My office is behind a bar that has some of the best boneless, buffalo chicken wings around. (Yeah, yeah, I know, it sounds like the guy that subscribes to Playboy for the articles.)

One night a friend and I went into the bar to get some wings to go. We were watching movies at the office and didn’t want the pizza the critters were eating. As we bellied up to the bar and waited on our order, we glanced around the smoky bar.

I said, “can you imagine what someone from our church might think if they happened to see us here at the bar?” “But look at the people, they don’t have smiles on their faces, they appear to be lonely and just hanging out.”

Seemingly, then the Spirit said, “This is where the church should ‘hang out’”. Why hang out in sterile church buildings when the world is desperately hanging out in other places. At nearly that same moment, I sensed the Spirit reminding me that I was the church, or part of it, and where ever I hung out, the church was open for business.

I can remember people quoting the verse “where ever two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20) But it seemed like God put that verse in perspective that night. After Acts 2, the verse was even simplified, “where ever one or more are gathered, I am in their midst!”

You see in Acts 2 (Pentecost) the fulfillment of the mystery of the gospel occurred. (Colossians 1:27) The mystery was the Messiah would rule a kingdom within the lives of people. The Spirit of the Living God would take residence in the soul and spirit of people. No longer would a priest have to mediate an offering on people’s behalf, because the Great High Priest, Jesus, made the ultimate and final sacrifice. The world changed.

It was becoming clear in that smoky bar that night. The church should be where the Spirit leads. Amazing the Spirit led Jesus during his physical ministry to a lot of lonely places and people and undoubtedly many religious people were shocked that Jesus would be hanging out with the likes of a tax collector, prostitute, Samaritan or who knows what other lonely people He might have dared to hang with.

But when you come to think about it; isn’t it possible that the Holy Spirit will lead you in places that might be lonely? Isn’t it possible He will ask you to do things, help people or respond to situations that are not popular? Isn’t it possible that Jesus’ ministry on earth was a pretty lonely time for Him. I mean the 12 closest to Him had very little understanding about what He was about. They wanted power, position, sleep, food and number of other things that had little to do with the reality in which Jesus was living.

But the good news is that even if God calls you into a setting that might be a bit lonely, you will never be alone. Since the Gospel changed the essence of Matthew 18:20 by the magnitude of one, where ever you go, what ever you experience, the Spirit of the God that raised Jesus from the dead is there with you. He is your Comforter, Wisdom, Hope and a laundry list of other amazing adjectives. But thanks to God, you will never be alone again. And you can go where ever He leads you; even if it is a smoky bar for chicken wings! KYEOJ!

Keith Tyner

We did it again... Michelle and I looked at each other with that funny/weird look. The look of... "Can you believe this?" or "Is this really happening?" Then we just laugh. This adventure continues to be unexplainable and we are loving every minute of it.

The community of Leavener has been gathering on Sundays at Charlie & Vicky Ward's house since the first of October. We never imagined that we would be overcrowded. We could at least meet indoors over the Winter and then move outside around the pool for the Summer. I guess the Lord had other things in mind. In February, my family was bowling with the Tyners at Pinheads and I just started looking at the facility as an incredible place to meet on Sundays. I walked back outside and looked on the front door. Opens at Noon on Sundays... Perfect! I wonder if they would ever consider hosting a church on Sundays. I wonder how much this would cost!?! It never hurts to inquire so I walked into the office and talked to the receptionist. She listened and took down all my information. She said, "I will have the man in charge call you." He didn't call.

So two weeks later I returned and inquired again. The "man in charge" was not there again. But I got his e-mail address and explained our situation to him. He said that he would meet with me and talk about it. PROGRESS!!! So I sent that e-mail exchange to the four men on our board to initially inform them of what I was praying would occur. Immediately, one of them called me and said they got my e-mail. They went on to tell me that they were playing basketball that night in a league in Fishers and that two of the players on his team are co-owners of Pinheads. NO WAY!!!! Are you kidding me?

Needless to say... but Pinheads will be hosting Leavener on Sunday Mornings starting April 27th! Can you believe that? We are actually going to be meeting in the restaurant area which has recently been renamed, "The Pub at Pinheads." The children will be in the Play-a-Lot area with climbing walls and an indoor playground. I can't think of a finer facility to meet in for a church. I know that we will lose a lot of homey atmosphere by leaving the Ward's house but we have plenty of space in a very public setting. Pinheads has been very generous to us and allowing us to use their facilities to the max. Think about it... We can gather and do community worship, clean up and then sit down and order lunch! Does it get any better?

Michelle and I walked out of there today after being shown how to operate the complete facility. Not believing that this is really happening. That is when the look occurred. I can't explain it!

