timwolfe.org

Ed Stetzer wrote a very good blog about missional stuff here!
Great job ED!

guest post, missions, the kingdom

Today is Earth day, I have to confess that did not mean very much to me until my family moved to Midtown Atlanta in 2002. Now my wife was for sure already a head of the curb and probably much more green sooner.

But I will say the journey for my wife and I to care more about the creation of God has not been because it’s cool but because I believe God moved on our hearts. Over the years I think God has spoke into to our hearts on what it means to be a WHOLE follower of Jesus.

I would say over the past 3 years somebody who has befriended me and my family and 1027church Jonathan Merritt has taught us, modeled, and encouraged us about the responsibility of the follower of Jesus Christ to be take serious our stewardship responsibly for planet earth which is God’s creation. God even says in Genesis the all he creates is “GOOD!”

So my friend Jonathan who is amazing (pardon my man crush) has written a book – Green Like God – Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet. And it is a super book. Jonathan sent me an early copy to read and see what I thought, well before I could read it my mother-in-law who lives with us read it . . . loved it! Than my wife picked it up next before I could read it and she read it and loved it. Well I’m reading it and I love it.

So why is the book so good? Well it’s good because Jonathan is a good writer, he also shared in the book how God taught him to care about God’s creation and how the power of the Word of God, and the spirit of God spoke to him through God’s creation. Jonathan’s book has a very healthy, balanced and the super natural power of God in Jonathan’s life story. Not just a Christ follower trying to be cool or following some kinda of trend.

The book is also good because it has some super content besides Jonathan’s personal story! Chapter 9 for me is one of the BEST Chapters because in my opinion Jonathan did not write to book to be cool, to make Christians cool, but Jonathan is a prophet of God challenging you and I what are we gonna do about stepping up and taking care of GOD’s good creation. How are we doing in the area of stewardship with planet earth? The title of Chapter 9 say’s it all “The Enemy In Us All”

Page 116 is a very convicting statement of the book for me, for us all!

“Most of us live oblivious to any environmental crises so Americans rest easy. Unfortunately, our solace is like drinking rum in a snowstorm. We feel warm, but the warmth isn’t real. Ecological problems are bubbling up both at home and abroad. America has it’s share of environmental problems, and though many of them are localized to poorer neighborhoods and forgotten places, others intensely our children and us. Worse still, other people around the globe pay for the unsustainable life styles that Americans consider normal as we shift the burden to other nations’ citizens and export our way of life. As we realize the American dream. Much of the rest of the world is waking up to environmental nightmares.” – Jonathan Merritt – Green Like God

Wow that passage messes up my selfish life and heart. Jonathan thanks for writing such a GOOD BOOK! Thanks for showing me and our world what God says, for prophetically challenging my selfish desires, for encouraging me and others and loving us into to Godly stewardship of God’s creation. I’m telling everyone “Right Now” you better get out today or on-line and get u a copy of GREEN LIKE GOD and follow my friend @ JonathanMerritt.com and all he is doing.

Thanks God for Jonathan!

friends, leadership, life, the kingdom, worldview

i know to say you or somebody can change the world seems like a Big Harry Audacious Goal or that we are pretty prideful. but because of Jesus i believe we can do all things through Christ Jesus.

so a while back erin leigh patterson who works with land of thousand hills coffee, jonathan rich, and i were meeting @1000hillscoffee and out of that meeting about a mixed bag of stuff we talked about pulling together friends through all our networks for a one day gathering to tell the amazing story of how God is using land of thousand hills coffee and some others who God is working through for his glory.

so out of that crazy gathering and amazing coffee (1000hillscoffee drink coffee and do good) jonathan and i said, let’s put together a gathering to let people here the story of justice and mercy from jonathan golden, and hear from others. so we reached out to kris mcdaniel, larry grays, todd mcmichen, nathan tran, brian audia, and jonathan merritt. not to mention that galen jones will be there showing people about an amazing water purifier that can help in amazing places around the world, jon west from the atlanta community food bank, mike reinsel from cares team/apartment life, jim haskel from urban atlanta church planting.net, brian audia from surgance, jonathan rich from buy a record save a life, land of thousand hills will have coffee and great stuff.

so please come, sign up today, please invite a friend and bring them with you. you pay at the door $15.00 for a good chick-fil-a box lunch. you can pay cash or check made out to land of thousand hills coffee. clairmont hills baptist church is hosting and allowing us to use space for the change the world gathering. for more info . . .

www.changetheworldgathering.com

or twitter: @ctwg2010 ,  @timwolfe

or call me 404.226.7382

missions, the kingdom

today was a special day. a kingdom day! with the ing marathon literaly running through our city and basically shutting down the roads in va-hi for the race as well as other areas of the city. because of the roads being blocked and the race running right down virginia avenue we could not get into inman middle school where we meet on sundays. so this year we prayed and said why not be the church (people not just a place or building) and go worship with a sister church. as a matter of fact why not worship with another church plant in the city. so we did and it was so good. we worshipped with midtown bridge. WOW God is at work there!

i had my picture taken with my friend larry grays, the church planter-pastor of the midtown bridge. larry is a man of GOD and loves his family and a good church planter-pastor. i’m thankful to have friends like larry in my life.

there are so amazing guys and teams in the city right now leading, planting, pastoring and some guys coming, some guys just getting started, some guys doing some revitalization, and some guys i do not even know about but God does because it’s HIS church, HIS KINGDOM, HIS city. Thank you Jesus for THE CHURCH!

Courageous Church
Midtown Bridge
Blue Print Church
All Souls Fellowship
Trinity Vinyard
Atlanta Westside Church
Epic Village
Veritas
St. Paul’s
City Church Eastside
Bezalel Church
Influence Community Church
Peculiar Place
FBC Chattahooccee
Clairmonthills Baptist Church
1027church

i pray that city of ATLANTA looks different because some how we ALL will be HIS church, and HIS kingdom will come, and HIS will be done in HIS city!

church planting, the kingdom