At the Margins

I just read The Church and the Incubator, a wonderful article on Wrecked for the Ordinary by Adrienne Ashby.  Adrienne talks about a midwife in South Africa that has mothers of premature babies keep skin-to-skin contact with them instead of placing them in a mechanical, lonely, incubator. She then goes on to speak of Western churches as giant incubators and the need for human-to-human contact.

Where

Authors: Peta Owens-Liston

Journal: Time Magazine

Publish Date: Dec. 26, 2006

I just finished reading a TIME article about restaurants that ask people to “pay what you can.” It seems to me an intersting model of voluntary redistribution.

Nothing New Here — And That’s the Point

Authors: William Booth

Journal: Washington Post

Publish Date: December 18, 2006

My friend Laura Gillaspy just sent me a wonderful article from the Washington Post. I’ve heard of folks doing this before.

For those who don’t want to read the article, I’ll give you the gist. There’s a green-minded group of people in San Francisco who, last year, made a vow not to buy any new things for a year (save for a few essentials).

I think it would be fun and hard. How do you move away from legalism too? I think it’s hilarious how people are militantly opposed to what these folks are doing, which honestly makes me want to do it even more.

I’m not a green by any stretch, though it’s something I should probably think about more. However, I am a strong proponent of using God’s resources well–most specifically money and time, so giving up new items for a time period is something I’d be very interested in doing. It’s not something that I think should be imposed on people, but certainly a good option for Christians. Similarly, I like the timeframe aspect–it’s sort of akin to a nazerite or lentin vow. Also, many of you know I have a book problem and as of late new books have been cheaper than used, I think that means no books.

Still a lot of details to figure out, but anyone in with me?

I think this guy doesn’t really get it. I’ve been moving all day and am tired, so I’m not going to try to address his post more fully yet. Has anyone read Velvet Elvis? I really liked it, but maybe I was giving it a too friendly read. I mean, I certainly disagree with the social gospel in the since that it removes Christ. I don’t think Rob Bell is doing this at all. What do you think?

Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers

Authors: Laurie Goodstein

Journal: New York Times

Publish Date: October 6, 2006

Evangelicals (and the modern church in general) have set their own snare by making the appeal of Christianity exclusively life after death and selling Christ at the bargain price of simply proclaiming an incantation. I am working on a paper about the problem with the prevailing view of evangelism (as I spoke about before). Hopefully I will finish it soon and post it. I’m excited about it because I believe that a false view of evangelism is a root cause for many of the problems facing the institutional church.

A revelation? - Bible’s book of Revelation presented in another light

Authors: Steve Arney

Journal: Pentagraph of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois

Publish Date: October 2, 2006

Check out this article in the Pentagraph of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois about a professor’s non-traditional interpretation of Revelation. I think I’ll probably get his book. I’ve often commented on my generation’s (including my own) lack of eschatology. I believe God gave us Revelation for a reason, so to neglect it is bad, however, there are certainly sections of the church with an unhealthy obsession with it.

Starting Over After the First Two Weeks

Category: News article

Author: Nathan Colquhoun

I read this reflection by a church planter just now and thought it was worth sharing. Nathan Calhoun reflects on the difficulty of escaping the false Sunday focus of being a Christian.

This is the handout to accompany a talk I gave about Christian Community at my church’s community group leaders retreat…

Psalm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families

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FORM

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Upward Focused, Inward Connected, Outward Looking

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FUNCTION

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Sharing the Gospel, Maturing in Faith, and Worship of God

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MARKS

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Ephesians 2:19 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.

Acts 10:9-13 9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Familial (brothers and sisters) with Service and Hospitality to Friend and Stranger

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James 5:13-16 13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Confessing, Praying, and Healing

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Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Worshipful and Correcting

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Romans 8:12-17 12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

God Pursuing, Spirit Seeking, and Suffering Sharing

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John 16:13-14 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

Listening and Discerning

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Romans 12:4-8 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Gift Seeking and Encouraging

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1 Corinthians 13:1-13 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Luke 6:32-33 32″If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ do that.

Faithful, Hopeful, and above all Loving (particularly the hard to love)

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Hebrews 4:9-10 9There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.

Sabbath Keeping

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Luke 3:11 11John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”

Redistributive

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2 Corinthians 8:1-5 1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.

Giving

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2 Corinthians 2:5-11 5If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Matthew 5:23-24 23″Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Forgiving & Reconciliation Seeking

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Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Romans 12:14-16 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Carrying the Burdens of Others, Together—Rejoicing and Mourning Together in Season

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Luke 17:31-32 31″ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Celebration Prone

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Acts 2:42-27 42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Daily Communing