Birthing A Different World - Susan Morely at Inward/Outward

Mary sings from the cave of her heart about what her child's birth will mean.  Be not naïve, for the words that follow are not so sweet. They point to a world about to be upended, where values will be shaken up and the mainstream way of life will be overturned by the birth of the child within her womb. 

Birthing a baby is more than enough challenge, but a new world! Yikes!

Advent is upon us and I am keenly aware of the craving for a different world.  Yet inner movements remain subtle. Clues often are all that will be given.

Mary’s story, and her cousin Elizabeth’s, is in another time when corrupt leaders, exploitation of the poor, controversial policies and dangers prevail.  In her song (the Magnificat), Mary sings from the cave of her heart about what her child's birth will mean. 

Be not naïve, for the words that follow are not so sweet. They point to a world about to be upended, where values will be shaken up and the mainstream way of life will be overturned by the birth of the child within her womb. 

The stories of these two women, grounded and joyous in the face of the mysteries they carry, show the way. We are the different world God longs to bring forth.  Advent is the time to ground ourselves in reality, difficult or not, and empty out space enough to receive Love.

The full article is available here

Every Piece Matters and Has Its Place - T.A. Barron

A War On What Christmas Has Become? Sign This Minister Up - Reverend Mark Sandlin at Sojourner's

So if there is a War on Christmas like many of the "not-least of these" claim, then sign me up. I refuse to let the story of my faith be co-opted by corporate interests who want us to believe we are entitled to a certain materialistic status that can be bought and that we should revel in our obscene abundance.

The baby we remember this time of year was not part of the dominant culture (unlike us). The religious stories told in the time of Jesus' birth were told under the shadow of the dominant culture. They were stories of oppression and hardships; stories of hope for people living in times and cultural positions that felt hopeless.

Today, our stories are told from places and positions of power. So, instead of the story of a Middle-Eastern, unwed, pregnant woman who was seen as little more than property, giving birth to what her society would see as an illegitimate child who was placed in a smelly feeding-trough in an animal stall, we end up with a clean White Anglo Saxon Protestant woman giving birth to a glowing baby wrapped in impossibly white cloths and laid in a manger that looks more like a crib than any feeding-trough.

The Christmas story has been hijacked by the dominant culture. Our current story has become increasingly white-washed and sanitized. That has warped the comeuppance sensibilities of the original Christmas story. God's vision of liberating the oppressed and downtrodden has been air-brushed into a safe story that no longer brings fear to the Powers that Be, but rather supports big business agendas of profit and mass consumerism.

Does the story we tell bring light into darkness? Does it bring hope to hopeless? Does our celebration bring justice to those who have been treated unjustly?

Jesus' birth is a part of a story meant to teach us something about the value of every human soul; meant to teach us that "the least of these" is simply a human construct; meant to show us what life looks like when it starts from the assumption that all people are worthy of love.

So if there is a War on Christmas like many of the "not-least of these" claim, then sign me up. I refuse to let the story of my faith be co-opted by corporate interests who want us to believe we are entitled to a certain materialistic status that can be bought and that we should revel in our obscene abundance (in the 1st World which is carried on and carved out of the backs of the 2nd and 3rd World. I refuse to worship a cult of consumerism that sees the world, who worry about having enough food to eat, a place to live, and clean water to drink, as cogs in its supply chain. This corporate global dominance is enabled by an economic and cultural empire that dwarfs the Romans,) even as we celebrate the birth of a child who had no place to lay his head and told us "just as you do it unto the least of these, you do unto me."

The full article is available here

Benediction: May God Interrupt Our Autopilot Living (based on John 1:5)

As we go, let's watch for God's interruptions of our autopilot living.  May the power of God's love reposition us; leading us to fill the dark places with light, to level the uneven paths with grace, and to join together with all of humanity in the unity of peace.

May mercy and justice interrupt our greed and mistrust. May we strive to bring compassion and hope. May our lives speak of God's endless love that sets things right. May it shine forth from us as we do our part in God's redemptive plan for creation.

The Problem With The Christian Music Industry - Michael Gungor at Awaken Generation

When you remove the soul from music and transplant the body parts and parade it around with some more “positive” lyrics posing as Christian music, then what you have is a musical zombie.

I find something very disingenuous about most Contemporary Christian Music. This is something I can simply feel at a gut level.  It’s that same kind of creep out that you feel when somebody gives a really loud fake laugh. It’s just weird and uncomfortable feeling.

The basic premise of most Contemporary Christian music I've seen is to use whatever musical style you wish as a medium to communicate your message. It’s not about the art, it’s about "the message."  The problem with this is that music is not simply reducible to certain sounding tones and chords. There are emotions and attitudes of different genres of music that are the soul of the music.

So when you remove the soul from music and transplant the body parts (chord changes, instrumentation, dress, lights, and everything but the soul…) and parade it around with some more “positive” lyrics posing as Christian music, then what you have is a musical zombie.

It looks like a human.. It eats like a human… It still walks and makes noise and resembles a human, but it’s not. It’s a zombie. It has no soul. It just uses it’s human body for its own purposes. 

There are a few artists that I know in the Christian industry that are really trying to transcend the inherent limitations and zombying effect of the industry. But the industry as a whole is broken.

We call it Christian, but it’s certainly not based in Christianity. It is based on marketing. That’s it.

