different and better

my blog has moved...differentandbetter.com

2009-06-12T17:15:00.002-04:00

I decided to make the swith today from blogger to wordpress. This blog, along with all of the posts made here in the past, can now be found at differentandbetter.com

Thanks for noting this change. See you at the new blog!

Pixar For The Birds HD

2009-06-11T18:17:00.001-04:00

I am showing this video on Sunday in front of my message on community. What lessons do you learn from this great Pixar animated short?

finding the time

2009-06-10T10:22:00.005-04:00

What do you find time for every single day? Eating? Sleeping? Facebook? Television?

There are certain things that we have made a part of our routine and we do them religiously. Yet, I often hear people say that I don't have time for my spouse, my kids, my relationship with God, church, small group, my health, etc. Why is it that we find time for some things and not others?

I think the issue is one of value. We find time for what we value! When we value something, we figure out a way to get that into our schedule. We stay up late. We get up early. We leave other things undone. We do what we have to do.

This raises even more important questions: What does the use of our time suggest about the things you value? Of the things we value (demonstrated in the time you give to it), how many of those things are truly valuable? And how can we raise the value of things that are truly valuable so that they become a part of our lives?

anything to celebrate?

2009-06-09T08:14:00.003-04:00

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the busyness of life or to allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with the stresses we are facing or to be discouraged by the negativity swirling around us. That's why it's good to step back and take a look at the good things in life.

I want to encourage you to take a couple of minutes EVERY DAY to ask yourself this question:

What can I celebrate?

This reorients us to the positive side of the equation. What blessings are we experiencing? What has gone right? What's the silver lining inside the storm cloud? Focusing on the positive, even if only for a few moments a day, cultivates joy...and in that joy we find the strength to keep going!

So, as you start this Tuesday, what can you celebrate?

christian nation or nation with christians?

2009-06-05T23:02:00.000-04:00

What do you think about this?

hammer pants dance

2009-06-05T22:46:00.001-04:00

I'll admit it...this was one of my favorite songs. It was awesome!

personal transformation

2009-06-04T16:34:00.001-04:00

"Nothing changes without personal transformation." - W. Edwards Deming

courage

2009-06-02T08:27:00.000-04:00

Courage is almost always a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.” -Gilbert Keith Chesterton

the more important things

2009-06-02T08:06:00.003-04:00

Here's another verse that jumped out to me this morning. Luke 11:42...

"But how terrible it will be for you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you completely forget about justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things." (NLT)

According to these words of Jesus, justice and God's love are the more important things. And while personal piety and holiness should be remembered and pursued, it means nothing if we do not also give as much or more attention to issues of justice and compassion in our world.

Where do the IMPORTANT THINGS rank on our list of priorities?

endure anything?

2009-06-02T08:01:00.004-04:00

I was struck by this verse in my daily Scripture reading this morning. 2 Timothy 2:10...

"I am willing to endure anything it if will bring salvation and aternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen." (NLT)

Am I willing to ENDURE ANYTHING? Are you?

what do you have to offer?

2009-06-01T20:41:00.003-04:00

I have been in a reflective mood the past couple of weeks, and have done a lot of thinking about our world. Specifically, the issues and needs our world is facing - war, poverty, hunger, HIV/AIDS, slavery, racism, etc. No doubt, it can be overwhelming to look at the problems. And while it is more peaceful personally to ignore the problems, that solution won't solve anything. So we are left with the question: what do we do to help our world become different and better?

Matthew 25 has been inspirational and challenging for me over the last few weeks. I have been teaching in our weekend worship service from these three stories Jesus told. (You can listen HERE.) Two weeks ago, I taught about the parable where Jesus talks about bags of money. (Matthew 25:14-30) .

The story portrays a master who is going away on a long journey. He calls three servants and entrusts them with a bag of money. He asks them to invest the money while he is gone. And when he returns, he will ask them to report what they've done and how his kingdom has expanded even in his absence.

The first two invest the resources and receive a two-fold increase. The third servant is afraid of losing the money in a risky investment, so he buries it to keep it safe. He gives the master back what the master gave to him.

The master applauds the first two servants for their risk-taking, wise investing, and multiplication of resources. The third servant is reprimanded for his failure to do anything with what the master gave him.

A story that has a lot to say to us. I have been focused on three questions that are shaped by this story. I'll share the first one here: What do you have to offer?

This question is expecially pertinent to the question raised earlier in this post: What do we do to help the world become different and better? We start by figuring out what we have to offer. Notice that the question assumes that we all have something to offer to our world. Each person is equipped with something to give - time, talents, and treasure.

The story reminds us that what we have to offer does not originate from us. It comes from the master. And it was not given to us for to hold or to hoard. Nor was it intended to simply advance our standing in life. Whatever it is that we have been given is to be used to advance the master's cause - namely, that the world become what he intended it to be.

Since it did not come from us, and is not ultimately for us, it must be employed in advancing the cause and kingdom of the master. Anything else is irresponsible and selfish.

In my reflective moments this last couple of weeks, I have been overwhelmed with the realities of life and the level of brokenness that surrounds us. It seems hopeless...almost. Unless God's people, after they see the condition of our world, look inward to find the answer to the question: What do we have to offer? If we answer that question, then we can begin to use what we have to change the world.

What do you have to offer?

silent racism

2009-06-01T09:56:00.000-04:00

church and the kingdom of god

2009-05-31T17:13:00.000-04:00

Alfred Loisy the 19th century historian was right in saying that Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God but what appeared was the Church. The disappointment was and continues to be severe. But the great irony is that today we alleviate our disappointment with the contemporary Church by pointing back to the New Testament Church --which was the great disappointment to begin with! Our restless discontent should not be over the distance between ourselves and the first century Church but over the distance between ourselves and the Kingdom of God to which the Church then and now is the witness. - -- R.J. Neuhaus, Freedom for Ministry, 33.

borderlands: church in emerging culture

2009-05-27T11:44:00.002-04:00

This link is to video from a class taught by Adam Barr, a friend of mine from my growing up days. He provides a look at the emerging church movement, referenced in my last post on sola scriptura. If you're looking to explore this topic more, this is a great place to start:

The Church in Emerging Culture

I have not watched every session in this series. I have watched enough to know that Adam treats this issue/topic sensitively, practically, and faithfully. By recommending this resource, I am not suggesting that I agree with everything included in these sessions. As with any book or resource, watch, engage, think, and converse. If you have questions, thoughts, or opinions, post them here. Let's learn together.

what happens after sola scriptura?

