A Start to Thinking
Feeding the 5000.

So what?

In surfing the sermon sites this week, I found that a number of people were talking about the fact that everyone was invited to the meal that day. No one was kept away.

"Feed 'em all," said Jesus.

Were there unclean people (heathen/pagan/goyim) there?

"Feed 'em all."

Were there women and children next to the men?

"Feed 'em all."

What about tax collectors, thieves, adulterers?

"Feed 'em all."

Most don't have a dish to pass.

"Feed 'em all."

Some don't know the words to the blessing prayer.

"Feed 'em all."

Hey, some didn't wash their hands first.

"Feed 'em all."

Then this from Brian Stoffregen at

CrossMarks Christian Resources.

"I wonder what might happen
if at all our congregational potluck meals
we invited the homeless and poor to come and eat --
knowing that they couldn't bring a dish to share."

"Feed 'em all."

Sure doesn't match most of our normal human practices. Of course, most of what Jesus says and does doesn't match most of our normal human practices. If they did, He wouldn't be the Savior.

"Feed 'em all."

Bits and Pieces for Saturday
Nothing profound today. Just some bits and pieces.

>> Martin Roth, whose Martin Roth's Christian Commentary was a regular read, has a new blog, and it's all about Southern Gospel. Simply it's called Southern Gospel Beat.

>> A couple weeks ago Beliefnet had a link to a quirky site:
America's Roadside Miracles- A tour of America's lesser-known holy destinations through a gallery of photos from a book called "Roadside Religion." Here's their link to the gallery.



>> Maggi Dawn thanked Ian's Messy Desk for a great quote from A. A. Milne:

One of the advantages of being disorderly
is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.

I, too, am grateful for the quote. Messy desks are such a joy when you need a diversion- just do some archeological digging!

>> And, since I am on the theme of quotes, here are four from recent weeks on the Quotes of the Day from the Quotation Page:

Bethania McKenstry
"I'm not sure I want popular opinion on my side -- I've noticed those with the most opinions often have the fewest facts."
Caskie Stinnett
"A diplomat... is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip."
Richard Diran
"I have a rock garden. Last week three of them died."
Hubert H. Humphrey
"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously."

>>Finally, I give a hearty AMEN to Jordon Cooper on this post from Thursday:

Idealism
Today I realized again that I am an idealist. I really do believe that the church and those that make it up can live out the faith better than we do (I am included in that). Pragmatism and power kind of sicken me many days. I know that it is a part of the world but I want it not to be a part of my world even though it is.

As an idealist, I am often frustrated by the people around me. As an idealist I am often frustrated in myself as well and for my failures. Because of that I live in a world of pain and disappointment with other people and myself.

Hopefully I live in a world of grace, for others and for myself. Despite the disappointment, it seems to be a better world than a world without those ideals and giving in to the world where I expect less than I know we can accomplish.

Amen- don't give up on the idealism, Jordon. It's the only thing that keeps us coming back day after day, week after week, to the greatest idealist and pragmatist of all time. Jesus showed us that it works!

A Friday Quote
This one a few weeks ago from Bruderhof.com caused me to stop and think.

Worse Than No Christianity
J. Heinrich Arnold

Discipleship means complete dedication. It demands everything - the whole heart, the whole mind, and the whole of life, including one's time, energy, and property - for the cause of love. Half-hearted Christianity is worse than no Christianity.

I would guess that is what it meant in Revelation 3 when the church at Laodicea was told:

"I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

It has always been a challenging thought. To add this new interpretation to it makes it even more so.

Quiz Day
Andrew at Bloggedy Blog led me to this one. It has you discover your preferred church style (using the styles as developed by Avery Dulles.) Here's mine:

You scored as Servant Model. Your model of the church is Servant. The mission of the church is to serve others, to challenge unjust structures, and to live the preferential option for the poor. This model could be complemented by other models that focus more on the unique person of Jesus Christ. Servant Model 89% Mystical Communion Model 84% Sacrament model 72% Herald Model 67% Institutional Model 11% What is your model of the church? [Dulles] created with QuizFarm.com

No surprises here. I am glad (?) that the mystical communion model was almost as high as the servant. I am firmly convinced that they are essential to each other. A Servant Church without the Mystical side is not all that different from our local social service work. A Mystical Church without the Servant side is too introspective. At least that's my opinion.

The low- very low- score on the Institutional Church is a little bit of a surprise. But that's for another time when I get it sorted out a little bit more. I do know that the institutional model is very hierarchical and clergy-centric in its definition which is probably the underlying reason for its low score.

Old School Postmodern?
In looking over my list of preachers I posted on Monday, I realized how "old school" they were. Not so much in their style as in their generation. Several of them, being story tellers certainly were in the vanguard of the "narrative" style of preaching. Craddock, who made the term "inductive preaching" his term, could certainly be seen in the postmodern style. But these are my generations preachers. These are the ones who opened my eyes. Who is doing that today and what does their preaching sound like?

From glancing at some of the comments on Adrian Warnock's posts that started this, I have a feeling that even in the broader persepective, most of the "name" preachers are still "old school." Is that something that comes with experience (age)? Is that something that is harder for younger preachers to stand out in doing because they haven't found their own style or voice yet?

As I said in the post on Monday, it was in 1981 that I found my voice after sitting listening to Fred Craddock for a whole week. I was 32 at the time. My best preaching was still a few years in the future as I worked with the voice/style, dug deeper into my own faith and spent time listening more fully to God more often. The preacher who starts out as a "great" preacher at age 25 is unusual.

It is important that we find our own voice in whatever it is we do. Each of us is unique. Each of us has the calling to take the style and life and experiences we have been given and utilize them to the glory of God. In this age of transition, when worship styles and therefore "preaching" styles will be changing, it is not surprising that the names we come up with for preachers are still the old school.

What I am not asking overtly, yet, is how will preaching itself be different in coming years? If we move to a more mystery/mystical style of worship, for example, preaching will not seek to explain it all. If we move to a house church style, preaching becomes a community act. In some ways it would be interesting to see what would happen to the church if in 50 years we couldn't name our favorite preachers, but rather our favorite spiritual leaders or prayer leaders.

Christian Carnival LXXX
Daddypundit is hosting and has posted this week's Christian Carnival. Finally remembered to get a post in for this one.

PostModern in Images
Steve over at e~mergent kiwi posted an interesting idea a couple weeks ago. He had to do a conversation starter on what "postmodern" is. Being tired of words, he Googled the word on the images search of Google.

I did the same and it was truly interesting. Here are three of the 20 images on the first page:

I have absolutely no idea what this says about the use of the term "postmodern". I just found it interesting. Like so many other words and "labels" these things have a life of their own that no one can understand yet everyone thinks they do. We all tend to use words in ways that we think we understand, but in reality we are as much in the dark as everyone else.

The world we live in is "postmodern" which means "after the modern age." It is a world of speed and information and connections and bright colors and old/new existing next to each other. It is a world of ideas in conflict with themselves. It is a world where people like me like to ramble and discover new ideas in old trappings and old ideas in new.

Of course when we line "in" an age, especially in an age of transition, it is hard to see the outlines of the world. We can often see it only in the shadow of what is different, what is the same, and what we aren't sure of. But like in all eras of change, which I think describes all eras, we need to dig deeply into our values and make sure they are solid, hang on for the ride, and see where God will lead us.

My Favorite Preachers
Adrian Warnock asked for some thoughts on the favorite preachers across the blogosphere. I didn't have to think hard at all. Here are my top 5 along with some thoughts and links.

Walter Brueggeman
While not known primarily as a preacher, under the incredible scholarship and insight is a preacher- and a person of prayer.

• Link to a sermon (in RealAudio) on Day1

William Willimon
Willimon, now a United Methodist Bishop called the chapel at Duke his home pulpit for over 20 years. His ability to challenge and comfort in such a setting is nothing short of exciting. Well worth reading his books, too.

• Sermon on Day1
• Text from 30 Good Minutes and one in RealAudio.

Barbara Brown Taylor
Taylor is an Episcopal priest who has made preaching the center of her vocation. She can turn a phrase into the Good News as well as anyone. She also understands the power and the problem of preaching.

• interview at Religion and Ethics Newsweekly
• Calvin College January Series (with a link to hear a lecture.)
• Some sermon texts at Explore Faith

Tony Campolo
THE evangelical story-weaver par excellence. I had the good fortune of meeting Tony over 25 years ago when his reputation was just beginning to grow. He has only gotten better with time.

• 30 Good Minutes has 15 of Tony's sermons, some with video.

and no. 1

Fred Craddock.
It was May, 1981, just after my daughter was baptized, that I met and sat at the feet of Fred Craddock at our Moravian Minister's Conference. To listen to this man preach is nothing short of transformational. He tells stories that ring with such truth they ache with beauty. He brings scripture alive by making sure the story is heard and then heard again in a different context. I listened to his tapes for years and then heard him again in Chicago when I was working on my D. Min. His preaching gave me permission to make my preaching mine. He let me know, as Campolo has done as well, that there are more ways to preach than the three points and exposition of scripture. I have never been the same- and some of his stories ring in my head today.

No links to sermons were found in my quick search. As a Superstar preacher, his books are all over the place.

And One More for Good Measure, in a class all his own:
Fredrick Buechner! Novelist, preacher, essayist extraordinaire!
Find four of his sermons at 30 Good Minutes.

On Solid Food
It's a famous passage from Scripture, the one about moving from spiritual milk to solid spiritual food. The guest speaker used it as part of his text this morning. Here's what I'm talking about:

Hebrews 5:12-6:2.(NIV).. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of

• repentance from acts that lead to death, and
• of faith in God,
• instruction about baptisms,
• the laying on of hands,
• the resurrection of the dead, and
• eternal judgment.

Couple things struck me as this was read in church. First, the definition of those who are mature as those who are able to distinguish from good and evil. They are able to do this because they have trained themselves through constant use. Part of that goes back to what I was saying about practice the other day. It is the constant use of the skills and knowledge of God's will and work that help us develop maturity. Maturity itself is not seen here as the ability to be more holy or recite more scripture but to be able to distinguish good from evil. The ESV says that the mature have their powers of discernment trained. Young's literal translation of the Greek says: having the senses exercised. It is, in short, through the development of, the sharpening of the senses and powers God provides that we learn how to be mature- saying yes to good and no to evil.

Perhaps it is in this that the greatest difficulty comes in, however, from the secularization of our lives. We begin to take our cue from the secular. Whenever I have talked about sin in a confirmation class, most times "sin" is seen as "illegal."

• "Is smoking a sin?" I ask. Well, not if your over 18.
• "Is speeding a sin?" Well, ....
• "Is war a sin?" Oops. Now I'm meddling in politics.

Our powers of discernment, our spiritual senses are dulled, glossed over, by so much. To discern good and evil is more than the list of personal sins, more than breaking the law or The Law (10 Commandments, etc.) It is a deeper, more profound and definitely more mature action. Which is what we are being reminded of in the passage in Hebrews.

Yet, we get stuck, we are being told, on the foundation. We keep building the same foundation over and over and over. We don't move to the mature stuff. We don't add a framework and walls and a roof over our spiritual homes. We don't put furniture in. All we have are building blocks upon building blocks. The list of these basic building blocks gives us a direction about the "essentials":

• repentance from acts that lead to death,
• of faith in God,
• instruction about baptisms,
• the laying on of hands,
• the resurrection of the dead,
• eternal judgment.

These, it is assumed, we should know first and foremost in our spiritual lives. Only laying on of hands surprised me. Not because it shouldn't be there, but how that isn't very often seen as a basic teaching. It refers to the giving of the Holy Spirit. We do the action in baptism or confirmation or marriage, but we don't teach it as a basic. That may be why we often feel as if something is missing in our lives. Why we are searching so diligently for a spiritual "high" and why drug and alcohol abuse becomes a part of some lives. We are missing the power to do God's will if we miss the Holy Spirit and don't make the laying on of hands a basic teaching.

It takes work to get to a maturity of faith. It isn't an issue of salvation- that's in the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord. It isn't an issue of having to earn a place in heaven. It is about growing and maturing and - through constant use, i.e. practice, practice, practice - allowing the ways of God to become more natural in our lives.

Know the basics. Then go deeper. Pray and study and read and carry out actions of faith and hope. Meet together and sing songs and spiritual psalms. Become accountable to each other and listen to the word God has spoken through each other. Allow the Spirit of God to be present through the laying on of hands and the powerful breath of the Creator will make all the difference as we mature and grow in our faith.

A Couple Links and Thoughts
I thought you might like to see the web sites connected with the Bluegrass Jam Camp I went to last weekend.


First is the camp itself. Run by Lenore and DannSiemms it is called Do North. The web site will have pictures in the not too distant future.




Second is the band that provided the leadership. They are Monroe Crossing, one of the Upper Midwest's Premier Bluegrass Bands. And they are a great group of people that puts on a dynamite show.



So what's this old postmodernPilgrim doing playing around with bluegrass? Well, it's hard to say. I didn't grow up on it. I only "discovered" it first when I was living in York, PA, in the early 1980s. The public radio station down the road in Maryland has a bluegrass show every Sunday evening that I fell in love with. The driving guitar, the twang of the banjo, the unending number of notes being played on the mandolin, the mournful yet playful moan of the fiddle, the solid foundation of the bass. They were (and are) the roots of bluegrass.

I began to hear names like Doc Watson, Flatt and Scruggs, and, of course, Bill Monroe. The Nitty Gritty Dirt band had already come out with the first of their three Will the Circle Be Unbroken compilations. There was something unique about it.

One of the things I think is that is built around community (you just knew I would find that in here somewhere!) The bluegrass "subculture" or even "alternative" culture is a world unto its own. Festivals, contests, jam sessions are being held all over the place all year long. There is a bottom up kind of life to bluegrass. It is the "jazz" of country music, if I can mix music styles so boldly. Yet it is also quite open to everyone. The beginner is as welcome at a jam as the most advanced professional.

It is also just a lot of fun. So, if I have to give up my dream of being a trumpet player in a rock and roll band, at least I can be a guitar plucker in a bluegrass jam.

Number 1000- Just For Fun and For the Record Book

In honor of the first manned moon landing Google has a maps page of the moon picture. http://moon.google.com/ Zoom all the way in for an Easter Egg. Thanks to Tourbus for the link.

And....
Sound
the trumpets.

This

(according to the count on my dashboard page)

is post

# 1000.

Old Truths Are Still True
It's a line that has been around a very long time.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Practice, Practice Practice.

But it's ancient status doesn't make it any less true in this instant, modern world. As I said the otehr day in my post, I want to be able to play guitar as well as I play trumpet- but without the practice. For that matter I want to be able to play trumpet better without practicing. Yet it just doesn't work that way. Which is probably why I am not a professional musician.

I have too many things that vie for my attention and pull it away from the "drudgery" of practice. Especially the early practice that happens before my lip gets in shape or the callouses form on my fingers. I want to be able to play without hurting and for as long as I want and at the speed I want. It just never seems to happen.

In the past week I was at the Bluegrass Jam Camp and I have a trumpet piece in church on Sunday. The camp took work- and pain. Yet it was inspiring. That is one thing about an event like that. It makes me want to practice. Which I have been doing. I can actually play guitar for an hour now without real pain. And the licks I am working on are getting better. Hey, it's almost fun again.

The same is true with the trumpet work. I am playing a fun arrangement on Sunday. My lip is working right and I have the fingering down. Hey, it's almost fun again.

The contrast (and similarity) to the Christian life in all this is downright frightening to me. I too often want my Christian life to be there without practicing it. I just expect that because I believe, all will happen the right way and my faith will show through and I will know what to do when faced with decisions. I want to be a saint without going through the discipline and practice of getting there.

Which is why so many of us don't do the things we need to become the stronger, more trained and "natural" Christians. We don't pray as often we need to. We don't spend time with Jesus as often as we need to. We don't do the study and the fellowship and the worship that we need. Note that I am not saying that we "should." Should isn't where it's at. It is a question of need.

In order to be good at something, to be disciplined, and strong, and "natural" I NEED to practice it. Should is a shame-based word. Need is a personal awareness that I am lacking something and it can give me the direction to get it.

I need to practice my trumpet. I need to practice my guitar. I need to live the practices of my faith. I have a hunch that when I do that it will not be a drudgery. It will be fun!

It Wasn't the Same
Went to a ball game at the Metrodome yesterday. (Twins won on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth!) To make a long story short, was invited, along with the youth I took, to one of the "suites" behind home plate on the 1st base side. It was comfortable, of course. Nice seats, good view, felt relatively closer to the field. But I didn't feel like I was really at a baseball game.

There was this 6'x6' open window. The ceiling was barely 7' high. I had to stand up and look over a ledge to see the people in the seats near me outside the box. It felt really strange clapping along with the crowd for Nathan's pitching. My own voice echoed back when I shouted at the home run. There was no feeling of the big picture, the wide-open expanse (even with a Metrodome roof) of the field and the stands. The echoing of 30,000 fans around you is great. It isn't the same when it is coming in a window.

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the "comfort" but it wasn't the same. I go to baseball games for a lot of different reasons. To sit in comfort isn't one of them. It is meant to be a crowd experience. It is meant to be cameraderie. It is meant to be echoes of cheers and the stomping of 60,000 feet or clapping of 30,000 pairs of hands. It is singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and not hearing your own voice echo from the glass in front of you.

Okay. Enough whining. It was fun to be there with the students. It was fun to be with the people and to be there for the Twins win. But next time, just let me have my peanuts and Cracker Jacks in the stands. That's where I'm meant to watch the game.

Life And Death in the Slow Lane
I wish nature were as pretty and romantic as we want it to be. Sadly it isn't. Sometimes it is even our own fault.

I was driving home Monday afternoon, up one of the streets I drive every day. It is along a slightly woodsy strip by a runoff containment pond where wildlife have made a home. I wasn't speeding. I was going along as normal when just as I rounded a curve there he (or she) was. Within inches of my front wheel and I could do nothing to avoid the unavoidable. There was this awful moment- just barely a second- when I knew that I was going to run over the turtle.

I did and I felt this pain go through me. I had just killed another living creature. For no good (or even bad) reason. He (or she) and I were just in the wrong place at the same time. Unlike many of the rabbits or squirrels that dart across the road, the turtle was not able to scamper out of the way. Just out for a leisurely afternoon stroll, heading back to the pond for a swim. Or whatever. Were there young turtles that were depending on this one for food and guidance? Gone.

I don't mean to humanize a turtle. I know as well as the next guy that to put human emotions and intentions on animals like this is not a good thing to do. It tends to sentimentalize the world around us. It doesn't work that way. Baby turtles are eaten by other animals. Squirrels are picked up and carried away by hawks. Death is an ever-present reality in nature just as surely as it is in our human existance.

In that is the utlimate in being "equally created." All things living come to an end. The utlimate fairness is found in this simple equation: All living things will one day die. Sometimes in very sad and violent ways beyond our ability to do absolutely anything about.

But I still felt the pain of that turtle's death. Because it was so senseless and I caused it.

Being Creative
I am one who has been blessed many times over by a love of music. It makes little difference what the type. I love good music.

I have also had the great blessing of being able to play a little bit of music. I took piano from 3rd - 5th grades, started trumpet in 8th grade, and with fits and starts have started guitar at least ten times, beginning with my senior year in high school. The only one I am above average at is trumpet since I have been playing fairly consistently for over 40 years now. My problem is that I want to play guitar and piano as well as I play trumpet. Over and over again, though, I get reminded of the profound truth that the way to Carneige Hall (or the Grand Ol' Opry) is through "Practice, practice, practice!"

Well, this old postmodernPilgrim is playing guitar and singing in this picture from the jam camp this past weekend. It was a simple song, (Will the Circle Be Unbroken) done simply for us two older guys in the group. But we did it. The youth were gracious and more than helpful. The opportunity to be creative in a new area of music was a blast.

There are so many ways that creativity can blossom in any of us. Some of us can't play much but the radio, but can build something with their hands or fix a broken engine or sew a quilt. Creativity- the opporunity to be a co-creator with The Creator is a not-to-be-missed experience. It is with the gifts of The Creator that we are able to do this. It is with the inspiring of the Holy Spirit (which is what "inspire" really means) that we are moved to do more than play music. We make music.

That will most certainly be a way to get us in touch with the Power greater than ourselves who can and will bring us grace.

More about practicing at another time. I just want to savor the memory that this picture will bring for a long time to come.

Now- HERE'S a Quote
The bluegrass jam camp I was at over the weekend was held at a Bible College/Conference Center. As I was walking down the hall I was brought up short by a quote on the wall. It was from a missionary by the name of C. T. Studd. Here's what Wholesome Words says:

C.T. Studd (1860-1931) was an English missionary who faithfully served His Saviour in China, India, and Africa. His motto was: "If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."

I stood there and realized that this simple quote says it all in being a disciple. In one brief phrase it sums up the 2000 year old conflict between comfort and care, country club and evangelism, that the church has had to constantly fight. It would (and does) make quite a motto.

