Henriet's Blog (archived)

Now Live at Sempervita.org

Thank you for visiting Henriet's blog. I am currently blogging on the Semper Vita web site: www.sempervita.org. For current posts, please connect with me there. As always, let me know that you visited and post a comment. I'd love to know what you think about Semper Vita!

Is This Goodbye?

This is my final blog post on the Henriet Blog. From now on I'll be blogging on the Semper Vita web site. The URL, www.sempervita.org, will be the same but what you'll find is our new web site and the blog there.

Thank you for reading my blog and keeping up with the story of Semper Vita, being missional, the church and culture, living missionally and the other topics we've discussed.

The goal of this change is to help us, as people and the church, to live out what we believe: living missionally intentionally.

I hope you'll find that the change is wonderful.

You can still access my "old" blog and the posts there at: www.sempervita.org/henriet.

Thanks for coming on this ride. I hope you'll come along to www.sempervita.org and continue the journey with us.

Christian love: real or empty?

They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love; they will know that we are Christians by our love.

This line from a popular Christian song talks about Christians working together and guarding each others' dignity. That's God's original design.

Jesus intended for his followers to love each other. How do we know? It's what he told his disciples, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34,35).

Christians, people who believe in Jesus, should be known by their love for God, for each other, and also for those around them. Jesus, on one occasion when questioned by a teacher of the law about the greatest commandment, said simply to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." Then he added that the second commandment was like it, "love your neighbor as yourself." He summed it up by saying, "There is no commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:29,30). Love God and love others. It's the Jesus Creed, according to Scot McKnight.

So, what happened? Is this kind of love what comes to mind when people think of Christians? Probably not. Last October,  USA Today reported that young people think of Christians as judgmental and critical - a sentiment shared by many adults. How can this be if we're supposed to be known by our love? What has gone wrong?

Maybe we've lost our focus. Maybe we've forgotten the greatest commandment. Maybe our love is not real.

What would happen if we, as Christians, actually loved each other? Would the world be more interested in connecting with us? Would they be more interested in Jesus?

What do you think?

Henriet and Semper Vita Update

Though my blog has stood still for several weeks, I certainly have not. I just returned from Tennessee where I attended the Wesleyan Holiness Women's Clergy Conference and visited my friend Susan. Though Nashville, Tennessee was unseasonably cold, the time was wonderful. Imagine a conference with 600 women pastors from various holiness denominations including Free Methodist, Salvation Army, Church of the Nazarene, Church of God Anderson, Evangelical Friends, Wesleyan and some others. Pretty amazing.

FULLER EDUCATION:

On Friday, March 21, I finished my Winter Quarter. This was the course on Theology and Pop Culture. To those who took the survey, "THANK YOU!" You helped me get an "A" in my class. You really outdid yourselves. 127 out of 150 took the survey. Most had not seen Eli Stone-though some have added it to their "must watch" list since.

I'm doing an independent study for my Spring Quarter. The goal is to develop a training module for Semper Vita that includes Myers-Briggs and StrengthsFinder.

SEMPER VITA:

God is doing some amazing things. The Board/launch team has been meeting monthly. We've prayed, planned, and acted. Currently, we are working on developing a logo, the software, a web site, and marketing materials. 

In order to write the Semper Vita training module, I have attended and finished the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) and Gallup StrengthsFinder training. I passed the MBTI test in March and am now MBTI qualified. Additionally, I completed the Gallup StrengthsFinder training in April. I need to meet with 10 people for StrengthsFinder coaching and then I'll be certified. If you'd like to be one of the 10, send me an email!

We also opened a bank account and have a Semper Vita mailing address. We would love your support and partnership. If you'd like to help us, please send us your tax-deductible donation. Make checks payable to "Semper Vita." Our address is: 23515 NE Novelty Hill Road, Suite B221 PMB 201, Redmond, WA 98053.