Archive for December, 2007
“Practicing the Omni-Presence of God”
This is a quote by a gentlemen named Joseph R. Myers:
I was privileged to sit in a class with him this past Friday, when he said this phrase, “so often we practice the omni-presence of Evil, I try to practice the omni-presence of God.”
God is present and all people belong to God, that means I belong.
The very thing I have longed for the majority of my life was to belong.
Since God is present and I am in present, I belong. It is in this space of thinking I find security. My ego is satisfied if only for a moment and I am home. Connected to where I have come from and where I will be, I am there. Suspended beyond time and memory to the very nature of my being, my true source of self is freedom.
We create constraints on our self, what we can do and not do. There are limitations in our own mind create by our connections we have made and we live under a veil of impossibility. I know longer want to live behind such a veil.
This is where I meet God. If I where to self create an outcome for my life, it would be limited to my own desires and passion. Though I have to start somewhere, I begin with self and move from there.
There is a great parable in Luke 5, where Jesus comes upon the soon to be disciples and tells them to through their nets on the other side and this will not be the last time they are asked to do something irrational. They had been fishing all night and the boat was small. To through a net, which would not make it into a new part of the water, on the other side of the boast would prove itself foolish if it was not for the possibility of God’s interaction in the World.
It is at this moment they meet God at the intersection of faith and reason, something takes place beyond themselves opening them up to a realm of possibility.
“could this be God?” They fall to their knees in an unworthy posture to the creator and created being of God.
May this posture position our own minds into the realm of practicing the omni-presence of God.
God gave me an A
“How often do we stand convinced of the truth of our early memories, forgetting that they are but assessments made by a child?” This is a quote from, his quote is from page 46 of the “Art of Possibility” by rosamund Stone and Zander”>”the Art of Possibility”
How often do we return to the pattern that lead our life in a direction of frustration and anger?
How often do I come to a place in my mind where I will not succeed before I even tried?
I used to be the most fearful person I know.
I used to feel like I would die at any moment.
Lately I have been telling my feelings they are not real.
Meaning they are not based in reality, merely thoughts from my patterns of belief formed through a life lived out of fear. Fear of death, failure, disappointing others, and letting myself down.
Somewhere down the road I lost my competitive edge. I used to want to win the game, then I only wanted people to get along, now I want to create opportunity for growth and change.
In my heart I know we can change, but when I look at the patterns of my life I sometimes feel powerless unto my own self.
For me, this is where God steps into my reality, The Great Other, The Christ Figure of my impersonation. The reason for that description is due to my inability to move past the only prescribed understandings of God through the Bible and the Church.
However, when I look back on the experience of Church I look back with mostly disappointment.
this has got to change. I look for examples of church’s who fail, almost like I want them to prove me right.
what has happened to me?
Have I been so wronged that love and forgiveness, Acceptance and Openness only belong to the “poor” and needy. Like I have the corner on how an organization based around the mission of God should work. Wow, maybe I lost my competitive edge, but I inverted it to a destructive nature.
This has got to change.
So I am giving the Church an A and here is how.
The Church loved me.
I became a youth pastor, because people in the church wanted the best for me.
They along, with family and friends thought i would be good at it.
And I was.
The Church did the best it could to love me the way they believed Christ Did.
That is an amazing Gift.
They gave me life.
I know see the church beyond the walls of the institution and i am in love.
God thanks for giving me an A.
coffee salesmen as pastors
Almost every Friday for the past three months my partners and I have met with a business consultant about the direction and plan for One Village Coffee. Recently, we had time where we all confessed our position on the future.
“I have to admit when I first met all of you, I was not sure how serious you all were,” our consultant stated with honesty and humility.
“I am glad you wake up with the burden of making this thing work,” he said to me with direction in his voice.
“When you look on paper at the team you have to admit it is not that impressive,” my redefinition of what he said.
You have pastors, theologians, students, food service managers and salesmen.
Every time I tell Bob about our new sales rep, who is a pastor, he laughs, but his laughter has more to do with intrigue than disbelief. And I have to admit it feels good to be apart of the evolution of OVC, a living organism self creating around the idea of helping one village through becoming a coffee roasting company, supporting non profits and developing direct trade with the countries of origin.
