SEAM REDEEMED: Welcome to the Church of What Not to Wear
by Karen Swallow Prior
No, I’m not talking about the get-ups of the folks gathered at the summer tent revival held behind the used car lot. I’m talking about the phenomenon of The Learning Channel’s What Not to Wear. (Full disclosure: I am one of the faithful.)
In case you’ve been living under a rock or don’t get cable, What Not to Wear (based on a British show of the same name) is an hour-long “reality show” in which one of the fashion-fallen among us is secretly nominated by a concerned loved one, filmed surreptitiously for two weeks, then accosted by the show’s two hosts and fashion experts, Clinton Kelly and Stacy London. In exchange for a $5,000 shopping spree, the nominee must agree to surrender her old wardrobe and submit to a litany of fashion rules set by London and Kelly.
Behind the show’s long-running success (the US version has been on the air since 2003) is a formula as old as story itself, a pattern that includes the elements of any well-told story, as well as the one ingredient essential to any great story: redemption.
The True Quest
The protagonist of each What Not to Wear narrative is a reluctant heroine facing numerous obstacles in what superficially appears to be a rather shallow quest: to spend $5,000 on a new wardrobe that adheres to the new style rules. As with every quest, antagonists abound: the person who nominated the subject for the show (a friend, co-worker, or family member); the show’s benevolent but stern hosts London and Kelly; and the scissors-wielding and lipstick-bearing hair and make-up artists responsible for the final touches in the heroine’s transformation.
In any great story, however, the real quest turns out to be something altogether different from the ostensible one, something deeper and far more significant. In the Arthurian legends, for example, the quest for the Holy Grail is actually a quest for kinship in the face of all that threatens the community of the Round Table; in Great Expectations, Pip’s quest to become a gentleman according to his false definition becomes instead a quest to become a true gentleman; in Fight Club, the unnamed narrator’s quest to overcome depression and insomnia is really a quest for a unified sense of self in a depersonalized, commodified society. You get the idea. Likewise, in every episode of What Not to Wear, the true quest for the heroine always turns out to be much more than the merely sartorial.
In each segment, the central conflict ultimately is not with the show’s hosts, the conspiratorial nominator, or even the subject’s requisite battle with her (or his, but usually her) own physical imperfections, be they great or small. Rather, the true struggle is always the inner one. In episode after episode, the subject’s refusal to dress appropriately or attractively (or both) is rooted deep in the psyche and not in the surface-level external circumstances, be these financial distress, work challenges, parental responsibilities, or other personal difficulties.
Inner Battles
The documentary style of the show includes snippets of the subject’s thoughts at each stage of the makeover, and these invariably move through the same emotional arc: from nervous anticipation, to annoyance with London and Kelly and doubt over the new “rules,” to the inevitable breakthrough—that moment when the proselyte confronts (often tearfully) her real issue, be it low self-esteem, self-loathing, or the fear of growing up and accepting a real woman’s body. The battle against the body always turns out to be merely a cover for the battle against inner demons.
The following are typical of the battles faced on episodes of TLC’s What Not to Wear:
• Bailey is a 32-year-old who “recently lost 60 pounds but still hasn’t accepted her new body.”
• Teresa “never felt beautiful” and “chose comfort over style, with sack dresses and oversized tops.”
• Disa “was in a mid-life style crisis” and had “been looking for the fountain of youth in her tween daughter’s closet, often wearing bright-colored jumpers, striped leggings and silly hats” as a walking fashion “playground.”
• Tamara is “a single mom who knew only one word when it came to style: sexy. Her wardrobe went from unflattering and clingy at work to skin tight and almost uncovered at night!”
• Lexa is “a 30-year-old Red Cross employee” and “one of the biggest challenges London and Kelly ever faced. Her ‘librarian meets French maid’ style had gotten her written up at work.”
The “after” state of Lexa—achieved, according to the website, once “London and Kelly helped her overcome her abrasive and defensive attitude and achieve a true life change”—exemplifies the total transformation that typifies each show. And “total” refers not simply to the addition of hair and makeup improvements to the new wardrobe, but rather to an inner, as well as outer, change.
Clothes Matter
Of course, every good story has a significant theme. And the show’s theme—that clothes matter—is also what makes the show work. For whatever else they might be or represent, clothes serve as a constant reminder of humanity’s need, as explained in the Judeo-Christian tradition, arising out of the Fall, to have our sin “covered.” We see this in what Genesis relates as God’s first act in response to Adam and Eve’s disobedience.
Clothes, in covering us, symbolize the greater “covering” provided by the Incarnate Christ, in the Christian view. Thus, regeneration is incarnational. In What Not to Wear, this sacramental view of clothing is implicit in the dramatic changes wrought in the subject inwardly as she undergoes the external transformation. The (literal) material reflects the spiritual.
In addressing both the outward sign and the inward state that sensible sign reflects, What Not to Wear confronts—perhaps unwittingly—the false dualism between the spiritual and the physical, which characterizes modernity. Given this reunion of the material and spiritual that forms the entire premise of the show, it is not surprising that the show’s narrative structure parallels that of religious conversion.
Steps to Conversion
As always, the first step toward redemption is recognition of one’s fallenness. On What Not to Wear this recognition of one’s crimes of fashion begins with a surprise appearance by London and Kelly, who confront the style sinner with the damning footage taken of her in secret over the preceding two weeks. During this encounter, the subject is surrounded, intervention style, by the nominator and other concerned parties.
Once the nominee submits, usually reluctantly, to the rules of the show and is whisked off to NYC under the care of London and Kelly, she faces an even more grueling confrontation: the infamous 360-degree mirror. Surrounded by mirrors, she views herself from every angle, clothed in the favorite outfits of her choice, the failures of which are mercilessly pointed out by London and Kelly’s hellfire and brimstone approach to fashion foibles. Their brutal honesty (along with generous doses of delicious sarcasm) is the most controversial part of the show; it’s what makes most people love it or hate it (for the record, I love it!). As in most stories of redemption, recognition of the need for change tends to come slowly rather than quickly, and the well-coutured London and Kelly can’t be blamed for their zeal in evangelizing the style heathens.
Once she has broken through her denial, and her old wardrobe has been symbolically trashed (the clothes are actually donated to charity), the novice is catechized on the new rules that are to govern her two-day shopping spree (and, ostensibly, the rest of her life). As stern as these commandments might seem, it is clear from watching numerous episodes that London and Kelly develop custom rules for each woman based not only on what will be physically flattering but also on what fits her personality, taste, and lifestyle. This is no one-size-fits-all approach (with perhaps the single exception of their fetish for pointy-toed shoes), but rather a tailor-made approach for each catechumen, one based on her uniqueness as a whole person.
