The Invisible Gospel

Nov. 3, 2021.Do any of us really know how Christian spirituality grows in the human heart? There is something very mysterious about the way Jesus climbs into our souls. And there is something equally mysterious about how Jesus builds his churches too.#JesusStories: In Mark 4: 26ff, Jesus explained how the Kingdom of Heaven imbeds itself upon the earth. True to form, Jesus used a parable in which a farmer planted some seed, then he went about his schedule without thinking much about that seed. The line from this parable that catches my attention the most is, "The seeds keep sprouting and growing, and the farmer doesn't understand how." There is a mysterious nature to salvation. Though the modernist's era tried hard to reduce the gospel down to a set of scientific principles, it just wouldn't fit. In fact, modernism was not as friendly to the gospel as some supposed; we should be comfortable to move on from the Western culture of the last 500 years. If the post-modern era turns out to be more welcoming of the mysterious as advertised, that would be great for Christianity. Truthfully, the gospel has worked quite unexplainably in my life. A scripture, a song, a prayer, and suddenly a new bold faith emerges from my soul. The same is true for the churches I've led. There have been times when the group seems stuck in the status quo, and then suddenly a fiery courage emerges from my leaders and people. These things are a mystery.I remember some years ago leading a man to Jesus from a life of drug abuse. He did really well for a few months, and then he started hanging around old friends and slipped back into the drug life. As a young pastor, I was brokenhearted. One of the board members tried to console me by saying, "the last chapter has not been written on this mans life yet." I acted like those words were helpful, but they weren't. A couple years later we moved to another pastoral assignment a few hundred miles away. When we returned to that former church for a funeral some years later, standing in the sound booth was the man I thought we had lost to the drug culture. He was free, he was smiling, he was the sound tech, and I was stunned. The voice of Jesus never stopped talking to him.I have watched this pattern repeat itself over and over again at our Dinner Churches. At times things look fruitless, as though many guests are absolutely disinterested in our Jesus as they eat our food. Still others slip back and forth in their addictions with no capacity to resist. And then suddenly, a desire for prayer arises and new faith births before our very eyes. This is a mystery; this is the kingdom. To all Dinner Church leaders, it might appear that nothing spiritual is happening, but no! The invisible gospel is at work. And one day, it will burst forth into a most impressive harvest.#DinnerChurchQuotes: The church is described as salt and light, a bride, a family, a flock, a field of wheat, a mustard seed, branches connected to a vine, leaven, a body, and a building. But for decades the church in America has been treated like a business. (Neil Cole)#PracticalStuff: How long has it been since you've reminded your core team and volunteers that the most important role at Dinner Church is not cooking, unloading the truck, setting up the chairs, doing the music, etc. The most important role is turning strangers into friends…and then triangulating our new friends with our best friend. We talk about this almost every week with our teams. It is time for you to remind your people? Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Secret Things

Oct 28, 2021.We need to hear from the Lord. Not just occasionally, but in an ongoing way. Without it we are only relying on our three pound brains. In the world of epistemology, we have two inputs of knowledge available on this earth: our experiences and others experiences. That's it! However, when we tune our hearts toward the voice of the Lord, a third input of knowledge begins flowing into us. And we sure need that! Without it, we are just rehashing carnal reasonings. I once saw a bumpersticker: Don't believe everything you think! Something  happens in our leadership when we start listening to a deeper wisdom than the calculations of our minds.#JesusStories: In Mark 4:10ff, the disciples asked Jesus why he used so many stories? His response is worth some serious meditation: "I have explained the secret about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories." I don't know about you, but this grips me heart. How long has it been since you and I have heard some secrets about the kingdom? There is an awful lot of talk today about 'best practices' and 'church growth metrics'. Hmmm. Church leadership principles abound, but they not be the same thing as 'secrets about the kingdom'. I have a sense that the leadership material Jesus told his disciples were not the logical and rational and cause-and-effect observations that are common to earth. That is why he called them 'secret' - they flowed from heavens way of doing things, not earths. They were based on the God-calculator, not the man-calculator. The more I think about these 'secrets' and 'mysteries', the more my heart longs to hear Jesus talk to me. Like the boy Samuel in the Old Testament who heard the Lord call his name, I want more of that 'talk-to-me-in-the-night' stuff. Best practices and church leadership metrics might have their place, but my soul yearns for something deeper. How about you?#DinnerChurchQuotes:

• The missional church live their lives with the idea that they are on a mission trip, and on mission trips people focus on the work of God, and are alert to the Spirits prompting. (Reggie McNeal)
• If we are going to count for much in the postmodern world, the Spirit must remain the key to the churches existence and God must be breaking into our lives. (Gordon Fee)

#PracticalStuff: The JesusStories Bible has been printed for secular readers. It does not have concordances, commentaries, cross-reference tools, chapter explanations, or even numbered verse references. All it has is the stories of Jesus found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. In its unobstructed simplicity, the stories come to the surface. Beyond that, it is a nice water-resistant cover and serves as a valuable gift to everyone the Lord has brought into your ministry circle. The cost is only $3.99, so you can afford to order them from this website by the case. Interestingly, the American Bible Society has also helped us create an insert titled: A Guide To Telling Jesus Stories that you can download from their website. This is a step-by-step training tool for your people to use at their table conversations or when asked to preach. Would you consider downloading this for each of your team members and talking it through with them line-by-line?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

The Family Table...The Family Biz

Oct 20, 2021.The pastors, teachers, and prophets among us are skilled to lead their people into worship and the love of the Lord. Conversely, the apostles and evangelists among us are skilled to lead people to engage in the advancement of the Kingdom of Heaven. This creates leadership tension, but both are needful.#JesusStories: Numerous times in the gospels we see Jesus leaving a very effective ministry time to withdraw to the wilderness to pray. Sometimes he withdrew alone (Mt 14:23), and other times he took his disciples (Lu 11:1). Sometimes his withdrawal efforts worked, and other times they were interrupted by desperate people who ran to find him (Mk 6:31ff). We all can relate to this: there is so much ministry happening and so many people calling that finding time for solitude and prayer becomes difficult. But it's a fight worth fighting! Several of the disciples found out how potent these times can be as they watched Jesus actually transfigured before them to match the glorious heavenly visitors that came to meet with them (Mk 9:2ff). I am sure that experience changed their prayer lives forever. And while I wish that happened every time to me, I have had numerous prayer encounters that stirred my heart to its depths, rescued me from my carnal perspective, and reoriented me to the power and presence of my Lord. I am sure you have had times like that as well.My point is this, if Jesus felt the deep need to 'be with dad', we probably need that too. Stated another way, our first calling is to meet at the God-Family Table. While this is easy for some, it is difficult for those who are gifted at expanding the Kingdom of God. But every gospel worker needs to work in the Family Business and sit at the Family Table in equal measure. If we don't, our souls will become 'weary in well-doing'. To be honest, this is a chronic problem for me; I am quick to rush to the work; I am slow to set down to breakfast with Jesus. Lord help me, and everyone of my brothers and sisters who are like me!#DinnerChurchQuotes:

• The constant thread in the early church was prayer; yet we have become so accustomed to relying on our own methodology.(Dan Kimball)
• We don’t sit at a table by ourselves; we are surrounded by parents, patrons, partners, pastors, prayers, and paraclete. (Conrad Gempf)

#PracticalStuff: Have you been working your team week after week with no time for spiritual refreshment? I am certainly feeling that about my leadership team right now. In fact, tonight I am taking our group to the Table of the Lord. We will be worshipping, taking communion, and breathing prayers of blessing upon each other. Tomorrow we will rise and lead the 16 dinner churches we serve throughout the week, but for tonight we will practice Jesus' words in Mark 6:31, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a while." Does your team need to withdraw for a night?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

New Ways

Oct 13, 2021.Most of us are uncomfortable changing memorized patterns. The status quo is a powerful thing for the simple reason that it requires less mental work. Thus, humans and groups have opted for the known approaches, even when those approaches are no longer effective.#JesusStories: One day the Pharisee's criticized Jesus' disciples that they were not practicing righteousness by fasting (Mark 3:18ff). They pointed out that even John the Baptist's disciples were going without meals for spiritual reasons. Jesus' reply was one of those 'head-scratchers'. First, he said that no one fasts during a wedding party. Then he pivoted to say that no one patches a hole in an old garment with a new piece of cloth. And then he ended by pointing out that no one puts new wine into an old wineskin. Then he walked away. In retrospect we can see that Jesus' mysterious answers forced them to meditate deeply about their willingness to shift from the 'Moses-Law' chapter to the 'Messianic' chapter, but it was difficult to grasp in real-time. And that shift proved to be very hard for those who had practiced their spirituality the same way for 700 years. In other words, it made for some very deep ruts. But with the coming of Jesus, something new and very different was now pouring out of Heaven. There was a new intervention coming that could not be attached to the old torn cloth of law-based spirituality; there was a new experience pouring upon the earth that could not be contained in the old worship patterns of synagogues, annual temple visits, and the 613 rules-of-righteousness - of which fasting was just one of them. Wow, if anyone needed a new spiritual path, it was those who had bloated spirituality to 613 rules. How impossible. I am sure glad I live in the day of Salvation where I can focus my eyes on only one place - Jesus the author and finisher of my faith!Before we rush ahead, we must admit we get into spiritual ruts too - ruts that need to be interrupted. Jesus understands this and has sent numerous season shifts to His Church. Heaven has poured out new waves of blessing many times - waves that forced the Church to form new wineskins to hold it: Agape' Church, Persecution inspired Missionaries, Consolidation of The Holy Scriptures, Desert Fathers, Church-Planting Monasteries, Printing of the Holy Scriptures, The Reformation, The Great Awakening, Azusa Street, Rise of the Stadium Evangelists, The Jesus Movement, The Charismatic Renewal, The Worship Movement, Emerging Church, Fresh Expressions of Church...just to name a few. And each time a new heavenly wave came, the Church had to make some new wineskins so the new wine would not be spilled. Now don't get me wrong, the old wine and old wineskins are still valuable to Jesus because they are still very meaningful to many in his flock. None-the-less, we are again on the cusp of a new wine pouring upon the Church - one that can respond to a more chaotic and fragmented and tribalized world. Eyes up everyone - NEW WAYS are coming.#DinnerChurchQuotes:*We are looking for 1000 new ways to express a 2000 year old tradition. (A Seminary Billboard)*The situation required Christians to make many adjustments in their efforts to communicate with their society. The interpretation of the Lord’s Supper was included in these new ways of looking at things. (Ben Witherington)#PracticalStuff: Are you using the JesusStories bible? This is a bible intentional developed for the never-been-churched. This is a wonderful way to get your dinner church congregation visually focused on the life of Christ. Beside that, they are nice gifts to hand out to everyone all the time. And for the speakers to preach from this bible each week underscores our BIG message that the life of Jesus still changes everything. Note: we have received some grants to keep costs down so you can afford to order them by the case, and you can order the from the bookstore on this website.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon 

Facing Evil

Oct 6, 2021.Our brains play tricks on us. The modernist era taught us to process everything though the lens of logic, reason, and scientific explanations. So when we see evil at work, we try to make sense of it in left-brain terms. This cultural default leaves Christian leaders under-practiced in dealing with the uprising kingdom of darkness.#JesusStories: Our Lord dealt head-on with evil quite often; he faced it personally and in his ministry. Marks gospel begins with Jesus' encounter with the devil in the wilderness, and then just a few verses later, during Jesus' inaugural sermon at a Jewish gathering, a demoniac walks into the room and confronts him. Think of it, on Jesus' first official day of ministry he encounters visible evil. The uprising kingdom of darkness wasted no time in showing up to make its intentions known. We too have had evil resistances at work in our ministries, only we have probably not called it out as such. In this day where 'reason' rules, anyone who dares to suggest that they are squaring off with evil will be branded a "super-spiritualist" and be dismissed from many ministerial circles. I admit there are those who turn every difficulty into a spiritual attack. However, I am concerned that the greater risk is Christian leaders being unprepared to face evil interference when it actually shows up.Many read quickly through the demon stories in the gospels because they don't know how to handle them. It is helpful for us to recognize the presence of evil rather than trying to use demon-talk. In Jesus' day, they saw evil and spoke of it in terms of 'demons' - that was their cultural voice. In our day, we can all see the work of evil destroying the drug addicts life or the evil involved in those who are kidnapping children for prostitution rings, etc. I don't know about you, but when I walk through my city, I can see evil at work destroying one life after another, and it makes me angry. When destructive things show up, we as Christian leaders can call it out for what it is - EVIL! And when we see evil, we can learn to respond in the likeness of our Lord. Jesus understood his authority to simply told evil to shut up and go (Mark 1:25). His authority is our authority; the Great Commission teaches us that. We too can bluntly resist evil; James 4:7 teaches us that. While we submit to the plans of the inbreaking Kingdom of Heaven, we never submit to the uprising kingdom of darkness. That is what 'Men of God' and 'Women of God' do - we face down evil and in our prayers we say NO! If not us, then who?#DinnerChurchQuotes: "Jesus rebuked evil spirits, he rebuked the wind and the waves, he rebuked fig trees. What kind of guy is this? A guy who knows how things should be and has the authority to bring that state of affairs about." -Conrad Gempf#PracticalStuff: The stories about Jesus are a powerful antiseptic against the reasonings  of evil in human hearts. How ready is your core team and volunteers to share a Jesus Story? This is what I believe the verse "instant in season and out" is actually talking about - having Jesus Stories 'at the ready'. From time-to-time I ask our leaders during a core-team meeting, "What Jesus Story has been burning in your heart lately?" And I might even go around the circle and ask several leaders to share their Story. They all know that at any given moment I might call on them. I do this to get them ready, because the Spirit might ask them to tell a Jesus Story the next time they are eating at a Jesus Table. If they can be instant for me, they can be instant for the Spirits urging - and that makes them a powerful voice in the room. Would you consider warning your core-team that you might ask them to tell a Jesus Story at a moments notice? And then make it an ongoing part of your leadership huddles?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon 

