Thursday, February 27, 2014

Thursday Thinking – Jesus-Shaped Spirituality

I've been a follower of the Internet Monk Blog for years. Michael Spencer was a fresh, stimulating, and fun voice crying out in the post-evangelical wilderness. I miss his voice, so I was pleased to see one of his classic posts, Jesus-Shaped Spirituality, republished on the iMonk site a couple days ago. Spencer wrote it in February 2009, a little over a year before he died. What follows is the main section of that post... 

What does Jesus-shaped spirituality look like?
1) It is a spirituality rooted in the Biblical story. It is a spirituality that grows up in the narrative of the Bible and within the categories of the Biblical worldview. Most particularly, it is a spirituality of the Biblical story that is finally and completely about Jesus and understood in Jesus.

2) It is a spirituality where God comes to all people: in Jesus, through the incarnation, the Gospel, Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit.

3) It is a spirituality where God is available, immediately, through the mediation of Jesus, to all people, in the power of the Spirit as revealed in the Gospel.

4) It is a spirituality where Jesus is the ultimate sacrament, and all sacraments are visible, actual participations in Jesus as salvation.

5) It is a spirituality where the Kingdom of God is present everywhere and God’s people are called to be workers for and proclaimers of the Kingdom wherever God has placed them.

6) It is a spirituality especially manifested where the Gospel is explicitly heard, believed and practiced.

7) It is a spirituality where God is known, experienced and worshiped as Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as revealed by Jesus in scripture.

8) It is a spirituality of the compassion of Jesus for the whole range of human brokenness. It is a spirituality of kindness, gentleness and generosity to the hurting, the lonely and the wounded.

9) It is a spirituality where all people are called to the decisive act of public, intentional discipleship, inaugurated in baptism and continued, when possible, in a local church.

10) It is a spirituality of grace as understood in the teaching and actions of Jesus, and through the grace of God revealed in the Gospel.

11) It is a spirituality of inclusion, particularly imitating Jesus’ inclusion of outcasts, touching of lepers, respectful treatment of women, outreaches to Gentiles and liberating miracles for those who were considered beyond help, hope and forgiveness.

12) It is a spirituality that takes place in a movement of cross-cultural church planting. Jesus shaped spirituality is formed in the context of the outcomes and values that contribute to cross-cultural church planting, particularly in places where the Gospel has not been heard.

13) It is a spirituality that is shaped, whenever possible, in local churches and under the ministry of local church leadership. It is a spirituality that receives the ministry of the Spirit through the broadest possible experience of the church of Jesus.

14) It is a spirituality that announces and practices the end of religion, because all religion is fulfilled in Jesus. What remains of religion and religious practice is completely transformed by Jesus into a New Covenant understanding of the people of God.

15) It is a spirituality that calls all persons, and especially disciples, to continual personal transformation by grace in every area of human nature, experience and relationship.

16) It is a spirituality formed by the practice of prayer, reading scripture, worship, servanthood, mission and simplicity, both individually and, whenever possible, in community with other disciples.

17) It is a spirituality that is consciously, exclusively and intentionally Jesus-centered. The center and the boundaries of Jesus shaped spirituality are Jesus himself, as revealed in scripture, especially in the Gospels. It is a spirituality that takes all study of Jesus seriously, but affirms that Jesus is revealed with the authority of God in scripture.

18) It is a spirituality with a hopeful, optimistic eschatology of the Kingdom of God, inaugurated now and coming in fullness, announcing in advance God’s judgment of the world and God’s vindication of his people.

19) It is a spirituality that is not dispensed or controlled by institutions, but is accomplished by the work of the Spirit through whatever means God chooses as the shaping, forming element.

20) It is a spirituality of creativity, freedom and cultural diversity. We are constantly discovering and rediscovering Jesus in new ways. It is a spirituality that honors and appreciates the discovery of Jesus by those who have known Jesus before us.

