Monday, November 27, 2006

The Great Love Story

Yeah, I know I haven't blogged in a month or so, but thanks to those of you who keep checking and hoping for little bits of things I say to tick them off spiritually. I think that's probably formative. You're welcome.

Yesterday I djembe-ed, sang and preached (or lay-exhorted, if that keeps the CRC happy). This blog entry is my attempt to summarize my sermon, and provide a less sojourning way of understanding what I was saying rather than trying to sift through my cruddy rhetoric off the pulpit. Here's the basic gist:

If you haven't read Søren Kierkegaard's parable, "The King and the Maiden", you should now. I will attach it as the first comment on this blog.

Advent has been too far removed from Lent in our Christian minds. We often baptize our gift-giving frenzy at Christmas by saying that we model our gift-giving after God's gift of Jesus. However, the "gift" of Jesus was more like the sacrificial lamb given to Old Testament Hebrew families which ended up being re-gifted to God to satisfy His desire for atonement.

Kierkegaard's parable points out questions we often bury so that it doesn't rattle our spiritual cages: if God is all-powerful, why doesn't he _______? The ultimate of these questions is why would God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden? Sadism? Do we tempt our teething infants with razorblades? This is a question Catechism classes have left me with. I have not heard a better explanation than the one I taught Sunday.

The Christian life is God's love story. As with the King in Kierkegaard, God's hands are tied by his kingliness. He could have created us with no option to sin in the garden, but that would have rendered us slaves. Love, which is presumably a creation of God, is, in its own nature, a two way street. Love needs an out. There are two options for relationships such as ours with God: love (or a derivation of love such as hate) OR servitude. Think about marriage. Marriage works because divorice exists. Marriage works because a choice is made. Marriage works because of a choice for love and commitment, BUT it also is dependent on a choice to be made for NOT divorice. Forced marriages, where the wife is required by religious or societal fears and pressures to remain faithful do not foster love, they foster servitude. Can they foster love? Possibly. But, the husband can NEVER know for sure that the wife loves him unless she freely chooses NOT to leave.

The second strain to this story is that the King in this story MUST become a peasant in order to gain love from the maiden. He gives up many things to accomplish this. The King was not the King among people, but the King with people. He had to deal with everything the people dealt with. This is Christ, God himself, coming down to earth to be God with us. Christ was necessary for atonment, for sure. But, if that's all he was good for, then the Father could have had him crucified at age 20, or even 15. But that's far too utilitarian a view of Christ. Christ came to show us the methodology of God's infatuous love for humanity. We see in Christ what love for people means. People who love people like God loves people are attracted to those who suffer, who struggle, and who are despised. If you love yourself, you are attracted to those who can help you, those above you in social standing. Check your temperature in this respect. Christ lived that, as well. Isaiah 53 says there was nothing about Christ that would attract us to him. He was despised and rejected by men. He wasn't just human, he was a loser. His personality and social position was designed to reach those for whom he came. If he had a God entourage, he never would have reached the lepers, the tax collectors, and the prostitutes.

The crux of this message is that the incarnation signals a message of hope for those who suffer through humanity's mess, and a direction for those who are looking to serve. If the Church functions according to God's love story, then the sufferers and the ministers will be connected. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son....

Friday, November 10, 2006

Ron Martoia

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to listen to Ron Martoia, a postmodern church growth guy who has some really good stuff to say. Here are my quick notes, if you want explanations, you can ask me or check out his website : Velocity Culture.

· Our current situation: Deep change or slow death

· Semiotics: Reading the signs and context of our times
o Why is Extreme Home Makeover so popular?
§ It showcases real people with real problems
§ People are willing to give if they can be convicted of the cause
§ Tripping our emotions is often the key to realizing the importance

· We need a ecclesiology based on missiology rather than doxology
o Our view of the church must be based in mission as well as praise

· Information does not guarantee transformation
o We have a narrow scope of cramming information into our parishioners
o We often preach a fall/redemption paradigm. We need a Creation/Fall/Redemption paradigm
o Categories: Fidelitas, Feducia, Visio, and Ascencis
§ Ascencis is far overplayed in today’s church (doctrinal/creedal)

Knowing --> Doing
· This paradigm doesn’t work
· We need more steps
· Knowing-->Seeing-->Sensing-->Doing

· Plant when a church reaches 400. This should be a mothering relationship rather than a “planting” relationship

· Old Testament Themes
o There are three stories which set the tone of the OT
§ Exodus
§ Exile
§ Priestly
o We primarily teach the priestly story, which is not holistic
o Modern people operated with a guilt mindset, in which priestly themes were perfect
o Postmodern people feel no guilt
o If we do missions overseas, we learn the language. We need to learn the postmodern language.

· Our current programs are perfectly constructed to get the results we’re currently getting.

· World Religions: Islam, Buddhism & Hinduism are descriptive of our current human state. Christianity is prescriptive of the life that we ought to live and will live. It does not accept the status quo.

· Salvation
o Zaccheus wouldn’t have been saved in most churches today
o Christ made the initial statement, justifying him before he asked

· Isaiah 61 is foretaste of Luke 4. It is a Rabbinic telos.

· In developing programs, go deep, not wide at first

· Leadership from Leath
o Leaders must cross thresholds
o Commonly associated with death

· Change is like trapeze artistry
o One must let go and hang on

· Three requirements
o Logos: Speaking the Word
o Pathos: Feeling for your people
o Ethos: Living in the present

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Holiness?

Psalm 15
1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?
2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart
3 and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman,
4 who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,
5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.