Dream Awakener

Why Church Matters by Jonathan Wilson - A Literary Review

One of the differences between a literary review and a straight up book review is that literary reviews are written to help with future research. So I am writing with the idea that this will guide me to what I want to go back and study.  There are various approaches to literary reviews, but here will be mine.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS    
Wilson in Why Church Matters contends that a healthy ecclesiology occurs when the church becomes a participant in God’s work (by God’s grace) by engaging in the practices that witness to the kingdom.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
Wilson begins his book with an explanation of the notion of practice, as developed by Alasdair MacIntyre, and in the three sections of the book, he explains how the body of Christ best embodies these practices.  In the first section of this book, Wilson describes what he considers the foundational practice of the church – faithful worship.  In the second section, he addresses practices that he judges to be in need of renovation today – witness as kingdom words and deeds and discipleship as human flourishing.  And in section three he talks about practices that build on the foundations and renovations and form the church toward the kingdom.  These practices include baptism, the Eucharist, foot washing, confessing the creeds and suffering as the Power of the kingdom.  In describing each of these practices, Wilson helps the church to live as a faithful witness to the kingdom of God.

THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER      
One of the more beneficial chapters of this book occurs when Wilson summarizes MacIntyre’s often quoted book, After Virtue.  After MacIntyre analyzes how our culture has been shaped by the Enlightenment project, in his assessment, our culture has abandoned “most convictions about the telos (the “good,” the created purpose) of human life and human activities.  This abandonment of telos drains our actions of any real meaning and significance” (14). Wilson then describes MacIntyre’s five ways of understanding of practice, but recasts them in light of Christian tradition, which I outline in the next paragraph.  This idea of practice is what Wilson uses to build the rest of his book on.

1. Practices embody a concept of the good. Wilson understands the Christian telos to be that the church is to witness to the kingdom by being and making disciples.
2. Practices constitute a community.  In other words, “the church does not have an identity rooted in something other than its practices” (18). 
3. Practices are oriented to internal goods.  God is not to be followed for some “external” good, like material prosperity or security, rather the good is that the gospel of Christ be made known to those who have yet to hear and believe. 
4. Practices extend our conceptions of the good. The idea here is that the community of disciples’ conception of the good is transformed by its practices (20). 
5. Practices enable us to participate in the good. He veers from MacIntrye here, for MacIntrye says practices enable us to achieve the good, but Wilson points out that grace makes us participants in the good, not achievers.  Wilson then says that “Practices cannot be sustained apart from institutional structures” (22) and that “the institutions of the church are to serve the practices of the church” (23).   Practicing for Wilson is not like basketball practice, but rather like practicing medicine or practicing law. 

After fleshing out this idea of practice, he takes each of the practices aforementioned, and looks at them in light of the telos.  For example, when he talks about worship, the big question is not “Did I like it?”  But rather “Does this worship reflect God’s character and will?”  “Is it a foretaste of the coming Kingdom?”

One more note, in the appendix Wilson assesses the ecclesiology of Francis Schaeffer, Chuck Colson, Rick Warren and Brian McLaren.  He finds Rick Warren wanting. 

Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be - A Literary Review

Over the next few weeks you will probably see a number of literary reviews. One of the differences between a literary review and a straight up book review is that literary reviews are written to help with future research. So I am writing with the idea that this will guide me to what I want to go back and study.  There are various approaches to literary reviews, but here will be mine.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS
DeYoung and Kluck in Why We're Not Emegent: By Two Guys Who Should Be contend that the Emerging Church needs to have a vision for the church that not only speaks about the kingdom of God, but also one that addresses the problems of over-tolerance and under-defined doctrines.

GENERAL OVERVIEW   
Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck team up to address the Emerging Church in specific areas with different approaches.  DeYoung approaches each of his chapters as a theologian and pastor who is concerned about what is true.  He addresses emerging church authors in areas that he has deep questions and concerns about.  His chapter titles, which are quite clever, reveal his concerns: Journey: Are the Pilgrims Still Making Progress?; Bible: Why I Love the Person and Propositions of Jesus; Doctrine: The Drama Is in the Dogma; Modernism: The Boogeyman Cometh; Jesus: Bringer of Peace, Bearer of Wrath; and Listening to All the Churches of Revelation.  Kluck gains his understanding of the emerging church through conversations, books, conferences and church visits, and then shares his opinion as if you were sitting with him at a sports bar.  DeYoung calls for some in the emerging church to repent of false doctrines and others to step up and clarify what they believe.

THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER 
I get the sense that both DeYoung and Kluck have a genuine and loving concern about what they are seeing and hearing in emerging church world. Kluck shares his perspective as a fellow traveler while DeYoung is much more forceful, speaking as a teacher who confidently confronts specific statements that have been written by emerging authors. His critique is more severe for some than others.  If I had to list the people he critique's from those who received the most severe critique to the least it would go something like this: Spencer Burke and Barry Taylor, Peter Rollins, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, Tony Jones, Erwin McManus, Dave Tomlinson, Donald Miller, Dwight Friesen and Dan Kimball.  DeYoung focuses on authors who flow in the stream of the Emerging church, whether or not they self-identify with the movement.  DeYoung had no critique for Scot McKnight, a self-identified emerging author.  In fact, he praises McKnight for critiquing those in the movement and quotes McKnight’s critique on a number of occasions.

These guys approached their critique with a loving attitude.  They are forceful on doctrines that they consider more vital, and ask for clarification where questions remain.  Many times I joined them in their critique.  At other times I felt that DeYoung would pull out a passage from someone’s writing, analyze and critique it, without understanding the nature of what was said nor the context in which it was stated.  DeYoung critiques the movement for being on a journey without wanting to arrive at a destination.  I don’t think that is accurate for a number of these authors.  I also think a number of emerging authors have sparked some much needed theological discussion that is causing us to reflect more deeply on how modernity has shaped our epistemology and in turn our hermeneutics.   

Throughout the book DeYoung de-emphasizes the epistemological affects of the cultural changes that we are undergoing.  And while he rightly points out how some overly accommodate to postmodernity or ultra-modernity, my sense is that he under-contextualizes the good news, or overly accommodates to modernity. With that said, I am glad that these guys have joined the conversation. I believe that they raise important issues that we need to continue to discuss in a spirit of love and unity.

I'd encourage you to read the book and join the conversation as well.  You can download chapter one for free.  DeYoung's description of the Emerging Church in this chapter is great.  He's a clever writer.

The Great Giveaway by David Fitch - A Literary Review

Over the next few weeks you will probably see a number of literary reviews. One of the differences between a literary review and a straight up book review is that literary reviews are written to help with future research. So I am writing with the idea that this will guide me to what I want to go back and study.  There are various approaches to literary reviews, but here will be mine.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS
Fitch in The Great Giveaway contends that the evangelical church under the spell of modernity has given her various callings (functions) away; he is calling the church to be the church in our current context of postmodernity.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
Fitch works out his thesis first by redefining success and looking at the various practices of the church - Evangelism, Leadership, Worship, Preaching, Justice, Spiritual Formation and Moral Education.  He addresses how the evangelical church has given away each of these callings due to her marriage to modernity.   He makes the case that the church has structured herself out of meaningful existence. In each chapter of the book he takes one of these core callings of the church and describes how the church has given it away to  “the experts” or over to certain techniques.  He then proposes some practices for the church to engage in that are rooted in the history of church, so that the church might faithfully live out her calling again, in our postmodern context.

THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER
Fitch takes the first chapter to redefine success.  He makes the point that the American business culture and individualism has caused the church to be concerned about numbers and size, but the real question should be: “What kind of organization facilitates the inner workings of a local body of Christ that are necessary to properly nurture new believers into followers of Christ and participants in his salvation through the body of Christ?”(38) I found Fitch’s diagnosis of the church brilliant.  For the sake of memory, I want to (a) list out each practice he evaluates, (b) describe how the church practiced it in modernity and (c) summarize Fitch’s advice on how the church can reclaim that approach by a different set of practices that are true to the scriptures and our current context of ministry.  As a note of caution, this outline does not do justice to the rich insights that Fitch gives us in each chapter.  Nor does this chart list all of the advice he gives for each practice.  For example, in the practice of evangelism, Fitch talks about the practice of hospitality, prayer, mercy, justice, third space ministry and other things.  This chart I developed gives a simple look at how the evangelical church thought about this practice under the spell of modernity, and how she ought to think about this practice in postmodern times.  (Click  to make larger.)

