φως

barking dawgs.

2008-10-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sound teaching on Phillipians 3:

http://www.marshill.org/teaching/download.php?filename=MTAxOTA4Lm1wMw%3D%3D

check it.

An Apology

2008-09-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

I wrote this blog, in the past, having very little observation of the glory of the Christ.

I had very bad teaching regarding truth.

I arrived at most of my conclusions on this blog merely on the basis of my own rationality. This in short was entirely prideful and ultimately...sin.

I am sorry.

I would like to correct this blog with an amendment...

We are a people broken and wounded by sin. Our only hope is in Christ.
Christ body extends across this planet to this day; His Body, our Eucharist. His Body, an undivided, holy catholic and apostolic church.

Now sure, His society we know as the Church is filled with saints and sinners alike.

We the whole people of the human family are a society filled with saints and sinners alike.

The unique quality of the Church that distinguishes it from the rest of the human family is God's grace. Together we are redeemed from our sins by faith in one truth. The truth is this:

There is one God, The Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and Earth.
That His one and only Son, Jesus Christ is our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead. That at pentacost, He sent his Holy Spirit to the holy Christian church, the communion of saints. And that through all of this, we are forgiven of our sins, our bodies are resurrected and we have eternal life.

This is what is true.

And as a people in this grace, we are born from above. We are included in the inheritence of God's Eternal Kingdom. We are the new Jerusalem.

Transformed by the conversion only possible through baptism.

This means we must not judge as men, but see people as God sees men...with mercy.

Judgement by suspision is ground for sin against this truth, insofar as it shows contempt for our neighbor.

There are two ways we must guard against that are of this condemned type of judgement:

1) Judging our neighbor on grounds preconditioned by the perception of our own shortfalls in their actions. (which might I add, we don't even really know our own faults and tendancies. Only God knows our inner most passions. Thus it is impossible for us to see in others that which we can not in all actuallity see in ourselves).

2) Judging our neighbor on the basis of our passions or emotions toward them.

I apologize for doing either of these things in my writings or actions before I was taught the truth.

Please forgive me.

ON THE SEPARATION OF SENSE AND STATE:

2008-08-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

ON THE SEPARATION OF SENSE AND STATE:
A CLARIFICATION FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH
IN NORTHERN COLORADO

To Catholics of the Archdiocese of Denver:

Catholic public leaders inconvenienced by the abortion debate tend to take a hard line in talking about the "separation of Church and state." But their idea of separation often seems to work one way. In fact, some officials also seem comfortable in the role of theologian. And that warrants some interest, not as a "political" issue, but as a matter of accuracy and justice.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a gifted public servant of strong convictions and many professionalskills. Regrettably, knowledge of Catholic history and teaching does not seem to be one of them. Interviewed on Meet the Press August 24, Speaker Pelosi was asked when human life begins. She said the following:
"I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition . . . St. Augustine said at three months. We don't know. The point is, is that it shouldn't havean impact on the woman's right to choose."

Since Speaker Pelosi has, in her words, studied the issue "for a long time," she must know very well one of the premier works on the subject, Jesuit John Connery's Abortion: The Development of the Roman Catholic Perspective (Loyola, 1977). Here's how Connery concludes his study:

"The Christian tradition from the earliest days reveals a firm antiabortion attitude . . . The condemnation of abortion did not depend on and was not limited in any way by theories regarding the time of fetal animation. Even during the many centuries when Church penal and penitential practice was based on the theory of delayed animation, the condemnation of abortion was never affected by it. Whatever one would want to hold about the time of animation, or when the fetus became a human being in the strict sense of the term, abortion from the time of conception was considered wrong, and the time of animation was never looked on as a moral dividing line between permissible and impermissible abortion."

Or to put it in the blunter words of the great Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
"Destruction of the embryo in the mother's womb is a violation of the right to live which God has
bestowed on this nascent life. To raise the question whether we are here concerned already with a human being or not is merely to confuse the issue. The simple fact is that God certainly intended to create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of his life. And that is nothing but murder."

Ardent, practicing Catholics will quickly learn from the historical record that from apostolic times, the Christian tradition overwhelmingly held that abortion was grievously evil. In the absence of modern medical knowledge, some of the Early Fathers held that abortion was homicide; others that it was tantamount to homicide; and various scholars theorized about when and how the unborn child might be animated or "ensouled." But none diminished the unique evil of abortion as an attack on life itself, and the early Church closely associated abortion with infanticide. In short, from the beginning, the believing Christian community held that abortion was always, gravely wrong.

Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Archbishop of Denver
Addresses
Denver, CO - Monday, August 25, 2008

Of course, we now know with biological certainty exactly when human life begins. Thus, today's religious alibis for abortion and a so-called "right to choose" are nothing more than that - alibis that break radically with historic Christian and Catholic belief.
Abortion kills an unborn, developing human life. It is always gravely evil, and so are the evasions
employed to justify it. Catholics who make excuses for it - whether they're famous or not - fool only themselves and abuse the fidelity of those Catholics who do sincerely seek to follow the Gospel and live their Catholic faith.

The duty of the Church and other religious communities is moral witness. The duty of the state and its officials is to serve the common good, which is always rooted in moral truth. A proper understanding of the "separation of Church and state" does not imply a separation of faith from political life. But of course, it's always important to know what our faith actually teaches.
+Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Archbishop of Denver
+James D. Conley
Auxiliary Bishop of Denver

Barack Obama is not a messiah!!! A call to sober judgement

2008-08-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

COME ON!!!

This post has nothing to do with politics.

This post has everything to do with how foolish people can be when they are blinded in selfishness.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

wow. Paul wasn't kidding when he cried for three years...

just weeping over the false doctrines and blasphemies that would rise up among the Christians.

We may be weeping for four years...or longer.

Here is one I am really having trouble rapping my brain around...now I agree Barack seems like a cool dude btw...

but how in the world can he or his Catholic running mate affirm a morality to be more and more like Jesus and in the same conversation affirm a morality that okays aborting children?

That one spins me for a loop.

------------------------------------------

Today is a great day for the Franciscans and all other Christians for that matter to recall Saint Louis...(the french king Louis the 9th)...

I heard an awesome homily this morning about him. A Saint from among the laity

...and a king; a politician.

Not only did he take seriously to providing to his kingdom's physical needs (caring for the poor and oppressed and underprivileged)...which he did.

recall saint Louis

...but He was quite intentional on behalf of his kingdom's spiritual needs as well (caring for the poor in spirit and nurturing them in the Holy Spirit and in Christ's TRUTH).

recall saint Louis

A man and father and king that took seriously his faith in Christ, and the responsibility such faith requires. A man that sought toward unity with God constantly and taught those around him, under his authority to do the same... Recall Saint Louis.

Now contrast this with the men of a generation (me included) that struggle against seeking toward their own wants and needs and ambitions every single hour of every single day rather that toward perfection in Christ.

recall saint Louis.

Now contrast this with the men that want to lead a nation that struggle with the integrity as men and FATHERS in Christ's Church to stand up for the morality of Christ...the very grace that saves them... to distinguish with moral clarity that which is true and life giving...and that which is false and brings death.

recall saint Louis.

“Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.”- Psalm 119:165

--------------------------------------------------

II.

from Mark 9:30-37

"They left that place and passed through Galilee.

Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples.

He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise."

But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

"Who is Greatest?"

They came to Capernaum.

When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?"

But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

Sitting down...

Jesus called the Twelve

...and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

He took a little child and had him stand among them.

Taking him in his arms,

...he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

-----------

So here is a temptation that we all face... EGO

But here is the whisper of truth... "you can be like God"

----------

The very first heresy among the Christians was a suggestion some had that Jesus only pretended to be human.

That Jesus was in fact...a superman.

But here is the whisper of truth... Jesus did not come to Hide who God really is...that is silly

Jesus came and revealed who God is.

He has real flesh.

real blood.

The cross pierced through real hands and real feet.

He has nervous tissue

real pain.

He lived real life perfecting the law's of moses.

real perfection.

He really died, and really rose from the dead!

REAL SALVATION!!!

--------------------

It is my opinion that every person that has walked the face of this planet has suffered from a messiah complex...

all except for one man...

and he just happened to be the Messiah.

Apostolic succession

2008-07-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

The world is in deep need of its savior...
not this guy:

because at the showdown...this guy is only going to let you down.

The other day, after a relaxing morning, I was on the Internet, reading the day's news...

One of the articles I was reading featured a story about the pope's journey to The World Youth Conference in Sydney, Australia. He said that a "Spiritual Desert" has been spreading throughout the world.

"spiritual desert"...the world...

... I couldn't help but agree

all that I had been struggling with about the world and people who call themselves Christian...

The Jeremiah 6 and 8 times we are in...

So the Pope continued with his thoughts: "...that the young Christians of the world are charged with shedding the greed and cynicism of this present age..."

greed...

cynicism...

gone! kaput!

"...for a new hope for humankind."

He is calling out to our generation...the next group of adults to battle the spirits of the age...

"hey guys...shed the old stuff...replace it with a new hope."

Hope is new.

Hope has always been new.

This is radical stuff.

People have talked about hope for ages...

but for Christians, what is our hope?

Communion in the Body of Christ.

Do we really get what that means?

------------------------------------------------------------

Well... during prayer later that day in the shower ...(I always have my best moments of prayer in the shower)...I realized that my prayers from over a year ago are finally being answered.

"Do I really get what it means to be in communion in the Body of Christ?"

"Should I become catholic?"

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Since, however, it would be very tedious, in such a volume as this, to reckon up the successions of all the Churches, we do put to confusion all those who, in whatever manner, whether by an evil self-pleasing, by vainglory, or by blindness and perverse opinion, assemble in unauthorized meetings...

we do this, I say, by indicating that tradition derived from the apostles, of the very great, the very ancient, and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul...

as also [by pointing out] the faith preached to men, which comes down to our time by means of the successions of the bishops. For it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its preeminent authority, that is, the faithful everywhere, inasmuch as the apostolic tradition has been preserved continuously by those who exist everywhere."

-Irenaeus

------------------------------------------------------------

Unity in Christ.

Solidarity through Christ.

Faith in Christ.

I want to take communion in the Catholic Church.

Why?

Apostolic succession.

-----------------------------------------

I am worn down without the Church's authority in my life. I am worn without the guidance of infallible doctrine...solid instruction and unified faith.

The protestant Christian tradition has failed to grab me with any authority in The Spirit. The best it has done is tell me how wonderful The Spirit is...but it fails to preserve any authority in The Spirit.

For over a year, The Roman Catholic Church has been the instrument by which the Spirit has whispered its authority to me.

Through the books I have read from the pope,

movies I have watched about John Paul II,

people I know who are catholic,

contemplative prayer,

liturgy of the hours,

books about prayer written by Protestants who learned from catholics,

books about a vision for the unified body of Christ,

books about religious orders,

and through an intense study of the Book of Acts, The holy Spirit has whispered to me to unite with Catholics in faith and communion.

Then the shout came from the Pope's message to the youth in Australia. The Spirit used Him Authoritatively to grab my attention by speaking directly to what the Spirit has been laying on my heart about the spirit of this age.

The greed and cynicism...

The spiritual desert we endure day after day in this world and culture.

So on that note...I am in pursuit of the truth...Christ...and the authority he gave to His Church with the Holy Fire at Pentecost and the laying-on of hands.

amen.

Recall that Paul wept constantly over three years warning people about the false teachings and doctrines that would come.

wept...

for three years...
--------------------------------------------------

changin'

2008-07-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

Lots of changes in our life right now.

This week, we are moving to Florida.

Our daughter is teething and rolling...and fighting sleep...

phone interviews...

packing...

goodbyes a plenty...

Yep, lots of changes.

----------------------------------

It's stressful moving across the expanse of a continent. It's also expensive. I am reminded of Israel's move from Egypt to the Holy land. Only our desert is I-75....and our 40 years is about 24 hours of driving.

I am experiencing this kind of anticipation that bears forth an ancy boredom... I am bored...busy but bored.

My prayer is that I live in this moment, now. It is so easy to anticipate the future...the move...the life after the move and stop living the current life I still lead in Ohio.

I will admit:

I probably checked out of my life back in June when we realized our call to move.

anticipating...

surviving...

what a shame...I probably missed a lot because of it.

oh the lessons we learn...

-------------------------------

It's interesting... we were at a church today... a non-denominational church. And I could not help but realize how big my problem really is...

I was so hardened to the worship...it seemed such and extreme worship style. But it was not the inspirational kind of extreme worship...it was the seemingly fake kind of extreme worship. I stumbled all the way through it. I survived it; much like I have been surviving my life in Ohio since June.

what a shame...I probably missed a lot because of it.

oh the lessons we learn...

-------------------------------

After over four years of prayerful introspection, I have realized the call to pursue law school...law school.

Is this my vocational calling?

It may be.

It also may be another means to another end.

Whatever it may be, let it be God's will.

I will be taking the LSAT in February and following the admissions process...

not done with school yet...

good times.

-------------------------------

After over a year of prayerful introspection, I have realized that I am called to communion with the Roman Catholic Church... The Church.

I will be following an adult process of indoctrination known as RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)...

I will be using this blog to share my experience in The Church...praying, learning, listening.

This is another very large change taking place in our life...

I will share more about how I came to this call in a future post.

I reflect directly on today's verse of the day in respect to all this change:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Hebrews 12:1

Peace!

Pope Benedict XVI is my dude!!!

2008-07-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday a "spiritual desert" was spreading throughout the world and he challenged young people to shed the greed and cynicism of their time to create a new age of hope for humankind.Pope Benedict XVI gestures to pilgrims during the Final Mass at World Youth Day in Sydney.
Speaking at a Mass before some 350,000 Roman Catholic pilgrims and a likely television audience of millions more, Benedict wrapped up the church's six-day World Youth Day festival. He urged the young people in his more than 1 billion-strong flock to be agents of change because "the world needs renewal.""In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair," the pontiff said.The appeal came as Benedict finished a visit to Australia that touched on the themes that have defined his three-year-old papacy, including the struggle to rejuvenate a crisis-battered Church, reaching out to other faiths and raising global warming as an important issue among his 1.1 billion-strong flock. The 81-year-old pope said it was up to a new generation of Christians to build a world in "which God's gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished -- not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed." Watch as thousands listen to the Pope's speech »They must embrace the power of God "to let it break through the curse of our indifference, our spiritual weariness, our blind conformity to the spirit of this age," he said.The aim was "a new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deadens our souls and poisons our relationships," he said.The Mass came a day after the pope made a forceful apology for the sexual abuse of children by Australia's Roman Catholic clergy, keeping up efforts begun in the United States to publicly atone for what he called evil acts by priests.The Mass was delivered at a horse racetrack filled with pilgrims who had camped out overnight.Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said 350,000 attended Sunday's Mass. Australian organizers surmised a global television audience of up to 500 million during big World Youth Day events.Pope says sorry for 'evil' of clergy sex abuse Pope lauds apology to Aborigines Pope: I'm praying for Anglican church The pope flew over the scene early Sunday in a helicopter -- dubbed "the holy-copter" by bleary-eyed pilgrims below -- to see the assemblage swarmed all over the track in a jumble of sleeping bags, backpacks and other personal items.He later took a slow drive through the crowd, stopping once to plant a kiss on the forehead of a toddler held up to the popemobile's window. Pilgrims from more than 160 countries gave him a rock-star welcome, waving the flags of their nations, cheering and chanting: "Benedicto! Benedicto!" -- the pope's Italian name.The pope was due to leave Australia for the Vatican on Monday. He announced that Madrid, Spain, would host the next World Youth Day in 2011 and told the pilgrims: "I look forward to seeing you again in three years' time."Benedict, who shrugged off the effects of a longer-than 20-hour flight from Rome and kept a hectic schedule during his time in Australia, coughed a couple of times during Sunday's Mass and at one point blew his nose, prompting reporters to ask about his health."It was chilly, and everybody felt it, no?" Lombardi said. "But he is in fine health.

From the Heart

2008-06-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

Me and my family, we like to church hop. This is not because we dislike any one church, or that we reject community. In fact, what this does; it gives us eyes for a few different things about what's going on with the way people are worshiping Jesus these days.

One of our more recent church visits was one where the pastor's son was teaching the lesson... the prolific words he inspired his lesson? Dr. Seuss..."Oh The Places You'll Go". Profoundly lame? Actually no...it was cute. But the more I discover about today's popular churches is that they are painting a picture of Jesus to their congregations week after week. Cute little images of a Jesus; you're buddy who wants to replace your anti-depressants with his smiling face day after day.

However, the more I follow Jesus, the less cute I think He really is. In a letter sent to the churches across asia minor, Jesus was described by the writer John as this:

"His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance."

Nothing about this description sounds cute to me. In fact, it sounds scary...and it was for the writer John. The next line of his account of seeing Jesus?

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead."

The writer Paul wrote to early Christian churches is a letter, saying that they should be working out their salvation "with fear and trembling".

Now, I do not want to suggest that I think that the Good News is fire and damnation. I am not making that assertion whatsoever. What I am simply suggesting is this: Jesus, though responsible for our salvation, is not our buddy. His is our Messiah...Lord.

When He speaks of Himself in his encounter with John, Jesus said,

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

...the almighty... all mighty...

.....................................................................

Along with my church hopping habit, I read a lot of Christian blogs. Some of them are inspired like someone is talking about zoloft or prozac when they talk about Jesus...others describe Jesus like an insurance policy or a 401 K...

but then there are the Jesus people...
the people that talk about experiencing the kind of Jesus that is talked about in scriptures...
the all mighty Jesus.
these are the blogs I read the most.

Here is an entry from one of my favorite ones: he starts it "church was intense on sunday" ...
very few churches I have every been to I would describe as intense!