The Gift of Determination

Sept 28, 2021.We talk about different kinds of gifts: leadership gifts, spiritual gifts, strengths, aptitudes, talents and skill-sets. However, there is an inner expression that deserves far more attention than it usually gets.#JesusStories: Mark 2 tells of a paralytic man who is being brought on a stretcher by his friends to Jesus. But when they got to the house where Jesus was teaching, it was overflowing with people; even the street in front of the house was loaded with onlookers and listeners. I am sure they were immediately disheartened as it appeared they had wasted their trip. That was until one of them had the outlandish idea to climb up on the roof, rip open the thatching, let the dust fall over everyones heads who were crammed into the house, and lower their friend right in front of Jesus. Many rush past this point to the dramatic healing, when we should stop and ponder the thought process of these friends. I surmise that one of the friends kicked the dirt, pointed his finger at his buddies, and said something like, "we're going to do this anyway!" His courage became their courage, and that collective courage turned into creative problem solving and inspiring innovation. They all knew that roofs were not designed to be entry points into houses. But on this day, they turned that roof into a door - all thanks to the gift of determination. And, Jesus counted their bold act as faith and great healing flowed. Dogged-determination looks an awful lot like extraordinary faith from heaven. Similarly, when Jesus taught on the Lords Prayer, he only spent three verses on what to pray, but then spent ten verses talking about the role of determination in prayer. That tells me that determination is three times more important than getting the words right. Where are you adding dogged-determination to your leadership and ministry?#DinnerChurchQuotes: "The strategy nor the tactics of the First Christians were particularly remarkable. What was remarkable was their determination to act as Christ’s embassy to a rebel world." -Michael Green#PracticalStuff: If you would ever preach on the Mark 2 story, you might use my friends title: "Four-of-a-kind beats a full house". :) On another note, Covid has been awful. Perhaps it's time for you and your team set your foreheads like flint to restore your dinner churches momentum anyway? I am not talking about ignoring health protocols, but I am talking about mustering your groups determination to take some forward steps despite the recent setbacks. Maybe you need to apply your boldness to regain spiritual momentum, reassembling your team, or maybe in other ways altogether. Maybe you just need to read this paragraph at your next team huddle. But know this: God loves to see dogged determination from his people - then He acts. Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

He Wants To!

Sept 22, 2021When it comes to healings and miracles, most people consider it a rare exception rather than a common occurrence. The greatest reason for this is the modernist era in which we live; these recent five centuries have been predominately informed by a worldview of logic, reason and the explainable sciences. And yet, we are Christian leaders called to preach the gospels to the fullest. This creates an interesting dissonance between our message and our practices.#JesusStories: The book of Mark opens with a bang: demon exorcisms, a flood of healings, and even a leper being cured (vs. 1:40). That last one catches my attention. Jesus was likely walking out of a small Galilean synagogue when a leper came and knelt down before him. The interchange between Jesus and the leper is both holy and haunting. The holy part is when the man said, "You have the power to heal me." Even though this was early in Jesus' ministry (first chapter of Mark) the leper had already heard of his healings and miracles. And yet, he was a leper; and leprosy was a next-level disease that inspired a fearsome social reaction. Somehow, this leper believed that Jesus could even deal with his problem, as horrific as it was. Many of us need to meditate upon the faith this leper was able to muster for his big problem. There are those who feel the Lord might respond to small requests like some extra finances when things get tight, but trusting Jesus with a next-level issue like leprosy or cancer? That is really out there. Let me remind all of our souls that our Jesus is as capable of dealing with the big challenges as easily as the small. If a leper can come to know this, we can too.Then this leper said something that was less faith-filled, even haunting. He said, "If you want to." Though this is not bold like his first statement, I can actually understand it. This man was a social outcast; he was used to people not wanting to help him for fear they might get too close and contract the disease themselves. He was a shunned man, and his self-value had been diminished bit-by-bit with each shunning. Now he is kneeling before the Healer, but with a broken sense-of-worth. Many Christians and leaders need to meditate upon the question of whether or not the Lord really wants to fix their situation. Most trust the love of the Lord, but waffle in believing He desires to intervene in the challenge before us. We might even have a lagging spiritual confidence and wonder, "Why would heaven pour on this situation? I am not a big leader or a huge prayer-faith-person."  Maybe we need to take a lesson from this leper: he had the faith to trust Jesus' power, he didn't have the self-worth to expect anything, but he asked anyway. Awesome. You may or may not fully trust Jesus' miraculous power in this day, you may or may not expect Jesus to choose to fix your need, but will you ask anyway? Like the leper, you just might be surprised at Jesus' quick willingness to move heaven and earth to address your challenge. I am convinced that Jesus 'wants to' more often than we think.#DinnerChurchQuotes: "The more we pray for healing, the more often healing starts to occur." -David Godwin#PracticalStuff: Our Dinner Churches flow from the historic practices of Jesus, who healed people by day and had dinner with sinners by night. Are you and your team praying for healing around your dinner tables often? Would you consider gathering your core team and volunteers for the following convo: 1)read & remember some healings in the Gospels, 2)each of you determine to look for opportunities to offer healing prayers when the need arises in conversation, 3)end the meeting by inviting Jesus to heal your people more and more and more. What do you think?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

False Narratives

Sept 16, 2021.In our youth things seemed simple; each of us could grab one perspective on any topic and hold onto it as though it was 'the only way to see it'. But now that we are older, such simplicity no longer suffices. Most adults have fully learned that there are always a couple incongruent perspectives pulling at us on almost every topic. Maybe this is why Paul said he "looked through a glass darkly", i.e. "looked through a fogged-up window." When opposing views are present, things do get foggy.#JesusStories: As the book of Matthew draws to an end, we witness a frustrating conclusion. After the resurrection, some of the religious leaders bribed the soldiers who were guarding the tomb to report that some of the disciples came and stole Jesus' body in the night (28:13). Though there was no explanation as to how a couple fishermen could have overpowered trained and weaponized soldiers with their bare hands, the story became widely circulated among the Jewish people (vs.15). I hate this paragraph; like so many other divine happenings, even this pentacle event was blunted by an alternate version of history. In fact, the enemy of the kingdom has seen to it that there are alternate and more-logical explanations to every divine occurrence in the Gospel story. What this means for Christian leaders is we must lead people to accept the mysterious story-line by faith, even though a more-earthly explanation exists. And yet, that is our leadership task. Jesus was born of a virgin! Jesus did heal the sick and raise the dead! Jesus did remove the strangle-hold of sin for the whole world when he died on the cross! Jesus did raise from the dead so he could take his place at the right hand of the Father, be available to our prayers 24-7, and direct the greatest Rescue Project the world has ever seen. The false narratives, however logical they sound, must never be allowed to stand. We must boldly tear them down by telling, retelling, and re-retelling the stories of Jesus over and over again.#DinnerChurchQuote: "Early Christians, interestingly, began not with creedal speculation, but with stories about Jesus, about those whose lives got caught up in his life." (Stanley Hauerwas)#PracticalStuff: Are the Jesus Stories being told in your dinner gatherings? If they are, then you have the full capacity to grow your people in the likeness of Christ. If not, how soon can you start? Even covid should not hold back the retelling of the Jesus Stories. In the wake of the pandemic some groups who are serving drive-by meals are printing up a Jesus-story-of-the-day and pasting it to the lid of their to-go containers. Others are telling a 30-second Jesus Story through the window and offering a prayer before their guests drive off. Other outside dinner churches are having their people stand or sit in 'eating-circles' throughout the park while the pastor circulates through each group, tells a Jesus Story, and prays over them before moving on to the next. And these are just a few of the ways dinner church leaders are keeping the Jesus Story thriving. This is a case of 'where there is a will there is a way'. What is your way?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Authorized

Sept. 9, 2021.We are profoundly aware of our humanity. We go to bed tired every night, wake up foggy every morning, and yo-yo between clarity and confusion throughout most days. That is our human reality in this fallen world. And yet we are called to be leaders in the inbreaking Kingdom of Heaven. Hmmm.#JesusStories: I was reflecting on the Great Commission this past week in Mt. 28, and particularly on the line, "All authority has been given to me on earth and in heaven, therefore Go...!" This verse is loaded with meaning. At the beginning of Jesus' ministry he met the devil in the desert who boasted that he held all authority over the earth, and if Jesus would bow and worship him he would hand that power over to Jesus. It's interesting that Jesus did not rebut Satan's claim; if the devil was exaggerating the authority he held Jesus would have protested, but no. So now, at the end of Jesus' earthly ministry the believers are gathered for the ascension, and his dramatic rising into the clouds. It is in that moment he utters his final words, and makes it clear that he has now won back authority over the earth. That is not a small statement! But what is even more interesting is what he decided to do with that newly-gained authority.Rather than set up his visible government upon earth, he directed his authority to flow to his Church. He did this with two words: "Therefore Go!" In other words he directed his people to take his new authority, push back darkness, and bring his inbreaking Kingdom upon the earth a step at a time. It was a divine decision to exercise his authority through us. Wow. And then he demonstrated his long-term commitment to this decision by ending with these words: "and I will be with you until the end of the age." Which means that even us, two millinea later are still expected to take that divine authority, push back the darkness and instill the inbreaking Kingdom every place we go and in every town we serve. This begs the question: Are we operating our ministries in the knowledge that we are authorized to push back the uprising kingdom of darkness and advance the blessed Kingdom of Heaven into our families, neighbors, churches, neighborhoods, cities, and nation?#DinnerChurchQuotes: "The Holy Spirit does not anoint plans, he anoints people, and especially people of prayer." (EM Bounds)#PracticalStuff: Summer is over. The season of rest is done. It is time to refocus your dinner church team upon the 'Jesus Table' again. One way to do this might be to gather your core team, remind them of the anointing that comes upon those serving on the frontlines of the gospel like dinner churches do, and then pray for a fresh anointing upon each of them. And if you are comfortable with this approach, you might even have the group lay hands on each person one-at-a-time, asking for a fresh anointing to descend upon each of you. What do you think?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Free To Thrive

Aug 17, 2021.There have been seasons in ministry when I felt I was running unabated and unhindered from anything. I love those times. But then there have been seasons when I felt every step was opposed and every effort was blunted. While I realize there are seasons of planting and seasons of harvest, there always seems to be something else going on.#JesusStories: John 8 records Jesus in a marathon teaching time in the temple area. As he spoke, many Jews believed and embraced the forthcoming Kingdom of God. To those new believers He then turned and said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free....And if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed" (Vs. 32, 36). Jesus was giving these newby's a foundational insight about their new lives in Christ. Jesus' words are certainly true to this very day, and they affect not only our spiritual walk, but our ministries as well. In our personal lives when we become tempted by greed, envy, lust, or any other influence of darkness there is always a lie at the root; the money that greed promises usually turns to dust, and if it does come about, it is wholly unsatisfying. And such are the outcomes with the other temptations as well.Similarly, when our ministries become weighted down, there is often a lie at the center of that encumbrance. For me, it is usually an inner voice that suggests that I must 'double-time it now'. But that is a lie, because the greater the ministry challenge, the more it requires a greater anointing to be upon me. And greater anointing always comes from the spiritual pattern: "I must decrease so He will increase", and "His power is made perfect in my weakness." So, when I follow that subtle voice of 'double-timing it' I am going in the exact opposite direction of where divine power is actually found, and I end up exhausted and disillusioned. But, I am so thankful that the Lord doesn't leave me there; during these broken moments The Spirit is faithful to whisper the truth to me...to embrace my weakness; to intentionally decrease; to humble myself. And predictably my spirit revives, and my ministry becomes empowered again. And suddenly I'm free to advance the Gospel again; the truth has set me free.How about you? What subtle voice tends to undercut your ministry momentum? Perhaps it's time to face that voice, call it out as a liar, and then call on the Lord to speak truth to you about your ministry. And in the name of Jesus, may your ministry become FREE TO THRIVE again!#DinnerChurchQuotes:

"Sharing fellowship is still on Jesus’ mind today, and he brings more to the table than you do. Jesus still visits earth at suppertime." (Conrad Gempf)

"60 years ago, the average dinnertime was 90 minutes; today it is less than 12 minutes." (Leonard Sweet)

#PracticalStuff: With covid mitigations still affecting so many, some have pivoted to drive-thru's and many have felt forced to shut down altogether. Going into this Fall, if your area is still disallowing indoor gatherings, might you consider the sidewalk version of Dinner Church? Numerous Dinner Churches across the country have moved their buffet tables outside under canopy tents, still have their musicians doing worship music (unplugged), and have their people gather in small eating circles. Then the pastor goes from circle-to-circle giving the Jesus Story of the evening and praying over each group before moving to the next. Might that sidewalk approach work for you?  Covid is not a deal breaker. After all, how many times did Jesus gather people outdoors to eat together and Kingdom talk?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Losing Traction

Aug. 10, 2021.Watching your church lose its momentum is an awful feeling. It was 2004 when this happened to us. That year our church dropped in attendance by a dramatic 14%, and that metric would continue for several more years. It was sickening. Sunday after Sunday I could see our people looking around at the empty seats more than they were looking at the stage. I could literally feel the ministry turbines slowing week by week, even though I as the pastor had never taken my foot off of the gas pedal. We immediatley employed numerous leadership ideas to re-energize the congregation, all of which were consider best-practices at the time. But none of them had any effect. What was occurring was a mystery, and as the pastor I knew I was out of my depth.The BBQ That God Showed Up: Our eldest daughter graduated from college, and following commencement Melodee and I hosted a BBQ at our house to honor her. It was a wonderful time with BBQ chicken, friends, laughter, and celebration. That afternoon I had been able to escape the frustration of my waning church and enjoy our daughters success. However, near the end of the party as I was barbecuing the last of the chicken, one of our daughters professors, Steve Chandler, came and stood beside me. He started to talk about the need for reframed vision at certain junctures in our ministerial life. The more he talked the more my heart burned within me; I knew God was talking to me. Steve must have sensed it, because he turned and asked, "Do you need new eyes for your church, Verlon?" But what I heard in that moment was God saying, "Verlon, you need new eyes for your church!" So on that back deck Steve and I talked through a plan to get me my "new eyes". Within the hour, I knew I was to give the next season of my life researching the missional future for my urban church. Twelve weeks later I entered a graduate program that started ripping off more scales from my eyes than I ever realized possible, and by Christmastime an entirely new lane of ministry was already becoming visible. While it would take years for me and our church to learn to navigate that new lane, it all began on a back deck amidst the sound of sizzling chicken.Your BBQ Moment: Perhaps your heart is burning as you read my story. Have you lost your ministry traction? Do you need to find 'new eyes' to understand and lead your church? This is the exact reason why the Lord has placed seminaries and graduate programs in his body - to give leaders new eyes, new tools, new lanes, and new callings for their churches. These is not insignificant moments in the life of a minister, nor the churches they serve.A Shameless Invite: The fact that you are reading this blog means there is a desire in you to investigate the ReMissioning path of the Church. That being said, would you take a few moments to look at the DINNER CHURCH SCHOOL of LEADERSHIP? This is a nine-month graduate-level program designed for busy leaders: Virtual Live Lectures on Wednesday Evenings, practical assignments to be woven into your ministry context, and practitioner-based reading assignments. The cost is $300/mo ($150/mo to audit), and begins September 8th. For more Information and Registration: DinnerChurch.Com/DCSLI'd love to spend these months with you unpacking some deep church history that is rebirthing in our day in the most interesting of ways. AND THEN...I'd love to witness what The Spirit tells you to do with it. Because this I know...our Lord is not the least bit interested in you spending another minute of your ministry losing traction.Blessings and Boldness,Verlon

The Big Front Door

July 20, 2021.Every human culture is like a pair of glasses; it allows us to see certain things while at the same time blinding us to other things. This is true of family cultures, ethnic cultures, regional cultures, national cultures, and of course church cultures. In other words, you and I are completely blind to many things because of the cultural circles we inhabit. Here's one...#JesusStories: In Matt 26 Jesus told a parable about Sheep and Goats. In this story Jesus likened the sheep to those who were paying attention to His priorities by taking care of the poor and the oppressed, and the goats were those who did not. This is a painful parable for much of the American Church due to our primary focus upon the middle-to-upper-class peoples. Our way of doing church assumes the two-thirds of the population who can pay for it. We never set out to be 'elitists', but for economic reasons we have ended up very close to that identifier. The most interesting part of this parable however, is that the sheep did not even know why Jesus considered them so attentive to Him; nor did the goats know why Jesus considered them so inattentive. The sheep thoughtlessly and naturally went to help those with the greatest need, and ended up being in the exact place where Jesus was attending. The goats on the other hand had no such instinct, and were completely blind to the places and peoples where Heaven was most focused. I am sad to admit there were seasons in my ministry when I was so busy doing church for the well-dressed and beautiful people that I was blind to the potent entry points of the Inbreaking Kingdom. Lesson learned. And it was this 'sheep & goats' story that helped me find the BIG FRONT DOOR that swings between heaven and earth.#DinnerChurchQuotes: New church planting requires going to places on the margins, not the affluent places where churches already exist. -David Fitch#PracticalStuff: One of the greatest leadership questions for any team to consider: 'Who in our town already knows they need help?' This question comes from Jesus himself who said that he had not come for those who think they are righteous, but for those who know they are sinners (in other words - 'know their life is off track'). Would you consider leading your DC leadership team in a meditation/conversation on Mark 2:17 (NLT)? And then ask where the people live in your city who might feel their life is 'off track'? And then perhaps call your team to do a prayer-walk in that area to hear what the Spirit might say?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Readiness

July 13, 2021.We are always in the kettle. In other words, there are negative elements going on in our lives that affects us like the frog that won't jump out of the kettle so long as it is being heated one degree at a time. This highlights the need for the spiritual discipline of 'readiness'.#JesusStories: Matthew 24 captures Jesus talking about the end times with his disciples. It is a bit confusing because some of Jesus' warnings seem to refer to the destruction 0f the temple that would occur in forty years, and other parts  seem to refer to days during or beyond our lifetime. But the central theme of the chapter is unavoidable: "Always be ready! You do not know when the Son of Man will come" (Vs. 44). But this is a difficult task for humankind who are prone to the 'frog in the kettle' factor. We feel a need to normalize things to create stasis for the sake of inward peace. And yet, contrary to that instinct Jesus warns us to STAY READY!Today, there is another factor to consider. Many in the body of Christ have taken a simplistic view of the Kingdom of Heaven - as though it is only about believers being ready to going there when our number is called. Interestingly, the gospels talk less about going to Heaven and more about the Kingdom of Heaven inbreaking here on the earth. I was raised in a denomination that was strong on 'stay ready' message - for you don't know when Jesus will come back and take us to Heaven. We seldom talked about Jesus showing up with inbreaking plans to be delivered here on earth and us being ready to help him do that. I would propose that the readiness most supported by the fulness of Jesus' stories would be a readiness for whenever Jesus shows up - whether it is Kingdom plans coming this way or Kingdom moments gathering us upward. A worthy soldier is ready to follow their Commander whether 'wait' or 'go' or 'here' or 'there'. As solders under the Commander of the Armies of Heaven, what is our state of readiness? And are we re-readying ourselves day-after-day? #DinnerChurchQuotes: Great leaders enjoy remarkable resiliency. They bounce back quickly after rest, ready to get at it again. -Reggie McNeal#PracticalStuff: This Summer we have started encouraging Dinner Churches around the nation to add a prayer-walk team to their weekly gatherings. This is based on the conviction that Jesus hasn't just given us rooms full of secular friends, He has also given to us the ability to breathe life into entire neighborhoods. This is especially true once we understand the historic prayer-walk. The verses directed to Abraham, Joshua, and Moses were practiced by Jesus, the disciples and the First Church. They all understood the heritage of the people of God - that the Lord would give them the ability to influence 'every place they put their foot'. And that historic heritage is what informs our prayer-walks. So I invite you to begin walking the inbreaking plans of Jesus into your neighborhood step-by-step and week-by-week. Holding this theology accurately means that when we step in, the spirit of darkness steps back (James 4:7). In this way we can literally change the atmosphere of entire neighborhoods. A weekly commitment to this historic prayer-walk should cause a decrease in crime and an increase in the quality of life for everyone who lives there. I have a book on this topic coming out in September entitled: A Trowel and a Sword. It is being produced with a companion video so you can use it as a training tool for your team and your prayer-walkers. What do you think about expanding the influence of your Jesus Table beyond your room?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

