today in history ..

it's a good day
a special day
a day i hope to remember with joy and some sense of moving the kingdom forward for Lord Jesus

i'm involved in the startup of a new kinda church thingy
and it feels good
it resonates with my spirit

the idea is to open church to all comers
regardless
and to welcome and embrace all
regardless

an interesting concept
instituted by none other than Jesus himeslf, the man i disciple to ..
and if my math still works, since he's the one who said ' i will build my church ' , then i figure anything that moves in his direction ought to be a celebration of christianity ..

he was the champion of the underclassed
the source of hope for the hopeless
pathfinder for the out-of-the-way
healer for the sick
interpreter of the Law for the lawyers
feeder of hungry
embracer of the female
liberator of the demon-possessed
rebel in the face of Rome
preacher of good news

anything that speaks to his Way and moves in his direction has my support
and i'm all in
regardless of the ' shock ' to some
regardless of the comeback it might generate
regardless of those that walk out
regardless of the naysayers

there've always been naysayers and bullies and lawkeepers and deniers and persecuters and those who think that pomp and presentation make the ' church ' more godly ..
all that really muddies the waters ..
Jesus was clear , if in a parabolic way
blinding with the light he brought to our understanding
jarring with his words of corrective justification to the religious and the sticklers and the do-rights
shocking with his embrace of all, particularly the excluded
..
particularly the excluded ..

and that is precisely where we are headed
for Jesus is lord of all
all

not
caucasian only
not
' decent ' only
not
religious only
not
' straight ' only

anti-imperial
anti-hate
anti-class
anti-power
anti-violence
anti-the things that produce linesinthesand

when a movement smells and tastes and feels and sounds like that
i see it as a push against the wickedness of this world system
and a push against the far-too-often wickedness of the ' church ' in all it's bloody enforcement
a standup against oppression and subjugation and classification
and i smile for the excitement i feel for the unknown
for what's to come ..

anything that challenges the Satan and the dark spiritual powers-that-be in their quest for dominance sends chills of excitement up my soul's spine, and calls for my in-ness
especially when it includes the excluded ..
especially then
'cause Jesus came to set the captive free
free ..

i'm into freeness
in Jesus' name