A great blogger, Michael Spencer (aka internet monk) has written a list of interesting questions here, asking how we would change if we spent three years with the Jesus of the New Testament. I figured I'd give them a go...FYI - it's long.

“If you were to spend three years hanging around with Jesus as he is presented in the Gospels, do you believe you would come to the conclusion that the primary job of a pastor is to ensure a church gets as large as possible?”

No, absolutely not.

“If you were to spend three years hanging around with Jesus as he is presented in the Gospels, do you believe you would present the doctrine of predestination the same way as contemporary Calvinists present it?”

Don't do that already, so I doubt it would change!

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that without the right kind of music, your church can’t grow?”

No. But am I supposed to be worrying about my church growing?

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that systematic theology is as precise and as important as we’ve made it?”

I'd love to say yes (since i hold an MA in theology) but likely I'd say no.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that Jesus is best represented by western, American, middle-class white evangelicalism?”

Absolutely NOT!

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that a sincere and faithful homosexual should be a leader of the church?”

I have no idea. I still think not, but I can't really say. One I'll have to think on.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that confessing Christians who disagree on the meaning of the Lord’s supper should disfellowship one another?”

As long as they practice the Eucharist, no!

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that the best way to describe the Bible is inerrant?”

Still no to that one.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that pastoral ministry is primarily about defending our theology from those who differ from us?”

Absolutely no!

“…do you believe you would place as much value as we do on formal, school based, education?”

Again, I'd love to say yes. But no.

“…do you believe you would promote “family values” and the “culture war” as important causes that represent Jesus?”

Not particularly.

“…do you believe you would identify with the Republican or the Democratic parties?”

No.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that it’s very important to read from one translation of the Bible only?”

No.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that Jesus would identify himself with the labels of your denomination or group?”

That's a toughie. I don't think Jesus would dissociate himself from our group, but whether he would self-identify as a member of the Baptist General Conference...that I'm not sure of!

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that the Christian life as explained by evangelical evangelists and church leaders today is true to Jesus?”

Some of it. Definitely not all of it. And of course it depends on the evangelists and leaders we're talking about.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that the emerging church is unfaithful to Jesus and should be condemned?”

nope. but I'd also believe that there is more they can do to be faithful.

“… do you believe you would come to the conclusion that you are not one of the rich? Or one of the Pharisees-types?”

To my everlasting shame, no.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that you are, now, a disciple and follower of Jesus? Not a fan, but a follower?”

Yes, I do. But I believe I'd see myself as a straggling follower, who gets stuck in potholes and sidetracked too often.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that the terms “liberal” and “conservative” are really helpful?”

Only in cooking (as in, we need a more liberal portion of cheese)

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that the Reformation was the high point of Christian history?”

Definitely not.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that Jim Wallis, James Dobson, Joel Osteen or Rick Warren were acquainted with Jesus at all?”

That's a bit of a diverse group. It's like asking "were Ghandi, MLK Jr., Donny Osmond, and Presidents Bush Christians?" I think Wallis, Dobson, and Warren know Jesus, but that a lot of stuff gets in the way. Osteen, I don't know. Whichever Jesus Osteen preaches, it's a Jesus that smiles REALLY big.

“…what kind of sermons would you preach?”

Hopefully the same kind I preach now. Sermons about hypocrisy, sermons about the undying, unyielding, unmistakable love of the king, sermons about the kingdom.

“…do you believe you would come to the conclusion that your current approach to prayer is similar to Jesus?”

No. not at all.

“…do you believe your treatment of people would change?”

yes.

“…do you believe you would spend money as you do today?”

again, and to my shame, absolutely not.

For what it's worth, those are my answers. i'm looking forward to exploring the questions more in my mind over the next few days.

