::..:: gathering my way ::..::
March 25, 2008
when all the noise about jeremiah wright was swirling i heard a story on NPR about the roots of his theology. black liberation theology has always interested me for obvious reasons. I once read "god of the oppressed" by james cone and was shaken to the core by what he said in that book. to me cone asserts that to be christian you must have been or are oppressed or are helping to end oppression if not how can you be a follower of a savior who had a desire as Jesus stated as he read from the scroll of Isaiah in Luke 4:18-19, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." I know wright's words sound hostile and harsh to a person who has never felt or witnessed oppression but they are based in a truth that GOD came to help those the world would push down for whatever reason. As a parent of several black and biracial children i have experienced that stares and silence and ignorance and whispers and bad service that can only scratch the surface of what so many in our country experience everyday. racism is a real thing in the 21st century in america and if we think it has ended we are only fooling ourselves. so if cone is right what are you to do as a follower of a LORD who came to set the oppressed free.
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March 22, 2008
my perpetual state of almost.
i woke this morning thinking about how i am in a state of almost in my life. almost 50, almost adopting again, almost enough money to buy or build a house, almost enough to pay all my bills this month, almost caught up with all the little things i need to do, almost starting the books i want to write, almost a better husband, almost a better father, almost a real friend, almost there.
as i think about this weekend i realize the only cure for almost is GOD. without GOD i will almost be accepted, almost forgiven, almost loved, almost rescued, almost there. how many people will be almost with JESUS someday, almost there but not because they thought almost was enough. my prayer is that we would realize that almost is the best we can do and without GOD almost is where we will end. GOD didn't almost send JESUS he went all the way and our lives should be a reflection of that. so rejoice, celebrate, dance, sing, yell with an abundance of joy that GOD has released you from the almost to be transformed into fullness. full of the holy spirit, full of love, joy and passion to live your life for others the way GOD did for us.
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i woke this morning thinking about how i am in a state of almost in my life. almost 50, almost adopting again, almost enough money to buy or build a house, almost enough to pay all my bills this month, almost caught up with all the little things i need to do, almost starting the books i want to write, almost a better husband, almost a better father, almost a real friend, almost there.
as i think about this weekend i realize the only cure for almost is GOD. without GOD i will almost be accepted, almost forgiven, almost loved, almost rescued, almost there. how many people will be almost with JESUS someday, almost there but not because they thought almost was enough. my prayer is that we would realize that almost is the best we can do and without GOD almost is where we will end. GOD didn't almost send JESUS he went all the way and our lives should be a reflection of that. so rejoice, celebrate, dance, sing, yell with an abundance of joy that GOD has released you from the almost to be transformed into fullness. full of the holy spirit, full of love, joy and passion to live your life for others the way GOD did for us.
March 19, 2008
so i was listening to all the rhetoric about jeremiah wright and barack obama's connection to him and was struck with the thought what will the evangelical church do if obama gets the nomination. will the evangelicals support mccain who as far as i know is not a professing follower of Christ. obama no matter his theological bent or his pastors words still claims Christ as his savior and publically committed his life to Christ. my question is as a follower of Christ am i bound to vote for a fellow follower if the other candidate is not a follower. any thoughts?
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March 13, 2008
so an old friend/mentor/professor from northern has joined up with protestants for the common good . douglas sharp was one of the main reasons i went to northern baptist seminary. he told me he would help me look over the edge of my faith and hold on to me as long as i peered over the abyss but if i wanted to jump i was on my own. that was what my time at northern was a journey into and around my faith. i am going to learn more about PCG and see where it leads.
