A crisis of the will

Forgiveness. This is the place that I think most of us need to start, if we are to be a redemptive community. The book says, we can't be forgiven unless we forgive. Are we willing to let those who have hurt us, "off the hook"?

This is a crisis of the will. It is not about feelings. Praying "God help me to forgive *****..." won't do. The prayer needs to be "God, I forgive *****..." Many times we need to pray this prayer often, because we have a tendency to take things off the alter, after we've placed them there.

If we "the church" can become forgiving individuals, therefore a forgiving organism, then we will be on our way to being a redemptive community. Let's encourage each other in this pursuit.

Peace,

K

Stuck

I'm really stuck on this redemption thing. I find myself thinking about this all the time, lately. I think this is because I have realized that we can only be this kind of community if we are intentional about it. Meaning we have to be evaluating our behaviour and thinking through our actions.

It also means we have to give up some "rights". You know, turn the other cheek, etc. This is a hard road. It shines a light on pride and a bunch of other things that most of us don't want to look at in ourselves.

We can only be a redemptive community, if we are redemptive individuals. Love is Kind....

Peace,

K

Redeeming isn't just for coupons

How are we, the church, a redeeming people. A better question might be, are we a redeeming people. As I read papers, and message boards, I realize that we are more apt to make judgements than be redemptive.

The pharisees saw an adulterous woman, Jesus saw a wounded soul in need of a saviour. What or who do we see, when we look at a fellow creation. Do we see a person created by God for relationship with God, or do we see a geek, bum, homosexual, terrorist, slut, and/or immigrant.

It is hard work being different and thinking different. The Book says to hold every thought captive. Basically, to train our minds to think like God. God's heart, even in discipline is redemptive. Therefore we need to be a people of reconciliation and redemption.

How's that working for you?

Peace,

K

We have arrived

The Open Door has arrived. We now have our Website up and running. It is basic at the moment, but a very pretty green none the less. Check it out, won't you.

Peace,

K

No Excuse

I was out for lunch yesterday with my buddy J-money from Kingston. We got to talking about how "dark" Quebec is spiritually. He was asking me to describe what "we" mean by that because in his travels, he hears alot of people describe their area as really dark, etc. The bottom line is that many people use this as an excuse for "not" doing effective ministry.

I shared with him what I mean when I say it is dark here, but that this was in no way an excuse for ineffective ministry or feet dragging. I see it as part of the challenge in following Jesus. I do not know where we got the idea that this should be an easy road, because , all I see in scripture is how the disciples, got their butts kicked. It makes no sense that we expect kudos for doing what we are called to.

If we are living Jesus, it is supposed to be hard. He said "they hate me, they are going to hate you". Let's rise to the occasion. Ministry is hard in Quebec. It is dark. So, let's shine the light, live in Hope, that he who started the work will be faithful to complete it. Remember, we are not alone...

Peace,

K

An easy day

Today is Kiki's birthday. She is 13. Kiki has two friends over (Jess & Sexton) and Auntie "B" is doing their nails. Mom is taking them to jack A's for supper. Josh and Lucky are hovering to see what they can inhale in the kitchen. Mom is making rice crispy squares,... one day I will share my theory on those nasty things.

Sean and I are sitting in the kitchen with our laptops,... you know... drinking coffee.
I am actually smoking chickens on the deck. It is a very laid back day. It is a good day.

Peace,

K

What are we called to?

I have been participating on a few message boards where, "how do we do church and respond to the culture?" type questions get asked and kicked around. I am amazed and concerned at times that there is a trend out there that says God is Love, and we forget His other attributes. He is also Holy, Just, The Only God, etc.

I bring this up because someone on one of these boards, and she is not alone, can't bring herself to tell a friend that their sinful behaviour is "sin". You see, she wants to focus on the "love" verses, and not the "go and sin no more" verses.

Are we presenting an accurate picture of who God is? We aren't called to "make Christians", but we are called to "make Disciples". In doing so we need to be honest and unapologetic about the fact that God hates sin and it keeps us apart. We also need to be loving and compassionate in doing so. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. The heart of Christ and the message of Christ.

Peace,

K

Thanks

Hey people, thanks for tuning in. I am quite amazed at how many of you are reading this already. I also want to say thanks to my buddy Jared"j-money" Siebert for posting my blog on his blog, so I thought I would return the favor. J-money
He is one of the pastors of Next Church in Kingston. Enjoy his stuff.

Question; What is the most amazing example of God's grace that you can think of?

Out of the mouth....

I heard this week of a pastor who, when introducing a foreign missionary to his congregation, (which has several local missionaries in it), said "we are privileged today to have a real "live" missionary with us today". One of the "local" missionaries was very discouraged by this. He had thought that he was a real "live" missionary. His pastor says he values local missionaries, but then makes a pronouncement that says otherwise, that speaks volumes to those other "missionaries" about their value.

This brings home to me the need for us as a church to speak clearly and often of the things we value. We need to publicly declare our values. This keeps us accountable to them because people can compare our actions and our words. We strive to be an honest church, a transparent church. My hope would be that if someone saw us giving lip-service to anything, they would point it out to us.

I want to go on record saying, The Open Door values local missionaries,... and not just because I am one, but because this is the neediest mission field in North America and it is hard. If you can do missions here, you can do it anywhere. It can be discouraging. Our job as a local church is to support , pray for and work with local missionaries to impact our community with the love of Christ.

Matt 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart.....

New Beginnings

Hello Everyone. This is my first ever blog entry. I had Sean set this up for me so that I could communicate and formulate my own thoughts through a running journal. Thanks Sean. As we head down this new road of starting a church and I practice being a pastor, I thought this would be an interesting and semi-public way to think out loud. I may also include some silly stuff here, because I am (at times) silly.

You the reader, are free to make comments or ask questions. It will be interesting to see how this goes.

At present, Giancarlo and Johnny are setting up lights and camera to continue interviewing me for a documentary they are doing about On Rock and The Open Door. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. They are great guys and are genuinely interested in what we do here. Today, we will be talking about The Open Door. Good times. Keep us in prayer

K