namaste

I have just begun wrapping up 10 years of involvement in the middle school ministry at my church. The first two years I was with students and helping run the program like I got paid but I didn’t. The third year I got paid $800 dollars a month to intern and I thought I was rich (rent was like $125). The last seven years I have been a full time member of the church staff and somewhere along the line I became an associate pastor. I look back now and long to know that what I was involved in really made a difference. I yearn to see that my labor was used by God for the Jesus of Nazareth to be born in the lives of those I was with; as the apostle Paul did. As the text messages, myspace comments, face to face interactions and e-mails slowly pour in I wrestle with how to receive the responses. Comments like “you changed my life” make me squirm because I don’t know what exactly they mean or how to hear it.

In his book “The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an ordinary radical” Shane Claiborne shares this about his time working in Calcutta with Mother Theresa.
“Over and over, the dying and the lepers would whisper the mystical word namaste in my ear. We don’t really have a word for it in English (or even a Western conception of it). They explained to me that namaste means “I honor the holy one in you.”

As I reflect on Shane’s story I realize that this is what I desire to hear. That our call in life is to be “instruments of God’s peace.” The theme of being “used” like a trusty shoe, guitar or car in God’s hands is so attractive to me (hence the title of my blog). Our lives should bear the frightening but familiar fingerprints of God’s continual use. I am his instrument. It is a wonderfully important call but at the same time shockingly humble.

After one of the longest hugs I think I have ever exchanged a junior in high school looked deep into my eyes and squeezed out the following words “I probably would have gotten things figure out when I got older but there is no way I would have in 6th or 7th grade. You are the main reason I gave my life to God.” There is no sweeter sound to someone who has shared life with a middle schooler then those words. He did not mean the moment he “accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and savior (or whatever that line means)” but that he screws up a lot but he is regularly realigning his life with God’s dream for the world. I think back to that moment now and I can almost hear a whisper in my ear as his lips are moving and sharing with me what my life has meant to him. I hear the whispered word, namaste. The creaky door of my spirit begins to open up and I receive whatever it is that God is saying through this young man. I don’t take compliments well but I’m learning to receive people communicating the spirit of honoring the holy one within me.

Madeline L'Engle - Awesome Audio Resource!

Since I'm reading A Wrinkle In Time I decided to check up on it's author a little bit and I ran into this "writers workshop mp3." I was enthralled with her bold thoughts about truth beyond facts. I highly recommend this encouraging lecture.

Description:

Ms. L’Engle begins her talk by asking What is Fantasy? Arguing that we often confuse truth with fact, she says that Fantasy is a way to take us to a truth that exists beyond the realm of fact. Exploring this theme of fantasy, she delves into the relationship of faith and doubt and the nature of truth in a way that is both intimate yet applicable to all

Preaching Re-Imagined

I’ve kind of been avoiding it for a long time but I’m currently reading Preaching Re-Imagined by Doug Pagitt. I’ve been avoiding it because much of what I’ve heard him say about this book is stuff I already agree with or I know I need to wrestle with. I’ve been afraid of having to make lasting decisions about the role of preaching and teaching in communities of faith but I ordered the book and here I go.

Parts that stuck out to me thus far:

It’s easy to realize more people are listening to more great preaching content then ever before. Current technology makes us able to listen to almost anyone, anywhere and all throughout history. But if you look around at the lack of people living in the way of Jesus it’s obvious that great preaching isn’t sufficient. It’s lunacy to think more of the same thing will solve the problem.

Pagitt’s contention is that the problem is not preaching (proclaiming) necessarily but our current method of preaching which he calls “speaching.”

“Speaching is not defined by the style of the presentation but by the relationship of the presenter to both the listeners and the content: the pastor uses a lecture-like format, often standing while the listeners are sitting. The speacher decides the content ahead of time, usually in a removed setting, and then offers it in such a way that the speacher is control of the content, speed, and conclusion of the presentation.”

Pagitt feels that speaching damages our people and creates a sense of powerlessness in them (one that we did not intend).

“As a pastor I want to be a part of a community where the workings of God are imbedded in all, where the roles of teaching and learning aren’t mine alone but instead are something intrinsic to who we are as a people.”

Reading that last quote makes me want to sing. It rings true in my heart and I long for discovering a faithful way forward in this practice. As Paul said “Let the message of Christ dwell among (us) richly as (we) teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with Gratitude in (our) hearts.” I’m tired of all the weight being on me and what I’m bringing to the table. Later in the book he talks about how Jesus couldn’t do any miracles in his hometown because of their lack of faith. “Is it really that big a stretch to believe that our sermons can be influenced by the same factors?”

Pagitt suggests the alternative of “progressional dialogue,” where the content of the presentation is established in the context of a healthy relationship between the presenter and the listeners, and substantive changes in the content are then created as a result of this relationship.” I’ve been working for some time on helping cultivate environments where it’s natural to trust the spirit to lead us as we bounce back and forth between each others comments and the scriptures (mostly influenced by Alan Roxburgh).


Pagitt’s definition of progressional dialoge very ambiguous especially the part that I left above. I did this on purpose because I’m trying not to focus on how I know his community does it but on the idea of it in general.

