Journey With the Wells

Latest Develoments

2010-05-07T04:20:00.001-07:00

Happy Thursday!

I'm sending this message out to an undisclosed group of friends who have prayed, supported and partnered with us over the past few years. (Doesn't that sound intriguing??)

Many of you receive our periodic updates (if you don't and would like to, just hit "reply" and let me know) and have probably heard about my transition into a 2nd (or is it 5th?) career as a roofing contractor in order to support our mission work. Things are going pretty well, I've actually even seen a couple paychecks! I really believe that this is going to provide the flexibility and long-term financial support we need in order to continue focusing our efforts on connecting with broken, hurting, skeptical (and often poor) folks around south Fort Worth and beyond. Even some of my very jaded roofing co-workers are showing interest!

I hope, pray and fully expect that over the course of the next year I will be able to cultivate a large enough referral base and proficiency in this job to make a sustainable living without abandoning my calling to plant churches. But, I need help to get through the next 12 months. In addition to the support we're currently receiving, I am looking to raise, through one time and monthly commitments, the equivalent of $2000/month... $24000 for those whose math skills are no better than mine. ;) By next summer I hope to be self-supported (financially speaking) in ministry through my roofing work.

I would like to be able to use the money I'm already making from roofing to get us moved into a house near the Chappotins (which is a very modest and affordable neighborhood...and there is currently a house for sale two doors down from them) in order to enter more fully into the rhythms and lifestyle we're currently attempting from a distance. For those that don't know, we were offered a temporary living situation when we moved here in October of 2008. Some friends who live just outside of town have a small mobile home on their property. It would be a bit cramped for our family of five, but was just what we needed to get relocated, and would only be for a few months... We are very grateful for Mr. Ron and Mrs. Debbie, but we are ready to move into a neighborhood. (Besides, the boys miss their dog Chicory who has been living with my parents for the past 2 years.)

We've done a pretty good job over the past couple years (thanks in large part to the concern and generosity of our friends and family) of eliminating significant portions of debt. We're committed to continue making choices that allow us to live on less.

Many of you receiving this are currently monthly supporters of ours - thank you! Can you think of another person that might consider a short-term - just one year - or even a one time commitment? Perhaps you could organize a dinner with couples from your Sunday school class or even talk to leaders in your congregation.

If you, or someone you know, wants to hear more about any of our ministry efforts I would love the chance to meet with you. If anyone wants to see this stuff in action I would love to show you. If they want to know more about the theology behind what we’re doing I can share it. If someone wants to know how to partner with us ﬁnancially, the address for Christ Journey is PO Box 3283 Burleson, TX 76097.

I have never aspired to be a fundraiser and it pains me that there are people who've received more requests for money from me than anything else. This continues to be a humbling experience but I have learned the truth that none of us makes it through life on our own. Our level of conscious dependence on God's provision has increased and so has our realization of how much we need other people. I pray that this will be my final fundraising push, but that I am merely beginning to understand my need for God and others.

Please also continue to pray for the development of this long-term bi-vocational approach.

Grace and Peace,
Bret

April Update

2010-04-14T07:55:00.001-07:00

Hey everybody!

I pray all is well with you and your family. We've been through a lot of changes in these past few months, but we're mostly keeping our heads above water. I'm sorry its been a while since my last update...I've written several and the information was outdated before I could finish!

I put new roofs on three houses this past week (well...I managed the projects).

The life of domestic missionaries in Burleson, TX continues to baffle and astound us all. 2010 has gotten started with a whirlwind of seemingly random activity (unusual for our family, I know).

For starters, many of you are aware that the Christ Journey community and several friends in various locations decided to engage in a shared commitment to prayer and scripture reading. From January 1 to February 16 we spent six days a week reading through substantial passages of scripture and then processed our reading together on Sundays. During this time we read through Isaiah, Micah, Haggai, Hosea, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts and Ephesians. We also spent time each day reading and praying over Luke 10:2, begging the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into the field, asking that we may be those harvesters and that we would encounter those God was preparing to become harvesters as well.

Words cannot describe the impact that this has had. It was incredible to witness the ways in which the Holy Spirit opened scripture to our community and opened our eyes to miracles occurring all around. We came to expect our worship gathering each week to be opportunity to replay the miracles of the previous week and to anticipate even greater transformations in the coming week...what a novel thought for the people of God!

During this season we witnessed no fewer than a dozen NEW connections with broken people in search of something. Friendships were begun with exhausted single moms, angry dads and frustrated grandparents. We “randomly” reconnected with a few high school friends and had “chance” encounters with strangers.

Coming into this season, Chris and I both had some friendships that had developed over the past couple years but which seemed stuck. We had no idea how to help these friends take the next step in their journey...until we began praying more regularly and more specifically. Some of those friends have now shared dinner and spiritual conversation at the Chappotins’ house. I spent a morning at Denny’s with another of those friends, describing what it would look like to begin a house church in his living room.

Chris and I have both had friends who are either avowed atheists or who have said they have no use for church (regardless of whether or not there is a God) say to us in the past several weeks, “That is a Jesus I could get behind. Why haven’t I heard of this before?”

Over the last couple months, I’ve gotten to know a young man who is trying to leave behind a life of selling drugs and stolen merchandise. He’s already spent considerable time in jail. This past week we had a conversation about the radical new kingdom that Jesus came to announce. A kingdom that functions with a different understanding of power, success and wealth. The reign of God announced by Jesus is a direct attack against the systems of power fed by greed and manipulation. His response, “I like this. Is this way ever going to be possible?”

Our first season of reading was so transformational that we and the Chappotins have now completed our second round...and we’re making plans for what we’ll cover in round three.

I wish I could say that this amazing experience has solved all our frustrations and struggles. It hasn’t. Not even close. But it has certainly strengthened our framework of faith in order to accept those struggles.

The reality is that to reach many of the broken and hurting people in our community, many of whom have been burned by “Christians” or the church, we must go to them. Creating the newest high impact worship gathering or glossy invitation mailer will not get their attention because they aren’t interested in attending any religious gathering. A rocking worship band is cool...for people who are looking for Christian worship music. A fantastic children’s and youth ministry is attractive to those who are looking for a Christian place to take their kids. But what about those who aren’t so sure they want Christians teaching their kids anything?

To reach these broken people, we need to have a presence of hospitality in our neighborhood. We must be actively praying for God to open our eyes to those he’s allowing to cross our paths. We need to be inviting our kids’ friends and their parents to the park, and if Sunday morning is when they are available...

There’s a question that Chris and I have been asking people lately, “How long do you need to sit and listen to stories of Jesus before you are ready to share those stories with others?” I’ve known of good, kind, loving people who sit in Sunday school classes every week for decades on end without ever feeling that they are ready to invite someone else to follow Jesus. Why is that?

We realize that our goal must go beyond merely planting churches. Our goal is to call people to become fully devoted disciples of Jesus. Fully devoted disciples of Jesus are those who hear the words of Jesus and put them into practice; they make disciples who in turn make disciples. These disciples certainly worship together (we are still planting churches!) but they refuse to simply form a club that meets weekly. They are on mission together to be like the one they worship.

This is much more difficult than just planting churches...which isn’t an easy thing to begin with! Please continue to join us in prayer for the harvest and harvesters in the south Fort Worth area.

Now back to that comment about roofs...

This school year I’ve been substitute teaching to cover the balance of our financial needs. We have been so blessed to have such a large group of friends and family supporting us financially - some of you have now been partners with us for two years! We know that many of you have been giving, not out of your abundance, but sacrificially. We cannot thank you enough. Truly there are times that I am kept from despair by the realization that so many people believe in us and are praying for us. It is an honor to be entrusted to this ministry by God and supported in it by you.

In addition to subbing I began the process for obtaining certification as a junior high/ high school teacher. However, it became apparent that we weren’t going to be able to make it to September before that more substantial paycheck would possibly come along. So we continued moving forward in faith, praying that God would provide an answer.

We believe that answer was provided through a phone call from a friend I haven’t seen since 10th grade. David works for Quick Roofing here in the metroplex and invited me to join his team as a sales rep / roofing contractor.

After some time of prayer and deliberation we decided to go for it. I’m still subbing some, but mostly I’m devoting a large amount of my time learning and developing a customer base as a roofing contractor. It has been so promising that my little brother has decided to join me as well.

After this summer I will only have 1 class remaining in my DMin work (with just my doctoral project remaining), I do not anticipate subbing next year, and as my customer base and referrals grow in roofing, time spent “pounding the pavement” will decrease. I am hopeful that a more healthy and stable lifestyle is within reach.

We feel called to devote our lives and our time to proclaiming resurrection in the midst of darkness and pouring ourselves out for those who are skeptical and wary of the Christians; for those who desperately need to hear the good news of hope and new life. It appears that, at least for the time being, to do so faithfully I need to develop a “tent making” approach as Paul did at different points in his missionary journeys.

Such a transition is difficult and slow. I’m working very hard to keep all the plates spinning, but I continue to need your help. We are in a particularly vulnerable position right now and over the next year. In order to get this new job off the ground without abandoning my church planting and evangelistic calling, I will need continued support during this period.

If you are currently a financial partner with us, we hope that you will continue with us over this next year. If you are not currently, would you please consider doing so? Perhaps you have friends or a congregation that would be willing to contribute to this specific goal.

There are people right here in our own backyard who have never heard the gospel. Our Lord Jesus has called me to announce the arrival of the Kingdom to these very people, to proclaim good news to the poor and oppressed. I readily acknowledge that I will not be able to fulfill my calling without the support of God’s people in this land - this is a call that must be lived out in and supported by the community. And I am convinced that God wouldn’t have it any other way.

-Bret

40 Days...Again

2010-02-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we completed our 40 Days of Scripture and Prayer. I didn’t write as much about it as I had originally intended – but not because it wasn’t powerful. Quite the opposite, actually.

During the past 40 days (excluding Sundays), we read through Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, Haggai, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and Ephesians. I am always amazed how God’s word speaks right to your heart, no matter where you are reading, no matter what season of life you are in. But this one, this one was different. It was the first time I had really taken on something like this in the midst of community. The added element of talking with others nearly daily about what we were reading was powerful.

I was amazed at how the same Scriptures really stood out to, in particular, both Bret and me as well as Chris and Heidi. And when the same things didn’t stand out, the combination of the different things we had seen really said something, too. This process really brought us as a leadership team – and friends – to a different level.

I didn’t write much about it here though. And I feel a little bad about not sharing more of it. But honestly, a lot of what I was hearing just did not have a place here in the very public blog-o-sphere. It’s changed me, it’s changed Christ Journey, and I pray that the fruit of that transformation will be evident as we move forward.

Christ Journey has been going through some pretty major transitions since last fall. Several different things came to a head at the same time, and not everyone was ready for, understood, and/or agreed with the way things were handled, decisions that were made, or the directions to which we have returned. God’s Word has spoken directly to us and confirmed many of the things that we have been thinking and feeling in all of this, and it has been so wonderfully refreshing.

Also as a part of this, we’ve been praying Luke 10:2 everyday. “2He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” As harvesters, we’re praying to be in contact with the harvest, and for them in turn to become harvesters, too.

During this time, we’ve all (Bret, Chris, Heidi, and me) had some unmistakable answers to this prayer. Old relationships have “randomly” been renewed, opportunities have fallen into our laps, and hearts that were once thought to be hopelessly calloused have begun to soften. We have had conversations and experiences that we had begun to let ourselves think only happened to others in books. Any one of these might could be explained as “coincidence,” but when the literally over a dozen specific individuals who have risen up as a part of this harvest are combined, the role of the Spirit is undeniable.

So we’re doing it again! This time we’re reading a little of Psalms, a Proverb, and few chapters from one of the gospels each day. I can’t wait to see what’s in store this time around…

Acts

2010-02-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

An Overview of Acts

1:1-6:7 – A description of the primitive church in Jerusalem, its early preaching, its common life, its spread, and its initial opposition. Notice how Jewish everything is, including the sermons, the opposition, and the fact that the early believers continue associations with the temple and the synagogues. The panel concludes with a narrative indicating that a division had begun between Greek speaking and Aramaic-speaking Jews.

6:8-9:31 – A description of the first geographical expansion, carried out by the Hellenists” (Greek-speaking Jewish Christians), to Greek-speaking Jews in the Diaspora or “nearly-Jews” (Samaritans and a proselyte). Luke also includes the conversion of Paul, who was 1) a Hellenist, 2) a Jewish opponent of the gospel, and 3) the one who was to lead the specifically Gentile expansion. Stephen’s martyrdom is the key to this initial expansion.

9:32-12:24 – A description of the 1st expansion to the Gentiles. Key moment is the conversion of Cornelius, whose story is told twice. (remember the OT narrative use of repetition to highlight something of importance). The significance of Cornelius is that his conversion was a direct act from God, who carried it out through Peter, the acknowledged leader of the Jewish-Christian mission (had God used the Hellenists – like Paul – the event would have been even more suspect in Jerusalem). Also included is the story of the church in Antioch, where Gentile conversion is now carried out by the Hellenists in a purposeful way.

12:25-16:5 – a description of the first geographical expansion into the Gentile world, with Paul in the leadership. Jews now regularly reject the gospel because it includes Gentiles. The church meets in council and does not reject its Gentile brothers and sisters, nor does it lay Jewish religious requirements on them. The latter serves as the key to full expansion into the Gentile world.

16:6-19:20 – Description of the further, ever westward, expansion into the Gentile world, now into Europe. Repeatedly the Jews reject and the Gentiles welcome the gospel.

19:21-28:30 – Description of the events that move Paul and the gospel on to Rome, with a great deal of interest in Paul’s trials, in which three times he is declared innocent of any wrongdoing.

Luke’s Purpose

Key to understanding Acts seems to be in Luke’s interest in the movement of the gospel from its Jerusalem-based, Judaism oriented beginnings to a worldwide, Gentile-predominated phenomenon. On the basis of structure and content alone, any statement of purpose that does not include the Gentile mission and the Holy Spirit’s role in that mission will surely have missed the point.

This interest in “movement” is further substantiated by what Luke does NOT tell us.

First, he has no interest in the “lives,” that is, the biographies, of the apostles. James (the son of Zebedee) is the only one whose end we know (12:2). Once the movement to the Gentiles gets underway, Peter drops from sight except in chapter 15, where he certifies the Gentile mission. Apart from John, the other apostles are not even mentioned, and Luke’s interest in Paul is almost completely in terms of Gentile mission.

Second, he has little or no interest in church organization or polity. The Seven in chapter 6 are not called deacons, and in any case they soon leave Jerusalem. Luke never tells us why or how it happened that the church in Jerusalem passed from the leadership of Peter and the apostles to James the brother of Jesus (12:17; 15:13; 21:18); nor does he ever explain how any local church was organized in terms of polity or leadership, except to say that elders were appointed (14:23).

Third, there is no word about other geographical expansion except in the one direct line from Jerusalem to Rome. There is no mention of Crete (Titus 1:5), Illyricum (Rom 5:19 – modern Croatia and Yugoslavia), or Pontus, Cappadocia (1 Peter 1:1), not to mention the church’s expansion eastward toward Mesopotamia or southward toward to Egypt.

All of this together says that church history per se was simply not Luke’s reason for writing.

Luke’s interest also does not seem to be in standardizing things, bringing everything into uniformity. When he records individual conversions there are usually two elements included: gift of the Spirit and water baptism. But these can be in reverse order, with or without the laying on of hands, with or without mention of tongues, and scarcely ever with a specific mention of repentance – even after 2:38. Such diversity could likely mean that no specific example is being set forth as THE model Christian experience.

Does that mean that Luke is not trying to tell us something by these various specific narratives?
Not necessarily. The real question is, What was he trying to tell his first readers?

With all this said, it does seem that much of Acts is intended by Luke to serve as a model. But the model is not so much in the specifics as in the overall picture. By the very way God has moved him to structure and narrate this history it seems probably that we are to view this triumphant, joyful, forward-moving expansion of the gospel into the Gentile world, empowered by the Holy Spirit and resulting in changed lives and local communities, as God’s intent for the
continuing Church.

Luke

2010-01-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday!

Weʼve entered a new phase of our reading together. This week we begin the second half of our schedule and from here on the readings will come from the New Testament. Personally, Iʼm really glad to have read so much from the prophets recently. Sure, it was a little “doom and gloom” in places, but at least for me, it seemed that everyday the prophets were speaking directly into my own life.

Those last sections of Isaiah though...those chapters contain some of my absolute favorite pieces of writing anywhere. To begin the week last week with the words, “Comfort, comfort my people...” - I suspect that I wasnʼt the only one who needed to hear those words. As I reminded our friends gathered together yesterday morning, the role of the prophets is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. The Israelites in captivity (chps 40-55) and returning to a destroyed Jerusalem (chps 56-66) were no longer comfortable.

It struck me, as it often does, that it is very difficult to treat issues of social justice, freedom for the oppressed, care for the poor and concern for the forgotten as a “special interest” ministry. When we actually read the Scriptures those issues seem to play a very prominent role in descriptions of what it means to follow God faithfully.

And then our reading this morning begins not only with two substantial quotes from Isaiah (chp 40 quoted in Luke 3 and chp 61 quoted in Luke 4), but also ties the nature of Jesusʼ ministry so directly to this call for justice for the poor and oppressed.

I pray that you will find your story in the Story of Jesus this week. Next week weʼll read 2nd Luke (also known as Acts) and then finish Matthew, read Ephesians and John and our 40 days of reading will be fulfilled.

If youʼve gotten behind in your reading I encourage you to do two things. First, donʼt become overloaded with guilt or stress about not keeping with the schedule. The main goal is to spend significant time each day reading from Godʼs Word, not to accomplish a certain amount of reading.

Second, donʼt let yourself off the hook just because thereʼs no guilt being laid on you. This is a chance to challenge yourself, to be immersed in Godʼs word - this is not something that anyone else can do for you.

I am anticipating miracles this week. I donʼt know where God will bring transformation, but I believe that its coming. Do you?

Intro to Isaiah 40-66 and Haggai

2010-01-17T22:58:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Sorry I'm getting this to you late in the evening...haven't really had the computer on much today (which was nice!)

