Well, I'm in. After jumping through the hoops in the process with the North Puget Sound Presbytery:

• meeting with the committee on ministry to share with them what I am being called to do (COM oversees the relationships between pastors and churches,
• giving written responses to my ordination questions,
• applying for "validated ministry outside the jurisdiction of the church" which means that I am ministering but not in a Presbyterian church
• being interviewed by a sub-committee of COM about my written responses
  meeting with individuals from COM
  

I went before the Presbytery this afternoon where they could ask me any question, and when no one said anything, Diane Kuntz who has a prayer ministry through North Creek Presbyterian Church, asked me to talk about my experience of prayer and the Holy Spirit - in a Presbyterian gathering! Awesome! They voted me in.

At lunch I was speaking with Diane, Paul Strong (pastor of North Creek), Denise Easter (who works in the prayer ministry with Diane, and Bob Ekblad about the need for prayer and healing in the churches in North Puget Sound. As they began to formulate ideas it was suggested that we spend some time gathering and praying and asking the Lord what He wants to do and how He might have us partner with Him. So, I quickly find myself in a group similar to the one I started in Seattle Presbytery to intercede for the work of Jesus in the churches. It is no accident. Bless You Jesus for how You connect us and for Your timing.

The End of a Full Week

Along with finding a new home, we have had the deliverance ministry of Gille, a pastor in the Reformed Church of France, and his team this past week. It has been powerful and timely. The Spirit of God has been preparing Tierra Nueva for a new season and Gille's coming has helped remove some of the obstacles that have kept certain things from moving into a greater fullness of true freedom and liberation. As a result, some significant changes are afoot in the way things are structured and how things happen. God our Father is good to be provoking things by His Spirit in order for us to walk free of them in Jesus. We are in an exciting time and are looking forward to seeing the fruit of this week.

A New Home

After many months of searching with unsatisfying results, we have found a home and signed the lease. We have been living with Susan's mom, Kathy Lea (thank you so much for your hospitality, mom!) for the past three weeks. When we moved out of our Ballard house we put our stuff in storage in Bellingham and came here with no prospects in sight. A few months ago I was complaining to the Lord about it and asking Him what He was doing about it and I felt like He said, "I am preparing a place for you." Okay. So, is that the heavenly mansion place or something a bit sooner...

We had another one we had been looking at in the same area but weren't feeling completely settled about and it would have been a much longer wait for it. We hadn't specifically named an area when we prayed, but had commented on several occasions that the Fairhaven area would be great for many reasons, including that it was the southernmost exit and closest to Tierra Nueva. Susan had also asked the Lord if it was okay to really love the place and not just settle for something. When this new place appeared on Craig's List, we set up an appointment immediately. When we signed the lease on Thursday, our landlord said that he hadn't had anyone living in it for a year because he had been working on it - the kitchen is completely remodelled with new appliances and cabinets, there are new hardwood floors and new carpeting - and he loves Border Collies and has owned several over the years.

So, we move in tomorrow morning. Thank You, heavenly Father, for Your great and generous provision - for preparing this place for us for the last year, and for what You are preparing to do in us and through us in this place. We dedicate it to You, Jesus.

Busy week at Tierra Nueva

This week we have visitors from Paris - Gille, Od, Linda, and Jan. They have a ministry of healing and deliverance and are working with the staff, and will be doing three days of teaching and ministry starting Tuesday. They met with staff this morning and already I know I have much to learn. I especially appreciate Gille's response when I ask him any formula questions, such as, "When you are in this situation, do you do this?" His response is always, "I don't know, you must ask the Lord."

Last night was the bi-lingual worship service and potluck. We had beautiful weather and so ate outside with plenty of good food to go around. We brought Susan's mom, Kathy, with us for Mother's Day and because she wanted to see where we now are. After the teaching time we entered into a time of worship and waiting on the Lord. I felt the presence of the Spirit and offered to pray for Kathy's foot - she has painful arthritis in her toe. As we prayed for her, it was clear the Lord was touching her in ways she was unused to and deeply. She hasn't felt any pain in her toe since then. Thank You Jesus.

Home at Last

It looks like we finally have a place to live in Bellingham. This is such an answer to prayer. Thank You, Jesus. While we hadn't prayed specifically about this neighborhood, we had breathed a request late one night driving into Bellingham past the first exit, which is Old Fairhaven Way, saying that we wished that was our exit. It looks like it will be and could be as soon as next week, which is nice because we have to be out of our present location for the week of May 21-27 while Susan's mom hosts visitors from Norway. Anyone want to help us move again?!

The new place is 1301 17th Street in Bellingham.

Tattooed men with dark pasts

This is how the brochure for Tierra Nueva's Underground Coffee Project starts... are now local, underground artisan coffee roasters...

I'm drinking my morning coffee (now TN Underground) while I write. The brochure in front of me gives a better explanation than I did earlier.