If preaching is a socializing force and a formative practice in a community like Pagitt says then we really need to sit back and think hard about how our preaching is socializing and forming our community.

How do you think the current method of preaching that you are used to socializes and forms a community in positive and negative ways?

What are some dreams about preaching that would form and socialize in new ways that we may need in our current context?

I am also attempting new methods of preaching in the middle school ministry and I hope to chronicle how that is going. Last week we set up the chairs in a way where everybody could see everybody and I tried to stay seated the whole time instead of lording over them. It went okay but I hadn’t set it up for much interaction. I’m planning on more questions and discussion this week.

I’d love to get some thoughts on the two highlighted questions above.

Mark 3:7-19 Revolution Time (Hallelujah)

Crowds were hungry for anyone who could heal and they swarmed Jesus from the very beginning of his ministry. It’s amazing to think how powerful and fast spreading word of mouth was in those days (today too). When Jesus has run-ins with “evil spirits” they begin to reveal his identity and he like many other times in the gospels (especially in Mark) commands them not to tell anyone about him.

Scholars (N.T. Wright and Gordon Fee have been most influential for me on this subject) regularly mention that anyone living in those times who saw a religious leader who was attracting a lot of attention was choosing twelve disciples would get the message. The Jews had longed for the twelve tribes of Israel to be restored and for the kingdom of God to come. Anyone healing, teaching and gathering twelve disciples was sending a message that God is restoring his kingdom. When it mentions that Jesus takes them away to a mountain near the lake my first response would be for solitude and prayer primarily but in those days you took people there to plot revolution.

Jesus was starting something but he seemed to want to delay anyone’s misconceived notions of what it would be. Truly all the gospels lay out a path that in ways in familiar but very different then what anyone expected.

Imagine being a disciple and being this close to the teaching, healing, prayer and revolutionary symbols what would you be expecting? For me this begins to make sense of many of their misunderstandings that frequently occur even after Jesus’ ascension.

Once again this theme in Mark rings loud of Jesus inaugurating something new that God is doing but at the same time it almost seems like he wants to keep the lid on it. Most importantly Jesus seems to want to avoid people’s expectation of the messiah to be put on him.

Why?

I have some guesses but I’ll share those later.

Mark 3:1-6 "Your Sabbath Sucks" - Jesus

It seems to me that the practice of Sabbath at the time of Jesus had two strong streams flowing through it. One is how sacred and forming the Sabbath had been throughout their history. Throughout the scriptures it represents at times possibly the main thing that sets the people of God apart from everyone else. The other is how legalistic and exclusively patriotic it had gotten. There were so many microscopic rules about how you did it and it almost feels like job security for the teachers of the law. Convoluted is what Sabbath seems to have been and it feels impossible to be able to discern what parts are faithful practice and what are just human rules.

Into a context steeped this deep in sacred patriotic legalism; Jesus speaks. I think I would be so concerned about not offending people or giving people the impression that I don’t think the Sabbath is valid that I wouldn’t say anything. The pressure doesn’t seem to bother Jesus; in fact he seems mad about the whole thing. Imagine someone today taking a practice that we all hold very dearly and calling it into question. This is what Jesus did; but in calling it into question he reminded them of it’s true meaning. Sabbath is a celebration of life and creation. If certain rules on Sabbath stop someone from entering into new life and new creation (healing) then we have missed the point about Sabbath.

What an amazing thing Jesus was bringing. Once we’ve meditated on that for a while we then have to ask if we will be ask God to use us in being as faith-filled, bold and creative.

Mark Part 2 - Jesus is Odd!

My Memoirs of Saint Mark’s Memoirs

Jesus is odd! He discerns people’s thoughts somehow. He asks a tax collector (a hated sell out) to follow him. He doesn’t follow the passed down guidelines for fasting and Sabbath when questioned about this he quotes scripture and reminds them of the heart behind these practices.

After Jesus heals the paralytic man the crowd says “we have never seen anything like this.” They too found Jesus odd but excitingly odd. The Pharisees found him frighteningly odd.

Chapter two made me think about how against the grain Jesus was. Although I’m sure there were many things that the Pharisees and Jewish tradition at the time were doing that he supported it’s apparent to me that anyone living then would have seen him as something different. Jesus holds amazingly to the heart of what it has always meant to be the people of God in the world but at the same time he operates in a very different flow then the man-made systems and styles that have emerged. These days we are talking about very similar dreams and beginning to see some of them lived out. We are beginning to see political and theological lines crossed to hold onto fresh expressions of faith deeply rooted in the gospel.

I long to be different like Jesus. I hate telling people I work at a church (Christian or Not) because of the instant change in the conversation. I long to be deeply rooted in God but so desperately want to be viewed differently then all the unhelpful baggage that surrounds us.

What practices embedded in the culture and empowered by the spirit will set us apart but keep us rooted?

Like my last entry what words, stories and artistic expressions will paint a picture of the kingdom of God that will be obviously different?

I must rethink and then re-craft my speech, stories, expression and practices. I hope to belong to communities that join with what God is doing in the world so passionately that people say "we have never seen anything like this."