2009-05-26T09:28:00.003-04:00

I am interested to hear your thoughts, comments, and questions regarding the Bible and our interpretation of it. Do we look to the Bible alone? Is the Bible the sole authority for our faith and practice? If so, whose interpretation of the Bible is authoritative (i.e. - Catholics, United Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Wesleyans, etc.)? This article by Blake Huggins offers one option. Check it out and chime in on the discussion.

By Blake Huggins (Posted Originally on Emergent Village):

“You emergent-y, postmodern-ish types just want to do away with Scripture! You don’t want to take the time to seriously wrestle with the Bible!”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard those lines or something similar. You would think I developed a good answer a long, long time ago but I didn’t. For far too long I only spoke about the ways I didn’t want to view Scripture, which really only exacerbated the problem. Too many of us do that. I would like to suggest an alternative descriptive to our view of Scripture, something that is both positive and constructive.

Phyllis Tickle has suggested that it’s not if Sola Scripturaends, but when. So what comes next? As much as I love to tag the “p word” before words, I’m not so sure it is sufficient for us to simply say we are post-Sola Scriptura. The Bible is too important for us to only strike-through the “sola.” And I think that many of us who resonate very deeply with Tickle’s sentiment take Scripture too seriously to only be reactionary. Frankly, we can’t afford to.

We might as well deal with the Elephant in the room first. For many people, admitting that Sola Scriptura is not longer viable is roughly equivalent to saying we are throwing out the Bible altogether and opting for some sort of slippery relativism. But a rejection of Sola Scriptura is not a rejection of Scripture! Which is why it is important to provide an alternative to the “sola” — because we’re not rejecting Scripture wholesale, in fact I can say without reservation that my respect and love for the Bible is deeper and more unwavering now than it ever was.

But here’s the thing. Whether we realized it in the past or not Sola Scriptura has never been possible. It just can’t work. Because the moment I say that all I need is Scripture alone, I’ve assumed that I occupy some sort of void space, when in fact neither I nor Scripture exist vacuum. I can’t simply read Scripture (or anything for that matter) for what it is without biases or lenses. My position as an urban, white, American, male influences my reading more than I will ever know. The same could be said of the writers of Scripture. Even the notion of Sola Scriptura itself is conditioned by a cultural lens and a certain interpretation albeit an increasingly outmoded one. To read is to interpret; all our readings are always already interpretations and all our interpretations are always already situational. To me, that is inescapable.

So, admitting the immanent end of Sola Scriptura is not a categorical rejection of Scripture as much; rather, it is a coming to terms with our own limitations and finitude as human beings and adopting a certain humility about our readings. I seriously doubt whether the Bible is infallible since it was written by pre-modern men (yes, they were men). But that doesn’t mean I don’t think the Bible is authoritative or instructional. It merely means that I believe our ability as humans to fully understand the Bible is severely limited. The history of hermeneutics is indicative of this. We can very quickly identify points today where we believe our theological ancestors were absolutely wrong in their interpretation of Scripture (slavery, subjugation of women, etc.). I’m sure 50-100 years from now our grandchildren will say the same about us. We know things today that we didn’t know in the past and we don’t know things now that we will in the future. That deeply affects out readings. We are fallible, broken people. We need to hold our hemeneutical lenses loosely.

But how do we avoid simply throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Here is what I propose: let’s use a new word, a word that still retains a deep sense of respect and affection for the Scriptures and the history of God’s salvific action in history with God’s people. A word that doesn’t allow the spirit of the Reformation (and the Enlightenment) to crust over into static dogma. I like the word prima. Prima Scriptura. Scripture is without a doubt our primary authority and primary source for theological reflection, but is not and cannot be our sole source. We are more complex than that. Scripture is our prime witness to God’s interaction with God’s people, beckoning them/us to join in God’s divine endeavor of restoration and renewal. It seems to me that opting for a phrase such as this preserves our identity as Christians whose story and history is told in the Bible, but at the same admits our limitations, approaching divine revelation with deep humility, and understanding that we get it wrong all the time so we mustn’t hold our readings so tightly because they are fallible. What better way to remain open and attentive to the movement and dynamism of the Spirit? A Spirit that no matter how limited and broken we have become, meets us exactly where we are pushes us — and our readings of Scripture — toward continual transformation and revision.

Let us celebrate the end of Sola Scriptura. But let’s not stop there. Let’s provide a healthy alternative, something that still places its trust in the Holy Writ as the primary source for revelation and yet is still open to continual revision and divine redaction. Let us embrace Prima Scriptura.

bride trafficking

2009-05-25T08:14:00.001-04:00

North Korean Bride Trafficking: When Escape Becomes Bondage

Kristin Butler, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

The translator could never capture the experience behind Young-Ae Kim’s emotional words, but he tried.

“She was raised with the idea that you have one lasting marriage – never did she imagine that she would be married three times by the age of 30, and treated like an animal.”

North Korean defector Young-Ae Kim told her story publically on April 29, along with Mi-Sun Bang, another woman whose account bears tragic resemblance to hers. Both women told reporters at the National Press Club a story that is becoming all too common among North Korean women. Both women were victims of “Bride Trafficking” – being bought and sold as wives for single Chinese men along the border between North Korea and China.

Mark Lagon, former U.S. Ambassador at Large for Combating Trafficking and now executive director of the Polaris Project on Human Trafficking, says that these women are “thrice victimized” – starved in North Korea, sexually exploited once they escape to China and tortured if they are repatriated to their home country.

Brides for Sale

Human trafficking “the fastest growing criminal industry in the world,” according to the Polaris Project. In China, years of the one child policy combined with centuries of disregard for girl-children has led to a literal market for refugee women.

Back in the mid-nineties, Tom Hilditch’s article, “A Holocaust of Little Girls,” captured the essence of a country where girls don’t matter.

“The birth of a girl has never been a cause for celebration in China,” he wrote, “and stories of peasant farmers drowning new born girls in buckets of water have been commonplace for centuries. Now, however, as a direct result of the one-child policy, the number of baby girls being abandoned, aborted, or dumped on orphanage steps is unprecedented.”

It’s not hard to connect the dots to where all of this has ended. The shortage of women in China is nothing less than a national disaster – in some rural areas Chinese men outnumber women by a 14 to 1 ratio, according to the U.S. Committee on Human Rights in North Korea. It is into these rural border areas that North Korean women, desperate to escape the starvation in their homeland, are arriving. For human traffickers, the situation could not be more ideal.

