Thursday's Ruminations

Signing Off...for Now

2006-11-04T17:23:00.000-05:00

Being introduced to the blogging world about a year ago opened the door to a fun, new hobby. I have really enjoyed getting perspectives from people far beyond my scope of personal relationships. It has also been fun to have a very small, but public forum to practice trying to think out loud and on screen. I'd love to keep up with blogging and be a regular poster, but that is simply not going to happen in this season of life so for now I am signing off. Happy blogging!

Theology Schmeology

2006-10-26T21:54:00.000-05:00

Question:

Our current social/philosophical culture has had a very interesting impact upon theology and the manner in which Christians interact. What do you think has changed between the early church and now that allows for the theological indifference experienced in our age. Is this theological indifference a good or a bad thing? Why?

My attempt at an answer:
The Church, through the reformation, lived in a drastically different world and culture than we do now. The Church was much more united and when one spoke of the Church there was a sense of the one, holy, apostolic and Catholic Church that one was referring to. This Church took great pains to lay out their theological positions in the form of councils, creeds, etc. and these positions were applicable to the whole Church. Those dissenting groups that did not agree with the church’s official position found themselves at best as outcasts or worse as victims of persecution with little opportunity for recourse. Given our current cultural context, it is amazing to think of the profound struggles that have occurred in reaction to peoples passionately held theological beliefs.

We, in contrast, live in a world of theological diversity, ignorance and indifference, even among Christians. Theological distinctives of denominations are not even known among the professing members of some congregations, and furthermore, the denomination of many churches is not even known to many of the attendees. Several of the things which our culture highly esteems set us up for this theological indifference. Consider some of our highly esteemed values such as acceptance and diversity, community and experience, especially over and above propositional truth and the rampant consumerism of our age.

I am not saying that these things are inherently bad, just that we must acknowledge the role they play in the status we afford to theology. When we highly value diversity as a whole, it also affects the particulars, and so we have a wide variety of acceptable theologies. Given our accepting culture, it is hard to not end up in a place where it is not necessary to pin down ones particular theological leanings as long as we know we all share the same basics. In regards to community, the emphasis is placed on faith lived out, not necessarily the details of the theology behind it. Out of sincere love for God and His creation, one can seek to be Jesus hands and feet to the world around them without having to nail down ones eschatology, view on predestination, or any number of theological quandaries. Additionally, most would admit we are in a consumer driven society and the church has been greatly influenced by this. We have the freedom to buy just about anything. We get to choose what we will live in, and what variety of shampoo we desire to use. We are used to having options and to picking that which works best for us, and in general, we are pretty content to let our neighbors buy what works for them. Is it any wonder that we carry this attitude over to theology?

Personally, I think this has potential to be a good thing if we can put it within the guardrails of a church that is heavily into the Word of God. There is certainly room for diversity, acceptance, experience, etc. in the kingdom of God, but if we don’t - across the board - have a high regard for, and knowledge of Scripture then we put ourselves greatly at risk of falling prey to heresy or relativism. I’d love to see more churches that offer opportunities for in-depth study of the Word of God, as well as of theology and I think this could help to provide the guardrails we need.

Anyone else’s answer?

The Starving Baker

2006-10-10T22:19:00.000-05:00

Last week, I was apart of an amazing event. We brought together some great leaders and had the opportunity to interact with them for three days. We provided 15 breakout sessions with excellent people who were willing to share what they are experiencing and learning in their settings and then we went on to two full days of general session with great speakers like Donald Miller and Andy Stanley. And yet as I sat and stared at the computer last night and now tonight, I realize that as amazing as I hear the event I was apart of was, I walked away with very little to share about it. I have been so busy working that I haven’t heard anything interesting, read anything interesting, or even thought of anything interesting for weeks. It reminds me of a leadership lesson I read years ago.

In Tim Elmore’s first Habitudes book (www.growingleaders.com) he introduces the image of the starving baker. The story goes something like this….imagine you find a great little bakery and apparently many other people also discover it is a place worth frequenting. You often visit the shop and enjoy the wonderful breads and pastries the baker provides. You come to notice the baker is rapidly losing weight. You take the time to observe what is happening in his life and you notice he is so busy preparing and serving bread to others that he is forgetting to eat himself. Ironically, he is surrounded by nourishment and yet he is starving.

Admittedly, some seasons are more intense than others, but I am reminded that it is worth counting the price that will be paid if we allow ourselves to go for a prolonged amount of time without investing in ourselves. Leading up to Catalyst, I tried to admit the reality of life without throwing it all out the window for six weeks. I knew going to the gym five days a week for an hour a day was not going to be realistic so I aimed for three times a week for thirty minutes. The goal was to recognize reality and come up with some realistic expectations that could keep me on the right track. I think sometimes in life we need to do this relationally, spiritually, and in our plans for personal growth. Perhaps it is hard to do because we feel like we are letting ourselves off the hook when we should be working harder to get it all in. We, rightfully, do not want to lower our expectations of ourselves, but on the other hand we do need to accept the reality of a particular, defined, period of time. It can be tricky. We can’t let the current busy season roll into the next busy season and continue to get by only putting in the minimum across the board or we will end up feeling the effects of that.

Tim shares another story in this lesson about the starving baker that really brings it home for me. He talks about two lumberjacks who challenge each other to see who could cut the most trees down in a day. The first lumberjack started his day by “wasting” two hours sharpening his axe while the other lumberjack jumped ahead in the contest by immediately felling trees, but at the end of the day it was the lumberjack who had taken the time to sharpen his axe that had cut the most trees down. By the end of the day the first lumberjacks axe was still sharp while his colleagues axe was dull. The same amount of hard work and strength was being put in by both for the last half of the day, but the one who had prepared himself was able to do his job much more effectively.

I very much understand that we can sit and look at our schedules and not see any time to invest in ourselves, but yet I can also see the folly in that. Knowing the right thing to do is often simple, but following through and actually doing it is often hard. It is my hope that I can keep the image of the starving baker before me when I enter my next season of craziness. It is worth being intentional about investing in ourselves for our long term physical, mental and spiritual health, as well as for the quality of whatever it is we aim to produce for others.

(I will get the cd's of the event so maybe later I can have something to share from it :-)

Turn of Events

2006-10-01T22:57:00.000-05:00

Today I read an article about dealing with pivotal circumstances and I loved the practicality of it. The article was written by Reggie Joiner (Turn of Events) and it challenged me to go into my next pivotal circumstance looking for God in the midst of it, and to consider that God wants to build my confidence in Him and my passion for Him through the circumstance. I may have arrived at the circumstance by my own poor decision, or it may be a good circumstance God has allowed to bless me, but either way, I need to look for God in it.

So often we spend so much time trying to control our circumstances. We say we know we are not in control and yet we do everything within our power in hopes that we can sway the circumstances of life in a way we would find desirable. I am not saying that is wrong, I am all for being intentional with every bit of life, but it does make me consider what kind of position that puts us in when we find ourselves in unexpected circumstances. All of a sudden our illusion of control is shattered as we find ourselves facing an unexpected reality. The circumstance can be good or bad, but the fact that it was not on our radar makes it disconcerting and at this point we must look to see what God is up to in our midst.

Sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances we aren’t happy about. It is hard to cheerfully receive that which God has provided us with when what He has provided us with does not match up with what we were planning on. We can get lost in trying to figure out how the circumstance came to be, or we can look for God in the midst of it, and trust Him to correct it if that is what needs to happen. However, correcting the circumstance may not be God’s desire. I’ve heard Ken Boa say many times that God cares more about our holiness than He cares about our happiness. He may have allowed the circumstance to build our confidence in Him, and our pursuit of Him. The situation may work itself out in a way that is favorable to our own cause and so we walk away blessing God for His graciousness to us, or the situation may not come to a successful resolution, but in the process we experience God walking closely with us and so walk away strengthened to the core. God is at work in both cases.

The article suggested we read the passage in Luke 8 where Jesus quells the stormy seas by his spoken word. The disciples present for that pivotal circumstance walked away with a rock solid picture of who Jesus was, and an assurance that they could trust God to be God. In seeing their concern over the storm, Jesus asks them where their faith is. The article challenged the reader to walk into the next pivotal circumstance with a 3x5 card that says “Where is my faith?” I may be caught by surprise by some of the twists and turns of life, but God is bigger than any circumstance and can be trusted to walk with me through all of them.

Religion vs. the Gospel

2006-09-22T23:07:00.000-05:00

I recently listened to a lecture given by Tim Keller on the difference between the gospel and religion. This was my introduction to Mr. Keller and I appreciated what he had to say so thought I would share my notes. I know my notes do not do the lecture justice, but perhaps something in it provides a good reminder. I believe this lecture was given at the Resurgence Conference fall of 2005.

Keller says religion operates on the principle that I obey, and therefore God accepts me where as, the gospel operates on the premise that I am accepted because of what Jesus Christ has done for me, therefore I obey. Luther says the default mode of the human heart is to believe that we are accepted because we obey. Why? Perhaps part of the reason this is so, is that it allows us an illusion of being able to control our lives by what we do rather than accepting the radical grace of Jesus Christ for our salvation. Accepting salvation on the sole basis of God’s grace towards us takes our control totally out of it.

On the surface, you may not see a great difference between those living on the basis of the gospel or those living on the basis of religion. Both are earnestly seeking to obey and honor God, but it is the inward motivation that is drastically different. In religion, I am driven to do all I should out of fear of rejection and/or insecurity. If one accepts the gospel as ones starting point then one does all he/she should in an effort to please, resemble and delight the one who loves us unconditionally.

What we believe effects how we live out our Christian life. If I base my justification on my sanctification and performance then when I sin I am either mad at myself for not living up to what I know I should, or mad at God for not sparing me from myself. As a result, in religion it is absolutely critical that I see myself as a good person. Otherwise, I can have no self esteem because my worth is based on my behavior. In contrast, when one whose beliefs are founded in the Gospel sins, then he/she may struggle, but can ultimately rest in knowing that my punishment, all of it, fell on Jesus and He will exercise His fatherly love in my trial. The gospel affirms that I am more wicked than I ever believed and I am more loved than I could ever imagine. This produces incredible humility and yet a healthy sense of pride, and does not over value or undervalue tradition.

On Being Content

2006-09-11T21:56:00.000-05:00

Getting ready in the morning, I was thinking about all the money we had spent repairing the car the last few weeks. I said to myself, “I am never going to get where I want to be.” I realized my error quickly and said, “I should have said God is never going to get me where I want to be.” I shook my head as I realized I still did not have it right and I tried again. I said, “Apparently God is going to get me where He wants me to be and I need to learn to be content with that.” Finally… I could stop talking out loud to myself and finish getting ready.

I sighed and kept getting ready as I realized the truth in my third sentence to myself. I know God is my provider and I regularly submit to it, and yet I so easily go back to having an illusion of control. It is such a balancing act. I certainly believe that I do need to do my part and wisely manage the money God has entrusted me with and I believe I need to work to earn money in an honorable way, but on the other hand I can’t believe that by doing what I am supposed to, that I have any control.

I struggled with 1 Chronicles 29:11 – 13 when I had to memorize it for Crown years ago, but it has come back to me often. “11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” I do not know how to reconcile that with my strong tendencies towards freewill, but I do believe those verses. I believe them, but they certainly do not always seem to make sense. Yikes – look at some of the people out there who have wealth and honor! I am reminded of David’s lamentations about the wicked people who are prospering and God reminds David that there is a bigger picture to keep in mind.

