… Teach…
I disagree with that as a blanket statement, but sometimes its true… You also hear that those who can’t do, ref.
Not this guy…
I know it’s old (2006), but dang that Ref is in control! Shoot… I think he oughta be fighting… I love his reaction as he lets the guy down… throws his hand up like “Take that punk! I am THA MAN!”
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2 Comments » This weekend, the wife and I took in a movie. Due to scheduling, we had to wait until 9:55 PM to see this puppy. The lines, even for the late showing, were overwhelming… starting in the front lobby, curling around all the way to the side exit, and doubling back all the way to the lobby… Listen, i know a few of you guys live in a town of about 3000 and your biggest theater has three screens or something… This theater has 18 screens, most of which are of the largest variety available. These people were absolutely insane, waiting in those kind of lines for a freakin’ comic book movie!
We, on the other hand, are civilized and proper. Waiting in NO lines to enhance our lives and see something worth the price of admission… Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (okay, really it had nothing to do with how hoity toity we are, we were paying to watch it for school… but still, c’mon now).
Lets get serious for a minute… We rarely go to a movie, unless its at the dollar theater (which has 15 screens), largely due to the price of admission. But with Expelled, it was well worth it if only to show support in the box office numbers.
Most of you probably know a little of what it is about… The tension in the scientific world between neo-Darwinists / Evolutionists and those who support Intelligent Design (henceforth “ID”). Supposedly the story behind this is that Stein (well-known intelligent Jew who supports ID) heard of a scientist working at the Smithsonian losing his position for the slightest positive mention of Stephen C Meyer (Christian ID proponent, author, etc) and a small implication that ID may have some merit. The first thirty minutes of the film follow similar stories (with immense quickness) to show that this is indeed not an isolated event. I’ve gotta be honest with you… it was interesting, but just seemed like more of the same old tired “evolutionists vs creationists” debate only changing the players to “neo-Darwinists vs Intelligent Designists”… eh… it was neat to see Richard Dawkins interviewed and hear some of the conflicting views, but so far I wasn’t entrenched in the story…
Then IT happened. You know that point in a film, fiction or not, where your head says “wait a minute… this changes EVERYTHING!” But it doesn’t stop with your head… your heart kinda skips a beat and your gut starts twisting in knots… And you can see it in Stein’s face as well. Up to this point, it looked scripted all the way around, but out of nowhere you, the audience and Stein realize that this has nothing to do with Science and everything to do with world-views. …
Sounds too obvious to be the “IT,” doesn’t it?…
But it changes everything and takes Stein on a completely different gut-wrenching, hand-sweating, disgusting path, climaxing with a head-to-head with Dawkins, world-renowned atheist, hater of all things religious, and maybe one of the most influential people of our time (behind the scenes and through his books)… It may be one of the most beautiful interviews in a documentary I’ve ever seen…
Sure, Stein wants ID to win, but it’s not Stein who says the ridiculous things that Dawkins and other neo-Darwinists say. They shoot themselves in the foot, over and over and over again. Dawkins isn’t even the craziest one of the bunch, he just has the loudest voice in our society…
(i’m leaving a great deal out so as not to play spoiler, but at some point, i’d love to discuss it) …
So, boycott the long lines at Iron Man, and take in Expelled. It’s beyond worth it. When the DVD comes out, buy it… Do everything you can to help Stein tear down the walls… society will be in better shape for it…
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Let me distance myself from the last post… Somewhere in that mess of a post below, I made some valid points, but it took a different direction and invalidated itself when I focused on, er… attacked… one example rather than expanding on the validity of the thought that we tend to enforce our way of Christianity on people… So maybe i’ll revisit the idea later and see if has any real legs…
in the meantime, there is a running joke in the community of radio that I listen to which states that once you realize how much you’ve failed, just stop broadcasting and play only Beatles songs… so use this one to distance from the last post AND as a bit of preview for a post coming probably later today…
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There were no flashy presentations or effects, no large band, no inflexible schedule, and no big church mentality. It was simply people who love God getting together to worship their Lord and hearing his pure Word.
I love how the pastor opens up the microphone for ANYONE to come up and give a testimony, praise, or prayer request and then the congregation prays together for that person. It is truly a family environment where the people are there to encourage one another and participate in the service…they don’t go just to hear a sermon or watch a band perform some worship.
