1 post tagged “christian”

We've learned some things through our change from this mindset that i wanted to share.

We have gone first through a process of breaking what we call "muscle memory" ie: ways that we just tend to think and act as partakers in various structures. We are a core group of jesus followers and some involved seekers, who changed our practices, attempting to be the church and focus on serving, have a sabbath and live in community as best we could from what we learned in the bible.

 We have fought the following:
 the hierarchy mindset:
 the one where everyone expects the leaders to do everything, plan everything, tell them what to do. in response everyone else who volunteers even a little rates the leader on his sunday performance and skill sets, drains this leader by dumping needs, complaints and endless to do's all over him, expects more from the leader than the non, if displeased by his efforts leaves the leader for another, plus feels free to gossip using the leaders name and places the weight of the personal growth of an entire community on their leaders back. ( ok. so i  am passionate about this one. i know toooooo many burnt leaders. i have a t-shirt that says"stop consuming your pastor. yes, i understand the god given responsibility for the leader and teacher, but i think its not quite right)
 
the service as a show mindset:
 we turned sunday sabbath back into a place where after serving the lord hard all week, we got together in order to remember, pray, take communion, tithe and encourage our daily lives. we have a little story called the lawnmower and the lemondade to illustrate.

the spoon feed me jesus stories mindset:
we teach that you and only you are responsible for your relationship with jesus. we help equip you in that relationship, but you gotta....open your bible, listen to a podcast,open your brain and think hard, contribute to learning together in group setting, get up and serve, serve when you dont want to. discipline is not optional for the disciple. ps. it's minute by minute.

the serving is a cute hobby mindset:
we taught that you must serve (give out) more than you take in (this new knowledge) in order make change. the giving out of the taking in is where the transformation occurs. if you take in more that you give out, you get "fat". i have an agnostic friend who says christianity is the religion of the full belly and loose morals. i do not argue with her. this is what she's seen.

we fought the country club mindset:
now that we are a nice comfy circle of working believers, we need to always make room for others and the change it brings. non believer, non trained, non nice, kinda rude, cat loving, whatever is not comfy, people to do life with. we call this inclusion. we feel it must be radical. we find it hard, beautiful work. if we do not include, we quickly fuse into a little better than thou club.yuck.

we taught about giving:
 when we give to what we merely consume it is not giving. giving to the needy is above that. less overhead and a strip down service also helps this redistribution of all we give.

we teach viral jesus:
evangelism is not about merely getting numbers of people into our building or to pray the salvation prayer in one week of camp. it is about us going out to others and making ourselves live carriers of the message. living jesus ways, focusing on love without agenda, person to person sharing, empathetic emptying of self and listening, genuine sacrifice, evidencing real life change, sharing jesus mostly without or with words. Going out more than bringing in being the goal.

to my surprise,  our journey has been a challenging and wonderful collective transformation in which i have seen the joy of radical and lasting individual life change in myself and others. i highly recommend taking the leap. 

p.s- it is a leap.

l