Some want to live
within the sound
of church or chapel bell;
I want to run
a rescue shop
within a yard of hell

I'm Back
What a wonderful weekend. Will post more about it on Monday or Tuesday when I get to download a couple of my pictures. I went "Up North" to a Bluegrass Jam Camp. All kinds of levels of ability from young and incredibly talented to just a little above beginner (like me) on the instrument we chose to focus on this weekend.

There is something far more than just therapeutic about playing music. Or perhaps making music. It is a creative process no matter how amateur you are. It is a way of getting in touch with "soul" which music is often a direct link to.

But as I said, more later. For now, it's good to be home and sleep in my own bed tonight.

A Weekend Off
Well, except for one day when Blogger was messing around, I have managed a post a day since January 1. So, (after an appropriate pat on the back) I'm taking a weekend off. Will be back on Sunday night with a post then.

Have a great summer weekend, y'all.

Two Addictions in One-
Such a Deal!
Thanks to JoinTogether.org, came across this bit of info:

German Company Launches Nicotine Beer - 7/1/2005

NicoShot beer contains 3 milligrams of nicotine alkaloids and is being billed as "the world's first smoking-cessation beer."

Manufacturer Nautilus GmbH Laboratoriumsbedarf said NicoShot is brewed like regular beer, with a tobacco-leaf extract added at the end of the brewing process. The firm is strongly playing up the beer's nicotine content to smokers.

"NicoShot is cigarette satisfaction in a beer without the smoke," according to a company press release. "For most smokers, three cans of NicoShot is comparable to an entire pack of conventional cigarettes. Best of all, there's none of the tar or carbon monoxide the comes from burning tobacco. Similar to nicotine gum, NicoShot is considered nicotine replacement therapy that provides a steady, controlled release of nicotine. It can be used to relieve withdrawal symptoms at the beginning of quitting, to relieve urges from cigarette smoke while quitting, or to avoid relapse months after quitting when a new stress or situation may trigger a strong urge to smoke."

Smokers can choose to drink the beer when they get a craving for a smoke while out at a bar, without having to go outside for a cigarette. "NicoShot is a smoking-cessation brew designed to satisfy the nicotine urge whenever you want a cigarette, but can't smoke -- providing a realistic way to quit smoking," said Richard H. Davis, president of Beverage Marketing USA, Inc.

Let me quote that last bit one more time for good measure:

"NicoShot is a smoking-cessation brew designed to satisfy the nicotine urge whenever you want a cigarette, but can't smoke -- providing a realistic way to quit smoking,"

Without getting too technical in the addiction theory field, let me just say: "Have you ever heard of cross-addictions? Addicts of all kinds- nicotine, sugar, alcohol, gambling, etc. have this incredible ability to take one addiction and substitute it for another. Or- in an even more common scenario, use one addiction to feed the other. I can just hear it now:

• I had to have that whole case, dear, I'm trying to quit smoking.
• Would you rather have me smoking?
• Hey, it's cheaper this way!

Oh well! Why should I complain. It's job security for alcohol and drug counselors.

Continuing last week's thoughts and posts, here's something that Phil at Signposts found last week.

David Ridgeway led a fantastic session on Monday at the Forge intensive. He argued that we need to reclaim the Hebrew model of discipleship and learning.

I found that a wonderful framing of the differences in Greek and Hebrew thought. They are also, if you fool with the ideas a little bit, the differences between "modern" and "post-modern" thought. It is an intense struggle in many, many ways between the scientifically and proof-oriented thinking that claimed Christianity in the academic world of the Reformation and the ancient, more mysterious views of the pre-reformation era.

Now I know that this is much over-simplified. Nothing is ever THAT black and white. (How's that for a "post-modern" statement?) But when we look at this in the big picture- the area of world-view and perspective, it does hold true. The result of this intense struggle has been worship wars and heresy challenges and all kinds of finger-pointing and name calling.

As a result, the church of the early 21st Century is probably undergoing a transition unlike any in many, many years. Who is right? Who is wrong? Probably all sides in all instances. We are, after all, humans with but a very dim ability to see the whole truth. We do not have all the answers. We depend on the Holy Spirit for that- and even then each of us hears the words of the Spirit from our own field of experience.

Paul knew this. He lived in a time like this. Which is why that awesome passage in 1 Corinthians 13 was written. (Sorry, it is not about marriage or love between a man and a woman.) It is about the call to life in the church. In the end, it may be the most important passage in the Bible that the church should memorize for itself.

1 Corinthians 13 (ESV)

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

OK. I'm Hooked Again
Another quiz of the week.

You are funky, outdoorsy, and down to earth. While you may not be a total hippie... You're definitely one of the most free spirited people around. You are very impulsive - every day is a new adventure. However, you do put some thought behind all your actions. Still, you do tend to shock and offend people from time to time!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

A Weekend to Remember
Saturday was one of those wonderful days. I was at a wedding.

It wasn't my own daughter's wedding, but it was as close as you can get.

We were back in Wisconsin which was home for fifteen years.

Back in 1984, when we moved in, there was this family the second house up the street. They had two children. One was a daughter, just a year older than our own 3 1/2 year old daughter. Over the next 15 years we became each other's family's second set of parents.

Over these years our two families along with the rest of our extended family-of-choice of the Watertown Moravian Church, helped each other through more ups and downs and slides and climbs than seems possible as we look back today. It was often more than just people who happened to be in the same church. Many times it was more than a pat-on-the-back. There were times we had to hold each other up when it seemed impossible to stand on one's own.Then, 5 1/2 years ago we moved to Minnesota and a new church. But you don't leave 15 years behind without a thought. Especially after so much together. And especially when God picks up the other family and moves them 25 miles down the road here in Minnesota. Not far from where our daughter now lives, also.

The family has continued. Jenn met Mike there and on Saturday they were married back at the church in Wisconsin with my wife officiating and our daughter in the wedding party. All kinds of "family" were around- biological, spiritual, and social.

It is hard to describe this to someone who has never experienced it, but it is a remarkable and awe-inspiring time. The hours of volunteering and support and care for the bride and groom so that their wedding was all they wanted it to be are a symbol of the greater work of this community and what we have meant to each other over the past 21 years.

I would like to think that this is a common experience. I hope and pray it is, but the response of people who watched this past weekend would say that it isn't. Spiritual community isn't about membership in a congregation. It is about membership in each other's lives- willingly, compassionately, and sacrificially. It is what Jesus called his disciples to be.

For me this past weekend was a reminder that just like at Cana in Galilee, Jesus turns the water of every day life and relationship into the sweet and wonderful wine of love and community.

Maybe that's why that was his first miracle. It sure does get your attention.

Pictures above:
Top: The wedding party in the front of the church.
Middle: The bride and groom with the pastor (my wife).
Bottom: Blowing bubbles is fun outside the church.

Grace Isn't the Easier Way-
But It Is the Better Way
From John O'Keefe at The Ooze blog.

grace is harder then law

it is harder to live in grace, than it is to live in law

it is harder to forgive, than it is to judge
it is harder to love, than it is to hate
it is harder to include, than it is to exclude
it is harder to engage, than it is to ignore
it is harder to share, than it is to hold
it is harder to accept, than it is to reject
it is harder to welcome, than it is to walk away

it is harder to live in grace, than it is to live in law.

And, just to add some older thoughts, this came across the Daily Dig from Bruderhof earlier this week:

Though justice be thy plea, consider this:
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy…
--Shakepeare

The Hidden Mystery of Ministry
Now, to add to what I posted from Tim Bednar yesterday, here is something from Andrew Jones (via Phil's notes on a talk by Andrew as found by Darryl.)

He started off by reflecting on how the Kingdom of God is like yeast (Matthew 13:33). As yeast is worked throughout the dough the yeast cells divide, yet it's impact is what makes the bread rise and grow. This cell division is so small, microscopic, invisible to the human eye. For us, as members of God's church, must not our actions also be almost secret and meek rather than proud and showy, just as Jesus warns against in Matthew 16:6 - also talking about yeast.

So much of ministry by Christians actually occurs far away from the direct connection to the church. It is in the every day lives of the members living their faith without at times even realizing that they are doing God's ministry. Yeast- the invisible yet truly necessary ingredient for the bread of life. The mystery of ministry!

I'm not sure I would have understood this quite as well a year ago as I do today. A year in the world away from the church's "ministry" has given me a whole new perspective on what ministry can be. If it is only what the church does for the church and only what the clergy do for the laity (a very false dichotomy in my book) then we are in bigger trouble than it looks.

One more tidbit from that talk by Andrew Jones, a great definition of ministry:

1. giving gifts
2. telling stories
3. throwing parties
4. making friends

Without Pastors
Thanks to Adrian Warnock and Jolly Blogger I came across Tim Bendar's thoughts on participatory church that "doesn't need pastors" a la blogging as a kind of paradgim. This is how Tim summarizes the partcipatory church:

* The traditional church conceives of itself as an exclusive community and determines who is a “member” and who is not. It believes that it owns these definitions. This is no longer true. Christianity is an open conversation by those following Christ. Those involved in the conversation define the terms, not the church.
* Conversations are all around us. Christianity is one of many.
* Christians get information for their conversation from multiple sources that include, but are not limited to Christianity. We no longer pursue spiritual formation within the bounds of a single tradition, church, pastor or denomination. We are having hyperlinked conversations that subvert traditional hierarchies.
* Every Christian is a creator. We no longer have to wait for church authorization to think or act or speak in the name of Christ.
* Christians belong to multiple congregations.
* Participation in the conversation is spiritual formation.
* Congregations are conversations. They have a human voice. Congregations are getting smarter and more informed as they talk to each other. Participation in this new kind of networked congregation fundamentally changes people.
* Churches are not congregations. They do not participate in the conversation of their congregation. In fact, churches spent most of their time, energy and money creating parallel conversations and get frustrated when no one participates in them. In this new reality, churches sound hollow, flat and literally inhuman to their congregations. They do not speak the same language because they do not have a human voice.
* Churches that think they do are kidding themselves and missing an opportunity.
* Congregations are more important than churches.
* Most churches and pastors assume they build congregations. This is not true. Rather they belong to congregations. In this new era, congregations (like conversations) are all around us—we are in search of churches (and pastors).
* Congregations credential pastors they trust and invite into their conversation. Pastors emerge by building a reputation from within the congregation based on consistency and transparency. Pastors add value to congregations as they add connectedness.
* Successful pastors and churches of the future will enter into co-creative covenants that help congregations deal with complexity. They see themselves as benevolent keepers of Christian tradition who enable Christians, embrace emergence and foster learning. They do not see themselves as gatekeepers or arbiters of membership in the church.
* Pastors are not primarily preachers. Sermons are no longer teachings, but learning experiences. Goal of preaching is to learn not teach.
* Congregations are looking for pastors who serve them and offer the Sacraments. We are not looking for a vision.
* Church planters are people who are called to find and eventually pastor emerging congregations.
* The participatory church intimately connects with the real storytellers of Christianity, namely the congregation. Pastors and churches no longer tell the gospel story. All truth statements are co-created by congregations through the process of emergent conversations.
* These new participatory churches work on a gift economy. This means that Kingdom work is the reward not financial remuneration or power.
* Relational authenticity and longevity--not attendance--equals success in the participatory church. A church’s primary value to the congregation lies in its ability to connect Christians in conversation, service and sacrament. Connectedness equals healthy spiritual formation.
* Participatory churches provide more meaningful and memorable experiences because they participate with congregations. Even if Christians do not contribute to the conversation, they still expect a better experience because of the participation others.
* The participatory church is diverse in viewpoints and traditions. The new ministry of the pastor is to co-create systems that help congregations manage complexity.
* The greatest skill a participatory pastor will possess is the ability to listen.
* Congregations are their own watchdogs because they are the real stakeholders. Churches and pastors no longer need to screen their congregations for orthodoxy, arbitrate membership or filter their conversation. Orthodoxy will emerge. Call it emergent orthodoxy.
* Orthodoxy is not determined by a single source, but is distributed throughout the congregation. Neil Cole, a leader in the organic church movement observes, “The best solution to heresy in the church is not to have better-trained leaders in ‘the pulpits’, but better-trained people in ‘the pews’.”
* What I am trying to describe is a new kind of church created by believers
--from Jolly Blogger

