities in various locations, but rather invisible to the regular eye.
People will have significantly more ownership over their faith; taking responsibility for their own practices, rather than looking to a church to form them for them.
Money will be used to support missio projects, but won't go through the pipeline of a church budget because the church will be much looser in organization but stronger in mission and commitment.
I believe the church will almost be "underground" because the culture will have become so hostile to those who stand for God's truth and practices.
I see a sorting out of those who are willing to pay a cost for their faith, standing on principles and fighting the wave of tolerance, but doing it in love to the individual; with those that move with the mainstream culture and end up not having a stance for anything.
Many faithful pastors will leave the profession because of the challenge but also the financial restraints.
Many leaders will do "tent ministry" because the days of the professional pastor are coming to a close.
I see a church that is being refined by "fire" that gets smaller in number but infinitely stronger in faith than today.
I see a grassroots connection between the different "outposts" established through relationship.
I see many people with no church experience or religious background coming to Jesus because of the purity of the faith that they see in everyday people living a lifestyle like Jesus.

Jesus came to a world that was very polarized, where spiritual freedoms were limited by the government, and a church that was very religious and legalistic.

He taught his disciples how to operate within that culture, and if we study what they did, we can learn to live that way too.

The world is shifting but the opportunities for the church, if we are willing to bend and move with flexibility, are wide open.

I personally am looking forward to a day when those who commit to follow Christ recognize the cost, as well as the challenge, but decide that following Jesus is worth giving our whole life to live.

Decade of 2000

2009-06-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

The study yesterday started a pathway of reflection for me about how the past decade has gone for our culture as a whole.

We just have 6 months left in the decade of 2000.

Wow, didn't it go fast?
What did you do to prepare for Y2K?
I had a delightful time standing in line with lots of patient people filling our propane tanks. I don't think a decade has ever entered with such fanfare only to go "plop into nothingness."

But, in just a short amount of time, we experienced 9/11 and the world as we knew it began to shift dramatically. The center of the world shifted to the Middle East. We started a war. We became patriotic, only just a few years later to become very silent about our patriotism as we alienated much of the world through our tactics against terrorism.

But, on a smaller, more personal scale, let's consider: how much technology did you engage in year 2,000?

How many computers did your household own? We had one.
How many cell phones did you own? We had one.
How many had wifi? We had dial up--oh remember that one, the sound of the connection: "You've got mail!:
How many had an IPOD? No one, they weren't invented yet.
How much internet ordering did you do? None.
How much internet searching did you do? Very little.
How many televisions did your household own? 2, we just purchased a second one in 1999.
How many texts did you write? None, texts weren't even a thought in anyone's head yet!

Life has changed.
We are changed because of the advance of techology.

I find myself wishing that we had kept more of the old technology to show our grandchildren someday....they become antiques so quickly now, we pass onto the new without really giving it a second thought.

What changes do you think that we will see in the next decade?
What do you think our culture will look like in 2020?
What changes in practice do you think the American Church will adopt?

I have some thoughts on that, but more on it another day.
Would love to hear your technology quiz results from year 2000! ]
What did I forget to ask?

New Technology Study

2009-06-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday an interesting study was published in the Seattle Times about technology.

Some of the findings included:

Families are spending less time together; down 30 percent since 2006 from 26 hours a month to 18 hours in 2009.

Facebook usage has gone from 100 million users in August of 2008 to 200 million users in 2009.

Televisions have gotten cheaper so families have more of them in several rooms of their home. This means that families don't have to congregate in one room to watch them anymore.

Higher income families are more deeply affected by technology than lower income families because they have a much greater range of technological toys!

These results are staggering.

In just three short years, we have seen a massive shift in behavior patterns that are changing the way that we communicate and relate to one another.

This shift in behavior/communication is also calling the Church to think carefully and strategically about how we will communicate.

Will we forsake technology all together, deciding it is detrimental and so avoid it?

Or will we discover some creative uses for all the new ways of relating to build bridges to those who won't be reached any other way?

I think about Paul who says that "I must become all things to all people in order to reach them."

Let's decide to wrestle through this challenge and seek to understand where the best pathway exists for people to meet and follow Jesus.

Alignment brings freedom

2009-06-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Romans 12:1-2 is one of the most well known Scriptures in the Bible:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

I have reflected often on the second verse: about not conforming to how the world lives; but through our renewed mind finding the abundant life that Jesus calls us to live.

