Imago Dei Church

Race for the Cure

Imago Dei — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:40:24 +0000

Join others in the Imago Dei community in participating in the Race for the Cure on Saturday, May 8. The registration fee is $30 and the deadline to sign-up is April 23. You can sign up online for the Imago Dei Church team at komenpeoria.org. Contact Beth Bernard at bethers79@hotmail.com for more information.

Book Discussion: Real Sex

Imago Dei — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:07:03 +0000

A book discussion of Real Sex by Lauren Winner is happening on Thursday, April 8th at 6:30 PM at the Imago office (309-B Main St). Read the entire book before then and come hang out with us as we discuss what chastity can mean for Christians today. Contact Vicky at viclyn7@sbcglobal.net for more information.

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Lust/Chastity

Vicky Brown — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:00:53 +0000

Lust. I think most of us are pretty clear on the definition of this word. What I want to explore after listening to the message on Sunday is, “now what?” What is chastity? What does that look like in my life or in yours?

I think as a culture we are saturated with sexual imagery and innuendos. I believe most of us have a hard time looking at our world from any place of purity. This realization – that everything around us has informed our way of thinking on sexuality – is where the discussion of chastity has to start. Nothing is pure in our culture anymore. Every relationship is suspect.

I think chastity is purity in any relationship. Chastity is the willingness to renounce any claim you feel on a person and honor them for who they are – not for what they can do for you. For a single person, this may mean not entertaining sexual fantasies of the opposite sex. For the married person, this may mean fidelity in the physical AND emotional relationship with your spouse (like honoring your marriage vows, not only by honoring the promise you made, but by following the intent and emotion of when they were said).

Between friends this could mean not being afraid to be who you are around the opposite sex, and this is where I want to focus because I hope you are making friends at Imago Dei. How do we honor those friendships?

I do not believe that anyone should have to check their gender at the door when they enter a room. God gave us gender – he gave us sexuality, and it is good, but it is not all that defines us. Many times I see walls put up between the sexes because we don’t know how to be chaste. I hear things like, “I don’t want him/her to take it the wrong way.” True friendship is thwarted because we don’t know how to even try to approach it from a place of purity. If our minds are already saturated with what our culture has told us about sex and relationships, we have to willingly cast off our way of thinking. We have to do the hard work of shifting the way we think about those around us.

I firmly believe that God reveals himself in our relationships with others. I believe that God made us for connection with each other and not just connection with a spouse and others of our gender. If we continue to approach people through the filter of their gender, we stand to miss out on a multitude of opportunities to see the face of God and have real connection with those around us. Don’t let fear or filters rule how you interact with others. Ask God to give you a chaste mind in your relationships with others, and I think he will help you start the long journey of weeding out the base and replacing it with the divine.

Community Fast + Meal

Imago Dei — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:25:35 +0000

We invite you to join many in our community in fasting on Wednesdays during Lent and in sharing a simple meal to break our fast. The meal will be at 5:30 PM on Wednesdays in the Green Room at the Apollo Theater (311 Main St) in downtown Peoria. The cost is $5 and includes a [...] Read more »

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Give It Up for Lent

Charlie Dean — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:34:58 +0000

Welcome to an interview I conducted with myself.

You observe Lent at your church?

Yes, we’ve always observed Lent.

Are you Catholic or something?

No, we’re not Catholic (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). But until the Protestant Reformation (c. 1650A.D.), the practice of observing Lent was nearly universal. And even after the Reformation, many Protestant traditions, including Lutherans, Methodists and Anglicans continued to observe the 40 days leading up to Easter as a special time of engaging in spiritual discipline and abstinence. So, we figure that if it’s been observed by the vast majority of Christians in the history of the church, it’s something that we ought to explore.

So, what’s with the black smudge on my coworker’s face?

In ancient cultures, the application of ashes to one’s head was a sign of deep remorse and repentance. (You can look at Job 2, if you want an example.) So, we receive the ashes on Ash Wednesday as an outward expression of our inner brokenness before God.

But, we’ve been forgiven, we aren’t supposed to wallow in our guilt and shame.

Agreed. But oftentimes, I move so quickly to claim grace that I move right past the place where I feel deep remorse and recognize not just my need for grace, but my need for redemption – for God to change me deep within, because, truth be told, deep inside, I am not okay. Ash Wednesday serves as a reminder of how thirsty for God I really am.

So, what’s with the business of giving something up for Lent? What’s that all about?

