This realization came to be more focused in the last few months and last week really zeroed in on a finer point which hopefully will transform... well, me.
Though I didn't have clear definition, I began realizing my nature as a reflector in college. I had played racquetball for years and had been beat by some outstanding players (being beat by someone really good always raises the level of your own game) for a number of years. While in college I would regularly go play with class mates. It was obvious when we got started warming up I had played much more than most of the guys I played with. It usually went this way, I would smear them in game 1, then in the subsequent games it was a closer match but they seldom won. This continues even today when I play racquetball (though I'm not nearly as good or as young as I used to be).
As a kid growing up our Air Force family moved all over the country (world in fact) and because of that I've always been a sort of chameleon. Accents come and go over time depending on where I live and for how long. I'm currently shifting back to no accent after coming back to Colorado with a Nashville influenced southern twang.
In one of my church staff positions there was a church member who had a handicap which caused him to stutter and slur his words and to make interesting hand motions and body gestures. Whenever I conversed with him I found myself, I had to be very careful to keep myself from mimicking his behavior. Not because I was making fun of him, but I was reflecting him in our conversations. And as I noticed it with this person, I began to see it with others in other ways. It had never been something noticeable until now because mimicking people who appear "normal" was no big deal. But mimicking someone who had difficulty talking or carrying on a conversation was considered rude and it made me notice what I typically did. Most everyone I interacted with I began to realize I would mimic the personality of the interaction back to the person.
In my final years in Nashville I began to see this in light of my responses to people I interacted with. Whatever attitude co-workers would bring to meetings with me I would reflect right back at them. So those who were civil and interested in getting things done created a great deal of productivity. Those who wanted to be troublesome and wrangle... well, it typically wasn't a calm and settled meeting and reaching consensus and moving forward was difficult.
At first I didn't see it. I found myself wondering what caused this transformation in me from Mr calm who rolled up his sleeves and worked with others to get amazing things done to Mr I Can Dig My Heels In Too. Was I Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Was there some crazy chemical transformation that took place when things got tense?
Then I put two and two together (with some other stuff too) - the same personality trait which caused my racquetball game to raise or lower to match the competition, allowed me to transform my style of communication geographically, and caused me to mimic people in my interactions with them was what was driving what I thought were crazy personality shifts at work (and in other relationships).
It was this last year I really began to put this all together and begin to be able to verbalize that I am a reflector. A great gift from Father which I had never recognized or taken the time to really contemplate. A few weeks ago as I began to think about this trait Father quietly began to help me see that in interactions I was to reflect someone other than the person I was interacting with. WOW! Being a reflector now had a whole new meaning and established a whole new set of goals. I set out to try to reflect Jesus in all my interactions. It was a new lease in life. In those instances where I naturally bounce back the personality of the person I'm interacting with, I began focusing on reflecting back Jesus instead.
Then, this last week it all came home to rest. Jesus reflected Father. The goal and purpose of His life was Father. So should be the goal and purpose of my life. And as such, I should be striving to reflect the character and personality of Father. (This is an additional blog article I'll try to add in the next few weeks... the over-emphasis some put on Jesus. That should stir some debate.) So, my new goals are to spend more and more time contemplating the character and Way of Father and in so doing hopefully begin more and more to reflect Him to everyone I interact with.
I am a reflector!
Showing posts with label Revelations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Revelations. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The United State of More
Several years ago I began a journey (although I truly recognize this journey has been going on my whole life). While I have not arrived at the end of the journey, I continue to find myself further and further from what I once called home and more and more a foreigner where I live.
One evening, a young lady in a mall kiosk who was not from the United States was very reluctant to allow me to leave her kiosk without purchasing the item which peaked my interest. It was an item for my wife and the cost was significant I wanted to check with my wife before making the purchase.
"You're afraid I won't come back, aren't you?" A question to which she reluctantly responded "Yes". I knew something was up because she kept "sweetening" the deal. Then after she'd sweetened it all she could, she made it where I had to buy right then and the offer was not good if I walked away and came back. I told her I was not buying without consulting my wife. I asked her why she was so insistent that I buy right at that moment. She then sheepishly explained to me that in the mall were hundreds of people with money in their pockets to spend. She explained that Americans walked into the door of the mall with an amount in mind they would spend and that she "knew" if I left I would likely spend the money in my pocket before getting back to her. I assured her I would return after I found and consulted my wife. She skeptically nodded as I walked away.
My wife was less than a hundred yards down the mall walking toward me. We set out to return to the kiosk as I told her of both the product and the young lady selling it. When we arrived back at the kiosk the look on the young ladies face was one of true astonishment. I'm sure my face must have had some puzzle written on it as well as I was already contemplating the the sad state of our culture that we were both so predictable and so "spend" oriented. We talked briefly about the fact that I actually returned. She indicated I was the first in her months of working at the kiosk. During that conversation I learned she was a student from a foreign country who came to America during the Christmas season because there was so much money to make. That night I bought the one item I originally stopped to explore, but none of the extras she was so tenacious to expand the offer with. That night was a monumental lesson on my journey.
Since that night, the veil has been lifted and I began to truly see the greed and lust for more which consumes not only America but mankind in general. Father used a simple conversation with this young lady to help me see the sad state of more "we" humans were living in. Now that the veil has been lifted I see it more and more and more (perhaps the opposite state of more?) in advertisements on TV, in pitches I hear in stores, from the mouths of "Christians" who are obsessed with how much more they can give to their church if they excel in their economic efforts. More, more, more. One car is not enough for a family of two because you cannot both have significant careers to climb up that financial ladder to get and acquire more. Two bedrooms is not enough, you have to have a bigger and more expensive house (even sometimes so you can do more for God with it). More savings. More insurance to protect what you have. It's a vicious cycle and one that has drug those of us living in America into the United State of More.
I've left that country. Oh, I still have to struggle with it. But it becomes easier and easier each step I take away from where I used to live. I have less money and fewer things but I have found I need and want less. With less focus on getting and "protecting" stuff I found it has made room for me to think more about Father. My gaze has turned from more of stuff to more of Father and him having more of me. I have left the United State of More.
One evening, a young lady in a mall kiosk who was not from the United States was very reluctant to allow me to leave her kiosk without purchasing the item which peaked my interest. It was an item for my wife and the cost was significant I wanted to check with my wife before making the purchase.
"You're afraid I won't come back, aren't you?" A question to which she reluctantly responded "Yes". I knew something was up because she kept "sweetening" the deal. Then after she'd sweetened it all she could, she made it where I had to buy right then and the offer was not good if I walked away and came back. I told her I was not buying without consulting my wife. I asked her why she was so insistent that I buy right at that moment. She then sheepishly explained to me that in the mall were hundreds of people with money in their pockets to spend. She explained that Americans walked into the door of the mall with an amount in mind they would spend and that she "knew" if I left I would likely spend the money in my pocket before getting back to her. I assured her I would return after I found and consulted my wife. She skeptically nodded as I walked away.
My wife was less than a hundred yards down the mall walking toward me. We set out to return to the kiosk as I told her of both the product and the young lady selling it. When we arrived back at the kiosk the look on the young ladies face was one of true astonishment. I'm sure my face must have had some puzzle written on it as well as I was already contemplating the the sad state of our culture that we were both so predictable and so "spend" oriented. We talked briefly about the fact that I actually returned. She indicated I was the first in her months of working at the kiosk. During that conversation I learned she was a student from a foreign country who came to America during the Christmas season because there was so much money to make. That night I bought the one item I originally stopped to explore, but none of the extras she was so tenacious to expand the offer with. That night was a monumental lesson on my journey.
