1. Loss of truth. Based on the postmodern rejection of a modern worldview which results in a disbelief in the goodness of knowledge, the certainty and rational nature of truth and the objectivity of knowledge, those holding the modern worldview in the church fear that the emerging church will also reject truth. I would take a track similar to the one Conder explains on page 43 in that I would point out that by learning about and understanding postmodernity, we are not accepting all of its precepts. We are trying to figure out how to adjust our ministry models to live out an authentic life that lives out the gospel we teach in the midst of the postmodern world. In a sense, it is much like a missionary foreign missionary learning the language and the culture of the community in which he will be ministering in order to become a more effective voice for the gospel. It would also be important to note that such postmodern ideals as community, missional living and comfort with mystery have expanded our theology as our understanding of God's redemptive work is expanded, our work in our local communities increases and our sense of awe is invigorated. As I think about this particualr fear as it is relates to the ECM's comfort with mystery, I can't help but wonder if the ECM has an approach that is more palatable in times of crisis as we have seen recently as I hear the youth question why something would happen, but at the same time affirm that God's ways are above our knowing.
2. Loss of personal faith. This would certainly be the toughest fear to address since the idea of a personal faith is held so dearly by the modern church. Yet, a conversation on the issue would have to point out that the sense of individualism which feeds the idea of a personal faith comes, as Conder says, in the context of a community. The disciples came to faith as individuals within a community, for example. Valuing a community doesn't rule out a personal faith. In fact, I think living in a real community - a real interdependent, challenging, authentic and, at times, difficult community - can't truly happen without a personal faith. We must point out that living in community adds to the vitality of a privately held faith.
3. A changeless gospel. I have to wonder if this fear isn't a bit misplaced. Personally, I am more afraid of the "Your Best Life Now", prosperity-type gospels that seem to be acceptable to the modern church than I am of the ECM. Setting aside my little soapbox moment, the modern church's fear that the gospel message will be toned down in an attempt to be relevant has some merit and that must be acknowledged. If those in the ECM simply take on the traits of postmodern culture, there would be a real temptation to water down the gospel, but the reality is that these changing times give us a chance to examine our culture and look for glimpses of God at work within the culture. It gives us the chance to see how the gospel has been shaped by the culture throughout the centuries as it was first presented in a Jewish culture and not only survived, but thrived, in the cultures that have come and gone since. Ultimately, it is not the gospel that the ECM is toning down, but, perhaps, the tone of the rhetoric of the modern church that has sometimes become so strident that it turns off postmoderns.
4. Loss of the Word. To those who would express this fear, I would gently suggest that the Bible has been devalued in modernism as well when it is reduced to sound bites, a series of moral lessons or a means to back up our politics or any of the "isms" infecting American culture. In reality, both worldviews benefit from rediscovering the Bible. ECM's emphasis on story helps us rediscover the narrative of the Bible and to relate it to our own stories in our own local contexts. It can offer a prophetic vision, calling the church back to more authentic walk with Christ as works out what it means to actually practice the gospel message in a local context within a community of believers. The ECM's comfort with mystery will keep drawing us back to its pages as we read and re-read passages that fascinate us. For example, I have a student in my group right now who is utterly fascinated with Revelation, but not for the eschatological puzzles that moderns typically see. A very artistic young lady, she is drawn to the apocalyptic imagery of the lamb that was slain and the rider on the white horse and more. She's not interested in finding out whether the fascinating images on the pages will literally happen or if it is just figurative (an argument I have heard among moderns), she wants to absorb these images.
5. Loss of morality/ethics. Rather than a loss of morality or ethics, the ECM's passions of living out the gospel in community, spiritual holism and honoring the beauty of God's creation expands our view of morality and ethics. For example, even the words "moral issues" have become code words, almost, for such hot button issues as homosexuality. Spiritual holism and a passion to live out the Scriptures show us that there's much more to morality as it relates to gender and sexual issues which means that we, as a church, have to address such issues as pornography, the feminization of poverty and more. In addition, we begin to see ourselves in the stories of the Bible reigniting a passion for social justice, a desire to see the poor fed, a concern for the environment and more.
6. Loss of traditions. First, I would have to ask for an example of the tradition the elder is afraid of losing. If it is communion, that's not going anywhere as it is an ancient practice connected to the very teachings of Jesus. If it is the lighting of the two candles on the altar, they aren't going anywhere either. In fact, we may want to add a few! If it is the fact that there are only male ushers or that the offering is collected in a particular way, that may be up for discussion as these sorts of traditions are part of the modern worldview in which our church was founded. I would agree that giving is an act of worship, but suggest that it could be done with a special table and display (such as the one that Kimball describes that includes the incense). I would also talk to the elder about the rediscovery of even more ancient traditions and recovering the parts of church history that seem to be absent in modern evangelicalism. Ultimately, we are connecting our story with the stories of all those who have gone before us as we all take our part in God's story as part of his redemptive plan for the world.
7. Loss of identity. I would point out that the loss of identity as a liberal or a conservative organization may not be a bad thing as the stereotypes associated with each can keep people away. For example, I know someone who was so turned off by the way in which a local congregation so unabashedly embraced conservative politics while chastising anything remotely liberal that she began to find it difficult to even attend the church. In the spirit of community and, again taking a holistic look at the Scriptures, we must seriously reconsider such labels and come together under an expanded gospel. We may have continuing debates as we continue to disgree and new divisions may come up, but we need to take our discourse out of the old ruts of liberalism and conservatism.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
Session 10_11: Tammie
1) Reflect upon the philosophy, spirituality, and ministry in PM-->PC era of the future. How we think this next ideological era will pan out impacts our missiology and ministry strategy today (pp. 57-77).
Kimball's analogy of the tree planted in the postmodern versus the modern soil is an excellent one as it leads to his assertion a few pages later that we can't blame the emerging generations for having the viewpoint they have as it is the world they know (page 63). I think one of the greatest factors to affect those of us in ministry is that we can not make assumptions about anything. The Judeo-Christian atmosphere (which I believe was already starting to disappear when I was in high school and college) is no longer a formative force in our society as the words of the Bible writers become one voice in the chorus of religious writings. So we can't assume that the people to whom we minister have either basic Bible knowledge or a worldview based on its moral teachings. We can't assume people come from similar backgrounds anymore. We also need to realize that the postmoderns are often not thinking in strict black and white terms on moral issues. More often, they are comfortable with the shades of gray. We need to figure out how to approach such thinking in our ministries as we present the truth in a world that isn't so sure about truth.I think above all it means that those of us in the ministry have to be students ourselves. We must study our culture as a way of learning how to approach those who live in it.
2) Discuss your response to the Celtic/Roman strategies of evangelism (pp. 197-211).
YES! Like so many aspects of what we have been studying this semester, this chapter on the Celtic/Roman strategies of evangelism falls into place with what I have experienced over the years not only personally, but also with my youth. Just the other week, one of my older students (a junior) was talking about how one of the students in the Youth Alive club had brought in tracts for them to hand out and she took one to be polite to the student (she called the student a freshman who meant well), but would never dream of approaching someone about the gospel in such a way. As we talked, it became clear that the main means of evangelizing for these students is through the relationships they build and the conversations that result. Likewise, a student who recently became a Christian had been part of the youth group (i.e. part of the community) for a while, started to have conversations with leaders and other students and, through the group, was able to have experiences that allowed her to come to the gospel in a more organic way than the Roman model of presentation, decision and assimilation.
On the personal side, I have often wondered about the efficacy of the big event models of presenting the gospel as in many instances they play on the emotions to provoke a decision. I also wonder about follow-up (discipleship) in these settings. My personality is also one that is not only not prone to giving out tracts or to initiating a conversation with a stranger, but also I am prone to avoiding people handing out tracts or trying to initiate a conversation. I am far more prone to talk to someone I know about the gospel if there is an existant relationship - such as with a co-worker or with some students who are visitors to our youth group.
3) Design a EC worship service, explain your rationale. If you have time, experiment with a small group in experiencing your design (share your experiences).
The service I designed for our contemporary service at church incorporates many of the marks Kimball describes as it was in a darkened area, included large portions of Scripture reading, music and silence. Participants entered a darkened room, lit only by a few stage lights. The low lighting created a more spiritual, mysterious atmosphere while also serving to define the space. On screen was the logo for the service (which is a pen and ink drawing of water running through a person's hands with the word Overflow to the side). A sign in the lobby asked participants to enter in silence as a means of preparing their hearts for worship as we remember the final week in the life of Jesus. When it was time for the service to begin, the screen went blank and words started to appear on screen. They came up as if someone was typing them on the spot, but the slides were actually short movies that had been pieced together in a computer program ahead of time. These introductory slides told the participants what was about to happen. That is the service to follow would be different from anything they had done before in that no voice would be heard that night except for their own whether it was speaking or singing. We then did an entire service that had responsive readings interspersed with silent moments for people to meditate on what they had just read. The readings were taken from Scripture passages involving the Last Supper, the betrayal in the Garden, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. It wasn't read verse by verse, but rather the passages were broken down into where the natural breaks seemed to fall. If the words appeared on the left side of the screen, the people on the left side of the room read the words. If the words appeared on the right side of the screen, the people on the right side read the words. If the words were in the middle, the whole group would read the passage. These passages would simply appear onscreen as typical Power Point slides so they could be distinguished from the "commentary" provided occasionally by the slides that looked like someone typing. The Last Supper section was followed by a contemporary song by Third Day called Communion. The crucifixion passage was followed by a set of songs including Grace Flows Down, Once Again, The Wonderful Cross and a reprise of Grace Flows Down. The Resurrection section closed with the upbeat songs Marvelous Light and Salvation is Here. A short commentary then came up which posed the question of what we should do in response to such amazing love to which we sang the answer in the song, We Fall Down.
My idea behind doing the service this way was to strip away all the extras we place around the Easter story and leave the participants with the plain and powerful words of the Scriptures and a few songs that might stick with them through the week. It was, as I said, very different from what people in our church expected or had experienced, but it was well-received. Everyone participated and some of the youth wanted copies of all the slides so they could read them through on their own. The best, though, was the e-mail from our pastor who called it an "innovative" program.
Kimball's analogy of the tree planted in the postmodern versus the modern soil is an excellent one as it leads to his assertion a few pages later that we can't blame the emerging generations for having the viewpoint they have as it is the world they know (page 63). I think one of the greatest factors to affect those of us in ministry is that we can not make assumptions about anything. The Judeo-Christian atmosphere (which I believe was already starting to disappear when I was in high school and college) is no longer a formative force in our society as the words of the Bible writers become one voice in the chorus of religious writings. So we can't assume that the people to whom we minister have either basic Bible knowledge or a worldview based on its moral teachings. We can't assume people come from similar backgrounds anymore. We also need to realize that the postmoderns are often not thinking in strict black and white terms on moral issues. More often, they are comfortable with the shades of gray. We need to figure out how to approach such thinking in our ministries as we present the truth in a world that isn't so sure about truth.I think above all it means that those of us in the ministry have to be students ourselves. We must study our culture as a way of learning how to approach those who live in it.
2) Discuss your response to the Celtic/Roman strategies of evangelism (pp. 197-211).
YES! Like so many aspects of what we have been studying this semester, this chapter on the Celtic/Roman strategies of evangelism falls into place with what I have experienced over the years not only personally, but also with my youth. Just the other week, one of my older students (a junior) was talking about how one of the students in the Youth Alive club had brought in tracts for them to hand out and she took one to be polite to the student (she called the student a freshman who meant well), but would never dream of approaching someone about the gospel in such a way. As we talked, it became clear that the main means of evangelizing for these students is through the relationships they build and the conversations that result. Likewise, a student who recently became a Christian had been part of the youth group (i.e. part of the community) for a while, started to have conversations with leaders and other students and, through the group, was able to have experiences that allowed her to come to the gospel in a more organic way than the Roman model of presentation, decision and assimilation.
On the personal side, I have often wondered about the efficacy of the big event models of presenting the gospel as in many instances they play on the emotions to provoke a decision. I also wonder about follow-up (discipleship) in these settings. My personality is also one that is not only not prone to giving out tracts or to initiating a conversation with a stranger, but also I am prone to avoiding people handing out tracts or trying to initiate a conversation. I am far more prone to talk to someone I know about the gospel if there is an existant relationship - such as with a co-worker or with some students who are visitors to our youth group.
3) Design a EC worship service, explain your rationale. If you have time, experiment with a small group in experiencing your design (share your experiences).
The service I designed for our contemporary service at church incorporates many of the marks Kimball describes as it was in a darkened area, included large portions of Scripture reading, music and silence. Participants entered a darkened room, lit only by a few stage lights. The low lighting created a more spiritual, mysterious atmosphere while also serving to define the space. On screen was the logo for the service (which is a pen and ink drawing of water running through a person's hands with the word Overflow to the side). A sign in the lobby asked participants to enter in silence as a means of preparing their hearts for worship as we remember the final week in the life of Jesus. When it was time for the service to begin, the screen went blank and words started to appear on screen. They came up as if someone was typing them on the spot, but the slides were actually short movies that had been pieced together in a computer program ahead of time. These introductory slides told the participants what was about to happen. That is the service to follow would be different from anything they had done before in that no voice would be heard that night except for their own whether it was speaking or singing. We then did an entire service that had responsive readings interspersed with silent moments for people to meditate on what they had just read. The readings were taken from Scripture passages involving the Last Supper, the betrayal in the Garden, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. It wasn't read verse by verse, but rather the passages were broken down into where the natural breaks seemed to fall. If the words appeared on the left side of the screen, the people on the left side of the room read the words. If the words appeared on the right side of the screen, the people on the right side read the words. If the words were in the middle, the whole group would read the passage. These passages would simply appear onscreen as typical Power Point slides so they could be distinguished from the "commentary" provided occasionally by the slides that looked like someone typing. The Last Supper section was followed by a contemporary song by Third Day called Communion. The crucifixion passage was followed by a set of songs including Grace Flows Down, Once Again, The Wonderful Cross and a reprise of Grace Flows Down. The Resurrection section closed with the upbeat songs Marvelous Light and Salvation is Here. A short commentary then came up which posed the question of what we should do in response to such amazing love to which we sang the answer in the song, We Fall Down.
My idea behind doing the service this way was to strip away all the extras we place around the Easter story and leave the participants with the plain and powerful words of the Scriptures and a few songs that might stick with them through the week. It was, as I said, very different from what people in our church expected or had experienced, but it was well-received. Everyone participated and some of the youth wanted copies of all the slides so they could read them through on their own. The best, though, was the e-mail from our pastor who called it an "innovative" program.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Sessions 12 & 13, Conder: Rock Daddy
Being an engineer, I looked at the 7 passions and 7 fears and matched them up as best I could. So, you will see them numbered. This is based on the order that Conder presents them.
1. Community: The first passion and the second fear deal with community. The ECM is for community. In this PM world, were it is all about individualism, the ECM is trying to reach out to the lost and help them feel a part of something. Humans by nature were not meant to be alone. "The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." " (Gen 2:18, NIV) Even God didn't want us to be alone. The modern church (mc) feels that by being in a community people automatically think that you will lose your identity. On the contrary it is the uniqueness of each individual that helps create the dynamics of the group.
2. Values: The second passion and the third fear deal with values. The ECM is striving for us as the EC to be able to show our Christianity and allegiance to Christ thru what we do more so, than what we say. The mc feels that because we live in a PM and "PC" world, people think we will have to modify or change the gospel message in order to be heard. On the contrary people now a days want sincerity or real truth, but only after they know you care about them as a person.
