The church in America, I believe, is in crisis. The last twenty years of seeker sensitive tactics for evangelism and similar church service methods has only exasperated the already apparent shallowness and superficial spiritual life of the American Christian. One area where the lack of spiritual wisdom and shallow discipleship has expressed itself much to the detriment of the church’s witness is the realm of politics. I have made the decision to be a contributor to RedBlueChristian in an attempt to surface the relationship between a lack of discipleship under the teachings of Jesus and how this has expressed itself in the political theatre.
A key or possibly the key text regarding the effectiveness of the witness of the church to the reality that Jesus is the promised Messiah is Matt 5:13-16:
13"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Jesus administers His Lordship over our lives through His teachings, and it is our incarnational application of these teachings in every area of our life that defines our “saltiness”. The Moral Attributes of God are revealed to those around us as we follow Jesus’ teachings in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we love and forgive in every area of our life, we are, in that moment, distinct from the world. We live by kingdom principles and not the principles of the world. If, through our ignorance, we play by the world’s rules and our character is not distinct, our interaction with the world will actually harm the cause of Christ.
Of all the virtues of Christ, none is so distinct and beautiful as His meekness. Jesus taught us that the wise and blessed man is the one who is meek and that it is the meek that shall, through faith and suffering, inherit the earth. The Christian is a person who is both filled with the life of Christ and under the Lordship of the mind of Christ. Such a person has the unique wisdom of both knowing and understanding the ways of Christ. Meekness is central to this morally distinct way. The Christian, to bear witness to the power of the Gospel in all his affairs, must make it his or her ambition to be meek.
The Question We Must Ask Ourselves
Is meekness a virtue that is seen in the Christian community’s political life? If we as a community are not generally meek in this arena of life, then, can we confess that Jesus is the Lord of all our life? If this is not our confession, we must change our approach to how we bear witness to the Gospel in the arena of politics. It is precisely our meek approach to life and our loving approach to all our adversaries that we, as Christians, are mandated to bring to the political process of our nation. To answer the question, “Are we meek in this area of life?”, we first must define meekness.
Meekness is the acceptance that in all our labors for righteousness God is in control of the results and that we need not be disturbed by the outcomes which God chooses to ordain. The meek boldly proclaim the truth and their positions, but they proclaim it without being disturbed by their adversaries. The foundation of our meekness is our knowledge that we are seen by our God and that He is able to act to vindicate His justice whenever He pleases. The meek never resort to any compromise of their integrity nor do they waver in their love for their adversaries. In short, the meek labor for righteousness, but they do not stoop to “fighting”. As followers of Jesus on the road of meekness, we maintain, like Steven, the face of an angel because, in our hearts, we behold the Lord seated at the right hand of God. Jesus was the meekest man ever to live, for, while He spoke the truth with boldness, He simultaneously did not defend Himself. Before His adversaries, He was like a lamb led to the slaughter. We are to be like our Lord in the arena of politics.
For the sake of brevity, I will limit my use of examples to but one.
The meek do not take matters into their own hands. The meek do not devise ways to obtain or maintain power which are less than honorable. In other words, the meek do not participate in gerrymandering. But, the Christian politician of our day responds, “that is politics, and, well, gerrymandering is allowed under the law”. “Gerrymandering is the prerogative of the ruling party, and, anyway, if we don’t do it ‘they’ will.”
It is precisely here that our Christian principles enter into the Christian’s politics. Meekness and love for that matter are only tested when we and our dreams and agendas have something to lose. Gerrymandering is a subtle and maybe sometimes not so subtle abuse of power. The Christian’s political behavior must be antithetical to abuse of power. Gerrymandering is but one example which surfaces one’s approach to politics. A Christian’s approach to politics, win or lose, is to follow our Lord in the way of meekness.
So, as citizens of another Kingdom and servants of another King, how do we live by these principles, the first being meekness? My prayer is that this discussion begins to answer these questions as another political season approaches.
May our witness be filled with grace and meekness to the Glory of God.
God Bless, brad
Cross posted at: RedBlueChristian.com
Monday, July 24, 2006
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Warnies and the New Warnie Aggrgator
A little Sunday Lite
To get a sense of the magnitude of the Warnie and the reaction of the BBC to the upgrades at Adrian's site go to Pyromaniacs. Or go straight to the source.
The bottom line is Adrian has dumped the aggregator and went to a list at the top of his blog to highlight Warnie winner recent posts. WOW! what a blessing.
I am constantly amazed at how my blog is so ugly and Adrian's blog and Dan's blog are so pretty. God Bless you guys...you are great bloggers.
brad
To get a sense of the magnitude of the Warnie and the reaction of the BBC to the upgrades at Adrian's site go to Pyromaniacs. Or go straight to the source.
The bottom line is Adrian has dumped the aggregator and went to a list at the top of his blog to highlight Warnie winner recent posts. WOW! what a blessing.
I am constantly amazed at how my blog is so ugly and Adrian's blog and Dan's blog are so pretty. God Bless you guys...you are great bloggers.
brad
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Treasures on Earth, Repentance, Being Critical, and Why Prophets are Persecuted?
I was having a discussion with a few friends of mine over the last few days. One of these men is my best friend from high school. He lives in Tanzania and has work most his adult life with the peace corps and with USAID. The other man is a quite successful business man. He is in real estate and owns a business with about a dozen franchises. That’s pretty big bucks. As we were talking one of the men said, “I am a generally good person”, and in fact, he probably is generally a pretty nice guy with good values.
It is funny the topic of religion was brought up by them and not me. Bringing up religion is not something the follower of Jesus really needs to do very often. I find everywhere I go people are constantly bringing up religion. I go to lunch with non-christians every day, and I never bring up religion. Nonetheless, the topic is probably the most dominant of all topics. I can even say, “Now, I didn’t bring this up ya know” and, at their initiation, launch into some scripture filled explanation of the beauty of the cross of Christ.
Anyway, so this man contends that he is a pretty good guy generally speaking. I would bet that he is, in fact, much "nicer" than I am. In fact, by the world’s standards, I am not particularly nice at all. It is this not being nice that constantly surfaces the religious questions people have. My rich friend's statement about being a generally good person was a natural self defense against my answer to another question he had asked.
The Conversation
“So what have you been doing lately?”, he asked. As you will see simple warm and pleasant conversations just tend to touch upon kingdom principles sooner or later.
“Yeah, we just moved into our new house”, I said.
“We just got a new house too. We live in La Canada. I bought my mom and dad’s house on Nice Street. Does your mom still live in Newport.”
“No, she has moved a few times. She has done pretty well for herself. From Newport to Corona del Mar to San Marino to Altadena and now she cashed out and lives in a Condo in Old town.”
“Same with us, with housing prices going up and all, we have done real well.”
“Yeah, Jane and I are looking to do some down grading. I have a vision I call from Cerritos to Compton. We started in Artesia (which is near Cerritos and is a pretty upper middle class neighborhood) and now we down graded to Bellflower. The goal is to live as simply as possible until it feels very natural to move our family to Compton or some similar underdeveloped area. Part of being a Christian is to live as simply as possible to be a witness against materialism and to be free to give sacrificially, but at the same time we struggle to perfectly live out the vision.”
“Our company does some charity work. Last year we raised 100,000 dollars for local charities.”
“That’s good money.”
“So you believe that only Christians go to heaven? I am a generally good person.”
Now, analyzing this actual conversation. From whence on God’s green earth did that question come from bout only Christians going to heaven? Well, the fact is it naturally came as a self defense from the conversation. I made a statement about my view of righteousness. Saying that my vision is to live simply. I am intentionally implying that simplicity is a virtue and that to walk with God one must seek virtue. In order to enter the kingdom, our righteousness must exceed that of the successful in life even the successful people who cloth their self-centered pursuits in religious clothing. All of this perspective is behind my natural and smooth flowing discussion about life. But such a subtext, told in story but not yet explained in principle, puts this rich man on the defensive. Without even being aware of it, his inner person is saying, “He seeks to be simple and I just spent $40,000 on a kitchen remodel”.
To his question, I answered, “It is not what I believe that matters, but Jesus did say, 'It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.'”
Now this answer might not be the best. The best answer might be (probably is) what Jesus said in a similar situation and which I have only thought of in retrospect. Maybe, I should have said, “Would you like to go to heaven?” Hopefully, he would answer. “Well I imagine it is better than the alternative.” Or maybe, a healthy American, “yes”. To this Jesus, I think, would reply, “If you want to go to heaven (inherit eternal life) then sell all your possessions and give them to the poor and follow me.” Or in our case, “Sell all your possessions and give to the poor and become a follower of Jesus, and, today, you will enter a new life that will be indestructible even by death.”
This is the proper call to salvation for these friends of mine. This call of salvation is quite different than the call we have been taught, but it is how Jesus, our Lord and Teacher, our only teacher and leader, would have addressed my friends. This is how Jesus addresses all of us today.
Today, is the day of salvation, and, apart from any work, we can have His kingdom today. Today, if we hear His voice and if we do not harden our hearts, we can enter the kingdom. The prophet, Jesus, speaks to us today. He stands and says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is within reach, today!!”.
Lord, grant us courage and power to live this life today. Let your power and your life and your faith fill our hearts and minds that we may know life and have a witness to Your present kingdom and the life of following the King of Kings - a life that is truly called "blessed".
God Bless,
brad
tags: materialism; Kingdom of God; Gospel; emerging; emerging church; House Church; religion; Christianity
It is funny the topic of religion was brought up by them and not me. Bringing up religion is not something the follower of Jesus really needs to do very often. I find everywhere I go people are constantly bringing up religion. I go to lunch with non-christians every day, and I never bring up religion. Nonetheless, the topic is probably the most dominant of all topics. I can even say, “Now, I didn’t bring this up ya know” and, at their initiation, launch into some scripture filled explanation of the beauty of the cross of Christ.
Anyway, so this man contends that he is a pretty good guy generally speaking. I would bet that he is, in fact, much "nicer" than I am. In fact, by the world’s standards, I am not particularly nice at all. It is this not being nice that constantly surfaces the religious questions people have. My rich friend's statement about being a generally good person was a natural self defense against my answer to another question he had asked.
The Conversation
“So what have you been doing lately?”, he asked. As you will see simple warm and pleasant conversations just tend to touch upon kingdom principles sooner or later.
“Yeah, we just moved into our new house”, I said.
“We just got a new house too. We live in La Canada. I bought my mom and dad’s house on Nice Street. Does your mom still live in Newport.”
“No, she has moved a few times. She has done pretty well for herself. From Newport to Corona del Mar to San Marino to Altadena and now she cashed out and lives in a Condo in Old town.”
“Same with us, with housing prices going up and all, we have done real well.”
“Yeah, Jane and I are looking to do some down grading. I have a vision I call from Cerritos to Compton. We started in Artesia (which is near Cerritos and is a pretty upper middle class neighborhood) and now we down graded to Bellflower. The goal is to live as simply as possible until it feels very natural to move our family to Compton or some similar underdeveloped area. Part of being a Christian is to live as simply as possible to be a witness against materialism and to be free to give sacrificially, but at the same time we struggle to perfectly live out the vision.”
“Our company does some charity work. Last year we raised 100,000 dollars for local charities.”
“That’s good money.”
“So you believe that only Christians go to heaven? I am a generally good person.”
Now, analyzing this actual conversation. From whence on God’s green earth did that question come from bout only Christians going to heaven? Well, the fact is it naturally came as a self defense from the conversation. I made a statement about my view of righteousness. Saying that my vision is to live simply. I am intentionally implying that simplicity is a virtue and that to walk with God one must seek virtue. In order to enter the kingdom, our righteousness must exceed that of the successful in life even the successful people who cloth their self-centered pursuits in religious clothing. All of this perspective is behind my natural and smooth flowing discussion about life. But such a subtext, told in story but not yet explained in principle, puts this rich man on the defensive. Without even being aware of it, his inner person is saying, “He seeks to be simple and I just spent $40,000 on a kitchen remodel”.
To his question, I answered, “It is not what I believe that matters, but Jesus did say, 'It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.'”
Now this answer might not be the best. The best answer might be (probably is) what Jesus said in a similar situation and which I have only thought of in retrospect. Maybe, I should have said, “Would you like to go to heaven?” Hopefully, he would answer. “Well I imagine it is better than the alternative.” Or maybe, a healthy American, “yes”. To this Jesus, I think, would reply, “If you want to go to heaven (inherit eternal life) then sell all your possessions and give them to the poor and follow me.” Or in our case, “Sell all your possessions and give to the poor and become a follower of Jesus, and, today, you will enter a new life that will be indestructible even by death.”
This is the proper call to salvation for these friends of mine. This call of salvation is quite different than the call we have been taught, but it is how Jesus, our Lord and Teacher, our only teacher and leader, would have addressed my friends. This is how Jesus addresses all of us today.
Today, is the day of salvation, and, apart from any work, we can have His kingdom today. Today, if we hear His voice and if we do not harden our hearts, we can enter the kingdom. The prophet, Jesus, speaks to us today. He stands and says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is within reach, today!!”.
Lord, grant us courage and power to live this life today. Let your power and your life and your faith fill our hearts and minds that we may know life and have a witness to Your present kingdom and the life of following the King of Kings - a life that is truly called "blessed".
God Bless,
brad
tags: materialism; Kingdom of God; Gospel; emerging; emerging church; House Church; religion; Christianity
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Kalin Block Party - Long Beach
More PicturesThis party was just wonderful. Our goal, at least mine, is to do this kinda thing at least monthly. For some reason, as a pastor, this kinda thing never materialized, but, now that we are just a small group, we seem much more flexible.
A Simple Map of Free, Partly Free and Not Free Countries
Center for Religious Freedom...
(HT: Gideon Strauss)
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free". The idea that true virtue only follows freedom and internal motivations is central to Christianity as opposed to Statist ideas of virtue or for example Islam's actual effect of social driven or honor driven virtue. Social and political fear does not produce virtue.
I am celebrating not being "the Man" this fourth of July. The hope is that the freedom from all social obligation and pursuit that is central to the cultivation of virtue just may have a sanctifying effect on my soul.
The Gospel like no other mesage centers on the sancifying effect of freedom. "The Law Paul says is not for the righteous but the unrighteous". Dallas Willard says God desires for us to do whatever we want. The point is the same, since we are filled with God's Spirit, if we are free of all fear of any reprisal we will be free to be truly virtuous as we follow our first love in the Spirit. Let the love out!!!!
God Bless,
brad
(HT: Gideon Strauss)
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free". The idea that true virtue only follows freedom and internal motivations is central to Christianity as opposed to Statist ideas of virtue or for example Islam's actual effect of social driven or honor driven virtue. Social and political fear does not produce virtue.
I am celebrating not being "the Man" this fourth of July. The hope is that the freedom from all social obligation and pursuit that is central to the cultivation of virtue just may have a sanctifying effect on my soul.
The Gospel like no other mesage centers on the sancifying effect of freedom. "The Law Paul says is not for the righteous but the unrighteous". Dallas Willard says God desires for us to do whatever we want. The point is the same, since we are filled with God's Spirit, if we are free of all fear of any reprisal we will be free to be truly virtuous as we follow our first love in the Spirit. Let the love out!!!!