21) It is a spirituality that receives and evaluates tradition, authority and theology within a living experience of discipleship to Jesus.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Wednesday Words - Loss and Gain


When I compare
What I have lost with what I have gained,
What I have missed with what attained,
Little room do I find for pride.

I am aware
How many days have been idly spent;
How like an arrow the good intent
Has fallen short or been turned aside.

But who shall dare
To measure loss and gain in this wise?
Defeat may be victory in disguise;
The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.

"Loss and Gain" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 
Public domain.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Tuesday Tome - Living in Christ's Presence

These just arrived on Saturday. I'm looking forward to getting to them sometime after Easter. Dallas Willard's final words on living as an apprentice to Jesus...

Publisher's Description:
In these pages Dallas Willard explores what it means to live well now in light of God's kingdom. He reflects on the power of the Trinity in our lives, the meaning of knowledge, the importance of spiritual disciplines and much more. Dallas Willard offers poignant thoughts about what it will be like to transition into the very presence of Christ in heaven. This book is adapted from the talks given at the February 2013 Dallas Willard Center "Knowing Christ Today" conference in Santa Barbara, California. Each chapter is followed with an illuminating dialogue between Dallas Willard and John Ortberg. The book closes with the theme of offering a blessing to one another. These reflections form an apt conclusion to Dallas Willard's public ministry. It is a gift of grace. A conversation guide written by Gary W. Moon is included. Also available is the companion Living in Christ's Presence DVD.

BOOK: 
Living in Christ's Presence BOOK (Willard / Ortberg)

DVD:  
Living in Christ's Presence DVD (Willard / Ortberg)

Monday, February 24, 2014

Monday Music - Joyful, Joyful



Joyful, joyful, we adore you,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before you --
Hail you as the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day.

All your works with joy surround you,
Earth and heaven reflect your rays,
Stars and angels sing around you --
Center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flowering meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Joyful, joyful we adore you. Joyful!
Joyful, joyful we adore you. Joyful!

"Joyful, Joyful" words by Hen­ry J. van Dyke (1907), music by Dave Burkum, from the Breathe a Little Deeper CD, © Copyright 2002 by Dave Burkum.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Sunday Supplication - Answering the Call

O Lord, help us to answer the call of our Savior Jesus Christ. Help us to seriously and readily seek your will for our lives. Help us, by our words and actions, to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to all people. Help us, and all people in the world, to recognize the salvation he brings.

Thank you for the forgiveness and renewal you have given to us through Christ Jesus.  Help us to extend forgiveness to each other. And help us grow into a redemptive and healing community. Help us to have a saving and healing impact on the world around us.

Life is more than we can face on our own, O God. Help us to navigate our way through the many challenges and conflicts. Help us to live with integrity and care toward others in authentic Christian fellowship. Help our Valley community to be an instrument of your grace, your truth, and your peace. Make us a blessing to the world around us.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Friday Favorites - Charn


CHARN  is nephews Alex and Phil with their good friends Steve and Levi. These guys are releasing a new CD and have some upcoming shows. Check them out.

In case you're keeping track, my kids and their cousins are part of five bands: The Cactus Blossoms, Leagues, Skypiper, The Kanesville Boys, and Charn. That's a lot of great music! Sure would love to see a supershow featuring all five bands.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Thursday Thinking - Marriage Freakonomics


The Freakonomics podcast has posted a new two-part series called, "Why Marry?" Part 1 posted last week and Part 2 was scheduled to be released yesterday. That means that both parts should be available today.

It's not surprising that I would be interested in this program. As a pastor, I officiate many weddings and do a lot of premarital counseling. And, as you would expect, do a lot of pastoral marriage counseling. Tomorrow, my wife and I will be leading a two-day marriage retreat with twenty-two couples from our church. If you, like me, are interested in understanding current trends and attitudes toward marriage in America, you should check it out. 

