This morning, Breakfast with Blumhardt had, once again, an interesting relevance...
= Breakfast with Blumhardt =
October 29, 2004
If we remain in the petty, selfish attitude in which everyone has his own "dear Savior" and cooks himself a nice sweet pudding to eat comfortably to his heart's content, we will remain without Jesus, without the one who says, "I am the light of the world." We will not become children of God. We will not get away from our own nature.
We do not really know how to live in a way worthy of God. We remain always the same miserable people, stirring around in our own nature. So we go to pieces and finally complain to heaven that God does not care about us. Certainly God does not care about your selfish interests. He came into the world. If you want to meet the Savior then you must go out into the world, leaving behind your personal concerns. Be on guard against your own pettiness and seek the world. There you will find Jesus.
Of course I don't mean that world which is penetrated by sin and death. That is a false world. Jesus says, "I come into God's creation. I am here to serve this creation of God, so that God's will may be done, and so that one day it may be as in the beginning, when God saw everything that he had made, and said it was very good." We have to find the way into this creation.
Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, from Christoph Blumhardt and his Message, The Light of the World.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
:: oN tHE tURNING aWAY ::
ON THE TURNING AWAY
On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won't understand
"Don't accept that what's happening
Is just a case of others' suffering
Or you'll find that you're joining in
The turning away"
It's a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting it's shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we're all alone
In the dream of the proud
On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be
No more turning away?
On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won't understand
"Don't accept that what's happening
Is just a case of others' suffering
Or you'll find that you're joining in
The turning away"
It's a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting it's shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we're all alone
In the dream of the proud
On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be
No more turning away?
:: tHE dOGS OF wAR ::
THE DOGS OF WAR
(Gilmour, Manzanera)
Dogs of war and men of hate
with no cause, we don't discriminate
discovery is to be disowned
our currency is flesh and bone
hell opened up and put on sale
gather round and haggle
for hard cash, we will lie and deceive
even our masters don't know the webs we heave
one world, it's a battleground
one world, and we will smash it down
one world...one world
Invisible transfers, long distance calls
hollow laughter in marble halls
steps have been taken, a silent uproar
has unleashed the dogs of war
you can't stop what has begun
signed, sealed, they deliver oblivion
we all have a dark side, to say the least
and dealing in death is the nature of the beast
one world, it's a battleground
one world, and we will smash it down
one world...one world
The dogs of war don't negotiate
the dogs of war won't capitulate
they will take and you will give
and you must die so that they may live
you can knock at any door
but wherever you go, you know they've been there before
well winners can lose and things can get strained
but whatever you change, you know the dogs remain
one world, it's a battleground
one world, and we will smash it down
one world...one world
(Gilmour, Manzanera)
Dogs of war and men of hate
with no cause, we don't discriminate
discovery is to be disowned
our currency is flesh and bone
hell opened up and put on sale
gather round and haggle
for hard cash, we will lie and deceive
even our masters don't know the webs we heave
one world, it's a battleground
one world, and we will smash it down
one world...one world
Invisible transfers, long distance calls
hollow laughter in marble halls
steps have been taken, a silent uproar
has unleashed the dogs of war
you can't stop what has begun
signed, sealed, they deliver oblivion
we all have a dark side, to say the least
and dealing in death is the nature of the beast
one world, it's a battleground
one world, and we will smash it down
one world...one world
The dogs of war don't negotiate
the dogs of war won't capitulate
they will take and you will give
and you must die so that they may live
you can knock at any door
but wherever you go, you know they've been there before
well winners can lose and things can get strained
but whatever you change, you know the dogs remain
one world, it's a battleground
one world, and we will smash it down
one world...one world
:: The River and Post-Modernism ::
The River In Our Postmodern Culture
An article by Steve Osmond from Alberta...
"Every generation must have its own unique encounter with the Spirit of God. The promise of the Father is that the person and power of the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh, upon all ages and all generations, including modernists and postmodernists. The good news is that the postmodern mindset will be able to relate to spiritual experiences such as the Holy Spirit baptism, divine healings and physical manifestations of the presence of God. In other words, this is a great season for River people."
"This is even reflected in popular Christian literature. In the early 1970’s the best-selling KNOWING GOD, by J.I. Packer, emphasized the cerebral study of God’s attributes as the key to spiritual growth. Packer, in his forward to this book, actually targets modernists as his audience. By contrast, in the 1990’s Henry Blackaby and Claude King wrote another best-seller, called EXPERIENCING GOD. In this work, Blackaby and King make experience acceptable and even beneficial for spiritual growth. This emphasis on experience is a significant characteristic of postmodernism and opens the door for a “River” theology, which has been born out of an outpouring that emphasizes experiencing God. Bottom line? Postmodernism is “River friendly.”
SOURCE: Spread the Fire Magazine (PDF file... For better viewing, right-click and select Save Target As, and save the document on your desktop).
Sunday, October 24, 2004
:: THE RULE OF EVIL ::
The rule of evil affects all human beings. In our day it has reached massive proportions. We come across it in every form of government, in every Church, in every gathering no matter how pious, in all political parties and labor unions, even in family life and in our Brotherhood. It has a demonic power that shows up in every one of these structures, however different they may be on the surface. They are pervaded by the inclination to obstinate self-determination, the tendency to present what is one’s own as the only thing that counts – one’s own person, one’s own nation, State, Church, sect, party, labor union, one’s own family or community – or at least, one’s own way of thinking. Eberhard Arnold - 1926
There has hardly ever been a time when it was as evident as it is today that God and His righteousness and love do not yet rule. We see it in our own lives and in current events. We see it in the fate of the hopeless, the millions upon millions of unemployed. We see it in the unjust distribution of goods though the earth offers unstintingly its fertility and all its potentials. There is urgent work that must be done to help humankind, but it is obstructed and destroyed by the injustice of the present world systems.
We are in the midst of a collapse of civilization. Civilization is nothing but humankind’s orderly work in nature. And this work has turned into a disorder whose injustice cries out to heaven.
There are hundreds of signs that something is about to happen. Nothing in history takes place, however, unless it comes from God. So our plea to Him now is that He make history, His history, the history of His righteousness. And when God makes His history, we all have every reason to tremble. For as matters stand today, He can do nothing unless His wrath first sweeps over all the injustice and lovelessness, all the discord and brutality, that rule the world. His wrath will be the beginning of His history. First must come the day of judgment: then the day of joy, of love, grace, and justice can dawn.
But if we ask God to intervene, we must bare our own breasts before Him so that His lightning can strike us, for we are all guilty. There is no one who is not guilty of the wickedness in today’s world. Eberhard Arnold - 1933
Both quotes taken from God's Revolution - a free e-book download
There has hardly ever been a time when it was as evident as it is today that God and His righteousness and love do not yet rule. We see it in our own lives and in current events. We see it in the fate of the hopeless, the millions upon millions of unemployed. We see it in the unjust distribution of goods though the earth offers unstintingly its fertility and all its potentials. There is urgent work that must be done to help humankind, but it is obstructed and destroyed by the injustice of the present world systems.
We are in the midst of a collapse of civilization. Civilization is nothing but humankind’s orderly work in nature. And this work has turned into a disorder whose injustice cries out to heaven.
There are hundreds of signs that something is about to happen. Nothing in history takes place, however, unless it comes from God. So our plea to Him now is that He make history, His history, the history of His righteousness. And when God makes His history, we all have every reason to tremble. For as matters stand today, He can do nothing unless His wrath first sweeps over all the injustice and lovelessness, all the discord and brutality, that rule the world. His wrath will be the beginning of His history. First must come the day of judgment: then the day of joy, of love, grace, and justice can dawn.
But if we ask God to intervene, we must bare our own breasts before Him so that His lightning can strike us, for we are all guilty. There is no one who is not guilty of the wickedness in today’s world. Eberhard Arnold - 1933
Both quotes taken from God's Revolution - a free e-book download
Saturday, October 16, 2004
:: What's the Church to be? ::
Someone asked on Resonate: "...in this conversation is the "church"
referred to the institutional denominational systems?"
It got me thinking:
What will happen when Israel turns en masse to the Messiah? How much revelation will they unlock to us western minds? Between some people's call to simple and straight-forward action, and the processing of ideas that lead many to feel inspired, there's a wealth that's spelled "C-H-U-R-C-H."
I think the move has been that people started walking at a level where their church party line appeared to be lacking in depth and passion. Maybe they felt something pulling in their own lives, as if realizing they were following the wrong leader and woke up on a deserted road, not on the road to Emmaus. But all the while, they were told they were going to be doing all that stuff for God, and finally, it was more to keep the collective religious unit busy.
Something of the message resounded: "Father loves YOU." And the journey it started us on has been anything but well defined. Most of us have found fuel for it by reading the mystics, as well as theologians that have addressed the relevance of the Gospel on their generation's social canvas. We're searching right now, and should be opened to the temporary nature of our findings, but we should encourage the profusion of expression so that the small gems would be pourred out by the generous flow of authentic inquiries.
What I see happen is the Church seeking its Savior. Because the Church needs to reconnect with salvation in a fresh way if the world is going to see our light, and if the Church is to be the place of refuge (and sacrifice) that will allow the members to come together and become an organic spiritual body. We need to clean-up and rescue the world from the extreme christian fundamentalism that threatens to take over the world and declare itself the new and only valid Christianity.
When I refer to extreme christian fundamentalism, I refer to the Christian Right which plasters its fear of sin all over the media and political agendas. I fear that by keeping the world out of the church, "them", we keep the church out of the world... so we need to redefine church not as a political power, but as a social changing factor, the kingdom of God.
referred to the institutional denominational systems?"
It got me thinking:
What will happen when Israel turns en masse to the Messiah? How much revelation will they unlock to us western minds? Between some people's call to simple and straight-forward action, and the processing of ideas that lead many to feel inspired, there's a wealth that's spelled "C-H-U-R-C-H."
I think the move has been that people started walking at a level where their church party line appeared to be lacking in depth and passion. Maybe they felt something pulling in their own lives, as if realizing they were following the wrong leader and woke up on a deserted road, not on the road to Emmaus. But all the while, they were told they were going to be doing all that stuff for God, and finally, it was more to keep the collective religious unit busy.
Something of the message resounded: "Father loves YOU." And the journey it started us on has been anything but well defined. Most of us have found fuel for it by reading the mystics, as well as theologians that have addressed the relevance of the Gospel on their generation's social canvas. We're searching right now, and should be opened to the temporary nature of our findings, but we should encourage the profusion of expression so that the small gems would be pourred out by the generous flow of authentic inquiries.
