The Matrix of a Crash....

a Matrix

(preface: If you do not know or can't remember what a "crash" is then I would invite you to check out one of the first blog posts of The Waters right here...and it will explain what a crash is. towards the end of the post...look for The Barbarian Way link.)

Does anyone know what a "Matrix" is? My Sr. Pastor (Gary) asked me this question....and, of course, I loved the Matrix movies (yes...even the second and third one even though for a long time I did not until Aaron Klienfelter told me his view of it and changed my entire mind about the movie...and gave it better marks in my book, ha ha....but anyway.....) and so I was immediately interested in what he was about to say. He told me the definition...but then I ask Bill Enns during the same meeting Aaron told me about the 3rd matrix movie...and he told me where the word came from.

matrix

n 1: a rectangular array of elements (or entries) set out by rows and columns

2: an enclosure within which something originates or develops
(from the Latin for womb)


Bill's definition was the second one...(and honestly it is funny how the true historical meaning of a word has become the second meaning, heh...but any way I need to focus).... isn't that cool that the term Matrix comes from the Latin word for "womb". It is an environment where something is developed! So, Gary was looking at that word for a Florence Statement (i.e. mission, vision, purpose...one of those statements, heh) and it got me to thinking.

What if we created a Matrix for a Crash to form! What if we created an environment where Christianity once again became a movement and not just a religion? That is exactly what The Waters is experimenting to be! That we allow lives to be transformed and changed so that the very world we live in will recognize and either join or move out of the way of the movement called Christianity!

Kind of cool huh? Well, at least I thought it was, heh.......Ok where we are at:

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We had our second party with the first organic Gathering and it went great! We had a ton of fun and we will be having one more to invite more people to and then I plan on inviting them to my house for a Superbowl party this Sunday! So, that is going great and we will probably be starting our "normal" meetings the Friday after the Superbowl!

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I met with Bryan Sims yesterday and we had a great talk to find out what SLI (Spiritual Leadership Inc.) can do for The Waters and for me in promoting leadership within The Waters! Bryan through the SLI network will be coaching me and the lead team of The Waters over the next year) It is exciting to have Bryan to be a part of us and we are blessed to have SLI's experience and passion behind The Waters!

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I am also meeting with Ben and Dave from Design District Inc. to talk about the Website for The Waters, and I have to be honest....I am very excited about working with these guys! They are top notch and are some of the most creative people I have met in a long time (click on the WORK tab on their website to see examples of their work) ...and I consider myself to enjoy creativity, heh heh..... I will let you all know how that meeting went.

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We have two dates down for meetings of one of our host homes to throw parties and we are waiting for a few more and then we start the task of getting the dates out there for everyone to start inviting their friends and such to the parties. We are excited about these parties and hope that once one or two of the parties happen, people will start to get excited about throwing them and realize how much fun ministry can be!

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Well, that is about it for now....I hope to really have a chunk of my MAP (Ministry Action Plan) mapped out (ha ha pun intended) and ready to go for my Wednesday incubator meeting! I have not had time as of late to get that better formed and typed out because of the ordination stuff...but that is now done and I ca put my focus back where it should be!

Other than that...I can't tell you all enough how much I love and appreciate your prayers and support for the Waters! It is impossible to explain to you how I see your prayers lifting up The Waters and me on a daily basis! So PLEASE never forget to KUTPs!!! and please leave comments if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or comments for The Waters that I might be able to address!

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[Upon opening the Well of the Souls and peering down into it]
Sallah: Indy, why does the floor move?
Indiana: Give me your torch.
[Sallah does, and Indy drops it in]
Indiana: Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?
Sallah: Asps. Very dangerous. You go first.

--Raiders of The Lost Ark

----Isn't it funny how we are all so afraid of risk? But we serve a God who lives the example of risk all throughout the Bible...and expects the same from those who follow in God's footsteps! How well are you at risk for God and the Kingdom? Would you be willing to host a party, or invite a stranger to a Organic Gathering! I thin that if the risk is for God...it is worth it every time! Rise up mushroom eaters and risk with experiment! --D.G.

Welcome to The Waters...Again...heh....

I must tell you all how much fun it is serving God. It is crazy yes...and a little insane...but it sure is fun. I am finding out that sometimes you think you are doing what God desires and then when He changes it, It is OK to allow for the change and differences in what you do...but the fun part comes in sharing the changes with everyone else and having to re-tell the story of who and why we are...so let me just remind everyone what The Waters is and why we are! Then I will tell you where we are at now.....

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What is The Waters?

The Waters: An Experimental United Methodist Network of Organic Gatherings .

Experimental: I cannot find any UM church in the US that is doing or attempting to “be” what we are. Therefore, this entire ministry is an experiment in the UM church, as a whole.

United Methodist: just that, UM! This entire Network will be United Methodist (first and foremost Christian, of course) in theology and beliefs mainly because it is led by Christians who are of the Wesley flavor.

Network: This will be a single organism. So if one takes a larger picture of The Waters they will will realize that each Organic Gathering will be connected to one large network. This network’s hub will be the online presence of The Waters in the form of the use of the web. (i.e. bogs, website, and video iPod. (website is being developed)

Organic: Organic is just another word for natural. We desire for these gatherings of people to be natural in their formation and especially in their multiplying. The Organic Gatherings (OG) will consist of people who naturally know one another from work, friends, or family, and they will continue to always be praying for the next person they would like to invite to each gathering.

Gathering: We desire to promote relationships and community. The community's relationship as a whole, as well as, with God. Each gathering will be these people’s “church”. They will worship (as a lifestyle), share with one another, care for one another, and discuss the Bible for the purpose of life transformation. Each gathering will also include missional aspects within the community and possibly work with other gatherings in the network on mission projects (i.e. building a habit house, etc...).