From the Freakonomics website: 
This episode is about all the ways that marriage has changed over the last 50 years. We begin by challenging some of the myths of modern marriage. For instance: does marriage make you happier? Is divorce as common as we think? The discussion then moves on to how the institution of marriage is perceived these days, and to what degree it has outlived its original purpose.

We begin by hearing the voices of people all around the country, talking about why they got married or want to. As you might imagine, their reasoning runs from pure romance (love!) to hardcore pragmatic (a visa, a pregnancy, to conform). 

Stephen Dubner spends a lot of time talking with Justin Wolfers, an economist at the University of Michigan and the Brookings Institution. Along with his partner/co-economist Betsey Stevenson, Wolfers has done significant research on marriage, divorce, and family. He explains one dramatic change to marriage over the past half-century — from a factory-style model of “production complementarities,” where the mister went off to work and the missus ran the household, to something very different...

LISTEN OR READ THE PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Wednesday Words - Hunger Moon

The last full moon of February
stalks the fields; barbed wire casts a shadow.
Rising slowly, a beam moved toward the west
stealthily changing position

until now, in the small hours, across the snow
it advances on my pillow
to wake me, not rudely like the sun
but with the cocked gun of silence.

I am alone in a vast room
where a vain woman once slept.
The moon, in pale buckskins, crouches
on guard beside her bed.

Slowly the light wanes, the snow will melt
and all the fences thrum in the spring breeze
but not until that sleeper, trapped
in my body, turns and turns.

"Hunger Moon" by Jane Cooper, from The Flashboat: Poems Collected and Reclaimed. Copyright © 2000 by Jane Cooper.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Tuesday Tome - How God Became King

I'm going to be sounding the drum for a few weeks on our next Valley Book Club. If you are interested in participating, please contact Brad Dewing to let him know.

How God Became King
by N. T. Wright

How God Became King is the selection for our next book club at Valley Christian Church. Brad Dewing will be facilitating the five sessions. A limited number of copies of this book selection are available at the church resource center.

In this book, New Testament scholar N.T. Wright reveals how we have been misreading the Gospels for centuries, powerfully restoring the lost central story of the Scripture: that the coronation of God through the acts of Jesus was the climax of human history. Wright fills the gaps that centuries of misdirection have opened up in our collective spiritual story, tracing a narrative from Eden, to Jesus, to today.

BOOK CLUB SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, March 12, 6:30pm
Wednesday, March 19, 6:30pm
Wednesday, March 26, 6:30pm
Wednesday, April 2, 6:30pm
Wednesday, April 9, 6:30pm

CLICK HERE for more information.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Monday Music - Penny Annie


She took a penny-
Hid it at the bottom of that tree.
She loves a mystery-
Loves to pique my curiosity.
White chalk arrows on the sidewalk
Say hidden treasure lies this way.
She’s got a childlike kind of wonder,
It’s something more than childish play.
And I’m sure to find that penny
If I look around with eyes that see like Annie.

Stillness and starlight,
Dragon helicopters in the reeds.
Earthworms and planets,
Mantis prayers and long forgotten creeds.
I can lose myself in wonder,
I can lose the time of day,
But if I ever lose the mystery
I will surely lose my way-
And the key to finding pennies
Is living life with open eyes that see like Annie.

Are you a pilgrim?
Well, I’m a pilgrim too.
Are you finding pennies?
I've found quite a few.

We can lose ourselves in wonder,
We can lose the time of day,
But if we ever lose the mystery
We will surely lose our way-
And the world’s a shiny penny
For anyone with open eyes that see like Annie.

Yes, the world’s a shiny penny
For anyone with open eyes that see like Annie.

"Penny Annie" words and music by Dave Burkum, from the album, Breathe a Little Deeper, © Copyright 1999 by Dave Burkum.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Sunday Supplication - Truly Alive in Christ

O Lord, you have taught us what love is and what it does. And your word tells us that without love, the things we do are nothing. We ask that through your Holy Spirit you would fill our hearts with love.