If I accept the truth of those verses then being content needs to become a goal that is high on my priority list. How do you experience a sense of contentment, and cultivate a mindset of being content in the midst of a society that profits off of, and hence pushes discontentment? I have three recurring thoughts when I consider how to develop a mindset of being content in much or in little. To experience contentedness, I need to: develop a sense of overflowing gratefulness for that which I do have, have an eternal perspective, and have a perspective that takes into account those people who are in more challenging straits than I am. As I thought about my frustration with the car I realized I was grateful that we had the funds to fix the car and I was grateful to have a car. I thought about the many, many people who lack any form of convenient transportation. I thought about what really matters. My financial goals are really only goals that serve to give me greater freedom to be the woman God has called me to be.

If I can catch myself feeling dissatisfied and in that moment ask myself what I am grateful for, why does this really matter, and how does it compare to the struggles of people near and far then I hope I will reinforce a spirit of contentment. In that spirit of contentment I can seek to do my best while at the same time relinquishing the illusion of control.

The Sabbath

2006-09-04T23:28:00.000-05:00

What does the Sabbath mean to us today? If we decided to observe the Sabbath what would that look like? Why do many of us not specifically set aside a Sabbath day? I’ll be the first to admit I do not know a lot about the concept. The word "Sabbath" even sounds out of place, and I am not sure how it is supposed to be practiced in our crazy, busy culture and age. I have this general idea that I should not work on Sundays, but I also have a feeling there is more to it than just not working at my Monday – Friday job. I also have a sense of tension between the freedom we know God allows us and the things He asks us to do.

Recently, I listened to a podcast by Rob Bell where he talked about how he began to observe the Sabbath about two years ago and it has revolutionized his life. He says the Sabbath is not something to be legalistic about, but rather is a gift to be savored. Taking a proper Sabbath energizes and restores us to wholeness in preparation for the next six days of the week. Personally, he found it extremely difficult to begin to refrain from business or busyness on his Sabbath, but that now it is a day he and his family look forward to.

I found his comments interesting, especially since this is a topic that has been on my mind the last several months. Mark Buchanan’s “Your God is Too Safe” is one of the best books I have read in the last few years and I was excited to hear he had a new book out. His new book is, “The Rest of God,” and I am told that it deals with the concept of the Sabbath. Hmmm...now that I know what it is about, I half want to read it, and half am afraid to read it. The concept came up again when my small group at work recently was going through the Life@Work curriculum, and we came across a quote that said something to the effect that it takes faith to observe the Sabbath. I have been thinking about that quote now for about two weeks. I think sometimes we think if we do not create our own opportunity for advancement it will never come. Sometimes going above and beyond and working all weekend is one way we see to get ahead. Ouch – I am reminded that if I am doing my part in being a good employee then I can trust God to do His part in making me as successful as He wants me to be.

I think another reason we do not take a Sabbath is because we do not understand the value of taking a break and renewing ourselves. I have heard a few people, who very intentionally take a Sabbath, talk about what observing the Sabbath does for them and it is obvious they feel it is a practice that adds immense value to their lives. Perhaps the rest of us are missing out on something?

Any thoughts out there in blog world? If you do, or were to, practice a Sabbath what would it be defined by? And, secondly, why do you, or why do you not observe the Sabbath?

Purpose Driven Work?

2006-08-26T22:11:00.000-05:00

I've heard it taught, and I think I agree, that work is not a punishment resulting from the fall, but rather that we are created to work as of, and unto, God. It is an extremely fulfilling thing to be able to put to use the skills God has given us to accomplish something worthwhile. In my mind, I start with that acknowledgement and move on to my many questions. I don’t suppose they are new, but I’m personally just getting around to processing them. I'm thinking through my answers here, but happy to consider other ways of looking at things.

One of the first challenges I have when thinking about work is how does one balance the desire to do something one is passionate about with the need to provide for ones family? There are two things I have heard taught often about this subject. The first is that you should choose to work somewhere that allows you to be involved in something you are passionate about and is connected to your life mission. The second teaches that work is not your provider, God is. Initially I would agree with both of those teachings, but I definitely think they deserve to be looked into at a deeper level.

I have several questions in regards to the exhortation to work in a position that enables one to be involved in their life purpose. To start with the most direct challenge, I seem to remember a verse in scripture that says something along the lines that he who does not provide for his family is worse than an infidel. Sometimes we do not have an opportunity to work some place we feel particularly called to work and yet the bills still need to be paid. I’m not talking about the bills for the cool toys or sweet digs and duds, but the basic necessities of life. I have no doubt God will provide, but I think that sometimes the way He chooses to provide is through a job – regardless of whether it is a job we would have chosen for ourselves or not. Additionally, I think that sometimes we need to work in a position that we do not see as moving us toward our life’s goals and dreams because it serves another purpose in God’s economy. The purpose could be anything from giving us time to mature, giving us the opportunity to minister to a co-worker, or providing back ground skills that will come in useful down the road. I think it is dangerous to hold firmly to the idea that you will only work somewhere you feel particularly passionate about. One needs to feel that what one is doing is serving a worthwhile purpose, but every job may not be the job that allows you to work directly in your area of passion.

I am not saying that everyone should take the first job offer received to pay the bills. I’d start with acknowledging to God that I am willing to make some sacrifices, if that is what is necessary, to work in a field God is calling me to. I would then apply myself to diligently looking for a job in my field and praying for God’s help in finding the right job. If the option that presents itself is not one that I understand, then I hope I would seek God’s peace about taking that job and receiving it as His provision. Then I would need to be grateful for the job and do it to the best of my ability for God.

On another level, does all work have to be apart of our greater passion or can it just be something we are skilled at, enjoy doing, and are able to add value to people through it? Perhaps one feels their area of passion is something they do not intend to do vocationally but their work gives them the freedom to be able to participate in their ministry.

Somewhat along those lines, another question would be, can our purpose and passion behind our work be the simple desire to get out of, or avoid going into debt? If so, almost any job is an opportunity to live purposefully in our vocation. Again, in this case, the job would be providing the opportunity to experience financial freedom which can allow us to serve and share in so many ways. In working with Christian financial planners, I have heard several stories of extremely successful business people who become Christians and want to get out of business and into ministry without realizing that their business can be a huge part in having the ability to facilitate ministry. God seems to have gifted them in making money and if they are willing to be agents through whom God’s money is distributed then what a blessing they can be through staying involved in making money. Of course, they also have a great opportunity as Christians in business to make a difference in the lives of employees, co-workers, consumers, vendors, etc, who are encountered in the daily routine of being a business man or woman.

I’d love to dig into the idea that God is our provider, not work, as well as what vocations I would not be able to do with a sense of working as of and unto God, but this is already getting long so for now I’ll keep my thoughts to myself :-)

Vocationality - if that is a word

2006-08-22T00:04:00.000-05:00

I always find it interesting to see how applicable ancient history is to current issues and challenges. Hopefully, by studying history we can understand the driving principles behind the issues of the past, and will be able to learn vicariously, rather than have to needlessly go through the trials once again.

One aspect of the early church that is particularly interesting is their concept of vocationality. In the early church scattered for service we see Christians who did not live dualistically - separating the sacred and secular, but rather attempted to live out all of life in a way that was consistent with their Christian presuppositions. Tertullian exhorted Christians to do their job for the common good, and it was common practice to do whatever your job was, as of, and unto God. Christians living out their faith in the marketplace, political realm, and cultural realm allowed them to be agents of change in the culture they were apart of.

In some circles today there seems to be a growing disconnect between the local church and the local believers (i.e. Barna’s “Revolution”). Some in church leadership have retreated from public life and do not address their members as business people or cultural drivers, but rather only teach on matters of personal spiritual beliefs and practices.

I have a friend who leads an organization dedicated to serving Christian CEO’s. He says the CEO’s are in desperate need of support from grounded, mature Christians who understand the environment they are trying to live their faith out in. I am guessing the need could be met in several ways such as linking local churches to para-church ministries that specialize in ministry to executives, or perhaps the church itself could develop affinity groups of the various types of vocations represented in the church. There could also be value in the church promoting a high view of the role the laity plays in living out their faith in the marketplace, whatever that market may be. If the church could affirm that almost all professions can serve a redeeming purpose and commission it’s members as salt and light to the field they are in, and champion them as people serving the common good I believe we would see a greater participation in church, as well as, a greater impact on society as a whole as we saw among in the Roman empire in the first few centuries after Christ.

I am not picking on churches. I know we Americans are incredibly blessed to be able to participate freely in so many great churches, and I appreciate the godly men and women who dedicate their professional and personal lives to leading people into a growing relationship with Christ. The pastors I know do a far better job of it, than I could ever hope to, so I speak only as an observer wondering how we could do a better job of serving one segment of our population.

I have been listening to podcasts of some of the emergent church services and regardless of ones personal views on the emergent church, it does seem that they have taken a lead in encouraging people to do whatever it is that they do for God’s glory, and for the common good and that may be part of the reason the emergent church enjoys a sense of relevancy greater than some traditional denominations. The wholeness created by seeking to live out our roles in the world for God’s glory and the common good goes a long way to provide the transformation we seek as Christians.

Then and Now

2006-08-13T22:22:00.000-05:00

Today I spent a few hours reading church history. I learned a few interesting things I do not remember knowing. I read that Augustine and many others believed in infant baptism because they believed it washed off “original sin” (the sin of Adam the child had supposedly been born with). I read how many others believed baptism cleansed one of all of their sins up to the point of baptism, and then once you were baptized it was expected that you would not sin. Christians in this era and particular group of followers were allowed only one egregious sin after baptism if they wanted to remain in the local body of believers. It sounds crazy to me, but it is not that far off from the old holiness school of thought that believed that once you were sanctified you did not sin. Augustine, and many others, believed baptism and the Lord’s Supper were requirements for salvation. Probably the most interesting thing I read was that some churches baptized people naked. Wow – baptisms would be down at our church if that were the requirement, and yet somehow attendance might trend upward :-)

The rituals I read about were vital to their faith and practice. They sound strange to me, but to them they were earnest attempts to live the life they felt Christ had called them to. They were well thought out and were practiced intentionally. I believe most of my fellow church attendees are sincere in our desire to come together as a community to worship God and to strengthen our relationship with Christ, but reading about the early church does makes me wonder what it is in our church services or in our forms of worship that will seem unreal to Christians of the distant future? I also wonder what it is we have given up by moving so far from our roots? I am most appreciative of the dynamicism of Christianity that allows us to change the way we practice our faith while maintaining the substance of our faith and belief.

I also wonder what a balanced, and or correct view of baptism is. Baptism was so essential to the church fathers. I don’t have any idea of how baptism is viewed by the American evangelical church as a whole, but in my little corner of the world baptism seems to be an opportunity to share our story of what God has done for us, and an opportunity for us to show God our willingness to submit to His request that we be baptized. It is a rich experience, but far from essential. Can you imagine what the church fathers would think of a) my perception of the value of baptism and b) the actual baptisms in my church? About five years ago I called my church and told them I was ready to be baptized after years of having been a Christian. We set a date for me to come in and film my testimony, and then on a scheduled Sunday morning I stood in the baptismal in front of thousands as my story was shared on big screens in the auditorium and I was formally baptized via immersion. In so many ways, that experience would not be something the early church could possibly have imagined.

Lauren Winner’s, “Girl Meets God” opened my eyes to the fact that the community and age in which I practice my faith is relatively devoid of rich, meaningful rituals. Ignorantly, I had thought rituals were mind numbed, memorized, and institutional performances. I now see there is another side to that coin. I, personally, am content to be in a denomination (or lack there of) that does not emphasize formal rites of worship, but I can see how more traditional ceremonies and acts of worship could be extremely meaningful to others in their walk with Christ. It is interesting to think of the different roles customs have played in past and current communities of faith, and interesting to ponder what that may look like in future generations.

Get Ready...Fall is Coming

2006-08-13T00:03:00.000-05:00

I love summer! I like being outside, I like never being cold, I like the flexibility I have in my schedule and my sons schedule over the summer – it is a great time of year.

Summer 2006 was a good one for us. We spent a wonderful week at the beach, we ate many dinners on my parents newly screened in porch, I got to go running outside rather than walking the treadmill in the gym, we slept in more often and it was all good!

It appears that things are about to change, and I need to get ready to jump into a new season. My husband started a new job last week, my son starts pre-K this week and today was the first cool day we have had here for a long time – seasons are about to change. My job is extremely seasonal and I am slammed February through March and September through October and this year does not appear to be an anomaly. I hate to let summer go, but since I do not really have a choice I guess I will. I’ll be too busy to think much about it, but when I do think about the loss of summer 2006, I’ll have to remember the good things that come with fall such as pumpkin patches, football and good apples:-)

Raspberries

2006-08-06T23:59:00.000-05:00

Margaret Feinberg’s blog ((http://margaretfeinberg.blogspot.com) recently sported a post about having an opportunity to over-indulge in raspberries. She lives in Alaska and so fresh raspberries are not readily available. She was in Colorado and so took the occasion to purchase 10 containers of fresh raspberries (nice and healthy!). In partaking of them, she learned something we all know, but something that is hard to remember. Somewhere between consumption of the fifth and sixth package of raspberries, they began to provide less delight. The law of diminishing rewards kicked in. How did something truly good turn out to be something lackluster? Her point was that:
“Over-indulgence promises you never-ending flavor and just when you think you've discovered it, the satisfaction fades away. You're left eating, consuming, but somehow unfulfilled. The promise of more only leaves you with less room for that which really satisfies. “
She then talks about how, obviously, that relates to more than eating and reminds us that sometimes “less is more.”

I agree with her, and appreciate her reminder. As I considered responding to her post, I knew that what she says is true, but I also know how hard that can be to see on the outset. It is so hard to imagine that when we get something good, in quantities greater than what we dared ask, it can be something that will not bring us the happiness we would associate with it. Think about it, if I like Seven Jeans and I get the opportunity to have one pair and I am thrilled about that, then it seems logical to assume that if I get the opportunity to have seven pairs of Seven Jeans then I will enjoy immense satisfaction. The challenge, as I see it, is two-fold: 1) how do I remember going into the situation that this is not going to bring about the desired outcome and 2) can I intentionally decide up front how much is enough and be content with the lifestyle God allows me?

The thing that brings me momentary happiness could be anything – food, money, praise, raspberries or jeans or whatever. Obviously, those of us who are Christ followers, should have ourselves rooted in our acceptance by Christ and theoretically, at least, should be less susceptible to allowing something else to provide us with ultimate satisfaction. However, we all end up being in situations where we have the opportunity to get a lot of something we like and it feels like a great opportunity. How do we get what we know to be true to the forefront of our minds at a time like that? I really have no grand solution, I’m in learning mode. I can only offer a few self-evident ideas, such as we need to remember moderation for a host of reasons, we need to remember that we are stewards of someone else’s treasures, and I guess we just plain ol’ need to remind ourselves of that which we know to be true. I like Ken Boa’s definition of faith. He says “Faith is believing God’s word despite my experience to the contrary.” I think that is applicable.

Regarding the second part of the challenge – intentionally determining how much is enough, and choosing to be content with the lifestyle God provides us with – that is crucial. One of the things Ron Blue often teaches is that everyone needs to decide how much is enough. It is simply recognizing the reality of the human heart to realize that if we do not predetermine how much is enough, we will never feel like we have enough. When I first heard that idea, I disagreed. I thought surely if I had a million dollars I would feel like I had enough, but then I heard of so many examples where that was not the case in other peoples lives and there is no reason to think I am better than them. Think about it, when we were in college and living on $500 a month I thought if I could just make $30,000 I’d have it made, and then when I made $30,000 I thought now if I could be making $40,000 I certainly would be content but I’ve discovered that my lifestyle has grown with my wages. It still feels like if I ever make $100,000 a year I’d certainly be content, but I know better than to believe that now. I have to intentionally decide now how much is enough or I might be deceived into thinking one more box of raspberries, more dollars, or whatever would make me content.

I appreciate Margaret’s post. I hope to get in my heart that which I know is true, to determine how much is enough, and to cultivate a contentedness with the lifestyle God gives me. I may be naive, but in so doing, I believe I will be doing something to protect myself from a consumerism that can never give me enough to feel satiated..

Motivations

2006-08-01T00:04:00.000-05:00

I listened to a lesson this week that sounded great, but of course, I thought too much about it and while it makes a lot of sense on one hand, it also raises some challenges on the other hand.

The lesson talks about how in our typical western mindset we push ourselves to not sin with a thought process that feeds our very sin nature. For example, we don’t want to lie because we should be better than that, or we do not do something we shouldn’t because we could be seen and people would see our obvious faults, or parents tell a child not to lie because they will get caught in their lies and it is all ME driven. The very act of not sinning causes a sinful pride to grow in us. The reverse also works, we do something we should because we think we somehow get some kind of brownie points and our kind act ends up causing pride. It reminds me somewhat of Dallas Willard talking about “The Gospel of Sin Management.” He talks about how we should be marked so much more by our love than by what we do, or do not do, on the outside.

Tim Keller addresses the issue by saying religion operates on the principle that I obey and therefore God accepts me but the Gospel operates on the premise that God accepts me because of what Jesus Christ has done for me and therefore I obey. Both look similar on the outside, but are driven from profoundly different motives.

The obvious goal is for good behavior to be the natural outflow of a sinner saved by radical grace and welcomed into relationship with Christ. It should be so easy, we know what God has done for us and we know we are so undeserving! Naturally, after what Jesus has done for us we should want to make choices that would please Him in every aspect of life – right? As much as that makes sense, it just doesn’t seem to be the reality that most of us live in. Given a non perfect reality aren’t we then to impose our beliefs on ourselves simply because we know the Truth and know we need to do what is right? Maybe I am looking at the question wrong or the challenge incorrectly, but if that is the question then yes, I do think we need to act correctly even if that would not be our hearts natural inclination. I also think we need to hope to get to a better place.

I hope our goal is to be truly transformed and to begin to desire the things God has for us, and begin to truly desire to please him in every area of life. The challenge is how do we get that to happen? How do we get beyond doing what we should because we know we should? How do we not allow following God's law to become ritualistic and meaningless? What is our role and what is the Holy Spirit’s role?

I know I can’t answer all of those questions, but I have a few thoughts. I think if we could live with an internalized gratefulness for what God has done for us and offers us daily then we would be more drawn to living in response to that. I think it would be worthwhile to cultivate a sense of gratefulness which notices and recognizes the goodness of God in the big and little moments of life. I think I am heading towards the goal when I try to connect with God in real, authentic ways, telling Him the truth about where I am, but also telling Him that I know He is the one who can create that true goodness within me. I’m sure I have said this before, but I remember Tim Elmore teaching us that emotions follow motion. I’m sure that doesn’t satisfy the relationship based emergents, and I’m open to learning more about how others would answer the questions, or for that matter, even how others would ask the questions.

Open Theism

2006-07-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

The Open Theism Debate fascinates me. Open Theism roughly speaking states that even an all knowing, Sovereign God cannot know the future because the future, by definition, is not knowable. As even God cannot make a triangle be a square because by definition a triangle is not a square, so even to an all knowing God the future cannot be known because it is a range of possibilities. God absolutely knows all that is knowable, but the future is not knowable. The position presupposes an Arminian predisposition claiming that God has not preordained the events of the future for all people at all times. The theology does not see itself as denigrating God to anything less than omnipotent and all powerful because it says God made a choice not to micromanage the future and to give up some of His power in that arena to allow humanity to have true freedom and the capacity to choose to walk with and love Him. The idea is attractive because it lets God "off the hook" for evil that happens. God cannot be held responsible for that which He did not will to happen. Yes, God may have allowed it to happen but that is a consequence of humanity having freedom and allowing the fall to happen. Another benefit is that open theism gives us reason to pray and reason to do our part for the Kingdom. If I believe that God is already working out His plan regardless of what I do and that His purposes will be accomplished in every sphere of life, then I may not feel a strong burden to do my part. The danger is that some see it as demoting God to something less than all-powerful and it can create a sense of fear when one does not believe that God controls everything that happens. How secure can I feel about the future when I know others have freewill that they might choose to exercise in a way that is harmful to me?

What do Open Theist believe God knows about the future? As with any school of thought there are variations but from what I have read most believe that God knows all the possibilities. God knows the decisions before you. He can foresee the next set of possibilities if you choose A, the next set of possibilities if you choose B, etc. They believe God has his plans and purposes that will be accomplished, but the human role in it is different than the strict Calvinist would allow. For example, it was in God’s plan that Jesus would be betrayed; the open theist would say that God knew Judas's heart and perceived he would be a likely betrayer, but that it was Judas' choice to betray Christ. If Judas had chosen not to betray Christ, God would have moved on to someone else with evil in his or her heart and given him the choice to betray Christ. The Calvinist would say God knew it was going to be Judas who betrayed Christ. The open theist would argue that if Judas was predestined to betray Christ, then what choice did he have in the matter and may ask if he then can be held accountable? The strict Calvinist would say it doesn't matter; God is holy and just and if he had predestined Judas to be Christ's betrayer then so be it. I am sure that simplifies many positions but you get the gist.

Open theists say their way of thinking is nothing new, that it was not until Augustine came and presented God as being in the eternal now that the church adopted its present position. It has been debated in even some conservative denominations; some have even voted on the issue in annual denominational meetings. For more reading supporting the open theist position, I would recommend Greg Boyd or Jonathon Sanders; for reading against it I would recommend Norman Geisler or John Piper. Both sides believe passionately, and from what I have read have held to the old maxim, "Unity on the essentials, liberty in the non essentials and grace in all things.” Theology is the ultimate academic pursuit and differences among respectable scholars and Christians come up in the pursuit of Truth and knowledge of almighty God. Regardless of whether you want to take a side or not, it does bring up some good questions. Questions such as does God ever will pain and suffering, who is responsible for evil and evil choices that man makes, does prayer make a difference, do I really have freewill, etc.

Generosity

2006-07-13T23:34:00.000-05:00

On Thursday morning I read a blog about generosity. My friend, the writer, asked how we blog readers had recently been the recipients of generosity? I was blown away to think how blessed I am to be on the receiving side of generosity in so many ways.

Generousness seems often to be associated with money so my first thought on being the recipient of generousness was financially. My parents and my husband's parents are incredibly generous with us financially. My son requires some ongoing medical attention that is quite expensive and would be a very heavy burden if we had to bear it on our own, but thankfully our parents have jumped in and generously shared of their financial resources so that our son can get the help he needs. I know they would love our family just as much even if they were not able to express it in this financial way, but it is a blessing to be able to receive such a tangible expression of love for our family

The next obvious expression of generousness to come to mind is God's love, grace and forgiveness. I know perhaps this should have been the first thought but it wasn't :-) It is truly amazing to think of how generously God loves us - to think that while we were dead in our sins, not even aware of our need for a savior, Jesus willfully gave up his human life for us. Because of this great love we are able to receive lavish amounts of grace, and unfathomable (70X7) forgiveness.