The Cornerstone

June 29, 2021.Significant amounts of the scriptural narrative captures the heart of church people, but doesn't have the same affect on the secular population that fill our towns. Many Christians want to talk about things of faith that stirs them, but when they try their neighbors eyes glaze over. However, to assume they are disinterested in Christianity is incorrect; we just need to get re-inspired about the scriptural content that breathes life into their world.#JesusStories: There is an intriguing interaction found in Matt 21 when Jesus was addressing the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They were upset that Jesus had tipped over the tables in the temple the day before, and demanded to know the authority by which he did this. The conversation went back and forth a couple times until Jesus said this: "You surely know that the Scriptures say, 'The stone that the builders tossed aside is now the most important stone of all. This is something the Lord has done, and it is amazing to us.' Anyone who stumbles over this stone will be crushed." At this point the religious rulers realized that Jesus was implying that He was being elevated by God, and that those religious leaders were stumbling over Jesus and would be crushed. This did not set well with those leaders, and they walked away plotting how to get Jesus arrested. I am intrigued by the 'Jesus the Cornerstone' image. I propose it would do us well to meditate upon these words for ourselves. It is so easy for Christian leaders to be in the 'church business' and the 'Bible business' and forget to be in the 'Jesus business'. Do you need to stop and remember that the only cornerstone in the Christian faith is Jesus Himself? To remember and recover the 'Jesus-Center-Of-All-Things' message does something to our ministries - a new strength and anointing is released upon our words and efforts. Oh Jesus, lead us back to where we talk more about you and your stories than everything else combined.#DinnerChurchQuotes:*Speaking of a respected mentor: "I'd talk about my fears, and he would talk about Jesus." (Michael Slaughter).*The gospel is the core of the Bible, and the gospel is the story of Jesus. Every time we talk about Jesus, we are gospeling. (Scot McNight)  #PracticalStuff: A few weeks ago our Bible project entitled Jesus Stories was released. This occurred as the result of a partnership with American Bible Society, and we are so thankful for their investment into this project. So, we started passing them out to everyone attending all of our Dinner Churches, and soon people on the sidewalks who didn't even attend our DCs started asking for them. What was initially imagined as a great gift for our people and something for our pastors to preach from, caught a new gear. Now, we are viewing these Jesus Stores as a very meaningful gift for first-time friendships as well. The title, subtitle, and the cover promises to deliver the stories that flowed from the life of Jesus. And as it turns out, many more people are intrigued about that story than most Christians realize. You can order this Bible from this website/books. And due to some very generous donors, the cost is only $3.99/each. What do you think about ordering a case and enable your team to have something compelling in their hands to give away, inside and outside of your DC rooms?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

A Working Church

June 8, 2021.I saw a bumpersticker some years ago that said, "Jesus is Coming Back...Look Busy"! I have laughed over that statement many times since. But in truth, this is no laughing matter. A church that is not busy advancing the Kingdom of Heaven into the darkened places of this world are in 'mission drift'. And that is not good for anyone.#JesusStories: Jesus told a parable in Matt 20 about a vineyard owner who went out to the marketplace early in the morning and hired people to go work his fields. Then he went back at nine o clock and noticed others with nothing to do, so he sent them to his fields too. Then he went back at noon and again at three in the afternoon and saw still others 'loafing around' (CEV), and he sent them to his fields. Finally he went back at five and found still more who had been standing around all day because nobody had hired them, so he sent them out to join the other workers for the remaining hour. This story is a potent image - it reveals that our Lord is like the vineyard owner who is going back again and again looking for people to put to work in his harvest. This story also reveals the state of many churches who are standing around and not making themselves available to be hired and sent to the fields. This is sobering stuff. Somehow, the American Church has adopted an identity as 'A Listening Church'. We go to church each week to listen to someone sing and listen to someone else do a scriptural teaching, then we go home until next Sunday. And yet Hebrews 10: 24 makes it clear that the purpose of gathering as a church is so that we will 'provoke one another unto love and good works' (KJV). Notice with me that this text isn't asking for mere 'works', but rather 'good works'. There is a Kingdom-centric version of works being requested here. Helping each other is great, practicing random acts of kindness is popular, but Christ-followers are ask to engage in His good works of advancing the inbreaking kingdom into the darkened places of earth. What many Christians need now is for Jesus himself to walk up to them and ask, "Why are you standing around? Let me hire you and send you to one of my harvest fields in this town!" Oh Lord, please talk to us and our people that way.#DinnerChurchQuotes: North American churches today largely focus on attraction strategies, when what they actually need is to develop infiltration strategies. (Chuck Lawless)#PracticalStuff: This year the Dinner Churches in Seattle are feeling stirred to engage in an initiative we are calling TAKE BACK THE SIDEWALKS. Practically, it means that every time we host a Dinner Church, we have a prayer team walking and praying around the six blocks that surround each of our sites. We feel Jesus hasn't only given us rooms full of people to lift, but their entire neighborhoods too. Would you consider adding a prayer-walking team to your weekly Dinner Church? This is big stuff. When we do prayer walks we are dispelling darkness and walking in the very presence of Jesus step-by-step and week-by-week. We should expect this to affect the atmosphere of our neighborhood, breathe increased blessing into homes and families, reduce crime, and literally watch the works of darkness fade while the inbreaking Kingdom swells. Would you be willing to talk this over with your team?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Rewarded

