Newtownards, Northern Ireland

without walls cohort

1. ‘the barbarian way’ chapter one.
   

   The first chapter of 'the barbarian way' set the scene for what the barbarian way actually means. It brought me back to the gospel and the way in which Jesus lived his life on this earth. Jesus lived a radical life and died a bloody and radical death, but what for? The author challenges us not to escape in to domestic Christianity which rationalises every wild dream and outrageous thought birthed in our spirit. It puts price tags and self doubt when Jesus wants us to be totally reliant on him. When Christianity gets placed amongst other religions it often makes me mad but with hindsight how can it really be seen as anything else. As particularly in western culture we have developed it more and more in to just simply good living and good works. We have made it about what we do and not about what the Holy Spirit can do through us.

   There are so many levels to the barbarian way as a movement,all of which I am sure will challenge me greatly. I look forward to the challenge of changing and developing my own belief system as I continue to read 'The Barbarian Way.'
   J:

   
   
2. Love
   

   
   

   ¹If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

   ⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

   This was part of the discussion today in Cohort..LOVE…..that it is all well in good being able to say all the right things at the right time..but our actions tell the truth of what we believe and who or what we are living for……to some of us the thought of dying for our cause seems the most challenging call..but in reality loving our neighbour..loving those who persecute us can be the greatest challenge of all…so we are praying this week that we will grow in love for one another and those who cross our paths…….that our lives would reflect who we follow ..He that is LOVE……Jesus…

   A:

   
   
3. Book Club.
   

   Today we had a rather challenging time deciding on a book to use as our first book club book.  We had each brought a couple of books and had a 30 second opportunity to plug each one to persuade us as a group to use this one.  This took rather longer than I had anticipated, but eventually we chose one.  There was a large and diverse collection of books lying on our living room floor, some written in the last year, some in the last century some biographical, some practical, some controversial, all challenging.

   The book we finally agreed on is:  Erwin McManus 'the barbarian way'.

   Please feel free to join with us and add your comments here from each chapter.

   S:

   

   
   
4. ONE FOR ONE>>>>>
   

   My new pair of summer shoes just arrived….i don’t think I have ever been as excited about a purchase and the reason being is..as I slipped on my new shoes..somewhere across the world a child who had no shoes will slip their foot into their new shoes…my purchase was my first pair of TOMS shoes..the One for One movement…when you purchase a pair a second pair is given free to a child with no shoes…..I LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!!! I have never been more ‘comfortable’ in a pair of shoes…should this not be how all purchases are made..imagaine if we lived in a world were every time you made a purchase ‘one for one’ would happen…..world hunger would certainly be on the decline if we lived our lives by this simple model….imagine purchasing your weekly groceries …..someone who has no food will receive for fee everything in your trolly……this will certainly not be my first and last pair of TOMS shoes……

   A:

   

   
   
5. Making space…
   

   

   Last night we took a turn at hosting the prayer space run by 24-7 in the city centre. It’s one of those things you sign up to do and never quite know what to expect. All you can pray is that people who need prayer and need to experience God’s love will turn up and be surprised.

   There was the difficulty of course of just getting your head around being inside on a hot Saturday evening instead of by a BBQ with a cold drink!   Or maybe that was just me! Once I got over that hurdle in my head I got down to thinking about how we were going to spend our time, especially if not too many people turned up. Turns out, it was all quite unnecessary concern When we arrived there were already two ladies who had been there most of the day. Both lonely and both clearly enjoying being out of the house. Many cups of tea were drunk and fairy cakes consumed. Some interesting chats had and the odd performance hymn sung.  We talked to some other people about the Bible and later in the evening we had some young people looking for hot chocolate…seems they had spent their evening watching fights break out.

   We all took our turn reading and praying, drawing and painting and just sitting watching the door. At moments you wonder if any of this is helping anyone or being useful, and then there are moments in which you discover what God can do when you just put yourself in the position where your life can collide with people whose lives are in a state of emergency and just need to talk.

   Stuart and Micah spent some time with one such person… he seemed to just stumble upon the prayer space and clearly needed a listening ear, prayer and some advice. It was hard not to be touched by his story, which was so human and it struck me that his situation could easily be something that could happen to any of us.

   The whole experience reminded me again of this passage in Matthew 25

   Matthew 25:

   34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

   "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

   40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

   Sometimes we just have to position ourselves in a place where we can see and then respond…

   M&E: