A Conference
I am about to leave for the leaders conference of our family of churches (Salt and Light). I am looking forward to it. Meeting up with old friends, having some good conversations, and generally being provoked. I just hope that I am provoked the right way! Sometimes I let myself get wound up in situations like this, where things start to sound a bit 'old hat' to me, or just not on my page. That, clearly, is my problem, I do need more grace. The encouraging thing is that there is great diversity with the family of churches, and within that there is a small ground swell of movement towards emerging church considerations. I am hoping to get some more going!
What I am really looking forward to are the two sessions with Tom Wright. Now they should redeem any frustrations!!
The Lord's Gym
How's about this for a morning laff: The Lord's Gym. It is even worth reading through to the last line!! Isn't great to get away from all that smut and vanity in the world and set up our alternate society?
Quotes:
*Its logo depicts a really ripped Jesus Christ straining to perform a push-up with a cross on his back that bears the inscription "The Sins of the World."*
*The original Lord's Gym opened in the early 1990s in San Diego, when it was launched as a nonprofit outreach ministry.*
It is amazing how easily 'outreach' can turn to something that is self serving. I guess it is just so horribly messy out there.
[Thanks to emerging minister]
In response to Steve's blog below, I thought I'd post this list I discovered on the Grace Lent Blog (originally posted by Jonny Baker)
Lent can be more than a time of fasting; it can be a season of feasting.
We can use Lent to fast from certain things and to feast on others.
Lent is a season in which we can:
Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from, thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on divine order.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressure; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; feast on nonresistance.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on verities that uplift.
Fast from discouragements; feast on hope.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds.
Lent
What is Lent? Do the Scriptures mention it? Why do we observe it?
Though the Scriptures do not mention Lent, it has a longstanding tradition in the Church. It began very simply as a time of preparation for Easter. From the earliest times it was customary for Christians in most places to fast before Easter (or the Paschal Feast). At first this was a 2-day fast (Friday and Saturday). As time passed, this fast was extended here and there to a week (e.g., in Alexandria and perhaps Rome). Though we are not certain how it developed, by 350 A.D. the 40-day fast that we now have was already in vogue in most places. The earliest reference to a 40 day fast leading up to Easter that I am aware of is the Second Festal letter of Athanasius in 330 A.D. Today Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday (Sundays are excluded to preserve the number 40).
For Christians living in the Fourth Century Lent had two major emphases: (1) It was seen as a time of repentance and denial of self. All Christians were to examine their lives according to the Ten Commandments and other Christian ethical precepts and repent where necessary. They were to remember what it cost their Savior to save them, (2) It was a time of instruction and preparation for the electi, i.e., catechumens who wanted to become members of the Christian Church. During Lent they learned the Christian doctrine by studying the Creed. They were led step by step through prayer and special rites toward baptism. If they "passed" they were baptized and received the Lord's Supper in a joyous service either on Easter Eve (the Easter Vigil) or Easter itself.
At the time of the Reformation, some Christians wanted to eliminate Lent since Scripture didn't command it. Luther urged that it be kept, for he saw Lent as an opportunity for the strengthening of faith. "Lent, Palm Sunday, and Holy Week shall be retained, not to force anyone to fast, but to preserve the Passion history and the Gospels appointed for that season" (LW 53:90). Here Luther tells us that Lent should be preserved, in part, because it reminded Christians of the Passion (Suffering and Death) of Jesus and encouraged them to meditate upon it. However, no one should be forced to participate. It should be voluntary.
So we also retain Lent to this day, because we see it as a salutary outward discipline that gives Christians a wonderful opportunity for spiritual renewal, It’s a time to come face to face with whatever sin may be hindering our walk with Christ. But most profoundly, it’s a time where we come face to face with the Gospel of Jesus which forgives and removes that sin and gives us the power to live anew…
So how can you engage in the ancient spiritual practice of lent?
The second Organic Church Round Table:
Venue: St. Giles Church Hall, Northampton (parking info., maps)
Date: April 17th, 2003
Time: 10am – 4pm
We will be joined by Mark Berry, Jonathan Roe and others as we explore the theme of Ancient-Future Church, learning from past traditions how to be better equipped for our futures.
