Reflections on the Tree of LIfe: Living with Jesus as Our Brother

Imagine the scene. Jesus has become popular in the previous months and his family was feeling a bit ignored by him. So, they came to see him. He got word that his mother and brothers were outside and wanted to talk to him. Instead of rushing to see them, he answered with questions: “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “These are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:46-50).

It’s easy to gloss over this passage until we really think about what Jesus did in that moment. He redefined his definition of family for us. When we become his disciple and seek to live as he modeled for us, we become his brothers and sisters and even his mother.

I’ve been asking people in huddle if they think about Jesus as their brother. Most often I get a look of surprise and then a quick shake of the head, “No.” It seems to be one thing to consider ourselves part of God’s family, but it’s quite another to understand that Jesus considers us his siblings.

How do we treat our siblings? As we grow up, we are often in competition; seeking to be the one who gets the special treatment. Our siblings are one of the key places where we work out how to live in relationship with people, so many of us have scars from our early years. Some of us are estranged from our siblings even today.

Now that Jesus has told us that we are his siblings if we follow the will of his Father, the next step is to understand how we walk that out. How did Jesus live with his new family, his disciples?
One way that Jesus lived with his disciples in family relationship is how he continually pointed them to exercising generosity. He demonstrated it in just about every possible situation we read about.

One time the disciples were upset because they saw a man in the synagogue using Jesus’ name to cast out demons. They were proud of themselves because they told the man that if he wasn’t hanging out with them that he needed to stop (Mark 9).

But, Jesus saw it differently. He realized that everyone who is using his name to bring the kingdom will grow in faith and will not soon be able to speak evil of him. He stated, “Anyone who is not against us is for us. If anyone gives a cup of cold water because you belong to the Messiah, I assure that the person will be rewarded.”

Sometimes we want to draw tight lines around “who is acceptable in our crowd.” We want to keep our family pure and unpolluted. But, Jesus taught his disciples that when we reach out to welcome others into our relationships, we are actually expanding the family of God. We are welcoming others to join in.

The amazing thing about God is that he doesn’t have limited capacity.

He is able to keep extending and inviting and growing his family. Those already in it don’t get less; we all continue to receive his extensive generosity.

I think that we fight as siblings and families because we don’t trust that there is “enough:” enough time, enough love, enough money, enough affirmation, enough presence, enough of anything we desire to go around. So, we begin to fight for what we want; believing that we can make it happen.

This is what Adam and Eve fell for in the Garden. They fell for the lie that God was holding out on them, when in reality they already had everything that God had; except the presence of evil in their lives.

Jesus kept bringing his disciples back to the original truth about his Father: his extreme generosity. He showed that we can welcome someone in from another part of life and make room for them, and that by sharing what we already have, we are extending the generosity of God and bringing more blessing upon ourselves.

We only really get to keep what we give away.

Bill Johnson tells a story of a woman that had a need of $500. Bill gave her $50 and told her that there was 500 in the 50. So, she took it and wondered how God was going to supply the rest of the money she needed.

She went to the store that night and met a family that had no way to pay for their groceries. She gave them her $50 because she saw their need was greater than hers.

When she got home, she was stunned to see a person at her doorstep with a check for $500. This woman learned that when we are generous, we receive the gift of seeing God’s generosity multiplied.

What are you holding onto tightly? Is it your time? your money? your family? your friends? Today, as a sign of trust in the generosity of our Heavenly Father, open up your hands and release them back to him.

As you do this, you will see the area you fear brought back to you multiplied many times over. You will also be stepping into a closer position in your family where Jesus is your brother teaching you how to live in healthy relationship with our siblings all around us.

New Year's Resolutions: What Happens to Them?

It's almost the end of January, so I am wondering how are you doing on your new year's resolution? First of all, did you make a resolution? If so, at the end of 30 days, the length of time that it takes to establish a new habit, how are you doing?

I found the survey by George Barna re: New Year's Resolutions to be very englightening. (www.barna.org/culture-articles/465-american-resolutions-for-2011)

See what you think:

He found out that 19% of people actually make a resolution. Of that 19%, only 23% found that they experienced significant, long term change to their behaviors and attitudes. One of the reasons for this limited success is that most approach their resolutions by themselves and don't incorporate a support system of friends, family or support groups. In other words, we seek to do our resolutions alone because if we don't acheive them, we don't have any accountability attached to the failure.

Signficantly, the majority of the resolutions focus on self-oriented changes: weight, diet, health, money, debt and finances, personal improvement, addiction, job and career, spiritual or church related and educational.

What's missing from these resolutions is the decision to improve relationships with others.

There is also only a very small percent that wants to volunteer or serve others, as well as marriage and parenting. There is almost no response for wanting to be a better frined, or even smaller, to improve our relationship with God. Actually, it was only 9 out of more than a 1,000 surveys: less than 1%.

They write, "Even in the rare instance when people mention spiritual goals, it is often about an activity undertaken for God, rather than a personal pursuit of God or an experience with God."

What does this say to us?

We've bit the apple.

