A Blog by Jason Salamun

G.K. Chesterton in his classic, Orthodoxy, on his (and our) innate wonder.

These are my ultimate attitudes towards life; the soils for the seeds of doctrine. These in some dark way I thought before I could write, and felt before I could think…I will roughly recapitulate them now.

I felt in my bones; first, that this world does not explain itself. It may be a miracle with a supernatural explanation; it may be a conjuring trick, with a natural explanation. But the explanation of the conjuring trick, if it is to satisfy me, will have to be better than the natural explanations I have heard. The thing is magic, true or false.

Second, I came to feel as if magic must have a meaning, and meaning must have some one to mean it. There was something personal in the world, as in a work of art; whatever it meant it meant violently.

Third, I thought this purpose beautiful in its old design, in spite of its defects, such as dragons.

Fourth, that the proper form of thanks to it is some form of humility and restraint: we should thank God for beer and Burgundy by not drinking too much of them. We owed, also, an obedience to whatever made us.

And last, and strangest, there had come into my mind a vague and vast impression that in some way all good was a remnant to be stored and held sacred out of some primordial ruin. Man had saved his good as Crusoe saved his goods: he had saved them from a wreck.

All this I felt and the age gave me no encouragement to feel it. And all this time I had not even thought of Christian theology.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m undertaking a new challenge to lose weight for 6 life-giving causes.

It’s called ThisMustChange.org

One of the causes that has captured my heart is Love146.org.

Their vision is clear and bold: The abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation. Nothing less.

When you consider 2 children are sold every minute into human trafficking and sex slavery…

That 27 million people are enslaved around the world…

And that it’s not just an “over there” issue but is happening in the U.S. as well…

It’s enough to make you cry angry tears.

Slavery is a prison of injustice.

We can do something, and something is better than nothing.

Watch this staggering video and then visit thismustchange.org and discover how you can help.

Thank you.

This Sunday at The Jesus Sessions from Project Church begins a two-week series called, “Wild Horses: Unleashing Jesus & Recalibrating His Church.”

We’re exposing lies and seeking truth about Jesus and the Church from Matthew 16-17.

It should be dynamite! Can’t wait!

All around us are shattered hearts, broken lives, and fractured stories.

Clearly, this world is not as it should be.

Have you ever felt like there was more you could do?

Me too.

As a human being, I want to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

As a recovering hypocrite, my aim is to decrease the gap between what I believe and how I live my life.

As a communicator of the gospel of grace, my desire is to follow the example of Jesus and not just proclaim good news but also be good news.

During a recent teaching at my church we came across Matthew 25:35-40 where Jesus talks about the least of these.

How when we feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, take in a stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those behind bars, we’re essentially doing it for Jesus.

Or as my 7-year-old daughter puts it, “When we give people a hug, we give God a hug.”

How right she is.

I reflected on that passage, looked at myself, and thought, “There’s gotta be more I can do.”

I looked at myself even more and thought, “I’m fat and need to get in shape.”

So I started thinking through this idea:

What if I set a goal to lose weight and get in shape in the next 3 months, and during that time, encouraged others to donate a dollar for every pound I lose directly to a cause relating to Hunger, Water, Shelter, Clothing, Sickness, and the Enslaved?

So this is my mere attempt to be what I believe.

I know we can’t change every story but together, we can help make some better.

And some is better than none.

Will you join me?

Visit thismustchange.org to discover more.

Add your name to the list and spread the word.

This effort begins August 17 and runs through November 16.

It’s never too late to get on board!

Frankly, it can’t happen without your help.

Let’s do this!

Grace and Peace,

jason salamun
Project Church

The return of Michael Vick to the NFL has a lot of people talking.

Everything from “He deserves a second chance” to “This is a complete outrage!.”

Vick did some horrific, inhumane things to dogs.

I’m a dog lover and just the thought of what he did really fires me up.

His punishment was severe: 18 months in prison, millions of dollars lost, and a scarlet letter.

Now the question is: does he deserve to return to the NFL?

I suppose it depends on if you believe in grace and forgiveness.

I do.

I have no choice- I’m a Christian.

The question isn’t about whether Michael Vick deserves to return.

He doesn’t deserve anything, none of us do.

But he can receive a second chance.

Not because he’s so great, but because grace is.

The thing about grace is this: It’s not fair!

In Jesus, we get forgiveness not by what we do or don’t do but through what he did for us.

We had nothing to do with it.

As followers of Jesus, we are to have grace on tap.

Giving love and forgiveness to all- even those who don’t deserve- even those we would call our enemy.

It’s the scandal of grace.

The implication of this for our lives is we have got to be a people of the gospel of grace.

This is why we love people when they least deserve and least expect it.

This is why we continue to open our arms to those who feel like they’ve blown it…

Because that’s what Christ did for us on the cross.

How dare those of us who’ve been graced we withhold it from others!!!

