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January Blog Index
"What If?"
What if instead of bombing Iraq the US suddenly offered a billion dollars in humanitarian aid?
What if instead of sending in the military they sent in doctors, nurses, teachers, geophysicists and agricultural experts?
What if the way of love was seriously tried?
* * *
Only semi-unrelated, I've been dipping into "Wild at Heart" this past week. Here's a quote:
"To do for yourself the best that you have it in you to do--to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst--is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being opened up and transformed." Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
10:15 AM
An old interview with musician, poet and prophet Bruce Cockburn
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:30 AM
"Embodied prophesy Random thought 1 - I grew up in a setting where prophecies are all talk. And often talk in King James English. I have enough trouble understanding Shakespeare let a KJV prophesy. Then I stumbled across the Old Testament prophets. People who use their bodies to speak of the Tomorrow.
"Random thought 2 – I was moaning to Al Roxburgh (an "immigrant" who I respect immensly) about how hard church planting was, and how often other ministers don’t understand me and judge me by modernist indicators. He shrugged and said, “what do you expect. What you’re doing is prophetic.” And it suddenly clicked.
If Graceway just is, it is prophetic. To do nothing more than live .. to just drink beer and loves Jesus and tells stories and runs art exhibitions … is to get heat. Why? Because it’s embodied prophesy. It’s a challenge to the way others are. Alan Hirsch commented on his blog; “Ours is not merely an apostolic role in establishing new ground for the Gospel and church, but must be by nature a prophetic one as well. I find this the most painful aspect of my ministry--an almost total rejection/marginalization from the established church which I am so committed to." Again, embodied prophesy. Tonight I pray for all my fellow embodied prophets. We who have thrown off the KJV English. We who by the very act of living, feel marginalized. Long may the Spirit pulse in our veins.
From A Kingdom Space
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:30 AM
Forgive and Forget?
Lewis Smedes made this argument some years ago in a nice little book that I enjoyed. The problem is, I find it hard to wipe out my memory.
So I filed his arguments away, and continued to wonder about the issue. My biggest problem was simply this: I don't believe God ever forgets anything. If his forgiveness doesn't involve forgetting, how can mine?
When you think about it, what value would forgiveness have if it came with memory loss? What is there to forgive when you no longer remember?
Ok, granted, maybe that's the point of the whole argument. But if isn't actually possible to forget..
Then some months ago a friend loaned me a book titled "Between Noon and Three." In that book Capon makes the argument that forgiveness is "redemptive remembering." Wow. Now we are getting somewhere.
You see, I can't forget that my friend lied to me about his real intention, or that my my partner cooked the books.. but I can see behind their actions to the wounds caused by others, and I can learn to understand that they acted out of a place of fear and hurt. And then I can remember what Jesus did for me... that while I was yet cursing Him, he gave His life for me. And I can apply that understanding to my own hurt, and the hurtful actions of others. Then I can remember what they have done through another lens.
There is an interesting parallel to unlearning. How can we really unlearn anything? We can't wipe the slate clean as if the previous experience never happened...
But we can go into that place of not knowing, of suspending previous judgements, enter the Third Way, and ask God to be our guide in places where there is no map.
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
8:30 AM
Overheard on CBC this morning, an interview with a fictitious American General:
"General 'Buck' Cunningham, Sir, what kind of evidence is determining American policy toward Iraq at this time?"
"As you know, we have the latest satellite technology as well as agents on the ground. One of our Operatives has infiltrated the Presidential palace dressed as a chamber maid. You won't believe what she .. er, he.. found.."
"Yes General?"
"The mattress on Saddam's bed has the "Do Not Remove" sticker missing!"
"That's damning evidence, General. Is there more?"
"Yes, we have also found the proverbial 'Smoking gun.' Wait for it.. It turns out that Saddam does NOT rewind video tapes before returning them. And he has four books overdue at the Presidential library!"
"Good grief, General. This is astounding information."
"And that's not all. We now have incontrovertible evidence that Saddam has been stockpiling Kenny G albums... for the express purpose of jamming Allied communications!"
"Horrible.. horrible. This puts a new light on Intelligence operations. Thanks for your time General."
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
8:30 AM
Jason Evans at THE OOZE :
“Generally speaking, what today’s Church is doing isn’t working,” claims John White, a house church coach in Denver. “According to recent Barna statistics, during the last 50 years there has been more Christian activity than any time in history, and yet the Church’s impact on the culture and quality of discipleship in the churches has continually declined. There are certainly exceptions, but overall, the system is broken.”
