Showing newest 9 of 10 posts from June 2009. Show older posts
Showing newest 9 of 10 posts from June 2009. Show older posts

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

:: Adventures In Planting ::


[BELOW: INTRO | BLOGUMENTARY | CONTACT INFO | PRINT MATERIALS]
**TO FOLLOW ALONG, BOOKMARK THIS PAGE!**

INTRO

Thanks for your interest in The City Church, a new church community coming to downtown Fort Worth and to neighborhoods across the city in 2010! This blog is an "online documentary" of our journey; of this exciting adventure as we work toward planting a church. In coming weeks, we'll explain the vision, mission, values, goals, and the groundwork we’re laying. I'll talk about how we got to this point; about what the future holds; about some exciting - and humorous - things that have already happened along the way; about the kingdom of God and the city of Fort Worth.

**TO FOLLOW ALONG, BOOKMARK THIS PAGE!**

In order to make it easier for you to stay up-to-date, we've created this "Adventures in Planting homepage" - a one-stop table of contents you can check regularly to find the latest installment of our journey. From here, you can also quickly link to past "adventures," contact us, and soon you'll also be able to link from this page directly to our website and social media sites. So rather than making you search around or go to individual posts, we figure it will be easier to base all the Adventures in Planting material here.

Thank you in advance for your time, prayers, and consideration. Reply below, or contact me with questions, thoughts, ideas, feedback, etc. And we look forward to seeing what unique part you’ll play in The City Church!



"ADVENTURES IN PLANTING" BLOGUMENTARY [click title to view]:


CONTACT US:


PRINT MATERIALS:


By Ben Connelly at 3:48 PM 0 comments

:: AIP#2 - What's In a Name? ::


"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." - Jeremiah 29:4-7

We are calling our new church community "The City Church." Our name summarizes our mission; it reminds us that as a church, we exist as a community on mission. Throughout the Bible and history, cities are places of refuge and safety, of culture, of politics and trade, and of gathering. The Bible calls believers “the light of the world… a city on a hill” (Matt 5:14). And God describes his future, eternal world as a perfect, redeemed city.

In the A.D. 300’s, an African bishop called Augustine wrote an enormous book called The City of God [full text online here]. In addition to defending Christianity against the charges of burning Rome, Augustine reintroduced the idea from Jeremiah 29:4-7, that Christians are called to live “as a city within a city.” In other words, God calls us to carry out his mission: actively involving ourselves in, and seeking the redemption of, the “city of man” (as he called it), where we work, play, and live. The verses are at the top of this post; read over them and spend a few moments dwelling on them: how does that look in your life?

Augustine’s ideals lay the dual foundation on which we want to build our church – for the glory of God and the good of Fort Worth. But “City of God” as a name sounded both cult-like and kinda pompous ("we're the City of God!"). We don’t want to be either of those things, so we settled on “The City.”

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Thanks to the many(!) of you who have already sent comments, notes, and encouragement, asked questions, and been interested in what we're doing! This has been an exciting journey already, and we look forward to sharing more of it with you. My next entry will start to describe how we got to this point in our lives - honestly, it's something that's been years in the making!

By Ben Connelly at 10:07 AM 0 comments

Monday, June 29, 2009

:: AIP#1 - Starting the Countdown ::


Today's post is one that brings me great excitement. After nine years of ministry, two+ years of dreaming, a 10-month church planting process, six weeks of fully-devoted prayer and planning, a 20-page prospectus, and a few committed sponsors and individuals, today we publicly begin the countdown to our next great endeavor; to a mission and passion to which we see ourselves committing the rest of our lives...

Friends, family, and other devoted readers (ha), I'm ecstatic to announce the development of The City Church, a new church community coming to downtown Fort Worth and to neighborhoods across the city in 2010!

In conjunction with Acts 29 Church Planting Network (Seattle, WA), Providence Church (Frisco, TX), NorthWood Church (Keller, TX), some committed individuals, and other "partner-in-progress" organizations (TBA soon), we've been asking the question, “what would it look like if Christians in the heart of Fort Worth LIVED AS the church, instead of just GOING TO a church?” The simple answer was that it would look “different.” So we've been praying, dreaming, planning, seeking answers and input from great sources across the nation and world, history, and scripture, and looking at the needs and context of our great city. And now we're ready to move from hypothetical to reality. We're admittedly a little anxious, but excited, expectant, humbled, prayerful, and knowing that we’re on the brink of something great that God’s doing!

Over the coming weeks, this blog will serve as a documentary of our journey: nearly every day I'll be posting about this exciting adventure as we work toward planting a church. I'll explain the vision, mission, values, goals, and the groundwork we’re laying. I'll talk about how we got to this point; about what the future holds; about some exciting - and humorous - things that have already happened along the way; about the kingdom of God and the city of Fort Worth. And as this blogumentary unfolds, I invite questions - in fact, whether comments below or in an email/facebook message, I BEG your questions, thoughts, feedback, constructive criticism, and above all, your involvement.

I'll get into specifics of involvement in coming weeks, but whether you pray for us, join in the vision, and/or support us financially, the next steps involve followers of Christ, who are passionate about God’s church and who are passionate about this great city and its people, banding together and taking bold steps as we live out God’s age-old mission of redemption and reconciliation. We are excited as we look forward to living out that vision, and we hope that you will join this great endeavor!

I could go on, but for now, I'll close by asking for three things:

  • First, please begin to pray - for Jess and me, spiritually and as a couple; for our boards of directors and advisers; that God would raise up leaders - committed folks to come alongside the vision; for financial support and for wisdom; against pride, sin, and other distractions; and for our city and the people we'll be engaging.
  • Second, help spread the word - we find the church to be a family and a people, not an institution or an event, so we're not doing traditional "marketing." Instead, if what you see and hear over these months resonates with, excites, or intrigues you, please point folks to this blog, to our coming website and social media, and when the time comes, to our prayer and vision dinners later this summer and fall.
  • Finally, please check back often - I'll document a new "adventure" every day or two through the summer. So follow along and stay up-to-date, even this week as I walk through our name and the beginnings of this journey.

Thank you in advance for your time, prayers, and consideration. Reply below, or contact me with questions, thoughts, ideas, feedback, etc. If you'd like a copy of the business plan/prospectus, I'd be happy to email you one. And we look forward to seeing what unique part you’ll play in The City Church!

Contact Ben: email [full website coming July '09] | facebook | twitter | email me for cell #

By Ben Connelly at 10:00 PM 4 comments

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

:: Idols? ::

For the past couple weeks, I've been reading through the intense, crazy-at-times book of Ezekiel. I'm going slowly through it, since Old Testament prophesy is, you know, a bit of a different genre than most stuff we typically read. But the vividness, imagery, weight of God's glory, and firey language is pretty amazing, chapter after chapter.

I ended last week with ch.8-9, and they've been gnawing at me - better, convicting me - more and more everyday since. I highly encourage you to read these chapters, but here's the deal: it starts with an incredible, actual image of God (v.1-2), which is pretty spectacular itself, but the image it paints of God is his jealousy (v.3-5). Not the "jealousy" of "I want what you have," but instead the jealousy of "I want back what is rightfully mine, which you've removed from me." In this instance, God's jealousy is incurred because of "the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary" (v.6).

Proving his point, God gives Ezekiel four visions, each one escalating in degree of offense and dishonor to God, each linked by the phrase "but you will see still greater abominations":

  • The vague but public action of the Israelites, putting something else in God's place (v.5-6)
  • The rulers of Israel - the elders! - worshipping idol images, engraved in the temple of God (v.7-13)
  • The outright worship of another god, a Mesopoamian cult god of fertility (v.14-15)
  • The very priests of God bowing and worshipping the sun - including great symbolism, "with their backs toward the temple of the Lord" (v.16)
What struck me more and more as I considered these verses was the universal nature of idolatry. The text starts with the general population of Israel, but runs deeper, to the God-appointed elders, and deeper still, to the very priests of God's people!