Generally, it is not until the second day of the shopping spree that true repentance begins to emerge (as much the result of sheer physical and emotional exhaustion as anything else), usually with a bit more intervention from London and Kelly. Once the shopping is finished and the $5,000 is spent (with a lot of help from London and Kelly), the final steps of conversion take place under the care of the hair stylist and makeup artist.
Final Step & Follow-Up
The climax of each show is the Big Reveal at the end. Before offering a sometimes-tearful goodbye to London and Kelly and returning home, the convert appears before them in a trinity of outfits for three types of occasions. At this point, the conversion is dramatically evident. Redemption has occurred: The female Peter Pan has grown up; the harried mother has taken time for herself; the sleazy strumpet has acquired some class; or the angry punk-rocker has embraced her softer side.
The convert is now ready to go home for the final step in her regeneration: the baptism by which she emerges as a new creature before family and friends at a gala held in her in honor. There, before the great cloud of witnesses made possible by cable television, hugs abound, tears flow, and loved ones share before the camera their joy at witnessing the rebirth.
In its first years, the show ended at this point. But just as religious revivalists have come to understand that follow-up is as important as the altar call, so has What Not to Wear added updates to the end of the show, displaying the perseverance of the fashion saint in embracing, yes, her new look, but more importantly, her new sense of self.
Even the most frivolous forms of entertainment teach something. What Not to Wear demonstrates that true regeneration involves body and soul. Only materialists or Gnostics would disagree.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Inspiration in the key of awesome
Song on Miracles that leads me to smile and enjoy the beauty of life and truth and all things hopeful.... See a beautifully produced music video mash-up with artists from several genres blended into one song, "Miracles."
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
marriage and the call for redemptive leadership
I have been thinking a lot about test God puts in the path of a marriage. My thoughts brought me back to a man i greatly admire and I draw strength from his testimony. May his story do the same for you. The except below is from my thesis on marriage.
Historical Example of a Marriage Marked by the Intellectual Attributes
A marriage centered on God and His attributes is a marriage that functions well in adversity. The wisdom of God rules the heart, the truthfulness of God stabilizes it, and God’s knowledge of man and his destiny secures it, in His love.
A newlywed couple was walking in the German Harz Mountains enjoying the scenery, but they did not realize until it was too late that a storm was fast approaching. Surrounded by lightening and thunder, the bride was overcome with fear. Though the two made it home safely, the bride suffered a nervous breakdown which left her frail and an invalid for the rest of her life.
The woman’s name was Annie Warfield. She was the wife of theologian Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, who was considered one of American’s top theologians at the time. He studied under Charles Hodge at Princeton Seminary and was a Professor at Princeton until his death in 1921. Annie and Benjamin were married August 13, 1876. Soon after they traveled to Europe so Benjamin could study there. The two had their faithful encounter with the violent storm just before Benajmin began his studies.
Annie never fully recovered. In her last years, Annie was bedridden and in need of constant attention. Warfield became her primary care giver, and he faithfully nursed her for more than 40 years of marriage. Students and friends noted the tender care he showed his wife during the rare times they were out in public. In the later years, Benjamin did not leave her side for more than two hours at a time, leaving only to do lecture before rushing back home to her aid.
Amazingly, he did not neglect his duties at Princeton. He was an author, and he was a mentor to many of his pupils. J. Gresham Machen stated that Warfield “had done about as much work as ten ordinary men.” Yet, sacrifices were required. Warfield was a man of considerable talent who could command a great influence over the church at large, but he had the wisdom to see that his primary task was to tend to his house and wife. He gave up fame out of love and chose the bedside over the prominence of the pulpit. It is no doubt why one pupil wrote, “I am more and more impressed with him; he is certainly one of the very biggest men in the Church either in this country or any other.”
Before he was a theologian and a husband, Warfield was a great lover of God. He understood the nature of God as wise and truthful. He trusted in the sovereignty of God. The sure footing with which his marriage held is surely a witness to Warfield’s belief in God’s wisdom and knowledge over all circumstances. It was his abiding understanding of God’s nature that made the doldrums of suffering in his marriage; resound with the melody of redemptive leadership. He saw his God given place to be a husband and remained by his wife’s side even when putting her away could have been justified even in the formal and rather Victorian setting in which he lived. God and Warfield's knowledge of him strengthened and girded up his soul to bear the weight of such a glory (Rom 8:17-18). His witness shimmered with the brilliance of this glory, a glory born of suffering; eerily reminiscent of the cross and beautifully emblematic of Redemptive love.
Historical Example of a Marriage Marked by the Intellectual Attributes
A marriage centered on God and His attributes is a marriage that functions well in adversity. The wisdom of God rules the heart, the truthfulness of God stabilizes it, and God’s knowledge of man and his destiny secures it, in His love.
A newlywed couple was walking in the German Harz Mountains enjoying the scenery, but they did not realize until it was too late that a storm was fast approaching. Surrounded by lightening and thunder, the bride was overcome with fear. Though the two made it home safely, the bride suffered a nervous breakdown which left her frail and an invalid for the rest of her life.
The woman’s name was Annie Warfield. She was the wife of theologian Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, who was considered one of American’s top theologians at the time. He studied under Charles Hodge at Princeton Seminary and was a Professor at Princeton until his death in 1921. Annie and Benjamin were married August 13, 1876. Soon after they traveled to Europe so Benjamin could study there. The two had their faithful encounter with the violent storm just before Benajmin began his studies.
Annie never fully recovered. In her last years, Annie was bedridden and in need of constant attention. Warfield became her primary care giver, and he faithfully nursed her for more than 40 years of marriage. Students and friends noted the tender care he showed his wife during the rare times they were out in public. In the later years, Benjamin did not leave her side for more than two hours at a time, leaving only to do lecture before rushing back home to her aid.
Amazingly, he did not neglect his duties at Princeton. He was an author, and he was a mentor to many of his pupils. J. Gresham Machen stated that Warfield “had done about as much work as ten ordinary men.” Yet, sacrifices were required. Warfield was a man of considerable talent who could command a great influence over the church at large, but he had the wisdom to see that his primary task was to tend to his house and wife. He gave up fame out of love and chose the bedside over the prominence of the pulpit. It is no doubt why one pupil wrote, “I am more and more impressed with him; he is certainly one of the very biggest men in the Church either in this country or any other.”
