Fides Quaerens Intellectum

Good Debate

2008-11-24T12:20:00.012-06:00

These two churches face each other across a busy street!

A humorous and interesting theological debate! Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Jeremy

2008-11-11T11:51:00.005-06:00

Our mutual friend and Jeremy's pastor, Andy Teston, articulated my feelings and thoughts so well about our loss. These are his words:

I have been in ministry in various capacities since 1991. Through the years, I have seen God use various situations and relationships to shape and form me. One of those relationships that has most profoundly shaped me has been my friendship with Jeremy Dwayne Moore.

Jeremy was gunned down this past Friday while delivering pizza in Oklahoma City. This was his second job, for he also worked for a printing company in Oklahoma City. Jeremy was the proud new father of his baby girl, Lillie. Lillie was born just last week, October 28th. Sure he’d gotten the cart before the horse, but it was his intention to asked Jamie to marry him the night he was killed. They had picked out and purchased the ring the day before, but Jamie wanted to be asked. Jeremy had planned to do it right.

Through the years that I have known Jeremy, I have known him to be one of the most honest persons around. When many others doubted life, society, or even God, and they put on mask to cover up that doubt, Jeremy was always willing to honestly deal with that doubt in public. Many people that claim Christianity would label him as “lost,” but I beg to differ. Jeremy was one of the most “found” persons I have known. Through the years, Jeremy and I have had the privilege to struggle out loud together. We have laughed, cried, mourned and celebrated together. The togetherness of the relationship was what Jeremy was all about, and he stirred that same desire in all of us.

Last night as I gathered with family and friend in Oklahoma City, someone finally asked the question that I knew would eventually be asked. “Is Jeremy in heaven? Was he a Christian?” If loving Jesus and loving others is the definition of what a Christian is, then the answer is “Yes, Jeremy was a mighty fine Christian!” Jeremy didn’t live his life for himself, but always for the other. Along his journey of faith, he had for a time stepped away from what many church folks would say is “Christian.” I know, however, that every step of that journey, Christ knew and was involved in. The wideness of God’s mercy is greater than our human understanding can know or possess. Jeremy was the epitome of graciousness. I can only hope that all of us who claim to be grace filled could be as gracious as Jeremy.

At this time, we don’t know yet details of the funeral, not any other arrangements. We hope to have some of those answers by the end of the day. We don’t know who took Jeremy from us as either. We are all dealing with a whole range of emotions. Jeremy’s capacity to love people was only matched by the likes of Mother Teresa, or other heroes of faith we read and hear about. It is my belief that Jeremy would love the person that perpetrated this crime; I know that God does. Let us all take care to pray for Jeremy’s family during this tragic loss. Let us also pray for the one who has done this. In Christ teaching us to pray, he instructed us saying “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…” (Matthew 6:12).

I will miss my friend. I am grieving hard. But I also know that through it all, we are not alone on this journey we call our faith in God. May God richly bless us all in the relationships that we have, hold, and share. I love and will miss you Jeremy Moore. Shalom.

Jeremy's Obit:

Jeremy Dwayne Moore was born on October 15, 1979 to Dwayne and Joyce (Bussard) Moore in Okarche, Oklahoma. He passed away Friday, November 7, 2008 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the age of 29. Jeremy graduated from Calumet High School as Valedictorian of his class in 1998 and attended Southern Nazarene University in Bethany for three years, and was currently attending University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma. Jeremy served in the United States Army Reserve and was honorably discharged in 2004. He worked for G&S Printing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He enjoyed building "green" furniture, loved music, collecting old albums, loved to go thrift store shopping for vintage items, loved hanging out at the coffee shop, pulling practical jokes, and loved to explore his artistic abilities including painting. Jeremy is survived by the love of his life Jamie and his daughter, Lillie LaRae of Oklahoma City, OK his parents Dwayne and Joyce Moore of Calumet, OK one brother Josh Moore and wife Satirah and their children Jacob and Josalyn of El Reno, OK grandfather, Raymond Bussard of Guthrie, OK and a host of Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, other relatives and friends (from the Red Cup), and special friends Gene and Shirlene Tarbox, Nathan and Mandi Greenfield, and Gavin, Madison, and Katie. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Jim and Amalee Moore and Annette Bussard. Memorial donation may be made to the Jeremy Moore Memorial Fund at any Midfirst Bank in Oklahoma City, OK. Viewing will be at the Mercer-Adams Funeral Home, 3925 N. Ashbury, Bethany, OK, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Services: First United Methodist Church, 10:00AM, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2008, Calumet, OK. Officiating: Rev. Andy Teston, Rev. Kevin Rogers, Rev. Lance Schmitz, Rev. James Trippett. Burial: Canadian Valley Cemetery, Calumet, OK under the direction of Turner Funeral Home, Geary, OK. Condolences may be sent to turnerfuneralhomes@gmail.

Maranatha!

My Friend!

2008-11-10T16:37:00.004-06:00

My friend and college roommate was murdered in a senseless act of violence on Friday, November 7th in an apartment complex three blocks east of our church. Jeremy was a man of peace and grace. He was thoughtful and caring. Dr. Howard Culbertson reminded me of the time, when Jeremy was involved with our church during the planting days, that he tried to get a cross dresser involved in our congregation. He would look for him each Sunday to try and bring him to church. That's the kind of guy Jeremy was. He wanted everyone to experience genuine community and a life changing relationship with the homeless Rabbi.

Jeremy had a genuine love for all people - especially the marginalized, poor, and forgotten ones of our society - it was evident in his life. I would really like to write a meaningful tribute, but I can barely think... there is a deep pain in this kind of loss. Pray for his brand new baby girl... pray for the family that he leaves behind... pray for our broken community... for our broken world. Lord have mercy on us - Maranatha!

This was the news report from channel 5:

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Police said a man who was shot and killed in the parking lot of an Oklahoma City apartment complex was working as a pizza delivery driver.

Investigators said Jeremy Moore was killed at the Lantanna Apartments in the 7400 block of Northwest 10th Street. Neighbors called officers after hearing gunshots at about 7 p.m. A Papa John's Pizza delivery vehicle was found just about 100 yards from Moore's body.

Police said someone made a fake call to have a pizza delivered and then killed Moore after he arrived. They said the motive appeared to be robbery and won't say how much money Moore had with him. A Papa John's employee told KOCO that workers aren't allowed to carry more than $20.

Moore was the father of a newborn baby girl. A longtime friend said Moore was working part-time at Papa John's to try to make extra money to buy a house and to raise his baby.
"Jeremy was a saint," said Rev. Lance Schmitz, of the Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene. "He's just always been a person that loved people, wanted to take care of people and cared about people and the environment."

Prayer for the Persecuted

2008-11-04T14:30:00.005-06:00

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10-11 NIV

Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in more than sixty nations do not have the full freedom to confess Jesus as Lord in public. For example, some two thousand Christians are in prison in Eritrea (in the Horn of Africa) and thousands have lost their homes in India as a result of anti-Christian attacks. More than 100 million Christians face disinformation, discrimination and persecution only because they want to follow Jesus Christ. These brothers and sisters of ours easily feel alone—in the jungle, in a hiding place or in a prison. I would encourage you this Sunday to make your people aware of this emphasis and take some time in prayer specifically on behalf of those who are being persecuted for their faith.

The next two Sundays are designated at the International Day of Prayer for the Pesecuted Church. I would encourage you to participate in one way or another. There are many resources out there to help church leaders. A good place to begin is at http://www.idop.org/

Testimonies

2008-09-22T15:14:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure how far back the tradition goes and I don't know how it all began - but for as long as I can remember testimonies have been a part of our identity in the Nazarene movement. Often, in the small congregation that shaped my early Christian experience, the opportunity would be offered for folks to share a personal testimony - a word of what God is currently doing in their life. This practice, like many, isn't recognized as highly valuable until it is gone.

Most of the congregations that I've been involved with since those early days don't open up the time and space to participate in this act of worship. As a pastor I understand why this practice has fallen by the wayside - it is a little nerve wracking to leave an open mic out there for anybody to speak their mind. It tends to draw out the extreme personalities in our community who willingly step up to the mic - at times expressing heretical thoughts that have no edifying sense about them whatsoever. You cringe, bite your tongue, and try to say something positive when they are finished. There is also the fear that someone might find this a great opportunity to attack the pastor, leadership, or simply share something completely inappropriate. Yet, for the sake of control and order, we miss out on the beautiful chaos that happens when people share from the heart.

At New Life, I get to experience this at times in our women's weekly luncheon called The Vine. Broken and hurting women share their prayer requests and praises with one another each week. They are so eager to share - that it becomes distracting at times for those of us who want to be in control - but this deep desire to share, I believe, expresses a need that we rarely touch these days.

In fact, it was this powerful "cardboard testimonies" video below that forced me to reflect again on our communal practices. I'm convinced that I need to open up more time and space for these relational engagements. I'm not always sure the best way incorporate personal testimonies in our life together, but I am convinced that there is more wisdom in our traditions than what may appear on the surface. The popularity of this video would testify to that.

Lord, help us find the organic order that comes to us through Your Spirit. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Preaching - So Easy Even a Baby Can Do It!

2008-09-09T15:38:00.002-05:00

It is sad when a one year old can get a better reaction from the congregation, than I can on my best day ;)

Faith & Politics - The Civil Forum

2008-08-21T19:18:00.003-05:00

Only a church like Saddleback would be able to arrange a conversation with our current presidential candidates. I found this civil forum fascinating. Does this suggest a significant shift in the relationship between "the church" and "the state"? Probably not... but it is encouraging to see Democratic leaders engaging evangelicals on a much deeper level. That, I'm sure, does reflect some significant shifts.

Something Warren said in the introduction intrigued me. He stated, "We believe in the separation of church and state. But, we do not believe in the separation of faith and politics. Because faith is just a worldview and everybody has some kind of worldview and it is important to know what they are." It is an interesting statement... I'm not sure what to make of it yet. I suppose that he is suggesting that there needs to be institutional and organizational separations - but we cannot bifurcate our personal lives into private and public or the faith side and the political side. If that is what Warren is saying, then I agree.

I don't know if this will affect your opinions in any way, but I thought I would post the candidates responses to each question. Enjoy!

Q: Why do you want to be president?

Q: Does evil exist?

Q: Define "marriage".

Q: What is your stance on abortion?

Q: What is your stance on stem cell research?

Q: What does being a Christian mean to you?

Q: What do you think about religious persecution?

Q: What is your stance on federal funding of faith-based organizations?

Q: What do you consider your greatest moral failure to be? What is America's?

Q: Who are the three wisest people in your life?

Q: Name one instance when you went against your party loyalty.

Q: Name one instance when you flip-flopped on an issue.

Q: What is the most gut-wrenching decision you've every had to make?

Q: Which existing Supreme Court Judge would you not have nominated?

Q: What is your stance on merit-based pay for teachers?

Q: Define "rich".

Q: What cause is worth our troops dying for?

Q: Would you consider creating an emergency plan for orphans?

Q: What do you say to the people who oppose you answering these questions in a church?

The Gift of Opposition?

2008-08-13T10:03:00.002-05:00

We don't often think of opposition as a gift. "My grace is sufficient." Those words sound nice on the surface, but in their proper context they can be quite unsettling. This difficulty isn't going away... you just have to deal with it. Toughen up.

The spiritual rule is that growth happens through opposition... it becomes the fertile soil for genuine formation. We can thrive if we begin to view opposition as an opportunity instead of an obstacle. John Ortberg had a helpful article on this topic in July's Leadership Journal.

The Gift of Opposition
Not everyone enjoys conflict. But everyone can benefit from it.
by John Ortberg

I was thinking the other day about a class I took in seminary called "How to handle opposition, criticism, resistance, and passive-aggression." Come to think of it, I think I missed that course. The class I took was on source criticism, not criticism per se. Not that understanding source criticism hasn't been useful. I have new attenders coming up to me all the time to ask why J, D, P, and E couldn't all just get along.

Still, I think the other class would have been more useful.

Opposition is an inevitable reality of pastoral life. Not just spiritual opposition ("we wrestle not against flesh and blood"). Not just the intellectual opposition of Richard Dawkins/Daniel Dennet/Samuel Harris/Christopher Hitchens readers. I'm talking about friendly fire. The deacon board who votes to wish you a speedy recovery 13-12. The e-mail writer who wonders about your orthodoxy, theological literacy, or citation of unsafe authors. The helpful critic who wonders why you don't do more altar calls. The champion of worship/missions/children/evangelism/discipleship/prayer/stewardship/marriage/expository preaching/praisercize who wonders when you will get your priorities straight.

There are radically different temperaments when it comes to opposition response. It's been observed that Teddy Roosevelt required opposition in order to be fully energized. If he didn't have any opposition, he'd stir some up. Winston Churchill got bored by agreement. Criticism—from his own party, from the opposition, or from his nation's enemies—fueled him like a double espresso. When Hitler appeared, Churchill found the opponent he'd been waiting for his whole life. His finest hour was the courageous fight against a truly evil adversary.

Some leaders are not intimidated by opposition; they actually thrive on it. It wakes them up. It energizes them. It calls them to battle. It causes them to mobilize their thoughts and energy.

But not everybody.

Neville Chamberlain, for example, is historically associated with the word appeasement. "Peace in our time,' he said at Munich. He thought that if he could just give enough ground to Hitler, conflict could be avoided and everyone would be happy (except the Poles, the Czechs, the Austrians, and the Jews).

I wonder where you are on the Churchill—Chamberlain spectrum? My guess is that most pastors fall on the appeasement side.

I don't know that either temperament has a spiritual advantage. A friend of mine served as an elder in a church that hired a pastor who made General Patton look like he needed assertiveness training. But this did not mean the pastor was a fearless leader. It just meant he was an ego-centered stubborn little tyrant whose fated ended the same as Yertle the Turtle.

On the other side, I know a pastor in the southwest who has faced mean-spirited, ill-advised, bad-hearted opposition from a key lay leader for years. He's been trying appeasement the whole time (although he would not admit that even to himself). And it has cost him effectiveness, energy, joy, and self-respect.

I have given up the idea that there is an opposition-free church out there. But I have gained something else—an appreciation for the gift of opposition. When it comes, I learn something about my motives. When it comes, I get to test my courage. When it comes, the truth about my humility (or lack thereof) is revealed. When it comes, blind spots get exposed that would otherwise do damage. When it comes, I am given the opportunity to grow strong. When it comes, I discover that I am the opposition in more lives than I ever would have guessed.

And then I meet the force stronger than any opposition. The force that can call opponents a brood of vipers. The force that can also forgive opponents because "they know not what they do." In opposition, there is grace.

John Ortberg is editor at large of Leadership and pastor of Menlo Park (CA) Presbyterian Church.

You can find the article in it's original context here. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Demotivation

2008-08-06T12:40:00.000-05:00

Family life and ministry life has kept us extremely busy these days. Sometimes you just need a little demotivation. I thought I would share some of my favorite demotivators with you. Enjoy!

Have a productive week!

Mondays

2008-07-28T14:58:00.003-05:00

Since I began the lead pastor thing, I've noticed that by Monday morning my brain is fried. Yet, I come into the office anyway with great expectations - if I'm not stepping on Dicken's long buried toes - and through much persistence I'm able to get a little bit accomplished. However, the creative juices don't usually start flowing again until Tuesday or Wednesday.

Reading and prayer usually help me to re-energize, yet cultivating a fruitful imagination while engaging in a draining life in ministry is becoming a challenge. I was just wondering if anyone has suggestions for overcoming the Monday haze - or the ministry haze that sometimes captures more than our Mondays. What habits or practices keep your imagination engaged and growing? What enables you to maintain focus and clarity? I'm even willing to try some off-the-wall ideas as long as it doesn't involve anything illegal ; )

Have a enlightening week! Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Super Pastor?

2008-07-21T14:25:00.003-05:00

It seems that standing in front of people to preach the Word on a regular basis gives some folks the impression that one might have superpowers. I suppose that could be because we talk about things that are often beyond our ordinary everyday experiences or it could be our insights into a foreign world. To be quite honest, I'm not exactly sure where the idea comes from but there are many who perpetuate the myth that pastors are super human.

Please, for the sake of all that is holy in the nerds fantasy world, stop! It is such a destructive and counterproductive ideal.

Contrary to popular belief, all the pastor's that I have met have been of the human variety. I should know, because I am one and many of my friends, acquaintances and enemies are also pastors. If I ever come across one that is from another world I'll let you know. I've had my suspicions from time to time but upon further investigation they turned out to be your garden variety earthling.

You see, the reality is that I've never felt more human than the moment that I became a lead pastor... I've never noticed my finite limitations and boundaries more... and those limits are constantly stretched and tested partly because of the "super pastor" myth. Oh, and believe me, I know that pastors perpetuate this myth as much or more than our parishioners... they are often more than aware of our limitations than we are. There is a bit of an ego boost involved in thinking that we are somehow special, chosen, that we are super... and maybe just a little better than the rest of our race. Unfortunately or fortunately, I know the truth about myself so I've never been able to believe that myth.

Yet for some reason I try to live up to the mythic expectations of others. I'm not sure why. Maybe it is simply the desire to please others... maybe the drive to succeed... wherever it comes from, I know it is not a good thing. I've only been doing this lead pastor thing for a short time but I already sense the super pastor pressures and know that they will ultimately lead to fatigue, burn out, and a joyless, bitter ministry that bears little to no fruit. Lord save me from myself.

Don't get me wrong... I serve a wonderful and unique congregation where most people understand human limitation. I feel very fulfilled in ministry here. But there is always that possibility of becoming a quivering mass of availability - a result of ignoring our limitations... believing that we can somehow fix every problem and touch every need, while maintaining a healthy marriage and family life. What a crock.

I've decided that I'm not going to try to be a super pastor... but that it is okay to simply try to be a faithful Christ-follower, a good husband, a good father and a good pastor. That is what success looks like to me. Now... could you let the others know? I would appreciate it.

Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Allegiance Thoughts

2008-07-02T11:31:00.004-05:00

As Independence Day approaches, I'm often reminded of the importance of our allegiances. It is certainly something that Jesus discussed - to whom or to what do we give our lives. What deserves our honor, our commitment, our allegiance? This was a common source of discussion with friends during Seminary and I've found it to be more convoluted and complex than we often make it.

It is not completely clear to me what the separation of Church & State means for the citizens of my country. How do we bifurcate our personal allegiances? If our lives are wholly given to God, how then do we reconcile our subsequent commitment to our country?

It seems to me at times the two commitments may coexist in harmony with one another, yet is also seems apparent that there are times when the two come into direct conflict.

This question about displaying flags is a symbolic representation of that deeper question regarding our allegiances. Who or what takes primacy in our lives. I'm posting some thoughts here from Hoyt Hickman - I don't necessarily agree with his line of thinking or conclusion (I'm not sure that we can neatly bifurcate Church & State), but I'm posting it simply as a discussion starter. What do you think? All of this is becoming even more complex as our society becomes increasingly pluralistic. Should Christians display flags?

Should We Have Flags in the Church? The Christian Flag and the American Flag
by Hoyt Hickman

The following response to a request for help with the issues of placement of the American flag and the Christian flag in the sanctuary was written by Hoyt Hickman when he was a staff member of the General Board of Discipleship. We post it here as a resource for your church.

Answer:Thank you for your inquiry concerning the use of American and Christian flags in church sanctuaries.

Common as this practice is, there seems to be no way to display both flags together that does not dishonor one flag or the other.

The Christian Flag gives the background of the Christian flag and the reasons why it should always have the place of highest honor when it is displayed. It is not a denominational flag or a church flag, but a symbol of our allegiance to Jesus Christ, who is above all others. It is a cardinal tenet of our faith that our loyalty to Christ comes above all earthly loyalties.

On the other hand, The Flag Code (United States Statutes at Large, Seventy-seventh Congress, Second Session 1942, Volume 56 — Part I, Public Laws) states in Section 3 (k): "When displayed from a staff in a church or public auditorium, the [American] flag should occupy the position of honor and be placed at the clergyman's or speaker's right as he faces the congregation or audience. Any other flag so displayed in the chancel or on the platform should be placed to the clergyman's or speaker's left as he faces the congregation or audience. But when the flag is displayed from a staff in a church or public auditorium elsewhere than in the chancel or on the platform, it shall be placed in the position of honor at the right of the congregation or audience as they face the chancel or platform. Any other flag so displayed should be placed on the left of the congregation or audience as they face the chancel or platform."

(Editor's note: See the updated Flag Code in a downlodable file from the U.S. House of Representatives' web site. )

Both in The Flag Code and in the Bible, it is assumed that placement on the right signifies higher honor than — and priority over — placement on the left and that higher placement signifies higher honor than and priority over lower placement.

One might reason that the Christian flag could be placed in the chancel on the clergy's right, with the American flag on the floor level of the congregation on the congregation's right, or vice versa; but this inevitably means that the flag in the chancel is higher than the other and thus has the higher place of honor.

A further difficulty arises from the fact that in many church chancels the clergy presides from various places during different parts of the service — pulpit, lectern, Lord's Table and baptismal font. The way many chancels are designed, placing a flag to the right of all the points from which the clergy presides would mean placing a flag so far to the side that it is obviously not being accorded the place of highest honor but is shunted off toward or into a corner.

It is important to remember that the Christian flag originated almost a hundred years ago in churches that usually did not display a cross in the sanctuary other than the white cross on the blue field of the Christian flag. Today, of course, most United Methodist churches have a cross in the sanctuary in what is obviously intended as the place of highest honor, on or above the Lord's Table. Since this cross serves the same function as the Christian flag, it renders the Christian flag unnecessary. It also places any American flag present in a position of relatively lower honor. Given the provisions in the U.S. Flag Code and the fact that a cross serves as a symbol of allegiance just as a flag does, I do not see how we can properly display the American flag in the chancel if there is a cross there. Because of its central and higher location, the cross plainly has a place of higher honor than the American flag.

The same difficulty arises when the American flag is carried in a processional at the opening of a service and the processional cross goes first, as Christians agree it must.

There is still another difficulty in displaying the American flag in the place of highest honor during worship. It is one of the oldest and most universal Christian understandings of worship that when we gather around the Lord's Table for worship, the gathering consists not only of God and the visible congregation, but also includes (even though invisibly) the whole universal church of all times and all places, in heaven and on earth. Even if everyone visibly present is an American citizen, most of those invisibly present are not.

To sum it up, we in American wisely separate church and state. As American Christians, we honor the cross and we honor the flag; but we keep them separate. An American flag used in the worship of the universal church is no more appropriate than hanging a cross in a civil courtroom used by Americans of all religions.

"Should We Have Flags in the Church? The Christian Flag and the American Flag" copyright © 1993 The General Board of Discipleship. Permission is granted to print this article or quote from it as long as you post the following copyright and permission line:

"Should We Have Flags in the Church? The Christian Flag and the American Flag" copyright © 1993 The General Board of Discipleship. Used with permission. The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, P. O. Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003; telephone: (615) 340-7073; Worship Web site http://www.umcworship.org.

Editor's Note You might also want to read "The American Flag in Methodist Worship: A Historical Look at Practice" by Karen B. Westerfield Tucker.

