stockbridge boiler room

because we know who(se) we are

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (john 13:3-5)

humility and service are made possibly be deep security in knowing who you are. this is what it means to be a son of the Father who is a servant of Jesus Christ. 

i am adopted, i have a giant inheritance, nothing can pull me from my Papa’s love, i share in the authority that He gave to Jesus, and one day when this bad afternoon of a life is over, it’ll be His house i’m going Home to. 

because of that, i can bend low to wash feet. or cook a meal without taking credit for it, give a gift without being thanked. i can lay my life down in a million small ways for a tiny little person who doesn’t even know how much her demands dictate my days, and i can let someone else shine while i remain a nearly unnoticed wall flower. i can wear clothes that aren’t the least bit trendy even when it seems everyone else is sporting the latest, and i can hug an the homeless men who sleep behind my garage even if it makes me stinky or germy. 

because he knows that he ultimately wins all things, he can give away the shirt on his back to a homeless friend or spend most of his disposable income on a special gathering for his friends. because she knows that she has authority over demons, she can march into degage every week and dive into the mess of the women’s lives there, without fear. 

knowing that the Father has given all things into our hands because of Jesus, and that we are going to Him when this life is through... we abandon the upwardly-mobile course of career advancement and pretty houses in tidy neighborhoods, we choose to share meals with motley crews of colorful characters at weekly love feasts, we decide to have our church in a garage with those same people instead of going to the more polished service where we can relax and get fed, and we allow our weekly schedules to be influenced by one another’s needs and preferences, not just our own agendas. 

for so long in my experience of Christian Ministry, we did all that sacrificial stuff without first “getting” the identity bit. perhaps you, like me, have been trained through past experience and teaching, to lay down your life, pick up your cross and so on... but you haven’t really known who you come from, nor the inheritance that is yours. but it is that identity and that inheritance that allow you to bend low in the only way that is truly Christ-like. humility born of security, mission that comes out of intimacy. 

but as our 24-7 Prayer friend pete greig wrote in this gem of a book that tim and i are studying in our living room with some folks on tuesday nights this winter:

"it is only as we understand the reality of God's unshakeable love for us that discipline can flourish without becoming legalism and that we can serve Him sacrificially without striving for approval. This book, with its call to discipleship, is therefore potentially dangerous unless you come to terms with God's approval, acceptance, and kindness, come what may... before the arms of [spiritual] battle must come the arms of the Father's love. we are sons and daughters first and soldiers second." 

this is part of what we’re learning around here these days, and part of what seems to be the work God’s given us to do, to impart it to others. it’s been spoken over us, prophesied, and pressed into... that we are sons. no longer slaves or orphans, but sons. we are praying that we would know whose we are and what we’ve been given. we are praying this anointing of sonship over one another and all the people God brings across our path in the prayer room, the love feast, and the boiler room living room. 

so if you want to begin tteno “get it”, too...

• we’ve found ben pasley’s book Orphan Slave Son to be a useful one. read it. 
• we invite you to consider a little personal retreat at the boiler room in this coming year dedicated to discovering your identity as a son. 
• we would be delighted, privileged, honored to pray over you for that anointing of sonship. 
• you might like to soak in the song “I Have Seen I Am” by Jonathan Helser. over and over again. 

::brooke::

open the door

even though my prayer slot had just begun, and even though i had a fairly sizable agenda to discuss with God, even though i often do not get to attend church because in our tiny gathering there are no other children but ours, and no other nursery but me, so that i was doubly looking forward to worshipping and talking and listening for one blessed hour Sunday morning without someone clinging to me,

even though

i pretended i didn't hear the first time,

when He said to me, in the silent of my heart as my homeless friend drank from the garden hose attached to the side of the boiler room:

when you were a stranger i invited you in,

i could not deny that was true.

so i invited dave into the prayer room.

to get out of the cold he'd seeped in all night long.

to be in the Light and the warmth of Jesus.

i invited him in and made a fresh pot of coffee. 

i told him he could join me in prayer. i thought if i kept my head bowed and kept praying, he would do the same.

