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Tonight, we had a bible discussion at Wes and Michelle’s place. It was a good time of discussion based on the book of John. We started at the beginning and got to about verse 15. We talked about what “the word” is when John says: “in the beginning was the word and the word was with God…” We talked about the significance of the word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. We spent a significant time talking about what it means to believe. This was a good discussion which revolved around our realization that what we have been taught and sometimes think about what it means “to believe” falls way short of what it really means. Many times we are told and think that to believe is simply checking off a list of propositional truths about who God is. It doesn’t leave room for doubts, and it doesn’t have anything to do with how we live. We talked about how it goes way beyond a list of truths….It is about following God and living out the Kingdom in all areas of life. After all, if you really believe in something, it changes the way you live….and if you believe what someone tells you, you follow through by acting on that belief. I feel like so many churches try to simplify belief, and the result is devastating to our understanding of what it means to be a christian.
Today I woke up and felt so blessed. My dad and brother threw me a “shower” last night in honor of Jenna and I getting married. First of all….I have never heard of any sort of “man shower”, or as Wes and I like to call it, a “bath”. It was great to have friends and family come to support me and hang out in anticipation of an exciting new chapter of my life. I was reminded of how lucky I am to have the family that I do and the AMAZING friendships that God has so richly blessed me with. I would not be the man I am with out them. So if you are a friend of mine and are reading this…thank you! If you are someone who doesn’t know me, take some time to think about the friends in your life and remember to cherish them. By the way…34 more days till the big day!
The vikings have new Jersey’s. What do you think?
Wes and I are at the C&MA Western Great Lakes District Conference. Now, I am not really a fan of this type of thing normally since it is a lot of formalities and small talk. Both of which I am not a huge fan of, but I have to tell you I have had some really great conversations with fellow church workers. These are some great people that truley love the Lord, but it is still always hard to answer the qustion: “So how are things going in Hudson?” or “so are you having services yet?”. Now I understand these questions and they are valid, but it is sometimes hard to tell people how slow of a process it is and how at this point we are just getting aquainted with the community and the people within it. I get this sense that I need to have more to tell them, and in reality there is more, but it has not fleshed itself out yet. I think my favorite question to answer is: “so what is your role?” This is a tough one to answer at this point because in the future I will be overseeing the music directly as well as other functions, and being one of the guiding voices to give shape to this church, but since we don’t have a “service”, we don’t have any music…which makes it seem like I am doing nothing, which to be honest, is sometimes the way I feel. Even though I know I am meeting people and building relationships as well as thinking through with Wes the direction and vision of this community, sometimes it seems like we are in slow motion. Anyways, all in all, It has been a positive experience to be in the midst of other church workers, and I am trying to keep a good outlook on this conference.
by the way, Dr. Phil Peterson, a professor of mine from Crown, is here and I am once again reminded of how much he looks like Willem Dafoe!
ok, I just have to write this….our cd is on iTunes!!!!! this is super cool to me since iTunes makes up 85% of the download market and is worldwide! Check it out here
It is also available online at independentbands for those of you who haven’t entered into the digital music playground, or if you just like having the artwork (which is a good reason).
jenna and I spent some time in Stillwater yesterday. It was a beautiful day.
So I was listening to doug pagitt’s pod cast today and on there is an interview in which he is talking about his book: “Preaching Reimagined” Although I have not read the book, I thought I would comment on some of the things doug shared and add some of my own thoughts as well.
He starts out by sharing a phrase that is somewhat made up, but makes sense, and since it is now published in a book is most likely accepted in the English language. (isn’t language weird how it can change and morph as time goes on and new thoughts come about) The phrase is IMPLICTORY PROGRESSIONAL DIALOGUE. This is what the conversation in the interview centered around.
What he is saying is that he thinks preaching should be progressional in that the thoughts and words are moved in different directions depending on who is involved in the conversation. In other words….Instead of the pastor simply giving a speech that is completely one sided and totally determined by what he/she has studied and his/her thoughts, it is actually guided by the community that you are in. It is still shaped in some degree by the pastor, but there are other voices and the conversation can and does move around a bit.
It is implicatory in the sense that the community as a whole looks at the story of God throughout history and says together: “what does this mean for US?”. This is vastly different from most experiences in modern evangelical churches where the individual asks him or herself “how does the message from the pastor apply to my life?”
Some people have criticized this way of teaching for a fear that we will start listening to the wrong things and be led astray. Doug brought up a good point and I agree with him when he said that if the spirit of God is alive in His people, than perhaps the church is in more danger when it listens to too few people rather than too many.
It seems to me that this is the way church should feel like. Where there are certainly some authoritative voices, but they are not the only voice in the congregation/community. Where we encourage eachother to share and learn from one another rather than just depend on one person to be the know it all. Where we are all active in studying the Bible and see it as an Authoritative community member in which it speaks truth into us and gives us meaning and understanding that we are a part of this story that in constantly unfolding.
welcome to my blog….even though at this point, I am welcoming myself. anyways, I thought I would set one of these up to spur on discussion, talk about life, and maybe most importantly, have a place to get things that are within my mind out and attempt to express them through words, all the while understanding that words may not be sufficient.
wilco
cold war kids
andrew bird