"church was intense on sunday. we looked at how much of the bible talks about false teachers. how many of the NT books...how much of the prophets (jeremiah 23)and how appropriate it is for us to discuss the reality that there are many false doctrines out there to "tame" the Jesus whom Scripture describes into something they can use to build movement and preserve attendance and giving. Tonight, I was asked what I do "during a day". I told the dude (you are a very cool dude, btw) that today i dug footers for a deck, but on a normal day I am the pastor of a "Jesus People Church" (which is how I say that). He looked intrigued. I don't know what he was thinking, exactly, but this tends to be one of those "moments of truth", so I laid it out: We are a bunch of folks who've gotten tangled up in the Jesus that the Bible describes, who tends to be a whole lot more incredible and untame than the "Jesus that american churches dictate"... or something like that. I don't know, but lights seemed to go on. The definitely did for me, because upon returning home I realized, "That was the gospel". The good news. The good news for today is that the Jesus whom the Scriptures describe is the way out Way Out. He is the best! He is Wonderful! Counselor! Everlasting Father! Prince of Peace... of His Kingdom there's no end... and we're actually waiting for Him to return... Life begins to feel like the snowdays we used to have in NY, where I was all dressed up and ready for (hell on earth) school and the radio said I could stay home. I had TIME. And freedom. And with the Jesus that the Bible describes, you can get with him and STOP. You can turn from your ways and turn to HIM right Here and Now! No need for a uniform. No need for a pedigree! Anyone who wants OUT can have it. Just turn to Jesus and follow, leaving the old life behind... That isn't confusing when you're in the market for salvation. In the market for comfy cozy, selfish religion? you don't know what to do with the Bible Jesus. Shopping for a self-realization? forget it, Dude'll never make sense to ya! He's answering your questions with questions... but when you're on your face, gripping the edge of his robe, about to get killed with rocks for being an adulterous idiot--the Bible Jesus is the dude. He's not all, "it's okay, we all struggle..." He's like, MERCY: "...neither do i condemn you." and TRUTH: "Go and sin no more." Forgiveness and Holiness... that's the Jesus! There are just too many jesuses around! Don't settle for just any jesus, please (many will. they'll read this and go on ahead and pick a jesus--or create a new one--that suits their shopper-holics)...but please, don't settle for just any jesus. Pick out the One in Scripture... Join with others who have searched Him out. Accept no substitutes! even if that means you have to have coffee in a living room over scripture, rather than enjoy vid-screens and pop-presentations. Try not to die with regrets."

How bout dem apples?!?!?

FIRST DRAFTS OF THE PARABLES OF JESUS...

2008-04-30T20:09:00.001-07:00

BY A.J. PACKMAN
- - - -
Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
One of the disciples asked, "What of the man who builds his house inside the house built on the rock? Surely his house will be even less damaged by water and wind. Is this what we should do?"
And Jesus said, "No, don't do that."
- - - -
At that time a man said unto Jesus, "Jesus! I do not understand the nature of the kingdom of heaven."
Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them went astray. He left the 99 and looked for the one until he found it. When it was found, he said to the sheep, 'That you went astray is a clear sign that you misunderstand my instructions. You are nothing to me.' And then the shepherd turned the lost sheep into a pillar of salt, because the shepherd is God in this parable, and that's the sort of thing He does when people fail to understand His Word."
"Wait, what?" said the man,
And the man became a pillar of salt.
- - - -
Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him. Then the one inside answers, 'OK, just gimme a minute,' and he goes to one of his friends, and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of a friend of mine on a journey has come to the friend who's my friend, and that friend has nothing to set before his friend.'"
One of the disciples said, "Wait, doesn't the original person's friend need three loaves of bread because a friend of his friend who's on a journey has come to the friend of the original person's friend, and that friend has nothing to set before his first friend? Or is that what you just said?"
"It doesn't matter," said Jesus. "The point is that God can get you free bread."
- - - -
"But what do you think about this?" asked Jesus. "A man with two sons told the older boy, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' The son answered, 'No, I won't go,' but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, 'You go,' and he said, 'Yes, sir, I will.' But he didn't go. Which of the two was obeying his father?"
"The first!" cried some of the disciples.
"The second!" cried the rest of the disciples.
And Jesus said, "Wait, I messed this one up. Did I mention that when the first son went to work in the vineyard he killed somebody? Because that's important. So, yeah, which of the two was obeying his father?"
"Uh ... the first?" said some of the disciples.
"The second! The second!" cried the rest of the disciples.
And Jesus said, "Oh, cripes, also the father only has one arm. And he is riding a horse the whole time. Was that clear?"
One of the disciples said, "Are you sure that's not 'The Parable of the One-Armed Father Who Rode on a Horse'?"
And Jesus said, "Maybe you're right. OK, let's change the question: Which of the two sons was the tallest?"
The disciples were silent.
Jesus shook his head in dismay. "Have I taught you nothing?"

Home...

2008-04-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.”- Job 19:25

I've been doing some reflecting these past few weeks...

Perhaps as a result of having a real child depending on me and my wife for her every need.

Perhaps as a result of having a real career, with real responsibilities.

Perhaps as a result of having a real place in a real world in deep need of a reality check.

Perhaps...

Whatever the reason I have been reflecting these past few weeks, I've been doing some reflecting.

....................................................

When I was an undergrad, I really thought that life was going to get better...or, as it were, I was going to get much better at getting close to God...closer to home.

This seemed like a justifiable train of thought: with age comes wisdom right?

This seemed like a true train of thought: every follower of Christ is bound for progression toward perfection right?

Thus...this was believable...wisdom and progress in Christ yield growth right?... so I thought that my growth would be measured by some form of getting better at living in the real world.

......................................................

it was that last disclaimer ( "be measured by some form of getting better at living in the real world.") that is absolutely false. And now, here we are, picking up the pieces and asking two questions:

1)why is this soooo false?

2)what the heck is growth then?

.....................................................

Q: why is this soooo false?

I think the big part of my problem is this...I believed that I could make distinctions between what is true and what is false.

often times...especially in philosophy, qualifiers like "actually know", "actually true", "really know" or "really true" etc.... presuppose that the person making the statement has the upper hand on making distinctions between what is real is what is not real....what is true and what is false...

this normative presupposition is frowned upon, more often than not. especially in philosophy

why?

because it basically communicates this attitude..."I know more than you do...naaah nahh nah naaah naaah!!!"

normally people do not respond well to this kind of insinuation.

Well... like I was saying... the big part of my problem is, more often than not, I have no idea what is true and what is false...

the basic human response to this situation is...making stuff up.

ex. 1

"the moon is made of cheese."

it turns out that this assertion, believed by many for decades, is entirely false.

most evidence suggests that the moon is made of rock, not cheese.

However, before we as a people possessed any such evidence, the moon was edible...

ex. 2

"the world is flat."

again, it turns out that this assertion, thought believed by many for centuries, is entirely false.

most evidence suggests that the earth is actually a spheroid, not flat.

However, before we as a people possessed evidence, the earth was a Frisbee with monsters in the seas...

....................................

despite the simplistic examples...

if we don't have answers, we get creative...

Some have suggested that the idea of God is the greatest and most complex example of this human folly.

I would like to humbly suggest that the idea of the "real world" is ACTUALLY the greatest and most complex example of this human folly.

....................................

and here's why

"properly speaking, there is no certainty.

there are only people who are certain."

I will site myself as an example.

ask me what I know...I could talk and talk and talk...to the point that I have even convinced myself that I might actually know what I am talking about....but really, deep down, I am simply just piecing what I have experienced together is some way that I would say is coherent.

Is coherence truth?

hmm... I am going to leave that one open.

but when I really do take stock of what I know...or what I think I should know, only one thing really sticks out...

Jesus.

That's it.

Maybe I am just totally off on this one...which wouldn't be anything new for me, but the only thing I really know is Jesus.

..........................................

For a while this past winter, when life was really just way more stressful and demanding than I could have ever imagined I came to a certain realization under all the pressure:

"Jason, Jesus is more real than this....Jason, Jesus is more real than that..."

and it just kept going, eventually to the point where I realized that Jesus was more of a vibrant reality than any situation that I faced under the stress of my day.

I was in a crowded auditorium in Cleveland and Rob Bell was on stage and he started repeating these words and they broke me down...

"you don't have to live like this...you don't have to live like this....you don't have to live like this"

................................................................

So back to Jesus...

The scriptures suggest that He came to earth...and conquered it... even death...

and while doing all this, he kept telling everyone, "Truly, truly I tell you...the Kingdom is at hand...receive me."

"truly truly you didn't have to go home...home has come to you...receive it."

basically, to me, he was saying, "Jason...you don't have to know anything...just receive me."

...............................................................

The reason why ("be measured by some form of getting better at living in the real world.") is soooo false is this...

Jesus already beat the idea of measuring up to the "real world".

Why try to beat God at what He can only do?

real growth...the kind Jesus suggests...the kind God suggests to Israel in Torah is toward living in Him...not in the world.

This is why it is so important that the disciples understand that they are going to suffer in world, that they are going to be persecuted, just like Christ himself...

because though they are still in the world, they are no longer of the world...their Spirit is set free to a residence outside the limits of human knowledge and laws...set free to go home to the Body of the unsearchable Christ...at home in the Kingdom of God.

So what the heck is growth?

Real growth is being more and more at Home in Christ...and less and less at home in the world.

hmmm...

Welcome Home.

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.”- Job 19:25

Artificial

2008-04-20T00:52:00.000-07:00

I had an awesome conversation with my wife in the car yesterday.

We talked about manipulation...

How we used to manipulate...how we still have the tendency to do so

How Jesus calls us to truth.

How manipulation is predicated on artificiality..

In reflecting on this convo, which rocks my socks, I have some thoughts.

Manipulation, at its core for me was to get the negative off me to some externality, so I look good, despite who it hurts... even if it hurts me in the long run.

Why?

Short term fix:Immediate gratification... "Me Get ...NOW"

This usually came with some lies...some embellishments on facts...and an academy nominated acting performance.

.......................................

so my reflection... if getting immediate gratification is linked to artificiality...immediate gratification is not linked to the truth Jesus calls us to.

Check this vid... and really listen... (http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/index.php?ct=store.details&pid=V00044)

.......................................

in a logical progression, a logical conclusion to this series is that, insofar as "me get..now" equals false. And insofar as Jesus equals truth... then..."me get...now" and anything linked to it does not equal Jesus...

So what does Jesus equal?

...you guessed it...

self-sacrifice.

More and more i think when he said "truly, truly I tell you...", he meant it...

excellent.

Be Ye Certain?

2008-04-13T10:26:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a dude with a french name, in a french place, talking about french things...

His name was Charles Renouvier, philosopher.

As a philosopher, I try to stay away from soundbite wisdom.

However, this frenchy dude rocked out a quote that shakes the foundations of human understanding...

"Properly speaking, there is no certainty; there are only people who are certain."

now... the really depressing thing about philosophy is that it is an entirely lonely activity. very few people care about certainty...they live their lives and that's all they need to worry about, talk about.

We talk about things people don't talk about...not because it's dirty or a secret...not because we have bigger brains or perceptive abilities... but because we care about knowing...

is there more to this life?

is there more to this thought?

is there more to asking this question than the question itself?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"He starts drawing again.

'But what if it went the other way?

This big circle is the world—the world God loved so much that he sent his Son.

Inside that circle is another one

... the church...

God's people chosen to demonstrate his love to the world.

And inside that is a small circle, which is your self.

It's not about the church meeting your needs

...it's about you joining the mission of God's people to meet the world's needs...'"

I know this may not seem like a big deal.

To many people, certainty aside, life is life.

For me, our lack of certainty is a deep hope.

It reveals that there is more mystery to our time breathing than what we could ever imagine.

Think about the bible as a certainty.

Now recall Renouvier, "Properly speaking, there is no certainty; there are only people who are certain."

Do you think anyone has ever figured out the bible to a certainty?

Well...some have tried...

The most recent demonstration of such attempt ended with a raid on an El Paso compound filled with people certain that polygamy is God's will.

I know for me, the more I read scripture and the more I live and sow in Spiritual things, the more I realize I don't know.

...This stuff can not be figured out...

This doesn't mean I give up. It means I keep sowing...keep talking...keep thinking... keep interacting.

Why?
Because in this interaction with uncertainty is an infinite space between God and Me .

... mystery...

but it's a space that grows me fond with the Spirit.

In an echo of Renouvier, the Bells describe it. After launching Mars Hill in 1999, they found themselves increasingly uncomfortable with church. "Life in the church had become so small," Kristen says. "It had worked for me for a long time. Then it stopped working." The Bells started questioning their assumptions about the Bible itself—"discovering the Bible as a human product," as Rob puts it, rather than the product of divine fiat. "The Bible is still in the center for us," Rob says, "but it's a different kind of center. We want to embrace mystery, rather than conquer it."

business plan: flex

2008-04-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

So...

after some killer Greek cuisine...

Me, my wife, my daughter...

on a Friday afternoon decide to stop into a coffee shop in old white church...steeple

and everything.

We meet Eric, business owner.

Our first encounter in a place centered around a stage...a stage centered around a local artist's portrait of Jesus... leather couches everywhere...local art decorating the 20' tall walls, floor to ceiling

The whole place was a celebration of pure human expression centered around Jesus.

I couldn't help but reflect briefly:

art...around couches...around a stage...around Jesus

I say to Eric, "Eric, I've been to a lot of coffee shops in my day, but yours really typifies the coffee shop culture to a tee!"

Eric: "Thanks, I'd love to take the credit but it kind of evolved on it's own..."

Then he defined business in a way the blew my mind: "...A business plan is a declaration of flexibility. You make your plan, then it makes itself as the community evolves in it."

His coffee house is named "Espresso Yourself" ...smart...

Rewind....

This past fall, My wife and I were sitting in a huge auditorium with about 7,000 other people listening to Rob Bell talk about Jesus as a crux, or core of human expression.

"Some people paint a picture, some people write a song, some people give their time and affection..."

Well... I'd like to personally thank Eric for giving his local community a gift...

a business plan, that filled and old church building, that made itself as the community evolved in it , that became what it was on a friday afternoon in April:

a celebration centered around a Jesus.

ARRANGED

2008-04-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

So, last night...

Me, My wife, My daughter...

On the couch after some awesome filet mignon wrapped in bacon!

A movie swoops in from out of nowhere (well...blockbuster)

"Arranged"

it's a story that is created like a fine soup...and the stalk is most definately Jesus...in the form of love.

So we are watching this movie, and despite the ignorance of the side characters in the film, and perhaps even a little of our own, a friendship blossoms in the midst of an orthodox jew and muslim who are school teachers together at a NY public school, and who also happened to be in the midst of their traditions' respective arranged marriage processes...(which actually aren't as arranged as they seem) Rocks my socks!

Family structure: at one point can be so wonderful and rewarding...at another can be oppressive and against all intuition or spirit of truth.

Which brings me to what the tangent thought the film caused in me:

Governemt structure: at one point can be so wonderful and rewarding...at another can be oppressive and against all intuition or spirit of truth.

ex.

Often through discussions I had in the midst of my philosophical education, a regular question was posed:

How ought any nation condone something like ...a golden calf ...a profiteering temple structure...a crucifiction...a cival war...a holocaust...a war?

I think this film gives some insight:

How ought any person condone something like...an arranged marriage...a profiteering father...a racist...a failing religious structure...the disowning of family members...violence?

"Too much" 1 Peter for a weak stomach

2007-11-14T14:47:00.000-08:00

003| Jason C. Staas

So today: Flu-like stuff...you know. Good times.

So I started the day, in a steady recovery on my couch, reading Chapter one of "Go in Peace; A Gift of Enduring Love" By John Paul II. Chapter one is on Prayer. Which is awesome...the chapter, prayer, the book. But after that and some deep prayer and thought about my role as a believer in the Communion of Saints, I shifted gears to watch the Mel Gibson production "Apocalypto" which was, at times, very troubling. But it makes you think, like any good cinematic art. Which was good, for me...when that is one of the few things flu-like stuff does not stop you from doing.

Anyway, in the credits after the movie I saw the words "In memory of Abel"...

I did a double take...

Abel?

Yep, Abel. Somehow a movie themed in Mayan culture and turmoil was "In memory of Abel"... not real sure how....

Abel, the second-born son of Adam, murdered in the fields by his brother Cain...the one's who even after death still speaks through the faithfulness of his sacrifices... the one whose blood cries out in from the earth... somehow a movie about a Mayan guy struggling in some of the worst ways to regain his freedom and rescue his wife and children was in memory of Abel...

so then I really started thinking...

then I dove into 1 Peter...I mean the bibles were out because I was looking up everything in scripture referencing Abel... so the obvious next step is 1 Peter.

So... a lot of background on 1 Peter is in order.

Well... first step: who wrote 1 Peter? Was it Peter as in the Disciple and Apostle of Christ?

Some say yes. It was Peter. I mean...some really advanced and well-polished Greek especially for a Jewish fisherman. But definitely Peter.

Others say partially. It was Peter, but with the scribe talents of Silas (aka Silvanus (see Mark 5:12-13)) at his disposal. Which is possible. I mean...some really advanced pastoral reflections written in some really advanced idiomatic Greek by an advanced Christ-follower and an advanced Greek Scribe that were noted for spending great amounts of time and travel in each other's company. Definitely Peter and Silas.

Still, others say no. It was not Peter. Rather, it was someone very familiar with Peter and his ministry and teachings...maybe even one of his disciples... who was also very proficient as a Greek scribe. But Definitely not Peter. (We will talk more about this next when I talk about when 1 Peter was written).

So who wrote 1 Peter? Well... Peter, maybe/ sort-of.

Next step: When was 1 Peter written?

Well...some say that if Peter wrote it, then it was no sooner than 60 CE...

Why no sooner than 60 CE? Well, some of the specific cross-references of Paul and Mark and Silvanus specifically 1 Thess 1:1 and Philem 24 happened after 60 CE and could not have been accurately rendered any sooner than there actual happenings.

... some say that if Peter wrote it, then it was no later than 68 CE...

Why no later than 68 CE? Well, Peter died, was martyred, in 68 CE. So if he wrote it, it could not have been after his martyrdom, right?

So there we have it? Between 60 and 68 CE?

Good enough for green eggs and ham. But for some biblical scholars, green eggs and ham is not on the menu.

Yep. There is more debate.

... those people that I mentioned before that do not believe that Peter wrote it, they are the same people that think that 1 Peter was written in the last decade of the first century CE...

so why between 90 and 100 CE? Well, "the situation indirectly described by the letter, however, points to a time after Peter's death. The language, style, content, and thought world seem inappropriate to Peter the Galilean fisherman and missionary to the Jews (Gal 2:9). The excellent and sophisticated Greek, the lack of references to the life and teaching of the earthly Jesus, the christological emphasis on the cosmic Christ, and the address to Gentile Christians who had previously lived a sinful, idolatrous life (1:14,18,21;2:1,9-11,25;4:3) point to a disciple of Peter writing in the name of the revered apostle. Thus most critical scholars interpret the document as a letter from the last decade of the first century CE, written in Peter's name in order to claim that its teaching represented the apostolic faith." (More on that, next, when I talk about where it was written)

So when was 1 Peter written? Well..either between 60- 68 CE or 90-100 CE.

Third step in getting a lot of background in 1 Peter: Where was it written from?

Well...the same people that believe Peter, or Peter and Silas wrote 1 Peter, they are the same people that think 1 Peter was written from "Babylon" (5:13) as in either:

a) Egyptian Babylon (A small-town, military outpost)
b) Mesopotamian Babylon (actual Babylon)

Why not Rome? Well...there are a few people in this group that consider it possible that the common cryptogram for Rome from the late first century CE was used but these people fall into some trouble in the debate over who wrote 1 Peter and when it was written. Why? Well...this cryptogram was not a true cryptogram in popular sense until Revelation was written. Revelation was written in the midst of last decade in the first century CE. Peter was a martyr and it was no longer between 60 and 68 CE in the late 1st century CE. That's why.

However, the people that believe that Peter did not write 1 Peter are the people that believe that this cryptogram is exactly what would have been used to say "Rome" late in the first century CE. They suppose that "the letter itself indicates it was written by a presbyter (elder; 5:1) of the Roman church - the "Babylon"of 5:13 was a common cryptogram for Rome at the end of the first century (see, for instance, Rev 17:5,9; 18:2,10,21)."

so where was 1 Peter written from? Who knows...He says Babylon. Think what you want.

Step four: Who was it written to?

This is the one thing we can all agree on...it is quite specifically described in 1:1-2.
So we are left to discuss that it was probably intended as a circulated pastoral letter to be used to encourage, direct and unify Christians living throughout Asia-minor. A people who considered themselves to be "People temporarily residing on earth whose home is in heaven." (1 Peter 1:1, Chr 29:15, Ps 39:12, Heb 13:14)

So with all this in mind, we are given some relative lenses with which to understand at different perspectives, as best we can, 1 Peter.

Leaving "well enough"

2007-11-07T15:55:00.000-08:00

002| The Jason... of the Staas'

Yes. Hello. This is my big kid blog. I have been doodling around here for a few months as I arranged some major pieces pertaining to facts 'about my life'. I guess you could say that we all do this ...every day of our lives...you know, change the facts about the life we live...

stuff about life?

hmm... okay.

Well, anyway... this is a place where I should come from time to time to share thoughts about life (mine and others). Some people...well most people...well, all people...(it's a people thing)...will want to fit this blog into a category. Yes. People love categories. I sure do. And I am a person. And yes, this blog too shall be categorized. But don't do that just yet. I will beg you...hold off from stuffing this blog into another category for just a few more lines.

First, I will tell you what this blog is not...and maybe after some time...we can shed some light on what this blog actually (dare I use the word?) ...is

Today. I will discuss how this blog is not a blog.

Okay... so I actually have no idea where the word blog came from. I think that I could find out in a matter of 3 seconds upon google search, however, I frankly just don't care. This is why I can not be creating a blog here. I don't care to blog. I don't even know what a blog is... I know there are things in the world web that people call "blog" but I am not formally certain of what all goes into that.
I am formally certain however of what my impulses are as a person (good and bad). One of my most foundational good/bad impulses is an urge and(at times...) ability to create stuff...usually words in the forms of sentences that glued together might fall upon some accidental meaning from time to time. The key word about this..."accidental"

Yep...videos, words, links, lighthouses, greek words and catchy color schemes all ...accidental

Have you ever heard the term "shotgun" used in relation to constructing meaning? Perhaps you have heard someone use it in relation to an essay test they just took:

"dude...seriously, how did you get an 'A' on that freakin' test?"
"I don't know, I just kind of 'shotgunned' it"

...huh?

Okay, "shotgunning" is another term for "bullshitting". I'll be honest. I should be one of the first to know all about that. My whole life, I have been a bullshitter...excuse me...a 'shotgunner'. I majored in it in undergrad. Some call it 'philosophy'. I call it 'managing to talk about random stuff you know nothing about and sound like you have a single clue what you are talking about'.

seriously, I'll save you the trouble of going to college and wasting tons of cash on a philosophy degree. Name a thing from the group I just called "random stuff"... you name it...religion, science, even poetry, business, politics ...whatever...you name it and chances are that some people sat around in a room and talked about it calling what they were doing 'legitimate philosophizing'.

ha.

Well, this is certainly not legitimate. It is a shotgun attempt at accidentally nabing pieces of truth... little bursts of light in a world of darkness.

Because I know one thing for sure. The Holy Spirit does not work through the people that take credit for everything they do ...accidentally.

The Emergent Mystique

2007-10-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

001| Andy Crouch

One spring sunday morning, I was on my way to visit Mars Hill Bible Church, one of the largest and youngest churches in the country, with 10,000 meeting weekly for worship in a converted mall outside Grand Rapids, Michigan. As I took the freeway exit, unsure of the exact directions, I noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of me. "Love wins," it said, in distressed white type on a black background. In the rear window was a decal with an intricate pattern—half Art Deco, half Goth tattoo—that incorporated a cross and a fish.

Neither the bumper sticker nor the tattoo-decal alone would have induced me to set aside my hastily scribbled directions and simply follow the car straight to the Mars Hill parking lot. But I knew I'd found my mark when I saw the passenger lower the sun visor, look into the makeup mirror, and meticulously adjust his hair.

Gentlemen, start your hair dryers—not since the Jesus Movement of the early 1970s has a Christian phenomenon been so closely entangled with the self-conscious cutting edge of U.S. culture. Frequently urban, disproportionately young, overwhelmingly white, and very new—few have been in existence for more than five years—a growing number of churches are joining the ranks of the "emerging church."

Like all labels, this one conceals as much as it reveals. But the phrase "emerging church" captures several important features of a new generation of churches. They are works in progress, often startlingly improvisational in their approach to everything from worship to leadership to preaching to prayer. Like their own members, they live in the half-future tense of the young, oriented toward their promise rather than their past. But if their own focus is on what they are "emerging" toward, perhaps most surprising are the places they are emerging from.

Weak Is the New Strong

Mars Hill's teaching pastor, Rob Bell, hair tousled and reddish brown, hops on stage in the center of what must have been the mall's anchor store. The huge space has been redecorated in utilitarian gray; a wooden cross reaches from floor to ceiling. Communion elements—the broken crackers and grape juice that are standard issue at Bible churches of every generation—are set at its base.

Bell is almost certainly the only pastor to have begun a megachurch-planting career with a sermon series from the book of Leviticus. Today Bell's text—the story of Jesus rebuking Peter for drawing his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane—is more conventional. Bell has the comic timing, the charisma, and the confidence you'd expect from someone who speaks to thousands every week. And he has a gift for the preacher's memorable phrase. "Swords appear strong," Bell says, "but they're actually quite weak. Jesus appears weak, but he's actually quite strong." Inviting his congregation to embrace weakness, referring to Paul's words about his own infirmity in 2 Corinthians, Bell takes up a refrain: "Weak is the new strong."

It's a pithy way of describing Jesus' upside-down kingdom, and it's a striking way of introducing a Communion service at the foot of a large cross. But "Weak is the new strong" is also an allusion to fashion-industry dictates like "Gray is the new black." Bell is both echoing and subverting a fashion-driven culture of cool. You could say that he puts the hip in discipleship.

Clearly cultural relevance was part of the reason for planting a church whose worship team requires a bass player who can play "in the style of Jimmy Eat World and Coldplay." No generation has ever been more alert to such nuances than the media-fed children of the 1980s and '90s, who can sense uncoolness at a thousand paces. As Rob Bell's wife, Kristen, tells CT in a joint interview after the service, "It's a cultural jump for our friends to come to church. It's a cultural jump for us, and we grew up in the church."

But it quickly becomes clear that these Wheaton College sweethearts have more on their minds than just cultural adaptation. "This is not just the same old message with new methods," Rob says. "We're rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion, as a way of life. Legal metaphors for faith don't deliver a way of life. We grew up in churches where people knew the nine verses why we don't speak in tongues, but had never experienced the overwhelming presence of God."

In fact, as the Bells describe it, after launching Mars Hill in 1999, they found themselves increasingly uncomfortable with church. "Life in the church had become so small," Kristen says. "It had worked for me for a long time. Then it stopped working." The Bells started questioning their assumptions about the Bible itself—"discovering the Bible as a human product," as Rob puts it, rather than the product of divine fiat. "The Bible is still in the center for us," Rob says, "but it's a different kind of center. We want to embrace mystery, rather than conquer it."

"I grew up thinking that we've figured out the Bible," Kristen says, "that we knew what it means. Now I have no idea what most of it means. And yet I feel like life is big again—like life used to be black and white, and now it's in color."

The more I talk with the Bells, the more aware I am that they are telling me a conversion narrative—not a story of salvation in the strict sense, but of having been delivered from a small life into a big life. The Bells, who flourished at evangelical institutions from Wheaton to Fuller Theological Seminary to Grand Rapids's Calvary Church before starting Mars Hill, were by their own account happy and successful young evangelicals. Yet that very world, as the Bells tell it, became constricting—in Kristen's phrase, "black and white."

An earlier generation of evangelicals, forged in battles with 20th-century liberalism, prided themselves on avoiding theological shades of gray, but their children see black, white, and gray as all equally unlifelike. They are looking for a faith that is colorful enough for their culturally savvy friends, deep enough for mystery, big enough for their own doubts. To get there, they are willing to abandon some long-defended battle lines.

"Weak is the new strong," it turns out, is not just Rob Bell's knowing reference to the world of fashion, nor just his clever reframing of Paul's message of Christlike life. It's a roadmap for a new way of doing church, even a big church.

And how did the Bells find their way out of the black-and-white world where they had been so successful and so dissatisfied? "Our lifeboat," Kristen says, "was A New Kind of Christian."

A Story of Two Friends

Brian McLaren is not particularly young—he was born in 1956—and he doesn't have cool hair, if only because he has very little hair at all. With his blue-jeans-and-Birkenstocks dress code and a middle-age paunch, he looks like a suburban, nondenominational pastor who came of age playing the guitar for youth ministry meetings in the 1970s.

Which is exactly what he is. Yet he is also the de facto spiritual leader for the emerging church, thanks to his indefatigable speaking and writing schedule that produced, among his many books, 2001's A New Kind of Christian.

A New Kind of Christian became influential not just because of its content but also its form. McLaren cast the book as a story of two friends, a disillusioned evangelical pastor named Dan Poole and an enigmatic high school science teacher nicknamed Neo. On the brink of despair with his own ministry, Dan is led by Neo—who turns out to be a lapsed pastor himself—through a series of set pieces that introduce the initially skeptical Dan to a "postmodern" approach to Christianity.

The modern period of history, as Neo tells it, is coming to an end. We are entering "postmodernity," an as-yet ill-defined borderland in which central modern values like objectivity, analysis, and control will become less compelling. They are superseded by postmodern values like mystery and wonder. The controversial implication is that forms of Christianity that have thrived in modernity—including Dan's evangelicalism—are unlikely to survive the transition.

McLaren managed to connect abstruse concepts of intellectual and social history to a visceral sense of disillusionment among evangelical pastors. Dan's dissatisfaction with ministry, in McLaren's telling, was not primarily a faith problem, a psychological problem, or a sociological problem. It was a philosophical problem—the result of a way of thinking that was no longer adequate. Pastors who would have had a hard time seeing the relevance of postmodernism could suddenly envision it as the key to finding, as the book's jacket put it, "spiritual renewal for those who thought they had given up on church."

The book generated an outpouring of intensely personal response. To this day McLaren continues to receive grateful e-mails from readers. The book also confirmed the intuitions of many who sensed that major changes were under way in the culture. By offering a fundamentally hopeful, rather than despairing or defensive, reading of those changes, McLaren staked out an attractive position for young people like Rob and Kristen Bell.

But A New Kind of Christian has also attracted plenty of critics. The most persistent question they raise is whether "modern" and "postmodern" can be divided so cleanly. Wheaton College philosopher Mark Talbot points out that skepticism about values like objectivity, analysis, and control was already present in Enlightenment figures like David Hume. Meanwhile, Talbot says, "the great irony is that by giving us these sharp categories of 'modern' and 'postmodern' ways of thinking, McLaren is doing the very sort of categorization he describes, and implicitly condemns, as modern."

The point Talbot and others make is not just a matter of quibbling over definitions. If a self-avowed postmodern Christian can't differentiate himself from the moderns he is critiquing, perhaps the divide between modernity and postmodernity is less like the San Andreas Fault and more like a crack in the sidewalk. And if there is no massive change under way in the culture, why make a case for a massive change in the church?

Envisioning a Postmodern Church

The real significance of A New Kind of Christian, though, may be not its answers but its openness to questions that are clearly widespread.

Even now McLaren resists calling Emergent, the emerging church network that he and several other church planters and pastors lead, a "movement," with that word's connotations of a clear leadership and agenda.

"Right now Emergent is a conversation, not a movement," he says. "We don't have a program. We don't have a model. I think we must begin as a conversation, then grow as a friendship, and see if a movement comes of it."

Yet recently McLaren has started to sketch the outlines of his vision of a postmodern church. He sketches a big circle labeled "self," a smaller circle next to it labeled "church," and a tiny circle off to the side labeled "world."

"This has been evangelicalism's model," he says. "Fundamentally it's about getting yourself 'saved'—in old-style evangelicalism—or improving your life in the new style. Either way, the Christian life is really about you and your needs. Once your needs are met, then we think about how you can serve the church. And then, if there's anything left over, we ask how the church might serve the world."

He starts drawing again. "But what if it went the other way? This big circle is the world—the world God loved so much that he sent his Son. Inside that circle is another one, the church, God's people chosen to demonstrate his love to the world. And inside that is a small circle, which is your self. It's not about the church meeting your needs, it's about you joining the mission of God's people to meet the world's needs."

With his circle diagrams, McLaren is popularizing the work of the late British missionary Lesslie Newbigin, who returned from a lifetime in India to spend his last years reflecting on the need for a new theology of mission. "According to Newbigin, the greatest heresy in monotheism is a misunderstanding of the doctrine of election," McLaren says. "Election is not about who gets to go to heaven; election is about who God chooses to be part of his crisis-response team to bring healing to the world."

McLaren doesn't just want to turn the doctrine of election upside down (or, as Newbigin argued, right side up)—he has questions about other cherished words in the evangelical vocabulary.

"I don't think we've got the gospel right yet. What does it mean to be 'saved'? When I read the Bible, I don't see it meaning, 'I'm going to heaven after I die.' Before modern evangelicalism nobody accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, or walked down an aisle, or said the sinner's prayer."

It's not that McLaren is interested in joining the liberal side of modern Protestantism. "I don't think the liberals have it right. But I don't think we have it right either. None of us has arrived at orthodoxy."

Comments like these make many evangelicals nervous. It doesn't help that postmodernism, in the popular imagination, often amounts to pure skepticism about getting anything "right" at all. How can a worldview built on critiquing—or in the postmodern argot, deconstructing—concepts like orthodoxy and salvation be faithful to the gospel? What makes the emerging church's dissatisfaction with traditional Christianity any different from that of liberal Protestantism, which embraced the culture's values only to wither as the culture changed a generation later?

Yet there are real differences between emerging-church leaders like McLaren and those who led the charge for liberal Christianity. Liberalism flourished in a time of Christian cultural dominance, and was championed by leaders eager to keep pace with modern culture. McLaren and his companions tend to be children of notably conservative churches—in McLaren's case, the Plymouth Brethren—who have never enjoyed, nor aspired to, cultural power. They are also evangelists who care passionately about reaching the unchurched.

McLaren describes his dissatisfaction when he first became a pastor: "My gifts were in evangelism, but I was spending all my time with Christians. Then I encountered Rick Warren and his conviction that the church could be evangelistic. We decided to take 10 months to regroup. Then we reconstituted the church with about 80 Christians—and in a year or so, another hundred previously unchurched people joined us."

If critics overlook the evangelistic energy of the emerging church, they also often lump together two very different kinds of postmodern thought. The most notorious postmodern thinkers have been the "deconstructionists"—French intellectuals like Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault who seek to show that the cherished ideals of Western society (and Christian faith) are fatally compromised by internal contradictions.

But another stream, less well-known outside universities and seminaries, has taken dissatisfaction with modernity in a more constructive direction. It is these thinkers—the late philosopher Michael Polanyi and Notre Dame professor Alasdair MacIntyre, along with theologians like Newbigin—who are gaining the attention of the emerging church's more theologically inclined leaders.

From Newbigin, McLaren has drawn the idea of the church as "missional"—oriented toward the needs of the world rather than oriented towards its own preservation. From Polanyi and MacIntyre, he concludes that the emerging church must be "monastic"—centered on training disciples who practice, rather than just believe, the faith.

He cites Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, with their emphasis on spiritual disciplines, as key mentors for the emerging church. None of these thinkers has any inclination to throw out the baby of truth with the bathwater of modernity.

Indeed, these constructive postmodernists have been read and appreciated in many evangelical seminaries for years—but their ideas have been more often appreciated than applied. McLaren's innovation was to ask what it would mean to actually live out their ideas in a local church. Like Rob and Kristen Bell, he is passionate about the Good News. He just wonders if there is more to that Good News than evangelicals have yet imagined.

Cultural Collision

At the Emergent Convention in Nashville in April, it becomes clear that McLaren's insistence that "Emergent is not a movement" is not false modesty.

In the cavernous hall of the Nashville Convention Center, jerky loops of handheld video—an urban streetscape, an artist at work, a cross-country ski trail—play continuously on three separate screens throughout each general session. On one side of the room, the ancient and currently fashionable tradition of a prayer labyrinth has been revived, with the addition of bicycles.

At the opening session, Youth Specialties president Mark Oestreicher (hair: two-tone wavy locks) urges attendees to come and go at will, cheerfully undermining the credibility of the proceedings: "A lot of what conference speakers say is not really true—they take 20 years of reality and turn it into 90 minutes of unreality."

Thus prepared, the 800 conference-goers do indeed wander in and out through the videos, poetry, worship music, and plenary speakers, chatting on their cell phones in aimless motion. Like so much of American mass media culture, the overall effect is undeniably cool, but also seemingly designed to aggravate—if not generate—attention deficit disorder.

At the Emergent Convention, emerging theology and emerging culture don't so much coexist as collide, thanks to the somewhat uneasy partnership between Emergent and Youth Specialties. During one particularly experimental worship session, featuring a well-known British dj (hair: spiked) whose pulsating techno music (complete lyrics: "It's just you and God") builds to a climax that would have played well in pagan Corinth, I find Brian McLaren outside the convention hall.

"I hate it," he says ruefully of the worship music. Another Emergent leader tells a seminar, "The general sessions are a betrayal of everything Emergent stands for."