What do you think, is the matter that simple? Until next time ~ Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Back in the Big OKC

2008-06-19T10:48:00.003-05:00

Sara and I began a journey over five years ago that has come full circle. While we were students at Southern Nazarene University, we began working with an urban church plant called New Life Community. I served as their youth pastor for about three years and then when the planting pastor left, I filled in as interim for a time. We left for Kansas City about five years ago that I might attend Seminary - we had a sense then that God would call us back to this unique ministry.

New Life Community partners with an amazing compassionate ministry called Reaching Our City (ROC), which offers numerous services to this community. We feel blessed to be a part of this powerful compassionate movement.

Standing back and observing all that has happened to bring us back to this place, I can only say that it is nothing short of providential. We moved late last Thursday - driving all night with a caravan of vehicles, a six week old baby, and three cats that we might be here to close on our house early Friday morning - then unpacking, preaching Sunday and getting things in order all week... well, I'll just say we've gone through some refining heat over the last few weeks. I don't have time to go into all the details, but I'll post more as we get settled in. You can also check out some info on the church at www.okcnewlife.com

These are just a few of the kids that we are reaching in the community. You can check out more about ROC at their website www.reachingourcity.org Until next time ~ Blessings in Christ!

Waves

2008-05-20T12:35:00.003-05:00

Where is a surfboard when you need it?

The waves of transition and blessing have been washing over us recently. In fact, they are coming so rapidly and with such force that we feel as though we are barely keeping our heads above water.

We are adjusting to the parental life...you know, feeding, changing, lack of sleep...repeat the process. I never knew such a draining and intensive activity - that is caring for an infant - could also bring so much joy.

On top of that we are attempting to help a new church plant, finalize things with our current position, get things going with our new church in Oklahoma City, buy a house, pack, say our good buys...as you can imagine these last couple of weeks have been a blur and I don't expect things to calm down for a while. You'll understand and forgive me if I don't get around to updating this blog as recently as I used to...at least for a while...I'm desperately trying to locate a surfboard that I might learn to ride these waves. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Ephraim Todd Schneberger's Birth Day!

2008-05-05T10:06:00.003-05:00

At 5:27am on Sunday morning the miracle began. Sara had her first real contraction. Obviously, we were excited and anxious as we anticipated all that this new day might bring.

Sara's friend Jaye, who just happens to be a labor and delivery nurse, had just arrived from New Mexico on Saturday. Sara wanted to share this experience with her best friend and receive all the support possible. Shortly after her first contraction, Sara went in to Jaye's room to get the diagnosis - labor had begun!

It was time to take a shower and begin making all the calls. The first call was to Dawn, Sara's doula. Since Sara wanted to have a natural birth, she began working with Dawn and she was a God send. We really couldn't have done it without all the support that we received.

Sara wanted to labor at home as long as possible. The contractions were coming pretty regularly through the morning, so I had to call our worship pastor Tim and let him know that I would not be preaching on this particular Sunday...time to go to plan B.

Sara was contracting about every 6 to 7 minutes and they were lasting anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds. Around 11am we decided to go for walk. During and after the walk the contractions began to come more regularly and were lasting longer. Soon they were coming every 3 minutes and lasting 75 to 90 seconds. It was time to go to the hospital.

We arrived at St. Luke's Northland on Barry Rd. around 1:00pm. They checked Sara shortly after arrival and she was dilated to 7 cm and 100% effaced and the baby was at 0 station. We had made lots of progress and we knew our little boy would be coming into the world soon.

Sara continued laboring so well without any pain medication. Around 3pm they checked Sara and she had only moved to 8 cm and not progressed any further, but that was primarily because the bag of waters had not broken yet, which was providing a cushion that was prohibiting the baby's head from coming down much further. When at 4pm Sara had made no more progress and was still at 8cm, the doctor talked to us about breaking Sara's water in order to help labor ...we took a few minutes to think about it and then decided to go ahead.

The doctor came in and broke Sara's water at 4:06pm. Then, everything began to progress very quickly. Around 4:30 pm Sara began to feel the urge to push. She started pushing at 4:48pm and Ephraim was delivered at 5:18pm. Only 30 minutes of pushing for her first baby! Sara did such a great job with the whole pregnancy, labor and delivery - no pain medication whatsoever.

The first hour after delivery was full of frenetic activity. Cutting the cord, getting pictures, weighing and checking vitals, getting pictures, making all the calls, getting baby to feed. What a miracle. He is here! Ephraim weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. Mom and baby are both healthy and doing well. And I got video of the whole thing...but I don't think mom will probably let me post it on the world wide web. But, if you are lucky enough to come by our home, you might get to see some of the video.

Ephraim got his first bath around 12:30am. We've been up and down all night checking and feeding and changing, but it is definitely worth it!

You can check out our pictures at the link over on the left. We will constantly be updating our family blog and our pictures of our miracle!

The Morning After

2008-05-02T12:07:00.018-05:00

Powerful storms hit our area of Kansas City in the overnight hours. Here are some pictures of houses and businesses that really aren't too far from us.

Living in tornado alley all of my life, I've become fairly accustom to these sorts of storms in the spring. The morning after a storm like this is always a time to assess the damage and grieve over our losses. It is a tragic and difficult occasion when life is lost. More often than not, though, we lose memories, space, time, energy, and some of the material things that have become a major part of our everyday lives. It has always amazed me how quickly we begin to plan and prepare for restoration after the storm. It can be a time that draws people together with a common purpose to rebuild and unified in the hope of renewal.

I sometimes wonder why we don't respond this way when we face other storms in this life? Often, when we face a spiritual storm or relational storm or a financial storm...when we face storms in our family, at school or at work...we shut ourselves in and once the heaviest part of the storm is past, we rarely assess the damage, grieve what we've lost, or reach out to others that we might begin the process of rebuilding and restoration. It seems that we often walk away from the wreckage and attempt a new build. I tend to find that our foundation weakens with each new build.

May we learn to build our lives once and for all on the only stable foundation. He can withstand any storm. That doesn't mean that we will come through every storm unscathed. We are affected by the storms of life. Yet, even if there is damage to our house, the foundation will stand. We, then, are able to rebuild a more stable structure for the future.

Of course, as a pastor it is difficult to pass up this metaphor, which is probably of little consolation right now to those who literally lost their homes or businesses in this real storm. Nonetheless, I hope that we learn from the reality of our experiences. And I pray that those who have been affected by this storm may find this deeper reality a sustaining and stabilizing force through these difficult days. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Nazbo Rap

2008-04-29T15:26:00.001-05:00

Hilarious!

Just overlook the inconsistencies and inaccuracies and enjoy it as a piece of entertainment.

Ropes

2008-04-28T17:21:00.006-05:00

Do you ever feel like this guy? You know, like you are barely keeping your balance on a taught tight rope. Well, that's how I feel right now.

In my first ministry class, many years ago, I was told that life in ministry is a difficult balancing act. I took notes and nodded, never realizing the depth of such a simple concept.

I feel that so far in my ministerial journey I have done okay at keeping that balance. I haven't fallen off of the tight rope...yet. These days, though, the rope is shaking more than ever before and there are strong, swirling winds, which are all simply a part of this transitional phase we are currently experiencing.

The shaking comes from family transitions. As I have already mentioned on numerous occasions, we are preparing for the arrival of our first child any day now. This is exciting and scary and has added a whole new element to my balancing act.

The winds come from ministerial transitions. I'm moving from the associate pastor role at New Hope Church in Kansas City to take the lead pastor role at New Life Community Church in Oklahoma City. This new step is exciting and scary and has added a whole new element to my balancing act - did I just say that? Hmmm...deja vu.

We are preparing for new life in our family and meanwhile we are attempting to purchase our first home, take up a lead pastor role, move everything to OKC and all while I'm also attempting to finish out my responsibilities at New Hope for at least another month. Right now, I've wrapped my arms and legs around that tight rope and I'm holding on for dear life! You may know how that feels.

All of these transitions are great things for us, but they also introduce new elements that threaten to trow us off balance. Yet, as I cling to that rope I'm strangely comforted. The rope is familiar. The rope is stable and secure. I begin to trust again that the rope will hold me...that I will not fall. I get back up and keep walking. I'm just glad that the rope is there to hold me even in the most turbulent times.

3 I myself taught Israel how to walk,
leading him along by the hand.
But he doesn’t know or even care
that it was I who took care of him.
4 I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love.
I lifted the yoke from his neck,
and I myself stooped to feed him.
Hosea 11:3-4 NLT

Hosea is obviously using the metaphore a little differently than I have here, but I love the idea of these ropes of love and kindness...these ropes that represent the presence of Christ and His loving leadership. That is what I cling to for dear life. Thank you Lord, for Your ropes. I know that we can trust them to hold us up. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Charismata

2008-04-23T15:04:00.002-05:00

4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Corinthians 12:1-13 NIV)

Gifts. That's what God gives. We haven't understood the depth of this reality. I suppose I should say that I haven't understood it - but given our communal life, I think I can say "we".

Rights. That's what we claim. Rights-grasping is a completely different way to live. I must be careful here, in no way do I want to down play oppression or injustice - for those very concepts imply that there is such a thing as right or just, but there is certainly a different attitude and way of life involved in rights-grasping, rather than recognizing and receiving gifts. The former involves striving, struggle, tension, and even violence. The latter requires openness, humility, grace, and peace. I wonder what our lives might look like if we believed that God only gives gifts and not rights.

That is why I tend to gravitate toward the image of the Spirit as the Giving Gift. In other words, the Spirit is the gift that keeps on giving. We have all been given gifts and become gift givers through the work of the Spirit in our lives. As Paul well understands, it is this reality that makes genuine Christian community possible. We are swept up into the live giving, perichoretic penetration of the Trinitarian community in the Spirit, which means that every single person in our community is a part of the Body of Christ and plays an important role in His mission activity in our world.

It can be difficult to recognize the gift of the other. At times we feel that some are life draining to us personally or to the entire community, rather than viewing them as gift. I was struck and convicted when I read that the Amish explicitly acknowledge the poor, the sick, the mentally ill, the elderly, and the infirmed as gifts to the community, because their presence brings forth grace and love in others. Their participation shapes us more and more into the image of Christ...well, only if we view them as gift. This challenges me.

Becoming aware of the gifts we bring to the Body and the gifts of others is part of what we are called to as the church. In his list above, Paul reminds us of two important truths - which move us away from rights-grasping: that all gifts are from the same Spirit and they are all given for the common good. Like breathing, we become a receiving and giving community - which is appropriate since the word for Spirit in both the Old & New Testaments is also the word for wind and breath.

Similar thoughts were covered beautifully in an article by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre in the May/June 08 edition of Weavings. But, I suppose that there are various reasons her words resonated so deeply with me at this time. The pregnancy is progressing so well that the Doctor thinks the baby will be born early and could really come any day now. I can only conceive of our son as gift. He is not a right...we don't deserve him...he is a gift from God and I pray that we always view him that way. Also, we are preparing to lead a unique Christian community and there isn't a healthier way to view the life and mission of the Body.

Lord, help us cultivate a heart of gratitude and praise that comes from viewing all reality as gift. Fill us with your Giving Gift and enable us to humbly receive the other and humbly give out of your resources. In the name of our source and our destination - the Triune God. Amen.

New Life

2008-04-17T14:27:00.004-05:00

He will be here any day now...our son. I'm still adjusting to those words...our son...my son. I've been preparing, but I'm not ready. Yet, somehow I know deep in my bones that everything will be okay. We used to call that blessed assurance...it's a good thing.

It is amazing how many thoughts can flood the mind when approaching such a transitional threshold. I'm full of awe and wonderment. What will he look like? smell like? feel like? What kind of personality will he have? What will he be passionate about? What kind of life will he live?

New Life is always future oriented and full of hope. We sometimes forget that in this journey with Christ. We sometimes are so focused on the cross - human brokenness and sin - that we forget about the resurrection. During this Easter season we should be reminded that our future is the Kingdom of God...therefore, we live with awe, hope and wonderment.

That is not usually my modus operandi. I tend to focus on suffering and death...I tend to get caught up in meaningless and lifeless activities. Anticipating the advent of new life in our family has reminded me that, yes all of those things are realities of this broken world, but Christ has overcome...He is victorious over sin and death. His Kingdom will come bringing with it real life, resurrection life. In that day God will be all in all. May we live with the hope of new life today. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Rock Chalk Jayhawk?

2008-04-10T15:34:00.004-05:00

I got myself into a little trouble this week. I thought it was "Rock Shock Jayhawk" - what else do you expect from an Okie. Boomer Sooners! Nonetheless, I really offended some of these Jayhawk fanatics. I should have known better since my wife has a Master's degree from KU.

I find our identification with and celebration of sports teams fascinating from a purely anthropological and sociological point of view. Yes, I'm a nerd. In response to my fous pas, someone sent me this history of the KU tradition:

“The Rock Chalk Chant is perhaps the most distinctive cheer in all of college sports. Some have likened it to a Gregorian chant, but anyone who has been in Allen Fieldhouse and heard the chant start low, then build and roll over the crowd knows that it is much, much more. The "Rock Chalk" chant dates to 1866, when it was adopted by the University Science Club. A chemistry professor, E.H.S. Bailey and some of his associates were returning to Lawrence from Wichita on a train. As the story goes, they passed the time by trying to create a rousing cheer. The sound of the train's wheels on the rails suggested a rhythm and a cadence to them. At first, the cheer was "Rah, Rah, Jayhawk, KU" repeated three times. Even though KU didn't have a football team until four years later, KU students quickly took up the chant. Later, an English professor suggested "Rock Chalk," in place of "Rah, Rah" because it rhymed with Jayhawk and because it was symbolic of the limestone, also known as chalk rock, surrounding Mount Oread, the site of the Lawrence Campus. It became the official cheer of the University in 1897. Teddy Roosevelt pronounced the Rock Chalk Chant the greatest college chant he'd ever heard.”

You learn something new everyday.

KU is on top. Bill Self has been offered a ridiculous amount of money to become head coach of the OSU Cowboys. Hmmm...stay with a National Championship team and just make an insane amount of money or go start over at your alma mater and make a ridiculous amount of money. Tough decision.

Back to our identification with sports teams. We find great joy in their victory. We praise them and celebrate and do all kinds of crazy things because they won a game...a game. A friend went to Allen Fieldhouse to watch the game on Monday. He posted a link to this great video that illustrates my point.

The reality is that a much greater victory is to be found in the coming Kingdom. I can only imagine the celebration that will break out in all creation when the Kingdom fully comes on earth. That is what I live for. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Traditio

2008-04-06T21:30:00.003-05:00

We all bear the responsibility to "hand on" important traditions to the next generation. In fact, that is literally what the word "tradition" means. It comes from the Latin traditio meaning to hand on or hand over, from which we also derive the words trator and trade.

A friend sent this really great video of a two-year-old singing the Lord's Prayer. I just had to hand it on...and it really got me thinking about how we engage our children in the important traditions that shap us. Enjoy!

In Memory of Scottie Houghton

2008-04-04T17:52:00.004-05:00

A great civil rights leader was gunned down and died forty years ago on this day. As our nation collectively memorializes a great man who lived for justice and peace, a man who gave a voice to the voiceless, a man who stood up for the rights of the oppressed, a man named Martin Luther King, as so many are remembering him another man quietly went to be with the Lord.

I got to know Scott Houghton while he was living at the Kansas City Rescue Mission. Over time he became a member of our church...a part of our family. He fell asleep in the Lord this morning. Years of living in brokenness ultimately broke his body and devoured his liver and kidneys. Becoming a follower of Jesus didn't take away this physical decay - at least not in this age, but we look forward to the age to come. I'm officiating his memorial serivce at the Rescue Mission tomorrow. This is in memory of Scottie. [ I have to thank my friend Brian Postlewait because he gave the basic thoughts and structure to this memorial message. ]

Jesus had lots of interesting encounters with lots of interesting people during His earthly journey. And thankfully some of these encounters have been recorded for us in the New Testament. It is in these encounters that we begin to see who this Jesus is and what His mission is really all about. One such rendezvous that has really stuck in my mind recently is the conversation that Jesus had with a man named Nicodemus. Now, Nicodemus was a Pharisee…who was a part of the ruling counsel. In other words, he had money, influence and power. Yet, something about Jesus struck him. He wanted to go talk to Jesus, but there was no way that he was going to go in broad daylight…someone might see him, it could ruin his reputation, it could get him kicked off the counsel…so he decides to go see Jesus at night…in the dark.

Jesus starts talking to him about crazy stuff…like being born again…being born of the Spirit…a Son who has come from heaven to teach us heavenly things. But, Nicodemus just can’t understand what Jesus is talking about because he is still in the dark…and then Jesus says some of the most famous words ever recorded:

John 3:16-21 NIV:

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Jesus clearly reveals His mission here. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Folks, Death is not our friend. Yet we all know that death will come. For some of us sooner than others. For some in seasons of peace and remembrance after many long years of life, for others unexpectedly, but it is certain it will come for us all. Doctors tell us that the human body begins to turn from the growth process to a process of decay around our mid twenties. We can do things that speed that along or we can try to slow that down, but we cannot stop our bodies from decaying. How easy it is for us brush aside this inevitable reality until one close to us experiences what we will all experience. Death is not our friend.

It is not our friend because God did not intend for it to be this way. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. This is the same God who brought order out of chaos and formed man and woman in His own image. He created us out of dust and then breathe the breath of life into us. He breathed the life of His Spirit into us. We were supposed to live and grow and enjoy the goodness of God’s creation. Yet now we are all in the same boat – stuck with a curse of our own devises.

No, death is no friend of ours. Death and darkness are enemies...our greatest adversaries. Jesus knew this. Remember when Jesus hears that his dear friend Lazarus’s has died. He goes to the tomb, knowing that he will raise him – but John records that Jesus was deeply moved and troubled in spirit…Jesus wept. He is consumed with grief, because this just isn’t the way life is suppose to be. But the light cries into the darkness and says, “Lazarus, come out!” Well, you know the rest of the story.

Scott knew that death is our enemy. We went to visit Scott at the hospital during those last days – he picked up the bible that was ever by his hospital bed and one of the first things he said to me was, I’ve got the sword of truth…I’m doing battle with the enemy. And he was…he was.

Those who have life in Jesus are not condemned; but those who do not have life in him are condemned already. You see what is more tragic than the inescapable reality of our natural death, is the sad but profoundly true reality that many begin dying long before their death. I’m not talking about illness here. I’m talking about the fact that many people, and it is not such a difficult thing to do, many people, like Nicodemous, live in the darkness rather than the light. And if you are living in the darkness, though the signs of physical death are not always evident, a spiritual, mental, social, death is already at work in your life. Let’s be honest. Many of us have walked on the path of darkness for such a long time that even when we find the light, we still have to deal with some of the physical and relational consequences of being in the dark so long.

We can live for wealth or influence or power, like Nicodemous, but if we do…we’re still in the dark. We deceive ourselves if we believe that living is about pursuing success or fame or fortune. We deceive ourselves if we believe that happiness can be found in such things. Unforgiveness, anger, hatred, violence, are not signs that we are still living; they are signs that we may already be dead. More tragic than the inescapable reality of our natural death, is this reality that we risk the possibility of dying long before we ever die. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light.

For all that do evil hate the light and do not come into the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.

Here is the good news, folks, because as surely as death may set in for us long before our bodies decay, life, good life, the Godly life, the life of the light rather than the false life of the darkness, eternal life, life everlasting also begins before we die. And that, Brothers and sisters is the testimony of the life of Scottie. Death is our enemy, yet we are given hope for eternal life, and it starts long before our bodies lay still. Scott found that life and light in his Lord and Leader Jesus Christ.

You see, Scottie Houghton was a Saint of God. The world may not have noticed him for any grand achievements, yet after becoming a follower of Jesus - he managed to live a life that many, many people fail to live. He lived a life of loving service, a life of redemption. Where family may have been far away God gave him a family – right here at the Kansas City Rescue Mission and at New Hope Church. He battled many things in his life, but he fought that battle through the Word of God. His was a life of hope for a better world. That is why he willingly went to serve others in Mississippi and longed to return to help those who were hurting and broken.

It was on that trip to Gautier, Mississippi that I really got to know Scott…to know his story. His life tells the story of a savior that he didn’t just know about, but he knew as the light of the world…that he knew as the light of his life. Scott Houghton knew Jesus. He knew Jesus in the same way that I got to know him on that trip. He journeyed with Him…he served with Him…he knew Him. And for that he has lived life as perfectly as any of us can ever hope to live. Through simple trust and faith in God he has become for many of us a window into God’s presence.

I’m so glad that Scott came into the light…that he became a follower of Jesus…if you haven’t found that hope, that life, that peace, that light today…I pray that you take the same step that Scott did...that step of faith, that becomes the first step in a journey…the first step on a mission where we get to know and serve with Jesus.

Scott’s life is the fulfillment of this scripture we have read today: But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God. And all who have life in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life.

Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

N.B. Again, Brian is to be credited with a great bulk of this reflection.

Simply Christian

2008-03-26T16:45:00.009-05:00

There isn't a better Christian scholar in our time than N. T. Wright. He has a way of eloquently articulating theological thoughts and powerful biblical images in our current linguistic forms. He brings the biblical world to bear on our world. When these worlds collide, a sense of Kingdom mission begins to emerge in the heart and life of genuine Christian communities. To me, this effect is a result of his deep rooting in the text itself, for it is the Word that gives us life and empowers us for mission.

Wright has so many great books to read and though I've only read a handful, I would encourage anyone to pick up any of his books and get to reading. Simply Christian is a great book that follows in the spirit of C. S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, which was influential in my early Christian formation. I've wanted to use Simply Christian in a small group study for some time. It is the kind of apologetics in which I think we should be engaged. In a lecture last year at Calvin College he summarized this work. If you haven't the time to read this short book...you can go to this link and at least listen to the lecture. There is also a lecture presented at the Washington Cathedral on the same topic, which you can watch here. I hope that it influences you in transformative ways. Enjoy!

His new book Surprised by Hope is now on my reading list. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Paschal

2008-03-25T11:17:00.005-05:00

"Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Words recorded in the Gospel according to John. We have entered an important season in the life of Christ-followers, a season often referred to as Easter, which began on Sunday and continues until Pentecost Sunday. I'm not sure why we adopted the language of Germanic pagan worship of the goddess Eostre. Now my ancestry is mostly German (Deutsch) so I take no offense at the linguistic origin, and I also recognize the attempts to infuse ancient cultic practice with Christian content - yet, I often wonder how successful those attempts have been. In many cases it seems that this practice causes more confusion than anything. I suppose that it does little good to criticize methods adopted hundreds of years ago - I simply hate to see us repeat past mistakes.

That is all tangential to my reflections this morning anyway. As I've been reading back through the Old Testament it is quite apparent that God does condescend to reveal himself through our human cultural practices. Take Solomon's vision at Gibeon, for instance. He participated in the detestable practice of offering sacrifices and burning incense on the high places. There at Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream allowing him to ask for whatever he wanted from the Lord. And we all know that Solomon's request for a discerning heart to lead the people was pleasing to God - so the Lord not only promised him wisdom to administer justice, but also riches and honor, and if he walked in faithfulness, long life as well. God met him in this strange place.

