...wasn't given this year. The ultimate gift was given when "the word became flesh and dwelt among us." Can you imagine how incredible the news was -- to Mary, to Joseph, to the shepherds! This was God at his best, breaking all traditions, all taboos, all imaginative possibilities.
Rejoice, rejoice, Immanuel
Has come to thee, oh Israel!
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Blog resolution
Two weeks before the new year, I'm already resolving to make this blog significantly better in 2006. There is so much information which presents revelatory power that I want to do my part in spreading it.
However, I resolve to do this understanding that we are warned in Scripture that in the last days, men will be "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." The information society we live in can be a paradoxical positive and negative influence to our knowledge of "the truth," which is Jesus Christ. We must never forget to pause regularly and breathe Jesus deeply.
Perhaps Kathleen Norris sheds light on this in The Cloister Walk, when speaking of Benedictine monks studying the Bible late at night by candlelight:
Is there any better time than the Christmas season to be reminded of this?
However, I resolve to do this understanding that we are warned in Scripture that in the last days, men will be "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." The information society we live in can be a paradoxical positive and negative influence to our knowledge of "the truth," which is Jesus Christ. We must never forget to pause regularly and breathe Jesus deeply.
Perhaps Kathleen Norris sheds light on this in The Cloister Walk, when speaking of Benedictine monks studying the Bible late at night by candlelight:
Their approach was far less narcissistic than our own tends to be, in that their goal when reading scripture was to see Christ in every verse, and not a mirror image of themselves. (quoted by Donald Miller in Searching for God Knows What)
Is there any better time than the Christmas season to be reminded of this?
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Book this one
Over the past decade, I have developed a deep appreciation of and love for good books by thoughtful authors on spirituality. I have an extreme weakness for buying books, which can be harmful living in the vicinity (as I do) of over 15 discount bookstores. However, I would best describe my reading habits as sporadic -- I rarely make it through an entire book before another one gains my interest. So sometimes it takes several months to finish a book, if I finish it at all.
Contrast this with my father. While I peruse books, he actually reads them, cover to cover, often more than once. So his voice and thoughts are to be taken seriously, certainly more seriously than mine. Luckily, he's just entered the blogosphere, blogging at "spiritual literacy,"and intends to share much of what he's been reading and thinking.
Add it to your blogroll and visit it often.
Contrast this with my father. While I peruse books, he actually reads them, cover to cover, often more than once. So his voice and thoughts are to be taken seriously, certainly more seriously than mine. Luckily, he's just entered the blogosphere, blogging at "spiritual literacy,"and intends to share much of what he's been reading and thinking.
Add it to your blogroll and visit it often.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
He said it better than I could
Sometimes it takes an artist's words to get some things I'm thinking just right. Ran across another instance today, in which Charlie Peacock writes in New Way to Be Human:
Despite the overwhelming human opinion and evidence to the contrary, Jesus did not come to start a new religion. He did not come to create a two-hour-on-Sunday parasite culture that pious people can stick on the side of their otherwise busy lives. Jesus came to subvert every aspect of life and culture with the relational Word and will of God – what he announced as the kingdom. The kingdom, or God’s rule, is what brings a person’s life into alignment with reality. To live in the kingdom way is to live a real and everlasting life, beginning the very moment you follow Jesus. This means that everything is overhauled or restructured to fit the kingdom way, the new way to be human. Knowledge, education, romance, marriage, sex, parenting, work, play, money, ambition, business, social services, caring for the earth, even being the church in the world – all of these areas and a thousand more now come under kingdom rule and authority. Following Jesus faithfully means seeing to it that all of these areas in our lives are subverted by the kingdom and rebuilt in the
new way.
Here I Go Again...
...no, not singing Whitesnake, but blogging. Blog theory is wonderful, but I'm trying my hand at the practice again. Wish me luck.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Describing "disciple"
Preaching now on the six traits of a disciple from Matthew 28:16-20. They are:
1. A disciple worships. "...they worshiped him..."
2. A disciple understands the authority of Jesus. "...all authority in heaven and on earth is given to me..."
3. A disciple is mission-minded. "...go and make disciples..."
4. A disciple is unbiased. "...of all nations..."
5. A disciple knows what Jesus requires. "...obey everything I have commanded..."
6. A disciple is filled with hope. "...I am with you..."
Of course, there's much more to discipleship, but I think Jesus had specific intentions in addressing the disciples with these words before his ascension. Now, if we could only live them.
1. A disciple worships. "...they worshiped him..."
2. A disciple understands the authority of Jesus. "...all authority in heaven and on earth is given to me..."
3. A disciple is mission-minded. "...go and make disciples..."
4. A disciple is unbiased. "...of all nations..."
5. A disciple knows what Jesus requires. "...obey everything I have commanded..."
6. A disciple is filled with hope. "...I am with you..."
Of course, there's much more to discipleship, but I think Jesus had specific intentions in addressing the disciples with these words before his ascension. Now, if we could only live them.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
In summary...
Perhaps this is the best way to sum up what it means to be the Church -- whether our part is through a local congregation, a global missions objective, the emerging church/movement, or any other ultimately significant part. From none other than Richard Foster, written in Freedom of Simplicity a quarter century ago:
As we go, let us clearly understand that global injustice places some new requirements upon global evangelism. The Good News must be contextualized into the culture in which it is proclaimed. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has no cultural presuppositions. It welcomes those elements of the culture that are not offensive to the Gospel message and rejects those that are. The enduring task of cross-cultural evangelism is to hammer out the difference. The Good News must be free of all racism and nationalism. We are global citizens with a global Gospel. Our concern is for the well-being of all peoples of the earth, not the selfish interests of any nation-state.
The Good News must be free of all militarism. It matters little if the militarism is in defense of the vested interests of the privileged elite or is a modern Zealot movement seeking justice through revolution. We dare not allow the little tin gods of our modern nation-states to draw us into their blasphemous intertribal wars.
The Good News must be given to Christ's favorites, the poor and the helpless. We must go, like the Samaritan, among the good and half-dead -- to the ghettos of America, to the slums of Brazil, to the refugee camps of Cambodia, to every hovel and hut of the earth.
The Good News must liberate -- truly liberate. Those who are in bondage to sin, those who are in bondage to poverty, those who are in bondage to brutal social conditions need to be set free. The liberating Gospel of Christ has not fully come until there is freedom from sin, freedom from economic injustice, freedom from structural evil.
The Good News must come in the power of God. No smooth words, no easy cliches, no enticing
gimmicks! All slick image-making advertising campaigns are an offense to the Gospel. Paul said, "The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power" (1 Cor. 4:19).
The Good News must be backed by integrity in our lives. We cannot proclaim his love if we close our hearts to the hungry. We cannot proclaim his salvation if we have not been saved from our
own greed. Falmboyant, properous Christians are an offense to third world peoples by their insensitivity to poverty and human deprivation, whether they come as traveling evangelists or sight-seeing vacationers.
A few words about words
While reading, it's common to come upon phrases or even sentences which catch my attention and become powerful meditative tools for days or weeks. But Gregory Feeley, an author and blogger, weighs in with an intriguing personal experience in which, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, he is told by a friend about a support group which promotes the phrase, "I am not broken." Quickly Feeley replies that he is definitely broken, "But I still work."
His final words in the post caught my attention:
I think as a minister, I am guilty of doing just that. I suppose we all are at one time or another. I recognize the need for change if the Church will be effective in the 21st century. But we must continually reflect on the true meaning of the things we do and say, lest we become trapped by the "rhetorical power."
Many things inherent in what is becoming known as the emerging church feel great -- not too differently from the emergence of the charismatic movement last century. Where we fail as the Church is to do this because it feels good to us, and let true meaning dissolve.
His final words in the post caught my attention:
Interesting how we can be moved by phrases that possess rhetorical power. Say it figuratively or with great concision, and it sounds true.
I think as a minister, I am guilty of doing just that. I suppose we all are at one time or another. I recognize the need for change if the Church will be effective in the 21st century. But we must continually reflect on the true meaning of the things we do and say, lest we become trapped by the "rhetorical power."
