The Ragamuffin Blog

Mosaic Easter Photos

Here are some photos from our Easter gathering. There are more on our Flickr page at www.flickr/photos/mosaiclincoln. Photos by Britni Grace.

We've Launched!

It’s official, Mosaic has launched! Sunday marked the long awaited launch of Mosaic with our first weekly worship gathering. We knew that people were excited about what God was preparing to do in and through this new community, but we were unprepared for the 250+ people who would join us on Sunday! It was an incredible morning in which many months of prayer and preparation all came together.

The best part of the morning wasn’t number of people there, or the fact that people were so excited to be there that we could hardly get them to sit down, or that people were still hanging out over an hour after the worship gathering was over, or how incredible the Mosaic launch team was all morning, or even the beautiful sound of a new church worshiping Jesus together for the first time. Personally, the best part for me (Aaron) was all of stories we heard of God moving in the lives of people.

Sunday morning we saw several people commit their lives to Christ for the first time! We are so excited to see these people impacted for eternity and to see them begin to step into what God has for them! We saw several others recommit their lives to Christ, marking what we pray will be the beginning of a season of renewed passion and purpose in their journey with Christ. We also saw a number of people who have never been connected to a church before tell us they have accepted the invitation to join a conversation about what it means to follow Christ and who now consider Mosaic their new home. That is what it is all about!

Thank you to those who were a part of the big day and to those who have been praying for us and this new work. Sunday marked the start of something beautiful in the city of Lincoln!

(Originally posted at http://www.mosaiclincoln.org/weve-launched/)

On the Precipice

In 2005 the course of my life was changed forever.

It was in the fall of that year in the course of a conversation with a close friend that I voiced for the very first time that I sensed God might be leading us to plant a church. These were words were astonishing even for me to hear spoken aloud after spending much of my life avoiding organized religion and it's proponents. Even after committing my life to Christ at the age of sixteen, I had continued to avoid "church people" at all costs. 

But our conversation that day had been sparked by a defining moment in my life that had taken place earlier that year. On a fateful winter night in Minneapolis, Christ met me on the balcony of an old Presbyterian church and He said something that I will never forget. In a time of worship and prayer, Jesus essentially said, "Aaron, you have been seeking to love me while hating on my bride, and I am not done with her yet." 

Burned by the Church

This past week I was talking to a coworker about what it means to follow Christ. He had committed his life to Christ a couple years ago (he was actually led to Christ by Mosaic Lincoln's new creative director) but had fallen away from faith until just recently. He is very much a new, young believer. As we talked about the perseverance it takes to follow Christ he shared with me a statistic his pastor had told him regarding how many people fall away from Christ after making an initial decision to follow Him.

At that moment, another coworker who had been listening in leaned over and said, "There is probably a reason for that." I knew what was coming. This person has a well known reputation around work for being angry and argumentative about all things philosophical. To be honest, he comes off like a pretty miserable person and he seems to enjoy making others miserable. Everyone there knows I am a pastor, so I had been wondering when this guy was going to take a swing at me. Now was apparently his time.

"And what reason would that be?", I asked, bracing myself. 

"It's a sham!", he shouted. "The whole thing is a sham. It is no wonder people don't stick with it, they get smart and figure out organized religion is nothing but a hoax!"

Kingdom-Mindedness, or Lack Thereof

I have been told that every great story involves great conflict. Ask any church planter and they will tell you that church planting involves its fair share of conflict. The conflict comes in many forms: discouragement, exhaustion, criticism (sadly, often from other Christians and even pastors who are threatened by what you are doing), missed opportunities, failed plans, unforeseen obstacles, wayward team members, and the one you can almost always count on: financial strain. 

The greatest conflict that I am finding myself having to deal with, however, is the hesitancy (or downright unwillingness) of local churches to step up and get involved in church planting, or at least not in a way that costs them anything significant. A word of blessing? Sure. A one time gift? Perhaps. Championing or adopting a new plant as your own in a way that may cost them people and ongoing support? Err, we'll pray about it. (Which, in case you didn't know, is Christianese for "Not on your life!!") 

Remembering 30 Days

In ancient times, altars were often constructed by God's people to commemorate what God had done during a particular time. It served as a reminder of who God was and what He had done. It was meant to prompt remembrance and worship. You could say that this blog post is an altar of sorts.

