I read a wonderful prayer this morning out of A.W Tozer's book "The Pursuit of God". In a culture that whispers sweet little lies in our ear about how "the world is ours", I couldn't help but post it to give us some perspective. In my own life, I recognize that a life following Christ calls for a total abandonment of our "self" and absolute trust in Him (thanks Jesus and translated by Oswald Chambers). At the same time, I continue (wrongly) to see the "dying to self" that Jesus calls me to as an act to do or a law to follow in order to be right with Him/God. I sometimes fall into the trap that creating in my own power a life of charity or a life of poverty is what God needs from me in order to truly know Him. Fortunately to you and me, my own best thinking isn't close to God's eternal perspective.
The "death to self" that Jesus speaks of, or that "harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom" thing that we aim to keep away from are matters of our heart. They are not matters of God's grace to us and in fact are misread to the point that we see them as something to "check off" of our list of things to do to get right with God. Thankfully, Jesus is speaking of being transformed from seeing gifts on Earth as ours as opposed to on loan from Him. The kind of transformation of the heart that only comes through God and time spent with Him.
So what is it that Jesus wants us to actually die to? It's the things we still hold onto in this world, the things that cause fear and discouragement if we are to lose them. They are the things we call "my" or "mine". Wives, children, jobs, "callings", health, wealth, toys, etc. Those two words, "my" and "mine" always speak of personal possession and when they are used by a person, God's question to them will always be, "What is occupying your heart that keeps me from having full reign over your life?". It's a question that is scary to the carnal(natural) Christian, but to the follower of Christ, the one who is filled with the Spirit, it is a realization that God wants us to experience the freedom in Christ we read about but rarely see in person.
Just last night as I laid in bed with my fourteen month old daughter who has been dealing with a fever between 100 degrees and 105.5 degrees over the past two days my mind began wandering. Sure I had been to the Doctor's office earlier in the day and was assured that this is normal and that it's viral, but as I randomly checked her temperature though the night and watched it vary from 99 degrees to 105.5 degrees I got scared. At the point that I became so tired that I couldn't keep myself up I began praying for her (again). Before I could enter into the prayer, God stopped me, asked me to let Him have her back, reminded me she was His and not mine and told me that I'm a better helper to Him when I get some sleep. My response was a recognition that I still have some "my's" and "mine's" in my life that need to be relinquished to obtain freedom in Christ and while I hate to see my little girl not feeling well, I'm thankful to have a God that can be trusted in all circumstances.
If you are having marital issues remember that your wife or husband is His and not yours. If you are having job/money issues remember you are His and not your own. If you are unwilling to live off of "savings" because you feel like that is your little "security" in case things really get bad, guess what? Your "savings" is His too (guilty of this one). Your life is His, nothing is your own and recognizing that is the beginning of freedom.
By the way, that little thing about making my life one of charity and poverty. I've come to realize that while minimizing and only using what is needed is beneficial, it is NOT mandatory to the heart that is fully occupied by God. As a matter of fact, many men and women of God throughout Scripture have attained wealth. The reason that it was allowed to them (and not me) was because their hearts were not controlled by these "things". It's not a matter of if the "things" that are useful in our life are bad because they're expensive. It's instead a matter of them getting in the way of God as He reigns over our entire heart. When God is reining over your entire heart, the "things" you want and desire seem to change on their own.
***
Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart
fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them
without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide
from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling,
but I come. Please root from my heart all those
things which I have cherished so long and which
have become a very part of my living self, so that
Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival.
Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious.
Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to
shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it,
and there shall be no night there.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Painting By Numbers
I get the oppurtunity to hang out with a lot of guys. Whether it's to listen about their life, speak truth into it, watch sports or any other reason, I'm truly grateful to get this oppurtunity to share being alive with them. It really is a time of personal growth and reflection and also teaches me a lot of new things about intimacy with Jesus that I can't get from one on one time with my wife. Over the past week, I've had a fun little discussion with one of these guys about the idea of creativity. It wasn't the normal discussion about creativity involving topics like how we know God is creative, or a question about the importance of meeting Him as a Creator in Scripture. We didn't discuss how our own creativity is another "thing" that makes it clear we are made in God's image or what we can do in terms of disciplines to get our creative minds running. Even the idea that we live in a culture in which, quite honestly, creative people are vitually worshipped didn't become a topic either.
Instead we talked about my blog. Seems kind of weird right? He told me that he checks in on it to read whatever insight or questions I may be raising about the "status quo" in the Christian life. He told me that he does that because he felt like the idea of creative writing and thinking is what is lacking, especially in Christian culture. He went on to say that he thinks I'm creative which was a compliment I have not heard many times in my life, especially as somebody who is thought of as being analytical on the verge of critical. Ironically, when he asked why I've stopped writing, I responded with a reason that had to do with what I felt is a lack of creativity. I said that it seems like I'm posting about the same things as many other people who are much more prominent than me (in the world's eyes, clearly not God's) and in fact felt a bit like an idiot for doing so because their stuff seems so much more original than mine.
