Introductions

Hey fellas,
This is new territory for me (forums and such) ,Josh turned me on to this site , so I hope it suits our purpose.
I led you guys to believe that I would be making the introductions but in forsite I think you will represent yourself
much better than I.
Some of you guys , I haven't been in touch with for a while and some of you don't know each other , so in that light . I would like to know where you live, if your married(have a family)etc.etc. but mostly I want to know Where You Are At.(spiritually ) I will post my own intro shortly , but in the interim I will briefly tell you where we fit in the "Six Degrees of Separation".

(Andy Fox) A friend I've known only briefly but who's conversation I find stimulating and for the lack thereof leaves me wanting more.
(Adam Hoar) A fellow Adventurer . A leader . A lover...(not my lover but a passionate guy in general)
(Josh Britnell) A man whos path he chose early on. a missional heart . A long time friend
(Trey Head) Intent. A worshipper. I would love to get to know him more over several pots of coffee.
(Will Pufall) Introspective. Artistic. Traditionalist(not really, just grounded) The man who introduced me to the Spacious Life.
(Matt Britnell) A Military minded Peace loving man, whos path I admire , whos friendship I value.
(Mitch Puson) Intentional. Poetic (the way he lives) A Mentor
(Bob Wilson) Authentic. A Father . A Listener. A Leader. My Dad

Looking forward to this, Zach

Yeah, same here on the ,"newbie to forums." I don't even know how I got this far...but here we go. Zach, thanks for the invite in general and the thoughtful intro. I'm not sure how much I will be able to lend to this ongoing discussion of spiritual prevalence, but I'll do my best to offer some engaging thoughts. Look forward to hearing from everyone.

-peace
Trey

Hello Gentlemen,

First of all I'd like to just say that I'm very much looking forward to engaging in deep conversations with all of you. Also, although Zach credited me with the idea for the forum, I too am a forum virgin. Or was.

I am 25 years old. I have been married for almost 3 years to my wife, Diana. We have a little girl, Clara, who is almost 2 months old. We live in Pensacola, FL.

The first of the year I stepped down from my job at a church where I was Young Adults and Outreach Pastor. It just was sapping all of our energy. My wife and I thought we might go on the mission field (and we still probably will) but for now we feel that we’re going to be here in the states for a little while.

I am currently working full-time for my father-in-law building houses. Yes, I am carpenter, just like J.C.

Spiritually, I have come to the point where I realize that church is not what it should be. Too many resources (time, energy, money) are spent on feeding the machine. Outreach involves inviting people to join your church. It has to be deeper than that. The church doesn't exist for itself but for the world.

Regardless of what I think about the church (a generality no doubt), I still believe in Jesus and I still believe that He is the Hope of the world. And I still believe that the Church is the Bride of Christ and that He’s coming back for it.

But I don’t think that what we generally think of as church is what He’s coming for. I think many will say to Him "Lord, Lord, did we not build amazing buildings in your name?" and He will say "Depart from me I never knew you."

I look forward to getting to know you all,

Josh Britnell

On another note, I wonder if it is possible to set the time to a time at or near central time (eastern would be fine as well), but I didn't post anywhere near 2:45 in the morning. It was more like 9:45 at night.

About the time Josh,
I'm trying to figure it out. Right now I'm about as computer illiterate as a cock roach eating two week old egg off the stove (I would never let a cock roach eat two week old egg)

no problem.

thanks for the rather disgusting analogy.

Gentlemen,

Firstly, let me thanks our 'uniting factor' Zach (formerly known as Admin) for making this happen. I am looking forward to engaging with you all. This could turn out to be the real thing, so here we go.

I am 28 years old and live in Lawrenceville, GA (a NE suburb of Atlanta). My wife Shiree and I have been married for almost 7 years and we have 2 children. Levi is 3 years old (born on St. Patrick's Day and he has bright red hair) and Hosanna is 18 months old (she missed stealing my birthday by 1 day).

I work for a company called INJOY Stewardship Services, a church financial consulting company founded by John Maxwell (the guy who writes a lot of books on leadership). I have worked for them for about 2 1/2 years. I have also been a part of the teaching team at our church, Atlanta Vineyard, for the past several years.

From a spiritual standpoint, this past year has been very awakening. After leaving my position at the Atlanta Vineyard (Young Adults and Small Groups Pastor), I began to evaluate the church as a whole, the church I attended, my personal relationship with God, and my relationship with others in my life. Over about 30 miles of hiking trails in NE Georgia, I began to restructure and reevaluate what it means for me to be a Christian and what I am called to do. I haven't figured it all out yet, but it is exciting begin to break out of the performance ritual and really begin to discover a full life in God.

As for the things that I enjoy, my newest hobby is mountain biking. Sure, I have ridden some trails in the past, but it is now becoming a true sport to me. I try to get into the woods as much as possible, whether it is backpacking, car camping with friends and family, flyfishing, caving, or any other excuse I can come up with.