Since that night, the veil has been lifted and I began to truly see the greed and lust for more which consumes not only America but mankind in general. Father used a simple conversation with this young lady to help me see the sad state of more "we" humans were living in. Now that the veil has been lifted I see it more and more and more (perhaps the opposite state of more?) in advertisements on TV, in pitches I hear in stores, from the mouths of "Christians" who are obsessed with how much more they can give to their church if they excel in their economic efforts. More, more, more. One car is not enough for a family of two because you cannot both have significant careers to climb up that financial ladder to get and acquire more. Two bedrooms is not enough, you have to have a bigger and more expensive house (even sometimes so you can do more for God with it). More savings. More insurance to protect what you have. It's a vicious cycle and one that has drug those of us living in America into the United State of More.
I've left that country. Oh, I still have to struggle with it. But it becomes easier and easier each step I take away from where I used to live. I have less money and fewer things but I have found I need and want less. With less focus on getting and "protecting" stuff I found it has made room for me to think more about Father. My gaze has turned from more of stuff to more of Father and him having more of me. I have left the United State of More.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Expectations (wrong ones at that)
I'm not really sure where it crept in, but this concept that "Christians" should always be "Johnny on the spot" for every other "Christian" or "non-Christain" is all messed up.
Somewhere along the way what Jesus did (demonstrated in his daily life) and commanded has been warped to the point of insanity.
Jesus had all the power to do literally anything he wanted to as he walked the earth. Anything. There was nothing outside the realm of his abilities. He was equipped to accomplish anything. Anything! (Have I made that point clear enough yet?) He spent everyday walking among person after person, threw crowds of crowds of people who had needs. And not just the obvious needs we tend to be able to see and know.
The other day, in passing, a friend seemed to emphasize that a stranger had offered to go out of his way to help someone with whom I am acquainted. The inference seemed to be, "look how this person I barely know indicated a willingness to go completely out of their way to help me" while you who are my friend didn't make the same offer knowing my situation.
This is so messed up. It probably also fuels much of the discontent on the part of "Christians" with Father not "helping them in their times of need". Jesus who was capable of helping everyone with their immediate perceived needs did not always do so. In fact, if you create an equation of his ability to help vs his actual "assistance in a persons time of need" the result would be in negative numbers so big we could not imagine.
Jesus had a goal and purpose while he walked among us. A purpose he spoke to and demonstrated. A purpose which, if he truly is the example each of us who follow him is to emulate, should dictate our own way of life.
His goal was not to do good things for the Kingdom or for the Father. He was not here to make our lives easier or to provide relief for those in difficulty. His goal and purpose WAS Father. Along the way, Father would show Jesus people in whom Father was already doing something and Jesus would know that Father would have him partake in Father's own work at some level. It was in those individual's lives where Jesus unleashed the power bottled up inside him. It was not Jesus operating from a "look at all the potential to help I have... now where can I do good things for Father?" It was where would Father have me when and what would He have me do while I am there. Nothing more. Nothing less.
"The Father is the goal and purpose of my life" dictates a great deal about the way we live our lives. It indicates a clear determination to only be doing that which we sense Father calling us to be involved in. It indicates a complete surrender to our creator to only be involved in doing what He indicates we are to be doing. It destroys the mentality that "Christians" are to always be doing everything in their power to solve other people's problems.
So, no, I won't go out of my way to help you like that other guy. Maybe his path has been guided by Father to be that person for you, but mine has not at this point in both our lives. Hence, choosing to be where Father wants me when He wants me to be there, and doing what He wants of me while there will not at this point prompt me to offer to be your wholesale savior of temporal things.
Somewhere along the way what Jesus did (demonstrated in his daily life) and commanded has been warped to the point of insanity.
Jesus had all the power to do literally anything he wanted to as he walked the earth. Anything. There was nothing outside the realm of his abilities. He was equipped to accomplish anything. Anything! (Have I made that point clear enough yet?) He spent everyday walking among person after person, threw crowds of crowds of people who had needs. And not just the obvious needs we tend to be able to see and know.
The other day, in passing, a friend seemed to emphasize that a stranger had offered to go out of his way to help someone with whom I am acquainted. The inference seemed to be, "look how this person I barely know indicated a willingness to go completely out of their way to help me" while you who are my friend didn't make the same offer knowing my situation.
This is so messed up. It probably also fuels much of the discontent on the part of "Christians" with Father not "helping them in their times of need". Jesus who was capable of helping everyone with their immediate perceived needs did not always do so. In fact, if you create an equation of his ability to help vs his actual "assistance in a persons time of need" the result would be in negative numbers so big we could not imagine.
Jesus had a goal and purpose while he walked among us. A purpose he spoke to and demonstrated. A purpose which, if he truly is the example each of us who follow him is to emulate, should dictate our own way of life.
"You've heard me tell you, 'I'm going away, and I'm coming back.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I'm on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life."John 14:28
His goal was not to do good things for the Kingdom or for the Father. He was not here to make our lives easier or to provide relief for those in difficulty. His goal and purpose WAS Father. Along the way, Father would show Jesus people in whom Father was already doing something and Jesus would know that Father would have him partake in Father's own work at some level. It was in those individual's lives where Jesus unleashed the power bottled up inside him. It was not Jesus operating from a "look at all the potential to help I have... now where can I do good things for Father?" It was where would Father have me when and what would He have me do while I am there. Nothing more. Nothing less.
"The Father is the goal and purpose of my life" dictates a great deal about the way we live our lives. It indicates a clear determination to only be doing that which we sense Father calling us to be involved in. It indicates a complete surrender to our creator to only be involved in doing what He indicates we are to be doing. It destroys the mentality that "Christians" are to always be doing everything in their power to solve other people's problems.
So, no, I won't go out of my way to help you like that other guy. Maybe his path has been guided by Father to be that person for you, but mine has not at this point in both our lives. Hence, choosing to be where Father wants me when He wants me to be there, and doing what He wants of me while there will not at this point prompt me to offer to be your wholesale savior of temporal things.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Pain is weakness leaving the body
So it's been a few days (okay months) since my last post. I know... I know... successful bloggers post regularly. Guess that just means I'm not a successful blogger.
A few years back I attempted to get back into the gym for some weightlifting. I learned several things.
Probably more if I took the time to contemplate it. But that's not why I started this post. One of the interesting quotes I learned from the guy I lifted with was:
One of the things I've been learning on my journey is the concept that any growth in my walk is usually associated with pain. This is a huge conundrum for those who don't know Father. Most folks seem to hold a view that if there is a "god" he, she, or it would always have everything rosy in the lives of that which he, she, or it created. A god who allows, even initiates pain in the lives of those who are dedicated to follow is not only foreign but to them a major stumbling block to any belief.
What makes this even more interesting was a recent Facebook post by a friend who is trying to find her way on a path of spiritual enlightenment and is grappling with God vs all other "systems". Here's two posts that appeared almost back to back:
And then...
Of course this line of questioning was all brought on by the tragic earthquake in Haiti but it did make me realize something very important. I'm not 100% sure where the last quote comes from but I'm guessing it's some alternative-to-God system of spirituality that's out there. As I contemplated what I was reading I realized often people hold the "one true God" of their perception to a different standard than any other religious teaching they explore. It's not okay for the God of the Bible to allow or cause bad things to happen to good people... in fact, in their thinking that's why "He" doesn't really exist, yet, it's noble and natural in other spiritual systems they often consider viable for suffering to bring about maturity. Have you encountered this before?
A few years back I attempted to get back into the gym for some weightlifting. I learned several things.
- If you are active in a weightlifting program now, don't quit. Getting started back is a pain... literally, on many levels.
- I'm not as young as I used to be.
- As I've gotten older bigger numbers aren't as important as they used to be (age, weights, lbs., etc.)
Probably more if I took the time to contemplate it. But that's not why I started this post. One of the interesting quotes I learned from the guy I lifted with was:
Pain is weakness leaving the body.