That quick discussion is what fueled today's blog. He went on to tell me that he liked what I had to say because even though other people may also be saying it, the way I write it seems like I don't want to copy anybody else (that got me worried). Instead he said that he feels as though my writing comes from my heart, not fearing anybody but God in what I say and that he likes the idea of being stretched to consider if he ACTUALLY believes, what he says he believes.
That type of creative critical thinking is what brought the idea of "painting by numbers" to my mind. When I was a kid I wasn't a great artist, but I was really good at coloring. Staying between the lines was an easy thing for me and when I found out about the paint by color kits I realized that was the perfect place for me to show off my artistic (but clearly non-creative) abilities. I was tired of other kids getting attention for how great they could draw or paint and this was a place I could shine. All I had to do was be the best at using the colors that were picked out for me, on a picture I cared nothing about. When I was done, I may have painted a beautiful bird that made me look artistic even though it lacked inspiration and creativity. I was willing to settle because it made life easier and me look good.
Does that story sound familiar to anybody? Are you living a life that you call creative but is actually just a life that is more "paint by number"? Are you doing all the right "Christiany" things without ever thinking about them? Are you going through the motions by attending religious services, small groups, prayer meetings, retreats, or seminars just to realize that you are there to take and not to give? Do you serve because you were told it's a specific day to serve, but not because you have a heart for service? I could go on and on but it is my belief that we are living in a Christian era of copycats. It's easier that way. We copy culture, we copy poets, we copy preachers, we copy marketing ideas, we copy business strategies for "church" growth, we copy movies and give them Christian names in order to attract "non-believers", and even worse (or better if it's that guy on American Idol doing a NEW version of "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul) we are the kings of "cover songs".
I don't know what it's going to take for Christians, followers of Jesus, to get a mind of their own. I'm not saying that we should be wasting our time trying to make things "untrue" that are eternally true. I'm not saying we shouldn't believe that God is the Alpha and Omega or that maybe Jesus was only a man. What I'm saying is that we need to be willing to let God speak to us clearly instead of us trying to please those around us by how good of a "Christian" we are. I'm saying to get out of the box of doing all the right "Christiany" things without ever getting intimate with Jesus. Im' saying that teachers of the word need to remember that it isn't persuasive speech that does the saving but in fact it's the Holy Spirit and the enabline of the heart by God. When it comes to creativity clearly Van Gogh used things that existed in order to show the world the way he saw it. I can guarantee you that he had seen the nighttime and stars before he painted "starry starry night". I'm just saying that God has given us a mind to use for both analysis and creativity. He has given us a mind to challenge ourselves. I can remember Jesus saying to the Pharisees in the book of John how they looked and looked through the Scriptures in order to find eternal life when instead the freedom of eternal life was just found in following Him. Following Jesus looks different from person to person but there remains one constant when we're truly following him and that is the fact that we can't copy another person's way of doing it.
God wants to inspire you. He does it through His Spirit as you follow Jesus. Allow your heart to be transformed into the person God created you to be instead of who you try and create yourself to be based on what you think is cool or "in". When we create ourselves to be something we're not, we're not being creative at all, in fact we're creating ourselves in the image of something that already exists. Don't settle for painting by color, God isn't worried about you impressing others, He just wants you to have the freedom to glorify Him with the gifts He has already given you instead of trying to borrow the gifts of others to impress Him or them. He loves you, now let Him live in you and work through you in a way that could only be labeled creative.
Instead we talked about my blog. Seems kind of weird right? He told me that he checks in on it to read whatever insight or questions I may be raising about the "status quo" in the Christian life. He told me that he does that because he felt like the idea of creative writing and thinking is what is lacking, especially in Christian culture. He went on to say that he thinks I'm creative which was a compliment I have not heard many times in my life, especially as somebody who is thought of as being analytical on the verge of critical. Ironically, when he asked why I've stopped writing, I responded with a reason that had to do with what I felt is a lack of creativity. I said that it seems like I'm posting about the same things as many other people who are much more prominent than me (in the world's eyes, clearly not God's) and in fact felt a bit like an idiot for doing so because their stuff seems so much more original than mine.
That quick discussion is what fueled today's blog. He went on to tell me that he liked what I had to say because even though other people may also be saying it, the way I write it seems like I don't want to copy anybody else (that got me worried). Instead he said that he feels as though my writing comes from my heart, not fearing anybody but God in what I say and that he likes the idea of being stretched to consider if he ACTUALLY believes, what he says he believes.
That type of creative critical thinking is what brought the idea of "painting by numbers" to my mind. When I was a kid I wasn't a great artist, but I was really good at coloring. Staying between the lines was an easy thing for me and when I found out about the paint by color kits I realized that was the perfect place for me to show off my artistic (but clearly non-creative) abilities. I was tired of other kids getting attention for how great they could draw or paint and this was a place I could shine. All I had to do was be the best at using the colors that were picked out for me, on a picture I cared nothing about. When I was done, I may have painted a beautiful bird that made me look artistic even though it lacked inspiration and creativity. I was willing to settle because it made life easier and me look good.
