Here are a few items from the week.
It was pure encouragement to meet with Dominic Berardino, long time president of Southern California Renewal Communities
http://scrc.org/. SCRC serves Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. SCRC has a big job interfacing with such a large archdiocese, hosting a huge gathering at the Anaheim Convention Center (2-4 September), resourcing nearly 60 Parish prayer groups, and much much more. This year is their 45th conference. Dominic is a kindred heart! He shares a profound love for the whole church, is a fresh thinker, and cares deeply for Jesus' ongoing ministry of deliverance in the church. There will be a whole track at the upcoming conference on this theme. Sounds great. Dominic has also weathered different seasons in the church and in culture with grace and fidelity. Guys like this inspire me.
Our family said goodbyes to the Flys on Tuesday night. I remember the day they first showed up at Trinity. They lived in Long Beach at the time, but looked on the Alpha website
http://alphausa.org/ for churches that run the Alpha Course. They figured if a church runs an Alpha Course, it's probably the kind of church they would want to join. Caroline was the table leader at Holy Trinity Brompton's Alpha Course, and Jonathan went on the course. They couldn't date until the course was ended, since Caroline was the table leader, but I think I remember they started the day after the course ended. They can correct my memory in the comment section! I'm glad we were on that Alpha website! What a joy it has been to share some life with the Flys. We will miss them dearly, but some Christian community around San Antonio is going to be blessed by their arrival!This last Sunday, Peter and Samuel and I went to Vintage Church in Santa Monica. I have been wanting to go their for a long time. They are doing what I want to do some day--multiplying!
http://www.vintagechurchla.com/I love their description of why they chose the name 'Vintage' from their website:
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Our name does mean something to us. It doesn’t mean that we wear Vintage clothing (though some do) or we are a church just for over 60s (though some of our beloved family are over 60)! We are called Vintage Church because:
a. In Christ. Vintage brings to mind a vineyard, and our primary identity as a community is to abide in the vine, that is Christ. He is our life, our vision, our hope and the focus of our worship and devotion.
b. Historicity. Vintage is intentionally rooted in the past. To be Vintage is not to be new. And neither is Christianity. We aren’t the next new thing. We don’t feel the need to innovate on the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ. Our desire is to be a church rooted in historical New Testament Christianity. We preach the same message that Jesus died for and commissioned the apostles to preach some two thousand years ago. We just seek to communicate this Vintage message in a way that is contextualized to our culture and that engages the culture in a relevant way.
c. Mature. As a vintage wine ages its flavors blossom, mature and reach their potential. So it is with the church. We are not perfect (by any means!), and yet we believe in an exciting future for the church. We believe God has created his church to be the hope of the world, and that he is building and maturing his church into the pure and spotless bride of Christ to be the means of his in-breaking kingdom in our city and world.
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Mike Pilavachi had been preaching at Southlands Church in Brea (another favorite church and pastor of mine--Alan Frow), and I was unable to go this year, so imagine my happy surprise when I walked in and saw Mike sitting in the front row. I told the boys, "You might hear one of the best and funniest sermons you've ever heard this morning." Sure enough, no falling asleep for us. Peter and Sam both said, "That was the best sermon." Ouch. You would probably enjoy listening too. The Vintage Church podcast has lots of gems from Danielle Strickland, Todd Hunter, Pete Greig, Todd Proctor, and off course their excellent pastor, Ger Jones.
http://www.vintagechurchla.com/podcastVintage was hospitable and expecting guests. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted 5 times by the parking lot attendant, sidewalk gatherers, doorway, narthex, those sitting close to us. Worship was simple, passionate, reverent, beautiful. There was ample time for the message, followed by a call for personal ministry, with a few words of knowledge calling for the healing of specific needs. There was nothing weird in the way they ministered prophetically. I would have felt comfortable having invited a skeptical friend. There were simple liturgical responses throughout the service that anchored their gathering to the historic church. Listening to their podcast reveals that their liturgy surrounding the celebration of the Lord's Supper is a solid Anglican rite. It is good news for the future that their tribe is increasing! May it continue!
My health? Still waiting for the MRI results. I have been taking my medication, and not noticing much difference in how I feel.
Jesus' peace, Nathan
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