Well, I am looking forward to reconnecting with some of you (Josh, Matt, and Bob - glad to know you guys are in the mix) and getting to know the rest of you. I wish that these intros were happening around a fire after some miles on the trail, but maybe we can throw a trip in here sometime.

Adam

Hi there,

I asked Zach if he was sure he wanted me (the traditionalist) in this mix, and I guess he decided it was worth the risk. So, in way of introduction, my name is Will, I live in Pensacola, FL, and enjoy long walks on the beach and reading Dickens by candlelight. Okay, those last 2 are lies, or at most half-truths (I don't think I've ever read Dickens by candlelight). I'm the worship leader (or lead worshiper, or whatever the current en vogue title is) at Harvest Church in Pensacola, and have been since the church started in our lead pastor's living room eleven or so years ago. God has really blessed us by taking away the possibility of us being building centered, since we currently meet in another church's facility and have a Sunday morning service in a Rave movie theater. I grew up as a P.K. (which is probably where the traditionalist vein stems from). I also take care of the church's web design, graphic design, and some video needs. I occasionally find the inspiration (and the time) to pen some of my own songs. And I'm one of the few people that can say I have been part of the Trifecta of bands--that is, being in the same band with all 3 of the older Britnell boys (and, as an extra bonus, a drummer with an uncanny resemblance to Ben Affleck).

When I'm not working, I do enjoy long walks through the mountains, preferably on the A.T. (Going through the Smokey Mountain National Park in a few weeks, can't wait!) and just generally being outdoors. (Although the beach would be a grander place if it weren't for all the annoying sand.) I'm totally on board with Adam's idea about moving this forum to around a camp fire somewhere. Beyond that, I seem to shoot a lot if pool and read a lot. (But no Dickens.)

I feel extremely fortunate to be a part of a church that is really doing its best to leave behind the pomp and circumstance that surrounds a lot of the 21st-century mainstream church. Harvest really is about PEOPLE, and not just in the whole "what's missing from CH--CH: UR" way. Numbers don't matter. Filling seats doesn't matter. Programs don't matter. CHANGING LIVES is what matters. That said, I should warn everyone that I'm totally worn out with church bashing. I mean, not only is the Church (capital "C", meaning the universal church) God's idea, but as Josh said, she is the bride of Christ. (Would one of you married fold like someone continually bashing your wife, no matter how many failings she may have?)

Anyway, as you all will soon discover, I can tend to be long-winded (or long keyboarded), so I'll just say that I am looking forward to getting to know all of you and and glad to be a part of this on-going discussion!

-will-

P.S. I just can't get that image of the cockroach and the 2-week-old egg out of my head........

hey will,

why don't we get together sometime this week or next to play a little pool and bash the guys who haven't posted yet?

Hello Goodfellas,
Here goes......
This is zach, I am currently a citizen of the fine state Louisiana , living in the town of Covington(just across the lake from New Orleans).
Married to the lovely Faith Begin for about 4 years and father to the coolest 2year old boy ...Asher. He's got his mothers good looks and his fathers aptitude to get into trouble(he needs to get saved for sure).
This last year has been a eye opener for me, following up several prior years of discontent , disillusionment , and joyless christianity . Atrophy would aptly descibe my spiritual condition a year ago, and now by Gods Grace my mind and heart are starting to throb , twitch and spasm again... A good sign I think.
I am by nature anti-establishment(though not necessarily anti-authority)which has the negative effect of turning an ordinary "warning sign" or "red flag" into a full blow BILLBOARD that I can't see past. Thankfully , this illness is starting to fade , but its effect is already evident both for good and bad.
Right now I consider myself a protestant(in the truest meaning of the word) seeking Reformation in my own life . I, like Adam have needed to redefine Christianity for myself and the process has been invigorating. As introspective as the past year has been , the Church (at large) has taken an unhealthy amount of critisism from me ( one of the ill effects of the forementioned malady) but thankfully I think it will survive , thanks in part to good men like sir William Pufall and others like yourselves.
Well, thats me in a nut shell . Be prepared to suffer the contents of this nutshell in our coming conversations.
I love you guys and look forward to delving into your beautiful minds .( I'm sorry. That last sentence was a bit to sappy; I'll try not to let it happen again.)

Zach
ps. I can't find "spelchek" . sorry
pss. I intend to post a "provocation" in the next couple of days.

Hey guys,

First of all, I'm completely excited and honored to be a part of this. It'll be interesting to see where this goes, and I know without a doubt
that we will all be stronger Christians and better men as a result.

I guess it's my turn to introduce myself. I'm Josh's twin brother (or maybe he's mine), which makes me 25 or so. I've been married to an
amazing woman, Leah, for a little over three years. No kids yet.

We live in the Pacific Northwest (about an hour south of Seattle, WA). Those of you who love the outdoors must come visit me. I go
camping and/or hiking as much as my schedule will allow (I'm going this weekend).