One of the things I've been learning on my journey is the concept that any growth in my walk is usually associated with pain. This is a huge conundrum for those who don't know Father. Most folks seem to hold a view that if there is a "god" he, she, or it would always have everything rosy in the lives of that which he, she, or it created. A god who allows, even initiates pain in the lives of those who are dedicated to follow is not only foreign but to them a major stumbling block to any belief.
What makes this even more interesting was a recent Facebook post by a friend who is trying to find her way on a path of spiritual enlightenment and is grappling with God vs all other "systems". Here's two posts that appeared almost back to back:
I was talking to my friends about the various thoughts regarding GOD and my Friend said if God was really real, why would all those people in Haiti be suffering so much... I was speechless and Like DA I dont know??
And then...
If you look at the Mystic law of the universe suffering is a necessity in order to awaken compassion and enlightenment ~?~ but why with out no food and water??
Of course this line of questioning was all brought on by the tragic earthquake in Haiti but it did make me realize something very important. I'm not 100% sure where the last quote comes from but I'm guessing it's some alternative-to-God system of spirituality that's out there. As I contemplated what I was reading I realized often people hold the "one true God" of their perception to a different standard than any other religious teaching they explore. It's not okay for the God of the Bible to allow or cause bad things to happen to good people... in fact, in their thinking that's why "He" doesn't really exist, yet, it's noble and natural in other spiritual systems they often consider viable for suffering to bring about maturity. Have you encountered this before?
Thursday, August 27, 2009
He chose wisely when given a choice of cups...
One of the privileges I have along my journey is walking alongside others at various stages in their own journeys. It allows me to reflect on this curious path Father seems to have me on and gives me the opportunity to conduct "fruit inspections" along the way. (checkups to verify if I am growing or stagnant in the journey)
Today, I read an interesting part of Galatians in my current singular focus reading of The Message:
Over the years I've seen so many people "living for God" in their weekly routines of going to church and striving to find other things they can do that will be blessed by God. Career, parenting, even giving... living for God means understanding some principles taught to them by some ecclesiastically endorsed person and then seeing how they can align their lives to apply those principles in order to find blessing or be blessed by God in their endeavors.
This is important along the journey! If we take a step back from the popular teaching of the day and re-read the stories of Jesus' time here walking among us, it's pretty clear to see that this was how He lived 24/7 for almost 1,000 days. In the history of the world no one has had the "gifted-ness" and understanding of principles to live by like Jesus. And yet, He chose to enter into what God was doing around Him rather than doing His own thing based on the resources and teaching at His disposal. We even see Him tempted in the Wilderness to live the way we tend to try to live the "Christian life"... getting what is destined to be ours, quicker, by submitting to serve another master. It's right... we know we are supposed to "have" all this so we should pursue it, right?! Jesus resisted the temptation to have it all right now even though that which He was offered was in line with what He knew He was ultimately destined to enter into along the path Father had for Him... and more immediately than Father's way for Him. Given the choice between two cups... the cup of endulgence (which was mostly truth mixed with a little -or huge- error) or the cup of surrender, entering into what Father was doing in and around Him.
What will you chose?
Today, I read an interesting part of Galatians in my current singular focus reading of The Message:
The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: "The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that's the real life." 12 Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: "The one who does these things [rule-keeping]continues to live by them." —Galatians 3:11b-12
Over the years I've seen so many people "living for God" in their weekly routines of going to church and striving to find other things they can do that will be blessed by God. Career, parenting, even giving... living for God means understanding some principles taught to them by some ecclesiastically endorsed person and then seeing how they can align their lives to apply those principles in order to find blessing or be blessed by God in their endeavors.
Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you.
This is important along the journey! If we take a step back from the popular teaching of the day and re-read the stories of Jesus' time here walking among us, it's pretty clear to see that this was how He lived 24/7 for almost 1,000 days. In the history of the world no one has had the "gifted-ness" and understanding of principles to live by like Jesus. And yet, He chose to enter into what God was doing around Him rather than doing His own thing based on the resources and teaching at His disposal. We even see Him tempted in the Wilderness to live the way we tend to try to live the "Christian life"... getting what is destined to be ours, quicker, by submitting to serve another master. It's right... we know we are supposed to "have" all this so we should pursue it, right?! Jesus resisted the temptation to have it all right now even though that which He was offered was in line with what He knew He was ultimately destined to enter into along the path Father had for Him... and more immediately than Father's way for Him. Given the choice between two cups... the cup of endulgence (which was mostly truth mixed with a little -or huge- error) or the cup of surrender, entering into what Father was doing in and around Him.
What will you chose?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Obsessions
While traveling the other day I heard all sorts of people talking about all kinds of stuff that occupies their conscious thoughts. I don't remember the precise topic of the conversation that pulled it all together for me, but I do remember I was sitting on a plane overhearing the person behind me explaining how brilliant his business prowess was to the captive audience in his row. I pulled out my phone and wrote a reminder to myself of this simple thought:
It was a theme I overheard often in conversations on this trip - both conversations I had and had not participated in. In that one moment overhearing the conversation (which could hardly be called a conversation as it was very one sided, but nonetheless...) behind me on the plane Father spoke a quiet phrase that caused all the little subtle things He had been highlighting to me throughout the trip to come to rest on this one simple statement.
It's something we all struggle with at some level and in various ways. Father's been teaching me the lessons of manna from heaven and the feeding of the five thousand over the last year and I had not really put one plus one together to get this one yet (I know, one plus one equals two, but I'm learning this new math that doesn't always add up like all the math I grew up learning).
How amazing is it that we can become so obsessed, even as those who profess to follow Christ, with controlling things over which we truly have no control. Well, maybe some of you reading this may feel more comfortable if I tag on "no control except that which Father permits", but then is that really in our control at all?
Jesus walked the earth for three years totally out of control. (that should stir some head scratching) He was very careful to emphasize that:
And perhaps the most interesting snippet nestled in this explanation by Jesus is:
A large majority of well meaning ministries across the world are geared to teaching "principles" from the Bible, that if you follow them precisely you will be in control of things in your life. I believe Jesus would say "poppycock!"
Obsessed with controlling things you can't control.
It was a theme I overheard often in conversations on this trip - both conversations I had and had not participated in. In that one moment overhearing the conversation (which could hardly be called a conversation as it was very one sided, but nonetheless...) behind me on the plane Father spoke a quiet phrase that caused all the little subtle things He had been highlighting to me throughout the trip to come to rest on this one simple statement.
It's something we all struggle with at some level and in various ways. Father's been teaching me the lessons of manna from heaven and the feeding of the five thousand over the last year and I had not really put one plus one together to get this one yet (I know, one plus one equals two, but I'm learning this new math that doesn't always add up like all the math I grew up learning).
How amazing is it that we can become so obsessed, even as those who profess to follow Christ, with controlling things over which we truly have no control. Well, maybe some of you reading this may feel more comfortable if I tag on "no control except that which Father permits", but then is that really in our control at all?
Jesus walked the earth for three years totally out of control. (that should stir some head scratching) He was very careful to emphasize that:
John 5:19 (MSG)
19 So Jesus explained himself at length. "I'm telling you this straight. The Son can't independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does.
John 5:30 (MSG)
30 "I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders.
John 5:36 (MSG)
36 But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John's witness. It's the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me.
John 5:44 (MSG)
44 How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God?
And perhaps the most interesting snippet nestled in this explanation by Jesus is:
38 There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously.
39 "You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me!
A large majority of well meaning ministries across the world are geared to teaching "principles" from the Bible, that if you follow them precisely you will be in control of things in your life. I believe Jesus would say "poppycock!"
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Not alone out here in the uttermost parts...
