Mt. 13:44 / “In His Joy”

The message this past Friday went well enough. I wasn’t satisfied with the delivery, though. And there were only a few people there because of a concert that was going on that same night. Which makes formal structure feel somewhat out of place.

I was excited about the material and the content of the message and had written so much. I wanted to communicate how it had taken grip of my heart. I was nervous about this message because of my excitement and because it had affected me so much this past week. And that’s a hard thing to show. It has affected my emotions, and you can’t manufacture that. You can’t just will that your heart would show itself, beyond your words, beyond the research and facts and structure.

Also, I switched my method of teaching right in the middle of the message, which I don’t know is a good idea or not. I am uncomfortable teaching, and I want to get better at it without having to learn by trial and error because when I mess up and feel I haven’t communicated well, I feel like I’ve wasted people’s time.  So post-delivery, I wasn’t feeling so great. I felt like I didn’t communicate what I wanted to well. Again, it went well enough. But I want to become a better communicator.

There’s a two or three minute gap/silence near the end because of the powerpoint I had put together. I had thrown up a number of slides with passages from the Psalms that speak of delighting in Christ. Each one was up on the screen for 15 seconds. It is to illustrate a point. It was awkward time, and it was purposed to be so – slide after slide after slide, no music, no one talking. Just Scripture.

Anyway, here’s the audio:

http://paradox.antiochchurch.org/#/messages

Thy Kingdom Come.

Paradox is a ministry to college students and young adults in Bend, Oregon as an offshoot of Antioch Church.  We meet at The Kilns – a bookstore/cafe focused on social justice issues and Christian worldview formation.

Here’s what’s up with Paradox.

par·a·dox [par-uh-doks] - noun.
1.  a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

Those of us who have been “churched” throughout our lives have seen the tendency of American Christianity to polarize ideas and beliefs about what it means to follow Christ, placing in opposition to one another concepts that are not meant to conflict, though they appear to do so.  For example: God’s sovereignty vs. man’s free will; law vs. grace; God’s transcendence vs. God’s immanence; God’s immanent return vs. our expectation, etc.  The truth, however, can be misconstrued when we hold so tightly to human understanding that we swing like pendulums to one extreme or the other, possibly demonizing the opposite camp in the process.  It is important to understand that God works through paradox: ideas and doctrines that may seem to oppose one another may, in fact, only point out that we must hold these ideas in tension, accepting that we cannot always categorize and understand everything.  Biblical paradox is his instrument for humbling our haughty minds.  It is scary to think about something that is greater than our understanding – those things we simply cannot condense into a neat and tidy package to wrap our heads around.  Some things refuse to be boxed in.

God refuses to be boxed in.

And so to those who have grown up in the church, Paradox aims to teach and provide an environment in which we may wrestle through difficult ideas, embracing the fact that we will not know everything while still seeking to understand as much as is possible.

Bend is hardly a “churched” town, known for its plurality and counter-conservative ideas.  And so Paradox is largely a place for these people to come and learn about Jesus apart from their “churchy” expectations.  At Paradox, we acknowledge that the world – society and mankind and all of creation – is not presently as it was created to be.  The created order has been ravaged and raped by sin and fallen nature, and not just man – nature suffers too.  Jesus Christ declares himself to be Lord over all.  Colossians 1 says of Jesus:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him  all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church: he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.  For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile himself to all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

The common misconception is that Christ died to reconcile himself to us.  Period.  The end.  But if we only affirmed that, we would be missing an enormously beautiful part of his mission: to reconcile and redeem all things. If this is true, then it demands a radical worldview change.  It means God has everything to do with everything.  Everything we once might have considered to be meaningless or irrelevant has a purpose and relevance that we never could have imagined.  Is it too much of a stretch to ask what God has to do with the coffee in your mug, or the bricks in the walls your home, or the shirt on your back?  What does God have to do with it?

If God really does want to reconcile all things to himself, then nothing is irrelevant.  He has everything to do with everything.  He has everything to do with that Starbucks Americano you’re buying.  Because frankly, some coffee is bought and traded using slave labor and unjust wages.  And Jesus isn’t about slave labor.  And he isn’t about underhanded dealing.  He isn’t about neglecting human rights, because he values people enough to come and to die for them.  He isn’t about destroying our world with over-industrialization, because he values nature enough to inspire Paul, the writer of Colossians, to communicate Jesus’ care for all things.

All parts of culture, in every culture, in some way is a reflection of the values of God, whether those values are slightly or severely distorted.  It is the joy and responsibility of the believer to be agents of redemption in this world; I believe in the priesthood of every believer (1 Peter 2:9).  Priests, in the Old Testament, were the ambassadors between God and the people of God.  Now we are priests, through our great High Priest, Jesus, and we are ambassadors between God and the rest of the world – all of the world, whether man or nature, spiritual or material things, in heaven or on earth.  The people of Bend care tremendously about social justice issues and fair trade and human rights.  Our love for Christ and our love for his lordship over everything compels us to seek out the redemption of all things in his name, including social justice and fair trade and human rights.  Bend is a town full of people who – in ways the church has failed to do – love many things that God loves, except for the wrong reasons.  There is a Christ-centered way of thinking about and participating in social justice, in fair trade, and in human rights.

