Friday, July 10, 2009
Priests
What would it look like if we thought of ourselves as priests? Not Wicca or Pagan... but priests of Elohim with the call to intermediate between man and God (or Jesus)?
Denominational Differences?
The question was something like:
What are our thoughts about the doctoral differences between the churches and should there be much attention given those differences?
What are our thoughts about the doctoral differences between the churches and should there be much attention given those differences?
Saturday, June 27, 2009
What is the Good News?
The following is my thoughts and struggles toward articulating a philosophy of ministry in the south specifically, as well as, in any other context (hopefully).
When I am talking to someone in the south and I make the statement "the gospel" or "good news" The first and only thing is, is that I am referring to salvation.
(Step 1) Salvation being:
"I am a sinner that is danger of going to hell and that if I do not want to be tormented for all eternity in this hell, I need to recognize that I am a sinner, confess it to Jesus Christ and accept that He was the sacrifice that had to be given to save me." This is usually what is articulated in especially the south and many churches around the U.S.. There is some focus on the kingdom:
(Step 2) The Kingdom as I would argue it is:
The Kingdom is about helping the poor, self sacrifice, loving your enemies, being ethical about business practices, being transparent, humility, loving and desiring to know people other than people that look like you, acting on social justice, caring for widows and orphans, learning to be poor in spirit, and much much more.
Over the last view years I have struggled with hearing that the kingdom was what it means to be a Christian, while in my time at TFC mostly hearing from the culture at large that Christianity is about salvation.
OK so here is the point of this theological system (Dave I only call it a system because they need me to. If I had it my way this note would be one title and a sentence "Nate's N.U.T.S. Love God, Love People")
Take step two and show the world there is something more to the world. Jesus offers a life of excitement, joy, beauty, creativity, love, acceptance, companionship, everything can be found in the kingdom. Than when they are around those that are doing this "kingdom thing" thats when we say hey come to really know Jesus, come and know your accepted and that Jesus paid for the way for you to truly know God and see the kingdom in a way that only I person "saved" can. Thus completing step one.
I have been listening to people smarter than me say this stuff for a long time and this is how I word it (for the most part).
When I am talking to someone in the south and I make the statement "the gospel" or "good news" The first and only thing is, is that I am referring to salvation.
(Step 1) Salvation being:
"I am a sinner that is danger of going to hell and that if I do not want to be tormented for all eternity in this hell, I need to recognize that I am a sinner, confess it to Jesus Christ and accept that He was the sacrifice that had to be given to save me." This is usually what is articulated in especially the south and many churches around the U.S.. There is some focus on the kingdom:
(Step 2) The Kingdom as I would argue it is:
The Kingdom is about helping the poor, self sacrifice, loving your enemies, being ethical about business practices, being transparent, humility, loving and desiring to know people other than people that look like you, acting on social justice, caring for widows and orphans, learning to be poor in spirit, and much much more.
Over the last view years I have struggled with hearing that the kingdom was what it means to be a Christian, while in my time at TFC mostly hearing from the culture at large that Christianity is about salvation.
OK so here is the point of this theological system (Dave I only call it a system because they need me to. If I had it my way this note would be one title and a sentence "Nate's N.U.T.S. Love God, Love People")
Take step two and show the world there is something more to the world. Jesus offers a life of excitement, joy, beauty, creativity, love, acceptance, companionship, everything can be found in the kingdom. Than when they are around those that are doing this "kingdom thing" thats when we say hey come to really know Jesus, come and know your accepted and that Jesus paid for the way for you to truly know God and see the kingdom in a way that only I person "saved" can. Thus completing step one.
I have been listening to people smarter than me say this stuff for a long time and this is how I word it (for the most part).
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Pray to santa god?
I no longer believe in the santa god that I used to believe in. The book "Blue Like Jazz" was a revelation to me! Now I am some what confused about how to pray and when to pray so I default to trying to follow The Lords Prayer. What do you think?
Theology
What, Exactly, Is Theology?
By Tony Jones
an exclusive excerpt from the book
The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier (now available in paperback):
Most human activity is inherently theological, in that it reflects what we believe to be the case about God—who God is, what God wants from us, how involved God is in the world, and so forth. The house I buy—where it is, how big it is, how much it costs—is a theological decision. It reflects what I believe about the following questions and more: Does God care where I live? Does God care how I spend my money? Does God favor the city or the suburbs? Does God care about energy use? Does God favor public transportation? Maybe I believe that God cares about none of these things, in which case my decision to purchase the biggest house I can afford in the nicest part of town reflects my theological belief that God is not concerned with such things. Similarly, decisions that are much more mundane also reflect our beliefs about who God is and how God interacts with us. Some people pray for a good parking spot when they're driving to the mall. Others ask, ''If God is allowing genocide inDarfur , why would he intervene in the traffic patterns at my shopping mall?!?'' - what do you think?
By Tony Jones
an exclusive excerpt from the book
The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier (now available in paperback):
Most human activity is inherently theological, in that it reflects what we believe to be the case about God—who God is, what God wants from us, how involved God is in the world, and so forth. The house I buy—where it is, how big it is, how much it costs—is a theological decision. It reflects what I believe about the following questions and more: Does God care where I live? Does God care how I spend my money? Does God favor the city or the suburbs? Does God care about energy use? Does God favor public transportation? Maybe I believe that God cares about none of these things, in which case my decision to purchase the biggest house I can afford in the nicest part of town reflects my theological belief that God is not concerned with such things. Similarly, decisions that are much more mundane also reflect our beliefs about who God is and how God interacts with us. Some people pray for a good parking spot when they're driving to the mall. Others ask, ''If God is allowing genocide in
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tolerant?
What do you think of the word 'Tolerance' when referring to others political or religious views? Seems the word is used to say "you can talk but I don't have to listen." What do you think?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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