3. The unknown: The third passion and the first fear deal with the unknown. The ECM strives for Christians to have an open mind and an open heart in order to be able to deal with whatever comes there way. "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." (1 Cor 9:20-23, NIV) In this scripture Paul tells how he himself adapted and changed how he acted and dealt with others in order to be able to share with them the Good News. The mc, however, feels that by adapting and changing we will exclude the truth of the gospel. As a wise professor once told me, if you roll a snowball down a hill the snowball gets bigger, but the snowball still has its original core. So, just because we adapt to our environment doesn't mean we lose the truth or "core" of the gospel.
4. Completely different discipleship: The fourth passion and the seventh fear deal with being a disciple in a completely different manner than we are presently in. The ECM is merely introducing change. Change in how we reach out to unbelievers. As I have mentioned in earlier posts the street corner evangelist is a thing of the past. People want interactions that connect and mean something to them. The mc feels that by reaching out to our community, that we as the church will lose our buildings, beliefs and budgets. What the mc doesn't realize is that we have to be fluid and not so rigid in our approach to disciplining others.
5. Scripture: The fifth passion and the fourth fear deal with the Bible. As an EC we need to be able to take the core message of the Bible and relate it to nonbelievers in such a way that they can understand it and accept it. Which is exactly what Jesus did when he spoke in parables. He told the masses stories of things that they could relate to, for example the Parable of the Sower. The mc feels that by changing the story we will change the core. It is true, that could happen, however, if all you do is update or modernize the story but keep the core the same then you aren't really watering down the gospel, but merely relating it.
6. Worship: The sixth passion and the sixth fear deal with worship. How we worship, what we do during worship, what constitutes worship and why we worship. Again the ECM is merely trying to convey that we need to adapt, change and be open to new ideas or ways of conducting a church service. No longer will churches have to be held in brick buildings with a steeple and cross on top. The mc feels that by not meeting in a church like the one I described, that the church will lose all of its traditions. This statement is truly oxymoronic. The reason why is because the traditions we have now a days were made up by someone at sometime in the past. I mean, no where in the Bible do I read about the early disciples participating in a Hanging of the Greens service. Yet, my church religiously (pun intended) holds this service every year prior to Christmas. I mean if we want to hold to the traditions, then we should follow the holy feasts and such that are listed in the Bible. But that is not what Jesus was all about. He was about bringing the lost back to his father.
7. God's design: The seventh passion and the fifth fear deal with free will and the guidelines God has given us. The ECM merely wants to honor God for all that he has done and continually provides, which includes the fact that he has given us free will. So, even though the Holy Spirit resides in us as believers, we are still able to make the choice and sin. The mc feels that by acknowledging and accepting free will we the church will in essence condone or accept immoral behavior. Again, just because you change how you look at or approach something doesn't mean that you change the core values.
In summary, the fears are due to Christians having closed minds and hearts. I'm not saying that ECM's have all the answers or that the answer they have are all right, but at least they are open to new and different ideas. Having earned my parachute wings in the Army (not Marines), I truly appreciate the adage: "Minds are like parachutes. They work better when open."
1. Community: The first passion and the second fear deal with community. The ECM is for community. In this PM world, were it is all about individualism, the ECM is trying to reach out to the lost and help them feel a part of something. Humans by nature were not meant to be alone. "The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." " (Gen 2:18, NIV) Even God didn't want us to be alone. The modern church (mc) feels that by being in a community people automatically think that you will lose your identity. On the contrary it is the uniqueness of each individual that helps create the dynamics of the group.
2. Values: The second passion and the third fear deal with values. The ECM is striving for us as the EC to be able to show our Christianity and allegiance to Christ thru what we do more so, than what we say. The mc feels that because we live in a PM and "PC" world, people think we will have to modify or change the gospel message in order to be heard. On the contrary people now a days want sincerity or real truth, but only after they know you care about them as a person.
3. The unknown: The third passion and the first fear deal with the unknown. The ECM strives for Christians to have an open mind and an open heart in order to be able to deal with whatever comes there way. "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." (1 Cor 9:20-23, NIV) In this scripture Paul tells how he himself adapted and changed how he acted and dealt with others in order to be able to share with them the Good News. The mc, however, feels that by adapting and changing we will exclude the truth of the gospel. As a wise professor once told me, if you roll a snowball down a hill the snowball gets bigger, but the snowball still has its original core. So, just because we adapt to our environment doesn't mean we lose the truth or "core" of the gospel.
4. Completely different discipleship: The fourth passion and the seventh fear deal with being a disciple in a completely different manner than we are presently in. The ECM is merely introducing change. Change in how we reach out to unbelievers. As I have mentioned in earlier posts the street corner evangelist is a thing of the past. People want interactions that connect and mean something to them. The mc feels that by reaching out to our community, that we as the church will lose our buildings, beliefs and budgets. What the mc doesn't realize is that we have to be fluid and not so rigid in our approach to disciplining others.
5. Scripture: The fifth passion and the fourth fear deal with the Bible. As an EC we need to be able to take the core message of the Bible and relate it to nonbelievers in such a way that they can understand it and accept it. Which is exactly what Jesus did when he spoke in parables. He told the masses stories of things that they could relate to, for example the Parable of the Sower. The mc feels that by changing the story we will change the core. It is true, that could happen, however, if all you do is update or modernize the story but keep the core the same then you aren't really watering down the gospel, but merely relating it.
6. Worship: The sixth passion and the sixth fear deal with worship. How we worship, what we do during worship, what constitutes worship and why we worship. Again the ECM is merely trying to convey that we need to adapt, change and be open to new ideas or ways of conducting a church service. No longer will churches have to be held in brick buildings with a steeple and cross on top. The mc feels that by not meeting in a church like the one I described, that the church will lose all of its traditions. This statement is truly oxymoronic. The reason why is because the traditions we have now a days were made up by someone at sometime in the past. I mean, no where in the Bible do I read about the early disciples participating in a Hanging of the Greens service. Yet, my church religiously (pun intended) holds this service every year prior to Christmas. I mean if we want to hold to the traditions, then we should follow the holy feasts and such that are listed in the Bible. But that is not what Jesus was all about. He was about bringing the lost back to his father.
7. God's design: The seventh passion and the fifth fear deal with free will and the guidelines God has given us. The ECM merely wants to honor God for all that he has done and continually provides, which includes the fact that he has given us free will. So, even though the Holy Spirit resides in us as believers, we are still able to make the choice and sin. The mc feels that by acknowledging and accepting free will we the church will in essence condone or accept immoral behavior. Again, just because you change how you look at or approach something doesn't mean that you change the core values.
In summary, the fears are due to Christians having closed minds and hearts. I'm not saying that ECM's have all the answers or that the answer they have are all right, but at least they are open to new and different ideas. Having earned my parachute wings in the Army (not Marines), I truly appreciate the adage: "Minds are like parachutes. They work better when open."
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Session 10 (maybe?): Tammie
1) In PM, perhaps we should be preparing pastors to be pastoral missiologists? What do you think?
Training pastors to be pastoral missiologists can only be helpful as postmodernism becomes more prevalent, but, more importantly, training pastors as missiologists can assist pastors as it would provide pastors the skills to deal with the inevitable cultural changes that develop in lesser ways than the paradigm shift we see with postmodernism. Even though I am not a "pastor" in an official sense, I have been a volunteer youth leader for a little more than 10 years. Even in that period of time, I have seen the mindset of the students shift from those who (at least from what I saw) accepted the faith of their parents as their own and seemed satisfied with answers based on Scriptures, commentary and study. More recently, students are far more comfortable asking questions in general. They are satisfied with an "I don't know" kind of answer and, though they might ask why, they seem satisfied with understanding that there are some things about God that we, as humans, just don't get. They want experience over explanation. They want informal over formal. I think for me it is a good thing that I wasn't trained as a youth minister right off the bat because without a formal training to which I may have been unduly attached. Rather, I have sensed the changes happening and sought the answers through reading a wide range of books even before starting seminary. As a result, my ministry has become more effective - not in terms of numbers, but in terms of the growth I sense in the students through the questions they ask and the things they do. If pastors are prepared as missiologist, spotting these adjustments, communicating the changing times to the congregation and adjusting our own ministry processes would be greatly improved.
2) Are the Hindus saved? (Chapter 14)
My gut reaction as one who grew up in the church with the phrase "Jesus is the way" emblazoned on my mind is to say, "No" but with no stronger proof than that is what I was always taught. In the past few years, especially, I have been thinking about this question, brought on in part by a question from one of my students to which, at the time, I felt I had given a wholly inadequate answer. A friend of two of my students had been killed in a car crash. By all accounts, this was a wonderful, friendly young man. The students were concerned because the young man claimed to be an atheist. They wanted to know if that meant he was now in hell. As it turns out, my answer to the girls last night falls along similar lines as Newbigin's assessment in chapter 14; that is, no one knows the heart of the individual except God therefore it is not for us to say whether or not this young man was in heaven or hell. For all we know, he could have been a believer who was going through a period of doubt and just used that language loosely without holding to it as a true belief. And, we don't know what transpired in his final moments.We must, as Newbigin says, contribute to the dialogue by sharing the gospel and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of the people. I particularly liked his statement on page 183 in which he talked about how all roads do not lead to the top of the same mountain, but that some of the roads lead over the precipice and, in Christ, we have been shown the road.
3) Self-awareness missiology examination, how has your culture impacted, distorted, or uncovered the gospel? (Chapter 15)
One of the more dangerous (if you can call it that) distortions that has come from culture is accepting the view that God is love, but ignoring the image of God as just and as a righteous judge. For example, they remember that Jesus pardoned the woman caught in adultery, but conveniently forget that he also told her to leave his life of sin. Some of my students and I were talking about this topic recently and how such a view leads people to a lesser view of God and to not taking seriously the calls to righteous living that are found in both the Old and New Testaments. I think this stems from the deeper distortion that Christianity equals happiness. If God wants us to be happy, surely he wouldn't judge us, the culture says. The prosperity gospel which seems so popular in certain circles today (Joel Osteen, anyone?) is a further distortion that has been taken into the church itself.
It isn't always a negative exchange as advances in technology help to spread the gospel and to allow Christians to join together to shine into the world's darkness. For example, on Tuesday morning, I read a blog entry that spoke of heavy hearts and eternal hope. In the comments on the post, a commenter mentioned a Facebook group that had been created called "Pick A Hokie" in which students on Facebook were asked to go to the Virginia Tech network and pick one of the VT students at random and send them a note telling them that they were praying for them. Some entries on the Facebook page indicated that VT students were getting the messages and that they were appreciating them. Just a few years ago, there wouldn't have been a blog to which people could go to find gospel-based words of encouragement or a networking site that would allow students touched by the gospel to share the hope that they have with the students directly involved in the tragedy. In this sense, I believe technology is impactig the gospel as it allows us to share the gospel in ways and places that have never been explored before.
4) Reflect upon the topic of the powers (Chapter 16). If they are disarmed, but not removed from their place in the "excluded middle" until the consummation, why?
It seems I have been saying this quite a bit to my students over the last couple of days, but it is part of God's purpose in the world. We may not understand why they are allowed to exist or to do what they do, but we trust that they will, in the end, serve God's purposes just as the powers behind Caiaphas and the Jewish leaders served as the human agents that led to Christ's crucifixion. From a human viewpoint on Good Friday, that was a victory in the eyes of the principalities and powers of the world, but we know that on the first day of the week the real victor was revealed as the tomb stood empty. The principalities and powers form the structure of human society and are meant to serve Christ, but when they attempt to gain his throne, they become powers for evil. This, then, is the struggle that Christians face as we work to unmask the powers and reveal the true ruler in the living God.
5) Ask your question for the class and me to discuss.
On page 215, Newbigin writes, "There are good grounds for saying that the secularization theory has been accepted uncritically by Christians to justify a social institution. The idea of a secular society has been attractive to Christians because it seemed to hold out the hope of a peaceful coexistence between the religions and worldviews." I just wonder what y'all think of the statement and how it might blow the Sunday School class apart if instead of letting the class rail against the secular society, we shared this quote that (it seems) says the church is complicit in creating the myth so that it can keep God in a box. How might our interaction (especially in terms of sharing the gospel) with society change if we recognize it not as a secular society but as the pagan society that worships gods that are not Gods?
Training pastors to be pastoral missiologists can only be helpful as postmodernism becomes more prevalent, but, more importantly, training pastors as missiologists can assist pastors as it would provide pastors the skills to deal with the inevitable cultural changes that develop in lesser ways than the paradigm shift we see with postmodernism. Even though I am not a "pastor" in an official sense, I have been a volunteer youth leader for a little more than 10 years. Even in that period of time, I have seen the mindset of the students shift from those who (at least from what I saw) accepted the faith of their parents as their own and seemed satisfied with answers based on Scriptures, commentary and study. More recently, students are far more comfortable asking questions in general. They are satisfied with an "I don't know" kind of answer and, though they might ask why, they seem satisfied with understanding that there are some things about God that we, as humans, just don't get. They want experience over explanation. They want informal over formal. I think for me it is a good thing that I wasn't trained as a youth minister right off the bat because without a formal training to which I may have been unduly attached. Rather, I have sensed the changes happening and sought the answers through reading a wide range of books even before starting seminary. As a result, my ministry has become more effective - not in terms of numbers, but in terms of the growth I sense in the students through the questions they ask and the things they do. If pastors are prepared as missiologist, spotting these adjustments, communicating the changing times to the congregation and adjusting our own ministry processes would be greatly improved.
2) Are the Hindus saved? (Chapter 14)
My gut reaction as one who grew up in the church with the phrase "Jesus is the way" emblazoned on my mind is to say, "No" but with no stronger proof than that is what I was always taught. In the past few years, especially, I have been thinking about this question, brought on in part by a question from one of my students to which, at the time, I felt I had given a wholly inadequate answer. A friend of two of my students had been killed in a car crash. By all accounts, this was a wonderful, friendly young man. The students were concerned because the young man claimed to be an atheist. They wanted to know if that meant he was now in hell. As it turns out, my answer to the girls last night falls along similar lines as Newbigin's assessment in chapter 14; that is, no one knows the heart of the individual except God therefore it is not for us to say whether or not this young man was in heaven or hell. For all we know, he could have been a believer who was going through a period of doubt and just used that language loosely without holding to it as a true belief. And, we don't know what transpired in his final moments.We must, as Newbigin says, contribute to the dialogue by sharing the gospel and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of the people. I particularly liked his statement on page 183 in which he talked about how all roads do not lead to the top of the same mountain, but that some of the roads lead over the precipice and, in Christ, we have been shown the road.
3) Self-awareness missiology examination, how has your culture impacted, distorted, or uncovered the gospel? (Chapter 15)
One of the more dangerous (if you can call it that) distortions that has come from culture is accepting the view that God is love, but ignoring the image of God as just and as a righteous judge. For example, they remember that Jesus pardoned the woman caught in adultery, but conveniently forget that he also told her to leave his life of sin. Some of my students and I were talking about this topic recently and how such a view leads people to a lesser view of God and to not taking seriously the calls to righteous living that are found in both the Old and New Testaments. I think this stems from the deeper distortion that Christianity equals happiness. If God wants us to be happy, surely he wouldn't judge us, the culture says. The prosperity gospel which seems so popular in certain circles today (Joel Osteen, anyone?) is a further distortion that has been taken into the church itself.
