Osteen vs. Driscoll

Three minutes you may never get back, but something I think you should see. My roommate Leaha is a fan of Mark Driscoll and is planning to take me to see him teach live - since I missed his appearance at Willingdon (good thing though... watch it on Willigdon's site - all 1hour+ of it). Regardless of my feelings about Mark Driscoll and women in the Church he has some very valuable points about the state of our general faith in North America

The Emotional Bible

We had an interesting experience as staff here at UCM last week and so I thought I would write about it. It happened on monday as we were working on the study for this week which focuses on the story of Jesus and the blind man found in John 9. As we read, we found ourselves giggling and then full out laughing at the impertinent answers this man was giving the Pharisees. At one point he even goes so far as to jokingly ask them if the reason they are so interested in Jesus is that they want to become his disciples too. It reminded me again of just how full of emotion the bible is and how often we miss it in our desire to be "serious" about the bible. It's a shame really when we do that we remove so much from the human experience of the writers. We miss crying out in joy and in mourning with the Psalmist, we miss the joy of Paul as he writes to the Phillipians and we miss his anger as he writes to the Galatians. Pehaps most importantly we miss the emotional nature of Jesus we miss his laughter and good nature as he blesses the children and bounces them on his knee, we miss his compassion when he weeps over the tomb of lazarus, and we miss his zeal and righteous anger when he storms into the temple and throws out the money changers and merchants. In our attempts to be serious about the bible and treat it seriously, which is appropriate, we often try to strip away all of the humanity and emotion of the text but the truth is that the bible was written by real people. People with emotions, people who laughed and cried and sometimes even questioned God's decisions. People a lot like us.

Heaven and earth meet.

Last summer I read Simply Christian by N.T. Wright, in it he claimed that we are the new temple of God. This wasn't a new revelation to me I had read 1 Corinthians. Then he went on to describe all the things that it meant to be a temple of God. He said that the temple was the place where heaven( the place that God dwells) and earth overlap. Kind of a transcending place between two dimensions. In reading John 7:37-38 Jesus says "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." Jesus is claiming to be the new temple and promising to make us the new temple has well.The implication is that now we as followers of Christ have become the place where heaven and earth over lap. I don't know about you but this excited me and bothered me all at the same time.
It is a pretty lofty thought that I am the temple of God the place where Heaven and earth over lap. Wow! The problem is I am an overlap in the dimensons of heaven and earth, and if people want to see God thay can look at me as this was God's intention for true humanity.......but I am fallen, yucky, full of false motives and less than what God intended me to be as a human. The reality is though that I am the Temple of God through Jesus Christ the place where heaven and earth overlap. It is a reality I need to explore more.

worship

Two years ago I went to a Coldplay show in Vancouver. It was really good, and gave me an emotional phyisical response, I call the warm fuzzies. Afterward I talked to a friend and she said that she found herself wanting to raise her hands in worship! This really disturbed her because Coldplay, isn't trying to get you to worship God, they are trying to entertain you. I have and know many others who in their youth sought out the warm fuzzies in worship, they were looking for a music induced emotional physical responses. In fact for many of us these moments where our first encounters with God's presence. But a maturing faith begins to recongnize that these responses( warm fuzzies) are not alway God given. and in fact can be misleading about the nature of our relationship with God. I remember feeling those same warm fuzzies with new relationship and ot
her things in my live that in fact were ungodly.
Relating to God is hard, difficult, convicting and stretching. Sometimes more like a cold glass of water in the face, or nothingness. Henri Nouwen in describing his own regular quiet time said it was a time of sleepiness, frustration, and distraction. to be honest that is more true than the lights the sound and video of the modern worship concert. I am challenged more an mor eto a depth of relationship that doesn't look like our cultures version of entertainment.

Worship?