The full article is available here

Getting vs Giving: Messages of Consumerism and Singing Angels - Jeff Wiersma

The message of joy and peace that the angels sang interrupted a sleepy night for the shepherds.  In the same way, it is a counter-narrative that interrupts the constant marketing propaganda which we are subjected to; proclaiming good news for all people in the form of something given freely to the entire world - a child.

In this season of Advent, of preparation and expectant hoping, the prophets of old and the angels who sang to the shepherds speak to us of God's peace and joy.

But we are relentlessly bombarded with consumerist messages designed to make us feel anxious and lacking.  They try to tell us that what we have and who we are isn't good enough; that joy can only be found in endlessly trying to get more and more and more; that we need to look out for ourselves first and foremost.

The message of joy and peace that the angels sang interrupted a sleepy night for the shepherds.  In the same way, it is a counter-narrative that interrupts the constant marketing propaganda which we are subjected to; proclaiming good news for all people in the form of something freely given to the entire world - a child.

Like the shepherds, we need to be open to surprising ways that God comes to us in our own time; as the widow, the orphan, the refugee, the oppressed, the exploited, the weak, the sick, the powerless and voiceless.

Looking to get more and more narrows our focus on just ourselves, often at the expense of others (be they our next door neighbor or someone on the other side of the world, who is on the receiving end of global labor force bottom-feeding and climate change "externalities") and our home planet.

This season's message of giving interrupts that and widens our focus to other fellow image-bearers of God.  God's free gift to the world is part of the mission to let love rule; a mission toward having mercy, justice, peace and joy reign.

Smells of Palestine enhance church Christmas drama - Lark News

In addition to heartwarming smells like warm bread over a wood fire, the kit includes scents for unwashed feet, donkey dung, rotting fish and unusually bad body odor.

Last year, First Christian Church brought in live donkeys to wow the audience at its annual Christmas drama. This year, they’re adding “scented sensations which bring the Holy Land to life.”

In short, their presentation is going to stink.

With a slew of Christmas presentations vying for local audiences this year, churches are embracing far-out measures to enliven December dramas.

This season’s fad is Smells of Palestine, a “sensory kit” sold by The Ol’ Factory Worship Experience, a Dallas company. The kit pumps “authentic smells” into the sanctuary during re-enactments of the Christmas story.

“It works like a fog machine,” says a company representative. “Heated oils send evocative odors wafting over the congregation.”

Evocative, but not always pleasing. In addition to heartwarming smells like warm bread over a wood fire, the kit includes scents for unwashed feet, donkey dung, rotting fish and unusually bad body odor.

The full article is available here

A Church That Is Out On The Streets - Pope Francis

Around the world today, the powerful "feed upon the powerless" and too many people are treated as "consumer goods to be used and then discarded," Pope Francis writes in his first major paper since becoming leader of the Roman Catholic church last May.

The full article is available here 

For Fast Relief, Slow Down - by Ian Lawton at Progressive Christianity

The need for speed breeds impatience and entitlement, but more importantly we lose our perspective. We forget that food has a history, that health takes time, that inner peace is a lifestyle.

We only occasionally catch ourselves racing through life and wonder why, like when we’re behind a slow driver (ie someone driving the speed limit), get impatient and then slap our forehead because we realize it only takes an extra minute to get where we’re going. Most of the time we don’t even realize, because we’re marinated in a culture of speed, thoroughly and compulsively immersed in the rat race, forgetting that even if you win the rat race you’re still a rat.

If there’s a fast way to do something, someone will find it; fast cars, fast food, fast lane, quick fixes, speed reading, speed dialing, speed dating, pizza in 30 minutes or money back, speed yoga. We’re even in a hurry for inner peace. We want it NOW!

The need for speed breeds impatience and entitlement, but more importantly we lose our perspective. We forget that food has a history, that health takes time, that inner peace is a lifestyle.  However we can turn around the symptoms of speed and reclaim the gifts of time.

Be fast when it makes sense to be fast, and be slow when slowness is called for. Seek to live at what musicians call the tempo giusto — the right speed.

Tempo Giusto is free will to a musician. It means “the right pace”. The musician is free to discern the intent of the composer and go with the flow.

The full article is available here

Youth Generate Unique Multi-Faith Community in Switzerland - Ekklesia

At Bossey participants also engaged in sharing different expressions of prayer and spirituality, along with attending scholarly lectures and taking part in plenaries and group discussions.

Young people of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths have recently created a unique community at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland. Together they seek to break religious stereotypes, promote mutual respect and enhance their understanding of religions beyond the conflict paradigm.

Taking part in a summer course titled “Building an Interfaith Community”, these young adults were hosted by the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey in Switzerland from 12 to 30 August 2013.

“The course is an opportunity for me to learn about religions other than mine,” said Oriya Gorgi, a 21-year-old participant of Jewish faith, from Ashdod, Israel.

Gorgi went on to say that her experience at Bossey has challenged her perceptions based on media reports that often depict religion merely as a source of communal divisions.

“Our faiths have more commonalities than we think,” she said.

At Bossey participants also engaged in sharing different expressions of prayer and spirituality, along with attending scholarly lectures and taking part in plenaries and group discussions.

