Velvet Elvis

We just started reading Velvet Elvis for my small group down here in Chatt so here's an excerpt from the introduction:

Here's what often happens: Somebody comes along who has a fresh perspective on the Christian faith. People are inspired. A movement starts. Faith that was stale and dying is now alive. But the pioneer of the movement- the painter- dies and the followers stop exploring. They mistakenly assume that their leader's words were the last ones on the subject, and they freeze their leader's words. They forget that as that innovator was doing his or her part to move things along, that person was merely taking part in the discussion that will go on forever. And so in their commitment to what so-and-so said and did, they end up freezing the faith.

What gets lost is the truth that whoever painted that version was just like us, searching for God and experiencing God and trying to get a handle on what the Christian faith looks like. And then a new generation comes along living in a new day and a new world, and they have to keep the tradition going or the previous paintings are going to end up in the basement.

The tradition then is painting, not making copies of the same painting over and over. The challenge of the art is to take what was great about the previous paintings and incorporate that into new paintings.


And in the process, make something beautiful- for today.
-Rob Bell


yeah. he's good.
-Zoosee

David's Mighty Men

8"These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. He wielded a spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time. 9And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain. 11And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. 12But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck don the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory" (II Samuel 23:8-12 ESV).

The Lord has kept bringing me back to this for the last few days, so I figured I'd share it with you all. If you keep reading in this chapter, you'll see how these three men were so loyal to David that they snuck across enemy lines and risked their lives just so David could have water from his favorite well. And you will also read about others that joined these men (30 in all) in fighting, not for vengeance, not for sport, but for honor, with humility, and with servants' hearts. I think that is a great picture of how we should unite as warriors now. I've seen the enemy taking low shots at a few of us lately, but I want to encourage you all: never give up. Call out the deception for what it is. Drown out the lies with genuine love. Keep fighting for each other.

You have my sword.

Solution- HillsongU

It is not a human right
To stare not fight
While broken nations dream
Open up our eyes, so blind
That we might find
The Mercy for the need

Singing, Hey now
Fill our hearts with your compassion
As we hold to our confession

It is not too far a cry
To much to try
To help the least of these
Politics will not decide
If we should rise
And be your hands and feet

God be the solution
We will be Your hands and be Your feet.

Higher than a circumstance
Your promise stands
Your love for all to see
Higher than protest line and dollar signs
Your love is all we need

Only You can mend the broken heart
And cause the blind to see
Erase complete the sinners past
And set the captives free
Only You can take the widows cry
And cause her heart to sing
Be a Father to the fatherless
Our Savior and our King
We will be Your hands, we will be Your feet
We will run this race for the least of these
On the darkest place, we will be Your light
We will be Your light

Remember.

1. Remember who you are.
2. Remember who God is.
3. Leave no man behind.

(Diane Cobb: Summer '07)

The Fellowship.

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."
The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I won't look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my presentmakes sense,
and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven,
my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away,
turned back, diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice,
hesitate in the presence of adversity,
negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity,
or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until Heaven returns,
give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own,
He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.

("The Fellowship of the Unashamed" by Dr. Bob Moorehead)

Identity.

"We are the warriors.
The lovers
the dreamers
the cries
the laughter
and the pleas.
the joy
the sorrow.
the redeemed
the Children.

We MUST be nothing less, nothing more. There is no job title, no degree attached. Those are simply tasks that we are capable of BECAUSE of our identities in Him."
- Abbey Durbin

Family.

"That's how family gets made. Not ceremonies or certificates, not by parties and celebrations. Family gets made wen you decide to hold hands and sit shoulder to shoulder when it seems the sky is falling. Family gets made when the world becomes strange and disorienting, and the only face you recognize is his, Family gets made when the future obscures itself like a solar eclipse, and in the intervening darkness, you decide that no matter what happens in the night, you'll face it as one." Shauna Niequist Cold Tangerines