Paradox exists to expose Jesus’ heart at the core of each of these things.  Because his heart is there, ours should be, too.

Call it a stretch.  Call it environmentalism or social justice or “crazy wacko liberal agenda.”  Call it whatever you like, but maybe Jesus’ reign reaches farther than we give him credit for.  Maybe it’s nothing short of holistic redemption.  There is a way to hold these values in tension with the values of Christ; there is a Christ-centered way to think about and do everything.  It is the church – in Bend or elsewhere – who must bear the image of Christ and exemplify what that looks like.  It should look like the kingdom of God here on earth.

Paradox should look like the kingdom of God here on earth.

Jesus, thy kingdom come.  And may we seek out opportunities to be a part of your work here.  We want to value you, and all the things you value – in that order.  Come and renew our minds, conform us to your image, transform us into Christ-like priests and culture-redeeming agents here in Bend and anywhere we identify ourselves with your Son’s name and mission.  We love you.  Amen.

Paradox / The Kilns

The Kilns - promoting The Justice Conference in February

The Kilns is a bookstore and coffeeshop, and is where we hold Paradox on Friday nights.

It is actually in a garage - there's a garage door you can walk through to get into the bookstore.

Day[1].

(I was going to post this yesterday morning before I left, but my computer wouldn’t let me, then it died.  But we can pretend like it’s still yesterday.)

Good morning!  In just a while, we will be having our first official meeting of the internship to kick off the next ten weeks, get our intern vehicles, and get everything set into motion with our respective leaders.  With Paradox, I’ll be meeting with Matt – I don’t know him very well yet, but I’ve heard such great things about him and the wisdom he has to offer that I’m looking forward to learning from him, growing because of what God is doing in him, and participating with him in what God is doing here in Bend and at Antioch.

Today, kicked off the day at 5:00AM with a 4 mile run in the woods.  Jen and Forrest are running the half marathon coming up here, and they’re training, so I might join them.  They ran the whole 13 (or so) mi course on Sunday.  I’m not in good enough shape to have that endurance, but hopefully by the end of summer I can.  It’s great all the outdoor sports and activities that are available here throughout Bend and out in the woods, caves, mountains, and rivers.  Yesterday the church leaders took the interns that had arrived already out to the lava tubes and we went spelunking.  Which is pretty much cave exploring.  We went as far as we could go, belly-crawling through the dirt and climbing over rocks.  I’d post a video, but apparently it costs money to do that here on WordPress.

Sunday evening Paul and I were given tickets to go see a show at the Les Schwab Amphitheater downtown.  Three bands played: Dawes, She & Him, and Band of Horses.   They were great, especially Band of Horses.  There was even an accidental simultaneous fireworks show just down the river a bit from the amphitheater during the band’s final song.  We had a good time, and got to know Cole, one of our Bend friends, and a few of his friends.  A big thanks to Jen and Forrest for giving those to us.  That was an amazing blessing.

Yesterday was Paul’s birthday, too!  He just turned 25.  The boys made cards for Paul when we got home from spelunking, and we had apple pie and ice cream with them, and played a little “would you rather” game.  That’s always a blast.  He loved it.

So now I’m about to eat breakfast and head out for the church offices with Paul, and we’re going to get this thing started!  Please continue to pray for everyone here.  It means so much, and it is our act of surrendering our lives and the lives of those we know and love in speech before God.  That’s a big deal to me, and I deeply appreciate your prayers and support.  I can’t say it enough: can’t do it without you all.  And I wouldn’t be where I am were each of you not present in my life.  Thank you.

Now let’s get this party started.

Here’s some pictures from the past few days!

Antioch meets in a nearby high school. There were more people there than we expected.

Redux meets after the morning service as a Q&A time where people can text or ask questions.

At the Les Schwab amphitheater, She&Him played. Zoey is "she", but the old guy here isn't "him".

She&Him

Band of Horses.

Band of Horses.

Spelunking in the lava tubes with Jarrell.

Interns riding back from the caves.

Paul, hangin in the caves. Happy Birthday, Paul

This is Angus. He came spelunking with us. It was pretty amazing.

Support Progress & Update.

Thanks to all of you who have been so generous in supporting my ministry as an intern here at Antioch Church all the way out here in Oregon.  It’s been such a blessing so far.  The people here in Bend have already been so good to us and we’re already making great friends.  Please continue to pray for everyone here – for the internships that will be beginning this Tuesday, for the church leaders, for Antioch, and for the people of Bend.  Pray that our eyes would be opened to where God is moving and working and healing and teaching.  Pray that we wouldn’t get in the way and that we would instead join in the work that he is already doing.  He is establishing his kingdom.  And it is glorious.

