How do you prepare?

How do you prepare to meet with your brothers and sisters in Christ so that you
can encourage them to walk in maturity?

This is what Alan Knox wrote:  http://www.alanknox.net/2010/10/be-prepared/

God encounters

Many Christians miss out on God encounters because they are satisfied with good theology.

praise - criticism

If you don't live by the praises of men you won't die from their criticism.

I just read this fun fact… 10-10-10

Today is the tenth of the tenth month 2010.

This month has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays.

Only happens every 853 years.

I am so thankful for my community…

I came across this blog entry and it warmed me to see how many of these "imagine a community" things we have experienced. 
Wes says - "I thank God everyday how many of these I don't have to imagine, I experience.  " And he looks forward to God showing him some of the others.

http://elroybosch.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/imagine/

I’m sorry for being so quiet the past two weeks or so. I’ve been thinking lately about the values that were typical of the New Testament church. To me it’s much more exciting and important to champion these values than to highlight the mistakes of the modern-day church. Unfortunately when you emphasize biblical values, unbiblical values get mentioned by default.

To help my thinking I’ve used the “Imagine a community …” phrase that I then assign a biblical attribute to. This helped me a lot in my quest to discover the values that excites me so much. I’ve included some of them below and my list is continually growing. Read through them and add your own in the Comment box. Follow my tweets as I regularly tweet new Imagine phrases.

· Imagine a community where everybody thinks more highly of the next guy than of himself. Think church.

· Imagine a community where nobody carries a title. Think church.

· Imagine a community who has no hierarchical ladder to climb. Think church.

· Imagine a community who is not subdued by the leadership of 1 or 2 great men but a community who consists of great men. Think church.

· Imagine a community who considers everybody “called”. Think church.

· Imagine a community who are more concerned about your position in Christ than you are yourself. Think church.

· Imagine a community who heals the sick. Think church.

· Imagine a community to whom relationships are more valuable than possessions. Think church.

· Imagine a community where everybody is regarded absolutely equal in value. Think church.

· Imagine a community where everybody learns from everybody. Think church.

· Imagine a community to whom Christ is the absolute functional central figure. Not a pastor, reverent etc. Just Christ. Think church.

· Imagine a community where friends become as close and often closer than your natural family. Think church.

· Imagine a community to whom sharing and giving is the new normal. Think church.

· Imagine a community who will make personal sacrifices to see your legitimate needs met. Think church.

· Imagine a community who will literally pray through the night on your behalf. Think church.

· Imagine a community where each member’s contribution is regarded as absolutely essential. Think church.

· Imagine a community who is able to birth similar communities across the globe without budget restraints. Think church.

· Imagine a community who is not dependant on tithes and offerings for its success. Think church.

· Imagine a community who defines success by the maturity of the group and not by the giftedness of individuals. Think church.

Thanks for reading.

HERE ARE SOME FROM HIS TWITTER PAGE:  http://twitter.com/elroybosch

Imagine a community to whom leaders are guide posts and reference points and not CEO-like directive leaders. Think church.
Imagine a community where worship is not a way of singing but a way of living. Think church.
Imagine a community who is much more family-like than business-like. Think church.
Imagine a community who urge and expect everybody to take part in their gatherings. Think church.
Imagine a community who will literally sell personal property to help one another. Think church.