Just some pics

Happy Monday to you all!  I am sitting here in Starbucks staring at my computer screen trying to will myself into writing something meaningful and deep... without much luck.  It's not that I don't anything to say... I just can't stop it all from swirling around long enough for me to form it into cohesive thoughts. SO I thought I would simply post some pics of my little girl's soccer game.  Everybody likes pictures, right?

    

Not to be outdone by her sister, Andrew deserves mention as well.  He is now an official adolescent!  Our little boy turned twelve yesterday, and I feel sooooo old.  I am proud of him, though.  He's about as good a 12-year old as they come, so I can't really complain.

There's so much more for me to write, but I have a lot of design work to get done, so I will leave all of that for later.

Salt and light...

I am very proud of my two kids, and this week I was reminded even more of that.  God has truly blessed BJ and I with two wonderful children that both love and respect us, and who are excellent representations of what we hope for them to be.  On Tuesday I was reminded of this when I went to Andrew's school to discuss an opportunity for me to make t-shirts for the NJHS of Boone Middle.  After my meeting, I was talking with Mr. Thorpe (an Administrator and one of Andrew's teachers) and one of the secretaries.  They both continually sang the praises of Andrew.  He has shown them that students CAN have integrity, morals, and respect.  I was swelling with pride.  Andrew isn't the best of students (academically speaking... like his old man), but he is a great kid... so great that he has had 4 Student of the Month nominations this year.  I am so proud to be able to say to teachers and administration that I am Andrew Hendrix's father.  

That same day, my little girl warmed my heart as well.  Abi started soccer.  She was sooooo cute in her little soccer shorts, cleats, and shin guards.  I was so proud watching her immediately jump in to a group of kids that she does not know and make an impact.  She did so well with the drills, and actually came close to scoring a goal during the little scrimmage.  Her big personality stood out like her blonde ponytail as it danced among a sea of brunettes.   More than once I heard from other parents about how cute my little girl was.  I just smiled and said, "Thank you."  When we were riding in the truck on the way home she couldn't stop talking, and I couldn't stop beaming.  Her first game is this Saturday and she is in training.  Every day after she gets home from school we go jogging around the neighborhood (yes, I can keep up just fine thank you!).  She has a long way to go before she get compared with Mia Hamm or Kristine Lilly, but she already has a fan in this old softie.

Thinking about my kids and their impact on other people moved my thoughts to what I have been reading in Scripture.  Last week I wrote about the Beatitudes, the "blessed are"'s that Jesus spoke in the 5th chapter of Matthew (vs. 3-12).  The following verses (13-16) are usually called the "salt and light" verses.  I was taught these verses completely divorced from the preceeding verses, and the main emphasis was on being a good "Christian"; which usually meant "don't drink, don't smoke, don't cuss, don't have sex outside of marriage, don't listen to 'secular' music, read your Bible every day, go to church, etc."  Now, I'm not taking issue with these things (at least most of them), but I am taking issue with the teaching of these things as being the objects of intent for Jesus' instruction.  These verses immediately follow the beatitudes which should lead us to understand that they are in reference to the beatitudes.  In other words, we could read the passages (vs. 3-16) so:

It is good and right for you to be aware of your lack of righteousness and holiness before God.  It is good and right for you  to mourn this and to mourn the results of this in your life,  the world, and in the lives of those around you.  It is good and right for you to be gentle with others and to diligently seek the righteousness that you lack.  It is good and right for you to be merciful to those who are just as unrighteous and unholy as you, and for you to be pure in your thoughts and actions.  You should always pursue peace with these people, even if they are not peaceful towards you.

Why?  Because this is what it means to live.  This is what it means to be human.  Living this way preserves and enhances the life you were given, and the lives of those around you... like salt.  Living life any other way is to live in an inhuman way, lacking compassion and mercy.  You would cease to be as you were created... kind of like salt that loses its saltiness.  What purpose would you then serve, being inhuman?  None.   Living this way is the example for everyone.  It is an obvious way of living that cannot be ignored or missed.  It's like a city on a hill, or a lamp.  You don't hide a lamp in a box do you?  No, otherwise it wouldn't serve the purpose for which it was meant.  You put it in the center of the room so it will light the house.  Living according to how you were created  is supposed to be done in an obvious way, not so you will be praised, but so God can be glorified. 

