John Maxwell is Wired (8.1)

WHAT ARE YOU COMMITTED TO? By Dr. John C. Maxwell

What do you think of when you hear the word commitment?  Perhaps you picture a loving husband caring for his invalid wife.  Maybe you envision a business owner who puts her resources and reputation on the line to lead her company through a crisis.  Perhaps you see a dedicated teacher who spends hours of his own time tutoring underprivileged children.  Or maybe the scene that comes to mind is one of a group of soldiers who willingly enters harm's way to protect their countrymen.

These are all wonderful examples of commitment.  But have you considered the fact that individuals who act in less admirable ways also are committed?  People who watch the clock at work are committed to making it through the day so they can go home.  People who spend most of their free time in front of the television are committed to taking life easy.  People who cheat on their income taxes are committed to beating the system.

Continue reading “John Maxwell is Wired (8.1)” →

Rick Warren on Life’s Meaning

God's purpose gives life meaning and value by Rick Warren

One
of the reasons life is devalued in today's culture is that many people
value their own happiness and fulfillment over God's purposes for their
lives.

As a pastor, one way you can protect the sanctity of human life is
to help your people understand that the purpose of their lives is far
greater than personal fulfillment, peace of mind, or even happiness.
It’s far greater than our families, our careers, or even our wildest
dreams and ambitions. If they want to know why they were placed on this
planet, they must begin with God. Each of us was born by his purpose and for his purpose.

Continue reading “Rick Warren on Life’s Meaning” →

Angie Ward on Discerning Hidden Core Values

Every living body – individual or corporate – lives out of values.  Often times these values are not explicitly stated.  In the church not stating these values makes it difficult for new members of the body to find their place.  Their DNA can seem imcompatible with the body's DNA.  In human bodies this leads to rejection … could it mean the same for the church?  As we move through our visioning process in the coming months this is the God-prompt that pushes me … what is our DNA (what are the core values and beliefs we hold dear)?  Read how Angie Ward describes another situation and see if any of it looks familiar to you? (WAB).

"Discerning Your Church's Hidden Core Values: It's the unstated, underlying purpose that really drives a church" by Angie Ward, Leadership Journal (January 17, 2005).

A lot has been written lately about the church and culture; most of it, however, refers to the culture around a church. Just as important is the culture within a church, the shared attitudes, values, and beliefs that define a church and shape its practices.

Fresh out of seminary, my husband and I began ministry at an established, 850-member church in a large city. During the interview process, we were impressed by the church's forward-thinking mission and values, and we were excited to join such an apparently dynamic ministry. As time passed, however, it became clear that there was far more bark than bite at that church, missionally speaking.

Continue reading “Angie Ward on Discerning Hidden Core Values” →

2.2 – Assurance of Jesus – Matthew 1:21

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (NIV).

"She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (NRSV).

Reflections on Matthew 1:21:

  1. Read Matthew 1:18-25.  Who is the speaker?  Who is the listener?
  2. This dream came to Joseph in the midst of wrestling with how to put off his marriage to Mary now that she was "with child."  When have you wrestled through the night over a difficult decision?  What decision tugs at you today?  Are you ready to let Jesus keep you from following through on wrong intentions or save you from the destructive consequences?
  3. Within the context of the Roman Empire, Mary and Joseph, Nazareth and Bethlehem, are of no significance.  If God chose to save through world beginning at a point of worldly insignificance, what does that mean for you?  for our church?  for the world?

Brian McLaren’s New Kind of Christian

Link: The Christian Century Magazine.

Every recent book review loves to quote Brian McLaren ‘s definition of his theological leanings as a “missional evangelical post/protestant liberal/conservative mystical/poetic biblical charismatic/contemplative fundamentalist/calvinist anabaptist/anglican methodist catholic green incarnational depressed-yet-hopeful emergent unfinished CHRISTIAN.”  Take a moment to get acquainted with this voice … Brian has a depth of compassion and maturity that reflects his pastoral heart.

"New kind of Christian: Brian McLaren’s Emergent Voice" by Jason Byassee, The Christian Century (November 30, 2004).