We have bought into the lie that it is better to improve ourselves to find acceptance, rather than to become an accepting people that look for ways to embrace others.

We find ourselves trying to better ourselves to "fit in" rather than providing an attractive alternative to the ever elusive changing bar of acceptance.

When God created us, he created us for meaningful relationship with himself and one another and meaningful partnership to the world. He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply.

So, how do we live into his command?

Matthew 6:33 tells us to "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you."

This is the pursuit of the kingdom that leads us into all life. When we prioritize our relationship with the God who Created us, (not doing something for him, but living in the moment to moment relationship) we find life. This life leads us into the "all things" of life. That means our weight, our job success, our familial relationships, our finances, all of it is the "all things promise."

I am testing this theme in 2011. I am seeking to "seek first his kingdom and his right living/right relationship (righteousness), and waiting to see "how the all things comes about!"

Will you join me? It's only 11 months now; you get a pass for a free month!

Missio Lux Missio: Dinner for the Marketplace

Scot Sustad: Giving his initial vision

Jeff Rogers from Kiros Walter: Leader of the One Institute Steve Cockram from 3dm

Thursday night was a picture of the opportunity that Missio Lux gives for everyone to live out their missio (mission), the unique kingdom role that God gives to all of us.

Last night, Scot assembled 30 marketplace leaders all together for a dinner. This dinner was the result of a vision that Scot had almost one year ago when the Lord showed him that he was to bring strategic leaders together to meet one another; learn from one another and to allow kingdom relationships begin to form.

Scot invited Jeff Rogers, head of Kiros Ministries in Seattle, a key connector for the Marketplace to speak. Jeff pointed to many in the room and spoke about their contribution, and then mentioned key national leaders who have come to Seattle because they have heard of the movement happening here. The movement is God's people, all of us, being used to break forth revival in our area.

Next Walter from the One Institute spoke. Walter spoke of a big disappointment in his life that God used to help birth the One Institute which helps identify and equip young entrepreneurial leaders to use their full gifts and talents for the kingdom.

Steve Cockram from 3dm spoke during dessert. He spoke about the triangle of information, imitation and innovation that takes place during discipleship. We have traditionally focused too much on information in the Church, but Jesus did all three: he taught, but he also called his disciples to "follow me and I will teach you through experience....imitation. As we discover our unique calling and style, we are able to innovate and put our unique mark on those that we are discipling.

Scot ended by inviting those present to join him in the discipleship journey by joining a huddle. He passed out gifts: two pictures of a harvest (with a challenge to give one away to someone that we are praying for), and a Building a Discipleship Culture book.

It was an amazing evening and I saw there in great pleasure as I watched the vision of Missio Lux move forward. It's great to spend our missio funds to help the poor, and Missio Lux has many who do that; but it's also a strategic use of funds to bring those that have the potential to use their financial and relational capital to mobilize others to participate in God's great kingdom purposes.

After Scot was finished making his invitation, a man from the boomer generation stood up and said that he had never seen such a thing happen. He noted that a 28 year old had assembled them all for a delicious dinner, good wine, gifts and a challenge to come into the adventure of discipleship. He blessed Scot by his great wisdom and maturity.

We ended the night by praying and blessing one another.

The Blessing Over Scot

One Huddle Hosts the Taster Meals

I was stressing about how the meals that we committed to make for the Taster would be prepared and served. I decided to pray about it and God gave me a brilliant answer! He showed me to ask one of my huddles; so I asked the Wednesday morning women's huddle.

One of the women was the organizer point person; another picked the menu and helped shopped; another made fabulous to die for desserts; a couple of others came to the Taster and prepared lunch.

When I left for the Taster on Tuesday morning, I had the supplies out for the "huddle caterers" to use. I didn't think of everything, but gave them invitation to use whatever they could find that was helpful.

When I walked into our home Tuesday evening, most of the guests had already arrived. It was a gift to see our house with candles burning, flowers strategically located, a station for drinks, and the counter full of delicious food presented in a tasteful way.

This is hospitality in action. These women in my huddle have been to our home so often that they feel almost as if it is their home. One of the guests saw one women open our refrigerator and it made an impression on the guest that she was so comfortable that she could open the frig to take what she needed.

I believe that hospitality is one of Jesus' most important gifts to the world right now. It takes us into a different space with one another and it leaves a lasting impression of being invited, included, welcomed and valued.

Thanks, Wednesday huddle for your terrific hospitality to the Taster!

Celebrating the 3dm Taster

It was a gift to see it all come together. Picking Steve Cockram up at the airport; praying together before the Taster as a team, watching the expectant guests come through the door. It was worth all the effort it took to bring it to this point.

One of the best gifts of 3dm is their ability to take the Bible and make the concepts from it simple to remember. They say that the Bible is simple, but hard. Simple to learn, but hard to live out. We have made the Bible seem complex but easy.

Understanding the Bible from the lense of covenant relationships and kingdom partnerships helps us to know that God values us as his children and as his kingdom partners. We also realize that Jesus only spoke the word "church" two times in all of the Gospels. One time in regards to church discipline and the other when he told Peter that he is the rock on which he would build his church.