i knew what would happen. i would ask him how i could pray for him, and he would evade and start in on the tired litany of how friend of the court is keeping him homeless, how the prospect of jail time keeps him drinking, how there's no point in getting a job because his wages will be garnished anyway, and all the while he would be ranting, there would be this pain beneath the pain that he would not allow to be healed. and any chance to actually pray would be shot.

which is precisely what happened. 

except that while listening to dave's familiar monologue, i realized: 

this tired litany is not his alone. i was the stranger who whined about the most ridiculous things over and over to the One who opened the door for me, who had much better things to be doing than listen to my spoiled self. what i said when He opened the door was insufferable much of the time; i know that. how costly it must have been, must be, for him to let me in all those years that i ranted and talked at him without letting him get a word in edgewise, then turned around and walked out with nothing really having changed in my life or my spirit. how maddening and how tragic.

and yet He opened the door. He opens the door. each time i knock. 

and He tells me to be like Him. 

and i realized Sunday morning that in order to be like Him i needed to glimpse the stranger i have been, first.

and then to remember that any grace i give that doesn't cost me anything, might not be grace at all. and that the only reason i am on this side of the door is because he let me in out of the cold time and again.

and after years of talking at Him then walking back into the cold, one day i suppose i stayed inside.

now being on this side of the door: i never want to leave.

and how it feels to be on that side of the door: i never want to forget.

::jenn::

Abide: 3 weeks of 24-7 Prayer

 

Dear Friends,

We hope that you will consider joining us for Abide, our next season of 24-7 Prayer.  Go to here to signup for our 3 weeks of 24-7 Prayer.  We begin January 7-14 at the Boiler Room garage.  We continue January 14-21 at the Upper Room.  We end January 21-28 at the BSHOP.

peace and grace to you.

Tony

2011 Assessment

 

Come celebrate God's faithfulness with us as you read our reflective assessment for 2011.

 

::tony:: 

sonship

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  (Romans 8:15)

 

As Love:  a week of 24-7 prayer has come to a close, we are discerning so many different things that God has done in our midst.  One specific deepening has been in the area of sonship. 

We opened Love and simultaneously welcomed Ben Pasley, who is one of the Boiler Room's overseers along with Joe Steinke and Jon Petersen through our 24-7 Prayer family.  Ben brought life and laughter as he spent a couple days with us.  He helped us with our understanding of the essential link between sonship and walking with the graces that the Spirit brings to all of us sons.  

One of the invitations that Charis and Emily constructed was to gaze into the mirror and see us as the Father sees us.  Folks were then invited to write down what they heard the Father speaking to them. 

While others wrote

We are sensing that understanding our identity as sons with inheritance and a legacy is so important for the long term family life that the Father is setting out before us here on the Westside. 

Throughout the week, so many people were realizing the Father's love for them and coming back for more and more time.  Cam, who has recently moved into the neighborhood, is so hungry for the Father's heart.  His passion for time with our Papa inspired many of us to lean into more time in the prayer garage.  Throughout the week, folks returned for more and more.  The simple act of "covering" 168 hours of prayer was restful and effortless for the most part.  The thing that seemed key was that people were not thinking as slaves who had a duty to fulfill but rather as heirs who had the Father's presence to rest in. 

Keith showed up for the Love Feast this past week because Jordan Cooper was trying to act like a son.  As a son, Cooper was listening to the Holy Spirit and the Spirit prompted him to cross the street and engage a stranger in conversation, inviting him to the Mission Church.  Coop said to Keith, "The Lord prompted me to talk to you."  Throughout the Love Feast, Keith, a professional chef, had this dazed expression on his face.  "I don't understand any of this;  but I like it.  I want to help."  The extravagant love of the Father was hitting Keith in the most bewildering way.  And we bless the Lord for this holy bewilderment. 

As the week drew to a end, we had closing prayer on Sunday night at 7p. 

We had multiple generations of sons there at the last prayer session.  So in closing we asked a representative of each generation to pray for another generation.  To hear the very words of God spoken in blessing for the many sons in the room was a powerful testimony to the love that the Father poured out on us this week.  And as we ended, we got to meet three missionary minded friends from Cornerstone who had prayed in the garage for the first time this week and were interested in hearing more about ways that they could also step into family. 

