This week the Wednesday evening "Gene's Group" (originally called Pub Club) concludes the journey through The Tangible Kingdom, with a discussion of making God's kingdom tangible by living the Intuitive Life. Intuition is the ability to sense or know without conscious reasoning. For the Christian, it is really about living life in faith and being guided by the Holy Spirit. You have often heard me say, "Pray that God would give you the eyes to see where He is at work around you, and, as He reveals His work to you, pray that you would have the courage to join Him in it". See, we do not need to cook up new ministries for our Lord. We do not need to start a new ministry, simply because we don't have that particular ministry, thus saying to God, "Lord, Here we go - please bless it". Developing an intuitive, incarnational lifestyle is a process and depends on our willingness to have our eyes, ears, and heart open to God's leading.

Because God is doing all this, the pressure is off of us! Once we understand this one great truth, we are free to adjust our lives to His work around us as He reveals it to us in others! That doesn't mean that we have to say "yes" to every ministry that comes along, but it does require us to prioritize our lives in accordance with the Scriptures, and to listen carefully to God as he guides us in living in an incarnational way in our community. In review of the last couple of months:

1)      Mission - We are a people on mission - whether you like it or not. You're decision is to accept the mission or not. We are a missional people and this mission of the good news is the natural impulse of our lives.
 

2)     Incarnational - Being Missional is the call on our lives, but how we go is the opposite side of the same coin - being incarnational. Incarnational means, "to take on flesh" and expresses both how we go, and what people see as we go.
 

3)     The Gospel - We proclaim the good news of Jesus as we go with great intentionality. In every Community Life Group of Christ Church, belief in and proclamation of the gospel is the heart of our existence.
 

4)     Community - We live in community with our brothers and sisters at Christ Church. Community is not created in isolation, nor does it happen without action. It requires each of us to navigate the tensions of interpersonal relationships. If you're not in a group - get in a group!
 

5)     Living Out - Living Out the gospel is where all of the previous points meet the real world. It is the natural and deliberate process of living among, listening to, and loving people in our culture with the desire to connect them to our Christian Community.
 

6)     Inviting In - Integrating Sojourners into the community as a result of living out the Gospel with intentional hospitality and compassion.
 

7)     Being an Apprentice - Apprenticeship (Disciple) is best understood in the context of learning a trade, especially one that requires developing a set of skills important to becoming a fine craftsman. As Christians, we become mature disciples as we live and model this life.
 

8)    The Intuitive Life - Living in faith, guided by the Holy Spirit, without conscious reasoning