The Thing About Salt...

May 19, 2022.There have been lulls in my ministry when I was tired or my leadership was stuck in a fog bank. When we get in these places we need a new anointing, a new clarity, and a new boldness. But how do we get that? Prayer certainly helps, but there is another answer that is somewhat under practiced.#JesusStories: Mark 9 ends with Jesus asking an interesting question: "If salt no longer tastes like salt, how can it be made salty again?" Researcher and historian Valeriy Alikin helps us understand this statement: salt was one of the typical menu items at a first century meal, along with fish, bread, vegetables, wine, oil, and cheese. I doubt many of us would imagine that a bowl of salt would be considered a food group, but it was common faire in those days. In fact, it became a meaningful metaphor for the First Church. One of the Clementine homilies reports that Peter once broke the bread at a dinner gathering, put salt on it and gave it to his table companions as an expression of deep love. Salt was an emblem of their koininia (deep fellowship). The meaning of sprinkling salt on a brothers or sisters food is rather obvious: just as salt seasons bland food and makes it enjoyable, so warm Christian love season's our tiredness and makes our lives compelling again. It is the miracle of koininia, and it is something table churches can do with great fervor, favor, and flavor. So yes, in response to Jesus question - we can be made salty again. We can raise up dinner churches that pour wonderful Christian love over everyone in the room; old and new; young and old; leader and guest; saint and sinner. This is our heritage, our calling, and our anointing.#DinnerChurchQuotes: Because there were communities of mercy and help, Christians did have longer, better lives. This was apparent and must have been extremely appealing. (Rodney stark)#PracticalStuff: How are the evangelists doing in your dinner rooms? Paul talked to Timothy as doing the work of an evangelist, not as a matter of gifting but of calling. Christlikeness includes doing the work of an evangelist - i.e. being a witness to the life stories about Jesus. And every Dinner Church needs a room full of people who are buzzing about these Jesus Stories and how they have changed their life. Do you need to remind your team and volunteers about this calling? Do you need to pray over them for a new anointing to excitedly tell and retell the Jesus Stories like evangelists do? This is the repeating practice that turns a feed into a compelling great commission church. Lets go populate heaven this week!Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

What Did They Proclaim?

Apr 27, 2022The spiritual content pastors and Christian speakers use today flows from the Bible, and that is a wonderful thing. However, the spiritual content of the First Church flowed from the stories about the life of Jesus. How would a solid diet of Jesus Stories shape disciples differently than what we do? Interesting question.#JesusStories: Preaching, teaching, proclaiming, and testifying in the First Century centralized on Jesus' life. Rather than giving a specific JesusStory today, I want to focus on an entire gospel - the Book of Mark. This is the first gospel ever written, and was done by a young 16 year-old named John Mark. He was not an eyewitness to the life of Jesus as he was too young. However, he was from a well-to-do home that afforded him an education, which meant he was literate. So when Peter came to preach each week at Mark's mothers upper room, arguably the first church in Jerusalem, young John Mark sat around that New Passover table and took notes on papyrus of pastor Peters' preaching. And what did Peter's preaching sound like? It was the stories about Jesus and the stories Jesus told. In other words, the book of Mark is the best elongated example of what preaching sounded like from that time period.I fear we have made a huge mistake in thinking that our present-day preaching is similar to the preaching of the First Apostles. Teachings based on the fullness of scripture is a great thing, but it is not the same thing the First Church used. Now don't get me wrong, I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, I love the scriptures, and I teach from them often in my Christian leadership. However, I find it a worthy meditation to consider the difference of Apostolic Era teaching. Especially if we are going to use an Apostolic Era ecclesial form - the Dinner Church. If we are going to recover their socio-form of church, we would do well to understand their preaching-form as well. If you want an interesting Bible study idea, take out your bible app and look up the words: proclaim, preach, testify, and teach that appear from Acts through the last Epistle. Read each verse carefully to see 'what' they proclaimed, preached, testified, and taught. When I did this exercise, I found 74 scriptural sections that clearly identified they were preaching about Jesus, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Good News about Christ, the living word, etc. Only a couple times did those search words not flatly identify the Jesus narrative. I have meditated long and hard about what this means. And while I have several insights, the most impactful one has to do with our inability to speak to secular people compared with the First Churches profound ability to speak to the secular peoples of their day - the Romans, the Greeks, the Pagans, and even Barbarians. (See Romans 1:14). But then again, they were proclaiming the Jesus Stories. (See Romans 1:15-16). There is merit to recovering JesusStories preaching, especially if it restores our ability to speak to our secular neighbors.#DinnerChurchQuotes: The early preachers of the good news had one subject and one only - Jesus. This was their ‘word’ which they broadcast so assiduously. (Michael Green)#PracticalStuff: How well does your team know the Jesus Stories? Have the Jesus Stories become foundational in their faith? And how often must you repeat this message before they dive deeply into the different stories Jesus lived and Jesus told? And what will happen in your dinner church if your team and volunteers become so filled with the Jesus Stories that they spill out over and over again at your tables? You will end up with a room full of workers and guests who start looking strangely similar to Jesus himself. And the ability to shape people in the likeness of Jesus is what makes a Dinner Church different than a feed. Suggestion: take the four questions listed above into your next team meeting; give them a JesusStories Bible; start reading through those stories with a team reading schedule perhaps. What do you think?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Come With Power

Apr. 21, 2022.Christian ministry and leadership functions in an intersection between two worlds. We live in a natural world with predictable patterns, and yet we work for the Kingdom of God that is anything but patterned and predictable.#JesusStories: Mark 9 begins with a quote from Jesus about how some of his disciples would actually see the Kingdom come with power. And then only six days later, three of the disciples watched Jesus' body and clothes transfigure into an unearthly white in preparation of a meeting with Elijah and Moses - who suddenly appeared. Then, a cloud descended over them and voice from that cloud said, "This is my Son, Listen to what he says!" Side-note: This is one of the many scriptures that underscore the kerygmatic theology that Jesus' words and stories are to be held in a high place. All in all, this was a mysterious account that bends the rules of physics. Peter, James, and John witnessed a lot of unexplainable things during those hours.How do these unexplainable stories affect you? It is true that we minister with one foot in this practical world and the other in the heavenly world. We are not only called to live between the "already" and the "not-yet" realities of the inbreaking kingdom, but we are called to stand between "earthly needs" and "divine interventions". At times I suppose we are tempted to follow the gnostics, explain away the mysterious, and drift back to practical and predictable versions of ministry. But is that the call Jesus gave us? It seems he told all of us to heal the sick, dispel evil, and preach the kingdom to the poor, all of which are unexplainable and illogical approaches to ministry. But something happens when we leave room for Jesus to show up with unexplainable interventions - we get to watch the Kingdom come with power. And I want that!#DinnerChurchQuotes: Paul was obviously committed to evangelism, but as a by-product of the empowerment of the Spirit and the community’s worship around tables, in which the boundaries of the church were very fluid. (italics mine) -James DG Dunn#PracticalStuff: Christianity began with several repeating practices performed by Jesus over a three year period. (Preaching to the poor, dinner with sinners, healing, confronting evil, telling stories, just to name a few). Your dinner church has some repeating practices that make it thrive too. In fact, your list of repeating practices comes from the same list as Jesus' repeating practices. Are you talking about these practices with your team? Often? Reminding them of what makes a Dinner Church thrive? If you don't, it will drift back to being a feed with a short inspirational story. But if you do, a divine presence will download into your rooms over and over again, and you will find yourselves in the worthy business of populating heaven and helping broken people to take-on the very likeness of Christ.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

