Third Floor Plumbing

Heading North

2011-07-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

Christian musician, poet, and singer/songwriter Rich Mullins once said, "I feel like God's leading me out, so I'm kind of sleeping with my shoes on. When God parts the sea, you don't want to say, 'Oh rats, where are my sandals?'" Lately we've been 'sleeping with our shoes on.' We knew that this year would bring transition, but weren't sure what that would look like or when it would happen exactly. I applied to Masters programs, going back and forth between passions, trying to figure out the next step. What we're about hasn't changed: prayer, worship and ministering the Lord's love and mercy. We've been blessed to have been able to build helping relationships with Apache teens and young adults that we'll take with us the rest of our lives, however, we feel that the Lord's leading us into a new season of ministry.

Over the past few years, we have enjoyed our fellowship with the Alliance of Renewal Churches ( arcusa.org ). Joel has key mentors who are a part of this alliance, and as we got to know the leadership, we have grown closely connected to their values. We have led worship at their annual conferences, and Joel has taught workshops at their conferences as well.

The beginning of June, Joel received a call from an ARC church, asking him to consider a full-time worship leader position that had become available. The details began to fall into place for us, and the Lord gave us great peace and desire for the position...even though the position is in Minnesota! We had no idea that the Lord would be transitioning us from the mountains of Arizona to the colder climate of MN, but the more we prayed about it, the more we felt a big "yes" over the opportunity. The weeks following, we spent much time in prayer as we talked with the pastor and interviewed with the church leadership. Through the process, the peace on our hearts turned to excitement as we've been on this ride of God answering our prayers for clarity.

So, our big announcement is that in September we will be transitioning from our ministry with Apache Youth Ministries and Joel will be joining the staff at North Heights Lutheran Church - Fellowship Hall - in Roseville, MN (in the Twin Cities area).

We feel that the position at North Heights is a good fit for Joel because, not only is it a worship leading position (and we love leading worship), but the church is passionate about prayer, active in outreach, they are hungry for soaking worship (worship times that foster intimacy with Jesus), and they want someone who is experienced in, and passionate about, intercultural ministries and reaching the nations with the Gospel. We feel that this position is right in line with our passions and the Calling that the Lord has placed on our lives.

Now we are in packing mode, and we'll be moving the end of August. Please be praying for us in this big transition. There is much to be done, and while we are excited about this new 'starting line' in ministry, we also have a 'finishing line' on this season of ministry - for which much needs to be done.

Not the end: thoughts on redemption part three

2011-04-24T15:14:00.002-07:00

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
"Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:19-21

Grappling with death is one of the inevitabilities of human existence. Every person through history did it, and Jesus even did it. The two verses above are verses that are conceptually embraced by western Christians, however, there is a large disconnect when it comes living like we believe it. The persecuted church gets it, where believers (even in this moment) are being persecuted, harmed, or tortured for their faith. In living it out, they are showing us what it really means to believe those verses.

We need to live for the Kingdom that we claim we belong to. As long as we live for this kingdom and this Age, we’ll try to find ways to have all the blessings of this world and all the benefits of Heaven (i.e. Gnostic Christianity). However, Jesus was all or nothing, and He calls us to be all or nothing. I admit, that’s not a very popular thing to teach today, but, judging from the Gospels, it wasn’t a very popular thing to teach in Jesus’ day either.

This morning we stayed home from church since our 2 weeks and 6 day old daughter is getting this whole living thing worked out (breathing, sleeping, pooping, and eating). As I gave little Sarah her first rundown of the resurrection story, I thought, “Wow, what an existence.” It really is all about Jesus. Eating, breathing, sleeping, living, would be meaningless without the sacrifice and the person of Christ. The cross was the plan from the foundation of the world. Us being with the Father (in love) is the primary purpose of our existence.

Today as I held our little girl Sarah Clare, I remembered the son that we lost: Elijah. We sprinkled his ashes on a hill with three crosses, overlooking the reservation where we work. Today that is a declaration that death is not the end – it has been conquered. In that moment I realize that my heart is starting to grasp the truth of “Death where is your sting” and “to live is Christ, to die is gain.” I have a daughter on this side of Heaven, and a son on the other. There is a fellowship that my wife and I share, “a strength for today, a bright hope for tomorrow.” As a family, our living is done together, and when that day comes where we cross over onto that other shore, it means eternity together. Life means living for the Kingdom of our citizenship now, as strangers in this land (1 Peter 2:11), testifying of the Kingdom of Heaven by the way that we live now.

