I saw this paragraph in an email sent to me today and I loved it:

We all feel ready again to be alongside & encourage our brothers & sisters – no matter what their particular preference/understanding is of ‘church’ or ‘mission’ – without feeling intimidated or insecure in our own journey. Our desire now is not just for ‘like-minded people’ to join us in our comfort zone (he never gave them to us, anyway!). In retrospect the ‘time out’ alone with him – this last 3 years or so – has been really vital, causing more & more of the religious stuff in our lives to wither, dry up and finally (we hope) to drop off!

I love the freedom that this journey brings to people, who no longer feel the need for like-minded people to join their comfort zone, but to be free to love people wherever they are in this journey. They now have the freedom to live openly and honestly without feeling intimidated or insecure. That’s awesome!

And I love the recognition of progress here. This is not a place they’ve come to as some applied intellectual conclusion. This is what Father has produced in them over time where they’ve just been with him letting him wither away all the religious stuff that really keeps us from loving people. This has brought them into a more spacious place of freedom, where it isn’t about what we need, but how we have been fitted to love others…

Cool!

Just got this yesterday and couldn’t resist passing it on—both for a reality check for us all, and for your prayers on behalf of these brothers and sisters in a Muslim-dominated area of Ethiopia. What an amazing story of the raw reality of the kingdom unfolding in people who from the first days of faith were encouraged to follow Jesus not the rules and rituals men have devised around Christianity.

I first shared Jamal’s story (not his real name) about a year ago. This is a man who came to Christ with the help of a friend of mine in his last few days of study at a university in the States, and returned to his homeland without any training in the ways of Christ much more than the simple admonishment to listen and follow him. If you missed it you’d be blessed to read Part I and Part II of his story. I’ve also changed every name in this story so that no one will be recognized. This is an almost unbelievable tale of courage, forgiveness and the ability of God to work his grace into the most despicable tragedies.

Too long it has been since sitting down I am to write to you. The more of this journey we are on with Jesus the less time we seem to have for such things. This is a sadness to me because your heart and words are always filled with the freshness of the morning rains in pouring out the Spirit to your family here in Ethiopia and to me the more.

Many things have happened here as God continues to weave his grace into the lives of the peoples here like a brightly colored thread becomes a seeing beauty though the hands of the master weaver. The ways in which Jesus is doing this are as many as the peoples here and I am thinking God is giving to me the knowing of why. If it were some pattern then we would be trying to make this with our own hands and following our tiny understanding of it instead of following the heart of our Jesus. He is always reminding us that we are like the ones who only see the back of the weavers shuttle and can not see the wonder of the cloth he is making until it is finished.

Yadid has gone to live with Jesus. We found his body broken by the side of the road. This is the work of evil in the hearts of those so blinded to the truth of Jesus that the evil pours through their hands to take his life so as to make him silent. Next to him we are finding these words he is scratching in the sand as the angels of Jesus are coming for him…”I am still trusting Jesus.” His tongue they have made still, but his voice in the hearts of the peoples can never be silenced. And it is calling many to the path of Jesus more loud and clear than ever he spoke living.

As I am taking his body to his mother I am feeling the heaviness of Jesus words when he is saying not to be thinking about what to say because God will put the words in our mouth only when it is his time when we have none to say. These words are like some of the noodles that are easy to eat, but hard on the stomach when they grow many times after the eating. But these words are also bringing back to me a life when it was as if every step we were carrying Yadid was draining the life out of me like the bottom of the dry river eats away the rain.

And so we are walking down the path to his mothers house and I am thinking I am not even going to speak to his mother because there are no words in my empty heart. Then I am hugging her for a long time and saying to her that we are sad and crying with her because we are not having our friend Yadid to be with us. We are crying for ourselves and for her but it is only the joy of knowing Yadid and what Jesus is doing in his life that is making us cry. The tears are coming from all the goodness we remember and all the joy that is leaving us when he is going to be living now with Jesus. But we are not crying for him because we are knowing that as the rain is washing away the dust of the desert land so the blood of our Jesus has washed away the sins and the old Yadid and the new Yadid that lived with us for a few years is now living with Jesus forever and we are happy when we know that we will see him again walking hand in hand with our Jesus. So many days we are crying with her and some laugher too as we tell the stories of Yadid in her house. I am not sure if I am saying anything right to her and I am hoping you can tell me if this is so. But to me it is the great kindness of our Jesus to give us the words that give life when the peoples are in tears.

