Did You Ever Know That You're My Hero

We all have people in our life who inspire us to keep moving forward. For no reason other than that I respect and admire these people, I decided to honor 5 of them today. My goal is to do this more regularly. That made it much easier to condense to my list to 5 people. The rules of this first round, is they must all live in Chicagoland area, and I must have at least marginally regular contact.

#1 - My Wife Christi
In addition to being the love of my life, she is my hero! I have never seen a person become so alive in a year. My first nine years of marriage, were always great because she is my best friend. They are a dim comparison to this last year. God has come alive and lives nearby to a person who always kept him so distant. That transformation inspires me to pursue looking more like the Jesus who is her first love. She really is my better half.

#2 - My Mentor Chuck Miller
I have a great father, and in another one of these post I will most certainly honor him. However next to my dad, no man has had a greater leadership role in my life than Chuck. Although I have sat through some of the most painful conversations of my life with him, as he exposed the darkness I attempt to keep well contained, each of these has left me stronger and wiser. I would never have matured into the man I am without his shepherding these many years.

#3 - My Co-Worker Dan Blume
One of my favorite places at work is over in the room where Dan works. He is a hero to me because he makes being nice to people look so easy. Dan always has an encouraging word for everyone. We have had some unlovable people work here over the years, and even they knew friendship and kindness from Dan. Dan is the living expression of indiscriminate love, and we could all use that modeled in front of us a lot more often.

#4 - My Friend Stephen Lamb
I like to talk a lot about the gospel for the least of these. I like to lecture, and soap box about what it means to live like Jesus. I can debate the best of you on the real meaning of taking up your cross daily. Stephen though lives it out. He is an intelligent, dynamic personality that could be working for about any church he wanted to, living any life he desired. Instead he works in an integrated church with an attendance just about 100, and he lives in a place where he stands out like a giant white q-tip. (He is Tall) Stephen doesn't talk about the least of these, he lives among them.

#5 My Friend Linnea Lang
Adversity is a word most people, myself included, cringe at. Linnea lives it every day. Though confined to a wheelchair, she towers above a crowd of people eeking out a life half lived. I am always inspired by the depth to which she seeks to be a part of God's work in the world. It would be easy to live a life of defeat while permanently seated in a chair, and yet she will have nothing of the sort. She is seeking to bring the Kingdom of God on earth as is it is in heaven, with the the best of them. I am reminded by her, that nothing separates from the redemptive work of Jesus in the earth.

So there it is! Round 1 - 5 Chicagoan people I am proud to call my heroes!

Discipleship Is Hard - Texting Is Easy

He said to them, “Go into all the stadiums & conventions centers of America and preach the gospel to every teenager. The one who believes and sends a text message to 38714 will be receive a ethereal fire insurance policy." - Mark 16:15-16 (TNT) - Tony Nolan Translation

So thanks to Internet Monk, I am in a cynical sour mood this morning. I guess technically he is not to blame, since he is only the bearer of the bad news. However, I was fine until I read his post from a few days ago, where he lambasted Tony Nolan and the Winterjam tour team for reducing the saving work of Christ Jesus to sending a text message that pledged your acceptance. Although I agree with his indictments, I think I would have rather remained ignorant to this new low for what passes a evangelism.

Honestly, as a person who strives to have genuine discipling relationships in my life, I am not about to pretend that it is a smooth road filled with rolling hills and soft meadows. Entering into life with people is hard. Being open enough to hear to the reality of people's dark underbelly, and being honest enough to reveal your own dark underbelly is no task that completed with out great personal cost. Participation in a community of support, to a person who is broken, and has no sense of their dignity and humanity can not be squeezed into a 25 minute time slot on the weekend. It can not be accomplished in any amount of time by a person who is not aware and repentant of the brokenness in their own life.

Reducing the gospel of Christ to anything less than choosing the way of the cross lived out in front of a world of watchers so that they see it is in the surrender of my rights and my life, that I have a deeper, more profound, more abundant life than the life of their selfish pursuits has brought them.

I read recently where the author stated "Jesus did not come to prepare us for death, he came to teach us to live." I think this is the true mark of discipleship. Evangelism is telling a story meant to cause an emotional feeling followed by a physical response. This outward response is made easier and easier, as the message is more and more watered down from it's roots in a grace meant for the living. Making disciples however, is a participation in the radical inclusive love of Jesus invested meaningfully into the life another, nurturing that love in them as it reveals their true identity as sons and daughters of the King of King.