The Tierra Nueva Honduras community of growers is the fruit of a 25-year long grassroots movement in the district of Minas do Oro. TN promoters reach out to poor farmers in neighboring villages, teaching them how to grow this coffee and other basic grains without chemicals, how to protect rich topsoil, use biodiversity and tree planting for shade-grown, bird-friendly crops such as this.

These growers are paid more for their beans than Fair Trade standards would require. We are looking for more than fair market trades: our mission is to invest lavishly in the communities of both the Central American farmers who grow the coffee and the local ex-offenders who roast and bag it here in the Pacific Northwest. Coffee is just one part of this larger movement for social renewal.

Men from our jail and migrant ministry are dismissed by employers: bad records, tattoos or societal status. So they go back to old habits. But we see how God is recruiting these gangsters, recovering addicts and those in other hidden places to experience spiritual renewal and become original ministers of unexpected love to the streets. This is underground discipleship.

As I said earlier, it is a beautiful thing, and good coffee. You can order it from the website: www.tierra-nueva.org or email Chris Hoke - chrishoke@gmail.com.

Why are we here?

Last February we were sitting in on Bob Ekblad's Regent class, Exodus and Liberation. He pointed out that the Hebrew word, rahah, which means to see shows up several times in the first three chapters of Exodus and is connected to liberating acts. In chapter one the Hebrew midwives see the Hebrew baby boys and disobey Pharaoh's command to kill them before they are born. Moses' mother sees Moses and hides him then puts him in a basket. Pharaoh's daughter sees Moses and has pity on him and raises him as her own. In chapter two Moses sees the Hebrews being treated harshly by the Egyptian overseer and kills him. And in chapter three at the burning bush, Yahweh says, "I have seen... I have heard... I am concerned... I have come down... I have seen" and this leads Yahweh to send Moses.

At the end of the day we did an exercise called The Meeting Place. Try this for yourself. Close your eyes and imagine your favorite place to meet with Jesus. Picture yourself there. Picture Jesus there. What do you want to say to Him there? Now ask Him, "If You could meet with me some place different, where would You want to meet with me?" Does the place change? Ask Him why? Or why not?

When we did this exercise I started with Jesus in the Enchantments, one of the most beautiful places in Washington, high in the mountains outside Leavenworth, WA. One of my favorite places. When I asked Jesus where He wanted to meet with me I suddenly found myself in a garbage dump! This is neither what I expected or wanted. I asked Him why there? He said He wanted me to see. Rahah.

Later, one student in the class told me of a trip he and his wife made to Egypt. They climbed Mt. Sinai hoping for a spiritual experience but found it hot, dry and dusty. But later they were invited to a ministry that takes place in the dump where many people live and found the Presence of Jesus there.

So, here I am, beginning to see.

How We Got Here, Prophetic Words

To speak prophetically is simply to listen to what God is saying and speak it out. Paul is clear in 1 Corinthians 14 that the gift of prophecy is for three things: building upon the foundation of Jesus (edification), encouraging, and consolation. It's hard to go wrong with that. Of course, we always hear and speak through the lens that is us, so it is often good to frame things by saying something like, "I don't know if this connects for you, but this is what I am sensing/hearing/seeing/feeling." Paul reminds the Thessalonians not to despise prophecy, but to throw out the bad and hold on to the good - so there is bad prophecy, or a mix that is too full of me and not enough of what Jesus is saying. We've been reading a great book by Brad Jersak called Can You Hear Me? on tuning in to God's voice. It is the most accessible book on this that I have ever read - full of "tuning in" exercises that help you to give Jesus your attention and may surprise you as to how much you are already hearing from Him.

I say all this because we received many prophetic words in the past six months that have pointed to where we now are and have been a great confirmation that we are where God has planned.

Words from August 15
You are being reassigned. It is advancement, but not as the world sees it. The deep things you have prayed and desired will be birthed when you step into the new thing.

Words from August 16
Green meadows north - Psalm 23. Rest in Jesus and trust, trust, trust. Know you are not alone, the Holy Spirit is with you and ahead of you - trust! Risk = advancement; the Lord will provide. It will be different than what I am used to; green pastures, country not city... different ministry... answers to prayers from years ago. Praise Him!

Words from November 11
You will be a pastor of a church without walls.

Words from December 20
It's coming, and it will surprise you. Not what you expect; but it will be exciting.

We weren't looking for Tierra Nueva. Following the idea of senior pastor positions, that is what we were looking at. We were looking for a church with walls (and a regular paycheck!). We were looking for the next step (which would amount to advancement in the world's eyes). We were looking for city and not for country. Yet, it was as we took this time to rest in His Presence and simply desire more of Him, that His plans came to the surface for our attention - the only thing that came into focus was our growing connection with Tierra Nueva. One thing that set this apart from othe possibilities was that Susan is called to be here, too. It is exciting to be a team!

