Here is a good article about Brian McLaren's New Christianity.
This is a good review. It is necessary because Brian McLaren leads people away from Christ not towards him. Lots of people enjoy his books, but they are not Christian truth.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
1 Peter 2:9
1 Peter 2:9
What a great picture of the Church. Obviously we have not always looked like this. We have acted carelessly, fought bloody wars, and scarred parts of history. But this is God's design and description of us.
We are this, that we might praise God, who by his grace moved us from darkness to light, from the power and delusions of Satan to the steady rock, the foundation, the corner Stone, our Lord Jesus.
We should not be that special. We should not be that different, just another club, organization, or group. But no. He has moved us from darkness to light and that makes all the difference in the world.
What a great picture of the Church. Obviously we have not always looked like this. We have acted carelessly, fought bloody wars, and scarred parts of history. But this is God's design and description of us.
We are this, that we might praise God, who by his grace moved us from darkness to light, from the power and delusions of Satan to the steady rock, the foundation, the corner Stone, our Lord Jesus.
We should not be that special. We should not be that different, just another club, organization, or group. But no. He has moved us from darkness to light and that makes all the difference in the world.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Systemic Issues
Systemic Issues:
I worked at an IT help desk. During this time, I learned something about change, systems, and people.
I worked for a company that supported another company that moved from a paper system to an internet based system. The company supported veterinary clinics across the US. Therefore, many, many middle aged women, who (as they remind me) have for so long used a paper system, now have to convert to an internet based system. This causes all sorts of confusion, anger, and all sorts of distress. My job is to help these women change from the old to the new. As they would see it, they are changing from a system that works, to a system that is annoying, confusing, and purposeless. Most of the calls are pleasant, because the women are pleasant, just confused. I see myself as the man who does not bring them fish, but one who teaches them to fish for themselves. I try to give more guidance than answers.
However, as with the case with people, confused people can be pleasant, but they can also be angry. Their anger then is directed toward the help desk agent (me). Here is one of these cases:
A woman called who couldn't sign up for the new system (typical). I gave her guidance. I told her that in order to sign up everyone had to have an email address. This did not sit well with her. (Keep in mind I am not sarcastic to the women, this would just be counter productive. Also keep in mind this is a rare case, not the typical response.)
"Well, three of my girls don't have email."
"Well ma'am, what I would recommend is that you go to Yahoo! or Hotmail and sign them up for a free account. The way the system works is that you have to have an email address in order to sign up."
"That is crap. These girls don't want email addresses. I don't want to sign up for email addresses. This system is crap."
Right after this conversation, I read 1 Peter 2:4-8.
Believing in Christ is on some level a system of thought and believe. God created a good world. Disobedience to him frayed, mutated, or messed up the good creation. His plan of forgiveness and redemption runs through the work of his Son, Jesus, on the cross. A recreation begins and ends with him. Our hearts are changed, our minds renewed. This is the plan and system of salvation that God established.
However in 1 Peter 2:4-8, we find that some don't accept or want to accept this system. Some want to be really, really bad and in that way rebel against the system. Others want to try to be really, really good so that God owns them salvation. This is also rebelling against the system; essentially saying, "This system is crap." In both forms, people find themselves rejecting the work of Jesus to not only change themselves from the inside out, but also all of creation, starting with the heart of man. In that way, the foundation stone (Jesus) is rejected and he then becomes not a foundation but a "stone that causes men to stumble," one that "makes them fall." But how precious and how good for those whose foundation is Jesus.
I worked at an IT help desk. During this time, I learned something about change, systems, and people.
I worked for a company that supported another company that moved from a paper system to an internet based system. The company supported veterinary clinics across the US. Therefore, many, many middle aged women, who (as they remind me) have for so long used a paper system, now have to convert to an internet based system. This causes all sorts of confusion, anger, and all sorts of distress. My job is to help these women change from the old to the new. As they would see it, they are changing from a system that works, to a system that is annoying, confusing, and purposeless. Most of the calls are pleasant, because the women are pleasant, just confused. I see myself as the man who does not bring them fish, but one who teaches them to fish for themselves. I try to give more guidance than answers.