I want to keep you all posted on how funds are going – you all have been amazing and have helped to support me with a current total of $500 – that’s incredible.  I haven’t heard back from many friends and family yet, and I’m excited to see how God provides through each of you to help continue to support me and my internship here in Bend, OR.  Again, I need to raise a total of $2,000 for this entire summer’s internship in Bend.  I’m so grateful for your participation with me.  And I’m so grateful that you’ve become a part of what God is doing here.  That’s amazing.  Every blessing he pours into me here, he is pouring over you.  I hope that you will continue to support me and be a part of everything going on here.  I will be keeping you posted often, complete with stories, names and pictures!

I love you all.  And I love that God is using each of you here in Bend.  With gratitude,

Tony

ONE WEEK.

One week from today, I leave for Oregon.  As the internship gets closer, I’m starting to feel both anxious and excited.  The internship is going to be amazing; hard work isn’t so difficult with great people.  And this is what I love.  I love to see believers coming together to enjoy being with one another, to enjoy the union that it is to be part of/with the body of Christ: to really and truly be excited about that.  When we gather together and really love each other in the ways that we are created to give and receive love, edifying and encouraging the rest of the body as if it were our own, that is when we most truly bear the image of God – the imago dei. We look like Jesus!  That should be exciting!  And I’m very, very excited to meet a whole new part of Christ’s body and to revel in its beauty.

Jesus, you are amazing and your bride is beautiful.

I pray that I will recall and use the ministry training I’ve received these past three years with excellence, that I would not take for granted all that I’ve been privileged to study, and that I would make the most of the teaching and wisdom and training has been entrusted to me.

I want to empower the body so that others may also go and do ministry wherever they are.  I believe that Christ is not bound by the walls of a church building, nor restrained in worship to a time of singing on Sunday, nor limited in his all-encompassing power and plan to redeem the world to himself and crown himself King.  He is sovereign over our greatest mistakes and his will is perfectly effective – not despite our deficiency, but – with our deficiency.  He is amazing, and his body – the church, his glorious bride – is here on earth to bear witness to the coming of a kingdom far greater than any has ever seen.  We are that community. And I hope that wherever we are, we – together – seem to others to bear a remarkably uncanny resemblance to a place we have not been, but have always longed for.

I hope that we bear the image of Christ.

I’m excited to be a part of this.

HOST FAMILY.

Just got an email from Brandon and Erin at Antioch letting all the interns know that each of us has been paired with a host family that we’ll be staying with throughout the summer.  This is really cool.  I think that this kind hospitality and generosity is so important, and we are all so grateful!  It’s amazing.  So thank you, host family!

I should be receiving a call or email from the family at any time.  I’m looking forward to hearing from them and getting to know them this summer.  I think they’ve got to be some pretty awesome folk to open their home to a college student or two for a whole summer – that’s a big deal!  Throughout my time in Oregon, I want to demonstrate to my host family and other host families, as well as Antioch Church as a whole, that we love them and are more than blessed to serve alongside them.  I’m looking forward to helping out in any way they need: from painting a house to scrubbing dishes.

I am an intern at Antioch to serve – to join with another part of the body of Christ, his glorious bride, and to learn how I can best be poured out on behalf of them.  This is what it means to be part of the church, part of the body.  Service is not a bunch of ceremonies or meaningless movements performed once a week, but an ongoing, sacrificial, love-filled desire to build up the object of God’s love.  God delights in his bride.  How could I not enjoy that which God finds joy in?  And so I will serve in joy.  Antioch has already eagerly served us by planning and providing 24 internships for 24 interns, host families to house us, prayer support and encouragement, and one-on-one mentorships each of us will have throughout the summer.  We will not only be pouring ourselves out; we will be constantly being filled.

Once again, thank you for being a part of serving me and my needs, for allowing God to provide through you and your resources to build up the body of Christ.  Thank you for your prayers; continue to pray!  Pray for my host family, that God would really bless them for their over-the-top hospitality.  Pray for me, that I would be effective and creative in how I can serve them this summer.  Pray that God would continue to provide financial support this summer – I can’t do it without his provision and without people like you supporting me.  Pray that I would be a learner, that I would not think that I have more to offer than I do.  Pray for compassion and humility.    Pray also for Bend, Oregon – that we would collectively, as a church, be ready and willing and able to reach out and meet people where they are, not where we think they should be.  Pray that we would show our love for them completely and fully, that we would be filled and encouraged, and that we would never tire of doing the work of the gospel: it is love and it is hope and it is redemption.  It is Jesus.

Excited for Antioch 2010!

Hey!

Thank you so much for your support, and thanks for checking out the blog!  This is where I will be posting weekly (or more) postings and updates of my internship: fundraising progress, anticipating the internship, travel and arrival, and how Christ is moving in Bend, OR through Antioch Church and my internship there.  Stay in touch for more updates!

With love,

Tony Robledo