Christmas!

The Porch will not be meeting on 12/23 or 12/30. We hope you have a great Christmas and find time to prepare your hearts for the coming of the King.

Dec 16, 2010

We'll see you tomorrow night (Dec. 16) at the Porch in the community center at Guilford College... no matter the weather!

Word of the Father, Now in Flesh Appearing

The story of the Prodigal Son is probably one that is familiar to most of us. The younger son leaves home with his father's money to go to a far country to sow his wild oats. He gets himself into a pickle, loses all his money, and realizes how much better off he would be at home. But will his father accept him and forgive him? Will his father even be open to his return? What will the punishment be like?

Notice Rembrandt's depiction of the return. There is not a hint of bitterness or punishment in the father. Only warmth. Only an embrace. Forgiveness.

Is there a Christmas story in there somewhere? A story of incarnation? A story of a Son leaving the comfort of the Father's house to head to the far country to spend time in the pigpen? And what of the return? Though it is not one of rebellion, Jesus returns to the Father to bring with him all the lost children of God.

Henri Nouwen suggests that "Jesus is the prodigal son of the prodigal Father who gave away everything the Father had entrusted to him so that I could become like him and return with him to his Father's house."

During this Christmas season, I hope that message sinks in. We serve a God who left the comfort of eternity to step into our pigpen to become one of us. So when we realize that we are broken, helpless, and have squandered everything away, we can trust that God knows our burdens because He was beaten, rejected, and humiliated. And He did it so that we can experience the embrace of the Father upon our return. The warm, compassionate, open, non-judgemental embrace of God who is with us.

The Porch will be meeting in the Community Center for 12/9 and 12/16

The Porch will be meeting in the Guilford College Community Center (MPR) for the next two weeks (12/9 and 12/16). We hope you'll join in as we continue to discuss the conspiracy behind Advent. What are your favorite Christmas hymns?

The Porch is back in Founders Hall

The Porch will be returning to Founders Hall this week! Join in as we celebrate Advent... what is the conspiracy?

<--------- Click on the link to Founders Hall for directions. See you on The Porch!

Look at the Stars, Look How They Shine

Believe it or not, but being outside on a cold, moonless, starry night has a way of changing your perspective. A group of us at the Hilltop Retreat were sitting underneath the stars in the mountains above Banner Elk when we realized that we were witnessing something more powerful than a bonding moment in the good ol' out-of-doors. Something bigger than a passing glance at mother nature. Something more real than a chance encounter with a shooting star. Perhaps it was the frigid air. Or maybe it was just being away from the city lights. Whatever it was, it was real. And to be honest, it opened up some interesting personal questions. Does my life have meaning? How could I ever hope to accomplish anything in this world when the universe seems so boundless? Am I just another cog in a machine that is so vast that at times seems incomprehensible? Is my light shining bright now but sure to fade over time? Regardless, the more I stared at the unending canvas, the more I knew that God was close by. Every star had a twinkle that spoke directly to my soul. It was a moment that let me know that I am a creature woven into the fabric of life by a magnificent creator. If God could create a masterpiece such as this, who knows what God is going to create in me! So in this season of giving thanks, I am offering up songs of praise to the God who is both incredibly transcendent and irresistibly imminent. May God's light always shine bright from within your soul.

No Porch Service This Week. Happy Thanksgiving!

We won't be meeting for worship this week at The Porch, but that doesn't mean we aren't thankful. What are you thankful for?

The Porch will be meeting in Bryan Jr. for 11/18/10

The Porch will be meeting the Bryan Jr. Auditorium of the Frank Family Science Center at 7:00 on Thursday, November 18. See y'all on The Porch!

Do we really ever own anything?!

There has been a real theme that has popped up in almost everything I have read and heard in the past week or so.  Stubborn as I am, I often don't pick up on such themes until God puts a giant billboard out for me saying " NEAL!  Pay Attention to what I'm saying to you!!!"   

If you were at GCUMC on Sunday morning, you heard Ben talk about putting ourselves at the center of the universe.  This mindset is so hard to avoid.  So much so that in my attempts to avoid it, I end up right back at the center of my universe.

A.W. Tozer at the very beginning of his book The Pursuit of God talks about prevenient grace... the idea that God had to first seek us before we could seek Him. He says"Before a sinful man can think a right thought of God, there must have been a work of enlightenment done within him; imperfect it may be, but a true work nonetheless, and the secret cause of all desiring and seeking and praying which may follow."

Ben talked about not putting ourselves in the center of the universe.

Paul talks about a community that supports each other in Acts.

So do we really own anything?  Should we really own anything?  Now before you go calling me a socialist or crazy liberal or whatever...remember this is coming from a background of capitalism and conservative school of thought.  Everything we have is because God gave it to us.  He created this earth, and He gives and takes away... remember Job?

