“Great leaders are ambitious for the people who follow them. They measure their effectiveness in leadership by the growth in the people who work at their side. We are in the people-growing business, both in terms of their character being more Christlike, and in their gifts being identified and deployed to achieve their full potential and to maximize their contribution to the total enterprise.”
Eddie Gibbs
Leadership Next: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture
IVP, 2005
pg 146
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
"Preaching" the Gospel in Culture
“we must recognize that that while the broader culture has changed, most evangelical churches have not. The broader culture has ‘shifted’, and hundreds of new cultures have emerged within the existing cultural milieu. It is time for the North American church to enter its emerging global context….
You cannot grow a biblically faithful church without loving people and preaching the gospel. But loving people means understanding and communicating with them. Preaching the gospel means to proclaim a gospel about the Word becoming flesh – and proclaiming that the body of Christ needs to become incarnate in every cultural expression.”
Ed Stetzer and David Putman
Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community
Broadman and Holman, 2006
pg 14,15
You cannot grow a biblically faithful church without loving people and preaching the gospel. But loving people means understanding and communicating with them. Preaching the gospel means to proclaim a gospel about the Word becoming flesh – and proclaiming that the body of Christ needs to become incarnate in every cultural expression.”
Ed Stetzer and David Putman
Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community
Broadman and Holman, 2006
pg 14,15
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
A Kingdom of Love
Commenting on 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 , Dr. Gregory Boyd wrote,
“A more radical teaching on love couldn’t be imagined! Most of us could not help but be impressed by someone who could speak in a beautiful angelic tongue or who possessed powerful prophetic gifts. But these abilities amount to nothing more than religious noise – a clanging cymbal – unless motivated by love and used for the purpose of love. And who wouldn’t be impressed by someone who understood all mysteries or possessed all knowledge? Yet if they do not use these marvelous gifts to ‘come under’ others in love, they are altogether worthless. And who could criticize someone who had mountain-moving faith or who gave away all their possessions or even heroically sacrificed their life? Yet Paul says that if these aren’t done for the purpose of loving others, they are devoid of value, at least from a kingdom-of-God perspective. They may be very impressive within the context of a religious version of the kingdom of the world, but they are utterly insignificant in the kingdom of God, except insofar as they manifest Calvary-like love.
The only criteria that matters, then, in assessing whether anything has any value within the kingdom that God is building on earth is love….However impressive a gift or achievement may be in its own right, it has no kingdom value except insofar as it manifests God’s love – except insofar as it looks like Jesus Christ.
How might our churches be different if we took Paul’s teaching seriously? What would happen if the ultimate criteria we used to assess how ‘successful’ or ‘unsuccessful’ our churches were was the question, are we loving as Jesus loved? The truth of the matter is that we are only carrying out God’s will and expanding the kingdom of God to the extent that we answer that question affirmatively. No other question, criteria, or agenda can have any meaning for kingdom-of-God devotees except insofar as it helps us respond to that question.”
Gregory Boyd
The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church
Zondervan, 2005
pgs 44-45
“A more radical teaching on love couldn’t be imagined! Most of us could not help but be impressed by someone who could speak in a beautiful angelic tongue or who possessed powerful prophetic gifts. But these abilities amount to nothing more than religious noise – a clanging cymbal – unless motivated by love and used for the purpose of love. And who wouldn’t be impressed by someone who understood all mysteries or possessed all knowledge? Yet if they do not use these marvelous gifts to ‘come under’ others in love, they are altogether worthless. And who could criticize someone who had mountain-moving faith or who gave away all their possessions or even heroically sacrificed their life? Yet Paul says that if these aren’t done for the purpose of loving others, they are devoid of value, at least from a kingdom-of-God perspective. They may be very impressive within the context of a religious version of the kingdom of the world, but they are utterly insignificant in the kingdom of God, except insofar as they manifest Calvary-like love.
The only criteria that matters, then, in assessing whether anything has any value within the kingdom that God is building on earth is love….However impressive a gift or achievement may be in its own right, it has no kingdom value except insofar as it manifests God’s love – except insofar as it looks like Jesus Christ.
How might our churches be different if we took Paul’s teaching seriously? What would happen if the ultimate criteria we used to assess how ‘successful’ or ‘unsuccessful’ our churches were was the question, are we loving as Jesus loved? The truth of the matter is that we are only carrying out God’s will and expanding the kingdom of God to the extent that we answer that question affirmatively. No other question, criteria, or agenda can have any meaning for kingdom-of-God devotees except insofar as it helps us respond to that question.”