God Bless,
brad
Monday, July 03, 2006
Adrian's Blog on Blogging and On Blogging from Me
Adrian's Blog
As is obvious, I do not blog as intensely as I used to...but maybe that could change. I read this post by Adrian and see how he has some good things going:
1. He uses technology very well: lots of tags and lots of categories. This allows him to have numerous projects going on simultaneously. This is how the 21st Century mind works. We have many projects in the air at the same time and we move some of them forward every day and others forward on other days. Ultimately, the projects get done. So too with blogging IF WE ORGANIZE PROPERLY!!! Adrian uses organization tools and technology to help his efforts have more focus and effectiveness.
2. Adrian has an administrative assistant. So to run his blog Adrian uses a helper to do all the work of getting links and beefing up his organization of his projects. WOW this is a powerful combination. So ....
If anyone in LA thinks they are interested in helping me change my blog and start utilizing technology and all that is needed to have a good blog...well maybe the reformation would be better for it...
brad
As is obvious, I do not blog as intensely as I used to...but maybe that could change. I read this post by Adrian and see how he has some good things going:
1. He uses technology very well: lots of tags and lots of categories. This allows him to have numerous projects going on simultaneously. This is how the 21st Century mind works. We have many projects in the air at the same time and we move some of them forward every day and others forward on other days. Ultimately, the projects get done. So too with blogging IF WE ORGANIZE PROPERLY!!! Adrian uses organization tools and technology to help his efforts have more focus and effectiveness.
2. Adrian has an administrative assistant. So to run his blog Adrian uses a helper to do all the work of getting links and beefing up his organization of his projects. WOW this is a powerful combination. So ....
If anyone in LA thinks they are interested in helping me change my blog and start utilizing technology and all that is needed to have a good blog...well maybe the reformation would be better for it...
brad
Thursday, June 29, 2006
The Kingdom of Heaven - A Daily Faith
This post is a part of a larger essay I am working on. It was proceeded by some paragraphs on what "poor in spirit" means and is considering the richness of the promise "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".
...............................
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”
Here is possibly the grandest promise of all Scriptures. All the moral beauty of the Kingdom of heaven is promised to the poor in Spirit. This promise is our faith.
We believe in the immediate presence of the Kingdom of God to those who put their faith in the person, power and principles of Jesus Christ. We believe that the Kingdom of God is present for those who immediately, today, moment by moment, acknowledge to God their absolute spiritual poverty. We believe that the Messiah Jesus pours out His Holy Spirit into the poor in Spirit that He might do for them what they cannot do for themselves. He makes us and our loved ones beautiful from the inside out. He does this without respect to anything that man respects. He is no respecter of persons. He meets the spiritual hunger of the financially rich and the financially poor and even the middle class. He meets the spiritual need of the respectable and the despised. He calls His own not the black or the white or the brown or the yellow or red, terms which man has invented to their own detriment, but He shares His inheritance with those who realize that one’s nature is filled with all types of uncleanness and vile motives and thoughts. We know and understand that we cannot change our nature. Can a leopard change his spots? So we have chosen a path of hopelessness with respect to our own ability to reform ourselves. We will never change so long as we rely on our own will power or self knowledge.
And then the follower of Jesus hears these words from the Messiah, the Savior of the World. We are like the woman at the well. The problem we find ourselves in morally is not the first time down this road. We are who we are…Then the Messiah says to us, “He who drinks the water that I give shall never thirst and shall have flowing out of them living water, over flowing”. So too we respond, “Where can I find this water?”
This water is the power of the Holy Spirit. Our problem is a total lack of power. We could dream dreams of righteousness. We could make new resolutions. We could even pray for help from God. But we found ourselves walking in circles and in fact we were digging ourselves in a hole. Now we hear this promise and we are willing to give it a try.
Jesus by saying that the Kingdom of heaven is available to the poor in spirit is saying in essence, “OK, I have seen your attempts at self reformation. Now let me show you the work of My Spirit in your life”. Truly, unless the LORD builds the house those who labor labor in vain.
This first principle of the kingdom that the poor in spirit are blessed, that we must have an abiding knowledge of our own spiritual poverty is like a coin with two sides. One side is the principle of powerlessness and the other is the side of faith in the power of the Holy Spirit whom the Messiah gives freely to all who acknowledge their powerlessness.
Mourning and Moral Beauty
In the old Puritan days, it was understood that to see one’s sinfulness clearly was a good sign of spiritual awakening. This honest acknowledgement before God of our wretched history is the blessing of mourning. We see that we are not beautiful on the inside at all. We are filled with lusts for prominence or material possessions. We live possibly a life of personal and private happiness and realize that this is self-serving and selfish. We see the true calling to care for the poor of the world and to serve God. We see that we are not submissive wives or pictures of virtue for our children. In all things in fact, we are hypocrites. I for one speak of generosity and simplicity but I lack faith often to sacrifice my treasures for the needy. We have habits that rob us of true happiness. We know the feeling of shame that follows sin. In fact, we know this feeling all too well. We may know what it is like to be drunk or intoxicated. Other may know what it is like to be drunk with lust or anger. Or what it is like to feel “hung over” after a long argument that started over some petty matter. We were crossed and we were offended. So we defended ourselves and found ourselves unable to control our tongue. We may be manipulative and controlling using all sorts of passive aggressive means from self pity to any matter of ways of withholding our peace. In short, we find that we are not morally beautiful or spiritually beautiful.
So here is the promise. “I will make you morally beautiful.”, says Jesus Christ the Messiah. We are the woman at the well, indeed.
Picture, yourself as a consistently loving and gentle person. Picture what a blessing you could be if your mouth always spoke from the heart encouraging words. Imagine a life without regret and guilt and shame. Jesus Christ can do this for you and for me for He is the one who pours out into us His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the life of God in our soul. The Holy Spirit is the life of Jesus Christ. We can live like Jesus Christ. Who can live like Jesus Christ? The poor in spirit. The one’s who mourn over their moral depravity and utter moral failures. We who realize our utter hopelessness and have come to an end of all foolish attempts to reform ourselves can have the very Moral Beauty of Jesus Christ displayed through us.
Are you as morally depraved as the prostitute on the street corner? I am worse. Far worse. I am a pastor and, left to myself, in time, I will do worse than her if I would not be found out. What about the gangster executioner with no moral qualms at all. We have other means but do we not harm other in a million ways. If we thought such methods would work to bring ourselves prominence in our social setting, like the young man who shoots an innocent by-stander, we would do the same. Same game; different rules. Same theme; different plot, scene, and actors but still the same heart that motivates us all.
To us, who forsake all attempts to bring this dead man from utter depravity to some semblance of sanity and moral health, to us, who find that the years bring not a progressive growth in righteousness but find that the “old man is being corrupted daily”, to us there is a glorious exchange - our filthy rags for His moral excellence and perfect love.
The Messiah has come and He is all around us pouring out His Holy Spirit on the poor beggars who rend their hearts and cry out, “Woe to me a sinner!!! Only say the word and I shall be healed”. The Holy Spirit!!! The Holy Spirit is within reach. He is immediately present that we might feel the love of God for us and flowing through us to others. A foolish notion. A dream. We who are so weak are going to find that this weakness is a great asset in spiritual matters. It is when we are weak that He is strong.
Picture the immediate presence of God’s love. Picture the most beautiful scene in all creation. Picture Yosemite Valley. This beauty is God’s handiwork. And you too are His workmanship. The power of God which meets our powerlessness is there to help us moment by moment to live the life of Jesus Christ. We follow Him because He feeds us from His hand. We follow Him because we are spiritual beggars. He has the words of eternal life that lead us out of our natural way of thinking. We follow Him because we are so destitute without His power, a power that He gives one day at a time like the manna in the wilderness. We follow Him because we know that if we do not we could so easily find ourselves in a shameful circumstance. Truly our weakness is one of our greatest gifts. Now, we have found a solution that meets our spiritual need. We have found the kingdom of heaven. We have found a power from the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ Himself. We find this power as we come to accept our own powerlessness.
To God be the Glory, Amen.
...............................
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”
Here is possibly the grandest promise of all Scriptures. All the moral beauty of the Kingdom of heaven is promised to the poor in Spirit. This promise is our faith.
We believe in the immediate presence of the Kingdom of God to those who put their faith in the person, power and principles of Jesus Christ. We believe that the Kingdom of God is present for those who immediately, today, moment by moment, acknowledge to God their absolute spiritual poverty. We believe that the Messiah Jesus pours out His Holy Spirit into the poor in Spirit that He might do for them what they cannot do for themselves. He makes us and our loved ones beautiful from the inside out. He does this without respect to anything that man respects. He is no respecter of persons. He meets the spiritual hunger of the financially rich and the financially poor and even the middle class. He meets the spiritual need of the respectable and the despised. He calls His own not the black or the white or the brown or the yellow or red, terms which man has invented to their own detriment, but He shares His inheritance with those who realize that one’s nature is filled with all types of uncleanness and vile motives and thoughts. We know and understand that we cannot change our nature. Can a leopard change his spots? So we have chosen a path of hopelessness with respect to our own ability to reform ourselves. We will never change so long as we rely on our own will power or self knowledge.
And then the follower of Jesus hears these words from the Messiah, the Savior of the World. We are like the woman at the well. The problem we find ourselves in morally is not the first time down this road. We are who we are…Then the Messiah says to us, “He who drinks the water that I give shall never thirst and shall have flowing out of them living water, over flowing”. So too we respond, “Where can I find this water?”
This water is the power of the Holy Spirit. Our problem is a total lack of power. We could dream dreams of righteousness. We could make new resolutions. We could even pray for help from God. But we found ourselves walking in circles and in fact we were digging ourselves in a hole. Now we hear this promise and we are willing to give it a try.
Jesus by saying that the Kingdom of heaven is available to the poor in spirit is saying in essence, “OK, I have seen your attempts at self reformation. Now let me show you the work of My Spirit in your life”. Truly, unless the LORD builds the house those who labor labor in vain.
This first principle of the kingdom that the poor in spirit are blessed, that we must have an abiding knowledge of our own spiritual poverty is like a coin with two sides. One side is the principle of powerlessness and the other is the side of faith in the power of the Holy Spirit whom the Messiah gives freely to all who acknowledge their powerlessness.
Mourning and Moral Beauty
In the old Puritan days, it was understood that to see one’s sinfulness clearly was a good sign of spiritual awakening. This honest acknowledgement before God of our wretched history is the blessing of mourning. We see that we are not beautiful on the inside at all. We are filled with lusts for prominence or material possessions. We live possibly a life of personal and private happiness and realize that this is self-serving and selfish. We see the true calling to care for the poor of the world and to serve God. We see that we are not submissive wives or pictures of virtue for our children. In all things in fact, we are hypocrites. I for one speak of generosity and simplicity but I lack faith often to sacrifice my treasures for the needy. We have habits that rob us of true happiness. We know the feeling of shame that follows sin. In fact, we know this feeling all too well. We may know what it is like to be drunk or intoxicated. Other may know what it is like to be drunk with lust or anger. Or what it is like to feel “hung over” after a long argument that started over some petty matter. We were crossed and we were offended. So we defended ourselves and found ourselves unable to control our tongue. We may be manipulative and controlling using all sorts of passive aggressive means from self pity to any matter of ways of withholding our peace. In short, we find that we are not morally beautiful or spiritually beautiful.
So here is the promise. “I will make you morally beautiful.”, says Jesus Christ the Messiah. We are the woman at the well, indeed.
Picture, yourself as a consistently loving and gentle person. Picture what a blessing you could be if your mouth always spoke from the heart encouraging words. Imagine a life without regret and guilt and shame. Jesus Christ can do this for you and for me for He is the one who pours out into us His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the life of God in our soul. The Holy Spirit is the life of Jesus Christ. We can live like Jesus Christ. Who can live like Jesus Christ? The poor in spirit. The one’s who mourn over their moral depravity and utter moral failures. We who realize our utter hopelessness and have come to an end of all foolish attempts to reform ourselves can have the very Moral Beauty of Jesus Christ displayed through us.
Are you as morally depraved as the prostitute on the street corner? I am worse. Far worse. I am a pastor and, left to myself, in time, I will do worse than her if I would not be found out. What about the gangster executioner with no moral qualms at all. We have other means but do we not harm other in a million ways. If we thought such methods would work to bring ourselves prominence in our social setting, like the young man who shoots an innocent by-stander, we would do the same. Same game; different rules. Same theme; different plot, scene, and actors but still the same heart that motivates us all.
To us, who forsake all attempts to bring this dead man from utter depravity to some semblance of sanity and moral health, to us, who find that the years bring not a progressive growth in righteousness but find that the “old man is being corrupted daily”, to us there is a glorious exchange - our filthy rags for His moral excellence and perfect love.
The Messiah has come and He is all around us pouring out His Holy Spirit on the poor beggars who rend their hearts and cry out, “Woe to me a sinner!!! Only say the word and I shall be healed”. The Holy Spirit!!! The Holy Spirit is within reach. He is immediately present that we might feel the love of God for us and flowing through us to others. A foolish notion. A dream. We who are so weak are going to find that this weakness is a great asset in spiritual matters. It is when we are weak that He is strong.
Picture the immediate presence of God’s love. Picture the most beautiful scene in all creation. Picture Yosemite Valley. This beauty is God’s handiwork. And you too are His workmanship. The power of God which meets our powerlessness is there to help us moment by moment to live the life of Jesus Christ. We follow Him because He feeds us from His hand. We follow Him because we are spiritual beggars. He has the words of eternal life that lead us out of our natural way of thinking. We follow Him because we are so destitute without His power, a power that He gives one day at a time like the manna in the wilderness. We follow Him because we know that if we do not we could so easily find ourselves in a shameful circumstance. Truly our weakness is one of our greatest gifts. Now, we have found a solution that meets our spiritual need. We have found the kingdom of heaven. We have found a power from the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ Himself. We find this power as we come to accept our own powerlessness.
To God be the Glory, Amen.
Monday, June 12, 2006
News on Our Ministry
I thought since the nature of this blog has changed a lot in the past six months that I ought to share a bit of personal history. I am no longer serving as pastor at Trinity CRC. We, our small group, are looking into church planting and home church models but are yet undecided. We still are members of Trinity and love the church dearly, but I am no longer the pastor.
So that is all you will hear about that...so from now on when I say "our church", I will mean "our home church" or "our small group". For me, the term church means the people with whom I am working out discipleship and mission. Let the reformation continue!!!!
What we are currently doing church wise.
1. I feel the idea of church shopping is not a covenantal approach to faith. As human beings, we are fundamentally social and relational beings. The church is the people we live with. So together with the people that we have lived out our faith over the last 3 years, we will pray and ask the Lord what is the next step in expanding the kingdom in our time and space.
2. My first guess is that we have learned discipleship very deeply in the last 2 years and now it is time to learn MISSION MISSION MISSION.
3. For me, my fishing pole is music. So much of my time in this next year will be spent in helping our small group live out the mission of bringing the person, the power, and the principles of Jesus Christ to our immediate neighbors by playing music...and creating a nuisance.
God Bless, brad
So that is all you will hear about that...so from now on when I say "our church", I will mean "our home church" or "our small group". For me, the term church means the people with whom I am working out discipleship and mission. Let the reformation continue!!!!
What we are currently doing church wise.