In considering the avenues through which I have been the recipient of generousness I also thought of my employers. My last several bosses have blessed me with a generous amount of freedom to accommodate my schedule as a working mom. They have been great at protecting me from taking on too much so that I can do my work with excellence with a reasonable amount of time being spent on work.

As the day went on, more examples of how I have been blessed by others generosity came to mind. I have some friends who generously share encouragement with me and if you have had friends like that you know how valuable that can be. I have friends and family who have shared of their time generously and I greatly appreciate that. I think of Keith Drury, Ron Blue, parents and others who generously share their knowledge and experience with a lot of young people and fellow seekers. It takes time and commitment to put your experience together in such a way so as to be able to share it in a valuable way, and because they do this many of us are able to benefit from it.

As I end the day, I am filled with an overflowing gratefulness for the ways people choose to be generous with me. I am also encouraged that I too can be generous. I am not in a position to be able to give out money as generously or extravagantly as I would like to, but I realize that there are many ways I can bless people with generosity. I can be generous with the money or possesions I do have, but I can also be generous with my time and listen deeply, I can be generous with my love the way God is so generous with me, and I can be generous with my encouragement and be the type of person people look forward to seeing. Opportunities abound - now if only I can have the eyes to recognize them, the desire to utilize them and God's love to fuel it.

I'm Learning

2006-07-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

I was blessed to turn another year older last week. It was not a milestone year or anything but it still left me thinking about what it is I have learned this last year. I'll try and share a few things I know I have learned but I also have a strong suspicion that in later years I'll realize even more of what I learned this last year.

1) I've realized most everyone has their own story of tough times. While we are all unique and we all have our own problems, having challenges is nothing unique. My pastor always talks about people who say if you heard my story you'd give me a pass on applying this or that principle, but that is not the way it works. It has been a surprise to realize that all these people I see who seems to have it all together have had to battle something big like no money in the bank, or no clue what to do with their life, or dealt with disease, etc. I think we need to realize our stories and how they effect the framework from which we look out, but on the other hand I don't think we can allow our stories to rule our present or our future.

2) I've learned a lot about stewardship as it relates to our time, talents, treasures, and relationships. Stewardship goes to the core of what we believe and whether we live in a way that is consistent with what we believe.

3) I set some short-term goals and have had fun going for them. One of my assignments at work towards the end of 2005 was to come up with some 3 and 6 month goals. It challenged me to consider what it is I wanted to intentionally get done and pushed me to pick up some things I was passionate about. I have gotten involved in Juice Plus as a result and I love it, and I have registered to take my first seminary class and am excited about that. Long - term goals are great, but I think they overwhelmed me. and needed to be broken down into more manageable and achievable short-term goals.

4) I've learned more than anyone else wants to know about health and nutrition. It is definitely a journey and I know that I still have much to learn. I am 10 times better off than I was two years ago, but on the other hand I hope to be living a much healthier life five years from now. I think food and nutrition can have an incredibly preventitive role in our lives.

5) My favorite verses for this past year?
"Let us hold fast to the hope we profess for He who has promised is faithful."
Hebrews 10:23

What I hope to learn next year?

1) How to have it all, or if that is not possible how to best balance those things that are most important to me.

2) To get better at listening more and talking less, and asking better questions of people.

Books, Books, Books

2006-07-01T22:44:00.000-05:00

I'll begin taking a class this coming month so I thought I better get in all the reading for "fun" that I could. Here are a few brief comments on the books I've recently read, or am reading. They are just my two cents but I thought I'd share in case anything sparks something of interest for someone else. I love to read. I love learning about other ways of looking at things, and noticing peoples different backgrounds, and being challenged to think through my starting points.

The Secret Message of Jesus - Brian McLaren
Personally, I was under whelmed by "A New Kind Of Christian" and thoroughly annoyed with "A Generous Orthodoxy," and so I was surprised to find I liked and appreciated "The Secret Message of Jesus." Very early on in the book I was reminded of Dallas Willard's "Divine Conspiracy" and his challenge to live out God's Kingdom here on earth and not just look forward to it in heaven. Missionality is a hot topic now, and has so much potential to show Christ to people in real, practical ways so I loved the reminder from McLaren.

McLaren contends that God has a mission in this world and being a Christian is joining God in His mission to the world. His politics show up, but he doesn't overshadow his content with his political views. We have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a needy world all around us. It is not a crazy new idea, and hopefully as the church embraces the idea we will make a greater impact on the world around us for God's glory.

I am still not sure what I think about some of his challenges to traditional way of interpreting certain things such as why Jesus spoke in parables, and I am not sure Jesus was intentionally hiding his message, but I welcome the idea as something to think through. Either way, I liked the focus being on Christianity applied to the world today, rather than Christianity that focuses on being saved and looking forward to redeemed life in heaven when we die.

Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling
I am still reading this one. The guy writing it seems quite cocky but I appreciate the content. It has a lot of practical suggestions and tips about free resources on the internet. A rookie in the sales world, like me, is grateful for the coaching on selling that seem to make a lot of sense. I guess time will tell J

God Is Closer Than You Think - John Ortberg
My small group is reading this. I really like Ortberg, even though a lot of people dismiss him as lightweight. He talks about some deep stuff in very easy to read ways, but the application is plenty deep! This book is about practicing the presence of God and noticing God in the small things and walking with God intentionally through the day - day in and day out. Ortberg shares a lot of small things we can very practically begin to do in our attempt to remember God throughout the day.

Girl Meets God - A Memoir Lauren Winner
Like it, like it, like it. In this book Lauren shares her journey from a Jewish childhood to one slice of Orthodox Judaism in the young adult years and finally to Christianity as she gradually falls in love with Jesus. There is nothing formulaic about it - very flowing. So the opposite of Paul's dramatic conversion and I think it is a story many can relate to. Another thing I appreciate about the book is that it shows one persons real experience as a practicing Jew and because of that we learn about Judaism in an authentic manner, that doesn't seem as overtly trendy as a lot out there that is being taught about Christianity's Jewish roots. Equally enjoyable are her insights into the Christian world with her discussion on the difference between fundamentalism and evangelical, etc. I don't take it as deep theological teaching, but rather appreciate it for the discussions it brings up, and what it may appear like to those outside the Christian subculture.

I must admit that typically I think these type of books are overly self absorbed and the book certainly is self centered, but the difference is that given the title (A Memoir) - you expect it to be her personal journey and so then are free to enjoy the sharing of her story in a way that is charming, and challenging, witty and unconventional.

Conformed To His Image - Dr. Kenneth Boa
I'd love to go through this book in a group, but it would require a group willing to dig a little deeper than most of the small groups I have been a part of. Its sub-title reads, "biblical and practical approaches to spiritual formation" but what I really like about it is that it is so much more holistic than most books I have read about spiritual disciplines. Before it even begins to teach on the disciplines it covers basic ground such as loving God and ourselves appropriately, and after it teaches on the disciplines in talks about how these might play out in real life. It also takes into account our personal make up and which disciplines may be more natural or unnatural. I think it is great content that if dug into could have profound effects. It is long and is taking me a long time to get through it though.

George Fox's Journal - George Fox
I am about half way through this and do not know what to think. It is so different from modern, western Christianity. I like his emphasis on no interposition between God and man, and obviously appreciate his care on social justice issues. I grew up in a Friend's Church so enjoy getting to learn more of the history behind that denomination.

Books that arrived from Amazon last week and are waiting to be opened…

Never Eat Alone (and other secrets to success one relationship at a time) - Keith Ferrazzi

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places - a conversation in spiritual theology by Eugene Peterson
Ken Boa recommended this one to me so I am looking forward to reading it.
Now that I have written this I want to stay up all night finishing the books that I have begun to enjoy, but I know I learn more when I read them in smaller doses :-)

Father's Day

2006-06-22T07:29:00.000-05:00

The church I attend hosted a rather unusual Father's Day service last week. A young lady shared a very personal story about her rocky relationship with her father. It was clear that she had been harmed and wronged in this relationship, but she felt God's call to pursue health in that relationship and so she did. In the end, her father died at a relatively young age due to cancer, but because she heeded God's call to work towards reconciliation she was able to have peace that her father and her were truly on good terms before his death. It was a truly moving service leaving dozens of men and women in tears.

It was a good message that was delivered extremely well in my opinion, but it brought me back to what is the purpose of the local church? On one hand, what she shared was highly relevant and practical. It encouraged us to do what we could to be the type of parents we all desire to be. It encouraged us to be willing to put in the hard work necessary to work through those family relationships that may be tough. It encouraged us to make wrongs right, before it is too late, and finally it made some of us so incredibly thankful for what we have had as far as family. However, it was very experiential, it was for lack of a better term "pop psychologyish" and it had one verse of scripture to it. Does that matter? I truly do not know. I hear the Barna crowd shouting for a relevant church and this is it, but for some reason it also leaves me uncomfortably wondering if this isn't a risky, subjective path to begin going down. Am I too steeped in modern thought? This really does go to one of the core differences between the emergent and modern church. The modern church places an emphasis on Truth as a set of facts to be learned, and the emergent church focuses on the fact that you can't experience Truth apart from relationship. I value both in theory, but am not sure how I would expect them to play out walking side by side.

I am definitely not picking on my church. I appreciated the message and am challenged to take a deeper look at what the purpose of the local church is and ask what does that look like? If we want relevant, are we willing to use the pulpit to address issues like this, in a manner like this? I know God's Word is plenty relevant on it's own, but I also know people learn through stories and through genuineness such as what we saw on display. I am challenged to keep thinking about how we approach Truth. Propositional vs. relational/experiential, or a synthesis of the two?

AffirmationsP2

2006-06-16T21:28:00.000-05:00

Now that you know what it is you would go after if you believed in the practice of affirmations let's ask the second question, "Given the 'promised' results would you be willing to put in the effort to repeat to yourself the daily affirmations in the three ways suggested, verbally, auditorily, as well as tactily." It takes time to write something ten times a day, to repeat something ten times a day and to read something ten times a day. It is not an overwhelming commitment of time, but neither is taking our vitamins but many of us still struggle with making that a part of our daily routines. Again, this is a question that would need to be answered at the raw, honest level, because most people would say sure I’ll do that, but most people also truly intend to keep their New Year’s resolutions beyond the 17 days most New Year's resolutions last.

For those of us who are followers of Christ, this hits a little deeper. I submit that I would be willing to choose two affirmations to consistently reinforce to my mind if I believed this practice truly would work. I’d be willing to think through which two goals would be most worthwhile to me, and then I would be willing to do the pre-work of getting them posted around me, and then I’d commit to the faithful practicing of repeating the affirmations. However, I think there is enough information out there about spiritual formation to know clearly, if not rigidly, what practices we could participate in on a regular basis to grow us into transformed Christ followers. Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Mark Buchanan, Keith Drury, John Ortberg, Ken Boa and many others have written books on the subjects, and the experiences of our church fathers show us examples of people who have chosen to commit to engage in spiritual disciplines such as solitude, prayer, fasting, etc. to mold themselves into people who mirror their savior. We have a choice, if we truly want to get where we say we want to be, then we have the option of choosing to participate in the spiritual disciplines. Is our motivation strong enough to commit to the practices? Is our motivation to walk in the way of Christ stronger than our desire to “Have financial freedom” (not to say that the two are mutually exclusive)? Practicing spiritual disciplines does not necessarily require a great time commitment. We can cultivate the ability to pray in all things without taking time away from other things. We can certainly practice simplicity in a way that does not involve a huge time commitment, etc. Choosing to practice the disciplines is doable, but it involves a discipline of the mind and heart, and a desire to truly go after some things that are counter cultural to our very way of living and being.

