What is the Gospel ? Part 2
The Kingdom of God

Mark 1:15 - "Times up! God's Kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message."

Other than a passing comment referring to some ephermeral non-specific charasmatic ideology "the kingdom of God" has always a direct reference to heaven, or life after death in the circles I run in. Put another way, for the first 15 years of my life with Christ, the Kingdom of God equalled some city with gold streets where we didn't cry anymore because we were happy we weren't in hell.

Life on earth was about avoiding hell.
Life on earth was about doing good things because Jesus, God, my youth pastor or any other spiritual authority had told me to do these things to please God.

For me, Doing good was a duty.
Then I grew up and learned that it wasn't supposed to be a duty. I knew this because some guy or youth pastor etc told me that was wrong.
that that wasn't true freedom in Christ or proper believe.
so I changed my belief to the correct one.... that I was told.
I was told, duty isn't why you do good. You do good things because you are thankful.
I'm no dummy. I listened. I knew what my motives should be. that my motives should be born from my love and gratitude in Jesus.
That almost worked actually. but not really, not in a way that felt right.

Let's face it.
It never occured to me or the churches I've been affiliated with that doing good is a good idea, simply because it's good. That being a good neighbor and loving them, isn't neccesarily all that an extreme statement, because doing good is always a good idea. It's not good because Jesus said, it's just good.

What does this have to do with the Kingdom?
Last year I heard someone describe the kingdom of God as God's dream for the world. That when we pray "thy kingdom come" we are in many way's saying "Your dream come true "

When God dreams about the world, what does he dream about?

In churches where missions is going to build a house, but getting to share "the gospel" is the real reason you go, we've lost our way from the kingdom. Why don't we value the part of the gospel where building the house is good news too.
I'm not talking about making Jesus Lord.

Our misunderstanding of the gospel and kingdom of God have led to a church where people attend and learn, but rarely participate. Where evangelism is a program, trip, or something you are trained for. Where mission is a brief statement on our church letterhead. Where we are more interested in telling people the fine print of what we do and don't believe, rather than actually living out the dream of God in the world. Where we talk about the biblical community, but litter the roads with our fast food meal wrappings on our way to the next training to share the "gospel".
Where we listen to conservative radio, Rushing past people with needs on the side of the road.
Where we lambast, and assasinate the character of conservative polititians for not being loving to the world. Where we speak in tongues in our services and slander our pastors and neighbors during the week. It leaves me asking... where is the kingdom? It leaves me asking, is it any wonder the world want's nothing to do with us as the church. Why would they. They may actually be living out the kingdom of God ahead of the church. Why would the world want to know a Jesus who's followers are known by greed, a selfishly ambitious lifestyle (with Biblical support) and complacently spouting irrelvant facts about a God who seems to be happy with a church that loves itself and it's preferences for safety, comfort and of course preaching the gospel more than anything else.

just some thoughts.


posted by riddle at 3:25 PM | |

 
What is the "good news"? Part 1
(in response to Jimmy's question several day's ago)
Mark 1:15 - "The time is fulfilled!" he said; "God's Kingdom is arriving! Turn back and believe the good news!"

The Gospel = good news. It's the same thing.
When I was a teen, adults who were leading me in my faith always talked about witnessing to my friends. They needed to hear the "gospel". I was told. I heard this over and over and over again.

Here's a translation of what I think they meant, or at least how I took what they were saying.

The reason Jesus came was for me and my friends. Jesus lived his whole life for one weekend in his 33rd year of life, where he was murdered. He was buried. He stopped being dead and walked out of his tomb. This weekend was the whole reason Jesus came and he did it so that people like myself and my friends could go to heaven.

If i could reduce the "Gospel" down further it would go like this.
God loves me and has a plan for me.
I am a sinner.
Jesus died for my sins.
I receive the gift of life given by Jesus on that weekend.
I go to heaven.
the end.

Growing up, I was trained to lead people through this routine where I knew both sides of the conversation before anyone spoke. I learned to draw bridges and ladders and roads. I even collected "tracks" for a while in college because the church had become very creative in it's "presentation of the gospel" or at least this verse of it.

I spent my life trying to get people to believe this "gospel". So.. when I make this statement you'll understand it's weight in my life.

I don't think this is the gospel.

At least I don't think this is all of the gospel. It's part of it.

Referring back to the verse from "the gospel according to Mark" where Jesus is calling the disciples. He's probably 30 years old here and he's just getting started and he commands the disciples to believe the good news! But Jesus hasn't died yet! What kind of "gospel" can he mean, when he refers to good news here? Esp. since the disciples have no idea at this time that he's going to die, be buried and raise from the dead. In fact, their thoughts are far from that. That there was something amazingly compelling about this other gospel, so compelling that people left their families and jobs to spread it. People gave their lives for it. People were changed by it. People were forgiven of sin, before Jesus paid for it with his death. How could this be?!? Like everything in life, this brings it back to me and my dilemma. 9it's all about me right???) In every church I've been a part of this would not make any sense at all. the gospel is about the weekend, not a life including a that weekend!

Furthermore, when I first noticed this, it seems that the "gospel" is inextricably tied to something called the Kingdom of God. (More later on my complete lack of understanding or misunderstanding of the kingdom of God.)

So what is the good news?
It's seems to have something to do with the move of God to reclaim his creation, including, but not limited to people.