The full article is available here

The Appropriate Amount Of Hope - Mari Clark at Werewolf Jesus

When you consider everything, hope is not suitable or proper. It makes no sense, in this world. Therein lies its difficulty and its power: that it is so much less convenient than despair.  Hope, as with all good things, is something I need to choose over Fear.

 “What is the appropriate amount of hope?”   Ew.  What a sad little question.  How calculating! How mature-in-the-worst-way!

Somehow, I grew up and learned to cower in obedience to the great and terrible Disappointment. As if feeling disappointed were the worst thing that could happen to me. Am I the only one who operates this way? Preparing for the worst in every situation, just in case.

If there was an appropriate amount of hope to quantify, it wouldn’t be hope, it would be expectation. It would be reliable and gritty and tangible. It would require no faith or trust.

There is no appropriate amount of hope, because hope is inappropriate.

When you consider everything, hope is not suitable or proper. It makes no sense, in this world. Therein lies its difficulty and its power: that it is so much less convenient than despair.  Hope, as with all good things, is something I need to choose over Fear.

It is a choice that springs forth from a heart that growls fiercely that it will not bow to fear or disappointment or despair. A heart that, scarred and pressed from every side, clings to the belief that after all, in spite of it all, despite it all…God is always good and I am always loved.

The full article is available here

Call To Worship: Quiet, Confident Expectation (based on Isaiah 40:31)

God, we have gathered in expectation of connection with you. In the same way that you bring order from chaos and bring renewal and life to the universe, we know that you move, in grace, towards us. Even though we are imperfect and broken, you invite us near. We come together to respond, in praise, for your how your spirit moves in our souls.

We thank you for how you long to have connection and relationship with us. Make our lives themselves be a song of joy to you, God.

NeoCalvinism - Mark Krause at Krause Korner

Calvinism is biblically based, to be sure, but there are two, related doctrinal items in Calvinism that are not reconcilable with the majority of Scripture’s teaching.

In many large churches, the old Protestant doctrines of Calvinism are flourishing. This has been called Neo Calvinism, New Calvinsim, and other things. I like the label NeoCalvinsim. The leading advocates for this are John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and others.

Calvinism is biblically based, to be sure, but there are two, related doctrinal items in Calvinism that are not reconcilable with the majority of Scripture’s teaching.

First, the doctrine of complete, utter, total human depravity. If this is a starting point, one must believe that men and women can do nothing toward their own salvation. Salvation must necessarily be an act of God for each individual. When we push this to its logical conclusion, salvation or lack of salvation are determined by God with no human decisions or actions influencing God’s decisions.

The logical corollary to the doctrine of total depravity is the doctrine of predestination. If salvation is wholly of God, it is predetermined and set before our birth.

It is difficult to reconcile this with the repeated Scriptural teaching that God is not willing that any should perish.  If God is unwilling that any should perish or not be saved, then the doctrine of predestination is nonsense. Sophisticated nonsense with some scriptural support, to be sure, but still nonsensical.

The full article is available here

Mercy and Thanksgiving - Kayla McClurg at Inward/Outward

Once in a while, we not only get healed—we also GET IT that we are getting healed! With a stroke of sudden awareness we see the unfailing love in which we are encased, like new skin, leprous no more. Once in a while, thanksgiving wells up within us.

At the heart of it all is mercy. Healing our leprosy, whether physical, mental or spiritual, is but an outward sign of the most radical and audacious news—the God of love living in Jesus cannot stop healing and reconciling and making all things new. Ten times out of ten, we are made new! Nine times out of ten, we do not comprehend the enormity of this amazing grace. We miss so many mercy moments, and venture forth unaware that we are being healed.

Once in a while, we not only get healed—we also GET IT that we are getting healed! With a stroke of sudden awareness we see the unfailing love in which we are encased, like new skin, leprous no more. Once in a while, thanksgiving wells up within us, bounds alongside us, laps at mercy’s heels, tumbles over itself in an outrageousness of joy. Mercy heals us. One time out of ten, a tsunami of gratitude plunges us onto the shores of new life.

How to live now, in the awareness of such abundance and grace? Ten times out of ten, crying out for mercy brings the gift of mercy. But we are so accustomed to the leprosy, to living in rejection and fear on the outskirts of our life, not daring to believe that we have more to give than we have given so far. How shall we help one another, beggars all, to acknowledge the healing, to rise up on a wave of thanksgiving, to begin to live the wholeness that has already come, already weaves itself through our ordinary days?

The full article is available here

The Longview of The Kingdom - Ocsar Romero

Benediction: The Life Of Suffering Love That Jesus Lived Is What We're Invited Into (based on I Peter 2:21-25)

We are invited into the kind of life that Christ lived. Jesus surrendered his place at God's right hand and chose to suffer everything that came with being fully human - so that we would know how to live as  followers of God's kingdom here on earth.

Like Jesus, we can surrender our ego to the unforced rhythms of grace and become more fully alive. 

As we go from here, let's remember that God continues to set things right in the effort to restore the created universe back to its original goodness. May that compel us to seek out ways to be God's healing
and new life to our homes, our communities, and the world beyond our walls.

Responsive Call To Worship: God's Goodness (based on Psalm 103)

Psalm 103 by Lee Hood

Reader: Our souls sings songs of thanks to God
All: We remember God’s goodness to us.