In relating affirmations to spiritual disciplines, I like the reminder to factor in human bandwidth for self- improvement of any sort (not to discredit the role of the Holy Spirit). The first time I read, “The Celebration of Discipline” I felt like a loser for not practicing more, if any of those disciplines, but I also felt so overwhelmed by all of them that I had no desire to even try. I like the idea of choosing two to try and incorporate into my real world life. From the spiritual formation side, I am happy to take my reminder that the goal of becoming Christ-like is extremely worthwhile, but also of great importance is the journey. The speaker on the sales call named her lecture “Journey of Abundance” so as to intentionally say the process itself is part of the abundance mindset versus Journey to Abundance which would have implied a starting point of scarcity. No Machiavellianism here, choose to value the means.

Affirmations

2006-06-12T08:16:00.000-05:00

In a sales oriented coaching call which I participated in yesterday, I was taught the practice of affirmations. Affirmations in the sense it was being taught were positive statements of where you want your life to be. The idea is that if you choose one or two statements and put them before your mind in a variety of ways repeatedly, then you will find yourself tangibly moving towards achieving those goals. For example, if I choose “I am a beautiful model” as my affirmation then I will write that down and post it in places where I will see it, I will choose to write it down ten times a day, and I will verbally repeat it out loud ten times a day, and in so doing I will create a sort of self fulfilling prophecy. I know it sounds a bit iffy, but the logic behind it is that we are creating a file for our unconscious mind, and the unconscious mind does not know truth from untruth, it just stores the info as reality, and more importantly having the affirmation in the forefront on ones mind constantly increases ones awareness of where you want to go and how the little decisions we all make constantly are playing into achieving that affirmation. If I am filling my mind with the concept that I am a beautiful model then how likely am I to run out to the store in my sweats and a t-shirt with no make up on, or to eat three krispy crèmes for my midnight snack? I may still make those choices, but if have been faithfully putting into my mind that I am a beautiful model then my mind will evaluate my choices differently, and in this way my internal can drive my external.

I do not pretend to know enough to fight for the credibility of this practice, nor enough to automatically reject it. . Not coming from a sales back ground, it was a new idea to me and one I am still evaluating. However, for discussion sake, let’s assume the practice valid and think about how we would apply it in our lives.

1) If you could only choose two things to put into your life and help make them a reality what would they be? It is similar to asking what your top values are, but I think often we list our values as what we believe they should be rather than what they are at the gut level. Would you choose to repeat “I am financially free” ten times a day? Would you choose to record and play back to yourself “I am a perfect size two?” Would you choose to write down “I am a follower of Christ” or how about any number of options such as:
“I am happily married to the man/woman of my dreams (think about that, if we told ourselves that often enough can’t you imagine our marriages would improve?
“I am a great closer”
“I am a loving and involved father”
“I provide a product that can add health and happiness to people’s lives”
“I consistently choose to put others needs before my own”
“I am a student with a 3.5 or higher”
“I am a force to be reckoned with on the world poker circuit”

All of these things may be valid and laudable goals, but if it comes down to only having the bandwidth to be able to reinforce two of them what type of affirmations would you choose and is that consistent with what you would say your values are?

Catalyst

2006-06-01T21:59:00.000-05:00

At work, our big project for the fall is an event called Catalyst. It is an awesome event that I enjoy getting to have a small part in. Below are the elements put forth as a Catalyst leader, and the mission and vision are included for context sake. I am curious as to anyones thoughts on these, do they resonate with what you want in a leader? Or are they traits you aspire to in your own leadership? What would you have included or deleted? Does anything jump out at you? I am just curious.

CATALYST MISSION & VALUES
VISION Revolutionize Next Generation Leaders
PURPOSE
Catalyst exists to ignite passion for Christ and develop the leadership potential of the next generation, equipping them to engage and impact their world.

MISSION
To provide relevant solutions through training and resources that connect and develop next generation leaders.

THE ELEMENTS OF A CATALYST LEADER

CHARACTER (How do I make decisions about how I live my life)
Integrity, courage, discipline and private, personal decisions – these all comprise the inner character and integrity of a Catalyst leader. They understand that their character and integrity is the guard to their soul and ultimately their life. This can’t be let go, can’t be delegated, it’s the foundation of who they are as a person and as a leader. It’s the basis from which their moral authority is grounded. It must be nurtured, guarded and found true under testing. Conviction.

COMMUNITY (With whom have I surrounded myself to walk through life?)
People are in my life. It’s the relational quality that God designed that provides encouragement, accountability, and reality. It questions my deepest motives when needed and helps me stay true to the vision God has imprinted on my heart. Mentoring is the relationship where I learn from others, while at the same time others can learn through my experience. Living and working together complete me as a leader because I need others and desire them in my life and they need me.

WORSHIP/INTIMACY WITH GOD (Who God has called me to be)
I must have awareness of my small role in God’s big, developing story. This is critical to my humility, faith and trust in Him as the definer of how He will use me and my calling. To have this constant awareness, I must connect with God without ceasing through my life, study, music, art, film, vocation and relationships. My passion for God to receive Glory must be bigger than my desire for Glory.

PURPOSE/CALLING (Do I have the courage to act on what God has called me to do)
God has a unique purpose that he desires to carry out in me. To know this purpose I must first know Him. To fulfill this purpose, I must trust Him and have the courage to act on it, which may feel like a risk. My talents and heart converge to create my calling and purpose. My foundational understanding of how God is working during our times, determines the specific way I apply this calling vocationally.

CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT (What is the cultural context we are living in?)
As a leader, I must understand the context God has placed me in. I must know the audience I am connecting with to have any opportunity of connection and relevance. Because God desires that Christ-followers engage and influence their surroundings, I will be a source of hope, redemption, justice and peace in my community, demonstrating a piece of the Kingdom of God in a fallen world.

INFLUENCE (How do I lead others?)
I’m not a leader if others aren’t following. Why they are following is the key. If I’m clear on the first five elements, leadership is natural, compelling and attractive. If not, it will be challenged by others and ineffective. Influence can’t be forced; it can only be won over time.

Catalyst Blog for anyone interested: http://catalystblog.typepad.com/catalyst_blog/

Grounded

2006-05-28T20:56:00.000-05:00

"For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on thee."
2 Chronicles 20:12b

I love this little verse. No claims of easy answers, or reminders of the basics we should already know - just an acknowledgement of the threatening situation, our lack of a solution, and an affirmation that our eyes will choose to remain on God.

It reminds me of something I heard of long ago that went something like this….St. Francis was tending to his garden and a friend inquired, what would you do if you were to find out the Lord was returning tonight and St. Francis responded that he would finish tending his garden.

For those connected to God in the day- to- day drudgery or delight of life, the situations faced are not defining. The person has already been defined by whom they believe in, and so there is a steadiness and a determination to look towards God that permeates even the crazy times in life. Louie Giglio used to express it by saying some version of , "Come hell or high water, I choose to follow God." I do not mean to downplay the seriousness or sadness of some of life's situations, just to remind myself that the goal is to have the groundedness that comes from daily walking with God and remembering His presence and my necessary response in the midst of it all. His presence does not take away the consequences, nor negate the threats facing us, but it does remind us that we have one walking with us who loves us and shares his strength and life with us.

If you know me, you know I don't believe that it will necessarily all work out for the best, but that is okay, knowing my future, knowing that God walks with me, and knowing God can use it all is enough :-)

transformed?

2006-05-23T07:15:00.000-05:00

In reading, "Abba's Father" by Brennan Manning, I read something that jumped out at me and has stuck with me as I have moved on about my busyness.

He said, "The paltriness of our lives is largely due to our fascination with the trinkets and trophies of the unreal world that is passing away…Religious dabbling, worldly prestige, or temporary unconsciousness cannot conceal the terrifying absence of meaning in the church and in society, nor can fanaticism, cynicism, or indifference.
When we are not profoundly affected by the treasure within our grasp, apathy and mediocrity are inevitable." (Pg. 118)

Now that is some food for thought.

The opening line reminds me of C.S. Lewis talking about our being enamored with the ability to make mud cakes at the beach. It rings true, we are satisfied with such small things, that at some point we realize our satisfied ness for what it is - overrated.

We certainly cannot direct this to non- Christians only. Barna has shown us all the studies that find so little difference in how lives are lived out between evangelical Christians and the rest of the population. We Christians are just as easily duped into over valuing the present things we enjoy. We all know, or are, Christians who truly believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, but fail to live a life transformed by that knowledge. Transformation is not an easy process that the church can offer a one-day class on. Sometimes we go from one extreme to the other. We either don't try because it seems too unattainable, or we get fanatical and think we can achieve transformation by trying really hard to follow all the rules and do everything we think we are supposed to.

I am wondering how we could do a better job of calling people to a faith that goes beyond head knowledge and beyond behavior modification? Currently, my pastor is doing a series on the heart and he points out that we learn to modify our behavior so as to be presentable, but the things that slip out show us we have stuff that needs to be dealt with in our heart. I agree, but guess I would maybe rephrase it to say that the stuff that slips out shows we have not been transformed from the inside out. I certainly agree with the practical suggestions he has given us for cleaning up the heart, but I wish there was a next step we could be pointed towards as an opportunity to take transformation seriously. Admittedly, I am young and have little knowledge about these things, but my gut feeling would be that spiritual formation or discipleship would be the way to transformation. We need instruction and accountability as to how to apply what we know in my every day real life, and we need help building disciplines into our lives that allow the input and connection with God needed to be able to live out of our relationship with Him.

Thank U Parents

2006-05-13T14:16:00.000-05:00

Here is something I wrote just before we had Jacob. In honor of Mother's Day I thought I would share with the world how awesome my parents are!

As we prepare to become parents for the first time, I can't help but think of the example you individually, and as a couple, have been to me. I am so grateful to have such wonderful parents. James and I, of course, have much on our own that we want to try and impart to our family, but there is much I want to model after you. Not only that, but as we prepare to move on to a new stage in our life I am so grateful for the experience we have had before this time. Our trips to New York, to Europe, Chicago, or just last minute plans to go to dinner.

Dad, you like to laugh, you enjoy people and crowds and excitement. You like to try new things and find new places and share them with others. You respect people and ideas while holding firm to your own. People tell me all the time what a great guy you are ( I always tell them I agree). People like you, like to work for you, and to be with you because you value people. You are always encouraging and look for the positive in things in life and in people. You like doing things for those you love and truly believe it is better to give than to receive. I especially remember you giving us gifts at Fathers Day, you making a special dinner for mom just to be nice, you saving your change to give us shopping money in New York, etc. You are so very generous with all that you have. You truly believe life is worth living and you go for it everyday.

Mom, you are a wonderful listener, learner and teacher- much beyond the classroom. People like learning from you because you are kind and patient in the way you explain things. You are very willing to invest of yourself to make a difference in others lives and you do this professionally and personally with excellence and care. It is very apparent that you enjoy being with and making happy those you love. You enjoy seeing whatever movie, or playing whatever game because it is together time and we can all enjoy each other. You have a wonderful ability to do so many things at once. I have marveled many times at the way you can work full time, and do an amazing job at work, keep up your house, and still be available for family stuff. I'd love you just as much if your house wasn't kept up as well, etc, but I am amazed at your ability to do it all. You are willing to put in the work ahead of time so when the "event" comes we can all just relax and enjoy it. You listen and enjoy sharing what is going on in our lives, and share with us what you are learning. You are a genuinely likeable person, who people like being friends with and you are a wonderful mom and friend to me!

You both treat each other and others around you with respect. You are always so willing to give of yourself to help. You have taught us so many things by showing us and helping us.. Buying our first home we had no clue about all sorts of things we were going to need to do, but you pointed us in the right direction and helped us with pointers, your time, and even your money. Your house is beautiful because you both take the time to do what you need to to keep it up. It is a place people like to come to because it is a loving home where real people are allowed to live real life even if it might leave a scratch or whatever.

I am excited that our little boy will have grandparents like you. He will hear stories from us and from you that will tell of lots of fun times, many places lived and visited, and a rich heritage. Our little boy will enjoy your company and care.

I have always known I was loved and prayed for. I am sure I do not know all the tough decisions or sacrifices you had to make but I thank you for them.

Most of all, I am grateful for your many prayers, instruction, and modeling of the Christian life!

Love,
tricia

Imago Dei

2006-05-12T21:38:00.000-05:00

Check out Imago Dei's perspective on the purpose of the church at: http://www.imagodeicommunity.com/imago/MenuContent.jsp?id=3
It is spelled out much better than I could have written it.

A post in honor of Mother's Day soon to be coming :-)

Purpose of the Church

2006-05-07T12:28:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was asked to write what I saw as the role of the local church. For the sake of answering the question, I went with " My initial response would be that the task of Christian ministry is simultaneously simple and yet overwhelming. Christian ministry and the local church are tasked with being the hands and feet of Christ to each other and the world around them. The church also serves as the place for believers and unbelievers to come and learn more about God in Christ through the teachings of the Bible and it's application to life. My church aims to facilitate intimacy with God, community with insiders and influence with outsiders. Hopefully, churches and para-church ministries serve to provide opportunities for Christians to bless the rest of the world, and to connect those who are not in relationship with their heavenly father to Him." I answered the question for the sake of the application, but I also know there is so much more to it. Given the popularity of Barna's "Revolution, " it is obvious that people are asking what is the purpose of the church, and does my local community of faith serve the God given purpose for a church?

As my previous posts note, I like my church, but I am curious to see how it "scores" if evaluated based on my interpretation of the role of the church. Do we serve as the hands and feet of Christ to our community, or in the larger national or international community? Somewhat. I feel like we do the basics that I am pleased we do, but we do not do enough to be known for our service. We had/have a great ministry to the hurricane victims, we send missions teams all over the world to build new facilities and help in practical ways, and many other worthwhile things, but I do not see service as a major focus that defines who we are. A friend of mine is on staff at an emergent church and as a part of their small groups, every fourth week they serve somewhere in their local community as a group. They also have a huge heart for social justice within their community and beyond. Service is a core part of who they are and who they are known as.

In regards to the church being the place where believers and non - believers come to learn more about God in Christ through the teachings of the Bible and it's application to life I would say we score pretty highly. Kudos to our staff! We are treated to relevant biblical teaching, we have events that reinforce this teaching, and our kids are taught through a variety of mediums the truths of God.

Although our church is a formal organization, I don't want to rely on the building or the staff to be the church. As I was taught all through Sunday School growing up, the church is the people. My formal church may not be at the forefront of service, but I can personally participate in service and in so doing be Christ's hands and feet to the world around me. I can serve in formal ways such as volunteeering at a rescue mission, or I can serve my friends and family and those whom I come into contact with in very informal, practical ways.

In a recent interview with McLaren, he said, "I see the church as a community that teaches people to live in and for the Kingdom, spiritually forming disciples who are agents of the Kingdom in their daily lives, in their jobs, among their neighbors, and even their enemies." (www.criswelljournal.com) That is a pretty lofty goal, and one that if accomplished would transform our world!

thoughtsbeliefaction

2006-04-28T22:04:00.000-05:00

In the circles that I am in, it seems I am often being taught that what we think about drives our beliefs, which in turn drives actions. The model looks like a triangle with the word "thoughts" in the bottom left corner with a diagonal arrow pointing up to the word "beliefs" and a diagonal arrow down pointing to the word "actions." I've heard it taught in business circles and in church circles. Perhaps I am just not understanding it and am missing the thought it or perhaps we are playing word games, but it is not even close to being a statement that makes sense to me. Think about it, do you know God is good and believe He will take care of you and yet you find yourself worrying or do you believe that it is really important to spend time with God and yet struggle to do so? Now, I definitely agree that what we think on does affect us. I understand that what we believe can and should have a profound effect on our actions. However, in our cultural climate, that logical progression does not play out. You have to assume that people will live on the basis of their convictions to be able to buy into the thoughts/ beliefs/ actions progression. All people have basic assumptions about the major questions of life (origin, meaning, morality and destiny), whether by design or default, but in our postmodern society many people do not live on the basis of what they believe to be true. Our culture does not place a value on being consistent between our beliefs and our actions. Many people own basic assumptions that, when examined, contradict themselves. Now to bring it back to practical life, on a very basic level, I could say, I know eating fruits and vegetables is good for me, and I believe carrying excess weight poses many health threats, but that knowledge and belief, in and of itself, is not enough to make me change my eating habits. I can think about it 3 hours a day and yet not allow it to change my actions. In fact, a little over a year ago, I did decide to change my eating habits. My beliefs had not changed, I had not received any new revelation about nutrition, I just decided it was time to become more disciplined in what I provided to my body in terms of food. (I still have a long way to go, but am better off than I was a year ago) The action I took was a result of a choice to be disciplined - nothing more. In living that out, the question that came up was not one of belief but one of what did I really want? Is my desire to enjoy these moments of satisfaction of eating ice cream (or whatever) more important, or is my short and long-term health more important? If I choose the right choice will I lose out on all the good stuff, or will the pay off for making the right choice be so big that the ephemeral pleasure will pale in comparison? We all know the right answer right off the bat, but again, it is a whole lot easier to know and believe that, than it is to act on. Belief is important, but belief on its own does not dictate action.
When it comes to faith issues, it is an even more difficult challenge to think through because as Christians we know that our effort and discipline only goes so far. I don't buy the thoughts/ beliefs/ actions paradigm, but I am still curious to see what it is that does drive us to change our actions?

SLAMMED!

2006-04-21T19:31:00.000-05:00

Immeresed in the Maximum Impact Simulcast (http://www.maximumimpact.com/Events/MIS/
Back next Thursday, slammed or not :-)

Today Matters

2006-04-13T20:19:00.000-05:00

This week I have been trying to come up with my philosophy of life. I sell Juice Plus, and one of my mentors in the organization was sharing how she had been pondering her philosophy of life. She has worked with a variety of personal trainers, and their differences prompted her to realize they were guided by different philosophies of life. The trainers never explicitly shared their philosophies of life, but as she interacted with them their philosophies became evident. Her first trainers view of life could be summed up as, "life is hard, push on," the next trainers motto was, "life is a war, win it," and the current trainers philosophy is "life is an adventure, live it." My friend challenged us to think through what others would say our life philosophy was based on the actions they see in our lives, and then to think through what it is we would intentionally want our life philosophy to be. She thought for a few days and came up with "life is a gift, unwrap it." I have thought about it all week and have settled on something else - "TODAY MATTERS." I'd choose to with Today Matters as my philosophy of life for many reasons:
1) Today does matter. Success is found in our daily routine. We do not wake up one day and realize we are successful, one day we are successful because we chose to follow a daily routine that set us up for success. (Admittedly, a concept I learned in John Maxwell's "Today Matter's" Book.)
2) I want to be intentional and I want to be a good steward of my time, talents, treasure, and relationships. What better way to do that, than by valuing every day and being intentional in all facets of my daily walk?

Specifically, I break it down into the things I want to see reaped at the end of my life. I have made a decision of what I want my life to look like, now I must daily manage those decisions. At the end of the day, I want to go through and evaluate how I did in the following areas:

Health - Did I provide my body with the nutrients it needs, and get some exercise?
Money - Did I spend my money wisely?
Spiritual - Did I spend focused time with God, as well as remember Him through the day?
Family - Did I show love, respect and support to my husband?
Did I spend time in my son's world?
Did I help him develop the things he needs help with?
Work - Did I add value to the mission, vision and people of my organization?
Personal - Have I spent time learning this week?
Have I tried to connect with and value typical people?
Have I shared life with those I love?

Choosing to be intentional does not mean I can never have fun or relax, it just means I make a choice to have fun and relax rather than doing something (or nothing) by default, rather than by design.

Having said that, I'll admit I have been trying to live this way for the last several months and it is harder than I would have guessed. First off, I have to remember what it is I am aiming for and secondly, some things are more natural than others. I hope the knowledge of why I am doing what I am doing is enough to help me ingrain these principles in my life long term.

LA Times, our Times and Hell

2006-04-06T07:22:00.000-05:00

I recently read an article in the LA Times regarding hells fall from popularity. Actually, I doubt hell was ever a popular topic but at one time in the Christian community hell was a relevant threat spiritual leaders felt the need to warn their parishioners about. Hell was spoken of from the pulpit in vivid detail as a painful, lurid place where those who were not reconciled to God went, and of course an invitation to accept Jesus Christ as ones Lord and Savior followed as the solution. Accept Jesus and you will live forever in heaven with God and all of His angels on streets of gold, or live eternally damned among satan, his demons, and weeping and gnashing of teeth. Hmm, what's your choice? It gave rise to the idea of salvation as a form of "fire insurance." The idea of what hell is has even changed. Hell used to be described as a place where souls were tormented forever by burning flames. Read sermons by the preachers of ages past and you can almost hear the wailing of people in agony in hell. Now when hell is brought up it is described as eternal separation from God. Not a good thing, but certainly not a terrorizing place of dreadful pain.

Christians are still preaching a need for salvation and Christians still believe in hell so why is it that hell is no longer taught on in the churches, preached on, or written about in today's churches and Christian circles? Why is hell so out of fashion? Has existentialist philosophy, emphasizing the here and now, effected Christianity to the point that Christianity now proposes salvation as a means to live a higher quality life in this world? Does hell even need to be discussed from the pulpit, and if so in what terms shall hell be described? The church is becoming less propositional, and more relational and so maybe the concept of hell does not fit in our talks about being invited into a relationship with a loving creator. If the church has so much room to maneuver on such a pivotal issue as where we spend our eternity, then what else may change over the next fifty years or so?

Most people would agree that the philosophy of postmodernism prevails today. Postmodernism elevates tolerance to the highest of all virtues, and what could be more antithetical to the idea of tolerance than the concept of hell, which punishes people who are unrepentant sinners? Postmodernism would have a hard time defining something as sinful, much less as worthy of sending someone to eternal damnation over. Postmodernist reject the concept of a shared reality, and the concept of hell, an unbending and unapologetic negative reality for all people who do not fit into one certain category would be unfathomable.

