My good friend Erv passed on this G.K. Chesterton quote to me.
“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
"The warrior is dancing..."
One of my long-time friends, Andrew Lakin, has suffered the loss of his mother. She was an incredible lady. He sent me the words that he read at a "Celebration of Her Life". I was so impacted by them that I asked him if I could post them here. Prepare yourself to be moved...
Pen in hand
Poised at the paper
How to start
What to say
There aren’t enough pages or pens or days
To cover her brief years
Dear God
My Mother is gone
How can this be?
I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of grief
With just moments when I can kick to the surface
For a quick breath
My Joanne just met her
My children will never know her
How will they get by?
Grow up?
Without a tea party with their Nana
“Stop all the clocks”
Memories flood
Riding waves of emotion
The joy of the memories
Seized by the thought
That there aren’t going to be . . .
Any more
I remember as a child coming home from playing
With tears streaming down my face
Some neighborhood kids had been cruel to me
As I relayed my tale of woe to her
I remember she suddenly pulled out a pitcher
I asked what she was doing
“I’m making a pitcher of lemonade so we can take it over to those kids.”
What I thought, but did not say, was
“Like hell I am.”
What I said was,
“What? Haven’t you been listening to what I was just telling you? What they did to me and the names they called me?”
She started telling me about some dumb Bible verse about praying for your enemies, blessing them and not cursing them, blah - blah - blah, and how doing good is like pouring hot coals on their head, blah - blah - blah.
Then, standing at their stupid door, seeing their stupid, confused faces, as Mother cheerfully gave them the pitcher of ice-cold lemonade. I stood beside her with my arms folded as I “prayed” for my enemies – I prayed that God would actually show me the hot coals pouring out of heaven on their stupid heads.
I didn’t like it, but I never forgot it
That’s just one of many lessons I learned
From a woman who was not a teacher
She was my Mother
She was not the perfect mother
But she was perfect for us
A very imperfect family
She taught by not teaching
She was just living
The times she prayed for the cashier lady at the grocery store
With a line up of people behind us
A bag of apples in her one hand
And the lady’s hand in her other, bewildered and awestruck
She wasn’t doing it to teach Andrew something
She was just living
Just following
That’s how she lived
It was her actions
That made any words unnecessary
She knew she was going home
She stuck around long enough to make sure I was taken care of
She knew Joanne was my wife before I did
She was cocky about it
“I know,” she said, “because I’ve been praying for her since before you were born.”
“What can I pray for?”
Was probably Mother’s most uttered sentence;
Next in line would be “That needs some flowers.”
She was a lover and a warrior
A prayer warrior so formidable that the enemy tried to shut her up with depression for twelve years
And when God chose to free her from that,
Then they attacked her body
But they never succeeded in shutting her up
She was a juggernaut of prayer
And now…
Now they really have to look out
Cause now she’s free
Now the warrior is dancing
The music is loud
Her sword is sharp
Her leaps are high
And there is no stopping her now.
Pen in hand
Poised at the paper
How to start
What to say
There aren’t enough pages or pens or days
To cover her brief years
Dear God
My Mother is gone
How can this be?
I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of grief
With just moments when I can kick to the surface
For a quick breath
My Joanne just met her
My children will never know her
How will they get by?
Grow up?
Without a tea party with their Nana
“Stop all the clocks”
Memories flood
Riding waves of emotion
The joy of the memories
Seized by the thought
That there aren’t going to be . . .
Any more
I remember as a child coming home from playing
With tears streaming down my face
Some neighborhood kids had been cruel to me
As I relayed my tale of woe to her
I remember she suddenly pulled out a pitcher
I asked what she was doing
“I’m making a pitcher of lemonade so we can take it over to those kids.”
What I thought, but did not say, was
“Like hell I am.”
What I said was,
“What? Haven’t you been listening to what I was just telling you? What they did to me and the names they called me?”
She started telling me about some dumb Bible verse about praying for your enemies, blessing them and not cursing them, blah - blah - blah, and how doing good is like pouring hot coals on their head, blah - blah - blah.