Hope this is helpful as we enter the next week of reading. This week will be days 16-22 - when we finish with Isaiah we are half-way through this commitment. Rachel and I have already seen some amazing things happen that we believe are directly related to this period of reading and prayer. My continued prayer is that we will see miracles...that we will see transformation occur.

May God continue to bless you through the reading of his Word.

Bret

2nd Isaiah (chapters 40-55)

Most likely, this section of Isaiah was written by a latter day disciple of Isaiah, who is anonymous except we refer to him as “Deutero- Isaiah” to distinguish him from the 8th century Isaiah of Jerusalem.

The prophets had warned Judah to have faith in God or else destruction would come. Micah seemed convinced that exile was unavoidable. He was right. King Jehoiakim revolted against Nebuchadrezzer some time around 602, and it took the Babylonians some time to respond to this rebellion. But by 598, apparently Nebuchadrezzer surrounded the city of Jerusalem. During this time Jehoiakim died and his son Jehoiachin took the throne, reigning for only 3 months (597).

He gave in to Nebuchadrezzer and was taken to Babylon along with the cream of Judean society, including Ezekiel, Daniel, and the friends mentioned in Daniel 1–5. Nebuchadrezzer set another son of Josiah on the throne, Zedekiah. Zedekiah reigned for 11 years and witnessed the end of the nation of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem.

The question is finally settled with the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Nebuchadrezzer fulfills the harsh prophecies that Judah had been warned of and the exile begins.

However Nebuchadrezzar died in 562 and his empire began to crumble. In 555, Nabonidus ascended to the throne and shortly thereafter, he went into the Arabian desert to contemplate the moon god, Sin. In his absence he leaves his son, Belshazzar as regent in his place.

Meanwhile the Persian Empire is on its own conquering warpath (remember the movie 300?) and the Babylonians actually welcome Cyrus and the Persian army as liberators. Persia takes Babylon without a fight. Cyrus was benevolent and actually allowed most conquered peoples to return to their own homelands. But, for whatever reason most Jews did not come home from Babylon, beginning the diaspora (dispersion).

As you read, look for these themes:
- Yahweh is the Holy One of Israel and has no rivals
- There will be new acts of redemption
- All the nations will benefit from Judah’s restoration: Judah will be a light to the nations.
- The Suffering Servant: 42, 49, 50, 52:13–53.
- Impact of II Isaiah on the New Testament.

Haggai

Haggai is written around the same time as 3rd Isaiah, during the return of the Israelites from captivity to Jerusalem.

Haggai has only two messages: 1) you are languishing in Judah with poor harvests because you have rebuilt your own houses but not the house of God. 2) The people responded with vigor and rebuilt the temple. Haggai then proclaimed that Zerubbabel, the governor, was the Davidic messiah.

3rd Isaiah (chapters 56-66)

Many scholars suggest that the book of Isaiah should be divided into 3 parts, as we have seen. The third part many feel is neither Isaianic nor part of Deutero-Isaiah, but an addition by a post-exile writer or writers not long after the return from Babylon. This writer carries on Isaiah’s motif of the Holy One of Israel, but seems not to have the messianic emphasis of Isaiah of Jerusalem and Deutero-Isaiah (or Haggai).

One of the main points of 3rd Isaiah is to show how Israel is to be a light to the nations in the period of restoration, but that the nations will be subservient to Israel and be, like the Gibeonites, drawers of water and hewers of wood.

Timeline of Important Old Testament Dates

1200-1000: the period of the Judges and beginnings of the monarchy.
1000 ±: David’s reign.
950 ±: the temple is built.
922 ±: the division of the kingdom (Israel in North, Judah in South).
735: the Syro-Ephraimite war (Isaiah).
732: the first exile of North Israel under Tiglath-Pileser III (Isaiah, Hosea).
722: the exile of North Israel to Assyria under Shalmaneser V.
701: the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib of Assyria (Micah, Isaiah).
622: the reform of Josiah (Jeremiah).
612: the destruction of Nineveh by the coalition of Medes, Babylonians, and Scythians (Nahum).
609: Josiah dies in battle against Necho of Egypt.
605: the battle of Carchemish (Egypt and Assyria against Babylon and the Medes) (Habakkuk).
597: the first exile of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah, Ezekiel).
586: the second exile of Judah to Babylon (Jeremiah, Ezekiel).
539: the edict of Cyrus and the first return under Sheshbazzar.
520: the temple is rebuilt in earnest (Haggai, Zechariah, Chronicles, Zerubbabel).
515: the temple is completed.
ca. 450: Ezra’s mission to Palestine.
ca. 445ff: Nehemiah’s mission to Palestine.
ca. 400: Malachi’s prophecies and the “end” of Old Testament writings.

Prayer Requests

2010-01-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

Good Evening everyone,

I have a couple special items for prayer that I would like to urge you to lift up to our God.

First, those of you who are local may have heard that there have been a string of suspected attempted abductions of children here in Burleson. On three separate occasions over the last few days a young person has been approached by a person they did not know and felt threatened - at least one of the children was actually grabbed by the man, but escaped. It seems likely that at least 2 of the 3 encounters may have been the same person.

This is certainly unnerving to those of us in the area, especially parents of young children. To make matters worse, 2 of the 3 events occurred in the Shenandoah community - where some of our friends live. This of course hits very close to home and we would like to ask you to pray for the safety of children everywhere, but particularly for our friends in Shenandoah who are certainly dealing with heightened anxiety tonight.

On another - happier - note, we'd also like you to be in prayer for a meeting I will have with a church this Thursday. Rachel and I have grown extremely cautious about getting our hopes up - we have certainly had to learn to deal with rejection over the last few years. However, the very promising conversations and events leading up to this meeting, and the timing... we are excited, nervous and, for the first time in a while, hopeful that a church may be willing to partner with us financially.

Please join us in prayer for this meeting and potential partnership.

Grace and Peace,
Bret

Intro for Hosea and Micah: Days 9-14

2010-01-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

I hope that last week's reading was a blessing. Rachel and I had some amazing experiences that can only be described as answers to our prayers out of Luke 10:2. It seems that the Lord of the Harvest is, in fact, concerned with harvest. Who knew?

Here is a short bit of information regarding the background of this week's readings. We'll start with Hosea, move to Micah and finish with Mark. Hosea and Micah are interesting in that together they function as a contemporary voice to Isaiah 1-39. Hosea was prophesying during the events which occurred in the first part of last week's reading (as Assyria is preparing to destroy the northern country of Israel) and Micah picks up around the time of that the Assyrian's attempt to take over Judah as well (which they nearly do, taking pretty much everything but Jerusalem.)

We had some great conversation this morning regarding the Isaiah readings and I'm already looking forward to what the community will have to say about this next round. Blessings to you this week!

Grace and Peace,
Bret

Our reading last week concluded with King Hezekiah’s refusal to lose faith in the face of a looming invasion by the powerful Assyrian King Senacherib - some 20 years after the destruction of the northern Kingdom of Israel (often referred to in the text by its capitol, Samaria) by the Assryians. This period of faithfulness in Judah came on the heels of King Ahaz’s failure to trust God and would be followed by even greater sin and faithlessness by Hezekiah’s son, Mannaseh. Isaiah seems to hold out hope that Judah will escape destruction and exile(which they will...for now).

This week we will read from the prophets Hosea, who was a contemporary of Isaiah during the early part of his career and Micah, who prophesied during Sennacherib’s invasion around 701.

We know that Hosea was a North Israelite who prophesied during the uncertain times of the anti-Assyrian coalition we read about last week; during the days of Uzziah, Jotham (and possibly even Ahaz and Hezekiah) of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel. Of course we also know that he had an unfortunate marriage which God commanded him to enter as a metaphor for the relationship between the Lord and his chosen people.

The historical background for Micah’s prophecy is set around 701 and Sennacherib’s invasion.

Micah is far less optimistic about Judah’s survival than Isaiah. They do survive this invasion, but will eventually be destroyed by the Babylonians and be carried into exile as he predicts. Micah is also much more scathing about Judah’s oppression of the poor, in language reminiscent of Amos. Judah would be punished for breaking the covenant. Judah must go into exile, unlike Isaiah’s message, and there seems to be no way out. Chapters 3–4 suggest that Micah believed that Judah would someday be restored, but only after punishment and exile.

As we think about the setting in Israel and Judah in the 8th century BCE, the struggle to find faith often seems insurmountable. The prophets had their work cut out for them. Their messages,which sought to stoke the imagination of the people, called for repentance and were seldom well received. Keep this in mind as you then read the gospel according to Mark. You will likely notice how Mark seems to be racing toward the cross - the word “immediately” is often used to describe Jesus’ movements.

Throughout our season of reading we will continue to move back and forth between the prophets and gospels. Hopefully, as we progress we’ll notice that our understanding of one deepens our appreciation of the other.

Background in Isaiah

2010-01-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

Rachel made a good comment to me this morning while reading the Isaiah passage. She was confused as to why God seemed so mad at King Ahaz. She said, "The background information you gave us makes sense, but I haven't gotten to the point in Isaiah where that happened yet. Why is God angry already?"

What I apparently failed to tell you guys is part of the reason for giving the historical background is that most of that information cannot be found in Isaiah itself, you have to read through Kings, Chronicles and even some of the minor prophets.

So don't be confused, you won't find all the information about Ahaz's treaty with Assyria in this reading - its a backdrop.

Hope that helps.

Grace and Peace,
Bret

Intro for Isaiah: Days 3-8

2010-01-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday,

As we prepare for our second week of readings, we will leave Matthew for a while and dive into Isaiah. Hopefully you've already benefitted from the readings. You may have noticed in Matthew 1-13 that the writer often says something to the effect of "this happened in order to fulfill what was said by the prophets." As you know, over these 40 days we will read all 4 gospels (usually the whole book on consecutive days). One reason to read books like Isaiah, though not at all the only one, is that these texts serve as important source and reference material for the gospel and other new testament writers. It is hard for us to hear what the authors were saying if we aren't aware of the stories to which they referred.

The attached document gives a little background to Isaiah 1-39. As you read I encourage you to be aware of the situation that Judah faced and to which Isaiah was speaking, but also ask yourself, "Where are these types of situations present in my own life and the life of my community?"

For instance we'll see that King Ahaz is afraid of the armies of Pekah and Rezin and is called by Isaiah to trust God for protection. Instead he turns to even worse King of Assyria for assistance. To avoid one bad option he turns to another, more dangerous option out of perceived necessity, instead of trusting God - a move of fear that will have terrible implications. But are we not often tempted to do the same? Asking such questions as we read will allow God to shine light on the areas of our lives that need a little prophetic "prompting."

Please let me know if you have any trouble opening the file or if you can think of someone else who needs to be added to the email list for these updates. May God bless the reading and hearing of His Word.

Grace and Peace,
Bret

I owe the bulk of this material to Dr. Mark Shipp who teaches the graduate Intro to Old Testament class at ACU. As we prepare to read Isaiah 1-39 this week, the following information might provide some helpful background.

Isaiah can most likely be split into three distinct books. This week we’ll be reading the first of those books, found in chapters 1-39. It was written by a prophet referred to as Isaiah of Jerusalem, as distinguished from the Isaiah of the exile 200 years later. He was probably called to the prophetic ministry with the extremely tense political situation of the Syro-Ephraimite war and Assyrian political intervention in view. Isaiah was called in ca. 740, ± the year of the death of Uzziah. Some have suggested that in the death of good king Uzziah, and his foot disease which forced a co-regency with his son Jotham, Isaiah 6 reflects the uncertainty of the times and the end of this golden age. In any event, Isaiah is called at the beginning of bad political times and its subsequent loss of political independence to the Assyrians soon after this.

Isaiah 6 reflects much of the theology and focus of Isaiah 1–39: the holiness of God, the judgment and purging of Jerusalem, the righteous remnant which would remain.

This section of Isaiah was likely written around 700 BCE with the imminent threat of Assyria and Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria mounting. He came to the throne in 745 and with him we have the true beginning of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. According to II Kings 15, Menahem (King of Israel) paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III and averted destruction. His son, Pekahiah, was murdered by an officer named Pekah (ca. 737). Pekah soon joined an anti-Assyrian Coalition with Rezin of Aram and possibly Tabeel or Ittobaal of Tyre. They attempted to get Judah to join, but Judah and her king Ahaz refused so they invaded Judah.

Isaiah is first sent by God to contact Ahaz while he was inspecting the city waterworks, probably with the siege in view. Note also that Isaiah was to take his son Shear-Jashub (which means “a remnant shall escape or return”) with him, a son with a very strange name who was a kind of visual aid to Ahaz. Isaiah’s message is that Ahaz and Judah should not fear, for Rezin and Pekah were not worthy of their fear. Not only this, God was with Judah and would not let them fall. Later, Isaiah came back with a further word of comfort for Ahaz. This time, Isaiah offers a sign to Ahaz—anything in the earth or the underworld. Ahaz demurs with false piety and Isaiah responds with a sign from God anyway, the sign of Immanuel. The obvious positiveness of these oracles is followed by Isaiah’s exasperation with Ahaz’s refusal to believe and then the interpretation of his own prophecies in a negative light. Ahaz, rather than listening to the word of the Lord from Isaiah, chose to seek help instead from Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria. Assyria invaded, deposed Pekah and put Hoshea on the throne.

Finally, there follows in chapter 8 a final prophecy dealing with sign children, just as in Hosea there are three: the sign of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (which means roughly, "Hurrying to the spoil, he has made haste to the plunder.”) As with Shear-Jashub and Immanuel, this son is also supposed to be a sign of God’s protection and comfort to Ahaz. It also is reinterpreted as a prophecy of disaster when Ahaz refuses to believe. Ahaz has refused the peaceful waters of the Shiloah—a canal or aqueduct that flowed through Jerusalem—and has brought upon himself and his people the raging torrents of the Euphrates, the king of Assyria and his armies. He has hired a hired razor from beyond the Euphrates to cut of his hairy situation, but this razor was not content with a close shave, but a whole body makeover. There is one other overt historical background which bears mentioning in Isaiah. This pertains to ca. 701 B. C. and the invasion of Judah by king Sennacherib of Assyria. We read about Judah’s further involvement in conspiracies to throw off Assyrian domination in chap. 39. Here, Merodach-Baladan of Babylon came to Judah and was shown everything which the king possessed—his wealth and armaments. It is understandable why Isaiah becomes very upset with this because Merodach-Baladan was a well-known rebel against Assyria and king of Babylon during a 10-15 year period. The only reason Merodach-Baladan had to be in Judah was to gather support among the petty kings of the Assyrian empire to throw off their vassal status. Regardless of when this event happened in Hezekiah’s reign, Judah was clearly immersed in sedition and it did not take long for Sennacherib to respond. (701 and Sennacherib’s 3rd campaign). The chaps. 1 and 28–33, + 36–39, seem to reflect this period. As in the earlier period, Isaiah’s message is one of judgment, purging, and a righteous remnant emerging.

This historical background is meant only to help us have a framework as we begin to read Isaiah. We can see how the original context of the prophecies came into play. Once that is established our goal, through much prayer and listening to God is to, like the gospel writers, discern what the prophet has to speak into our present situation. You should have noticed during our Matthew readings that in that particular gospel account it is very important that the reader/hearer see the connection between Jesus and Israel: prophecies pertaining to Israel pertain to Jesus, regardless of what their original context was. This is just one of the reasons why it is important to read Isaiah and other Old Testament texts - we miss so much that is said about Jesus if we don’t read the authors’ reference material!

Outline of the book of Isaiah:
1: Introduction to the book as a whole.
2–12: Oracles mainly from 735 and the Syro-Ephraimite war.
2–5: Oracles of judgment, chiefly from 735.
6–9:16: the Denkschrift, or memoirs, of Isaiah.
9:17–chap. 11: Further oracles of judgment and future restoration.
chap. 12: a short poem about the restoration of Judah.
13–23: Oracles against foreign nations.
24–27: The Apocalypse of Isaiah.
28–33: Oracles pertaining to the year 701.
34–35: Oracles pertaining to the chaps. 40–55 and the exile.
36–39: Narrative about 701, almost verbatim from II Kings 17–19.
40–55: Deutero-Isaiah.
56–66: Trito-Isaiah.

Theology: The theology of Isaiah of Jerusalem is conveniently located in chap. 1:
1) God is the Holy One of Israel and has an indictment against his people.
2) Oppression of the poor, like Amos.
3) False religion.
4) Idolatry of Judah.
5) Certainty of judgment and destruction.
6) The purging of Jerusalem from sinful elements (also found in chap. 2).
7) The restoration of the righteous remnant (also found in chap. 3). Related to this theme is the prevalence of the Zion theology in Isaiah, particularly in chap. 3.

40 Days of Prayer and Scripture

2010-01-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

January 1 - February 16, 2010

One of the greatest things about road-trips are the occasional side adventures that crop up. In similar fashion over the next few weeks, in the midst of our life-long journey into God, we are calling one another to take on a mini-adventure of sorts. For some of us participating, this arises from a recognition that without Godʼs intervention we are on the brink of destruction. For others this is a moment of surrender - weʼre lost and weʼre tired of pretending we know how to find our way back to the main road. Others are just excited about exploring new landscape. Whatever motives are involved, Prayer and Scripture make up the landscape to be explored.

Our calendar for reading is organized in weeks. There is a daily schedule which is meant to help provide structure. But as always, structure exists to support life, not to create or define it. This is not meant to be a burden, but it is meant to be a challenge. It should take intentional focus and planning to carve out time - that is part of the point of this adventure. Together we are crying out against the temptation for faith in God to become nothing more than a convenient accessory to our comfortable lives.

This is not only a time of reading. There are three specific ways we are being called to prayer in these 40 days.

1) Throughout the course of your reading there are questions meant to aid in prayer - for those who are participants in our Sunday morning gatherings, we will also discuss these together each week. But make sure to note that these are not intellectual questions for you to consider and answer. They are prompts to assist you in approaching God in prayer through the reading of these scriptures.

2) We also encourage you to take one or two verses from each dayʼs reading and allow them to roll around in your heart and mind. As you read listen for a passage that really stands out.