It Happened Today

Apr 14, 2022.Christians the world over are focusing their hearts upon what Jesus won for humanity 2000 years ago. As I write this blog, it is Thursday of Holy Week, and something very important happened today! Yet, this significant milestone sometimes gets skipped - The New Passover.#JesusStories: On the evening before Jesus was crucified, he gathered his disciples for a Passover Meal, which is included in all four Gospels (Mt. 26, Mk. 14, Lu. 22, Jn 13). While most Jews would be gathering for their Passover meal the next day, Jesus would not be able to join as he had an appointment with the cross that day. So instead, he hosted the disciples' Passover celebration the evening before. Once in the Passover room, Jesus altered the script. Rather than following the historic liturgy from the Ha Lachma, he changed the focus of the evening from 'Remember God's miraculous rescue from Egypt' to 'Remember me'. While he left the historic directive of inviting the strangers and the family-less in tact, he shifted the reason for the remembrance. Toward the end of the evening he referred to the moment as forging a "new covenant" as he held up the cup. Further, he told them to "do this" whenever they come together. In this way he instituted The New Passover, which would serve as a vision of Christian Gatherings going forward.There is little wonder why the book of Acts comes on the scene with story after story of Jesus' followers meeting around tables; they were practicing these New Passovers just as Jesus' instituted. These Gatherings were thickly practiced around dinner tables until the Constantinian turn in the fourth century, and then were intentionally pressed out of the life of the Church until uttering its final gasps at the end of the seventh century, never to return to the Medieval Church.Dinner Churches that are rebirthing today are not innovations, they are a theology that dates back to Jesus' formal institution of the New Passover that first Holy Week. This is not only the scriptural warrant for Dinner Churches the world over, but something worthy of prayerful meditation for all Holy Week participants. "Lord, thank you for giving us the New Passover table before going to the Cross. We are forever blessed by this vision of gathering with each other and with you at these tables." #DinnerChurchQuotes: When Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me" he meant 'Do table in remembrance of me'. (Leonard Sweet)#PracticalStuff: How are you training your new team members? And how are you keeping your current team members inspired and refreshed? We can help with that. May 14th, we will be having a virtual Team Training/Refresh Day from 9am - 2pm (pacific time)/12 Noon - 5pm (eastern time). This will be a great chance for you to gather your team in a room, watch the 45-min sessions on a big screen, then engage in discussion questions with your team four times throughout the day. What do you think about ordering snacks and pizza and having a team refresh day on May 14? Registration for this event will be available @ www.DinnerChurch.Com next week. Click Training button. Does your team need this?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon 

Jesus' Baptism

Apr 6, 2022.Baptism means many things to the Church in the West. For some, it is outwardly demonstrating the inward cleansing of salvation. For others it means they have decided to follow Jesus and become a Christian. And for still others it means they are joining a denomination, or a church. While scripture gives multiple images of baptism, Paul's statements in Romans 6:3-5 about becoming baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ deserves special attention. We view salvation as inviting Jesus into our life. But when do we accept Jesus' invitation to become immersed into his life?#JesusStories: Mark 8:34ff captures a moment when Jesus invited his disciples into a deep baptism indeed. Peter had just rebuked Jesus for talking about crucifixion, to which Jesus told Peter to stop thinking like everyone else and to stop playing into the hand of Satan's plans. Then he huddled the disciples and the crowd together and told them to take up their own crosses, die to their own plans, forget about living in their own lives, and start living in Jesus' life and mission to announce the Good News. In other words, become immersed into the very life of Jesus. This is the baptism Jesus had in mind.Many years ago I began hearing about the 'bounded-set' organizations vs. the 'center-set'. And to be honest, I found it confusing until I applied it to the historic Church. All 'bounded-set' churches throughout history created a boundary that people had to walk through to join. Whether is was a year-long catechism of ancient days or repeating the sinners prayer and committing to the biblical lifestyle as is commonly practiced today, they were boundaries that separated the saints from the sinners. These boundaries were formed in the second century during the rise of several heresy's that threatened the teachings of the Apostles, and has continues unquestioned through to our day. Most churches have some kind of filtration that separates those who are worthy to be a part of their Christian expression. Interestingly, the First Church held no such organizational boundary. While 1 Corinthians 11 has been used to justify spiritual boundaries patrolled by the church leaders, I would argue the unworthiness Paul was confronting was based on their unwillingness to include outsiders, not an argument for exclusion. All-to-say, the First Followers saw the Church as anyone who was moving toward the life of Jesus. They were a 'center-set' group who's only goal was to draw the sinner to the Savior day-by-day, step-by-step, grace-by-grace, and faith-by-faith. For them, the center of the faith was becoming immersed into the very life of Jesus - baptized into the very life of Jesus. This was intensely supported by their speaking content which revolved around the telling and retelling of the Jesus Stories. But we live in a different day; many Christians skip through the Gospel stories, then delve deeply into the rest of scripture. Some even think the Jesus Stories are for children, while the rest of the book is the deeper material for mature Christian. It should be exactly the opposite; the Jesus Stories are the highpoint of the Bible. Leadership Question: How can we become immersed into the life of Jesus without becoming immersed in the 468 stories and eyewitness reports about him?#DinnerChurchQuotes: Each Corinthian Christian brought their own food basket to the communal meal. Eranos (Gk) can be translated as ‘potluck dinner'. But Paul criticized their premature beginnings rather than waiting for everyone to arrive to share the meal together. (Leslie Houlden)#PracticalStuff: Everyone on your team needs to be involved in telling Jesus Stories, both at tables and up front. For this to happen, they must be immersed into the Jesus Stories in their own meditations and devotion times. What can you do to encourage that with your team? Further, can you start scheduling your team to tell a Jesus Stories at your dinner church? Or if they are shy, call them forward and interview them on a Jesus Story that is stirring in their heart lately? This is not only necessary for your churches baptism into the life of Jesus, it is also necessary for your team's baptism. What do you think?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon 

