Serving In The Hood

Would love to hear the responses and take aways for those of you who were able to make it to Simply Jesus this last weekend. Will spend a little time doing that this Sunday.

We as a family really connected naturally with Carl and loved the way he presented who Jesus is, and how Jesus is at work all around us drawing people to Himself. We are not here to peddle the religion of Christianity, but to be and speak of the Good News of Jesus. The truth of the matter is that we don't have to try and convince or convert anyone. That's God's business! We simply need to be prepared to tell our story of what Jesus means to us, and what He has done in our lives. It helps to know the parables Jesus told and weave them into our conversations as stories that illustrate what Jesus and His Kingdom are all about. So here's a challenge to read through the Gospels and become so familiar with the parables that you can re-tell them in your own words to someone else!

This Sunday we will be meeting at our place at 10:30am and beginning the Engage series done by Carl and Jay, a Vineyard pastor in Denver, when they spent 9 weeks in a trendy bar in Denver doing Q & A about Jesus. This is a tool that will help us connect to what Jesus is already doing in the lives of those we live around, work with, recreate with, or go to school with. It is also a tool for helping us learn how to converse about Jesus with those who are turned off to Christianity, but open to Jesus.

We also want to talk about how we can serve in our neighborhoods together. Something is percolating with youth in Bowness bubbling up out of the Boys and Girls Club. Stephanie now works there, and Emily has been blessed to start something. Not sure exactly what God is up to, but we want to partner with Him.

Bring some food to share and hang out after if you'd like.

Mike's hockey team the Sabres are in the playoffs this weekend. If you want to see a different side of Esther you should see how fanatical and competitive she gets when cheering for her son's hockey team:---)...so shoot up some prayers for the eardrums of our fellow fans. I think I've gone partially deaf from sitting beside her at some of these games. On a more serious note, we would appreciate your prayers as we continue to build friendships with our 'hockey community' and very shortly 'soccer community'. Over the years we have built a trust with some of these folk who live in Bowness, and we know that God is at work. We simply want to care for them, and see community form around them where they experience Jesus for themselves.

Peace on you all,

Tim and Esther

Celebrating Family Weekend

Hello All,

This weekend is family day weekend. It looks like the weather will be fine, so get out and do something active as a family. Go skating, skiing, take a walk, play shinny on a pond or even try snowshoeing! If you have grandparents around, spend sometime enjoying their company. So there's the pep talk for the day.

On Sunday we will be meeting here at the Schultzes for house church. If you are coming please let us know in advance for our planning. You are welcome to hang out over lunch, but if you plan to do so bring a main dish and drink to share with everyone.

Next Sunday we'll be meeting at Beth's place. We'll put out an e-mail with her address next week.

The following weekend is the Simply Jesus conference on March 2nd and 3rd. This is a great event to bring your family as we'll have something for the kids. As well, we encourage you to invite a friend or family member who is a seeker. Our main speaker Carl presents Jesus in such a natural and attractive way that anyone who is open to discovering what Jesus is really like will feel comfortable. So this event is a chance to continue the dialogue that you may have been having with some friends, family, neighbours, or co-workers about your relationship with Jesus. Carl is funny, down to earth, and has some really amazing stories of finding Jesus in the most unlikely places. It will be like having a chat with a friend over coffee. He really addresses the notions and tainted perspectives that folks have about Jesus based on their negative experiences with overly zealous condescending Christians or the fear based approach to Christianity and church. You can still register at www.themosaicnetwork.net

Have a great weekend,

Tim and Esther

Milestones in Our Lives

Today is the 49th birthday of my gorgeous wife and soul mate, Esther Yvonne Schultz! She surely doesn't look or seem that old to me. Like a good wine, she has aged well. Choosing her to be my wife was one off the smartest decisions I've ever made. Hard to believe that in one more year I will be able to say that I'm married to a 50 year old woman. Though Esther isn't much for a lot of hooplah or drawing attention to herself, I want her to feel special. She is throwing a party Friday and all you lady folk have received an invite. There will be some ladies from the community at the party as well. If you can't make it, no worries. Feel free to phone her or come on Sunday as we'll celebrate her life with some prayer and cake. If any of you feel inspired and want to make a cake let me know. If I don't hear from anyone on making a cake, I'll buy one.