Excerpt of my sister and her husband’s experience in a Gypsy church in Mukachevo, Ukraine. Read part one and two to get a feel for the whole evening…
I read through the posts, both of which have a positive message, yet my heart unexpectedly sunk rather than rejoiced. Eh, maybe “bittersweet” is more accurate. I am happy that the Parks’ hearts were blessed and that one of the communities they are hoping to reach out to already has a strong Christian base. There are so many positive things to take out of the story, so why are you so downcast oh my soul?
I know i’m jaded. I know I’m a cynic of today’s American christianity. I know not all of my criticism is merited. I know there are a plethora of churches and a multitude of Christians serving productively and living great examples of Christ… but i read this, and my very first thought was “lets hope American’s don’t screw it up.” … not Lindsey and Josh or the missionaries they have met or worked with thus far… but the big money, big church Americans.
It is a commonly accepted belief (although I am not sure how wide spread) that we have a problem of Americanizing or Westernizing the people-groups we minister to in other countries (Blake posts an intense video of John Piper that addresses a portion of this at least, check it out). The Parks only have to look northeast a few hundred miles to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev and see some of what I’m talking about… Take a look at a little excerpt from Hillsong, Kiev website:
we believe our purpose is to be a mission in Europe, to change perceptions by:
- Establishing new services in major European cities. The first of them is Moscow.
- The utilization of media and television to change people’s perception of the Church and Jesus through production of quality TV programs.
- Expansion of Hillsong Kiev worship music in Russian in order to help existing Russian-speaking churches to become champions in their ministry.
In fairness, Hillsong is Australian based, but closely resembles the mentality of many of our mega-churches as well (i.e.-”westernized”). On the surface, the mission statement as a whole sounds peachy. Ukraine is a hurting society, and Hillsongs:Kiev wants to improve the quality of life. But just examine the key phrases in the three main points they make for a second:
1) Establishing new services… Again, i will make another statement that is hard to quantify but is a widespread thought. I have heard it said by pastors of large mega-churches and small family churches. Services do not make disciples. (see the period?) Relationships, authenticity, and leading by example make disciples. The gospel makes disciples. Services are valuable for various reasons, but if you’re number one goal in “transforming lives” is to create new services, you’re missing the boat. Jesus went to the people, he didn’t ask the people to come to a church service.
2) Utilization of media and tv… changes perception of church… quality tv progams. I am a moderate proponent of quality production in church services and programs, but not at the expense of quality ministry. So again, just like #1, there is nothing wrong with wanting excellence in programming, nor in utilizing the media or tv, but it says a lot about your heart when your #2 priority focuses on the cultural perception of your production. Thats really all it boils down to. Statements like these tell others that the story of Jesus isn’t enough to change lives. The hope of His work on the cross isn’t enough to redeem. The grace and omniscience of God cannot break through the culture the way that our big lights, great musicianship, and top notch video editing can. If you want to change the perception of the church and Jesus, step outside your multi-million dollar building and breath the stench of the prostitute and drug-addict.
3) Expansion of Hillsong Kiev worship music… Do i really even have to address this? Read the whole statement for number 3 again… how utterly pompous and preposterous. Are we to believe that this has anything to do with ministry rather than selling more albums and building a bigger Hillsong Music Empire? To imply (understatement) that their worship music has the power to champion churches to a new level of ministry is sickening! And here we are, three for three, discounting the power of Jesus Christ.
Am I being to harsh? Do i have to give some lame disclaimer that I am aware that Hillsong:Kiev and Hillsong:Worship and Hillsong:Everywhere is an avenue for God? I hope not. I hope you understand that I have enough faith to know that God will still work through the people in these ministries to further His kingdom despite the ostentatiousness of the statements on their site. After all, He has been gracious enough to work through my failures as well. I am not above criticism.
Lord, give Josh, Lindsey, and all those who they work with the strength and faith to see the power that You possess. It is not anything we do, but what You do through us and the redeeming power of Your sacrifice that changes lives. Prepare their hearts to meet those in need at the place of their need and filter Your Truth into the lives of those who need it in the community you have placed Josh and Lindsey.