Translating Tears

Mi-Sun Bang cries as she tells of the day that she and her son and daughter attempted an escape from North Korea. The Tumen River ends the lives of many refugees – numerous bodies have been found along the shore. But for Mi-Sun Bang, there was no choice. Her husband had starved to death in 2002, and making the river escape to China was her only hope for survival. “We entered holding hands,” she recalls, “but we were all separated.” Miraculously, they survived the crossing.

But her troubles were far from over. Upon entry into China, Mi-Sun Bang fell prey to human traffickers operating on the border. She was sold for $585 to an older, disabled Chinese man, the first of several “husbands” that she would be sold to. The string of abuses and heartache that followed would be enough to crush anyone’s spirit. Her final husband, fourteen years her junior, demanded that she bear him a son. Soon afterwards, Mi-Sun Bang was turned into the authorities and arrested. She was sent back to North Korea, to the horrors of a labor camp.

Mi-Sun pauses at this point in her story, reflecting, trying to restrain her emotions. “There, people gave up on being human,” she says finally. She was beaten severely. She asks through her translator, “Would anyone like to see my wounds?” Small person that she is, Mi-Sun stands on a chair in the front of the room. She pulls up her skirt, revealing where literal chunks of flesh have been ripped from her leg. She walks with a limp today.

Driven by Desperation

A new report released by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea captures the firsthand accounts of over 70 trafficking victims. “The women who cross the border, more often than male refugees, tend to do so in the company of others,” the Lives for Sale report states, “Eighteen percent of those interviewed crossed the border with people whom they later came to realize were traffickers.”

But what about the women who made their escape without the “aid” of a trafficker? The Committee’s report emphasizes the likelihood that these women will be solicited immediately. “Almost from the moment they cross the border – and sometimes beginning in North Korea – refugee women are targeted by marriage brokers and pimps.”

The report concludes with a host of recommendations for China, North Korea, the United States and the international community. While calling on China to cease the repatriation of North Korean refugees, and North Korea to “undertake economic and agricultural reforms” and “decriminalize movement across the border,” the report urges the United States to “launch new initiatives to provide protection and assistance to North Korean women” along the border.

The plight of North Korean women sheds light on the larger issue of trafficking around the world. According to the U.S. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, over 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year. Trafficking occurs in 170 countries, all of which are profiled and ranked in the Office’s annual report. And in many cases, the victims themselves have recommendations. Mi-Sun Bang pleads for President Obama to ensure that no more North Korean women are sold like she was, “sold like livestock in China.”

With trafficking – modern day slavery – claiming nearly a million victims a year, each woman, man, and child has a story to tell. And the plight of North Korean brides-for-sale is no different. Each one has a unique and tragic tale of enslavement.

“They would not allow me to leave the house,” recounts one North Korean woman, “then someone from Yanji came to take me to Heilongjiange Province by train. Only when we arrived in a village in Heilongjiang did I hear I was going to be married.”

indifference to injustice

2009-05-25T08:03:00.002-04:00

Quote from Cornel West:

Indifference to injustice is more insidious than the injustice itself.

an army of life

2009-05-24T07:38:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I spoke at a platform service for "I Am My Brother's Keeper," a local motorcycle ministry. Several of us spoke on the the 12 tribes of Jacob. I was asked to speak on Gad. Here's what I said...

Gad. His name means “a troop is coming.” Gad’s destiny is to be attacked and to attack. Gad was a military man.

Did you know that God is creating an army? Most armies are instruments of death. That is the nature of warfare as we know it. But the army God is putting together is an army of life…bringing life to a world that is dead.

Ezekiel 37 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. Listen to these words:

The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "Sovereign LORD, you alone know."

⁴ Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Notice the current situation that Ezekiel enters into: It is full of death. And not just death, but death plus time. There were lots of bone…and they were very dry.

Then God commands Ezekiel to speak the Word of the Lord to this valley of death. No matter how dead the world is, and no matter how long death has been there, the Word of God can change the situation. In order to bring life to a dead world, we must know God’s Word. His Word must live in us. And we must share that Word with the world. That’s the only way our world can live again.

Ezekiel was responsible to speak the Word of God; it was God’s Spirit who was responsible to bring life. Ezekiel had to do his part of prophesying; God had to do his part of breathing life into these bones. This is important for us to understand because we cannot change our world in our own strength or wisdom or power. We are incapable, no matter how smart we are or powerful we can become, of changing human hearts. Only God can do that.

But if we do our part – share God’s Word with our world – I believe God will do his part of breathing life into those people who hear and receive our message. And as we partner with God, the world can become different and better as more and more hearts are changed by God and more and more people come to life in him.

A troop is coming. Join up with the God’s army of life and be all you can be for him!

mining in arizona

2009-05-20T08:23:00.003-04:00

I just contacted U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and asked him to protect the Grand Canyon. I coordinated my message with Environmental Work Group (EWG) to maximize the impact.

Did you know that recently the Department of the Interior approved new mining operations near the Colorado River and Grand Canyon?

The U.S. Department of the Interior authorized a Canadian mining company to drill for uranium near the Grand Canyon. This approval may only be the beginning. Since 2003, the number of mining claims within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park has increased from 10 to more than 1,100. Increased mining will likely send more toxins into the waterway. And into the water supply of over 25 million Americans.

Join me in protecting this national treasure:
Contact Secretary Salazar here.

Poll: Majority of Americans Are Pro-Life for the First Time - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com

2009-05-18T09:19:00.002-04:00

Poll: Majority of Americans Are Pro-Life for the First Time - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com

Interested to hear what you think of this in light of all the controversy surrounding President Obama's visit to Notre Dame.

Posted using ShareThis

light and darkness.

2009-05-16T16:33:00.004-04:00

Ever noticed the theme of light and dark that shows up all throughout Scripture? The last few days (sparked by a discussion with my awesome small group on Tuesday night) I have been thinking about light and darkness. I have been gravitating toward three passages:

Isaiah 9:2 - "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned."

Matthew 5:14-16 - "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Philippians 2:14-16 - "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain."

It is easy to look at the world around us and see the darkness - global poverty, genocide, ethnic cleansing, war, human trafficking, violence. On and on the list of atrocities goes. There is a lot of brokenness around us...a lot of darkness. The temptation is to say that the world is without hope. It's dark and getting darker.

But I refuse to say that, and for good reason, I think. God sent his Son - the light of the world - into the world. Those living in darkness have hope because of him. Either Jesus is the light or his is not. Either he can change lives or he can't. We cannot have it both ways.