What I see happen is the Church seeking its Savior. Because the Church needs to reconnect with salvation in a fresh way if the world is going to see our light, and if the Church is to be the place of refuge (and sacrifice) that will allow the members to come together and become an organic spiritual body. We need to clean-up and rescue the world from the extreme christian fundamentalism that threatens to take over the world and declare itself the new and only valid Christianity.
When I refer to extreme christian fundamentalism, I refer to the Christian Right which plasters its fear of sin all over the media and political agendas. I fear that by keeping the world out of the church, "them", we keep the church out of the world... so we need to redefine church not as a political power, but as a social changing factor, the kingdom of God.
:: Excavating the Kingdom through brainstorming ::
I don't know about those who try to find a lazy way and shortcut toward change by just applying formulas that mimic a movement, be it post-bs. I just hope they'll find their own footing and be "inspired" and not just copy. However, I also think we learn by models, and so there's validity in labels.
I personally believe that we are just a bunch of people connecting together, sharing our journey and not wanting to label our quest other than that we felt lost in the ocean of visions out there, or lack thereof. We felt processed like rats in a maze toward the collective purpose to bring souls to the church. And many feel we don't even know what the kingdom should look like in a western contemporary media civilization. We're struggling to see the tree in the forest. To hear when it falls.
Other than that, of course labels are what we need to define where we're at, in relation to others. The challenge, to me, is to find a way to hold them loosely, from generation to generation.
Of course feed the poor, pray for the sick, intercede for the family and the nations. Go and preach the gospel. But before you do, like the rest of us, you surely had a time of reflection over what it would look like, taking baby steps, growing up as you went. I can't invalidate anybody's verbal outpouring over a life of faith lived in community, because I myself have babbled before I could speak. And it's all about blessing each other's journey in integrity and honesty.
I was tired of NOT reading anything alive concerning the focus group the Church had become. I really want to articulate where things went wrong because I want to leave a legacy for other generations so they don't have to get stuck like we were, without having relevant material to ponder. I want to see what went wrong in my life so I learn from my mistakes, and hopefully next time embrace the way of the kingdom and not just blurt out my own immaturity, waiting for the world around me to adjust to my tunnel vision, or waste away isolated from real people with real needs, while I got water that's stagnating in my cup.
And it's nice when the people I disciple don't have to stay beneath my own limitations, but I can bless their unique adventurous spirit and learn from them too, validate their own journey as they experiment. It's not just about the goal, but how we take people to a place where their hearts burn without ceasing to do the deeds out of genuine passion, with the ups and downs that go with this.
We shouldn't be afraid of trying things out in a conceptual conversational way, because even for a moment we believe it would bring something alive to us. Sometimes, we will as quickly distance ourselves from it, and that reaction is a sign of a healthy anchored heart who's looking for Christ to be revealed and the kingdom to advance. Through grace maturity comes, not through fear.
"When a torrent sweeps a man against a boulder, you must expect him to scream, and you need not be surprised if the scream is sometimes a theory." [ Robert Louis Stevenson ]
I personally believe that we are just a bunch of people connecting together, sharing our journey and not wanting to label our quest other than that we felt lost in the ocean of visions out there, or lack thereof. We felt processed like rats in a maze toward the collective purpose to bring souls to the church. And many feel we don't even know what the kingdom should look like in a western contemporary media civilization. We're struggling to see the tree in the forest. To hear when it falls.
Other than that, of course labels are what we need to define where we're at, in relation to others. The challenge, to me, is to find a way to hold them loosely, from generation to generation.
Of course feed the poor, pray for the sick, intercede for the family and the nations. Go and preach the gospel. But before you do, like the rest of us, you surely had a time of reflection over what it would look like, taking baby steps, growing up as you went. I can't invalidate anybody's verbal outpouring over a life of faith lived in community, because I myself have babbled before I could speak. And it's all about blessing each other's journey in integrity and honesty.
I was tired of NOT reading anything alive concerning the focus group the Church had become. I really want to articulate where things went wrong because I want to leave a legacy for other generations so they don't have to get stuck like we were, without having relevant material to ponder. I want to see what went wrong in my life so I learn from my mistakes, and hopefully next time embrace the way of the kingdom and not just blurt out my own immaturity, waiting for the world around me to adjust to my tunnel vision, or waste away isolated from real people with real needs, while I got water that's stagnating in my cup.
And it's nice when the people I disciple don't have to stay beneath my own limitations, but I can bless their unique adventurous spirit and learn from them too, validate their own journey as they experiment. It's not just about the goal, but how we take people to a place where their hearts burn without ceasing to do the deeds out of genuine passion, with the ups and downs that go with this.
We shouldn't be afraid of trying things out in a conceptual conversational way, because even for a moment we believe it would bring something alive to us. Sometimes, we will as quickly distance ourselves from it, and that reaction is a sign of a healthy anchored heart who's looking for Christ to be revealed and the kingdom to advance. Through grace maturity comes, not through fear.
"When a torrent sweeps a man against a boulder, you must expect him to scream, and you need not be surprised if the scream is sometimes a theory." [ Robert Louis Stevenson ]
:: Motion Sickness ::
Here is a great new Canadian site that's worth visiting regularily: Motion Sickness. Enjoyed the conversation about the prodigal son's story...