The truth is that the convention makes it difficult to tell what Emergent does stand for. Even the invited guests seem bewildered. Plenary speaker Robert Webber, whose book The Younger Evangelicals celebrates the emerging church, is clearly taken aback by what he sees: "They claim to be rejecting the last 30 years of evangelicalism—and they're repeating the last 30 years of evangelicalism."

Twentysomething writer Lauren Winner, dismayed by the video loops playing incessantly behind her during her address, tells me, "I feel so alienated from my generation."

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Any movement—or conversation—that can inspire such ambivalence, even among its friends, has an uncertain future. Nor is it easy to quantify the emerging church's present.

McLaren guesses that "only a few dozen" churches across the country are fully committed to the theological journey he sketched in A New Kind of Christian. Even Rob Bell did not start that journey until after founding Mars Hill Bible Church. The number of churches whose pastors have cool hair is, of course, much larger—but hardly qualifies as a single movement any more than the number of churches whose pastors wear ties. For the moment, as the Emergent Convention demonstrates, the confusion of style and substance makes for strange bedfellows.

Meanwhile, McLaren's fellow travelers—whether they are dozens or, as Emergent book sales would suggest, tens of thousands—are not the only Christians responding to the challenges of postmodern culture. Manhattan's Redeemer Presbyterian Church attracts several thousand culturally savvy young people with unapologetically Reformed preaching and worship, and churches inspired by Redeemer are thriving in several cities on both coasts.

Catholic journalist Colleen Carroll Campbell has documented the rise of "the new faithful," a growing group of young Americans, often drawn from the same locations and vocations as the emerging church, who are embracing orthodoxy without McLaren's qualifiers.

Implicitly responding to Emergent's disaffection with modern evangelicalism, in March the National Association of Evangelicals attracted more than 200 "young evangelicals" to the inaugural meeting of a network led by Carolyn Haggard, the niece of NAE president Ted Haggard. The 23-year-old Wellesley College graduate says, "The Bible has been relevant for 2,000 years, and popular culture isn't really going to change that. Saying that we're cooler than the generation before, we're more savvy, and we're obviously more intellectual than the generation before—that's not something we'd be at all interested in promoting."

So Emergent has no lock on the next generation. In this respect it may prove no different from the previous Christian movement characterized by male hair, the Jesus Movement. It coexisted, often uneasily, with more cautious expressions of church, was animated by a combination of beautiful ideals and foolish ideas, and ultimately merged into an evangelical mainstream that had adapted to its presence.

But the Jesus Movement, largely composed of converts, was generally unconcerned with theology. Emergent, whose leaders are evangelicalism's own sons and daughters, may yet contribute something more profound than one more fleeting form of cultural relevance.

At least that's what Rob Bell hopes. "People don't get it," he told me. "They think it's about style. But the real question is: What is the gospel?"

That question, of course, is not new. It was asked by, among others, a devout young German monk named Martin Luther who found church increasingly dissatisfying. His answer, rooted in Scripture, changed the direction of Christian history at a moment of epochal cultural change.

Is it possible that a compelling new answer could emerge from McLaren's "conversation"? If so, Bell may have a head start, with props to the apostle Paul.

"Weak is the new strong." The emerging church, and evangelicalism, could do a lot worse.

2007-09-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Moving. I once helped a boss of mine move when I worked at a university. It was a pretty awesome day. I was working for him. It was an awesome day. He treated me like an equal... I liked that. I was "Jason his friend", not "Jason his servant". I liked that.

People treating people like they are people.

God is in that.

That is communion. The eucharist... being one in spirit while in the flesh.
Being a companion

an equal.

a friend.

The Church.

In the scriptures, Jesus talks all about this. He tells his followers that they should love God first and then love one another as He loves them.

I love how Jesus teaches. Just when people think they have what he is saying down, he'll thow in a total zinger. Bam! Kick it up a knotch.

You see, he throws his followers for a loop. They expect power and strength, they get weakness. This is not weakness as we think of weakness. Jesus knows exactly what he's doing. There is a weakness that is truly weakness, that has nothing else to it- no depth, no intention, no greater purpose. But Jesus is intentional in what he's doing. His vulnerability is for a purpose. What he is saying and doing is packaged in the deep nature of who God is and who we are as humans...as image bearers of God.

There is a weakness that is actually a strength.

And there is a strength that is actually a weakness.

You want to follow me Jason? Love God, then love other people like I love you.

That

is

that.

Now we could spend hours talking about all the creative and awesome ways different churches and congregations (people) have thought to demonstrate in some communal way their devotion, appreciation, laments, care and ultimately- blind love for a god they have never actually seen or heard, touched or tasted...

But that is not the end of the story. It's like sitting down at a buffet and just sitting at the table. Smelling. and with all that smelling of all that food, you know it is there...you sense it...you can smell it, is only part of the buffet. If you just sit there...at the table, talking about how good the food smells...you are going to get very hungry, and will never be fed.

God is bigger than worship songs, sermons, liturgies and hymnals.

God is bigger than talking about how good he smells.

I mean, salvation, grace, love, life...it all smells good. don't get me wrong.

God is God.

This brings us to the second part of what Jesus said... love each other as I have loved you. bam. there is that one again.

So wait a second Jason, does this mean that just going to a church gathering for worship is not all there is to this Christian thing? You mean, that all that stuff people do down at church, that takes up all of their free time each week after week, those people don't get what Jesus is saying here?

Take, for example, a parent who yells at their children and holds them accountable for all sorts of random tasks they were supposed to have known to do and who allows their mood to dictate the mood of the whole house. This kind of parent dominate their family with manipulative behavior and petty punishments that create chaos and insecurity for those around them. This kind of partent is using their strength, but they are actually weak. They do this because in truth, they're broken, confused, and insecure. They have no idea what they're doing, as a parent or as a person.

The same is true for managers and bosses and teachers and anyone who uses their position of authority to coerce or manipulate of bully others- even when the intentions seem good. They can get people to do what they want, but it's only because of the position they hold. Their authority is rooted in nothing larger or stronger ofr higher than the idea of good to the people that put them in charge. And that can be taken away tomorrow. Corporations: good = maximized earnings, Religious places: good = maximized law following, Universitys: good = maximized acclaim, Classrooms: good = maximized test scores. They may appear strong, but they are actually weak.

Contrast this with people who appear weak but are actually quite strong. It's when someone says something mean or cutting about us and everything within us wants to one-up them with an even nastier comment in return, thus winning the exchange, but we hold our tongue. We "lose" the round, but what we did took tremendous strength. And it would take even more strength to forgive them and then maybe even love them. It would all appear quite weak to the observer, unless they understood that what they were witnessing was actually strength in action.

"love each other as I have loved you."

Well, how did Jesus love his followers? This is a good question. Without answering this question, it is difficult to appreciate the hugetasticness of what Jesus teaches.

Consider the Jesus story just for the sheer poetry of it. Jesus is born to teenage peasants under questionable circumstances. His mother gets pregnant before marriage. He's born amid the dung and straw of a stable. He's placed in a feeding trough. His brothers and sisters think he's out of his mind, and after his first sermon in his hometown, the people he grew up with form a mob and try to kill him.

So who does Jesus identify with? He chooses the outcasts, the people of the land who aren't good enough, clean enough, wealthy enough, and pure enough to be a part of the establishment. He chooses the Jason C. Staas' of the world. He's invited to dine with the elite and the rich, which he does numerous times, but he also eats with the lowest of the low - and he enjoys it. He enjoys them.

He touches people with infectious skin diseases, he lets questionable women touch him, he lays his hands on dead bodies, and he engages in conversations with promiscuous women alone in the middle of the day.

His entire life is about the stripping way of power and control. Jesus always chooses the path of love, not power.

Inclusion, not exclusion.

Connection and solidarity rather than rank and hierarchy.

Touch rather than distance.

Compassion rather than control.

He comes on a donkey, not a horse.

Weeping and broken, not proud and triumphant.

This path Jesus has chosen, which he continues to choose day after day, takes on some ominous overtones. He finds himself at odds with those in power. Partway through the Gospels- the accounts of his life- he states dropping hints that this path he's on is going somewhere. Somewhere that involves suffering and even death. His hints, which start turning into predictions, are about a conflict that he sees as inevitable. A conflict between love and controlling power.

As we read the Gospels, we find Jesus' message putting him more and more in conflict with the religious and political leaders of his day. He's threatening their power. This is what love does, it threatens the empires of power and control and wealth and manipulation.

He's eventually arrested and put on a sort of trial, at which he's asked to perform miracles. He refuses, knowing that a display of his miraculous abilities would not be true to the path he's on. He's eventually beaten and flogged. When he doesn't fight back, he's mocked, and he doesn't say anything in return. He's hung on a cross and says, "I am thirsty."

Naked.

Bleeding.

Vulnerable.

Thirsty.

He even quotes a well-known prayer of the day, which includes the haunting line, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

It was explained this way in a poplular first-century hymn, recorded in the book of Philippians: "[Jesus] who, being in very nature God, did not consider equity with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing."

anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.

full contact love: authentic marital spirituality

2007-09-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

What is marital spirituality? How does the family become authentically spiritual? For John Paul II, the answers to these questions "of the spirit" are revealed in the body... What is marital spirituality? How does the family become authentically spiritual? For John Paul II, the answers to these questions "of the spirit" are revealed in the body. This is what we learn from John Paul II's "theology of the body." In this collection of 129 general audience addresses delivered early in his pontificate, John Paul developed what promises to be one of his most enduring contributions to the Church and the world. Establishing an authentic marital spirituality is essential if we are to restore the family and build a culture of life. How do we do it? According to the Holy Father, "Those who seek the accomplishment of their own human and Christian vocation in marriage are called, first of all, to make this ‘theology of the body' ...the content of their life and behavior" (Apr 2, 1980). More Catholics are hearing about the theology of the body. Still, very few of them know what it actually teaches. The purpose of this article is to introduce some of the themes of John Paul's teaching and outline the foundations for building an authentic marital and family spirituality.

The Body: Revelation of God's Mystery

The Pope's thesis, if we let it sink in, is sure to revolutionize our understanding of the human body, sexuality, and, in turn, marriage and family life. "The body, and it alone," John Paul says, " is capable of making visible what is invisible, the spiritual and divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the invisible mystery hidden in God from time immemorial, and thus to be a sign of it" (Feb 20, 1980). A mouthful of scholarly verbiage, I know. What does it mean? As physical, bodily creatures we simply cannot see God. He's pure Spirit. But God wanted to make his mystery visible to us so he stamped it into our bodies by creating us as male and female in his own image (Gn 1:27). The function of this image is to reflect the Trinity, "an inscrutable divine communion of [three] Persons" (Nov 14, 1979). John Paul thus concludes that "man became the ‘image and likeness' of God not only through his own humanity, but also through the communion of persons which man and woman form right from the beginning." And, the Pope adds, "On all of this, right from ‘the beginning,' there descended the blessing of fertility linked with human procreation" (ibid). The body has a "nuptial meaning" because it reveals man and woman's call to become a gift for one another, a gift fully realized in their "one flesh" union. The body also has a "generative meaning" that (God willing) brings a "third" into the world through their communion. In this way, marriage constitutes a "primordial sacrament" understood as a sign that truly communicates the mystery of God's Trinitarian life and love to husband and wife, and through them to their children, and through the family to the whole world. This is what marital spirituality is all about: participating in God's life and love and sharing it with the world. While this is certainly a sublime calling, it's not ethereal. It's tangible. God's love is meant to be lived and felt in daily life as a married couple and as a family. How? By living according to the full truth of the body. "In fact, how indispensable," our Holy Father insists, "is thorough knowledge of the meaning of the body, in its masculinity and femininity, along the way of this vocation! How necessary is a precise awareness of the nuptial meaning of the body, of its generative meaning - since all that which forms the content of the life of married couples must constantly find its full and personal dimension in life together, in behavior, in feelings!" (Apr 2, 1980).

Embodied Spirituality

One of the greatest threats facing the Church today is a "spiritualism" in which people disembody their call to holiness. Living a spiritual life never means eschewing our bodies. Authentic spirituality is always an embodied spirituality. This is the very "logic" of Christianity. God communicates his life to us in and through the body; in and through the Word made flesh. The spirit that denies this "incarnational reality" is that of the anti-Christ (see 1 Jn 4:2-3). Think about this for a moment. John Paul teaches us that the human body - in the beauty of sexual difference and our call to nuptial union - possesses a "language" inscribed by God that not only proclaims His eternal mystery, but makes that mystery present to us. If there is an enemy of God who wants to keep us from God's life and love, where, then, would he go to do it? Satan's goal is to scramble the language of our bodies! And look how successful he's been. Because of Satan's scheme, most of us are illiterate when it comes to reading the language of the body. How many of us, for example, think that our bodies are the last place to look for the revelation of God's mystery?

Building an Authentic Spirituality

In order to build an authentic marital spirituality, then, we must begin by learning to read the true language of the body. We must pray for the eyes to see God's mystery revealed through our bodies and through the marital union itself. Sin is what blinds us: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:16). In talking about the love between man and woman, we must contend primarily with the lust of the flesh. Marriage in no way "legitimizes" lust. Men and women are called by the power of the Holy Spirit to experience a "real and deep" victory over lust. Through the "redemption of our bodies," the Holy Spirit impregnates sexual desire "with everything that is noble and beautiful," with "the supreme value which is love" (Oct 22 & 29, 1980). This is how husbands and wives build an authentic spirituality: by loving one another according to the Holy Spirit in and through their bodies. Marital love is shown in numerous ways, but spouses who are filled with the Spirit realize "among the possible manifestations of affection, the singular, or rather, exceptional significance of [the conjugal] act" (Nov 21, 1984). They come to understand that their sexual union"bears in itself the sign of the great mystery of creation and redemption" (Nov 14, 1984). In a word, they come to understand that their union is "Eucharistic." When we receive the Eucharist worthily, it bears new life in the whole of our lives. When we receive it unworthily, we eat and drink our condemnation (1 Co 11:29). Similarly, when spouses open their union to the Holy Spirit, their whole marriage continually bears new life in the Spirit. However, if spouses close their union to the Spirit, they undermine the whole reality of their marriage and their family life.One of the primary ways we remain open to the Spirit is by remaining open to children. Who is the Holy Spirit but the Lord and Giver of Life? Those couples who close their union to children at the same time close their union to the Holy Spirit. Their union is no longer a sign of God's Trinitarian love but, in fact, becomes a counter-sign of it. This is why John Paul says that "the antithesis of conjugal spirituality is constituted, in a certain sense, by the subjective lack of this understanding [of the dignity of the conjugal act] which is linked to contraceptive practice and mentality" (ibid). For those who are filled with the Holy Spirit, contraception is simply unthinkable. They know it replaces the true language of the body with a lie. And lying within the heart of marital intimacy has a ripple effect, as does speaking the truth. Spouses who strive to speak honestly in the nuptial embrace strive to be open and honest with each in the whole of their married life. As professor Mary Roussseau expresses it, when spouses live an authentic spirituality, "the love that marks their marital bed spreads ...into the kitchen, the yard, the supermarket, the workplace, and beyond. Their love eventually spreads throughout the world, into the realms of politics, work, education, entertainment, health care, and international relations. Such is the exact process by which the civilization of love comes to be" (Chicago Studies, Vol 39:2, p. 175).

In Conclusion

This is why, according to John Paul, education in the theology of the body "constitutes ...the essential nucleus of conjugal spirituality" (Oct 3, 1984). This education is a clarion call not to become more "spiritual" but to become more incarnational - to allow the Holy Spirit to impregnate our bodies with divine life. This is what happens in the sacraments. The Eucharist and Penance, in particular, are the "infallible and indispensable" means, John Paul says, "for forming the Christian spirituality of married life and family life. With these, that essential and spiritual creative ‘power' of love reaches human hearts and, at the same time, human bodies.... This love, in fact, allows the building of the whole life of the married couple according to that ‘truth of the sign,' by means of which marriage is built up in its sacramental dignity" (Oct 3, 1984).Through this "sacramental dignity" spouses and families participate in the mystery of the Trinity and proclaim that mystery to the world in an "embodied spirituality."

full contact love: The Book of Hebrews, the Cross, and Discipleship

2007-09-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.

A superficial reading may give the idea that this idea of "a sacrifice for atonement" is identical with the levitical laws requiring blood for the forgiveness of sins. However this is not the case. The whole rest of the book of Hebrews is dedicated to the theology that Jesus was of a higher order than that blood required by the law. So that the "atonement" mentioned here is transformed and "atonement" is given a new meaning not like the use it has in the levitical law, because Jesus was not a levitical priest.

Hebrews 7:11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the levitical priesthood--for the people received the law under this priesthood--what further need would there have been to speak of another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek, rather than one according to the order of Aaron?

If sacrificial law were best; if the levitical priesthood that kept the law were best and necessary, then why the need to call Jesus "Melchizedek" and not call him from the Levites?

Hebrews 7:12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

The change in priesthood to Melchizedek necessarily brings a change in the law…for Melchizidek there was no law; there was no blood sacrifice. So to call Jesus "Melchizedek" is to make him above the system of sacrifice where blood is necessary.
The sacrifice Jesus made was not a death as required by the law but "an indestructible life":

Hebrews 7:15-16 It is even more obvious when another priest arises, resembling Melchizedek, one who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but through the power of an indestructible life.

Here the book of Hebrews goes on to declare Jesus as a "priest" and that he is so much better than those priests under the law. His offering, the "indestructible life," was offered "once for all" (7:27) unlike the levitical priests who offer animal blood every day only for specific Israelites. Jesus' "indestructible life" was offered for "all" making it universal.

Hebrews 8:1-5 Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one;

The temple, was not really God's way, but allowed because of the hardness of the hearts f the Israelites. "But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry"; one with universal ramifications; one obtained through his life, not through a death.

Hebrews 9:22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

"Under the law" virtually everything was "purified by blood" and "under the law" "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." This blood requirement is a requirement of the levitical priesthood, but Jesus is of the order of Melchizidek, and not a priest according to the law. The law is changed with the change in priesthood. The Levites "purified with blood" but Jesus in the priesthood of Melchizidek offered "the sacrifice of himself" (9:26). This sacrifice has already been described as "an indestructible life" and not a death required by the law.

Hebrews 10:1-4 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach. Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, since the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

The blood the levitical priests offered could never take away the sins from people. They merely kept reminding people of their sins (verse 3). The sacrificial system that required blood to make things right, "could never take away sins," because it had inherent within it a reminder of sin…the requirement of blood, was imperfect. The blood Jesus offered was not something that he killed, it was blood that was murdered.