Well, traditionally, Christians have chosen to give up some pleasure as a way of disciplining themselves in the battle to shed off the old nature and put on the new. (If you’re interested, this language of “old” and “new” comes from Ephesians 4:20-24.) It’s like training for a marathon. You don’t train for a marathon by going out and running 26 miles. You train a shorter, more managable distances. The same is true of abstaining from pleasures at Lent. If I can give up Amazon.com and iTunes during Lent, then maybe I have a better chance at overcoming my addiction to things.

So, is that it – Ash Wednesday and giving something up?

It sure can be. There’s no pressure at our church to do anything, I hope. However, there will be some of us, who, on top of abstaining, will choose to fast one day a week – Wednesday’s in fact, and then to break fast together with a simple meal and prayer.

What’s the point in that?

The point of fasting, at least as I understand it, is to align my body with the posture of my soul. So, as we move closer and closer to the cross, and I give up things and focus more on Jesus, and recognize my need, I fast, to align my body with what’s going on inside of me.

Is that it?

Sure. Until we get to Holy Week. But that’s for a later time.

How to Receive Texts from Imago

Imago Dei — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:05:34 +0000

During Lent we’ll be sending out daily prayers and scripture readings via text message. Check out this one minute video to see how to sign up to receive text messages. (To make the video larger: after you click play, click the button on the bottom right of the video which will make it full screen.)

If you prefer written instructions:

Log-in to imagodeichurch.org (or sign up for an account if you don’t already have one).
Click on “My Settings” in the upper right-hand corner.
Click on “Communication Settings” in the middle of the page.
In the right-hand column, choose your mobile carrier and enter your phone number. Also, make sure the box for “Entire Church Group” is checked (it’s just below where you enter your phone number).
Scroll to the bottom and click “Save Settings.”

Unimpressed

Dave Crow — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:14:22 +0000

Last week Apple unveiled a new device that uses cutting-edge technology and does things no other device does. Within an hour of the Apple presentation, many tech blogs were making lists of all the features they thought were missing and all the reasons they weren’t impressed with this new piece of technology.

We live in a culture where it’s cool to be unimpressed. I’m not exactly sure where this sentiment came from, but I would guess that it’s, at lest in part, a reaction to our over-hyped-marketing-crazy culture. Words like “revolutionary,” “life-changing,” and “amazing” get thrown on to products all around us. Just walk down the cleaning isle in any grocery store and look at how the products are labeled. As a result, I think we’ve grown tired of hearing these kinds of words.

Then we gather for church on Sunday and find similar words being used as we talk and sing about God. It doesn’t take much time in church to hear songs with the words “amazing,” “wonderful,” and “powerful” in them. I think the overuse of these adjectives affects the way we worship God. I’ve found myself singing words about God being powerful with about as much enthusiasm as I have when reading about dish soap being powerful.

In Matthew 18, Jesus teaches that to enter the Kingdom, we are to “become like little children.” I wonder if part of becoming like a child means that I allow myself to be fully captivated by what God has done for us and to respond freely — like children do when they find something they get excited about. I lay down my inhibitions because God has done great things and is truly worthy of my greatest response.

I found a prayer in a Mennonite hymnal that beautifully articulates why God is fully worthy of my worship. This fresh articulation of God’s greatness helps draw me into a place where I can respond with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Maybe it will do the same for you.

Our god, how great you are! On the first day of the week we commemorate Your creation of the world and all that is in it.
Thank You for the light which wakes us morning by morning and for that greater light which shines in Jesus Christ.

Our God, how great You are! On the first day of the week You raised Jesus from the dead.
Raise us with Him to a new quality of faith and life.

Our God, how great You are! Again on the first day of the week You sent Your Spirit on Your disciples.
Do not deprive us of Your Spirit, but renew Him in us day by day. Amen.

Labels

Charlie Dean — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:16:40 +0000

“So, what kind of church are you?”

I get this question all the time. People stopping in at the office ask it. Friends ask it. Family members ask it. And, even though I’m the pastor, I don’t know how to answer.

I think what people want is some kind of label, some way of tagging us with a particular identity. Then, depending on their background or experience with that particular label they can accept us or dismiss us; decide if we’re a bunch of crackpots, or we’re legit.

Many organizations spend a lot of time and energy defending, describing, or clarifying their label. “Yes, we’re evangelical, but not that kind of evangelical.” And that’s fine, I guess. If you want to spend a large chunk of your time parsing a label, that’s fine, it’s just not my thing.

I believe that labels are dangerous. Labels lead me to make gross generalizations about people without really listening. It allows me to judge them and treat them according to stereotypes. It short circuits the process of really getting to know someone and understanding their particular motivations about why they think and behave the way they do.

