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I Believe in the “Here and Now” But Live Like I Trust in Escapism

September 6, 2011 in Confessions, Consummation, Eschatology, Faith Journey, Left Behind, New Creation, Social Justice, Uncategorized with 6 Comments

free creative commons Sandy Desert Path, Antelope Island, UtahI’ve noticed a trend in my life.  When it comes to my worldview, the way I see reality, the way I see the Scriptures… I believe in a faith that focuses on God’s in-breaking future reality in the present. I believe in a Kingdom that each day can be realized “on earth as in heaven.”  I believe in the final renewal of “all things” the final union of heaven and earth when Christ returns.  But, for me, this isn’t some future reality with zero ramifications on the present.

This future hope draws me to believe that we can both experience and be signs of God’s eventual future New Creation, today!  Justice for the poor, the blind receiving sight, living as peacemakers and opposing violence, miracles that demonstrate our proper place as good gardeners of creation, authentic communal relationships – these all matter today as God’s Spirit draws towards the both presently inaugurated and future consummated reign of Christ on the earth. Christian faith is rooted in the historical “here and now,” with the affirmation that this world matters both today and tomorrow!

Therefore, what we do in the present “here and now” is immensely important.

One of the greatest struggles that many of us have with the version of Christianity that we inherited is that it often focused solely on tomorrow.  Continue Reading…

The Body and The Blood: Symbols, Art, & Mystery ("Friendly Friday:"Carl Laamanen)

June 3, 2011 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Communionphoto © 2006 evan courtney | more info (via: Wylio)

“They are the most wonderful mystery, body and blood.”- Gilead, Marilynne Robinson

I remember the first time I took Communion at the Anglican church that I now attend. It was a revelation to me. It was a grave, joyful matter, and as I swallowed my bread dipped in wine I felt blessed by that bread and wine in a way that I never had before. It was more than just a way to remember, charged with a certain energy because it was being taken seriously as a sacred symbol.

Why hadn’t I ever experienced this before? Was it because my previous church was so afraid of appearing Catholic that we didn’t ascribe any significance beyond remembrance to Communion or is it a symptom of a deeper problem in many churches? Sometimes it seems as if there is a fear in the Church of using art or symbols that we don’t understand or can’t control because we don’t know what they will reveal to us. Continue Reading…

When Ministry & Calling Create Art ("Friendly Friday": Clint Brewer)

May 27, 2011 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Just returning from a street-side Christmas party in rural Cochin, India. The Joy this man received is very evident!

 

The past year has been riddled with conversations among friends, family and christian colleagues about the nature of our individual calling within the Kingdom of God. To be quite honest, this is something that i have struggled with most of my life even though I grew up in a christian home. My father was, and still is, a pastor of a local church here in Dallas with a strong and loving congregation who has been family to me since i was born. I used to feel it was expected of me to grow up and become a pastor like my dad and don’t get me wrong, that is an amazing thought and one that screams following God’s plans. And growing up with great examples of parents in full-time ministry, you begin to think that “if you want to be a good christian, your life will be in a full-time ministry position”. Except when you feel that the Lord is NOT calling you to be a pastor.

This was a bit of a shock to me during high school and college as i felt drawn to more of a creative field. As i began studying photography and design, i felt that i couldn’t be further away from a job in full-time-ministry. I mean let’s face it I was studying know to make things looks pretty. Continue Reading…

Earthquakes… Signs of the End Times? Part 2: Mark 13 as it Relates to the Rest of the Book

April 6, 2010 in (Series) Earthquakes...Signs of the Times?, Dispensationalism, Eschatology, Fundamentalism, Gospel, Missional, N. T. Wright, Olivet Discourse, Temple, Theology, Tribulation, Uncategorized with 19 Comments

This is the second post in a series titled: Mark 13… Signs of the Times? I invite you to check out that first post to catch up, so to speak :-)   More posts to come on this topic!

Read the rest of the series here.

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We began this series by asking if we could look at natural disasters like earthquakes, as a sign that the so-called “end times” are coming all the more near.  In this post, lets explore the “literary context” of Mark 13 and continue to wrestle with the interpretive and practical implications of how we choose to read this well know biblical passage.  In doing so, perhaps the question in the back of our minds should be: Is the biblical story one that points toward hope for this world, or chaos and eventual destruction?

