Interview Update

Charles Kiser —  December 19, 2007 — 3 Comments

I just wanted to share the results of our interview today with Apartment Life (see the post below entitled “Apartment Life” for some context).

In short, the interview went incredibly well. We instantly connected with Jeff, our interviewer. I think we allayed his concerns about our vocational stability (given we’re starting a new church) and religious heritage (we exploded his stereotypes about COC people—then again, we’re not really your average COC people).

At the end of the interview he was very clear that he wanted us to serve as a CARES Team. It was good news and very affirming.

We’re not completely in the clear, however. We have to put the rest of our placement process in God’s hands. While we’ve been “approved” as a potential team, the timing of our placement will depend on the availability of an apartment consistent with our moving timeline.

It will depend on two things: Apartment Life receiving a request from an apartment community in Uptown for a CARES team; and that apartment community desiring the team to move in quickly (i.e., February 2008).

There’s a chance that Apartment Life will get an offer, but the apartment community will not want to start until March (or June, or August).

We want you to join us in prayer that God will confirm his leading by making this transition as seamless as possible—that we’ll be able to move into a community as close to the beginning of February as possible. And if it isn’t seamless, may God will give us wisdom and discernment as to what the interim period will look like.

Thanks for your continued prayers, love and support.

In Uncategorized
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Circle of Hope

Charles Kiser —  December 17, 2007 — 2 Comments

One of the most frequent questions I get about our church planting project is, “What will it look like?” Church for the next generation will certainly take different shapes and forms than that of existing established churches.

My first answer is almost always, “To be honest, we’re trying to be good missionaries, so we have to begin by saying, ‘We’re not completely sure yet.’ We’ll know more as we know more about Uptown and the kind of people that live in its vicinity.”

Circle of Hope

My second thought is to point to recently-started churches that look and function in ways I imagine the new church we’ll start will look and function. We won’t cut and paste any one model, but it is invigorating to see churches with the kind of DNA we dream of allowing God to infuse into what we do.

One such church is Circle of Hope in Philadelphia, PA. My friends Robert and Ruth are a part of this church. It’s an urban church that meets all over greater Philadelphia. They’re geared for the next generation—young adults ages 18-35. They are passionately involved in social justice. They are organically structured by smaller communities of faith. I love what they’re doing. Check them out and tell me what you like (or don’t like): http://www.circleofhope.net.

 

In Church Planting, Mission, Models
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Whirlwind

Charles Kiser —  December 12, 2007 — Leave a comment

The last couple weeks have been exactly that: a whirlwind. I’ve just gotten over lying on my back for four days straight with sickness. It’s good to be alive again. It’s also good to be a Cowboys fan.

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I helped move the Porches into Uptown Dallas yesterday. They have a great place with a great view. It will be perfect for throwing parties for the lost. I’m particularly excited about times of prayer with them on the patio that overlooks Uptown’s West Village. One more thing: Ryan Porche is such a good man. Let’s just say that practically no part of their moving experience went according to his well-conceived plan (not for any fault of his own). He remained gracious and calm in his interactions with people through it all.

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The Porches’ move makes me think of points of prayer for the transition that has already begun. Please join us in praying that:

  • The Porches will continue to transition smoothly into their new home
  • They’ll make significant first impressions with their new neighbors
  • The Kisers will find a great housing option and be able to move in the first week of February
  • God would stir in the hearts of the lost and broken we’ll come into contact with
  • God would continue his work of spiritual formation in our own hearts
  • God would raise up partners in the gospel to join us in starting the new church
  • God would continue to put resource people in our path to teach us about Dallas
  • God would provide financially for our remaining project costs

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Here’s the picture that’s on my desktop currently. It’s one of my favorite pictures of Ryan. You can read the story behind it on Julie’s blog.

Ryan Thomas

In Family, Prayer
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Marvelous Light

Charles Kiser —  December 11, 2007 — 1 Comment

I thought I’d share a testimony from a Christ Journey friend whose life was impacted by the Marvelous Light retreat on November 16-17. It just reminds me why I do what I do (by the power of Almighty God, of course).

Once upon a time I was me. It seemed like a long time ago, but praise to God, I am new today. I went to a retreat a few weeks ago hoping for a change. I say hoping because that is what I was doing, hoping. Not praying. I knew that others had come through it and they had been changed and I wanted change too. Anyway, I wanted to be made whole again so that I could see Gods miracles and blessings in my life. I knew that I was being held back because of things that I continued to hang onto in my magical backpack that no one but me and God knew was there. I would say they were gone, but they weren’t. They were just pushed deeper so I could keep on pretending. God knew though. He knew that He had blessings waiting for me and He stood there, arms crossed, toe tapping, eyes rolling saying, “C’mon, quit talking and start doing. I have a bagful of blessings piling up here…” Can you see Him? He is probably doing it to you too.

During our retreat, we heard about the things in the dark that we do and hold onto that keep us out of the light, (hence the name Marvelous Light). We heard about bondage and things of the occult, (which is more than you would have thought). We heard about legalism and idolatry. Most of all we heard about forgiveness. One of my dear friends and I have talked a lot about that in the past. She is very wise. She had given me some of her story but at the retreat, she gave all of it. When she talked about her story in full, it filled in the rest of the blanks for me and I got it. I understood all that she had said to me and more. She helped a lot of people that weekend.

At that moment I realized that the biggest thing holding me back from receiving the full blessings of God was the spirit of unforgiveness. I realized that I said I forgave but I just called it something else. I pointed fingers at other things. “Well, they made the bad decisions, they are not humble, they sure do have issues!” In reality, all those things are true, but because of my unforgiveness, I harbored anger and resentment. Those two things alone are enough to drive you insane when your mind starts thinking about it. Your stomach starts to boil, your blood starts to rush, your head feels heavy and before you know it you are taking it out on everyone around you who loves you. Then the ball starts rolling, they take it out on the people around them and around them and around them…. No wonder there are so many angry people.

But for me, NO MORE. I refuse to let Satan take my joy away anymore. I refuse to let Satan take my blessings away anymore. I know that I was changed at the retreat because I had an opportunity this weekend to let the anger retake control. I did not do it. I was faced with the one thing that would get me seething mad and I did not bite. Instead, I chose to remain calm. My stomach did not start to boil, my blood did not start to rush, my head did not feel heavy. I was completely and irrefutably unaffected. Even when I realized nothing was happening, I still was unaffected. Even when the discussion heated, I still remained calm. At that moment, I knew that my prayers at that retreat with the 2 other women in my triad were heard and delivered upon. I knew that that burden in my magical backpack was gone. I knew that God had answered my call to take them away from me. Wow, what a freedom I have received! I have been blessed beyond measure since then.

In Marvelous Light, Spiritual Formation
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Church Planting Study

Charles Kiser —  November 30, 2007 — 2 Comments

I ran across a new U.S. church planting study earlier this week by Leadership Network. The findings were startling.

When I first began to pursue church planting, I was warned by others that 80-90% of all new churches fail.

Leadership Network, however, found that 4,000 new churches are planted every year (compared to 1,500 in the 1900s). 68% of them are still around (and many thriving) after four years of existence. That’s a quite different state of reality than that envisioned by the statistics first relayed to me.

Most affirming was the article’s observation that church planting is no longer a “consolation prize” for church leaders. It’s not something a minister does after he fails at other ministry positions. Rather, many of the best and brightest are transitioning from established church ministry to the task of starting new churches—which is good because I’m going to need their help!

All of this is good news for the kingdom of God.

To see the full article, click HERE.

In Church Planting, Mission
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