Dogged Persistence

March 24, 2022.Some people have embraced the idea that if something comes easy, it is proof of God's will. And conversely, if something requires hard steps, mis-steps and re-steps, then it is evidence we are forcing our will upon God's will. This is not a supported theology for life or leadership.#JesusStories: Jesus commonly healed people with instant effect. But Mark 8:22ff tells of a time when even Jesus struggled to heal someone. A blind man was brought for Jesus to touch and restore his eyesight. Jesus took the man by the hand and led him away from the crowd of onlookers; he obviously did not want this mans healing to become a public spectacle. But, after Jesus touched the man could only see figures and shadows - he said that people looked like walking trees. I wonder if there was a gasp in the onlooking disciples because...'it didn't work'? But Jesus calmly re-engaged again. This time he laid his hands directly on the man's eyes, and when Jesus pulled his hands away the man could see clearly.There is a huge lesson in these verses - even Jesus had to 'work at it' sometimes. And if Jesus had to roll up his proverbial sleeves and  'do it again', what does that say about our lives and ministries? There will be times when things don't work well the first go-around, so what do we do? We act like Jesus and we do it again. To assume that set-backs and re-starts are proof that we are not in God's will is simply wrong-put. In fact, when Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray in Luke 11, he spent only three verses giving them the sample prayer, but then spent three-times as many verses talking about asking, seeking, knocking, never-giving-up, and relentless determination. Are you bumping up against wall in your efforts to expand the kingdom? Sounds pretty normal to me. Maybe you need to make a slight adjustment or not, but HIT THAT WALL AGAIN! Because the kingdom goes forth in the hands of leaders who understand the theology of dogged persistence.#DinnerChurchQuotes: The strategy and tactics of the First Christians were not particularly remarkable. What was remarkable was their conviction, their passion, and their determination to act as Christ’s embassy to a rebel world. (Michael Green)#PracticalStuff: In this post-covid-ish era, do you need to test your groups determination to retell the Jesus Stories at Jesus Tables with the expectation that heaven will open up when you do? Talk about this with your team; recommit to the power of the Jesus Stories. I recently heard from a pastor who noticed his dinner church crowd was losing interest during the preaching time. He called his team together, and they noted that their preaching had grown from 10 minutes to over 20 minutes, and they were punctuating their presentations with illustrations, multiple teaching points, and even slides. They were slipping into teaching mode and hadn't noticed it. He said, "We had a come-to-Jesus-moment", and we recommitted to telling a simple Jesus Story followed by how that story had affected our life. Within a weeks time their preaching vibrancy returned and the crowd became engaged again - like they were at the beginning. Good leadership. Consider talking with your team at your next meeting about recommitting to the promise of the Jesus Table, and the power of the Gospel Stories.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Stop Looking for Signs

March 16, 2022.Humans are tentative by nature. I supposed that is the reason we are referred to as being sheep-like in scripture. While there is merit to being thoughtful, Christianity needs simple and bold follower-ship  too.#JesusStory: Mark 8 tells of a time when some Pharisees started arguing with Jesus, and wanted him to give them a sign from heaven. When Jesus heard this, he groaned and said, "Why are you always looking for a sign? I can promise you that you will not be given one." And with that he turned, walked away, got into a boat, and crossed over to the other side of the lake. Why did Jesus so completely and abruptly leave them in his dust? I think it was because they started off argumentative. They were not looking for a confirmation or an assurance that Jesus was there to open up the Kingdom of God for them, they were defending their leadership, their will, and their authority. Anyone, past or present or future, who is arguing with Jesus isn't looking to follow the leadership of Jesus. And those people will not be given confirmations or assurances about Jesus' authority. But, this isn't just a Pharisee problem; sometimes our self-will arises, doesn't it? When that happens, we find ourselve's saying things like: "Lord, if you are really asking me to do this, then give me a sign?" And when we ask this, we usually find a silent heaven. Because our hearts are defending our own will, rather than yielding our life to "following Jesus' life". Maybe it is time to stop looking for signs and simply follow Jesus' ways.Following Jesus does not mean agreeing to be a Christian; it does mean replicating the things Jesus did in our life situations. Jesus healed people, so we follow Jesus by starting to pray healing over people; Jesus spent time with the poor, so we follow Jesus by spending time with the poor; Jesus confronted evil, so we follow Jesus by confronting evil in prayer when it shows up in our lives or the lives of those around us. But, this is where the rub is - actually engaging in the behaviors of Jesus. We can follow Jesus in theory, but when we are asked to follow the actual behaviors of Jesus like preaching to the poor or square off with evil, our self-rule sometimes rises up. It is then that we become a bit Pharisaical and find ourselves saying: "Jesus, if you really want me to be with the poor, you're going to have to give me a sign!" You'll probably hear crickets. Because Jesus already told us, "Follow me!"#DinnerChurchQuotes: The Greek word for hospitality in the New Testament is philoxenoi, which literally means a love for strangers solely because of their disconnectedness. (David Lim)#PracticalStuff: This is a great time to sit your team down, read the verses about "taking up our cross and following Jesus", and discussing what is actually being asked of us around these Jesus Tables. We are called to replicate the works of Jesus, not recite the verses about Jesus. We are not disciples that speak Bible well, we are disciples that do the things Jesus did. There is a difference. Only the latter disciples will be able to advance the Kingdom. What do you think about such a discussion with your team?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Derailed by Demon-Talk

