This is what I did today-
Up at 6:30, to kiss my wife & send her off to work. Did the dishes I was supposed to do last night & cleaned the kitchen, fed the critters.
Had a quiet time- I've been using the prayer in chapter 10 of Waking the Dead as a guide for a few weeks. Reread some bits of the book to refresh my mind, spent some time in prayer for family & ministry team.
Checked my email & had some breakfast, emailed Mike Bishop (see below).
Headed out for the day with my Bible & camera. Dropped off some paperwork at the Social Security office, stopped by my sister's house. Got some early lunch & headed for the cemetery.
Stopped along the way for some pictures.
A ditch in an industrial area-
across the road-
I try to take pictures of what I see- sometimes it works, sometimes not. Some weeds-
I like cemeteries. They're peaceful; they draw out my awareness of God's presence. I've always enjoyed wandering through them, reading headstones, wondering about the stories that go with them. My wife & I occasionally had a date at one before we were married- there are some very large cemeteries in the Chicago area, with long roads/paths that are nice for bike rides.
It took me about ten minutes to find my parents plot. When I realized where it was, I was about ten yards away. As I walked toward it I had to stop a moment- catch my breath, & realize this was going to be more powerful than I expected.
IMG SRC="http://home.cfl.rr.com/qxzlool/1/parents%20headstone.JPG""border=2">
The past week has been so emotional; I guess I figured the worst was behind me. And then I sat on the grass in the middle of the cemetery & cried for a while.
Some of the most beautiful & most tragic parts of any cemetery are the children.
There is a lot of pain & sadness here- I hope there's a lot of joy as well.
After reading this through several times, I realized someone might go away with the wrong impression- there is pain & sorrow, grieving still, but there is a whole lot of joy & peace as well. In fact, the joy & peace far out-way the pain & sadness.
I've been reading several bits and pieces about the Emergent Church movement, and the contrast it has with other movements in the Church, primarily Evangelicalism. What follows is a slightly edited email I sent to Mike Bishop after reading & commenting on a post he made, & receiving a reply from him (you should really read his original post & our comments to get the context of this):
Frankly, I'm not overly fond of Rick Warren's writing. I was part of one of the 40 day groups with The Purpose Driven Life- I made it about 15 days. I had so many arguments with what he said & how he said it that I finally gave up. And I left the group because I couldn't add anything positive to it. I have also looked at the Celebrate Recovery program that Saddleback started and have lots of problems with it as well.
And Brian McLaren is fairly new to me- I have only been aware of and reading his work for about a month. That's true of the entire Emergent movement (? I still don't know quite how to refer to it).
But two things have impressed me greatly as I read about this "new thing" and read the comments and ideas of people that seem to support/embrace it-
The first is not new at all. There seems to be a lot of "get rid of the old ways- because they are the old ways." Whether the reference is to Traditionalism, Evangelicalism, Modernism (and there seems to be little differentiation); the main idea seems to be "out with the old, in with the new." Which has been repeated over & over again throughout time. One of the strongest & most recent examples is the mess of the Sixties. Another would be The Reformation. Yet another would be the beginnings of the Church. Which, of course, points out that not all change is bad, and there are certainly times when radical change is necessary. But even in the founding & establishing of the Church there was the need to embrace and include the positive, healthy portions of the past. I don't see much of that in what I have encountered so far.
The second thing- "What exactly is God doing different..." I don't think you really mean God is doing something He's never done before (please let me know if I'm wrong- that would be a significant theological concern). God has always "...challeng(ed) people to become people who love God, live in his kingdom, and live simple lives for the sake of the world." Yes? And if we take into account culture, well, culture changes with time & location. What is culturally relevant here & now may not be in a few years- or in another country. Scripture has to be read with an eye toward culture. Missions must be approached with a keen understanding of the culture they're trying to reach. As culture changes, God will adapt His church to reach it, to be involved, to engage it, whatever the form. Rick Warren looks at The Passion of the Christ and sees an immense opportunity to reach the culture God has called him to. Brian McLaren looks at the same movie and sees an opportunity- but not one that is going to make a significant impact on the culture that God has called him to. God has raised up a part of His Body to reach the new. But He is also maintaining a part of His Body to continue reaching the old. And although the methods may appear different, the foundation is the same.
Paul said "To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. (1 Cor. 9:20-23)"
I suspect I'm not telling you anything you don't already believe. Interestingly, I consider myself very Evangelical, but I think the intent of Emergence is wonderful. Necessary. Definitely part of where God is going. And I have lots of problems with Evangelicalism- I think it's isolated a lot of wounded, hurting Christians. I was/am a part of that group. And God is leading me into ministry, through an Evangelical Free church, to minister the same comfort with which I have been comforted.
I guess my point overall would be that as God moves in an additional (not new, or even different) direction in our culture, we need to be careful to discern what did and didn't work previously, and hold tight to the good. And trust God, because He will do His work.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment