For some time now, I have known... or felt "called" if you will to run a half marathon, and specifically the US Air Force Marathon.  [http://usafmarathon.com]  So I officially started running and training physically for it.  I am pretty excited about it and think that this is going to be an interested year for me.  

Also, I am planning on running in other races like Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash and other 5K, 10K runs between now and September 15, 2012 when I run the half marathon.  In looking at Tough Mudder, I got turned on to CrossFit as a way to get ready for the Tough Mudder runs.  I stumbled across a local gym that does CrossFit after looking more and more into and watching a ton of videos... I decided I am going to start doing it as well as a way to get myself prepped for my goals and to get to my overall goal of becoming more fit.  

One of the other things I am realizing... I have spent a ton of time worrying about the needs of others.  All very good... from my family, to the spiritual needs of others, etc. but it is time for me to get it in gear and take care of myself spiritually, physically and emotionally.  For me, it has probably even been sin to me for not taking care of myself.  No longer... no more excuses... no more whatever... it is time for me to take care of myself.  

Join me as I post pics, videos, docs, etc. of my journey that I am starting this year.  You can also follow me on my Twitter ... [http://twitter.com/maljr]

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Anyways, this book of some great personal stories and even some great stories and reminders of things that John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard churches said, for instance:

• Talking during his now famous, Signs & Wonders Conference, John WImber said that Luke 4:18- 19 was Jesus' personal job description.  And that as followers of Jesus Christ, our job description was also to be Luke 4:18- 19.  Just as a reminder, this is what it says: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
• This is our job description as followers of Jesus.  This is how we are supposed to make the Kingdom of God tangible in people's lives around us, wherever we are at.  
• Something else that John Wimber used to tell his church is, "The meat is in the street."  In the book it says... "In our age of consumerism, Christians can collect spiritual experiences or acquire biblical knowledge and mistakenly believe that spiritual maturity and happiness can be measured by the size of our personal libraries or the strangeness of our religious encounters... Wimber reminds us that maturity in the Christian life is never relegated to simply acquiring more knowledge or esoteric experiences; it is forever linked holiness, obedience and mission- the walking out of our faith.  Holiness is obedience turned inward; mission is obedience turned outward.  We are called to outwardly focused obedience to the great commission of Christ." 
• Look up Matthew 28:18- 20... this is known as the Great Commission.  You will see that Jesus promises us that as we go to the streets to make disciples... He will always be with us.  The authors said, "God moves in the sanctuary [the church building] to heal the church; God moves in the streets to heal the world."  

So what does this mean for us?  

This week is Halloween.  For the most part it is Thursday, October 27 from 6p- 7:30p.  As you know, Halloween can both be spiritually dark... and physically dark.  We are going to have a bunch of kids coming to your door Trick or Treating... and there are going to be thousands of kids all over the streets.  They are going to have parents with them.  There are going to be lives that need healing, lives that are oppressed by and in imprisoned to sin.  There are people that need the Kingdom of God the most.  While my small group and others are going to be doing servant evangelism by giving away hot dogs, drinks, etc... there is a street full of people that need your prayers.  So you don't need some outreach program to go... you don't need a pastor or leader there... you are the Kingdom of God in your neighborhood.  Jesus said this is Matthew 10 [from The Message]... "Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood.  Tell them that the kingdom is here.  Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously. "Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment..."

This is your commission... GO this week and make the Kingdom of God tangible in somebody's life...

Next week... I am going to share some stories from people that have been out doing the stuff.  There are some pretty cool ones out there!

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For this week's "Missional Monday", I want to do some re-capping and some practical points from the SCATTERED Conference this weekend and from Robby Dawkins' message this weekend.  

If you were not able to be there, you really missed a GREAT weekend of people being equipped to go out and do the stuff of the Kingdom... by praying that sick would be healed, sharing words of knowledge, etc.  The Kingdom of God was extended all over Lancaster & Fairfield County this weekend and people received healing, encouragement and experienced the love of God.  Even though that stuff was AWESOME... the GREATEST thing was that 150 or so people where obedient to step out of the boat and go pray healing for and to step past their comfort zones, to take RISK and in some cases even strikeout.  But for those that kept swinging for God to show up... we were rewarded to see God show up.  

