Notes From the Margins
From time to time, I like to start new features here in the blog. You can check out my last new feature that I started, called “Blogs I Wish I Wrote” here. Now, to be honest, I’ve only posted a “Blog I Wish I Wrote” one time….but I haven’t seen any blogs I’ve been jealous over lately…so I’m kind of limited here, okay?
Let me give you a little background on this new feature. See, awhile ago I bought this great new ESV bible with giant, lined margins for note-takers like myself. I’ve always wanted a bible that took the space most Bibles give to commentary and leaves it empty for you to write your own commentary. The cynical side of me believes the market for a Bible like this has to be incredibly small. Regardless, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Bible and am quickly filling up the pages.
Anyways, it’s time for another new feature called “Notes From the Margins.” My hope is to post here somewhat regularly something that I’ve discovered in my Bible reading and scrawled across the note-taking sides of my new Bible. Now, like any good feature there are a few rules and guidelines. I will list them here and refer back to them when I post:
- I will quote the passage of the scripture I am commenting on first before I give any thoughts on the passage in question. I do not do this for my benefit, but for yours. Please take the time to read the passage before you read my thoughts. I will not respond to anyone who has obviously not read the quote and just wants to argue based on opinions.
- These are the notes in my Bible, nothing more, nothing less. Please test them against the Scripture quoted in the post. See Rule #1.
- These are the notes in my Bible, not yours. You should feel free to contradict what I say in my post in the comment section if you want, but at the end of the day, I may not erase my notes from my Bible or from this blog if I still disagree with you.
- Notes are notes. What I mean by that is these are things that I scribble down as I am in the moment. They are ideas that are not static or the mature fruit of study. Often they will be ideas in seed form that the Lord will develop as we go. Please allow me (and others) to change our minds on these verses as the Lord gives more light. See Note # 2.
- Participation is great. I could keep these thoughts in the margins of my Bible, but no one would benefit from them. Please comment on my thoughts, leave your own, and even feel free to post your own “Notes from the Margins” in the comment section or on your own blog. If you decide to post your own notes on your own blog, let me know so I can link you in.
Okay, so those are the rules, kids. Have fun. Look for a “Notes from the Margins” post in your neighborhood soon!
Acts 29 and Movement Thinking
Today, while I was at work I plugged in my MP3 player to a set of computer speakers that I brought in from home. While I do this most days, I’m usually listening to worship music of some kind. But within the last couple of days I loaded way more preaching onto my Walkman than should be allowed in any country, and so instead of listening to music at work, I listened to preaching. The great thing about it was that I found myself wanting to get back to my desk and work so that I could hear more of the sermon that was paused while I was away. It was good motivation to stay at my desk and to continue working.
The featured speaker of the day was Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. Mark has a movement of young men desiring to plant churches all over the place and has done (from what I understand) an amazing job of bringing the true Gospel to tons of non-believers. This sermon was given to a group of potential church planters that were thinking of joining Mark’s Acts 29 church planting network. It had a lot of funny moments, some stuff I liked, and some stuff I disagreed with.
But what the sermon did, it did well…and that’s this…Mark described very well the nature and pitfalls of movements. He described movements as a river made up of various tributaries, always focusing on young adults, always harnessing new technology, and always bringing reformation to those outside of the movement’s reach. One of the things I greatly appreciated about Mark’s message was the single-minded focus he had about keeping Acts 29 focused on bringing the gospel to lost souls and planting churches where lost people are saved. Mark has taken great pains to make sure that nothing else eclipses that goal.
And in the process it reminded me that all true, Jesus-centered movements are on the same mission that Jesus was on–to seek and save the lost. There are no new movements (in the Kingdom, at least) where people are not being converted. We (as a house-church and as part of the larger house church movement) need to make sure we don’t loose this as a cardinal value. When we loose this, we become just another plateauing church that is part of the reason lost people are going to hell every day. But if we embrace not just Jesus, but the mission He is on as well, we reconnect ourselves with the very cause the Church on earth exits and we become a little more like the phenomenal Jesus-movements of history.
I’ll talk more about movements sometime. For now…are you part of the movement of Jesus to reclaim humanity under the reign of God?
While We Slept
For those of you who enjoy stuff from Wolfgang Simson, his wife Mercy has started a blog that captures their life together. The Lord also gives Mercy strategic dreams for the body of Christ. If you’re interested in her blog you can check it out here.
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 