Before he was a theologian and a husband, Warfield was a great lover of God. He understood the nature of God as wise and truthful. He trusted in the sovereignty of God. The sure footing with which his marriage held is surely a witness to Warfield’s belief in God’s wisdom and knowledge over all circumstances. It was his abiding understanding of God’s nature that made the doldrums of suffering in his marriage; resound with the melody of redemptive leadership. He saw his God given place to be a husband and remained by his wife’s side even when putting her away could have been justified even in the formal and rather Victorian setting in which he lived. God and Warfield's knowledge of him strengthened and girded up his soul to bear the weight of such a glory (Rom 8:17-18). His witness shimmered with the brilliance of this glory, a glory born of suffering; eerily reminiscent of the cross and beautifully emblematic of Redemptive love.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Hope in Living Color
Here is a great outline on hope by Adrian Warnock "Abound in Hope"
I added a few points myself.
Intro
True hope is a uniquely Christian thing – like faith and love – we need the help of God’s Spirit as We seek to explain What the bible teach.
ABOUND IN HOPE!
Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
WHERE DOES HOPE COME FROM?
Psalm 39:7. “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.”
Ephesians 2:12. “. . . remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
WHAT IS HOPE?
IT IS A LIFE OF JOY AND PEACE, NOT SORROW AND STRESS!
Hope is hunger for and confidence in God.
Hope is holding to a promise from a faithful God.
Proverbs 13:12. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Romans 8:23-25. “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
1 Peter 3:15-16. “....but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
1 Corinthians 15:19. “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
HOW DO WE GET HOPE?
1. By Believing Patiently.
Hebrews 6:11-20. “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
2. By the Word.
Romans 15:4. “. . . through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
3. By the Holy Spirit. (Rom 5:13)
His sovereign movement on our heart.
We can be sure that if we "want" to hope - that is the Spirit's working the first fruit of hope in you.
HOW MUCH HOPE IS ENOUGH?
Ephesians 3:20. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us …”
WHAT DOES HOPE LOOK LIKE?
2 Corinthians 3:12. “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”
I added a few points myself.
Intro
True hope is a uniquely Christian thing – like faith and love – we need the help of God’s Spirit as We seek to explain What the bible teach.
ABOUND IN HOPE!
Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
WHERE DOES HOPE COME FROM?
Psalm 39:7. “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.”
Ephesians 2:12. “. . . remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
WHAT IS HOPE?
IT IS A LIFE OF JOY AND PEACE, NOT SORROW AND STRESS!
Hope is hunger for and confidence in God.
Hope is holding to a promise from a faithful God.
Proverbs 13:12. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Romans 8:23-25. “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
1 Peter 3:15-16. “....but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
1 Corinthians 15:19. “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
HOW DO WE GET HOPE?
1. By Believing Patiently.
Hebrews 6:11-20. “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
2. By the Word.
Romans 15:4. “. . . through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
3. By the Holy Spirit. (Rom 5:13)
His sovereign movement on our heart.
We can be sure that if we "want" to hope - that is the Spirit's working the first fruit of hope in you.
HOW MUCH HOPE IS ENOUGH?
Ephesians 3:20. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us …”
WHAT DOES HOPE LOOK LIKE?
2 Corinthians 3:12. “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Why read to your children: a testimonial.
As most know I am dyslexic and a writer(want-a-be). I have a love hate relationship with words. One of my earliest memories is of my mother reading to me, "bible stories" and passages from, "Where the side walk ends." so when I read this quote from Pat Conroy i was deeply moved. I found myself in the passage like someone rests in their own bed after a long journey. You see, through all my hate of words, with there twisted posters and attempts to confuse, I found a love for the truth, and a desire for reality. I saw words as a sailor sees a boat. They carry us across the ageless, voiceless seas that separate people. They even make a way through our personal river Styx. On them we ride back from the dead into a land blossoming with meaning and life. Words gave me passage and my heart wings for by them I saw the world as a lover sees his love, and as God sees us all, purely, clearly, beautifully real.
Pat Conroy writes of how this same love of words came to him and he skillfully uses them to that end.
“I grew up a word-haunted boy. I felt words inside me and stored them wondrous as pearls. I mouthed them and fingered them and rolled them around my tongue.
My mother filled my bedtime hour with poetry that rang like Sanctus bells as she praised the ineffable loveliness of the English language with her Georgia-scented voice. I found that hive of words beautiful beyond all conveyance.
They clung to me and blistered my skin and made me happy to be alive in the land of crape myrtle, spot-tailed bass, and eastern diamondbacks. The precise naming of things served as my entryway into art.
The whole world could be sounded out. I could arrange each day into a tear sheet of music composed of words as pretty as flutes or the tail feathers of peacocks.
From my earliest memories, I felt impelled to form a unique relationship with the English language. I used words to fashion a world that made sense to me.”
–Pat Conroy, My Reading Life, (New York: Doubleday, 2010), 55.
Reading to your children is important, looking back, I can say it was a means of common grace on a uncommon boy. They did not just define my reality, line by line they beautified it with golden strains of meaning connecting all things in a tapestry I now call "faith". All because a mother, a book, and a boy, met every night before bed.
The word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
Reading to your child can incarnate such a reality even in the most dogmatic enemy of words. It may even be God's way of preparing our little ones for the beauty of faith.
Merry Christmas --
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Pat Conroy writes of how this same love of words came to him and he skillfully uses them to that end.
“I grew up a word-haunted boy. I felt words inside me and stored them wondrous as pearls. I mouthed them and fingered them and rolled them around my tongue.
My mother filled my bedtime hour with poetry that rang like Sanctus bells as she praised the ineffable loveliness of the English language with her Georgia-scented voice. I found that hive of words beautiful beyond all conveyance.
They clung to me and blistered my skin and made me happy to be alive in the land of crape myrtle, spot-tailed bass, and eastern diamondbacks. The precise naming of things served as my entryway into art.
The whole world could be sounded out. I could arrange each day into a tear sheet of music composed of words as pretty as flutes or the tail feathers of peacocks.
From my earliest memories, I felt impelled to form a unique relationship with the English language. I used words to fashion a world that made sense to me.”
–Pat Conroy, My Reading Life, (New York: Doubleday, 2010), 55.
Reading to your children is important, looking back, I can say it was a means of common grace on a uncommon boy. They did not just define my reality, line by line they beautified it with golden strains of meaning connecting all things in a tapestry I now call "faith". All because a mother, a book, and a boy, met every night before bed.
The word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
Reading to your child can incarnate such a reality even in the most dogmatic enemy of words. It may even be God's way of preparing our little ones for the beauty of faith.
Merry Christmas --
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Piper and the Baptism of the Spirit.
John Piper takes a refreshing perspectives on the fullness of the Holy Spirit in a sermon he gave last november. I have always desired the church to be open and I like how he sidesteps the major hinderance to openness; issue of identifying baptism with the Holy Spirit as either conversion or a second blessing. Piper encourages us all to be open to more infusions of the Holy Spirit whatever our theological position. This sermon is on John 1:25-34, where Jesus is described as the "one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." Piper writes/says/preaches:
Jesus immerses people in the Spirit. That’s what the word baptize means. There are pictures in the Bible of the Spirit being poured out. But when the idea of baptism (that is, dipping or immersion) is brought in, the point is that the Spirit is poured over us to such an extent that we are enveloped in him.
The point of this image is that the Spirit becomes profoundly and pervasively influential in our lives. When you are immersed in something, it touches you everywhere. So when John says that Jesus is going to baptize with the Spirit, he means that the day is coming when the lives of God’s people will be plunged into the life of the Spirit with profound and pervasive effects. . .
As I have tried to let John define for us what he means by baptism with the Spirit, it seems to me that the term is a broad, overarching one that includes the whole great saving, sanctifying, and empowering work of the Spirit in this age. I don’t think it is a technical term that refers to one part of the Christian life—say conversion, or speaking in tongues, or a bold act of witness. It is the continual, and sometimes extraordinary, outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God’s people. It immerses them not just in one or two, but in hundreds of his powerful influences.
In other words, if you are not born again, one way to describe your need is that you need to be baptized with the Spirit. That is, you need to be plunged into God’s Spirit with the effect that you will be born again and come to faith in Christ. If you are born again, but you are languishing in a season of weakness and fear and defeat, one way to describe what you need is to be baptized in the Spirit. That is, you need a fresh outpouring of his Christ-revealing, heart-awakening, sin-defeating, boldness-producing power. Every spiritual need that we have before and after conversion is supplied by Christ immersing us in greater and lesser degrees in the Holy Spirit.
Amen John - We all need fresh oil...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Jesus immerses people in the Spirit. That’s what the word baptize means. There are pictures in the Bible of the Spirit being poured out. But when the idea of baptism (that is, dipping or immersion) is brought in, the point is that the Spirit is poured over us to such an extent that we are enveloped in him.
The point of this image is that the Spirit becomes profoundly and pervasively influential in our lives. When you are immersed in something, it touches you everywhere. So when John says that Jesus is going to baptize with the Spirit, he means that the day is coming when the lives of God’s people will be plunged into the life of the Spirit with profound and pervasive effects. . .
As I have tried to let John define for us what he means by baptism with the Spirit, it seems to me that the term is a broad, overarching one that includes the whole great saving, sanctifying, and empowering work of the Spirit in this age. I don’t think it is a technical term that refers to one part of the Christian life—say conversion, or speaking in tongues, or a bold act of witness. It is the continual, and sometimes extraordinary, outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God’s people. It immerses them not just in one or two, but in hundreds of his powerful influences.
In other words, if you are not born again, one way to describe your need is that you need to be baptized with the Spirit. That is, you need to be plunged into God’s Spirit with the effect that you will be born again and come to faith in Christ. If you are born again, but you are languishing in a season of weakness and fear and defeat, one way to describe what you need is to be baptized in the Spirit. That is, you need a fresh outpouring of his Christ-revealing, heart-awakening, sin-defeating, boldness-producing power. Every spiritual need that we have before and after conversion is supplied by Christ immersing us in greater and lesser degrees in the Holy Spirit.
Amen John - We all need fresh oil...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Little insight on how American Christians think
Do Americans think theologically?
Jurgen moltmann a German theologian once contrasted his experience of teaches In American with that of Europe. Thought he is reflecting on an experience almost 50 years old It sheds light nature of theological thought.
moltmann: in Germany the students asked questions like "what is the church? That is to ask what is the essence of the church. In America the students asked questions like "how do you run a church?"
He is right most Christians do love our theology to be practical and not bogged down with things like truth. Theology in America has been guided for far to long by the forces of pragmatism and rugged individualism. I think we watch to much DIY TV.. (that is - Do It Yourself TV).
Lord, may one day our questions seek the deep "why" and our hearts long for solid answers and not just the temporary "how to" answers so common to most.. Amen.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Jurgen moltmann a German theologian once contrasted his experience of teaches In American with that of Europe. Thought he is reflecting on an experience almost 50 years old It sheds light nature of theological thought.
moltmann: in Germany the students asked questions like "what is the church? That is to ask what is the essence of the church. In America the students asked questions like "how do you run a church?"
He is right most Christians do love our theology to be practical and not bogged down with things like truth. Theology in America has been guided for far to long by the forces of pragmatism and rugged individualism. I think we watch to much DIY TV.. (that is - Do It Yourself TV).
Lord, may one day our questions seek the deep "why" and our hearts long for solid answers and not just the temporary "how to" answers so common to most.. Amen.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
A Q/A for the Soul?
What are you doing, in obedience to the Word of God, that positions you for either God or total collapse?
God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:5
“The Comforter gives a sweet and plentiful evidence and persuasion of the love of God to us, such as the soul is taken, delighted, satiated withal. This is his work, and he doth it effectually. To give a poor sinful soul a comfortable persuasion, affecting it throughout, in all its faculties and affections, that God in Jesus Christ loves him, delights in him, is well pleased with him, hath thoughts of tenderness and kindness towards him; to give, I say, a soul an overflowing sense hereof, is an inexpressible mercy.”
John Owen, Works (Edinburgh, 1980), II:240.
I ask you, do you know this truth as reality?
Is the "love of God" as real to you as say the ground under you?
Is God's care towards you a delight in your soul?
God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:5
“The Comforter gives a sweet and plentiful evidence and persuasion of the love of God to us, such as the soul is taken, delighted, satiated withal. This is his work, and he doth it effectually. To give a poor sinful soul a comfortable persuasion, affecting it throughout, in all its faculties and affections, that God in Jesus Christ loves him, delights in him, is well pleased with him, hath thoughts of tenderness and kindness towards him; to give, I say, a soul an overflowing sense hereof, is an inexpressible mercy.”
John Owen, Works (Edinburgh, 1980), II:240.
I ask you, do you know this truth as reality?
Is the "love of God" as real to you as say the ground under you?
Is God's care towards you a delight in your soul?
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Happy is the rock we stumble over?
What kind of happiness do you seek? why are we bad at choosing those things that make us happy? Dan Gilbert has an answer?
Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the modern notion that people are miserable if they don’t get what they want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned.
The function, he biologically, locates in the frontal lobe is what for hundreds of years ethicist and philosophers have called "moral consciousness." It has two aspects critical conscience and imaginative consciences. Critical is the function of the “frontal lobe” that allows you to look at yourself objectively (to a degree). Imaginative is the ability he speaks of as the way we can project possible outcomes or do mental experiments in our heads. The first is just a base comparison with our slandered of judgment (the absolute of our faith) and the second functions is more complex. It depends our personal beliefs and ideas about the world, people, ect, to generate scenarios we then draw conclusions from.
Dan a psychology professor at Harvard clams our beliefs about what will make us happy are often wrong -- a premise he supports with intriguing research. Mr Gilbert current research is on the question is our common assumptions about what will make us happy are often wrong -- is supported with clinical research drawn from psychology and neuroscience.
Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the modern notion that people are miserable if they don’t get what they want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned.
The function, he biologically, locates in the frontal lobe is what for hundreds of years ethicist and philosophers have called "moral consciousness." It has two aspects critical conscience and imaginative consciences. Critical is the function of the “frontal lobe” that allows you to look at yourself objectively (to a degree). Imaginative is the ability he speaks of as the way we can project possible outcomes or do mental experiments in our heads. The first is just a base comparison with our slandered of judgment (the absolute of our faith) and the second functions is more complex. It depends our personal beliefs and ideas about the world, people, ect, to generate scenarios we then draw conclusions from.
Dan a psychology professor at Harvard clams our beliefs about what will make us happy are often wrong -- a premise he supports with intriguing research. Mr Gilbert current research is on the question is our common assumptions about what will make us happy are often wrong -- is supported with clinical research drawn from psychology and neuroscience.
why believe in others
Viktor Frankl's own profound experience as a holocaust survivor created a deeper need to search for meaning. When one has lived a generally balanced life with the usual struggles to succeed and survive there isn't 'such' a great need for deep, meaning and 'life' enquiry unless you are inclined that way. Commonly, It's when people are faced with something terrifying and possibly life damaging or threatening that they have to contemplate their own fate and for many, the meaning of their existence regardles of their age.
The degree of 'need for meaning' depends on how profoundly people are affected by their experiences. In 1972 post hippiedom was a sponge still absorbing the shock of WW2, Vietnam, terrorism and nuclear threats, creating much existential enquiry. Materialism and the sheer volume of other distracting factors since the 80's has desensitized people who are in general, in the absence of direct, personal threat, or educational requirements, more focused on just getting on with their lives. Here is a little clip by Viktor Frankl on Religion and Ultimate Meaning 1990
The degree of 'need for meaning' depends on how profoundly people are affected by their experiences. In 1972 post hippiedom was a sponge still absorbing the shock of WW2, Vietnam, terrorism and nuclear threats, creating much existential enquiry. Materialism and the sheer volume of other distracting factors since the 80's has desensitized people who are in general, in the absence of direct, personal threat, or educational requirements, more focused on just getting on with their lives. Here is a little clip by Viktor Frankl on Religion and Ultimate Meaning 1990
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
What is not the christain worldview..
In Genesis 1, we have the foundation for what is often called the biblical worldview. It gives us a picture of reality. The mater of fact way it shows reality stands diametrically opposed to various human philosophies. In regard to these popular human theories the believer takes his stand not on the shifting sand of human opinion but on the bedrock of the Bible.
1. In Opposition to Atheism "In the beginning God"
2. In Opposition to Polytheism "In the beginning God"
3. In Opposition to Pantheism "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." The separateness of God and matter.
4. In Opposition to Materialism "Let us make man in our image" Man is like God, possessed of a spiritual nature.
5. In Opposition to Evolution "After his kind" The expression occurs twelve times. It locks each "kind" into its own category.
6. In Opposition to Naturalism "In the beginning God created" Matter is not eternal, nor is man a machine.
7. In Opposition to Nihilism "And God created... and God said... and God blessed" Man is more than a machine, determined or capricious, operating in a meaningless closed system.
8. In Opposition to Existentialism "And God said" (ten times), "and God saw" (seven times), "the evening and the morning were" (six times). "And it was so" (1:30). There is a historical basis for faith. The Bible does deal with concrete facts.
1. In Opposition to Atheism "In the beginning God"
2. In Opposition to Polytheism "In the beginning God"
3. In Opposition to Pantheism "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." The separateness of God and matter.
4. In Opposition to Materialism "Let us make man in our image" Man is like God, possessed of a spiritual nature.
5. In Opposition to Evolution "After his kind" The expression occurs twelve times. It locks each "kind" into its own category.
6. In Opposition to Naturalism "In the beginning God created" Matter is not eternal, nor is man a machine.
7. In Opposition to Nihilism "And God created... and God said... and God blessed" Man is more than a machine, determined or capricious, operating in a meaningless closed system.
8. In Opposition to Existentialism "And God said" (ten times), "and God saw" (seven times), "the evening and the morning were" (six times). "And it was so" (1:30). There is a historical basis for faith. The Bible does deal with concrete facts.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Interpersonal Conflicts, logic and wisdom
Logic and conflict are not considered terms that are used together. Most personal conflicts lack logic. But conflict is not without logic. Conflict as a universal concept is logical.
Syllogism is a type of logical argument. One proposition, the conclusion is inferred from two other propositions or premises proven to be true. Aristotle, a smart but old and dead Greek thinker, defines syllogism as "a discourse in which, certain things having been supposed, something different from the things supposed results of necessity because these things are so." Everyone known, two wrongs don’t make a right – Aristotle clams two rights can’t be wrong. They can tell us some new, a truth hidden in the truths. This is helpful in understanding why peopled seem to have a hard time getting along.
1. Humans are relational creatures
2. Humans are selfish creatures
3. Humans will have relationship comfits.
I once heard of two sisters not talking for 10 years over how to cook collard greens. I have also heard of families ripped apart because of deeply hurtful behavior from all members and I have personally seen the destruction rout by careless words and selfish actions. When conflict becomes a war of roses is it possible to rise above? I think so but it take determination driven by love. In this age, we may have to live with the inevitability of conflict but we can learn how to overcome it? Here are some principles that guide our action in conflict:
1. Accept whatever means God may use to make me more humble and therefore more dependent on Him, no matter how damaging to my reputation or ambition.
“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)
2. Be quick to repent of known sin in your life, and sincerely express the desire for repentance to those who are concerned, even if there is blame on the other side.
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:19)
3. Painful accurately in the words about yourself, even if it embarrasses or condemns you and at the same time don’t be intentionally and unnecessarily hurtful or demeaning to others.
“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.” (Proverbs 12:22)
4. Seek to genuine passion for God and others a goal of life. Authentic Affection for God and others should be our greatest ambition no matter how deeply I have been hurt.