One of the interesting parts of my journey has been the initial isolation you feel when you begin the trek down a different path. The further I go down the path the more I come across others who are on the similar journeys. Today I discovered the blog of Jim Palmer. Just reading his current post, "you can't get there from here (or can you)", I found myself excited. One of the sentences that got me really excited was this one:
I too have gone through a period where I was not quite sure what I had become and didn't know how to answer the question "are you a Christian"? I can say that the only folks I've come across who question my relationship to God are those who are typical church goers. Especially those with whom we attended church or served on their church staff at some point. Most think we've had some deep hurt from the church and have turned our backs on it. We get that blank look that comes after you tell them and it's obvious they are hoping we'll get over it at some point and return. But when you've had steak you can't settle for SPAM any longer when you don't have to.
On the other hand, when we come across unbelievers or others going down this same path we are on, we don't get those questions or the stares. And oddly enough, the unbelievers just notice something "different" about us and because we're not all "churchy" they actually open up and pour out their souls to us. The opposite of the reactions we used to get, and never noticed before because we were too church-strung, of the blank stare and obviously trying to think of an answer that allows them to slip away from the encounter never to have to see us again.
So, as Jim I don't cling to, and actually shy away from, the term "Christian" these days because of the association that it conjures in the mind of others. I've landed on the term Christ Follower. It's much more descriptive of where I am and where I am headed.
i don’t feel the need to cling to the label “Christian,” and i am okay with people who don’t think i am one.
I too have gone through a period where I was not quite sure what I had become and didn't know how to answer the question "are you a Christian"? I can say that the only folks I've come across who question my relationship to God are those who are typical church goers. Especially those with whom we attended church or served on their church staff at some point. Most think we've had some deep hurt from the church and have turned our backs on it. We get that blank look that comes after you tell them and it's obvious they are hoping we'll get over it at some point and return. But when you've had steak you can't settle for SPAM any longer when you don't have to.
On the other hand, when we come across unbelievers or others going down this same path we are on, we don't get those questions or the stares. And oddly enough, the unbelievers just notice something "different" about us and because we're not all "churchy" they actually open up and pour out their souls to us. The opposite of the reactions we used to get, and never noticed before because we were too church-strung, of the blank stare and obviously trying to think of an answer that allows them to slip away from the encounter never to have to see us again.
So, as Jim I don't cling to, and actually shy away from, the term "Christian" these days because of the association that it conjures in the mind of others. I've landed on the term Christ Follower. It's much more descriptive of where I am and where I am headed.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Projecting the familiar on to that we've not experienced
So as I cruise the Internet reading various blogs I continue to astounded and marvel at the pervasive habit of projecting the tenants of something with which we are familiar on to something we've never experienced.
Okay, guilty as charged. I too did this for a couple of decades. From the time I began to make my way into "full time ministry" I interpreted everything I read in the Bible through the filters of stuff I saw and understood around me. In other words, when I read "church" in the New Testament I projected what I saw a church to be in my culture and time onto what I read. Almost as if the Ephesian "church" looked and functioned just like First Church Anytown I was familiar with. They had Sunday School in the morning on Sundays right? Well, that's a little too simplistic but you get the idea. When I read "pastor" I projected what I had always known as a "pastor" back on to what I was reading. When I read Paul's letter to the church at Galatia I read it envisioning a group of people gathered on a certain day seated in orderly fashion where a designated person read the letter as part of the "service" being conducted. I envisioned a "pastor" speaking
That's a dangerous flaw in the way we read and study. I know, I know, that's why we do all that deep Bible study and ferret out the meanings and culture and history. But the fact remains, my impression of what the New Testament Christ Followers were like was tainted by my own experience. I knew nothing else.
Last year I began to escape the decades of filters that had for so long kept me from understanding the life and ministry of Jesus and what He left to his disciples. The mission He left them. Not the mission I was taught being projected back on to what He said at the end of Matthew, but more of what He was truly saying to them. Since then, my eyes have been opened to understand things from my reading that had before never quite connected. Now, the rationalizations I had made as to why something I read in the Bible didn't seem to fit with other stuff I read in the Bible began to no longer be necessary.
I'm anxious at some point to try once again to learn to read Greek and may attempt (yeah right) Hebrew. I'm wondering how much of what we read in a translation could be skewed by that which the translator is familiar with and takes on today's meaning rather than the meaning for which it was written. I know. I know. This is a Pandora's box. But nonetheless, one worth considering.
Okay, guilty as charged. I too did this for a couple of decades. From the time I began to make my way into "full time ministry" I interpreted everything I read in the Bible through the filters of stuff I saw and understood around me. In other words, when I read "church" in the New Testament I projected what I saw a church to be in my culture and time onto what I read. Almost as if the Ephesian "church" looked and functioned just like First Church Anytown I was familiar with. They had Sunday School in the morning on Sundays right? Well, that's a little too simplistic but you get the idea. When I read "pastor" I projected what I had always known as a "pastor" back on to what I was reading. When I read Paul's letter to the church at Galatia I read it envisioning a group of people gathered on a certain day seated in orderly fashion where a designated person read the letter as part of the "service" being conducted. I envisioned a "pastor" speaking
That's a dangerous flaw in the way we read and study. I know, I know, that's why we do all that deep Bible study and ferret out the meanings and culture and history. But the fact remains, my impression of what the New Testament Christ Followers were like was tainted by my own experience. I knew nothing else.
Last year I began to escape the decades of filters that had for so long kept me from understanding the life and ministry of Jesus and what He left to his disciples. The mission He left them. Not the mission I was taught being projected back on to what He said at the end of Matthew, but more of what He was truly saying to them. Since then, my eyes have been opened to understand things from my reading that had before never quite connected. Now, the rationalizations I had made as to why something I read in the Bible didn't seem to fit with other stuff I read in the Bible began to no longer be necessary.
I'm anxious at some point to try once again to learn to read Greek and may attempt (yeah right) Hebrew. I'm wondering how much of what we read in a translation could be skewed by that which the translator is familiar with and takes on today's meaning rather than the meaning for which it was written. I know. I know. This is a Pandora's box. But nonetheless, one worth considering.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Schizophrenia Not Allowed
One of the interesting realizations along my journey has been how schizophrenic the traditional views of God, His Word, and His Ways tends to become.One is the way we tend to look at the Old Testament and the New Testament in different ways. While there are more ways we look at the front and back of the Bible with differing views, this only deals with one particular aspect of our perception.
It occured to me that we tend to look at the Old Testament as stories holding truth about what we should and should not do as God's people, but we tend to look at the New Testament as primarily a record of what we should do. It's like we turn the magic page between old and new and the very nature of the complete story changes.
I remember one of the major themes of the Old Testament is the fickleness of the God's people. Story after story after story details how the people of God ride the roller coaster of loving God and following Him and then ignoring God and going their own way; or worse yet intermixing the ways of God with the ways of the God-less.
Wouldn't it make sense that this theme played out throughout the entire record of God's redeeming work? Or did that propensity for man going his own way magically disappear between Malachi and Matthew? I'm beginning to realize that the theme indeed continues as we see the closest followers of Jesus, after the resurrection, return to fishing where Jesus finds them and puts them back on the right path (sound like an Old Testament theme to you?). Then there's the page turn between John and Acts. The very first act in the "church age" was for the closest followers of Jesus to create the first nominating committee and "throw the dice" to determine who should replace Judas among the twelve. (I personally believe this was taking matters into their own hands as we later see God replace Judas with Paul; His work, His time, His way vs our work for Him, our way, our timing)
Where did the disciples see this method of determining the will of God? Do we have record of them sitting under a tree or beside a road with Jesus during the three years they were with him so they would know where to go and what to do? Some have challenged my interpretation by pointing out that Jesus was filled with the Spirit and was able to hear the voice of His Father that way, while the disciples at this point had not received the gift of the Spirit so they had to use another method. Again, I don't see Jesus instructing them to do that or showing them how in the record we have of His time with them.
