A REAL CHURCH?

What makes a real church?

Many times I feel that people don't look at us as being a real church. We do look differently. We are not real big, infact we are tiny because we are only a couple of months old. We are about radically living life as disciples of Jesus. We are not about encouraging spectators but encouraing an adventure lived together for Jesus. An advenutre that encourages the life of a disciple as we passionatly live our lives for Jesus and we live out our God given gifts and dreams. We don't like to specify exactly what we look like because we want the people who are a part of our community to shape that (the idea of the body of Christ).

We get people who come to "check it out", or people who come after they have already gone to church, people who expect church to be planned out for them, etc.
but...
I feel that many people are stuck in a box of what church is. Even people that think outside of the box still see a box. I know what scripture says that church looks like and it always points to a gathing of God's people.

So, what makes a REAL church? What is church supposed to look like? Are we a Real church?

I know what God has taught me it means to be the church or live life as the church or what God has shown me through scripture.

What do you think?

Fasting

God has really put it on my heart recently to begin to fast. Not just individually but as the church - with my community of passionate followers of Jesus.
But, I was struggling because i didn't understand what it meant to fast. Yeah, i was taught what the traditional heart behind fasting was but it seemed like more to me. I knew that you were supposed to not eat or drink for some period of time. or that you could choose to give something else up for a certain period of time. I was told that we need to fast, but why? I mean Jesus really doesn't talk much about fasting in the new tesament so why do we tell people that they need to fast. what is the heart behind it. so, i decided to study the heart behind what it means to fast.

what I have discovered is way cool and i am having fun on this adventure but i don't want to take it alone (God calls us to seek him out together as a community - so i want to encourage you to join me on this adventure of learning the heart of the fast and then fasting together and seeing how God moves.

I will be starting a message board section specifically dedicated to learning the heart of the fast and also for seeing how God answers our prayers and moves as we fast together as a community.

check out www.the-table.net and go to the message boards to join me on this adventure

God gave me a band-aid

This God sighting seems small but impacted my life huge!
I have recently developed a bump in my arm pit which was hurting really bad this morning. I was going to teach gym today so I went to find a band-aid so that I could put it over the bump to keep it from getting sore and hurting a whole lot. i searched the entire house but could not find one. So, i finally gave up and went to go and chill with God. AFter i read a little i got up to pray and then went back to the pillow that I had been studying on (and I had layed on it the night before - and with my ADD i totally don't sit still - which means the pillow get tossed around a lot) but when I went back there was a band-aid right on top of the pillow. It was way cool. I kind of felt bad that I didn't immediatly ask God for a band-aid but later God revealed to me that he really does take care of our needs - even when we don't ask!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sooooooooooooo, GOD GAVE ME A BAND-AID - WAY STINKIN COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Want to be: A Child

I've been struggling!
Not living life to the full!
I have allowed things, frustrations, conversations, worries keep me from living in the freedom of who God has made me to be. i have allowed these things to keep me from laughing, keep me from radically loving others, keep me from enjoying each moment that God has blessed me with, keep me from living freely, keep me from using my imagination and creativity, keep me from taking risks, going on adventures, loving others and so much more - I hate that.

I ask that you guys would be praying for me!!! God has me on a crazy adventure to reclaim this joy, lauhter, and child like faith (LIFE TO THE FULL)!

He has put on my heart to study his peace (shalom)and to spend time just enjoying Him, listening, and praising Him) - So far it has been a cool study and enjoyable to pour my heart out in song and in creativty. I want to once a again live passionatly with a an inexpressible and glorious joy. (1 peter 1:3-11)

Better at blogging

Hello everyone,
sorry it has been so long since i have posted. I have been absolutly horrible at keeping up with my blog. So, I have committed to writing at least one blog a week. I have a lot to talk about or share but am just so bad at taking the time to sit and write out my adventures. so, I ask that you help to keep me accountable if you see that I have not written anything in awhile.

thanks

the journey of living life as the church

The past couple weekends have been incredible as we have seen God move in incredible ways. God has very much been present with the people that show and the things that are discussed. But...the adventure as to how to teach is one that i don't yet understand:
For the longest time I have been bored in church as I sit down and listen to some preacher dude tell me what to belive. I get excited and have so much more fun however when I have an opportunity to encounter God through scritpure as he reveals his truth to me and as I get to discuss it with others (friends and strangers).
As we have started the table we have tried to avoid the "3 step how to live", or the "this is what you need to believe" and praying that God would move through scripture and conversation. God has blessed us with Christians, people who are not, people who have new ageish ideas but our deepest desire is to encounter God - not just to have a conversation for the sake of conversation.

So...How do you teach good Biblical teachings, heart behind the Jewish cutlture and what Jesus taught and allow for people to enconter God through that. As they discuss and live it out? This is way harder than I thought. I look forward to seeing that adventure that God takes us through and as he allows for this kind of worship to occur.

having fun as a passionate follower of Jesus,
scott sulek

Amazed and Excited

I am continually amazed about how God's hand is on this adventure. A couple of weeks ago - Jillian (great woman of God/prayer warrior) got a word from God telling us that we don't need to worry about building the church but that God would bring the people - he would be the one to build the church. It has been amazing to see this happen. Many of the people that have come to be a part of this adventure have come from weeks of crazy adventures. some delivered directly to our front porch (no joke!!!)

God has brought people to worship with us on sunday mornings, or hang out with us or live life as the church!!! these people are brining their God given gifts and dreams, they are passionate about God, some of them are confused or going through tough times and need to see light but open to God and discussing spirtitual things, everyone is amazed on the many many many God sightings (movements of God)

It is very exciting to see how God is building our Jesus community (church) and exciting to dream and imagine what it is going to look like as he brings people and their dreams that will create a working pic of the church that is true to what God desires for us to be -individually and as the church

I only wish I could describe in words or in a blog the dreams, the pics, the people and the impact that God has allowed to be come a reality as we live life as His Chruch.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God is freakin awesome!!!!!!!!!!1

This past friday night was a ton of fun as a bunch of guys got together as "the church" to worship God as we hung out, played video games, ate pizza, talked about girls, pinched each others nipples, talked about God, talked about life and soooo much more. I LOVE LIVING LIFE AS THE CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALSO, During that evening a lady named Tonya (who I had run into a couple of weeks ago came to the door to ask my wife and keiths to join her for a sat. morning Bible study. (check out my post a couple of days ago for the whole story of how i orginally met tonya).
anyway, I had met her while walking and I had just told her I lived down the street and she invited us to her church for her pastor to pray for us and what we were doing in clifton. Well we got lost on the way and we never made it and had no way of getting in contact with her.
on sat. she came to the door and asked for me, my buddy don came to get me and when I came to the door she yelled "this is totally God" I responded shockingly but had no choice but to agree. she had prayed that God would lead her to our house and he did. the first house she had come to was ours (again having no clue where I lived) she invited our wives to a breakfast bible study and again invited us to join her for prayer on wed. night. i don't totally know what God has in store for this friendship but I am excited to see what adventure God is taking us on!!!!!

GOD IS SOOOOOO FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!!

"If its not big enough to be scary its not God sized"
- our lawyer

I am learning that this is soooo true. I have been brought up in the church for way too long and have found my self conformed and churched and I hate it. So many times we as God's people learn how to live by "the faith" but not to live by faith. I find myself knowing the right Christian stuff to do (live by "the faith") but I don't truly live "by faith". i want to control things, or try to make things work, or feel that I have to do something, or am afraid to fail, or must plan something (the list can go on). The moment something happens that I can't control I get freaked out and lose faith, or I allow the question "what if I fail" to keep me from living out what God has called me to live.


anyway, what I am trying to say is that I am learning to live by faith. Knowing that in my failures, in my weakness, in my stupidity, God can and does move. I really just need to live knowing that God has everything under control and works things out in His perfect timing. (he never does anything early or late but right on time.) This week God has used a lot of things and people to help me realize this. our lawayer blessed us this week by giving us a free visit and also paying our incorporation fees (for the table church), God used a friend to tell us not to worry but that God has things under control, or through a story of how God had moved in a crazy way in another churches adventures, or through other people who share my same struggle, or just by the various blessing he has blessed me with. I want once again to live with a faith in God where I can stop relying on my own strength and totally rely on God. That sounds scary at time but it sounds like fun. I want to again laugh and enjoy God as we moves in crazy ways. I want to be able to boast in God not on my own abilities.

maybe this doesn't make sense - i know I like to ramble but it is an adventure I am still trying to understand

I'll keep you all informed on how the adventure goes!

WOW!!!!!!!!
I have totally been praying for divine appointments and today it was great to see God bless that prayer. (let me tell you about it).

I usually run about 3x a week and see these people at the bus stop. Well today I chose not to run but to walk and pray and she yelled over to me and said Hi and asked me why I wasn't running today. I told her that I ususally run to escape from the world and chill with God and today I just wanted to chill quietly. It was awesome because she shouted with joy. she is like a brother in christ and gave me a big hug. Her name was Tonya. Her daughter and I talked for a long time and I told her that we were starting a church in the clifton area. she was stoked and again shouted with joy and invited sarah and I to come worship with her tonight. It was cool because she didn't invite us to church just to worship with them. She continued to praise God for his awesome plan and also connecting us Christians together. She was excited about how God was going to use this friendship for Hig glory.

I realized she was right in so many ways. God's plan is incredible and beyond our imagination. We both realized that if I hadn't chosen to just take a walk we might not have connected on such a cool level. God's plan is way cool!!!!!!

I also learned a lot for us. i want to once again praise God with reckless abandon and with that kind of joy. I miss that. I have been conformed by the church and I want to again praise God and worship in absolutly crazy ways!!!!!!

Here I am God! keep the adventure going!

Question to Friends - Please keep me accountable to worship and praise God with my everyday life - with reckless abandon!