Why We Do What We Do (article from Moravian Magazine December 2010)

Here’s a little story about man and a tree, and why that story makes all the difference to me…Zacchaeus was a man who no one liked and that did lots of things that were harmful to others.  So when Jesus came into town and sought out Zacchaeus, instead of the other more suitable candidates, it was shocking and unexpected.  It wasn’t showy or miraculous, but it was a simple invitation to dinner that made the difference for Zacchaeus.  The invitation to relationship with Jesus started to transform this man from the person no one cared for, into a person that cared for everyone.  It is that transformation that I invite people to experience when they participate in the life of Zacchaeus’ Tree Congregation (formerly New Hope Community Church in Indianapolis, IN). 

As a community we are called to seek out those people who don’t believe they are included in what God is up to or who have been excluded by stereotypes, negative experiences in churches, or media distortions of “who” Christians are.  We work together to live more like Jesus, and to follow in his footsteps, by making our faith an intentional journey towards building the kin(g)dom of God on earth.  Our congregation is shaped by many of the ideals shared by leaders of intentional communities.  Responding to their call to live in community and discover how God can use those relationships and complexities to shape the Christian witness, these leaders have many thoughts and challenges to offer to the established church and its developing congregations. 

Our church plant does not currently have in its development plan the creation of a live-in community, but it is not divergent or impossible that the future may bring such a witness to our congregation.  For now we are studying, praying, serving, worshiping, and following the call to be a congregation of people whom God seeks out to invite into relationship.  The conversations that help build our vision for the community of faith are inspired, in part, by the lives of those people in the early church, early Moravian History, and current leaders in intentional communities.  They help us challenge the assumptions that church is a place to go rather than an invitation to be the Body of Christ in the world; that church must look like it always has in order to be the church; or that church is a place where we come when we know things rather than a place we come to ask questions and learn. 

I have met many people in my 18 months in Indianapolis who are looking for community.  People who are dying for a place to ask questions, to find hope, and I believe to be told how much God loves them and wants to know them!  I am heart broken when I hear stories filled with hate, hostility and mistrust connected with their experience of the church, which often translates into their experience of God.  I grew up in the church and have known such great and amazing love, forgiveness and hope—it is this church I hope to share with others.  I hope to be unexpected in the same way that Jesus speaking to Zacchaeus was unexpected.  I hope that our congregational life will live out Jesus’ hospitality and presence in the lives of those most unexpected people. 

There seem to be lots of people hanging around in trees in every community in the world, wanting to see Jesus.  I believe that it is our invitation as believers to call out to them and invite them to the table for the bread of life and the blood of grace.  So at Zacchaeus’ Tree we intentionally seek to be a community that embraces the call to find those people who seem to be furthest from Christ and invite them to learn with us what Jesus meant when he came to give life and to give it abundantly—right now and forever more. 

Worship is Starting Up Again! Come Join Us!

This is an invitation to worship with us! I hope to see you!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Worship-at-Z-Tree-.html?soid=1103081187919&aid=P9ds3HoZlBE

Wouldn't it be amazing?

Have you ever noticed that hopes and dreams which we live by are likely to be downplayed, poo-pooed, and disregarded as valuable by others and even ourselves sometimes?  Dreams have power to propel human beings to move beyond expectations and to challenge ourselves past the things we know into the things that might be.  When people chose to follow their dreams, they risk being looked at strangely and having their judgment questioned.  They also risk finding out that their are more possibilities than they first thought or that they are capable of meeting a challenge that once seemed impossible.  


Lately I have been listening to a new album by Rachel Marie.  Her song called "The Peacemakers" is one of my favorites.  It epitomizes, for me, how dreams can inspire us to do and live out amazing lives!  One line song reflects a conversation during a Church World Service sponsored CROP Walk, she sings, "Wouldn't it be amazing if we could really stop the hunger!"  There is hope in dreams and vision beyond the cynicism of our world.  It can be hard to see past all the hurt and difficulty of history and imagine a different world.  But then again as Christians we believe that God has done something unique and amazing that confirms another world is possible!  We have what we need to see the world become a place of love rather than hate, of compassion rather than judgment, and life rather than death. 


As I work on planning worship for Z Tree, beginning November 27, 2010 at 5pm, I found a quote from St. Francis of Assisi, he said, "“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” (www.thinkexist.com)  Dreams are the things that keep us hoping and looking forward to something new.  But we rarely can go directly into our dreams without much smaller steps that lead us into places where the "possible" becomes probable and the "impossible" is only a few more steps away.  So maybe the power of our dreams is the little bit of foolishness that allows for us to believe in what we can't know and to live into a hope that we can't see.  