is GOD too familiar, have we traded our awe of GOD for a friend/buddy/homeboy? have we lost something essential to a healthy and reverent image of our GOD. no doubt GOD became fully immanent in the form of Jesus. no doubt we can and should have a relationship with GOD. no doubt GOD wants us actively pursuing GOD. yet i think we have traded some of the transcendent GOD for our homeboy GOD. exodus says this "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" there is none like GOD and my fear is we have taken that majesty and holiness and diluted it to make GOD a little more palatable for our consumer driven culture. and we wonder why we live lives of "quiet desperation" as Thoreau said. can a GOD who is our homeboy be the same GOD who created the universe and everything in it. isn't it teasier to dismiss GOD if he is as accessible as anyone else in our life. i think we need to strike a balance between the immanence and transcendence of our GOD. GOD is at the same time able to become one of us and totally unknowable. the essence of GOD is both somehow. for me that is one of the most amazing aspects of GOD being both/and. maybe we need a little more awe in our imaging of GOD and little less homeboy. proverbs 1:7 says this, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." are we becoming fools who despise wisdom because we need our image of GOD to be so small and approachable that we loss who GOD truly is.
March 11, 2008
so the headline on yahoo says "why do powerful men cheat" my take is that they are selfish and think they can do what mere mortals can not. it seems to me that so many of these crusaders crusade to compensate for areas where they fail. i.e. haggard for me betraying someone you love is about the most selfish thing you could do, a few minutes of pleasure traded for a life time of commitment and trust, why do it. maybe i am naive but i am in love with my wife more each year and at one point asked GOD to make that so, that I would desire and love more each year and that is and i pray will continue to happen.
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March 10, 2008
new sins for a new age, found this on yahoo.
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March 07, 2008
i was listening to a story on npr's morning edition this am and the reporter used a slew of adjectives to inflate the story. maybe we should thank mcdonalds for our inflated language maybe we should ask why we need to super-size so much in our culture. the reporter used the phrase "super-crowded" to describe an area that had been hit by a bombing in baghdad. it made me think about how so much of our culture is blown up to maybe make us feel like we are really more important than me should be. isn't saying crowded enough? websters defines it this way "1 a: to fill by pressing or thronging together "a room crowded with children" b: to press, force, or thrust into a small space" i am not trying to make light of the tragedy the story was reporting just the fact that we have become inflaters without thinking about it. the tom tom club did a song called wordy rappinghood "What are words worth? What are words worth? - words" if we keep inflating words what will they be worth? Matthew 5:37 says this, "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." if our words are in constant need of inflation with wonderful colorful exciting adjectives then we will loss our way and derrida will have been right and our language means nothing.
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March 05, 2008
so its been almost two years since my last post and a lot has happened since then. anyway i have had a sense lately that i should be doing this again so lets see what happens. so much still rolls around in my head and i am not sure what to do with it. church, faith, life, politics all making me think about things.
lately i have been thinking how we replace sacrifice even talking about it with things like devotionals and bible studies and programs and training. not that any of those are in themselves bad or not worthy of time and energy, but for my reading of the word of the living God there is a distinct call to living a sacrificial life. it seems that it is a topic we avoid greatly in the church. is that due to our extravagant/affluent lifestyles or is there another a reason or am i just being a jerk about it. when i was involved in the discussion on the emerging thing there was rarely a conversation about sacrifice it was mostly about style not substance. i know there was and is more to the conversation than i am giving credit to but it is clear we do not want to talk about sacrifice and the indwelling of the spirit which to me is the catalyst to wanting/desiring a life of sacrifice. and not that i by any means have figured out the way to achieve that desire/goal. but i think we need to start pushing this discussion to the forefront of what we want/need to talk about it our discussion of church/faith/life. what say you?
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lately i have been thinking how we replace sacrifice even talking about it with things like devotionals and bible studies and programs and training. not that any of those are in themselves bad or not worthy of time and energy, but for my reading of the word of the living God there is a distinct call to living a sacrificial life. it seems that it is a topic we avoid greatly in the church. is that due to our extravagant/affluent lifestyles or is there another a reason or am i just being a jerk about it. when i was involved in the discussion on the emerging thing there was rarely a conversation about sacrifice it was mostly about style not substance. i know there was and is more to the conversation than i am giving credit to but it is clear we do not want to talk about sacrifice and the indwelling of the spirit which to me is the catalyst to wanting/desiring a life of sacrifice. and not that i by any means have figured out the way to achieve that desire/goal. but i think we need to start pushing this discussion to the forefront of what we want/need to talk about it our discussion of church/faith/life. what say you?
