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I've
Heard the Cry on Four Continents:
"We want more than the organized, traditional
church has delivered. We want more than religion can produce or
organization can provide. We're not satisfied with a song and a sermon
and a social club - we want God!"
Do You
Identify With These Words?
Some of us have grown apathetic within our traditional church
structures -- our gifts and callings callings were not allowed to be
released by those in authority and God’s
demonstrated power was rarely experienced.
Some of us are burned out by the superficiality of going to the
same church building week after week, staring at the backs of the heads
in front of us but rarely connecting at a heart level with others;
rarely being allowed the opportunity to be “real”.
Some of
us have grown fearful
of the rejection or harsh judgments we received from others within the
church structure when we tried to be “real” and honest about our lives.
 Some
of us simply have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit,
urging us onward, telling us that the pillar of cloud and the pillar of
fire have moved; that the God Who's mercies are "new every morning" is
leading us to a fuller, more intimate and powerful expression of His
Body in the earth.
Some of us, although we love God very much and want to be connected
with others, have stopped going to church altogether.
What
the church did not deliver was what the institution of the church cannot
produce. Religion is not sterile or powerless: It possesses power, but it
is the power to kill, not to heal - Jesus came that we might have
abundant life and it's through His mercy and grace that His life comes
to us.
All
our religious attempts are little more than cheap sideshow tricks we
perform to get God's attention - and our tricks have discouraged,
injured and maimed countless people who have come into our churches
seeking healing and encouragement and purpose.
Do not
misunderstand me; I do not oppose the church. I am not angry with the
church. Jesus gave His life for the church. I am simply pointing out
that a New Wineskin is needed for New Wine to be poured into. I am not
suggesting that the name "Ichabod" has been written over the door of
every church in existence. I am merely pointing to the obvious; that God
is in the process of changing our understanding of what His church is,
and that this change is drastic, cataclysmic, painful and necessary.
Instead of denying the obvious, I want to embrace the unmistakable
fingerprint of God on the blueprint of the Emerging Church.
The
mission of g2k
is to establish an atmosphere, not a denomination or another
"church": An environment for the presence of God to possess and
indwell; a habitation for His Spirit. A place for Him to abide
and not to visit. With Moses we cry: "If Your presence does not go
with us, do not bring us up from here."
1. I Am Righteous I am the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
It's no longer My Righteousness, derived by the law, but the
Righteousness that comes from God.
2. I Am of Value
I Am Part of One Body and each part is no less important than any
other part. As such, each part's unique contribution (Gift, Role, etc.)
is ENCOURAGED.
3. I AM Preferred
Each
Prefers the Other Out of Love, The Spirit is allowed to move freely and there is Divine Order.
Man's structured agenda must
GIVE WAY
to God's order.
4. I AM The Church
I Am Not
Going to Church, I Am the Church. I am not entering a "Church", I AM The Church -- Before I
Enter This "Place" and After I Leave This "Place."
5.
I AM The Glory of God
Not Because I'm Special, But Because He's Special and He has
chosen to pour His nature into my life that I might take on His
characteristics and accurately represent Him to the world around me.
For
years I have felt as though I've been in the company of a few million
refugees, walking through a hot, sandy desert with Egypt behind us and
some kind of "Promised Land" before us. We haven't seen the land that
was promised, but we have seen our share of sand fleas, serpents and dry
creek beds. Some time ago I climbed up to a mountain-top with Moses and
he pointed out towards the horizon and said, "There it is." I guess
that's good enough an explanation and direction - after all, we've been
eating some really good stuff we find on the ground every morning
called, "What is it?" So, with a fresh supply of "What is it" and our
compass heading leading us to "There it is" we are making good progress
towards the promised "He is there" (that's 'JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH' to you
Hebrew scholars).
The Harbor is is
not an organization.
It bears
its name merely suggestively; the Harbor becomes whatever its members
decide to call it. Some call it "Haven", others call it "Simple Church"
or "Organic Church."
The Harbor is
not "cell church" or "substitute church."
It is merely part of the greater expression of the
church of
Jesus Christ on the earth.
It is
not structured by men, but follows the form of its inhabitants and is shaped by the Holy
Spirit. The Harbor is not an advertized "We're here" sort of gathering.
You will find no posters, no signs, no web alerts regarding its location
or its times of gathering.
It's
not an extension of "the church" and it belongs to no denomination or
organization. It has no visible, high-profile leaders. It has no
external budgets.
The Harbor has
no "order" of service,
no "worship, prayer, announcements, message, appeal, closing hymn"
format, although these elements may singularly or corporately be part of
the Harbor experience.
The Harbor features
no singular personality,
but
incorporates all the giftings present among its members. It's "order of
business" is determined by God and by the needs of those attending.
Read more:
send us your comments
G2kemerge@aol.com
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