However, as with the case with people, confused people can be pleasant, but they can also be angry. Their anger then is directed toward the help desk agent (me). Here is one of these cases:
A woman called who couldn't sign up for the new system (typical). I gave her guidance. I told her that in order to sign up everyone had to have an email address. This did not sit well with her. (Keep in mind I am not sarcastic to the women, this would just be counter productive. Also keep in mind this is a rare case, not the typical response.)
"Well, three of my girls don't have email."
"Well ma'am, what I would recommend is that you go to Yahoo! or Hotmail and sign them up for a free account. The way the system works is that you have to have an email address in order to sign up."
"That is crap. These girls don't want email addresses. I don't want to sign up for email addresses. This system is crap."
Right after this conversation, I read 1 Peter 2:4-8.
Believing in Christ is on some level a system of thought and believe. God created a good world. Disobedience to him frayed, mutated, or messed up the good creation. His plan of forgiveness and redemption runs through the work of his Son, Jesus, on the cross. A recreation begins and ends with him. Our hearts are changed, our minds renewed. This is the plan and system of salvation that God established.
However in 1 Peter 2:4-8, we find that some don't accept or want to accept this system. Some want to be really, really bad and in that way rebel against the system. Others want to try to be really, really good so that God owns them salvation. This is also rebelling against the system; essentially saying, "This system is crap." In both forms, people find themselves rejecting the work of Jesus to not only change themselves from the inside out, but also all of creation, starting with the heart of man. In that way, the foundation stone (Jesus) is rejected and he then becomes not a foundation but a "stone that causes men to stumble," one that "makes them fall." But how precious and how good for those whose foundation is Jesus.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Church Growth Ideas
So I just read this article. Check it out first.
Basically what the churches are focusing on in this article is how they are perceived by the outside world. Worship services are graded on how they are perceived by nonchristians. Is it friendly? How was the sermon? And so on.
The Bible does teach us to be conscious of how we appear to those on the outside (Titus 1:6-7, here this speaks of individuals, but also can extent to groups). However, the problem here is that these churches are over concerned with how they appear. We need balance in everything we do. If I walk leaning too far to the left, I will fall over. If we are too concerned (and maybe only concerned) with how we appear to outsiders, we will fall.
Instead, let's look 1 Peter 2:5, I think this speaks to part of the Church's identity.
In the verse, we are called a holy priesthood. Generally this means we are to:
I think the whole idea of wanting the make the worship service experience enjoyable to outsiders falls under #4. God is loving and welcoming to sinners. He sent grace to the world! We want to be loving and welcoming as well. But is this not an overemphasis? Is this not too far? Grading a church's effectiveness, usefulness, or Presence fill-ness, basing it on what outsiders think.
We must not be so consumed with church number growth that we forget about the other functions of the Church. We must not be so consumed with one tree that we forget about the forest.
Basically what the churches are focusing on in this article is how they are perceived by the outside world. Worship services are graded on how they are perceived by nonchristians. Is it friendly? How was the sermon? And so on.
The Bible does teach us to be conscious of how we appear to those on the outside (Titus 1:6-7, here this speaks of individuals, but also can extent to groups). However, the problem here is that these churches are over concerned with how they appear. We need balance in everything we do. If I walk leaning too far to the left, I will fall over. If we are too concerned (and maybe only concerned) with how we appear to outsiders, we will fall.
Instead, let's look 1 Peter 2:5, I think this speaks to part of the Church's identity.
In the verse, we are called a holy priesthood. Generally this means we are to:
- Reflect God's holiness (Lev. 19:1)
- Offer spiritual sacrifices (Heb. 13:15)
- Intercede for man before God (Moses does this here, Exodus 32:9-14, but actually read the whole chapter)
- Represent God before man (Matthew 5:43-48)
I think the whole idea of wanting the make the worship service experience enjoyable to outsiders falls under #4. God is loving and welcoming to sinners. He sent grace to the world! We want to be loving and welcoming as well. But is this not an overemphasis? Is this not too far? Grading a church's effectiveness, usefulness, or Presence fill-ness, basing it on what outsiders think.
We must not be so consumed with church number growth that we forget about the other functions of the Church. We must not be so consumed with one tree that we forget about the forest.
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