Lord, may our way of life root us in you but break from the pharisaical ties of today. May we appear frighteningly odd to the legalistic religious and excitingly odd to those hungry for good news. Free us from our own misconceptions and lead us into new streams. Prepare our hearts for others (authors, directors, singers, artists, friends and apparent enemies) that you have sent to help shape us in the endeavor. May we be faithful to the gospel right here right now. Guide us to the roofs we need to rip off so we can join your activity. Send your healing thunder surging through our minds and hearts. Raise us from our paralyzed way of being "Christian" and we stand to our feet and carry our mats home.

A short aside about being imaginative storytellers

My friend Matt made a comment on inviting others into this Jesus movement and I was instantly brought back to this quote. I know I only wrote about the first chapter of Mark so far but I can’t help begin to dream about becoming apostles ourselves.

“In a certain sense, therefore, the Gospels are already functioning as hermeneutical models for us, insisting by their very nature that we, too, retell the same story in our own twentieth-century contexts.” Fee and Stuart in "How to read the bible for all it's worth"

What might it look like to join with the spirit in crafting ways of telling the stories of Jesus life that invite people in the specific contexts around me into the kingdom of God. What an amazing opportunity! I love picking up the bible and crafting versions of the biblical narrative for my 3 year old son. Last year when I was studying Revelation he would get up every morning and ask me to retell a panoramic toddler version of Revelation I had made up. He would then fill in the blanks when I forgot things I had said before. I think many people are hungry for fresh expressions of the gospel in their native cultural tongue. The question is are you and I willing ot be caught up in the same missionary spirit of God that the gospel writers were?

What might this look like for you?
Who might God be calling you to retell the same stories to?
Any ideas?

My Memoirs of Saint Mark's Memoirs

Chronicles of my journey through -
The Gospel of Mark

My attempt at a running commentary on what sticks out to me about this gospel. Please add your thoughts, questions and concerns.

It is generally believed that Mark was highly influenced by Peter in writing his gospel. It is also quite interesting to me that this gospel is reaching it’s recipients ears shortly before AD 70 which would put this during the Neronian persecution of the church. Two of the main leaders of the Christian movement (Peter and Paul) have both been martyred. It is also into this time of great persecution and struggle that Mark writes this book (more on that later). He has a message he needs to get to those being persecuted. They need to be reminded of what God is doing, who Jesus is and what it means to follow him.

Mark 1
The kingdom of God is near (Now and Then)

What sticks out to me:

It’s been said that Mark can’t tell a story poorly. The book of Mark bursts with action at a blazing pace.

It is the proclamation of this Good News that sticks out to me. Although there are many streams of expectation among the Jews at the time it is very obvious by the continual bumbling of the disciples that they did not inherently know what Jesus meant by “the good news.” It’s amazing to me that John and Jesus set out to proclaim this good news but explain little of it. It also seems strange that the good news which we normally think of as the cross is already being proclaimed at the beginning of Jesus ministry. What does Jesus say? “the time has come…the Kingdom of God is near.” He walks up to some fisherman and tells them to drop their nets and follow him. Do you really think they had any idea what he meant by following him? It seems to me that Jesus cares much more about follower-ship and participation in the kingdom then people being right. He definitely doesn’t have any theological “foundation quiz” they all must pass before they can become disciples; just faith to follow.

Mark instantly jumps to Jesus driving out screeching demons, healings and he throws in Jesus strange conviction to pray “in a solitary place” and even when the disciples tell him everybody’s looking for him he says let’s go somewhere else.


I find Jesus instant induction of these fisherman to be troubling. Thinking ahead about their arrogance, lack of faith and the betrayal of these “disciples” I find the deputizing of these fellows to be odd. It’s odd in the sense that it’s not normal or instinctual for me. I think of all the criteria many have to wade through to just go on a short term mission trip mission trip or serve in a local ministry. What are the things I feel like people should have before they are thrust into being used by God? Jesus doesn’t seem to care much about details or more importantly I think he does care about details it’s just that he values participation highly. He asks them to follow him then he just starts unleashing healing and teaching power all over the place (what a ride).

Jesus is proclaiming that the kingdom of God is near. God’s action in the world is going on and you are invited. He throws out this invitation long before he has died for the sins of the world. Jesus seems to have major confidence in the devotion molding power of the gospel. It sticks out to me that this book and chapter begin with the words “the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, Son of God.” This good news is breaking and current news for us today. I’m not trying to belittle the cross it just seems Jesus is inviting people into a way of life and I believe we must do the same today.

Do we proclaim this invitation with such reckless confidence and radically embracing openness?

What is it that we think people need to know before they can join with what God is doing?

Are we being moved to have compassion on those that are diseased, broken and destitute? In that place of compassion could we then be desperate enough to ask God to release more of his kingdom on other desperate people?

Almighty God, conceive an expectation for your coming kingdom within us. Strip us of all these debilitating human-invented boxes we feel we need to check off before we can ask people to join with what you are doing in the world. Spirit, guide us into untamed speech and saturate us with a healing presence that depends solely on your power. Christ, prepare our hearts for more of you and make ready our feet for the long journey of being your apprentices.