Student CPx: Austin Baptisms…

This is the Baptism video from Student CPx: Austin. Two students got Baptized by two other students in the creek on UT’s campus. It was pretty powerful. Both students share a testimony. It was really dark outside, and the camera was on slow shudder speed. So, it’s a bit blurry, but still worth the watch. Celebrate with us what God is doing through young people all over the country as they make disciples and start lay-led churches!

more about “Student CPx – Austin Baptisms on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod

Freedom & Release.

During Student CPx we focus very heavily on the Great Commission, and the importance of EVERY BELIEVER realizing those last words of Jesus before he went to heaven are for them, TOO. Part of the GC teaches every believer to Baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. We teach that these Baptisms can be fuel for the movement of the Gospel, but it’s very important to ask a few questions about Baptism:

1) Who is DOING the Baptizing?

2) When is the Baptizing taking place after a decision is made?

3) Where is the Baptizing taking place?

We always teach that the DISCIPLER should, if possible, also BE THE BAPTIZER. It should, if possible, be done as soon as possible after someone makes a public profession of faith. We hope and pray that unbelievers would be present to watch the Baptism, & do our best to be strategic about where/when in order to make that possible. We have found that it will almost never occur in a traditional Baptismal, but a fountain, pool, stream, creek, lake, bathtub, or whatever happens to be available.

After teaching through this section at SCPx we watched as students began to realize that they had been believers for a long time, but never Baptized anyone. They weren’t upset, though. They became excited to see it begin to happen in their lives. One of the students began to weep as she shared about her Baptism experience, which occurred at a young age. She described a very impersonal, mundane Baptism by a guy she never knew. Sound familiar? We encouraged her that her Baptism was completely “legitimate”, & that the Lord was pleased with her heart. She knew that, and was not doubting her faith/salvation. She communicated that she had a desire to be Baptized in a very powerful, and celebratory way among a spiritual family whom she had grown to trust and love. Another girl spoke up and said she had a similar experience…

The students started discussing things like, “are we allowed to be Baptized twice?”, and “If we do it this time does that mean the first time didn’t count?”, etc. – (please know that this did not result in anyone doubting their salvation in Christ & eternity in heaven with Him)

I shared with the students that I would hope we would all “pray the prayer” EVERY SINGLE day, committing our lives to Christ, repenting of our sins, claiming Jesus as Lord, etc. I also posed the question: What would be wrong with “BEING BAPTIZED” every single day!? (Declaring the death of ourselves, and new life we have in Christ, that we are washed clean of our sin, etc.) Someone yelled, “we could just Baptize ourselves in the shower every day!” I am not submitting that we should or must all get Baptized everyday, or Baptize ourselves every day. I am simply saying that someone who has been Baptized at a young age in a very impersonal way should be free to declare that new life in a celebratory way to those they are walking in Spiritual Family with. I cannot think of a reason why it would be a bad thing to declare that symbolic, life transformational act on a regular basis…

We walked down to the creek that runs through the middle of UT’s campus. It was dark, and the water was about knee deep. Two girls waded through the water, and were Baptized by two other girls. It was powerful, and all four girls were deeply impacted for life. A group of UT students with head lamps on came our way wading through the creek-they were hunting water snakes in the creek for a class assignment. They said studies showed that there were an average of 1 snake every 8 meters in this creek. Snakes! Mixed with Baptisms! What incredible symbolism. The two doing the Baptizing felt the freedom to start doing this new act, which they had never done before, many more times. The two who got Baptized were released to go and do the same. It was a powerful experience for everyone involved.

Courtney Baptizing Jessie (on left) Sarah Baptizing Sabrina (on right)

Attention “Austinites”!

We just realized that many of you weren’t registering for Student CPx because you didn’t want to pay the full $250 to stay in someone else’s house when you have your own place right down the road. Duh. So, we decided to extend registration, and offer Austin locals who stay at their own place a discounted price of $150 for the ENTIRE 10 day training! On top of that you can receive an additional $50 off if you open your home up to house 2-5 CPx students for a total of $100. GO REGISTER NOW!

That’s $100 for a 10 day experience of a lifetime that will empower, and equip you for a lifetime of kingdom impact. Not to mention there will be some incredibly special people there spending time with us who have been such a blessing to this movement.

***Neil Cole, Brian Orme, Tony & Felicity Dale, Jack Allen, Michael Stewart, Jackie Markovich, Sam Lee, Erik Fish, Lauren Nanson, Dawn Delaney & MORE!***

Last Call Church Planters…

We have extended registration for Student CPx – Austin!

You don’t want to miss this powerful 10 day hands-on simple church planter’s training. You’ll get to spend time with seasoned practitioners like Neil Cole, Tony & Felicity Dale, Brian Orme, and many more! The cost for the entire 10 days is just $250. Austin locals can receive a $50+ discount for opening up their home to host one of the simple churches! Register NOW!

