The air we breathe

Air is one thing that is essential for life. For LifeHouse there are certain things that are essential to our life together. We call these things "the air that we breathe." They permeate all that we do and are essential to the healthy life of this community.

  1. Simple Church: The community of Christ needs to be as simple as possible to allow us to be key citizens representing Christ and working for the peace and justice of the city.
    • Acts 2:42 "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
    • Jeremiah 29:4-7 "The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 'Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food you produce. Marry, and have children. Then find spouses for them, and have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.'"
  2. Missional Living: Jesus Christ calls us to incarnational living that includes evangelism and social justice. We are to be His hands and feet in Vancouver.
    • Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come."
    • John 20:20-21 "As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord! He spoke to them again and said, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.'"
  3. Hospitality: God the Father is a God of hospitality who showed us hospitality by becoming one of us in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. We, like Him, must welcome the stranger and the immigrant.
    • Deuteronomy 10:17-19 "God of God and Lord of lords the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving food and clothing. And you are to love strangers, for you yourselves were strangers in Egypt."
    • Luke 14:12-14 "Then he turned to his host. 'When you put on a luncheon or a dinner,' he said, 'don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will repay you by inviting you back. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.'"
  4. Intentional Community: God calls the church to be an organic body that interacts through relationships. The church is not a building, a hierarchy, or an institution but a network of relationships.
    • Acts 2:43-47 "A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved."
  5. Shared Leadership: This community of faith values shared leadership and learns from each other, as we care for each other, lead each other, and hold each other accountable. We seek to hear the things to which God is calling each of us. We seek to empower each other to be the people God is calling us to be. We seek to release each other to serve in the manner suited to each person's unique gifting.
    • 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ.... [27] Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it."
    • Philippians 2:3 "Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. "
    • Romans 12:3-5 "As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others."

This is a time for a dramatically new vision. The current predicament of churches in North America requires more than a mere tinkering with long-assumed notions about the identity and mission of the church. Instead, as many knowledgeable observers have noted, there is a need for reinventing or rediscovering the church in this new kind of world.
- Darrell E. Guder, editor, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America.