Many things inherent in what is becoming known as the emerging church feel great -- not too differently from the emergence of the charismatic movement last century. Where we fail as the Church is to do this because it feels good to us, and let true meaning dissolve.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
On the reading list
From time to time, as you've noticed, I find it important to reference books which I'm reading. In this post, I would like to make you aware, if you don't already know, of two of the most anticipated books of the year from a Christian standpoint.
First is Erwin McManus's latest, The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within.
Second is Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul by John and Staci Eldredge. This is the follow-up book to Wild at Heart.
Both books promise to be revelational.
First is Erwin McManus's latest, The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within.
Second is Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul by John and Staci Eldredge. This is the follow-up book to Wild at Heart.
Both books promise to be revelational.
Bring it on
After a loooooong hiatus, here's the first post of the new year, and the new creation known as CrossRoads. It's amazing to sense the incredible life God is calling us to, and to know at the same time that so many people either can't sense it or don't know enough to care.
I think Brent Curtis and John Eldredge are onto something when they say in The Sacred Romance:
Today I'm reminded that the mass of men -- and women -- lead lives not just of quiet desperation, but sometimes of loud nonsense. And instead of shrugging it off, God expects those who are sensitive to realize that it's not about those who are ranting. There are spiritual forces at war, and there is a bigger battle at stake -- the battle for the hearts of those God has created.
My prayer is for CrossRoads to be an open place for people, but not necessarily a safe place. Sometimes, people don't need safety, they need exposure, so they and others can realize the forces which are working in, through, and against them.
I knew becoming a new congregation, a new community, which offers something meaningful and real to people who need healing and hope wouldn't be easy. The battle is raging, even as I type, and we can't accept any outcome except victory and progress. Anything less would be outside of God's providence and provision at this point.
Even so, come Lord Jesus.
I think Brent Curtis and John Eldredge are onto something when they say in The Sacred Romance:
Look at the things people get caught up in: sports, politics, soap operas, rock bands. Desperate for something larger to give our lives transcendence, we try to lose ourselves in the smallest kinds of
stories...All of these smaller stories offer a taste of meaning, adventure, or connectedness. But none of them offer the real thing; they aren't large enough. (pp. 41-43)
Today I'm reminded that the mass of men -- and women -- lead lives not just of quiet desperation, but sometimes of loud nonsense. And instead of shrugging it off, God expects those who are sensitive to realize that it's not about those who are ranting. There are spiritual forces at war, and there is a bigger battle at stake -- the battle for the hearts of those God has created.
My prayer is for CrossRoads to be an open place for people, but not necessarily a safe place. Sometimes, people don't need safety, they need exposure, so they and others can realize the forces which are working in, through, and against them.
I knew becoming a new congregation, a new community, which offers something meaningful and real to people who need healing and hope wouldn't be easy. The battle is raging, even as I type, and we can't accept any outcome except victory and progress. Anything less would be outside of God's providence and provision at this point.
Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Hesitantly learning
As someone who has become interested in the emergent conversation over the past year, but so far only as a listener, I must express my main gripe with many of the things I have read and heard.
Leonard Sweet refers in Postmodern Pilgrims to the television commercial popular a few years ago in which a man at the opera is talking, rather loudly, on his cell phone. A frustrated diva finally hurls her spear at the man, hitting the phone and knocking it out of his hands. He then begins texting the words: "Opera Just Got Interesting." Sweet asks, "What does it take for church to 'get interesting' to postmoderns?"
Indeed, that's a main question which this conversation seeks to address. And while I am enriched by many of the style changes and provoked by the theological dialogue overall, I can't help but feel that we're stopping just short of where God wants us to go.
House churches, small groups, social projects, prayer meetings, and many other aspects of the emerging church have been lifted, not from church tradition, but straight from Scripture in the book of Acts. Yet what made all those things interesting is unmistakable -- the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus proclaims it in chapter 1, verse 8 and it is the focal point of the next 27 chapters. More than anything else, the Holy Spirit is what gets people interested in the message.
Somehow in the whole emergent conversation, I don't hear many people talking about being intent on allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through believers. In chapter 4, after being threatened by the ruling powers, the disciples regroup and come together to do the only thing they know that works: pray. In their surprisingly short prayer, they ask God to "stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
Their prayers are heard and answered, as the author notes that "after they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." Miracles, especially through healing and deliverance, abound in the story of the early church. But where are they now?
