Kairos Hollywood

A tumbling collection of thoughts, resources, directions, inspirations and musings from and for our community. www.kairoshollywood.com

[beingblog]

Dear God, I cannot love Thee the way I want to. You are the slim crescent of a moon that I see and my self is the earth’s shadow that keeps me from seeing all the moon. The crescent is very beautiful and perhaps that is all one like I am should or could see; but what I am afraid of, dear God, is that my self shadow will grow so large that it blocks the whole moon, and that I will judge myself by the shadow that is nothing. I do not know You God because I am in the way. Please help me to push myself aside.

Flannery O'Connor, from this review of her recently released prayer journal. (via beingblog)

[kairoshollywood]

Finding Deep Life Together in the Shallowness of a Digital World (an invitation)

We had a great conversation last night about Acts 2:42-47 and the joys and risks of life together. I appreciated all the insights and ideas shared and am excited to continue learning how to grow deeper with each other as we follow Jesus living for the sake of the city together.

One thing I heard throughout our conversation was how often we can de-prioritize life together because of all the distractions vying for our attention all the time - especially television and media. These distractions so often end up either isolating us from each other or, as Kris pointed out, shallowing our practice of community (so even though we are "together," we are not "together purposefully or intentionally" in ways that move us forward on mission together).

As we talked, I sensed God inviting me to engage media (TV, movies, etc.) and use technology (texting, social media, email) in ways that deepen and further our shared relationships instead of my more typical use of media/technology to disengage and distract.

I brainstormed a small list of practices I'm going to experiment with for the next four weeks that I hope will help me to engage in richer community life and distance myself from isolating/shallowing uses of technology and media. 

  Want to join me? Email me if you'd like to hear more and join in some form of experimenting with our relationship with tech/media as it affects our engagement with community.

Praying for you all this week and look forward to seeing you soon!

- dave

[gregorylarson]

Africa is amazing. Oh my gosh, it is beautiful. & have barely seen much of it yet. This adventure has barely begun.

However, jetlag is kicking my butt this morning, so it is the middle of the night, here but cannot sleep. So decided to get up & read.

Reading again in the Daily Texts & came...

[kairoshollywood]

Ash Wednesday and the Journey of lent

Kairos family,

Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent. Lent is the 40-day season in the Christian calendar that precedes Easter. While we do not have an Ash Wednesday service tonight, I'd encourage you to take time to reflect today on Lent. During this, our focus will be on naming the things that hold us captive and finding life in Jesus. This Sunday, our Gathering will focus on a liturgy of dust and dirt - considering what it means for us as we recognize our brokenness and journey together towards life in Jesus. 

Below is a short reflection on Lent and Ash Wednesday - explaining the season and putting it into perspective for our lives as followers of Jesus. I hope it's helpful for you as you enter this season of Lent!

Praying for you all on the journey,

/dave

--

Lent is a season of darkness – of death – because it’s a time to reflect on our own brokenness and sinfulness, the pain we cause ourselves others, the grief our rejection causes God. Lent is a season of darkness, because on our own, we have little hope. On our own, our story will fade into darkness. But Lent is also a season where we journey from death to life found in Jesus.

Lent is known as a season where you “give something up.” We give something up as a sign of the emptiness in our lives – a sign that the shallow things we do to occupy our time or satisfy us do not and will not ultimately bring life. Another Lenten tradition is “adding something” – we add something because we cannot save ourselves, so we add something to turn our eyes upon God, because our hope and salvation rests only in the mercy and grace of God through the life, death, and resurrection of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Lent is a 40-day period of reflection – and these 40 days are deeply symbolic in our Christian faith. As we spend 40 days in Lent, we remember the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering from God – attempting over and over again to save themselves, relying on their own strength and understanding. Like the Israelites, our plans – as good as they may be – will not suffice. Our cravings hold us captive. We cannot save ourselves.

We also remember the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, facing isolation and temptation. Unlike the Israelites, and unlike us, Jesus – Lord and Messiah, as the true son and image of God, remained faithful to the father, making a path in the wilderness, preparing the way for the good news of God’s salvation to be extended as a gift of grace to all creation, and to us.

us. the lonely. the wandering. the broken and the ones who have broken others. the mourning and the ones who have brought sadness. the sinful. the hurting. the addicts. the prideful. the deviant. the afflicted and the inflictors. you. me. us.

In Genesis 3, the rebellion of creation against the creator results in a curse – the snake, the tempter, is cursed – the ground is cursed, and human beings, both male and female created in God’s image, are cursed: for dust you are and to dust you will return.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of this journey of darkness through Lent. Lent is a season we must walk through - we must acknowledge and name the curse, the dust and ashes, the darkness, the things that hold us captive. Lent is not the end of the journey; it is not a season without hope. The season of Lent leads us to Easter, where we celebrate the life we find in and through Jesus, the one who is stronger than the curse, stronger than death, the one who is the bringer of life.