Just over a month ago, twenty or so people sat in a basement in Lincoln, NE. In their hands sat a single piece of paper presenting a radical idea: videos, vision, stories and a website all culminating in $30,000 in 30 days. One could say it was a rather ambitious undertaking for our small, developing community. And you could feel the tension in the room.

Some openly wondered, What if we don't make it? What if the videos don't connect? What if no one visits the website? What if no one cares? What if people don't give? Are you sure this is such a good idea? What would the consequences be of failing so publicly so early in the game? How discouraging would that be to our team? Could we recover the momentum we would inevitably lose? Besides, is it even okay to pray like that? Can we ask God for something so specific? What if He says 'No'? WHAT IF...?! 

Looking back, it was a defining moment for our little band of revolutionaries. We had talked a lot about mission and risk. Now it was time to put our money where our mouth was. We knew we couldn't make this happen. We couldn't make people pay attention or care or give, we could only be faithful with what God had given us. Despite feelings of fear, uncertainty, reservation and doubt, we chose to move forward in faith anyway. We committed to fast together, to band together in prayer for our city and our church, and to invite others to help us do what we believe God has called us to do. 

Just over a month later, here is what we have seen happen:

• The 30in30 website has had over 12,000 hits from all over the world
• We have had 3 churches (two of them local) partner with us financially - a huge kingdom win!
• Our launch team has more than doubled in size (and with some incredible, quality people!)
• A number of people who are connected to our community who do not know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior are being shaken up and moved by the gospel
• Buzz about Mosaic Lincoln has spread throughout our city
• Our associate pastor, Kevin, and his family moved to Lincoln from Pennsylvania with several thousand dollars of support from their church (not included in the thirty day total) to help them relocate and to free them to invest in our city and church
• We received a gorgeous, $2100 guitar in the mail a few days ago from another ARC couple currently planting a church in MT who told us that God wouldn't let them alone about it and that they wanted to sow into us
• And, praise God, we had over $30,000 donated in just 30 days! 

During all of this, our only expenses were $50 spent on a Wordpress template for the website and $52 on a kite that wouldn't fly! Not too bad for a group of thirty five people meeting in a basement.

My point is certainly not to toot our own horn as if we deserve credit for this. Quite the opposite. My point is to turn your attention to Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, and his exceeding goodness and faithfulness to provide for our needs and answer our prayers when we ask Him to help us do what He has called us to do. We do not deserve any of this. And in looking at the list above, I hope you will join me in acknowledging that there is no way our little tribe could have pulled this off on our own.

God is good. Christ promised to build His church, and he is doing just that. Here. Now. In our midst. And we are honored, humbled, and deeply grateful to be able to play a small part in it.

30in30 Begins!

Day 1 - 30in30 Intro from Mosaic Lincoln on Vimeo.

Hello friends! I am very excited to be able to share with you something that we are beginning today as a church. Today we begin 30in30, a season of fasting and praying in which we are asking God for $30,000 in just 30 days. On a practical level, we are looking to fundraise the investment we need to be able to move forward in this new work and to launch in just a few short months. On a spiritual level, this is an intense discipline for us as a community in faith building. In these early days we are forming the spiritual DNA of our new church and we desire to be a people who pray audacious prayers, exercise great faith and take great risks in obedience to what God has called us to do. I am very excited (and more than a bit nervous) to see what these thirty days hold for us as a community.  

We invite you to check out the site www.mosaic30in30.com and to help us by lifting us up in prayer, investing financially and spreading the word!

Mosaic Lincoln Video

I'm excited to share with you the first Mosaic Lincoln vision video. Considering that we did it all on a VERY small budget (close to nil) I am pretty happy with how it turned out. A thousand thanks to Bill Radtke and Jay R for volunteering so much time to making this happen! Also, as you'll see on the video, our temporary website is now up and live at www.mosaiclincoln.com! As we move forward and our needs grow with our community, we'll invest in something more versatile and comprehensive. For now, however, I think this will serve us well and again, it was free!. (For church planters or anyone else out there looking for a free, flash web option, check out www.wix.com.) 

On a side note, isn't amazing how creative we become when we need to do something we believe in and don't have a large budget to do it with? I think there are always more options out there than we initially perceive and you know, perhaps we'd do well to resist the urge to throw a lot of money at the things we want but rarely need. (Of course, God knows I am preaching to myself on this one!) 

If you are not already on our Prayer Team and would like to get monthly Mosaic Lincoln updates and prayer requests via email and vodcast, you can join here! 

