Are You a Peacemaker?

“A much neglected aspect of the mission of Jesus according to Luke is that of peace-making, of nonviolent resistance to evil, of the futility and self-destructive nature of hatred and vengeance.”  (Transforming Mission by David J. Bosch - Page 118)

“God blesses those who work for peace for they will be called the children of God”.

 (Matthew 5:9 - New Living Translation)

Those who work for peace are people who accurately reflect the character and nature of God.  Being a peacemaker is restoring “Shalom”.  It is restoring wholeness, completeness, or soundness.

I think there are three possible ways of being: 

1.      I can be a peacekeeper.  Peacekeepers are appeasers.  They just want everyone to get along.  Let’s just keep quiet about anything controversial and let’s just keep everyone happy.  Peacekeepers don’t talk about what they really feel or think.  Peacekeepers protect themselves by not risking. 

(Unfortunately I’ve come to realize that I’ve lived most of my life as a peacekeeper.)

2.      I can be a troublemaker.  Troublemakers demand that things be done their way.  Troublemakers think they are right and everyone else is wrong.  Troublemakers don’t care if people get hurt or what kind of damage they leave behind.  Troublemakers protect themselves and there way by attacking.

3.      I can be a peacemaker.  Peacemakers work to create conditions for peace. 

a.       Peacemakers speak the truth in love.  They “say what is so” for them.  They speak out against injustice and oppression.  (Ephesians 4:15)

b.      Peacemakers forgive and offer grace to others.  Peacekeepers don’t hold grudges, or have deep seated resentments.  (Ephesians 4: 31-320

c.       Peacemakers initiate reconciliation.  Peacemakers don’t wait for someone else or something else.  (Matthew 5:23-24 and 2 Corinthians 5:18-21)

d.      Peacemakers don’t retaliate or seek revenge.  Peacemakers remain calm. (Matthew 5: 38-42)

e.       Peacemakers take action against injustice and oppression.  Sometimes in order to be a peacemaker a person appears to be a troublemaker.  Jesus modeled this when he cleared the temple. (Matthew 10:34)  I think those involved in the civil rights movement modeled this as well.

Peacemakers don’t protect themselves.  They are courageous risk-takers. 

Peacemakers take a stand against “non-peace” and help to restore wholeness.  Some define sin as “shalom” breaking.  Anywhere or anytime wholeness or completeness is broken it is sin.  I think it’s possible to be a really “nice” peacekeeper and to be sinning by allowing brokenness to remain. 

Becoming a peacemaker requires courage, intentionality, & perseverance.  If you decide to become a peacemaker you will have to fight for it in your own life.

“Those how are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of justice/righteousness.”
James 3:18

The Wellspring Community

Wellspring is a safe community for people who are spiritual but not religious. We don’t judge, condemn, or use the Bible as a weapon. We don’t have a long list of rules. Questions are normal and we embrace the mystery of God. We believe that God is beyond our ability to completely grasp or comprehend and so we hold our beliefs both humbly and loosely. We don’t require certainty or that everything resolve. Any person is welcome to belong in our community without having to agree with our beliefs. We don’t tell anyone what to think rather we help people discover for themselves. We value diversity and dialogue. We are a community of spiritual seekers.

The people of the Wellspring community practice following Jesus as a way of life more than as a system of belief. We believe that following the way of Jesus is a better way to live in the here and now not just in the hereafter. We believe that we are called and sent to represent God’s dream for the world. We believe that it’s our task to create foretastes of God’s kingdom here on earth. We seek authenticity and transparency. We seek to love unconditionally and to include the excluded. For us being loving is more important than being right in our beliefs. We work to extend mercy and compassion to those in need without making them our projects. We strive to recognize injustice and oppression and to work to make certain that every person gets treated rightly and fairly.

Wellspring communities are not organized institutions. We work to limit any hierarchy. We don’t have our own building and we don’t offer programs. We don’t struggle for power, control or authority. We avoid using religious jargon or cliché’s as much as possible. We aren’t “churchy”. We are real, we are honest and our gatherings are casual.

At Wellspring we are gaining freedom by closing the gaps between our beliefs & values and our actual behavior. We are seeking to identify and gain healing in our places of habitual brokenness. We are moving toward restored wholeness in six dimensions of life; spiritual, physical, psychological, economic, political, and social.

The community of Wellspring in Tomball gathers every Sunday at 4:00 P.M. at Main
Street Crossing for some music and discussion. Main Street Crossing is located at 111 West Main Street just before the railroad track and just under the Blues Brothers. The dress is very casual and no child care is provided. Our community is small and
informal.

We who make up the community called Wellspring believe that we are called to journey with people who are spiritual but not religious, joining with them in their movement toward faith & God. We hope to be a safe community where individuals can pursue God in a non-judgmental & non-threatening environment. We are seeking to follow the way of Jesus for the common good.

We believe that every person in every group asks the question; “will I be safe here?” Will I be accepted for who I am? Is this community safe enough to share what I really believe? Is it safe enough to express my doubts & fears? Is it safe enough to share my pain & my brokenness? Is it safe enough to disagree? We hope that you find, as we have, that this is a safe community. Our pledge is to keep it safe.

The Wellspring Community

Wellspring is a safe community for people who are spiritual but not religious.  We don’t judge, condemn, or use the Bible as a weapon.  We don’t have a long list of rules.  Questions are normal and we embrace the mystery of God.  We believe that God is beyond our ability to completely grasp or comprehend and so we hold our beliefs both humbly and loosely.  We don’t require certainty or that everything resolve.  Any person is welcome to belong in our community without having to agree with our beliefs.  We don’t tell anyone what to think rather we help people discover for themselves.  We value diversity and dialogue.  We are a community of spiritual seekers.

The people of the Wellspring community practice following Jesus as a way of life more than as a system of belief.  We believe that following the way of Jesus is a better way to live in the here and now not just in the hereafter.  We believe that we are called and sent to represent God’s dream for the world.  We believe that it’s our task to create foretastes of God’s kingdom here on earth.  We seek authenticity and transparency.  We seek to love unconditionally and to include the excluded.  For us being loving is more important than being right in our beliefs. We work to extend mercy and compassion to those in need without making them our projects.  We strive to recognize injustice and oppression and to work to make certain that every person gets treated rightly and fairly. 

Wellspring communities are not organized institutions.  We work to limit any hierarchy. We don’t have our own building and we don’t offer programs.  We don’t struggle for power, control or authority.  We avoid using religious jargon or cliché’s as much as possible.  We aren’t “churchy”.  We are real, we are honest and our gatherings are casual.

At Wellspring we are gaining freedom by closing the gaps between our beliefs & values and our actual behavior.  We are seeking to identify and gain healing in our places of habitual brokenness.  We are moving toward restored wholeness in six dimensions of life; spiritual, physical, psychological, economic, political, and social.

The community of Wellspring in Tomball gathers every Sunday at 4:00 P.M. at Main
Street Crossing for some music and discussion.  Main Street Crossing is located at 111 West Main Street just before the railroad track and just under the Blues Brothers.  The dress is very casual and no child care is provided.  Our community is small and
informal.

We who make up the community called Wellspring believe that we are called to journey with people who are spiritual but not religious, joining with them in their movement toward faith & God.  We hope to be a safe community where individuals can pursue God in a non-judgmental & non-threatening environment.  We are seeking to follow the way of Jesus for the common good.

We believe that every person in every group asks the question; “will I be safe here?”  Will I be accepted for who I am?  Is this community safe enough to share what I really believe?  Is it safe enough to express my doubts & fears?  Is it safe enough to share my pain & my brokenness?  Is it safe enough to disagree?  We hope that you find, as we have, that this is a safe community.  Our pledge is to keep it safe.

Chrisians Need to Repent!

The first message of Jesus was “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” The word repent means to change your thinking and then re-order your life based on the new thinking. It means to stop going in one direction and to turn and head in a new direction. The call of Jesus to “repent” was as much to the religious crowd as it was to the non-religious. I’ve come to believe that if Jesus were here in human form today his message would be the same. I think Jesus would be calling for Christians (especially those in the U.S.) to repent! He would be calling for us to repent of our attitudes and behaviors that are not consistent with his character and nature. He would call for us to re-align our lives according to his kingdom agenda rather than any other agenda.


There are a growing number of people that are giving up on church & Christianity. Most are not giving up on God or Jesus – just the church and the religion of Christianity. Many feel that Christianity (the organized religion) no longer reflects the spirit of the person it claims to follow. (Remember that Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion but a movement and a way of life.) Last week author Anne Rice announced that she’s quitting Christianity. Here’s what Anne said:

"For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian… It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

"My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist – lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become."

I hear what Anne is saying. I hear her heart and I can identify with her. I “get” why so many others are dropping out. If it weren’t for the wonderful group of authentic followers of Jesus that I journey with – I’m afraid I would be counted among the dropouts. As a result – I want to call Christians to repent! It’s time we reorder our lives and focus just as much attention on our “orthopraxy” (right living) as we do on our “orthodoxy” (right belief).

Here are seven things I believe Christians should repent of:

1. We need to repent of our insistence on keeping people busy, busy, busy, with church activities & services that might make for good church members but are not making good followers of the way of Jesus. We have become so focused on “church growth” or on maintaining our institutions that we’ve forgotten to ask “are we really making disciples.” It seems to me that Jesus was about simplifying people’s lives not making them more complex.

2. We need to repent of our religious legalism. We’ve created long lists of “do’s & don’ts” – all intended to help people get closer to God – but instead we’re keeping people from God. Instead of helping people find life – we’re known as those who suppress life. When Jesus said “my load is easy and my burden is light” I believe he was separating himself from the religious legalism of his day. For Jesus, connecting with God was much simpler than most Christians make it today.

3. We need to repent of our arrogant – know it all attitudes. In our need for certainty we’ve lost our humility and have forgotten the many mysteries of God. Even the great apostle Paul acknowledged that at best his understanding was “foggy.” We’ve convinced ourselves that our understanding of God and the Bible is totally flawless and that being “right” is more important than being “loving.”

4. We need to repent of our angry – often hate-filled, and mean-spirited ways. Jesus said that “blessed are the peacemakers”. Jesus told us to love our neighbors and our enemies. We’ve convinced ourselves that it’s o.k. to have so-called righteous indignation and that its o.k. to treat people unkindly. But that isn’t the way of Jesus.

5. We need to repent of our smug, condescending, judgmental, & critical spirits. Jesus said “don’t judge & you won’t be judged.” “Don’t condemn & you won’t be condemned.” “God is kind to the ungrateful & wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-37) Many seem to think they are better than everyone else – especially those who might have beliefs that are different than theirs. It’s interesting that we love to point out the sins of others but we fail to acknowledge the seriousness of our own sins.

6. We need to repent of tying Christ to one political party’s agenda & making monsters out of anyone who sees things differently than we do. Jesus came declaring that all of the kingdoms of the world are flawed and that people need to align their lives with God’s kingdom and his agenda. We need to spend more time seeking “God’s kingdom & his justice” (Matt. 6:33) and less time seeking a given parties kingdom and its ideas of justice.

7. We need to repent of our narrow view of the gospel. We need to go back to the scriptures and re-learn what the essential gospel message of Jesus was and is. I believe that we should develop our theology of the gospel through the lens of Jesus first – rather than through the lens of the apostle Paul. We should look forward from Jesus rather than back from Paul. “As we have used the tools of biblical scholarship carefully, we have begun to learn that the biblical message is more radical, more inclusive, more transforming than we have allowed it to be.” (Missional Church p. 5)

I’m sure there are many other things we Christians need to repent of – but these are the seven that are most on my mind today. As I think about these seven areas of repentance I acknowledge that I need to repent of all seven. I acknowledge that symptoms of these seven things continue to seep from my being despite my best efforts. I don’t have my act together and I don’t have things all figured out. My hope is that I will follow the way of Jesus more closely than I ever have before. My hope is that I will more accurately reflect the character and nature of God through the way I live. My hope is that I will welcome God’s kingdom agenda into my life more fully and that I will align my life more completely with that agenda.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it. (Matt. 7:13&14)

Why Are People Turned Off By the Christian Sub-Culture?

Many people are rejecting the Christian sub-culture today - but that doesn't necessary mean that they are rejecting Jesus.  What turns you off about the Christian sub-culture?  I'm putting my list together and will post it next week.  I would love to know what you think.

Answers to Tough Questions

A friend forwarded this link today. I really like Dallas Willard and think you will enjoy this dialogue.  http://mppc.org/toughquestions

The Nativity of Rachel Shuman

Rachel Lynne Shuman was born to Ken & Becky Shuman on September 2nd 1979. Rachel was born just a couple of weeks after Ken graduated from college. Ken had taken his first church job in Shreveport Louisiana and the Shuman’s were living in Shreveport. Becky was determined that her daughter would not be born in Louisiana so she continued seeing her doctor in Marshall Texas. Rachel was a little slow in coming so one Saturday evening Becky decided to drink some castor oil in an attempt to speed the process up. Well it worked – because just a short time later Becky went in to labor. Becky’s mom had been staying with the Shuman’s waiting to help with the new baby – so Ken loaded his pregnant wife, his mother-in-law, and himself into the Shuman’s Volkswagen bug for the thirty minute drive to Marshall. Needless to say it was a tight fit.
In the early morning hours of Sunday September second Rachel Lynne was born. When daddy saw his little girl for the first time his heart melted. Ken had tried to prepare himself for being a father but the overwhelming feelings he had when he first saw his daughter were even more powerful than he could have anticipated. Of course Rachel became the queen bee of the church, and she continued as queen bee in every other church the Shuman’s served in.

The Nativity of Becky Shuman

Rebecca Jean Brock was born to Rev. Morris and Evelyn Brock on August 8th in Durant Oklahoma. Rebecca is the fourth child of what eventually became seven children born to the Brock’s. Rev. and Mrs. Brock had seven children in eight and a half years! This was before the invention of television. Rebecca was born in Oklahoma but grew up in Missouri. Rebecca became known as Becky. Becky met Ken Shuman while they were students at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas.