rob bell does a little skit (can't see it, all in black), of what paul might have been thinking while writing the book of philippians in jail. pretty incredible.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
from george's website
i would encourage you to check out george's website (link on right), but here is a copy and paste from his post today, out of the book "myth of certainty" which i received on my doorstep this morning.
The goal of faith is not to create a set of immutable, rationalized, precisely defined and defendable beliefs to preserve forever. It is to recover a relationship with God. He offers us a person and a relationship; we want rules and a format. He offers us security through risk; we want safety through certainty. He offers us unity and community; we want unanimity and institutions. And it does no good to point fingers because none of us desires too much light. All of us want God to behave Himself in our lives, to touch this area but leave that one alone, to empower us here but let us run things ourselves over there.Faith in God, then, is not a belief system to defend but a life to live out (though systematic thinking about our beliefs can help us decide how to live). Mistaking this active life of faith for an institutionally backed and culturally bound belief system is similar to reducing the Mona Lisa to paint-by-numbers. Anyone can see that the paint-by-numbers picture has a relationship to the original, but how foolish to think they are the same thing. This is not at all an argument against the church, whose role I take to be crucial. Rather, it is an argument for the personal, risky, never-completed nature of our relationship to God. My desire is for an open-eyed commitment to the life of faith, and the responsibilities it entails, that includes a sensitivity to the great tensions under which faith must live in the modern world.
As a belief system, the Christian religion is subject to the many ills of all belief systems; as an encounter with God, it transforms individual lives and human history. God does not give us primarily a belief system; he gives us Himself, most clearly in the person of Jesus Christ, so that truth and meaning can be ours through a commitment to that love with which He first loved us. The risk is great, but the reward is infinite.
The goal of faith is not to create a set of immutable, rationalized, precisely defined and defendable beliefs to preserve forever. It is to recover a relationship with God. He offers us a person and a relationship; we want rules and a format. He offers us security through risk; we want safety through certainty. He offers us unity and community; we want unanimity and institutions. And it does no good to point fingers because none of us desires too much light. All of us want God to behave Himself in our lives, to touch this area but leave that one alone, to empower us here but let us run things ourselves over there.Faith in God, then, is not a belief system to defend but a life to live out (though systematic thinking about our beliefs can help us decide how to live). Mistaking this active life of faith for an institutionally backed and culturally bound belief system is similar to reducing the Mona Lisa to paint-by-numbers. Anyone can see that the paint-by-numbers picture has a relationship to the original, but how foolish to think they are the same thing. This is not at all an argument against the church, whose role I take to be crucial. Rather, it is an argument for the personal, risky, never-completed nature of our relationship to God. My desire is for an open-eyed commitment to the life of faith, and the responsibilities it entails, that includes a sensitivity to the great tensions under which faith must live in the modern world.
As a belief system, the Christian religion is subject to the many ills of all belief systems; as an encounter with God, it transforms individual lives and human history. God does not give us primarily a belief system; he gives us Himself, most clearly in the person of Jesus Christ, so that truth and meaning can be ours through a commitment to that love with which He first loved us. The risk is great, but the reward is infinite.
Friday, March 28, 2008
rob bell
rob bell being asked if the church he pastors is "emergent." think his response is interesting.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
adventures in kylie
kylie is in her "get-out-of-bed-as-many-times-as-possible" stage. she has been in this stage before. it is not a good place for her to be.
tonight emily put her to bed, and she got up shortly there after, complaining that she hurt her nose. i, like any good dad would do, gently explained to her that was no reason to get out of bed, and if she got out again she was in BIG TROUBLE.
that lasted about 5 minutes and emily and i hear the bathroom door open. this is typically her last ditch effort to get out of bed, because who is going to whoop their child for having to go "pee-pee" right?
emily, helps her use the restroom, and i hear her say to our beautiful little girl, "if you get out of bed again you are getting a spankin'." now these spankin's are usually executed by me - which i just love (yeah right!).
so, about 5 minutes after that i hear kylie yelling "mommy, mommy, mommy" and you get the picture. so i tell emily that kylie is asking for her, and emily heads back to the room. now picture this - as emily is opening up the door she hears kylie, who is screaming at this point, yell "mommy, i found a booooooo-gaaaa" laying flat on her back, arm in the air and index finger raised to the sky. hilarious!
so tonight, or possibly tomorrow when you are reading this, just picture our little punkin', two knuckles deep in her nostril, striking gold!
i guess i know why her nose hurt the first time she got out of bed. must have been a "crusty" one!
tonight emily put her to bed, and she got up shortly there after, complaining that she hurt her nose. i, like any good dad would do, gently explained to her that was no reason to get out of bed, and if she got out again she was in BIG TROUBLE.
that lasted about 5 minutes and emily and i hear the bathroom door open. this is typically her last ditch effort to get out of bed, because who is going to whoop their child for having to go "pee-pee" right?
emily, helps her use the restroom, and i hear her say to our beautiful little girl, "if you get out of bed again you are getting a spankin'." now these spankin's are usually executed by me - which i just love (yeah right!).
so, about 5 minutes after that i hear kylie yelling "mommy, mommy, mommy" and you get the picture. so i tell emily that kylie is asking for her, and emily heads back to the room. now picture this - as emily is opening up the door she hears kylie, who is screaming at this point, yell "mommy, i found a booooooo-gaaaa" laying flat on her back, arm in the air and index finger raised to the sky. hilarious!
so tonight, or possibly tomorrow when you are reading this, just picture our little punkin', two knuckles deep in her nostril, striking gold!
i guess i know why her nose hurt the first time she got out of bed. must have been a "crusty" one!
opening day
opening day is almost upon us, at least for the cincinnati reds. they open their season this monday with the arizona diamondbacks. i am not sure they have even finalized their roster - not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing. with the addition of a couple young arms in the starting rotation, they should have a shot to compete this year. don't think they will have any trouble scoring runs.the picture was taken last year. kylie and i traveled to the nati and took in a game. she did well, we ended up losing the game in the 8th, which was pretty typical last year. but 2008 is a new year, and we have 162 games to play, so anything could happen!
go reds!!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
religiosity revealed
just so everyone knows, i had written a blog post in which i vented a lot of frustration i had after a class i sat in tonight, but it was deleted. what good would that do me? religion killed jesus and it almost took my life tonight (i mean literally, my heart almost stopped beating).
so where does that leave me? well, frustrated to be sure, but hopefully farther along in my path and quest to see jesus even in those that get under my skin.
i thank god for emily - she is my sounding board and bears the brunt of this frustration. see lovely listens and agrees with me, probably just to make me feel better. but nothing has changed. god is still revealed himself in jesus and i am still attempting to faithfully follow his example. i am trying not to find justification for "going off" in these situations because jesus confronted "religious" people. like i said earlier "i am from here to eternity from getting it right."
hopefully i am better from having sat in the class.
so where does that leave me? well, frustrated to be sure, but hopefully farther along in my path and quest to see jesus even in those that get under my skin.
i thank god for emily - she is my sounding board and bears the brunt of this frustration. see lovely listens and agrees with me, probably just to make me feel better. but nothing has changed. god is still revealed himself in jesus and i am still attempting to faithfully follow his example. i am trying not to find justification for "going off" in these situations because jesus confronted "religious" people. like i said earlier "i am from here to eternity from getting it right."
hopefully i am better from having sat in the class.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
why did it have to be this way?
question that has been banging around in my head for sometime. if we needed the blood of god to satisfy the justice of god (which i believe we did/do), why didn't god just lay him on an alter and sacrifice him quickly? why did jesus teach, and make profoundly political statements against the current powers? why did he have to suffer, and be nailed to a roman cross? why the public shame and humiliation that was the crucifixion?
i believe because he was exposing the world and its ways for what they are and were. he was putting on display the falleness of our world, and thus giving us an alternative to the "way the world works." the feeding of the thousands, clearing of the temple and jesus' prayer in the garden were all temptations to take his rightful place of power and bring about the "justice of god." but it wasn't to come this way. it is so mind blowing to me. jesus could have called 12 legions of angels, he could have started the holy war of holy wars, but he didn't. he willingly, and voluntarily laid down his life.
now this, if you agree with me, has HUGE implications for how we live out our existence on this earth. if we are taking seriously the call of scripture and our lord to "walk as jesus did," and "take up our crosses" it is going to impact our social ethics, or how we deal with folks. right? so for me the cross, is not just the instrument of death i call upon so i can get to heaven, though it is most certainly that. the cross is a political alternative to the politics of the day (and i am not talking about a new way to do government). it is a radical call to lay down my life, so that through christ i may pick it up someday. it is a different way of seeing and engaging the world.
to say the gospel is not a social gospel or has no social implications, in my mind, is to communicate an incomplete gospel. in matthew, we often quote the story of the sheep and the goats to warn others of the impending judgement, and i believe miss what is bringing about the impending judgement. it is not our lack of knowledge of scripture, adherence to religious ritual or what we abstain from. did you hear that? it is none of those, yet all of these things seem to be of upmost importance to church folks. instead it is our treatment of "the least of these." i can know everything right, confess it right and follow the rituals, and jesus could say "i never knew you." why? how? because we didn't take care of people. because we didn't understand that in fact, jesus was a revolutionary. in fact jesus was coming to upset the establishments of this world and usher in a new age!! and we chose to ignore it. we ignored our cross, and acted like the christian life wasn't a call to die, but rather a call to religious activity.
god IS remaking the world. it is true, he didn't "make everything right" when he was here, but i believe he will one day and is calling us to live like it is that day! even now, in the midst of all the ugliness of our planet. it won't be easy. we are still in a fallen world, and most people will not embrace our ethics and way of life. but through the spirit of christ, we are promised victory - through death.
and this is why, among other reasons, i am wandering in the desert. trusting christ for my salvation and my next action. i am from here to eternity from "getting it right." but i can't and won't go back to the alternative of accepting things for the way they are, and performing my religious duties. i have caught the vision of a kingdom far superior to anything i could have ever imagined. it is beautiful, and it looks like christ.
i believe because he was exposing the world and its ways for what they are and were. he was putting on display the falleness of our world, and thus giving us an alternative to the "way the world works." the feeding of the thousands, clearing of the temple and jesus' prayer in the garden were all temptations to take his rightful place of power and bring about the "justice of god." but it wasn't to come this way. it is so mind blowing to me. jesus could have called 12 legions of angels, he could have started the holy war of holy wars, but he didn't. he willingly, and voluntarily laid down his life.
now this, if you agree with me, has HUGE implications for how we live out our existence on this earth. if we are taking seriously the call of scripture and our lord to "walk as jesus did," and "take up our crosses" it is going to impact our social ethics, or how we deal with folks. right? so for me the cross, is not just the instrument of death i call upon so i can get to heaven, though it is most certainly that. the cross is a political alternative to the politics of the day (and i am not talking about a new way to do government). it is a radical call to lay down my life, so that through christ i may pick it up someday. it is a different way of seeing and engaging the world.
to say the gospel is not a social gospel or has no social implications, in my mind, is to communicate an incomplete gospel. in matthew, we often quote the story of the sheep and the goats to warn others of the impending judgement, and i believe miss what is bringing about the impending judgement. it is not our lack of knowledge of scripture, adherence to religious ritual or what we abstain from. did you hear that? it is none of those, yet all of these things seem to be of upmost importance to church folks. instead it is our treatment of "the least of these." i can know everything right, confess it right and follow the rituals, and jesus could say "i never knew you." why? how? because we didn't take care of people. because we didn't understand that in fact, jesus was a revolutionary. in fact jesus was coming to upset the establishments of this world and usher in a new age!! and we chose to ignore it. we ignored our cross, and acted like the christian life wasn't a call to die, but rather a call to religious activity.
god IS remaking the world. it is true, he didn't "make everything right" when he was here, but i believe he will one day and is calling us to live like it is that day! even now, in the midst of all the ugliness of our planet. it won't be easy. we are still in a fallen world, and most people will not embrace our ethics and way of life. but through the spirit of christ, we are promised victory - through death.
and this is why, among other reasons, i am wandering in the desert. trusting christ for my salvation and my next action. i am from here to eternity from "getting it right." but i can't and won't go back to the alternative of accepting things for the way they are, and performing my religious duties. i have caught the vision of a kingdom far superior to anything i could have ever imagined. it is beautiful, and it looks like christ.
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