Today's Prayer

God, I pray on my knees for the city of Lincoln, NE. I pray that you would raise up a generation who will honor and worship you alone. May there be no stone left unturned by your grace. May we stop at nothing in our devotion to you. May we embrace this city with the kind of love you have demonstrated for us on the cross. May tens of thousands come to put their faith and trust in you for the first time. Lead us as we follow your voice into the darkness to be a light where the church has often been afraid to go. Lead us, Abba, as we plant this church. Amen.

Calling a Few Good Men

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/dkitch/

If I had to Tweet you an update of the last 2 months, it'd go something like this: "Spent couple days w/ D. Gibbons & N. Ortberg (mind blown). Moved to Lincoln (car shocks destroyed). Played dodgeball w/ other pastors & Husker fball plyrs for charity (was sore for a week). Spoke a few times at Rivertree (like breathing again for the first time). Found a job (Megan still on the painful hunt). RhythmInTwenty round 2 in Cali (every young leader should do this). Grad trip to beach house in Oceanside (so spoiled). Climbed Joshua Tree (overcoming fear is food for the soul). Graduation from the Protege Program tonight at Erwin's house (the end of one season & the beginning of another)."

Ok, so it'd be a few Tweets, but that essentially brings us to now. The time has come for Mosaic Lincoln to begin to move from just plans and dreams to skin and bones. It's time for this calling that we have been preparing for and praying over for so long to begin to actually take shape in the city of Lincoln. It'll be a relatively slow development as we gather and pray and prepare, but it is beginning. So I'm sounding out a call for a few good men and women. We're looking for people who love Jesus and the city of Lincoln to join us. Here are some specific people we're praying and looking for right now:

MADMEN. “If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God.” – 2 Cor 5:13  It takes a certain kind of crazy to venture out into the unknown with little more than a handful of dreamers and no assurance of success in order to create something that will have an eternal impact, but does not yet exist. Many people just can’t handle the risk and instability involved. But to those few who are crazy and courageous enough to believe that God is still in the business of performing miracles and changing lives, we need you. If you’re interested in potentially being a part of the team, drop me a line and let’s grab coffee.

ARTISTS. We are looking for artists who desire for their work to be used in a meaningful way. Musicians? Yes. Vocalists? Yes. But think more creatively than that. We’re looking for artists of all kinds – poets, dancers, fashion designers, graphic designers, dj’s, writers, filmmakers, quilters, you name it. If you are an artist, I guarantee there is a way to use your gift in a way that honors God and serves humanity. Drop us a line and let’s begin dreaming together.

INVESTORS. In this time of financial strain, we have found it difficult to find churches that are willing and able to allocate money to a budding church plant. That means we need people who are passionate about furthering the message and movement of Jesus and who believe in what we’re doing to step up and help us make Mosaic Lincoln a reality. If that’s you, you can give by clicking the “Give to Mosaic Lincoln” link above and to the left.

STUDENTS. If you are a student looking for an internship opportunity, we’d love to talk to you. You don’t have to be a Christian, go to a Christian school or be planning on going into ministry. If you’re talented in design, marketing, administration, children’s education, music, web design, etc, lets talk.

PRAYER WARRIORS. Although I know everyone would love to move to the cultural center of the universe that is Lincoln, NE, I realize for some it just may not be possible or realistic. That doesn’t mean you can’t play a vital part in this new work. We need prayer warriors to stand with us and bathe everything we do in prayer. As a church that exists for those who have never experienced the hope and life that is in Christ, we are marching directly into enemy territory. We’re under attack. We’re on attack. We need prayer. You can join our prayer team here http://eepurl.com/xB_1.

ORDINARY RADICALS. Lastly, we are looking for ordinary people who want to be a part of something extraordinary. God’s grace is extraordinary. His dreams for your life are extraordinary. His love for those who do not yet know him is extraordinary. And when God uses you to play a part in seeing someone come to know Christ and come alive for the first time, it is nothing short of, well, extraordinary. You don’t have to be a superstar or saint; we’re looking for ordinary people who want to be a part of creating something beautiful and life-changing. But it'll require time, prayer, sacrifice, relational investment, and an openness to what God desires to do in and through you. It may be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do, but you won’t regret it. 

If any of these are you and you're interested in beginning a conversation about potentially being a part of Mosaic Lincoln, or if you just want to know more about who we are and what we're doing, shoot me an email.