Scott Bader-Saye, while analyzing the emergent matrix, asks, "What will become of this movement at the end of the day when the fog machines and video projectors are packed away?" Candles are cool, and stained glass slides are lovely, but where's the power of the Holy Spirit? Are people being delivered from oppressive spirits and being healed of all kinds of cancer?
If we can't legitimately offer what Jesus and his disciples offered, then whatever is emerging is far less than what Jesus intended.
Leonard Sweet refers in Postmodern Pilgrims to the television commercial popular a few years ago in which a man at the opera is talking, rather loudly, on his cell phone. A frustrated diva finally hurls her spear at the man, hitting the phone and knocking it out of his hands. He then begins texting the words: "Opera Just Got Interesting." Sweet asks, "What does it take for church to 'get interesting' to postmoderns?"
Indeed, that's a main question which this conversation seeks to address. And while I am enriched by many of the style changes and provoked by the theological dialogue overall, I can't help but feel that we're stopping just short of where God wants us to go.
House churches, small groups, social projects, prayer meetings, and many other aspects of the emerging church have been lifted, not from church tradition, but straight from Scripture in the book of Acts. Yet what made all those things interesting is unmistakable -- the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus proclaims it in chapter 1, verse 8 and it is the focal point of the next 27 chapters. More than anything else, the Holy Spirit is what gets people interested in the message.
Somehow in the whole emergent conversation, I don't hear many people talking about being intent on allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through believers. In chapter 4, after being threatened by the ruling powers, the disciples regroup and come together to do the only thing they know that works: pray. In their surprisingly short prayer, they ask God to "stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
Their prayers are heard and answered, as the author notes that "after they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." Miracles, especially through healing and deliverance, abound in the story of the early church. But where are they now?
Scott Bader-Saye, while analyzing the emergent matrix, asks, "What will become of this movement at the end of the day when the fog machines and video projectors are packed away?" Candles are cool, and stained glass slides are lovely, but where's the power of the Holy Spirit? Are people being delivered from oppressive spirits and being healed of all kinds of cancer?
If we can't legitimately offer what Jesus and his disciples offered, then whatever is emerging is far less than what Jesus intended.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Fundamentals
I've been gaining some insight from Randy Frazee's The Connecting Church, which is hailed by Dallas Willard as "the best corporate plan for spiritual formation and growth that I know of in a contemporary setting." Frazee comments that Scripture suggests that "embracing a common belief and purpose built on the teachings of Jesus and the apostles was, and still is, a requirement in order to be called a Christian community." He goes on to say:
I agree. I'm not sure that 20th and 21st century culture bear the whole blame, though. I believe church leaders over the past few decades (and centuries?) have failed to convey through teaching and preaching the same message of the kingdom of God that Jesus conveyed. By not doing so, what other choice do believers have than to believe, yet conform to many of the same values of the society in which they are already entrenched?
Most churches today have not been able to seize this simple idea of rallying around a common purpose because our culture of individualism does all in its power not to let it happen.
I agree. I'm not sure that 20th and 21st century culture bear the whole blame, though. I believe church leaders over the past few decades (and centuries?) have failed to convey through teaching and preaching the same message of the kingdom of God that Jesus conveyed. By not doing so, what other choice do believers have than to believe, yet conform to many of the same values of the society in which they are already entrenched?
Monday, December 13, 2004
Slouching toward Armageddon
I'm sure this means something in the grand scheme of eschatology, but I'll leave it to you to decide exactly what.
Off we go
Yesterday I cast the vision which I believe God has given our congregation to impact our community. It included several programming changes, but requires large shifts in our mindsets.
First, we decided that our mission should be the same as the mission of Jesus Christ, as he expressed while quoting Isaiah in Luke 4:18-19. Worded succinctly, we have stated our mission as follows:
To bring the healing and hope of Jesus Christ to people in Greene County and beyond.
Our purpose is effortlessly lifted from a suggestion by Brian McLaren in The Church on the Other Side:
More disciples, better disciples.
