I have been following Jesus since I was a young man, but hearing about him since I was a very young boy. That being said I am a bit ashamed to say that I am just now learning that so much of what Jesus is calling me to has little to do with DOing. More often than not Jesus looks at my accomplishments, progress and tenacity and likely is mostly unimpressed.

I guess it’s no surprise that this came slow to me being the DOer that I am.

I love to accomplish.

I live for progress.

I add things to my checklist AFTER I have accomplished them just so I can cross them off. Sick huh?

So I am realizing more and more that this achiever/activator approach to work has unfortunately bled over to my journey with Jesus. I have begun to look at my faith through the lens of “What more should I DO for you Jesus?” Though, I am pretty sure more often than not, his posture is, “do nothing more FOR me, just sit for a while.”

I think if Jesus walked the earth today he would probably be seen as a bit lazy. I bet his days would be filled with lots of coffee in local cafe’s sitting with anyone who would slow down and just sit with him. I bet his nights would be filled enjoying a good cigar or sipping a good glass of wine with any of us who could sit long enough to just be with him.

It seems to me Jesus talked a lot more about stopping than starting. Certainly we are aware of his simple call to holiness, to stop sinning–certainly that’s a mega-theme in his Kingdom-now posture. But his message of Quitting, did not end with sin, I think it carries into schedule, progress and accomplishment.

I pray these simple thoughts give some freedom to quit today. The laundry will be there tomorrow, call someone and ask how they’re doing. Read a book of the Bible you’ve never torn through. just sit in the sun and listen for the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Come join Disciples Church this Sunday as we talk more about this through the eyes of the Rich Young Ruler in Luke 18.

I would go on, but I’ve gotta run get some stuff done. Giggle, smile, giggle. God’s not done with me yet.

So Father’s Day 2009 was our first public Worship Gathering of Disciples Church and it was so cool see God move in our midst. Here are some photos from the day.

Teri St. Clair painted most of our signs, beautiful!

Each morning set up starts at 8am and we all chip in to bring all the pieces together. Get involved this week, just show up at 8am.

...and the set up continues...

peter plays bass and blair drums on this first Sunday. We are anxious to get you involved playing too, just connect with tim@discipleschurch.net

Sean Vaughan (left) and Sean St. Clair keeps the media running smooth. Wanna get involved with the Media Team just connect with sean@discipleschurch.net

This is the smiling greeting you can expect when you drop off your kiddos for Kids Church. connect with pattie@discipleschurch.net to get involved with children's ministries

Disciples Church worship is passionate and creative. many of the songs we sing have been written by Tim so expect an original experience. To get involved with worship teams contact tim@discipleschurch.net

Stu, our lead pastor speaks straight from the Bible each week in a casual and conversational style, usually around 20-25 minutes. Listen to messages on our media page.

Each week following Stu's Talk we invite you into the conversation through a text-in round-table discussion. You can text your questions all morning and the weekly panel tackles those questions. To get on the rotating panel email stu@discipleschurch.net

Each Sunday after church when the mingling is done we head over to the patio by Rubio's in Folsom to eat lunch. Brown bag your favorites or pick something up at any of the nearby resturaunts

...and just 4 hrs after setting it all up we tear it down and pack it into the trailer for next week...see you there!!

Our deepest thanks to the dozens of friends and family as well as all the folks in the Disciples Church community who served tirelessly to help make our first public sunday go so well.

For many years I have had an affinity with Nehemiah and his story of rebuilding not only the wall surrounding Jerusalem but really shaping the culture of an entire Faith Community and centering it back on God. Early on in Nehemiah’s project he realized that while the wall was in disrepair, the hearts of the people and the injustice of the region was such that just rebuilding the wall would not repair the city. In much the same way, just building one more “church organization” in Folsom will not repair the injustice, pain and futility of this city that is so far from God.

It is at this intersection of “practical building” and “spiritual transformation” that we decide if the Holy Spirit will be leading us or merely a “team mascot” of sorts that we call on when in churchy settings so we look thoughtful and dependent. To meet with the Holy Spirit is a scary and risky endeavor, and in reality, it does not come natural or easy to any of us. I am finding that people can be crudely divided into two groups: Those who want to meet with the Holy Spirit but are scared. and Those who really feel it’s, at best, optional, and at worst, a waste of time.

group 1 is full of those who are uncomfortable waiting on the leadership of the Holy Spirit, for all his nuance and mystery. They talk about the Holy Spirit but the words don’t flow as smoothly as they would if discussion a good restaurant or game they watched recently. If led into the presence of the Spirit, they will go, but their steps are often tentative and their movements cautionary. But as they depend on the Holy Spirit to lead them even in the small things of life they discover a freedom and mystery that they never thought possible and would not give back for anything.

Then there is group 2, a group with which I ashamedly have a membership card and often serve as “committee chair”. Group 2 is paralyzed at the thought of waiting on anything…much less the moving of something as intangible as the Holy Spirit. Group two is about progress. We read Acts 2 but only from the perspective of setting the stage for happened in Acts chapters 4-28. We love the idea of being led by The Spirit but the practicality of that leadership just cannot fit the constraints of our Blackberry’s and Preaching Schedules with their color-coded boxes and snappy titles.