Don't get me wrong I don't believe dreamers are fools, matter of fact I count myself  among the dreamers.  Dreams have the ability to move us in a direction that some would never imagine and that some would never pursue.  As we begin the life of a new congregation, we aren't sure exactly how everything will look, work, or turn out but we do know that our dream to be a place where all people feel safe to come and explore relationship with God through Jesus Christ is a dream worth pursuing.  It is sometimes scary, often unpredictable and always amazing to see how our dreams are inspired by God's call and molded by the relationships we share.

So it seems to me, that one of my dreams is to be part of creating a community where dreaming is the norm and where we find energy in the hope of what is to come by taking steps to live it out right now!

Harvest and Sustainability Festival Invite!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Harvest-and-Sustainability-Festival-at-Z-Tree-.html?soid=1103081187919&aid=XJ3qRm-KY04

Cool Video about Zacchaeus' Story!

Thanks to MrDanOfTheChapel on YouTube for his creativity!

Where you are loved

As I walked over to my friend Christie's office at the Downey Moravian Church in Downey California I noticed a little blue paper, it is from a publication of the Moravian Church in North America in the 1980s, and says "The Moravian Church...where you are loved."  Wow!  There is no regulation, expectation, or judgment in that statement.  What does it look like when congregations are places where people are loved? Have you seen congregations that you believe characterize this statement?  As I follow God's call to begin a new congregation on the south side of Indianapolis, it is my hope that this will be true of us.  That before we get into the details of doctrine, practice, or worship style we are a community where people are loved.

It is funny, I grew up in the Moravian Church and the message on that publication characterizes my experience.  I was loved.  Even when I was an annoying teenager or disrespectful kid or a questioning pastor in training I have known without a doubt that I am loved here.  There is something of being loved when you are known, even at your worst.  I don't know that this is everyone's experience, I doubt it is which makes me sad.  But the freedom we have when we are loved first and known through that love is amazing.  Love changes our perspective, allows for us to see things that are overlooked without love and it helps us to look past the things that the world would pick out to separate us from one another.  Love may give us rose colored glasses but not to ignore the reality of pain, struggle, or disappointment.  We are given the rose color that allows for those things to come in on our list of priorities where they belong.

If we find ourselves loving first I believe that we will experience more depth of relationship, transformation and hope.  Jesus said lots of wonderful things but he began with LOVE.  I will pray and strive to create a congregation whose witness and life will affirm that Zacchaeus' Tree is a place where you are loved!

Happy Birthday Elie Wiesel!

Today I found a quote, for my facebook page, by Elie Wiesel. I love quotes because I feel like they catch us off-guard and make us think and consider in ways that a whole speech, conversation, or book does not. I guess this, for me, is an example of less is more. This particular quote (which I will share here...later) speaks of indifference which is interesting because today I heard people talking about apathy and how it can cause problems because we simply do nothing, essentially we have no opinion, and make no difference through our actions. As I think about Jesus, I cannot think of a time in the Gospels when Jesus is indifferent. He is always engaged in the action of compassion, or seeing to the needs of those around him!


In Revelation 3:14-22, John writes that the church in Laodicea is neither hot nor cold.  They do not stand for the Gospel or against it.  While many people take this a sign of judgement, maybe so but that is really for God to decide, I think it is like a litmus test for our lives.  If our lives are filled with indifference we may see that even our "values" don't appear to be part of our actions.  I make lots of decisions through indecision; letting a deadline go by, just not offering my opinion, or simply by forgetting to decide.  I realize too late sometimes that I had an opportunity to say something or show something important and because I wasn't really paying attention I missed that chance.  The Good News is that the world never has nor will it ever depend on me...I would be an inadequate savior that's for sure.  However, the more I endeavor to intentionally make decisions in light of the God of Love who guides me, the more I will be able to demonstrate the love that God has shared with me and that God shares with the world.  
There are lots of protesters in our world, some I agree with and many I don't.  I can't see Jesus going out of his way to demonstrate hate.  But Jesus was always on the forefront of demonstrating love, speaking out in the face of injustice, and challenging the world order when it missed the point.  As Christ(ians), people who strive to live in Jesus' way, we are not called to an indifferent witness.  We are called to choose; to cry out for justice, peace and in all things love!


So whether you take opportunities to protest with signs and pickets or with words in a blog, or through the daily living in community, I pray that we all consider our own areas of luke warmness...how would Jesus react?  Where can we grow in our living out of the Good News?  What do people see in my life that tells them about God's love for them?  I would guess that this conversation is better had with friends and people you can trust, so they can mirror back to you their experience and understanding of you as you move closer to the image of God who calls you to follow.  


As I work in my own life to follow Jesus better I hope I keep these words in my mind, 

“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. --Elie Wiesel