Hebrews 10:5-9 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'See, God, I have come to do your will, O God' (in the scroll of the book it is written of me)." When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then he added, "See, I have come to do your will."

But Jesus knew that God did not desire or take pleasure in "sacrifices and offerings" in which blood was required for "forgiveness of sins" (9:22). God takes pleasure in the obedient life, "See, I have come to do your will." Jesus offering was not his death but his obedient life. Death was not required "to take away sins" (10:4), but "an indestructible life" in which one did God's will. This obedient life of Jesus is what brings forgiveness of sins. "He abolishes the first in order to establish the second" (10:9). Jesus abolishes the requirement of blood, and establishes the obedient life as a covenant.

Hebrews 10:11-12 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God,"

The levitical priests offer blood in vain every day, thinking as the world does, that blood spilled can atone for sins. But Jesus' obedient life was offered "for all time" and "for all". So that in Jesus "by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified" (10:14). God has written his law on our hearts (10:16), not the old law of the levitical priesthood requiring blood to right the sins of the world, but the law of the priesthood of "Melchizidek", of Jesus who offered an obedient life. This is the law God has written on our hearts, that we know blood is not required by God and he does not want blood spilled. The law is that we love God and our neighbor.

Hebrews 10:17-18 he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
God has forgiven our sins without requiring the blood of any animal or man. He has forgiven us based upon Jesus' "indestructible life" (Hebrews 7:16) and based upon Jesus doing God's will (Hebrews 10:9). And doing God's will is not fulfilling a blood requirement for God takes no pleasure in this nor does he want it (Hebrews 10:5-9). This doing of God's will is not based upon the levitical priesthood in which blood is thought to take away sins. It is based upon a priesthood of Melchizidek, in which blood was not required, for the law had not been given. What is required is love.

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,

We can now approach God through "the blood of Jesus," but this is not blood in the order of the levitical law, blood that people think will atone for their sins or give them some relief, it is the blood of a new priesthood, the blood of one who is obedient even when men kill him, thinking they are doing the will of God, thinking that by spilling this man's blood they could save the whole nation (John 11:50). This blood is murdered blood. This blood is blood offered despite the threat of men to take life. This blood is not offered as a requirement for forgiveness as though god just had to kill somebody, but it is blood offered in completion of an obedient life; it is the result of his obedient life.

Hebrews 10:19-20 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain

We enter by the "new and living way" Jesus has shown us. It is called a "living way," it is not the way of spilling blood to atone for sins or to met out "justice"; it is not by the way of death, but the way of life that we can approach God.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

This way of life is communal. We are to be together. It is the way of love and goodness. We must be provoked by each other to love and good deeds, so therefore we must meet together. Jesus way is a living way, but it is not an individual way. It is one of "encouraging one another," it is a way of discipleship. Jesus' life established an alternative community to that of the world. The world's community requires blood; Jesus' community does not.

Hebrews 10:26-30 For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy "on the testimony of two or three witnesses." How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

"There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" if we persist in sin after learning the way of Jesus. Perhaps this should be read in light of Hebrews 10:9: "He abolishes the first in order to establish the second." There is no sacrifice remaining for sins because God has abolished the levitical laws in which it is thought blood will atone for sins. Anyone who broke "the law of Moses died without mercy "on the testimony of two or three witnesses." Life for life was required. However Jesus "abolishes the first in order to establish the second." For those who persist in the killings, a question is asked, "How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God?" There is an indication that the punishment they "deserve" under the levitical law has been abolished. However in continuing in sin those people have left the community established by Jesus to witness to the new Kingdom of God that has broken into this world.

Hebrews 10:32-36 But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Public persecution and abuse, prison, suffering, these are the outcomes of the obedient life to God. The will of God is not that we suffer, but that we continue to love despite that suffering. Even those who were not thrown into prison or "publicly exposed to abuse and persecution" were "partners with those so treated" so that one members suffering is the whole body's suffering. This is the outcome of being a community of God through Jesus Christ. But the author says we ought to persist despite all sufferings, these were the marks Jesus bore as a result of his "indestructible life" and so they are the marks of his followers. Just as Jesus came to do the will of God, so his disciples are to have "endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." Our discipleship is directly tied to doing "the will of God" as Jesus did, in spite of our suffering. This suffering is an exposure of the world as the world. It is an exposure that the requirement of blood is a lie and it is not God's desire.

Hebrews 12:1-4 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

After speaking of the great history of faithful believers the author tells us to join with them. Jesus is here said to be an example for us to follow: "looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame . . ." This is the mark of a disciple not belief in an angry God who killed Jesus to aquit the guilty. The mark of a disciple is one who disregards the shame of being made a scapegoat. Though many have "resisted to the point of shedding their blood" we the readers of Hebrews have obviously not resisted to the point of our deaths.

Hebrews 12:5-11 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children-- "My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts." Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

We have not resisted to the point of shedding our blood because we have forgotten the exhortation that God has addressed to us. The outcome of our life is death by crucifixion. This cleanses us of our desire to war, to retaliate and return hate for hate. The persecution we suffer as a body, (this is addressed to the body not to individuals) "yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Our deaths produce peace. Our deaths witness to God's kingdom.

Hebrews 12:12-15 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled.

We are to pursue peace with everyone even when they pursue war with us. Even when they think that by killing us, persecuting us, or imprisoning us they will save their nation. Without pursuing this peace we will not have holiness to know Jesus. We are not to allow the root of bitterness to spring up and cause us to hate, or to kill. This is the way of the law. And Jesus has established a covenant based not on the myth of redemptive violence, but upon the truth of loving God and neighbor in obedience to God.

Hebrews 13:1-8 Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Finally we are exhorted to let "mutual love continue" for this is the heart of discipleship. We are to love strangers, and to "Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured" Because when one of us is persecuted we all are persecuted. We are to suffer together,and we are to die together. "Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." The outcome of discipleship is sharing in persecution and crucifixion. But it produces our peace.

Hebrews 13:15-16 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

The very nature of "sacrifice" is transformed from one of killing to one of living. Jesus "atonement" was not one requiring death but one that required life. The sacrifice Jesus offered was to be obedient even unto death. Therefore God did not require Jesus' death in the sense that God killed him, but God required love even to love enemies and not to retaliate with killing in kind. Jesus unmasks the system of redemptive violence in which blood is thought to save as false. "The blood of the new covenant" is not retributive and penal, but it is the blood of the crucified lord, who loved his enemies in obedience to God

full contact love: it's not all flowers and butterflys...it's a lifestyle...it's the Holy Spirit in your life

2007-09-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

"You only love God as much as you love the person you love the least." - Dorothy Day

Psalm 95

2007-08-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Praise to the LORD, and Warning against Unbelief. 1O come, let us (A)sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to (B)the rock of our salvation. 2Let us (C)come before His presence (D)with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him (E)with psalms. 3For the LORD is a (F)great God And a great King (G)above all gods, 4In whose hand are the (H)depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. 5The sea is His, for it was He (I)who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. 6Come, let us (J)worship and bow down, Let us (K)kneel before the LORD our (L)Maker. 7For He is our God, And (M)we are the people of His (N)pasture and the sheep of His hand (O)Today, if you would hear His voice, 8Do not harden your hearts, as at [a](P)Meribah, As in the day of [b](Q)Massah in the wilderness, 9"When your fathers (R)tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. 10"For (S)forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. 11"Therefore I (T)swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My (U)rest."
Footnotes:
Psalm 95:8 Or place of strife
Psalm 95:8 Or temptation Cross references:
Psalm 95:1 : Ps 66:1; 81:1
Psalm 95:1 : Ps 89:26
Psalm 95:2 : Mic 6:6
Psalm 95:2 : Ps 100:4; 147:7; Jon 2:9
Psalm 95:2 : Ps 81:2; Eph 5:19; James 5:13
Psalm 95:3 : Ps 48:1; 135:5; 145:3
Psalm 95:3 : Ps 96:4; 97:9
Psalm 95:4 : Ps 135:6
Psalm 95:5 : Gen 1:9, 10; Ps 146:6; Jon 1:9
Psalm 95:6 : Ps 96:9; 99:5, 9
Psalm 95:6 : 2 Chr 6:13; Dan 6:10; Phil 2:10
Psalm 95:6 : Ps 100:3; 149:2; Is 17:7; Hos 8:14
Psalm 95:7 : Ps 79:13
Psalm 95:7 : Ps 74:1
Psalm 95:7 : Heb 3:7-11, 15; 4:7
Psalm 95:8 : Ex 17:2-7; Num 20:13
Psalm 95:8 : Ex 17:7; Deut 6:16
Psalm 95:9 : Num 14:22; Ps 78:18; 1 Cor 10:9
Psalm 95:10 : Acts 7:36; 13:18; Heb 3:10, 17
Psalm 95:11 : Num 14:23, 28-30; Deut 1:35; Heb 4:3, 5
Psalm 95:11 : Deut 12:9

Ephesians 2

2007-08-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Made Alive in Christ
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
One in Christ 11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Footnotes:
Ephesians 2:3 Or our flesh

Galatians 3:

2007-08-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

Faith or Observance of the Law
1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."[a] 7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."[b] 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."[c] 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."[d] 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."[e] 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."[f] 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The Law and the Promise 15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed,"[g] meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[h] that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Sons of God 26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Footnotes:
Galatians 3:6 Gen. 15:6
Galatians 3:8 Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18
Galatians 3:10 Deut. 27:26
Galatians 3:11 Hab. 2:4
Galatians 3:12 Lev. 18:5
Galatians 3:13 Deut. 21:23
Galatians 3:16 Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 24:7
Galatians 3:24 Or charge until Christ came

simple one: Can I Get a Witness?

2007-08-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

by John Wallis

Evangelism has always been a problem for me. I have never "witnessed" to anyone before as most evangelicals picture it. My first image of evangelism was a street preacher who occupied a corner at Ball State University. This man who was constantly deflecting insults and abuse would "preach" the word of God to us heathen that wandered by each day. The first time anyone "witnessed" to me directly was in a bar with both of us so drunk we couldn’t sit up straight. It was comical being told about a book called "More Than a Carpenter" by a man more drunk than I was. That encounter added to my already thick contempt for Christians and their God. Later in life after becoming a follower of Christ I was constantly confronted with the question, "how many people have you brought to Jesus." Something about the whole thing made sick. As I journeyed toward God as a new follower it got to the point that I started lying to friends when they asked me that always crouching question. "How many souls had I won?" Stop, I wanted to say, none all right not one. It was high school all over lying about my being a virgin to all my friends who probably were too.
During my time at Seminary the question was raised again. During a class the professor asked us how many souls we had won. I raised my hand just to avoid the issue. At that moment I felt shallow and worthless. After that highlight of my journey I started to justify my lack of soul winning by telling myself that it wasn’t my gift. Yeah, that's it, I am more of a teacher for established Christians. That worked for a while. But the question kept coming up in the most unexpected places. Interviews for pastoral positions, conversations with friends and strangers, the 5-6th grade Sunday School class I taught. Once a friend tried to allay my fears by telling me that my children could be my tally. Wow, I have it made, I have 12 of them and they will all become Christians because I am, right!
My conversion was quiet, something that crept up on me and then slowly took over who and what I was. I don’t remember anyone praying the prayer with me or telling me the four spiritual laws. I wasn’t sure what those were until a few years ago, and I still am confused about them. Have I failed as a follower because I have no treasure trove of souls in the "book" for my accounting on that fateful day? I have a friend who tells me his conversion rate is 100%. Everyone he witnesses to accepts the Lord as Savior. I can hardly face him any more. Then a godsend, I heard of lifestyle evangelism. Finally I was cured, how simple, my life as evangelism. I could sleep at night, no more cold sweats or heartburn about my failure as a soul harvester. Yet, that train only went so far. My life, when closely examined, is not very pure or righteous. Damn, back to square one! What is the answer, will someone help me?
I have taken the tests to identify my spiritual gifts. I have used my life as an outward expression of my faith. I have even shared my faith with a few friends. Aren’t we commanded to tell others about our source of life? Aren’t we compelled to preach the "Word of life" to others who have not or will not hear? After becoming involved with the current state of deconstruction I was getting comfortable with my lack of outwardness. I went on an internal adventure to convince myself that I am not sick or fear-filled, but normal. Yet, as I have more and more conversations with friends and strangers, the inward journey seems to be taking over. Spiritual growth has become very popular. I have heard it said, "our group just isn’t ready for outsiders" or "we are building our core for a new calling and at some point in the future God will call us outward." I understand the importance of personal spiritual formation and growth, but at what cost? If our focus is always inward we will become irrelevant faster than the thing we have just finished critiquing.
How many people are we willing to pass by as we prepare ourselves for some perceived future task? We can't afford to ignore our neighbors and their cries for an answer to their pain and hopelessness. I don’t think the answer lies in our 19th and 20th century tradition of conversion based evangelism. But an answer is needed or at least an attempt to get outside ourselves. It still scares me to start telling a stranger or even a friend about what I believe and why. I am not sure if that will ever change. So for me the answer is living with our neighbors in ways that cause them to ask us why. "Why are you paying attention to me?" "Why are you sacrificing your time to help me?" It’s a combination of tradition and creativity. One thing my family is going to do is have several bar-b-ques this summer. We just moved to a new neighborhood where there is great opportunity to create new relationships. I feel we are being asked to use our new digs as a place to put together our new neighbors and our old ones and let God do something. Maybe then the kingdom will erupt in our tired and hurting corner of the world.

