the drum|rob fairbanks

My friend Hillary Rivera - Blessings!

I just love hearing Hill sing.  She is a wonder and a unique!  Her voice is like a tapestry, with its many layers and there is a soulfulness to her delivery that draws me into worship. She and her husband Dominic are CA project
leaders in Aix en Provence at a church called International Christian Community of Provence (ICCP).

She also operates a business there that is fantastic - I feel no hesitation plugging it for her.  It is called WineInProvence and is ranked #1 for Things to Do in Aix en Provence and the greater Provence region by Trip Adviser. Here is their website: Wine in Provence

Take a listen and be moved.

Thanks Hillary!

Download God of This City (Hil on piano at ICCP)

r

 

My Daughter's band makes Paste Magazines 12 Washington Bands You Should Listen To Now

My daughter and son-in-law's band, Cathedral Pearls makes the PASTE list. Check em out.

The link: PASTE Magazine

Here's a link to a free EP: EP

Karli and Caleb are on the left. They are pretty cool. To show how hipster they are, they even have antlers hanging on the wall in their house.  ;)

Come to the Table - a Communion Meditation

Below is a short Communion mediation I wrote recently. Imagine as you read it a huge table filled with wonderful food + the communion elements.

Come to the Table

The prophet Isaiah writes,

“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free! ² Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?  Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. ³ “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David… (My dear brothers and sisters) Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.”

A table filled with great food and drink is always a beautiful symbol for me.  As a matter of fact, it is a symbol of two things.

One is that of anticipation.  I don’t know if you are like me, but the lead up to a beautiful meal is like waiting for Christmas morning for a kid.  You know the feeling.  Kind of a vibration in your stomach because you know that something hoped for is about to happen. I literally can’t help myself from nibbling, kind of like shaking the presents under the tree. Actually, growing up in a family of 5 men, nibbling is probably more liken to a huge bird of prey swooping down on its unknowing victim…there goes an olive, now for those chips, and then back to the olives.  And it’s ok.  It is completely appropriate to long for the meal.  It is something that lines up as “right” in the universe.  I believe that this longing is something that God put in us so that we would at moments crave Him.

Anticipation!

Secondly, for me, it is a sign of welcome.  Open chairs, waiting food, flickering candles all say, come and feast.  Come and be filled!  Come and be with.  And it is not just the food, although there is something magnetic and unifying about the meal.  It is those we gather to eat with.  It has, for me, always meant conversation.  Sometimes pedestrian and silly, other times though, stirring and even unsettling, but always conversation, connection.  It is the lifeblood of relationship. It has been said that the wine and the bread are social lubricants. I agree. 

Welcome!

This morning, we have the metaphor of table…the table of Christ before us and we, if we allow ourselves, can come.  We can put aside our worries, our concerns for a moment and feast…feast on the body and blood of Christ.  We can slide the chair up and enjoy community the way it was ordained, together with the triune God, partaking with Him in his holy dance of life.  There is embrace, connection, forgiveness if you need it, the gift of re-membering.

There are literally scores of reasons you can come up with to not come. 

I’m been hurt by the church…

I don’t like singing…

I doubt that God exists…

I don’t know anyone here well enough to feel comfortable…

I’m tired…

I am carrying with me a secret sin that if everyone knew about, I would certainly be excluded from the table.

Brothers and sisters don’t let this opportunity go by without encountering the sheer life that is found in Jesus this morning.  As Jesus said through John the Revelator to his church:

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”

I’d like to invite you to come to the table now…with a friend.  If you aren’t here with someone else, come with a new friend.  I know, it’s risky, but come.  Stop and linger, pray, maybe even eat a grape, but come as a community in the name of the Eastered Jesus who lived…and died…and rose from the grave, alive…and will come back for us. 

Come to the table.

Keller on How to Treat Homosexuals

I thought this was a fair and gracious handling of an increasingly difficult topic. From my perspective, Keller is the epitome of grace and dignity. I am not a huge fan of his Calvinism, but there are few I would vote for to represent Christianity more than Keller.

 

To Haiti and Back

Last week I had the distinct honor of visiting Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The later I have been to many times and love, the former…never.  The reason was to pay a visit to Julio and Suzette
Volcy.  They are church planters with Christian Associates.  His intention is to start a church in Petionville, a part of the massive city of Port au Prince. I believe the official numbers for residents of the city are around the 5 million mark.  Most say it is about the size of Chicago – an immense city (some estimate many more).