What I have discovered recently, however, is that the abundant life isn’t going to come magically, but only through a renewed mind that changes the way we think about our own life and the world around us.

It starts with thinking the truth about who God is and his true character.

The Serpent knew that if he could get Adam and Eve to doubt that God truly had their best in heart; he would win the battle. So, he tempted them with the thought that God was holding out on them; God couldn’t really be trusted.

They bit and we’ve been biting ever since. There is an area in everyone’s life where the Serpent planted a lie in us that we have believed too. I find that if I listen long enough to a person, I can find that lie. I found it in myself, and when I confessed believing it and stepped into the truth that God can be trusted and that he has my best at heart; the whole trajectory of my life changed.

I feel very much lately that I am living the abundant life that Jesus promised in John 8:31-32:
“Jesus said, "If you continue in my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

It takes us back to Romans 12: Don’t believe the world, but seek God’s truth, be changed as your mind is changed.

Did you know that changing our mind is called “repentance?”

Repentance seems like one of those scary Christian words that we want to run from, but really it just means “changing our mind, or turning in a different direction.”

I have found 3 questions that are making a huge difference to me in determining where I need to change my mind in order to live the abundant life that Jesus promised us.

Here they are: they come with a Challenge and an Invitation:

The challenge is to honestly ask the questions; allowing Jesus show you the shifts in alignment that he wants to make.
The invitation is Jesus calling you to a place of deeper relationship with him and more meaningful relationship with those around you; bringing you closer to the abundant life he promises.

Where do I need to align my mind with God’s mind?
Where do I need to align my emotions with God’s heart?
Where do I need to align my will with God’s will?

Here is my invitation to you:
Take this challenge for one week, setting aside a few minutes each day to listen to the answers, and then let me know how it is going. I’d love to encourage you as you step out in Jesus’ teaching to live into the freedom and hope that he offers everyone.

A Kingdom Investment

2009-06-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

This morning I am going to the Ivy Cutting at Seattle Pacific University. It's part of the graduation at SPU and it's a lot of fun. You might think that I am attending it because one of our children is graduating; however, I am going because of a kingdom investment that I made earlier this year.

I met Kelly through a friend in November. I prayed on the way that Jesus would allow us to connect. And connect we did. When we ended our first conversation, we knew that our conversation bypassed what takes many years to speak.

When I got home, I felt Jesus urging me to open the door for further meeting. I knew Kelly would be graduating soon, but I emailed her the opportunity to meet monthly until she would graduate and leave the area. I knew that it wouldn't benefit Missio Lux to do this, but I knew that she was worth investing in for the sake of the kingdom.

Our times together were full of kingdom breakthrough. God used me to speak, pray and prophecy important things into Kelly's life. We only met about 7 times, but the impact of them were multiplied many times over.

Here is the really fun part of the story.

Jesus supernaturally called Kelly to go to South Korea with Adventure Teaching (http://www.adventureteaching.com/)
Adventure Teaching is Scot Sustad's company that recruits teachers to go to South Korea and gets them hired. But, his company is a Kingdom builder because it also has AT Impact in it; the creation of Missio Lux Missio Communities South Korea.

I didn't even know that Kelly and Scot were talking about her coming on board; but when we all put it together we knew that God had raised Kelly up for "such a time as this" to be the Catalyst in South Korea to help create, develop and huddle the Missio Communities.

The point is that "we never know what God is going to do when we make kingdom investments."

Today I am privileged enough to celebrate with Kelly the ending of her college years, but also the anticipation of how God is going to multiply his kingdom through his partnership with her!

Imitate Me

2009-06-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

I was challenged with a thought at the Learning Community that I have been reflecting on recently.
This is the idea: "Call people to imitate our lives, just as Jesus calls us to imitate him."

So, in reality, if we are living a lifestyle like Jesus', we have a life worth imitating.

But, how many of us have the confidence that our life is worth replicating? When we look at ourselves, we often see ALL the ways we don't measure up, rather than the amazing reality that the God who Created us also lives in us, continually molding us into a greater likeness of himself.

So, I've been thinking about me.
When people see me, they see my strength, my determination, my perseverance, my love for people and fun, and my passion for Jesus.

But, they also see someone who has worked so hard for so long. They see that a life of ministry is exhausting and they don't think that it is for them.

A few months ago, I began to tell Jesus, "I can't work any harder. You have to show me a better way."

