Tough Questions

Thanks to http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/

A Good Definition of the Gospel?

I am re-listening to a series of lectures given by Scot Mcknight at this past April's Serve Conference at Briercrest. I had to miss the pre-conference session and his last lecture due to work, and thought I should probably follow up on what I missed. I'm midway through the first lecture and came to his definition of the Gospel:

"The Gospel is the work of the triune God, Father, Son and Spirit, to restore cracked icons [humans] to union with God and communion with others through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Spirit for the good of others and the world."

I find this definition to be unique because it offers something more, in his words, "robust", to the definition I've been given over the years that the Gospel is that 'Jesus Christ came to die for my sins so that I can go to heaven.' Scot includes so much more and I think that it will take some time for me to fully unpack and mull this over. What are the rammefications of a definition like this on my life? Does it change any thing? What does it challenge in my thinking? Is he on to something I have never thought of before?

I HIGHLY reccomend listening to his stuff. Find it here! Don't skip out on the pre-conference one - very, very good!

I got served!

I just finished a module course on the General Epistles and loved it! The class was essentially carefully reading through Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1/2/3 John and Jude for 40 hours. At first thought, it seems like a lot of money to spend just to read the bible, but the prof, Carl Hinderager, is absolutely the best guy to do it with and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Instead of writing papers and doing other assignments, I memorized the whole book of James for 75% of my mark; probably the best thing I have done in a long time!

As we were finishing 1 Peter, God made some words leap off the page and smack me (and my ego/pride) right in the face. Based on my previous post, you might know that I am struggling with finding my place in my community of faith while developing a philosophy of ministry that is usually not exemplified in it.

The passage is talking to elders on how to lead, but then follows with some words that almost seem like they were written just for me:

"Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:5-7)

Basically, it seems like God is saying to me, "Stafford, time to keep your mouth from moving, submit to the elders of your church, keep relying on me and when the timing is right, I'll have everything ready for you." Even when things aren't going the way I want them to be, I need to remember that God has placed those whom I have issue with, over me in authority and I need to know my place.

Looking at this, how many church splits and infighting could be avoided if people were to simply submit even when they don't want to and always rely on God in humility? I know I could do with some of this a lot of the time. These verses have been burned in my mind and pop up whenever the seeds of discontentment through pride, start to show themselves in my life.

Refining my philosophy (and attitude)

During my time at Briercrest, I have and continue to learn a lot; God is continually changing and molding me into a person that he wants me to be. I've dug into scripture, read many books on scripture, church, leadership, theology (some because I was required to for school, others because I wanted to), listened to many sermons and Christian radio programs and have taken a lot away from all of them. I've had to come up with a philosophy of pastoral theology and ministry as well as a philosophy about church that was required for a course and is something that I very much recommended to everyone. However, I now find myself in a situation where I have come up with a philosophy about the church and how things are done and find it different than what my church is doing.

I'll be the first to admit that I do not have the philosophy that must be universal and that what I have come up with is not perfect or set in stone, but rather a work in progress. But there are some things that I think are, at the root of it all, immovable and rooted in scripture but will look different in every unique context. Part of me screams out (well, currently, I'm internalizing the screaming and only letting a bit of it seep out through these words) in protest about how things are done. I'm quick on the draw with my judgment, but slow on my grace. There is tension that have that says "shouldn't the leadership see things and change them?" and "This is my problem, I just need to adjust my attitude and worship God in any environment."

I am not in a position to storm into an elders meeting or staff meeting and point out the flaws of the worship service and cram my philosophy down their throats but should I do something about it? (in a much nicer and graceful way)

Ultimately, I left looking at myself and having to judge me instead others. "Why isn't the church promoting ______? Don't they know it is vital to ______?" But am I doing any of that? If I'm frustrated with my lack of community in the church, is it the congregation's fault or my own for not owning it and doing something about it? Same thing goes for small groups, bible studies, community outreach, service projects, the works. How much of what I'm promoting am I actually doing?

That's the tough question I hate dealing with. Judging is so much easier.

It's not what we eat but what we digest that makes us strong; not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; and not what we profess but what we practice that gives us integrity.
-Francis Bacon

Ungrateful (?)

How many times have I listened to a pastor preach and critiqued his content, style, delivery, illustrations, etc instead of listening to what God has laid on their heart to share? I'm finding more and more that this is happening in my life. The way that most of the western churches are set up is that things revolve around the preaching; prayer, scripture reading, worship through music all lead up to the main event - the sermon. This is not necessarily bad, but it has, in its own way, created a consumerist-style of receiving a message; we sit down and receive a (often three-point) lecture, the pastor gets down, we sing a song (sometimes) and leave. There is very little interaction within the congregation which leads us to look for a place where the preaching is the best.

I believe that good preaching is very foundational to corporate worship however, with the ability to subscribe to Podcasts from people like Mark Driscoll, Rick Warren, Rob Bell, Bill Hybels, etc we are able to listen to some VERY gifted communicators. It doesn't matter for this point if you don't agree with or like the content of these people's sermons, my point is that you are able to listen to people who can communicate very very well and listen to them on a regular basis. I'm left pondering if this is healthy for proper church (read: community of believers). Yes, in many cases, the theology is bang on and it's pretty good stuff, but is it beneficial to the body?

I have been listening to some of these high quality speakers (well, not lately because school has been keeping me busy) and am left wondering if I am becoming jaded against my church and pastoral staff because I am now holding them to the same standard of communication that I am taking in on an almost daily basis. Is it better to turn off the Podcasts and focus on being an more active and participatory member in the local body? Join a small group? Teach adult/children Sunday school? Become a Youth Sponsor?

Don't read that I am against further education - I plan on always being active in furthering my knowledge through schooling, books, confrences, etc - but is my diet of professional communicators limiting my gratefulness for my local pastoral team? How about you?