25 Things I've Learned in 2 Years

[Tony] It is incredible to think that we have been doing intentional community in Dayton's Bluff for almost two years now. I couldn't begin to try to recapture everything that we have seen, learned, and experienced while we've been here. For me, the last two years have consisted of some of the most profound and transformational experiences of my life. I have grown immensely from who I was when we started and I'm glad that I've grown enough to now realize how much more I have to learn. Nevertheless, I recently sat down and started a list of some of the most important things I have either learned or experienced over the last two years here at Ekklesiah. This list is in no way exhaustive, but its a start. Maybe I'll follow it up with another one soon enough. But, for now, my top 25:

1.We don't have to “bring” God anywhere, God is already there.
2.Love is incredibly disarming and its power should never be underestimated
3.Whether we think we do or not, we all drag around a large bag of stereotypes and biases
4.Becoming aware of our own biases, stereotypes, privileges, and assumptions can be extremely difficult, sometimes painful, but so worth it!
5.Kids just want to be kids... and so do we, lets go find some chalk!
6.Jesus is desperately in love with homosexuals!
7.Community empowers the individual to accomplish more than they ever could on their own
8. We must learn to love by seeking and learning from the heart of God
9.While we learn to love, we will make mistakes. Part of loving is knowing that we will all make mistakes and that love is most powerful when it keeps on loving through them, unconditionally. People are beautiful, no matter how broken.
10.Church is so much more than a group of people who sing songs and listen to a pastor together on Sunday mornings.
11.We all contribute to the brokenness of our world, lets not be so fast to point our fingers at who is “right” and who is “wrong,” instead, lets accept that we've all contributed to the mess and figure out ways to help each other begin rebuilding
12.My most powerful worship experiences, my most intimate interactions with the Holy Spirit, and my most genuine impressions of “church” have come on the streets with hustlers, dealers, thugs, single mothers, addicts, the poor, the marginalized, and the forgotten. Given the number of times this truth is mentioned in scripture, this should surprise no one.
13.Jesus can throw a party that you will never forget.
14.Together, we actively choose what we want our world to look like
15.Always give God his props, he most definitely deserves it! Glory, honor, power, and praise to God!
16.Prayer matters
17.When Jesus says “bear your cross and follow me” he isn't kidding.
18.Let yourself by “interruptable,” most of the time the Spirit moves in ways that we don't expect. You wont regret it.
19.There is nothing more important than our relationship with God and relationships with other people
20.We desperately need each other
21.We are not called to be extraordinary on our own, we are called to be normal and to acknowledge our weaknesses because it is in our weakness that Jesus turns ordinary into extraordinary
22.Jesus is still alive. The Gospels are still good news. And Jesus is restoring everything- right now!
23.A simple life creates more space to be filled by God
24.God could completely restore the world right now if he wanted to, it is a blessing that we don't deserve that he would rather use us to bring forth restoration through relationships with us.
25.We have no idea what we are capable of as a force of truth, love, and restoration in this world: each one of us is wonderfully and fearfully made. Jesus knows we can walk on water. Most of the time we just don't really believe Him.

