well here it is the feast of stephen and i find myself wondering what just happened. with so many events and parties and preparation leading up to Christmas it seems like just a blur. then, as i drove to work this morning passing scores of workers at a new apartment complex being built i thought... has any one, have i taken any time at all to reflect on this season, what it meant and means? here everyone is already back to their everyday lives of repetitive motions and what is there to show for all the commotion of the past few days? debt, exhaustion, guilt, kind words and deeds left unsaid and undone, family tensions, &c. did anyone have a truly 'silent, holy night'? was anyone sleeping in 'heavenly peace'? was i? was my family? were you?
Christmas eve C and i caught a bit of a show on pbs about Christmas traditions around the world. we watched as large families gathered and children got candy and not much else. Christmas night we watched some old family videos of Christmas' past, of J and i opening candy and coloring books and being overjoyed. simple pleasures... family, fires, sledding (of course there's not much chance of that here), and hot chocolate. maybe i just miss my innocent youthful days, maybe i am afraid W's youth will not be so innocent with the simplest of toys these days coming complete with 'flashing lights' & 'realistic sounds' & everyone jockeying for position as 'giver of the gift W likes the most'. not that i'm ungrateful. he got many wonderful things that he will enjoy for a long time.
it just feels like something is missing. simple things like family, friends, true joy, peace, and thanksgiving to the giver of all good gifts. maybe that's why someone saw fit to establish epiphany... after all the noise and lights another chance to reflect and remember and be thankful for life itself. may the 12th day of Christmas find us all embracing the Light of the World, the Light of Men.
26 December 2007
12 October 2007
addendum
i feel i would be remiss if i should fail to point out something about my earlier post 'God the incomparable'.
i used the notion of large amounts of $ to illustrate my point as simply as possible. i see now that it was too simplistic and prone to weakness. just because i or you can't comprehend $1 trillion doesn't mean it's incomprehensible. let me further my actual point by saying that even if i was somehow able to live from this point onward to infinity and i did nothing but write numbers down in sequence starting with 0 i still would never reach true infinity... no matter how 'large' my numbers became they would never even approach infinity. comprehend that... certainly harder, but what about an actual being that IS infinite? i dare say you can't. we can discuss, we can lay down logical reasons why such a being exists, (and in fact, must exist in order for any finite thing to have existence.) but we can never begin to comprehend. what can you compare the infinite too? only the finite which is a reduction of the infinite can be lifted as a comparison, so our understanding is necessarily finite and always will be. (ad infinitum. ha ha)
there are some other points, but i think i shall make them later when i can lend my full attentions.
i used the notion of large amounts of $ to illustrate my point as simply as possible. i see now that it was too simplistic and prone to weakness. just because i or you can't comprehend $1 trillion doesn't mean it's incomprehensible. let me further my actual point by saying that even if i was somehow able to live from this point onward to infinity and i did nothing but write numbers down in sequence starting with 0 i still would never reach true infinity... no matter how 'large' my numbers became they would never even approach infinity. comprehend that... certainly harder, but what about an actual being that IS infinite? i dare say you can't. we can discuss, we can lay down logical reasons why such a being exists, (and in fact, must exist in order for any finite thing to have existence.) but we can never begin to comprehend. what can you compare the infinite too? only the finite which is a reduction of the infinite can be lifted as a comparison, so our understanding is necessarily finite and always will be. (ad infinitum. ha ha)
there are some other points, but i think i shall make them later when i can lend my full attentions.
01 October 2007
monday musings
well, syatp is officially over and while part of me is seriously relieved the other part is sorely disappointed. this after all is the most hectic but also the most anticipated part of our year here at sdm. in a way we dread it and in a way we are sorry to see it end. i especially have struggled this year as in the midst of the upswing of syatp i decided to return to school. that the late nights working and studying have taken a toll on my son is patently obvious and that has made it all the more difficult.
i did have a realization though at the 'saw you at the pole' after rally... the pres. of our co. was speaking about people in history who were not afraid to be the ONE that stood up for something. then he relayed an event at a college he had been speaking at that really got me thinking. apparently he finished speaking the last night of the conference and dismissed everyone, before one person could get up to leave ONE girl stood up and challenged the rest to not be average, to stand up for something... in the end, the students stayed in prayer into the early hours of the morning despite being told repeatedly that they should leave. i thought to myself, 'i wish i could be a part of something like that'.
when billy finished speaking he gave invitation for people to accept Christ. all heads were bowed and he prayed. he then asked that those who had prayed with him would lift up their heads and look at him while the rest remained bowed. i was standing in the back and could observe several heads popping up all over in the crowd of about 800. the number of heads is not important of course. had only one head risen i think i should have had the same experience. in that moment God spoke to me deep in my being and said, 'you are.'
i immediately repented myself of constantly wishing for somewhere over the rainbow and resolved to focus more on the right now. right now is a powerful place if we can but seize hold of it. great deeds are not done in the future tense... they are done right now and often by the seemingly mundane. what will be is a dream, what is real is now. how many of us so often refuse the work of today, the mundane, boring, often thankless work of now in favor of dreams of tomorrow. i tell you truly, we shall never see those dreams revealed to the world by shirking the dirty work of today.
my somewhat senile grandfather in law posed this question to me the other day...'what have you done for God and country lately?' my reply was quick, i paid my taxes and my tithes, which i believe is what he was looking for. but seriously, today i'll ask myself and you a similar question... 'what have you done for the kingdom lately?' 'what work have you done recently to see your dreams realized?' i must confess that as for myself i have lately been doing little on either regard.
i did have a realization though at the 'saw you at the pole' after rally... the pres. of our co. was speaking about people in history who were not afraid to be the ONE that stood up for something. then he relayed an event at a college he had been speaking at that really got me thinking. apparently he finished speaking the last night of the conference and dismissed everyone, before one person could get up to leave ONE girl stood up and challenged the rest to not be average, to stand up for something... in the end, the students stayed in prayer into the early hours of the morning despite being told repeatedly that they should leave. i thought to myself, 'i wish i could be a part of something like that'.
when billy finished speaking he gave invitation for people to accept Christ. all heads were bowed and he prayed. he then asked that those who had prayed with him would lift up their heads and look at him while the rest remained bowed. i was standing in the back and could observe several heads popping up all over in the crowd of about 800. the number of heads is not important of course. had only one head risen i think i should have had the same experience. in that moment God spoke to me deep in my being and said, 'you are.'
i immediately repented myself of constantly wishing for somewhere over the rainbow and resolved to focus more on the right now. right now is a powerful place if we can but seize hold of it. great deeds are not done in the future tense... they are done right now and often by the seemingly mundane. what will be is a dream, what is real is now. how many of us so often refuse the work of today, the mundane, boring, often thankless work of now in favor of dreams of tomorrow. i tell you truly, we shall never see those dreams revealed to the world by shirking the dirty work of today.
my somewhat senile grandfather in law posed this question to me the other day...'what have you done for God and country lately?' my reply was quick, i paid my taxes and my tithes, which i believe is what he was looking for. but seriously, today i'll ask myself and you a similar question... 'what have you done for the kingdom lately?' 'what work have you done recently to see your dreams realized?' i must confess that as for myself i have lately been doing little on either regard.
24 September 2007
"For a minute there..."
I think Radiohead said it well:
"For a minute there
I lost myself, I lost myself.
Phew, for a minute there,
I lost myself, I lost myself."
Maybe it was because we get frustrated. Maybe it is because we are busy. Maybe it's because we feel tired. I'm not sure, but I have neglected this blog, and in some ways I have been running hard and fast - some things productive, some things not so much. So, it's been quiet in this corner of the digital world. I don't necessarily apologize for it. But I take responsibility for the silence.
For a minute there. The song and the phrase linger in regards to me, to you, to us. We seem to be living in a culture of people who are losing themselves faster than ever before in history. Maybe it was my own (repeated) brush with another (daily) reminder that I am a sinner. A sinner in desperate need of a Saviour, a Christ. Whatever brought me back to this place of entry into blogging, I am grateful to God. And a part of me is saddened by the realization that many of the people around us are losing themselves, and not just for a minute.
The thing is, the culture feeds it. The stuff we buy feeds the illusion. The songwriters simultaneously create more of it, and rage against it. The celebrity bloggers mock/glorify it. We buy into the whole lie of the modern American sense of social connection - whether it be a coffee shops, concerts, bars, myspace, facebook, match.com, and a myriad of other outlets in our search for fulfillment. The lie is in the advertising: that we should lose ourselves in the music, the movie, the moment, the night. So, millions of people do what we all do - we recede into the lie that we can find our own way, on our own, all by ourselves. We end up surrounding ourselves with people who enable our whims, when we need people who will call us to responsibility and accountability.
For a minute there. People around us are lost. What am I doing to help them realize the hope that I know is in the redemption offered by Christ? Am I tagging along, in search of my own social agenda? Am I the enabler, the hypocrite sinner? How much loss do I have to observe and experience, before I stand up and speak to the fact that we need - and can experience - hope? it is a hope that can be bought, can't be counterfeited, and is free free free.
For a minute there, we lost ourselves.
Let's get back to learning how to change the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. It's the way back home, where we aren't lost anymore.
"For a minute there
I lost myself, I lost myself.
Phew, for a minute there,
I lost myself, I lost myself."
Maybe it was because we get frustrated. Maybe it is because we are busy. Maybe it's because we feel tired. I'm not sure, but I have neglected this blog, and in some ways I have been running hard and fast - some things productive, some things not so much. So, it's been quiet in this corner of the digital world. I don't necessarily apologize for it. But I take responsibility for the silence.
For a minute there. The song and the phrase linger in regards to me, to you, to us. We seem to be living in a culture of people who are losing themselves faster than ever before in history. Maybe it was my own (repeated) brush with another (daily) reminder that I am a sinner. A sinner in desperate need of a Saviour, a Christ. Whatever brought me back to this place of entry into blogging, I am grateful to God. And a part of me is saddened by the realization that many of the people around us are losing themselves, and not just for a minute.
The thing is, the culture feeds it. The stuff we buy feeds the illusion. The songwriters simultaneously create more of it, and rage against it. The celebrity bloggers mock/glorify it. We buy into the whole lie of the modern American sense of social connection - whether it be a coffee shops, concerts, bars, myspace, facebook, match.com, and a myriad of other outlets in our search for fulfillment. The lie is in the advertising: that we should lose ourselves in the music, the movie, the moment, the night. So, millions of people do what we all do - we recede into the lie that we can find our own way, on our own, all by ourselves. We end up surrounding ourselves with people who enable our whims, when we need people who will call us to responsibility and accountability.
For a minute there. People around us are lost. What am I doing to help them realize the hope that I know is in the redemption offered by Christ? Am I tagging along, in search of my own social agenda? Am I the enabler, the hypocrite sinner? How much loss do I have to observe and experience, before I stand up and speak to the fact that we need - and can experience - hope? it is a hope that can be bought, can't be counterfeited, and is free free free.
For a minute there, we lost ourselves.
Let's get back to learning how to change the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. It's the way back home, where we aren't lost anymore.
08 June 2007
the incomprable
Isaiah 46:5 in the Message translation...
So to whom will you compare me, the Incomparable?
Can you picture me without reducing me?
i think it's an interesting way of looking at it, and one which we tend to forget. we cannot picture God. it's not possible. while i disagree on many levels with the gnostics of old, they were right in some regards... we can't know God. (hold on, don't get your drawers in a wad) do i believe it's possible to have an intimate relationship with your Creator? YES! do i believe we can know/understand some limited concepts about God? yes. do i believe we can even begin to comprehend who/what/where/why/how God is? no. it's beyond our ability to comprehend.
most if not all people have difficulty (really it's next to impossible) to comprehend $1-trillion. bill gates might be close to it, but you and i can't comprehend it. it's too large for those of us who aren't millionaires, and even for millionaires it's inconceivable! (you keep using that word, i dona think it means wha you think it means) we have no way of comparing it to anything we know. when have you ever seen 1-trillion anything? (scientists and philosophers would say every day, but you get my point) as children we start small, 1 pencil + 1 more pencil = 2 pencils. as we age we are capable of far larger and more complex concepts/numbers. but sooner or later our training/learning trails off. most of us rarely get to deal with the concept of 1-million, much less 1-billion, and only scientists/congressmen/women and extremely large corps. usually ever even have to think about 1-trillion, and i'm not convinced that many of them really grasp the enormity.
1
10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
10,000,000
100,000,000
1,000,000,000
10,000,000,000
100,000,000,000
1,000,000,000,000...
if someone with $1,000 spends $1 they have $999
if someone with $1,000,000,000,000 spends $1 they still have $999,999,999,999
it's basically like nothing happened at all, you'd never even realize it was gone. another reason we can't comprehend such #s is our calculators which we have come to rely on so heavily only go to 10,000,000.
this has taken a while i realize, but think about this, their are so many stars in the universe that i'm not even sure we have a word for it. trying to explain it would sound like a young child in a make-believe contest, "--whatever-- times 1-million" 'oh yeah? --whatever--times an enorma-mega-giganti-bigillion!'
now, if you believe as i do that some force (God) called those stars into existence... how big is God? how unfathomable is God? beyond comprehension. there are not words, and even if there were there are not minds great enough to understand them.
any way we look at God, try to understand Him or how He works is pathetic! all such attempts reduce God. to understand we must reduce and so we can never truly understand. ***EDIT: even the use of words like he/him limit God***
how does anyone believe that they have 'THE TRUTH' how arrogant is that?!?! "i have come to 'the truth' i know everything about God!" yeah right. no one has a corner on God. NO ONE!
paul admits that our attempts to understand are like "looking through a glass darkly" most people consider this to be a poor mirror. i'm not sure. (i'm completely speculating here) it's entirely possible given the people he was speaking to and their past religious concepts that he was referring to something like a 'crystal ball'. when a seer couldn't see anything he/she would say something like the glass is dark or the glass is cloudy. these people would have understood that concept. he's saying, God/heaven/etc is something we can sort of understand, but really our ability is equal to someone looking for answers in a crystal ball (in itself futile) that's gone dark. maybe a glimpse here or there, but nothing substantial, nothing concrete.
i think it's time we had a deeper, more open conversation.
So to whom will you compare me, the Incomparable?
Can you picture me without reducing me?
i think it's an interesting way of looking at it, and one which we tend to forget. we cannot picture God. it's not possible. while i disagree on many levels with the gnostics of old, they were right in some regards... we can't know God. (hold on, don't get your drawers in a wad) do i believe it's possible to have an intimate relationship with your Creator? YES! do i believe we can know/understand some limited concepts about God? yes. do i believe we can even begin to comprehend who/what/where/why/how God is? no. it's beyond our ability to comprehend.
most if not all people have difficulty (really it's next to impossible) to comprehend $1-trillion. bill gates might be close to it, but you and i can't comprehend it. it's too large for those of us who aren't millionaires, and even for millionaires it's inconceivable! (you keep using that word, i dona think it means wha you think it means) we have no way of comparing it to anything we know. when have you ever seen 1-trillion anything? (scientists and philosophers would say every day, but you get my point) as children we start small, 1 pencil + 1 more pencil = 2 pencils. as we age we are capable of far larger and more complex concepts/numbers. but sooner or later our training/learning trails off. most of us rarely get to deal with the concept of 1-million, much less 1-billion, and only scientists/congressmen/women and extremely large corps. usually ever even have to think about 1-trillion, and i'm not convinced that many of them really grasp the enormity.
1
10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
10,000,000
100,000,000
1,000,000,000
10,000,000,000
100,000,000,000
1,000,000,000,000...
if someone with $1,000 spends $1 they have $999
if someone with $1,000,000,000,000 spends $1 they still have $999,999,999,999
it's basically like nothing happened at all, you'd never even realize it was gone. another reason we can't comprehend such #s is our calculators which we have come to rely on so heavily only go to 10,000,000.
this has taken a while i realize, but think about this, their are so many stars in the universe that i'm not even sure we have a word for it. trying to explain it would sound like a young child in a make-believe contest, "--whatever-- times 1-million" 'oh yeah? --whatever--times an enorma-mega-giganti-bigillion!'
now, if you believe as i do that some force (God) called those stars into existence... how big is God? how unfathomable is God? beyond comprehension. there are not words, and even if there were there are not minds great enough to understand them.
any way we look at God, try to understand Him or how He works is pathetic! all such attempts reduce God. to understand we must reduce and so we can never truly understand. ***EDIT: even the use of words like he/him limit God***
how does anyone believe that they have 'THE TRUTH' how arrogant is that?!?! "i have come to 'the truth' i know everything about God!" yeah right. no one has a corner on God. NO ONE!
paul admits that our attempts to understand are like "looking through a glass darkly" most people consider this to be a poor mirror. i'm not sure. (i'm completely speculating here) it's entirely possible given the people he was speaking to and their past religious concepts that he was referring to something like a 'crystal ball'. when a seer couldn't see anything he/she would say something like the glass is dark or the glass is cloudy. these people would have understood that concept. he's saying, God/heaven/etc is something we can sort of understand, but really our ability is equal to someone looking for answers in a crystal ball (in itself futile) that's gone dark. maybe a glimpse here or there, but nothing substantial, nothing concrete.
i think it's time we had a deeper, more open conversation.
03 June 2007
The Conversation
The Conversation
God.Love.Culture.
Begining June 3rd, 2007
Sunday Nights - 7pm
2815 Sandage Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76109
For more info, contact: Bo Liles at mrliles@gmail.com
This is just in case you haven't seen us throwing up ads on all the OTHER blogging sites.
much love,
~Bo Liles
God.Love.Culture.
Begining June 3rd, 2007
Sunday Nights - 7pm
2815 Sandage Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76109
For more info, contact: Bo Liles at mrliles@gmail.com
This is just in case you haven't seen us throwing up ads on all the OTHER blogging sites.
much love,
~Bo Liles
30 May 2007
Breaks
breaks are good, but it's easy to slip into apathy and too much tv watching. i'm trying hard to keep a handle on things but i'm not always successful. (a rainy weekend is the devil!!!) it's hard too feeling like we're losing friends. (to an extent) it was good to hang w/ the shep's this weekend. (even though we didn't buy their daughter a gift, they still let us eat and such) it's so weird how lack of proximity almost instantly creates distance in ways other than geographical. just not going to the same church creates barriers to hang-out invites etc. (no fault with anyone, it's just the way it is.) C is having a hard time with the loss of a particular friendship that started long before we left. not by her choice or by the other persons but because of me and my issues. we are both saddened by the ever increasing distance between us and one of our closest friends. we're not sure what is causing it, but it is very difficult for us. all attempts to reach out have been effectively blown off.
this whole process has been difficult (obviously) but i'd hoped that the friendships wouldn't fade so quickly.
i'm still waiting to see if i'm accepted to uta or not... (i gotta know soon because registration deadline for fall is june 6th.) unfortunately even if i am i may not be able to get the pell grant for the fall semester because 'priority' is given to everyone who gets the FAFSA application in before may 15th. and then us latecomers have to fight over the scraps.
i think all of this has contributed to my general malaise at the moment.
i know this blog is really not designed to be a 'feelings' blog, but i really didn't feel like putting this on xanga or myspace. it seems better since no one ever reads this one.
this whole process has been difficult (obviously) but i'd hoped that the friendships wouldn't fade so quickly.
i'm still waiting to see if i'm accepted to uta or not... (i gotta know soon because registration deadline for fall is june 6th.) unfortunately even if i am i may not be able to get the pell grant for the fall semester because 'priority' is given to everyone who gets the FAFSA application in before may 15th. and then us latecomers have to fight over the scraps.
i think all of this has contributed to my general malaise at the moment.
i know this blog is really not designed to be a 'feelings' blog, but i really didn't feel like putting this on xanga or myspace. it seems better since no one ever reads this one.
18 May 2007
history and destiny
Pastor Mark Batterson of NCC in D.C. said someting on his blog at www.evotional.com that I thought I'd pass along...
"I'm not even sure what I'm trying to say, but I think it's this: a healthy church has a strong sense of history coupled with a strong sense of destiny. If you lose that sense of destiny it is so easy for a church to turn into a museum. We need to remember where we come from. But we also need to know where God is taking us. Our sense of history has to fuel a sense of destiny."
I cannot communicate tht any better than he did.
~Liles
"I'm not even sure what I'm trying to say, but I think it's this: a healthy church has a strong sense of history coupled with a strong sense of destiny. If you lose that sense of destiny it is so easy for a church to turn into a museum. We need to remember where we come from. But we also need to know where God is taking us. Our sense of history has to fuel a sense of destiny."
I cannot communicate tht any better than he did.
~Liles
12 May 2007
There is Peace
A passage from tomorrow's lectionary.
John 14:27:
"I do not give to you as the world gives"
What has the world given us? The systems of humankind have been subject to sin and the curse of living in fractured existence. A fracture that separates us from our intended union with our Creator. Systematically, we are losing ourselves. Our grasp of what is true and beautiful is being corrupted by the brokenness of humanity without God.
We make war with a mind for nationalism over the rights of all humans. We ignore the poor and those not in our class - giving no mind to the inequality of the world's systems. We give into the selfishness that drives the sinful nature. We look to fill the emptiness inside with things, with stuff, with a thousand pieces of consumer goods. We abuse ourselves, giving away precious purity for nights not spent facing ourselves in the dark. We fight, we hate, we backbite, we refuse to look at the world from any perspective other than the one that fits our wants.
And the world keeps spinning. And dying.
And Christians gather weekly. And we sing, and we laugh, and we enjoy our buildings with good sound, great video, and comfortable pews. And the world our God created is dying all around us - both the rich power mongers and the poorest children in lands far away.
But from the mouth of a seemingly ordinary carpenter turned teacher/rabbi two thousand years ago, words are spoken that are changing everything. That rabbi was more than a moral teacher. He was the Son of God. The Son of Man. The Messiah.
"I do not give to you as the world gives"
Peace. Love. Mercy. Grace. Healing. Restoration. Unity with the Creator.
Life as it was meant to be.
Jesus is making a new way. The kingdom has come, and is invading the world as we know it. The principalities and powers are being overcome. Creation is being redeemed.
The time has come to stop being comfortable in our churches. It is time to start risking. God has called us to GO into the world, the culture, and love those the comfortable religious establishment has not loved. To be the hands of Christ.
The hands of Christ are scarred. They show the marks of suffering. They are not all dressed up and hiding behind the masks of perfected appearances and religious dogma.
As followers of Jesus, we should not give as the world gives. Let's start being honest and living in the kingdom and not the world as we know it. Then we might just taste heaven.
Don't be afraid. The king is making all things new.
Peace be unto you, brothers and sisters.
~Liles
John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
"I do not give to you as the world gives"
What has the world given us? The systems of humankind have been subject to sin and the curse of living in fractured existence. A fracture that separates us from our intended union with our Creator. Systematically, we are losing ourselves. Our grasp of what is true and beautiful is being corrupted by the brokenness of humanity without God.
We make war with a mind for nationalism over the rights of all humans. We ignore the poor and those not in our class - giving no mind to the inequality of the world's systems. We give into the selfishness that drives the sinful nature. We look to fill the emptiness inside with things, with stuff, with a thousand pieces of consumer goods. We abuse ourselves, giving away precious purity for nights not spent facing ourselves in the dark. We fight, we hate, we backbite, we refuse to look at the world from any perspective other than the one that fits our wants.
And the world keeps spinning. And dying.
And Christians gather weekly. And we sing, and we laugh, and we enjoy our buildings with good sound, great video, and comfortable pews. And the world our God created is dying all around us - both the rich power mongers and the poorest children in lands far away.
But from the mouth of a seemingly ordinary carpenter turned teacher/rabbi two thousand years ago, words are spoken that are changing everything. That rabbi was more than a moral teacher. He was the Son of God. The Son of Man. The Messiah.
"I do not give to you as the world gives"
Peace. Love. Mercy. Grace. Healing. Restoration. Unity with the Creator.
Life as it was meant to be.
Jesus is making a new way. The kingdom has come, and is invading the world as we know it. The principalities and powers are being overcome. Creation is being redeemed.
The time has come to stop being comfortable in our churches. It is time to start risking. God has called us to GO into the world, the culture, and love those the comfortable religious establishment has not loved. To be the hands of Christ.
The hands of Christ are scarred. They show the marks of suffering. They are not all dressed up and hiding behind the masks of perfected appearances and religious dogma.
As followers of Jesus, we should not give as the world gives. Let's start being honest and living in the kingdom and not the world as we know it. Then we might just taste heaven.
Don't be afraid. The king is making all things new.
Peace be unto you, brothers and sisters.
~Liles
06 May 2007
Part 2: Revelation 21:1-6
Correction: the readings in this and the last post are from today's lectionary. let's dig in...
Revelation 21:1-6
Last post, I quoted/commented the following:
Revelation 21 begins with a bold proclamation - "a new heaven, and a new earth"
Redemption is completed in the act of the Messiah coming to redeem all of Creation that chooses to worship God alone. Here we see the New Jerusalem coming DOWN from heaven. Now what does all this mean? Is creation redeemed and restored? Or is the physical world, the first heaven and first earth, destroyed in favor a new celestial home - heaven in the traditional Protestant sense? I don't claim to know the answers, not would I want to make claims that are speculative - the very next chapter in Revelation warns against such things. But the question must be asked:
Why would a wise and divine Creator spend history/time redeeming and restoring Creation - evidenced/proven/completed in the death and resurrection of the "only begotten Son" Jesus - and then suddenly reverse course (and overturning the imagery of the prophet(s) in Isaiah) and destroy that Creation and whisk a remnant off to a celestial city beyond the cosmos?
This is a question that will proven in God's timing alone. However, the beautiful image is that of two worlds/realms - currently separated by the chaos of sin & death - are being restored by the victory of God begun at the cross. It is this restored unity, this heaven, this perfected state, that ALL the writers of scripture speak to.
Heaven is a widely debated subject by writers, thinkers, and dreamers. In search of how it is to be defined, we must speak of it in relation the kingdom that Jesus himself spoke to:
(courtesy of WIKIPEDIA)
In both Isaiah and Revelation, the coming of Messiah ushers in the eternal age where heaven and earth are no longer separated by sin and death. The kingdom, or reign, of God is unified. It is interesting to note that along with the "first earth," the "first heaven" is also passed away. Hmmmm. Maybe heaven is not all about angel wings and us cloud hopping for eternity...maybe it is the idea that the separation between us and God is no more, and things are set right in Creation.
Note verse 3:
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;'"
and Verse 5:
"And the one who was seated on the throne said, 'See, I am making all things new.' Also he said, 'Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.'"
"the home of God is among the mortals," "He will dwell with them," and "I am making all things new"
The thing to ponder is the inflection of these types of phrases from God through God's chosen writer of the book of Revelation. It denotes not something created elsewhere but the transformation of something already created. It is "all things new" not merely "new things." See the difference?