“Acts 2:46 says, ‘They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,’” White adds. “Church takes place around the dinner table.” When coaching house church leaders on developing form, White uses his BELL acronym: “Blessing, Eating, Listening, Learning.” House Church.
As I was driving downtown for a computer part today I got thinking about how much we have lost in sacrificing to the western technological god of "efficiency."
Remember the old saying? "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line..."
Not true in spirituality, because there is no spirituality apart from community. So I advocate a new aphorism:
"The shortest distance between two points is a circle."
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
8:30 AM
Living as God's Beloved..
"For 40 years now, Brennan Manning has directed his life and ministry toward helping others experience the reality of God’s love. A wise old Franciscan priest told him years ago, “Once you come to know the love of Jesus Christ, nothing else in the world will seem as beautiful or desirable.”
"Those words proved to be an almost prophetic description of Brennan’s later ministry. Though he spent his early years as a Franciscan priest, Brennan now focuses on God’s love as he speaks and leads retreats for largely evangelical audiences. His own spiritual journey has taken him down a variety of different paths. He has taught seminarians, labored with the poor in Spain, and ministered to “shrimpers” and their families in Alabama. Brennan is also a recovering alcoholic and active in Alcoholics Anonymous."
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
5:30 PM
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, posted by Len Hjalmarson |
5:30 PM
How to keep -- is there any any, is there none such, nowhere known some, bow or brooch or braid or brace, lace, latch or catch tor key to keep posted by Len Hjalmarson |
4:30 PM
Rise up church with broken wings,
Shout to the North and the South, posted by Len Hjalmarson |
4:00 PM
Speaking of revelation.. I was writing a note to a friend this afternoon when I experienced a sudden clearing of vision.
Have you ever had the experience? It's like a piece of a puzzle you have been searching for suddenly makes an appearance.
But it's also like.. you are looking at an ordinary bush.. and suddenly it bursts into flame. But the bush is not consumed. It's nature hasn't changed. It has simply become an extraordinary bush :) It was there all the time but now you see it aflame.
Richard Halverson, while chaplain of the US Senate wrote that,
"Christianity started out in Palestine as a fellowship. Then it moved to Greece and became a philosophy, then it went to Rome and became an institution, and then it went to Europe and became a government. Finally it came to America where we made it an enterprise."
But the Lord is calling us home.. back to the place where we feel safe.. back to real community. In fact, if we fail to build real communities, there is no way to move forward.
There is no church growth apart from community, because babies need a lot of nurture and warmth. Community is a place to grow in truth, wholeness and holiness.
And that's the second reason why the Lord is intent on building real community.. because the only way to propagate a message is to live it. There can be no conversion without community, because community makes conversion historically visible. (Jim Wallis)
So what if all these extraordinary leaders in this time of renewal are casting around for what the Lord is doing, and it's been under their noses the whole time? They are all looking for some extraordinary agenda to inspire followers, to motivate commitment.. But the agenda of the Lord is so simple.. so simple, a child can learn it. In fact, only a child can learn it and only a child can live it. Here it is..
A couple of weeks ago my wife had a dream. In the dream she saw people meeting in large buildings, and a voice spoke a warning: "You must get into small groups, or you will not be ready for what is coming."
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
4:00 PM
Blogging as Therapy?
Ask anyone who knows me... I am not an extrovert, though maybe not quite an introvert either. But I've spent eight months of the last year sharing my life almost daily on the net. Is this therapy? Is it self-indulgence? Is in incarnation?
It's not a natural inclination for me. I have to choose to make myself known, and choose to believe that God makes Himself known to us through means as ordinary as bread and wine. God loves ordinary things.
* * *
My daughter was picked up this morning by her friends, and a moment after she left I saw her (new) winter coat abandoned
on the floor under the kitchen table. With a flash of insight, I realized that we were participating in an ancient ritual...
You see, it isn't about wearing the coat. It couldn't be. For the last couple of years we have participated almost daily in the "nag the teenager about dressing warmly" ritual. But we knew at a subconscious level that she would never wear this coat.
It's not about the coat, or about dressing warmly. It's about negotiating about wearing the coat.
We know she'll never wear it. When she does half heartedly drape it over one shoulder on the way out the door, we smile knowingly. It will be tossed into the back of a car or into her locker and not thought about for the rest of the day.
I doubt if it was any different with God and Adam...
"Here, I've made some coverings for you out of animal skins..."
"Ech, grody Dude. You expect me to wear THAT? What will my friends think?"
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:00 AM
Jesus' program of discipleship was simple: posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:00 AM
No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.
I have little experience of this reality of body life in my nearly 24 years as a believer. Jean Vanier wrote,
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:30 AM
Life in the school of the Spirit.. I think that's where we've been for the past two years.
Or.. maybe since 1994.
The first class was the Holy Spirit and power. We saw God do some awesome things in 1994-1999. But somehow it seemed to turn in on itself. We were close to becoming renewal junkies. But that was okay for a time. That was "Renewal 101."
Renewal 101 is a fantastic class. It was so good that many of us took it twice. Some people signed up for it a third time. But the Lord told us, "Twice is good enough."
Not everyone around us understood. They felt we really ought to take it again. We felt the Lord say, "It's time for your practicum." And he led us outside the walls in the fall of 2000.
We found ourselves downtown on Sunday mornings flipping pancakes for street people. Hmm... that was interesting. No preaching. No revival meetings. Just food and simple conversations.
Then the Lord said, "I have another class for you to take." And we brought them into our home. For the first year it was all natives. Then a few white faces appeared, mostly single moms and their kids. By Christmas, 2002 our house was bursting at the seams.
So much of the learning was written between the lines. Love and compassion, sharing what little we had.. discovering that all our knowledge was next to useless, that all people wanted was to be cared for. And then, when they had learned to trust us, we could share true riches with them and a love far beyond our own.
The Seminary classes seem like distant history. That was one kind of learning. Church every Sunday for 22 years was another kind of learning. But the greatest learning curve has come in the past two years, since Jesus said, "Come, follow me outside the walls." Yet these are still introductory classes. The best is yet to come.
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
8:30 AM
The Forgotten Christians of Iraq
While the Kurds of Northern Iraq are well known, for some reason almost completely ignored in the current discussion are 1.2 million Assyrian Christians living, many in their historic lands in Iraq. Scattered through Iraq, but primarily near the city of Nineveh, currently known as Mosul these remnants of the great Assyrian Empire and the only who still speak the language of Jesus - Aramaic - are frozen in time, once again the victims of circumstances beyond their control.
It is their history that is little known. It was to them that Jonah came to bring the message of repentance and they repented. It was to them that the Apostle Thomas came and their King Abgar repented for his people and Assyria
in the first century became the first Christian Nation.
Read more: Forgotten
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
8:30 AM
Bought a sword on EBAY which is a GLAMDRING replica. The problem is, its a replica of the replica. It turns out that there are THREE replicas on the market: the official one by United Cutlery, and a good copy made in China, and a poor copy made in Pakistan. Guess which one I got? Buyer Beware...
For the past week I've been reading in Corinthians every morning. I alternate between feeling good about this dedication and feeling .. outdated.. religious. Here I am reading these ancient letters. I feel like a millennium voyeur, snooping on the history of an ancient congregation. On the other hand.. there is nothing new under the sun. On the other hand.. I already know this stuff. On the other hand.. the depths of the riches of Christ!
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
8:20 AM
Karen Ward rants on marketing, shrink wrapping and cloning postmodernism..
Speaking of which, I wonder if a foundational issue in christianity isn't self-awareness, self-consciousness. I'll try to explain, though at the moment it feels like "looking through a glass darkly."
I was thinking this morning how I've become increasingly aware that these blogs are being read by a wide diversity of people, and how that awareness is inescapable as we relate to one another. So, now the temptation is to shape my words according to my audience. The temptation is to try to "grow" or "manage" my readers.
Well... why?
As I look inside, I can find good reasons and lousy reasons.
"It would be good if more people read NextReformation, because, as so many of you have kindly written, "You are making an important contribution."
"If more people visited my site, I myself would be better known. I would feel better about myself because I am having an impact. I myself would be "important."
The lie is that my value changes because of what others think of me. The truth is that if we truly seek the kingdom then what we do does have an impact. And the deeper truth is that what I do and who I am are inseparable.
And isn't it good and right that we care what our friends think of us?
Hmmm.. Maybe that is the sticking point. It is good and right to be in community.. to be known and loved.. and also to be challenged and accountable. But we should be accountable to the correct community.. that group of people "in whose hearts are the road to Zion." We should be accountable to those whose hearts are stamped with the image of the king. Being accountable to those whose direction in life is not toward loving God and loving their neighbors is risky. As the old Puritans used to say, "Sickness is easier caught than health," therefore be careful whom you let shape your life.
