Category: faith

Hitler does emergent


(embedded video)

Some of you might have no clue what they’re talking about here. So as a brief background, Tony Jones recently stepped down as the National Coordinator for Emergent Village. After he stepped down, Josh Case (now part of the Nick and Josh Podcast) posted a video suggesting that as part of the idea and concepts behind Emergent Village and “crowd-sourcing” (my words, not his) anyone who takes part in Emergent Village should now be a National Coordinator (I would add that it’s very similar in idea to the fact that because of Christ, we’re all now part of the priesthood).

But regardless, while this is a slam against Emergent Village I’m going to say this is greatness. Very funny. The “Scrawny Kiwi” writes that Matt, who posted the video, said it was made by Randy Brandt.

If you don’t quite understand the above video, maybe you’ll get a kick out of an earlier version that came out after my beloved Cowboys lost to the New York Giants in the playoffs last year.

How now should we live?

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove writes ::

In the neighborhood where I live, people sometimes “flip” a house to make a quick buck. They buy it cheap because it’s in bad shape, but rather than fix the structural issues that compromise the house’s integrity, they just put some fresh paint on the walls, install a few flashy fixtures, and slap some new vinyl siding on the outside. The house often looks fantastic, but underneath the flash it’s still the same old shack.

For some time in North America, the church’s work has looked a lot like like house-flipping to many observers. Jesus easily becomes vinyl siding, a quick-fix for turning our lives around. Christianity becomes a way to clean up and make ourselves look respectable in the eyes of others, when all the while we’re still on the same path. Christians do business more or less like everyone else, but we do what we do “in God’s name.” If truly following God’s call to abundant life makes Christians into well-adjusted middle-class citizens, it makes you wonder how Jesus ever got himself executed.

Read the rest of Wilson-Hartgroves post.

He raises some excellent questions. Is Christianity all about becoming a well-adjusted middle-class citizen? My characters in #nanowrimo are struggling with some of these questions as well (and I’m struggling with giving them an answer ;-)).

What would you say? How does a person know they’re a Christian or my preferred terms – a Christ Follower or a Follower of The Way? What does it mean to be saved? Is it only a ticket to heaven when you die?

Look forward to your responses.

St. Peter’s Brewery :: the 40k word mark

1506
44
lab.drwicked.com

I passed the 40,000 word marker tonight. WOOT!

On the downward slope for sure! 40,018 words total (or 80%) and less than 10,000 words left! Only seven days to go! Finish line here we come!

And with another word/mile-marker – I’ll share another brief segment of the book ::

G.T. explained that even after changing his major and transferring to the Baptist college, he still struggled with his decision.

“I just wasn’t content or happy,” G.T. said. “It was like something was still missing. But I figured I’d better stick with it now. I’d spent too much time and money to back out by that time.”

After he graduated college, he began seminary and went to work as a youth pastor for a congregation with roughly 150 members.

“Seminary was just ‘what you do’ if you want to go into full time ministry,” G.T. said. “It didn’t always make much sense to me, but I guess I learned a lot along the way. It was all classroom and book knowledge that was just poured into your head and there wasn’t much practical examples or training to prepare you for real world ministry.”

G.T. stopped his story with a rather loud laugh. He tried to continue on with his story in between laughs.

“I remember after I graduated seminary I got a job as a pastor at a slightly larger church than before,” he said. “A month after I took over the position I was asked to perform a funeral for an older member in the church and I was absolutely clueless as to what I should do. I had to scour all of my books for examples of how to perform a funeral. Finally I called up the pastor from my old church and asked for his advice. He was able to give me enough notes to make it through that first funeral. I’m sure that family thought, ‘What is wrong with this guy?!’”

G.T. paused while he took several bites of food. Jimmy thought through G.T.’s retelling of his story.
“So basically you decided to go into the ministry because some dude in your past said you should?” Jimmy asked. “And then you spent a couple years getting a Master’s degree simply because it was the thing to do?”

G.T. finished chewing his food.

“Yup,” he replied. “Pretty good summary. I thought it was the right thing to do and figured if my pastor thought I should do it, he must have a pretty good insight from God.”

“So then what?” Jimmy asked.

“Well as I was at this first church I began to really study Scripture in preparation for each week’s sermon,” G.T. said. “And the more I read and studied the more I began to realize that I was supposed to have a relationship with God on my own, not dependent upon a pastor or an elder or even my parents. So I really started encouraging the congregation to start reading their Bibles on their own. And I started suggesting that they shouldn’t depend on me to hear from God. They weren’t all too receptive to that idea. The deacons and the elders met and basically told me, ‘We don’t pay you to tell us we’re supposed to hear from God on our own. You’re supposed to tell us what God says.’ So that was the end of church number one.”

Hope for a Tree Cut Down :: Given

The Church of the Beloved is offering a new album available for free download. I’m really digging it this morning. A great sound and great lyrics.

From the church’s website ::

The book of Job is the oldest book of Scripture and it asks one of the oldest questions, ‘Is there hope?’

‘Is there hope for a tree cut down? …Yes. At the mere scent of water it will bud and grow green shoots.’

That is what we are discovering together at Church of the Beloved – a hope. Hope that something new is beginning that has very old roots. Hope that God is growing life out of our devastation, trust out of our cynicism, love out of our fear, community out of our isolation…. And that’s what this album is about – fumbling into God’s grace. It is a seismic and humble shift when our heart can hear the words that God has been saying to us for all our lives, ‘…nothing can separate you from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus’. These songs say ‘Yes’ to God’s claim upon your life that, ‘You are my Beloved.’”

Here are the lyrics to their song “Given”:

We may be little, insignificant in the eyes of this world,
but when we realize that God has sent us to the world as blessed
our lives will multiply and grow to fill the needs of others.
Our gift is not what we can do but who we are.

Who can we be for each other?
Who can we be for the world?
Who can we be for each other?
Lord, who can we be?

How different would our lives be if we believed every single gesture
every act of faith or love or joy or peace or word of forgiveness
would multiply as long as there are people to receive it.
Our gift is not what we can do but who we are.

We are given. We are given. We are given.
(We are given. Our gift is who we are. It’s who we are!)
Our gift is not what we can do but who we are.

Check out the album lyrics and download your own copy of the music :: http://belovedschurch.org/hope/