How Did We Get Here? Part 1

After living in the Seattle area for 27 years and working in ministry at four different Presbyterian churches over 23 years, we were a part of a new church on Capitol Hill that was a marriage between Church at the Center and Westminster Presbyterian. We were staffed for growth, which means among other things that we had more staff than we could afford, and after a year we realized that things needed to change for the church. One of the results was that two associate pastor positions were eliminated as of October 15, 2007. While this was a reasonable financial decision, it is much bigger than that.

During the time of that decision making by church leadership, it was clear to us that this was God's plan for us and for the church. He has more for all of us and it necessitated our leaving. As we initially wrestled with this, God spoke very clearly to me. A number of people, starting with my wife, were asking me if I'd ever considered being a senior pastor. I had never desired this. The same day that these conversations were piling up on me, my friend Eric, taught on taking risks, saying, God always wants to take us to places where, if He doesn't show up, it all falls apart. I realized that I didn't risk much in my job (it's hard for associate pastors to do that).

The next morning I was on my prayer walk - this was a regular rectangle of blocks in our neighborhood - when I got to the northwest corner, instead of turning, I felt a strong pull in me that I was to go an extra block. I had no idea what for, but followed that sense. As I came around the block and was getting back on to my regular route, I complained to the Lord - I don't know what that was for! I'm sure You were doing something in the unseen realm and I may never know about it... when I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see my senior pastor, James, on his morning run. We have never encountered each other in our morning times and if I had done my regular route I would have been heading south by this time and would have missed him - so I was on alert.

As we talked, he said that he was glad that we had a level of trust in our friendship so that he could tell me the things he needed in my staff review that week. I wondered what required a level of trust but he didn't say, so I told him about conversations I'd been having lately and about Eric's talk on risk. James blurts out, "Okay, here is the thing - as I am running this morning, right before I saw you, I was praying for you and I was praying about the fact that you never take risks!"

So, God orchestrated our morning to give me the message that it was time to take a risk. As this message coincided with several conversations about senior pastor positions, I began to look and get my resume out for some. I felt a great sense of freedom and inadequacy - it wasn't my idea after all. If it was going to happen, Jesus would have to make it happen and would have to equip me.

Coffee Project

I just spent time with Zach, Jesse and Chris who are heading up the Coffee Project. Tierra Nueva has imported 3,000 pounds of Honduran coffee and is roasting small batches (6-8 lbs) while they learn the art of coffee. It is really good stuff. This is the full integration of Tierra Nueva Honduras with Tierra Nueva Washington and 25 years of dreaming. The project gives guys who are coming out of jail a place to recover and restore their dignity with a level of being discipled at the same time. This is a marriage of ecological concerns with social justice and spiritual development. Its really beautiful.

Getting Started at Tierra Nueva

It is finally May and our much anticipated start date with Tierra Nueva - check them out at http://www.tierra-nueva.org/. It has been an adventure getting here and the adventure continues. We moved out of our house in Ballard at the end of April still having found no place that feels like home in Bellingham, so we are being hosted by Susan's mom (thanks mom!) in Snohomish for a few weeks. Bob thinks that we are supposed to live in Skagit somewhere closer to TN. I have to admit that being closer to the community appeals to me, while the intent to build connections in B'ham toward future ministry there also calls to us to be rooted there.



While our call to Tierra Nueva has been clear, our sense of what we would be doing there has been vague. Things stirred up among the staff over the past two weeks and revealed a desire for more hands on direction and mentoring, so it appears that we will be "pastoring" the staff in the process of our being immersed in the workings of TN. The directors, Bob and Gracie Ekblad, welcome this and I think would appreciate the support themselves.



So, our first few days have been connecting with some of the staff - Chris, Amy, and Ryann. The group have fascinating stories of how God brought them to TN out of a deep dissatisfaction and pain in their experience of the Evangelical Church. One pointed out their depression over the emptiness of their experience with the world's solutions for social justice issues and the denial and complacency of the church. Much of the main stream reading of scripture, Bob has summed up as being moralist, heroist, exemplarist and domesticated. (For more on these read Bob's book, Reading the Bible With The Damned)



I find myself a bit of an alien among this group. I have so much to learn about a world view from the margins, so I am new on that front. But my dissatisfaction with evangelicalism has not led to a break with it but a longing to see the Spirit poured out more and more so that it would no longer have a form of godliness but denying the power therein. Susan and I had dinner with some friends weeks ago - the husband listened to our stories of what God's Spirit had been doing and said he realized that his faith had settled down to wishing/praying good thoughts for people and hoping to get something out of the sermon on Sunday.



So, here we are, stepping out more and more into the MORE that the Spirit of God is calling us into, praying that the eyes of our hearts would be opened to the Presence of Jesus in all we are doing. Today we walked with the Farm Workers Solidarity March in Skagit Valley.



More later...