Be careful... have a care... all of which requires self-awareness. But that same self-awareness roots all this introversion that I wish I could escape.
So.. caring what people think is good.. and caring what people think is bad. I want to be so "god aware" that my self-awareness is a subset of my kingdom awareness. I want to care first what He thinks, and only secondarily what others think. Yet I also want to be accountable.. and to some extent to all my friends, not only the ones with whom I have bountiful agreement.
I wonder if all this complicated self-consciousness is a subset of the forward sweep of history. There are basically two views of time.. a circular one and a linear one. The linear view is rooted in the historical actions of God in Christ, moving toward an ultimate end. The circular view is rooted in the belief that all that was, will be.. that time is circular and meaning is unattainable, that there is only repetition, the great wheel of life.
Christians believe time will have an end.. and that history has a goal in God. Therefore we are conscious of our place on the line and the movement of things.. the flow of the river is directed by a sovereign and loving will. Therefore we try to line up with that flow and join in it, therefore we plan.. and analyse.. and are critical and self-critical.
But as someone pointed out in a blog somewhere recently, all this complexity is tiring.
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
8:15 AM
"My well-intentioned Bible College Professors routinely chanted the party mantra, "Don't let your experience dictate your doctrine." That did then, and probably always will, bother me. Why? Several reasons. First, I think it's unnatural. Second, I think it's incomplete. Third, I think it's unbiblical."
Reprint: Experience vs Doctrine
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:35 AM
Naturally, you've heard of Dr. Helen Caldicott. She is an extraordinary individual. In describing herself as a mother, a paediatrician and a woman, she provides us with some clues as to the nature of her urgent mission. She has responded to the threat of nuclear war in a way that many of us would shy away from. In committing her life to working for a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons, she shows what a single individual can do. She pulls no punches. She inspires, she depresses, she motivates, she intimidates(usually politicians).
"In defining the major responsibilities of physicians, Dr. Caldicott highlighted the education process. without an educated and informed opinion, nobody is in a viable position to move forward. Doctors should be educating:
"For example, the United States does not allow nuclear ships into the harbours of New York or Boston because of the large civilian population in those areas. However, it is all right to allow the same ships into Halifax and Vancouver. The New Zealanders were indignant over this double standard and banned U.S. ships from visiting their ports. We should do the same.
"Dr. Caldicott became involved in peace work for the sake of her children's future and she touched on several areas relating to children in the nuclear age: their incredible perceptiveness of nuclear issues, their protectiveness of their parents because they know their parents are scared, and the horrendous consequences of genetic mutations that would ensue in the event of a nuclear war. A thalidomide-like syndrome would persist in our genetic makeup for over 2000 years. The majority of children born would have horrendous congenital abnormalities."
Which of course is the case in modern Iraq. The depleted uranium left by expended American weapons has a half life in the millions of years. Thousands of children are now born with horrible genetic abnormalities in that country each year.... so much so that Iraqi women are afraid to have children.
Waging Peace
helen caldicott
with Bill Maher on Politically Incorrect
If You Love This Planet and The New Nuclear Danger
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:35 AM
Truth is stranger than fiction...
In the midst of our continued wrestling with "what is Œhurch?" every now and then I hear some truly encouraging news about what God is still doing in more traditional settings. For example, last Sunday, in a rural northern Manitoba town, a good friend of ours, together with several other disenfranchised friends who¹d stopped going to church services, decided to actually attend a service.
These friends are all in their late fifties and early sixties -- not at all new or immature believers. Just another group of people who tired of the politics and lack of love they were seeing in their local church.
Anyway, last Sunday they decided to visit a different church. They literally flipped a coin to decide between two possibilities (it's a VERY rural location), and with the results of the coin, off they went.
During the (very) traditional (very) conservative evangelical service, a man approached the pastor to ask if he might share something with the congregation. After getting the go-ahead from the pastor, he then proceeded to break down in tears and confess to a long-standing extra-marital affair. In a small town, where everybody knows everybody else¹s business, this didn¹t come as a complete shock, but it was his repeated, tearful question ³can you forgive me?², directed to the leaders and the congregation, that was the most gripping part of the drama.
The pastor didn¹t hesitate for a second. Loudly shouting "I forgive you!," he raced to the man at the front of the church, embracing him, and was immediately followed by over half of the congregation, all saying "we forgive you," hugging the man, and praying for him.
Our friends came home with this summation, which they called us later that day to relate, "maybe there¹s hope for the church, after all."
And I'm glad they went there, and that they called us to pass the story along. Because, in the midst of our continuing to explore, question, react, pro-act, regarding how to be ³the Body² in a truly healthy and inclusive way -- it was really refreshing, even exciting, to realize that God hasn¹t given up on "church," and that in at least one small church in northern Manitoba, people are postively responding to the opportunities He¹s placing before them.
posted by Rob McAlpine |
9:30 AM
"Discussions of stewardship, almost without exception, view money as completely neutral and depersonalized. It is merely "a medium of exchange," as we say. God has given us money to use, to administer, to put into service, goes the teaching. And so the emphasis is always placed upon the best use, the proper stewardship, of the resources God has entrusted to us.
"What all this talk about stewardship fails to see is that money is not just a neutral medium of exchange but a "power" with a life of its own. And very often it is a "power" that is demonic in character. As long as we think of money in impersonal terms alone, no moral problems exist aside from the proper use of it. But when we begin to take seriously the biblical perspective that money is animated and energized by "powers," then our relationship to money is filled with moral consequence....
"... When Jesus uses the Aramaic term mammon to refer to wealth, he is giving it a personal and spiritual character. When he declares, "You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24), he is personifying mammon as a rival god. In saying this, Jesus is making it unmistakably clear that money is not some impersonal medium of exchange. Money is not something that is morally neutral, a resource to be used in good or bad ways depending solely upon our attitude toward it. Mammon is a power that seeks to dominate us
"When the Bible refers to money as a power, it does not mean something vague or impersonal. Nor does it mean power in the sense we mean when we speak, for example, of "purchasing power." No, according to Jesus and all the writers of the New Testament, behind money are very real spiritual forces that energize it and give it a life of its own. Hence, money is an active agent; it is a law unto itself; and it is capable of inspiring devotion.....
"... [T]he thing I failed to see, and the thing that Jesus saw so clearly, is the way in which mammon makes a bid for our hearts. Mammon asks for our allegiance in a way that sucks the milk of human kindness out of our very being. " Richard Foster in Money, Sex, and Power. Originally posted by john janzen at fatblueman.
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
3:30 PM
"If we are really, and always, ready to do whatsoever the King appoints, all the trials and vexations arising from any change in His appointments, great or small, simply do not exist. If He appoints me to wlrk there, shall I lament that I am not to work here? If He appoints me to wait indoors today, am I to be annoying because I am not to work outdoors? If I meant to write His messages this morning, shall I grumble because He sends interrupting visitors, rich or poor, to whom I am to speak, or "show kindness for His sake," or at least obey His command and "be courteous"? If all my members are really at His disposal, why should I be put out if today's appointment is some simple work for my hands or errands for my feet, instead of some seemingly more important doing of head or tongue?"
Francis Havergal
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
5:30 PM
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:45 AM
"Why is it that the only continent in the world where the church is not growing is North America? His answer: "because we have bought into gimmicks and programs, the razzle dazzle Las Vegas syndrome of Christianity, all flesh and lights and gaudiness. But we have forgotten what it means to BE the church and do ministry." E. Glenn Wagner, quoted in "The Modern Evangelicals" by R. Webber
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:30 AM
"I once heard a story from an old African-American man in the mid south. He came out of an alley as I was sitting amidst the graffiti of the inner-city "park." Some people would call him crazy, for he spoke to anyone and to no one. He shuffled along with one finger held out as though to test the wind's direction. Cuentistas recognize such persons as having been touched by the gods. In our tradition, we'd call such a man El Bulto, the Bundle, for souls such as he carry a certain kind of ware and show it to anyone who will look, anyone who has the eyes to see it and the sense to shelter it.
"The particular kindly El Bulto gave me this story. It is about a certain kind of ancestral transmission. He called the story "One Stick - Two Stick." "This is the way of the old African kings," he whispered.
"In the story an old man is dying, and calls his people to his side. He gives a short, sturdy stick to each of his many offspring, wives, and relatives. "Break the stick," he instructs them. With some effort, they all snap their sticks in half.
"This is how it is when a soul is alone without anyone. They can easily be broken."
"The old man next gives each of his kin another stick, and says, "This is how I would like you to live after I pass. Put your sticks together in bundles of twos and threes. Now, break these bundles in half."
"No one can break the sticks when there are two or more in a bundle. The old man smiles. "We are strong when we stand with another soul. When we are with another, we cannot be broken." From "Spiritual Literacy"
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:30 AM
"There is an age when one teaches what one knows. But there follows another when one teaches what one does not know . . .it comes maybe now, the age of another experience: that of unlearning."
Roland Barthes
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
11:30 AM
Where does authority reside?
Jesus said that "all authority" was given to Him, and then He gave it to the church.
In the modern world we placed authority in the individual, and often the most charismatic or best educated individual. We gave power to people to exercise, with the intention that it was benevolent. But power corrupts..
In the postmodern world, with paradigms of collectivity now primary, it is easier to hear the other side of the story.. "Submit to one another in reverence for Christ." Christ is a body.
I think authority is supposed to reside in the community, who give it or take it as gift and need call it out. Authority is both given and taken, but it does not reside in the individual.
When authority is given from the community to individuals and then resides there, institutional forces are at work. If the community does not continue to give authority to an individual but authority remains with the individual, the community has ceased to exist. It has become an institution.
It's hard to understand this, because we have few good models. Most of our experience is contrary to this reality. The only parallel most of us have in our experience is either a small group of friends or some context of collegiality.
But what if we had strong relational connections, knew each other well, and those relationships were tested over time? What if there was a high degree of mutual trust and respect? What if we truly did serve one another and "consider others better than ourselves.." What would that community look like? How would authority be exercised?
It's time to move from the pyramid to the circle. It's time to get back to friendship and love.
The reason this model is so little tried is that we have so little sense of commitment or covenant. It takes time to develop the depth of relationship that is at the heart of community, so we settle for structures and hierarchy. The depth and texture of relationship that is required for non-hierarchical authority to function effectively takes too much time to build, and requires a certain health and maturity. The large and incoherent groups that make up much of the institutional church can't get there.
When we lack relationship, we settle for structure and hierarchy. When we have significant relationship, we become a family.
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:30 AM
"Thus, the renewal of the church will come not through a recovery of personal experience or straight doctrine, nor through innovative projects of evangelism or social action, nor in creative techniques or liturgical worship, nor in the gift of tongues, nor in new budgets, new buildings, and new members. The renewal of the church will come about through the work of the Spirit in restoring and reconstituting the church as a local community whose common life bears the marks of radical obedience to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
"Practically, this means a clear recognition that the demands of obedient discipleship will bring us into conflict with the ordinary social values and normal patterns of the world systems which continually seek to fashion us into their image and conform us to their molds." Jim Wallis, Agenda for Biblical People, p.100-101
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:30 AM
Just as Caesar claimed that he would bring justice and peace to the world through military intervention, so Bush believes that America has its own version of 'good news' for the world. The role and destiny of the United States, he frequently preaches, is to extend the "blessings of freedom" and peace across the globe. It will be America, Bush claims, who will bring about "the hope of all mankind". From "Reality" magazine, "Bombs to Defend Democracy."
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
2:20 PM
It was New Year's eve and we found ourselves at a friends home gathered with a bunch of other believers, many of whom we had never met....
As we gathered to worship the Lord spoke to me about worship. For the last few years I have fought a barely conscious battle where I separated the corporate experience from life, even as I sought to reintegrate that experience with life. I redefined worship as life, and no longer knew what to do with the corporate experience. After all.. we see little evidence of it in the NT in comparison to OT, and we do hear strongly that life and service are the center (Ro. 12:1,2).
I suppose the battle is a common one. The Sunday paradigm has dominated our experience, and when we leave the paradigm behind, we leave behind the central part of the experience as well. Corporate worship was separated from life, from relationship, from accountability, and from community. When we finally discover how much we have lost and we begin a new journey, we leave behind some things that we should have brought with us.
But that leaving is a necessary step. It's a journey of discovery, from pre-critical naivete to post-critical naivete (as Webber phrases it).
In reality, worship was always the center, and will always be the center of a kingdom founded life. But worship (the corporate experience, denoted by the small "w") was originally intended to be the symbolic expression of Worship (capital "W"), which is an expression of a whole life dedicated to God.
I like the way Jim Wallis phrased this many years ago... "Scripture judges the value of worship, the inner circle, by looking at the shape of the outer circle, or the daily obedience it produces. Our worship should spread from the inner circle to the wider circle of our everyday lives as Christians, and our daily speech and acts and attitudes are ordained to be a wider and transformed worship." Agenda for Biblical People
We need both inner and outer circles. We need a vital experience of corporate worship; it is in worship that we remember who we are and who God is for us, that "it's not about me." It is there we find our identity as a people of God. From that center everything else connects and has meaning. END NOTE
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:10 AM
It's a conspiracy.
There was a time when I drifted in blissful naivete, thinking that the Sunday paradigm was the heart of the faith. I enjoyed being spoon fed, even when the bread was dry and maggot filled. I didn't mind the programs and the whirl of activity, and if the dry bread was sometimes hyped as the latest heavenly gold, who was I to disagree?
Now, who was the problem here? Was the problem with the guys who ran the show? After all, they were well educated, well thought of, clear thinking, strategic, and often kingdom minded. (Some of them were even well paid.) If they were working out of a limited paradigm.. well, who hasn't?
In the end, the problem with the Sunday paradigm and meeting centred, program driven, fortress founded christianity is not a problem of leaders.. it's a problem of leaders and followers, and a problem of faulty paradigms.
Let's face it.. we were all dumb sheep at one time. If we suddenly awoke to hear the Master's voice calling "follow me," then we ought to thank God and move along.
This isn't to excuse those who participate in the old rusty system for the sake of their own prestige and security. We are all responsible, both leaders and followers, for the choices we make. And by the way... leaders and followers? Ech.. there's another paradigm that needs some work. END NOTE
In case you missed it... Robert Webber.. the man behind the book..
posted by Dave "Croonus" Baliski |
9:10 AM
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ...
For Jews (the religious) request a sign, and Greeks (the philosophers) seek after wisdom.... 1 Cor. 1:18-20
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:00 AM
"Turn to your neighbor and say, 'I'm so glad to be here this morning.'"
Who invented this schmaltz? What is he really saying?"
And with those very words I proceeded to label every speaker who ever used this technique. Sigh.
Forgive me if I offended you. I too desire to keep dialogue open between traditional, pragmatic and postmodern people.
I'm tired of the lack of authenticity I see in many places. I'm tired also of technique, which is usually based more on marketing concerns than on "heart."
It's easy to forget that many simply pick up techniques like absorbing diazinon in the environment. We all pick up the dominant culture around us. And it's too easy, on the receiving end, to classify and label in that very modern way.
"Turn to your follow bloggers and say, "Oops. Sorry about that!"
posted by Dave "Croonus" Baliski |
9:30 AM
Today I learned that a friend I have was fired recently from a church. He was the Senior Youth Director. What were other youth staff people told of the reasoning? Did he do anything immoral, illegal, unethical? No. "He was suited more for ministry than management". I kid you not. A church fired a guy because he was suited for ministry! I'm laughing as I write this. But it is really really sad. It is a sad day when growing churches are firing pastors for being ministers. It's a sad day when churches find managers more employable than ministers.
I'm going to stop now before I say something I regret.
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
9:45 AM
Last night Canada played Russia in the finals of the World Junior Hockey Championships. It was a terrific battle, led by some of the best goaltending in the world on the part of Canada, but in the end we lost 3-2.
Congratulations to both teams for some great hockey, and a fantastic effort! Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for Canada and was voted MVP. It was really great to hear the crowd cheering for Canada after the game. The long faces of the Canadian team reflected their disappointment, but they have nothing to be ashamed of... they showed courage and determination and gave it all they had.
"liquid church is finally out - published in the usa by hendrickson and paternoster in the uk. it really is a fantastic book to contribute to the reimagining of church and mission in our current context. i hope it gets a wide reading. pete uses zygmunt bauman's notion of solid and liquid modernity to speak about solid and liquid church. he does a lot of theological work to underpin a new way of speaking about church. it seems to me that this new way of speaking is essential if 'language makes the world'. there are lots of things that i could highlight from the book but it really is the overall opening of discussion and imagining that is why this book is so welcome. to say that we need to re-imagine church or that it isn't working (for those outside it) or that it needs to change isn't news any more but there aren't many people who have offered the resources to help rethink the landscape. thanks to pete for offering us a way forward here."
Found at A Kingdom Space
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
11:25 AM
john wallis reflects:
"been thinking lately about leadership in the church lately and how money and all that have created a problem we cant solve. it seems the church is full of people who have been trained to do nothing but ministry. there is nothing wrong with this yet i feel it may be one fo the causes for the church's inability or unwillingness to change traditional ministry models. i may be way off with this but maybe its a dose of self preservation at work in all this reluctance to change. .. did God ever intend for us to create a class of professionals in the church that can do nothing but ministry?"
John is full of IT.. and IT is wisdom. Creating a special class of minister disempowered the people of God and isolated a special class into a narrow "sacred" world and divorced them from real life and ministry. Ministry isn't what we do for two hours on Sunday morning.. it is how we live the gospel in the real world day by day. Ministry is changing diapers, loving your spouse, inviting your neighbors for tea. Ministry is god-talk and small-talk, giving and taking, fishing and planting. And yes, when you create a special class and give them special power, they become protective of their turf.