And, guess what.
It's right there, in the Bible, in John 15.
Jesus tells his followers, including me, that we are to balance work with rest--he calls it abiding with him. The rest can be anything that rejuvenates us: it doesn't have to be us on our knees in prayer for hours at a time.

If we love hiking, we should hike. It will open up our pathway to God, maybe a pathway that has been clogged for a long time.
If we love parties, we should have parties.
If we love animals, we should spend time with them.
Whatever brings life to us brings abiding.

So, for me, some of my most lifegiving moments are when I am reading, reflecting, writing, and dreaming about the future--especially outside in the beauty of the Northwest. When I do these simple things: I feel ALIVE!

And, that life in me is contagious, it spills out onto others. They notice and they want it too!

So, that's the invitation to imitate me.
Find those lifegiving things in your life; engage them as you engage your Creator, and then let the overflow motivate someone else to imitate you, as you imitate Jesus.

I do abide daily, weekly and monthly, but I have never had a season of abiding!
I am taking the month of July to do the things I mentioned above; and I am beginning to realize that they will probably produce much more fruit, outcome, than all the other months combined. Because fruit comes from a place of rest because the conditions for growth are right: sunlight, fertilizer, water!

This summer, Missio Lux is going to abide.
We are making room for R and R: Relationship and Rest.

More on that next time.

A Typical Week in Missio Lux

2009-06-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

People sometimes ask me, “What does a typical week in Missio Lux look like? What happens?

Here’s what one month can look like as all the Missio Communities and supporting foundation ministries meet: (check out additional meeting times and places on the website: www.missiolux.org)

Sunday: T3: Families with Teens:
Arbors: Families with Younger Children
Dialogue: 20somethings in Seattle
Missio Lux Celebrations: 1st Sunday of the month

Monday: Celebrate Recovery
Seeds of Hope WA
Living Free Prayer Ministry, Denver

Tuesday: Healing Prayer MC or Worship Service
Seeds of Hope, Denver

Wednesday: Huddle
Missio Lux Prayer Team
Emerging MC: Fall City 5 Loaves

Thursday: South Korea Missio Communities: 2 meeting~not sure of their day!
Emerging MC: Latino Community

Friday: Map Your Neighborhood
Peace Seekers

Saturday: 1st Covenant Breakfast
Emerging MC: Outreach to Polish Friends

A lot can happen when we spread out to share the freedom and hope Jesus offer with everyone. We don't spend most of our energies on the Worship Service, rather we spend them serving as worship.

The World is Thirsty and Hungry, part 3

2009-06-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

I just returned from our Celebration where we did the Food Assembly with Children of the Nations.

We assembled 8,000 meals in just 45 minutes, and the people that helped to make it happen ranged in age from 3 years to 83 years old.

It just made my heart soar with joy as I looked around the room and saw everyone happily working hard either putting lentils, rice, spice or chicken spice into the funnel, or running them to the sealer, assmbling boxes or throwing the bags into boxes!

But, the best part of the night is when we looked at our goal for assembling 40,000 meals by the end of the summer, we already have 38,000 committed to be paid for and filled. This is the way to multiply our efforts and to include so many more people than were able to participate tonight.

Fraser was the man who came from Children of the Nations and put the food assembly together. He was thrilled with our energy and the way that everyone came together to fulfill our missio! He kept saying, "This seems like a really fun church!"

I am so grateful to be part of a community that cares about our next door neighbors as well as our global neighbors around the world.

If you are interested in doing a food assembly, let me know and you will kick us over our goal of 40,000 meals.

The World is Thirsty and Hungry, part 2

2009-06-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our Celebration and I am so looking forward to our Worship through Service.

We are partnering with COTNI www.cotni.org, which stands for Children of the Nations. COTNI has a mission to feed hungry children, as well as many other areas in Africa.

They have developed a meal that meets a child's daily nutrition needs that includes lentils and rice. The great thing about these meals is that they only cost 25 cents per meal! That means that with just a little bit of money, we can make a great impact in a child's life.

Missio Lux is funding 8,000 meals to assemble on Sunday!

It's going to be a fun process: putting the different ingredients into funnels which flow into plastic bags, which are then put in boxes to be shipped with different cargo firms to Sierra Leone.

Our goal is to multiply our intitial effort Sunday into 16 more opportunities, believing that one of God's best stategies is the "Ripple Effect."

We are encouraging 16 different food assemblies to take place over the summer as missio communities or neighborhoods or sports teams or work places agree to take one on. For just $500, 12 people can assemble meals for approximately one hour and complete 2,000 meals.