The explanations and detailed understanding of what Fitch has written is worth reading again and again.  I highly recommend this thoughtful book.

The Selfless Way of Christ by Henri Nouwen - A Literary Review

Over the next few weeks you will probably see a number of literary reviews. One of the differences between a literary review and a straight up book review is that literary reviews are written to help with future research. So I am writing with the idea that this will guide me to what I want to go back and study.  There are various approaches to literary reviews, but here will be mine.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS
In The Selfless Way of Christ Nouwen maintains that there is a direct relationship between our ministry vocation and our spiritual life, and that as we seek to live out our vocation of following Christ on the downwardly mobile road, we will be tempted to take the upwardly mobile road, therefore we must engage in spiritual formation to be transformed into living Christs.

GENERAL OVERVIEW   
You could summarize this book in three words – vocation, temptation and formation.  Nouwen begins by helping us understand that if we are to be living Christs here and now, we must follow him on the path of downward mobility.  That is our vocation.  But the lure of the upwardly mobile life is daunting.  We will have to face the same temptations Jesus had to face. The temptation to be relevant – this is the need to be appreciated by people and make productivity the basis of our ministry (49). The temptation to be spectacular – acting as if visibility and notoriety were the main criteria of the value of what we are doing (56). Finally the temptation to be powerful – getting some sense of security and control (through money, connections, fame, skills etc) in order to strengthen the illusion that life is ours to dispose of (61).  He concludes by sharing with us three spiritual disciplines with which we need to engage: the discipline of the church, the discipline of the book, and the discipline of the heart, if we want to stay true to our vocation.

THEMES TO REMEMBER
This book is a rich and revealing read.  Every sentence is crafted in such a way as to pierce through the heart and unveil where we stand with God. Nouwen strips us down until we are left naked, vulnerable and exposed.  In a very real and meaningful way, he reminds us of our vocation to follow the one,
"who was from the beginning with God and who was god revealed himself as a small, helpless child; as a refugee in Egypt; as an obedient adolescent and inconspicuous adult: as a penitent disciple of the Baptizer; as a preacher from Galilee, followed by some simple fishermen; as a man who ate with sinners and talked with strangers; as an outcast, a criminal, a threat to his people.  He moved from power to powerlessness, from greatness to smallness, from success to failure, from strength to weakness, from glory to ignominy” (31).

I found much wisdom in this book, but I will just highlight some of his thoughts about spiritual formation, where he asks, “How do we conform our minds and hearts to the mind and heart of the self-emptying Christ?” (69) He states,"Discipleship cannot be realized without discipline.  Discipline in the spiritual life, however, has nothing to do with the discipline of athletics, academic study, or job training, in which physical fitness is achieved, new knowledge is acquired, or a new skill is mastered.  The discipline of the Christian disciple is not to master anything, but rather to be mastered by the Spirit.  True Christian discipline is the human effort to create the space in which the Spirit of Christ can transform us into his lineage” (70).  That last line is essential knowledge that I plan on putting to memory.  It is worth the price of the book.

He spoke with freshness concerning the three recommended disciplines. The discipline of the church is when we gather together weekly and practice the liturgy in order to keep making connections between God’s story and our own. The discipline of the book is allowing the word of God to become flesh in us.  It is more than just reading for instruction or to be informed, it is about being formed.  “By the Word of God we are formed into living Christs” (78).  Finally, the discipline of the heart is about a kind of silence, solitude and prayer that bring us face to face with God and ourselves.  We need to regularly engage the disciplines, because the tension between vocation and temptation is a life long battle (93).