I’m trying, in my own interactions with people to avoid labels. Whether they’re political, religious, social or lifestyle labels, I’m trying to push them out of the way and get to know the individual for the unique person that they are.

So, these days, when someone asks me, “Are you an X church?” I generally respond with something like “What do you mean by X?” I hope that leads to a long discussion where I get to talk about all the things I love about the Imago community and why we do the things we do. And I hope, instead of just hearing a one-word summary of our church, they hear some of the complexities that make us a unique church, trying to faithfully live out the kingdom of God in Peoria.

To the Church in Peoria :: Letter Three

Imago Dei — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:28:21 +0000

To the church in Peoria, grace and peace in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who knows the hearts and minds of all people, everywhere.

I know your deeds. I know that even now you are striving to bear witness to my name.

But I hold this against you: you are divided. One says, this is most important, another says that is not. Come together in love and stand firm. Cast aside your differences and seek to love me and love others, for these are greatest commandments. Let community flow to all those around you and do not exclude anyone. Do I not love all? Does not each human carry my image? Look, then! See my face before you as you seek to serve me and others with your deeds! No longer seek to discredit what others are doing in my name. Only I know what is in someone’s heart and it is mine to judge. Be careful then, not to put your faith in buildings, programs, your motives, or even your own deeds. But, put your faith in me and who I am. And out of this faith I will do great things.

Experience true community with me and I will fill your hearts and minds with the things of God – things I have planned since the beginning – a redemption and renewal of all things, even your own city.

This past Sunday we finished our teaching series on the 7 letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. We asked a few people in our community to follow the pattern of the letters in Revelation and write a letter to the Church in Peoria. The letters are meant to be both encouraging and challenging, much like the original letters were. Check out the last teaching in the Revelation series to hear the letters in their full context.

To the Church in Peoria :: Letter Two

Imago Dei — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:20:33 +0000

These are the words of him who alone is the Civic Center of the entire cosmos. In him there is neither Dunlap nor Creve Coeur, north or south end, neither picket lines nor picket fences. I AM all that matters.

I love this about you:

Historically, and still, you are evangelical and you focus on my written Word, the Bible. You are known as a “people of the Book.” Sometimes, you are disparagingly called “Bible thumpers,” because of your penchant for the Scriptures. I love it that when confronted with a dilemma you ask, “What does the Word say?” I will keep my word and bless you as you continue to search my Word.
You consistently gather to worship. All across Peoria while many are hung over from Saturday night, you are driving over to your church buildings to worship.

Nonetheless, I have these things against you, and no collaboration of Six Sigma will resolve it; only your repentant heart will forego my judgment.

I gave and spent my life going to the poor, the sick, the oppressed, the discarded. In contrast, so may of you are packing up, building new facilities as you move away from the very ones I sought out. Have you sought my opinion regarding this grand exit to Grand Prairie? Please don’t escape the poor– engage them.

Many of you worship both the flag and the cross. You bow down to both. Are you a Christ folower or an empire worshipper? You cannot be both. Choose this day whom you will serve. The kingdom and the empire have always been, are, and ever shall be mutually exclusive of each other. I AM President–not Reagen, not Clinton, not Obama. I AM CEO–not Jim Owens. I am Mayor–not Jim Ardis. So many of you are industinguishable from your culture. You sit in church on a Sunday morning; the unbeliever sits in front of his widescreen. But Monday through Saturday you both bow to the empire. Choose this day whom you will serve.

You break my heart in your eagerness to wage war on behalf of the empire. You seem to evidence so little hesitation, you seem so unquestioning of how the empire deals with the perceived enemy. You break my heart in your blanket endorsement of the empire’s thirst for war and retribution and revenge. Did you learn this from me? What did I teach you? What did my entire life model for you? Are you mirroring me or the empire? You join your friends and neighbors and line the streets as upu celebrate your parades exalting weapons of mass destruction. Never once have I seen you, Church, line the streets or gather to protest your inhumanity inflicted on each other. You break my heart.

Repent of these matters. Look at yourself in the mirror. The Spirit of Peoria may be docked for winter, but I assure you, the Spirit of God is active and alive, seeking people willing to sacrifice their reputation, prestige, and comfort for the sake of the Kingdom. The Spirit seeks churches willing to be misunderstood and maligned by their culture as that church incarnates the life of him who was, and is, and is to come. Repent and return. If you do not, there will come a day when your glistening steeples will serve as lances upon which you will be impaled; your massive stained glass windows will shatter and the shards will lacerate your lukewarm heart.

