It is such a beautiful and glorious thing when heaven touches earth. It is always an awe inspiring moment to glimpse some evidence of God’s Kingdom revealed here. It is what I sensed as I read the post written by Jeremy Bouma.

For two years I taught middle school in a rural Virginia school. It was a meaning-filled and life-changing experience - one I treasure to this day, with great memories, so many lessons learned and besides what I gained, I loved teaching. It also gave me a new perspective on what kids (and my child) endure at school - the stresses, the competitiveness, the social pressure and for many the cruelty of their peers. I also witnessed the special kind of rudeness that many kids reserved for the lunch room (often at the expense of those who served them).

So it was especially touching to read Jeremy’s post, here is how he begins,

So about a month ago a high school senior whom I mentor at the church I’ve begun interning at wrote me an email. Here is a piece of it:

Oh! And I have a question for Jon, but I’ll run it by you quick too. I want to organize a dinner for our lunch ladies at school. Do you think it’d be possible to use the kitchen and tables at Fellowship? Cam and I have been chatting about it a little bit, and thought it was a good location, if it all worked out.

I positively melted!

Two graduating seniors from a local public high school wanted to love on the ladies who have served them for four years by providing a dinner at our church!

How
cool
is
that?!

Continue reading Jeremy’s post entitled, This Is Why I Do What I Do here.

ht - light lady

If we are going to be passionate about the God of the Universe we must come to terms with God on God’s terms not our own. A god of our own construct is no god - but an idol of our own creation. God must be appreciated as God truly is; revealed on the terms God has determined and employed: through the created order and through the special revelation of Scripture. We need our faulty and incomplete images of God refreshed and re-oriented often for our calibration to understand and appreciate God seems to be easily skewed. The prescription for me is regular time in reflection/meditation on a portion of Scripture accompanied by being attentive to God’s presence in silence. Through doses of scriptural reality and times just “being with God” my life is reordered and my passion for God reignited.

“The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshipping men. … We have lost our spirit of worship and our ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence.” (A. W. Tozer. The Knowledge of the Holy. The Attributes of God: Their Meaning in the Christian Life. New York: Harper and Row. 1961. pg. 6).

Just noticed this as I was praying this past week.

Our Father,

Amen

In the prayer Jesus taught us, besides being obligated to pray in this manner - I am only obligated to forgive - each of the other items in this prayer are requests, praise or acknowledgement of God as being God.

Help me be merciful as You are merciful, Father.

I have been asked what is so great about St. Benedict. From my perspective I really find the following fascinating:

1. St. Benedict was trying to reform the church from it’s laxness and compromised position of being wed with the state. He was trying to regain the counter-cultural-ness of Christ’s Kingdom. I love that radical spirit and that passion for bringing an alternative way of life - and wait for it - he bases his model for radical Christian living on the family!

2. St. Benedict is a Church Father all can relate to and emulate. He was a layman (not a priest); he desired to reach out and minister to and with whomever God brought along his path (ie - Benedictine hospitality); and no one tradition can call him their own (Benedict is pre-Great Schism and pre “reformation”).

3. St. Benedict makes the four Gospels the model for directing our life. His way forward was thoroughly Christological. In the prologue of the Rule he invites the reader to follow a new life and to “make the Gospels our guide.”

4. As I mentioned yesterday - I also like the extremes, even paradox, that Benedict weaves into the lives of those who follow his rule - stability and constant conversion; work and leisure; flexibility and asceticism; cloistered yet hospitable - and of course his commitment to guiding the day by the liturgy of the hours (the work of God) and the recitation of the psalms.

5. St. Benedict is not for those who are “really serious” or some graduate level spirituality for the “super pious” - St. Benedict was writing for the average Christ-follower. He again writes in the Rule that his purpose is, “to erect a school for beginners in the service of the Lord.”

Benedict is for beginners!

Today is “Shrove Tuesday” (or pancake day). The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the commencement of the Liturgical season of Lent was traditionally a day for eating pancakes, donuts or other pastries - eating a bit too much! This practice developed to dispose of “extravagant” foods like eggs, milk and sugar in preparation for entering into the liturgical 40 day fast of Lent. A great practice. It seems to me that such rituals and practices help to build active reminders and bodily reminders of our spirituality. It seems that our faith needs such reminders. It seems that following a God we cannot see and grasping onto written scriptures could easily be reduced to an intellectual exercise; and that rituals, practices, seasons and interruptions would serve to help us move ideas to practice and propositions to action and beliefs to behaviors.

You see where I am going?

So why do so many Evangelical expressions of Christianity avoid Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and the observance of Lent? (equally disturbing is the almost universal accommodation to and observance of Mothers Day, Fathers Day, July 4 and Superbowl Sunday) Why would we avoid physical observances that put our faith into action? Why would we dissect our faith of those rituals and practices that make our religion more sensory? It is confusing to me and I grieve over this lack of integrating our mind with our heart, hands and feet.