Reader: God’s kindness is endless. God's presence is always with us ...
All: ... even in times of struggle.

Reader: God watches over us with unending love.
All: God provides the strength that we need
Reader: For all who have been mistreated, God does what is right and fair.
All: God is tender and kind and slow to anger.

Reader: God’s love never runs out. As high as the heavens are above the earth ...
All: ... that's how great God’s love for us is.

Reader: As far as the east is from the west,
All: ... that's how far away from our brokeness it is that God sees us.

Reader: So let us sing songs of thanks.
All: May we always remember God’s goodness to us.

Are Consumers Able To Worship? Syd Hielema at Calvin Institute of Worship

The job of a leader is to create a space where all are free to set aside self-centered desires and wake up longings for a deeper way of living.

Consumerism is the societal sense that our conscious desires must be satisfied as quickly as possible.  The worshiping community gathers with conflicted desires.  The job of a leader is to create a space where all are free to set aside self-centered desires and wake up longings for a deeper way of living.  Here are some practical steps to implement this.

Stretch the community's worship imagination.  There should be an intentional focus on a 24/7, all-of-life is worship mindset.  This includes learning the skill of bring the entirety of life to worship.

Allow many different voices to speak.  There needs to be a balance between seeking to be nourished (though valid, self-directed) and being a community that nourishes "the stranger" (other-directed).  The church needs to learn to "die to self" by making room for the "non-me" generations that are coming up behind it.

Dig deeper.  The church needs to be challenged to discern and address "deep needs" and to engage people in their deepest being.  This is prevented when worship is focused on instant gratification that makes people feel good.

Engage tradition in living ways.  The consumer-driven Christian entertainment industry likes to market itself as contemporary.  But as J Pelikan said, "Tradition (rich though unfamiliar practices) is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism (this is the comfortable way we are familiar with) is the dead faith of the living."

The full article is available here

Why I Don't Enjoy "Christian" Pop Culture - Bill Hodgeman

When I think about some of the cultural artifacts that have been modified by the word “Christian,” I think about how glad I am that Jesus rose from the dead.  Otherwise, He’d be rolling in His grave.

The title is a misnomer.  There is no such thing as Christian pop culture. There’s only Christian niche culture. There’s a difference.

In short, Christian niche culture differs from popular culture not just in its content, but in its quality, creativity and culturally-savviness.  That’s why it’s a niche culture. Because only a niche will buy it. Which niche?  The one who will gladly sacrifice excellence and innovation for content they can feel good about.

So why, you ask, is a Christian niche culture such a bad thing?

Christianity is a relationship and a worldview, not a genre.

A Christian is a noun.  The word Christian means, literally, “a little Christ.” Historically it has described someone who has denied themselves and taken up their cross to follow(trust, imitate, obey) Jesus of Nazareth. It is a powerful identity marker that indicates supreme loyalty and submission to the Son of God.  Christian is a powerful word.  And it’s a noun.

The word Christian looses it's power when it becomes an adjective—particularly one that modifies nouns such as t-shirt, music, novel,conference and film.

When I think about some of the cultural artifacts that have been modified by the word “Christian,” I think about how glad I am that Jesus rose from the dead.  Otherwise, He’d be rolling in His grave.

The full article is available here

Worship: The Myth of "Christian" Music - Jonathan Malm at Sunday Mag

The terms “secular” and “sacred” are myths when it comes to music. “Christian music” is not Christian. And frankly, neither is "Worship" music. Music is music.

Many of the songs the church sings that have been designated as "Worship" by a for-profit "Christian" record industry are deeply flawed.


They’re filled with bad doctrine or misleading messages (not to mention distorted theology). That’s why it’s important to be careful what songs we sing (and the terminology we use to describe them).

Too many Christians get all their doctrine from the songs they sing. Let’s step beyond calling five songs “worship”. Let’s start seeing this as a bigger experience than just a block of music. The tool of worship is never supposed to be worshiped. When that happens we have an idol.

The terms “secular” and “sacred” are myths when it comes to music. “Christian music” is not Christian. And frankly, neither is "Worship" music. Music is music.

The full article is available here

Passé Light Rock Bands Resurrected As Christian Acts - Lark News

“Our songs still have life in them. So you tweak a few lyrics, memorize some scriptures, get yourself a testimony, and viola, you’ve got a fan base again.”

In a victory for nostalgia and Christian Contemporary Music, light rock acts of yesteryear are finding new life in church venues.

“We wanted to keep playing,” says Air Supply's Graham Russell, one of the band’s longtime leaders. “Our songs still have life in them. So you tweak a few lyrics, memorize some scriptures, get yourself a testimony, and viola, you’ve got a fan base again.”

For years, bands like Air Supply and REO Speedwagon plied the county fair circuit, playing old hits and trying to pump up dwindling audiences. But as competition for county fair slots increases, and older bands fade further into the past, more are finding success playing churches, youth conventions, even acoustic sets at prayer gatherings.

Lighting and sound can be iffy, but bands use their arena-rock skills to keep the energy level up, kicking their legs into the air, jumping around the platform, clutching their hearts during ballads.

“You haven’t seen an altar call until you’ve seen it to REO Speedwagon’s ‘I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore,’” says Sam Durabian, 25, youth pastor at Second Baptist church in Boise, which hosted the band last year.

Bands have experienced a “church bounce” as album sales creep up the back-catalog charts. And with more bands re-uniting to exploit the trend, marketspace is getting squeezed.

“We tried to book a Presbyterian church in Buffalo for Fourth of July, but they’d already booked Mr. Mister,” says Air Supply’s Russell “I guess the secret is out.”

The full article is available here

The New Story - Jim Hall at Inward/Outward

Living the new story in the midst of a very powerful old story involves considerable risk. If we are in pursuit of Jesus, we will be always moving from our own self-serving story to a self-giving story.

We are living in a time when all around us old stories are dying and new stories are struggling to be born.

New story emerges in many ways - as we let go of the old story and attend to ancient wisdom and as we try to live it out in the midst of the old story still around us.  

This process is often filled with risk and conflict.

Our smaller stories are embedded in and shaped by the larger stories around us; our stories evolve over time. Hopefully they evolve, as Franciscan priest Richard Rohr has put it, from “life is about us” to “we are about life.” Over time we are invited into larger and larger stories.

Jesus lived a new story in the midst of the old. Into a story about obeying religious rules and keeping commandments in order to please God, came a new story: the rules are God’s gift to us, not our obligation to God. Jesus goes beyond structure to essence. Structures exist to serve essence.

Jesus chose to act out his own authentic story, one about self-giving love and compassion. Living the new story in the midst of a very powerful old story involves considerable risk. If we are in pursuit of Jesus, we will be always moving from our own self-serving story to a self-giving story.

The full article is available here

Christian Music: Why Is It So Terrible and What Can Be Done? - Alan Atchinson at Patheos

If American Christians are eating up what the CCM is putting out, why would it fix what i$n’t broken? Until the industry decides that it loves money less, we’ve still got a long way to go.

A lot of what I see coming out of the church in terms of Christian music unfortunately deals in probably the most spiritual 2% of life.  If music truly is the universal language of the world, then this sort of production just isn’t going to cut it.

What would it look like if Christians ripped down the fictional sacred/secular divide and took notice of what so many artists around us are screaming about regarding the messed up state of our culture?

So it’s no wonder when people look at Christian music, that they see Christianity as this one-dimensional, irrelevant worldview to life that only deals with transcendent moments of worship and the afterlife. 

Despite much of Christian music’s lack of depth or authenticity, the Contemporary Christian Music industry is continuing to thrive financially. Can it really be considered a coincidence that most CCM artists tend to churn out the same soft, fluffy messages?

If American Christians are eating up what the CCM is putting out, why would it fix what i$n’t broken? Until the industry decides that it loves money less, we’ve still got a long way to go.

The full article is available here

Time For Musicians Who Are Christians To Step Up Creative Game - Chris Queen

"We can find a few exceptions, but for the most part, the Christian music industry produces substandard art."

These days I can’t turn on Christian radio without turning it off almost as quickly. Christian radio fills the airwaves with cliche after cliche – vapid Jesus cheer leading and bland scripture reading put to poor quality music. Again, we can find a few exceptions, but for the most part, the Christian music industry produces substandard art.

It seems like there’s a lot of mediocre art of all kinds out there with the “Christian” label on it. Why do we believers let that happen? Why do we let so much make the cut that wouldn't make it anywhere else? Why should we as Christians sacrifice excellence for content?

If we serve and love such a creative God, we should be creative people. Christians who are artists should realize that all of their lives belong to God and that they honor Him through excellence, not through how many times His name is mentioned or how many scriptural truths are shown or quoted. I believe that art that purports to bear the name of Jesus Christ but is mediocre is no art at all and that anything a believer does that is less than excellent does Him a disservice.

It’s high time for Christian artists to up the ante on creativity, and it’s time for Christians to demand creativity from musicians.

The full article is available here

See also ...
5 Reasons to Kill "Christian" Music

Creative = In Love With Life - Osho

Call to Worship: All Are Welcome (based on Isaiah 56:6-8)

 

Come as you are. God's love is open to all people. Here, all are welcome; outsiders and insiders, newcomers and long-timers, the young, the old, and everyone in-between.

So come and worship. Open your hearts as we give thanks for God’s boundless love.

Benediction: May God's Love Soften Our Hearts (based on Ephesians 4:1-6)

In our lives, may we reflect the overflowing and bottomless love of Jesus. May we be humble, gentle, patient and gracious; using our words and actions to be conduits of love and truth.

We are hardwired for relationship and connection, which we can build by being Jesus' hands and feet to each other.

So let's allow God's unconstrained love to soften our hearts. May we live in love, as Jesus modeled, to sustain each other. May God's Spirit move us towards ever deeper and richer community and the peace that is found in walking life's road with fellow travelers.

Good Marginal Thinking - Brian McLaren at Christianity Today

Every system and community is in continual need of renewal, which almost always comes from the margins.  The community that excludes those at the margins cuts off the resources of growth while building resistance to the renewal that it needs.

Being, thinking, looking or acting differently from the majority can push one to the margins. Reflective Christians; those who doubt what everyone else takes for granted, feel different pretty often in churches and therefore feel marginalized pretty often.

 It is a process that can be wounding and stigmatizing. Reflective Christians dwell in a tension between remaining silent, which feels dishonest and frustrating, and raising questions, which often makes them feel like an "other" or "outlier."

