Several months ago I read a book titled Joining Jesus on His Mission, by Greg Finke of Dwelling 1:14 Ministries. As I read the book, I realized that the stuff he was writing was stuff that I had always been teaching, just in a little different way. At first I had that why didn’t I write this book feeling, but after that subsided I began to see some possibilities and opportunities.
This began a several month planning session with my team at church. We all read the book and just about everyone said It can’t be that easy! But truth be told, it is just that easy. The long and short of the book is that the mission is not ours rather it belongs to Jesus. And the cool part is He just wants us to hang out with Him on His mission. Sounds a lot less scary now doesn’t it!
With some leadership buy-in, we decided to reach out to Greg and see if we could
host a training workshop at Living Word the church I am privileged to pastor. He was on the calendar and we were off to the races to make this the start of a movement in the congregation instead of a one weekend event. So we decided to launch a summer long party the day we wrapped up the training.
In the weeks leading up to the event, we had posters and fliers and even a few promo videos from members who have read the book. Then we started to look at follow-up for the event. How are we going to make this a movement and not just a one day event? Party was the answer! Everyone knows what a party is and the great thing is, party means something different to just about everyone. So we’ll help the congregation throw parties in their homes throughout the summer months in an effort to simply establish relationships with people where we live, work, and play.
Now here’s the hitch – there’s not catch to the parties. There’s no church t-shirts or bait and switch things happening here. It’s not a church party! It’s a party, gathering
of people where you happen to carry inside you all of the power of the risen Jesus. While you will not be leading a bible study or preaching anything at these parties. You will be on Jesus’ mission of redeeming and restoring the world unto himself. Pretty easy. Everyone likes food. Just about everyone likes to have fun. So why not put them together and have a little party?
It truly is that easy. Intentional missionaries strategically deployed around the community with the sole purpose of redeeming our community through relationships. Can’t get much easier than that! Want to join the fun and throw a party where you live, work, or play? Give us a shout and we’ll do what we can to help you get started!
In the 
If you’ve been married for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly run into some sort of struggle or disagreement with your spouse. Whether he doesn’t keep the house as clean as you want him to keep it, or she doesn’t fix the food the way you want it fixed – we’ve undoubtedly had our moments. For some it’s a sign that we didn’t do our homework before getting married. For others it is an indication that we are just flat weak when it comes to relationships. And for still others it’s a demonstration of our selfishness. 
There’s a lot of talk these days about safe places. These are places where people are free to be themselves. They are places that lack judgment and allow the freedom to be accepted no matter the person’s preferences, history, or genetic make-up. 
It was big, bright, and full. I’m certainly not a guru on scientific matters, but I do remember from my childhood science class that the moon absorbs the light from the sun and reflects it back. This is why the moon shines at night. It’s more of a glow or reflection than shining its own light.
Have you ever watched one of those home rehab shows? You know the kind of show where someone buys a house that is rundown and falling apart. Then they sink some serious cash into fixing it up. And when it’s all said and done, you can’t even tell the house was run down in the first place. I do love watching shows like this. I love to watch old things made new. It’s very rewarding to be able take something that is broken and fix it, making it good as new. 
In the movie Men of Honor a young diver goes through intense pressure to become a Naval Diving Officer. After an accident, he loses his leg and needs a prosthetic to allow him to walk. After a period of recovery, he attempts to finish his officer training only to find out that the regulations have changed and the armor is now heavier. The climax of the movie comes when he is called to walk 12 steps carrying this new armor’s weight using his prosthetic limb. 