The real tragedy is that this seems in my mind to make our faith something we alone can accomplish. It makes our faith a faith of the mind and intellect. It becomes a belief system. It becomes something I can assent to and control and make sense of intellectually. A faith with few practices and interruptions and ceremonies becomes less of a faith I observe and more of a belief I hold. And when I am able to be in control of my “faith” it becomes a faith I follow. It is something I accomplish in the day to day (for the most part) in my power. Faith dissolves to a belief. Not an active reliance. Christianity with no need for Christ. A Christless Christianity is a faith without power.

Jesus chastised the Pharisees for this very error, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” (Mark 12:24) We can fall into two kinds of error:

doctrinal error - based on ignorance or misunderstanding, and
experiential error - based on the denial of God’s powerful reality in our lives.

I think when we scrub our religion of it’s rituals, observances, interruptions, feasts, and festivals we push people to become obsessed with doctrine to the detriment of daily encountering God’s power in daily living. J. I. Packer wrote about this more than 30 years ago warning there is a great difference between knowing about God and knowing God.

Will we find ways to mark our lives by living out our faith together? Just as we don’t send a team out to compete on the field of play without time in the gym or road exercising - why do we assume that we would have a vital faith with fat heads and no exercising?

The Eastern Church calls us to embrace Christification. That we must help one another become “Christified.” To become like Christ. Not just know all about Him; or encourage one another with platitudes about Him; or be able to recite His teachings but to take on His life, priorities, attitude, character and actions.

May we restore the church to embrace ways to help one another exercise our faith that we might be Christified.

“He became what we are, that we might become what He is.” - Athanasius

From the first notes you know this is the david crowder* band. There is so much to enjoy and find and admire and yes emulate on this newest release, Remedy. It is probably a bit more accessible than A Collision. I can hear church’s, youth groups, and fellowships of all sizes putting there own spin on many of the tunes that Crowder and company have to offer this time round. (A Collision was a bit less accessible in my opinion - yet ground breaking in another sense - it clearly took “worship music” to a whole new level and experience.)

What I really find refreshing this time out with remedy…

This is corporate - you find very few references to “me” and “I” and tons of “we” and “us.”

This is a wonderful set of music that tackles both the transcendence and immanence of God. The music is filled with the reality and the implications of God’s presence. Wonderful stuff.

This is missional worship. Worship that helps us thank, exalt, lift up, praise and glory in our God who has come to save us. Worship that challenges and engages us in the part we have to play in the unfolding epic that God has come to save us.

There is hope filling and undergirding the message of Remedy. Check out these lyrics:
“…everything will change
Things will never be the same
We will never be same.” (from “The Glory of it All”)

“Oh surely we can change something;
Oh, the world’s about to change,
The whole world’s about to change.” (from “Surely We Can Change”)

I felt my whole being swell up with hope as Crowder sang “The whole world’s about to change” - the first time I heard it.

Yes there are plenty of anthems (youth rooms watch out- and they will have all kinds of new treats and feats of loudness in San Diego, St. Louis and Atlanta - YS!) There is also just quality stuff a great remake of one of Crowder’s first (and finest) tunes - Rain Down (from back in the UBC days); and a great song/psalm/prayer in the tradition of Francis Assisi’s Peace Prayer; and a beautiful re-working and amending to a “great Hymn of the church”.

[This release and it’s content also raises a question… so did I miss an announcement - is there going to be an “Everything Changes Tour” with Crowder and McLaren? This disc seems to drip with a message and a tone that is VERY consistent with McLaren’s new book (Everything Must Change).]

So what is the scoop? This is a great gift to the church - may we enjoy, use and celebrate with Crowder’s Remedy.

“Let us be the remedy
Let us bring the remedy.” from the song titled, “Remedy”

original post appears here - in Christ

I have been doing further thinking and research in this area and it supports this idea that a dominant image in Paul’s writing is this phrase or metaphor of, “in Christ.”

In Ephesians 1.1-14 this phrase appears 12 times (…in Christ, or …in Him).

In Pauline literature in the Newer Testament it appears 164 times.

Statistics alone don’t tell the whole picture - but clearly there is an emphasis on this concept that can’t be denied in it’s repeated use.

So now I am thinking about the issue - if I am as a follower positionally “in Christ” - am I on the periphery or am I making myself available and taking steps to move to the center, “in Christ.” Am I becoming more unified or am I making moves that are out of keeping with being, “in Christ.” May I and may we become more unified and reach what the Eastern Church calls, Theosis (although Theosis sounds like you have a bad case of God - it could be translated, to be ONE with God).

Any thoughts on this?

Mike King, President and CEO wrote a prayer for the new relationship between YouthFront and SonLife. This is pretty fitting I remember 3 or so years ago as SonLife was undergoing massive change and re-culturing we invited others to pray a prayer of blessing with us as we labored on a new day in our history.

So again, as YouthFront and SonLife join together to be one - will you pray with us?

Lord God, we believe that you have initiated a new path for us to take—one that fills us with not only expectation and wonder but also uncertainty and questions. Lead us by your sure hand and steadfast love. May all that we do in this endeavor bring glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I am so glad to be seeing this day (two organizations with a great history and that I am very fond of) - as Sonlife and YouthFront announce a merger!! Celebrate - and read the press release below.

