Kingdomology

expanding the love of Christ & Kingdom of God the world over

Posts Tagged Church

Church on Mission.

Jan 13

Posted by steve in Church Planting, Kingdom Living, the CHURCH | 1 Comment

Have you seen this clip?  It was made a couple of years ago.  But I came across it again the other day while researching a church planting organization.  Though the clip is not new, I believe it’s worth checking out again.  Jeff Maguire did a fun job describing the authentic Kingdom life which he refers to as Missional living.  The point being that authentic Christ followers are all called to live out the Kingdom of God in their own daily lives.  Sharing the message and love of Christ is the call of every Christian and not merely the domain of the decorated.  Remember, the CHURCH is not a building; but the people.  So whatever your niche in the Kingdom, be sure to be “missional” about it today.  Enjoy and implement!

 

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Getting Ready for 2012

Dec 31

Posted by steve in Just Life, Kingdom Living | No Comments

Are you ready for 2012?  I sure am.  This year New Year’s Day actually falls on a Sunday and we will indeed be meeting at The Crossings.  The plan is to just have one service at 11:00.  The main text that we will be looking at is Psalm 90:12 where Moses prayed; “Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  That is a challenging text in many ways.  When we take stock of our potential life span and realize we only have so many days allotted to us, we begin to rethink things more seriously. I suppose it’s kind of like when my kids were younger and a couple of older men told me to enjoy these years because they would be gone before I knew it.  I didn’t believe it then, but I can really relate to that now because my oldest will be graduating from High School in 2 and a half years.  Where did the time go?  In truth, all of us have a short amount of time on this earth.  The question is how are we going to spend that time.  To help us get further along with that road, I’ve listed three challenges below. What else would you add? Read the rest of this entry »

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Super Bowls and Super Church!

Feb 4

Posted by steve in Just Life, Kingdom Living | 2 Comments

This week America will be watching the Super Bowl in Dallas and though my team won’t be in the game, I’ll be getting together with friends Sunday night to take in the match.  While it’s going to be fun watching the game, it would sure be a whole lot more exciting to actually be able to play in the game.  (Which is what the Dallas Cowboys are feeling about now)  But when you think about it, what we have in the Super Bowl is a select group of professionals out on the field playing while the rest of us chug our cokes, eat our nachos, and dream of a big day when we could be in a big game.  But that’s the point: they play and we watch.  Read the rest of this entry »

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“Share Fair” Success!

Dec 15

Posted by steve in Kingdom Living, the CHURCH | No Comments

I was blessed to be part of the Crossings “Share Fair” 2010 event this past Saturday.  To me it was just another wonderful example of a local body of Christ putting their faith into practice by coming up with creative ways to serve their extended community.  The “Fair” was a great success this year as we gathered donations and gifts and networking with a local school, were able to get them into the lives of families in our area who are struggling.  A HUGE thanks goes out to Larry Foster who handled the goliath share of the details which made everything come together.  I also want say thanks to everyone who helped with the setup, teardown, and serving throughout the day.  In all, “Share Fair” was just another reason why you rock Cypress Crossings.  So keep up the good work and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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Rediscovering the Ancient Order of Things. Part I. An Introduction.

Dec 1

Posted by steve in the CHURCH | 2 Comments

Alright, show of hands here.  How many of you actually enjoyed taking history classes in High School?  Yup, that’s probably about right.  History is not the most popular subject with a lot of folks and that’s ok.  On the other hand, I’m one of those wired guys who actually enjoyed the study.  Don’t know, but maybe it’s just because I liked blowing an hour going to the film room at Tascosa High to watch a WWII documentary instead of sitting through Geometry.  But history does have important lessons to teach us in creating a more successful future.  If we take time to examine the good and bad decisions and the lives of those who have gone before us, we can learn from their victories and mistakes.  So it is with the CHURCH.  Read the rest of this entry »

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The Proposal Goes Public!