From that passage choose a manageable section to read several times - just a verse or two. As you read, ask for God to allow a word or phrase to grab you. Spend time in silence and simply listen to this word.

In prayer, invite God to speak and then take time to listen.

Read the verse again asking God what this word or phrase could be highlighting in your life. Not life in general, but your life - a life that God cares about dearly.

Take your time here - donʼt rush to find an answer. Wait and attend to the Lord.

Read the verse again. Consider the area of your life being spoken into. What is God calling you to do or be...or to stop doing or being? Speak Lord for your servants are listening...

3) Finally, let us each pray that God will introduce us to others who can join us in our life long adventure. In Luke 10:2 Jesus encourages us to pray for harvesters - where will they come from? From the Harvest! In addition to your reading and prayers each day, we encourage you to read Luke 10:2 and follow Jesusʼ encouragement to pray on behalf of those whom God is inviting into this journey.

Our task, the goal of this adventure, is to seek the face of God together. Acts 17 says that it is God who has placed the desire to do so in our hearts - and he isnʼt far from any one of us! Rejoice!

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Questions for Prayer in the Upcoming Week:
“What does Jesus preaching ʻRepent for the kingdom of heaven has come nearʼ mean to us today? (4:17) How does this message relate to the Sermon on the Mount? (5-7) What things have we seen that we could report to John? (11:4) In what ways have we treated Jesus like a prophet from our home town? (13:57)”

*each day - Luke 10:2

Fri, Jan 1 Matthew 1-7
Sat, Jan 2 Matthew 8-13

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Questions for Prayer in the Upcoming Week:
“What enemy is on our doorstep, tempting us to give in to our fears? In what ways does God need to cleanse our lips so that we can say, ʻHere we are, send usʼ? What woes and prophecies could be leveled against us and how are we to respond?”

*each day - Luke 10:2
Mon, Jan 4: Isaiah 1-6
Tue, Jan 5: Isaiah 7-12
Wed, Jan 6: Isaiah 13-20
Thurs, Jan 7: Isaiah 21-27
Fri, Jan 8: Isaiah 28-33
Sat, Jan 9 : Isaiah 34-39

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Questions for Prayer in the Upcoming Week:

In what ways are we Gomer? How can we, like Hosea, faithfully marry our Gomer? What does it look like to ʻact justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our Godʼ? If Markʼs Gospel is ʻthe beginning of the good news about Jesusʼ (1:1) whatʼs the next part?”

*each day - Luke 10:2

Mon, Jan 11: Hosea 1-8
Tue, Jan 12: Hosea 9-14
Wed, Jan 13: Micah

Thurs, Jan 14: Mark 1-6
Fri, Jan 15: Mark 7-11
Sat, Jan 16: Mark 12-16
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Questions for Prayer in the Upcoming Week:
“Who are those living in exile, who need to be comforted? Who are those living in comfort who need to warned of the coming exile? What could God be saying to us through Haggai if WE are Godʼs temple? Does the way weʼre living prepare us for faithful worship, or leave our songs and assemblies detestable to God?”

*each day - Luke 10:2

Mon, Jan 18: Isaiah 40-44
Tue, Jan 19: Isaiah 45-50
Wed, Jan 20: Isaiah 51-55
Thurs, Jan 21: Haggai
Fri, Jan 22: Isaiah 56-60
Sat, Jan 23: Isaiah 61-66

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Questions for Prayer in the Upcoming Week:
“What deserts has the Spirit led us to and for what purpose? (4:1-13) How have we found ways to make following Jesus less costly? (9:57-62) ʻLord are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?ʼ (12:41) How does our own denials of sin lead to assertions of our greatness? (22:23-24) In what ways are ʻour hearts burning within usʼ as He is explaining things? (24:32)”

*each day - Luke 10:2
Mon, Jan 25: Luke 1-4
Tue, Jan 26: Luke 5-8
Wed, Jan 27: Luke 9-12
Thurs, Jan 28: Luke 13-16
Fri, Jan 29: Luke 17-20
Sat, Jan 30: Luke 21-24
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Questions for Prayer in the Upcoming Week:
“How are we guilty of “standing here looking up into the skyʼ? (1:11) Is there any persecution in our lives that could have come because we havenʼt gone as Jesus commanded? (8:1) Do we still need more conversion to see people as Jesus would have us? (10) God, how are you seeking to form us through these stories of the early church?”

*each day - Luke 10:2
Mon, Feb 1: Acts 1-5
Tue, Feb 2: Acts 6-9
Wed, Feb 3: Acts 10-14
Thurs, Feb 4: Acts 15-20
Fri, Feb 5: Acts 21-24
Sat, Feb 6: Acts 25-28
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Questions for Prayer in the Upcoming Week:
How does having just read Acts impact the jump back into Matthew? How does reading Matthew explain what we just read in Acts? Where do Paulʼs exhortations to the Ephesian Christians present the greatest challenge or critique to us today? What does the reality of Jesus ʻmaking his dwelling among usʼ (John 1:14) mean for how we view the specific things happening in our communities and larger culture today? What does it look like (practically and specifically) for us to have ʻlife to the fullʼ today? (John 10:10)”

*each day - Luke 10:2
Mon, Feb 8: Matthew 14-20
Tue, Feb 9: Matthew 21-25
Wed, Feb 10: Matthew 26-28
Thurs, Feb 11: Ephesians
Fri, Feb 12: John 1-5
Sat, Feb 13: John 6-10
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Questions for Prayer in the Upcoming Week:
“Has Jesusʼ prayer in John 17 ever been taken seriously? What will happen to our community if we do?”

*each day - Luke 10:2
Mon, Feb 15: John 11-16
Tue, Feb 16: John 17-21
Wed, Feb 17: Ash Wednesday - Lent Begins

December Update

2009-12-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

O Come, O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appears. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

This is one of my favorite songs and favorite times of year. I think what I love most about Christmas time (actually, the Advent season) is the anticipation. So often our life is simply the never-ending list of things to get done, bills to pay and problems to solve. Each day looks suspiciously like the one before and there isn’t much to look forward to beyond the weekend.

But Advent cultivates a much more appropriate attitude. Everywhere we look people, including many who have no idea why, seem to be waiting for something to happen.

For some it might simply be longing for the next shiny gadget or useless doodad. BUT, I think that even in the hearts of the most consumeristic and self-centered person, it is the Holy Spirit who is fanning the flames of anticipation.

The past couple months have been a challenge for our family and the Christ Journey community. Many of you know that I’ve had to take on another part-time job in order to make ends meet. I’ve been substitute teaching anywhere from 3-5 days/week in Mansfield. Adding this 25-40 hour/week job to my full schedule has not been easy, but it hasn’t been all bad either. I’ve been able to develop some friendships among teachers and students, particularly at Legacy High School where I try to do most of my subbing.

While the added work load has made family time a little more difficult, we’re slowly starting to develop some rhythms. The boys are all growing and doing well. The most life changing development has been Josiah’s decision to pursue a career as a super-villain. We are convinced that God blessed us with this talented and energetic mastermind to keep us from feeling too confident about our parenting skills!

Since my last update I’ve lead a Sabbath retreat for about 25 youth ministers, finished my CoachNet/Mission Alive certification as a ministry/missionary coach, completed another course for my D.Min. at SMU Perkins and applied for the emergency teacher certification program with iteachTEXAS.

Each of these play an important role in our process of working toward being self-supporting for the long-term. Retreats and coaching are important for work here in Burleson with Christ Journey and new house churches. However, they also provide an opportunity for some additional income from time to time and are a part of the leadership program I’m developing through SMU.

This spring I’ll be working with my project advisor on a guided study/reading course to dive deeper into issues of new monasticism and will write my first draft attempt at a 2 year proposed curriculum for training “lay leaders” in a new monastic/missional ministry context.

This will be the first concrete step toward launching what we hope will be both an accredited program for affordable missional/monastic leadership training within SMU/Perkins and also will serve the Christ Journey and Mission Alive communities as a residency program for church planting and missional leadership training.

The iteachTEXAS thing...well, we do what we must to continue living out this calling. We are very grateful for our friends and family who’ve supported us financially and for those who continue to do so. However, as we’ve begun year two of our work in this area, the reality of our financial situation has been less than optimum. The church that had partnered with us during year one was not able to renew this year. We were blessed last year with some substantial special one-time gifts and one year commitments. And as we continue to mourn the passing of some very special people in our lives, the pain and regret of not seeing their name on an envelope each month goes well beyond finances.

We rejoice that several more friends and family have teamed up with us financially However, we have not, as of yet, been able to connect with enough new partners for the upcoming year. Part-time jobs have filled in the gaps so far, but unless we have some unexpected breakthroughs in fundraising, we are going to need something more substantial.

I would not consider teaching high school to be my life’s calling and do not plan to make a long-term career out of it. With that said, I do have a deep love for teaching, a heart for connecting with teenagers and (I believe) a certain level of giftedness in both. The teaching schedule should allow me the flexibility to finish my work at SMU, continue worshipping with and serving the Christ Journey community on Sundays, and connecting (albeit less than I would like) with our friends in Shenandoah and other areas.

If I am able to find a job teaching this next fall, we will still have 9 months to cover financially. I hope to lead retreats and do some coaching this spring/summer, but as of right now we are in need of around $11,000 to make up the shortfall of our current support level and expected income from subbing (those summer months are a big question mark!)

We count on your prayers and we continue to ask (as a friend of ours is known to say) that, “the God who owns the cattle on all those hills will sell a few for us.”

In addition to our personal family struggles, the Christ Journey family has experienced some serious challenges due to finances as well.

Our desire is to emulate Christ - The One who ate with everyone, offered compassion and company to sinners and the broken but who issued a very strong challenge to those who would be called disciples. We are seeking to function as a community - involved and invested in one another beyond scheduled worship times. And we are truly concerned about connecting with those who do not know about the Community of God which is available through Christ.

We are connecting with people in racquetball courts, restaurants, classrooms and front yards. The development of relationships based on love for others is powerful. No one is required to get their act together before they’re welcome to share a meal. But the call to follow Jesus is still an invitation to “come and die.” And this message has always received a mixed response.

Make no mistake, ministry is happening, the good news is being proclaimed to those who haven’t heard and hurting people are finding a place of healing in the Body of Christ, but that doesn’t always translate into money in a bank account.

Because of our financial struggles Christ Journey is no longer gathering in Old Town on Sundays - currently we are meeting together at the home of Mike and Pam Toole, who have a wonderful house that was literally built for such hospitality. Also it has become necessary for Chris to take on a bi-vocational approach. In addition to a couple part-time jobs, he too is getting emergency teacher certification.

While our current situation may leave some things to be desired, we believe that this is a tremendous opportunity for the work of planting churches in this area. Christ Journey is being forced to think seriously about what it means to live out our faith in community; the opportunities for shared leadership abound and we have a perfect setting in which to imagine together.

I leave you with a condensed snippet from a book I read recently which heightens my excitement about what we’re experiencing together:

“[The desert monastics] knew something was wrong with the Church, but they couldn’t see any alternatives from where they were. Their location blinded them, holding their imagination captive...

Why does God call the people of Israel out into the desert to receive the Law and learn a new way of life?...I think it’s because God wanted Israel to learn to see something that they could not see from Egypt. They had been blinded and held captive by Pharaoh’s dominant system...

They needed to go into exile, to live as aliens and strangers in a land that didn’t belong to them so they could remember who God had called them to be...In a land that they did not own and where they were not in control, God’s people remembered the desert vision and imagined new ways of living it out in all the world.” From Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove’s New Monasticism, pg 77-80.

May the Lord expand our ability to both anticipate and experience life in the renewed Kingdom!

August/September 2009

2009-09-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

We are rapidly approaching the one year anniversary of our move to Burleson for the purpose of mission work in the south Fort Worth region. I’ve tried to send regular updates over the past months and on the eve of a new school year I submit this expanded description. (If you haven’t gotten our regular updates via email and would like to, let me know!) Great things have occurred in our lives and the life of our community and we’d like to tell you about some of that. I’ll also m

ention up front that our ability to continue in this ministry depends in part on the willingness of other Christians to partner with us. More on that in a minute...

Family

Its amazing how much Conner beginning school has affected our whole family! He loves it - his teacher, Ms Scarpello, is doing a great job helping him take assignments to the next level. Since he's already reading and spelling on a significantly higher level we were concerned about how much trouble he'd be getting into.

Toward the end of the first week he'd starting making comments about the classwork being boring. As soon as his teacher caught wind she immediately began challenging him to do more.

For instance, instead of writing the letter "A" he writes a word that begins with "A" and perhaps draws a picture of that word. We're so glad that God answered our prayers with an attentive and caring teacher for Conner's academic debut!

Micah is attending the pre-K at Burleson CofC (where Conner was last year) and he is also very excited. He is different from Conner in so many ways, but I think they both share a love for school and being around other kids in that type of environment. He is really coming into his own with his crazy imagination. There is no telling what that kid will come up with next.

As for Josiah...I think he is about to give his mother a heart attack. We absolutely love his personality: he's full of fearless curiosity. He climbs and jumps and falls and cries and runs away to climb, jump and fall again. Nothing is safe from this destructosaur anymore! But he is full of life and energy and is growing like a weed. We are a better family because of Jo-Jo.

Meanwhile, our mission work in the south Fort Worth region continues to progress in surprising ways. Our approach is different from that of many church plants in that we are not advertising or placing our focus on a high energy seeker-sensitive Sunday morning worship gathering. Our desire is to 1) reach out to our neighborhoods and community and to 2) connect with those people who would not attend a new church plant’s worship gathering no matter how well advertised or relevant. Many of the people that I’m cultivating relationship with have said in no uncertain terms, “I don’t trust Christians, Church or the God they worship.”

We believe that it is the call of every Christian to live their faith in the midst of people such as these; to love them and to pour themselves out on their behalf. We believe that each Christian is a missionary. That isn’t to say that everyone is an evangelist and must be prepared to give a polished sermon or Gospel presentation. But we should be prepared to give an account of our faith to those who ask (Colossians 4) and mostly we should all be living INTENTIONALLY in such a way that people see our good deeds and are moved to glorify God (Matthew 5:16, 1 Peter 2:12).

And let me tell you, I’ve seen this happen. I have heard it said of people here - as I did in New Orleans during disaster relief work - “If this is what Christians are supposed to be like I may need to rethink my assumptions about God.”

We don’t expect people to carry around gospel tracts or attempt to segue every conversation into a sales-pitch for church - in fact we discourage those inauthentic relationship-killing activities. However, being an undercover Christian isn’t the goal either. We want people to know that Jesus is forming us into precisely the kind of people that they enjoy inviting over for dinner.

Rachel and I are hoping to be able to afford to move into a home in a neighborhood soon where we can invest in relationships in these ways. Currently we are blessed to live on the same property with a Christ Journey family. We have really enjoyed this opportunity to live communally with them (the boys have really loved sharing a swimming pool!) and like the Kennemers in Corpus Christi, Thigpens and Prudes in Dallas, Coalwells and several others in Mandeville, the Myers have become surrogate parents/grandparents to our young family.

Christ Journey

My role here in Burleson/south Fort Worth is primarily that of missionary and equipper of local church planters (more on that in the Shenandoah section). Christ Journey Church is our worshipping community and I am blessed to be able to use my gifts of teaching and preaching (and my still developing musical abilities!) to serve my family.

This first year has given me a chance to work with our spiritual formation process. I’ve developed and implemented two new retreats; worked with Chris to develop a yearly spiritual formation calendar which focuses on the cultivation of rhythm and seasons, with each season anchored by a retreat event. We’ve addressed the focus and rhythm of our house churches, and Chris has done some great work this summer with formation groups (groups of 2, 3 or occasionally more that meet together for prayer, study and shared commitment to mission).

Our formation groups focus on sharing the life of mission together. There is Bible study, discussion and often accountability, but what we’re really emphasizing is participating together in the life of faith. Our formation groups have thrown parties for their disconnected, not-yet-Christian friends; they’ve passed out water to construction workers, planned and instigated community picnics and perhaps most radically, gone across the street to meet their neighbors!

Chris and I continue to share the preaching responsibilities and work together with Ryan Kimball and Debra Osborn in planning our worship gatherings. Chris and I are both ready to address the pastoral needs of Christ Journey and are richly blessed that this community does not sit around and wait for us to do it - caring for one another in times of need is something that Christ Journey does unbelievably well.

Rachel continues working with our preschool children’s ministry and we’re both very committed to the life of our church community. We don’t have a flashy children’s program here. What we do have is a commitment to raising our children as members of Christ’s body; as participants in the community, not merely a tool to attract their parents. It has been great to see our kids find opportunities to serve and worship and play right alongside adults. (The picture on the cover of this packet is from a trip to take cookies to the folks at Trinity Mission Nursing Home.)

The other notable area of Christ Journey ministry that we’re involved in is our connection to and friendship with Harvest House. We continue to volunteer to open the thrift store one Saturday a month and I am excited that word has spread and there is currently another church group considering taking responsibility for a different Saturday each month.

We also continue to invite the volunteers, staff and clients of Harvest House to join us on the last Tuesday of each month at Rosa’s for a shared meal. We aren’t just feeding the poor, we are developing friendships around a shared table.

And, we have been able to take advantage of Chick-Fil-A’s First 100 event to benefit Harvest House and the poor in our area. Whenever a new CFA opens they give away 52 coupons good for a #1 combo to each of the first 100 people in line. It is a big event, people begin lining up 24 hours in advance and the CFA people basically host a big party for those willing to camp out in a parking lot. We decided that if a group were to attend a grand opening they could each give half of their tickets to Harvest House and be able to provide dozens of meals for hungry people, while still taking plenty of coupons home for their family. We’ve attempted this as a group twice now.

We were thwarted the first time by scores of college kids who arrived incredibly early! However, when word got out that we’d driven to Austin only to turn around and drive home, a friend from Tammany Oaks went and told our story to the Covington CFA...and the manager gave her 25 coupons for us to donate to Harvest House! Were recently able to donate another 52. So far that means we’ve provided 77 meals through this little project!