Reducing the "gospel" to a weekend in the life of Jesus and an entire evangelical culture focusing on evangelism focused on this type of emasculated gospel reduces the role of the church to "saving souls from hell", which is not what the gospel is about either! how does it do this?

When we de-emphasize the life of Jesus as part of the gospel, (not simply as leading up to the "real gospel" but as an equally valuable part of the gospel,) then we are destroying what life in the kingdom is about. Instead of living into the kingdom today, our churches are waiting around for a church for eternity.

what do you think???

there's plenty more to come...
after all I did say that gospel changes didn't I.... That's what jimmy wanted me to talk about.
but we have to get there a bit at a time.


posted by riddle at 2:32 PM | |

 
Things Going Right
Caleb brought up a great point in one of the comments on this blog...basically, "Is there ever anything positive being written on this blog?" While I think there are plenty of positive things that we've written, it is true that we tend to enjoy a good rant a little more often than not.

Okay, Caleb, here are some good things going on...

I've had this idea about a group of people buying a house in one of the "blighted" neighborhoods in Tulsa, fixing it up and letting some college students live there and do ministry in the community...ala Mission Year. For the city of Tulsa, "blighted" is the official term used to describe neighborhoods that are impoverished, violent, and on a general downward trend in terms of community health. I always figured we could get a house cheap in those areas, but I haven't had much time to do much with this dream/vision.

Well, two weeks ago I heard that an old friend of mine had been given a house in North Tulsa, and that he had the same vision I have had. I called him up and found out that that it's true...a real estate agent has given a house to my friend's non-profit ministry called the Dayspring Foundation. How it all came down is an incredible story in itself...a post for later. But for now the house has been gutted. It will go under a complete renovation this fall. The process has already started. On Saturdays workers have been working steadily on the house. And local contractors and suppliers have been donating materials. There is also an elementary school in the neighborhood, and they have given us permission to run their afterschool programs on Mondays. And it gets better...

The house sits in what is officially the worst neighborhood in Tulsa. The city of Tulsa itself has taken over 66 houses in the neighborhood of 400 or so houses. They paid 1.2 million for the houses and put another 1.6 into them, for a total investment on their part of 2.6 million. But now they want to, well, get rid of them. They have told the Dayspring Foundation that they would sell them the 66 houses for 1.6 million. Currently, my friend is trying to find some people/businesses to match donations...that if we could raise half the money, they might possibly pay the other half. We could then renovate these houses and use them for a number of purposes with the goal of changing the neighborhood. First time homeowners with low incomes could buy some of them cheaply. We could offer a few of them rent free to police officers to ensure a police presence in the neighborhood. College students working as local missionaries to the community could stay rent free. There are so many options.

How's that for the good news of the Kingdom? Anyone want to join us?

posted by Jimmy at 6:46 PM | |

 
A Note from a Friend Part 3...
(ok this is the last part of my friends note to me.)

Culture vs. Christianity.
I now live in a place that is remarkably liberal. There is the assumption that G.W. is a lying asshole and should not be another minute as the leader. Homosexuality is common and generally accepted and embraced as a valid lifestyle. Vegetarianism and organic whole foods are not dirty words, but rather encouraged as healthy proper lifestyles. You get my point, and while these things are excepted and very visible in the culture, it is opposite in the ‘faith community’ here. You would think that there would be an abundance of places like ‘The Village’ church in Ohio or Solomon’s porch, but what has happened is that the church has created something of an extreme counter culture. On the streets and in the cities, people seem to reflect and create the culture that is the Pacific Northwest, but in the church community there are very strict conservative mindset. I do not understand. Especially since the church here is so focused on missions. It is the creed of churches out here; just about everyone I’ve met close to my age involved in the church is somehow involved in missions and traveling. I cannot reconcile how we can be so counterculture here, but so willing to accept the culture of a foreign place.
So I guess my next questions are these; how do I get involved in the community, but also the church? How do I be all things to all people while still being one person?
Not that I expect anyone to have the answers to any of these questions. I am just looking for some intelligent, open conversation on these topics. And I think I needed to write some of these things down for my own sake.



posted by riddle at 8:00 AM | |

 
want to see this movie.
posted by riddle at 1:46 PM | |

 
A Note from a Friend Part 2
(again.. this is from a friend to me... think of this in terms of an honest journal entry to you from a friend... what do you think? what would you say? )