simple one: commit

2007-08-22T15:15:00.001-07:00

a commitment to follow Christ without compromise.
• focus on prayer and personal conversion.
• remain devoted to radical hospitality, especially for the poor.
• allow the Holy Spirit to guide our marriage and family through prayer, fellowship and leadership.
• provide for large degrees of individual freedom in the Holy Spirit.
• remain ecumenical, with an outlook that is global.
The way in which the Holy Spirit leads Miranda and Me to guide our marriage, family and community:
Be faithfully dedicate to a lifetime of continual conversion in Christ.
To be a Christian is to follow Christ; to be a Christ follower in every way. It is to live one’s life in a specific way, excluding nothing. But we cannot follow Christ simply by deciding to do so. Like all humans we are deeply involved in evil, in a great many ways, most of them invisible to us, and we cannot follow Christ until we acknowledged this evil and have taken steps to deal with it. We must change. We must become radically different if we want to follow Christ, if I want to be truly alive, as he was truly alive.
To follow Christ is to love as Christ did, to heal as Christ did. To do so requires fundamental and continual changes in both our conscious and our unconscious being, in both what we intend to do and what we do unconsciously. It requires changing the spiritual forces we are associated with—rejecting the old ones and inviting new ones to take their place. The good news is that in Christ we are capable of change. Like our fellow humans who encountered Jesus during his life we also can be healed. Our lives can also be transformed. We too can adopt new values. We too can live in new ways.
That is why the Christian message is called gospel, which means good news. This great change, this conversion, is a journey we can take only by deciding to do so. It begins at a specific time and place, with a decision to move to another place, through time, and like all other journeys this one also requires that we leave the place where now are. And like all other journeys this journey’s destination can be reached only by following the first step with a second, and then a third, and then a fourth—day after day until the days become years, and the years become decades, and the steps become miles, and the miles become great distances. This is a journey that takes a lifetime. It is a journey that continues through to eternity. Like all journeys this one is made in companionship; a marriage to continue through to eternity.
I believe that we are called together because if we were to attempt to make it alone we will soon run out of food, and at night there will be no one to watch while we sleep. When we fall there will be no one to lift us up. When we become discouraged there will be no one to raise our spirits, and when we become lost there will be no one to point the way. To embark together on this great journey is the whole purpose of our marriage and our family.
To have been given the opportunity to make it is the greatest gift anyone can receive; a gift we will pass on to our children. We accept it with joy. And keep nothing for ourselves. All glory is given to Christ.
Continually relearn to pray.
Prayer is the primary means of our continual conversion. Prayer is to consciously and with full intentionality accept God’s presence in the place and time where we actually are, and to respond to that presence as we would to a person—with conversation. It is impossible to encounter God in conversation without being changed at the very core of our being, and it is impossible to be changed at the very core of our being without communicating with God in this way.
As we converse with God we become more like God. We become more able
to love, more able to create, more free and more disciplined, more able to hear and to see, more able to heal and to reconcile. To be converted is to become like God, and we can only become like God by knowing God, and we can only know God by spending time talking and
conversing with God. This ability to be in conversation with God is innate within us, something that is part of our essential humanity. We have been created to pray, and to do so is as natural as eating or breathing. Prayer is so fundamental to being human that it requires an act of the will not to pray. But prayer is also something we must always continue to learn to do.
We will view our prayers as a great privilege, not an obligation. Only when your prayer brings you deep and visible joy can you be certain you have been speaking with God. How can those who truly know God be anything but joyful?
There are many ways to pray, and all are equally valid. Just as we interact with other humans in many different ways, so our interaction with God will take place in many different ways. We will continually make time to pray together everyday in creative and new ways.
Continually choose to be whole through Christ in community.
When we were created we were endowed with enormous potential, of many different kinds. It is God who gives us this potential, and it is God’s greatest desire that we realize this potential, that we become the persons God has created us to be. Whatever our condition, we always have available to us important new potentials, which are waiting to be acted on. We will constantly seek these potentials, and as a result we will become encouraged by God's provision. We will be strengthened only when we accept the potential God has given us. It is only by accepting these gifts that we become truly God’s children, in the way that God has intended us to be. It is by becoming whole persons that we become holy persons. When we follow Christ we become what we are created to be, and our defects
gradually disappear, for our defects are the result of ignoring our potential. There is only one defect that is truly fatal, and that is the failure to live out the potential given us in creation.
One of the greatest potentials we have been given is our capacity to live in community, and it is only by accepting this gift and living it out that we become fully human and fully Christian. But to become a whole person we must choose to live in a community which exists to empower its members, to make them whole. Such communities must be formed intentionally, for virtually all existing communities are founded on the assumption that human communities can only succeed by placing the community’s needs ahead of its individual members’ needs, and by forcing dissidents to conform.
That assumption is based on a certain realism, for when communities are made up of people who are acting only in their self interest constant coercion is required to keep these communities from disintegrating into chaos. But by making conversion and prayer central to our lives we have the capacity to create entirely new kinds of communities—communities which exist to empower and free their members. That is the kind of community Christ created, and by following Christ without compromise we can do the same. To form such communities requires constant intentionality and great perseverance. Furthermore we expect constant struggle and great resistance from those who still hold to the old assumptions. But you will also meet with great approval and assistance, for this way is the way we were created to live.
The greatest act of love any individual can offer the world is to become the person she or he was created to be. And the greatest gift any community can give the world is to provide a living example of a place where the people who live in it are enabled to serve the world. We will only be happy in shalom if we give these gifts.
View the world as a garden to be tended.
We will be intentional with our participation in economic activities as a way to serve the world, as a means to achieve our central calling as Christians. It is now possible through Christ for us to see our mission as transforming human society by becoming involved and embodying Christ-like values—committing to love, stewardship, forming a strong family, and building grace and peace in the lives we affect. If we choose to view the world as a place of danger to be avoided, it will become that—a lawless jungle in which we are trapped. If instead we choose to view the world as a garden to be tended, as a great gift given to us by God, it will become what God intended it to be—a place of great beauty and happiness. Do not flee the world. Enter joyfully into its problems and possibilities.
Love the Body of Christ
We acknowledge that we are part of the larger Body of Christ. We were born of this Body in Spirit, and have been fed by it. We Love the Body of Christ as we do our parents. We are called to be different than other Christians only so that you can be models for them. Your task is not to be superior to them, but to be their servants, equipping them for their own ministries, which will very often have much greater impact than your own. One of the most important gifts we can give is to furnish the Body of Christ with usable and effective models that other Christians who wish to live more intentional Christian lives can follow.
We will continually allow ourselves to be fed by the Body of Christ, so that in turn we can
feed the Body of Christ.
Note that those Churches which view themselves as an alternative to the Body of Christ rather than as part of The Church have always eventually adopted beliefs and
practices that were held only by that community or convention. These self-selected beliefs have in the end always proven to be mistaken, and have in the end destroy the communities that select them, along with the lives of their members, especially the children.
We will constantly test our practices and beliefs against the Great Tradition of the
Church. It is here that you will find preserved those beliefs which have been shared and affirmed by the Christian community throughout the centuries. Note that those who have dissented from some portion of the Great Tradition have also disagreed with all others who have dissented from it. Be in constant conversation with other Christians, especially when you
believe them to be mistaken. It is in conversation with those you disagree with the most that you have the most to learn. We will affiliate our community with the parishes and congregations in your area. We will seek to become servants of these communities, helping them deal with the real problems of the people in them. We will continually recognize that we cannot follow Christ outside the Church, for the Church is the Body of Christ.
Combine the inner and the outer, the visible and the invisible.
Vital Christianity has always come from those communities which were consciously dedicated to combining the inner life of prayer and spirituality and the outer life of action in the world. To achieve this combination we will continually recognize that we must put prayer first. Sincere prayer will always lead to effective action that heals the world. But when action is placed first it always crowds out prayer, and the end result is an increasingly sterile attempt to give to ourselves what only God can give to us. This is the essential lesson to be learned from the long history of Christianity.
But placing prayer first does not make prayer more essential than action. The
experience of the Christian community is that when prayer is separated from action, especially when it becomes a substitute for action, the persons and communities involved soon degenerate into a self-absorbed pietism that is the exact opposite of a truly Christian life.
Maintaining a fully Christian combination of prayer and action requires replacing the mind-body dualism that pervades our civilization with a holistic Biblical view of reality.
The human person is not a ‘ghost in a machine’ or 'a brain in a vat', as some philosophers have put it. We are embodied spirits, in which the physical and the psychic can be distinguished but never separated.
The same God created both the physical and the spiritual, and is equally present in both—and above all in the relationship of the two. Replacing the dualism embedded in our culture with a more realistic view of reality is the most counter-cultural task we will ever need to undertake, but unless we do so we will experience constant failure. The dualistic assumptions that our culture holds require us to make a constant series of decisions about what is important and what is unimportant—choosing between the spiritual and the material, the personal and the social, the emotional and the intellectual, the masculine and the feminine, the old and the new, in an unending series. We will only succeed by asking in Christ how these polarities are related, since they are all equally part of reality. This will give us the ability to form combinations that others think are impossible, and these combinations will give you great power, a kind of power no one else has. We can follow Christ only by building on the same foundations He built on.
Combine freedom and community.
God has created each of us to be an utterly unique individual, with characteristics and talents that no other person has ever had, or will ever have, and with a purpose in life no other person has had or will have. And each of us has been endowed by God at creation with a completely free will, which can never be coerced or ignored. It is equally true that we have also been created by God to live in community. We are not only utterly free and unique, we are utterly dependent on each other. The experience of human history is that unless we accept the gift of community we quickly lose the gift of individuality, and that unless we
accept the gift of individuality our communities weaken and die. We are called to empower the individuals we are in community with. Also, we are called to enrich and empower the community in which we live. There is no contradiction in this. The strongest individuals are always those who live in the strongest communities. And the strongest communities are
always those whose members are the strongest individuals. It is impossible to create a strong community from weak individuals, and it is equally impossible to form strong individuals in a weak community.
We will continually embrace our freedom as an opportunity to serve. When we consciously make this choice, we will enjoy true freedom in Christ, for freedom consists not in the absence of restraint but in choosing life-giving goals and in having the ability to achieve those goals.
We will constantly guard against individualism of all kinds. By acting together we
can transform our world, but we will only make our world more fragmented and more violent if we join in idolizing the autonomy of the isolated individual. But we will also guard against collectivism of all kinds. It is as great a threat to successful community as individualism, for it ends in the individual’s destruction, which in turn destroys the community. We will embrace the opportunity to work together as a gift, not as a burden and let our marriage be an example to everyone in both the Church and the world that individuals become more powerful and more free when they are released from the crushing burdens of individualism.
We will view ourselves as cells in a body—small entities when viewed alone, but
essential entities when viewed as part of the larger whole.
Befriend the poor.
To follow Christ is to treat the poor as we would treat Christ himself—to become their friends, people from whom we receive and to whom we give. If we see the poor as Christ we will not view them simply as strangers who want something we have, and whom we can ignore if we wish. We will instead view them as our equals, people who have something important to
give us from their experience, which is very different than our own. At the end of our lives when we stand before Christ we will be asked how we have served those most in need. What will matter then will not be our sacrifices or the other efforts we have made—but only what we’ve given to those who needed it most. Unless our lives have been lived in a way that has shared in the lives of the poor, especially the poorest of the poor, and has made these lives better in some practical way, we will stand before Christ ashamed. Poverty and suffering are not something to be avoided, nor are they problems to be solved. They are an essential part of every human life, and they are the parts of our lives that bring us closest to Christ.
Expect weakness and evil, and be prepared to deal with them.
Accept weakness and evil as part of the human condition, and openly acknowledge them so that they can be healed. If we seek to conceal our own weakness and evil, or to avoid the weakness and evil of others, we will have chosen to follow the Pharisees, not Christ. Do not be discouraged by weakness and evil, or contemptuous of others because of it. That is also Pharisaical. Accept the weakness and evil in yourself as an opportunity to be healed, and the weakness and evil of others as an opportunity to serve them. Everything that is acknowledged can be healed, but only what is acknowledged. Perfection in Christ comes from confronting and accepting our imperfections, not from attempting to hide or deny them. Always remember that those who are most idealistic and who have the highest aspirations inevitably harbor real evil in that part of their psyches which they keep hidden.
Avoiding weakness only grows weakness. This is why it is so important to be aware of our weaknesses and to seek healing. We will succeed to the extent that we are healers and must always remember that we become stronger when we tend to our brokenness.
Let our lives be lives of intentionality to Christ.
To act intentionally is to make a conscious choice to make a conscious choice. It is something that only humans are capable of, and it is in using this capability that we become fully alive in Christ. It is possible to cultivate intentionality, and doing so is our greatest source of strength. It is this strength that has made it possible for the relatively small intentional communities that have existed throughout history to have an impact far beyond their numbers.
Constantly ask, “Why am I doing what I am doing?” and, “Why are we doing what we are doing?” Only when you can honestly answer these questions by saying, “Because I have chosen this, and I have chosen it for this reason” are you acting intentionally. And you will be acting with Christian intentionality only when you can answer, “This is what Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is asking me to do,” or “asking us to do.” Only when all the decisions in a community are made intentionally, and all decisions are based on the living presence of the Holy Spirit in that community, and in the lives of the individuals in that community, can that
community claim to be a truly intentional Christian community.
Choosing to live intentionally will also strengthen us by allowing us to profit from our mistakes. Growth is the goal, and we grow only by learning, and we learn most from our mistakes, when we choose to do so. With great intentionality embrace Christian intentionality as your way of life, and teach it to others. Intentionality is the only alternative to ideology and addiction, and only by intentionally adhering to it can we avoid the two great curses of previous intentional Christians—legalism and fanaticism.
Cultivate the life of the mind.
The intellect is a terrible tyrant, as all who have tried to live exclusively intellectual lives have discovered, but it is a wonderful and powerful servant, and all those who have successfully preceded us on the path of Christian intentionality have been notable for the clarity of their thought and their speech. They have tended to their own education and to that of others. They have read books, and they have written books. They have attended conferences where new ideas were being discussed and they have proposed new ideas. They have engaged in constant, serious dialogue with other people, especially with those they most disagree with.
They have done so because it has brought them closer to the Divine, and because it has enabled them to understand others much better, and thus to serve others more effectively.
A developed intellect enriches prayer by expanding it beyond the realm of the personal into the universal. It allows us to expand our spirituality beyond our own experiences and opinions, and to incorporate the experiences and insights of others. Our service to the world becomes more effective because we are enabled to see the primary causes of human problems and needs, and not simply the outer manifestations of those problems and needs.
Our communal life expands in extent and depth because we are enabled to see the vast extent and diversity of the human family, and are not be limited to our encounters with those we meet in daily life. To follow Christ is to learn to think like Christ.
Be open and realistic about sexuality.
The sexual passions are an essential part of the human gift, given us by God when we are created as human persons. To accept these passions is to accept life. To reject them is to reject life. When the sexual passions are gratefully accepted and integrated into our conscious personality they become an important source of power. When they are ignored they become a hidden source of depravity and dishonesty. Always remember that we are sexual beings because God wants us to be sexual beings. We have each been created through the sexual process, and we have each been created to participate in some life-giving way in the sexual process. Gratefully accept sexuality as a gift from God. When we deal honestly and openly with the burden of shame regarding sexuality that we have inherited from the past we are given strength in Christ. Affirm with joy and gratitude the gender differences that God has chosen to make a central feature of all biological life.
View leadership and organization as a gift.
All forms of human social activity require leadership and institutionalization, and it is by accepting these resources that we are enabled to truly serve the world and the Church.
It has always been the marriages with the most effective leadership and organization that have been of greatest service to their communities and the world. On the other hand those marriages which have lacked effective leadership have soon disintegrated into confusion and paralysis, and those that have had strong leadership without effective organization have soon degenerated into tyranny and selfishness.
Imagine this marriage as the two of us the car, wishing to travel along a busy
road to a certain destination. Both of us are capable of driving it, but only when one person is selected to drive and given the authority to do so can the journey begin. Unless there is some process for selecting a particular person to drive the car it is unlikely the journey will ever begin. If we wish to follow Christ, continually be in careful study of the way He led and organized the community He founded, and the way His followers responded to that
leadership.
Let the leadership in our marriage be examples to everyone of the kind of leadership Jesus
modeled, a leadership that empowers rather than dominates; and lets both of us be examples to everyone of the ability to empower leaders to serve.
Provide efficient structures of accountability—structures which will guard us from the temptations to pride and ambition that are an inevitable part of human life. At the same time provide each other with forms of affirmation and support that will enable us to carry out our mission.
And consciously devoted to being productive followers—persons who are liberated by strong leadership and effective institutional structures to focus their our entirely on the mission the Holy Spirit lays on our marriage, and on our individual calling within that mission.
Our life of conversion and prayer will enable us to form structure and leadership in our lives that provide as flexible models for cooperation for the our family's function. We will continually accept this opportunity as one of the gifts we have been given to give.
Put the needs of children first.
Let everything we do be judged by this standard: How does this action, this practice, this belief, this form of community, affect the lives and well-being of our children and children everywhere? The well-being of children comes first because they will live the longest, and
because they are the weakest members of humanity and therefore the ones that require the most care and attention. Whenever evil is done, or good is not done, children are the ones who suffer first and who suffer most. Everything we do will affect the lives of our children and the children abound. Above all, children will be affected by what we do not do.
How can a community provide a model for Christian intentionality if it does not serve the children of the world in some meaningful, practical way? How can such a community defend itself against the charge that it is fundamentally selfish—that it exists only for the sake of the adults in it? When children are a part of the community their welfare and development must be central to the community’s life. Be sure to equip them with the skills
needed to live outside the community, if they choose to do so. When persons are forced to live in an intentional community simply because they have no other practical option, that community becomes a place of bitterness, and grave harm is done to all the persons involved. Children bring great joy to life, and great wisdom. That joy and that wisdom
will greatly strengthen our marriage, as we continually accept it.
Make family life a high priority.
If the welfare of children is the standard by which your actions are to be judged, then we will make family life our first priority, since the life of the child and the life of the family are inseparable. And the strength of every family is closely linked to the strength of the
marriage that provides the foundation for that family. Our community will embrace and support this value and our marriage to make our relationship a high priority of the community. By doing so they will greatly strengthen not only us but the community as a whole, for where the marriages in a community are healthy and life-giving the communities will be healthy
and successful. The skills needed to form strong, life-giving marriages can be learned in the
same way as any other skill. Our Community will encourage those who have fashioned longstanding, productive marriages to teach those skills to others who are younger, or whose marriages are not functioning well. It is in the family and through the family that we all learn to love.
Prize friendship.
A friend is another person who is not obligated to us in any way, a person whom we have chosen to treat as an equal—a person whose welfare is as important as our own. The process of Christian conversion makes possible friendships that are stronger and more long-lasting than would otherwise be possible. Embrace this opportunity and make the most of it.
Make a conscious choice to form as many friendships as possible, and make it a part of your intentionality to nurture your friendships, by spending time with your friends, and by being aware of your friends’ needs. Learn how to form friendships from those who have many friends, and learn from them how to strengthen and maintain our friendships. Rely on friends. Ask them to rely on us. Seek out their counsel and be generous in responding to their needs.
Be constantly engaged in the study of scripture.
Every successful community of intentional Christians has been centered on the scriptures. From these ancient and inspired texts they have drawn an unending source of wisdom, hope and guidance. We will succeed by continuing this process, allowing the message of the
Hebrew and Christian scriptures to penetrate our hearts and our minds, and allowing them to guide and form our marriage. They are an unequaled source of power, one of the Church’s greatest gifts. Learn to pray the scriptures, so that we experience the stories as events in
which we are a participant, and so that we hear their injunctions as directly addressed to us.
Use the scriptures as a means to be healed of your own weaknesses and defects, not as a means to condemn others. And do not place the scriptures in a position of authority they do not claim for themselves. The scriptures can only become truly the Word of God when
the Spirit of God speaks through them, and that only happens when we read the scriptures in communion. Those in the past who have been most certain they knew the exact meaning
of scripture have been the ones which history has revealed as having understood scripture the least. When our immersion in scripture has made our marriage more loving, when they have become places of healing, then we can be sure that you have read the scriptures correctly and absorbed their message.
Treasure time.
The gift of time is inseparable from the gift of life. Only when we treasure time—when we use it intentionally and plan for the future, when we carefully record the events that occur in it—are we accepting that gift. One of the greatest contributions the first millennium monastic movement made to the world was the clock, which was created to make their use of time
more intentional. That invention is now essential to our entire way of life. We will not take time for granted as something to be endured, or even ‘killed’. To do so is to assume that time is limitless, that it will extend forever, and therefore it does not matter what use we make of it.
We continually pray that our marriage be a place, as the older monastic communities were,
where the gift of time is joyfully accepted as a great opportunity, and where no time is wasted, either in haste or in sloth. We continually pray that our marriage be a place where the events of the past are remembered truthfully and completely. If we choose to remember only those events from the past that confirm your present opinions we will lose touch with the past,
and with its rich store of wisdom. We continually pray that our marriage be a place where the past and the future are connected. Only when this occurs can real progress take place. Change is a constant, but only some of the change that occurs is progress. Only change
which is connected to the past and which builds upon its accomplishments is progress.
Embrace order
The created world is characterized by a complete and dependable order in all things, both visible and invisible. This is what makes the study of nature by scientists possible, and it is what makes a rule of law possible in human society. When we live close to Christ our lives become models of order, both individually and communally. The result is great human well-being. Order is one of the greatest gifts being given us, and one of the greatest we have to give. Without this gift all others are lost in a meaningless chaos that destroys everything.
Order cannot be created or imposed. It exists only as a gift. Let us joyfully and gratefully accept that gift, and with equal joy and gratitude give it away.
Clearly define our mission, and persevere in it.
There are many things that need to be done, and which could be done, to serve the world and the Church. Each of them is a gift given us by God, and each has the potential to bring us great joy when we accept them and act on them. But we can accept these gifts only one at a time. When we try to accept them all we succeed in none, and in effect reject them all. It has been said that “Purity of heart is to choose one thing,” and the lives of the great Christians, from Saint Paul to Mother Teresa bear this out. Those who have followed Christ most successfully in the past have chosen one thing, and chosen it carefully. They have then made a formal public commitment to this task, so that their commitment could be reviewed
regularly and their actions measured against it. Only those with clear goals, and who have persevered in those goals, have been able to render truly useful service to the poor, and to the world. Choose to choose one thing.
Remember that community is a means to an end.
All truly Christian communities exist primarily to serve others, not to serve the needs of the members of that community. This does not require ignoring the needs of the members of the community, but the needs of the members are met only in order to enable them to serve
persons outside the community. The greatest cause of failure of Christian communities in the past has been a very strong tendency to degenerate into communities that exist primarily for the sake of its members. Only those communities which have made service rather than survival their goal have survived.
Strive for unity rather than uniformity.
When we make Christ the center of our lives we are led into unity. That is another of Christ’s great gifts to us, the gift that makes it possible to cooperate in achieving great goals we could not achieve alone. But when Christ is present, diversity also thrives, since Christ wants each
individual and each group to live out that community’s specific mission and that person’s specific gift and calling. Diversity is essential to unity, since without a full and grateful acceptance of human diversity we are not free, and without freedom there can be no real unity—only a forced conformity which in fact divides us from one another. When we equate unity with uniformity we are forced to establish rules and regulations to enforce uniformity, and then we are forced to enforce these rules with coercive measures. And when that occurs the result is argument and controversy rather than unity. In every sphere of life there are many ways to achieve any goal, and all are equally valid. We are united by Christ, whom we follow, not by adhering to rules we make for one another.
Plan for the future.
We are aware that our efforts will have great impact on others, long after your efforts have ended, and even after our life has ended. We are responsible for the structures and practices and traditions which our children and also other Christians will inherit from us. We will consider them carefully. To consider only the impact your choices will have on us and our
immediate community while you are alive is extremely selfish, and is
completely contradictory to the witness of intentional Christ-Following. Choose
instead to care for the future, even though it does not yet exist. The future matters. Billions of people will inhabit it. And they will be affected, often profoundly, by the decisions we make in the present. To build something that can be passed on to the future is a great gift, and we
have been given that gift. Even though they are not yet alive, we can love those who will live after us, and we can leave for them concrete instances of our love for them.
Be devote to Christian unity.
Just as the human family is profoundly strengthened by the Church’s unity, so the world is profoundly damaged by the divisions in the Church. because we wish to follow Christ this must be one of your highest priorities. Communities have a unique opportunity to strengthen the bonds within the Christian Church, and by doing so to strengthen the bonds that unite the
human community throughout the world. We accept that opportunity as a great gift, which we have been given so that we can give it to the world and to the Church. We make it our intention to form relationships with other Christians and with other Christian communities throughout the world; seek new ways of forming such relationships, and seek to include other Christians in our efforts. We Pray to be shown ways that will enable us to help heal the wounds in the Body of Christ that now exist. This is a our special mission as members of
community in the Church. We embrace it with great gratitude and with great resolve. All the sheep that belong to the same shepherd belong to the same flock, and all those who follow Christ belong to the same shepherd.
Allow yourselves to be empowered by the Eucharist.
Christ not only calls us to follow Him, Christ empowers us to do so. Christ provides this power by giving us His own life, in a simple and miraculous way, day after day, year after year, century after century. It is this power that enables us to give gifts. Christ does this in the Eucharist. We do not know why Christ chose this means to empower us, nor do we understand exactly how Christ transmits his power to us in the Eucharist, we only know that he does so. This fact has been at the very center of the Great Tradition from the very beginning. In the past it has been only those communities which have centered their lives
in the Eucharist that have been most successful, and which have been able to render the greatest service to the world and to the Church. There appear to be no exceptions to this rule.
The Eucharist is literally the lifeblood of the Church, and has been from Emmaus to the present. Only those who have been fed from this source have had the power to continue the journey to its end. The Eucharist is not something imposed on us, it is a gift being offered to
us—a gift that enables us to live as gift-givers without becoming exhausted
and broken ourselves. When we allow Christ’s words, “This is my Body” and “This is my Blood,” to become completely true in our lives, our best efforts bloom into beauty and effectiveness. This is what makes us whole.
Above all, cultivate the joy of the Resurrection.
We have been entrusted with a great opportunity, one of the greatest in all the Church’s history and accept it with joy. We are empowered by this joy. Joy is the essential proof that we are living in the Resurrection, and only by living in the Resurrection, fully and joyfully, can we follow Christ, for the Resurrection is the journey’s destination. Where there is real belief in the Resurrection—both Jesus’ resurrection and our own—there is true happiness and energy and optimism. From these sources we receive the energy which transforms our own lives, and which enables us to transform the world. We accept the inevitable pain and loss of Good Friday—take up our cross each day and follow Him—but do so with joy. For in the midst of all defeat and suffering there is the Risen Christ, who has preceded us all on the journey from death to life, and whose Resurrection has transformed human existence from hopelessness to hope. We will continually be raised from the dead; raise others from the dead and constantly proclaim death’s defeat at the empty tomb! We live permanently in the joy of Easter morning!

