Categotry Archives: changing mindsets

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Jesus In the Everyday

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought

So I’ve been thinking about the continuing dialogue going on in this blog about music and movies that have spoken to us. People are still commenting on entries I wrote days ago, and a lot of “secular” songs and movies have been mentioned in the lists. (That doesn’t really surprise me too much, because I started it.) But it’s got me thinking a little more deeply about this, because in reality it’s not so much about the movies and songs themselves, but about how we are interacting with the world, and how God is interacting with us in the midst of that experience.

This is a preview of Jesus In the Everyday. Read the full post (712 words, 1 image, estimated 2:51 mins reading time)

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The Point–and How We Have Become Experts at Missing It

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought, Rantings

I hope this post makes sense when I get through with it. Seasons of de-construction and re-thinking (like the one I am in) can sometimes be exciting and illuminating, sometimes scary. Sometimes I feel like I’m dwelling in utter chaos inside, with no point of reference, wondering which direction “up” is. Add a little sleep deprivation to the mix, and…let’s just say I hope this doesn’t end up sounding like I’ve been spending too much time in the poppy fields.

But as I take a different look at what I grew up in, and compare it to a fresh look at Scripture, one thing that seems to be showing up in my mind over and over is how much we (by “we” I mean the church) are missing the point. A lot of that point-missing, I’m convinced, is largely due to the institutions we (again, the church) have been encased in. And because I’ve been part of that system for so long, I have to include myself in “we” and admit that I’ve spent a great many years “missing the point.”

This is a preview of The Point–and How We Have Become Experts at Missing It. Read the full post (802 words, 2 images, estimated 3:12 mins reading time)

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Embracing the Mystery

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought

There are a lot of reasons, I think, why I have entered on this journey of deconstruction and re-thinking. Some of it, I firmly believe, has been by the hand of God, because it seems He often leads and teaches me by experience. Some of it has been because of the experiences themselves, including extended times of trial, and the wake-up call. Some of it is because I have gradually realized I can no longer be in denial about what I’ve seen in my years within institutional Christianity.

But some of it is because I got bored.

This is a preview of Embracing the Mystery. Read the full post (814 words, 2 images, estimated 3:15 mins reading time)

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Deconstructing "Quiet Time"

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Categories: changing mindsets, Meanderings (look it up), My Story

I want to give a bit of a disclaimer about this next bit I’m about to write….

It is part of my story, my journey. It doesn’t necessarily have to be part of yours. In other words, by sharing what I’ve been going through and the conclusions I’m coming to, I’m not suggesting that this is how it ought to be for everyone. Just sharing, that’s all.

This is a preview of Deconstructing "Quiet Time". Read the full post (1085 words, 2 images, estimated 4:20 mins reading time)

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Third Place? (Sunday Summary)

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought

In our house church gathering yesterday, we borrowed a page or two out of Michael Frost’s book Exiles and talked about “third places”.

We began by discussing four Scripture passages, incidents in the life of Jesus: The wedding at Cana, the Samaritan woman at the well, the healing of the blind man Bartimaeus, and the time when Jesus taught the crowds by the sea by getting into a boat. By talking over these Scriptures together, we extracted a lot of insight, and we could definitely see the incarnational nature of Jesus’ ministry–that He was truly dwelling among us as He lived, taught, and healed people.

This is a preview of Third Place? (Sunday Summary). Read the full post (464 words, 2 images, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

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Re-thinking Evangelism (and lots of other stuff)

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought, Rantings

I’m looking at the top of the page, and I notice that “re-thinking church” is in my blog title. But the truth is…I’m in a season right now where I’m re-thinking everything. Doctrines, beliefs, and practices I’ve taken for granted for most of my churchy life are getting taken off the shelf, dusted off, and looked at to make sure this is really how Jesus wants it, or really what He meant when He said _________ (fill in the blank). Some stuff is getting reaffirmed, and some stuff is getting reworked. It actually feels very healthy.

This is a preview of Re-thinking Evangelism (and lots of other stuff). Read the full post (1103 words, 1 image, estimated 4:25 mins reading time)

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Sunday Summary: The Incarnate Christ

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Categories: changing mindsets, church

For the benefit of some of our out-of-town friends that can’t make it to house church but want to know what we talked about… 🙂 …we’ve been discussing the idea of doing an online video summary. Something fun that condenses our complete discussion down to about 10 minutes or so. That’s still in the “thinking about it” stage, but we have the technology. The Director (my son) is standing by. But for now, I thought I’d start the ball rolling with a blog summary from time to time of what we talked about in house church the previous Sunday.

THE INCARNATE CHRIST
We have talking about the humanity of Christ, how so many of us acknowledge that Jesus was “fully God and fully man”, yet we act more on the “fully God” part than the “fully man” part. When we treat Jesus as purely divine, He is only one to be worshiped from afar, but not really followed. We can excuse ourselves from doing what He did by saying in our hearts, “Well, that was JESUS.” We act as though the “Son of God” thing gives Him an unfair advantage. But He did everything He did on earth as a human being–and in doing so, He set an example for us. It is Jesus’ humanity, not His divinity, that challenges us to live as He lived.

This is a preview of Sunday Summary: The Incarnate Christ. Read the full post (634 words, 1 image, estimated 2:32 mins reading time)

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BUT WHAT ABOUT…Assembling Together?

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Categories: BUT WHAT ABOUT...?, changing mindsets, church, food for thought

(Continuing the “But What About…?” thread…in this series we’re discussing various concerns people have about the growing number of people exiting insitutional churches for more organic forms of expression.)

When I was deeply entrenched in institutional Christianity–especially as a leader–I would categorize someone who migrated away from “church” in one of four ways:

  1. They are backsliding.
  2. They are deceived.
  3. They are rebellious.
  4. They have their own issues.

In my mind–and I believe in the minds of many within institutional churches–leaving the church is essentially breaking a cardinal rule of Scripture. Many of us know the Scripture by heart…

This is a preview of BUT WHAT ABOUT…Assembling Together?. Read the full post (838 words, 1 image, estimated 3:21 mins reading time)

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Un-persuaded

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Categories: changing mindsets, church, Meanderings (look it up)

I am a skeptic by nature, but I am not a cynic.

It is difficult to persuade me; but once I am persuaded, it is difficult to un-persuade me.

Once I am convinced of something–even if it ultimately proves to be wrong–I tend to hold onto that belief until it draws its last breath in my life.

This is why I say I am not a cynic. I am an optimist. I tend to keep believing in something long after it stops working. This is something that can be a virtue but can also work against me.

This is a preview of Un-persuaded. Read the full post (759 words, 2 images, estimated 3:02 mins reading time)
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