Dream Awakener

Servant Leadership Part I

  feet washing 
  Originally uploaded by ღMøûñ†àíñwømãñღ

There was a talk that John Ortberg gave on servant leadership that I thought was really helpful for those who serve in some leadership capacity.  So I thought I would pass on a few quotes and a summary this coming week.

It was Jesus who said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:42b-45 TNIV

“Jesus says, "Not so with you." Now, because power and leadership can be abused and can be dark in the hands of fallen people -- because Jesus has warnings about it -- some people get distrustful about any form of leadership or the exercise of power. They don't initiate, they don't challenge, they don't stretch those who are around them.

They hold back from leading when they ought to lead, and they hold others back from leading. That is not a good thing. Their families, their churches, their organizations suffer because part of human nature in this world, unless there is leadership and people being envisioned and challenged and stretched to grow, people will suffer.

To lead is a good thing. At the very beginning, the Bible says that God created human beings to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it and have dominion. Jesus doesn't reject leadership or even the use of power or greatness for that matter, but he redefines it, he redeems it.

As he says here, Jesus himself is the ultimate example of redeemed leadership. He says, "I didn't come to be served," which is generally the measure of leadership in our world. How many people are underneath me serving me?

He says, "I came to serve." That's what servants do. Here's a real key point. In Jesus, to lead is to serve. In Jesus, leadership is simply one form of servanthood. In God, to lead is to serve those he leads.” - John Ortberg

In the next post on this series, we will take a look at how Jesus served, since we are called to imitate him.

Need Inspiration?

It's Monday.  How are you doing? Are you facing some difficult circumstances in your life?  Do you need some inspiration?  Even if you don't need any inspiration, you really want to take a moment and check out this video.  It is amazing, uplifting and well, just watch it.  You won't be disappointed. 

 

I'm thankful to Sonja from Amsterdam for sending me the link to this video.

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.

Around the Blogosphere - The Best of This Week in Blogs

  The Amazing Race 
  Originally uploaded by HaMeD!caL

There are many great bloggers who not only write excellent posts, but are avid readers of other blogs.  As readers they typically devote a post, often once a week, where they make a list of links to some of their favorite posts from other blogs that week.  This conglomeration of links goes by many names.  Scot McKnight calls this kind of post  - Weakly Meanderings, John Santic calls it - Speedlinking, Ben Myers calls it - Around the Traps, Tony calls this kind of post - This Week in Blogs, and I call it Choice Blog entries.  Regardless of what name these posts go by, they are often filled with many great links.  So it is my hope to travel around the blogosphere once and week in order to give you the best of this week in blogs. Here is this weeks best in blog links.

Around the Traps with Ben Myers
Ben links to entries on Augustine: Theological and Philosophical Conversations to Stale Expressions: The Management-Shaped Church to theologian trading cards and the worst church sign ever. Some interesting reads.

Weekly Meanderings with Scot McKnight
Scot links to posts on: Gender and Race, Philosophy Majors on the Rise, A study by Greg Boyd on violence and God in the Old Testament, Death by Blogging and other interesting links.

Odds and Ends by Mike DeVries
Mike has some great links as well.  He links to Andrew Jones answering MacArthur and Johnson on the issue of contextualization. A primer on the Emerging Church from Stephen Shields, Greg Boyd's exploration of violence in the Hebrew Scripture as well as three great links to articles by N.T. Wright.  Check it out.

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).

Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word? Series

  Ways of seeing 
  Originally uploaded by monoglot

So by way of recap, here is the complete series of posts on the topic: Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word?

Here is the outline.  You can basically click on any section that interests you, but it is best to read from beginning to end.  Feel free to make comments or give thoughts on any section.  As you notice, I have provided a bibliography at the end.  You will also find links to great books throughout. I hope you enjoy the read.

Part I
Introduction

Part II
How Modernity Affects People's View of Conversion
How Modernity Affects the Congregations I Serve
How Postmodernity Affects People's View of Conversion
How Postmodernity Affects the Congregations I Serve

Part III
Advice for Those Influenced by Modernity
Advice for Those Influenced by Postmodernity - Conclusion and Works Cited

Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word? Part VII

  Ways of seeing 
  Originally uploaded by monoglot

So we have come to the conclusion of this seven-part series.  I hope that you have received something from it.  I know I have benefited from your interaction.  In this post, I will continue as a language instructor, teaching the grammar of God to those more influenced by postmodernity. 

