Last night was a huge night in the history of Immersion. It was bittersweet for me personally, but at the same time it was wonderfully exciting. I announced, on behalf of Immersion’s leadership team (Sarah Lubach and Matt McNeece), Pastor Mike and Pastor Richard, that this season of Immersion will be ending June 10, 2010.

For most of 2010, Immersion leadership has been in a discernment process. We’ve been asking God a lot of questions during this process and carefully listening for the leading of his Spirit. We’ve been asking …

• God, are we being as effective as we could be in reaching our mission field?
• Is this what you have in mind for Immersion?
• Where would you have us go? Do? Change?

As staff, we started to get the sense that God wanted to do something new. Something different to reach this new emerging generation of spiritual seeker here in Des Moines. But you can’t move into a new season unless the old season ends. You can’t have the warmth of Spring unless Winter releases it’s grip. In light of that, we made the decision to end this season of Thursday night ministry at Hope.

What does that mean?

It means that Thursday night ministry will take a summer break from programming (with perhaps one or two monthly gatherings thrown in) and re-start in the Fall during Hope’s Rally Weekend. June 10 will serve as a capstone celebration for all the amazing things that have been done through this ministry called Immersion. There will be stories, worship, testimonies and, most importantly … CAKE! If you have ever been a part of Immersion in any way, you will not want to miss what we have cooked up for the 10th.

Who will be leading Thursday night ministry in September?

I’m glad you asked. In light of the new direction for Thursday nights at Hope, June 10 will be my last night at Immersion. Now, I’m not going very far. I’ll be staying here at Hope to develop our online campus and online communication strategy. So I’ll be around, working hard, letting God lead, sitting in the mystery of who he is and where he’s leading. This is a good thing and I’m confident this is where God is leading.

Come September, Thursday nights will be lead by Jeremy Johnson. Jeremy is our current intern pastor, but don’t let the title fool you. This is a person who has passion, wisdom and insight. Someone who gets the culture, which is so vitally important for anyone who will be reaching out the 18-30 year-olds of Des Moines. Jeremy is a faithful guy who will lead the new season of Thursday night ministry at Hope. You’ll get to hear more from Jeremy on June 10th, and some of you may be familiar with his previous messages at Immersion. In the conversations Jeremy and I have had, I know he’s thinking big and I couldn’t be happier to pass the baton to him in this next, new season.

Final Thoughts

No doubt, these are some significant changes. To be truthful, we don’t have all the answers yet. There is mystery in this transition. But we do know that God is moving here in Des Moines. More specifically, he’s moving amongst the 30,000 (!!!) young adults that aren’t connected to Christ.

It’s been a joy to watch what God has done in and through you, the people of Immersion. Over the last several years, I’ve watched…

• Lives change.
• People exchange their self-centered reality for the reality of Christ.
• Watched people meet, fall in love and get married.
• Watch as Immersionites go on to make a life for themselves in God.

It’s been a joy, a pleasure, and an honor to serve alongside so many of you.

So spread the word, near and far. Let people who you know used to be a part of the Immersion community that we would love to see them on June 10. Send tweets, texts, update your status … Tell people! As always, you can check for the latest news here on BeImmersed.com and on Facebook.

Peace to you. See you on the 10th!

Justin

From The Church by Hans Küng:

The Spirit works where he wills. The Spirit of God cannot be restricted in his operation by the Church; he is at work not only in the offices of the Church, but where he wills: in the whole people of God. He is at work not only in the “holy city,” but where he wills: is all the churches of the one Church. He is at work not only in the Catholic Church, but here he wills: in Christianity as a whole. And finally he is at work not only in Christianity, but where he wills: in the whole world.

I love this passage. It points out purely and simply that the Holy Spirit reigns wherever he chooses! He is not limited by the four walls of a church, but is indeed at work in all places, in all people, at all times.

Believe it.

“But I do not know how to awake and rise!”

