Dreaming and planning

Latelly, I have been talked a lot with a pastor friend of mine about planting a new presbiterian comunity here in North side of Sao Paulo. These have been very exciting talks because I have been dreaming a lot with it and also he was dreaming of it too.
Beyond the excitement I know there is lot of important decisions to make about it, with whom will we count on it, where and how to start and I definitidely need wisdom from God to start well.
Frankly I have been thinking and praying about this moment for three years, I am so happy and my creativity is faster now. Surely I am starting to take a look on books I have owned last months but not read because it was not time, but now I count on your prayers for wisdom and opportunity.
Surely I will let you know about how it is going.

A photovisit to São Paulo

São paulo at night by Massao
By strength of circunstances I have been surfing at photo's sites, I liked very much the ones I found at Flickr, but I have got a pleasable surprise to find some communities of photos from my city: São Paulo, that is why I invite you to start knowing my city at Flickr at São Paulo community and also at Sampa Flick's, a nice way to start.

By faith

JR Woodward posted a message given last sunday about the second aniversary of Kairos Los Angeles, he told their story as Hebrews 11.
I love to see such cases and they are so insightfull and inspire so much as to think that the church is the hope of this world, and to wish to live such adventures here in Sao Paulo.

Hope

Photo by Mariusm
I would like to talk about what we are here for, what takes people to search for a church and what makes us wake up everyday: Hope.
In a midst of lots of discussions about rethinking church and theology, my inbox receive everyday remindings about lackness, about failure, about resposibility not fullfilled, about our need for a new reformation and the likes until going to the point of getting me a feeling of bitterness until to be tempted to think that the worse is happening in our church. I don't want to flee from all good discussions and questions about our faith, they have made us grow a lot. But I want to remember what we are here for.
When I think about what we have done I can think about trouble, but we are here not because of us, but because of God who had loved us first. When I was thinking about hope, it came a verse from Lamentations, when Jeremiah was also remembering about lots of bad thinks were happening to them, but could brilliantly talk about hope:

"I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness
the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed
I remember it all - oh, how well I remember -
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there's one other thing I rembember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope.

God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left..."

Lamentations 3:19-24 (The message)
Hope came ever when we remember who God is in spite of who we are. And I think that remember our hope is the best we can do when we are willing to please Him. He is a God that works for us and in spite of ourselves, makes all evil turn to our good, and this is His nature.
In the midst of all discussions I would like to remember the Hope we have, not for a scape nor for an excuse, but because we can, and if we live in all discussions for themselves away from the hope we got from Jesus ressurrection, we will become the saddest of all other people who also have lots to discuss but don't have this kind of hope.

Is this just a matter of service offered?

I found this very interesting picture from Rick's blog, if you track links you will find very interesting comments about this church add.
I am at very beggining of this emerging conversation and our emergent status in Brazil is also at its very beggining, but this picture brought me some questions: is emerging church just a different service to gather youths to church?
I myself fought a lot for a worship with drums and the like, and many leaders still think this is the matter.
When I read a very interesting article at Church Marketing Sucks: "Why People Leave Church", people themselves try to explain that quality of services are the matter, but as the same excellent article concluded, problems are more like a cummulative effect and has more to do with our inability to solve conflict. Which is: the problem goes around how we are community.
From what I have seen, this story is much deeper than offering services to please everyone. I think the way we do services reflect a lot the culture of a community and has a lot to do with how we express, but what we do and how we live community day by day means the large part of iceberg under the sea.

[RR] - SYDM - Chp 2 - Initiative

I would like to share a little of our discussion at Rambling Reading with the second chapter of Seizing your Divine Moment. The writer opens the book with Johnatan story at I Samuel 13:22 until 14:23 and discuss this situation in this chapter, when all the army was sleeping and Johnatan took his armer and went to Philistines camp to defeat them. Actually, he had everything to act as a victim of God of not being chosen to be the next king, instead of it, showed great courage and created a great opportunity.
An interesting quote of the chapter tells:

"We have defined holiness through what we separate ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to. I am convinced the great tragedy is not the sins we commit, but the life we fail to live."

It is so true! As I read in other book I am reading now, Streams of Living Water, from Richard Foster, he described the Holiness tradition as very related to practice of spiritual disciplines not for Santification itself, but to empower and free us to make the good works we usually are unable to do. When I read the "Spirit of disciplines" from Dallas Willard I could get it, but now I am more convinced about it. It is, Santification implies action.
McManus remembered also the parable told by Jesus about the treasure distributed as the lord went out; this story fits very well with this situation, the guy that received and buried what was trusted to him was pledged guilty and this show how inaction might be a serious matter!
It is the kind of the book I must avoid to read at night, McManus words are like a gas to the fire inside me to be more outrageus at the Kingdom! It is hard to get to the bed and calm down to sleep! I hope and pray to be as outrageous as Johnatan, to realize more for the kingdom and inspire others as I have been inspired.

Imagining the effects

I was able to post some findings at Light Giver. But, by this time, just there.

[RR] Seizing your Divine Moment - Choices - Chp 1

McManus is gifted to challenge us in what he writes. I expected that and I felt myself very challenged since this chapter. I think I needed these kind of inspiration and challenge more often.
I think my preferred quote is from page 18: "If a moment is the gate through which your divine journey begins, then choice is the key that unlocks the adventure".
Choices makes not only differences to our own lifes, but sometimes has the potential to impact more people until impact the whole world. Another quote explain my concern:
"That's the mystery of a moment. It is small enough to ignore and big enough to change your life forever. Life is the sum total of what you do with the moments given you."
The fact is that I have been seen moments ignored by lackness of courage to make some difference and disregarding the risks.
I have been absorved by dreams but I can only dream of what if everything were propely done and think of this actual moment, there is a lost link between these two moments that must be achieved by choices that I must make. But this is not an easy think to do. I would like to be more eager to recognize potential moments and size them.
I pray only to not loose these moments that come to me to seize.

Oh! This is my post to Rambling Reading for first chapter

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" Jesus Christ, Luke 9:24

Our home is now complete

After a tense week, we have received good news as days went by, and now we are all home and our family is now complete.
Thanks to God that everything is OK now!

Cow Parade

Today, while my wife were at hospital with my baby, I could walk with my doughter to Ibirapuera park, we found 2 cows from CowParade.

After 24 cities, we have this Cow Parade here in São Paulo, the cows might not look so wonderful but they surely are nice. I hope to bring more from this collection.