tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66247970938636145082023-11-15T08:37:36.726-08:00stuff we should talk aboutmtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-42974926367890924272010-03-17T17:10:00.000-07:002010-03-20T08:13:34.272-07:00How should we then live?Reading back over the last several months of blogs I realize it would be wise for me to restate the purpose for this discussion forum. The Gospel or good news that Jesus taught has captured my heart like nothing ever has. It is such a phenomenal way to live that I want to sell everything I have if only I can have all that Jesus promised. And not only do I want to possess this priceless pearl I want my friends and neighbors to own this as well.<br /><br /><br />You will have to forgive me, if in my excitement I speak of the Gospel in a way that sounds impossible to live. That's OK. If the kingdom were something we could live toward in our own strength it would be no different that any other world system. The very nature of this other-worldly value system is that it looks to us like Mount Everest. It looks like an ocean we could never swim across. Here is a truth that every Christian should think long and hard about. If our encounters with Jesus don't leave us with more questions than answers we are having an inferior experience. Encountering the kingdom of heaven at each turn will call deeper levels of faith out of those who are serious about following Jesus.<br /><br /><br /><br />We are learning something that is totally contrary to the habits of our flesh and the thought processes of our mind. I think it would be wise to resign ourselves to a lifestyle of unresolved conflicts and unanswered questions.<br /><br /><br /><br />So what is the good of encountering Jesus you ask? I didn't say we don't resolve conflicts and we don't get answers. On the contrary, the follower of Christ will have more stories of God's miraculous intervention and more answers to life's questions. It's just that these events will lead us deeper into God where the conflicts are bigger and the questions go deeper.<br /><br /><br />Jesus invites us into a relationship with him where we join his heart to love, serve, forgive, sacrifice, and even suffer on behalf of those who are lost, lonely and trapped. Attacking and undoing the things Satan has done to people in this world is the most exciting and fulfilling activity I can think of.<br /><br />Let's love deeply, serve passionately and give generously; forgiving always, sacrificing joyfully and pursuing always.<br /><br />In short, let's build a community of followers of Jesus who live in such a way that others would happen upon us and think it foolish not to join us.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-76472923622225380312010-03-16T03:25:00.000-07:002010-03-16T04:10:55.587-07:00What is the Good News?Have you ever played whisper down the lane? Isn't it fascinating that someone can whisper a coherent sentence to a friend and then watch as that sentence changes slightly as it passes from person to person. Get enough people involved and by the time the sentence has been whispered all the way down the lane it sounds nothing like the original message.<br /><br />I am concerned that we have experienced something like this down through the ages of church history. The Gospel or good news that we preach today is an interesting variant of the Gospel we have recorded in the Bible. Am I suggesting that I know some secret that is unavailable to the rest of the church? Of course not. I simply believe that there is an honest way to read the Bible and there is a dishonest way to read the Bible.<br /><br />First, we must recognize that the writers of Scripture had an agenda as they wrote. Each writer chose the words, and chose the stories he or she (after all we are not really sure who wrote Hebrews) wished to include for the purpose of making their point. So in reality we have five major Gospel stories. We have the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Paul. Paul, you say? Yes, Paul. After all, it is the message of Paul as he preached the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles that has largely become our Gospel today.<br /><br />It is Paul who teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. <br />It is Paul who teaches that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.<br />It is Paul who teaches that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you will be saved.<br /><br />Matthew wrote a story that was largely concerned with how Jews heard the Gospel.<br />Mark wrote a very condensed story that hit the high points and didn't include as much material as the others.<br />Luke put together a story as accurately as he could so that his friend Theo would have an accurate account of Jesus.<br />John had an agenda vastly different than the others as he spoke of the "Word of God" and how this was revealed as Jesus.<br />Paul was specifically packaging his message to reach Gentiles. Remember, the people who heard Paul's Gospel did not have the advantage of having a New Testament. Paul was all they knew about Jesus.<br /><br />In short, trying to synthesize these Gospel stories is to ignore the intent of the Scripture writers. I believe it is dishonest to look at these five "witnesses" as though we are looking at a crime scene and are trying to recreate the "whole" story. It is much more honest to ask ourselves why each of these writers told the story the way they did.<br /><br />Second, let's not refer to the Gospel of Jesus unless we are referencing the stuff Jesus taught. Too many ideas get ascribed to Jesus that simply weren't his. For instance, most of us think that sin and salvation is a largely personal or individual event; that the kingdom message is one of repentance from things like stealing, sexual promiscuity, and rude behaviors. If you read the Gospel according to Luke you will find that repentance and righteousness are ideas and activities contained in the messge and ministry of John the Baptist. These are preparatory for the coming of Jesus. John's ministry was to prepare people for Jesus. Somehow, John's ministry has become the message of the kingdom, instead of the stuff Jesus taught.<br /><br />Jesus' message was one that addressed societal sin, value systems, powers and authorities. Jesus confronted what the world values and offered another way. Yes, personal salvation is part of the good news. But it is portrayed (at least in Luke) as the doorway into the kingdom. It is not the kingdom message. <br /><br />What is the good news? It's right there in our Bibles. Let's stop playing whisper down the lane and dig for ourselves until WE hear the good news that Jesus brought from heaven.<br /><br />Just some stuff that we should talk about!mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-30633085776834711802010-03-06T06:59:00.001-08:002010-03-06T07:52:53.368-08:00the argument cultureSomething has been growing in me for the last year, like a mold that I cannot get rid of. It appears to me that I have been invited into a discussion time and time again that is designed to frustrate me. Like every human who has lived before me I inherit the ideas, philosophies and doctrines of those who have gone before me. As I consider this discussion I am beginning to realize that the deck is stacked against me.<br /><br />Over the years I have been passionate about many things - and my passion has led me to read, research, discuss, listen and then express my feelings on a matter. It has not been until recently that I have realized I have joined a game that has no winner. I have joined a culture that is satisfied with choosing sides. It's as if what you believe is more important than the world those beliefs create.<br /><br />Let me give you a few examples. <br /><br />Who is right, the conservatives or the liberals? Most of us are not so closed minded as to be totally in the conservative camp or totally in the liberal camp (although some are and I apologize for the "close minded" comment). We recognize a predisposition in our souls to agree with the majority of ideas coming out of a particular worldview. We agree with principles and ideas originating in a place inhabited by thinkers who wish to either preserve traditional, tried and true strategies, or who wish to challenge the status quo and try out new, "cutting edge" strategies. And discussion (better known as arguments) are a series of polarizing ideas in which we draw the battle lines on either side of an issue and then point out the weaknesses on the otherside. <br /><br />Who is right, the capitalists or the socialists? We all know that freedom and competition are the ingredients that go into invention and excellence. After all that is what makes this country so prosperous. Or is it? Why do more and more people seem to be falling behind and why are specific people groups not thriving in this environment? Maybe the wealth should be shared; with those having so much sharing with those who have so little. <br /><br />If I throw this meaty bone out into a group of interested parties you can imagine the healthy exchange of ideas that would ensue. We would quickly be forced into one of the two camps by the questions and accusations of the other and before long there would be an argument between two polarized groups.<br /><br />Who is right the Christians or the non-Christians? We as Christians realize that ours is the revelation of Scripture, ours is the truth of God, ours is the moral authority. So much of what we say and how we package the "Gospel" is a drawing up of battle lines. WE know the correct position on issues like marriage, raising children, sexuality, basic morality, etc. It's our job to get this information out to the world that is so mistaken and so ignorant of what God intended.<br /><br />Before long we have a polarized discussion between the holy and the un-holy. Is it any wonder that we are known more for our moral and doctrinal positions than for the nature of our character?<br /><br />We have unknowingly chosen to participate in this argument culture, seeing the world as a serious of choices to agree with one side or the other. I want to suggest to you that Jesus gives us another option. <br /><br />All human arguments are predicated on the assumption that power is exerted from above. In other words, winning an argument is virtuous and establishes a superior power in our belief while losing an argument is a failure and requires that we discard our inferior belief.<br /><br />But what if power can be exerted from below, from a place of weakness, without fear of "losing"? Jesus regularly took polarized arguments and inserted a different perspective. It was if he surveyed the battle field and was constantly able to lift the conversation out of us vs. them into a higher realm. Insiders or outsiders, haves and have nots, religious or pagan, Jew or Samaritan, free or slave; Jesus' teaching always trancended these polarized groups and suggested a different way. A way of serving, forgiving, loving and submitting. <br /><br />What would it look like if we elevated the one we disagree with above our need to be right? What would a community look like that valued connection based on serving from below instead of being right from above. <br /><br />Here in the Flathead we are coming to the end of a prayer vigil by well-meaning Christians who are praying to end abortion. We see these prayer warriors night and day picketting the abortion clinic, peacefully and with great faithfulness. I personally admire these brothers and sisters in faith. But I wonder, what would happen with those who seek an abortion if there was an unexhaustible supply of Jesus followers who regularly opened their homes to pregnant teenagers and single mothers. If our energies were directed at the people who feel the need to seek an abortion from below - from a place of serving love instead of from above - moral superiority?<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-23623115691182239182010-02-25T16:58:00.000-08:002010-02-25T17:37:14.324-08:00The Mud RoomI grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - a world away from rural America and the culture I now live in - Montana. There are many differences between eastern, city culture and western, rural culture. One of the main differences is pavement. <br /><br />Our love affair with pavement on the east coast had left me totally ignorant of the concept of the mud room. After sixteen years (more accurately - sixteen spring seasons) I have learned plenty about this rural American phenomena.<br /><br />And as I think about all of the nice houses I have been in I have come to a conclusion. The mud room is the least hospitable room in the house. There are shoes, boots, carharts, jackets, and yes mud all over the place. I pull my shoes off and get on out of that room as quickly as I can. Invariably, other people are also standing around trying to get their muddy shoes off and we are all bumping into each other and getting mud on each other - basically annoying the hell out of each other.<br /><br />If you hang out for very long in the mud room you will notice that different people have different strategies for getting their muddy shoes or boots off. Some try to find a clean place to sit down, cleaning up a two foot square oasis of floor in which to deal with their muddy shoes without getting the rest of their clothes muddy. Some scrape as much mud off their shoes as they can onto the welcome mat and then continue into the house until the host politely asks them to remove their shoes.<br /><br />My favorite method is the pogo stick. This is where we hop on one foot while trying to remove the shoe on the other foot and then repeat the process while trying to keep our sock out of the mud. I have seen some guests insist that they don't have any mud on their shoes at all. True or not, it's simple courtesy to take your shoes off in the mud room.<br /><br />It's my contention that most Christian thought has spent all of its time in the mud room. We love to teach and talk about our battle with sin. We write books and hold seminars for the express purpose of dealing with all that is wrong in the world. Our fears revolve around moral failure, sexual deviancy and the polluting of our kids' minds. <br /><br />If the kingdom of heaven was represented by a delightfully inviting mansion, filled with rooms for our care, our provision, and our intimacy with Jesus, it seems to me that the mud room, while necessary, would be the place I spent the least amount of time in. Why is the average Christian experience the exact opposite?<br /><br />It's as if we think sin has more power than the cross. Maybe sin sticks better then forgiveness. If in Christ old things have passed away and all things have become new, if in Christ there is no condemnation at all, if God is not counting our sins against us, why do we spend so much time in the mud room? <br /><br />Salvation, being born again, meeting Christ at the cross and trading him our sin for his righteousness is simply the entry point into the mansion. No one would want to live here, but we absolutely must pass through this room to enter the house. What would it be like if our books, our sermons, our conversations explored the rest of the house? What does the rest of the kingdom contain? <br /><br />Remember, outside the kingdom when the unclean touches the clean, the clean is despoiled. But in Jesus, when he touches the dead man or the blind man or the man with leprosy they become clean. Why isn't this the experience of the average Christian? Maybe the answer is found in a different part of the house - outside of the mud room.<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-36335575586394361582010-02-13T07:28:00.000-08:002010-02-13T08:00:25.114-08:00Is God in Control?Christians are funny creatures. In our haste to be "good" Christians we race each other to heap as many superlatives on God as we can. That is to say, we rush to create God in an image that is perfect in our eyes. A famous Christian philospher once noted that given the choice between two attributes of God, whichever is better, that must be God.<br /><br />Does God know everything? Is he omniscient? Well, knowing everything is better than not knowing everything. Therefore, he must know everything.<br /><br />Is God all powerful? Is he omnipotent? Well, having all power is better then having most of the power. Therefore, he must be all powerful.<br /><br />And so on and so forth. God being the best of everything we can think of. There's just one problem with this God. This is not a God of revelation. This is a God of definition.<br /><br />Do we really think God is a person, an individual being? Does God have a personality? Does he have different moods? Does he make decisions from his heart or is he locked into some kind of cosmic perfection which dictates what is most Godly?<br /><br />The God of the Bible is revealed as a being interacting with people he loves. Sometimes he feels joy as we are intimate with him and sometimes he feels angry because we lie to him and betray his heart. Why is it so important to us for God to be in control? He doesn't seem to feel like he is.<br /><br />Control is an interesting thing. When we say that God is sovereign, what do we mean? We live in a mechanistic culture where we have learned to push a button and expect a result. We can cook our meals in 2 minutes in a microwave and we can obtain any kind of food just by heading down to the supermarket. No building a fire, harvesting our food or waiting for the seasons to change. Machines have produced a whole new level of control. Is this how we view God's sovereignty?<br /><br />How would we think if we lived in a time before machines? What kind of "control" would we expect of a king in the 12th century? Yes, he has ultimate authority over his kingdom. Yes, he has an army with which he protects his people. Yes, a good king would desire to care for and to protect his people. But what would it mean in this culture to say, "The king is in control"?<br />Can the king produce food out of season? How much time would it take the king to respond to an invasion of his lands by an outside army? Would there be any pain and suffering during the time it took the king to assemble his army and ride to the defense of his people? Even if he quickly defeated the enemy and drove out the invading army would this mean that every citizen had been completey protected?<br /><br />Control looks different without a mechanistic world view - doesn't it? Maybe, our lives are more like individual adventures in a hostile land. God's love for us and his "control" over our lives is more relational than mechanistic. We will engage the enemy. We will experience loss. Life often brings heart ache and pain. But our loving Father will always ride to our defense. He's just not pushing buttons, moment by moment controlling the comfort or safety of our life experience.<br /><br />This idea of God requires a great deal more faith. Is God still in control after a loved one has died? Is God still in control as we fight against sickness and disease? Is God in control if He does not arrive on the scene as fast as we think he should?<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-797958080206933392010-02-07T20:48:00.000-08:002010-02-10T22:30:55.237-08:00you're not doing enoughTry harder. Do more. Be more.<br /><br /><br /><br />Who hasn't felt some form of guilt as they consider their "level of maturity" as a follower of Christ. Who hasn't asked themselves why they don't like praying or why it's such a struggle to attend church regularly? Who hasn't been the recipient of a passionate plea from well meaning church leaders to live more like Jesus?<br /><br /><br /><br />I feel like there is an elephant in the living room every time Christians gather for almost any reason. Performance anxiety. I find it interesting and not a little bit humorous that this euphemism is used most often in the realm of sexual relationships. The basic idea is that one or both partners wonder if their sexual prowess is impressive to their partner. What is ironic about this anxiety is that sex is commonly referred to as "love-making". Last time I checked love always hoped, did not judge and kept no record of wrongs. Why then if two people are engaged in the activity of "making love" would there be any performance anxiety?<br /><br /><br /><br />Inherant in every wounded human heart is the question, Do I measure up? We ask it a thousand different ways. Am I smart? Do people like me? Am I a good person? Am I attractive? Am I successful? Am I significant? etc. etc. etc.<br /><br /><br /><br />The condition of Adam and Eve before they divided their hearts between God and something else was total contentment. They were naked and were not ashamed. Everything about the other was out in the open and their was no performance anxiety. Jesus, the second Adam, walked around Palestine, jobless, homeless, living off the provision of others (many of them women) and declaring his beliefs in such a way as to constantly attract the criticism of those around him. Somehow though he was at peace with this lifestyle.<br /><br />Godliness with contentment is priceless. The Gospel we preach at the Dwelling Place begins and ends in an ocean of grace. Until a person rests in the unending love and acceptance of the Father we will always wonder if we are doing enough.<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-31432158401147325122010-01-23T09:41:00.000-08:002010-01-25T08:33:28.331-08:00what is so original about sin?I had a few interesting conversations this week with friends and the subject of original sin came up. So I thought it might be a good topic to discuss in light of how most Christians read the Bible.<br /><br />Romans 5:12ff is the classic text for original sin. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." And then in verse 18ff, "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."<br /><br />Some observations of this text<br /><br />1. ". . .death came to all men, BECAUSE ALL SINNED." Paul is pretty clear in associating the consequence of death with the participation in sin. We are held accountable for our choices not Adam's choices.<br /><br />2. The words "Consequently, just as. . ." point us to the relationship of the two following statements. These two opposite statements are related. They are parallel. They are a comparison.<br />disobedience - made sinners<br />obedience - made righteous<br /><br />You have two choices at this point. Either participation is necessary in both cases or participation is not necessary. Choice #1 if you participate in disobedience you are made a sinner like Adam. If you participate in obedience you are made righteous like Jesus.<br />Choice #2 Without participation in disobedience we are made sinners by Adam's "original sin". And without participation in obedience we are made righteous by Jesus' perfect life.<br /><br />I lean toward choice #1. I think Scripture clearly portrays individual responsibility to pursue relationship with God. Our choices, our participation is crucial to our relationship with God. Ezekiel 18 is pretty clear (vs. 17) we do not die for the sins of our father. Check it out.<br /><br />On a side note, choice #2 is intriguing, because it suggests universalism; the belief that all of humankind is saved from their sins regardless of whether they embrace Christ or not. You can wrestled with this one on your own time.<br /><br />So why do most Christians accept the idea of original sin? Because we embrace our father's faith without questioning it. There is much hidden in the shadows of human history that most of us don't take the time to investigate. This particular Christian idea has its own history of which I only know part.<br /><br />Jewish culture, leading up to the time of Christ was centered around community in a way that we simply don't understand. People new that they were connected to each other in a vital way that they could not ignore. The current state in an individual's life was credited to the choices of the generations that had gone before. The virtue of an individuals life was seen in the context of his or her family. The righteous often times suffered along with their unrighteous brothers and sisters, and the unrighteous were blessed along with their righteous brothers and sisters. God related to Israel as a community as much as he related to individuals.<br /><br />Jewish thought saw the human heart as having a "bent" toward evil without being condemned for this "bent". In other words humans seemed to all choose evil at some point - it was inevitable. But condemned at birth - no.<br /><br />Toward the end of the Jewish prophetic writings the prophets start to say some radical new things. God will write his laws on people's hearts. He will not judge individuals for the sins of family or community. Each person is free to choose whom he or she will serve.<br /><br />Enter Jesus. And here I can't help but see the deal breaker for original sin. Was Jesus human? Then why does he not have "original sin". Jesus made possible the promises of the prophets by tearing down the wall separating the individual from the Holy of Holies. Personal intimacy with God was now available to all. And Pentecost saw God pouring out his Holy Spirit on everyone.<br /><br />At first (for over 200 years) faith in Jesus, which came to be known as the Way was governed by the Holy Spirit as individual communities sought to live out their faith as the Holy Spirit taught them. They had the benefit of writings like the gospels and the letters that were left behind by the apostles, but there was no centralized authority governing and separating correct doctrine from heresy.<br /><br />It was if God was confident in His ability to guide his church through the indwelling Holy Spirit.<br /><br />Unfortunately, this was not good enough for men. With Emperor Constantine came the joining of the kingdom of heaven with the ideas and authority of human empire. Within a hundred years Tertullian would lay out for us the doctrine of original sin and the centralized church would have the human authority to make this doctrine universal.<br /><br />Questioning this doctrine excluded many from the opportunity to serve the church as recognized ministers. Questioning this doctrine caused many to be sent into exile or even put to death for their heresy. Centralized authority which ruled over personal belief crushed relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />We owe it to ourselves and to a world looking for the truth to question the faith of our fathers and live our lives of faith from our own relationship with Jesus through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Study the Scriptures, study some church history. Why do you believe what you believe?<br /><br />Just some stuff we shoud talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-55451669480381407072010-01-18T09:57:00.000-08:002010-01-18T10:45:36.570-08:00And now for something completely different. . .Do you like the story you are in? Does your life make any kind of sense to you? If you were a screenwriter making the movie of your life would you take some "creative license" and tweak it a bit?<br /><br />Behind the intellectual format of this blog is my underlying conviction that we are all involved in a story. Our story. And our story is happening inside of God's story. Unfortunately, as soon as I drop "God's story" into this post ten thousand different perversions of what I meant are formed in your minds. You see, I am convinced that man's propensity to attempt to control God's story and consequently your story leads him to foolish decisions about God's story. <br /><br />We could sit and list versions of God's story all day long. We hear from the people who make God into a puppet-master, laying out human history and then "sovereignly" making it happen.<br />Some say that God is dis-interested. He put it all together, wound it up and let it go. God is something like an absentee father. We know he's there, but he doesn't visit often. Some would make God to be Santa Claus, organizing us into those he likes and those he hates. Dolling out presents to make our lives more comfortable or enjoyable. But only if you are not on the "naughty" list.<br /><br />Man is eternally creative in his or her attempts to create a God we can live with. But I am more concerned with your story. I am afraid that much of Christian theology over the years has caused many hungry, passionate people to suspend their story and "wait" on the Lord. I do not think we were designed for this. Let me try to explain. <br /><br />Creation as I observe it is busy being what it was created to be. Trees do their tree thing and ants do their ant thing. The ocean is all oceany and the mountains, well, have you ever seen anything more mountainy? The story of mankind is no different. <br /><br />We were designed to enjoy relationships. We as humans were put together to be intimate with other beings. Have you ever watched someone who really loves their dog, their cat or their horse? They talk to them, they listen to them, they hold them and they love them. They ooze intimacy in their relationship with their pet. <br /><br />Have you ever watched a really good parent. Their ability to exist in the world of a two year old and the adult world is uncanny. A really good parent makes their child feel totally connected to them and still gets the bills payed. Children who grow up feeling intimate with their parents are the ones who are best prepared to live their own stories. Do some field research - check it out.<br /><br />The same is true of friendships, marriages, teams, and communities. Intimate relationship and the pursuit of these relationships is what we were designed for. Being human is being in relationship. Too many of us have allowed a static idea about who God is and what he wants, to interupt our pursuit of intimacy with others. Yes, God has stuff to say about how we live our lives, but he talks to us along the way; from within our story. We were created in his image. We have been asked to love, to risk, to pursue; to create as we live our stories.