Missions. Church. Evangelicals.
My wife and her sisters grew up in a Baptist church. It has become one of these places that some of the post-moderns are so bent against. It is in the last part of a giant building phase. It has a few projector screens above a big stage. The services are very polished and clean and typical. It has experienced lots of growth over the past few years, and considers itself very successful. Most of the people there are very genuine and believe their way of church is the right way, and I think assume that all other Christians agree.
I get the chills just walking into the building. Creepy chills like watching that Benny guy on TV, not good chills like Christmas morning when it snows.
Anyway, most of my in-laws would agree that this is a pretty shallow and fake place to be and God doesn’t solely reside in that place, but they all hail from similar theology. It would be kind of like disagreeing with the size and feel of Willow Creek, but using all their materials.
My wife has three sisters. All are married, two are missionaries and ones husband is a youth pastor in So-Cal. So you can imagine how pervasive missionary, evangelical thinking may be in our time together as a family, and it assumed that I, being a good Christian, also subscribe to the same theology. I constantly endure generalisms like “this place in China is a dark, dark place” or stories on conversions with people that they’ll never see again. Having “a heart for the lost in unreached people groups” meanwhile I am looking for the unreached wallets that haven’t spent any money on advertising lately so that I can persuade them to do a commercial. I don’t really think I give a shit about the eternal state of my neighbor’s soul, I’m more interested in whether he’d want to play cards or come over for dinner. I think that if someone else assumed I care about the ‘lost’ or that I even understand what that means (even though I’ve used that language… lots.) I’m going to develop turrets syndrome and just start cussing at the slightest hint that the conversation is going in the direction of typical evangelical generalities about life and people. I want to write and apology letter to all of the people I ever walked through the ‘sinners prayer’, or anyone I ever referred to as ‘lost’ or ‘unsaved’.
So. I guess the questions I am asking myself are these; how do we live as Christians in a world where that title has been so misused, so distorted? How do we co-operate, tolerate, or even have community with those people who are contemporary missionaries and evangelicals? I am not saying that my way of thinking is right, and I don’t think I want to have theological debate with my family; it is just that I am so offended at the generalities and assumptions sometimes. I don’t know how to respond, without being an offensive prick. Sometimes I’d just rather be considered a heathen then a Christian, that way I am not expected to understand or agree.

posted by riddle at 3:53 PM | |

 
The Cowgirl Conversation
the following is the synopsis of a group of friends around the country who are ordering their lives around these rhythms. These were listed in a restraunt in downtown Santa Fe in October 2003, named the Cowgirl.


We believe that a more beautiful and generative life is possible

We are a people longing for a more integrated life with God.

We want our kids and other people we influence to experience a better way of life, a Better way of being christian

In a world that no longer trusts empty God words, we want to bear witness to the reality of the kingdom of God among us

We are convinced that the good news of the kingdom and the life of Jesus is: (1) Holistic (relates to every dimension of our lives) & (2) integrative (that the various dimensions of our lives are contingent upon each other, like a web).

Similarly, we are convinced that the message of the kingdom is not only something to believe cognitively, but something to respond to with our very lives.

We are convinced that the significance of the life and work of Jesus is an invitation into the quality of life the creator imagines for us: love for God expressed through love for all that God has made.

So we keep asking ourselves, "What does it mean to love the creator and the creation?" Or "How do we specifically become people formed in the way of Jesus?"

We are convinced that a way of life, certain personal and collective practices, are the necessary means of being formed in the way of Jesus. We desire to commit ourselves, personally and collectively, to a rhythm of life and a set of practices that help us to be formed in the way of Jesus.

Various communities of people throughout history have developed peculiar and prophetic ways of life in pursuit of spiritual formation. The significance of our developing such a pattern is not in its inherent uniqueness or improvement upon past efforts, but In our intention, as a living local & global community, to live out these practices And encourage one another's formation & transformation in the times & places where we live.

posted by riddle at 3:41 PM | |

 
The Times They are A-Changin

Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters Around you have grown
And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the cal
lDon't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now Will later be past
The order is Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

posted by riddle at 3:37 PM | |

 
Thoughts from a Friend... Part 1

Ok, so I’ve been here about a month and don’t really have any good community yet. It’s hard to juggle helping my wife clean an art room that had 30 years of shit built up and start my business and move into a new place and juggle the new pressure of living close to family with starting a new life and building some sort of new community. I am realizing everyday how important my friends were in Michigan. That community was sort of like lifeblood, my whole experience (in my memory) revolved and flowed around the complexities of all the different relationships that I was a part of. I realize that community is sort of a buzzword that we pass around, but the more I reflect on it, the more important that community was.
The body of people around us, from my casual friends to my most intimate relationships created sort of an ebb and tide that made life worth it. Both the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ relationships were somehow necessary for life to properly happen. [my wife] and I were talking the other day about our Sunday meetings with ‘the friends’, as we called each other. One of the things we were talking about was how we only had a formal time of discussion, a ‘bible study’ if you will, a couple of times. We were just trying to consider what a group would look like if we started gathering some of the acquaintances we have here. We decided that we would like to have more formal, or structured time of conversation, I think because we don’t have the intimate relationships that we did and if we built some sort of structure, it would somehow make our meetings, or the desire to have meetings, valid and valuable.
I remember back to our times with the friends, and I am hard pressed not to see God in our time together. In fact as I reflect on my life so far (and I am not saying that 25 years is a great distance for reflecting, I’m just saying that sometimes I am bored as hell and have good time for reflection) I think the ONLY times I recognize God is in the memory of relationships. In my recollection, He is not evident is many great decisions I have made (sure I can probably make a case for His guiding Holy hand in my every life decision, but do I really see it that way?), He has not done a whole lot as far as providing for us financially (I have had close to two years of disappointment in business. It’s hard to see God’s provision there, let alone the things it does for me as far as my opinion of wealthy business people who attribute their success to God.), and He has certainly not done any extraordinarily miraculous things to evidence Himself in my life. But where I do recognize God is in the intricacies of my relationships. I see His counsel in say Ray, or Jim(probably inadvertently), or Dan. I see intimate care, compassion, concern in my friends; Dan and Sean and Drew. I see His joy and patience, His longing in Andy and Caleb. I see his love and tenderness in their wives. I see the need for Him in my wife’s longing to be with their wives; their love for her and hers for them fueled a sense of peace, comfort, and joy that is waning in her life. I think of playing cards and I wonder what it is that makes me want that so much right now, It’s gambling, and cussing and a complete waste of time, but most nights its all I want to do right now. I think it has something to do with this, I read it in a book about life on a Greek island;
“[The wife] will grow fat while her voice becomes shrill and you will find your way here to the café where there is only the sound of good talk and cards slapped down on tabletops. Here is where we swear and lie and unravel stories, then tangle them again, away from the words of women that confuse everything.”
Not that I have a problem with my wife; she is neither fat, nor shrill, nor confusing, but the general idea of needing to find a place to escape from life. It seems to be inherent in all men. We love to go to our special place and detach from the world around us, whether that is the bar, or the field, or gym or whatever. If we are created in the image of God, then it is hard for me not to see Him there, to see Him amongst us in the cussing and drinking and general debauchery. Maybe He likes, needs, wants it too?
Anyway, God in community; more than a phrase, maybe that’s where He lives.