Some things that I wanted to share with you today are some of what Robby shared with us and thoughts I had from a missional perspective... remember missional means that we are living as God's people on mission to make the Kingdom of God tangible to everybody around us... no matter where we are.  

I know that for many people the stuff that we have shared on Missional Monday, may be scary for you.  For some, this expectation may even be new for some people that have been church most of their lives. 

I get that and know where you are coming from, BUT... like Robby said that... "Having FAITH in God, It all boils down to RISK... you gotta take RISK.  It is not about our attitude, how many prayers we have... it is about us taking RISK & stepping out.  It is us stepping out into something hard for it to be real risk." The more RISK it takes for us to go out and pray for people... the more FAITH it takes on our part.  If it takes low faith to do so something... then it also means there is little & no risk.  It is about our availability to go and taking a RISK... the more the RISK... the more it opens for God to show up.  Robby also said... "It is going to take us setting our selfishness aside and for us to be available to be used by God and for us to make sure that God gets glorified in what we are doing.  

Robby's church does outreach all the time to the gay bars of their community, and he said, "the darker the atmosphere, then more of an opportunity there is for the Holy Spirit to show up."  When you go to the darkest places around you... it gives you more opportunity for the light of God to shine.

If you are like me, I work for a pretty godless company.  Some times it seems like they almost look for new ways to go against the things of God.  It is a pretty dark place.  Or maybe, where you live at or maybe your kids' school is a dark place... it doesn't appear that God has any light in some of these areas in your life?  

Here are some quick things to remember:

• Low RISK... no FAITH
• High RISK... HIGH FAITH
• When you go to the darkest places around you... it gives you more opportunity for the light of God to shine. 

So here are some practical steps & thought for you to ask yourself this week and to seek out to do:

• This week, what does missional mean for you?  Who, what, where and how will you make the Kingdom of God tangible this week?  
• What is going to take great FAITH & RISK on your part to go and bring the Kingdom of God this week?  
• Where is the darkest place, darkest life that needs you to shine the light of Jesus this week?  
• Who is it you are going to pray for healing this week?  

I would love to hear your stories?  Email me any stories from your adventures!

malcolm [at] maljr[dot]com

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It's time again for Missional Monday.  A time where we give some practical tools to you, as you live out God's mission for us make the Kingdom of God tangible for those around us... wherever you may be at.  This includes blessing people at home, at work, in your neighborhood, at the football field, at band competitions or wherever you are at.  Being missional happens in the everyday flow of life... generally not at a church event but in the natural rhythm of relationships & everyday life. 

Today, I am sharing an article on "30 Simple Ways To Be Missional In Your Workplace".  This is a GREAT article with some GREAT tips.  Another way to get some practical tools on how to be missional or to extend the Kingdom around you is to come to the SCATTERED Conference this weekend with Robby Dawkins at Lancaster Vineyard Church... here is the link to the info on our website: http://lancastervineyard.org/scattered/

"30 Simple Ways To Be Missional In Your Workplace"
Many times it’s difficult to find practical ways to be a blessing in your workplace. Rapid pace, mounting deadlines, or co-worker conflict can often derail even the best of intentions to say and show the love of Jesus at work.

Recently, Josh Reeves posted some very practical ideas for blessing others in the workplace:

1. Instead of eating lunch alone, intentionally eat with other co-workers and learn their story.

2. Get to work early so you can spend some time praying for your co-workers and the day ahead.

3. Make it a daily priority to speak or write encouragement when someone does good work.

4. Bring extra snacks when you make your lunch to give away to others.

5. Bring breakfast (donuts, burritos, cereal, etc.) once a month for everyone in your department.

6. Organize a running/walking group in the before or after work.

7. Have your missional community/small group bring lunch to your workplace once a month.

8. Create a regular time to invite coworkers over or out for drinks.

9. Make a list of your co-workers birthdays and find a way to bless everyone on their birthday.

10. Organize and throw office parties as appropriate to your job.

11. Make every effort to avoid gossip in the office. Be a voice of thanksgiving not complaining.

12. Find others that live near you and create a car pool.

13. Offer to throw a shower for a co-worker who is having a baby.

14. Offer to cover for a co-worker who needs off for something.

15. Start a regular lunch out with co-workers (don’t be selective on the invites).

16. Organize a weekly/monthly pot luck to make lunch a bit more exciting.

17. Ask someone who others typically ignore if you can grab them a soda/coffee while you’re out.

18. Be the first person to greet and welcome new people.

19. Make every effort to know the names of co-workers and clients along with their families.

20. Visit coworkers when they are in the hospital.

21. Bring sodas or work appropriate drinks to keep in your break room for coworkers to enjoy. Know what your co-workers like.