Neil Cole

Tony & Felicity Dale

Brian Orme

I hope to see you all there. The Student CPx family is an ever-growing family of kingdom minded campus/simple church planters who are spread out all over the country. It’s been a good family to be a part of in the past year. Look forward to new members joining the family this summer…

I Better Get Ready…

A lot has been going on since we have been in Texas. Right now we are in “waiting” mode; waiting for the baby to come, that is. Our due date was yesterday, and we still have no signs of active labor. Stay tuned…

While here we’ve stayed pretty busy catching up with friends, spending time with family, planning Student CPx in Austin, and taking care of some important things with our old I.G. Community in Ft. Worth. While I have had much time for deep thought & reading, I have NOT had the time or energy to get things out of my head into a blog post.

A friend showed me this video the other day, so I thought I would share it with you all. I am certain it will brighten your day with some MAJOR laughter. Morgan was in TEARS she was laughing so hard. I thought to myself, “I’m laughing now, but pretty soon our little baby girl will be this old and doing HILARIOUS things like this; I better get ready!” You gotta spend the 2 minutes it takes to watch this video…

Hopefully, the next blog you read here will include baby pics and info! Until then, keep us in your prayers that labor and delivery go smoothly.

Student CPx is coming to AUSTIN!

“Join us August 10th-20th to engage the diverse communities of Austin with the Gospel through a kingdom lifestyle of encountering God in community and planting churches among the lost.”

August 10-20. Cost: $250 (meals & lodging included)

Click Here for more details & info. about Student CPx Austin.

Click Here to register for Student CPx Austin.

Many of you are familiar with the Student CPx (Church Planter’s Experience) training that we, in partnership with several other organizations, host in different parts of the country. You may remember the “concentrated” version of SCPx we hosted in Vegas in January 09′. (More on what happened there HERE & HERE) Or, if you go way back with “aholydiscontent” you might remember me mentioning the first ever Student CPx training in Lawrence, Kansas last summer. You may have even watched powerful Baptism videos from these training experiences.

Either way, the Lord has been moving in the past year, and ordaining relationships that will hopefully lead to Student CPx trainings all over the country many times each year. The dream is that these training experiences would be led primarily by students who have gone through a previous SCPx.

That is exactly what has happened with the upcoming Student CPx in Austin. Lauren Nanson, a UT student who has gone through SCPx, had a vision to see this type of training experience brought to Austin. Many of you in the Austin area have already been pursuing this movement, and have been training students to start campus churches; we are BLESSED to partner with you in the city, and grateful to the many of you who have committed to being a part of making this happen!

I hope you will all check out the information about Student CPx, and consider being a part of this experience. If you know anyone who might benefit from SCPx please send them our way, or to the website for info/reg. If you are closer to Kansas then we encourage you to register for the SCPx in Lawrence, Kansas, which is taking place July 19-31.

Details:

Student CPx Austin: August 10-20. Cost: $250 (meals & lodging included)

Click Here for more information.

Click Here to register.

Feel free to email Lauren Nanson: l.nanson@mail.utexas.edu OR Aaron Snow: aaron@intentionalgatherings.com for more information.

Texas. Baby. Daddy.

I just put my wife & mother in law on a plane to Texas. Yes, it’s ok to fly when you’re pregnant. I will head out tomorrow morning in the car with our dog, and enough stuff for a month or so of life in Texas. I wanted to post this to let you all know the “game plan” for the next bit of our lives…(If you know all of this feel free to skip down to the little “survey” at the bottom of the post…)

Our baby is officially due on June 28th, however, we’re praying for her to come a bit earlier. As many of you who have been pregnant or have children know, Morgan is beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable with this rather large baby growing inside of her. We have been reminded lately of how gracious our God is to provide us with such amazing friends & family who have supported us in everything along the way. From baby showers, to prayers for our marriage & pursuits of what God has called us to you have all been a reminder of the Grace of God in our lives.

I have been reflecting over our time in Vegas for the past few weeks. I can’t believe we’ve been here for a year and a half now. God has done incredible things here and all over the place. We have learned a lot, fallen down a lot, been humbled A LOT, and sanctified for His namesake. We have about 8 months left in Vegas, and will be packing up to move to Austin sometime in December of 2009. We will leave behind several thriving new communities of faith here in Vegas that will, by the grace of God, multiply into many more pockets of believers who will continue to proclaim the kingdom of God in Vegas.

We’re excited to return from Texas to Vegas with a new life in our arms. Up until now “how to handle children” in an “organic church setting” has been mere theory with a small amount of practical experience being involved with other communities with children. Our church here in Vegas is excited to pursue this experience with us…

While in Texas we will be spending time with our families, and old I.G. Community in Ft. Worth. It will be refreshing to say the least. I will be getting some things put into place structurally for “Intentional Gatherings” as an organization that will help to propel the vision and purpose forward. (Website, etc.) We will make a few runs down to Austin to prepare for Student CPx, which is coming up at the end of the summer. After the baby is born I will have a few places to go and teach on simple church planting. To say that things will be busy, fresh, and new may be an understatement!

