Open your eyes — this is real. Does evil know your name? Is there more beyond this? Are we living for eternity?

Open your eyes — this is real. Does evil know your name? Is there more beyond this? Are we living for eternity?

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to share your faith on missions trips or how bold you are for God on retreats or at church?  What happens when you get back to your job on Monday morning?  Why is it so difficult to share your faith at your workplace?

The marketplace in Greco-Roman cultures was referred to as the Agora.  It was where goods were bought and sold, conversations were had, and relationships were deepened.  Phobia refers to an illogical fear or dread of something.  Agoraphobia is a real disorder that refers to someone that has a crippling fear of public places.  A “safe place” is run to when anxiety overwhelms agoraphobics. 

Agoraphobia is a series that deals with our fear of being a Christian in the marketplace, with the church as the “safe place” that many run to when frightened by our calling to be marketplace ministers.  We will walk through topics such as workplace evangelism, the great commission, faith in context, calling, and much more as we seek to empower each other to further the Kingdom of God through the marketplace.

The marketplace in Greco-Roman cultures was referred to as the Agora. It was where goods were bought and sold, conversations were had, and relationships were deepened. Phobia refers to an illogical fear or dread of something. Agoraphobia is a real disorder that refers to someone that has a crippling fear of public places. A “safe place” is run to when anxiety overwhelms agoraphobics.

Agoraphobia is a series that deals with our fear of being a Christian in the marketplace, with the church as the “safe place” that many run to when frightened by our calling to be marketplace ministers. We will walk through topics such as workplace evangelism, the great commission, faith in context, calling, and much more as we seek to empower each other to further the Kingdom of God through the marketplace.

Also, many of the stories that are told about these strangers haven’t been heard since we were little kids and they were shown to us on those Flannel Graph boards. So in a very practical sense, Noah and others are Strangers to us because we haven’t heard their stories in many years.

XII is an in-depth look at each disciple, his background, his relationship with Jesus, his expectations of the Messiah, and his eventual martyrdom. We pray that your knowledge of these men will be deepened and challenged, and in turn your own desire to be a true disciple of Jesus would become a consuming passion.

However, there was a man named Jesus who lived over 2000 years ago that lived, taught, and spoke of a new way of life that was so innovative and counter cultural that it literally changed the world. We call people that truly follow Jesus, Christians, which is a term that literally means “little Christ”. To grow in our commitment and passion to follow Jesus by becoming more like him is the goal of discipleship, therefore we consider it our highest goal to “imitate” Jesus.

The amazing thing is that when we Imitate Jesus in our world and culture, it is truly Innovative. So this series, “Innovation by Imitation” is made up of different actions and attitudes that we can do to imitate the most innovative person in the history of civilization. We’ll look at The Heart, Sabbath, Politics, Money, Prayer, Humility, Feasting, Peace, and Solitude. We pray that these thoughts would help you on this journey of discipleship.