Driving in reverse

For the past 4 months, our pastor, Brian (aka Brother Treadaway, Brother Brian, Pastor Treadaway, Rev. Pastor Brother Brian Treadaway :-)) has been challenging the men of encounter with the encounter 9. You’ve probably heard me mention it here or on twitter more than a couple times.

Each month we’re given GPS coordinates to an undisclosed location and a set time to meet there. The location varies from month to month. The first month we met at a boat dock and were carried out by john boats to an island in the middle of the lake. The next month we met next to a stock pond while Brian talked about growing spiritually and Scott grilled fish on a nearby fire — illustrating the progress from a baby drinking milk, to fixing our own meals and then fixing meals for others (physically and spiritually). Another month we did a “prayer/Q&A walk.” And this last month we met at a local cometary and talked about our legacy and identity and how Jesus called the disciples out of their known identity — their careers as fishermen or tax collectors, etc — and into a new identity with Christ — as fishers of men.
Continue reading Driving in reverse

(re)Quote for the day

I was looking through some old blog posts of mine this morning and came across this quote:

“Consider the possibility that a church should own no property at all”
Larson, Osborne, The Emerging Church (1970), p51

Posted March 24, 2006. Almost one month before Phil and I walked into encounter for the first time. Funny how God works things out.

From Sunday

Unfortunately there was some sort of weird problem with our audio recording of Sunday’s encounter service. So the podcast hasn’t been posted yet. Hopefully we’ll get it fixed and post the podcast within the next week.

Brian did find the video we watched Sunday over on YouTube. Here it is. Good stuff…

“…when I say share I’m not talking about every tactic you’ve used on me in the past, like judging my every move, telling me I’m a bad person, pointing fingers, giving me disgusting looks. And my favorite is when you tell me that I’m lost. I don’t even know what it means to be lost. Do you really think judging me is going to make me change? Would it make you change?”

From the encounter blog:

The video was part of the conclusion to the “inverted” series at encounter sunday. the ultimate inversion happens when our life is given away completely for the sake of Christ and demonstrated in giving ourselves away completely for the sake of the gospel.

The fact that we have to be reminded of the needs that exist beyond our own life shows how quickly and easily we default to self. We think its all about us. Inversion calls us out.

The one who inverts his life to this degree discovers a new meaning and joy to life. He does so out of love for Christ and others and not out of duty or demand. He finds great delight in serving instead of being served, going last instead of first, giving instead of taking, being humble instead of proud, forgiving instead of holding on to bitterness.

God, invert us!

Andrew gets babs-i-tized


Andrew
Originally uploaded by laurie416.

Our good friend Andrew (James and Mary’s son) was “babs-i-tized” yesterday morning at encounter.
I’m having some problems with the video, but Laurie’s posted the pics on her Flickr page and they’re also available in the encounter Flickr group.