Last night I went online and bought tickets to ACL. It’s perhapes the biggest music festival I’ll ever attend. I love music and all the burnt albums in youth group are a testament to my passion for tunes.
Well, I will be going with a friend from college and meeting up with friends from Austin. I would enjoy seeing some other people who are joining thousands for the festivities in Zilker Park, Austin TX on September 26-28, 2008. You don’t want to miss 3 days, 8 stages, and 130 bands. I think it’s less about the music and more about the people. You meet the most random people and relate on so many levels.
I know Summer will kill me, but you can sleep at my house.
Recently I started asking friends to pray for Graceland and this community in Austin. For the most part we’ve had amazing support and encouraging words from people. On the other hand, I’ve had a few that turned me down politely. They don’t loathe me or reject what we are doing. They turned down praying for us “if” we are Emergent. I won’t spend our time defining what Emergent is because there are plenty of books and people dealing with that issue. But none agree to what it really means. Either you have joined the group who defines themselves as Emergent or you are a church emerging. Graceland is not apart of the Emergent movement (theological ideas willing to be entertained), but we will be emerging, because I’m emerging (moving up and forward). I look over my life and I’m not the same person at any level I was ten years ago. I love that about me, I love that about God.
I clarify the above because we have decided not to use “Church” in our name. We actually decided to refer to our community as Graceland People. I have many reason why, one being people are the church and another being culture thinks of church as being a building and we are family, community, people, inhabitants of Austin – were more than a building. We clutch the truth we are people of the Kingdom of God and this kingdom is among us. Jesus was approached in Luke 17 by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you (or among you).
The people of Jesus day had preconceived ideas of what the Kingdom of God would look like and act. They were wrong. Today many believers, churches, organizations have predetermined ideas of what church should look like and how the Kingdom of God rules. They too are wrong. I can’t say what Graceland People will look like in ten years, we are still emerging, but I can tell you it will look more like hands raised high then steeples with icons.
Our Fouth of July weekend was wonderful but it caused me to forget to post our third installment of our mission statement (why we exist). After being disciples who have taught others to be disciples we are responsible to change our world.
Graceland is committed to being disciples and making disciples who change their world. That means a church for change in society. Jesus calls his church to be a compelling force for good in the world, and we believe that the church is at its best when it serves, sacrifices, and loves – caring about the things God cares about. So we choose not to disappear from culture but to shape it.
Mother Theresa said “we view poverty as being hungry, naked and homeless. But feeling unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.” We agree and determine to show the world how radically different a Christian society is with regard to poverty, friendship, purpose, sacrifice, and love. We will be more involved in actions of mercy and social justice than traditional liberal churches and at the same time more involved in evangelism and church planting than traditional conservative churches.
I would love your thoughts.