[gregorylarson]

Identity

A couple of quotes to think on…

How does the Father love the Son? That’s how much he loves you. How does the Father enjoy the Son? That’s how much he enjoys you.

To the degree you experience God’s love toward you - that he sees you as beautiful and radiant - you will be changed.

[kairoshollywood]

A great article about finding, developing, and rooting yourself in family in the city from the Fuller Youth Institute:

What does it mean to be a family, particularly in the disconnected environment of the city? Urban Youth Ministry professor Mary Glenn helps us take steps toward helping young and old find family.

For all of us, no matter the shape of our families, this is not “us and them,” those with family and those without. This is about all of us who are part of the family of God being more intentional, inclusive, and conscientious of the community we create. We are all strangers to this land, but not without a home. We belong to God and our home is in him. God calls us his sons and daughters. We are kin, and this kinship is not one of unequal relationship but one of mutuality. As Father Greg Boyle shares in Tattoos on the Heart, “Kinship—not serving the other, but being one with the other. Jesus was not “a man for others”; he was one with them. There is a world of difference in that.” 5

Read the rest here.

[kairoshollywood]

Listening Prayer (A How To Guide)

Last Sunday Audrey spoke to our community about our value of Prayer, and specifically taught and guided us into a method of prayer through listening for God to speak. (Attached below is the handout Audrey made as a guide and introduction into Listening Prayer.)

Often when we pray we let out a stream of consciousness flow of thoughts, ideas, cries, needs or wants. We do all the talking and then we say "Amen." 

God listens to these prayers. God wants us to pray these prayers.

But God also wants to speak to you.

Hold on ------- listen to that and actually hear it.

God wants to speak.

To you.

Today.

Right now. 

Are you willing to take time and create space to listen?

[gregorylarson]

Kairos child dedication

[kairoshollywood]

So grateful for the dedication of three children tonight. Praying for these kids, their moms & our community as they learn to follow Jesus!

[gregorylarson]

My hopes & prayers for our Kairos community, in 2014: (reposted from Pete Scazerro’s blog)

"According to Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche, argues that three activities are absolutely vital to create community:

1. Eating together around the same table. How can think creatively to foster...

[gregorylarson]

Last night at Kairos, we talked about how it is normative to share with friends, things like the movies we love, restaurants we’d recommend, music we enjoy & listen to - but it is not necessarily normative to share with others our faith.

There are many reasons for this (probably a mixture of...

[kairoshollywood]

Engaging the Scriptures: Grounding and Propelling

One of the areas I focus on at Kairos is helping bring the Scriptures to life and making them a formative and shaping presence in the life of our community in Los Angeles.

Believing that God is creatively and imaginatively at work in the world and that, through the Scriptures, the word of God invites us to join in on this work, we’re trying to figure out what it looks like for our community to be both grounded in and propelled by the texts of the Bible.

We want to be grounded in the Scriptures because these are gathering and abiding texts. These texts speak to us about the identity and character of God so we can better understand our own identity and character as people and as the church.

We want to be propelled by the Scriptures because these are sending and scattering texts. These texts speak to us about the purpose and mission of God so we can better understand our own purpose and mission as people and as the church.

In our teaching and preaching at Kairos, we’ve moved away from “information-based messages” to “(trans)formation-based proclamations.”

This just means we try to spend less time conveying information, history, background, etc. about the text during our weekly gatherings and more time inviting people into a new way of living in line with the text and God’s mission.

Information is important and can make it easier to engage with the transformative potential of God’s word…but more and more I’m realizing that while information can be a wonderful appetizer – something to munch on and whet the appetite for the feast of formative proclamation – it’s not the main course. It’s not going to fill you up, and it’s not going to satisfy. And it’s not going to be the kicker that makes God’s kingdom come (on earth as it is in heaven).

So in 2014 let's try to engage the Scriptures not just as a source of information, but as grounding and propelling texts that form and shape  us as individuals and as a community.

Would love your thoughts on this.

/dave

[kairoshollywood]

The strange and wonderful letter of Jude

Jude is a short, strange little letter found near the end of the New Testament. Yesterday and today's readings from the Daily Text (www.moravian.org) covered the entire letter. Take a minute or two to read it if you haven't already (it's short, it won't take long!).