posted by riddle at 2:33 PM | |

 

Thought...
Sometimes I feel like I'm describing a flame to freezing people who have never seen fire.

It can be both frustrating and pointless.


posted by Jimmy at 9:42 PM | |

 
burned my finger today...
and it hurts.

making pancakes.
zach calls them flapjacks.
jaden calls them panpakes.

posted by riddle at 5:48 PM | |

 
I got an email from Aola. Aola, you seem like a great person. I wish we lived closer to each other so our families could get together.

My family is great. I'm looking forward to growing up with them. My girls. They're gorgeous. I can't wait to tell my young ones the stories on which my faith is founded.

Real Live Preacher tells a great story about his daughter's glasses. It's a beautiful story, but it's late, and I'm too lazy to find it to give you a link to it. It shouldn't be too hard to find.

I'm really not sure why I'm writing this. It's nothing profound. It's sort of a break from my normal "fight the man... down with the system" stuff, which I'm sure most people get bored with anyhow. It's just that Aola's email got me to thinking about how good people can be, even to people they hardly know, and I wanted you all to know that I appreciate that, and that I love my girls very much (and when I say "my girls," that's all three of them).

No, I promise I'm not in pieces right now.

That's all. Now go about your business. Nothing to see here.
posted by Stephen at 10:50 PM | |

 
Believe it or not.

posted by riddle at 7:33 PM | |

 
If Not ChurchTM Then What?
The past year of posts and discussion have validated and encouraged me tremendously.
I no longer feel like I am alone.
I don't feel compelled to start anything, or even to join any new movements.
My own cynicism keeps me from believing I could start something "new" that would be any different than what already is.

I am compelled to pray and worship.







posted by Andy at 8:42 AM | |

 
Lincoln Park

honks of big trucks
taxis. parking meters. starbucks.
people. people. people.
people walking on sidewalks
people riding bicycles
an old black man with golf clubs
a young white man carrying a small dog in a kennel.
people. individuals.
people of hope.
people of despair.
people with pride and people who don't care
people lost. people found.
a fire truck.
a man with an hachett directs traffic.
sunglasses. strollers.
soccermoms without soccer fields
blocks from lake michigan
a lost, strong, balding paramedic with sunglasses searches for his patiet.
more emt arrive. enought to take the field down the street at Wrigley.
i enjoy my carmel machiatto a sip at a time
and contemplate which stainless steel coffee mug I would purchase
if i drank coffee more often

posted by riddle at 4:16 PM | |

 
You.

You say you want to be my friend.
You win my trust, with time and conversation.
You say you love me. There was a time in which I believed you.
You have strong convictions.
Convictions about life and how it is to be lived.
No one can disagree. friend or enemy.
there is no gray. only black and white.
to disagree with your feelings is to disagree with God.
You say you want to be my friend.
I can not.
It is not safe.
I pray that you are never in a position of power, or control.
Because if you are it will not be safe for me, or for those who think like me.
You use my words given in trust as ammunition.
you build a case. A slanderous case. built on gossip, decention, and pseudo trust.
all in the name of jesus.
You are dangerous. not like Aslan is dangerous. not like God is dangerous. not like truth is dangerous.
but you are dangerous like a viper is dangerous. like a rabid dog. you are dangerous because you build your life on YOUR truth.
the crusades were built on on truth like this.
Your emotion upends you.
Your fear drives you.
You pray. You pray a lot.
So did the pharisees.
I avoid people like you.
as often as possible.
to disagree with you is to disagree with God.
you have no tolerance for people who see the world differently.
I wonder who hurt you.
why you must control so much.
that's what you do...
you control.
without knowing it, you try to control God.

But God will not be controlled.
his greatest attribute is love.
it is how we as christians are to be known.
not truth. love.
you do not love, when you judge.
you do not love when you control.