It isn't always a negative exchange as advances in technology help to spread the gospel and to allow Christians to join together to shine into the world's darkness. For example, on Tuesday morning, I read a blog entry that spoke of heavy hearts and eternal hope. In the comments on the post, a commenter mentioned a Facebook group that had been created called "Pick A Hokie" in which students on Facebook were asked to go to the Virginia Tech network and pick one of the VT students at random and send them a note telling them that they were praying for them. Some entries on the Facebook page indicated that VT students were getting the messages and that they were appreciating them. Just a few years ago, there wouldn't have been a blog to which people could go to find gospel-based words of encouragement or a networking site that would allow students touched by the gospel to share the hope that they have with the students directly involved in the tragedy. In this sense, I believe technology is impactig the gospel as it allows us to share the gospel in ways and places that have never been explored before.
4) Reflect upon the topic of the powers (Chapter 16). If they are disarmed, but not removed from their place in the "excluded middle" until the consummation, why?
It seems I have been saying this quite a bit to my students over the last couple of days, but it is part of God's purpose in the world. We may not understand why they are allowed to exist or to do what they do, but we trust that they will, in the end, serve God's purposes just as the powers behind Caiaphas and the Jewish leaders served as the human agents that led to Christ's crucifixion. From a human viewpoint on Good Friday, that was a victory in the eyes of the principalities and powers of the world, but we know that on the first day of the week the real victor was revealed as the tomb stood empty. The principalities and powers form the structure of human society and are meant to serve Christ, but when they attempt to gain his throne, they become powers for evil. This, then, is the struggle that Christians face as we work to unmask the powers and reveal the true ruler in the living God.
5) Ask your question for the class and me to discuss.
On page 215, Newbigin writes, "There are good grounds for saying that the secularization theory has been accepted uncritically by Christians to justify a social institution. The idea of a secular society has been attractive to Christians because it seemed to hold out the hope of a peaceful coexistence between the religions and worldviews." I just wonder what y'all think of the statement and how it might blow the Sunday School class apart if instead of letting the class rail against the secular society, we shared this quote that (it seems) says the church is complicit in creating the myth so that it can keep God in a box. How might our interaction (especially in terms of sharing the gospel) with society change if we recognize it not as a secular society but as the pagan society that worships gods that are not Gods?
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Sessions #12 & #13, Conder
Conder provides seasoned insights into the ECM and counsel about transitioning the church. I really appreciated his approach and dialogue with modern church leaders. His spirit is generous rather than cynical or snobbish about being a "cool" ECM leader. This ongoing connection with the modern church is important to avoid making the same modern mistakes with new window dressing, we can learn and need to learn from church history as we envision the future.
He explains why the ECM defies being boxed in and defined then provides 7 passion principles (core values) that guide the ECM (p. 25). He then moves on to describe the 7 fears of the ECM (p. 40, Loss of truth, personal faith, & changeless gospel; p. 60, loss of the Word; p. 69, loss of morality/ethics; p. 79, loss of tradition and its praxis; p. 86, loss of identity).
One integrative question: Contrast and compare the 7 ECM Passions and 7 ECM Fears by describing your 7 ECM Conversations on these 7 issues you might have with a conservative, modern, fearful, sincere deacon in the context of a modern church. Perhaps you had some of these conversations with people in your congregation about changing something in the worship service or youth ministry. Feel free to adapt the question to your context, e-mail me if you have questions.
He explains why the ECM defies being boxed in and defined then provides 7 passion principles (core values) that guide the ECM (p. 25). He then moves on to describe the 7 fears of the ECM (p. 40, Loss of truth, personal faith, & changeless gospel; p. 60, loss of the Word; p. 69, loss of morality/ethics; p. 79, loss of tradition and its praxis; p. 86, loss of identity).
One integrative question: Contrast and compare the 7 ECM Passions and 7 ECM Fears by describing your 7 ECM Conversations on these 7 issues you might have with a conservative, modern, fearful, sincere deacon in the context of a modern church. Perhaps you had some of these conversations with people in your congregation about changing something in the worship service or youth ministry. Feel free to adapt the question to your context, e-mail me if you have questions.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Session 9: Tammie
1) On page 89, Newbigin quotes a Hindu scholar that Christians have misrepresented Christianity as another religion. Reflect upon this theological concept that the Bible is universal history for the world.
It is interesting for those who have grown up in the church to see the gospel through the eyes of someone who has not grown up in the church whether that means the person grew up in a different faith tradition or no faith tradition. So often, the church teachings get caught up in looking at the lives of Biblical giants like Abraham, Noah, David, the apostles and even Christ himself as a way of simply discovering how we should live our individual lives on earth. I wonder if that doesn't leave us with an image of God that is far too limited and far too small. The idea that the Bible is universal history for the world expands that vision to see God at work in various contexts to bring about the vision of cosmic history offered in the pages of Scripture. This vision, as Newbigin describes, offers hope for the future and gives the individual a reason for being by creating a responsible role for the individual in the greater story of God. I was particularly drawn in this chapter to the statement on page 91 in which Newbigin says that a loss of vision for the future leads to a state in society in which the publicly accepted norms and values have disappeared. This seems to be an accurate description of what we see happening in the postmodern era as more and more behaviors that were once considered unacceptable have become routine. But that doesn't have to be the end of the story and, indeed, in the pages of the Bible we learn that it is not the end of the story. That gives us a universal hope for the future that will sustain those living in the Biblical worldview through these changes in culture and even the most hopeless of times.
2) The logic of mission, explain the relationship of the gospel and the meaning of history as it relates to pluralism (p. 122).
If we accept the Bible as universal history through which the secret of God's purpose for the universe is revealed with the life, death and resurrection of Christ at the core of that purpose, we are also compelled to share that secret with others to give them the opportunity to know the truth and discover their role in the story of God - it's one way bring God's kingdom to earth. Once that truth is shared in a culture, it will meet with competing philosophies in both those who uphold the traditions that were in place before the gospel was presented and in those worldviews that rise up - Marxism and Islam, to cite the examples used by Newbigin - in response. But we must continue to bear faithful witness to this truth knowing that it will endure to the end while other kingdoms rise and fall and other philosophies fade from memory. The emerging church in this era is a catalyst for precipitating the crisis of which Newbigin speaks on p. 122 in that it finds ways to offer the truth - the gospel - among the rising philosophies of the day, which in this instance is postmodernism which rejects the notion of absolutes. Once confronted with the truth of the gospel, the individual and the culture will never be the same; thus forcing a decision one way or the other.
3) Discuss the polarities and resolution of Mission in word, deed, and new being (p. 135-136).
Newbigin's discussion of the polarities of mission in word and deed are reminiscent of James when he challenges the reader of his letter to show him their faith without deeds and he would show them his faith by what he does. The truth that both Newbigin and James are pushing us toward is that one should not exist without the other. In my lifetime, I have seen the big crusades or the evangelistic services that focus on the "big" show with a speaker and a choir, etc. that does tend to result in people coming forward to accept Christ, but where these movements sometimes fail is in the follow-up discipleship that helps the new Christian to grow and to understand his role in the story of God. By the same token, I have heard of ministries that do a wonderful job of providing for the poor and the hurting, but are less than forthcoming about their reasons for doing their work - that is, they are reluctant to build the relationship along with the frame of the house. The example that comes to mind was a story told to me by a man who has been a partner with ministries in Mexico for several years. He said that although the people of Tijuana were happy that two specific ministries came to town to build homes, they were disappointed that the work teams were so focused on their work that they did not take the time to talk to the people for whom they were building the homes. I hear such a story and wonder what opportunity to share the gospel must have been lost. I think Newbigin explains the result of bringing the two sides together on page 137 where he writes, "The words explain the deeds and the deeds validate the words."
4) Respond to Kaufman's position of modern historical consciousness that Christ is not unique--the God/Man. (p. 159).
In looking over Kaufman's position as related by Newbigin, I have to note that Kaufman begins with the need for human unity, but assumes "without argument" that the gospel can not furnish the center for such unity. All we need to do is ask why Kaufman did not defend his rejection of the gospel as a centering force (at least from the information given to us in Newbigin's book). Could it be that looking back on the gospel and on the history of believers through the ages proves his argument false? Though no society has lived out the kingdom of God perfectly, we can see examples in Scriptures that show people of different backgrounds unified in the central figue of Christ. For example, the early church in Jerusalem had all things in common and shared with those in need. We understand from reading further along in the story that this group included landowners (the middle class/maybe rich?) as well as widows (the poor). We also read in Paul's letters that in Christ there is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are equal in Christ. When we have equality, a great step has been taken toward the unity which the world seeks. Ironically, to believe Kaufman's position is to also take a leap of faith, but it is a leap that is unsupported and, perhaps, on a shaky foothold as some new means of looking at history will inevitably come along to dislodge this "modern historical consciousness" of which Kaufman speaks while the uniqueness of Christ will continue to be a message that draws people to the cross, to his truth and to the ultimate unity that will be revealed as history reaches its conclusion in the kingdom of God.
It is interesting for those who have grown up in the church to see the gospel through the eyes of someone who has not grown up in the church whether that means the person grew up in a different faith tradition or no faith tradition. So often, the church teachings get caught up in looking at the lives of Biblical giants like Abraham, Noah, David, the apostles and even Christ himself as a way of simply discovering how we should live our individual lives on earth. I wonder if that doesn't leave us with an image of God that is far too limited and far too small. The idea that the Bible is universal history for the world expands that vision to see God at work in various contexts to bring about the vision of cosmic history offered in the pages of Scripture. This vision, as Newbigin describes, offers hope for the future and gives the individual a reason for being by creating a responsible role for the individual in the greater story of God. I was particularly drawn in this chapter to the statement on page 91 in which Newbigin says that a loss of vision for the future leads to a state in society in which the publicly accepted norms and values have disappeared. This seems to be an accurate description of what we see happening in the postmodern era as more and more behaviors that were once considered unacceptable have become routine. But that doesn't have to be the end of the story and, indeed, in the pages of the Bible we learn that it is not the end of the story. That gives us a universal hope for the future that will sustain those living in the Biblical worldview through these changes in culture and even the most hopeless of times.
2) The logic of mission, explain the relationship of the gospel and the meaning of history as it relates to pluralism (p. 122).
If we accept the Bible as universal history through which the secret of God's purpose for the universe is revealed with the life, death and resurrection of Christ at the core of that purpose, we are also compelled to share that secret with others to give them the opportunity to know the truth and discover their role in the story of God - it's one way bring God's kingdom to earth. Once that truth is shared in a culture, it will meet with competing philosophies in both those who uphold the traditions that were in place before the gospel was presented and in those worldviews that rise up - Marxism and Islam, to cite the examples used by Newbigin - in response. But we must continue to bear faithful witness to this truth knowing that it will endure to the end while other kingdoms rise and fall and other philosophies fade from memory. The emerging church in this era is a catalyst for precipitating the crisis of which Newbigin speaks on p. 122 in that it finds ways to offer the truth - the gospel - among the rising philosophies of the day, which in this instance is postmodernism which rejects the notion of absolutes. Once confronted with the truth of the gospel, the individual and the culture will never be the same; thus forcing a decision one way or the other.
3) Discuss the polarities and resolution of Mission in word, deed, and new being (p. 135-136).
Newbigin's discussion of the polarities of mission in word and deed are reminiscent of James when he challenges the reader of his letter to show him their faith without deeds and he would show them his faith by what he does. The truth that both Newbigin and James are pushing us toward is that one should not exist without the other. In my lifetime, I have seen the big crusades or the evangelistic services that focus on the "big" show with a speaker and a choir, etc. that does tend to result in people coming forward to accept Christ, but where these movements sometimes fail is in the follow-up discipleship that helps the new Christian to grow and to understand his role in the story of God. By the same token, I have heard of ministries that do a wonderful job of providing for the poor and the hurting, but are less than forthcoming about their reasons for doing their work - that is, they are reluctant to build the relationship along with the frame of the house. The example that comes to mind was a story told to me by a man who has been a partner with ministries in Mexico for several years. He said that although the people of Tijuana were happy that two specific ministries came to town to build homes, they were disappointed that the work teams were so focused on their work that they did not take the time to talk to the people for whom they were building the homes. I hear such a story and wonder what opportunity to share the gospel must have been lost. I think Newbigin explains the result of bringing the two sides together on page 137 where he writes, "The words explain the deeds and the deeds validate the words."
4) Respond to Kaufman's position of modern historical consciousness that Christ is not unique--the God/Man. (p. 159).
In looking over Kaufman's position as related by Newbigin, I have to note that Kaufman begins with the need for human unity, but assumes "without argument" that the gospel can not furnish the center for such unity. All we need to do is ask why Kaufman did not defend his rejection of the gospel as a centering force (at least from the information given to us in Newbigin's book). Could it be that looking back on the gospel and on the history of believers through the ages proves his argument false? Though no society has lived out the kingdom of God perfectly, we can see examples in Scriptures that show people of different backgrounds unified in the central figue of Christ. For example, the early church in Jerusalem had all things in common and shared with those in need. We understand from reading further along in the story that this group included landowners (the middle class/maybe rich?) as well as widows (the poor). We also read in Paul's letters that in Christ there is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are equal in Christ. When we have equality, a great step has been taken toward the unity which the world seeks. Ironically, to believe Kaufman's position is to also take a leap of faith, but it is a leap that is unsupported and, perhaps, on a shaky foothold as some new means of looking at history will inevitably come along to dislodge this "modern historical consciousness" of which Kaufman speaks while the uniqueness of Christ will continue to be a message that draws people to the cross, to his truth and to the ultimate unity that will be revealed as history reaches its conclusion in the kingdom of God.
The Matrix: Reflection
The Matrix is not a movie I would have chosen to watch of my own accord. In fact, I have tried to watch it a few times, but never made it through the whole thing. Looking at with an eye to theology and to the emerging church helped to keep my interest this time around.
The entire premise of the movie is representative of the human condition in the postmodern world. There are many out there living lives that are controlled by the desires and expectations of our culture and, all too often, people are content to stay in the what they consider to be the safe confines of cultural mainframe totally unaware that there is a greater purpose and a freedom somewhere outside that superstructure. Likewise, the question of what is real is one reflected in the movie and in the postmodern culture to which the emerging church is ministering.
That there are people within that structure seeking is a reality with which the emerging church is struggling though not in the typical seeker-sensitive modes of, say, Willow Creek or other megachurches is reflected when Trinity and Neo first meet and Trinity says that she knows Neo is seeking and she even knows the question he is asking. In the emerging church, the fact that someone has questions is an expectation, not a surprise.
There's also a point in the movie - the exact moment escapes me just now, but it may have been in the same scene mentioned above - that there's a realization that there's something out there that's not quite right. If you were to put a finger on the root of the emerging church movement, that would be it - a realization that something wasn't working in the current way of doing (or being) the church in light of the changes taking place in society. It is also the thought that motivates the seeker to look for Christ in the first place.
Even the moment in which Morpheus offers the red and blue pills to Neo can be related to the choice every person eventually has to make - that is to seek the truth about Christ or to simply continue to live in and follow the dictates of the culture at large. I found it interesting, though, that Morpheus said there would be no turning back because, in a sense, there are plenty of examples in the world of people who made the choice to follow Christ and do just that so it is at that moment that, perhaps, the analogy falls apart.
Neo's journey after that moment follows the journey of the new believer, especially, it seems in the postmodern era when faith is born not out of an analysis of the facts, or a crystal clear presentation of the four spiritual laws, but of a relationship between a believer and a non-believer that draws the non-believer into the life of faith. When we first decide to follow Christ, we don't know much and we understand less, but as we grow we come to greater understanding which, in turn, strengthens our faith just as Neo gained strength through the course of the movie until the point at which he was able to defeat those who would come after him and offer a way out for others who are seeking only God knows what as he does in his closing monologue.
