Continued....

Still reading Sweet's book and I have gotten to the chapter that fires up my soul, "Our relationship with those outside the faith and with those who are different". Leonard talks my language when he talks about what evangelism is supposed to be. And I quote, "The key to evangelism is to be receivers of others--ushers to the Other, not users of others. In receiving others, we enter into their world of abundant otherness--their experiences, their thought patterns, their stories. In using others, we treat people as objects and hope to get something out of them (a conversion, a donation, their acquiescence to our argument). One can receive others and celebrate their stories without buying into their every perspective. This is how the early Christians dealt with the multiplicity of faiths in the ancient world. They did not blast away at other religions. They simply made the ultimate claim for Jesus as the Son of God with everything that was in them."
Later in the chapter, Sweet makes the claim that evangelism is being in relationship with the others and that relationship is best described as "having a meal" with them. Sitting with someone to a meal is very spiritual, very...relational. I had to think about the people that I eat meals with, my wife and two boys and my friend Lyndon(when we are working in the same area). With that in mind, who are the closest people to me at this point of my life? My wife and boys and friend. This then begs the question, how then do I enter into relationships with the others? By sitting down to a meal with them regularly. How is this done? By my being intentional about entering into relationships with others. Maybe that is vague and I do not wish it to be, but that is all that I can say. Be intentional. Be aware of my surroundings and especially those that are in them. Being led by God's Spirit in my daily wonderings, as I go.
I want to end with a very refreshing statement Sweet quotes from The Hobbit. "In the journeys of Bilbo Baggins through forest and dale, Bilbo and his companions came to rest in the house of Elrond. '[Elrond's house] was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all...All of them, the ponies as well, grew refreshed and strong in a few days there. Their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers and their hopes'". Don't you want to be at Elrond's house? Can't you smell the green grass? Are you enraptured with peace and tranquility? I can actually feel warmth of the sun on my face as well as the gentle breeze across by body. Isn't this not only what we want but what we should want for the others? Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Out of the Question, Into the Mystery

I am reading Len Sweet's book and he makes a pretty good assessment of the "post-modern" movement. He says, "The postmodern quest has been misunderstood as an abandonment of the quest for truth. It is far from an abandonment, but is rather a rerouting of the quest for truth along more relational and less rational paths. The question at the heart of Christianity is not a philosophical one or a political one or a liturgical one. The question at the heart of Christianity is a relational one: 'Who do you say that I am?' Who we say Jesus is says who we are." I believe that is the postmodern question's answer for me. It is all about relationship. My relationship with God and my relationship with my neighbor. You can't have one without the other. Jesus answered the postmodern question long before it was pre-modern. Who is Jesus to me? Beyond all the fluff, Jesus is still mysterious. He is hard to pin down and understand fully. All I can truthfully say is that He is more real today than in days past. I will confess to you, I used to rely on the encounters others had with Jesus to justify my faith. Until recently, my experiences with Jesus where "out of body", now they are more personal, more relational.
Maybe, and I am just spiff-balling here, in order for one's relationship with I Am to progress one must stop the insanity that is modern Christianity and say, "I am not going to 'go with the flow' any longer without understanding how this all relates to me. I will no longer accept hand-me-down answers to the questions that are central to my relationship with the Almighty. I am going to ask some questions and I am not going to stop until I find the answers."
I don't believe that I will find all the answers but I do believe that I will never stop asking and seeking.
Len quotes L. Robert Keck, "It is better to have a heart that makes love than a mind that makes sense." And that pretty much sums it up for me.

Sim Cp

Our Endangered Values

I am listening to the audiobook of Jimmy Carter's "Our Endangered Values". When the book came out, I didn't think that I would like it. So far it is good. He seems very down to earth and easy to understand.
He made a comment that I thought was quite interesting. He was talking about religious fundamentalism and how he defined the attitude of those adhereing to it. The attitude of the fundamentalist is "I am right. Anyone the disagrees with me is inherently wrong" which leads to, "because you are wrong, you cannot be considered on the same level of existence as I am" which leads to "you must be sub-human" to finally, "your life really isn't worth anything". Now this may at first glance seem extreme, but isn't that what some of our history teaches us. Once I have an idea that I believe is without reproach, and I will no longer listen to what others have to say about there beliefs, the slide down to "death to the infidel" begins. Hasn't this been proved in our world and country histories? The question in my mind then,using association, is "Isn't this where right wing fundamentalist headed?" Has the invasion already begun? The blue states verses the red states. No longer is platforms or political ideas used to decide who is best suited for presidency of the US, but what theological beliefs one posseses or rather "exudes". Are we at the beginning of a new era in our country? When the seperation of church and state is nothing but a very blurred line? I think I'll put my lot in with the secular humanist, which Jimmy Carter was accused of being, even though he still considers himself an evangelical Christian. I know that in the truest sense of the word, he is, but the words seem to now carry a stigma. Just like the word Christianity. Everybody is a Christian now because it is socially excepted. That is why those that are really Christian have started using the term "Christ-follower". It sort of shocks the senses a little and causes some to ask quesitons, which I guess is the point. Sorry about the rabbit trail I was just on. Well to close I would like to say we all need to be shocked back into reality and take a step back and see what is happening all around us. When will the cycle be broken? I hope soon.

Sim CP