Change of Address

The Dau House is dividing to conquer to interwebs! Just kidding...

But seriously,

We are embarking on new blog journeys that will be more specifically themed.

Ben's new blog.

Amy's new blog.

Check us out!

Big Changes

Well friends, I have some very good news to announce. As of January 1, 2012 I will be assuming the lead pastor position at Vineyard Community Church! This is a very exciting transition for us as a family. Amy will continue to work at IHOPE full-time and I will continue on there about 17 hours per week.

My primary duties will include: prayer, vision casting, messaging (Sunday morning sermons and weekly bible studies) and leadership development. I start my new schedule this week and I am terribly excited to spend the month of December preparing for the New Year.

This has been in the works for the last couple of months, but has only recently been revealed to our congregation. It is my hope that this will breathe new life into our church and re-ignite a passion for Jesus and the work of the Kingdom. I am thankful for friends like you that get to come along with us in this journey.

Justice (Ablaze Message)

These are my (Amy's) sermon notes that I taught from at our IHOPE Ablaze service.

Justice

Defining “Justice”: Making wrong things right.

The issue of justice in the world is very popular today. Terms like “social justice” “social equality” and “equal rights” are seen frequently in the news concerning a variety of situations in our state, nation, and around the world. Everyone has an opinion about what “justice” really is- essentially, what they think is right and fair, or unjust and unfair.

Justice and Judgment

For justice to be brought about, there has to first be a determination of what is right and wrong- a judgment has to be made. To “judge” something is simply to make an evaluation.

To judge something is to make an evaluation. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that the way we evaluate others is the way is an invitation for others to evaluate us in the same way. If we are critical of others and make harsh or snap judgments, others will likely judge us in the same manner. (Matthew 7:1-5).

Jesus’ instruction about judgment is not to stop evaluating, but to evaluate rightly by looking beneath the surface issue. “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” John 7:24

Humanity’s Impaired Judgment (Genesis 3:1-5)

After the fall, humanity became more concerned with “being right” than “knowing God”. We were deceived by the enemy into thinking that we have the ability or perspective to determine what is good or evil apart from God.

The result of this deception is that humanity is now prone to fit God into our way of thinking instead of letting who God is shape the way we think.

Getting to know Jesus, the Judge

We know biblically that Jesus’ second coming is going to look very different from his first coming. If we do not acknowledge these differences, we risk being offended at God or worse, not recognizing Him when He returns. These are the foundational purposes of the 1st and 2nd comings of Jesus:

1. Jesus first coming to the earth was to make a humble appeal to humanity by revealing who God is, performing acts of compassion, and atoning for our our sin on the cross. Jesus the suffering Servant.

2. Jesus, second, final, and permanent return to earth will be to display His glory, achieve justice for His people, and establish the kingdom of heaven on earth forever. Jesus the conquering King.

Revelation 19:11-16 is a clear picture of Jesus at His second coming. The intensity that Bible describes Jesus having at His 2nd coming is shocking in comparison to His first coming! Where is the vulnerable baby in a manger that humanity met 2,000 years ago? We must know the heart behind this intense appearance to make right evaluation of who He is. We must not judge “by mere appearances.”

The Heart of the Judge

When God revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai, this is how He describes Himself:

“The LORD, the LORD, to compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6-7.

“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exodus 34:14

“Jealousy” implies ownership. We must remember that God is Sovereign (he rules over all). His ownership of us is expressed in 2 main ways:

1. God made us. He fashioned our very beings- body, soul, and spirit.

Genesis 1 & 2; Psalm 139; Acts 17:24-28

2. God purchased us back from the grip of satan with the blood of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Revelation 5:9

God is jealous for our affection (and all of us!), it rightly belongs to Him- because He has given humanity His full affection. This has 2 main implications:

1. God will not “share” us with anything less that Himself because we were made for Him- to share close relationship with Him. This means He is opposed to false idols in our life.

2. God will not forever tolerate satan, demons, and people under their influence to abuse His people. There will be a day of reckoning when He fights for His people.

Partnering with the Judge

1. We trust that Jesus will fight for us. This gives us freedom to forgive others quickly.

2. We immediately bring sin issues to Jesus whenever they arise, knowing that He has made atonement for our sin. This gives us freedom to forgive ourselves quickly.

3. We trust Jesus in the process of our sanctification. We trust that because He is opposed to our sin, He will cleanse us and bring to completion the good work that he has begun. (Philippians 1:6)

4. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us know Jesus rightly and prepare us for the return of Jesus.

5. We ask Jesus what is on His heart so we can intercede with Him and receive strategy to bring about His Kingdom on the earth.

