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BUILDING OTHERS UP
[Nathanial] The Ekklesiah house will soon send off one of its founding fathers, James Racine. James has been an integral part of the birth of this place and vital in its growth and nurturing throughout its first year of existence. The brothers here at Ekklesiah pray that God would continue to lead James to be fruitful in his individual ministries.
With James departing from the inner walls here, we will each be taking on more responsibility for the unit. We realize that this is opening ways that Satan can place footholds for division. Satan is already trying to use little quirks or individual comments to create fractions among us. We ask for our larger community to pray that we would be strong enough to not allow Satan to divide us as we continue to listen for God's direction for this place. A positive verse that has been mentioned by numerous brothers here over the past few days is
Ephesians 4:29 – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
It is our prayer that each our lives would model this verse.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
VISION STATEMENT!! a snapshot of what we've been working on
Here is a snapshot of the main points of the vision of Ekklesiah. Like I have stated in earlier blogs; our vision has three facets that are separate from each other, yet work intricately within one another to form the breadth of this ministry. The original vision statement contained a lot of scripture that I wont write out, I'll simply end each section with scripture that corresponds to the main points.
Our vision begins with three general statements that encompass our identity and purpose as a whole:
-To be and incarnational community of Jesus Christ
-To celebrate life, death and resurrection together
-To bear our crosses individually as well as shoulder a cross together as a community
The first facet of our vision deals with how we live, as a community, within the house. This is our “community fellowship”
-To dedicate ourselves to building, living and sustaining intimate brotherhood and fellowship with one another which is founded in the Word and given to us by the grace of God
-To worship God through our relationships and love of others; to show and express our love for God in the way we love one another
-To be a community of disciples who together become a unified body of greater capacity than the single abilities of it's parts
-To embrace covenant: covenant as individuals with God, covenant with one another, and covenant between the community and God
-To be unified in our dedication to God's will for us as a collective body
-To study the Word of God together, to learn from and teach one another and to support one another in our individual growth and understanding of how to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ
-To practice those truths revealed to us through scripture and prayer actively and intentionally with every part of our lives
-To commit ourselves individually and communally to a foundation of disciplined prayer and meditation
-To live together in the world but not of it; to truly be holy and set apart from the value systems, authorities and idols of this world. To live together so that we become an incarnational community of the Kingdom of Heaven
-Scripture: Acts 2:42, Col. 3:12, John 1:1, John 13:34, John 4:9, 1Cor. 12:12, 1Cor, 12:7, James 1:22, James 1:25, Col. 4:2, Matt. 7:7, Rev. 18:4, John 15:18, 2Pet. 1:5
The second facet of our vision is called “community in our world and on our streets” and is an outline of our intentional and incarnational community ministry within our own neighborhood:
-To practice evangelism by opening our community to our neighbors, inviting them to experience our community and our relationships with each other and God, and above all, showing them a way of life that is set apart from that which they walk in
-To invest time, energy and resources into Christ-centered relationships with our neighbors
-To stand against injustice. To learn the root causes of injustice so that we may align ourselves in opposition to them. To grow in our presence and voice against injustice.
-To be a voice and source of social, economic, spiritual and cultural reconciliation
-To serve the least of these, our brothers and sisters
-To be selfless in our generosity, giving of ourselves and what we have because what we have is a gift in itself
-To learn about the people, cultures and ways of life around us so that we may more effectively identify needs and address them in whatever way God would use us
-To consistently cover our surrounding community it prayer
-To be agents of transformation in our community by investing in the transformation of its individuals. To seek transformation that moves from the inside out, first in ourselves, then in our neighbors and finally in our community
-To invite others to take part in the ways the Holy Spirit moves in and through us
-To share and teach the scriptures to those in our surrounding community
-To invest, to our capacity, efforts of community resurrection
-To align ourselves with already existing efforts of community and social service
-To be prayerfully open and obedient to opportunities for expansion of our vision
-To free ourselves so that we may be used by God to plant seeds and bear fruit
-To promote, invest in and raise up other leaders within the community
-To be a place of safety, a sanctuary of righteous living. To free ourselves and our home for efforts of community organization, support, teaching and community networking
-To offer our influence of faith and spiritual formation to those secular humanity and social services in the area
-To promote efforts of wealth and resource re-distribution, inviting and leading those who have wealth to give generously to efforts against poverty or to the support of those in poverty, by providing a faith-based channel through which to do so
-To promote non-violence by investing in local youth and educating both youth and adults about the message of Jesus and loving others
-Scripture: Mat. 5:3, Eph. 2:19, Mat. 22:37, Isaiah 61:1, Isaiah 61:8, Isaiah 25:4, Deut. 15:1, Gal. 3:26, Col. 1:20, 2Cor. 5:18, Mat. 25:34, Isaiah 58:10, Isaiah 58:6, Deut. 15:10, 2Cor. 8:3, Rom. 8:11, Rom. 12:2, John 15:4, Titus 2:6, Ex. 16:17, Mat. 5:44, Mat. 5:39
The final facet of our vision is that which outlines our relationship to the Church, home churches, and local faith-based organizations. Church Community:
-To invest in and align efforts and support with local churches and ministries
-To be used as a means through which ministries can promote community based initiatives by providing opportunities for volunteer participation
-To be voices and teachers to the larger church community
-To offer our resources to other local ministries
-To be a channel through which church members are able to dive deeper into their faith and the life application of that faith
-To be an outlet through which local ministries can channel their own resources
-To network with other area intentional communities and serve their community initiatives
-To bridge churches and their members across socio-economic, racial and cultural divisions so that the community itself becomes less divided, more diverse and desiring of justice throughout class, race and cultural lines
-Scripture: 2Cor. 9:1, Gal 3:26
These are the points we are wrestling with as of right now. If you have any input, please offer your opinions by leaving a comment, sending an email or contacting one of us directly. This vision is far from set in stone, it is still malleable as we continue to grow in our understanding of our collective purpose, identity and structure.
