Friday, October 12, 2012

What is the Biblical basis for missions? (Part 1)

In this series, Cafe 1040 Lead Recruiter, Courtney F., will explore the Biblical basis for missions.

Would you agree that no story is a good story if only half of it is told?  Imagine if we never saw Frodo and Samwise reach Mordor.  What if the movie ended before Buzz and Woody returned to Andy's room or if Star Wars ended with Luke Skywalker explaining to Yoda that he simply couldn't do it.  Movie goers would be outraged and demand to know what happened to their beloved heroes!

Unfortunately, the story of God is often only half told.  We know the Sunday School parts: the fall of man allows sin to enter the world and separates us from God; God himself enters the world as a man, sacrificing his only Son as the sacrifice for our sins; those of us who believe in Christ are reunited with God through the sacrifice of His son's life and we receive eternity in Heaven.  As amazing as all of this is, it is only half the story!

The other half is the equally amazing story of our God shattering the darkness of our world with the light of His coming Kingdom!  It is about God making himself visible to the believers, and the redemptive role He crafted for us in this 'cosmic take-back.'  And this story, the whole story, is laid out in the Bible you hold in your hands.

You probably already know that the Bible has 66 books - all inspired by God himself - with many different authors  But did you know that the Bible is actually one story with a central theme spanning throughout all of history and time.  Like many books you read, the Bible is laid out with the basic elements of an introduction, the body or plot, and the conclusion.  The introduction - Genesis 1-11 - sets the stage for the plot of God's story.  Genesis 12 through the book of Jude takes us deep into the plot of God's story complete with highs and lows, catch your breath moments, and sometimes leaves us asking if the good guys will win.  Like most good books you read, you may not even see the end coming and the Bible is no different!  The conclusion of God's story in Revelation still remains a mystery in many ways.

Next time we will dig deeper into the beginning of God's story!  We'll explore the plan for mankind, how it's thwarted, and the dilemma that is set before our Hero Almighty!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

A "PASSION'ATE Calling!

In downtown Atlanta tonight, over 40,000 college students just wrapped up a 3 day experience of worship and Bible study.  They have rocked out with some of today's best Christian artists (and said farewell to one of the best too) and heard from the 'rock stars' of Christian speakers.  They have sung together, wept together and cried out to God together.

A similar scene played out another Passion Conference over 10 years ago.  Then, a young man watched and God broke his heart for this generation yearning to go but not sure what the next step looked like.  Called not just to go, not just to send and not just to pray, but called to mobilize an entire generation!

Sometimes we attend conferences like these - like Passion - and for a few days we feel our lives are unshakably intertwined with our Heavenly Father's divine purpose.  And then the conference ends, the bands and the speakers go home, and we walk out the door back into our lives.  We don't mean to but the enemy sets up powerful distractions disguised as exams, jobs, family and roommate tensions, significant others, and then one day we wake up wondering how we got so far from God's purpose.

It is what you do now that the conference is over that matters most!  We can all sing with the crowd but what happens when you are all alone back in your dorm room, your apartment, with your friends that matters so much.  This is where what God began over 10 years ago at another Passion Conference intersects with what God is doing now as thousands of young adults leave Passion 2012!  What will they do now?  What will you do now?

Cafe 1040 was born out of Passion to mobilize the Passion generation.  We see in this generation a desire to GO, a yearning to pursue God's call on their lives, a desire to just say "Yes Lord, what's the question?" We also see the obstacles they face.  Where do we go?  What will my parent's say?  Isn't it dangerous?  What do you mean they don't know?

We, Cafe 1040, want to challenge those thousands of young adults leaving Passion 2012 and heading back to college or high school or jobs.  We challenge you to not just walk away but to stay engaged.  God is moving powerfully to reach the 2.2 billion in the 10/40 Window who don't know His name.  He is moving to bring glory to His name in languages many of us have never heard spoken but are music to His ears.  He is moving, the harvest is ripe, will you be a worker?

DO SOMETHING NOW!  We are waiting on your application for summer 2012!
Apply here!