Life is so sterile in the modern West. Even if we consider Solomon's practice of sacrificing on the high places misguided, it seems to me that there was something real in this ubiquitous ancient human practice. The smell of blood and the sounds of death reek of reality. It reminds me of C. S. Lewis' novel Till We Have Faces, which is a modern rendition of the ancient Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche. The older sister Orual can't stand what she calls the smell of holiness every time she enters the house of the goddess, where there is continuous sacrifice taking place. Something deep within us resonates with this brokenness...we understand the smell of holiness.

"Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Our sterile Western theology has difficulty with sacrifice. We can't get our collective minds around the concept because it is not a part of our shared experience. We've tried to ignore our own brokenness by hiding from blood and death. We turn away from reality...we pinch our nose at the smell of holiness...we cover our ears at the cries of brokenness. Even in our version of Christianity it is all clean and positive and nice - a journey without sacrifice, a holiness without the spilling of blood. The wisdom of the Apostles says this cannot be...we've lost touch with that wisdom. We are confronted by the Paschal Lamb.

What strikes me most in the resurrection scenes are the wounds of His crucifixion. Jesus carries with Him the scars of sacrifice. He is the slain Lamb who sits on the throne and the Lion of Judah. He is worthy to open the scroll. He has the smell of holiness all over. He has opened the way of life for us by the tearing of His flesh. Our only hope for genuine peace...our only hope to become an authentic reflection of the Kingdom is to understand the depth of brokenness and chaos. Then we might open our hearts to actually eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Lamb, following the way that He made for us to experience real life.

Until next time - Blessing in Christ ~ RLS

St. Patrick's Breastplate

2008-03-17T16:51:00.004-05:00

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

~ An adaptation of the famous prayer known as St. Patrick's Breastplate

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

The Princess is 1!

2008-03-14T10:50:00.003-05:00

As we prepare our hearts for Holy Week the idea of sacrifice has been on my mind. I don't like the word sacrifice, which may sound strange coming from an evangelical pastor. Of course our focus in these days is on the sacrifice of the one John called the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world. Those of us who follow this Lamb are called to participate in His sacrifice...to experience the kind of brokenness that brings about reconciliation and renewal.

Of course, my life doesn't compare to the sacramental self-giving of Jesus. I don't sacrifice much...but as one in this journey of pastoral ministry I've found that the most difficult "sacrifice" (if we can call what we do a sacrifice at all) isn't taking a lower salary or working lots of hours or receiving little gratitude for our service (at times); no, the most difficult "sacrifice" is being separated from family.

This isn't always a necessary "sacrifice", but it is often the case...that following Christ in this pastoral journey will lead us away from our close family. The sense of this separation is not always acute...and with the many modes of communication these days it is a little easier to swallow. But there is a sense of loss, when you miss out on your brother's graduation or, as was the case for us this past week, your niece's first birthday. Getting the pictures is nice...but there is still a sense of loss that I'm not able to be much a part of my niece and nephew's life - nor will my brother and sisters be as big a part of our son's life as I'd like.

The word sacrifice actually comes from a Middle English word that literally means "to make sacred" or "to make holy". That is why I hesitate to use the word in this case...I'm not sure this separation makes anything more sacred or holy. Then again, I suppose it at least shows our willingness to follow the rebel Jesus wherever He would have us go - even if it means experiencing this separation and brokenness. I suppose it reveals, just a small glimpse (and I do mean very small) of the Kingdom that prioritizes our relationship with Him above everything else.

I don't feel any more holy...but maybe holiness isn't a feeling. Lord we will follow wherever you lead us. And, Kelsey...I'm sorry we missed your 1st birthday - I'm sure you won't hold it against us...but if we happen to miss other important days in your life...I hope you come to understand why, and can forgive us. We're committed to an all consuming call. Happy Birthday!

Tears of an Inflatable Clown

2008-03-01T16:37:00.003-06:00

I grew up in Western Oklahoma about 15 minutes from the Texas panhandle. Oklahoma comes from a Choctaw phrase that literally means red people. I suppose that could have more than one implication these days.

This is a land of real folk...tough people. The Anglo settlers of this territory lived in dung huts. They worked hard to scratch out a living. These people have endured hardships and loss, dust bowls and droughts. All of which, I believe contribute to a unique character and outlook - an earthiness that's as red and hard as the iron soil.

It is my own red desert. My roots. I'm only saying this to give you some indication of why I like King of the Hill so much...in many funny ways, it reminds me of home.

I came across this wonderful episode that I just had to share. In it Bobby is attempting to organize a carnival to break some of the monotony and boredom of daily life. In the process, though, someone comes from the district to try and teach the children about diversity, especially emphasizing horrific acts of prejudice and oppression throughout history. His goal is to help the children understand their participation in this history. Now there is something to be said for understanding our role in systemic brokenness and violence, but these school children have difficulty processing it all - as I think most of us do.

Well, I guess I should just let you watch it for yourself. Though - I have to say that I already have a favorite line. There is a part where they want the entire town to feel the guilt and self-loathing of their ancestors acts of oppression and Joseph says, "Yeah, I wish that I could tape their eyes open and shove their faces into the truth." What a great line...think about it...better yet, watch the episode.

Discipline

2008-02-29T13:45:00.005-06:00

My most recent reflections have revolved around the idea of discipline. There are probably many reasons for this. It certainly seems a reasonable topic of reflection in the middle of Lent. Yet, in reflecting it has been revealed that I have tended to understand discipline in the negative sense. Growing up it wasn't something that one would look forward to or seek out because it usually referred in one way or another to the reddening of one's backside. I learned to avoid discipline.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not questioning the wisdom of the rod. If used appropriately there does seem to be some benefit in getting our tush switched from time to time. But, I'm coming to understand that that is not really what discipline infers. It comes from the Latin word disciplina meaning instruction, knowledge, training. And the root of disciplina is discere meaning to learn, which is where we also get our words discernment and discretion. Etymology tends to be enlightening for me. You see, this is also the root from which we get the word disciple.

I'm certain that discipline involves pain - that was the truth passed down to me in the wisdom of the rod. Yes, it involves pain because discipleship involves pain - denying ourselves...taking up crosses...following a crucified leader. But, what I missed in those early lessons was that discipline also results in joy, peace, grace, and fullness. The pain makes space to indwell...it makes room to experience and to live.

This whole Lenten journey is a difficult one. I'm attempting to be faithful and stay on the path, but as we get closer and closer to the cross I want to turn away...to go a different direction...to find another leader. Sometimes I can't see beyond the cross. It seems as if the road ends there. Of course, I know in my heart of hearts that it is there that death meets new life and defeat becomes victory, but everything else in my beings fights against real reality. I need discipline.

I'll be a father soon. One thinks of discipline in completely new ways when confronted with fatherhood. It looks different on the giving rather than the receiving end. But, I'm convinced that discipline cannot be an end in itself (though it can still happen on our ends, so to speak) - it is a means to achieving the goals of wisdom, discernment and knowledge. It is a tool used to shape and mold our being and action. For we are creatures that require habiting (also an interesting word to explore).

Too often I observe parents who discipline (or don't discipline) for their own sake and not for the sake of their children. And, it seems that discipline, as many other things in this culture, is treated as an end in itself, rather than a tool used to guide and train a child into a life of wisdom. Of course, it could also mean that we no long strive after a life of wisdom...that this is simply not a goal for many these days. The pursuit of "life, liberty, and happiness" (typically meaning acquisition of wealth, fame or choice) seem to rule our collective desires. Maybe I'm wrong to move against the grain of our culture, but it seems to me that there are deeper things to pursue - the deepest being Wisdom. It also seems to me that the life lived in pursuit of wisdom will experience true life, real liberty and genuine happiness - or that which is deeper and more sustaining than "happiness"; joy.

The life in pursuit of Wisdom is also a life lived as a follower of Jesus. He is the embodiment of all Wisdom. To gain wisdom requires discipline - because it requires us to be disciples who become discerning about reality. That is my hope for my life and for my son. May I learn true discipline from Him that I may guide my son into a life of wisdom. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Time Enough

2008-02-27T13:56:00.002-06:00

I've blogged about busy-ness before and am fully aware that it is simply a part of our contemporary culture - but I don't like being busy. Part of me is drawn by the pull of eternal rest in the Triune Life, while the rest of me is frantically fragmented by the forces and realities of this world. And though I don't espouse dualistic philosophical language, I can certainly see why and how it developed out of the paradox of human existence.

I wonder sometimes how much of the busy-ness and fragmentation is actually part of this reality and how much is of my own making. That is yet to be determined...but my father-in-law posted something that really struck me on his blog the other day. He has been reading The Correspondence of Thomas Carlyle and Ralph Waldo Emerson, Volume 2, printed in 1888. And this is what Emerson said in one of his letters:

I had it fully in my heart to write at large leisure in noble mornings opened by prayer or readings from Plato or whomsoever else is dearest to the Morning Muse, a new chapter on Poetry, for which all readings, all studies, are but preparation; but now it is July, and my chapter is in rudest beginnings. Yet when I go out of doors in the summer night, and see how high the stars are, I am persueded that there is time enough for all that I must do; and the good world manifests very little impatience.

This idea that "there is time enough for all that I must do" struck me. And then I read this from Henri J. M. Nouwen the other day:

Often we're not as pressed for time as much as we feel we're pressed for time. I remember several years ago becoming so pressured by the demands of teaching at Yale that I took a prayer sabbatical to the Trappist monastery at Geneseo, New York. No teaching, lecturing, or counseling - just solitude and prayer.

The second day there, a group of students from Geneseo College walked in and asked, "Henri, can you give us a retreat?"

Of course at the monastery that was not my decision, but I said to the abbot, "I came here from the university to get away from that type of thing. These students have asked for five meditations, an enormous amount of work and preparation. I don't want to do it."

The abbot said, "You're going to do it."

"What do you mean? Why should I spend my sabbatical time preparing all those things?"

"Prepare?" he replied. "You've been a Christian for forty years and a priest for twenty, and a few high school students want to have a retreat. Why do you have to prepare? What those boys and girls want is to be a part of your life in God for a few days. If you pray half an hour in the morning, sing in our choir for an hour, and do your spiritual reading, you will have so much to say you could give ten retreats."

The question, you see, is not to prepare but to live in a state of ongoing preparedness so that, when someone who is drowning in the world comes into your world, you are ready to reach out and help. It may be four o'clock, six o'clock, or nine o'clock. One time you call it preaching, the next time teaching, then counseling, or later administration. But let them be part of your life in God - that's ministering.

~ From "Time Enough to Minister" in Leadership (Spring, 1982)

Time is an issue of control for me...but I'm learning to let go and to let others be a part of my life in God. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Organic Metaphors

2008-02-18T09:50:00.013-06:00

There is a growing emphasis and interest in the "organic church" on our district - so much so, that we are creating an organic church network. I have long been a proponent for recovering organic metaphors in our understanding and articulation of the relational realities of the Kingdom. We have been operating with cold, dead mechanistic metaphors for way too long.

The Spirit (ruach, pneuma) of God breathes life into the world. Human beings become a living spirit(nephesh, psyche) by the Spirit. We're not dealing with machines here - but we have been so captured in the post-industrial West by machines and technology that it is difficult for us to recover more organic ways of thinking and living. And, we've struggled in the Christian community for such a long time because these mechanical metaphors are completely inadequate for theological and ecclesial language. We've operated too much like a factory or machine or corporation and not enough like a family or a tribe or a kingdom.

I contend that these metaphors are important because they change the way that we think, see and act. They have important implications for our understanding of our theological language as well. In light of that I thought I would share a paper that I wrote a few years back that is closely related to this discussion.

Athanasius' Relational Epistemology: a search for adequate language to express the mysteries of incarnation and atonement

What then but apparitions can remain to a philosophy, which strikes death through all things visible and invisible; satisfies itself then only when it can explain those abstractions of the outward senses, which by an unconscious irony it names indifferent facts and phenomena, mechanically - that is, by laws of death; and brands with the name of mysticism every solution grounded in life, or the powers and intuitions of life? Samuel Taylor Coleridge[1]

Much of the confusion concerning the Incarnation and atonement is linked in some way to a misunderstanding of the nature and function of language, which finds its roots in dualistic epistemologies. The rationalistic misconception that abstract, objective propositional language is somehow a more truthful representation of reality has deeply influenced the Western intellect and is not easily corrected. This perception of reality and the function of language has not only diminished our ability to appropriately apprehend theological mysteries, but has also resulted in alienation from reality and a tendency to coercion and control with a telos of desolation, destruction and death. Samuel Taylor Coleridge reacts strongly against this misunderstanding of reality and its use of mechanistic metaphors during the so-called 'age of reason' which is illustrated in his scathing indictment above. It is my contention that this tendency to abstraction found in a dualistic cast of mind rips apart naturally integrated aspects of reality, in which we are no longer able to adequately relate to, apprehend, and articulate our interaction with reality. We then become incapable of inspiration, imagination, and connection and instead move in the direction of senseless nihilistic existence. In the midst of this brokenness, theological mysteries such as the Incarnation and atonement are also rendered meaningless. We require a metanoia that we may see, hear, think, and speak in entirely new categories reconnecting to reality, which is not an abstract conception but the personal reality revealed in the Incarnate Word. This essay will be an 'attempt' to recapture the relational epistemology and language of St. Athanasius as an appropriate foundation for further theological exploration into the deep mysteries of incarnation and atonement.

The Nature and Function of Language:

We must begin with the nature of human knowledge and theological language in general in an endeavor to correct some of the excesses of the Enlightenment before we attempt any foundation on that great defender of orthodox Christianity. The nature of theological language should be understood as the science of God.[2] We are immediately confronted with the fact that our contemporary culture tends to conflate the more general term science with the specific field of natural science. Our English word ‘science’ comes from the Latin ‘scientia’ which simply means knowledge. Therefore, when we speak of science in this sense we mean a rigorous, disciplined, methodical, organized knowledge of an aspect of reality. Or, as the scientist/philosopher Michael Polanyi says, “Scientific knowing consists in discerning Gestalten that are aspects of reality.”[3] However, we have been so influenced by modern critical methods of research, logical positivistic frameworks, and the search for ‘objective truth’ that we tend to understand all human knowledge in such categories. This perception of human knowledge has been and continues to be challenged. The Modern movement did bring an important corrective to the excesses of authority and power-structures over the individual, but now the complete authority of abstract structures or of the individual person also needs to be corrected.[4] How may we better understand the nature of theology as the science of God?

To expound further we must say that theology is the articulation of our knowledge of the Lord God who has revealed Himself to us.[5] This is what we mean when we say that theology is the science of God. Within this context we understand that all human knowledge is relational and based upon fiduciary frameworks. In other words, there is no such thing as a complete objectivity. All human knowledge has a subjective and objective pole. Thus, if someone were to say, “I know Jane”, this would imply that the subject, the “I”, has had some experience with the object, “Jane".[6] In this instance the subject has knowledge of the object, but there is a difference between knowledge of and knowledge about an object. Knowledge of an object logically entails direct, first-hand experience of the object, whereas knowledge about an object may result from first had experience or a second hand witness to the object’s reality. In either case knowledge is based upon trust.

Human knowledge always begins with trust. We must develop some level of trust in our own experiences to give us knowledge which helps us to adequately relate to our environment and to other human beings. We must trust in the communities that shape and form the language that we use to understand and express our experience in meaningful ways. As Polanyi goes on to further illustrate,

Any effort made to understand something must be sustained by the belief that there is something there that can be understood. Its effort to learn to speak is prompted in the child by the conviction that speech means something. Guided by its love and trust of its guardians, it perceives the light of reason in their eyes, voices, and bearing and feels instinctively attracted towards the source of this light.[7]

We have no meaning or language apart from an initial trust in the people and communities which shape that meaning and language for us. However, these fiduciary frameworks are balanced against the fragmented and developing nature of human knowledge. As human knowledge develops we may question some of our presuppositions, but we must recognize that it is only because of our trust in these essential frameworks that we are able to move human knowledge forward. Without this essential trust we are reduced to nihilistic thinking.

Following in Descartes’ footsteps, the person who believes that human knowledge should begin with doubt ought to consider Kant’s parable of the Dove. Kant speculated that a dove might think it would find flying easier without the encumbrance of the air around it. If the dove didn’t have to constantly push against the air to remain in flight then it would expend less energy in the process. Of course, the dove would quickly find out that it is impossible to fly in a vacuum. In fact, it is the air in our atmosphere which makes flight possible for the dove or any other bird for that matter. In the same way we must trust in human knowledge, language and experience before we can even begin to ask the critical questions. Therefore, contrary to popular ideologies, faith is the ground of true knowledge, not doubt. Or, as St. Anselm said, 'fides quaerens intellectum.' All human knowledge, especially theological knowledge, is faith seeking understanding.

We must also consider the role of language in our epistemological framework. There is a heuristic nature to human knowledge and language, which is dialogical, imaginative and dynamic.

Our conceptual imagination, like its artistic counterpart, draws inspiration from contacts with experience. And like the works of imaginative art, the constructions of mathematics will tend therefore to disclose those hidden principles of the experienced world of which some scattered traces had first stimulated the imaginative process by which these constructions were conceived.[8]

In this sense human knowledge (scientia) is an aspect of our communal indwelling of the world, not some disembodied conceptualization of it. This incarnational engagement with reality recognizes the fragmented nature of human knowledge and approaches these mysteries of existence within the process of learning. Thus, we use language, which in some real sense is inherently metaphorical or symbolic, to articulate our communal engagement with reality.

Words are given to our ontological relations with reality. Language can only arise out of personal relationships, hence there is no such thing as a purely private language. It is built on human interactions, either direct or indirect, and cannot be learned in any other way. In other words, language is the fruit of our communal engagement with the 'other' and we are in the process of finding ever more adequate ways to communicate this relational experience. Theologically speaking we encounter the objective reality of God, centrally in God's objectification for us in the Incarnate Word, and the task of theology, as the science of God, is to seek consistent and adequate ways to articulate our 'onto-relations' with the Lord God. T. F. Torrance further elucidates this perception of theological language:

In theology we have knowledge of an objective reality in which we hear a Word, encounter a Logos, from beyond our subjective experience, a Word which utters itself in our listening to it and speech of it, a Word which speaks for itself in guiding us to ever deepening understanding of the objective reality, and to which we submit our subjective experience for constant criticism and control.[9]

In this we have turned the 'modern' conception of scientific knowledge on its head. The individual is not the judge over the objective reality, bringing it under examination by dissection and evaluation that it might be understood and in the process killing it. Instead, the subject engages in living relationship with the object. Inspiration, imagination, and knowledge are the result of this relational engagement, giving us more adequate language to relate to reality and participate in Lebensformen of sacramental worship to the Lord God. With this understanding of human knowledge and language, we now turn to Athanasius' relational epistemology as a basis for theological exploration.

Athanasius’ Relational Epistemology:[10]

Athanasius of Alexandria was so dark and so short that his enemies called him “the black dwarf;” but, in truth he was and remains a theological giant.[11] We in the Christian tradition today are greatly indebted to him for his for his faithfulness to orthodoxy as he defended Nicene theology against the perversions of Arianism. He is by far the most important theological figure in the fourth century and became the primary symbol of Nicene faith. The theological language of his time and following was so shaped by Athanasius that Johannes Quasten said, “the history of dogma in the fourth century is identical with the history of his life.”[12] Due to my limited engagement with the works of Athanasius; I will be trusting predominantly in the patristic scholarship of T. F. Torrance to further elucidate the relational epistemology, ontology, and theology of this important Church Father.[13]

Although Athanasius stands in the great Alexandrian theological tradition and is heir of the influential theological insights of Clement and Origen, his thinking and language departs in many ways from these Alexandrian scholars. Instead, Torrance places Athanasius directly in the tradition of Irenaeus. The influence of Clement and Origen is not completely absent in his work, it is simply not as significant as one might think would be the case for a bishop of Alexandria. This shift in focus is probably influenced by the fact that Athanasius’ interests were pastoral and polemical rather than systematic and speculative theology. That is not to say that his thinking was not clear and orderly, but his writing is primarily in response to specific needs and not an attempt to create a theological system.

According to Torrance the important factors which shaped Athanasius’ theological language are: 1) the Episcopal tradition in Alexandria, allegedly going back to St. Mark, such biblical and Jewish influences helped Athanasius develop a Hebraic cast of mind, and 2) the important scientific tradition in Alexandria. The heuristic scientific method already employed in Alexandria had an impact on the thinking and language of Athanasius; however, he did give clear attention to the change that language and technical terms must undergo when employed in the service of knowledge and speech about the Lord God. Torrance also proclaims that Athanasius rejected any cosmological or epistemological dualism, which is central to this exploration of his work. The rejection of dualistic ways of thinking is likely due to his Hebraic cast of mind, which was in turn shaped by his knowledge of Scripture. No dualism exists between the kosmos aesthetos (world of sense perception) and the kosmos noetos (universal mind or ideals) in Athanasius’ theology. This ancient dichotomy is similar to Kant’s distinction between noumena and phenomena and further illustrates the relevance of patristic study today. Additionally, there is no hint of a Stoic logoi spermatikoi or impersonal/abstract Logos; in other words, Athanasius is not Platonic, neo-Platonic, Stoic, or Gnostic in his thinking; instead, his theology is fully relational and dynamic, which is amazing given his context.

For Athanasius God is transcendent but remains immanent being. In his view being is not a static ontological principle; rather, being and action, being and presence, being and activity (ousia and energia) are inseparable. God, then, is the ground of all being/reality and energy/action. As such, God both creates and sustains all things and this creating and sustaining work is done in and through the Logos. Transcendence and immanence come together in Athanasius’ writings. Accordingly, he understands that the Greeks need completely new epistemological categories that they might adequately understand and articulate the creative and redemptive work of God, for it is their dualistic cast of mind that results in many and various heretical teachings.

Central to Athanasius’ understanding of our relation to God is the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo. There is a strong distinction between the generation of the Son and creation, but this does not result in a complete dualism. Generation belongs to the inner nature (physis) of God, while creation is due to God’s activity ‘outside of’ Himself. God, then, is distinct from creation and intimately related to and present in creation simultaneously. There is something of a paradox here because activity and being are not separated in Athanasius’ thought. I’m not sure that this is completely resolved by the doctrine of creation ex nihilo. Yet, he does emphasize that apart from God’s gracious creative activity toward us we cease to exist. Thus, our being is wholly dependent upon the creative and sustaining activity of God, which is the rejection of the Gnostic and Greek conception of the eternal soul.

In the generation of the Son there is continuity of nature, but in creation there is a disparity between different natures. Therefore, there remains a distinction between God and creation, yet God is present in the entire universe because of His ongoing and outgoing interaction with the all creation, in which He reveals Himself through Word and Spirit. In this sense we do not know God apart from God’s gracious interaction with and relation to the created world; however, though God’s revelation we do have some knowledge of God’s internal or onto-relations. To know God in and through the Logos is to know God in God’s inner reality. The Incarnation, then, has opened up knowledge of God in se, as He is in Himself. In the fullness of time, God became man, so that we may become by grace, that is the re-creative activity of God, what God is by nature. This idea of divinization is what Athanasius calls theopoiesis. The restoration of the imago Dei is the mystery of salvation and should be compared to our Wesleyan understanding of sanctification.

