dead sea scrolls lecture...words that changed the world

Dr. Stan Porter will be leading immersn this week and you do NOT want to miss this.

the ancient words present in the dead sea scrolls (on display at the ROM) helped form the world in which we live. however, our distance from the world in which they were written sometimes constricts our ability to understand these words and discern their impact.

therefore, we have invited world-renowned linguist Dr. Porter to come in and explore and explain these documents in a way that most people will never get to see. this will be a powerful night with information that only a small fraction of a percent of the world's population will ever have access to and we think that is pretty awesome.

it is a FREE evening so come on out and join us as we seek to better understand these words that changed the world.

eJesus, iJesus, oJesus...technology and worship

can Jesus be pixelated?
how should the church use the technology of computers, sound and video to further the kingdom of GOD?
this week several of us from the immersn community gathered in mississauga for a conference called: the intersection of worship and technology
it was filled with people who worship GOD with the tools of our day...but the point that united all the presentations was this: GOD is bigger than technology and all these programs, mics, videos, music, computers etc. are nothing without the deeper message.
THAT inspired us as we, the immersn-ites, led worship at the beginning and end of the day.
if GOD is bigger than technology how do we use our tech effectively?
we were warned several times that what we can do with technology can overpower what we should do with it. in other words, we get so caught up in showing off all the bells and whistles that we forget to include GOD in our services.
we have found that while immersn has always been tech-ish...some of our most profound services have been our 'lo-tech' nights.
in fact, the wednesday before the conference we gathered around a candle in the bronte cemetery and read from a service that dates back to the first century (from the didache) and then we talked while the candle flickered and the waves crashed against the shore behind us.
in that moment no computers were needed (nor were they wanted) because we had what was most important: GOD and community.
let us never forget that these advancements are nothing more than tools to help us worship GOD and understand ourselves and our faith better. as soon as they stop being able to do that they move from worshipful to anti-worship and should-must- be cast aside.
with that in mind, let us continue to find videos, songs, images...etc. that help us best communicate the gospel to a world that desperately needs the message of faith.
we are thankful to have been part of an important moment in the church's history as people gathered together to see how this church can impact the culture in ways that matter both to the people in our pews and the ones beyond.
amen...or should that be e-men?

who are you & who are you not?

we gathered
dave led
we wrote
GOD moved.

last wednesday night we gathered together as dave fath (dave@immersn.com) led us on a psiritual journey. we watched a video that talked about the labels that we give to ourselves and how those labels are not always flattering.

but this was more than a self-help night. it was a self-realization night.

dave had us take time and write stuff about ourselves on cardboard. below is a clip from a church that did something similar. however, ours differed in that we also took time with each other to speak about our dissapointments and pain and the growing sense that we are bigger than we give ourselves permission to be.

we are growing to understand that often (not always but often) our idea of GOD as pushing us 'out of our comfort zones' is less GOD pushing us forward and more of GOD stopping us from shrinking back. the 'push' we feel is the divine hand encouraging us and preventing us from falling away from not just from GOD, but from GOD's picture of us...that picture is so much more grand than anything we ever thought we could be so it looks alien to us...and so we shrink from it, we shrink from ourselves. but GOD keeps showing us the image of us, not the image from a mirror, but an image from HIS imagination.

forgive us, LORD, for thinking so little of ourselves
forgive us, LORD, for thinking so little of YOUR creation.

enjoy the clip...some of it is meh, some of it is brilliant, some of it will break your heart.




peace. you are loved