I would cite more examples, but that would incite a riot here and I'm not after that. What I'm trying to do from this point forward is test everything I see in the New Testament (as well as the Old) against what I see Jesus doing and what I hear Jesus saying in the record of His time here among us. If there's a difference between what Jesus said and did, it leaves room for considering if that was something we've added to what Jesus and His Father intended.
So, to me, this thread of the fickleness of God's people continues throughout the story. So where are the turns back to the old ways? What events in Matthew-Revelation are the record of God's people returning to old ways instead of following the new way Jesus showed and left them? What pieces of an old way of life do we live out today because "it's in the New Testament" even though it's in there to show that even after Christ's sacrifice for us was fulfilled we still battle with the draw to our old ways of unbelief? At least I'm watching for those now as I read the New Testament too.
It occured to me that we tend to look at the Old Testament as stories holding truth about what we should and should not do as God's people, but we tend to look at the New Testament as primarily a record of what we should do. It's like we turn the magic page between old and new and the very nature of the complete story changes.
I remember one of the major themes of the Old Testament is the fickleness of the God's people. Story after story after story details how the people of God ride the roller coaster of loving God and following Him and then ignoring God and going their own way; or worse yet intermixing the ways of God with the ways of the God-less.
Wouldn't it make sense that this theme played out throughout the entire record of God's redeeming work? Or did that propensity for man going his own way magically disappear between Malachi and Matthew? I'm beginning to realize that the theme indeed continues as we see the closest followers of Jesus, after the resurrection, return to fishing where Jesus finds them and puts them back on the right path (sound like an Old Testament theme to you?). Then there's the page turn between John and Acts. The very first act in the "church age" was for the closest followers of Jesus to create the first nominating committee and "throw the dice" to determine who should replace Judas among the twelve. (I personally believe this was taking matters into their own hands as we later see God replace Judas with Paul; His work, His time, His way vs our work for Him, our way, our timing)Where did the disciples see this method of determining the will of God? Do we have record of them sitting under a tree or beside a road with Jesus during the three years they were with him so they would know where to go and what to do? Some have challenged my interpretation by pointing out that Jesus was filled with the Spirit and was able to hear the voice of His Father that way, while the disciples at this point had not received the gift of the Spirit so they had to use another method. Again, I don't see Jesus instructing them to do that or showing them how in the record we have of His time with them.
I would cite more examples, but that would incite a riot here and I'm not after that. What I'm trying to do from this point forward is test everything I see in the New Testament (as well as the Old) against what I see Jesus doing and what I hear Jesus saying in the record of His time here among us. If there's a difference between what Jesus said and did, it leaves room for considering if that was something we've added to what Jesus and His Father intended.
So, to me, this thread of the fickleness of God's people continues throughout the story. So where are the turns back to the old ways? What events in Matthew-Revelation are the record of God's people returning to old ways instead of following the new way Jesus showed and left them? What pieces of an old way of life do we live out today because "it's in the New Testament" even though it's in there to show that even after Christ's sacrifice for us was fulfilled we still battle with the draw to our old ways of unbelief? At least I'm watching for those now as I read the New Testament too.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Unity in the Spirit
I had an unusual experience this week and it brought me to a greater appreciation for the concept of unity in the Spirit. When I look around and see all the disunity in what's supposed to be the communities of believers I see some managed unity, but nothing like this experience this week.
A God-appointment orchestrated via Facebook brought me back across a former high school mate, Steve Villanueva. While we each knew of each other during our high school years and that we both were involved in church, that was pretty much it as far as being friends.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="260" caption="We Have Been Lied To"]
[/caption]
We met at a local Macaroni Grill for about two hours. The first 10 minutes was about the formalities... where and what since high school. Then Steve told me he had a book that was published and was being released this month (We Have Been Lied To by Stephen Villanueva which is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target now, and Borders later this month). WOW! How cool is that.
As we continued to talk throughout lunch I was overwhelmed with how two guys, vaguely acquainted for four years over two decades ago could come together after barely knowing each other so long ago and having zero contact since could be so on the same page. I listened intently as he laid out the things God had been teaching and showing him. Recalling the same stories from Scripture with the revolutionary understanding which God had given me over the last couple of years. It was as if we had been hanging around with each other and heard the stories time after time so we were able to speak as one.
Then it hit me. I had always talked about the unity that should exist for believers because the same Spirit was alive in both, but never had I experienced it quite like this. I had even joked that the Spirit was not schizophrenic so when there was disunity one or the other was not led by the Spirit. Story for story, words lining up with words, experiences akin to the others. It was truly amazing.
Then I began to reflect on the work God had done to inspire the writing of the Bible into the amazing book of unity it is today and was further in awe of the moment.
If you are walking in the Spirit, then the Spirit in you should be in full agreement with the Spirit alive in another Christ Follower. Have you experienced a relationship/conversation like this? If not, wonder which Christ Follower is the one not consistently walking in and being led by the Spirit?
A God-appointment orchestrated via Facebook brought me back across a former high school mate, Steve Villanueva. While we each knew of each other during our high school years and that we both were involved in church, that was pretty much it as far as being friends.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="260" caption="We Have Been Lied To"]
[/caption]We met at a local Macaroni Grill for about two hours. The first 10 minutes was about the formalities... where and what since high school. Then Steve told me he had a book that was published and was being released this month (We Have Been Lied To by Stephen Villanueva which is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target now, and Borders later this month). WOW! How cool is that.
As we continued to talk throughout lunch I was overwhelmed with how two guys, vaguely acquainted for four years over two decades ago could come together after barely knowing each other so long ago and having zero contact since could be so on the same page. I listened intently as he laid out the things God had been teaching and showing him. Recalling the same stories from Scripture with the revolutionary understanding which God had given me over the last couple of years. It was as if we had been hanging around with each other and heard the stories time after time so we were able to speak as one.
Then it hit me. I had always talked about the unity that should exist for believers because the same Spirit was alive in both, but never had I experienced it quite like this. I had even joked that the Spirit was not schizophrenic so when there was disunity one or the other was not led by the Spirit. Story for story, words lining up with words, experiences akin to the others. It was truly amazing.
Then I began to reflect on the work God had done to inspire the writing of the Bible into the amazing book of unity it is today and was further in awe of the moment.
If you are walking in the Spirit, then the Spirit in you should be in full agreement with the Spirit alive in another Christ Follower. Have you experienced a relationship/conversation like this? If not, wonder which Christ Follower is the one not consistently walking in and being led by the Spirit?
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
There IS truth to be learned from Star Wars (and beyond!)
... watching the final installment in our Star Wars epic watch-a-thon (several evenings through episode 1-6) a thought occurred to me...(haha, check out this article I found looking for the picture to the right...)
Thinking of our brother Aaron Horton's now famous (with me anyway) quote:
No matter who you are, where you’re from, or what perspective you have in life, all of us can recognize a common theme emerging in the world. We see it in the stories we love, we see it in history, we see it in our own lives. There is beauty and innocence, interrupted by tragedy and sadness, followed by longing for rescue, and hope for a better day. We love the stories best where a hero comes along to set the world right and bring a new day to pass where we return to that place of beauty and innocence again…changed of course…but back home again. That story is older than the middle ages, the roman empire, or even the Bible. It is the story written on the very heart of God…woven into our lives because we were made in His image.
... I began to realize that if I believe what Paul talks about in Romans and understand that we were all created in the image of our father originally, only we've lost touch with it through our sinfulness...
... it becomes apparent that there WILL be hints of the character of God in all the stories even the fallen man tells. In the things we (mankind) hold to as ideals; love, peace, hope, etc., and the things we loathe; hate, lust, jealousy, even from a worldly perspective; we can see and point to God. Because God's image is "in our DNA" the hints of that image will be present in the work done by the creator's creation. WHOA!