But, from start to finish, Jesus invited, he trained and equipped, and he sent his disciples. Jesus spent the majority of his time investing in 12 ordinary men; recognizing that his imprint on them would multiply to the ends of the earth.

Jesus also spoke the culture of the day. He told stories in themes that people could relate to. We don't live in an oral culture any longer; everything is visual.

As we take the simple themes of Scripture and match them to shapes; they come alive.

I saw the lightbulbs go on over and over through the Taster as we explored the Dual Triangles of Covenant and Kingdom, the Learning Circle for processing what God is saying to us and how we are responding, the Triangle which illustrates a balanced life, the semi-circle which points us to the rhythm of rest and work and the grid of invitation and challenge.

The next step for those that attended the Taster is to be invited into a huddle for coaching, and to join a Learning Community. Please pray for Missio Lux as we determine how God is moving us to engage our next step!

The Tree of Life: Our New Life as the Family of God

This fall we explored the inner soil of the tree of life, along with the root systems and how the tree grows with fertilizer, sun, water and special care by the Gardener.

This winter we are focusing on the trunk of the tree as we consider how we live in relationship with our Heavenly Father and one another as the Family of God.

The key passage for our development as children of God is in Romans 8:14-17: “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

I can think of so many adopted children that have the experience of knowing that they were REALLY WANTED by the parents who adopted them. Sometimes, however, the thought that the ones who created them, their birth parents, who gave them up, overshadows the reality of being desperately desired.

I wonder if sometimes we as God’s children live in that place too. We find that it’s easier to consider how our earthly parents disappointed us than to remember how powerful God’s invitation to his family truly is.

We have a real life example of this in Missio Lux.

We heard of a young woman who was struggling with an extreme family situation. Her mother had just died and she was taking a bus for over an hour each way to get to school. The school was seeking a family who would provide a home for her for the last eight months of her senior year.

A family within Missio Lux responded with an invitation for her to come and live with them.

They decided that they would treat her as a “real daughter” not just as one who was living with them temporarily. They left sweet notes on her pillow at night, took her to school and work each day, invited her to their social gatherings, and even took her with them at Thanksgiving to a visit with extended family. She got sick and the family took her the dr and nursed her as she recovered on the couch for almost two weeks. This girl was receiving love beyond anything she had ever experienced; she was living out the Spirit of Adoption in action.

However, it proved to be too much for her. It turns out that she had fabricated the whole story of her mother’s death; in actuality the mother was in prison for a short period. One day the girl just disappeared from her aunt’s house and went to live with the family from Missio Lux. Her aunt and mother never knew where she went.

I believe that as she experienced a glimpse of the true family of God; she sabotaged it because all her old messages of being rejected, neglected, and unprotected were in so much contrast that she had to blow it up. The family ended up discovering that her circumstances were vastly different than they had been told. In reality, everything about her story was a lie.

This may seem like an extreme example but I wonder how many still live out of the place of the orphan/slavery spirit rather than discovering the vast love and provision of our Heavenly Father who adopts us into his own family.

Exploring our adoption into the Father’s family is a key development part of our faith. When we truly experience the love our Heavenly Father, we are forever changed. His love sets us free from our previous experience as an orphan.

This week, I invite you to spend time meditating on the Romans 8 passage.

Ask your Heavenly Father what it means to be adopted into his family. Take time to consider what life in his family can be. Ask him to bring you into the full experience of his adopted family.

I end with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians: a prayer that he prayed for all of us that have followed after him. May it become increasing reality in your life.
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21

Missio Lux Hosts a 3dm Taster this Week!

This is an exciting week for Missio Lux. We are hosting a Taster for ministry leaders to "experience a taste of 3dm."

We have taken a team of 5 to South Carolina 4 times over the past 20 months to learn from 3dm, and to discover their structure of huddle, missio community and celebration that is helping equip churches and leaders to walk out the two themes of the Bible: Covenant and Kingdom: the Great Commandment and the Great Commission!

It's a gift to be able to invite ministry leaders from this area to discover 3dm too. It's a lot closer to come from Seattle or even Spokane than to take the really LONG journey to South Carolina.

I am looking forward to introducing Steve Cockram to many of my Covenant friends and other ministry leaders from this area. (Steve and his family are in the picture).

I am most looking forward to introducing Peter Sung, the Director of Church Planting for the Covenant and my boss, Kurt Carlson to huddle, as it has made such an impact in our lives in Missio Lux.

One woman that has experienced life transformation through huddle. She came to Missio Lux a broken woman, just moving out of a very painful divorce. However, in the atmosphere of huddle, she has grown by leaps and bounds....able to hear God's voice and pray it for others; her desire and love for the "trunk" (the people of God) is huge and she shows it in tangible ways, and her passion to share what's taking place in her life with her friends and neighbors and just about everyone she meets, is overflowing.

My dream is for this life transformation story to be all of our stories, across all churches, denominational lines, and across the US and the world. As we discover what Jesus is asking us to do, and then do it; it changes us.