Shaun Groves recently posted a series on worship – He indicated that our concept of worship is distorted – that worship is not what happens at the beginning of a service – that is worship music… I had this horrible realization that he is right about two Saturday’s ago when Willingdon hosted a worship conference. Willingdon and a worship conference – alliteration aside – the two don’t really go together in my books, but whatever. I got to hear Paul Baloche lead worship, supposedly from the introduction to the service this was to an experience equal to Bono leading worship – the supreme. Already I was uneasy – does it matter who leads – multi-million seller or first time 19 year old and his guitar? I almost left just after it started, it made me ill – Leaha looked at me – when the song ended I said I can’t do this – this is too bizarre. This is not worship it’s a concert, a visual overload of U2 proportions – moving lights, moving screens, moving people (remember I’m a Mennonite – people don’t dance and flail around – this woman just in front of me had actions for everything – there are actions for worship songs? Isn’t it just a gimmick to keep the kids hands away from each other and their noses?) It made me sad – to be in this room of people jumping and shouting and wondering, are you not present in the silence? How can I hear God when I cannot hear myself? Or is that the point? Claim I'm in His presence while ignoring all that I truly do not want to hear from Him? Like stop dating that person, leave your job, love your parents, trust me, give to me - your time, your money, your LIFE. When did worship become more like a concert experience and less like something, different - maybe sacred?

11The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" ( Courtesy of http://www.bbintl.org/bible/niv/niv1Ki19.html)

I realize the scripture isn't directly to do with worship, but it speaks to our idea/belief that when God speaks to us - it's in your face, loud, angels and the whole "Behold unto you, you shall have a husband - 5'11, blond hair and his name shall be ___." It does not work that way - it is persistent and it's more often than not quiet, through friends, circumstance and any other number of less direct methods.

Does worship need to be razzle dazzle, glitz and all that to be worship? Or in the end does it really come down to we've lost the ability to understand worship? What does worship look like to you?

Social Justice Day

When I received the Facebook notification about Social Justice Day the first thing I though of was a recent post of mine that originated out of a shlog/posting on Shaun Groves website - he had posted a YouTube account of Eric Volz. I'd seen the MySpace blurbs and etc but never stopped to long enough to pay attention/listen to it.

So have a listen - do whatever research you feel is necessary if you want - but the purpose in me posting this is to articulate the degrees to which social justice is being consumed and slowly destroyed. We see starving kids via World Vision and some how think that's all the social justice entails, or maybe we just don't think that anything will make a difference. We may feel helpless, but we aren't and it sure isn't a feeling we should accept or let pass us by without a second thought. So have a look, expand your ideas on the whole social justice thing, maybe see that injustice is all around us, and despite feeling overwhelmed we can do the little things.

Things I learned at UCM

HI Seth here the UCM director.
for fun I thought I would write this list, if you have learned something not on the list add it in the comments.

Things I learned at UCM:

1. How to have life long spiritual friends
2. How to play poker
3. An appreciation for death cab for cutie
4. An addiction to facebook
5. How to worship corporately
6. How to study the bible
7. How to baptize people
   

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome

It is Club's Days again... so you know what that means - free water, small groups sign up and a chance to reconnect after a long summer of slavery to the man (aka work) and freedom from the books.  This is your chance to break away from the bookstore line up and come check us out.    Why?  Well, now is the best time to get connected again, and if you haven't been and for some reason are checking us out - then here's your chance come and see what we're really about.  Contrary to the lack of diversity of the postings, we're actually a diverse group from different denominations, backgrounds and courses of study.  

Other then the sign-up and table in Convocation, we're also hosting a pizza party this week - Thursday September 13 - in the Interfaith Center - which is now located next to the MacKenzie Cafeteria.  Yes, we've moved, to our new and improved digs.

One one last note if you are so inclined to blog/write then forward on those submissions - we're looking to expand our writers base.  You are free to write on any faith related subject.

See You All Around, and again Welcome Back!!

Welcome Back!