That's why so many of the amazing quotes in movie after movie, book after book, song after song, etc. after etc. can point to the essence of real truth! Sometimes even more honest about it than we tend to be in our own religious lives:
Anakin Skywalker
"Mom, you said that the biggest problem in the universe is no one helps each other."
Qui-Gon Jinn
"Your focus determines your reality."
Anakin Skywalker
"Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden."
Qui-Gon Jinn
"Remember, concentrate on the moment. Feel... don't think. Use your instincts."
Luke
"Jedi Masters don't go crazy -- they just get eccentric."
... just a few... many more there are! (sorry, could not resist)
I think the depth of Aaron's insight sunk in to a whole new level last night! All those stories which portray pieces of kingdom truth just askew from our naturalized man point of view.... hints of truth from the wrong foundation/perspective... Wow!
Press on!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Nature Illustrates True Life
Today I came across an article about a recent study at Exeter University citing how a significant majority of captive-bred carnivores reintroduced to the wild are unable to adapt and die. (Most Reintroduced Carnivores Die in the Wild.) It was very interesting and timely given one of this week's observations and revelations as I was reading Mark.
As my two readers (probably my mom and some obscure person who has nothing interesting to do) will know, last year I set out on my first "through the New Testament with filters of what I'd been told removed" to see what Jesus really did say and not say about "church". It was an amazing journey.
The turn from Acts to Romans was very interesting. To date the record which had been recorded was of the Apostles and Jesus' closest (Jewish) followers using the Law and Prophets in the attempt to convince other Jewish individuals who had also been raised from day one to expect a Messiah that Jesus whom they crucified was the Messiah they had spent their whole life expecting. Then, in Romans we see the clash of cultures. Paul obviously begins to wrestle with how to communicate with this new audience who was not raised with those expectations of a Messiah and truly have very little background in things which were givens in the Jewish culture. I was astonished as Paul began to explain that the evidence of our Creator was evident in everything around everyone which left those who had not heard without excuse. That reality began to grip me. For so many years I had been using things of nature to illustrate things of the Kingdom. As if the Kingdom should be grateful for how nature lent itself to help it's cause. But what I began to understand was that you can see God and His ways in the things of nature because that which is created is always a reflection of the one who did the creating. It prompted me to begin looking at things all around me a little differently.
The other day I was reading in Mark, I don't exactly remember where while I'm sitting here now, and read something that made me think about how cautious those who handle wild animal rescues are about creating too much dependence in those whom they are caring for because too much human contact will limit the chances for re-introduction back into the habitat to which they belong. In fact, it could cause their death. Suddenly it hit me. The institutions most "Christians" grew up in need to learn this lesson from nature. Most of those who claim to be Christians are not capable of surviving and growing on their own because the "rescuers" have over cared for them. There is little or no hope of the rescued being able to go back into their native environments and feed themselves so they can be interacting as those sent out. And the article was about those who were raised in captivity being so at risk being reintroduced to the wild. Sit back and think about that in relationship to how many children "raised in the church" struggle as they get older and find themselves "in the real world". Think about how ineffective individuals are in their workplace... especially comparing the tsunami of resources leveled every week at equipping them for ministry. I'd wager to say more resources leveraged weekly against "discipleship" than has ever been available in time and yet individuals have less influence on those around them than ever before.
Maybe we've just been bred to be addictively dependent on our care givers and cannot be reintroduced to the very place we are most needed. I know for Julie and I this has been a true struggle. Trying to find a way to thrive in relationships where we can do the most good but were encouraged most of our "Christian lives" to avoid often leaves us dumbfounded.
As my two readers (probably my mom and some obscure person who has nothing interesting to do) will know, last year I set out on my first "through the New Testament with filters of what I'd been told removed" to see what Jesus really did say and not say about "church". It was an amazing journey.
The turn from Acts to Romans was very interesting. To date the record which had been recorded was of the Apostles and Jesus' closest (Jewish) followers using the Law and Prophets in the attempt to convince other Jewish individuals who had also been raised from day one to expect a Messiah that Jesus whom they crucified was the Messiah they had spent their whole life expecting. Then, in Romans we see the clash of cultures. Paul obviously begins to wrestle with how to communicate with this new audience who was not raised with those expectations of a Messiah and truly have very little background in things which were givens in the Jewish culture. I was astonished as Paul began to explain that the evidence of our Creator was evident in everything around everyone which left those who had not heard without excuse. That reality began to grip me. For so many years I had been using things of nature to illustrate things of the Kingdom. As if the Kingdom should be grateful for how nature lent itself to help it's cause. But what I began to understand was that you can see God and His ways in the things of nature because that which is created is always a reflection of the one who did the creating. It prompted me to begin looking at things all around me a little differently.
The other day I was reading in Mark, I don't exactly remember where while I'm sitting here now, and read something that made me think about how cautious those who handle wild animal rescues are about creating too much dependence in those whom they are caring for because too much human contact will limit the chances for re-introduction back into the habitat to which they belong. In fact, it could cause their death. Suddenly it hit me. The institutions most "Christians" grew up in need to learn this lesson from nature. Most of those who claim to be Christians are not capable of surviving and growing on their own because the "rescuers" have over cared for them. There is little or no hope of the rescued being able to go back into their native environments and feed themselves so they can be interacting as those sent out. And the article was about those who were raised in captivity being so at risk being reintroduced to the wild. Sit back and think about that in relationship to how many children "raised in the church" struggle as they get older and find themselves "in the real world". Think about how ineffective individuals are in their workplace... especially comparing the tsunami of resources leveled every week at equipping them for ministry. I'd wager to say more resources leveraged weekly against "discipleship" than has ever been available in time and yet individuals have less influence on those around them than ever before.
Maybe we've just been bred to be addictively dependent on our care givers and cannot be reintroduced to the very place we are most needed. I know for Julie and I this has been a true struggle. Trying to find a way to thrive in relationships where we can do the most good but were encouraged most of our "Christian lives" to avoid often leaves us dumbfounded.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Operation De-tox - 365 days and counting
A year ago today was the day Julie and I began a process a writer calls de-toxing. Little did we realize how much in our life would be changing in that year. Little did we realize how much that would begin to realize how much more needed to change.
Since moving back to Colorado I had the opportunity to hang out with a guy named John White, US Coordinator for DAWN ministries. John's background is similar to my own in that he has religious oriented education and served for a number of years as a church staff member before his journey led him outside the walls of an established organizational structure and into this wild world where we now find ourselves. On my first occasion to hang out with John we both told our stories. It was very interesting when John indicated his own de-toxing experience has lasted for almost two decades so far. And here I was thinking we were "almost there."
So, here's some observations after a year of our own experience (side note... don't misread any one observation as a standalone... they all must be considered in light of and interdependent upon the others...):
So, as we enter our second year of de-toxing today I'm more committed than ever to figure out what it means that the Kingdom of Heaven/God is here... now! After about 22 years of focusing on Jesus as "the truth" I want to see why early followers called themselves "The Way." I want to learn to become more immediately sensitive to seeing God and His work all around me. I want to see more clearly and learn how to communicate the simple truth that God's testimony to Himself exists in everything alive around us. And, I want to do my best to be so on His agenda that all these ideas can change or turn on a dime so I can follow Him wherever and whenever.
Since moving back to Colorado I had the opportunity to hang out with a guy named John White, US Coordinator for DAWN ministries. John's background is similar to my own in that he has religious oriented education and served for a number of years as a church staff member before his journey led him outside the walls of an established organizational structure and into this wild world where we now find ourselves. On my first occasion to hang out with John we both told our stories. It was very interesting when John indicated his own de-toxing experience has lasted for almost two decades so far. And here I was thinking we were "almost there."
