The Alchemy Project & Elements [Chicago]

The Alchemy Project & Elements [Chicago]

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My Fellow Alchemists,

For some of you what I am about to write will be old hat. For others,
this is the beginning of truly sharing my heart with you. Right now, my
heart screams for change. It longs for more. More than a social
gathering. More than a programmed evening. Certainly more than just a
collection of people who say they believe yet have failed to follow,
never knowing the difference between the two.

The vision we are moving towards will begin to define not only our lives
but the lives of those who share in these moments. This is an
opportunity to be the cultural architects of the 20s community. As it
stands, 20s is no more than the title of a demographic that attends
Park; this is about to change. We will be using Elements [Chicago] as
the catalyst for redefining, re-inventing & reshaping. This will be an
environment where people finally find the freedom to believe, to belong,
and to become. Both believer and non-believer alike. We are about to
speak to the human condition, using the words of God to minister to a
broken and fragmented humanity.

For us, the idea with Elements [Chicago] is to realize the need to be
ambitious & innovative. It is an opportunity for us to dream big
dreams. In these moments, God has created a space for us to share His
heart, our renewed hearts, our transformed lives with not only our peers
but with the world. We can no longer be satisfied with the mundane or
the unoriginal. We can no longer be satisfied with attaching mediocrity
with the name of God, be it with church programs or with our lives.
These are the moments that will begin to testify about the power of our
God, the redemption of our Savior and the movement of the Spirit.

For as long as I can remember, God has impressed upon my heart a desire
to impact the world. Well, God used thirteen men (including Jesus) to
change human history forever - in the furthest reaches of my soul, this
is what I desire for us. I want the world to know we exist, that we are
connected to the Living God and that all of humanity is uniquely gifted
by God to live a life of impact and originality. That Jesus Christ is
passionately and urgently pursuing them with His love, longing to make
them whole.

Our first meeting for what I've dubbed, "The Alchemy Project," will be
Sunday morning (if people can make it). I'm volunteering my apartment
for the gathering. I will try to get to the store so we can do brunch -
however, I would like to fast and pray with you guys beforehand, letting
this time of brunch break that fast. Please let me know if you can make
it - thanks!

In Him, I Remain...

Mike

From a Movement to a Religion

The Astonishing Tales of Costanza – Volume 3

From a Movement to a Religion

“The number one enemy to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity.”

- E. McManus

When the result of Christianity in many people’s lives amounts to an inability to actually live but rather self-preserve, denying themselves the fullness of life, it is hard to imagine this is what Jesus Christ had in mind when He died on the cross 2000 years ago. The fact of the matter is, the history of the Christian church is fraught with these experiences. Because of fear and hatred and a desire to self-preserve, or even develop a larger sphere of power, a part of Christian history is the Crusades and the KKK and so many human atrocities. For this reason, the greatest obstacle for many to Jesus Christ is the history of the church.

After the resurrection of Jesus Christ a movement began and those whose lives were transformed by it, the world called Christians. Now, we call ourselves Christians and the world calls us hypocrites. The church became static, merely focusing on self-preservation. This is most apparent in the local church. Most local churches give us the model of the “Apex Theory,” where they hit the apex of the church’s influence and attempt to cling to the top. The problem is that when we hit the top, we start to die (Makes sense right? Once you reached the greatest moment, you must start to come down). As the church maintained the apex in numbers, it lost its influence. It exchanged the creativity and hunger that got it to the top for static friction. It stopped moving forward because it wanted to remain where it was. This is death to movement. What we failed to notice in this transaction was that as we exchanged an activist, movement oriented faith for a set of rules we turned Christianity into just another world religion.

We forgot that the life of the church is the heart of God. The heart of God is to serve a broken world. When Jesus wrapped a towel around his waist, He reminded us that only He could wash away our sin. The church cannot live when the heart of God is not beating within her. God’s heartbeat is to seek and save that which is lost. The church exists to serve as the body of Christ, and it is through this commitment that we are forced to engage our culture. This type of service demands direct contact and forward movement. You cannot wash the feet of a dirty world if you refuse to touch it.

I now, more than ever before, firmly believe as Paul says in his letter to the church in Thessalonica – We are to be a community that lives by faith, is known by love and is a voice of hope. To be this type of community, we need to be ever moving.

***NOTE - The difference between a religion and a movement is this: movements transform people from the inside out, moving or inspiring them past where they are but religions merely shackle people with rules to restrain their movement with no life transformation, forcing a static, unchanging existence. Without movement, we cannot live. We cannot know life fully but rather die to a life of mediocrity.

***NOTE – Most of what I am saying here is a mixture of discussions with Mosaic leadership, the book “An Unstoppable Force” by McManus and my own thoughts. So yes, I stole many an idea.

Things Learned in LA

Things Learned in L.A.

- For an Irish-Jew, I actually do get a little bit tan
- Wearing powerlifting t-shirts ALL THE TIME is not being fashionably responsible nor is it being culturally relevant
- Apparently man-kapris are acceptable even if you do not yearn for the touch of another man (I still disagree but am willing to concede…)
- Not all Jews were meant to count money (i.e.: my lack of ability to do simple math)
- I can’t run around and play basketball for longer than 7 – 8 minutes at a clip or I risk heart failure
- There is no need for traffic to maintain a healthy ebb and flow. Rather it can exist at all times – even 3a.m.
- In-N-Out Burger is the greatest fast food chain EVER!!! (Wendy’s is a close second)
- Break dancing is still cool, even 20 years after the fact.
- I look hot in plaid shorts
- I’m hot.

There’s a lot more but I’m good with that.

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For Miles

i know one day, all our scars will disappear, like the stars at dawn
and all of our pain, will fade away when morning comes
and on that day when we look backwards we will see, that everything is changed
and all of our trials, will be as milestones on the way

and as long as we live, every scar is a bridge to someone's broken heart
and there's no greater love, than that one shed his blood for his friends

on that day all of the scales will swing to set all the wrongs to right
all our tears, and all of our fears will take to flight
but until then all of our scars will still remain, but we've learned that if we'll
open the wounds and share them then soon they start to heal

(as long as we live, we are bridges to someone broken heart
there's no greater love, shed your blood for your friends)

we must see that every scar is a bridge, and as long as we live
we must open up these wounds
when some one stands in your shoes and will shed his own blood
there's no greater love. we must open up our wounds

by: Thrice/Dustin Kensrue

The Sanctuary Hum - A Chorus of Resistance

The Astonishing Tales of Costanza – Volume 2

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“The church is not here to meet our needs. We are the church, here to meet the needs of the world.”

- Erwin McManus

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The Sanctuary Hum – A Chorus of Resistance
All across the country, there are numerous sanctuaries humming with the words of passionless pastors, convincing us of their charade. Pastors whose sole purpose could be one of a myriad of hollow goals, such as: increasing their congregation size; making their congregants feel comfortable; or even achieving notoriety in the Christian world. With these as their goals, they fail to speak to our humanity or ignite our passions. They speak empty, hollow words that act only to pacify and placate. Words that satiate what should be an insatiable desire. The end result is the creation of a church geared for Christians. Mosaic is the antithesis.

Mosaic’s ethos centers completely around a missional perspective. In pursuit of this missional focus, they’ve developed an activist mentality. They want not to be shaped by culture but to shape culture. This is the very reason many people in the “church” rail against Mosaic – they are not here to create a comfortable place for Christians to attend. In fact, I feel that Mosaic wants most Christians to feel uncomfortable; Uncomfortable with the fact that so many people in this world will never know the love of God because we never showed it to them; Uncomfortable with the fact that we, who wear the moniker of Christian, are so caught up with our own lives, our own little world and our desire to be comfortable, that we never take the time to show God’s grace and mercy to the world around us.

Probably the core of McManus/Mosaic’s ethos can be summed up in these two paragraphs – McManus follows Jesus’ lead from Matthew 22:37-39. In this passage, Jesus is asked, “What is the SINGLE greatest commandment?” This is where Jesus demonstrates that He is great at philosophy but not so good at math. He answers by saying that (1) you are to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind but follows this by saying (2) you are also to love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus’ problem is that he could not separate these two commandments; he understands that the principle theme to the universe is relationship. They are inextricably linked. If you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength, it will flow over into the second of these greatest commandments. You will love your neighbor as yourself. What Jesus tells us is that you CANNOT love God and NOT love people, especially those who have yet to know His love. This is at the foundation of McManus’s ministry.

So The end result of a comfortable church is complacency coupled with a perspective that is focused inward. This is ABSOLUTELY the wrong direction. It is imperative that we, as sons and heirs of grace, learn what it means to lift up our brothers and sisters and how much it costs to truly lay down your life for a friend. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; John 15:13).

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***Interesting Note – Probably most interesting is that if you ask McManus if he considers himself, or Mosaic, “seeker sensitive” he would probably say no. McManus speaks to the human condition. He desires all to know the abundant life we are promised in Christ and with that, he is attempting to awaken humanity.

Mosaic - Overview

Mosaic is a community of followers of Jesus Christ, committed to live by faith, to be known by love, and to be a voice of hope. The name of our community comes both from the diversity of our members, and from the symbolism of a broken and fragmented humanity which can become a work of beauty under the artful hands of God. We welcome people from all walks of life, regardless of where they are in their spiritual journey.

another update to follow shortly...

The Astonishing Tales of Costanza - Volume 1

The Astonishing Tales of Costanza – Volume 1

Ok, so I should’ve known better than to be picked up from the airport by Mark Wittig. The dude’s unbridled intensity is matched only by my buddy, Sabo (which is saying a lot). Literally, Mark picks me up from the airport, only to take me straight to the Mosaic HQ in Pasadena. Apparently, Mark thought it’d be better for me to get right to work than unwind from a nine hour traveling experience. Good call.

Remembering my Jewish roots, Mark locked me in the accounting office (you know he had to be thinking: Jew + Money = Good Things), where He and I worked together counting the past week’s tithes and offerings. This allowed us some time to catch up because I hadn’t seen him since Brad Kosar got married (coincidentally this is where I got “girl Brad” to dance with me – she loved it). However, with all this catching up, we made a few mistakes counting – apparently, as we now learn, not all Jews are meant to count money.

Though we had a great time counting together, I did actually do one serious thing – I took the Gallup StrengthFinders Test, learning that my top 5 strengths are: 1. Strategic; 2. Input; 3. Ideation; 4. Command; & 5. Competition. Though I feel this test was dead on with all five top strengths, I would like to call your attention to the summary for “command:”

Command leads you to take charge. Unlike some people, you feel no discomfort with imposing your views on others. On the contrary, once your opinion is formed, you need to share it with others. Once your goal is set, you feel restless until you have aligned others with you. You are not frightened by confrontation; rather, you know that confrontation is the first step toward resolution. Whereas others may avoid facing up to life's unpleasantness, you feel compelled to present the facts or the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be. You need things to be clear between people and challenge them to be clear-eyed and honest. You push them to take risks. You may even intimidate them. And while some may resent this, labeling you opinionated, they often willingly hand you the reins. People are drawn toward those who take a stance and ask them to move in a certain direction. Therefore, people will be drawn to you. You have presence. You have Command.

On top of helping me understand myself a little better, reading these summaries allowed me some insight into how the rest of the world perceived me. Though I laughed when I first read the “command” summary, I soon realized that in many situations this characteristic can be an invaluable asset or a costly obstacle when interacting with others. It can overwhelm and intimidate or intrigue and draw in; an idea, of which, I need to be very aware.

The last few sentences of the summary articulate something I’ve felt for a while but you need to change out “command” for “passion” (which in many instances, the two are synonymous). And, though passion has the potential to be caustic, most people are drawn to passion and passionate people – it’s magnetic. This is probably because most people desperately desire to be passionate, even to the point where they crave it, yet they are not passionate. Being around passionate people triggers this in them. One person’s passion can consume, encourage and influence another person.

Recently, I’ve realized that, as a believer, your insatiable passion can be the most powerful part of your interaction with non-believers. At first you might equate passionate believers with fanatical believers but there is a fundamental difference. There is freedom, boldness and creativity in passion; these are the things that drive passionate believers. Conversely, fanaticism breeds fear, legalistic and rigid thought with little grace. Thus, your passion is indispensable.

To recap a little, I spent this past week primarily learning about Mosaic’s core values and volunteering in a few service works projects. There is a nuance to the way they’ve enumerated their core values. For starters, one of their main core values is: relevance to culture is mandatory not optional. Compared to a traditional church, this value allows fluidity. Fluidity is paramount to success because we are living in a time where pluralism permeates our culture, mandating an ability to address and answer a myriad of issues.

Further, the pervasive idea underpinning their entire movement can be expressed as: sometimes there is a need to rehabilitate and sometimes there is a need to re-invent; now is the time to re-invent Christianity (albeit while staying doctrinally sound). McManus encapsulates this idea with the statement, “The number one enemy to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity.” This statement from McManus’s book, The Barbarian Way, epitomizes the fervency of Mosaic’s desire to re-invent Christianity. And, to tell you the truth, standing alongside of them in this attempt is an awesome thing.

This Broken Heart of a Traitor

the beginning...

The idea of betrayal is not a new idea. During all periods of history, you can probably name one or two infamous figures that qualify to wear the moniker "traitor." There is such seething venom and hatred towards theses individuals that people spit upon saying their name - from Brutus to Judas to Benedict Arnold. If you pontificate long enough, you start to wonder how these people ended up where they did, making the decisions that condemned them to infamy throughout history. Following these thoughts is usually a self-analysis where you decide that you would never make the same choices - is this true? On such a large scale, probably, but think about all the times you betrayed your own heart, betrayed the heart of another, betrayed your family, ambitions, morals, ideals, etc... The answer to that question is an unequivocally condemning affirmative.

So now think, just because history does not know your name DOES NOT mean you are off the hook...

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this is the first post in a series of posts on this topic