Articles
Six Month Stewardship Update
07/03/07
Paul Vroom
For the past year and a half, Laura and I have been praying diligently for Missio Dei Church. We have had the honor of working with a great team of people who helped discern what God is calling this new local expression of the Body of Christ to be and do. As a team of unique and different individuals, we have joined together to serve wholeheartedly, as if serving the Lord, not men… (Ephesians 6:7). We have seen new faces join our little growing community and we are starting to see God move in fresh and new ways each passing week.
The Allure of Beautiful Feet
06/16/07
When I was a young child I was obsessed with playing with the Bibles in the church pews. It was mainly because of the noise the thin pages made, but I realize now that it was for a greater purpose. I had a feeling, even as a young child, that doing something with that book and the good news found within it was in my future.
The Beautiful Duty of Obedience
05/12/07
Terri Maxeiner
We know that obedience is God's love language for us, am I that woman who is faithful to God when he prompts my heart to obey? As a women so thirsty for His Word, and knowing in my head that the knowledge is there, but has it taken root in my heart?
Ground Rules for MDC
04/11/07
Paul Vroom
"What could God actually do if we would be totally sold out to His mission and vision?" has been the question that has been going through my head for the past six months. What would it look like for this Body of Christ called Missio Dei Church?
Our Starting Point
02/27/07
Paul Vroom
In doing some thinking about the process (in my "spare time"), I have been going through a number of articles that I have found helpful in my wrapping my head around what it means to plant a church. I have read about all kinds of ways or models to start churches.
Redeeming Creation
02/15/07
Steve Tuten
Growing up in a conservative Christian family gave me a slightly sheltered world view. Every CD, movie, and TV show I every watched or listened to was censored by my parents. My mom always used to tell me, "garbage in, garbage out." This of course meaning that if I were to listen to music with explicit lyrics I may begin using those explicit words. This never sat well with me as a musician and as someone who appreciates music. Even at a young age I began to question my church's response to culture. For the record let me say I do not necessarily disagree with my parents theories on "garbage" for their kids. I do feel the Church's response to culture has been pathetic the last 25 years. There is a fine line of being "in the world but not of the world", but it really seems as though most churches never attempt to find the line.
Baby Shower
02/08/07
Paul Vroom
If you have ever had a child, you know that you make frequent and expensive trips to Target to prepare your home for the new baby. In the same way, in conjunction with Peace Community Church, we will be hosting this Missio Dei "Baby Shower" to make sure that MDC has its needs taken care of before its launch in March. Missio Dei has a wide variety of items that are needed for the various ministries.
Is there any thing I can do?
01/30/07
Paul Vroom
"So, why is a church like Missio Dei Church necessary?," was a question I was asked a couple weeks ago by a friend as we were talking about MDC. He pointed out that there are other good evangelical churches in our area. Why would we need to start up another church in the Lincoln-way area?
Silent Thunder
01/13/07
Paul Vroom
“We begin praying for others by first quieting our fleshly activity and listening to the silent thunder of the Lord of hosts.†– Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 39
Making Excellent Sense
12/29/06
As I reflect on Christ in this Holiday season, and as I reflect on what the Missio Dei really is, this quote stands out to me - ...That everything else we know about the world can make excellent sense.
Greatest Gift
12/14/06
Paul Vroom
The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God.
MDC is Making a Difference for ME!
12/01/06
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified... This verse has been heavy on my heart over the past few weeks. My husband and I moved to the Mokena/Frankfort area in June of this year. We have been married two and a half years and within those years, we have moved three times. Neither of us are from this area originally, but we have enjoyed this move a great deal.
New Life Parallels
11/15/06
Paul Vroom
As I look into Isaac's eyes, I dream about what God has in store for his future. It will take time (a lot of time) to see this infant into adulthood. It will take resources (raising a kid ain't cheap) to give him what he needs. It will also take God-fearing community (because thatis God's desire for his covenant community) investing in him in every way possible.
Simon Birch: God's Plan
10/30/06
Matt Cavanaugh
There has been one message that God has absolutely pounded into my head this past year: God has a purpose set forth for me with regards to His ultimate plan.
Interested in Jesus?
10/15/06
Do you think people aren’t much interested in Jesus anymore? Think again. While doing in depth research for this week’s Prayer champion email I did what any red blooded American does first when faced with an assignment - I Googled it. I entered “Jesus†into the search engine fully expecting numerous matches, but I was still surprised to see roughly 207 million. That’s 207,000,000.