The Arians held onto such a strong distinction between God and creation that the ineffable God could not actually become human. Athanasius discerned their position to result in the complete unknowability of God. Therefore, Arian understandings of God were actually anthropocentric, not Christocentric or Theocentric. Athanasius, on the other hand, operates from a holistic framework. The saving act of God in the Parousia once again unifies act and being. The Logos is internal to the being of God (homoousios). Thus, in the Inhomination of the Word, God truly became man or ‘flesh’—man in his wholeness.[14] The Logos assumed all of our broken/fallen humanity for our sakes. He ministered not only the things of God to man, but also the things of man to God—He truly is the Mediator. Redemption and re-creation takes place within the Mediator’s life; in other words, incarnation, death, resurrection and redemption are inseparable. The acts of God ‘toward us’, ‘for us,’ and ‘in us’ cannot be divided and they come to us through the Son and in the Spirit.

The Spirit, Son, and Father are all homoousios, that is to say that they are all of the same being (ousia). Athanasius’ Trinitarian formula is: from the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit. The mutual relation (perichoresis) between the Father, Son, and Spirit constitutes the epistemological ground for all our knowledge of God the Holy Trinity. We, then, are brought into the economy (family) of God through the Son and by the Spirit. Athanasius posits no real distinction between the immanent and economic Trinity for there is One Holy Triad who is ‘over all’ and ‘in all’ and ‘through all’.

Athanasius’ understanding of the ontological relations between the Spirit and the Son does not lead toward subordination of the Spirit to the Son. God is Spirit in the unity of his being and act. It belongs to God’s eternal nature to move and energize and act. While God remains ultimately ineffable, He makes Himself accessible to us and knowable by us through His Word and in His Spirit. God communicates Himself such that we participate in Him. However, while we are enabled to apprehend God in God’s-self we are still unable to fully comprehend Him for we cannot grasp what He is. Therefore, we relationally engage in the reality of God, but this reality still remains above and beyond us, which is the mystery of salvation.

For Athanasius method and material content go together, this is part of his overall synthesis between being and action. The epistemological significance of the homoousion is that through the Son and in the Spirit, God communicates Himself to us. How we come to know God and what we know of God are inseparable, which is the relational foundation of his epistemology and theology. Therefore, the Incarnation makes genuine theological activity possible. In the Inhomination of the Word, God in some sense objectifies Himself for us that we might truly come to know (kennen) Him. In this revelation we are presented with the reality that ‘truth’ is not abstract and impersonal; instead, Truth is relational and personal. Jesus Christ is Truth!

Athanasius applied the scientific method to his knowledge of the Lord God. Alexandrian science should be understood as a rigorous, ordered knowledge according to the inherent structure or nature of the realities being investigated. This scientific language is stretched when speaking of God; however, we do have true knowledge of God according to God’s inherent nature because of His revelation (objectification) for us. Therefore, our theological language is the science of God, in that it must continually witness to the reality of God revealed in Jesus of Nazareth.

The results of the incarnation of the Savior are such and so many, than anyone attempting to enumerate them should be compared to a person looking upon the vastness of the sea and attempting to count its waves.[16]

The incarnation of the eternal Lord properly understood is a paradox. The infinite became finite, but He never really ceased being infinite. The Word became flesh but He did not cease being the Word of God. He was living a human life, but all things continued to be sustained by Him. That is not to say that the Word is creation, but rather that all created things have their existence through Him. God was not restricted by the physical limitations of the body of Christ, but He was truly human. Athanasius exposes the apparent irrationality of the Christian claim that God became incarnate, was crucified, and resurrected.

“For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (I Corinthians 1.22-24)

The words of Jesus are the words of God and the acts of Jesus are the acts of God. Human beings, who are corrupted by sin and have no knowledge of the Lord God, have come to know the Father through the life of the Son. This is the Christian proclamation and witness even if it does not meet the requirements of proposed abstract human rationality.

If the Word has become incarnate in Jesus the Christ that God might overcome corruption and death by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and if He remains Lord of the universe in the incarnation, then why does He die in such a ghastly way? If it is simply His life and death that are required to overcome sin, then why does He not die in a more worthy way? In De Incarnatione Athanasius proposes many reasons for the necessity of the cross. The death of Christ by crucifixion was public so that His death and resurrection could not be denied. It came to Him by an enemy so that He might abolish all forms of death, even the most despised ones. Also, crucifixion was considered to be a cursed way to die, and people are crucified outside of the city gates to symbolize that there is no reconciliation for them; they are forever outside of the community. Christ bore the curse for all that He might be victorious over all sin and death, reconciling all human beings to each other and to God through Himself. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. His loving sacrifice broke every barrier that sin constructed between human relations to God, human relations to other humans, and human relations to creation.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The incarnate Word really died. His body lay in the grave for three days and then by His power He raised it up. This gives witness to Christ’s victory over death. The resurrection is not only evident in the written and spoken testimony of Jesus’ followers, but also in the witness of their lives and deaths. These disciples have shown by their willingness to die for their faith that Jesus truly has conquered death and Hades. If people continue to be compelled to follow this Christ and if His followers have no fear of death, then based on this evidence how could one deny the resurrection? The apostolic Church gives witness to the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and is Lord of all creation. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. Most importantly Christians proclaim with their words and lives that in Christ there is the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. This knowledge and witness to our at-one-ment with God would be impossible apart from the reality of the Incarnation.

Athanasius’ was a mind that thinks connections in things, not concepts, because concepts and terms have their meaning in reality. He preferred the functional or relational use of language, which is the most adequate use of language based on its inherent relational nature. For him theology and godliness belong together because knowledge, experience, and action all come together in his theological thought. He presents us with a language that is organic, relational, and dynamic. His relational epistemology allows for a theology that is both Christocentric and Theocentric at once, which is possible because Jesus is the image, action, and reality of God. For Athanasius reason is a part of the created order used like a mirror to point us toward the Divine Logos. Rational order pervades all created existence, but it is the Incarnation that presents us with the key for deeper theoretic insights into the saving economy of God. The unity of form and being challenges us to do the same today with a theological language that encompasses all of reality and faithfully witnesses to the Triune God.

Inadequate metaphors concerning incarnation and atonement have persisted primarily because dualistic ways of thinking have persisted. The foundation of orthodox theology must be found in the relational epistemology and ontology which is evident in Scripture and human knowledge, and is profoundly illustrated in the work of Athanasius. Based on this foundation, we are able to plumb the depths of the mystery of salvation, which is the mystery of God’s being and action, without falling into heretical thinking and we may confess with all confidence that we are reconciled to God, in Christ by the Spirit. The reality of this confession is experienced as we are caught up in the life of God in Christ by the Spirit, and we praise the Source of all Life as are being transformed into the imago Dei through God’s redemptive and creative activity with, in, and for us. Hallelujah!

[1] Gunton, et. al., The Practice of Theology, p. 299.
[2] This is evident throughout the history of theological development and finds distinctive articulation in Barth's definition of Dogmatics as 'the Science of God'.
[3] Science Faith and Society, p. 10, his italics.
[4] We must also take into consideration this constant tension between emphasis on ‘universals’ or ‘particulars’ in the history of Western philosophical thought.
[5] Dr. Noble, this is obviously the definition that you give for Dogmatics in ‘Systematics I’.
[6] This is a simplistic illustration of the complex web of human relationships, knowledge, and language, but it does help to point out the relational nature of language.
[7] Science, Faith, and Society, p. 44.
[8] Polanyi quoted in Gunton's Enlightenment and Alienation, p. 43.
[9] T. F. Torrance, Theological Science, p. 48.
[10] This section presents again much of the material that I covered in my first presentation. I hope that is acceptable.
[11] González, The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, p. 173.
[12] Quoted in, González, A History of Christian Thought, Vol. 1, p. 291.
[13] Most of Torrance’s insights into Athanasius, which I’m drawing from his article Athanasius: a study in the foundations of classical theology, have been validated in my mind through ongoing research. However, there are some claims made by Torrance with which I am still struggling. One primary example is Torrance’s proposal that there is no hint of Apollinarianism in the thought of Athanasius, which is disputed by many other able scholars. I have yet to come to a resolution on some of these issues, so tensions will remain throughout this paper.
[14] The wholeness is emphasized by Torrance because of his rejection of Apollinarian thought in Athanasius, but I’m not so sure that Athanasius did not at least lean in this direction.
[15] This is similar to Irenaeus’ two hands of God, the Son and Spirit, which bring forth creation and recreation.
[16] St. Athanasius quoted in González, The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, p. 173.

Feedback

2008-02-10T14:24:00.001-06:00

I told someone today that like Amos "I'm not a prophet nor the son of a prophet." There is not a lineage of pastoral ministry in my family. I come from, well also like Amos, a family of farmers and skilled workers - you know, HVAC repair folk, electricians, plumbers, and food servers. Yet, for some odd reason God called me into pastoral ministry. My one desire is simply to be faithful.

I suppose that it is good to focus on our desires during the season of Lent. Sara and I have given up television. It is never easy. I find that my addiction to television has increased tremendously since graduating from seminary, which is a little strange since we don't even have cable. I usually turn the t.v. on when I get home from the office to catch the news, and it stays on the rest of the evening. It becomes a constant noise and distraction in our home - but it is an addicting distraction. Hopefully, the time and space opened by turning off the television will allow me to engage in higher pursuits - spending quality time with my wife, praying, reading, thinking, writing.

Back to the Amos thing. I don't have much of a sounding board in this type of situation. Out of a desire to continue honing my preaching skills, I will periodically post one of my messages. I would appreciate honest feedback. You can listen to the message from today - the first Sunday in Lent here. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

30 Days

2008-02-08T15:21:00.000-06:00

Dave Brush posted this video over on his blog and I found it really interesting. This whole series of shows is from the guy who made the documentary Super Size Me, where he conducted an experiment by eating nothing but McDonald's food for 30 days to see what affect it would have on his body - the results were amazing. He started this show that journeys with different people as they live in someone else's shoes for 30 days. It is an enlightening social experiment. In this episode an evangelical Christian from the South spends 30 days living as a Muslim in Dearborn, Michigan. It is a little long, but it is well worth watching.

Sorry that the format looks kind of funny...I'm not really a techie so you'll just have to deal with it. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Balance

2008-01-28T16:22:00.000-06:00

I've always considered myself to have pretty good balance. I'm not a gymnast or anything. You would never catch me on a balance beam attempting those maneuvers for fear that I would lose the family jewels - if you know what I mean...I'm sure you do. But, I used to do all kinds of rock climbing and performed numerous stunts growing up and I rarely fell down.

That's what happens when you lose your balance. The laws of gravity take over and you tumble to the ground. Sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's embarrassing, and on occasion it could paralyze you or even kill you. Keeping our balance is an important thing.

The risk of falling often keeps us from going certain places or trying certain things. I've never learned how to do a back flip - even on a trampoline. I can do front flips all day long, but for some reason I can't trust myself to go backward - it is the fear of falling. Of course, none of us would be walking at all if we didn't overcome that fear at some point.

I was assisting an infant in walking around yesterday. He's at the point where he can balance himself and take a few steps on his own, but if he has a finger to hold onto he can get just about anywhere. He won't let go of that finger either...it provides his balance for the walk. Instinctively, he knows that if he lets go he will fall. Already he has a strong desire to walk...to explore...to experience, but he doesn't want to fall.

Balance is difficult. At times I'm so afraid of falling that I'm paralyzed, motionless, stuck. Then there are times that I take off running on a path full of potholes and it is all I can do to get up after the thirtieth or fortieth fall. It helps to have others to lean against when I start to get out of balance - of course they have to be stable or we're both going to eat dust. Like the time I took out a bunch of middle aged ladies after wiping out on my snowboard - we slid down the mountain a few hundred feet with a mouth full of snow. I apologized, but when you take a really bad wipeout sometimes you can't help knocking others down - you're not in control...it's a balance thing.

The reality is that we're all out of balance. That's why we have such difficulty with balance in this life. We get up, take a few steps and fall down. We grab onto others as we're going down - sometimes they keep us from falling and sometimes they go down with us. Thankfully, our Father knows our situation and reaches down with His Hand to offer us some help. The question is - will you keep wiping out trying to do it on your own under the illusion of control? Or will you reach out and take His Hand offering guidance and direction in your life? I've found that's my only hope for true balance in this world. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

P.S. The whole balance thing is why I haven't posted for a while - obviously I'm still learning to walk and have a long way to go...but I am trying.

The Peacemaker's Pledge

2008-01-18T21:43:00.001-06:00

A soft blanket of untouched snow is such a peaceful scene. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been thinking about peace a lot these days. I finished Ken Sande's book The Peacemaker this morning and will be exploring some of the biblical and practical insights he shares for developing a culture of peace.

I'd like to begin my reflection with his conclusion. Sande wraps up the book with The Peacemaker's Pledge. It is helpful to have read the rest of the book to further understand what he means by each of these phrases - but I do think the pledge stands on its own. I would encourage you to read and reflect on this pledge - how would our daily lives be different if we truly took it to heart?

The Peacemaker's Pledge

As people reconciled to God by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we believe that we are called to respond to conflict in a way that is remarkably different from the way the world deals with conflict (Matt. 5:9; Luke 6:27-36; Gal. 5:19-26). We also believe that conflict provides opportunities to glorify God, serve other people, and grow to be like Christ (Rom. 8:28-29; 1 Cor. 10:31-11:1; James 1:2-4). Therefore, in response to God's love and in reliance on His grace, we commit ourselves to responding to conflict according to the following principles.

Glorify God

Instead of focusing on our own desires or dwelling on what others may do, we will rejoice in the Lord and bring Him praise by depending on His forgiveness, wisdom, power, and love as we seek to faithfully obey His commands and maintain a loving, merciful, and forgiving attitude (Ps. 37:1-6; Mark 11:25; John 14:15; Rom. 12:17-21; 1 Cor. 10:31; Phil. 4:2-9; Col. 3:1-4; James 3:17-18; 4:1-3; 1 Peter 2:12).

Get the Log Out of Your Own Eye

Instead of blaming others for a conflict or resisting correction, we will trust in God's mercy and take responsibility for our own contribution to conflicts - confessing our sins to those we have wronged, asking God to help us change any attitudes and habits that lead to conflict, and seeking to repair any harm we have caused (Prov. 28:13; Matt. 7:3-5; Luke 19:8; Col. 3:5-14; 1 John 1:8-9).

Gently Restore

Instead of pretending that conflict doesn't exist or talking about others behind their backs, we will overlook minor offenses or we will talk personally and graciously with those whose offenses seem too serious to overlook, seeking to restore them rather than condemn them. When a conflict with a Christian brother or sister cannot be resolved in private, we will ask others in the body of Christ to help us settle the matter in a biblical manner (Prov. 19:11; Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 6:1-8; Gal. 6:1-2; Eph. 4:29; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; James 5:9).

Go and Be Reconciled

Instead of accepting premature compromise or allowing relationships to wither, we will actively pursue genuine peace and reconciliation - forgiving others as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven us, and seeking just and mutually beneficial solutions to our differences (Matt. 5:23-24; 6:12; 7:12; Eph. 4:1-3, 32; Phil. 2:3-4).

By God's grace, we will apply these principles as a matter of stewardship, realizing that conflict is an opportunity, not an accident. We will remember that success in God's eyes is not a matter of specific results, but of faithful, dependent obedience. And we will pray that our service as peacemakers will bring praise to our Lord and lead others to know His infinite love (Matt. 25:14-21; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:18; 1 Peter 2:19; 4:19).

If you are currently in a conflict - and even if you're not - I would encourage you to read this pledge for at least 30 days and let me know if it makes a difference. I'm just beginning my journey as an intentional peacemaker. I'll soon find out where that road leads...all I know is that it is the Way. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Peacemakers

2008-01-16T13:14:00.000-06:00

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

What does it mean to be a part of the peacable Kingdom...to experience peace...to offer peace...to be a peacemaker? My thoughts and meditations have focused on these questions in recent days for reasons that don't necessarily need to be recounted in a public forum. These unnamed reasons have forced me to further examine what it means to follow the Prince of Peace.

God desires peace for His creation, at least my reading of the biblical witness affirms that God's ultimate desire for the created order is shalom. We have varying understandings of what that means, but Scripture gives us some fairly clear glimpses of what peace might look like in the created order and how peace is achieved in our relational existence.

One of the most glaring hypocrisies in current Christian community is that our way of life does not bear witness to the shalom of God. The disorder, conflict, broken relationships, destructive habits and patterns further reveals the fact that we are not genuinely participating in the Kingdom, which renders us inadequate witnesses of the Gospel. Our inability to embody the peace of Christ within our own community makes us mute to speak to the brokenness in our world.

One of our highest priorities must be to create a culture of peace. It is obvious that this culture naturally flows out of a community that is truly connected to the Head and engaged with the Spirit, but that relational connection doesn't just happen. There are habits and practices that we can develop, which enable us to remain open to the Spirit and the Word...to be re-shaped into the imago Dei.

A great practical and biblical resource for developing a culture of peace is Ken Sande's book The Peacemaker. I'm going to be spending a few weeks digesting and outlining some of the principles for conflict transformation that he proposes. Check back over the next few weeks for this series of posts. You can find other resources at the Peacemaker Ministry Website. As always, feel free to share your thoughts or reactions. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Vocation

2008-01-08T10:11:00.000-06:00

I don't think that many of us associate the raising of Lazarus with our vocation. When we think of vocation - we tend to think in terms of our occupation or job. The late A. J. Conyers helps us understand that Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is a rich image of the biblical understanding of vocation. We are raised from meaningless death and called to participate in the divine life and mission. He says it so much better than I could - you can read his article here. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

A. J. Conyers was a professor of theology for George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. He died in the summer of 2004 after a battle with cancer.

Worth-ship

2008-01-06T14:12:00.001-06:00

I subscribe to a few publications. The Christian Century is one of those. In a recent issue they had an article that closely captured my own sentiment on "styles" or "brands" or "expressions" of Christian worship. You can read the article here. I would be interested in any responses. Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Happy New Year!

2008-01-03T12:00:00.000-06:00

I'm a little behind in wishing ya'll a Happy New Year! A new year brings with it all kinds of new opportunities. It is a time to reflect on the past and to look toward the future. We review the good and the bad of the previous year and are afforded a fresh start, a clean slate. This is an occasion for some of us to resolve to do things differently this year than we did in the past. What was the best thing and worst thing about 2007? What is your New Year’s resolution? If you are the type of “special” person who doesn’t make resolutions, let us know why?

As we move into a new year it is a great time to remember our identity and mission. The reality is that as Christ-followers “who we are” (identity) and “what we do” (mission) are wrapped up together. Jesus sums it all up in Mark 12:28-34.

28One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: "Which is most important of all the commandments?"

29-31Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."

32-33The religion scholar said, "A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that's better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!"

34When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, "You're almost there, right on the border of God's kingdom."

After that, no one else dared ask a question.

May we begin 2008 remembering who we are as Christ-followers, with a new resolve to participate in His mission to redeem the world.

Blanket of Snow

2007-12-28T11:18:00.000-06:00

A soft blanket of snow peacefully wraps up the city. Harsh edges are cushioned, dark corners covered and light magnified. The resplendent paradox of a city clothed in snow evokes reflection on the cultural enigma of Christmas. It is a time, more than any other, that our thoughts are turned toward giving, blessing, gifting. Yet, we attempt to grasp and control this practice of grace, and in so doing, create something other than grace - something all together different.

Smells - oh, the smells associated with our celebration. Turkey, roast beef, ham, potatoes, onions, dressing, pies, apples, oranges, coffee, cinnamon, and peppermint all combine in the aromatic sense of the season. As our olfactory center soaks in the joyful smells, we're surrounded by the commotion of the day. Bells ringing, music playing, conversations with rarely seen relatives, kitchen noises culminating in the table fellowship and then the ripping of paper, surprised responses, expressions of gratitude both heart felt and politely mandated by the mores of the gathered community.

There is a joy and awkwardness in our family gatherings. Family - it is a received reality. We don't control our identity. We have shared experiences, but our lives are so different, our personalities so foreign to one another. As was often said to me in adolescence, "You can pick your nose and you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family." What a wise proverb.

It seems to me that our desire to control increases with age, which causes strain in our familial relationships - in all of our relationships for that matter. We live in a culture of control. The customer service counter is exceedingly busy today. The line is wrapped back and forth like a python full of grumpy people. If a gift is not to our liking these days, we simply exchange it for something more suited to our tastes. Rather than run this risk, it is more common to simply give our loved ones a gift card. We must have control over what we receive. It is no surprise, then, that we have difficulty understanding grace in this culture.

We attempt to control the Gift - to exchange it for something more palatable to our senses, something more to our liking. He came to His own and His own did not receive Him! I've found that the Christian mystics tend to understand grace in deep and robust ways. They have something significant to teach us. Though they say it in different ways and in different languages, yet with a common voice they describe the person at peace as one who is utterly empty. Only an empty soul has room for the fullness of Divine Love - which will be poured into it.

Empty. Open. I'm reminded of the common posture of prayer among early Christians. It was one of openness, expectancy and reception. They would typically look toward the heavens, anticipating the coming of Christ, with their hands raised, palms open and facing up ready to gratefully receive the Gift from above. As Christ-followers, we receive and participate in the grace-filled life of God, we don't control and manipulate. We in-dwell. We abide. We breathe. I think this is one of the most difficult things for us to comprehend. If we go to the exchange counter, which is always an open option, we will only exchange truth for a lie, hope for despair, peace for chaos, and life for death. The Gift is not exchangeable, no matter how difficult it is for us to swallow His flesh and blood.

It is hard to become empty and to open our hands because in so doing we relinquish one of the deepest human desires - control. With an open hand, we cannot grasp. We simply receive and give as life flows through us. The snow falls into our hand and melts away, a simple pleasure, a momentary joy. Yet, more and more we come to realize that this is who we were created to be - a means of grace, a channel of life. And that this open poverty is the place of beauty. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Prayer Wall

2007-12-21T12:26:00.000-06:00

David Brush pointed this out over at his blog. I think it is a really interesting and unique use of technology. Check it out. Until Next Time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Come, Thou Unexpected Jesus

2007-12-20T10:01:00.000-06:00

Come, Thou unexpected Jesus,
Interrupt our spending spree.
Shopping malls hold all that pleases;
Why would we then look for Thee?
In the midst of all the bustle,
We've lost the most important part.
Teach us that our lowly Savior
Is not found in a shopping cart.

Come, Thou unexpected Jesus,
Teach us Thy Nativity.
Teach us what true want, true need is.
Bid us champion poverty.
Break through our self-serving natures,
Please forgive our wayward hearts.
Show us those who need Thee, Savior;
Help us each to do our part.