So, here's some observations after a year of our own experience (side note... don't misread any one observation as a standalone... they all must be considered in light of and interdependent upon the others...):
- We are spiritually richer and deeper. I'm guessing due to the fact that we MUST feed ourselves and can't depend on spoon feeding that comes as "going with the flow" of the busy life inside the walls.
- We have missed the social comfort provided by the established organizational approach.
- More people matter. Having made a move during the first year of our de-tox experience it has become obvious to us how much we depended on the established organization to find and maintain friendships. After nearly five months of standing on our front porch longing for God's prompting to engage one of our neighbors I was delighted to finally have an extended conversation with someone on our street this last week. It was exhilarating! I never longed for relationships with those around me or those I'd encountered until my social crutch was removed. Maybe this phenomenon of having comfortable friendships was unique to Julie and I, but nonetheless we are so much more observant as to who God has placed us around and opportunities to engage them in conversation.
- Less seems to promote more. (Now before I go any further with this one and lest some say it wouldn't be the same for everyone, I have to say I agree. I've watched numerous folks "walk away from church" because they had a bad experience or found other things to entertain themselves.) I can't tell you the number of times during 22 years of "serving the church" either as a staff member, or a denominational employee and lay leader I heard the phrase "we need deeper Bible study." I won't say we've spent more time in "personal study" in the last year, but I can tell you we've spent more "as you are going" time learning and looking. Here's the biggee in this one... more impact on how we think and how we live. Almost like our spiritual lives were on auto-pilot before and we were free to be distracted by all the other stuff going on around us. Now we find we wrestle more often and more instantaneously, without requiring a sermon or song to prompt us with things like forgiveness, faith, hope, grace, and more.
- Relationships are still vital and valuable. I have a whole new understanding of the phrase "forsake not the assembling of yourselves together." This past year I realized I have always interpreted this statement in the context of what I have always known rather than interpreting what I've always known in the context of that statement.
- People think we've gone off the deep end. It's interesting to hear some of the "theories" circulating out there about why the Kendall's have "turned their backs on God." (I guess that's another thing that's been great about this experience... we truly are outside the rumor mill - even though we still hear some of the funny hypotheses.)
- We struggle more. This is not the "ah ha" some of our skeptical friends are hoping for related to our journey. And it goes hand in hand with the next observation.
- Greater sensitivity to God's prompting. Now if we can just be quicker and deeper in obedience. Hence the reason we struggle more.
- Seeing more people more like it appears Jesus and God see them. It's interesting on this side of things how much time and energy is spent trying to get the unchurched into church and then how much worry really exists about how much they might mess things up in there. So, lots of time is invested trying to turn those on the outside, who may come in, into little us-es. And often it's not the non-negotiable principles of The Way which we have to change. It's the social aspects that make us uncomfortable.
- Control. I still remember a conversation I had with a staff member about some amazing things that were happening outside the walls and how quickly, though there was a desire to mass produce what took months/years to slowly germinate, the issue of control entered into it. Since then I've been consistently amazed how much "control" is a key issue. And the truly humorous thing about it is how little control there truly is within the structure. Only the sense of control exists.
- We are not alone out here. Others precede us. Others are joining us out here. Some were never "in" but are out here ahead of us.
- I still need more de-toxing. I keep referring to "us" and "we".
So, as we enter our second year of de-toxing today I'm more committed than ever to figure out what it means that the Kingdom of Heaven/God is here... now! After about 22 years of focusing on Jesus as "the truth" I want to see why early followers called themselves "The Way." I want to learn to become more immediately sensitive to seeing God and His work all around me. I want to see more clearly and learn how to communicate the simple truth that God's testimony to Himself exists in everything alive around us. And, I want to do my best to be so on His agenda that all these ideas can change or turn on a dime so I can follow Him wherever and whenever.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Sometimes a simple phrase can completely captivate me...
Jesus speaking to a crowd. He began with words about John the Baptist, whose followers had just left after bringing their imprisoned master's question about whether Jesus was the one for whom they had been waiting. Then, he addressed those who had shrugged their shoulders at Jesus in several of the cities where he had worked the hardest. Then, it looks like he pauses, almost catching himself on the edge of sinning in his anger and talks to his Father. After that, a short and tender conclusion to his message which included this simple statement:
What a great short descriptive sentence of Jesus' way of life. I think it's part of being exactly where the Father has for you to be, at exactly the appointed time He has for you to be there, and while there, doing what He brought you there to do. Nothing more. Nothing less. That's "life|simple"!
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. — somewhere between verse 28 & 30 in Matthew 11
What a great short descriptive sentence of Jesus' way of life. I think it's part of being exactly where the Father has for you to be, at exactly the appointed time He has for you to be there, and while there, doing what He brought you there to do. Nothing more. Nothing less. That's "life|simple"!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Self Righteous, Self Serving, Isolationists
So one of the many things I have the privilege of doing is helping tend the Web Store for a friend's band. Recently the band has been challenged by an opportunity to perform in a very public and noteworthy venue. That's prompted some interesting responses from those who claim to be fans. Today, I saw an email from a supposed fan that pushed me over the top.
In his email he was chastising the band for calling themselves a "Christian" band but playing "secular" venues and music. He pointed out verses of Scripture (out of context mind you) which he thought helped him build his case for an isolationist approach to living "the Christian life". What he must have forgotten was the verse which was in his email signature and went out on all of his emails:
How can you "Go" if you stay in the walls? And it actually carries a meaning of "as you are going". How can you preach lest you are in venues that provide and audience for the message? He likens the band to Satan who elected for power and tried to overturn God. He called for them to drop out of the commitment to participate in the venue in order to keep commitments to "the Christian community".
I watched the End of the Spear the other day. First time I'd seen it. One of the things that struck me about the movie was the comment of the dad about the missionaries not shooting the natives if the missionaries were in danger because the natives were not ready to meet Jesus and the missionaries were.
Too bad this guy who sent the email was a missionary who was ready to shoot the missionaries for going to the natives.
In his email he was chastising the band for calling themselves a "Christian" band but playing "secular" venues and music. He pointed out verses of Scripture (out of context mind you) which he thought helped him build his case for an isolationist approach to living "the Christian life". What he must have forgotten was the verse which was in his email signature and went out on all of his emails:
" And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. "—Mark 16:15
How can you "Go" if you stay in the walls? And it actually carries a meaning of "as you are going". How can you preach lest you are in venues that provide and audience for the message? He likens the band to Satan who elected for power and tried to overturn God. He called for them to drop out of the commitment to participate in the venue in order to keep commitments to "the Christian community".
I watched the End of the Spear the other day. First time I'd seen it. One of the things that struck me about the movie was the comment of the dad about the missionaries not shooting the natives if the missionaries were in danger because the natives were not ready to meet Jesus and the missionaries were.
Too bad this guy who sent the email was a missionary who was ready to shoot the missionaries for going to the natives.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Today's Quote of the Day
So this was the quote of the day served up by my custom home page today:
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.Isa 53:4-5 NIV
What an amazing phrase I really never was struck by before. I guess I understood the concept and read what it said, not how it said it. Read it again. Wow!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
1 John 2:6... the same kind of life Jesus lived
"Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived."
...the same kind of life Jesus lived. What does that mean? All of it? Certain pieces of it? This could be the next single-focused reading pursuit!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
All things point to Him!