June 3, 2021.Anything that doesn't match Jesus' words isn't genuine Christianity, no matter how spiritual it sounds. There are numerous examples of this: false humility, using scripture to control others, offering pious prayers in public for personal validation, just to name a few. That said, there is another popular Christian sentiment today that doesn't square with Jesus' words either.#JesusStories: Matt 19 records a story where a rich young ruler came to Jesus asking about eternal life. Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor and come join his disciples. When that proved too large of an 'ask' the young man went away sad. But somehow, that interchange prompted Peter to ask, "Remember, we have left everything to be your followers! What will we get?" (vs. 27). Now you would think this would be the perfect time for Jesus to rebuke Peter like he had done before, but no. Jesus simply told the disciples that for all of their sacrifices, they would be given a hundred times as much in this life, and in the eternal life to come. We need to stop and think about this for moment. There is a false spirituality today that promotes the idea that real servants of the cross should not expect anything in return. And while that sounds like a perfect 'humble servant' attitude, it is different than what Jesus actually offered to his disciples. Jay Richards points out that in Jesus' parables servants were rewarded for investing the resources entrusted to them. Similarly, Proverbs 19:17 says that if you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord - and he will repay you! Today however, such blunt expectation of repayment is uncomfortable for most people. Why are Christians less comfortable with the idea of being rewarded for their kingdom sacrifices than Jesus is? That is something to think about.#DinnerChurchQuotes: What gets measured gets done; what gets measured and fed-back gets done well; what gets rewarded gets repeated. (John Jones) This is a truth about human nature that Jesus fully understands.#PracticalStuff: If we are going to ask people to come to there frontlines of the gospel and work at our Jesus tables, we must boldly tell them they will be rewarded and fulfilled in ways that are beyond what they have experienced; they should expect more fulfillment, more healing, more empowerment for ministry, and more boldness flowing into them as they work at a Jesus Table. Would you consider calling a meeting with your DC ministry team and have a honest conversation about the rewards they should expect from Jesus? You might even do some scripture searches together on Jesus' actual attitude about rewarding the sacrifices of those who work on the frontlines to advance the kingdom of God.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Stubborn

May 27, 2021.The interaction between our personalities and our spiritual leadership is undeniable. Some aspects of our personality gifts allow us to know what God is up to with great clarity, while other innate instincts blinds us to the divine plans. In short, our inward impulses can both help and hinder our leadership. This requires some deep introspection.#JesusStories: In Matt 17, we see a story of a man who brought his son to the disciples to be healed from a severe case of epilepsy, but they failed to heal the boy. When Jesus got there, and saw how his disciples were unable to bring the needed healing he said, "You people are too stubborn to have any faith" (Vs. 17:17). That is an interesting assessment, and I'm sure it caught the disciples off-guard. After all, they had given up their careers and time with their families to walk with Jesus on his missionary endeavors. This 'stubborn' indictment seems ill-fit to them. It obviously bothered them too because once they were alone they asked for a deeper explanation as to why they could not heal the boy. Jesus explained that they simply did not have enough faith. Wow, that must have stung even more deeply than the 'stubborn' statement, and only a few verses later we find the disciples arguing about which of them would be the greatest in the kingdom. How typical. Failure brings comparison with others failures, and comparison brings arguments and posturing. Jesus responded to their 'who's the failure and who's the greatest' convo by pointing at a nearby child and saying that if they didn't change and become like a child, they would never flow well with the inbreaking kingdom of God (Vs. 18:3). And then a chapter later he compounded that same point when the disciples tried to push some children away from bothering Jesus, to which he reacted, "Let the children come to me, because people who are like these children belong to God's kingdom" (Vs. 19:14). Can we hear the leadership lesson Jesus is offering? Most of us do not see ourselves as stubborn. And consequently we do not see how our faith and leadership is being diluted. But when Jesus told us to become like a child, he was pointed us to the simple dependency a child has upon their parent for absolutely everything. We must learn dependency upon the divine. We adults are forever trying to work out partnerships with Jesus while He is trying to teach us to become dependent upon the Fathers strength for ministry that is flowing out of heaven for us every minute of every day. Once we learn to 'depend' and 'rely' upon our Lord, we find a new 'place' and a new 'effectiveness' in the kingdom. Childlike dependency is easy to understand, but so very hard to actually do day after day after day. Lord help us.#DinnerChurchQuotes: "The average child asks 100 questions a day. As middle-age adults, it's down to a handful of questions a day. As we grow older, we lose our inquiring sense of awe and wonder. We forget how to be childlike." -Michael Slaughter #PracticalStuff: Consider taking your team on a prayer walk through your neighborhood. But this time look at it through childlike eyes. Rather than praying what you know to pray about your neighborhood, use childlike eyes to form a dozen new questions about your neighborhood to pray about and discuss in your team meetings. Social scientists say that the process of inculturalization begins only six weeks after a person moves into a new town. In other words, we start becoming blind to the sociological realities around us in only a matter of weeks, and the longer we live there the "blind-er" we get. Following Jesus' cue and embracing childlike wonder can give us new compassion and new vision about God's plans for our neighborhoods.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Something to Obsess About

May 20, 2021.There are many scriptural things to focus upon. Each week when we develop our teachings from the Bible, we find a new insight that captures our attention for those days. And that is good. It is a wonderful thing that the scriptures have the ability to grab our attention over and over again. However, there is one portion that is simply greater than the rest...#JesusStories: The story of the transfiguration creates so many questions: Why did that need to happen? Did Jesus need that glorious experience for his strengthening? And why were James, John and Peter invited to join? It obviously was an enigma to them as it was occurring: the two son of thunder were seemingly struck dumb as the glorious figures gathered, and Peter went into 'ramble mode'. He immediately suggested (Matt 17: 4) that they should build three shelters - one for Jesus, another for Elijah, and still another for Moses. Hmmm. Why is it that we humans are so prone to build stuff when we encounter the presence of the divine? We build buildings, programs, ministries, organizations...all of which are good, but I'm not sure that is God's immediate goal for pulling back the veil and allowing us to see His glory. Because just as Peter was warping into 'build mode' God interrupted him; the presence of God settled upon them in a glorious cloud and out of the cloud spoke, "This is my own dear Son, Listen to what he says!" In other words, stop building stuff to memorialize this moment, and just listen to the words of Jesus. We have a real problem today; we talk about Jesus more than we listen to his actual words. Yet, Jesus' actual words are what we are supposed to build our lives and leadership upon. Not the idea of Jesus, not the gospel as is told by the Romans Road or the Four Spiritual Laws, or any other modernist reduction of the gospel, but Jesus' actual words. Maybe we all need to somehow experience a transfiguration of our own, so we will hear the Father remind us to become enthralled by the words of his Son. Now that is something to obsess about.#DinnerChurchQuotes: "The Rule of Benedict (the founder of the first monastery) – the stranger is to be received as Christ, welcomed warmly, and invited into prayer, the reading of the scripture, and a shared meal." -Christine Pohl#PracticalStuff: Many of our Dinner Churches across the country are still meeting on the sidewalks for Covid reasons, including us. Given that this might continue through the Summer, how are you delivering the Jesus Story? Here are a few thoughts: 1)give them a Jesus Stories bible and talk about the centrality of the Jesus Stories in our lives (order them from DinnerChurch.Com @ $3.95/each), 2)if offering an up-front speaking moment isn't practical, then walk around the 'eating circles' and tell the Jesus-Story-of-the-Day and pray over that circle before moving to the next, 3)type out a Jesus Story on paper and walk around the 'eating circles' handing them out, and give the cliff-notes of the story. However you can, keep the Jesus Stories central in your gatherings...even on the sidewalks.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon 