General Advice
Let me repeat the general advice, because it is important to understand this prior to reading the advice for those influenced by postmodernity. “The Christian gospel has sometimes been made the tool of an imperialism, and of that we have to repent.  But at its heart it is the denial of all imperialisms, for at its center there is the cross where all imperialisms are humbled and we are invited to find the center of human unity in the One who was made nothing so that all might be one. The very heart of the biblical vision for the unity of humankind is that its center is not an imperial power but a slain Lamb.” (Newbigin 1989:159)

As we have seen, both modernity and postmodernity, in their own ways, have contributed to conversion being a four-letter word by many people today. Yet how we view conversion, the particular lens through which we view it, and the places where we stand to view it are all critical if conversion is to become desirable once again.  I believe the issues in these posts are best handled by becoming a language teacher.  As a language teacher, I intend to embody the language of faith and teach the grammar of faith to others, whether it’s through public preaching, personal encounters, or group discussions.  In this way, whether one is under the spell of modernity or postmodernity, as he learns the language of faith, he will re-engage in God’s mission with a sense of vigor.  To get specific on how I would do this, I have provided a couple of personal grammar lessons. Listen in.

Advice for Those Influenced by Postmodernity
If you have a hard time proclaiming this story to a world in need for fear that you might unwittingly be complicit in a scheme to dominate and control, or if when you hear the word conversion your stomach does a few flips, then I have this advice for you.

First of all, everybody is part of some narrative. Everyone lives in some story.  The question is, why should I live in this one rather than another one?  Is there a way to test the narrative of a story to discern if it is one I should fully enter into?  Stanley Hauerwas speaks to this. “Just as scientific theories are partially judged by the fruitfulness of the activities they generate, so narratives can and should be judged by the richness of moral character and activity they generate” (Hauerwas 1981:95).

In entering the story of God, we will be able to speak to Caesar’s ideas of peace and justice and stand with the oppressed in love because our truth has some teeth to it.  When we commit ourselves to living faithful in this story, we will experience what it means to overcome evil with good. We will taste, feel, and smell its truth and beauty.

One beautiful thing about the story of God is that it is rich with diversity.  There are plots and subplots and different ways to view the story, as evidenced in the four gospels themselves.  And while the Jesus story is a many-sided tale, we need to learn to tell the story honestly and contextually.  To become a Christian is to become so much a part of God’s story as written in the holy text that we become living texts ourselves.  Our story is a public one, a political one.  It is a story that produces the fruit of the Spirit and builds a contrast-society as a witness to the world.  John Yoder describes the kind of community that God is building through His Spirit: "The political novelty that God brings into the world is a community of those who serve instead of ruling, who suffer instead of inflicting suffering, whose fellowship crosses lines instead of reinforcing them.  This new Christian community in which the walls are broken down not by human idealism or democratic legalism but by the work of Christ is not only a vehicle of the gospel or only a fruit of the gospel; it is the good news.  It is not merely the agent of mission or the constituency of a mission agency.  This is the mission" (Yoder 1998:91).

PART IV

Conclusion
So whether we are more influenced by modernity or postmodernity, we have all been put into one body of which Christ is the head.  And in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, slave nor free, modern nor postmodern, for we are all one in Christ.  And as the people of God who believe in the goodness of conversion, we are constantly in need of conversion ourselves.  For as Wilbert Shenk puts it, “Conversion is needed wherever men and women do not acknowledge the reign of God” (Shenk 2004: lecture).  When we recognize that we are all in need of conversion, we become beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. We become journalists instead of salesmen.  We see the beauty of conversion because we are constantly experiencing it in our own lives.  It is then that we start to understand what G.K. Chesterton meant when he said, “Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to it” (Chesterton 2002:99).

Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word? Part VI

  Ways of seeing 
  Originally uploaded by monoglot

Now we are coming to the last two parts of this series.  Wednesday's post will be the final one.  I would love to hear from you on what you have thought about this series.  Are you finding it beneficial?  What have you liked, disliked, question or affirm?  On with today's installment.

PART III – For Those Who Consider Conversion a Four-Letter Word
“The Christian gospel has sometimes been made the tool of an imperialism, and of that we have to repent.  But at its heart it is the denial of all imperialisms, for at its center there is the cross where all imperialisms are humbled and we are invited to find the center of human unity in the One who was made nothing so that all might be one.  The very heart of the biblical vision for the unity of humankind is that its center is not an imperial power but a slain Lamb.” (Newbigin 1989:159)

As we have seen, both modernity and postmodernity, in their own ways, have contributed to conversion being a four-letter word by many people today. Yet how we view conversion, the particular lens through which we view it, and the places where we stand to view it are all critical if conversion is to become desirable once again.  I believe the issues in these posts are best handled by becoming a language teacher.  As a language teacher, I intend to embody the language of faith and teach the grammar of faith to others, whether it’s through public preaching, personal encounters, or group discussions.  In this way, whether one is under the spell of modernity or postmodernity, as he learns the language of faith, he will re-engage in God’s mission with a sense of vigor.  To get specific on how I would do this, I have provided a couple of personal grammar lessons. Listen in.