So. I hope you understand when I write this.
That I can not trust you.
I can not be around you.
I can not be your friend. not matter how pure you believe your intentions to be.
we are not friends.




posted by riddle at 7:33 PM | |

 
The Fine Print
Isn't it great how the fine print often invalidates the normal print in documents. My wife and I were looking at credit card applications recently...comparing rates and such. You know, fixed rates vs. adjustable rates etc etc etc. The large print of our application reads (with this same type of formating:

Keep Saving--after the introductory period with a 9.99% fixed APR.³

But the small print on the back of the applications makes it clear that it really doesn't matter what we go with:

³You understand that the terms of your account, including the APRs, are subject to change. This means that the APRs for this offer are not guaranteed; APRs may change to higher APRs, fixed APRs may change to variable APRs, or variable APRs may change to fixed APRs. We reserve the right to change the terms (including APRs) at any time for any reason, in addition to APR increases that may occur for failure to comply with the terms of you account. Any changes will be in accordance with your Cardmember agreement. Please read carefully the "Rate, Fee and Other Cost Information" section included with this offer.

I hope we don't share Jesus with people in the same way...making big claims that are invalidated by the fine print.

posted by Jimmy at 1:59 PM | |

 
Daddy Zed!
Zedler is a new daddy for the second time. Now he's got two little girls.

Congrats buddy!

posted by Jimmy at 11:26 PM | |

 
Our Stats
Well, I hadn't checked in a while, but since we started keeping track last August (the 12th to be exact) we've had 20,147 unique IP addresses view our blog. That's really surprising and cool.

People have viewed our blog from the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Bolivia, US Educational, Brazil, Germany, France, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Indonesia, Japan, India, Malta, Italy, Taiwan, Malaysia, Spain, Switzerland, Philippines, Austria, China, Chile, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Belgium, Lithuania, Venezuela, Russian Federation, Nepal, Dominican Republic, Lebanon, Finland, Cyprus, Iceland, Romania, Uruguay, Portugal, Korea, Argentina, Nigeria, Czech Republic, Mexico, Turkey, Poland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Bosnia/Hersegovina, Thailand, Bahrain, Egypt.

The most popular hour to visit is 1:00-2:00 US CST, and Wednesday is the most popular day (barely edging out Mondays and Tuesdays).

We have had over 8,000 referral hits. The top referral sites are Mark's blog and Andrew Jones' blog.

This isn't in our stats, I'm guessing that Aola is our most consistent friend and commentor for the past year.

Here's to another good year...(toast and drink whatever your beverage of choice may be).

posted by Jimmy at 10:44 PM | |

 
Hell Is Chrome

when the devil came
he was not red
he was chrome and he said
come with me

you must go so I went
where every thing was clean
so precise and towering

I was welcomed with open arms
I received so much help in every way
I felt no fear
I felt no fear

the air was crisp
like sunny late-winter days
springtime yawning high in the haze
and I felt like I belong
come with me

come with me
come with me

by Wilco
From the album A Ghost is Born
posted by Stephen at 10:26 PM | |

 
Ghandi
From the movie:

Prosecutor: "'...Non-cooperation has one aim: the overthrow of
the [British] government. Sedition must become our creed. We must
give no quarter nor can we expect any.' Do you deny
writing it?"
Ghandi: "Not at all. And I will save the courts time by
stating under oath that to this day I believe that non-cooperation with
evil is a duty, and that I believe British rule of India is evil."
Prosecutor: "The prosectuion rests, my lord."
Judge: "I presume you are conducting your own defense, Mr.
Ghandi?"
Ghandi: "I have no defense, my lord. I am guilty as
charged. And if you truly believe in the system of law which you
administer in our country, then you must inflict on me the severist
penalty possible."
[The judge hesitates...seemingly overwhelmed and awed by Ghandi's
words.]
Judge: "It is impossible for me to ignore that you are in a different
category from any person I have tried...or are likely to try.
Nevertheless, I sentence you to six years in prison [murmoring and shouting
among those gatehered in the court] ...But if our Majesty's government
should, at some later date, see fit to reduce the term, no one will be better
please than I."

posted by Jimmy at 3:43 PM | |

 
The Book
I am still trying to write Church®: A Disenfranchised Christian's View of Ecclesia Americanus. Really. Every time someone emails me and asks "if the book has been published yet" or ever better, "where can I purchase the book mentioned in your blog", I feel so stupid. But I am trying. I've recently renewed my interest due to an email conversation from a friend. Here's an obviously unedited excerpt from the intro:

E.Stanley Jones insightfully warned that the Church which “marries itself to the present age will find itself a widow in the next”. Jones may not have realized that the Church message always marries itself to the present age. This is a hard concept for modernized Christians to grasp.

The present Church has embraced the Modern Age—even though at first we violently rejected it.[1] In Modernism we made our beliefs rational, and more
than that we believed they were right. We have so embraced the temptation
of thinking that we are somehow more enlightened than those in the past that we pridefully discount the possibility of our own short-comings and need for change.[2] In embracing the age, we have also embraced timely but unnecessary baggage with it. Now that we are possibly entering into a new age, we are sifting through the baggage to (hopefully) find what is still necessary and useful, and tossing out the rest. The difficult aspect of this deconstruction is that most of it has been meaningful in some way. It’s kind of like Spring housecleaning, with all the tortured, sentimental choices about whether to keep the old Jr. High love-notes or not.

The truth is that the Christian message is fluid. If we are to communicate with changing cultures and localities, then our message and our beliefs must change as well. Actually, there is no must to it…our message and beliefs do change and our only "must" is that we accept this reality and learn to operate within it. If our culture’s basic philosophies and understandings of reality are changing, our beliefs are changing as well. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that God changes. I’m saying that we change along with our culture, and the way we both percieve and communicate God changes. Part of the tension felt by the Church today is that we are mourning more than just the loss of the Modern Age, but also in some sense a loss of our message.