Tom, one of our group members, made a good point the other night. He said, "Just because Jesus can change the world does not mean the world will be changed." Very true, Tom! So how can the hope that Jesus offers to the world be realized? Only when followers of Jesus let their light shine! That's how light fills a dark world.

The only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. The only way for darkness to win is for the light to be hidden or extinguished because those who have the light didn't let it shine for the world to see.

Christ followers let their light shine by doing good to those around them. Whether that comes in the form of helping a neighbor with a project or providing a listening ear to a hurting friend or helping a village in East Africa get clean drinking water or rescuing girls from from the horror of sex slavery in Cambodia or a host of other good things, the good deeds we do are the practical ways we let the light of Jesus shine.

And Jesus gives a promise...when we do those good deeds people will glorify our father in heaven. When I hear that I hear hope. It sounds to me like good deeds done in the name of Christ could change our world. It sounds like light could win over darkness!

one day's wages

2009-05-15T10:27:00.002-04:00

Introducing: One Day's Wages from One Day's Wages on Vimeo.

Mar and I have eagerly awaiting the introduction of this organization for the last few months. Their vision is exciting and it is the stuff the making the world different and better is made of. Take some time to watch this video from Quest pastor and One Day's Wages founder Eugene Cho. Then get connected and involved.

Check out the full article from Eugene's blog here.

prom...a tool of the devil.

2009-05-14T13:57:00.003-04:00

I first saw this story on CNN. It amazed me. You can read the article here. It's about a high school senior who attends Heritage Christian School. He elected to go to prom with his girlfriend. Proms and dancing are against the school rules. As a result of his actions, he has been suspended for the remainder of the school year, and will have to miss his high school graduation. After the school year concludes, he will be allowed to take his finals and if he passes, he will receive his diploma.

Let's be clear. If the school's rules, policies, and consequences were made clear, and he decided to break the rules, I do not feel sorry for him. He got what he deserved and he knew what he could get if he went through with his choice.

I do, however, feel sorry for the school. They have a rule that calls on them to suspend a teen for going to high school prom with his girlfriend. It seems a shame to me that a school would waste its time policing the actions of students, especially when those actions are not illegal, nor do they reflect poorly on the reputation of the school, and in and of themselves are not even immoral actions.

They have decided to take a stand against something which, at the end of the day, has no bearing on eternity. And have once again demonstrated to the world that Christians are people who are against things (some of which aren't bad), instead of being people who stand for something.

Maybe I am coming on too strong. Perhaps it is because I grew up going to a Christian school that had similar rules (which I abided by). But here's why I get so agitated with issues like this...schools make these rules and think they are sheltering their students, keeping them from the evil influences of the world. All the while these kids are sleeping around, drinking, doing drugs, and partying. And most importantly their hearts are far from God.

Christianity cannot be legislated - by the government or schools. It is never a top-down movement. It starts from the grass roots and works its way through society. And it starts in the heart of a person and works it way into thier lives; not from the outside in. The sooner we learn this the more effective we'll be.

What do you think?

tribes

2009-05-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

megachurches.

2009-05-12T09:21:00.001-04:00

Check out this post from Eugene Cho about MEGACHURCHES.

A good reminder that the church is alive and well wherever you find it.

validation

2009-05-10T21:21:00.001-04:00

this video is a little longer, but it tells a great story about how we all need validation.

inspired bicycles - danny macaskill april 2009

2009-05-07T10:57:00.001-04:00

Amazing video. Great reminder that things that seem impossible might be possible if we put our minds and bodies into doing them!

come and go

2009-04-30T10:36:00.001-04:00

Should churches be measured by how many people come to church? Or by how many people go into the mission field?

what kind of christianity?

2009-04-30T08:23:00.002-04:00

"Growing up, I was told that good people go to church. And then I looked around and watched the news and found a church full of sick people and a world that had some decent pagans. And I studied sociology. My studies taught me that the higher a person's frequency of church attendance, the more likely they are to be sexist, racist, anti-gay, promilitary, and committed to their local church. And I figured if that's what it meant to be a Christian, I wan't sure I wanted to be one, or whether even Jesus would want to be one, for that matter. I wondered why Jesus didn't take back his religion. As I've heard by old mentor Tony Campolo say, 'If we were to set out to establish a religion in polar opposition to the Beatitudes Jesus taught, it would look strikingly similar to the pop Christianity that has take over the airwaves of North America.'"

- Shane Claiborne, The Irresistable Revolution

day of silence...justice...morality

2009-04-27T15:21:00.004-04:00

I have been doing some thinking the last day or so about homosexuality, justice, morality, and the day of silence. My thinking was spurred on by this blog post...We Should All Be Enraged About Bullying

And this article...Pastor Ken Hutcherson Can't Even Shut the F--k Up for "Day of Silence"

In most Christian circles, including my own, homsexuality is viewed as sin, something that is outside of God's plan for humanity. This issue merits a post (or more likely a series of posts) to discuss the relevant perspectives, arguments, and viewpoints in a thorough way. Maybe we'll do that in the weeks to come!

But I am wrestling with another dilemma today. How do Christ-followers take a stand for their moral beliefs while at the same time standing for justice?

This is especially important in the homosexual debate. Christians take a defiant stand against homosexuality as a practice accepted by God. Perhaps they should. But they also take a stand against things like the day of silence because it is meant to promote the LGBT agenda. Perhaps they should do that as well.

What about justice? Is it okay for kids who are homosexual to be mistreated because of their sexual preference? Is it okay for kids to be mistreated for any reason? When I read the Bible I find it easy to see that God is a God of justice, and he calls his people to stand up for justice. And he gets on them when they fail to do so. Doesn't the church have an obligation under God to stand up for those who are being abused, oppressed, and mistreated? Doesn't that obligation remain even when the people being abused, oppressed, and mistreated are people the church disagrees with?

Christians have this great phrase that they throw around when confronting tough issues like homosexuality. They say, "Love the sinner and hate the sin." I think very few Christians know how to truly do that. Could it be that one way we carry that out is to stand up for the bullied and oppressed homosexual kids at our schools, while at the same time maintaining our theological position about the morality of homosexuality?

Hard to do. Yep. But who said living out faith and making the world different and better would be easy?

the transformation cycle, part 7

2009-04-26T19:53:00.003-04:00

The Journey of a Lifetime

Confucius said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The same is true of the transformation journey. This lifelong pursuit will consist of many, many steps along the way. At times it will seem as though you are taking one step forward and two steps back. Other times you will appear to be at a standstill. On occasion you might even wonder if you will ever move forward again.

