House Church Lenten Study 2008

Our House Church (Ashwood House Church in Pleasant Ridge) is looking to start a new study series, probably based on Lent in preparation for Easter.

Jamie found this resource:

From Jamie: “Lutheran Hour Ministries is providing free of charge, to any church, the permission to print a booklet of Lenten devotions (www.lentendevotions.net). I like the one titled Writings from the Wilderness that is written by a pastor who is planting a church in Denver. In addition to providing reflections for Lent, it encourages readers to reflect on their own life stories within God’s larger narrative. The daily meditations are appropriate for believers and the curious – thus I think it would be a way to encourage people outside the church to join us during this time. Each Wednesday someone could offer a reflection/teaching that digs a little deeper into the theme and scriptures for the week. In addition, the weekly themes would lend themselves to creating a community-built altar. Whatever resources we decide to use during Lent, I would like to see us regularly sing some of the traditional hymns of the season.”

Here are the links/resources I’ve found:

Big V, The Mothership, Tri-County/Springdale/Cincinnati Vineyard, VCC
4 week series beginning this coming week with Joe Boyd:
What It Means to Follow Jesus

“There is no biblical way to follow Jesus or to believe in his message apart from becoming his disciple (student/follower). In this 4-week class, Joe will teach Jesus’s way of discipleship while leading the students to learn how to sustain an ongoing Master/student relationship with Christ. Those who follow Jesus should expect to be continually taught and changed by his presence. This class addresses many of the common barriers to growth and depth in the Christian life.”
Link

Crossroads
Consumed

Bombarded with the promises of savvy marketers and easy credit, we’re offered beauty, significance, security and happiness in just six easy installments and low, low monthly payments. In the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, we often feel like we never have enough. But there’s another way. There’s freedom to be had in a more open-handed approach to our time, money and possessions. In that freedom, we can discover what it means to be consumed with the One who designed us to be so much more than a cog in a consumer-driven economy. And that will change everything.
Link

Upper Room
Lenten Study 2008 – The City of God

“This Lent I suggest that small groups allow the daily meditations of The Upper Room to serve as the cobblestones for a journey from Job’s ash hill to the City of God. I choose the image of the city deliberately. Biblically, history will find its fulfillment in the City of God, the New Jerusalem. This should not be surprising. The city, after all, is where all the people are!

I grew up in California, and I enjoyed visiting the missions. The road that ran north and south through Colonial California was called El Camino Real – “the royal road.” The missions were outposts established about a day’s ride apart, places where travelers could find rest, shelter, and sanctuary.

Our Lenten small-group meetings are like mission points along the road to Easter. Each outpost has its own name: Justice, Shalom, Righteousness, Hope, and Healing before we find ourselves in hailing distance of the City of God.”
Link

BBC
Pathways of Prayer

“Reflecting the season, BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship and Daily Service will take up the theme of Pathways of Prayer in partnership with Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) who are providing a study guide and complementary materials on their website.”

Each week the Radio 4 Sunday Worship preacher will focus on a particular Pathway of Prayer. These will be:
• The Path of Holiness
• The Path of Social Justice
• The Devotional Path
• The Sacramental Path
• The Contemplative Path
• The Charismatic Path
Link

Lenten Hymns:
CyberHymnal.org (topic: Lent)
Link

Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Meditations on Lenten Hymns
Link

Oremus Hymnal: Lent
Link

Hymns and Canticles for the Lenten Season
Link

The Lutheran Folk Passion
These are a collection of Lutheran Hymns or Christian hymns relating to the season of Lent and to the week of the Passion of our Lord.
Link

General Resources for Lent and the Christian Year:
The Lectionary Page
Link

Textweek (beginning with Ash Wednesday)
Link

Ash Wednesday, Feb. 6th
Imposition of Ashes

Church of the Redeemer (Episcopal, Hyde Park)
7:00 PM
Link

Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal, Downtown)
6:00 pm
Link

(I’m sure there are many more, but these are the only ones I could find posting on their website)

New Beginnings

Yes, I really do blog.  Life has been overfull of late (as evidenced by the mound of dirty dishes on the counter…. umm, maybe they’ll get washed tomorrow).  I really like keeping a clean and organized house, but with small children I find it increasingly difficult, if not approaching impossible!  So needless to say I haven’t had much time for writing and planning, but I have been thinking.