The takeaway point:
I believe heaven is the unity of God with Creation. I believe it is the reign of God for eternity, in which those who accept the salvation offered by God are united with their Creator to live as they were intended to. For me, God is redeeming and transforming all things through the power of the Holy Spirit. And one day, God will complete the transformation. The systems of sin and death - the corruption of humankind's misuse of all of Creation - will be overturned and defeated.
No more war. No more hate. No more abuse of any part of Creation. No more death. No more sin. No more pain. And we will KNOW that the will of God is complete.
21:4 says "he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."
"The first (or former) things" - a reference to the curses of Genesis 3 - are passed away...and we see that chaos is again conquered as it was in Genesis 1. I don't want to be whisked away to utopia somewhere beyond the stars. I want to be here when the world Jesus called me to love is redeemed and set right once and for all. I want to worship my God as I was meant to when God called us all "very good"
Amen.
Revelation 21:1-6
Last post, I quoted/commented the following:
'What God has made clean.' What did God call good in the beginning? All of creation. What did Jesus shed his blood to redeem? All of Creation. What is God redeeming through the work of the Holy Spirit? All of Creation.
Revelation 21 begins with a bold proclamation - "a new heaven, and a new earth"
Redemption is completed in the act of the Messiah coming to redeem all of Creation that chooses to worship God alone. Here we see the New Jerusalem coming DOWN from heaven. Now what does all this mean? Is creation redeemed and restored? Or is the physical world, the first heaven and first earth, destroyed in favor a new celestial home - heaven in the traditional Protestant sense? I don't claim to know the answers, not would I want to make claims that are speculative - the very next chapter in Revelation warns against such things. But the question must be asked:
Why would a wise and divine Creator spend history/time redeeming and restoring Creation - evidenced/proven/completed in the death and resurrection of the "only begotten Son" Jesus - and then suddenly reverse course (and overturning the imagery of the prophet(s) in Isaiah) and destroy that Creation and whisk a remnant off to a celestial city beyond the cosmos?
This is a question that will proven in God's timing alone. However, the beautiful image is that of two worlds/realms - currently separated by the chaos of sin & death - are being restored by the victory of God begun at the cross. It is this restored unity, this heaven, this perfected state, that ALL the writers of scripture speak to.
Heaven is a widely debated subject by writers, thinkers, and dreamers. In search of how it is to be defined, we must speak of it in relation the kingdom that Jesus himself spoke to:
"The word 'kingdom' is a translation of the Greek word 'basileia' which in turn is a translation of the words 'malkuth' (Hebrew) and 'malkutha' (Aramaic). These words do not define kingdom by territory but by dominion. Jesus said of the Kingdom of God that one cannot say, 'Look here it is!' or 'There it is!' Luke 17:21. According to C.H. Dodd, the common translation of 'malkuth' with 'basileia' in Greek and hence 'kingdom' in English is therefore problematic; a translation with 'kingship,' 'kingly rule,'reign' or 'sovereignty' should be preferred.[10]"
(courtesy of WIKIPEDIA)
In both Isaiah and Revelation, the coming of Messiah ushers in the eternal age where heaven and earth are no longer separated by sin and death. The kingdom, or reign, of God is unified. It is interesting to note that along with the "first earth," the "first heaven" is also passed away. Hmmmm. Maybe heaven is not all about angel wings and us cloud hopping for eternity...maybe it is the idea that the separation between us and God is no more, and things are set right in Creation.
Note verse 3:
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;'"
and Verse 5:
"And the one who was seated on the throne said, 'See, I am making all things new.' Also he said, 'Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.'"
"the home of God is among the mortals," "He will dwell with them," and "I am making all things new"
The thing to ponder is the inflection of these types of phrases from God through God's chosen writer of the book of Revelation. It denotes not something created elsewhere but the transformation of something already created. It is "all things new" not merely "new things." See the difference?
The takeaway point:
I believe heaven is the unity of God with Creation. I believe it is the reign of God for eternity, in which those who accept the salvation offered by God are united with their Creator to live as they were intended to. For me, God is redeeming and transforming all things through the power of the Holy Spirit. And one day, God will complete the transformation. The systems of sin and death - the corruption of humankind's misuse of all of Creation - will be overturned and defeated.
No more war. No more hate. No more abuse of any part of Creation. No more death. No more sin. No more pain. And we will KNOW that the will of God is complete.
21:4 says "he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."
"The first (or former) things" - a reference to the curses of Genesis 3 - are passed away...and we see that chaos is again conquered as it was in Genesis 1. I don't want to be whisked away to utopia somewhere beyond the stars. I want to be here when the world Jesus called me to love is redeemed and set right once and for all. I want to worship my God as I was meant to when God called us all "very good"
Amen.
30 April 2007
Thoughts on Scripture: Part 1 of 2 - Acts 11 & Revelation 21
Things to ponder, friends...today I thought I would draw directly from the lectionary readings from yesterday. Let's start with the reading from Acts 11:1-18.
Imagine you are Peter in this story from Acts 11. You've just heard that Gentiles are receiving the Holy Spirit. The thing is, your religion, your very society, prohibits - or at best discourages you - from associating with Gentiles. You are a Jew. Yet, Peter goes anyway. When he returns, he is criticized for associated with "unclean" Gentiles. In fact, rumor has it that Peter has eaten their (non-kosher) meat! This is unbelievable! An outrage to the religious culture from which these followers of Jesus grew up in. If you are Peter what do you do? Lie? Deny that you shared meals with people that your religion has ignored and shunned? God already knew what Peter was going to face. Jesus was accused in like manner. How easily we religious folk forget such things in Scripture.
While in Joppa, Peter has a vision, telling him to go and eat with the Gentiles. Speculation could be made about the symbolism in this vision, but that is for another post. Peter is there, in the city, and very much within his character - he hesitates. We, like Peter, hesitate a lot. We all worry as to what the establishment will think. The voice from heaven speaks in verse 9:
"But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.'"
"What God has made clean." What did God call good in the begining? All of creation. What did Jesus shed his blood to redeem? All of Creation. What is God redeeming through the work of the Holy Spirit? All of Creation.
The voice repeats this three times. I do not think this is a random occurrence. God knew that he needed to remind Peter of the time when he failed to trust Jesus and denied the Lord three times. Verse 12a:
"The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us."
In other words, take the Gospel to the culture.
And Peter obeys...he goes into the place that the religious establishment told him not to go. He speaks and lives out the truth of Jesus to the Gentiles. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit. He remarks in verse 17:
"If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"
Here's the takeaway point. There is a false safety in the dogma of man. When we allow the routines, rituals, and memorized lists of religious rules to overshadow the moving and leading of the Holy Spirit - then we give into fear. God did not call us to recede from taking the Gospel of Jesus to culture, but to arm ourselves with love, the Word & prayer, and the unction of the Holy Spirit and GO into all the world. What if Peter had given into fear of being ridiculed by other Jewish Christians? The Gospel would not have spread outside of Judea, and you and I would not have been grafted into the vine of God's chosen people.
What are we afraid of? Who are we afraid to love? What is stopping us from spreading the good news of the kingdom to every corner of the world? God is calling us to "lay aside the things which so easily beset us" - whether it be sin or the old law (or dogma) - and begin to live radically dangerous lives of love to ALL of God's Creation.
Tomorrow, we will look at the adjoining passage from Revelation 21 about why we live out the kingdom of God.
Imagine you are Peter in this story from Acts 11. You've just heard that Gentiles are receiving the Holy Spirit. The thing is, your religion, your very society, prohibits - or at best discourages you - from associating with Gentiles. You are a Jew. Yet, Peter goes anyway. When he returns, he is criticized for associated with "unclean" Gentiles. In fact, rumor has it that Peter has eaten their (non-kosher) meat! This is unbelievable! An outrage to the religious culture from which these followers of Jesus grew up in. If you are Peter what do you do? Lie? Deny that you shared meals with people that your religion has ignored and shunned? God already knew what Peter was going to face. Jesus was accused in like manner. How easily we religious folk forget such things in Scripture.
While in Joppa, Peter has a vision, telling him to go and eat with the Gentiles. Speculation could be made about the symbolism in this vision, but that is for another post. Peter is there, in the city, and very much within his character - he hesitates. We, like Peter, hesitate a lot. We all worry as to what the establishment will think. The voice from heaven speaks in verse 9:
"But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.'"
"What God has made clean." What did God call good in the begining? All of creation. What did Jesus shed his blood to redeem? All of Creation. What is God redeeming through the work of the Holy Spirit? All of Creation.
The voice repeats this three times. I do not think this is a random occurrence. God knew that he needed to remind Peter of the time when he failed to trust Jesus and denied the Lord three times. Verse 12a:
"The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us."
In other words, take the Gospel to the culture.
And Peter obeys...he goes into the place that the religious establishment told him not to go. He speaks and lives out the truth of Jesus to the Gentiles. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit. He remarks in verse 17:
"If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"
Here's the takeaway point. There is a false safety in the dogma of man. When we allow the routines, rituals, and memorized lists of religious rules to overshadow the moving and leading of the Holy Spirit - then we give into fear. God did not call us to recede from taking the Gospel of Jesus to culture, but to arm ourselves with love, the Word & prayer, and the unction of the Holy Spirit and GO into all the world. What if Peter had given into fear of being ridiculed by other Jewish Christians? The Gospel would not have spread outside of Judea, and you and I would not have been grafted into the vine of God's chosen people.
What are we afraid of? Who are we afraid to love? What is stopping us from spreading the good news of the kingdom to every corner of the world? God is calling us to "lay aside the things which so easily beset us" - whether it be sin or the old law (or dogma) - and begin to live radically dangerous lives of love to ALL of God's Creation.
Tomorrow, we will look at the adjoining passage from Revelation 21 about why we live out the kingdom of God.
23 April 2007
just me thinking outlloud
while i doubt that many (if any) of you will care to read this or the preceding four articles
www.americanthinker.com/2007/04/the_deconstructed_jesus.html i must post it as i found it fascinating. bo, ali, nelly, britt may find it interesting as well. (but i doubt you'll actually read it).
if you do, then let me say this... this is the kind of thing that makes me want to study philosophy. many have asked why i want to... it simply fascinates me in a way nothing else really does.
reading these articles has reminded me of my thoughts that have been stirred by the book 'a new kind of christian'.
one of the things from that book that i have mentally been wrestling is the concept that, while Christ is THE way you might be following him by following say buddha. the book makes a great effort to affirm the concept that you must come to the Father via Christ while at the same time saying that you may have come to Christ via something else entirely. i'm not sure i can make that leap. while i certainly agree that 'christianity' is horribly wrong for thinking that 'converting' (i despise the way this term has been used, but it is appropriate in the context) people means stripping them of their culture, i can't agree that their current and previous beliefs are congruous. maybe i have misunderstood the book and maybe it and i agree. i believe that scripturally someone who 'follows the law, without having the law' is still considered to have followed God's plan, even without awareness of it as such. so, in this sense someone could follow the teachings of buddha or mohammed and also in the process followed God's laws for right living and so be justified. (however the Bible seems to make it clear that justification is next to impossible by the law, for if you're guilty of breaking one commandment then you've broken all of them.) it seems to me (unless i am misunderstanding him... which incidently would actually go along w/ his postmodern view) that he has swallowed far too much of the postmodern soup. this way of thinking i think comes dangerously close to complete relitivism. i cannot follow the path of no absolutes, no knowable things. there is truth. there is even absolute truth. (now whether or not we can discover and comprehend it is more debatable) i suppose that philisophically speaking there could be no way to know for sure whether you had discovered absolute truth, because that absolute truth is still being filtered by your personal beliefs, ideas, cultural understanding etc.
anyway this is just a bunch of rambling thoughts... i suppose i should do this more often for my own sake, not yours as i'm sure that most of you stopped reading several sentences back.
www.americanthinker.com/2007/04/the_deconstructed_jesus.html i must post it as i found it fascinating. bo, ali, nelly, britt may find it interesting as well. (but i doubt you'll actually read it).
if you do, then let me say this... this is the kind of thing that makes me want to study philosophy. many have asked why i want to... it simply fascinates me in a way nothing else really does.
reading these articles has reminded me of my thoughts that have been stirred by the book 'a new kind of christian'.
one of the things from that book that i have mentally been wrestling is the concept that, while Christ is THE way you might be following him by following say buddha. the book makes a great effort to affirm the concept that you must come to the Father via Christ while at the same time saying that you may have come to Christ via something else entirely. i'm not sure i can make that leap. while i certainly agree that 'christianity' is horribly wrong for thinking that 'converting' (i despise the way this term has been used, but it is appropriate in the context) people means stripping them of their culture, i can't agree that their current and previous beliefs are congruous. maybe i have misunderstood the book and maybe it and i agree. i believe that scripturally someone who 'follows the law, without having the law' is still considered to have followed God's plan, even without awareness of it as such. so, in this sense someone could follow the teachings of buddha or mohammed and also in the process followed God's laws for right living and so be justified. (however the Bible seems to make it clear that justification is next to impossible by the law, for if you're guilty of breaking one commandment then you've broken all of them.) it seems to me (unless i am misunderstanding him... which incidently would actually go along w/ his postmodern view) that he has swallowed far too much of the postmodern soup. this way of thinking i think comes dangerously close to complete relitivism. i cannot follow the path of no absolutes, no knowable things. there is truth. there is even absolute truth. (now whether or not we can discover and comprehend it is more debatable) i suppose that philisophically speaking there could be no way to know for sure whether you had discovered absolute truth, because that absolute truth is still being filtered by your personal beliefs, ideas, cultural understanding etc.
anyway this is just a bunch of rambling thoughts... i suppose i should do this more often for my own sake, not yours as i'm sure that most of you stopped reading several sentences back.
09 April 2007
addendum to previous post, courtesy poor old lu
not sure why but this song has been playing on my shuffle and in my head quite a bit lately. maybe it says something about where i am currently. maybe it's just a darn good song. in any event i felt to share it here. (with all two of you)
The Waiting Room
liner notes go here... eventually
She was staring at the ceiling
I was staring at the floor
He was fixed in thought and wonder of what lied behind the door
There was a man with little movement
I knew I’d seen him here before
The people with the children were sick to death and would wait no more
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
He must’ve talked for forever
I think they finally turned away
And I was thinking to myself I should have plenty more to say
And some were getting very restless
Some were filling up the days
I was hoping that the girl with the curl would be safe
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
Just want to have the patience of a saint who waits at the gate
Please don’t be late
The floors are giving in
The walls are getting thin
The clock is moving slow
My breathing comes and goes
The room is getting small
The sin is growing tall
We wait for the day
We wait for the day
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
Just want to have the patience of a saint who waits at the gate
Please don’t be late
She was full of good intentions
I was full with all my greed
He was holding out his hands as if to give, as if to bleed
There was a man with little substance
I know I’d seen him here indeed
The people with the children spoke so soft to confess their need
And some are getting hopeless
Some are filling up the days
I am hoping on a promise, on a gift, and so I wait…
--thank you pooroldlu.com
if you have never heard any of their stuff i encourage you to check them out. also any and all solo albums from jesse sprinkle
The Waiting Room
liner notes go here... eventually
She was staring at the ceiling
I was staring at the floor
He was fixed in thought and wonder of what lied behind the door
There was a man with little movement
I knew I’d seen him here before
The people with the children were sick to death and would wait no more
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
He must’ve talked for forever
I think they finally turned away
And I was thinking to myself I should have plenty more to say
And some were getting very restless
Some were filling up the days
I was hoping that the girl with the curl would be safe
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
Just want to have the patience of a saint who waits at the gate
Please don’t be late
The floors are giving in
The walls are getting thin
The clock is moving slow
My breathing comes and goes
The room is getting small
The sin is growing tall
We wait for the day
We wait for the day
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
Just want to have the patience of a saint who waits at the gate
Please don’t be late
She was full of good intentions
I was full with all my greed
He was holding out his hands as if to give, as if to bleed
There was a man with little substance
I know I’d seen him here indeed
The people with the children spoke so soft to confess their need
And some are getting hopeless
Some are filling up the days
I am hoping on a promise, on a gift, and so I wait…
--thank you pooroldlu.com
if you have never heard any of their stuff i encourage you to check them out. also any and all solo albums from jesse sprinkle
02 April 2007
death of an ol' yeller...
i attended a funeral sat. for a woman revered by many for her spiritual prowess and prayer life. everyone knew she was exceptionally spiritual because obviously any one who screams a lot and shakes their head violently is in touch with the Almighty. much was said about these facts as well as the fact that over the years she kept numerous children in her home. yes, and she bathed them all, fed them, and prayed over each one each and every day. it seems too, although unmentioned, that she sent many of them home with massive bruises and would probably say that most of them are going straight to hell today, but it's a funeral right... we don't talk about that stuff at funerals.
the small church was packed to the gills and we had to sit on a row of green chairs quickly set up along the back. the service started with, 'let's all stand and lift up our hands and give God worship! that's what she would have wanted.' and i'm sure it was. several songs of an old school southern gospel nature were sung, contrasted starkly by 'i can only imagine'. i spent much of this time holding my wriggling son and thinking about how this old way of 'doing' church was all but dead. i meticulously deconstructed every thing that occurred bit by bit and piece by piece with a smug sense of superiority. and then it happened some old song i'd never heard before and doubt i will ever hear again about heaven and 'going home' was sung. i watched as numerous elderly men and women stood with tears in their eyes, trembling hands lifted as high as they could extend them singing with the exhuberence of a 20-something know-it-all singing some modern worship song failing to realize that when he is their age their will be some 20-something jerk sitting in the back picking apart how he is behaving at a funeral. (wow long sentence there) i was convicted. i began to watch them in a different way. i saw the joy and expectant hope in their eyes of a kingdom promised and one which they are fast approaching. sure their view of heaven may be considerably different from mine, but is that really important?
whether heaven is on earth or some mystic plane above us or any other of a number of possibilities is really not the point. the point is the hope we have in Christ. a hope for resurrection to life w/o death pain or discomfort. a hope for a better world finally restored or newly created where we finally get it right. this hope is what kept paul going as he rotted in prison. (along with many others) this hope allowed countless thousands to be tortured, pulled apart, boiled or burned alive, and otherwise disgustingly mutilated...(deep breath) and yet hold fast to their beliefs and convictions. 'do not fear those who can merely kill the body. fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.'
i'm not sure that my hope is that strong. i don't know if my hope could transcend such circumstances. apparently, i have a lot to learn from generations previous. '...whatsoever things are true...think on these things'. there is a great deal of truth in their experience and belief system. while i disagree with much of it, wherever truth is we must seize upon it.
well, i'm off to ponder (and get some work done!)
the small church was packed to the gills and we had to sit on a row of green chairs quickly set up along the back. the service started with, 'let's all stand and lift up our hands and give God worship! that's what she would have wanted.' and i'm sure it was. several songs of an old school southern gospel nature were sung, contrasted starkly by 'i can only imagine'. i spent much of this time holding my wriggling son and thinking about how this old way of 'doing' church was all but dead. i meticulously deconstructed every thing that occurred bit by bit and piece by piece with a smug sense of superiority. and then it happened some old song i'd never heard before and doubt i will ever hear again about heaven and 'going home' was sung. i watched as numerous elderly men and women stood with tears in their eyes, trembling hands lifted as high as they could extend them singing with the exhuberence of a 20-something know-it-all singing some modern worship song failing to realize that when he is their age their will be some 20-something jerk sitting in the back picking apart how he is behaving at a funeral. (wow long sentence there) i was convicted. i began to watch them in a different way. i saw the joy and expectant hope in their eyes of a kingdom promised and one which they are fast approaching. sure their view of heaven may be considerably different from mine, but is that really important?
whether heaven is on earth or some mystic plane above us or any other of a number of possibilities is really not the point. the point is the hope we have in Christ. a hope for resurrection to life w/o death pain or discomfort. a hope for a better world finally restored or newly created where we finally get it right. this hope is what kept paul going as he rotted in prison. (along with many others) this hope allowed countless thousands to be tortured, pulled apart, boiled or burned alive, and otherwise disgustingly mutilated...(deep breath) and yet hold fast to their beliefs and convictions. 'do not fear those who can merely kill the body. fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.'
i'm not sure that my hope is that strong. i don't know if my hope could transcend such circumstances. apparently, i have a lot to learn from generations previous. '...whatsoever things are true...think on these things'. there is a great deal of truth in their experience and belief system. while i disagree with much of it, wherever truth is we must seize upon it.
well, i'm off to ponder (and get some work done!)
23 March 2007
Somebody get Pfaff a cup of good coffee! Don't worry, the past is past and I have love for ALL of you. Something in that Bible about loving your neighbor (even if they block you in your driveway), loving your enemy (that person that cuts you off in traffic, or says something mean at the store), and loving your family (yes, ALL of your family), and the stranger (becuase you could be in the presence of angels unaware). Funny how the Scripture works, yes? I accept the mistakes I've made. I try and forgive and give that same grace to others. So, let's move on as that sounds like the right thing to do, and look to Barna's book and the idea that we can learn from one another.
I would put this in a comment to Pfaff's post, but I felt to share it a bit more. Me and Pfaff got in a discussion about Barna. And I admit, I was more critical of Revolution than I should have been. The context in which I was given the book made me more biased to its content. And that was kind of the point of the book, as I now see. OUR CONTEXT IS CHANGING in regards to church. Context is increasingly the driving force behind our reactions to what we intake, whether spiritually, emotionally, etc. The church's old context that is rigid and stuck is not working for much of the world, because it does not reflect their spiritual/emotional experience. And in that, I think Barna is dead on.
So, the question is this: what am I doing to align the context of my life with that of the kingdom of God?
If we begin to do that each day, I think we will find that the world around us is full of a little more hope and opportunity. So yes, George Barna, I want to be apart of the revolution of Jesus - in every way.
read the book. have a conversation like we did. open your world.
~Liles
P.S. - did you notice that he defended my age? HA!
I would put this in a comment to Pfaff's post, but I felt to share it a bit more. Me and Pfaff got in a discussion about Barna. And I admit, I was more critical of Revolution than I should have been. The context in which I was given the book made me more biased to its content. And that was kind of the point of the book, as I now see. OUR CONTEXT IS CHANGING in regards to church. Context is increasingly the driving force behind our reactions to what we intake, whether spiritually, emotionally, etc. The church's old context that is rigid and stuck is not working for much of the world, because it does not reflect their spiritual/emotional experience. And in that, I think Barna is dead on.
So, the question is this: what am I doing to align the context of my life with that of the kingdom of God?
If we begin to do that each day, I think we will find that the world around us is full of a little more hope and opportunity. So yes, George Barna, I want to be apart of the revolution of Jesus - in every way.
read the book. have a conversation like we did. open your world.
~Liles
P.S. - did you notice that he defended my age? HA!
mr. barna, you were right
i have to say george barna's book 'revolution' has been influential these past months. (i know liles is a bit skeptical, but it really helped me.) i knew he was right when he said to be prepared for criticism and even persecution by people who just can't understand... i just didn't really think it would come so fast or from where it did. no, i guess i figured on some from that place but not to such an extent. i didn't expect the personal attack on my closest friend. (even if he is a left wing wacko) why is it that people can't come to grips with the fact that everyone is not like them? why are differences so feared? and what's so strange/bad about an unmarried 28 year old who likes to dress and eat well? that's the norm these days you know. people are spending more time finding their place in this f-ed up world and figuring out what their career path etc will be. it's a rare case to find someone like me who maried his high school sweet-heart at 20. that's sooo 1970's. (and btw, not the soundest economical approach either) and who's business is it anyway? if a person chooses to live to a ripe old age w/o ever tying the knot isn't that up to them? (i'm not saying you will bro.) and why is that somehow suspicious? didn't paul go unmarried? didn't he say he wished everyone would be like him so that they could focus on the business of spreading the Gospel instead of personal commitments? (he did for those of you in rio linda) i'm pissed at the person for even thinking to say the things he said, but i'm also pissed at myself for gracing such ignorance with a response. i should have just ended the conversation then and there and i didn't. i'm sorry bro. it just caught me so off guard.
to those of you around me at the moment let me pre-apologize for any rudeness that might come out of me... i'm in a foul mood for a host of reasons the above is high on the list.
to those of you around me at the moment let me pre-apologize for any rudeness that might come out of me... i'm in a foul mood for a host of reasons the above is high on the list.
19 March 2007
Updates and musings
Well, the weekend was a full one and I thought I'd do a little info sharing. Basic stuff.
For anyone associated with Calvary Church, this Sunday might be my last Sunday to guest speak in the Life Applications class @ 9:30. If you are in Ft. Worth, I'd love to see you all for one last class together.
***
On Saturday March 31st, I will be speaking at the morning sessions of the Praisefest Conference @ TCU.
Specifically, the conference portion at University Christian Church on...University Dr, of course. I'm one of several local ministers that will be speaking about Worship. It's an awesome small format local conference, and I hope to stir up some dialogue. Even that early in the morning - I'll get the start time posted. I believe it is a mere $7? And I think they hook you up on lunch. And the Praisefest concert is at 6pm on the lawn facing Univeristy and is free. So, any and all should come out and get involved.
If you want more info, just let me know.
***
Pfaff is off to begin exploring life in "the local church"...that's the best way to describe it? He & his clan of wife and son are going to be spending some time enriching themselves in new worship experiences other than what they have know up until this point. I am excited for him to share new thoughts about being in new environments here at the revolutioncollective blog.
***
As June approaches, I will be sharing some of the study material we will be using throughout the summer, and I would love for relevant discussion to break out here on the blog. Yes, I do feel it necessary to moderate comments...the internet is such that we don't want spam ads posted to the comment section, etc.
***
Finally, I like the idea of speaking at more at conferences, symposiums, etc. I hope God allows me to do more of that in the future. It's always humbling to speak about the thing that is your passion. Maybe, I'll get to the point that I might have time for the book idea I want to write.
next time we'll try to get back to deep thoughts (heh)
~Liles
For anyone associated with Calvary Church, this Sunday might be my last Sunday to guest speak in the Life Applications class @ 9:30. If you are in Ft. Worth, I'd love to see you all for one last class together.
***
On Saturday March 31st, I will be speaking at the morning sessions of the Praisefest Conference @ TCU.
Specifically, the conference portion at University Christian Church on...University Dr, of course. I'm one of several local ministers that will be speaking about Worship. It's an awesome small format local conference, and I hope to stir up some dialogue. Even that early in the morning - I'll get the start time posted. I believe it is a mere $7? And I think they hook you up on lunch. And the Praisefest concert is at 6pm on the lawn facing Univeristy and is free. So, any and all should come out and get involved.
If you want more info, just let me know.
***
Pfaff is off to begin exploring life in "the local church"...that's the best way to describe it? He & his clan of wife and son are going to be spending some time enriching themselves in new worship experiences other than what they have know up until this point. I am excited for him to share new thoughts about being in new environments here at the revolutioncollective blog.
***
As June approaches, I will be sharing some of the study material we will be using throughout the summer, and I would love for relevant discussion to break out here on the blog. Yes, I do feel it necessary to moderate comments...the internet is such that we don't want spam ads posted to the comment section, etc.
***
Finally, I like the idea of speaking at more at conferences, symposiums, etc. I hope God allows me to do more of that in the future. It's always humbling to speak about the thing that is your passion. Maybe, I'll get to the point that I might have time for the book idea I want to write.
next time we'll try to get back to deep thoughts (heh)
~Liles
16 March 2007
St. Patrick's Day
A fun post today. Read up on St. Patrick's Day by copying and pasting the sites below. Dispell some myths, wow your friends with your history knowledge, and celebrate with us Irish folks who love this little holiday.
The point? Spend time with people you love, and have some laughs and a good time.
If Christians refuse to "party well" then the world gets to take all the credit for celebrations. And that would be a shame. Our celebrations should be full of love and joy and kick the heck out of the rest of culture's parties. Reclaim it all. That's what Jesus wanted, right?
Cheers & Slainte
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick
The point? Spend time with people you love, and have some laughs and a good time.
If Christians refuse to "party well" then the world gets to take all the credit for celebrations. And that would be a shame. Our celebrations should be full of love and joy and kick the heck out of the rest of culture's parties. Reclaim it all. That's what Jesus wanted, right?
Cheers & Slainte
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick
06 March 2007
What's you GUI look like?
I recently watched the film "Stranger than Fiction" starring Will Ferell and a supporting cast of great actors. And I was struck by a portion of the film that really has something to say about culture and the church. Without giving too much away, Will's character is represented as having a GUI (Graphic User Interface), which the filmmakers show visually on the screen. This GUI is the way Will's character interacts with the word...it is the visual image OSX or Windows Vista for his life.
And it got me to thinking...we have spiritual GUI's. Not only do we have a set way of interpreting and interacting with our spiritual environments, but we then express and show these things in our own custom view to the world.
The thing is, the church does it too. It tries to interact with culture in a relevant way, and I think sometimes has sacrificed the delicate balance betwen style and substance. In the same way, we have to begin to look at ourselves to see whether our own GUI is working in a way that stays true to the message of Jesus. For example, bitterness about God or the church will morph the output of one's life to show the world a person who does not look like the Jesus we all say we know. If one is corrupt, the GUI will eventually be corrupted by that virus.
What's the GUI of your life look like?
I know I want mine to be like the One who came from the Father to the world - to change it, and to redeem it.
Cheers!
And it got me to thinking...we have spiritual GUI's. Not only do we have a set way of interpreting and interacting with our spiritual environments, but we then express and show these things in our own custom view to the world.
The thing is, the church does it too. It tries to interact with culture in a relevant way, and I think sometimes has sacrificed the delicate balance betwen style and substance. In the same way, we have to begin to look at ourselves to see whether our own GUI is working in a way that stays true to the message of Jesus. For example, bitterness about God or the church will morph the output of one's life to show the world a person who does not look like the Jesus we all say we know. If one is corrupt, the GUI will eventually be corrupted by that virus.
What's the GUI of your life look like?
I know I want mine to be like the One who came from the Father to the world - to change it, and to redeem it.
Cheers!
20 February 2007
change is good, esp. if it's enough to buy coffee
change indeed is good. it is difficult, painful, and often discouraged by people around you who don't understand. sometimes i think people just get comfortable with you and when you start changing yourself they aren't sure how they should respond to you. but that's beside the point. i don't want my life to become stagnant. i want to strive for excellence and completion in my life. hopefully, when i'm an old fart with plaid pants up to my wrinkly man boobs i'll still be working on myself. to piggy-back of lile's post, it's crazy to see how the things i once thought defined me no longer do. does that mean that i was delusional then? absolutely not. i used to really feel God was going to use my life for musical something or other. in pursuit of that i tried out numerous band situations that all flopped. then i thought... hmmm maybe a studio engineer or something along those lines. that washed out too and i began to focus on the fact that i really enjoyed hanging out with teenagers. (myself just past those crazy years) all this time i had been playing guitar and singing in our youth worship band. --this will be usefull info. momentarilly. so, i began to focus my attention on helping people slightly younger than me navigate that strange transition from teenagehood (childhood would be offensive) to quasi-adulthood (which is where i was and maybe still am somewhat). mistakes were made, (encouraging others to join me in pee-ing of the balcony of our 17th floor hotel room being just one) but as i grew i began to have a dream. 'to be youth pastor at calvary church in 5 yrs.' and i accomplished that in slightly under 4. and while even as recent as 2 weeks ago someone asked me if i was youth pastor (due to the fact that no one ever said i was and the answering machine at the church still says the old one is the current youth pastor) i know in my heart that i accomplished my goal. that's saying alot since i haven't accomplished much in my short life. at almost 27 i'm trying to figure out how to juggle work/family/ and the prospect of going back to school. in the midst of all this i feel God has put me on a path to use music (and other things) for His Kingdom and Glory and i am pursuing it whole-heartedly. (does that have a hyphen?) does this mean that i was wrong for thinking that God wanted me to become a youth pastor? no, i think he did want me to; i don't know the reasons per se but i'm sure there was at least one. and in my heart i still desire to help young people. what that will look like as i follow this winding path that is so dark i can barely see tomorrow? i have no idea, but i've resigned myself to the prospect of frequent and dramatic change. change can be good. right now 53 cents can get you 24oz of coffee at racetrac... change is good.
10 February 2007
chords
I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Shreveport, Louisiana - surfing the web, and letting my thoughts roam free for a bit. And it hits me yet again - how the chords of my experience have become woven together to create a picture of the man I am striving to be. I look back, and now I can see why I went through certain things, and made certain choices, that used to not make sense but now do. Like, how at 15 I began to write down my thoughts and form crude poems in a effort to create. At 17, I wrote lyrics for garage bands, and failed as a front man for my own collaboration. How I attended shows and became rooted in the culture of a local music scene for much of teens and early twenties. I failed at another band situation, but one friendship was deepened and another exposed somewhat as to what it really was. I got a entrepreneurship/strategic management degree. I met people in the art world. I met more people through music - many which have become the support system that I have to this day. I realized at 24 that I was meant for nothing else but to live out the kingdom and talk about the God who had been keeping me in loving hands my whole life. I led a small young adult group for the last four years. I got my master's degree in theological studies at Brite Divinity School.
And now, I am spearheading the formation of a new church, a faith community that is not afraid to step outside conventional understandings - to emulate the revolution that God made available through God's son, Jesus.
Art, music, organizational behaviour, culture, relationships, theology (God-talk), Christianity, studying the postmodern era...
These chords are being woven together daily by a divine hand - and I feel stronger and more assured than ever before that we can do this. We will start a faith community; we will show others that there is a better way; we will love openly; we will work through our perceptions for the common good of the community; we will start living.
We will see change born in hearts and lives.
Chords...woven together; combined to echo the rhythm of our hearts. I want each of us to experience it. Together.
~Liles
Things I'm listening to:
Minus the Bear - remixes
Black Star - s/t
Sparta - Wiretap Scars
Things I'm reading:
the Bible
Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
The New Rebellion Handbook
Things I'm watching:
Little Miss Sunshine
Scrubs Season 4
And now, I am spearheading the formation of a new church, a faith community that is not afraid to step outside conventional understandings - to emulate the revolution that God made available through God's son, Jesus.
Art, music, organizational behaviour, culture, relationships, theology (God-talk), Christianity, studying the postmodern era...
These chords are being woven together daily by a divine hand - and I feel stronger and more assured than ever before that we can do this. We will start a faith community; we will show others that there is a better way; we will love openly; we will work through our perceptions for the common good of the community; we will start living.
We will see change born in hearts and lives.
Chords...woven together; combined to echo the rhythm of our hearts. I want each of us to experience it. Together.
~Liles
Things I'm listening to:
Minus the Bear - remixes
Black Star - s/t
Sparta - Wiretap Scars
Things I'm reading:
the Bible
Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
The New Rebellion Handbook
Things I'm watching:
Little Miss Sunshine
Scrubs Season 4
18 January 2007
experiments
I can't get Pfaff to post on here - he evidently has a real life that keeps him busy. Ha.
Well, tomorrow is the last day of the week and another closer to me abandoning the spiritual nest that I returned to in 2001. This whole process for me is a challenge, but every day I am trying to push myself and those around me to go and do and be. We can do this. So, I am trying a simple experiment. Emergent leaders and postmodern Christians often talk about our shared web of relationships and the network of humanity that drive us together and apart. In this church planting process, I know I need conversation that will help us move through the mine field of mistakes that have haunted many a church planter. So, I am putting their talk of desiring conversation to the test. I have been sending out emails to these leaders asking them to sit down and talk with us about what Christianity, church planting, and community is all about.
We'll see how sincere they are about dialogue.
Shalom to you and yours,
--Liles
What I am reading:
Message Remix:Pause daily Bible
The New Rebellion Handbook
Anthony Bourdain - A Cook's Tour
What I am listening to:
Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank the Cradle
Halloween, Alaska - S/T
Mewithoutyou - Brother, Sister
What I am watching:
The Office (US)
Scrubs
24
and I finally saw Superman Returns, The Last Kiss, The Groomsmen on DVD
Well, tomorrow is the last day of the week and another closer to me abandoning the spiritual nest that I returned to in 2001. This whole process for me is a challenge, but every day I am trying to push myself and those around me to go and do and be. We can do this. So, I am trying a simple experiment. Emergent leaders and postmodern Christians often talk about our shared web of relationships and the network of humanity that drive us together and apart. In this church planting process, I know I need conversation that will help us move through the mine field of mistakes that have haunted many a church planter. So, I am putting their talk of desiring conversation to the test. I have been sending out emails to these leaders asking them to sit down and talk with us about what Christianity, church planting, and community is all about.
We'll see how sincere they are about dialogue.
Shalom to you and yours,
--Liles
What I am reading:
Message Remix:Pause daily Bible
The New Rebellion Handbook
Anthony Bourdain - A Cook's Tour
What I am listening to:
Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank the Cradle
Halloween, Alaska - S/T
Mewithoutyou - Brother, Sister
What I am watching:
The Office (US)
Scrubs
24
and I finally saw Superman Returns, The Last Kiss, The Groomsmen on DVD
11 January 2007
Exclusive Guest Article: Thoughts on faith & literature by Alison Andrews
Well, it has been too long. But we are kicking things off this month with an exclusive article on the topic of faith and literature by Alison Andrews - a daughter, wife, mom, writer, believer, and yes - I say this as her brother and friend - a revolutionary at heart. ENJOY.
--Liles
******************************************************************************************************************************
I must confess: although I am a writer and a Christian, I don’t read very much Christian fiction.
Wait—for “very much,” substitute “any.” Furthermore, when I write fiction, most of it isn’t recognizably “Christian.” I’ve never written a story which ends with someone kneeling to ask Jesus into her heart. Apparently, when I sit down at a computer to pour out my soul, my faith doesn’t splash onto the page in recognizably religious language and plot.
Oh, I feel a little guilty about this state of affairs. I’m passionate about my relationship with Christ—at least I think I am. However, could this apparent division between my spiritual and artistic sensibilities mean that I’m not a very committed Christian? Am I on dangerous spiritual ground when I admit that my favorite authors are not shelved in the Christian section of the bookstore?
I’ve been pondering this—after all, this question is important to me, as it should be to any Christian artist—and here’s what I think. First, I don’t read Christian fiction because I don’t think most of it is very good. I say “most of it” because I haven’t read all of it. There may be some excellent Christian novels out there that I don’t know about. However, every time I take someone’s recommendation and try to read one, I just can’t get into it. The clunky language, superficial characterization and predictable plots are a problem for me; I don’t read bestselling mainstream fiction with these faults, either. I don’t mean to sound like a literary snob—there is some excellent genre fiction out there—but the writing has to be good to get my attention. And unfortunately, I feel the bar has been set too low for Christian fiction. It’s like the publishers are saying, “Can you string sentences together and make up a story in which someone goes astray, then recognizes the error of his ways, becomes a Christian and then lives happily ever after? Well, then come on down!” In addition, books imagining the end of the world are doing very well. That doesn’t interest me very much; but then, neither did The Da Vinci Code. As a writer who grew up finding the best writing I could by trial and error, I guess I’m just not inspired by books that aim at the lowest common denominator.
This problem is easier to understand if one accepts the idea that good art is not didactic. It doesn’t shove its message down the audience’s throat. Thus, great novels with Christian themes do exist, but the insight they contain reveals itself in layers because, as Anne Lamott has said, the truth doesn’t come out in bumper stickers. “Reality is unforgivingly complex,” she continues. Writers of all persuasions ought to heed Samuel Goldwyn’s advice: if you have a message, send a telegram. This applies as much to a writer’s passion for psychology or organic yogurt as it does to matters of faith. Somehow one’s beliefs have to be transformed by the artistic process in order to be palatable, much as raw food is transformed by the artistry of the chef. Then the work can aspire to Robert Frost’s definition of a poem: it “begins in delight and ends in wisdom.” But first it must delight, or the wisdom will never come alive for the reader.
The Christian writer faces another obstacle: he or she inhabits an almost completely secular culture that scarcely understands, much less accepts, Christian values. When I tried to list several well-written books that would fit the requirements I just described, I could think of some: Les Miserables, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the works of Leo Tolstoy, Flannery O’Connor and Graham Greene. I recently reread Jane Eyre and was surprised to note its strong moral and religious themes. Yet my list ended with works written in the nineteen-fifties. Before the sexual revolution of the sixties, many writers struggled with the themes of faith and redemption, even though they might condemn the guilt and hypocrisy that characterized their religious upbringing. When a society shares a common set of values (in this case Judeo-Christian values) its literature speaks a common language even when some writers may dissent from the prevailing view. In the world of moral relativism, most writers are operating from a more existential point of view. There is nothing here but humanity, their works declare, and despair is the logical end of this worldview. Though such books can be dazzling in their artistry, they are also depressing. That’s why I prefer the works of writers who, although they may not include conversion scenes, aren’t afraid to depict moments of grace and truth. The writer who happens to be a Christian should study his or her craft in order to write well enough to add to the voices of contemporary literature. After all, forgiveness and redemption are certainly universal desires in every person and every culture.
--Alison Andrews
--Liles
******************************************************************************************************************************
I must confess: although I am a writer and a Christian, I don’t read very much Christian fiction.
Wait—for “very much,” substitute “any.” Furthermore, when I write fiction, most of it isn’t recognizably “Christian.” I’ve never written a story which ends with someone kneeling to ask Jesus into her heart. Apparently, when I sit down at a computer to pour out my soul, my faith doesn’t splash onto the page in recognizably religious language and plot.
Oh, I feel a little guilty about this state of affairs. I’m passionate about my relationship with Christ—at least I think I am. However, could this apparent division between my spiritual and artistic sensibilities mean that I’m not a very committed Christian? Am I on dangerous spiritual ground when I admit that my favorite authors are not shelved in the Christian section of the bookstore?
I’ve been pondering this—after all, this question is important to me, as it should be to any Christian artist—and here’s what I think. First, I don’t read Christian fiction because I don’t think most of it is very good. I say “most of it” because I haven’t read all of it. There may be some excellent Christian novels out there that I don’t know about. However, every time I take someone’s recommendation and try to read one, I just can’t get into it. The clunky language, superficial characterization and predictable plots are a problem for me; I don’t read bestselling mainstream fiction with these faults, either. I don’t mean to sound like a literary snob—there is some excellent genre fiction out there—but the writing has to be good to get my attention. And unfortunately, I feel the bar has been set too low for Christian fiction. It’s like the publishers are saying, “Can you string sentences together and make up a story in which someone goes astray, then recognizes the error of his ways, becomes a Christian and then lives happily ever after? Well, then come on down!” In addition, books imagining the end of the world are doing very well. That doesn’t interest me very much; but then, neither did The Da Vinci Code. As a writer who grew up finding the best writing I could by trial and error, I guess I’m just not inspired by books that aim at the lowest common denominator.
This problem is easier to understand if one accepts the idea that good art is not didactic. It doesn’t shove its message down the audience’s throat. Thus, great novels with Christian themes do exist, but the insight they contain reveals itself in layers because, as Anne Lamott has said, the truth doesn’t come out in bumper stickers. “Reality is unforgivingly complex,” she continues. Writers of all persuasions ought to heed Samuel Goldwyn’s advice: if you have a message, send a telegram. This applies as much to a writer’s passion for psychology or organic yogurt as it does to matters of faith. Somehow one’s beliefs have to be transformed by the artistic process in order to be palatable, much as raw food is transformed by the artistry of the chef. Then the work can aspire to Robert Frost’s definition of a poem: it “begins in delight and ends in wisdom.” But first it must delight, or the wisdom will never come alive for the reader.
The Christian writer faces another obstacle: he or she inhabits an almost completely secular culture that scarcely understands, much less accepts, Christian values. When I tried to list several well-written books that would fit the requirements I just described, I could think of some: Les Miserables, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the works of Leo Tolstoy, Flannery O’Connor and Graham Greene. I recently reread Jane Eyre and was surprised to note its strong moral and religious themes. Yet my list ended with works written in the nineteen-fifties. Before the sexual revolution of the sixties, many writers struggled with the themes of faith and redemption, even though they might condemn the guilt and hypocrisy that characterized their religious upbringing. When a society shares a common set of values (in this case Judeo-Christian values) its literature speaks a common language even when some writers may dissent from the prevailing view. In the world of moral relativism, most writers are operating from a more existential point of view. There is nothing here but humanity, their works declare, and despair is the logical end of this worldview. Though such books can be dazzling in their artistry, they are also depressing. That’s why I prefer the works of writers who, although they may not include conversion scenes, aren’t afraid to depict moments of grace and truth. The writer who happens to be a Christian should study his or her craft in order to write well enough to add to the voices of contemporary literature. After all, forgiveness and redemption are certainly universal desires in every person and every culture.
--Alison Andrews
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