06.27.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

Well last weekend was great. I was privileged to be a part of Zach and Christina getting married. What a beautiful picture Jesus gives us that we are His Bride!!!! When you are at a wedding, things seem to click about how much Jesus loves His Church. Speaking of that...you'll have to come on Sunday night to our assembly as we learn about the secrets of the Kingdom of God. (look below for details)

Since I mentioned the Church, this past weekend was a great time for a wide-spectrum of saints to gather at Kenyon College for Driven...and the DRIVEN Conference was AWESOME!!!!!!!

The 3rd Young Adult Conference for our Family of Grace Brethren Churches took place there in Gambier, OH.

We had a good contingent of folks going from our family: John (who was our Director), Kate, Micah, Dan, Megan, Shanta, Jason, Amy & the Jentes Family. You can catch a couple of them in action >>>>>>>>>>>

It was a challenging & fun time in the Lord. The concluding session launched off of the story of Joshua and Caleb and their spying adventure into the Promised Land (Numbers 14).

Throughout the session the speaker brought a challenge to articulate the "Land" or "Vision" God has called us to individually and to also identify the "Giants" which are holding us back. It was a awesome. You should ask some of those who went what their Land is.

There are more reports and pics in a couple of places:
The DRIVEN Blog
The FGBC World Blog make sure you scroll down to June 24 and prior
The best reports are from those who went...so look them up, call them, email them or something and hear their stories.

Press on,
Mike

You can read the rest of this week's UPdate HERE

Bible Study or Book Study?

This is from a friend who is starting organic churches in the Sacremento, CA area. So insightful that I wanted to pass it on...


Bible Study or Book Study?

Adrian always seems to bring a smile to my face. A Christ-follower for only a couple years now, he's been consistently reading 25 chapters a week in his Bible.

Recently, Adrian asked me a rhetorical, yet innocent enough question. "Why do people say they're in a Bible study when their primary text isn't the Bible at all?" Immediately I got his point. All too often we Christians opt for Bible substitutes like The Purpose-Driven Life or Experiencing God or whatever. Good point Adrian!

I love it! Adrian's become a spiritual leader in his home because he knows the Bible, not a Bible substitute.

So, are you in a Bible study or a book study?

May the Lord bless you as you continue the journey.

Sincerely,
Traver Dougherty
The Banqueting Table

06.20.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

This week someone was describing this regular email UPdate to a friend as a way to watch my garden and learn about farming and biology. We all laughed. Those are the things we have been learning about for sure. But what about the end of the life cycle.

My friend and mentor Neil Cole has bumped me along in my thinking about death. It is an organic thing too. Living things do die. Often we run away from talk about death. It's not comfortable. It's not safe.

I thought I would drop an excerpt of an article by Neil here to spur on your thinking too...

Jesus is not about safe. He is the one who said things like… “I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.” “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” “He who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” “Let the dead bury the dead—you follow me.” These are not safe and wholesome words, they are words that shake us up and toss us out way past what is safe. I have come up with two acronyms to expose some of our delusion regarding these things. The first reveals our inadequate theology of SAFE. The other is how Jesus wants us to embrace a theology of DEATH.

Safe is…

S elf-preservation = our mission
A voidance of the world and risk = wisdom
F inancial security = responsible faith
E ducation = maturity


This is what a theology of death looks like…

D ie daily to who we are
E mpowerment of others (not self) is our life
A cceptance of risk is normative
T heology is not just knowledge, but practice
H old tight to Christ with an open hand for everything else.


Jesus said, “He who clings to his life shall lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” We need to embrace a theology of death, our lives depend upon it!

Press on,
Mike

PS. The rest of this article "Embracing a Theology of Death" by Neil Cole is found here: http://www.cmaresources.org/articles/embracing_thedeath.asp


read the rest of this week's UPdate HERE

06.13.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

This week, I thought I'd share a reflection from Dan who is interning with us about something he is learning as he is Connecting to Jesus.

As I was reading Colossians today this passage (1:9-12) stuck out to me:

“We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.”

It stuck out to me for a couple of reasons. The first was how cool of a prayer it is. I mean that’s the kind of prayer that I hear someone pray and say to myself, "That prayer is in God's will."

The second thing didn’t stick out to me until later. The prayer isn’t for any special reason. The Colossians seem to be doing pretty well. They have been growing and laboring since they first heard the Gospel. I realized that most of my prayers come from need, either mine or someone else’s need. Occasionally I’ll remember to thank God for His answering my prayer in my time frame. None of which are bad prayers, but this prayer is just because He loves the Colossians and wants them to give even more glory to God.

I’m thankful for the reminder to pray just because I love people. Try praying this prayer (Colossians 1:9-12) for someone that you love not because they’re in need, but because you want them to grow even more in Christ.
-Dan Hendon

Thanks Dan. Great reminder to pray...and great Scripture to guide our praying!

Press on,
Mike


P.S. Just a reminder that this Sunday night we are having an assembly-an important time for us to gather as a family and to be spurred on toward love and good deeds.
As a part of that time we will worship God led by John Ward and Joey Lipp--two guys I respect greatly for their heart and skill in leading us to honor Jesus. You can check out the teaching topic and more below!

Check out this week's UPdate HERE

06.06.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

Just this week I realized I had gotten lax. I had kind of coasted through some opportunities to be held accountable. I had been doing ok, but in my coasting, it bit me. Temptation came and instead of resisting, I gave in.

Fortunately we have folks in our family who care and who confess their sin to one another. So mutually we confess our sin to each other and Jesus. The vulnerability is humbling, but it is healing as well. In fact, the secrets we keep are the tools of the evil one. He neutralizes us that way. If we confess, Jesus is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9).

In forgiveness there is so much joy and health. A huge release happens in our souls when we get our sin on the table and let Jesus deal with it. And we are CLEAN again. He makes us white and pure again.

All this reminded me of why we need to commit to connect to Jesus via Life Transformation Groups (LTG). LTG's are the simple & essential tool for all who are seeking to follow Jesus. They are centered around grassroots accountability, prayer for others and consumption of the Scriptures. If we lose these things, we very easily become disconnected from Jesus.

This is not to say that LTG's are a new "law" prescribing the only way to connect with Jesus. They are a tool to stay connected and growing in Him.

Just like most people don't think of a date with that special someone else without sharing a meal, snack or treat...it's hard for us to think of growing in our relationship with Jesus without these elements of an LTG. The meal isn't the dating relationship, but a vehicle used to enhance the relationship. An LTG is the same thing, a vehicle to enhance our relationship with Jesus...and to multiply it on to others. Sharing the Love you might say!

In reflection on the 4-part summer challenge which we articulated a couple weeks back, I realized this is a reminder of the first one:

Commit to Connect to Jesus >> Life Transformation Group
I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Won't you recommit to a Life Transformation Group...to enhance your relationship with Jesus and Share the Love?!?!

Press on,
Mike

You can read the rest of this week's UPdate HERE