Here we are at the beginning of 2008 and, I must admit, I’m very excited.  I anticipate that 2008 will be a year of new beginnings, hope, and change.  Chief of those for me is the dream of a new community of faith birthing in Cincinnati.  So how do we get there?  What are the first steps?  How does this all work with the rest of a full life?  What is the “time-table”?  Good questions.  I certainly don’t pretend to think these sorts of things “just happen”.  I’m reminded of Dallas Willard’s helpful little acronym V.I.M. from Renovation of the Heart (link to article about VIM).  Applied to church planting it looks like this:  What is the Vision of life in the Kingdom for this neighborhood?  What do we Intend to do in birthing this new community of faith?  What are our Means by which to accomplish our intended church plant?

Honestly, I feel like I’ve been held up in my articulation of these things for a deeper reason.  True, life has been full these last few weeks of holidays, small children, and a lingering cold that fills my head with too much mucus – but I think I’ve been stymied by an unseen specter of “You’ve got to get this just right”.  I’m going to do my best to ignore those voices in my head and just try to tell it as I see it….

The Vision of life in the Kingdom for this neighborhood is one that lives within the heart of an actual community of faith.  A small community of 150 folks or so that intentionally follow Jesus together.  The Kingdom of God – or to borrow Greg Boyd’s phrase, “the dome in which God is King” – is evident in this community of faith as a sign pointing the way and illuminating Emmanuel, “Christ with us”.  It is evident as this community works together and with others to bring the Kingdom  – God’s extravagant Grace and Reconciling Love – to bear in our homes, streets, schools, and workplaces.  It is evident as this community lives its life together in the Way of Christ, loving the least, the last, and the lost.  Kingdom life is a life lived in accord with one another and with the Triune God.  Simply put, we envision a community of faith living a Kingdom-life together.  And just to be clear (because I don’t want “Kingdom” to sound jargon-y), “Kingdom” means that “dome in which God is king”, in that “dome” is a life of deep grace, true love, and real peace.  But, it is not a Utopian, pie-in-the-sky life, but a life lived in concert with the Creator and Sustainer.  Kingdom-life takes suffering seriously, believes that healing is real, and works towards reconciliation with God, humanity, and creation.

We Intend to birth a new community of faith in Cincinnati.  This community of faith would a People of God on God’s Kingdom Mission in our neighborhoods, homes, schools, and workplaces.  We would be a Jesus-centered community.  We would be a real community – in that we would intentionally live our lives together (not just see each other once a week at a religious gathering).  We would “do life together” – in our neighborhoods, in mentoring relationships, in small groups/house churches, and in larger corporate gatherings and projects.  We would be around 150 people who would meet together weekly to worship together.  We would meet throughout the week in one another’s homes, coffeeshops, bars, and chili parlors.  We would live within proximity of one another and share food and resources (and childcare).  [There are questions here, I'm sure.... how is this different than Vineyard Central?  And what is our current/future relationship with VC?  Why 150?  What happens if we get to 151?  Would we pay staff/pastor/leaders?  Would we buy a building, own property, rent/lease/borrow space to worship?  Who let the dogs out? I'm not going to address these questions here, but they are all things I've spent time considering.  Leave a comment or send an email and I'll address the ones that you are curious about or ask me other questions]

The Means by which we accomplish this intended church plant are as followed (based on current standings):
1.  Pray (something I want to get better at doing)
2.  Write out Vision, Mission, Values, and relevant Issues pertaining to church planting (so as to facilitate being on the same page!) and complete New Church Plan for RCA
3.  Propose intention to our House Church
4.  Enter a month of sabbatical and prayer as a House Church to discern next steps
5.  Form a planting team of folks committed to seeing the new community birthed
6.  Initiate an advisory board of wise folks to help us navigate the waves and decisions of the first year

Well, that’s all I got right now.  Sarah just got home and I want to post this and email it some folks (I suspect my readership is way down).  Peace.