Guard Against This

May 13, 2021.We live in a physical world, but there are spiritual influences affecting this world. In the last couple years I have witnessed a spirit of hate and division roll into our nation that has separated people in heightened ways on the basis of political party, class, and ethnicity. Further, during this pandemic I have seen the spirit of fear roll into our world that has paralyzed and isolated vast multitudes of our populations. Where is our faith in all of this? A part of spiritual maturity is to be on our guard against spiritual influences that rise up within us, and separate them out from the voice of wisdom. There are a couple other voices that have risen and re-risen throughout human history that we need to address...#JesusStories: Matt. 16:6 says, "Jesus then warned them, 'Watch out! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." He was talking to his disciples, his young leaders in training, when he said this. The Pharisees had a religious spirit about them; they were judgmental of everyone who were not as devoted to keeping the 613 laws of righteousness like the Pharisees were. In view of this, Jesus warned his disciples to not allow an arrogant and judgmental spirit to come upon them. Then there were the Sadducees: they did not believe in the resurrection, or healing, or anything that could not be explained in logical human terms. They might have been good moralists, but they were not people of faith. In view of them, Jesus warned his disciples against reducing down the mystery and miracles of God to only what was explainable. Much would be lost if the expectation of a powerful God longing to intervene upon the earth were to be dismissed. Both of these errant voices have plagued the faith of mankind since the beginning of time, and they are here in full force in the Church today. Judgmental Christians abound and have offended and frustrated people trying to take first steps toward Jesus. Also, gnostic Christians abound too, and have explained away the mysteries, and miracles, and healings, and interventions of our Lord until prayer is powerless and Christianity is just a belief system. Both of these attitudes are caustic to our faith. Even in small yeast-like doses these influences will rise and rise until they dominate our soul and destroy the Christian adventure Jesus has planned for us. Guard against them, Christian Leader!#DinnerChurchQuotes: "Moses spent his first 40 yrs thinking he was a somebody, his next 40 yrs learning he was a nobody, and his last 40 yrs seeing what God can do with a nobody." -Dwight Moody#PracticalStuff: During a leaders prayer gathering this past week, I felt inspired to ask everyone to lift up their hands and look at them. We then asked Jesus to pour his healing into our hands - the very ones we were looking at. We reminded ourselves that Jesus wants to pour out grace, favor, healing, and blessings upon people - He just needs us to be his hands extended. Might you lead such a prayer exercise with your Dinner Church team?Blessings and Boldness,Verlon

Distinctly Different

May 6, 2021.We have a difficult time recognizing season changes in our lives, spiritual lives, and leadership chapters. At least I do. The momentum of the status quo causes us to wake up each morning with the expectations and assumptions of yesterday. But there comes a time when Summer absolutely gives way to Fall, and Fall is distinctly overcome by Winter. The liturgical calendar assumes a certainly seasonality in our spiritual formation. Similarly, a respected pastor in my life spoke of his church going through seasonal changes on a regular basis, similar to the four-seasons of earth. He taught about how he had to adjust his leadership according to the spiritual season his people were in. However, there is one BIG seasonal shift that has affected absolutely everything about our lives. And no I am not talking about Covid.#JesusStories: The Beloved Apostle offered a small but potent insight in John 1:17, "The Law was given by Moses, BUT Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth." This verse is worthy of meditation, especially regarding the season change it suggests. Previous to Jesus' coming, the world was in the season of the Law, which focused on the 'right and wrong' of all things. And then there is a "BUT", do you see it? It is here that something different happens - Jesus comes and shifts the spiritual season right before our eyes. We go from a spiritual world governed by the 'right and wrong' of all things to a spiritual world governed by 'grace and truth'. This is interesting on so many levels. The problem with the season of 'right and wrong' was that it left people focusing on their past failures and present struggles. This then gave an opportunity to the accuser and condemner of our souls to constantly undercut our spiritual confidence. Conversely, the birth of the season of 'grace and truth' placed our eyes on Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith. So spiritual confidence can now abound. If we had been present two millennia ago when that season shifted, the radical difference would have marked us. However, some 2000 year later I wonder if we adequately appreciate that difference. Beyond that, during this Reformation Era when the written scriptures was made available to everyone, we have found ourselves broad-brushing all things scripture across all of our lives in such a way that Old Testament verses have commingled with New Testament verses indiscriminately and blurred that critical moment when the world shifted from a 'right and wrong' covenant to a 'grace and truth' covenant. Have you meditated upon that distinct seasonal shift lately? This is the day of grace and truth and underserved kindness. This is the day when truth is a person (Jesus) rather than a list of dictates. This is a day when chapters of grace gives way to even more chapters of grace (most translations use the phrase, "grace to grace"). This is a spiritual season Paul called "The day of Salvation." Are we living and leading in the right season? Because this season is distinctly different than anything the world has ever seen before.#DinnerChurchQuotes: "Romans 14 reveals a dispute in the congregation about the meat 'being served at their Agape dinners' (my clarification). It had been bought at a local butcher shop where ceremonial offerings were prepared for pagan idols. Some Corinthian followers of Jesus were offended by this; still others had become enamored with Paul's message of salvation and the conviction that this grace was so abundantly and freely given that it was not dependent on their personal behavior." -John Shelby Spong#PracticalStuff: The Jesus Stories bibles are NOW HERE! This is a stories-centric bible containing the Four Gospels and Acts, and is designed for secular readers. It is our goal for each of our Dinner Church leaders get a copy of this Jesus Stories bible into the hands of every person in their faith communities. These are nice bibles with water-proof covers that will make for an impressive gift to your people. We have received some grants so we can offer them for only $3.99/each to make them affordable for larger groups. Order them from the www.DinnerChurch.Com store.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon