Church and mission 12/2-Pentecostal and emerging?

Are there any churches that are truly Pentecostal and emerging? Is that an oxymoron? In class we talked about how the participatory aspect of Pentecostalism is similar to the Emerging church but it is definitely not the same. There is way more high volume expression in a Pentecostal church. I think the emerging Church demographic is mostly white and they definitely would not express in the same way as most Pentecostal churches which are comprised of mainly non white ethnicities. I don't know what do you think. Is it possible to be Pentecostal and emerging?

Reflections on Mestizo/A Community of the Spirit by Oscar Garcia Johnson

Introduction

Garcia introduces Latino/a theology by describing it as inclusive and commuting. It commutes between cultures, geography, reason and faith. It is a fluid, postmodern, communal experience. Latino/a theology includes any item that affects latino/a life.

Chapter 1

Next Garcia talks about Latino/a theology as a practical theology. It is because this theology is located in the church. Praxis, action, context, and concreteness shapes the agenda. This theology is about speaking of God as father in an inhuman world and this is done Christopraxically as the praxis of Jesus becomes the most important paradigm in imagining a church which lives out inclusiveness, a communal self, and the appropriation of God’s promises of manana (tomorrow) as today’s realities (26). In order to do this Latino/a theologizing must look to culture as the locus theologicus in order to remain relevant to a postmodern Latino/a context.

Chapter 2

In looking at culture Garcia asserts the concepts of embodiment, relationality, and transmissibility fit into a more postmodern understanding of culture. In order to speak about God within this conception of culture a “created invisible” space is needed to serve as the basis for talking about the experience of the Spirit. Within this “created invisible” space there is room to talk about the bigger story of God and of the transformative cultural practices of the Christian community as the “created visible” culture of the Spirit. In this way the church becomes the cultural witness in a postmodern Latino/a context

Chapter 3

Pentecost and the cross are the authoring narratives of the cruciform community of the Spirit. The cross is the visible side of Pentecost and without the cross Pentecost becomes an experience that is not situated in reality and community. On the other hand the cross without Pentecost locates us more in the human and detached from the Spirit. This results in a dry spirituality. Both narratives are needed in order for love, joy, and hope to be materialized as inclusion, community, and Christ-shaped transmissible practices.

Chapter 4

The Mestizo/Community of Manana is a community of justice, love, peace, and hope. The church as the community of manana becomes a social testimony to the community. Garcia suggests one way that this can be done is through community organizing. This is an ecclesial praxis that can bring authentic transformation of impoverished communities. The church is to accompany impoverished Latino/a communities as a eucharistic community, a proclamation community, and a pastoral community. These three different aspects of the Community of Manana seek to bring about inclusion of diversity, the intersection of the Jesus story with the story of the target community, and the developing processes that contribute to the healing of the city.

Conclusion

Latino/a theology sees the intersection of the Spirit with culture as the basis of the church as the culture of the Spirit. It is in this ecclesial construct that the Latino/a theology of the Spirit speaks to a diverse, polyphonic, heterogenous Latino experience. It also speaks to the diverse, polyphonic, and heterogenous postmodern experience as it seeks to embody love, joy, and hope in the world.

Church and mission 11/30 Love the anabaptists!

I love the anabaptist definition of the nature of church. It is made up of believers who are supposed to live in a particular way. The emphasis is on faith and a lifestyle that reflects that faith. It has nothing to do with the state and everything to do with the cross. Last year in April we had the opportunity to visit the Amish and Mennonite Center in Berlin, OH and viewed a cyclorama of Anabaptist history called Behalt It is a wall to wall picture history of the Anabaptist movement (Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites). Behalt means "remember" and remembering these saints who gave their lives in testimony to Jesus inspires me to give mine as well.

Reflections on God's missionary people by Charles Van Engen

Introduction

Van Engen states the need to find new avenues for contextualizing congregations. Most pastors prioritize maintaining members happiness and to keep getting paid by members. This leaves them frustrated and not fulfilling God’s purpose for the local church as a missionary congregation.

Chapter 1

The author states that there needs to be closer relationship between the concept of mission and church. Many church members see mission and church as distinct and separate from each other and oftentimes in conflict with each other. This has happened in the past because of mission organizations operating separately from local church structures. The church is not separate from mission but exists by mission.

Chapter 2

The post Augustinian church shifted from self examination and criticism to self congratulation and static definition. This happened as the Roman church identified itself with the kingdom of God. The church is an emerging reality. It is always becoming. The church is always reaching forward to fulfill its calling and never arrives.

Chapter 3

Ephesians describes the “one, holy, catholic,” attributes of the church. The local church derives its ultimate meaning from the whole church. Oneness is intended to assist and enable mission and ministry. It is a oneness of numbers, spirituality, service, and theology.

Chapter 4

The reformation “marks” of the church were misrepresented to signify a local inclusive place and not actions to be performed in the world. It closed off the church from the world and divided the church against itself. The four attributes of the church oneness, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity are adverbs of missionary action and set the local church’s agenda.

Chapter 5

Van Engen restates the missionary intention of the local church as being for the world, identification with the oppressed, mission, proclamation witness, and yearning for numerical growth. This yearning is inclusive of all four of the the attributes of the creedal church. The church’s nature emerges from its reality and its center which is Jesus Christ.


Chapter 6

The purpose of the church involves koinonia (fellowship), kerygma (proclamation), diakonia (service), and marturia (witness). All four function as a witness to the world of God with us. He then asks is this the reason for which our congregations, mission churches, or denominations exist today?

Chapter 7

Van Engen describes and defines the relationship between the church and the kingdom of God. He asserts that the church is not the kingdom but an anticipatory sign of the kingdom of God. It witnesses to this kingdom reality. He also points out that the 3 self formula promoted by Venn and Anderson is deficient in light of the church being the anticipatory sign of the kingdom and hinders the church from being a true missionary people.

Chapter 8

The church is called to fulfill the three roles of prophet, priest, and king in the world. These three roles must be contextualized by a particular local church in its context. This is Jesus’ ministry transferred to his followers. This awareness has brought about new forms of church organized and shaped around ministry in the world.

Chapter 9

In the chapter on the missional goals of the local church the author states that each Christian is called to build the church. As salt is ineffective unless it is dispersed, the people of God will not be effected unless they are scattered and launched into the world and the surrounding context. As the context changes the priorities for life and ministry of the local church will change.

Chapter 10

The laity are the whole people of God who are called to minister. In order for this to happen there must be a conversion to Christ, a conversion to his church and a conversion to his ministry in the world. There must be a broad development of the people of God and not just the ten percent who do most of the work. Ordained persons are set apart to equip God’s missionary people so that the church is not simply a dictatorship, democracy, tribe, or club.

Chapter 11

Church leadership is described as a missiological event. The leader catalysts must embody and ignite mission in the congregation. This means that every church leader does tasks alongside another church member while having the ultimate goal of equipping them to be a leader. In this way effectiveness is measured by equipping.


Chapter 12

Van Engen concludes with the most critical step in leading missionary congregations and must be considered a spiritual activity. It is in administration that all of the missional goals of the congregation are given practical form. It must reflect the congregation’s context and launch them out as missionaries to the world.

Church and mission 11/25-Tradition

Our professor said that no matter what the church movement a tradition is formed within one generation. It makes me feel very vigilant about what traditions have been formed in our local church and whether they are relevant to what is going on in our local cultural context. Even though we have developed traditions they are not sacred and they are only to be used for the purpose of mission in our local context.

Reflections on Global Pentecostalism by Donald Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori

Chapter 1

The authors describe Pentecostalisms different streams and the fact that there is no one Pentecostalism. Next they point toward progressive pentecostalism in the two thirds world as the one stream that gives hands and feet to social engagement. In their study the authors include the transcendent experience of the Spirit as a factor in Progressive Pentecostalism’s social engagement and resutlting effectiveness alongside other contextual factors.

Chapter 2

There are some Pentecostal ministries involved in charitable assistance and emergency relief work while others are involved in systemic change and community development. Partnering with non governmental organizations has been successful partly due to the indirect benefits of 1) the hcurch perceived as providing the service to the community 2) leadership training from the NGO and 3) interaction with the government. The motivation behind the social engagement of progressive pentecostalism is to “be Christ’s hands and feet in the world”

Chapter 3

The programs serving children and youth are geared towards being holistic and not just giving hand outs. The common desire for many of these ministries is that the children do not get taken away from real life but to help them in the midst of their reality. Most of the ministries that have been effective provide authoritative communities for the children. They are also focused on the children’s rights, dignity, and providing a community environment.

Chapter 4

The embrace of the Holy Spirit in progressive Pentecostalism is what makes it distinct from other social service programs. This is what fuels the leaders of the different social ministries and what they credit as the main factor in their effectiveness. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that has given them the resources and empowered them to transform individuals and society.

Chapter 5

Progressive Pentecostalism’s embrace of the Holy Spirit is clearly seen in its worship and prayer rituals. They are truly meant to facilitate a communal and individual encounter with God. It is this aspect of Pentecostalism that the authors believe activates and renews the adherents commitment to social engagement.

Chapter 6

Pentecostalism has been a tool for upward mobility in many two third world countries. One of the reasons is because of its strict moral code which restricts spending on items such as alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, and prostitution. As a result families save more money and invest in business. There are also side benefits of setting a good example for the children and having a good reputation with employers. The upward mobility of Pentecostalism’s adherents is a paradox. On the one hand Pentecostalism’s alliance with existing capitalist structures hinders systemic change and on the other hand it stimulates systemic change.

Chapter 7

The structure of progressive Pentecostal churches is very organic and finds its basis in the apostle Paul’s metaphor of the body of Christ. It is also promoted by those who belong to the emerging church. The large and rapid growth of most churches is organized around cell groups. These cell groups consist of individuals who have a knowledge of and exercise their spiritual gifts. There is no room for benchwarmers. This creates a large workforce for social engagement.

Chapter 8

The middle class demographic within Pentecostalism has caused an alteration in its eschatology. No longer is eschatology about future events but the kingdom of God is a present reality. This means that being an agent of compassion and justice is imperative. The most important factor in doing this is the experience of corporate worship which gives the progressive pentecostal a sense of hope and joy in the midst of engaging despairing social realities.

Church and mission 11/23-6 to 10 hours of influence

In class yesterday, Professor Bolger said that the average person needs 6 to 10 hours a week with a community in order for them to be influenced by that community. This got me to thinking...How can we as a church influence people for the kingdom of God in this culture? The only regular environment where people spend 6-10 hours together I believe is the workplace. Do we train people adequately to represent Christ in the workplace? What about small groups? That's about 2 hours generally. That's not enough. Sunday morning church service is about 1-2 hours. That's not enough. Any ideas of how to build this 6 to 10 hours of kingdom influence into the week?

Church and mission 11/18-New Monasticism

The New Monastic Movement seems like one of the few bright spots in contemporary North American Christianity where people actually learn what it means to follow Jesus. Cultivating the Christlike practices of hospitality, peacemaking, and economic sharing could go along way in delivering a prophetic word to the world but also to the church. My one hesitation is that by having a certain segment of Christianity living life this way are they being set apart as the special ones or are they saying that this is the sum total and completeness of following Jesus and the rest of the wannabe Christians should follow suit? Hmmmm

Church and mission 11/16-Culture barriers

It seems that as we study the Catholic church there have been great strides in contextualization but also has limited contextualization. The Jesuits had some stand out priests who became like the ones they were ministering to but at the same time the church kept insisting on sameness and exalting the style of church that was imported from Europe.

Reflections on An Introduction to Ecclesiology by Velli Matti Karkkainen

Introduction-Dr Karkkainen lets us know that ecclesiology and pneumatology are connected and defines "ecclesiology proper" as the study of what makes church church?

Chapter 1-The Eastern Orthodox understanding of church draws on the church fathers of the east and is very spirit sensitive. The church is the image of the trinity and represents identity and mutuality or unity in diversity. Unity is seen as a result of the church being the body of Christ. Diversity is seen as a result of the church being the fullness of the Spirit.

Chapter 2-The Roman Catholic church is so large that our understanding of a particular ecclesiology can result in a generalization. Church is seen as a mystical communion and most hold that there can be no unity without primacy of the bishop of Rome otherwise known as the Pope

Chapter 3-Lutheran ecclesiology emphasizes the two marks of the church: The Word and the Sacraments. There is also an emphasis on the priesthood of believers and all Christians being called to minister in word and sacrament although some are called for public service i.e. pastors, preachers etc.

Chapter 4-Reformed ecclesiologies were responses to existing needs and not an attempt at systematic theology. Because of this there are tensions and inconsistencies. Calvin cared more about a right order of ministry in the visible church. Barth in the 20th century emphasized that the state needs a free church to remind it of its limits and calling

Chapter 5-The free church model is a result of global social change. It has its origins with the anabaptists. There is no visible and invisible church. Only the visible church. The church is created because of voluntary commitment of believers.For free churches mission is not just task of church but the purpose of the church.

Chapter 6-The common thread in Pentecostalism is that spiritual gifts are normative for contemporary church life. Fellowship or communion in Pentecostalism is the community gathered together for mutual edification. Pentecostalism has grown because of its ability to contextualize in the third world because of ability to contextualize.

Chapter 7-In Ecumenism ecclesiology determines the approach to seeking church unity. The issues being debated in ecumenical conversation is what unites the church? Do the sacraments and episcopacy unite the church? Does personal faith unite the church?

Chapter 8-John Zizoulas' ecclesiology is based on communion as an ontological category. In his thought there should be no isolation and the church must transcend natural divisions and obstacles.

Chapter 9-Hans Kung defines the real church as a visible community shaped by invisible aspects. It is an act of faith to believe in the church because it is included in the creeds.

Chapter 10-Pannenberg defines church as a sign of the kingdom of God. The church as a sign points to when all people will be united under one God. He also emphasizes that because of its public nature it should bring justice to society.

Chapter 11-Moltmann's ecclesiology is messianic and relational. He advocates for an open church which means it is for others. It is the opposite of the state church which is absent of community and commitment. For him the mission of the church is not to spread the church but to spread the kingdom of God.

Chapter 12-Miroslav Volf's ecclesiology attempts to give person and community their proper due. Matthew 18:20 is a guiding scripture which regulates the subjective and objective activities of church. It is the coming together in his name that defines church.

Chapter 13-James Mclendon Jr. says church is the flesh and blood assembly and the place to live out a new way of Christian discipleship. In this way ecclesiology is always provisional and looks forward to fulfillment not yet achieved.

Chapter 14-Lesslie Newbgin says the essential nature of the church is missionary. In being missionary the nature of the church's witness is to humbly bear the truth and witness to the truth but not possess the truth. For Newbigin, there is no church without mission and no mission without church.

Chapter 15-The non church movement started in Japan and is based on the principle that church is invisible because faith is invisible. It is also fueled by opposition to the institutional church.

Chapter 16-Base communities are an example of the church from below. They are connected through the faith of the church and the sharing of the gospel. There is no need for an ordained priest.

Chapter 17-Feminist church advocates for a church in the round model of table fellowship and a discipleship of equals to counter the hierarchical ways of patriarchy. The structure of church would only allow for no more than one hundred so all people no matter their age, sex, race, or status can learn to be family

Chapter 18-African independent churches emphasize communion as communal living. This is similar to the African pattern of life but it is based on the activity and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 19-The Shepherding movement focused on discipleship and care through a one on one relationship with a shepherd. Although it failed because of abuse of authority; the existence of the movement is a sign that there is a need in the western church for holistic care and discipleship.

Chapter 20-The world church is born out of the idea of stripping away all cultural baggage from Christianity. It is a church that reaches beyond boundaries and emphasizes creation and not salvation

Chapter 21-The postmodern church of another city is an alternative community with no permanent place. It is a call for the church to return to its jewish roots and bring faith into the public sphere of everyday life which include building houses, tending gardens, marrying etc.

Epilogue-The study of ecclesiology is important because people are looking for a community to give them meaning, hope, and a purpose. A 21st century ecclesiology must take into account other cultures and voices.

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Church and Mission 11/11 Fresh Expression

"Proclaiming the truth of gospel afresh in our changing culture raises questions about the shape of the church"-Bishop Graham Cray. There are no good old days of church. There has always been challenges, problems,and sin in the church. The only thing that we can do is strive to be faithful to what God is doing and discern what he wants to do with and through the church and its interaction with our current culture.

Church and Mission 11/9-Ministry in a network society

Today in class I finally figured out what makes community, church, and ministry so hard in the LA context. Life in LA is a clear example of what it means to be in a network society. Everyone is spread out and the relationships are not all located in one physical space. This makes it more difficult to do centralized ministry. It is better to decentralize and release people to do ministry wherever their networks are found.

Church and mission 11/4-The separation of church and kingdom

In class we learned that one of the reasons why people have done so many ungodly things in the name of Christ is because they did not separate the church from the kingdom of God. So the church became the enforcer of God's will on people without any checks or balances. I believe this is always a danger when the church aligns itself with a political system or culture. Then that political system or culture begins to be identified with the kingdom of God and begins to be imposed on those who do not adhere to it. So what can we do to stop the alignment of church and kingdom and the alignment of church and state?

Church and mission 11/2-Voluntary commitment vs passive Christianity

Many orthodox churches are tied to a nation state. This makes Christianity a matter of passive acceptance and not a voluntary commitment. Most who are born in these nations believe that because I am a citizen of this country therefore I am orthodox. There are parts of the United States that are like this (Bible belt :)but we are so pluralistic and have never had a state church so this attitude hasn't taken root. One thing that is similar between all the different church expressions here and abroad is that the youth need to make a voluntary commitment or the faith will face extinction.

Reflection on Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger

Ch 1

Western church must study culture because of the incarnation. A big cultural difference between the United Kingdom and the United States. The United Kingdom has a club culture and virtually no Christian subculture. The lack of Christian subculture creates a high social cost for those who become decide to follow Christ. Because of this the church in the U.K. has had to contextualize much earlier than the United States. The U.S. church should pay attention to church developments in the United Kingdom because of this difference in culture. It could be a major learning tool in the area of training Christians as missionaries

Ch 2

The emerging church can be defined first by what it is not. It is not a generational church. It is not a church within a church. The emerging church carries a certain ethos and engagement with postmodern culture. It can be recognized by three core practices: identifying with Jesus, transforming secular space, and living as community. The practices of welcoming the stranger, serving with generosity, participating as producers, creating as created beings, leading as a body and merging ancient and contemporary spiritualities flow out of the three core practices. The emerging church identifies with postmodernism’s deconstruction aspect but holds to the one meta-narrative of the gospel. One of the questions to be asked is Can older movements remain true to their tradition if they change to an emerging church model?

Ch 3

The first of the 3 core practices is identifying with Jesus. The emerging church emphasizes the gospel as more than just personal salvation as they seek to identify with Jesus and his kingdom agenda. In this way emerging churches take on the mission of Jesus. This emphasis is informed by the writings of N.T. Wright, John Howard Yoder, David Bosch, and Leslie Newbiggin. For emerging churches the mission of Jesus is more important than a church worship service and the kingdom of God is the highest priority. There is the need to recontextualize the kingdom of God concept with language for this generation.

Ch 4

Transforming secular space means that there is no divide between secular and sacred. This is a reaction against modern culture’s dualism. Because of this emerging churches engage with culture not to be trendy but in order to do worship and mission as a way of life. The emerging churches do not divide life into separate compartments. Instead life is to be viewed holistically. As a result there are no separate holy buildings or music or art. Emerging churches will gather in cafes or lounges or clubs. They worship using songs and art that permeates their everyday lives. The whole of life becomes a gift to God.




Ch 5

Living as community is built on the foundation that secular space no longer exists. Community is not defined as meeting in a church building but more as identification with Christ and his followers. Emerging churches view church as the people of God and as a rhythym and not a routine. Some emerging churches do not have a scheduled meeting. Some of the challenges then become staying focused on Jesus and his kingdom and not just friendship. In a way it is the same challenge of other forms of church. Another challenge is to wrestle with the practicalities of future growth. One way to meet these challenges is for smaller groups to come together as church in city or region and making space in the smaller groups for each individual to participate.

Ch 6

The practice of welcoming the stranger is to practice inclusion. Modernity created order by excluding those who were different. In order to counter this the emerging churches offer acceptance and forgiveness on site. Hospitality also becomes a central practice as emerging churches welcome the stranger. Emerging churches welcome those from other faiths while staying true to historic Christianity. Being concerned about faking friendship and having an agenda is a primary for those in the emerging church. They would rather be open to the agenda of the Holy Spirit and not subscribe to canned presentations of faith.

Ch 7

Serving with generosity counters and confronts the consumer culture of exchange. This consumer culture of exchange has created the consumer church of modernity. The emerging church seeks to turn the consumer church on its head by serving others with a spirit of generosity. It is not just human activism or the social gospel of the 1920's. It is kingdom activity that must never be divorced from its roots and nourishment in the gospel. There is also an avoidance of programs. Serving is a way of life and many serve through their vocations rather than church administered program.

Ch 8

To participate as producers in the emerging church means to follow what John Howard Yoder has called “the rule of Paul.” This means that everyone in the gathering participates. Emering churches view church as an egalitarian kingdom of priests. This is the way forward in not catering to consumeristic demands. The leaders are there to faciliate and the only way to receive from the gathering is through participation. In order for this practice to be realized meeting need to be small. Full participation for every person becomes a challenge when the group gets larger.

Ch 9

The emerging church holds strongly to the practice of creating as created beings. The worship gatherings include more than just an orator and a band playing a narrow genre of music. It incorporates Djing, dance, writing, poetry, videography and many other creative expressions in order to fulfill the mandate to create in imitation and honor of the Creator God. This is one way the emerging church fights against the Mcdonaldization of society. The art is not ego driven but arises out of personhood and community identity. At the same time creating as created beings is a way to communicate spirituality publicly and offers those who are visitors in the gathering space to experience God.

Ch 10

Leading as a body means that there is no one leader. Emerging churches eschew hierarchy for a leadership that is more fluid and flexible. The leadership of emerging churches do not use modernity’s primary leadership tool: control. Leadership tools are non-coercive and there is more emphasis on consensus building. Some emerging churches even desire to have a leaderless group. While others have experimented with this concept they have had to change and morph because being leaderless gives rise to unspoken leaders which can be toxic to the group. Most emerging churches do not have staff because of the pragmatic reason that there is not enough money to support staff salaries.

Ch 11

Merging ancient and contemporary spiritualities give the emerging churches a unique blend of old and new. Many of the older forms are reshaped or reinterpreted for this generation. Many pray the fixed hours of prayer and participate in liturgy. A lot of the spirituality of emerging churches is based on Celtic spirituality. Emerging church spirituality also has roots in the Third Wave Charismatic movement and the practice of John Wimber (founder of the Vineyard Association of Churches) who invited the presence of the Holy Spirit as opposed to commanding a particular manifestation. Emerging churches also engage the culture with spirituality and invite others into experiencing God through connecting with aspects of contemporary culture.

Ch 12

Bolger and Gibbs book was difficult to write because it was a snapshot of a rapidly changing scenario. Emerging churches are changing and morphing and some are dying. They do represent a new form of church expression that is impacting the Western world. This book is composed of the emerging church leaders in their own words and is a record of what is going on within this movement.

Church and mission 10/28 The empire and the church

Constantine called for all the councils in order to regulate the faith throughout the empire. He could not afford to have division between the one thing that consolidated his empire: Christianity. The councils helped to establish our now orthodox views on Christian doctrine but the councils were not initiated by the church. It was the emperor who gathered the bishops together not because of a pure love for God but for pure love of empire. Does that discredit the creeds and theology that came from the councils?

Lord's prayer translation

We have been going over the Lord's prayer and reciting it throughout the day as a church. I have gotten some interesting feedback about this excercise and I thought I'd give my translation of the Lord's prayer from greek class. Can you spot the slight changes?

Our Father who is in heaven.
Let your name be made holy
Let your kingdom come
Let your will become
As in heaven also on earth
Our necessary bread give to us today
Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors
And do not lead us into temptation
But deliver us from the evil one

Church and mission 10/26-The bigger things get..

In looking at the preConstantinian church it seems to me that the bigger things get the more structured and hierarchical they become. I do not see any way around it. Some may champion a smaller church but if you do smaller church good then inevitably it will grow. This is what happened to the early church. The smaller church grew and morphed into more structured forms. So what is the way forward from here? Do we advocate for smaller church? Maybe we need to advocate for a church that is more faithful to Jesus. That way no matter how big or structured ijavascript:void(0)t gets there is always a center to come back to.

Church and mission 10/21-Is formalization a bad thing?

As we took a look at the pre-Constantine church we see steps toward formalizing baptism, leadership and the Lord's supper. What amazes me is that these are the things that we have recently formalized at our church. I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing. We have added structure to them because we did not want people to 1) make mistakes in conducting them and 2) Not be a bad witness to those who are new. It seems to me that there is a difference between formalizing and giving structure and I think that it is necessary to give structure while it is not necessary to formalize. When there are large numbers of people (over 30) then there needs to be structure. I think the larger the group the greater the structure. What do you think?

Church and mission 10/19-The four F words of 1st century Christian leadership

1st century Christian leadership was flat, fluid, functional and many times female. This is also the kind of leadership that we need in the 21st century. We need flat leadership with less hierarchy or no hierarchy at all (although sometimes that's inevitable). We need fluid leadership with people not stuck in permanent roles and becoming institutionalized. We need functional leadership that is not about titles but the gifts that leaders bring to the table. We need leadership that is female because for years the body of Christ has been missing out on its key players-the women that have been sitting on the bench due to mishandled scripture and male insecurity. This is the kind of leadership we need but the question now is how does my church measure up to the four F words of 1st century Christian leadership?

Dating ain't easy #1-Find your well

One of the best things that I learned during my years of dating was to "Find your well". What do I mean by "Find your well." It means to go and serve where the kind of person you want to be your spouse congregates. Isaac's wife was found at a well serving. Moses wife was found at a well serving. Jesus even met a woman at a well and she turned out to be a great addition to his bride the Body of Christ. So many single Christians get themselves all twisted up because they met somebody at a gas station or at a bar or a club and they do not really know who this person is or what their character is like. When I realized this I started going to places where I would be around godly men (to hold me accountable) and women and not around skanks. Did I just say that??? Anyway in the process I found a beautiful woman to be my wife and helpmeet. Not because I was so focused on dating but because I was focused on serving. So ladies if you want to better your prospects then find your well! Fellas if you want to better your prospects. Find your well! I can't guarantee anything but it is a start. No use of fishing in the Sahara :)

While we are on the subject has anybody had a horror story of meeting someone at a club or on the street somewhere?

If you are married where did you meet your spouse?

Grace and peace,

Ramon

Reflections on The Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle

Chapter 1

In this chapter Tickle explains what the "Great Emergence" is and shows how every 500 years institutionalized Christianity is shattered and renewal and new growth take place. When this happens a new living form of the faith comes into being and the older tradition is revitalized. At the same time the faith spreads into new geographic and demographic areas.

Chapter 2

This chapter shows how religion is a social construct using the analogy of the cable. The waterproof casing is the shared story/history of the community. The mesh sleeve of the cable is the common imagination or the community's view of how the world works or the way things are supposed to be. Inside the waterproof casing are the three strands of spirituality, morality, and corporeality. Spirituality is the experiences and values internal to individuals or groups of individuals in the community. Morality is the externalization or application of these values and corporeality is the physical and overt evidence of a group's existence. When the waterproof casing of a community's shared story and the mesh sleeve of its common imagination are damaged or called into question then the community takes each of the individual strands and changes them in order to adjust them to the new reality.

Chapter 3

This chapter focuses on the Great Reformation and compares it to the Great Emergence. In many ways they are similar as people in that time were attempting to answer the question of authority. It was also a time in which the shared story and common imagination of the church were shaken up by several new discoveries. Copernican theory showed that the earth was not the center of the solar system and this along with Columbus' discovery of the New World challenged the authority of the church. These things along with the rise of the nation state, capitalism, the middle class, and the use of the printing press were factors which led to The Great Reformation and also the Counter or Catholic Reformation. Both of these are examples of a new vital form of the faith coming into being, the old tradition being revitalized and the faith being spread to new geographic and demographic areas.

Chapter 4

New discoveries in the fields of biology, physics, and psychology led to the Great Emergence. The fields of biology and physics were radically altered by Charles Darwin and Michael Faraday. As a result the authority of sola scriptura was challenged and the reaction against biblical criticism, evolution, and liberal theology gave birth to the fundamentalist movement. Here Tickle describes the Great Emergence as an attempt to hold in tension the key tenets of evangelicalism and the new theologically diverse and pluralistic culture. Another factor that led to the Great Emergence is Joseph Campbell's Power of Myth television broadcast which challenged Christian exclusivity and particularity. In a way television and now the internet have become the new Gutenberg press for the Great Emergence. Because of the developments in biology, physics, and psychology the two questions important to the Great Emergence are 1) What is human consciousness and/or the consciousness of the human? 2) What is the relation of all religions to one another or how can we live as faithful adherents of one religion in a world of many religions?

Chapter 5

Here Tickle describes the external culture of the Great Emergence. The Heisenberg principle of uncertainty was based on Einstein's special theory of relativity and in turn influenced literary deconstruction. Literary deconstruction claimed that there is no absolute truth and challenges the authority of the Bible as the ultimate authority. Pentecostalism and African American particapatory styles of worship impact North American Christianity. The egalitarianism and experience based authority also leave their mark on the face of North American Christianity. The automobile takes the family away from Grandma and the nuclear family disintegrates and at the same time Biblical literacy increases. Alcoholics Anonymous, The Immigration act, and the Drug age pave the way for a new spirituality. Much of the Great Emergence's thinking is rooted in the two Vatican Councils of 1869 and 1962. Information has replaced cash as the new basis of power. The North American Great Emergence as fresh expression of Christianity is primarily a conversation.

Chapter 6

North American Christianity can divided into four groups: liturgicals, social justice, renewalists, and conservatives. There categories cross denominational lines partly because of the "watercooler" theology of the Great Emergence. These denominational lines have blended and eroded divisions. Divisions still exist and the most significant is between believing and behaving. The liturgical and social justice christains would be in the behaving category while the conservatives and renewalists are in the believing category. All these different groups are gathering towards a center and being blended together to form a new expression of Christianity. Tickle says the reacting Christians are the Great Emergence's ballast and this ballast is needed in order to keep the fresh expression grounded. She predicts that sixty percent of practicing Christians will be emergent or some clear variant thereof. There will also be Traditionalists who stick with the old faith and act in the same way as the Catholic/Counter Reformation, Re-traditionalists who refurbish their inherited church to make it more like it was originally, Progressives will remodel the faith and remove barriers in order to engage postmodernity, the Hyphenated Christians nearest to the Emerging center will use material from their inherited church but also build something new with this old material.

Chapter 7

The biggest question facing the Great Emergence is "Where now is the authority?" This question has divided the Great Emergence into two camps of orthonomy and theonomy. Orthonomy is the principle of using correct or harmonious beauty as a tool for discerning the truth. Theonomy is the principle that God can only be the source of perfect action and thought and interpreting the meaning of the Bible as the way to discern truth. The Great Emergence sees authority as networked among believers and in this way is a conversation. This way of thinking finds its origins in the Quaker movement and more recently in John Wimber's centered set theory. This centered set theory has been articulated by Great Emergence leaders as "belong-behave-believe". The Great Emergence also relies heavily on narrative versus metanarrative and this will lead into a new understanding of "the self" which is much different than the Hellenized Greek way of understanding "the self" and more Jewish in perspective. As the Great Emergence rewrites theology the Roman and Protestant communions will have to readjust themselves accordingly.

Church and mission 10/14-The hyphenated teacher

All leaders are usually teachers in some capacity or another. It is in the job description to define reality and to train others. In the five fold ministry passage(Ephesians 4:11-12) there has been debate over whether there were just plain old teachers in the early church. I know some people nowadays who can teach and only teach and I would not say that they were leaders necessarily. It seems to me that in order to lead you would have to be connected to the body in some other people oriented way other than teaching. What do you think?

Church and mission 10/12-The holistic Jesus and his compartmenalized church

Jesus' church is much more holistic than our modern version of church today. It seems like the parts flowed into a seamless whole. The sacramental act of baptism was initiation into community but it was also a means of forgiveness. Forgiveness brokered outside the wealthy and religious power bases was a characteristic of this community and at the same time community was a form of mission as those on the outside saw the distinct lives of Jesus' followers and how they included everyone and they in turn wanted to follow him as well. In contrast the way most churches do it is to have separate departments for each area (liturgy/sacrament, community, mission, leadership). This actually makes things more complicated and spreads our time more thin. I wonder how we can make our church communities more holistic and not so compartmentalized.

Resume of weakness

This past Sunday I talked about the left hand being weak and how God uses weakness to show how powerful he is in our lives. As a way for us to implement a theology of weakness in our lives I have taken an excercise from The Emotionally Healthy Church workbook by Peter Scazerro called "Writing a Resume of Weakness" This is an exercise where we write out the weaknesses and deficiencies that we have. I know it sounds like a real downer but it is actually refreshing because it helps us see that we are not perfect and that we do not have to be perfect. Here are the categories:

Deficiencies in training and education

Missing gifts and skills

Obstacles of personality and temperament

Questionable aspects of my past character

Weaknesses in emotional and spiritual maturity

Just list them out and share them with a friend or mentor and ask them to share with you as well. Your relationship will grow and you will definitely create space for God to move in your life

Judges 3:12-19 overflow

I didn't have the time to include and explain this comparison in my sermon this past Sunday on Judges 3:12-19 and the story of Ehud the left handed Benjamite but Ehud is very similar to Christ in the way that he defeated Israel's enemy Eglon the king of Moab:

He gave him a message of judgement. Satan and our sins were judged by Christ on the cross.

He cut his flesh. Jesus flesh was cut on the cross.

He sacrificed a fat little bull (that's what Eglon's name means) in order for his people to be free. Christ became the sacrifice in order to set his people free.

Also for those of you who are left handed here a couple of websites which applaud being "right brained" or in other words left handed:

A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Oh yeah just in case you didn't know: Our new president is left handed as well.

It's our time! :)

Church and mission 10/7-Jesus outreach strategy

So many times I think what can we do to bring Jesus people? Is there a particular outreach strategy that the church is supposed to use? We just recently learned that the most effective outreach strategy is to be a community that lives distinctly and in close proximity those who have not yet experienced the kingdom of God. Then I am left with the questions: What does a distinct life look like in this North American context? How can we be in close proximity to those who have not yet experienced the kingdom of God?

Definition of "usurp authority over"

My exegetical method class with Dr. Love Sechrest requires me to translate passages from greek to english. It is a very eye opening process as I have read the Bible so many times that many of the phrases are hard wired into my brain. This makes it hard to come up with my own translation and not just copy what the NIV, KJV, ESV have done. One of the interesting nuggets that I am chewing on is the translation of the word αὐθεντεῖν which means "to usurp authority over". Here is the dilemma to usurp means to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right. Now in the context it is talking about women teaching or having authority over a man. My question is this: Is it talking about women having authority over a man or the way in which they have authority over a man i.e. seizing and holding by force or without legal right? What if they have a legal right? What if they do not seize and hold authority by force? Hmmmm.....

A new favorite-Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, and red pepper

This is a great recipe that I found in the 15 minute fuss free cookbook Yvette gave me for Father's day. You can find it here on the Food Network site. It is an unusual take on spaghetti but I love it. The pepper and the garlic flavor keep it exciting even though it doesn't have a thick sauce. We ate it with spinach and it was delicious :)

Recession forces churches to be multiethnic

Leadership Journal's Out of Ur blog has a story about two churches merging to becoming multiethnic. As I look at the two churches I see that they are both baptist churches and it raises two questions:

Is denomination more important than ethnicity?

How are they going to merge the two different contextualized styles of worship, leadership, serving the community etc.

This should be interesting. Here is the story

Post racial???

It is totally ironic to me that Obama stated that we live in a post racial America when:

1. His whole presidency was shadowed by race from the controversy over Jeremiah Wright's sermons and theology to the fact that he is the first African American president

2. The whole incident with Henry Louis Gates and the Boston police officer James Crowley

3. The outburst of South Carolina Rep Joe Wilson against Obama's health care reform bill. The outburst then being called out by former President Jimmy Carter as "based on racism" Check out the video here

4. Kanye West's grabbing of the mic and interrupting Taylor Swift and the racialized youtube commentaries that have sprang up after the incident.

As much as we want to live in a "we are the world" fantasy we cannot escape the issue of race and ethnicity. That's why I am grateful for being in a multiethnic church and I pray that we continue to make progress in tackling these issues head on and pursue the vision of Revelation 5:9

And they sang a new song:
"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Revelation 5:9

Introducing Jesus Christ......

Last week I preached on the greatness and majesty of Christ and how that evokes a response of awe inspired worship. It was a hard thing to communicate and although Steve Harvey is a comedian I think he gets it. You can especially see it at the end of this video. Check it out

Reality Check

This past week I went to the doctor because of a sinus infection. It turns out that it was renal sinusitis. Sounds alot worse than it is :)So now I have to take some penicillin three times a day and it is totally killing me down in the bowels if you know what I mean.

The funny thing is that in my trip to the doctor I found out that my blood pressure was above normal and so I need to go on a low sodium diet and exercise more. This is just a symptom of a deeper problem because I know it's not just the salty foods which I love and hate having to give up. It is also about my stress level. I am not always aware of my stress. That is strange coming from an introvert but I have learned how to cope with the stress that I have in unhealthy ways. So I'm not all stressed out running around and going through emotional ups and downs all the time. I just hold it in and hold it in and hold it in and it starts affecting my body and my emotions in ways that are damaging to myself and others around me. This week was a wake up call and a reality check. Me and Yvette did some shopping and got a new diet for me but I also need to exercise. I started running about two years ago and I just fell off. I also started playing tennis as well but life has been so hectic for us that all the routines have been thrown out of whack. From having a baby, starting school, changing jobs twice, and moving two times in the same year things have been out of control. That's why I want to stay put for a bit in terms of all of those things and begin to implement more health into my life. After all I don't want to die early from bad eating and stress. Martyrdom is ok as long as it's not self inflicted :)

The Holy Land Experience

Christianity and capitalism have come together once again in the Holy Land Experience. Check out the video To me this cheapens the Bible and makes Christians look like money grubbing opportunists. Didn't Jesus whip the money changers out of the temple?

On another note this also is very inauthentic. Most of the actors are white including Jesus and Mary. Still many brainwashed white people go to look at a bearded Fabio while eating cotton candy and popcorn to make themselves feel good. The worst part is seeing the little black kids sitting at the feet of this Fabio lookalike.

Let's look at some evidence to the contrary:

1. Egypt was a colony of Nubia which in ancient times as well as today is black or africoid

2. The Hebrews went into Egypt 70 deep and came out of Egypt 400-500 years later half a million strong.

3. Jesus went into Egypt to hide for at least 12 years and does not get caught.

4. The Jews as we know them today are the product of 2,000 years of racial mixing as they were dispersed to Europe and Russia.

5. Jewish identity today is still a mixed bag of religious, cultural, and genetic markers

The question is this Is it possible that Christ was black or African in physical appearance? Let me know what you think because I need some input to write my next paper for class.

Cussing evangelist

Check out this cussing evangelist I bet he gives Mark Driscoll a run for his money!