What Michael Vick did was disgraceful.

Our response should be full of grace.

That is the Jesus way.

And on that note- Go Eagles!!

If you’ve ever been to Project Church you will notice it’s more of a friends and family gathering than a religious service.

That’s intentional.

Most people associate church with being a building or an event.

The truth is neither are true.

We are a people. We are a family.

We may meet in various spots (like coffee shops and homes), but the places we meet in and the things we do isn’t the church.

We are the church.

And since the church is a people, we don’t merely invite people to a service but rather, we invite them into a story.

The church is a friends-becoming-family community on a mission to share God’s love and centered around the gospel of grace we find in Christ.

So if you consider Project Church your church, I want you to know that you’re part of the family.  You belong.

If it’s been a while, we miss you and hope to see you again soon.

If you have yet to join us, I want you to know that we’re the kind of family that will always invite people into our story and that includes you.

We don’t care about where you’ve been, but where you’re going.  What are you waiting for?

Join us this week as we gather to connect in community and grow through the gospel of grace.

No empty religious rituals, just an authentic community of grace, truth, mission, and meaning.

All because of Jesus.

A couple more updates for you all..

Podcast

You can now listen to messages online and through podcast via iTunes.

Go here to listen directly.

Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

Facebook

Are you a fan of Project Church on Facebook?  If not, what are you waiting for?

We’re going to be utilizing this space to dialogue over questions and topics in the near future, so get connected if you aren’t already and join the fun.

Check out the discussion tab to converse.

We hope to see you this Sunday morning at 10am at Alternative Fuel Coffee House downtown next to the Firehouse Brewery in downtown Rapid City, SD.

Visit projectchurch.net for more info.

Grace!

The cushy oblivion known as the Island of Evangelicalism is a dangerous place.

Filled with pretentious trendiness, superficial authenticity, and plastic spirituality.

It’s the worst kind of prison because it’s one you never want to leave.

The artificial trees never need watering.

You’re always well fed.

And every one around you looks and acts like you.

We’ve traded something real for something clean.

We’re becoming cookies cut from the same cutter.

The only problem is the cutter’s not Christ, it’s consumer Christianity.

Perhaps its time for the cookies to reject the cutter.

For Stepford Christians to rage against the machine.

What if we escaped the Island and swam to the shores of biblical Christianity?

What if we became refugees from the comfortable life called evangelicalism…

and followers of the dangerous footprints that Jesus left behind?

Discovering we’re all diverse jewels within the treasure chest of God’s love.

Remembering the grace of God is not just a gift we are given, but one that we share.

Returning to the life less ordinary we find in Jesus.

Let’s become the Church we find in the scriptures.

Not start the ones in our visions of sugar plums.

Let’s make disciples guided by the gospel and rooted in love.

Not create consumers of big shows and celebrity.

Let’s show this broken world that Christ came to save jacked-up people like us.

Not hide our brokenness behind hipster hairstyles and bloated egos.

Let’s leave the isle of evangelicalism behind and simply swim to Jesus.

The Founder and Perfecter of our faith.

We’re still in Year Zero of this Gospel-driven experiment of birthing a new Christ-centered, people-loving church.

And I’m so thankful to be a part of it.

God is good.

We aren’t there yet (as if we ever will be) however, this is the closest taste I’ve ever had to authentic community.

And it tastes good.

Last night we had a totally rad 80’s party.

Always fun to Wang Chung with your friends.

Earlier this week, we had some surprise visitors, Chad and Amy Houck of Share5.org, roll into Rapid City.

They’re on a mission traveling the country in an RV to get people on mission.

We’ve enjoyed getting to know them.

And because their transmission went kaput, they’re here for a little while.

They’re good people.  Check out their website to discover more about their ministry.

Today’s Project Church gathering was eventful.

We said ciao to our homegirl Taryn who’s moving to Austin, TX.

We’ve had to say farewell to many people since we began and it’s always bittersweet.

I recommended three churches to her in the Austin area.

Austin Stone Community | Austin City Life | Gateway Church

I find myself giving church recommendations on a regular basis.

We’ve been in flux for musicians and I’m hoping we get that ironed out soon.

Betsy stepped in a did a great job today.

She is also leaving us in a couple of weeks to move to Tennessee.

I showed this fabulous clip to set up a message on Gospel-Centered Marriages.

Most memorable phrase of the message:

“Marriage is like having a toilet seat super-glued to your butt.”

“Divorce is what it feels like to have it ripped off.”

Listen to more profound thoughts from this week here.

Our podcast feed is jacked up but hopefully we’ll have that rolling right soon.

I’m very thankful for the crew who’ve been a part of this and the ones who are just now jumping on board.

Year One will begin in September and we’ll be looking to raise the ante in the Black Hills (and beyond).

Big things are a comin’ and we’re just getting started.

Please keep Project Church in your prayers.

Thank you.