We are asking all the peoples with you to be praying for Fabunni. When we are staying with the mother of our Yadid he is coming to the house crawling on his hands to kiss her feet and to ask her to take his life and let there be no more blood to be shed or to make of him a slave until he pays back what he has taken. He is telling us the story of how the evil is in his heart and he is one of the men who is beating our Yadid until he is dieing and he is the one taking him to the road where we are finding his body. And as he is driving, the dieing words of Yadid are telling him the story of Jesus and his great love for Fabunni. He is trying not to be hearing them but they are burning in his soul like a fire. How can this Yadid and the Jesus of his lips be forgiving Fabunni for this terrible thing he has done? This he is asking himself inside while he is trying not to listen. But what his ears will not hear his heart cannot forget and though he is thinking that these words will be the cause of his dying, they are making him alive with the life of our Jesus. He is thinking after leaving the roadside where Yadid is dying that he will forget these words in his heart, but he cannot. So he is falling down on the floor and crying to our Jesus and finding that he is One who answers death with life.

In the Bible he is reading about the tax man Zacheaus and how after Jesus is forgiving him he is asking the people to do this also and saying he will pay back four times what he has taken and so here is Fabunni kissing the feet of the mother of Yadid and saying he and his children will be the slaves of her until four of them are dead. This is too much for her to hear and so she is running into the house and saying to me, “What can I say when my heart is so empty and I am in fear that hate will fill it?” And I am saying to her that I have no words to fill her heart and that only Jesus can do this and so we are all praying for her with our hands on her.

Still Fabunni is laying outside crying with his face in the dirt. I am thinking to myself that Jesus must hurry before he runs out of tears for he cannot bear the emptiness inside himself. So inside many are praying and some are singing to Jesus for a time seeming much longer than it is. Then the mother of our Yadid is going to Fabunni and lifting him up from kissing her feet and saying to him that once her son Yadid was doing evil things that made her lay on her bed and cry many tears into her pillow until Jesus is finding him and giving him a new life and making him a brother. And she is remembering when Yadid is coming to her house to tell her the story of Jesus and how her heart is living again and he is taking away her tears.

And if the words of Jesus from the lips of Yadid are giving life to Fabunni as they have to her, then Fabunni is now the brother of Jesus and Yadid also. And if this is true then Jesus is giving her another son for the one who is taken away and that no tears she is crying for the missing of Yadid can take away this joy of Jesus giving to her another son. These are like the pains of giving birth to a child which are all forgotten when you see his face. And she is saying to everyone in her village that Fabunni is the brother of Yadid and a gift from our Jesus and this is how he is to be treated. And we are saying that this is a work of the heart that only our Jesus can do and everywhere now Fabunni is telling the story of Yadid and Jesus he is working in the hearts of the peoples who are hearing it as only he can do.

And as our hearts are filled with praise to our Jesus we are sneaking a peak at the other side of the cloth he is weaving before us.

Wow! I’m so touched by the grace that unfolds in this story and the perspectives of people just living in the simple reality of his unfolding grace instead of the baggage of theology that can be so distracting.

“Father, be with these dear people today. Give them life and grace and wisdom beyond their own. Surround them with your life today and continue to be revealed in them. In the name of your Son, Jesus.”

Pass it on! The link is “http://lifestream.org/blog/?p=464”

Hi all! Wow! It’s good to be home after a very busy summer, with some travel to encourage God’s family and some to refresh mine. It is so good to be back in my home for these days. Tons of stuff, however, has piled up. And, while I was gone, we sold out of He Loves Me and have ordered a reprint on a new Second Edition.

I’ve adjusted some wording throughout and added a new Introduction which I’ll include below and a new last chapter called Living Loved, with some practical thoughts about how to actually go out and live this life. As you’ll see below, this is my personal favorite of all the books I’ve written because I am convinced it is the bedrock reality from which everything else springs—including our own personal transformation as well as the relationships necessary for the church to live and work together as he desires.

Introduction to the Second Edition

I’ve been amazed at how far and wide this little book has gone since it was first printed eight years ago. I have often said since then that I would never write a more significant book, and I’m even more convinced of that today.

I realize that a book about God’s love seems so obvious that most people would rather plow on to seemingly more engaging subjects, such as New Testament church models, more effective ways to pray, or keys to living in God’s will. God’s love seems like Christianity 101 to most people. Let’s get on to the deeper things, they’ll say. But there is nothing deeper.

Certainly there is nothing more theologically certain than that God is love. We sing about his love in our simplest songs and are comfortable with using the language of love as it relates to God. But in a practical sense, incredibly few believers live each day as if the God of the universe has great affection for them.

Why? Because two thousand years of religious tradition has inculcated us in the mistaken notion that God’s love is something we earn. If we do what pleases him, he loves us; if not, he doesn’t. Giving that up isn’t easy. Moving from a performance-based religious ethic toward God to a relationship deeply rooted in the Father’s affection is no small transition. It was the most significant one I’ve ever made in my spiritual journey, and it turned my life in Christ from a frustrating drudgery in the face of enticing temptations, to a vital, fulfilling adventure that continues to transform me with each passing day. This book describes that process for me, and I hope it can help others in that transition as well.

Some years ago I was asked by a group of elders to teach a nine-week series at a local congregation while they were between pastors. When I asked them if they had anything specific in mind, they told me they had heard I was teaching some fresh things about the cross and would love to hear that. You’ll find most of that content in these pages. I was concerned about doing so, since I knew the freedom of that teaching could undermine what most congregations use to manipulate people to get involved and serve.

“Let me ask you a question first,” I responded. “Just how much do you think gets done around here because people would feel guilty if they didn’t do it?”

I was surprised when one of the men answered, with a laugh and a shake of his head, “Probably ninety percent!” The other laughed too, but in the end agreed that it might be something like that.

“Well, if you’re right,” I told them, “and if your people have a revelation of the cross, then ninety percent of what’s getting done around here will stop. I want to know if you’re okay with that?”

The laughter ceased. They looked at each other unsure how to respond. After some hemming and hawing, they finally agreed that they would be fine with that. You’ve got to admire their courage. So I agreed to come.

Unfortunately, however, that was not the outcome. Either I didn’t teach it well or they didn’t listen as well as I hoped, because at the end of our time, they hired a new pastor who came talking the language of guilt and performance. I was saddened that the group as a whole didn’t seem to catch on, though I am still in touch today with some of the individuals in that group who were deeply transformed.

The pull of religion can be far stronger than the freedom of relationship. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shared these things only to be faced with someone who honestly believes that God’s love alone is not able to transform people. Instead, they argue, we have to give them a hefty and consistent dose of God’s fear and judgment to keep them on the straight and narrow.

It’s tragic really. Those who are willing to substitute the demand of obligation for the power of affection have not tasted the latter in any significant measure. I have observed all over the world that those who discover the depth of Father’s affection for them and learn to live in it will find greater passion for Jesus, freedom from sin, and be more engaged with the world than anyone driven by religious obligation.

What the Father showed us in the gift of his Son is that he was unwilling to settle for the indentured servitude of fearful slaves. He preferred instead the intimate affection of sons and daughters. He knew love would take us deeper into his life than fearful obligation ever would. It would teach us more truth, free us from our selfishness and failures, and make us fruitful in the world.

Since I published this book I’ve heard from hundreds of people who have told me that God used it to transform their own journeys as well. Many told me that I had put into words something they knew deep inside was already true, but they were afraid to believe it. Others have said it completely redefined the life of Christ for them and sent them on an amazing journey mining the depths of that love and affection.

I hope you too come to the end of these pages convinced that he loves you with a deep an unrelenting affection. Nothing fulfills his purpose any more than to reveal that love to you until it overwhelms you, then transforms you, and then leads you through the rest of our life as a reflection of his glory in the earth.

That’s why he made you, and I hope why this book has landed in your hands.

If you’d like to pre-order this book, you can click on this link.

I’m sure many of you will recognize these feelings. I received this email over the weekend:

We’re at a point in our lives where we are so tired of “doing church”
My wife and I were “raised in the Church”—in fact, my Dad used to be a pastor. it provided a good “structure” for us and we’re fortunate for that, but I think one eventually gets to a point in life where you ask yourself “what’s it all for”? What is Church about? Who/What is really the “church”? I can’t help but think so much of westernized culture completely misses the point of “gathering of yourselves’ and has turned it into a self-engrandizing , consumerist venture that is fueled largely by ignorance of who and what is “church”.