simple one: steer clear of barking dogs

2007-08-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

I believe the words written in scripture are temporally transcendant. That is, they are words that speak to the foundational wisdom, or the nature of God; a nature that, no matter what, applies across time. With the understanding of the nature of God that He has prescibed to our knowledge of Him through this scripture and in the relevant conext of our lives as we are led by His Holy Spirit, I believe it is very easy for us to discern what is not Him.
A focused context by which scripture presents to illustrate example of this is in the thrid chapter of the book of Phillipians. I believe that the words Paul wrote almost 2000 years ago in his letter to the Phillippians applied just as much to discerning God's rightousness then as they do today. In chapter 3 of :

Phillippians

6Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they're interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book.
7-9The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.
10-11I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.
Focused on the Goal 12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
15-16So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
17-19Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.
20-21But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.

simple one: bring Heaven now

2007-08-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

In the beginning, God created all things good, but humans didn't live according to how God meant them to live. They rebelled against God, and we call this rebellion "sin." When sin entered the world, it began to grow, fracturing our relationships and communities, eventually building an empire of itself. But God did not abandon his creation to destruction and decay, and promised to restore this broken world. As part of this promise, God chose a people, Abraham and his descendants, to represent him in the world. He blessed them and instructed them to use that blessing to bless others. It is Abraham's descendants who we find enslaved in Egypt. One of the greatest events in this redemptive story is the Exodus, when God rescued the Israelites from their slavery under an Egyptian empire.
Gen 3:8-11. Gen 4:1-8. Gen 11:1-4. Exo 1:1-14. Exo 3:7-10. Deut 10. Ps 82. Isa 61. Lk 4. Mt 5:3. Mt 25. 1Pe 5:5. Gal 2:10. Jam 27.
The Egyptians oppressed the Isrealites as slaves and ruled over them ruthlessly in order to protect the empire. The Egyptians placed slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor. This is a key example in the Biblical story of sin manifesting itself in the form of empire. God heard the cry of the Israelites and liberated them from their oppressor. He took them out of Egypt and into the desert. This liberation from oppression under Egypt is a central, defining moment in history where God inaugurated his plan for restoring the world.
Gen 2:7. Gen 2:8-9, 20-23. Gen 3:23-24. Gen 6:5. Exo 6:28-7:1. Exo 19:3-6. Exo 19:11. Acts 1:1. 1Co 12:12, 27.
God brought the Israelites to Mt. Sinai out in the wilderness, where he spoke to them and came to dwell among them as a husband dwells with his new bride. God chose this group of people to become his flesh and blood, calling them to become a kingdom of priest and a holy nation where they would use their blessings to bless others. He did this so the whole world might come to know the one true living God.
Deut 17:16-17. 1Ki 9:15. 1Ki 10:1-9. 1Ki10:14. 1Ki 10:26-11:6. Rev 21:1-4.
The Jewish people reached Jerusalem, the land which God had promised them, and built a temple to honor God. For a while, God dwelt in the temple, they lived out their mission to bless others with their wealth and influence, and they upheld justice and righteousness. The Jewish people eventually misconstrued their belssing with favortism. They misused their wealth to preserve their kingdom, allowed foreign gods into the land, overlooked the poor, and mistreated foreigners. God sent prophets to call the Jewish people to look at how they were treating the oppressed and marginalized as in indicator of how they were living out God's will while calling them to repentance for their sin of misusing their blessing. The Jewish people didn't listen.
Amos 6:1, 4-5, 12. Amos 8:4-6. 2Ch 36:15-20. Isaiah 61. Lk 24:13-27
Because of their sin, the Jewish people were attacked by foreign empires and were taken as exiles to Babylon. In Babylon, they were again oppressed by a foreign empire. While they were exiled in Babylon, the Jewish people started to imagine, "What would it be like if we could be given all our wealth and influence back? What if we actually used our priviledge to bless others as God intended? What if we could get it right?" They repented of their sin, and soon afterward they were given the chance to return to Israel. They returned to Israel and immediately went to work rebuilding the temple; however, they were still under the rule of foreign empires. During this time, their hopes began to center around a messiah who would lead a New Exodus, re-establishing their kindgom.
Mt 1 / Lk 2. Mt 19:16-30 / Mk 10:17-31. Mt 14:13-21 / Mt 15:29-39 / Mk 6:30-44 / Mk 8:1-13 / Lk 9:10-17 / Jn 6:1-15. Mt 27:32-44 / Mk 15:21-32 / Lk 23:26-43 / Jn 19:16-37.
So the Old Testament comes to a sputtering stop with a group of people crying out for a messiah to come. But God didn't respond right away. He was silent. But that silence was filled with expectancy that God would send a messiah who would lead a New Exodus. That was what the Jewish people were expecting and hoping for during the time of Jesus. The New Testament then picks up with stories about the birth of Jesus. Then Jesus began his public ministry as a Jewish rabbi. And at the ouset of his ministry, Jesus' main message was that "the kingdom of God is here." This statement was obviously loaded for the Jewish people, and they heard him saying that he would liberate them from foreign rule, that he would lead a New Exodus. He promised that a New Jerusalem would someday come when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and restore all of creation. There will be no more crying out from oppression.
Today, Egypt can be seen as a picture of what we're all born into. We're all born into oppression by sin. We're born with a sinful nature that pulls us, distorts things and takes us in directions that are destructive to us. Every single human being is born into bondage to sin. God wants to liberate us from sin, and he has a plan to do this. In the same way that the Jewish people were called by God to use their wealth and influence to bless those who need it most, so God has called the Church to do the same, to be his flesh and blood - his body - in the world, so the Church is called the Body of Christ. When we begin to use our resources, energy and power to preserve our own comfort and empire, we are sinning. Eventually, our sin will cause us to lose our power, wealth and influence. And God's plan for blessing the world will be lost for a time.
The reason I am emphasizing study of the Exodus is because it is a great scriptural tool to understand who Jesus is and what he's doing. He wants to liberate the world from physical, spiritual and cultural bondage. Most of us have been given great wealth, talent and energy. And God wants us to share it with others who don't have enough. What if the Church began to understand that God wants to fix this entire planet?

Many misinterpert theology as some philosophical mumbo-jumbo that only scholars, pastors and seminary professors can partake in. When we begin to describe what we believe about God, we discover that he's been writing a story of hope and redemption for all the world, and we have a role to play in this story. The Bible is a collection of the voices of many who have come before us, inspired by God to pass along their poems, stories, accounts, and letters of response and relationship with each other and the living God. These words have been used to describe God and his character for thousands of years, and we call this theology. Theology is one of the best ways we can come to know and love God; it is also how we understand who God calls us to be and what he calls us to do. Theology comes from the Greek words "theos" and "logos." Theos means God, and logos means word. Words about God.

I believe God inspired the authors of Scripture by his Spirit to speak to all generations of believers, including us today. God calls us to immerse ourselves in this authoritative narrative communally and individually to faithfully interpret and live out that story today as we
are led by the Spirit of God.
In the beginning God created all things good. He was and always will be in a communal relationship with himself – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God created us to be relational as well and marked us with an identity as his image bearers and a missional calling to serve, care for, and cultivate the earth. God created humans in his image to live in fellowship with him, one another, our inner self, and creation. The enemy tempted the first humans, and darkness and evil entered the story through human sin and are now a part of the world. This devastating
event resulted in our relationships with God, others, ourselves, and creation being fractured and in desperate need of redeeming.
I believe God did not abandon his creation to destruction and decay; rather he promised to restore this broken world. As part of this purpose, God chose a people, Abraham and his descendants to represent him in the world. God promised to bless them as a nation so
that through them all nations would be blessed. In time they became enslaved in Egypt and cried out to God because of their oppression.God heard their cry, liberated them from their oppressor, and brought them to Sinai where he gave them an identity and a mission as his
treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy people. Throughout the story of Israel, God refused to give up on his people despite their frequent acts of unfaithfulness to him.
God brought his people into the Promised Land. Their state of blessing from God was intimately bound to their calling to embody the living God to other nations. They made movement toward this missional calling, yet they disobeyed and allowed foreign gods into the land,
overlooked the poor, and mistreated the foreigner. The prophetic voices that emerge from the Scriptures held the calling of Israel to the mirror of how they treated the oppressed and marginalized. Through the prophets, God’s heart for the poor was made known, and we
believe that God cares deeply for the marginalized and oppressed among us today.
In Israel’s disobedience, they became indifferent and in turn irrelevant to the purposes to which God had called them. For a time, they were sent into exile; yet a hopeful remnant was always looking ahead with longing and hope to a renewed reign of God, where peace and
justice would prevail.
I believe these longings found their fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, mysteriously God having become flesh. Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted and set captives free, proclaiming a
new arrival of the Kingdom of God, bringing about a New Exodus, and restoring our fractured world. He and his message were rejected by many as he confronted the oppressive nature of the religious elite and the empire of Rome. Yet his path of suffering, crucifixion, death,
burial, and resurrection has brought hope to all creation. Jesus is our only hope for bringing peace and reconciliation between God and humans. Through Jesus we have been forgiven and brought into right relationship with God. God is now reconciling us to each other,
ourselves, and creation. The Spirit of God affirms as children of God all those who trust Jesus. The Spirit empowers us with gifts, convicts, guides, comforts, counsels, and leads us into truth through a communal life of worship and a missional expression of our faith.
The church is rooted and grounded in Christ, practicing spiritual disciplines and celebrating baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The church is a global and local expression of living out the way of Jesus through love, peace, sacrifice, and healing as we embody the resurrected
Christ, who lives in and through us, to a broken and hurting world.
I believe the day is coming when Jesus will return to judge the world, bringing an end to injustice and restoring all things to God’s original intent. God will reclaim this world and rule forever. The earth’s groaning will cease and God will dwell with us here in a restored
creation. On that day we will beat swords into tools for cultivating the earth, the wolf will lie down with the lamb, there will be no more death and God will wipe away all our tears. Our relationships with God, others, ourselves, and creation will be whole. All will flourish as
God intends. This is what I long for. This is what I hope for. And I am giving my life to living out that future reality now.

simple one: Risk

2007-08-14T08:05:00.001-07:00

by John Wallis

I’ve been thinking about risk the past few weeks and how it is part of our lives and how we react to it with our choices. I see God taking a huge risk in his giving us free will. He created us with the intent that we can dismiss him whenever we want. At the time God created the universe he allowed us, his creation to reject him in total. He took another risk when Jesus Christ came to earth. Not in the whole salvation sequence but in the fact that Jesus came and left and put us in charge of building the church and the faith. It seems God has a high level of tolerance when it comes to risk taking. As you read the bible you find story after story of God taking risks in his interaction with us. So I started thinking about my life and how I am able to take risks. It has actually been easy for me to make a choice that seems risky and at times it has been frustrating when friends try to talk me out of a risky choice just because it doesn’t seem that the outcome is certain. Yet, when I think about how we create relationships in our lives it can not be done without risk. At some point if a relationship is going to have any depth you need to take some risks. You need to open yourself up to the other person. Open your self up in ways that expose your inner self to a level that the other person can crush you if they choose. I only have a few relationships where I have taken that risk of openness. The first is with Sydney my wife, she knows all there is to know about me. Next come a few close friends. I think about what those relationships have meant to me and how I needed those people having an intimate knowledge of whom and what I am to save me from destroying myself. So my question is how many of us are willing to take a risk the way God did and enter into a commitment to another in a way that allows them to have the ability to destroy us if they so choose. Are we willing to put our entire being on the line with another person to the point that all the therapy in the world couldn’t fix the damage they could do? God did it over and over again. Jesus did it over and over again. Maybe our controlled world of comfort has destroyed our ability to take any risk. Maybe our need to plan and ponder every step we take has allowed the bridge God built to rot into uselessness. Maybe our need to have the outcome known before we begin has quieted the Holy Spirit in our communities. Maybe that is why the church has lost its place in our culture. What if we have become so distant from the act of taking a risk that we have forgotten how to do it? Remember the first time you rode a bike and how scary it was when you thought about falling. Remember the hand of your mother or father on the seat and how that gave you the confidence you needed to fail. Remember how it felt when you turned around for the first time and rode full speed back toward your mom or dad with their arms in the air in excitement. Remember how God instilled a spirit inside each of you so you would never have to live a life of timidity but one of boldness and power. Remember when you allowed someone inside your soul for the first time and how they loved you with all they had. Remember when you realized for the first time that God gave everything he had for you so you could give it to others. That is what it means to take a risk. It means you take a chance that everything you give away might be rejected or mocked. But it also means that in that risking and giving you may save another persons life the way someone else saved yours. If we are to lay claim to the power that God plants in each of us we must start taking a few chances and stop worrying what the outcome will be. God gave us everything and all he asks in return is that we do the same so another might live.

John Wallis is a follower, husband, father, friend, architect and dreamer. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with Sydney and their 16 kids.

simple one: no judge

2007-07-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

Jesus does not judge you. churches may want to, but you need to know that the Christ of the universe does not judge you. He loves you. all he wants from you is for you to love Him back. sometimes loving Him back gets dangerous. He will uniquily show Himself to you through His word and your life. this does not mean that you have to pretend that you are the perfect follower. this will be the one thing that you will endure the most in loving Jesus: dealing with the persecution of other christians. You are in Jesus' hands. your life...everything about it...was designed to grow you closer to Him. your life was not designed for others to judge. your life was designed for you to grow close with Jesus. You are free from guilt. so do not let guilt be your motivation. know that healing in Christ is a transformation from within...changing who you are, not just how you act. there is no possible way you can pull away from Jesus once He is in you. Sin is merely "to pull away from God". This is not possible when He is in you, and you in Him. so do not try to pull away. you will fail. God has you now, and when you try to sin, He will guide you away from the scars of your past actions. transforming your every thought and mind and action from the path of destruction to the path of life. if you have accepted Jesus...there is no judgement for you, there is growth...there is hope. you are free to love Him. so do it. Love Him.

there are so many that try to do the work of Jesus themselves white-wash the church, themselves and even other followers with law. but simply changing the appearance of things is not enough. you must understand that this is false. transformation happens from the inside out. not the outside int. they are acting like judges. only Jesus owns the right to judge...the law was created for Him to conquer. why worry about keeping a record of sins when we have atonement?! Jesus conquered the law! only he owns the right to keep record of sins...because He is the only one without sin. Good News!!! He proves time and time again through the gospels that He came here not to judge you, but to give you a life that does not end. life is not meant to be fake...pretending like you are a sinless person once you start walking with Him. life is meant to be real...with a transformed heart for Him. focus on your transformation... and the actions...this sin...it will be endured. who are we kidding? we all try to sin... but He is in us now. there is no getting away from Him. life is grounded on one truth...one faith...one gospel...one law...one love...GRACE. do not fall into the misconception that GRACE is limited. no matter what you do in this life after you have accepted Him...He is with you. repent of the past and grow toward healing, transformation, community and love. it is the love of God that forgives us of all sins. it is the love of God that gives us Himself in Christ to come to be with us. though we rejected Him to death, he still rose to new life. the same is true for those who accept Him. it is the love of God that gives you a chance to be free from judgement. with this freedom you have the opportunity to be healed. don't let people get you down for judging you. they need your love more than any other. they need healing too. it is simple...those who love like God are from God ...children of truth that will live forever ...those who judge and condemn like Satan are from Satan...children of lies that will die the devil-death. Love those who say they are children of truth yet judge. they lie to themselves and are letting the lies of satan block them from loving Jesus. they need your love...forgive them for judging you, and share the blessing of knowing that we all deserve Grace the same way.