So it made me think, what are my idols? What are the "great abominations" that I use "to drive [God] far from [his] sanctuary" everyday; with which I fill the walls of his temple? Even as I lead some of God's people, what do I put in God's place? Then as I was considering this, I realized that some of these idols are things we'd declare "good!" - like the sun in this passage! We need the sun; it provides life, light, warmth, sustenance. If it burns out, we're through. But it is only good in its proper place, as God uses it for his glory and our good. So, what are my idols?

I'm sure there are too many to name. But among the things that I put in God's place; which fill me and consume my thoughts, time, and effor; which I "worship" are comfort, financial security, my wife, knowledge, being the best, achieving things, physical beauty, personal pleasure, being connected, being busy, and even ministry and the church. As I look at these things, I would declare many of them "good." Sure, there are some outright sin issues that could be added to this list, or which stem from some it, but there are some good things in my life that I've blown out of proportion; which have removed God from his sanctuary in my life; which are idols.

And how does God deal with these idolaters? "I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them" (v.18). And the whole of chapter 9 describes Ezekiel's vision of God carrying this out. Another vivid, sobering image. But interestingly, there's also a bit of hope, as God spares all those marked by a man, sent by God, "clothed in linen"...

And so I'm repenting today, which is the message of the prophet delivering God's message to God's people. And I'm also giving thanks, that a rightfully jealous God has mercy, even at for silly fools like me who know the truth, yet continue to "worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!" (Rom 1:25); who idolize silly things like comfort, the work of our hands, or the sun.

What about you? What are the idols of your heart; the things that replace God and cause him jealousy, remove him from his rightful place in your life; and that you worship instead of him? (I'm not expecting actual replies on this, but maybe at least some introspection? I pray God's word here challenges you as it has challenged me!)

By Ben Connelly at 10:47 AM 0 comments

Sunday, June 21, 2009

:: Time Flies (a quick personal update) ::

Last week passed the 1-month mark of my last day at Trinity Chapel, and just over three months have passed since my car wreck and surgery. I'm not sure if timing was coincidental, but last week brought with it several calls, texts, messages asking how we're doing. Out of thanks for concerned friends, I thought I'd give a quick update since many folks are praying for us. So, to answer the question: we are doing well. Honestly; we're doing really well, in all aspects of life.

Physically, I've still got a screw in my wrist; I'll find out in a week whether it gets to be my permanent companion or not! And I've been in physical therapy for six weeks, with pretty much all movement coming back and strength/grip following closely behind. The only thing that doesn't seem to be returning is the ability to move my wrist "back" (or, "toward the 'top' of my arm" or "up" - not sure exactly how to describe it). Apparently there's enough scar tissue in my wrist that it just "hits a wall" when I try to move it that direction. If it's not better next week, they want to do "maniuplation therapy," which sounds amazingly fun and involves them knocking me out and, as the doctor said, "forcing it to move." Shivers down my spine? Yes. Please pray against that. But either way, I've got 90+% of function back, so I'm thankful!

Emotionally and spiritually, we're both doing much better. Even before my official last day of work, God began a rapid-fire blast of circumstances, meetings, and people in our lives, specifically regarding the next steps we'd been praying about for months. It's almost like God had everything planned out, and that he needed to move us exactly as and when he did, for us to realize the fulness of his plan for us. We have felt very affirmed and encouraged, from many angles, and this week we will begin letting folks know what we're doing next... it's exciting!

In the interest of full honesty, I'd be lying if I said we still don't have moments of hurt and anger, but these are growing more seldom. We've gotten much wise counsel along the way, and I've at least begun reconciling process with folks I know I wronged in the process of leaving, with hopes of restoring some of those relationships. I continue to hear rumors circulating about us, some of which are at best "misrepresentations" of the truth, if not flat-out lies. And those are tough to hear. But rather than try to fight them or get into "he said; she said" stuff (which would further confuse and frustrate), we find it most wise to stay silent, and to pray for those who are saying these things. And we hope that the open and transparent life that Jess and I strive for will speak for itself, and that people will either pursue answers from us directly, or weigh what they hear against the character they've come to know in us. Psalm 144:11; Proverbs 19:9; 21:23, 28; Ezekiel 13:8; Matthew 5:11-12, 44; and Ephesians 4:25 have been comforts as I've dealt with this.

Over the past month, we've kept close friendships; we got to take a quick weekend trip to get away from everything; we've both been pressed to spend more time in the Bible; and we're feeling God's presence and movement in our lives more. God has been very gracious in comfort, affirming in calling, generous in rest, and healing in pain. We've been busier than I thought we would be - Jess is three weeks into grad school (and is loving the class but not the studying), and I've been busier than expected, quicker than expected, as we pursue God's next steps for us.

So in all aspects of life, we're healing. We appreciate the calls and notes, and the continued support we feel from good friends. First Peter has been an amazing book for us, as we've seen God's purpose in suffering, and as we said from day one, we hold fast to the fact that God really does work all things - ALL things! - according to his plan (Eph 1) and for the good of his people (Rom 8).

So that's where we are as the dust settles. Thank you for asking, and thank you for continuing to pray for us... we're doing well!

By Ben Connelly at 2:10 PM 1 comments

Saturday, June 20, 2009

:: A Summer Metaphor ::

We're in the thick of the summer '09 wedding season, and this is the first weekend since mid-May that Jess and I aren't at a wedding. While it's a nice little break, we love weddings, and it's one of the favorite outflows of my "job" - not only have we seen students grow in our ministry, fall in love, and get married; we also get to witness a great metaphor of the gospel, week after week, all summer long!

Last weekend we were on the TX coast where I had the honor of doing the wedding of one of Jess' college roommates, Marlo, and her long-time boyfriend Justin. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding, held at sunset on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, with the backdrop of dozens of yacht masts. Both Justin and Marlo are fairly private, so the two stipulations they gave me were (a) keep it short - 20 minutes max, from the entrance of the parents to the final exit, and (b) "we don't want this to be about us." After pressing the second point to make sure they were serious, I asked them if I could just talk about Jesus then. And they said yes.

So here's something along the lines of what I said - I just tried to paint a quick, no-holds-barred picture of the gospel, from start to finish. I share it so that as you head to weddings over the summer, you might thank God, reflect on his pursuit and your response, and think about the glorious picture of the gospel you witness in every element of the marriage you're watching begin! I'd love thoughts/comments. But enjoy:

Justin and Marlo wanted this to be short. The only other thing they said is that they don't want to be in the spotlight. Which is weird, since it's their wedding. But it's also refreshing. Because while we're here to celebrate them and their marriage, today isn't about them; today is about Jesus. Yes, we're here for their wedding; we're celebrating their love. But whether you know it or not, and whether you believe it or not, we're witnessing something much bigger, and they've asked me to talk about that, to keep them of the spotlight.

In Ephesians 5, one of the most extensive pictures of marriage in the Bible, weddings and marriage are presented as a metaphor - a lived out picture of the gospel; a visual representation of our relationship with God. Husbands in this metaphor portray the picture of Christ, and wives represent humanity. Let's look at how this metaphor plays out:

Throughout the Bible, Jesus is pictured as pursuing us: loving us, giving himself up for us (Eph 5:25), and asking us to give our lives to him. Many years ago [and it was truly MANY - these two have been dating forever!], Justin asked Marlo out. He dated her, he pursued her, andone day last year, he got down on a knee and gave his life to her, asking her to give her life to him in return. Marlo, responding to Justin's pursuit and representing the pursued, said yes. This is a beautiful picture of salvation.

