Life_byNate's Xanga

Prayers for Dan Kimball and family

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:26:53 GMT

Original post here.

Please be praying for Dan Kimball. His dad has had a serious accident and is in very critical condition. We have seen God’s work in these things before, and may we see him work again.

Go here for more information.

Motion to house church?

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 04:30:17 GMT

For original post, click here.

During last week’s Sunday night gathering a few of us contemplated the need for the large amount of energy expended to get things set up and taken down at First Presbyterian. We were getting tables set, moving chairs (very uncomfortable ones at that) into a circle, hauling tables (which were extremely heavy), and then taking it all down… probably an hour or more work, for a group of 5 to 10. Was there some other way to have the hospitality, the warmth, the fellowship, and the intimacy without the churchy feel?

Then advisers said that we really need to get out of the church building.

Seeing how I am definitely not one to say that buildings and church formalities are necessary for a connection with God, the concept of meeting in a home is an appealing one. At least now, as we are small, there may be something very good to this. I am a little reluctant as the leader of the group to have it in my own home. I just finished Neil Cole’s book, Organic Church, which is all about house churches. His insight is that it is better to have someone else from the group host as it empowers more people. Any opinions on this?

I never thought, back at Bethel Seminary, that I would ever have anything to do with a “house church” or anything like that. I can’t say that this is exactly that as we are supported by the bigger church, and very much committed to being an “emerging church” in Bend, but hopefully Thorsten Moritz would be proud.

I suppose there will be more reflection on this in the future, but I am wondering for those who manage to stumble on this what feedback you might give. My question above also stands: should a gathering be held at a place other than the leader’s home, or does it really matter?

**Also for those who stumble on this and are from Bend, please contact me if you are interested in having a personal conversation or interested in being a part of our gatherings.

Creating our own Kingdom...

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:39:00 GMT

Original Post is here.

I am always interested in how people talk about their church. I am fascinated with how we talk about the kind of community that we say we have…

It gets me thinking about the concept of Kingdom (which is what Jesus would say we are supposed to be about)… or I suppose we could say influence instead. This is not as meaningful of a term for us Christians, but for those who aren’t, I suppose it does come down to influence. So I’ll use “kingdom” interchangably with “influence.” So I ask myself, and I would love to ask those I talk to, but to avoid unneccessary offense, I refrain. What kind of kingdom are we trying to create?

There is the kingdom of our own church… done often in the name of community. Some pour money into weekly services, high tech media, and fancy buildings. We have the most interractive websites, the flashy publications, and streamlined programs. Everyone feels so good about being “there” and in the midst of the action. But if they aren’t bodies showing up at the program, are they really a part of it? We have great community because we share in this great church life, but is our church the kingdom we are trying to create? I have had this mentality and I still wrestle with it today…

Then there is national, or global kingdom… done in the name of politics and “peace.” We will have peace if everyone is Christian, or if we have Christians in power. Christianity must be defended and I must do my part by voting or supporting or whatever… To not vote is worse than anything else because it means I am not doing my part to promote a government with Christian values. See my previous post on this one! But why do we really believe that going to war or voting or being political is important? I don’t want to say that they are not important or should be ignored. More so, what is at the root of our need to push things? Are we seeking again to establish a “kingdom?”

What I really want to ask people is, “What kind of kingdom are you seeking to grow?” How is it getting out and into your city? How is it becoming more decentralized than centralized? (Not that many would really get what this means… I barely do..) These are the questions I ask myself. These are the things that I struggle with. For me, it is probably the individual kingdom that I am trying to grow… probably the worst kind. My own house, my own dog, a savings account, and on and on…

Mental Gymnastics

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:32:19 GMT

(Go here for the original post... update RSS feeds) New Site!

Yesterday ended up being nothing but intensity. Breakfast… 7:00 in the morning… Darren, Bob, Ryan and I got together at the Victorian Cafe for our weekly men’s breakfast. We ended up talking post-modern and emergent theology the whole time. I can’t even get into it all here, but I must say, I spent most of the time listening and let them do all the talking. It was good, but we got quite deep for an early morning. Not to mention that I was seeing how I could get by with being cheaper than normal and didn’t order any coffee or much food.

I am excited as I have begun reading Brian McLaren’s new book, Everything Must Change. This may be his most controversial books yet, but I think it is something that is so needed as he talks about politics, religion, social justice, and where they have gone wrong in the West. There will no doubt be some reflections here regarding the book. November 1-3 is Off the Map Live in Seattle and us from Bend should get a chance to meet him… hopefully an early morning coffee.

For dinner last night, Bob and Janet took me to Kanpai! for sushi… WOW!! It was absolutely unbelievable! I haven’t had real sushi in six years, and only then because I thought I was getting a discount and I actually didn’t. It is not something that I can afford to do… well, Bob and Janet were amazing to take me out. After this, Bob and I had a really good discussion regarding what kind of structure our community might have. Much of what we are thinking and observing is similar and I found that with both of us being NFP’s we have devoted our lives to discretionary intuition. Don’t ask me what that means… Think: intuition and feeling without going overboard…

Our vision for this emerging community is profound and different from anything we have been a part of before. I keep thinking relational set epitomized. It is needed, here in Bend yes, but in so many other places as well. We are learning as we go… and trusting that the Spirit will show us the way.

New website

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 23:47:03 GMT

Hello everyone!! I will now being moving my writing to a new location.