Why do so many churches have the same formula? Who was the ‘genius’ who one day decided “Oh, if we do church in this format: Greets, songs, message and prayer” that will empower the Saints to do what God has commissioned them to do? God never said “They’ll know you’re Christians by your Church attendance, or how many songs you sing, or how many “great sermons” the same guy preaches. He said “They’ll know you’re Christians by your love for one another”. It’s that love for your fellow-man that seems to be so grossly missing in today’s “church”. The church at large is focused on the “do’s and don’ts” and not focused on loving each other – again, that can largely be chocked up to a culture that perpetuates greed and selfish-ambition.

Sorry to be long-winded and “get on a soap box” – but as you can see, this is a big issue to me and some of our dearest friends. Any advice on how to find a good body of believers?

Here’s how I responded:

The best way I know to find a good body of believers, believe it or not, is to stop looking. I sense your frustration with ‘church’ as we’ve come to know it, but I think as long as our focus is on ‘the church’ we’ll miss who Jesus wants to connect us to and how he wants us to live. Without sounding trite, I think we’re to be focused on HIM—growing in our relationship to him and letting him show us how to love people he as put around us in our neighborhood, at work, and wherever else we live in the world. Out of those growing relationships he’ll connect us to people we can share him with and others with whom we can walk together in the journey of faith.

I know that isn’t very concrete, and it does take a significant time. It is not as easy as looking up a group in the Yellow Pages and joining in, though if that works for you, fine! But more times than not ‘groups’ have other priorities above simply loving Jesus and loving each other and get into some of the same traps you outlined in your letter.

If you have dear friends, just learn how to love each other together and share your spiritual journeys of living in Christ. Don’t force it into the artificial nature of a ‘meeting’ but simply let it thrive in your relationships and how you get together. The church is not something we build, it is simply a way of living alongside each other that makes Jesus known…

As I’m coming to see it, it is simply the incredible connection between friends and friends of friends who are allowing Jesus to have first place in their lives.

I also received this email this weekend:

We agree that “friends and friends of friends” meeting relationally, and not just to have ‘a meeting’—seems so normal and natural, and FUN! As I told you when you were here, whenever any of the out-of-boxers (around here) tried to get together, somebody always had an agenda and it invariably turned WEIRD!!! Although we were initially excited at the prospect of getting together for fellowship, how it turned out sickened us, and we weren’t the only ones. I think the Lord allowed it to be like that to make the distinction clear: everyone at these meetings had made the decision to forsake religion, yet were once again getting entangled in it! Just because we were outside of ‘the building’ didn’t mean that religion wasn’t still running rampant in our hearts.

(I have a friend who) has been endlessly frustrated in that she has tried countless times to get believers organized and into fellowship together, but couldn’t understand why it never seemed to work. She’s beginning to see that to have friends simply meet for fellowship, potluck or to have fun together is an enticing, if somewhat unorthodox concept. I think the Lord takes us through various stages of detoxing us from religious activity.

I love when people discover that fellowship is not rocket science. For people growing in their relationship to Jesus, sharing that together is the most natural thing in the world. When we’re trying to produce the ‘church’ by our own ingenuity and effort we will find our pursuits as exhausting as they are futile.

When we live focused on Jesus, however, and simply loving others as he has loved us, we will find his church taking shape all around us.

It’s about Jesus! Always has been. Always will be!

The Spanish Translation of So You Don’t Want To Go To Church Anymore is now available in HTML and PDF formats for our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters. A dear brother donated his time and expertise in making this translation available free of charge to anyone who wants it.

If others would like to help us translate this book into other languages, please let us know. We’d be happy to grant permission and to make your work available on our website.

I know! I know! I’ve been running around way too much. But it is soooo good to be home. Due to travels this summer, as well as some vacation time, I’ve not been home much and I have missed it. Last night was the ninth night I’ve slept in my own bed since leaving for Europe in June, and we celebrated the event with a 4.5 magnitude earthquake that woke Sara and me at 12:58 this morning. Fortunately it was centered 15 miles away, so we just got a good jolt here, but no damage.

