Life before light

In Him was life and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4) So many times I am looking for light (guidance, clarity, the next step) when I forget that life proceeds light. I'm so busy looking for answers that I forget to fellowship with the answer, the life source.

How long does it take to walk with God before we get the point. It is about daily communing with Him. He is where life flows from and light doesn't come without life.

Oh lord, have mercy on me, forgive me for idolizing light and not prioritizing fellowship with The Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Tales of the tree

I gotta stop trying to learn how to be a tree and just be a tree. Read The Tree, a modern parable, to see just what the heck I'm talking about.

Newsworthy Note

I didn't know until I read this article that Jacques Derrida died last month. Derrida has influenced greatly the postmodern/emerging church thought with his ideas on "deconstruction". I ran across this article : Jacques Derrida and Biblical Studies on the Society for Biblical Literature website.

A Generous Orthodoxy

I began reading Brian McClarens new book A Generous Orthodoxy today. The cover states: Why I am missional + evangelical+post/protestant + liberal/conservative+mystical/poetic+biblical + charismatic/contemplative+ fundamentalistic/calvinistic + anabaptist/anglican + methodist + catholic + green + incarnational + depressed-yet-hopeful + emergent + unfinished Christian.

I love that title. I speaks something I've always felt. As a believer in Christ I don't fall in one particular category, ie: baptist or fundamental or contemplative. Thinking of people in singular categories is very narrow minded thinking. In our journeys with Christ the story unfolds in many contexts and with many streams of Christian life bringing influence on our lives.

I vote for a post categorical Christianity. I fit in the kingdom of God not in a category.

Jesus-brand spirituality

Check out the interview of Ken Wilson about being missional in his own community of Ann Arbor Michigan from Cutting Edge magazine.

A worshipping community of missional theologians

I heard Dan Kimball speak recently. I have latched on to the four key values in the dna of vintage faith church. Dan described their church as a "Worshipping community of Missional Theologians".
I like this description, not because it is cool and Dan Kimball the emerging church guru likes it. But I like it because it brings some values in my own heart clarity. more about his later.

Who let the dog out ?

My job is an adventure. You never know what will happen or what you'll run across each day. Saturday I was out in Midlothian with my trusty co-worker Mark. This was creature day for the property preservation guys. The grass in the back yard was waist high at points, even walking through it and surveying what we would need to do made me a bit nervous. I wondered what creatures lurked beneath the thick grass.

Our first encounter with the habitat came with Mark. We had noticed many nice crafted one foot high ant hills as we came into the back yard and strongly cautioned one another about mistepping. Mark picked up a wood pallet and was holding it against his leg. The stings brought to his attention the hundreds of ants crawling on his legs. They had been all over this wood pallet and had transplanted themselves to Marks leg as a likely meal. Mark created a couple of new dances as he got rid of these menacing little beasts.

The next encounter was mine. I was walking in front of the house measuring the width of the yard, appreciating the coolness of a mild fall day. I approached the house next door which even though there were obviously residents there also had grass about 2 foot high. About two feet away from the next house I hear a high pitched growl that I can tell from the sound is approaching me at a high rate of speed.

I then see the meanest looking dog I have seen in a long time. His eyes are just a little crossed, one ear looks like it has been bitten or caught in the lawnmower, and he is doing a real good impression of mean, real good. I am thinking the rope will catch this dog any minute. I know all good dog owners tie their dogs up especially if they don't have a fence. But not out in the sticks where we were. I realize their is no leash, no rope, no chain and I am thinking I am about to demolished. The dog stops two feet from me. I reach down and with my hands push my leg backwards because my leg has turned against me and even though my brain is tellin it to move, it aint budging. By some intution unknown to me, but that I am very thankful for this dog does not move beyond the property line. Who needs red bull to wake you up with moments like that.

There were some wasp, large spiders, and slugs to deal with but we survived the creature house and got our jobs done.

life

John is an interesting gospel. It is thought to be the last gospel written and one of the later books written in the new testament. John chooses 7 particular signs out of Jesus ministry to highlight. Seven signs out of in John's mind the amazing number of signs Jesus did. John says all the books in the world (at the time he wrote his gospel account) could not contain all the signs.

John gave us specific signs that we might believe and by believing that we might have life. Belief is not just to say "yea that sounds right" or " I think that statement is true". It is not just a mental assent. Belief is something you put your weight into. I read recently of one of Billy Grahams explanations of belief. He was on a large stage and commented that he so believed that the stage would hold him up that he was unafraid to put his whole weight into it.

The life John speaks of is not just the breath of human life or animal life but it is a God kind of life. It is a God consciousness that can not be unless we do have this life within us. In chapter 3 of John Nicodemus comes to Jesus to talk about the kingdom of God. Jesus response is "Nick we can't even talk about those things unless you have entered into the kingdom of God" (or you have had the God life in you).

I pray for more of a God consciousness to permeate who I am and the everydays of life.

George W.

I may not agree with everything President Bush does or says but I so appreciate the authenticity in him that comes out. In his acceptance speech his appreciation for his family and wife seemed very genuine. I also appreciated his reaching out to those who voted against him. I truly believe he was sincere in that jesture.

Harvest festival to remember ?

Sunday night we took the kids to a Harvest festival at Covenant church. October 31st should be a fun time for kids, at least in my mind that is what should happen. Most of it was fun, but as Callie and Ethan went into one of those giant air play grounds, I noticed the 30 foot muscle man full of air began to fall on his side. No official announcement, no organized retreat, just a ton of people yelling "Get out, it's going down". Well I found Ethan in the back of the thing but couldn't find Callie. Finally when I did locate her, she was pretty shaken, not knowing how to get out of this sagging giant play ground that had turned into a horror movie for her.

Although I love the people of traditional churches, I wonder if our Harvest night fiasco wasn't a great picture of traditional church in America. It is supposed to be fun, with everything a good Christian would want, but inside it is losingground with the culture and not fulfilling the purpose it origionally had.

Well anyway, a couple of times bowling for candy and then getting to eat a huge cotton candy salvaged the night. I also appreciated some of the people of the community as they dressed up as various Bible characters and went around dialoguing with the kids. I could tell they really had a heart for the kids.