Shenandoah

Our work with the Shenandoah Townhomes community continues to be a source of excitement and encouragement. If you haven’t heard before now, I’ve been working among families in this small community for the past several months. We’ve already planted one house church and the transition of leadership in that house church has happened and a local couple is about to be commissioned to serve as church planters in that community. I am also looking towards the establishment of some new discussion groups, Bible studies and/or house churches through other persons of peace in that community (Matthew 10).

The property manager of Shenandoah is now a member of our current house church and has assured us that when the time comes for several house churches to gather together on a Sunday morning or some other time for worship, the clubhouse is available to them free of charge - provided the gathering is open to all residents of Shenandoah (which is a stipulation I think we can accommodate!)

Members of the Shenandoah house church have started a Neighborhood Watch and organized community picnics this summer. Last spring Robin Hunter (the Hunters are the hosts and new leaders of the house church) started an after-school homework club which we hope will happen again this year. There’s been talk of a support group for single mothers (there are a lot in Shenandoah) and an emergency care team which will help families who experience sudden job loss, serious illness or death, etc.

Our prayer is that through these efforts there will be light where before there was darkness, hope where there was despair and life where there was death.

Denny’s

I love my time at Denny’s. I am now a well known regular; the waitstaff and managers not only tolerate but seem to enjoy my presence. We have great conversations. From what I can gather, for a while I was “that guy who always comes in and drinks coffee.” Then I was “that church guy that doesn’t get in your face about church.” And now to several folks I’m known as “Bret”, I am becoming a part of the community here. There are about 8 people with whom I have developed deeper relationships with and 4 or so that engage me in regular spiritual conversations. It probably isn't appropriate to give much personal detail on my friends in this public setting, but if you'd like to hear stories, I love to tell them!

Huguley Fitness Center

When we moved to Burleson I committed to taking better care of my body. I’ve tried to develop a healthier sleep schedule (which has amounted to waking up earlier...I’m still working on the going to bed earlier part), eating better (I hardly ever have a Dr. Pepper anymore...but I’m not going to research the impact of my coffee intake) and exercising regularly. Chris and I have been trying to play racquetball 4 or 5 days a week for nearly a year now and it has had numerous benefits.

The most exciting part is that we have developed friendships with a large number of people who work and workout there in the mornings - some have even joined us for our Sunday morning worship! While some of our friends are Christians, several are not and I am honored that God has brought me into their lives and them into mine. Recently it seems that the relationships have launched forward and I’m praying that this is the precursor to greater opportunities for us to share in the life of Christ with them.

Since beginning my new work schedule (more on that in a minute) I'm not able to play racquetball much anymore. Hopefully I'll figure out a new exercise routine that will work. For now I pray that God will continue to bless Chris with the opportunity to develop these relationships. Please join me in this prayer.

Doctor of Ministry

This summer I began work on a degree in evangelism from SMU. This is considered a practical or professional degree (meaning its focus is on the practice of ministry more than research) and the whole program is structured around my doctoral project which is the development of a program of intensive on-the-ground training for people interested in church planting and missional/incarnational church leadership. I am very excited and have my eye on a location here in this region where I’d like to focus at least part of this project. More on that in a future update.

Some people have asked if it is a good idea for me to be taking on the expense of a degree at SMU right now, considering our unstable financial situation. It is true that my undergraduate degree came with a large side order of student loans. Since then I have worked very hard to keep my education from being any more of a burden on my family than it has to be. So we took the distance option for grad school which meant I had access to fewer resources but also received an 80% discount on tuition.

SMU is even more affordable because my hard work has been rewarded with a full scholarship during the first half of my course work and a good chance for the second half to be covered as well. We, as a family, have decided that this is indeed a good time to pursue this degree.

Finances

The reality is that finances are an issue for us. When we moved to Burleson last October we had enough money pledged and on hand to cover our full support for four months. Our commitment to working in our neighborhoods and among skeptics and the broken/hurting folks we encounter “as we are going” means that it will likely be some time before Christ Journey is financially self-sustaining.

We’ve discovered that missions committees are struggling to view domestic missions as legitimate place to use missions funds and thus often want to see a thorough business plan leading rapidly to self-sufficiency. While I believe the tide is turning there, it may not happen soon enough. Part of my investment in the D.Min is an attempt to broaden my ability to augment my income. I’ve already had been approached by folks at SMU regarding the possibility of serving as adjunct faculty upon graduation.

I’ve also been involved in training for certification as a church planting/ministry/life coach through Mission Alive’s partnership with CoachNet. This will allow me to invest in church planters and potential missional leaders and also earn some additional money.

Chris and I are also working to offer our 4 retreats to churches and groups outside Christ Journey. We feel that these events, developed to address important areas of spiritual formation, can be beneficial to others. More information on these retreats and their impact is available.

In addition to doing retreats (and weddings!), coaching and (soon) apprentice training it has become necessary for me to consider other part-time employment as well. So I’ve begun substitute teaching as much as 5 days a week in Mansfield.

This means that I don’t have as much time to spend at Denny’s, Starbucks, BABS, Huguley during the day, which has caused a certain amount of sadness and frustration. While I will find other times to invest in these places, the people I’ve gotten to know over the past year are not just numbers to me - they are actual real people; friends who are in these places during the day, that I am already beginning to miss.

I do believe that God will open the door to relationships with faculty and staff in Mansfield ISD, not to mention the connection with the students. If we are able to raise all of our support through fundraising, I still plan to sub once or twice a week as an opportunity to connect with folks in Mansfield. I hope that in a future update I will be describing the growing ministry in Mansfield and the house churches/incarnational communities that have been planted there. I do though, solicit your prayers and support so that we can keep the doors open to ministry begun and invested at Huguley Fitness Center, Denny’s and to a lesser degree JJ Mocha’s, Starbucks and BABS deli in Burleson and hopefully at some point in the near future expand our ministry in Shenandoah and pursue new work in the Upper Westside area of Fort Worth.

Thank you for being a part of this exciting journey with us.

Church Planter Retreat '09

2009-08-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

On August 6-8, the staff of Mission Alive along with several families from our network of church planters traveled to the Prothro Retreat Center on Lake Texoma for our annual Church Planters Retreat. As always, it was good to renew friendships, as wells as build and strengthen new relationships.

Our theme for the weekend was Conversations: In Community, For Community. The intent was for this to be a weekend of rest and renewal for everyone involved.

The scenery that greeted us from the lovely shore of Lake Texoma certainly assisted in our goal of relaxation. It was absolutely beautiful, and many of our church planters enjoyed alone time with God while listening to the waves lap the shore and watching birds soar on the wind. There is nothing like time spent with our Lord in the midst of His glorious creation.

Our scripture for the weekend was John 20:19-22. "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!' After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" While this scripture is certainly beautiful and powerful on its own, Tod and Gailyn led us in gleaning even more from the words of Christ as we meditated deeply and intentionally in this passage several times.

Grounded in these words of Christ we invited and recieved peace, mourned and healed from past wounds, celebrated recent joys, contemplated our calling, and basked in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It was amazing how four little verses could evoke such tears and laughter and peace and frustration and confidence. And to share it all in community -- well, certainly this is part of what Christ intended for his bride, the church.

Then in typical Mission Alive fashion, we ended our time together with prayer and annointing.

But I can't end without mentioning our kids. There were eight of them therewith us, and they provided so much joy and laughter and innocence during the weekend. They helped us remember that we too should play, and were wonderful reminders that "the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Luke 18:16)

We are so thankful for opportunities such as these, and we already look forward to next year!

World Missions Summit

2009-07-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

with Conner...

This morning my friend Devendra joined the Christ Journey community in our worship gathering (you can find links to the podcast on the Christ Journey Life blog). After a powerful morning of sharing his life and faith story (which I thought was highlighted by his prayer and singing in the Nepalese language in preparation for our time around the Table) a group went to Royal Pizza to continue the conversation. Conner and Micah got to ride in the truck with Devendra and I - and they decided that this funny talking guy was pretty cool!

I think Devendra had already won Conner over by spending a few minutes before worship helping him with his Where’s Waldo book.

But during the car ride to lunch, Micah definitely got on the bandwagon. Devendra told them all about Nepal and the mountains and how different it is from Burleson. Both boys decided that they want to visit Mr. Devendra’s country, and ESPECIALLY Mr. Devendra’s little hill called Mt. Everest.

When we arrived at Royal Pizza the wellsbrothers insisted that they get to walk through the parking lot with Mr. Devendra and they were both going to sit by him at lunch (sorry guys, the kids’ table was a better place for you to enjoy your cheesy deliciousness).

This evening at dinner Conner began asking about Nepal. “Did Mr. Devendra say that there are bad people in his country?”

“Well,” I replied, “it isn’t that they are necessarily BAD, but they worship pretend gods instead of following Jesus and they don’t like for people to worship our God.”

Conner: “Oh, you mean they worship statue gods?”

Me: “...uh, yeah, actually.”

Conner: “And they don’t like people who follow Jesus? What do they do to Christians?”

Me: “Well, sometimes they are just mean to them and take away their stuff. But sometimes they hurt them or even put them in jail...just for being a Christian.”

Conner: “Oh...then I changed my mind, I don’t think I want to go to Nepal anymore.”

Me: “Well, Mr. Devendra said that the Hindu people in Nepal are actually very nice to people from other countries, even if they are Christians. But even if they weren’t, it is important for those of us who follow Jesus to be brave so that other people have a chance to know about Jesus. We should be careful and smart, but we have to be brave. Do you remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego?”

Conner: “Yeah, they wouldn’t worship the statue god.”

Me: “That’s right. Do you remember what they told the king who wanted them to?”

Conner: “They told him that they will only worship God. And they said that God could save them from his fiery furnace.”

Me: “Yep, and do remember what they said they would do if God DIDN’T save them from the furnace?”

Conner: “Um...they would still worship God?”

Me: “That’s right. We have to trust Jesus for protection when things look pretty scary, but we also know that other people might hurt us if we love Jesus...God might not always keep us from getting hurt. But we will be brave and follow him anyway.

Do you know what is the best thing to do though? We treat everyone like Jesus would treat them. We are respectful and helpful - we love them like Jesus loves us, and that means we do good for everybody. I think there are a lot of people who don’t like Christians because we haven’t always acted very much like Jesus.”

Conner: “Dad, I want to be a preacher like you some day. I will tell people about Jesus and I will be brave even if they say they are going to put me in jail.”

(This is the first time that Conner has said that to me...)

That’s when Micah chimed in for the first time - he had been sitting there listening quietly the whole time. “And do you know what I will do when the bad guys worship the statue gods?”

Me: “What?”

Micah: “I’ll kick them in the face.”

...Baby steps I guess.

--by Bret

This Week on the Journey

2009-07-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

with Christ Journey

Sending. Going outside ourselves. Mission of God. Church planting. These words are never far from the lips of those who are participating in the Christ Journey. This summer they are front and center. What does it mean to be sent by God? What does it look like to put the aspects of our story into practice to serve God’s Story?

Over the last three weeks I’ve been immersed in a world of reflection and listening. Four very diverse ministers and two professors have been coming around a table to understand more fully what it looks like to serve God and the Church in our contexts. One of the primary methods we’ve used for learning has been an EXTREMELY thorough analysis of a specific event from our ministry context.

Each of the four of us shared our life and faith story with the others and then we also shared the details of this event - which served as the background for the 8 billion pages of papers we’ve written each night. What was powerful was that we didn’t merely reflect on our event or the cultural context or theological principles at work. We presented our papers and then worked through the issues in the midst of this learning community; with others who share a common calling though in very different settings.

I didn’t just learn from the books we read or the professors (who actually didn’t lecture very much); I learned most from Sandralyn - a United Methodist pastor from south of Dallas, Debra - a Christian Methodist Episcopal pastor from Shreveport, LA and Devendra - a missionary/church planter from Nepal, who is here studying and preparing to add a bachelor’s degree program to their local missionary training school in Nepal.

We learned together by processing through our events together, instead of trying to solve our problems in isolation. As I think about what it looks like to live as a Sent people in the midst of Burleson, I think perhaps this same dynamic can be helpful for the Christ Journey community.

I’ve asked Devendra Acharya (Ah-sha-REE-ah) to join us this Sunday and share his faith story. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is incredibly powerful...and parts are so funny that the class had to wait for me to stop laughing before we could continue...

Nepal is a mountainous country (ever heard of Mt. Everest?) It is primarily a Hindu culture with a similar caste system to what you would find in India, which it borders. Devendra is the Senior Pastor of Bishram Ministries and founder/director of the Bishram School of Missions located in Kathmandu. Since its inception in 2001 the Bishram Church and school has planted around 30 churches comprised of over 100 house churches representing around 6000 people.

Join us at the Nashville Room this Sunday as we hear the story of a Christian brother from a culture slightly different from our own. As we gather around the Table together be sure to realize that this is a glimpse of heaven, people from every language, tribe and nation coming together in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.

--Bret

Church Planting Update - June 09

2009-06-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

My first summer as a church planter is under way.

Prepare for a shocking statement: a lot has happened since my update in April. Our house church in Shenendoah (which I commented on in the previous update) is engaged in some amazing ministry. More than that, I am happy to announce that the ministries have risen from within the community. I continue to lead our Thursday evening gathering, but thankfully that has not been the primary expression of God’s people in this neighborhood.

In addition to the Neighborhood Watch and homework clubs that Robin started, there are two community cookouts already scheduled for this summer (inspired by the front yard barbecue held at Chris and Heidi’s house each Wednesday). Robin and some other folks from the Neighborhood Watch have also decided to form a crisis team that will minister to folks in the midst of job loss, divorce, death of loved ones, life as a single mom, etc.

As I mentioned in a recent blog post we have not had more than 9 people gathered at one time on a Thursday and already this group of people have begun living as participants in the Mission of God in the midst of Shenendoah. I have been extremely humbled to watch these new missionaries at work proclaiming good news in the midst of darkness.

We have made plans for the full transition of leadership in that house church to take place in August. We’ll continue to surround the Hunters in prayer and support them through our monthly house church leader coaching group as well as weekly one-on-one coaching sessions.

Chris has been able to start around 7 formation groups this summer and is preparing for the launch of a new house church in the coming weeks. He too is transitioning the leadership of a house church to members of the community. We are excited to see the development and growth of these new missionaries.

I have also been blessed to begin work on a doctor of ministry degree from SMU. The doors for this opportunity have continued to burst open. Of course finances have been a concern, but we are convinced that the time is right and the potential blessings are worth the cost.

Rejoice with us that our prayers have been answered. I recently learned that I was selected as the recipient of a grant through the Barr and Lewis Endowment that covers the full cost of tuition for the first half of my program!

I am beginning the development of my doctoral project which involves the formation of an apprenticeship for church planting/missional living. The benefits for our mission work here in the south Fort Worth area are obvious and we are very excited.

Things on the home front are going well. Conner is so ready to start kindergarten in the fall that he can barely stand it. We are continually astounded at the near daily developments in our three wonderful sons’ maturity, intelligence and all around awesomeness!

Rachel has begun working part-time as a web admin for Mission Alive. She is managing and updating their website and facebook page. She has organized a series of book reviews to be written by different church planters (mine is coming in August) and she’s already increased Mission Alive’s presence on the web.

Rachel continues to watch Grace a few days a week - that little girl is bringing some much needed cuteness and non-aggressiveness to our male dominated household! Rachel finally has an ally!

And then in addition to all this, Rachel has applied to teach preschool in the fall. If these folks know anything at all they’ll snatch her up quick.

Finances remain tight, as they do for many people, but we’ve been blessed to eliminate some debt (credit cards are paid off and student loans are going back into deferment!) and we’re picking up a little extra cash here and there.

Things are still moving forward on our plans to offer retreats for other congregations and interested groups. We have scheduled several for this summer and the fall and are looking to get more booked. If you know of a church or group that may be interested in one of our retreats or who may be interested in partnering with us in the ministry of planting new churches, please feel free to contact me anytime.

We ask for your continued prayers on behalf of our mission work here in North Texas. We’d love for you to visit us here in Burleson. Many of you have supported us financially and all of you have supported us through prayer and friendship. That means that you are a part of this ministry.

I would love to buy you a cup of coffee at Denny’s and introduce you to Robbie, Brandy, Jessica, Anita, Rita, Virgil, Keith, Roccio and Mary. Or we could spend some time at JJ’s and talk with John about running a coffee shop that has become an incredibly popular place for bible studies. We could prayer walk through Shenendoah and spend time with Jeanie, Robin, Ronnie, Adrienne and Paula or we could head over to Harvest House and meet Alice who can tell you amazing stories of oppression and redemption right here in suburbia. You’re welcome to join us for a bring-your-own-meat cookout in the Chappotins’ front yard - there’s no telling what spiritual conversation you’ll get dragged into in that driveway...or it may be an impromptu football game with the kids on the block.

We are seeking to live the With-God life together here in Burleson and the surrounding communities. You are already a part of this, though from a distance, and each of you have the opportunity to live a similar life in your own neighborhood. It may seem too risky or too ambiguous - our response is, “come and see.”

Grace and Peace,

Bret, Rachel and the WellsBrothers

as always, check out our blogs:

WellsBrothers Blog

Bret's Blog

Christ Journey

or look us up on Facebook!

Seeing It In Practice

2009-05-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get worked up about stuff...

I take something which has personal significance, put effort into preparing it, risk being misunderstood or taken advantage of and put it out for other people to see. Then I sit and wonder if anyone cares.

My previous post, When Weariness is Sacred, was one of those experiences and this time we received a very powerful response to our story of weariness.

Yesterday on Christ Journey Life I posted most of a letter I received from a friend. It came in the mail Thursday morning and Rachel called me in tears in the middle of my formation group to read it to me. She doesn't usually do that...

If you haven't read the letter/post, check out That God Would Refresh Your Tiredness - a title taken from a line in the letter.

The interesting thing is how timely this letter really was given what we're processing through at Christ Journey. This week Chris and I have been preparing to help our community think through the cycles of confusion and clarity that the Church has experienced since the beginning - cycles which heighten our anticipation of God reconciling all things and sorting through the chaos.

