| What
It Means...
A while ago I wrote a song whose lyrics go like
this...
What It Means to Me
Some
say it comes from fighting wars, on the shores of distant lands
Or that it is your right to say, whatever makes you feel like a man
Some say you’re born with it from privilege, it’s just placed
right in your hand
Or that you work for it all your life, the only way you’ll understand
Some
say it is the choice you have to take,
never feel you have to give back
Or the right you have to speak your mind, without the need to
understand
Some say it’s just another word, for “nothing else to lose”
But it might just be the choice you make, without compassion when you
choose
But
what it means to me
Freedom
is looking at the differences and seeing the same
It’s walking through the complexities of life and not playing their
game
Freedom is forgiveness, peace and contentment even when things lack
Freedom is love without the hope of ever getting it back
Freedom is the right to think and question your way through doubts and
fears
It is seeing the joys of life, in spite of all the tears
Freedom
comes from within.
Freedom comes from within
You can be bound and yet be free.
It’s true there is a price, but for you there's no fee.
So just let go
and find...
True
Freedom
Freedom...true freedom is something very different than what many of us
were taught in school or even in church. It's not independence
or our ability to do whatever we want to do, buy whatever we want to buy
or say whatever we want to say. Those things may not even be a
part of true freedom. True freedom is something that comes from
within; a spiritual state of mind that comes from Jesus...not attending
church or even practicing Christianity.
Check
out this quote from the Message version of the Bible...
[The Life of Freedom]
"Christ has set us free to live
a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a
harness of slavery on you." (Galatians
5:1).
This is very different from
what some may have been taught at church. This is not about
religion but rather the context implies shaking off the "harness of
slavery" (religious practices). I know many who have no real
use for the "church" but who still feel like they love the
true Jesus.
...and again
"I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to
circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment
Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my
warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all
the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the
slave life of the law. (Galatians
5:2)
Here, it is being said that true freedom does not come from keeping all of the
rules. In fact, the author says that dogmatic rule keeping will destroy your true freedom.
One more...
"It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just
make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do
whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use
your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom
grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a
single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of
true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch
out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and
where will your precious freedom be then?"
(Galatians
5:13)
The answer is not rules and
religion, but unconditional love. The only source for true
unconditional love is Jesus; not christianity, but Jesus. Never
confuse mans attempts at free speech, free thought, free religion, free
expression, free assembly, free choice or free association with true
freedom. You can be void from all of these and still be free.
Freedom
comes from within.
Freedom comes from within
You can be bound and yet be free.
It’s true there is a price, but for you there's no fee.
So just let go
and find...
Mentoring and
Multiplication
If religion is not the answer, then
how do we live out and grow in this freedom? One significant way that
will help us all grow is through spiritual mentoring. Not only
will each be mentored but will begin to mentor others for
the purpose of empowering them to mentor others... This becomes a
significant source for exponential growth in understanding, confidence
and maturity. With the belief that real Church happens were life happens, each individual
can go and reproduce healthy lives, leaders, and movements
that truly shape our world.
Unification
One Sixty Eight also believes in the unification of all people who have
experienced this true freedom in Jesus. We may all see many issues
from unique perspectives, but this should never keep us from working
together for the good of our communities. It is our mission to
help develop unity between all local
churches in the Rochester region; breaking down denominational walls and
helping to create one unified Church (while still maintaining unique
personalities) for united
action to accomplish God's greater good.
"...to be the whole
church, impacting the whole community..."
Dr. Cornell "Corky" Hahn
"Jesus is returning
for His Bride, not for His harem." Mike
Schorah
Art·ist·ry
Using
the arts to ensure that every man, woman and child in our region has
repeated, culturally relevant and accessible opportunities
to hear and see the true freedom available in Jesus Christ (not the
religion of Christianity); creating
a broad network of artists and related resources to assist in the
accomplishment of this mission.
This is the mission of Art·ist·ry.
The
mission of Art·ist·ry
will be carried out through many methods, some informal and some
formal. Thoughts include...
Forum(s)
-
To
bring together an expanded group of artist representing a wide
variety of arts-media who have a heart and passion to develop, work
together and practice the mission of Art·ist·ry.
-
Share
ideas and practices that artists have already been using that
“work”.
-
Brainstorm
specific practices that we can begin to implement (both individually
and as a group) that will serve to further the mission.
-
Begin
to develop a network of like-minded artists to offer support and
encouragement as well as resources to support each other in our
efforts.
Beyond
-
Development
and implementation of individual and group arts-based
events/activities that further the mission.
-
Regular
(monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly) Forum-style meetings
-
Non-formal
sharing of support and resources that come from the relationship and
networking of the Forums.
Get Involved
If you are interested in
finding out more information or in getting involved with any of these
Freedom opportunities, go to Schedule
of Events or Get Involved.
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