The entire premise of the movie is representative of the human condition in the postmodern world. There are many out there living lives that are controlled by the desires and expectations of our culture and, all too often, people are content to stay in the what they consider to be the safe confines of cultural mainframe totally unaware that there is a greater purpose and a freedom somewhere outside that superstructure. Likewise, the question of what is real is one reflected in the movie and in the postmodern culture to which the emerging church is ministering.
That there are people within that structure seeking is a reality with which the emerging church is struggling though not in the typical seeker-sensitive modes of, say, Willow Creek or other megachurches is reflected when Trinity and Neo first meet and Trinity says that she knows Neo is seeking and she even knows the question he is asking. In the emerging church, the fact that someone has questions is an expectation, not a surprise.
There's also a point in the movie - the exact moment escapes me just now, but it may have been in the same scene mentioned above - that there's a realization that there's something out there that's not quite right. If you were to put a finger on the root of the emerging church movement, that would be it - a realization that something wasn't working in the current way of doing (or being) the church in light of the changes taking place in society. It is also the thought that motivates the seeker to look for Christ in the first place.
Even the moment in which Morpheus offers the red and blue pills to Neo can be related to the choice every person eventually has to make - that is to seek the truth about Christ or to simply continue to live in and follow the dictates of the culture at large. I found it interesting, though, that Morpheus said there would be no turning back because, in a sense, there are plenty of examples in the world of people who made the choice to follow Christ and do just that so it is at that moment that, perhaps, the analogy falls apart.
Neo's journey after that moment follows the journey of the new believer, especially, it seems in the postmodern era when faith is born not out of an analysis of the facts, or a crystal clear presentation of the four spiritual laws, but of a relationship between a believer and a non-believer that draws the non-believer into the life of faith. When we first decide to follow Christ, we don't know much and we understand less, but as we grow we come to greater understanding which, in turn, strengthens our faith just as Neo gained strength through the course of the movie until the point at which he was able to defeat those who would come after him and offer a way out for others who are seeking only God knows what as he does in his closing monologue.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Session 10 & 11, Kimball: Rock Daddy
1. In his book Dan Kimball uses the analogy of a tree being planted (rooted) in Christianity and how the later people are born the farther outside that sphere of influence they will be. I agree with that theory and do think that the younger generations don't have as strong a Christian root system as those thirty years ago. However, if we continue to go with the plant analogy, then I believe there is hope. In my daughters 2nd grade science, I taught her that plants always grow toward sunlight, in fact we did an experiment to prove that. Therefore, if we as Christians can open our hearts and minds and allow the Holy Spirit to shine thru us we will in turn create that light that the unbelievers are seeking. How we do that is by being fluid. What I mean by fluid, is that, we as believers need to not become fixed on only one idea or way of worshipping, fellowshipping, outreaching. We have to be open to the world around us and see how and what is capturing the attention of unbelievers. What works now may not and probably won't work ten years from now. I think some of the tension we see in our current churches is from the fact that we have members of our churches who refuse to change.
2. I totally agree with the shift from Roman evangelism to Celtic evangelism. I have seen it just with in my lifetime. I can remember growing up experiencing Christians going door to door to deliver tracts or to share what the church was doing. I can even remember seeing street corner preachers and revivals. Yet, if you look around now a days the only (primarily) Christians still going door to door are the Jehovah's Witnesses. Now a days churches have websites or blogs in order to provide their information or services on line.
http://www.gccwired.com/ (This church has some awesome video clips of things they have done with music. Check out the "I Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For" video. POWERFULL!)
http://www.unitedworshipexperience.org/
Rarely do you see any revivals and if someone were to stand on a street corner and evangelize today, he would more than likely be ignored or carted off to jail for disturbing the peace. In this day and age of its all about me; people are realizing that they have an inborn desire for fellowship. Therefore, as the church we need to change to be able to meet them where they are at.
3. For my EC worship service, I would pick a location that could in no way be associated to a church. A business building comes to mind, one that has the rafters and beams showing, is open and unrestricted. I would have comfortable chairs, sofas and such to sit on and throw rugs on top of the hard wood floors. It would be well lit, but have the ability to be able to isolate the light or dim it where needed. There would be speakers throughout and have a cozy, comfortable atmosphere. We would definitely have a coffee corner, with one of those industrial sized coffee makers so as to be able to make lattes, mocha's and the like. We would have music playing at the beginning prior to the service starting. Christian music that was similar to the current sound or trend that was playing on the radio. Dress would be way casual. In the summer I would sport shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops (maybe) and in the winter it would be jeans or more than likely sweats and a t-shirt and slippers. The time of the service would be at night.
The service itself would consist of scripture reading, sharing of issues or testimonies, singing and the sharing of a message. Since I like to wander when I talk and use my hands I would not have a pulpit or podium. That's all that really comes to mind right now.
2. I totally agree with the shift from Roman evangelism to Celtic evangelism. I have seen it just with in my lifetime. I can remember growing up experiencing Christians going door to door to deliver tracts or to share what the church was doing. I can even remember seeing street corner preachers and revivals. Yet, if you look around now a days the only (primarily) Christians still going door to door are the Jehovah's Witnesses. Now a days churches have websites or blogs in order to provide their information or services on line.
http://www.gccwired.com/ (This church has some awesome video clips of things they have done with music. Check out the "I Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For" video. POWERFULL!)
http://www.unitedworshipexperience.org/
Rarely do you see any revivals and if someone were to stand on a street corner and evangelize today, he would more than likely be ignored or carted off to jail for disturbing the peace. In this day and age of its all about me; people are realizing that they have an inborn desire for fellowship. Therefore, as the church we need to change to be able to meet them where they are at.
3. For my EC worship service, I would pick a location that could in no way be associated to a church. A business building comes to mind, one that has the rafters and beams showing, is open and unrestricted. I would have comfortable chairs, sofas and such to sit on and throw rugs on top of the hard wood floors. It would be well lit, but have the ability to be able to isolate the light or dim it where needed. There would be speakers throughout and have a cozy, comfortable atmosphere. We would definitely have a coffee corner, with one of those industrial sized coffee makers so as to be able to make lattes, mocha's and the like. We would have music playing at the beginning prior to the service starting. Christian music that was similar to the current sound or trend that was playing on the radio. Dress would be way casual. In the summer I would sport shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops (maybe) and in the winter it would be jeans or more than likely sweats and a t-shirt and slippers. The time of the service would be at night.
The service itself would consist of scripture reading, sharing of issues or testimonies, singing and the sharing of a message. Since I like to wander when I talk and use my hands I would not have a pulpit or podium. That's all that really comes to mind right now.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Session #7 - Strider returns :)
1) How have you domesticated the gospel?
Domesticating the gospel in my life (and, I suspect, in the lives of many in the American church) meant turning Jesus from the revolutionary figure that he was and is into someone who fits nicely into suburbia. He's white with wavy brown hair and an angelic pose even as he agonizes in the garden. He would attend church on Sundays, be considered respectable by the community, eschew certain movies and questionable forms of entertainment, vote a certain way and, most of all, not make waves. The Jesus I have been discovering for the past number of years is anything but that. He is grander than that. If there's a wrong, he will make waves to make it right. People in his community (i.e. the Pharisees and teachers of the law) didn't consider him respectable at all. We might even guess that he would go to questionable forms of entertainment for the purpose of reaching out to others who are in desperate need of his message that the kingdom of God is at hand. Yet, I have to be careful that I don't overcorrect my initial domestication of Christ by turning him by focusing solely on those parts of his character that seem to be missing from "suburban Jesus" - and there have been times I have caught myself doing just that. For example, I can't become so focused on his insistance to help the poor that I forget how he taught his disciples.
2) What is your reflection on the gospel as public truth? (p. 23)
In some ways, the gospel is a public truth and, yet, in other ways it is not. As Newbigin describes, Darwinian theory is easily accepted into the school system while creation (or intelligent design) is not. We can easily see other ways in which the gospel is excluded from the public discourse. In a few weeks, schools will start planning their graduation ceremonies and, inevitably it seems, there will be a story in the news about a student who wants to include a prayer in her speech, but is forbidden to do so by a school district afraid of the also seemingly inevitable lawsuit. Similarly, you can bet that every Christmas there will be an argument about a town manger scene. Digging below the surface a bit, we can see the gospel as private truth only in a society that devalues its members whether they be the poor, the marginalized or the unborn and leaves working with these people to the church or (in some cases) to government programs.
In a similar vein, however, we can see that there is a degree of surface awareness of the gospel as public truth. I am writing this entry on Easter (yes, it is indeed late) and it strikes me that it would be impossible to pass by this holiday without hearing some version of the gospel. Granted, it may be a distorted version on the evening news, but generally when the stores are all closed and church services are on television, it would come to the attention of the public at large. We also can't ignore the fact that the stores are closed. Many in the public may not have a clue why this holiday is so very important, but they have at least a surface idea of what is happening. We can also look to our laws and see a superficial understanding of the gospel as expected norms of behavior in society.
What is missing in the gospel as a public truth is that more in-depth knowledge that takes the gospel for societal norms to a truth that so invades the soul of an individual that they can never again live their life in the same day as the call of God beckons to them.
3) Apply Newbigin's perspective about paradigm shifts to the ECM.
It may or may not have been obvious in my posts, but I have been curious about the ECM for some time now. It's a curiosity born out of my ministry with the youth and from interaction with other youth workers particularly at youth workers' conventions and by reading youth worker blogs. In the youth I see some of the questioning that comes along with postmodernism, but in fellow youth workers I see the sense that something is happening. Five years ago, I attended my first youth workers' convention and even then I heard youth workers talking about how "things" just weren't working anymore. The assumptions on which youth ministry had been built for decades wasn't working and something else had to be developed. In 2005, when I attended the last youth workers' convention I was able to get to, the talk was more pronounced. Seminars were available from teachers like Dan Kimball and late-night theological discussions were held with people like Tony Jones. The sense was even greater that there was a change underway. These memories came to mind as I read what Newbigin wrote on page 44 about how a paradigm shift begins, "It has much more to do with intuition and imagination - the intuition that there is a problem waiting to be tackled, a configuration of things waiting to be discerned, an orderliness not yet manifest but hidden and waiting to be discovered."
What has been happening in the ECM, as I have followed it, is a quest to discern what exactly the problem is and how to creatively address it. And, to be frank, my theory is that many of these answers will come from those who work with college students or youth. Just take a look at some of the people already considered leaders in the ECM and you find that a background in youth ministry - even if only for a short time - is not uncommon.
4) Discuss your theological reflections on the logic of election and the Bible as universal history. Differ, critique, or affirm as you process these thick and rich chapters.
Election has always been a curious thing to me, so I really appreciated Newbigin's insights. Hearing arguments about election over the years, I always had difficulty with the idea that God would have chosen some to be saved and others to be condemned. I couldn't make that fit with other passages that indicate that his will is that none should perish. So, Newbigin's statement, "God does not chose to save some and to destroy others. (He has consigned all to disobedience in order that he may have mercy upon all.)" came as a clarifying statement for me. In the end, to paraphrase a statement I read in magazine once, we are all freakish people living freakish lives. God's mercy is what makes us comfortable in our freakishness and brings us into his story to be part of his mission in the world.
The key to the Bible as universal history is, I believe, found on page 91 when Newbigin talks about how the loss of hope and vision makes everything meaningless, causing publicly held norms and values to disappear. In some ways, I see this as happening before our very eyes when we look at the postmodern culture. I see it, for example, in the continuing violence in the inner cities of our nation where some youth have grown up without a vision for the future. Even in a moderately sized city, you can see the results of the lack of vision in the disregard for life that causes one teenager to gun down another on a city street corner. Newbigin talks of his Hindu friend even understanding that the Bible held the communication of the "secret" (that is, the point of everything in all of history) to those who had been entrusted with it. This truth is available to all and results in a hope that stands out even in the darkest places when the world around us seems hopeless. In a sense, that will ultimately draw people to us, and, more importantly, to Christ as we share this "secret."
Domesticating the gospel in my life (and, I suspect, in the lives of many in the American church) meant turning Jesus from the revolutionary figure that he was and is into someone who fits nicely into suburbia. He's white with wavy brown hair and an angelic pose even as he agonizes in the garden. He would attend church on Sundays, be considered respectable by the community, eschew certain movies and questionable forms of entertainment, vote a certain way and, most of all, not make waves. The Jesus I have been discovering for the past number of years is anything but that. He is grander than that. If there's a wrong, he will make waves to make it right. People in his community (i.e. the Pharisees and teachers of the law) didn't consider him respectable at all. We might even guess that he would go to questionable forms of entertainment for the purpose of reaching out to others who are in desperate need of his message that the kingdom of God is at hand. Yet, I have to be careful that I don't overcorrect my initial domestication of Christ by turning him by focusing solely on those parts of his character that seem to be missing from "suburban Jesus" - and there have been times I have caught myself doing just that. For example, I can't become so focused on his insistance to help the poor that I forget how he taught his disciples.
2) What is your reflection on the gospel as public truth? (p. 23)
In some ways, the gospel is a public truth and, yet, in other ways it is not. As Newbigin describes, Darwinian theory is easily accepted into the school system while creation (or intelligent design) is not. We can easily see other ways in which the gospel is excluded from the public discourse. In a few weeks, schools will start planning their graduation ceremonies and, inevitably it seems, there will be a story in the news about a student who wants to include a prayer in her speech, but is forbidden to do so by a school district afraid of the also seemingly inevitable lawsuit. Similarly, you can bet that every Christmas there will be an argument about a town manger scene. Digging below the surface a bit, we can see the gospel as private truth only in a society that devalues its members whether they be the poor, the marginalized or the unborn and leaves working with these people to the church or (in some cases) to government programs.
In a similar vein, however, we can see that there is a degree of surface awareness of the gospel as public truth. I am writing this entry on Easter (yes, it is indeed late) and it strikes me that it would be impossible to pass by this holiday without hearing some version of the gospel. Granted, it may be a distorted version on the evening news, but generally when the stores are all closed and church services are on television, it would come to the attention of the public at large. We also can't ignore the fact that the stores are closed. Many in the public may not have a clue why this holiday is so very important, but they have at least a surface idea of what is happening. We can also look to our laws and see a superficial understanding of the gospel as expected norms of behavior in society.
What is missing in the gospel as a public truth is that more in-depth knowledge that takes the gospel for societal norms to a truth that so invades the soul of an individual that they can never again live their life in the same day as the call of God beckons to them.
3) Apply Newbigin's perspective about paradigm shifts to the ECM.
It may or may not have been obvious in my posts, but I have been curious about the ECM for some time now. It's a curiosity born out of my ministry with the youth and from interaction with other youth workers particularly at youth workers' conventions and by reading youth worker blogs. In the youth I see some of the questioning that comes along with postmodernism, but in fellow youth workers I see the sense that something is happening. Five years ago, I attended my first youth workers' convention and even then I heard youth workers talking about how "things" just weren't working anymore. The assumptions on which youth ministry had been built for decades wasn't working and something else had to be developed. In 2005, when I attended the last youth workers' convention I was able to get to, the talk was more pronounced. Seminars were available from teachers like Dan Kimball and late-night theological discussions were held with people like Tony Jones. The sense was even greater that there was a change underway. These memories came to mind as I read what Newbigin wrote on page 44 about how a paradigm shift begins, "It has much more to do with intuition and imagination - the intuition that there is a problem waiting to be tackled, a configuration of things waiting to be discerned, an orderliness not yet manifest but hidden and waiting to be discovered."
What has been happening in the ECM, as I have followed it, is a quest to discern what exactly the problem is and how to creatively address it. And, to be frank, my theory is that many of these answers will come from those who work with college students or youth. Just take a look at some of the people already considered leaders in the ECM and you find that a background in youth ministry - even if only for a short time - is not uncommon.