:: Prodigal Sons ::
Reflecting on the prodigal son's story, inspired by Adam's blog "Here Comes Your Man"... (Thanks to Len for pointing it out...)
You can feel the power of the quote "...Meanwhile, the older son was in the field..." Of course, I get from this: "go and do the work of the kingdom." Could it be saying that being busy doing the works doesn't keep a heart from hardening?
The father comes to the elder's rescue: "Your inheritance is still all here, but I had lost half of mine, and now he's back! Wouldn't you rejoice if you had lost half of your inheritance and suddenly it came back to you?"
I think it's about the heart, once again. God loves a cheerful giver, pure hearts will see God, love one another as you love yourself, integrity and justice in deeds.
I also love that the youngest son wasn't able to completely articulate a whole theology of sorrow for feeling unworthy... "I screwed up and I lost more than I gained. If I could just be back here and work the field now...?" What could have made the Father happier?
The elder still needs to walk the journey back to his Father. Repentance should come to him too, but how will it? Will he follow the steps of his young brother? How will his present attitude affect his work in the field now? What will his relationship with his Father be like from now on, since he's not "the one who stayed faithful to honor his Father" anymore... How about his relationship with his younger brother as he too returns to work the harvest?
Maybe the elder's son dramatic journey is only starting, at home, understanding that the pilgrimage he needs to embark on is one of the heart... actions don't tell the whole story...
You can feel the power of the quote "...Meanwhile, the older son was in the field..." Of course, I get from this: "go and do the work of the kingdom." Could it be saying that being busy doing the works doesn't keep a heart from hardening?
The father comes to the elder's rescue: "Your inheritance is still all here, but I had lost half of mine, and now he's back! Wouldn't you rejoice if you had lost half of your inheritance and suddenly it came back to you?"
I think it's about the heart, once again. God loves a cheerful giver, pure hearts will see God, love one another as you love yourself, integrity and justice in deeds.
I also love that the youngest son wasn't able to completely articulate a whole theology of sorrow for feeling unworthy... "I screwed up and I lost more than I gained. If I could just be back here and work the field now...?" What could have made the Father happier?
The elder still needs to walk the journey back to his Father. Repentance should come to him too, but how will it? Will he follow the steps of his young brother? How will his present attitude affect his work in the field now? What will his relationship with his Father be like from now on, since he's not "the one who stayed faithful to honor his Father" anymore... How about his relationship with his younger brother as he too returns to work the harvest?
Maybe the elder's son dramatic journey is only starting, at home, understanding that the pilgrimage he needs to embark on is one of the heart... actions don't tell the whole story...
Friday, October 15, 2004
:: Emerging... from the past? ::
Emerging...
Seems to me, as blind as I can be, that the emergent movement (ouch! I know... don't throw rocks, please... note I didn't put quotes around the word...I use movement to say 'something's moving') we witness right now, is steering away from the whole explosive prophetic/apostolic scene on the one end, with the "mega-heaven-coming-down-end-times-Bridal-destiny" conferences circuits (what worship levels they reach!), and from the lethargical evangelical churches that have refused the waters of renewal for whatever reasons they found, although they can't deny the divine call to more that's embedded in all the new songs they've been singing during their services for the past 10 years.
Reminds me of the Vineyard movement: their songs reached us and expressed the deeper thirst of our hearts for more. Years later, many mainstream churches defected from their denominations to be a new church. Running on the success of the freshness, many still failed to maintain a constancy, and those who did, did so by "reinventing" themselves as need arose.
... from the past?
I was just thinking that this emerging movement has been happening for centuries, in little pockets maybe, but often resulting in big waves of change, called awakenings.
The main power source of most of those awakenings, seems to always have been an extreme refocus on the foundational still point of grace: Christ, through genuine devotion, excavating truth from the wallpaper of contemporary religious culture, a deliberate lifestyle of godliness, and heartfelt intercession.
Reading emergent conversations, many have been about dissatisfaction, and a sense that many leaders don't know where they're going, being more or less employed at maintaining the course for a church format that many find archaic. Many blogs and posts have also been about excitment that they found other people feeling the same way about the church perpetuating professional/business models, and those people are eager to meet and openly discuss the path before us for which we have probably no prior models, except a short historical account in the New Testament.
We're searching for an external community-based organic form that would be a direct reflection of our internal passion for the purity of the Gospel in its simplicity, and that's a great start. But I'm wondering this morning, "in what way can the Gospel be culturally relevant?" A danger is always there to perpetuate the error that the form is enough to draw people, while in the end, its the presence of drinkable water that makes a well a life-giving place of meeting.
Christ is building His church. We are co-workers. Where can we glimpse on the model and get our orders from, so we know what to do? How well do we feel the foundations have been laid, how far has the construction progressed, can anyone make sense of what Christ has built at this point?
To be continued...
Seems to me, as blind as I can be, that the emergent movement (ouch! I know... don't throw rocks, please... note I didn't put quotes around the word...I use movement to say 'something's moving') we witness right now, is steering away from the whole explosive prophetic/apostolic scene on the one end, with the "mega-heaven-coming-down-end-times-Bridal-destiny" conferences circuits (what worship levels they reach!), and from the lethargical evangelical churches that have refused the waters of renewal for whatever reasons they found, although they can't deny the divine call to more that's embedded in all the new songs they've been singing during their services for the past 10 years.
