My inner geek and interrupting Jesus…

I got this in the mail today and my inner geek is going nuts!  Bart Ehrman is a textual critic (someone who analyzes a text in a family of manuscripts to determine what the original most likely said) who has arrived at the conclusion that much of the Bible isn’t what it seems.  I received this copy and was asked to read it and blog about it, so I’ll be reading it and posting on it in the next 30 days.  I’ll give you my scoop.  The publisher’s little blurb says Ehrman suggests, “not only that the Bible is riddled with inconsistencies and outright forgeries, but that many of Christianity’s fundamental stories and doctrines don’t actually exist within its pages—they were later inventions by people trying to make sense of a disconnected collection of texts. The Scriptures did not come down to us through the ages in one, harmonious, unbroken version. The story of Jesus was, in fact, interrupted.”  You can read more about the book here.

You can watch Bart Ehrman talk about it on YouTube here…

or

You can watch Bart Ehrman get interviewed by the distinguished journalist Stephen Colbert here…

Just curious: anyone else reading this?  I’d love to hear your thoughts…

 

Peppermint-Filled Pinatas

Eric Bryant’s Peppermint-Filled Pinatas at 211 pages is a surprisingly easy read with a powerful punch! Eric’s conversational style makes this book feel like sitting down to a conversation with Eric himself over coffee (or like my experience, over Chik-Fil-A!). At first, his non-threatening, conversational style lured me in and finally hit me between the eyes with the reality that I have failed to love those different from me, and has helped to birth a desire deep inside to see others as God sees them. This book is a call to a radical kind of lifestyle that is ignorant of the ethnic, racial, social, or economic backgrounds of those we meet. Eric advocates for a type of discipleship that begins at meeting people, regardless of who they are, or where they are, and showing them the kind of love that Christ would. Peppermint-Filled Pinatas advocates moving beyond simply tolerating people who are different to engaging them, loving them as an expression of the love of Jesus.  

This book is divided into two sections. Part 1: People Matter Most, is a call to get out of the house and find ways to engage people. It essentially is a framework for why people matter and deserve our attention. Part 2: Love Is The New Apologetic, spells out the how. While Part 1 is the why, Part 2 explains that through practice and engaging others, we truly can have a positive influence on those far from Christ. Since Eric is based in the diverse city of Los Angeles, he realizes that most people will not decide to follow Jesus simply based on intellectual arguments alone. Rather, actions are necessary to break through the stereotypes that non-Christians often have of Christians. He advocates for building relationships that allow for belonging before believing.

Here are a few great quotes from the book:

• Our personal relationships often betray our feelings for the world as well. Rather than befriending and loving those who do not yet follow Christ, it seems that the longer we follow Christ, the fewer people we actually know who believe differently than the way we believe. (21)
• Some of our churches have so consistently become a refuge for Christians from the world that we fail to become communities that go out into the world, or even communities where seekers feel free to come and explore the possibility of a God who loves them and has a plan for their lives. (22)
• The greatest apologetic (argument for the truth of Christianity) is love. (32)
• We think others are willing to connect with us, even though what we offer is cheap and unsatisfying. We offer peppermints when the world wants Gobstoppers, Airheads, and Reese’s Peanut butter cups. We offer something sweet to believe; they want a new life that helps change the world.
• Throughout history, Christians have been at the forefront of caring for the marginalized and overlooked… sadly, at the same time, many churches have moved away from poverty-stricken neighborhoods and especially out of the cities. Most of evangelical america tends to be hunkered down in the suburbs, just beyond the reach of the city. (139)

I could go on and on with challenging and thought-provoking quotes, but suffice it to say that this book is a call to love blacks, whites, hispanics, gays, straight people, Muslims, Hindus, and any other type of person you could even imagine. God has used Eric’s words through this book to challenge me to stop playing safe Christianity in my little bubble and get out and meet people where they are. It’s going to require some big changes in my heart and life, but reading Eric’s journey as a true practicioner of what he preaches gives me hope. I encourage you to read Peppermint-Filled Pinatas and take the journey toward an exciting, scary, engaging, loving life yourself!

As an aside, Eric is an encouraging leader, and his blog contains tons of resources, and his site even has audio interviews with a bunch of people that will challenge and inspire you.  If you’re really bored, you can even watch Eric do stand up comedy (just kidding about the really bored part, Eric!)!  His site is here…

 

Finding My Way Again…

My brain is 200mph as usual this morning but I’ve settled on a couple of thoughts I’m really chewing on and I’d love to get your input…