March 2, 2022.We live in a rational-based part of the world. Accordingly, things that are too spiritual make most people uncomfortable. Many in the West have unwittingly embraced the Richard Dawkins mantra that all spiritual beliefs are primitive myths that have been made up to explain the unexplainable, but civilization has now outgrown the need for such things. Unfortunately, even Christian leaders have been neutralized by versions of exclusive rationalism, and found it increasingly difficult to talk about things that are too holy or too evil, especially the demonic.#JesusStories: There is a wonderful move toward Christlike discipleship occurring in this day, in which the developing disciples learn to replicate the actual behaviors of Jesus when he was on earth. This is a refreshing change from having students memorize hoards of bible verses and calling it disciple-making. However, there is one problem with engaging in Jesus' actual Gospel behaviors - casting out demons. We can easily embrace Jesus' preaching approaches, his evangelistic mannerisms, and even engaging in his healing prayers. But when it comes to casting out demons, we secretly wish those stories weren't even in the Gospels. But they are in the Gospels, and in great supply. Whether it is the story about the naked man in the cemetery (Mk. 5), or the young boy who tended to throw himself into the fire (Mt 17), or the Syrophoenician woman's daughter (Mk. 7), or the other 25 mentions of demons in the Gospels, Jesus was thickly involved in confronting demonic activity. However, the idea of casting out demons makes us queasy; it conjures up images of little green creatures lurking just beyond the periphery of our sight; we don't want to do it and we don't want to talk about it. Even though classic theology teaches there are three influences occurring upon the earth: The Carnal, The Holy, and The Evil, most would prefer to ignore the latter and instead focus on the holy interventions of God into the carnal world of man.Would you be surprised to learn that the idea of 'demonic possession' and 'demonic oppression' does not occur in the New Testament? In the original texts, only the terms demonized or demonization are used. Possession and oppression are constructs of the latter Catholic Church to quantify the levels of evil at work in ones life. This has huge implications for us. If the people in Bible days were not actually demon-possessed, then Jesus wasn't doing exorcisms, at least not they are so often portrayed. Rather, he was discerning the influence of evil in someones life, and confronting it in prayer and spiritual authority. I propose that we have been derailed by demon-casting-talk, when Jesus was in the business of confronting the evil influence that was ruining peoples lives. Now I realize that Jesus dealt with extraordinary cases like the incident with the swine; the evil emanating from that confrontation was so great that the pigs preferred to drown then hang around that stuff. Smart pigs. While it is doubtful any of us will experience evil on that level, we will experience evil trying to rise up in us, and in the lives of others. Anytime we are tempted to pick up a $100 laying on someones desk when they are not looking, we know evil is at work; anytime we hear someone lying to cast others in a bad light, we know evil is at work; anytime we see a drug addict stumbling along the sidewalk, we know evil is at work; anytime we see a crime wave roll into our city, we know evil is at work. The presence of evil is not a mystery to us, but we are quite under-practiced at confronting it like our Master did. Do not let the demon-talk derail you in this holy pursuit. As a man or woman of God, stand up in your calling to confront evil whenever you see it ruining lives. Resist the evil one, and he will flee (James 4:7). If we will show up, evil will back up. And in doing so, we will be responding in the same ways now that Jesus did during those 28 encounters listed in the Gospels.#DinnerChurchQuotes: The Church must see itself as participating in Gods victory over evil. (Darrell Guder)#PracticalStuff: How is evil ruining people's lives in your neighborhood? That is a great question for your leadership team to discuss and quantify. Would you then consider writing a corporate prayer to confront that evil? And then pray it? And then make a strategy to pray it often? Where and when? In these way you can participate in the war against the evil that is uprising in your town.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Disciple-Making in AD33

Feb 24, 2022This Reformation Era has adopted a definition of discipleship that assumes infusing the full scriptures, Genesis to Revelation, into the minds of Christians. And as wonderful as that is, it is not what Jesus actually told us to do.#JesusStories: During the ascension, Jesus left the Great Commission ringing in our ears (Mt 28:19-20), “Go and make disciples, teaching them to obey "What I taught you." What did he just say? What was the content Jesus left for us to use? He left us with teachings embedded in a collection of stories: some he told and some he lived. Similarly, in the parable about the house built on sand verses the house built on rock found in Mt 7:24-27, Jesus elevated "his words" as the only foundational material that people can confidently build their life upon. He did not leave us with an Apostles Creed, a Romans Road outline, a series of discipleship classes around the Bible bases, or any other construct of spirituality drawn from the 66 books of the Bible. He  left us with a collection of stories from his life, and told us to use them in the making of disciples.Now don’t get me wrong, I have been blessed by the Apostles Creed and many other discipleship patterns based on scripture. And though the Canon we hold today was not compiled until 367 AD by the church father Athanasius, I still hold it as the Holy and Inspired Word of God. However, we must take note that Jesus told us to do something different than studying a thick book of scriptures and calling it disciple-making. Discipleship to Jesus meant teaching his words, his stories, his behaviors, and his life. This means that the Jesus Stories are the most important and powerful portions of the scriptures to be used in forming actual Christlike disciples. Here is an interesting leadership question: What if we took Jesus' instructions at face value, and honestly made disciples with the material he told us to use? Scary Huh?#DinnerChurchQuotes:*Popular evangelical theology comes from the Epistles, but it needs to come from the Gospels. (David Olson)*Reading the Gospels through the Epistles creates a disturbing distortion; the Gospels are not be taken as a serious prescriptive for life, mission, and discipleship. (Alan Hirsch)#PracticalStuff: This year our pastors in Seattle have felt compelled to start adding weekly prayer-walks to our dinner church gatherings. This week, while on a prayer-walk through one of our neighborhoods with several leaders, I sensed The Spirit walking beside us on those sidewalks in a HUGE way. When we compared notes afterwards, we all knew that we were dispelling the uprising kingdom of darkness with every step, and in its place ushering the Inbreaking Kingdom of Jesus into that neighborhood. Our spirits could feel darkness backing up and light flooding in. At its core, that is the theology of the historic prayer-walk. How long has it been since you've taken your team for a prayer-walk throughout your neighborhood to change the atmosphere around your dinner church? Jesus hasn't only given you a room full of people to influence, he has also given you the neighborhood where they live. Prayer walk anyone?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon  

Sin Confusion

Feb 17, 2022.A theologian once said, "Modernism has not been particularly kind to Christianity." Themes like the mystery of God has been forced into rational and logical constructs, which has not fit well. Another theme that has been underserved in this Reformation Era has been the nature of sin.#JesusStories: In Mark 7 the religious leaders became frustrated because the disciples did not wash their hands rightly. When they confronted Jesus about it he excoriated them: "You are nothing but show-offs! You are good at rejecting God's commands so that you can follow your own teachings!" (CEV). He went on to point out how they were actually teaching people to ignore caring for their elderly parents and instead divert those funds to the support of the temple. Wow! That was a beatdown I wish I could have witnessed. The pattern for life and worship God gave them had ballooned into 613 made-made laws by the time Jesus arrived on the scene, and these leaders were laboring under a burden of sin confusion, and Jesus would have none of it.We humans are pretty good at turning wonderful downloads from heaven into rules and regulations. We do this so we can categorize and control our spirituality; we'd rather grab God than trust the God to grab us. It is a control thing. In recent centuries, we have done similar things as the Pharisee's did. And we too are laboring under some sin confusion. Present practices have reduced sin and salvation to a choice. Now, I know Adam and Eve chose to eat from the forbidden tree, but does explain the full nature of sin? I am intrigued by what happened to Israel in the Negev desert when the snakes came out and bit the grumbling and faithless people. And then when Moses made an image of a snake and put it on a pole as God had directed. Anyone who looked at that image would be healed. This was a difficult day for the people of God. Yet, it was a divine metaphor that revealed how sin was like poison. Further, it revealed what the antidote would look like when it comes, which the world witnessed when Jesus was lifted upon the cross. On that day he became the antidote to rid the most elemental problem affecting this world - soul poison. Greed, lust, selfishness, fear, and dominating others are just a few of the poisons that destroys our lives, families, neighborhoods, cities, governments, and the world around us. However, the very mention of the name of Jesus releases the antidote to the poison that courses through the human soul. Amazing! To turn something as wondrous as that into a belief-system? No! To suggest that everyone must make a choice for Jesus before it goes to work in their lives? No! In fact, it is in our hands to dispense the antidote and start the process of recovery. People who are delirious in their soul-poison are not in much of a position to make these spiritual choices, are they?A man in our family was bitten by a rattle snake 70 years ago. He laid in a field for over an hour in 90 degree heat, and by the time people found him he was in and out of consciousness. He was in no place to decide about antidote options and doses; the poison had rendered him incoherent. If a doctor had been there, seen his delirious state, he would have simply taken charge and administered the antidote. This is the nature of sin - it poisons us. This then, must be the nature of the Church - to freely dispense the antidote. Every time we speak of Jesus and tell his stories, the antidote goes to work. There might be a day when a sin-poisoned person starts to heal and can chose to welcome Jesus' interventions, but before then it's up to the Church to administer the antidote, and let Jesus go to work. To this we are called. The Church today needs a fresh vision of the poisonous and debilitating nature of sin. And then, we need a fresh vision of the powerful antidote that is in our hands - the Jesus Stories.#DinnerChurchQuotes: The First Christians did not conquer Rome with swords and spears, but with tables. (Michael Frost) To which I would add: The first Christians did not conquer Rome with swords and spears, but the Jesus Stories at Jesus Tables.#PracticalStuff: Is it time for you to set your team down and remind them of the power of the Jesus Stories? Just using the 'Name of Jesus' and telling his stories starts a work of redemption and healing in people you are eating beside. Press that truth into the hearts of your core team. Without it you are just a feed! With it you are the answer to the worst problems in your neighbors lives.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

