THE TEAM.

GOD'S STORY.

25SEPT06 Gen 7-8
26SEPT06 Gen 7-8
27SEPT06 Gen 9-10
28SEPT06 Gen 11-12
29SEPT06 Gen 13-14
30SEPT06 Gen 15-16
01OCT06 Gen 17-18

COMMUNITY

"Christian community is like the Christian's sanctification. It is a gift of God which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification. What may appear weak and trifling to us may appear great and glorious to God. Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases."
-DIETRICK BONHOEFFER
[Life Together]

GOD’S STORY.

As part of Transit, we will be reading through the story part of Scripture in its entirety. Tomorrow begins it all. If you’d like to join me, I’ll post the reading week-by-week. This first week will start out slow, giving a couple days to get into it. Here’s the schedule:

19SEPT06 Gen 1-2
20SEPT06 Gen 1-2
21SEPT06 Gen 3-4
22SEPT06 Gen 3-4
23SEPT06 Gen 5-6
24SEPT06 Gen 5-6

THE PAST COUPLE DAYS

The following four posts document my recent thoughts and experiences. Scroll down to (1 of 4) to begin. Love you all!

Aaron

P.S. Nearly two weeks have gone by and I am yet to take a single photo. I know…I’m horrible. When the time comes, I promise to show you all my new monastic home.

24-7prayer I.L.G. (4 of 4)

MORE THOUGHTS FROM MY JOURNAL THAT NIGHT…

“I’ve been thinking about America a lot in the past couple days. No, I’m not homesick. It just helps to get away and gain a new perspective. There’s so much power there. The world has its eyes upon America. Jokes are made to mock it. According to a recent article, those in a certain middle-eastern country were asked what country they (1) most hated and (2) most wanted to live in. The top answer to both was America. With these thoughts in mind, I think about those in attendance at the Leader’s Gathering tonight. We went through the list of countries. This is a movement primarily throughout the western world. God is obviously calling the West to prayer. It’s where the power lies. It’s where Christians are stuck in their ways. It’s where Christians have been asleep. But is a new day coming? Will we be mere onlookers? Or will we be in the middle of it all?”

24-7prayer I.L.G. (3 of 4)

VISION.

We stayed at a church this weekend and they just happened to be doing 24-7 prayer for the week. So, because we were there, they asked us to take some of the night shifts that had not been filled. Maybe ‘asked’ is the wrong word. They actually signed us up for them and ‘told’ us that we would be filling them. So, we did. Not to say that we were too keen on the idea. I was in the 1-2a.m. shift and ended up journaling my time away. What came were many thoughts and what I believe is a bit of vision for you all back home. After reading this, I think you’ll know who you are.

TORNADOS. Somehow, since being in England, I’ve heard the topic of tornados brought up time and again. Quite odd, really. It’s not normally the focus of many conversations. But, on several instances in the last week-and-a-half this topic has been mentioned. I didn’t really think much of it until Pete Greig brought tornados into his talk. He tried to use them as an analogy for prayer and I half understood what he was saying. But, with a bunch of mumbled conversations ringing in my mind, I really feel that God directed my thoughts back to you all at NewLife. I may be wrong…who knows.

First off, I feel that this all centers around the idea that has been pounding in my heart for the last week, of being still and knowing God. “Be still and know that I am God.” Keep that in mind. With the little meteorological knowledge that I have, I do believe that at the center of a storm is the eye of the tornado. It is still. It is calm. Yet, it seems to drive the storm. What an oddity this is. Yet, there are two other roles that are evident as a storm comes to be. One is the tornado itself. It destroys. It frightens. It throws you out of normalcy. Yet, this cannot happen without the stillness of the eye. The third role that is played within the storm is the observer. This is someone who sees not only the storm itself, but also the destruction afterwards.

So, what does all this mean? Hopefully not just a bunch of mumbled thoughts. Could God be calling the group of you back home to be the eye of the storm? Individuals driven by the stillness of knowing God. Not caught up in ‘saving’ individuals. Not bombarding unbelievers. Not always doing. But, knowing. I believe that if you start here, a storm will arise. Right now, I think you’re experiencing that calm before the storm. I think there’s apprehension and expectation for what is to come. The Spirit will grow as thick as a funnel surrounding you. There will be destruction. There will be messiness. But, then there will be rebuilding and refocus. And, all the while, on the sidelines, will be the observers. Watching. The storm will pass. Some may not survive. Some may choose not to survive. But, remember that after the storm, after the rebuilding, there will be something never known before. And the observer will see it all.