Advice for Those Influenced by Modernity
If you have a hard time letting go of the concept of “objective” truth, love to argue people into the faith, and only view the gospel as your ticket to heaven, then I have some good news for you.  First, while you may believe that absolute objective truth is what our culture needs, I would suggest that what our culture needs is a church that believes the truth so absolutely that she actually lives it out (Fitch 2007:57).  We need to move from an apologetics of argument to an apologetics of embodiment.  We need to move from getting people to assent to four spiritual laws or points-on-a-bridge diagram to inviting people to switch stories, so that they might enter into the kingdom of God in all its glory. 

This is a kingdom where the life and teachings of Jesus give discipleship real teeth - where we learn to follow the Liberator of those who have been oppressed by the system, the Lover of those who have been rejected by society, and the Deliverer of those who have been seduced by consumerism.  Our story is not just a private one dealing with personal morality but also a public one dealing with powers and principalities that need redemption.   Our story is centered on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Our story in not limited to the death of Christ and the hereafter, but it is also about the kingdom that is at hand.  Our story doesn’t end with the annihilation of the earth, but a remade heaven and earth.  Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we can be confident that there will come a day when our cries for justice will be heard, our thirst for God will be quenched, our connection with each other will be deep, and our longing for beauty will be realized. (Wright 2006: 225-240)

The Good News is that “It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church.” (Moltmann 1977:64) We are not required to be salesmen for God, but rather journalists, proclaiming to the world that God’s reign is at hand (Hunsberger in Hunsberger 1996:23).  And as we proclaim this good news, we must embody it as a community.  In the words of Bryan Stone, “the church does not really need an evangelistic strategy.  The church is the evangelistic strategy.” (Stone 2007:15).

Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word? Part V

  Ways of seeing 
  Originally uploaded by monoglot

I have appreciated the conversation on this series thus far.  Please continue to share your thoughts, push back on something or share what you like or add some thoughts of your own.  If you get the chance, read back through some of the comments they are rich.  Now on with Part V.

How Postmodernity Affects the Congregations I Serve
The difficulty that this poses in the lives of people in the congregations that I serve is that some people hesitate to fully trust and live in the story of God for fear that if they do, they will end up like the arrogant bigots who tend to beat people over their heads with their Bibles.  They would rather slit their wrists than to become “one of them.”

Yet the problem is that some people unwittingly start to hold onto to a form of what Hauerwas calls “vulgar relativism.”  This is "the view that combines a relativistic account of ethical terms with a non-relativistic principle of toleration, fails to deal with real confrontation, since it assumes the impossibility of pointlessness of choosing between options that do not matter to anyone.  The problem with vulgar relativism is it treats all moral convictions as if they were only notional commitments." (Hauerwas 1981:104)

So when one narrative considers human trafficking to be profitable and another story considers it to be diabolical, the vulgar relativist is hung out to dry. Hauerwas concedes to holding to a kind of relativism and does not consider it the task of the church to “deny the reality of the multiplicity of stories in the world or to force the many stories into an artificial harmony” (Hauerwas 1981:91).  Yet he does not hold to a “vulgar relativism” that would make him incapable of making judgments or unwilling to seek to change someone else’s mind or tradition. (Hauerwas 1981:101).

So, on the one hand, postmodernity has exposed the myth of objectivity.  But on the other hand, those under the influence of postmodernity sometimes fall sway to a relativism that disenables them to take a stand against real evil.  Where are we to go from here?  Well, Smith notes that scriptures “give us good reason to reject the very notion of objectivity, while at the same time affirming the reality of truth and knowledge” (Smith 2006:43n). And while you are thinking about all of that, in my last two parts to this series, which will probably come next week, I have some advice for those who consider conversion a four-letter word, be it because of modernity or postmodernity's influence.

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

Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word? Part IV

  Ways of seeing 
  Originally uploaded by monoglot

So now we move on to Part IV.  A look at how postmodernity has shaped people's view of conversion.

How Postmodernity Affects People’s View of Conversion 
Postmodernity is showing its influence as well. Postmodernity has done a  good job at deconstructing the myth of objectivity, in part with Derrida’s suggestion  that the entire world is a text that needs to be interpreted (Smith 2006:54). Yet its emphasis on deconstruction and its suspicion of how the powers that be have used  meta‐narratives and language games to push its agendas, have caused some  Christians to slip into a “vulgar relativism” and/or syncretism.

The prevailing view for many today, including some people in the 
congregations that I serve, is expressed well by Leslie Newbigin when he says,  "To maintain in this new situation, the old missionary attitude (the scandal of exclusivity) is not merely inexcusable but positively dangerous.  In a world threatened with nuclear war, a world facing a global ecological crises, a world more and more closely bound together in its cultural and economic life, the paramount need is for unity, and an aggressive claim on the part of  one of the world’s religions to have the truth for all can only be regarded as treason against the human race.  Even if it is granted that this exclusive claim has been the claim of the Church through nineteen centuries, we must face the fact that it is not now tenable." (Newbigin 1989:155,156)

Now, while Newbigin does not hold to this view himself, there are many self‐identified Christians who do.  And while at first glance it seems like a loving  approach because we all desire unity and its corresponding blessing – peace – we  quickly discover some huge roadblocks.  We soon realize as Newbigin aptly points out that “every program of unity has implicit in it some vision of the organizing principle which is to make this unity possible” (Newbigin 1989:159).  Along with this, we start to understand that “we want unity on our terms, and it is our rival programs for unity which tear us apart.  As Augustine said, all wars are fought for the sake of peace” (Newbigin 1989:159).

So where does this leave us?  We are left in a pluralistic world with various stories, each vying to be the saving narrative.  Some stories look to the state as  savior; others hold promise in globalization, a new global village that transcends  “nation‐state‐centered pathologies of modern politics” (Cavanaugh 2002:6)  Yet,  others look to develop a new narrative that somehow becomes the story of stories.  So how does all this affect people?  That is what the next post is about.

Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word? Part III

  Ways of seeing 
  Originally uploaded by monoglot

I have appreciated the interaction with this topic thus far.  I finally had a chance today to respond some to your comments in part II, so if you are engaging in this conversation, please check it out.  If this is your first entry you are reading on this topic, you will probably benefit from read the intro and part II, prior to reading this one.  Now for part III. 

How Modernity Affects the Congregations I Serve and Visit
Those who live under the spell of modernity tend to view truth and reality in more black‐and‐white terms instead of color and often limit “the gospel” to the death of Christ, which gives them access to heaven. It is easy for those who live under the meta‐narrative of modernity to slip into the idea that the gospel is a set of objective facts for an individual to “believe” and a sinner’s prayer for individual’s to pray, instead of an invitation to “switch stories” allowing God’s reality to re‐shape them, so that they might partner with Him to bring more of heaven to earth.

The problem I have noticed in the congregations I serve and visit is that when individuals shaped by modernity limit the gospel and/or consider their understanding of the gospel to be the universal timeless “objective” truth, contextualization becomes unnecessary and the gospel becomes a proof text. The idea of "objective" truth has taken such a hold of some that their view of the gospel cannot be questioned or examined. The obvious implications for those who hold this viewpoint are that humility goes out the window and conversation is inessential.  It it just a matter of sharing the "objective" truth.  When this view is taken to an extreme, contextualization becomes demonized because the message is transcendent, and the incarnation is often forgotten.

This narrowing of the gospel tends to separate personal morality from social justice and justification from sanctification in such a way that the good news becomes irrelevant for this life and ineffectual for their own transformation. In other words, the gospel is not experienced as good news, so why share it with others?  But modernity is not the only story affecting people’s view of conversion. In the next post, I want to take a look at how postmodernity has affected people's view of conversion.

Quote of the Week

  Students Help Others 
  Originally uploaded by Old Shoe Woman

"The Bible is there to enable God's people to be equipped to do God's work in God's world, not to give them an excuse to sit back smugly, knowing they possess all God's truth." - N.T. Wright

Scot McKnight on The 8 Marks of a Robust Gospel

  one world, one Flickr 
  Originally uploaded by ie-fotografie

If you haven't had the chance to read Scot McKnight's article entitled The 8 Marks of a Robust Gospel - reviving forgotten chapters in the story of redemption, I would encourage you to take a moment and read it.  My friend Scot McKnight at the Jesus Creed reminds us how a world with big problems is in need of a large an full-bodied gospel.

The article begins like this:

"Our problems are not small. The most cursory glance at the newspaper will remind us of global crises like AIDS, local catastrophes of senseless violence, family failures, ecological threats, and church skirmishes. These problems resist easy solutions. They are robust—powerful, pervasive, and systemic.

Do we have a gospel big enough for these problems? Do we have the confidence to declare that these robust problems, all of which begin with sin against God and then creep into the world like cancer, have been conquered by a robust gospel? When I read the Gospels, I see a Lion of Judah who roared with a kingdom gospel that challenged both Israel's and Rome's mighty men, gathered up the sick and dying and made them whole, and united the purity-obsessed "clean" and the shame-laden "unclean" around one table. When I read the apostle Paul, I see a man who carried a gospel that he believed could save as well as unite Gentiles and barbarians with Abraham's sacred descendants. I do not think their gospel was too small."

Highlights of the 8 Marks
     1. The robust gospel is a story - with a beginning, a problem and a lengthy history.  To preach the  gospel and to believe the gospel is to offer and enter into a story.

     2. The robust gospel places transactions in the context of persons - the gospel is more than the transactions of imputation it is also personal.

     3.  The robust gospel deals with a robust problem - the problem is both personal and cosmic in nature, and so it the gospel.

     4.  A robust gospel has a grand vision - while the little gospel promises personal salvation and eternal life, the robust gospel doesn't stop there, it also promises a new society and a new creation.

     5.  A robust gospel includes the life of Jesus as well as his resurrection, and the gift of the Spirit alongside Good Friday - If our only problem is individual guilt, the solution can be reduced to Good Friday. But as we acknowledge our problem in its true biblical proportions, we need more than Good Friday: we need Christmas as Incarnation, Good Friday as Substitution and Paradigm and the stripping of systemic powers from their illegitimate thrones, Easter as New Creation, and Pentecost as Empowerment.

     6.  A robust gospel demands not only faith but everything - the biblical view of the gospel is a view of faith that involves trust, surrender, commitment and obedience.

     7.  A robust gospel includes the robust Spirit of God - the gospel is animated b God's powerful Spirit, and its result is Spirit-empowerment for new living.

     8.  A robust gospel emerges from and leads others to the church - the gospels intent, in facts its substance, is the creation of God's new society with Jesus on the throne.

Developing a Rhythm of Life - Part 5

  Scenic* 
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As we continue our series on developing a rhythm of life, let us remember what a rhythm or rule of life is all about.  Marjorie Thompson in Soul Feast puts it this way, "A rule of life is a patter of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness.  When we speak of patterns in our life, we mean attitudes, behaviors, or elements that are routine, repeated, regular.  Indeed, the Latin term for 'rule' is regula, from which our words regular and regulate derive."

We are developing a rhythm of life in the categories that Debra Farrington gives us in her book Living Faith Day by Day.  We have look at the area of God, prayer, and work, now we will look at the area of study.

"Study is not done for mere curiosity for learning but because wisely ordered reading endows the mind with greater steadiness and serves as a basis for the contemplation of God in His Word." - Monks in Bethlehem

"Unless we grasp truth that is both a labor of love and a spiritual discicpline, we are likely to neglect study.  We should therefore support one another in regularly setting aside time for reading..."  - The Rule of the Society of St. John the Evangelist

"In the morning... after the prayers are finished they shall not return right away to their cells, but they shall discuss among themselves the instruction they heard from their housemates." - The Rule of Pachomius

"Our pursuit of knowledge is an expression of love for God's world and the riches of revelation.  As we bring our gifts of imagination and intellect to maturity we are able to glorify God more and more.  - The Rule of the Society of John the Evangelist

Here is my rhythm of life in the area of study for this coming year.  As you read through this, take some time to consider your rhythm of life in the area of study.

Study

• Read everyday and take time to share what I learn with others through my personal interactions and my blog

• Prepare well for each time that I preach, studying the scripture, books as well as surfing the internet

• Engage in group lectio divina during staff meetings and other settings as a way to meditate on the scripture

• Always be ready to learn from others, by asking good questions and listening well

• Take time to study both God’s creation and the city through taking photographs, walking and biking in the city, beach, mountains and desert, talking with people, as well as reading about creation and the city

• Read A Year with Dietrich Bonhoeffer as well as a little from Henri Nouwen each day, and record the best thoughts on my blog

• Become more aware of the Benedictine, Fransician and Ignatius religious orders and way of life

The next area we will look at in this series is community.