Does that story sound familiar to anybody? Are you living a life that you call creative but is actually just a life that is more "paint by number"? Are you doing all the right "Christiany" things without ever thinking about them? Are you going through the motions by attending religious services, small groups, prayer meetings, retreats, or seminars just to realize that you are there to take and not to give? Do you serve because you were told it's a specific day to serve, but not because you have a heart for service? I could go on and on but it is my belief that we are living in a Christian era of copycats. It's easier that way. We copy culture, we copy poets, we copy preachers, we copy marketing ideas, we copy business strategies for "church" growth, we copy movies and give them Christian names in order to attract "non-believers", and even worse (or better if it's that guy on American Idol doing a NEW version of "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul) we are the kings of "cover songs".
I don't know what it's going to take for Christians, followers of Jesus, to get a mind of their own. I'm not saying that we should be wasting our time trying to make things "untrue" that are eternally true. I'm not saying we shouldn't believe that God is the Alpha and Omega or that maybe Jesus was only a man. What I'm saying is that we need to be willing to let God speak to us clearly instead of us trying to please those around us by how good of a "Christian" we are. I'm saying to get out of the box of doing all the right "Christiany" things without ever getting intimate with Jesus. Im' saying that teachers of the word need to remember that it isn't persuasive speech that does the saving but in fact it's the Holy Spirit and the enabline of the heart by God. When it comes to creativity clearly Van Gogh used things that existed in order to show the world the way he saw it. I can guarantee you that he had seen the nighttime and stars before he painted "starry starry night". I'm just saying that God has given us a mind to use for both analysis and creativity. He has given us a mind to challenge ourselves. I can remember Jesus saying to the Pharisees in the book of John how they looked and looked through the Scriptures in order to find eternal life when instead the freedom of eternal life was just found in following Him. Following Jesus looks different from person to person but there remains one constant when we're truly following him and that is the fact that we can't copy another person's way of doing it.
God wants to inspire you. He does it through His Spirit as you follow Jesus. Allow your heart to be transformed into the person God created you to be instead of who you try and create yourself to be based on what you think is cool or "in". When we create ourselves to be something we're not, we're not being creative at all, in fact we're creating ourselves in the image of something that already exists. Don't settle for painting by color, God isn't worried about you impressing others, He just wants you to have the freedom to glorify Him with the gifts He has already given you instead of trying to borrow the gifts of others to impress Him or them. He loves you, now let Him live in you and work through you in a way that could only be labeled creative.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
I'm baaaaack!
This is bad news for some and good news for others. My "couple weeks" break turned into a month and a half. Anyway, after a lot of meetings and people asking why I haven't posted any new content I realize it is time to start writing again. I'm aiming to post twice a week starting March 1st. If anyone still receives my blog, then you will be the first to know. I will also be posting on Twitter and Facebook when new articles come up. Feel free to forward it to anybody you think may benefit.
The first post is tentatively titled "Painting by Color". Hoping this clarity from God blesses you like it blessed me. In the mean time be praying for revival, revolution, friends, family, Haiti, Chile and so many others. I'm really looking forward to challenging your thinking and life in the "status quo", especially those living like "Casual Christians" starting next week. Also, be praying for me that I make much of Jesus with this blog. I write for Him, not for me, you or anybody else.
Blessings,
Ryan
The first post is tentatively titled "Painting by Color". Hoping this clarity from God blesses you like it blessed me. In the mean time be praying for revival, revolution, friends, family, Haiti, Chile and so many others. I'm really looking forward to challenging your thinking and life in the "status quo", especially those living like "Casual Christians" starting next week. Also, be praying for me that I make much of Jesus with this blog. I write for Him, not for me, you or anybody else.
Blessings,
Ryan
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Little Break....
I've had a lot going on over the past two weeks which is why you're seeing more links than my own writing (though I share many of the same views as the links I post or at least consider the questions that are being asked). I hope to be back with some Spirit filled insight into individual transformation and communal growth in the next couple weeks. I hope you see all of the blessings God has bestowed upon you this year and please make sure to be praying for the people of Haiti!
Much Love,
Ryan
Much Love,
Ryan
"Organic Church": Is it really a movement? (Frank Viola's reply to the Christianity Today Article)
I've quoted Frank Viola alot. I've shared my thoughts on "Church" frequently, especially the "organic" variety. I've posted some recent questions and links on this topic that have had me answering if I'm still a "Christian" in my social circles. In other words, the importance of God's vision for His bride is at the forefront of my mind even if the questions I'm posing make the casual Chrisitan and even the committed follower of Jesus uneasy.
Therefore, I'm posting a recent article Frank Viola used as a response to the previous post I had regarding a Christianity Today article on "Organic Church". I suggest you read it as it gives more insight into what his, my and I hope God's view is for those who desire to live a life by the indwelling Spirit of our Lord Jesus.
Disclaimer: Frank Viola is not of Minnesota Twins fame from the 80's and the 90's, so don't get your hopes up that a left handed pitcher with a perfect mustache cares more about Church life than how well his curve ball is breaking.
CLICK THE LINK ON THE POST TO READ THE ARTICLE
Therefore, I'm posting a recent article Frank Viola used as a response to the previous post I had regarding a Christianity Today article on "Organic Church". I suggest you read it as it gives more insight into what his, my and I hope God's view is for those who desire to live a life by the indwelling Spirit of our Lord Jesus.