Everything we do over the next two years (and, ultimately, as long as we are biblically minded, I believe) must be directly connected to our mission and our purpose. I'm convinced that the ministry of Jesus and of his disciples and the apostles is the ministry model for today, although in many circles it's still taboo to talk of miracles, signs and wonders. But I'm not interested in impressing religious circles (praise from men). I want the praise that comes from God.
I outlined to our congregation that there are five key components (a five-spoked wheel) we must thrive in to remain faithful to the vision. First, and foundationally, we must become people dedicated to prayer. We must also be commited to building relationships, first with one another, and then with those who do not yet believe. Further, we must commit ourselves to worship, learning, and sacrifice.
What does all this boil down to? A passionate commitment to allow the Holy Spirit to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. Is that a lot to ask of a group of 17 or 18 folks? I believe it's precisely what Scripture not only asks but expects of believers.
Of course, these changes will not happen overnight. We're beginning 2005 with 50 days of focused prayer and fasting -- including the always dreaded media fast. I believe there's no better way to let God (and the enemy) know that we're serious about impacting this community.
The immediate programming changes that we'll make as a result of this vision are challenging, to say the least. We are changing the name of our congregation from First Apostolic Church to CrossRoads. The name change is based on two primary thoughts. "Apostolic" is an unfamiliar word to most people, even believers, and, as a result, is extremely hard to pronounce correctly. In addition, for a variety of reasons, the name has connotations which distract from the vision and message which we want to portray.
We are also doing away with the age-old tradition of having a Sunday evening service. While one-service Sundays have become more common in recent years, we do it not to follow a fad, but rather to focus more on building relationships. At least two Sunday evenings each month will be devoted to spending time with unbelievers or with believers in small group settings.
Finally, we are switching classes (learning times) to Wednesday evening and making the Sunday worship gathering a family-focused, participatory affair. How will we accomplish this? That remains to be seen, but I believe it's something we must strive for to be relevant to those who would join us each week
Wish and pray us Godspeed.
First, we decided that our mission should be the same as the mission of Jesus Christ, as he expressed while quoting Isaiah in Luke 4:18-19. Worded succinctly, we have stated our mission as follows:
To bring the healing and hope of Jesus Christ to people in Greene County and beyond.
Our purpose is effortlessly lifted from a suggestion by Brian McLaren in The Church on the Other Side:
More disciples, better disciples.
Everything we do over the next two years (and, ultimately, as long as we are biblically minded, I believe) must be directly connected to our mission and our purpose. I'm convinced that the ministry of Jesus and of his disciples and the apostles is the ministry model for today, although in many circles it's still taboo to talk of miracles, signs and wonders. But I'm not interested in impressing religious circles (praise from men). I want the praise that comes from God.
I outlined to our congregation that there are five key components (a five-spoked wheel) we must thrive in to remain faithful to the vision. First, and foundationally, we must become people dedicated to prayer. We must also be commited to building relationships, first with one another, and then with those who do not yet believe. Further, we must commit ourselves to worship, learning, and sacrifice.
What does all this boil down to? A passionate commitment to allow the Holy Spirit to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. Is that a lot to ask of a group of 17 or 18 folks? I believe it's precisely what Scripture not only asks but expects of believers.
Of course, these changes will not happen overnight. We're beginning 2005 with 50 days of focused prayer and fasting -- including the always dreaded media fast. I believe there's no better way to let God (and the enemy) know that we're serious about impacting this community.
The immediate programming changes that we'll make as a result of this vision are challenging, to say the least. We are changing the name of our congregation from First Apostolic Church to CrossRoads. The name change is based on two primary thoughts. "Apostolic" is an unfamiliar word to most people, even believers, and, as a result, is extremely hard to pronounce correctly. In addition, for a variety of reasons, the name has connotations which distract from the vision and message which we want to portray.
We are also doing away with the age-old tradition of having a Sunday evening service. While one-service Sundays have become more common in recent years, we do it not to follow a fad, but rather to focus more on building relationships. At least two Sunday evenings each month will be devoted to spending time with unbelievers or with believers in small group settings.