House of Prayer Job Description

Sometimes it is difficult to describe to other people what it means to be an "intercessory missionary" at the House of Prayer. A few months ago, I (Amy) felt like the Lord spoke to my heart about how to explain this concept more clearly. I felt like the Lord said "You are a Levite". So I started doing some research in the Bible. The following is a concise explanation from what I gathered biblically.

I hope this clarifies things a bit and blesses you!

Modern Day Levites

The calling of an intercessory missionary is similar to the tribe of Levi in biblical times. We sometimes refer to this lifestyle as one of the “Modern Day Levite.” Below are the main tenets of how the “old” way of the Levite plays out presently in our daily lives.

-The Levites were a small portion of the population.

The Levites were descendants of Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The Levites are one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The members of the other eleven tribes of Israel had many functions, some were farmers, government officials, or marketplace workers. Today, we still recognize the importance of different people serving in different functions to make up the complete body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12).

-The Levites ministered unto God.

“At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name...” Deuteronomy 10:8

The Levites were called to carry the ark (which was at that time the dwelling place of God), oversee the temple activities, and minister unto God. Today, through the place of prayer and worship, we are the very companions of God, standing in His council, and partnering in intercession with Jesus, our Great and Living Intercessor.

“Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” Hebrews 7:25

-The Levites ministered unto the people of God.

“They (the Levites) are to perform duties...for the whole community at The Tent of Meeting...” Num. 3:7

As the tribe of priests, overseeing the functions of the temple allowed the Levites significant interaction with the people of Israel as they offered sacrifices to God on their behalf. In our day, Jesus is our mediator and we have no need of animal sacrifices. Yet, we are seeing an increased hunger among people for the things of God, to see the power of God at work in their lives and in the world around them. We desire to be vessels of the message, heart, and power of God in our day. In practical terms, this looks like proclaiming, singing, and writing about the Word of God and ministering through counsel and prayer to those whom we meet at IHOPE and our community.

“If they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.” Jeremiah 23:22

-The Levites lived primarily from the offerings of the people.

“The priests, who are Levites- indeed the whole tribe of Levi- are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the offerings made to the Lord by fire, for that is their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as He promised them.” Deut. 18:1-2

Like the Levites of the Old Testament and Christians of today, we believe that the Lord is our greatest reward and ultimate inheritance- even as we are His! We do not seek to store up treasure on this earth, but to live simply, honorably, and generously with the finances and possessions we are entrusted with in this age.

Other biblical examples of this “fasted” lifestyle are found in Anna (Luke 2:36-37), Simeon (Luke 2:25), and Mary of Bethany (Luke 10:39-42 and Matthew 26:6-13).

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Not very well, actually.

We had some success with our summer harvest this year. We ate some tomatoes, a few green beans, cucumbers, and our onions did very well.

But there were many sad moments. Mostly due to squinnies (which most other people call "ground squirrels"). They burrowed under our fence and ate all of our snap peas and most of our beans. We made the fatal mistake of not planting any marigolds this year (which deter the critters).

Today, we gutted the whole thing- took down the weed infested chicken wire fence and ripped everything out. Next steps...till it up and construct one raised bed for winter harvest. At spring, put up new fence and build the rest of the raised beds.

HOWEVER, we are very enthusiastic about this fall and spring's planting. We are going to build raised beds and use the square foot gardening techniques that Ben has researched and know about for years but have not yet implemented. We are going to keep things simple and plant what we like to eat.

Here are our goals for our new garden:

To make dill pickles (which we did last year but not this year)

To freeze bags of pesto (same story as above)

To try strawberries and potatoes for the first time

Prune our tomato plants to one stalk each

Use raised beds for the majority of our space

Plant marigolds

Make our garden a more aesthetic place to be :)

Plan for next season's garden. This fall we plan to plant garlic and spinach in the bottom left bed.

Gutted. Ready to be tilled.

Another view. We are blessed to garden in the back yard of some of our most beloved friends. Thanks Bakers! (And Grace Baptist Church)

Vineyard Coffeehouse

The Wartburg school year has finally begun and that means that Friday night CoffeeHouse has started up!

On Friday nights at the Vineyard (when Wartburg is in session), we host an evening of free live music, homemade desserts, and yummy warm drinks for the college students at Wartburg. Coffeehouse is a time for students to get off campus for awhile and spend time with friends relaxing, listening to music, and playing games. Coffeehouse has been an opportunity for Ben and I to connect with many Wartburg students.

A few days before coffeehouse began, we hosted a "mock" coffeehouse for freshman orientation groups to check out. Below are some pics from that day. Ben talked with the students about coffeehouse and Amy provided the music for the day.

Final Exit: Testimonies and Stories

This is a story that was told to us by one of the cast members named Anniesha:

Anniesha had a friend "Amber" who came through Final Exit and was extremely moved. However, instead of talking to someone in the Evangelism room after going through the production Amber went straight home and flushed $800 worth of drugs down her toilet. She also dumped out all of the alcohol in her house. After this she gave her life to the Lord and came to church the next day to share her testimony. Oh, and she also canceled the abortion that she had scheduled for the following week.

Despite its brevity, this story really struck me (Ben) when I heard it. That God could use something as small as Final Exit to produce this sort of change in someone's life was astounding. It drove home the point that it isn't us, but God's Holy Spirit that changes lives. This girl didn't talk to anyone about Jesus, she just knew what was the right thing to do. I think that is absolutely amazing.

A friend of ours, Amanda, brought some of the kids she works with through Final Exit as well. One of the girls, I forget her name, was also very touched. Amanda has been staying with this girl and her family off and on for the last several months trying to keep the family together as the mom has been in and out of prison. In any case, this girl was also very touched and spoke about her experience with her brothers and sisters. Though they didn't come through Final Exit, her two brothers gave their lives to the Lord and were baptized one Sunday at Heartland Vineyard. Some friends of mine were there that Sunday and witnessed the event. It was really cool. What makes this story even better is that one of the brothers was a gang leader in Waterloo. How cool is that?!

After the last night of Final Exit, we counted the cards that people fill out if they are choosing to give their lives to the Jesus for the first time or are choosing to rededicate themselves to following God after having drifted away. 430 people had filled out cards. What that means to me is that 430 people have decided that Jesus is worth looking into after having gone through Final Exit. That is really exciting to me. And the truth is, the number is probably much higher than that if Anneisha's story is any indication. My prayer now is that those people will find a healthy and vibrant church where they can get plugged in, healed up and discipled. Please be praying for them in these next few days.

I am sure that Amy and I will come up with more stories as time goes on, but those were the highlights that I can remember now. Thanks for reading!

Serving at Final Exit

We have been busy this month participating in a city wide evangelistic outreach in Waterloo, IA. The outreach is a dramatic production called Final Exit.

This is a picture of Ben and our friend Emily praying outside of the evangelism room at Final Exit. The production is advertised as "11 scenes of extreme reality" and is not advertised in any way as a "Christian" Event. Final Exit is certainly meant to draw and attract those who would not typically go to a church event- many people think Final Exit is a haunted house.

The production follows the life of "Kim", the main character, who has a very extreme life. The scenes walk through a party scene, family violence, a drunk driving car accident, and others. The production ends with a graphic presentation of Jesus on the cross and the Gospel presentation. Every person who comes through final exits meets one-on-one with with an evangelism team member who goes through a short survey with them, ministers to, and prays for them. This is where Amy has been serving at Final Exit.

Ben has been serving on the Intercessory team and also played the role of Jesus a few times. Tonight is the last night and Ben will be playing Jesus tonight. I am going to post a couple of remarkable testimonies soon!

The Response Aug. 6

Hello everyone, I just wanted to make you all aware of something that is happening this Saturday, Aug. 6. It is called "The Response" and you can find all of their information here.

The Response is a call from Governor Perry of Texas to come together in prayer and fasting for our country. The problems we face: the deterioration of the family, the abortion epidemic, terrorism and financial crisis all stem from a single root cause - this nation has walked away from God. We don't have the power, ability, wisdom or resources to fix things on our own. So we are gathering together to make an appeal to God. We are gathering together to fast and pray, to repent of our hard-heartedness and to ask for mercy. In the words of the Prophet Joel, "Who knows? Perhaps God will relent and leave behind a blessing?"

We are gathering together at IHOPE this Saturday from 10-5 to join with others in our nation to confess our sins and the sins of our nation and to ask God for mercy and forgiveness. Please join us if it is at all possible.

Kingdom Leadership Part III

The focus of this post is to address the last of my 3 hypothetical objections and to share some closing thoughts. If you are just joining the conversation, please read the first two parts before this one. Links to them are in the side bar.

The objection that apostolic leadership has the potential for abuse is valid. We are all familiar with tyrants and dictators who use their power and control to benefit themselves and not their people. Does that necessarily mean that the system itself is bad, or is that more of a commentary on the sinfulness of human nature? But if this is a God-ordained model for leadership, and I believe it is, how do we ensure that everyone is going to live up to expectations and do things well, particularly the apostles and prophets?

The root issue that spawns the above question is fear. Fear that other people do not have our best interests in mind and that they will use their power and authority to hurt or control us. As a preemptive strike, we want to control them first. The problem is that God has not given us a spirit of "other-control," rather He has given us a spirit of "self-control." We can only control and master ourselves and our own reactions to the events around us. When we allow this understanding to take root and grow in us, and realize that this spirit of self-control has been given to all believers, we begin to live differently and see how God's system of government is designed to work.

As the Holy Spirit becomes more manifest in our lives we begin to take on His characteristics. We be come more loving, more kind and joyful. We embrace gentleness, meekness and humility. We begin to love others and to go out of our way to serve them and care for them. Or, as Paul said to the Galatians, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control." Those are the things that every believer should be growing into. We have to realize that we are no longer slaves, but sons.

