http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526 A place for John to do a little Monday (or later in the week) quarterbacking on Sunday's talk. And a place for other thoughts on his quest to be a part of a community of imperfect people who are engaged in Jesus' mission for the world. And a place to interact with others on a similar quest. AdvancedMinistry After Jesus’ ordeal in the wilderness he went in the power of the Spirit throughout the region of Galilee, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.  He had a custom of going to the local synagogue on the Sabbath and teaching.  One Sabbath he went to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, and read from the scroll  of the prophet of Isaiah “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news for the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” After reading he rolled up the scroll and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus as he read fulfills the passage and then as he acts continues to fulfill this passage.  As we read and ponder how this passage is being fulfilled we enter into the deep mystery of Jesus the Christ. The early church developed a Biblical understanding of Christ, that was careful to say that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. The church lives best and witnesses best to the living Christ when both aspects of Christ are robustly proclaimed. However, the church has been prone to error on either side, by either saying that Jesus was just a really good man, or undervaluing the humanity of Christ. When we undervalue the humanity of Christ we lose the mystery of the incarnation and we fail to appreciate the truth that Jesus was in every way tempted just as we are. In short we lose the truth that Jesus shows us what it really means to be human. The way Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, crafts this gospel, shows us that  Jesus fulfills Isaiah 61 as he lives as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit. Paul in Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus laid aside the privileges of being God.  Jesus proclaims and demonstrates the Kingdom of God, empowered by the Spirit.  God the Father sends Jesus and empowers him with the Holy Spirit at his baptism.  After Jesus’ resurrection Jesus told his followers that he would send them in the same way, and then Jesus said “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Jesus fulfills and models Spirit empowered proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom. After the crowd at Nazareth turns on him, and attempts to kill him, he went throughout the rest of the region of Galilee proclaiming and demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom of God. Jesus proclaimed good news and then tangibly demonstrated the Kingdom as he healed the sick.  Following Jesus and being sent as he was sent means that we will both proclaim and demonstrate the Kingdom. Our proclamation will be that God is good, and that his Kingdom is good – that there is no downside with good. Then we will also be the people who tangibly demonstrate the goodness and nearness of the Kingdom. We will embrace and live both the proclamation and the demonstration. One thing that I felt the Spirit would say to us is that Jesus really wants a church that will embrace the “both and’s” of the Kingdom . For some reason I and any other number Jesus followers are tempted to play the "both and’s" of the Kingdom off against each other and turn them  into "either or’s."  For example Jesus invites us to both proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins and demonstrate the Kingdom through our care of the poor and our pursuit of healing and demonstration of the Kingdom through signs and wonders. But, sadly too often care of the poor has been labeled as a “social gospel” and rejected, or conversely churches with a focus on social justice have accused other churches of being so “heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” Jesus modeled and desires both a proclamation and a demonstration.  Jesus invites the church to embrace all aspects of the Kingdom. Jesus models both proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom, and he also models staying connected with the Father. Jesus had been proclaiming the Kingdom in the synagogue and then in evening he had been demonstrating the Kingdom through healing the sick, and everybody flocked to him. But, Jesus, in the midst of this great ministry success withdrew to a desolate place. After having been alone with the Father, he refused to stay, but instead moved on to proclaim the Kingdom throughout the region, because he said that is why he was sent.  Before his public ministryhe he withdrew to the wilderness for forty days, and throughout the rest of his ministry he had a pattern of withdrawing to connect with the Father to pray. As Dallas Willard says, “If Jesus needed forty days, maybe I could use one here and there.” To embrace both the proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom we also must regularly withdraw to connect with the Father. May we be a people connected to the Father, empowered by the Spirit who continue Jesus’ revolution both proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=34339 34339 Tue, 15 May 2012 13:29:00 +0000 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness after his baptism. At his baptism the Spirit had descended on him, and the voice of the Father from Heaven said, “You are my beloved son, and I am fully pleased with you.” Filled with the Spirit and walking in his identity as son Jesus goes into the wilderness. There in the wildernpess, the devil tempts him. The devil begins the temptation with the taunt, “If you are the son of God.”  The devil, it would seem, aims to make Jesus doubt his identity as God’s son.  Jesus, however, stands firm.  As we observe Jesus standing firm we notice the nature of temptation and how we also can resist. The question of identity is at the root of temptation. When we are tempted, the basic thrust of the temptation will be about our identity and God’s .  The devil will want us to wonder if we really are God’s child, and then also to wonder whether God is really good.  The implication of the first temptation is that if God were really good, you wouldn’t be hungry right now. There is a question: Will God really meet your needs? To get at the root of temptation, we must have embedded in the foundation of our souls two truths. First we must trust that God is good, and second we must trust that as we trust God’s son Jesus we are children of God. God calls us beloved child. This forms our identity. God is our Father and our Father is good. This was the foundation of Jesus’ life and must be the foundation of ours if we are to resist temptation. We are not left alone to work up our own sense of identity, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit the Bible tells us cries out Abba Father. The Holy Spirit enables us to live in our identity as dearly loved children. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit as he resisted temptation and we also must be filled with the Holy Spirit if we are to resist temptation. The root of temptation is identity, ours and Gods, and though the content of temptation will vary from person to person, the basic thread of temptation will be some twisting of good. The temptations that the devil throws at Jesus twist things that are in themselves good. The devil is not the Creator. God created the universe, the devil corrupts and pollutes the good creation. The devil makes nothing. The devil did not make life. The devil attempts to rob of life. God is good and God’s creation is good. The devil looks for ways to twist the good, that will lead to death. God describes the whole of His creation as good. That means that the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil was good and served a good purpose, but the purpose was not the nourishment of humans, maybe it was just meant for climbing, but not for eating. The devil twists the good and urges the first humans to misuse the good. The same thread continues with Jesus (and remember Luke has connected Jesus to Adam through the genealogy in Chapter 3 – “the son or so it was thought of Joseph…. the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God). In tempting Jesus, the devil offers three things that are in themselves good: food, authority and power; but they are offered in a twisted way that had Jesus succumbed, shalom would have been further shattered. As Jesus resists we see that the weapon he resists with is the sword of the word. He replies to each temptation with truth from the Bible. Jesus’ life has obviously been saturated in the story of God and his people, and Jesus draws on this story to resist temptation. If we are going to move forward in resisting temptation our lives will also need to be saturated in the word of God as Jesus’ was. One of the passages Jesus resists with is the admonition to worship and serve God alone. Worship is the fuel for our fight against temptation. As we worship we magnify God in our lives. Worship brings into clear focus who God is. Worship focuses us on the goodness of God and reminds us that this good God is our father.  Worship recharges us for the fight. Finally because Jesus was tempted as we are yet without sin, he is the model for us in resisting and provides strength for us in our weakness. The book of Hebrews tells us that he knows exactly what it is like to be tempted. Since he does he sympathizes with us and provides us with grace and mercy in our time of need. As we connect with Jesus we find strength to resist, and we discover that life with Jesus far surpasses any other way of life. Succumbing to temptation shatters shalom within us and the world around us, but confessing cleanses us and equips us to move forward, and resist the next time. As we resist we truly discover that there is no life like life with Jesus. We made a few suggestions at the end of our time for resisting temptation: Know God as Father. A great way to grow in knowing God as Father is to pray the prayer Jesus gave us. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus invites us to ask our good Father to fill us again and again, and we need to be filled again and again, because as we noted – we leak. Get the word in us. The word of God is alive and active and a potent weapon when we yield it in resisting temptation. Worship of the living God will fuel our desire to serve only him. As we saturate our lives in the worship of the living God. Temptation becomes much less tempting. The key of keys is connection with Jesus the one who was tempted just as we are. May we be a people who are rooted in our identity as children of the living God, filled with the Holy Spirit, saturated with the Word, overflowing with worship, connected to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=34131 34131 Tue, 8 May 2012 09:15:00 +0000 John the Baptist lived in the wilderness. There in the wilderness, John hears the word of God, and begins preaching and baptizing. Luke carefully lists the men in positions of power both political and religious, when the word of God came to John in the wilderness. I believe Luke purposely juxtaposes those in the seats of power and John in the wilderness – the text subtly whispers if we listen - don’t look just at the big affairs of politics and religion. If you are looking for the activity of God, you may have to look in the wilderness. Both John and Jesus model going to the lonely places of solitude to connect with God. We too, as we learn to hear the voice of God will need regular times away from the business, bigness and brightness of society, or we may be blinded and deafened by our bright, busy and loud society. John after hearing the word of God, begins the work of preparing the people for the visitation of Jesus with the message to repent, and be baptized. Gentile converts where baptized to become Jewish. John in effect is telling the people they really are not Jewish, at this point they are not the people of God. Remarkably, crowds stream out into the desert, (later Jesus will ask the people what they were going to the desert to see), submitting to this tough message. As they stream towards him, John calls them a “brood of vipers.” "Brood of vipers" would have invoked memories of the opening chapters of the story when the serpent leads the humans to rebel against God’s good purposes. In calling them a brood of vipers, John in effect is saying that they are colluding with the enemy, and the enemy’s anti-kingdom  and anti-shalom purposes. Surprisingly, the people submit to this word and ask John what they should do. John gives specific instruction to three distinct groups of people: the crowd; the tax-collectors; and the soldiers (probably not Roman soldiers, but Herod’s). John’s challenges each to turn from their own plans for security and provision, as evidence of fruit of repentance. He holds a mirror to them and shows them how their current actions fragment shalom. In their current actions they act as agents of the anti-kingdom. Rather than being offended the people begin to wonder if John could be the Messiah. Here John obediently fulfills his role as the one to prepare the way for Jesus. He dramatically points away from himself to the one that is to come. He basically says that they shouldn’t even be asking this question, and that there is no real comparison between him and the one who is coming, because while he baptizes with water, the one who is coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The one who is coming will burn away the chaff. Luke summarizes John’s ministry by saying, “and with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news.” As I mentioned on Sunday as modern hearers we would be forgiven for expecting a winking emoticom, when Luke calls this good news. However, as we allow this text to sink in we realize that this is indeed good news. John is telling his hearers and us, that the one who is coming will be purifying us from our tendencies and actions that are anti-Kingdom(remember he is savior and will save his people from their sins). He will be fitting us to be agents of the eternal kingdom. He will free us from being shatterers of Shalom and purifying us so that we will be shalom-spreaders and kingdom-bringers. John is doing just what Isaiah had prophesied. He is preparing the way of the Lord. He is pointing to the one to come. May we be the people who hear John’s message and prepare for our King. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=33911 33911 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:04:00 +0000 Luke Chapter 2, is perhaps one of the most famous passages, in the most famous of all books, the Bible (and, in case I haven’t mentioned this, the Bible is the number 1 best-selling book of all time, and also interestingly the number 1 shop-lifted book of all time). The danger for someone like me, who has been around Luke 2 and heard Luke 2 for most of my life, is that it will simply wash over me in a comforting flow of familiar words and images, and I will not let the passage surprise and confront me. So, I was very grateful for the opportunity to look at the passage outside of the Christmas season, and to work to hear it afresh and anew. The word of the angels grip me, “Do not be afraid!” When angels show up in the glory of God, we humans need to hear, “do not be afraid.” But, we need to hear this not only as angels appear, we need to hear this word from God at most moments of our life.  The reason the angel says that the shepherds should not be afraid is because the angel brings “good news of great joy.” The world then needed good news. The world today needs good news. The nightly news in general is not good news. The general message is not “don’t be afraid.” The underlying message in many ways is “be afraid, or at a minimum carry around a low level anxiety.” What if the nightly news were different (Cal was right it was Anne Murray, and I apologize - it wasn’t schmaltzy, I was right when I was a kid – this is a good song - well at least the desires expressed in the song are good  – they are kingdom desires – and ok I will admit it -  I still like the melody and folky feel). But, the desires expressed in this song just do not seem to happen. Shalom has been shattered. We need Shalom restored, we need saving. That is why the content of the Angelic announcement of good news is so crucial. The content of the good news is not just a vague wish for a better world, the news is concrete: “in the town of David, a Savior has been born, who is Messiah, the Lord.” We didn’t talk about this Sunday, but the Angel could have just said “Bethlehem,” but instead says “Town of David.” Remember David was the pinnacle of Israeli kingship, so it will be important as we go through the Luke to remember that Jesus is a rightful heir of David, and Jesus like David is a king, but as we go we will see what a different kind of King Jesus is. In David’s town, a Savior has been born. Salvation has come to take on purely a religious and other worldly  connotation. To these first Jewish hearers, Savior would have certainly stirred memories of the deliverer, Moses, who delivered the Hebrew people from the oppression of the Egyptian Pharoah and slave masters. These shepherds would have thought of their own current oppression, under the thumb of the Roman Caesar, Augustus, and his puppet King, Herod. But, there is a deeper bondage, than the bondage under Caesar or Pharaoh, there is the bondage of humanity to the enemy of our souls. Since, the garden and the shattering of Shalom, this has been true, whether we are on the upside or underside of human powers. The Savior will deliver from Rome, (though not how anyone would have guessed) but will first and much more importantly deliver from the enemy, and our own tendencies to collude with the enemy as we shatter shalom.  We noted “the who” Jesus saves – sinners.  Sinners, it turns out as we read the Bible, are all of us. One of the big mistakes we will encounter religious people making as we read thru Luke – is that they will think that “sinners” is a category separate from them, but the Bible is pretty clear it is them also.  It turns out we have met the sinners and they are us. The “what” the savior saves sinners from is first of all - sin. Sin, at its most basic means missing the mark. We miss the mark of being image bearers of the Living God, who desires perfect shalom for His good creation. Sin shatters Shalom. We need to be saved from our tendencies to shatter shalom.  The Savior saves us from this, and then saves us from the effects of the shattering of Shalom – disease, social and personal,  and death - to name a couple of the most obvious. So, we noted that as Jesus heals a woman who has been bleeding for years, that she has been “saved” (this is the literal translation from the Greek – not healed as the NIV has it – but the NIV is right in this - being physically healed is an experience of salvation). Healing is a little taste of resurrection come early, and disease is a little taste of death come early. So we long for more tastes of the salvation of our God. One last thing to note in this already too long blog (speaking of too long – the talk itself bordered on being too long – so my Wednesday morning quarterbacking of the talk was that I made the fairly classic mistake of having too much information – it just all seemed so good – and I was so excited about it – I really loved getting into this text in April – I found it very powerful), is that the Savior saved us, is saving us, and will save us. In the New Testament all tenses of the verb are present. We can rightly say that we were saved, but while we say this we need also to say, we are being saved, and we will be saved. So brothers and sisters may you experience this good news of great joy and know this Savior, who is Christ, the Lord. His name is Jesus. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=33769 33769 Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:01:00 +0000 Luke wrote an orderly narrative of the life of Jesus, so that his friend Theopholis would know the certainty of things he was taught. Luke sees the story of Jesus fulfilling a larger story. The larger story, the grand metanarrative of God, begins with God creating a good universe and commissioning humanity to act as co-regents imaging God to the rest of creation and each other. Humanity disastrously rebels against God’s good design, and creation and humanity are plunged back into chaos. But, God does not give up on his good intentions for the creation and humanity. He begins the work of redemption. Luke says that with Jesus this story is fulfilled. God’s intentions for humanity at creation are fulfilled in Jesus.  In Jesus God reverses the effects of the fall, and in Jesus, God completes the work of redemption. The story line that is fulfilled in Jesus is: creation – fall – redemption. From this storyline a few themes emerge that we highlighted briefly on Sunday. The first is that the hero of the story always has , is, and will be God. God created and God redeems. From beginning to end the story tells of a heroic God. The second theme points to the reality of a battle for the destiny of the world. God created the world and humanity for good, but since the garden, the Bible pointedly bears witness to the presence of an enemy bent on killing, stealing and destroying. Third, the story of Scripture is of God the hero repeatedly calling out to humanity to partner with him in the work of redemption. More often than not, the people seem very unlikely candidates ( both to the world and themselves -Moses; Gideon; Deborah; Mary etc…) and are at least initially reluctant to answer God’s call to the larger story.  These are themes to bear in mind as we find our way into the story of Jesus. With the larger storyline in mind and the themes which flow from this storyline, we looked at Zachariah’s prophetic  song when the Holy Spirit fell on him after the birth of John. The first thing to note is that the song begins with blessing God and recalling God’s faithfulness seen in the large and encompassing narrative of God. There will always be something lovely and good about beginning with blessing God, and these blessings take on particular power when we recall specific instances of God’s faithfulness in our lives. Throughout history the people of God have begun and ended their days by blessing God. Zechariah then draws out themes of God’s faithfulness, in bringing knowledge of salvation, and in showing mercy. Again the hero of this metanarrative is God. Then Zechariah calls his son John into the story. He will go before the Lord to prepare the people. John is being called into the grand metanarrative of God.  Prophets call others to the story of God. Prophets call people to a story  and a cause bigger than themselves. Prophets tell people they have a role in this great story. Now as we noted Sunday, many of us will have been told at different points that we really don’t have much to contribute. Instead of being blessed and called into God’s story by prophetic voices, we were given messages of discouragement. As we move forward with Jesus’ Revolution, a cause and a story bigger than ourselves, may we truly be the people who will call others into the amazing story of our heroic Savior. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=33634 33634 Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:15:00 +0000 As Jesus’ followers, the community of the resurrection, we live in the reality of resurrection  - together. Paul writing to an early community of the resurrection at Ephesus gives us a few key things that he is praying for the Ephesians as they practice resurrection together. The first gift that He prays they will receive is a spirit of wisdom and understanding so that they know him better. Knowing God forms a central theme of the Bible. Jesus says that knowing the one true God, and God’s Messiah constitutes eternal life. Life flows from knowing God. Knowing God encompasses far more that having obtained facts about God, though it will certainly also mean this, but Biblical knowledge goes beyond this to the actual experience of the Living God. The call on the resurrection community is know God better and better. The resurrection community grows in the knowledge of the Lord, day by day, and week by week, and month by month, and year by year. An entirely appropriate questions to ask ourselves is do we know him? Paul then goes on to pray that the resurrection community will know “the hope of his calling.” Hope points to the future, informing the present moments with a certainty that the best is yet to come in God’s good future. Hope anchors in the historical moment of Jesus resurrection when death was beaten pointing ahead to the day when death will be no more. Hope is activated by calling. The Biblical narrative tells the story of the Living God who pursues and calls humanity. From God calling out to Adam, “Where are you,” to calling out to Abraham, “Leave your country,” to calling out Hagar, “Return…,”  to Moses “Remove your sandals, I’ve heard the cry of my people,” to the calling of the fishermen, to the calling of Paul…. The Biblical narrative tells the story of the Living Calling God. The Living Calling God calls us forward into his good future “further up and farther in.” The resurrection community knows also that God’s inheritance is God’s people.  At the end of the day in which God fashioned humanity in His image, he says "very good." Humanity crowns the achievements of creation. The inheritance which God desires is a people from every tribe, tongue and nation unified in praise to their creator. The community of the resurrection bears witness to that future now in the present. That is why Paul says elsewhere that in Christ there is neither “slave nor free, Jew or Gentile, male or female.” The barriers between people are removed and shattered by the resurrection. Resurrection undoes Babel. The Resurrection community recognizes in the real flesh and blood gathered imperfect people the inheritance of God. These people God calls Holy because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Finally Paul prays that the resurrection community will know “ the incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty power he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead.” All sorts of power exists in the world. Power can kill, destroy, cause fear. Fear in fact could be one of the primary emotions of the age – the low level fear we call worry. Sociologists sometimes describe ours as the age of anxiety. The news at times appears to specialize in attempting to make us feel afraid. Into this atmosphere of anxiety the Bible confidently narrates a story which repeatedly tells us “Do not be afraid.” The resurrection community knows power over fear. As we noted Sunday, it is relatively easy to make someone afraid, it is much more difficult to have the power to calm fears. It is easy to destroy, it is difficult to create. Killing is also actually relatively easy. The 20th century showed that it can be done efficiently and in mass quantities, the industrial revolution brought not only mass production, but mass killing. The power to raise the dead is power on a completely different scale. This power that raised Jesus from the dead, is the power that Paul prays that the resurrection community would know. May we truly be a community of the resurrection! May we be:  A community who knows Him; A community who know the Hope of His calling; A community that knows we are God’s inheritance; and finally a community that knows the power of the resurrection! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=33390 33390 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:05:00 +0000 Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, as prophesied by the prophet Zechariah. This ride combined with his actions in the temple forced the hands of both Jewish religious and political leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod), and the Roman authority (most specifically represented by Pilate). This past Sunday, April 1, we looked at Jesus' ride into Jerusalem, and the expectations of the people as Jesus made this ride. As Jesus rode the people waved Palm branches and shouted Hosanna. Hosanna basically means, Lord save, but had become something of a liturgical praise exclamation. In shouting Hosanna the people were crying out for God to do what he had done before. Most specifically, they would have had the Exodus in mind, the time when God saved the Jewish people from their enslavement in Egypt.  This would have been right at the forefront of their minds, because Jesus was after all, riding into Jerusalem at the start of the passover week, the week when all Jews remembered the time of their Exodus from Egypt. The people were not only shouting Hosanna, they were waving palm branches. As they waved they would have been thinking of another time of liberation for the Jewish people – the time of Judas Macabee (Macabee  means the hammer) and his brothers.  A little more than a century and a half before Jesus, Judas and his brothers had delivered the Jewish people from oppression by ‘Gentiles’ (a word that basically just means – not Jewish). Later Judas, brother Simon would also deliver the Jewish people from the 'Gentiles' and then entered the city of Jerusalem with palm branches and singing. In Jesus day the palm branch meant Jewish revolution. The Jewish people desired another violent revolution where a leader, King, Messiah, would lead them in revolt against the Roman overlords and violently throw off the oppression of Rome. Roman rulers knew of this threat and had a fairly effective way of quelling rebellion and keeping the peace known as crucifixion. Roman rulers would very publicly execute insurrectionists with their charge written above them.  Later that week they would charge Jesus as the “King of the Jews.”  (Remember the cry from the leaders ‘We have no king but Caesar,’ Pilate in effect says  ‘Too right! there is no king but Caesar and other would be kings must die). But this is moving ahead in the story. That day the Jewish people where celebrating Jesus as their liberator. They of course were right, but at the same time they could not have been more wrong. They were right Jesus had come to bring liberty, but it was liberty from an enemy much greater than Rome. Jesus came to bring liberty from the great enemies of humanity: sin, satan and death. They thought Jesus would win the victory through the violent overthrow of Rome, but instead Jesus absorbs all the violence and evil of the oppression of Rome, (and Paul tells us of the powers and authorities behind Rome, and for that matter the powers and authorities that seek to keep all of humanity bound). Jesus absorbs this onto himself at the cross. The cross was the Roman way of bringing peace. It turns out the cross was God’s also. The Roman idea of the cross was to humiliate and expose would be insurrectionists. Jesus at the cross, according to Paul, instead completely exposes and triumphs over evil. Remarkably as Jesus hangs on the Roman cross, instead of calling for the legion of angels to wipe out the Roman crucifixion detail, he calls on his Father to forgive them. Instead of violence, the Roman oppressors are being shown forgiveness. Then another remarkable thing happens, we see God's plan to bring peace immediatley beginning to work, after Jesus dies, the Roman Centurion exclames truly this "man was the Son of God." This Roman oppresor had been brought peace. This was certainly not what the crowd which waved palm branches on that Sunday hoped for. As they week wore on they began to realize that Jesus’ revolution would not be a violent revolution. So, their cries of Hosanna on Sunday had moved to 'crucify' by Friday morning. Jesus is still as surprising today as he was then. Are we willing to join his revolution on his terms? Are we willing to pray as he taught us? “Forgive us our sins as we forgive.” The events of the week, in which Jesus rode into Jerusalem are the hinge upon which history turns.  They are the beginning of his new community. Jesus’ community after this week became known as a community of revolutionary love where the barriers between people were broken down. After the events of that week, people who were swept up in the Jesus revolution learned that they were to no longer call another group of people enemies, but rather as they together turned towards Jesus they were to call each other: ‘brother.’ As the story of God and God's people draws to a close, (the close of the chapters involving sin, death and dieing, which as CS Lewis pointed out is really the beginning of the story where each chapter is better than the last), there is a multitude beyond numbering from every tribe, tongue and nation (the barriers are gone) waving palm branches and crying out: "Salvation belongs to our God!" In other words the shouts of Hosanna have been fulfilled beyond the imaginings of the crowd on that Sunday.  Jesus’ revolution was and is and always will be the most remarkable and wonderful revolution. May we be people of revolutionary love following our revolutionary king. May we turn from our personal dreams of vengeance and revenge and instead, dream Jesus’ dreams of forgiveness and reconciliation. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=33245 33245 Wed, 4 Apr 2012 08:45:00 +0000 Jesus builds his church. In building his Church Jesus gives apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. If we think about the first category, apostles, probably the two names that jump first to mind are Peter and Paul. Peter, the fisherman turned fisher of men, Peter the denier turned proclaimer, and Saul the persecutor, changed to Paul the Apostle of grace to the Gentile world. These two people used by Jesus in building his church end up in an open public dispute, (at least from Paul’s perspective), in the church in Galatia. Paul publicly confronted Peter over his withdrawal from eating with Gentile followers of Jesus.  Paul accuses of Peter of hypocrisy. The danger Paul sees in the particular hypocrisy of Peter is that it is tied to making something other than Jesus the center of the church. Peter under pressure from people from Jerusalem made keeping kosher an add-on to following Jesus. Paul tells the Galatians this is a deadly mistake. Whenever anything or anyone becomes the center rather than Jesus the community is in danger. With a boundary comes the danger of hypocrisy. We will be tempted to act like we are keeping the boundary even if we are not, and more deadly, we may even come to trust our keeping of boundary marker as proof that we are experiencing the Kingdom and the life Jesus has for us. In reality Jesus says that we could very much be whitewashed tombs – we look good on the outside, but on the inside we are not truly experiencing the life Jesus offers. To experience the life Jesus offers to us we need to turn from our pretending to be what we are not and turn to Jesus and trust him and him alone to give us life. Boundaries as the way into community or the way into the Kingdom also pose a danger to other members “in” the community. Others can all too easily be encouraged to think that the boundary rather than Jesus shapes the community. (If Barnabas and Peter can make this mistake there is a pretty good chance I could also make this mistake – and well my history would show I’m more than capable of making this mistake). These boundaries as markers of the Kingdom also pose a great danger to those on the ‘outside/ of the community. From an outside perspective, people could mistake the way into the community as the keeping of the rules, rather than a turning to Jesus as the center of the community. That may be why we hear people say things like, “If I went to church the building would fall in on me.” They have an awareness that they are not keeping what they perceive to be the boundary markers of the community, and believe that they would have to start keeping the markers and get themselves cleaned up before they could ever be a part of the community. Jesus though extended a radical welcome to the “tax collectors and sinners.” There was no requirement that they got themselves cleaned up before they joined him for a meal. In fact Jesus invites Matthew (a tax collector) into his inner circle of revolutionaries of love as he sitting at his tax table. We regularly remind ourselves that we are cultivating a “No perfect people allowed come as you are and you will be loved culture.” We desire to cultivate this type of culture because this is the very culture Jesus cultivated. So a shorter way to say this is we desire to cultivate a Jesus culture. One where he is the center and his welcome is extended.When anything or anyone other than Jesus defines the community we quickly have a bounded set:We desire that we always have Jesus as our center. We want to constantly ask are we turning more and more to Jesus. Are we growing closer in all areas of our life or are there still areas where we are turning in other directions to get life. In a bounded set we know who is in because they keep within the boundaries. Bounded sets have the great advantage of simplicity, but we all too easily will forget Who is the actual source of life and community. A center set framework reminds us that Jesus has been, is and always will Nbe the source of our life and community. Here the crucial question is which direction are we headed?Of course diagrams even as awesome as these will not entirely capture the reality of life with Jesus and the difference between making Jesus the center and another boundary as the defining of community. Here's what all this hinges on. That Jesus is alive as the living center and that anytime we turn to Him we will experience the life he offers.And if diagrams don't do it for you, here's a link to Vineyard Pastor in Boston who has helped me quite a bit as I think about these things. It's a fun little video, but be forwarned he will pitch his book at the end.May we be the people that refularly turn ourselves towards Jesus. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=32997 32997 Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:03:00 +0000 This past Sunday we lookes at Mark 15 and how the world awaits the Father's heart. Jesus arrived on the scene in Judea and Galilee and he healed the sick and proclaimed that God’s Kingdom drew near in his actions. The people of Judea and Galilee flocked to him as they heard his words and saw what he was doing. Both religious people and "sinners" flocked to him. The religious people – the Pharisees and teachers of the law – were scandalized by Jesus’ actions in welcoming the “sinners.” In reply Jesus tells them one of the great stories in all of literature:  “There was a man who had two sons.  The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. .. This story points to some very deep truths about all of us as humans. The story shows us that a distorted view of the Father will lead us to a distant country. The opening chapters of the story of God and humanity show people disregarding the generosity of God (according to scientists there are somewhere around 135,000 types of edible plants) and focusing on what they don’t have. This view of God as stingy leads to rebellion and an insistence on living life independent of God. A life lived independently of God leads us to a distant country. A guard is placed at the East entrance of the Garden as the first generation of humans rebel. The second generation commits murder, asserts more independence from God and moves farther East and in fact builds a city East of the Garden, in effect indicating humanity’s continuing insistence on life independent from God, and actually being willing to settle in this independence. God, however, continues to pursue humanity and chooses Abraham’s descendants through Israel to bless, so that they might be a blessing. They also, however, rebel and assert their independence from God. Their independence from God results in exile in the distant land of Babylon. In Jesus day the Jewish people had physically returned to the land, but they still had a sense that they were living in spiritual exile.  Jesus’ speech and actions create a palpable sense that the exile is coming to an end, but the wrong people are showing up for the Kingdom party that is breaking out (at least this is how the religious people are thinking). This story reminds the hearers and us that we all have this tendency to live independently from God and that this stems from viewing God as less than all good. Jesus in the story brilliantly shows us the goodness of the Father. As soon as the Father sees the son (who has squandered half his estate), the Father runs and embraces the son, and commands that a Kingdom party be thrown. Our independence turns us away from God and leads to a distant country. But, the moment we turn, the Father runs to embrace us. As Gary best has beautifully said, “we can not get more in than we are at the moment we turn.” As the party begins, danger lurks outside in the anger of the older brother, who of course also has a distorted view of the Father. The older brother thinks that the Father is nothing other than a slave driver. He has been “slaving” for the Father and doesn’t think the Father even notices. Again, Jesus beautifully captures the heart of the Father by telling us that the Father goes out and speaks graciously to this son. This son chooses self-exile from the Kingdom party, but the Father in extravagant grace goes also to him. Jesus leaves the story a cliff hanger, no doubt inviting his hearers to choose their own adventure. In particular he is inviting the Pharisees to decide how the story will end for them. The younger sons are entering the Kingdom party. The “sinners” are flocking to Jesus and he is welcoming them and participating in a Kingdom celebration with them. The Pharisees are playing the role of the older brother, and Jesus story pointedly asks them to write the ending: will they stay outside the celebration, or will the join the Father, who has to celebrate? May we be the people who turn from our own independence and accept the Kingdom invitation that Jesus offers. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=32802 32802 Wed, 21 Mar 2012 08:48:00 +0000 The Old Testament points in a number of places to a time when the peoples of all nations will seek the God of Israel. The prophets anticipate a people of the presence of the Living God, and the presence of God with them is so distinctive that people of other nations are asking to go with to worship the Living God. Yet right now in the USA there is a noticeable trend of people staying away from the church. An increasingly higher percentage of people declare themselves to be religiously unaffiliated and sizeable percentages of young adults leave the church after high school. In the midst of this, my operating supposition is that Jesus is not panicked. Jesus’ plan was and is the church, and I believe that he will stick with it. His intention has always been that the church be a people of His presence representing Him well to the waiting watching world. I made a few suggestions on how we may be a people of God’s presence. The first and main thing will be to keep Jesus front and center. Jesus must be in absolute focus. Jesus is the center not our position on any given Theological debate or any other debate for that matter. We will center ourselves on Jesus. There always has been, is right now, and always will be something tremendously alluring about Jesus. Jesus was completely confident that as he was lifted up that he would draw people to himself. So our attitude needs to be more and more like that of John the Baptist, we want Jesus to increase in our lives and our own agendas to diminish. Second, if we are to a people of the presence of God, we need to maintain our connection with Jesus on a daily basis. We connect daily through prayer and a practice of the presence of God, and through the Bible.  Jesus’ promise to us was that he would be with us at all times. The gospel of Matthew is bookended by the promises that Jesus will be God with us. Third, as people of the presence of God, we will be a people who live with an expectancy of seeing God move in miraculous ways. Miracles dot many portions of the Bible. If we were to take them all out it would be a much thinner book. I was reminded after our gathering that this is exactly what Thomas Jefferson did with the gospels. He took out all the miracles and the book became basically the sayings of Jesus which without a doubt are powerful in themselves, but again it would have been a much shorter book. The waiting world seems to take for granted that if there is a God, then God would move miraculously and answer prayers. As this nation moves more and more from a modern/enlightenment mindset towards a post-modern mindset logical proofs and arguments for God will have less and less power. This in no way makes these arguments invalid, just less usual. If this trend continues, arguments will hold far less weight than experiences of the Living God.  People within our midst and all over the globe are witnessing miraculous examples of God’s power. Our prayer is that we would experience more and more of God’s power with us, and those who join us would experience the miraculous love of Jesus. The world is waiting for a people of the presence of God, may we be such a people. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=32563 32563 Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:36:00 +0000 We follow the good and living God who made this beautiful universe and invited humanity to participate as co-creators. God has invited us to add to the beauty. Imagine Beethoven asking us to finish or improve upon one of his concertos, or Michelango asking us to finish a sculpture, Frank Lloyd Wright asking us to finish designing a building, or Flannery O’Connor, asking us to finish the second half of a story. God invited humanity into a project very much like this. God asked humanity to work the earth, to continue the cultivation and work that he had begun. The analogies pale in comparison to what God has actually invited humanity into. But, humanity instead of adding to the beauty sinned and shattered shalom all around them. God, however, presses on with his creation project of working with humanity, choosing Abraham and his descendants for the sake of the world. We catch a glimpse of what it can look like when people in relationship with God and pursue the work given to them in his name in 1 Kings 10:1-9. The Queen of Sheba travels a vast distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon and see the work of his kingdom. She is astounded, by what she sees and as a result praises the living God, the God of Israel. We have been invited to participate in the continuing cultivation of this garden universe. God commanded humanity to work prior to sin. Work is a part of the good original creational intent of God. God blesses work and invites us into the continued work of restoring shalom, of bringing beauty in place of ugliness, symphony in place of cacophony, order from chaos. To fully embrace a life lived before God, we must completely put to death any sacred/secular split that we have in our minds or in our practices. Perhaps one place to begin is with language. Perhaps, the language of “going to church,” prevents us from thinking of ourselves as always being the Church. The people of God, who whatever they do are doing it all in the name of the Lord Jesus - are the Church. Church is not something we go to. It is who we are. We then understand that  ”whatever” embraces the broad spectrum of our lives and callings: business, farming, painting, cooking, running, playing hockey, raising our children, writing, shingling roofs, changing diapers, vacuuming the floor, feeding the dog, throwing pots, making puppets, manipulating puppets, accounting, doing our taxes, making love with our spouses, remodeling our houses, enjoying a conversation with friends, making and drinking really good coffee …. in short being human is the “whatever” that we do in the name of Jesus. The waiting watching world will undeniably be drawn to the Church as we pursue God’s best in all aspects of our life. Maybe another phrase worth murdering would be: “full-time Christian work.” Really? Are there part-timers and full-timers? Who are the full-timers? What does it mean to be a part-timer? Is the Living God a small deity that is only interested in matters of morality, and a sliver of time on Sundays? Is the Living God so shrunken and parochial that he sustains no interest in ‘secular’ matters like architecture; music; physics; psychology; sociology; manufacturing; teaching; cooking; pottery; gardening; woodworking; astronomy; sailing; beekeeping; atoms; galaxies; anatomy; kinesiology ….? Perhaps, God did make the good and beautiful universe, and maybe there was a time God was interested in such ‘trivial’ and ‘secular’ pursuits, but since then has lost interest. Maybe, but then again, maybe not. Maybe, God really is interested in a people, who will give witness to him as they do the whatever of their actual lives in His name.  Here’s how Eugene Peterson in the Message (accurately, I think) paraphrases Romans 12:1 capturing a life lived before and for the glory of the Living God: So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Can you imagine what the world might begin to look like, what our communities might begin to look like, what are families would begin to look like, what we would begin to look like, if we had our hearts so captured and set ablaze by our Good and Beautiful God, that whatever we did we did in His name? May we be the people who dream those dreams and allow the Holy Spirit of the Living God to move in and through us to bring these dreams to life. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=32394 32394 Wed, 7 Mar 2012 09:42:00 +0000 The opening words of the Bible are breathtaking in their scope: In the beginning God. I love what Eugene Peterson says regarding this beginning: “First, God. God is the subject of life. God is foundational for living. If we don’t have a sense of the primacy of God we will never get it right, get life right, get our lives right. Not God at the margins; not God as an option; not God on the weekends. God at center and circumference; God first and last; God, God, God.” In the beginning God creates and God’s Spirit hovers over the waters of the formless and void earth. For much of the rest of the opening chapte,r God is forming and filling the earth that was formerly formless and void. Then God creates humanity in the image of God, and gives humanity work: to subdue and fill the earth. A Hebrew way of thinking of this would be to say that humanity was commissioned to spread shalom. One way to think of shalom would be to think of life as God intends, ordered and full. Tragically though instead of spreading shalom we find humanity shattering shalom in the next chapters. The shattering begins in chapter three and crescendos from there into a cacophony of chaos (Adam and Eve eat the fruit; Cain kills Abel; Lamech –Cain’s descendant brags of killing a man and claims 77 fold vengeance for anyone who messes with him – until God laments making humanity). God however is constantly moving to restore Shalom and spread His good and Beautiful Kingdom, choosing Abraham and his family to bless, so that all nations would be blessed through them. Abraham is blessed not to the exclusion of the other nations, but rather for the sake of the other nations. Sadly, however, instead of being agents in the spread of shalom, Israel, like Adam shatters Shalom. Shalom is so shattered that the Prophet Jeremiah looks around and laments that the earth is again formless and void. In the midst of this shattered shalom, the hopes of Israel shrinks from being a blessing to the world, to merely being restored to their own land. They just want to get back to Jerusalem. But, God through the prophet Isaiah says that that dream is really too small, that somehow they still will be a light to the nations. God has not given up, on people created in the His image being agents of Shalom. In many ways we are tempted by the same shrunken dream that tempted Israel millennia ago. We just want to be safe and protected (of course these are both good desires), but God has purposed that the people of God are called not just to be protected from the world, but are actually sent as agents into the world to spread the message of the Kingdom. They are ambassadors of shalom. The people who seem most alive in the Bible understood this. They lived their lives as a mission from God for the sake of the world, while all along the way discovering the amazing goodness of God. Francis Chan provocatively illustrates it this way. I pray that as we participate in Leap of Faith we will find ourselves so swept up in mission of God spreading his Shalom that our stories would fit in the Book. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=32227 32227 Thu, 1 Mar 2012 13:41:00 +0000 In the first eleven chapters of the gospel of John we read about the works and words of Jesus leading up to his entrance into Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Chapters 12-19 are an account of Jesus' week from that Sunday until Friday and his execution at the hands of the Roman Governor Pilate. That Thursday evening Jesus had a meal with his closest followers. During this meal Jesus has an extended conversation with them and in the midst of the conversation he amazingly states that his followers will do the works he has been doing (if we think back over the first chapters we will realize this includes commanding the lame to walk, giving sight to the blind and raising the dead). Jesus clearly expects his followers to continue his work. Jesus heals as he sees and does what his Father is doing. As Jesus heals he reveals God's ultimate heart for creation. God loves creation and actively pursues the healing and renewal of creation, in particular the healing of humanity. Jesus reveals these intentions of the Father, and commissions his followers to continue this work of healing. We pursue healing when we catch God's heart for creation and humanity in particular.  Jesus' purpose is life, and as we noted this is not just life in the future, but an experience of life right now on earth. Healing in the present is a taste of God's ultimate future when death and disease will be no more. Healing is a taste of “on earth as in Heaven.” When we pray as Jesus taught, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in Heaven.” We are asking for God’s will right now, but as we pray this, there is an acknowledgement that earth is a place where God’s will is often opposed. Sickness is not a part of God’ ultimate will, but is obviously present here. So as we pray for healing we are battling for God’s ultimate will. I believe that recognizing that there is a battle underway is key, if we are to persevere in praying for healing. If we are not clear on God’s heart and if we are not clear that God’s will is currently opposed it will be quite difficult for us to continue to battle for healing. Another key is recognizing that praying for healing is something we will grow in. We do not automatically walk the first time we try, and the first time we pick up an instrument we do not play it flawlessly, in fact it may be a rather painful experience, especially for those who are listening, (my small group can relate!). In the same way, if we have expectations of flawlessly healing right from the beginning we are setting ourselves up with unrealistic expectations. We need to give ourselves, and those we are learning with, grace to grow. Finally, having God’s heart for people, more than anything else, will enable us to persevere in pursuing healing. Perhaps the most important verse in all of the Bible regarding healing is John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” Jesus cried at the brokenness and ruin that has fallen on humanity, and in this instance his friend Lazarus, and this compassion moves him to remarkable action. May we be like Jesus, and be moved with compassion and stretch out our hands boldly in love and heal the sick. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=31744 31744 Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:12:00 +0000 Everybody has a story to tell. We were created to play a part in God’s good creation, to experience the goodness of Jesus and to continue His revolution of love as agents of the revolution. One of the primary ways the revolution continues is as we tell our stories of experiencing life with Jesus.  On Sunday February 5 we looked at people in the book of John who experienced Jesus and then shared their experience with others, and how they in turn then experienced Jesus. In John chapter 4 Jesus encounters a woman from Samaria, whose past is so checkered that she goes to the well, during the hottest part of the day to avoid the crowd that would have been there earlier when it was crowded.  Jesus encounters her with an invitation to drink living water, and tells her everything she has ever done.  She in turn returns to her village and invites the people of that village to go out and meet Jesus. The people from the village respond to her story and meet Jesus, and put their trust in him. We see a similar pattern in John 1. Jesus encounters John the Baptist. John the Baptist shares the encounter with Andrew. Andrew meets Jesus, and then goes and gets his brother Simon. Jesus encounters Simon and gives him a new name, Peter. Fast forward a few years and Peter is introducing 3000 people at once to Jesus the risen Lord. A few verses later in the chapter we the pattern repeated yet again. Jesus encounters Phillip. Phillip after the encounter goes and finds Nathaneal and brings him to Jesus. Jesus encounters Nathaneal and Nathaneal  puts his trust in Jesus. Our stories of Jesus help others meet Jesus. But, not everyone who hears our stories will have a positive reaction. In John 9 we read about Jesus healing a man who has been blind his entire life. The man after he has been healed tells people that Jesus healed him, but this starts an argument among the religious leaders who are convinced that Jesus must be a bad man because he healed the man on a Sabbath. The man does not want to enter the debate and so he simply says, “One thing I know, I was blind but now I see.” But, he can’t escape the argument, eventually he is simply rejected by the religious leaders. Not everyone will respond in faith to our stories. Our work is to faithfully tell the story of our experiences with Jesus. One thing we noted is that something odd has happened to any number of us along the way, and that is that it has become difficult for us to talk about our life with Jesus. We are perfectly comfortable talking about any number of things, like apps on the droid – for example, but we tense up when it comes to talking about our experiences with Jesus.  My prayer for our fellowship is that we will have such a rich ongoing experience of life with Jesus that sharing our stories will flow naturally from who we are. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=31535 31535 Wed, 8 Feb 2012 14:19:00 +0000 In the fall of last year I sent out an email talking about the possibility of a New Name for our fellowship. This letter was a result of a discussion at our fall elder's retreat. Together as a board we had a sense that it might be time for a new name. I have had some feedback since that letter that some of us really like Southside - so it could be that is what we will remain Southside, or we may be given a new name in the days to come. Below are excerpts from the original letter and brief explanation of how we will proceed. Whether we remain Southside or are given a new name my hope and expectation is that the exercise of listening to God together will unite us more in our vision and mission as imperfect people carrying on Jesus' Revolution of Love.  WHY A NEW NAME? 1.       There are good Biblical precedents for names being changed as Jesus interacts with his people. A few that come to mind: Abram to Abraham; Sarai to Sarah; Jacob to Israel; Not my people to My people; Simon to Peter; Saul to Paul; and in the closing chapters of our story a promise is given that all who overcome will be given a new name. 2.       There was a time when the Vineyard national movement mandated geographical names, and we as a fellowship submitted to the mandate. This is no longer the case. Vineyards may now have names that describe who they are rather than where they meet. 3.       On a related note – our name right now mainly answers the question where, but it conveys very little of why we exist. Biblically, names often have a meaning related to God given dreams or destinies: Elijah – “My God is Yahweh” (Think about the encounter with the prophets of Baal); and most importantly – Jesus –“God Saves.” (You are to give him the name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins). WHY NOW?  We have a growing sense that this is “a New Season.” This is a prophetic word that I have heard on a number of occasions.  I have been really drawn to this Biblical theme. The psalm tells us that God’s mercies are “new” every morning. Jesus in the closing chapters of our story declares that he is making all things “new.”  Our board has a sense that this would be a good time for a new name.  This idea of a new season has been heard not just within our fellowship, but in our area among the other Vineyard churches, and there certainly is a new spirit of unity and cooperation among the churches as we look forward to planting churches together.  WHAT WILL IT BE?  Short Answer: We don’t know and we could remain Southside.  Longer explanation: But, I do have a sense that if we do have a new name it will incorporate the idea of Life. I am absolutely captured by Jesus’ mission statement in John 10:10: “I have come that they might have life and have it to the full.” The experience of many of us is that there is nothing like living life with Jesus. All of humanity is seeking life, but only Jesus offers Eternal Life. A quality of life now, and one that never ends. Many of us have discovered that he is absolutely right, and we echo the words of Peter, “Where else would we go? Only you have the words of eternal life.”  Another verse that has been crucial to me as I have prayed about our mission is a part of Jesus final instructions to His early followers: “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” There must be a “sentness” about us as a people. We are not just a people that are gathered to Jesus to experience life with him, we are also sent out so that others may experience the life that is only to be found in Jesus.  So I feel that if we have a new name it will encompass the life-giving dynamic of following Jesus and the mission reality that we have been sent to be life-givers who point others towards Jesus.  HOW WILL WE BE NAMED?  Our prayer and belief is that God, who is our Father, will name us or lead us to stick with Southside. Our work will be to listen together. The first step will be for us to personally listen for the Father's heart regarding a name for our fellowship. I would suggest fasting from a lunch and using that time to seek God's heart regarding the naming of our fellowship. If you have a sense of the Spirit whispering a name to you use this form to submit the name. We will close this phase of the process on February 9. The next phase will be the confirmation phase which we will begin online and complete at our family meeting on the February 19.  It is my pleasure to walk with you all.  Peace, John http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=31215 31215 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:10:00 +0000 We are in the midst of a series that we have simply titled LIFE. I believe that all of us have a deep desire to truly live. Not merely exist but to really experience life to the full. Like Peter, I am convinced that only Jesus offers the words of eternal life. In this series we are looking at how we can connect with Jesus and the Life that he offers. On Sunday January 22, we looked at how Jesus sustains, nourishes and gives us life through the Bible. The people of God through the centuries have known that God gives life to them as they interact with the Bible. The Bible for the people of God is not just a collection of words on a page, they are way to connect with the Living God who stands behind the words. As the people connect with these words they find that they are actually connecting with the Living God and with life: 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. Deuteronomy 30 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32:47 Jesus conveys very much the same idea when he rebuffs the temptation to turn the stones to bread: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” The Word of God sustains and brings us life. God has given us this gift so that we might experience life through connection with him. People of Jesus’ day were prone to forget this and I’m afraid at times so are we. We looked at example of another gift that God gave, the Sabbath, as a metaphor with what can happen to the Bible. God gave the command to keep the Sabbath as a part of the Ten Commandments. God gave this command so that people would enter into a rest and remember that God sustains their life. God intended the Sabbath to bring life to people. By Jesus day all sorts of additional baggage and verbiage had fastened onto the Sabbath. The Sabbath becomes a major point of contention between Jesus and the religious leaders. Jesus heals a man by spitting on the ground and making mud and their response is not joy that the man is healed, instead they criticize Jesus for breaking the Sabbath. In a similar argument over the Sabbath, Jesus tells the religious leaders something crucially important: “Sabbath was made for humanity, and not humanity for the Sabbath.” In other words God did not think up the idea of Sabbath and some rules that must be kept on that day and then make people who could keep the Sabbath. Rather God made people and gave them the life giving command to rest and know that He is God. Similarly God has given us the gift of the Bible, so that we  might connect with him and experience the life that only he offers. We can get in this weird spot where we think the Bible was made to make us smart, or to help us keep rules or perhaps even worse we read it to make God happy. When we start to think like this we are worshipping a lesser God of our own making. Let’s put it this way God didn’t write the Bible and then think “This is a really good book! I need to make some people to read it.” Rather God made people and gave them the Bible to point him back to themselves so that they might experience life. In another argument with religious leaders Jesus says that the whole point of the Bible is him, and pointing  people to him so that they might have life: 39You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.                                                                                 John 5:39-40 May we be the people who receive God’s gift of the Bible and connect with Jesus through it so that we might experience the Life only he offers. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=31173 31173 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:44:00 +0000 He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  John 10:4 Jesus confidently asserts that he will make himself known to his people. This past Sunday we looked at the truth that Jesus is speaking and leading. The question that we must ask is: Are we listening? On a number of occasions Jesus said something like: “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear…” In saying this he points to a basic truth of human existence that we are able to take in communication without really paying it any heed. We have all had the experience of talking to someone and having the sense that though they are physically present to us, they are not really listening to us. Conversely, though we may not want to admit it, there are likely times when we are the ones who are physically present, but we are not really listening. (Ever checked email or FB on your phone while pretending to be listening to someone talk?) The story of the Bible is of God speaking. As Tozer said the message of the Bible is not just God spoke but God is speaking. The question is: Are we listening? We reviewed some territory we have covered before and that is forming a grid for how God speaks to us. We use the alliteration of the CS’s to help us remember how God is speaking to us. The first and primary way God speaks to us is through Christ the Son. If we want to know who God is and also what it means to be fully human we will look long and hard at Jesus. God speaks through his Commanding Scriptures. In the Bible we read the great metanarrative of God and Humanity.  We spent some time on Sunday looking at particular truth from the Bible of who we are. We are created as God’s image bearers, but we rebelled and turned from God each other and who we were meant to be, but God is about the work of restoration and reconciliation in Jesus. So the truth about us as we trust and follow Jesus is that we are dearly loved and cherished are name becomes beloved instead of the labels we or others have tried to attach to us. We showed this video (which unfortunately was a little difficult to see) that very nicely captures this truth from the Bible. I find the video particularly powerful in light of the back story of the songwriter. God speaks through His Comforting Spirit. One promise Jesus repeated was that he would send the Holy Spirit who would guide us into all truth and remind us of the things Jesus taught us. God speaks through the Counsel of the Saints. Throughout my life I’ve been empowered to follow Jesus by hearing him through the counsel of His people. God speaks through Confirming Signs. There are a number examples just in the gospel according to John of signs that were given so that people would trust in Jesus. In short God is speaking. Again the question is: Will we listen? (Or will be people who say - I hear you but I don't) One of the first things is to ask will we believe what Jesus says about us or will we believe the voices from our past. Jesus speaks so that we might have life – full life. We experience life as we listen to the truth of who Jesus says we are. May we be the people who listen to and follow Jesus. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=30932 30932 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:52:00 +0000 On Sunday, January 8 we began a new series that we are simply calling Life, as we take a rapid tour of the gospel John wrote concerning Jesus. Throughout John we will see that Life is an obsession of Jesus. To kick off the series we looked at verse whose reference often pops up at sporting events and other places: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. In many way this verse captures the themes found in John and for that matter the themes found throughout the Bible. The first things we notice in this verse is that that the subject is God. This is true of the whole Bible. God is the hero of this story. In this verse we see that God loves. God loves in such a way that God gives. God gives His one and only son who is a perfect representation of Himself. Because God loves, God gives. The whole of the Bible testifies to God giving. In the beginning God gives life to humanity. Then God gives them every seed bearing plant for food. Throughout the Bible there is the refrain of God giving life and everything necessary for life. God loves and God gives. God is unending generosity. Because God loves and God gives those who “believe” experience “eternal life.” I spent quite a bit of time laboring over this word believe, and still feel like I didn't quite get there ... so here is one more shot. “Believe” in many ways has taken on a different connotation, then what the Bible is pointing to when it says believe. When we think believe we are prone to largely think in terms of mental assent. When we say we believe, we often mean that we accept x, y or z to be a fact. There is this corresponding idea in the Bible. It would certainly be difficult in the Biblical sense to believe with out giving basic mental assent to some propositions, but Biblical belief certainly also moves beyond this and is much richer and deeper. Here we are probably better off thinking in terms of a word like “trust.” What Jesus is driving at in this passage and in many passages like this where he talks about belief, is not merely a mental exercise, but much more profoundly one of trust. This little clip based on the life of Charles Blondin the tightrope walker of the 19th Century nicely captures the difference between a mental exercise and one of trust. The reason that this verse and the whole of the Bible urges trust, is because it is only in trusting Jesus that we find deep, real, full and lasting life. God is love and unending generosity and Jesus’ purpose for us is life. But, in order to experience the life that only Jesus brings we need to trust. Many times this will mean that we have to release our own strategies for gaining and experiencing life, and trust that Jesus only ever wills our good and desires to bring us life.  This excerpt from the Lord of the Rings powerfully illustrates the real struggle we have in letting go of our strategies for obtaining life and trusting Jesus to bring us life. Often I will feel like Jesus is trying to rob me, but in reality Jesus only ever desires to bring me life. Brothers and sisters may we be a people of deep trust in Jesus who daily experience the life that only he brings. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=30680 30680 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:47:00 +0000 On January 1 we began the New Year with a brief review of the mission Jesus has given us.  We have summarized our mission by saying that we are continuing Jesus’ revolution of love. We take this from what Jesus said was the greatest commandment that we love the Lord our God with our heart, soul, mind and strength. So the first and most basic part of our mission is loving God. As we noted the word ”God” can mean many different things to different people from Aristotle’s unmoved mover to the god of the deists who put things all in motion, but has since left the world to run on its own. Jesus, however, makes the bold claim that if we want to understand who God is we will look at him. Now, as C.S. Lewis pointed out last century, this is not the claim that a good teacher of morality would make. This is a breathtakingly bold claim, and either Jesus was right or he wasn’t, but we can not get around his invitation to look at Him and say here is our God. So, the first and central part of our mission is reaching Up in love to Jesus. After saying that the Greatest Commandment is to love God, Jesus adds that there is a second command,  and that is to love our neighbor as ourselves. We express this part of our mission by saying that we are relentlessly reaching Out to the world around us. We reach out with the indescribably good news that God looks exactly like Jesus. Then we are called to regularly reach In with love for each other within the Southside family. This is why small groups are such a crucial part of our mission. In short our mission may be summed up by this little formula GC2. Or as a Rick Warren the pastor of Saddleback Church in California has said a great church will follow the Great Command and live the Great Commission of making disciples who make disciples who make disciples… This mission Jesus has given us is the reason we exist. It informs all we do and empowers us to live for a cause greater than ourselves.  A great example from History (besides the early church of course) of a people captured by a mission were the people who made up NASA in the 1960’s. Inspired by this speech from President Kennedy that focused their mission. NASA did indeed land men on the moon and return them safely to earth.  The mission formed the culture of NASA. Everyone who worked with NASA described their mission as putting a man on the moon. My prayer for our community is that mission would so permeate who we are that each of would describe the purpose of our lives as carrying on Jesus’ revolution. Paul describes such a focus this way in Colossians 3:17 Whatever you do whether in word or deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him.  http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=30650 30650 Mon, 9 Jan 2012 10:45:00 +0000 Hey friends when I was a student I avoided this like the plague, but this year the January series at Calvin has a number of speakers that I am interested in hearing. The two that I am currently planning on attending are: Eric Metaxas talking about Deitrich Bonhoeffer on January 9(I’m currently reading his book on Bonmhoeffer and am finding it very powerful); and N.T. Wright talking about Jesus on January 24 (His new book simply Jesus is next in line for me). Some others I’m considering are Gabe Lyons (author of unchristian) on January 11; and Adam Taylor (vice-president of advocacy at Worldvision) on January 16. I would love to hear the talks with some friends, so if you are interested let me know. I believe that all talks begin at 12:30 (but it is a good idea to get there earlier because of parking) and go until 1:30. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=30482 30482 Tue, 3 Jan 2012 16:25:00 +0000 This Sunday, the second of Advent we will look at the second and third principles of Advent Conspiracy, Spend Less and Give More. Followers of Jesus across this nation will spend a staggering amount of money this Christmas season on gifts that are sometimes nothing more than a token we feel obligated to buy. These gifts will soon be forgotten by both us and the recipient.  Advent Conspiracy is an invitation to get of the Hamster Wheel of obligated giving that advertisers will urge on us. When we get off that wheel we can spend less and then actually give more. We can give more of ourselves in relationship because we are spending less time shopping. We can give more to the people Jesus urges us to give to (the least of his brothers and sisters). When we spend less we can truly give more, and we can give more like God gave.  As a way of thinking of how God gives we will be looking at John 1:1-14. Reading and meditating on this passage is a great way to come to grips with how God gives. When God gives he ultimately gives himself.   This Sunday, as a practical way to spend less but give more, a number of our local artisans will have their work available for you to purchase as gifts for people you will be buying for this season. As you give these gifts you will be giving more. These gifts will certainly be more personal than what you will find at the mall, and at least 90% of the proceeds on each purchase will be going to the least of Jesus’ brothers and sisters. If you have something you make and you would like to give other members of our community the opportunity to purchase it and would be giving 90% or more to the least of these, please let me know and we will make sure you have room to display your work.   As a fellowship, while we encourage each other to spend less, we as a whole community also want to give more. We will be giving 11% of each offering during Advent towards beginning a home for the street children of Kitale. Founding  this home is one of the life passions of our friend Pastor Edward of the Vineyard of Kitale. As individuals and families I also urge you to prayerfully consider how you can spend less, so that you can give more to these beautiful children. One suggestion the organizers of Advent Conspiracy make as a way to begin is give just one less gift this year, and give that money. So maybe you could calculate that amount and then give that to the kids of Kitale. On your check simply designate Kitale and the entire amount of the money you would have spent on a forgotten gift will go to help rescue children from the streets.   May we be people who give like Jesus! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=29728 29728 Fri, 2 Dec 2011 03:38:00 +0000 We have begun Advent Conspirac! We kicked it off by looking at how we can worship fully. The center of the talk was pointing out how worship of Jesus will tell a different story, than the story that the gods of this age are telling. I had a little feedback that I talked really fast, so I briefly here wanted to give brief overview of the story we tell as we worship Jesus (and I am typing as fast as I can, but feel free to read at your leisure). The beginning: It was good!  The story begins with humanity having everything they need in relationship with God, each other and the world. Think God hanging out with beautiful naked creative vegetarians. Humanities role: Participating as cooperative friends of God, by loving God, loving each other, and  working  the garden. In the beginning we recognized other humans as made in God’s image and as partners in spreading shalom The Problem: Humanity sees a lack. Humanity desires something other than God, each other and the Life God has given them. They don’t just want to eat from the Tree of Life. They want more … The Result: Humanity is alienated from God, each other and the good earth. The Solution: Gospel (Good News) Jesus the King comes declaring that God is again setting up His Kingdom. He reconciles people to God, urging them to turn to God, and he recruits cooperative friends to work with him in spreading Shalom as agents of the revolution.  The rulers of the age refuse to give up their position and kill Jesus.  Jesus on the cross perfectly exposes evil, draws all evil unto himself and dies . Three days later he completely defeats evil and death, and commissions his cooperative friends to carry on his revolution by loving God and loving People.  Humans need to repent (metanioa – rethink, turn from their own plans for life i.e. sin) and join the Jesus revolution. The Finale: Gospel (Good News) Jesus the King is making all things new. He is restoring and reconciling all things, and he is calling his cooperative friends right now to live and enact his revolutionary victory of self-giving love as bringers of Shalom and agents of the Revolution. They live the future now,  and as they do they find themselves complete in Him, even as they long for His return. As I noted above worship of the living God will always bring us into conflict with worship of the gods of the age. For the earliest followers of Jesus they swam in a culture that was awash in the worship of many gods, but perhaps the most powerful was the god of Rome represented by Caesar: The most divine Caesar… we should consider equal to the Beginning of all things… for when everything was falling (into disorder) he restored it once more and gave the whole world a new aura: all cities adopt the birthday of the divine Caesar…who being sent to us and our descendants as Savior, has put an end to war and has sent all things in order; Caesar has fulfilled all the hopes of earlier times… the birthday of the god (Augustus) has become for the whole world the beginning of the good news (evangel) concerning him. There are certainly different gods that we could worship today: Money (Mammon); Sex (Aphrodite); Power (Mars) … but I think perhaps the most cohesive narrative about humanity’s: problem, role and salvation, being told in today’s society is told by the gods of consumerism.  (Maybe a combination of the story Mammon, Aphrodite and Mars are telling). The gods of consumerism story: The Beginning: Begins with something lacking . You don’t quite have everything you need. Your teeth aren’t white enough; your hair’s a little thin; your breath is atrocious… the car you drive is boring … your internet connection is slow … you don’t have enough channels in your tv package…. In short you NEED something anything else – you need to consume. The Solution: Good News (Gospel) Don’t worry! Happiness is around the corner with the next purchase. It is worth (worship means worthship – when we worship we declare something or someone to have worth) waiting in line for … getting up early for. Humanities role: Seek personal: happiness; security and fulfillment through: things; entertainment; substances …. People Your Job buy stuff. John Boehner summed this up after congress passed the stimulus package in 2008. He said that now people could get back to their jobs of being good consumers. Other Humans … competitors for limited resources. The finale: You will want something else tomorrow … good news there will be a sale. Worship of the Living God revealed in Jesus, is a way to detox from the narrative the gods of consumerism are telling. Worship of Jesus places us firmly in a stream of history that is millennia old. It roots us in the reality of the Living God and frees us to live a life different from the one urged upon us by the gods of consumerism. May we be the people who fully worship Jesus and find ourselves set free as his cooperative friends spreading shalom as agents of His revolution. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=29675 29675 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:25:00 +0000 Hi Friends,   I pray this Wednesday before Thanksgiving finds you well and enjoying the goodness of Jesus. I pray that it will be a time for all of us of giving thanks to Jesus, for His goodness and for the life that only he brings.   If you do not have plans for Thanksgiving Day there will be folks getting together at the Vineyard at 1:00 PM and food will be served at 2:00. Contact Mary Beth Oakley to RSVP and find out what you can bring.   This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, when we remember that Jesus came to earth to for us. We will begin by looking at how we can Worship Fully. Worshipping Jesus has a way detoxing us from the faith of consumerism, which many thoughtful observers would tell us is the primary faith of our culture. On Sunday we will see how worshipping Jesus helps us tell a different story from the story of consumerism.     As a way of preparing our hearts I would suggest reading Mary’s song, and prayerfully considering how to spend the weekend. The faith of our culture will have a definite message for of how to go about celebrating the season in spending our time energy and money. The message will tell us how to make Christmas big and meaningful. I have been convinced through personal experience over the past couple of Advents that there is a different way to make Christmas Big, so we are again participating in Advent Conspiracy. Worshipping Fully is the kick-off.   Then, Sunday evening we will be getting together to watch the  film 58. This powerful film is based on Isaiah 58 which has been a powerful message from Jesus to our fellowship.  The Film will begin at 5 and childcare will be available.   Have a great Weekend! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=29524 29524 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:16:00 +0000 Jesus was an optimist. He believed that from a group of fishermen, tax collectors and zealots he would build a movement that would take on the very gates of hades. He believed that as people declared him as king (messiah),  followed him and aligned themselves with what he desired, hell would be no match. Jesus led his disciples outside of Jewish territory into the region of Caesarea Philippi. There he asked them a simple question, but a question that still echoes down through history. What are people saying about me? And then the crucial question, but what about you? Who do you say that I am? As we saw during our talk on Sunday in the fifth of our series of talks called, Live the Revolution, Peter’s answer draws Jesus’ praise and elicits this bold prediction that the church he builds will storm the realm of death. When Peter says that Jesus is the Messiah, he is saying that Jesus is the rightful king of the world. If Jesus is king then it is important to know the desires of the king, and to act on those desires. In my marriage there have been a few occasions where I have given Kristine a gift that probably really was not for her as much as it might have been for me (oh for example like Football tickets for our anniversary). On those occasions she has kindly asked if the tickets were really for her. There a number of places in the Bible where God asks people who are bringing him gifts or doing religious things for him, if they are even really for him. Here God pretty frankly tells his people that he is sick of religious festivals and lets them know what he really desires: 21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;     your assemblies are a stench to me.  22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,     I will not accept them.  Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,     I will have no regard for them.  23 Away with the noise of your songs!     I will not listen to the music of your harps.  24 But let justice roll on like a river,     righteousness like a never-failing stream! Another time God critiques their current practice of fasting and let’s them know about the fast that he desires: 5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,     only a day for people to humble themselves?  Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed     and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?  Is that what you call a fast,     a day acceptable to the LORD?  6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:  to loose the chains of injustice     and untie the cords of the yoke,  to set the oppressed free     and break every yoke?  7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry     and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—  when you see the naked, to clothe them,     and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?  If Jesus is the King, and he is, then it is crucially important that we follow the desires of the king, especially when the King has gone to some lengths to make his desires really clear. Jesus has certainly been clear regarding his desire for justice and mercy: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. During World War 2 there was a church in Germany who gathered to worship Jesus every Sunday. One Sunday, however, their gathering was disturbed by the sound of a railroad car full of Jewish people on their way to a prison camp. The people in the cars cried out for help, and it was very disruptive to the worship gathering. This happened for a number of weeks, until the church decided that it would sing hymns as the train went by and that they would sing as loud as they could to drown out the cries coming from the train. I’m shocked by the story, but before I rush to judge these people who were gathering to worship Jesus I must ask myself, what would I have done? But, more importantly I need to ask how am I living right now? Will I be a part of a group that does just sing louder? Or, will I be a part of a group of Jesus followers that turns down the music, and listens to the cries and moves into action, because we want to give Jesus the gifts he desires? If we do follow Jesus, and if we work with him for the things he desires like Justice and Mercy, Jesus has great confidence in his ability to build a movement that will rollover the gates of hell. Jesus is an optimist. He believes  that he is capable of leading this movement. I’m not sure that we always share his optimism, but I can sense our trust deepening. I can sense us as a people believing that as we follow Jesus world change is still possible. The church has been found for a number of years of telling the story of the starfish thrower, but a group of followers of Jesus are saying that it is time to tell this story differently. Their telling is a more optimistic telling (the story starts on p.17). I think their telling reflects the heart of our optimistic King. May we be a people, who with confidence in our great King, follow him to the gates of Hell.     http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=28862 28862 Wed, 2 Nov 2011 08:48:00 +0000 We just completed the third week of our current series live the revolution. Jesus began a revolutionary movement centered on loving God and loving people, and he invited his followers to join and to recruit others for the revolution.Many of us are working to join the revolution, because we have become convinced that there is no better way to live than following Jesus in his revolutionary love.  We enter the revolution as we trust the goodness of Jesus. We enter as we become convinced that there is no downside to following him. Sometimes my thinking and feeling become cloudy on this very crucial first step in joining the revolution. The two basic mistakes I can make in my thinking in this area are: first I am not entirely sure that Jesus is all good, and think that there very well may be a downside to following him; two I get the mistaken notion, that I am somehow winning his favor, by the things I do as I participate in the revolution. When I start to think this way my motivation is guilt. When I make the first mistake, I will either follow what Jesus has said, but follow grudgingly all the while believing that what he asked is not really good for me. Or, I simply will not follow him in a given area where I don’t trust that he is good. When I make the second mistake in thinking or feeling, winning his favor becomes my primary motivation, and I will begin to picture Jesus as displeased and his feeling hurt if I’m not reading my Bible, or I’m not praying. I end up with a Jesus with pretty fragile feelings. The antidote to this type of goofy thinking is to look very closely at Jesus. To help myself in this area, and I hope a few of us, we did a quick study of the book of John this past Sunday. In this very quick study, it was really apparent to me that Jesus carried a great confidence in his ability to enable people to live unimaginably full lives. He said the heart of his mission was that people “might have life, and have it to the full.” At other points he said that people who follow him would no longer thirst for real life. He said they would not fear death. He said that they would no longer worry about being condemned. He said that they would not only experience real deep and lasting life themselves, they would be refreshing to others in their life. Jesus believed that he offered the very best way to live. If we are going to join him in his way of revolutionary love, we will also need to be convinced at a gut level that following Jesus; knowing Jesus; being with Jesus is our best possible life. We will need to feel at a gut level that there is no better way to live. If we are not convinced we will simply live in a different way. One of the most helpful metaphors for me is to think of Jesus as a good doctor (and his teaching seems to invite this metaphor). I follow my Doctor’s prescription and advice regarding my cholesterol medication, not because I want to please my Doctor, or I’m afraid his feelings will be hurt if I don’t. I follow the prescription, because I’m convinced that he has trained and that he is wise, and that he has the best interest of my cardiovasular system in mind. I didn't have surgery on my knee and go through months of rehab, because I wanted to make my surgeon happy or my physical therapist for that matter. They were both perfectly kind and friendly men who I know were giving me good advice, but my primary motivation was a belief that my actual life would be better with a good knee enabling me to play hockey; basketball; softball etc… (I know a shallow belief, but what can I say, I love playing). I take the advice of my Doctors, because I think my life will be better. The gospels record an encounter between Jesus and a man described sometimes as a rich young ruler: 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”    18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.   20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”  21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.                                                                                                 Mark 10 This encounter begins well enough. The man is convinced that Jesus is good, and is asking for his prescription regarding ultimate things (eternal life – and as we saw in John, Jesus is confident in his ability to provide the right advice, and is convinced that following him will bring the man eternal life). Jesus first responds with a question (the question is one of those areas where we should probably let the Bible bother us a little and ask more questions – so I will leave that to you). Then says here’s the prescription - keep the commandments. The man essentially says great I have been doing that, but the implication is that he is still not feeling the quality of life he expects. Jesus really is the good Doctor. He looks at him and loves him, and gives him advice that he knows will bring him life. Unfortunately, though, in this area the man is not convinced that Jesus is good, and loving, and competent to write him a prescription, so his face falls and he walks away. As I said above there are certainly times when I am not convinced that Jesus prescription is best and my face falls. This story happened then and it happens regularly now with me, and if my hunch is right it might even occasionally happen with some of you. We might think we believe that Jesus is good, but then he tells us about the best way to live, and we start to think, “Well he might not be that wise or good after all.” The only way I see around this sticking point is to decide to take the prescription, and find out if Jesus is actually good, and actually knows what he is talking about. I’m always convinced in theory that he does, it is the actual moments of my life where it gets tough. If we are to be full participants with Jesus in his revolution of love, we will need to be fully convinced that he is indeed good, and that he is indeed wise, that there is no downside to following him, and that the prescriptions he gives us are good. This is the crucial first step into the revolution. It is the crucial step in continuing. And the crucial step in going the distance. So how about you? What do you think and feel about this? Is Jesus all good? Is there a downside to following him? What do you think or fell when you hear there is no downside to God? May we be the people who see Jesus as all good and wise, and may we joyfully follow him, and as we do experience the unimaginable full life he promises.   http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=28202 28202 Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:08:00 +0000 On Sunday, October 2 we began a new series of talks entitled live the revolution. For this first talk we looked a challenging teaching and parable of Jesus found in Luke chapter 12: 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’   18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’   20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’   21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” The very challenging thing for me personally about this passage is realizing that by world standards, (and by almost any objective historical standard) I am rich, and so this passage speaks particularly pointedly to me. Since half of the world is living on two dollars a day it is safe to say that I am certainly in the upper half of the world in that regard. Only 6-7% of the population of the world has a car, and I have two, and I even have a home for my car called a garage. By world standards I am quite wealthy. The ground around me has yielded abundantly. I don’t always feel rich, because I certainly know of any number of people who have more materially than me, and many of you will know people who have more than you, so we think we are not rich. Because we know people who have more than us, the danger is that we will then think that passages like this apply to somebody other than us. But, when I have ears to hear, I realize that I am this rich man. I have in my life actually paid rent for my stuff. I have so much stuff, that there was a time when I moved that I actually had to pay for my stuff to be stored. In this I am not alone. Storage space rental is a 22 billion dollar a year business. I have an abundance of stuff. Jesus tells me in this passage, that I will be in danger of being called a fool if I am not rich towards God with the stuff which I have been given.A few verses later Jesus fleshes out what he has in mind when he talks about being rich towards God: 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. My temptation is to immediately dismiss Jesus here as hopelessly out of touch with how the world actually works. Or I am tempted to say well he did not actually mean this, or he didn’t actually think this would be a good idea. But, I’m beginning to think that he might actually have meant it, or at a minimum wanted us to wrestle with the tension for a little while. If he did mean it, then we can pretty easily see how there would be a real cost in following Jesus. Jesus did talk about counting the cost in following him. This would be an example of a real tangible cost. Bonhoeffer famously wrote about the Cost of Discipleship, and there is a cost in following Jesus. When we begin to take Jesus’ words seriously the cost can seem quite high. However, I really believe that Jesus thought that a person who had counted the cost would think that the Kingdom of Heaven was an unbelievable bargain. I believe he thought that eternal purses were worth it. My trip to Kenya came with some real expenses, monetarily, emotionally, physically and just time wise. But, as I look back I count the whole experience as a great bargain for the tastes of the Kingdom I was able to enjoy. There is a cost to discipleship, but there is also a real cost to non-discipleship, and as far as I can tell that cost is much higher. Brothers and Sisters, may we be the people who see the Kingdom of God as the greatest bargain of our lives. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=27786 27786 Thu, 6 Oct 2011 08:57:00 +0000 Jesus told his followers that we could encounter him in the faces of the thirsty, the hungry, the naked and the imprisoned. Yesterday I had the privilege of encountering Jesus in the faces of the prisoners of the Kerugoya prison.  We went to the prison and gave the inmates, bread, soap, toilet paper and Bibles. It was an experience that I will not forget. There are certain moments in life that are meant to change and transform us, and I know that this moment was meant to be one those moments for me.The thing about these moments is sometimes they change us and sometimes they don’t. I think that we usually recognize the moment, but as the days pass and turn to weeks and then months and then years we look back and wonder did we really change? After our first trip to Costa Rica a number of the members of the team described the trip as life changing, but as another member of the trip pointed out, the trip is only life changing if our lives actually change.Tuesday in the prison in Kerugoya was meant to change my life. The day was meant to continue the work Jesus is doing in transforming me, so that I am always on the look out for him in the faces of the imprisoned, the poor and the oppressed. As I encountered Jesus in the prison, I experienced at a very deep level the goodness of God. Jesus once summed up his reason for coming to the earth in this way: He said: “I have come that you might have life to the full.” This means that as we listen to and act on what he has told us, we experience life at a level that is impossible apart from a deep rich connection with him. This is what we have been talking about in our series fruit happens. As we abide in Christ fruit happens. As we listen to his voice and follow him we experience life – real deep indescribable life that is impossible apart from being connected to him. A number of different times God has spoken to our fellowship through Isaiah 58. It is a passage that is very closely tied to Matthew 25, and what continues to grip my heart about this passage is how God through the prophet Isaiah ties our experiencing rich life from God to spending ourselves on behalf of others. The day in the prison helped me experience this truth first had. I pray that this truth will change me. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=27175 27175 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:50:00 +0000 On labor day Sunday we continued our series Fruit Happens, with a talk entitled Joy Happens. The basic premise of this series is that fruit is a result of staying connected with Jesus. Jesus was confident in his ability to enable us to live a fruitful life. The key he said was that we need to abide or remain in him. In these talks we are looking at how we can remain. As we remain in Jesus or abide in Jesus, we will live fruitful lives. In fact if we stay connected to Jesus he says that we will be filled with exactly the same type of joy with which he is filled, and our joy will be complete. The first question we asked about this was: would we want Jesus’ joy? Did he have the type of life we would want? Would we want the joy of Jesus? We looked at a number of different passages from the Bible that indicate that in the words of Dallas Willard, “God is the most joyful being in the universe.”  Joy is at the center of God’s character. Some theologians have talked about creation flowing from the laughter of the Trinity, and there are numerous passages that command us to be joyful and others that point to the joy of the Lord as the source of our strength. Joy is at the heart of God. G.K. Chesterton beautifully describes God’s joy this way: “A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough… It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again,” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again,” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” Jesus invites us to return to this joy where each moment is a delight, where each day holds new promise of God’s new mercies and God’s goodness.  But, is it really right to be joyful and rejoice when there is so much pain in the world? Is God just perpetually happy and untouched by the struggles and groaning of his creation? First of all in answer to the second question, no – God is moved by human suffering. Jesus wept ,and we see throughout the Bible how God is moved by the plight of creation. But, God is joyfully working to undo all that has gone wrong in this world and to put it back to rights. God works towards the day when there will be no more tears and no more sorrow. Joy will reign supreme. So being joyful now is a sign of the age that is to come. As Karl Barth said in the face of a broken world, “Joy is  a defiant nevertheless.” Now about the first question, should we rejoice and be joyful when there is so much pain? Aren’t we to mourn with those who mourn? Of course we are. And we are to be absolutely grieved, by the plight of this world that currently grieves God. We ought to be grieved by the things about ourselves that are not yet what they will one day be.  As the saying goes our hearts ought to be broken by the things which break God’s heart. But, nonetheless, the Jesus does say that he desires for us to have his joy, and we are told to rejoice.  Joy in the midst of the pain of the world is a defiant nevertheless. It is a defiant stance that God is working to make all things right. The other thing is this, when I am most honest I will admit that it is mainly not the suffering of the world that robs my joy most of the time. Rather it is my desire to always have my own way and my frustration when my will is thwarted. My frustration when the kids don’t put the remote back where it is supposed to go; or my frustration when the dog gets loose; or my frustration in traffic; or when the driver in front of my doesn’t get through the light so I have to sit through another cycle..... These are the things that I think tend to rob us of our joy. We concluded by looking at some ways we could train for Joy; ways in which we can stay connected to Jesus. Remember we won’t just be able to try to be joyful. We will need to train. Training is just another way of saying stay connected. First suggestions involved writing. Any of these writing suggestions would be a good way to connect with Jesus and experience more of his joy: 1. Keep a gratitude journal – at the end of each day write out the people, events, things for which you are thankful  - there is really good evidence that this practice alone will increase joy. So on paper tell Jesus what you are thankful for. 2. Write a letter to someone who has brought you great joy. 3. Write a letter to yourself from 20 years down the road. With the wisdom that will come with those twenty years write to yourself about the things that are currently troubling you. Suggestion 2: Unplug the TV for a week. This simple act will often lead to an improvement in mood, and will make space to connect more with God and other people.Suggestion 3: Practice the discipline of celebration … Celebrate the people in your life. Throw a party. Cook spicy food. Put on an old CD and dance. Purposely pick a time when you are going to celebrate.Suggestion 4: Create something this week. Creativity is honoring to God and boosts our mood. Attempt one of these ways of abiding as an experiment in joy and let me know how it went, and interact with Jesus and others about how it went. Ask Jesus how he would like to teach you about joy. May we was followers of Jesus be known as the most joyful people on the planet! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=26520 26520 Tue, 6 Sep 2011 09:08:00 +0000 We arrived back in Grand Rapids around 2:30 yesterday morning after a full day of travel. I am still amazed that we live at a time where we can wake up in Costa Rica and at the end of that day be in our beds in Michigan. To paraphrase the comedian Louis CK “that trip used to take 30 years, and at the end you were with a whole different group of people.” I’m happy to report we made the trip in a little over 15 hours and returned home with everyone who left with us. We often pray for safe travel, but don’t always remember to say thank you when we all return safely. Thanks be to God and thank you to everyone who prayed for us. When we go, we go to serve. These are not vacation trips, but nonetheless, I return having: laughed till my sides hurt, danced until I was soaking wet (combination sweat and being sprayed), played outrageous games, eaten like a king, enjoyed a wide variety of conversations and viewed the breathtaking beauty of creation from mountains to volcanoes to waterfalls to hummingbirds - all in all not a bad atmosphere for serving. We do go to serve, but a constant of the three trips that I have been on, is that I have always left feeling as if I received far more than I gave. On these trips I have discovered that where Jesus leads is indeed good and that when he leads us into service, we are indeed blessed as we are a blessing. On our first trip in 2009, many of us talked about it being a “life changing experience,” and one of our team members pointed out that it is only truly “life changing” if our lives actually change. On this trip I had the opportunity to give a talk at La Vina’s Sunday evening gathering. The theme of the talk was that Jesus speaks and we do hear, but there is a decision we make whether to follow or not. The points where our lives change are the points where we hear Jesus’ lead us, and we follow.Through this trip I sensed of number of invitations from Jesus to grow more into the person he desires me to be. The first is one that I am sure he will repeat throughout my life, and that is simply to make him first. I have discovered that what he has said is true and that life only works if I am connected with him. This is the foundation of everything else. Second is that relationships truly are central. We really do “accomplish” quite a bit when we are in Costa Rica as far as tasks go, but really this is just a bonus… icing  on the cake … gravy on the potatoes … dessert to a feast (you get the picture, you’ll also gather that food is pretty important on the trip). This trip we went into six different public schools and gave presentations about creation care to probably at least 1500 kids. It felt like a significant accomplishment (especially given the state of the presentation on Monday when we arrived). But as the team debriefed the presentations the highlight was connecting with the kids on a personal level. It was being invited to share a meal in the schools lunchroom, it was in how the kids cheered for right to triumph over wrong. In other words, the highlights were relational. On Saturday we helped throw the third annual free family festival. The La Vina complex was swarmed with families and kids, who were able to play different carnival games, get their faces painted, go wild on a bounce house and trampoline (significantly different safety standards from the US), get sticky with cotton candy, slurp on (literally) shaved ice, drink tea from a plastic bag, see a gospel drama and enjoy much laughter along the way. Again this was no small accomplishment. But for many people on our team the highlight was what happened after the carnival. We laughed and danced together until we were drenched in sweat and oh yeah we were sprayed with a hose as we danced around. It was a great way to celebrate another successful festival, but more than a successful festival I think we were just celebrating being together. It was a riot. The third and fourth items about life Jesus is teaching me are related to the second. The third is that laughter is really important. Many studies verify what Jesus said through the Bible over 3000 years ago … laughter is good medicine. Jesus it turns out is right again.  Who knew? Each trip has been characterized by laughter. I would like to laugh that much here. I believe Jesus is leading me towards more joy, and I gladly accept this invitation.  The fourth thing Jesus is teaching me is to be a little more relaxed. I think of myself as fairly relaxed and maybe I am here, (or maybe i'm just delusional) but in Costa Rica I at times can look comparatively type A and driven. If I don’t watch myself I can get pretty stressed about making sure that the tasks are getting done. What Jesus is inviting me to learn from the team in Costa Rica, is that it is possible to keep a sense of humor, stay relaxed and laugh and still get things done. In fact it turns out, that things which are done with stress can actually be done as well or better without stress. I should have learned this already from golf. I have yet to hear this advice on the course, “you need to tense up a little more, take it a little more seriously, get your muscles as tight as you possibly can, grip the club like you are strangling it, and then swing as hard as possible. And if you happen to hit a bad shot, dwell on it, swing your club around or beat it on the ground like a mad man, complain that somebody talked in your backswing, let everyone know that you are having a rotten time and that you hate the game. And at every possible turn complain about the conditions and slow rate of play of the foursome in front of you.” (All strategies i have employed at different points in my pursuit of golf - strangely none of this has worked that well) This would be bad advice in golf and it is even worse for life. It strikes me that Jesus really accomplished a bunch in the time he was physically present with his disciples, (salvation of the world – to name one), but from all appearances he accomplished what he did without seeming harried, hurried or stressed. He appears to have been imminently interruptible and available to people. I sense Jesus inviting me to a less stressed less, less hurried life, and in this less hurried life to trust that what needs to get done will, and who knows maybe it will even be done better without the stress. Fifth, I am at times knee deep in stuff. (and when I am knee deep it seems less like stuff and more like...)  Much of my time yesterday was spent caring for my stuff. Now don’t get me wrong I like my stuff, but yesterday I was aware of just how much stuff I have. I have so much that at times it feels like the stuff owns me instead of the other way around. The team in Costa Rica certainly has stuff, but not like I have stuff. I am swimming in it (and let’s be honest at times almost drowning). I think there have been moments when I have bought hook line and sinker this equation: more stuff=more happiness. There may be a certain kernel of truth to this equation, sociologists tell us that we need a basic baseline of goods and income or our misery will increase, but once that basic threshold is passed more stuff does not lead to any more fulfillment in life. In fact, my experience tells me it can be draining – you have to take care of it – you have to put it somewhere. The comedian Stephen Wright was right – “you can’t have everything, where would you put it.” Costa Rica is ranked by many as one of the happiest countries in the world, and they certainly have less stuff. I sense Jesus inviting me to divest myself of much of my stuff, so that I may enjoy what I do have more. Jesus is good and Jesus is speaking. Jesus is inviting me into growth and life change, and I want to say yes, and I want to live this life with others. So tell me a good joke; serve me a good meal; buy me a drink; invite me to dance; invite me to serve with you; or ask me to do one of these for you (I know all sorts of jokes; I love to cook; I know some good local hangouts; dancing …. I’ll get back to you –I was officially proclaimed the worst dancer on the team). Let’s be a people who love God with everything and love each other as we love ourselves, and let’s trust that as we do we will accomplish what Jesus desires for us to accomplish. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=25545 25545 Wed, 3 Aug 2011 11:07:00 +0000 On Sunday, July 17 we continued our series of talks from the book of Mark as we looked at Jesus  laying out the greatest commandment, which is to love the Lord our God with all our heart; and with all our soul; and with all our mind; and with all our strength; and he said that there was a second just like it: to love our neighbors as ourselves. The setting for Jesus response is the temple area, and this question comes in the midst of a bunch of questions. The first questions appear very much designed to trip Jesus up,to get him to say something that they can use against him. So they are questions about taxation, (it may be hard to imagine, but that was even more of a loaded question, in Jesus’ day). The Sadducees ask a question that they think will show that the notion of the resurrection is ludicrous.This question about the greatest commandment, however, feels qualitatively different. It feels as if this leader reallyis after knowing the greatest command, so that he can live well.  Today there are certainly different types of questions around Jesus and following him. Some are questions for people who just enjoy theological discussions and debates: “How do you reconcile Divine sovereignty and free will? What are the views on Baptism? Let’s talk about the Trinity, explain perichoresis to me.” For some people (like me) these are really just fun discussions to be a part of (this is why seminary was such a great experience for me – if you like questions like this - you will be like a fish in water at seminary). Then there is a second type of question that I would characterize as a more hostile or at a minimum more testing. When asked these questions there is a feel like your answer could help solidify your position as an outsider – or very quickly put you on the outs: “You are a Calvinist aren’t you?” “The Bible says baptize believers – that must be what you think as well, right?”  It strikes me that it is this type of question that is being asked in the taxation question and the resurrection question. The discomfort some people have with the first type of question is that to them both types of questions feel the same, and at best are sort of like an intellectual wrestling match with opponents trying to pin each other with their words. The last type of question moves out of the realm of theory, and asks, “Why is my life so difficult?” “Why did I lose my job?” “After ten years of following Jesus why do I still struggle with this?” These questions are just completely different. The problem some people have with either the first or second category of questions is that for them neither seem to relate to life. They are just abstract and at worst religious nitpicking. But, the third type of question everybody asks at some point.  It looks to me that the teacher is asking a question that is a combination of type one and type three. Jesus response is a blending of two quotations from the Hebrew scriptures. We spent the bulk of our time talking about loving God with our whole being.  There is a certain parallelism between heart and soul; and mind and strength.  Heart and soul relate to our passions and emotions. Mind and strength relate to our intellect and will. Sadly what often happens is that these two elements of who we are get played off against one another.  Some of us are much more in touch with our emotions. We have what Daniel Goleman would call a high EQ (emotional intelligence).  We live out our passions. Life for us is passionate and emotional. We love singing to God. For us the dream gathering of the church would be an hour and half (or longer) of passionate and intimate singing; and prayer. We love the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. There are certainly churches that passionately pursue God (and for the record I pray that we become more and more passionate in our pursuit of following Jesus). We have whole albums that will speak of passion and pursuing God. The psalms are full of poetic passages like this. All this is good. What is less good is when we start looking around and feel that others are not pursuing God as passionately as we are, so we begin to judge one another. Still less healthy is diminishing the life of the mind in the name of passion: “If the Holy Spirit falls on us, we can shoot our brains to the moon and it won’t matter!” “Why would you want to go to cemetery (supposed to be a funny play on seminary)? You don’t need to be smarter you just need FAITH?” Others of us are considerably more comfortable in the realm of the intellect. We love study. For us, the first category of questions around theological issues are just fun. We love discussions like that. We  like hearing sermons.  We downlopad them put them on our I-pods to have something to listen to when we exercise. Conferences with lots of speakers talking about the Bible are FUN. We purposefully read about issues of Biblical interpretation – on our vacations! All good. Less good is when we start to judge those who we think are sloppy in their Biblical interpretation. Or, even less good when we make an abstract mental assent to one of our views the key to whether somebody is in our out. Still another level of unhealthiness is when we diminish the passionate emotional life: “Just a bunch of clappy; slappy; happy pentecostals.” “Braindead bleeding heart liberals.” What I think Jesus is saying is that he wants it all! He wants the passionate pursuit and the careful Bible study! He wants the emotional prayers and the really intellectually rigorous discussions of the Trinity. And above all it would seem to me that he doesn’t what people  (like me) bad-mouthing his bride. Through this talk I had the opportunity to repent (re-think/turn) from things I have said about the church. I think I have been an equal opportunity offender. I feel like at points I have been hard on an intellectual approach to faith, and at others I have been pretty tough on a passionate approach to faith. I really felt that Holy Spirit was saying why either or? Why not both? Brothers and sisters may we be the people who passionately pursue God with the totality of our being. And may we celebrate the diverse ways in which we pursue Jesus whether it is with our intellects or our emotions, and may it ultimately be both! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=25156 25156 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:10:00 +0000 On Sunday July 3 we looked at how Jesus says we can live a great life. In Mark 10 two of Jesus followers John and James have asked for the number one and two positions in Jesus’ Kingdom. This has prompted some grumbling among the other followers, who no doubt felt that they were entitled to those positions more than James and John. One thing that strikes me this morning as I reflect on this passage is how honest the gospel of Mark is. By the time it was being circulated (circa AD 67) John would have had over thirty years of preaching, teaching and healing behind him as a part of Jesus’ movement. There no doubt was a temptation to put him on a pedestal, but the gospel of Mark clearly points out what I hope we have said more than once, “No Perfect People.” It is clear that John was eager to grab for power along with his brother, (far from what one would hope for in a follower of Jesus). Mark unblushingly reports on this behavior, which is one reason among many to believe that the gospel is a reliable account. Jesus, however, who was and is the only sinless human, and was and is a master teacher takes this opportunity to teach about true greatness. He says that the path up is actually down. If you want to experience a great life, (it would seem that the desire for a great life is not off the mark – but that our approaches sure can be), that we will serve. In serving others we image our serving God.  Philippians two is key here in understanding that this is what God does. God serves. We spent a little time looking at the grammar behind this passage. For those interested in grammatical things take a look at Gerald Hawthornes’s commentary in the Word Biblical Series. The key interpretive question in this passage is how to understand the little word “being.” The first option is to think, “Jesus in spite of the fact that he is God, became a servant.” This is probably the way we most commonly think of this passage. The second is to take it this way: “Jesus precisely because he is God became a servant.” Hawthorne makes a case that we ought to take it the second way. In other words serving is what God does.We who were made to image God, are meant to serve like God.   Sadly, though, what often happens is turn the tables and remake God in our image. Since we strive for power and control and greatness - as it is conceived today - we assume that God must be doing the same thing as us. We assume that it would be very difficult for God to serve.It is time to turn the tables back, so we reflect Christ, who precisely because he was God became a servant. May we be the people who will serve like Christ. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=24822 24822 Thu, 7 Jul 2011 10:40:00 +0000 Sunday, June 26 we continued our talks in Mark as we focused in on Mark 9:7 when God the Father says to James, John and Peter, “This is my Son listen to him.”In a nutshell this was the one point of the talk: Listen to Jesus. This naturally leads to the question – how? The question of “How?” was one of the main questions in our response time. This is such a good question and is really at the heart of where Jesus is leading us. If Jesus is the center of life and following him is the essence of a good life, then we definitely need to listen to Jesus. We need to listen to Jesus because relationship with Jesus is ultimately what matters. I made a couple of suggestions that I hope were helpful, and that have certainly been helpful to me over the years.  We hear Jesus through the Bible. The Bible guides us into the overarching metanarrative of God: creation, fall and redemption. Through the Bible we learn what is centrally important: “Loving God and Loving People.” This informs our mission as a church. Since in the Bible Jesus says this is the greatest command, we follow him as we Love God and People. We hear Jesus through his Holy Spirit. I sometimes feel that Peter and James had an unfair advantage, because Jesus was there physically present to them. But, Jesus, himself, says that it is actually better that Holy Spirit has been sent. He says that through Holy Spirit, He himself will lead us into all truth. One thing that I feel is crucially important is the great confidence Jesus had in himself as a leader. He said that his followers would hear His voice, and would follow him.  It is crucial that we trust Jesus’ ability to lead rather than our abilities as followers. Jesus had all sorts of confidence that he could lead us. It is good if we have the same confidence in him. We hear Jesus through the counsel of the Saints. The Bible points to the wisdom of seeking God together, and hearing Holy Spirit together. This is why we read statements in the book of Acts like: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” I think as we approach the big things in life it is so good to have others praying with us. Jesus can also guide us through confirming signs. Confirming signs are a significant part of the way Jesus led me into pastoral work (not least of which was a whole year’s salary – a story I have told on a number of occasions – if you would like to hear just ask  - Kristine has heard the story more than once – so don’t take it personally if she is there and if she sort of tunes out while I tell the story). All of these are ways in which Jesus leads. Jesus is a good leader. Jesus will speak to us … the question for us, is the same as it was for John, Peter and James, and it is the same question that has been asked throughout the gospel of Mark:  Will we listen and follow? May we be the people who will hear and follow! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=24639 24639 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:44:00 +0000 Sunday June 19 we continued our series in Mark as we looked at chapter eight.  In particular we looked at the last third of the chapter as Jesus begins to question the disciples about who people think he is. After hearing the answer of the what the crowd is saying, Jesus makes the question more pointed, and in essence says, “fair enough but now what about you? What do you think?” Peter responds that Jesus is the Messiah. Messiah means anointed one, and the anointed one was the King. Peter says in effect, “You are the King.” He says this in the district of Caesarea Philippi, which was home to a temple dedicated to the Emperor. The Emperor laid claim to the entire world. The Jewish belief was that their king though was actually the rightful ruler of the world. It is against this backdrop that Peter makes this revolutionary charged claim that Jesus is in fact the world’s rightful king. As we have seen throughout Mark, Jesus does not want them spreading this around. He thinks they are right, but in a sense only partially, because they don’t understand the type of king he is. Their hope would have been for a King who would throw off the oppression of Rome, liberate Israel and subdue any surrounding Gentile nations. Peter is probably thinking here of a King like King David who was very much a military King.  Jesus does not want word getting around that he is king if this is the type of king people have in mind. Because, Jesus instead of crushing Rome underfoot, will in fact allow himself to be crushed on a Roman cross. The thought that the Messiah would be crucified was paradigm shattering for the disciples. In fact it is simply too much. Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to inform Jesus that he is making a mistake. Jesus just as quickly in no uncertain terms informs Peter that it is actually Peter who is making the mistake. Jesus then gathers a crowd around him and begins to inform the crowd that in order to follow him as king, in order to be a part of his movement, they have to lay down their lives. In fact if they try to hang on to their lives they will come to the end and find out they have lost the very things that matter most – their souls. It is a stark warning, and in that culture fairly literal. If you followed a Messiah you could very easily end up nailed to a tree. The Romans crucified thousands and thousands. The charge of insurrection landed you on a cross (think about Barrabbass – he had participated in an insurrection and so was scheduled for crucifixion – that also may have something to do with why the crowd wanted him released – at least in their minds he had done something in participating in an attempt at violent revolution – Jesus on the other hand appeared willing to let the Romans have their way with him). The charge to take up the cross in other words was not just poetic at the time Jesus said it. Of course the question for us is: what could all this possibly mean in 21st Century America? We obviously are not going to be made to carry a literal cross and then be publicly executed for following Jesus (though it is worth noting that execution is an all too real threat for any number of Jesus followers around the world). The questions that were asked after the talk centered around this question, what does this passage mean for us? How can we apply ourselves to this passage? One basic suggestion I made is that it might mean that we die to what culture tells us is the dream life. We may need to choose to live self-sacrificially instead of as consumers. Whatever it might mean, Jesus says that the great paradox is that when we choose to give our life away, we actually then experience real life. Resurrection life. As I mentioned Jesus thinks this is a real bargain. In Matthew he compares the worth of the Kingdom of God to a very precious pearl. When the pearl merchant finds it, the merchant gladly sells whatever is necessary to get the pearl.  Yes, Jesus recognizes the cost, and urges us in other places to count the cost, but he thinks when we have counted the cost the math will be really simple. We will see him and his kingdom as a great bargain (the Who song captures the essence of seeing giving ourselves away to find someone – obviously the Who are talking about a woman in this case, but if we would think about losing ourselves to find Jesus – there is probably something to take away). I think we are actually hungry for this type of challenge - this call to radical discipleship. I think we are hungry for this because we ultimately, desperately desire the life that only following Jesus can give. I think this is why the book Radicalhas hit such a nerve with the Western church. We are starting to recognize that this is what we were actually made for. We were made for a life of following Jesus. Jesus is very purposeful in asking the disciples about his identity. I believe that he remains purposeful and that his questions rolls on through history, “Who do you say that I am?” I believe that question comes to each of us personally. I wonder what are your thoughts? Who is Jesus and what does that mean for your life? What might it mean to take up our cross living in the Grand Rapids area in 2011? http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=24349 24349 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:22:00 +0000 On Sunday May 22, we continued our series in Mark as we looked at Mark 4 and in particular the parable of the sower. Before Jesus tells this parable the crowds are pushing in around him, and in order to be better heard he gets into a boat and pushes off from shore so that all can hear him. It is obvious that the crowd is seeking something from him. They have heard about what he has done. They have heard about some of his teachings and they are expectant as he begins to talk. They are in some sense looking to Jesus to give them the secret of life.  It strikes me that today we are just as keen to know the secret. A book with that simple title has sold millions and millions of copies. I recently attended an event at a packed out Van Andel Arena where different speakers were giving the secrets to the stock market or the keys to getting motivated. It would appear that we are still very much interested in knowing the secret. Technology continues to advance at an exponential rate promising and giving more and more convenience and entertainment in everyday life, and yet the secret still for many of us seems elusive. As Louis CK points out in this exchange with Conan O’Brien everything is amazing and no one is happy. As people today continue to look for the secret, so to this crowd that has gathered to hear Jesus give them the secret. Jesus begins dramatically by crying out “Listen…” and then he proceeds to tell them a story that would have been nothing but absolutely basic common knowledge in an agrarian culture, (for that matter it is fairly common knowledge today). Seed that ends up on the path won’t grow. Seed among rocks – very little potential. Seed in the weeds – not so good either. Seed in good soil – it does pretty good. Really who in an agrarian culture did not know this? This little story clears the crowd. It is not hard to imagine the crowd going away a little miffed: “We walked all that way for that?”Mark tells us after the story he was alone with the twelve and the others. We’re not told who the others are, but whoever they are Jesus says to them, “The secret of the Kingdom of God has been given to you.” It is crucial to think about what they have been given at that point. It is not the interpretation of the parable, because they have just asked what it meant and he has yet to give them the interpretation. So the secret is not some piece of information or secret knowledge. I think the secret is simply this: Jesus himself. They have stayed while the others have cleared out. They are with Jesus. Relationship with Jesus is the secret. They stayed and asked, “What in the world was going on with that story?” Jesus indicates that it is only this willingness to be with him that is “the secret.” Now my immediate temptation is to say that the disciples have a distinct advantage in that Jesus is directly physically present to them. Jesus, however, tells his disciples that it is better for them if he is not physically present to them, but is present through the Holy Spirit, whom he will send. Jesus is telling us through this passage that he is with us all the time, and that the secret of the Kingdom is to enter into relationship with him and make ourselves present to him as he is always present to us. We closed by looking at some practices that can help us be present to Jesus including: Bible reading; regular participation in Sunday gatherings; small groups; prayer etc. All these practices are great, but we profoundly miss the point if we ever mistake the practice for the Person. The secret of the Kingdom is connecting with Jesus. That’s it there is no other secret. These practices are meant to facilitate that connection, but must never be mistaken for the connection itself. So sisters and brothers may you live richly connected to Jesus, who is the secret of the Kingdom. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=23537 23537 Wed, 25 May 2011 10:23:00 +0000 On Sunday May 15 we continued our series in Mark as we looked at Mark chapter three. There are many fascinating things we could have looked at in this chapter, but we focused in on different peoples' responses to Jesus. I titled the talk In or Out, because in this chapter the very people that we might have thought would be in (the highly religious, Jesus' family) actually find themselves moving away from Jesus because of their responses to him. The religious leaders in the early part of the chapter simply refuse to respond to him when he asks them a question, and later accuse him of being in league with demons. His family thinks he is out of his mind and come to take charge of him. In contrast he says at the end of the chapter that it is actually those who do the will of God that are a part of his family – pretty strong words. The point of the whole talk was to ask us: How are responding to Jesus? I used what I hope is becoming a somewhat familiar diagram of the bounded set and the center-set. Remember we think that Jesus himself recommends a center-set approach, and the crucial question in a center-set is not are you in or are you out, but which direction are you moving. What else is crucial here is the understanding that as we redirect our lives towards Jesus, he will actually provide us feedback, and we will discover that life with him and listening to his voice is good. As he himself said, he came that we might have life. Jesus it would seem is interested in us really experiencing life. This leads to a crucial question about our view of Jesus: When we think of him do think primarily of the metaphor of boss or of a doctor? If we tend to think of Jesus as a boss there is good chance that we will resent doing what he says. If, however our view of Jesus is that he is a good doctor who is really interested our health and well being then we are more apt to follow him and discover that following him actually is good. To pick a random example, say we lied to someone, and later sense that Jesus is prompting us to confess. With either metaphor this could still be tough to do, but if our view is that Jesus is boss, so he simply gets to tell us what to do, we will quite likely resent his promptings and perhaps even ignore them. If, however, we were to think that Jesus might really know the very best way to live and might want to heal our soul then we might reorient our lives towards Jesus and discover that he really is a good doctor. (One of the reasons Jesus doesn’t want us to lie is that when we lie to make ourselves look better then we actually are, people may respond by liking us, but the reality is that they aren’t actually liking us at all but the lie – the mask we have put on. But, if we are honest about who we are and people love us – well then they are loving the real us, and love after all is one of three things that remain  - we taste a little bit of eternity) So what do you think? Are you more apt to see Jesus as Boss or Doctor?   Grace and Peace brothers and sisters and may the love of the great physician guard your hearts. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=23299 23299 Tue, 17 May 2011 20:28:00 +0000 On May 1 we began a series of talks that will take us through the gospel of Mark. The center of the first talk was getting clear on the theme of the book. Mark makes it clear that the book is good news about Jesus Christ. Whatever else we take away from the book, we must be clear that it is good news and that it is centered on Jesus Christ. The good news is all about Jesus. The news begins with Jesus and finds its fulfillment in Jesus. Whatever else we may be about as a church we are profoundly missing the point if we do not remember that it is ultimately all about Jesus. Once we are clear that it is about Jesus we can move forward to understand what exactly it is that makes it good news. The first thing we noted is that the good news about Jesus involves forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:2-9). Forgiveness is such a big deal because life is about relationship, our relationship with God and our relationship with others. Only forgiveness restores relationships. A simple weighing out of good versus bad doesn’t restore relationship the way that forgiveness does. The Bible says that the person whose sins are forgiven is happy. The good news about Jesus is also good news, because with Jesus we see the arrival of God’s Kingdom and find that we are recruited to Join in Jesus’ Kingdom Mission. There are a couple of crucial practical implications that flow from Jesus’ Kingdom announcement and his call to us to join him establishing the Kingdom of God. The first practical implication is that there is also a different ruler. The Bible indicates that this ruler opposes the good rule of God. On some level, this ruler is the one in control, and this is the reason that there is so much evil and suffering in the world. The great news though is that with Jesus the Kingdom of God is advancing. One way to think about the Kingdom is to ask the question: “What would it look like if God’s dream for the world were coming true right now?” And then we must move forward in pursuing this dream. Jesus indicates that is indeed what is happening with him. God is indeed becoming King. That is why evil is being driven back. That is why diseases are healed. Because diseases are not going to be part of God’s eternal kingdom diseases are driven back right now, because there will not be evil oppressing humanity in God’s eternal kingdom evil is driven back right now. This is extraordinarily good news. In the midst of this good news it is crucial to remember that Jesus says that while it is exciting that evil is driven back, what is really worth celebrating is that our names are written in the book of life, in other words that we are in relationship with the Living God. The good news is about Jesus. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=22789 22789 Mon, 2 May 2011 08:02:00 +0000 Thirteen years ago today I played basketball with my dad, brother and brother-in-law. It was a Saturday in 1998, the Saturday after Good Friday. We played a round – robin tournament where everybody played with each other at some point. My dad who was shorter than all of us, but still really quick, played exceptionally well. I don’t recall how I played, but I remember it being a blast. After the last game, dad sat down on a rock, and then simply rolled off the rock and died. We tried a bunch of CPR and the ambulance came. They took him to the hospital, and pronounced him dead there (what a weird custom – pronouncing somebody dead). Even though he wasn’t officially dead until the Doctor made the call at the hospital, my gut tells me he was dead pretty much from the moment he rolled off the rock.So I’ve been thinking some about that day today. I think people who specialize in grief and loss say this is normal. The thing that brings me joy today is thinking about what a great day he had. At one point during the day my brother-in-law even said something like, “You sure are happy…” and he said, “I really am.” For him, it was a fantastic day, and for that I will be ever grateful. But more than thinking about that last day, I have recently been spending significant time thinking about what he said to me the summer before I returned to college for my sophomore year. One evening of the last week before I returned to school, we were sitting around our dining room table after supper and dad said, “John I’ve been praying about what I should say to you before you go back to school.” I think dad prayed quite a bit, because I have read some of his journals and he recorded his prayers there, so I believe he had been praying for me, but this was unusual language for him in starting a conversation. In general he didn't talk like that. Personally I was in the midst of wandering away from God and had begun to try on a sort of agnosticism, so that type of language didn’t find much purchase in my soul.  He continued, “I think I’m supposed to tell you to live a life of no regrets.” At the time, I primarily heard this as: “Don’t screw-up, don’t party, don’t do stupid stuff … in other words don’t do stuff you will regret.” I was a more than a little put off by the message, and because I was put off, I shut the conversation down with a shoulder shrug and silence. Now more than twenty years later I hear his words in an entirely different way. Now I hear him say, “Don’t miss life. Live your life unafraid. Live so that you won’t have to regret leaving things undone or unsaid.” This I can hear. My guess is that at the time my dad must have felt like that conversation was a complete and utter flop. I think it took some guts for him to say what he did to me. I mean after all we were men, and men are somewhat notorious for not wanting to talk about things that matter. He was talking to his son about something deep, and there was a chance that I would rebuff him, which I did. Isn’t that the odd thing about courage? Sometimes you do the right thing, you take the risk, you start the conversation, and it’s a complete bust.   But, here is the amazing thing about this story we live in. We live in a story of resurrection. Dad got this in a way that I’m beginning to. You see resurrection isn’t just this story about what will happen one day when we die. Resurrection infuses courage and meaning into our moments right now while we live.  Paul in the book of Corinthians gives a brilliant defense of the resurrection, but then concludes with this: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” We might think that after his brilliant defense Paul would say something like, “So you can rest easy knowing that you will spend eternity with Christ.” But instead he is basically saying, “Jesus has between death, so get about the business of living. Live fully knowing that is not in vain.” In other words the teacher in Ecclesiastes is wrong. It is not all meaningless. I am so very proud of my dad who understood this, and had the courage to talk to me even though it might have seemed pointless at the time. Today, I hear his call to live without regrets. I hear the call to fully live. I hear the call knowing that there will be times when it will look and feel as pointless, as that conversation must have felt to him. I hear the call to live without regrets, and because I hear the call that conversation that looked pointless twenty years ago, turns out not to have been in vain.  http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=22187 22187 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:56:00 +0000 Sunday April 3, we continued our Leap of Faith series with a talk entitled Leap With What You Have. The talk was drawn from the feeding of the Five Thousand. The disciples here are encountered with an overwhelming need, and their natural reaction is to want it to go away. We looked at our tendency to do the same thing. They point out the magnitude of the need to Jesus and suggest a closing prayer, but, Jesus instead of agreeing that the need is too big, rather troublingly says, “You feed them.” This makes the disciples feel even more overwhelmed. They point out there complete lack of resources to accomplish this task that Jesus has given them, but Jesus instructs them to have the people sit down, and to start distributing to them what they have. They do and they end up with much left over. This is certainly something worth celebrating. We took a couple of moments to celebrate the opportunities we have had as a fellowship to participate “with what we have” and how God has used what we have. So we read a letter from Bethany thanking us for our help with the Marip family, and we announced that Kenya Matters is beginning their drilling project.Truly there is great joy in Leaping with what we have, and seeing God use it. This was the central point of the talk: Leap with what you have and see what God does. Don’t try to hang on to or guard what you have. Put it in Jesus’ hands and Leap.  Now for a little Tuesday morning quarterbacking on the talk … my personal highlight was interviewing the lovely and talented Kristine West, and hearing her clarify the place of our meeting (Hooters concert); and her passion for justice. Lowlights: my riff on the Tigers. Talking with you all week after week is a gift of God to me (I know for you all it is something else – penance maybe), but it does come with its occupational hazards. One major one is the unplanned riff. Sometimes these go extraordinarily well, and then there are others like well Sunday, when they just come off as condemning and heavy-handed. I got on this kick about the Tigers (since I really like the Tigers) as an example of how we just want to distract ourselves from the hard realities that many people in the world are facing (1 billion living on less than a dollar a day… 12.3 million in involuntary servitude … 23,000 children dying daily from poverty related causes etc.).   I talked about how when we hear these statistics we just want to distract ourselves with something – like the Tigers.  