Finally, we are switching classes (learning times) to Wednesday evening and making the Sunday worship gathering a family-focused, participatory affair. How will we accomplish this? That remains to be seen, but I believe it's something we must strive for to be relevant to those who would join us each week
Wish and pray us Godspeed.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Wondering why
So what does reinvention mean? To me, it means heading into the future by looking into the past. While many churches are re-exploring their orthodox roots (i.e. the foundations laid by the early church fathers of Catholicism), I can’t help but feel compelled to go back even farther, to the church in its infancy during the decades following the ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon his followers.
Yet I also believe that only going back that far is not sufficient. There is an unmistakable reliance of the early church upon the knowledge of the Law and the Prophets, and the whole Old Testament narrative. Many of the traditions carried down through thousands of years remained significant, at least in meaning, to the New Testament church.
This means that we must take the Bible as we have it and make all of it (even the parts we don’t like or understand) meaningful and relevant as we work to reinvent – or re-establish – our identity as a local congregation. Writing this down is easy; doing it is somewhat difficult.
Our primary means toward reinvention is a simple question: Why? Why do we do the things we do, believe the things we believe, act the way we act, and perhaps most importantly, think the way we think?
The answers to these questions aren’t clear-cut, but offer us enormous insight into the purpose and mission of our congregation, both as it is and as it should be.
Yet I also believe that only going back that far is not sufficient. There is an unmistakable reliance of the early church upon the knowledge of the Law and the Prophets, and the whole Old Testament narrative. Many of the traditions carried down through thousands of years remained significant, at least in meaning, to the New Testament church.
This means that we must take the Bible as we have it and make all of it (even the parts we don’t like or understand) meaningful and relevant as we work to reinvent – or re-establish – our identity as a local congregation. Writing this down is easy; doing it is somewhat difficult.
Our primary means toward reinvention is a simple question: Why? Why do we do the things we do, believe the things we believe, act the way we act, and perhaps most importantly, think the way we think?
The answers to these questions aren’t clear-cut, but offer us enormous insight into the purpose and mission of our congregation, both as it is and as it should be.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Newness of (congregational) life
One year ago I embarked on a pastoral adventure in Greeneville, along with my wife and our two-month old son. Although our official first service wasn't until November 23, this evening 52 weeks ago was the final time we had to face the congregation members and their questions.
In the year since, we have realized just how naïve we were - and often still are - and also how faithful and great God is.
With a year under my belt and having gained at least some credibility with the congregation, I have prayerfully decided that the best thing for us to do is totally reinvent ourselves in 2005. The church was actually started more than 25 years ago, but between six pastors and as many locations, plus the addition and subtraction of over 100 members, we currently sit at 11 members, two teens, three children, and one attender.
We have a keyboard, drums, and an acoustic guitar, but no one to play them. We have Sunday School during Sunday morning worship service. We have a Sunday evening service and a Wednesday evening prayer and Bible study service.
I have decided to blog my thoughts, desires, ideas, beliefs, doubts, fears, worries and thrills on this website at least for the next year. If nothing else, it will serve as a sounding board for my own review. Perhaps it will come to be important to someone else in their salvation journey.
Your comments, advice, criticism, and encouragement are invited and always welcome. Thanks for your prayerful support as I endeavor to do something I feel utterly incapable of doing. Yet, somehow, I believe...
In the year since, we have realized just how naïve we were - and often still are - and also how faithful and great God is.
With a year under my belt and having gained at least some credibility with the congregation, I have prayerfully decided that the best thing for us to do is totally reinvent ourselves in 2005. The church was actually started more than 25 years ago, but between six pastors and as many locations, plus the addition and subtraction of over 100 members, we currently sit at 11 members, two teens, three children, and one attender.
We have a keyboard, drums, and an acoustic guitar, but no one to play them. We have Sunday School during Sunday morning worship service. We have a Sunday evening service and a Wednesday evening prayer and Bible study service.
I have decided to blog my thoughts, desires, ideas, beliefs, doubts, fears, worries and thrills on this website at least for the next year. If nothing else, it will serve as a sounding board for my own review. Perhaps it will come to be important to someone else in their salvation journey.
Your comments, advice, criticism, and encouragement are invited and always welcome. Thanks for your prayerful support as I endeavor to do something I feel utterly incapable of doing. Yet, somehow, I believe...