As we fast-forward to today, we're at the culmination and celebration of that day: today you publicly declare your eternal commitment to each other. Marriage is lifelong; it's meant to last forever, because God's loving hold on us is unbreakable, and your marriage is a metaphor for our relationship with God. As you are united for your whole life to each other, so are we forever united to Christ.

Then, in a few minutes, we're going to feast, drink, and celebrate. This is an image straight from the last book of the Bible, and the image is called "the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev 19). The Lamb is Christ; the supper takes place when all those in heaven gather to celebrate the beginning of God's kingdom, when all who believe in Christ are united with him for evernity. Even the wedding reception is a metaphor!

And we could go on: in your vows, you commit to share all your lives, "in good times and in bad; in sickness and in health." And then you'll give each other rings, and you'll say, "with all I have and with all I am, I am yours." You've heard this at other weddings, that "a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" (Eph 5:31) - this union isn't just physical; it's emotional; it's spiritual; it's everything! The word literally means "an intermingling of souls!" You have one name; one home; one family; one everything! In all things, you're united, because we are united to Christ, "with all that I have and with all that I am."

Finally, this metaphor continues beyond today. For the rest of your lives you two get to live out these weighty roles. One of the most interesting phrases in Ephesians 5 says that Christ "gave himself up for [us], that he might present [us] to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [we] might be holy and without blemish" (5:25-27). For the rest of your lives, you get to be God's hand in each other's lives: Justin, "love [your] wife as your own body...nourish and cherish [her], just as Christ does the church" (5:29). And as he loves and leads you, Marlo, follow his lead, push him more toward Christ too, "submitting to your own husband, as to the Lord" (5:22). Love each other; comfort each other; lovingly correct and forgive each other; and point each other toward holiness. Why? Because that's what Christ does in each of our lives, as he draws us continually closer to God.

Are you getting this picture? We'll close with the last words of this passage, which say "this mystery is profound, and I am saying that it [the metaphor of marriage] refers to Christ and the church" (5:32). So Justin and all men here, "love your wife as yourself," and Marlo and all wives, "respect your husband" (5:33). Because for all of us here, these two - in uniting themselves together - are dispalying to three things: God's loving pursuit of each of us; hopefully each of our responses to God in Christ; and the joy of a united life with God which we can enjoy for all eternity if we, like Marlo did, will say yes.

By Ben Connelly at 6:58 AM 0 comments

Friday, June 19, 2009

:: Italy '09, Day 7: Roma 2 ::

I'm FINALLY finishing our Italian vacation blog. See past posts here (Intro, Rome 1, Venice, Florence, Naples/Pompeii, Capri), and without further wait, we jump into our last day in Rome:

We wanted to bookend our trip in Rome, and we wanted to be at the Vatican on a Wednesday morning, when apparently the Pope usually makes a public address. This particular Wednesday, however, he wasn't in Rome. Even though it was Ash Wednesday, which is big in the Roman Catholic tradition. Oh well - there was plenty to do other than see him.

We started the day in the Pantheon, then headed to the Vatican museum (where we were awed by the Sistine Chapel, but couldn't figure out what made that ceiling more famous than the other 50+ rooms, all of which had impressively painted ceilings too - anyone?!). We toured the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica, where we saw this sign and got some really cool pics (see some below, but my favorites are: sun rays near the alter, the wall of papal names - starting of course with St. Peter). That afternoon, we took a good, long nap (yes, we took a nap on our last day in Italy: we were more than exhausted from our quick trip through the great country!), then went on a "last-night-in-Italy" date. Then we went to the hotel, slept a bit, and headed to the airport to come back to the states.

Italy as a whole was an amazing, historic, beautiful, and at times, haunting place: to know how much of our world and way of life was shaped by this place was stunning. We saw a whole different kind of beauty in the uniqueness of Venice and Capri, and experienced new tastes in homemade pasta, pizza, and wine. Glorious, expensive churches sat quarter-full, or empty except for tourists. Majestic buildings built centuries ago stood beside crumbled ruins - a testament to the futility of life and the unknown. The experience in every city was incredible, and in a sense, moving.

