1. Hell is a world without hospitality…

    Tom writes… Had I not been sick last Sunday I would have “delivered” the final message in a 4-week conversation we’ve been having at our church. When it was initially conceived, the series was supposed to wrap in three weeks, but I soon realized that I needed two weeks to talk about healing. And, frankly, two weeks was insufficient. But I made it work by talking about healing words the first week and healing actions the second. I kept the two together under the rubric of “practicing the presence of Jesus,” which I described as healing words and healing actions performed in the context of a healed life. read on…

  2. 5 Things I dig about Jesus

    St John of the Cross Dali

    Rich Tatum tagged me with this blog meme, started by John Smulo.

    It’s been sitting in my email for a few days, and it got me thinking about how firstly as an englishman, I couldn’t possible ‘dig’ Jesus’. That’s far to american ;-)

    Then it got me thinking about how I don’t generally blog journal entries, family information, personal faith information, and keep the blog focused on the topic of church and culture, and that some people construe that as me not having a personal faith and belief in Jesus. Increasingly I get emails every month from people who assume I am not a christian, and need warning about losing my faith.
    read on…

  3. One day there will be no spoon: a meditation on image bearing and eternal life…

    matrix spoonIn my small group last night, I led a reflection based on the seven “I AM” sayings of Jesus. You can read the full refection on my blog.

    I was conscious when I was doing it that I often approach worship from where I am and try and spiral my way up to God. This can have the downside of making the worship very me centric and indeed I can end up worshiping a God who I have cast in my own image. I was therefore trying to find a reflection where the starting point was God and his self revelation that then comes down and picks me as part of his story rather than trying to make him part of mine.

    Jesus, is for me, part of the ongoing self revelation of God. Reflected in Jesus saying things like: ‘if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father’, and, ‘I only do the will of the Father etc. Jesus, who is fully human as well as fully divine [altho emptied somehow, denying himself access to the divine credit card], was empowered to live this life through the Holy Spirit. In that way Jesus is the perfect human, the untainted image bearer, who reveals what true humanity is like.
    read on…

  4. They like Jesus but not the Church?

    Buddy Jesus

    I’ve had the idea of “people like Jesus and not the church” as blog post in my ideas box for a while. Seeing that Dan Kimball has his new book out on this topic got me to drag it out and put it here. I’m sure Dan’s book is as great as his previous books, I haven’t read it yet, and what follows it not a critique of his book but a reference to the idea of people being into Jesus and not church.

    Since the day I became a christian I have heard people say people like Jesus but not the church. I can remember when I wasn’t a christian and liked the idea of Jesus but not of church for sure. I’ve heard variations of this, along the lines of “if Jesus came back today do you think he would be visiting any of our churches?” with the reponse that of course Jesus wouldn’t be caught dead (excuse the pun) in our churches.
    read on…

  5. Not cut out for religion

    Buddy Jesus

    I love advent in the rythym of the life of our church. Last sunday we listened to this poem by Jude Simpson from the rejesus site. There are 5 poems at that link by Jude that are superb.

    It struck me again at the shallowness of consumerism, and how Jesus doesn’t fit into the consumer religion so many of us would prefer especially in the run up to Christmas. You can listen to an audio version of the poem here.

    ———

    Not cut out for religion

    I ask you, what’s the answer, and you just ask me questions,
    and I’m like, “hello, I thought you were God?”
    Can’t I just download you, pay-as-I-go to decode you -
    a quick fix listen on my i-pod?

    I ask you, what’s the answer, and you say, “where does the wind blow?”
    Well, if Dylan couldn’t find it, then I won’t get too far.
    What’s with all this mystery? How can you say, “follow me”
    when I don’t even know where you are?
    read on…

  6. Your emerging view(s) of Jesus, please?

    looking Let me ask you a question - is it me or do you think that an emphasis on Jesus is the centre of emerging church conversation/practice/theology/reflection? A focus on what Jesus is doing (rather than would do), an appreciation that he is intentionally incarnational and is the creator, completer, co-habitor and co-missioner of the creation narrative aka the Kingdom of God project?

    I am doing some thinking about the emerging church conversation and what our own, dare I say it, emerging meme’s about Jesus are. But to help my wondering I am curious/intrigued/interested to know whether this is just my own perception/view and to hear what your thoughts/views on Jesus are, especially in the context of the emerging church conversation.