We bless the Lord for His deep and faithful love for us.

::tony::

Rosanne

A couple of 24-7s ago, I was sitting in the Pavillion waiting for worship to start and this woman walks in with a Meijer's bag. She said, "I heard about this prayer thing on WCSG. Is this the place for that?"

"Yeah, but it's not going to start for another 45 minutes." Rosanne politely walked out and came back in 43 minutes.

She seemed shy, but clearly drawn to the Lord. She stood in the back during Will's worship set. And she took Jesus at His word when He said, "Come and see." She started coming.

At first, when she came to the Love Feast, she would sit quietly. At last week's talent show, Roseanne did a magic trick.

At first, she sat by herself at the Mission Church. Two weeks ago, she went with Charis and Emily to buy a bird at Casa La Parrot, cracking jokes as the macaws asked for a cracker.

At first, she quietly watched Furious Love with the forty or so folks gathered in the garage. Yesterday during worship walking in the truth of her sonship, Roseanne offered a prophetic word that hit Marcy so clearly. "Yesterday you were healed. Now get up and walk." Sometimes God talks to more than one person. He spoke to Marcy. He spoke to me. He spoke to Rosanne.

Rosanne is getting up and walking as she creates art in the prayer room. Rosanne is getting up and spending hours upon hours with her Father. And loving it.

Rosanne is getting up and leading all of us toward new ideas for the Love Feast. She suggested a Fashion Show, for fun. And that sounds so fun. So show up in your favorite West Side fashion on December 7 (we'll have a dressup box in case you forget). Let's all get up and walk.

For His stripes have healed us and we are clothed in Christ's love. 

::tony::

He cares about what we say: a 24-7 prayer devotion

He cares about what we say

published previously here

A lot of talk about what we say, and what we say to God as of late.

Chels said they’re all praying for her to get a window seat on the flight home…
Cooper said “The Lord knows what we want before we ask..”
I said “then why pray!?”
Chan said “stop praying so much, and admire God. We do to much talking”
Em said “The gals at Schulers say 'the Bible says we can sin.'”
Charis said "We can seriously hurt each other by what we say and how we say it"
The Publican said “Have mercy on me a sinner”
The Pharisee said “Thank you God that I am not like the sinner..”
Isaiah said “I am a man of unclean lips, and I’m in relationship with a people of unclean lips..”
Wesley said “God does nothing but in answer to prayer!”
Others say “It’s arrogant, for us to presume to tell God
what we need or what we would like to happen..”
James said “You have not because you ask not..”
We say “if I fast and pray and hold my breath until I turn blue God will do what I want”
The Deist says “We stand in relationship to each other, this God and I, but we don’t have a relationship, any more than one of the cells in my liver could relate meaningfully to me…”
Satan say's "if you cant hear God right now He can't hear you."

God says “No. I care about what you say.”

Sometimes it seems like wall-to-wall landmines when we start talking about prayer!
I mean
Someone asked me “If God is sovereign why pray?”
I like that question.
That is mostly why I'm writing this note.
And also because the question has the potential to obliterate someone’s “prayer legs,” theologically speaking, and I don't want you to feel like your wheeling around in a wheel chair every time you pray when you could be running marathons.

So, if I asked you “if God is sovereign why pray?”
Would you feel handcuffed..
and say "I feel confused about prayer now, so I guess I'll just not do it...I mean God is sovereign, so I should just accept what I get. Why try when I have no confidence that it even matters?"

Or will you just shrug and continue to go through the motions all the while also doubting that your prayers matter?

I don't know which is worse...

Do you feel like your prayers don't really matter right now?
If you didn't pray would things still be the same?
Maybe your just not doing it right?
Maybe you should try harder...?
Maybe you should fast?
Maybe you should do more and then God will listen?