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
12:50 AM
Will your children be successful in life? Is IQ a good predictor of success, or is something called
Emotional Intelligence more important?
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
12:50 AM
I slept with a girl last night..
I highly recommend it. In fact, when she isn't around I have a hard time sleeping.
I've really been practicing. I think this is something like the 300th night in a row :)
We celebrated our 17th anniversary yesterday. I've been graced to discover that a marriage really is like a fine wine.. it gets better with age. I don't underestimate the grace given to us in this... there may not be a greater blessing.
This morning a brother wrote to me about his wife.. and I thought, "Wow. I didn't know my wife was cloned." Here is his story.. "I Saw God Today."
"I’m in awe of my wife. For the past eight years she has worked for an 83 year old woman who is both selfish and an alcoholic. The pay hardly seems worth it when you consider that she works only 3 hours a week. With the gas cost, child care, the phone calls at all hours, and the painful conversations it’s more of a financial burden than a job. A few years ago she took care of an elderly woman who was dieing of brain cancer. The woman wanted to die at home. My wife managed the home care and gave her, her wish. The price she pays is she deeply enters into others pain, taking it upon herself.
"It reminds me of the story of Rigoletto, who took upon himself the infirmaries of the people he comes across. More significantly, it reminds me of our Lord, who took upon himself the burdens of my sins. This morning, our 71 year old neighbor called Chris (my wife) telling her of a serious nose bleed, the rescue squad checked her over and left. As the bleeding continued Chris called them back and insisted they bring her to the hospital. A little later she picked her up and brought her home. Cleaned up the bloody mess, and fed her. The bleeding has continued so she has driven her in the light snow 30 minutes back to the hospital, and is currently waiting for her to bring her back home. I see the beauty of my wife’s heart more clearly than I ever have. Not a beauty a mirror can reflect, but a beauty that is a reflection of the One who created her. I saw God today. Makes me want to worship."
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
12:50 AM
For all you Tolkien fans..
Bono at Wheaton College? Is nothing sacred anymore ;)
"Politicians aren't afraid of rock stars, actors and student activists," he said. "They're afraid of mothers and church people. And when mothers and church people start hanging out with rock stars and student activists, they get really nervous."
Different Lifestyles, Same Heart.. a great article on Bono of U2
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
11:50 AM
And the river runs wide
Janis Ian, All Roads to the River 1992
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
11:45 AM
What's more important?
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
1:50 PM
"If we think of organizations as living systems capable of self-organizing, then how do we think about change in these systems? The strategy for change becomes simpler and more localized. We need to encourage the creativity that lives throughout the organization, but keep local solutions localized. Most change efforts fail when leaders take an innovation that has worked well in one area of the organization and attempt to roll it out to the entire organization. This desire to replicate success actually destroys local initiative. It denies the creativity to anyone but a small group." Margaret Wheatley
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
10:55 AM
What books have you been reading and what sites have you been visiting? I asked that question, and here is a list from your responses..
The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
Websites you've been visiting..
The Landing Place
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
10:40 AM
You're still looking for that perfect gift? I've added this one to my list for the coming year..
"The path of discipleship is narrow...and it is hard to find. On either side of the path deep chasms yawn. To be called to a life of extraordinary quality, to live up to it, and yet to be unconscious to it, is indeed a narrow way. To confess and testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and at the same time to love the enemies to that truth, and to love them with the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is indeed a narrow way. To believe the promise of Jesus that His followers shall possess the earth, and at the same time to face our enemies unarmed and defenseless, preferring to incur injustice rather than to do wrong ourselvesis indeed a narrow way..." Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
4:30 PM
"Once several members of a Hasidic congregation had become helplessly lost in a dense forest. There were delighted when unexpectedly they came upon their rabbi who was also wandering through the woods.
"Master," they cried, "We are lost! Please show us the way out of the woods."
"The Rabbi replied, "I don't know the way out, either, but I do know which paths lead nowhere. I will show you the ways that won't work, and then perhaps together we can find the ones that do." Sheldon Kopp
posted by Len Hjalmarson |
11:30 AM
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"Dr. Caldicott described the aetiology of the arms race in some depth and the ways in which large corporations have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. According to David Suzuki, fewer than 3% of politicians are scientifically literate, which means that their decisions are made in the dark or rather in the light of corporate shadows.