We are involved in a church near the University of Washington that reaches out primarily to college students (www.mosaic-seattle.org).

I'm the military guy. I'm a Signal Officer and a platoon leader in the Army. My job is to train Soldiers; their job is communications
equipment. From time to time I get to do cool stuff like firing all kinds of weapons and rappelling out of helicopters (that's next week).

Prior to arriving here at Fort Lewis in March, I'd lived in three different cities in a year, and during that time didn't have a consistent church
home. When I was in New Orleans with Will and Zach about a month and a half ago, I realized how much I have missed the consistent
spiritual challenging from men like Will and Zach. In other words, it's been a lonely year, spiritually speaking.

My own search for truth is currently careening toward the following question:

How do we live life with unbelievers? I think this question stems from my experiences in the Army. I work (and lived, for a while) with a
number of people who have a conception of what a Christian looks like, and I know that I didn't fit that mold, but I'm also not sure I had the
impact that I would like (or even what that would look like). I look at the way Jesus lived life with people. He went where they were, did
what they did, became a part of them, but still didn't compromise who he was. I know that I, at times in my life, have been unable to relate to
those who are not Christians, but how do we live out the Gospel without becoming weird?

A pastor I know in Pensacola owns a T-shirt that says, "They will know us by our T-shirts," and while I appreciate the irony, I'm pretty
sure that's not the answer. It does, however, pose an interesting question: what does identify us as Christians to unbelievers? How do I
associate myself with Christ without associating myself with preceptions of what a Christian is?

I'll add on to what Will said about church-bashing that it's much easier to say what we're against than to be FOR something. That goes for
us as we relate to society (we're against drinking, smoking, R-rated movies, Hillary Clinton, marijuana, and abortion,), and as we relate to
the church (we're against Catholics, Baptists, Calvinists, and Hillsong--except Hillsong United, right?). I think it also applies when we try to
understand how we should relate to non-Christians. Understanding what we disagree with is helpful, but only if it moves us towards what
a conclusion that we can support.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - George Orwell

Matt B

Josh, I like your idea about pool and bashing. Thought it seems others are catching up in posting their intros, so we may be left with little to bash. Republicans, maybe? Cat lovers?

And in regard to Matt's brief allusion to Hillsong, wasn't it Darlene Zschech herself who said, "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated"?

well, better late than never!

Good to "meet" you guys. I am excited to see where this leads us.

Now for the big intro...I am 31 years old, physically feel like I am closer to 40, emotionally feel like I am still a kid. I have been married for four and a half years to a wonderful woman named Heidi. We don't have any kids yet but are excited about the prospect of kids in the future. We have lived in San Francisco, CA for the last two years after spending fifteen years in Louisiana during my high school, college, and post college years.

From the time I left college until I moved to California, I worked as a youth pastor/minister/director in different United Methodist churches although I never really claimed the UM church as my own. Now, Heidi and I run the San Francisco site of an urban mission organazation called Center for Student Missions. We put together short term mission trips for churches to come into urban San Francisco/Oakland. One of the coolest parts of my job here is that we get to encourage each of these churches to become more missional in there own communities, to go back home and look for ways to be/share Christ to the needy in their own communities.

As for where I am at spritually...I became a follower of Christ 11 years ago while in college. I have been struggling for the last three or four years with just going through the motions of the Christian life, and now find myself becoming more and dissatisfied with the status quo both in church and in my own life. I want genuine relationships, meaningful conversations, truth teaching pastors, and friends that will call me on my short comings...all while keeping Christ as the head of it all.

Another theme that has been consisitent in my spiritual life over the last few years is the idea of returning to the joy of my salvation as in Psalms 51. Not that I have had any women bathing out on the deck experiences, but I feel that I have lost the joy that comes along with knowing Jesus.

So that's it for now...I am excited to get to know you guys. Also, I too wish this were around a campfire!

Hello all! As Zach has noted so accurately--I'm his dad. I'll get more informative later. Right now I'm just trying to figure out if I'm doing this correctly.

OK guys here's a little bio. Born and raised a Catholic in Mobile Al. The year was 1950. Normal childhood, other than not having a dad around. Had a terrific mom though. Still do. Three great older sisters. Blessed(hindsight) by the draft in 1970. Joined the USN and served as an air controller from 71 to 75. Apprehended by the Lord Jesus Christ in August of 74 in a little Baptist church in San Diego, Cal. Which reminds me. Changed the love of my life's name from Cindy Kittrell to Cindy Wilson in 71. She was born again a week before me and got me to church. Haven't been bored a day in my life since then. Have what many would say is a full quiver(9) but some quivers are bigger than others. All that matters is faith that works by love. Uh oh. I'm slipping into teacher mode so I'd better sign off. Besides I haven't done this much typing in 40 years and I'm slap worn out. But know this men, I'm truly honored to be a part of this forum, and excited about the potential good for all. Later!