Ethel's
(Warning: If you are legalistic about drinking alcohol, please don't read this. If you are a teenager, it is illegal to drink alcohol before you are 21. SO WAIT!)

We have been hanging out with some friends and growing relationally for awhile now. When I went to Ozzfest the other week Trish and some of the girls went to Ethel's for a "bucket."

Ethel's is a little bar down the street, that quite honestly, I didn't even know existed until Trish told me about it. They have a special concoction that they put in a bucket with a bunch of straws and everybody sips off of it. (Hopefully the alcohol kills the germs...) It's a little dive that holds about 20 people in our small town.

Anyway, we started meeting some folks there just to hang out together. We were kidding around in our gathering that we're going to tell the pastor that we have a small group at Ethel's. It seems like everyone that hears we are doing this wants to join us! Sunday, another lady from church wanted to know why "she wasn't invited." It's funny how God works. When you quit trying to have fellowship, and allow yourself the freedom to be who you are, fellowship happens naturally, and in the most interesting places....

Bill posted the link to this excerpt form Eugene Peterson's "Subversive Spirituality". I think Peterson has a great handle on the problem:

We go to our leaders for help, and they don't seem to know what we are talking about. They sign us up for a program in stress management. They recruit us for a tour of the Holy Land. They enroll us in a course in family dynamics. They give us a Myers-Briggs personality-type indicator so they can fit us into the slot where we can function efficiently. When we don't seem interested, they talk faster and louder. When we drift somewhere else, they hire a public-relations consultant to devise a campaign designed to attract us and our friends. Sometimes the advertising campaign is successful in enlisting people who want something to do without the inconvenience of community and want to know how to be on good terms with God without having to give up the final say-so on their own lives. But they don't attract us. We are after what we came for in the first place: intimacy and transcendence, personal friends and a personal God, love and worship.

I agree that some of the solutions offered are heading down the right path. I really liked "Shun spirituality that does not require commitment." Not sure I agree with everything....judge for yourself....

Trish is having her gallbladder taken out today. She doesn't particularly like going to the Dr. in the first place, so this is hard for her. Please keep her in your prayers today!

**UPDATE**
Trish is doing fine. She is recovering and they will keep her overnight. Three kids keep me busy though....

Laugh or Cry?

We had our gathering last night and had someone from church join us. She is such a sweet lady and God is definately calling her to Himself. I wanted to share this story illustrate the guilt that religion uses to motivate people.

Our friend was confirmed in the Catholic church as an adult, but never attended after that. She feels like God is calling her to something and is trying to sort it out. When she heard we had a gathering in our house she wanted to come and check it out. I told her just bring her Bible and we would hang out together....

So, we shared our stories of how Jesus found us and how we came to be at the church we attend. We talked about the struggles of life and trusting in God through them. So I got out my Bible and turned to Matthew 6 to read about seeking the Kingdom of God instead of being anxious... I asked our friend how comfortable she was with the Bible, knowing that most of the Catholics in our area know very little about the Bible....

She said she didn't know much then she proceeded to get honest....She said, "Actually, I went out and bought this Bible today so I would have one. I took it home and ruffled the pages so you guys would think I had read it before..." I just smiled and was glad she felt comfortable enough with us to honest. To me that was the good stuff!

After thinking about it though I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm not putting our friend down at all. I had a starting place in my journey too. I know where she is at. Been there. Wanting to fit in and thinking there are expectations of what it means to be "Christian." Knowing that God is calling you, but afraid to let be yourself becuase you were afraid of what people would think.... There was a time I would have done the same thing....that made me smile.

The tragedy is that had she not come to our house last night, she might have attended the IC for years and never even cracked a Bible. Not only that, but the guilt that motivated her to do that makes my heart break. The good news is that she was glad to know that we were "real people" who struggled, had holes in their couch becuase we can't afford a new one, have kids who aren't perfectly obedient etc.

It was so nice to put her at ease just by being me. Not hiding our faults and shortcomings, while at the same time making it known that we are trying to love God, each other and our neighbor. That is my goal. I feel like I am on the right track: Being myself, loving God, letting Him love me, learning to trust Him, and sharing that love with friends and neighbors. It seems so simple. It is. It is also extremely satisfying.

My dad is in the hospital with chest pains as of last evening. They are going in with a camera to take a look and possibly put in a stint. He has already had a couple of angioplasties, so there is always a risk involoved. If you could lift him up in prayer that would be awesome!

**UPDATE**
My dad had a 90% blockage in a the right coronary artery of his heart. They "ballooned" him and put a stint in and he is doing much better. This his third angioplasty! God must not be done with him yet....!


IC quote of the week (In the context of a "capital campaign"):
"It takes money to win the lost."

Trish and I had such a great time this weekend! My mom and dad kept the kids from Thursday to Sunday!!! Man, I almost forgot what it was to be just a couple in love with each other! We went out to eat, snuggled, talked.... This was a much needed break! If you get the chance to give a break to some parents by taking their kids for awhile, realize IT IS MINISTRY!

Have you ever felt that change is coming, you're not sure you know what's going to happen, but you now something is going to happen? That's how I feel right now. Not exactly comfortable...a little anxious...but I know that good things will come of it.

The downside of the weekend was church related....sigh... I've tried to distance myself as much as possible from the inner workings of the IC we are serving at, but the system keeps sucking (in more ways than one) me back in. There was some weirdness taking place with an individual, as well as some statements and teaching that I just can't buy into. The mission and vision that I was helping with took a turn for the ordinary (I had a feeling it would.). In other words: SNAFU.

You know, we have finally started to have some good relationships with people and NOW the time is coming to move on. God has an interesting sense of timing. It seems like all we have wanted are some people to journey with...I'm still trusting.... I told Trish that those who quit being our friends because God is calling us to something else, were never our friends in the first place. Friendships and relationships built on a Sunday morning address have a flimsy foundation at best.

Ranting Completed.

+God forgive me...I saw Black Sabbath and Judas Priest and I liked it...+

Just for the record, Ozzy was on his game. Now that he is off the pills you could understand everything he said and he put on a really good show. I never thought I would see Sabbath together onstage do the songs I learned the guitar to. Judas hasn't missed a beat, they were a hard act to follow...The rest of the bands all sounded the same to an ear that his been out of the Metal scene for awhile. Although MAGNA-FI gets notable mention as a band singing about stuff that matters ( I wonder if they are Christian?). But, the really great time was getting to hang all day, building a relationship with friend...

By the way, has the Catholic church lost their minds?! Check this....Was man made for Communion, or was Communion made for man?

A friend is taking me to Ozzfest today! I haven't listened to this kind of music for sometime now, but for the sake of a growing friendship, I'm going....I grew up on Black Sabbath and Judas Priest...should be interesting...

Saturday night my mom and dad are keeping the kids and Trish and I are going to see Lyle Lovett! Yeah, I'm eclectic....

We had our gathering last night, not everyone was able to show up, but we had some good conversation regarding John Chapter 2.

The most lively conversation regarded what it means to trust, and whether we should trust other people at all...

Joh 2:23 During the time he was in Jerusalem, those days of the Passover Feast, many people noticed the signs he was displaying and, seeing they pointed straight to God, entrusted their lives to him.
Joh 2:24 But Jesus didn't entrust his life to them. He knew them inside and out, knew how untrustworthy they were.
Joh 2:25 He didn't need any help in seeing right through them. (The Message)

Here are some of the questions that came out of our discussion:

• If we are following Jesus and he didn't trust people, should we do the same?
• What is trust? Does trust imply obligations and expectations of others?
• Is trust different from acceptance?
  
• If trust does imply obligations and expectations of others, does that lead us to keep a "check list" in our minds regarding whether people are meeting our expectations? Is that fair? Is that freedom?
  
• How does it make us feel when others in the Body have expectations of us that we fail to meet?
• Are expectations a form of control? If we have expectations of others, what role does the Spirit play? In other words, what if the Spirit calls people to do things outside of our expectations? How do we handle that?
• What might happen, "where the rubber meets the road," if we didn't have expectations of others? Would it be freeing? Would it be chaos?

Obviously, we had a great chat about these issues and we all have some food for thought during this week....

Now, back to writing my paper on Diversity in the Workplace....oh joy (insert sarcasm)...

I have lots to say, but no time to do it....I am in crunch time regarding my final project at school. Of course, I have procastinated to such an extent that crunch time seems...oh, crunchier...

To add to the discussion going on at Alan's blog, I'm reposting a summary of Fowler's Theory regarding the Stages of Faith. Fowler discovered these stages as he surveyed thousands of people from different religions. If I remember correctly, Fowler believes that once we are "saved" we enter a progressive and predictable journey toward Christ-likeness. You may not agree with that, but in looking at my own journey and the journey of others that I know, these stages seem accurate. I tried to summarize each stage with an example from the OT and the life of Jesus.

Primal Stage – Genesis – Birth Stories of Jesus – Decision to be a Christ-follower

• Represents maximum human dependency; maximum care by others, including God.

• Genesis - The beginning of Salvation History for the Hebrew/Israelite/Jew.

• Jesus' birth.

• Decision is made to follow Christ.

Intuitive-Projective – Call of Fathers(Creeds) – Journey to/from Egypt – Romance/Setting Apart

• Babies learn that “others” are out there, with whom to interact.

• Call of Abraham and the verbally repeated in Israel’s creeds of Duet. 6:20-25 and Duet. 26::5-10. Call of Abraham and Egyptian slavery.

• Jesus journeys to and from Egypt. (Math. 2:14-15)

• The follower learns that he is “called” and “set apart,” but is still largely dependent on “other people like him.” This is often a time of joy and bliss.

Mythic-Literal – Exodus, Sinai Stories – Jesus Returns to Nazareth - Non-negotiable Faith

• One learns stories and ways of acting which define one’s family and group identity.

• Stories of the Exodus and Sinai celebrated in Passover and the Feast of Weeks form Israel’s identity as a nation/people and develop a national consciousness.

• Jesus returns to Nazareth. (Math. 2:19-23)

• The follower begins to take on the stories, beliefs and observances that symbolize belonging to the community. Beliefs and morality are appropriated with literal interpretations.

Synthetic-Conventional – Wandering and Conquest – Jesus Grows and is Baptized – Loyalty to Group

• Loyalties to persons or groups from the core of one’s identity. Strong attachment to ideals and rules.

• Israel begins to establish the parameters of what it means to be God’s people in the 40 years of wandering and the conquest of Israel. This is reinforced in Sukkoth (Feast of Booths) and Bar Mitzpha.

• Jesus “grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom.” (Lk. 2:40) Jesus is Bar Mitzphad (Lk. 2:42ff.)

• The follower experiences a synthesis of Church, Bible, stories, and experience to form faith. Faith is likely to be “rule based” with strong identification with a particular group/church.

Individuative-Reflective – Davidic Covenant and Prophetic Movement – Jesus’ Ministry and Death – Awareness of Other Faiths

• Persons develop skills for dealing with theirs and others faith and ideas.

• King David’s ambassadors bring other cultural ideas to Israel (Solomon’s wives).

• Jesus’ ministry challenges the social, economic and religious practices of contemporary Judaism. (Parable of the Good Samaritan – Be a Jew, but act like a Samaritan.)

• The follower becomes aware of, examines, and deals with the contradictions and ramifications of other faiths and beliefs.

Conjunctive Faith – Sabbath - Messianic Promise – Death, Resurrection, Ascension, and Final Return of Jesus – Reconciliation of Faith

• Emotional, behavioral, societal and religious opposites and contradictions meet and are reconciled.

• Israel’s concept of the Sabbath is the weekly meeting in the presence of God for prayer and thought.

• Jesus’ death, Resurrection, Ascension and Return are the ultimate reconciliation of all Creation.

• The follower’s faith insists on humility, based on the fact that the grasp on ultimate truth that any tradition can offer needs continual correction and challenge. The follower may also acknowledge that paradox and apparent contradictions are intrinsic to that truth. Deep faith to a particular tradition, with openness to the truths of other traditions.

Universalizing Faith – Eschaton - Eternal Kingdom

• Oneness with God. Possible tension with the religious system as consciousness and commitments, love and loyalties conflict.

• Jesus’ exists as the eternal ultimate reality, the Reconciler of all things.

• The follower experiences a “radical decentration of self,” widening inclusiveness of the circle that counts as “neighbors”. The follower experiences a radical shift in values as a detachment from causes, institutions, persons and posessions is replaced with love for the Creator. Manifests the fruits of “kenosis,” the “pouring out” or emptying of self. Total and pervasive response to God’s love.

• Fowler suggest that a very small percentage of people actually attain this level of faith. He suggests Gandhi as an example.

• It is interesting to me that Fowler assumes that people in this stage of faith will remain in the institution and remain conflicted. I don't know if he realizes that there are many people who are choosing to leave the institution so that my may further their trust and faith in God.
  

Okay...I admit it. I'm a fan of the Surreal Life. I missed the first season, so I watched the replay of it on VH1 last night. I was engaged in some of the best television I've seen in a long time....For those of you who haven't seen it: Vince Neil, M.C. Hammer, Emmanuel Lewis(Webster), Jerri Manthey (Survivor), Gabrielle Carteris (90210), Corey Feldman, and Brande Roderick all have to live in a house together and do activities outside of their comfort zones as they get to know each other. Sounds like dumb reality TV, except something really cool happened....

Vince Neil, of Motley Crue fame (they were informative in my rebellious years), has been through everything under the sun. He's had everything this world has to offer and apparently sees life through different eyes than he did when he was a rock star. I didn't know this, but he lost his daughter to cancer at age 4 about 7 years ago. So, after an all-nighter in Vegas they must get ready for church the next morning. On the bus trip back they begin to talk about faith and prayer. Each one shares their faith, or lack of it, and what they pray for. Vince Neil goes last. Matter of factly, he says that he used to pray, but it didn't help when is daughter was dieing of cancer, so he quit. Stunned silence. Then Hammer tells him he doesn't believe that Vince has given up on faith yet....

Turns out they go to an A.M.E. church where M. C. Hammer is preaching. This a rockin' church! It you've ever been to an AME church you know what I'm talking about. During the sermon Hammer said he felt like God spoke to him clearly. He was to pray for Vince to receive peace so that he could continue a journey toward faith. So Hammer proceeds to tell his story to the church. Vince is obviously struck with emotion and the other cast comforts him. They call Vince up to the stage that pastor begins to pray. The cast is all moved to tears as they sense healing taking place....

Now, Vince has probably engaged in every conceivable sin there is to commit! A white guy in an all black church! His Jewish friends in a church lifting their hands to pray with Christians! I thought it was a powerful statement....

Vince is interviewed the next day and says, "You know, I didn't really think about it, but last night before I went to sleep, I prayed for the first time in a long, long time...."

Had it not been for this show Vince would have never darkened a churches doorstep. Yet, when he did, he received healing. The sad thing is that the Church has healing to offer, hope to offer, love to offer, but it is constrained in a building! What would happen if we started taking it to the streets...?