Oasis

I spent my time this weekend at the Oasis conference where we discussed outreach to the Muslim community. It was an opportunity to learn more about the Islamic faith and to understand how to reach out to the Muslim community in our everyday lives, by simply inviting another person to share in your life.

There were many interesting facts presented during the weekend, including the fact that 85 – 90% of Muslims in America are not simply non-militant, but also want to be integrated into American culture. Sadly, we heard many accounts of Muslims that had not been asked into a Christian’s home at all for years on end during their time in America.

There are many misperceptions within the Islamic community about Christianity, primarily because they do not have a chance to interact with Christians, so the images that they receive are solely from American TV, broadcasting shows like Desperate Housewives, or Britney Spears’ latest mistake. Often the perception is that a white American is a Christian, so many people who are acquainted with neither America nor Christianity are often under the impression that Christians act the way they see people act on TV.

The most eye-opening portion of the weekend was when the group took a trip to a mosque and witnessed a weekly service, the equivalent of our Sunday morning services.

All of this leads to the conference’s main point of the weekend, which was exploring what I call life-based ministry, which I referred to earlier. The Oasis method of ministry to Muslims is difficult, but not demanding. It does not require that one moves across the world to lead an underground church in the heart of an Islamic country, instead there is something that I know this church body can do, because I’ve experienced it!

The way that the Oasis group recommends ministering to the Muslim community in America is quite simple. One must only strike up a conversation with a Muslim, and become a friend.

Perhaps opening your home to a person from another country, and another religion is a difficult thing to conceive of, I would encourage you to start with something perhaps a little easier, Inviting Gilbert, Kate, and Cole into your home would be an excellent ministry to them, as well as a great way to expand your personal ministry to those around you!

The Story

If you have read my column regularly (thanks!) then you will know that I enjoy watching movies and television, and particularly fond of searching for glimpses of God within those forms of media. What you may not know is that I also enjoy reading, novels, short stories, even theological journals (in small doses). I love a good story.

I think that most anyone can resonate with that idea; there is something about a story that is very powerful. We are people of stories, and not just Americans, but all people, are people of stories. From the caveman’s writing on the walls, to ancient oral tradition from all reaches of the globe, people have been formed by stories of their ancestors, and others. Stories fueled by fear, anger, love, hope, desire, despair and longing are common in any culture.

Stories have infiltrated every form of media; we have books, books on tape, plays, newspapers, television, movies, movies on television, all concerned with telling stories. There is something about a story that reveals truths in our lives in such a powerful way, that it makes other things, like textbooks for example, seem dry in comparison. Cultures are defined by their stories, their narratives forming them and reflecting their form simultaneously. There is a lot of power in stories.

Now you may understand why I try to take in media, because it is the framework which holds our stories. Not only am I a part of those stories, and they a part of me, but with careful consideration, they are also reveal much about myself as well as the culture around me. With careful consideration, a movie transforms into a short dossier on the culture of which I am a part, and of which we are trying to transform.

There is more value in media, however and again, if you have read my articles on a regular basis, you will see that I often talk about spiritual or Biblical truths found within the movie or TV show that I am talking about. Part of the reason that there are Biblical truths within our media is because we are a culture arisen from Christianity, and though not all media makers are Christian, they do all come from a culture formed from Christianity. Furthermore, that I believe that there is one great story: that of God’s working in the world and all stories, in some way, reflect the one great story. Watching media with a discerning eye, not only strengthens your ability to see God in the everyday, but it also offers an opportunity for one to examine oneself, and the culture that surrounds us, a useful tool when thinking about evangelism.

1 Corinthians 13: The Communal Life

The following is a rough transcript from class that i don't have enough time to reformulate into a proper blog post, but I think it has some good thoughts, so ill pot it anyway.

We have been talking about why we have joy for the past few months, this week I’d like to talk a little about what that joy looks like, or how it plays out in our lives. Paul might encourage us this way: “Become who you have been called to be”.

Eph 4:22-25

You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.Rules for the New Life25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another.

Much like what we talked about on Sunday night, what we are going to talk about tonight, are not rules that we must follow to be Christians, rather we are asked to step into this type of life, to become what we have been called to be in response to the Joy that we have been given.

Throughout the New Testament, we are given examples and encouragement to become what we have been called to be within the community of Christian believers. The cross changes not only ourselves, but the way that we act within the community of believers

1 Pet 5:5

In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders.^* And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another

Philippians 2:1-4

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, ²make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

In John 13:34 Jesus says:

“Just as I have loved you, you should love one another”

There are many other texts in the New Testament that talk give encouragement to the readers to live in unity and love with one another, but we are going to focus in on 1 Corinthians 13

What was happening in Corinth that Paul had to write this text?

This text is often used at weddings as an encouragement for the bride and groom to live with one another in love, and while that is an acceptable application, its original intent and purpose was for the body of believers as they walked through life together.