Disclaimer: Frank Viola is not of Minnesota Twins fame from the 80's and the 90's, so don't get your hopes up that a left handed pitcher with a perfect mustache cares more about Church life than how well his curve ball is breaking.
CLICK THE LINK ON THE POST TO READ THE ARTICLE
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Can Organic Church Last?
It seems I write about it daily. I think about it constantly. I wish I didn't feel led this way as it's much easier to stick with the status-quo. I'm speaking about Organic church and it is the current trend in the Christian faith with the hope of bringing back a more authentic community life, an end to silly institutional spending and an abolition of the clergy/laity divide while re-instituting the biblical view of an all member functioning community in which the body becomes the true expression of Christ as it moves in the way the Spirit leads it. Many believe it is the answer to the lack of transformation in the individual and the way for the church to get back to her true definition. Regardless of how you feel about it, it's here and it's gaining steam.
Today, I've posted a link to a great article I read in Christianity Today that gives a great outline and description of what is happening and what has historically happened to similar visions for the Church in the past. I hope you check it out and gain insight, perspective, hope and an opinion about where you stand in your own relationship with Christ, His bride, and your perspective on where the church is headed.
If you are like me, a bit torn in your view of "church life" and you hear this still small voice calling you out of institutionalism but unsure if you are walking into a possible heresy (that is Organic Church life) I urge you to read this. If you are living the institutional church life, have no issues with it, but wonder what those crazy revolutionaries are fighting for when it comes to Organic Church I urge you to read it. If you are looking for something interesting going on inside your family (your eternal family) that you may not know a lot about, I urge you to read it. In other words, check it out and let me know what you think.
(Click the title for a link to the Christianity today article)
Today, I've posted a link to a great article I read in Christianity Today that gives a great outline and description of what is happening and what has historically happened to similar visions for the Church in the past. I hope you check it out and gain insight, perspective, hope and an opinion about where you stand in your own relationship with Christ, His bride, and your perspective on where the church is headed.
If you are like me, a bit torn in your view of "church life" and you hear this still small voice calling you out of institutionalism but unsure if you are walking into a possible heresy (that is Organic Church life) I urge you to read this. If you are living the institutional church life, have no issues with it, but wonder what those crazy revolutionaries are fighting for when it comes to Organic Church I urge you to read it. If you are looking for something interesting going on inside your family (your eternal family) that you may not know a lot about, I urge you to read it. In other words, check it out and let me know what you think.
(Click the title for a link to the Christianity today article)
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
"A Jesus Manifesto" by Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet
I had to post this link after reading Frank Viola's and Leonard Sweet's "A Jesus Manifesto". It was written to and for the entire body of Christ regardless of specific views of members regarding ecclesiology (church), eschatology (end times), Soteriology (the way in which humanity obtains salvation), the presence of spiritual gifts today or in light of political, social or economic views. This "Manifesto" is strictly about Jesus (which is why the entire trinity is not focused on) and is a great foundation for what He hoped we would become.
Within the "Manifesto" we truly see it is Jesus who is Lord and Head. Both authors make it clear that they don't necessarily agree with the different sets of beliefs listed above. I clearly have certain views within the realm of being a Christian, but like the authors, that doesn't separate me from being part of the same body as many of you who don't share those same views.
I truly hope you consider reading this "Magna Carta for Restoring the Supremecy of Jesus Christ", and would love to hear your comments, thoughts and insights. There is no better unifying factor in the Christian life than to have Jesus as the King, Lord, Savior and Head. He is the Alpha and Omega and he desires His body to be unified under His headship. I hope this writing helps us to recognize that we are truly dead outside of Christ and that if we all would allow His Spirit to transform us into the kind of people who love like He did, the problems of pride and self-righteousness could be eliminated and unity in the body would come to fruition.
(To see the article please click the title of this post)
Within the "Manifesto" we truly see it is Jesus who is Lord and Head. Both authors make it clear that they don't necessarily agree with the different sets of beliefs listed above. I clearly have certain views within the realm of being a Christian, but like the authors, that doesn't separate me from being part of the same body as many of you who don't share those same views.
I truly hope you consider reading this "Magna Carta for Restoring the Supremecy of Jesus Christ", and would love to hear your comments, thoughts and insights. There is no better unifying factor in the Christian life than to have Jesus as the King, Lord, Savior and Head. He is the Alpha and Omega and he desires His body to be unified under His headship. I hope this writing helps us to recognize that we are truly dead outside of Christ and that if we all would allow His Spirit to transform us into the kind of people who love like He did, the problems of pride and self-righteousness could be eliminated and unity in the body would come to fruition.
(To see the article please click the title of this post)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
"Budweiser vs. Microbrew" what Newsweek says about Church in America
As most of you know I'm passionate about Jesus, I'm passionate about truth, I'm passionate about love, I'm passionate about God's word, and I'm passionate about God's plan for sharing the truth, love, and word of Jesus through His body...the Church.