But last week - and my friend was likely unaware of this when she wrote her letter - we talked about our core value of Mission. Like the Weariness post, this sermon was one in which I have a lot of personal investment. To some people that may seem like an odd thing for a minister to say. Certainly I invest myself in each message I bring to the community; of course I value speaking the truth in the midst of the Gathered People. But sometimes the content is something particularly special for me. This was one of those sermons.

You can listen to the podcast of the sermon on Christ Journey's iTunes account or using the sermon player feed. If you weren't gathered with us at the Nashville room on Sunday I encourage you to check out the podcast...mostly because my brilliant 5 year old read a prayer like a pro (there are several prayers which lead into the message...Conner is the one that sounds like a kid's voice!)

But I'm also posting a modified transcript here because without even knowing it, my friend was living out the content of this message...

(Reader 1) Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in maintaining justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(Reader 2) Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom, patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(Reader 3) Dear God, our Father in heaven, you have blessed us with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(Reader 4) Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom: Enlighten by your Holy Spirit those who teach and those who learn, that, rejoicing in the knowledge of your truth, they may worship
you and serve you from generation to generation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(Reader 5) Almighty God our heavenly Father, you declare your glory and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth: Deliver us in our various occupations from the service
of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(Bret) O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you, bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

.......

Before the beginning there was a community. God has always existed as a community of one. Don’t try to figure out the math - I suspect it just might be beyond us! What we should focus on, what we can grasp is that we are to understand God as relationship of love and sacrifice. It is not just an important value of God’s, but is actually a part of Who God Is!

And so we’ve talked a lot about community for the last several months. If something is seen to be a basic expression of the nature of God, it should definitely find its place as a core value for His Church, right? Even last week, as Chris used the image of an elaborate song to illustrate what the Church is, we saw community. We saw that the different instruments, melodies and chords were all meant to exist in harmony. None were complete on their own - each was a part of much larger story being told. That is the Church - an expression of the community of God in this place.

I wanted to start by saying something about community because we’re going to focus on another one of our core values today. And this core value loses its value if it is understood as something separate and apart from the others...

Before the beginning there was a community. This Community of what we refer to as Father, Son and Holy Spirit had a perfect relationship of mutual love and respect. This community was not incomplete, it was the definition of completion. It needed nothing, it lacked nothing.

However, the relationship of the community, being rooted and established in a deep indescribable love, felt compelled to Create. Isn’t that what love does? It creates more opportunity for love.

And so we have the episode of the Story we refer to as Creation. And God, the initiator of community went into this place. He walked in the Garden. He continued creating and he continued relating to his Creation.

Even through the episode of Crisis, when the creation rejected the relationship of love and community and instead launched into selfishness and isolation...still this God continued going to his Creation. He called a man named Abraham and made a Covenant with this man. God, the Relational One, blessed Abraham and promised that through Abraham all peoples on earth would be blessed...in fact all of creation would be blessed.

As the children of God continued year after year to cycle through seasons of Confusion and Clarity, this God, who exists in Community, kept going back to them over and over. He patiently taught and corrected and reminded and invited and urged and groaned and pleaded.

The Community could not stand to see Creation languishing in isolation.

And so the relationship with great leaders and the inspiration of great prophets continued until the God of Community decided that ambassadors would no longer suffice.

Once again, God would walk in the Garden.

And so once again the relational God of community sent himself - that is the nature of true community. And Jesus the Christ walked among us.

He gathered a community around him and continually invited the broken, overlooked, forgotten and oppressed to rejoice because the Community of God was at hand - it was here and they were invited in.

And when the time came for Jesus to return to the Father, the Spirit was sent. And the Spirit wasn’t sent to wander aimlessly - it came to form and cultivate community in the Church...which was to become the Body of Christ. And that Spirit called for the community of believers to be sent to the ends of the earth,

continuing the ministry that Jesus had dedicated himself to,

continuing the ministry that God had called Abraham to,

continuing the ministry that God initiated in the first Garden,

continuing the act that began in the beginning,

continuing the character of the one who was a Community before the Beginning.

The Community cannot be understood as something that exists somewhere off by itself. The nature of True Community is expansive. It is dynamic. That means that it is always growing and bringing into itself everything around it. The Community is not located somewhere behind closed doors.

The Community is not community if it is only focused on itself. That is something less than Community. There is no Community apart from Mission.

And there it is.

One of our stated core values is Mission. We make an unbelievably huge mistake if we see mission as something that some of us are called to “do.” While mission is certainly active, it is more than doing...it is an essential part of our “being.”

A house church that is invested in the lives of its participants - but has no vision for its neighbors is not yet community. It may be a great thing for those who participate, but it is something less than Community.

As a follower of Christ and a member of the Church we are called to Community - with one another and with God. And its pretty simple - to be in community with God means to be caught up in his Mission, because God is a missionary God...

God’s Mission is to restore relationship and expand Community. All the prayers we prayed a few minutes ago are prayers for God’s Mission - prayers for those who serve the poor, who battle injustice, who love and raise children, who invest in the lives of others, who teach, people who have a job...all these are contexts for Mission when they are approached intentionally.

They are not an excuse to say, “oh my work is mission so I’m doing what I’m supposed to.”

Okay, that’s great...how are you participating in Mission through your work? Are you intentionally living as though the Community of God were a reality in that place? Do you treat people with dignity and respect...even the ones you don’t like?

Front yard bbq’s, trips to Chick-Fil-A (or intended trips), an intentional visit to the park with your kids, serving as a counselor at Royal Family Kids Camp, giving up a Saturday so that Harvest House can be open for those who can’t come by during the week, sharing a meal with the poor - showing them dignity and friendship...these are all examples of participating in Mission and are an important part of experiencing Community.

The question is, what’s next for our Community? What new opportunities are there for loving this place and these people? It might be something big - like traveling to another city to wait in line for meal coupons to give to the hungry. It might be something small - putting an extra package of hotdogs in the shopping cart that you can share with a neighbor the next time you fire up the grill, or taking your kids to the park with an eye for the Mom who hasn’t had an adult conversation in days...

This isn’t merely about “doing” - its about being who we were created to be and experiencing life as God is restoring it to be.

That God Would Refresh Your Tiredness

2009-05-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

Recently I wrote a post titled, When Weariness is Sacred. If you haven’t read that yet, you may want to follow the link and check it out before proceeding....

Rachel and I are blessed to have some truly great friends scattered all over the Southern US (and even some in Canada!)Thanks to blogs, facebook and email we are able to keep up with many of these folks who I’m afraid otherwise would simply be too far away to hear from regularly. Occasionally some of these friends even send us an actual real-life letter! We get excited about letters because they usually signify something significant - the "mundane" touching base stuff is usually handled with an email or facebook comment.

We received one of those letters today. With the author’s permission, I’d like to share some of that letter with you because it came in response to the events which inspired the Sacred Weariness post.

This coming Sunday the Christ Journey community will be processing through the confusion and clarity that the Church (and the world) are experiencing as we anticipate the return of Christ and the reconciliation of all things to their Creator. I think this letter represents one of the ways in which moments of clarity can arise from the depths of confusion...

May 4, 2009

Dear Bret and Rachel,

You guys are so much in my thoughts…and prayers. I would love come visit Christ Journey and see your faith in practice there. You’re both just such a blessing to everyone you come in contact with. That’s why I felt so bad when I read Bret’s post on “Sacred Weariness.” When you’re sacrificing and giving all you’ve got, and yet things seem to conspire against you, I know it’s disheartening. I also knew that God would soon refresh your tiredness and renew your minds in a way I could not. Still, I wished there was something I could do to lighten your hearts.

Friday I had to run some errands, and I passed by Chick-fil-A on the way home. On a whim (?), I turned into the parking lot and went inside. I was thinking maybe they would let me buy some of those “tickets” you tried so hard to win for Harvest House. I approached the girl at the counter and started trying to explain what I was asking for, but I wasn’t doing a very good job of it. It was early afternoon and there were no other customers just then, so some of the other staff walked over to listen to the conversation. Eventually, one of them went to the back to get the manager, and when he arrived, I started all over again, trying to explain what great people you are and how you had driven to Austin to try and win tickets for the food bank, and all the things that had gone wrong that week… By that time there were about a dozen people, customers and staff, gathered around listening to the story. The young manager said, “Wait just a minute and let me see what I can do.” While waiting for him, all the other people joined the discussion, asking me questions, and giving me a chance to talk about how wonderfully God works. We were just having a big old love fest right there in the middle of Chick-fil-A!

After several minutes the manager came back and said, “I can give you 25 of the coupons.” I said, “Oh my gosh, I wasn’t asking you to donate them; I just thought maybe I could buy some.” He said “No, it’s my pleasure,” and everyone around the counter burst into applause. It was just such a good feeling! I thanked him profusely and promised him that I would tell everyone I know about how generous Chick-fil-A is! So…enclosed you will find 25 tickets for Harvest House. I know it’s not as many as if your whole group had won tickets in line, but it’s still 25 meals for 25 people who might no t have a meal otherwise. But that’s not event the end of the story…

[My friend goes on to describe how this event led to a great moment of reconciliation with some Christian friends who also follow the goings-on of our family and Christ Journey via blogs. Due to the personal nature of that story I’ve left out the details, but suffice it to say that there is something incredibly powerful that happens when we come together around a common purpose in Christ.]

I wanted to tell you all this so you will know that your “failure” in Austin wasn’t really a failure at all. It opened up the door for the Chick-fil-A folks here to do a good things and others to witness it; it allowed me, in a very natural way, to be a witness for God’s goodness; and it provided a much needed avenue for another Christian and me to mend fences and build bridges. I’d say your “failure” was quite a success.

It is truly amazing the way that God can take the refining fire of our struggles and use them to bring about moments of clarity and beauty. I do not believe that God is in the business of causing frustrations so that he can teach us - that understanding of "God's plan" seems a bit off. However, I very much believe that God can and does work through any situation, no matter how trivial or tragic, to bring about the restoration of life, light and hope. I rejoice that a small piece of that process is being experienced here in our midst...and far away in the lives of others.

- Bret

When Weariness is Sacred

2009-04-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

I want to come right out and say something that typically I just hope for silently. This post isn’t about me looking for someone to pick me up. My desire to reveal personal struggles and frustrations comes in part from a desire to push myself to be open and vulnerable, but it is also in hopes that my struggles will connect with yours, the reader.

My real hope and intention is to highlight our common experience. I’m often weighed down with the (false) belief that I’m the only one dealing with something - my prayer is that through these confessions you will be freed from that same fear.

End of disclaimer...

In Galatians 6 the apostle Paul tells us to not grow weary (or lose heart, or give up) in doing good. But that is sometimes much easier said than done, isn’t it?

There are certainly times when doing good is energizing and there are plenty of times when doing good is exhausting and depressing. When everything you do seems to amount to nothing, its hard not to grow weary. When everything you TRY to do seems to fall apart it is hard not to give up.

I’m feeling that way a little today. Over the past couple weeks we’ve had several things planned that I was excited about participating in; things that were meant to be a benefit to others or to connect to community. First the Chick-Fil-A trip last week was postponed since they decided not to open until this week. Several people had taken off work in order to participate - which meant that not only was their plan to use a day off to serve others thwarted, it also meant they probably wouldn’t be able to turn around and get a day off again the next week.

Then our concert at Relay for Life was rained out. After a 4 hour practice session and high hopes for connecting with folks through this great event...nothing.

Then this week, as many of you know, 5 of us loaded up and left Burleson at 6:30 to drive down to the Austin area for the actual Chick-Fil-A event. We arrived at 9 am hoping to be one of the first 100 people in line and discovered that there were already 150 people in line. We cleared our schedules (which was not easy to do) and then drove to Austin so that we could donate half the tickets to Harvest House...only to turn around and drive home empty handed.

These are just the failed attempts to do good which are appropriate to share in public. Trying to do good is making me weary.

I was talking to a friend recently who is dealing with weariness and actually felt worse after reading the Galatians 6 passage.

The comment was made to the effect that perhaps the weariness felt was an indicator of guilt and God’s judgement; perhaps the inability to receive comfort from God means that God is angry or absent or something.

...we are directed to 2 Peter 1:3-4. ‘His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness…’ And then to 2 Cor 9:8: God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” That’s supposed to make me feel better, too. But it doesn’t. What if God isn’t really in me? He is able to make grace abound…apparently he hasn’t done so in me. Because I’m tired. And I certainly don’t feel like I’ve abounded in every good work.

While reflecting on these comments it struck me - this weariness and these wounds are sacred. They are sacred and they are Holy because they have come as a result of seeking to live under the reign of God right under Caesar’s nose.

If you aren’t familiar with that reference, the phrase “Jesus is Lord” was a rebellious statement for Christians living under the Roman empire which had a well known and often used slogan of “Caesar is Lord.” So in effect the Christians were saying, “Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not.” This was dangerous for them...and my point is that its dangerous for us too.

Its dangerous for us to reject the accepted cultures of entitlement. It is dangerous to live in the Way of Jesus who said it is better to lay down your life than to seek ways to keep the cycle of violence and retribution going. It is better to pour oneself out in order to serve the poor and oppressed than it is to pour oneself out to get ahead. It is better to turn the other cheek; to also give your shirt to the person stealing your coat; to love your enemies. It is better to consider others better than yourself. It is better to risk it all in order to do what you know God is calling you to do than to choose the safe path.

But so long as we live in a world that is still groaning in anticipation of God’s restoration and reconciliation; so long as Caesar is still able oppose the Lord; so long as God’s Kingdom is already here but not yet fully here then practicing life in the Kingdom will be risky and painful and exhausting. And the weariness we feel, the wounds we nurse, the scars we bear are holy and sacred because they share in the weariness, wounds and scars experienced by Jesus, God Incarnate.

That may not make bearing these burdens easier in the moment. But, when Jesus was praying in the garden on the night he was arrested it says “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:43-44). Even after the angel appeared to strengthen him Jesus was in anguish.

I realize that some will say, “our situation is not nearly as serious as that of Jesus.” Maybe, but our connection to the source of hope isn’t as clear as his was either. The process of restoring broken relationships is difficult. The cost is high.

So back to Paul’s words:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:9-10).

Not becoming weary here is not meant as an accusation against those who are tired - it is an encouragement not to give up, to hang in there, to resist the temptation to throw in the towel. It is hard, but what we say and do does matter...even if the results are not what we’d initially hoped.

Don’t give up on the call to be God’s people - that call is radical and risky and should never be sold out for something safe and watered down. And know that even if you return from Austin empty-handed that you have invested something in the new heavens and new earth. We are joining with God in reforming and reconciling his good creation.

So hang in there! Don’t give up!

Grace and Peace to you.

Long Overdue Update:

2009-04-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

I’m sorry that it has been so long since our last full fledged update. Life and ministry here in Burleson have been exciting and exhausting (in mostly good ways) over the last couple months.

We are just a couple weeks away from the 1 year mark since beginning to fundraise and vision cast for the Wells family church planting endeavor and its now been 6 months since we moved to Burleson.

Many of you are already aware that Rachel has begun organizing the preschool ministry at Christ Journey. We don’t have many teenagers, but our little community is chock-a-block full of nursery, preschool and elementary aged kids! Recently one of our friends with a mere 2 children commented that they were feeling pressure to join the 3 kids club - a prestigious society of which most of our families are a part!

Last month Rachel noticed (with the help of Conner) that our children’s worship/Bible class did not have Bibles! Rachel put out a request on facebook and the world renowned wellsbrothers blog for financial help to procure some Bibles. Within just a couple days we had enough money to purchase the Bibles with some left over to replace them as we have opportunity to give them away. We feel very strongly that we have no right to keep those sacred Words to ourselves...if someone worships with us who doesn’t own a Bible the message is explicit: if you need one, take one.

To those of you who contributed to this need, we cannot sufficiently express our gratitude! Your partnership in this ministry is so valuable.

We’ve had the privilege of seeing several house churches planted recently. Let me tell you a little about two that I’m especially excited about. There is a government assisted townhouse/apartment community here in Burleson known as Shenendoah. Christ Journey connected with folks in this neighborhood in the past through a kid’s camp that was apparently a great success. Recently we reconnected with some of the folks from Shenendoah and began asking what it would look like to host a house church (and eventually a series of house churches) in this community. That has become a reality. In addition to myself, the family hosting and one couple from Christ Journey, we also have made connection with several other families in the neighborhood, including the director of Shenendoah and the director of Harvest House ministries.

Robin, one of the hosts, is in the process of organizing a neighborhood watch (which we’ll participate with in some way), a safe house/after-school/summer program for teens, and a neighborhood block party with free hotdogs for everyone! People from all kinds of backgrounds are interested in what we’re doing because it is more of a Christlike lifestyle in the midst of the community than just a Bible study (as great as Bible study is!)

Also, on Wednesday nights we are participating in a new “house church” in the Chappotins’ front yard. Basically we gather around the grill and invite all the neighbors to bring something to put on the pit. There’s always plenty of extra for anyone who may not have anything and we make sure they know they’re welcome to it! We also invite a few families from Christ Journey to join us - in part to hang out, in part to model community for Chris and Heidi’s neighbors and in part to model communal living for our own folks.

This past Sunday we were able to do a neighborhood barbecue at the home of Jimmy and Debra Osborn and have had several other families ask how to get this going at their own houses. Our goal is for as many of our families as possible to reclaim their front yards as sacred space - where the love of Christ is displayed and strangers are welcomed in. IT IS HAPPENING!!!

I’ve just begun the training/certification program to serve as a coach for Mission Alive. We’ve already found coaching techniques to be helpful in our continual training and equipping of house church leaders and plan to use this more and more in the future. This will also provide me with an opportunity to bring in some additional income to augment our financial needs.

Speaking of finances, after much prayer and discernment regarding fundraising and funding options, Chris and I have made the decision to research and pursue opportunities to lead retreats for other churches and groups. We don’t anticipate this fully supporting either of our families, but it will give us a setting to bless others with some experiences which have already blessed our community. In doing so we hope to connect with potential partners in our ministry and raise awareness regarding the value of church planting movements.

Right now we have four retreats that we are using cyclically with Christ Journey. Two of these retreats - Marvelous Light, a spiritual cleansing and renewal retreat and City on a Hill, a leadership identification and equipping retreat - have been a part of Christ Journey’s spiritual formation process for a while now.