Quotes of the Week: Story to Re-shape Theology

“How can dogmas, rendered static, finished, absolute, recover their dynamic and be reformed other than by critical subjection once again to the church’s originating, self-identifying story? Whereas the purpose of doctrine is to preserve that story, there are times and instances when it is necessary for the story in turn to critique and reform the church’s doctrine, thus exercising its own priority as God-given Word over the reflections, conceptualizations, and formulations of the church.”  (Lewis 2003:140-141)

“For theology is the servant, not the master, of the story, and as we have said above, although doctrine can and does vitally safeguard the story by giving it conceptual precision, it may also blunt and betray aspects of the gospel, or allow it to stagnate and ossify within the bounds of absolutized dogma, rigid orthodoxy, or cultural conditioning. The reality, veracity, and power of the Word itself is confirmed when the story breaks free of those chains, subjecting our axioms to critical judgement and creative refinement. “ (Lewis 2003:65)

HT: Jim Robertson

A Recommended Read in Light of the Upcoming Anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre

It is coming up on the first anniversary of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the worse massacre in modern U.S. history.  This tragedy has held a special place in my heart for many reasons. One reason being that the first church that God had me plant was [nlcf] at Virginia Tech. Those thirteen years serving the campus shaped my life deeply and many of the people and memories are ingrained in my heart forever.

By God's grace, I was able to make it down to Virginia Tech the same day the massacre occurred, because the Lord already had me on the East Coast.  While I was there, I took the time to blog about what I was seeing and feeling at the time, so that others might be able to get a larger view of what was happening, beyond the common media.  The whole week is captured on one entry I entitled: Remembering Virginia Tech: The Week in Review.

In light of this tragedy and others that have happened since, one of the pastors from our church at Virginia Tech [nlcf] was asked by Zondervan to write a book.  Matt Rodgers is not just a great guy, but he is a deep thinker and a heart felt writer. And as the publisher says, "Many books have dealt with the theological and intellectual question, "How can God be good when the world isn't?" But when tragedy strikes, and the pain passes from theoretical to personal, answers can feel hollow and empty."

My friend Matt writes, "There is a level of grief in life which, as Rich Mullins observed, 'would not hurt any less, even if it could be explained.'  I'm a pastor; I know how to reconcile a god God with an often evil world.  I could give those answers in my sleep.  But what should I do when simple solutions fail to satisfy?  When the sadness is heavy and sinking, and answers aren't enough?  How do I find peace in a messed up world?  I believe God is good.  But how do I experience him as good when grief is raining down?

The book is entitled: When Answers Aren't Enough: Experiencing God as Good When Life Isn't.  I would encourage you to order it from Amazon today - the official date of its release. (The book has already hit #359 in Amazon's sales ranking, as of 11:43 a.m. Pacific Time 4.1.08, and #145 at 3:26 p.m. Pacific Time)  It will be a helpful book to read and to pass on to people. By getting it now, you might be able to pass it on to people you know who have experienced a tragedy in their life and give it to someone who may be reliving this tragedy on its anniversary. Here is Matt Rodger's Website, if you want to learn a little more about him.

Praying with Karl Barth at Easter

  Easter Sunrise 
  Originally uploaded by klg1309

Lord God, our Father,

You are the light in which there is no darkness.  And now you have kindled in us a light that can never be extinguished and that will ultimately drive out all darkness.  You are the love that knows no coldness.  And know you have loved even us and freed us to love you and each other. You are the life that mocks death.  And now you have given us access to this eternal life.  You have done this in Jesus Christ, your Son, our brother.

Do not let us - let none of us - remain dull and indifferent to your gift and revelation.  Let us on this Easter morning see at least something of the riches of your goodness; let it enter into our hearts and minds, and let it enlighten us, uphold us, comfort us, and admonish us!

None of us is a great Christian; rather, we are all very small Christians.  But your grace is sufficient for us.  Awaken us to the small joy and thankfulness that we are capable of, the timid faith that we bring, the incomplete obedience that we cannot refuse - to the hope in the greatness, wholeness, and completeness that you have prepared for us in the death of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and that you have promised us in his resurrection from the dead.  We ask that this hour may serve that purpose.  Amen.

- Karl Barth Fifty Prayers

Praying with Karl Barth

  Sepia* 
  Originally uploaded by imapix

Lord, God, Our Father,

We thank you that here with each other we can call on you and listen to you.  Before you, we are all equal.  You know that life, thoughts, path, and heart of each of us, down to the smallest and most hidden detail, and before your eyes none is righteous, no, not one.  But you have not forgotten or rejected, or condemned a single one of us.  Quite the opposite: you love each one of us; you know what we need, will grant it to us, will look at nothing but the empty hands that we stretch out to you, in order that they might be filled - not sparingly, but richly.  In the suffering and death of Jesus, your dear Son, you were gracious and exceedingly helpful when you took our place, you took our darkness and laments on yourself, and you have made us free to come to your light and rejoice as your children.

In his name, we ask that you now give each of us something of your good Holy Spirit, so that in this hour we may understand you, ourselves, and each other a little better, and that thereby we may be quickened and encouraged to take a step forward along the path that you have set for all of us, whether we know it or not - both then, as Jesus, hanging on the cross, bowed his head and died, and from all eternity. Amen.

From Fifty Prayers by Karl Barth

Psalms Now

  prayer wall 
  Originally uploaded by ratterrell

"The Lord is my constant companion.
There is no need that He cannot fulfill.
Whether His course for me points
to the mountain of glorious joy
or to the valley of human suffering,
He is by my side.
He is ever present with me.
He is close beside me
when I tread the dark streets of danger,
and even when I flirt with death itself,
He will not leave me.
When the pain is severe,
He is near to comfort.
When the burden is heavy,
He is there to lean upon.
When depression darkens my soul,
He touches me with eternal joy.
When I feel empty and alone,
He fills the aching vacuum with His power.
My security is in His promise
to be near me always
and in the knowledge
that He will never let me go."

- Leslie Brandt
Psalms Now

Developing a Rhythm of Life - Part 4

  Scenic* 
  Originally uploaded by imapix

Today as we continue our series on developing a rhythm or rule of life, we are going to look at the area of work - our vocation.  Before sharing my rhythm of life in regard to work, I thought I would share with you some ancient thoughts about work as it relates to different communities who have developed a rhythm of life from Farrington's book  Living Faith Day by Day.

"By choosing to work as hard as possible, but not more than you ought, not primarily in view of a perishable end but one that last for ever, you are to stand free and challenging in a world where work has been overrated into a religion ad often into a sacred cow..." - The Jerusalem Community Rule of Life

"When the day's work is ended, thanksgiving should be offered for what has been granted us or for what we have done rightly therein..." - The Long Rules of St. Basil

"Discover for yourself what seems to be the most fruitful field for you." - Rule for New Brother

As I share my rhythm of life in regard to work, think about what your's might look like.

WORK

• Pray regularly for the congregations I serve, our focus points, as well as what God has called me to do, helping lead our congregations to fulfill our destiny

• Take time each week to listen to the Spirit through my staff and community

• Take a monthly time to consider ways to better steward my time and money, as well as take care of my relationships

• Accept the gift of limits by monthly reviewing the chapter in The Emotional Healthy Church and take the time to assess my emotional health as well as the emotional health of the church I serve

• Seek the applause of God while at the same time applauding the efforts of others and humbly thanking people when complimented, without letting it enlargen my head

• Take time monthly to review my mentoring relationships and review the notes that I have written in the area of mentoring   

So how would you write your rhythm of life in the area of your vocation?  I would like to close this entry with a prayer from the book of Common Prayer: 

Almighty God our heavenly Father, you declare your glory and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth: Deliver us in our various occupations from the service of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

In part five of this series we will look at the area of study. 

Developing a Rhythm of Life - Part 3

  Scenic* 
  Originally uploaded by imapix

So let's continue this series on developing a rhythm of life.  I am taking some time to share with you my personal rhythm so that you might also develop one for yourself or together with your community or small circle of friends develop a rhythm that helps you walk by the Spirit and live life more to the full.  We are following the categories that Debra Farrington set out her inspiring book Living Faith Day by Day.  In the last entry we talked about seeking God, and this entry we will talk about prayer.

Here are some ancient quotes on prayer by various monastic communities:

"Pray temperately and simply.  Prayer is heart-to-heart talk between yourself and god and needs to brilliant ideas, no flood of words."  - The Jerusalem Community - Rule or Rhythm of Life

"The place of prayer should not be used for any purpose other than that for which it is intended and from which it takes its name."  - The Rule of St. Augustine

"Interior silence requires first of all to forget oneself, to quiet discordant voices, and to master obsessing worry... Interior silence renders possible our conversation with Jesus Christ."  - The Rule of Taize

"Resisting the tendency to restrict prayer to set times, we are to aim at Eucharist living that is responsive at all times and in all places to the divine presence.  We should seek the gifts which help us to pray without ceasing." - The Rule of the Society of St. John the Evangelist

"Pray constantly for those who annoy you." - The Rule of Colmcille

"Your prayer will take countless forms because it is the echo of your life, and a reflection of the inexhaustible light in which God dwells."  - Rule for a New Brother

I'm a big fan of Eugene Peterson, and in this interview with Michael Cusick he shares a bit about prayer, among many other things.  In answering one question, the last part of his response was, "Words come out of relationship, and prayer.  A life of prayer, not just saying your prayers.  then Cusick comes back with this:

Say more about the idea of "a life of prayer," as opposed to saying our prayers.  Here is where you can find his response.

This is what my personal rhythm of life will look like this coming year in the area of prayer:

PRAYER

• Create a moveable prayer space on my roof, allowing the view of the city to help me to engage in prayer for the needs of my city and neighborhood

• Take the time to pray with others often, short or long prayers, praying for needs as well as prayers of thanksgiving

• Take time to pray for my enemies and those who annoy me

• Engage in monthly mini-retreats in different environments for silence, solitude and reflection

• Turning ordinary objects in the course of my day into sacred objects by allowing them to help connect me to the divine.  As Elizabeth Browning writes, “Earth’s crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God: but only he who sees, takes off his shoes.”

So now you think about this area of prayer and what your rule or rhythm of life might look like this coming year.

Developing a Rhythm of Life - Part 2

  Scenic* 
  Originally uploaded by imapix

So, as I share with you my rhythm of life or this year in the various categories, I am also encouraging you to work through developing your own rhythm of life in regards to habits that can help shape you into the kind of person that God is calling you to become.

Farrington mentions, "Many of the ancient rules, and even some of the contemporary ones, include very detailed descriptions of various requirements of the rule: the specific hours for prayers, the exact number of Psalms to be read, the amount of bread to be eaten, the number of hours spent in reading, and hundreds of other details.  Other rules, such as St. Augustine's, provide only broad guidelines that are subject to individual interpretation, rather than detailed schedules and procedures.  How much structure you require in your rule is up to you; each of us operates differently."

So for example, perhaps you consider yourself a morning person there are certain habits that you prefer to engage in during the early hours of the day.  If this is the case, then you could reflect that in your rhythm of life.  Perhaps you operate best on a regular schedule, if so, being more specific could be really helpful.  Maybe you are the more spontaneous type, then being more general might be good.

What I would suggest is that you have some general and specific practices that you engage in.  Try it out for a month, and then see what is working for you.  Develop a rhythm of life ought to have some fluidity to it. 

One of the rules for a new "brother" in the way of St. Francis was, "You want to seek God with all your life, and love Him with all your heart... To choose God is to realize that you are known and loved in a way surpassing anything one can imagine, loved before anyone had thought of you or spoken of your name."

One last bit of advice for today when it comes to developing a rhythm in life, before I share with you my first category - God.  Farrington says, "Two things are important to consider in setting a rule for yourself:  paying attention to your heart’s desires and being realistic.  Taking both of these into account through prayer, meditation, and conversation with others, and using both of them to discern your rule, will help you develop a rule you can live with for a lifetime.” 

GOD

• Start and the day with God through a Psalm of the day.  Here are the Psalms of the day for this year:  Sunday: Ps. 24 Monday: Ps. 19, Tuesday: Ps. 82, Wednesday: Ps. 139 Thursday: Ps. 23, Friday: Ps. 40 Saturday: Ps. 63.  I desire to let the Psalmist teach me how to pray more honestly and about everything

• Throughout the day remember all of the good gifts that God has given me through prayer and thanking people verbally as well as in written form

• End the day with a simplified version of Ignatius practice:  Stop, Look and Listen.  To stop is to slow down in order pay attention to what God is doing.  To look is relive the day, looking at what God is doing around me.  Thinking about what was life giving and life draining, where I walked with Christ and where I didn't.     To listen is to allow the Spirit to speak to me, to encourage me, guide me, or admonish me

• A couple times a month seek God through prayer and fasting

So take the time to think about this area and what practices you want to engage in when it comes to your relationship with God.  Our next category will be prayer, which like most other areas, is vitally connecting to God as well, but focused on prayer in particular.

Spiritual Mentoring Part VIII

I am finishing my review Keith Anderson and Randy Reese's book entitled  Spiritual Mentoring. Here is a short paragraph of what I gleaned, and what was important to me from the last chapter. 

CHAPTER SEVEN
The goal of Spiritual Mentoring is Empowerment, which is a transformed life, that comes when we “understand the relationship between ultimate identity and ultimate purpose.”,,  Like Julian’s cell, which had a window facing inward to the sanctuary and outward to the world, a well-formed person grows inward and outward and they focus on the upward.   Growing closer to God (upward), understanding we are His beloved children (inward) and learning to find and live out our unique calling in the world (outward) is reflective of a life lived well.

What is the Gospel?

  the cross 
  Originally uploaded by noe_carrillo

I've been reading the book The Church Between Gospel and Culture and found this gem of a passage.  The book is a collection of essays dealing with mission in North America.  This passage is found in an essay by David Lowes Watson entitled:  Christ All in All: The Recovery of the Gospel for Evangelism in the United States. In the second half of his essay he asks and answers four questions:

1. What is the Gospel?
2. What is Our Context?
3. What Makes the Gospel Good News in This Context?
4. How Does Contextual Response to the Gospel Further Illumine Its Good News?

Here is a passage from the first section:  What is the Gospel?  A very important question for our day and in our context.  He says, "Mortimer Arias... draws attention to the fact that there are two dimensions to the gospel: the gospel about Jesus, and the gospel of Jesus.  The gospel about Jesus is the message that gives our evangelism is personal form and includes the priestly work of Christ and the atoning grace through which we are reconciled to God.  The new life we experience through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit is pivotal to this message, which brings lost, sinful human beings to repentance and forgiveness.  It is at the very heart of the gospel.

No less at the heart of the gospel, however, is the prophetic announcement of Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth: the promise of good news for the poor, release for captives, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. (Luke 4:18-19).  If, however, the only aspect of the gospel with which we evangelize is the invitation to personal forgiveness and reconciliation, our message can easily become personalized to the point of gnosticism.  When this happens, the prophetic good news of Jesus Christ - his advocacy of God's justice for the poor and abused of the world - is by definition consigned to other ministries of the church, to be addressed as a consequence of evangelism (perhaps), but not as an integral part of the gospel we are commissioned to take into the world. The promise of Jesus announcing God's coming shalom are then proclaimed not as good news for the world here and now but as projections for the hereafter, thereby setting the tone for a discipleship that minimizes Christ's directive to join him at work in the world, ministering to the little ones who still suffer and starve.

This bifurcation of the gospel is at the heart of the age-old divide between evangelism and social ethics, a divide that remains theologically unbridged, albeit heavily veneered at present with collegialities of common social concern.  Until the issue is addressed hermeneutically, however, these collegialities will have little impact one the average American congregation, the hermeneutical locus of evangelism.  The question is not how to link evangelism with social ethics, but rather how to incorporate the social and systemic hope of the gospel into our evangelism at the outset.  The evangel must be the cutting edge of social and systemic, no less than personal, transformation.  If not, the prophetic tradition of the Scriptures is severed, and the social and systemic dimensions of the gospel cease to be good news from God.  They focus instead on what is wrong with the world, rather than on what God is doing to put it right.  Much more detrimental to the coming basileia tou theou, Jesus of Nazereth becomes a gnostic Christ available only to the privilaged - who are by no means always the poor, the blind, the captives or the oppressed."

This guy sums up what I wrote in a series not too long ago entitled A Holistic Gospel.  Check it out if you haven't read it yet.    

Spiritual Mentoring Part VII

I'm continuing to review Keith Anderson and Randy Reese's book entitled  Spiritual Mentoring. Here is a short paragraph of what I gleaned, and what was important to me from chapter six.

CHAPTER SIX
If a mentoree is going to persevere and experience empowerment to live a Christ-like life, this means that the mentor and mentoree need a kind of relationship in which the mentor helps the mentoree engage in spiritual exercises in such a way that allows the Holy Spirit to fill the sails of the mentoree and blow them past the finish line well.  These exercises include the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius that I have mentioned earlier as well as the lectio divina and as Dallas Willard prescribes, solitude and silence as well as study and worship.

Spiritual Mentoring Part VI