1. I feel the idea of church shopping is not a covenantal approach to faith. As human beings, we are fundamentally social and relational beings. The church is the people we live with. So together with the people that we have lived out our faith over the last 3 years, we will pray and ask the Lord what is the next step in expanding the kingdom in our time and space.
2. My first guess is that we have learned discipleship very deeply in the last 2 years and now it is time to learn MISSION MISSION MISSION.
3. For me, my fishing pole is music. So much of my time in this next year will be spent in helping our small group live out the mission of bringing the person, the power, and the principles of Jesus Christ to our immediate neighbors by playing music...and creating a nuisance.
God Bless, brad
Sunday, June 11, 2006
JOLLYBLOGGER: Defining Neocalvinism?
JOLLYBLOGGER: Defining Neocalvinism? read the comments.
On Neo-Calvinism
Lots of talk about what blogs and books to read. I personally do not know enough about neo-calvinism to be too positive. Neo-Calvinism tends to be non-ecclesiastical, and I believe our only vocation is in the church. So naturally, I trend away from neo-Calvinism.
On Neo-Calvinism
Lots of talk about what blogs and books to read. I personally do not know enough about neo-calvinism to be too positive. Neo-Calvinism tends to be non-ecclesiastical, and I believe our only vocation is in the church. So naturally, I trend away from neo-Calvinism.
Friday, June 02, 2006
The Mechanism of Discpleship
A few links to old posts on method:
In Defense of Method
Discipleship 101
The Mechanism of Discpleship
In this post I would like to discuss the concept of mechanism. A mechanism is the tool in which the method is delivered. The combination of method and mechanism is necessary to effectively disciple. The mechanism of all discipleship is community. It is the community of believers and our relationships in the culture of the body of Christ through which the discipleship teachings of Jesus are delivered. The way of Jesus Christ is caught not taught. Or more precisely the mechanism for teaching is socialization in community. We learn by doing not by hearing. As we live together, we learn a new life and a new story of what it means to be truly human together.
This community life is the life of the small group of the home church.
The Mechanism of Discipleship is the Home Church.
I use the term home church as opposed to small group here only because we often have many preconceived notions concerning small group. To many of us we associate small group with something, we do once a week and which is primarily bible study. In this model, the sermon or academic method is used but the building is a home as opposed to an auditorium. The method is the same as the sermon. Because this model is not the model I am speaking of here, I refrain from using the term small group and instead use home church. The home church is the place where we live and accomplish mission together. The purpose of home church is community and mission and not just the dissemination of information. Home church is to mechanism for discipleship and discipleship is the learning of a new way of life which is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. We learn this new and spiritual way of power and mission and love in the context of the family of home church. Though bible study happens in “home church”, the purpose of home church is not bible study but discipleship and mission. Home church is the mechanism of discipleship. If we are to use the term small group, I would qualify this and say the monastic and missional small group.
The Necessity of Immersion – The New Monastic
If anyone has ever attempted to change some aspect of their character or has struggled with addictions, then you understand how difficult change is. Discipleship is about this level of dramatic change of our approach to life. Loving our enemies, not worrying about tomorrow, ceasing to lust after the world, living in love and fearlessness is a totally new way of life. I find that I personally need to be encouraged every day if I am to maintain such a spiritual perspective. It is absolutely impossible to change alone. Instead what we need is total immersion in a new culture. This new culture is the home church.
(Note: By home church, I am not intending to imply something which necessarily excludes a traditional Sunday church celebration.)
Today, our home church only meets weekly, but I find for my own spiritual walk this is completely inadequate. I need total immersion. I have friends who are seeking to maintain their spiritual program and spiritual walk, and they find that they forget from week to week. They find that their spiritual life ebbs and flows. This experience is due to the lack of total immersion. If we are to bring freedom to people, we must be able to offer them total immersion in the life of the kingdom through the mechanism of the home church.
My goal is to provide for those who seek it both a method and a mechanism to enter into the kingdom of God – a truly happy and heavenly quality of life. That method is found in the Sermon on the Mount and the principles of discipleship and the mechanism is the home church or monastic and missional small group.
In Defense of Method
Discipleship 101
The Mechanism of Discpleship
In this post I would like to discuss the concept of mechanism. A mechanism is the tool in which the method is delivered. The combination of method and mechanism is necessary to effectively disciple. The mechanism of all discipleship is community. It is the community of believers and our relationships in the culture of the body of Christ through which the discipleship teachings of Jesus are delivered. The way of Jesus Christ is caught not taught. Or more precisely the mechanism for teaching is socialization in community. We learn by doing not by hearing. As we live together, we learn a new life and a new story of what it means to be truly human together.
This community life is the life of the small group of the home church.
The Mechanism of Discipleship is the Home Church.
I use the term home church as opposed to small group here only because we often have many preconceived notions concerning small group. To many of us we associate small group with something, we do once a week and which is primarily bible study. In this model, the sermon or academic method is used but the building is a home as opposed to an auditorium. The method is the same as the sermon. Because this model is not the model I am speaking of here, I refrain from using the term small group and instead use home church. The home church is the place where we live and accomplish mission together. The purpose of home church is community and mission and not just the dissemination of information. Home church is to mechanism for discipleship and discipleship is the learning of a new way of life which is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. We learn this new and spiritual way of power and mission and love in the context of the family of home church. Though bible study happens in “home church”, the purpose of home church is not bible study but discipleship and mission. Home church is the mechanism of discipleship. If we are to use the term small group, I would qualify this and say the monastic and missional small group.
The Necessity of Immersion – The New Monastic
If anyone has ever attempted to change some aspect of their character or has struggled with addictions, then you understand how difficult change is. Discipleship is about this level of dramatic change of our approach to life. Loving our enemies, not worrying about tomorrow, ceasing to lust after the world, living in love and fearlessness is a totally new way of life. I find that I personally need to be encouraged every day if I am to maintain such a spiritual perspective. It is absolutely impossible to change alone. Instead what we need is total immersion in a new culture. This new culture is the home church.
(Note: By home church, I am not intending to imply something which necessarily excludes a traditional Sunday church celebration.)
Today, our home church only meets weekly, but I find for my own spiritual walk this is completely inadequate. I need total immersion. I have friends who are seeking to maintain their spiritual program and spiritual walk, and they find that they forget from week to week. They find that their spiritual life ebbs and flows. This experience is due to the lack of total immersion. If we are to bring freedom to people, we must be able to offer them total immersion in the life of the kingdom through the mechanism of the home church.
My goal is to provide for those who seek it both a method and a mechanism to enter into the kingdom of God – a truly happy and heavenly quality of life. That method is found in the Sermon on the Mount and the principles of discipleship and the mechanism is the home church or monastic and missional small group.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Miscellanies on the Gospel on the Da Vinci Code
Da Vinci Code and Historical Christianity - Part 4
Rob Wilkerson does a great job reviewing the historical record and the fictional book the Da Vinci Code. Very good treatment.
Da Vinci Code and Historical Christianity - Part 1
Da Vinci Code and Historical Christianity - Part 2
Da Vinci Code and Historical Christianity - Part 3
brad
Rob Wilkerson does a great job reviewing the historical record and the fictional book the Da Vinci Code. Very good treatment.
Da Vinci Code and Historical Christianity - Part 1
Da Vinci Code and Historical Christianity - Part 2
Da Vinci Code and Historical Christianity - Part 3
brad
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Link - incarnation's Living
Common Grounds Online: Corey Widmer, The Trial of the Incarnation
This is a good article about a faith community facing the difficulty of living in a more dangerous neighborhood.
As for our family, we have six kids, and we live at times with strangers in our home. This poses a similar dilemma. The question is what do you want your kids to learn is Godliness. Is it Godly to avoid the beaten up people of the world and move to the other side of the street or is it best to draw near to the broken and bind their wounds. If we teach the former, we teach our children a gospel of worldly comfort and isolation, but if we teach the latter we teach the compassion and love of God. Sure there is a price to teach this about God but if God had been this protective of His Son, Jesus would never have moved to our neighborhood and suffered with and for us.
This is a good article about a faith community facing the difficulty of living in a more dangerous neighborhood.
As for our family, we have six kids, and we live at times with strangers in our home. This poses a similar dilemma. The question is what do you want your kids to learn is Godliness. Is it Godly to avoid the beaten up people of the world and move to the other side of the street or is it best to draw near to the broken and bind their wounds. If we teach the former, we teach our children a gospel of worldly comfort and isolation, but if we teach the latter we teach the compassion and love of God. Sure there is a price to teach this about God but if God had been this protective of His Son, Jesus would never have moved to our neighborhood and suffered with and for us.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
A Fool for Christ and His Money
A disciple of Jesus is someone who is learning to follow the sayings of Jesus through the power of His life. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But this yoke is not ease like the world sees ease. His peace is not like the peace and ease the world can give a man. But His yoke is the only true path to peace and service that abides in a love from the heart. His yoke is the cross.
Jesus’ sayings about Money
Do not Store up Treasures on Earth
Jesus’ first and foremost saying about money is very simple. Do not store up treasures on earth. This is a very simple command. It means do not store up treasures on earth. For where your treasure is so too is your heart. Those Hebrew rabbis were a very practical bunch. Some think Jesus is saying, if you treasure something then there is your heart. But that is a nonsense or no value statement. Jesus is not saying “where your heart is there your heart is” of “if your heart is in earthly things, then your heart is in earthly things”. No Jesus is saying that you know a tree by its fruit and if you have treasures on earth then that shows objectively that your heart is carnal and worldly. If we have lots of stuff, then it means we are valuing things by the world’s definitions of values. Our kingdom values and principles are the exact opposite of the worlds values. Simply, we as Christians value people over things.
A treasure is defined as a luxury item. If you have a choice to spend 1000 on something you do not need like a nicer car or a room addition on your home and you spend your money on this thing that can rust and corrode, then you are storing up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy. It is that simple.
1 John says that “if we have material possessions, and behold our brother in need and do not meet that need then we do not possess the love of God” This saying too is quite easy to understand. If you are aware of a human need and you have material possessions then we share them. Well, there is a great deal of need out there, so the job of the good steward is not to withhold from one but to give to the most likely to receive in a worthy manner. Our job in the service of God is to be generous – wisely.
So many close there hands because they deem the one’s that we gave too in the past are not worthy. This I think is only acceptable if your funds are already earmarked for a worthy candidate.
Jesus said use your money in such a way that when you enter heavenly dwellings many will greet you with open arms. To give in such a way, extravagantly so that people will rejoice when they see you in heaven requires that the both extravagance and wisdom. All our money is dedicated to the kingdom and all our money is dedicated to meeting the needs of others. My only need for money is to provide for my personal food and shelter but other than that we ought to provide the necessities of those around us. We provide for our families food and shelter and for the poor Christians around the world and for the poor who are in desperate need as a result of the injustices of the world.
So what does this look like?
Well, it seems very simple to me.
First, we need to be very compassion focused in our money. The command is to be understood as denying self as an end in itself but taking up our cross and denying ourselves for the sake of the world. Jesus didn’t die on the cross as an act of religious piety but was driven by love for a lost and dying world in need of communion with the Father and power from the Holy Spirit. We are not driven by guilt and obligation but love and compassion.
Go
So we start with doing ministry and opening our eyes to the world. If we see as Jesus sees and we see the heart of God and the reward in heaven for those who give away a cup of cold water, we will live a life of simplicity in order to be as extravagant and as wisely generous as possible.
Disciple the Kids
We will not feel compelled to give our children treasures as in luxury items like cell phones and iPods but we will lead them to become disciples by our example. If my child see the no which I say to them as a yes I am saying the poor all around us then they too will find the mission of the Kingdom with us.
Play the Field
We sow lots of seed. If we feel that our giving is not always so wise then find some other people group to empower and develop economically. Get involved in a “worthy” cause.
Live By Different Values
There are millions of way to decrease your monthly budget. Live in community. If our goal is to be more generous every year and not to grow in wealth, we will never think of upgrading. Simplicity for the sake of the suffering of the world.
The End of All This Compassionate Lifestyle
The end of all of these sayings of Jesus is a life without fear. The world’s security comes from money. The world creates safety with a monetary safety net but we trust in the Lord. Jesus speaking of the life of generosity said, “Yeah of little faith. Look at the lilies of the field. They do not store in barns and their heavenly father clothes them.” God can do for you in terms of providing peace far better than the world. He can do for you what you could not do for yourself and the end of this faith is a life of communion with God and the peace and joy of the Kingdom.
God Bless,
brad
Jesus’ sayings about Money
Do not Store up Treasures on Earth
Jesus’ first and foremost saying about money is very simple. Do not store up treasures on earth. This is a very simple command. It means do not store up treasures on earth. For where your treasure is so too is your heart. Those Hebrew rabbis were a very practical bunch. Some think Jesus is saying, if you treasure something then there is your heart. But that is a nonsense or no value statement. Jesus is not saying “where your heart is there your heart is” of “if your heart is in earthly things, then your heart is in earthly things”. No Jesus is saying that you know a tree by its fruit and if you have treasures on earth then that shows objectively that your heart is carnal and worldly. If we have lots of stuff, then it means we are valuing things by the world’s definitions of values. Our kingdom values and principles are the exact opposite of the worlds values. Simply, we as Christians value people over things.
A treasure is defined as a luxury item. If you have a choice to spend 1000 on something you do not need like a nicer car or a room addition on your home and you spend your money on this thing that can rust and corrode, then you are storing up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy. It is that simple.
1 John says that “if we have material possessions, and behold our brother in need and do not meet that need then we do not possess the love of God” This saying too is quite easy to understand. If you are aware of a human need and you have material possessions then we share them. Well, there is a great deal of need out there, so the job of the good steward is not to withhold from one but to give to the most likely to receive in a worthy manner. Our job in the service of God is to be generous – wisely.
So many close there hands because they deem the one’s that we gave too in the past are not worthy. This I think is only acceptable if your funds are already earmarked for a worthy candidate.
Jesus said use your money in such a way that when you enter heavenly dwellings many will greet you with open arms. To give in such a way, extravagantly so that people will rejoice when they see you in heaven requires that the both extravagance and wisdom. All our money is dedicated to the kingdom and all our money is dedicated to meeting the needs of others. My only need for money is to provide for my personal food and shelter but other than that we ought to provide the necessities of those around us. We provide for our families food and shelter and for the poor Christians around the world and for the poor who are in desperate need as a result of the injustices of the world.
So what does this look like?
Well, it seems very simple to me.
First, we need to be very compassion focused in our money. The command is to be understood as denying self as an end in itself but taking up our cross and denying ourselves for the sake of the world. Jesus didn’t die on the cross as an act of religious piety but was driven by love for a lost and dying world in need of communion with the Father and power from the Holy Spirit. We are not driven by guilt and obligation but love and compassion.
Go
So we start with doing ministry and opening our eyes to the world. If we see as Jesus sees and we see the heart of God and the reward in heaven for those who give away a cup of cold water, we will live a life of simplicity in order to be as extravagant and as wisely generous as possible.
Disciple the Kids
We will not feel compelled to give our children treasures as in luxury items like cell phones and iPods but we will lead them to become disciples by our example. If my child see the no which I say to them as a yes I am saying the poor all around us then they too will find the mission of the Kingdom with us.
Play the Field
We sow lots of seed. If we feel that our giving is not always so wise then find some other people group to empower and develop economically. Get involved in a “worthy” cause.
Live By Different Values
There are millions of way to decrease your monthly budget. Live in community. If our goal is to be more generous every year and not to grow in wealth, we will never think of upgrading. Simplicity for the sake of the suffering of the world.
The End of All This Compassionate Lifestyle
The end of all of these sayings of Jesus is a life without fear. The world’s security comes from money. The world creates safety with a monetary safety net but we trust in the Lord. Jesus speaking of the life of generosity said, “Yeah of little faith. Look at the lilies of the field. They do not store in barns and their heavenly father clothes them.” God can do for you in terms of providing peace far better than the world. He can do for you what you could not do for yourself and the end of this faith is a life of communion with God and the peace and joy of the Kingdom.
God Bless,
brad
Saturday, May 20, 2006
The Muratorian Fragment - The Canon and the Da Vinci Code
The Muratorian Fragment
In The Da Vinci Code, Brown makes assertions that Constantine choose the books of the bible. This is just willful ignorance or worse. For example, The Muratorian Fragment is accepted as being written about 170AD and lists the books of the bible almost exactly as they are accepted today. The only issues unresolved were the issues regarding "the disputed books" which are basically Hebrews, James and 2nd and 3rd John. None of these councils are news to any student of history. None of the "other gospels" were ever considered, and, even as early as 170AD, we can see that the basic rules for being seen as worthy of being read in church are clear. Was the book written in the age of the apostles and by a credible witness?
The Da Vinci Code simply plays on people's fancies and ignorance. I will write more simple pieces on this movie and novel as I feel I can add a simple concise analysis which might be helpful.
For more information see here...The Canon and the Disputed Books
In The Da Vinci Code, Brown makes assertions that Constantine choose the books of the bible. This is just willful ignorance or worse. For example, The Muratorian Fragment is accepted as being written about 170AD and lists the books of the bible almost exactly as they are accepted today. The only issues unresolved were the issues regarding "the disputed books" which are basically Hebrews, James and 2nd and 3rd John. None of these councils are news to any student of history. None of the "other gospels" were ever considered, and, even as early as 170AD, we can see that the basic rules for being seen as worthy of being read in church are clear. Was the book written in the age of the apostles and by a credible witness?
The Da Vinci Code simply plays on people's fancies and ignorance. I will write more simple pieces on this movie and novel as I feel I can add a simple concise analysis which might be helpful.
For more information see here...The Canon and the Disputed Books
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Matisyahu - 2006 Tour Review
Matisyahu played the Weenie Roast in LA this weekend. I have been looking for a review. I only found this great review from an earlier show in the tour. Here is a great reviewReview from March 2006.
Also, here are some great pics..
Friday, May 12, 2006
Fearlessness - “What if Jesus had Played His Politics Better?”
When Jesus stood before Pilate some very telling words were spoken by the politician to the prophet. Pilate said, “Do you not know that I have the power to grant your freedom or to crucify you?” To this Jesus said, “You only have the power my Father gives you.” (John 19:10-11). Here is the juxtaposition of the natural man and the spiritual man, the carnal mind and the mind of Christ, the political way and the way of truth. The reality is that Jesus was the only truly free man precisely because He did not live in the fear of people’s opinions or the fear of man. Jesus does not defend Himself. Jesus does not consider how He can save His life. Jesus doesn’t manipulate or place some political duress on Pilate. Instead, Jesus tests Pilate’s commitment to truth and justice.
Another conversation between the politician and the prophet is equally revealing of the contrast of these two ways, the political and the spiritual. Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this realm. If it were my servants would be fighting. Indeed, to be a king I came into this world. For this reason I came into the world, to testify of the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
There is a political realm in which men succeed, and there is a spiritual realm in which men succeed. You cannot have both. These two ways are at enmity with each other. Eventually, and actually quite often, the truth will contradict political considerations. The truth will be a liability for the politician, and the truth will need to be compromised for political reasons. "What then is the politician to do?" Well, Pilate gives us the answer when he says, “What is truth?” Truth to the politician is a political construct. To the politician, truth is whatever the powerful say it is. But truth is NOT a political construct. Truth is from God and is what it is. Truth is reality whether it is politically expedient of not. So how did Jesus live in light of political dynamics?
Jesus was fearless. Jesus lived perfectly aware of political realities, and He refused to play politics and actually intentionally surfaced the sinfulness and selfish motives of those in political power. For example, Jesus knew he had conflict in Jerusalem and knew that if he surfaced the hypocrisy of the political elite, they would crucify Him. Jesus predicted this outcome. So what did He do? Jesus fearlessly pressed the issue and rode into Jerusalem. He went straight to the temple, turned over the tables, and said, “You greedy money-changers have made my Father’s house into a den of robbers. My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer for all ethnicities.” The Jewish leaders had a racket going where they made money off the fact that families that were not ethnic Hebrews had to exchange their currency to pay their tithes. So they took a profit from the exchange. Jesus hit the political powers right where it hurts, in the pocket book. The result was that He angered those in power and six days later Jesus was dead.
Was it only Jesus that acted this way? Was Jesus the only prophetic figure that called the powers that be hypocrites and sinners to His own physical harm? No, actually all biblical leaders act contrary to what is politically expedient. John the Baptist told Herod he could not marry his brother’s wife so Herod killed him. Paul was told he would be beaten and killed if he went to Jerusalem so Paul went to Jerusalem. Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but division.” Anyone who testifies to the truth, even with all their faults, will suffer. Yes, people will make up excuses and lies to justify their rejection of the word of God but in reality the problem is all political. Politics is the enemy of the truth.
So can we have our cake and eat it too? Here is the BIG, BIG question!!!! Why “step in it” all the time? Why act in such a way as to cause conflict? Why didn’t Jesus or John or Paul just play politics for the sake of the ministry? Think about it. Jesus could have played the game and healed the sick at the same time. Jesus could have pleased the carnal people and still done His ministry to the needy and would have ended up with a world wide healing ministry. Jesus was very popular with the weaker half of the people and all He had to do was play His politics and He could have done so much good. Paul could have just taken other people’s counsel and avoided the whole ugly problem of getting one’s head chopped off. John the Baptist could have just let this one little act of adultery slide and he could have been an apostle. But no, all these prophetic men had to speak out and press the issue. There are many very important lessons to learn from the lives of the prophets.
First, the prophets lived with no fear and this fearlessness was the core of their blessedness. Fear is the source of so much sorrow. Jesus or Paul could have played good politics but then they would not have led all of us out of fear into the kingdom. Jesus is our leader and we follow Him out of fear into happiness. Fear and politics is the enemy. Fearlessness and the truth is the answer though it comes with suffering. Those prophets on the side of truth live the truly happy and heavenly life in which there is no fear. In no instance can these men of God chose fear and politics over obedience and courage. This fearlessness is a witness to the path of peace.
Secondly, true leadership surfaces problems and surfaces sin. True leadership does not play politics and people please. If leaders in the church make decisions by taking polls and considering political or financial ramifications, they have ceased, in the instance, following Christ. This principle is a complete indictment of the seeker sensitive approach. The seeker sensitive approach is not bad because it seeks to use wise means to win the lost but because it actually articulates the motive for using wise means as being seeker sensitive. In other words, if the motive is fear of people or people pleasing, then the approach is completely carnal and Godless. It is being “sensitive” (which is another word for fearful) of people’s opinions and catering to people’s preferences which has created the consumeristic attitudes in the church. We, the church, have lost our way because we have lost our prophetic edge.
We have dummied-down and watered down the gospel for the sake of the middle-class and in so doing have undermined our mission to make disciples who take up the cross while it is the cross that is the path of discipleship.
The conclusion of the matter is this: No matter what people say never avoid conflict for political motives. What people call pastoral these days is nothing more than being an enemy of the truth and compromising the truth. This approach is not the way of the cross, the way of Christ. Martyn Lloyd-Jones used to say, “I may not be the nicest guy but I am right”. In other words, people may not like me, but I speak the truth. I may not be a schmoozer but I am a preacher. Lloyd-Jones wasn’t nice and neither was Jesus. The preacher must never be a schmoozer or a politician. To do so is simply to cease following Christ and, instead, for at least that moment, to follow Pilate, the politician.
Another conversation between the politician and the prophet is equally revealing of the contrast of these two ways, the political and the spiritual. Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this realm. If it were my servants would be fighting. Indeed, to be a king I came into this world. For this reason I came into the world, to testify of the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
There is a political realm in which men succeed, and there is a spiritual realm in which men succeed. You cannot have both. These two ways are at enmity with each other. Eventually, and actually quite often, the truth will contradict political considerations. The truth will be a liability for the politician, and the truth will need to be compromised for political reasons. "What then is the politician to do?" Well, Pilate gives us the answer when he says, “What is truth?” Truth to the politician is a political construct. To the politician, truth is whatever the powerful say it is. But truth is NOT a political construct. Truth is from God and is what it is. Truth is reality whether it is politically expedient of not. So how did Jesus live in light of political dynamics?
Jesus was fearless. Jesus lived perfectly aware of political realities, and He refused to play politics and actually intentionally surfaced the sinfulness and selfish motives of those in political power. For example, Jesus knew he had conflict in Jerusalem and knew that if he surfaced the hypocrisy of the political elite, they would crucify Him. Jesus predicted this outcome. So what did He do? Jesus fearlessly pressed the issue and rode into Jerusalem. He went straight to the temple, turned over the tables, and said, “You greedy money-changers have made my Father’s house into a den of robbers. My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer for all ethnicities.” The Jewish leaders had a racket going where they made money off the fact that families that were not ethnic Hebrews had to exchange their currency to pay their tithes. So they took a profit from the exchange. Jesus hit the political powers right where it hurts, in the pocket book. The result was that He angered those in power and six days later Jesus was dead.
Was it only Jesus that acted this way? Was Jesus the only prophetic figure that called the powers that be hypocrites and sinners to His own physical harm? No, actually all biblical leaders act contrary to what is politically expedient. John the Baptist told Herod he could not marry his brother’s wife so Herod killed him. Paul was told he would be beaten and killed if he went to Jerusalem so Paul went to Jerusalem. Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but division.” Anyone who testifies to the truth, even with all their faults, will suffer. Yes, people will make up excuses and lies to justify their rejection of the word of God but in reality the problem is all political. Politics is the enemy of the truth.
So can we have our cake and eat it too? Here is the BIG, BIG question!!!! Why “step in it” all the time? Why act in such a way as to cause conflict? Why didn’t Jesus or John or Paul just play politics for the sake of the ministry? Think about it. Jesus could have played the game and healed the sick at the same time. Jesus could have pleased the carnal people and still done His ministry to the needy and would have ended up with a world wide healing ministry. Jesus was very popular with the weaker half of the people and all He had to do was play His politics and He could have done so much good. Paul could have just taken other people’s counsel and avoided the whole ugly problem of getting one’s head chopped off. John the Baptist could have just let this one little act of adultery slide and he could have been an apostle. But no, all these prophetic men had to speak out and press the issue. There are many very important lessons to learn from the lives of the prophets.
First, the prophets lived with no fear and this fearlessness was the core of their blessedness. Fear is the source of so much sorrow. Jesus or Paul could have played good politics but then they would not have led all of us out of fear into the kingdom. Jesus is our leader and we follow Him out of fear into happiness. Fear and politics is the enemy. Fearlessness and the truth is the answer though it comes with suffering. Those prophets on the side of truth live the truly happy and heavenly life in which there is no fear. In no instance can these men of God chose fear and politics over obedience and courage. This fearlessness is a witness to the path of peace.
Secondly, true leadership surfaces problems and surfaces sin. True leadership does not play politics and people please. If leaders in the church make decisions by taking polls and considering political or financial ramifications, they have ceased, in the instance, following Christ. This principle is a complete indictment of the seeker sensitive approach. The seeker sensitive approach is not bad because it seeks to use wise means to win the lost but because it actually articulates the motive for using wise means as being seeker sensitive. In other words, if the motive is fear of people or people pleasing, then the approach is completely carnal and Godless. It is being “sensitive” (which is another word for fearful) of people’s opinions and catering to people’s preferences which has created the consumeristic attitudes in the church. We, the church, have lost our way because we have lost our prophetic edge.
We have dummied-down and watered down the gospel for the sake of the middle-class and in so doing have undermined our mission to make disciples who take up the cross while it is the cross that is the path of discipleship.
The conclusion of the matter is this: No matter what people say never avoid conflict for political motives. What people call pastoral these days is nothing more than being an enemy of the truth and compromising the truth. This approach is not the way of the cross, the way of Christ. Martyn Lloyd-Jones used to say, “I may not be the nicest guy but I am right”. In other words, people may not like me, but I speak the truth. I may not be a schmoozer but I am a preacher. Lloyd-Jones wasn’t nice and neither was Jesus. The preacher must never be a schmoozer or a politician. To do so is simply to cease following Christ and, instead, for at least that moment, to follow Pilate, the politician.
Monday, May 08, 2006
The Central Role of Small Group in Mission
There is no BIG in Team
I became a Christian in June of 1986. After my conversion, I began attending a conservative evangelical church with my father. This church was great for the formation of my understanding of the bible as the source of our faith and practice, but it took awhile before I found a place to live out the life and the purpose for which God had called me. Though at the church I attended with my father, I learned good sound bible doctrine, it wasn’t until I met a small group of like-minded people and attended church with them that I felt at home. There is a model of teaching doctrine and ideas that works, namely the pulpit, but to learn how to live out our faith and expand the kingdom, this learning takes place in a smaller group of believers, a team if you will.
The church I first attended with my father was about 4,000 members. I remember trying to get involved with the high school group but I am very NOT gifted to work with kids. I attended the “collage and career group” at this church. That “small” group was really about meeting a mate, so I got a girl friend. That process wasn’t too different from my pre-Christian days. During this time, I went out a few times with the evangelism teams with this church but the cold turkey methods seemed very unnatural to me and ineffective. Then, when I was in seminary, I attended a small group on campus with a couple seminarians. Here for the first time I felt that this group was different. The worship was heartfelt and the group seemed to “assemble around the Lord” (Psalm 7:7a). This group visited the elderly and took mission trips to Mexico and to the parks in Southern California. People were very mission focused. The leader was from YWAM and the group was very mobilized. I began to participate in this missional community. I was actually changing. Life had real purpose and we were living a life that was focused on loving others and not a Christianized version of the American dream.
Later I attended Sunday church with this group. I felt like we were part of something very big and revolutionary, but the “us” or the “we” was the small group. We, the small group of friends were involved in something big and purposeful. Many small groups got together and worshipped but what made it so powerful was that each of this small groups was itself involved in mission at the small group level. The identity of the individual was as a team member at a level that allowed everyone to play in the team. You cannot all really play on a team of 4,000. Team sizes max out at about 50. Most teams are closer to 10 or in Jesus’ case about 12. Actual mission happens in teams. Events are led by teams and activities to make an mission activity happen takes a team of about 8-15. To mobilize a people, the people have to be on teams and these teams or small groups, functional or local, are the place where mission takes place and therefore the place where real purpose driven life motivates spiritual growth.
This team playing is key to spiritual growth and the expansion of the kingdom. Therefore, we conclude that true discipleship happen in the small group.