Gregory Boyd
The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church
Zondervan, 2005
pgs 44-45
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Relationship with God
“It is for this one reason – dynamic relationship – that the human species was created. We were designed by God for God. God created us out of the love relationship of the divine, and Adam and Eve were the offspring of that love. God created Adam and Eve so that there could be a relationship on Earth between humans and God like that in the heavens among the Godhead itself. If heaven is defined as union with God, then eternity is a relationship Eden.
Sin is not primarily rebellion against God’s laws or an assault on moral principles. Sin is an offense because it violates our relationship with God….God wants our obedience in the context of a relationship – which far exceeds unthinking obedience played out in a vacuum. God wants our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our souls. God wants our love.
….
God created us for two-way conversations – for full-blown, no-holds-barred conversations. God wants us to be fully engaged in the exchange.”
Leonard Sweet
Out of the Question…Into the Mystery
Waterbrook, 2004
pg 54
Sin is not primarily rebellion against God’s laws or an assault on moral principles. Sin is an offense because it violates our relationship with God….God wants our obedience in the context of a relationship – which far exceeds unthinking obedience played out in a vacuum. God wants our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our souls. God wants our love.
….
God created us for two-way conversations – for full-blown, no-holds-barred conversations. God wants us to be fully engaged in the exchange.”
Leonard Sweet
Out of the Question…Into the Mystery
Waterbrook, 2004
pg 54
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Lord of the Dance
“God is like a dance. We are invited to enter, for He has entered us and begun to sing.
I heard Walter Wangerin say that if a European wants to understand something, he takes it apart. If an African wants to understand something, he dances with it.
In European countries, God has been declared dead. That’s what happens when you take something apart. In Africa God is dancing across the continent with His bride. The church is profoundly fruitful there.
Will Willimon writes, ‘You and I can give thanks that the locus of Christian thinking appears to be shifting from North America and northern Europe where people write rules and obey them, to places like Africa and Latin America where people still know how to dance.’
‘Write rules and obey them’ – that’s what the Pharisees did! Remember that the religious people crucified Jesus. They took Him apart and tried to cut Him down to size, but they couldn’t control Him. He is the Lord of the dance.”
Peter Hiett
Dance Lessons for Zombies
Integrity, 2005
pgs 105-106
I heard Walter Wangerin say that if a European wants to understand something, he takes it apart. If an African wants to understand something, he dances with it.
In European countries, God has been declared dead. That’s what happens when you take something apart. In Africa God is dancing across the continent with His bride. The church is profoundly fruitful there.
Will Willimon writes, ‘You and I can give thanks that the locus of Christian thinking appears to be shifting from North America and northern Europe where people write rules and obey them, to places like Africa and Latin America where people still know how to dance.’
‘Write rules and obey them’ – that’s what the Pharisees did! Remember that the religious people crucified Jesus. They took Him apart and tried to cut Him down to size, but they couldn’t control Him. He is the Lord of the dance.”
Peter Hiett
Dance Lessons for Zombies
Integrity, 2005
pgs 105-106
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Solitude
"Although the discipline of solitude asks us to set aside time and space, what finally matters is that our hearts become like quiet cells where God can dwell, wherever we go and whatever we do. The more we train ourselves to spend time with God and God alone, the more we will discover that God is with us at all times and in all places. Then we will be able to recognize God even in the midst of a busy and active life. Once the solitude of time and space has become a solitude of the heart, we will never have to leave that solitude. We will be able to live the spiritual life in any place and any time. Thus the discipline of solitude enables us to live active lives in the world, while remaining always in the presence of the living God."
Henri Nouwen
From Making All Things New
quoted in The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful LifeCrossroad Classic, 1999
pg 42
Henri Nouwen
From Making All Things New
quoted in The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful LifeCrossroad Classic, 1999
pg 42
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Being Dangerous
“The most critical issue facing Christians today is not abortion, pornography, the disintegration of the family, moral absolutes, MTV, drugs, racism, sexuality, or school prayer. The critical issue today is dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news, it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it is life enhancing. Jesus doesn’t change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into ‘nice people.’…
What happened to radical Christianity, the un-nice brand of Christianity that turned the world upside-down? What happened to the category-smashing, life-threatening, anti-institutional gospel that spread through the first century like wildfire and was considered (by those in power) dangerous? What happened to the kind of Christians whose hearts were on fire, who had no fear, who spoke the truth no matter what the consequence, who made the world uncomfortable, who were willing to follow Jesus wherever He went? What happened to the kind of Christians who were filled with passion and gratitude, and who every day were unable to get over the grace of God?