Rusty

Just to clarify a simple personal philosophy in communication with Leavener. This blog was established as a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a few of the things the Lord is doing in my life. Blogs often reflect the personality of the author. I have chosen (at this time) to allow comments about the specific entries. Most of these have been a real encouragement to me through this process. I have removed a few that have crossed personal lines in my opinion.

An Internet forum is a website developed for the discussion of questions of public interest. At this time, I have not developed this site for that purpose. I love to discuss these issues and do quite regularly with many people. I just choose to do that communication through face to face meetings, phone calls, meals, instant messaging, e-mails, etc. That way I can know who the specific person is I am communicating to.

A community is a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists. The way a community develops is by communicating effectively and personally. There is nothing personal about communicating anonymously.

If you look to the right of this blog entry, I have listed several different ways to discuss issues with me. If you have specific questions about Leavener I would be happy to answer them other than through this blog. The best way to get your answers would be to come hang out with us this Saturday Night as mentioned in the previous entry. You'll be safe there and have the opportunity to hang out with people that absolutely love Jesus and other people.

Let's talk,

Rusty

Here are the details for Saturday, September 29th: Leavener Community is gathering at Joe and Tammy Hilfiker's in Sheridan. Click here for a map. It all starts at 5:00 PM and ends when you're done having fun. The pitch-in: Leavener will provide meat and drinks. (This won't be just any meat... we're talking the real deal here!!!) We are asking that you bring two additional items (sides, desserts, etc...surprise us). Bring enough to share! Also, bring your lawn chairs or blankets.

Now for the fun part..the lip sync..just think, you might be invited to sing at next year's MTV awards! You don't have to be able to sing, you just need to be willing to have a little fun with the rest of us (costumes would be great!) Rusty, has plenty of suggestions for songs as well! Of course, you can also sit back and enjoy the performances, if that seems more fun.

Rusty will be sharing the central truth of Leavener that is the foundation of the three aspects of ministry as shared in previous blogs entries.

Please RSVP by noon on Wednesday, September 26th, to [email protected] with the number attending (so we can purchase enough meat) ALSO give us your lip sync entry. Didn't get your RSVP in by the 26th? No problem, we still want you to come. Just let us know you want to attend.

Please share this information with anyone you think would be interested as the blog entries are always an "open invitation" to everyone.

We look forward to seeing you on the 29th!

Michelle

For the last 12 weeks our family has visited several area churches. These churches have ranged in size from 75 to 400 to 3,000. It has been an interesting journey for us as we try to redefine the term "church" for our family. We know what it has been for the past many years and we see that it is currently very similar around our community.

We keep hearing and reading about the terms "transformation" and "community". It is what the people want and they are trying multitudes of ways to grasp and claim these experiences for themselves and their families. Some are looking for formulas, "silver bullets", programs, curriculums, retreats, pastors or truth that will lead them to this oasis. When they "hit a wall", they pick up their ball and move on to the next playing field. I can say that, because that is exactly what God has lead me and my family to do. I am absolutely OK with that change as long as it is a God-move rather than a selfish-move (that is another whole issue in itself).

Today was a huge eye-opener for Michelle and me. We attended one of the largest churches in our community and they were celebrating with a baptismal service. At one point they asked each of the attenders to participate. Around the room, they formed a river like mural by placing hundreds of pieces of paper with one word on them. The words they used were "peace", "joy", "awe", "surrender", etc. multiple times. As the worship continued they encouraged each attender to get up and go get one word off the wall that best described the experience of their baptism and faith walk. When the song had ended and virtually everyone had returned to their seat, Michelle and I were devastated as we looked at the remains on the wall. My opinion is this church is representative of the majority of churches across our country. It was apparent today the church had been indicted. During the whole service, the end of this song was the one moment that God spoke to me (and Michelle) the loudest. As we scanned the room and especially the front walls, it was apparent that all the words were chosen by the people except one. In fact, it was the only word left posted on the front walls. Can you imagine which word it was? I would have never imagined.

"AWE" was left on the wall.It was absolutely apparent that "awe" had very little impact on the church. Without "awe", the church is doing stuff in their own strength. They may be getting a lot accomplished but imagine if "awe" was part of the experience. Then the whole world would be talking about it. Immediately I began to see the difference between today's church and the church we read about in Acts 2.

38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

You know what stands out to me in that passage besides "awe"? "Transformation" and "community". Pretty simple... The Holy Spirit showed up, lives were transformed, there was a sense of awe and they chose to hang out in community because of these things.

This is the church in its most true form. Can we really strip away all the other stuff we have made it to be over the many years? That is my prayer as the Leavener Community gathers.

See you Friday,

Rusty