MRT Community,Many of you are responding to my request last week of investing the first five minutes of your email time each day to the MRT Experiment. To reading the post of the day (I'll work on keeping them short) and responding with a comment. Thank you!
Perhaps you may feel that you need to say something profound in every comment. I want to assure you that this is not the case! A key part of the MRT Experiment is about building encouraging webs of relationships - even with people we've never seen face to face. It's about knowing that we're not alone. Knowing that there are others on the same journey who we can talk to and who will pray for us.
This is the kind of community where mutual learning can thrive.
So, today, I just going to post below some of the responses to the Chicago MRT Introduction from yesterday by Mark and Katrina Willis. Read them over and see if any comments come to mind about the value of a community of friendship and mutual learning like this.
John
From Chris in England...
Mark and Katrina, thanks for this introduction. You have encouraged me and confirmed what is happening where I live as being part of the same pattern. It's the way the Almighty does things.I'm impressed that on the one hand you see the loud work of the world but intermingled with it Papa's work of love and peace through his special people. What a contrast!'People from the harvest who can be leaders in their context.'Yes! That is the key to how the Kingdom will continue to come. The sown seed growing and sowing seed of its own. Read Revelation 3:7-8. The key of David is the Key to the Kingdom, the key that was promised in Matthew 16:19.
From Hobby in Brighton, CO...
Wow, you are quite articulate! I love the description.I appreciate the image of you pouring yourselves out/emptying yourselves. Philippians 3 has been on my mind lately.Father, I pray that you be WITH Mark and Katrina. Make your presence known as you rejoice and suffer with them. Accept their offering and fill them up again and again.
From Noah soon to be in Christchurch, NZ
Praying for you guys in Chicago - that's a tough city if I've ever seen one!For the Kingdom!!
From Chadd in Guadalajara, MX...
Mark and Katrina-great description of the vision that God is placing on your heart. I really appreciate your desire to interact with the people in your city--to notice and look for ways to describe what you see through your Father's eyes. I'm praying with you today.
John,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this little 'nudge' to remind us to encourage one another. I received 2 such notes from various people in my personal email-- Hobby was one, and Roger Bullard was another. I was really excited to receive these, to know someone is thinking about me and praying for me. The journey gets long and difficult if we think we are running alone. I appreciate all the encouragement we give each other. Thanks for this part of the commitment to this 'experiment.'
Peg
I echo Peg's comment, John. Thanks for the good thoughts about how we are a community, a 'web of relationships'. Just think how lonely this experiment would be if it was just one MRT! The community brings an extra dimension of encouragement, support, good ideas to try, and more.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving it!
Who knew that relationships could form from an experiment? May our posture together be one equipped by and for the Spirit of God.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking yesterday that the MRT Community is sort of like a new "life form". It's a worldwide, virtual, apostolic, starfish community. Has there every been anything quite like this before?
ReplyDeleteAnd, how do we nuture it? I don't know if the "first five" idea is from the Lord or not. Maybe it puts too much pressure on people. Not organic enough. I don't know. I do appreciate the freedom to experiment together with these things. I, for one, feel like I have so much to learn about all of this.
Seriously - 15 years ago this would be UNHEARD OF. It just blows my mind how this "little invention" called the internet can connect the body of Christ in ways that have NEVER BEEN SEEN in the history of the world.
ReplyDeleteWe should really keep that in mind as we move forward in obedience - we aren't alone AT ALL and God is moving and he's using this "tool" to tie His church together so that He can drastically change this world!!
Let's be diligent in our obedience... we are not individuals, we are not alone, we are not isolated no matter where we are... we're His ever-uniting body on a mission to bring the Kingdom to every last square millimeter of this planet!!
For the invasion of the Kingdom... and for the King!!
My thoughts at the moment: Intimacy with God. Togetherness with others. Participation in God's mission.
ReplyDeleteFrom our experience on this kingdom journey we know that these three elements almost always mark vibrancy...at least over the long term. I like that we are trying to hang our hat on intimacy with God and attentiveness to God as the beginning place (both big picture and daily). Yet in this, we seek to practice togetherness and we expect all kinds of kingdom-shaped mission will come out of this. We're watching for this fruit together.
I think its a good place to be right now!