Jonathan Roe is the Faith in Education worker for the Bishop of Hull and involved with the Northumbria Community. The Roe’s have been joined by another family in Hull as they seek to build community shaped, in great part, by the values and spirituality of the ancient Celtic Church. Described by some as “an urban outpost of the Northumbria community” and by others as part of the “New Monasticism,” it is in reality simply Church – Christians sharing life together in and for the world.
Mark Berry is the Anglican Mursley Deanery Youth Worker, experimenting with new ways of being Church with young people. This experimentation eventually developed into the GROWproject. The work and vision of the project reveals an understanding that Church, as an institution is not accessible for many people who have no grounding in Christian culture. Their mission is to grow a community of seekers, worshippers and disciples within the culture of young people - with language and symbols that reflect their own spiritual journeys and experiences of God.
The event will be limited to about 30 - 35 people, so please let us know if you're interested in coming along.
Falling in [or out] of Sin
I was party to a conversation the other day that made mention of "falling into sin". The phrase grates on me, I have to confess. Not sure why really. Probably I am in "sin" or something... But maybe it is because I am not sure what I mean by it. Maybe some of you can help me.
I am wondering if it is at all about "doing bad stuff" and more about "not doing good stuff". If you frame Christianity around "following Jesus" rather than "getting sins forgiven so you can go to heaven by believing certain truths", then sin surely is more about failure to stick to that allegiance in every area of your life than missing a "moral benchmark". So it is not "the occasional swear word, smoking, watching tv on a sunday" but walking past the needy and not responding in compassion, or not treating people as humans but as objects.
More simple I guess I am saying that following Jesus is about what we DO do not what we DON'T do. Trouble is that all sounds a bit tougher to me....
The Who and The How
I was looking the other day at that crucial point in Mark's Gospel where Jesus says to his disciples "Who do you say that I am?". It kinda seems an obvious question to us, we just wonder why everyone in the gospel stories couldn't get it. The more I looked at it the more I realised that the only basis they had to decide "who he was" was on what he did. It is like: "you've walked with me now for the last 8 chapters, you've seen it all, now what do you think?". The momentous response from Peter "you are the Messiah" flows out of that.
But more than that Jesus goes on to explain he's gonna die and be raised. And Peter steps in again, rebuking him: "look you don't get it, I have just said I think you are the Messiah, and dying doens;t really fit that". Jesus, it seems, didn't want the disciples to get the idea of who he was without getting hold of how it was to be worked out. The Who and How are totally linked. As my wife put it "You can see who Jesus is, but unless you see how it is to be worked out, you don't really see who Jesus is." Jesus' life must be seen in the context of the cross. Every act of power, every miracle, every healing, every declaration of "Teacher", "Messiah", "Son of God", "King" must be overlaid with the cross, seen in the context of it. Otherwise we are "seeing, but not seeing". We will lean towards conquest and triumphalism rather than love and service. The model of Christian living is "cruciform", modelled on the cross.
Ground Hog Day
I stumbled on the film Ground Hog day on the tv on Monday night. I hadn't watched it for ages. It kinda tricked me and sucked me in! Bizarre. I think it was 'cos of this line that was said pretty much as I flicked over:
"What do you do when your actions have no meaning; when what you do has no consequence"
Suddenly I saw the film in a whole new light! This day that Phil Conners repeated over and over (for months if not years of 'days') had no meaning, it had no purpose to it. The only thing that changed day after day as that clock flicked over to 6:00am was Phil Conners himself. That, we find, was the only meaning to this day: the "Formation" [if you like] of Phil. Would he or would he not change.
There is a simple progression: First he goes Hedonistic - just enjoy yourself, break the law, use other people to your own ends of pleasure; Second he discovers a person he can't manipulate for his own pleasure - hedonism runs out of steam; Third commit suicide, end it all 'cos life ain't worth living - but even that doesn't work, despite numerous attempts, what do you do when even life-after-death loses meaning?; Fourth face the reality of who he is - selfish, self-centred, the world revolves around him; Fifth allow someone else to be the centre, love them for the sake of them, allow them to change you, remove yourself from the centre of your life, get turned 'inside-out'.
Forgive me for being slow on this old film, or maybe it is me, but I saw something of the result of loss of meaning and purpose, combined with a loss of focus on life after death. Phil Conners had to find meaning in 'today', as if that was the only day that mattered. This often results in a hedonistic existentialism, but even that is shown to be meaningless.
The ending is cheesy, I don't really like it. But I like the fact that meaning can be found in re-centering life around God and others and allowing yourself to be changed by them.