For those of you who still check this blog, first of all thanks for hanging in there. Secondly as you may know, it is fall again. Yes, unfortunately the summer has past and so begins the next 13 weeks of fun, fear and fatigue. But before all that starts come check us out - at Clubs Week, the always essential pizza party and of course a bible study or Worship and Prayer - make us part of your schedule - maybe in the area you would normally procrastinate in.... I know it's a lot to ask to give up your procrastination time, but lets be honest it's so much better to come out, meet friends - old and new, chow down on some cupcakes (if you're in my bible study) and even learn then spending an hour on PerezHilton or play solitaire or something awful like that. Come check out the new InterFaith Center, Clubs Week or whatever else we've got in store for you. And just in case you aren't aware, we're even on Facebook - because that's where all the cool people are - so join in.

Back to School Reading....

Before the massive reading loads start, please hear me on this – pick up Henri Nouwen’s With Open Hands and keep it in your backpack. When you’ve got a break, like that time you sit down the with the Peak (you all read it – so don’t deny it), open it up and read a chapter – it’s like 10 pages at the most – big type and small book – the whole book is the equivalent of text in one column of your CHEM 121 text. I know your professor won’t agree, but this is so much better, even if you like CHEM, read this. The chapters can and should be over and over – and then once you think you are ready read the prayer at the end of the chapter. It took me about a month and a half to get through the 100 pages and I’m ready to start again. I would love to quote from the end of the book – but that would spoil it – as the book progresses as you do with the consideration of prayer. All I can tell you is, if you are sincere in your desire to see Christ outside the constructs, outside or through your brokenness, baggage or your doubt – read it.

It has spoken to me a reiteration of a message I didn’t want to hear and one that I am sure has cost me a friend already – but you know, while it may not be the way I would have chosen… it’s the one our open hands indicate our hearts are willing to make.
On another note: Stay tuned for Clubs Days and all that fun new semester stuff… Seth and this tireless crew has been slaving away I’m sure – and you know there may be some vegan cupcakes involved… is that incentive?

The Reading Continues

As a result of The Irresistible Revolution, I have started reading the books Claiborne footnoted. And being my over-achiever self I have started 2 of them at the same time, in addition to all my new cookbooks. The Long Loneliness, by Dorothy Day and Henri Nouwen's With Open Hands. Both are wonderful, but somewhat different. Nouwen's book is primarily about prayer, in a way that I find constructive, especially in this transitional time of "adulthood," as cliche as that may sound. Nouwen's discusses the things we hold onto, the silence we are afraid of, and other issue that we may or may not believe are related to our prayer life. The Long Loneliness... the review is coming - this is what happens when you try and do too many things at one time.

More irresistible than my vegan cupcakes....

A friend of mine, Leaha, requested my opinion on Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution. She had read it, and wanted to swap with me for my copy of Messy Chrisitianity. As I've implied before I do not normally read "Christian" books in any form, the ones I have read consist of Don Miller and Mike Yaconelli - the kind of authors I would sit down, have coffee and share with. Miller and Yaconelli are often criticized for their post modern style, which is more a euphemism for "anti pop culture christian." It isn't watered down, it is honest: shows doubt, brokenness and genuine grace, nothing cheap and easy. I mentioned in my blog that I feel like I should just walk around with this book, and give it to everyone who does not seem to understand me. My family and friends all view me now as a hippie, all peace, love and save the animals. Personally I find it offensive. I understand the label, but I believe it belittles the choices and the changes I have and desire to make, just like the word "rebel" or even "christian" have lost their true definition. There is so much more than just a movement away from the commercial that I have wanted to see in Willingdon, SFU, or in the Church in general for a long time now. It is a change in the hearts and minds of believers to see that we have got it all wrong. We have got this loving our neighbors thing wrong if we declare war or if we are attempting to love our friends and families into heaven by cheapening grace.More often then not in reading this book, I felt like stopping, calling up The Simple Way and saying will you take me? Can you really use me as I am? Claiborne actually mentions several serving organizations from: The Simple Way to Mother Theresa's Home for the Dying. The latter especially has me captured. He had me crying on the bus with his retelling of his time in India (word to the wise - do not read on the bus if you are prone to tears or Amen's). On top of all the amazing encouragement, insight and hope that I can do what I dream with my life, he reassures the part of my soul that loathes Christian books - all the profits from sales go direct to charity - he doesn't see a cent. And he even encourages the passing around of the text. Granted I read Leaha's copy, and will be returning a new copy to her (I made notes in her's), so you can have mine. And I may even buy a dozen more for Club's Day, my brother or for the next person who believes my life would be better married and or living in Canada making a "good" living.