So, can you imagine being able to provide 40,000 meals this summer to children who otherwise won't eat in Sierra Leone?

These are the types of waysthat a small effort can make a dramatic impact.

The World is Thirsty and Hungry

2009-06-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Missio Lux has had an emphasis on hunger and thirst the past two weeks.
We take seriously Jesus' words in Matthew 25:20, "If you give a needy person food or water, you have given it to me."

Last weekend we highlighted 3 missio ways to make a difference with hunger and thirst. Sunday, we will do another big missio for hunger at our Celebration!

Last weekend we participated in the Water First "Carry 5 Walk" (http://www.water1st.org/) as well as holding a garage sale for Seeds of Hope www.missiolux.org/seedsofhope, and our bi-monthly breakfast for the poor and disenfranchised in Seattle http://www.missiolux.org/ 1st Seattle breakfast.

Our family participated in the Carry 5 Walk, as well as several of our missio community members. The reason that it's called Carry 5 is that most women and girls in Africa and other places around the world, carry 5 gallon jugs of water on their backs, often for up to 15 miles, if their village does not have a well.

It's hard to imagine how hard it is and how HEAVY it is to carry 5 gallons without actually attempting it.

Most of the men who carried it seemed very relieved to pass it off to another team member. The children carried one gallon of water on their backs, often complaining about how heavy they were!

I am passionate about getting wells in villages because I know that water is a basic need of life, not a privilege.

We don't even think about turning on our facets or watering our grass, or taking a shower because it is so accessible. But, if you live in India or Bangladesh, Honduras and Ethiopia (this is where Water 1st goes), there's a very real possibility that water isn't a right, it's almost unaccessible.

Some say that an event like Carry 5 won't make much of a difference.

But, to the 7 villages that will get wells from this one walk, their lives will be dramatically changed. The women will be able to put more effort into their homes and their children, rather than the drudgery of carrrying water day after endless day. The girls will fare even better: they will get to go to school! Education is the pathway to a different life; so a well brings great hope for the future.

Read tomorrow for our big Celebration Plan for Sunday, but in the meantime, go several hours or even a day without using water and let God enlarge your heart through the experience. Then, let everyone hear of your experience by leaving a comment on the blog.

Peace Seekers Missio Community

2009-06-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Friday I had the privilege of going to the Peace Seekers Missio Community.
This is a community of women who meet to know God better and to build friendship with one another.

They met all year on Friday mornings. It's complicated working around all the school schedules for their children, but they all eventually get there and breathe a sigh of relief. They know when they enter into Peace Seekers that they have found a place of peace. It's like taking a great big drink of refreshing water!

They are beginning to feel safe enough to take off their masks and show their true selves.

They are beginning to recognize what they need as women and mothers and to give it to themselves so that they have something meaningful to offer their husbands, families and world around them.

They are also beginning to take big leaps spiritually. I was present to help them work through spiritual gifts; and it was my privilege to be able to hear what they discovered and their dreams for using them.

I knew I was on holy ground when we were praying for the Lord to ignite their gifts and to bring opportunities to use them for the kingdom. As I watched them reach out to pray for one another, tears came to my eyes as I recognized how powerful community and prayer can be.

The Ripple Effect

2009-05-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

How many times have you thrown the rock into the lake and watched the concentric circles ripple out?

Have you ever considered the reality of what happens in life when we do something that seems small at the time but actually ends up quite huge by the time the circles are finishes rippling out?

We speak often of the “ripple effect” in Missio Lux.

Sometimes what we do seems small when we look at it, but it is always much bigger than it first appears.

Here are a couple of examples:

Occidental Square at Easter:
Everywhere I go in the city of Seattle I run into people who know about it! They either got our prayer email or they got the invitation or they knew about it from friends . . .the word got out and it made an impact on them, even if they were unable to come.

Our Structure:
Different people and churches are checking out what we are doing. It seems many have questions and ideas about how to make changes but they don’t know what to do beyond that. We are doing it!

Our next Celebration is about “the Ripple Effect.”

Sunday, June 7th we are worshipping through service. We will be doing a food assembly for COTNI: Children of the Nations. Our food bags will be sent to orphanages in Sierra Leone. This is going to be a very fun and invigorating event for people of all ages!

But, it doesn’t stop with our Celebration on June 7th.

The goal is to ripple out as we take the food assembly to our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and friends and family.
It’s simple and inexpensive to do; COTNI supplies all everything we need. Think about whom you would like to partner with to do the food assembly with and then invite them to come to participate next weekend.