I offer to you the same advice I offer to my congregation: the most important step in your spiritual journey is the NEXT ONE.

Your attention needs to be on discovering and taking that next step. Perhaps you need to consecrate yourself in a fresh way to God as a way of re-engaging transformation. Maybe the answer is to start training again or find ways to train differently. Or it could be that you just need to bolster your trust that the Holy Spirit is and will work in your life to help you grow. For some, living it out is what needs your attention. The journey of transformation begins with a single step. Take that step. Enter the transformation cycle. Your life will never be the same!

the transformation cycle, part 6

2009-04-24T03:52:00.003-04:00

Your Transformation Team

As you engage on this lifelong journey of transformation, remember that you were never intended to go it alone. God has given you a team to help you in your transformation efforts.

The Holy Spirit. At the center of the transformation cycle is the Holy Spirit. He gives guidance and direction to the process. And he is ultimately the one who causes transformative change in our lives.

Friends. There are people who are on the journey with you that you count as your friends. This is a huge asset in the transformation cycle, but one that is sometimes overlooked or underutilized. Friends can help you process spiritual issues, provide needed accountability, offer encouragement, and engage in prayer with and for you. Leverage your friendships to reach a new level of spiritual growth.

Mentors. Some individuals are further along in the journey than you are. Among them may be several potential mentors that could give your growth an added boost. These people could coach you in developing a stronger prayer life or engaging the Scriptures for life change. They might help you develop specific aspects of your character. Or they might just be there to listen, offer advice, and challenge you to grow. Seek out the investment of a mentor; they will help you grow.

Pastors. Pastors are by no means the ones who have everything about God figured out. However, they have answered God’s call to give their lives to helping people connect with God and grow in their spiritual journeys. As a result, if you go to pastor to ask for his or her help in your pursuit of life transformation, I am sure you will find a willing growth partner. Have a spiritual growth conversation with your pastor and see what develops.

Church. The community of faith is intended to be a group of people who are at different places in the journey helping each other take the next step of growth. Corporate worship, discipleship classes, small groups, and serving opportunities are among some of the ways your church can help you grow and be transformed. Get connected and experience growth through involvement.

becoming a worshiper

2009-04-23T18:06:00.002-04:00

I was listening to a Quest podcast with Eugene Cho and Shane Claiborne today while I was driving back to my house from Salisbury, MD, and I heard a great quote:

"Our response to revelation is what makes us worshipers." - Eugene Cho

He went on to explain that if all we do is received information about God, but we do not respond to that revelation in the way we live, then we are simply amassing religious information. But when we take to heart what we hear and respond to it with our lives, in that moment, we become worshipers.

Maybe this is what James meant when he said that we should not only be hearers of the Word, but doers also. Respond to who God is today in the way you live your life. Become a worshiper!

fight global poverty

2009-04-23T08:50:00.000-04:00

Check out the vision of this group: http://fightglobalpoverty.com

the transformation cycle, part 5

2009-04-23T08:43:00.002-04:00

Like A Slinky

It is important to note that this cycle is not a one-time development experience. You will need to continually repeat the process. It is a never-ending cycle.

As we live in the world, we have to continually consecrate ourselves to God. We have to seek out training opportunities where we are likely to encounter God’s Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to stimulate growth in us in an ongoing way. And we need to keep living it out in our daily lives.

Consecration. Training. Growth. Living.

It’s like a Slinky. If you were to set a Slinky on a flat surface and pull the top straight up you would find that the circle creates an upward spiral of growth. You could trace your finger along the metal wire and it would be moving in a circle, but as it does you are also moving up. The transformation cycle works the same way in our lives. We need to keep moving around the circle from consecration to training to growth to living to consecration and so on. The process leads to an upward spiral of growth. As we repeat the cycle over and over again throughout the course of our lifetime, we find that from year to year we are moving up—being transformed into his likeness.

the transformation cycle, part 4

2009-04-22T09:40:00.002-04:00

Living

And now we arrive at the most important part of transformation—LIVING. Consecration, training, and growth are all great things to pursue in our lives, but they only have true value when they produce the end result we are after—a transformed life that is more like Christ. True spirituality, a true connection with God, is played out in real life.

When you consecrate yourself fully, train faithfully, and grow consistently the results will show up in every aspect of your life. You will become a better partner for your spouse, a better parent for your kids, a better companion for your friends, a better worker at your job, a better member at your church, and a better member of society.

If your connection with God does not result in this, you should re-examine the connection. Spirituality, if it is not showing up in everyday life, is nothing more than religious activity. Jesus did not come to create a religion; he came to create a movement of transformed followers who change the world.

the transformation cycle, part 3

2009-04-21T07:24:00.002-04:00

Growth

Paul wisely noted that it was “God who made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6). While we are responsible to hoist the sails by engaging in training activities, only God can direct the wind of his Spirit blow through our lives in ways that actually generate growth. God is the one causes growth.

As we put ourselves in places where growth is likely to occur, we have to trust that over time God will show up in those places to help us grow. This is the formula for spiritual growth—faithfully doing our part + trusting God to do his part = life transformation.

Galatians 5 speaks about this very issue. In verses 13 through 18, Paul spells out the choice that every person has—you can either live life the way you want to live it (according to the sinful nature) or you can live it the way God wants you live it (walking by the Spirit).

In verses 19 through 21 he articulates the results of a life lived according to the sinful nature: “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Compare the results of a life lived for self with the a life lived in step with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” When the Spirit of God is at work in a human life the outcome is completely different. A life that is lived in step with the Holy Spirit is a changed life, one that is being “transformed into his likeness.”

So the big question is, “How can see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives?” We have to CONSECRATE ourselves fully to God. Galatians 5:24 tells us that: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” Then we need to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24). We do that by TRAINING for godliness—putting ourselves in a place to encounter the Spirit. And when we do that God’s Spirit will interact with our lives and he will produce his fruit in us.

ps 22...music that inspires

2009-04-21T06:30:00.002-04:00

check out the article to learn more about an inspiring music teacher and a group of kids who are following his lead.

http://www.brooklynrail.org/2008/07/streets/glee-club

swimming pool or river?

2009-04-20T21:49:00.002-04:00

Some people say that Christianity is simply a crutch for people who need help dealing with the reality of life. Yet, I believe one can argue that it takes a real man or woman to be a Christian because it takes courage to swim against the current.

So I have been thinking...Maybe the reason Christians are accused of using their faith as a crutch is that a lot of Christians don't swim against the current. In fact, a lot of Christians aren't even in the river of our culture. Instead they prefer to create safe swimming pools where they can swim with people who believe, think, talk, and act like they do. So when the world looks at Christians maybe they see people who aren't strong enough to enter the mess of our culture without losing their faith or compromising their beliefs. They see people who retreat to their Christian sub-culture where they hide out until Jesus comes back.

The Christian machine has created all kinds of these swimming pools. We have Christian bookstores. Christian coffee houses. Christian schools. Christian colleges. Christian radio. Christian television. Christian apparel. We even have Christian amusement parks (Check out The Holy Land Experience). And sadly some of our Christian churches are simply places where Christians go to hang out with each other instead of being a community centers that exist primarily for the people outside of the organization.

Why do we have all of these Christian things? There are, no doubt, some good reasons for why these things exist. But in having all of these things, are we withdrawing from the culture that needs the very thing we have discovered? Are we creating our own sub-culture so we can enjoy swimming in the safe, clean, chlorinated water of the pool?

How does this mesh with Jesus words about being in the world, but not of the world? I don't think Jesus intended for his followers to create a religion or a sub-culture. I think Jesus called people to join a movement that would intersect with every part of culture and change it. And the change Jesus had in mind was not that everyone would wear a Christian t-shirt to the next pro sporting event they went to. Jesus wants to see people changed at the core of who they are so they become more like Jesus in character and behavior.

This means that we cannot keep swimming in the sanitized little pools of our Christian sub-culture. We need to get back into the muddy, murky river of our culture. In this river we will encounter people who are broken, hurting, addicted, hungry, and troubled. We will engage individuals who do not believe like we do or talk like we do or think like we do. We will come across athiests, agnostics, new agers, muslims, buddhists, hindus, and many others. We will befriend people who are different - different beliefs, different worldviews, different sexual orientations, different lifestyles. But swimming in this river does not change who we are or who we are following. Swimming in this river simply allows to connect with people where they are. Only when we have truly connected with people will we have the opportunity to start a conversation with people who far from God. And in the course of those conversations, some people will connect with Jesus and be changed. And when people are changed heaven rejoices!

Jesus said that we are the "salt of the earth." Take it from someone who absolutely loves french fries and popcorn...salt doesn't do any good unless it touches the food it was intended to season. In the same way, Christians don't make any difference for Christ unless and until they start rubbing shoulders with the people Christ came to seek and save. And the bottom line is that you'll never rub shoulders with those people if you keep swimming in the pool. You have to go down to the river and dive in.

susan boyle...two nevers!

2009-04-20T16:32:00.001-04:00

This is a great story from Britain's Got Talent. It highlights two nevers:

1) Never judge a book by it's cover (or a singer by her appearance)

2) Never give up your dream!

Watch this and be inspired!

the transformation cycle, part 2

2009-04-20T16:05:00.004-04:00

Training

1 Timothy 4:7-8 says, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Notice the direction Paul gives to his young protégé, Timothy. Train yourself for godliness. He doesn’t say, “Try to be godly.”

There is a huge difference between training and trying. John Ortberg points this out in his fabulous resource on spiritual disciplines, The Life You’ve Always Wanted. He talks about the difference between going out and trying to run a marathon versus the idea of training to run one. If you are serious about running a marathon, you will have to dedicate yourself to a life of training. Training isn’t the marathon, but it prepares and equips you to be able to run on race day.

In the same way, Christ-followers will need to enter into a life of training to become godly. The training itself isn’t godliness; it is what you to do put yourself in a place to become godly.

I have been around the church a long time, my whole life to be exact. And I have noticed that church people have a tendency to substitute training for the actual game. They read their Bibles, spend time in regular prayer, and attend church faithfully. The really serious ones give 10% of their income and even fast occasionally. These activities are noble and worthy pursuits when they are focused on the right end. The problem comes when you think that because you do these things, you are godly. Godliness has more to do with how much of the Bible you are living out in daily life, then it does with how much of the Bible you read today. It has more to do with how in tune you are with God’s voice and direction, then it does with how long you prayed this morning. Being godly is not so much about attending church as it is truly worshiping God while you are there. And, of course, none of these things matter if they are not moving us toward the ultimate goal of loving God and loving others more and more each day.

So what does it mean for us to train for godliness and how do we go about doing that? Training for godliness consists of the activities and practices we engage in to put ourselves in a place where God’s Spirit can interact with our lives and help us grow. It is like sailing. I am not a sailor, but I know enough to understand that you need two major ingredients to make sailing work: a hoisted sail and a blowing wind.

The sailor is responsible to hoist the sail. And it doesn’t matter how hard the wind is blowing, if the sail is not hoisted, the boat moves very little. This correlates to the spiritual journey, in that, the wind of God’s Spirit could be blowing all around us. But if we are not hoisting the sails of our lives we will not move forward. We hoist the sails in our lives by engaging in training activities that put us in a place to interact with the wind of God’s Spirit.

These training activities have historically been known as the disciplines of the faith and include things such as Scripture, prayer, meditation, silence, solitude, fasting, confession, and worship. (Check out the following resources for more information on spiritual disciplines: The Life You’ve Always Wanted, Celebration of Discipline, The Spirit of the Disciplines, and Running on Empty).

When you faithfully engage in these training activities you are putting yourself in a place where you are most likely to connect with God. It is in those places that the wind of God’s Spirit can blow through your life bringing change and growth.

In the next post in this series we will consider how growth actually happens in our lives. Until then, stop trying to be godly and enter into a life of training!

no ordinary people

2009-04-20T16:04:00.000-04:00

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal , and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. and our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in sprite of which we love the sinner - no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat - theglorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.” - C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

the transformation cycle, part 1

2009-04-19T14:41:00.005-04:00

Pursuing Transformation

2 Corinthians 3:18 says that “we are being transformed into his likeness.” Most Christ-followers would readily admit that this is, in fact, the goal of God’s work in our lives—to make us more like Christ. However, many Christ-followers are not sure exactly how to pursue this transformation, and fewer still are actually being transformed.

In this series of posts, I would like to layout a roadmap for transformation. The diagram above is a graphic representation of the cyclical process I think Christ-followers must go though in order to “transformed into his likeness.” Let’s look at each element in this diagram.

Consecration

It all begins with consecration—dedicating ourselves to God. Romans 12:1-2 lays out the Scriptural foundation for this idea. Paul spends the first eleven chapters of the book of Romans explaining the reality of the Gospel—we are sinners, our sin separates us from God, we cannot overcome our sin problem by ourselves, God intervened in the person of Jesus Christ, and through Jesus we can be saved. Then he comes to chapter twelve and verse one where he says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We might summarize Paul’s point this way: God has done for you what you could not do for yourself. He acted to help you overcome the sin problem and get reconnected to God. And when you really stop and think about the grace he has shown you, it should cause you to want to live differently—to be transformed. The first step in this process, according to the text, is to consecrate yourself fully to God.

Paul calls his readers to think about God’s mercy and then, in response, to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice. The word “bodies” literally means your physical body and everything you do with it. The word was used to denote the entirety of your person. Paul is asking his readers to give everything they are, everything they think, and everything they do to God as a sacrifice. This is the call to consecration.

I grew up in church, so I have heard a lot of ideas, thoughts, teachings, and concepts related to the faith journey. Some of them made sense. Some of them didn’t. One of the ideas that made sense was a phrase that preachers used to use (some still do). It was this: Settle the Lordship issue. This phrase simply means that a person needs to make a decision regarding who is going to be the leader of his/her life. Will you lead your life? Or will you allow God to lead your life? This is a question every person serious about faith needs to answer. It effects everything else in life.

When Paul is asking people to consecrate themselves, he is asking them to settle the Lordship Issue—Is God going to direct your life...all of it? If you really want to experience the power of the transformation cycle, the answer to this question needs to be “YES!”

the end of christian america

2009-04-14T07:47:00.003-04:00

Interesting article in Newsweek about the end of Christian America. Click below to read the article

The End of Christian America

What's your response?

sebastian's voodoo

2009-04-14T07:01:00.000-04:00

Sebastian's Voodoo from Joaquin Baldwin on Vimeo.

the story of stuff

2009-04-06T21:13:00.001-04:00

This is a great presentation about our stuff and "the golden arrow of consumption." See how our endless desire for more and more stuff is keeping our world from becoming a better, healthier place to live.

isn't this what it means to know me?

2009-04-06T19:35:00.002-04:00

Over the weekend I was struck by some words I read in Jeremiah 22:15-16:

"Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.

What really jumped out at me was the connection that the king made between his worth/value and his possession of more and more stuff. Sounds a lot like America to me!

The call of these verses seems to be to stop when you have enough...to learn the grace of being content. And instead of using all your energies to search for more and more and more, use them to stand for justice and to defend the cause of the poor.

When I let that thought sink in, I was "convicted" when I saw the question the LORD closes these verses with: "Is that not what it means to know me?" Isn't contentment what it means to know me? Isn't selflessness what it means to know me? Isn't justice what it means to know me? Isn't caring for the poor and the marginalized what it means to know me?

How much do we (especially in America) know the Lord according to these standards?

change is inevitable

2009-04-06T19:10:00.001-04:00

I came across this quote in a blog post by Alan Hirsch:

"Mission, by its very nature, calls us into risky engagement: and because it does that, it requires constant vigilance, re-learning, adaptation, and unrelenting adjustments, in the life of the organization. Therefore, missional church (the church whose organizing principle is the mission of God in the world) by very definition must call into question many of the inherited ideas that underpin the prevailing forms and ideas of church. These are all too real dimensions of church life that if left unchallenged, will inevitably pull the church into a institutional vortex that will not only suppress her message, but in the process destroy the spiritual legitimacy of the church itself. Brunner was right, the church does exist by its mission—we are a message-tribe after all. So, if the church’s inbuilt missional impulse failed to challenge the status quo, progress itself would be impossible. Heck, the biblical teaching on the Kingdom of God is predicated on the idea that we have not yet reached the ideal yet. The best is yet to come, and that we must all lean into the task of participating in God’s dreams and desires for our world. There is much work to be done and much of that work involves change."

do what you can

2009-04-02T08:52:00.000-04:00

"When good people do what they can there is great triumph over evil." - Gary Haugen, International Justice Mission

modern day slavery

2009-04-02T08:50:00.000-04:00

A Conversation with Gary Haugen from International Justice Mission on Vimeo.

justice & love

2009-04-01T16:26:00.002-04:00

"Don't forget, justice is what love looks like in public." - Dr. Cornel West

call + response

2009-04-01T16:25:00.000-04:00

Call & Response Trailer from Mike Paschal on Vimeo.

changing society

2009-03-30T20:48:00.003-04:00

Ivan Illich was once asked what the most radical way to change society was; was it violent revolution or gradual reform? He gave a careful answer. Neither. Rather, he suggested that if one wanted to change society, then one must ell an alternative story. How true. We need to retell the story of the church and mission in light of the organic living systems perspective if we are to evolve into being a genuinely missional church.

Taken from the forgotten ways blog by Alan Hirsch.

are we sex-crazed?

2009-03-30T08:58:00.006-04:00

I came across this article online and it really got me thinking. Thought it might get you thinking too. I have included the text from the article here with a link to the site at the bottom. Love to hear your thoughts, questions, and opinions.

Sex-Crazed: America's Christian Subculture
By Adele Sakler

Remember how much of the world outside the U.S. laughed during the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky debacle of the 1990's? They weren’t laughing with us. At times, this Western, naval-gazing, self-centered American culture seems quite laughable. Add to that, a prudish sub-culture of Evangelical Christianity wholly obsessed with sex, sexuality, and purity codes (perhaps a stubborn remnant of our Puritan heritage). All this singular fixation, over and above so many more pressing social and ethical issues.

Why does the Evangelical community seem so preoccupied with pointing out what they perceive to be the sins of others? Why this commitment to the role of morality police, lambasting everyone with their narrow interpretations of Scripture? It seems their selective view of holiness is far more important than how we actually treat our fellow human beings. Maybe if we worked harder on our own lives, focused on how we are treating others, a more holistic holiness could finally exude from our lives.

Sadly, this is my thesis: Evangelicals are nothing less than sex-crazed.

To the neglect of most other vices, Evangelicals are hyper-concerned with pointing out how being queer is a sin, and that the Bible explicitly denounces homosexual acts. Trust me, I get it all firsthand. But I’m not buying the rhetoric. I disagree with what I have come to consider outmoded and out-of-context religious interpretations. Of course, I do believe they have the right to their views, as I do to my own. Yet, I do not go around talking about their sex lives all of the time. Call me prudish. I think that what happens in the bedroom is between the two consenting adults who are in that bedroom.