I’m ready for a Christianity that ‘ruins’ my life, that captures my heart, and makes me uncomfortable. I want to be filled with an astonishment which is so captivating that I am considered wild and unpredictable and … well … dangerous. Yes, I want to be ‘dangerous’ to a dull and boring religion. I want a faith that is considered ‘dangerous’ by our predictable and monotonous culture.”
Michael Yaconelli
Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith
NavPress, 1998, 2003
pgs 24-25
What happened to radical Christianity, the un-nice brand of Christianity that turned the world upside-down? What happened to the category-smashing, life-threatening, anti-institutional gospel that spread through the first century like wildfire and was considered (by those in power) dangerous? What happened to the kind of Christians whose hearts were on fire, who had no fear, who spoke the truth no matter what the consequence, who made the world uncomfortable, who were willing to follow Jesus wherever He went? What happened to the kind of Christians who were filled with passion and gratitude, and who every day were unable to get over the grace of God?
I’m ready for a Christianity that ‘ruins’ my life, that captures my heart, and makes me uncomfortable. I want to be filled with an astonishment which is so captivating that I am considered wild and unpredictable and … well … dangerous. Yes, I want to be ‘dangerous’ to a dull and boring religion. I want a faith that is considered ‘dangerous’ by our predictable and monotonous culture.”
Michael Yaconelli
Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith
NavPress, 1998, 2003
pgs 24-25
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Show-and-Tell Evangelism
John Wimber/Kevin Springer wrote in Power Evangelism,
"Primitive peoples often need to see the superior power of the gospel demonstrated for them to believe"
(Power Evangelism, Hodder an Stoughton, 1992, pg 54).
I think modern 'peoples' with the Western mindset often need the same. We need to be open to what I call "Show-and-Tell Evangelism" - evangelism that demonstrates the gospel's validity through acts of love, compassion, and power.
For many, love and compassion are cool and obvious. But power? How? Through God! If we allow Him to, He can and will shower the lives of the unbelievers we encounter with His marvelous loving presence and power, alerting them to the reality of His superiority over disease, depression, and demons. We have to remember that its ALL HIM. We can do nothing in and of ourselves. If we focus on Him and learn to hear and see his leading, perhaps He will touch folks in a way they've never encountered before. Maybe many times He won't. Maybe love and compassion are all that's needed.
But may God forgive us for forgetting His power. May He awaken us and this new emerging generation to the unfathomable vastness of His power to bring real change into lives devastated by the god of this world.
"Primitive peoples often need to see the superior power of the gospel demonstrated for them to believe"
(Power Evangelism, Hodder an Stoughton, 1992, pg 54).
I think modern 'peoples' with the Western mindset often need the same. We need to be open to what I call "Show-and-Tell Evangelism" - evangelism that demonstrates the gospel's validity through acts of love, compassion, and power.
For many, love and compassion are cool and obvious. But power? How? Through God! If we allow Him to, He can and will shower the lives of the unbelievers we encounter with His marvelous loving presence and power, alerting them to the reality of His superiority over disease, depression, and demons. We have to remember that its ALL HIM. We can do nothing in and of ourselves. If we focus on Him and learn to hear and see his leading, perhaps He will touch folks in a way they've never encountered before. Maybe many times He won't. Maybe love and compassion are all that's needed.
But may God forgive us for forgetting His power. May He awaken us and this new emerging generation to the unfathomable vastness of His power to bring real change into lives devastated by the god of this world.
Monday, May 07, 2007
The Need of Our Time
“The greatest need of our time is for the church to become what it has seldom been: the body of Christ with it’s face to the world, loving others regardless of religion or culture, pouring itself out in a life of service, offering hope to a frightened world, and presenting itself as a real alternative to the cultural arrangement….
I want neither a blood-‘n’-guts religion that would make Clint Eastwood, not Jesus, our hero; nor a speculative religion that would imprison the gospel in the halls of academia; nor a noisy, feel-good religion that is a naked appeal to emotion. I long for passion, intelligence, and compassion in a church without ostentation, gently beckoning to the world to come and enjoy the peace and unity we possess because of the Spirit in our midst….
At the dawning of the twenty-first century, what separates the committed from the uncommitted is the depth and quality of our love for Jesus Christ. The superficial among us build bigger barns in the euphoria of a prosperity gospel; the trendy follow the latest fad and try to hum their way to heaven; the defeated are haunted by ghosts from the past.
But the victorious minority, unintimidated by the cultural patterns of the lockstepping majority, live and celebrate as though Jesus were near – near in time, near in space – the witness of our motives, our speech, and our behavior. And indeed he is.”