But the things we pay for we own.  Right?!  We worked hard (hopefully) for the money we spent on our cars and houses, etc.  But do we really own them?  Do we ever stop paying for them?  We pay property taxes, insurance, etc.  Now this isn't meant to be a political discussion, just an illustration of our mindset.

We feel entitled to these things that we work hard to own.  But we own them realizing that we continue paying for them for the life of the object, and then we die and they are no longer ours.  So really someone else owns everything, and we just pay to use them or borrow them?  If you don't believe me stop paying for your car insurance and home owner's insurance and don't pay your property taxes.  Soon you won't be "owning/borrowing" your house anymore.

God created this earth for us... for us to live off of, to enjoy, and to live in community and worship Him while we were on this earth.  Not for us to divvy up between ourselves and decide that a corner property is worth more than the "sticks" with no road.  He created it as a place to enjoy His gifts and worship Him... but we continue to find ways to build up walls and segregate ourselves.  He first sought us so that we would seek Him.

Somewhere along the way, we decided we were due a piece of land and a house and that we controlled the things of this earth...  As Pete Wilson says in his book Plan B

I think we often treat God like we do a vending machine.  When you walk up to a vending machine, you expect to insert the appropriate amount of money, press the correct code, and out will pop whatever you were hungry for.


This is how we view life isn't it?  We go to school, get the job, get paid, push the appropriate button and out pops a car or house.  We earned it, so we should have it.  We're forgetting that the only reason that we have that job or that education in the first place is because God allowed us to.  Not to mention the mere fact that He allows us to live here (earth), and loves us even though we don't deserve any of His gifts.

Now, I'm not suggesting that we tear down our houses and buildings and live in caves, but I do think we need to reevaluate what is important to us.  We need to remember that these things we work so hard to earn can give us the mindset of entitlement.  "I work hard, so I am due a paycheck, and I am entitled to the car, house, food, clothes, etc. that I choose to buy with that money."  instead of "I work hard so that I can help other people that aren't as fortunate as me."

I am as guilty as anyone of this mindset, but how freeing would it be if we stopped worrying about how much money we made and how much "stuff" we could buy, and started worrying about how can I give more to others and be the body of Christ?  What a release of stress and worry if we forgot the things of the world and remembered the ultimate example of giving God showed us with His son.

The Porch will be meeting in the Community Center for 11/11/10

Join us for worship this Thursday (11/11/10) at 7:00 in the Community Center (MPR) at Guilford College! We will be hearing from Danielle Mitchell (a local sex trafficking advocate) about how we can get involved to help bring an end to some local injustices. Help us spread the word by inviting your friends!

The Porch Meeting in Bryan Jr. 11/4/10

The Porch will be meeting in Bryan Jr. Auditorium of the Frank Family Science Center at Guilford College on Thursday, November 4, at 7:00 p.m. We will be discussing God's justice and how that applies to us! Help us spread the word by inviting your friends to The Porch.

God's Identity...

Thanks for checking us out!  As Pastor Ben already posted, The Porch is a great community of folks looking to Worship, Experience and Belong.  So whether you are already a part of that community, or you are searching for a community, I hope you'll check back here with us and let this blog be a place that you can feel safe to agree, disagree, have questions, add to, etc. 

A great pastor that I follow on Twitter, Pete Wilson, just recently posted an A.W. Tozer quote that has had me thinking for the past couple of days.  It says... "What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."  At first I was hesitant about this, but after thinking on it, and pondering what we are called to do... I'm rather certain it could not be more true.  If we are called to be disciples of Christ, His followers, then how we see God...His identity in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... is essential to how the world sees us.  Genesis 1:27 tells us "And God made man in His image, in His image he made them...", and there are many more examples of how we are created as a reflection of Him in Genesis.

So how do you see God?  If God had a Facebook profile what would it say?  What would His profile picture look like?  What music would He like... how many friends... Would he play farmville?!  

You see, God made us in His image so that we would love one another just as He loves us.  We have chosen to stray from that, but at our core we are created to be in a worshipping community that supports one another and worships our wonderful and loving Creator.  What does worship mean?  That's an entirely different post.

So this week I hope you will  ponder just exactly what God looks like, acts like, what music He listens to... and ______________.

The Porch Launch Service

This picture was taken during our launch service in September 2010 in Founders Hall at Guilford College. We meet here every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. It is a place to worship where anyone can experience God and everyone belongs. See you on The Porch!

Worship Experience Belong

I love the tag line for The Porch: Worship, Experience, Belong because to me it communicates everything that we are about. The more wordy vision helps us to understand it a little better: We are a community of faith, centered around worship, where anyone can experience God and everyone can belong. Sounds complicated, you say? It doesn't have to be. Through worship, we are committed to bringing people into a disciple-relationship (experience) with Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world (belong). That's it. That's what we're about. We are committed to worshipping God for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ. How are we going to accomplish this? You are invited to journey with us as we figure it out together.