For those fasting…stay encouraged and please stay prayerful. We launch our 2nd service on the 27th of February and it is our prayer that God will use the people in this church to be a big part of His plan to reach this city.  In addition, we are talking with numerous organizations regarding projects that will impact the poorest neighborhoods in our city and help kids who need it the most. So, we need your prayers surrounding all the decisions that go into things like this.

See you this weekend.

Brian

But we did want to post a quick note on the fast today.

If you have read through Daniel and looked at the Daniel fast materials, you’ll see that Daniel mentions a 10 day and a 21 day fast. (Daniel 1 and Daniel 10) In the 10 day fast it says specifically that Daniel ate vegetables and drank only water.  A quick study of the Hebrew word translated “vegetables” in this text shows that vegetables almost certainly includes: “sown things,” like fruits and grains.  What Daniel was doing here was not defiling himself with meat offered to idols and to the very strong wine of the Babylonian king. To do so would have violated the Mosaic Law that Daniel was under. Daniel was telling the king…my God is enough.

Many people have asked me: can we only drink water?  Well, I suppose if Daniel had a juicer, he would have had  OJ so I think any fruit or veggie juice is obviously fine.  What about decaf tea and coffee or things like soy milk?  You’ll get a variety of responses here but I think the main thing to note is that the diet should be stripped of any meat and anything that is not grown, which also means nothing processed can be added to your fruit, veggies, grains, etc.  Soy milk (if it is all natural) is probably fine since it is derived from a veggie, but, while caffeine naturally occurs in a grown product (teas and coffees) it is universally accepted that caffeine is out when it comes to this fast.  ;( boo!

Here’s another link to some resources on the subject.

happy headache!

In case you missed it, last week we talked about the Bible’s definition of “church”  and just how God intends for His church to be used…God’s plan for the church makes it clear that a healthy church is essential to taking Jesus Christ to our cities.

Next week we will be studying Ephesians 3:10-13 and Ephesians 4:11-16 as we look closer at God’s eternal plan and design for the church.  As we will learn, each of us has a role to play in the church and when we step into our God-given role, then the church can be a true reflection of Christ in the culture.  Can’t wait to see all that God has for us when we study this together.  Until then 3, 2, 1…. bungee!  (If you have no idea what I’m talking about make sure you listen to the message from 01|16|11 HERE.  See you next week.  – Brian

Fast forward to September of this year (2010) … the Senior Pastor of Poiema, John Mitchell, felt God calling him and his family to a new season of ministry.  Because John and I knew each other,  I meet with John shortly after he announced his decision to Poiema.  After a few conversations, we began to discuss what it might look like for day|twelve and Poiema to join forces.  The visions of both churches were so common that all parties agreed that it was God who was orchestrating this partnership. After many meetings with key leaders on both sides, we felt there was only one decision that could be made. So, on December 19th, day|twelve church and Poiema Church formally announced that we will become one church with one common vision!  God has clearly spoken that this was His plan and we couldn’t be more excited….and, this is JUST the beginning of something new that God is doing in Phoenix. Our impact can be greater, faster, but by no means are we “there.” Again, we are just starting!

Can’t wait to see you all and share more but until then, you can visit these videos for a little more detail!

Sarah of www.sirenmag.com… Sara is a journalist who is using her gifts to create this on-line magazine to speak to women’s issues in culture and the church.

Alex of www.avestyles.com … Alex’s is passionate about fashion design and desires to make an impact in a field that typically doesn’t see much of a Christian influence.

Mike of www.mikeolbinskiphotography.com captures large spaces unlike anyone I’ve seen. He is gaining quite the reputation for his brilliant images.

Chairth of cnorvellephotography.com tells stories through the faces of children like few others. Her heart for children, especially those in developing countries bleeds through her photos.

I hope you take a minute to check out the unique gifts that each has.  I’m looking forward to doing posts like this from time to time to tell the stories of those here at day|twelve and how God is using people to tell His story through the gifts He has graciously given.

our gallery space | photo by rick young

In one word: “wow.” That’s how I would sum up our first First Friday event last week. While we certainly planned and prayed for what happened on Friday, it was a little surreal to see the PHX community flooding into our, um, gallery.  We had so many great conversations with people from all walks of life. My favorite ones started with “what does day|twelve mean?” Ah…glad you asked! To explain the vision of our church to people was so much fun and seeing them begin to think of the church in a new way was so fulfilling. Truly, the vision that God gave us took a step forward on Friday night. So humbling to be used by God in this way. And, this is just the beginning and just a piece of how God is going to use us to tell people about Him. Our vision is to be a catalyst for personal and community transformation in the name of Jesus and this space is just a tool to do that. We will always keep the vision in front of us when we do anything…whether that is hosting an art exhibit or a worship service on Sunday morning. After all, as people of God we are called to do all things for His glory.  So, whether my title is Pastor, Professor, and yes, even Gallery Director (haha!), my mission and vision will not change.

Can’t wait to do it all again in just a few weeks, Friday, December 3rd! Stay tuned for details.

P.S. – Thanks to everyone who made the evening a very special night; there are so many who contributed. And, in case you missed it…the photographers were:

Mike Olbinski: http://www.mikeolbinski.com (more pics of the gallery here)

Dee Nichols: http://expressionsbydeenichols.com

Tiffany Egbert: http://tiffanyegbert.com

Charith Norvelle: http://www.cnorvellephotography.com

Rick Young: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryoungphotog

Steve Lynch: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=695378867

If you were there, please share you thoughts and comment!

I have been lucky enough to spend the last 24 hours at a pastor’s retreat in the gorgeous setting of Cave Creek, AZ. Last night, a local pastor shared a very powerful yet simple message where he simply asked: “Who are you?” You see, we pastor-types are some of the most insecure people on the planet. (You non-pastor people are just slightly less insecure! )  While pastors understand logically that our true identity is in Christ and in Him alone, we easily fall into the world’s trap that identity is found in what others think of us, how successful we are, how many people are in our ministries…etc. Since we live in a fishbowl (some bigger than others) we also find our identities in our spouses and our kids and if everything is “just so” with it all, then we are okay. But the problem with that is all things outside of Christ can change. Instantly. What happens when one second you are a husband and the next you are not?  What happens when your ministry shrinks after 5 years of growth?What happens when a kid rebels? Well, if our identity is found in those things then we get bitter, angry, depressed, etc and we act out of that mistaken identity. When these things in essence become “god” and that god “dies,” well, then our worlds falls apart.

There are many great things about God…among them: He is our perfect Father, He never changes and He really doesn’t require much from us. When you boil it all down, He just wants us to trust in Him.  The Bible shows us clearly that the only time Jesus was impressed by someone was when they exhibited great faith, when they trusted Him. You want to please God? Trust Him. Have faith in Him.  That’s it.

So, day|twelve, I will do my best to trust Him because in Him my identity is complete. I will trust that He is enough and because of that I will trust the vision He is giving me for central phoenix. Trust is central to the day|twelve mindset. Because of who God is, what He has done and what He promises, we trust Him and we go when He says go. Then, we trust that He will bring the increase because it is all His after all.  Our identity must be found in Him and if we trust Him completely, it will be.

so, who are you?