Press Release Thursday, September 20, 2007—For Immediate Release

Sonlife Ministries Merging with YouthFront

Sonlife Ministries, Inc. has merged with YouthFront, Inc. effective September 1, 2007 in order to “maximize ministry effectiveness” of the two organizations. Formerly a Chicago-based ministry, Sonlife will relocate to Kansas City. For more than six decades, YouthFront has brought young people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ through camps, campus ministries, mission trips, creative programming, and leadership development. For nearly three decades, Sonlife has provided Christ-centered training for students and adult leaders through training seminars, conferences, and creative resources.

YouthFront President Mike King and Sonlife President Chris Folmsbee share a conviction that “the youth ministry community is pregnant with expectation and desire for fresh and innovative approaches to youth ministry that are both creative and also theologically and ecclesiologically sound,” says King. Folmsbee adds, “We see youth ministry paradigms shifting away from an overemphasis on programmatic/event-oriented and information-focused styles toward a more robust and holistic understanding of Christian formation. The need is greater than ever to guide young people in discovering how to live as Christ in all areas of their lives.”

YouthFront will continue its tradition of developing innovative youth ministry around the world through its commitment to the development of youth ministry philosophy, theology, and practice. Sonlife will continue to move forward as a church-assisting organization serving youth workers by facilitating networks; developing and providing training; offering coaching, consultation, and spiritual direction; and creating resources and programs for youth workers and students. Through the new YouthFront organization, all present Sonlife training and development programs for youth workers will continue, including Enroute, Shaping a Missional Community, Shepherding in a Culture of Change, Refresh, and Leadership of the Heart. All training experiences for students will continue, as well, including Merge, Awake and Reveal.

“This merger seems natural because of the alignment we have, not just between Chris Folmsbee and me, but also between the organizations that we have led,” says Mike King. YouthFront sees Sonlife’s innovation of a new wave of youth worker participation in training and formational experiences. Sonlife sees YouthFront as innovating new ways to do youth ministry and spiritual formation of adolescents. Consequently, merging together will allow each organization to realize greater ministry impact. Folmsbee states, “I am expectant that God is going to do amazing things through our coming together. I believe we will look back a few years from now to identify many things God has done to strengthen the church through the development of youth workers and students.”

For questions regarding this merger or to seek more information about the ministry of YouthFront and Sonlife, please contact Andy Garlich at 800-770-4769 or AGarlich@YouthFront.com

A touch of fall this morning in Western PA - waking up to temperatures in the high 40’s. Most youth ministries have ramped up a new season - the fall kickoff has taken place (even though the Autumnal Equinox is still more than a week away). Yet this is that time for new school years, new fiscal years and new seasonal calendars bringing increased activity, more rigorous schedules and new hopes, goals and expectations.

We need to guard against being carried away by the flurry of activity. We need to be wary of becoming focused on all that we are doing. Just as an engine needs a periodic check-up and rest from being run at full RPM’s, and words only make sense with end marks and punctuation - our lives become absurd when they unravel to become merely a flurry of activity. As we “ramp up” the fall season it is important for us to also put time in our calendars for rest, reflection and unhurried time with family, friends and God. It is interesting that Jesus seemed to follow this pattern - a pattern of intense ministry/activity followed by time withdrawn in solitude or pulled away from the crowds with the twelve.

In my own life, I need to take this advice. It is so easy for the calendar to fill up with an abundance of activity and appointments. In the midst of this I need to allow some days to have no ink, and other dates need to be in red saying things like - rest, retreat, and accountability.

Gordon MacDonald suggested in his book Rebuilding Your Broken World that we need to submit ourselves to a spiritual friend and periodically “check the gauges” of our lives by answering some or all of the following questions. It is crucial that we have a spiritual check up and when better than at the beginning or in the midst of the fall season. Let these questions provide a fresh perspective to the activity, priorities and relationships you invest in during this season.

1. How is your relationship with God right now?
2. What have you read in the Bible this past week or month?
3. Where do you find yourself resisting God these days?
4. What specific things are you praying for and who are you praying for?
5. What tasks/projects are you facing right now that you consider incomplete?
6. What habits intimidate you?
7. What are you reading?
8. How are you engaging in play?
9. How are your immediate relationships with family (nuclear and extended)?
10. If a person were to ask the person closest to you about the state of your mind, spirit and energy level, how would they respond?
11. Are you sensing any spiritual attacks from the enemy right now?
12. What is the state of your sexual perspective? Tempted? Fantasies? Entertainment?
13. Where are you financially right now?
14. Are there any unresolved conflicts in your circle of relationships?
15. When was the last time you spent unhurried time with a good friend of your own gender?
16. What kind of time have you spent with someone who is a non-Christian?
17. What challenges do you think you’re going to face in the coming weeks?
18. What would you say are your fears at this time?
19. Are you sleeping well?
20. What are you most thankful for?
21. Do you like yourself at this point in your pilgrimage?
22. What are your greatest confusions about your relationship with God?

Well, there is a lot there. I hope that some of these questions might help us as we check in with ourselves amidst a busy time of year. I hope you will schedule a time with a good friend to be honest about what is happening in and through us. I hope you will follow a pattern of advance and retreat, doing and being, activity and rest.