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
5. Remember anxiety is an insipid enemy. It is an internal sign to prompt me to pray and to build up my faith by seeking God’s perspective found in reading the Bible carefully and constantly.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:8)
6. Leave all vengeance to God, who sees and evaluates with perfect clarity and judgment.
“Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. . . . If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21)
7. Forgive from the heart any time asked to forgive, without analyzing whether the offending person is worthy, or has perfect motives, or is adequately repentant.
“Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’” (Matthew 18:21-22)
8. Life is about gratitude so be thankful in everything, and rejoice in the Lord always.
“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.” (Philippians 3:1)
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
9. Don’t let the devil get his jollies at the expanse of your relationships.
“. . . so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20)
10. Grace is found at the bottle -
“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:5-7).
Syllogism is a type of logical argument. One proposition, the conclusion is inferred from two other propositions or premises proven to be true. Aristotle, a smart but old and dead Greek thinker, defines syllogism as "a discourse in which, certain things having been supposed, something different from the things supposed results of necessity because these things are so." Everyone known, two wrongs don’t make a right – Aristotle clams two rights can’t be wrong. They can tell us some new, a truth hidden in the truths. This is helpful in understanding why peopled seem to have a hard time getting along.
1. Humans are relational creatures
2. Humans are selfish creatures
3. Humans will have relationship comfits.
I once heard of two sisters not talking for 10 years over how to cook collard greens. I have also heard of families ripped apart because of deeply hurtful behavior from all members and I have personally seen the destruction rout by careless words and selfish actions. When conflict becomes a war of roses is it possible to rise above? I think so but it take determination driven by love. In this age, we may have to live with the inevitability of conflict but we can learn how to overcome it? Here are some principles that guide our action in conflict:
1. Accept whatever means God may use to make me more humble and therefore more dependent on Him, no matter how damaging to my reputation or ambition.
“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)
2. Be quick to repent of known sin in your life, and sincerely express the desire for repentance to those who are concerned, even if there is blame on the other side.
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:19)
3. Painful accurately in the words about yourself, even if it embarrasses or condemns you and at the same time don’t be intentionally and unnecessarily hurtful or demeaning to others.
“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.” (Proverbs 12:22)
4. Seek to genuine passion for God and others a goal of life. Authentic Affection for God and others should be our greatest ambition no matter how deeply I have been hurt.
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
5. Remember anxiety is an insipid enemy. It is an internal sign to prompt me to pray and to build up my faith by seeking God’s perspective found in reading the Bible carefully and constantly.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:8)
6. Leave all vengeance to God, who sees and evaluates with perfect clarity and judgment.
“Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. . . . If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21)
7. Forgive from the heart any time asked to forgive, without analyzing whether the offending person is worthy, or has perfect motives, or is adequately repentant.
“Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’” (Matthew 18:21-22)
8. Life is about gratitude so be thankful in everything, and rejoice in the Lord always.
“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.” (Philippians 3:1)
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
9. Don’t let the devil get his jollies at the expanse of your relationships.
“. . . so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20)
10. Grace is found at the bottle -
“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:5-7).
Monday, October 18, 2010
The Gift
From the TED talks we have a gem from branding guru Stacey Kramer. It is three minutes long and inspirational in its brevity and its punch.
Sometimes God's gifts to us come in odd packages. We don't know why but we learn he has more than just our confort and pleasure in mind. Nobody wishes for adversity but sometimes it’s a profound teacher.
Sometimes God's gifts to us come in odd packages. We don't know why but we learn he has more than just our confort and pleasure in mind. Nobody wishes for adversity but sometimes it’s a profound teacher.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
REsoLusions...
The video clips is from a YWAM (Youth with a mission) training in New Zealand. The speaker is Graham Cooke and I think his words are spot on. These words will make you think - I met a group of YWAM guys and gals when i was in Turkey. (not the same group as in video) They gave me hope for the next generation. A radical bunch - that had just finished six months on a Kaboos (Jewish commune) in Israel near the west bank. Next to the danger of being bombed or shot by PLO - they gave themselves to serving the Jewish people in doing all the dirty jobs(you don’t want to know). Radical gospel kids.. Makes me want to be one again... I hope this video does for you what they did for me.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Hack Haiku
I was think about Neighbor Love this morning and reread the parable of the Good Samaritan. As I meditated on the teaching, i thought i would write my thought in haiku. In the words of Martin Luther King the good sameritain is a story of "radical unselfishness" and gives us a true north for when circumstances ask more of us than we think we should give. Below is a picture of the actual road from Jerusalem to Jericho.
The Good Samaritan in Haiku
Two pass by
Self-righteous distanceBetter things to do
One on the way
One in a ditch
empathy into action - heals
Risks his safety,
Destroy his schedule,
To become dirty, bloody?
Why help another?
Jesus smiles -
"Go and do likewise"!
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Signs of Transendance
When someone takes a Sunday drive in the south you are bound to see a church. Often you will also see church signs that read:
"Free Trip to heaven. Details Inside!"
"Try our Sundays. They are better than Baskin-Robbins."
"Searching for a new look? Have your faith lifted here!"
"When down in the mouth, remember Jonah. He came out alright."
One of my favor and most ‘Baptist’ not to mention ‘ambiguous’ church sign is , “People are like tea bags -- you have to put them in hot water before you know how strong they are.” I am sure they were going for thought provoking.
For most, these signs give us a good chuckle and I understand, I chuckle but often on the heels of my laughter was a haunting shadow. When the smile faded I found myself silent in a wordless melancholy. My heart was unsettled to deep for articulation. It was the silence discomfort of knowing something is as it ought not to be. When such shadows roll in over my heart it has been my custom and curiosity to ask ‘why’?
The death of tragedy
Hearts are like tea cups they are what they hold. It is a truth of human existence. To know the content of a person’s heart, one must look at the words of his mouth and the works of his hands. We pour out the substance of our hearts in unguarded word and unconscious deeds. This is true of an individual, and it is true of a culture. To know what a culture values, you must consider what it makes and what it proclaims. The heart of a culture can be measured by its message and fruit. That means looking at its art, architecture, music, poetry, and prose. This is why pop-culture is not just trivial but teaches us something at the heart of a modern culture.
Just like hearts, culture is not static. Change is a constant. Over time, value shift and things change as culture follows the deep drives of the many. In the 1800’s when the evangelists of modern science converted our culture with the allure of technological marvels, this had a repeal affect in our culture. One aspect rocked by this was literature. As modernism took hold, what we read and wrote began to change rapidly. The literature that flourished in the pre-modern age no longer suited people who believed that they were merely highly advanced animals, and that history was nothing but a chain reaction of natural cause-and-effect.
