We Failed Arrested Teen

18 year old Addie Kubisiak sits in a Douglas County jail this morning, insulated from the bitter cold outside, but colder inside as she faces the consequences of a decision she made in the past (story here). Though the details about the birth and subsequent death of her baby have yet to be reported, her actions that followed and resulted in her arrest and being charged with first degree murder should reflect back on the Church with the intensity of the glare of the sun reflecting off of the icy snow. The abortion industry will point to the enormous shame and stress of the apparently secret pregnancy as justification for even greater access to their services.

Where were we? Babies do not spontaneously appear. A gestation period of nine months gave us more than adequate time for a follower of Christ to love as we are loved.  How does a troubled woman like this fail to gain our attention? Is it possible that the circle she ran in was totally bereft of Christians and their influence? The Church, especially those among us who adhere to the missional ideals, must apply ourselves to countering the historic judgmentalism that shunned people rather than loving them. All it would have taken is one Christian to come alongside this woman and shown her love and acceptance while supporting her through the trouble she was facing and we might not have been following this story today.

Where was I…

Jesus Loves Osama

Church sign

The red words of the Sermon on the Mount pose an incredible challenge, don’t they? Platitudes or a way of life for followers of Jesus? Read the article here.  With the high regard for scripture that exists in the missional church, the Sermon on the Mount demands that we be counter cultural since nearly every verse runs in opposition to the modern world into which we’ve been sent. Though we use many cultural accoutrements to reach our community, eventually we are confronted by the One that we follow with demands that cannot be softened by candles, video, or louder praise music.

Don’t Walk Alone

Lunching with my Barnabas (cf. Acts 4:36) yesterday reminded me of his value in my life. Walking the difficult, sometimes lonely road of mission church planting must not be done alone. The ups and downs, temptations and triumphs all need to be shared with someone other than your spouse. A true Barnabas is one who can speak into your life about these things and not just about them. It is a person whom you have total trust and respect in giving their words gravity and weight in your soul. Though the time we get to spend together one on one is short, its infusion of encouragement is immeasurable. Don’t walk any path in life alone…find your Barnabas.

Green Grass and High Tides Forever

Should this technically be called a reunion, even making concessions for the deceased? Who cares, it’s the Florida Guitar Army, the only band to take the stage of the Oakland Coliseum after an earthquake made the lighting truss swing like a first grader, the only band with enough cool to bring back the twin drummer setup…