The River Church Community

** Please read the following letter from Mark Phifer-Houseman regarding guest speakers at The River. **

Dear River-ites,

During this season we have had the different experience, for us, of hearing from a variety of guest speakers who share a significant commonality with our theology and philosophy of ministry "DNA", but who are not exactly us. We've had Jason Jensen from InterVarsity, Michael Koh from the charismatic renewal movement in Malaysia, Kevin Blue from Servant Partners, and this last week, Ted Hahs from Harvest Evangelism. This coming week we will hear from Oscar James with Ahead ministries and his experience in war torn Liberia.

Guest speakers bring a gift of a Word from afar. They connect us to the wider work of God outside our own daily experience. They are a breath of fresh air, but they can also, like distant relatives who come as house guests, tread with heavy feet on sensitive areas, or unaware of texture, say things that seem to violate a conviction that we hold. This last week, Ted unfortunately used the phrase "just a janitor" and "just a housewife". There seemed to be an unconscious hierarchy of ministries with janitors and housewives below preachers or city mayors.

Our conviction at the River is that there is no such thing as "just a...", that each station in life, if embraced as Jesus' call, is as precious and valuable to the Body as any other. This is Paul's clear teaching in I Corinthians 12-14, where he acknowledges more public or superstructural gifts in the Body, but affirms that every member of the Body is essential. This is, in effect, what Ted got to when he affirmed that the mom on Maui found herself called to a ministry of feeding the hungry in her community. But, his presentation could have felt like he was belittling the calling of raising kids at home and "just" praying and loving one's kids and the neighbors or a community gathered around the local playground.

My strategy, when listening to any preacher, but especially a guest speaker, is to listen for God's living Word to me and to us, as a community. What is God speaking to me this day? How is this Word needed to challenge and build us up as a community? Then, I extend grace and just side-step potentially offensive or insensitive and un-nuanced statements, as I would to a house guest from another culture.  As they say at AA meetings, "take what you like and leave the rest." If any of our guest speakers do rub you the wrong way, or the right way, please be in contact with the staff. We want to continue in the journey together and we don't affirm every part of the guest speaker's message, just the core. Ted's Word on the Gospel's power for transformation was a powerful Word to us -- we should expect transformation when prayer and love come to bear in an individual's life, a community, a prison. Do you expect this power of the Kingdom in your situation? In our church? Let's pray that this would be revived and deeply rooted in our hearts, that cynicism and past disappointments would not harden our hearts to a new work God would do in our community, family, workplace, etc.

peace,

Mark

Firestarters

Come join us for the next Firestarters meeting! We’ll be having a practical hands-on workshop to develop our conversational skills for directing others toward Christ and spiritual issues.  We will observe a couple of role-play scenarios and then practice how to turn an everyday chat into a spiritual conversation.  It will be challenging, fun, and exciting.  I hope you’ll join us! Sunday, August 16th, from 7 to 8:30 pm.

All Church Retreat

Only 8 days away!!!

Just a reminder that we will NOT have Sunday service at SJSU on August 23rd. We will be having a Family Service that Sunday at the retreat center - Mission Springs in Scotts Valley. If you cannot attend the retreat, we hope you will still join us on Sunday morning. Service will be at 10:30 am. RSVP if you can plan to come and join us for lunch following the service.