~ by Jenn Kipp (with apologies to Charles Wesley)

Incarnation & Atonement: A Reflection

2007-12-17T13:47:00.001-06:00

Where do we even begin when reflecting on the deep mystery of the Incarnation and our atonement? Given the paradoxical nature of our central Christian confession, it is difficult to discern a distinctive starting point for this reflection. As Christians we do not begin with anthropology, hamartiology, theodicy, or even history instead we begin and end with Christology because it is through Christ that we understand God, creation, humanity, sin, and redemption. However, to give a sense of coherence to our reflection we must maintain continuity with our narrative which begins in the beginning. Berashieth barah Elohim et ha-shamaim va-et ha-eretz. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1.1) En arche en ho Logos, kai ho Logos en pros ton Theon, kai Theos en ho Logos. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1.1)

This paradoxical point is precisely where St. Athanasius begins his reflection and articulation on the Incarnation. In De Incarnatione he says, “We will begin, then, with the creation of the world and with God its Maker, for the fact that you must grasp is this: the renewal of creation has been wrought by the Self-same Word Who made it in the beginning.” Therefore, the starting point for us as Christians is the identity of Jesus, for He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (1 Corinthians 1.15-20)

We begin with the confession, ‘Jesus Christ is Lord!’ Yet, we also move in the order of our narrative knowing that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End of all things.

Even if we attempt to be Christocentric in our reflection, we still must wrestle with the mystery of our Christological language. Do we begin with a Christology from above? In this sense, does the climax of Heilsgeschichte come in the incarnation, ‘the word became flesh and dwelt among us,’ as the East tends to emphasize? Or, is the cross and resurrection the central act in God’s revealing and reconciling work? As James Denney says,

It is not in His being here, but in His being here as a propitiation for the sins of the world, that the love of God is revealed. Not Bethlehem, but Calvary, is the focus of revelation, and any construction of Christianity which ignores or denies this distorts Christianity by putting it out of focus.

Yet, the Eastern Fathers tend to give more attention to the incarnation itself and less emphasis on the crucifixion of the Lord. The un-assumed is the un-healed, but is it not precisely in the broken body and shed blood that we are made whole? Thus, even in a Christocentric soteriology, or maybe precisely because of our centrality on Christ, these tensions endure.

The paradox of Christology gives us no full resolution for these tensions, except to say that the two cannot and must not be separated. The person and the work of Christ are inextricably linked together. In the confessions of the Church, we are given a language which enables us to faithfully encounter and witness to these mysteries, but not to fully comprehend or control this Personal Truth. Recognizing the inadequacy of such separations, nonetheless in order to give a coherent reflection on this great mystery, I will attempt in this very short reflection, to remain in continuity with the narrative, parabola, and our confession, which all faithfully witness to our atonement in Christ. As a result, my reflections will take its shape from the central part of the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed (381).

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father...

Jesus Christ is of the same being as the Father, homo-ousion to Patri. The Father, Son, and Spirit are all homoousion, of the same being. The mystery of our confession points to the reality that we cannot know the Father, Son, or Spirit independent of their onto-relations with each other. Attempts to separate, grasp after, and control the being of the Holy Trinity has lead to many and various heresies and inadequate models of atonement. We participate in this confession for it is revealed gift, not something we constructed within our own human ingenuity. When we understand the redemptive work of God using Irenaeus’ model of the two hands of God, then we recognize that the economic and immanent Trinity are identical, the way that God is toward us in revelation and redemption is the way that God is in God’s inner relational being. It is our confession, then, that God is reconciling the entire world to Himself in Christ by the Spirit. In this model of God’s being it is impossible to imagine the Father as a vindictive power-monger who simply pours out His violent anger onto the loving Son; instead, it is the Father, Son, and Spirit working together to redeem and recreate us, drawing us back into the oikonomia of love, which is the life of God. Moreover, this is not of our own doing, it is the gift of God, so that no one should boast.

by whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man...

The Word became flesh! In this confession we recognize that this first century Jew was and is God. He graciously became incarnate for us. This is where the theological language in the East has flourished. Jesus, as God, came and assumed our broken and fallen humanity so that He might heal us. God became by grace what we are by nature so that by His activity and being for us we might be transformed into the imago Dei. The One by whom all things were made assumed our humanity and by doing so He forever bound Himself to creation. In this act, He ministered the things of God to us.

and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; and suffered and was buried; and the third day rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

We do not simply confess the Inhomination of the Word, the centre of our confession is the cross and resurrection. Redemption is not the result of the Incarnation, but this One as the representative for all humanity became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. He not only ministered the things of God to humanity, but also ministered the things of humanity to God. Jesus is not only God incarnate, but is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Through His obedience He offers up the perfect sacrifice to God on behalf of all creation. This language of our atonement is beautifully illustrated in Charles Wesley’s hymn, ‘Arise My Soul Arise’:

Arise, my soul, arise; Shake off thy guilty fears.
The bleeding Sacrifice in my behalf appears.
Before the throne my Surety stands;
Before the throne my Surety stands;
my name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above For me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood to plead.
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears, Received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers, They strongly plead for me.
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry;
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry;
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die.”

The Father hears Him pray, His dear Anointed One;
He cannot turn away The presence of His Son.
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pard’nign voice I hear.
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear.
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And, “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.

The surety of our atonement is in the life, death, and resurrection of the Mediator and in His continuing Priestly intercession for us. The sin of humanity has been to grasp after equality with God, yet this One who was of the same being as God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped after, but instead He emptied Himself of all but love and became obedient unto death. In this we see that the actual image of God is one of poured out love. We are now reconciled to God and called His children because of the self-emptying love of God in Christ. It is through the parabolic movement of God in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ that we are united back to God. We, then, are caught up in this parabola of self-giving love by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the redemptive community of faith. ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again,’ and those who have died with Him in the waters of baptism, who are nourished by His body and blood through the Spirit, will be raised with Him to new life in the house of God. Hallelujah!

As Cold As Ice

2007-12-11T14:17:00.000-06:00

I would hate to be a meteorologist in the MidWest. We have such crazy weather patterns, it would be like trying to predict one's pregnant wife's mood for the day - hypothetically speaking, of course. The complexity of those patterns only seem to be increasing with the current problem of climate change.

Today we are experiencing rain and ice in Kansas City. Who knows how long it will continue. But we endure it all because it is simply a part of the season. It is par for the course and we're an enduring people.

The hard, cold reality of winter has caused me to once again stop and reflect on the mystery of the Incarnation - the way in which God brought His presence to us. We could read the entire story of God, as the story of One who comes. Throughout the Old Testament, we read of a God who continues to come closer and closer to His creation - revealing more of Himself with every step. Then we read those powerful words, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

It is in this season that we celebrate that reality - God's coming in the body of Christ. He assumed and took up all our brokenness and humanity that He might heal us and make us like Him. It is a powerful mystery. Yet, I think we often romanticize this whole Christmas thing. When I think about Christ's coming to us...I think about His coming to Bethlehem. He stepped into the dark, cold reality of our broken world.

Bethlehem is still a dusty little Palestinian-controlled town. When people go to visit the place of Jesus' birth, it seems that they get off the bus and hurry over to the Church of the Nativity, take their pictures, get back on the bus, and then head back to Jerusalem. You don't want to hang around in Bethlehem too long. It is small, poor, dirty and caught between two warring groups. This is certainly not the place we would have chosen for the birth of our Lord, but it is where Christmas happens.

The Advent season is the time that we talk about the Prince of Peace. We sing songs about peace on earth. I mean, isn't shalom the very thing that the angels proclaim? Peace on earth and good will toward all human beings on whom God's favor rests! But then we read in the actual story that Jesus birth elicits a reaction from the political ruler of this territory, King Herod, which results in a blood bath. Children being murdered. Families broken. Rachel weeping over the death of her children. Peace on earth?

We don't like to talk about that part of the story. That's Bethlehem - that is the real Christmas. We mean well. It's not that we want to lie. It is just really difficult to face the truth about Christmas because it is the truth about our world, which is also the truth about us. We want to hide our festering wounds. But God came. He came to Bethlehem. He came to Egypt and Nazareth. He came to Galilee and to Golgotha - exposing our wounds in His body that we might be healed.

God is love. And even though we deny it and don't like it, love involves pain and truth. To know this God of love requires our own crucifixion. We have gripped our own gods too tightly - the only way we will be free is if they are ripped from our hands. That is a painful process, which all began with a God who willingly comes to Bethlehem. May He come into the icy realities our our life today that we might die to experience real life in Him. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

There's Something About Mary!

2007-12-06T13:54:00.000-06:00

Like most prostestant evangelicals, I grew up highly skeptical of Mary. She was just a woman, right? I mean, of course God used her in a unique and powerful way to bring His presence into the world, but that didn't mean we should venerate her to the point of worship. Did it?

We believed that certain forms of popular Roman Catholic piety verged on the edge of idolatry. How could someone pray to Mary? Like prayers directed at anything other than God, it was just flat out wrong. Not that I gave the subject much genuine thought, it was simply the predominate opinion of those I respected. And it seemed to me that there was certainly some truth to this speculation based on brief bouts of outside observation.

But, there's just something about Mary that made it impossible for me to escape the allure of her character. Especially at this time of the year, my thoughts were continually driven back to the life of this young virgin. What a mysterious and awe inspiring story. Who is this woman that she would become so favored by the Holy One of Israel? Is she special or unique? Why her?

As with the calling of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob...as with the calling of Moses, Joshua, and David...as with the calling of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezra - we're not really given any clue! It is simply the divine will of the Wholly Other to make this girl the Theotokos. The Almighty Creator freely chooses to bring His presence into the world through this simple, ordinary Galilean Jew.

She ultimately becomes the icon or image that controls and shapes our understanding of the prophetic community - the Church. The word of the Lord comes to us in similar ways. It is through our ears - our listening to His voice, His Word that we are impregnated by the Spirit. Yet, it only happens through a receptive heart. One that says, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." The Spirit forms Christ within the receptive prophetic community so that we might birth Christ in the world...bringing the enfleshed presence of God, His salvation and His Kingdom into our ordinary everyday living.

If we reflect closely on Mary, then our understanding of what it means to be blessed by God should be turned on it's head. If this is what it means to be highly favored and blessed - many of us would think twice before praying for God's blessing. Her engagement almost falls apart. She hides out with Elizabeth because her pregnancy is not only suspicious, but down right scandalous. The labor and delivery happens in a cold cave. They have to flee the country for fear of their lives. This special Son goes around bringing shame on the family and constantly putting His life in danger. Ultimately, He gets himself crucified. Blessed? Of course there is more to the story, but our notion of blessing is greatly challenged by her living example.

Would I ever worship Mary, in the way that I worship and follow Jesus? No. Right worship is directed to God alone. But there is an appropriate respect, adoration, and love that we might give to others as an act of worship. There are many times in this journey that I ask other friends and fellow Christians to pray for me...to intercede with the Father on my behalf. We don't seem to have a problem with that at all. I don't know, really, but I think asking Mary - or anyone else who has gone on before us - to pray for us is something like that. Simply asking a fellow Christian to pray for us.

There is certainly something about Mary. Maybe we protestants should reflect on her life and example a little more. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

T. F. Torrance

2007-12-04T12:24:00.000-06:00

Another powerful theologian has gone on to be with that great cloud of witnesses. This is what Gary Deddo, President of the T. F. Torrance Theological Fellowship, sent out earlier in the week:

It is with sadness and a grateful heart that I am passing on the news that Thomas F. Torrance has died. His brother, David Torrance, sent out the notice below.

Dear friends

My brother Tom, although well and cheerful yesterday, passed on to be with the Lord very suddenly this Sunday morning at 3.30am. As a much loved brother and intimate friend with whom I have shared so much over the years, he is and will be a great miss. For his sake however we rejoice that weakness and suffering is now over and he is risen and rejoicing with the Lord, whom he endeavoured to serve throughout his life.

There is something appropriate that he passed over to be with the Lord on the day of resurrection, being the first Sunday in Advent. Thank you for your prayers for him and the family.

Love

David [Torrance]

I would only echo the sentiment that it is certainly appropriate for all of His deep theological reflection on God's revelation in and through the incarnation of Christ, that Torrance would pass at the beginning of our corporate anticipation of that Event - as we also anticipate the coming of His Kingdom in its fullness. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Augustine’s Confession of Created Time

2007-11-28T12:11:00.000-06:00

As I was helping someone with a current research project, I came across this essay that I wrote about a year ago. I enjoyed reading back through it so much that I thought I would share. It is a long one, but I would love to hear any comments others might have on this Subject.

Augustine’s Confession of Created Time:
Time and Eternity in the Confessions

What is time? Who can explain this easily and briefly? Who can comprehend this in thought so as to articulate the answer in words? Yet what do we speak of, in our familiar everyday conversation, more than of time? We surely know what we mean when we speak of it. We also know what is meant when we hear someone else talking about it. What then is time? Provided that no one asks me, I know. If I want to explain to an inquirer, I do not know.[1]

This popular quote from Augustine’s Confessions should give some intimation of the immensely difficult task set before us. The position a theologian takes on the topic of time and divine eternity has a kind of controlling effect on his or her entire theological vision.[2] It is my contention that this is certainly the case for Augustine. His perception of time and eternity, as expressed in Book XI of the Confessions, has immense implications upon the rest of his theological articulation, and thus influences the whole of Western theological reflection. It is important that we Western Christians, who find ourselves in Augustine’s shadow, have some, albeit limited, understanding of his conception on this point.

It will be my attempt in this brief essay to elucidate, as far as it is possible within the confines of this paper and my own finite understanding, Augustine’s notion of time and eternity as reflected in his Confessions. I will begin by giving some background into his philosophical and contextual influences. A summation of his exploration on this subject in the Confessions will follow. Finally, I will give a concise assessment of the adequacy of Augustine’s notion for contemporary theological reflection and attempt to point forward as we continue to wrestle with the mystery of time and eternity in relation to divine revelation.

Prolegomena:

It is helpful to begin with some general background information both on Augustine’s contextual influences for his particular way of viewing this subject and on broader theological / philosophical reflections concerning time and eternity. His impetus for developing this particular text seems to have been two fold. It was in some sense written as an attempt to respond to critics both inside and outside of the Catholic community, as to the legitimacy of his conversion and his installation as the Bishop of Hippo. It was also written at the behest of a multi-millionaire convert to Christianity, Paulinus of Nola. He was introduced to the writing of Augustine via Alypius, a close companion of the African Father, who was then the Bishop of Thagaste.[3] “The work was written during the last three years of the fourth century AD by a man in his mid-forties, recently made a bishop, needing to come to terms with a past in which numerous enemies and critics showed an unhealthy interest.”[4] We must keep this context and proposed motivation in mind when reflecting on the Confessions as a whole or on any of its subsequent parts.

Within the text itself, which is generally written in some autobiographical style, there is a significant transition from Book X on. In this latter section Augustine is no longer talking about his past, but is focused on giving some clarification of his current state of mind as the new bishop. Ironically, this concrete Christian context of ministry results in an extremely Neo-platonic philosophical excursus. While it is important to remember the context of this discussion, it is also evident that the views expressed in Book XI on time and eternity are central to Augustine’s theological vision and remain relatively consistent regardless of his contextually conditioned responses.[5]

For this particular subject matter we should include a sweeping understanding of the philosophical discussion concerning time that impacted Augustine’s intellectual framework. There are significant allusions to Plato, Aristotle, Porphyry, and Plotinus running throughout this particular reflection. Of these his most important influence is, not surprisingly, the Neo-platonic philosophy of Plotinus. Yet, even in his understanding of time Augustine differs from Plotinus in significant ways, which we will have occasion to investigate further on in this essay. Here it is imperative that we summarily explore the three principle philosophical figures, Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus, and their considerations on the subject matter at hand.[6]

There is a concern present in all of these thinkers between static and dynamic conceptions of time, eternity and the relationship between the two. In Plato’s Timaeus, time is subject to change, but it is actually created to mimic the changeless. The world soul infuses and envelopes the universe; and this presence of soul is prior to the creation of time. The demi-urgos, as Plato tells the story, rejoicing in the moving, living world creature which he has made in the image of the eternal gods, determines to improve the copy of the original. As far as it is possible, he seeks to make the universe eternal.

However, the eternal nature of the ideal being cannot be given in its fullness to something created. Therefore, he decides to make a ‘moving image of eternity’ (37d).[7] When the demiurge ordered the heavens, he made an image of the eternal, but the image moves according to number, while eternity itself rests in unity. This image of eternity that moves according to number we call time. His conceptuality of time and eternity generally reflects his dualism between form and matter or the intelligible and the sensible worlds, the former being static and the latter being dynamic. Yet, for Plato the relationship of time with eternity is positive because it brings order, predictability, and permanence to unruly matter.

In Book IV of the Physics, Aristotle relates the reality of time to motion (change) and measurement. Time is not itself movement, but it does not exist independent of movement. It is the ‘now’ involved in numbering and dividing motion. His is sometimes referred to as the receptacle view, as time ‘contains’ objects and events. He goes on to describe what it is to ‘be in time.’ “To ‘be in time’ means either to exist when time exists or ‘to be contained by time as things in place are contained by place.’[8] This gives objective reality to time, but Augustine sees this definition of “being in time” as inadequate for understanding what it is to be a self in time. Some of the dimensions between mind and time are not captured, from Augustine’s perspective, in the Aristotelian picture.[9]

It is Plotinus who gives him a basis for contemplating the self-conscious mind’s relation to time. In the Enneads, Plotinus is quite critical of the Aristotelian definition of time as the measurement of motion. “It comes to this: we ask ‘What is time?’ and we are answered ‘Time is the extension of Movement in Time.’”[10] He was convinced that time must be something more than the mere number of movement. Some of Plotinus’ criticisms were likely based on a poor characterization of Aristotle’s idea of time; however, his substantive rejection was certainly valid. This rejection was based upon concerns that Aristotle did not explicitly address, namely the relationship between time and the soul.

For Plotinus time depends on the soul in a metaphysical way that makes physical movement itself a result of the soul.[11] The soul is not an external measurer of the soulless substratum of time, but is rather manifested in movement itself. Time is in some sense ‘in’ the soul or at least a direct result of the soul’s movement. “It is we that must create Time out of the concept and nature of progressive derivation, which remained latent in the Divine Beings.”[12] The soul’s attempt to mimic the eternal results in the creation of time.

In contrast to its positive portrayal in Plato, the idea of mimicry in Plotinus’ thought is dark and destructive. His emphasis is on mutability instead of stability. Time is described as the mimic of eternity in that it ‘seeks to break up in its fragmentary flight the permanence of its exemplar.’[13] Time as a mimic destroys what it seizes. We all participate in the world soul, which going outside of itself, lays aside its eternity and is clothed with time. Time, then, is an unfolding and fragmenting of the soul, which is held in contrast to the rest and unity of the One. The time of the cosmos imitates the movement of the soul, just as the soul imitates the eternal.[14] We will see these themes reoccur in Augustine, but we will also note in what ways he differs from even these perspectives of time.

Our understanding of time is intimately related to our conception of eternity. The three definitions of eternity proposed by Alan Padgett is a helpful framework as we move into Augustine’s discussion of this subject. [15] The idea of eternity that is most evident in the Scriptural witness is that of ‘everlastingness.’ This is the proposal that something is eternal because it always has and always will exist. Nothing exists outside of time, but the eternal is an infinite duration of time. Therefore, that which exists eternally may change as long as it continues to exist and its essence or substance, so to speak, remains the same. The contrasting image is that of ‘absolute timelessness.’ This particular perspective proposes that eternity is that which transcends time, in the sense that past, present and future are simultaneously present in eternity.[16] The mediating position proposed by Padgett is that of ‘relative timelessness.’ From this perspective, God transcends our measured time but is also, in some sense, closely related to time. It is not that God is ‘in’ our time; rather we should say that we are ‘in’ God’s time. The Triune God is the creator of time and space and freely enters into the time He created, but is not subject to time. We must ultimately confess our ignorance on what the Infinite and Eternal One is in himself, we look through a clouded glass and only catch glimpses through His gracious self-revealing.[17] We must now turn to what Augustine has to say about the glimpses.

Augustine’s Confessions of Time and Eternity:[18]

Augustine continually confesses that the God he is praying to transcends time. He begins with the recognition that God’s vision of occurrences in time is not temporally conditioned. This conceptuality in Augustine’s theology is firmly rooted in his unequivocal affirmation of the Christian doctrine of creatio ex nihilo. God is the creator of all things and time is included in the created realm; therefore, time is not a part of the uncreated realm. This reflects the essential dualism that runs throughout Augustine’s thought between the mundus intelligibilis and the mundus sensibilis. However, it is not a complete reflection of this particular duality, since, for Augustine, even the intelligible world is a part of the created realm and is subject to time and change.[19] In fact, it is in the intelligible world that we come to understand time, for it is in the memory, the mind, the soul that “time” actually exists. Yet, there is here also a duality between the eternal realm and the created realm and for Augustine time belongs only to the latter. Thus, he affirms some form of timeless eternity.

Movement and change, fire and flux, and various other ways of talking about mutability are all closely connected to creation, which is quite distinct from the immutable God. Augustine proclaims that heaven and earth cry aloud that they were made, since they suffer change and variation. “But,” he says, “in anything which is not made yet is, there is nothing which previously was not present.”[20] There is an absolute presence in eternity, which is to say that all things are simultaneously present in the eternal now. Time is obviously a part of creation because it is connected to change, but God does not change. “And so by the Word coeternal with yourself, you say all that you say in the simultaneity of eternity, and whatever you say will come about does come about. You do not cause it to exist other than by speaking. Yet not all that you cause to exist by speaking is made in simultaneity and eternity.”[21]

Nothing corresponding to our human experience offers us any real help in understanding the mystery of a timeless eternity. Presence is the closest experience that we have to guide us. Therefore, Augustine uses the language of today to speak of eternity. As he proclaims,

“all your years subsist in simultaneity because they do not change—your ‘years’ are ‘one day’ (Ps 89:4, 2 Pet. 3:8) and your ‘day’ is Today—Your Today is eternity ‘Today I have begotten you.’ (Ps 2:7, Heb 5:5). You created all times—there was not any time when time did not exist; therefore, time is not permanent.”[22]

We are then faced with the compounding difficulty of responding to questions which arise out of a different conception of eternity. The primary question of this kind that Augustine mentions is, “What was God doing before he made the heavens and the earth?” Though, Augustine seems to be a bit perturbed by this particular question, he says that he rejects the trite response, “He was preparing hell for people who inquire into such profundities.” He would rather answer, “I am ignorant of what I do not know” instead of ridiculing someone who has deep questions.[23] Yet, he goes on to say that these people are full of errors. First, they believe that God’s will belongs to his very substance. They suggest that either God has changed if He has willed something that did not previously exist or if He has willed creation from all eternity then we should assume creation is eternal. Secondly, they do not think of eternity as that which transcends time. His conception of eternity implies that it is improper to speak of a “then” before the creation because temporal language does not correspond to eternity. There was no “then” before creation. We come to the limits of our human knowledge and must remain apophatic at this point.