    In part this is influenced by my own realisation that I am going through a process in my life that looks something like this… (my own personal focus/emphasis/ranking on the trinity so 1 is the chief/main/most important member of the trinity in shaping my faith focus at that time):

    My Conservative Evangelical experience:

    1. God the Father - Bad cop - throws the book at me, tough laws/tough love, distant, frowns and chain (holy) smokes, as well as thunders occassionally but ok because…

    2. Jesus - Good cop - gently saving, lamb toting, all round nice guy/God and obedient loving son who is holding open the door of heaven for me (and the other nice folk he’s invited too).

    3. The inspired word of God, aka the bible, aka the Holy Spirit - editor and original (holy) ghost writer.

    My charismatic experience:

    1. Holy Spirit - Blissed out summer of love, aka Tornoto Blessing, feelings ok, laugh, cry, connect to emotional centre. Need my Holy Spirit fix/experience - exploring experiential touchy feely God who can be known more than through just feelings. Speaking/interacting/involved in my life in the here/hear and now… more please.

    2. Jesus - Not only the Word of God but does the works of God too. Motivation compassion, Modus Operandi naturally supernatural, heals sick, raises the dead and casts out demons. Still manages to get a quiet time in and disciples the disciples to do what he’s doing - I feel like a dazzled/dazed disciple.

    3. Father - sender of Jesus, reconciliation as a loving Father/Father heart of God, focus on a Fatherless generation. Mostly though in the background.

    My emerging church experience:
    read on…

  7. In Search of Jesus, Part 3

    In my previous post in this series I attempted to interact with Stephen Prothero’s book, American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon. I never made it to chapter one. Prothero’s Introduction leveled me, so I spent a great deal of time lingering there, trying to process the implications of what I had just read and then disseminate them to you in a coherent way. Whether or not I succeeded is, of course, debatable.

    One of the things I wrote in my last post that can’t be attributed to American Jesus was this, “Ironically, where he [Jesus] may be most unnoticed and unknowable is in the church.” Personally, I don’t think Prothero would agree with that statement. In fact, he’d probably find it even less agreeable if he knew that I wrote it while working through the introduction to his book. And while I thought about striking it from the post, I reconsidered and thought I should let the words remain as they are. And so I have. After all, I meant what I wrote. However, I do think it’s important for me to clarify such a seemingly rash generalization. So for the remainder of this post I want to unravel what I was saying, not in an attempt to make it more palatable and less irritating, but in order to substantiate what may otherwise be perceived as a careless assertion. read on…

  8. In Search of Jesus, Part 2

    In his book, American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon, Stephen Prothero embarks on a quest for the cultural Jesus, “specifically…the American Jesus—Jesus as he has been interpreted and reinterpreted, construed and misconstrued, in the messy midrash of American culture.” Prothero’s search is an important one, because from the outset he’s honest enough to concede that “Jesus is not the exclusive property of Christians.” That’s an unsettling assertion, especially for evangelicals. But according to the polls Prothero cites, “Americans of all faiths view Jesus ‘overwhelmingly in a favorable light’ and that he has ‘a strong hold even on those with no religious training.’ ” read on…

  9. The Essential Gospel

    I like to talk about the Incarnation at Christmas. I suspect that most pastors do. We’re suckers for the gospel, particularly the gospel that starts in the womb of an impoverished, unwed, teenage girl. Of all the different gospels being preached today, the one initiated in Mary seems to be the genuine article, impervious to improvisation and immediately distinguishable from the life-enhancing gospels that are currently in vogue. read on…

  10. In Search of Jesus, Part 1

    I believe in a Trinitarian God I cannot see. My six year old daughter—who seems very interested in my beliefs when she’s not straightening the hair of one of her dolls—is very inquisitive and has a knack for asking me the tough questions about my faith. She’s an honest seeker, capable of challenging my deeply held theological convictions in the most innonocent ways. Honestly, there’s been a time or two when I’ve woken up as a devout believer and gone to bed as a bewildered agnostic after a bedtime conversation with my five year old. How many times can an answer like, “I don’t know,” suffice?

    My daughter’s big question centers around my claim to know and love a God I can’t see, and why, if God is God, he won’t show up and make an appearance. She’s been around the biblical story long enough to know that God has a history of self-disclosure. Hers is a world where seeing is believing. Mine is a world where seeing would be nice, but I’ve come to a place where I’m comfortable living between “sightings.” Clearly, she appreciates my perspective but has her own concerns about following a similar path. My assurance to her is that the majority of her doubts will be dispelled once she has a saving encounter with Jesus Christ. For her sake, I hope I’m right. read on…