Reminds me of the Vineyard movement: their songs reached us and expressed the deeper thirst of our hearts for more. Years later, many mainstream churches defected from their denominations to be a new church. Running on the success of the freshness, many still failed to maintain a constancy, and those who did, did so by "reinventing" themselves as need arose.
... from the past?
I was just thinking that this emerging movement has been happening for centuries, in little pockets maybe, but often resulting in big waves of change, called awakenings.
The main power source of most of those awakenings, seems to always have been an extreme refocus on the foundational still point of grace: Christ, through genuine devotion, excavating truth from the wallpaper of contemporary religious culture, a deliberate lifestyle of godliness, and heartfelt intercession.
Reading emergent conversations, many have been about dissatisfaction, and a sense that many leaders don't know where they're going, being more or less employed at maintaining the course for a church format that many find archaic. Many blogs and posts have also been about excitment that they found other people feeling the same way about the church perpetuating professional/business models, and those people are eager to meet and openly discuss the path before us for which we have probably no prior models, except a short historical account in the New Testament.
We're searching for an external community-based organic form that would be a direct reflection of our internal passion for the purity of the Gospel in its simplicity, and that's a great start. But I'm wondering this morning, "in what way can the Gospel be culturally relevant?" A danger is always there to perpetuate the error that the form is enough to draw people, while in the end, its the presence of drinkable water that makes a well a life-giving place of meeting.
Christ is building His church. We are co-workers. Where can we glimpse on the model and get our orders from, so we know what to do? How well do we feel the foundations have been laid, how far has the construction progressed, can anyone make sense of what Christ has built at this point?
To be continued...
Monday, October 11, 2004
:: Crickets singing like Angels? ::
What do we really know about reality?
What we see, isn't it actually upside down? The colors we identify, aren't they actually a rejection? What mysteries still remain concerning the light we can see, the sounds we can hear, the flow of time, the movement in space?
Listen to the following recording that someone shared with us last summer in California. It is a recording of crickets, time-stretched according to a calculation taking into consideration the life span of a cricket compared to that of a human.
stream
download
I was so moved when I heard this... we could hear nature sing...
If these links don't work, visit XNAmbient and scroll down.
What we see, isn't it actually upside down? The colors we identify, aren't they actually a rejection? What mysteries still remain concerning the light we can see, the sounds we can hear, the flow of time, the movement in space?
Listen to the following recording that someone shared with us last summer in California. It is a recording of crickets, time-stretched according to a calculation taking into consideration the life span of a cricket compared to that of a human.
stream
download
I was so moved when I heard this... we could hear nature sing...
If these links don't work, visit XNAmbient and scroll down.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
:: Practice Time ::
"The day is coming when, from every colour and tribe and nation, those who have a heart for what the Lord wants to do they are going to come and say, "Lord what is on your heart?" And the Lord will say, "I want to do something in the Philippines." Or "I want to do something in Taiwan" ... And the body of Christ will mobilize itself to move where God is moving."
-- David Demian, Director, Watchmen for the Nations
To me, THIS is closer to my present understanding of God's heart for the Bride, and the human race than anything I've read or heard anywhere. All the local stuff we have such a hard time coordinating, and maintaining, aims to establish a global beachhead, if we could recognize and follow God's coordination plan.
Growing up locally, so we can show up globally. A recognizable kingdom, moving as one, with the strength of countless ones whose character is fully engaged in the dynamics of transformation according to the image of Christ, which is beheld with passion.
Now, THAT will be power! How we need Josephs and Daniels and Nehemiahs for this to happen... Is there a way to discover God's grid, and where we fit individually and collectively?
-- David Demian, Director, Watchmen for the Nations
To me, THIS is closer to my present understanding of God's heart for the Bride, and the human race than anything I've read or heard anywhere. All the local stuff we have such a hard time coordinating, and maintaining, aims to establish a global beachhead, if we could recognize and follow God's coordination plan.
Growing up locally, so we can show up globally. A recognizable kingdom, moving as one, with the strength of countless ones whose character is fully engaged in the dynamics of transformation according to the image of Christ, which is beheld with passion.
Now, THAT will be power! How we need Josephs and Daniels and Nehemiahs for this to happen... Is there a way to discover God's grid, and where we fit individually and collectively?
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
:: Forget post-modernism ::
I'd be happy with "post-bs" ...
Because "the Gospel" has quite a different cultural flavor from one denomination to the other, I think the challenge is to make it so that people are informed quickly as to what is culturally variable, local flavor, and what is intrinsically relevant to Jesus' message, as well as the Holy Spirit's work in us. Because from embracing the simplicity and depth of that work will flow "the works." Jesus didn't succeed in changing His generation while He was alive. Paul did much better. And then Constantin came around. Then Luther. And then global awakenings poured all over the planet. Still, we debate as to what the church should look like. We're tired of the inhumanity of most of our churches when measured against ministry to the poor, including the poor in spirit which might not be so easily spotted in the crowd.
We're polarized between a need to protect the integrity of our own denomational values (after all it is difficult to know everything and we need to trust our teachers if we're to graduate), and the need to be relevant to our generation, which puts us at odds with some of the inherited dynamics we have become routinely comfortable with. But how many of us truly embrace the Gospel only in our formative years of salvation, and then come back to it years later when finally realizing that God's work is often silent, but really foundational and takes time, real time and real efforts.
