The Great Divide

Christian Spirituality/Living a complete life
 Dividing our lives into seperate spheres. Too often our lives can be divided into what is termed "spiritual" and what is termed "secular". For a follower of Jesus this cannot be, disciples of Jesus should not live divided lives. Disciples are called to be holy (set apart) but that does not mean we seperate from the rest of the world and hide in caves and that certaintly does not mean we live seperated/divided lives (spiritual on Sunday and secular the rest of the week). Christian Spirituality does not signify a flight from physical life, or a withdrawl from the challenges of life in the world; rather it describes the process whereby Christians seek to live holy lives, while engaging the challenges of this world. It is a call to actualize Jesus' mandate to be "in" but not "of" the world (John 17:15-18), and to live by what Paul declares: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2). This is who we are...this is what we do.

Almost Christian #3

As I continue to read through Almost Christian I came across some powerful statements this week that are worthy of sharing: "Jesus tells the disciples, 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' In other words, Jesus not only sends the church where he was sent; he sends us in the same way that he was sent, as human translations of divine love, people whose words and actions do not grasp for God as much as they reveal a God who grasps for us...In Moralistic Therapeutic Deism's agenda of personal fulfillment, Christian discipleship enacts the inside-out logic of a self-giving God, whose power is weakness, who deems love worthy of suffering and who promises that life will spring from death" (64). May we strive to show the world through every word and every deed what the good news of Jesus is all about. People are paying attention, our youth are paying attention...let us live out what we believe.  

121 Ocala Dr

Tomorrow 121 Ocala Dr will officially belong to another family for the first time ever. I praise God for my dad who provided a home for his son for 30 yrs. A home for his daughter-in-law Carrie (who he loved like his own) and a home for his grandson Dylon who he loved more than words can express. Words cannot express how much I miss my dad, but I praise the Father of all for the man who became my dad, who loved me and taught me what it means and looks like to be a dad. I will always remember corner shots, hrs of football throwing, and a black Nissan truck sitting in the drive. Thank you Father for gift of not just a house, but a home.  

Almost Christian #2

Moving on to chapter 2 of Almost Christian: What The Faith Of Our Teenagers Is Telling The American Church Kenda Dean (author) offers this declaration concerning American youth growing up in church in regards to the Moralistic Therapeutic Deism syndrome and treating Christianity as a niceness religion.  

Jesus would caution against criticizing the speck in teenagers’ faith before scrutinizing the log in our own (Matt. 7:5). If teenagers are members of the Church of Benign Whatever-ism, it is because we are too. The National Study of Youth and Religion’s most incontrovertible finding is that parents generally “get what they are,” in religion as in most things. This is as true to churches as it is in families, which means that we can expect the faith of the young people we love to reflect the faith we show them. So we need to ask before going further: Do we practice the kind of faith that we want our children to have? I think the honest answer might be, ‘Yes we do.’ The simple truth seems to be that the reason young people practice an imposter faith is because we do- and because this is the faith we want them to have. It’s that not-too-religious, “decent” kind of Christianity that allows our teenagers to do well while doing good, makes them successful adults without turning them into religious zealots, teaches them to notice others without actually laying their lives down for any of them. If this is the faith they see lived out by their parents, their pastors, and their churches, how would they know it’s a sham? In a world crazed with violence and intolerance, isn’t being “good enough” good enough? Not according to Jesus who calls us to be holy- which changes the equation substantially.  The good news of Jesus is God’s invitation to young people- to all people- to participate in the divine plan of salvation in Jesus Christ and to rely on God’s goodness, not our own. Imitating Christ makes people lay down their wallets, their reputations, their lives for the sake of others, which parents rightly fear for their children. The cult of nice is so much safer; God is friendly and predictable, offering little and asking less.  Moralistic Therapeutic Deism does not ask people to lay down their lives for anyone, because niceness does not go that far. Love goes that far- and true love is neither nice nor safe.

What do you think of her thoughts? Has any of this challenged you in regards to your own faith life? These first two chapters have really challenged me in understanding more about the faith I live out towards our young people here at 43^rd and the faith I live out in general towards the world. Are we really living out the gospel of Jesus, or have we substituted the radical message of Jesus for a cheap niceness driven moralistic therapeutic deism?

Almost Christian #1

I am now beginning to read a book written by Kenda Creasy Dean called Almost Christian: What The Faith Of Our Teenagers Is Telling The American Church. This book offer some insights into how teenagers tend to think and feel about Christianity and church. She begins her book is stating that studies have shown that young people tend to mirror the approach and overall attitude of their parents when it comes to religion. The subtle truth that young people tend to reflect their parents when it comes to religion is both a joyful thought and at the same time it can be a disappointing thought. This outlook is seen in how young people appreciate or under-appreciate "church". This is seen in how young people "feel" about God and even how young people "feel" about Jesus. This book should be a wild ride...I will write about my journey through this book.

She begins chapter 1 with this quote..."A person will worship something, have no doubt about that...That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming." Interesting thought.  

What Christianity is all about...

I am in the process of reading N.T. Wright's Simply Christian for the 3rd time. I have this quote from the book up in my office (my office is becoming filled with stuff like this) from Wright that I enjoy re-reading from time to time. The quote can be found on page 92; for those who do not have this book, I cannot recommend it enough.  

“Christianity is all about the belief that the living God, in fulfillment of his promises and as the climax of the story of Israel, has accomplished all this—the finding, the saving, the giving of new life—in Jesus. He has done it. With Jesus, God’s rescue operation has been put into effect once and for all. A great door has swung open in the cosmos which can never again be shut. It’s the door to the prison where we’ve been kept chained up. We are offered freedom: freedom to experience God’s rescue for ourselves, to go through the open door and explore the new world to which we now have access. In particular, we are all invited—summoned, actually—to discover, through following Jesus, that this new world is indeed a place of justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty, and that we are not only to enjoy it as such but to work at bringing it to birth on earth as in heaven.”

Life is all about choices

I received this last year from Richard Jones and I have kept it up in my office ever since. It is worth reading every single day. I hope the message challenges and blesses you the way it has me.

Life is all about choices

It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose love:

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy:

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace:

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live. I will live in deep assurance that I am in right relationship with God because of Jesus, not my own doing.

I choose patience:

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness:

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose goodness:

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness:

Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I choose gentleness:

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only to myself.

I choose self-control:

I am a spiritual being…I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Jesus. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day.