Words like investment are difficult to hear in a culture obsessed with instant credit and promiscuous consumerism. Nurture is a foreign concept to a people who think food comes wrapped in plastic and sitting on a shelf. Inclusive love is an anathema to the heterogeneous comfort of the monoethnic monoclass monotheology character of the church on every street corner. So the difficulty that results for suffering with God, and participation in the divine life of Christ on earth, is replaced a trickle of truth that cheapens the gospel to a bait and switch comedy routine followed by the simple response of texting for Jesus! This is the real curse.


- Lee Shelton IV

A Bride, A House, & A Body

Have you ever read one of those books that articulated everything you already knew into far better words than you could articulate them? Have you devoured a book because it gave reason and explanation for truths that you merely feel? Have you ever known that this book you are giving your time and thought to, is to become a field guide for the journey you are already on? Have you ever finished a book with the words, "I need to buy a copy of that for everyone I know?"

I have had that happen twice in my life. The first time was several years ago when I read Tom Davis' "Fields of the Fatherless". Then the second was last night as I finished Frank Viola's "From Eternity to Here." This book rocked my world not because it introduced a new idea, but because it quilted together the very truth of God, and his passionate needs, desire, and longing for community with his creation.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section lays out the Biblical narrative in such a way that it emphasizes the church as the bride as an eternal passion of God from before the beginning of time. Perfectly connecting the heroes of the Old Testament, with the wonder and mystery of John's gospel and apocalypse, Viola illustrates that the church as the bride is not a metaphor to help us better understand the authority structure of the Christian home, but instead it is the deep mystery of God hidden in Christ before the foundation of the world.

In the second section, Viola repeats his wonderful ability to beautifully connect the Biblical narrative together to elevate in our minds the importance of God's search for a dwelling place. From the foreign land where he sent Abraham, to the tabernacle of Moses and the tabernacle of David, to Solomon's Temple, through the incarnate life of life Jesus, and ultimately into his church which is the House of God, the Lord's resting place.

Finally in his third section, Viola switches from story teller to scholar to reveal the depth of meaning in the gospels and in the Pauline writings about the church as the body of Christ. This section does not read with the majestic eloquence of the first two, and yet it's content resonates deeper, and more meaningfully than any other in the book. Once again Viola slaughters theologians desire to reduce the the realities of God's Kingdom into a metaphor, this time it is the body of Christ. Viola notes with meticulous detail how the church is the REAL physical incarnation of Christ on earth now. He reinforces our dependence on Christ and gives us truth to use as a weapon against Satan's attack on our worth and righteousness. As Christ is the head and mind of the church, we are it's body, and we are therefore in a mutual need of eachother for the life giving dependence of a physical body. He ties all the thoughts together, to note how if we are the "seed of heaven" then as a new species on earth we live not intertwined into the affairs of the old species, but as colonist of the new Kingdom which is fulfilled at the reconciliation of all things.

This book is Viola's magnus opus! I have read his other three books, and they are each great teaching. However, this work is not a book to be studied, it is a very window into the passionate erotic love of God for his creation, and for his desperate need to extend the community of the triune God among them. I say without reservation, this book will change the way you see God. It will set you free from the limited metaphor of systematic theologies. It will release you from the minimized boxed God of a religionist allegorical reinterpretation of the narrative of God. It will welcome you as participants into God's eternal purpose.

Erasmus famously quipped, "when I have a little extra money I buy books, if there is any left over I buy food." Reading this book is more important than any meal you will eat this week. If you must go hungry, and get a hold of the book. "From Eternity to Here" will feed you from a source that this world knows nothing about.

God, Worry & Enjoyment

This slogan has been found on the placards of the British public transportation system since October of last year. It has naturally caught the attention and protest of many Christian groups, from those working to refute it's message, to those attempting to censor it's message.

Let me go on record here to say that speaking for myself I endorse the ad campaign and the wonderful conversation it brings to the dinner table, to the coffee shop, and to the pub (that's my English reference... I'd say bar if it were an American campaign... but this is cultural awareness at work)

Naturally, to any of you who know me, I am not saying I AGREE that there is no God. If you do not know me take a quick perusal through the content of my previous posts and you will see I am radically convinced of God's existence and equally celebratory of his incarnational entrance into the story of man.

I am most impressed with the wording of their ad as well, because if we allow it to it brings not one but three important questions to the forefront for our discussion. First, and most obviously the ad's question is the existence of God. Rather than getting baited by the first question, let's look at the other two questions.