Like most families, the Church family in Corinth was not perfect; Paul had founded the church and stayed there for about a year and a half (Acts 18), which is certainly not enough time to teach new converts the way to live in community with each other. The whole book is filled with specific advice from Paul to the Church in Corinth about the problems that they are having in their community. There is evidence of the community conflict peppered through the text, in 1:10; 3:3,4 ; 5- end of the book. Paul instructs his readers on how to become what they have been called to be.

One of those problems the problem dealt with in chapter 13 was that there were people in the community who believed they were better than others because of the spiritual gifts that they had been blessed with. These people, had the ability to speak in tongues, and all of Chapters 12 through 14 deal with this problem that had arisen.

In Chapter 12 Paul reminds his readers that the community of God is like a body, and as such it has different parts that function, not only differently, but co-operatively. The body does not attack itself, but it works together so that the whole body may be strengthened.

Immediately following this, Paul launches into his discussion on community life, and how that life is characterized by love:

1 Cor 13

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ²And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,^* but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant ⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. ⁹For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; ¹⁰but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. ¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. ¹²For now we see in a mirror, dimly,^* but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

What is Paul Saying here?

Paul is careful to make sure that his readers understand that their gifts are secondary to the gift of love, and that the love for one another within the community is more important than their individual gifts.

What does this mean though?

Paul has quite a high view of love in this chapter, and it is more than what we often consider it to be. For Paul, love, especially within the community of God, is self-sacrificial, it is putting another’s needs before our own, and doing things that are in the other person’s, or the community’s best interest. It is a love that is characterized by the things that it does or does not do, it is an active love.

What does having an active love look like here at the CSC?

In the Corinthian context, Paul tells the church in Corinth that their gifts are not given to them simply so that the person with the gift is encouraged and edified, but instead -just like the parts of the body exist for the benefit not of themselves, but the body - so too the members of the community of God are given gifts to strengthen and encourage the whole body of believers.

Paul also wants his readers to know the importance of love and unity within the body of believers

What's in a name?

A couple of posts ago, I talked about how the Christ event changes your life entirely, and a short, but good discussion was had there, but it got me thinking... and so, here is a post about names.
In American culture, it is well known that a person is given a name before, or shortly after they are born, and they are saddled with that name for the rest of their life (barring legal changes).
But there are other cultures that derive their names from the things that a person has accomplished, or what he or she is known for. The name of a person changes after a major life-event to describe who that person is, or what that person is like. I think that is a fascinating idea, that one can simply know a person's name, and immediately know something about that person.
There is something powerful about names, even in our culture, they hold some power... have you ever met someone and thought "he doesn't look like a 'Ned' to me" That is because the name Ned gives of a certain feeling about a person. If you are like me, when you think of the name "Ned" you think of a pencil-necked geek, clean, probably rich, but still quite odd.
Now I am not suggesting that when we become Christians, that we start calling ourselves Phil-follower-of-Jesus or anything like that, but wouldn't it be interesting if we put more significance on our names, and what they mean, to the point where we would have to change them to reflect the radical change that occurs when one steps into the community of God?

What are your Gifts?

In the book of First Corinthians, Paul is greatly concerned with the workings of the community to which he is writing. Nearly the entire book is devoted to encouraging and explaining to the Corinthians how to live in this new community to which they have been called. The oft-used chapter thirteen, while certainly applicable to marriage, has a much richer meaning within the context of the Church community.

In chapter fourteen, Paul continues his thoughts from the previous chapter, now narrowing his focus down to the issue at hand for the community in Corinth. Here Paul talks about the gifts of prophecy and speaking in tongues. While we could get sidetracked on a long discussion about the workings of the Holy Spirit and the validity of speaking in tongues today, I think there is a much more available lesson to be found in the text, the lesson which Paul was trying to get across in the first place.

Apparently in Corinth, the Christians who had been blessed with the ability to speak in tongues, esteemed themselves, thinking themselves better than the rest of the congregation, it is in that context which Paul writes to the church saying:

“Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the Church. Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the Church may be built up.” (1 Cor 14:1-5 NRSV)

While it seems that Paul is telling the Corinthians that people that prophesy are better than those that speak in tongues, the point of the text is not which spiritual gift is better or worse, but the usefulness of that gift to the community. Prophecy is greater, not in and of itself, but because it has the ability, unlike speaking in tongues, to enrich the community of believers. We have individually been given gifts, talents, and abilities; Are we ready to use them to strengthen and encourage the body of believers?

Chuck

NBC has put out a variety of new shows this season, one of which is called “Chuck”. It is the story of a young man, working for the “Nerd Herd” at a “Buy More” store (an obvious nod to Best Buy’s Geek Squad) but has government secrets accidentally implanted into his brain, making him a very valuable person to the government.

So, with his new-found knowledge, Chuck finds himself in a very different world, having his actions controlled by two professional spies, and going on various missions, because he is the only source of the information which got downloaded into his brain. Admittedly, the plot is a little far-fetched, but the show is part of the action-comedy genre that could perhaps also include movies like the Pink Panther.