I will tell you. Get up, and do something the Master tells you; so make yourself his disciple at once. Instead of asking yourself whether you believe or not, ask yourself whether you have this day done one thing because he said, Do it, or once abstained because he said, Do not do it. It is simply absurd to say you believe, or even want to believe in him, if you do not anything he tells you. If you can think of nothing he ever said as having had an atom of influence on your doing or not doing, you have too good ground to consider yourself no disciple of his.

But you can begin at once to be a disciple of the Living One–by obeying him in the first thing you can think of in which you are not obeying him. We must learn to obey him in everything, and so must begin somewhere. Let it be at once, and in the very next thing that lies at the door of our conscience! Oh fools and slow of heart, if you think of nothing but Christ, and do not set yourself to do his words! You but build your houses on the sand.

There is within me a me which is both greater than me and at the same time authentically myself. One way of approaching this mysterious fact would be by what is called the paradox of grace. The more God gives me his grace (i.e. himself), the more I am myself. The more I discover within me the greater me the more I discover that that greater than me is authentically me.

–From Tensions by H.A. Williams

I read this earlier during my centering time with the LORD. It’s from George MacDonald’s Creation in Christ. He nails it.

I’ll be using some of these thoughts in our upcoming series, “Losing My Religion“.

How terribly, then, have the theologians misrepresented God! Nearly all of them represent hi as a great King on a grand throne, thinking how grand he is, and making it the business of his being and the end of his universe to keep up his glory, wielding the bolts of a Jupiter against them that take his name in vain. They would not allow this, but follow out what they say, and it comes much to this.

Brothers, have you found our king? There he is, kissing little children and saying they are like God. There he is at table with the head of a fisherman lying on his bosom, and somewhat heavy at heart that even he, the beloved disciple, cannot yet understand him well. The simplest peasant who loves his children and his sheep were–no, not a truer, for the other is false, but–a true type of our God beside that monstrosity of a monarch.

Wow. Powerful words for the people who believe God is out for vengeance.

Does this affect the way you see God? It should.

2009 was quite the year in the history of Immersion.

• We moved four times – Out of the Worship Center, into the Bridge, into the Chapel, back into the Worship Center.
• We changed the worship time back to our original start time, 8:30 pm.
• We learned about marriage, silence, miracles, lectio divina and the death of the prophet Elisha.
• We went to Rob Bell in downtown Des Moines.
• Most recently, we got this website up-and-running (finally!)

That was 2009. It was full of challenges and joys. Ups and downs. It was a hard year in a lot of ways – pruning and subsequent growth (though not always numerically) always is.

What does 2010 hold for the people of Immersion? In prayer and in my everyday, walking around life, this is what I think 2010 will look like for us.

• Less emphasis on the “whiz-bang” factor at Immersion’s worship service and more focus on connecting with one another. I believe one of the deepest desires we have as human beings is to connect with other people in meaningful ways. We want Immersion to be the fertile soil in which intimate relationships in Christ are formed.
• A more concentrated focus on our mission field. Immersion is a Spirit-led community of 20-somethings. We believe that this is the group that God has called us to reach out to. So that’s what we’ll do. The focus of Immersion has been vague over the past year, consequently we have wavered in our efforts. We’re asking God for a laser-like focus for the 20-something age group with no turning back. And by “20-somethings” we mean that’s the portion of the bell curve we’ll be aiming at. It’s time to focus on the flock God has called us to.
• More dialogue, less monologue. This is something that’s been weighing on me for some time. When I look at preaching in the modern church, I see a lot of “one-way” preaching: I, as the preacher, talk at you for a length of time and when I’m done, we all go home. While there is a time and a Biblical precedent for this, I’d like the preaching at Immersion to be more of a “two-way” street. I have some ideas of how that will work, but largely it’s going to be an experiment.
• More Exodus 18 ministry. Exodus 18 has been a pivotal ministry passage that I continually go back to, simply for the practical advice it offers. Moses has a conversation with his father-in-law, Jethro. Jethro basically says, “This work that God has called you to–you can’t do it alone!” Ministry–the work of the Church in telling the world about the new reality of Christ–is the work of the whole body, not just clergy. In a lot of ways, church staff has robbed the everyday believer of their chance to be the church! No more. Immersion will be a place where you can get your hands dirty.

