My daughter posted this on her facebook page and will be writing a mocking article on it. YEAH! More sarcasm and snarkyness is needed for this kind of bad theology!
The world is broken in so many dimensions spiritual, social, physical and so forth. The "Good News" is not an external remedy for those ills. The "Good News" is about internal (and eternal) change that eventually results in external good works and evidence of a changed life, marked by Love.
The world has gotten better since Christ’s arrival because many, many people have experienced internal change, through the spirit, and changed the world. That is the correct order, anything else is moralism and legalism which can produce short-term benefits but never long-lasting fruit.
Commercializing any aspect of the Gospel to suggest it has "magical" powers to change behavior from the outside reduces real faith to no more than primitive voodoo practices. You might as well make a cross out of two rabbit feets and sell that as Gospel Animal Power!
Furthermore, using selective bible verses out of context as behavior change aids is no more valid than when using a horoscope to get a sense of universal order. The bible as a whole is a story of God’s love and his call to us, it is not a manual for daily living. Much of what Christians believe as theology has nothing to do with God but with a moral system built on bible facts. Consequently much of "Christianity" has little to do with Christ but much to do with religion. Religion is about man, Jesus is about relationships, first with the God and then with each other.
Couples who have a common attitude that “failure is not a option” towards their marriage is commendable. My wife and I jokingly grit our teeth and say, “we made a promise and we are sticking to it no matter what!”
Unfortunately, this is very rare and the exception to marital relationships and not the rule. Divorce in the “church” is at the same rate if not more than the “world”. What does that mean? Don’t Christians know that “God hates divorce” and therefore want to please the father?
The biggest misconception about sin is that it is a matter of choice and therefore will power and knowledge will win the day and make people “righteous.” That is snake-oil Christianity that dilutes the heart changing power of the gospel. People are broken because their relationship with God is broken (blame Adam not Eve, Adam was silent while the snake was talking). Much of modern Christianity is values (rules) based and not relationship (Spirit) based. There are many Christians who do not know Christ.
Becoming a Christian through a doctrinal assent to facts does not heal the brokenness, only a renewed relationship with Christ starts the process of healing. It takes time, sometimes a lifetime before better choices flow from a healing heart. And even then, people will make terrible choices, driven by continued internal brokenness (misplaced desires, idols, you name it) because in this life we will never truly be healed.
Partners need to work on their marriage every day as if it can be over tomorrow. That is the reality of our broken world and lives. The husband that settles for a comfortable economic and physical relationship with his wife but never seeks to nourish her soul and lift her up should not be surprised when she meets someone who cherishes her in new ways and then a regrettable a chain of events occur. The wife who assumes her husband will always be there and is at best neutral to his affections should not be surprised when he meets someone who stirs in him passions that overwhelm reason.
Deep love, affection and faithfulness in your relationship with God is the key pattern to follow for your marital relationship, and indeed all others.
Obesity is a nice technical term for describing the results of eating more than you should. The reasons people do so are complex and varied, a symptom of our brokenness. Being very broken myself (translate I am working hard on my weight), I’ve come to realize lately that portion control and exercise, on a consistent basis, are the only ways for ME to slowly get a handle on my overconsumption (greed is the biblical term). A supporting practice, a friend of mine suggested was doing short-term fasts a couple of times a week. Seems to work for me but it is not fun. I do not like being hungry, I do not like "suffering."
Financially, Americans in general and Christians in particular over consume (are greedy, darn those biblical terms!) on a historical scale. At a recent conference on the book, "When Helping Hurts: How to alleviate poverty without hurting yourself and the poor", a factoid was used which still haunts me to this day: "4 billion people in the world (there are only 6 billion) live on less than $2 a day." When the speaker addressed the room of 200 well-heeled, middle to upper class believers, most with college educations and well-paying jobs with healthcare, he opened with, "Historically, everyone in this room, are the richest people ever to walk on the face of the planet."
