When we are codependent our faith either gravitates towards taking on the responsibility of someone else's spiritual health or giving someone else responsibility for our spiritual health

Self-Medication is a form of idolatry - we turn to our medications (that take many forms) for relief from the pain of depression and anxiety. God's desire is to bring healing and wholeness to our fear and worry through the peace of Jesus.

"Holiness" isn't about being more "loved" or "accepted" by God...it is about POWER. The more we conform to, and follow, the image of God...the more the Spirit of God can use us to do the work of his Kingdom.

Holiness is the practice of living out our identity as sons and daughters of our Father in heaven…as we live into that identity we gain the authority of our Father, the King, to do the work of His Kingdom

God cares so much more about our sexual wholeness and healing than about our past transgressions and current weaknesses. Purity and Wholeness are what we are called to...but we only get there through the grace and mercy of Jesus, not our own strength

Bishop Martin describes the incredible journey of adoption and fostering that went on in the small town of Possum Trot Texas and how God's heart is for the orphan.

Men and Women are made equally in the Image of God, neither is subservient. When men or women are missing or minimized in our communities we miss the fullness of God.

If this brings up questions please RSVP for our Brewing Dialogues event: https://www.facebook.com/events/918390081597433/

So God created mankind in his own image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27

Just as a map is useless without a compass, so is the Bible without the Spirit of God

When trying to follow Jesus and be connected to the Bible we tend to gravitate towards:

1.) A narrow, nearly literal view of the Bible, treating it as a textbook for life and holding it in such reverence as to worship it (Dallas Willard called this "biblical deism").

2.) An incredibly wide, allegorical understanding of Scripture making it one more text among many so it becomes almost irrelevant for shaping faith, behavior and ethics.

We need a 3rd (middle) way to worship Jesus and read the Bible. Worship is about Spirit AND Truth - Scripture is a sacred set of REVELATIONS anchoring us to TRUTH, but it's useless w/o REVELATION from the SPIRIT

We all have rules of life - practices that come out of belief and habits that come out of routine. Some are insignificant, some shape the course of our lives. We want to be intentional with our spiritual practices and habits together. This is our Rule of Life:

Communion

· RECONCILING to God through Sharing the Eucharist

· CREATING SPACE to be Shaped by Scripture and Prayer

· SUBMITTING our time by Gathering for Worship and Sabbath Rest

Community

· RECONCILING to one another by Speaking With Integrity (Matthew 18 Communication)

· CREATING SPACE for Spiritual Investment (Discipleship)

· SUBMITTING to one another by Listening in Humility (Communal Discernment and Mutual Submission)

Co-Mission

· Joining in God’s RECONCILING acts of Justice and Mercy by Testifying as Witnesses

· CREATING SPACE for Family on Mission (Neighborhood Churches and People of Peace)

· SUBMITTING our abundance by Giving our Resources

Sanctification is the process of being formed into the image of Jesus...with grace and truth

"12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.

16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." -2 Corinthians 3:12-18

There are many issues, ideas and practices the church has made essential in order to follow Jesus, that Jesus never mandated. In other words...there are lots of hills Christians have claimed were important enough to die on while they actually aren't central to the message of Jesus...here are a few hills that are worth dying on.

The Renewal of All Things: In the midst of chaos, God invites us to join him in the reordering and redemption of our world-bringing life from decay, beauty from ashes