<br /><br />I have fallen in love with Jesus. I know that sounds cliche'. My story is my story and I don't apologize for it. I look for ways to hang out with Jesus the same way I look for ways to hang out with my wife, my kids and my friends. I listen to the things he says, the same way I listen to the things my wife, kids, and friends say. I enjoy what he decides to give me, the same way I enjoy what my wife, kids and friends decide to give me. <br /><br />I don't wake up in the morning waiting for God to tell me what to do today. I take the stuff that bubbles out of my heart (the new one God traded me for) and I act on it. All the time, listening for what my friends have to say as I live my story. <br /><br />Just some stuff we should REALLY talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-47440784973512957192010-01-14T08:14:00.000-08:002010-01-14T08:54:54.950-08:00The cycle of historyOK. We've spent some time discussing the difference it makes to view life as organic instead of mechanistic. And we've talked about time being more accurately represented as seasonal or cyclical as opposed to linear. So now, let's look at the big picture of what I will call redemptive history or you might think of as the story of the Bible.<br /><br />Here are a few starter questions:<br />1. Why is the God of the Old Testament so much different than the revelation of Jesus in the New Testament? (If you don't think there is any difference or that the difference is a minor thing then I would suspect you don't read your Bible very much.)<br />2. Where does God's justice fit into a theology of grace?<br />3. Bill Johnson says, "God is in a good mood." Is he always in a good mood? What about the book of Ezekiel when he seems pissed and says quite pointedly, "I will destroy you. . .I will send plagues, war and famine on you to kill you"?<br />4. Does God intend to punish or judge sin?<br /><br />The story of humankind is the story of the collision between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdoms of this earth. Let me exlain.<br /><br />Our story begins with God creating us and putting us in an environment that is an extension of the perfect spiritual realm of heaven. This realm (the garden) was surrounded by a kingdom that needed to be subdued and ruled. Enter our choice to pursue knowledge through someone other than our Father. Our choice to not be exclusive in our intimacy with the Father led to a steady increase of our distance from him as we sought comfort, pleasure, knowledge, etc. from a source other than our Father. This "season" of placing our faith in each other instead of our Father culminates in the story of the Tower of Babel. In our passion to be like God we as humans were becoming very adept at doing things that were pretty impressive by pooling our resources and trusting in each other. God's opinion on what we were accomplishing was that it was leading us away from desiring intimacy with him. So he put a stop to it. As intimacy with the Father decreased, evil increased. As the fruit of our decision to trust in someone other than the Father grew He decided to put an end to it. The flood.<br /><br />Rewind. Start over. Call a man named Abram out of the nations of the world to birth a new nation, set apart to be exclusively intimate with the Father. As the generations rolled by his people decided to share their allegiance, their intimacy, with other gods. The fruit of this decision was so much evil that God says Israel was doing things that even the pagan world found abominable. Read the prophets. God is angry. He decides in his anger to destroy Israel. Enter the kings of Babylon and Persia. Exit the favor of God on Israel.<br /><br />A remnant. A tree reduced to a small insignificant root. The root of Jesse (look it up). Jesus is born into poverty in a red-neck village on the frontier of the empire. He teaches that he has not come to judge but to save. Again, we choose to live by faith in Jesus or in someone or something else. This decision of where to place our faith will bear fruit. Apparently their is so much grace in this cycle of redemptive history that sin (all sin) is being forgiven and everyone (I think this means everyone) has the extended opportunity to be intimate with the Father through Jesus.<br /><br />I see a clear cycle of human history. The Father inserts his presence, his love, his creativity, his desire for intimacy into the world. We, as humans decide where we will live from; where we will place our faith; whether or not we want exclusive (think of it as a monogamous relationship) intimacy with the Father. Our decision then grows, matures and bears fruit. What we have birthed by our decsions then illicits a response from our thoroughly invested, incredibly passionate, looking for loving intimacy Father. Another collision. Another cycle. Another opportunity for humankind to choose intimacy with the Father or not. <br /><br />I think we find ourselves in a season of grace in the midst of cyclical history. The history of humankind pursued by a God who desperately wants to be exclusively intimate with us.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-67830035684221901052010-01-07T11:30:00.000-08:002010-01-08T15:52:00.944-08:00Organic - it's not just for farmingMany parts of our method of obtaining truth are handed to us, and we accept them without giving them a second thought. At one time everybody believed that the earth was at the center of the universe. At another, that the world was flat. These beliefs were the result of centuries of human history that were not static. Peoples and cultures lived, moved, thought, fought, lived and died. The product of these events was the belief system of the following generations.<br /><br />We in the 21st century are no different. Unknown to most of us is the radical shift in culture that came with the industrial revolution. Late 1800's and early 1900's saw a completely agricultural world morf into a world of machines, assembly lines, technology and life altering inventions (like the lightbulb). Most of us cannot conceive of a world that stops when it is dark and continues again when the sun comes up. Artificial light has changed our lifestyles in ways that we don't even remember anymore.<br /><br />This industrial revolution has also, over time, shifted our method of obtaining truth. What once was a world where things were cultivated, fed, watered, and left to grow for a season has become a world of time saving devices that need to be fixed and upgraded. We think in terms of fixing parts and upgrading performance. This is radically different than the world Jesus lived in.<br /><br />Do you realize that every metaphor Jesus used to describe his kingdom was organic. Not once did he refer to a mechanism like a sun-dial or an aqueduct or any type of man made machine. He continually used organic metaphors like planting, reaping, seeds, yeast, trees, etc.<br /><br />So what is my problem with the industrial revolution? Just this. I think we often think in terms of fixing our lives or our bodies or our marriages or our relationships. We are looking for a spiritual part to plug in and make things work better. Something like a Christianity 7.o or 8.o. I think God grows things. I don't think he fixes things.<br /><br />Take for instance a husband who doesn't like what is going on in his marriage. He wants to fix it. Some principle or new relational strategy that will make things work like they should. What he fails to realize and probably wouldn't understand if someone told him is that the season of his marriage has changed. The flower has closed up and if he doesn't recognize the changing season and adapt his behavior accordingly there will be no harvest. The heat of summer is upon him; water, weed, tend your flower with love and attention. There is no guarantee because this is not a machine. But, if you will answer the call of the deep place in your wife's heart and tend to her without trying to fix her you will be a good husband. But what will happen? What will the result be? Who knows; this is an organism, not a mechanism.<br /><br />How would we perceive our relationships differently if we thought organically and not mechanistically? What would we do differently with things like struggle, pain, and loneliness? Yes, I believe that God breaks in on our world and changes things in an instant. But even this is a harvest from someone else's season of planting and watering.<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-90824733681803805372010-01-04T19:10:00.000-08:002010-01-06T04:36:40.578-08:00the cycle of faithI attended a teen summer camp many years ago and the speaker said a most interesting thing. He said that teenagers who go to the mall are going to hell. You could have heard a pin drop. Every teen there had been to the mall and each one had just been told by the "authority" that they were going to hell. Although, that was not exactly what he had said. He did not say that ALL teenagers who go to the mall were going to hell. What really rankled the kids at the camp was what the speaker did not say.<br /><br />It's my contention that what we talk about is the dominant part of our culture. What gets the most press becomes the "flavor" of our community. Many churches these days are talking about the power of God and quoting Scriptures like "on earth as it is in heaven". Please hear me. I absolutely love this promise and I lean into it as hard as I can. However, I have noticed that we are not sure what to do with friends that have not acquired their miracle yet. I have friends with cancer, a son who is deaf, and several friends who have disfunctional marriages. I pray for these situations, believing that it is God's will to heal and restore. I do not believe that God sent these sicknesses or hardships to "teach" or "refine". God is not the author of death - Satan is.<br /><br />So what do I say about those I love who suffer daily; those who battle character deficiencies for years on end? I think part of my difficulty is the traditional theology that sees the death and resurrection of Jesus as a point in linear time after which "all things have become new". I suspect that this is lazy theology. This idea ignores many Scriptures which talk of our suffering and those who remain sick.