More thoughts coming.

In Prayer and Support

September 11- New York, Washington, Pennsylvania
11 Marzo- Madrid
7 July- London

Yes, Lord, we ask "Why?" But we also know you are present. Be with all involved, yes, ALL, so that ALL may know your grace and love for them even if they want to do you and yours harm. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Adrian Warnock had a moving post. I am sure there are others that I haven't read yet. As Adrian has said, the Internet has brought many of us together in new and unique ways, and that is something to be grateful for.

Enabling is Wonderful
Thanks to Darryl at DashHouse.com for posting this insightful post and quote from Spurgeon:

Justification for my reading addiction

Commenting on 2 Timothy 4:13 ("When you come, bring...my scrolls, especially the parchments"), Spurgeon said:

Even an apostle must read. He is inspired and yet he wants books. He has seen the Lord and yet he wants books...He has been caught up in the third heaven, and he had heard things which it is unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books. He had written a major part of the New Testament and yet he wants books.

I love reading. I have been given a hard time because I will sit and read cereal boxes at breakfast. Reading is one of the best and most exciting hobbies there is. I can read on the Internet for hours. Yet there is nothing like a book. Praise God for books!

Note: There are some new books added to my reading list. Will catch up on some of those posts in the next week.

The Ethics of Friendship
Is it right for a best friend to wear a wire to try to catch his best friend who is suspected of a string of arsons? That was the underlying theme of NBC's Dateline on Sunday evening. It was an intriguing mystery about some seemingly eco-terrorism style arsons in the Arizona desert. The police eventually used the arsonist's best friend to capture him- to get a confession.

Part of the discussion was "How can my best friend have done something like that? He lied to me." There was almost an arrogance to the response: "I trusted him and he betrayed me. He just got into the game of being an undercover agent."

I can see the attitude if the guy had been innocent. Then the attitude would have been appropriate- He didn't believe me. Well, no, in some ways he didn't. And he shouldn't have. The "anti-social" attitude presented by the arsonist in that section of the interview was quite clear. The self-centeredness was obvious.

The real question I think is "Where do the duties of friendship end? Should a 'best friend' do this?"

My immediate answer is, "Of course." To do otherwise is to be an "enabler." Is "friendship" more important than what is legally right? Is "friendship" really friendship when it may be based on the original lies and deception that would be naturally part of the life of an arsonist? And, naturally the "friend" caught in the lie would be angry and feel betrayed. But who did the betrayal of trust first?

I know all the comments that come from this. I also know that all of us have "secrets" and other stuff that even our best friends don't necessarily know. But the secrets and even thinking style of people who are involved in "anti-social/criminal" behavior are different. Such a person will not- and cannot understand why what they are doing is the cause of the break in friendship. It will always be their friends fault. He should have trusted me. He should have believed me. It never comes to mind that they are using the friend to hide. He should have believed me is NEVER followed by "when I was lying to him and hiding my real self from him."

Probably the most telling exchange took place at the end of the show. The arsonist was asked if he has forgiven his friend. He responded that he had. No emotion. No remorse.

The friend was then asked the same question.
"Have you forgiven your friend?"
"I'm working on it."
"Have you forgiven yourself?"
"I'm working on it."

No easy answers. The man with a conscience is still struggling with the whole issue. Which is why we have a conscience in the first place. In that lies the difference between the two.

Good, thought provoking show.

The Miracle Revolution

Watched CNBC Saturday evening with Tim Russert interviewing David McCullough, author of the #1 bestseller 1776. As he told the stories of the events of that beginning year of the American Revolution, I was struck by the incredibly unbelieveable events that took place in the American Revolution. Changes in weather, young men with crazy ideas among much else, combined to make the American Revolution a story that no one would believe if it weren't true.

As McCullough pointed out, it is also one of the few revolutions that didn't turn in on itself and self-destruct. The other two BIG revolutions- the French and Russian- both turned out very badly- as do most revolutions. What made the American Revolution so different?

