The Walk

Me and a couple of others from Mosaic wrote this poem/psalm a few weeks back at MCG, it explains part of the faith journey that some of us have been going on, we need people to walk with us, even when we are the most down, lost, confused. When we trek together with others who are follows, we find wholeness, we find answers and healing.

I stood in the desert.I was parched, I was thirsty.

Surrounded by others, as dry as each other.
We had settled by an Oasis
that had since dried up.

The thirst told me that water was out there over the horizon.
Some of us left.
I followed, convinced.
Searching for something better, something more.
We met many along the way.
Some septics, scoffers, some full of hope.
Each of us had a different story, but a common path.

After waiting and waiting holding each other up. We have tasted the dew on the ground, seen green on the horizon.

Together we walk.
Together we walk.

You can find other poems written by Mosaic people at our website.

Communities of Brokennness

The sense of belonging flows from trust: trust is the gradual acceptance of others as they are with their gifts and their limits, each one with the call of Jesus. And this leads to the realization that the body of community is not perfectly whole and cannot be, that this is our human condition. And it is all right for us to be less than perfect.

Helping each other,growing in trust,living in thanksgiving,learning to forgive,opening up to others,welcoming them,and striving to bring peace and hope to our world.

So it is that we come to put down roots in community - not because it is perfect and wonderful, but because we believe that Jesus called us together. It is where we belong and are called to grow and to serve.

Jean Vanier from The Broken

Kingdom Grace

What are you doing this saturday?

Rediscovering Jesus - Hirsh and Frost

This comes from the introduction of Alan Hirsh and Michael Frost's upcoming book Re: Jesus

Surely the challenge for the church today is to be taken captive by the agenda of Jesus, rather than seeking to mold him to fit our agendas, no matter how noble they might be. We acknowledge that we can never truly claim to know him completely. We all bring our biases to the task. But we believe it is inherent in the faith to keep trying and to never give up on this holy quest. The challenge before us is to let Jesus be Jesus and to allow ourselves to be caught up in his extraordinary mission for the world.

Whether it is the grand ecclesiastical project of the institutionalchurches, epitomized by the ostentatious excess of the Vatican, or the tawdry grab for the hearts and minds of the aspirational middle class by prosperity style Pentecostalism, the Christian movement has been subverted. Like a forgotten nativity scene in a shopping mall dominated by Santa Claus, reindeer,elves, Disney characters, tinsel, baubles, and fake snow, the biblical Jesus is hard to find. But Jesus is still calling us to come and join him in a far more reckless and exciting adventure than that of mere church attendance.

When allowed to be as he appears in the pages of Scripture, Jesus will not lead us to hatred, violence, greed, excess, earthly power, or material wealth. Instead, he will call us to a genuinely biblical and existential faith that believes in him, not simply believing in belief, as in many expressions of evangelicalism. It requires an ongoing encounter with Jesus. This will raise issues in the ways of knowing that bring about true spiritual transformation.

Bye Bye Juicey

Juicey (Justin and Lacey) have left New Zealand to go back home to America for three months. These two have been a real blessing for Mosaic. They play an integral part to the community that is Mosaic. I got to say, even though they are only going to be gone for three months. I am really going to miss having them around.

The first time I met Justin and Lacey, they called me Daniel, and brought me home. I failed to correct them that my name was Nathanael partly out of politeness and the fact that I worried that if I corrected them they might not bring me back to my house! We have had many awesome times, particularly early on, where I was involved in long drawn out counselling sessions over numerous issues with them.

Lacey is a key person within Mosaic, her warmth and friendship has been a key for bringing along people to connect to Mosaic. Me and Justin have spent hours having indepth theological discussions and managed to explain some of N.T’s theology in an hour, which was impressive.

Journeying with these Juicey has been cool, I can’t wait till next year and cooking up some great ideas for how to serve Wellington, serve students and share Christ with those who come across the Mosaic.