Faith

There are many aspects to the life of a disciple that are very opposite to our upbringing and nature as fallen rebels. Think about it....

Loving people. Really loving them. Sacrificially. Whether or not they love you back. Or if they are even lovable in the first place (never mind that we all fall into this category!). Even your enemies and those who persecute you.

Serving people. Even when it is inconvenient. When no one will recognize the service. When they take advantage of your generosity. When they won't serve you back.

Both of these are hallmarks of Christian discipleship, yet are so difficult for us aren't they? Never mind the difficulty of overcoming our rebellion and inherent desire to worship ourselves. It is also hardwired into our psyche as Americans since we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Really, the American Dream caters to our idolatry and rebellion, but that is a topic for a sermon series at The Vine and the Branches, LOL.

Faith is another major facet in the life of discipleship. I would like to share with you how faith plays such a major part of my life and how a life of faith will be intertwined in the life, health, and vitality of The Vine and the Branches.

I have never really had difficulty accepting some of the more challenging parts of Christianity. The Virgin Birth and how that actually happened. God created everything out of nothing by simply (?!) speaking it into being. Even the existence of God, angels, Satan, or whatever. I have always been OK with those questions and not having all the perfect answers.

If you think about it, we all live lives of faith all the time, we just don't want to admit it. When you get on the freeway, you have some faith that your car won't blow up and that the other cars won't come into your lane and smash into you. You can't explain your confidence, don't have all the answers at your disposal, or at least answers that make empirical sense. But this does not stop you from believing.

Anyway, one part of faith that is particularly powerful is having faith that God will provide all of our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus and that if we seek his kingdom and righteousness above everything else, He will provide all of our needs.

I am going out on a limb here and say that one of the reasons we followers of Jesus are so lukewarm, ineffectual, and lifeless in our faith is that as American Christians (and American's in general) we order our lives in such a way that we never have to rely on God for anything. Perhaps developing that thought further will be another sermon series at The Vine and the Branches....

Anyway, I don't know about all of you, but the times I am most alive in my walk with Jesus is when I don't have all the answers. When I have to rely on Jesus and not myself to live. When I take Jesus at His word and believe that if I seek His Kingdom and righteousness, He will provide what I need, what my family needs, exactly when we need it.

When I moved to Eugene from Philadelphia years ago, I had to live this life of faith daily. Moving down there, I did not know anyone other than my uncle who lived about an hour outside of town. I arrived with my dad to begin my life there with no real place to stay, and not knowing anyone. I figured that I was an ex-missionary, so if there was one place that would take care of me it was a church. We looked in the Yellow Pages (remember those things??) and found First Baptist Church of Eugene. I showed up on Sunday morning with a backpack, a guitar, 250$ in my pocket, and an unshakeable faith that God would provide the miracle. By that night, I was staying in a men's Christian house tied into the church to get my feet on the ground. Needing a place to stay for the summer at least, the next day I went to the public boards at the U of Oregon and saw that God had provided a room for rent, written in marker complete with flowers and Hippy-chick writing. 250$, cash up front. That night, I had a place to stay with a great older single mom and her kids, meals everyday included. Then, I needed a job. People told me there were no jobs in Eugene. Yet that day, God happened to lead me to a T-shirt printing company that had just opened the day before and needed a sales guy. Hired on the spot, at the first place I went to, in a place where there were supposedly no jobs. This is just one period in my life of many times where God has consistently provided for all my needs.

A guiding principle in my life of faith is a quote I heard from a pastor years ago in Eugene OR named Steve McKracken. He said that God wants us to do the possible, so that by faith He will do the impossible. Read through all the great stories of men and women in the Bible and throughout history who demonstrated great faith in God and you will see over and over how they participated with Him in the miracles He performed. It is a great way to approach some of the more familiar stories in the scriptures with a fresh light.

So what does this mean for planting The Vine and the Branches?

This whole endeavor is an exercise of faith. We don't have all the answers.

We have ideas and dreams, but will they work out exactly how we think they will?Thankfully, I know that in His graciousness, they probably won't. Or maybe they will. God knows. But we are called to the possible so that by faith He will do the impossible.

Our model for ministry assumes we will have people joining us. At this point, it is the Beumer's and the Bayley's. We have faith that God is calling us to this and that He has been preparing people (already or not yet Christians) from before the foundation of the world to join us. So we plan the possible and by faith, God will perform the impossible and bring His people.

It is not the most ideal time to sell a house and start a new life across the state. That's true. But God is calling us to do this, and He promises to supply all our needs when we seek His Kingdom.

We are raising financial support for this mission so that Amy and I don't have to have the stress of working separate jobs and trying to plant. If you have not heard from me yet, don't worry... ;-). So we do the possible by asking for funding so that in a down economy, God will do the impossible and provide the resources we need.

Where will we meet? In a home or a rent a building? Where will we live? Where on the South Hill of Spokane will the Vine start? Will our house sell in Lynnwood? Don't know.

What I do know is that our God is a provider and that He will take care of us.

By joining the Vine and the Branches, whether in person or through finances and prayer, you are joining us on this adventure.

Join us in this exploration of the dynamic life of discipleship as we place our total faith in Jesus!