I met Fares (pronounced ‘fair-us’) at a bus stop in North Portland yesterday. Fares is from Tunisia and came to the University of Portland to get an MBA. He was very friendly and gave me some good advice about bus routes and the best places to catch a bus.

Barb and I have commented on how friendly people are in Portland. In fact so far I haven’t met anyone who wasn’t friendly. Each day that I am out and about, I ask God to lead me to someone to talk to. One question I like to ask people is for their advice for me as I start a church in down town Portland. People like to tell me what they think. You know, Christians are often seen as advice givers, and, I guess so we are. We advise people on how to find eternal life through Jesus Christ. Pretty important information. But, I notice that Jesus tended to ask others what they thought. He wanted their advice… “do you want to get well?” “whose inscription is on the coin?” “which person was the good neighbor?” “what do you read in the law, what does it say?” “where did John’s baptism come from?” “who do people say that I am?”

One major goal I have as I start Journey3 is to find a few people who will join Barb and me to form our core team for this new ministry. Where will I meet them??? in a coffee shop? on the bike trail? at the book store? at a free clinic? at a bus stop? Please pray that God leads me to our core team members!

He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth– the Lord God Almighty is his name. Amos 4:13

People have long thought of mountains as places of danger and adventure. Mountains don’t give up their beauty easily. They demand sacrifice and effort.

My son, Sam, and his friend recently climbed Mt Saint Nicholas in Glacier National Park.
Mount Saint Nicholas is a spectacular horn located in the southern part of Glacier National Park. The technical nature of the easiest route together with the fact that there is no easy approach make most agree that “St. Nick” is the most difficult and dangerous major summit in Glacier Park. (quoted from some website somewhere)

As I talked with Sam about his climb after the fact (yes he did make it up and back) I was struck with the preparation, resources and effort needed to make the summit.

PREPARATION

If I were to try and climb St Nick without Sam or some other experienced partner, I would most likely quit before I reached the top, or hurt myself trying. Sam and his friend were prepared. They had the experience and training necessary to make the climb.

I think about the calling that God has placed on my life to begin a multi-site disciple-making movement in Portland. This is not a “leap of faith”, but rather, as Dallas Willard points out in Knowing Christ Today, “We can never understand the life of faith seen in scripture and in serious Christian living unless we drop the idea of faith as a “blind leap” and understand that faith is commitment to action, often beyond our natural abilities, based upon knowledge of God and God’s ways.” I know God and his ways. Not perfectly and fully, but enough to know that I can trust him. He has called me to this mission and he has prepared me through my experiences and through my history in following him, just as he prepared Sam through his training and experience.

RESOURCES
Sam and his friend made sure they had the resources they needed to complete the climb. They had the tent, the climbing gear, the right clothing, the food and the water necessary…but no more than was necessary to avoid extra weight.
I have the resources I need for this mission. God is providing the gear, a place to live, and the finances needed for the journey. If you are part of this provision, you need to know what a blessing you are to Barb and to me! If you have been thinking about becoming a ministry partner with us but haven’t taken that step, would you please do so soon? I know that God is calling us to travel light and we are willing to do so…but, I don’t want to make this climb without you as our climbing partner. My financial and prayer support is totally dependant on you.

EFFORT
For Sam to climb St Nicholas, the journey involved an 18 mile hike, an overnight camp, several miles of mountaineering over snow and ice, followed by a 400 foot vertical rock climb. He’s in great shape and was up for the physical work needed, but he was gassed when they got back to base camp.

I knew something, when I knew that God was calling us to move to Portland. I knew that this would be hard and would demand hard work. I saw a sign in a store back in Des Moines before we left that said this, “Faith doesn’t make things easy, Faith makes things possible”. I like that. Following God is hard work, but it is work that produces fruit!
Please pray that I would be doing the work that produces the fruit. Pray that God would lead me to the people he wants to join me at my core team for Journey3. Pray that he would bless my efforts in evangelism and connection with believers.

So what is the GOAL?
I think, if you would ask Sam, he would tell you that the summit was worth the effort. But, more than that, Sam would say that the journey itself was worth the effort. Faith in Jesus is not an emotional mood or a profession of agreement with biblical facts. Faith is the adoption of a way of life…the way of a disciple. Willard quotes Kirsopp Lake’s definition of faith, “Faith is not belief in spite of evidence, but life in scorn of consequences.” Now that is a motivating thought! Faith is commiting my life to following Jesus even though it will be hard. Why would people follow Jesus when he promises struggle and suffering? Peter answered Jesus in this way, “where else can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

There is a reason people climb mountains. You know the answer, don’t you…because it is there. The same can be said for why we follow God through his son, Jesus Christ…because he is who he is.

grace and glory,

Jay

If you are praying for Journey3 I thank you! If you have given or pledged to support Journey3, I thank you! If you would like to give or pledge, please email me at JayBraband@msn.com. Any checks should be written to City Classis, memo: Journey3. Please note that you need to specify Journey3 in the memo section so that your gift is credited correctly. You can send your gift or pledge to me or directly to City Classis. The address for City Classis is:

City Classis
c/o City Church of San Francisco
PO Box 641049
San Francisco, CA 94109
My new address is

Jay Braband
695 SW Willowbrook Ave
Gresham, OR 97080

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