I believe the beatitudes are given to us as the example of how to live, and if we do so we will be living in such a way as to glorify God, and if we do not we will be living in a way that negates our created purpose.  Salt without saltiness is an impossibility, just as humanity without compassion and mercy is impossible (sure we are merciless and lack compassion... so can we be considerd fully human in these instances?  Something to think about...).  Living according to our created intent helps to not only preserve humanity, but to also propel it into the future (by example) and give continual glory to our Father in heaven.  Jesus came to restore humanity.  It is only through Him that we are able to live according to the "beatitudes."  Without Jesus, we are not fully human... like un-salty salt, and a hidden lamp.

Andrew and Abi helped me see what it means to be "salt and light".  Their actions (although different both in context and execution) showed me and others that it is possible to be honest, friendly, responsible, compassionate, respectful, cooperative, fun, and conciliatory.  Do they always get it right?  Of course not!  Do they still make me proud and serve as a reminder of how I need to be living?  Absolutely!

Blessed are...

Recently I committed to stop reading books about the Bible, faith, and Christianity.  This isn't a wholesale rejection of all things literate, but rather a conviction that I had about my lack of passion for reading the Bible.  You see, I was very eager to read what  so-and-so has to say about the Bible, grace, atonement, passion, compassion, theology, doctrine, etc.... but I wasn't as eager to read the very thing they were writing about.  I felt it necessary to fully grasp the message before I engaged in mental conversations about the message.  What I was doing was in effect like reading a book about fishing and then entering a fishing tournament without ever having cast a line or wet a hook.  This doesn't mean I have never read the Bible.  I have, and do... I just haven't given it proper placement.

So, with that being said, I would like to share part of what I read today.  During my reading I encountered the Sermon on the Mount as found in Matthew 5-7.  I've read this a number of times, but usually breezed right through the first twelve verses of chapter 5 (The Beatitudes).  I chose to read slowly and here's what I found... certain things are expected of us.  We are expected to act, behave, think, and react in certain ways.  These are not laws, but rather guidelines for living as expected by our Creator... they are the rubric by which we are to evaluate our everyday lives.  Here's what I found:

• We are to recognize our need of God's help (poor in spirit)
• We are to have sorrow for the results of sin (mourn)
• We are to be gentle... not weak, but gentle (meek)
• We are to be hungry and thirsty for God's righteousness (as a result of being poor in spirit)
• We are to show kindness and forgiveness (merciful)
• We are to pursue purity... not just sexual, but also of thought, deed, and action (pure in heart)
• We are to promote total well-being, shalom (peacemakers)
• We are to remain faithful amid opposition and attack (persecuted)

Now, as a believer I do not find these surprising.  I was not shocked to read them.  I was not blown-away by the discovery of new truths... what I did experience was shame.  I placed my life up against these handful of verses and found myself severely lacking (hey check it!  I'm poor in spirit!).  In my mind I saw where I had not been mournful enough.  I have not been gentle with others.  I have not fully hungered and thirst for God's righteousness (His provision, yes... righteousness, no).  I haven't been merciful.  I haven't made pure actions and thoughts a stronghold of priority.  I haven't promoted shalom.  I haven't fully remained faithful amid persecution.

Please understand that I am not beating myself up publicly to elicit compassion or pity.  I am acknowledging that I am fully engaged in the journey of becoming like Christ.  I am His follower and place my everything into His hands.  I want this message to serve as a reminder to myself, and to others that we can neglect the "simple" things in pursuit of the grand.  I pray you all take time to look at these few verses of encouragement and instruction from our Savior.

I'll post more as I navigate through the whole Sermon on the Mount.

Long Time Coming

My, my, my... over one month has passed since I last wrote.  Tsk, tsk!  Well, in my defense... I was without Internet at the house, and the time I spent at Starbucks was used exclusively for getting work done.  Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous benefactor, we now have Internet at the house once more.  I still have a LOT of work to do, but I thought I would take some time to update everyone on how things are going with the church plant.

