Roman Emperor Julian
May the kind of Christianity we practice be scandalous. May it be compelling to all who witness the love that we share.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
"It is a scandal"
"Atheism (Christianity) has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar; and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them."
Roman Emperor Julian
May the kind of Christianity we practice be scandalous. May it be compelling to all who witness the love that we share.
Roman Emperor Julian
May the kind of Christianity we practice be scandalous. May it be compelling to all who witness the love that we share.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
HT United
Our 2nd HT United is this Sunday night from 6:00-8:00. Join the passion for community and embrace this unique expression of the Christian life. United in worship, in fellowship, in play, and in some serious snackage. Bring your favorite chili or soup recipe if you would like, and enjoy this time when all Home Teams are joined together. You are sure to have fun, and Christ is sure to be honored this Sunday night.
SPECS:
1. Location: Town Park, Mansfield. Need directions? Click the link to the right that says "Locate a Home Team" and find Town Park.
2. Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
3. What to bring: bring chili if you are participating in the cook-off, maybe bug spray since we will be outdoors at dusk, and perhaps a 2 liter
4. Rockway will provide water, ice, condiments, and all the paper goods
5. Activities: Worship together in the amphitheater, eat, hang out, volleyball, playgrounds, basketball courts
6. This will be a good time to bring friends or neighbors to introduce the Rockway Family to them.
Comment back if you have questions. Can't wait to see everyone there!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The Fellowship of the Mat
In his book, "Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them", John Ortberg writes, "One of the most countercultural statements in Scripture is a description of the early church. In speaking of the people's oneness of heart and mind, the writer notes, "They met together daily." They worshiped together, ate together, talked together, prayed together- on a daily basis. No wonder they grew so close. We try to create 1st century community on a 21st century timetable- and it doesn't work. Maybe the biggest single barrier to deep connectedness for most of us is simply the pace of our lives... The requirement for true intimacy is chunks of unhurried time. If you think you can fit deep community into the cracks of an overloaded schedule- think again."
Rockway, in so many ways is doing so well when it comes to community. But we still have a ways to go. Let's keep crashing through roofs and carrying mats together. I love our Fellowship of the Mat that Jessica and I stumbled into this time last year.
Rockway, in so many ways is doing so well when it comes to community. But we still have a ways to go. Let's keep crashing through roofs and carrying mats together. I love our Fellowship of the Mat that Jessica and I stumbled into this time last year.
Friday, October 5, 2007
HT United
Don't forget that this Sunday night from 6:30-8:30 we are going to experience our 1st HT United gathering. Full of synergy, unity, and passion for God and others, this gathering is going to be the highlight of your week. Come hang out. Come worship. Come eat, drink, and play. Christ will be honored with the gathering of his people Sunday night.
Some of the specs that you may want to know:
1. Location: Town Park, Mansfield. Need directions? Click the link to the right that says "Locate a Home Team" and find Town Park.
2. Time: 6:30-8:30 pm
3. What to bring: bring a side dish (this can be chips or dessert), maybe bug spray since we will be outdoors at dusk
4. Rockway will provide burgers, dogs, buns, drinks, condiments, and all the paper goods
5. Activities: Worship together in the amphitheater, eat, hang out, volleyball, playgrounds, basketball courts
6. This will be a good time to bring friends or neighbors to introduce the Rockway Family to them.
Comment back if you have questions. Can't wait to see everyone there!
Some of the specs that you may want to know:
1. Location: Town Park, Mansfield. Need directions? Click the link to the right that says "Locate a Home Team" and find Town Park.
2. Time: 6:30-8:30 pm
3. What to bring: bring a side dish (this can be chips or dessert), maybe bug spray since we will be outdoors at dusk
4. Rockway will provide burgers, dogs, buns, drinks, condiments, and all the paper goods
5. Activities: Worship together in the amphitheater, eat, hang out, volleyball, playgrounds, basketball courts
6. This will be a good time to bring friends or neighbors to introduce the Rockway Family to them.
Comment back if you have questions. Can't wait to see everyone there!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
nos·tal·gi·a
nos·tal·gi·a
1. a mixed feeling of happiness, sadness, and longing when recalling a person, place, or event from the past, or the past in general
2. something, or things, intended to arouse a feeling of nostalgia or to evoke the past nostalgically
3. a longing for home or family when away from either (dated)
Read the first 4 verses of 1 John and you get a sense that John is experiencing some serious nostalgia. Our Home Team Bible Study this fall is going to be on the book of 1 John. It's going to be an awesome time of learning from a seasoned veteran who actually walked and talked with Jesus. The last remaining apostle, John was an old man when he wrote his first letter. Join others this fall as we dive into the Word of God and learn to walk closer together and with God. If you want to get a jump start on the study, read 1 John 1:1-4 before Sunday night. O and then you may want to check out his gospel- specifically John 1:1-5. See if they sound like they are coming from the same steel-trap mind of John the Beloved Disciple.
See you soon everyone.