God Bless,
brad
tags: home church; House Church; Church; Christianity
I became a Christian in June of 1986. After my conversion, I began attending a conservative evangelical church with my father. This church was great for the formation of my understanding of the bible as the source of our faith and practice, but it took awhile before I found a place to live out the life and the purpose for which God had called me. Though at the church I attended with my father, I learned good sound bible doctrine, it wasn’t until I met a small group of like-minded people and attended church with them that I felt at home. There is a model of teaching doctrine and ideas that works, namely the pulpit, but to learn how to live out our faith and expand the kingdom, this learning takes place in a smaller group of believers, a team if you will.
The church I first attended with my father was about 4,000 members. I remember trying to get involved with the high school group but I am very NOT gifted to work with kids. I attended the “collage and career group” at this church. That “small” group was really about meeting a mate, so I got a girl friend. That process wasn’t too different from my pre-Christian days. During this time, I went out a few times with the evangelism teams with this church but the cold turkey methods seemed very unnatural to me and ineffective. Then, when I was in seminary, I attended a small group on campus with a couple seminarians. Here for the first time I felt that this group was different. The worship was heartfelt and the group seemed to “assemble around the Lord” (Psalm 7:7a). This group visited the elderly and took mission trips to Mexico and to the parks in Southern California. People were very mission focused. The leader was from YWAM and the group was very mobilized. I began to participate in this missional community. I was actually changing. Life had real purpose and we were living a life that was focused on loving others and not a Christianized version of the American dream.
Later I attended Sunday church with this group. I felt like we were part of something very big and revolutionary, but the “us” or the “we” was the small group. We, the small group of friends were involved in something big and purposeful. Many small groups got together and worshipped but what made it so powerful was that each of this small groups was itself involved in mission at the small group level. The identity of the individual was as a team member at a level that allowed everyone to play in the team. You cannot all really play on a team of 4,000. Team sizes max out at about 50. Most teams are closer to 10 or in Jesus’ case about 12. Actual mission happens in teams. Events are led by teams and activities to make an mission activity happen takes a team of about 8-15. To mobilize a people, the people have to be on teams and these teams or small groups, functional or local, are the place where mission takes place and therefore the place where real purpose driven life motivates spiritual growth.
This team playing is key to spiritual growth and the expansion of the kingdom. Therefore, we conclude that true discipleship happen in the small group.
God Bless,
brad
tags: home church; House Church; Church; Christianity
Monday, May 01, 2006
The Problem of Looking for "The Man"
Again, some of the inspiration for this post is in many ways my recent experiences and recent conversations with a friend of mine, Ryan.
Ryan and I and also this young man, Brad Fieldhouse, were all assessed by our denomination in the past 10 years as potential church planters and pastors. All of us were assessed very highly. This whole process is in many ways rather insidious. You see the church is looking for someone who just might be “the man”.
Faith in “the man”
When a church goes through a hiring process and interviews a candidate and listens to him preach, what are they really looking for? I have found that, though we do not say it, we are looking for “the man”. Maybe, this guy can be the next “guy”. The guy to attract a crowd and make us a “successful” “church”. He needs to be “charismatic” and attractive to outsiders. He is true to the word but not too obtuse.
What is so wrong with looking for “the man”?
First, the concept behind the idea of “the man” is that the way a church grows is that a man stands up and attracts people. The work of the ministry, what ever that is, is done by “the man”. We the church we consume the product that he gives us. We laugh at his jokes. We pay attention when the mode is set. We sing the up songs at the end, and we go home feeling pretty good about our church and the whole production. The whole event might as well be called the Sunday morning matinee but with a religious theme.
This is EXACTLY what Dylan meant when he said:
“You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all did their tricks for you.
You never understood that it ain’t no good
You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you”
It is totally not where it is at to let the artist or the preacher entertain you and to be a spectator. What is supposed to be going on here is not even the least bit about entertainment. Poets are not entertainers and neither are preachers.
You might be able to sell records that way and indeed you might be able to grow churches that way but as Dylan says… “it ain’t me babe”. The kingdom is a completely different process. Doing the stuff is not a spectator affair. The kingdom is something we do, and we do it in small groups and in one on one relationship where we teach people an altogether new way of life based on an entirely new and spiritual basis. The cross is not something you learn while eating popcorn.
Now consider what we would have to do if we didn’t utilize “the man” process at all. Even when someone does give a teaching we are not listening to the human element at all but only the pneuma (Spirit). The man himself may be totally un-polished and not entertaining at all. It is better if he isn’t. He should be weak and unimpressive so that we all know that we are not here to be entertained by a man but to here the exposition of the scripture and the voice of God through the gifts of the body of Christ.
It is time to seriously deconstruct the concept of “the man”. The seeker sensitive entertainment model has built large churches, mega churches, but has done immeasurable harm to the common Christian’s understanding of what the church is and who they are as Christians.
Let’s destroy the whole concept of “the man” and seek a model that promotes Christ and His kingdom with simplicity and humility and no dependence on the man with the golden tongue and the golden touch.
God Bless,
Brad
Ryan and I and also this young man, Brad Fieldhouse, were all assessed by our denomination in the past 10 years as potential church planters and pastors. All of us were assessed very highly. This whole process is in many ways rather insidious. You see the church is looking for someone who just might be “the man”.
Faith in “the man”
When a church goes through a hiring process and interviews a candidate and listens to him preach, what are they really looking for? I have found that, though we do not say it, we are looking for “the man”. Maybe, this guy can be the next “guy”. The guy to attract a crowd and make us a “successful” “church”. He needs to be “charismatic” and attractive to outsiders. He is true to the word but not too obtuse.
What is so wrong with looking for “the man”?
First, the concept behind the idea of “the man” is that the way a church grows is that a man stands up and attracts people. The work of the ministry, what ever that is, is done by “the man”. We the church we consume the product that he gives us. We laugh at his jokes. We pay attention when the mode is set. We sing the up songs at the end, and we go home feeling pretty good about our church and the whole production. The whole event might as well be called the Sunday morning matinee but with a religious theme.
This is EXACTLY what Dylan meant when he said:
“You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all did their tricks for you.
You never understood that it ain’t no good
You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you”
It is totally not where it is at to let the artist or the preacher entertain you and to be a spectator. What is supposed to be going on here is not even the least bit about entertainment. Poets are not entertainers and neither are preachers.
You might be able to sell records that way and indeed you might be able to grow churches that way but as Dylan says… “it ain’t me babe”. The kingdom is a completely different process. Doing the stuff is not a spectator affair. The kingdom is something we do, and we do it in small groups and in one on one relationship where we teach people an altogether new way of life based on an entirely new and spiritual basis. The cross is not something you learn while eating popcorn.
Now consider what we would have to do if we didn’t utilize “the man” process at all. Even when someone does give a teaching we are not listening to the human element at all but only the pneuma (Spirit). The man himself may be totally un-polished and not entertaining at all. It is better if he isn’t. He should be weak and unimpressive so that we all know that we are not here to be entertained by a man but to here the exposition of the scripture and the voice of God through the gifts of the body of Christ.
It is time to seriously deconstruct the concept of “the man”. The seeker sensitive entertainment model has built large churches, mega churches, but has done immeasurable harm to the common Christian’s understanding of what the church is and who they are as Christians.
Let’s destroy the whole concept of “the man” and seek a model that promotes Christ and His kingdom with simplicity and humility and no dependence on the man with the golden tongue and the golden touch.
God Bless,
Brad
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Kingdom Causes
A friend of ours Ryan VerWies and I have been talking lately. These conversations were the inspiration for "The Simple Church" post. He participates and co-leads a ministry called Kingdom Causes. He is the Bellflower lead.
Kingdom Causes is a network of house churches and traditional churches who work together on inner city development and other projects to provide assistance to the economically struggling in the LA area.
Check it out.
God Bless,
brad
Kingdom Causes is a network of house churches and traditional churches who work together on inner city development and other projects to provide assistance to the economically struggling in the LA area.
Check it out.
God Bless,
brad
Thursday, April 27, 2006
The Simple Church
In our faith community, one of our core values is simplicity. Our value is that we live simply in order that we can wisely and extravagantly exercise generosity toward the economically poor in our community, our neighborhood and our world. The question is often posed in our groups, “How do you practice simplicity and fight against materialism in your family?” but I think churches need to ask this question as well.
What would a church that practiced simplicity look like?
What would a simple church look like?
Let’s say your church just starting and defining itself and is meeting as a small group. Is the vision of the church to live simply and practice generosity or is the vision materialistic? Is the goal to “buy a building” and then to make additions? That is how the world thinks as families and when we practice simplicity in order to be generous, we reject the “re-model” mentality? When we seek simplicity as a family, we whittle our budgets down to as little as possible. In the church, if we are able to start from scratch, we can plan a church with virtually no overhead.
What if the church had no building and no staff and yet had 100 tithing families?
Our time like our money was only spent on actually doing evangelism and discipleship. How would we then practice simplicity and generosity? The church will in this scenario have no overhead or at least very little. Easily 75% of the budget would go to missions work and community development.
Funds can be gathered for missions projects and not building projects. That 4 million dollar building project now becomes a four million dollar development project in the inner city or in a third world rural village. We are now doing the stuff and have escaped the trappings of the American Dream on the corporate level.
Here is the practice of simplicity as a corporate community. Here is the simple church of the 21st century.
Tags:emergent church; Church;emerging Church;Christianity; Religion
What would a church that practiced simplicity look like?
What would a simple church look like?
Let’s say your church just starting and defining itself and is meeting as a small group. Is the vision of the church to live simply and practice generosity or is the vision materialistic? Is the goal to “buy a building” and then to make additions? That is how the world thinks as families and when we practice simplicity in order to be generous, we reject the “re-model” mentality? When we seek simplicity as a family, we whittle our budgets down to as little as possible. In the church, if we are able to start from scratch, we can plan a church with virtually no overhead.
What if the church had no building and no staff and yet had 100 tithing families?
Our time like our money was only spent on actually doing evangelism and discipleship. How would we then practice simplicity and generosity? The church will in this scenario have no overhead or at least very little. Easily 75% of the budget would go to missions work and community development.
Funds can be gathered for missions projects and not building projects. That 4 million dollar building project now becomes a four million dollar development project in the inner city or in a third world rural village. We are now doing the stuff and have escaped the trappings of the American Dream on the corporate level.
Here is the practice of simplicity as a corporate community. Here is the simple church of the 21st century.
Tags:emergent church; Church;emerging Church;Christianity; Religion
Friday, April 07, 2006
Links: Gnostic "Gospel of Judas" Resurfaces
Martin's Musings: Gnostic "Gospel of Judas" Resurfaces
More facts on the history of the Gospel of Judas...
More facts on the history of the Gospel of Judas...
Ben Witherington On The Gospel of Judas
Ben Witherington on the Gospel of Judas.
Ben Witherington does a good job looking at the so-called new finding regarding Gnosticism in the 2nd and 3rd Century AD. Dr. W notes that the real problem with this event is not the finding but with it's reporting. The find is a valuable find to shed light on the Gnostic heresy which developed in the 2nd century AD (denounced as heresy in 180AD). This new find reveals more regarding the anti-Hebrew nature of the Gnostic beliefs and confirms what theologians already know which is that Gnosticism was a very real sect 150 years after the founding of the church.
But for reporters and academics alike to act like this sheds light on first century Christianity or the first 200 years of church beliefs is completely disingenuous.
For more read...Dr. Ws post...
Ben Witherington does a good job looking at the so-called new finding regarding Gnosticism in the 2nd and 3rd Century AD. Dr. W notes that the real problem with this event is not the finding but with it's reporting. The find is a valuable find to shed light on the Gnostic heresy which developed in the 2nd century AD (denounced as heresy in 180AD). This new find reveals more regarding the anti-Hebrew nature of the Gnostic beliefs and confirms what theologians already know which is that Gnosticism was a very real sect 150 years after the founding of the church.
But for reporters and academics alike to act like this sheds light on first century Christianity or the first 200 years of church beliefs is completely disingenuous.
For more read...Dr. Ws post...
Confessions of Missional Mediocrity
(e)mergent Voyageurs :: Confessions of Missional Mediocrity...Great post on living out our ideals and the difficulty to gain the momentum to really live as a missional community...Great confessional piece.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
The Danger of Fault Finding
Is fault finding a big problem to avoid? Is fault finding a disease to be avoided with diligence especially if one has a tendency to be critical?
The answer is Yes!! And why?
I will write more on this later but the answer is...Fault finding is like looking for sand at the beach.
1. People have many faults. We are less than perfect all the time. Literally every sentence we say could be improved upon and many things we do and say shouldn't be said or done at all. So once one begins to look for faults, finding faults becomes like finding sand at the beach. An infinite number of faults present themselves to the mind. If we roll these over and attempt to make a case regarding someone's faults, we find a mountain of evidence and delude ourselves into thinking we must be correct. What we have failed to understand is that:
2. Fault finding is a disease. Any discipleship program must teach people the what and why's of the no fault finding principle.
Enough for now,
God Bless,
brad
The answer is Yes!! And why?
I will write more on this later but the answer is...Fault finding is like looking for sand at the beach.
1. People have many faults. We are less than perfect all the time. Literally every sentence we say could be improved upon and many things we do and say shouldn't be said or done at all. So once one begins to look for faults, finding faults becomes like finding sand at the beach. An infinite number of faults present themselves to the mind. If we roll these over and attempt to make a case regarding someone's faults, we find a mountain of evidence and delude ourselves into thinking we must be correct. What we have failed to understand is that:
2. Fault finding is a disease. Any discipleship program must teach people the what and why's of the no fault finding principle.
Enough for now,
God Bless,
brad
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Matisyahu - "Youth" - A Young Spiritual Revolutionary's View of The Education System
Matisyahu's new CD - "Youth" is an ecstatic blast of spiritual revolution. While U2 offers the airwaves a positive vibe and social consciousness, Matisyahu takes the same vibe to its ecstatic extreme.In Romans 11:11, 14, Paul the Apostle proclaims his desire that the salvation of the Gentiles and our spiritual walk in the presence of God would provoke the Jews to jealousy. In a strange turn of events, Matisyahu makes me long for a Shabbat service at Chabad in Washington Square.
To put Matisyahu in context, it is helpful to read his bio from his web page. Matisyahu marries street beat box poetry to his Lubavitch-Hasidic worldview and challenges all of us to take a second look at the role of the poet in memorializing the experiences of our faith communities.
The Central Theme of the Education of the Youth
In the '90's, Kurt Cobain gave voice to a generation of bored and force fed youth, but failed to provide any solutions. In a similar fashion, Matisyahu speaks from the experience of a young vibrant mind thoroughly bored and demoralized by the educational system. As a parent, I reflect upon the poetic raps of "Youth" and have to ponder, "Do I want my children to grows up to be compliant or critical thinkers?".
Compliant or Critical Thinkers
In the title track, Matisyahu describes the effect of an educational system that fails to answer the questions that face adolescents.
storm the halls of vanity
focus your energy
into a laser beam streaming shattered light unites
to pierce between the seams and it seems
tear the world open, peer in the children see
rapid fire for your mind.
half the truth is just a lie,
they rub me the wrong way,
they say their way or fall behind.
seven subjects disconnect,
left out the concept as to why there's a spiritual emptiness,
so the youth them get vexed,
skip class and get wrecked fill with beer and cigarettes
to fill the hole in their chest
Secular education is incapable and thoroughly unequipped to answer the answers that plague the child as he awakens into consciousness in adolescence. Just at this time, the flame is beginning to spark and the seven subjects do not connect with the heart of the child. All this learning, but never the wisdom to answer "why there is a spiritual emptiness".