Donald Miller - Through Painted Deserts

Five years ago this August I boarded a Greyhound bus to Abilene, TX. Why? A cheap way to see the USA... Actually no, but 4 days, 6 states offers a whole lot of interesting encounters. There is something about the road trip kind of journey that makes you think. Not in the deep continually kind of way that maybe 4 days in a monastery or some secluded local would have. It is in the moments, like at the LA bus depot, or 2am in the Phoenix bus station that you are faced with truths, bizarre and possibly deeper ones then could be obtained in a lotus pose at dawn. The world is ugly, broken, hot, muggy (San Bernadino at 1am, still 30 degrees). It's also immensely beautiful, in ways we do not understand. I still marvel at the way it all worked out . I took the bus from Abilene to San Antonio and then the train home from there. Couple after couple took me in, talked to me, ate with me, shared with me. I met a retired army nurse on her way to she her daughter, a lady in her late 60's, single and loved to travel and was taking Amtrak around the US, married couple who'd been on the train since New Orleans - heading for San Francisco, their son had bought them the tickets. A couple, the husband nicknamed me Miss America. I could continue, but the point was genuine community and the divine interaction. We miss those moments when we aren't forced to see them. It was not by coincidence that I sat next to a guy at breakfast, my last morning who was studying Russian at a university in Eugene - we talked about orphans and Russia as the couple across from us looked cross eyed. So what does this all have to do with Miller's book? Journeys - both the mental as well as the physical. This work is written like the others in the sense of his style, yet the there is also the physical progress from Dallas to Portland, that parallels Don's journey of sorts (as there was too a journey for me from Vancouver to Texas and back). He attempts to deal with what was his life in Texas - money and all that driven, and what his life was going or could become in Oregon, while in part dealing with just plain old life - getting older, supposedly maturing etc.

He does not come to any grand conclusions or answers, which is not surprising because he does not in Blue Like Jazz either. He does however, at least give you comfort while you work your journey out. Comfort is a good thing especially when Greyhound seats or even the floor of VW van in Miller's case offer reality. So enjoy on your journeys this summer wherever they may take you - as he says "Leave. Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word isn't it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don't worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed."

Does something have to change?

As some of you may know I've been thinking a lot about the issues of faith and more so how do I deal with the multiple manifestation of Christianity within my home. My mother has gone from her strict Baptist roots through rebellion in the 70's and 80's to moderate/vanilla to full on to a version of weaping and wailing, evil is all around us Christian. Her polar opposite is my C.S. Lewis addicted, but will not attend service brother. She scares me and he worries me and about me? I would have to say I could see myself becoming my brother in an effort to distance myself from my mother's faith. So I've decided to follow my head, not a conventional, or maybe even "correct," but with life morphing, what can I do? And so it begins...