Brian McLaren’s two most important books—A New Kind of Christian and the recent A Generous Orthodoxy—both open by raising the specter of an evangelical pastor leaving the ministry or the church altogether. The fictional lead character in New Kind is poised to abandon his ministry until a wise new friend initiates him into the ways of postmodern Christianity, rehabilitating his ministry and life. Orthodoxy reaches out to the disaffected in first-person plural: “So many of us have come close to withdrawing from the Christian community. It’s not because of Jesus and his good news, but because of frustrations with religious politics, dubious theological propositions, difficulties in interpreting passages of the Bible that seem barbaric, or embarrassments from church history.” Something has to change, or those on the ledge may go ahead and jump.

McLaren wants to make space for someone to be “postconservative.” According to the subtitle of A Generous Orthodoxy, he himself is a “missional evangelical post/protestant liberal/conservative mystical/poetic biblical charismatic/contemplative fundamentalist/calvinist anabaptist/anglican methodist catholic green incarnational depressed-yet-hopeful emergent unfinished CHRISTIAN.”

Continue reading “Brian McLaren’s New Kind of Christian” →

Brian McLaren’s New Kind of Christian

Link: The Christian Century Magazine.

Every recent book review loves to quote Brian McLaren ‘s definition of his theological leanings as a “missional evangelical post/protestant liberal/conservative mystical/poetic biblical charismatic/contemplative fundamentalist/calvinist anabaptist/anglican methodist catholic green incarnational depressed-yet-hopeful emergent unfinished CHRISTIAN.”  Take a moment to get acquainted with this voice … Brian has a depth of compassion and maturity that reflects his pastoral heart.

"New kind of Christian: Brian McLaren’s Emergent Voice" by Jason Byassee, The Christian Century (November 30, 2004).

Brian McLaren’s two most important books—A New Kind of Christian and the recent A Generous Orthodoxy—both open by raising the specter of an evangelical pastor leaving the ministry or the church altogether. The fictional lead character in New Kind is poised to abandon his ministry until a wise new friend initiates him into the ways of postmodern Christianity, rehabilitating his ministry and life. Orthodoxy reaches out to the disaffected in first-person plural: “So many of us have come close to withdrawing from the Christian community. It’s not because of Jesus and his good news, but because of frustrations with religious politics, dubious theological propositions, difficulties in interpreting passages of the Bible that seem barbaric, or embarrassments from church history.” Something has to change, or those on the ledge may go ahead and jump.

McLaren wants to make space for someone to be “postconservative.” According to the subtitle of A Generous Orthodoxy, he himself is a “missional evangelical post/protestant liberal/conservative mystical/poetic biblical charismatic/contemplative fundamentalist/calvinist anabaptist/anglican methodist catholic green incarnational depressed-yet-hopeful emergent unfinished CHRISTIAN.”

Continue reading “Brian McLaren’s New Kind of Christian” →

Brian McLaren’s New Kind of Christian

Link: The Christian Century Magazine.

Every recent book review loves to quote Brian McLaren ‘s definition of his theological leanings as a “missional evangelical post/protestant liberal/conservative mystical/poetic biblical charismatic/contemplative fundamentalist/calvinist anabaptist/anglican methodist catholic green incarnational depressed-yet-hopeful emergent unfinished CHRISTIAN.”  Take a moment to get acquainted with this voice … Brian has a depth of compassion and maturity that reflects his pastoral heart.

"New kind of Christian: Brian McLaren’s Emergent Voice" by Jason Byassee, The Christian Century (November 30, 2004).

Brian McLaren’s two most important books—A New Kind of Christian and the recent A Generous Orthodoxy—both open by raising the specter of an evangelical pastor leaving the ministry or the church altogether. The fictional lead character in New Kind is poised to abandon his ministry until a wise new friend initiates him into the ways of postmodern Christianity, rehabilitating his ministry and life. Orthodoxy reaches out to the disaffected in first-person plural: “So many of us have come close to withdrawing from the Christian community. It’s not because of Jesus and his good news, but because of frustrations with religious politics, dubious theological propositions, difficulties in interpreting passages of the Bible that seem barbaric, or embarrassments from church history.” Something has to change, or those on the ledge may go ahead and jump.