If you are a man or woman who has, or desires, a discerning mind and heart, hear what the Spirit says to the church of Peoria. The man or woman who hears and obeys my words will receive exponentially more from me than they ever sacrificed for me. You are called the River City. I have prepared for the brother or sister who loves and obeys me –the church who follows me– a new home, a New City, through which will flow the River of Life. No more carp or waste contaminating this river. Instead, fresh, crystal clear water that heals, that refreshes, that cleanses, that revives mind, body, and spirit. I stand on the banks of that river and beckon you to come.

To The Church in Peoria :: Letter One

Imago Dei — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:53:37 +0000

To the Church in Peoria, Grace & Peace from our Lord Jesus Christ, who was and is and will always be the most powerful earth mover.

I know of your community and your outreach. You have such great ability to come together as an interconnected society, though the motives of the city revolve around business. It is the business that glues the community together rather than a spiritual bond, at this point. Work hard to come together as a Church and reach the city that your commonality will be a holy pursuit. While your economic influence is vast, remember the Church, working as one in Christ, can have a powerful spiritual impact that cannot be shaken.

Beware of pride and judgement within your community. Though it may seem as one harmless fish, soon the deadly sin will desolate like a river destroyed by predators wrecking havoc.

God has seen your hearts and your desire to reach out. He has not forgotten His promises, but instead has prepared the physical for the upcoming spiritual. Open your hearts to Him that he may renovate and rebuilt the highway of your soul to prepare the path leading to His Son.

Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear and may His power, His love, and His salvation play in Peoria.

This past Sunday we finished our teaching series on the 7 letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. We asked a few people in our community to follow the pattern of the letters in Revelation and write a letter to the Church in Peoria. The letters are meant to be both encouraging and challenging, much like the original letters were. Check out the last teaching in the Revelation series to hear the letters in their full context.

The Clueless Serving the Homeless

Steve Harris — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:20:14 +0000

I get up at 5:30 every Sunday morning to help feed the homeless. I do it not because I’m noble or loving, but because I am neither. It’s not a calling; it’s a corrective. I do it because I need it.

I hate getting up at 5:30 on any morning, much less on a “Sabbath rest” morning. My wife, on the other hand, wakes up singing “The hills are alive…”, and I have to suppress the urge to permanently silence her melodic voice.

She and I are part of a team that feeds the homeless every Sunday morning. She does it because she loves these men and women. I do it because I don’t. My infatuation with myself is so entrenched that I do this as a means of ripping the attention off myself and making me consider someone else’s needs. She does it because she has compassion; I do so hoping it will create compassion.

I serve the homeless because it forces me out of my ever-expanding comfort zone. I’ll always take flannel over frigid. The warmth of the fetal position under the cover of warm Lands End flannel is sweet comfort. The problem is that my whole life is quite cushy and comfortable, and there are millions who have no assurance of food or shelter on any given day. As long as I keep them out of sight and out of mind, I would continue to cultivate my life of consumption and acquisition. Prying the remote out of my right hand and, instead, shaking the cold hand of a homeless guy keeps me real.

I serve the homeless not because of what I can give to them, but because of what they give to me. They are financially impoverished; I am not. Many of them are “rich” in spirit and faith; I am not. Consequently, I am blessed by their presence. Last week, as one of the homeless was leaving our crowded quarters, he stopped and assured me, “You are in my daily prayers.” Now, I’m flooded with conviction. First, I don’t have the discipline of a daily structured time of prayer. Second, I don’t pray for anybody daily. I was moved by his care and humbled by the life he models for me. Third, he has nothing, no one, and no place, and I would think he’d be consumed by his plight. Yet, he prays for us daily. Who is more like Christ here– the giver or the receiver?

Doing this makes me take that proverbial look in the mirror. Sometimes the look is an “a-ah” look; often, it is an “ooh” glimpse. To say that many of the homeless smell is not a judgment; it is simply a fact. Serving them makes me take a hard look at and wrestle with that part of me that wants to recoil and distance myself from those who are dirty and smelly. Doing this causes me to check that initial impulse to bristle and, instead, greet or embrace.

I also do this, not because i want to, but because Christ told us to. I wish he had commanded us to support the Caribbean economy November through February. That I want to do. I have to believe that if Jesus urges us to do something, his desire must pre-empt mine.

It is my hope that in the doing of this service, I will indeed want to. I hope that serving the poor will progress from a conviction to compassion. I hope that these men and women will eventually see not a do-gooder but a Christ-follower.