During the Christmas break, our church decided not to do a major production or any other typical Christmas-y outreach.  Instead, we hosted a simple party at the pastor's home for all the friends, associates, and neighbors that we had met so far.  It was a fun get-together and we had a good number of new faces and names to learn.  There wasn't a program per-se, but we did do some Christmas songs (with a very cool Appalachian vibe) and Jesse gave a very succinct and effective explanation of who we are and why we celebrate Christmas.  All in all, the evening was great.

Over the past two months, our group has been meeting in our house on Saturday evenings to eat together and to spend time in prayer.  The prayer time was sort of Quaker-ish, and depended completely on the Spirit to "shape" the meetings.  I believe God really used this time to work out a few things in our hearts and minds concerning the direction and vision of the Roots Community.  That time has come to an end and we are getting ready to "program" a weekly service.  It will still be on Saturday evenings and at our house, but we will shape it to resemble a "typical" worship service.  Jesse and Doug (our teaching/discipleship pastor) will be teaching through our vision and values, using the book of Acts to do so.  I am very excited as we do all of this in preparation to launching our first public services in March.  Pray for us as we are currently seeking churches, organizations, and individuals to partner with us in an effort to make public services possible.

Last Saturday (as part of our continuing effort to connect with our community and to live "incarnationally") we hosted a BBQ picnic at the community park of our neighborhood.  This was a simple get-together to which we invited the entire subdivision.  Fliers were put on every door the Wednesday or Thursday before, and a couple of signs were stuck at the two entrances.  We expected to have a few people stop by and get a free hot dog or hamburger... what actually happened was that we created a catalyst event that brought our neighborhood together in a way that has never happened before.  People showed up, got some food, hung out, brought their dogs, let their kids play, talked with neighbors they never knew, and stayed ALL DAY!  

  

  

I don't know how many people showed up, but we had the little community park packed with kids running around, parents talking with each other for the first time, and some serious basketball being played.  It was amazing to see how hungry people were for community.  Everyone was so thankful.  Now, some people may be asking, "did you give them any literature or information about your church?"  No.  Whatever information was given would have happened in conversation.  We weren't about promoting the church.  We were simply being the church.

I am so very excited about what God is doing in our little rag-tag group of church planters.  He is moving in a way that many of us could not have predicted.  Is it going the way we wanted?  Not necessarily.  Of course, that's not always a bad thing.  Many of us are still struggling financially, but we have a bit more peace about it now that we've seen God's provision come through in ways we never imagined.  His provision isn't always easy, and it is often painful (to us and to others), but we know it is much better than what our cleverness can create.  Keep praying, and keep seeking!

Update...

     I haven't written anything lately, so I wanted to add a little something to keep my "fans" (you know who you are!) satisfied.  Right now I am sitting in a cafe in Ocoee, FL while BJ is in an "interview" for an administrative assistant job.  I hate this!  It's driving me nuts.  I woke up this morning with the overwhelming feeling that the next few days are going to dictate our future direction here in Central Florida.  We are unemployed, penniless, WAYYYY behind on bills, and close to eviction... how much pressure does that put on a simple interview!?  I also have a job interview tomorrow evening to do the web, graphic, and print design for a church in Orlando.  I know I can do it, but I am so stinking nervous that I'm afraid I'm gonna bomb the interview.  I feel like Lenny with the baby rabbits.  I don't want this opportunity to slip by, so I choke it to death!  Please pray for us.  We need work.  We have about $400 in monthly sponsorship which we are very thankful for, but is sadly not enough to even meet our basic needs.  I know, I know.  I'm whining.  

     On a posotive note, The Roots Community had another great community collision this weekend.  On Black Friday we gathered in the parking lot of our local retail park (at 3 a.m.!) and handed out coffee and donuts to people waiting in line at the stores.  We wound up staying until about 8:30 and handed out around 300 + cups of coffee and an innumerable amount of little donuts.  We had a great response from people, entered in a few good conversations, and made some really great inroads with the management of the JcPenny.  We are currently brainstorming different ways to continue a good relationshp with them.  Our next community endeavor is to offer a candelight gathering in our neighborhood for Christmas.  More on that as it shapes up.

    Overall, things are moving along nicely.  Please pray for our employment and financial situation as well as for transformed lives as the result of intentional collisions with our community.  We know God is continuing to work in and through us in every situation, good or bad.