Like I said, these thoughts were all jotted down late last Friday night in that prayer room in north London. As I finished my hour (which flew by) I started packing my Bible and journal into my bag so I could head to bed. I glanced to the section of the wall that I had been leaning on the entire time. There, written in red handwriting were the following words:

“WHEN AND BE”
When the world sounds loud
When you don’t know where to go
When you don’t like who you are
When your words can’t explain
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
When you don’t like what you see
When your fears consume your thoughts
When decisions seem harder than they are
When you feel like you just can’t give anymore!
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
Teach me to know your thoughts
Teach me to know your voice
Teach me to see your face, your eyes and your hands
But must of all…
Teach me
TO BE STILL AND KNOW THAT YOU ARE GOD.

24-7prayer I.L.G. (2 of 4)

Think on the idea of COMPASSION. I’ve realized how focused 24-7 prayer is on justice. Prayer. Mission. Justice. I guess I had glimpses of this before coming, but I think this is going to be a big focus this year. I really feel like this is the correct approach to the Gospel. The entire ministry of Jesus seemed to have been focused on the justice of the Kingdom. In Matthew 9, Jesus is said to have compassion on the crowds. This is supposedly the first time that this word had ever been used because of the intensity described here. There is so much yearning/striving on Jesus’ part. Our prayers must be driven by compassion. Our prayer rooms need to be dripping with compassion. As God, Jesus could do it all, but he chooses to allow us to be part of his family. That’s quite the calling.

24-7prayer I.L.G. (1 of 4)

CRAZY WEEKEND

Just arrived home last night around 1a.m. after being downtown all weekend. We were taking part in 24-7’s annual INTERNATIONAL LEADER’S GATHERING. As I’ve been quick to learn, just like everything else with 24-7, you go into it having no clue what to expect. But, as the weekend went by, I was blown away as I gained an even deeper sense of the heart of this movement. While I was uncertain about giving 24-7 the label ‘movement’ before coming, I realize now that it is indeed the best word for it.

This post will give you a brief overview of the weekend and I’ll highlight some more specifics in the other 3 posts if you’d like to read on.

First off, the weekend was filled with worship led by David Ruis. Some of you may be familiar with him, as he wrote songs like ‘Every Move I Make’ and ‘Mercy is Falling.’ But, I suppose those are a bit ‘old-school’ and his style has completely changed. This man is an incredibly gifted musician in that he is an artist in his leading style. Imagine being drawn into worship through music in creative ways. I could talk much more about him. What struck me, though, was that nearly every church you go into, you sing the same songs with the same sound and it’s all just typical. Where’s the creativity? We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that music is at the top of the worship hierarchy and yet the ones leading us in that have chosen to just copy one another. Some thoughts to chew on. This weekend I saw Spirit-led worship that was freeing.

Friday night, Pete Greig spoke. And, he somehow got away with giving the same talk he gave to us Transiteers last week. Incredible words. It was all centered around the topic of passionate prayer…coming back to the character of Mary. Go back with me to the time when she anointed Christ with oil. Now, we’ve all heard talks about how much the oil must have cost, and it’s mind-blowing. Maybe that’s not the point, though. Possibly more costly than the oil were the tears that were shed from her eyes. It can be easy to give money away…to be generous. But, how easy is it to kneel in front of Jesus and shed tears onto his feet. Truly weep. With all that you are. Mary was always positioning herself there at the feet of Christ. Maybe this is why she was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection and be the first-ever apostolic voice as she spread the news to the disciples.

I wish each and every one of you could have experienced this weekend. To be in a room with over 200 people from probably 25(ish) nations is incredible. Even more so, was the fact that the Spirit was thick. This is a group of visionaries seeking after God. This is a group of dreamers not limited by the world.

IMAGINATION vs. INSPIRATION

Some thoughts from Oswald Chambers for the day. Also check out Psalm 46, which has been on my heart for the past couple days...

“The simplicity that is in Christ.”
2 CORINTHIANS 11:3

Simplicity is the secret of seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly for a long while, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think a spiritual muddle clear, you have to obey it clear. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will think yourself into cotton wool. If there is something upon which God has put His pressure, obey in that matter, bring your imagination into captivity to the obedience of Christ with regard to it and everything will become as clear as daylight. The reasoning capacity comes afterwards, but we never see along that line, we see like children; when we try to be wise we see nothing (Matthew 11:25).

The tiniest thing we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is quite sufficient to account for spiritual muddle, and all the thinking we like to spend on it will never make it clear. Spiritual muddle is only made plain by obedience. Immediately we obey, we discern. This is humiliating, because when we are muddled we know the reason is in the temper of our mind. When the natural power of vision is devoted to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the power of perceiving God’s will and the whole life is kept in simplicity.

ADDRESS

4 Runnymede Court
Egham
Surrey
TW20 9AA
UNITED KINGDOM

NEW DISCOVERIES

This made my day yesterday...

I've been told that the word 'NEAT' is only used in the UK as a descriptive word comparing to tidy. Something is never neat as in 'cool'. What a relief! Also, on the other end of the spectrum, 'FOOLISH' is quite the common word here. Incredible!

THE BEGINNING OF IT ALL...

Welcome to the Blogspot you've been waiting all your life to read...

The last couple days have been communicationless & I apologize, but I have finally reached my destination...home for 10-months. On Tuesday night, around midnight, after much flying and hours upon hours in the customs line, I finally arrived in London and was tossed over to the retreat center where it would all begin. How could I forget that they would drive on the opposite side of the road here? But, worry not. The mile is still in effect.

Anyways, upon arriving, Tim Rose, the chap in charge of it all greeted me and I was later able to meet Joe (Oklahoma), Matilda (Sweden), Chelsea (Michigan), Jon (England) and Dan (Wales). They're the hosts for the year. And, more specifically, Joe, Tilly (Matilda) & Dan are the hosts in my neck of the woods. There are 10 of us in Transit this year, and we've now been split into two locations. It was originally going to be 3, but between the lady in charge of the City of London Boiler Room stepping down and there not being as many applicants, they decided to keep it to 2 this year. So, the last 3 days have been spent getting a better flavor of this whole thing called 24-7 Prayer and the ideas behind Transit. This afternoon they finally decided to tell us where we would be located just before wheeling us off to our new homes.

I will be living on the west part of London in Egham. This particular spot will have a couple focuses which seem to be heading in the direction of youth and the beginning of a new prayer room. The current West London Boiler Room, which is about a 30-minute walk from here is being moved in the opposite direction of where we are living. That's about all I know.

I do know much more about what this year is going to look like, aside from the outreach. Developing a lifestyle is the key. And the three main focuses come straight from the Gospel. First, TRUE TO CHRIST. Out of that comes KINDNESS TO OTHERS and finally THE GOSPEL TO THE NATIONS. The year will be divided into 3 separate terms with these three focuses. How will these things be taught? I know that was your question & here's the answer: many ways. For instance, the text for this first term is 'Celebration of Discipline' by Richard Foster. We will seek to be taught in a variety of forms. Whether that be through film or biographies or artwork or albums, during this first term we will hopefully learn to find God and know him on a much more intimate level. Every two weeks at the most, the whole of us will gather together for lectures and more conventional teaching. On the 19th, we begin our chronological walk through the Bible.

One of the things they really seem to push is that we try new things during our time here. Attempt new ways of approaching God through prayer. This is a time to explore. A definite time of community. And, even as Christ left the Father to come into the world, so will we be going into culture. They claim this will be a difficult 10-months. That we will want to quit and travel home. But, it will be rewarding. From the words of one of the 24-7Prayer directors...'If these 10-months are the highlight of your life, then we have failed.' They long to set us up for the even more exciting adventure that lies ahead.

Those are many jumbled thoughts put into a couple paragraphs, but hopefully that gives you a better taste of what my life will look like. I know some of you have questioned the difference between 24-7 Prayer and IHOP in Kansas City. That was one of my first questions for them. Yes, they both began in September of 1999. However, as one bloke put it...'we both pray a lot & that's about it.' Supposedly they see the two very different. While IHOP has a strong emphasis in their vision on the end-times, 24-7 feels that they may possibly be more missional-focused. The first response I received was that IHOP is very polished and professional while 24-7 is more down-to-earth. I've very much seen this these last couple days and love it. These, for sure, aren't perfect people who have prayer all figured out. They're just a handful of individuals who long to mold some followers into true disciples of Christ.

I'll leave it at that for now. If you've made it this far...congrats & thanks for reading. If you want to be challenged, start reading 'Celebration of Discipline' with me. Having previously read it, I would argue that it's a great starting point & am excited to step into it on a whole new level.

My team for the year:
Hosts: Joe (US), Tilly (Sweden), Dan (Wales)
-David (Northern Ireland)
-Joe (England)
-Shaun (Canada)
-Bec (England)

Much love from London! You all are in my thoughts!

-Aaron

JUST A THOUGHT: Could it be that HOSPITALITY is the true mark of Christian leadership? Has the Church lost this as it has moved out of the home?