• I was listening to the audiobook for Brian McLaren’s Finding Our Way Again this morning at the gym and it really got me asking this question: “Why don’t we spend most of our energy in discipleship teaching people to feed themselves?”  Really, the spiritual practices are a way of making our faith a part of the inner fabric of our everyday lives.  Part of the reason Christianity is in the shape it’s in in our country is that people make it an add-on, a sort-of social addition and minor spiritual blessing.  We just don’t want it to mess up our daily lives too much.  But in other Abrahamic faiths (Judaism and Islam), their faith is an inseparable part of their lives.  What if we put a whole lot of energy into helping new believers incorporate these ancient practices into the  everyday rhythm of life?  It should be a part of their life DNA- this is why spiritual practices are so important.  I’m not saying we shouldn’t offer supplementary teaching on other issues- I’m simply pondering the thought of putting a TON of energy into helping people build their foundation.  Seems like a no-brainer to me and maybe I’m just ignorant but I don’t think I’ve seen a lot of energy put into this in the past.  If people are making the spiritual practices a part of their daily lives, won’t they grow (with the Spirit’s help) and learn what they need to?  Seems like often the Church has had that backwards.  Give them a ton of information and some of it will stick and they will grow.  Hmm.
• Maybe part of the reason our efforts to design environments that facilitate community have largely failed is because we have A. not spent a good deal of time equipping people to own their faith journey and live it out as a part of their daily lives and B. We haven’t considered the rhythm of our local church community.  Over the years I’ve come to believe that every church community has a unique rhythm.  I think the Spirit is doing unique things in each community.  It’s up to us who are in leadership to find that sacred rhythm and work within it.  I’m developing this concept more in my thinking, but at this point, I’m wondering if we’ve tried too hard to prescribe what community is without considering the spiritual foundation of the people who are supposed to be a part of it and without designing environments that fit what God is doing in our unique church communities.  Just a thought.

I’ve probably been a bit confusing- yes, I’m thinking out loud (so to speak) and that can be dangerous!  I just sense God is speaking to my heart in some way about my efforts to make disciples and create community- I want to find His heartbeat for this and am glad to share my journey with you!  

Thoughts?

 

Killing Cockroaches Review…

I’ve followed Tony Morgan‘s writing for quite some time now, from the Simply Strategic books (fantastic) and his blog as well. I love that Tony is obviously a very intellectual guy but also deeply practical in his approach to life and ministry, and his writing shows it! It makes everything he writes easy to take and internalize and apply immediately. Killing Cockroaches is one of those books you could crack open at any point and start reading and you’ll immediately be putting the nuggets of truth you’re learning into action. This book is laid out much like an encyclopedia or dictionary- it’s alphabetized by title and features short articles about each particular topic. If you’ve read the Simply Strategic books, you’ll love the short nuggets of truth you get. This is the type of book any leader could pick up and read 3-5 entries a day to help stay focused on the important, big-picture items of church leadership.

Here are some of my favorite quotes/thoughts from the book…

•  ”It’s amazing the kind of grief you get when your sole purpose is simply to point people to Jesus.” (11)
• “We learned long ago that to try to make everyone happy, you have to be comfortable with mediocrity. It’s a place where there are few critics. It’s also a place where few people have become really passionate about ministry and their relationships with Christ.” (11)
•  Tony loves to make lists- they are throughout the book, from 10 Easy Ways to Make Church Services More Boring (my favorite), 10 Things I’ll Remember after Experiencing Disney, to 10 Signs You’re Not A Rock Star.
• “For me, hearing stories of the real pain in others’ lives increases my sense of urgency. It helps me realize there’s no such thing as “normal.” It forces me to become more intentional about how I interact with people.” (194)
• Speaking of Starbucks, he says, “we complain about and try to discredit the ministry of churches that are approaching 40,000 people while this company (that’s just trying to sell more coffee) is trying to open 40,000 unique locations.  Aren’t we thinking too small?” (207).  This article is probably worth the price of the whole book.

Tony effectively discusses leadership, family, communication, marketing, and best practices in a way that is easily approachable and grasped. His mixture of “smarts” combined with practical application and his humility and candidness make this an extremely engaging read. You may not agree with every idea he has, but he does an excellent job at getting leaders to think through what they do and make sure they are focused on the right things!

Go buy your copy of “Killing Cockroaches” today here… and if you’re not already following his blog, you can catch it here.

 

Want the “best job in the world?”

Position: Island caretaker

Duties: Lazing around Australia’s Great Barrier Reef for six months

Salary: $105,000

Yes, this is for real!  The Australian Tourism Department is offering this job posting.  I read about it this morning.  If you’re looking for something interesting to do making a decent chunk of change, this may be it!  Here are some of the rough parts of the job:

• Must talk to media from time to time about what they are doing
• Must blog regularly about their experiences as well as photo diaries
• will be expected to “stroll the white sands, soak up the sun, snorkel the reef, maybe clean the pool.”  ROUGH!
• stay rent-free in a multimillion-dollar three-bedroom beach home complete with pool and golf cart
• Must be able to read and write in English

Yes, I know it sounds dreadful!  You can read all about this here.  Let me know if you do and you need a buddy to come visit you on the island!!

 

What Have We Become?

Read this today about a Wal-Mart contract employee who was trampled to death by 200 people who took the doors off the hinges and rushed inside.  I understand wanting to get a good deal, but this is ridiculous. Because of their insatiable desire to be first inside, a family will go without a husband, father, and son tonight.

My son and I had a discussion tonight about all of the kids around the world who went to bed hungry last night as we gorged on our food (I’m as guilty as anyone).  He was upset about not getting to play his Nintendo.  Tonight I asked to pray for our meal at dinner, and was very proud when he spent that time praying for those kids around the world who couldn’t eat tonight.  Lord, create in my boys a desire to help people around the world.  Unto the least of these…

God, please help us keep our eyes on You, and not our things.  Help us have eyes to see things as You do.  Help us stretch every dollar for Your glory, not our own satisfaction.

I’m convicted.  What have we I become?

UPDATE: I just saw that Los has a post about this on his blog with a link to a CNN video regarding the incident.  Apparently police officers who were attempting CPR on the man were also “jostled” a bit as well. Sheesh.