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So, now that this is clear as mud.....if you don't understand anything all you have to do is leave a comment and I will answer you!..... Let me tell you where we are to date:

Well, our First Gathering went great! Tons of fun and extreamly enjoyable....We did have lots of people not be able to make it due to scheduals, and that is just fine that is why the gatherings are ORGANIC in nature, heh....we want them to naturally happen when people can come...so we are haivig another party tonight (Friday) and people are already inviting more friends to come and enjoy developeing relationships and community. so we are very excited about that!

We are also planning on starting a second Organic Gathering after this first one gets going of the people in Florence UMc that have hinted that they might be interested in being a Organinc Gathering possible discussion leader. So that willbe very good to have and they are currently getting back to me via email what wold be the best dayfor all of them o meet on a weekly basis.

The party we had for those people that we need to throw parties for thier frirends went great! We all had a great time even thought most of the time was spent explaining what the Waters is and how it has been reshaped by God since the last time we met...but the food was amazing and everyone loved the time...at least from what I could tell, heh. So, we (i.e. Roseanna that is ...and BTW you rock!!!!) are meetinjg with those people who would lik eto help have te parties at thier houses to give us dates so we can start inviting our friends, families, and co-workers to these parties, as well. We are hopeing to have around 3-4 parties (or more) with the people they invite to build up the community and relationships, and it will be ou desire if possible to start having weekly gathering in August when everyone is planning thier average weeks with school starting back up and such.

Oh, and I am going to meet with the guys who will be designing and creating our website on Thursday so I am very excited to hear about thier plans and ideas for what they would like to do and see with this ministry!

So....needless to say we are all in full swing @ The Waters and so very blessed and excited to be apart of this ministry! So, you can assume that every ounce of prayers is greatly appreciated and never stop KUTPs!!!!!!
Until we meet again (or I remember to write again...hopefully this time it actually will be on Monday, heh) may Grace and Peace be with you all!

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Councillor Dillard: Commander, do you think that we have any chance of survivng?
Lock: If I were you Councilor, I wouldn't ask me that question.
[looks to Morpheus]
Lock: I would ask him.
Councillor Dillard: Why?
Lock: Because *he's* the one that believes in miracles.

--The Matrix Revolutions

("maybe it is those who believe in miracles that others might need to look upon to find strength!" -- D.G. Hollums)

"When your faith is hard to find....you can borrow mine." --"Borrow Mine" song by Bebo Norman

I know....I know I have been a bad boy with the weekly update....

Well, it has been a very long time since I have posted a blog post about The Waters! I have a wonderful Christmas and New Year...and when I got back I hit the ground running and it has been a blur since I got back home. Everything is going well, and even trough a few small changes have been made it is still the greatest ride of my life to be a part of The Waters, and I hope that you can join me in this ride, no matter if you are in prayer support, leadership, or attending...I promise God will bless your service! Thank you everyone for all you do and are!

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Well, we have pushed back the first Waters Gathering to this Friday night @ Joseph-Beth @ 7:00 pm and we hope to have a fun time of getting to know each other and sharing what we would love to be as a community and as a gathering. Or friends are being invited this week and it is all a green light to have the very first one. I hope to have a picture of it if I can remember and if everyone can make it. We hope to get to know one another, share what the purpose of The Waters is, and set a time and commitment each week for 8 weeks to see if everyone likes what we will do and go from there. So...needless to say....huge prayer need!

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The next part of The Waters is taking current attendees of Florence UMC and training them on how to throw a party and the empower the servants to throw parties to start developing relationships with people who they think will benefit from these gathering communities. So This Saturday (yep that's right the day after the 1st Gathering, we will be throwing a party for all those who have let us know they are interested in helping throw the parties for everyone's friends. We think that some miss communication has gone out and we hope to gathering as many people as we can to invite them to a sample (and it will be a real party) @ Roseanna's house to give them a fine example of how much fun we can have and still get everyone together for a second time to answer any questions and help them make these parties a reality so we can have a base of natural relationships to invite to other organic gatherings. So please be in prayer for that!

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After the first gathering this Friday I hope to have the night of the week that that gathering desires to meet so that I can form a second gathering made up of leaders to give the future (possible) leaders a chance to experience what will be going on in a gathering and for 8 weeks see if they can start to multiply and grow in the direction God would like to go, or lead several different gatherings made up of a few friends each. Either way it is very exciting times for The Waters and prayer is probably the most important aspect that we could have at this point...Well, and good communication, ha ha ha....

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Well, I am preaching this coming Sunday and I am trying to finish all of my ordination requirements to become a Elder in full connection in the UM church so needless to say my days and time are very limited this week and I must squeeze out every ounce of time each day....So, Great times deserve great prayer and sacrifice...Thank you for all of yours!

KUTPs!!!!

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Funny.....some times I can see glimpses of Romans chapter one in this movie quote...the problem of Evil and sin understood well from a very funny movie:

Chandler Jarrell: Tell me about the Golden Child.
Kala: Every thousand generations, a perfect child is born, a Golden Child. He has come to rescue us.
Chandler Jarrell: Rescue us from what?
Kala: From ourselves.
Chandler Jarrell: Ah.
Kala: He is the bringer of compassion. If he dies, compassion will die with him.
Chandler Jarrell: So, if something happens to the kid, the whole world goes to hell?
Kala: The world will become hell.

-----The Golden Child talks about the results of sin (i.e. Missing the mark of God's desires).