Good News and Ordinary Extraordinary People

[Tony] So, I love my seminary classes because of the things that I get to write about. I recently wrote a paper emphasizing the imperative need to address Christian social ministry within the context of community, arguing that an approach to Christian social ministry that occurs outside of the collective body of believers is inherently extremely limited in its ability to pursue deep, holistic social ministry. Anyway, I want to share the conclusion to this particular paper as it reminded me so much of the gift that God has given to us through the community that has been the heart of Ekklesiah. This is a response to a book by Derrel Watkins- to clarify the mention of the name in the paragraph below. Above all, writing this reminded me of how much I have fallen in love with the people I get to "do" community with, share in Christ with, and live out good news of eternal life that starts now with. Enjoy!
"To be a Christian is to believe that both Christ and the Gospels are still alive and relevant. The “good news” of Christ is not simply news of life after death, instead it is news of life before death, heaven on earth. It is news that through Christ, God is currently establishing His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. The “good news” is news that is relevant now. Christian social ministry must see itself as an element of Christ's community of believers. As Christians, we are all called to collectively share the burden of “social ministry” however, it must also be understood that “social ministry” refers to the social repercussions of many living within the world but not of it, identifying themselves as the living body of Christ who is still bringing good news to the poor, is still proclaiming liberties to the captives, still recovering the sight of the blind, still setting at liberty those who are oppressed, and still proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor. The Christian community, like Jesus' original disciples, is not called to be extraordinary on its own, limited by a prerequisite of ability and skill. Instead, those within the community are called to be ordinary men and women made extraordinary through Christ. Watkins fails to acknowledge that within the single entity of the Christian community, whether we are marked by prolific need or by a substantial ability to give generously, we are all called to participate in social ministry. Social ministry within the Christian community perceives the least within it, the “client,” as the greatest asset. The “client” is the identity of Christ, for it is in the presence of the “client” that we interact most intimately with the presence of Christ."

PRAYER REQUESTS

summer brings the opportunity to get moving often and rapidly. we merely wanted to share some items with our community in hopes that as a larger group we can be lifting up one another.

Please Pray for the interactions that Kaleb Greene has on a daily basis at Big Sandy Camp. May strength be provided to him [in all forms] and may his actions be a reflection of Jesus.

Please Pray for Ryan's journey in Thailand. May Ryan's heart be altered in ways that he will never be the same again after these experiences in Thailand.

Colton Long has joined the house for this summer season. We Pray for the opportunities he has during his internship at the MN Court of Appeals and also hope he is blessed by his short stay @ Ekklesiah.

Finally, Please pray for Ekklesiah in general. An large, long transition phase is already underway. Right now we really don't know what the end of the transition looks like. But we ask for prayer for what this transition means for us individually and for the community in totality. Shalom.

"I Saw A Sliver Of Jesus' Heart"

[Nathanial] I was administering a standardized writing exam for a fifth grader who did not speak English as his primary language at home. He had a question that asked him whether he would like to learn to play the guitar or the drums. He chose the guitar. The exam then asked this student to write two reasons why he chose this instrument. The student responded in this way:

1) I would learn to play the guitar so that I could teach other littler kids to play the guitar.
2) And I would learn to play the guitar because my mom wants me to show her how to play chords on the guitar.

Watching this student write this response was deeply humbling. I wanted to scream at him, [sarcastically], "Try and be a little more selfless!!!" Absolutely no part of his response is for his own personal gain. His motivations were purely for the eventual benefit of OTHER PEOPLE! That day, I caught a little glimpse of the heart of Jesus Christ (: Shalom.

2nd Annual FREE YARD SALE

2nd Annual Free Yard Sale!
Saturday, June 19th, 2010
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

243 Bates Ave.
Saint Paul, Mn 55106

What: A free yard sale is, well, exactly what it sounds like. Its like any other garage/yard sale, except everything is free! We will be accepting donated “sale items” throughout the week prior to the event. Last year we had quite a spectrum of items. We are really looking for anything that you would otherwise sell in a garage/yard sale. Clothes (in good condition), books, furniture, music, kids toys, sports stuff, shoes, purses, electronics, appliances... anything that you don't need anymore, don't need anymore, or you really just think you could live without! (please bring any large items and furniture the morning of the sale)

We'll take all of the donations and spread them out on the lawn. Then, we'll spend the rest of the day making friends, hanging out, and sharing in the gifts we've been given. Bring some stuff to give away, bring a lawn chair, and come hang out!

Oh, and this year's Free Yard Sale is also the Love: St. Paul event for the month of June at the Gallery Covenant Church!