Mark 13 is a chapter that is often called a “little apocalypse,” although the whole of the book is gospel narrative.  That is because, this chapter is clearly written with apocalyptic tradition in mind. Jesus is speaking prophetically in this passage and is using apocalyptic language to explain the things that will mark the fulfillment of his words.  The question of “when” such a fulfillment will happen is not yet our task.

Our current task is to discern how this text relates to the rest of Mark.  In Mark 11, Jesus returns to Jerusalem and is ushered in as the true King.  Based on parallel accounts we know that this was “the first day of the week,” meaning that it was Sunday.  According to this chapter, singing broke out as Jesus rode in on a colt.  Some laid down their cloaks, while others began to wave palm branches.  Those who chose to lay down their cloaks on this dusty road and waved palm branches were acknowledging that Jesus was indeed a king.  This event has a clear connection with Zechariah 9.9 Continue Reading…

Can You Summarize Your View of Joining God's Mission in a Paragraph?

March 21, 2010 in Ecology, Evangelism, Missional, Social Justice, Theology, Uncategorized with 4 Comments

Below I have given a short paragraph on basically a ‘theology of mission.’  I am wondering what you would add or subtract from the statement?  Also, how would you try and explain what it means to “join God’s mission” in a paragraph that is all your own? DISCLAIMER: I know that this can seem a bit ‘reductionistic’ but my hope is that you will see it as an exercise to make you reflect on what matters most in regards to the mission of God and our invitation to join in his work!

Theology of Mission Statement:

Humanity is called to partner with the Creator as a subversive kingdom community, to bring shalom to the whole cosmos which is currently “subjected to frustration.”[1] Jesus’ resurrection inaugurated the “gathering up of all things”[2] through which a “new humanity”[3] is being formed to holistically transform the broken places and people of the earth, compelled by his relationally selfless love. By the Spirit we are to “groan”[4] with the pain of the world drawn towards a glorious future when all poverty, sickness, violence, and death will cease; and thus the church exists as an active signpost of hope in anticipation of God’s full expression of justice: “a new heaven and a new earth.”[5]

[1] Romans 8.20
[2] Ephesians 1.10
[3] Ephesians 2.15
[4] Romans 8.23, 26
[5] Revelation 21.1

Thanks N. T. Wright for helping me see a Bigger Gospel!

March 13, 2010 in Faith Journey, Gospel, Missional, N. T. Wright, New Creation, Recommended Resources, Ron Martoia, Salvation, Social Justice, Uncategorized with 13 Comments

I want to invite you to join a Facebook group I started called, Thanks N. T. Wright for helping me see a Bigger Gospel! This is a way to acknowledge how Tom Wright has influenced you in various ways, and a chance to exclusively discuss his work with like-minded facebook friends (well, hopefully they become your friends!).

I want to tell the story of how N. T. Wright totally changed my way of viewing the Gospel of Jesus.  I grew up in a typical evangelical setting.  I say that, and instantly there is one of two reactions: 1) what’s so bad about that… do you have to spit venom? OR 2) ya, me too and now I’ve moved way past such a polarized simplistic faith.  I want to make clear that I still consider myself an evangelical (but as some have said, with a small “e”).  Anyway, I grew up viewing the Christian life as a moral evacuation plan.  God would come back to gather up the moral/faithful/set apart/believers and would rapture us away from this evil world.  In high school (I attended a great Christian one), I read several books in the Left Behind series and found myself enraptured in their storyline.

This all began to change back in about 2004 while I was interning at a church in college.  I had been exposed to issues of social justice.  I had developed a growing compassion.  But my theology of evacuation and rapture, my cosmological dualism [physical = bad (world, the flesh, etc.), spiritual = good (all things pertaining to our 'real home' in a disembodied heaven)], did not give me a proper theological framework for managing such passions.  Then one day, my boss introduced me to an audio series called “Velocity 2004″ by Ron Martoia, which challenged my thinking about church and theology in many ways; especially his talk titled “Improvising the 5th Act.”  This particular message to pastors explored a narrative approach to Scripture using the 5 Act play model of some random theologian from England: N. T. Wright.  This was completely revolutionary to me so I began to explore the free resources on http://ntwrightpage.com and discovered a plethora of audio resources that I could listen to (and re-listen to) while I drove to school, work, and wherever else.  I think the first and greatest discovery I made because of this was Continue Reading…

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