If you hear that...or know someone who does.
I hope this helps

Genesis 1 & 2
In the beginning God spoke.. He talked, just like we talk, and things happened.
Things that were not became things that were.
Verse 2 there was God, darkness & water but no form..
Verse 10 God spoke and there was dry land, and He called it Earth.. and the waters were gathered together and He called them “Seas”

Pretty basic right? God says a word and that word becomes something.

and all of the sudden chapter 2 verse 7 God stopped speaking and “formed” man from the ground.
Verse 19 God formed the animals and said to Adam “you finish”

Verse 19 God “Brought them to the man to see what he would (say) call them”
“And whatever the man (said) called every living creature, that was its name.”

God says “what I say matters, and you were made 'like me' so what you say matters”

Verse 23 Adam gets the picture! God then brings the gal to Adam and he says
“finish this with me Adam” and Adam said “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man”

and God says “I want you to speak Adam.. I'm listening.. I care what you say”

Hagar crying out in the desert
Israel crying out in Egypt
Elijah asking for rain
Daniel in the heart of Babylon
The blind man "Son of David have mercy on me"

and God said “I care what you say”

I think I'm beginning to see that -prayer is more for us then for God.-

It’s not about God not knowing something so we need to remind Him.
It’s not about God not being able to do something unless we say the magic word!
Rub the lamp Aladdin or else I can't help you??
God is not some Genie waiting for your wish!

Prayer is about what you say to God by saying things to Him. "You’re Big God; I'm little."
and
Prayer is about what God says to you by letting you say things to Him. "You’re valuable and I care what you say."
You’re my child and
“What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”
“You are going to overcome by my blood and by the word of your testimony”
"Whatever you ask in Jesus' name will be given to you"
“My Holy Spirit will come upon you, and I will give you power to be my witness..”                   to be my people
who speak!
So don't stop speaking!
If you feel like your prayers don't matter.. pray until they do!
Speak!
Speak in secret!
Speak in public!
Speak to the lost!
Speak to the found!
Speak to yourself say 'oh my soul!'
Speak to God!
Say “Our Father in Heaven”
I NEED YOU
And as soon as you do that
it gives God so much glory!
Is that you?

or do you say "I don't need you.. I can do this on my own"

you know you can't!
ADAM DIDN'T MAKE EVE ON HIS OWN.
He couldn't!
God made them dependent;
so dependent they didn't even know about evil!

If you pray anything you are saying "I depend on you for this"
thus bringing you back to the mentality Adam and Eve were created with.

Prayer doesn't disprove God it gives Him more glory and give us more value.

Cover to cover, Adam to John and many in between show us that
God cares about what you say.

::danmike::

Love: a week of 24-7 Prayer

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

(Ephesians 3:17-19)

 

It has been such a lovely start to this week of 24-7 as all slots have been filled so far.  Friends seeing slots open in the middle of the night and showing up only to find another brother in the Lord praying already.  Exhales of rest and joy as folks step back into the prayer room crafted with such love by Charis, Emily, Jordan, Danny, Tim and others.  Opportunities to pray for the Holy Spirit to confirm sonship on our new friend who found his way into the prayer room.  What was once heavy and confusing became light yoked and loving.  Hallelujah. 

I'm just back from praying with my friend Ed.  It was a rich time to remember our Father and His love for us.  You might consider finding a friend to join you if you have an upcoming slot.  It's a lovely time of communion. 

If you're hungry for more spots with the Lord.  We do have 7 slots for the remaining days.  Feel free to go to the site and sign up.   The actual remaining slots are as follows:   Sa 6p, Sa 8p, Fr 9p, Su 6a, Su 4p, Su 5p, Su 6p.

 

 

peace and grace,

::tony::

Love: a week of 24-7 Prayer

 

Hey Friends,

We're looking at a week of 24-7 Prayer and we're realizing how much we miss you.

The Lord's given us this simple vision of 24-7 prayer for the week.  We spend set aside time loving Him in the prayer room; we build up love between us as we pray for each other, weep with each other and rejoice with each other;  and we ask for the Father to reveal His love to our friends and neighbors all around the city and around the world. 

We're focusing on this particular verse from Ephesians.  "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."  (Ephesians 4:17-19)  And we would covet your prayers that we all might grasp and be filled in this coming week.