Returning to the question of time, he begins to inquire into how we should think about and measure time. He offers an atomic description of time in the sense of dividing time into infinitesimal, instantaneous moments that we call the present. In this, he ends up quite close to the Skeptics and Academics, with present moments that have no duration and take up no space. Given the near non-existence of these present moments and the actual non-existence of “past” and “future,” how do we measure time? With this academic understanding in the background, he is perplexed by our existential experience of longer and shorter periods of time. He comes to the conclusion that the locus of past and present, at least what we call past and present, is in the memory. He then suggests that we shouldn’t speak of past, present and future, but rather the present of things past, the present of things present, and the present of things to come. In this our language is inexact, but what we mean is communicated.[24]

He continues to explore the question of how we measure time. Plato’s Timaeus and St. Basil proposed that the movement of sun, moon, and stars constitutes time and the measure of time. Augustine rejects this notion because there is witness in the biblical narrative when the sun stood still. (Josh 10:12ff) Yet, we do say that no body can move except in time. When we measure the time of motion it is measured in the mind. Augustine says, “the impression which passing events make upon you abides when they are gone…present consciousness is what I’m measuring, this is what time is.”[25] Long past is simply a long memory of the past. Future is more complex, but it is similar to reciting a well known Psalm. It exists in the mind before it comes into present existence and passes into memory, and so it extends in two directions.

The pinnacle of his argument is that time, rather than being an ‘objective’ feature of the world, is a distention of the soul. This psychological view of time clearly fits with the narrative self-exploration of the Confessions. The focus in on the existential experience of ‘being in time’. And it is through self-reflection that he turns away from changeable things to the eternal and unchanging One. “Times destructive flight into non-existence is countered by the act of memory. Having found in his own soul the act of attention that approximates in its all encompassing presence the ‘standing present’ of eternity, he will now be free to love the changeable and mortal things in God, who is never lost”[26] Memory and internal reflection, then, yields the clue to the idea of time and eternity.

This psychologizing of time aims to secure the reality of time and to resolve puzzles of its measurement. However, he also offers up an eschatological understanding of the relationship between time and eternity. We live in time and multiplicity, distracted by many things, which is in contrast to the unity of eternity. In response Augustine says, “I am scattered in times whose order I do not understand…until that day when, purified and molten by the fire of your love, I flow together to merge into you…then I shall find stability and solidity in you.”[27] We are still left with many questions as to what it means for the created being to exist in the simultaneity of eternity, but this is the vision offered. We remain in the realm of paradox and mystery, but have enough knowledge to engage in meaningful conversation.

Is Augustine’s an Adequate Christian Conception of Time?

It is quite possible to conclude at this point that Augustine's understanding of time and eternity is primarily rooted in the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo, as well as his abstract philosophical reasoning. Stephen Hawking speaks of ‘the fallacy, pointed out by St. Augustine, of imagining God as a being existing in time: time is a property only of the universe that God created.’[28] While we firmly agree with Augustine's confession that God transcends time, we must also recognize that his timeless understanding of God offers a very other worldly theology, which comes dangerously close to his Neo-platonic influences. He goes so far as to introduce the idea of “seminal causes” to deal with the problem of whether creation was made all at once or made in successive stages. His thinking on this point closely resembles the logoi spermatikoi of the Stoics or the “seminal reason” in Neo-Platonism that suggests God created all the principles of development at once, which would only mature later and produce all things that would exist.[29] We quickly find ourselves in terrain that we do not want to traverse.

We continue to stumble over the relationship of the timelessly eternal God with His temporally conditioned creation. We also struggle with his static conception of eternity and God which seems to contradict the dynamic language of Scripture. It is right that we affirm, with Augustine, that God transcends time and the created order, but we must be careful not to bifurcate being and action through a dualistic cast of mind. Unfortunately Augustine's dualism predominates his thinking on time and permeates much of his theology. He fails to grasp the implications of the Incarnation for time and eternity. Instead, he ends up with a philosophical construal of time and eternity tainted by Neo-platonism.

Predestination and determinism are related to this dualism of time and eternity. Mark Ellingsen recognizes this, but proposes that Augustine’s understanding of the simultaneity of eternity gives us a clue as to how we can reconcile human free will and predestination. Since God’s foreknowledge of our action and His decision are simultaneous, predestination does not eliminate free human choice.[30] While I understand and appreciate Ellingsen's overall argument, I don’t find this sort of thinking all that helpful. Yet, the alternative attempt to infer time back into God’s eternity or to say that God is somehow bound by time is also theologically unsatisfying. This perspective, represented in some ways by "Open Theism," fails to take into consideration a Biblical pneumatology which affirms God’s continued relationship with creation through the Spirit. “Determinism is accordingly best avoided not by reading time back into God but by focusing on the action of the Spirit who is the giver of freedom and the one who enables the created order to be itself: to become what it was created to be.”[31] This phrase “what it was created to be” also implies a teleological or eschatological dimension.

Augustine’s dualism between time and eternity renders all kinds of problems for Christian eschatology. How are we to imagine eternal life if time has always been an aspect of the created order? A distinction has been made between the eternity of the heavens and eternity which belongs only to God. “Earthly time is the chronological time of becoming and passing away; heavenly time is the aeonic time of a relative eternity; the eternity of God is unique.”[32] If eternal life is an undisturbed participation in the living God, then eschatological eternity is aeonic time. We may speak both of God’s complete transcendence of time and eschatological relative eternity for creation.

Augustine’s confession of created time is helpful in so far as it uncovers a deeper understanding of the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo. However, we ultimately must depart from him in search of a Christocentric and Trinitarian language for time and eternity. We must leave behind his distinctive dualism and instead affirm a relational theological framework. Moreover, the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Christ must be central to our understanding of eternal God’s interaction with His temporal creation. “Thus while the Incarnation does not mean that God is limited by space and time, it asserts the reality of space and time for God in the actuality of His relations with us, and at the same time binds us to space and time in all our relations with Him.”[33]

[1] Saint Augustine, Confessions, (New York: Oxford University Press 1998), p. 230. One could also possibly build a case that there is some resonance between Augustine’s reflection on the knowledge and articulation of time and Michael Polanyi’s epistemological conception of ‘tacit knowledge,’ which basically affirms we know much more than we are able to articulate.
[2] Alan G. Padgett, God, Eternity and the Nature of Time, (New York: St. Martin’s Press 1992), p. 1
[3] It seems that Alypius was attempting to encourage the generous giving in Paulinus’ life following his conversion, and hoped he might support some of the ascetic foundations in the region. He sent him some of Augustine’s polemical writings against the Manicheans. This piqued Paulinus’ interest who then asked for a autobiography detailing how Augustine had come to accept the ascetic life. This information comes from the introduction to the Confessions by Henry Chadwick, pp. xii-xiii
[4] Ibid, p. xiii
[5] While Mark Ellingsen’s thesis about the pastoral and contextual shape of Augustine’s theology is quite helpful, this is one area of his thought that seems to remain consistent regardless of his contextual concerns, though it doesn’t play as prominent a role in some conversations as it does in others.
[6] The summary that follows is primarily based upon Genevieve Lloyd’s article “Augustine and the ‘Problem’ of Time,” Ch. 3 in The Augustinian Tradition, ed. Gareth B. Matthews, (Berkley: University of California Press, 1999) pp. 39-60
[7] Ibid, p. 49
[8] Ibid, p. 47
[9] Ibid, p. 48
[10] Plotinus, Enneads 3.7.8, quoted in Lloyd, p. 48
[11] Lloyd, p. 49
[12] Enneads 3.7.11
[13] Lloyd, p. 49
[14] The idea of emanation is evident here.
[15] My assessment of Padgett is based upon my own reading of him, God, Eternity, and the Nature of Time, (St. Paul: St. Martin’s Press, 1992), and Dr. T. A. Noble’s notes for his Systematic Theology III class; “IV Creation and Time.” This paragraph is based upon both.
[16] It will quickly become evident that this is Augustine’s primary understanding of eternity, as he continues to speak of God existing in the simultaneity of eternity or the eternal today / now.
[17] We haven’t the space to develop and extended discussion of these three options here, but it is an important framework to recognize, especially as we begin to deal with the theological implications of Augustine’s conception.
[18] This section is essentially a summary of Book XI in the Confessions.
[19] This is one point on which he would differ from Neo-platonic thinking.
[20] Confessions, p. 224
[21] Confessions, p. 226
[22] Ibid, p. 230
[23] Ibid, p. 228
[24] Ibid, p. 235
[25] Ibid, p. 242
[26] Genevieve Lloyd, “Augustine and the ‘Problem’ of Time,” in The Augustinian Tradition, ed. Gareth B.
Matthews, (Berkley: University of California Press, 1999)
[27] Ibid, p. 244
[28] From Hawking’s A Brief History of Time quoted in Gunton, p. 81.
[29] Justo L. González, A History of Christian Thought: Volume II, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1987)
pp. 39-40
[30] Mark Ellingsen, The Richness of Augustine: his contextual and pastoral theology, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2005), pp. 96ff.
[31] Gunton, Triune Creator, p. 86.
[32] Jügen Moltmann, In the End—the Beginning, (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004), p. 159. This seems to offer another alternative to the three conceptions of eternity proposed by Padgett.
[33] T. F. Torrance, Space, Time and Incarnation, (New York: Oxford, 1969), p. 67.

World AIDS Day

2007-11-27T12:03:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that I've been blogging for almost a year now. This is one of the first issues that I blogged on nearly one year ago. It is an apropriate topic to remember today.

December 1st is World AIDS Day. Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent to AIDS. We all experience the chaos of such suffering, even if it is experienced from a distance.

Compassion, as Henri Nouwen has helped us all understand, is a word that simply means to "suffer with." God has compassion on us and has engaged in our suffering. Through the revelation of the incarnation we witness a God who is intimately connected to the suffering of His creation. The One who experiences the telos of our brokenness on His paradoxical throne. That symbol of suffering, death, defeat, and God-forsakenness has become a symbol of grace, forgiveness, victory, and reconciliation for those "in Christ."

We can no longer hypothesize the concept of a distant, removed god, for then we only speak of the "no-god." They shall call Him Immanuel, which means "God-with-us." The image of the invisible God bears witness that God is compassion - that compassion comes from God.

Those of us, then, who carry the banner of this God, who are called to become authentic expressions of the Kingdom, should be shaped into the life of compassion - the parabolic sacrifice that engages in the life of the "other." We can no longer safely distance ourselves from the brokenness of our world, but must engage in lives of compassion.

Okay, I know that I'm using a lot of technical jargon, forgive me, what I mean is this: God is compassion, therefore, we should live lives of compassion. Someone who claims to be a Christ-follower but is not shaped by compassion is simply lying to himself (John makes a similar point).

We should be leading the way. But, I must confess that I'm often overwhelmed by the need and end up doing nothing. I'm often tempted to lie to myself, following the natural "fallen" way of self-protection, ease, and comfort. My heart continues to harden as I witness the immensity of the problem and experience a small taste of the worlds suffering. There may be others out there that have gone through the same struggle. Where do we begin? Prayer.

As the World Vision suggests: "Pray! It all starts here, because the One to whom we pray is truly the only One who has the power, ultimately, to bring this crisis to an end. Pray for the tens of millions of children whose lives have been affected by AIDS. Ask God to show you what you can do. Pray that our leaders will make decisions that put children first." Join with others in praying for this immense world need.

Allow such prayers to shape your being and move you to action. World Vision offers opportunities for each of us to respond in meaningful ways on their World AIDS Day page.

On the Emergent Nazarene blog we've been discussing the power of faith stories...sometimes known as personal testimonies. I came across this powerful testimony today by Kay Warren. Kay and Rick have been consistently leading the way in the Evangelical sphere to address the AIDS pandemic. I would encourage you to check out her faith story. If you have any thoughts, feedback, or other ways that we Christ-followers might respond...I would love to hear it. Until Next Time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

More Valuable

2007-11-25T15:08:00.000-06:00

My wife is a recent University of Kansas graduate. She finished up her Master of Social Work degree last May. There is no way that I could have believed then that they would be vying for the No. 1 spot in NCAA division I football this weekend.

I thought, "Well, even though I'm an OU fan at heart, since I'm a good old Oklahoma boy, I could at least root for KU in this game." Unfortunately, they didn't show up to play and MU ran all over them. The final score was pretty close, but it was MU's game all the way. I guess it is better that they lost this game because there is no way that I could have cheered for them next week anyway.

They may not win a national trophy this year, but this Jayhawk is holding something much more valuable to me. My wife thought it would be fun to share our good news this way. Though I can assure you that I may allow this child to be a KU basketball fan...but when football season rolls around it is crimson and cream all the way.

My wife's 16th week of pregnancy was Thanksgiving Day. We are excited and nervous and totally unprepared. But we both knew what we were most thankful for on Thursday. What a wonderful gift.

I'm not one of those who thinks they've got it all figured out. So if any of you seasoned veterans want to give some sound parenting advice, I would love to hear it. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Brokenness in Bangladesh

2007-11-21T11:58:00.000-06:00

The first part of my week has been jam packed so I'm a little behind the eight ball on getting this information out there. Most of you have probably already heard that India was hit with Cyclone Sidr, one of the worst to strike that area in years. It has left millions of families in need. As always, WorldVision is on the scene bringing relief and healing in the midst of such brokenness. Check out their news update here and prayerfully consider contributing to this incarnational effort.

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~W.T. Purkiser

Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Reading Level

2007-11-17T09:56:00.000-06:00

I don't want to intimidate anyone, but this arbitrary online device just said that my blog is at a "Genius Reading Level." I have no idea how they determine this sort of thing...it's probably a bunch of hooey, but it still makes you feel pretty good when an inanimate Internet device says you are writing at a genius level. I'll get down from my imaginary high horse here in a minute...oops I stepped in some horse dung. That's more like it.

A Conversation With Brian McLaren - Part 3

2007-11-16T12:34:00.000-06:00

Here is part 3 of the conversation with Brian McLaren. If you have any thoughts or questions about this dialogue or about the ideas presented in this new book, Everything Must Change, I'd love to hear them.

Here is their description of this final video in the three part series:

Part Three of Alan Roxburgh's interview with Brian McLaren on his book, Everything Must Change brings this series to its conclusion. In this interview, Alan and Brian discuss issues that include our propensity for denying our past, other ways to peace, the need for our solutions to go deeper, our preoccupation with the church rather than the Kingdom, what Vaclav Havel's story of the fall of communism has to say to the state of the church today, and Brian's new Web site, Deep Shift.

Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

God & the World

2007-11-12T15:01:00.001-06:00

McLaren said something in the most recent video interview that I posted last week, which stuck with me and has had me ruminating ever since. As he talked about the catalyst for writing his current book, Everything Must Change, he struck a chord that resonated with something deep in my spirit. The impetus for this particular book began many years ago as he was speaking at a youth gathering. He asked the youth to write down a list of the major crises facing our world - today we might list: ecological instability, economic brokenness, discrimination, war & violence, etc. In reviewing their lists, he came to the realization that the "church" as a whole, and especially our evangelical brand, was by and large silent on the major crises that the global community was facing. Beyond that, it seemed that in many of these cases we were contributing more to the problem than to the solution.

Now, this is not necessarily the intention of our modern Christian community, and it's not to discount the various churches and Christian organizations that are speaking and acting redemptively in our world. As with any generalization there are going to be exceptions. However, the overarching picture seems to indicate that the Christian community is disconnected from the realities of this broken world and is ultimately either irrelevant, or worse, significantly contributing to these crises.

If this isn't an accurate portrayal of our current situation - it seems to me that it at least captures the perspective of a large segment of our global population. I happen to believe that there is much truth in this perception. Regardless of how we respond to that proposition, we must reckon with the reality that we have lost our voice. Some react by shouting louder and louder, thinking that it is a volume issue. Yet, increased volume only widens the chasm. We need to do some serious introspection, and it seems to me that McLaren and others are attempting to help us in this respect.

I'm not exactly sure how we got here. Given that my reflections tend toward theological engagement, it is probably not surprising that I have been thinking about some of the underlying theological assumptions that have moved us in this direction. I'm confident that we can't be reductionist in our thinking and pinpoint a specific source. At the same time, I do think that exposing some of our inadequate theological assumption might begin to illumine a better path for us. In doing so, we may just find our voice again. These are some of my beginning thoughts, in that respect, that need further dialogue and development.

St. Athanasius wrote a powerful treatise On the Incarnation of the Word early in the fourth century. We need to go back and read him again and again because part of the underlying problem for our disengagement from the world and our irrelevance is the result of an underdeveloped reflection on the incarnation, especially as it relates to our atonement in Christ. If we are to engage the world through the depths of our Christian faith, we will need to rediscover a full orbed participation in the incarnation.

We have been inhibited in this engagement partly as a result of our dualistic cast of mind. Athanasius is able to creatively explore the incarnation of the Word because he was deeply shaped by a biblical and Hebraic way of thinking that doesn't operate from a dualistic paradigm. Aspects of "post-modernity" - specifically post-critical philosophy and Einsteinian cosmology - are encouraging developments in this area.

Our eschatological vision also shapes our engagement in the world. We tend to have a skewed and unbiblical eschatology - one that is influenced more by Greek dualistic philosophical categories than the revelation of God in the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Until we return to a christocentric eschatology that is pneumatologically oriented, we'll continue to run into the same problems.

All of this reflection came to a culmination as I read this excerpt today:

To believe in God is to believe in the salvation of the world. The paradox of our time is that those who believe in God do not believe in the salvation of the world, and those who believe in the future of the world do not believe in God.

Christians believe in "the end of the world," they expect the final catastrophe, the punishment of others.

Atheists in their turn invent doctrines of salvation, try to give a meaning to life, work, the future of humankind, and refuse to believe in God because Christians believe in Him and take no interest in the world.

All ignore the true God: He who has so loved the world! But which is more culpable ignorance?

To love God is to love the world. To love God passionately is to love the world passionately. To hope in God is to hope for the salvation of the world.

I often say to myself that, in our religion, God must feel very much alone: for is there anyone besides God who believes in the salvation of the world? God seeks among us sons and daughters who resemble Him enough, who love the world enough that He could send them into the world to save it.

~ From In the Christian Spirit by Louis Evely

We have not gone deep enough! May the Lord draw us deeper in to the life of Triune Love that we might participate in His redemptive mission. Any thoughts? Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

A Conversation With Brian McLaren - Part 2

2007-11-07T14:32:00.000-06:00

This is a continuation (part 2) of the conversation with Brian McLaren that I posted a few weeks back. You can find the video here. If you have any thoughts or questions about this dialogue or about the ideas presented in this new book, Everything Must Change, I'd love to hear them. Until Next Time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Stupid Humor

2007-11-06T15:55:00.000-06:00

Some days you just need to take a break and laugh. Since I was a bit nostalgic today, I decided to watch a couple of my favorite funny videos. When I worked maintenance at the Seminary we would often sit around the computer at lunch time and watch these stupid videos...those were some great days.

You probably need a laugh too...so I decided to share a couple of my favorites. Enjoy!

Doesn't this make you want to just go and pick up a cat today!

This one answers and age old question.

Why men don't ask for directions!

Ordinary Saints

2007-11-01T12:27:00.001-05:00

Today is All Saints Day. For Christ-followers, remembering and celebrating our heroes in the faith goes back as far as at least AD 270. This official celebration was moved to November 1st in AD 835, in response to certain pagan rituals. Yet, as one significantly shaped by the protestant reformation, I've not been taught to give much time and space to honor the saints.

It is somewhat paradoxical that Reformation Day is so closely related to All Saints Day. As the story goes, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church on October 31st, AD 1517. This has become our marker for the beginning of the protestant reformation. It seems that we live with this tension - we are called to honor the saints that have gone before us; those who have marked out the path of faith, while recognizing the continual need for re-formation. I believe that these two can live in harmony, but they often become polarized in our communal life.

I've been reflecting on this tension. It seems that I live in the midst of it and probably always will - at least in this finite, broken and fragmented reality. When the King comes then the harmony will be complete.

I've also been thinking about how we, protestant evangelicals, honor the saints. I don't meditate too much on the life of well known saints, though I do think about the heroes in the faith at times. I would probably benefit from reflecting on their stories more often. Yet, it is the lesser known saints...the ordinary saints that have been coming to mind in these days. In this, I fully affirm Paul's understanding that all Christ-followers are saints. I don't really give much weight to the canonization process. I perceive that it can be somewhat counterproductive, but that probably illumines my personal bias.

We all have saints in our lives. Those ordinary saints that others may not recognize as such, who have had a deeply formative impact on us. How do we honor these ordinary saints? I think we honor them by remembering them and telling their story. They become icons that points us beyond themselves to the mystery of God's gracious presence.

So today I want to honor St. Papaw. I'll never forget this tall, lanky man. He grew up on a farm in southwestern Oklahoma and carried that earthiness throughout his entire life. No mask will fit once you have experienced genuine communion with the God of creation. He knew this well and never tried on any masks. He was simply who he was - nothing more; nothing less. Real - that's what he was and so many were drawn to the reality of his being.

He became a Christ-follower while plowing the field one day. The seed fell on good soil and the fruit of faithfulness began to grow. He was an established field of faithfulness by the time that I came into the picture. It was evident in his every word and action. Simple, authentic, genuine faith - he was a great teacher of life's deepest truth. I honor him today as a saint of faithfulness, may I continue to follow in the path that he marked so well.

Finally, let me share a prayer attributed to a better known saint:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
That where there is hatred I may bring love,
That where there is wrong—I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,
That where there is discord—I may bring harmony,
That where there is error—I may bring truth,
That where there is doubt—I may bring faith.
That where there is despair—I may bring hope,
That where there are shadows—I may bring Your light,
That where there is sadness—I may bring Joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort—than to be comforted;
To understand—than to be understood;
To love—than to be loved:

For it is by giving—that one receives;
It is by self-forgetting—that one finds;
It is by forgiving—that one is forgiven;
It is by dying—that one awakens to eternal life.

~ St. Francis of Assisi

It is odd, though it shouldn't be, that these two saints separated by time and space, culture and language seem to me to have been shaped by the same Truth and motivated by the same Spirit. I suppose that's what makes one a saint to begin with. May we honor the saints as we are continually re-formed by the Spirit to genuinely reflect the Truth. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Just for Cat People

2007-10-28T21:01:00.001-05:00

We have three cats and this video seems to be a pretty accurate portrayal of the general feline personality. Enjoy!

Gravitas

2007-10-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

Gravitas is a quality of substance or depth of personality. (Wikipedia) This has recently become a popular word to describe persons who have a personality and presence that draws people in - it is as if they have a gravitational pull all around them.

In my mind, Billy Graham is a man with an enormous amount of gravitas. It is not surprising that he became a world renowned evangelist. This two part interview with Woody Allen is such a treat to watch. Graham had an ability to engage his obvious opponents - ultimately making his enemies into friends. It seems that Christians in the public eye are more polarizing figures these days.

What a great model of genuine evangelism...we may do things a bit differently in our context, but I hope that we engage others with the same kind of spirit - a spirit that has a gravitational pull of it's own that's difficult to resist. Enjoy!

A Conversation with Brian McLaren - 1

2007-10-19T11:34:00.000-05:00

Allelon has some great resources for "missional leaders," which essentially describes those attempting to respond to the immense cultural shift we've been experiencing for some time in the West. They have recently posted a video interview with Brian McLaren that I found quite insightful. In fact, it really spoke to some issues that I've been dealing with in recent days. Check it out.

Here is their description of the video:

We live in a time “betwixt and between” – a liminal space. As N.T. Wright, the Bishop of Durham so succinctly put it, “even change is changing”. Millions of Christians are wrestling with what this means for the church, for the communities they find themselves in and for the Globe. Brian McLaren is one of those folk and his writing continues to challenge the church as we attempt to create new maps for this constantly changing world.