McLaren wants to make space for someone to be “postconservative.” According to the subtitle of A Generous Orthodoxy, he himself is a “missional evangelical post/protestant liberal/conservative mystical/poetic biblical charismatic/contemplative fundamentalist/calvinist anabaptist/anglican methodist catholic green incarnational depressed-yet-hopeful emergent unfinished CHRISTIAN.”

Continue reading “Brian McLaren’s New Kind of Christian” →

The Emergent Matrix

Link: The Christian Century Magazine.

I have been paying attention to quiet revolution going on within Western Christianity … especially the next generations (whatever label you want to pin on them).  The buzzwords are numerous, the spritual paths often divergent, and the theology is kind of fun.  Scott Bader-Save explores the terrain here.

“The Emergent matrix: A new kind of church?” by Scott Bader-Saye, The Christian Century (November 30, 2004).

Last spring the Nashville Convention Center played host to both the National Pastors Convention and the Emergent Convention. While the former was largely geared toward evangelical baby boomers, the latter catered to Gen X and Millennial evangelicals ( and “postevangelicals” ) who are trying to come to grips with postmodernity. Though the two conventions intentionally overlapped, that proximity suggests a closer kinship than may actually exist. Indeed, the professed goal of many in the “Emerging Church” is to embody an alternative to the model of the Willow Creek, seeker-driven church that blankets the contemporary evangelical landscape like kudzu on a southern hillside.

At first glance the differences between the two conventions seemed to be primarily stylistic: the Emergent music was hipper, the videos faster, the clothes trendier, the technology more sophisticated. But for many of the Emergent leaders, the convention’s flashiness did more to confuse than to clarify the nature of the emerging church.

Continue reading “The Emergent Matrix” →

The Emergent Matrix

Link: The Christian Century Magazine.

I have been paying attention to quiet revolution going on within Western Christianity … especially the next generations (whatever label you want to pin on them).  The buzzwords are numerous, the spritual paths often divergent, and the theology is kind of fun.  Scott Bader-Save explores the terrain here.

“The Emergent matrix: A new kind of church?” by Scott Bader-Saye, The Christian Century (November 30, 2004).

Last spring the Nashville Convention Center played host to both the National Pastors Convention and the Emergent Convention. While the former was largely geared toward evangelical baby boomers, the latter catered to Gen X and Millennial evangelicals ( and “postevangelicals” ) who are trying to come to grips with postmodernity. Though the two conventions intentionally overlapped, that proximity suggests a closer kinship than may actually exist. Indeed, the professed goal of many in the “Emerging Church” is to embody an alternative to the model of the Willow Creek, seeker-driven church that blankets the contemporary evangelical landscape like kudzu on a southern hillside.

At first glance the differences between the two conventions seemed to be primarily stylistic: the Emergent music was hipper, the videos faster, the clothes trendier, the technology more sophisticated. But for many of the Emergent leaders, the convention’s flashiness did more to confuse than to clarify the nature of the emerging church.

Continue reading “The Emergent Matrix” →

The Emergent Matrix

Link: The Christian Century Magazine.

I have been paying attention to quiet revolution going on within Western Christianity … especially the next generations (whatever label you want to pin on them).  The buzzwords are numerous, the spritual paths often divergent, and the theology is kind of fun.  Scott Bader-Save explores the terrain here.

“The Emergent matrix: A new kind of church?” by Scott Bader-Saye, The Christian Century (November 30, 2004).

Last spring the Nashville Convention Center played host to both the National Pastors Convention and the Emergent Convention. While the former was largely geared toward evangelical baby boomers, the latter catered to Gen X and Millennial evangelicals ( and “postevangelicals” ) who are trying to come to grips with postmodernity. Though the two conventions intentionally overlapped, that proximity suggests a closer kinship than may actually exist. Indeed, the professed goal of many in the “Emerging Church” is to embody an alternative to the model of the Willow Creek, seeker-driven church that blankets the contemporary evangelical landscape like kudzu on a southern hillside.

At first glance the differences between the two conventions seemed to be primarily stylistic: the Emergent music was hipper, the videos faster, the clothes trendier, the technology more sophisticated. But for many of the Emergent leaders, the convention’s flashiness did more to confuse than to clarify the nature of the emerging church.

Continue reading “The Emergent Matrix” →