Facebook

Hey there…as things get easier and easier to communicate with technology, i want to invite you to become a friend of the refuge by linking on through facebook.  this is an amazing way to communicate instantly different updates and this will act as one more channel to share and inform others what is going on in OKC and with our community

so, if you haven’t joined the fun of facebook, get on…and than join The Refuge OKC group.

blessings

here are some notes of what we are pursuing this spring break 09

notes-on-a-napkin

here are some plans that we tossing out for a spring break missional movement…

it may be hard to understand, but as things develop we will launch more…

pray pray pray for God to release His Spirit onto our city.

here is a message that is a staple for the foundation of the refuge

Enjoy your listening

Message from Mike Breen on the enabler vs the engager

This will bless you if you are wanting to know what the role of the Church is in today culture.

Things that seem to make since

As you have read from time to time on our site, you have heard from us about how, what, why, who the refuge is fighting for.  We see our role here in OKC to try seek out what the church looks like in OKC.  I got this email from a friend of mine and thought that i would put it on the blog so you can read, see, hear, what we are fighting for.  Enjoy.

Let The Church Be The Church
by James Robison

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

People often ask questions when difficult circumstances overcome our world. With the crumbling economy, multiple wars and new direction in political leadership, Christians must understand the proper role of the church to impact our world.

Though Christians can and should be involved in the political process, the church was never meant to be a partisan power base. Our role transcends earthly structures. We are to lift up the light of the world, Jesus Christ, not the hatchet of the political party. When the church attempts to play the role of the government, it tends to corrupt one or both of the institutions. Even Israel failed as a theocracy. Modern theocratic regimes are actually controlled by mullahs and similar men who claim the divine mantle, but frequently abuse it for personal gain. Likewise, when the government attempts to supplant the role of the church, it becomes a perverse imitation of the real thing, mocking prosperity, peace and the principles of God.

For example, the Christian concept of charity involves a sacrificial giving in order to help meet the needs of someone else. But when the government forces you to take what you’ve earned and give it to the poor, it is vastly different. God loves a cheerful giver, not a cheerful taxer! Without a connection of love and concern between the giver and the recipient, the meaning of charity is lost. Instead, it is man’s counterfeit, which we call socialism. The church must demonstrate to the world how God’s principles work, so that they can witness the power of His ways.

Christians should seek to penetrate society, not polarize it. There will be a level of polarization when we stand up for what we believe those who were not “for” Jesus were “against” him and crucified Him for it but if you receive the love that Jesus offers, your life has the power to transform the world. Light penetrates darkness. When the church is a light, it dispels darkness. Changed people change the world, so we must first allow God’s light to drive the darkness out of our own lives before we can shine His love into the lives of those around us.

Our country will only change when the people change. Government does not legislate morality so much as it reflects the morality of the people. Right now, our government desperately needs change. So does the media, Wall Street, Hollywood and everywhere in between. But practices and policies will only change when people change. That is the role of the church.

I am not suggesting that Christians stay out of political matters, but understand that politics are meaningless without a transformation of the heart, mind and spirit. We can make every form of abortion illegal, but it won’t go away until every pregnant woman values the life of her child. Government focuses on people’s actions, but God focuses on people’s hearts. In the same way, the church should move beyond legislating people’s actions and strive to transform their hearts and inspire them to respect and value all life.

The model for the modern church is found in the book of Acts. When Jesus appeared after his death and resurrection, he appeared to His followers in Jerusalem. They asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Isn’t this typical of people in the church? After everything they had heard and seen, they wanted Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom. If Jesus lived in the flesh today, we’d probably want Him to run for president! But we could have a perfect president and as long as we still have rotten, rebellious people, we will have problems. Jesus’ purpose was and is beyond such earthly things. Instead, he told them to wait until the Holy Spirit empowered them so that they could be witnesses all over the world. They wanted to conquer Jerusalem with force, but Jesus wants to envelop the earth with love, joy and peace.

This is still His desire. Our world will never be perfect until He comes, but he can perfect His will in our individual lives, if we will allow it. So ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to care about others, reach out, be involved and pray…in essence, be the church.