Vacation time

Its that time of year again. Vacation. I wont be on the blog as much but I will make a commitment to come back with pictures. THis year will be a little different as we will be in cleveland and orlando visiting friends and family. Kaydon will finally see the other side of the family in Pittsburgh and Cleveland and Orlando will be especially fun as we will be seeing one of Yvette's best friends Amy Ramos who is having a baby boy real soon. Amy works for Campus Crusade For Christ and so we will be hanging out with a lot of "crusaders" (a name change is way overdue) while we stay at the Wycliffe guest house. I feel like I'm going to catch the missionary bug. Wait after going to Ethiopia eight times I think I already caught it:)

I am Sylar

As I am trying to figure out who I am/becoming in this new context of pastoring Sylar from Heroes is struggling to figure out who he is after all that shape shifting. Anybody familiar with code switching can feel his pain? Maybe it isn't as bad as waking up with a different face and an extra tooth but it does leave you disoriented.

Pastor on the fringe

I have always wondered why I have had a missionary heart while having the gifts of pastoring and teaching. I used to think maybe I was supposed to pastor and care for missionaries overseas. Maybe that is in the cards for the future but I feel right now I am in the zone as a pastor of the fringe. I think this is a great need as we see ourselves in a Western culture that is secular and becoming increasingly unchurched. I used to think pastoring was for those who are heavily churched. It made me think of rural areas where people have been Christians for over four generations. Now I see my call as a pastor in a much different light. Now I see it as a call to pastor the unchurched, the returning back to church, and the recently churched. What does this mean in practical terms?

1) It means as a pastor of a multiethnic church I must deal with and address the issues that are pertinent to a global context and not just the Amerikkkan evangelical context. Issues like being racially sinned against, veneration of ancestors, spirits are going to be a part of that most definitely.

2) It also means that I deal with gender issues as we have many women in leadership. It's going to take a lot of sensitivity, insight, and listening and openness to change in ministry plans and preaching to a female audience.

3) It means that I have to keep my eye out for not only those who are unreached but for those who are forgotten. The issues that are forgotten or never thought about are the hardest to keep an eye out for but two that I am working on right now are: marijuana use and homosexuality. What do we do about these issues that are currently on voting ballots? Does anyone have any resources to recommend or any theological perspective besides "they are wrong"?

Emerging church panel discussion and diversity

Has anyone seen the Emerging church panel discussion that was done in Dallas at the Christian Book Expo about a week ago? Here it is if you haven't seen it

For what it's worth I have been watching this emerging church conversation from a distance and also feel like I have participated in it as our church exhibits some of those qualities. In some ways I feel as if we go beyond the typical emerging/emergent church in the area of two things:

Our multiethnic diversity. I don't know how to express this in a way that people understand except when we gather the phrase that comes to my mind is "The United Nations goes to church" I think that is being done in other parts of the US and the world so I would not claim that we have a monopoly on it but I will say that if we are going to go forward and remove ourselves from the traps of culturally constructed evangelical Christianity we have to include the non white ethnic voices and also go beyond theology as a white discourse. A hard thing to do after 500-600 years of slavery and colonialism. As I watch the discussion and look over the blogosphere there are not that many non white voices represented in the emerging conversation. I think this is a fundamental flaw with this whole emerging/emergent movement.javascript:void(0)

Our gender diversity. This is not to say that I as a male do not struggle with this issue but I know that as a church we promote women in leadership and I wish to do it on a larger scale. There is something that the body of Christ is missing if we have as Jamie Wilson one of the Vineyard pastors says "half the team on the bench". This is a new direction for me even though it is not a new direction for our church. I think it has to start with the leadership and clearly from looking at this panel discussion not only is it all white but it is all male. Let's get a diversity of voices to sit at the table and then we can talk about doing church and theology in the postmodern world.

The Sphinx of Pasadena

The class I am taking this quarter is called "The African Roots of Black Theology". Besides being taught by one of the best professors at Fuller, Ralph Watkins, it also is full of meaty content. I mean this stuff is good enough to sop up with a biscuit!

We have been reading some thick stuff on the African origins of civilization and how that has influenced the Judeo Christian tradition and how white culturally constructed Christianity has not recognized and even rejected this very notion because of racism. Alot of the key texts we have been reading have centered around Egyptian religion and mythology and how that influenced the Judeo Christian as well as the Greco Roman traditions. One of the things that has remained mysterious is the great statue in Thebes known as the Sphinx. This statue is Negroid in features and has been reported to have originated in Ethiopia. The funny thing is I was waling on Madison ave behind Fuller and there are two statues in front of the Scottish Rite Cathedral that are Sphinxes but with Caucasian features complete with ankhs (Egyptian crosses) and everything. What does it all mean?

The Day after Easter

The nerves. The jitters. The expectation. The climactic finale. No it wasn't a broadway musical or an american idol performance. No it was my first Easter service. It is amazing how much I was geeked up. I think its because if followers of Jesus have a day to claim it is Resurrection Day. The one thing that I realize in the aftermath of it all is that when it comes down to it Resurrection Day does not end. Every day can be Resurrection Day when we are connected to the living Christ. This past Sunday was full of wonderful suprises....kids performing a song....a spoken word poem about the women witnesses of the Resurrection.....Easter dinner with family....a zebra, baby pigs, goats, ducks, and a camel in the middle of Compton but nothing could be more amazing than Jesus Christ risen from the dead. That's how I'm living the day after Easter.

Check out the words of a poem written by our very own Emily Feng

WHO AM I
I AM.
I AM A WOMAN.
I AM THAT WOMAN OF HIGH PLACES AND ALWAYS TRAVELED WITH MORE THAN 7 SUITCASES ( SHE EVEN HAS COLLECTIONS OF GOLDEN FLOWER VASES?)
I AM
I AM THAT WOMAN WHO GAVE UP MY JEWELS, DIAMONDS AND EXPENSIVE SHOES
ABANDONED ALL THE RULES SO I CAN FOLLOW YOU (PROVIDE FOR YOU)

WHO AM I?

I AM
I AM A WOMAN.
I AM THAT WOMAN WITH SEVEN DEMONS IN MY FLESH
TORMENTING MY SOUL AS IF THEY WERE PLANNING TO EAT ME FRESH

I AM
I AM THAT WOMAN YOU CAME TO SET ME FREE,
FREE OF SHADOWS IN THE DARK NIGHTS THAT HAUNTED ME,
FREE OF THE VOICES AND WHISPERS THAT SHIVERED MY BODY,
FREE OF THE ROTTEN SMELL SEEPING OUT OF MY PORES,
(HE SPOKE TO THE SPIRITS AND SAID, “NO MORE”)

WHO AM I?

I AM
I AM A WOMAN.
I AM THAT WOMAN WHO WORRIED FOR MY CHILDREN
WILL THEY EVER BE SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF HIS KINGDOM
(SHE SURE DID NOT KNOW WHAT SHE WAS ASKING FOR)

I AM
I AM THAT WOMAN WHO FAILED TO COMPREHEND
WHAT IT MEANS WHEN YOU SAID YOU WILL BE DEAD AND RISEN AGAIN
(THE POWER OF YOUR RESURRECTION)

WHO AM I?

