Disciple Deeply

01/28/2024

When I(DJ) read the word “authority” in this week’s text (Mark 1) I thought about Angie’s sharing at our CCS ribbon cutting last week. Many amazing community leaders blessed our opening with words of encouragement. However, no one spoke with more authority on the power of safe space and supportive relationships than Angie. She spoke as one who had been considered broken, unclean, and excluded. As one now accepted, loved, and in the process of transformation.

I know many leaders, teachers, and coaches who thrive when the conditions are right. Those friend and family relationships that seem good in health and plenty. People who feel safe and comfortable when others look, think, and act like they do.

Jesus does not find himself in these conditions. He is a religious teacher of an oppressed people. His message seems to be attracting the sick and impoverished. His friends and family wish he would be more quiet, normal, and less disruptive.

Following Jesus has lead me out of the classroom, church sanctuary, baseball field, and other comfortable places. Recently I have found myself in the often unpredictable city hall, neighborhood meeting, and sidewalk conversation. The message I have to share seems to resonate more with the unclean, unhoused, and marginalized.

I have been observing the incredible authority of those at C@P who have lived experience on the streets. Those who know what it feels like to like to move from excluded to accepted. Those who have known brokenness and healing.

May we recognize real authority when we see and hear it. May we be the kind of people who can see that no one deserves to be called “unclean.” And may we strive to create a community where everyone is welcomed and loved on the path of healing and transformation.

01/27/2024

We are encouraged by the number of lives impacted by our Safe Parking program staff and partner Churches. We are very excited that four additional churches are in the process of becoming host sites for safe parkers!

Thanks again to the six Churches who have been hosting our neighbors living temporarily out of their cars.
Salem Mission Faith Ministries
Capital Park Wesleyan Church
First Congregational Church
Trinity Covenant
New Hope Foursquare
Holy Cross Lutheran Church

03/06/2016

Amazing weekend with 100 guys seeking to grow in their ability to receive and give love to God, their Church, and those in the World they are sent to.

The men of the conference (and others) are gathered this weekend to pray, worship, EAT and learn about discipleship. There will be more pictures coming but these are a reminder to be praying for them as they gather.

Please tag your friends and share!

02/10/2016

I just discovered this great website resource connecting 3DM to some practical discipleship tools. http://www.juio.net

Home

07/24/2015

This is the link where we will be updating resources, papers and power points. http://survey.safmc.me/resources.html

07/02/2015

DISCIPLE DEEPLY Online Assessment

PURPOSE
This Assessment is designed to help you, individually or together with your community group, evaluate your growth in Christ in six different areas:

UP: How you love God.

IN: How you love and care for each other within the Body of Christ

OUT: How you love people who are outside the Body of Christ.

UP/IN: How you love God together with others in the Body of Christ.

IN/OUT: How you, together with other believers, love people who don’t know Jesus and welcome them into your community.

UP/OUT: How you love the world in order to lead people to Jesus and be ambassadors of his redemptive justice.

http://www.ddfmc.org/

http://www.ddfmc.org/

07/01/2015

The Free Methodist church plant “Emmaus” was started in 2005 with a vision to plant reproducible missional churches founded on the three circles: faith (Up), community (In), and mission (Out). Three years later, fifteen members of Emmaus were listening to the Gospel of Luke through a practice of reading and reflection called Lectio Divina. They were a community within the church seeking God’s direction on mission together – a combination of (Up/In). In Luke 14, Jesus calls his followers to invite the “poor, crippled, blind and lame” over for dinner. The group took these words to heart and started sharing a weekly meal with homeless neighbors living in cars and tents around a local park. They were a smaller community within a church who were doing outreach together – a combination of (In/Out). They did not plan a sack lunch meal, but a banquet they would be proud to share with any of their friends. During the meal, they committed to engage in conversations with the park residents who attended. They listened to the peoples’ stories in order to celebrate and pray for them - a combination of (Out/Up). Later in the week, the small community of believers reviewed the stories they heard and prayed again for their new friends at the park – again, a combination of (In/Up). Only After a year of sharing meals, listening and relationship building they added a second meal at the park - more (Out/Up). During that second year of ministry at the park they saw 10 people commit their lives to Jesus and join their community of faith through baptism – Up/In/and Out! Another twelve folks entered into housing and recovery programs. A group of men who had various mental and physical disability started a monthly guys to serve the park and other non-profits in their city who help the homeless. By its seventh year the community was hosting two meals a week, baptizing several people each year, and seeing dozens move from being served to serving others in need.