Peace.
Mike

On an entirely non-church note (but still spiritual, since the mind, body, and spirit are linked!) I've been cycling to the church for the last few weeks, and I've been really enjoying myself. I've developed a more roundabout route in order to:
a) get more exercise (lots more hills this way)
b) avoid traffic (almost entirely bike paths)
c) take longer to get to work :)

I'm really loving this stuff, but i am having a bit of a problem. As my wife knows, I'm a bit of a gadget hound, but I'm trying to simplify my life, not worry about acquiring. However, my bike. My bike is a 16 inch (i think) Fila (yes you read that right) Telluride. It's black, white, and fluorescent green. It is those colours because those colours were popular when I bought the bike, in 1993. It's starting to rust. I can't put the seat post higher without pulling it right out of the bike and my legs still aren't extended when i pedal, the seat cover is currently ripped in three places, the hand grips have holes in them, the brakes squeal, and when i pull them as hard as i can, i stop in an impressive 4-10 seconds! Now I'm not one to complain (right) but I'm thinking it may be time for something...new. The problem, of course, is that I want something quality, that will last, that will keep me going, that I won't get sick of in a week because I grabbed the first bike i could find on the rack. I've done some homework, and come up with this:

Pretty, isn't it? That's a Kona Dew FS. It's a commuter bike (upright position, front suspension, seat post suspension, deore components, hydraulic discs, 700c tires) and it's a beauty. I got my confirmation when I did my research, then went into the bike store and played dumb. I told them what my bike would be used for, and they pulled this exact bike off the shelf. pretty sweet, eh? The problem is that these bikes are not in the "Less-than-expensive" category. 799.00 MSRP. So i guess some saving is in order!

Well, that's it for today. just a wish list. pray you're all well.
mike

I haven't blogged in ages. I know it. I'm sorry. There.

Part of the reason I haven't been blogging is that I've been reading. I've been reading Postman, in particular. His "Amusing Ourselves to Death" has given me a lot to think about. No, it's not the first time I'd heard of it, but one can only read so much at a given time! I've been considering blogging and the internet as it pertains to our societal structure, particularly as Postman talks about the death of typography. I read a lot, and a lot of blogs as well, and it interests me to see the places where the typographical understanding and the internet understanding of society diverge and converge.

I haven't fully formulated those thoughts, however, so I'm going to wait off on blogging fully about what I think. One interesting place it's taken me is the understanding of Masculine Christianity. If you have no idea what this means, take a listen here.

The questions being asked are "How can we get men into church," "why aren't they coming to church", and "what would make church more exciting for men?" At its core, I see the question "How can we make our church as attractive or more attractive than beer and football?" Interestingly, this plays heavily on our understanding of church as entertainment, and on masculinity as culturally determined (see Eldridge, Driscoll, et al).

The discussion on how to get men into the church by adding nascar bigscreens behind the pulpit or by instituting a promise keepers or men of integrity program or whatever it is seem to me to be the ultimate narcissism: we need to meet men's deepest desire, which is a sense of grand adventure...we need to help men feel like men. Notice very little of this says "we need to help men follow Jesus." men's ministry by and large has become a grunting, bare-knuckled reformation of Jesus' image. He's now a biker with some sweet tats who likes to hike everest on the weekends, who caters to our every desire to escape the mid-life crisis.

I know these seem random connections for now, but i hope to put these thoughts together in the next few days.

blessings, and welcome back (to me),
Mike

"and he could no longer bear to see Israel suffer"

That's Judges 10:16b. And it cuts me right to the bone.

It is often remarked that using the phrase God the Father is too archaic in this, our postmodern era. There has been too much child abuse, too many absentee fathers, too much parental disappointment and inappropriate discipline and psychic scarring for the phrase to retain any positive connotation.

This verse does not alleviate all of the concerns, of course, in calling God Father. What it does do, however, in my estimation, is take fatherhood out of the ethereal, out of the numinous, and base it on God's character. How many times have I, as a father who loves my children, had to punish them? Many. How many times have I relented? a few. But how often, while they're crying and weeping (no, I don't beat them...they're just two very tender and emotional girls), have I looked at them and could no longer bear to see them suffer? Every time. Every time I hear their weeping, even if it's over something justifiably punished, my heart breaks. There's nothing so sweet as gathering them in my arms after discipline and hearing them say "I love you Daddy." It hurts me to have to punish and discipline, but I love that they keep running to me for comfort, because they know they're really loved.

It happens with parishoners too. So often College and Career will come to me with a problem, and I'll think to myself that I should just let them sweat the consequences so they can learn from their mistakes. And I do. For awhile. But I can't stand to see them suffer. I chase them to give comfort. I love them.