A bit of vacation time has renewed us greatly. Sara and I got to spend a week alone in Canada, and came back to spend a week with my daughter and granddaughter at Shaver Lake, where my parents life in Central California. My son-in-law and son we’re able to join us a couple of days over the weekend. There is nothing like have some consecutive days with that little sweetheart of a granddaughter (see photo left) and the rest of the family. We hiked with our dogs, played in the lake, talked endlessly, colored pictures for Aimee, shot some pool, and played Pinochle. Unfortunately we had to water toys (boats, jet skis, etc.) to play with. But we did get to see Brad and Kelly, my colleague at The God Journey and their family who were also visiting family at the same location. We had a great time except for Brad’s cell phone ringing off the hook, and him actually answering it.

But now, we’re back for a fairly lengthy time, with the exception of a BridgeBuilders training on August 16 and a weekend to gather with some believers near Lake Tahoe August 17-19. Sara starts up her work again on Monday as a guidance counselor at a public high school, and I have stacks and stacks of stuff that have built up over the summer. We did manage to catch up with our book and CD orders yesterday that piled up in our absence.

It’s a wonderful morning to sit in my home study again and begin to sort things out for what lies ahead. I’ve missed being around home for more than a couple of nights at a time but I am grateful for all the people whose lives God allowed us to cross paths with this summer, and look forward to what he has ahead this fall. What that is, I have no idea yet. There are lots of things in the wind, but none too clear at this point. Stay tuned!

I’m on an extended weekend away to spend some time with my family. Daughter Julie and granddaughter Aimee are with Sara and me at my folk’s place up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Central California. My son and son-in-law will join us for the weekend and we have a few friends dropping by. So it should be a wild weekend!

I was going to share a bit about Sara and my weekend in Stratford, Ontario a couple of weeks ago, but instead I’ll let the folks there do it for me. The photo at left captures a conversation out by the barbecue that I had with Brad, a brother who joined us for the weekend. A couple of days ago I received wonderful surprise in my email—a document where a lot of the folks who gathered with us had shared their reflections of the weekend. There’s some cool stuff in here about God’s working among us, in their own words. It’s amazing how many different things he can do over the same weekend with so many different people in the exact same locale. If you want to hear my thoughts on the weekend, you can check out today’s podcast, which covers a bit of it.

Here are excerpts of their reflections. I’ve left off names, because they didn’t write these for publication and some are wonderfully personal and I didn’t want to take advantage of that. Thanks to all who contributed their comments. Sara and I were deeply, deeply touched.

You served as a ‘flagpole’ providing an opportunity to allow us all to come together and make contact. It was neat to hear of such similar journeys. The Lord is calling us closer and closer to Himself and that means that we are bypassing all the things that made up ‘our life’. It’s the Lord who takes it from here. We love your part in this.

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Our weekend together was a special blessing to us to reconnect with a few old friends we haven’t seen in years and to hear some of what the Lord has been doing in their hearts. Then to meet quite a number of others face to face with whom we have communicated by email in the past but never met in person was also a thrill. And then on top of all that, to meet so many others for the very first time who are also on the same journey was such an encouragement to our hearts. We were truly blessed and encouraged by you all! “Thank you” Wayne and Sara, and “Thank you” to everyone else who shared a bit of yourselves with us in Stratford last weekend!!!

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I guess for me it would be that God is bigger than I had anticipated. He’s bigger than my lack. He’s bigger than my mind can fathom. He’s bigger than my doubts and fears. He’s bigger than my failures and He’s bigger than my “triumphs”. This past weekend with Wayne & Sara just made me want Him all the more. The desperation/angst/longing resides in me. How He’ll answer that is yet to be seen. But He’s bigger than that isn’t He?

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A thought came to my mind as I observed Wayne and Sara… a long way from California…and family… on hard chairs all afternoon… with people they do not know… sharing a message that is hard to both grasp and live out because of our propensity to (performance) … this is a couple that has certainly given up a lot in their journey with Father… in order to (be with) us. I feel humbled, honoured touched and thankful.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The short time I was with everyone was a nice relaxing time of yakking with others. God continued to impress upon me the privilege of listening to Him and making decisions to step out on what I believe is from Him.”

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Meeting Wayne and Sara was a delight…. I was able to catch a glimpse of what body life just might be like while we were gathered together over that weekend. The rippling effects of so many hearts being connected is a treasure that continues to enrich my journey with Him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The most powerful message that I heard throughout the weekend with Wayne was that we really can trust God with our life, with the lives of those in our circle of influence and in the lives of the people we will meet in the days to come. He is more than enough for all of us.