I vote to elect a new expression: post-bs: post-barely_significant. That's the only "post" that can resist the test of time. When believers travail to articulate socially the living and beating heart of God's work through redemption, they will come up with something relevant and significant. But it can never become what we need to protect against the onslaught of a miraculous harvest. As soul pour into the kingdom, the kingdom should also pour in them from those who have been walking this path for a longer time.
As long as we hold to our denominational traditions without reserve, we express that the form is more important than the content, we reveal that the grid is actually for us the world, and not the worldview it was supposed to articulate through liturgical means.
I believe the only enduring value of liturgy is when it recreates the movement of approaching God with total transparence, with uncontrived fear and awe, and when it expresses the beauty and immediacy of God's response to us, but not only as a doctrinal assessment, but as an actual experience.
Just some thoughts...
Because "the Gospel" has quite a different cultural flavor from one denomination to the other, I think the challenge is to make it so that people are informed quickly as to what is culturally variable, local flavor, and what is intrinsically relevant to Jesus' message, as well as the Holy Spirit's work in us. Because from embracing the simplicity and depth of that work will flow "the works." Jesus didn't succeed in changing His generation while He was alive. Paul did much better. And then Constantin came around. Then Luther. And then global awakenings poured all over the planet. Still, we debate as to what the church should look like. We're tired of the inhumanity of most of our churches when measured against ministry to the poor, including the poor in spirit which might not be so easily spotted in the crowd.
We're polarized between a need to protect the integrity of our own denomational values (after all it is difficult to know everything and we need to trust our teachers if we're to graduate), and the need to be relevant to our generation, which puts us at odds with some of the inherited dynamics we have become routinely comfortable with. But how many of us truly embrace the Gospel only in our formative years of salvation, and then come back to it years later when finally realizing that God's work is often silent, but really foundational and takes time, real time and real efforts.
I vote to elect a new expression: post-bs: post-barely_significant. That's the only "post" that can resist the test of time. When believers travail to articulate socially the living and beating heart of God's work through redemption, they will come up with something relevant and significant. But it can never become what we need to protect against the onslaught of a miraculous harvest. As soul pour into the kingdom, the kingdom should also pour in them from those who have been walking this path for a longer time.
As long as we hold to our denominational traditions without reserve, we express that the form is more important than the content, we reveal that the grid is actually for us the world, and not the worldview it was supposed to articulate through liturgical means.
I believe the only enduring value of liturgy is when it recreates the movement of approaching God with total transparence, with uncontrived fear and awe, and when it expresses the beauty and immediacy of God's response to us, but not only as a doctrinal assessment, but as an actual experience.
Just some thoughts...
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
:: XNA - ChristianAmbient ::
On the flowing stream of artistic expression, creative prayer evolves like a DNA helix, like feeling forward, surfing the crest of a wave completely abandoned to the will of the sea, treading barefoot the spine of the spiritual earth, a trail where the conscious awareness that there is an underlay to it obscures the confusion of any illusion, that the words used to describe its destination are actually the substance of its vertebrae which we can feel, thanks to the spirited nature of another part of ourselves which is honest, focused, daring, hungry for the spiritual feast of God's breast ...
Originally, ambient works draw [or derive ] from the old Ambient school (Brian Eno, etc) and branches in all kinds of variations, including the use of soundtracks and free-form collages, environmental recordings, famous speeches by famous people, floating chords, subtle rhythms and percussions. Everything is in the treatment of the sound, using effects, reverbs, flanges, time-stretching, pitch-shifting, the "drama" evolving so slowly, you almost feel like time is being pulled back to a grinding halt. Almost. Our whole being tittering on the threshold of the present moment... what an experience!
There are many ways to be creative within the Ambient genre, and this site would like to be a hub attracting artists who create life-giving, thought-provoking, meditative, ministering music which explores the human journey, the path of Christianity, as well pre-verbal or unspoken prayers. Works can spring from any of the fivefold ministry. Through all, of course, the goal is edification, exhortation and comfort in an inspiring way. One thing we'd like to see happen is that we'd ULTIMATELY revisiting the environmental ambience of the manifest presence of God in private and social settings.
Read the complete notes HERE...
:: MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK ::
In the US:
Mental Illness Awareness Week is an annual, national observance that was created by a Presidential proclamation in 1990 to focus attention on the high incidence of mental illness in America. This year's theme, "Take Action to Change the Nation," reflects the goals and recommendations of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. This annual observance, sponsored by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, provides an opportunity for evoking change in the Nation's mental health service delivery system through grassroots commitment and action. Activities during Mental Illness Awareness Week reach out to the media, schools, libraries, houses of worship, and State capitols. [more]
In Canada:
This year's campaign materials, produced by CAMIMH and distributed through more than 3300 organizations across the country, feature four Canadians who are living successfully with mental illnesses. The campaign theme - "FACE IT. Mental Illness Concerns Us All" - encourages Canadians to face the reality of mental illness in Canada. Nigel Bart, a Winnipeg-based artist; Loise Forest, an active volunteer in Montreal; Victoria Maxwell, a Vancouver-based actor, producer and consultant, and Ottawa-based student Justin Perkons all provide wonderful examples of how life can be lived to its fullest. [more]
"Face it" "Take Action to Change the Nation" I prefer the US theme... I'm hoping it will soon come to Canada...
I'm working through finding ways to live a balanced life, and frankly, I'm not able to right now, work is draining most of my energy and resources are worst than before. I'm supposed to work on a musical with Spark of Brilliance this year, but up to this point, I've only attended one workshop. It's hard... As far as themes, I prefer the US one, I know by experience that there needs to be much more support at many levels for people like us. We still meet disdain and harshness, discrimination and judgement within the health care system itself, anything to do with money usually brings out a coldness in some government workers. Is it a culture of government?
I had the priviledge of making music for a CD last year, Healing Embers, a collection of songs from members of Spark of Brilliance who wrote songs and poems about their experience with mental illness. The CD is available at Spark of Brilliance (Judith Rosenberg 519-766-4450). Some of the songs clearly reflect the faith of some of the writers. All the songs are quite inspiring and moving. An uncensored look into the tragedy mental illness can be, many times rendered worst by the immaturity of the health system.
About faith:
As far as help from the believing community, there have been some breakthroughs in the past 10 years that have exponantially opened the doors for Christian counselors to be much more effective in therapy, not just praying for change and healing, but actually accompanying patients on a journey through the dramatically "interrupted" parts of their evolution and allowing God to come in at those points to bring restoration. None greater I think than Theophostic.
Blessings to all this week, just go hug someone close to you who can't find words to express what they're going through... but displays signs of distress or aloofness...
Mental Illness Awareness Week is an annual, national observance that was created by a Presidential proclamation in 1990 to focus attention on the high incidence of mental illness in America. This year's theme, "Take Action to Change the Nation," reflects the goals and recommendations of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. This annual observance, sponsored by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, provides an opportunity for evoking change in the Nation's mental health service delivery system through grassroots commitment and action. Activities during Mental Illness Awareness Week reach out to the media, schools, libraries, houses of worship, and State capitols. [more]
In Canada:
This year's campaign materials, produced by CAMIMH and distributed through more than 3300 organizations across the country, feature four Canadians who are living successfully with mental illnesses. The campaign theme - "FACE IT. Mental Illness Concerns Us All" - encourages Canadians to face the reality of mental illness in Canada. Nigel Bart, a Winnipeg-based artist; Loise Forest, an active volunteer in Montreal; Victoria Maxwell, a Vancouver-based actor, producer and consultant, and Ottawa-based student Justin Perkons all provide wonderful examples of how life can be lived to its fullest. [more]
"Face it" "Take Action to Change the Nation" I prefer the US theme... I'm hoping it will soon come to Canada...
I'm working through finding ways to live a balanced life, and frankly, I'm not able to right now, work is draining most of my energy and resources are worst than before. I'm supposed to work on a musical with Spark of Brilliance this year, but up to this point, I've only attended one workshop. It's hard... As far as themes, I prefer the US one, I know by experience that there needs to be much more support at many levels for people like us. We still meet disdain and harshness, discrimination and judgement within the health care system itself, anything to do with money usually brings out a coldness in some government workers. Is it a culture of government?
I had the priviledge of making music for a CD last year, Healing Embers, a collection of songs from members of Spark of Brilliance who wrote songs and poems about their experience with mental illness. The CD is available at Spark of Brilliance (Judith Rosenberg 519-766-4450). Some of the songs clearly reflect the faith of some of the writers. All the songs are quite inspiring and moving. An uncensored look into the tragedy mental illness can be, many times rendered worst by the immaturity of the health system.
About faith:
As far as help from the believing community, there have been some breakthroughs in the past 10 years that have exponantially opened the doors for Christian counselors to be much more effective in therapy, not just praying for change and healing, but actually accompanying patients on a journey through the dramatically "interrupted" parts of their evolution and allowing God to come in at those points to bring restoration. None greater I think than Theophostic.
Blessings to all this week, just go hug someone close to you who can't find words to express what they're going through... but displays signs of distress or aloofness...
Friday, October 01, 2004
:: Real Christians Don't Watch Porn... Part 2 ::
Some people read something else in my post former which wasn't intended. They were concerned that I was pointing the finger and saying that believers who engage in watching porn are not Christians. This is my response to bring precisions to my thoughts:
--------------->
If you go back and read again, I specifically stress the fact that guys (and women who struggle with that as well) should not take this lightly. I never would think to even hint that anyone watching porn or masturbating are not real Christians. That was never the focus of the article. Maybe I should have titled it: "Real Christians Aggressively Pursue sexual Purity." I tried to use "Real Christians" as some would say "Real Men Do Cry." Doesn't mean that men who don't cry are not men.
Rather, I tried to turn the focus from the inward position of godliness, to an outward one of looking with human and Christian eyes at the objects we lust after: women. These are people, and the fact that we would demystify their status as being just another toy to lust after, that should wake us up. I know it did wake me up.
Secondly, I will use this analogy: I heard it said that the Holocaust didn't happen because of hatred, but because of apathy. In the same way, we are surrounded by a culture that is trying to make our children into sex objects. If you're a parent, when was the last time you shopped for hours trying to find a decent bathing suit for your daughter? How many times are you assaulted visually by TV ads that use lust to entice you to loo? How many movies have you seen since Bring It On and American Pie that exalt adolescent sexuality, using all the cliches currently powerfully used in porn? These things come in our homes, in our psyches. And in our lifestyles.
Finally, how many families have been destroyed because they opened the doors to immorality through the father's own sex addiction and dysfunction? The Church carries the load of bringing the kingdom in a territory. Often, the demonic is at work in a place through immorality, empowered by the cliche: everybody does it. I'm advocating for purity and action, not for condemnation.
I am a survivor of sexual abuse. As a child I've been molested. As an adult I've been molested. And I've battled for decades before finding a way to victory. I don't brag about it, I just share the way I've found. Although I understand the weakness of the flesh, I would never excuse it. I don't intend falling prey to it ever again. That don't mean I'm standing in judgement of others. I just know that one can conquer certain sins if one really wants to get to the bottom of things. We don't have to remain in bondage.
I've been on that road long enough to know the tricks my flesh plays on me. But I would never think that when I lust and indulge in masturbation, that I'm any different than those who abduct and rape innocent victims, groom them to be sex slaves and make the movies or magazines I'd use to satisfy that sinful urge. In essence, it's like I'm standing in that room and perpetrating the acts myself. And that's what lust of the eye is about. We are never innocently watching. The drive of lust is that we imagine ourselves engaging in the act.
Therefore, should I apologize? I'm sorry if anyone felt diminished or insulted. But I'm not sorry to speak out and be a voice for those victims. And once we start forgetting about porn and look beyond, seeing the humans in there, in need of salvation yes, but also potentially in need of rescue, then the picture changes, and the motivation that hits us is unlike anything we've known before.
I'm pointing the finger on the culture around us and in our homes, a culture that's attempting to put us to sleep while they promote sexuality as a "cool darkness." We won't have any real power to oppose it if we draw pleasure from it.
And it's not about telling people to be remorseful and sorry for their sin, but about remaining human as we witness our own fallenness. Then can we hope to raise above temptation and become a freedom fighter, instead of sleeping with the enemy.
Hope this makes more sense. Thanks for all who shared in response to my post. I hope my position is understood as being one which attempts to bring life, and not stupidly point fingers and pour judgement on other as if I thought myself to be better... I would never do that intentionally. I have enough memories to go back to in order to take away from myself any power to judge...
Blessings,
--------------->
If you go back and read again, I specifically stress the fact that guys (and women who struggle with that as well) should not take this lightly. I never would think to even hint that anyone watching porn or masturbating are not real Christians. That was never the focus of the article. Maybe I should have titled it: "Real Christians Aggressively Pursue sexual Purity." I tried to use "Real Christians" as some would say "Real Men Do Cry." Doesn't mean that men who don't cry are not men.
Rather, I tried to turn the focus from the inward position of godliness, to an outward one of looking with human and Christian eyes at the objects we lust after: women. These are people, and the fact that we would demystify their status as being just another toy to lust after, that should wake us up. I know it did wake me up.
Secondly, I will use this analogy: I heard it said that the Holocaust didn't happen because of hatred, but because of apathy. In the same way, we are surrounded by a culture that is trying to make our children into sex objects. If you're a parent, when was the last time you shopped for hours trying to find a decent bathing suit for your daughter? How many times are you assaulted visually by TV ads that use lust to entice you to loo? How many movies have you seen since Bring It On and American Pie that exalt adolescent sexuality, using all the cliches currently powerfully used in porn? These things come in our homes, in our psyches. And in our lifestyles.
Finally, how many families have been destroyed because they opened the doors to immorality through the father's own sex addiction and dysfunction? The Church carries the load of bringing the kingdom in a territory. Often, the demonic is at work in a place through immorality, empowered by the cliche: everybody does it. I'm advocating for purity and action, not for condemnation.
I am a survivor of sexual abuse. As a child I've been molested. As an adult I've been molested. And I've battled for decades before finding a way to victory. I don't brag about it, I just share the way I've found. Although I understand the weakness of the flesh, I would never excuse it. I don't intend falling prey to it ever again. That don't mean I'm standing in judgement of others. I just know that one can conquer certain sins if one really wants to get to the bottom of things. We don't have to remain in bondage.
I've been on that road long enough to know the tricks my flesh plays on me. But I would never think that when I lust and indulge in masturbation, that I'm any different than those who abduct and rape innocent victims, groom them to be sex slaves and make the movies or magazines I'd use to satisfy that sinful urge. In essence, it's like I'm standing in that room and perpetrating the acts myself. And that's what lust of the eye is about. We are never innocently watching. The drive of lust is that we imagine ourselves engaging in the act.
Therefore, should I apologize? I'm sorry if anyone felt diminished or insulted. But I'm not sorry to speak out and be a voice for those victims. And once we start forgetting about porn and look beyond, seeing the humans in there, in need of salvation yes, but also potentially in need of rescue, then the picture changes, and the motivation that hits us is unlike anything we've known before.
I'm pointing the finger on the culture around us and in our homes, a culture that's attempting to put us to sleep while they promote sexuality as a "cool darkness." We won't have any real power to oppose it if we draw pleasure from it.
And it's not about telling people to be remorseful and sorry for their sin, but about remaining human as we witness our own fallenness. Then can we hope to raise above temptation and become a freedom fighter, instead of sleeping with the enemy.
Hope this makes more sense. Thanks for all who shared in response to my post. I hope my position is understood as being one which attempts to bring life, and not stupidly point fingers and pour judgement on other as if I thought myself to be better... I would never do that intentionally. I have enough memories to go back to in order to take away from myself any power to judge...
Blessings,
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