...read, mark, learn and inwardly digest...

A Prayer for the Second Sunday in Advent:

Blessed Lord, you have caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning, grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, so that, encouraged and supported by your holy Word, we may embrace and always hold fast the joyful hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

(BCP, Advent 2)

We'll be praying that prayer tomorrow at Church. But, secretly, I'm hoping, as a prayer, that it carries through for a lifetime.

Do you have any set prayers that you hold close to your heart? Perhaps from the Bible, or from a book of common prayer.

Justin.


PS I asked The Little Man tonight: "Why did Jesus die?" And he answered: "Um. Because the leaders didn't want Lazarus to be King."

Close, Boy, but no donut.

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Pic on Flickr by YanivG

On Careerism (Link to David Lapp)

David Lapp is a student and a member of our church. He has become a friend of ours, along with many of the students at Christ Church NYC. David is a gentleman and a scholar, as they say. But more important, he is a servant of Jesus.

I encourage you to click HERE to his latest post about Careerism. The post is called: "Career is overrated", in which I quote:

Career is not so important as attention to the really human things of life: loving, creating, caring, giving. Attention to the Good, the True, and the Beautiful is infinitely more important than scoring that great job. Jobs are good; but being human is even more important. So here’s a wild idea: perhaps loving your roommate, next-door neighbor, coworker, boss, sibling, parent, friend, spouse is more important than getting a great job.

And he concludes:

Career is overrated. Faithfulness is what matters. Love God, love people. In all your typing, reading, writing, teaching, playing, eating, talking, producing, serving--in all these things, pay attention to the important things of life.

The writer of Ecclesiastes, should he be alive today, would be making comments on David's Blog about some similar thoughts that he gained in his grand project to find something of substance in a world that feels so transient and unpredictable and uncontrollable. 'Find satisfaction in your job' (if you can), he'd say, and 'enjoy life with your wife' (if you have one). This is good, he'd comment, but when all is said and done, he has got one simple refection: 'Fear God, and keep his commands.' For, he would say, 'this is the whole duty of man'.

Head on over to his Blog and make a comment (he'd like that).

And also - can you pray for our students at Christ Church? There are about 50 students connected or committed to our ministry. And most are doing Finals right now...

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Pic on Flickr by prettyscary.

'How to destroy a church.'

I'm still taking a break, but I can let you know what's happening on Sunday, right?

I'vejust realized that I'm speaking on 'How to destroy a church' from 1 Corinthians 3.

I've don't think that I've ever done that before.

I hope no one takes my advice.

:)

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Welcoming: It ain't Rocket Science...

I received this email today from someone new at our church (not pictured):

I've really enjoyed meeting some of the people at Christ Church, and I look forward to continuing to do so. There seems to be a strong sense of community, which I really appreciate. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to actually recognize people, and for them to remember my name!

That may be all you have to do, friends. Remember someone. If you are going to church this weekend, look around you and remember the name of someone who is new.

It ain't Rocket Science.

(I posted about a quote about welcoming ... HERE.)

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“The world has too few picnics”

View Larger Map

A student at our church said recently:

"The world has too few picnics"

Here is a map of where the Picnic is! You can see and manipulate it to get a feel for where we are going. (Or Click HERE – Click then on Number 32 – Turtle Pond). This is for the students who are being welcomed at Christ Church NYC, and for those who wish to welcome them.

For more information, email me, or make a comment.



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Men serving homeless men

I don't talk enough of what is going on with our Church. We have grown significantly this year. And because of this, we are now able to do more in and for the city.

So we have taken on two 'service project' or what they call here 'mercy ministries' here in NYC that we believe honors Christ, and serves the lost.

One of them is that the men of Christ Church serve the many homeless in the city. So once a month, we go to the NYC Rescue Mission and run their evening service. The men have nowhere to live, and they are struggling with all sorts of hardships, addictions and pain. They come for a meal, but if they want to stay the night in a clean bed at the Rescue Mission, they have to come to church first.

I think that they like it.

So in just a few hours, a group of us will be sharing the message of Hope to those who feel most hopeless.

Pray for us.

Do our Churches have a version of Rumspringa?

You've heard of Rumspringa, right? It's an Amish thing. It refers to a period in adolescence where young Amish are not bound by their communities. And many (although not all) do the crazy things that they think about all the time, but couldn't normally do! Rumspringa literally means "Running Around". They idea is that after they have 'run around', they (hopefully) come back and dig in to community and stay there.

Do our Churches have a version of Rumspringa?

I just read this article from LifeWay. It's a survey of young Americans. It refers to the fact the 70% of American church-goers, aged 18-22, simply stop going to church for a year or more. They leave their home town (say, they come to NYC!) and simply don't connect with a new community in which to be accountable. Go ahead and read the article. There are lots of reasons they give as to why they stop contributing. And many apparently come back.

Here in NYC, it rings true. The Christian Groups on campus (while top-notch) are comparatively small. I meet young people all the time who are not really connected into a community that functions in a healthy way with strong accountability. They sometime go to several churches for different personal-preference reasons ("I go here for the 'worship' , there for the 'teaching', and I drop in to another church for the 'community' " etc.) And many don't go anywhere, except sheepishly when they go home for breaks.

In three weeks time (when the new school year begins) my community, Christ Church NYC, will meet many of the students who will be confronted with this choice.

Some questions you could help me with:

1. What do you make of the survey and the thoughts contained within?
2. Can we do anything about it?
3. (For my Australian friends: What are the differences, do you think, between the continents?)
4. What is a compelling vision for this age group?

Here is a quote:

Stetzer noted, "There is no easy way to say it, but it must be said. Parents and churches are not passing on a robust Christian faith and an accompanying commitment to the church. We can take some solace in the fact that many do eventually return. But, Christian parents and churches need to ask the hard question, ‘What is it about our faith commitment that does not find root in the lives of our children?’"

h/t Justin.
Pic by niznoz

Church Update

Thought you'd like to know:

Yesterday, we started a second morning congregation on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. We now have a 9:45AM service at East 37th St, and an 11:15AM service at East 87th St. We share the vision of transforming New York City by establishing new churches, and this is our next step. Lots of hard work, but, as the Scriptures say, 'thus far, the Lord has helped us'.

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by thy help I've come,
And I hope, by thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.