Hell does not fit in with our current zeitgeist, and so churches are not preaching on hell. They still believe in it, but it is not the focus of our plea for conversion, and if pressed to talk about hell, the definition will be toned down. (In fact, pleas for conversion aren't nearly as prevalent as they used to be, but that is another story.) It is easy to hear this and be sad that we have allowed culture to be the influencer rather than the other way around, but if the bottom line is that we want to offer Christ to people desperately in need of him, then where is the balance? All of church has been adapted to fit in with current culture. Consider the preacher, minister or pastor is now the moderator, speaker, CEO, or environment architect as one mega church pastor puts it. Consider sin used to be touted as wrong because it grieved a holy God, and now sin is something we should steer clear of because it will end up having negative repercussions in the here and now. To remain relevant as a church some things must change and we must always present the Gospel within the cultural context but where is the balance? I understand that, in general, theology is not taught a whole lot in churches any more (when is the last time you heard a sermon on sanctification?), but if we do believe hell exists it seems odd to me that there is no place for it to be taught on. I have no desire to criticize pastors who provide a service I could never aspire to, but the approach to hell I would want to suggest would be to tell the Truth about it. Frances Schaeffer talked about the need to pre-evangelize. He said the cultural climate produced people who didn't even realize their need to be saved. For the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be good news, one must first understand the bad news and hell is part of the bad news, which the gospel provides an antidote to. Shouldn't pastors find a way to provide an environment that teaches about the reality of hell? I am sure it will not be a favorite subject to teach on, but neither is stewardship but out of necessity it is done. I'd pray hard that the Holy Spirit would allow me to communicate the Truth and the Truth in love and then I would want to fulfill my obligation to the congregation I am accountable to God for by telling them that there is a hell and one needs to keep that in mind when choosing a belief system to live under.

Even among evangelicals, what is taught about hell from the pulpit may vary but I would want to make sure the basics were covered. Eternity is forever; we are either in heaven or hell. Heaven is with God, hell is eternal separation from God. Hell may literally be a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth as some places in the Bible describe it or it may be more like the trash heap at the edge of town that other parts of the Bible describe it as, but either way it is existence completely apart from and without aid from our creator. This notion raises the question of what salvation is. Is salvation escaping eternal damnation or is it walking with our creator for all eternity beginning the moment we first believe? I would answer the question with a resounding BOTH! If you accept Jesus as your salvation merely for the "fire insurance" then you miss out on participating with Him in what He is doing in the world here and now, you have missed out on walking with a best friend who is big enough to handle anything. If you walk with Christ because you want to experience the here and now with almighty God and absolutize that, you have left out a big part of the equation. It is so much easier to walk this life when you have a view that gives perspective to life in this world for our limited number of years.

In seeing this shift, I do wonder how much more things will change. I wonder what ideas are subtly changing in my very lifetime that I do not even notice because I am apart of it. I pray that God will give me the strength and courage to be diligent in thinking, even, or especially in spiritual matters. May we find the balance of questioning and searching for Truth and still live a life of faith.

My Church!

2006-03-30T09:22:00.000-05:00

We tend to be quick to share what we don't like about things so I just wanted to make note of what I really like and appreciate about my church. I know it is not perfect, and there are plenty of other good churches around but today I am giving my church props. Maybe I'll send it to my pastor and it can be a bit of sunshine between letters people may send him about not liking the casual clothes he wears or saying he does not do altar calls often enough or whatever the complaints of the day are.

Our pastor is an incredible communicator. His messages are not overly deep, but if you dare to apply the message you will find the application is incredibly deep. Love your enemies is a simply statement, but a hard one to live out.

We have a very cool environment to invite people to, with a lot of great volunteers to make it all run smoothly.

The church has great facilities for kids, and has quality, innovative programming for kids.

I like having a simple purpose and vision that I can get my head and hands around.
1) Our goal is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
2) We aim for intimacy with God, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders. We get really good teaching on all aspects of this statement.

The aim really is about changed lives. Rarely do we talk about numbers. We talk about how serving anywhere or giving anywhere is done because we buy into the vision of the church and want to be a part of that.

The music rocks. I loved kicking off the Easter service last year with a great rendition of "It's A Beautiful Day."

Everything that is done is done with absolute professional quality that rivals anything out in the marketplace.

Baptisms are done frequently and provide a good opportunity for us to see how real lives are being changed. Baptisms are done live, but what the person being baptized wants to share as a testimony is videotaped and shown right before the live baptism.

The church reimburses us for childcare when we have to hire a babysitter to go to small group. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is. They talk about the high value they place on small groups, and they back it up by providing money for childcare.

Having said what I appreicate about my church, I wonder how that measures up with what is the purpose of the church? Maybe that will be next week.

Heart of the Gospel

2006-03-23T09:35:00.000-05:00

If I were to ask you what the gospel is, if you have been in church for the last several years you would probably say something like "The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ" or "The gospel is God offering Jesus as our Lord and Savior" or something like that. While those responses are true, I ran into a debate this week that made me think through what the gospel is and how does it play out in real life.

In the debate that was shared with me, one person said the gospel above all else is revealed, propositional truth. It is such a common thought to me that it slips by my mind without even questioning or thinking about it. "The Bible is God in verbal propositional form" was drilled into my head in college and I have come to accept it. However, my friend who heard that phrase shuttered. He argued that to leave the gospel at propositional truth is to sell it short. He'd rather us say that the gospel above all else in an invitation to a redeemed relationship with your creator. Hmmm…now I am going to have to think a minute.

If I were to say the gospel boils down to revealed propositional truth I would be intending that to mean that the gospel shares and affirms Christ's life, death, the human story, humanities need for a savior and the solution Christ provided. The gospel is a statement of what has happened, as well as directions for living and for salvation. I know many would take the definition farther and say the gospel is the truth of what has happened historically, and is the true story of how humanity is separated from God and Christ's offer to bridge that gap. Great stuff, but I can see how my friend would see this as something less than the whole story. In fact, my friend said, " To leave the Gospel at propositional truth is, in my opinion, to sell it short. I don’t believe that God heaped the sin of the world on his son so that we would believe something was true but to restore a relationship between creator and creation. We don’t give God glory by saying we believe something, we give him glory by letting him love us to the point where we are changed from the inside out and begin to reflect his glory in the way we live our lives." Wow - that really strikes a chord with me. I would not say I disagree with it, but I would admit it makes me uncomfortable (and I show my moderness). Haven't we been taught all of our lives that to accept Christ all one has to do is believe that he died on the cross for our sins, and accept his sacrificial gift for us? That is definitely belief based. Where in my friends definition does it call us to make a willful choice to submit to God as Lord and Savior? Does he really intend to do away with the modern way of approaching salvation so completely?

At the heart of it, the question arises - so what? Why does it matter what we view as the heart of the gospel? Two immediate answers come to mind. 1) How are lives transformed? Are lives transformed because they hear something and believe it to be true or are lives transformed as they enter into a relationship and experience that relationship within the guardrails of Truth? So many pastors and teachers are out there teaching that belief/education leads to a change in actions. If you know how bad partially hydrogenated oil is for you, then you will not partake of foods containing that, or if you know your body is Christ's temple then you will take care of it, etc? There is a whole lot that I intellectually know but do not do. Personally I think lives are changed as we interact with God, and with God's people. Try describing God. You can list his attributes and that is a valid description of God, or you can describe God by telling who has been to you in different times of life and that will have a richer meaning. Not to say that God's attributes are not valid, but rather that how we experience God shapes how we view God even more than the truth we know about God. I know this gets into a touchy area, because we have to remember to keep our experiences of God within the context of what we know to be true about God. Point being, I think we have greater opportunity to see transformed lives through sharing the gospel as an invitation to connect with our creator, rather than presenting the gospel mainly as propositional truth. As I mentioned earlier, I want to see that relationship evaluated within what we know to be truth, but I'll trust that if we are truly in relationship with Christ that he will bring us back to those core truths.

The second reason our answer to the question matters so much is, how do we structure the church? If we believe the heart of the gospel is propositional truth then we will create environments accordingly and if we believe the heart of the gospel is relationship we will structure our church environments differently. I trust that by being intentional, we can do both!

Rules...

2006-03-15T22:46:00.000-05:00

I am blessed with a rich heritage. My dad grew up as an eigth generation PK (pastor's kid.) They were truly good Christian people who served the Lord well, but that generation and denomination, had a whole lot of rules! "Remember no baseball on the Lord's day, face cards are evil and Christian do not go to the movies." I doubt my dad kept all of the rules, but he did keep his faith and grew up to be a ninth generation pastor, making me a PK. My parents resolved to create a home environment that was not as rules oriented as the homes they had grown up in. I very much appreciate my parents resolve, but there is still something about being raised by Christians, among Christians, with church on Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night that breeds rules into a person. Being a Christian becomes synonomous with (among other things) I don't drink, I don't cuss, I don't smoke, I don't watch R rated movies, etc.

I moved on from my parents home to a Christian university with lots of rules. I knew about the rules going in and decided that whether I agreed with them or not, I could obey the rules for the given length of two years. I had freely chosen to go to a Christian school and so I was willing to abide by those rules. I sensed, in most of the rules, the purpose for the rules and so it was not too hard to live within those rules.

However, I did not bother to think through whether I believed in those rules or not, I just knew I had agreed to obey them and I would. I am kind of stubborn like that. Not a bad policy for the school, but when I graduated I did not have any of my own rules, which brought me to ask - in this age of freedom - do we need rules? I searched my Bible high and low and asked God for his discernment on rules and found many things to be permissible, and even was comfortable that I could do them to the glory of God. I am not sure if I could go back to college and agree to live by the old rules.

My friends seemed to be arriving at the same conclusions and we have enjoyed that freedom for the last 10 years or so, but now I find myself asking the question, "Hey shouldn't we have a higher code of conduct than the world? Whatever happened to whatever is pure, whatever is noble…?" The pendulum has swung from excessive rules to very few hard set rules. I have been guided by the philosophy John Ortberg presents when he encourages Christians to be known by their love. He comments that Christians seem to be known by what they don't do rather than what they do, because it is so much easier to be known for what we don't do than to be known for our love. I totally agree with Ortberg, but if one is not intentional this can be taken too far. I am all for grace and I am all for Truth. I do not want to go back to the days where holiness is judged by rule keeping , but I do want to get back to being intentional. If I can intentionally take in a PG - 13 movie and think through the worldview it portrayed, the parts it left out, and maybe even consider what it says about my culture then great, but I don't want to fall into the trap of taking in whatever comes across the screen unevaluated and I want to keep in mind that permissible is not necessarily beneficial.

Perhaps it all comes down to being right with God. If we are truly right with God then we can agree with St. Francis (I think it was) in his statement "Love God and do as you please," but I do think we need to be diligent in being intentional about what we partake in. I know without a doubt, I can break all the rules and God will love me just as much as He did before I broke all the rules, so there is nothing in my behavior that I can do to earn God's love or salvation - He has already taken care of that. But having said that, I also want to make sure that I choose to walk a path that brings the most glory to God. My path may engage me in my culture and I may see things that are not edifying, but hopefully that will be an evaluated experience that speaks to me about the brokenness in our culture and provides a good background from which to be able to present the good news that we can experience wholeness, forgiveness and connectedness with our creator through Jesus Christ. Partaking in such activities will require extra emergence in the Scriptures and a well - developed spirit that helps with discernment. Of course, I hope the majority of what we, as Christian, take in is thoroughly wholesome, but I believe we have to balance that with the opportunity we have to be connected with our culture and the ability and freedom God gives us to experience a wide variety of things with discernment

TONE

2006-03-09T00:14:00.000-05:00

I'm still studying the idea of "blessings" but it is more multi-faceted than I would have guessed. In the meantime, let me share a little observation that hit me last week. A speakers TONE really does matter. I guess the idea should not be a surprise to any of us. I remember being told as a kid, "It is not so much what you said, as it is the tone with which you said it" and that tone usually conveyed disdain, anger, or something unpleasant.