It's strange because of the many references to angels, the underworld, etc. and lesser known characters from the Hebrew Scriptures (Balaam, Enoch, Michael, etc.). Not a typical New Testament letter, it gives us a picture of the diversity in the early Christian movement (most letters don't have this kind of focus on other-worldly events, angelology, etc).

Yet the call of Jude is consistent with the gospel message of Jesus and the early Christian witness: God is ushering a new age of redemption and renewal through Jesus.

No video this week (I know, I know ;)) - but here's a breakdown of Jude's letter for you. May it encourage you this week to live into your identity as God's child, called to live in community for the sake of our city.

/dave

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Jude reminds the Christian community of their identity.

They are called, loved, and kept safe. This is who they are.

Jude also reminds them the character they should exhibit.

They are called be a people marked by more and more mercy, peace, and love. These traits (and increasing evidence of them!) are the mark of their community.

Jude reminds them to stay on task and on target with the message of good news – the gospel - they have been given.

There are other gospels out there, Jude says. Gospels that have no direction and no guidance – an “anything goes” mentality where there is no lord, no savior, and no rabbi to follow.

Jude reminds them to look back on and not forget their story, to not forget that both faithfulness and faithlessness run in the family, and they have a choice.

Despite God’s great act of justice in the Exodus from Egypt, many turned away.

Despite being created to reign with God, angels and messengers of God rejected God.

Despite being called to faithfulness and hospitality, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah strayed from that path.

Despite God’s continued care and provision for Adam, Eve, and their children, Cain chose the way of violence and bloodshed.

Jude calls the community to faithfulness:

“But you, dear friends”

- Remember the gospel (the words of the apostles about Jesus) (v 17) - Build each other up (pray, encourage, love, and be patient with others) (v 20-21) - Be merciful (v 22) - Invite others into this story (v 23) - Pursue beauty, peace, and righteousness (v 23)

Jude reminds them God is the source of salvation, the power for change and restoration:

To the one who is able to protect you from falling, and to present you blameless and rejoicing before his glorious presence, to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, belong glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, now and forever. Amen. (v 24-25)

Amen!

[kairoshollywood]

Kairos, some reflections on Psalm 124 from today's daily text readings!

[kairoshollywood]

The Most Challenging Book in the Bible

Many in our community follow the Moravian Daily Texts (www.moravian.org) as we engage in the Scriptures throughout the week. I invite (and challenge!) you to join us.

Some days it can feel like a lot of reading but it is a 10-15 minute commitment a day - and I think if we're honest, we can all find 10-15 minutes in our day that could be redirected toward this (if you watch a one-hour television show, you're watching 18 minutes of commercials...so read your texts instead!).

Anyway, we are currently in the middle of two of the most challenging books of the Bible - Ezekiel and James. 

Ezekiel is difficult because of its obscure, prophetic language - lengthy poems and diatribes of shadowy judgment. It can be difficult to track what's happening. It's a tough book.

But James, I think, is the most challenging book in the entire Bible (at least for Western/American readers).

Here's why:

James takes seriously the call to follow Jesus and live life in the economy of the kingdom of God. True identity - true wealth - true wisdom does not come from the way of the world, but the way of Jesus. "Anyone who needs wisdom should ask God."

James cuts to the heart of the futility our human longings. Sex, money, significance, relationships, whatever - James calls our our vices and shows the broken progression of our longings. "Everyone is tempted by their own cravings...Once those cravings conceive, they give birth to sin, and when sin grows up, it gives birth to death."

James believes in the power of words. We are a talkative people but often fail to recognize that words create worlds - our language shapes and creates reality for good or ill. "The tongue is a small flame of fire...Because of it, the circle of life is set on fire."

James calls us out as ones who rely more on material goods than on the goodness of God. We live in one of the richest economies the world has ever seen. We are wealthy beyond the belief of anyone who has ever lived yet we constantly worry and struggle with wanting more. "Pay attention, you wealthy people! Weep and moan...[for] your riches have rotted"

To read James is to swallow the bitter pill of critical self-reflection. To engage James as Scripture (meaning that it's a text God speaks to us through) is to radically rethink our actions and enter into a new kind of life.

What do you think?

/dave

[kairoshollywood]

Kairos, We're going to try and post some meditations and reflections on the daily texts (join the daily text reading plan at ). Here are some thoughts on today's passage from James. Kairos Hollywood Meditations on the Daily Texts - Wednesday, October 16

[gregorylarson]

Walking & praying this morning with Dave & Jacob (& Everett!)

[kairoshollywood]

Our Unembraced ministry partnership in Kenya supports 28 families who have brought local orphans into their homes and families. Every two weeks, extra food is distributed to these families to help them feed their expanded families. This picture shows some of the families receiving food last month (September 2013).