Over the next couple days I will be covering in more depth what we value at De Soto Community Church. For a quick and dirty synopsis, you can review “Why We Exist”
It is essential as we seek to Become an Expression of Christ in Community that we keep in the forefront what that actually looks like practically. Tomorrow I will begin this series with an explanation of our mission statement:
Becoming an Expression of Christ in Community to Transform our Neighborhood and the World
To some of you this may not be “new” news. If you have tried to phone in the past week or so and have encountered a busy signal, I apologize. For some reason our phone here at home has been out of whack and I have been unable to get the problem remedied in a timely manner. (oddly enough, the internet still is working though…) So, until further ado, please email me.
Thanks,
Matt
“Hey…who’s the guy with the fat head?”
Forgive the ugliness, but recently, Leann Sulzen from the De Soto Explorer came out and did a story on the new plant. Here is a sample:
“A church, just like something you put in the ground is a living organism,” he [Matt Maestas] said. “The desire for anyone starting or planting a church is for that church to take root in the community and grow and be a church that really has a big impact on the community around it.”
I encourage you to go and read the whole article and send Leann a shout for doing a fine job.
Over at Missional Church Network Brad Brisco has a great post highlighting what it means practically to be a “missional church” in our ever changing North American Context. The main thrust of Brad’s post centers around three theological distinctions followed by five practical reflections.
The theological distinctions are as follows:
1. The Missional Church is about the missionary nature of God and His church
2. The Missional Church is about the Church being incarnational rather than attractional.
3. The Missional Church is about actively participating in the Mission of God
A few highlights
The Missional Church recognizes the purpose of the church is derived from the very nature of God which in turn compels it to be sent as a missionary people, individually and collectively.
Missional churches see their primary function as one of actively moving into a community to embody and enflesh the word, deed and life of Jesus into every nook and cranny.
As the sent, missionary people of God, the missional church understands its fundamental purpose as being rooted in God’s mission to restore and heal creation and to call people into a reconciled relationship with Himself. It is God’s mission, or missio Dei, that calls the church into existence. Or in the words of South African missiologist David Bosch; “It is not the church which undertakes mission; it is the missio Dei which constitutes the church.”
Go and read the whole thing and follow some of the links for great conversation. This has everything to do with what we are trying to accomplish at De Soto Community Church, being a church actively involved in the mission of God transforming our neighborhood and the world
I’ve just returned from a bit of a hiatus in the North Georgia mountains camping with my good friend Cameron. There’s nothing quite like men cooking meat over fire. Pictures will follow in the coming days, as I accidentally left my camera in Atlanta and it is being mailed back to me.
There will also be a few more book reviews up in the coming days of reading I finished while on my trip. So stay tuned for those as well.
This is our Sunday Re: Think an opportunity for us to continue to think about the events of last Sunday.
This past Sunday we spoke of the difference that our God makes, and what Jesus thought the most important commandments are. For Jesus the Shema of Israel was the foundation for how we relate to God:
” Hear oh Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Here we recognized the unique “Oneness” or singular nature of God, noting how easy it is to make an idol out of, or give tacit allegiance to other things, rather than our one God. To this cornerstone of Old Testament Faith, Jesus added a line from Leviticus 19:18 and we get his fully orbed response to what the greatest Commandment is in Matthew 22:37-40
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments”
For Jesus the most important things in life can be summed up in Loving God and Loving Others. Scott McKnight calls this the “Jesus Creed. This cannot be a matter of mere intellectual assent, but must also be put on display in our relationship with other people.
How are we making a concerted effort to walk in the way of Jesus, living according to the Jesus Creed everyday? Is this love put on display to our neighbors and others we come into contact with?
Over the next couple days I will be covering in more depth what we value at De Soto Community Church. For a quick and dirty synopsis, you can review “Why We Exist”