Alan Roxburgh sat down with Brian in a hotel room in Toronto at the end of September, days before the publication of Brian’s new book, Everything Must Change. In this first of a three part interview series about his book, Brian talks about dealing with the passionate responses his writing often elicits.

Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Fair Trade Month

2007-10-17T09:06:00.001-05:00

October is Fair Trade Month. Most of us have probably heard about fair trade at some point and I readily admit that there are a few people with mixed reactions. However, with the ever increasing global market structure, we must make sure that all human beings are treated with dignity as God's valued children.

Justice and righteousness are two of the primary themes woven throughout Scripture. Justice = our right relation toward one another in love and Righteousness = our right relation toward God...in other words, loving the Lord our God with our whole being and loving our neighbor as ourselves. With the onset of globalization, we can no longer think of our neighbors as simply those who live in close proximity to us - our neighbors don't just live down the street - they live all over the world.

You may already be convinced that buying fair trade products is a good idea but you just don't know where to begin. Here is an article on 12 Ways to Shop Fair Trade. You can also check out this Fair Trade Guide. Even our small acts of grace, empowered by the Spirit, have a transformative impact on our world. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Dodgeball

2007-10-16T11:43:00.000-05:00

This is a pretty funny parody on the 'spiritual gift' of dodgeball. Just thought it might bring a smile to your day. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

John Wesley and the Emerging Church

2007-10-13T12:43:00.001-05:00

Hal Knight, the professor of Wesleyan Studies at Saint Paul School of Theology, has been at the forefront of the Wesleyan exploration into postmodernity and the emerging church. He has recently written an interesting article that was published by Nazarene Publishing House in the Preacher's Magazine. It is a well written, easily digestible article. For those who are interested in this ongoing conversation, here is a link to an online version of that article.

Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Robert Jenson Lectures

2007-10-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

It may be silly of me to assume that this is of interest to those out in the blog-o-sphere, especially since I didn't get any comments on particular questions to ask Jenson, but on the off chance that it might be interesting or beneficial to someone out there, I've decided to post my notes on Jenson's Grider-Winget Lectures in Theology given at NTS this week. Unfortunately, audio files are not available to the general public since he already has a deal with a publisher to put these lectures in a book format. Otherwise, I would have linked the lectures to this blog.

Two preliminary words. First, these are my notes, which means they are my interpretation of what Jenson said, not necessarily a verbatim dictation. There is a good chance I could have misunderstood him at various points. Secondly, again these are simply notes so they are somewhat cryptic in nature and lack the sense of coherence and clarity that one might get from listening to the entire lectures, or from reading them in the book format, I would assume. Yet, for whatever they are worth...here they are.

Notes: Robert Jenson’s Grider-Winget Lectures in Theology
October 9 – 11
Topic: The Inspiration of Scripture

October 9th: If we are to think of our current theological house, we have some inappropriate presuppositions banging around in our basement. He focused his assessment of these inadequate presuppositions on our understanding of inspiration and relation to Scripture.

1.) We’ve gone about the matter backwards. We tend to bring our needs to the text in search of an answer. This is ultimately an anthropocentric move, which lends itself to human-centered readings of the text. Thus it ceases to function as Scripture for us. Instead we must begin with a doctrine of the Spirit – his entire lectures tended toward a pronounced pneumatology that brings coherence to this particular theological framework. We must find our base and foundation for the interpretation of Scripture in the doctrine of the Trinity.

2.) In Western Trinitarian theology we’ve taken a wrong turn with respect to our pneumatological language. The problem was set out in Peter Lombard’s Sentences when he asked, “Is the gift of the Spirit the Spirit’s own self or something other than Himself?” Standard Western theology chose the second path. That is to say, we’ve understood the gift of the Spirit as something other than the Spirit Himself – typically understood in terms of virtues or power or life. However, we must begin to think more in terms of the first way. That is to say, if the Spirit gives us the virtue of love that is because the Spirit is love or joy because the Spirit is joy, etc. The Spirit does not have an extrinsic relationship with us, but the Spirit gives Himself internally.

3.) We have tended to draw to divisive a line between the Spirit’s inspiration of Scripture and the Spirits inspiration of the community.

4.) We have supposed that the notions of both “inspiration” and of “Scripture” are univocal notions. That is we have supposed that they always mean the same thing. This supposition can hardly be right. Even early Lutheran theologians understood at least two notions of inspiration – The Spoken or Living Word and The Written Word. We should not flatten out the robust meanings of these words.

The Church depends on the existence of Scripture in different ways – the two testaments are different. The Church’s dependence on the OT is absolute, but the NT is God’s gift to the Church in a special historical circumstance. The NT is an emergency substitute for the living voice of the Gospel through the Apostles.

October 10th: Jenson through his theological articulation has continued to demonstrate what Rahner proclaimed: “The eternal mission of God cannot be disconnected from the incarnate mission.”

The paradigmatic image for Biblical inspiration is that of the OT Prophets. The NT writers understood this. Thus the OT is interpreted at narrative – that is in line with something of a ‘Salvation History’ understanding of Scripture.

First Century Judaism was much like protestant denominationalism today. However, the only groups that survived after the destruction of the Temple were those groups who could get along without the Temple, which were Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity. Rabbinic Judaism – as descended from the Pharisaical sect – was based primarily on the text and not the temple. They added the Mishnah to the TANAK and understood the text primarily in terms of Torah.

Christians, on the other hand, had a portable temple in the Risen Christ. They added the NT narrative to the TANAK and therefore understood the text primarily in terms of narrative – the Prophetic narrative to be more precise. We must understand this development as the work of the Spirit in the Church. This narrative or historical reading of the text puts the prophets at the forefront, since they point toward the culmination of the story. Therefore, prophecy became a paradigm for Israel’s Scripture – all Scripture is given by Prophets and Apostles in a Christian understanding of the text. Thus, the OT prefigures Christ, the Church and the Kingdom.

We might use the analogy of reading a mystery novel to describe early Christian interpretations of the OT. If you are like me, you’ll peak ahead to the end of the story to find out what’s going on. In light of the end all of the other pieces of the story make sense. Christians believed that through the Resurrection of Christ they had been given a glimpse of the End, thus the rest of the story had to make sense in light of that reality.

The other genres of the OT text had to fit into this paradigm. Thus the prayers of the Psalms become the prayers of Christ and as the Body of Christ sings the Psalms we join in with the songs of Christ and thus become in Augustine’s words the totus Christus.

Christ is present in the OT as a dramatis personae. The Word who speaks in the OT is Jesus Christ. One cannot refer to the Word of the Lord without referring to Jesus or vise versa.

If the OT Prophet is our paradigm for the inspiration of Scripture, then we must ask, how does the OT describe the Spirit’s inspiration of the Prophet?

What the Spirit does with the prophets is to make them prophets. That is to say, the Spirit opens one up to God in such a way that they might say, “Thus says the LORD!” The second person of the Trinity is the Logos; the Spirit then is the Freedom for the Word to be the Word of the Father. In other words, Jesus is, ontologically speaking, the Son and the Word, but the Spirit enables Jesus to remain the Son and the Word of the Father. In turn the Risen Jesus gives the Spirit to others. OT prophecy is a joint work of both the Spirit and the Word.

The Word is a person. This personal Word comes to someone who is so opened to the Word by the Spirit that He may speak to and through the prophet. The Spirit thus opens a person or frees a person to receive the Word.

Scripture is the written version of the Prophets and Apostles verbal teaching – so that it is materially the same. As Christians we read the OT from the NT or we wouldn’t be able to read the OT as Scripture at all. The distinction that we all tend to make, when it is proposed that an OT text has a Christological or ecclesial sense, is to then bring up the ‘original’ or ‘historical’ sense that we fear may be forgotten in light of this ‘other’ meaning. (This is akin to Krister Stendahl’s proposed dichotomy between what a text “meant” and what it “means” – following the logical conclusion of Gadamer’s work, among others. It seems to me that Barth has clearly dealt with this false dichotomy in his preface to the second and following editions of Der Römerbrief.) When this type of distinction or dichotomy happens, a Christian reading of the text seems imposed from the outside.

A proper understanding of the Spirits role in the text and community – that is the Spirits role in interpretation rebuffs this sort of distinction. Ecclesial unity in Christ unifies us in the interpretation of the OT as Scripture – thus we cannot make a sharp distinction between the ‘original’ community and our current community.

October 11th: He proposed two assignments with this final lecture. 1) To determine the particular relation of the Spirit to particular creatures who are to speak God’s word. 2) To then get into our understanding of the NT.

If we were to disassociate the Father from the other persons of the Trinity, which is obviously an impossible proposal, but one he wanted to explore nonetheless, then we end up with something like a modern philosophical or Platonic image of “God”. However, the Father with the Spirit is the Living God – the Triune God is living and moving…not the static arche of ancient philosophy or Aristotle’s unmoved mover, etc. Thus, where the Spirit is among us there is freedom, possibility, future.

Our fallen condition is precisely the lack of that future – we are closed to it. The Spirit acts as our liberator to the lack of possibility or the lack of hope. The Spirit brings us freedom because the Spirit is freedom.

The Spirit is also the bond of love (in Augustinian language). This sometimes sounds impersonal to us, but that is not the case with the Spirit. He is the active personal love, who gives himself to the Father and to the Son. As Hegel seemed to indicate that genuine loving relations require a third party, otherwise they may denigrate into a will to power relationship. (I’m not quite sure of this proposal, but in the life of the Trinity it seems to be the case, and if we are to use the Trinity as are paradigm of loving relations then I suppose the analogy fits.) The Spirit is freedom and love, thus if the Spirit comes to creatures we in turn love God and one another.

On to the analogy of the Body – because that it what the community that has received the Spirit that they might love God and others is referred to. How are we to understand the body? We tend to initially think of our physical bodies, but it seems that Paul had a broader understanding of that term – especially if we think of his proposal that we might one day have “spiritual bodies”, though whatever he meant by that is unclear. It seems that a person’s body is the person himself or herself as he or she is available to other persons. So body and in some way personhood is defined by our availability to other persons (definitely a relational concept of the body). Thus, the Body of Christ is only the Body of Christ if Christ is available to ‘others’…to the world.

Again the Spirit gives the Gift of Himself – and does not externally give us virtues, but instead takes up residence within us and makes us part of the Triune life.

Therefore, the Spirit makes a prophet by so opening a person to the Word and by so binding the two in love that the prophet and the Eternal Word of God can speak for each other. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t false prophets, but it does describe true prophets. The analogy of marriage may be somewhat helpful in this case. It doesn’t always happen this way, but there are times in marriage that one spouse may speak for the other. That spouse doesn’t have to ask the other what he or she might say, but they are so united in the bond of love, in a relationship over time that they might speak for one another. In this way, Jenson’s wife, Blanche, should be understood as a co-author of all his work…not that she told him what to write, but that their covenant relationship freed him to think and write as he has.

Because the Spirit gives Himself in person, when the Spirit binds the prophet and the Word together He does this within the prophet himself. Thus, they are distinct but bound together so that the Word speaks from within the prophet. This internal union is again kin to the albeit imperfect analogy of the marriage covenant. This describes the OT paradigm for the inspiration of Scripture in the Prophets.

Something is different with the NT. First, the NT is not essential to the existence of the Church, since we know that the Church got along for some time without the existence of the NT…so the relation to the NT is not timeless for the Church. The NT is a historical phenomenon of the Church. That is to say, that it’s relationship is mediated through history. (My only question is – does this not propose the distinction that we just denied between the original community and us?) In the NT Christ is something like a prophet, but He is a peculiar one – since He is the Son and the Word. In a sense we might say that He is the Prophet, but He is distinct from the other prophets. More so in the NT Mary is the epitome of the prophet – the Spirit works in her to bear the Word to the world.

Ecclesially speaking, Christ gathered with the Church, His Body, is the Prophet (totus christus). The Church is the Spirit’s work to make the final prophet. One might then ask, well can the Church be wrong? That depends on what you mean by the Church. When the Church speaks out of her reality as the One Body of Christ (catholic and apostolic) in conjunction with her Head, then we must say, “No, she cannot be wrong.” Speaking out of her brokenness, she may and does obviously speak wrongly. Therefore, we must work toward ecumenism – this is not an option, it is a command of the Lord.

The Apostles are analogous to the prophets, but in a limited way…there is also a historical difference between the Apostles and us – since none of us are eyewitnesses of the resurrection. It is not nearness to the historical event itself, but nearness to the Spirit’s inspiration of the whole prophetic event.

This entire paradigm for the inspiration of Scripture might align more with our Wesleyan tradition than his own Lutheran tradition. He’s not asking that we give it immediate acceptance as the right doctrine of inspiration, but only that we think about it.

Need or Quest

2007-10-10T13:42:00.000-05:00

I went back and re-read a post that I wrote many months ago and it seemed extremely relevant for me today. Where we end up has a lot to do with where we begin...if we begin with the focus on our needs - we'll eventually become human-centered or self-centered...but if we begin this journey as 'faith seeking understanding' then we might just end up somewhere else. Enjoy.

In a recent seminar at NTS titled "Is the Reformation Over? A dialogue among friends," Father David Burrell, C.S.C., proposed a dichotomy that stuck with me. He suggested that all people might be divided into those who "need certitude" and those who "seek understanding." This is a summary that he has taken from the work of Bernard Lonergan.

At first, it seemed like an overly simplified platitude to describe the human condition. However, the more that I thought about it, the more this simple division made sense. Can the world truly be divided into two camps - those who need certitude (a psychological need) and those who seek understanding (an intentional quest)? And if this division is true, which camp do I belong to?

As I contemplated these questions more and more, it became evident that my life has been a process of wavering back and forth between these two spheres. There have been times when my need for certainty dominated everything (typically in times of change or transition). But there have been other times when I was on a journey toward deeper understanding. This dichotomy is quite telling of our spiritual condition. Further, I would suggest that the overarching forces in our culture impress upon us a deeper need for certainty than encouraging us in the open-ended quest for meaning. A pressure that, I believe, stunts our growth in Christ and impedes our ability to be obedient to Him.

Our need for certitude is a natural human response to fear. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27) Again and again, Jesus comforts us with these words "Do not be afraid." Yet, I think our desire for certainty is deeper than simply our response to fear - I think it actually comes out of our desire to control. We want to master and control all of life, rather than walking into the unknown trusting in the Lord of life. Especially in the West (modern post-enlightenment world) we have an overarching need for certainty and control, illustrated by our ubiquitous use of mechanistic rather than organic metaphors. This vision leaves us without the understanding or language to engage the mysteries of life and more importantly the mystery of God. Ultimately, this need for certitude is rooted in the primordial human sin - our attempt to replace God.

Yet, it seems to me that when we truly come into the presence of the Holy One all of our false certainties unravel and our true condition is illumined. Think of Isaiah's encounter with the Lord in the temple. Here is Peterson's translation of that encounter:

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!—and the train of his robes filled the Temple. Angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew. And they called back and forth one to the other,

Holy, Holy, Holy is God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
His bright glory fills the whole earth.

The foundations trembled at the sound of the angel voices, and then the whole house filled with smoke. I said,

"Doom! It's Doomsday!
I'm as good as dead!
Every word I've ever spoken is tainted—
blasphemous even!
And the people I live with talk the same way,
using words that corrupt and desecrate.
And here I've looked God in the face!
The King! God-of-the-Angel-Armies!"

Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with the coal and said,

"Look. This coal has touched your lips.
Gone your guilt,
your sins wiped out."

And then I heard the voice of the Master:
"Whom shall I send?
Who will go for us?"

I spoke up,
"I'll go. Send me!"

Everything that Isaiah might have been certain of as a member of the "Chosen People" was revealed to be empty and void in the presence of the Wholly Other. His very life and existence was even called into question. But, in this unraveling he is called into a deeper understanding of God, himself, the community, and creation. His life swept up into the theological quest.

Let me explain what I mean by that last sentence. You see, theology is simply our "God-talk." It literally comes from the Greek words: Theos = God and Logos = word or rationality. So, we might say that theology is a word about God. However, a better way to think of theology is to think of it as the science of God, which is one way that St. Thomas Aquinas describes theology in his Summa Theologica (I just began reading through the Summa this week. It is fascinating and I would encourage anyone with even a minimal interest in the history of Christian thought to pick up a recent translation of this monumental work). What he means by science, though, is not the way that we tend to think of science today. We tend to narrowly define "science" as only referring to the "natural sciences" and those fields of study that are limited by the "scientific method." The word that Aquinas is using, is actually the Latin term scientia meaning "knowledge" and the ways human knowledge is received and formed is in no way limited to the so called "scientific method" from his perspective.

A better definition for theology or the science of God might be "the articulation of our knowledge of the Lord God as He has revealed Himself to us." (T. A. Noble) The theological quest that Isaiah is compelled to embark on is the quest to truly encounter and know the Lord. It is then our desire to seek understanding and articulation for this relational knowledge that we might engage one another along the journey. As Augustine and Anselm both said in various ways, theology is "faith seeking understanding."

We will never truly achieve certainty as we encounter the mysteries of life and a fortiori (even more so) as we encounter the mystery of God. If we allow the need of certitude to consume us it will hinder and quite possibly destroy our engagement with the Creator. Instead, I invite you to join me on the theological quest to release our need for control and manipulation and instead open our lives up to the Mystery! As we go deeper into the life of mystery may we seek understanding and articulation for that which we cannot "fully" know. It is a risk, that is to be sure, because we don't know what we will find, but if Jesus is who He said He is then it is a risk worth taking. Step out of the boat leaving certainty behind and join us in the adventure of following Christ.

Church Shopping

2007-10-08T16:31:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted for a while...I do have a number of things on my mind in these days...actually, too much to sort through at this time. So just for fun, I thought that I'd include this comical commentary on contemporary church shopping. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Out of Egypt

2007-09-20T21:48:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered about what is not said? "But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." What a way to end a story. The door is left wide open for an imaginative narrative about the central figure in human history. Anne Rice decided to step through that door.

The only thing I knew about Rice, prior to reading this novel, was that she wrote about vampires, which caused me to be a bit hesitant in picking up her book. However, I must say that when I finally did I was pleasantly surprised. She did her homework - it's evident in her Author's Note that she explored some of the best biblical scholars out there before writing this novel. In fact, it was an endorsement by N. T. Wright that made me finally decide to read Rice's book. If you're looking for a unique read then I would recommend checking out Christ the Lord Out of Egypt. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

A Severe Mercy

2007-09-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

Sheldon Vanauken poetically tells his story of finding love and discovering faith within the realities of this finite existence. I recently re-read this wonderful autobiography and was once again struck by the painful beauty of this powerful personal narrative. If you are looking for an incarnational story of love and faith, and especially if you are an avid C. S. Lewis reader, I would encourage you to explore A Severe Mercy, I promise you won't regret it. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Robert Jenson

2007-09-16T12:40:00.001-05:00

The renowned theologian Robert Jenson will be coming to NTS October 9-11 to offer the Grider-Winget Lectures in theology. Not only is he a well known theologian these days, but he also advised the PhD work of an influential theologian in my own thinking, Colin E. Gunton. Jenson has a deep understanding of Christian doctrine and history and his unique articulation has fostered promising ecumenical dialogue. If you don't know anything about Jenson there are a couple of brief but informative articles here and here.

I've decided to take this opportunity to finally pull Jenson's two volume Systematic Theology off my bookshelf for a bit of exploration. Though I was familiar with his name and aspects of his theological articulation, I didn't have the opportunity to investigate his writing in any depth during my time at Seminary. However, the rigors of life in ministry and other necessary reading has distracted me from giving concentrated, prayerful attention to this important work. I'm hoping to compete both volumes before the lectures, but that may be wishful thinking.

I know that there may be a few people who read this blog (that may also be wishful thinking) and are much more familiar with Jenson than I am, but wouldn't be able to make it to the lectures for one reason or another. I thought I would give you the opportunity to live vicariously through me, but only in this instance, mind you. If you have a question that you've always wanted to ask Jenson but you've never been able to meet him - feel free to post it here and I'll try to find an opportunity to ask your questions and then I'll blog the results. Of course, if it is an inane or ridiculous question then I probably won't ask it...but using moderate discretion I'll try to bring results to the top questions...if you have any. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Deum glorificare

2007-09-12T14:07:00.000-05:00

Quæstio. Quis hominis finis est præcipuus?

Responsio. Præcipuus hominis finis est, Deum glorificare, eodemque frui in æternum.

This may seem like a bunch of gibberish to you...but it is likely that you actually know what this says - even if you don't read Latin. It is the first and most well known question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism (which doesn't seem all that 'short' anymore.)

It is typically translated in this way: Question 1. What is the chief end of man?

Answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

In some sense this was the 1640's version of the 'purpose driven life'. What is our primary purpose in life? What gives life meaning? Why are we here?

I love the direct simplicity of this answer - our purpose in this life and our ultimate goal is to glorify God and enjoy His presence for all of eternity. That answer shaves away the meaningless fluff of life with a sharp razor getting all the way down to the life-blood of our existence.

James Torrance says that human beings were made to be the Priests of creation. He said it so well in his Didsbury Lectures in 1994: "God has made all creatures for His glory. Without knowing it, the lilies of the field in their beauty, glorify God with a glory greater than that of Solomon, the sparrow on the housetop glorifies God, and the universe in its vastness and remoteness is the theatre of God's glory. But God made men and women in His own image to be the priests of creation and to express on behalf of all creatures the praises of God, so that through human lips the heavens might declare the glory of God. When we, who know we are God's creatures, worship God together, we gather up the worship of all creation. Our chief end is to glorify God, and creation realizes its own creaturely glory in glorifying God through human lips" and lives.

"But nature fails in its realization because of our human failure. Instead of singing songs of joy, the whole creation groans in universal travail, waiting for the fulfillment of God's purposes in human lives. Does God then abandon His purposes for humanity and for all His creatures? Does God leave all nature to be subject to vanity and futility - to be ruthlessly exploited and abused - and forget He has made us in His image for a life of communion and shared stewardship?"

"The good news is that God comes to us in Jesus to stand in for us and bring to fulfillment His purposes of worship and communion. Jesus comes to be the Priest of creation to do for us, men and women, what we failed to do, to offer to the Father the worship and the praise we failed to offer, to glorify God by a life of perfect love and obedience, to be the one true servant of the Lord. In Him and through Him we are renewed by the Spirit in the image of God and in the worship of God in a life of shared communion."

What is our response to this? Thanksgiving (eucharistia) and praise! In response to the self-giving grace (charis) of God we offer our selves in body, mind and spirit. Christ is our High Priest, our true worship, our genuine sacrifice of obedience - He is the image of God who achieves our purpose and chief end to glorify God and enjoy Him forever! It is only as we abide in Him and as He abides in us that we are able to participate in authentic worship, live lives of significance moving toward our end goal in Him. If that is what it means to be 'purpose driven' then that is what I want - any other purpose is mist. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Just For Fun

2007-09-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

If you want to see something funny and somewhat disturbing click here. This experiment is a tribute to moms everywhere!

Purity

2007-09-05T10:40:00.001-05:00

Purity. This isn't a word that is heavily emphasized in the American lexicon. I often wonder why that is?

Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." I think that we often gloss over this so-called Beatitude - at least I know that I do. I've not spent much time in this short life reflecting on purity.

Is pollution such a part of our everyday existence that polluted hearts only seem natural? How do we maintain purity in a polluted world?

I'm not sure, but I have been reminded this week of the Collect for Purity found in the Common Book of Prayer. This has become a regular part of my prayer life: "Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your Holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen."

We get dirty - we need to be cleansed, purified. God knows our inward being. He knows our hearts, our desires, and all our secrets - we cannot hide from God, though we often duck behind a tree like Adam and Eve hoping that somehow He won't see us in the forest. He calls to us and we say, "How do you know me?" And only confirming our fears, He says, "I saw you when you were still under the fig tree." As if we could hide.

Recognizing the reality that God knows us inside and out is the beginning of purity. Following this revelation, we must seek cleansing by the Spirit for no other reason than to worship and love Him. For purity is grounded in relationship with the Creator.

Maybe if we Christ-followers began to talk about purity more, we would have the vocabulary to speak out against all kinds of pollution...those things which destroy God's good creation. It seems that very few groups have brought the two together - some seem only concerned with purity of the heart, while others only focus on social or environmental purity. Yet, our Story calls for the redemption and purity of all things - besides, what is purity other than restoring something to its intended purpose, function and place within the created order. It is a word that we need to spend a little more time reflecting on. Just thinkin'. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Imagination Restored

2007-08-27T13:14:00.000-05:00

Simple pleasures are easily drowned in the tsunami of hyper-media and overactivity that seems to be the modus operandi for our collective life. So many jam-packed days, weeks, months and years have passed since I've sat on a park swing experiencing the joy of utter trust and freedom - I can barely remember the feeling of childlike obedience. Why don't I look at the sky anymore?...gazing in marvelous wonder at the immensity of the world, dreaming of the beyond...the otherness of that which is outside of the heavens, outside my experience...sensing the cool presence of the Mystery's imminent wind. It is as if something is out to steal our imaginations and his tactics, at least for me, have been quite successful.

Imagination is everything! We are reduced to mere machines without visions and dreams. Our connection to the Really Real is severed and our joy becomes an empty mirage. Life is flattened, faith is void, relationships are broken, creation is predictable and dead, and we are thrown back on ourselves as the ultimate source of is-ness. Some force is driving us in this direction. Internal or external I don't know where it comes from, I simply know it exists and twists our thinking leaving our vision skewed and myopic.

Praise the Word that lives and speaks calling us back home. Yet, we've been damaged, abused, and broken. How do we know that we can trust the Voice? The cost to seek the Truth is high - it is not in the Wal-mart bargain bin - and we don't know if we can accept something so unprocessed, so raw, real and pure. It might damage our delicate digestive system to eat flesh and drink blood - we're too civilized to participate in such a scandalous meal. Yet, we can't escape the Wind and with every breeze we are shaken to the core. We hide inside and turn on the AC - but we continue to see the trees move and hear the rustling leaves.

Can we face Reality or will we simply blow away like yesterday's news? In ourselves, we can't. It is only in the One who was and is and is to come that we can gaze at the sky again. In Him our imaginations are restored and our joy is made complete. Abide in Him, look to the heavens and swing in the park - that is true freedom that nothing can steal away. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Personality

2007-08-24T12:44:00.000-05:00

What a personality I've got. Actually, I don't put too much weight in these tests, but they are kind of fun...and this one seems to be pretty accurate. Those of you who know me pretty well, if you have any comments about how close you think this is to my true personality...let me know. One of the best things is to look at the other famous people with my personality type. I'd also like to know what your Myers-Briggs type is.

This second test is about different types of intelligences - I'm not sure what to think about it. Kind of interesting.

Maybe I should become a monk? Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Smile

2007-08-18T14:23:00.000-05:00

Another great video. I hope that this brings a smile to your face.

Left Behind (The Rapture Song)

2007-08-18T14:14:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted a video before...but this one is pretty funny. If you have any good "left behind" stories I'd love to hear them.

Wholiness

2007-08-18T12:44:00.000-05:00

"My heart and flesh cry out for You the Living God - Your Spirit's water for my soul. I've tasted and I've seen...come once again to me - I will draw near to You, I will draw near to You."1

The reality of our psychosomatic (psukhē = spirit, soul; soma = body) wholeness was made evident to me in a significant way recently. Experiencing brokenness and turmoil in our congregational life together has resulted in numerous physical manifestations of illness, hurt and restlessness. Similar to a therapist that I read about who endured a violent verbal assault from a client with serious anger management problems. This verbal assault was so intense and unexpected that it seemed to penetrate his body like a blast from a shotgun. Shaken to the core, he realized that he needed to bodily work out the effects of the attack. After an intense cardiovascular exercise, he began stretching out his body. One stretch required him to lie flat on his back, as he laid there in cruciform position he suddenly experienced a profound identification with the crucified Christ, who willingly received brokenness into His body and offered back forgiveness and healing. This spiritual experience came through the body, as all of our experiences of God do.2

"Separation of body from spirit has been a destructive habit of mind whose damage we are still in the process of calculating."3 The effects of a dualistic cast of mind are both deep and far reaching. We have been able to justify the ways that we've violated our own bodies, the bodies of others, the Body of Christ, and the physical world because of this nasty habit. This is the result of ascribing ultimate reality to the "spiritual", with a simplified definition of non-physical, and only limited reality to material. Such thinking is utterly un-Biblical.

Scripture instructs us that the temporality of the physical world is the result of brokenness and sin. It is certainly true that created things only have a contingent reality. The only ultimate reality is the Lord God, creator of heaven and earth, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End of all things - YHWH (I Am; I Will Be). It is this God who created us as whole beings who live within the context of a web of relationships. Thus, broken relationship with the source of life eventually leads to death - Scripture is quite clear on this. This brokenness is fleshed out in the whole web of relationships into which we were created and given our being. What others do, think, and say affects me and vise versa. It is apparent that this Biblical vision has not shaped our own perspective - it is evident through our body-life. We only have to open our eyes to witness the reality of our brokenness and the continued fragmented thinking that permeates everything.

"A healthy understanding of the body - our own physical bodies, the body politic, the earth as 'body,' and the Body of Christ - rests on several key ideas: interdependence; adaptation; growth and change; need for nourishment; need for cleansing (reformed and always reforming); need for redemption and transformation (hope in 'resurrection of the body'). These ideas come together in the Lord's Supper, where we are reminded in an intimate, physical way how God enters into our very physical lives - becomes flesh, again and again - to complete the work begun in us."4

Lord help us recover an authentic understanding of humanity through Christ...teach us genuine wholiness. Until next time - blessings in Christ ~ RLS

1. Better is One Day

2. John Mogabgab, "editor's introduction," Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, Vol. XXII, No. 5, p. 3.

3. Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, "This One Body," Weavings, Vol. XXII, No. 5, p. 9.

4. Ibid, pp. 11-12.

Lord Have Mercy

2007-08-13T17:18:00.001-05:00

Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy on us!

There are open wounds in the Body of Christ today. This isn't the time or place for me to go into much detail, other than to say, the Body is wounded. Of course, that statement may be evident to all who observe the global Body - from inside or outside it makes little difference the wounds are apparent. Yet, they were manifest in a more personal and local way yesterday.

We participated in the practice of re-membering the reality of Christ's passion for us...His broken body and poured out blood only to later reenact that brokenness in a more tangible way. The irony of our communal practice and life together was evident to anyone who would take a moment to reflect. May Christ have mercy on us as we seek to follow Him in these days. May the healing presence of the Spirit - the life-giving, resurrection Spirit be poured out on us that we may truly become the Body of Christ. May the presence of the Wounded Healer make us whole that we may bring His healing presence into a broken world.

I apologize that this blog entry is so cryptic - it simply wouldn't be helpful to be specific at this time. However, if you've experienced the brokenness of the Body in very tangible ways...I would appreciate hearing of your experience and how you responded. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Wiped Out

2007-08-10T12:28:00.000-05:00

This is what I feel like right now! Between a camping trip, being out of town, District Assembly, other activities, and trying to catch up on missed work - I'm wiped out. I can barely pull my thoughts together to do what I have to do, much less to try and blog. I promise that I'll continue to share my unimportant thoughts in the future - but for now I'm taking a break for a couple of days from the blog-o-sphere. Until next time - Blessings ~ RLS

Brain Fart

2007-07-28T14:21:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had a big, fat brain fart? I've experienced a few really toxic brain farts myself. In fact, I'm working on putting together an application for a PhD program in Christian Theology and I seem to be experiencing a prolonged flagellants in the cerebrum area. I have to develop a short summary of my research proposal and send in a writing sample. I know what I'm going for, but for some reason all that I can get out seems to have a foul odor hovering around it. Any suggestions on how to clear the air? Do they make a gas-x for the mind? Words of wisdom or encouragement in this area would be much appreciated. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Tagged Again

2007-07-23T11:56:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been tagged again. This time Monty tagged me with ten books that have influenced me in a major way. For me it seems nearly impossible to narrow the list down to ten - so I'm going to cheat a little bit. I'm going to list ten authors that have had a major influence on my life and thinking - and a few of the books that have been a part of that influence. Here goes:

1) Colin E. Gunton - His work began a theological revolution in me. In effect, I experienced a metanoia (a literal change of mind) that has influenced my entire theological reflection and articulation. Some of his books that have shaped me are: Enlightenment & Alienation; The Actuality of Atonement; Father, Son & Holy Spirit; The Triune Creator; Theology through the Theologians. Everything that I have read by Gunton I've found immensely valuable and thought provoking.

2) T. F. Torrance - The new journey that Gunton opened up to me has lead me to T. F. Torrance. I'm making preparations to pursue a PhD and my research will focus on Torrance's work. Needless to say, he's had a huge impact on me. The important works I've investigated so far: The Mediation of Christ; Theological Science; God & Rationality and related works: T. F. Torrance by Alister E. McGrath; How to Read T. F. Torrance by Elmer M. Colyer; Science, Faith and Society by Michael Polanyi; Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy by Michael Polanyi.

3) Karl Barth - Torrance has forced me to read more and more Barth and one cannot walk away from Barth unchanged. Barth's works that have influenced me thus far: The Epistle to the Romans; Dogmatics in Outline; The Call to Discipleship; I'm slowly working on the 14 volume Church Dogmatics and related work: Karl Barth's Theological Exegesis by Richard E. Burnett.

4) St. Athanasius - T. A. Noble, theology professor at NTS, introduced me to the work of Athanasius. I love reading about this patristic theologian and of all the early Christians (apart from the New Testament writers) he's had the biggest influence on me. On the Incarnation of the Word is the work to which I keep returning. Torrance has a few good articles on Athanasius and most accounts of Christian history tell some of his story - I primarily rely on Justo Gonzalez A History of Christian Thought and The Story of Christianity but Jaroslav Pelikan and Kenneth Scott Latourette are good resources as well.

5) St. Augustine - Is another early Christian thinker that has influenced me in some very positive ways, but also in reaction against aspects of his theological articulation. Various works like: Confessions; De Libero Arbitrio; Morals of the Catholic Church; On the Trinity; On Christian Teaching; and related works like: Augustine A Very Short Introduction by Henry Chadwick; The Richness of Augustine by Mark Ellingsen.

6) C. S. Lewis - Has been an influential voice in my life for some time. Mere Christianity was my first encounter with some in depth theological thinking. I've also listened to: The Chronicles of Narnia (I usually read through them every couple of years); Till We Have Faces; The Screwtape Letters; The Dark Tower; Surprised by Joy; and his various poems.

7) N. T. Wright - Continues to be a major influence in my life. Books like: What St. Paul Really Said; The Challenge of Jesus; The Resurrection of the Son of God are part of that influence, but I also like to read his articles and sermons.

8) Charles Dickens - I simply love reading Dickens and I don't know why. It is a family tradition that my wife and I read A Christmas Carol every year around Christmas (none of the modern renditions can really compare). A Tale of Two Cities is probably my favorite, but I enjoy most of his novels.

9) Elie Wiesel - Night, I read this book in undergrad and it was a powerful experience. It is a personal account of the evil experienced in a Nazi death camp which forces one to the very heart of theodicy.

10) Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Brothers Karamazov, I worked through this novel a few summers ago and have never regretted it. I enjoyed the entire story and it forced me to expand my thinking.

I really couldn't stop at ten so I want to offer a few honorable mentions:

11) Walter Brueggemann - The Prophetic Imagination; Old Testament Theology; and his various commentaries and articles.

12) Henri Nouwen - The Wounded Healer; Here and Now.

13) Ludwig Wittgenstein - Ifluenced my early philosophical thinking: Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus; On Certainty; The Blue and Brown Books; Lectures & Conversations; Philosophical Investigations; and related works: Wittgenstein A Very Short Introduction by A. C. Grayling; Ludwig Wittgenstein the Duty of Genius by Ray Monk.

14) Lesslie Newbigin - Foolishness to the Greeks and The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

15) Ronald Sider - Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger; Just Generosity; The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience.

There are so many others that I could list, but I better stop at 15. I would love to hear your top books or authors - let me know who has influenced you. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Prayer

2007-07-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

Prayer. It is something that seems common among all the major "world religions." I find that fascinating - but if John Stott is right, it makes a lot of sense. When asked, in an interview, if he was worried about the future of the church, he responded by saying - all human beings are engaged in a quest for at least three things: transcendence, significance, and community. This isn't just a desire, every human being has the need to connect with the transcendent, to feel significant and to experience community. If the church is faithful to its calling it will meet all of these needs and will continue to reach a secular society. (I simply summarized Stott's response. He says it so much better. You can check out the article here.)

I believe that this need to connect with something beyond ourselves is innate - something common to every human being. As Augustine once said, "O Lord, you created us for yourself and our hearts are restless until we find rest in you." We were created with a need and desire to connect relationally with the Transcendent One. That is my very simple understanding of the ubiquity of prayer. However, the human practice of prayer doesn't necessarily mean that we are connecting relationally to the Triune God. Not every human practice achieves its intended goal. In this case there are many factors that might hinder us from a genuine encounter with the Living God.

The Scriptures have much to say about prayer. Paul instructs us to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and to "be anxious about nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6) There are so many other passages about prayer that we could list - but I'll get to the point because I'm beginning to ramble. I've been thinking about prayer lately and have a couple of questions: 1.) What are those factors that might hinder us from a genuine encounter with the Mystery? 2.) Based on your experience, do Christians pray enough and/or are our prayers genuine, passionate, meaningful and real? (I'm thinking of my own context in the United States.) I'm just wondering if we're actually facilitating this connection with the Transcendent Mystery. If we're not touching these human needs - people will look elsewhere. What are your thoughts? Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Criticism & The Kingdom

2007-07-12T11:41:00.000-05:00

We live in a critical society. There's no denying it. All one has to do is look at one of the most popular American television shows - American Idol not to mention all the spin-offs. The show is all about judgment and criticism. Even if the most critical judge is British...it is evident that we love to measure, compare, judge and criticize. It's a part of human nature.

I've been wondering lately, is there any room for criticism in the Kingdom? There is certainly admonition in Scripture that we correct, rebuke and hold each other accountable to a Kingdom way of life. But, is that the same as criticism? Is there a difference between a critical spirit or judgment and correction or accountability? If so, what constitutes the difference? And, what about the prophetic voice? Where does it fit into the life of the Body?

I have a few thoughts on the matter, but I'd like to hear what others have to say.

Tagged

2007-07-05T21:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, I've been tagged by Jason (The Shire) to list the first 10 songs that come up on my iPod when I hit shuffle. The only probably is I'm not cool enough to have an iPod (or I'm just too cheap). Anyway, I hit shuffle on my lowly Samsung Mp3 player and here are the first 10 songs that came up:

1) God of Wonders - City on a Hill CD

2) Merciful Rain - FFH

3) Where You Are - FFH

4) In the Name - Jennifer Knapp

5) Love Song - Third Day

6) Praise Song - Third Day

7) Marvelous Light - Derek Webb

8) Table of the Lord - FFH

9) Hallelujah Never Ending - Caedmon's Call

10) Diamond in the Rough - Jennifer Knapp

As you can tell, I primarily have Christian music on my player. I typically listen to either NPR or Christian music - it's a habit that's hard to break. I could only think of a couple of people to tag, who haven't already been tagged. So I tag Jeremy (Still Learning) and Brian (Urban Monk).

Worship

2007-07-05T15:09:00.000-05:00

For some odd reason our celebration of national independence often forces me to reflect on authentic worship. Just like the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well, I'm often perplexed by the whole concept of worship and the conflicting messages we receive through religious authorities. But the True Authority responds: "The day is coming, indeed it has already arrived, when the true worshipers will worship God in Spirit and in Truth."

I suppose that it is during this celebration when I'm really confronted with various forms of idolatry which almost imperceptibly fly under the banner of patriotism, in addition to our sometimes conflicting allegiances as citizens of the Kingdom of God and of earthly nations that causes this "worship" question to come again to the forefront of my mind. It could also be the inverted allegiance that I've experienced in some Christian communities, leaving an indelible impact on me, which makes this such an important issue for me. As I've distanced myself further and further from these negative experiences, I've come to a more mediated position on this whole matter - after getting over the initial emotional reaction.

Some might consider this blasphemy and pronounce me anathema for expressing it, but I do believe that there is an appropriate level of "worship" one might give to their national heritage. That is if we take N. T. Wright's definition to heart: "But the word 'worship' means, literally, 'worth-ship': to accord worth, true value, to something, to recognize and respect it for the true worth it has." In that sense, there is much of immense worth and value in the heritage of this nation (and of other nations as well) that should be recognized, respected and to which we should respond. It is a good thing, a wonderful thing, a valuable thing to celebrate our national heritage and the liberties we experience as citizens of the United States of America.

However, we should be very careful that this genuine appreciation and appropriate response does not evolve into a form of idolatry. All of the good things that we value ultimately derive from and have their source in God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If we fail to recognize this fact then other allegiances quickly take first place in our lives - whether it is nation, wealth, power, recognition, family...it could be anything and we're enslaved again to worshipping false idols.

As N. T. Wright says in another place: “People often quote Oscar Wilde’s dictum, that a cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. We live in an age of cynics, where ‘worth’ means ‘price’ and ‘price’ means money and money means power. But the gospel of Jesus Christ puts worth back into the world, worth beyond price, worth beyond worldly power; for the gospel of Jesus Christ summons us to worship, to worth-ship, to lay our lives before the one true and living God, to worship him for all he’s worth. Give to this great and loving God the honor, the worship, the love, due to him; celebrate the goodness, the worth, the true value, of the created order, as his gift, his handiwork; and allow that celebration to lift your eyes once more to God himself, to his glory and beauty.” The time is coming, indeed it is already here, when true worshippers will worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Lord may our worship always be through Your Spirit and in Your Truth. Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

N.B.: In light of Jason's important comments, I've decided to add a link that I received through Sojomail. It is a link to Michael Gerson's op-ed piece for the Washington Post on July 4th. I don't agree with everything he has to say, but it does express something of a mediated position that I was also attempting to approach here. We do need to appraoch our national story with a good bit of humility; however, that doesn't mean that there is nothing of value in our collective narrative.

Prayer & The Body

2007-06-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about our bodily posture in prayer and worship. Most of the people that I talk to tend to think that our posture doesn't matter in these actions, but I'm beginning to think otherwise. It seems to me that this devaluing of our posture in prayer and worship is simply another aspect of our devaluing of the Body in general in our culture. It is another detrimental aspect of our dualistic cast of mind. Position and posture seems very important in other traditions - I'm wondering if we may be missing something here. What do you think? Does our position and posture in prayer matter? Does this reflect our general attitude toward the body? Just thinkin'...until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Torrance

2007-06-21T14:28:00.001-05:00

I've been doing a lot of reading by and about T. F. Torrance lately. I thought I would offer a couple of quotes that struck me, coming mainly from his sermon material, rather than the intricate academic work that he's most known for. These quotes come from T. F. Torrance: An Intellectual Biography by Alister McGrath.

“Why is it then that the cross has become the dearest and the most sacred emblem of the Christian faith, the religion of love? Why does it produce saints, when, it seems, it ought to produce skeptics? This is the fact of the matter: – Put God in heaven and Jesus on the cross allowed to die, and you destroy your faith, for you cannot believe in a God who allowed that. On the other hand, it makes us utterly despair of man, for if that is what we have done, what hope is there of the world ever living in love and brotherhood after this war? But (and this is the Gospel) put God on the cross and you alter the whole situation, for then the cross is not the picture of God’s unconcern or careless disregard. Rather it is the picture of God’s utmost concern, nay, a picture or his actual intervention in the affairs of men, for it means that God Almighty has come down into the midst of human sin and shame, not only to bear our sin, but to destroy it for ever. That is the incomprehensible cast and design of his glory, that in the cross we have the invasion of God striking in desperate anguish at the heart of evil.” This comes from a sermon he gave as a military Chaplin during WWII.

“There are too many people in the church who are only religious. Their religion consists simply in a belief in God – and in the end it doesn’t matter very much what God they believe in. Theirs is simply a bare religion with not much room for Jesus Christ in it. Why is it that so many people are apt to be content with a bare religion with only a creator for their God? Why is it that so many people in modern times are apt to be Unitarian, whether in explicit faith or in virtual practice? It is because in Jesus Christ, God comes too near them – and they only want a God that is far-off and distant. It would spoil their selfish enjoyment; it would mean a radical alteration in their way of life; it would cost too much; hurt too much, to have a God so close to them that he had come down into the world and become man.” This is from a sermon given during his parish ministry at Alyth.

I'm afraid that this is still a major issue in Western Protestant churches these days. We are not Christocentric in practice and we have yet to fully grasp the significance of the Incarnation. To this day we continue to separate the Person and the Work of Christ and don't really have a Christocentric and Trinitarian vision. Lord, have mercy...help us in our weakness. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God." Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS

Ark Almighty

2007-06-13T11:07:00.000-05:00

The movie isn't out yet so we have to wait to see how the modern day Noah story is portrayed. It is interesting to me how the biblical narrative is still deeply ingrained in our collective conscience - even though we live in a generally biblically illiterate society. One illustration of this - as Leno was interviewing Wanda Sykes about her role in this movie he called the main character in the story Moses and even though it was probably an accident, no one corrected him. I wonder how many people actually noticed the mistake. Kind of ironic that he makes fun of people for not knowing similar things in his "Jay Walking" bit. Reminds me of a Campolo story, but I'll save it for another day. At least the movie makers recognized the inherent comedy in the story of Noah's Ark that we often overlook or ignore.

Anyway, a friend shared this new site with me that is a online board for posting needs within your congregation - the idea is to pair the needs with someone who might be able to meet those specific needs. Check it out http://www.arkalmighty.com/ The interesting thing is that John Goodman is their spokes person (I didn't even know that Goodman was a Christian) and then there are advertisements for the Evan Almighty all over the place. It seems like a good resource...would you use it in your church? And do these things indicate any general shifts in our society? If you go to see the movie, let me know what you think about it. Until next time - Blessings ~ RLS

N.B. I just noticed that Mike King was invited along with other KC area pastors to preview the movie early and he gave it a pretty high review on his blog: Evan Almighty Review