The second question I see is, "Does the Biblical narrative encourage fear and worry the way the modern church does? The story of God is that HE came to be a part of the story of man, and the reason for that coming was his desire to end the fear and worry. Jesus tell Nicodemus that he did not come to condemn the world. Jesus repeats this idea when he tells the adulterous woman that he does not condemn. Jesus' life and ministry had an abundance of condemnation for the morally superior and religiously self righteous, yet never did one hear any words of reproof against the broken, rejected, smoldering reeds of his culture. Those who wish to use the power of religion for the own control repeat the same sins of the religious elite of Jesus' day when they paint God as an angry and loathsome, and themselves as the brokers of mediation with him. Jesus' own words are meant to tell the world, to stop worrying because they are already alright with God. In order to prove his words, he as God himself took on the entirety of sin in his own selfless life surrendering action, so that no man or woman ever need worry again about where they stand with God.

This of course leads us to the third question posed by the ad, "Do you enjoy your life?" So much of the Christian world's rhetoric seems to have a deep seated hatred of what it means to be human. Humanity is God's creation! God loves mankind! Yes, he is troubled by the destructive nature of many pursuits that mankind has endeavored to pursue. This is not because he rejects man, but instead because he embraces us the crown of his creativity. I remember being taught in my late teen years that God must hate humanist, then later realizing that God himself is the ultimate humanist. God's humanism goes so far he has perpetually engaged with man, to help him discover the fullness of what he created to be. I am reminded of the scene in Little Mermaid when the seagull uses a fork as a comb. I love this because a fork makes and effective comb, but not nearly as effectively as it makes a fork. Mankind can find enjoyment, but the nature of God is that He desires his creation to have abundant life, and that takes knowing the only power in the universe that can direct you to knowing what it means to be a fork that functions as a fork, rather than as a comb.

This post does not begin to do these ideas justice. I feel like everything I have written is painfully incomplete to express myself to either side. I post it anyway, not because I think I have definitive answers which will change to humanist to believers, and propel believers into God's better plan where Love drives out fear. I post it because I think the conversation is important. I post it because I think we need to be present in diverse communities where we can wrestle with these, and many other ideas about what it means to be human, and to be that to the fullest. I post it because I hope some people who are not yet part of the conversation might see that dialog is better than debate, and be inspired to think about these issues.

On a final note, to the people at Atheist Bus I say great job, way to facilitate a dialog. When you're ready to bring the campaign to America, I'm definitely on board for the ride!

Simple Things With Great Love

The Simple Way has made popular the Mother Theresa quote, "Do no great things, just simple things with great love." I was sent a video clip that illustrated that so wonderfully. I am not a fan of football, but the simple decision of this Texas coach will inspire you.

Swazi Mission - February Update

I get asked a lot if we are still leaving for Swaziland. I can only answer, "Yes, I still feel the Lord is leading us there." However I do understand, that after a year and little having appeared to change in our lives where the question come from.

So in order to elivate the wonder, I decided maybe I should start doing monthly newsletters. To a certain point, I worry about these month after month stating the same problem, "waiting on the house to sell." I still feel people would like this reminder.

On another note, I guess it is better to have MORE PEOPLE praying for the sell of the house. We are very anxious to transition into this work, but we must sell our house in order to do so. I do ask you to join us in praying toward that end.

Anyway, without further ado February 2009 Bowman Newsletter

Nsoko Clinic Is Finished

When the Lord sells our home we will be moving to be a part of the work in Nsoko, Swaziland. This footage is of the new clinic whose construction has just been completed and will soon be operating serving the local community.


Nsoko clinic tour 2/09 from Karen Barnes on Vimeo.

INTP - I Think Not Typealyzer

I checked out this fun expirement in artificial intelligence today. http://www.typealyzer.com seeks to us AI to determine the personality type of the author of a blog. The site nailed me as an INTP which I am not. I in fact always register as an ENFP on these types of test. I am not surprised by the T instead of an F because I am usually fairly evenly spread with a slight favoritism toward feeling over thinking. The part I found most humorus was the I, since anyone who knows me would find any introverted trait in me to be farsical.

After playing with the other fun tools, the genderanalyzer.com and ofaust.com based on their AI models I am left to wonder, do I use the mind of an introverted woman to produce bourgeois literature?

Not By Strength or By Power, but by my Spirit

I am in North Carolina on a business trip. I drove from Nashville where I dropped off my wife and kids out here today. 8 hours in a car by yourself is a long time when you are an extrovert like I am. I did have the audio book of Watchman Nee's, "The Normal Christian Life" which I listened to and very challenged by. Brother Nee asked as his treatise in one section, "What is holding you back from more fullness in Christ?"