Look, I’m trying to be a healthy, holistic person. I don’t find my identity in any one thing. I hope your sex life doesn’t define you, either. Being queer does not make up the entirety of my being, any more than being a photographer, a traveler, a blogger, etc… Sex is a normal part of a relationship, but it’s NOT all there is to that relationship.

My wife Katryna and I have all the same ups and downs of everyday life. Just like the straight couple next door. We deal with paying bills, learning better communication skills, taking care of one-another when we’re sick or down. We do household chores, go grocery shopping, and ALL those other little relationship accoutrements nobody writes poetry about, or makes picket signs over. Sex is just one aspect of the many facets in our relationship.

Every day, I am learning how to love, cherish, appreciate and care for Katryna, as she does for me. Do we have days where we fail and screw up? Of course! As I’m certain other couples struggle, as well. We pray together and alone, for one-another and for others. We are like most couples, except that we are two women who happened to fall in love. We are not constantly focused on sex, nor are we dead or indifferent to it. Sex is simply a natural and integral component of our relationship, where we deepen our bonds of intimacy with one-another, and with the Divine Creator.

It really does not matter to me where people fall on the issue of homosexuality: sin or not sin. My belief is that the Scriptures have been carelessly ripped out of their cultural and historical contexts, but when properly understood, they are not so cut-and-dry. We are human beings. We use ten percent of our brain capacity. How can we claim certainty in knowing what G-D intended for all avenues of life? The Bible is not an encyclopedia. It is not a FAQ sheet. In my view, G-D's two greatest commandments are to love G-D, and to love others as we love ourselves. I think those were Jesus’ favorites, too. But the fruit of these commands are seen very little on this earth. When people aren’t dealing with planks in their own eyes, and are pointing out the specks in the eyes of others, they aren’t really learning to love themselves because they don’t make time to nurture and nourish themselves. They are obsessively focused on policing the morality or purity of others. Without the love of self, we can’t begin to love G-D or each other. Maybe it’s time to change focus.

Adele Sakler currently resides in Richmond, Virginia and blogs as Existential Punk at www.ExistentialPunk.com and is the creator and site administrator of Queermergent at Queermergent.wordpress.com. She is currently going through long-term treatment for Chronic Lyme Disease, other tick-borne diseases, and heavy metal toxicity.

Adele has been a Christ-follower for 20 years and an “out” queer woman for two and-a-half years. Her involvement with the emerging church and Emergent Village has filled the better part of 10 years.

third culture

2009-03-27T11:37:00.002-04:00

Watch this video and be challenged to think of the church going where culture is instead of waiting for culture to come to the church.

3rd Culture

phyllis tickle and the great emergence

2009-03-26T22:33:00.002-04:00

interview with Phyllis Tickle from Eugene Cho on Vimeo.

darkness or light?

2009-03-25T13:12:00.001-04:00

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

church next to hell.

2009-03-25T09:50:00.000-04:00

Working on my message for Sunday. I am teaching on the church and its role in the big story of God. Jesus words in Matthew 16 are shaping my thoughts for this message. I am particularly struck by Jesus statement that the gates of hell will not be able to stand up against the church that Jesus is building.

I have often read this passage and had the idea that Jesus was saying that no matter how bad the world gets and how much hell advances, the church will always be safe against the onslaught of evil. Guess that's an indication of the view of the world and the church that I grew up with - the world is going to keep getting worse, but if you are in the church, you'll be okay. Jesus said so.

Len Sweet calls this "the hunker in the bunker mentality." The church should just hold on, fortify the doors, stay down under cover. Eventually Jesus will come and rescue us.

One of the problems with this view (and I think there are many problems with this view) is that it is not what Jesus intended. Jesus' words in Matthew 16 are missional words, declarations about a church that will grow and advance. And when the church finds itself next door to hell, even there the church can be confident in its mission and power. Jesus will build his church and even the gates of hell cannot stop it.

zimele

2009-03-24T22:57:00.001-04:00

Fight Global Poverty from Eugene Cho on Vimeo.

christian politics?

2009-03-24T11:26:00.000-04:00

How do Christian faith and politics work together?

Should Christians be involved in politics? If so, how and why?

More importantly (and perhaps harder to answer), should America's government and politics be Christian? In other words, is the purpose of government and politics to make everyone Christian in behavior, if not in belief? Or is the purpose of government to maintain order and civility and freedom for all regardless of belief/religion/morality?

Weigh in on these questions. Looking forward to the dialogue.

your kingdom come...on earth

2009-03-23T19:44:00.000-04:00

One of the things that has added to my discontent with a doom and gloom perspective and at the same time has ramped up my hope in the possibility of a better world is a phrase in The Lord's Prayer.

After the introductory statement that focus our prayer on the person of God, you come to this phrase: "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

I have prayed that prayer thousands of times, but in the last year I have been struck by the hopefulness of that request. Jesus was teaching us to pray for his kingdom (his leadership and authority) and his will (his dreams, desires, and plans) for the world to be fulfilled. And Jesus calls us to pray for this request to be fulfilled here and now...ON EARTH.

In essence, Jesus was teaching us to pray for the world to be different...to be like heaven...to be the world he originally intended it to be. What if Jesus followers started praying the prayer Jesus told us to pray? And what if we started living like that prayer could be answered?

How do you understand the phrase "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"?

the girl effect

2009-03-23T16:13:00.001-04:00

Here's one way the world could become better. Interested to hear your thoughts.

world water day video from charity: water

2009-03-23T11:21:00.001-04:00

cool video to remind us that "without water there is no life."

can the world be different and better?

2009-03-23T11:18:00.001-04:00

Do you think the world can be different and better than it is today? What would that look like?

new blog. first post.

2009-03-23T10:03:00.000-04:00

I am starting a new blog today. My reason for initiating this new online venture is because I want a place to process some growing thoughts in my head and heart regarding the condition of our world and the hope we have for a better future.

I have become increasingly unsettled over my the last decade or so with the idea that the world is bad and getting worse and that there is no hope for a better tomorrow or a brighter future. My discontent arises from a simple idea - Jesus changes lives. And if Jesus can change lives, then the world can be different and better.

This blog is my online journal of my thoughts, ideas, and struggles to see this simple idea become more than an idea. It is also meant to be a public forum for the exchange of ideas, dialogue, debate, hopefully progress toward becoming better people who contribute to making the world different and better. I hope that you'll join the discussion, and more importantly that you'll live for the cause!