Tuesday, April 19, 2005
I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated by the entire Pope thing over the past month. I wonder if it is my Catholic upbringing or if it is something more. There is something about the mystery of it all that seems to be missing in the modern church. Don't get me wrong, I love the Vineyard and all, but our history only goes back 20 years or so. From what I understand, when Bert was elected as head of the AVC, they had a tele-conference, not a conclave. Not that I think we need to become more denominational, but there is something to say about the mystery of it all. About the history of it all. To think that some of this stuff that occurred today goes back over several centuries, if not longer. That just intrigues me.
I wonder if we lost something when the Protestant reformation threw out much of our past. Most of the sacrament are gone. Communion, no longer mysteriously transforms into the body and blood of Christ, now it just represents the body and blood. The liturgy has now become a service. And renewal meetings, signs, wonders, and charismatic gifts have all become the norm. We can even plan of vacations based on who is speaking at what conference and what they are going to do! (Has it all become a show?) Where is the mystery of it all?
I don't think we need to raise the clergy up to the level that they have in the Catholic Church (remember, everyone gets to play), but I do think we need to take time and remember that we do not know it all, that God is still God and that he can do what ever he wants, when ever he wants, where ever he wants, to whom ever he wants and because of that, we need to approach him with a sense of awe and mystery.
I'm just not sure how that looks today...
I wonder if we lost something when the Protestant reformation threw out much of our past. Most of the sacrament are gone. Communion, no longer mysteriously transforms into the body and blood of Christ, now it just represents the body and blood. The liturgy has now become a service. And renewal meetings, signs, wonders, and charismatic gifts have all become the norm. We can even plan of vacations based on who is speaking at what conference and what they are going to do! (Has it all become a show?) Where is the mystery of it all?
I don't think we need to raise the clergy up to the level that they have in the Catholic Church (remember, everyone gets to play), but I do think we need to take time and remember that we do not know it all, that God is still God and that he can do what ever he wants, when ever he wants, where ever he wants, to whom ever he wants and because of that, we need to approach him with a sense of awe and mystery.
I'm just not sure how that looks today...
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
I've really been feeling like something has been missing lately. I think we have finally gotten to a point where we have the church turned around (although I wish the finances were better...pray for more $$ to pay rent and bills!). It seems like we have slipped into the same model that we were doing in Cartersville. Although the church seems to be happy with it and we seem to be growing, I just keep on feeling like there must be more. We have become a really nice (and different) church, but I'm not sure we have become a community as of yet.
I had a weird dream the other night where I was sitting on the top of a building with Cindy, my late Uncle Ted, and our youth leaders, Theresa and Jeff. Ted looked at me and said "For as long as I have been here, nothing has changed, don't you have a plan or something?" There was more to that dream, but those words keep resonating in my mind. I thought we had a plan. It just seem to have gotten side tracked in the re-planting process. Perhaps this is the time to relook at the "plan".
We were supposed to be missional...we were supposed to have small groups that were geographically focused...missional churches outside of the main church. The ministry was supposed to happen in the groups, not in the church. In the streets, not in the building. The building was supposed to be more of a community center and less of a Sunday only thing. It was supposed to be a sanctuary, more in the sense of a place of safety and protection, and less in the sense of holy place. That's where we are supposed to be. So now the question, how do we get there?
I had a weird dream the other night where I was sitting on the top of a building with Cindy, my late Uncle Ted, and our youth leaders, Theresa and Jeff. Ted looked at me and said "For as long as I have been here, nothing has changed, don't you have a plan or something?" There was more to that dream, but those words keep resonating in my mind. I thought we had a plan. It just seem to have gotten side tracked in the re-planting process. Perhaps this is the time to relook at the "plan".
We were supposed to be missional...we were supposed to have small groups that were geographically focused...missional churches outside of the main church. The ministry was supposed to happen in the groups, not in the church. In the streets, not in the building. The building was supposed to be more of a community center and less of a Sunday only thing. It was supposed to be a sanctuary, more in the sense of a place of safety and protection, and less in the sense of holy place. That's where we are supposed to be. So now the question, how do we get there?
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Pastor Bashing 101...Man, can I relate to some of this. Sorry Rocky for putting you through some of this...
Friday, April 01, 2005
"What was once horrible has now become acceptable, familiar the way a landscape becomes familiar. No matter how gruesome or spectacular, over time you become used to it. Eventually, you can walk through it without feeling any need to comment." Interesting article in today's Chicago Tribune on Terry Schiavo. Have I ever mentioned how much I like John Kass?
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Saturday, March 26, 2005
I am really in a funk today, and I don't know why.....
Last night I spoke at the community Good Friday service at 1st Baptist Sycamore. It was an interesting evening. There is some movement within the pastors of this community towards bring the church together. They are calling it a "one church" movement. I like to call it the geographical church. They asked me to talk about prayer and the church. I gave a short (10 min or so) talk where I said that we need to get the intercessors together from all the churches, then the pastors need to get out of the way and let the intercessors just pray (radical concept).
I didn't fully understand how difficult some of this is going to be until I overheard some conversations. This was a community event, and there were about 10 pastors form the area there. I overheard a person say that they were worried that their pastor might be there and see them. They did not want to get in trouble for being in someone else's church. WHAT IT WRONG WITH US? Why are we so freaked out about stepping into others churches. I had a women come up to me and tell me that she liked my message. I felt that I was being rude because I did not formally introduce myself or get her name. So I put out my hand, introduced myself and asked for her name, apologizing for not asking sooner. She gave me her name, then got defensive, telling me that she went to such and such a church and that she was happy there. Is there something wrong with us when we can not be polite without people thinking we are trying to recruit them???? I just don't get it.
If we are ever going to get this idea of a geographical church, we are going to need to get over ourselves. Church is not about us and the small little expression of it that we attend. Church is about being the bride of Christ. And the entire church is part of his bride, not just the people we like. When we finally start to look at the church the way Christ looks at the church, perhaps we will begin to see the beauty of the church. The little details that make us all different make the entire body more beautiful.
I have truly come to the conclusion that marriage is a prophetic word on what the church is supposed to look like. Our spouses are complex. They are not robots where every single move they make is predictable. Instead, God has made their personalities incredibly detailed and complex. And those complexities are what many times we find beautiful in our spouses.
The same is true with the church. If the entire church was like the Vineyard, we would be pretty boring. But instead, the church is diverse, detailed, complex, and different. Where our building is, we are neighbored by a Methodist church, a Lutheran church and a Catholic church. Down the block we have a Bible, Baptist, Four Square, Congressional, Hispanic, and Greek Orthodox churchs. All of us have services at about the same time on Sundays. We are all worshiping the same God, we are all following after Jesus. Some of us are evangelical, some of us are denominational, some are orthodox, some are liberal. But at the heart of it, we are all trying to follow Christ. What if, instead of trying to find out who is better, we look at them and saw the bride, in all of her beauty? That's how I think Christ looks at it. Perhaps we need to be looking at it the same way. Because, the church is not about us and what it can do for us, it's about Jesus.
Last night I spoke at the community Good Friday service at 1st Baptist Sycamore. It was an interesting evening. There is some movement within the pastors of this community towards bring the church together. They are calling it a "one church" movement. I like to call it the geographical church. They asked me to talk about prayer and the church. I gave a short (10 min or so) talk where I said that we need to get the intercessors together from all the churches, then the pastors need to get out of the way and let the intercessors just pray (radical concept).
I didn't fully understand how difficult some of this is going to be until I overheard some conversations. This was a community event, and there were about 10 pastors form the area there. I overheard a person say that they were worried that their pastor might be there and see them. They did not want to get in trouble for being in someone else's church. WHAT IT WRONG WITH US? Why are we so freaked out about stepping into others churches. I had a women come up to me and tell me that she liked my message. I felt that I was being rude because I did not formally introduce myself or get her name. So I put out my hand, introduced myself and asked for her name, apologizing for not asking sooner. She gave me her name, then got defensive, telling me that she went to such and such a church and that she was happy there. Is there something wrong with us when we can not be polite without people thinking we are trying to recruit them???? I just don't get it.
If we are ever going to get this idea of a geographical church, we are going to need to get over ourselves. Church is not about us and the small little expression of it that we attend. Church is about being the bride of Christ. And the entire church is part of his bride, not just the people we like. When we finally start to look at the church the way Christ looks at the church, perhaps we will begin to see the beauty of the church. The little details that make us all different make the entire body more beautiful.
I have truly come to the conclusion that marriage is a prophetic word on what the church is supposed to look like. Our spouses are complex. They are not robots where every single move they make is predictable. Instead, God has made their personalities incredibly detailed and complex. And those complexities are what many times we find beautiful in our spouses.
The same is true with the church. If the entire church was like the Vineyard, we would be pretty boring. But instead, the church is diverse, detailed, complex, and different. Where our building is, we are neighbored by a Methodist church, a Lutheran church and a Catholic church. Down the block we have a Bible, Baptist, Four Square, Congressional, Hispanic, and Greek Orthodox churchs. All of us have services at about the same time on Sundays. We are all worshiping the same God, we are all following after Jesus. Some of us are evangelical, some of us are denominational, some are orthodox, some are liberal. But at the heart of it, we are all trying to follow Christ. What if, instead of trying to find out who is better, we look at them and saw the bride, in all of her beauty? That's how I think Christ looks at it. Perhaps we need to be looking at it the same way. Because, the church is not about us and what it can do for us, it's about Jesus.
Friday, March 25, 2005
It's Good Friday and it's snowing here in DeKalb. It's going to be 77 and sunny in Georgia. Why did we move here again?
Here is an interesting article on the Terri Schiavo case. I have been giving a lot of thought to this case over the past week or so. I'm not totally sure how I feel. One thing that really has come to my mind has been the power of words. How arguments can completely change once we define things. How easy it is to de-humanize something just by labeling it. I think Kass has an good point in his article...one that I agree with.
Here is an interesting article on the Terri Schiavo case. I have been giving a lot of thought to this case over the past week or so. I'm not totally sure how I feel. One thing that really has come to my mind has been the power of words. How arguments can completely change once we define things. How easy it is to de-humanize something just by labeling it. I think Kass has an good point in his article...one that I agree with.
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