Brennan Manning
The Signature of Jesus
Multnomah Publishers, 1996
pgs. 9-11
I want neither a blood-‘n’-guts religion that would make Clint Eastwood, not Jesus, our hero; nor a speculative religion that would imprison the gospel in the halls of academia; nor a noisy, feel-good religion that is a naked appeal to emotion. I long for passion, intelligence, and compassion in a church without ostentation, gently beckoning to the world to come and enjoy the peace and unity we possess because of the Spirit in our midst….
At the dawning of the twenty-first century, what separates the committed from the uncommitted is the depth and quality of our love for Jesus Christ. The superficial among us build bigger barns in the euphoria of a prosperity gospel; the trendy follow the latest fad and try to hum their way to heaven; the defeated are haunted by ghosts from the past.
But the victorious minority, unintimidated by the cultural patterns of the lockstepping majority, live and celebrate as though Jesus were near – near in time, near in space – the witness of our motives, our speech, and our behavior. And indeed he is.”
Brennan Manning
The Signature of Jesus
Multnomah Publishers, 1996
pgs. 9-11
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Story Evangelism
“….Know that your best relationships with the Scriptures are in the future.
Sadly, for some Christians the story has stopped. God has done all that God is going to do, and God’s voice in embalmed in a book. This turns the work of evangelists into being the salesmen of a tradition, not Christ-introducers and life-connectors to an on-going, never-ending story.
For some, the stories are frozen awaiting a future Parousia. The problem with freeze-dried stories is the same with anything that has the living water drained out of it: They taste dreadful, feel like brickbats, and crumble when you hold them too tightly.
For some the story has run out of steam and needs revision and reinvention – as if God didn’t get it right the first time. This turns reading the Bible into minesweeping the Scriptures for hidden detonations. For some not only is there nothing new under the sun. There is no Sun.
For some the story is an addendum to their own story, like some guilt outing to Disney World that’s crammed into a calendar so that everyone can say, ‘We did it.’ It is only when our story gets grafted onto God’s story, the story that came as a gift and grace, that our own story comes to life.
For others the stories of God are not entries in their family diary, but laws for living passed by some divine legislation. This is the biggest reason why Jesus’s storytelling was deemed sheer madness, dissed as mere children’s stories. Where was the Law of Moses? Where were the words of the prophets and ancestors? Where was even God in these parables of His?
Evangelism is the practice of out-narrating the world by telling a much better story, a story that can win the hearts and minds of the world’s peoples, a story of love, harmony, and peace. People are being seduced by the wrong stories, partly because we don’t how to tell the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth.
Evangelism is not convincing other people to accept the propositions you believe. Evangelism is inviting other people to begin a relationship with Jesus – to go on a journey with him and make his story their story. If the basic issue of evangelism is how we help people meet Jesus, then evangelism is not doctrinal transactions but spiritual interactions.”
Leonard Sweet
Out of the Question…Into the Mystery
Waterbrook Press, 2004
pgs 85-86
Sadly, for some Christians the story has stopped. God has done all that God is going to do, and God’s voice in embalmed in a book. This turns the work of evangelists into being the salesmen of a tradition, not Christ-introducers and life-connectors to an on-going, never-ending story.
For some, the stories are frozen awaiting a future Parousia. The problem with freeze-dried stories is the same with anything that has the living water drained out of it: They taste dreadful, feel like brickbats, and crumble when you hold them too tightly.
For some the story has run out of steam and needs revision and reinvention – as if God didn’t get it right the first time. This turns reading the Bible into minesweeping the Scriptures for hidden detonations. For some not only is there nothing new under the sun. There is no Sun.
For some the story is an addendum to their own story, like some guilt outing to Disney World that’s crammed into a calendar so that everyone can say, ‘We did it.’ It is only when our story gets grafted onto God’s story, the story that came as a gift and grace, that our own story comes to life.
For others the stories of God are not entries in their family diary, but laws for living passed by some divine legislation. This is the biggest reason why Jesus’s storytelling was deemed sheer madness, dissed as mere children’s stories. Where was the Law of Moses? Where were the words of the prophets and ancestors? Where was even God in these parables of His?
Evangelism is the practice of out-narrating the world by telling a much better story, a story that can win the hearts and minds of the world’s peoples, a story of love, harmony, and peace. People are being seduced by the wrong stories, partly because we don’t how to tell the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth.
Evangelism is not convincing other people to accept the propositions you believe. Evangelism is inviting other people to begin a relationship with Jesus – to go on a journey with him and make his story their story. If the basic issue of evangelism is how we help people meet Jesus, then evangelism is not doctrinal transactions but spiritual interactions.”
Leonard Sweet
Out of the Question…Into the Mystery
Waterbrook Press, 2004
pgs 85-86
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