Archive for June, 2009

Spiritual Formation

The Commodification of Jesus

http://www.veritaspa.org/uploaded_images/McJesus-764145.bmp
So yesterday I got back from the Creation Festival in Mount Union, PA. We have gone every year with the youth group from Hempfield COB. It was a bittersweet time because this will probably be the last one for a while. But I have this love hate relationship with the Festival.

I love hanging out with people. I love eating with people. I love seeing people I haven’t seen for awhile and catching up. I love some of the bands and the speakers. But the one thing that drives me up a wall every year is the jesus junk that is being sold…especially alot of the T-Shirts.

The one that bothered me the most this year is represnted by the picture above. It said “mcJesus..Over one bilion saved.” This shirt to me represents a troubling trend..the commodification of Jesus. What this shirt is really saying is that Jesus is a product that can be bought and sold. That when we “accept Jesus” into our lives we are making a business transaction. That we “go to a church” on Sunday and attend a worship service, where we are being served by the Pastor and leaders. Also there is the whole problem of consumerism that Tony Campolo speaks about in “Lord Save Us From Your Followers”. We are way too comfortable with consumerism in the evangelical world.

Maybe I read into things too much….but people need to think about what they are making when they make t-shirts that they think are clever. Most of the time they are a rip off of something in the world, which is not clever, not original, and not artistic. And there are the meanings behind the t-shirts that the designer didn’t think about. Jesus is not a product to be bought and sold. Jesus is Lord and is to be followed and served.

Church Planting

Veritas Prayer List

For those not on my Veritas prayer list, I thought I would take this space to share some prayer requests with the Emergent Brethren community (btw…have a great time at Annual Conference….have some great conversation at the Emergent discussion…wish I could join it). If you want to be on the Veritas prayer list…please drop me a note.

1. Purple Door Arts and Music Festival: Every August at Ski Roundtop a great music festival is held that brings the best alternative music, great speakers, and art in all forms. The Purple Door Arts and Music Festival takes place August 14-15. We thought it would be a great place to promote Veritas. So we sent out a registration form and a deposit for a booth, and this weekend heard that we were accepted. So Praise God. We’ll have a booth where we’ll be giving out literature about Veritas, a CD with original music from various people within our Community, Coffee Mugs, chocolate, and other random stuff. Pray that God would bring people by the booth, that we would have great conversation with people, and that many will check out the booth, and Veritas as well. Praise God for the opportunity to be involved at Purple Door.

2. English Presbyterian Church: It is now official. We will be officially meeting at English Presbyterian Church in Marietta for our Sunday gatherings (10:45-12:45) starting on September 13. Pray that this relationship would be a blessing to both parties involved, that we can bless English Pres by our presence, and that God would be honored/glorified by this arrangement. Praise that this part of the details in planting Veritas is officially done.

3. Core Group Development: We have been having lots of people over for dinner and dessert the last few weeks…and its been fun…my wife is an amazing woman. Anyway….we had a great meeting with Chris and Carmella Tress and look forward to having them check out our Core Group sometime in the near future. Also on Saturday we met with Tobias and Amanda and will be looking forward to having them check out our Core Group this coming week. I am excited about these two couples and what God is doing in their lives, and what they can offer to Veritas and the Kingdom. Pray that they would connect with others in our community and that they would feel God’s call to join Veritas. Pray for our Core Group nights on Sunday nights as we worship, pray, study, and share together.

4. Finances: Our Finances are coming together slowly but surely. This weekend Lampeter COB sent a check for Veritas..so praise God for that. We are also going to be sending out support letters in the very near future. Pray that God would take care of the finances that we need, that the letters would be well received, and that God would bless those who receive the letters. Pray for wisdom and discernment when it comes to finances.

5. Job: Continue to pray for me as I seek to find a part-time job (I really haven’t done any looking but will be in July). Pray that I would find one that would connect with what I am doing with Veritas. Pray for a flexible job. I truly believe that we can make it work by being part-time Church Planter/part time other. (Instead of part time planter/full time other…which is good). Pray that God would guide me to the right one.

6. Missional Opportunities: Pray for us as we work on some outreach events including a FREE Car Wash (Saturday’s was a wash out…God washed everyones cars…) and a Block Party on August 29. Pray that we can connect with people, share the love of Jesus in real and practical ways, and pray that we can also share a little bit about the mission, vision, and dreams of Veritas.

Thanks so much for your prayers and friendship..they mean the world to me….

Church Planting

Moving Forward

Things seem to moving forward with Veritas as we work towards our September 13 launch. Here are a few exciting things that we are experiencing right now.