We probably won't ever make it back to Italy, so while our "quick trip to the beach" vacation dramatically changed into one far from restful, and as we found out, a much-needed break from normal life, which got a little hectic once we got back! Go to Italy - we wouldn't trade it for anything! Final day pics:













By Ben Connelly at 3:02 PM 0 comments

Thursday, June 11, 2009

:: Italy '09, Day 6: Capri ::

Our second-to-last day in Italy was spent on the beautiful tropical island of Capri (apparently pronounced CAP-ree, not like the good ol' casino, cap-REE. Hope you enjoyed your speech lesson). An hour ride on a huge Caremar fairy (see below) off the west coast of Naples, Capri is where all the famous Italians hang out on holiday, spending time on beautiful beaches and staying in whitewashed, very Greek-looking homes and resorts. Other than wander the tiny island, relax in parks, and generally chill a bit, the only other thing to do in Capri is shop. At some very very nice places. Which were unfortunately closed due to "off-season." Pity.

Just a few notes: We made a new Australian friend on the boat, who was between jobs and taking a six-month, individual tour through Europe. We became jealous of him. And on Capri, there are only two towns - named (creatively), Capri and Anacapri. The only way to get from one to the other is to cram 60 people into a little tiny bus, and careen around a mountain pass, hundreds of feet in the air, on a 2-lane road that's about 8 feet wide. According to our guidebook, the drivers of said minibusses are "either good or dead." Comforting. I tried to get a pic of the treacherousness of this - in the very last one, you can see the columns supporting the bridge in the mountains above the town, and if you look closely, there's a tiny red dot to the left of the bridge. That's the bus.

There's really not much more to tell about Capri - this was just a quick day trip for us, then we headed back that night to Rome for our last day in Italy. So I'll get the pics rolling - some of our favorite "scenes" came from this day. If you want a nice, relaxing resort vacation, complete with a 10-hour flight, 2-hour train ride, and 1-hour fairy ride, Capri's for you!















By Ben Connelly at 8:30 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

:: Italy '09, Day 5: Naples and Pompeii ::

After a long train ride from Florence, and late night arrival into Naples (where we were advised to get a taxi, even though our hotel was less than five blocks from the station; we didn't), we spent the morning exploring the city, then headed south a bit to the few-thousand-year-old ruins of Mount Vesuvius' eruption in AD 79.

Naples was by far our least favorite stop during our trip. Sorry to all my Neapolitan readers (=0), but the city was dirty, trash-covered (literally, there were piles and piles of garbage which detoured off from the sidewalks into the street), industrial, and unsafe, according to both our local seatmate on the train (with whom we had a fantastic broken-English conversation!) and three different Napoli policemen we encountered within the first hour we were there. But it wasn't all bad; we found a few gems in the city:




After a morning in Naples, we headed south to one of my favorite stops on our trip, Pompeii. The best word for these stunning ruins would be "haunting." To see 1930-year-old town, with homes, temples, theaters, and a staduim so well preserved and perfectly petrified, with incredible mosaics, 2000-year-old wall art, and even (as creepy as it may be) a few bodies - yes they're real, was just plain sobering:










To wrap up... On one level, Pompeii was stunning because I love history; on another, more spiritual level though (e.g. "pastor moment"), it was the best possible reminder of the brevity of life; of the fact that nothing is guaranteed. And in the midst of a college series called "70 Seconds: Don't Waste Your Life," it was a perfectly-placed scenario which allowed me to question how I'm using every day of this brief time on earth: "what's the impact/legacy I'm leaving?" "how am I being used?" etc. It was a great, sobering, even shocking three hours, and while Jess was about spent (history isn't her favorite), I could have spent another day reflecting and wandering these ancient streets. Instead, we spent the following day in a 180-degree different kind of stunning, on a beautiful, white-washed, tropical island of Capri!

By Ben Connelly at 8:49 AM 0 comments
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