This morning I read an interesting article in Newsweek's online magazine about the cultural Christian shift from institutionalization to a more organic and biblical form of community life. In the article Gary Laderman, professor of American religious history at Emory University and author of 'Sacred Matters' stated, "What's going on is a kind of deinstitutionalization of religious life," when he was asked why American Christians have grown weary with the current ways of practicing their faith.
Though the article is interesting and agreeable on the point it aims to make, ( it expresses a major concern for the institutional tradition of the way we "do" church) it still fails to focus on the main issue in regards to the mass exodus of some 1,000,000 Christians per year leaving institutional churches (per the Barna Group), the lack of genuine transformation of individual Christians, and the total disunity within the "body of Christ" (The Church). That main issue is that Christians have grown tired of playing the part of the "American Christian", a part that is focused on keeping America "Christian", the using of the pulpit as an opportunity to press the political beliefs and religious interpretations of a few clergy on to the mass amounts of listeners while they care more about the appearance and marketability of their congregation than transformation and discipleship within the membership (don't tell me it's different, show me). Within this issue is that while the church preaches to the individual listener there is a lack of biblical community within the body as we have been taught like children to be seen and not heard for fear that the congregation speaking up is what would lead to disunity (shaking hands and giving your name before we get entertained is not community). Though Pastors have the best of intentions to keep things orderly, their hierarchical positions have deadened the Spirit of the congregation as very few manage to function, and their fears of disunity are strictly a fear that they may need to re-think the way their program currently works. In a nutshell, followers of Christ are tired of playing the part of Christian, following a select few and their views while the Headship of Jesus and the love and unity of believers is left in the dust.
It also needs to be said that meeting in a house doesn't make a Christian community any better than the one who meets in a church edifice. This is especially true if people are leaving the institution in order to meet together while still holding on to the un-biblical hierarchical structure and liturgy that bores the masses on Sunday's. I truly believe that the main reason for this move from institutional church life is due to a desire of the body to share in authentic worship within an all members functioning community with Christ as Head (see 1 Corinthians 14, Ephesians 5, and all through Acts). The desire doesn't come from the need to be known or "do" church better, but instead, due to the Holy Spirit which desires us to be a unified visible expression of the love and truth of Christ within local communities. While we currently have church buildings on every block from multiple denominations, God's desire to bring true unity within His body cannot co-exist with the current "sheep stealing" that goes on. Especially if these sheep are already part of the Kingdom of God through their relationship with Christ and know their Shepherd(John 10).
In these tough times, ones in which the faint of heart have a buffet of choices in which they can get their daily fears from, the Holy Spirit is moving in the hearts of Christians to usher in the Biblical Kingdom of God through the love, generosity, grace, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I do agree that a lack of institution is where God moves best as the Headship of Christ is allowed to be re-established as he supplants the "CEO Pastor" that currently runs the body in America (and the world). However, I'm also aware that some may disagree with my views on why the move to de-instituionalize the Church is happening and I want to be clear that my main desire is that we would aim in this New Year to re-hire Jesus back as the Head of his Church so that we may get the true answer of what he's doing.
May we all come together in love, regardless of our views on denominations (that includes you non-denomonationals too), politics, baptism, eschatology or any other view that gives us pride as opposed to humility. Let's aim to give Jesus his church back, regaining our understanding of who we are in Christ as well as our roles in His Church.
(For the whole Newsweek article, please click the Blog title entry)
This morning I read an interesting article in Newsweek's online magazine about the cultural Christian shift from institutionalization to a more organic and biblical form of community life. In the article Gary Laderman, professor of American religious history at Emory University and author of 'Sacred Matters' stated, "What's going on is a kind of deinstitutionalization of religious life," when he was asked why American Christians have grown weary with the current ways of practicing their faith.
Though the article is interesting and agreeable on the point it aims to make, ( it expresses a major concern for the institutional tradition of the way we "do" church) it still fails to focus on the main issue in regards to the mass exodus of some 1,000,000 Christians per year leaving institutional churches (per the Barna Group), the lack of genuine transformation of individual Christians, and the total disunity within the "body of Christ" (The Church). That main issue is that Christians have grown tired of playing the part of the "American Christian", a part that is focused on keeping America "Christian", the using of the pulpit as an opportunity to press the political beliefs and religious interpretations of a few clergy on to the mass amounts of listeners while they care more about the appearance and marketability of their congregation than transformation and discipleship within the membership (don't tell me it's different, show me). Within this issue is that while the church preaches to the individual listener there is a lack of biblical community within the body as we have been taught like children to be seen and not heard for fear that the congregation speaking up is what would lead to disunity (shaking hands and giving your name before we get entertained is not community). Though Pastors have the best of intentions to keep things orderly, their hierarchical positions have deadened the Spirit of the congregation as very few manage to function, and their fears of disunity are strictly a fear that they may need to re-think the way their program currently works. In a nutshell, followers of Christ are tired of playing the part of Christian, following a select few and their views while the Headship of Jesus and the love and unity of believers is left in the dust.