Sep 29

Posted by steve in Just Life | 5 Comments

 I’m excited to report that “The Christ Proposal” is going public this weekend at the “First Friday Art Walk” in Amarillo, Texas.  We’ll also begin offering the book here at Kingdomology starting this Saturday along with some other outlets.  What is The Christ Proposal?  Well I’m glad you asked.  It all really began as somewhat of an academic discussion just over a year ago when we were in a transitional period of our ministry.  We had finished up a church plant in Nor. Cal. and having passed off the baton to the leadership team there we were basing in Amarillo while we waited for clarity on the next move.  During this time I was doing some manual labor for a friend when he brought up a discussion he had heard on the radio while traveling.  The focal point was a minister’s comment about Jesus Christ making a proposal to his Bride; or the Church.  It was a fascinating thought as scripture does refer to the Church as the Bride of Christ.  Out of these discussions, a book was born.  The Proposal is a devotional book using direct scripture references and scriptural allusions woven into a first person narrative as though Jesus Christ were speaking directly to His Bride; the Church.  But the greater implication is the personal impact of how Christ is also speaking to us as God’s children. Read the rest of this entry »

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To Sign or Not To Sign? (Thoughts on Church Membership)

Aug 30

Posted by steve in Church Planting, the CHURCH | 2 Comments

Recently we had our first “Official” membership class at the Crossings and it was a lot of fun.  It was just neat to see so many new and old faces excited about what God is doing in our own little part of the Kingdom.  It was neat to see people stepping up to the plate in heartfelt commitment.  Now I understand that in the greater body of Christ there’s been some debate as to what to do with Church membership.  Some claim it is not a Biblical principle and others hold the opposite position and see it as a great practicality for our day.  On my part I lean toward the second camp, so I’ve listed 7 reasons at the bottom of the post as to why we’ve gone with a formal membership at The Crossings.  But I think the greatest reason why I fall on the side of a designated church membership for the located body of Christ actually comes from a true story from our time in the former Soviet Union.  Read the rest of this entry »

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A Discussion worth Having. Part II. Church and Hypocrisy.

Apr 2

Posted by steve in Kingdom Living, the CHURCH | 6 Comments

Ok Bonnie,
There’s a lot you have to say and I like your honesty and being upfront. No need to play games here. So with everything you wrote, (and didn’t write) we’ll just tackle one point at a time.

As I noted earlier, there exists a counterfeit church today which is quite foreign from the real deal. But there is always an element of the real CHURCH in the world no matter what kind of institution is being propagated. You can read more about the authentic church here in Kingdomology under the CHURCH page. But in short, the Church has nothing to do with buildings or institutions. The authentic Church is more about God’s people called to him. When it comes to people, yes, you are quite right, there are a lot of people who make great claims about being good “Christians” but don’t seem to be any different than the rest of the world other than just being a religious pain in the rear because of self-righteousness. I get that. But here are some other points to consider. Read the rest of this entry »

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A Discussion worth Having. Part I.

Mar 18

Posted by steve in Just Life, the CHURCH | No Comments

604px-ParisCafeDiscussionWell it’s obvious that I’m nuts about following Jesus and wouldn’t have it any other way.  As for me, I arrived at my convictions about Jesus not because I simply grew up that way kind of like a cultural thing, but because of a point in time where I was presented with the clear evidence of Christ, and then chose to accept it and follow him.  But that does not mean that I think I’m any better than anyone else or even those who have chosen not to accept Christ or his teaching.  In fact, there are times when I prefer to hang out with those who would consider themselves “outside” of the Church and even joke about themselves as being “pagans” or something like that.  They’re at least honest in the sense that they’re not trying to fool anyone by being more spiritual than the rest of humanity.  This is one of the many things I liked about living in CA.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Hockey and Leadership Lessons.

Mar 11

Posted by steve in Kingdom Living, the CHURCH | 1 Comment

iceWe’ll I’m just about back into a consistent “blogging” saddle again as we’re finishing up our transition from the church plant back in CA to a work in the Houston area.  We’ve landed with an exciting bunch of folks in Cypress, Texas where there are some real needs and huge opportunities for Kingdom advancement.  This past Monday night we had a group of leaders over at our house to watch the movie Miracle on Ice.  The flick was based on the true story of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team defeating the Soviet Union and winning the gold medal.  Personally it was fun to watch as I remember being glued to the tube when it happened in real life 30 years ago.  But we didn’t watch it to reminisce, but to learn some church leadership lessons.  We came up with at least these five principles.  Enjoy and feel free to add anything.  Read the rest of this entry »

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