I’m sure I am leaving some things out. I’ll bring this to a close for now. I hope this post answered some of your unanswered questions. I will be on the road for the next couple of days, but will do my best to update the blog. I have a few topics that I’m really anxious to write about. Hopefully, I will have a chance to do so once I arrive in Texas. For those of you who are quite a bit more interested in our new baby than anything else: don’t worry, I will be taking many pictures, posting many blogs/twitters, Facebook updates, etc. as the time comes.

To close: we’ve been playing a little guessing game around here. Would love for you to chime in…give your best guess for the following:

1) When do you think the baby will come based upon the June 28th due date? (early/late, & feel free to give a specific date as long as it is not a prophetic word claiming she will arrive AFTER June 28th!=)

2) Will she look more like her daddy, or mommy?

3) Will she come out with tattoos and/or piercings as many of you claim?

4) Will she have hair, and if so, what color will it be?

5) What color will her eyes be? (her mom has green eyes, and I have blue eyes)

6) Last but not least: Will she have me wrapped around her little finger…?

What Would You Say…?

I know that a lot of you out there are brilliant, and have learned a ton about making disciples to produce movements in the past few years. So, I thought I’d get some input from you…I’m in Austin, Tx. right now, and will be chatting with a group of college students tomorrow who are “movement minded”. They get the theory, and many of them have already begun pursuing starting “simple churches” in the area. What are 3 things you’d say to a group of young people who are sold out, and passionate for seeing a CPM in the states? (Practical Steps, how to avoid potential roadblocks, etc.)

1, 2, 3….come on, don’t be shy.

Next week I’ll be heading out to Orlando with my close friend, and mentor, Lance Ford. Lance has partnered with Alan Hirsch over the past few years to start www.shapevine.com

In Orlando we’ll be putting on the “missional track” at the annual “Exponential Conference”. This will be the second year in a row that shapevine heads up the “missional track”. During that track I will be participating on a “panel discussion” with several other guys. We will be discussing many issues, mostly revovling around CPM’s, and making disciples. There is room for 500 in the missional track, and it’s close to being sold out. This makes a 24 year old guy a bit nervous. If you could share 3 things with a room full of pastors about ANYTHING what would they be? (Let’s get creative here please…)

“Out Of Business”…!?

A couple of days ago I posted a blog about our experience at “Poetry Reading Night”. If you haven’t read it you might want to do so before continuing with this post.

A dear friend of mine and Morgan’s, Jackie, posted the below comment in response to the above (linked) post. Before you read it: Jackie spent a summer with our Intentional Gatherings Ft. Worth crew a couple years ago, and then went back to Austin to start doing some rad stuff. She ended up on staff at The Austin Stone, where the Lord provided her with an incredible opportunity to bring some of what she learned about living in community ON MISSION to the church. She has a heart for true church planting movements, and from what I know of The Stone, they do as well. It may shock you that a staff member of an institutional mega-church would post a comment like this. I can assure you that The Stone knows her heart, and most likely shares the same heart…

Posted by Jackie:

“Man brother, your heart is so encouraging to me, and always seems to speak about what I’ve been wrestling with. Crazy.

This is my question I’m going through…if the institutional church/mega church/whatever is really there for the Kingdom, shouldn’t it’s goal be to put itself out of business? I.E., shouldn’t churches seek to keep the doors swinging so that believers come in, only to be released out into the harvest, where essentially they spend their time and therefore DON’T have time for church as a service and programming. I realize this is a dangerous question, but I just can’t get it out of my head.”

Jackie’s a thinker, and she’s passionate. She GETS movements, and making disciples. Maybe you guys can wrestle through this question with her. What are your thoughts?

Weddings, MC Training, & Good Friends…

Morgan and I spent the past week in Texas; it was a beautiful trip. Our main purpose for being in Texas was to serve our best friends, Jeremiah & Keri, as they vowed their lives to one another in marriage. I got to perform the wedding! (Thank you state of Texas-haha) The wedding was in Austin, and it could not have been more perfect. The Holy Spirit of God ordained their union in every way that I, as a man, could not do. In fact, all I really did was sign a peace of paper to make them “legal” in man’s eyes. They will certainly make a wonderful couple that uses their union to bring Glory to the Father, and growth to His kingdom.

The day after the wedding, which was in Austin, we hooked up with the I.G. Ft. Worth crew for some pizza. It was wonderful to see them all again, and see what God has been doing in and through them since we have moved to Las Vegas. We shared the first few days serving Jeremiah and Keri, and then caught up with one another. This was a huge blessing to Morgan and I.

We stayed with some of our close friends in Austin, the Stewart’s. They are precious, and have poured into Morgan and I in ways they will never know. They have three beautiful children, and are a perfect example of how to raise children who will fear the Lord.

We also had the chance to connect with two other people who have become close friends of ours, the Ramirez’. We are convinced that the four of us were separated at birth. Though we live in different states, the Lord has united us for life. We will serve Christ, one another, and grow His kingdom together from different parts of the world for years to come. Jonathan and Lauren we love you guys.

The week in Texas was busy. On Saturday we also had the pleasure of spending some time with some passionate students who attend the University of Texas in Austin. They are motivated, and ready to start “missional communities” all over UT to reach the lost for Christ. More at that to come…