May the great gift of your love bring us together in peace. May your love move us toward holiness and virtue. May your love make us truly alive in Christ.

Lead us away from temptation. Free us from selfishness and pride. Give us the honesty and humility to recognize our need for your grace and mercy. Forgive us our sins and make us ready to forgive others.

You reign over all things, O God.  May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. By your power and grace, help us to follow Christ and yield to his Lordship. Help us to be faithful in our walk with you. Make us a testimony of your saving grace.

Grant us hearts and hands that are ready and quick to serve in your name. Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever!

Amen.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Friday Favorites - Cactus Blossoms Interview

A few days ago, the Minnesota Daily A&E Section posted an interview with The Cactus Blossoms. It's a nice interview and gives you a little taste of what Page and Jack are like, how they got started, and what they're thinking about their these days. I've included a link to the article and a few words from the intro below so you can check it out if you'd like.

By the way, some of my friends who live the Elko-New Market area should mark your calendars for March 1, when the Cactus Blossoms will be playing at the Elko-New Market Library.


The Cactus Blossoms return country to its rootsLocal country band preserves time-honored traditions
In Minneapolis, The Cactus Blossoms are keeping traditional country alive. Brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey founded the band in 2009 and have since gained national and international momentum.

Last week, A&E sat down with Torrey and Burkum at the N.E. Yacht Club and quizzed them about their influences, the local music scene and all things country.
Continue reading...

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Thursday Thinking - Vocation and Life Worth Living

Miroslav Volf discusses life worth living with Charles Halton.



Miroslav Volf is Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale and the Founding Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. He has authored many books including Exclusion & Embrace and Public Faith.

Charles Halton is an Assistant Professor in Theology at HBU. He is also the Managing Editor of Marginalia.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Wednesday Words - Blessing for a New Home

May this house shelter your life,
When you come home here,
May all of the weight of the world
Fall from your shoulders.

May your heart be tranquil here,
Blessed by peace the world cannot give.
May this home be a lucky place,
Where the graces of your desires
Always find the pathway to your door.

May nothing destructive
Ever cross your threshold.
May this be a safe place
Full of understanding and acceptance,
Where you can be as you are,
Without the need of any mask
Or pretense or image.

May this home be a place of discovery,
Where the possibilities that sleep
In the clay of your soul can emerge
To deepen and refine your vision
For all that is yet to come to birth.

May it be a house of courage,
Where healing and growth are loved,
Where dignity and forgiveness prevail;
A home where patience of spirit is prized,
And the sight of the destination is never lost
Though the journey be difficult and slow.

May there be great delight around this hearth.
May it be a house of welcome
For the broken and diminished.
May you have the eyes to see
That no visitor arrives without a gift
And no guest leaves without a blessing.

"For a New Home" by John O’Donohue, from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings (Doubleday), © Copyright 2008 by John O'Donohue.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Tuesday Tome - Next Valley Book Club

How God Became King
by N. T. Wright

How God Became King is the selection for our next book club at Valley Christian Church. Brad Dewing will be facilitating the five sessions. A limited number of copies of this book selection are available at the church resource center.

In this book, New Testament scholar N.T. Wright reveals how we have been misreading the Gospels for centuries, powerfully restoring the lost central story of the Scripture: that the coronation of God through the acts of Jesus was the climax of human history. Wright fills the gaps that centuries of misdirection have opened up in our collective spiritual story, tracing a narrative from Eden, to Jesus, to today.

BOOK CLUB SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, March 12, 6:30pm
Wednesday, March 19, 6:30pm
Wednesday, March 26, 6:30pm
Wednesday, April 2, 6:30pm
Wednesday, April 9, 6:30pm
CLICK HERE for more information.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Monday Music - Over and Over


Over and over again
The angels rise and then descend
Over and over again
They praise your name and never end

And over and over again
A brand new voice is joining them
For over and over again
Your sacrifice restores your children

How can it be that someone like me
Is singing along with them?
All I can do is look up to you
And be overwhelmed again

How can it be that someone like me
Is even allowed to be singing
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was who is and who will
Always be in love with me

"Over and Over" words and music by Dan Scott from Fireside: Worship & Scripture Songs, © Copyright 2006, Small Circus Music.