I think at one point, I said something like, “Gee I just need to see how one group of millionaires did playing another group of millionaires.” Which probably came off sounding something like this (man if you watch baseball you probably don’t really love Jesus or care at all for the people he cares about like the poor). This morning I came across this, which talks about why baseball may in fact be healthy for us. So if I could have a take back or a do-over, I would get rid of my riff about the Tigers.  In my riff this is what I was trying to say: "See the need; but don’t get paralyzed – instead Leap with what you have; and trust that Jesus will take what you have and use it." Then Sunday evening I was part of a fascinating discussion in our small group. One person in our group talked about what a contrast this talk seemed from the talks the past couple of weeks that mentioned business and investing and bringing hope to our cities. We wrestled together to think through how this talk and the past couple might hold together.   Here is one of my initial thoughts: Jesus talks often about using our talents, and about caring for the least, the last and the lost – I believe what Jesus is asking us to do is to hold loosely to whatever talent or resources he has given us, and to put them at his disposal to use as he will in Loving People, and when we use these things in these ways we will find that Jesus does indeed lead us to life. Again it comes back to Jesus is good and where he leads is good. Where he leads brings life. So what are your thoughts? Particularly how can we be a people that can bring good news to the poor, without losing a sense of joy? How can we see needs without being overwhelmed? As the baseball blog asks what are your hobbies (things that might not ultimately matter) but help keep you sane? So brothers and sisters may you be filled with joy as you Leap with what you have. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=21968 21968 Tue, 5 Apr 2011 08:48:00 +0000 Hey Everyone, Here is a video from the Gathering Grand Rapids encouraging us to pray for our city: http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=21770 21770 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:04:00 +0000 On Sunday March 27, 2011 we continued our Leap of Faith series with a talk entitled Loving our City. In this talk we looked at the narrative arc of the Bible. At the start humanity enjoys a garden in community with God. In the grand conclusion portrayed in the book of revelation, humanity enjoys a garden city in community with God. The narrative arc points towards urban life.Throughout the Bible there are glimpses of God’s love for cities: from God’s heart for Jerusalem; to the mercy he shows Ninevah; to his advice to the exiled Israel people to pray and work for the prosperity of their captive city Babylon. Since God loves our cities there is a cal for us to love our city as well. But what does this look like? Perhaps the best one word summary of how we can love our city is captured by the word “blessing.” In the book of Genesis God calls Abraham so that all nations will be blessed, but there is also the idea that anyone who cursed Abraham would be cursed. However in the book of Luke, Jesus indicates that his followers are actually meant to bless those who curse them.  Jesus unpacks what it will look like if we are a blessing to our city. First we will pray for our city. One of the most exciting aspects of this Leap of Faith for me has been the daily consistent prayer for the Grand Rapids Area. I love praying for God to prosper Grand Rapids, recognizing that if Grand Rapids prospers so will we. Jesus indicated that we are to be in prayer even if it appears that the city is against us (like when we get a parking ticket – when we go to a Griffins game – just to pick a random example). As a fellowship we have a great opportunity coming up on April 16 to gather with other followers of Jesus from across the city to pray for our City. Many of us went to the gathering last year, and I hope than even more of us can be a part of this time of praying for our city this year. Second, Jesus indicates that we will give to those who ask. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say give them what they ask for (because sometimes people will ask for things that are actually harmful), but we are to characterized by generosity. As we are asked we are to give what will indeed be helpful to the one who is asking. Modeling Jesus’ generosity is the motivator for a yearly percentage increase to the amount we are giving to mission and benevolence. Third Jesus shows that we are a blessing as we give up the judgment business. A beautiful example of this is Paul’s speech before the Athenians. Their city is full of idols, but Paul perceives that they are actually seeking life. He points them towards life. He doesn’t come in condemning them as a bunch of idol worshipping idiots. Finally, we looked God’s advice to the exiles in Babylon. God gives concrete advice that basically boils down to; get to work (plant gardens, build houses); and have lots of babies.  We looked at how business and youth are key elements of hope for a city. One of our prayers is that we will be a blessing to both the youth and the businesses of our city. Thinking of being a blessing to our city certainly does feel like a Leap to me. It seems big, but then I remember that I worship a really Good and powerful God. So I am praying with hope and expectancy during Leap of Faith that  as a people will be a blessing to the Grand Rapids area.  http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=21710 21710 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:37:00 +0000 We’re in the second week of our series Leap of Faith where we are encouraging each other to Jump into a Bigger Story. We are doing this by asking God to give us courage to pray for our personal Leap of Faith Dream; to pray for six people who we would love to see experience more of a life richly connected to God; to pray for our Vineyard; to pray for our Cities.  Last week we introduced this idea that one Big Leap that Jesus might be asking us to take is to “Love those who are outside of our normal circle…” Jesus says it this way in Luke 6:32 “If you love those who love you what credit is that to you? Everyone does that.”Going outside our normal circles will certainly demand that we take a Leap, but Jesus indicates that it is most definitely a Leap worth taking. He indicates that we actually will experience life from that Leap. One of the great things about Jesus is that he also models this type of life for us. In Luke we read about Jesus calling a tax collector named Levi to be his apprentice. Levi is a picture of an ultimate outsider. He was a Jew who collected taxes from other Jews in order to give the money to their oppressors from Rome.The way that tax collectors made any salary wasn’t from Rome. It was from extortion as they went about collecting taxes. So they were hated by their own people. And Jesus, ever-shocking, decides that this is just the kind of person he’d love to have in his band of friends. Levi in response throws a party.  In throwing  a party Levi points the way to  a time honored way of actually taking a Leap and loving our neighbors. This is something we can still do today. We heard from Seth and Janet Piccolo who have been a part of throwing a block party on their street. This block party has been so successful that it has grown yearly and has attracted the attention of the city at large. People not from the immediate block come, and the neighbors band together to throw a great party. One of the great things about life with Jesus is that he often describes the arrival of God’s kingdom as like a great banquet. And he refers to himself as the bread of life. Life with Jesus is ultimately satisfying. When the Kingdom of God draws near it is like a great party We see in Levi’s party a great example of who is at a Kingdom celebration. Quite a few pastors, like Jay Pathak in Denver and Jim Bricker in Indianapolis, would see the three types of people who are at this party as the three types of people who are really necessary in a thriving Kingdom Community (Church). First there must be guests. This passage indicates that one key to a kingdom celebration is having people there who are not yet experiencing a richly connected life to God. In some sense they are the GUESTS of honorIn many ways the kingdom party is for them. They haven’t yet really tasted that God is Good. They don’t know that God is for them. In fact Jesus says that as one of these people discovers that God is for them and as they turn to God, he paints a picture of a party breaking loose in heaven If we want to have a great Kingdom party we will invite people who are not yet following Jesus who don’t yet know that there is a God passionately seeking after them. People who look at healthy churches say that one in three people should not yet be a follower of Jesus. The second type of person that is crucial for a healthy Kingdom community are new followers of Jesus. People like Levi. There are a couple of reasons that new followers are crucial. First they have great connections, (like Levi had) to people who are not currently experiencing a rich life with God. They are great at inviting others to the party. Second these people will bring a passion to the table. They have just discovered the incredible goodness of God and are alive and bursting with the good news. Again, many pastors feel that a healthy Kingdom community will be about made up of 1/3 new followers.The third group of people at the table are long term followers of Jesus. These are people who have walked with Jesus for a few years. They have made a commitment to following him for the long haul. We might refer to them as mature. Again a healthy church should have about 1/3 of these people. These three people are crucial for a good Kingdom party. Unfortunately there is often one other type of person at the party, the Pharisee. The problem for the Pharisee is that it looks like the wrong people are being welcomed to the Kingdom party. They don’t like who all is showing up for the party. They don’t like that God is inviting people that they think of as sinners and what’s more God appears ecstatic that these sinners are accepting the invitation. There is, sadly, one last other problem at the party, and that problem is people (well like me) who have followed Jesus for a while but all we want to do is eat at the banquet. When in reality Jesus is inviting us to be Kingdom hosts. Jesus is inviting us to discover that he gives us life as we serve. So we can consume vasts amounts of Christian teaching and literature, but live very little of it out. When I do this I think I am following Jesus, but the reality is I'm just consuming. There is an invitation from Jesus to those who have followed him for a while to participated in being Kingdom hosts; to welcome guests to the table and share the incredible good news of Jesus. My prayer is that we will be a healthy Kingdom community, and that our gatherings will feel like celebrations. May we together experience the wonderful good news of Jesus, and together throw Kingdom parties. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=21436 21436 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:09:00 +0000 Sunday March 13, we kicked our Leap of Faith experiment with a talk entitled dreams. I have had many different dreams in my life. For much of my childhood I dreamed of being a pro-athlete. When I was in my early 20’s I dreamed of writing the great American Novel. It’s embarrassing to think about some of the dreams I’ve had, because they have largely centered around me. But one thing these dreams have had in common is that they have presented to me a vision of a life; of a good story; of a better story, but that story seems elusive it seems to slip away. The song that the band covered during the offering (Waiting on the World to Change) captures something of the ambivalence of hoping for a different world and waiting for the world to change… waiting for something to happen ... we can picture this world yet we can’t quite seem to get there. We are waiting for it to change. Interestingly Jesus said that his purpose in coming was to help people be fully alive to really live: I have come that they might have life to the full … John 10:10 And that part of Jesus’ expectation was that people who followed him would be so alive that they would participate in life as he did and actually do even greater things than him as they trusted him: John 14: Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. In fact in Acts 2 the Bible points to the church the community of people who are following Jesus who have been empowered by His Spirit as a community of Dreamers and Visionaries. This is a great time of year for dreaming and praying for those dreams. It is a great time to Dream together. Together we are embarking on a 40 Day journey called Leap of Faith that is going to encourage us to Dream and pray together. And this journey will be asking us to do more than just Dream together. Together we are going to jump into a bigger story. We will jump into the bigger story that Jesus is telling. It is a story of God’s Dream coming true here on Earth that is why Jesus instructed us to pray that God’s Kingdom would arrive here on earth that God’s will would be done here and now. Jesus is asking us to dream of what the world would look like if what God wanted to happen was actually happening, and he asks us to pray along these lines and then to act. Last week as we were transitioning to this series we looked at Isaiah 58 a passage that has been important in the life of our church and it points to some of God’s dreams for a better world and how Jesus intends to bring us life. This passage points to what God’s dream looks like. It looks like a people who are not thinking only of themselves, but have extended themselves and who have jumped into God’s work. If people do these things: spend themselves on behalf of the hungry; satisfy the needs of the oppressed; if they stop pointing the finger; if they stop maliciously ripping each other apart with their words. The word looks like a much better place. And not only does the world begin to look different. The people themselves are changed they are healed, they are given these wonderful titles. They are called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. In other words they have brought life to a community. The community begins to thrive and they thrive as well. When God’s dream comes true the world is a better place. And the people who have partnered with God are a changed people. Jesus is looking for a community of people that will dream with Him. And here is great test for knowing if dreams are from God. If our dreams came true would the world be a better place? This Leap of Faith is about dreaming and praying for a better world. It is about aligning our dreams with Jesus and asking Him to bring these dreams into reality. A number of Vineyards around the states have experimented with this idea of 40 days of committed concentrated prayer around dreams that would make the world better at least in some small way, and they have really seen some good results and have been very encouraged to keep dreaming and keep praying . They do this now every year during the season of Lent we thought we would join with them this year. A couple of our local sister vineyards Vineyard North and the WOW Vineyard in Holland are joining as well. Jesus’ dream is of course huge. Jesus dream is that this world would like what His Father always intended it to look like. When we begin to step into this dream, we will be stretched. When we start to dream God’s dreams we will be very stretched. It will be a Leap. One the crucial Leap that Jesus indicates that we will need to make is a Leap towards people who are outside of our normal circle. He says it this way in Luke 6: "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. We all have family and friends who are a part of our normal circle. We love them, we spend time with them, and Jesus certainly wants us to do this, but it is - let’s be honest - relatively safe. It doesn’t take much of a Leap. And Jesus seems to indicate that everyone really does this. It doesn’t take any extra trust in Him. He seems to be pointing out a way to really experience life with Him that he modeled. One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. When Jesus says "we’re going to the other side" to his disciples it is a loaded phrase. They are going to Gentile country. They are going to the places that good Jewish boys normally wouldn’t go. They are going to be stepping out of their comfortable circle. This is a Leap for them. When we follow Jesus, he promises to bring us real life. But the scary part is Jesus’ life is going to come with an invitation to go to the other side. It is a Leap; to the other side; of the street; the tracks; the city; maybe for some the world. This will be the heart of our Leap of Faith Experiment: Having a dream and having the courage to ask Jesus for the dream every day for 40 days, and trusting Jesus as he asks us to Leap to the otherside. Let’s take the Leap. Yes the Leap is scary, but did you know that Jesus doesn’t place the same premium on safety that we do. Jesus puts a premium on life – abundant life, and he asks us to stretch and Leap as we follow him into Life. He advises us to risk with Him. In fact he tells a story of man who saw God and the world as scary so he played it safe. Instead of taking a risk and investing his life he played it safe Jesus says this about the man  "The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'  "The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? Let’s take this Leap together. Let’s personally let God give us a dream that would make the world a better place, and then let’s have the courage to ask God for that dream. Followers of Jesus have done this for centuries and are doing it today. Sunday we heard from Laura Vredeveld who I taking a step and launching TBD solutions. It was great to hear how Jesus has led and continues to lead this enterprise as Laura follows. We are praying as a fellowship for many more stories like Laura’s.   http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=21171 21171 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:27:00 +0000 On Sunday March 6 we wrapped up our series of talks Leap of Faith with a sermon entitled Hungering for God. Culture pulls us in two opposing directions. On one hand we are encouraged to consume huge amounts of food...     Taco Town! is funny, because it in some ways is not to far from some actual commercials. And I know the feeling of being at an all you can eat buffet and really working to get my money’s worth On the other hand we encouraged to healthy eatin. We have super models held up as the pinnacle of human beauty to which we should aspire. Our number of cookbooks is nearly matched by our number of diet books. While the culture would stir up a hunger for food, the Bible in any number of places advocates a hunger for God. Jesus says that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be blessed and filled with the righteousness they are seeking. Against the cultural background of growing portions and thousands of diets, and the Biblical background of hungering for God we looked at fasting as a way we could hunger from God. As our primary text we looked at Isaiah 58. This passage has been particularly important to our fellowship. In the early days, (years before I was a part of the Vineyard) a guest speaker had a talk prepared and felt on Sunday morning that God redirected him to Isaiah 58 as passage particularly relevant to the Vineyard. A little over a year ago another guest speaker, Cherith Nordling, had a talk prepared and felt on Sunday morning that God redirected her to Isaiah 58. (Listen Here)   I myself have been drawn to this passage numerous times over the past couple of years. By no means were we able to exhaustively look at this passage Sunday, but I feel that there a couple of things that God is saying to us through this passage.   The first would be that God is not interested in religious games. The first 5 verses have the repeated phrase "they seem eager." Religion opposes actual relationship. Religion is the mistaken belief that we do X and then God is obligated to do Y. The passage points to a mindset that would look at God as primarily a being who exists for our benefit. We don’t have to read between the lines to figure out that God is less than pleased with this attitude. The first part is not that encouraging. It is a warning against playing around at religion The passage turns at verse six where God begins revealing what a true fast would look like. This part is tremendously encouraging to me. Here we hear an invitation to join the work of God in the earth. We might say that verses 6-12 are an extended commentary on a portion of the prayer Jesus gave us, "Your Kingdom come; Your will be done; on the earth as it is in Heaven." These verses point to how we might spend our lives if we were to behave as if our Father is answering our prayer. Fasting then is not a way to manipulate God into doing what we want. Instead it is an opportunity to hunger for more of God and more of God’s Kingdom. Fasting is an invitation to identify with those who are involuntarily hungry (1 billion every day). Fasting is an opportunity to hunger for a different world, and to commit ourselves to God’s purposes for the world Jesus loves. There is more to be said here. As we launch into our Lenten prayer experiment Leap of Faith we will begin this Sunday by spending a little time revisiting Isaiah 58 as we hear God’s invitation to be a blessing to our neighbors, our community and ultimately our world. If we feel God stirring in us a desire to hunger and thirst for more of God and God’s Kingdom, we might want to consider fasting. And in particular we will desire to participate in the type of fast described in Isaiah 58. Here are some practical suggestions on fasting excerpted from our Leap of Faith guide. Sisters and Brothers may you hunger and thirst for righteousness. May you hunger and thirst for God’s Kingdom here on earth. And may Jesus satisfy your longing as only Jesus can. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=20952 20952 Tue, 8 Mar 2011 11:22:00 +0000 On Sunday February 27 we continued our series What are You Seeking? Sunday’s talk Seeking Community looked at how we are wired to connect. The universe in general appears to be about relationship, but humanity in particular is wired for relationship. I cited a number of studies that indicate that healthy relationships have greater health benefits than exercise and equal health benefit to quitting smoking. We were made to be in healthy relationships. Jesus indicated that there were two keys to really experiencing life – loving God and loving people. What we saw as we looked at the Bible on Sunday is that these two things are very closely tied together. In fact John one of Jesus’ earliest followers indicates that  we can’t say that we love God if we are not actually loving people. Jesus spent a good portion of his time during his last night with the disciples focusing on loving people. Much of his prayer in the garden focused on loving people. Not only did he talk about loving others we read in John that he showed his disciples the full extent of his love as he washed their feet. For Jesus loving people was absolutely central. Since this is so central, in order to truly experience the life that God has for us we must love people. To truly love people we must be with actual people. This is one reason that we feel that small groups are so important. Small groups provide an opportunity for interaction with real people. As I shared on Sunday one of my temptations is to live in my imagination. In my imagination I am a fantastic basketball player. A fantastic hockey player. I can play the guitar. However, reality does not necessarily correspond with my imagination. The same can be true of loving each other. Most of us like the idea. There really isn’t a “Don’t love your neighbor” coalition out there. But, unless we have real authentic contact with real people, loving our neighbor can easily remain in the realm of good ideas and imagination. Small groups ground us in reality.Loving actual people by interacting with actual people was the heart of the talk. Once this commitment has been made there are a few tips that I offered that I think would make our small groups really healthy and prod us onto growth in loving each other. First, I suggested that we plan in advance and make the commitment in advance to be at the small group. Jesus made a plan to be together with his followers for the Passover Feast. The writer of Hebrews urges to make it a custom to get together. Second, our small groups are healthiest when they are authentic.  Authenticity means saying on the front end “No Perfect People Allowed.” The last thing we want to do is to get together and fake that we are something that we are not. Third, we need to cultivate an atmosphere of acceptance for us imperfect people. Paul said that we need to accept each other as Jesus accepted us. Jesus modeled a radical welcome and acceptance. In fact this was one of the chief complaints that the religious leaders had about him.  Fourth, our groups are healthiest when we come with the attitude that we have something to contribute and also that we need to receive from others. The Biblical clearly paints a picture of contributing and receiving. Fifth, we bring life to our group when we help our group think beyond the group. When we move our group out.  (This is one thing we will really be emphasizing during our Leap of Faith series). These suggestions will make our groups increasingly healthy and life-giving. But again the key will be actually getting together. Until we actually get together, these suggestions will remain entirely in the realm of theory.  So brothers and sisters may you love not just in word or theory but in reality - in deed. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=20656 20656 Tue, 1 Mar 2011 08:23:00 +0000 On Sunday February 13 we looked at of all things evil, with a talk entitled Seeking to Overcome Evil. Even a  cursory reading of the gospels (biographies of Jesus) will show that confronting evil was a significant part of his life. He drove out demons and taught his followers to pray that their Father in Heaven would deliver them from the evil one. He sent out his followers to also drive out demons and when they returned and said that they had, he was filled with joy and said that he saw “Satan fall like lightning.” Evidently confronting evil was a significant part of what Jesus was doing. As I noted there are certainly some challenges to talking about personal evil in our western culture, but a few moments of reflection should show us that the evidence tends to point towards personal evil. Looking at the rest of the world would point us in that direction. Looking at the 20th century would point us in that direction. Reflecting for a moment on some of our own personal experience would also point us in this direction. Most of the world, most of the centuries that have gone before us and even our own experience would point in this direction. So if there is personal evil it would certainly make sense to ask for protection and to seek to overcome it. The Bible paints a picture of an enemy of our souls that seeks to kill, steal and destroy. In short the enemy’s aim is to kill us.The primary tactics of the enemy which we looked at were: accusation; discouragement; and deception. Satan means Accuser.  The enemy endlessly accuses us, others and God. The accusations directed at us personally come and condemn.  You are so stupid. You are never going to change. You are a loser. Nobody loves you. You will always be alone… The accusations against others are so similar. He’s an idiot. She’s a geek. What a loser. Moron. Screw-up… And against God: God has deserted you… God doesn’t care… Even writing these and thinking about these I can feel tinge of the slime of these thoughts. The enemy also discourages us in an attempt to rob us of courage and our destinies as children of God. Discouragement keeps us bound by fear and afraid of really living.  Discouragement tells us that we are stuck and will always be stuck. Then the enemy will deceive us by lying and telling us that there is something or one besides God who will bring us life (see how pleasing the fruit is). It is deception at a deep level because we are never informed of the cost, and we don’t realize that instead of quenching our thirst the enemy is actually offering us salt water, which will only increase our thirst and to our thirst he will offer more salt water (anyone ever been addicted to something or someone?). These are the tactics and remember the aim is to kill us. The Bible charges us to fight back, and as we fight back there are a couple of crucial things to keep in mind. The first is that Jesus and His Kingdom are actually on the offensive.  Jesus is storming the gates of Hell. The reason he appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus is not playing defense, and he is not asking his followers to just hole up in a fortress and to try and hang on and hold out against an evil world. Jesus sends us into the fray and very confidently says that the gates of Hell will not prevail against us. Hell is on the defense! (Try to think of a famous battle scene where the commander of the army leads a charge with the gates of the city strapped to his back – when the gates are barred you are engaged in a defensive action) The second thing that is crucial to keep in mind is that flesh and blood (a poetic way of saying humans) are not our enemy. In the talk I camped out here for a while because this really is crucial. If we miss this we will demonize (I think this is such a telling word) people who disagree with us. We will demonize people whom Jesus clearly loves and died for (and then will wonder why some people sport bumper stickers that say Lord save us from your followers. After all who wants to be demonized?).  (By the way on one more parenthetical note I have no idea how to punctuate parentheses – or dashes – anyone out there who can help?) I felt that this point was so crucial that I read an excerpt from Dave Smelzer, a pastor from Boston, who urged a group of Jesus followers to pray for Harvard instead of against it: "It’s not just Christians who love to draw bold lines against our enemies. Have you watched cable news recently? Everyone likes to do that. It’s the epitome of the way of the world. Jesus, by contrast, died because he came to “break dividing walls.” The Holy Spirit is described as the “Advocate” or the “Encourager”—it sounds like he’s on the people’s side. He seems to push one direction. The Devil (the “Accuser”—which sounds like he likes to draw lines against us) seems to push another. And this often results in a clash of kingdoms. "I’ve had some very encouraging connections with a gifted, high-profile prayer leader. He’s great in rallying Christians to pray for their cities and areas and governments, and our paths have crossed in terrific ways in his travels.In his boldness, he rallied folks to set up what they all hope will be a 24/7 prayer center in my town. So he called me, and when his people hit an early crisis, we housed and fed them. We’ve prayed for them and with them. We couldn’t be more excited that they’re here in the heart of the city we love. "There was one speed bump early on that seemed easy enough to clear up. The group started distributing their promotional material (prayer letters, fundraising appeals, and so on). The material always said that they had set up shop in our town to pray against the evil influence that Harvard exerted worldwide, and they wanted to stop it at the source. I called the leader.I was so glad they were there, but could I pitch one small change? Could they promote that they were there to pray for, not against Harvard? Harvard might indeed be working evil worldwide. But that’s not Harvard people’s dream for themselves. I knew for a fact—not least from a few deans and faculty members and other leaders who’ve experienced Jesus with my gang—that they’re working with a great degree of sacrifice and passion to do good worldwide. Of course, not many of their leaders are doing so from a perspective of faith in Jesus. So absolutely, they need all the prayer they can get. But do we want to promote to Harvard people, and others who love them, that people of faith are their enemy or their friend? Couldn’t we pray that Harvard would actually achieve its stated dream of promoting “veritas”—truth? Wouldn’t that be in everyone’s interest?The conversation did not go well. Stated simply, the leader had nothing nice to say about what he now saw about my heart—that I and those like me were “appeasers.” Lines had to be drawn, he said. I pushed back with a comment I’ve just read elsewhere: “So does the Bible say they’ll know we are Jesus’ disciples by our strongly stated positions on controversial issues? Or are we to be known for something a little warmer-hearted?”  He said that, regretfully, that would likely be the last time we’d speak, and it has been." I am convinced that getting these two things clear will be more than half the battle. Jesus is on the offense against and evil enemy of or souls and has asked us to join the battle, but we must remember that our enemy is not flesh and blood.  So Brothers and Sisters may you be delivered from the evil one and overcome evil with good. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=20077 20077 Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:55:00 +0000 On February 6 we looked at how we can seek healing not only for ourselves but for others. This talk was  a continuation of our series What are You Seeking? As a culture we are certainly seeking health. You can see this in the proliferation of gym memberships, health magazines, mandatory health classes, the endless admonitions to eat right and exercise, and as you may have noticed, the discussion in Congress around Health Care. This is something that is on our mind. Being healthy is by no means a new area of interest. Healing was a central part of the work of Jesus. Jesus commissioned his earliest followers to heal the sick and through the power of the Spirit they did. The earliest church participated in healing prayer for the sick, and throughout church history there were pockets that continued to pray for the sick. There was renewed interest in healing following the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles at the turn of the past century. I gave a few suggestions for how we might pursue healing personally and as a fellowship.  First, there is something quite powerful about persistent prayer. Part of our heritage as a Vineyard is that John Wimber (the person God used to move the Vineyard outside of California), estimated that he prayed for 600 sick people before he saw any results. Jesus told a parable that the gospels tell us was specifically designed to encourage us to pray and not give up. There is real value in just continuing to pray.  Second, there it is quite helpful to ask and listen as we pray. We ask the person we are praying for how we can pray for them, and we ask God how we should pray. After we ask we need to listen and respond, and then repeat. Third, the gospels would indicate that it is important to get us and our prayers outside of the walls of the church building. After Jesus healed people in one place he did not set up a tent and camp out there, he said that there were other places that he had to go, and that included a number of trips into non-Jewish country. Fourth, one thing that has been very helpful to me is idea of battling for healing. Since we know that God’s ultimate heart is healing, we can battle for what will one day be. The example of battling that Gary Best uses, which I love, is Inigo Montoya of Princess Bride fame who persists in his mission of doing in the six-fingered man.  As Gary says we find our voice by using our voice. So brothers and sisters, may you battle in prayer for healing, and as you battle may you discover more and more of the goodness of God. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=19779 19779 Tue, 8 Feb 2011 10:33:00 +0000 This past Sunday, January 30, we continued on in our series What are you Seeking?   With a talk entitled Seeking God through the Bible. As we have noted before the Bible is overwhelmingly the bestselling book of all time. Year after year it outsells all other books. Not only is it the bestselling book year after year, it is also the most shoplifted book year after year. Culturally there is a deep and abiding curiosity about the Bible.  There are some compelling cultural reasons to read the Bible, but as I noted there are also some things that make it tough. For one it is a really long book, and not only is it really long, but it is also a collection of many different types of literature. The types of literature range from: genealogical lists to hot Hebrew erotic poetry; from existential philosophy to imprecatory (calling down curses on your enemy – lines like dash their heads against rocks) poetry; from chronicles of history to apocalyptic visions. Beyond this many of us were at some point given the advice to start at the very beginning and read straight through, and in reality this is probably not the best approach. What's more, there is the issue of using a tough to understand translation like the King James Version. (I know many people love the poetry of the king James, but it is tough going and as I pointed out if you have at times an immature sense of humor – as I do  – some of the words are just going to be too funny to go on – I resisted the temptation, and I assure you it was a strong temptation to read about the wood that the altar was made of – trust me it sounds really funny to people like me with an immature sense of humor) These factors can make many of us want to quit. But at the same time, there are some really compelling reasons to forge ahead. The Bible itself says that those who meditate on the Bible will prosper. I would like to prosper; I would like to really experience life, so I need to find a way to encounter God in the Bible. I suggested a way of approaching the Bible, based on Mark 4:1-20. This passage is the parable of the sower and its interpretation.  This is a really familiar parable. Recently, I was really helped in how I approached this story by Charles Park, who is a pastor of a Vineyard in New York city. He said think who Jesus was talking to. He is talking to farmers and he is in effect saying, “Hey Listen, I have something really important to tell you. Some seeds do better than others. The ones that land on concrete really do not do well at all, the ones in the weeds a little better, but still not so good, same with the seed that gets scorched by the sun, but then there are some seeds that find good soil and really do quite well.” After that talk he ends up alone other than the twelve and a few others. Previous to this, there has been such a big crowd that he had to get into a boat. Well that talk cleared out the crowd, and those who have stuck around, are scratching their heads and saying, “What was that all about?” So they ask Jesus, and Jesus says, “to you has been given the secret of the Kingdom.”  Now the fascinating thing to me is that Jesus tells them this before they have the interpretation, so it would seem that the secret can not be the interpretation.  So what is the secret? I think the secret is Jesus himself! The secret is that they have stuck with him and been bold enough to ask him, “What is going on?” They have stuck with Jesus. They are in relationship (you may have noticed that this is the theme we have returned to a number of times this series). I think this can really point us forward as we read, study and wrestle with this amazing book called the Bible. The point of the Bible is not merely to give us information. It is not just to make us smarter. The ultimate goal is to point us to Jesus. Jesus himself would indicate that we have missed the point if we read the Bible, but don’t end up in relationship with Him. I did give a couple of what I hope are practical suggestions like: don’t start by trying to read cover to cover; but instead start with one of the gospels like the gospel of Mark, and then maybe go onto the book of Acts; get a good translation; use the acronym SOAP (Scripture; Observation; Application; Prayer).   Any suggestion though is irrelevant if we do not at the end of our study/reading/ wrestling end up encountering Jesus. If we don't encounter Jesus, we have missed the point. So sisters and brothers may you encounter Jesus as you read and study this amazing book. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=19580 19580 Thu, 3 Feb 2011 10:57:00 +0000 Last Sunday 1-23-11 we continued a series of talks called What are What are you Seeking? as we looked at how Jesus will guide us. The heart of this series of talks is that God has created us for life. And ultimately life comes from a vibrant, rich relationship with God and other people. We were made for relationship. Now we may not realize that this is what we are seeking as we seek life. The good news is that Jesus came to bring us life, and this life comes through a living relationship with him. Having a relationship means that there must be a give and take relationship. So the previous Sunday we talked about the possibility of having a living relationship with God through prayer. I made the suggestion to begin to think of prayer as chatting with God. So that we are not just laying out a series of requests, but we are also listening. I suggested five minutes a day as a good place to start. This week we focused in on how Jesus might guide us as we seek him. In fact Jesus really seemed to believe that he would be able to guide us. in John 10 He uses the analogy of sheep and their shepherd to talk about how he will guide us. In using this analogy he says that he is the shepherd and that the sheep will follow, that they will hear his voice and really follow him. One thing that I think is crucial in allowing Jesus to guide us is to realize that this promise has to do with Jesus’ competence as a leader not the extraordinary wisdom and talents of the sheep in following. Jesus seems really confident in his ability to lead. I think this it absolutely crucial to be clear about this. Otherwise we will tend to make the Bible about a bunch of extraordinary super spiritual people who followed God, and it will have very little to say to us who are, after all, fairly ordinary. This story is about an extraordinary leader, Jesus. I’m convinced that as we place our confidence in Jesus that Jesus will indeed lead and guide, and ultimately that where Jesus will lead is to himself. The reward is Jesus. The reward is being in relationship with Him. If we do not get this clear we might think that the reward - the pay-off - for following Jesus is riches or fame or an easy life. Following Jesus could very well lead to these things, but as in the case of Paul it might also lead to things like shipwrecks, stonings, jail . Yet at no time does Paul seem to resent following Jesus. In fact at one point he seems to say that his life was actually in some ways easier and he had more prestige, before he followed Jesus. But he goes on to say that he counts that all ( the prestige and his previous easy religious life) as skubala a colorful Greek word that means just about what it sounds like (think along the lines of our colorful English word that also begins s). He says that his old life is skubala compared with "the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ." We talked about a number of ways in which Jesus guides. He guides through the Bible. He guides by the Holy Spirit. He guides through confirming signs. He guides through the counsel and advice of others who are following Jesus. He will guide, and he will guide us to Himself. So may you truly come to know Jesus as you follow His lead! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=19344 19344 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 09:21:39 +0000 This past Sunday, January 16 we looked out how we can seek God through prayer. For me there were a few key takeaways. One of the key takeaways for me was thinking through what my primary metaphor for my relationship with God is. I gave four metaphors that are suggested by the Bible: Boss; Doctor: Friend and Father. One of our primary aims for this series is to move us towards Jesus. If our primary metaphor is the Boss metaphor, my guess is that our stance will be one of avoidance. On the other hand the other three metaphors suggest relationships where the other is looking out for us. The last two in particular are relationships that draw us in. The second key takeaway for me was wrestling with why it often appears that our prayers are unanswered. Again let me say that I don’t have an answer that will cut through the mystery and give us a guarantee that our prayer will be answered exactly in the way we want it answered. What I can do is offer a couple of suggestions that have been somewhat helpful to me. The first might be the bowls of prayer suggestion. This is suggested by Dave Smelzer, the pastor of the Boston Vineyard. The imagery is taken from the book of Revelation which depicts bowls in heaven filled with incense and the incense is the prayers of God’s people. When the bowls are filled up an answer is poured out. I find this a little helpful, but also more than a little daunting. How do I know how big the bowl is? How do if I know if I am even getting close? Is there another bowl I should be focusing on? Smelzer says that this view can definitely result in tyranny and a constant feeling of guilt for not having prayed enough or praying for one while we let other bowls sit empty. The only way this works he says is if we depend on the Spirit to lead us into what to pray for in the first place. As I said I find this suggestion to be helpful in a limited way, and I can see how when used rightly it would be a real encouragement to persevere in prayer. The second suggestion, I personally find more helpful, and that is the fact that God’s desires are currently opposed. This by no means eliminates the mystery, but for me it is helpful to remember that there are certainly parts of the universe that are not currently as they will be. One example of one thing that is not yet as it will be and that times resists God’s will would be …uh let’s see... me. A second would be...drumroll... you. Beyond us, the Bible points to a spiritual world that is at war against God. This helps me some as I wrestle with prayer. I think this is one of the reasons that Jesus taught us to ask for God’s will to be done on earth. This tells me that God’s will is probably resisted currently on the earth. Again this by no means eliminates the mystery, especially when the unanswered prayer is very close to our hearts. But for me, it does encourage me to push forward, knowing that one day God’s will – will be perfectly reflected here on earth. The final and most important takeaway for me was that the reward of prayer is not ultimately what I might get from God, but instead an actual relationship with the Living God. This has been my experience. For me the greatest joy of seeking in prayer has been finding Jesus himself. I am convinced that this relationship is the reward. So brothers and sisters may you find yourselves in a living, communicative relationship with the Living God as you pray. Peace, John http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=19030 19030 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:02:25 +0000 This past Sunday, January 9, we began a new series of talks, entitled What are you Seeking? I’m taking the titles from the question that Jesus asked the two followers of John the Baptist as they trailed after him. The thing that is interesting to me is their response. They want to know where Jesus is staying. Jesus response is equally interesting, come and see. Both are relational responses. I think that the ultimate answer to the question what are we seeking, is that we are seeking relationship with our Creator. We can seek after many other things, but unless we are richly connected with our Creator, we will always be left with a hungry heart. We will be perpetually seeking after things that will ultimately not satisfy us. It seems to me that our culture as a whole is seeking. What is interesting/distressing/potentially exciting (depending on your perspective – for me I guess it is a mix of all three) is how many people in our culture our opting out of organized religion. The Nones are the most rapidly growing segment of religious affiliation in the USA. The more I pursue a relationship with Jesus (or perhaps more accurately, the more I am aware that Jesus is pursuing a relationship with me) the more I become convinced that Jesus did come with a revolutionary message of Love. That he came to bring us into a right relationship with God and each other. This is where the forgiveness of sins, becomes really crucial. If the universe is relational (and it increasingly looks like it is) than sin is less about a violation of rules and more about a breaking of the right relationship we were meant to have with God and each other (can you feel how relational – say the ten commandments are – and why Jesus gives a relational summation – Love God and Love People – you really can’t get much more relational). When this fabric of relationship is torn, then forgiveness becomes absolutely necessary (think about your closest human relationships and how they really only thrive where there is forgiveness). This is why it is crucial that Jesus save us from our sins. We need saving/forgiveness because sin alienates us and shatters the Shalom we were made for (both to enjoy and to contribute to – think about the opening chapters of our story in Genesis – all the rich relationships for which humanity was meant and how humanity’s act of rebellion alienates them from God, each other and the land). I opened the talk with the question what are you seeking, and had hoped to end with what is Jesus seeking, but alas I had talked for too long in the beginning. So here is a quick thought on that: Jesus says that he is seeking that which was lost. It strikes me that Jesus is very interested in re-connecting people to himself and also to community with each other. This to me, seems to be the over-arching story of what he is doing in the gospels. Paul reflecting on Jesus says that Jesus is reconciling us to God, that is, Jesus is restoring our relationship with God. So brothers and sisters may you experience the forgiveness of your sins and may you experience a rich connection with the Living God whom we see perfectly in Jesus Christ. Peace, John http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=18645 18645 Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:00:25 +0000