We are not a generation of feeling; we are a generation of thought. We have been lead to believe that education above all else will solve everything, that everything from a few more hours on Google to a university degree will provide us with answers. This perceived lack of feeling/emotion/passion has contributed to the way we (current Christians) view our faith and how we enter into a discussion with our peers. It is not longer a method of passionate pleas, revivals and alter calls – been there, done that, that was then, this is now. More accurately translated, we are a post modern society. There are those that argue post modernism is more a euphemism for the end times than an actual event shaping how we interact with each other and our faith. I would have to disagree. Post modernism has been a live in its de-structured, unassembled self since the mid 60’s (give or take) according to the literary world. Everything over or under thought composed into works with out specified meanings due to the very nature of post modernism, “a deliberate mixing of different styles and draws attention to artistic traditions.” (For more on post-modernism – just ask). In the end there is no defined structure, all is accepted, modified, and rearranged. This format is troubling for those who prefer the traditional format of Western Christianity – black, white and repeated. Questions and doubt were present before, however disillusionment and a bizarrely God infused culture were not. The Simpson’s would not have been the source of doctrine for previous generations, nor would Beyonce or Britney Spears been used as Christian role models. All while our own churches look the same as a stadium on Super Bowl weekend. What happened? How are we different? From all this they have emerged, or it emerges… I’m not an expert on the Emergent Church, but I am interested.

Why? Well, I would like to find a place for me, my faith and “Mennonitism,” my passion for social justice to grow within an organic setting. I am a thinker, a writer, as we are after all the Internet/Blog/University Degree mandatory generation. http://www.ginkworld.net/ states:

“welcome to the evolution. we are an emerging/evolving site exploring what it means to be an apprentice of the jesus in today's world. we are striving to be a place where our faith and our lives are hyper linked to the organic; we are connective, missional and relational. our desire is to move in the conversation, to be an active voice while not dominating the conversation.”

Works for me. Community? Yes. Missional? Yes. Relational? Yes. Organic? Yes. Conversation? Yes (we know that I love to talk....) Yet Brian McLaren’s talk of paradigm shifts in Christianity and other loaded phrases that have sparked comments referencing the movement to the end times, heretics and even the church being the work of the anti-Christ has made me wonder. It appears the entire body is polarized between the thinkers (Don Miller etc), and the “feelers” (those yelling heretics at the social justice advocates). What is so wrong with social justice, organic community, discussion or re-evaluating our faith and the Church? Is our doctrine, our faith our Churches so fragile that we can not move and grow within it? It seems to be that Christianity is becoming more of a tow the line, hand over your money for a bigger Church and vote Conservative, instead of feed the hungry, ignore monetary gain and remove the barriers within and outside the Church. Our Church is looking more and more like the first ones, lost in their culture. The sad thing is we should know better.

are you biblically illiterate?

I am more and more moved by this topic, each day as I work with students christian and non at SFU. check out these articles by Jeff Overstreet and others.

http://lookingcloser.blogspot.com/2007/04/are-you-biblically-illiterate-research.html

of course I accept pierced bodies...

I confess I couldn't think of a perfect title so I picked one of my favorite lines from an interview between George Strombolopolous and Tony Campolo (http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1401). I have another confession, while I had heard of Tony Campolo, I didn't really know who he was before the interview, honestly if Jocelyn hadn't blogged about it, I wouldn't have known and I would have cringed my way through the entire thing hoping not to hear the standard lines. Maybe after watching it, some of you will be cringing....I however wasn't.

I would love to blog all sorts of things, or comment on the wide range on comments on his views, and yet I think that defeats the whole purpose. So watch, listen and take from it as you will. Then if you are interested in my opinion find my blog and read it. I would like to add to the title, as far as I'm aware He also takes broken, and scared ones too, just in case you were wondering...

As an aside, March 31st addition of the Vancouver Sun, had an interesting article title, "Blowing Open the Cliches of Evangelical Christians - featuring Geez Magazine - http://www.geezmagazine.org/. It may be of interest to some of you

Bowling rocks

Actually Bowling is OK, hanging out with some very cool people is fun. Cool people what qualifies as cool? I think the things taht impress me about the students in our community, are their willingness to serve others, their desire to grow in Jesus, and a lack of pretension about where they are at,and were God is calling them. Love you guys and so happy you are in my life.

In addition...