I AM
I AM A WOMAN
I AM THAT WOMAN WHO WITNESSED YOUR ANGUISHED ON THE CROSS
YOUR BLOOD DRIPPING FROM THE NAILS HAVE MY HOPE AND FAITH ALL ROBBED
(SHE DID NOT KNOW MY DEATH WAS THE COST)
I AM
I AM THAT WOMAN WHO IS LOST AND CONFUSED
YOU SAID YOU WERE THE MESSIAH THAT HAD COME TO MY RESCUE
(I SAY, WAIT ON ME, MY LOVE, WILL YOUR HEART REFUSE?)

FOR I AM.
I AM
I AM THE ARTIST WHO COLLECTS YOUR TEARS TO PAINT RAINBOWS IN THE SKIES,

I AM THE MUSICIAN WHO ASKS THE MORNING STARS TO SING WHEN THE DARKNESS IN YOUR HEART RESIDES

I AM THE MOTHER WHO GAVE BIRTH TO HOT WHITE CHOCOLATE MOCHA WITH MARSHAMALLOWS ON A WINTER STORMY NIGHT

I AM THE LOVER WHO MESSAGES YOUR SOUL AFTER THE TWO LONG HOURS OF TRAFFICJAM ON THE 405 ,

IN FACT, I SANG WITH YOU WHILE YOU LISTENED TO THE RADIO
SINGING:
(THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU, NO ONE ELSE CAN TOUCH MY HEART LIKE YOU DO.)

I AM THE CHEERLEADER WHO YOU ARE MY ULTIMATE FAN AND I DANCED TO THE RHYTHM OF YOUR LIFE
(IF YOU WANT TO BE THE BEAUTY, I AM WILLING TO BE YOUR BEAST.)

I AM ARIEL IN THE LITTLE MERMAID, OUT OF MY DEEP LOVE AND ADORATION, I AM WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE.

I AM THE PILLOW AFTER YOUR HEARTACHE, FOR YOU TO HUG, PUNCH, PUT YOUR HEAD UNDER TO HIDE

I AM THE BEAUTICIAN WHO STUDIES WHAT COLOR HAIR AND SKIN COMPLEXTION GOES BEST WITH YOUR EYES

I AM THE PERSONAL SHOPPER WHO KNOWS YOUR CURVES, ROLLS AND WAISTLINE, IN FACT THEY WERE MINE TO DESIGN.

FOR I AM
THE ADVOCATE, THE ALMIGHTY, ALPHA AND OMEGA
THE BLESSED, THE BRIDEGROOM, BEGINNING AND THE END
THE CHRIST, THE CREATOR, THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE
THE LION THE LAMB AND THE LORD OF ALL LORDS
WHO AM I?, YOU ASK.
I AM
I AM

Good Friday, Soul Food, and the current Economic Crisis

Today is Good Friday. Some may say what is so good about it. I think they have valid reason to question the goodness of this Friday or any day but...I beg to differ. This Friday is uniquely good because of what was done on a hill in Palestine over two thousand years ago. Something that was not clean cut and pristine but something that was gruesome and bloody. The scene of one of the most violent murders and executions not because of the actual acts of torture or what we have seen from the Mel Gibson movie but because this was the murder and execution of the Son of God.

This bloody scene
Far from being innocent
Has sentenced me
Guilty as charged
A wooden stake
A blood stained crossbar
Seen from the past
Back to the future
Through ghetto alleyways
Lonely lynching trees
Hateful glances
Turned to second chances
Two thieves on each side
Represent you and I
The mob goes wild
Thirsty for blood
Shouting crucify him
He is somebody's child
This bloody scene
At Golgotha
Place of the skull

There is something about this day when we choose to remember it that evokes dirtiness and at the same time cleansing. It brings up images of the most violent waste and yet we the followers of Christ choose to see redemption. In the same way my ancestors chose to take the slops and scraps that were given to them because they were seen as less than nothing and they chose to see redemption. Although they were given these scraps of unwanted food and animal parts because their oppressors saw them as dirty they cleansed themselves by redeeming what was given to them and affirming their own humanity. They were given scraps and the things that no one wanted and they made soul food.

Hamhocks
Black eyed peas
Collard Greens
Soul Food
A kind word
A roaring laughter
A welcoming smile
Soul Food
A rugged cross
An empty tomb
A risen Christ
Soul Food

In these days and times where many are losing their jobs and we watch the stock prices plummet. Where even folks in Beverly Hills are taking their jewelry to the pawn shop so that they can get by. Let's remember the cross. Let's remember redemption. Let's remember that no matter what slops and scraps life throws at us we can either choose to see the negative or look at the plan of God which is always redemption. That's why today is Good Friday :)

So you're a pastor now?

Well this is the end of the first week being the "senior" pastor" (I still don't like how that sounds) and I feel energized and refreshed and at the same time dead dog tired. After meeting with interns, working on the sermon, meeting with one of our resident artists Matthias Thornton Bivens otherwise known as Matt Bivens, Sending out emails about the service, baptism, follow up materials and numerous other miscellaneous things, a phone meeting with our kids director/set up person/bulletin printer, preaching Sunday morning and the korean birthday party for the one year old son of two of our worship leaders plus.....watching Kaydon, reading for my African Roots of Black Theology Class, Mccormick and Shmicks with Yvette, trips to the bank, the thrift store, and Burlington Coat Factory....I am tired.

Now mind you this was not all in one day and there was a whole day where I sat around in my pj's, watched a movie, played with my son and had my bottle of guiness for the night. So I do keep it balanced.

All this to say that this was actually a pretty tame week when I think about what is to come and I am ready to throw my hands up and scream for the rest of the rollercoaster ride! Life is good ;)

Senior Citizens Hip Hop Choir and Boring Seminary Teachers

One of my biggest struggles is when the content of something is devlivered in a less than spectacular or at the least unsuitable form. It's like when people over 50 try to rap. Now don't get me wrong soon enough most rappers will be 50 (not 50 cent :) but they grew up in the culture and time period of rap. I think the question of delivery vs. content is why we laugh at things like "The rappin granny" or the Senior Citizens Hip Hop Choir

This brings up another issue I have been seeing in seminary. The teachers who have the most students that attend and rave about their classes and tell others are the ones who have a better "delivery". They are more personable. The lectures are engaging. My black theology professor Dr. Ralph Watkins has preached, sang, and fell out on the floor without missing a step and it has not only been enjoyable but it is in line with the content of the class-black theology. If teachers or preachers don't have the delivery right the content is lost. People can go read the book for the content but only the messenger can bring the delivery.