Join us for Doubt Night on Monday, March 1, 2010 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

Global team is planning a short term mission trip to Daughters in Cambodia from May 8th-22nd.  This is coming quick!  Please be praying about your involvement in this, and if you are interested in being a part of the trip from planning to going please contact Jess Rodrigues at jrodriguesrd@gmail.com.

As Renew continues to raise the value of building into our families and our kids, we have recognized the need to create a part-time Renew Kids Coordinator position.  We are looking to hire an enthusiastic person for 40 hours a month to carry out various roles and responsibilities to keep our kids ministry running well.

If you are interested please contact Becca Derstine at renewkidsbecca@hotmail.com or Tracy Commons at tracycommons@gmail.com for more information.

Covenant Partnership Process

Why membership?

Nowhere in Scripture do we see membership described the same way church membership is most often lived out in our context today. The New Testament says that we are “members of God’s household.”

So what is the purpose of membership? If used and lived out appropriately membership can and should be about one thing: spiritual formation.

It is grace-filled accountability to remain faithful and committed to loving God and loving others.

It can be a tool to help us grow in our journey with Jesus.

Language: Covenant Partnership

There can be a lot of cultural baggage around the word “membership.”

Language creates culture. Therefore, at Renew we desire to call this communal process of spiritual formation Covenant Partnership. We partner with each other, but more importantly, with God, in seeing renewal happen in the world. We covenant together (the Old Testament understanding of “cutting a deal” with others) by vowing to God to keep a commitment to another person. Covenant Partnership at Renew is a two-way street.

What is expected of me if I am to be a Covenant Partner?

Above all else, we want Covenant Partners to desire to grow to love God and love others more through committed involvement in our faith community (i.e. live out the mission, vision and values of Renew).

Specifically this is expressed in various ways such as involvement in a Renew house church, serving in a specific area or team, developing a spiritual formation plan, being intentional with your oikos (sphere of influence) and living a life of generosity.

If I am a Covenant Partner, what can I expect of the pastors and elders of Renew?

Pastors and elders are committed to, by God’s grace, leading, serving, praying for, shepherding, caring, teaching, training and being accessible to live life with Covenant Partners so as to see them grow in their journey with Jesus.

What is the process to become a Covenant Partner?

[1] Observe: Observe, listen, learn and join with us in our rhythms for 3-6 months. Ask questions and experience who we are and what we care about. Learn people’s names and stories. Worship with us. Join a house church. Eat meals in people’s homes. Ask specific questions and seek to understand what the values, rhythms and mission of Renew.

[2] Attend a Covenant Partnership Retreat: These weekend retreats are held once a quarter for everyone interested in the CP process. These weekends are heavily relational (in order to meet and get to know other people desiring to enter into the partnership process) and educational (in order to communicate the mission, vision, values, priorities and expressions of Renew).

[3] Create a spiritual formation plan: Those interested in pursuing CP will develop a grace-filled spiritual formation plan listing the specific steps and rhythms commit to participate in over the next twelve months. Covenant Partners will seek out an accountability partner (friend, another Covenant Partner, pastor, elder, etc), give them their spiritual formation plan and give them permission to speak into their life regarding their growth. Accountability partners should meet at least once every two months for discussion, reflection and prayer.

[4] Meet with an elder or pastor: After a spiritual formation plan is developed each potential CP will meet with an elder and/or pastor to discuss the reasons they desire to partner with Renew, to review their spiritual formation plan and to spend time in prayer.

Covenant Partnership Installation:

After this process is completed Covenant Partners are introduced to the entire community during one of our gatherings. Each person will state where they are committing to be a missionary in their context (i.e. in their neighborhood, at their place of work, where they volunteer and serve, etc) and will be prayed over publicly by the elders and pastors.

Is Covenant Partnership a once-and-done thing?

No. Covenant Partnership lasts for one year. Each Covenant Partner who wishes to remain committed must renew their partnership each twelve months. If a Covenant Partner wishes to re-commit to Renew they are to create a new spiritual formation plan for the coming year and meet with an elder and/or pastor to talk through the past year and why they wish to be a partner for another year.

Renew seems to take membership seriously. Why is that?

Because Jesus gave us our commissioning orders: to make committed followers of him. Jesus makes it clear that if we are not moving people into greater love and commitment to God and others we are not fulfilling our role as a faith community. It is our litmus test of obedience. Covenant Partnership raised the bar on discipleship. It is an important tool that challenges us to make sure committed Jesus followers are encouraged, cultivated and made within Renew.

If you have further questions about entering into Covenant Partnership at Renew please contact us.

www.renewcommunity.org

renewcommunity@gmail.com

215.833.4424

Click play to hear the teaching from Sunday, February 14, 2010 by J.R. Briggs

Click play to hear the teaching from Sunday, January 31, 2010 by J.R. Briggs

you want a statement to sum up the mission of God
go ahead
find your statement
make one up to help you
feel secure inside your safety cage of words
belted in by cords of cliches
locked up by logos lifted from sunday school memories

but give me a story
give my friends a story
so that they are not sentenced to meaningless lives

don’t give me a story that I can easily believe in
give me a script that I struggle to understand
that stretches my faith,
that demands life insurance
give me a story that will rip me from my career
and pummel me into a quest beyond my capabilities
i need something worth dying for
i have most of my life left to give
but I need a story worthy of my investment

give me a story that I can touch
and smell
a story with real people
a story with a face.
a story with my face
my role
my place
my script
because I am
preselected to be a player
in this story that rolls its plot out in front of me
likearunawaycarpetunravellingfasterthanicanrun
in more directions than I can predict
in more colors than I can comprehend
a story that woos out my potential
and calls me
out of myself
to be who I really am

give me A story
give me THE story
give me MY story

tell me that God is bigger than you
BIGGER than your statements of ink
BIGGER than your powerpoint animations
than your projections of numbers
that make you impressed
but that make God stoop

give me a story that
makes me gloriously
a l i v e
to the purpose of God
makes me run without breath to keep up with His spirit
and at the same time
inviting me to
dance slowly
erotically
with
God
in an
end
les
s

m
o
m
e
n
t

of warm passion
nesting me in peace
and safety

tell me the story in new words
so that I don’t trip over lame phrases of impotence
so that my mind does not vanillarize
over trivial expressions
used mindlessly by millions
who use words to steal mystery
from a transcendent God
who speaks freshly
with new mercies every morning
!surprises!
that awaken me from sleep mode
that spark in me new thoughts
dreams of impossible feats
daring adventures
miracles of the Almighty
performed by the hands
and prayers
of backstreet
backstage
people
in goodwill rags

you want a statement?

go ahead
i dare ya
double-dare ya
to box up The Omnipotent
to catch the Spirit of God
to nail the Son
on a cross-word puzzle

go ahead and try
but I won’t hold my breath
and you won’t hold the mission of God on a bumper sticker.