What do YOU want?

Feb 2, 2022.Some Christians say they are submitted to God's will. And that can be mark of maturity to be sure, but it can also be a cop out. We are in a relationship with Jesus, so believe it or not he wants to hear what we think and feel and want.#JesusStories: Do you remember the story about Jesus asking the blind man, "What do you want?" Now I'm sure it was obvious to all why the blind man was shouting, but Jesus wanted to hear the man say, "I want to see!" Interesting. There is a version of spirituality that diverts all things to Jesus for his initiation. But that can slip into false humility. We are in a real two-way relationship we Jesus, and while he is forever downloading the inbreaking kingdom into our lives and ministries, he also wants to hear our heart initiations too. Mark 6:56 shows this so clearly: In every village or farm or marketplace where Jesus went, the people begged him to let them just touch his clothes and everyone who did was healed. Wow, Jesus initiated healing for all kinds of people and in all kinds of ways, but he never suggested anyone should just touch his clothes. It was the woman with the chronic bleeding condition in Mark 5 who initiated this approach when she slipped up behind Jesus and touched his robe. And now, these townspeople having heard about that woman were doing the same thing in Mark 6. I LOVE THIS!  These folks initiated a healing process all on their own, and Jesus honored each of their 'healing reaches'. How long has it been since you've initiated something in the Spirit? As it turns out, your thoughts and ways and initiatives are quite important to our Lord. He is your dearest friend. Go tell him what YOU want.#DinnerChurchQuotes: During an interview with mother Teresa she was asked, "What do you do when you pray?" She answered, "I just listen." To which the interviewer asked, "Well what does God say?" Mother Teresa paused and said, "I don’t expect you to understand this, but he just listens." (Vince Antonucci)#PracticalStuff: Is there someone on your core team that needs to share the Jesus Story at your next Dinner Church gathering? While it is good for the DC congregation to hear from their pastor often, it is great for the team to learn to be 'instant in season and out' by the way they learn to handle the Jesus Stories. So pitch the ball to someone next week.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Closed Minds

Jan. 26, 2022.How open are you to new ideas? Similarly, how open are you to the unexplainable ways of Jesus when they happen? I find I'm quite open to new ideas, but struggle to hold the mysterious decisions of heaven at times.#JesusStories: Mark 6 records Jesus walking on the water. The back story is that John the Baptist had just been beheaded; Jesus saw the need for the disciples to take a retreat; the people saw where they were going and ran around the lake to meet them; then Jesus had compassion on the hungry crowd and told the disciples to feed all 5000. After that it was now evening when Jesus sent the disciples back across the lake to find some solitude while he went up the hill to pray. But then a storm came and the disciples were struggling to row against the wind, so Jesus cut his prayer time short and walked to them on the water. When they saw him they were afraid, and then when Jesus climbed into the boat and silenced the storm, they were 'completely confused' (vs. 51). In my minds eye I see them sitting in the boat in a state of exhausted silence. John's beheading, feeding 5000 with only a little bread and two small fish, Jesus walking on water, watching the storm instantly stop, this was all just too much. This is the backdrop that sets up vs. 52: "Their minds were closed, and they could not understand the true meaning of the loaves of bread."We all have a breaking point don't we? Nonetheless, our effectiveness in ministry requires us to do business with the mysteries of heaven and the unexplainable 'show-ups' of Jesus. That is our jobs. So yes, our faith is going to get tested against our logic from time to time. Heaven will mysteriously intervene at times, and then go unexplainably quiet at other times. And we will be left to explain the 'surprises' and the 'silences' to the church family. Equal measures of divine 'show-ups' and apparent 'set-backs' are on the agenda until the end of time. Will our minds be closed during these stormy times? Probably. Will we struggle to remember the last time an unexplainable miracle happened like a $5,000 bill getting paid with only five loaves & two fish in our bank account? Likely. But then, after a bit of rest, our minds will start to renew; we will remember the unexplainable miracles from our past; we will welcome another storm and another mysterious 'Jesus show up'. So if your minds feels a bit closed right now, don't sweat it. It won't stay that way for long. Before you know it you'll be on the other side of the storm doing the impossible along side an invisible Savior. That is what we do!#DinnerChurchQuotes: Interestingly, almost every practitioner has reported there has always been enough food, no matter how many people showed up – a mysterious connection with the miracles of bread and fish. (Christine Pohl)#PracticalStuff: Is your team expecting miraculous stuff to occur in your Dinner Church? Further, are they expecting miraculous math to occur in their own bank accounts as they help fund your tables? This is our Christian heritage, and are great discussion questions for your next team huddle. Yes?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Big Projects, Small Starts