“It is a noteworthy fact that high tragedy began to disappear from the literature of our Western culture at the end of the seventeenth century, which was the very time that science first staked out its great claims,”(1) wrote Richard Weaver.
I did not realize till I studied it in graduate school but drama and morality are closely linked. Comedy and tragedy are moral categories to the degree they are human categories. They express, in varying ways, what it means to be human. Yet they can loose their moral footing if human experience is watered down. For example, tragedy is only meaningful if man is a moral being struggling against things beyond his control. We can feel the pathos when the finitude of the tragic hero is placed against the infinite or unalterable fate of His life. As the hero is asked, “what will you do with the days you have been given?” The audience or reader is drawn to the same question. You see, drama is moral for it asks more of us than our entertainment.
Modernity with its faith in the evolutionary process and trust in human ingenuity made this a silly idea. It says, “What force is more powerful than the scientific mind? We can make our own world.” In this way, science promised salvation from tragedy with its daily march toward a bright future. This cult of progress and its gospel is proclaimed ever time you turn on PBS. And just like the only people that watch PBS, the elite and intellectuals are the only ones fully given to this way of thinking.
By the end of the 18th century, “Man still had enough human ground to stand on for satire, however, and the following century was the great age of satire.”(3) Jonathan Swift in England
The 19th became the 20th century and culture needed something more entertaining and less convicting. So out of the boredom left beyond after the victory of indifference the modern novel was born. The modern novel was an innovation that replaced satire, and it quickly reflected the modern view of man as an organism reacting to his environment. novels were “increasingly chronicles of the abnormal, the aberrant, and even the criminal.”(4) Comparing these novels to the pre-modern fairy tale, G.K. Chesterton observed, “The fairy tale discusses what a sane man will do in a mad world. The sober realistic novel of today discusses what an essential lunatic will do in a dull world.”(5)
Despite these retreats before the advance of science, a germ of reverence remained. Literature continued to take man seriously, and continued to hint that things were not quite right with the world. Ironically, this was its undoing. Enter the comic strip, and the deception of the pleasant:
Whoever thinks he knows how the world ought to be feels a certain melancholy that it is not so. In all great art therefore there is a certain pessimistic overcast . . . But what occurs when life is made not the subject of a critique, but an occasion for relaxed joyousness and animal abandon? . . . the mass everlastingly insists that the world be represented as pleasant . . . I suppose that the truest index to this mentality is the comic strip, whose offenses . . . it would be impossible to number. But present in all of them is the unrelenting demand that the world . . . accord with our humor. . . [man] wants a pleasing fiction . . . what he wants is deception.(6)
Entertainment is the new rhythm of life. Now, even churches use comic slogans on elaborate marquees, promising to the world that life inside really is just as “pleasant” as the rest of our comic-strip culture. We have lost tragedy because we have lost ourselves in the enjoyment of ourselves. The glory of the Greek tragedy was that it forced men to ask themselves, what kind of life did they make in the days given them? What passion ruled their heart? What song defined them? The lamented truth in most English classes rises over why everyone dies at the end of a tragedy. This sad confusion is because we are people who forget all die! We have lost the plot of our own story make this grand narrative called life into our own personal three part play. We forget that death reminds us we should live for something bigger than ourselves.
The loss of tragedy and the thirst for a pleasant life poisoned our vision of what God is like. We see him with a white beard old man sitting on a cloud, reminiscing about how things use to be? Or some dotting granddad that gives you all the candy you want even if it makes you sick and never spanks you even if you need it. We form a mental image of him in our image and not as he reveals himself to be. He thinks and acts more like humanity than deity. In short, the modern picture of God is of a nice God. It’s a sad true; we have exchange a living God for a pleasant lie.
In modern culture many have given up a great big God for a travel size image of deity. In The Trivialization of God: The Dangerous Illusion of a Manageable Deity, Donald W. McCullough lays the blame where it should be. He puts words to the melancholy of my heart:
Visit a church on Sunday morning - almost any will do - and you will likely find a congregation comfortably relating to a deity who fits nicely within precise doctrinal positions, or who lends almighty support to social crusades, or who conforms to individual spiritual experiences. But you will not likely find much awe or sense of mystery. The only sweaty palms will be those of the preacher unsure whether the sermon will go over; the only shaking knees will be those of the soloist about to sing the offertory.
The New Testament warns us, "offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire" [Hebrews 12:28 -29, NRSV]. But reverence and awe have often been replaced by a yawn of familiarity. The consuming fire has been domesticated into a candle flame, adding a bit of religious atmosphere, perhaps, but no heat, no blinding light, no power for purification….When the true story gets told, whether in the partial light of historical perspective or in the perfect light of eternity, it may be well revealed that the worst sin of the church at the end of the twentieth century has been the trivialization of God.(6)
Modern man is less than a worshiper for we makes much of his laughter and in so doing trivializes the absolute. and Annie Dillard once asked "Why do people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute?" She goes on to lament:
On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of the conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning...
The answer is best captured by McCullough when he writes:
We prefer the illusion of as safer deity, and so we have pared God down to more manageable proportions. Our era has no exclusive claim to the trivialization of God. This has always been the temptation and the failure for the people of God. Pagan gods have caused less trouble than the tendency to re-fashion God into a more congenial, serviceable god.(7)
So back to the church signs, I don’t think they are some great evil. I think they are what they are, signs of the times. They speak more than chuckles they tell us where we are at in this journey. They point out, although indirectly that we need to seek God as God. If we feel the disquieted unrest in our hearts, they can act to direct us to the problem, our little view of God.
So Let us not trivialize God. So our laughter does not cruelly suffocate our joy. He is big we are small. Instead of narrowing the gap between God and man, let us enjoy every light-year of its breath-taking, infinite width. Let us delight in our rightful, lowly, place before our mighty, transcendent God. The drama of life is in His grandeur filling our eyes, His greatness filling our hearts! All pleasures gain their sweetness in the ‘thank you’, left behind after greatness fills a heart! Only a big God makes life sweet.
So Let us not trivialize God but behold God as God. He is the main character in the drama of life, so he should be ever before our eyes. Constantly and consciously beholding a big God means the journey is never boring. It means our lives are in a drama bigger than your little stories. Only a big God can write the history of man and the details of our lives for his glory and our good. If we behold him and read our life as God has authored it, we can find joy in the ordinary and safety in God. If we read our lives as he has authored it, we will find our good is not always our delight but our delight can always be in His glory. The story he is writing with our lives is not about our happy ending but what we did with the days we where given. So I ask, what are you doing with the days you are given? What are you living: a comic-strip life or a life filled with the purpose for which God created you?