It also needs to be said that meeting in a house doesn't make a Christian community any better than the one who meets in a church edifice. This is especially true if people are leaving the institution in order to meet together while still holding on to the un-biblical hierarchical structure and liturgy that bores the masses on Sunday's. I truly believe that the main reason for this move from institutional church life is due to a desire of the body to share in authentic worship within an all members functioning community with Christ as Head (see 1 Corinthians 14, Ephesians 5, and all through Acts). The desire doesn't come from the need to be known or "do" church better, but instead, due to the Holy Spirit which desires us to be a unified visible expression of the love and truth of Christ within local communities. While we currently have church buildings on every block from multiple denominations, God's desire to bring true unity within His body cannot co-exist with the current "sheep stealing" that goes on. Especially if these sheep are already part of the Kingdom of God through their relationship with Christ and know their Shepherd(John 10).
In these tough times, ones in which the faint of heart have a buffet of choices in which they can get their daily fears from, the Holy Spirit is moving in the hearts of Christians to usher in the Biblical Kingdom of God through the love, generosity, grace, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I do agree that a lack of institution is where God moves best as the Headship of Christ is allowed to be re-established as he supplants the "CEO Pastor" that currently runs the body in America (and the world). However, I'm also aware that some may disagree with my views on why the move to de-instituionalize the Church is happening and I want to be clear that my main desire is that we would aim in this New Year to re-hire Jesus back as the Head of his Church so that we may get the true answer of what he's doing.
May we all come together in love, regardless of our views on denominations (that includes you non-denomonationals too), politics, baptism, eschatology or any other view that gives us pride as opposed to humility. Let's aim to give Jesus his church back, regaining our understanding of who we are in Christ as well as our roles in His Church.
(For the whole Newsweek article, please click the Blog title entry)
Monday, January 4, 2010
Keeping you Mentally Healthy...
I came across this blog entry on the John Piper "Desiring God" site. As many of you know I've dealt with Panic Disorder and General Anxiety Disorder in years past and this link is a great list of things you can do to prevent these harmless yet annoying and debilitating conditions along with burnout, stress, pride and depression. Along with the link above on the title of this post, I'm also copy and pasting the 10 points directly on to this blog in case you have trouble. I encourage you to see the entire article so that you get some history into who wrote the list and why it was written.
I'm hoping you all are off to a wonderful New Year! I pray that we all will be a blessing this year both individually and as a body to those we come in contact with. Make your life one of ministry like Christ who "Came to serve, and not to be served...". Like Abraham, we have the ability to be a blessing because we are so blessed.
10 Resolutions for Mental Health
I'm hoping you all are off to a wonderful New Year! I pray that we all will be a blessing this year both individually and as a body to those we come in contact with. Make your life one of ministry like Christ who "Came to serve, and not to be served...". Like Abraham, we have the ability to be a blessing because we are so blessed.
10 Resolutions for Mental Health
1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.
2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle, and an end.
I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death when he said: "There is darkness without, and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing."
3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities.
I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence, but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.
4. I shall not turn my life into a thin, straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.
5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.
6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic" existence.
7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder."
8. I shall follow Darwin's advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.
9. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is now.
10. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Trusting Truth- 40 Days of Psalm 37 (Day 40)
"The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him." -Psalm 37:40
Wow! The year is over. Can you believe it? We have so much to be thankful for, so much to be grateful for and so much to look forward to. Thank God I decided to weed through my thought life on the blog this morning as I was interested in seeing what I became neurotic about these last twelve months (if you know me personally, the term neurotic is almost an understatement once I get caught on a subject). I'm so grateful that during this time of reflection I was able to recognize that outside of my own hand written journal this blog was true therapy. It became my way of asking myself to answer my own hard questions, challenging myself to search for truth and drawing a line in the sand that I was going to press into the truth of God in Christ even if it makes me seem nuts. My blog life became the area in which I could no longer lie, I could no longer deny and I could not run away from what I had typed. If I said it, I was going to have to answer to it.
Another great aspect of this personal blog review was that by His grace I was able to see that I/we never finished "40 Days of Psalm 37". In my defense, it wasn't that I actually forgot about the importance of going over this Psalm, but honestly, I have been on such a search for truth within the Christian culture (or lack of truth), that I unfortunately began to compartmentalize my "transformation" time with God as something I didn't need to share on the blog (even though that's where the Psalm 37 series stemmed from) and turned to asking questions about the way we Christians have been transformed by culture as opposed to God's Spirit. Just to be clear, my hope in leaving the Psalms series was never to make you feel bad about the way we've done "things" in our walk with God but instead to challenge brothers and sisters in Christ as well as anybody who stumbles on to this little blog (if they're a friend I'm aware it was out of pity) to search for truth. I pray that my questions and answers always turned them to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Today's Psalm truly encompasses the answers to all of my questions and supports my thoughts about Christ as I've pressed into Him over the past year. It also sums up the entire series of "Trusting Truth...". Today's message of Psalm 37:40 is that we need to be reminded of where our eternal security lies and how much we can trust the Triune God to deliver us from finite evil. He is the only eternal security available in a world that is sure to burn. The author David states this so clearly and if we are to read the entire Book of Psalms the way it was written (without chapters and verses) we would see the beautiful, passionate, truthful, hopeful and authentic confessions of a man who knew the truth of God's love and eternal plan of salvation even as he struggled with depression, enemies, fear, violence and uncertainty in his own life. His words in the Psalms are a constant reminder of God's constant unchanging love for us, even in the midst of our sin, trial and denial.