Sunday, February 09, 2014

Sunday Supplication - Your Glory Revealed

O God, you have revealed your grace and truth through Jesus your only-begotten Son. We have seen your glory revealed in his birth, his life, his words, his transfiguration, his death, his resurrection, and his ascension.

Give us the faith to truly see Christ, and by his light, help us to see our own lives and our purpose. Strengthen us to take up our own crosses, to walk in his ways, and to be changed into his likeness from glory to glory.

We are thankful for your forgiveness and we ask that, as you have forgiven us our sins, you would help us to be quick to forgive those who have sinned against us.

We thank you, Father, for the grace and comfort you extend to us. We praise you for being a God of comfort and consolation. Help us to always look to you for the strength and hope needed to face our troubles. Give us eyes to see the hurts of those around us. Give us hearts of compassion, and make us instruments of your peace.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Friday, February 07, 2014

Friday Favorites - The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra

Tonight I'll be enjoying and evening of chamber music with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. It looks like it will be a good program with a wide variety of composers from 18th through 20th centuries. I'm especially looking forward to the Bartók.

TONIGHT'S PROGRAM:
Haydn: String Quartet in D Minor, Hob. III: 43
Ruggero Allifranchini and Sunmi Chang, violins; Sabina Thatcher, viola; Wilhelmina Smith, cello

Bartók: Selections from Duos for Two Violins
Sunmi Chang and Ruggero Allifranchini, violins

Reicha: Variations for Bassoon, Two Violins, 
Viola and Cello
Carole Mason Smith, bassoon; Sunmi Chang and Ruggero Allifranchini, violin; Sabina Thatcher, viola; Wilhelmina Smith, cello

Beethoven: String Trio in C Minor, Opus 9, No. 3
Ruggero Allifranchini, violin; Sabina Thatcher, viola; Wilhelmina Smith, cello

Thursday, February 06, 2014

Thursday Thinking - About Super Bowl Ads


The Christ and Pop Culture blog recently posted reviews of some of the most popular commercial ads from this year's Super Bowl. Videos of the ads are embedded in the post, and reviewers give their take on production, meaning, and cultural implications of these ads.
Every year, we watch the Super Bowl for the football, talking through the whole thing, yelling at the television, marveling audibly at the half-time spectacle, and then shushing one another to a hushed silence during the commercials. It’s a time that, for better or worse, both reflects and influences the attitude and mood of the general public. It takes our culture’s temperature, and it writes a prescription for what ails us. Here, have some Taco Bell and call us in the morning. Drive this car and then see how you feel. Hmm, you look pale. You need some Axe Body Spray.

None of these commercials are telling the whole truth, but some of them are telling some truth. Others are just outright lies. We thought we’d sort through the nonsense and get down to reality.

READ THE ENTIRE POST AT CHRIST & POP CULTURE

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Wednesday Words - For Marriage


As spring unfolds the dream of the earth,
May you bring each other’s hearts to birth.

As the ocean finds calm in view of land,
May you love the gaze of each other’s mind.

As the wind arises free and wild,
May nothing negative control your lives.

As kindly as moonlight might search the dark,
So gentle may you be when light grows scarce.

As surprised as the silence that music opens,
May your words for each other be touched with reverence.

As warmly as the air draws in the light,
May you welcome each other’s every gift.

As elegant as dream absorbing the night,
May sleep find you clear of anger and hurt.

As twilight harvests all the day’s color,
May love bring you home to each other.

“For Marriage” by John O’Donohue 
from To Bless the Space Between Us (Doubleday) © 2008.