Chuck’s life changes quite drastically, but he must keep everything a secret, again because of the value of the information that he has. He keeps his job at Buy More, but is often in trouble because he cannot explain where he has been when he goes off on a mission. His new girlfriend, who his sister is thrilled about, is really just a secret agent sent to protect him. Chuck’s whole life changes, but he can’t tell anyone about it, which leads to some fairly comical moments for the audience, if not for Chuck!

The Christian life has some similarities with Chuck’s life, as well as some marked differences! First, there is the fact that everything about Chuck’s life has undergone a drastic change. In the same way, when a person accepts Christianity, their whole life changes, Paul writes it this way: “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient… But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through out trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph 2:1-2, 4-5)

The difference between Chuck’s transformation, and the transformation that a Christian undergoes, is that while Chuck struggles and strives to keep this change a secret, especially from the ones that he loves, the Christian story changes one so that one cannot keep it a secret. One is to “make disciples” and “teach them to obey everything [Jesus] commanded [us].” (Matt 28:19,20)

Let us remember that accepting the Grace of God changes us radically! We are now alive, when we had been dead! Let us not forget that we are to bring others to Christ so they too might share in the life which we now have!

Really?

Okay, so last year you may remember the "I love Boobs" shirts to help raise money for breast cancer awareness/ treatment. Offensive... definitely. well, they are at it again, this year the theme is "Help save second base". Yeah, you read that right. Now remember girls, the only reason you are worth anything is because you have breasts that men can stare at and fondle.

I mean come on! Is it really necessary to sexualize this disease? Can't we focus on someone else long enough to get over our own perverted sexual desires (because true sex is all about focusing on another person... but not really in this way).

It sickens and offends me that these shirts are somehow seen as a good thing, that we can be so crass on a t-shirt but its okay because the money you spent to buy it goes to a good cause. Bleh. I don't like it. How do parents explain this crass term? Cause you know kids are going to ask. Well hunny, immature people like to make poor decisions and then boast about them, but they aren't even mature enough to talk about it in a normal way, instead they reduce sexuality to a sport...

Amos

The first couple of chapters in the book of Amos make up one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It’s not really my favorite passage because it conveys deep spiritual truths (at least not in and of itself), but because I can imagine the reaction that the text (or the voice of Amos) would receive when presented to the Israelite people.

Amos’ job, being a prophet, was not to bring comfort or stability to the Israelite people, it was his job to stir up the people and show them how they had departed from Yahweh. It was his job to stand up and shout “Hey, you are doing it all wrong, return to the LORD!”

In the very opening section of the book, Amos really lays into Israel’s enemies, talking about each of Israel’s neighbors, Amos says the word of the LORD: “For three transgressions and for four, I will not revoke the punishment” and then proceeds to explain why each country is receiving punishment and what that punishment will be.

Six times, with six different countries that are enemies to Israel Amos outlines their foibles and their punishments. Saying over and over again “for three transgressions and for four”. One can imagine the speech, given in a strong voice. The Israelites are getting whipped into a frenzy, thinking to themselves “YES! Those people are scum, we hate them, we can’t wait to see their punishment!” Then Amos turns the screw a little tighter, Judah, Israel’s long lost brother, now being a strenuous relationship between them due to political circumstances is under attack.

At this point, the crowd must have been shouting their assent, they were finally able to see that all of their enemies were going to be punished because their enemies did not follow the LORD, but then the hammer falls, all the wind leaves their sails, and they are horrified. Amos says “For three transgressions of Israel” One can imagine the crowd immediately becoming silent with fear and hurt, knowing that soon their offenses to God and their punishment will be revealed.

The prophet Amos had stirred up the people, shown them their faults and called them back to God, but the way he did it was amazing, a verbal trap, designed to ensnare the listener to hear the word of the LORD.

So what’s the point? Well, I’ve often thought that Amos was applicable to the Church on many occasions, I encourage us to not simply point fingers and those around us and say “look how they don’t follow the Lord”, but to also be active in self examination so that we are not caught off guard by a prophet bringing God’s word to us about our own faults. The Israelites problem was that they were greedy with their money, and they didn’t take care of the poor and the helpless, in fact, they cheated them. Do we have things that we need to work on, Do we have transgressions?

I've always like Amos, he uses such a great rhetorical device, craftily ensnaring his listeners into his speech, opening them up their hearts for critical damage. The change in the crowd is almost palpable in the text int he transition from 2:5 to 2:6. I've always thought that this text would preach extremely well, but then, it would be a risky sermon to preach as well, probably leading to a quick dismissal. The prophet's life is much different than that of the Priest. On the other hand, we have lost the voice of the prophet in many of our Church communities, and with it have often lost the voice that calls us back to the LORD.
What role should the minister in a Church play.. Prophet, or priest, one who holds to tradition and ensures that the community of God stays safe, and within God's arms, or one who stands up and shouts when tradition, and accepted practices are exactly what is driving the community away from the LORD? Can one be both?