In my mind of course it will take some pastors, and service oriented people. We are not going to succeed because of our business experience, but we will succeed because of what success means to us. Looking back a year from now, it might just be, because we have pastors and salesmen
Why “confessions of a failure”
First the definition failure http://www.thefreedictionary.com/failure
fail·ure (flyr)
n.
1. The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends: the failure of an experiment.
2. One that fails: a failure at one’s career.
3. The condition or fact of being insufficient or falling short: a crop failure.
4. A cessation of proper functioning or performance: a power failure.
5. Nonperformance of what is requested or expected; omission: failure to report a change of address.
6. The act or fact of failing to pass a course, test, or assignment.
7. A decline in strength or effectiveness.
8. The act or fact of becoming bankrupt or insolvent.
Reason for the title:
Confession #1
I am fascinated by the word failure, I am curious about it’s meaning in my life as well as others.
Confession #2
I have lived most of my life and still due to some extent in fear of this word, the meaning of it and how I relate it to my own experience.
Confession #3
It is a provocative title that connotes intrigue and curiosity.
I would like the reader to go through the process of redefining their own feelings of failure as they read.
Todd Rock’s
Todd Hiestand made me this website and I can honestly say it is the best physical gift of my life. He is someone in my life who understands a deep desire to have a voice. The very basic of a human desire to connect with other people. He has given me a tool to feed the inner part of me and leave particles of meaning along the way, like the cracked pot the servant uses to water flowers as he walks a long a path on his way up to the kings palace. (This is a reference to a story I heard a couple years ago)
Writing has become a very important discipline in my life. Most of the writing in my life has been lyrics, poems, journal responses and papers. There is something about putting my thoughts on a blog for several people to read, critique, comment or just peruse like a person watching the inside of mind work it self into the real.
The practice of bloging is a transition in my life from one form of art to another. I have heard it said that a writer writes, a singer sings, and a painter paints. When I am not expressing myself I am not self actualized or alive.
Some one great said, “we all start as artists.”
How it all began
here is the first letter I sent to Todd Hiestand
via email after my two year stint in TX.
Todd,
I have visited your site several times and hesitate to write, for fear of sounding like one of those guys. You know the over excited one who wants to be accepted into the club.
My Spiritual Journey was rocked many times through out my short time on earth. Most recently when my wife and I moved back to Souderton Pa after spending two years in TX as a Jr. High youth pastor. Our time there we were able to meet amazing people, like Chris Seay and Don Miller, I wont name more, because that is name dropping, and I am am afraid I will sound like “that guy.”
Needless to say our paradigm of how to be the church shifted through living life in a modern mega church mindset. We were able to develop community in our short time there and start a service inside the larger church I worked at called “Teleos.” When I looked of your pictures it reminded me of our times together. I am sure God is doing amazing things in your midst.
Currently we are in the process of developing community with a missional focus. This time it is looking a lot different. One it is growing much faster than anticipated. I do not say this as though that is the goal, we simple tell people that we want this to be a safe environment and all are welcome as we gather to live our loving God and loving neighbor. That is our focus.
The funny thing about the group is that we all have diverse theological backgrounds so we can only agree on the over arching theme of the Gospel, which is great.
Here is my point. You are the only church I can find in the greater Philadelphia area that is living missionaly. Well there is Liberti, and circle of hope, but the guys a liberti are way busy and I went to school with a lot of the people that go to circle of hope and there mission is a little different.
So I was wondering if we could start a conversation. If you are to busy that is cool. I am currently taking a class with Joe Thomas at Biblical and plan on starting in the Fall full time in the lead program.
I would love to come down sometime and share in your worship experience. One of the guys in our group has turned us onto invisible children and we are going to have a viewing at branchcreek. Some of us work there, but “Missio Dei Community” is not a Branchcreek thing. Just a bunch of Ragamuffins, trying to love God and the world. I thought maybe we could do it together some how.
much love
Scott Hackman
This was before The Living Room, which is simular to missio dei.
I enjoy this new blog, thanks Todd.