I know Haiti has gained a substantial amount of international attention since the earthquake in 2010.  It was a gigantic quake with literally scores of aftershocks.  The Haitian government estimate at least 316,000 died in the catastrophe.  The multiplied tragedy is that Haiti was the poorest country in the western hemisphere before the mindboggling natural disaster occurred.  The city is enormous  without a central sewage system.  The road system is quite undeveloped and transportation is arduous, and that is an understatement. If you think the roads are bad in your city, quit complaining. For many of the roads in the city you need to think of driving through a wheat field, only about 10x worse. I needed a kidney belt just to drive around. The picture to the left is the highway just before the Haitian / Dominican border. Also, the poverty is pervasive (I just read over 50% unemployment, some say it is up to 60%).

Into this context Julio and his wife Suzette (and 3 beautiful kids) are seeking to establish a church with a missional/incarnational approach.  The percentage of churched in the country is quite high (I heard up to 40%), but in many ways it is an institutional model tethered to traditional mindset. It appears that the church is mostly insular in its approach relegating Christianity to obeying rules (many which are church established) and going to worship services.

The work we (CA) are doing is based upon a premise that the church is for the world. Julio and his team get this.  They are involved in clean water projects, health care, education and discipleship of young men (Julio runs a Teen Challenge ministry mentoring up around 50 young men). What I discovered while there is Julio is an incredibly influential leader in his community.  It seems that he is looked up to by most folks and is poised to make a tremendous impact. I got the distinct impression while there that this group is not only planting a church, but preparing to re-Jesus the city, even the country with a fresh recasting of the Gospel…a whole Gospel.  They are not only planting a church, but praying and working to change their country. 

That is what I am in this for. The transformation of the nation with the transcendent hope of Jesus.  God’s plan?  I am persuaded that it is through establishing a different kind of church…Kingdom outposts doing the King’s work throughout the world.

I am grateful.

r

Should we use the word "Leader?"

While perusing FB today, I came across the below quote from Lance Ford. http://www.facebook.com/lncford

“Both “servant-leader” and “servanthood” are watered-down terms that fall short of the necessary gumption to overcome the leader-centric mentality that saturates the church world. They are but twists on a vague notion of semi-humility. In many evangelical leadership cultures the idea of a servant-leader is in reality tantamount to a benevolent dictatorship.”

I wholeheartedly agree with Lance on the statement (As a matter of fact, I come out of a denomination that actually uses the term “benevolent dictator” as a common descriptor of good pastoral leadership – I am not joking – wait, I just threw up in my mouth as I recalled that fact), but some of the dialogue that followed in the FB thread seemed to be more of a reaction to what I would call an unrestrained American version of what leadership means, which seeks to somehow extricate the term from our vernacular like that will make the throbbing desire for attention or power go away.

I haven't read Lance’s book (so he may deal with this in it), but the question I might have from the FB thread is how does it fit with Paul, while talking about spiritual gifting saying, "the one who leads, do with zeal..." The word means to have charge over or rule. I'm certainly not contesting the servant/slave model or the need to live as a follower under the Kingship of Christ, but to dismiss the term leader seems like it may be an overstatement that misses the point.  Look, leadership happens regardless if we say the word or not.  It can be very good or very bad. Why is there a line to listen to authors (like Lance) or pastors or conference speakers?  An aside: it probably wouldn’t hurt the American church to have moratorium on conferences and guest speakers for a year – any kind of big shot stuff. Revival might actually break out.

BTW – this is not to in anyway dismiss Lance or his book.  I have heard nothing but good things about him from friends I have that know him well. I hope to take a look at the book in the future (as usual, there are many in my queue right now – here is the Amazon link), but I am speaking to a general reactivity to the term that I have been picking up.

What do you think? How should we view the term "leader?"

Is there a legit leadership function that God empowers and uses to help His work in the word?

To Haiti and DR

Headed for Haiti and the Dominican Republic today.  Please pray for me that I would have a sensitivity to those around me and that God will keep me from sickness.

I will be with Steve Adams (CA’s Latin American director).  On the way back, I will stop in Denver for CA’s Engage event (candidate assessment) and a colossal strategic planning day.

rf

Christian Associates International :: Laying Down Roots

Here is a great story about CA and New Community church planter, David Von.  A real time picture of how missional church planting can happen. Click the Header to see the article.

rf