Luke 10
Everyone I read and talk to these days is in agreement that the calling of the church is NOT just to improve our methods, techniques, and strategies, but to get back to essence and core of who the church is called to be. One scripture that I have spent a lot of time reflecting on Luke 10 recently and I think it has a great to say to the church today about our mission and identity in the 21st century world. This is one time when we Jesus’ discipleship training, leadership development in action.
Identity: I love how Jesus sends out these 70 people two by two without mentioning their names. We really don’t know a lot about these people except that they followed Jesus in somewhat of close proximity as he went about His ministry. They weren’t the 12 disciples that were the closet in proximity to him, yet they were given a significant mission. I wonder in our churches today, what would happen if we were willing to follow Jesus without anyone knowing our name? It seems that they found their identity in the mission that Jesus sent them on and the text does not mention who they were in particular. While I do believe God created and values our uniqueness and changes our names so that we find our intended signficance (Peter, Jacob, etc), I think the first thing about discovering our identity as a church is as people sent in the image of God. After Jesus’ resurection, he came to discples and breathed His Spirit on them, not just to tell them how great and loved they are, but to sent them on His mission. “As the father, has sent me so I send you And with that He breathed the Holy Spirit on them.” I wonder how much excitement about their new identity they were filled with when they came back from their mission?
Mission: So what is this misison we are sent on? To bring the healing and restoration of the Kingdom of God being near. The church are agents of God’s reality and presence of the world. We are signs in the present of where the world is heading in the future and we are to embody that reality now. We bridge the gap between the brokeness of those around us and God and offer the healing through our very presence that only God can bring. I love how the instructions Jesus gives his discples are filled with honor, respect, and compassion for the other. They are to enter into the homes of the the people they go and enter into authentic relationship that brings healing. As the healing happens through these relationships, then they are to announce that it is because the Kingdom of God has become near to them. How opposite is that from the way mission has been talked about in the church so often? The mission has been talked about as a task of going and taking Jesus to people and annoucing the laws of the Kingdom of God rather than embodying the Kingdom of God through honor, respect, and genuine care for the other and bringing the invitation to enter into the way of healing and shalom that only God can bring. Through Jesus life, he invites us into the Kingdom of God, or reign of God, that is not a place we go, but a way of being human that never stops living. The Kingdom of God is a way of shalom- of finding reconciliation with God and other people and the world around us and to be apart of bringing hope into our broken world.
One other thing I love about this text is that they didn’t offer healing to each other before they were sent, they were sent to offer healing to others. I wonder how inadequate they felt along the way, but how much healing they experienced as God actually used them to heal others. I think it is the same for the church today. When we focus on getting the right information and spiritual nourishment, we miss the point because we are invited to find healing in the procecss of mission.
Communitas: A lot of talk these days is about community. Authentic community, healing community, etc. Starbucks has actually marketed community to us to sell their coffee even though real community rarely happens at starbucks in my experience. This text shows the basis for community grounded in mission: or communitas. The latin word, communitas, is really a community centered around a cause rather than just each other. Here we have a danger as well on either side- we can focus so much on the cause that we don’t care about each other or we can focus too much on each other that we miss the cause. We need to navigate and walk well in this tension as the church. Living in this tension is our calling that we cannot escape. We are called to be healing, missional communities that offer the healing presence of God as a community and participate in His restoration of the world.
Leadership: I love how Jesus sends out these unnamed disciples to learn through experience. Jesus is a genius when it comes to leadership. He showed them in his life by embodying a differenat way of being human, he taught them about what it looks like, called out the greatness in them by inviting them to participate, showed them a vision of what they could become, and sends them out to participate, and process their experiences with them. What would happen if the leaderhip of our churches did the same? What is we focused on sending and equiping our people to bring hope and life into the world rather than trying to do the right tactics to get more people to come and listen to us teach? Think about the brilliance of Jesus’ strategy, rather than getting everyone to come to him, people follow Him so they can be sent out. How many more people can the Kingdom of God touch, bless, and heal as people are sent out in all different directions. I think this is why he says that when he leaves, we will do greater things than him (jn 14:6) because His Spirit sends us in all different directions withou our unique gifts and abilities. How can we create spaces and opporutnites for the people of God to build these life-changing realtionships with those who are searaching for or not even yet aware that their hearts long for God? This is a huge part of our missional task as leaders.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
China, Darfur, Oil, America...
While I won’t share a lot of what I am learning in class, I did find my culture and transformation class particularly interesting and worth sharing about the connection of China, Darfur, and Oil.
If you didn’t know, China is the next world superpower. While we are busy fighting in the Middle East, China is busy getting ready to take over the world. TIME is doing a a series of articles on them that started last week that are pretty open ended about whether this is going to a good thing for the world or not.
One of my TA’s, who is not your typical seminary PHD student, is conviced that this will not be a good thing for the world, and particularly not for America, and it is already not a good thing for Africa. He has been doing his PHD on fighting against poverty and corruption in the Muslim country of Chad. Over the past five years he has been going to different places in Africa and working with major oil coroporations (mostly Shell and Exxon) to help them see the value of actually helping the African people and developing the economy there. He has spent a lot of time talking to people on the ground and getting to know the situation while challenging these major corporations. He likes to tell stories about being dragged out into the desert in 125 degree temperatures at gun-point to be yelled at by muslim extremists. That is beside the point, but just letting you know what kind of person this is.
One of the discoveries he has made is that China means business in Africa. In 2000, they had control of only one oil site in Africa, but now they have oil sites pervading the area. If you didn’t know, the area above the Sahara dessert is the last remaining oil fronteir in the world. Besides Saudi Arabia, this will be THE major oil provider for the world in this century. While Shell and Exxon has had a presence in Africa over the last 50 years, China sees this as their opportunity to gain control of the region while we are fighting in the middle east. If you could see the map of oil sites that China has now you would be amazed at what they have done in the last 6 years.
How does this connect to Darfur? One of the main reasons we cannot stop the Darfur crisis is China. Everytime we make an initiative in the UN for Darfur, China opposes it. Why? For one, China is supplying the conflict because it helps them gain access to oil. While the border is in conflict between the sudan and chad, they want to build an oil line from Chad to the Red Sea so that they can take the oil directly to China. Right now, the only oil line goes out to the Atlantic so they can take the oil to Europe and the United States. China has a very different foreign policy than the United States that does not get involved in conflicts that don’t concern them and they support conflicts that benefit them. They don’t care how many Africans are slaughtered if they can get access to oil.
Why don’t we challenge China? We can’t for two main reasons- 1) we are a little distracted right now 2) China finances the majority of our bank notes now for our 3 Trillion dollar national debt and could decide not to do that anymore and destroy our economy.
While TIME is ambiguous about this for the US, our TA think this is bad for America. China not only wants control of the oil and be a world power but wants revenge against the west (don’t care if our economy goes down tube) for hundreds of years of resentment against west. What they don’t understand is that when they get control of the oil, oil prices will skyrocket to over $100 a barrel and it will be too expensive for almost anyone to use. He predicts that America wil experience a time of “exile” in the near future where we will go through a rough time over these oil changes.
So, we’ll see what happens in the world over the next 10 years, but it could get real interesting. I think this is really sad about Darfur, and I think America’s time is probably coming. Not to be a messenger of Doom, but we have not treated the world very well, and could come back around on us. Who knows what will happen unitl it does though.
I think it is crucial to think about how we wil respond to these kinds of issues as the church—will we defend the american way or bless those who curse us? What if american christians became known for blessing the world rather than exploiting the world for our profit?
If you didn’t know, China is the next world superpower. While we are busy fighting in the Middle East, China is busy getting ready to take over the world. TIME is doing a a series of articles on them that started last week that are pretty open ended about whether this is going to a good thing for the world or not.
One of my TA’s, who is not your typical seminary PHD student, is conviced that this will not be a good thing for the world, and particularly not for America, and it is already not a good thing for Africa. He has been doing his PHD on fighting against poverty and corruption in the Muslim country of Chad. Over the past five years he has been going to different places in Africa and working with major oil coroporations (mostly Shell and Exxon) to help them see the value of actually helping the African people and developing the economy there. He has spent a lot of time talking to people on the ground and getting to know the situation while challenging these major corporations. He likes to tell stories about being dragged out into the desert in 125 degree temperatures at gun-point to be yelled at by muslim extremists. That is beside the point, but just letting you know what kind of person this is.
One of the discoveries he has made is that China means business in Africa. In 2000, they had control of only one oil site in Africa, but now they have oil sites pervading the area. If you didn’t know, the area above the Sahara dessert is the last remaining oil fronteir in the world. Besides Saudi Arabia, this will be THE major oil provider for the world in this century. While Shell and Exxon has had a presence in Africa over the last 50 years, China sees this as their opportunity to gain control of the region while we are fighting in the middle east. If you could see the map of oil sites that China has now you would be amazed at what they have done in the last 6 years.
How does this connect to Darfur? One of the main reasons we cannot stop the Darfur crisis is China. Everytime we make an initiative in the UN for Darfur, China opposes it. Why? For one, China is supplying the conflict because it helps them gain access to oil. While the border is in conflict between the sudan and chad, they want to build an oil line from Chad to the Red Sea so that they can take the oil directly to China. Right now, the only oil line goes out to the Atlantic so they can take the oil to Europe and the United States. China has a very different foreign policy than the United States that does not get involved in conflicts that don’t concern them and they support conflicts that benefit them. They don’t care how many Africans are slaughtered if they can get access to oil.
Why don’t we challenge China? We can’t for two main reasons- 1) we are a little distracted right now 2) China finances the majority of our bank notes now for our 3 Trillion dollar national debt and could decide not to do that anymore and destroy our economy.
While TIME is ambiguous about this for the US, our TA think this is bad for America. China not only wants control of the oil and be a world power but wants revenge against the west (don’t care if our economy goes down tube) for hundreds of years of resentment against west. What they don’t understand is that when they get control of the oil, oil prices will skyrocket to over $100 a barrel and it will be too expensive for almost anyone to use. He predicts that America wil experience a time of “exile” in the near future where we will go through a rough time over these oil changes.
So, we’ll see what happens in the world over the next 10 years, but it could get real interesting. I think this is really sad about Darfur, and I think America’s time is probably coming. Not to be a messenger of Doom, but we have not treated the world very well, and could come back around on us. Who knows what will happen unitl it does though.
I think it is crucial to think about how we wil respond to these kinds of issues as the church—will we defend the american way or bless those who curse us? What if american christians became known for blessing the world rather than exploiting the world for our profit?
Thursday, January 11, 2007
New Race?
This is an outline of a recent talk one of my New Testament Professors gave recently at Fuller. I think it is pretty profound. She is a courageous woman.
Love Sechrest Speaks in Martin Luther King Chapel
In a chapel service on January 10 celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Fuller faculty member Love Sechrest spoke on “Being One in Christ.” “The image of Church as family has always fired my imagination,” Sechrest, who is assistant professor of New Testament, explained in her opening remarks. She then addressed race relations and unity within the Church, using as her text Galatians 3:28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”
Sechrest approached this text by recounting how it has been used in the past to support either total cultural assimilation or a radical emphasis on racial categories. Pointing out that “ancient Jews constructed race on the basis of who one worshipped, rather than on skin color,” Sechrest suggested that this verse instead “reconfigures the flesh of a Christian as a member of a new race.” She made a similar point regarding issues of social class: “For the Church, Christ has reconfigured the ordering of class—mastery and dependency have been replaced by interdependency.”
According to Sechrest, “Galatians 3:28 neither erases nor enshrines racial differences; instead, it creates a new racial unity.” This unity does not equal sameness, however; there is a diversity of giftedness within the Church, and “our history and distinctives are gifts to the body of Christ.” Sechrest honored Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King for their efforts towards racial integration in society while maintaining that “in the Church, our goal is interdependence rather than integration.” She concluded by commenting that “we are privileged to live in a society where the world is at our doorstep, but with great privilege comes great responsibility,” and encouraging the Church to therefore take further steps towards racial interdependence.
love to hear your thoughts
also, i thought i'd let you know i have only been awake for about 5 hours today. this sickness thing is fighting me hard
Love Sechrest Speaks in Martin Luther King Chapel
In a chapel service on January 10 celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Fuller faculty member Love Sechrest spoke on “Being One in Christ.” “The image of Church as family has always fired my imagination,” Sechrest, who is assistant professor of New Testament, explained in her opening remarks. She then addressed race relations and unity within the Church, using as her text Galatians 3:28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”
Sechrest approached this text by recounting how it has been used in the past to support either total cultural assimilation or a radical emphasis on racial categories. Pointing out that “ancient Jews constructed race on the basis of who one worshipped, rather than on skin color,” Sechrest suggested that this verse instead “reconfigures the flesh of a Christian as a member of a new race.” She made a similar point regarding issues of social class: “For the Church, Christ has reconfigured the ordering of class—mastery and dependency have been replaced by interdependency.”
According to Sechrest, “Galatians 3:28 neither erases nor enshrines racial differences; instead, it creates a new racial unity.” This unity does not equal sameness, however; there is a diversity of giftedness within the Church, and “our history and distinctives are gifts to the body of Christ.” Sechrest honored Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King for their efforts towards racial integration in society while maintaining that “in the Church, our goal is interdependence rather than integration.” She concluded by commenting that “we are privileged to live in a society where the world is at our doorstep, but with great privilege comes great responsibility,” and encouraging the Church to therefore take further steps towards racial interdependence.
love to hear your thoughts
also, i thought i'd let you know i have only been awake for about 5 hours today. this sickness thing is fighting me hard
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Top Ten Books of the Year
So, most of you know I read a lot right now. I'll share with you my top ten list from last year in no particular order
Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture, by Michael Frost
great book on heart of what means to be healing, missional church in our culture
The Shaping of Things to Come, by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch
great look at why church way is and how we can reclaim apostolic, missional ethos in church today in our time and place
Paul: A Fresh Perspective, by NT Wright
bet you will never read Paul's letters the same again after reading this book, puts Paul's letter in the framework of the bigger story going throughout the bible
Urban Tribes, by Ethan Watters
sociological/cultural look into how people are forming tribes of new families in the midst of fast paced and transient life in US cities
The Emotionally Healthy Church, by Pete Scazzero
profound look into how we can be whole people and be real healing communities in the church; got to my heart
Recovering the Scandal of the Cross, by Joel B. Green and Mark D. Baker
theology book that gets into true scandal of cross in scriptures; main argument is that legal/atonement language makes cross an abstract principle and misses out on the transformational inbreaking of reign of God through Jesus' death and resurrection
The Irresitable Revolution, by Shaine Claiborne
really challenging and inspirational look into economy of america and living simply and courageously by values of the Kingdom rather than american consumerism
The McDonaldization of the Church, by John Drane
enough said- how church has been infused with values of commericialized, marketing culture
The Out of Bounds Church, by Steve Taylor
pastor in New Zealand, taught class to me on church in emerging culture, helping me think outside of the box of how we live out gospel in world
The Spiritual Adventures of Cyper Cindy, by Gill Rowell
really creative look into the book of ruth through post-modern lens, helps make story come alive in fresh way with profound message to our culture
The Internet adventures of cyber-hippie, Jason Gore
a autobiography about how i change the world, one post at a time
The End of Faith, by sam harris
argues that faith is at root of most of world's problems and we need to return to modern rationalism, attacks islamic extremism on one hand and christian pietism on other that brings indifference, obviously don't agree with all his conclusions, but i think his best seller touches a serious nerve of our culture and says some things that we need to own up to and grapple with as church
you guys got any good ones?
love to hear your thoughts
Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture, by Michael Frost
great book on heart of what means to be healing, missional church in our culture
The Shaping of Things to Come, by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch
great look at why church way is and how we can reclaim apostolic, missional ethos in church today in our time and place
Paul: A Fresh Perspective, by NT Wright
bet you will never read Paul's letters the same again after reading this book, puts Paul's letter in the framework of the bigger story going throughout the bible
Urban Tribes, by Ethan Watters
sociological/cultural look into how people are forming tribes of new families in the midst of fast paced and transient life in US cities
The Emotionally Healthy Church, by Pete Scazzero
profound look into how we can be whole people and be real healing communities in the church; got to my heart
Recovering the Scandal of the Cross, by Joel B. Green and Mark D. Baker
theology book that gets into true scandal of cross in scriptures; main argument is that legal/atonement language makes cross an abstract principle and misses out on the transformational inbreaking of reign of God through Jesus' death and resurrection
The Irresitable Revolution, by Shaine Claiborne
really challenging and inspirational look into economy of america and living simply and courageously by values of the Kingdom rather than american consumerism
The McDonaldization of the Church, by John Drane
enough said- how church has been infused with values of commericialized, marketing culture
The Out of Bounds Church, by Steve Taylor
pastor in New Zealand, taught class to me on church in emerging culture, helping me think outside of the box of how we live out gospel in world
The Spiritual Adventures of Cyper Cindy, by Gill Rowell
really creative look into the book of ruth through post-modern lens, helps make story come alive in fresh way with profound message to our culture
The Internet adventures of cyber-hippie, Jason Gore
a autobiography about how i change the world, one post at a time
The End of Faith, by sam harris
argues that faith is at root of most of world's problems and we need to return to modern rationalism, attacks islamic extremism on one hand and christian pietism on other that brings indifference, obviously don't agree with all his conclusions, but i think his best seller touches a serious nerve of our culture and says some things that we need to own up to and grapple with as church
you guys got any good ones?
love to hear your thoughts
What do you do when you are sick?
So, I got sick last night. I was walking home from watching Florida demolish Ohio State with some friends, and something just hit me. Started coughing and then I woke up in a daze today. I slept from 10:30- 3 this afternoon and never recovered. Bad day....felt like a waste of life...also took robitussin pm during the day, this probably contributed to my 5 hour nap...note- read bottle before drinking medicine (that tip was free)
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Highs and Lows...
Let me take you through a little journey of our week
High- Rose Bowl Parade with Dad, Danielle, and Hannah
high- Rose Bowl game with dad and 95,000 of our closest friends. USC dominated. I wore a USC jersey (christmas gift from loving wife) and found a new family who considered me one of their own. I was gettnig high fives from everyone around me and they didn't know I was only a poser.
Low- guys at the end of the Rose Bowl Parade and after the Rose Bowl game with signs and bullhorns yelling God hates sin and repent or perish...(that made me angry)
High- Hannah eating sphagetti (as promised)
High- some really good classes starting up (Culture and Transformation, Missional Church and Leadership, Symbols of the Early Church)
Low- all the work I have to do for all these classes
High- spending time with my wife, baby, and friends out here in California sharing life together
High- 40 Day countdown to Shiloah Nichole's arrival into the world
Low- attrocious basketball being played on Saturday
Lower- Getting pooped on by a bird on the way home from attrocious basketball on Saturday (That's right, a bird pooped on me)
High- talking to my sister about exciting prospects for her future and getting to share life together once I get to Raleigh
Low- wanting to be in Raleigh already
High- getting giftcertificates and tee-shirt for when we get there
High- finally getting a haircut
High- Getting a free expresso maker from a friend, making expresso with friend (very tasty)
Low- Making expresso without friend, coffee exploding all over kitchen
Lower- me on the floor sweeping up expresso grounds
Low- my wife is very pregnant, my wife is very tired, my toddler is very active, we love each other very much, yet pray for us, 34 days!
Low- Tiki barber's last game. Go knights!
That's all the adventures for now
peace
corey
High- Rose Bowl Parade with Dad, Danielle, and Hannah
high- Rose Bowl game with dad and 95,000 of our closest friends. USC dominated. I wore a USC jersey (christmas gift from loving wife) and found a new family who considered me one of their own. I was gettnig high fives from everyone around me and they didn't know I was only a poser.
Low- guys at the end of the Rose Bowl Parade and after the Rose Bowl game with signs and bullhorns yelling God hates sin and repent or perish...(that made me angry)
High- Hannah eating sphagetti (as promised)
High- some really good classes starting up (Culture and Transformation, Missional Church and Leadership, Symbols of the Early Church)
Low- all the work I have to do for all these classes
High- spending time with my wife, baby, and friends out here in California sharing life together
High- 40 Day countdown to Shiloah Nichole's arrival into the world
Low- attrocious basketball being played on Saturday
Lower- Getting pooped on by a bird on the way home from attrocious basketball on Saturday (That's right, a bird pooped on me)
High- talking to my sister about exciting prospects for her future and getting to share life together once I get to Raleigh
Low- wanting to be in Raleigh already
High- getting giftcertificates and tee-shirt for when we get there
High- finally getting a haircut
High- Getting a free expresso maker from a friend, making expresso with friend (very tasty)
Low- Making expresso without friend, coffee exploding all over kitchen
Lower- me on the floor sweeping up expresso grounds
Low- my wife is very pregnant, my wife is very tired, my toddler is very active, we love each other very much, yet pray for us, 34 days!
Low- Tiki barber's last game. Go knights!
That's all the adventures for now
peace
corey
Friday, January 05, 2007
Can you be held accountable for what you do in your sleep?
One discovery I’ve made since being married is pretty common to most people- I’m more of a jerk than I thought I was and yet I have more of a capacity to love than I thought I did
however, one of the times I am a serious jerk, I am wondering if I can be held accountable for, and want to get your insight
Are you held accountable for what you do in your sleep? Because I am seem to do some really aweful things that I am only vaguely aware of or don’t remember at all
take last night for instance
i woke up this morning and danielle says to me- do you remember last night?
I, immediately taken a back, think oh no (previous track record not good when she says that- I have talked in my sleep, yelled in my sleep, hit, elbowed, and scowled in my sleep, told my wife to just get the baby, asked her what the heck she is thinking, mumbled angrily, tossed and turned violently, denied her requests for food as pregnant woman, peeed loudly with the door wide open), so after these things pass quickly through my mind, I am now prepared for the worst and I say, no what did I do?
Now, sometimes I vaguely remember what is going on and with Hannah I have had just plain out bad instances, but this time, no memory
turns out last night, a very loud noise happened right outside our window (we live on a busy street right off the freeway, so not that unusual), danielle asks me to go look and see, I mumble, say why, she urges, then I get up, go to the bathroom (with door open), then on the way back to bed (while she is looking out the window, I tell her (reminder she is 8 months pregnant) to get out of my way on my way back to bed (she was looking out the window on my side of the bed), then I go back to sleep, only remebering going to the bathroom when I wake up
what do you guys think?
however, one of the times I am a serious jerk, I am wondering if I can be held accountable for, and want to get your insight
Are you held accountable for what you do in your sleep? Because I am seem to do some really aweful things that I am only vaguely aware of or don’t remember at all
take last night for instance
i woke up this morning and danielle says to me- do you remember last night?
I, immediately taken a back, think oh no (previous track record not good when she says that- I have talked in my sleep, yelled in my sleep, hit, elbowed, and scowled in my sleep, told my wife to just get the baby, asked her what the heck she is thinking, mumbled angrily, tossed and turned violently, denied her requests for food as pregnant woman, peeed loudly with the door wide open), so after these things pass quickly through my mind, I am now prepared for the worst and I say, no what did I do?
Now, sometimes I vaguely remember what is going on and with Hannah I have had just plain out bad instances, but this time, no memory
turns out last night, a very loud noise happened right outside our window (we live on a busy street right off the freeway, so not that unusual), danielle asks me to go look and see, I mumble, say why, she urges, then I get up, go to the bathroom (with door open), then on the way back to bed (while she is looking out the window, I tell her (reminder she is 8 months pregnant) to get out of my way on my way back to bed (she was looking out the window on my side of the bed), then I go back to sleep, only remebering going to the bathroom when I wake up
what do you guys think?
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Why I love sphagetti
I'll give you three reasons.
It smears...
It squishes...
It smashes...
That's a three point message right there, baby! pictures to follow....
It smears...
It squishes...
It smashes...
That's a three point message right there, baby! pictures to follow....
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