by Jason Joyner | Aug 26, 2013 | Blog, Jesus, missional, organic church, Outreach Saga
A cool thing about our Outreach Saga is that I don’t have to carry the load. I do a lot of the teaching, but others step up when they have something from the Lord to share.
A couple of weeks ago my friend Cyndi Gavin shared. She talked about the worth we have to God. What she shared was so good I had to pass it on:
If you could do anything, what would it be? That was the question she posed to us. We had a paper and pencil to write down what we would do if we could do anything we wanted. Then she talked for a bit about how we get our sights on things that aren’t worthwhile.
She pulled out a fifty dollar bill and asked if anyone would want it. Many hands shot up. What if it was dropped in the mud? There were still takers. Now if a one dollar bill was in the mud, you’d consider whether it was worth it. Not with the fifty. It’s gone.
Then she came back to our papers, with our one wish on there. She asked this question: How much was it worth? Was it worth giving the life of your child for it?
No one said yes.
But God said yes.
He said we were worth enough that He would sacrifice His Son for us. And He did just that.
That is how much we are worth.
So, know that you are loved today. And no matter how bad things may seem, God thought you were worth it.
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by Jason Joyner | Jul 8, 2013 | All In, Blog, Lifehouse, Mission Monday, missional, Outreach Saga
When people ask me where I go to church now, I tell them about our Outreach Saga. Meeting in the park. Trying to do a community of Jesus in the midst of a group of people on their turf instead of in a specific building.
Sometimes people respond, “So you don’t go to church anywhere else?”
Well, no.
What we’re doing is church.
We don’t go to a building in the morning and then do outreach after that. We’ve said that sink or swim, stand or fall, what we’re doing with people in the park is what we’re doing. It keeps us more engaged I think. There’s no lifeline. There’s no safe place to retreat to if the going gets rough.
Since we can’t go back (well, we could, but not immediately), we have to press in. We have to love people as they are. Working through the ups and downs of life. Pointing to Jesus when it gets rough or when it is going well. It keeps us engaged with the Lord, because without Him it all falls apart. I wish I could say I did this perfectly. I don’t.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that with this church in the park deal, we’re all in. No chips held back. They’ve been pushed to the middle of the table and we’re playing this hand.
It’s exciting. It’s frightening. It requires a lot of faith, and the Spirit encourages us an awful lot when we have those human moments of doubt.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Not sure if this song fully fits, but here’s Lifehouse with All In.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 17, 2013 | Blog, Mission Monday, missional, organic church, Outreach Saga
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| Did you see the angel behind the tree? 😉 |
Ugh. I don’t even want to look at when the last time I posted. It’s been one of those months.
But in better news, the Outreach Saga is back in the park.
This was our Sunday for church:
We had beautiful singing with a battery powered keyboard.
The worship leader gave an anointed word at the end.
Our main speaker had to wait until the dogs checked each other out to continue.
We talked about Jesus as our redeemer. As we talked about how we can’t earn any more unconditional love than what God already gives us, one new gal spoke up. “We can’t do sh*t by ourselves. It’s Him.”
At one point I had to duck a lit cigarette as the gal next to me excitedly waved her arms talking about Jesus.
Yep, we’re back in the park. All of us beautiful messes, learning to walk with the Lord in His love and truth. Out in the fresh air. Mixed up with real life, which isn’t always pretty or “religious.”
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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by Jason Joyner | Feb 18, 2013 | Blog, Christian life, ministry, Mission Monday, missional, Outreach Saga
I was talking to a friend this weekend who passed on an observation from someone else.
“Church can be like football or like soccer.”
This piqued my curiosity. I am a sports fan after all. I love to watch American football, but I enjoy playing soccer more.
A football game is equipment and support heavy. All the helmets and pads. Several referees. A special kind of field with marks every ten yards. To do it right, it takes a lot of effort and resources.
Soccer can be the essence of simplicity. You need a ball and two spots for goals. That’s it.
The laws of soccer are actually very few, compared with the myriad of penalties and rules for what is acceptable in football. Try explaining to a football novice the difference between running into a kicker vs. roughing the kicker, or pass interference, or illegal formation. The wide receiver covered the tight end? What is that?
Of course kids can play a simple game of football in a park, and soccer can be done with huge stadiums and use a lot more resources. Still, the analogy holds: football is generally a lot of work to actually get to the game, while soccer can be done with a minimal of requirements.