Throughout institutional church history, Reflective Christians have often found that they had no place or future in the church of their time. Two of the most transformational figures would be Martin Luther, who doubted what the church taught about indulgences, and Galileo, who observed that a heliocentric universe contradicted the church's paleocentric teaching. Both were marginalized in their time by forces seeking to control the church from the top-down.

 More recent examples would include Martin Luther King Jr, Desmond Tutu, Dorothy Day and Wendell Berry.

Every system and community is in continual need of renewal, which almost always comes from the margins. The community that excludes those at the margins cuts off the resources of growth while building resistance to the renewal that it needs.

 Reflective Christians should be listened to attentively and given space to be who they are. They need leaders to visibly stand between them and their most vocal critics, the reactionary forces of boundary maintenance and exclusion.

If communities amputate their margins, they commit the same error that the chief priests and scribes did when a needed, new voice of renewal spoke the truth to power from the margins.

The full article is available here

I Wanna Be A Clone - Steve Taylor

"Their language, it was new to me but Christianese got through to me.
Now I can speak it fluently, I want to be a clone."

I'd gone through so much other stuff, that walking down the aisle was tough.
But now I know it's not enough, I want to be a clone.
I asked the Lord into my heart, they said that was the way to start.
But now you've got to play the part, I want to be a clone.

Be a clone and kiss conviction goodnight.
Cloneliness is next to Godliness, right?
I'm grateful that they show the way 'cause I could never know the way
to serve Him on my own, I want to be a clone.

They told me that I'd fall away unless I followed what they say.
Who needs the Bible anyway, I want to be a clone.
Their language, it was new to me but Christianese got through to me.
Now I can speak it fluently, I want to be a clone.

Send in the clones. I kind of wanted to tell my friends
and people about it, you know. You're still a baby, you have to grow,
give it twenty years or so. 'Cause if you want to be one of his
you gotta act like one of us.

So now I see the whole design, my church is an assembly line.
The parts are there, I'm feeling fine, I want to be a clone.
I've learned enough to stay afloat but not so much, I rock the boat.
I'm glad they shoved it down my throat, I want to be a clone.

Everybody must get cloned

Hands That Heal and Bless - Billy Graham

On The Side Of The Strong Against The Weak - Howard Thurman

Spiritual Awakening: A New Economy and The End of Empire - David Korten at Tikkun

"It is essential to our collective future that our religious institutions refashion themselves as centers of spiritual inquiry and community building. As religious communities go public with the truth of our Spirit affirming messages, they help to expose as fabrications the false values of Empire that hold us captive."

In the global market economy, a basic question that isn't being asked is, "What purpose do we expect the economy to serve." This is because we fail to see that our economic crisis is just as much spiritual as it is financial.

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus is giving his Sermon on The Mount and states that, "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." In the global market economy, wealth has become an object of worship. Since 2008, we having been dealing with the consequences of this idolatry. The false gods of Wall Street have been given the power to decide the values by which we live and take make decisions about who will prosper and who live in desperation.

Jesus scholar Marcus Borg famously said, "Tell me your image of God, and I will tell you your politics."

The Patriarch Model that has been traditionally intertwined with the Abrahamic faith traditions has resulted in a hierarchy of domination. It has led to the individualistic politics of separation and favors seeking wealth accumulation by means of exploitation and predatory resource extraction. It has even led to some theological frameworks saying, whether implicitly or explicitly, that the rich and powerful are necessarily God's most-favored people.

The Spirit Model more accurately recognizes the face of God in every living being and every part of the universe. It leads to a politics of shared purpose, shared community and mutual service. Everything in creation is seen as the manifestation and agent of a greater spiritual intelligence.

Already, a spiritual awakening is underway. Most often, it is occurring beyond our religious institutions. It is essential to our collective future that our religious institutions refashion themselves as centers of spiritual inquiry and community building. They need to be dedicated to drawing from the whole of human knowledge and experience to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our relationship to the larger whole of Creation. As religious communities go public with the truth of our Spirit affirming messages, they help to expose as fabrications the false values of Empire that hold us captive.

The full article is available here

Institutions Do Their Sinning For Them - Peter Storey

Distortions Caused By Excessive Hellenization -- Clark H. Pinnock

- Clark H Pinnock from his piece, "Systematic Theology" from the book 'The Openess of God: A Biblical Challenge To The Traditional Understanding of God'

Community: I Didn't Know What Was So Near - Kayla McClurg at Inward/Outward

“I didn’t know what was so near, or that it was mine.  This perfect sweetness blossoming in the depths of my heart.” – Rabindranath Tagore

In community we begin to discover a desire for what we didn’t know was so near, or that it was ours. Traveling into the depths proves to be a lifelong journey, and happens best in community.  One of the benefits of being in a community that strives to be on both an inward and an outward journey, not only as individuals but together, is that I don’t have to rely on my own sense of how it’s going.  When I’m tired and grouchy, needing to retreat from activity, others are enthusiastic about being together. I can bow out while others bow in.

A church that is self-aware knows its weakness and welcomes you in your weakness, too. You will never need to wonder if you are “enough” to belong. The fact is no, you are not enough–and neither are the rest of us. So c’mon. The baggage room is over there–lay down yours and I’ll lay down mine and we’ll lean on God together.