Jan 20, 2022.Every once in a while we are faced with an unusually big task. When this happens to me, my adrenalin starts pumping, my sleep becomes shallow, my mind starts breaking down the project into tasks so much so that I become aloof to everything and everyone around me. Grief! Please tell me you can relate at least a little bit; I hate the thought that I am alone in this reaction, and that my wife is the only one who suffers from a detached husband.#JesusStories: The Gospel is a BIG project. In fact, Christianity is the greatest rescue mission the world has ever seen. And yes, when I first started out in ministry, I saw the Gospel as a project to be completed, and about burned out my adrenal glands running after it. But frankly, the Gospel is just too big and too life-long to treat it as a sprint. We need to apply some wisdom here.Early in Jesus' ministry Mark 6 reports that he called together his twelve apostles and sent them out two-by-two with power over evil spirits. And they went out telling everyone about the kingdom of God, forced out much evil, and healed a lot of sick people. Though it is not clarified in this verse like others, I suspect they followed the pattern Jesus used of 'healing by day and dinner with sinners by night'. I am taken initially by the fact that Jesus handed his spiritual tool kit to the disciples, and they were as effective as Jesus was. That bodes well for us, because we are Jesus' disciples too, if even 2,000 years later.But the truth from this story that grips me the most is that Jesus was called to change the world, and yet he started by merely sending out his disciples two-by-two to the small villages around them. Wow - such a big worldwide calling started in such a small way. As it turns out, Christianity has always functioned from the margins. From these days of Jesus until the present, the inbreaking kingdom has advanced with the least, the last, the lost, and the left-behind.In this day, we too are called to change to the world. And true to form we start with a nearby  isolated neighborhood, a Jesus Table in an obscure gathering place, re-telling Jesus Stories as we eat together with people who are very different than us, and engaging in prayer walks that disinvites evil and invites the presence of Christ step-by-step. These are all small engagements that are right in front of us, but somehow they start adding to the inbreaking Kingdom in such exponential ways that it changes the world near and far. Jesus' big Gospel has always advanced with small starts. Never underestimate what your simple Jesus Table efforts will turn into.#DinnerChurchQuotes: After the Moravian Agape Meal revival, there was launched 100 years of 24/7 prayer. (Susan Harper)#PracticalStuff: Have a conversation with your team that their small weekly efforts are actually connected to a HUGE Outcome. They need the encouragement from an enlarged faith perspective. Then will you lead them in a collective prayer that assumes something MUCH BIGGER than what your team should naturally accomplish?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Who Is Interested?

Jan 12 2022.I do not like limitations being placed on my efforts. I'm sure you don't either. And yet there are times when it happens in ministry. We have all bumped up against financial limitations that have stalled our leadership visions. Beyond that, there is the ongoing challenge of getting the people around us to cooperate with a wonderful ministry idea. uggg.#JesusStories: Early in Jesus' ministry he decided to return to his hometown to minister to those he knew best (Mark 6). When he arrived, the townspeople gathered to hear him, and were absolutely amazed at the power of his words and miracles. But then an unexpected downturn occurred; the people started talking among themselves that this was only Joseph and Mary's son who had been a carpenter among them for years, and they became disgusted at the authority Jesus was now exhibiting. Was it because they remembered his days of youthful behavior? Maybe. Was it because they did not want to be told to rearrange their live for the new kingdom by one of their local carpenters? Likely. Was it because they were jealous that their sons had not risen to prophet status? Perhaps. But whatever the reasons, the crowd backed away from Jesus the miracle worker. Even his own family seemed to side with the townspeople. But the most interesting thing from this 'walk away', was Jesus' inability to do many miracles or healings. This was such a contrast from the other towns Jesus and the disciples had visited. Just days earlier Jesus had cast out a legion of demons from a scary violent man who lived in graveyard; he had cured a woman who had suffered from chronic bleeding for 12 years; and he had raised a little girl from the dead. Usually crowds were running toward Jesus, but now his friends and family were walking away from him and shaking their heads in derision. This was a shockingly odd experience for the disciples. Even Jesus was deeply surprised at their unwillingness to listen to him and at least let him heal their sick. But then Jesus recalled that hometown folks tend to dishonor their own prophets. Further he commented how his people "did not have any faith" (vs. 6). Wow, what a blow to have to acknowledge that your closest friends and family have 'no faith'. And with that, Jesus turned and took his message and miracles to the nearby villages.Dear Christian leaders, whether we like it or not, our effectiveness in advancing the gospel is deeply impacted by the church people around us. If the Messiah could have his ministry  minimized by friends and family, so can we. Truth be told, I have many memories of this happening to Melodee and me over the years. When this occurs, we must take this lesson from our Lord, and turn instead to serve other people who are more ready for heaven to  download upon them. I had a superintendent in California who used to say, "ride the horse that is running!" In other words, if the initiative you are pursuing isn't advancing, get on another one that will. Jesus' townspeople wouldn't respond, but the neighboring villages would. The disciples were taught that if people weren't listening to their message and miracles, to shake the dust off their sandals and go the another village. Are you hearing this? It is our heritage of Christian leadership that if your church people will not engage in your kingdom visions, go to people in your community who are ready to engage. Here is a dirty little secret - many Dinner Churches have been birthed by a pastor and a small team after their church people said, "we're not interested." If you have heard that, I have a question for you: "Who is interested?"#DinnerChurchQuotes: "The church has divested itself of the connection business in order to master the principle business, the proposition business, and the being-right business. But the future belongs to the connectors." (Leonard Sweet)#PracticalStuff: It is a new year, and a great time to remind your team of their core dinnertime practices. One of them, which happens to be the most important job in the room, is "turning strangers into friends". This is an assignment for EVERY person on EVERY evening. How do you feel about making this the convo for your next leaders huddle?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

No Matter What!

Jan 5, 2022.We don't usually mean to be contrary to God, but as humans we are sure good at it. Our three-pound brains instinctively lead us in directions opposite of divine wisdom over and over again. Spiritual maturity then is the process of becoming more Christ-directed.#JesusStories: Jairus was a synagogue leader. I am quite sure he felt conflicted by this uprising prophet named Jesus who on the one hand was breaking the rules of the sabbath, but on the other was healing people in the most profound ways. But now Jairus' daughter was deathly ill, and he found himself standing before Jesus asking for help. There is a lesson here: when things start touching our families our spiritual perspectives change. Jesus agreed to help and as they were walking to Jairus' home the woman with the issue of blood interrupted the procession. To Jairus' dismay, Jesus stopped to sort why divine virtue had just flowed from him..."who touched me?"..."your faith has made you whole"..."go in peace"...(you know the story). All the while I'm sure Jairus was anxiously shifting his weight from foot to foot hoping to get the healer refocused on his sick daughter. But right then, in the middle of Jairus' deep anxiety, some of his servants arrived to tell him the little girl had died. Can you imagine what he felt? He had gone to great lengths to see this would not happen; he had stepped over theological lines to come to Jesus; he had risked his standing with other religious leaders; yet it still happened; she died. The frustration, the anxiety and the grief must have descended upon him like an avalanche. Hearing the news, Jesus turned back to Jairus and simply said, "Don't worry, Just have faith!"Now if my daughter had just died, those words would be woefully inadequate to address the explosion that would be bubbling up from inside of me. How could Jesus say something so shallow to a father? Today in fact, we caution people not to throw faith platitudes to someone who is experiencing deep pain and loss. But that is exactly what Jesus did. And yet, it is absolutely clear that Jesus fully expected those words to carry the day and address the need of Jairus' heart. Hmmm.Now I love the ending of the story where Jesus goes to Jairus' home, kicks out the funeral people, and tells the little girl to get up...and she does! But we must all do business with what happened on the road between Jesus and Jairus before the miracle. It is at this point we must all consider our spiritual positioning. Do you see yourself as one who is living on the earth trying to figure out what God is doing?...or do you see yourself as one who is a critical part of God's inbreaking Kingdom that is flowing onto the earth with Him? Do we spend our time discerning Heaven from earth, or do we see ourselves as called to represent Heaven to earth? In some way this defines the journey of spiritual maturity; the more we grow as men and women of God, the more we embrace a 'flowing with heaven' spirituality. And the more natural it becomes to watch our faith overwhelm our worry - even during the scary stuff. Now don't get me wrong, this story still challenges my human fathers heart in a very deep way. But then again, so does Jesus' expectation that we should boldly trust him NO MATTER WHAT!#DinnerChurchQuotes: "You have to trust in divine appointments. You have to trust that every kind word will help somebody. Be ready to be a part of Gods plan." (Feyez, an Egyptian Pastor)#Practical Stuff: What do you think about pulling your team together, and remind them that your dinner church is on the forefront of expanding the Kingdom of God into new hearts, families, and under-gospeled neighborhoods? Would you pray over each team member that a new anointing would descend upon them as they start this new chapter of time? Would you then write a short report about your teams prayer time in the comment section of this blog so we all can feel the rising tide of readiness for this new year? (BTW - I'm doing this with my team tonight).Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Something Wonderful Happens...