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Well, i know it’s a little early considering I haven’t finished Spring 08 yet, but I had to register and get it all rolling. It’s only been two semesters, but I’m pretty pleased at the pace of things. I am still hoping to find a way to wedge in a few additional classes in the coming summers (2009/2010), and maybe take up to 15 hours in a few semesters so as to finish in three+ years rather than four+ years (especially if I go on to get a masters). Thats all dependent on finances. Either way, it’s going quicker in my mind than I expected. It’s great to look at “general core” and see i’ll soon be over halfway done. So this is what Fall ‘08 will look like:
Tues Aug 5 - Sept 16: HIST-1321 World Civilizations II (on campus) - World Civ I was better than I expected. I’m pretty sure I’ll have the same prof, so I know what to expect… a good deal of reading mixed with good in-class discussion and learning. He’s more interested in teaching us to think historically rather than memorizing dates or exact geographical locations. If you thought I already took this, its because I planned to this semester but I over booked my financial aide and chose this as the one to drop.
Sun Aug 17 - Sept 28: Business Math (online) - The ONLY math class I have to take for my degree. Math isn’t that difficult, but I don’t enjoy it. Thankfully I am married to a math tutor. I doubt I’ll need her… Since this is online, I came up with this awesome plan of having Dionna do all the work, but she wouldn’t go for that. I guess I’ll need to refresh some math skills.
Mon Sept 22 - Oct 27: Literature Survey (on campus) - This is my last required English class, but I may take on more for my electives if they have any sort of Christian Literature class (I haven’t checked). I like reading and I like writing, so this class should fit my personality well. It’s just a matter of how much reading I have to do. This is my first on campus Eng. class, though, so I’m curious how different it will be. The first two comp classes worked well online.
Mon Nov 3 - Dec 15: New Testament Survey (on campus) - If I can get through the OT is 6 weeks, I should have no problem getting through the NT is 6 weeks. This is the only Biblical Core I’m taking Fall of ‘08 so I better enjoy it!
STATS*:
General Core Semester Credits: 9
Major/Bible Core Semester Credits: 3
Elective Semester Credits: 0
Total Semester Credits: 12
General Core Credits Complete: 23 of 42 (55%)
Major/Bible Core Credits Complete: 12 of 66 (18%)
Elective Credits Complete: 2 of 21 (10%)
Total Credits: 28 of 129 (29%)
(*: if you look at the “spring lineup” post, some of these numbers have changed when it appears they shouldn’t have. That is because they finally figured out a clean way to show us what we have taken, what we haven’t, what’s required, whats not, etc, based specifically on our individual degree plan. In January, I was still using a generic degree plan to try and determine what was needed. This is much more accurate.)
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School Man… proof that sometimes God allows complete dorks to work in His kingdom. Notice the full beard, full uni-brow, and glasses. And by the way, to those who said shaving my head a few weeks back would be great “because i wouldn’t have to style it” … as you can see, i didn’t really worry about styling it when it was longer… thanks to kiesch for being a good sport.
(and yeah, the rendering quality isn’t quite up to par with what we’re capable of now, but you get the point)
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(part one: here)
Church should not be the fulfillment of ministry in your life, rather it should be an extension of your lifestyle of ministry.
If I’m going to “live by” certain maxims, I have to at least mull over what it means for various areas of my life. Its fine and dandy to say something to encourage or challenge others, but if I don’t run with and own it, I’m a hypocrite. If I am adamant in my belief in the value of the statement, I must move beyond pulling it out of my back pocket only when it is convenient to make a point or justify a thought process. There must be some level of commitment or change.
So how should this particular personal-adage manifest in my life?
Church-Leaving: Over the last several months we have watched as our personality and that of our “home” church has slowly drifted in different directions. I think the church we were attending does a good job at several things, but lacks in the areas that are most important to us. We have served faithfully, but we are moving on.
The difficulty in leaving a church lies at the very heart of the fulfillment/extension relationship. If church is only one singular avenue by which I minister, then anything short of heresy or blatant disregard for the foundations of the Christian faith is acceptable. Living so that my life fulfills the ministry He lays on my heart means that I do not wait for the local church to provide an opportunity nor do I need their approval of outpouring of His ministry in my personal life. Obviously the time I spend ministering within the local church is subject to the local church’s guidelines, but anything beyond is governed directly by God, His Word, and those in my life that He uses to keep me in check.
The implications, then, are that I do not have to seek a church that falls completely in line with my personality or style preferences. Using the previous parental analogy, I do not enjoy ballet, but if any of my daughters decide they want to pursue dance as an extra-curricular activity and it turns into a passion of theirs, then it becomes a big part of my life. I may not enjoy the actual experience, but I take joy in their fulfillment. Suddenly, style does not matter. Tradition does not matter. Programs do not matter. Musical tastes do not matter. Demographics do not matter.
So what matters?
Like-mindedness? The vision of every church is based on the Great Commission, or at least, in theory it should be. So like-mindedness isn’t an issue. Execution of the vision? Every church strives to fulfill the vision. Too many go about it the wrong way, but the hearts of leadership are generally in the right place. Besides, if the fulfillment of ministry does not rely on local church leadership, then shortcomings, in-and-of themselves, are not an excuse to leave a church. If we can trace the deficiencies to obvious character flaws, lack of true relationship with Christ, sin-filled lives, and so forth, then yes, they play a role in staying or leaving. But then again leaving over poor-execution means I never gave a damn about the people in the local church in the first place. When a leader falls short, we should be there to help and support him. Not to hide his failure, but to aide in the recovery. Not only his healing, but also in the resolve of other church members. Like-mindedness and execution of the vision, then, cannot be the sole reason for leaving.
We also cannot justify leaving a church based on the opportunities it creates for us to use the gifts God has individually given us. Faithfulness in execution of our gifts must extend beyond the available outlets in our local church. My wife is gifted in helping others learn, specifically as it relates to math. She’s tutored everything from middle school to college and has an unbelievable success rate. I do not know of many local churches who would provide her with a specific “tutoring” ministry, but she would be remiss to allow the lack of opportunity within the church to dictate her usage of the gift.
This shifts everything in my heart. What I used to see as viable reasons for leaving the church, when taken by themselves, are no longer valid. Then again, this is the third church I’ve left since adulthood; the first two were extenuating circumstances so I don’t have a lot of experience in the matter (the first I was asked to leave, the second was a personal sabbatical from ministry that formed much of the internal discussions I’m bringing to light now).
The conundrum created by pursing a lifestyle of ministry that is only extended (rather than fulfilled) via the local church is why we mulled over this decision for several months. But in the end it came down to two very related things: “is it home?” and “are we connected?”
The answer to both, is “no.” We’ve tried to make it feel like home, and we’ve tried to connect, but it hasn’t worked out for us. But how is that answer justifiable as it concerns the fulfillment/extension relationship? … in a word… problematic… at best. Again, that is why it was a several month decision. If we begin to live the way we feel we are intended to live… that is without restrain in the fulfillment of ministry, uncuffed, throwing caution to the wind… it becomes increasingly evident that we must have a home and a church family that supports us in word and helps us find rest for weary legs.
Is it a cop out? maybe on its own merit, just like any of the previously mentioned reasons. But when you combine it all… demographics, execution of vision, dis-connectedness, personalities, the focus of the ministries available, conflicting areas we respectively hold in high regard… it all points to one thing: it’s time to move on.
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… no fun for Jeremy?
Monday, Old Testament Survey kicks off. I’ve known about it for three weeks and had a twelve day break between Foundations of Leadership and OTS… Why, then, did I wait until last night to get prepared? By Monday, I have to have read most of the Pentateuch (Gen-Duet), over 100 pages in our OT companion (and… 30 Pages in, i can tell you it looks cool thumbing through, but its a bit of a beating so far), and study and locate several pertinent Historical and Biblical locations on ancient maps… plus all the actual work/essays beyond the reading. … Thank God I dropped World Civ II early in the semester for financial reasons. Otherwise, I’d have double the reading and work.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to diving in. I like history and I see great value in understanding our heritage as Christ followers, found in the tradition of the Jews. Thus, I believe the Old Testament helps enhance our view and relationship with our Creator and Savior. But one problem with accelerated adult learning classes is the pace required for some of the more work and reading intensive studies. While a traditional student has roughly 18 weeks to complete the course, I have 6. So the whole OT along with the textbook, essays, homework, and so forth are crammed into a short amount of time.