The first verse speaks also of this budding flame of the mind of the youth...
some of them come
some of them running
some of them looking for fun
some of them looking for a way out of confusion
some of them don't know what to be
some of them don't know where to go
some of them trust their instincts that something's missing from the show
some don't fit society, insides are crying low
some of them teachers squash the flame before it had a chance to grow
some of them embers do glow them charcoal, hushed and low
some of them come with the hunger suppressed, not fed them feel a death blow..
I remember when I was young. I was 100% alienated from society, and the only answer to the inner knowing that "something is missing from the show" came in my identification with the suffering of Christ and the beauty of the cross. Self-sacrificial love as the moral and spiritual principle (the logos) that defines the image of God that cries out to be heard and lived.
Such wisdom, the wisdom of the cross, is not taught in the schools, and how can they? They have no spiritual foundation.
So, how am I teaching my children? Are my children challenged to question and to seek the wisdom of the cross and the death to the ego as the path to true knowledge? Do we teach our children a compliance that doesn't question the moral insanity of the world system? Are they taught to deeply question the individualism and the materialism that drives the world and ends only in suffering?
Our Educational Motto - This is our conclusion.
We will raise our children to be critical thinkers first and foremost and to seek to answer the fundamental questions that plague humanity and that undermine the manifestation of the image of God in the people of God.
The kingdom is a spiritual revolution...
God Bless,
brad
Tags:Matisyahu; youth; education; homeschooling
Cerulean Sanctum: No "I" in "Church"
Cerulean Sanctum: No "I" in "Church":
Dan's post today is about the inherent individualism in the American worldview and how we need to re-think how this individualism has effected our ability to understand God's work with and dealings with communities. Also, are we really capable of understanding the moral implications of the community focus of the Gospel?
Here is my favorite part of Dan's post...Do you have life insurance? Health insurance? Does it cost a lot of money? Have you ever asked yourself why you have it?The reason you have it is because you've been taught you can't count on anyone but yourself to provide should disaster come. Certainly you can't count on the church to provide for you. But that is not how the Bible reads:
And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.--Acts 4:33-35 ESV
read more...
Dan's post today is about the inherent individualism in the American worldview and how we need to re-think how this individualism has effected our ability to understand God's work with and dealings with communities. Also, are we really capable of understanding the moral implications of the community focus of the Gospel?
Here is my favorite part of Dan's post...Do you have life insurance? Health insurance? Does it cost a lot of money? Have you ever asked yourself why you have it?The reason you have it is because you've been taught you can't count on anyone but yourself to provide should disaster come. Certainly you can't count on the church to provide for you. But that is not how the Bible reads:
And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.--Acts 4:33-35 ESV
read more...
Monday, April 03, 2006
Cerulean Sanctum: Posts on Bloggers Who are Qutting
Cerulean Sanctum: When Other Godbloggers Say Goodbye...
I am not quitting BUT...there are things that seem to be pressing out blogging lately...If you can relate,...what are you up to??
It has really been hard to blog lately. I have tons of things to say and still feel like I personnally am growing and probably need to write the process out..BUT...blogging just hasn't been the #1 dicipline that I am working on right now.
What things are you trying to get done in your life????
Here is my list:
For me:
1. Develop a one day at a time method that works and is transferable.
My passion is practicing the powerful pressence of God. This my first obsession. I am naturally a very very impulsive and passionate self-centered abstract loner, so to develop a GOd-focused spiritual life is quite the battle. Oh...that is the human condition...
2. I have six children that will grow up without me if I don't pay attention.
I believe children realy need the approval of their parents or they will seek approval elsewhere (peers and sex). So as a family we spend a lot of time working on disciplines together as an opportunity to say..Great job!!!
3. I pastor a church...This to me is about discipleship relationships. If I meet with everyone I need to meet with on a weekly basis, ministry happens. I absolutely love meeting with people. Discipleship and discipling is by far the greatest joy of my life. This has been a great two years. I can honestly say these last two years have been the happiest since I was running a discipleship home when I was single.
4. Music - My mind is constantly filled with music and lyrics...Now, like blogging, to get this all down on my hard disk recorder is the task at hand....
I have decided that music is a duty for me and something I need to steward. There are few things as beautiful as music and the world needs another positive voice and well, "the revolution needs a soundtrack"...
SO I tend to not blog as much as I could....BUT
5. Blogging...I feel the need to write out the things we are learning as a faith community...This is more for our community and a memorial to the things we are learning because of this the public nature of blogging may not be the best media to get this down on paper...Lately, I have not been as willing to be so open and personal so I haven;t blogged much...
Love you all and God Bless,
brad
I am not quitting BUT...there are things that seem to be pressing out blogging lately...If you can relate,...what are you up to??
It has really been hard to blog lately. I have tons of things to say and still feel like I personnally am growing and probably need to write the process out..BUT...blogging just hasn't been the #1 dicipline that I am working on right now.
What things are you trying to get done in your life????
Here is my list:
For me:
1. Develop a one day at a time method that works and is transferable.
My passion is practicing the powerful pressence of God. This my first obsession. I am naturally a very very impulsive and passionate self-centered abstract loner, so to develop a GOd-focused spiritual life is quite the battle. Oh...that is the human condition...
2. I have six children that will grow up without me if I don't pay attention.
I believe children realy need the approval of their parents or they will seek approval elsewhere (peers and sex). So as a family we spend a lot of time working on disciplines together as an opportunity to say..Great job!!!
3. I pastor a church...This to me is about discipleship relationships. If I meet with everyone I need to meet with on a weekly basis, ministry happens. I absolutely love meeting with people. Discipleship and discipling is by far the greatest joy of my life. This has been a great two years. I can honestly say these last two years have been the happiest since I was running a discipleship home when I was single.
4. Music - My mind is constantly filled with music and lyrics...Now, like blogging, to get this all down on my hard disk recorder is the task at hand....
I have decided that music is a duty for me and something I need to steward. There are few things as beautiful as music and the world needs another positive voice and well, "the revolution needs a soundtrack"...
SO I tend to not blog as much as I could....BUT
5. Blogging...I feel the need to write out the things we are learning as a faith community...This is more for our community and a memorial to the things we are learning because of this the public nature of blogging may not be the best media to get this down on paper...Lately, I have not been as willing to be so open and personal so I haven;t blogged much...
Love you all and God Bless,
brad
Thursday, March 30, 2006
(e)mergent Voyageurs :: Venting vs. Confession
(e)mergent Voyageurs :: Venting vs. Confession
A new blog, for me at least, is emergent Voyageurs. Here is another example of a person on the journey looking to discern the path between being transperant and veering into anger and gossip.
It is very important for us to grow spiritually to learn to discern the movements of our heart and this requres confession. We model this discernment by sharing our hearts with others BUT we learn to still let the words be constructive and without any judgments about others.
Good post Jamie...
A new blog, for me at least, is emergent Voyageurs. Here is another example of a person on the journey looking to discern the path between being transperant and veering into anger and gossip.
It is very important for us to grow spiritually to learn to discern the movements of our heart and this requres confession. We model this discernment by sharing our hearts with others BUT we learn to still let the words be constructive and without any judgments about others.
Good post Jamie...
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The Most Important Steps
I realize I haven't been blogging much lately. I plan on repenting of this neglect, but then again, I cannot make any promises.
Anyway, over the last few months, I have been walking the path through a study of the book of Romans. One BIG insight is that by far the most important and most neglected steps in discipleship are not the works steps like spiritual inventory and confession, but the faith steps like: We believe that Jesus Christ has provided us with everything we need for life in the kingdom. We believe we are declared righteous in God's eyes because of Jesus' finished work. We believe that Christ is our righteousness and that he is the same yesterday today and forever. We believe that we are dead to sin. The place and world of sin is separated from us and we are separated from it. We do not identify with our sin or the sin of the world. That world is the product of a world under God's wrath and all the sin and violence of the world is not the realm in which we abide. We are God's children. We are new essentially...and so on...
This knowing and reckoning the truth as real to us is a great part of contemplating the truth of the world around us and our identity in the world and the kingdom and living in faith.
I like to say: "We are Zion". "Through Christ, we are Jerusalem; the city on the hill; the city of peace".
We need community and we need each other to keep this vision of faith before our eyes. Ahh...the kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy.
Another faith step is the step of laying on of hands. We pray for one another that God removes our sin from us. We together as we confess our sins give our sins to Go and ask humbly for Him to remove these from us. We do this in community and we do this with the laying on of hands and we accept in faith that God has done His will in our live, and we know that His will is our sanctification. If we ask according to His will we are confident that we have received what we have requested.
Both these proclamations of the static and unchanging elements of our faith (our position in Christ and identity in Christ) and the more dynamic acts of faith of the laying on of hands and asking for the power of the Spirit for actual sanctification are the most central elements of the attainment of the blessings of the kingdom.
God Bless,
brad
Anyway, over the last few months, I have been walking the path through a study of the book of Romans. One BIG insight is that by far the most important and most neglected steps in discipleship are not the works steps like spiritual inventory and confession, but the faith steps like: We believe that Jesus Christ has provided us with everything we need for life in the kingdom. We believe we are declared righteous in God's eyes because of Jesus' finished work. We believe that Christ is our righteousness and that he is the same yesterday today and forever. We believe that we are dead to sin. The place and world of sin is separated from us and we are separated from it. We do not identify with our sin or the sin of the world. That world is the product of a world under God's wrath and all the sin and violence of the world is not the realm in which we abide. We are God's children. We are new essentially...and so on...
This knowing and reckoning the truth as real to us is a great part of contemplating the truth of the world around us and our identity in the world and the kingdom and living in faith.
I like to say: "We are Zion". "Through Christ, we are Jerusalem; the city on the hill; the city of peace".
We need community and we need each other to keep this vision of faith before our eyes. Ahh...the kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy.
Another faith step is the step of laying on of hands. We pray for one another that God removes our sin from us. We together as we confess our sins give our sins to Go and ask humbly for Him to remove these from us. We do this in community and we do this with the laying on of hands and we accept in faith that God has done His will in our live, and we know that His will is our sanctification. If we ask according to His will we are confident that we have received what we have requested.
Both these proclamations of the static and unchanging elements of our faith (our position in Christ and identity in Christ) and the more dynamic acts of faith of the laying on of hands and asking for the power of the Spirit for actual sanctification are the most central elements of the attainment of the blessings of the kingdom.
God Bless,
brad
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Romans 4 - Abraham and Faith
This sermon discusses Abraham being reckoned as righteous by faith alone and gives a definition of this type of faith that is reckoned as righteousness.
Romans 4- Abraham and Faith (download)
For podcast, subscribe to the following feeds:
21st Century Reformation Sermons
21st Century Reformation Sermons - Feedburner feed
God Bless,
brad
Romans 4- Abraham and Faith (download)
For podcast, subscribe to the following feeds:
21st Century Reformation Sermons
21st Century Reformation Sermons - Feedburner feed
God Bless,
brad
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Coming out of Denial and Discovering our Sin
Sanctification Understood
There are two big necessary steps to the process of transformation of the heart. The first is ruthless honesty which brings us out of our denial. In order to find serious change to our make-up, we must see our inner person as it really is. Many of us shy away from such analysis as being emotional or touchy feely, but sensitivity to our hearts and discernment is foundational to any spiritual progress. Steps must be taken for us to become aware of the hidden realities of our emotional and spiritual state. We must properly diagnose our condition and this is not easy. We must learn to practice ruthless honesty and grow in discernment of our inner life.
The second step is actually far more difficult and far more important than the first. Many, many people know their feelings and stop there. These poor folk do not find newness of life. We must go beyond just knowing our spiritual condition, we must become convicted of our sin. By conviction of sin, I mean not just our sins, but the sinful condition of our inner person and the need for a true transformation of the heart.
This looking for our "part in the matter" is the step that separated Christianity from other therapeutic models of the transformation of the soul. In the more therapeutic models, the subject seeks to understand the “wounds” he or she has received, and then proceeds to position themselves in a social or spiritual environment to be properly nurtured. The therapeutic model creates in the heart a message something like the following: "If I am only treated correctly, by God and others, and, if I experience love as God intended me to experience love, I will in turn feel more positive about life, God, and myself".
There are huge problems with the therapeutic approach.
1. We cannot ever put up enough boundaries to prevent pain. We will actually continue to be victims of our circumstances if we attempt to be healed through kind nurture. As we experience real life, people will continue to hurt us, and we will continue to defend and protect ourselves. The result is that we continue to be hurt. We continue to be victims, and we continue to be frustrated and dissatisfied with life.
2. The therapeutic method is contrary to the cross. The power of Jesus in us is that Jesus was treated poorly and yet was without sin. Our solution is not to be treated better but to learn how to respond to life with the unconditional love of God. Difficult circumstances merely brought our anger and fear to the surface. Our alienation from God and our judgments against life were exasperated by our suffering. The answer is not to find comfort from life but to find the life of Jesus Christ.
The discipleship method of Jesus teaches us to take a different approach to transformation which is altogether different from the therapeutic path. Our approach is to find our sin and our unbelief which manifests itself in a thousand forms of self-centered fear. These sinful responses to life have only served to keep us sore over the injustice of life. Therefore, the path to sanctification is to combine awareness of our suffering (honesty) and then to embrace the cross through faith in God’s sovereign care. As we embrace this path of the cross, we will learn to enter into His will of unconditional love toward all.
PART 1. So I suggest the following method of journaling. – Discovering our frustration with life.
List every person with whom we are even the slightest resentment or frustration.
Allow these names to come up onto the list for at least a few days. It is quite normal for there to be many people on this list possibly 100. Include on this list people, ideas, and institutions.
Next list what they actually did. “He joked about my looks” “She broke up with me for no good reason”. “He hit me and called me names.” “She gossiped against me and told people I was unkind or proud”. Notice in these examples that we are being specific to actual things that happened, specific events actual or perceived.
Now look at the way that they injured us. Our social relations, our finances, our self-esteem, our sexual relations, our emotional balance and health.
As a result of this time of looking at our inner life, we should realize, much to our alarm, that we are filled with real anger and that to some extent anger has motivated and controlled our perspective on life. Anger effects and blocks our conscious contact with God. I have never found a person who was not shocked by the level of anger that was in there heart. Anger is the root of almost all our problems. Our path to meekness and mercy, the keys to the kingdom, must teach us how to rid our hearts of anger. This leads us to return to our list but from a totally different perspective
II. Now, we are to “look at the list from another perspective”. – Conviction of Sin
We ask ourselves a few questions
1. How have my own short-comings actually been at the root of the conflict or my disappointment.
For example:
She actually broke up with me because I was too needy or aggressive or self-centered. (fear/selfishness/greed for sex(lust), greed for approval (pride)
I didn’t get that promotion because I was lazy and didn’t do a good job. (sloth)
I am mad because my spouse will not follow my direction and he or she disrespects me. But is not the reality that we are not helpful around the house or that we are controlling or lazy and therefore we make it hard for our spouses to respect and follow us. If this is only true a little bit it must be accepted as a sincere character fault rooted in sin. This is what I call the 1% rule. (Even if it is only 1% my problem it is the 1% that I am responsible for).
How has my own fear, pride, inordinate desire for social status or sexual relations or pleasure or money been actually at the root of my anger? Why did I get angry? What does it bother me that so and so hurt me (actually or perceived)? What is my self-centered agenda?
I am frustrated with my boss or my customers or with my work but is it not possible that the root of our frustration is that we are greedy and desire more toys or luxuries.
Are we workaholics? What is the motivation for this lack of balance in our lives? We are frustrated with others but have we made ourselves too busy and is not the root of this fear or greed or pride.
Am I actually dissatisfied with God’s provision? Do I live to please others or to obtain social status? Do I fear of rejection?
We now are not only aware of our anger, but now we come to realize our actual character defects and heart sins that made us self-centered and was the actual cause of our frustration with life as it comes to us. For some of us, this frustration based in sin and fear created such unhappiness and resentment that we medicated our lack of peace with compulsive behaviors like TV watching or sex or alcohol. For some we are compulsive gossips or talkers in general because we cannot control our uneasiness about life. All of this is driven by our self-centeredness and our lack of care for our inner person.
Could not the cross, self-denial and unconditional love, solve all these problem? If the Spirit or God filled me and I was solely seeking God's glory and to express His compassion, would I not be free to live in self-giving love?
Yes, this path is attainable.
God Bless,
brad
There are two big necessary steps to the process of transformation of the heart. The first is ruthless honesty which brings us out of our denial. In order to find serious change to our make-up, we must see our inner person as it really is. Many of us shy away from such analysis as being emotional or touchy feely, but sensitivity to our hearts and discernment is foundational to any spiritual progress. Steps must be taken for us to become aware of the hidden realities of our emotional and spiritual state. We must properly diagnose our condition and this is not easy. We must learn to practice ruthless honesty and grow in discernment of our inner life.
The second step is actually far more difficult and far more important than the first. Many, many people know their feelings and stop there. These poor folk do not find newness of life. We must go beyond just knowing our spiritual condition, we must become convicted of our sin. By conviction of sin, I mean not just our sins, but the sinful condition of our inner person and the need for a true transformation of the heart.
This looking for our "part in the matter" is the step that separated Christianity from other therapeutic models of the transformation of the soul. In the more therapeutic models, the subject seeks to understand the “wounds” he or she has received, and then proceeds to position themselves in a social or spiritual environment to be properly nurtured. The therapeutic model creates in the heart a message something like the following: "If I am only treated correctly, by God and others, and, if I experience love as God intended me to experience love, I will in turn feel more positive about life, God, and myself".
There are huge problems with the therapeutic approach.
1. We cannot ever put up enough boundaries to prevent pain. We will actually continue to be victims of our circumstances if we attempt to be healed through kind nurture. As we experience real life, people will continue to hurt us, and we will continue to defend and protect ourselves. The result is that we continue to be hurt. We continue to be victims, and we continue to be frustrated and dissatisfied with life.
2. The therapeutic method is contrary to the cross. The power of Jesus in us is that Jesus was treated poorly and yet was without sin. Our solution is not to be treated better but to learn how to respond to life with the unconditional love of God. Difficult circumstances merely brought our anger and fear to the surface. Our alienation from God and our judgments against life were exasperated by our suffering. The answer is not to find comfort from life but to find the life of Jesus Christ.
The discipleship method of Jesus teaches us to take a different approach to transformation which is altogether different from the therapeutic path. Our approach is to find our sin and our unbelief which manifests itself in a thousand forms of self-centered fear. These sinful responses to life have only served to keep us sore over the injustice of life. Therefore, the path to sanctification is to combine awareness of our suffering (honesty) and then to embrace the cross through faith in God’s sovereign care. As we embrace this path of the cross, we will learn to enter into His will of unconditional love toward all.
PART 1. So I suggest the following method of journaling. – Discovering our frustration with life.
List every person with whom we are even the slightest resentment or frustration.
Allow these names to come up onto the list for at least a few days. It is quite normal for there to be many people on this list possibly 100. Include on this list people, ideas, and institutions.
Next list what they actually did. “He joked about my looks” “She broke up with me for no good reason”. “He hit me and called me names.” “She gossiped against me and told people I was unkind or proud”. Notice in these examples that we are being specific to actual things that happened, specific events actual or perceived.
Now look at the way that they injured us. Our social relations, our finances, our self-esteem, our sexual relations, our emotional balance and health.
As a result of this time of looking at our inner life, we should realize, much to our alarm, that we are filled with real anger and that to some extent anger has motivated and controlled our perspective on life. Anger effects and blocks our conscious contact with God. I have never found a person who was not shocked by the level of anger that was in there heart. Anger is the root of almost all our problems. Our path to meekness and mercy, the keys to the kingdom, must teach us how to rid our hearts of anger. This leads us to return to our list but from a totally different perspective
II. Now, we are to “look at the list from another perspective”. – Conviction of Sin
We ask ourselves a few questions
1. How have my own short-comings actually been at the root of the conflict or my disappointment.
For example:
She actually broke up with me because I was too needy or aggressive or self-centered. (fear/selfishness/greed for sex(lust), greed for approval (pride)
I didn’t get that promotion because I was lazy and didn’t do a good job. (sloth)
I am mad because my spouse will not follow my direction and he or she disrespects me. But is not the reality that we are not helpful around the house or that we are controlling or lazy and therefore we make it hard for our spouses to respect and follow us. If this is only true a little bit it must be accepted as a sincere character fault rooted in sin. This is what I call the 1% rule. (Even if it is only 1% my problem it is the 1% that I am responsible for).
How has my own fear, pride, inordinate desire for social status or sexual relations or pleasure or money been actually at the root of my anger? Why did I get angry? What does it bother me that so and so hurt me (actually or perceived)? What is my self-centered agenda?
I am frustrated with my boss or my customers or with my work but is it not possible that the root of our frustration is that we are greedy and desire more toys or luxuries.
Are we workaholics? What is the motivation for this lack of balance in our lives? We are frustrated with others but have we made ourselves too busy and is not the root of this fear or greed or pride.
Am I actually dissatisfied with God’s provision? Do I live to please others or to obtain social status? Do I fear of rejection?
We now are not only aware of our anger, but now we come to realize our actual character defects and heart sins that made us self-centered and was the actual cause of our frustration with life as it comes to us. For some of us, this frustration based in sin and fear created such unhappiness and resentment that we medicated our lack of peace with compulsive behaviors like TV watching or sex or alcohol. For some we are compulsive gossips or talkers in general because we cannot control our uneasiness about life. All of this is driven by our self-centeredness and our lack of care for our inner person.
Could not the cross, self-denial and unconditional love, solve all these problem? If the Spirit or God filled me and I was solely seeking God's glory and to express His compassion, would I not be free to live in self-giving love?
Yes, this path is attainable.
God Bless,
brad
Friday, February 10, 2006
ABC's of a true church
Tod Bolsinger is keeping up his series on "The Church and the church" as he critiques Barna's revelution.
I think this critique and this dialogue is extremely important. Wesley and Knox and others held the institutional church in very high regard and had weighty definitions as to what it means to be and do church. Many today are making critiques willy-nilly without a deap respect for the past. Is a church a church just because 2-3 are gathered? Bolsinger doesn't think so and neither did John Knox....read more
I think this critique and this dialogue is extremely important. Wesley and Knox and others held the institutional church in very high regard and had weighty definitions as to what it means to be and do church. Many today are making critiques willy-nilly without a deap respect for the past. Is a church a church just because 2-3 are gathered? Bolsinger doesn't think so and neither did John Knox....read more
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Discipleship Part 5 from MissionThink
It seems a lot of people think alike.
MissionThink
Old Articles from some knucklehead;
How Did We Get Here - Greek and Hebrew Education Models
Discipleship in the Footsteps of Jesus
Conversion to Trustworthy Leadership
There really is a 21st Century Reformation going on.
God Bless,
brad
MissionThink
Old Articles from some knucklehead;
How Did We Get Here - Greek and Hebrew Education Models
Discipleship in the Footsteps of Jesus
Conversion to Trustworthy Leadership
There really is a 21st Century Reformation going on.
God Bless,
brad
Monday, February 06, 2006
Rivers Cuomo Interview and other stuff
Rivers Cuomo interview with a lot of good talk about songwriting. Weezer isn't on tour as Rivers is finishing his degree at Harvard. I am sure this is all old news to most folk but I was inspired by both of this interview and the bio in Wikapedia.
HT: MoJoey - my bro!!
brad
HT: MoJoey - my bro!!
brad
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Thoughtful and Informative Cosmology Blog
Cosmology Curiosity
Though I have never addressed issues of origins and cosmology on this blog, I was a science teacher in a former life. So if you like history of astronomy and biography of great minds like Hubble and Halley and the like. Here is a good sight.
Though I have never addressed issues of origins and cosmology on this blog, I was a science teacher in a former life. So if you like history of astronomy and biography of great minds like Hubble and Halley and the like. Here is a good sight.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Links - Discipleship
I was talking with a pastor friend of mine and he said "Oh, ...that was before the consumerism of the '90 really hit with full steam". I can't remember what we were talking about but that matter of fact statement about the plague of consumerism in the church coming from a seasoned pastor was memorable. It is like "Remember when Kirk Gibson hit that homerun in the world series. Oh yeah and when consumerism became the mindset of the church community." WOW!!! What a challenge!!
In seminary, I had a viseral response to the idea of "Church Growth" and seeker sensitive church, but I never knew why. "Mission think blog" below talks about the problem:
Part 1 of 3
Part 2
Part 3
Another source for what's going on out there in Emerging Land. PurplePastor.com
In seminary, I had a viseral response to the idea of "Church Growth" and seeker sensitive church, but I never knew why. "Mission think blog" below talks about the problem:
Part 1 of 3
Part 2
Part 3
Another source for what's going on out there in Emerging Land. PurplePastor.com
Sunday, January 29, 2006
From Anger to Love - The Pastoral Theology of the Book of Romans
There is much talk today about community and about the church becoming the good news for the sake of the world, and I certainly am a proponent of this community aesthetic as the primary apologetic for the gospel.
One place we see the connection between community building and the Gospel is in the book of Romans. Without going into a big proof of this premise, I contend that Romans was written to the Roman churches to bring unity to the Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome. For example, in the climactic theological sections (Romans 9-11), Paul speaks of the envy and/or pride between Jews and Gentiles and the sovereignty of God in bringing the Gospel to all as He pleases. Looking at Romans in its context we see that all the theology in Romans is written to a pastoral purpose. So, the question is "how does Paul's theology in Romans work to bring about unity?".
The Pastoral Theology of Romans
We begin by understanding that the problem Paul is addressing is a lack of Morally Beautiful (i.e. loving and unified) Community in the Roman churches.
To address this problem, Paul takes the recipients of his letter down a path toward conviction of sin. The conclusion is that the real point of cause of the problem is the heart and that a true follower of God needs not a circumcision that is outward but a "circumcision of the heart".
If we look at Paul's life we can see how this circumcision of the heart happened to Paul. Paul was a righteous person according to the external trappings of the law (Phil 3). But he found himself to be miserable and having one serious character defect - he was covetous or filled with envy (Romans 7). You see, Paul could obey the external elements of the law and created a theology to support this observance as the key to righteousness as a Pharisee. But the law also contains inescapable demands for a pure heart and Paul personally was laid low by the tenth commandment; "Thou shall not covet". Paul was ruthlessly honest and desired to obey all the law. When he was convicted of sin, namely his envy, he was undone. This conviction occurred on the road to Damascus in the presence of Jesus. Wrath was revealed in the gospel. The law was upheld and Jesus provided the answer in His atonement for the wrath of God.
This covetousness turned Paul into a violent offender who opposed true religion. Who did he covet? What was he envious of? How did this make him the chief of sinners? The answer is Paul coveted and envied Steven and the Hellenistic Jews who were externally breaking the traditions of the law. They were law-breakers and yet they found what Paul was looking for. They had shalom. They drove Paul to jealousy. The church had found peace between the nations. The nations, the Hellenistic Jews, were bringing their offerings to the feet of the apostles and the wealth of the nations was flowing into Jerusalem via this supposed heretical Way of Jesus Christ.
Steven, the law-breaker, did not wear phylacteries. He trimmed his beard. He associated with the gentile world. He was ceremonially unclean.
Paul was furious!!! "How could You give him a word of grace? How could you give this rebel against tradition the power of miracles like a prophet? When I saw his face shining like an angel and I realized You gave him, this disloyal Greekish Jew, You gave him shalom and happiness and peace like an angel. We tried our best to take away that peace. We tried to shut him up but he just kept smiling. Our stones could not touch him. It is not fair!!! I labored for you all these years and you never gave me a fatted calf that I could make merry with my friends".
"Oh Paul..why do you persecute me. Is God the God of the Jew alone? Is there but one God of all? Did I not create the heaven and the earth? Is it not my right to grant love and forgiveness and mercy? Behold, I will show you what a great work I will do through you to these very people. I forgive you Paul. This fury you feel is covetousness. You too are a law breaker and I forgive you. Stand up. Go to a man named Annanias and I will show you how you will serve me. I will give you what Steven has if you would only ask. For I am the God of the gentile and the God of the Jew and the Your God and Your savior Jesus, whom you persecute."
So, Paul's heart of anger and rage and envy and jealousy was laid to rest. He was convicted. He was forgiven. He was cleansed and His affections were set free. Through conviction of sin and the offer of forgiveness through the atonement that is in Jesus Christ Paul's heart was quieted and for the first time he understood from the heart what it means to love the Lord your God with all his heart, and all his soul, and all his mind and all his strength.
God Bless,
brad
One place we see the connection between community building and the Gospel is in the book of Romans. Without going into a big proof of this premise, I contend that Romans was written to the Roman churches to bring unity to the Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome. For example, in the climactic theological sections (Romans 9-11), Paul speaks of the envy and/or pride between Jews and Gentiles and the sovereignty of God in bringing the Gospel to all as He pleases. Looking at Romans in its context we see that all the theology in Romans is written to a pastoral purpose. So, the question is "how does Paul's theology in Romans work to bring about unity?".
The Pastoral Theology of Romans
We begin by understanding that the problem Paul is addressing is a lack of Morally Beautiful (i.e. loving and unified) Community in the Roman churches.
To address this problem, Paul takes the recipients of his letter down a path toward conviction of sin. The conclusion is that the real point of cause of the problem is the heart and that a true follower of God needs not a circumcision that is outward but a "circumcision of the heart".
If we look at Paul's life we can see how this circumcision of the heart happened to Paul. Paul was a righteous person according to the external trappings of the law (Phil 3). But he found himself to be miserable and having one serious character defect - he was covetous or filled with envy (Romans 7). You see, Paul could obey the external elements of the law and created a theology to support this observance as the key to righteousness as a Pharisee. But the law also contains inescapable demands for a pure heart and Paul personally was laid low by the tenth commandment; "Thou shall not covet". Paul was ruthlessly honest and desired to obey all the law. When he was convicted of sin, namely his envy, he was undone. This conviction occurred on the road to Damascus in the presence of Jesus. Wrath was revealed in the gospel. The law was upheld and Jesus provided the answer in His atonement for the wrath of God.