The addition of Foundations to the retreat schedule has already proven valuable. We recently participated in this event, which I converted from the previous format of a series of evening discussions. It focuses on reading, hearing and telling the grand narrative of Scripture.

We also believe that Sanctuary, an experience in ancient Christian disciplines and spirituality, will also be powerful. Sanctuary is based on retreats that I’ve led, participated in and cultivated over the past several years. I'm indebted to Shawn Small, Molly Wren and those with the Converge Youth Ministers Network in Dallas where I first experienced a retreat like this around 5 years ago.

We hope to be able to serve and encourage other ministries with these experiences which have been so important to us and the Christ Journey community.

Rachel and I (and the Chappotins as well) are seeking to be creative, diligent and discerning in our continued process of funding this mission work. Over the last few months we have made tremendous relationships with our neighbors - many of whom would be classified among the “suburban poor,” working families that are barely keeping bill collectors at bay (and often haven’t been able to do so).

The reality is that these families contribute much to our community; we are richer because of their friendship. But their contribution is not financial. We are reaching out to the hurting, the broken the forgotten and overlooked. But Chrysler still wants us to make our car payments, student loans sit quietly in the corner grinning and the Wellsbrothers expect to eat multiple times each day.

As humbling as it is to say this, I cannot do this alone.

Many of you have partnered with us financially over the last year and because of you there is a 19 year-old single mom working at Denny’s who just began school to become a medical assistant; who didn’t have to choose between paying registration costs or buying food for her baby (which was exactly what she was doing until you helped her).

There is a family from up north who wouldn’t have had any friends to turn to when the husband ended up in the hospital with pneumonia, but now they have meals being provided for them every night this week.

There are a group of people who’ve rarely eaten in a restaurant who now sit down with new friends at Rosa’s each month to feast on tacos.

People who didn’t know their neighbors are sharing hotdogs and hamburgers in their front yards; children who didn’t have Bibles have one of their own; darkness that seemed so oppressive is obliterated by light...despair is struggling to hang on as hope creeps in to places for the first time. If you haven’t seen or heard it yet, let me encourage you to check out the sermon from Christ Journey’s worship gathering on March 15 (message transcript or link to podcast of gathering- )

We are experiencing a community where the effects of the Fall are being rejected by the call to reclaim community in Christ.

And we need the continued financial support of our friends in order to continue in this mission. At the one year mark of our fundraising efforts, there are some who have the decision to renew a one-year commitment and others who made special gifts who have the choice to do so again. If that is you, we ask you to prayerfully consider your partnership in this ministry.

We need you.

We need your friends, family, neighbors and congregations. You may not be in a position to drop everything and begin planting churches - and yet you can. You can help this network of house churches, worship gatherings and Christ-formed relationships continue to expand through this region and beyond.

Feel free to print this out and share it with others whom you believe may be interested.

Also, if you know of a church or group that may be interested in participating in a Sanctuary, Foundations, Marvelous Light or City on a Hill retreat - or something similar - please help us get in touch with them.

Thank you for serving as our co-laborers in the gospel.

Grace and Peace,

Bret, Rachel and the Wellsbrothers

Thank You

2009-03-22T20:07:00.001-07:00

I was a little overwhelmed with your quick and generous responses to my plea for help getting Bibles for our children's Bible classes.

I am happy to announce that we got all of the money we needed, the Bibles have been ordered, and they have arrived! (Some of them, anyway...) I didn't get any pictures of the kids using them this morning... :( but they've been anxiously awaiting their new Bibles and have been very excited. I did get a few pictures of a very excited Conner as he opened the box, though.

He's currently reading about the plagues in Egypt, I think when we had to stop we were at the locusts.

I don't even know how to express our gratitude for all of the support you have poured out upon us -- both through gifts such as these, earnest prayers, and simply through your interest in keeping up with us through this crazy blog. Thank you, and we love you!

Foundations

2009-03-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

For several hours yesterday evening, and then pretty much all day today I attended the Christ Journey Foundations Retreat. Bret was the instructor, and we learned about the seven episodes of God and His creation -- Creation, Crisis, Covenant, Confusion/Clarity, Christ, Church, Culmination. More than anything though, we learned how these episodes are part of our own story -- and how to share that with others.

It was a great weekend. I really enjoyed the chance to spend some time with these new friends and get to know them better.

One of the things, in my opinion, that was among the most impactful was our time of Lectio Devina this morning. We meditated, prayed over, listened to God, and discussed 1 Corinthins 3:10-13. Allow me to share:

"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light."

It was amazing to hear God speak through our community. Thank you Bret, for all the hard work and study you put into this weekend. It was great! And thank you to Chris, Wendy, Pam, and Mike for all of your work, too.

Brief Foundations Update...no seriously, it'll be short

2009-03-21T05:59:00.000-07:00

**by Bret

We began our Foundations retreat last night. As I've been talking to people leading up to the retreat, especially people who grew up going to youth retreats, I've had to say, "Its not really that kind of retreat"

There are no blind-fold walks or trust falls.

However, last night was pretty hilarious. There were several moments when I experienced flash backs to my years as a youth minister (in a good way!)

Several of these folks were friends in high school and so there were stories of doing group projects together in 7th grade and the crazy teachers they survived. We even had a couple teenagers present who were cracking up because they have those same teachers and have the same experiences with them!

What was great was that the laughing and goofing around our tables was not the kind that happens when a bunch of adults are trying to protect their carefully crafted facades; very little evidence of posturing - just good friends and family, letting down their guards and experiencing life together.

That's an important part of this Story, isn't it?

Church...Community...Friends...FAMILY

2009-03-19T05:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a crazy day. We had been planning to go to the zoo with some friends from our church. It was the Spring Break half-price day -- big crowds but hey, we'd be saving money, right?

The original plan was to arrive at the zoo as it was opening. Then we moved our departure time back to accomodate a work schedule. While part of me cringed a tiny bit at arriving later, about the additional crowds there would be to fight, most of me knew that this was no problem...this day was not about getting the best parking place or being among the first ones into the zoo. This day was about friends and fellowship.

We were just leaving Burleson, making a quick run through the McDonald's drive-through on our way when I got a call from Bret. He was at the gym and his truck wouldn't start -- and he had a feeling it was more than just a dead battery. Ugggh. I pulled up to tell my friends what was up, and that I needed to go help Bret, I may or may not make it to the zoo. I insisted they go ahead, I would let them know what was going on...and I ended up with the key to one of their vehicles that was just sitting in the driveway for the day. Even if we couldn't get the truck going, there was no reason we would have to miss the zoo. Awesome.

I met up with Bret, we jumped the truck and got it started. He went on his way and I went on mine. Twenty minutes or so later, I pulled up behind the line that was the Ft Worth Zoo Spring Break Half-Price Day Parking Fiasco. (No, seriously. If you watched the news last night, you saw it.) The zoo parking lots were full. There were signs pointing to additional parking, lines of cars followed only to discover that all of these lots were coned off because they were supposedly full as well. To follow the zoo parking signs meant going in meaningless circles, fighting traffic all the way. And all of this while a steady stream of traffic was leaving the zoo -- there had to be empty parking places in there. I could see them everywhere. Why would they not let anyone in?! Was my zoo membership worth nothing on this day. (What a zoo snob I've become!)

My friends had gone on ahead while I was helping Bret, had waded through the meaningless signs, and eventually found their way to the back of the zoo where there were some parking places. I did my best to follow directions over the phone while I was driving, in a part of Fort Worth that I am completely unfamiliar with. Yeah, right. I didn't get lost, I just never found any other way into the zoo except the front entrance.

So after about an hour of looking for a stinking parking place, I ended up parking in a grocery store parking lot. (I found out later that this was .84 miles away from the zoo entrance!) I sat there for a few moments trying to talk myself into just giving up and going home. But my kids, who had been so incredibly patient for the past hour, had their hearts set on the zoo. And I had my heart set on hanging out with friends. We pressed on.

I got out the huge 20-pound double stroller, loaded it up with the snacks and drinks, sunscreened the kids, put the 25-pound baby in the stroller, put the 36 pound 3-yr-old in the stroller (the stroller now weighs probably about 85 pounds), and gave the 5-yr-old a pep talk for the long walk ahead.

We started on our way, and then I realized that we would have to be crossing the street. The other pedestrians were rude, the drivers (understandably annoyed with the traffic situation) were inconsiderate, but we made it across -- to the curb on the other side. I hurriedly got Conner on the sidewalk and did my best to get the 85 pound limo onto the curb. Then I saw a car coming, freaked out, hurried more, fell in the street, and then got everyone up on the sidewalk just in time. Whew! Too rattled to even be embarrassed, I once again considered turning back. But we had already come this far, it would be silly to turn back now. Besides, spending the afternoon with our friends would so make all of this worth it. We pressed on.

But then everyone we met (it was late enough in the day that there were just as many people leaving the zoo as there were coming), met us with, "Oh, honey. Just turn around and go home," and "Girl, are you sure? It's not even worth it." Turning around was now more tempting than ever...

Then Joey started crying and Micah started throwing a fit and Conner was whining. That was it. The screaming children were the straws that broke this camel's back. I collapsed there in the grass beside a tree and desperately tried to talk them into ice cream instead. But they had their hearts set on the zoo, and I felt horrible. I was an incapable, blubbering idiot that couldn't even find a decent parking place or take a little walk. So I called Bret. I knew he was in a meeting, I knew he wouldn't answer...so I called several times right in a row so that he would know that I really needed him. I never do that. And sure enough, he finally answered, he calmed the kids down, he got them excited about ice cream, it gave me a minute to catch my breath.

And as we turned around, it was the strangest thing. Totally unlike me, I didn't feel an overwhelming sense of guilt at having let my friends down, I wasn't overly embarrassed at my failed attempt. I knew that they would be bummed for us, but that everything was going to be okay. When "life" happens in this church and community, we simply take it stride, do what has to be done, loving and supporting each other along the way.

On the way back to the van, we walked an extra half-block or so in order to use the crosswalk, in my hurry my precious Sonic diet coke was spilled in the median, when we got back to the van Micah needed to go potty (I wasn't even getting everyone back out -- I gave him a cup to pee in!), and I was absolutely exhausted.

Then I found out that Bret was right. It wasn't just the battery that had gone out in his truck. It was the battery and the starter solenoid...and possibly the starter. Uggh!

I made it back home, we cancelled our plans and decided to just stay home for the evening, trying to make something a little easier on ourselves. The next thing we knew, friends were in the driveway delivering the parts Bret needed to fix his truck.

Oh. My. Goodness.

This is more than church. This is more than community. This is more than even friendship. This is family. We have only been here for six months. We have had good friends at every church we've been a part of -- but we've never connected with this many families on this level this quickly. There is something different going on here at Christ Journey. And it, like the mighty God we serve, is good. Oh, so good.

PS - To my friends that did survive the Fort Worth Zoo Spring Break Half-Price Day Parking Fiasco...you have bent over backwards letting me know how badly you feel for us, how guilty you feel -- even when it's not at all your fault. Stuff like this just happens. Life happens...and to the watchful eye makes for entertaining blog posts! :)

And to our friends who came bearing the gift of truck parts...thank you. You have no idea...

Crisis

2009-03-16T23:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday our Sunday morning worship service was one of the best I've ever been a part of. It was awful, it was uncomfortable -- but it was so wonderful. To put it shortly, the morning's topic was crisis. The sermon was moving, and the response time that followed was appropriate, following a week that was especially crisis-filled for many of our fellow journeyers -- and therefore our entire community. What followed was a moving prayer time that I don't think left anyone present doubting the presence and embrace of God that morning.

For a glimpse of Bret's sermon, click here. The podcast should be coming soon at christjourneylife.com.

Please pray for our families who are in the throws of health problems, divorce, pregnancy difficulties, in search of employment, and other challenges. I am so thankful that we are in the midst of a community that can praise God together even in the midst of our suffering!

Questions

2009-03-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

**by BretWhy do we emphasize house churches so much and what does that mean really? Is what we’re doing really any different from a traditional model with a small group ministry?

These questions have come up in a few settings recently and they have been rolling around in my mind constantly. I can honestly say that I have spent a tremendous amount of time praying about this, asking God, “Is what we’re attempting here worthwhile? Is it what we should spend our energy investing in? Are we cultivating something that will invite people to experience greater transformation in you?”

I’ve attempted to listen for a response to these questions - as opposed to just praying and then figuring it out myself!

The short answer I believe I’m hearing: “Yes!”

The transition to experiencing community and engaging in the mission of God instead of “going to church” is very difficult for those of us who have been inundated our whole lives with church culture...whether we were participants in that culture or not.

Not viewing “Church” as place or even a worship service on Sunday is easy to say, hard to do. When I write or say that Christ Journey is a network of house churches in the Burleson/south Fort Worth region it is like saying, “The Kingdom of God has come!”

We’re experiencing some of the already-but-not-yet life of faith. Just as the Kingdom of God has come and is also still on its way, so it is with Christ Journey. We’re striving to cultivate an environment where community is the norm, confession is commonplace, neighborhoods are re-engaged and redeemed, neighbors are known and loved.

In many ways we are experiencing precisely that...and in many ways we are anticipating this experience.

From a church planting approach the question that comes up is whether a focus on house churches is best utilized in a “simple church,” “organic,” or “cell church” model. To those who aren’t familiar, these approaches typically focus exclusively on the house church/cell church - in other words there is no larger gathering, such as what we experience together at the Party Room on Sunday.

There are benefits to this approach for sure - there is little cost involved, it is simple and very mobile. It forces people to invest in one another because the community is so small.

However, even though they a part of much larger network, they rarely see those folks and may not know who any of them are. And this I believe is a major downside. I could spend a lot of words laying out the various reasons why it is beneficial to remain connected to a larger body, including mentors and mature Christians. For space sake I’ll encourage you to join me at Denny’s sometime if you want to talk about those!

But I do want to say something about the value of gathering on Resurrection Day because this is something I am not willing to give up.

My argument is not the legalism, “we have to because the early Christians did.” The truth is that we have ample evidence of the early Christians doing plenty of things that we don’t feel compelled to do - and plenty of things the early Christians did that we should not do (things which led Paul to write letters in order to get them to stop doing!)

But especially as we take the call to engage in the mission of God more and more seriously; as we pour ourselves out for one another and for our neighborhoods; as we seek to cultivate and experience a radical community of reconciliation and hope, I believe we’ll find ourselves NEEDING the opportunity to come together and celebrate on the day that Jesus defeated darkness, death and despair! We need to rejoice together because of what we experience together. For some folks on some weeks there will be so much joy and excitement that is spilling out that we need an outlet in community to praise God in song and prayer. That doesn’t mean that we should wait for Sunday or that we can’t do this with our house church - we should do precisely that. But there is something powerful about gathering with a group to celebrate isn’t there?

Other weeks and other folks will need to come together around the table to celebrate the resurrection because the darkness has threatened to pull them under. As we engage other human beings we make ourselves vulnerable to experiencing the pain and hardship that so many deal with each day. Nothing less than God himself entering into this story and defeating death can bring hope to some situations. So we gather around the table with dozens of other folks and proclaim together - Jesus is Lord and he is risen!

I think it is okay for Sunday to receive a lot of attention and preparation, even though we repeatedly remind one another that the basic expression of Church in our community is the house church. It is the basic expression because it is the place where we come together with a small group of people whom we are able to be completely open and vulnerable around. It is where we say, “This is what it looks like to live this life together.” And then we do that with these people. We hold each other up when it is hard to live this way. We rejoice when we experience the power of God transforming our lives and those around us. We are Church for one another.

And then on Sunday we gather with other house churches and we see that we are not the only ones experiencing this life. We are reminded that the Church is larger than our small circle of influence. We remind ourselves that though we are experiencing amazing things in the Kingdom of God, there is much more to that Kingdom than we can ever see at one time. We remember that we are members of the Body we are not the whole Body...and we are not the god who gives the Body life.

So when I say that Sunday morning is not the full or even primary expression of Church that is not in anyway to diminish its significance. The transition to seeing “Church” as a life lived in the midst of community and not a service we attend is definitely difficult. And as long as we gather on Sunday in the midst of the Bible belt, people are going to struggle from time to time seeing the distinction. But, as a friend said to me today, the transition we need is not to diminish Sunday but to emphasize the importance of shared life in our house churches.

If you are a participant in the Christ Journey with us here in Burleson, I invite you to find ways to make this transition real. If you are a companion on the journey with Christ in some other place we pray that you too will see this transformation take place in your own life of faith. May the words of Psalm 84 find expression in your life:

Blessed are those whose strength is in [God],
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage

Bibles for the Kids

2009-02-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

So the other day, we bought a little kids' devotional book. Conner has been totally into it, as he usually is with any new book that he gets. For the first few days, he wanted to read it all by himself. Then yesterday, he finally let me in, finally let me read a few of the little devos with him.

A few weeks ago, we went to church in Granbury (the church I grew up at, where my mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law all still attend). Conner was very excited. "Yay!" he said. "I love to go to BooBoo and Yogi's church!" When I asked him why, he said, "Because they have Bibles in my class there. I like it when we use Bibles in class."

It was everything I could do to keep from crying. Initially, that was one of my biggest fears about church planting. What could a tiny little house church, consisting of just a few families offer my children? Except for close relationships and the opportunity to engage in worship with adults? Don't get me wrong...those things are good. Wonderful, even. But what about Sunday School, what about puppet shows, what about worship with peers their own ages? I did not want my kids to miss out on these things because we were trying to do something different. This was not a sacrifice I was willing to make.

Then we hooked up with Mission Alive. We found Christ Journey, we found Chris and Heidi, and they had something for our kids. It's small, but it's good. In addition to the attention and instruction they receive in house church, they have a Sunday School class, they worship with their peers, they're learning about Christ, they are loved. It wasn't until Conner pointed it out to me that I realized that there are no Bibles in our children's Sunday School classes. I know this has a lot to do with the fact that we have to be portable. We don't have our own building, our kids' classrooms consist of a large room in a restaurant that we rent out on Sundays. All of their crayons, scissors, snacks, lesson plans -- everything lives in a portable bucket that they take with them. Bibles are heavy and bulky to transport. Then there is the expense...