End notes
--------------------------------------
1.) Richard M. Weaver, Visions of Order (Bryn Mawr: ISI, 1964), 146.
2.) Ibid.
3.) Ibid., 147.
4.) Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Orthodoxy (London: Hodder & Stoughten, 1996), 12.
5.) Richard M. Weaver, “The Humanities in a Century of the Common Man,” In Defense of Tradition: Collected Shorter Writings of Richard M. Weaver 1929-1963, ed. Ted J. Smith III (Indianapolis Liberty
6.) Donald W. McCullough, The Trivialization of God: The Dangerous Illusion of a Manageable Deity (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1995), 12-13.
7.) Ibid. 13
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Path to Happiness from the world of business analysis.
Below is a flow chart of happiness. what is a flow chart? A flow chart is a visually depiction of a process. Frequently used in business, a flow chart provides a common reference point for those involved in a project or procedure. It is also a helpful point of reference to find errors in a process or project. So we have a tongue in cheek flow chart on a universal of human nature the search of happiness. I like to call it the "the universal exploration for hope driven by an unbearable lightness of being." but that is just me.. SO, are you Happy?
If the simplistic order left you nauseated or the flow chart didn’t fix things for you? Perhaps this one below will guide you to contentment. (use zoom on your browser to read your path)
If the simplistic order left you nauseated or the flow chart didn’t fix things for you? Perhaps this one below will guide you to contentment. (use zoom on your browser to read your path)
Friday, July 16, 2010
This one is FO my DADDY!
Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.
DAD is bad! (Yes, in both ways "Bad" is understood). for all the funny and tacky, kacky, that permeate the daddy culture: we got to give them props.
YOU KNOW, Ephesians 6:4 is a summary of instructions to the father, stated in both a negative and positive way. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” The negative part of this verse indicates that a father is not to foster negativity in his children by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority. Harsh, unreasonable conduct towards a child will only serve to nurture evil in the heart. The word “provoke” means “to irritate, exasperate, rub the wrong way, or incite.” This is done by a wrong spirit and wrong methods—severity, unreasonableness, sternness, harshness, cruel demands, needless restrictions, and selfish insistence upon dictatorial authority. Such provocation will produce adverse reactions, deadening children’s affection, reducing their desire for holiness, and making them feel that they cannot possibly please their parents. A wise parent seeks to make obedience desirable and attainable by love and gentleness.
The positive part of Ephesians 6:4 is expressed in a comprehensive direction—educate them, bring them up, develop their conduct in all of life by the instruction and admonition of the Lord. This is the whole process of educating and discipline. The word “admonition” carries the idea of reminding the child of faults (constructively) and duties (responsibilities).
The Christian father is really an instrument in God's hand. The whole process of instruction and discipline must be that which God commands and which He administers, so that His authority should be brought into constant and immediate contact with the mind, heart, and conscience of children. The human father should never present himself as the ultimate authority to determine truth and duty. It is only by making God the teacher and ruler on whose authority everything is done that the goals of education can best be attained.
THE ONE IS FOR THE MOTHERS
Mommy Rhapsody from Church on the Move on Vimeo.
JUST GOOD FUN - for the Queen fans out there and those lovers of Wayne and Garth, and MOM!
YOU KNOW, Being a mother is a very important role that the Lord chooses to give to many women. A Christian mother is told to love her children (Titus 2:4-5), in part so that she does not bring reproach on the Lord and on the Savior whose name she bears.
Children are a gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5). In Titus 2:4, the Greek word philoteknos appears in reference to mothers loving their children. This word represents a special kind of “mother love.” The idea that flows out of this word is that of caring for our children, nurturing them, affectionately embracing them, meeting their needs, and tenderly befriending each one as a unique gift from the hand of God.
Several commands are directed towards Christian mothers in God’s Word:
- Availability – morning, noon, and night (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
- Involvement – interacting, discussing, thinking, and processing life together (Ephesians 6:4)
- Teaching – the Scriptures and a biblical worldview (Psalm 78:5-6; Deuteronomy 4:10; Ephesians 6:4)
- Training – helping a child to develop skills and discover his/her strengths (Proverbs 22:6) and spiritual gifts (Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12)
- Discipline – teaching the fear of the Lord, drawing the line consistently, lovingly, firmly (Ephesians 6:4; Hebrews 12:5-11; Proverbs 13:24; 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15-17)
- Nurture – providing an environment of constant verbal support, freedom to fail, acceptance, affection, unconditional love (Titus 2:4; 2 Timothy 1:7; Ephesians 4:29-32; 5:1-2; Galatians 5:22; 1 Peter 3:8-9)
- Modeling with Integrity – living what you say, being a model from which a child can learn by “catching” the essence of godly living (Deuteronomy 4:9, 15, 23; Proverbs 10:9; 11:3; Psalm 37:18, 37).
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
SEX Slavery - the sad truth
Many people living in more affluent, civilized parts of the world are unaware and sometimes overlook the social injustice taken place towards children and sex trafficking. If you don’t know, here is the know: Sex trafficking is big business. For example, a new police survey reveals, up to 18,000 females, including girls as young as 14, are working in brothels across Britain after being smuggled into the country. Sex slavery is the second largest money maker for organized crime closely behind illegal drugs. Christian and non-Christian groups are facing the evil head on. Groups such as “The Blind Project” are fighting this trend by raising and improving the lives for sex trafficking victims by providing education, rehabilitation, and jobs. Other groups are entering the Lions den and freeing women and children from dealers that enslave them. All are concerned individuals who aim to protect women and children from the sex trade industry. Below are two videos on the issue. One is a various testimonials in animation that portrays the experience of women who are sex trafficked from Eastern Europe to the UK.
As a Christian such evils must be stopped. Scripture is clear and conscience bear witness against such a great evil.
The prophets call us to stand up for the mistreated and oppressed. Now my point, I have a friend (we will call him Angel-A) who is going into a country to free those caught in this industry of flesh. So if you think about it, pray for the father’s protection is over him, the Son’s gospel to be lived out, and the Spirit’s power to be presence. He flies out on Thursday. Thank you.
As a Christian such evils must be stopped. Scripture is clear and conscience bear witness against such a great evil.
The prophets call us to stand up for the mistreated and oppressed. Now my point, I have a friend (we will call him Angel-A) who is going into a country to free those caught in this industry of flesh. So if you think about it, pray for the father’s protection is over him, the Son’s gospel to be lived out, and the Spirit’s power to be presence. He flies out on Thursday. Thank you.
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