Those are some of my “off-the-top” thoughts. Sarah and I are excited about some of the things we have planned for the new year. We’re excited for those of you who decide to join us. God, for reasons that I don’t think have been fully explored yet, seriously cares about Immersion. Our job? To find out why and partner with him in those reasons.

Blessings to you and yours during this Holy-day season. Merry Christmas.

From A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie:

Accompany me to-day, O Spirit invisible, in all me goings,
but stay with me also when I am in my own home and among my kindred.
Forbid that I should fail to show to those nearest to me the sympathy and consideration which thy grace enables me to show to others with whom I have to do.
Forbid that I should refuse to my own household the courtesy and politeness which I think proper to show to strangers.
Let charity to-day begin at home.

Leave me not, O Gracious Presence, in such hours as I may to-day devote to the reading of books or of newspapers.
Guide my mind to choose right books, and, having chosen them, to read them in the right way.
When I read for profit, grant that all I read may lead me nearer to thyself.
When I read for recreation, grant that what I read may not lead me away from thee.
Let all my reading so refresh my mind that I may the more eagerly seek after whatsoever things are pure and fair and true.

Let me have a special sense of thy nearness to me, O God, in such times as I may be able to devote to prayer, to any public exercise of worship,
or to the receiving of the Blessed Sacrament; through Jesus Christ my Lord.
Amen.

The primary purpose of this time is to get with God and let him speak to you–through his Word, through prayer, through other literature, through music, etc. Although this practice can quickly lead into a “checklist” activity (i.e. “I must have my quiet time with God or he won’t love me anymore!” We snicker, but I knew kids in college who truly believed this. And it showed. Striving much?), it is profoundly helpful in hearing God’s voice in your life.

So how do we do it? What does a quiet time even look like? If you’ve been wondering how, or if you want to start, here’s a quick and easy guide to get your devotional wheels turning:

1. Find a consistent time. I find mornings work best, but maybe you’re a night owl. Pick a time and own it.
2. Find a consistent place. After time, you’ll develop a “holy place” that you’ll look forward to going to day after day.
3. Have a reading plan. The “flip and stick” method of Bible reading rarely works long-term. Plan to read a chapter a day. Or read through the Gospels three times. Wade through Genesis on your own pace or find a reading plan to take you through the Bible in a year. Find something that works for you.
4. Use a devotional book as needed. One such book I use on a consistent basis is A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants. It is small, but it will launch your life with God into the stratosphere.
5. Most of all, listen. Spend intentional, set-apart time to listen for God’s voice. After all, that’s the whole point of spending time with him: to hear his voice.

As you do this, you’ll begin to discern what his voice sounds like for you. Life’s problems won’t magically go away, but you will find yourself deeply rooted and grounded in his reality, not your own. If it’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that God’s reality is way better than my own.

Do these things and you’re well on your way to having the spiritual life of a saint!

Well, we did it.

As you’ll see, we’ve made some significant changes to the website:

• We’ve updated our live webcast, enriching it with some features including the ability to add graphics and the ability to chat without registering for an account.
• We’ve added our Facebook Page friends to the sidebar.
• We added the ability to join Immersion Mobile, our text alert update system.
• We added a link to our Twitter page. “@” us or something
• Minor tweaks and adjustments, most of which you (hopefully) won’t notice!

So sit back and enjoy. We’ll be constantly tweaking the site to better fit the needs of Immersion. And of course, if you dig web design you can always join in and add your talents. Just get a hold of Justin Wise: justin(at)hopewdm.org.