I seek to grow toward wholeness in myself. I am certainly a "broken good" of God's. But I must seek wholeness in Christ. Within me there is evil close to the scaring of my heart trying to break open my old wounds and also break open new wounds in other people. It is by Christ, accountibility and growth that I wage warfare in me. I am called to seek wholeness in myself. I combat evil within by seeking healing. Wholeness and unity begin here within myself. If my cup overflows with the wholeness and unity, then I become an agent of God's wholeness and unity to the people in my life; then so on from those people to the rest of the world. If I am an agent of this wholeness, then those who Christ touches through me act accordingly outward eventually touching the entire world. I know that in me and in such community there a well deep down inside. If that well is tapped, springs of life and tenderness flow forth. It has been revealed to each person that these waters can rise up from each one of us and flow over other people, giving life and a new hope.
Philippians 1:29 (The Message)

27-30Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people's trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they're up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There's far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There's also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You're involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.

simple one: get High

2007-06-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

Jesus: the original drug dealer

God has a sense of humor. big time. so why act all serious all the time? central with all the other wonderful things we could discuss about walking with Jesus; walking with Jesus is characteristically fun and often full of hilarity! i wondered if i should write about this today, when i was reflecting in prayer, but i realized...why not? check it out: Jesus wants you to get blown away. He wants you totally out of your mind for Him. what better way to get you out of your mind than to get you to realize that nothing of the world is more "entertaining" than feeling His presence. for the rest of eternity, He wants you glued to Him. have you ever been to a comedy club? sometimes they are vulgar, which makes me uncomfortable, but often times they are hilarious. every time i go to a comedy club, i leave with a stomach sore from laughter and a face sore from smiling. there is a certain progressiveness about comedy. it is just like a drug. it lifts your moods and actually creates a certain 'floating' sensation for the time you are being entertained... it gets you high like a drug. its sensation grabs your attention... well, at least my attention. i enjoy it, sitting there, forgetting about the world and just clinging to the comedian's every following word and action for my next fix, for that next laugh. comedians love their jobs. i mean, who wouldn't love having people grip to their every word and action with undivided attention. Jesus deserves that kind of attention. and He knows this method perfectly well. these kind of "light and high" sensations are not bad...especially when you are getting them from following Jesus. in fact, Jesus wants you to have these sensations. they are good. they get you high on God...and in the mood to think about the Kingdom, not the world. they get you obsessed with His Word and His Spirit. they get you obsessed with worshiping Him. they get you obsessed with serving Him. and ultimately, these feelings cause an addiction called obedience. obedience to Him. only Him. this is the one obsession, the one "drug" that is good to have. get high on it constantly. let it damage your braincells and transform your mind. it never runs out. and it is free. it is the Holy Spirit.

today, on the drive to work, i asked for God to just pour Himself into my day. to make today His day. to make my usual day unusual with His presence. i basically asked God to get me High on Him.

my prayer was answered. at an office meeting where everyone sits around the table with my boss's boss and hears what they are doing wrong, and what they should keep doing well...something different happened. usually these meetings are a total waste of time. we know what we need to do. we don't need to hear about it in a big meeting to be reminded. but none-the-less, we do anyway. today, the meeting was rich. it was rich with the Holy Spirit. something happened. my boss's boss was grilling my boss and I for not logging our hours on this online office tracking system. before the meeting I was praising God for being so big, so this issue seemed really small to me compared to God's size. instead of acting all ashamed after she mentioned it and pretending like it was a big issue, i just came clean like i was talking about stubbing my toe yesterday or something. everyone froze...then she said "put out your wrist"...and then she tapped it with her pen and started giggling. haha. everyone that was frozen then looked at me like "dude...how did you do that? teach me!!!" it wasn't me. it was a direct result of me being High on God. the Holy Spirit transforms the mind. but you have to be a constant user to enjoy these effects constantly. the little bit of salt that my action served as caused a chain reaction of transformation. not only did this cause some laughter, but my honesty lightened my own mood for the meeting, and it changed the dynamic for the rest of the day for my boss's boss and thus the rest of the office. jokes...movie quotes...casual side convos... all part of the day. these things are usually rare...and days are usually all serious...blah...and unproductive. today has been silly and mega-productive...working has actually been fun! thanks to a little perspective check...Jesus said, "you are the salt of the earth". get high on the Holy Spirit and be salty. laugh a little, turn on some good music, read some inspiring scripture and praise God and lighten up. transform your mind, gain the Jesus state of mind and change the world one meeting at a time. get High.

simple one: faithfulness

2007-06-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

Jesus: your Husband

when you believe in Jesus. you become a bride. you have a husband. Jesus. you are not your own master. why try? what does a wife do? follows and serves, loves and obeys. imagine the love a husband gives a wife. protection, care, guidance, grace, trust and security. Jesus loves you like a husband loves a wife. so be a faithful wife...don't be selfish. be His. you are His and He is yours. you are one in a holy union of matrimony. this brings you to God. this matrimony is your salvation. His Spirit is in you. He asks things of you. He asks things of you from scripture. He asks things of you and guides you with His Holy Spirit...all are purely to focus you on Him. He wants you. He wants to be intimate with you, but He needs you to be intimate with Him too. Be intimate with Jesus. He is your faithful husband. welcome to the Bridegroom.

A song to reflect on by Jars of Clay:

"
Only Alive

I'm a fair weather friend
I'm a colorless view but I'm willin' to make a deal
If you think you can make some faith here inside
I'll drive off and marry you

I'm only alive with you
I can't get by and I won't get through
So put me in the river and let me say I do
I'm only alive with you

You're a sight for sore eyes and a newborn cry
In a year where there are so few
If you throw me a line, I'll show you in time
I'm falling in love with you

Though my heart has been torn by loves I have worn
And I'm tempted by them ever still
I tremble inside when you walk in the room
You hold my affections and will

i pray that you "get in the river and say 'I do". you are only alive in the bridegroom.

some very inspiring words from the blog of a prophet of truth, lew ross. (www.lewminator.blogspot.com) these words need to be heard. so i am rebroadcasting them here in their entirety:

""Christendom is dead. We western Jesus-followers must start thinking like missionaries in our own world. We can beat, but we can’t revive this thoroughly dead horse. Taking Jesus to the western world is going to require “out of the box” thinking."
-----I read this today in some material from someone.
the who isn't as important as the what. This is an example of the kind of talk that Xian leaders are throwing around the ivory tower circuit. This is mostly bravado. The "thinking" they're talking about usually leads right back into the box.

yeah, Christendom is dead. sounds cool out of a book, but when you live in the ghetto, doors down from 5 church buildings, its confusing, man...

in some classroom that stuff flies around easy and makes for a feeling of excitement. But out here, it means that equippers of the saints must work 2 and 3 jobs to make ends meet for themselves and their guests, and all the saints who cling to them...

you should see what the "death of Christendom" brings out here... more like the "death of Christian generosity". More like the death of Christian fearlessness... As long as the majority of Christian leaders affirm people's convenience-based/consumerist choice paradigms, there will be tremendous confusion in the world about who Jesus is...

I personally have tired of discussing this, so I don't blog so much. Church leaders need to rise up and really let people have it: the Word...
Whatever, man, most of these leader-guys aren't even reading the stuff. They're too busy in meetings and political involvements. Too busy in the box.

We're like Ezekiel 34 where the shepherds get the death threat from God. Any of you seminary guys losing sleep on that? .

"Out of the box Thinking"? What the is that? Do you mean generous? Risky? Holy? Faithful? "Out of the box thinking" has built us a lot of conference attendance. "Out of the box Thinking" has given us a lot of "creative" stuff... But out of the Box isn't "On the Cross". The way of Jesus simply won't affirm our crowds and mammon mentality... We have to realize that following Jesus leads us from riches to poverty.

You know all those people who come off the mission trip and want to move there? They should have, but the church here just doesn't do "move there." they do "visit there" and get "out of the box", as long as you come back to the box.

Move there.
Move to the city.
Move toward the poor.
Move toward high crime.
With your children.
With your wife.

Move there.
move to the bad schools.
move to the gnarly neighbors.

Move there.
get shot.

Move there.
get mugged.

Move there.
feel the heat.
and the pollution.

There is where Jesus lives...
put away the charts and graphs and
move there...

Jesus Moved there.
He did.
Will we?

What about obedience and taking up the causes that the Word tells us to?
What about honoring Jesus, corporately...
Ouch. sometimes the things we say... are what we actually thought adn meant...

The apostle Paul said you'd know the real apostles by the power... That from the guy who was meek and timid in appearance, over-focused on the cross (not on "out of the box" thinking), and brought power when he came..."

-------------------------------------------------

Could Lew be right? Could the present Body be like Ezekiel 34?

Ezekiel 34
Shepherds and Sheep 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
7 " 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
11 " 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
17 " 'As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
20 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.
25 " 'I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. [a] I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. 31 You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.'

Jesus is your faithful Husband...are you returning the love?

simple one: Love

2007-06-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

Jesus: the anti-power.

a simple lesson from living a day as an adult in this place we call the world: life is about getting, owning and showing off power. how so? knowledge: we seek education to gain knowledge and someday own that knowledge to turn around and show it off and gain respect. money: we seek money to gain purchasing power and someday own lots of money to turn around and show it off and gain respect. beauty: we seek to work-out and primp our own bodies and appearances to fit into society's idea of beauty so we can flaunt our appearances and gain respect. there seems to be a model here: "do X and get Y" ...what do people need power for? power to feel good about themselves? power to earn love? power to live longer and 'better'? prestige is power in this world. this whole system is designed to put the best on top of a pyramid. it is the way of egypt. it is the way of rome. it is the way of babylon. it is the way of greece. it is the way of america. it is the way of the world. the whole world is functioning on a pyramid scheme. this scheme is designed to put the privileged and powerful few on top and the down and out many on bottom. God wants to screw this all up. God has always wanted to screw this up. Lucifer tried to gain power...he gained damnation. adam decided to act separate from God to gain what God forbid Him. God screwed this all up with Jesus. now Jesus wants you to help Him screw this all up. people are not going to get life with power...people are just going to waste your life seeking which they are going to lose when they die anyway.

so then there is religion. people eventually realize that they are going to die. to try and give their lives some meaning, they turn to religion. but some people turn to religion to gain power...more power. I call this "merit badge spirituality"..."step right up, step right up!! get your eternity card stamped at your local god incorporated...there are agents standing by to train you up in the ways of building a bridge to God through religiosity, performance and lawfulness...God will give you the gift of His power over death through your hard work". FALSE!! This is idolatry. To seek religion to use God is idolatry. to seek religion for the right to go to heaven: idolatry. even to seek religion to seek God is idolatry ...this is to worship selfishness. God does not go by the do "X and get Y" system. people are not going to get to God without Jesus...and Jesus is not defined as "X".

"I came so that you may live, not so that you may die" -Jesus

Jesus screws up this "do X and get Y" system. Jesus wants you to screw this system up too.

Jesus is the only way to get to God. to seek Jesus is to lose yourself...lose all your hopes and desires...lose your pursuit of power and your fortune, your prestige and your external beauty. to seek Jesus is to reject the "do X and get Y" system.

the bible proclaims that Jesus is the only way we can live. Jesus' way is Love. God is Love. Jesus proclaimed to be God. therefore, to Love is to follow Jesus. this is not another law...it is a way of transformation...it is the way to screw up the power system. to follow Jesus is to be with God. to be with God is to live. Jesus is the only way we can live.

God created you to Love you and be loved by you. for Him act any different would be for Him to act contrary to who He is. Jesus once said, "if you are not for me, you are against me." to be for Jesus is to love without and agenda. blind, silly, faithful, foolish to the world, crazy, insane, counter-cultural Love. to do this is not to add Jesus to your shelf of accomplishments, it is to let Jesus destroy your self and provide for you through Love.

this dude named Paul who totally screwed up His life for Jesus wrote about this transformation in 1 Corinthians 1:18-30
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."^[c]

20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

"Love one another as I have Loved you" -Jesus

simple one: heal

2007-06-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

if Jesus collected cars, he'd car-shop in junkyards.

if i could have any car i wanted, i would have a jeep wrangler. in fact, i have been trying to sell my lexus to make this possible. here is why jeeps are cool--durability. anyone who has ever owned a car knows that the longer you drive one, the more problems it gets. now, jeeps still have problems. of course. however, they can take a lot more abuse than other cars. the thing about my current car is that little things keep screwing up. it serves me well, and i am grateful for the blessing that it is. however, it seems that the more i want to sell it, the more problems it gets. this makes selling it more and more difficult. i have this notion in my mind also that once i get a jeep, everything will be "A"-okay. in reality though, i'll probably be trading one set of problems for another. but at least i'll get to go off-roading and drive around without doors!
the fact of the matter is this: no matter what, it is only a matter of time before a car starts screwing up for its owner. we are the same way. when i first became a believer, Jesus drove a brand new hunk of junk off the lot. of course, he has been fixing up the problems along the way...new engine, tires, windows, body work, a new fancy interior...even a new paint job! why not buy a new car Jesus? i am a broken mess. it would have cost You a lot less hassle.
oh wait. Jesus is the King of enduring hassle. hmm....i think i heard about him doing some crucifixion thing. sounds like a hassle. why do all that? well, the answer to that question is that Jesus shops for his cars at the junkyard.
He hunts for potential, not for status. what some see as a pile of heaping trash, he sees

providence

no...not the city in Rhode Island. when Jesus looks at you and me, He sees a manifestation of divine care and direction. He sees purpose. He sees us as God created us to be: holy, children of God. He sees vintage collector cars. He sees the final product. He looks at a heap of metal that was created to be a car and sees a car. he sees the potential...the shiny, brilliant, final product. we are all piles metal in a junkyard. we all break down eventually. failing the law is inevitable...we are delicate , and the road of life is dangerous and bumpy; full of dump trucks that kick up rocks. We have hope. our savior is a master mechanic...He can fix any ill. He can remedy any problem. He can heal you. let Him. receive His Grace. receive Healing. we were all broken piles of metal in a junk yard. thankfully, Jesus car-shops in junkyards. now we are in his tender, expert care on the path to recovery; the path of providence.

simple one: wrestle Jesus

2007-06-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

Jesus : champion wrestler of the universe.

when I was a kid, my family used to wrestle in the living room. my mom would always get so upset with us for wrestling in the house. but it was never planned. it was like an impulse. when the challenged is posed for a match, there is no planning. there is no "hey let's take this outside". when it is time for a match...you drop everything, (usually the remote controller) and it is time to rumble. usually my dad would start it, unexpectedly. he would pin you in a matter of seconds. then there would come the bad part--tickling. i am probably one of the most ticklish people in the world other than steven, my brother. my dad would pin us both at the same time in one of our impromptu, living-room-wrestlamas and proceed with tickling our feet. no matter how hard we tried to kick or wiggle out of it, he had us pinned and screaming "help mom!!! help!!!!!!! ah ah hahahhaha!!!!!!!"
mom would usually respond with: "you shouldn't be wrestling in the living room...go outside!". but clearly, we had no choice in the matter...there was no going anywhere. if we could have gone anywhere we would not have been pinned and tickled to tears of hysteric laughter there, screaming for mom. but low and behold there was still hope.
cody, my childhood dog, was a quiet and peaceful golden retriever. he was wise and compassionate. no matter where he was in the house, even if it was in the upstairs bathroom drinking water out of the toilet bowl, he would run to the scene in a matter of moments. he would identify the aggressor without playing favorite. cody was a peacemaker. he would snarl at my dad and bark and even join in the fight to save the day. cody was always the peacemaker.

sometimes Jesus will wrestle me, in Spirit of course. i will be minding my own business and BAM!! someone, or something enters my life that totally puts me in the ring with Jesus. he does it because He wants to engage us with Him...much like my dad in the living room. there may not have been a huge vital point to being pinned and tickled on the living-room floor other than to make us laugh and smile. but, there is something about someone you love and respect paying a little attention to you. even if it is just a living-room-wrestlama.

Jesus makes us drop the remote to the tv, and wrestle Him on the floor of the living-room all the time. are there examples from your life lately that you can identify as such? what did you learn?

simple one: know

2007-06-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

one Man. one God. one Spirit. one. just one Jesus. one Savior. one Life. know this one.
know Jesus and you will know this one Man, this one God, this one Spirit. you will know the one. you will know the one Jesus, you will know the one Savior, you will know the one life...your life in Him, His life in you. know this one. It's that simple...know

a little "Big League Chew":

you know this Jesus? a lot of people talk about Him. a lot of people talk about knowing Him.
you know who knows Him? kids. yep. little people know Jesus. they get it. you were once a kid. once, you were totally real, humble, silly, fun, carefree...you know, like a kid. once, you were totally in the know about Jesus. you remember that?
i remember that. i was loved, taken care of, playful, cheery, silly and free of knowing blame...free of knowing guilt. i was a kid. all i knew was that i wanted to be loved. i wanted to be hugged. i wanted people in my life...to play, to enjoy living, to enjoy living with me. i still want that. i still want to be a kid.
i also wanted to hang out with my dad...a lot. i love my daddio. he is a pretty neat dude. his name is craig. i spent my time as a kid trying to be like this man-my dad. anything...the way he walked, the way he talked, the way he styled his hair, the way he talked to people. i wanted to be like him. of course, i was just a kid. just his son...not him. but i tried to be like him. i really did. i tried to show him that i could be just like him.
i think he could tell. so he encouraged me. he gave me hope. he would spend time with me, training me in the ways of being like him. he would toss the ball with me...talk to me...take me flying in the plane and let me hold the yoke with him! my dad loves me. it is easy to forget. but i know it. he loves me. he knew i could not be him. he knew that one day i would grow up and realize that he is not the strongest, smartest, most successful and powerful man in the world. he knew. but he trained me up. he pushed me. he showed me Jesus. with his actions, with his love, with his grace and tender mercy that only a father has for a son, he loved me. he showed me Jesus. who shows you Jesus from your childhood?