This Week
Be the church. Set aside political battles and engage in spiritual warfare. Focus not on others, but on yourself. A light does not have to be forced to shine; simply allow yourself to be filled with God’s light, then release it.

Prayer
“Father, fill me with your spirit so that I can be your witness on this earth.”

a work day: sunday november 16

we, at The Refuge, are going to be joining up with those on the Bridge to Life program at the City Rescue Mission to clean up the city.  We are going to be working with the Memorial Rd. Church of Christ who will be bringing the food to share with those who work.  This is going to be awesome because we have been wanting to bring in a way of breaking bread with people but also wanting them to be apart of working/serving their community.

The have seen with the various feedings that go on in our neighborhood that the many people who come down are actually working against us in our efforts.  We are truly trying to see what it would look like to help get these people out of their lifestyle.  As I have mentioned before, we have seen that homeless in many respects is a huge bioproduct of a lifestyle of self.  And this selfishness has engulfed their life.  That is why we are trying to work from selfishness to selflessness.  We see Jesus as this perfect model of one who came to serve others.  And of course, the ultimate sacrifice of self was laying His life down for us.  We, as believers, are trying to seek ways of helping the homeless.  Here is our game plan up to this point.

• Serve often (most likely in a daily formate of some sort)
• We pick up trash daily.  As we have tried to pick apart why we have focused so much attention on trash these are the reasons we have come up with so far:

1. It is the ultimate way for us to die to ourselves.  We don’t necessarily enjoy picking up trash, but in doing so, we are decreasing so He may increase.
2. It is bring back to order or a way of restoring or redeeming back the streets.  The LORD comes to clean and restore what the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
3. It is a way to serve with a selfless disposition.  Often, the religious element of coming down for a few minutes to get a good job or a “i feel good now” mindset seems to not be long lasting.  Now, we are amazed on how many people want to come down and be apart, but they are usually focused on the things that the homeless people say that want, but they actually don’t really need it.  What the homeless people need is discipleship:  Christ-authored accountability and Christ-centered community.
4. It is a way to have a physical and a spiritual purpose to walking the streets and mingling with those who would normally wouldn’t notice you.  But some random dude who is picking up trash on a regular basis allows you to build credibility and long lasting relationships with them.  As long as you pick up trash praying and with a heart of gladness, you will mess the homeless up in a good way.  It is a good way to heap coals on them because it kills them to see order because they look for areas of disorder.

those are just some of the reasons why almost any given day, someone from the refuge will be picking up trash.

sometimes we are called to fly

there have been some things that i have learned on this journey in starting a work…so often people make great suggestions to read a book that looks a lot like the work that we started, or to go see a work that is similiar to the refuge.  i know that it is wise suggestions and i know that i can learn a lot, but at times i don’t want to be influenced with things that God has shared with other people…and at times, i wrestle with that because it could so easily be pride that i am dealing with and thinking that i want to do things simply my way…the other way though is that i don’t want to fill anything in my mind, heart, soul, or strength that is not for us and the work that God is doing through us…and of course, when i reject someones idea to go see a work i get the infamous line, “well, you don’t want to recreate the wheel”.  and as i was thinking about that line, i was thinking that may be it isn’t that He is asking me to recreate the wheel, but He wants to teach us how to fly.  so often we are so quick to recreate things of God, when in actualality, it could be that He is wanting to start a fresh work that doesn’t look like everyone else.  this style though is very difficult and it comes with it challenges.  first off, pride cannot be in the midst of anything you do.  For God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud.  So if it is going to be a work of God, it is going to be through humble hearts, ridded of the flesh.  second, it requires deep walk where you have learned trust…in essence, you are walking through the vision that you are given, but you are walking in daily trust and listen to that still small voice.  in His Word, God gives us everything…that would be the first and last book that i would glean from in things from God.

but i assure you, it is refreshing to read, see, hear, new works, and to wrap your heart around the things that God did through humble people who walked by His Spirit.  So enjoy the journey of seeking first the Kingdom of God, knowing that all these other things will come to pass.