Merry Christmas.....

Merry Christmas everyone! It is our prayer that you all have a blessed and wonderful remembering of the birth of Christ in this world!

There is a lot of stuff going on here stirring in The Waters, but it all happens after the new year...so I will just share a little stuff and then let you al get back to your holiday celebrating!

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1st off, it has been happening over a long time, but we have now shifted our focus away from a geographic understanding putting our focus solely in Union, KY, when now that we are putting our focus on relationships! So the challenge that we have within the Florence UMC is that we now are not only desiring to have those who live in Union be involved in The Waters but it is a ministry that EVERYONE who is a active participant @ Florence UMC be involved in this experimental ministry! So, as God shifts our focus we now have to shift the focus of everyone who knows about The Waters. So, please keep in your prayers all those who are in Florence UMC to realize that the parties we are throwing, and then entire ministry of The Waters is open for EVERYONE to be a part of this new look to the body of Christ!

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We have also decided that we are going to start two different organic gatherings in January. One group will be those people who I have naturally (organically) develop while living in the area, and that group will be meeting the second Friday of Jan. (And it is full at least for the first party/meeting) BUT instead of inviting possible Organic discussion directors of the future groups to that one gathering, we have decided to start another organic gathering made up of the possible leaders and anyone a part of the 1st Start Dev. Team to experience and be a part of another Organic gathering! They will probably be going through the same lessons/scripture that the first group will be doing, but maybe a week behind. This should allow s to have two groups that would be more organic in nature and better like minded in the way they developed. So it will take up another night out of my life...but in the long run will be worth all of the sacrifice that we all give to this effort.

Now with these two groups it is our hope to continue to throw the 15-20 parties in Jan., Feb, and March and depending on the group that organically forms will start when those involved would desire to start...but probably looking towards when school starts up again in '06.

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Everything is on track and we are slowly receiving the list of people that the party planning meeting were asked to develop! And are also on track with getting with the host houses and finding out when the parties can start happening in the homes in Jan. So that is wonderful news!

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I don't think that I have mentioned Roseanna Keohler yet here on the blog. Roseanna is my right hand woman when it comes to allowing God to make these parties happen! So, at the very least pray for her because she has accepted her call from God to actually work with me! And, please pray for her to deal with so many people who all can help with the parties in the different ways and make sure communication is smooth and clear to all involved! Thank you Roseanna!

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With all that said.......Merry Christmas! God bless all of you, and please know you all are in my prayers! Please never forget to KUTPs!!!!

p.s. Due to the Holidays I will be home in TX and NM from Christmas Day through Jan 4th...look for the next post after this date! Merry Christmas!

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Little Elf Judy: Seeing isn't believing. Believing is seeing.
---The Santa Clause

Christmas, time, money, and the lack of all three....

Well, Advent/Christmas is in full swing over here and I am blown away with how crazy this time is in the world (at least it is in the U.S.). I personally have had lots of personal things that keep popping up (ordination requirements, gifts, holiday parties, finances) that put on hold the other things I desire to do/start/finish...and then just when I sit down to work on those things something else pops up, ha ha.... I wonder if anyone else feels the same way I do, ha ha.... Of course, there are! We all feel that way sometime during work, home, play, and juggling it all together during this time of the year...but it is very important to me and to God that we stay focused and keep our dreams in the clouds, and a feet on the road...we must find a happy medium for both dreaming and putting the rubber to the road. We must keep doing and being everything that will allow God's dreams to become reality! The Waters is happening and it will happen...but we will be The Waters with God!

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I continue to have great discussions with almost everyone I meet. People are starting to get the idea behind what we are doing and the people that are going to be a part of the first Organic Gathering of The Waters, and meeting people and starting to think if they should invite them to it! It is great news to see how God puts his plan not only in my mind, but in several others in the world around you! So that meeting is happening and fast! I know before I know it or not Jan 13th 7:00 pm will be here and we must have a good understanding of what God desires to do/be through us so that we can give a good idea as to what The Waters is, God's purpose for it, and what the people a part of it can expect. We know all these things right now..but it is just making sure that the core leadership people are on the same page and know what direction we are going.

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I am in the process of writing an email and letter for those who have no email to all those who attending the party planning event to let them know we officially have their information and what the next steps are and a little clarification from the meeting we had in November.... currently the party planning coordinator and myself meet on a weekly basis and she is finding out from the host homes a few dates for each one of them we can put on the calendar and then start putting the right servants in the right place to make the parties happen and go smoothly!

In addition, to this I have now created email lists of al the servant leaders who are desiring to help with the parties and now we can contact a specific group at a time with email and letter! So hopefully information and communication will be a nice smooth process as the parties progress!

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About the only thing we would like to get back from the servant leadership who attended the party planning event...is a list of all the people that they are prayerfully considering to invite to the parties. These people are the "ocean" that God has placed in their lives that they already have acquaintances with for example, friends, co-workers, family, etc...that they could invite to the parties....these lists of the servant leaders with then be divided among The Waters prayer team and prayed for by name and of course those doing the inviting. This can show all those who we invite (probably down the road) that they have been prayed for by people that have no idea who they are over the past how many ever weeks or months! That is very powerful message that there is a community of people who love and care for others without direct personal contact!
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So as you can see The Waters is still flowing into this world sometimes one drop at a time and others the flood gates are open...but no matter how it happens God is seeing us and directs us into the world that desperately needs community and relationship with God and others!