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For me (besides the joy of getting to spend time with Wayne and Sara), the most delightful aspect of the weekend was interacting with others. Reconnecting with people we knew from our past life in the institution and meeting new folk on journeys similar to our own was exhilarating and eye opening. Despite the diversity of our backgrounds, I was struck by how much we had in common in our desire to know the Lord as life – and not as a dead religion. I also realized how much I need to learn to relax, but that’s another story!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was great to be able to meet with many new people spread about South-western Ontario. I enjoyed the conversations and just “being” together with others on similar and unique journeys. Wayne and Sara, you are wonderful members of this great family of Christ and I am enriched by knowing you a little more than (just) through the books and podcasts. You are a great encouragement to me and to so many others that I know.

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I have been overwhelmed by what the Lord did in my heart last weekend! Something was broken that had held me in bondage for far too long. You may find this hard to believe, but not only did I enjoy a wonderful stress-free workweek. I was even able to joke with a troublesome male co-worker—and he joked back! I was so unlike my former self. Instead of focusing on my troubles as you suggested, I began to ask the Lord expectantly, “What do you have in store for me today?” and He certainly has not disappointed—quite the opposite, in fact. The most wonderful thing that happened has to do with my relationship with my adult daughter. It has often been strained. Yesterday, we went shopping and had the best time we’d had in many years! We laughed, had fun and talked meaningfully about things that were bothering her. I believe she sensed my new ability to relax and accept her for who she is, and that made all the difference. I honestly haven’t felt this free in years!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was a delight to meet with other believers and share in their journeys as we find greater and lasting intimacy with our Father apart from the framework of religious obligation and legalism. Wayne, I love how you avoid becoming “entangled once again” even in these newfound liberties. I am loath to trade institutionalism for ‘out-of-the-box-ism’. Somehow it strokes pride in me to think that I’m on the ‘cutting edge’ and I know I don’t want to go there again! In this regard, I’m glad you did not encourage any of those attitudes but rather exposed that thinking for what they are; arrogant and divisive.

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We just had the most fun today! (One of the couples) we had never met prior to the weekend (visited our home. They arrived at 2 PM and we talked non-stop about the Lord for over three hours. Then they treated us to dinner at your favorite restaurant and we fellowshipped for another two hours! What a joy it was to hear their stories and to gain two new friends in the process. It’s as if we’d known them for years! In August, we’re planning to visit some of the people we met on the weekend who live two to four hours away. For most of us, leaving the institution meant embarking on a very lonely and isolated journey, but as a direct result of our weekend together we’ve discovered a gold mine of wonderful, like-minded brothers and sisters we never knew existed. How cool is THAT?

Just a head’s up for those wanting to order books or CDs. Our offices will be closed from August 2 through August 9. If you want books sent out before then, please order by noon this Wednesday, August 1. If not, will fill orders when we get back. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this causes, but all of us will be gone during those days. Sara and I are back from Canada, but are taking a bit of an extended break to rest up and enjoy our family before Sara heads back to work.

Sara and I leave tomorrow for a trip to Stratford, Ontario where we’ll be spending a weekend with some new people to add to our journey. Though we’ve not met them before we are quite excited given our email contacts with some there and because they are good friends of some of our friends. After our weekend Sara and I will be going further north in Ontario to a quiet wooded valley for a much-desired week of rest and vacation together. So if I’m hard to get a hold of then, you’ll know why! And even when we return we’re going to continue on a bit of an extended break before Sara starts up at her high school in August. We’re looking forward to some time away and don’t look for many new postings here during that time.

For those Canadians further west, it looks like I’ll be in Alberta during the middle part of September. And the weekend of August 17-19, I’ll be up in the Tahoe area hanging out with some fellow-travelers as well!

I wish I’d had more time during this brief stay at home to put down more of my thoughts from my time in Ireland. I’m sure that will filter out in articles and blogs to come, but being home only a few days has only allowed me to keep some of the correspondence and paperwork at bay. It’s amazing all the stuff that has to be done just to keep available the resources we do. Our podcast at The God Journey for this Friday, July 20, will be all about the Ireland experience and include some recorded observations from others who were there. I think you’ll enjoy it. It will be called “Friends, and Friends of Friends”.

For some other perspectives of our time in Ireland, you can check out these two blogs from two others who participated and wrote of it: Stephan Vosloo of South Africa and David Fredrickson from Sacramento, CA.