He has risen indeed!

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatains 2:20

Redemption in the works: thoughts on redemption part two

2011-04-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

Beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning...the beauty does not make the ashes non-existent and the joy doesn't negate the tears shed. Redemption doesn't mean everything is rosy, rather, it means that the prickly thorn is a part of the rose's beauty, not an ugly deformity that must be explained away or made excuses for.

Here is the first listen to my new project Voices: the nomad chronicles, vol. 2. It is also part 2 to my song Regarding Elijah

Hungry for Redemption: thoughts on redemption part one

2011-03-15T09:50:00.001-07:00

“Live as if Christ died yesterday, rose this morning and is coming back tomorrow.” – Martin Luther

I was overwhelmed in my time with the Lord this morning. From thinking of the devastating events in Japan, to the tensions found in ministry, and even the annoyance of financial situations, the prayer uttered was “Jesus I need you.” From big to small - things are just tough. Will the Church step up? Will it pray? Will it fast? Will it go and give, not only aid but also rehabilitation and development? Will we merely go and do what it takes to sleep better at night, or will we do what it takes for them to sleep better at night? That’s a different story altogether. Whether them is Japan, or the suffering and poor in our midst, are we going to do what it takes to life as usual, or be changed? My friend Lisa wrote:

“Complexity. It's hard to be pithy enough. Suffice it to say, I'll wear red for Japan. I believe in visible tokens for awareness, but our response to this must go beyond symbolism. We feel impotent now. But there will be demand for our financial and physical aid for years to come. Will we answer?

Are we still answering, for Haiti?... Chile? New Orleans? Are we still answering, for poverty? Jails? Illness?”

Japan is not going to get back to business as usual. Japan will forever be changed. The question is will we? Will we move beyond pity to compassion? Compassion is dangerous because it requires suffering with someone else. It means no more business as usual.

Frederick Buechner wrote, "Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too” (1973).

I love redemption stories, and I’m not the only one. From the Christmas Carol to Les Miserables, from Comedy to Action genres, from Paramount to Disney, everyone loves the feeling of redemption. As a Christian I believe that the hunger for redemption runs through my veins. Believing that beauty can come from ashes, healing for others through my brokenness, and hope can somehow break through hopelessness like the sun through storm clouds. However, in light of following Christ, I don’t believe redemption can come in its fullness without incarnation. Whether it’s Christ on the cross, or His follower(s) on the cross (metaphorical or not), it’s on broken wings that redemption must fly, otherwise it’s not redemption. You can’t rescue something that doesn’t need rescuing, but not everything that needs rescuing is rescued, and that’s the point that I think needs to convict us.

So back to the beginning. I want to live in the heart posture that Christ died yesterday, rose this morning and is coming back tomorrow. My own need for rescuing is daily apparent, but if it stops there – I don’t think that is what being redeemed looks like. Being redeemed, I believe, should make us hunger and thirst to be a part of the rescuing effort. It’s the overflow of a redeemed heart and a redeemed life. So what am I doing? My hands feel so tied and insignificant in light of this major disaster. But I’ll intercede for the people there, and I’ll look for a way to be a part. The here and now requires me to step-it-up, however, to those in need that I can touch. No more “business as usual.” I believe that Christ is coming back soon, so that means that every event – everyday should push us toward the urgency that this life is short and we are one moment closer to seeing Christ.

Reference:
Buechner, F. (1973). Wishful Thinking: A seeker’s ABC. NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Learning how to serve like Jesus and not an elephant

2011-02-21T21:45:00.000-08:00

Joel just posted a new article to our "Ministering Mercy" section. It reads:

I’m learning how to serve. I believe the western church needs to learn how to serve. As the ministry that we work for is getting ready for summer work teams to come out, I am helping to prepare training materials for hosting those groups. As I reminisce of experiences of different groups, I have to admit, some memories make my stomach turn. One short-term mission group that was in Seattle after spending time on the Yakima reservation was approached by a homeless man begging for money, and one of the leaders grilled him in a way that really tore at his dignity. Or there was a group that came to the rez and one of the leaders was quite opinionated on what he thought was the “problem” of the conditions found on the rez, he pushed his own agenda, and was disappointed that efforts were not taken promote a study that he brought on the trip. He didn’t know our community at all and continually compared his trip to the rez to other short-term mission trips that he had done in the past (i.e. Mexico). The list goes on, but there were amazing groups that truly came with servant’s hearts, learning about the culture, and doing whatever was needed – not merely just doing what they thought might be needed. The difference? Meekness and humility. While all groups might have had good intentions, the ones that bolstered the effectiveness of our ministry the most were the ones who held their own agendas loosely, listened instead of talked, came with a student’s heart instead of insisting on playing teacher, and were willing to be a servant.

