{"id":98,"date":"2011-12-07T09:10:43","date_gmt":"2011-12-07T16:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/?p=98"},"modified":"2011-12-12T10:18:23","modified_gmt":"2011-12-12T17:18:23","slug":"moving-right-along","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/emergentvillage\/2011\/12\/moving-right-along\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving Right Along"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I was reminded this morning during a moment of prayer that I am to be contrite and not contrary. I was asking God to give me something worth saying on this blog site today. I am usually not short of words, but have wrestled with where to begin since receiving an invitation to join this experiment.<\/p>\n

Quickly I knew the foundation of my posts would be centered in prayer and hospitality from the perspective of a follower of Jesus. More specifically, I sensed the purpose of my sharing in this endeavor is to be prayer and hospitality in the context of church planting with a disposition toward seeking the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

No problem.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it seems I have so much to say that it\u2019s hard to say anything at all. I have a rambling conversation going on in my head frequently. There\u2019s a lot of talk going on inside of here. I think they call that internal conversation.<\/p>\n

I talk to myself a lot.<\/p>\n

I also talk with God.<\/p>\n

So, this morning on a walk enveloped in prayer I asked God what I should say into the virtual space given to me.<\/p>\n

I was reminded of how the invitation to post here came to be. I was introduced to Doug Pagitt by a pastor who gifted to me a copy of Doug\u2019s book A Christianity Worth Believing: Hope-filled, open-armed, alive-and-well faith for the left out, left behind, and let down in us all<\/span>.[1]<\/a> The title intrigued me upon receipt. The inscription the pastor personally penned in ink pissed me off.<\/p>\n

It reads,<\/p>\n

\u201cA gift to a God breathed contrarian of a story of another contrarian. Your voice needs to be heard, keep speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Re-reading those words today makes me smile. I\u2019ve come a long way since my eyes originally tracked over them in 2008.<\/p>\n

It took me 18 months to take Doug\u2019s book off the shelf to read it. I read it in one sitting.<\/p>\n

I quickly realized a need to consider a move from contrary to contrition.<\/p>\n

Words of my childhood came back to me even without the beads,<\/p>\n

\u201cO my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and\u00a0I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments,\u00a0but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,\u00a0Who art all-good and deserving of all my love.\u00a0I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.\u00a0Amen\u201d<\/p>\n

I called the pastor and confessed my angst and sorrow. I thanked him. I think he laughed\u2026in forgiveness.<\/p>\n

That act led to an unexpected meeting of the book\u2019s author.<\/p>\n

And now\u2026here I am.<\/p>\n

I pray through this opportunity God will use me to encourage another in the ways of following Jesus as a leader of new community.<\/p>\n

I vow to remain genuine and true to the call on my life with hope that many, many people will come to a growing faith in Jesus.<\/p>\n

He is our hope. I believe.<\/p>\n

I invite you to follow along and virtually join in the sharing of an adventure of a church planter named Maggie rooted and established in the love of Christ leading a baby church called Bull City Vineyard<\/a> in the city of Durham, North Carolina.<\/p>\n

I recently read, \u201cPrayer often involves us in what sociologists call \u201cunintended consequences.\u201d[2]<\/a> I find those words to be hopeful.<\/p>\n

Come along with me and together, I hope, we\u2019ll find something we can smile about down the road.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
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[1]<\/a> Pagitt, Doug. A Christianity Worth Believing<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[2]<\/a> Peterson, Eugene, The Pastor<\/span> Page 79.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was reminded this morning during a moment of prayer that I am to be contrite and not contrary. I was asking God to give me something worth saying on this blog site today. I am usually not short of words, but have wrestled with where to begin since receiving an invitation to join this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":399,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emerging-church"],"yoast_head":"\nMoving Right Along<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I was reminded this morning during a moment of prayer that I am to be contrite and not contrary. 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