1. We have signed a lease for one year with English Presbyterian Church in Marietta for only 400 dollars a month. I believe this will be an amazing partnership with English as we begin and develop and grow. I still feel that in the future we would love to inhabit a place where we can develop a third space (whether business or not..I’m not sure…) much like a previous post.

2. We are having many conversations with people about joining our Core Group. I had a meeting on Monday night with a great couple that we connected with through setting up a time to go visit a church in Bucks County called The Well. I also have a dinner with a couple on Saturday night.

3. The Pastor of the Well also let us know of someone else in Lancaster county who was part of the Well and is now in Lancaster county…we’ll see where that leads.

4. Finances are slowly coming together…to a point that I think we can make a go at this on a part-time level, and I won’t need to work full-time and work on the church plant as well.

5. Saturday morning we are doing a FREE Car Wash to bless the community.

6. Monday night we are having dinner with Jonny and Jenny Baker from Grace in the UK while they are here teaching at Lancaster Theological Seminary. I met Jonny when he was here 2 years ago, and then again when I went over to London 2 years ago. I am looking forward to that.

7. Visiting the Well on July 5 and looking forward to the experience and talking with the Pastor.

All in all I am really excited about the journey that we are on, and what God will do in the future in and through us. That doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous, scared and worried at times, but I do know that God is in control and he will take care of us.

Annual Conference

Annual Conference Activities for Emergent Brethren

Annual Conference will soon be here (in San Diego)! How many of you are planning to attend? I just heard that as of today, registration is only about 1800 people. Thus, conference attendance will be really low compared to last year. But, this was expected. Besides, it’s on the West Coast, too. 🙂

If you are planning to attend, here are some activities that you might be interested in:

Emergent Brethren Conversations — Friday, 9:00pm, Pacific Salon 7. This is our annual informal conversation time, where everybody can share what’s happening in their ministry, what they’re exploring, how they see God moving in their midst, and ask questions. This is an informal time of sharing. There are no “presentations”, unless you have something to share. Please pass the word of this event to your friends!

Worship Music Celebration — Saturday, 9:00pm, Grand Hall. This is a different kind of a worship service planned to start shortly after the regular evening worship. It will feature three groups, video, prayer, and scripture readings. The first worship leader will be Lindsey Wildey, from Flood Church in San Diego. She will be performing contemporary praise and worship music. Next, James Washington and Best Friends will be sharing their African-America Gospel music. Following Best Friends, the praise team from Principe de Paz Church of the Brethren will be performing Latin-American praise and worship music. So, in addition to this being a different kind of worship service, it will also be a cross-cultural experience! It will go till about 10:30pm.

Worship at Flood Church — Sunday, 9am, 11am, 6pm and 8pm. Flood Church is less than 9 years old and has an average attendance of 1500 in San Diego. I have been participating with them since their beginning in many capacities. They now meet at Kearny High School, less than 4 miles north of the Town and Country Hotel. I’m planning to attend the 8pm service and would be happy to give people a ride. I can also introduce you to any staff who will be attending. You can view their website at www.diveintoflood.com. This is NOT an officially sponsored Church of the Brethren activity. But, if you’d like to see some smooth video, a great band, and some good preaching, just let me know.

Announcement Banner -R

Enhancing Worship with Digital Stained Glass — Monday, 12:30pm, Hampton. This insight session will look at using digital imagery in worship or websites, reflect on effective uses of media and show what some Brethren are doing. If you have an example of something that you’re proud of, contact me ASAP at [email protected]. I might be able to get it included.

If you know of people who are attending, please forward this information to them, or better yet, give them the link to this website and have them click on “Annual Conference” on the link in the right column.

Also, if you have any questions about where to, what to do, or where to eat, please ask me! You can also get information about San Diego at 101SanDiego.com.

Hope to see you soon in my home town!

Jeff Glass

Spiritual Formation, Worship

Give Me Your Eyes

Yesterday during our 10:15 AM Worship Gathering at Hempfield COB, a music video was played that connected with the theme of the morning. I had never heard of the song, as I am not a huge listener of the local Christian radio station. But I was impacted by the words to the song, and the writer captured one of my prayers as I sit in “public spaces” and bump into people.

The song is called “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath and here are the lyrics:

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?

Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
yeah
yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what’s underneath
There’s a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He’s out of work
He’s buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
yeah
yeah

I’ve Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along

Chorus (x2)
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
yeah
yeah

Lord…give me the eyes to see people the way you do, through the eyes of love, compassion, mercy, and grace. Give me a heart that breaks with the things that break your heart. Give me eyes to see where you are moving so I can join you in that work.

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