We are so blessed at all the emails and comments we’re receiving on The Shack since it’s May 1 release. People from all over the world have been captured by this little book and we’re hearing it is being recommended in some incredible places. Eugene Peterson has recommended it in writing workshops, a former FBI profiler is recommending it to people who’ve lost children in traumatic events, counselors are recommending it to clients who are dealing with conflicts about God’s reality in the midst of tragedy, and a number of influential writers are also excited about the book and recommending to their readers. We have added distributors in the U.K. and will have one soon in South Africa. I’m so blessed that others are finding this book as rewarding and powerful as I did when I first read it.

This week we also launched our new Windblown Media website to handle distribution of that book and future reprints of my own. We are currently putting the finishing touches on a second edition of He Loves Me, since we’ve only got a few books left here from the first printing. If you want to check out the new cover design, click here. I’ve revised it a bit and added a new final chapter to help people who are captured by the message of the book, but unsure how that becomes real in their own life. We should have those available by September 1.

Here’s a quote from an email I received today… I love the focus of it, especially the concluding comment:

Three years ago we became facilitators for a home group in our church—this was the high point of our spiritual lives, so to speak. We have absolutely loved every minute of it. A few days ago the Lord said to step down and let another couple take over. I was heart broken.

I prayed and prayed, I cried, I asked God what could possibly replace this. One hour later a neighbor whose husband ran out on her came over devastated that she couldn’t pay her brother to cut her grass and her dogs wouldn’t go out to “potty.” I quickly told her I would be glad to do it. Afterwards, I told her we understood how tough things were for her and said that if she need to, she could talk to my wife. The poor thing just broke down crying and said thanks. Later while seeking God again, I asked what I was going to do after home group. It is like I could see Him smiling as he said, “You’ve already started what is next!” WOW! What a marvelous God.

I guess I was still looking for a ministry, but God called me to a relationship

Well, that about does it. I hope you’re getting some rest and relaxation in this summer if you’re in the northern hemisphere, and enduring a not too brutal winter if you’re down south! We are always blessed by the wonderful email we get from people who are on this journey, from experienced veterans and from those just starting out with a bit of trepidation at moving away from some comfortable forms with the disapproval of friends. May God grant us all the grace to keep our eye on him and live in the reality of his incredible affection for each of us.

I thought you’d enjoy this little email exchange because I meet a lot of people that are wrestling with the same unfolding realities that this sister is. I also love how she responded to my comments! The heart can so easily grasp what the mind finds hard to believe.

I have no idea where to start this email except to say, “Wow!” I found your website through a yahoo group and almost wanted to cry. The whole “don’t go to church, BE the church” has been what has been going on in my head for so long now – but I have felt helpless. For the last year we have been visiting church after church after church—stuck here in the “Bible belt” and wondering where Jesus is. What we have encountered over and over and over again is the church pushing political or social agendas as well as programs—even in the tiniest of churches.

I also had a conversation on Friday with a good friend. I was telling her how Christianity has become an industry. For evidence of this fact, you can walk into any “Christian” bookstore – and plop down $15 and leave with a book on any of a million topics that will basically boil down to a well laid-out plan to manipulate God into performing the way you want Him to.

I am coming undone. Everything seems to be splintering apart. I feel better that I have a little clarity – and can see it as a farce – but what now? What happens on Sunday? What do we do now?

Here’s how I answered her:

Nothing! Wake up tomorrow and ask Father to lead you. Stop doing those things you think you ‘should’ do and simply do what he asks of you by putting things in your heart. You may not hear anything for a while. Don’t panic. He’s working out some things inside you. But at some point you’ll begin to hear how he feels about you and there will be things he’ll put on your heart, some of which will be incredibly simple, like doing some menial thing that will touch another. And it will just grow on. Eventually you’ll meet some folks who love the same Father you love and want to live with him relationally and share life with you, and community will grow out of your love for him. It is the fruit of our life in him, not the source of it. He is the only source of life.

So, enjoy the adventure. There will be lots he’ll sort out in you and through you. You’ll live in him without guilt or fear, simply responding to him instead of all the expectations of others. It may be painful for awhile, because you’ve worked to earn their approval in the past, and they will not approve of your new-found freedom. Embrace it anyway. Live on in him. This is a lovely journey…

She responded:

Thanks so much. You’re right. Trust God to show up—without a formula, a format, a building, or a program. What a life changing philosophy, and so amazingly simple! It is almost hard to grasp.