22. Go out of your way to talk to your janitors and cleaning people who most people overlook.

23. Find out your co-workers favorite music and make a playlist that includes as much as you can (if suitable for work).

24. Invite your co-workers in to the service projects you are already involved in.

25. Start/join a city league team with your co-workers.

26. Organize a weekly co-working group for local entrepreneurs at a local coffee shop.

27. Start a small business that will bless your community and create space for mission.

28. Work hard to reconcile co-workers who are fighting with one another.

29. Keep small candy, gum, or little snacks around to offer to others during a long day.

30. Lead the charge in organizing others to help co-workers in need.

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It's time for the next installment of Missional Mondays.  Just as a reminder, we hope this puts some practical tools in your hand that will help you become missional in our daily lives so it becomes a natural rhythm of flow of life. It's not just an event or a program. 

Just a quick reminder... if you don't remember what missional means, since it is a fairly new word with a ton of different meanings.  Missional means that we are God's people living on mission to make the Kingdom of God tangible for people wherever we are at. 

Last week... we said the first thing to start doing to be missional... is to love people.  Love people the same way that Jesus loved them.  How did it go for you?  Let us know.

Today is a GREAT article from the GCM Collective & Verge Network  called "8 Ways to Easily Be Missional". 

Here is the link to the article too... if you like go share it on Facebook or Re-Tweet it: http://www.vergenetwork.org/2011/06/08/8-easy-ways-to-easily-be-missional/

Now go plant seeds of Jesus throughout small towns & rural America! 

8 Ways to Easily Be Missional

Article by: Jonathan Dodson

Missional is not an event we tack onto our already busy lives. It is our life. Mission should be the way we live, not something we add onto life: “As you go, make disciples….”; “Walk wisely towards outsiders”; “Let your speech always be seasoned with salt”; “be prepared to give a defense for your hope”. We can be missional in everyday ways without overloading our schedules. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Eat with Non-Christians. We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal invite others. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversation. Cookout and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.

2. Walk, Don’t Drive. If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox, convenience store, or apartment office, walk to get mail, groceries, and stuff. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, taking a 6-pack (and share), bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet, and some people.

3. Be a Regular. Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places. Get to know the staff. Go to the same places at the same times. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of left over pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use them for church gatherings and occasionally give to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a Regular.

4. Hobby with Non-Christians. Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try City League sports. Local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons. Teach sewing lessons, piano lessons, violin, guitar, knitting, tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.

5. Talk to Your Co-workers. How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form mom groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.

6. Volunteer with Non-Profits. Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!

7. Participate in City Events. Instead of playing X-Box, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, clean-ups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.

8. Serve your Neighbors. Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative. Just serve!

Don’t make the mistake of making “missional” another thing to add to your schedule. Instead, make your existing schedule missional.

=====================================

Jonathan Dodson is one of the pastors of Austin City Life in Austin, Texas and also helps lead The GCM Collective, Acts 29 Texas, and PlantR.

This article was originally posted at the GCM Collective site, here.

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WOW... so many things have transpired in the last 10 years.

Jaycie was in 1/2 day Kindergarten... Zach was in first grade... I was working at Winstar Communications... doing support for our business Internet customers.

We had a switch in the WTC so we knew something had happened to it immediately.

Then as soon as we heard about the 1st plane & turned on the TVs... we saw the 2nd plane hit... all the supervisors just stood there in shock.

I called Emily to tell her that we were under attack. Her & Jaycie didn't know what do think... and was scared.  People were going home from work to be with their families because they were scared.  As a former volunteer fireman & law enforcement officer... my concern was for the responders and the unknown of what was happening before my eyes.  I knew that a ton of people would die... I felt so helpless and wanted to do something to help.  