I spent a few hours at the office and was then left to go be by myself till tomorrow morning. I prayed and asked the Lord where his church would be gathered tonight, and he led me to the Zadok House of Prayer. It was a strange experience for me, being led there by the Lord. Within the first 30 minutes of being there, I was quite convinced I had misheard the Spirit's leading. I don't mean that to say, that I thought it was not the church, but instead, I did not see what it would produce in me.

As I arrived and walked through the door the director was preaching, I stood in the back for a few minutes hoping to be greeted. I wanted to make a human connection. As is the problem I so often find entering meetings of Christian's is I was unnoticed and left to fend for myself in this entirely foreign environment. I found a seat to listen.

The topic of the evening was being a forerunner to the prophecy's of the end time. I must confess that the revelation of God about the end times that I have received, has little in common with a major school of thought in eschatology, and so I thought it was an odd fit, but still I felt that God had a message for me.

After the preaching had concluded, the meeting broke up for a few minutes before the next period of worship and intercession began. In this time, I continued to sit in my chair, and was still ungreeted. At this point I am wondering, "Why God have you led me here to leave me unmet?"

As the worship and intercession began, the session leader announced that this segment would be to interceded for the nation because of our president and his culture of death. I rolled my eyes, and pondered between joining the intercession, which I was opposed to topic or leaving.

• On a side note, I am fiercely pro-life, however I believe that battle needs to be fought in the hearts and minds of girls, and in the priorities and habits of the church to provide care and structure to those girls whose hearts and minds are changed. The repeal of Roe V Wade with out a church ready to receive her commission to the brokenness that leads to this epidemic would only be more destructive.

As I sat, I decided the Lord had led me here, and better to be in the presence of praise that alone in a hotel room, so I stayed. I stayed, and I interceded not for the politicians or the babies, as there were plenty in attendance ready to intercede on those behalfs. I interceded on behalf of the mothers. Those precious daughters of God who are forced to choose the horror because the oppression in their life has led them to feel there is no other option.

Here is the prayer I typed into my phone and then read back to the Lord as we worshiped:

May we be you body so the mother sees she has value as more than an object

May we be your body so the mother can receive love so she can then act in love

May we renounce our participation in this culture of death by repenting of the attitude that children are ordained by any other than you.

May we renounce our greed that causes us to buy more for ourselves rather than to supply to those who feel they have no life to give

May we have an ethic of life that takes In the rejected of this world so mothers may know there is a place she and her child will never be rejected

May we care not only for unborn, but for those born into captivity, oppression, and poverty in our country and in our world.

Cut off your church's leg so that she will crawl back to you rather than walk past the pain that leads to this decision.

Cut off your church's hands that she will steal no more of the gifts you have blessed her with from being given to meet these needs.

Redeem FIRST your Church to life, to life, to life. So that she may have LIFE to give to those whose hope is only to take life.

So after about an hour and half the session transferred form intercession to a period of just worship. I used this time to inquire of God. I asked God the question from Brother Nee, "Tell me Lord what is holding me back from more fullness with you?" As I prayed it one of the band members said, "This is a word of Lord for the long haired guy in the black shirt." I looked up from my prayer and looked at her. She sang, "Not By Strength or By Power, but by my Spirit" Over and over again, in the VERY MINUTE I ASKED, the Lord gave me this answer.

I left a few minutes after the worship session, still having not be welcomed, greeted, or met by the church assembled there. Yet, I know it was the church God called me to this night, because God met me through the work of the church, and the word given to the musician. I was in God's perfect timing, met by God to meet my greatest need.

I need more Christ! I will get him, "Not By Strength or By Power, but by my Spirit!"

A Slave To God - Watchman Nee

How did I become the slave of the Lord? On His part He bought me, and on my part I presented myself to Him. By right of redemption I am God’s property, but if I would be His slave I must willingly give myself to Him, for He will never compel me to do so.

The trouble with many Christians today is that they have an insufficient idea of what God is asking of them. How glibly they say: ‘Lord, I am willing for anything.’ Do you know that God is asking of you your very life? There are cherished ideals, strong wills, precious relationships, much-loved work, that will have to go; so do not give yourself to God unless you mean it. God will take you seriously, even if you did not mean it seriously.