To top it all off this year we will be celebrating 25 years of being married. Wow, it sounds like we are so ancient...though we don't feel that way. To think that if kids had arrived a year after getting married, we could be grandparents by now. We truly do not take this milestone for granted as we know that some of you have suffered the heartache of divorce and gone through some painful relational stuff! It really has been the grace of God.

Here are the gathering opportunities for the next few weeks:

• This Sunday we will gather at 10:30am at our place-if you are coming and want to hang out over lunch bring a main dish to share with all. For those of you that were there last week, remember the one or two things that you wanted to practice this week in answering the question: How can I make a difference in learning to live from the heart? We shared these things with each other so we could be accountable for following through. Boy have my kids been keeping me accountable for what I voiced. Talk about mutual accountability that you can't hide from:--)
• Next Saturday there will be a Worship Circle at Mac and Jo's place starting @ 6pm. Bring a main dish and desert or salad to share as we eat together as part of our time. Their address is 2163 Country Hills Circle NW
• Sunday is the Super Bowl: For any of the men or ladies that like football you are welcome...bring some wings, or munchies and your favourite beer!
• Monday, Jan. 30th is the last day to get the early bird deal for the Simply Jesus conference on March 2-3. So go to www.themosaicnetwork.net to register and pay online. Keep praying for this event as it will be a wonderful opportunity to be encouraged and equipped.

Love,

Tim and Esther

Gathering In Bowness

Hope you are all surviving this cold snap of the last week! Wouldn't it be nice if we could all jump on a plane together and head off to Cuba for the week. Hey, not a bad idea if one of us wins the lotto in the next week or so.

Congratulations to Stephanie on her new job posting right here in the hood at the Boys and Girls Club! We know that Jesus has some cool stuff in store for you as you connect with kids and their families here in Bowness. Hope you and your mom can join us this Sunday.

This Sunday we will gather at Beth's cozy home right here in Bowness at 10:30am. The address is 4301A - 70st NW. Phone # is 403-237-8477. We look forward to worshiping Jesus, sharing the highs and lows of our last week, digging in to the Bible, and praying for one another. If you are coming and want to stay for lunch please bring a main dish and salad or desert to share with all.

A reminder to get your registration in for the Simply Jesus Missional Training Event by Jan. 30th if you want to get in on the early bird deal. Momentum is growing for this, and you will not want to miss hearing Carl and all the cool stories of how he has seen Jesus at work in the Middle East, and in America in mosques, bars, and with folks we would have considered our enemies...stories of the Good Samaritan in our day! You will be deeply encouraged, and the Holy Spirit will stir faith in you. Some of his stories make you laugh, and some will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up!

The cool thing is that what Carl shares is not just for the 'jedi type' evangelists but a way of talking about Jesus that is real, natural, and attainable for all. The main sessions are family friendly for kids ages 5 and up. We'll also have some of our local friends share how they are living a missional 24/7 lifestyle with the poor, oppressed girls off the streets, youth, through the arts, in their neighbourhoods and work places, and are seeing Jesus communities form around tribes on the margins of our culture. There will be forms of worship that are Celtic, Vineyard, and even some Next Gen. stuff. We will pray for the sick and see how God might show up!

So go to www.themosaicnetwork.net and sign up this weekend! Get the word out to your friends as well!

Love you all,

Tim and Esther

A Happy New Year to You All

A Blessed, Joyful, Healthy, and Peaceful 2012 to you all,

It's been so nice to unwind, get together with family and friends, play games, eat great food especially chocolate, and celebrate the coming of Jesus.

We will be gathering at 10:30 am this Sunday at our place for the first gathering of the New Year. We want to reflect back and give thanks to the Father for all that He has done for us in 2011. We will do this through a prayer exercise called the Examen in which we share our Consolations (Highlights) and Desolations (Low-lights) of the past year. We then want to pray for one another in pressing into God for some things on our hearts for 2012.

If you haven't registered for the "Simply Jesus-Missional Training Event our Mosaic Network is hosting on March 2-3rd, do so before Jan.3o to take advantage of the early bird registration of $49...there is a family rate as well. The 3 main sessions are family friendly. Duane and Laura will have a team of folks from YWAM mentoring kids 5 and up as they create an artistic master piece right in the sessions. We highly value the family worshiping together and 'family on mission together'. We want to see youth and kids soaking in God's presence and becoming a part of sharing Jesus in natural and supernatural ways. To register go to www.themosaicnetwork.net and click on the Events tab!