Click here to go there. www.natebettger.com

You will be sure to find an RSS feed, reflections on the emerging church, Bend Oregon, and many more good items!

Have strength

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:51:12 GMT

Do you not know, have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,

the creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary

and his understanding no one can fathom.

He give strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary

and young men stumble and fall,

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings of eagles'

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Even to your old age and gray hairs,

I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Don't need feet to dance

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:58:04 GMT

Once upon a time in a concentration camp there lived a prisoner who, even thought he was under sentence of execution, was fearless and free. One day he was seen in the middle of the prison square playing his guitar. A large crowd gathered to listen, for under the spell of the music, they became as fearless as he. When the prison authorities saw this, they forbade the man to play.

But the next day there he was again, singing and playing on his guitar with a larger crowd around him. The guards angrily dragged him away and hand his fingers chopped off.

Next day he was back, singing and making what music he could with his bleeding fingers. This time the crowds were cheering. The guards dragged him away again and smashed his guitar.

The following day he was singing with all his heart. What a song! So pure and uplifting! The crowd joined in, and while the singing lasted, their hearts became as pure as his and their spirits ans invincible. So angry were th guards this time that they had his tongue torn out. A hush descended on the camp, a something that was deathless.

To the astonishment of everyone, he was back at his place the next day swaying and dancing to a silent music that no one but he could hear. And soon everyone was holding hands and dancing around this bleeding, broken figure in the center while the guards stood rooted to the ground in wonder.

Sudha Chandran, a contemporary classical Indian dancer, was cut off in the prime of her dancing career - quite literally - when her right leg had to be amputated. After she had been fitted with an artificial leg, she went back to dancing and, incredibly, made it right back to the top again. When asked how she had managed it, she said quite simply, "You don't need feet to dance."

Grasping for trust

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:24:00 GMT

This Monday morning finds me frayed. I want so desperately to be on top of my game and able to say that I am doing something worthwhile, moving in the right direction, being a success... and all of this things are fleeting. I have no firm grasp on the "state of things" and "my place in this world." All I have confidence in is that I am where God wants me to be and that it is my deepest desire to be true to living and leading like Jesus. This is all I have.

And so I am grasping for trust. I want to trust that God will use me in a big way. No, not big in terms of numbers or size, but merely a significant way. I make some sort of difference... but I don't know where to begin. All I know is to do what I can with what is placed in front of me. This is difficult for me now.

Fleeting... fleeting...

Filling-the-Space community

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 23:28:37 GMT

My mind has been working on overload lately. Here are a few things I have been envisioning:

It seems that often, at least in my own experience, there is a common mentality that the church is sort of separated from the greater area (city, neighborhood, etc). The idea is to put a lot of emphasis on certain things within the church to pull people from the outside space into the life of the church. We might make our weekly service super slick, we might push and push for small groups through curriculum and promotion, we might have spectacular special events, or we could even put a lot of emphasis (the best yet) on our doctrinal statements so people can agree with what we agree with. This, as far as what I have experienced, is "church." When I think of church, this is what I think of... so much so, that it is very difficult for me to see it any other way. But I am beginning to see that it might be different.

What would it look like for a group of people who are committed to each other and to living like Jesus being essentially devoted to building relationships and connections within the space of the city. I think about Jesus and his mention of the kingdom and the parables about the yeast in the bread and the spreading of the seed. The growth that happens on its own as the roots fan out and connect with other roots, springing up here and there, strengthening the space as a whole. As people catch on and grow in relationships with those from this community, they find something here that the can connect with. The foundation, the hub then becomes stronger and more of a creative space... more fertilizer for the spread.

So filling the space becomes the mentality of the church... not a space in a building, not bodies in the pews, or numbers of small groups... but getting into and being a part of the community at large. Being more connected to the world, more plugged in, more engaged in relationships, rather than less. This to me doesn't seem like church at all. But it does seem good.

Don't come barging in to my town with your church...

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 21:39:07 GMT

I had a conversation yesterday with a number of ministry leaders, some of it regarding an encounter a few of them had in the past regarding new churches. The frustration was surrounding churches coming into a city saying things have not been done well and that they are going to do a better job of reaching the city... or a better job of connecting to people through church... or simply be a better church. This, to them, seemed pretty offending when there have been so many churches that have been busting their butts for so long, trying to make a difference and really impacting people's lives.

My question in response, attempting not to make a judgment on either side (which would be rather easy to do, frankly) was to ask, "What if someone comes into the city, and after looking around, finds that there is something different that needs to be done... because no one else is doing it?" At this we all agreed to the value of being in relationships with current churches, affirming their ministry, even challenging them through conversation and example. There aren't many positive feelings for a lone ranger church to come and try to do everything better.

As I've been here in Bend and engaged in relationships with people both in and out of the church, I have thought about this a lot. While at times, I really do have strong critiques for churches and what they have done... primarily these critiques come from my own experience. I have no idea what is happening in Bend, or Central Oregon for that matter. This is what I have to find out. And if churches find that my critique sounds like it might include them... it really is up to them how they respond as I never want to single out specific groups or speak to something that I have not directly experienced. I really have the highest degree of respect for churches that are at least trying something and seeking to be relational and open with out coming across as competitive or combative. I know how fired up people can get over things like the emerging church and postmodern Christianity, and I hope that we who find ourselves in this crowd can do something about improving relationships with those who are doing something different.