Well, I am not gonig to let these things stand in the way. I think that our children need to have Bibles in the classes, I think they need to see their teachers using them, I think they need to be given the opportunity to use them alongside their peers. I think I've got the portability thing figured out, now I'm looking for money. The Bibles I'd like to get for the preschoolers are about $20 each, and I'd like to get at least five -- enough for them to share in pairs. We'd like to get some for the school-aged kids, too. Heidi's still working on deciding which ones we want, but I'm guessing they'll be around the same price. So does anyone have a couple hundred bucks they'd like to donate so that the kids can have Bibles? Do you know anyone who does? All it would take is ten people giving $2o each... We would also like to have some extra kids' Bibles on hand to give away. Maybe not the $20 ones, but we would like to have something.

If I've tugged at your heartstrings (and I hope I have!), you can click on the yellow "donate" button in the bar on the right side of my blog. Paypal should walk you through the rest. (Make sure to say something about children's Bibles in the special instruction section.) You can also leave a comment or email me at rachel.wells@yahoo.com.

In the meantime, we're doing our best to foster this interest in the Bible that Conner has expressed. We got the devotional book, and have been very intentional about talking our way through looking up each scripture. Conner spent literally over an hour today looking up scriptures on his own. He knows that the Old Testament is on the left and the New Testament is on the right. He knows that Psalms is just about in the middle. With a little bit of help, he finds the book of the Bible he's looking for, and then on his own finds the chapter and verse and reads it to us. (He's five, by the way!)

There are certainly a lot of things that we don't do, but wish that we did. There are a lot of things that I know we don't do right. But somewhere, thanks to the Spirit, this child has learned to love the Bible and The One who has given it to him. We are so proud and excited.

**Update: As of March 2nd, we have $180 so far...almost there!!

Good Stuff

2009-02-16T23:19:00.000-08:00

We're happy to announce that yesterday was Christ Journey's first worship gathering in a new location! In the four months that we've been here, Christ Journey had outgrown the coffee shop. We are now meeting in a party room leased out by Nashville, TX, a local antique shop.

I can't tell you how good it felt to walk in yesterday morning to a bigger room, chairs more spread out, with space to actually visit after church. Another plus of this new space is that, for a few months anyway, we do not have to load/unload the trailer every week! This is quite a job, and a bit of a burden...it will be wonderful to get a break from it, even if it is for just a few months. Yesterday also happened to be my Sunday in the nursery. This was a wonderful new experience, too. In the coffee shop, the nursery consisted of a conference room that was closed off from the rest of the place by doors with huge glass windows in them -- right behind the worship stage. Every one of the folks that is regularly up there has a baby in the nursery, and the babies could not only hear, but see them at any given time. Yeah, it was to say the least, not ideal -- but we made it work and were so thankful to have it.

Our new nursery is a little room off the side of the party room. It is bigger -- and there are no glass doors! It will, of course, take a few weeks of being in there to work out a couple of little kinks, but mostly it was great. The kids couldn't see out, and the distraction of seeing in was gone for the big folks. The sound still traveled though. Apparently we were a little loud. Several criers yesterday, including my own. :) There's even more Christ Journey news that I don't think we've shared yet -- I'm now working with the children's ministry. I'm organizing stuff for the preschoolers. I'm totally excited about it -- that's right up my alley. I schedule teachers, set and prepare curriculum, and gather supplies for each week (all of our classroom supplies must be porable since we rent that space, too). We've also implemented a "Family Sunday" on the last Sunday of each month. The idea is to give the teachers a little break, and give families a chance to worship together, and give the kids a chance to see what all goes on in "big church." I've been working on doing some fun things for that, too. (Next week is Family Sunday, hopefully I'll have more details then!) This takes some time, time that has been a challenge to carve out, but it's been worth it. I have several more ideas, several more things I'd like to do...as I find the time and resources to make it happen.

We're so glad to be here and be a part of this gathering of house churches. God is so good. Thanks for sharing in this journey with us!

The View from Chick-fil-a: January Update

2009-01-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

**By Bret

My allowance is gone until Friday. That means I can’t really get in my office. If you are wondering about whether North Texas office spaces charge an admission fee, its all a matter of perspective. When your office is the booth near the plug (around the corner in the prep area) at Denny’s, then yes, there is a per visit fee for office usage. While I’m out of cash, I’m still okay thanks to the grand opening event held whenever a new Chick-fil-A opens (like the one in Frisco that I attended in November) I have (er...had) 52 coupons for a free #1 combo...which comes with free refills on, you guessed it, coffee. So today I write this update from my temporary perch at the Burleson Chick-Fil-A.

We’ve created an office in our bedroom at home and believe or not the wellsbrothers do a pretty good job not disturbing Daddy when he’s “at work.” But there is very little separation between us and to be honest, I have a hard time not coming out to play. So most days, after Chris gives me a liberal dose of humility on the racquetball court, I shower and head to my home away from home: Denny’s.

For those who know me well, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise - Denny’s was a favorite study spot through college and grad school. But nowadays it has taken on even greater significance.

I developed an appreciation for a “public office” in Mandeville - Starbucks and IHOP were the prime locations back then. Our building at TOCC was quite lonely and TOO quiet during the day and so I would often pack up and head out to get a cup of coffee. Katherine, Emma, Parvis and Brim are now friends of mine connected to Tammany Oaks thanks to those little trips.

Here in Burleson I’ve been blessed to get to know several members of the waitstaff at Denny’s. I haven’t asked them if I can share their names yet, but I’m sure you’ll hear more about them in the future.

One is a young woman who should have delivered her baby by now - nobody at Denny’s had heard anything yesterday. Conner and I were able to attend her baby shower last Wednesday (at Denny’s) where I met her mother and sisters. We talked about life in this area, what its like to have young children and the importance of family and friends. It was a great couple hours.

Another is a young man who moved to Texas from the Northern US just last year. Yesterday he and I had what I believe was our 4th multi-hour conversation about faith - he is a searcher who’s been studying with some friends but just isn’t sure he can trust that the Bible is true in what it says or that he can even understand what that is. I met him because Rachel spent some time there working on her computer one evening and told him to look for me when I came in...he remembered my name when I saw him.

Another wonderful lady has lived in the same house for 21 years. She is full of energy - to the point that her conversations can be quite difficult to follow! However, she is always ready to serve everyone, not just the customers but other waitstaff as well. I like that about her. She has some interesting ideas about life and has certainly had some difficult experiences, but her desire to love and serve others is something that we can all learn from.

The first two folks I usually see, a young hispanic woman and a young man who is probably around my brother’s age, do a good job of getting me into “my” booth as soon as possible. I asked them once if I could move somewhere there was an electrical outlet and since then they’re always looking out for me. There is something about both of them that I immediately liked a lot (beyond their technological assistance) and I’ve noticed our conversations beginning to go beyond the typical restaurant niceties.

These relationships typify what I believe to be the greatest signs of success in our ministry here. I’ve had the opportunity to develop actual friendships and relationships with people who are not going to stumble into the coffee shop on a Sunday morning...at least, not yet.

However, these aren’t the only progresses we’ve made since October - not by a long shot! Chris and I are very excitedly preparing for the planting of 3 new house churches, hopefully by Easter. I will (initially and Lord willing) be leading two of these and Chris the other. We’ve cultivated relationships with several families who are either disconnected from church or have never had any significant connection to begin with.

Our Sunday morning gathering - what we refer to as “the gathering of the House Churches” - has outgrown the JJ Mocha’s coffee shop and we are excited to announce that on February 15th we’ll move to a new gathering spot, just around the corner from our present location. This is a great story that would take too long to tell right now (though I’d love to tell it to you over a cup of coffee or even the phone if you’re interested), but suffice it to say we’re very excited about this development.

Our present series of messages, which impact our time together on Sunday morning, our house church gatherings and even the new Christ Journey website/blog - www.christjourneylife.com - is titled “Navigating the Suburban Wilderness.” We’ve already witnessed several actual, real life relationships experience reconciliation through this challenging call to live into authentic community. Christjourneylife.com contains snippets, teasers and discussion guides as well as the podcasts from our Sunday messages - check it out!

I’ve also launched a new personal blog found at www.ancientjourney.blogspot.com, titled “Modern Traveler: Ancient Journey.” My personal goal is to maintain a connection to the great story of God and His people throughout the ages while still faithfully navigating my own contemporary culture - all with the purpose of being formed in Christ’s image and inviting others to do the same.

We’ve been incredibly blessed with over 60 individuals/families who’ve partnered with us financially in some way (special gifts, memorials and/or monthly support.) We’ve also been blessed to have someone step in at a tremendous level to cover some of our needs temporarily until we can find a congregation or more individuals to get us closer to that 100% mark. If you know a church or a family that would be blessed to partner in the ministry of planting new churches could you help us get connected? We’ve already seen way too much evidence of God’s hand on this effort to question calling or timing - we believe fully that God has prepared us for just such a time as this and that God has prepared others to serve as patrons and co-laborers - as many did for Jesus, Paul and others.

In other, less impressive news, hopefully you've noticed that I do have a new email address - bret@christjourneylife.com. Rachel is still blogging away at www.wellsbrothers.blogspot.com (if you’re one of the three people in America who aren’t already hooked on the tales of the intrepid wellsbrothers!) If you’re surfing the web please stop by our blogs and CJ Life to get up to the minute reports...well, not exactly, but still!

As usual, I’ve gone on way too long, but this is just the tip of the exciting iceberg around here! Thank you so much for your partnership in the gospel, you have already been such a great blessing to us.

Grace and Peace,Bret, Rachel and the Wellsbrothers (Conner, Micah and Josiah)

December Update

2008-12-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from the end of 2008! As I sit here in the Wells family kitchen and look at my surroundings, I’m thinking that by describing what I see, I can give you a few clues as to what our life has been like this year.

On the table is an assortment of markers, papers, sippie cups, and Christmas paper plates. On the floor I see a green stuffed snake, a few random balls, several pez dispensers, a baby rattle, and some soggy cheerios. The high chair is sitting next to me, cereal and baby food hardening and crusting as I type. On the wall is a brown construction paper squirrel with a dead brown leaf for a tail, a black and white drawing of a head with mismatched magazine cut-out facial features, and some manilla construction paper covered in colorful scribbles…and just beyond that is a stack of moving boxes waiting to be unpacked someday. The sink is full of dirty dishes, and the counter top is littered with dirty bottles and empty baby food jars. I hear Christmas music on the TV, Michael Card’s lullaby CD over the baby moniter, oh – there went the dryer buzzer. And mmmm…that coffee brewing sure does smell good.

Isn’t life grand?! 2008 was busy – we had a baby; Conner fell and knocked out his two front teeth; Bret resigned from his job as the preaching minister in Louisiana and we began raising funds to join the church planting endeavors of Christ Journey in Burleson, Texas; we potty-trained Micah; we evacuated for Hurricane Gustav; we moved over 600 miles in October; we began our new job as domestic missionaries; and we are now in temporary housing while we are trying not to stress out about finishing our fundraising.

Conner turned five in August. He is into The Backyardigans, Pokemon, superheroes, and reading just about anything he can get his hands on. The other day I actually found him reading the glossaries of a few books! (A little Bret in the making?)

Micah is now two, anxiously awaiting his Spiderman birthday in February. If you ask him, he will be eight. He is proud that he is a “big bo-wee” now and can make coffee for his daddy, as well as pull up his own pants and underwear. He is into anything his big brother likes. Conner is Micah’s best friend in the world; Micah absolutely adores him.

Josiah was born in March. Though state lines said that he was born in Louisiana, rest assured that there was a bag of Singleton, Texas dirt under the bed. He is a Texas boy! Joey is into Cheerios, cruising along the couches, pulling hair, and laughing at his big brothers. He is NOT into having his diaper changed. He is a joy and definitely fits right in.

Bret, now a church planter, is loving his new job. The verdict is still out, however, on his true feelings about “officing” from home (a small table in our bedroom). He is super-excited about his role as the father of three boys, being in Texas, his new gas grill (we had been saving for quite awhile), and the Bunn coffee maker that we were given for our eighth anniversary this month.

Me, well, when I’m not chasing three preschool boys or listening to my husband talk, I am into making and cleaning up messes like the one described above.

And yes, the Christmas card is so very appropriate – it looks like those crazy boys are lying beneath the tree eagerly scheming mischief of one sort or another…no doubt resulting in another mess for me to clean up!

We continue to have so much to be thankful for – including you, our friends and family. It in part because of our financial partners -- many of you, your trust in us, and faith in God that we are where we are today.

Merry Christmas from Bret, Rachel, and the Well brothers –
Conner, Micah, and Josiah

Special Prayer Request

2008-11-15T19:34:00.000-08:00

**By Bret

Dear Friends,

We have a special prayer request to ask of you. Over the next couple days two different church missions committees will have our names before them as they make decisions regarding support for the next year. As you know we are living in faith right now that God will raise up partners for us in this mission work and the timing of these two conversations could not be better. If it is appropriate and you have the opportunity to have your congregation or Bible classes lift this issue up in prayer tomorrow morning we would greatly appreciate it.

We are so grateful that we can count on so many people to surround us and kneel before the Father on our behalf.

Grace and Peace,
Bret, Rachel, Conner, Micah and Josiah

Greetings from My Couch - October Update

2008-10-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

**By Bret

This short (for me) post is special; it is my first “from the field” of church planting. After 6 months of fundraising we were finally able to make the move to Burleson. We have nearly 50% of our monthly commitment raised, but the blessing of one time and special cash gifts has given us enough to cover our first three months – the goal we set for relocation.

The last couple weeks have been unbelievably hectic for our little family. We reached our goal on a Monday (Monday Money Days, part of Rachel’s recent prayer schedule, have been incredible reminders of God’s faithfulness – if you haven’t heard about this, check out Rachel’s blog post). A couple large gifts from churches caused us to leap forward to a goal we were anticipating would still take a while. After the shock wore off we let our family at Tammany Oaks know that we’d be leaving in four weeks.

So we packed our belongings for move number 8 in our almost 8 years of marriage. Tuesday morning with the help of some great friends, we loaded everything we own into two Penske trucks. That afternoon the Chris’s (Chappotin and Robey…who, for clarity, were referred to as Pablo and Coach respectively) flew into New Orleans. Wednesday morning we threw the remaining things in our trucks and the four vehicles headed northwest around 5am.

Saturday the big brothers came home after 11 days at my parents’ house and we were SO ready for them to get here. If you follow Rachel’s blog then you’ve gotten most of the scoop on the exhaustion, mix of emotions and rollercoaster events that comprised our transition from Mandeville back to North Texas. We are exhausted but incredibly excited.

Yesterday Rachel’s mom drove over to help us unpack. In the afternoon Jodi, Robert and Ira brought dinner and around 8:30 Chris and Lydia called and said they needed to kill some time before their movie…so they swung by our house. Everyone went home when they were ready – a process which required neither a day’s drive nor a trip to the airport.

So here we are…I’m sitting on my couch, watching my TV, listening to Josiah’s nighttime cd over the monitor, Rachel is laying the big brothers down and the news just said that the humidity was UP to 56 percent today…

To those of you who have partnered with us financially, through prayer or in other ways, we thank you. I am so looking forward to sending you future updates with stories of our life within this community – both the community of believers we refer to as Christ Journey and the community of people loved by God we refer to as Burleson and the south Forth Worth area.

We are of course still in the process of raising our support – nearly 50% raised means we have a little over 50% to go. We ask for your continued prayers. If you know of anyone who may be interested in partnering with us financially, please let us know.

But for now I am about to go to sleep…in Texas.

Messy Desk - September Update

2008-09-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

**By Bret

My desk is a mess. That sentence is almost always true, but today it is especially so. Right now I can see several books I’ve been trying to read during my (hopefully) short time of not taking any classes. There is a stack of stuff that Rachel asked me to take care of (it’s actually a very small stack – she really spoils me). There are a couple to-do lists with the most random assortment of chores - including making a list of the book titles on my bookshelves…seems strange, I know. I’ve got a box that I need to take to Tod next week (when I’m at Lectureship in Abilene), several coffee cups and assorted papers from different projects. Then there are two stacks of study materials; one from this past week’s sermon here at Tammany Oaks and another for my upcoming sermon at Christ Journey this Sunday.

The desk is quite representative of my life right now. There is a lot going on in the Wells household. As you know, 5 months ago we announced our decision to enter the domestic mission field and partner with others in the ministry of planting new churches. Many of you have blessed us tremendously by deciding to partner with us financially in this endeavor.

Currently we’ve raised a little over a third of our total monthly goal. However because of the generous support we’ve already received through special gifts and monthly checks, we have raised enough to cover 3-4 months.

So we’re moving!

This Sunday I’ll be preaching at Christ Journey (hence the study materials) as I’m on my way to Lectureship, where hopefully we’ll be able to talk to more people about partnering with us financially. After that we’ll have two more Sundays here and then we’ll be Uhaulin’ it west. That explains the need to put together a list of books on my shelf…I’m not going to have an office at first so I need to know what books are in what box!

That means that October 5 will be our final Sunday at Tammany Oaks and our tentative move date is October 7.

Tammany Oaks will always hold a special place in my heart. As I told the congregation yesterday, this place has ruined me for many ministries…and strangely enough, that’s a good thing! Over the last two and a half years we have experienced things that I could never have anticipated. We have truly learned how to pray, hurt, weep, rejoice and walk with people. We’ve been given the opportunity to experience very real moments of ministry – walking alongside an entire family as they moved from bitterness and distrust toward Christians (and complete disinterest in church) to being excited and growing members of Tammany Oaks; helping a 58 year-old Vietnam Vet, recent widower and single father of an 18 month old as he simultaneously battled past demons, began to hear the stories of the Bible for the first time (with a youthful excitement that was quite contagious) and fought for custody of his child; spent countless hours with folks at the end of their rope in their marriages, with their emotions (depression, anxiety, hopelessness, despair), with serious mental and physical health issues, drug addictions, financial crises, unemployment…just to name a few.