1. a mixed feeling of happiness, sadness, and longing when recalling a person, place, or event from the past, or the past in general
2. something, or things, intended to arouse a feeling of nostalgia or to evoke the past nostalgically
3. a longing for home or family when away from either (dated)
Read the first 4 verses of 1 John and you get a sense that John is experiencing some serious nostalgia. Our Home Team Bible Study this fall is going to be on the book of 1 John. It's going to be an awesome time of learning from a seasoned veteran who actually walked and talked with Jesus. The last remaining apostle, John was an old man when he wrote his first letter. Join others this fall as we dive into the Word of God and learn to walk closer together and with God. If you want to get a jump start on the study, read 1 John 1:1-4 before Sunday night. O and then you may want to check out his gospel- specifically John 1:1-5. See if they sound like they are coming from the same steel-trap mind of John the Beloved Disciple.
See you soon everyone.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Home Teams Kick Off this Sunday! Woo-hooo!
This Sunday night, at 6 pm, Home Teams will be kicking off for the fall! Meet new friends, pray together, eat together, chillax and watch the Cowboys season opener against the NY pansy-Giants. You will be glad you plugged into a home team! Feel free to leave a comment about what Home Teams have meant to you and your family.
What is the church all about?
"Therefore I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, for this is your spiritual act of worship." - Paul
Not once in Paul's writing does he suggest that a person goes to church primarily to "worship." It couldn't be, because he held a view of "worship" that prevented him from doing so. Romans 12:1 shows me that worship involves my whole life- every word and action, and it doesn't matter where I am or what time it is.
And since all places and times have now become my venue for worship, I can't talk about Christians gathering together in church distinctively for that purpose. If I am a Christian, then I am already worshipping God, acceptably or unacceptably, in whatever I am doing. This doesn't mean that I don't go to church to worship- that's an added bonus!
In the rest of Romans 12, Paul tells us that the purpose of church is rather the "edification" (building others up) of its members through their God-given ministry to one another. Church, to Paul, was much more ministry than it was worship. Worship was what he did day in and day out: when he slept, when he swam to shore after a ship-wreck, when he was whipped "times without number", when he was stoned and beaten with rods, when he smacked his camel on the booty ... AND when he gathered with other believers to celebrate God's presence with them. Paul was all about worship- but he wanted the church to get the picture:
Worship every day of your life. And when you get together, proclaim the presence of the Lord through serving one ANOTHER, encouraging one ANOTHER, praying for one ANOTHER, taking the Lord's Supper TOGETHER, showing kindness to one ANOTHER. It's not about me. It's about God, and how he lives in you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and me... and how He longs to help us live out the life of Christ.
I hope this is making sense... it's just that I don't see churches today gathering often to minister to one another. Every member is a minister. If that is true, then maybe when we start to get it, we will see more people praying for each other when we gather together. We will see more hugs. We will see more people volunteering to serve, to smile, to welcome guests. We will see more people celebrating the grace of God in each other's lives. We will see Christ walking the halls of our gathering place-that is now Brooks Wester Middle School. And then we will see what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:25- an outsider walking in, falling on his knees and declaring, "God is really here among you!" How incredible will that be?
I hope it happens. And I pray it happens soon!
Kyle Walker
Community Pastor
Rockway Church
Not once in Paul's writing does he suggest that a person goes to church primarily to "worship." It couldn't be, because he held a view of "worship" that prevented him from doing so. Romans 12:1 shows me that worship involves my whole life- every word and action, and it doesn't matter where I am or what time it is.
And since all places and times have now become my venue for worship, I can't talk about Christians gathering together in church distinctively for that purpose. If I am a Christian, then I am already worshipping God, acceptably or unacceptably, in whatever I am doing. This doesn't mean that I don't go to church to worship- that's an added bonus!
In the rest of Romans 12, Paul tells us that the purpose of church is rather the "edification" (building others up) of its members through their God-given ministry to one another. Church, to Paul, was much more ministry than it was worship. Worship was what he did day in and day out: when he slept, when he swam to shore after a ship-wreck, when he was whipped "times without number", when he was stoned and beaten with rods, when he smacked his camel on the booty ... AND when he gathered with other believers to celebrate God's presence with them. Paul was all about worship- but he wanted the church to get the picture:
Worship every day of your life. And when you get together, proclaim the presence of the Lord through serving one ANOTHER, encouraging one ANOTHER, praying for one ANOTHER, taking the Lord's Supper TOGETHER, showing kindness to one ANOTHER. It's not about me. It's about God, and how he lives in you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and me... and how He longs to help us live out the life of Christ.
I hope this is making sense... it's just that I don't see churches today gathering often to minister to one another. Every member is a minister. If that is true, then maybe when we start to get it, we will see more people praying for each other when we gather together. We will see more hugs. We will see more people volunteering to serve, to smile, to welcome guests. We will see more people celebrating the grace of God in each other's lives. We will see Christ walking the halls of our gathering place-that is now Brooks Wester Middle School. And then we will see what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:25- an outsider walking in, falling on his knees and declaring, "God is really here among you!" How incredible will that be?
I hope it happens. And I pray it happens soon!
Kyle Walker
Community Pastor
Rockway Church
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Rockway Home Teams
Hey Friends. This is the Rockway Home Team information page. This is the place you will come to post comments, arrange for proper snackage, or simply get out information that needs to be dispersed. Enjoy.
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