From the point of view of a realist (I don't consider myself a blind optimist or pessimist) the year 2010 promises to be one of hardship, turmoil, suffering, uncertainty, fear, and downright panic in the lives of those who don't know Christ (as well as those who say "Lord, Lord..." but never have truly known Him). We live in a world dominated by those who desire power, money and control and that will not change no matter who is in office or running big businesses. In my opinion this passion to rule the world through politics has less to do with their position as much as it has to do with their eternal condition. Without the only One who is a refuge in the time of need, the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the One who causes all of creation to sing of His majesty and the One who makes His eternal Kingdom an option now through Christ; those who don't truly know God must continue in the darkness of a finite life trying to catch the air in their little finite hands.
I don't claim to be the Old Testament prophet type but these coming days of 2010 and beyond promise to be extremely difficult for followers of Jesus. We can expect to be persecuted, made fun of, mocked, starve, and even be killed (Sound familiar to somebody we know and love?). We can also expect continued disunity within the "body" as we love the Lord but don't look to Him as the Head that directs His members. Because of our forgetfulness of who wants "Headship" we lose sight that we are to be the expression of who he is, and resort to being an expression of who He'd want us to be if WE were Him.
With these coming days of tribulation I hope that we don't see this season as a reason for us to rise up and "try harder" to bring people to Christ through our own efforts of great teaching, evangelism, or through politics in the wisdom of the world. Though these things may be a great plan to man our own wisdom and hurried nature is never the best plan to God. Plus, for the record, I'm not sold on our own best ideas of marketing Christianity to the masses which have failed miserably in their attempts to bring people to actually know Jesus as opposed to hear about Him constantly.
Instead, I'm hopeful that we will be transformed by the "renewing of our minds" instead of by one great book by a Christian author who seems to be in touch with one area you are passionate about. I am hoping that we begin to become the ones who are willing to trust and obey God even if it means turning the other cheek so that the "slapper" may know the love of God. I pray that we will take on the mind of Christ in every area and be transformed by the Holy Spirit so that we may live out the love of our risen Lord. And while I oppose gay marriage, I am never actually for the gay bashing that goes on because of it. I truly do find it hard to understand why is it that we reach out in love to the drunk in the street, the witch doctor in Africa, the drug addict on skid row or the corporate millionaire who just lost His wife to cancer but our Western culture of Christians has decided to hate gays? Does that mean we need to "save them"? No! God is the enabler of the heart. But it does mean we need to love them, in spite of their lifestyle. In case we forgot, Jesus wasn't worried about positions, race, creed, religion, or social status, so we need not be. "Repent and follow me" was a message to the Pharisee as much as it was the Samaritan woman. All I can say is that our response and action towards those not like us should always be from the transformed version of us, not in our Pharisidic Christian version that picks and chooses the laws and sins we think need the most treatment.
In my opinion, the coming year is a time in which we don't need to figure out how to get Christianity right and instead need to re-focus on becoming like Christ through the transformation by His Holy Spirit and through communion with the rest of His body who serves under His headship. We constantly need to be reminded that "winning souls" has nothing to do with us or what we've done and instead has everything to do with Him and what He's called us to do corporately. We need to remember that loving people has to do with a calling from God to be the love of Christ to a world in the darkness, and not as another way for us to try harder to make God love us more by doing what He asks. He can't love you any more than He already does! Lastly, we need to remember like David tells us in this Psalm that we have an eternal refuge in God, we have the eternal answer to death in Christ and that we can put all of our trust in a God who promises to deliver us no matter how difficult things may get. The message of 2010 is the message Jesus gave a bunch of ragtag guys in the 1st century,
""If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26)
Friends, brothers and sisters, the call is to trust and obey. To allow God to be God and us to be an expression of His love as we come to the end of our "self's" for His sake.
May your new year be prosperous in the relationships you build, in the truth you obtain, in the love you give and in the light you walk in! See you next year!
Wow! The year is over. Can you believe it? We have so much to be thankful for, so much to be grateful for and so much to look forward to. Thank God I decided to weed through my thought life on the blog this morning as I was interested in seeing what I became neurotic about these last twelve months (if you know me personally, the term neurotic is almost an understatement once I get caught on a subject). I'm so grateful that during this time of reflection I was able to recognize that outside of my own hand written journal this blog was true therapy. It became my way of asking myself to answer my own hard questions, challenging myself to search for truth and drawing a line in the sand that I was going to press into the truth of God in Christ even if it makes me seem nuts. My blog life became the area in which I could no longer lie, I could no longer deny and I could not run away from what I had typed. If I said it, I was going to have to answer to it.