When it comes to church, doing our Outreach Saga has convinced me that doing things simply like the soccer match is a valid way of meeting together as the body of Christ. I recognize that the big football game of Sunday morning church has its place and can do things we can’t do in our small group. However, I think both can be used to meet the needs of people around us.
Are we willing to do something small and simple to reach people, instead of always going for bigger and showier?
For now, God’s given me a soccer ball. I’m willing to play the game He’s put in front of me.
What do you think of the analogy? Does it ring true, or do you have a concern about it? Let’s talk about it in the comments below.
by Jason Joyner | Jan 28, 2013 | Blog, Mission Monday, missional, organic church, Outreach Saga
There’s a lot of talk on the internet about Organic Church. I know the internet gives any cause a voice, but when we moved into our Outreach Saga and started meeting outside of the traditional church, it was heartening to find other like-minded people.
These are all very helpful resources, and I’m grateful to these brothers and sisters for sharing the way the Lord is leading them and their testimony and experience in walking out church in a new way.
I’ve come to realize an issue though. My group that I’m involved with isn’t doing strictly Organic Church.
We met in a park during the summer and fall, moving into a local counseling center for the winter weather. Many people share during our times together. We eat, sing, and bring the Word as we’re led. These are things that an organic church will do.
The thing that may be different is that we’re an outreach at the same time.
We’re in a neighborhood with low income housing, and we’ve mainly reached people in this apartment complex. I think most of the people coming are Christians, but I’m not certain in every case. Some have been in the church and felt rejected. Others come because we are so close and accessible.
It seems we are a little different than a lot of the organic church talk I’ve followed online. Maybe I’m wrong and not catching it.
The challenge is that we’ve got a core of believers that have had relationship with each other over a long period of time with a desire to be the church instead of doing church. Then we have another population of people that we’re getting to know and trying to disciple. It is very exciting what we’re doing each week, and it is a huge blessing to be ministering to each other. I am touched as often as anyone else is. That doesn’t take away from the sensation I have of walking on the water at times – trying to keep my balance as the waves shift beneath me!
I guess the point of this post is to throw this situation out there. Does anyone have experience doing organic church as an outreach? If so, I’d love to dialog with you on this topic. If you have a heart to pray for us, that would be greatly appreciated!
So leave a comment if you’re interested in a discussion on organic church and reaching out. I’ll meet you in the blogosphere.
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by Jason Joyner | Nov 5, 2012 | Blog, fellowship, Mission Monday, missional, organic church, Outreach Saga, Sloppy Joes
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| Sloppy joes bring people together |
There’s something we’ve missed out on in modern church culture.
We don’t eat together very often.
I’ve always gone to small churches. It is easy to eat together. For a long time it was a once a month ritual. Then some people got tired of it and we backed off, but then I realized it made a difference in our fellowship. I don’t know how a mega-church could consider doing it – probably isn’t feasible.
Which is too bad, considering the Bible assumes food and fellowship as part of the regular meeting of the saints, if you read Acts, Galatians, and 1st Corinthians. I’ll come back to this point in a minute.
Having said that, we had another interesting night for our Church in the Park (that is now indoors for the season).
I was responsible for sharing and I was having trouble. I couldn’t zero in on anything in particular to talk about. I’ve wanted to talk about what it means to be a disciple, but that didn’t stick. I looked at some other verses to discuss and couldn’t really get a sense of what I should share. Finally I went ready to talk about three different passages of Scripture. And if all else failed, we’d pray for the election.
Well, one of our regulars asked if there was something in the Bible that could help him with some conflict in relationships.
Okay then. Scrap my other three plans. I guess we’re talking about turning the other cheek and walking in the opposite spirit!
We had a good discussion. I shared a couple of pertinent passages out of Matthew 5 and Romans 12. The group shared their thoughts and from their experiences. There was no clear answer but we were able to address a need and pray for it among each other. I was very blessed that my lack of direction helped me stay open to what the Spirit needed to do. That isn’t easy to do in a regular church service. Thankfully, our situation allows for a more organic response. It was special to see our little group be the body to each other.
Oh, so back to the sloppy joes. One of the guys mentioned as a joke that a lot of conflict can be resolved if there were only sloppy joes involved. I couldn’t help but laugh at that. I think there’s truth though. I wonder if eating together drops our defenses a little bit. It is one thing to mingle in the foyer and make small talk. When we dine and share our food together, it is more inviting to open up to your brother or sister.
Let’s be open to what the Spirit wants us to do. Having sloppy joes couldn’t hurt.
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