Jesus was so clear to his disciples that “when the Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power and tell the entire world about me…beginning in your neighborhood and spreading throughout the world. So the moral of our story is, we need the Holy Spirit’s leading if we want to be a community of Christ Followers and not just “wall builders.” This week as we enjoy one of our final house-church gatherings before starting public services at Stage Nine, it is imperative that we press into the heart of God and meet with The Holy Spirit. That we, from day one of Disciples Church, would be more than dedicated people building a wall. But that we would be devoted followers shaping a culture, and that means moving rubble as well as praying for forgiveness, offering justice and caring for the hurting as led by The Holy Spirit.

Also right in the heart of Folsom’s Historic District is a great Theater Company. This appears to be a potential place to meet as well. It is less than a block from the bar we are also working on acquiring. The upside to the theater is we would have a safe place for Children’s Ministry and  no issues with minors attending services…whereas with the bar literally nobody under 21 could even come into our main service in the bar….

Pray for favor with the owners as they think and consider the options. Here are some photos…as always your comments are invaluable, so let us know what you think!

View of the stage from the back of this small intimate theater

view from stage. The theater seats 60 comfortably with space to cram about 80.

This is the space devoted for kids, complete with kid-themed sets already.

So one of the options that just came available today is the possibility of hosting our worship gatherings Sunday Mornings in the Powerhouse Pub in Historic Folsom.

I met today with the owner, a super nice guy, and it looks like an amazing venue for a church service, not to mention a great statement to the community that we are a church of normal people who don’t have a stick in our…uh..ear.

So nothing is final just yet, and we still need to find a place nearby to host our Children’s Ministries and youth but as of today I am plenty stoked at the opportunity to break some ground with something that has had great success across the nation but never even tried in Folsom.

Here are some photos of the venue…be sure to comment on what you think.

View from the Stage

Looking up toward the stage from the back seats

I'll bet nobody would expect Captain Morgan to be a greeter at church

The outdoor patio for connecting before and after church

Fast & Pray

We are urgently in need of a place to meet for church on Sunday’s somewhere in Folsom. As many of you know we are still meeting in our home each Sunday and as we continue to grow it is impossible to continue this long term.

Will you join Jen and me on a 24-hour fast sometime this week? This Tuesday we will be fasting from all food and drink, except fruit juice and water. Our desire is to give ourselves over fully to God for his direction in securing a location for our weekly worship gathering. You could do your fast anytime this week and choose anything to fast from (especially for those of you with dietary needs that do not allow you to skip food). We just sense from God it is time to increase our level of dependence on him for the provision of a space and the resources to pay for that space.

Let me be clear: this is not a sad time, bad time or even a discouragement for us as a church. This is exciting because it means we can no longer meet in our home. Not only have we outgrown it, of equal importance we desire to be meeting in our strategic target zone of Folsom so we can reach more people far from God and His church.

I have several meetings this week scheduled with places ranging from churches to bars trying to find somewhere willing to rent us a few rooms that could accommodate our budget and Sunday needs. So join with Jen and me in praying for this if you would.

Thank you for your ongoing love and support! I cannot wait to report back how God alone provided so His glory can been seen more fully in Folsom.

-Pastor Stu Streeter

In John chapter 12 Jesus arrives in Jerusalem to celebrate the key Jewish Festival of Passover. This festival was done to remember God’s goodness in sparing the life of each Israelite firstborn in Egypt during the plagues.  When God passed by each house to claim the life of each family’s firstborn in Egypt he covenanted to “passover” the homes of those who marked their doorposts to signify their devotion and love for God.There was an urgency in the air then, and as Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for what would be his final Passover Celebration before his death and resurrection, the urgency and intensity was once again very high.

As we experience Holy Week in the lead up to Easter I cannot help but think of all that Jesus was going through emotionally in the days leading up to his arrest and execution. I am quick to forget that while he was fully God and knew what was coming, he was also fully human and the knowledge of what was coming was nearly too much to bear. In the days that followed, Jesus gave many final talks to his disciples and in his last moments before arrest he knelt and prayed. Luke 22 describes his prayer as so intense it not only caused him to sweat, but to sweat blood.

We have been studying through Nehemiah recently in church and when we came to chapter nine the Levites led the church in an all-day-long repentance and confession of sin. As they confessed they remembered back to the sins of their forefathers beginning with Adam and Eve. As they confessed they remembered how good God was through every step of their unfaithfulness to God.

I encourage you to take some extended time this week to think back and reflect on the ways God has remained faithful to you even in the midst of your own wandering from him. John Piper has offered his book, Spectacular Sins as a free download. I think you will find it an encouragement to you as you think of how good and faithful God has been to you.

“Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

click here to download the book free in PDF format: spectacular-sins-piper

This afternoon at church we are continuing our studies through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. But as is the case often in the Old Testament, our journey has several journeys within the journey. I often say that the Old Testament is such a snapshot of our own spiritual journey: cyclical and along a continuum…complicated and inefficient, right?

Anyway, today as we pause in Nehemiah 9:7-8 we are shown God’s hand of love and leadership throughout the course of time, this week leading us to the story of Abram. God chose Abram, knowing the man that he was, and the weakness inside him. God made him great,  not in spite of himself, but really in the midst of himself.

While God is certainly changing us all the time to be more like him (continuum), he is finding himself very much inside of us in the midst of ourselves (cyclical). It’s an amazing display of love and mercy and a call for us to strive for holiness and Christ-likeness as we are reminded that we have been given forgiveness through Christ!