4) Discuss your theological reflections on the logic of election and the Bible as universal history. Differ, critique, or affirm as you process these thick and rich chapters.
Election has always been a curious thing to me, so I really appreciated Newbigin's insights. Hearing arguments about election over the years, I always had difficulty with the idea that God would have chosen some to be saved and others to be condemned. I couldn't make that fit with other passages that indicate that his will is that none should perish. So, Newbigin's statement, "God does not chose to save some and to destroy others. (He has consigned all to disobedience in order that he may have mercy upon all.)" came as a clarifying statement for me. In the end, to paraphrase a statement I read in magazine once, we are all freakish people living freakish lives. God's mercy is what makes us comfortable in our freakishness and brings us into his story to be part of his mission in the world.
The key to the Bible as universal history is, I believe, found on page 91 when Newbigin talks about how the loss of hope and vision makes everything meaningless, causing publicly held norms and values to disappear. In some ways, I see this as happening before our very eyes when we look at the postmodern culture. I see it, for example, in the continuing violence in the inner cities of our nation where some youth have grown up without a vision for the future. Even in a moderately sized city, you can see the results of the lack of vision in the disregard for life that causes one teenager to gun down another on a city street corner. Newbigin talks of his Hindu friend even understanding that the Bible held the communication of the "secret" (that is, the point of everything in all of history) to those who had been entrusted with it. This truth is available to all and results in a hope that stands out even in the darkest places when the world around us seems hopeless. In a sense, that will ultimately draw people to us, and, more importantly, to Christ as we share this "secret."
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Session #10 Newbigin: Rock Daddy
1. In this PM world I agree that all students who are going through seminary need to be aware of the challenges that they will face. Regardless of what denomination you come from or are going into, unbelievers are still just unbelievers. I think that a seminary would not be setting its graduates up for success if it did not educate them on how to approach and overcome the challenges that await us all out in the real world. But, it is not only the real world, because as our churches enter into this PM world there are new challenges that arise. Therefore pastors need to be aware of them and how to over come them as well.
2. To ask if the Hindu's are saved is a very ambiguous question. That would be like asking if the Jehovah Witnesses are saved, or the Latter Day Saints. "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."" (1 Sam 16:7, NIV) In this verse we see that God does not look at the same things man does. Instead, God looks at the heart of man. Also, there is no way for you to claim that any one group of people will or will not be save. This is because our salvation is a personal thing. Therefore, whether or not a person who practices Hinduism is found right in God's eyes during the final judgement is up to him. Take Gandhi for instance, he practiced Hinduism, however he said this about religion, "by religion, I do not mean formal religion or customary religion, but that religion which underlies all religions, which brings us face to face with our Maker." (www.mkgandhi.org) You can see that Gandhi himself believed in a higher Being and being in a relationship with him. Gandhi goes on to say "to me, [Jesus] was one of the greatest teachers, humanity has ever had. To his believers, he was God's only begotten Son." (www.mkgandhi.org) Is this quote saying that Gandhi believed in Jesus and therefore is going to be saved? We will never know until the end times. We might just run into Gandhi in heaven. In fact we might be surprised who we do and don't run into up in heaven.
3. For me growing up as a white male from a middle class family, my culture has greatly impacted my views and thoughts about the gospel. For me, I did not understand the need for slavery or racial tensions. I never understood why people couldn't just get along. But as I grew older the thoughts and ideas of my parents rubbed off onto me. It was not until my mother made a comment about me hanging out with a friend of mine, who happened to be black, that I realized she had some prejudice. After marrying my wife, we tried several different types of churches. It was only after she pointed it out to me that I in turn was showing prejudices toward other believers if they weren't exactly like what I grew up with. Thankfully, my wife has helped me to open my mind and learn to accept new and different things. It is only through my experiences and continual growth that I am able to see and learn new things. So, in this manner I am overcoming my culture because, as it says in Acts 9:18 "something like scales feel from Saul's eyes, and he could see again." (NIV) I too continually feel the scales falling from my eyes, in order that I might see things thru God's wave length and not the worlds.
4. In Genesis we read about how man lived in perfect harmony with God in Eden. But, after man sinned, God kicked them out of Eden. So, here are man and woman, creations of God. As mad as he was with them he could not simply take them from one extreme (Eden) to the other (out of Eden). Therefore, God the ultimate author of everything, created balance within the world. This is why even though the powers are never going to win , they are allowed to rule and reign. When Christ died on the cross he forever sealed the powers fate, however, only God knows when the end is coming and until them Satan and his minions are allowed to rule the earth. Augustine said, "For if every sin were now visited with manifest punishment, nothing would seem to be reserved for the final judgement; on the other hand, if no sin received now a plainly divine punishment, it would be concluded that there is no divine providence at all. And so of the good things of this life: if God did not by a very visible liberality confer these on some of those persons who ask for them, we should say that these good things were not at His disposal; and if He gave them to all who sought them, we should suppose that such were the only rewards of His service; and such a service would make us not godly, but greedy rather, and covetous." (The City of God) From this quote we can start to see a possibility into why the powers are allowed to remain, even though in the end we believers win!
5. Obviously, Newbigin is revered and honored in the Christian community. So, why hasn't there been a movement or more of a shift towards what he wrote about in this book by that community?
2. To ask if the Hindu's are saved is a very ambiguous question. That would be like asking if the Jehovah Witnesses are saved, or the Latter Day Saints. "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."" (1 Sam 16:7, NIV) In this verse we see that God does not look at the same things man does. Instead, God looks at the heart of man. Also, there is no way for you to claim that any one group of people will or will not be save. This is because our salvation is a personal thing. Therefore, whether or not a person who practices Hinduism is found right in God's eyes during the final judgement is up to him. Take Gandhi for instance, he practiced Hinduism, however he said this about religion, "by religion, I do not mean formal religion or customary religion, but that religion which underlies all religions, which brings us face to face with our Maker." (www.mkgandhi.org) You can see that Gandhi himself believed in a higher Being and being in a relationship with him. Gandhi goes on to say "to me, [Jesus] was one of the greatest teachers, humanity has ever had. To his believers, he was God's only begotten Son." (www.mkgandhi.org) Is this quote saying that Gandhi believed in Jesus and therefore is going to be saved? We will never know until the end times. We might just run into Gandhi in heaven. In fact we might be surprised who we do and don't run into up in heaven.
3. For me growing up as a white male from a middle class family, my culture has greatly impacted my views and thoughts about the gospel. For me, I did not understand the need for slavery or racial tensions. I never understood why people couldn't just get along. But as I grew older the thoughts and ideas of my parents rubbed off onto me. It was not until my mother made a comment about me hanging out with a friend of mine, who happened to be black, that I realized she had some prejudice. After marrying my wife, we tried several different types of churches. It was only after she pointed it out to me that I in turn was showing prejudices toward other believers if they weren't exactly like what I grew up with. Thankfully, my wife has helped me to open my mind and learn to accept new and different things. It is only through my experiences and continual growth that I am able to see and learn new things. So, in this manner I am overcoming my culture because, as it says in Acts 9:18 "something like scales feel from Saul's eyes, and he could see again." (NIV) I too continually feel the scales falling from my eyes, in order that I might see things thru God's wave length and not the worlds.
4. In Genesis we read about how man lived in perfect harmony with God in Eden. But, after man sinned, God kicked them out of Eden. So, here are man and woman, creations of God. As mad as he was with them he could not simply take them from one extreme (Eden) to the other (out of Eden). Therefore, God the ultimate author of everything, created balance within the world. This is why even though the powers are never going to win , they are allowed to rule and reign. When Christ died on the cross he forever sealed the powers fate, however, only God knows when the end is coming and until them Satan and his minions are allowed to rule the earth. Augustine said, "For if every sin were now visited with manifest punishment, nothing would seem to be reserved for the final judgement; on the other hand, if no sin received now a plainly divine punishment, it would be concluded that there is no divine providence at all. And so of the good things of this life: if God did not by a very visible liberality confer these on some of those persons who ask for them, we should say that these good things were not at His disposal; and if He gave them to all who sought them, we should suppose that such were the only rewards of His service; and such a service would make us not godly, but greedy rather, and covetous." (The City of God) From this quote we can start to see a possibility into why the powers are allowed to remain, even though in the end we believers win!
5. Obviously, Newbigin is revered and honored in the Christian community. So, why hasn't there been a movement or more of a shift towards what he wrote about in this book by that community?
Session #10 & #11, Kimball (Due April 10)
[To lighten your load and have time for worship and reflection during Holy Week, consider the following post assignment.]
1) Reflect upon the philosophy, spirituality, and ministry in PM-->PC era of the future. How we think this next ideological era will pan out impacts our missiology and ministry strategy today (pp. 57-77).
2) Discuss your response to the Celtic/Roman strategies of evangelism (pp. 197-211).
3) Design a EC worship service, explain your rationale. If you have time, experiment with a small group in experiencing your design (share your experiences).
1) Reflect upon the philosophy, spirituality, and ministry in PM-->PC era of the future. How we think this next ideological era will pan out impacts our missiology and ministry strategy today (pp. 57-77).
2) Discuss your response to the Celtic/Roman strategies of evangelism (pp. 197-211).
3) Design a EC worship service, explain your rationale. If you have time, experiment with a small group in experiencing your design (share your experiences).
Friday, March 23, 2007
Session # 9: Rock Daddy
1. Newbigin asks "what does it mean to write or to tell history? It cannot mean the recording of all the uncounted millions of things which have happened int he past. It involves selection." (pg 89-90) That selection he speaks of is the key to understanding the Bible and how it acts as the universal history for the world God was the one who selected what would and would not be included in the Bible. He was the one that directed and told the writers of the Bible what to write. If you look at the Old Testament, you see primarily historical events and happenings that lay the ground work for the Jewish religion. From archaeological digs and other writings we see that what the Bible speaks about was accurate and thereby was recording what was going on in the world at that time. The New Testament can be viewed initially as the telling of Jesus' life, but then it continues on with more historical events that happened afterwards. It concludes with the recording of a dream or prophecy. Again, through physical evidence we find that the Bible is proven correct and accurate. I once heard a radio evangelist comment that people question things about the Bible, specifically some of the details that are omitted. He commented that someone had asked him what he thought Jonah did while in the belly of the great fish. His response was, if it was important enough for me to know, God would have included it in the Bible. Since it is not there, I don't spend time thinking about it or arguing about it. I really like this train of thought and often use it and share it with others.
2. The PM the mind set is that there are no absolutes, that what is good for you might not be good for me. However, as Christians and especially as an ECM, we need to stick to our guns, so to speak and present only the gospel and what it represents. PM's will view the gospel as a truth and will therefore accept it. However, the challenge comes when we continue to stress that the gospel is the only truth. Newbigin references how Marxism, Communism and Islam all tend to spring up where Christianity begins to grow and show strength. If this isn't a blatant attack by Satan to create confusion then I don't know what is.
" 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " (Rom 14;11, NIV) In this scripture we see that every knee will bow. Now whether that means that we will bow humbly or whether it means we will bow because we are forced too, every knee will bow. Knowing this we need to heed Newbigins words, "patient endurance."
3. Newbigin speaks on both sides of the Mission in word vs. the Mission in deed. One side feels like they should merely be building up the Church by "preaching the gospel of salvation from sin and offering eternal life." (pg. 135) This is all well and good because how can nonbelievers be saved if they are not told the Good News? How can the church increase its numbers if it isn't out converting others?
On the other hand the other sides feels that this is not kingdom work and therefore focuses their energies on helping the poor, healing the sick and freeing the enslaved. This too is all well and good, but how can those who are sick or poor or enslaved every truly rise above their situation if they are only helped out of their predicament and not taught how to over come it? It reminds me of a saying I learned in the Special Forces, "give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."
Just as Newbigin suggests, both sides need to take a step back and include some of what the other side is doing. A church should be spreading the gospel of salvation, but they should be doing it while helping someone who is bed ridden. For Christians there are no absolutes, except Jesus. Everything else needs to be taken in stride.
4. Kaufman's argument is based on the fact that in his mind unity means everyone and everything getting along and not fighting. This is where his flaw is and therefore, why he doesn't believe that the Christian gospel can furnish the center for unity. The American Heritage Dictionary defines unity as "the state, quality or condition of accord or agreement; concord." To me this means that everyone is in an agreement. If we travel ahead to the end of the time, when Christ comes back everyone will be in an agreement. Those that have accepted Christ and his gift of salvation will have entered into an agreement with him. And those who have rejected Christ and his gift of salvation will also have entered into an agreement. For the first set of folks that agreement includes eternal life and getting to live with God. For the others their agreement includes eternal damnation and getting to live separated from God. Either way, they are still in an agreement.
2. The PM the mind set is that there are no absolutes, that what is good for you might not be good for me. However, as Christians and especially as an ECM, we need to stick to our guns, so to speak and present only the gospel and what it represents. PM's will view the gospel as a truth and will therefore accept it. However, the challenge comes when we continue to stress that the gospel is the only truth. Newbigin references how Marxism, Communism and Islam all tend to spring up where Christianity begins to grow and show strength. If this isn't a blatant attack by Satan to create confusion then I don't know what is.
" 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " (Rom 14;11, NIV) In this scripture we see that every knee will bow. Now whether that means that we will bow humbly or whether it means we will bow because we are forced too, every knee will bow. Knowing this we need to heed Newbigins words, "patient endurance."
3. Newbigin speaks on both sides of the Mission in word vs. the Mission in deed. One side feels like they should merely be building up the Church by "preaching the gospel of salvation from sin and offering eternal life." (pg. 135) This is all well and good because how can nonbelievers be saved if they are not told the Good News? How can the church increase its numbers if it isn't out converting others?
On the other hand the other sides feels that this is not kingdom work and therefore focuses their energies on helping the poor, healing the sick and freeing the enslaved. This too is all well and good, but how can those who are sick or poor or enslaved every truly rise above their situation if they are only helped out of their predicament and not taught how to over come it? It reminds me of a saying I learned in the Special Forces, "give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."
Just as Newbigin suggests, both sides need to take a step back and include some of what the other side is doing. A church should be spreading the gospel of salvation, but they should be doing it while helping someone who is bed ridden. For Christians there are no absolutes, except Jesus. Everything else needs to be taken in stride.
4. Kaufman's argument is based on the fact that in his mind unity means everyone and everything getting along and not fighting. This is where his flaw is and therefore, why he doesn't believe that the Christian gospel can furnish the center for unity. The American Heritage Dictionary defines unity as "the state, quality or condition of accord or agreement; concord." To me this means that everyone is in an agreement. If we travel ahead to the end of the time, when Christ comes back everyone will be in an agreement. Those that have accepted Christ and his gift of salvation will have entered into an agreement with him. And those who have rejected Christ and his gift of salvation will also have entered into an agreement. For the first set of folks that agreement includes eternal life and getting to live with God. For the others their agreement includes eternal damnation and getting to live separated from God. Either way, they are still in an agreement.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Session #10, Newbigin
Our journey up the "Newbigin River" continues to be an adventure with lots of twists and turns. Missiology incorporates all the theological disciplines and more (sociology, psychology, anthropology, and more). The MACD degree program is step in the missiological direction.
1) In PM, perhaps we should be preparing pastors to be pastoral missiologists? What do you think?
2) Are the Hindus saved? (Chapter 14)
3) Self-awareness missiology examination, how has your culture impacted, distorted, or uncovered the gospel? (Chapter 15)
4) Reflect upon the topic of the powers (Chapter 16). If they are disarmed, but not removed from their place in the "excluded middle" until the consummation, why?
5) Ask your question for the class and me to discuss.
1) In PM, perhaps we should be preparing pastors to be pastoral missiologists? What do you think?
2) Are the Hindus saved? (Chapter 14)
3) Self-awareness missiology examination, how has your culture impacted, distorted, or uncovered the gospel? (Chapter 15)
4) Reflect upon the topic of the powers (Chapter 16). If they are disarmed, but not removed from their place in the "excluded middle" until the consummation, why?
5) Ask your question for the class and me to discuss.
Session # 9, Newbigin
Newbigin is perhaps a 20 century Wesley who is eclectic and masters many skills and disciplines to become a powerful ambassador of the gospel.
1) On page 89, Newbigin quotes a Hindu scholar that Christians have misrepresented Christianity as another religion. Reflect upon this theological concept that the Bible is universal history for the world.
2) The logic of mission, explain the relationship of the gospel and the meaning of history as it relates to pluralism (p. 122). This is a vital perspective that connects to PM & ECM.
3) Discuss the polarities and resolution of Mission in word, deed, and new being (p. 135-136).
4) Respond to Kaufman's position of modern historical consciousness that Christ is not unique--the God/Man. (p. 159).
1) On page 89, Newbigin quotes a Hindu scholar that Christians have misrepresented Christianity as another religion. Reflect upon this theological concept that the Bible is universal history for the world.
2) The logic of mission, explain the relationship of the gospel and the meaning of history as it relates to pluralism (p. 122). This is a vital perspective that connects to PM & ECM.
3) Discuss the polarities and resolution of Mission in word, deed, and new being (p. 135-136).
4) Respond to Kaufman's position of modern historical consciousness that Christ is not unique--the God/Man. (p. 159).
Friday, March 16, 2007
Session #7: Rock Daddy
1. To truly understand how I have domesticated the gospel, I first reflected on what it means to domesticate. To me, to domesticate means to take something that is wild and free and make it tame and enslaved. For me, growing up in the church I saw the Bible and all of its stories as wild and exciting as a child, however, as I continued to go to church and grow up, it lost some of its appeal. In fact I often would try to use it to help convince myself or prove that whatever I was doing or not doing at the time was okay with God. For instance in college I remember my friends giving me a hard time about drinking beer, because that is not what Christians are suppose to do, so after reading the story of how Jesus turned water into wine, I drank only red wine that weekend. So, when my buddies asked me about it, I told them that Jesus drank wine and so it was okay for me to do the same. The difference, however, was the fact that Jesus didn't drink an entire bottle of wine in one night. Needless to say I found no relief for my headache the next morning in the Bible.
Thankfully, through God's grace and eternal love, I have found the passion of the scriptures once again and can't wait to share it with others.
2. I believe that the gospel itself is not public truth and I say that because I honestly don't believe that the majority of nonbelievers have ever been told the gospel and what it means. I think for the most part people in America know about the Bible, and who God and Jesus are, but I think that knowledge of whats in the Bible exponentially decreases after that. I recently spoke with a friend about this very same topic and he commented that the ladies he works with knew about Noah and the flood and maybe a couple of other stories, but after that they were clueless. He went on to tell me how he used that situation as a evangelizing tool and was able to witness to them. Due to the fact that Darwin's theory is taught in school is no wonder that it is considered public knowledge or truth. I am willing to go one step further and say that unless a church is growing spiritually and stretching its members, then I would wager a guess that even believers don't truly know what the gospel says. Sure they will know more of the stories, but do they truly understand what is being said? Or do they take scriptures out of context in order to prove or disprove a point?
3. In order for the ECM to be effective, according to Newbigin, the ET must be "more compelling..., a vision of reality which commends itself by its beauty, rationality and comprehensiveness." (pg 47) What this means is that how we present and represent the Good News, must be done in such a way as to cause those in society to stop what they are doing so they can get a better look. It doesn't mean we need to try to convert them there on the spot, but rather act, speak and behave in such a way as to cause them to take a double take at what we are doing. Once we have their attention, again we don't go in for the conversion, but rather for the meaningful relationship. And we continue to do that, hoping that someday we will be given the opportunity to share with them what Christ has done for us and how he can do the same for them.
Picture this, the world is in black and white and shades of grey. As the ECM we take the gospel which is a bright, vibrant yellow item and we carry it around with us. Someone from the world is used to seeing only black and white and shades of grey, when suddenly they see we have a bright yellow item. So, they stop what they are doing and come over to see what we have. Being of the world they are skeptical so they never mention the yellow item and much to their surprise neither do we. We merely become friends with them. Hanging out together, eating together, spending time together. And every time we come around we have that yellow item. Finally, they can't stand it anymore and ask us about the yellow item, at which time we tell them all about it and how they can get one too.
4. Logic of election almost sounds to me like a title that man has come up with for something that God has created. It makes me think of the Pharisees and how they couldn't just live with God's command of keeping the Sabbath holy. They went and detailed it out to include the fact that if a man had a needle in his robe pocket and walked over a certain distance that was considered work and therefore, violated the law. God's gifts are so simple and uncomplex, but for whatever reason we as humans feel the need to complicate them. I love what Newbigin says on page 85, "Gods grace is free and unconditional." That means that we have no right to make people pay for it or feel like if they receive it they are now in some binding contract. I also like how Newbigin emphasized the importance of receiving salvation thru someone else. This thought totally supports the need for us to come together as a body and to reach out to those who are not yet part of the body. All in all I have enjoyed reading this book. I do find that Newbigin tends to repeat himself, but I think he is merely trying to hammer home his thought or idea. Since the Bible as the Universal History is part of next weeks reading, I will respond on that chapter then.
Thankfully, through God's grace and eternal love, I have found the passion of the scriptures once again and can't wait to share it with others.
2. I believe that the gospel itself is not public truth and I say that because I honestly don't believe that the majority of nonbelievers have ever been told the gospel and what it means. I think for the most part people in America know about the Bible, and who God and Jesus are, but I think that knowledge of whats in the Bible exponentially decreases after that. I recently spoke with a friend about this very same topic and he commented that the ladies he works with knew about Noah and the flood and maybe a couple of other stories, but after that they were clueless. He went on to tell me how he used that situation as a evangelizing tool and was able to witness to them. Due to the fact that Darwin's theory is taught in school is no wonder that it is considered public knowledge or truth. I am willing to go one step further and say that unless a church is growing spiritually and stretching its members, then I would wager a guess that even believers don't truly know what the gospel says. Sure they will know more of the stories, but do they truly understand what is being said? Or do they take scriptures out of context in order to prove or disprove a point?
3. In order for the ECM to be effective, according to Newbigin, the ET must be "more compelling..., a vision of reality which commends itself by its beauty, rationality and comprehensiveness." (pg 47) What this means is that how we present and represent the Good News, must be done in such a way as to cause those in society to stop what they are doing so they can get a better look. It doesn't mean we need to try to convert them there on the spot, but rather act, speak and behave in such a way as to cause them to take a double take at what we are doing. Once we have their attention, again we don't go in for the conversion, but rather for the meaningful relationship. And we continue to do that, hoping that someday we will be given the opportunity to share with them what Christ has done for us and how he can do the same for them.
Picture this, the world is in black and white and shades of grey. As the ECM we take the gospel which is a bright, vibrant yellow item and we carry it around with us. Someone from the world is used to seeing only black and white and shades of grey, when suddenly they see we have a bright yellow item. So, they stop what they are doing and come over to see what we have. Being of the world they are skeptical so they never mention the yellow item and much to their surprise neither do we. We merely become friends with them. Hanging out together, eating together, spending time together. And every time we come around we have that yellow item. Finally, they can't stand it anymore and ask us about the yellow item, at which time we tell them all about it and how they can get one too.
4. Logic of election almost sounds to me like a title that man has come up with for something that God has created. It makes me think of the Pharisees and how they couldn't just live with God's command of keeping the Sabbath holy. They went and detailed it out to include the fact that if a man had a needle in his robe pocket and walked over a certain distance that was considered work and therefore, violated the law. God's gifts are so simple and uncomplex, but for whatever reason we as humans feel the need to complicate them. I love what Newbigin says on page 85, "Gods grace is free and unconditional." That means that we have no right to make people pay for it or feel like if they receive it they are now in some binding contract. I also like how Newbigin emphasized the importance of receiving salvation thru someone else. This thought totally supports the need for us to come together as a body and to reach out to those who are not yet part of the body. All in all I have enjoyed reading this book. I do find that Newbigin tends to repeat himself, but I think he is merely trying to hammer home his thought or idea. Since the Bible as the Universal History is part of next weeks reading, I will respond on that chapter then.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Session #7, Newbigin
Newbigin presents a thick theological, philosophical missiology that is thorough and universal in nature. He and John Stott were knocking heads with the "Church Growth Movement--McGavran & Wagner" over vital missiological issues in the 70's-90's; both camps were concerned about awakening an inward-focused Western church. There is a decidedly European/Anglo flavor to Newbigin & Stott while their American counterparts had valid arguments on some issues on missional intentionality. The sad part of this story is they were both right & wrong, and they really needed each other. The CGM has lacked the necessary theological depth to launch a long-term movement, CGM has veered too far down the pragmatism trail where models and programs are presented as "quick fixes" for an American entrepreneurial church market that is hungry for "nickels and noses." So as you read Newbigin, be patient; it will take a lot of pages and reflection but eventually the missional connections will emerge. (Your local Inter-Library Loan will have access to a-v's of Newbigin; as I read him again I can still his voice which is rich with spiritual wisdom and kingdom vision. His voice is missed.)
1) Domesticating the gospel (p. 3) is an issue which Newbigin corrected in his life. Perhaps, it's Newbigin's humility and forthrightness that I really appreciate. How have you domesticated the gospel? (Connection to CS Lewis, untamed but safe Aslan the lion.)
2) What is your reflection on the gospel as public truth? (p. 23)
3) Apply Newbigin's perspective about paradigm shifts to the ECM.
4) Discuss your theological reflections on the logic of election and the Bible as universal history. Differ, critique, or affirm as you process these thick and rich chapters (#7 & #8).
1) Domesticating the gospel (p. 3) is an issue which Newbigin corrected in his life. Perhaps, it's Newbigin's humility and forthrightness that I really appreciate. How have you domesticated the gospel? (Connection to CS Lewis, untamed but safe Aslan the lion.)
2) What is your reflection on the gospel as public truth? (p. 23)
3) Apply Newbigin's perspective about paradigm shifts to the ECM.
4) Discuss your theological reflections on the logic of election and the Bible as universal history. Differ, critique, or affirm as you process these thick and rich chapters (#7 & #8).
Monday, March 12, 2007
Session 6: Tammie
A. Describe how the presence, gifts, and power of the Spirit impact the body of Christ.
The presence of the Holy Spirit is the fresh air that flows through the emerging church as each individual within the church is baptized into the Spirit as that person comes to faith in Christ. These individuals receive power when the Spirit comes upon them and it's a power that compels them to do what they can to contribute to the overall health of the body, that is the church. In that way, each member becomes a gift to the body. I don't know the exact percentage anymore, but at some point I remember reading an article that described how an incredibly small percentage of the members of the church actually volunteer to carry out the church's activities. I can't help but wonder how that statistic might change if we can help people to realize that we are all given power through the Spirit as believers. If we place a bit more emphasis on the power the Spirit gives and share what it means to become part of the body more as Anderson describes on page 177, we might have people seeing the needs and realizing that they can do something to fulfill it rather than having people sitting back and not thinking they have the gifting or the power to do anything about it. In that way, the people of the church also discover their identity through what they contribute as the body is built up and its members drawn closer. In a sense, we have made the idea of receiving power and gifts through the spirit far more difficult than it has to be with our spiritual gifts inventory and finding our purpose (as made popular in recent books). Referring again to page 177, Anderson says its as simple as saying, "I can do that" when a need is expressed.
B. Reflect on the graphs on pages 192-193, how does the reality of the incarnation define the missio Dei?
To put it in the most simple terms, you can't make an impact on the world by remaining secluded in our stained-glass sanctuaries in which we decry the state of the society while running away from it and working hard to maintain the wall of safety around us. In doing so, we have created the Christian ghetto, of sorts, where it is "safe" and the world with all its brokenness and hurts can, in theory, not touch us. The reality is that we are in the world everyday and, like it or not, we bring the troubles of the world in the door with us when we come into the church. Cancer doesn't stop at the door, we just sometimes pretend not to see it. Cutting (just in case you haven't heard of it, that is a practice among teenage girls, especially, to cut themselves with razor blades out of depression or self-image issues or the like) doesn't stop at the door, we just don't look for it. Troubled marriages are in the church and outside of the church. Christ's mission, and ours by extension, was to bind the wounds of the broken hearted. We can't do that if we are just putting on the masks and heading out to services on Sundays. Through the incarnation, Christ reconciled the world to him and we have a mandate to make him known to the world.
C. Explain the relationship of Christ's three-fold apostolic ministry in relationship to the kingdom of God, and in the our society the ECM.
The three-fold apostolic ministry is the central to building the kingdom of God as it looks to the historical Christ, the proclamation of Christ in the present day and the anticipation of the return of Christ in the future. It reinforces the idea of "Jesus Christ - the same yesterday, today and forever." It also places us historically in a long line of believers as it positions us as the next link in the chain as we proclaim the gospel today and do the work of building the kingdom. In a sense, this three-fold ministry also helps to bring the world to the church as it proclaims Christ not as some dusty historical figure, but also as a present reality and a future hope.
D. How has this text stirred, rattled, or shaken your theology?
The text has been extremely helpful to me in giving words and a theological shape to my own thoughts over the past few years. I've often thought that the churches that I recognize as being more emergent - or at least the ones with which I am acquainted through listening to podcasts or visiting their web sites - seem to be greatly grounded in following the Spirit, finding its place in culture and being incarnation in its own locale. For example, it was encouraging to read the three-fold apostolic ministry as Anderson described it and recognize that such thoughts may easily be the basis for a ministry whose goal (as I have heard it stated) is to bring the kingdom of God crashing into earth.
I'm also finding myself thinking more and more about the differences between the church at Jerusalem and Antioch and between adherence to the law of Moses and identifying with Abraham as a model of faith. I must confess Anderson's work has shone a different light on the church at Jerusalem. Over the years through my work with the youth (especially in Bible quizzing), I became quite familiar with Acts and with many of Paul's letters, but I had never picked up the idea that the church at Jerusalem was a stagnant body, clinging to tradition because I had, perhaps, been blinded somewhat by the desciption of the church in Acts 2 and never noticed its shortcomings. And, despite reading Paul's letters, I never really saw the disputes between Paul and the apostles at Jerusalem as a struggle for the future of the church.
The presence of the Holy Spirit is the fresh air that flows through the emerging church as each individual within the church is baptized into the Spirit as that person comes to faith in Christ. These individuals receive power when the Spirit comes upon them and it's a power that compels them to do what they can to contribute to the overall health of the body, that is the church. In that way, each member becomes a gift to the body. I don't know the exact percentage anymore, but at some point I remember reading an article that described how an incredibly small percentage of the members of the church actually volunteer to carry out the church's activities. I can't help but wonder how that statistic might change if we can help people to realize that we are all given power through the Spirit as believers. If we place a bit more emphasis on the power the Spirit gives and share what it means to become part of the body more as Anderson describes on page 177, we might have people seeing the needs and realizing that they can do something to fulfill it rather than having people sitting back and not thinking they have the gifting or the power to do anything about it. In that way, the people of the church also discover their identity through what they contribute as the body is built up and its members drawn closer. In a sense, we have made the idea of receiving power and gifts through the spirit far more difficult than it has to be with our spiritual gifts inventory and finding our purpose (as made popular in recent books). Referring again to page 177, Anderson says its as simple as saying, "I can do that" when a need is expressed.