The motivational speaker we are bringing in is Carl Medearis. He's a man who walks the talk, who is down to earth, and will inspire you to become involved in what Jesus is doing here and around the world. So invite your friends as well and help us get the word out!

There will be break-out sessions on how to live out justice, reaching youth, arts and beauty as a way to communicate the Good News of the Kingdom, starting missional communities where people belong before they believe, becoming ' healed up and whole' apprentices of Jesus through authentic community, and such. We want to hear stories of how people are coming into the Kingdom, share some tools that may help us in sharing Jesus with are friends, neighbors, and family, and leave with a couple practical actions steps to live out.

Love,

Tim and Esther

Rhythms For December

Seasons Greetings to You All,

Yes, it is almost Christmas folks! Time to get the Christmas decorations and tree up. If you're like us, that tradition usually happens later rather than sooner with all the other stuff like hockey, school programs, homework, work, and other Christmas events going on filling our schedules. We're really looking forward to the break and chilling out over the break. With that in mind, we don't want to fill our calendars up with to many other meetings, yet we'd love to catch up with some of you and celebrate Jesus and have some fun!

We thought we would propose two intentional gatherings:

• This Sunday we'll meet at 10:30 am at our house for an Advent celebration of God coming as Jesus and moving into the neighborhood. I love how The Message translates John 1: 14 "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish."
• The other gathering we are proposing would be either a pre-Christmas carol sing on the Friday night Dec. 23rd or a skating/hot chocolate party at Bowness park after New Years...more info to come on this! Let us know if you are interested in either of these ways of connecting.

A reminder that if you haven't signed up for the Simply Jesus Conference on March 2nd-3rd 2012 and want to get in on the early bird deal, do so before Jan.10. If you haven't heard Carl Medearis speak, you won't want to miss this event. He has some incredible stories of how Jesus is showing up and drawing people to Himself from the Muslim world to the bars of Denver, Colorado. You will be inspired and encouraged through 'normal' people who will be sharing their stories of how the Kingdom of God is coming in their neighborhoods through friendships, hospitality, and simply loving the widow, the foreigner, and the orphan. There will also opportunity to connect to God through worship and ministry to one another.

If you get a chance, ask Doug about what is happening up in his neck of the woods. Some cool stuff going on as he simply practices the rhythms of being present and available with and for his neighbors. Through simple acts of kindness he is tripping into the Kingdom in the midst of the mess and chaos of people's lives! Or ask Beth what she has seen happening through her work with Servants Anonymous as she cares for women at risk.

Esther and I hope you all have a rich time with family and friends over this holiday season. Take some time to dial down and reflect on all the blessings we have and ask the question: "What has Jesus done for me or us lately."

Love,

Tim and Esther

Rhythms For November

I leave for Asia this Thursday for two weeks...so we wanted to get the word out on our gathering times for this next month.

This weekend there will be no Close2Home gathering in Bowness. Doug will be hosting a potluck up in the S.E. with some of his neighbors and friends who are on a journey to becoming followers of Jesus. If you do want to join him for this, please let him know before hand. We don't want to inundate this gathering with to many 'Christians' that are not living in close proximity to his neighborhood. Yet, Doug's desire is to form a small team of Jesus followers from that end of town who would want to see apprentices of Jesus developed. So go for it Joel and Amy if that is how the HS is leading you. We keep praying that a community of folks who are Jesus followers and those on their way into the Kingdom would form over the next year. Great job, Doug at being faithful in practicing friendship, hospitality, and loving your neighbors and friends!

On Sunday, Nov. 20th there will be a Close2Home gathering in Bowness at our place @ 10:30am. Just let Esther know if you're coming and whether you would like to facilitate a worship time or if God puts something on your heart to share from the Book.

I would really appreciate your prayers for my trip to Asia. I leave on Thursday and return on Weds. the 23rd. I think most of you get our prayer letter which has the details of my trip in it...so I won't bore you by repeating the details in this post.

If you haven't registered for the Simply Jesus Event on March 2nd and 3rd, we would encourage you to register now before the Christmas rush. The early bird price lasts till Jan. 10 and then the price goes up. Go to www.themosaicnetwork.net site to register if you didn't get the poster.

We love you all,

Tim and Esther