Slaves need to be controlled. They have no love for their masters and must therefore be kept on task by force. They receive nothing in return for giving all of their time and energy to their master. They are not free and have no choices. But Christ has set us free! We are no longer slaves but sons of God! We have been given a new identity, a new role in the story. We do not serve a harsh task- master, but a loving and generous Father. We have been redeemed and are being renewed into His glorious image. How unfitting it is for us to live in fear-based modes of living, eating scraps off of the floor when we are children of the King!

Apostolic leadership is not like being in the army, where the superiors have complete and dominant control over their "inferiors." Apostolic leadership is not about being the "man of God" and ruling the church with an iron fist, imposing one's own will over the rest of the body. Quite the opposite! Apostles are the servants of all! They, like Jesus, become as the least, guiding and leading the church with compassion, gentleness and love. Yes, they have been gifted by God with certain gifts and abilities that allow God's Kingdom to come more fully in the earth, but they cannot do it alone! Being an apostle does not mean that church becomes a one man show.

Apostolic leadership is the empowerment of the Body. It is calling forth the gifts and abilities in other people, reminding them of who they are because of who God is and what He has done for them. It is equipping the saints, as Saint Paul puts it in Ephesians 4.

So, is it scary to have one man on top? Yes... if that man isn't Jesus. But if it is, then a whole new world opens up to us - we begin living in the Kingdom of God and enjoying all of its benefits. Not only do we see people healed physically and emotionally, we get to see lives transformed by the good news of the Gospel. All of our lives take on a greater meaning because we are living for something greater and more noble than ourselves. The goal of apostolic leadership is to get the Church to fix their gaze on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. And as we gaze upon Him, as we submit to Him and His work in our lives through the Holy Spirit, we become more like Him. And as we become more like Him we begin to do the things that He did and to say the things that He said, in essence we bring the will of God into reality in our lives and in our world. This is what Jesus taught us to pray, "May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Kingdom Leadership Part II

The main objections I hear when discussing apostolic leadership come down to three things: 1)disbelief in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, 2)the idea that the apostolic gifting "ran out" and is no longer in operation and 3) the potential for abuse having one person "at the head." I will do my best to present these in order and be fair to the opposing side.

1) Disbelief in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

There are several theological viewpoints that try to describe the work of the Holy Spirit (or lack there of) throughout Church history and in the present day, one of the most common being cessationism, or, the belief that the "miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit" ceased to function upon the canonizing of Scripture and the death of the last apostle.

The definition of "miraculous gifts" includes prophecy, apostleship, speaking in tongues, healing and miracles. The cessastionist viewpoint advocates the idea that these gifts only purpose was to jump start the church and that now proper study, interpretation and proclamation are all that is necessary to advance the Gospel. The cessationist viewpoint will allow for modern day miracles if they happen among a tribal people who have never before heard the Gospel message. Appealing to sola scriptura, the cessationist denies the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit because the Bible has been canonized, it is infallible and it perfectly sufficient to guide the Church until Christ returns.

I hope that does justice to the cessationist camp. I know many believers who belong to this group and they are good and godly people who serve the Lord faithfully. My primary objection to this viewpoint is that it is un-biblical.

Nowhere in the New Testament does Jesus, the Apostles or one of the other writers ever refer to the gifts of the Holy Spirit no longer functioning. I would imagine that would be an important thing to know if you were a Christian in the early church and would have caused great consternation if on Sunday you had laid hands on someone and they received their sight and then all of a sudden no one could heal any longer. I don't believe that the Holy Spirit has an on/off switch. If it is true that the gifts were going to cease to function in the church upon the death of John, wouldn't he have included that in one of his letters...

"Beloved children, just so you know, when I die, the Holy Spirit is going to become impotent. You will no longer be able to heal, hear from God to proclaim the good news of Jesus to those whose language you don't know. Be sure to gather all of my letters into one place for God is no longer going to speak to you. Good luck and study hard," from John's lost 4th letter to the church.

More to the point, what about all of the things that Jesus said those who believe in Him would be able to do? The great commission in Matthew 28 says that we should "[teach] them to obey all I have commanded you," so what is that? Obviously the 1st and 2nd commandment. But he also taught the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7) and commanded them to heal the sick and cast out demons (chapter 10). Then there is Mark's commissioning story which is even more direct, "These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons, they will speak in new tongues... they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well." We could argue that those things were only to be done by the first century believers, but then we would have to rule out the Great Commission as well, since it was only spoken to the Eleven. I don't believe we can take Scripture part and parcel. If the Great Commission is for all of us, and it is, then signs and wonders should accompany that proclamation.