Dec 15, 2021.Thousands of sermons are being preached during this advent season about Jesus’ coming, and I’m sure they will be filled with many stirring insights. I wish I could hear them all - Oh how I love the Christmas message. But there is one portion of the incarnation story that tends to get downplayed.  #JesusStory: Luke 4 captures Jesus’ mission statement. The way it happened is that Jesus and crew went into a Jewish synagogue, and true to form they invited Jesus to do the reading. He asked for the scroll of Isaiah, and found his way to the section we now know as Isaiah 61. The very fact that he could get to that section while everyone was watching demonstrates familiarity with the scrolls, which is impressive in and of itself and speaks to Jesus’ devotional life. But once there he read about being anointed to lift the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed. Then to the astonishment of those in attendance he said that section of prophecy had now come true on that very day in that very room. In other words, this was his divine commission that had been delivered to the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years earlier, but on that day they were all witnesses to the fulfillment of that prophecy and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. And then he went from that room and began to do exactly what he had read - he pursued the poor, he healed the blind, and he released oppressed peoples from all kinds of bondages. We need to pause right now and remember that this is the stated reason he came to earth. It is easy in our wealthy part of the world to blur Jesus’ primary commitment to the marginalized and offer up a Jesus that has come for the middle and upper classed peoples, but it isn’t quite true is it? Actually, He unapologetically stated and demonstrated an initial calling to the people who were not doing very well in this life. Now don’t get me wrong, I fully believe that Jesus loves us all and embraces us into the family, but still his stated and practiced mission started with the ‘least of these’. May we not forget this part of the story as we preach our advent messages. If we get our Saviors first steps wrong in our messaging, then our next step will be offering a sanitized Jesus to a sanitized audience, and the incarnation will be emptied of the compelling power; Heavens deep love for us is proved by the deep contrast of the incarnation - He who had everything came to earth and gave it up for people who had nothing. Once we reveal Jesus’ first calling, something wonderful happens afterwards. Merry Christmas!Verlon

Faithful Shepherds

Dec 8, 2021The term 'shepherding' has suffered some negative press over the years. Some have equated it with controlling the details of peoples lives, and that has created push-back. Others have perceived it as one of the ministry gifts that isn't very effective in leading a growing church, and that too has created push-back. But let's consider a different definition altogether.#JesusStories: In Jn. 10 Jesus talked about his role as the good shepherd, and how he opens the gate for people to come and go and find pasture. Interestingly though, he also revealed some other personages who commonly show up in these spiritual pastures. There are thieves who come to rob, kill, and destroy everyone in the pasture. Then there are wolves who prey upon people. And lastly there are hired shepherds who run when the predators show up. These hired shepherds are not like the owner shepherds, and they run because they do not feel a sense of loss that would cause them to turn and fight to defend the vulnerable ones in their pastures.I suppose it is valuable for every minister of the gospel to stop once in a while and ask if there is any hireling motivation in them? Or are they more robust than that, and see a willingness to fight for the quality of their peoples lives? If you are a Dinner Church pastor, your tables have likely filled up with all sorts of vulnerable of people, who are used to being harassed and threatened in a dozen different ways. But, do we know how to fight for these people? It would be easy if we just served a meal each week and went home, but that sounds like 'hired-shepherd' thinking. If however, we were capable of hitting our knees at times and contending for the lives of people whom Jesus has gathered for us, that would be more like 'owner shepherd' thinking. While thieves and wolves seem less visible to middle-Americans, they are very real to the half of the population who suffer profound levels of isolation and loneliness. These friends do not need a hireling, they need a pastor ready to fight for them in prayer...they need a FAITHFUL SHEPHERD!#DinnerChurchQuotes: Wolves are not the scariest things in the wilderness, a watchful pastor with a shepherd staff is. -anonymous#PracticalStuff: Christmas is coming, and giving a JesusStories bible to each of your people might be a great idea. They are only $3.99 each, but are designed to feel like a genuine gift when you hand them out. If you jump on it today...they might make it before the 25th. Order from DinnerChurch.Com/Resources.Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Pushing Back Evil

Dec 1, 2021.Most leaders entered the ministry imagining they'd be preaching on Sundays and shepherding their flock throughout the week. But staring down evil until it backs up?...that wasn't in the original dream.#JesusStories: Mark 3 reveals some interesting things about the selection of Jesus' disciples. First of all, they were twelve incredibly common men. That should give all of us hope. But I'm intrigued about why Jesus wanted these men. Jesus states three reasons in vs. 14-15: 1)to be with him, 2)to be sent out to preach, and 3)to force out demons. The first two descriptors are easy to embrace, but that last one is not. Dealing with evil was obviously on Jesus' mind when he selected those first disciples. And this means something for every disciple to follow...even us 2000 years later. Jesus was so sure that dealing with evil would be commonplace for us that he included it in the Lords Prayer, "...and deliver us from..." (you know the rest).We live in a pragmatic world - one that dismisses the presence of the spirit world out-of-hand. Somehow, the ministry has been affected by that cultural assumption. Even though we delve into the spiritual world when we practice and teach about prayer, we rather ignore the spirit of darkness. This is not wise; this is now what Jesus had in mind when he selected us for Christian leadership. We live and serve in a war zone between the inbreaking kingdom of Heaven and the uprising kingdom of darkness. And Jesus expects each of us to win victories for him in that war. When we see evil destroying peoples lives around us, it is within our calling to resist that evil until it flees (James 4:7). This is both a spiritual attitude and an activity of prayer. Sometimes it spills into the visible world in the form of a divine work on behalf of someone. But that is our calling. We are to spend time with Jesus, preach the stories about Jesus, and stare down evil until it backs away from the people we are called to reach. That is why disciples have been called...it's what we do. Lord, give us the ability to discern evil when it shows up, and the boldness to push it back until it runs.#DinnerChurchQuotes: Mission will always imply struggle – the struggle between the forces of evil to divide, and the forces of love to unify. (Jean Vanier)#PracticalStuff: Consider sitting down with your core team, and discussing how the uprising kingdom of darkness might be pressing against the people in your neighborhood? Once you have some answers in hand, maybe it is time to take a stand against that evil. It might even be time for you and your team to do a prayer walk around your neighborhood. In so doing you are ushering the inbreaking of kingdom of Heaven IN, and pushing the uprising kingdom of evil OUT! What do you think?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon

Woundedness and Thanksgiving

Nov 19, 2021.We are a week away from thanksgiving, when we will be gathering as family and friends to laugh, eat, and watch football. It is also the time when most families offer the deepest prayers of gratitude they will pray all year. And that is meaningful.#JesusStories: One day as Jesus was walking into a village near Samaria, ten men who had leprosy met him and asked for healing (Luke 17). Rather than praying over them, Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests, which was the protocol for lepers to be taken off the 'unclean list'. As the men turned to go, their leprous spots and disfigurements disappeared before everyone's eyes. That must have been some sight; it surely impressed Dr. Luke who recorded it in his gospel. The next scene is one of the lepers returning to Jesus, face in the dirt in humble thanksgiving for the miracle. Jesus then asked where the other nine were, to which everyone shrugged. Then he turned to the one ex-leper, blessed him, and sent him home to his family. I know this verse has been often used in a ptolemaic manner to scold thankless people. However, I wonder if this story isn't a commentary on the cross-section of humanity in some way?There are some personalities who are naturally thankful, and others who are not; there are some families who have trained thankfulness into their children better than others; there are some persona's on the enneagram who are achievers that forget the past and rush to the future, or reformers who ignore what is going right and are always fixing what is wrong, or challengers who are unappreciative of others in their struggle to confront unfair systems. These folks are all designed by God, but lack an intuitive gratitude like the helpers, peacemakers, or loyalists. It appears that some of us can only regain a spirit of thanksgiving through spiritual discipline and practice and liturgy. Shaming them for being like the nine ungrateful lepers isn't very helpful.There is a human point in all this to be considered: I am sure that most of the lepers were so excited after their healing that they were immediately desperate to run back to the family they had been forcefully separated from to hug and kiss and cry with them. Do you blame them? Running back to embrace my family would be my first instinct too. While I'm sure Jesus understood this, he still asked the question, "where are the others." This signifies that gratitude for God's work in our lives remains an important part of our spirituality.Finally, there is the deepest point worth our attention: the one who returned was a Samaritan. In other words, rejection and social shaming was normal throughout his life. And the leprosy, well that was a pile-on of reasons to further exclude and degrade him. Is it possible that the continual rejections and exclusions created in this man a heart that could simply never walk away from this kind of divine attention without giving honor? Did it whelm up within him with even greater desperation than the need to hug his family? The brokenness, disappointment, loss, and pain that we have experienced is actually carving a deep gratitude in our soul for every intervention the Lord has brought our way. Thus, the deeper the wounds, the deeper the gratitude.#DinnerChurchQuotes: We can’t force ourselves to be grateful, but we can stumble into the arms of gratitude when we’re exhausted from our running. (Dan Allender)#PracticalStuff: This theme of thanksgiving is a particular challenge to me, as I am one of those who is always chasing the future so hard I forget to appreciate those who are helping me get there. So, this is for me probably more than you, but may we look each of our team members right in the eye and thank them from the depths of our soul for their friendship and ministry efforts. And then take a deep moment to thank Jesus for giving this Dinner Church family to us all. It will be good for them...to hear your thanks. But it will be great for you...to breathe the pure air of gratitude.A Blessed Thanksgiving To You All,Verlon

The Fading Light

Nov. 10, 2021.Through the centuries, the gospel has had ups and downs. At times the light has burned bright as the noonday sun, only to be followed by a time when it faded to a flicker. The gospel in the West is experiencing one of those latter chapters. What do we as Christian leaders do about it?#JesusStories: Jesus once said that no one lights a lamp and then puts it under a clay pot or hides it under a bed. He went on to say that if someone is going to light a lamp, they put it on a lamp stand so it illuminates the room. (Mark 4:21). His point is obvious: the gospel is intended to be lifted up, so it will maximize its ability to light up a darkened world. But, throughout church history humanity has tried to blunt that light. Within months after Jesus' resurrection, religious leaders unleashed a wave of persecution to put out the light. Soon Rome mounted a brutal persecution because they felt Christianity was a threat to the sovereignty of Caesar. Then it was internal groups, frightened by the persecutions that arose to find middle-ground by reducing the divinity of Christ and turn Christianity into a mere moral compass. This is visible in the book of Jude. Thankfully, these gnostic efforts were not effective as the gospel swelled from a movement of hundreds to a movement of 40 million in the first three centuries. We actually owe a debt of gratitude to the early liturgists who pulled the divinity of the gospels to exclusive places in order to preserve it from the heresy's of the day. This was the birth place of the liturgical church that protected the mysteries of the faith and gave us things like the Nicene Creed. Given that, find a liturgical leader near you, hug them, and thank them for their efforts to preserve the wonders of gospel for us.Such efforts to lessen the glow of the gospel have continued throughout the life of the Church. In our day waves of atheism (no god), agnosticism (don't know and don't care), and syncretism (merge all notions of god) abound. And these ideas chip away at the flame of the gospel in arising generations. Even within the church, things like the church growth movement which began as a soul-winning effort degenerated into Christian consumerism. And now many congregations are fading.While the church in the West has a sociological problem, our gospel is still very fiery. Yes there is missiological work to be done on our ways of doing church, but still Christian leaders must set our foreheads like flint to keep the gospel on high places - by retelling the stories of Jesus anytime we can find hearers. Why? Because we are still called to dispel the darkness and the gospel of Jesus still flames up every time we speak it. So, set a table, gather your isolated neighbors, eat together, tell the stories, and watch the gospel burn.#DinnerChurchQuotes: "Thomas Edison, after spending countless days working to develop the lightbulb, handed it to a little boy to carry up the stairs. That little boy tripped and dropped the lightbulb. It took a team of 20 people another 20 hours to build another one, which Thomas Edison handed that second lightbulb to the same little boy to take up stairs again." (John Bishop)#PracticalStuff: We must trust our people to carry the light of the gospel. Whether the retelling of up front Jesus Stories or at tables, this is where our power is in dispelling darkness and lighting up the room. What do you think about asking someone to tell the next Jesus Story that is a reach? Maybe consider interview style for those who don't have good communication gifts?Blessings & Boldness,Verlon