Running around, singing “This is Halloween, this is Halloween” as I clean and pack. [Fri]

“What did you do to your face?” It’s a piercing Mr. Greeter Man. Thanks for welcoming me to church on Christmas Eve; it’s nice to see you too! [Sat]

Opening gifts at my grandparent’s - I just unwrapped a bottle of flea shampoo. Hmm, either I’m getting a puppy or ... [Sun]

When asked where they’d like to go for lunch, my sisters responded. “Can we get salad? We never have fresh vegetables.”  =/ [Mon]

 I think I just ate a battered fried moth. Oh, and my failed attempt to make churros saved others from consuming my new delicacy. [Tues]

“Before social media, we didn’t think to keep a moment-by-moment breakdown of our days and to broadcast this to the world. Before social media, we would not have cared to read it. Yet today many of us update our Facebook status and Twitter streams with near-religious fervor, almost as if we have not actually experienced anything until we’ve told others about it … what we haven’t shared with the world seems like it has hardly been experienced at all” (pp. 70-71)

Sadly, I have been neglecting my blog. As I was discussing how I kept putting off uploading blog posts (they are half written saved in Word docs on my computer, I'm just lazy), someone asked me what I blog about.

Good question. Why do I blog? What exactly is this blog about? Why does it matter if I update it?

As I was pondering these questions, I was reading Windows to the Soul by Ken Gire. [Which is excellent and thought provoking, you should read it!] In his introduction to the book, Gire explains that windows are moments where we experience an intimacy with God.

At some of these windows, what we see offers simply a moment of insight, making us slower to judge and quicker to show understanding. At a few of them, what we see offers a word spoken to the very depths of who we are. It may be a word to rouse us from sleep and ready us for our journey. It may be a word to warn us of a precipice or guide us to a place of rest. It may be a word telling us who we are and why we are here and what is required of us at this particular juncture of the journey.... windows to the soul is where we hear those words  and where the journey begins." (11-12).

Well said. Gire continues to share some of the categories of windows in his own life: vocation, stories, art, wilderness, poetry, movies, memory, dreams, writing, scripture, humanity, tears, depression, nature....

While I could not seem to articulate why I blog when inquired, Gire seems to give an explanation that I feel comfortable borrowing and adopting as my own. I blog to share glimpses of those windows in my own life, to share where I see God and how those moments of revelation impact my own journey.


It has been a month since I have updated, and there have been many windows. I have some entries saved and stored, and others unwritten... but first, I want to pause and share a few insights from the windows mentioned in the book. Hopefully, they will provide some insight into my life at the moment and inspire whoever reads these to pause and look through their own windows.

"Our Christian habit is to bewail the world's deteriorating standards with an air of rather self-righteous dismay... "The world is going down the drain." we say with a shrug. But whose fault is it? Who is to blame? Let me put it like this. If the house is dark when night falls, there is no sense in blaming the house; that is what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is, "Where is the light?". Similarly, if the meat goes bad and becomes inedible, there is no sense in blaming the meat... the question to ask is, "Where is the salt?" Just so, if society deteriorates and its standards decline... there is no sense in blaming society; that is what happens when fallen men and women are left to themselves... the question to ask is "where is the church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society?" - John Stott, Issues Facing Christians Today, page 85.

You can learn much from a person by the books they recommend, and I plan on learning a lot through the book collection of the team here in Ibiza. Thus far, I have not been disappointed.

I just finished The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church by Alan Hirsch. It's a fantastic read, and I highly recommend it for anyone who is passionate about advancing the Gospel and expanding the Church.

In summary, the book examines what makes up the DNA of missional church movements throughout the course of history, focusing particularly on the early Church and the contemporary underground church in China. Incorporating a wealth of scripture and a number of academic disciplines, Hirsch concludes that there are six components of "Apostolic Genius":

1. Jesus is Lord
2. Disciple Making
3. Missional-Incarnational Impulse
4. Apostolic Environment
5. Organic Systems
6. Communitas (not community)

The theological belief that Jesus is Lord is the crux of the Church, and the other five factors are essential supporting elements. Rather than explain them all, I'm just going to encourage you to read the book and quickly reflect on what challenged me most.

In the chapter on Organic Systems, Hirsch references this quote from Neibuhr:

"there are essential differences between an institution and a movement: the one is conservative, the other progressive; the one is more or less passive yielding to influences from the outside, the other is active in influencing rather than being influenced; the one looks to the past, the other to the future. In addition the one is anxious, the other is prepared to take risks; the one guards boundaries, the other crosses [boundaries]." (190)

There is a fine line between the Church being a religious institution and being an authentic movement- the Body of Christ in this world. Discerning the distinction raises many questions. For instance,  Am I working for the expansion of an institution that contains doctrines regarding the Holy Spirit or am I working toward the advancement of the Gospel by yielding to and seeking the movement of the Holy Spirit?

In his conclusion,  Hirsch explains how the Church is returning to Apostolic Genius by incorporating lessons learned from a wide range expressions of the Christian faith. His last paragraph recognizes that the Pentecostal church has yet to truly embrace the Emerging Missional Church because its structure and systems are still reaping the success of the church growth models and methods (271). He suggests that the Emerging Missional Church is missing is the spark of the Pentecostal movement's passion for the work of Holy Spirit. While this sentiment is only briefly explored at the conclusion of the book, I find it extremely interesting as I'm also praying that the charismatic church will find its place as a catalyst in the Emerging Missional Church.

Pentecostalism is the fastest growing religion in the world, especially in unchurched regions. This is the question though: is Pentecostalism concerned primarily with expanding Pentecostalism or primarily with advancing the Gospel?  I personally know a number of Pentecostal/Charismatic missionaries whose only goal is to follow Jesus and do His work. The concern doesn't lie in the examination of the heart of individuals, but rather in the heart of the Church as a whole. Are missionaries and ministries too tied to organizations and jumping through too many bureaucratic hoops to follow and serve Jesus freely?

Of course accountability and structure are key, but has organization moved us toward following the ways of our respective institutions instead of being a fluid movement that follows the Way of Christ?