B. Reflect on the graphs on pages 192-193, how does the reality of the incarnation define the missio Dei?
To put it in the most simple terms, you can't make an impact on the world by remaining secluded in our stained-glass sanctuaries in which we decry the state of the society while running away from it and working hard to maintain the wall of safety around us. In doing so, we have created the Christian ghetto, of sorts, where it is "safe" and the world with all its brokenness and hurts can, in theory, not touch us. The reality is that we are in the world everyday and, like it or not, we bring the troubles of the world in the door with us when we come into the church. Cancer doesn't stop at the door, we just sometimes pretend not to see it. Cutting (just in case you haven't heard of it, that is a practice among teenage girls, especially, to cut themselves with razor blades out of depression or self-image issues or the like) doesn't stop at the door, we just don't look for it. Troubled marriages are in the church and outside of the church. Christ's mission, and ours by extension, was to bind the wounds of the broken hearted. We can't do that if we are just putting on the masks and heading out to services on Sundays. Through the incarnation, Christ reconciled the world to him and we have a mandate to make him known to the world.
C. Explain the relationship of Christ's three-fold apostolic ministry in relationship to the kingdom of God, and in the our society the ECM.
The three-fold apostolic ministry is the central to building the kingdom of God as it looks to the historical Christ, the proclamation of Christ in the present day and the anticipation of the return of Christ in the future. It reinforces the idea of "Jesus Christ - the same yesterday, today and forever." It also places us historically in a long line of believers as it positions us as the next link in the chain as we proclaim the gospel today and do the work of building the kingdom. In a sense, this three-fold ministry also helps to bring the world to the church as it proclaims Christ not as some dusty historical figure, but also as a present reality and a future hope.
D. How has this text stirred, rattled, or shaken your theology?
The text has been extremely helpful to me in giving words and a theological shape to my own thoughts over the past few years. I've often thought that the churches that I recognize as being more emergent - or at least the ones with which I am acquainted through listening to podcasts or visiting their web sites - seem to be greatly grounded in following the Spirit, finding its place in culture and being incarnation in its own locale. For example, it was encouraging to read the three-fold apostolic ministry as Anderson described it and recognize that such thoughts may easily be the basis for a ministry whose goal (as I have heard it stated) is to bring the kingdom of God crashing into earth.
I'm also finding myself thinking more and more about the differences between the church at Jerusalem and Antioch and between adherence to the law of Moses and identifying with Abraham as a model of faith. I must confess Anderson's work has shone a different light on the church at Jerusalem. Over the years through my work with the youth (especially in Bible quizzing), I became quite familiar with Acts and with many of Paul's letters, but I had never picked up the idea that the church at Jerusalem was a stagnant body, clinging to tradition because I had, perhaps, been blinded somewhat by the desciption of the church in Acts 2 and never noticed its shortcomings. And, despite reading Paul's letters, I never really saw the disputes between Paul and the apostles at Jerusalem as a struggle for the future of the church.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Session #6: Rock Daddy
A. The Holy Spirit is a gift from Jesus to his followers. It is a part of him that he gives to each of us in order that we might strive to become like him. Since the Spirit resides in every believer, it helps us as a whole when we come together to unite us. You could liken it to a catalyst in a chemical reaction, in that it helps to inspire, ignite, motivate us to do God's will. It basically, takes what we already have and works with it in order to accomplish God's will. It does this through providing each of us with a different gift. Different in that each gift is unique to the individual. Two people may each receive the gift of prophecy, however, each person will use it differently, based on their personal experience and speaking style. The power of the Spirit is the ability of us to be able to connect to God, but it does not have the power to over come our own free will. It is much like the character of Jiminy Cricket in the movie Pinocchio. Jiminy could tell Pinocchio what was good to do, but he couldn't force him to do it, which is evident by the fact that Pinocchio started to turn into a donkey.
B. The incarnation acts as a bridge in which the world crosses over in order to be filled with the Spirit of Christ and become a part of the community of Christ. The figure on page 193 shows the world on the outside separated by a solid line which correlates to the separation of God from worldly sin. In order to step over that line a person has to believe in Jesus. And why Jesus and not God? Because, Jesus was the one who came to this earth and lived among us. He is the one who took all of our sins upon him. Jesus is the one who will stand in front of us so that when we stand before God all God will see is Jesus and not our old, sinful worldly selves.
C. Christ's three-fold apostolic ministry relationship to the kingdom of God can be explained by looking at Isaiah 55:10-11 "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
This is an example of the water cycle. My seven year-old daughter learned about the water cycle in science last year. In Down Comes the Rain, she learned that first it rains (precipitation), and then the sun comes out and dries up the rain and turns it into water vapor (evaporation). Next the water vapor collects together into clouds and eventually the clouds get so full that the water vapor turns back into water (condensation). This water can be in the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail. This verse shows us how God provides for us by giving us the water cycle. (Branley 1997, 4-32) A cycle that ensures the earth continues to grow and blossom and provide for his people. If we take the same idea and apply it to God’s word then we have an example of the “Word of God” cycle. First, you have God telling his people what to do through prophets (oration). The people are sinners but repent and so they are saved (salvation) and then God sends down his spirit to help them out (sanctification). This same cycle is prevalent today, except we have the Bible and preachers or evangelists instead of prophets. The key to the “Word of God” cycle is repenting of our sins so that we may receive salvation. These two examples follow Anderson's threefold form of Christ's apostolic ministry. In his example Christ tells others (oration), after Christ rises he provides salvation and then in the end Christ will sanctify those that have followed him. This all relates to the ECM in that we as the ECM should be focusing on presenting the gospel of Jesus. (I certainly hope you are able to follow this train of thought, I have been interrupted several times while posting and am not sure.)
D. I have truly loved this book. In fact if my wife wasn't so busy with her two classes (Apologetics and Pastoral Care and Counseling) I would make her read it. In lieu of the fact that Anderson is a very seasoned pastor/Christian/theologian he presents his thoughts and ideas in a very modern and up to date way. In my opinion he has nailed ET and ECM on the head and has provided me with new ways to approach frustrations and issues I see not only in my church but also in the world. I plan on utilizing this book to help me stay on focus when I become a pastor.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Session 5: Tammie
Jerusalem/Antioch as it relates to the NT Church and the ECM.
The theological identity of the gospel at Jerusalem was bound to its identity as an outgrowth of the Jewish faith. It retained the laws of Moses, asking those who came into the church to also abide by those principles even to the point that those coming to the faith from the Gentiles were also expected to follow those laws. The council at Jerusalem may have come up with a list of guidelines for Gentile converts, but we know from Paul's writings that the tendency to revert to the law continued in the New Testament church at least as it practiced and preached the gospel in Jerusalem. The gospel at Antioch, however, was a Christocentric gospel offering freedom and abiding in grace. That Christ focus transcended boundaries of ethnicity, race or religion.
The theological identity of the gospel at Antioch comes closer to what is embraced by the ECM today as Christ is in all and at the center of all while the churches tend to shake off the structures of the older churches. Like movements that came before, the ECM is proclaiming the gospel of grace, but is doing it in ways that look different from the traditional, modern model of ministry. It loses its identity as an institution while gaining an identity as a Spirit-filled community, which is something that is attractive to all, but especially to the broken and hurting who may not match up to the expectations of the traditional church.
I particularly liked how Anderson referred to it on page 87, "The Christ of the gospel is not first of all a doctrinal confession but a reality we experience." It seems that over the centuries, the church loses sight of the freedom found in the grace of the gospel as it adds layers of tradition, liturgy and even law (in the form of expectations for behavior and ideals of what constitutes a "good Christian") until someone like a Luther or a Calvin or a Wesley comes along and shakes things up by rediscovering the gospel of grace that Paul pronounced at Antioch and, in the shake-up, dispatches with some of that tradition, liturgy and law. It is interesting, though, that in prior movements, there was a singular person to whom the change could be traced. I have to wonder if there is such a person in the ECM or is the ECM a grass-roots sort of movement with the restructured church coming first and leaders emerging as those churches begin to be held up as models for others searching for a new expression of the gospel.
Kingdom of God and the Church
The church is meant to be the instrument through which the kingdom of God comes to earth. It is not to be so wrapped up in its own buildings, traditions and programs that it fails to follow the lead of the Spirit to take the gospel out into the world. The kingdom of God is much larger than the church though it does encompass the church. The kingdom of God also encompasses every believer as they live as disciples of the kingdom even in their secular workplaces. Seeing the role of the church as a worker for the kingdom of God in the culture in which it finds itself would also, it would seem, work toward the breaking down of barriers between different denominations as the church works to bring that kingdom to fulfillment.
Abraham
The primary identifiers of the Jews - circumcision and the keeping of the law - were not given at the time of Abraham, so Abraham, though the father of the Jews, was not a Jew technically because the nation of Israel had yet to come into being. He was, however, the one to whom the promise had been given and the fulfillment of the promise came through the Jews which makes him, rightfully, the father of the nation. However, given his status as one declared righteous by faith, he is also the spiritual father of the Gentiles who would come to believe in Christ. As such, he is an important figure for the emerging church as it divests itself of the trappings of the church culture from which it is emerging and looks to live out the gospel fo grace in a Spirit-filled community. If the Jerusalem church and its desire to maintain the requirements of the law through Moses are a type of what we might call the traditional church today, then the Antioch church with its message of grace for all nations as first expressed in Abraham is a type of the emergent church.
The theological identity of the gospel at Jerusalem was bound to its identity as an outgrowth of the Jewish faith. It retained the laws of Moses, asking those who came into the church to also abide by those principles even to the point that those coming to the faith from the Gentiles were also expected to follow those laws. The council at Jerusalem may have come up with a list of guidelines for Gentile converts, but we know from Paul's writings that the tendency to revert to the law continued in the New Testament church at least as it practiced and preached the gospel in Jerusalem. The gospel at Antioch, however, was a Christocentric gospel offering freedom and abiding in grace. That Christ focus transcended boundaries of ethnicity, race or religion.
The theological identity of the gospel at Antioch comes closer to what is embraced by the ECM today as Christ is in all and at the center of all while the churches tend to shake off the structures of the older churches. Like movements that came before, the ECM is proclaiming the gospel of grace, but is doing it in ways that look different from the traditional, modern model of ministry. It loses its identity as an institution while gaining an identity as a Spirit-filled community, which is something that is attractive to all, but especially to the broken and hurting who may not match up to the expectations of the traditional church.
I particularly liked how Anderson referred to it on page 87, "The Christ of the gospel is not first of all a doctrinal confession but a reality we experience." It seems that over the centuries, the church loses sight of the freedom found in the grace of the gospel as it adds layers of tradition, liturgy and even law (in the form of expectations for behavior and ideals of what constitutes a "good Christian") until someone like a Luther or a Calvin or a Wesley comes along and shakes things up by rediscovering the gospel of grace that Paul pronounced at Antioch and, in the shake-up, dispatches with some of that tradition, liturgy and law. It is interesting, though, that in prior movements, there was a singular person to whom the change could be traced. I have to wonder if there is such a person in the ECM or is the ECM a grass-roots sort of movement with the restructured church coming first and leaders emerging as those churches begin to be held up as models for others searching for a new expression of the gospel.
Kingdom of God and the Church
The church is meant to be the instrument through which the kingdom of God comes to earth. It is not to be so wrapped up in its own buildings, traditions and programs that it fails to follow the lead of the Spirit to take the gospel out into the world. The kingdom of God is much larger than the church though it does encompass the church. The kingdom of God also encompasses every believer as they live as disciples of the kingdom even in their secular workplaces. Seeing the role of the church as a worker for the kingdom of God in the culture in which it finds itself would also, it would seem, work toward the breaking down of barriers between different denominations as the church works to bring that kingdom to fulfillment.
Abraham
The primary identifiers of the Jews - circumcision and the keeping of the law - were not given at the time of Abraham, so Abraham, though the father of the Jews, was not a Jew technically because the nation of Israel had yet to come into being. He was, however, the one to whom the promise had been given and the fulfillment of the promise came through the Jews which makes him, rightfully, the father of the nation. However, given his status as one declared righteous by faith, he is also the spiritual father of the Gentiles who would come to believe in Christ. As such, he is an important figure for the emerging church as it divests itself of the trappings of the church culture from which it is emerging and looks to live out the gospel fo grace in a Spirit-filled community. If the Jerusalem church and its desire to maintain the requirements of the law through Moses are a type of what we might call the traditional church today, then the Antioch church with its message of grace for all nations as first expressed in Abraham is a type of the emergent church.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Session # 5: Rock Daddy
1. The theological identity of the gospel of Jerusalem is connected to Moses and the laws that were established during his time. For out of those the NT church in Jerusalem continued to meet at the temple. (Acts 2:26, NIV) They felt that all believers had to be circumcised. In reality by holding onto the Mosaic laws so tightly they were ultimately limiting their ability to reach out to others.
The theological identity of the gospel of Antioch, was connected to Abraham. Paul being the main proponent in this outreach uses this to fully follow Christs command to go into all the nations. (Matt 28:19, NIV) This is seen by the fact that the church at Antioch had both Jews and Gentiles, that the Gentiles were not required to be circumcised and that they didn't meet at the temple. This broader mindset allowed them the ability to reach out to more people in order to build up the kingdom.
2. The kingdom of God exists in two places: 1.) Heaven 2.) In the hearts of all believers. Therefore, no matter where believers go they will ALWAYS have the kingdom of God with them. Unfortunately, many Christians get wrapped up in the brick and mortar of church buildings and think that if they don't meet there or if they build a new building that they will lose their identity and history. When the reality is that their identity and history are Jesus and what he has done for them. I spoke with a lady the other day, that told me that her church was debating about fixing their church (they have severe water damage in their basement) or building a new church. She told me that if they build a new church then they (the church) will lose all of its history, since they have been in that church for over a hundred years. I wanted so desperately to remind her that originally the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years and didn't have a permanent structure to worship in and yet God was perfectly happy with it. But, she was so dead set on not rebuilding I didn't feel like setting her off.
I'm reminded of the hymn, "This World is Not My Home"
This world is not my home
I'm just a passing through
If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in the world anymore.
I am not saying we should get rid of all churches, just that we shouldn't get attached to them anymore than we should our own home or car or other possessions.
3. Was Abraham, the father of the Jews, a Jew? No. And the reason I say that is because if you read Genesis, no where do yo find him being identified by his religion, but rather by his language, which is Hebrew. It is not until 400 years later that Moses begins to write down the laws that God gives him and in turn establishes the Israelites (people from Israel) as Jews. The significance of this question is that as the EC we must be aware of the fact that there are nonbelievers out there that prescribe to other religions based on laws. As an EC we must not limit ourselves by the laws, but allow the spirit to work through us.
4. Having seen the film numerous times before, I was curious to see what new tidbits of information I could find. I am one of those people who sees or learns about useless movie trivia and then remembers it forever, its true ask my wife, she will tell you how annoying I can be. So in watching The Matrix this time I watched for overtones or references to Christianity. For instance in the scene where they show the name of the ship, Nebuchadnezzar, above the name is Mark III, vol 11. So I thought maybe it was a reference to Mark 3:11 in the Bible, which by the was is, "Whenever the evil[a] spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God."" (NIV). I did notice that while they were having the discussion about how the food tasted it made me think of the PM mind set, in that PM's don't see any absolutes and what may be good for someone may be different for someone else. And when Neo gives his ending monologue, it made me think of an ET. In his ending speech he talks about awakening people and freeing their minds. In ET, we are trying to get back to the way things were in the past, but in the process are opening up peoples minds and how they think about things. If you look at the film as a symbol of how we are in reality you could say that Neo and the others are Christians who are trying to share the truth and reality with others and that Satan is the head machine with the agents being his minions. In reality people are sleeping through their lives and are just along for the ride unless they know and have accepted Christ.
