Discipleship is a process and a journey towards Jesus. This journey is marked by various milestones along the way. These milestones are characterized by events, experiences and engagements that allow us to, and are a result of our, participation in his life, death and resurrection.

Participating in his life, death and resurrection means a Re-Alignment with, Re-Enactment of, Re-Entering into and Re-Engagement under the story of Jesus. The Story of Jesus can be described as a story of:

FAITH: Jesus trusted in the Father to vindicate him, and his way of living. Jesus was faithful to his identity and mission and the Father was in turn faithful to him by raising him from the dead. Discipleship then is Re-Aligning of our trust away from the systems and values of this world towards trusting in the ways of God and allowing that trust to inspire us to participate in his mission.

HOPE: Jesus believed another world was possible, and his life gives us a window into what this other world looks like. Justice, healing, and new creation are just a few words that describe this other world. The rule of God was breaking into the world in a new way through Jesus, and his life is a symbol of this new reality. His death lets us know before hand how the 'world' tends to react to those who live radically compassionate lives. His resurrection is proof that God is involved in creation and that he will one day complete his work of making things right. Discipleship then is Re-Enacting the life, death and resurrection of Jesus so that we become a sign and a symbol of this new reality called the Kingdom of God.

LOVE: Jesus lives in community with the Father and the Spirit. This original community is described as Love in the scriptures. Discipleship then is learning how to Re-Enter into that original community of the Father, Jesus, and the Spirit. As we learn how to live in community with the Trinity, we are empowered to live in community with each other. This means we learn how to be weak and vulnerable, faithful, honest, and others centered.

POWER: Jesus lived in a world of violence and foreign occupation. Power, as in our day, was defined as being able to get what you want. Jesus re-defined power as the capacity to love. He engaged his world with a fierce, unconditional love. He served other people with uncontrollable freedom. Discipleship then is Re-Engaging the world under the Lordship of Jesus, using our resources and influence to bless others. We learn how to use power in non-violent ways, effecting justice, peace and goodness.

Been listening in on a conversation from Lk10.com, a community of practice for church planters. What if church was not defined by buildings or worship services? If we could no longer have buildings tomorrow, what would Christianity look like in America. Could we survive? I shudder to think about the answer to that question here in America.

John White has coined the term CO2, which means church of two. The most foundational expression of church is two (or three) people meeting together to share their heart, listen to Jesus and pray. Most churches were started in this way if you think about it. This is sort of an embryonic form of church. It is where life begins and it is where we learn to process, interpret and nurture spirituality. What if we decided to pair up with someone and do this on a daily basis? What if we took Hebrews 3:13 seriously and shared our heart through SASHET and listened to Jesus through VIRKLER, and prayed the Luke 10:2b prayer, both in the CO2 and through prayer walking?

I would say that a viral, embryonic community would begin to take shape. I am doing this once a week with someone right now, but I am feeling the call to step it up to a daily thing. What is these CO2's intentionally looked for ways to pair up with others? This would be making disciples would it not?

Then, what if these CO2's began to meet weekly with other CO2's, ate a meal together and prayed for each other?

Then what if these groups met with other groups once a month?

I think this would be a very interesting project to be a part of. I think that I will begin to listen to Jesus on this one.

Been soakin up U2's new album lately. Saw this cool article on their music and their views on eschatology. You know their new album is called "No Line on the Horizon." This is actually a reference to the blending of Heaven and earth, which is exactly what God will do in the eschaton. No line means God's will is done on earth as in heaven. This will not totally happen till the future, but we give snapshots and previews of this in the here an now. The church is a sign and a symbol of the coming reign of God. We see the line between heaven and earth all around us. Sometimes we get a glimpse of the future though when we see compassion, forgiveness, or justice. When the line between heaven and earth gets blurry, we know the Spirit is present, for it is the Spirits role to create these blurry scenes where the difference between the now and the future of God collide, giving us a taste of the future.