Another great aspect of this personal blog review was that by His grace I was able to see that I/we never finished "40 Days of Psalm 37". In my defense, it wasn't that I actually forgot about the importance of going over this Psalm, but honestly, I have been on such a search for truth within the Christian culture (or lack of truth), that I unfortunately began to compartmentalize my "transformation" time with God as something I didn't need to share on the blog (even though that's where the Psalm 37 series stemmed from) and turned to asking questions about the way we Christians have been transformed by culture as opposed to God's Spirit. Just to be clear, my hope in leaving the Psalms series was never to make you feel bad about the way we've done "things" in our walk with God but instead to challenge brothers and sisters in Christ as well as anybody who stumbles on to this little blog (if they're a friend I'm aware it was out of pity) to search for truth. I pray that my questions and answers always turned them to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Today's Psalm truly encompasses the answers to all of my questions and supports my thoughts about Christ as I've pressed into Him over the past year. It also sums up the entire series of "Trusting Truth...". Today's message of Psalm 37:40 is that we need to be reminded of where our eternal security lies and how much we can trust the Triune God to deliver us from finite evil. He is the only eternal security available in a world that is sure to burn. The author David states this so clearly and if we are to read the entire Book of Psalms the way it was written (without chapters and verses) we would see the beautiful, passionate, truthful, hopeful and authentic confessions of a man who knew the truth of God's love and eternal plan of salvation even as he struggled with depression, enemies, fear, violence and uncertainty in his own life. His words in the Psalms are a constant reminder of God's constant unchanging love for us, even in the midst of our sin, trial and denial.
From the point of view of a realist (I don't consider myself a blind optimist or pessimist) the year 2010 promises to be one of hardship, turmoil, suffering, uncertainty, fear, and downright panic in the lives of those who don't know Christ (as well as those who say "Lord, Lord..." but never have truly known Him). We live in a world dominated by those who desire power, money and control and that will not change no matter who is in office or running big businesses. In my opinion this passion to rule the world through politics has less to do with their position as much as it has to do with their eternal condition. Without the only One who is a refuge in the time of need, the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the One who causes all of creation to sing of His majesty and the One who makes His eternal Kingdom an option now through Christ; those who don't truly know God must continue in the darkness of a finite life trying to catch the air in their little finite hands.
I don't claim to be the Old Testament prophet type but these coming days of 2010 and beyond promise to be extremely difficult for followers of Jesus. We can expect to be persecuted, made fun of, mocked, starve, and even be killed (Sound familiar to somebody we know and love?). We can also expect continued disunity within the "body" as we love the Lord but don't look to Him as the Head that directs His members. Because of our forgetfulness of who wants "Headship" we lose sight that we are to be the expression of who he is, and resort to being an expression of who He'd want us to be if WE were Him.
With these coming days of tribulation I hope that we don't see this season as a reason for us to rise up and "try harder" to bring people to Christ through our own efforts of great teaching, evangelism, or through politics in the wisdom of the world. Though these things may be a great plan to man our own wisdom and hurried nature is never the best plan to God. Plus, for the record, I'm not sold on our own best ideas of marketing Christianity to the masses which have failed miserably in their attempts to bring people to actually know Jesus as opposed to hear about Him constantly.
Instead, I'm hopeful that we will be transformed by the "renewing of our minds" instead of by one great book by a Christian author who seems to be in touch with one area you are passionate about. I am hoping that we begin to become the ones who are willing to trust and obey God even if it means turning the other cheek so that the "slapper" may know the love of God. I pray that we will take on the mind of Christ in every area and be transformed by the Holy Spirit so that we may live out the love of our risen Lord. And while I oppose gay marriage, I am never actually for the gay bashing that goes on because of it. I truly do find it hard to understand why is it that we reach out in love to the drunk in the street, the witch doctor in Africa, the drug addict on skid row or the corporate millionaire who just lost His wife to cancer but our Western culture of Christians has decided to hate gays? Does that mean we need to "save them"? No! God is the enabler of the heart. But it does mean we need to love them, in spite of their lifestyle. In case we forgot, Jesus wasn't worried about positions, race, creed, religion, or social status, so we need not be. "Repent and follow me" was a message to the Pharisee as much as it was the Samaritan woman. All I can say is that our response and action towards those not like us should always be from the transformed version of us, not in our Pharisidic Christian version that picks and chooses the laws and sins we think need the most treatment.
In my opinion, the coming year is a time in which we don't need to figure out how to get Christianity right and instead need to re-focus on becoming like Christ through the transformation by His Holy Spirit and through communion with the rest of His body who serves under His headship. We constantly need to be reminded that "winning souls" has nothing to do with us or what we've done and instead has everything to do with Him and what He's called us to do corporately. We need to remember that loving people has to do with a calling from God to be the love of Christ to a world in the darkness, and not as another way for us to try harder to make God love us more by doing what He asks. He can't love you any more than He already does! Lastly, we need to remember like David tells us in this Psalm that we have an eternal refuge in God, we have the eternal answer to death in Christ and that we can put all of our trust in a God who promises to deliver us no matter how difficult things may get. The message of 2010 is the message Jesus gave a bunch of ragtag guys in the 1st century,
""If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26)
Friends, brothers and sisters, the call is to trust and obey. To allow God to be God and us to be an expression of His love as we come to the end of our "self's" for His sake.
May your new year be prosperous in the relationships you build, in the truth you obtain, in the love you give and in the light you walk in! See you next year!
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