[1] Just think of Copernicus and
Galileo’s struggle.
[2] Think about this…one of the
shortcomings of the Modern Age is that to counter the challenges made by
scientific rationalists who were critical of the Christian faith, we have
created our own rationalistic attempts to explain things that previously had
simply been considered mysteries or “foolishness to the world”. For
example, we have argued that the stories of the Bible are actually rational and
scientific. Imagine explaining rationally how the chariots of fire
witnessed by Elisha and his servant! The Modern Church has had
a hard time leaving things to mystery and wonder by simply saying, “We don’t
know.”

Thoughts?

posted by Jimmy at 1:01 AM | |

 
Interesting Reads About the Emergent Church...
Here's akma's response to Karen Haluza's thoughts on the whole Emergent Church thing. What do you think?

Will pointed out that Karen made a great followup post to her rant on the EC...here it is.

posted by Jimmy at 9:15 PM | |

 
Just Remember..."A well-trained usher is your church’s GREATEST ASSET! "
Yeah...I wanted to spoof this, but I couldn't come up with anything better than the reality.


posted by Jimmy at 9:06 PM | |

 
Real Live Preacher Again
He's good even on days when he feels off...

I don’t know if you're aware of this, but they have a lot of those. Conferences for preachers, I mean. You can tell a preacher conference because it will usually have one of these words or phrases in the title:

Purpose
Emergent
Seeker Sensitive
Post-Modern
Felt Needs
Contemplative
Contemporary
Demographic
Twenty-First

I don’t remember what any of those words mean to preachers. I used to know what they mean, but I started forgetting when I had to get a real job back in ’98. If all preachers had to have real jobs along with their churchy jobs, there would be a lot less seminars on emerging purposes for the felt needs of twenty-first century post-modern people or whatever.

posted by Jimmy at 5:03 PM | |

 
Jesus our Example...

Stolen from Danny Yang's blog, who in turn stole it from Ross King's blog...

I'll start with the basic story of Jesus' life. He was born in a barn. His mom was a teenage virgin (and everybody probably said "yeah, right; a virgin") and His dad was a blue-collar worker. He lived his early life in a fairly boring, non-cosmopolitan place. He waited 30 years to do anything worth recording (complain to God, not to me), despite the fact that He was GOD and that Jewish males were considered men by their 13th or 14th year. Once He began his ministry, He chose 11 guys, mostly blue-collar types, some even borderline social outcasts, and 1 guy who He knew would betray Him unto torturous death. He did his entire ministry within walking distance of His hometown (they had ships and animal-drawn land transportation back then, which He could’ve used; also, He was GOD, so i suppose He could've flown around or whatever). almost every time He did a miracle (A MIRACLE!!!) He told people who were there not to tell anyone about it or even about Him. He hung out with prostitutes, homeless people (like Him), social outcasts, and lepers (think AIDS patients). He told parables to the common folk and insulted the religious establishment (Matthew 23). He avoided public attention most of the time (remember the Feast of the Tabernacles in John 7 & 8?), but spent lots of time teaching small groups. when He got the biggest crowd He'd ever had (after turning a lunch for one into a feast for at least 5000 -- maybe up to 15000 -- people), He chose a sermon on cannibalism (think about it) and pretty much all of them left. for His "triumphal entry" he chose the borrowed colt of a donkey to ride in on. He put up with an illegal trial, so that He could die a humiliating loser's death on a criminal's cross. after three days, He performed the most signicant miracle the world has ever seen and told a few hundred people about it.

now, that's paraphrased, but that's basically my Savior's story. you tell me. are my questions fair? because if those methods are the best way to give God glory (while imitating Christ as a guide for methodology), then i'm a little confused. did Jesus fail? that's a pretty poor way to market yourself if you ask me. wouldn't it have been much better for Jesus to have said (after miraculously feeding 5000-15000 people), "Ok, next week (month, year, whatever) we're going to do this again. Everybody needs to come on back and bring a friend. Barsiphius is going to play the zither, and I'm gonna bring the Word. And by the way, did I mention I'm God? Just in case all the metaphors have been confusing anybody. I'm God. God I am. Jesus = God." wouldn't that have been better, according to our methods today?

posted by Jimmy at 4:51 PM | |

 
A Good Quote I Had Forgotten

“Happy slaves, [we who] owe…that delicate and refined taste on which [we]
pride ourselves; that sweetness of character and that urbanity in mores which
make relationships among [us] so cordial and easy; in a word, the appearances of all the virtues with having any.” –Rousseau

posted by Jimmy at 4:39 PM | |

 
Words Are Confusing
Church...I mean believers, you mean a building or an organization
Worship...I mean a life lived sacrificially, you mean singing songs
Faith...I mean trusting God, you mean a set of agreed upon beliefs
Tithing...I mean giving to those with no inheritance, you mean supporting your version of church
Post-Modern...I mean a jumbled set of philosophical world views, you mean techniques and styles
Discipleship...I mean shared lives, you mean instructional classes

Should I start using different words?


posted by Jimmy at 10:54 AM | |

 
Living Eschatologically
Stephen recently said this in the comments from another post, "Everyone gives up material possessions... eventually."

