assessment

a quick update... blogging from the cafe @ kenyon college. spent this whole past week at church planters assessment for the church of the Nazarene. i guess you could say that kerri and i were somewhat surprised at what happened this past week here. I you would have told us that we would actually like the kind of people that would show up at an event like this we would have told you that you "didn't understand." we totally expected to be misunderstood, rejected, and "red-flagged", but none of these things happened. the director took us aside half way through (just about the time Kerri and I had had enough and were ready to leave) and urged us to remain patient with the system and try and at least make some friends. He later mentioned to us that our presence was influencial not only to those involved in the assesment with us but also to the process itself! they affirmed our passion and calling and gave us unconditional approval to plant simple churches under the banner of nazarenedom. this, we did not expect. so this means that our relationship with the nazarenes is developing. it still isn't the focus by anymeans... they would like it to be, but if we begin to listen to the voices that say, "if you build this thing up, if you are a success, if you crack this case of 'urban planting', then we will hold you up as a model for the denomination..." then we have taken the bait of significance in the eyes and arenas of man... lord help us to continue to be us.