Friday, October 15, 2004
The future's different than it used to be
In his Wonder Land column, Wall Street Journal deputy editorial editor Daniel Henninger writes:
Led by Deng [Xiaoping], China changed its economic policies to make them appropriate to the world as it existed, not as China wished the world would be. China flourished. And it is not alone. India the past five years has similarly broken with its longtime statist past. Brazil is attempting a similar transformation. All three are huge countries in the process of rapidly creating a smart, globally relevant business class. This country's biggest problem isn't "Halliburton" but the realization, just sinking in, that internal U.S. labor costs are being set by a suddenly thriving, truly global marketplace. This is the real cause of the famous "middle-class squeeze," and it's a force more powerful than any one person sitting in the Oval Office.
After three presidential debates, it is clear that George Bush is asking the American people to make a similar, abrupt break with the comforts of the political past. Proposals such as Social Security
privatization or individually run health-savings accounts are not being offered as just an intriguing "policy" alternative. These ideas are an historic necessity to surviving in the world economy as it exists today...Intellectually, the case for making the leap is compelling. Emotionally, the way forward is less obvious. Most Americans have already adjusted to the disturbing realities of Iraq and of waging--and leading--a war on global terror. But it's quite a lot to ask them in the same election to step away from 50 or more years of federally guaranteed social protection. That would have been large without Iraq and terror...
The Ownership Society is the appropriate, 21st century replacement to the New Deal. It's about making it possible for the economy to turn on a dime, not once a decade.
Henninger's words address a coming reality which will arrive sooner rather than later. Yet, as he notes, it's a reality hard for people to comprehend because of more pressing and urgent matters, especially the war on terror.
What the writer sees as true for the 21st century global economy, many have already expressed as true for the 21st century Christian church. There is an undeniable shift occuring in Christianity presently. While I can't define it or place much more light on it, I am worried that we (evangelical Christians like myself) have grown so attached to the traditions we grew up in that we will be unwilling to contribute to the conversations and decisions which will take the church into the future.
To borrow from Henninger, it's about making it possible for the church to turn on a generation (be relevant to each new generation), not once every few centuries.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Calling barbarians
In his upcoming The Barbarian Way (seventh item), Erwin McManus writes:
When Christianity becomes just another religion, it focuses on what God requires. Just to keep people in line, we build our own Christian civilization and then demand that everyone who believes in Jesus become a good citizen.
It's hard to imagine that Jesus would endure the agony of the cross just to keep us in line. Jesus began a revolution to secure our freedom. The new covenant that He established puts its trust not in the law, but in the transforming power of God's Spirit living within us. The revolution of the human heart would fuel the life and vitality of this movement.
Indeed. And yet it's hard to keep that in mind in the capitalistic, competitive society that is 21st century America. Sometimes Christians fall victim to the faulty thinking that believes that revolutionizing every else can take the place of the revolution of the human heart.
No wonder many congregations are more like businesses or clubs than life-changing places.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
On doing
Opened Brennan Manning's Abba's Child today and found this passage:
Reminds me of a recent e-mail I received in which the subject line read "Experience Mission - Watch Videos." How many churchgoers get no further into the mission of Jesus Christ except as a spectator in a weekly worship service? How many live vicariously through the missionaries they support financially, when Jesus is calling them to engage in their own culture, heal their own people, do their own preaching?
Every time the Gospels mention that Jesus was moved with deep emotion for people, they show that it led Him to do something – physical or inner healing, deliverance or exorcism, feeding the hungry crowds or intercessory prayer. Above all, it moved Him to dispel distorted images of whoMore importantly, Jesus didn't just do something, he always did the right thing -- in perfect obedience to the Father. Today I'm afraid many "Christians" are often moved with deep emotion, but they do the wrong thing, or even worse, do nothing.
He is and who God is, to lead people out of darkness into light. (pg. 111)
Reminds me of a recent e-mail I received in which the subject line read "Experience Mission - Watch Videos." How many churchgoers get no further into the mission of Jesus Christ except as a spectator in a weekly worship service? How many live vicariously through the missionaries they support financially, when Jesus is calling them to engage in their own culture, heal their own people, do their own preaching?
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