That statement combined with the previous quote from Resident Aliens has really stuck with me. At some point the reality of God's Kingdom will bust in on this world in a way that cannot be denied. The King will return, the world will stop as it is, and all creation will bow the knee. The question Christian individuals and communities must ask themselves is "will I be in step with the new reality or with the old?"

posted by Jimmy at 12:34 AM | |

 
Finding What I Have Not Found
Searching the web for a quote from Resident Aliens by Hauerwas and Willimon, I came across this post a while back by Jordon Cooper. It just happened to be the exact section I was looking for in my search (I hate typing things if I can copy-and-paste.)

As Richard Lischer asks, "But why should the Teacher be crucified for
reinforcing what everyone already knows?"

What if all of this [Christ's teaching in the Sermon] is not new and more stringent rules for us to observe but rather a picture of the way God is? Of course, we are forever getting
confused into thinking the scripture is mainly about what we are supposed to do
rather than a picture of who God is. If Jesus had put forth behavior like
turning the other cheek when someone strikes you as a useful tactic for bringing
out the best in other people, then Jesus could be justly accused of ethical
naivete. But the basis for the ethics of Sermon on the Mount is not what works
but rather the way God is. Cheek-turning, is not advocated as what works (it
usually does not), but advocated because this is the way God is--God is kind to
the ungrateful and the selfish. This is not a stratagem for getting what we want
but the only manner of life available, now that, in Jesus, we have seen what God
wants. We seek reconciliation with the neighbor, not because we will feel so
much better afterward, but because reconciliation is what God is doing in the
world in the Christ.

The End of the World

We are confident that Matthew would say the Niebuhrian assertion that the
Sermon is only for isolated individuals, is perverse precisely because it as
individuals, cut off from the community which reveals to us the way things are
in God's kingdom, that we are bound to fail. The whole Sermon is not about how
to be better individual Christians, it is a picture of the way the church is to
look. The Sermon is eschatological. It is concerned with the end of things--the
final direction toward which God is moving the world. Matthew 4:23-25 sets the
context for the Sermon. Although delay of the parousia, the return of Christ, is
fully admitted by Matthew (24:48;25:5,19), this delay serves to underscore
Matthews' interest in the formation of community rather than to diffuse it. The
church is on the long haul, living that difficult time between one advent and
the next. In such times, we all the more dependent on a community that tells us
that we live between the times, that it is all too easy to lose sight of the way
the world is, now that God has come. Because we know something about the
direction in which the world is moving, we are encouraged by that pictures and
guided by the shape of its depiction of the way things are now that God has
redeemed the world in Jesus.

They go on to say...

The most interesting question about the Sermon is not, Is this really a practical way to live in the world? but rather, Is this a really the way the world is? What is "practical" is related to what is real. If the world is a society in which only the strong, the independent, the detached, the liberated, and the successful are blessed, then we act accordingly. However if the world is really a place where God blesses the poor, the hungry, and the persecuted for righteousness' sake, then we must act in accordance with reality or else appear bafflingly out of step wit the way things are. Is the world a place where we must constantly guard against against our death, anxiously building hedges that sad but inevitable reality? Or is the world a place where our death is viewed and reviewed under the reality of the cross of Christ? It makes all the difference, in this matter of ethics, what we are looking at. [emphasis added]

Through the Sermon (and His life), Jesus makes too clear what He meant by "be in the world but not of it". The values of the Sermon and His Kingdom are often completely at odds with those of the world. Most of American Christendom has switched this true contrast with the world for surface issues that have little impact on who we really are. When asked by friends what I'm "looking for" in Christian community, I think of passages like those above. I want to share as much as possible in relationships where the values of God's Kingdom are lovingly and mercifully practiced and pursued. I'm not looking for the idealistic "perfect church". As Wayne Jacobson puts it, "Perfection is not my goal, but finding people with God's priorities."

I haven't found an organized version of it--perhaps it exists only rarely in such form. But I've found pockets of friendships where I recieve it. I hear rumours of it in the lives of others. I hope deeply for the fulfillment of it in His return. It is present and hoped for...found and not found.

I'm beginning to be okay with that.

Resident Aliens is a book that I strongly encourage everyone who visits this blog to pick up and read. It was written in the 80's, but it's dead-on in its description and prescription for post-Constantinian Christianity. Stephen has my copy...

posted by Jimmy at 11:32 PM | |

 
We're Losing Comments
For some reason we are slowly losing all of our comments on the "Did Jesus Go to Church" post. It seems like that as more comments are added on today's posts the number of comments on that particular post is going down. It started out today at 114...then 112...then 108...then 106...currently it's at 105. If your comment disappears, just know that we didn't do it.

Does someone out there have my Haloscan password?

Update: As comments are added to the "Politics are not the task of a Christian" post (whatever it's title was), they are deleted from the other. Strange.
posted by Jimmy at 4:06 PM | |

 
More on Conflict
It's timely for me that I just read this Tozer quote on Len's Blog:

"Some misguided Christian leaders feel that they must preserve harmony at
any cost, so they do everything possible to reduce friction. They should
remember that there is no friction in a machine that has been shut down for the
night. Turn off the power, and you will have no problem with moving parts. Also
remember that there is a human society where there are no problems--the
cemetery. The dead have no differences of opinion. They generate no heat,
because they have no energy and no motion. But their penalty is sterility and
complete lack of achievement.