Can I get it done? Sure… Will it be exciting? Not really… Will I learn as much as I should? probably not… but, then again, thats why I have at least 3 years left.
(btw, the fact that I dropped world civ II means I will remain a freshman until the end of Fall 2008. Technically after one class I’ll jump to sophomore, but it won’t show officially until end of the semester… so I’ll be a 27 year old freshman :P).
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Playing with my new webcam… i bought two of the same kind, one for me and one for Pops since Lnsy and Josh have officially moved to Ukraine. I didn’t like my first few plays with it, but after installing the correct driver and playing with the settings it turned out pretty good… so then me and the girls had a lot of fun screwing around… Here’s my famous tongue trick… you may act like it’s not that impressive, but i’m pretty sure you can’t do it…
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What ministry or project would you take on if you had just barely enough resources? Barely enough money, time, energy, people, support, etc… Its too cliche and easy to ask if you had “unlimited,” but if we set out to do something we really believed in and had passion for, we could probably muster up “just barely enough” to do just about anything ministry related.
My sister and her esposo wanted to start a local food pantry and after speaking with the church leadership, felt confident they could pursue the ministry. They spent quite a bit of time putting everything together, organizing, , vision-casting it, etc., only to hear the church inform them that it didn’t quite fit with the vision of the church for that particular season.
I have had a friend who has a heart for the homeless and we’ve talked numerous times about the lack of opportunity to serve the homeless within the churches he has attended.
I’ve had several ideas lacking only legs that i’ve rarely bothered to pursue because I knew it would be difficult without the church’s blessing.
I have come realize that something isn’t quite sitting right in the relationship between church member and church institution. The realization birthed the following mantra (which you’ve probably heard if you’ve known me long enough, and i’ve know i’ve said it at least once on this blog before):
Church should not be the fulfillment of ministry in your life, rather it should be an extension of your lifestyle of ministry.
We’re all given gifts from God that play out through our strengths within our personality, intelligence, and various abilities, yet in my experience we tend to save these gifts solely for use within the local church. If our church home does not provide us an avenue to serve how we feel lead to serve, we push the urge aside, ignore it, save it for later… We have allowed the church to handcuff us, to tell us when and where we can minister… we’ve allowed the church to dilute our passion… if there isn’t a program to meet the needs of our vision, we simply choose abeyance rather than obedience.
The relationship is out of whack… and it’s not solely (or even mostly) the institutions fault. I don’t want to downplay the importance of the local church. There are a lot of churches doing great things, but there are far too many churches who are just as handcuffed by our inactivity.
But… at the same time… I look at this vision in which ministry is not determined by the availability of a like-minded program that my church offers, rather is propelled by the Love of God within me… the more i chew, the more I see that we have placed too much of an emphasis on the local church, and not enough on the Body doing what it is designed to do.
As a parent, I want to be involved in my girls’ lives, converse with them, watch them grow, help them find their way in Christ… So I chose to be a soccer coach a few seasons back. This allowed me to impart some things in my daughter’s life about working with others, trying hard, accepting failure, and enjoying victory humbly. Coaching soccer did not fulfill my vision as a parent, it was simply an extension of my everyday parenting. How ridiculous would it be if I told my daughter “hon, you get all of me during anything related to soccer… the rest of the time i’m going to do my own thing.”
Isn’t that what many of us tell God? Inadvertantly, subtly, and in the words that are only audible through our actions and lack there of… God stirs our heart and says “i’ve given you the gifts… go do it.” Many of us respond “give me a way to do it at church, and i’ll do it!”…
I’m still trying to figure out how to shake the off the handcuffs that I’ve firmly locked into place on my own. This is grass-roots stuff… it’s not culturally relevant, its not seeker sensitive, and i dunno if its for everyone. But I’m tired…
Tired of words without action. Tired of hearts beating but not breaking. Tired of visions without casting. Tired of knowing what I should do and using the church as an excuse not to do it… We are the Church, so the excuse is no longer valid… And if we somehow get this concept working in our lives, we will see the local church relevant in the way it was intended to be.
(and this more or less is what I presented in my final of Foundations of Leadership)
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