Hi everyone! This blog has become an archive of my writing during the startup phase with Storyline Christian Community.
If you’re interested to follow where I’m writing now you can find all the links at www.charleskiser.com.
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Leader #1
Isaiah’s prophecies are popular because they address people who feel like they are living in the wilderness — a dry parched land where we wait for God to do something, to change things. And God does something indeed: he shows up in the wilderness with us, and something happens…
Listen to the message here.
I had a conversation with a mentor and teacher of mine – Monte Cox – a few years ago that keeps coming up in my mind.
Monte shared with me some teaching he had developed about the Holy Spirit and spiritual formation.
He likened spiritual formation in the Holy Spirit to sailing a boat.
Our role in spiritual formation is simply to raise the sails and catch the wind of the Spirit. The key question then is what does it look like to “raise the sails” and be carried along by the Spirit to become more like Jesus?
Monte shared five different ways to raise the sails, but one of them stuck out to me the most.
Every once in a while I become acutely aware that I am in sacred space. The ancient Celts called it “thin space” — where God’s world and our world come into contact and even merge.
My recent lunch meeting was one of those times.
I had the opportunity to share a meal with a friend who is a Black Christian pastor. I was most eager to talk with him about his perspective on recent events in our nation: the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philandro Castille, Black Lives Matter, and the shooting of five police officers in Dallas.
The truth is that I have long observed from the sidelines. I haven’t engaged the conversation because it hasn’t been urgent — because I haven’t been subjected to oppression. But it’s time to engage. I have so much to learn, so much to become aware of, so much growing to do.
The question that’s been rumbling deep in my soul the past couple months is: how do we — the church in Dallas, in all its diversity — enact the gospel of King Jesus?
In the Storyline 