Then, standing at their stupid door, seeing their stupid, confused faces, as Mother cheerfully gave them the pitcher of ice-cold lemonade. I stood beside her with my arms folded as I “prayed” for my enemies – I prayed that God would actually show me the hot coals pouring out of heaven on their stupid heads.
I didn’t like it, but I never forgot it
That’s just one of many lessons I learned
From a woman who was not a teacher
She was my Mother
She was not the perfect mother
But she was perfect for us
A very imperfect family
She taught by not teaching
She was just living
The times she prayed for the cashier lady at the grocery store
With a line up of people behind us
A bag of apples in her one hand
And the lady’s hand in her other, bewildered and awestruck
She wasn’t doing it to teach Andrew something
She was just living
Just following
That’s how she lived
It was her actions
That made any words unnecessary
She knew she was going home
She stuck around long enough to make sure I was taken care of
She knew Joanne was my wife before I did
She was cocky about it
“I know,” she said, “because I’ve been praying for her since before you were born.”
“What can I pray for?”
Was probably Mother’s most uttered sentence;
Next in line would be “That needs some flowers.”
She was a lover and a warrior
A prayer warrior so formidable that the enemy tried to shut her up with depression for twelve years
And when God chose to free her from that,
Then they attacked her body
But they never succeeded in shutting her up
She was a juggernaut of prayer
And now…
Now they really have to look out
Cause now she’s free
Now the warrior is dancing
The music is loud
Her sword is sharp
Her leaps are high
And there is no stopping her now.
Friday, March 11, 2005
I'm so sorry, I didn't realize
It's a new evilfinder on the net. Thanks to Jay Vorhees for the link.
Here's a sample of what you get when you type in my name.
**** THE PROOF THAT Jeff Kuhn IS EVIL ****
J E F F K U H N
10 5 6 6 11 21 8 14 - as numbers
1 5 6 6 2 3 8 5 - digits added
\_____/ \_____/ \_____/ \_____/
6 3 5 4 - digits added
Thus, 'Jeff Kuhn' is 6354.
Add 1939, the year WW II started - the result is 8293.
Subtract 1957, the year Ford introduced the Edsel. The result will be 6336.
Add 17, the symbol of domination - the result is 6353.
Add 83 to it - this is the symbol of slavery, written backwards - you will get 6436.
Turn the number backwards, and add 445 - the year Attila the Hun attacked western Europe. The number is now 6791.
This number, read from right to left, is 1976, or the year George Harrison performed the lumberjack song with Monty Python - if you have seen it, you should understand.
No further questions. QED. "
I really never imagined.
Are you evil? Check it out.
Here's a sample of what you get when you type in my name.
**** THE PROOF THAT Jeff Kuhn IS EVIL ****
J E F F K U H N
10 5 6 6 11 21 8 14 - as numbers
1 5 6 6 2 3 8 5 - digits added
\_____/ \_____/ \_____/ \_____/
6 3 5 4 - digits added
Thus, 'Jeff Kuhn' is 6354.
Add 1939, the year WW II started - the result is 8293.
Subtract 1957, the year Ford introduced the Edsel. The result will be 6336.
Add 17, the symbol of domination - the result is 6353.
Add 83 to it - this is the symbol of slavery, written backwards - you will get 6436.
Turn the number backwards, and add 445 - the year Attila the Hun attacked western Europe. The number is now 6791.
This number, read from right to left, is 1976, or the year George Harrison performed the lumberjack song with Monty Python - if you have seen it, you should understand.
No further questions. QED. "
I really never imagined.
Are you evil? Check it out.
The Peaceable Kingdom
Thanks to Jordon for the quote...
In The Peaceable Kingdom, Stanley Hauerwas writes:
"The functional character of contemporary religious convictions is perhaps nowhere better revealed than in the upsurge of religious conservatism. While appearing to be a resurgence of `traditional' religious conviction, some of these movements in fact give evidence of the loss of religious substance in our culture and in ourselves. Christianity is defended not so much because it is true, but because it reinforces the `American way of life.' Such movements are thus unable to contemplate that there might be irresolvable tensions between being Christian and being `a good American.'"
Link
In The Peaceable Kingdom, Stanley Hauerwas writes:
"The functional character of contemporary religious convictions is perhaps nowhere better revealed than in the upsurge of religious conservatism. While appearing to be a resurgence of `traditional' religious conviction, some of these movements in fact give evidence of the loss of religious substance in our culture and in ourselves. Christianity is defended not so much because it is true, but because it reinforces the `American way of life.' Such movements are thus unable to contemplate that there might be irresolvable tensions between being Christian and being `a good American.'"
Link
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Wow...
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt
Living like we have a living hope…
Sometimes I wonder if we wouldn’t have a better grasp what it means to be a Christian if it was more risky. The radical claims of Jesus are often muted as they reach us and our North American ears. Would the truth be more clear if we were asked to give our lives for it?
In I Peter, Peter writes to a people who are risking their very lives by following Jesus. Nero is one the throne, and he wants to be honored as Lord. He is very willing to destroy anyone who places Jesus above Nero. These Christians watched as their spiritual brothers and sisters were humiliated, tortured, and torn to pieces by lions because of their devotion to Jesus. As they watch those who share their Hope die, Peter reminds them that “…in His (God’s) great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade – kept in heaven for you.” (I Peter 1:3-4)
His point is that our hope is anchored beyond the circumstances. And if that’s the case, this living hope should shape the way we face the challenges of life today.
In a recent article in Christianity Today, Phillip Yancey writes,
“In a German prison camp in World War II, unbeknownst to the guards, the Americans built a makeshift radio. One day news came that the German high command had surrendered, ending the war—a fact that, because of a communications breakdown, the German guards did not yet know. As word spread, a loud celebration broke out.
For three days, the prisoners were hardly recognizable. They sang, waved at guards, laughed at the German shepherd dogs, and shared jokes over meals. On the fourth day, they awoke to find that all the Germans had fled, leaving the gates unlocked. The time of waiting had come to an end.
And here is the question I ask myself: As we Christians face contemporary crises, why do we respond with such fear and anxiety? Why don't we, like the Allied prisoners, act on the Good News we say we believe? What is faith, after all, but believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse?”
A living hope – “…believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse…” This would radically change the way we lived – the things we value – the relationships that we develop. Clarity of the truth comes only when all that we hold dear loses its grip on us. In the words of the old hymn – Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. What is our “hope”? And to what will we give ourselves?
In I Peter, Peter writes to a people who are risking their very lives by following Jesus. Nero is one the throne, and he wants to be honored as Lord. He is very willing to destroy anyone who places Jesus above Nero. These Christians watched as their spiritual brothers and sisters were humiliated, tortured, and torn to pieces by lions because of their devotion to Jesus. As they watch those who share their Hope die, Peter reminds them that “…in His (God’s) great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade – kept in heaven for you.” (I Peter 1:3-4)
His point is that our hope is anchored beyond the circumstances. And if that’s the case, this living hope should shape the way we face the challenges of life today.
In a recent article in Christianity Today, Phillip Yancey writes,
“In a German prison camp in World War II, unbeknownst to the guards, the Americans built a makeshift radio. One day news came that the German high command had surrendered, ending the war—a fact that, because of a communications breakdown, the German guards did not yet know. As word spread, a loud celebration broke out.
For three days, the prisoners were hardly recognizable. They sang, waved at guards, laughed at the German shepherd dogs, and shared jokes over meals. On the fourth day, they awoke to find that all the Germans had fled, leaving the gates unlocked. The time of waiting had come to an end.
And here is the question I ask myself: As we Christians face contemporary crises, why do we respond with such fear and anxiety? Why don't we, like the Allied prisoners, act on the Good News we say we believe? What is faith, after all, but believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse?”
A living hope – “…believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse…” This would radically change the way we lived – the things we value – the relationships that we develop. Clarity of the truth comes only when all that we hold dear loses its grip on us. In the words of the old hymn – Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. What is our “hope”? And to what will we give ourselves?
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
A 200,000+ Death Toll Every Week!
Ron Sider writes
"The wrenching news about the ghastly devastation caused by the Asian tsunami rolled in day after day as I was finishing the revisions for the fifth edition of my Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. 20,000 dead . . . then 50,000, 100,000, 175,000. The final count could easily reach 200,000 lives suddenly snuffed out by the raging ocean.
People of the world rightly recoiled in horror and then swiftly launched a massive global effort to save those whom the sea had spared.
200,000 deaths in one terrifying tsunami is truly awful. But far more than that number of people die unnecessarily every week-this week, next week and every week for years.
Why? Because of poverty the rich world chooses largely to ignore. Every day 30,000 children die of starvation and diseases we know how to prevent. That is 210,000 children every week, not counting adults. That means that fifty-two times as many children die unnecessarily from poverty every year as everyone who perished in the year-end tsunami.
According to the World Bank, 1.2 billion people struggle to survive on just one dollar a day. Another 1.6 billion live on less than two dollars a day.
That kind of poverty brings inadequate food, lack of clean water and sanitation, inadequate or no medical care, and therefore unnecessary disease, brain damage, and illiteracy. In 2004, the World Bank reported that one billion people lack access to safe water, and 2.5 billion have no access to improved sanitation. (The World Health Organization estimates that 6000 children die every day from these two causes alone.) About 950 million poor people cannot read. The World Health Organization reports that 13 million people die each year from diseases like diarrhea, malaria and tuberculosis that we know how to prevent or cure."
According to the World Health Organization, it would only take about $3 billion more invested each year in preventive care in poorer nations to save 5 million people. Can Americans who spend $30-$50 billion each year on diets to reduce their calorie intake not give one-tenth of that to save 5 million people a year?"
Read More
"The wrenching news about the ghastly devastation caused by the Asian tsunami rolled in day after day as I was finishing the revisions for the fifth edition of my Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. 20,000 dead . . . then 50,000, 100,000, 175,000. The final count could easily reach 200,000 lives suddenly snuffed out by the raging ocean.
People of the world rightly recoiled in horror and then swiftly launched a massive global effort to save those whom the sea had spared.
200,000 deaths in one terrifying tsunami is truly awful. But far more than that number of people die unnecessarily every week-this week, next week and every week for years.
Why? Because of poverty the rich world chooses largely to ignore. Every day 30,000 children die of starvation and diseases we know how to prevent. That is 210,000 children every week, not counting adults. That means that fifty-two times as many children die unnecessarily from poverty every year as everyone who perished in the year-end tsunami.
According to the World Bank, 1.2 billion people struggle to survive on just one dollar a day. Another 1.6 billion live on less than two dollars a day.
That kind of poverty brings inadequate food, lack of clean water and sanitation, inadequate or no medical care, and therefore unnecessary disease, brain damage, and illiteracy. In 2004, the World Bank reported that one billion people lack access to safe water, and 2.5 billion have no access to improved sanitation. (The World Health Organization estimates that 6000 children die every day from these two causes alone.) About 950 million poor people cannot read. The World Health Organization reports that 13 million people die each year from diseases like diarrhea, malaria and tuberculosis that we know how to prevent or cure."
According to the World Health Organization, it would only take about $3 billion more invested each year in preventive care in poorer nations to save 5 million people. Can Americans who spend $30-$50 billion each year on diets to reduce their calorie intake not give one-tenth of that to save 5 million people a year?"
Read More
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Speaking of financial stewardship...
Here's a great post from David Batstone at rightreality.com. He writes,
"Want some free financial consultation? It won't take more than a few seconds, I promise. And I won't need to review your bank statements, nor even glance at a balance sheet of your assets and liabilities. Yet for at least 90 percent of you, my remedy will be the single most critical step you could take on the road to financial health."
Read more
Thanks to Jordon Cooper for the link.
"Want some free financial consultation? It won't take more than a few seconds, I promise. And I won't need to review your bank statements, nor even glance at a balance sheet of your assets and liabilities. Yet for at least 90 percent of you, my remedy will be the single most critical step you could take on the road to financial health."
Read more
Thanks to Jordon Cooper for the link.
The Convergence of Ideas and Influences...
There have been several times in my life when I've seen God use a convergence of ideas and influences to shape who I am becoming. This is one of those times. The following factors are coming together to challenge me to be someone different.
- I'm preaching a sermon series on Isaiah. Isaiah's words were addressed to a people who had been blessed with affluence and yet forgot God's care for the poor and oppressed. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
- Friends of mine have been sharing some info from documentaries that they have seen (like this one, this one, or this one) that are opening my eyes to the oppression and exploitation of people around the world.
- Video clips such as this, this, and this, are challenging me to think beyond my safe and secure life.
- An email from my friend Mark Friesen who writes,
"Over the weekend, due to my SS lesson prep, my thoughts were rolling around the issue of sin. We North American evangelicals are so caught up in what I’ll call our “personal piety,” giving all our attention to a handful of virtues and their errant counterparts, that we forget about the societal sins—the sins of our nation, our culture—that have so much greater consequence in the bigger world. We delight in our good stewardship when we find an inexpensive article of fashion clothing, ignoring the fact that it was produced in a sweatshop. Isaiah’s message is clear. When he blasts Israel, it is not for their lack of “personal piety.” They sacrificed at their alters, they practiced good thrift, they had their devotions, they defended traditional family values. And God judged them—destroyed them—because they ignored the (in their time) global concerns of poverty and injustice. We’re accountable just as much, if not more, than they were."
All of these influences are drowning me in an overload of information. I'm fighting to swim to the surface and catch my breath. The question is, "What do I do with all this?" "How does it affect my life in the here and now?" Here are some of my thoughts:
First, I need to live a life that is characterized by repentance. When Isaiah sees God in the temple he realizes the condition of his own heart.
Second, I need to be concerned about my personal "sins" as well as about the "corporate sins" of my country and my economic class. Isaiah said that he was "a man of unclean lips" but he was also concerned that he lived "among a people of unclean lips".
Third, I need to evaluate my financial life, realizing that stewardship is a concept that has many levels, and seek to bring all of those levels under the Lordship of Jesus. Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord speaking and responded.
Fourth, I need to use all my influence to educate and challenge others in regards to the needs in the world and the implications of following Jesus in relation to those needs. "Here am I, send me."
And finally, I need to take concrete action to address the issues that present themselves to me as I live in this place God has called me. "Here am I, send me."
What do you think? How can we live with integrity in a world that has so much need?
- I'm preaching a sermon series on Isaiah. Isaiah's words were addressed to a people who had been blessed with affluence and yet forgot God's care for the poor and oppressed. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
- Friends of mine have been sharing some info from documentaries that they have seen (like this one, this one, or this one) that are opening my eyes to the oppression and exploitation of people around the world.
- Video clips such as this, this, and this, are challenging me to think beyond my safe and secure life.
- An email from my friend Mark Friesen who writes,
"Over the weekend, due to my SS lesson prep, my thoughts were rolling around the issue of sin. We North American evangelicals are so caught up in what I’ll call our “personal piety,” giving all our attention to a handful of virtues and their errant counterparts, that we forget about the societal sins—the sins of our nation, our culture—that have so much greater consequence in the bigger world. We delight in our good stewardship when we find an inexpensive article of fashion clothing, ignoring the fact that it was produced in a sweatshop. Isaiah’s message is clear. When he blasts Israel, it is not for their lack of “personal piety.” They sacrificed at their alters, they practiced good thrift, they had their devotions, they defended traditional family values. And God judged them—destroyed them—because they ignored the (in their time) global concerns of poverty and injustice. We’re accountable just as much, if not more, than they were."
All of these influences are drowning me in an overload of information. I'm fighting to swim to the surface and catch my breath. The question is, "What do I do with all this?" "How does it affect my life in the here and now?" Here are some of my thoughts:
First, I need to live a life that is characterized by repentance. When Isaiah sees God in the temple he realizes the condition of his own heart.
Second, I need to be concerned about my personal "sins" as well as about the "corporate sins" of my country and my economic class. Isaiah said that he was "a man of unclean lips" but he was also concerned that he lived "among a people of unclean lips".
Third, I need to evaluate my financial life, realizing that stewardship is a concept that has many levels, and seek to bring all of those levels under the Lordship of Jesus. Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord speaking and responded.
Fourth, I need to use all my influence to educate and challenge others in regards to the needs in the world and the implications of following Jesus in relation to those needs. "Here am I, send me."
And finally, I need to take concrete action to address the issues that present themselves to me as I live in this place God has called me. "Here am I, send me."
What do you think? How can we live with integrity in a world that has so much need?
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
MAKE POVERTY HISTORY
Want an education? Then click the link below. But don't say that I didn't warn you...
This "click" may be dangerous!
This "click" may be dangerous!
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
The Simplicity of Spirituality
I've been thinking alot lately about the spiritual nature of small everyday acts. We often want to do some great and momentous task for God, almost as if we are seeking the "fast track" to Christlikeness. But the reality is that instead of showing us a spiritual "project", God calls us to live our lives as spiritual acts of worship. (Rom. 12:1) The smallest task done for Christ can reap the greatest spiritual reward. What was it that Mother Theresa said?
"We can do no great things alone. We can only do small things with great love."
I also found this quote by Jacques Maritain on the Bruderhof daily dig. He writes,
"Christianity has all too often meant withdrawal and the unwillingness to share the common suffering of humankind. But the world has rightly risen in protest against such piety... The care of another - even material, bodily care - is spiritual in essence. Bread for myself is a material question; bread for my neighbor is a spiritual one."
Jesus call is to serve and love and give to others as a way of serving, loving, and giving to Him. The spirituality of the everyday is a life lived as if everyone around us was Jesus. Simple, but not easy.
"We can do no great things alone. We can only do small things with great love."
I also found this quote by Jacques Maritain on the Bruderhof daily dig. He writes,
"Christianity has all too often meant withdrawal and the unwillingness to share the common suffering of humankind. But the world has rightly risen in protest against such piety... The care of another - even material, bodily care - is spiritual in essence. Bread for myself is a material question; bread for my neighbor is a spiritual one."
Jesus call is to serve and love and give to others as a way of serving, loving, and giving to Him. The spirituality of the everyday is a life lived as if everyone around us was Jesus. Simple, but not easy.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Mission
I found a quote from Robert Webber last week that has very succintly put what I have been trying to say for several years about the mission of the church. He says,
“The calling of the church in every culture is to be mission. That is, the work of the church is not to be an agent or servant of the culture. The churches’ business is not to maintain freedom or to promote wealth or to help a political party or to serve as the moral guide to culture. The church’s mission is to be the presence of the kingdom. . . . The church’s mission is to show the world what it looks like when a community of people live under the reign of God” (Robert Webber, The Younger Evangelicals, 2002, 133).
I have the blessing of living in a small town were the pastors of the various churches have a good relationship. We feel a sense of team instead of competition. But my question is this - What would it look like if the churches in my community lived "under the reign of God"? It's an exciting thought. And one that I'm willing to take some risks to see come about.
“The calling of the church in every culture is to be mission. That is, the work of the church is not to be an agent or servant of the culture. The churches’ business is not to maintain freedom or to promote wealth or to help a political party or to serve as the moral guide to culture. The church’s mission is to be the presence of the kingdom. . . . The church’s mission is to show the world what it looks like when a community of people live under the reign of God” (Robert Webber, The Younger Evangelicals, 2002, 133).
I have the blessing of living in a small town were the pastors of the various churches have a good relationship. We feel a sense of team instead of competition. But my question is this - What would it look like if the churches in my community lived "under the reign of God"? It's an exciting thought. And one that I'm willing to take some risks to see come about.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Letting God Grow Us
Darren from thin spaces shared some great ideas today. He writes, "While surfing blogdom today, i ran across a repost of Neil Cole's (Church Multiplication Associates) response to the question 'If you could start all over what would you do differently?' over at simplechurch.co.uk.
i resonated with the comments made as i am currently on that journey myself. i feel that this is such good material that i am re-posting Neil's answers on my blog so i can easily find it again. The reminders he offers are simple, insightful and rather counter-cultural for many Christian church planting movements today."
Read more of "Letting God Grow Us"
i resonated with the comments made as i am currently on that journey myself. i feel that this is such good material that i am re-posting Neil's answers on my blog so i can easily find it again. The reminders he offers are simple, insightful and rather counter-cultural for many Christian church planting movements today."
Read more of "Letting God Grow Us"
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Do we really want to see God?
Isaiah 6:1-13
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" He said, "Go and tell this people: " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."
We sing it often – “Open the eyes of my heart Lord, open the eyes of my heart – I want to see you, I want to see you”. As we read a text like the one we are looking at today we have to ask ourselves if we really understand what we are asking for. We equate seeing God with a warm fuzzy, a sense of wonder, a taste of something wonderful. For Isaiah it began as his worst nightmare. Shaking, smoke, loud voices, and an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame. When Isaiah saw God he clearly saw himself as well. Throughout chapter 5 we’ve seen him pronounce God’s “woe” on the people 6 times, and now in chapter 6 the woe is pronounced upon the prophet himself. “’Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’” (Is. 6:5)
We watch as God purifies Isaiah and calls him to a difficult task. He is to speak God’s word to the people – and for the most part they will not respond. There’s a lesson here for each one of us. If we want to be used to communicate God’s truth to the world we must first allow that truth to penetrate our hearts. Isaiah not only shared the message, but he became a living example of what the message was supposed to accomplish. His life was an illustration of what God was calling the people of Judah to - humility, repentance, answering the call of God.
Too many times we want to take the message of God to the world before we take it to heart. We want to show everyone who God is without taking the time to see Him clearly ourselves. God’s call in our lives is more about making us like Christ than it is about showing others the way. As we become more like Christ they can see the way clearly. Instead of being a distraction we help to focus their attention on who Jesus is. That’s the call. Live the message in your heart before you run to share it with the world. Think about it.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" He said, "Go and tell this people: " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."
We sing it often – “Open the eyes of my heart Lord, open the eyes of my heart – I want to see you, I want to see you”. As we read a text like the one we are looking at today we have to ask ourselves if we really understand what we are asking for. We equate seeing God with a warm fuzzy, a sense of wonder, a taste of something wonderful. For Isaiah it began as his worst nightmare. Shaking, smoke, loud voices, and an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame. When Isaiah saw God he clearly saw himself as well. Throughout chapter 5 we’ve seen him pronounce God’s “woe” on the people 6 times, and now in chapter 6 the woe is pronounced upon the prophet himself. “’Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’” (Is. 6:5)
We watch as God purifies Isaiah and calls him to a difficult task. He is to speak God’s word to the people – and for the most part they will not respond. There’s a lesson here for each one of us. If we want to be used to communicate God’s truth to the world we must first allow that truth to penetrate our hearts. Isaiah not only shared the message, but he became a living example of what the message was supposed to accomplish. His life was an illustration of what God was calling the people of Judah to - humility, repentance, answering the call of God.
Too many times we want to take the message of God to the world before we take it to heart. We want to show everyone who God is without taking the time to see Him clearly ourselves. God’s call in our lives is more about making us like Christ than it is about showing others the way. As we become more like Christ they can see the way clearly. Instead of being a distraction we help to focus their attention on who Jesus is. That’s the call. Live the message in your heart before you run to share it with the world. Think about it.
Friday, January 14, 2005
A Nation of Faith and Religious Illiterates
"....according to a 1997 poll, only one out of three U.S. citizens is able to name the most basic of Christian texts, the four Gospels, and 12% think Noah's wife was Joan of Arc. That paints a picture of a nation that believes God speaks in Scripture but that can't be bothered to read what he has to say."
LA Time - A Nation of Faith and Religious Illiterates
LA Time - A Nation of Faith and Religious Illiterates
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Our Postmodern Faith Needs Fire
From Desert Pastor, always stirring my thoughts...
"Fire is what our emerging, postmodern faith needs today.
Not the fires of passion (we seem to have plenty of that);
Not the fires of deconstruction (disassembling takes too much time; burning is faster, right?)...
We postmoderns need the fires of persecution."
Read More:
"Fire is what our emerging, postmodern faith needs today.
Not the fires of passion (we seem to have plenty of that);
Not the fires of deconstruction (disassembling takes too much time; burning is faster, right?)...
We postmoderns need the fires of persecution."
Read More:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