Recently, I read about how important the tone of a discussion or attitude of a teacher is to Emergents, even to the point that the tone may be more important than the actual content being communicated. The idea shocked me because while I value the tone with which a speaker shares his or her message, I did not consider it anywhere near as important as the content. I still agree with that, however I had an interesting experience this week that made me start thinking about it again.

Last Sunday I sat home with a sick little boy and a sick mother-in-law. One of them, I'll let you guess which one, wanted to watch the Sunday morning preachers, so I obliged. We watched one particular well-known pastor. He preached about the decline of American culture and I am not sure what else. His content was absolutely solid but I was so uncomfortable listening to him. It reminded me of Len Sweet's book (great book by the way) "Out of the Question Into the Mystery" where he talked about us being so caught up in being right, and valuing being right over valuing relationships. The pastor's content was unassailable, but I, a Christian, was offended by the vehemence with which it was delivered, the absolute assuredness that his take was the right take on the issues of the day. There is nothing wrong with being confident in your beliefs but the confidence and strong tone somehow seemed to combine to discredit him in my eyes as just another far right, fire and brom stone preacher. I am sure he is an upstanding Christian seeking to bring glory to God but I had to wonder if I was uncomfortable, how would this appear to someone not yet a follower of Christ?

I am not advocating having a particularly seeker sensitive church service, but I think there has to be a better way to communicate. I have to believe there is a way to hold fast to Truth and be unashamed to share it, but in a manner that exudes grace, and values and respects other people and their conclusions.

Not Another Purpose Sermon

2006-03-01T23:53:00.000-05:00

I know God uniquely created me with special gifts, which I should utilize to His glory, but if I hear another sermon or lecture on living a life of purpose I may gag. I happen to work in an environment where I often hear speakers giving "talks." Some of the "talks" are sermons, some are lectures and some are purely motivational, but lately many of these talks are on finding your purpose in life and going for it. Surprisingly, I agree with all they say, but what offends me is what they do not say. It does not seem fair to get your audience excited and encourage them to go for it without sharing the rest of the story. Thinking through and getting oneself in alignment with ones purpose is great, but the bills still have to be paid, time still has to be put in, and skills still have to be honed. Shouldn't they mention it may take you a while to get to the point where God can use your special gifts, maybe throw in something about still being responsible while seeking to fulfill your life vision, or how about the fact that going for it may be costly? I am reminded of Joseph. Joseph went through an awful lot before he could be used by God to fulfill his God given mission. I have to think that if Joseph's jail cell had been visited by today's purpose preachers, Joseph would have assumed he needed to figure out His role and place in this world just as soon as he got out of the joint.

While I think it is valuable to live intentionally in a way that allows us to fulfill our God given role, I think maybe we are missing the boat in the way we are communicating this. My encouragement would be to seek God and earnestly seek to find your passions, gifts, skills and purpose, but if it does not match with where you are in life, pray about it. God may tell you clearly what to do - take the risk and go for it, go back to school, take the pay cut to work in your field, connect with so and so, but God may also be silent on the matter and say nothing more than "keep seeking me."

I have a friend who used to teach that wherever you were, you could always be doing something to be working towards preparing yourself for who you think God would have you be. At the time I was working in a field that was totally unrelated to my passions or life purpose, so upon hearing my friends advice I made a goal of reading a book a month on the subject of my passion and I subscribed to a few periodicals that would keep me current in the field. When my big opportunity comes I want to be prepared, but in the meantime I am content to seek God and follow his path, even when I do not see how it is working towards my goal for my life. Queen Esther, "For such a time as this" ring any bells?

I've got to agree with John Maxwell here, in that success is not a destination but rather a journey. I appreciate the purpose preachers wanting us all to live fulfilled lives for God's glory and our joy, but I wish they'd share the rest of the story so those not there yet would not leave disillusioned. I'm grateful that they get us thinking and started on the journey, but for a journey to be successful we need a realistic road map.

What Emergents Are Teaching Me

2006-02-22T23:26:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to be in Philly, Trenton, NYC and now Orlando between last weeks post and now, so consequently I have not written anything new. However, I thought I'd post something I had written and posted on Keith Drury's site (http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/) on what I have learned as I have been reading emergent/postmodern literature. It'll give you an idea of where I am coming from.

I jumped in and started reading postmodern and then emergent literature several years ago. I have bought into it and I have disowned it, and now am trying to live out that which I agree with. I realize I have been changed by my involvement in the postmodern/emergent discussion. I roll my eyes at certain "modern" ways of doing things, and yet I do not embrace all of the emergent teaching. In thinking it over, here are some of the ways I have grown through my interaction with the emergent movement:.

I have developed an appreciation for mystery and a realization that I can't prove all things, and I may not have all the answers I thought I did. Surprisingly, this does not leave me in a crisis of faith. I can deal with not having anything close to all of the answers as long as I remember I walk with a God who is with me through all of life, whether I understand it or not. This openness to mystery has given me the ability to savor wonder, as well as to humble me in realizing how amazing God is and how little I am. I hope it also makes me more approachable when I seem less sure I can prove it all, but am still fully sure of who God is and hold a firm belief that He wants us reconciled and walking with Him.

I've learned the concept of missionality and it so resonates with my desire to see Christianity touching the community and world around it. So many people find the church irrelevant - Christian and non- Christian, but I think if we, the church, can embrace this concept of missionality we can change that. I must admit I am still at the beginning stages of actually doing it.

I have learned a greater appreciation for context. I like the high value Rob Bell and others place on the Jewish culture and the setting in which much of the Bible took place. Considering others context also helps me understand how they arrive at the conclusions they have come to. I hope it makes me a more thoughtful person when I can think through the context that has shaped me and how I arrived at my own conclusions - by design or by default.

I have learned that story touches people's heart because all great stories reflect the truth of the ultimate story. Note: There is an ultimate story so the story is not taking away from that Truth but rather presenting it on a level people can connect with even if they are not ready to own the story.

I have learned so much about relationship and am still waiting to see how it all plays out. Propositional Truth matters, but it will never be realized, learned or accepted apart from the concept of relationship. We (evangelical Christian community) have always known that if we can get people reconnected to God then we don't need to worry about the lifestyle, because God will take care of that, but I think many of us forgot to apply that to ourselves. We can live our Christian lives on the basis of that which we know to be true intellectually, and what the Bible says about origin, meaning, morality, and destiny, but not allow it to change our hearts like a relationship can. We can learn to follow the rules, and we can learn to think biblically correct on any subject, but it feels a bit cold and empty if that is all it is. There is a God who passionately loves me and wants to invite me to be involved in what He is doing in His world - it needs the guardrails of a strong knowledge of scripture but it invites me to walk through life moment by moment interacting with a God who is there. Life in relationship with God is something infinitely more exciting to call people to rather than four points to agree with to be saved. Not sure I am expressing this one well, but it is a work in progress.

Too much context and too much political junk gags me, but I'll admit I have started thinking about how often the church has bypassed its role to help those in poverty. It is about more than staying in community with one another and taking care of those within the family of faith. While I often disagree with the extreme environmentalist left, I do agree that we Christians have an obligation to be stewards of God's creation. Being stewards of creation is nothing new but I think we have loosely determined the definition of stewards and have been happy to focus more on the dominion mandate than we have been willing to focus on what being a steward of creation means here and now.

I still have much to learn and will look forward to reading new and old, but my emergent friends have passed on a healthy dissatisfaction with the way things are and I look forward to being actively involved in my local mega church to be a small part of a relevant Church.

Strangely enough, my not particularly emergent pastor seemed to utilize some of the best of the emergent philosophy last Sunday. He preached about how we as the church need to be a place where sinners want to come because they enjoy being among us, and they feel comfortable in our presence. He shared stories and he did a great job of sharing the Jewish context of some common parables. He was authentic and humble and told the non-Christians present that we don't have it all figured out but we have found a relationship with our heavenly father. It illustrated to me how one could incorporate some of the strengths of the emergent church into an existing, not particularly emergent culture.

2006-02-22T17:45:00.000-05:00

A friend forwarded an interesting article to me the other day. It dealt with some of the issues I raised last week and so I thought I would post a few paragraphs for those interested.

by David Batstone

...
"Maybe because I spent so many years in poor regions of the globe I could never accept the prayer-in-blessing-out approach to faithful living. Straight to the point, I have known too many devoted Christians for whom life did not bring them material blessing. Their children still died of infectious diseases that plagued their village. They could not avoid the violence that dictators and ideologues so often use to cow the powerless. Their territory did not expand because their only path for survival was a daily labor with their hands. Yet they did not lose faith, or cease praying for God's blessing.

As I ponder on their lives, I find a more fitting theology for God's presence and action in the world to be laid out in the book of Hebrews. There we are encouraged to have "faith in things not yet seen," and are offered models of individuals who tried to lead devoted lives that honor God. We read that some of them did receive great material blessings, while others ended up in the dens of lions or stoned due to their principled living. We learn, in other words, that God does hear their prayers and loves them profoundly, but it does not always bring them material riches or expanded territory."

This coming week I am hoping to look at examples of blessings in the Bible and see what I can learn there.

Blessed or...

2006-02-15T23:30:00.000-05:00

I am curious if anyone else has this little argument going on inside their head…it is how we use the terminology blessed and how we attribute things to God's goodness. I hear people, all the time, say things like the weather was horrible, but God was good and our flight left on time. I also find myself saying, "I am so blessed that "X" did not happen to me" but then for the rest of the day I am disturbed by having said it and I wonder if I inferred that the person who had "X" happen to them was not blessed. For example, I was having a conversation at the therapist's office with another mother and we were lamenting the fact that it can be challenging to get multiple therapies in for our children, week in and week out, but on the other hand we felt so "blessed" that our children are as functional as they are. I do feel blessed to have my child and I am happy he is in as good of shape as he is, but I do not think I would be any less blessed if my child were less functional. I am blessed because God walks with me through life, and He has provided a way for me to be in a restored relationship with my creator that will last forever. God is good whether we make our flight or miss our flight, and the logic follows in even more serious cases. God is still good if our loved ones suffer injustice, disease or even death.

I know part of the answer to my frustration with this terminology is that we tend to be flippant with using the phrase "God is good", and we also tend to use blessed in strange ways, but another part of me says a dilemma still exists. How do we express our gratefulness for our circumstances without feeling like we are grateful to God only because of the good things He has done for us and hence infer that our response might be otherwise were our circumstances different?

Ideas?

I have one idea but am not sure if I am satisfied with it. My only thought would be to say that I am free to use "God is good" and "I am blessed" as long as I continually remind myself that God is good all the time regardless of what I see around me, and that I am blessed regardless of my circumstances. I need to live with the reminder of what blessed truly means and with a reminder that I do not fully know all that is going on around me and how it will play out eternally. It allows me to say "God is good" with a good perspective, but it does not seem like an expression of gratefulness because it is what I would have said regardless of the circumstance. I guess I could just say, "God I am really grateful for this, and I know you would love me just as much even if you had not given me this gift, but I am grateful and say thank you for what you have given me."

I am not saying that we should not say we are blessed, or proclaim that God is good. I am saying I want to be intentional with my speech and my thoughts about being blessed. I am also admitting that I am trying to think through how to authentically thank God when something particularly good happens to my loved ones or me.
I know, I know, I think too much!