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?
Thursday, March 29, 2007
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.
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