When the Galilian boy brought his bread to the Lord, what did the Lord do with it? He broke it. God will always break what is offered to Him. He breaks what He takes, but after breaking it He blesses and uses it to meet the needs of others. After you give yourself to the Lord, He begins to break what was offered to Him. Everything seems to go wrong, and you protest and find fault with the ways of God. But to stay there is to be no more than just a broken vessel—no good for the world because you have gone too far for the world to use you, and no good for God either because you have not gone far enough for Him to use you. You are out of gear with the world, and you have a controversy with God. This is the tragedy of many a Christian.

My giving of myself to the Lord must be an initial fundamental act. Then day by day I must go on giving to Him, not finding fault with His use of me but accepting with praise even what the flesh revolts against.

May I be dead, so that I am alive only to what Christ is doing through me!

Not Giving But Utilizing

One of my beloved Martin Luther King Jr quotes is "When you are right, you can not be too radical..." In honor of MLK day today I am committed to focus my mind's attention on areas that call me to radical lifestyle change. I enjoy being right, but as the quote points out, right with out radical transformation is of little value to becoming the ones we are waiting for.

The difference between identification with society and the radical's ability to enact transformation into that society lies in the difference between the person willing to give their resources and the person willing to utilize their resources.

The giver, waits on the edge of problems, observing and seeking opportunity to enable the work of those in the fray through their resources. The utilizer dives in deep to the brokenness that surrounds them, and wields their resources as a tool to bring wholeness. The giver sends professionals, while the utilizer spends themselves. While the giver mourns the lack of qualified specialist, the utilizer sharpens his own awareness through practice.

MLK Jr looked into the face of systemic injustice and realized there was no panel of experts able to solve the issue given enough time and money. MLK Jr looked into the broken prejudices of his time and utilized himself and his belief in God's perfect plan of love and nonviolence. MLK Jr recognized the problem was too big for anyone to have anything to give, so instead he inducted himself and inspired others into the work of laboring their resources to break the partiality of their society's oppression.

Today I encourage you, as I encourage myself to live radical. Live like the citizens of another Kingdom. Live like ones who believe the resource of love totally utilized can save the world, since in fact, it already has.

The Wrestling Dream

I had a dream last. In my dream my friend Big John introduced me to a friend of his who was working his way through the ranks of professional wrestling. He was not yet on level with a WWF, but this was his goal and he was moving toward this. In the course of conversation I ended up somehow (I actually don't remember this part of the dream) having to wrestle with him outside in a make shift wrestling ring. The wrestler could have EASILY hurt me, but it was all just a game, as in neither of wanted to hurt the other, but there was definitely pride on the line.

We wrestled for a long time. From time to time he would appear to be defeating me, but each time I would out maneuver him. A few times he would over power me, but I was always able to use my small size and quick speed to wiggle my way out of the situation. At one point toward the end of the fight I was even able to get him in a precarious position. I was latched onto his head with all four of my appendages my body covering his face. In this position, I could do nothing toward moving into winning, and yet despite all his strength, he could not throw or pry me from his face. It was an impasse.

At this time Big John called the match a draw and I woke up. In my mind there was verse waiting to interpret the dream. "It is GOD who works everything to his will. So Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God." You won't find that rendering of Phil 2:14-15 in any translation, it was the verse floating in my head.

I offer this dream as a confession and an apology. I have certainly many times, over many years claimed that the work God was doing in me was more valid, or more correct than the work God was doing in others. I have fought "monsters of doctrine" much bigger and stronger than me under the guise of worshiping Jesus, while in reality it was a battle of pride. I have substitute the "pride of the match" for the joy of community.

We are the body of Christ, if the hand thinks the foot's job is unimportant that would just cause a mess. I am committing to honestly celebrating both what I hear the Spirit speaking in my soul, and also to listen to what the Spirit is speaking into others soul. I don't want to wrestle for the sake of pride, instead I want to BE the body of Christ, celebrating the body in every form, that TOGETHER we can shine like stars in the universe.

Barna Groups Thoughts On House Church Revolution

Thom Black from the Barna Group set out to understand the reasons why "church attendance" has dropped by almost 20% in the past decade, and to their surprise discovered it is the not the peripheral members, but the core leaders who are exiting en mass.

I wanted to invite anyone interested in hearing a GREAT summation of my thought process in this transition to listen to his lecture. I am not so arrogant to view myself as a "revolutionary" as he terms those leaving the old institution toward house churches. I just think the reasons his "revolutionaries" are leaving, are the much the same as my own motivations.

Thom Black - Revolutionaries

I Need Africa

My friend Elysa, who we traveled to Swaziland with last January sent me this video.