Because of our phone & internet services were down because of the attack we had thousands of calls about it.  Winstar... because of our technology had FEMA & government contracts to provide Internet & phone services.  Then I spent the next 5 days helping to get FEMA & the responders Internet & phone service to Ground Zero.

I have had friends go to war... none of them will ever be the same... physically, emotionally or even spiritually. 

Our country was changed on that day...  we can argue about it all day long on the how's & why.   In the last 10 yrs, I have seen the best of America... and I have seen the worst of America. 

Where were you when it all happened... 10 yrs ago?

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What some of you don't know or is that my family & have been in mission work & ministry for about 8 years.  Today, I am director of our church's outreach ministries.  One of things I want to do is to give you the tools, to equip you to make the Kingdom of God tangible right where you are at home, at work, at the football games, your kid's events and so on.  We want you to be equipped to make God's presence real in the lives of people around you. 

In Hugh Halter' & Matt Smay's book Tangible Kingdom, they address the fact that in America today attendance in American churches is dropping drastically.  In the 1920's & 30's, they say that America was considered about 80% of the population was attending church at least once a month and claimed Jesus as their Savior.  Today, it is said that less than 20% of America's population is considered churched and in the next 20 years... that number is going to be less than 10% if we do not change the way we have always done and view outreach & evangelism in the church.  By these numbers, America is now considered the 4th largest mission field in the world. 

Matter-of fact, America at one time funded & sent more missionaries to other countries than anybody else.  Today, those countries are now sending missionaries back to the United States. 

You may have heard the word missional used at different times around the church... for most people, this is a new word that many don't understand what it means, but also depending on your background you can get any number of different meanings.  For many people... it is describing the actions of a missionary or a person sent by God. 

Here at Lancaster Vineyard, for us, this word simply means God's people living on mission to make the Kingdom of God tangible wherever we are.  We see ourselves as missionaries to Lancaster, Fairfield County & beyond. 

This simply starts with loving the people that God has brought into your life.  Each Monday, on Missional Mondays, I am planning on sending out some practical steps for you to be missional that will include blog posts, videos, resources from other sites, etc. 

FOR THIS WEEK... our Missional Monday practical step is to love people the way Jesus loved them: 

• This includes loving those that are not like us
• This includes loving the unsaved co-worker
• This includes loving the annoying neighbor
• This includes loving those that get on your last nerves...
• Simply put ask God to increase your ability to love people the way He loves them.  Remember, God loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us... He sent his best so we could experience God's presence here on earth.  SO GO LOVE PEOPLE!

HERE IS A PROMISE... NEXT WEEK WON'T BE SO LONG. 

Now GO love somebody

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The last few days I have been reading in Proverbs 1, 2, 3 & 4 and something hit me today. In Proverbs 2:1-3 NIV it says...
"My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding— indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,..."

We are told to listen for wisdom & to cry out to God for understanding. BUT in Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV it says... "Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight."

WAIT A MINUTE... one moment we are told to cry out to God for understanding (discernment) then the next chapter we are told to not lean on OUR OWN understanding. Did you catch that?

We are to seek out GODLY understanding (discernment)... That only comes from God. That is given to us through 1. The Holy Spirit 2. God's Word... The Bible.

We are not supposed to lean on our own understanding. We are not suppose to trust in ourselves for the answer... We are supposed to trust in the counsel of God. We are supposed to cry out for what God wants us to do and for us to understand the how & why of God.
Remember, the wisdom of God will sound like foolishness to the world... But it will make perfect sense to God.

So this week, as we are leading our families, leading our churches, leading & managing at work... To seek Godly wisdom... And to cry out to God for understanding/ discernment in those big & small decisions, before or as we are typing that email to our co-workers or people you lead & manage.

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Then there are times like this week, when I frankly just suck at it. I was waiting on something and waiting and was trying to have patience. Then all of a sudden my flesh kicks in and then I just start trying to make things happen.

Then my making things happen... Usually has a tendency to make things worst.

There are times that when I think I am doing good spiritually then I have weeks like this week... That shows me I still have a long way to go.

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Playing around with Posterous

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