Lastly, Jesus says in John 14 "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." I see no disclaimer here, no asterisk leading me to fine print that says "anyone who has faith in me (and lives in the first century and is named Peter, John or Paul) will do..."

Does this seem silly? I think so too, but this is what major theologians are doing to the Bible. By denying that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit are in operation today, they make Jesus into a liar. For Jesus said, "It is for your good (benefit) that I am going away." No Jesus, if the Holy Spirit isn't at work in our lives today, it would have been better for you to stick around. You would convince people far better than we would.

'But the Holy Spirit is in operation... just not in those ways,' someone may argue. This brings us to number 2.

2) The apostolic gifting (and other miraculous gifts) "ran out" and is no longer in operation.

This objection is just weird to me. How do certain gifts just run out? Is not God infinite and eternal? Or can we "tap out" His resources.

I am a little riled up, so I am not being quite as fair as I should be to the opposition. Part of how cessationists view the apostolic gifting is the ability to write Scripture. Therefore, with the canonizing of Scripture, they no longer see the need for apostles, since nothing is going to be added to the Bible. It makes sense, except that the ability to write inspired Scripture is nowhere in the definition of apostolic authority.

Many of the apostles did not write anything, or else it was poorly written and didn't make the cut. The only apostles to author a New Testament book were Peter, Paul, John and Matthew. Mark was not an apostle, nor was look. James and Jude were the Lord's brothers, but to by knowledge are not acknowledged as apostles. We don't know who wrote Hebrews, but it made it in there somehow. While the apostles were the church's governing authority and wrote a letter that they expected to be obeyed, I don't think they would have put that letter on part with Isaiah, the Torah or any of the other Old Testament writings. It was believers living after the apostle's deaths that decided what was inspired and worth keeping and what was garbage - the apostles did not.

If it were true that the miraculous gifts "ran out," how sad would that be? So the epitome of what it means to follow Christ is to learn Greek and Hebrew so that we can read and study better? No power? No excitement? What about Paul? "The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power." And clearly studying does not fulfill Jesus' desires, for Jesus prayed for His Church to be one. How many factions and denomination of Christianity now exist? We clearly are not one and have become increasingly less so as this idea of cessationism has taken root in our Christian mindset.

Friends, I would love to continue, but this is turning into a novel. I will discuss the third objection tomorrow. Thank you for your perseverance in reading this!

Kingdom Leadership

In making good on my promise earlier this week I wanted to write about leadership in the Kingdom of God. I think that we in the West have some unhelpful paradigms about what the Kingdom of God is, what it looks like and how it is run. I am going to throw out some very strong phrases and then do my best to back them up with a biblical response. Hold your breath, here we go.

1) The Kingdom of God is not a democracy. (I told you I was going to start strong...)

It is almost inconceivable in our Western American mindset that the Church could be run by anything other than a congregational vote. We have councils and committees that go through extended discussions and processes to come up with a couple good options for the congregation to vote upon. This is how the vast majority of churches are governed. It is a very good business model, it is a very poor understanding of the Kingdom of God.

The point of being a Kingdom is that we have a King. And not a figure head/bobble head like many monarchs are now in countries where royalty still exists, but an actual, legitimate, sovereign and powerful King. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the One who is entrusted with all authority, power and wisdom to rule justly and righteously and to govern as God's Anointed One. He has a plan and a purpose for His people that we can either align ourselves with, or not. But we don't get to vote on wether or not He should do plan A or plan B.

Similarly, God has established a form of government in His Church that models that of heaven. In the Book of Acts we see this in action in a number of ways.

In Acts 6 we see that when the needs of the greater church community expanded, certain men were commissioned by the apostles to attend to their needs. In Acts 15 we see that there was a council made up of apostles and elders that was the final governing authority over all of Christianity. Additionally, many of Paul's letters talk about "bishops" or "overseers" (See 1 Tim. 3) who were the governing authorities in the churches that Paul established. I wish to make two points about this.

One, God has instituted apostles to be the spiritual leaders over various places or groups of people. I believe that this gifting is still in effect today and that the hallmarks of an apostle are the same as they were in the bible, namely that they are called by God (Romans 1) to be with Jesus in the place of prayer (Mark 3 and Acts 6) and to preach the Kingdom of God (Matt. 10, Mark 6, Luke 9, Acts 2) accompanied by signs, wonders and miracles done with great perseverance (same chapters as previous and also Acts 3, 4, 5 and 14 and 2 Cor. 12). In essence, what I am saying is that God has specifically chosen certain individuals to be before Him in the place of prayer and to stand in His council (Jer. 23) and from that place to deliver God's words and direction to a group of people and that God will confirm those words through signs and wonders (Acts 14).