Why? A free yard sale is kind of an experiment in a lot of things. Ekklesiah is all about reconsidering the ways we live life. We like to get a little alternative. We're learning to love a little more radically. We're searching for ways to make how we live our lives every day look more like Jesus. Ekklesiah is also all about getting creative with how we understand “church”. What does it look like for a bunch of not-so-perfect, extremely ordinary, extremely human people to be the living breathing body of Christ? How do those people live together? What do those people do together? What does that mean for the world around us? (I mean, the gospel is good news, right? So shouldn't the church be the living gospel? Good news for the world?) Another reason we do the Free Yard Sale every year is because we believe in helping out our neighbors. Our neighborhood in Dayton's Bluff is home to many who are struggling to get by. Many of the people who came to our Free Yard Sale last year were people who took things that they actually really needed- clothes, a nicer pair of shoes, a decent couch. We like to imagine what the world would look like if we cared as much about our neighbor's wellbeing as much as our own.

Hope to see you there!

A Strange Contrast
[Nathanial] This morning I had the experience of making my first court appearance. It was just appealing an address change on my license, but the law processes I encountered shed a surprising reminder on eternity.

Essentially, I agreed to pay additional money for the opportunity to have a former traffic offense wiped off my personal record. Again, let me clarify, I paid for the opportunity for legal redemption. Only under the stipulation that I maintain proper behavior [and don't repeat offenses] for the next year can I then be rewarded with a clean slate. I understand that this is a little corny, but I couldn't help but think of Jesus Christ as I drove away from the district court this morning.

Man, I am thankful that God's grace is unconditional! knowing that I just PAID for a form of forgiveness really made me appreciate what Jesus did on the cross a little more. How contrary to humanity and earthly society was Jesus' act? Somebody ELSE "paid" for all those offenses. Somebody ELSE took care of it all for me! How amazing is that!!! Merely a nice reminder on a sunny drive to school today. Shalom.

We Want To Hear From You!

[ Tony ] So, I'm gonna try to turn the tables a little...

As a community, all of us at Ekklesiah have learned so much about the value of listening to the voices of the community that surrounds us. If we are a community together, if we are committed to doing life together, and doing it in an incarnational way, then we should be able to trust in the perpectives of those we do community with. We all know, and are thankful, that Ekklesiah is a community that is much more extensive than simply the five of us who live together here in St. Paul. I know there are many of you who read our blog who do know us, and know some of us very well. I know that many of our readers are people who we regularly share life with – many of you are people who cannot go without mention in the story of what Ekklesiah is, has been, and is becoming.

So, first, I want to express a deep thankfulness for the support that we have from so many, whether its through furniture in our house, to spiritual mentoring, to encouragement, to prayer – all of it is a blessing from God, and we thank God for you.

Second, I want to do something new. The point of this post is to get your responses to some questions. In your interactions with Ekklesiah, what are some healthy ways that you would challenge us as a community to dive deeper into life in community? What are some ways that Ekklesiah can serve to a greater capacity? As a community, what kinds of things does Ekklesiah do well and not so well? If you could sit the five of us down all at once and give us one piece of advice/knowledge, what would you say? Do you have any tangible ideas as to how Ekklesiah can have a greater presence in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood? Do you have any tangible ideas as to how Ekklesiah can serve the larger Church to a greater capacity? Is there anything Ekklesiah does that you don't understand or have a hard time with? What kinds of things have you learned about God, about yourself, about other people, about community, about church, etc. from your interactions with Ekklesiah?

Thats a lot of questions, I know. I don't expect anyone to answer all of them – but we'd love it if someone actually tried! Please consider the questions above. If any of them stick out to you, please let us know what you are thinking / feeling. As a community, we understand that life together in Christ requires a great deal of listening and learning. We value the discerning power of community and we truly want to hear the perspectives of those we do life with.

There is a “COMMENT” button at the bottom of this post. If you wish to answer one or some or all of the questions above, please use the COMMENT feature and answer away! The best part of using the COMMENT button is that you actually have the option to post responses anonymously –

Looking forward to your input!

Oh, we also reserve the right to respond to your comments. That doesn't mean we have any desire whatsoever to debate or argue over anything. We value open dialogue. Mutual learning starts there...