Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought, Meanderings (look it up), Rantings
Hmmm…something going through my head lately. Something I read in Velvet Elvis (which I finished by the way–no further heresies to report). But in the book, Rob Bell remarked on something that I found interesting, and am still chewing on and grappling with….
Categories: food for thought, Meanderings (look it up), Rantings, You need to read this
In a number of my entries, I am highlighting certain flaws and indescrepancies that I’ve observed in institutional Christianity (i.e., what most people refer to as “church”). If you catch me on a day when I’m ranting, you’re liable to think that I (like many others) am just jaded and bitter and looking for a place to spew venom.
But the truth is, this is a journey, a process–not a destination. I know that in my ramblings, however random they might appear, I am going somewhere. In fact, I believe Jesus is taking me somewhere. This isn’t merely a journey away from something; it is a journey toward something.
Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought, Meanderings (look it up)
Grap-ple [grap–uhl], verb
Categories: Meanderings (look it up)
Ever talk to someone and try to share what’s going on with you or what you’re thinking, and you just know that person isn’t “getting it?” Either they nod in fake interest, or (even worse, in my opinion), they relate back to you something totally off-kilter, based on how they are [mis]interpreting what you said. This is something I call “filtered hearing”–where someone hears you, but their existing mindsets sort of “filter” the information you’re communicating until their brain registers something completely different than what you said.
Categories: books, changing mindsets, Meanderings (look it up)
Categories: changing mindsets, Meanderings (look it up)
There is a long-standing and deeply held belief in the Jewish religion that life is a gift, that life should be celebrated, and all of life is to be lived unto God. In the Hebrew way of thinking, there is essentially no such thing as “sacred” vs. “secular”, nor do they really make a big deal out of flesh vs. spirit. If God is in the picture, all things are His, and all life is lived unto Him. They have a saying: “L’Chaim!” Which means “To Life!” Life is meant to be lived, to be enjoyed to the fullest, with all the pleasures that God has naturally provided. One thing I’ve been learning this past year is that it is actually this type of mindset–the Hebraic mindset–out of which our Christian faith has been spawned.
Categories: fun, Meanderings (look it up), What the heck was THAT?
I’m about to get a bit irreverent and share a funny, sad, true story. ::Inserts tongue firmly into cheek…::
A number of years ago I was invited to lead worship for a week-long campmeeting at a church in Bakersfield, California. Right away I noticed that the pastor of this charismatic Word-Faith church had a distasteful beat-the-sheep leadership style, and that he had something to prove. Anyway, he announced that the last night would be an anointing service, where he would lay hands on and pray for anyone who wanted it. He pumped this up as the climax of the campmeeting, and that last day he went into seclusion to pray and fast, denying his flesh and all distractions so the Holy Spirit would honor his faith and move upon the people.
Categories: Meanderings (look it up)
I read a post last night that I’ve been chewing on ever since:
http://http//www.jordoncooper.com/2008/01/collapse-of-emerging-church.html
Until early last year, I had not even heard the terms “emerging church” or “emergent”, and now already the emerging church is collapsing?? Actually, the post is more about people within the movement growing weary of the term and what it stands for; some may already be starting to look for something else.
Categories: Meanderings (look it up), Rantings
One of the dangers in opening up a discussion like this–when you start asking questions about things like religious systems and institutional church–it can create the impression that you are simply anti-whatever-it-is you are questioning. In reality, I’m more for true relationship with Jesus than I am against something else. But when you’ve been engrained in the religious system as long as I have, you have to spend some time de-constructing what is in place before you can re-construct something better. We usually don’t have any motivation to change something unless we can see what needs changing. So for awhile, it might seem that I’m just “raging against the machine”, but track with me for awhile, and things will get better. 🙂