So please always KUTPs!!!!! and know God loves you...so return the favor and love someone with him!

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Viola de Lesseps: [as Thomas Kent] Tell me how you love her, Will.
William Shakespeare: Like a sickness and its cure together.
--Shakespeare In Love

Do you love God with the same love? Are you "in love" with God? Surely, our love for God can be greater than that of Shakespeare. Right?

Relationship, relationship, relationship.....

It is funny how when you do something different how your whole way of thinking has to change. For example, in the typical mind of a "normal" pastor (ha ha ha I use that term loosely, heh) most of your time is spent in your office "doing" work because it is expected of you from the church and probably by yourself that just in case if anyone needs you that you can be reached immediately and they know where to go.....but then you have God leading you into a network or Organic gatherings/churches called The Waters. And this ministry is solely based on relationships with those who do not go to church or if they do it is only at Easter or Christmas, and how in the world would they know that you love and care for them if you sit in your office all day long in a building that they have no idea where it is, and if they did know where it is That most of them would shrug it off or be fearful of the judgment that lies inside of one.....so I try to make my office "in the world" coffee shops, the Mall, Panarea Bread Co. (because they have free wireless internet, heh) And even thought sometimes I may not look up from the (Tiffany's borrowed from Asbury UMC) laptop, people still notice me and people still talk to me and relationships form and slowly over time develop! And eventually God is discussed and glorified and the Kingdom is brought into existence through one more person. That is why I am "different" I live my life for God and others. (sure I take care of my family and my life) but my focus is one God and love living this life and living to love! Please, find your love and live it, and I want you to know that I pray that your life is in Christ!

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Well, I have started a weekly meeting with Aaron Klinefelter who is one of the house church pastors in the VC it is a network of house churches and doing exactly what we feel God calling us to do and be for around 7-9 years now and they are doing exactly what we have felt God calling us to do, it really is amazing what they do and how we have thought up some of the same basic ideas before knowing that they are already doing them. I am meeting with Aaron and Bill Enns on Thursday afternoons. Bill is the Sr. intrum pastor at one of the largest Presb. churches in Cincy. He is getting his Dr. in leadership and I believe has a lot for us to learn from, as well as, us "younger" pastors are teaching and helping him to relate in how to minister to the future leaders within the church. Markus will be joining us probably as well!

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I also am meeting on a weekly basis with Markus Watson who is the associate Pastor of the Presb. church in Union as we meet weekly to pray for one another's ministries and talk about this model for ministry and how it would look for each of us and even the far remote possibility that we could possibly "being" this network together and bridge some lines between the denominations. Amazing to me how god pulls his church around in ways that no one would ever expect and the very culture we live in has the possibility to be transformed! I still can not wrap y mind around that thought...and yet I have a very clear sense that God is doing indeed a new thing in this world and that he is blessing us to join him in this amazing kingdom work!

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Also, I am now meeting weekly with Roseanna who is one of two (the second one has not come forward or to mind yet...but we sure could use them!...please help us with this one prayer team, heh) people who will be organizing (along with me) the parties that we are throwing to start developing relationships with others who could be possible attenders of these organic gatherings some time next year. So, the parties will start happening as soon as we can start to contact everyone and find out when and where they were thinking about throwing a few of them. The meeting I had with her went well and we are going to send out a general letter to let eveyone know that we received thier responses and to get the ball rolling! It is exciting times..but lots of work to be done...so please keep the prayers flowing in this area!

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I am preaching this Sunday so if anyone would like to come hear a Christmas sermon from the book of Revelation (yeah that is right) the I would encourage you to come and enjoy a new way of looking @ Christmas! @ Florence UMC 9am and 11am this Sunday! heh heh....

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Also, it is my privilege to tell you all that the first Organic gathering will be the 2nd Friday of Jan. 13th Joseph-Beth @ 7:00 pm and we will be meeting and enjoying some time together and talk about when we will start the weekly gatherings and take this organic gathering thing out for a ride around the town, heh.....

We are in the process of making sure everyone who is invited marks it down on their calendars and can make it to the gathering! We are very excited about it and can't wait to find out what God desires for us to be! Look out world we are about to unleash our existence in Christ upon you! ha ha.... and for those of you with an over active imagination...that unleashing will be love, and grace, and maybe a little sprinkle of forgiveness and reconciliation, heh....

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Until next week, I beg you to enjoy the presence of God on your knees sometime this week, it is amazing how great my time with God is when I just get on the floor and play with him, talk with him, and sometimes even fall asleep in his arms! Enjoy your life this week and be blessed so that you can in turn be a blessing to others!

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Peter: Forget them, Wendy. Forget them all. Come with me where you'll never, never have to worry about grown up things again.
Wendy: Never is an awfully long time.
--Peter Pan

When is the last time you did not worry about grown up things and sat down with God like a child and played? I think you might need to play with God more often just like I need to. Believe me He has really cool toys! God bless yall and please KUTPs!