One thing was George Washington. Here was a man of incredible integrity and understanding of what democratic ideals really mean. Here was a man who set the model of leadership. Even old King George in England couldn't believe that a man would set down from power of his own free will and accord as Washington did at the end of his second term.

I think another thing was that we were truly living an experiment that no one had ever tried, in a place that had no "western, white, European history" to get in the way. Reading McCullough's book on John Adams and Joseph Ellis's Founding Brothers, we see that there was a great deal of disagreement and the ever-present possibility that the revolution would be lost. But they made some compromises (on slavery, for one) and gave the nation the chance.

The result is what we have today. No, this is not the most divided our nation has ever been. 1776 was pretty dangerous. The Civil War was downright frightening. The 1960s came close to the Civil War. No. The fact that we are still allowed to disagree, the fact that we can debate and criticize and fly the flag or not fly the flag- many, many things say that the country is still doing what it has alwas done.

But, yes, it is a fragile thing. Roosevelt tried to change some of it by packing the Supreme Court. He didn't succeed. Nixon tried to make it into his own powerhouse. He failed. One small change in either suituation, however, and the story could have been much different. The Patriot Act walks a very fine line. The fact that many people say we should be willing to give up some of the Bill of Rights (civil liberties) for safety, is worrisome.

On this Fourth of July, I give thanks to my God and Creator that I have been blessed to be born in the United States. It is purely by an accident of birth that I have the rights and freedoms of this great nation. Over 35 years ago a friend of mine wrote me a letter from the armed forces. He simply said that "freedom is far too precious to be given up as easily as I did mine." We must not lose sight of the power and blessings of freedom. Without freedom our nation will not long survive as the great country it is. Eat away at the freedoms, even in the name of a very nebulous idea called "security" and you have neither freedom nor security.

O beautiful for heroes prov'd
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life.
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears.
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

Natural Law
I remember discussions (usually political) that centered on the issue of "Natural Law" or the indisputable, immutable, always and forever true laws of Nature. A great deal of theology, politics, and law is based on this idea. Religion in many different ways purports to know what "Natural Law" is and how it is to be enforced or followed.

Usually this idea of "Natural Law" is used to support one or another political position or, worse, to impose one's political-religious views on others. I know there are "Natural Laws." The world follows some very clear laws. The planets and the atoms in our bodies follow laws. Two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen combined will make water. Quantum physics has informed us that these laws may not always be as we see them in the "bigger" world, but there are still quantum laws that, while far from being understood or explains, are still true.

Well, in the religious field I don't think there are all that many "Natural Laws" that can be experientially proven. Except perhaps one:

Romans 7:21-25-- So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

This is a great deal like my discussion with myself over my high cholesterol. "I can't have high cholesterol," I tell myself. "I don't eat that much that has the bad stuff in it. I take the extra supplements that are supposed to lower it. You know, thins like fiber every morning."

After a year of that I went back to the doctor and had another cholesterol check-up- and it was still high. That can't be. I don't do what would make it high. I don't have to take one of those drugs for it.

The "good and healthy" man within my inner being knows the right. But, and this is the BIG ONE, my members that would otherwise lead my whole body into health, won't do this. It is the genetic and hereditary law of my body that it will produce the unhealthy, the cholesterol.

And I can't change that by personal self will. It is a natural law.

Such is the way of sin. The only experientially provable theological doctrine there may be.

Until you come to know the power of Jesus. He may not be able to do anything about the power of cholesterol, but the power of sin is far more dangerous to my health. Only in Jesus have I found the power that is greater than myself that will restore me to the inner being's direction toward God.

Quiz of the Week
OK. It's a holiday weekend here in the good old US of A. Why not take it easy and take one of those crazy Internet quizzes?

Sure. Here's one on finding out what country I am. Hmmm.

Great. For our American Independence weekend I turn out to be....

You're Spain!

You like rain on the plain, as well as interesting architecture and a diverse number of races and religions. You like to explore a lot, but sailing, especially in large groups, never really seems to work out for you. Beware of pirates and dictators bearing bombs. And for heavens' sake, stop running around bulls! It's just not safe!
Take the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

Actually, it is interesting considering I am deeply in love with Spain. What a remarkable country. Rich in so many things. Having turned around from the dictatorship of the Franco years and has become a great, free country.

So, I am pleased to have a Spanish style in my life.

More on the Sermon on the Mount
Earlier I mentioned a post from Brad at 21st Century Reformation and his comments that The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous is a guide to discipling and that it is a good interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount. He had more to say about that this week. Here's a link to the personal testimony from Brad at 21st Century Reformation.

So, on top of all that I was at a 12-step meeting today and was standing around talking to some of my friends afterward. We were talking about the way the program works and how we depend on the others at the meeting for support. In response one of them said, "Yes, we do all sponsor each other."

It was then that it clicked again. Brad's comments, discipling, the Sermon on the Mount. We do it together, with each other. The ones who don't "make it sober" are those who continue to insist on doing it their own way. They are the ones who think they have all the answers and the best way is to think it's my way or the highway. They are the ones who won't accept "powerlessness" as a way of life or be willing to think about power coming to them from somewhere beyond their own abilities.

So we come together on a regular basis to give each other mentoring, care, criticism, hope, and strength. We "sponsor" each other.

It sure does sound like what the church is supposed to be like and can be like. It sure sounds like the way of Jesus.