I appreciate a community made up of people who know they are weak and wounded and know that’s not the whole story. Weakness doesn’t automatically translate into community, but it can be a starting place. At the base of community is not weakness, but the desire to grow in love.

The full article is available here

The Modernist Church's Obsession With Buildings - Kamahl Russell at Phuture

Buildings are built for the function of worship, but worship isnt a function, it's a state of being. 

Our very reliance on buildings as our places of worship stems from our missiological (mis?) understanding fo what we think church is all about.  It isn't about inviting to people to come out of their comfort zones and into a strange space to sing unfamiliar songs and hear a lecture about living a life of purpose and destiny. Somehow, we still believe that somehow a non-churched person (who we automatically assume isn't following any other valid spiritual journey) that is need of being programmed with our information might suddenly realize their need for church and then come strolling in.  Thinking missionally requires to lose the manfactured "Us" and "Them" mentality of the modernist church.

I'm suggesting we should live missionally and build into people's lives, gathering them into a community as living stones, rather than using our time, budgets and energy in the effort to place them into a building of gathered stone.

Neighborly support in a time of crisis, a ride to work when the car dies, food when there is nothing in the cupboard; can of these events take place in  the several hundred seat auditorium with fancy slide presentations and rock concert light shows?  I would dare to suggest that even the well-intended ministries we run are dominated, designated and restricted by the facilities we have.

If we need to use space for our ministries - why not the ones that are already created out of and for the local community culture? Aren't those places created by the very people we are seeking to living in community with, to walk and suffer and rejoice and have fun with?  Life takes place in the street and the cafe, in the bar and concert hall - not in a business park off of the expressway with stadium seating.

Jesus states very clearly his idea of true worship in John 4 and Matthew 25:31-46.  How could we morally consider building another auditorium when there is a child starving or homeless? Just who do we really do our style of "worship" for?

The full article is available here

Call to Worship: God Of Creation and Life (based on Psalm 96)

Sing a song of praise to God. Sing in one voice, all of creation. Tell of all the good things God has done. Sing of God's kingdom; coming and already here. 

All of our manufactured gods; fame, wealth, power, greed, all of our idols - are lifeless. The Eternal God's live-giving power makes them look phony and cheap.

God is present in the entire universe and watches over everything in it. You can see God in all of the  powerful and wild beauty of creation. 

If we're looking for it, we find God's handiwork all around us. May we be moved by that to give God praise.

Postmodernism and The Emergent Church, Part Two - Thomas Jay Oord at The Ooze

Part Two - Breaking Free: Liberationist Postmodernism

Modern ways of knowing are based on the idea that abstract and universal thought are the only way to understand reality.  But truth can't be captured in logical syllogism or scientific analysis alone because humans draw from and rely on personally-gained wisdom. 

Even though language isn't the only lense on reality, modernity compartmentalized and fragmented knowledge of the world while failing to consider the experiences of those at the margins.  This constitutes a critical failure in having a holistic approach to reality. 

Postmodern revisionists seek to account for a variety of sensibilities; including religious, scientific, ecological, liberationist and aesthetic.  They seek a story big and adequate enough to include everyone while still appreciating and promoting diversity.  This revisionism is part of a perpetual practice of recasting and adapting a worldview to new experiences and information.  

Unlike modernism, postmodernism doesn't diminish anything that is "other-than" but affirms that all creatures have direct interaction with the divine., whose spirit  works in all of creation.  This is interrelation of all creatures is what makes community essential.  Our well-being is caught up in and largely dependent upon the well-being of the whole.  Many revisionist postmodernists look to the doctrine of the Trinity to ground their emphasis on divine relatedness.

This is one of the rich narratives that modernism trampled under foot as it pursued progress full-speed-ahead, leaving a path of needless destruction in its wake while wreaking havoc on the planet.  Postmodern revisionism seeks wiser ways to proceed in the future by turning to both ancient wisdom sources and emerging insights that could help to facilitate the experience of abundant life.  It sees progress towards a better world as possible by divine common grace and proper creaturely responses, something Wesleyans call "prevenient grace."

The full article is available here

Theological Mistakes: "Everything Happens For A Reason" -- Mark Krause at Krause Korner

Grief should be comforted, not rationalized.

When someone's loved one dies, what do you say to those left behind? When someone is suffering a life altering loss or debilitating situation, what do you say to them upon learning about it?  We often want to give words of comfort, but our desire to do this can often cause more damage than comfort.

It is not helpful to tell a son whose father just died, "This is God's plan, so it's for the best."  There are many trite variations on this cliche, but the idea is that God either allowed or caused the death.  It's the pseudo-theological variation of the pop psychology statement "Everything happens for a reason."  What people usually mean is "Everything happens for a good reason," the implication being that something good always comes out of tragedy.

This is NOT a Christian idea, despite the fact that this pseudo-theology seems to have a Biblical patina.

How does this play out in real life to the unfortunate recipient or such words in a time of tragedy?  Is there comfort to be found in "Everything happens for a reason" and (somehow suggesting that the person undergoing their own personal hell on earth is doing so because it is what God wants?)

I don't think so.

If you are in a position to offer words of comfort to someone grieving loss of ANY kind, I would suggest that you walk with that person in their grief instead of dismissing it.  (Remember  "Jesus wept?")

