The Wayback Machine: March
Some things just get better with age. “The Wayback Machine” posts occur at the end of every month and reference the best posts of that month in years past. My hope is to provide a good jumping on point for readers who have never been to Pursuing Glory.
2009
Todd Bentley leading a major healing revival in Lakeland, Florida, falling during its height, and then being restored is probably one of the notable events in the charismatic world over the last decade. I had written about the Lakeland Outpouring previously, and this follow up post looked the restoration process Rick Joyner was taking Todd Bentley through.
2008
What I’ve Learned About Blogging While I Was Gone
March of 2008 marked a return to not just blogging but to the internet as a whole for me. Previous to this post, I had made some mistakes with some posts I had written on this blog, had my only computer crash, and hadn’t had internet for three months. It was during this season that the Lord Jesus taught me a few things about blogging that I thought would be helpful to share. If you’re a blogger, I think you’ll enjoy this post.
Food For Thought: Getting Back In The Swing Edition
Every week here at Pursuing Glory I try to bring together the best posts I’ve found that will equip the end-times church to operate in her God-ordained destiny. These are the best blogs, articles, books and other resources related to our purpose here at this site. Feel free to visit, comment, and make use of the resources found at each site.
This week marks the return of me to blogging after letting that part of my life slide for a few weeks. I’ve had a chance to hang out with some of the coolest people who aren’t part of our house church recently. However that time spent has taken me away from writing, so I’m going to try and get back in the swing of things. This post represents the best posts from the last few weeks. Enjoy!
I think that Jesus is most frequently the part of community that we leave out when we begin to discect a Christian community. Alan writes about Jesus’ centrality in a way that makes his whole discussions on the elements of a church more palatable than most similar discussions.
Two Vital Needs of Every Disciple
One of the things that gets left out of most discussions about discipleship is the necessity of being able to make other disciples. Here Ray writes about the paradox of following Jesus and leading others into following Him.
Change the Atmosphere, Change the Culture
One of the shifts that I’ve seen help people move from a static church mindset into a movement mindset is discovering the spirit of multiplication that the apostles walked in. Here J.D. talks about how that happens with a group people who currently have no vision for reproducing churches.
One of the common misconceptions in the body of Christ is that house churches in the third world are effective because persecution happening around them fuels evangelism and discipleship. Actually persecution causes the church to return to her organic roots and when she does that, she spreads quickly and naturally.
With the house church movement in the United States as new as it is, little has been written about what mature house church networks look like. This post has an incredible visual that says volumes about how a network of house churches can function interdependently.
Photo Credit: Design Probes – Food for Thought by centralasian.
What Japan Doesn’t Need
I just finished reading an email sent out by Wolfgang and Mercy Simson describing their perspective on world events in light of the recent earthquake and tidal wave that has rocked Japan. Opinions about the situation are a dime a dozen, but I found this thought by Wolfgang extremely helpful. In describing how the church should address such a crisis he says this:
“Don’t do what the world does, but do what only Kingdom people can do, and no-one else. Kingdom people do not need to join the choir of a world without God that only sees the superficial humanitarian, economic, scientific or psychological aspects of disasters.” –Wolfgang Simson
I think this is incredibly key for the hour that we’re living in. Right now, with all of the calamity and war taking place around us, it can be easy for us to become humanitarians. And while I love helping others (and trust me, we will be called to help others) there has to be something that separates our response from the response of every other human being that doesn’t know Christ. You see Japan doesn’t need more money, they need Jesus.
The world has money, star power, volunteers, and sympathy. What they don’t have is any cure for the wrath of God that manifests itself partially in this age and fully in the age to come. What they don’t have is Christ, loving them, leading them, indwelling them, and empowering them. He alone is the cure for everything broken in this world. He is anything but impractical. When a group of people come under the Lordship of Jesus and experience His life, they will change and heal society just by their very nature.
There will be a day when all the world’s money, star power, and volunteerism will not suffice to bring healing. The weight of sin and the outpouring of God’s wrath will be too great. In those days the church will no longer be able to rely on what she has been able to do through human means, but only on what she has learned to give from Jesus. Her access to a supernatural God who changes mankind, heals the sick, restores the broken, and shifts the heavens will be crucial. The time to learn how to give this is right now.
Wolfgang goes on to describe other practical responses the church can make, and I would encourage you to check out his email that he sent and the pdf attached that gives you some insight into his revelation about Japan.
Photo Credit: Shibuya Night by Guwashi999
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 