ENOUGH WITH THE THEOLOGIZING!

I just got my boat. It's party time!

1997 Lund 17' bass boat
1998 Johnson 9.9
Fish Finder
Trolling motor
am/fm/cassette
nice livewell & tons of storage
4 seats
trailer
tauneau cover

I'm jazzed. It needs a little work (water pump) and a good cleaning and it is good to go!

A Missional Church

Missional has really become too much of a buzzword to carry the weight it deserves. Be that as it may, it is a very keep concept in the foundation of a Great Commission Ecclesiology. What does missional mean?

Missional captures the "missionary" spirit. It embodies the idea of the church going into the world. Many seem to be of the opinion that the church is like the field of dreams. If we open the doors, people will come. However, this fails miserably. Since the beginning of time the missio dei (mission of God) has been fundamentally rooted in going. The call of Israel was a call to be a people of God to the nations. The story of Christ is deeply rooted in the incarnation...Christ going from his heavenly throne to take up his cross.



If we are to be the church Christ ordained, then we must have the same attitude as Christ...being missional...going out of the doors and into the world. Denominationally we have really embodied this. How does your church do locally? Do you do as much going as you do asking people to come? The great commision church does not compell us to invite people to church, it compells us to go to the people.

I am so glad to be a church that takes seriously this call to going...this call to be missional. And speaking of going, that is what I must do. Talk to you all later.

A Great Commission Church

I was talking to a parishoner Sunday and he commented that we need to be more of a Great Commission Church. By that he meant a church that goes into the world. As I have thought about his comments I think that as a whole we are a great commission church, but it is about much more than just going. Let's break it down a little:


Go into the world - We are a missional church.
Making disciples - We are a evangelistic church.
of all nations - We are a global church.
baptising them - We are a sacramental church.
in the name of the Father, and the Son and of the Holy Spirit - We are an orthodox church.
teaching them to obey everything I taught you - We are a holiness church.

Over the next few weeks, I'll unpack that a little, and we can all be grateful to be a part of a Great Commission Church!

ICE FISHING!

Well, I joined the dummy and the bonehead this morning in my first ice fishing trip. I went with Chuck to Highlandtown Lake. It had 7" of ice on it and the temperature was fewer degrees than inches of ice. We sat huddled in a little tent dangling microscopic jigs in 15 feet of water. Even my 4 layers plus coveralls, three pairs of socks and big winter boots could not keep me warm. I probably will never go again if it is as cold as it was this morning, but I can definately see how it could be great fun on a lake where you could catch pike or walleye. A little bigger tent with room for four and you could have a ball all day long with nothing but a 2 ft. rod and a few good friends. I'm definately looking forward to my next trip. Go give it a try...but be safe!