The ripple effect keeps going as the food reaches Sierra Leone. The children will find out that people in a faraway place of Seattle, WA, USA care enough to spend their time and money to help provide them some food. Jesus reminds us that “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.” Matthew 25:40.

Whenever you go through your day, consider the Ripple Effect. With Jesus, whatever we do is always bigger than we can see at first glance. Someday when we are in heaven, we will realize that if we are connected to him, the fruit that we bore has a bigger harvest than we ever realized.

What can you do to start the ripple effect in your life?

What ideas have you done or are considering to start the ripples?

Let's share our ideas so we can be part of a continual ripple all around the world.

3 Important Questions to Ask Ourselves

2009-05-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today was my monthly prayer day; it was a beautiful day so I got to spend it outside. A rare gift after the long winter of Seattle gloom.

I am learning to ask myself 3 questions that seem very helpful to being a Jesus follower who tries to live a lifestyle like his.

These are the questions:

Is my mind aligned with God's mind?
Are my emotions aligned with God's heart?
Is my behavior aligned with Jesus' priorities?

It's been amazing as I've asked Jesus to show me what adjustments or alignments that I need to make how specific he is being with me.

I am thrilled. It's really making a big difference in how I am walking thing out in life.

This is what I am discovering.

If our mind isn't the same as God's mind, we are on a different foundation from the start.

When our emotions are far from God's heart, we feel things that aren't based on truth: for example: when we feel angry about something our spouse didn't do the way we want, and it makes us want to control (of course I know about this one too well!), rather than move to a place of respect and honor which we do know is God's heart for our marriages.

If we do step into a place of control, our behavior is out of alignment with Jesus' priorities, which then causes us to justify which then makes our mind out of alignment with God's mind.

Today I started by praying that the Lord would align my mind with his mind before I went to prayer. I think that this is the first time that I have ever intentionally done this before I prayed.

I was rather amazed by how I was led to pray; I was given some very fun and creative ways to pray, ideas that I would have never thought of on my own.

These questions are going to become an intentional part of Missio Lux langauge and practice. I am excited to see how God is going to work with us in his places of truth, grace and creativity!

Let me know if you begin to use them and how it's going.

Prayers for My Mother

2009-05-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

This blog is my personal reflection on the journey of healing that Jesus is leading me to walk.

Close to two years ago, my parents took my siblings and spouses and Bill and I on a two week road trip. The last day of the trip, I was sitting in the hotel room literally twiddling my thumbs while I waited to leave. I was directed to read Ezekial 37, the passage on the valley of the dry bones. I heard after I read it: "There will be a shaking in your family, but I will bring breakthrough."

We were literally shaken just two hours later through a revelation by one of our family members; the shaking has continued through my extended family ever since.

My Mother found out two weeks after that trip that she needed heart surgery; her valves were leaking and needed to be fixed. The odds of it not working were just 2% but she ended up being one of that small minority. Just two months later, her heart was leaking just as much as before the surgery and the amount continues to increase as time goes by.

It's been one challenging health issue after another for my Mom; they just keep coming.

The Lord called me to a time of prayer and fasting for my family last November. Sometimes when I prayed, I saw God's hand with a needle sewing the valves to the heart. I knew that God meant it when another family member saw the same picture in prayer.

However, her health continues to decline. Every time I go to the Lord to complain, I hear "Romans 4: the faith of Abraham." Abraham is called our Faith Father because he waited 25 years for his promised son Issaac. Even though his body was as good as dead and Sarah's womb was closed, he believed that God was able to do the impossible.

That's what faith is: something that is bigger than we can see or imagine. Abraham teaches us how to walk in those places.

But, when I think about my own hesitances and listen to the people around me, I see that we hardly dare to hope, let alone stand in faith. As I've searched my life and heard those around me, I think that it comes down to this.

We are so afraid of being disappointed.
We fear God may not "deliver."
We wonder if we can trust him with something as big as our dreams.
We are afraid to look foolish in front of others.
We are afraid to be disappointed.

So, we have faith for drs to heal. We trust the medicine. We believe while it feels safe.

But, God wants us to have faith even when not one shread of evidence exists that healing will happen.

Our famiy is being put through this test. Missio Lux is being put through this test.

Just two weeks ago, my Mom was here in Seattle. Missio Lux Healing Prayer Community gave one of our gatherings to pray for her. We believe we heard the Lord say he had healed her.