What then is the conclusion of the matter? That problems are the price of
progress, that friction is the concomitant of motion, that a live and expanding
church will have a certain quota of difficulties as a result of its life and
activity. A Spirit-filled church will invite the anger of the enemy."

A. W. Tozer in This World: Playground or Battleground?

BTW, Pray for Len. He's just now discovering U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind?
posted by Jimmy at 2:42 PM | |

 
Things I Get In Trouble For, Part 1
It seems as if my job is always hanging in the balance. As a Bible teacher at a private Christian school, I seem to always be stepping into the crapper in one way or another. Our school is not affiliated with any one particular denomination, so we have students from across the theological spectrum...Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Charismatic, etc. While most students come from a conservative Christian background in whatever tradition, we do have quite a mix of beliefs about God, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, Church, etc. Basically, what this means is that someone is always hacked off. For example, we've actually had two families leave our school in the same month, one citing that we're too charismatic and the other that we're not charismatic enough. It's in this environment that I get the opportunity to teach the Bible.

It's funny that on most issues where someone is upset with me I most often never even get to talk with the person(s). It's a very Christian™ process. It usually goes through a channel where someone writes a letter to a principal or the headmaster with their complaints/demands, the principal and headmaster in turn meet with me, I request a meeting with the complainees, I'm told the person(s) don't like conflict and that I shouldn't approach them on it, I'm told to be careful and use wisdom in what I teach, and then we just keep going like nothing happened. If I ever do get a copy of the complaints/demands it is usually after everyone else has seen it...Principals, headmaster, local pastors, etc. No one ever approaches me personally. This whole process takes about 2-3 months.

The funny thing is that I've said plenty of things in class that could cost me my job. I've challenged wealthy students to think about whether as Christians their families should own things like lakehouses and fancy cars. I've talked about political issues. I've "cussed" in class to make points. I've challenged students to give up the American Dream of wealth and power for the dream of God's Kingdom, which is often best displayed in service and weakness. I've encouraged students to enter the mission field before going to college. Have I gotten in trouble for any of these things? Any letters of complaint? No. Not one.

The letters of complaint are typically things that I didn't say or assumptions people have made related to things things I did say. Lately I was accused of teaching that the Sermon on the Mount was irrelevant, and that Jesus probably didn't even say them...Which is 180 degrees from what I actually teach in class. I honestly think we could lose the creeds and just focus on being the kind of people Christ called us to be in Matt 5-7 (or Luke 6 and 12 for that matter).

The hardest part is that I've been told by my superiors to not even contact those with complaints. There is no opportunity for me to explain what I've taught. No opportunity to create some sort of understanding and possibly community between myself and those with issues. So they continue to view me as someone teaching false doctrine (without knowing me), and I view them with an anger and confusion than finds no outlet other than me talking with friends and writing this here. I am their heretic and they are my Pharisees...Objects and not people.

I know that many times my...er...critics aren't really looking for community, but should that affect my pursuit of it? My question to my headmaster remains one of "when do we get to be Christians?" By that I mean, when do we get to take the words of Jesus seriously. I do think they are relevant. I do think He was serious in what He said, expressing the values of living in God's Kingdom which are in total contradiction to the seeming wisdom and values of this world, where conflict is avoided and powerplays are made. Jesus said that when we have issues with brothers we should approach them. By not dealing with the issue, false images are allowed to remain. Fellowship is broken. This is exactly opposite from what I believe Christ desires for his people. No one likes conflict and it should not be pursued unncessarily, but unresolved conflict just grows and separates us. As Christians instead of running from conflict we should at times run to it and embrace it...maybe that's the only way we can truly know and embrace others.
posted by Jimmy at 12:00 PM | |

 
Something Else I Learned At Camp This Week
It's strange how people perceive wisdom or knowledge in another person. I was a guest speaker at this camp last week that had like 400 students. I think the thing that I said to students and leaders most often was, "hmmm...I don't know. What do you think?" The more I said this the more they seemed to think I knew.
posted by Jimmy at 10:02 AM | |

 
Journals, Bible Study, and Other Such Lies
I spoke at a camp last week where much time was spent talking about the devotional life. One group was told by a workshop leader: "You have to journal to have a profitable personal Bible Study."

We've come to a point where we have so little a sense of history that we actually believe that each Christian has always had a copy of the Bible...much less been able to read and write in journals. Personal Bible Study? I'm not sure Christians before the mid to late 1600's could even have afforded to own a Bible unless they were incredibly wealthy or gifted scholars. Bibles before the printing press could cost more than 10 years wages. For most of Christian history Biblical interaction has been through community...communal reading, story telling, and exposition. This is still true in many 3rd World Christian communties. Maybe that's the thing we've lost. Too much personal Bible study, too little communal Bible study. Too much of one person's view of the Bible...either my own or the pastor's or the author of some book...not enough discussion, midrash, and participation in the Biblical texts in a way where we in some sense enter into the Biblical story and find that it is our own.
posted by Jimmy at 11:59 PM | |

 


Politics are not the task of a Christian.
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Sometimes I wonder if Christians believe more in their candidates than they believe in Jesus. Temporary Messiahs proclaiming even more temporary promises. I also wonder how much division is caused in Christ's body over politics. Things haven't changed much in 2000 years...It seems like everytime some government, politician, or party uses a cross it's just to keep Him and His Body nailed up there and under control.


posted by Jimmy at 11:36 PM | |