Make no mistake, it has been exhausting and at times I wasn’t sure we’d make it through. There were days and weeks (even months) when just getting out of bed each morning was painful and difficult. Many of you know quite well how hard things have been and how unsure things were during the first 18 months or so. But as I once said on my blog, periods of wandering in the desert can, overtime, reveal great things – both in oneself and in the landscape. The initial exposure reveals a harsh, barren desolation. But over time one realizes there is tenderness beneath that harsh exterior and what was first seen as barren and desolate is eventually cherished as beautiful. It is beautiful because of what it reveals. It is valuable because of what it forges. The bitter shrubs of the desert become sweet and fragrant flowers. But not quickly; not for a while.

We experienced times of desert wandering, but that isn’t to say that everything here is desolate or barren. We’ve developed wonderful friendships and experienced tremendous compassion and generosity here. While we are very excited to pursue this next stage in our journey; to participate with God in bringing life and light to areas of darkness and despair; excited to return to the land of our forefathers, to the land of Mexican food and grandparents, we are also a little sad. We will miss our unbelievably crazy small group – where the small children outnumber the adults nearly 2 to 1. We will miss this church and our family here at Tammany Oaks.

And we’re a little scared too. Like I said, we are FAR from through in our fundraising. We’re praying that a church or two will decide to support us (there are a few that are currently considering it). One reason for moving now is that we believe it will be easier to cast vision and invite folks to partner with us if we can meet with them face to face…rather than over the phone from another state! I am confident that God will provide and I believe we’ve done our homework and are making the right decision…but still 35% is considerably less than 100%!

So my desk, my schedule and my life are all pretty messy right now. But if I’m totally honest, I don’t really like a clean desk…

We're Moving!

2008-09-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

**By Bret

Dear Friends,

As I hinted a couple weeks ago, we have now reached our relocation goal! We’ve set October 5 as our final Sunday at Tammany Oaks and are tentatively planning to drag our stuff to Burleson on the 7th.

We’ve raised a little over 35% of our total monthly goal so far. However, we’ve been blessed with several significant one time and special gifts. So about a month ago we decided that if we could reach the point where our monthly commitments and cash on hand could cover 3 months of support then we would relocate.

And that’s exactly what we’ve done. This next week I’ll be in Abilene at Lectureship where I’m hoping and praying for opportunities to share our vision with lots of potential partners. We also have several churches that are considering support – either large one time gifts or a substantial amount of monthly support. We would like to ask you to pray specifically that these will come through.

I'll post something a little more detailed soon. We are very excited to have reached this next milestone and are looking forward to being on the ground in this ministry. We thank you for your prayers and support and we’re glad that we have such a large community of friends and family who are on this journey with us.

Grace and Peace,
Bret

Fundraising and Hurricanes

2008-08-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

**By Bret

Dear Friends and Family,

I am writing this email from the cockpit of Wellsforce 1 (our minivan) as we soar through the hill country of Texas . Last night was our fundraising dinner in San Antonio . It was great, we saw some old friends – some of whom we haven’t seen since January 2003 when we left Corpus Christi . These folks were very supportive and encouraging.

We are very confident that the date of our relocation is drawing near…hopefully we’ll have something specific to update you with soon.

However, there are other issues, as you may be aware, that are causing us some concern. As Hurricane Gustav continues to strengthen just south of the Gulf we are prayerful for the people of Cuba and anxiously awaiting what path the storm will take tomorrow and Monday. As you have probably heard (the media loves this kind of story) the 3 year anniversary of Katrina was yesterday. Folks in the New Orleans area who were there Pre-K are saying that this storm has reminded them a lot of that one.

It could well be that any storm near the Gulf right now would be reminding our neighbors of past experiences, but in any case, will you lift up prayers on our behalf? Specifically I’d ask that you petition God for his Spirit of peace – that which is available even in the midst of chaos.

We of course also ask that God will protect us from the elements. We do not pray that it will turn and thus inflict damage on someone else; we pray that the Lord will deliver all of his children. We are mindful today of those in Cuba , Jamaica , the Cayman Islands, Haiti and the Dominican Republic . I rejoice that we do not serve a regional god, only powerful enough to be concerned with one people group; our God is mighty to save all whom he loves…and that, my friends is all of us.

Because of the scheduling of our fundraising dinner we have, in effect, already evacuated. Bret, Rachel, Conner, Micah, Josiah, Chicory, two vehicles, wedding pictures and important documents, three softies (and the Coach/Freds…see Rachel’s blog), extra pull-ups, diapers and formula, two computers and all of the Backyardigans movies are safe and sound in Singleton, TX. My books are still in Mandeville though…

Should the storm make landfall in or near New Orleans we will keep you updated on any disaster relief needs. In the meantime, let us lift a chorus of prayers to our father and express our gratitude for the gift of technology that gives everyone forewarning of events like hurricanes.

Thank you all for your love and support.

Grace and Peace,
Bret

August Update

2008-08-25T19:12:00.001-07:00

**By Bret

One of the most impacting books I remember reading in college was Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, a survivor of the Nazi death camps during WWII. The primary point that I came away with was that the one thing that cannot be taken away from you is your ability to choose how you will respond to or view your life’s circumstances.

The concentration camps did an excellent job at taking away people’s family, their freedom and even their dignity. But as Frankl saw so many people, even after the war, slip into the living-dead state of despair, bitterness and hatred, he realized he had a choice.

We get to choose our perspective. I know from first-hand experience just how easy it is to allow oneself to feel like someone has stolen your hope or your joy. It is easy to say, “They made me so mad!” But in truth I am the only one capable of choosing whether or not I will become angry, or bitter, or hopeful or anything else.

As we wrap up month four of fundraising for church planting I am realizing just how important Frankl’s point is in our lives. Several weeks ago I found myself struggling to maintain a positive outlook. It seemed like there was no end to the list of folks who were saying, “We think that what you’re doing is great, but we can’t help you. Good luck.” Most frustrating were those who expressed confidence in us personally, in our passion, our calling and our ministry…but because of the non-traditional nature of our church plant they weren’t going to be able to officially support us.

This was beginning to have a negative impact on my perspective. And then God decided it was time for me to stop acting like a baby!

Through a series of events I met and had coffee with a church planter from the Assemblies of God. After having visited Tammany Oaks and talked with me only once he offered some incredible encouragement and affirmation – both on our calling and the content of our message. He even expressed a desire to maintain contact as his church plant may be interested in helping us once they get established.

I left that conversation with a choice. I could continue in my frustration at minor setbacks or I could realize that God has been so much more than faithful in sending us a constant stream of blessings, reminders of his love and affirmations of his calling.

I decided that I was going to choose a better perspective. And I believe that (in part) because of that choice, God has opened even more doors. At the time of my conversation with this other church planter we had no congregations seriously considering support. As I am writing this there are four different churches who are going to be making decisions about substantial one time gifts and/or continuing monthly support.

We have raised 35% of our total goal from individuals and families and we’re expecting confirmation of at least two more commitments in the next few days. We are heading to San Antonio this weekend for a fundraising dinner and Chris is meeting with another mission’s committee regarding our support.

Our family here at Tammany Oaks continues to remain supportive of us and I’m constantly being told how much we’re appreciated here. Our biological family continues to make sacrifices, work tirelessly and pray constantly for us. And 22 different individuals and families have already expressed their support through special gifts and monthly commitments. Chris and Heidi have been focusing on raising support for us, when they could justifiably say, “Sorry we’ve got our own mountains to climb.”

It seems that every time I turn around I’m talking to someone who just had a conversation with someone else who was telling them about what we’re doing. We are getting very close to seeing this dream become a reality.

At the end of the day, I have nothing to complain about. I have cried out to God in my despair and he has continually shown himself to be quick to save. I will continue to put my hope in the Lord for in him is full redemption.

I am very grateful to everyone who has partnered with us so far – either financially or in other ways like hosting events, spreading the word, etc. Many of you have committed to prayer; I believe that these prayers have provided a buffer between us and exhaustion, frustration, anxiety, and so many other forms of darkness.

If you’ve been thinking about making a financial commitment but have been unsure because of the economy – I understand…trust me I REALLY do! Let me encourage you, if you haven’t done so, to put this before God and ask if He is calling you to step out in faith in this way. I will not make any claims that if you send this money that God will send it back ten-fold…you guys know what I think about that business.

Honestly, your participation with us in this ministry may bring you much persecution. But I believe that we will be blessed and refined by this fire. I believe that partnering with God in his mission will ignite within us something rich and deep…something we were created to experience but often miss because we are afraid. I look forward to sitting down with you sometime in the near future and telling you about the individuals who have hope and light and life where before there was nothing but despair, darkness and death. This is God’s mission of reconciliation and God will not fail.

Grace and Peace,
Bret, Rachel and the Wells brothers

July Update

2008-07-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

**By Bret

Dear Friends,

It’s been a month since our last update. It was helpful for me to reread last month’s – we’ve made so much more progress than it sometimes feels like in the midst of all this!

We’ve had a few snags and setbacks, but in reality they’ve been very minor. As of today we have raised over 25% of our total goal and there are several more commitments and donations that we are anticipating in the next few days. Sixteen different individuals and families have partnered with us financially so far! To all of you, your love and support continues to strengthen and encourage us during this exhausting period.

Our Dallas dinner did not happen as planned, but no worries. We were still able to have a great evening with the Prudes, Robarts, Swindolls and Williams – it was great to see old friends and laugh together for a while. Rachel and I appreciate our friends’ willingness to help us out and work on behalf of this call to ministry.

Over the last month, Chris Chappotin and I have been developing a great working relationship. We’ve had several opportunities to spend time with Chappotin family and they are rapidly becoming dear friends and faithful spiritual companions. Chris and I set aside time each week for a staff meeting via video conferencing (free thanks to Skype!) for planning, strategizing and prayer. We’re currently in the process of building up the different leadership development groups at Christ Journey. We decided it would be good for me to begin working with the group responsible for house churches and perhaps expanding that to include other areas of spiritual formation. Obviously there are limits to what can be accomplished over the phone and internet, but our prayer is that the distance issue will be remedied very soon!

Rachel and Heidi have agreed to work together as co-children’s ministers as well. Heidi will focus primarily on the elementary age kids and Rachel in her area of expertise – preschoolers. We’ve adjusted our fundraising goal to include part-time compensation for Rachel – and our 25% raised reflects that total goal figure. I personally am very excited about this because I’ve seen Rachel minister in tremendous ways over the last several years in the lives of preschool kids and their families. Here in Mandeville I have been so proud of the way that Rachel has been a teacher, friend and role-model to several young women and young mothers. People see her with our boys and just know that God has gifted her in some very incredible ways.

On a sadder note, we’re headed back to north Texas tomorrow morning (Wednesday) to attend Rachel’s grandfather’s funeral. Peepaw was one of those rare men that are truly hard to describe. He was able pull of the crusty-old-rancher, always giving someone a hard time (especially the waitresses at Dairy Queen and Sonic) and yet simultaneously was a very godly compassionate man. When I met Peepaw nearly a decade ago he immediately welcomed me to the family by systematically calling me by the names of Rachel’s old boyfriends! Peepaw’s faith in God sustained him for many years and now we continue as part of his legacy.

I am grateful for all the men and women like Ira Conner who have passed on their faith to a new generation. In that same spirit we will, by God’s grace, pass our faith to a new generation of Christian disciples beginning in Burleson / south Fort Worth and spreading on as we are swept up in the advancing Kingdom of God ! Thank you for being a part of this journey with us.

Please feel free to forward this update to anyone not on the list that you think would like to receive it. If there is someone we need to add to the list, please let me know. We are progressing toward our goal but we still need partners in this effort.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

Grace and Peace,
Bret, Rachel and the Wells brothers

June Update

2008-06-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

**By Bret

It is happening!

A lot has taken place since my last (well, actually my first) email update about 6 weeks ago. There are several new people on this email list which is appropriate because the number of people praying for our transition has increased tremendously.

After spending a couple weeks in prayer and discussion with our elders here at Tammany Oaks we announced to the congregation that Rachel, the Wells brothers and I are going to be relocating to the Burleson, TX area to plant new churches. This has been an emotional time with our church family here, but I’m so excited that we are walking through this transition together. As we’ve had the opportunity to tell people more about what we’re doing the response has been overwhelmingly supportive. It seems that this call on our lives is evident and that has been very encouraging to me personally.

May and June have been incredibly busy for us. I spent a week in Abilene taking (hopefully) my last leveling course before starting a doctor of ministry program sometime in the next year (depending on when we get transitioned to Burleson).

I had the honor of performing the wedding ceremony for my little sister and new brother-in-law the weekend following my class in Abilene . Then we were back home for a little over a week before packing up again and heading back to Texas for our first fundraising dinner (in Granbury) and then a week of Mission Alive Strategy lab in Plano.

The dinner went quite well. It was the first time I’d addressed a group of people regarding our desire to plant churches and I didn’t come away with the impression that people thought this was a huge mistake!! Everyone was very supportive and Mike and Susan Blevins ministered to us tremendously through opening up their unbelievable home. I have to throw in this plug for my in-laws too; Bob and Bonnie have been incredibly supportive. They have been some of our loudest cheerleaders and their vote of confidence has meant so much to Rachel and I.

Our week in Plano was good for several reasons. Of course training and chances to think strategically are always helpful, but the main benefit was actually more relational. We stayed with our good friends Tod and Candace Vogt (and Hannah and Lucas!). For those that don’t know, Tod was the preacher who hired me at Tammany Oaks. The Chappotins (our co-workers in Burleson) stayed there also as they were helping facilitate the strategy lab. It was good to see old friends and to begin to grow closer with new ones as well. I came away extremely encouraged about the potential for our families to not only work well together, but to experience a real friendship and community.

I realize this has been a little long for an email…but both of you who read my blog will likely have suspected nothing less! Thankfully, there’s a lot to update!

Here’s a brief look at what’s coming up for us and some areas over which we’d like you to be in prayer:

In the next week we hope to send out a fundraising letter to over 100 people. About a week later (once folks have gotten the letter) I’ll begin following these up with phone calls.

We’re going to be updating our blogs and facebook accounts with specific information on our efforts to raise support.

We are in the process of planning a couple more fundraising dinners (with the added possibility of a 2nd dinner in Granbury!)

I’m continuing to work with Chris and Christ Journey in whatever ways I can. I’m also going to be working with Ryan Porche (a church planter in Dallas ) to put together a retreat focused on worship, spiritual disciplines and the blessing of ancient Christian practices.

I ask for your continued prayers as we work through this transition with Tammany Oaks and Christ Journey. While we are ready to invest in lives in the Burleson area, specifically those who do not presently enjoy the blessing of life with Christ, we also want to bless Tammany Oaks in every way possible.

To those who have partnered with us financially, we again thank you. Your support allowed us to travel to Texas for the fundraising dinner and strategy lab without putting more money on our credit cards! We were also able to purchase supplies for presentation materials at the dinner, as well as for the fundraising letter we’re about to send out.

If you have not made the decision to support us financially in this ministry, Rachel and I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider doing so. If you are interested in hearing more, or if you know someone who may be, we’d love the chance to talk in person or over the phone.

Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement and support!

Grace and Peace,

Bret, Rachel and the Wells brothers
http://www.wellsbrothers.blogspot.com/ / http://www.deepwells.wordpress.com/

email us!
http://us.mc385.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bret@christjourney.net / http://us.mc385.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=rachel.wells@yahoo.com

April Update

2008-04-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

**By Bret

Hey Everybody,

Greetings from sunny New Orleans , where the only thing murkier than the water is the air!

The small list of friends who are aware of our dreams and plans in church planting has grown somewhat, but we’re still waiting for the public unveiling! In the meantime, I thought I’d send an email to those who have heard, just to update you on our progress and plans.

Over the last month we’ve had four different couples/individuals decide to partner with us, several more suggest that they’re interested and a couple that have given some one time gifts (which have already helped with travel for support-raising!) We are excited to say that so far we have just over $500/month committed – which means we are on our way!

We’re in the process of scheduling several dinner conversations with old friends - some of whom are old because we’ve known them for a while others are old because they were born a long time ago! Within the next several weeks we hope to meet with friends in Granbury, Dallas and San Antonio (nearly all the people we’re going to meet with in San Antonio are actually friends from Corpus that left the beach for Sea World!)

This morning, I met with a graphic design artist that is going to turn a handful of documents and blurbs about our ministry with Christ Journey and church planting into a slick and professional looking packet with information, vision and goals for this ministry. I hope to have these completed very soon and we’ll be sending them to anybody and everybody who might be interested in partnering with us. Our artist, Amy, even has an editor that will work with her to perhaps come up with some, as she called them, “teaser sheets” (I’ll tell you what those are when she shows them to us!) Amy is so excited about what we’re doing that she is going to donate most of her time for this project!

Thanks to the internet I’ve already had the opportunity to begin working with the folks at Christ Journey. Chris Chappotin has begun a workgroup blog that allows several of us to discuss and process through the text for Sunday’s worship gathering. Because of this, Chris and I get a chance to begin working and thinking together, and I get a chance to interact with other leaders at CJ – building the rapport that is going to be so vital when the Lord brings us all face to face.

Please continue to be in prayer for our family as we prepare for this transition. We are extremely excited and ready to invest in this community. However, before that can happen we want to give special care to this end of the transition. As most of you are aware the past few years have been very difficult for us. Though we’ve never really felt like insiders here in Mandeville, this family has become very dear to us. Our prayer is that Lord will guide our interactions over the next couple weeks, particularly as we reveal our plans to the community here.

While a certain degree of pain is unavoidable when a preacher leaves, we truly want to do whatever we can to minimize the difficulty. We believe that this transition is a part of God’s call in our lives, just as I am convinced that the Lord directed us to this place 2 years ago. In many ways I owe my level of preparedness for this new leg of the journey (however much or little that may be) to Tammany Oaks and this community.

Again, we covet your prayers as our preparations continue and if you or anyone you know would like to officially partner with us for financial, prayer or emotional support – we welcome you! Christ Journey is already set up to receive donations for the Wells family, and in fact has already received some! Thanks to you all for your encouragement.

Grace and Peace,
Bret, Rachel and the wellsbrothers