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Tuesday Tome - Francis Spufford is Unapologetic

http://www.amazon.com/Unapologetic-Everything-Christianity-Surprising-Emotional/dp/0062300458/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390880793&sr=1-1&keywords=unapologeticFrancis Spufford's Unapologetic was a terrific read. He is bold about his faith, but delivers that boldness with a winsome humility and honesty. He is progressive and post-modern, yet essentially orthodox and committed to Christian community. He is profound and profane, sometimes at the same time.

Spufford voices a perspective that resonates with my own heart and mind in many ways. Over and over, while reading, I found myself thinking, "Yes, that's what I've been trying to say."

This book isn't for everyone (you certainly won't ever see it in a "christian" bookstore), but it's exactly what some of us have been hoping someone would write, and we couldn't have asked for a better writer.

To learn more about Unapologetic, I'd recommend the following links. The first is an interview Spufford did with the New York Times. The second is a review by Bible scholar, Scot McKnight, which appeared on his Jesus Creed Blog.

NYT - Despite Everything: Francis Spufford Talks about Unapologetic
"I was in a church-going family, and at thirteen or fourteen I started caring a lot more about sex, music and politics than I did about God — and the box of symbolism and stories I’d left behind seemed to shrink as I moved away from it, until it was impossible to imagine ever fitting inside again. In fact I made the classic mistake of thinking faith was childish when I only meant that I’d been a child the last time I took it seriously. I was never argued out of faith, it was much more passive than that — and I wasn’t argued back in, either."

JESUS CREED BLOG - Scot McKnight Reviews Unapologetic 
"A delightful read, mostly because Spufford’s entire vision of our faith is through the lens of our utter sinfulness and the need for God’s redeeming (but not yet perfecting) grace."

BUY THE BOOK:
Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Still Makes Surprising Emotional Sense

Monday, February 03, 2014

Monday Music - The River


Rolling river-
Your arms around a loved one who lies sleeping.
Living water-
The sound of baby's laughter, and a promise you've been keeping.
Currents moving through your being;
Flooding you with reasons to be.

It's flowing down from the hand of my Father.
And its streams abound in all that's beautiful and true.
And it's time you found the pure and crystalline headwaters
Of the river that runs in you;
The river that runs in you.

Rolling river-
A selfless act of kindness toward your neighbor.
Living water-
The joy of loyal friendship, and the fruit of honest labor.
A silver ribbon in the moonlight;
A golden strand that shimmers through your days.

It's flowing down from the hand of my Father.
And its streams abound in all that's beautiful and true.
And it's time you found the pure and crystalline headwaters
Of the river that runs in you;
The river that runs in you.

Rolling river-
The tears you shed when someone else is aching.
Living water-
The time you take to listen, and a sacrifice you're making.
Through the depths of your fulfillment,
Dancing down the rapids of your dreams.

It's flowing down from the hand of my Father.
And its streams abound in all that's beautiful and true.
And it's time you found the pure and crystalline headwaters
Of the river that runs in you;
The river that runs in you.

"The River," words and music by Dave Burkum, from, So Far to Go.
© Copyright 1994 by Dave Burkum (burkum.com).

Sunday, February 02, 2014

Sunday Supplication - Change and Strengthen Us

O God, you are our strength. We put our trust in you. We come to you in prayer because you are merciful. We come to you in our weakness because you are gracious and faithful and able to help us do what we could never do on our own.

Help us to fulfill your purpose for our lives. Help us to walk in your ways. Help us to please you in our attitudes and our actions.

We confess our sins and ask you to forgive us.  We ask that you would change us and strengthen us. Help us overcome temptation and escape the sins that entangle and destroy us. Give us the grace and generosity we need to forgive others, just as you have forgiven us.

Father, you have fearfully and wonderfully made each one of us. You know the purposes you have for us and you have equipped us to accomplish those purposes. Help us, as we seek you with whole hearts, to discover our gifts and to understand how we can use them to serve you. Give us good things to do and willing heart to do them.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Saturday, February 01, 2014