Two, wise counsel is a necessity and Jesus always sent His disciples out two by two (Mrk 6, Luke 10). So, even though God has established apostles to be the primary vision casters and carriers, there is room for group discernment and judgment. This either happens amongst a group of apostles where mutual submission occurs or in an environment where the apostle and various elders meet as equals in order to determine God's will in difficult circumstances. In either case, this group of leaders is responsible for discerning God's will and relaying that to the people, not offering it up for debate (Acts 15).

I realize that this understanding of church leadership is runs counter to everything we have been taught and raised to believe. There are also some significant objections to the above statements, namely the disagreement as to wether or not apostles still exist. I hope to address this in another post either later today or tomorrow. Thank you for reading.

"To the King and the Kingdom!"

I worked for a while as a janitor at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, IA for about a year and a half. One of the perks of working there was that they had a large church library and were always getting new books in and letting go of old ones. One day I happened upon a children's book, sitting alone on the giveaway cart. Being as it was my break time, I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to the staff lounge. I re-emerged about an hour later (well past the end of my break) with tears and my eyes and a very soft heart, for this "children's book" was really a book of parables meant to teach children the realities of living in the Kingdom of God. It was amazing. It was called, "Tales of the Kingdom" written by David and Karen Mains.

I took it home and let Amy read it, and she was touched as well. Much to our delight, we found that there were two more books in the saga and we ordered them for our birthday present this past year. I cannot describe to you how wonderful they are, so I can only recommend that you buy them and check them out for yourself... sorry, but I wont lend you mine. :) But you can find them here.

The main reason I introduced these books to you is that one of my favorite lines in the trilogy is often repeated by the Rangers, the warrior servants of the King. It is used to strengthen them and remind them of what it important. "To the King and the Kingdom!"

Few things excite my soul like talking about the King and His coming Kingdom. "Kingdom theology" is a buzz word of the Vineyard movement. It was pioneered by a man named George Eldon Ladd and was the theological impetus behind John Wimber's movement. It has since been assimilated into many different denominations, but I think it is wonderful. You will here Amy and I talk a lot about the Kingdom, so I wanted to share with you a few definitions...

Whenever I talk about the Kingdom of God, I am generally referring to "the rule and reign of God in the life of every believer that works itself out in the world." Therefore, the Kingdom is not so much a geographical place (though it will be in the future) as it is a state of mind and action. I will be posting more on this in the next week, but I wanted to get this first post in because it is always the hardest one for me when I contemplate a series. I hope that you stay tuned in and that you also check out the link above. The Tales of the Kingdom are really excellent if you have children or grandchildren. Peace to you my friends.

Culture of Honor

This is a book that we have been in dialogue about- both with the Vineyard and IHOPE Leadership. "The Culture of Honor" is revolutionizing the way that we think about leadership and relationship within the body of Christ.

I (Amy) heard a concept that was new to me a couple of months ago. There was a pastor in Africa who heard the Holy Spirit speak to him and say: "If you are critical, I won't stay with you." Intense. I know that cognitively I realized there are things God likes and doesn't like, but I never thought about God's personality- that there are some environments that He prefers over others. Not cultural or geographical preferences, but relational atmosphere preferences. God doesn't like to spend time in atmospheres where there is strife or hypocrisy or unforgiveness (see Isaiah 58, Matthew 6:15).

This means that if I want to to help cultivate the presence of God in a place, it REALLY MATTERS how I think about, talk to, and treat other people in that community. The tone of voice we use, our motivations, how we handle conflict, whether we choose forgiveness or bitterness- all of these small choices add up to create an atmosphere of honor, or not.

We have just dug into the first couple of chapters and our leadership team at IHOPE begins discussing tomorrow- I am excited :)

The Fire of God

In the prayer room this morning, I was meditating and praying from Song of Solomon 8:6

"Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame."

In this passage the love of God is revealed as a blazing fire. In Hebrews it says that our God is an all consuming fire. Not just LIKE fire, but that God IS all consuming fire.

What does fire do? It burns up everything that can be burned. What is not burned in fire is only refined. Gold and silver do not burn up in fire, they become purified as the dross in them comes to the surface and is burned away.

Through the cross of Jesus, everyone who goes on believing in Him is covered in the Holy and Perfect blood of Jesus. The sacrifice of Jesus does not remove us from the fire of God. (How could it if God is an all-consuming fire? Jesus did not come to remove us from God.) The sacrifice of Jesus enables us to stand in the fire of God.

God is an all consuming fire and one day each of us will stand before God and give an account of our life. No one will escape being in the fire of God. The fire of God is unquenchable- it has eternal energy. The fire of God contains both the wrath of God and the love of God.

Through the sacrifice of Jesus, the wrath of God has been satisfied! What a glorious mystery, that the unquenchable wrath of God could be satisfied! That while we were enemies of God in our minds, He demonstrated agape love through offering his perfect Son as a sacrifice.