The next day she felt great, but even before she left, the following day she couldn't breathe. We got the word just four days later than she needed to go on oxygen.

God, this doesn't look like healing to me.

Saturday she was rushed to the hospital because she couldn't breathe at all. I felt afraid. I was scared I would lose her.

But, Sunday I woke up to Jesus' tender question: "Will you stand in faith or will you stand in fear? It's your choice."

I knew then that I would stand in faith. I would believe that God has promised and he is doing it. That my part is to trust his character is good and his desire is to heal. We are being trained as we stand against the circumstances.

I had a talk with a wonderful woman of faith yesterday and she summed it up this way: "When we believe that we can trust God's character and that he is for us; that he wants our best, we can pray with great faith and let go of the outcome. We don't need to worry because we know God is good."

Romans 4, describing Abraham's faith, is the Scripture that I have been called to read over and over; the pages are getting worn out! But, the most meaningful statement in this passage is this: "When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do."

Where do you see that a situation is hopeless? How have you been able to walk it out in faith?
I'd love to hear so we can mutually encourage each other.

Missio Lux Divine Appointments

2009-05-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

When we begin to understand that God has daily plans for our lives and we begin to see what those "divine appointments" are, amazing things can happen.

The following are just a small sample of ways that God is allowing us in Missio Lux to shine light on the world.

1. Airport Check In:
Our Learning Community Team came to the end our time in South Carolina and was at the airport ready to come home. We ended up checking our bags outside and out of the blue, I said to the man who was checking us in, "You seem peaceful. " He said, "Yes, I am." I asked, "Is there a reason for your peace?" He answered by pointing upward. I said, "Oh, you are a Jesus follower. So are we."

Then, I asked, "How can we bless you today?" He answered, "Oh, I have everything I need because of Jesus." I asked him if we could pray. He was thrilled and said, "Of course." So,we started to pray for Kevin. We prayed for many different areas that God led us to pray. When it was over, he told us that he was supposed to have left 1/2 hour earlier but for some reason, never did! He also told us that he was being promoted and he felt that God had made it happen.

Kevin was African American. This felt very significant for me because I still see many remnants of racism in the South. But, during that kingdom moment, we were uniting over the one we follow: Jesus!

#2. Asking Directions in a Liquor Store:
Two members of healing prayer were going to a healing service but couldn't find the church in which it was being held. So, they went to a liquor store to ask for directions. There was a man there that they asked. They ended up talking and after a time, one of the women asked him, "Is your son a follower of Jesus?" No, he answered. How about your daughter? No.

Then the light went on: "Do you know Jesus?" No, he answered. "Would you like to?" Yes, I would. So, there they prayed, all three together in a liquor store for a man who didn't know he would have a divine encounter with two women filled with so much light that they can't help but let it spillover so it pours onto those who are thirsty to know the one who fills that thirst.

#3. Conversation over Pancakes:
I had a special day set aside with my daugher Heather for her birthday last Saturday. She surprised me by wanting to start off serving at the 1st Seattle Breakfast. So, we found ourselves there and Jesus delighted me by directing me to a conversation with a young man named Tim. He was clean up, articulate and struggling after a recent relapse with sobriety. We had an amazingly connected conversation and during it Jesus began to show me some areas where he needed freedom.

When the timing was right, I asked him if I could pray for him. He said, "Yes!" (I find it very rare that anyone, even people from different faiths, turn down prayer). So, I began to pray. I prayed for the rejection that he had experienced his whole life to be healed. I prayed for his addiction to be broken. I prayed for his isolation to be replaced with a connection with the One who Created him and friendship with people.

When we finished, he looked lighter and his face lit up with a huge smile.

I thought of Tim several times during the next few days, recognizing how much God loved him that he directed my daughter to choose the breakfast to start our day, so he could receive the freedom giving prayer that he desperately desired!

Our Missio Lux Website has been Born!

2009-05-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

We have the most exciting news: our long awaited permanent website has been born!

She arrived last week at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
She currently weighs in at 14 Missio Communities; 10 in Seattle, two in Denver and two in South Korea.
Very few problems existed at birth; and with the great care we've received, mother and baby are doing fine.

Please be sure to check out the pics of our new baby: http://www.missiolux.org/

Stay connected for pictures and progress through the year as we watch her grow.

Thanks for your part in helping Missio Lux live out our mission: to experience and share the freedom and hope Jesus offers with everyone. That includes you!