In a remarkable book (and good training tool) entitled When Helping Hurts: How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor…and yourself (2009), author Steve Corbett shares a story that missions expert Miriam Adeney was told by an African Christian friend.

Elephant and Mouse were best friends. One day Elephant said, “Mouse, let’s have a party!” Animals gathered from far and near. They ate. They drank. They sang. And they danced. And nobody celebrated more and danced harder than Elephant. After the party was over, Elephant exclaimed, “Mouse, did you ever go to a better party? What a blast!” But Mouse did not answer. “Mouse, where are you?” Elephant called. He looked around for his friend, and then shrank back in horror. There at Elephant’s feet lay Mouse. His little body was ground into the dirt. He had been smashed by the big feet of his exuberant friend, Elephant. “Sometimes, that is what it is like to do mission with you Americans,” the African storyteller commented. “ It is like dancing with an Elephant” (p. 161-162).

There are times in the past when I admit that I have been Elephant, and I pray that in spite of my ignorant enthusiasm (and misguided piety) that the Lord worked healing for my missteps. As a full-time missionary in Native America I have also often felt like Mouse, where groups came to give without finding out what was needed. I have unfortunately seen the Gospel presented in ethnocentric and egocentric ways, leaving our ministry more drained than encouraged when they left.

My point? Let’s serve like Jesus (Philippians 2:1-11). Let’s walk out the Sermon on the Mount. Though we may mess up a lot, if we surrender ourselves to Christ and to the place of prayer, I believe we’ll be amazed by how much we get right (through the Spirit at work in us). As Corbett puts it, let’s stay away from the “go-help-and-save-them” message and use a “go-as-a-learner” message (p. 176). I believe this is the attitude for every day and our interactions with our immediate societies (not just in missions). In essence: the world doesn’t need me – it needs Jesus. If we want to see Jesus stuff happen in and through our lives, I believe we need to know and understand the reality of the Apostle Paul’s words, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Let’s abandon ourselves to Christ.

Reference:
Corbett, S. & Fikkert, B. (2009). When helping hurts: How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor...and yourself. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

The Word for 2011: connecting-the-dots

2011-01-22T12:17:00.000-08:00

In the last few months we have been praying for perspective on what the Lord is doing in our lives and ministry. We have been so blessed in our relationships in ministry, and the Lord has been so faithful to us through the different seasons of life. Last year we felt that the Lord was taking us to the next level of ministry by discipling the Native youth that we work with, and “buying in” more fully to the call that He has placed on our lives. For this year, we feel that the Lord is moving us into a season of broader perspective and connecting-the-dots on who He created us to be (and the message that He’s given us to speak).

The vision of our ministry is synonymous with our greatest passions as Christ followers, and that is: prayer, worship, and ministering His mercy to the world.

Our specific path that He has led us down in order to develop our experiences and ministry have been: our individual educations (Joel’s in Sociology and Sound Engineering and Marissa’s in International Business), ministering at the International House of Prayer in Atlanta, GA, Native American missions, corporate worship leading, and equipping others in worshipping Him from the paradigm of intimacy. We have been “marked” by intercession and His deep love for the Native American people, as well as His heart for the poor and the oppressed.

What we feel that the Lord is saying in this year’s connecting-the-dots is that He’s going to be marrying together our experiences, our knowledge, and our points of vision (prayer, worship, and mercy ministry), to be more effective in equipping the Church and reaching the Lost. We long to be a part of the Body of Christ’s process of investing fully in finding its identity in the place of prayer (the secret place/corporate expressions of sustained prayer and worship), and in that place, receiving the Lord’s heart for the poor, oppressed, outcast, and stranger. This is a connection that the Lord has done in our own lives, and it has changed our hearts in ways we never thought possible. We want to be a part of that transformation in the lives of others.

What this looks like in 2011:

Joel will be helping to develop Apache Youth Ministries’ short-term mission trips for the summer. This year AYM plans to offer new training for groups that come to the reservation in order to be more effective, with a strong foundation in understanding the community.
We will be leading a soaking worship time at the Alliance of Renewal Churches’ Southwest Gathering in San Diego, CA, and Joel will be teaching a workshop on leading experiences of soaking worship, as well as developing it in one’s personal times with the Lord.
Continued relationship building and discipleship of Native American youth with Apache Youth Ministries.