Now for those who believe and go on believing in Jesus, the love poured out at the cross covers and enables us to stand in the all consuming fire of God, being refined into perfect unity with our heavenly Father.

Eyes to See

So, this post may seem cliched, but I still think it is important.

I went for a walk this afternoon and in the midst of praying I looked down and saw a nickel. For some reason I bent down and picked it up. This is not my normal mode of operation, generally I let anything less than a quarter lie in the dirt. In any case I picked it up and carried it with me as I walked. It rattled around in my name and I noticed it was really rough around the edges. I looked closed and saw that it was dirty and scarred. That the edges were marred and the surface was pocked from being out in the weather for who knows how long. I rolled it around in my fingers as I looked at it and what God said to me next stopped me in my tracks...

"It still has value."

I don't often get 2x4 moments (where it feels like God smacks you in the forehead with a 2x4), but this was one of them. Yeah, it still has value. I could take it to any bank and they would accept it. Why? Because it still bore the image and mark of the one who made it - the United States government. So even though its aesthetic value was non existent and its material cost very low, it still carried value. Not because of its worth in its own right, but because it bore the image of its maker.

It is a very short line to draw to make the connection between this nickel and you and me. We were all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and even though that image is distorted by sin and our own fallen nature, God still values us. In fact, He paid the highest price to get us, He crucified His Son on a cross. We were purchased with the blood of the only innocent man to ever walk the earth. This sacrifice was not just for me, it was for everyone who has ever drawn breath.

How often do I walk past the nickels, pennys and dimes in my own life, only paying attention to the quarters? How many people do I write off as having no value even though they bear the image of their Maker, who I claim to cherish, love and obey? God, would you give me eyes to see those whom you love and value, but who hold no attraction for me in a natural sense. Amen.

Life Update

Hello again friends, I just wanted to take a few minutes to brief you on how things are going at the Dau House.

We finished the June Immersed Intensive last Friday and it was awesome! We had a great group of interns who stuck it out and really wowed us with how quickly they grasped the content and were able to participate in prayer and ministry time. My sister was one of them and I am so proud of her. She impressed me a lot with her tender heart and desire to seek God. Way to go Caitie!

Amy is also finished her work at the Learning Center. She has worked with TLC for about 15 months and now God has called her full-time into the House of Prayer. I am so excited to be working with my wife. We make a really good team (read: I am going to be blogging a lot more because I have someone to keep me on track... :) ) Amy has long felt the call to be in the House of Prayer and God has finally worked things out so that it can be a reality. I am excited for all of the songs that God is going to release through her. She is my favorite worship leader and musician.

Also, we have now officially said goodbye to my friend Quovadis Marshall. :( Q's last day on staff was this last Friday and I am sad to see him go. I know it is God's call to move him to Kansas City, but you find few friends as faithful and loyal as Q. Best of luck to you and your family my friend!

This weekend I really got my pastor on. I was privileged to be the Officiant at my friend's wedding. Dana and Erik Lehmann are going to have a fantastic marriage and I was so excited to be a part of their special day. This was my first wedding as an "official" pastor. I will cherish those memories for a long time.

I also preached this Sunday on being the bride of Christ. If you are interested in listening to this message it should be posted within a few days on the Vineyard's website

Shamar

The second duty/reason that God placed Adam in the garden was to "keep" it. This word in Hebrew is shamar. Shamar is also a multi-faceted word which variously means: to guard, protect, beware, be circumspect, keep, observe, preserve or watch (as in, be a watchman). This second function is vitally important for our lives as believers. God doesn't just want us to carve out a space in ourselves to meet with Him, He also wants us to guard it and be watchful over it.

In some way this was a tip off to Adam that the serpent was in the Garden. Adam was called to be vigilant in making sure that nothing tampered with the atmosphere that God had set in place. God created the Garden to be a place of rest for Himself; a place where He could meet with humanity and have relationship and fellowship with them. Adam's duty, then, was to protect this space from the chaos of the outside world. Adam's task was two-fold, to take the order of the Garden into the wild places of the earth and to keep the Garden from falling into chaos. It was Adam who was supposed to be the hedge of protection around the Garden, discerning what would benefit and enhance his relationship with God and what would detract from it. Sadly, Adam was not very good at this particular function.

Neither are we, if we are perfectly honest. Cultivating the Garden of the Soul is one thing, protecting it and keeping it set apart is quite another. In our zeal to meet with God it is easy to set aside time in the beginning, but as time goes on weariness sets in. It becomes easier and easier to neglect our Garden. Sure we come back for a visit from time to time and enjoy our fellowship with God, but the "weeds" begin to grow.

I don't want to land too heavily on anyone - I am the first in line of those who do not protect their Gardens (hearts, quiet times, choose your image). Even though I say that my relationship with God is my top priority, it is the first thing to get "Xed" from my day. I am tired so I sleep in, I am busy so I postpone Bible Study, I get wrapped up in temporary excitements and neglect eternal matters. I suck at shamar.

But Jesus was awesome at it. He would frequently retreat to the quiet and desolate places of the earth. He protected His time with God something fierce. It didn't matter if it was the middle of the night when He was free - He was out meeting with God, even if it cost Him sleep or food or comfort. That is the example He set out for us and it is something I so desperately long for. Not because I long to keep the rules, oh no. I long for that because Jesus had a tangible Reality of God's presence. He had a relationship with God that was extraordinary! THAT is what I desire - a passion for God that counts losing sleep as a small consequence.

Abad and Shamar - tend and protect, these are the things that God asked Adam to do in the Garden. They are the same things that God desires from us in our relationship with Him. I pray that we would all be strengthened by God's grace to pursue these things in greater measure. Amen.

"Abad"

I love the book of Genesis, especially the first three chapters. There is so much to study and think about within these three chapters that I come back to them, time and time again, just to get lost in the story and imagining what it would have been like to witness. I have been struck lately with God's heart behind the job description that God gave to Adam in the Garden. Genesis 2:15 says, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." What is translated as "work it" is the Hebrew word "abad".

Hebrew is such a fascinating language because so many ideas are wrapped up in a single word. Being one of the earliest languages, there were very few words, therefore each word had to convey a plethora of meanings that context would make clear. Standing at 4,000 years of distance, we can look back and see all sorts of neat things that native users might miss. Abad is one of them.

Abad, according to the Strong's Concordance, means all of the following things (and then some): To work, serve or till; to be; to be a husbandman; to bring to pass or make fruitful; to be a servant; to be a worshipper - how cool is that? One word means so many things, each definition is one facet of what it is that God was looking for in man.

God wanted man to work and tend to the Garden, that much is certain. God gives man dominion over the earth, but what does that dominion look like? I think all of the above definitions of abad fit to some degree. Adam was to be master over creation, but he himself was mastered by God. He was to do what was necessary to produce fruit, but to do it with tenderness, as a husband of the land. Adam was also to "be" in the Garden. He certainly had work to do, but he was to be observant, a beholder of God's work in creation - he was to be a worshipper.

What I think is really cool about the creation story is that the whole world was not a garden. The whole world was wild, and in the midst of that chaos God carves out a space for He and man to meet. He tames a small portion of the globe and plants a garden. He makes it beautiful and fruitful and then he invites man into it. God gave Adam a template of what He wanted the whole Earth to look like, but it was up to man to take it would into the wild - to impose his will upon it and make it like God's design.

Can you imagine Adam walking into the Garden? How beautiful, orderly and perfect it must have seemed compared to the wilds in which Adam was created. To come into a place where every detail speaks of the intention, heart and emotions of a Creator must have been overwhelming. And then to be able to walk with God in the cool of the day, to talk freely and have unhindered relationship - how awesome that must have been... how awesome that will be again. God's plan, His desire hasn't changed. His purpose is still to walk with man in intimate fellowship. One day that will be in literal time and space, for now it is an internal reality.

God wants us to create an inner garden of the soul. He wants us to carve out a space where we can meet with Him amidst the chaos and distraction of our daily lives. He wants a resting place in us, a place of peace and tranquility where He can stretch out and relax, where He can spend time with His Beloved. I think that understanding abad is critical to fulfilling this desire of God's. We need to master our own inner dialogue, we need to bring our very selves into submission before God so that we can meet with Him in peace. We need to be people who are comfortable "being" with God, not trying to fill every moment of every day "doing" various things. We need to reclaim worship as our primary mode of existence. May God give us the grace to do so. Amen.

June is a Good month

Hello everyone! Time to get back into gear here on the blog. SO many updates, let me begin with just a few.

My sister, Caitie, is living with us here in Waverly for the month. It is awesome. We haven't lived together in the same space for 7 years. So, we are getting to catch up on brother/sister bonding time. We go to a fitness class on Tuesday and Thursday and and so far watched two Harry Potter movies and demolished a couple pints of ice cream :). Why Cait is up here leads me to another exciting thing...

We have started out June Intensive here at the House of Prayer. This is a month long intensive that meets MWF from 9-5. Amy, Q and I are the main teachers. Amy is teaching on intimacy with God, Q is teaching Christology and I am teaching on the Book of Revelation. Amy and I are co-teaching a class called Developing a Devotional Life. All is all it is really cool, really fun and REALLY intense.

In other good news, Amy will be joining the House of Prayer full-time at the end of the month. This will really be great for us and our schedule. We will work more closely with one another, have more time to write and be able to be more focused on the things that are most important to us. This is a very exciting time for the Dau House.

Thank you all for sticking with us. I look forward to writing on here again soon.

Ben