faith – Page 78 – Jonathan D. Blundell

six degrees of Christianity

This is cool.

Co-Occurrences of Names in the New Testament (more complete data)

It’s like 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon or Friend Wheel, but for the names and people of Scripture. Basically its a visual representation of people who are connected in Scripture by being mentioned together 3 ore more times.

Very cool way to visualize how Scripture seems very big on relationships with one another.

Say you want a revolution?

Might be a bit of a stretch for me as far as the simple life goes. But as Michael said – love seeing hungry people get fed… especially off the back of “corporate america.” 😉

Related ::
HT :: Michael>
Simply Living Simply pt 1
Simply Living Simply pt 2
re: Simply Living Simply

Change for the better

Shared this with our community 2.0 leaders today….

Hello community 2.0 peeps…

Last night at our community group the three of us (yeah it was a slow week :-)) sat and talked about a number of things from prayer, to leadership, to future community groups etc. etc. We each talked about how refreshing Sunday at encounter was this past week. How it was a change from the ordinary and really seemed to spark something new.

It made me think about how often we get set in a routine even in our weekly community groups.

This morning, Small Group Dynamics touched on that as well. If things are starting to get “stale” or “traditional” in your group maybe it’s time to change things up a bit. Here are some of the things they suggested…

Change the expectations. If people expect to gather around a Bible study or a DVD curriculum or even around social interaction, the presence of the Spirit will be minimal. If people expect to meet with God and trust Jesus’ words: “Where two or three gather in my name, there I am also,” then people will seek something different in the group’s life even if they do not know how.

Shorten the Bible study to make room to wait on God together.

Take the risk of allowing silence during the meeting.

Vary the agenda from week to week.

Eat together. You might be surprised by this one, but I have found food as essential to connecting with one another and in inviting God’s presence into our midst.

I know some of the groups have had “coffee house night” and met at a local coffee house. Its not only given a change of pace for the group members, but also opened opportunities for discussions with others.

What other ideas have you and/or your group done to change things up and keep it fresh?

Texting in church

Mars Hill Church in Seattle has begun welcoming Txt messaging during their Sunday morning services as part of a Q&A with pastor Mark Driscoll. This is also something they’ve been doing at several conferences the church has been a part of or hosted.

We’ve discussed txt messaging at encounter but haven’t quite put into effect yet. I love the idea of interaction between the congregation/lay people and the pastor during the service and the interaction between each person in the congregation.

We had a unique experience yesterday at encounter (no video/audio/picture archives were made) where we sat up 3 unique rooms with chairs all facing inward so we were “forced” to look at one another rather than simply stare at a stage or screen where someone talks and sings “to us.”

I loved it. Felt very community like. Fit right in with the taking of the Eucharist or communion (coming together in union). We moved from room to room as Brian spoke about the blood and body of Christ and in the final room we sat gathered around a cross where Brian spoke of Christ freeing us from our bondage. He offered an opportunity for folks to share what this freedom in Christ meant to them.

Usually when we have times for response we get limited numbers of response but something about yesterday really encouraged the interaction. We had people from all sides of the room speaking out and sharing their thoughts. Several even played off one another.

I think this type of interaction is vital to our churches. I hope we can see more of it.

the Beatles were a Christian band

from e-mail…

The Telegraph ran an article yesterday that reports John Lennon called the Beatles a Christian band and that he himself was a big fan of Jesus Christ.

The statements were part of a 1969 interview with The Beatles front man while he was taking part in a bed-in for peace with Yoko Ono.

As for his infamous statement about the Beatles being bigger than Jesus at the time (which I would tend to agree with)…

“It’s just an expression meaning the Beatles seem to me to have more influence over youth than Christ,” he says. “Now I wasn’t saying that was a good idea, ‘cos I’m one of Christ’s biggest fans. And if I can turn the focus on the Beatles on to Christ’s message, then that’s what we’re here to do.”

He blames “the hypocrites” for being too “uptight” in reacting to his comments. “If the Beatles get on the side of Christ, which they always were, and let people know that, then maybe the churches won’t be full, but there’ll be a lot of Christians dancing in the dance halls. Whatever they celebrate, God and Christ, I don’t think it matters as long as they’re aware of Him and His message.”

Reminds me of a couple things…

“Christian is a great noun but a poor adjective.”
And perhaps “Jesus is the only way to God – but there are many ways to get to Jesus.”
Someone once asked Gandhi if he was a Christian. His reported response was, “Ask the poor. They’ll tell you who the Christians are.”
My dad shared some of his thoughts on what a Christian is on the latest Something Beautiful Podcast.
Jamie Moffett also shared some of his thoughts and ideas on Something Beautiful 1.6.

I have a feeling that many people are going to get up in arms and upset because John Lennon claimed to be a fan of Christ and suggested that the Beatles might have been a Christian band.

I wonder what the root of the issue is. Is it because Lennon claimed the Beatles were “bigger than Christ.” Is it because they used drugs? Is it because they sang about love and peace? Is it because they hung out with the Maharishi? Is it because John Lennon sang, “Imagine no religion… imagine there’s no heaven?” Or is there something deeper going on?

What about you? How would YOU define “Christian.” How would you explain the Christian “religion?” Does belief in heaven, hell and religion make you a Christian? Does dis-belief in those things make you a non-Christian?

Related ::
Telegraph :: ‘Bigger than Jesus? The Beatles were a Christian band’
SSL :: Christian is a poor adjective

re: Simply living simply

Suzanne at Adventures in Daily Living shared some thoughts and ideas on how to live simply. She shares the following list from A Vision Splendid:

1. Living within our means in a small house with no debt
2. No commercial TV
3. Cooking from scratch
4. Finding old ‘sturdy’ items second hand rather than a constant supply of cheap ‘made in china’ items that need replacing every 12 months
5. Spending quality family time together
6. Baking our own bread
7. Brewing our own beer
8. Fixing things ourselves
9. Growing what we can
10. Doing our own renovations
11. Using the town library as a resource
12. Buying local produce
13. Composting our food scraps
14. Minimising plastic packaging on foods
15. Avoiding petrochemicals in products
16. Work on a completely cash budget
17. Changing all lights to CFLs
18. Line dry the washing
19. Menu planning
20. Buying Australian grocery items where local not available
21. Stockpiling
22. Managing my home in a single binder
23. Getting ahead by applying the 6P principle
24. Having a planning day once a week
25. Having a cooking day once a week
26. Work hard at ‘saving’ through the year for an annual holiday
27. Using old fashioned items and remedies – e.g. washup with sunlight soap, put eucalyptus oil on your hankie if you feel a cold coming.
28. Wear an apron to keep your clothes clean
29. Turn the TV off and read out loud to my children
30. Wear hand me downs
31. Avoiding food additives and chemicals

The original list also contains some ideas for a “family eco-challenge.” Are you and your family doing any of these things? Anything you would add to the list?

Category: faith

six degrees of Christianity

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Say you want a revolution?

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Change for the better

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Texting in church

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the Beatles were a Christian band

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re: Simply living simply

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