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. You are an integral part of our ministry!

Following the Leader

2010-12-21T16:11:00.000-08:00

The D-Group with Amadeo's pastor Ben and Amadeo's missions intern Sarah.

December 3-6 our D-Group (Discipleship Group) took a weekend outreach trip to Queen Creek, AZ, where we partnered with one of our supporting churches (Amadeo Church). Our crew served a ministry to the homeless in Tempe, AZ, helped out at a food and clothing bank that the church hosts, spent time with the community at Amadeo, and helped with their Sunday morning service.

This year we've really been trying to dial in on our discipleship program being an intentional program of 'doing Jesus stuff,' which is really what discipleship is. Our study that we hold on Monday nights has been focused on looking at the validity of Scripture, and coming to the conclusion: "If this thing (Christianity) is real (and we believe it is), then it's going to change our lives!" So our model that we are pursuing is conceptually based on how Jesus taught the twelve : teaching/training - sending/doing it - debriefing/processing it. As we embarked on our first D-Group mission trip, our challenge and commission was: It's all about Jesus.

It was exciting to watch the D-Group 'go for it.' They prayed with/for and interacted with the homeless, prayed for Amadeo Church members, and served diligently. When we got back Sunday night the group asked when we can do it again!

2010-2011 School Year Start!

2010-09-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

Our ministry has gotten off to an exciting start of the 2010-2011 school year. An influx of new students have been coming to our youth center, we’ve started our yearly programs, and we’ve also been able to facilitate an internship with the International House of Prayer in Atlanta, GA, for two of our Native students who graduated last school year. It is exciting and encouraging to watch teens that we’ve spent many hours in prayer for to make decisions to radically follow Christ and give themselves in the place of prayer. After the internship they will be going to college, where we pray the Lord will continue to cultivate their devotion to living their lives being abandoned to their first love, Jesus. We plan to be active in their transition into college in January 2011.

We covet your prayers as we build relationships with the teens that we encounter. Every home situation is unique, and there are always extreme resource lacks. As we minister, we need wisdom from situation to situation, and revelation of how God wants to move in and through us. We invite you to intercede with us for the youth to have impacting revelations of the love of God (Ephesians 3:14-19). Thank you, Wonderful Mercy, for being on our team! Your prayers and support are crucial for what we do! God is moving within this generation of Native youth, and it is humbling to be a part of it.

Below are updates from Ariel and Marquez, who are interning at the International House of Prayer in Atlanta:

My time at IHOP-Atlanta is very uplifting and exciting. I can feel God's deep love for me here and everyday since, I've experience new ways to increase that hunger for Him. I've also been getting a lot of information on how to pursue that hunger through classes I've been taking. The Book of Ezekiel, The Sermon on the Mount, and Fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit are the three classes I'm taking and are my favorite parts of this internship. The main thing that's been changing my outlook on life is that God is here and desirees us not only for His own good but because He loves us and wants that deep relationship with us. Knowing that and constantly reminding myself everyday of that truth makes my heart melt! I can feel that God is mestifesting His love in me so that I can show others His love and mercy. Without His love and mercy none of mankind would have a chance to enternal life. Because of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and our Father's Love, we are good hands. Thank you so much for your contineous support. This life changing experience would not have been possible without your prayers and monitary gifts. I thank the Lord that He is able to shine through the many hearts that love Him and you helped me see that more clearly than ever by making this experience possible.

With great love,
Marquez Kane

Hello my fellow friends,

I am writing to inform you on how my experience at International House of Prayer-Atlanta is going. I am having a great time getting to know new people and just spending time with the Lord. I'm taking Bible classes Monday through Thursday, and I'm getting so much out of it. I can't pick a favorite class but if I had to it would be the book of Ezekiel. My favorite parts of this experience would be spending time with other interns, just hanging out and encouraging each other cause we're all here for the same reason. Another thing I'm enjoying is my time in the prayer room, seeking out God and spending time with Him. One thing God is really showing me is his love for me. How much He truly loves me and wants me to live my life for Him. I always thought I knew this, but I guess it was all head knowledge. It's now in my heart. I truly know how precious I am to Him and His love for me. My time at the International House of Prayer is really showing me a lot. I want to thank all my supporters for your support and prayers. I am praying for you in return and may the Lord bless you! Thank you!

Ariel Edison