Isn't that what God is saying here? the Father chases, the Father comforts and loves and can not bear to see us suffer. It makes him ache!!

Am I skipping theological justification of wrath? Am I saying God's holiness is not offended? No. But I'm not trying to say that. I'm trying to say God loves us and chases us and can't bear to see us suffer. So there.

Mike

I know, I suck at blogging lately (well, maybe not just lately!). However, that's that!

I was reading Joshua this morning, and again it hit me. The Story. How often in the old testament (and the new...think steven...hebrews...peter) the Story is told? How important is the Story?

Which Story, you ask? THE STORY! The Story of God interacting with God's people, creating them, punishing them, freeing them, leading them, working with them and sometimes against them in an effort to add to them and bless them.

It also struck me that not telling the story has devastating consequences. How often does it say in the OT that the Israelites arose who didn't know God, or what God had done for the Israelites, and so they followed other gods? A lot. that's how often.

My children need to know the Story. Their children will need to know the Story. The Story of how God saved the Israelites, and how God continues saving, redeeming, recreating, and loving. My parishoners need to know the Story. Everyone I know needs to know the Story. I recently preached about the Story, and how God is able to redeem our histories by retelling our Stories in light of the kingdom. I don't want to sound puffed-up, but it's something we need to hear. God retelling our Story.

How about you? Any Stories to tell or have retold?

Paying a visit to the "Greens" today...18 holes worth. aaaaaah, the Pastoral Life. Further than that, my job is giving me great joy in the opportunity to be involved in peoples' lives and struggles. It's heartbreaking sometimes, hearing the things we hear, but at the same time it's such a blessing to know that God is working in people I know and love.
I told Tricia the other day that I often envied people who worked and then came home and promptly forgot work. But i wouldn't trade this job. It's such a gift.

shalom
mike.
ps - i'll let you know how i shoot. after tricia bought the big new driver (taylormade r7) i haven't really been out yet. travesty!!!

I've been away a long time. I know it. I'm sorry.

there, that's outta the way!

I've been reading through the bible. It's a good thing for a pastor to do, but something that's easy to neglect, even in sermon prep! In reading, I've tried to take about twenty chapters a day. Doesn't take nearly as long as it sounds, and I'm seeing things I just don't remember seeing before, even moving that fast. One of the reasons, I think, is that I'm not reading with agenda apart from just reading. I'm not looking for theological treatises, I'm not looking for doctrinal paradox...i'm just reading the Bible to hear what it's saying. And i'm loving it.

One of the things that struck me (i'm in leviticus, and it'll hit you hard) is the gore. I often have a poor perception of early Israelite culture. I think of things like sacrifice and imagine them as fairly sanitary, but I've forgotten that Israelite culture borrowed imagery and practice from its neighbours too. I'm reading Peter Enns right now on this very thing.

There's a lot of blood. I think of the high priest as pristine, but when you read the early literature, he's soaked in blood. He's pulling birds apart by the wings and cutting open bulls and dipping his fingers in blood and splashing it on the altar, smothering the horns of the altar in blood. There's just a mass of gore. The one thing that's missing, and present in so many other cultures of the time, is the human gore. Yes, they were to stone people or put them to death, but there doesn't seem to be the same gore associated with them. The priest isn't supposed to behead someone and then smear the head on the altar or something.

Why did this strike me, you ask? It struck me because I'm learning again and again how accommodating God is. God can use parts of the culture we don't even understand or agree with for God's purposes. They saw blood all around them. God redeemed the meaning of the blood, for purity. IT's a marvellous thought, but one i'm still working through.

Incidentally, if you're interested in this cultural stuff, Scot McKnight is blogging on Stackhouse's "Christian Realism" which tackles culture head-on (i don't typically like stackhouse's stuff, but I do like him as a prof - just as an aside!)

Hope to hear from you all soon...i know it's been a long time...thanks for sticking around.

Peace,
Mike

(not the tv show!). I've been reading a lot online lately about the church calendar. Coming from a tradition which does very little apart from Christmas and Easter, and wanting to be more in sync with the rhythms of the church year, does anyone have any suggestions about how to get more in tune with this stuff? I have the book of common prayer from the anglican tradition but haven't cracked it yet. thoughts?