Several months ago Aaron, one of my fellow followers, explained to me a concept he had been developing a Bible study around. The conversation began with my noting the humor of our friend Ray's synopsis of chick flicks to his wife... it was a very simple and to the point list of three or four things which most every chick flick contained as the marker points of the plot. Aaron's focus took it a little deeper and definitely was on the more serious side of the same subject. I asked Aaron to send to me a written quote of his point. Here it is:
The other evening I was leisurely riding west on Highway 7 in the Brighton CO area (which if anyone knows the area, they would know I was headed toward the gorgeous mountains) as the sun was setting. I was in awe of the picture God was painting before me. I began to think about how things we see, stuff we experience, literally everything we encounter (at least the natural stuff... laws of gravity, workings of the world, etc.) illustrates the creator who spoke it into being if we will only look for Him in those things. They tell us as much about Him and about His ways as do the words of Scripture and as does the life of His Son. So, God... here's lookin' at you!
No matter who you are, where you’re from, or what perspective you have in life, all of us can recognize a common theme emerging in the world. We see it in the stories we love, we see it in history, we see it in our own lives. There is beauty and innocence, interrupted by tragedy and sadness, followed by longing for rescue, and hope for a better day. We love the stories best where a hero comes along to set the world right and bring a new day to pass where we return to that place of beauty and innocence again…changed of course…but back home again. That story is older than the middle ages, the roman empire, or even the Bible. It is the story written on the very heart of God…woven into our lives because we were made in His image.
The other evening I was leisurely riding west on Highway 7 in the Brighton CO area (which if anyone knows the area, they would know I was headed toward the gorgeous mountains) as the sun was setting. I was in awe of the picture God was painting before me. I began to think about how things we see, stuff we experience, literally everything we encounter (at least the natural stuff... laws of gravity, workings of the world, etc.) illustrates the creator who spoke it into being if we will only look for Him in those things. They tell us as much about Him and about His ways as do the words of Scripture and as does the life of His Son. So, God... here's lookin' at you!
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Cornerstone
This morning I was reading in 1 Peter 2 about Jesus as the cornerstone rejected by men. It's interesting how after you take the filters off you begin to consider applications outside of the ones you've always been taught and to which you've held on for decades. We typically gravitate toward embracing less than what God wants for us.
I read about Jesus being the cornerstone. A cornerstone that God has set as the foundation. A cornerstone "the builders" have rejected.
Wow! As I remember back to Jesus affirming Peter's profession that He was the Christ (Messiah), the son of the living God, I am reminded that Jesus explained to His closest followers that it was upon this realization and profession, which He notes is not revealed by flesh and blood but can only come from God, that His church would be founded.
As I reflect on two millennia's worth of a centralized focus on "building our churches" I'm reminded of the outcry from "God's chosen people" for an earthly king to lead them when God had already revealed Himself time after time as their sovereign and one true God. A God like no other was not enough. We had to have a king like everyone else around us.
Our God took on the form of man so He could reveal to us His true nature and teach us about Himself. In those days the rulers were kings and the domain over which they ruled were their kingdoms. Jesus explained the truth about God in terms the people could understand. Thus, an ultimate Kingdom with one true King made much more sense to those who lived in a world of kings and kingdoms. John Revell, a friend of mine who is writing a book helped me to think about this in regard to the fact that those of us living in America or similar countries who don't have kings and kingdoms struggle to understand some of the fullness of kingship. Hence, some of the extremely rich understanding we could glean from thinking about God as the ultimate king whose kingdom is unmatched is lost in our lack of familiarity with kings and kingdoms.
It always intrigues me how often new gatherings of Christ Followers shortly after they first gather long to have a building where they can gather; a building they can call their own. In the Old Testament we see a people who, though they already had "a king", were crying out for one like the nations surrounding them had. Likewise, this morning I find myself intrigued that Christ Followers almost always seem anxious to set a cornerstone for an earthly building so they can have their structure like, and be like the other religions that surround them, when they already have a cornerstone unlike any other. Why do we keep exchanging the things not of this world given to us by God for the things of this world? Could it be that this exchange began as early as the first generation of Christ Followers? Could it be that two millenia of established "church" practices are also diluted from the things not of this world given to us by Jesus?
I read about Jesus being the cornerstone. A cornerstone that God has set as the foundation. A cornerstone "the builders" have rejected.
"Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone in the place of honor.
Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation
will never have cause to regret it...
The stone the workmen threw out
is now the chief foundation stone.
For the untrusting it's
a stone to trip over,
a boulder blocking the way."
Wow! As I remember back to Jesus affirming Peter's profession that He was the Christ (Messiah), the son of the living God, I am reminded that Jesus explained to His closest followers that it was upon this realization and profession, which He notes is not revealed by flesh and blood but can only come from God, that His church would be founded.
As I reflect on two millennia's worth of a centralized focus on "building our churches" I'm reminded of the outcry from "God's chosen people" for an earthly king to lead them when God had already revealed Himself time after time as their sovereign and one true God. A God like no other was not enough. We had to have a king like everyone else around us.
Our God took on the form of man so He could reveal to us His true nature and teach us about Himself. In those days the rulers were kings and the domain over which they ruled were their kingdoms. Jesus explained the truth about God in terms the people could understand. Thus, an ultimate Kingdom with one true King made much more sense to those who lived in a world of kings and kingdoms. John Revell, a friend of mine who is writing a book helped me to think about this in regard to the fact that those of us living in America or similar countries who don't have kings and kingdoms struggle to understand some of the fullness of kingship. Hence, some of the extremely rich understanding we could glean from thinking about God as the ultimate king whose kingdom is unmatched is lost in our lack of familiarity with kings and kingdoms.
It always intrigues me how often new gatherings of Christ Followers shortly after they first gather long to have a building where they can gather; a building they can call their own. In the Old Testament we see a people who, though they already had "a king", were crying out for one like the nations surrounding them had. Likewise, this morning I find myself intrigued that Christ Followers almost always seem anxious to set a cornerstone for an earthly building so they can have their structure like, and be like the other religions that surround them, when they already have a cornerstone unlike any other. Why do we keep exchanging the things not of this world given to us by God for the things of this world? Could it be that this exchange began as early as the first generation of Christ Followers? Could it be that two millenia of established "church" practices are also diluted from the things not of this world given to us by Jesus?
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Lessons in being attentive to our master
Her name is Lily (or LiLeigh when we originally named her but it was too hard to spell). She's our faithful Springer Spaniel. We love her and she's part of the family. We joke about her role in the family: sleeping, eating, and shedding seem to be her primary role. Only as her owners can we recognize the intonation (Denver, this is for you... the word you taught me) of her barks and immediately know if it's friend or foe pulling into the driveway or walking through the yard.You can learn a lot from a dog. The other day as I was sitting in the main room in our house enjoying the quiet and a cup of warm coffee she helped me understand something about being attentive to God. I was in a chair and she was close by resting. Her eyes were closed (this time she wasn't snoring but that's another post) and she was still. I adjusted my head slightly to look her way. I swear I didn't make a sound. But in the mere movement of my head turning toward her she snapped to, eyes fixed on me, anxious for any instruction I might give to her. It was far from the first time this has happened. As a matter of fact, it's hard to sneak any movement past her (unless she's snoring but that's another post). Time after time, movements large and small, she's ready to jump and run to fulfill the desires of her master.
In that moment her passion to serve me as her master stunned me. God spoke to me in the silence of that moment about the attention and expectancy with which I am to be watching for His work around me and ready to respond. Even if my reason for moving at that moment did not have her in mind she still responded by intently watching and waiting for the least hint of beckoning her. She was ready. Ready to please her master.
I'm amazed at how often those who profess to have been believers for years express an inability to experience God moving in their lives. When you talk about seeing God at work around you they look at you like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. If we know Him, but are not attentive to Him, could He be working all around us and we never notice (maybe we are snoring but that's another post). How can we ever jump to fulfill the desires of the heart of our Master if we are not passionately attentive to Him and what He is doing? God, I want to be that expectantly attentive to You and what You are doing in and around me!
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