Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Seattle


August 2008
We went to Seattle for the national conference of the 20-somethings’ ministry. It was a great time to learn more about the vision of this ministry as well as meet people we will be working with this next year. Michael Frost from Australia was the main speaker.


Things I learned about Seattle
-411 Starbucks in the Seattle area
-First city to have a gas station and play the Beatles on the radio
-Space Needle is 605 feet tall
-Origin of Nordstrom’s department stores


Quotes from the conference:
-“Mission” is not one of God’s priorities, it’s the key to understanding who God is. He sent out His word like a missionary into the chaos and life was created.
-Don’t boil the Gospel down to good advice on how to get to heaven.
-If you listen to your patients, they will tell you how to hear them.-man who invented the stethoscope
-People are always trying to read how safe you are.


6 Key Ways to Live Missionally
1. Make Jesus your reference point for life and ministry.
a. The people who understood Jesus the most were the ones who wanted Him dead.

2. Foster a radical spirituality of engagement
a. Abandon the idea that it is spiritual to retreat and hum drum to engage. God is incarnate in the act of serving others.

3. Be inspired by prevening grace. (as opposed to convening)
a. God is prevening before we come and convene. Believe that God has been working in others’ lives long before we ever come in contact with them.
b. One thought: When people say they aren’t very religious. Ask, “Are you telling me you’ve never had a religious experience.” Michael Frost said 100% of the time they will have a story to share. We can give a name to that “god” they have experienced.

4. Follow God into strange places.
a. When people are searching for a “religious experience” they will choose church last. They aren’t coming to us, we need to go to them.

5. Find someone to take with you.
a. We cannot do mission work by ourselves. Mission is a community activity.

6. Embrace a number of practices that help sustain your corporate commitment to mission.
a. Missional churches think not in terms of events but in terms of practices
b. Some examples of practices: bless 3* people a week, eat with 3* people a week, have 1 intentional time of listening to God a week, record your experiences weekly
c. *One person from church, one person from your daily routine and one person from either category

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