The full article is available here

What I Really Do Meme

God Hates Figs

Westborough Baptist has got it all wrong.  Maybe there was a typo in their translation?

Reflection and Renewal: The Idols We Create (based on Psalm 121)

God, you are the source of beauty. Your handiwork is on full display in our universe. God, you are the source of love; the divine spark inside of all of us that drives us to be your hands and feet to each other.

But we don't always give you the credit that you deserve. Instead, we create idols - of status, of power, of wealth, of our careers, of our children, of our significant others. And then we look to these idols to be our primary guides, to make us whole and give our lives meaning. But God, only you deserve that role.

Forgive us. We know that when we confess our failures to you, you promise to not hold them against us, but instead move towards us in love and grace, where we can find peace.

Amen.

Benediction: Holding Tightly To Hope (based on Hebrews 10:23)

Let us hold tightly to the hope that we say is ours. Let's keep a firm grip on the promise that joy comes to those who put their trust in God.

A Caricature Of God - John Boykin

rear cover of The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge To The Traditional Understanding of God

Postmodernism and The Emergent Church, Part One - Thomas Jay Oord at The Ooze

Part One -- Things Change

The current change from modernism to postmodernism entails a radically different way of looking at life.  A whole new paradigm is emerging that beckons us to break from negative precedent.  This kind of worldview shift occurs when people question, then change their core assumptions about reality.  They have encountered data that just can't be explained by an older system of beliefs. 

Deconstructive postmodernism works to identify inherent inconsistencies in the language we use to describe reality, arguing that language can't be definitely nailed down.  Words inevitably contain meanings that authors did not intend. Propositions can't reliable deliver the truth about reality.  So-called "objective" and "universal" reason relies upon biased and ambiguous language.  Deconstructive theology steers clear of the idolatry of words and promotes the prophetic.

Narrative postmodernism finds meaning and truth in stories.  It argues that the stories we tell and the way that we tell them arise from particular points of view.  Additionally, our particular points of view are only intelligible as part of a larger story.  Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said that we speak from a context of a particular language game, which are our lens upon and filter for reality. 

Narrative postmodernism argues that meaning is found in, and arises out of, particular communities.  This is because truth is communal, not individualistic.  George Lindbeck argues that being a Christian is to become a part of particular community and the Bible offers a story that arises from a particular form of life with a unique language.  Joining a Christian community is more about joining a team than embracing a new set of ideas or beliefs.  According to radical orthodox theologians, modernity is a heretical deviation.

The full article is available here

Can Contemporary Worship Music Mature? - Joan Huyser-Honig at Calvin Institute of Worship

Pastors and worship leaders should lead people in a fresh awareness of who God is, what God has done, and how that affects our past, present, and future.

So many worship songs are Jesus or "you, Lord" songs.  The problem is particularly acute in churches that have no liturgy, so the songs bear the whole burden of theology.

Many contemporary worship songs are more about us than about God.  We praise God for making us feel good and impress on God how much we are singing, clapping, lifting our hands.  But Christianity is more than a private relationship.

Some musicians and thinkers are reevaluating how music influences us and whether worship music encompasses the whole of worship.  Instead of asking "What will people really love to sing?", they are asking "What will be helpful for people in the long term?"

When you start to appreciate creation, fall, and redemption through a Trinitarian perspective, you realize we are enabled by the Spirit to worship in Christ - and that pleases God the Father.  It's a more Christian understanding that injects God's grace into worship."


The full article is available here

Church Transforms Into Coffee Chain - Lark News

People in the surrounding neighborhoods say they are far more likely to stop by now.

Connection Metro Church, which used its foyer coffee bars to attract visitors to its eight satellite churches in the Denver area, has decided to abandon ministry altogether to focus on coffee.

“People liked the coffee a lot better than the ministry, according to congregational surveys, so we’re practicing what we preached and focusing on our strengths,” says former teaching Pastor and now chief marketing officer, Peter Brown.

Many in the congregation seem downright relieved.

“The sermons were okay, but the vanilla frappes were dynamite,” says one woman who regularly attended the church for two years so she could enjoy the special brews. “I even brought my Jewish neighbors and they loved them.”

People in the surrounding neighborhoods say they are far more likely to stop by now.

The full article is available here

Keep You Scratching - Sojourn Truth

Transfiguration - Frederick Buechner

Responsive Call to Worship: Mourning Replaced With Singing (based on Psalm 30)

Reader: God, you were there with us in the midst of our troubles.
All: We were down and out.  It felt like troubles were going to overwhelm us.

Reader: Your grace helped us stand our ground and lean into life; no matter how painful.
All: Now, our mournful silence has been replaced with singing.

Reader: Now, our sorrow has been turned into joy, so from deep in our hearts ...
All: Let us sing of our thankfulness for the grace that gets us through.

Reflection on Grace: Still There Is Grace (based on Hebrews 6:19)

based, in part, on the writing of Frederick Buechner and Brene Brown

"We've all been through hard times. The world blows leaves across our paths. Branches fall and darkness falls. The world below can be a stormy sea with waves crashing all around us.

Still, there is grace ... because darkness does not destroy the light, it defines it.

Perhaps we've found that grace in lending each other a hand when we're falling. Perhaps we've found it when someone has been brave with their life and allowed us to brave with ours.

Somehow, a power beyond us reached out its hand and brought us peace in the midst of the storm."