My entire family ended up watching the movie and my son (10 yrs old) really enjoyed it and begged us to get the next two so he can see how it ends. After watching it again, I think we will definitely do that.
The theological identity of the gospel of Antioch, was connected to Abraham. Paul being the main proponent in this outreach uses this to fully follow Christs command to go into all the nations. (Matt 28:19, NIV) This is seen by the fact that the church at Antioch had both Jews and Gentiles, that the Gentiles were not required to be circumcised and that they didn't meet at the temple. This broader mindset allowed them the ability to reach out to more people in order to build up the kingdom.
2. The kingdom of God exists in two places: 1.) Heaven 2.) In the hearts of all believers. Therefore, no matter where believers go they will ALWAYS have the kingdom of God with them. Unfortunately, many Christians get wrapped up in the brick and mortar of church buildings and think that if they don't meet there or if they build a new building that they will lose their identity and history. When the reality is that their identity and history are Jesus and what he has done for them. I spoke with a lady the other day, that told me that her church was debating about fixing their church (they have severe water damage in their basement) or building a new church. She told me that if they build a new church then they (the church) will lose all of its history, since they have been in that church for over a hundred years. I wanted so desperately to remind her that originally the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years and didn't have a permanent structure to worship in and yet God was perfectly happy with it. But, she was so dead set on not rebuilding I didn't feel like setting her off.
I'm reminded of the hymn, "This World is Not My Home"
This world is not my home
I'm just a passing through
If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in the world anymore.
I am not saying we should get rid of all churches, just that we shouldn't get attached to them anymore than we should our own home or car or other possessions.
3. Was Abraham, the father of the Jews, a Jew? No. And the reason I say that is because if you read Genesis, no where do yo find him being identified by his religion, but rather by his language, which is Hebrew. It is not until 400 years later that Moses begins to write down the laws that God gives him and in turn establishes the Israelites (people from Israel) as Jews. The significance of this question is that as the EC we must be aware of the fact that there are nonbelievers out there that prescribe to other religions based on laws. As an EC we must not limit ourselves by the laws, but allow the spirit to work through us.
4. Having seen the film numerous times before, I was curious to see what new tidbits of information I could find. I am one of those people who sees or learns about useless movie trivia and then remembers it forever, its true ask my wife, she will tell you how annoying I can be. So in watching The Matrix this time I watched for overtones or references to Christianity. For instance in the scene where they show the name of the ship, Nebuchadnezzar, above the name is Mark III, vol 11. So I thought maybe it was a reference to Mark 3:11 in the Bible, which by the was is, "Whenever the evil[a] spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God."" (NIV). I did notice that while they were having the discussion about how the food tasted it made me think of the PM mind set, in that PM's don't see any absolutes and what may be good for someone may be different for someone else. And when Neo gives his ending monologue, it made me think of an ET. In his ending speech he talks about awakening people and freeing their minds. In ET, we are trying to get back to the way things were in the past, but in the process are opening up peoples minds and how they think about things. If you look at the film as a symbol of how we are in reality you could say that Neo and the others are Christians who are trying to share the truth and reality with others and that Satan is the head machine with the agents being his minions. In reality people are sleeping through their lives and are just along for the ride unless they know and have accepted Christ.
My entire family ended up watching the movie and my son (10 yrs old) really enjoyed it and begged us to get the next two so he can see how it ends. After watching it again, I think we will definitely do that.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Session #6, ET
The Community of the Spirit is a reality that is not a Charismatic/Pentecostal style, it is the nature and identity of the new people of God that was birthed at Pentecost.
A. Describe how the presence, gifts, and power of the Spirit impact the body of Christ.
B. Reflect on the graphs on pages 192-193, how does the reality of the incarnation define the missio Dei?
C. Explain the relationship of Christ's three-fold apostolic ministry in relationship to the kingdom of God, and in the our society the ECM.
D. ET is a joy for me to reflect upon as an Anabaptist, Anderson expresses the core of a missional community of the Spirit that is genuinely embodying the kingdom of God. How has this text stirred, rattled, or shaken your theology?
A. Describe how the presence, gifts, and power of the Spirit impact the body of Christ.
B. Reflect on the graphs on pages 192-193, how does the reality of the incarnation define the missio Dei?
C. Explain the relationship of Christ's three-fold apostolic ministry in relationship to the kingdom of God, and in the our society the ECM.
D. ET is a joy for me to reflect upon as an Anabaptist, Anderson expresses the core of a missional community of the Spirit that is genuinely embodying the kingdom of God. How has this text stirred, rattled, or shaken your theology?
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Session 4: Tammie
#1
If left with a focus on the Moses (law) and Christ, both during his ministry on earth and in the days following his resurrection during which he appeared to the apostles, the church remains an outgrowth of the Jewish faith in which righteousness is attained by continuing to observe the law. It is understood by those brought up in the Jewish tradition and those outsiders who are familiar with the traditions. A focus on the righteousness through faith as exhibited in the continuity from Adam (through whom death came to the world) to Abraham (to whom the promise was made) to Christ (through whom life entered the world and the promise was fulfilled) offers a broader view of the gospel as a message of grace imparted to all, thus breaking down barriers between races, traditions, social class and any other conceivable category of people.
#2
In the first century, the idea that righteousness comes through faith and not through the keeping of the law means that one's position in the church is not conditional upon an individual's status under the old covenant. In today's terms, an ecclesiology of grace opens the doors of the church to all. It shatters the faulty notion that one has to do certain things to be accepted by Christ and by extension the church. The problem is that we in the church have to live up to that notion and accept people as those under the promise that has been fulfilled through grace rather than looking at them as people who need to cross their "t"s and dot their "i"s before entering into the community. Further, as Anderson discusses in the latter portion of chapter 3, this grace is also manifested in the gifts given to those in the church and in allowing the Spirit to move freely in the church.
#3
Working in a postmodern context, the ECM relies more on experience than on a linear pattern of logic and reason. That alone allows the ECM to be able to accept the Bible as the word of God at face value as they see the proof of the Bible's truths in the effect it has upon the people who engage it, study it and live it. This corresponds to the naive realism that Anderson describes in the writings of Paul and in the gospel accounts of the life of Christ in which knowledge was a "subjective experience of an objective reality." Paul, like the ECM of today, claimed the authority of lives changed. So, the ECM simply accepts the Bible as the word of God and sets about to do what it says, as Anderson describes on page 59, becomes "too busy doing kingdom of God work to spend time on such issues."
#4
Christian education for me was probably typical for a child growing up in the church. We were taught about God through the usual stories of Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, Daniel and the lions den, etc. It was often the telling of a Bible story with a moral tagged on the end. As I entered junior and senior high, the knowledge base expanded into the epistles, but still often focused on a moral application for life. In a sense, that wasn't so bad, but it was more instruction in the vein of "ought to" and "should" than in finding the ways God reveals himself to us everyday (thereby teaching us to know him) whether in his word, in the actions of the people around us or in the wonders of creation. Religious ministry and instruction becomes caught up in the principles and guidelines, but it seems revelational ministry allows people to learn from example and experience. Jesus' ministry was rife with such encounters as he healed people who were not able to tell you much about Jesus' teachings, but they knew what he had done for them. Revelations to Paul, as he described in his letters, formed the basis of his ministry and were moments to which he referred in letters as he established his authority. The ECM, with its emphasis on missio Dei, works out the word of God and, by extension, creates opportunities for its people to encounter God.
If left with a focus on the Moses (law) and Christ, both during his ministry on earth and in the days following his resurrection during which he appeared to the apostles, the church remains an outgrowth of the Jewish faith in which righteousness is attained by continuing to observe the law. It is understood by those brought up in the Jewish tradition and those outsiders who are familiar with the traditions. A focus on the righteousness through faith as exhibited in the continuity from Adam (through whom death came to the world) to Abraham (to whom the promise was made) to Christ (through whom life entered the world and the promise was fulfilled) offers a broader view of the gospel as a message of grace imparted to all, thus breaking down barriers between races, traditions, social class and any other conceivable category of people.
#2
In the first century, the idea that righteousness comes through faith and not through the keeping of the law means that one's position in the church is not conditional upon an individual's status under the old covenant. In today's terms, an ecclesiology of grace opens the doors of the church to all. It shatters the faulty notion that one has to do certain things to be accepted by Christ and by extension the church. The problem is that we in the church have to live up to that notion and accept people as those under the promise that has been fulfilled through grace rather than looking at them as people who need to cross their "t"s and dot their "i"s before entering into the community. Further, as Anderson discusses in the latter portion of chapter 3, this grace is also manifested in the gifts given to those in the church and in allowing the Spirit to move freely in the church.
#3
Working in a postmodern context, the ECM relies more on experience than on a linear pattern of logic and reason. That alone allows the ECM to be able to accept the Bible as the word of God at face value as they see the proof of the Bible's truths in the effect it has upon the people who engage it, study it and live it. This corresponds to the naive realism that Anderson describes in the writings of Paul and in the gospel accounts of the life of Christ in which knowledge was a "subjective experience of an objective reality." Paul, like the ECM of today, claimed the authority of lives changed. So, the ECM simply accepts the Bible as the word of God and sets about to do what it says, as Anderson describes on page 59, becomes "too busy doing kingdom of God work to spend time on such issues."
#4
Christian education for me was probably typical for a child growing up in the church. We were taught about God through the usual stories of Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, Daniel and the lions den, etc. It was often the telling of a Bible story with a moral tagged on the end. As I entered junior and senior high, the knowledge base expanded into the epistles, but still often focused on a moral application for life. In a sense, that wasn't so bad, but it was more instruction in the vein of "ought to" and "should" than in finding the ways God reveals himself to us everyday (thereby teaching us to know him) whether in his word, in the actions of the people around us or in the wonders of creation. Religious ministry and instruction becomes caught up in the principles and guidelines, but it seems revelational ministry allows people to learn from example and experience. Jesus' ministry was rife with such encounters as he healed people who were not able to tell you much about Jesus' teachings, but they knew what he had done for them. Revelations to Paul, as he described in his letters, formed the basis of his ministry and were moments to which he referred in letters as he established his authority. The ECM, with its emphasis on missio Dei, works out the word of God and, by extension, creates opportunities for its people to encounter God.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Session #5, ET
*Describe and contrast the theological identity of the gospel of Jerusalem and Antioch as it relates to the NT Church and the ECM.
*Reflect on the theological significance of the kingdom of God and the Church.
*Was Abraham, the father of the Jews, a Jew? What is the definition and meaning of being a Jew? What significance does this question have for the EC?
*The Matrix film reflection: General comments or insights about the film. Describe some applications from the film that relate to PM and ET. For example, what is the relationship between reality, truth, and meaning in life?
*Reflect on the theological significance of the kingdom of God and the Church.
*Was Abraham, the father of the Jews, a Jew? What is the definition and meaning of being a Jew? What significance does this question have for the EC?
*The Matrix film reflection: General comments or insights about the film. Describe some applications from the film that relate to PM and ET. For example, what is the relationship between reality, truth, and meaning in life?
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Session # 4:Rock Daddy
1. In the first example Anderson states that Paul having received his message and direction from the resurrected Christ feels that the Christ he encountered goes all the way back to Adam. Paul strongly believes that Jesus is the "second Adam", the one who will make right the wrong that was committed in the beginning. By doing this Paul provides a theological basis for emerging churches who are accused of being just another version of modernity. He basically adds meat to what EC are doing and how they are interacting with PM believers and non-believers. The basic difference is living and acting to the spirit of the Law verses the letter of the Law. Antioch is based on the spirit of the Law and allows for free thinking and interacting, where as Jerusalem is based on the letter of the Law, which focuses more on the rituals and activities and not the state of the believers heart.
2. The implications of an ecclesiology based on grace means that it is because of His love and mercy that we are allowed into heaven, verses based on our actions and ability to follow the commands that He has given us. This is the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the Jews need rules and laws to help govern themselves and maintain their focus on God. In the New Testament, Jesus came and took the rules and laws from the Old Testament and expanded on them. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matt 5:17, NIV). This is Jesus talking to the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus took what God originally gave, completed them and then told his followers to go and make more followers of Him.
3. This follows along with what I have been talking about in the previous answers. On pg 59 the response the pastor gives is, "We are too busy doing kingdom of God work to spend time on such issues." This implies that this church or group of people is so busy working on what Jesus told them to do, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:30-31, NIV), that they aren't getting bogged down in the time consuming and energy wasting debates about the details or lack of details in the Bible. I once heard an evangelist on the radio tell about how God put exactly what he wanted into the Bible, no more, no less. He referenced the story of Jonah and how we are not given much detail of when he was in the belly of the great fish. This preacher went on to say that obviously these details weren't important to the lesson that God was trying to get across to us. In the ECM, new believers and non believers both are searching for the truth, the simple, basic, easy to grasp truth. If you are doing kingdom of God work, then you are doing exactly what God wants you to do.
4. I would have to say that through my many years of Sunday School and riding the Joy Bus as a kid, we were always taught to know God. I think that our teachers told us about God, but that they ultimately wanted us to know about him. The fact that ET is revelational is the foundation upon which Paul builds his ministry. It is from his revelation on the road to Damascus that he continually resorts back to, and it is because of this that he is able to create the first ECM. I think in this PM world, people are truly searching for that "a-ha" moment. They want to understand and grasp what Jesus has for them, but are afraid of being singled out or looked down upon by Christians, because we get so wrapped up in the religious part of things.
2. The implications of an ecclesiology based on grace means that it is because of His love and mercy that we are allowed into heaven, verses based on our actions and ability to follow the commands that He has given us. This is the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the Jews need rules and laws to help govern themselves and maintain their focus on God. In the New Testament, Jesus came and took the rules and laws from the Old Testament and expanded on them. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matt 5:17, NIV). This is Jesus talking to the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus took what God originally gave, completed them and then told his followers to go and make more followers of Him.
3. This follows along with what I have been talking about in the previous answers. On pg 59 the response the pastor gives is, "We are too busy doing kingdom of God work to spend time on such issues." This implies that this church or group of people is so busy working on what Jesus told them to do, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:30-31, NIV), that they aren't getting bogged down in the time consuming and energy wasting debates about the details or lack of details in the Bible. I once heard an evangelist on the radio tell about how God put exactly what he wanted into the Bible, no more, no less. He referenced the story of Jonah and how we are not given much detail of when he was in the belly of the great fish. This preacher went on to say that obviously these details weren't important to the lesson that God was trying to get across to us. In the ECM, new believers and non believers both are searching for the truth, the simple, basic, easy to grasp truth. If you are doing kingdom of God work, then you are doing exactly what God wants you to do.
4. I would have to say that through my many years of Sunday School and riding the Joy Bus as a kid, we were always taught to know God. I think that our teachers told us about God, but that they ultimately wanted us to know about him. The fact that ET is revelational is the foundation upon which Paul builds his ministry. It is from his revelation on the road to Damascus that he continually resorts back to, and it is because of this that he is able to create the first ECM. I think in this PM world, people are truly searching for that "a-ha" moment. They want to understand and grasp what Jesus has for them, but are afraid of being singled out or looked down upon by Christians, because we get so wrapped up in the religious part of things.
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