<br /><br />I think we may have stumbled upon a major cultural mistake. Two thousand years ago time was conceived of as being cyclical not linear. Jesus life, death and resurrection was unique and world changing. However, the invitation to his potiential disciples is to follow him - to share in his life; to share in his death and "somehow to attain to the resurrection of the dead."<br /><br />We participate in the cyclical sequence of events which begins with a clash between the kingdom of heaven and the powers of this earth (human and demonic). The clash can both undo the works of Satan and produce persecution. In both however, we suffer for a little while so that our faith, which is of greater worth than gold can be proved genuine (1 Peter 1:7). Put another way, the life of living faith in Jesus will take us through seasons of pain and suffering as we battle for true faith and as we carry the burdens of others.<br /><br />This conversation will applaud the faith of the one who lives with pain and the faith of the one who has been freed of pain. To ignore the seasons of unrealized victory and anticipated freedom in the continuing cycle of redemptive history is to paint those who are battling pain and disappointment, with a second-class brush. As if somehow they are exeperiencing a lesser measure of the love of our Father. What is love? To lay down your life for another. It is my bet that those of us who follow Jesus will experience both the fellowship of sharing in his suffering and the power of his resurrection in a continuing cycle of deepening faith.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-55345486450139323232010-01-01T07:10:00.001-08:002010-01-01T08:57:17.180-08:00who are you talking to?There is much confusion amongst followers of Jesus as to what Jesus really taught. He says things that seem to contradict. He tells a Samaritan women that he came only for the people of Israel, but when asked who his neighbor is, Jesus makes the hero of the story the Good Samaritan. Jesus teaches that not the smallest section of the Hebrew law is to be forgotten, yet he regularly "revises" the same law when the religious leaders challenge him on things like working on the Sabbath and the law's injuction to fast or to give to the poor.<br /><br /><br /><br />Why do we have Christians on street corners with bull-horns acting like Old Testament prophets and others posting a 3500 year old Jewish document on billboards? I believe the answer can be found in the context of Jesus' life. How silly we are to ignore the time and culture of Jesus' life as we try to understand what he taught.<br /><br /><br /><br />Jesus came to a culture that was distinctly Jewish. What does this mean to Gentiles two millenia away? It means that much of Jesus' teaching was specifically addressing a people group who were already the people of God, who already had relationship with him, who already sought his voice and to do his will. When Jesus says in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth. . .", he is addressing Jews (the people of God). He is warning Israel that if they don't flavor the world with the heart of their loving Father they may find themselves "thrown out and trampled on". Low and behold most of Israel rejects Jesus and over the next two thousand years we find the Jews (for the most part) on the outside looking in. We find their history repeting itself as the powers of this world trample on them.<br /><br /><br /><br />Jesus is extremely compassionate and loving to almost everyone he encounters. He heals everyone brought to him, he feeds the hungry, he tells poor people the good news of a new kingdom. However, Jesus saves his more belligerant responses for those who are spiritual leaders. He regularly attacks the behavior and character of the spiritual leaders of Israel calling them names, insulting them, and messing up their church building. He even saves some of his most aggressive stuff for his own disciples who he is grooming to lead when he is gone. He calls Peter "Satan" and he gets openly frustrated with his guys when they cannot heal the boy with a demon. Why the double standard?<br /><br /><br /><br />I believe that we as humans misunderstand the teachings of the son of God because we have a different orientation than he does. We look at the world as good and evil. We see us and them. We think in terms of right and wrong, anchoring our morality to a static (unchanging) system of belief.<br /><br /><br /><br />Jesus regulary took a distinctly other-world position or a third choice. He didn't see the choice of stoning a women caught in adultery as either; obey the law or ignore the law. He inserted choice number three. Yes, the law requires her death, let the righteous execute the law. What, no one is righteous? Surprise. Surprise. Hey, I'm righteous, and I decide to give you mercy not judgment. By the way, sweetheart, you probably don't want to sleep around anymore.<br /><br /><br /><br />Jesus' posture recognizes that two different groups are present when they bring him the woman caught in adultery. Group one, morally upright, leaders in the church, intent on "protecting" their righteousness. To these Jesus has a message that causes conviction; a message of direct instruction, a message that if it does not produce repentance will cause distance between them and Jesus. What happens? What they thought was the morally right execution of their function in the people of God is taken away from them. This causes many "leaders" in the church to secretly resent the teachings of Jesus and to look for ways to retain control, to keep their position.<br /><br />Group two, the woman.<br /><br />Jesus was constantly aware of two groups of people who were following him around. Group one were the outsiders, the poor, the rejected, the sorrowful, the sick. These he pursued with love. These, he hung out with in their comfortable places and befriended. To these he said, "I haven't come to judge you but to love you." His kingdom is expressly for them. This is why he has come.<br /><br />Group two are the righteous, the insiders, the healthy. Now, Jesus is not against these people because they are righteous, healthy insiders. Rather, he resents the posture of those who have gotten theirs and are not concerned that others be included. In fact, I would suggest that Jesus loves the insider just as much as the outsider. But his invitation to these is different. Come, spend your wealth on the poor. Invest, your health and energy on those who are sick. Risk your comfort and safety to attack the powers of this world and undo the work of Satan in the world.<br /><br />So whether you consider yourself to be an insider or an outsider, whether you are healthy or sick, whether you have tons of joy or regulary sorrow; Jesus invites both groups to be part of a third group. Those who wish to be intimate with Jesus and as they grow healthy in him to invest that strength the same way Jesus invested his strenth - for the salvation of those who are hurting.<br /><br />Jesus said, "I did not come to call the healthy but the sick." However, he would love it if the healthy would join him in loving on the sick. So God Bless the bull-horns and the billboards. Just keep them inside the church buildings where only the "righteous" can feel the sting of rebuke and wrestle with the law. After all, this was Jesus' model and should be ours as well.<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-59399075651127869312009-12-24T14:42:00.000-08:002009-12-24T15:25:07.052-08:00the religion of AmericaThe United States is a very unique place to live. Like other countries we feel that our country is the best. Like other countries we see things from our point of view - what's best for us is a common thought process. Like other countries we exert our opinions and sometimes our will on other countries. And like other countries we want God to Bless America (insert your country here).<br /><br /><br /><br />Why?<br /><br /><br /><br />Do we have exclusive rights to his blessing? Are we godlier or somehow holier than other peoples of the world? Well, our country was founded on Christian ideals. Was it?<br /><br />We hold these truths to be self-evident. . .life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Do you recognize this? A little blurb from one of our founding documents. Out of these values grows our national religion. Let me explain.<br /><br />It is clear to me that Americans believe that we have "inalienable rights" that are to be protected at all costs. We are willing to suspend other values for the protection of these rights. <br /><br />The vision of the current war was that once "they" get a taste of freedom "they" will want it as badly as we do. Unfortunately, we have taken a lot of lives as payment toward this hope (which unfortunately is not materializing). <br /><br />We get angry and protest when the ACLU tries to "un-Christianize" something, like school prayer, Christmas or the ten commandments in court houses. We protect our rights at all costs.<br /><br />We foam at the mouth when laws are advanced to give homosexuals the right to marriage. We have a right to keep marriage amongst us heterosexuals (because that's the way Jesus wants it, now honey please sign this pre-nup).<br /><br />I've come up with a doctrinal statement for the religion of America. Here goes:<br /><br />1. We believe that God has a law that we must obey and help others to obey by passing laws denoting what is good and what is bad moral behavior.<br /><br />2. We have rights that we must protect, as giving them up would give Satan free reign to take our country away from us.<br /><br />3. If we work hard, make wise decisions and obey God we have the right to a safe and comfortable lifestyle.<br /><br />4. Our government's job is to preserve our way of life, recognizing that the religion of other countries is inferior to ours, thus making it acceptable (although sadly) to take foreign lives to preserve ours.<br /><br />Let's compare. Jesus did not come as a law-giver. Jesus asks us to give up our rights for the good of others (even those we find distasteful). Jesus asks us to follow him in a lifestyle of serving, sacrificing and even suffering so those around us would know that they are loved.<br /><br />No, the religion of America is not Christianity. It is nothing like Christianity. It is self-based. It is self-serving. It is self-help. <br /><br />"Let's take America back for God" - don't bother. He doesn't want it, at least not on these terms.<br /><br />Just some things we should talk aboutmtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-15097491563843199192009-12-24T12:59:00.000-08:002009-12-30T08:08:51.270-08:00The Other Christmas StoryHere in the physical world in the 21st century we have come to love our traditions and our spiritual concepts of Christmas. These concepts are developed from our line of sight into the spirit realm. We see as it were from one side of the picture. There is another side.<br /><br /><br /><br />In the book of John's revelation, chapter 12, we have a record of the Nativity from a different perspective. I think this might be heaven's line of sight.<br /><br /><br /><br />A woman who was very pregnant is seen in the spiritual realm (in the heavens). She is clothed with the sun and the moon, that is, she is beautiful and has much glory. At the birth of her son a dragon is present who wishes to destroy the child. The dragon is Satan; he hates the woman and he hates the child. With this perspective in mind it makes me wonder why Herod's massacre of the babies in Bethlehem is not part of our Christmas tradition. Who do you think was behind that atrocity? Joseph took his young family to Egypt and then came up out of Egypt just like the people of Israel leaving the oppresion of slavery fifteen hundred years before. This baby somehow is to be a second Moses, breaking the power of a violent Pharaoh who also massacred babies.<br /><br />My point is that the Christmas story is a story set in violence. It is a comparison between this baby king and King Herod. It is a comparison between "peace on earth" and the Roman peace of the day. It is a comparison of power used to control and power used to serve. It is a conflict between the dragon (prime mover behind the power structures of this world) and the baby born in the heavens (the spiritual realm, which is unseen but more real than the seen realm).<br /><br />I love my American culture (Elf with Will Ferrel is my peronal favorite). I just don't think that this American holiday of Merry Christmas has anything to do with the Nativity story. <br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-28250976939448064112009-12-06T22:22:00.001-08:002009-12-10T20:32:27.863-08:00Are we a Christian Nation?For quite some time now I have wondered what all the hating is about in the political discourse.<br /><br />Why was George Bush hated so much when he was in office. Yeah, he had some folksy ways of expressing himself and he could not pronounce the word <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">nuclear</span> correctly. And for this he was ridiculed even though he is undeniably a very intelligent man. To this day those who hate him say he lied about weapons of mass destruction to get us into a war. The problem is that many other world leaders including President Clinton and foreign heads of state also were convinced that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Never mind that weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq and that Iraq had already used some of them on their own people. Those who hated Mr. Bush kept right on hating. Facts were not influential in the discourse.<br /><br />President Obama is equally hated. There are those who are actively rooting for his failure and our subsequent failure as a nation because they hate what he stands for. It's as if new ideas only have merit if the right person comes up with the idea. When the wrong guy comes up with an idea it is dismissed immediately as dangerous for our country. Who knows if a national health care system will ultimately help the less priviledged in the long run. What I do know is that the present system is helping fewer and fewer people and costing more and more. So why not let a guy who talks a lot about hope and finding a better way have a shot at it? He can't do any worse than the last three or four guys. Oh, I forgot, he's gonna destroy our country - he's a liberal.<br /><br />I think it is obvious that two major power blocks are vying for control of our country. And I think you would be hard pressed to proove that either one is "Christian".<br />This blog "Stuffweshouldtalkabout" has been running for a month now and I have a clearer focus on why I started it and what it is for.<br /><br />1. This is a forum for truth seekers to exchange ideas in the interest of learning from each other the truth about how our world works.<br /><br />2. How we hold discussions, how we sort through ideas to find the truth - these are as important as our conclusions. For instance, do we know the difference between what we know to be fact and what we have an opinion on? Do we have the honesty in our personal convictions to allow Scripture to say what it says without importing our ideas about what we want it to say? Are we aware of how history has shaped our understanding of Christian theology and even our approach to what truth is?<br /><br />3. And ultimately this blog exists to ask the question: Are we interested in following Jesus or just talking about following Jesus?<br /><br />You see, I believe the world is built on power strutures that invite us to join them. Are you conservative or liberal? Are you a capitalist or a communist? Are you heterosexual or homosexual? Are you Christian or Muslim? Are you pro-life or pro-choice? Are you American or anti-American?<br /><br />Jesus explicitly presents to us a different kingdom, a different set of values, a different power structure. In fact, you might just want to think of him as mister opposite. He constantly refused to join the conversation at a point given him by the power brokers of his day. Instead, choosing to introduce a distinctly unique and often radical other-worldly option.<br /><br />Do we embrace or destroy sexual behavior we don't agree with? Jesus does neither. He protects the women caught in adultery. He loves her.<br /><br />Do we ignore and avoid those who mistreat us or do we use our strength to exert some form of violence to stop those who are mistreating us? Jesus does neither. He asks the one who does injury to him if he would like to do it again, mocking the antagonists bad behavior and not allowing it to dictate to him his options for a response.<br /><br />So I ask you, do the power structures mentioned above (conservative, liberal, captitalist, communist. . .) look like Jesus? If not, why are we so eager to join our support to their causes? Why do we settle for the choices that people who are not in love with Jesus give us? Can you name for me one power structure that existed in Jesus' day that he did not oppose? I see Jesus as a radical subordinate revolutionary. That is, he submitted to the authorities in the world he lived; at the same time offering a better way characterized by love, forgiveness, inclusion, service and sacrifice.<br /><br />I don't think we are a Christian nation, but I think we could become a nation of Christians.<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-64709846868090125872009-12-05T06:19:00.000-08:002009-12-06T21:42:13.184-08:00I don't think that means what you think it means: part 2Jesus' entire recorded life displays a value on peace and non-violence in such a way that it has grabbed my attention and arrested my theological development. He says, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves." (Luke 22:25-26)<br /><br /><br />Greg Boyd (a pastor from the St. Paul, Minn. area) refers to this teaching from Jesus as the conflict between "power over" and "power under". It is Boyd's assertion that there is nothing in the life of Jesus which would allow one of his followers to employ violence as a representative of the kingdom of heaven. Obviously, worldly powers like police forces and national armies would by their very existence demand the use of violence to accomplish their goals. Should I as a follower of Jesus participate in these vocations? Would I as a follower of Jesus have the same value system or goals as other soldiers or officers? Can I use violence even in a "good" cause and still claim solidarity with Jesus?<br /><br />I am not sure that I can. Furthermore, I think the readiness with which we as Christians have aligned ourselves with political positions that the powers of our world have declared, weakens the church and draw us away from the "power under" model that Jesus lived. It's as if we settle for the choices that the world presents to us as the only viable positions on a subject. <br /><br />Are you pro-life or pro-choice? I suspect the answer to that question is meaningless if the follower of Jesus is not ready to help a young pregnant woman in her time of need. As James says, "You can tell me what your faith is, but I will show you my faith by my deeds." Would I give of my time, energy, money, and family to support a confused teen through her decision to give birth or not, to keep the baby or not? What am I willing to do if I decide to love unwed mothers. Certainly, "power over" displays of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">picketing</span> and harassing do not look like Jesus. "Power under" asks the question are you prepared to serve and sacrifice for young single moms.<br /><br />Just something we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-89755811312274098562009-11-29T06:05:00.000-08:002009-12-05T06:00:27.250-08:00why does God let bad things happen to good people?Why is there so much evil in the world? Where did it all come from? And why doesn't God do something about it?<br /><br />In the beginning God told Adam and Eve to fill the world and to rule and subdue it. The garden was devoid of evil - it was good. When Adam and Eve chose to grasp for the knowledge of good and evil so that their eyes were opened and they became like God, they were choosing to submit to a power structure other than their Creator's. Adam and Eve and their children traded the value system and the culture handed them by their loving Father for the value system and culture of a deceiving snake.<br /><br />Put another way, God did do something about evil. He created a perfect place that had none. Then he put us in charge of it. We chose and continue to choose to opt for actions and values that have nothing to do with the life-bringing authority of God. Rather, we grasp for what we want over and over again - affirming and aligning ourselves with a power whose sole agenda is to lie, steal and destroy.<br /><br />The real question is why do WE let bad things happen to good people?<br />Their is so much evil in the world because our response to evil is to conform to the pattern of this world (Rom. 12:2) and to help it multiply by repaying evil for evil (Rom. 12:17). We have come up with some "good" ways to stem the growth of evil (self-defense, military defense, incarceration, the death penalty, etc), but invariably we use a little evil for the greater good of the general population. And violence always births more violence (Mt. 26:52).<br /><br />Now I would suggest to you that nations/governmental powers have to behave like this to preserve themselves. However, the people who are followers of Jesus, who are strangers or aliens in this world (1Peter 2:11) and citizens of another (Phil. 3:20) have aligned themselves with Jesus, who did not consider being like God something to be grasped at. Rather he chose the weakness of serving and the humiliation of death (Phil. 2:6-8) as his strategy to rid the world of evil.<br /><br />When Christians figure out the centrality of Jesus' example of sacrificial love and live it consistently we will give the world a choice, as Jesus did, to overcome evil with good (Romans12:21). Why aren't WE doing something about the evil in this world?<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-59557376592270062252009-11-28T18:50:00.000-08:002009-12-05T11:45:59.695-08:00I do not think that means what you think it meansThe kingdom of heaven. What is it? And how does it work? Is it democratic? Is it theocratic? Is it communism or socialism? Is it a monarchy? How does it operate? What is its power structure?<br /><br />Jesus said (Luke 22:25ff) "The kings of the gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves . . . But I am among you as one who serves."<br /><br /><br />I think Jesus is saying something here that is very specific and very direct. The power systems of this world (government, religious, business, etc.) exercise authority from above as "lords". And the virtuous amongst these "lords" call themselves "benefactors" (one who gives aid, support or help, especially financially).<br /><br />Jesus specifically says, "you are not to be like that". What did Jesus mean? Is he saying that any authority that exercises power over someone from above is not of his kingdom? Is his assertion that he is amongst us as one who serves an endorsement of exercising power from beneath, from a place of weakness? As a servant?<br /><br />What does this teaching have to say in the discussion of using military force to rid the world of evil? What does this teaching have to say about the moral majorities agenda to pass laws legislating behavior (ban on homosexual marriage, overturning roe vs. wade)?<br /><br />What does Jesus mean when he says we are not to use power and authority as the world uses it - instead we are to serve?<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-66698107259268102612009-11-26T07:18:00.000-08:002009-11-26T07:48:56.943-08:00for teachers 3A long time ago in a galexy far, far away. . .<br />Most peole who take the time to investigate what Jesus taught relegate him to some other place and some other time. We are often not sure what to make of some of the things he said. Is Jesus relevant to today's issues or is he just a general guideline from which we need to figure out what he really meant for today's world? Did he simply live too long ago and too far away from the reality of our lives?<br /><br />Jesus had a real life in a real culture with real historical events. I think it is impossible to understand the teachings of the man without investigating the world he lived in. For instance, Jesus believed stuff that he was taught by his culture, by his parents, by his teachers. In the same way that our upbringing consisted of what our culture, parents and teachers taught us, Jesus' world-view was shaped by his.<br /><br />One facet of his upbringing was his indoctrination into the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament was the only Bible of his day). It was not uncommon for young Jewish men to have huge sections of the Law and the Prophets (these are sections of the Hebrew Scriptures) memorized. This appears to be true of Jesus. <br /><br />But, you say, Jesus came to set us free from law and rule-keeping. It's for freedom that he set us free. I am free to follow the Holy Spirit - I am not bound by the laws of the Old Testament. This sounds consistant with good orthodox (stuff that Christians have believed for a long time) theology. The only problem I have is that Jesus taught, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets (sections of the Hebrew Scriptures); I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matthew 5:17-18)<br /><br />So how do Hebrew Scriptures fit into the world-view of a 21st century follower of Jesus? There have been many schools of thought as to how to understand what Jesus meant in Matthew 5. Some of them are:<br />1. Spiritualizing - Jesus was not being literal, he was promoting an ideal which we are free to use as a measuring stick as we study the Hebrew Scriptures. Put another way, Jesus was affirming the relevancy of the Hebrew Scriptures without requiring that we observe all the laws found there.<br />2. Judaizing - Jesus was being literal, he was demanding an adherance to Jewish religion as part of his kingdom. Jesus expected his followers to keep all of the laws contained in the Hebrew Scriptures.<br />3. Contextualizing - Jesus was giving context to who he was and what he was teaching. It would be Jesus' assertion that you cannot understand who he is and what he is teaching without seeing him in the context of Hebrew Scripture.<br /><br />Where do you fall? What was Jesus saying? Your ability to think critically and answer this question will radically change who you think Jesus is and what it means to follow him.<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-71627343430273295342009-11-25T17:50:00.000-08:002009-12-20T16:38:04.894-08:00Verbal RegurgitationWe say the silliest stuff. We mimic things others say without thinking about whether we agree with them or not. Verbal regurgitation - it would be humorous if it wasn't laced with bile.<br /><br />Below are favorite sayings of the last few decades of our country followed by what a vast majority of those who use these phrases mean, although they would never admit to it. And unfortunately, too many of these are people of influence who decide policy for our country and in our churches.<br /><br />Trickle down economics<br />Trust the rich to take care of the poor<br /><br />Support our Troops<br />because American lives are more valuable than the lives of foreigners<br /><br />Immigration Reform<br />We were here first (wait for it)<br /><br />Take America Back For God<br />Let's legislate morality<br /><br />Protestant Work Ethic<br />Working hard entitles me to comfort and safety<br /><br />Prostitution is a victimless crime<br />I don't know any prostitutes personally<br /><br /><br />All paths lead to God<br />I'm too much of a coward to have any personal convictions<br /><br />My Church is the Outdoors<br />I don't value worshipping God with my friends<br /><br />The Holy Spirit is my Pastor<br />I have trouble submitting to authority<br /><br /><br />God is in Control<br />Here, chew on a Bible verse cause I don't care enough to cry with you<br /><br />The Sanctity of Marriage<br />We heterosexuals can't stay married and we don't want you homosexuals to show us up<br /><br />If you can think of others please feel free to chime in. I know that many people use these phrases after much thought and that they are authentic expressions of what they believe. I am not commenting on this thoughtful expression, rather I hope to rile a few people who throw these and other phrases around without thinking about what they actually mean.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-81109411413339213122009-11-20T05:30:00.001-08:002009-11-21T22:40:29.707-08:00was Jesus really that radical?So, was Jesus really that radical?<br />What's so new about his kingdom?<br /><br />The church I grew up in is full of good people. People who have good values and treat each other pretty well. People who work hard and pay their bills and even some of their debt to society. What is confusing to me is that we never looked that much different than the good people in other kingdoms, following other teachers. Good Jews, Catholics, Capitalists, and Patriots had the same value system, voted for the same politicians and had the same stance on moral issues.<br /><br />What's so radical about Jesus?<br /><br />As I have dug into the teachings of Jesus for myself and on-purpose decided to question the belief system I was handed I found something that I had never been taught. I cannot take credit for this understanding of Jesus as others before me have perceived the same thing. [John Howard Yoder in his book The Politics of Jesus is a good example.]<br /><br />We will call this concept revolutionary subordination. In short, Jesus taught freedom. Not just freedom from sin but freedom from all the systems or powers of this world [ie. government, economics, religion, etc.]. This is the revolutionary part. Unfortunately, for the modern moral majority he didn't just leave us to figure out for ourselves what to do with this freedom - he actually lived in such a way as to display for us what his kingdom was all about. This is the subordination part.<br /><br />Jesus served the very people his kingdom came to oppose. He sacrificed himself for the very people his value system stood against. While being free from the systems or "kingdoms" of his world he did not abolish them by forceful overthrow of them. He spoke against the religious "kingdom" that had enslaved the Jewish people. He spoke against the economic system which had created a wide chasm between the upper and lower classes. He even stood against the political system of his day and establised a kingdom that exercised authority in a radically new way.<br /><br />But ultimately the kingdoms that Jesus opposed put him to death. It's as if Jesus was able to ignore the natural fear of oppresive authority while he taught that his kingdom opposed the kingdoms of this world. He was radically revolutionary without using the methods of this world.<br />He established a value system - a personal ethic - that not only is different from the world's values but executes itself in a different way.<br /><br />The best example I can think of is the popular ethic of "the lesser of two evils" or maybe the<br />"greatest good for the greatest number". Who hasn't made a decision according to this ethic?<br />Jesus is never recorded using this ethic. Rather, he asked the question, "What is my father doing?" Even if his decisions seemed to effect no change or negative change he was not bound by the "greatest good" or the "lesser of two evils".<br /><br />He positioned himself to be in radical opposition to the world and its powers and authority while at the same time giving himself to and for those who opposed and hated him. This is a radical ethic. Does it exist on the earth?mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-55362951098157879812009-11-14T16:31:00.000-08:002009-11-14T17:02:40.055-08:00for teachers 2On September 11, 2001 a horrible event exposed the vulnerability of our country. Most people remember the event as two plains crashing into two building and their subsequent colapse. Over three thousand people died that day. Horrible. Devastating. Scary.<br />Our president assured us that we as a nation would recover and would protect ourselves from future attacks by hunting down those responsible. Thus we declared war on Afghanistan and eventually Iraq.<br /><br />I believe this declaration of war is the horrible event that exposed the vulnerability of our country. The ability to use force to achieve your objective is a dangerous position to find yourself in. It presents options that maybe shouldn't be in the playbook. Now I am not suggesting that America become a nation of pacifists, I am simply wondering how our professed Christianity figures into our response to such a horrible event.<br /><br />In Matthew 5:7,9 Jesus says, "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. . . Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God."<br /><br />What I didn't hear on September 11th or the 12th or the 13th was, "We claim to be a Christian nation - we choose to forgive, we choose to show mercy and pursue peace." I must admit, I was furious and I wanted revenge (not one of my better moments as a disciple of Jesus).<br /><br />It occurs to me that it requires an antagonist to be able to choose peace. It requires an offense to be able to choose mercy. It requires an atrocity to have the opportunity to forgive. These are only ideals until they are actually called upon in a real life event (like Sept. 11th).<br /><br />In Matthew 5:39 Jesus teaches us to "not resist an evil person. If someone strikes us on the cheek, to offer him the other cheek". And then in verse 44 "Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you."<br /><br />I am ashamed not of my anger, or my desire for retaliation, but rather that I didn't hold these emotions up to the light of Jesus' call to love my enemies. I carressed my anger and I wallowed in my desire for revenge for some time before I even considered my pledge to follow Jesus.<br />Unfortunately, too many Americans with decision making authority found themselves behaving just like me. <br /><br />Obviously, it is dangerous to follow Jesus. There is no guarantee that showing mercy and forgiving your enemy will keep you safe. After all, Jesus showed mercy and forgave his enemy and look what they did to him. <br /><br />Why are we as Christians not known for this. After all Christian means "like Christ".mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-87757962042613147902009-11-07T07:18:00.000-08:002009-11-07T07:44:28.476-08:00for teachersTwo thousand years is a lot of time. That's how long of a gap we have between the historical events of the New Testament and the time we live in. Seeing as I have placed all my hopes in the hands of the historical figure Jesus of Nazareth I think it's wise to check out for myself what he taught and not just trust those who taught me. After all, the unexamined life is not a life worth living.<br /><br />The purpose of this posting is to invite teachers (those with the heart to give away what they have and the skill to do it well) into a conversation about what the Gospels say Jesus taught.<br />Most of what I will present will be observations that I have made regarding Jesus' teaching. These observations are for the purpose of drawing a response out of you as to how you understand the teachings of Jesus. In other words, "What will you tell people that Jesus taught?"<br /><br />To begin I want to start with what Matthew records as Jesus' first teaching. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Here are three observations.<br /><br />1. If you track Jesus' teaching throughout Matthew you will find that he rarely teaches on salvation but rather injects salvation language as simply a doorway into his constant message of <strong>The Kingdom of Heaven</strong>.<br /><br />2. The lion's share of the teachings of Jesus are about the Kingdom of Heaven.<br /><br />3. The invitation to repent seems to me to be Jesus' posture toward anything that is not of his kingdom. Put another way, we are invited to rethink our lives and compare everything we are and everything we do to his kingdom. The assumption is that we would lay down our previous values and join Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven.<br /><br />Be careful here at the beginning. Your decision as to the purposes of Jesus' teaching will expose you to some pretty radical ideas. Repenting or rethinking your life may bring you into conflict with those around you that you care about. Welcome to the life of the teacher!mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-36367443237424497722009-11-05T15:35:00.000-08:002009-11-05T15:49:37.399-08:00I recently shot an e-mail out to a bunch of my friends to start a conversation about how we know what God is like. Obviously, for you to care about this conversation you have to believe or at least suspect that their is a God. It seems like an obvious question to me - "What is God like?"<br /><br />Many of us have been handed our understanding of What God is like by parents or pastors and I am not sure it is common to check up on these authority figures - however I do think it's quite healthy to do so.<br /><br />So to start this conversation let me begin by asking three questions.<br /><br />1. Are there different kinds of revelation of what God is like or are all sources equally authoritative?<br /><br />2. If one were to accept Jesus' assertion that if you have seen Jesus you have seen the Father, does this promote the historical record of the life of Jesus to the top spot of authority on what God is like?<br /><br />3. If Jesus' life and teaching is the most authoritative revelation of what God is like does this mean that other Scripture takes a back seat as we have this discussion and if Jesus did not address a particular topic does this mean we are free to go to other Scripture for an answer, or is Jesus' silence significant?<br /><br />I so want to be an accurate representation of Jesus in my community. He is the most amazing man ever to walk this earth and I love him dearly. It seems that there is a conversation we owe ourselves if we are to claim to be the body of Christ.<br /><br />Just some stuff we should talk about.mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6624797093863614508.post-25595754618688109402009-11-01T14:51:00.000-08:002009-11-11T20:26:11.169-08:00Like every person loosing their virginity I am sure that this entry (and exit) will be characterized by bad timing and a glaring lack of technique which will expose my ridiculous lack of experience in the blogging world. Never having done this before I simply want to inivite you into a conversation about stuff that everybody thinks about but very few people talk about honestly.<br /><br /><br /><br />So here goes. If God is loving why is the world's perception of the Church generally so negative?<br /><br />Does God hate stuff like terrorism, homosexuality, and abortion as much as we do? And if he does hate it - what exactly does that mean?<br /><br /><br /><br />I've seen pictures of people picketting gay pride parades with signs that say "God hates fags". Does he?<br /><br />I wonder about the zeal with which we are hunting down terrorists and the extent of the collateral damage that we are willing to live with as we "make the world safer". For who?<br /><br />Dr. Tiller (an abortion doctor from Kansas?) was murdered and many (myself included) nursed the sentiment "Good, at least now he can't kill babies." Does this heart posture reflect the heart of God or has something distinctly not God crept into our hearts as we react toward evil in our world?<br /><br /><br /><br />Just some stuff that we should talk about?mtdanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07625300607027536408noreply@blogger.com0