Thank you to everyone of you who have been along with us on this journey over the last year, either through reading this blog, through prayer, through volunteer time, or through your relationships with us. Those of us who live in Ekklesiah are products of God and of those whom we are surrounded by- and we are greatful to both!
Our vision begins with three general statements that encompass our identity and purpose as a whole:
-To be and incarnational community of Jesus Christ
-To celebrate life, death and resurrection together
-To bear our crosses individually as well as shoulder a cross together as a community
The first facet of our vision deals with how we live, as a community, within the house. This is our “community fellowship”
-To dedicate ourselves to building, living and sustaining intimate brotherhood and fellowship with one another which is founded in the Word and given to us by the grace of God
-To worship God through our relationships and love of others; to show and express our love for God in the way we love one another
-To be a community of disciples who together become a unified body of greater capacity than the single abilities of it's parts
-To embrace covenant: covenant as individuals with God, covenant with one another, and covenant between the community and God
-To be unified in our dedication to God's will for us as a collective body
-To study the Word of God together, to learn from and teach one another and to support one another in our individual growth and understanding of how to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ
-To practice those truths revealed to us through scripture and prayer actively and intentionally with every part of our lives
-To commit ourselves individually and communally to a foundation of disciplined prayer and meditation
-To live together in the world but not of it; to truly be holy and set apart from the value systems, authorities and idols of this world. To live together so that we become an incarnational community of the Kingdom of Heaven
-Scripture: Acts 2:42, Col. 3:12, John 1:1, John 13:34, John 4:9, 1Cor. 12:12, 1Cor, 12:7, James 1:22, James 1:25, Col. 4:2, Matt. 7:7, Rev. 18:4, John 15:18, 2Pet. 1:5
The second facet of our vision is called “community in our world and on our streets” and is an outline of our intentional and incarnational community ministry within our own neighborhood:
-To practice evangelism by opening our community to our neighbors, inviting them to experience our community and our relationships with each other and God, and above all, showing them a way of life that is set apart from that which they walk in
-To invest time, energy and resources into Christ-centered relationships with our neighbors
-To stand against injustice. To learn the root causes of injustice so that we may align ourselves in opposition to them. To grow in our presence and voice against injustice.
-To be a voice and source of social, economic, spiritual and cultural reconciliation
-To serve the least of these, our brothers and sisters
-To be selfless in our generosity, giving of ourselves and what we have because what we have is a gift in itself
-To learn about the people, cultures and ways of life around us so that we may more effectively identify needs and address them in whatever way God would use us
-To consistently cover our surrounding community it prayer
-To be agents of transformation in our community by investing in the transformation of its individuals. To seek transformation that moves from the inside out, first in ourselves, then in our neighbors and finally in our community
-To invite others to take part in the ways the Holy Spirit moves in and through us
-To share and teach the scriptures to those in our surrounding community
-To invest, to our capacity, efforts of community resurrection
-To align ourselves with already existing efforts of community and social service
-To be prayerfully open and obedient to opportunities for expansion of our vision
-To free ourselves so that we may be used by God to plant seeds and bear fruit
-To promote, invest in and raise up other leaders within the community
-To be a place of safety, a sanctuary of righteous living. To free ourselves and our home for efforts of community organization, support, teaching and community networking
-To offer our influence of faith and spiritual formation to those secular humanity and social services in the area
-To promote efforts of wealth and resource re-distribution, inviting and leading those who have wealth to give generously to efforts against poverty or to the support of those in poverty, by providing a faith-based channel through which to do so
-To promote non-violence by investing in local youth and educating both youth and adults about the message of Jesus and loving others
-Scripture: Mat. 5:3, Eph. 2:19, Mat. 22:37, Isaiah 61:1, Isaiah 61:8, Isaiah 25:4, Deut. 15:1, Gal. 3:26, Col. 1:20, 2Cor. 5:18, Mat. 25:34, Isaiah 58:10, Isaiah 58:6, Deut. 15:10, 2Cor. 8:3, Rom. 8:11, Rom. 12:2, John 15:4, Titus 2:6, Ex. 16:17, Mat. 5:44, Mat. 5:39
The final facet of our vision is that which outlines our relationship to the Church, home churches, and local faith-based organizations. Church Community:
-To invest in and align efforts and support with local churches and ministries
-To be used as a means through which ministries can promote community based initiatives by providing opportunities for volunteer participation
-To be voices and teachers to the larger church community
-To offer our resources to other local ministries
-To be a channel through which church members are able to dive deeper into their faith and the life application of that faith
-To be an outlet through which local ministries can channel their own resources
-To network with other area intentional communities and serve their community initiatives
-To bridge churches and their members across socio-economic, racial and cultural divisions so that the community itself becomes less divided, more diverse and desiring of justice throughout class, race and cultural lines
-Scripture: 2Cor. 9:1, Gal 3:26
These are the points we are wrestling with as of right now. If you have any input, please offer your opinions by leaving a comment, sending an email or contacting one of us directly. This vision is far from set in stone, it is still malleable as we continue to grow in our understanding of our collective purpose, identity and structure.
Thank you to everyone of you who have been along with us on this journey over the last year, either through reading this blog, through prayer, through volunteer time, or through your relationships with us. Those of us who live in Ekklesiah are products of God and of those whom we are surrounded by- and we are greatful to both!
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