Monday's Mini Message 3-30-09

Spiritual Life is a journey. It is about taking what we learned about our roots, and moving forward into new definitions as our life is shaped throughout this journey.

As a community we are going backwards so that we can move FORWARD. We have to know where we have been, so that we know where we are going. It is our turn! It is our turn to enter into this stream of redemptive HIStory. It is our turn to enter into the story and push it FORWARD.

Moses is told by God that there are some people in bondage, and I want you to go get them out. Now ever since then, for thousands of year; across the ages, across continents, across ethnic groups, across people groups, across national boundaries; God has been setting people free. Bringing them from dark into light, from bondage to freedom, from slavery into liberation. And we still live in a day and age where thousands of people are still in some form of bondage. And everyday people just like you and I set out to set them free. It is our part in redemptive HIStory. It is the same story for thousands of years, it is just our turn. It is the bible world view that every act of generosity, and kindness, and love is a part of sacred redemptive HIStory. We are wired to be a part of this HIStory. We were not made to just accumulate and consume. No. We were made to join God and tap into the stream and reclaim God’s vision for the world. That’s why we feel a certain way when we see certain people, or read certain books, or watch certain movies, or hear certain songs, because we were design to absorb the story and move it FORWARD!

So being a Christian isn’t random floatie spiritual ideas. Being a Christian is saying, God here: I’m a real person, in a real place, at a real time, could you please use me. And when you do that you are joining Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, David, Mary, Jesus, Peter, Paul, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr, Barack Obama, and Me. You are joining a HIStoric line of people who said God, will you please use me to serve your world.

We are exploring what it means to live out the teachings of Jesus and how to articulate them in fresh and new ways. That means we may fail, because we are going to try things may not work, but it’s ok because we aren’t the first, just new. So if church for you is a place that you want to be routine, and predictable, and stable, this is not the place for you. Because deep in our DNA is exploring and trying new things that express God in different ways, but all to move the story FORWARD. Because it is not about us. It is not about us being comfortable. It is not about us having all our needs met in a perfect little Christian bubble. It is not about us going to a little Christian corner, it is about making a difference in the world. It not about our own little feelings and our own language; it’s about God reclaiming the world and asking us to do our part.

Because we see faith as a journey change is assumed. Innovation is expected and rebirth is welcomed. Welcome to the Ancient-Future Faith!

CHURCH!

Mini Message 3-22-09

If we want to go forward, sometimes we have to take move backward, to understand the forward motion. But we are moving backward because we want to know and define where we came from.  If you are a Christian then you are part of an ancient historical stream, thousands and thousands and thousands of years old. It is a stream of people that believe that we are not just here by random happenstance, but that there is a creator that put this world together. A Creator that has redeemed us, and a creator that has a plan for this world. So being a Christian is having a historic faith about how the world was created, and what it means to take action in the world with a God who made it.

All a Christian is a person that says: ‘there are these things that Jesus taught about compassion, and injustice, and mercy, and the interaction with other humans on this planet, and I am going to go with that”. I am going to base my world around those things. This is a beautiful stream to be connected with.

 So when we dive into our roots, we have to be honest. You will find in our roots really great things, but at the same time you will find things that are dark and that are not so good. So part of being a Christian is excepting the dark things that are also part of our history. The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Hunts, American Slavery; these are all things that were done by other Christians in the name of Jesus, that Jesus had nothing to do with. It was dark, but it is a part of our linage. The bible has been used in the wrong way. It has been used to manipulate, coheres, defame, oppress and exploit other people, all done against the will of God.

We see ourselves in a long line a generations, taking part in the endless conversation between God and people. We believe the bible to be the voices of many that have come before us, inspired by God to pass along their poems, accounts, stories, and letters of response and relationship with each other and the living God.

To know where we are going, we have to know where we’ve been.

CHURCH

In the spirit of the new release of my book, here is a sneak peek. Enjoy!! =)

You Are Too Tough!

 Growing up, I like any other normal child, enjoyed watching television. My fascination was really with movies. My grandfather and I spent countless hours watching them. He watched what is considered the nostalgic channel. We would watch movies and talk about the time period and place where he saw the movie for the first time. There was a movie that I remember, and it stared one to the greatest actors of our time, Paul Newman. The film was “Cold Hand Luke.” In it Newman played the role of chain-gang Luke. There is this memorable scene where Luke is challenged to fight. The challenger was much bigger than Luke, and had a history of many victories. With the instigating cheers of the other prisoners, Luke accepted the challenge. The two men sized one another up, then Luke threw the first punch and missed. The fight continues for some time. The cheers of the inmates increase, but Luke is losing. Every time he gets hit with a punch, his already frail body falls to the dusty ground in pain and exhaustion. After many falls, cuts, and bruises on his face, he continues to get up. Then with on last punch his challenger sends him directly to the ground. His eyes were swollen shut as he laid there in a daze, appearing to be defeated. The others yell his name coaching him to get up, but he can’t. Then the bully comes over and grabs Luke’s beaten body and takes him back inside to lay him down on his cot.

When I saw this powerful scene, I asked myself, did Luke lose the fight? I submit to you that even though Luke’s body was beaten to the point of unconsciousness, he still was considered a victor. Because he decided to fight to a point were he couldn’t fight anymore, his enemy became his only support. He did not give up and did not quit. He possessed a drive that propelled him into victory and he didn’t even have to fight anymore. He gained respect, and never was challenged by anyone in that prison.

I want to let you know that if you posses a drive, (which can only be imparted by God) to keep standing up every time you get knocked down, you will receive a victory that you didn’t have to fight for. The purpose of this book is to encourage you in the midst of your trial, and to give you strength in your struggle. We have to understand that everything that occurs in our life is to be used as the launching pad to elevate us into our destiny. Do not regret your experiences. As you read, picture yourself in a gym exercising and becoming stronger from every repetition that is completed. Enjoy reading and I pray that something is imparted into your life that will revolutionize your thinking and your outlook on every challenge that you face. You are too tough and you cannot be beaten. 

Legacy

They laid my wife down on the paper covering and tucked a kind of bib into her pants before they unzipped them and pulled them partway down. The mood lighting was set and the room was warm. The woman with the sonogram wand was gabby and was talking faster than a NASCAR mile. She was sucking on a peppermint. "Move, baby, move", she said. Through the curtain of the sepia static, a little body appeared. A tail-like spine, bird-wing arms, a ginormous head, a little ball of moving slush that was the heart, like a tiny ember of the sun. "So you guys sure you want to know what baby is?" the woman said through the peppermint. Yep, we said, we want to know. "It's a boy. There's his little member", she said. The fetus moves his arms his hands as if he was shielding his face from the tabloid paparazzi. The fetus can move his arms at 4 months old? He has a mind of his own already? He was a mouse, a bird, with a heart going a mile a minute, and I felt the legacy beginning. I couldn't wait to hold that little man in my arms. Seeing him starting his life, without really much input from us besides nutrients and a sperm and an egg and a lot of exhaustion and cramps on the part of my wife-it didn't matter. He is already living his future. He's my legacy!

CHURCH