Dr. Lee Woolery, the District Superintendant on my district gave the following report at our district assembly last weekend. I think it's worth a read. I thank God for being on a district with a D.S. with his vision and passion.
Here's the link: http://www.nwinazarene.org/page.aspx?id=189228
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Christians and Profanity
Can I complain for a minute? Swearing does NOT make a Christian any cooler, free-er, more liberated, closer to Christ, more relevant, more right, etc., etc., etc., than does farting in public!
I'm sick of reading blog after interview after magazine article where Christians, especially emerging ones, use profanity in a sad attempt to earn some street cred or show that they're liberated from the constraints of their legalistic forefathers.
I'll admit, there may be times when the stray profane utterance is appropriate, like say when one is about to drive off a cliff, but since when does being an authentic Christian require, or even simply smile upon, the use of vulgarities to make it seem genuine? When will my Christian sisters and brothers get over their infantile infatuation with cussing?
To quote my sixth grade teacher: "We're not in elementary school any more boys and girls."
If being an authentic Christian means I have to sit around drinking beer, smoking a cigar, watching porn, and saying "shit" at opportune times, then I don't want to be an authentic Christian anymore.
I'm sick of reading blog after interview after magazine article where Christians, especially emerging ones, use profanity in a sad attempt to earn some street cred or show that they're liberated from the constraints of their legalistic forefathers.
I'll admit, there may be times when the stray profane utterance is appropriate, like say when one is about to drive off a cliff, but since when does being an authentic Christian require, or even simply smile upon, the use of vulgarities to make it seem genuine? When will my Christian sisters and brothers get over their infantile infatuation with cussing?
To quote my sixth grade teacher: "We're not in elementary school any more boys and girls."
If being an authentic Christian means I have to sit around drinking beer, smoking a cigar, watching porn, and saying "shit" at opportune times, then I don't want to be an authentic Christian anymore.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Emerging arrogance
Why does it seem like too often those in the Emerging Church movement are full of themselves and disdain for all others?
Today I was browsing articles at www.theooze.com and came across one titled "A Passionate Speech to Emerging Christians Everywhere" (found at http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=1420). You can see my response to the author of the article under "Andy" on 7/18/2006 at 1:17pm.
What ticked me off so much about it was the superior, condescending, proud to be antinomian, anti-establishment, anti-everything, tone to it. I've encountered the author's ilk before:
In the spring of 2002 I was invited to participate in the Nazarene Global Theology conference held in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I experienced the awesome privilege of discussing the theology and future of the Nazarene Church with sisters- and brothers-in-Christ from all around the globe. In general it was an amazing, life-marking experience for me and many others.
However, there was one element which left me saddened and troubled. I was only 28 at the time, and there was a contingent of younger-aged people like myself there from many educational institutions around the world. As the week progressed, many, though certainly not all, began to become overly confident that they had the right answers and that anyone else at the conference, primarily those older than ourselves, were stuck in the past and were ignorant of the "truth." Some of them wouldn't have stated it that directly (although some would have), but many of them felt that way and expressed it to varying degrees.
John Brickley, Chris Branstetter, and myself, and perhaps a few others, balked at such nonsense. The problem is that those who feel such, are often the ones who are ignorant of the real issues. They fail to realize they stand on the shoulders of giants, (pardon the overused expression), and that those who've walked in the faith before us deserve our love, admiration, and respect. While we don't have to agree with everything our forebearer's thought, we certainly must remember that every new generation which comes along tends to think itself closer to the truth than those preceding it. It's only foolish arrogance that can hold such a contention.
The simply solution is humility. Yes, sometimes idealism expresses itself rather brashly, and sometimes hyperbole can be used to good effect. But when grace and humility are lacking in our responses and relationships with others, we've gone off the path that Christ paves for us.
Today I was browsing articles at www.theooze.com and came across one titled "A Passionate Speech to Emerging Christians Everywhere" (found at http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=1420). You can see my response to the author of the article under "Andy" on 7/18/2006 at 1:17pm.
What ticked me off so much about it was the superior, condescending, proud to be antinomian, anti-establishment, anti-everything, tone to it. I've encountered the author's ilk before:
In the spring of 2002 I was invited to participate in the Nazarene Global Theology conference held in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I experienced the awesome privilege of discussing the theology and future of the Nazarene Church with sisters- and brothers-in-Christ from all around the globe. In general it was an amazing, life-marking experience for me and many others.
However, there was one element which left me saddened and troubled. I was only 28 at the time, and there was a contingent of younger-aged people like myself there from many educational institutions around the world. As the week progressed, many, though certainly not all, began to become overly confident that they had the right answers and that anyone else at the conference, primarily those older than ourselves, were stuck in the past and were ignorant of the "truth." Some of them wouldn't have stated it that directly (although some would have), but many of them felt that way and expressed it to varying degrees.
John Brickley, Chris Branstetter, and myself, and perhaps a few others, balked at such nonsense. The problem is that those who feel such, are often the ones who are ignorant of the real issues. They fail to realize they stand on the shoulders of giants, (pardon the overused expression), and that those who've walked in the faith before us deserve our love, admiration, and respect. While we don't have to agree with everything our forebearer's thought, we certainly must remember that every new generation which comes along tends to think itself closer to the truth than those preceding it. It's only foolish arrogance that can hold such a contention.
The simply solution is humility. Yes, sometimes idealism expresses itself rather brashly, and sometimes hyperbole can be used to good effect. But when grace and humility are lacking in our responses and relationships with others, we've gone off the path that Christ paves for us.
Monday, July 17, 2006
So it begins
Two Sundays ago was the first night of Emmaus Road. Although it's been a while since I last posted, I thought I'd write an update, since things have moved ahead, and chronicle a little of what's happened along the way.
Throughout the winter and spring, the vision team continued to meet, although somewhat sporadically. We mainly attempted to get on sort of the same page in our understanding of what's going on in our culutre and how we might be Jesus to it.
On June 12th, I had an informational meeting at which I laid out the entire vision for Emmaus Road. We even set up the Upper Room (our meeting place) in the way that we envision it looking for the worship gatherings. During that time, fourteen people spent time listening and offering ideas.
Fast forward to July 9th. The first worship gathering consisted of a basic word and table service, with as much of a participatory element to it as we could reasonably provide without lapsing into gimmick. Here's what it looked like (on paper anyway):
Prior to the gathering, we had a "Prayer Room" set up with dimmed lights, couches, and some artwork by a contemporary Christian artist (http://no1underground.com/). We also had a "Community Journal" set up in a corner of the room where people could write prayers to God, encourage one another, or just express their thoughts.
6:45 contemplative music "Chant"; Powerpoint slide show "the journey" images of streets and paths
7:05 All Creatures of Our God and King
Welcome--Pass the Peace of Christ to each other
Reading of Psalm 23 as Communion elements are brought to the table
Collect for Purity
How Great Is Our God
Gospel Reading (Luke 24:13-34)
Word Spoken
Response to Word
Communion
Jude 24
Benediction/Blessing
Music: U2: Where the Streets Have No Name
Afterward we had the Emmaus Road Coffee House (David Gray "The White Ladder" was playing). It's a time for people to gather and just be together since there's not enough of that in our world today. We drank freshly ground coffee out of real ceramic mugs (no styrofoam please), ate homemade desserts, chatted, and played games together.
The amazing thing about it is that I was expecting 20 people, hoping for 30, and 41 showed up. What I've been hearing since then is that God really used it to speak to a lot of people. I have no idea what the future holds for Emmaus Road, whether it will grow and who it will reach, but obviously it's in God's hands as we faithfully reflect His love to those around us.
Throughout the winter and spring, the vision team continued to meet, although somewhat sporadically. We mainly attempted to get on sort of the same page in our understanding of what's going on in our culutre and how we might be Jesus to it.
On June 12th, I had an informational meeting at which I laid out the entire vision for Emmaus Road. We even set up the Upper Room (our meeting place) in the way that we envision it looking for the worship gatherings. During that time, fourteen people spent time listening and offering ideas.
Fast forward to July 9th. The first worship gathering consisted of a basic word and table service, with as much of a participatory element to it as we could reasonably provide without lapsing into gimmick. Here's what it looked like (on paper anyway):
Prior to the gathering, we had a "Prayer Room" set up with dimmed lights, couches, and some artwork by a contemporary Christian artist (http://no1underground.com/). We also had a "Community Journal" set up in a corner of the room where people could write prayers to God, encourage one another, or just express their thoughts.
6:45 contemplative music "Chant"; Powerpoint slide show "the journey" images of streets and paths
7:05 All Creatures of Our God and King
Welcome--Pass the Peace of Christ to each other
Reading of Psalm 23 as Communion elements are brought to the table
Collect for Purity
How Great Is Our God
Gospel Reading (Luke 24:13-34)
Word Spoken
Response to Word
Communion
Jude 24
Benediction/Blessing
Music: U2: Where the Streets Have No Name
Afterward we had the Emmaus Road Coffee House (David Gray "The White Ladder" was playing). It's a time for people to gather and just be together since there's not enough of that in our world today. We drank freshly ground coffee out of real ceramic mugs (no styrofoam please), ate homemade desserts, chatted, and played games together.
The amazing thing about it is that I was expecting 20 people, hoping for 30, and 41 showed up. What I've been hearing since then is that God really used it to speak to a lot of people. I have no idea what the future holds for Emmaus Road, whether it will grow and who it will reach, but obviously it's in God's hands as we faithfully reflect His love to those around us.
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