I don't normally just blog in these venues, on my own blogs I just spill out whatever and then edit as appropriate and reply to individual commentators... and since the last blog was more in line with that style - apparently I need to clarify.

First and foremost, while I don't believe that vegetarianism is supported by the scriptures, I also don't believe that when we were instructed to care for the animals, that that involved feed lots (cattle), force feed ducks (fois gras), massive fishing/fish farms or caged hens (eggs/chicken). I know I'm sounding like a PETA spokesperson, sorry... and so I've made a choice to go with a simpler diet, and no animal products. The point I was getting at about the resultant being "set apart," is more the idea of indicating with my actions that I am trying to avoid consumerist North American culture, which is eat more than I need, waste, and "rape" the land of everything it has kind of mentality. In relation to spirituality, I believe that it's more the issue that consumerism has become a distraction if not a god for our society, including Christians, it's one that we are totally unaware of, but have willingly allowed to infiltrate our lives with our glossy churches, the booming expansion of Christian media (CBC did an awesome documentary on this about 4-5 years ago), where Christian leaders like James Dobson are calling for more capitalist ventures... This all sort of lead into the discussion on the vegan culture as "wondering out loud" moment, of what the original church must have been like, a group of people the world scoffs at, look weird, act weird etc, but who have bound together to do something they feel is right. In the idea that I believe we lose sight of how, well weird John the Baptist and Jesus really were. I know that animal rights and Christianity are on a different level, and not trying to equate them as such, more just the general idea that both groups were/are passionate about a cause, and were not concerned with being a part of the status quo.

I sure hope that makes sense. If not I would reference my own rambling on my myspace page for a further rationalization of this all.

No chocolate this year...

I didn't receive any chocolates this year, like all the previous years from what I can recall, honestly no big suprise. But it's not that I could eat them anyways, no I'm not on a "diet" nor did I start lent early this year... I'm vegan. But that's not the point of this blog to discuss me because that's what my own blog is for (which you are free to read if you can track it down on myspace). But it is sort of the point. I was talking with Leaha, an SFU student, who just happened be a teammate on the Perm trip in 2003. We're were talking about the events of last week, my being given an awesome new job to have it taken away, and the issue that at my core I am expecting God to continually flame my passion - medicine and that whenever something goes wrong I find myself yelling, "What are you doing letting them blow on the flame?" But doesn't a flame that doesn't extinguish after being blown on burn hotter, stronger? It's that always the case, we want to be cuddled, protected from the true nature of our faith and this world? And with that comes where my veganism and our conversation got interesting. It's my frustration at all that is North American Christianity and it's lack of genunine community - I hear over and over that no one wants to go to C&C or related activities because it's fake... it's all fake. I know it all to well, and I've had enough of it, I've had enough of watching my peers become disillusioned by it all. The thing that frustrates me the most I guess is that now being vegan, and I'm going to say I am, is that they (vegans) have this amazing supportive community, that nurtures regardless of perfection, we all have those moments of weakness when that cheesecake or what have you gets to you. They blog about it, they form groups to bake and talk about and in the process seek to impact their communities on every level - isn't the Church suppose to look like that - like crazy hippies who value love, life and community over their new house, BMW parked across two spaces in the church parking lot, or their mega church with all the gloss you can handle... The more I look at the Todd Agnew lyrics for "My Jesus" the more I see my Jesus as the dreadhead guy who sells me my organic raw vegan food, and less like the man who was going to be my boss - Hugo Boss suit, palm pilot in one hand and his Starbucks triple grande soy, no foam, extra hot latte in the other...

How about you? Do you think it's important to make changes in your life to set yourself apart? And therefor drawn nearer to Him, and His truth.

coming of the spirit

So we are studying the book of Acts. the book of Acts has always been one of my favorites. The action is amazing. The drama, is compelling.Why my christian life is nothing like it, frustrating....
I am looking for comments personal response to the narritive in the early church.