You can signup for a prayer slot right here.   We would love to have your presence.  We'll be having hospitality from 9a-9p during the week so please stop by the house to let us know how you're doing and how we can pray for you.  It's our hope that these times can build more love as well within the body.  

If you'd like more specifics on 24-7, you can find them here.  

peace and grace to you all.

::Tony::

more than principles and ideals

hello, my name is brooke. this is the first time i've written in this space, but most likely you've read my name here before. in posts like this and this. that's because i've been around this place -- with the exception of a 1.5 year break in which i moved to Madison and got married -- for about 4 years now. i was an intern at first, and now i've come back, along with my husband, as one of the hunkering-down-staying-in-it-for-the-long-haul leaders. i'm ridiculously grateful that Papa saw fit to make this community my people, this neighborhood my home, and these neighbors my mission field. 

i'm writing this post while all the rest of us are at the 5th Street Hall serving up a Love Feast to over 100 neighbors who have, by God's grace, come to think of one another as some sort of family, some sort of church. even though part of my role here is to organize those love feasts and coordinate volunteers, i don't actually get to attend the feasts so often these days (gratefully, we have danmike and emily and charis and jordan and cam and roseann and others to pick up that work). and the reason i'm not there is because i have this little daughter, you see, and she's only four and a half months old, which means that she naps three times a day, nurses every few hours and goes to bed really early, all of which adds up to making me rather home-bound -- keeping house and working from home while she sleeps, sitting while she nurses, and venturing out for brief jaunts during her wakeful periods. 

this staying home with a sleeping, nursing baby rather than jumping in on the daily rhythms and work of the boiler room is sacrificial obedience for me right now. the boiler room work is much more colorful in many ways and has more of the dramatic highs and lows that i happen to enjoy. and lots of times i've felt a bit ashamed of my absence from these things that used to be so central to the shape of my days and my weeks. (seems a little silly to call yourself a leader and then to seldom be around). but...

well, this is what i feel God's giving me to write about today: that it is far more important to be obedient to His instructions than to adhere to principles or ideals. even very good principles and the most beautiful ideals need to bow in submission to the here-and-now living word of God. or else they are idols. 

that's abstract, but what i mean is that in my own life, quitting a career, getting rid of my things, moving into an impoverished/addicted/violent neighborhood, and getting my hands dirty in the work of loving it... well, that's become an idealized principle of Christian living. you know, it's the way that you're "supposed to" live your life if you really love Jesus. and perhaps i'd developed a bit of pride in the fact that i was living according to that ideal, to that principle of kingdom life. 

but then i gave birth to a daughter named hazel june (oh, she's so sweet, you wouldn't even believe it!), and she requires my attentive love in a round-the-clock kind of way that i guess i had to experience to believe. so these last four months Papa has been whispering in my ear and working His open-heart surgery on my insides, all to beckon me to say a full "yes" to motherhood; to let it be my job, not a side gig that fits into the cracks of that lovely, principled, idealized life i'd been trying to live. so i'm choosing to be obedient. but i tell you what, that ideal life dies hard. i haven't been letting it go without a fight. 

but He's always after our hearts, i'm finding. more than the noteworthy, unique, sacrificial things we "do for the Kingdom"... He wants hearts that are yielded to Him, the Living God, more than are dedicated to scriptural principles and beautiful ideals. 

i'm not the only one being taught this around here these days.

danmike is learning that even if he generally thought a college education was a bad idea, when Jesus invites him to pursue it in this new season, he'd better be ready to say yes. 

jenn is learning things that overlap heavily with what i've just written here. (you may remember?)

emily is choosing to be deliberate and to walk slowly in regards to a deep desire of her heart, even though i suspect her ideal would be to move quite quickly in the direction of her heart's desire. 

....

but here i am. i'll write from time to time. i'll be the one praying from my living room while the others are in the prayer garage, delegating love feast work, keeping the books, being a support and sounding board to tim and danmike and tony as they lead, and prayerfully carrying the weight of this work in my heart. when i'm not mothering hazel, that is. :)

::brooke::