This covetousness turned Paul into a violent offender who opposed true religion. Who did he covet? What was he envious of? How did this make him the chief of sinners? The answer is Paul coveted and envied Steven and the Hellenistic Jews who were externally breaking the traditions of the law. They were law-breakers and yet they found what Paul was looking for. They had shalom. They drove Paul to jealousy. The church had found peace between the nations. The nations, the Hellenistic Jews, were bringing their offerings to the feet of the apostles and the wealth of the nations was flowing into Jerusalem via this supposed heretical Way of Jesus Christ.
Steven, the law-breaker, did not wear phylacteries. He trimmed his beard. He associated with the gentile world. He was ceremonially unclean.
Paul was furious!!! "How could You give him a word of grace? How could you give this rebel against tradition the power of miracles like a prophet? When I saw his face shining like an angel and I realized You gave him, this disloyal Greekish Jew, You gave him shalom and happiness and peace like an angel. We tried our best to take away that peace. We tried to shut him up but he just kept smiling. Our stones could not touch him. It is not fair!!! I labored for you all these years and you never gave me a fatted calf that I could make merry with my friends".
"Oh Paul..why do you persecute me. Is God the God of the Jew alone? Is there but one God of all? Did I not create the heaven and the earth? Is it not my right to grant love and forgiveness and mercy? Behold, I will show you what a great work I will do through you to these very people. I forgive you Paul. This fury you feel is covetousness. You too are a law breaker and I forgive you. Stand up. Go to a man named Annanias and I will show you how you will serve me. I will give you what Steven has if you would only ask. For I am the God of the gentile and the God of the Jew and the Your God and Your savior Jesus, whom you persecute."
So, Paul's heart of anger and rage and envy and jealousy was laid to rest. He was convicted. He was forgiven. He was cleansed and His affections were set free. Through conviction of sin and the offer of forgiveness through the atonement that is in Jesus Christ Paul's heart was quieted and for the first time he understood from the heart what it means to love the Lord your God with all his heart, and all his soul, and all his mind and all his strength.
God Bless,
brad
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Anger is the Greatest Enemy
It is common among all of us to hide our inner life from ourselves and others.
The reality is that we are much more spiritually unclean than we realize. The most common and most deadly spiritual disease we are plagued with is anger. There is a process to go through that is very helpful in bringing our sin to our awareness so that we can properly confess and be cleansed.
The answer is the resentment inventory. This process starts with listing everyone you could ever have possibly had a resentment toward. This is a process of journaling every name that comes to your mind. This excercise is very powerful in bringing to our conscious awareness the fact that we are indeed filled with uncleanness. Inside us is dead man’s bones and ultimately some of us our mouths are closed graves but it always conceals the reality of the uncleanness inside of us. The journaling process is the best method of letting this internal uncleanness to the surface.
During the process, if we are rigorously honest with ourselves, we come to realize that our lives are to a greater extent than we previously realized motivated by anger. So we list all the people first. Then we list all the wrongs that have ever occurred. Then we acknowledge what areas of our lives this effects, our social life, our sexual life, our finances, our self-esteem and emotional life, our confidence, our spiritual life etc. Now we are aware of the reality that we are generally pissed off with the world and most every person we have ever met. We take about two weeks sometimes to be thorough. We keep writing until nothing comes to mind.
We have already received an incredible benefit from this process. We have come to see the reality of our wretchedness. We may in many cases feel justified in our anger but if you are sensitive you are aware that this is no way to live and certainly no way to become spiritually healthy. Now comes the Gospel key…
We return to the list and look at it from a completely different perspective. Here is the key…Here in lies the difference between the Christian approach to life and the more therapeutic methods employed by the secular world. We look at the list and are determined to discover “where was I to blame”. In many cases, we realize that our own self-centeredness has brought this problem upon ourselves. In other cases, is it our own self-centeredness that set us up for being hurt. We have an agenda and the rest of the world does not want to follow our agenda and we are hurt. We are rejected because of our own sinfulness. We are controlling and manipulative and people do not like to be around us. We lie and steal and people do not trust us. We are gossips and people tend to be closed to us. We are know it alls and dominate conversation. We are fearful and needy and become a burden to others. This too is self-centeredness. So the world has rejected us but in reality they are under no obligation to submit to our requests and cater to our self-centeredness.
So we begin in ruthless honesty to see our own character defects. No matter what our personality is we are all plagued by some form of self centeredness that we carry with us. It is this universal character trait that we learn to discover and are preparing ourselves to let God remove from us as He performs a circumcision of our hearts.
When we come to own our part in the matter and turn our gaze to our side of the street that we begin to overcome our anger and begin to find real deliverance from our impulsiveness. Here is how discipleship differs from the therapeutic model. The disiciple is after a cleansing and removal of our own sin. Sin is our problem and we are seeking a spiritual solution of power from the Holy Spirit to deliver us from what truly ails us.
The reality is that we are much more spiritually unclean than we realize. The most common and most deadly spiritual disease we are plagued with is anger. There is a process to go through that is very helpful in bringing our sin to our awareness so that we can properly confess and be cleansed.
The answer is the resentment inventory. This process starts with listing everyone you could ever have possibly had a resentment toward. This is a process of journaling every name that comes to your mind. This excercise is very powerful in bringing to our conscious awareness the fact that we are indeed filled with uncleanness. Inside us is dead man’s bones and ultimately some of us our mouths are closed graves but it always conceals the reality of the uncleanness inside of us. The journaling process is the best method of letting this internal uncleanness to the surface.
During the process, if we are rigorously honest with ourselves, we come to realize that our lives are to a greater extent than we previously realized motivated by anger. So we list all the people first. Then we list all the wrongs that have ever occurred. Then we acknowledge what areas of our lives this effects, our social life, our sexual life, our finances, our self-esteem and emotional life, our confidence, our spiritual life etc. Now we are aware of the reality that we are generally pissed off with the world and most every person we have ever met. We take about two weeks sometimes to be thorough. We keep writing until nothing comes to mind.
We have already received an incredible benefit from this process. We have come to see the reality of our wretchedness. We may in many cases feel justified in our anger but if you are sensitive you are aware that this is no way to live and certainly no way to become spiritually healthy. Now comes the Gospel key…
We return to the list and look at it from a completely different perspective. Here is the key…Here in lies the difference between the Christian approach to life and the more therapeutic methods employed by the secular world. We look at the list and are determined to discover “where was I to blame”. In many cases, we realize that our own self-centeredness has brought this problem upon ourselves. In other cases, is it our own self-centeredness that set us up for being hurt. We have an agenda and the rest of the world does not want to follow our agenda and we are hurt. We are rejected because of our own sinfulness. We are controlling and manipulative and people do not like to be around us. We lie and steal and people do not trust us. We are gossips and people tend to be closed to us. We are know it alls and dominate conversation. We are fearful and needy and become a burden to others. This too is self-centeredness. So the world has rejected us but in reality they are under no obligation to submit to our requests and cater to our self-centeredness.
So we begin in ruthless honesty to see our own character defects. No matter what our personality is we are all plagued by some form of self centeredness that we carry with us. It is this universal character trait that we learn to discover and are preparing ourselves to let God remove from us as He performs a circumcision of our hearts.
When we come to own our part in the matter and turn our gaze to our side of the street that we begin to overcome our anger and begin to find real deliverance from our impulsiveness. Here is how discipleship differs from the therapeutic model. The disiciple is after a cleansing and removal of our own sin. Sin is our problem and we are seeking a spiritual solution of power from the Holy Spirit to deliver us from what truly ails us.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
A Portrait of the Emerging Pastor
As a pastor, and a child of the streets of “Los Angeles”, I find a cultural clash occurring between various cultural expectations of the pastor as a role model in the evangelical community. There is the emerging pastor who maybe dresses down and expresses himself in a very accessible and common manner. The pastor is the normal Joe. The primary value is authenticity and his demeanor is intended to contradict the stereotype of the "good looking guy who has it all together" image of a by-gone era. To the emerging pastor, the key is to put your worst foot forward as opposed to your best foot. To show weakness and to use yourself as an example of weakness and spiritual neediness is central to the meta-message of the emerging pastor's approach to his place as a role model.
In fact, the key principle is that there is no difference between the emerging pastor’s public and private persona. This principle is intended to teach that we ought not to live in fear, but, instead, the church is to be a safe community where there are no hidden rules and hidden agendas. The church is to be first and foremost a “no condemnation zone”. The church is the safest place on earth to be open and honest about your struggles with sin.
Pastors are called to be safe to the most hurting people in our society. The addict and the deviant must know that this man understands the self loathing and the powerlessness one feels when they carry with them a history of shameful deeds. A polo shirt or a suit and tie doesn’t make the outcast feel safe and at home.
Salt and Light – Being Distinctive
It is an interesting thing that the emerging pastor is often criticized for being more concerned with Pop culture than being distinct and holy. But this is a misunderstanding of the values of the emerging community leaders. The meta-message behind being hip is not “look at me I’m hip” but that we do not believe that cultural distinctives are good barometers of heart holiness. Being distinct is not so much about cigarettes and secular music as generosity and hospitality. The emerging pastor has Weezer on his iPod and a homeless family in his living room. By contrast, the old model tended to maintain the home as a sanctuary and to consider keeping in step with Pop culture to be a sign of worldliness. In the new paradigm, being culturally hip is simply a way of saying that it is not cultural distinctiveness that is the proper barometer of holiness but honesty, love, compassion, and a mild temperament. Being culturally aware is simply a way of showing that the old standards are superficial. The world is in need not of the forms of religion but the power that can transform the affections.
To the uninitiated, this new set of values is easily mis-interpreted. The old wineskin cannot hold the new wine. When the two are combined (the old wineskin with the new wine) much confusion and misunderstanding can ensue. What is needed is for the emerging pastor and the old paradigm to find a place of conversation and dialogue. All parties must learn to submit our preferences at the feet of the Missional purposes of the God of Love and become a multi-cultural expression of love and tolerance to a world caught in the grips of fear and guilt and all the lonliness that comes from a life of hiding behind the mask of a self-imposed prison of false dignity.
God Bless,
brad
emerging;Church;Christianity;Jesus;Emerging Church;Ministry;
In fact, the key principle is that there is no difference between the emerging pastor’s public and private persona. This principle is intended to teach that we ought not to live in fear, but, instead, the church is to be a safe community where there are no hidden rules and hidden agendas. The church is to be first and foremost a “no condemnation zone”. The church is the safest place on earth to be open and honest about your struggles with sin.
Pastors are called to be safe to the most hurting people in our society. The addict and the deviant must know that this man understands the self loathing and the powerlessness one feels when they carry with them a history of shameful deeds. A polo shirt or a suit and tie doesn’t make the outcast feel safe and at home.
Salt and Light – Being Distinctive
It is an interesting thing that the emerging pastor is often criticized for being more concerned with Pop culture than being distinct and holy. But this is a misunderstanding of the values of the emerging community leaders. The meta-message behind being hip is not “look at me I’m hip” but that we do not believe that cultural distinctives are good barometers of heart holiness. Being distinct is not so much about cigarettes and secular music as generosity and hospitality. The emerging pastor has Weezer on his iPod and a homeless family in his living room. By contrast, the old model tended to maintain the home as a sanctuary and to consider keeping in step with Pop culture to be a sign of worldliness. In the new paradigm, being culturally hip is simply a way of saying that it is not cultural distinctiveness that is the proper barometer of holiness but honesty, love, compassion, and a mild temperament. Being culturally aware is simply a way of showing that the old standards are superficial. The world is in need not of the forms of religion but the power that can transform the affections.
To the uninitiated, this new set of values is easily mis-interpreted. The old wineskin cannot hold the new wine. When the two are combined (the old wineskin with the new wine) much confusion and misunderstanding can ensue. What is needed is for the emerging pastor and the old paradigm to find a place of conversation and dialogue. All parties must learn to submit our preferences at the feet of the Missional purposes of the God of Love and become a multi-cultural expression of love and tolerance to a world caught in the grips of fear and guilt and all the lonliness that comes from a life of hiding behind the mask of a self-imposed prison of false dignity.
God Bless,
brad
emerging;Church;Christianity;Jesus;Emerging Church;Ministry;
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Blogging and Stuff - Best Music 2005
Lately I haven't been blogging. I don't think I have been in a good enough place to blog. I need to press back into it...BUT
I do have some links...Top 10 music I listened to in 2005
1. Matisyahu - King Without A Crown
Matisyahu is the top pick for enlightening music in 2005.
He is in the wonderful ecstatic tradition that has yet to become reality.
Maybe, such a dream will become a reality and Matisyahu will blaze the trail.
2. Steel Pulse - Chant a Psalm
This is old school reggae at it's best. I wish I could. Ok I will...click here.
Pure joyful celebration...These guys may be heretics but they understand the kingdom...Go figure??
3. System of a Down - Hypnotize
If my son grows up to play guitar like DARON MALAKIAN I will be officially justified.
4. U2 - Miracle Drug
Bono for man of the year. This song we have reviewed here before. It is Bono's dream for all of to come together in Jesus name and find a cure to various diseases that plague the globe. No one leverages celebrity for good like Bono.
5. Monk/Train - Nutty
6. Weezer - Perfect Situation
I listened to the Make Believe album with MoJoey on the way into town from Palm Springs this morning and I could not for the life of me understand why this album didn't get great reviews.
7. Matt Redman - Nothing But the Blood
8. Switchfoot - Stars
Best DVD here - The Violet Burning - click here WOW. Why isn't The Violet Burning as big as U2?
God Bless,
brad
I do have some links...Top 10 music I listened to in 2005
1. Matisyahu - King Without A Crown
Matisyahu is the top pick for enlightening music in 2005.
He is in the wonderful ecstatic tradition that has yet to become reality.
Maybe, such a dream will become a reality and Matisyahu will blaze the trail.
2. Steel Pulse - Chant a Psalm
This is old school reggae at it's best. I wish I could. Ok I will...click here.
Pure joyful celebration...These guys may be heretics but they understand the kingdom...Go figure??
3. System of a Down - Hypnotize
If my son grows up to play guitar like DARON MALAKIAN I will be officially justified.
4. U2 - Miracle Drug
Bono for man of the year. This song we have reviewed here before. It is Bono's dream for all of to come together in Jesus name and find a cure to various diseases that plague the globe. No one leverages celebrity for good like Bono.
5. Monk/Train - Nutty
6. Weezer - Perfect Situation
I listened to the Make Believe album with MoJoey on the way into town from Palm Springs this morning and I could not for the life of me understand why this album didn't get great reviews.
7. Matt Redman - Nothing But the Blood
8. Switchfoot - Stars
Best DVD here - The Violet Burning - click here WOW. Why isn't The Violet Burning as big as U2?
God Bless,
brad
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
2005 Christmas Sermon - Anna and Simeon
For sermon audio click here (2005 Christmas - Anna and Simeon)
For Podcast subscription - cut and paste this url(http://reformation.typepad.com/sermons/rss.xml ) into subscription in iTunes or Media Player
Or use feedburner: http://feeds.feedburner.com/typepad/uSRJ
God Bless,
brad
For Podcast subscription - cut and paste this url(http://reformation.typepad.com/sermons/rss.xml ) into subscription in iTunes or Media Player
Or use feedburner: http://feeds.feedburner.com/typepad/uSRJ
God Bless,
brad
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