I think I will try to incorporate a spending fast as part of my financial diet. I’d like too nobly say that the proceeds from the fast will be given to the poor but that would be idealistic and likely never happen. Instead I hope to be able to "do without" NEW STUFF that I simply want and do not need. I am not talking about food, gas, medicines and those types of necessities. I’ll try to go 24 hours without buying anything first and over time try to extend the timeframe to a month. If I could go 30 days without buying anything I truly did not need, I think I may learn something about myself and the realities of a broken, unjust world.
My daughter recently changed jobs complaining bitterly about her working conditions. This was her first job out of college. It was a good first job with benefits and a career path. She did well, though at times struggled. I found myself irritated at her findings of what was wrong and what was not fulfilling. Thankfully she took some of my advice and kept her job until she found another, which is a much better fit and her attitude has turned around 300%.
In retrospect, I think my irritation reflected a changing worldview, mine, regarding work. Having been raised in an American society where work (hence money) is the chosen path to achievement and worth, it became very easy for me to focus energy, yes, even love onto the job and its rewards regardless of the cost to me and my family.
God the creator is the only one worthy to be loved and worshiped, not the creation or even the creation mandate (work). It has its proper place and that is where the challenge lies. Work in a broken world needs redemption like everything else.
Believer’s can redeem their work and the relationships at work to bring honor to God and turn a 40 hour a week job into a 40 hour worship experience with pay and benefits. Much easier SAID than done.
There are terrible jobs with terrible managers, work cultures and deplorable working conditions. When these exist, you can stay and fight or you can leave. Because we are under grace and not law, either option is okay, it is really up to the believer. Some believers stay too long in some jobs becoming self-centered martyrs suffering for Jesus when the best thing for them and their family is a better paying job. Some believers leave way too soon short changing relationships, growth opportunities and chances for the gospel to take hold.
Carolyn James is one of the brightest thinkers and writers in America today helping people see how the Big Story of God frames all of our own individual stories, especially from a woman’s perspective. A recent post on her blog highlighted a quote from Gilbert Meilaender which I found full of truth and hope.
" . . . friendship between the sexes may take us not out of ourselves but beyond ourselves and make us more whole, balanced, and sane that we could otherwise be."—Gilbert Meilaender
This contradicts the sincere but afflicted, Harry Burns, in the movie, "When Harry met Sally" (a fav that makes me cry) who says (paraphrase) to Sally, "Men and women can’t be friends, the sex thing gets in the way."
Harry’s riff correctly reflects the fact that, in a broken world (which I believe is slowly redeeming itself over time) people rarely come into friendship relationships with properly framed and balanced attitudes, they have to work at it. Christian and non-Christians alike have a real example to follow, Christ who respected and cherished women was their friend even in the midst of a patriarchal and brutal society.
Gilbert is suggesting a level of relationship is possible even desirable when the friendship is properly framed and balanced. This ultimately benefits both persons in the relationship, each the better for it. - Tony T
Christmas is always a fun time but can be stressful, especially for parents. Last December our 26 and 18 year old daughters experienced a rite of passage by visiting New York City and having a great time…until the blizzard of the century hit!
Emily, the writer who works in IT to support her art has recently published in Relevant magazine her experiences during this "adventure." This article is about humbling self-discovery. Sometime we can only see clearly when God’s flashlight of circumstance illuminates our way. It will make you laugh. There is such irony when people who think themselves full of grace (myself included) find themselves empty when they need to pour it out to others. A perfectly executed piece of writing about her hidden self-absorption which she in making public helps us understand the universal charity of God grace. Way to Go Emily (with supporting cast kudos to her sister, Stephanie)!
Many Christians fundamentally missed the the point of forgiveness and Grace through Jesus Christ in the New Testament and live their lives as if the Old Testament was all they had. This book clearly examines the whys and hows of the behavior focused Christian sub-culture that exists in many evangelical circles and how they subvert the Gospel and obscure the rich promise of joyful Spirit filled living.
Pastor Andrew Farley’s work in this book is as rich and important as any of Tim Keller or John Piper’s writing and would help many a believer understand how much they are loved by God. It has become an important element of my discipleship training for myself and others.
A "good" story tells us, in an entertaining and creative way, what we already know or believe will happen. It reinforces our internal worldview assuring us that we are going to be all right or things will work out or in the case of "bad" endings, we really understand our world.
The Christian themes in the Superman mythology are easily observed. A son being sent by a father to help a people. A son with special powers always sacrificing for the common good. The success of the Superman mythology as a story line in Western cultures, especially in the US, reflects the deep influence of the story of Christ in all of Western civilization. But it is not just a story. It has basis in reality. The world is a better place than 2010 years ago, and continues to improve and the Christ is a direct cause of it.
The success of this story line in other cultures speaks to the underlying facts that their is something bigger than us out there as a force for good. This is backed up by the arc of history, which is bending toward justice due to the work of Christ. The shadow of Jesus is on the wall of humanity’s mind since his birth, death and resurrection. Intellectually I understand this which leads me to share an emotional moment.
Recently I was killing time flipping through channels and came into a rerun of the Superman Returns (2006) movie. An excellent remake of the original updated from the 70s (man, I’m old!). The sequence I was watching was the rescue of a crashing to Earth broken jet liner, with Lois Lane on board of course, all told in dramatic fashion. In the movie, this was the first act of Superman after he had returned to Earth from a mysterious absence (sound familiar).
What got to me emotionally, was the setting after the rescue. Superman prevents the crash of the broken jet liner by slowing its descent and gently placing it on the ground. Except the location was in the middle of a large baseball stadium in the middle of a nationally televised game. After he goes in to check on the passengers and Lois Lane, he steps to the jet liner door and looks around the stadium. People there (and also in bars, workplaces and in homes) are cheering, yelling and celebrating his return, which was clearly underlined by the dramatic rescue. He then flys away to continue saving the world.
As I watched the movie scene unfold, especially the celebration from the crowd, it struck me emotionally the real joy and fulfillment that moment will hold for believers (like me!) when Christ returns. We will cheer, hoop, holler, have joy and worship the Son of God and the Son of Man when he returns to finish the restoration work that started with his birth and will end with his return. While he is here ever present in Spirit, his physical return will be special to the entire world. Those who believe will cheer. Those have not will face an uncertain future. As I continue to enjoy stories and movies, I expect to see the clear shadow of Jesus in every tale. One day that shadow will disappear in the bright light of His day- Tony T.
My daughter sent her Mom a link to a feature article by Jonathem Lembright, titled Evangelical Misogyny , on the Burnside Writers Collective website regarding Evangelical treatment of women. It opens the discussion about why women in the church are suppressed (yes that is a strong but appropriate word) rather then empowered. You can read my reply which talks about some of the reasons this occurs.
Empowering women is a phrase often used by non-christian feminists to denote a set of values that are often destructive and in the long-run, counter-productive from a Christian point of view. However, not all of the feminist agenda is about reproductive rights and sexual freedom and much common ground is shared with believers. Who wants 12 year olds girls to be sold into sexual slavery in Thailand for Japanese business men to abuse? The girls often end up in the United States as they get older. You would not think that Macon, GA would be part of a sex slave network but it is. I wonder how many conversative churches in GA have any ministry to women in the sex trade in Macon. Christian men should model Christ and be foremost feminists empowering women in their social networks to love and serve God inside the church and out.
The basic mistake the evangelicals make is confusing headship within a family with male/female roles outside the family. In addition, they elevate 1st century Jewish cultural practices to have more weight than equality between the priesthood of all believers. It really is not all that complicated. I can understand a church or denomination establishing a cultural preference of no women elders, deacons or pastors but don’t say it is biblical beyond question. In the church, when women are not empowered and brought into leadership partnership with men, the church, the body of Christ suffers. The work of the church to care for believers and expand the Kingdom with new lovers of God is hindered. Why?
In the garden, Adam and Eve were BOTH commissioned to rule the earth and subdue it in partnership as husband and wife. The fall corrupted that partnership and a lot of other things. The good news of salvation and the equality of all believers restores partially (this is still a fallen world) the potential for a "blessed alliance."
What this means is that when men and women work together in the Spirit for the good of the Kingdom, great things can happen. Read the New Testament and see how women were central in getting Christianity established in the gentile world and changed humanity forever. – Tony T.
Today’s message (1/3/10) at Cross Creek Church was about Extraordinary living. I would highly encourage you to listen to Chuck’s message on audio at the Cross Creek Website when you get a chance. As with all good messages, it informed, challenged and nurtured additional thoughts.
1. The phrase "Understanding the Lord’s Will" is often "westernized" with our American individualistic cultural worldview rather than God’s point of view. That is why Chuck’s encouragement to deepen our understanding of the scriptures, especially the New Testament, is important. Reading the New Testament as a whole will provide important context. Why? Because the Lord’s will in "Westernized" thinking is pragmatically translated into "What decisions does God want me to make so my life can be successful and prosperous by Western Standards?" We assume that God’s will is all about our lives and its outcome rather than his interests and loves. In other words, Gods will is all about me rather than it being all about him.
So what are God’s interests and loves? How do you or I make decisions that are about Him and not about your self? Take a look at these two thought streams:
—How do I decide about work? What college can I send my kid to? How can we save more for next year’s vacation? How can I make some money from my hobby? What room should we remodel? What area of the country should we retire to? A larger new house is a great deal now. Good car deals have never been better. What is God’s will for my life?
—What kind of person was I last year and how can I improve? How badly did I love others and who can I love better? Who do I need to ask forgiveness from? What relationships can I repair? What relationships really suck that I need to take initiative on? How can I help the poor (do I know any?)? How can I help my community become a better place? What injustice can I challenge? What kind of mercy can I show? What is God’s will for my life?
2. What is an Extraordinary life in today’s world, the world you and I live in? In today’s message, Extraordinary living was defined as Holy Spirit-filled living. When I did the YMCA Indian Princess Program with my youngest daugther, our tribe (the Tescarora), won the Spirit Stick Award at several camp gatherings. Our enthusiasm, both vocal and physical, for the Indian Princess life came through and was recognized. We "showed" our spirit in tangible ways. The world we live in has many different spirits at work in it. The spirit of greed. The spirit of indifference. The spirit of lust and so on. The Holy Spirit is different. It reflects the nature, character, interest and loves of God. When our lives are so filled with the Holy Spirit of God, it will express itself in tangible ways that will be Extraordinary.- Tony T
Church, Discipleship, Worldview | admin | 
August 18, 2010 8:40 am | 
Comments (0) 
Obesity is a nice technical term for describing the results of eating more than you should. The reasons people do so are complex and varied, a symptom of our brokenness. Being very broken myself (translate I am working hard on my weight), I’ve come to realize lately that portion control and exercise, on a consistent basis, are the only ways for ME to slowly get a handle on my overconsumption (greed is the biblical term). A supporting practice, a friend of mine suggested was doing short-term fasts a couple of times a week. Seems to work for me but it is not fun. I do not like being hungry, I do not like "suffering."
My daughter recently changed jobs complaining bitterly about her working conditions. This was her first job out of college. It was a good first job with benefits and a career path. She did well, though at times struggled. I found myself irritated at her findings of what was wrong and what was not fulfilling. Thankfully she took some of my advice and kept her job until she found another, which is a much better fit and her attitude has turned around 300%.
" . . . friendship between the sexes may take us not out of ourselves but beyond ourselves and make us more whole, balanced, and sane that we could otherwise be."—Gilbert Meilaender
.jpg)
Subscribe