A new church starting?

There are several 20 somethings that I have been talking with that all seem to have the same vision of church… coincidence? Probably not. So, we are going to gather on Sunday night, Nov 30 at 7 pm to discuss these ideas. The meeting place has been established, but I do not have the address yet. But if you are interested in coming, please get a hold of me to find out the location. It is in Des Moines near the downtown area, FYI.

There are several other groups/LTGs/churches being started. God is working. He is faithful. Praise Him for His church and His willingness to let us be a part of it!

Have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

The commonplace network is born!

If you are a part of the commonplace starting team, please check you email for an extensive update about what is going on in commonplace. I thank God for each of you in the network and look forward to what He has planned! May God bless your new ministry!

Lots and lots of info

First off, this past sunday held some great discussion. So thank you all for reading, thinking, and allowing God to challenge you and your current thoughts about church, ministry, life, etc. Being in a place of challenge and confusion and opening yourself up to the unknown is a scary place… but being there is a great place in order to see God for who He really is, and putting all of your trust in Him during this is life changing. So keep up the uncomfortable… keep up the challenging of yourself… and keep up trusting that God has your plan ready to go. Because He does.

Secondly, The Wiemann’s have very graciously offered to have group at their house this coming Sunday at 11:45 and to have brunch for everyone who can make it. Julie said to not worry about bringing anything, but that won’t stop me. If you’d like to bring something to share, please contact Julie (via email, probably) and ask her what would work. If you can’t make the 11:45 meeting and still would like to come to 4:30, please let me know. I will plan on having a 4:30 meeting unless no one will be there!

Third, I love all of you guys and gals! I really do. You challenge me, convict me, hold me accountable… I have really enjoyed the past several weeks!

Fourth, be in prayer about what God is asking us to do once the book is complete. I will not be “making a plan” and am looking to everyone to be listening to God for this. He has the plan already… let’s be listening for it!

WOW… good discussion.

This past week’s discussion was once again, very challenging and very awesome. I am soooo excited for the next few weeks, as we will be talking more specifics about the biblical, 1st century church. So please read the next 2 chapters for next week (chapters 8 and 9). And I can sense that God is working on some amazing things to come… Praise Him for His generous nature and HIs grace filled love in our lives.

Again, attendance was down this week, so I’m praying for God to open schedules up even more than last week. I did hear from God quite a bit over the last week, and I shared my thoughts with everyone who was at Sunday’s meetings. So for those of you who weren’t there, this is what I’ve been hearing:

What if each of us actually gave up our comfortable lives and really decided to follow Christ? What would we be willing to give up? Our friends? Our finances? Our personal constraints we put on church and community? What would we give up that currently takes up our time and sell ourselves out completely to Christ and His church?

What if everyone involved in commonplace started meeting in groups of 2 or 3 and really started holding each other accountable? What would that look like for each of us? Who are the people in our lives that we currently know who could use this kind of relationship? Who are the people God is asking us to reach out to?

What if we decided that the MOST important thing in our lives was building God’s kingdom? What would that look like for each of us? What do we have to do/change/remove to make that happen?

Also, Matt suggested that maybe we should each be praying for the people in our lives that need Christ or that need more of Christ. So we made it a challenge to everyone to start a list of your friends and family that you can be praying for all day, every day. Be lifting these people up to God constantly… let’s join together in prayer and change our community! And then Vicki suggested that we start giving feedback to prayer requests (if things are changing for better or for worse) and celebrating the victories when they occur. Let’s start celebrating God’s work on earth together!

See you next Sunday! Keep reading!!!!

Last week’s meeting notes… and prayers are coming…

There were several people not able to make last weeks meeting… and it was unfortunate as the discussion was very good. So good, in fact, that we only covered chapter 5 and weren’t able to get to 6. So for this coming Sunday, please read chapters 6 and 7 and be ready for more great discussion.

If you weren’t able to make last Sunday and would like talk about the ideas in 5, please let me know and we can meet for lunch or dinner or whenever. I’d love to talk more about that chapter!

Also, I wasn’t able to get to sending out the prayer requests yesterday, so I apologize. And, then I forgot to bring my list to the office today, so it is sitting at home currently. UGH…. So I will be putting that together to send out later today/tonight. If you have prayers that you’d like added, please let me know asap.

See you next Sunday! Anyone up for bringing treats?

Another good week of discussion

Last Sunday’s discussion was great… challenging, thought provoking, tense, fun, exciting. I loved it. Thank you all for reading, showing up and joining in. Church is exciting with all of you! And thanks for the awesome treats. I am officially spoiled.

Keep reading!!! Chapters 5 and 6 for this coming Sunday. Please let me know if you won’t make it…

Be praying for each other and be seeking God’s will. Blessings to everyone…

Good start to a great book…

Hello everybody! I very much enjoyed the discussions on Sunday. There were thoughts shared from both groups that were really insightful and challenging. Thanks to everyone for sharing…

We will be reading the next 2 chapters of the Organic Church book for this coming Sunday (chapters 3 & 4). Please be ready to discuss what you found interesting or challenging, as the more input we have, the better the discussion and learning for everyone. See you Sunday at either 11:45 or 4:30.

Reading of the Organic Church book

This Sunday we will begin discussing the book Organic Church. Please read thru chapter 2 (at least) and be ready to discuss what you are hearing from God in the midst of this text. Please make note of any questions that you’d like to bring up or anything that really stands out to you. I am really looking forward to Sunday! Remember to let me know what time you’ll be attending (11:45 or 4:30) or if you’ll be gone all together. Have a great week!

Books and meetings

We have some “official” meeting times set… Remember that THIS Sunday (the 21st), we will not be meeting. But the schedule moving forward (for the next couple weeks) is:

Sunday’s at Jeff’s house: either 11:45 am  or 4:30 pm. Please come to either meeting that works with your schedule. But please let me know which meeting that you’ll be at, or if you won’t be making it at all.

And, the “Organic Church” books have come in. I have them on my shelf in my office at PRC (my office is in the cubical area), and your name is on your book. Please feel free to pick it up at your convenience. Or please let me know if you’d like me to deliver it to you… because I’m good like that.

Weekly Meetings Starting

Hello everyone,

We held a meeting last night and based on the group of people who attended the meeting, we made some decisions. We are going to start meeting weekly, on Sundays at 11:45 am at the house of Jeff Kennel (for now), starting this Sunday (Sept 14th). We decided to start reading the book “Organic Church” together and start discussing how these ideas impact commonplace and where it is going. The books will be supplied on Sunday (hopefully they will be delivered by then). We will also share a meal together each Sunday. This week, the meal will be provided, but later weeks, we will try pot-luck type meals. Please RSVP right away, so we can get a head count for food and books (see Jeff’s contact info in a post below). If you were not at the meeting last night, and are still wanting to be a part of this ministry, I need to know that info ASAP as well. May God bless your week! See you Sunday!!!