LUCIA SCHAEFFER JONES
8 LBS 2 OZ, 20 In10 / 19 / 2016 11:04am, Tacoma, WA
LUCIA | [loo-see-ah] “A light in a dark place.” John 1:5
SCHAEFFER | Named after Edith and Francis Schaeffer, whose legacy has deeply impacted both of us.
Category: Uncategorized
Speak boldly, laugh loudly, sleep soundly (because the election is almost here)
Hey guys, my American pals, at least,
I don’t think there is any reason to apologize for (another!) political post during this ridiculous, scandalous, confusing political season.
If you’re a Christian, this is the time to
speak boldly, laugh loudly, and sleep soundly! 
😉
Why?
As a Christian, there is no room under King Jesus for political pragmatism. The Christian worldview has never been very pragmatic, and in fact, it very often demands the opposite.
Political pragmatism, or “the end justifies the means” approach, is starting from the wrong place.
Recently I saw this question somewhere: “So what’s the nature of ‘the right’ and ‘the left’ as it relates to evangelicalism?”
That’s a good way to summarize starting from the wrong place.
Where do we start? The right place 
☺
Starting from the right place, we ask instead:
“What’s the nature of the Christian gospel as it relates to ‘the right’ and ‘the left’ and where does that leave evangelicalism and where does that leave me?”
Starting from the right place means we figure out what it means to be an American citizen in light of our primary citizenship in the Kingdom of God.
We are resident strangers that should be concerned about justice in our cities and our nation, which is of incredible importance, but it’s not the first thing.
Yesterday, Dr. Russell Moore, a Christian, and an ethics professor, told Anderson Cooper on CNN that “many evangelicals feel homeless… They don’t trust Clinton with the Supreme Court or Executive Orders and they don’t trust Trump with the nuclear codes or their wives.”
Yup. And to some degree, that feeling of homelessness should always be there for a Christian voter, who have a Kingdom residency. This circus of an election is just making that strikingly obvious.
So…
Speak boldly – there is incredible injustice, immorality, and manipulation on both sides of the party lines that we can’t be silent about. The gospel of Jesus speaks to all of it, and silence can look like the affirmation of the hypocrisy that is out there.
Laugh loudly – Jesus is a good King who always rules justly and will ultimately keep the peace in His Kingdom. Our true allegiance is evident in whether we’re marked by joyous confidence or stifling fear.
Sleep soundly – it’s gonna be ok. America might not be… But it’s gonna be ok. We might feel homeless, but we’re not.
Soma Tacoma Leadership Retreat
Had an amazing few days with our Soma Tacoma leaders this weekend!
A wedding party
Yesterday we celebrated the marriage of these two dear friends. They’ve been married for a while now but never had a wedding party, and so we all decided to throw one, right here in our apartment complex.
Why? They wanted to invite their family and community to witness their public commitment to each other and to tell of God’s love story to us through their own love story.
Friends, neighbors, and apartment management were all in attendance. We partied well.
Sermon: Unlikely Friends of God
Thankful to serve at our Soma Tacoma gathering by preaching on Friendship with God.
If we commit to a community hoping for a good return on our relational investment, we will likely be quickly disillusioned and deeply disappointed, feeling even more isolated in the middle of a crowd.
But,
If we commit to loving, serving, and listening to people around us with no strings attached, we just might end up pleasantly surprised at the community we will find ourselves in.
Father’s Day Baptism!
Our dear friend Damia was baptized this last Sunday.
…which just happened to be Father’s Day.
…and which turned out to be perfect!
Early that morning Damia came over for a little coffee party and we talked and prayed and cried and were thankful for her life and especially the last two years as neighbors. Damia was baptized as a little girl, but since then has come to understand and know that there is in fact nothing she needs to do, has to do, or even can do that can change the way her heavenly Father already sees her – loved, perfect, a daughter with whom he is pleased, thanks to Jesus.
For some father’s day is a difficult, painful, even shameful day. But for those who know that they are loved children of God, there is hope for this day, and there is much to celebrate.
We love you Damia! You are an amazing woman and we have learned so much from you and the Spirit of God in you!
25 years ago: The Velvet Revolution
This week is the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution and what would be the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. Twenty-five years and two days ago, on November 16th, high school and college students began to assemble in Bratislava and the next day in Prague in protest against the political regime. By the end of the week, 500,000 gathered in the street and by the end of the month the top leadership of the communist party all resigned. My classmates were two years old when this happened, and we grew up together in the wake of the 70 years of oppression before.
But my friend Miro Toth, a pastor and church planter was one of those in the streets in 1989, and he wrote the following which I translated into English:
“Twenty-five years ago, with the propaganda of communism everywhere we turned, we tuned in with our parents to Trans World Radio, Free Europe, and The Voice of America. Twenty-five years ago we were secretly baptizing our friends in the woods, even though we were sure that agents were present and were archiving our gathering. Twenty-five years ago our western friends secretly smuggled Bibles, dictionaries, and music under the cover of night into our garages, basements, and barns. Twenty-five years ago we went to prison for organizing Christian camps, spreading Christian literature and for any contact whatsoever with the West. Twenty-five years ago we recorded sermons on unmarked cassette tapes in our living rooms. Twenty-five years ago we stuffed our windows with pillows so the secret police couldn’t see in. Twenty-five years ago we were dreaming of a coming freedom.
Then freedom came. In 1988, on the thousandth anniversary of the first baptisms in Russia, Gorbačov promised religious freedom. What followed followed quickly. The Berlin Wall fell (but not by itself, they had to tear it down…), the curtain fell in Czechoslovakia (again someone had to take a risk and step into the streets…), the Romanian tyrant Ceaușescu fell (again not by himself, someone had to shoot him…).
Twenty-five years later we are sharing the Gospel in city squares and in prisons. Are we sharing the gospel? Twenty-five years later we have influence in schools and the media? Do we have influence? Twenty-five years later we can proclaim that Jesus is alive and that 70 years of communism couldn’t erase His name from Eastern Europe. Are we proclaiming? Twenty-five years later we don’t have to be afraid to share our faith in schools, at work, on the street, on television, in the public sphere, or with our kids. Are we not afraid?
Twenty-five years later we need to stop and take a moment to remember the gift we have been given. It’s the gift of submitting all of life to Jesus without being spied on, interrogated, intimidated, imprisoned, or killed. The gift of living life to its fullest. Welcome home. This is our moment. This is our opportunity. Let’s not miss it.”
DAWSON AND LAUREL JONES 