After watching it, I believe if you have been to Africa you will relate and want the associated T-Shirt! So MochaClub sells it!

Cardinal Drive Exit Letter

I was asked by the leadership at the church where we have been members and served in various leadership roles these past four years to prepare a statement that could be used to explain my exit and my future plans to the membership at Cardinal Drive . For brevity the leadership has decided to excerpt the statement in their presentation of it tomorrow. I let them know that they could direct anyone wishing to read the text of the statement in it's entirety to my blog. I value the many wonderful relationships we have made at Cardinal Drive and wanted to ensure everyone had the opportunity to read the full explanation behind this difficult decision.

January 04, 2009
To: Cardinal Drive Leadership & Members
RE: Resignation of Membership

After much deliberation and prayer I am officially stating our family’s decision to relinquish all leadership and ministry responsibility within the Cardinal Drive family. Christi and I both feel God is calling us to a new stage of ministry that will look different than the model of church most of us here are familiar with.

Taking this step is a very difficult one for me, I LOVE the church, and by the church I mean Cardinal Drive and the other the institutions like her I have been a part of. At her best these churches allow Jesus to shine through to the world. I have seen Cardinal Drive function as the body of Christ, and I have seen her serve as the very hands and feet of Christ.

Unfortunately, in my time here and in previous churches I have been a part of I have also seen the church be divisive, destructive, and down right anti-Christ. I have been deeply troubled seeing people who make large contributions be catered to, over those who have a much greater degree of spiritual maturity, and over those with Biblically authorized church authority. It is a tragedy that people suffering under the weight of marital issues, addictions, and moral compromise have far to often been belittled, dismissed, and abused rather than embraced, mentored, and discipled. Most troubling to my spirit is having repeatedly seen families suffering financially be treated like pariahs because the distressed the homogeneous social network of the organization.

None of these things make me love the church any less. However it does compel me to attempt an objective examination of her model of ministry. This examination has led me to the conclusion that the church's two greatest obstacles are SIZE and FORM. Both of these conclusions have brought our family to the place where we are moving forward to a model that is deeply reflective of the model of church life as seen in Acts, the model of meeting in homes daily. A church that meets "house to house" by nature is small and spry. It can react quickly and effectively to problems (fiscal, emotional, and spiritual) because it's intimacy makes it impossible to hide or to ignore these basic needs in each other. This model by it’s very nature becomes a fiscal, communal, and continual pursuit for it’s members. The close intimacy of the house church becomes a safe place to invite friends who would never fit in at, or otherwise would not attend a traditional church service. The small size and apparent deep relationship relieve the awkward stigma of visiting a church service. For some people outside the social atmosphere of church life the comfort of a home based community is a much more welcoming place to discover the abundant life of freedom in Christ.

Secondly on form, I think our style of stage and audience is destructive to the priesthood of all believers. I myself have been part of the problem where people feel there are those qualified to "DO" God's work, and others who must just support the doers. Another world is possible where Instead EVERY member has a function and each part forms together to benefit the others. A house church meeting looks different where every member becomes a conduit of the Spirit’s leading, and through discernment and mutual edification everyone becomes ministers to and for each other.

I believe the highest calling of the church has nothing to do with our buildings, our staff, or our membership roster. The highest calling of the church has to do with effectively reflecting Jesus, and corporately becoming his physical presence in our circle of influence. I personally feel led to make this calling a reality, so long as God leads us to remain here in Chicagoland, through the intimacy a house church enables.

I want it to be clear that I am not leaving Cardinal Drive out of any anger, malice, or any form of discontentment with any of my brothers or sisters at this church. It has been an honor to worship with you these past four years, and I value the relationships we have formed in many of your lives. I sincerely hope our families can continue to share life together. I am excited for the future of what God is doing at Cardinal Drive, and It is my hope that you are excited about the potential for what God is doing through our decision to plant a small house church that reflects a different model of being the body of Christ.

I do want to reiterate that our family will miss the fellowship we have had in many of your lives, and I want to let you all know that our home and our table is always open. If you want to sit down and talk more about what we are doing, and what this model looks like, we encourage you to come eat with us when you have the time. We serve an amazing God who is doing great things as he reconciles his creation back to himself! Let’s all participate with him in vigor to that cause.

In Christ,
Kevin, Christi and Family!

To anyone at Cardinal Drive who has additional questions or just a desire to talk further about this exciting step we are venturing out on, please feel free to call or email. I love and value each of you, as well as the many who have supported me in this decision through the blogging community.