Archive for Church
Unleash 09
NewSpring Church in South Carolina held a one day conference for church leaders yesterday called Unleash. As part of a growing movement in churches to make resources more readily available, they also streamed it Live on their website.
But the best part for me was reading the synopsis compiled through a group of twitterers by Jason Curlee. The links below are the main notes of Jason (@jasoncurlee) and several of his twitter friends (@shaunking, @vinceparker, @moviepastor, @cadillaczak, & @susannereeder) from Perry Noble’s two main sessions:
Please take some time and read through them all.
**UPDATE**
Both sessions are now available onilne in video format, again for FREE.
Open Letter to the Tecumseh Church of Christ
I’m sorry.
Too little too late perhaps, but it needed to be said.
In the last few years I’ve recently experienced many people in my community leaving for various reasons. In and of itself, that’s not a problem. The problem is that they got to a point of no return without so much as even talking to me about their plans, hopes, dreams or concerns. They just left, all the while acting as if it was no big deal that they did. Some were even excited about their prospects for the future, even when that future didn’t include me—someone that supposedly had a place in their life beforehand.
And it hurts.
And I realized that I did the very same thing to all of you.
In my haste I acted as if the community we created meant nothing. I didn’t take into account what we had built, or the feelings of those I left behind. I know, now more than ever, that a lot of my actions were in poor taste, and immature, and destructive.
And again, I’m sorry.
Five years ago I was a pew-warmer that knew all of the right answers and went through all the right motions to appear as if I were a perfect little Christian. Now that I’ve gotten off the pew and have started engaging my faith I’ve seen a lot of the behind the scenes garbage that goes on in the church. And it’s not pretty.
And I’m a part of the problem.
But I want to be part of the solution.
I can never go back to being a pew-warmer, but I can do everything in my power to try to fix the situation at hand. And part of that is owning up to the fact that I acted wrongly in how I left before, and I hope you accept this long overdue apology.
Sincerely,
Russell T. Hawkins
One More Day
I haven’t meant to occupy the space on this blog with so much political chatter, but the church is leaving me little choice. I’ve been wholly surprised, and sickened, this last year by the actions of the church during this election. I’ve been preparing a post to deal with that to be published after the election, but this morning I received another email from someone else I go to church with.
I truly believe that BO is about to usher in the end times like no other. For that, I’m excited… but what will be who already believe in Christ have to go thru, while the world is being knocked on their butt… because God is trying to get THEIR attention? I’m scared for my children… and yours.
I’m just a little fatigued by it all. I’ve gone to church my entire life and even I don’t feel the love of God coming from his hands and feet. I can just imagine what non-believers are feeling.
Church & State
“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority. If the church does not participate actively in the struggle for peace and for economic and racial justice, it will forfeit the loyalty of millions and cause men everywhere to say that it has atrophied its will.
But if the church will free itself from the shackles of a deadening status quo, and, recovering its great historic mission, will speak and act fearlessly and insistently in terms of justice and peace, it will enkindle the imagination of mankind and fire the souls of men, imbuing them with a glowing and ardent love for truth, justice, and peace. Men far and near will know the church as a great fellowship of love that provides light and bread for lonely travelers at midnight.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.,
A Knock at Midnight
Shaun Groves @ NewSong
If you’re in the neighborhood (Tecumseh, Michigan), why don’t you stop by and see Christian recording artist Shaun Groves as he leads worship at NewSong Community Church on June 8, 2008 @ 10:30am.
“Shaun Groves defies typical expectations and simple labels. He is an insightful songwriter, one who displays such incredible lyrical prowess that his musical peers nominated him for Songwriter of the Year solely on the strength of his 2001 debut.”
Here is a video of Shaun performing his hit Welcome Home.
Here is a video of Shaun talking about the Good News.
You can find out more about Shaun by browsing his blog — www.shlog.com
Or read posts from him and other bloggers that went to Uganda recently with Compassion International — www.compassionbloggers.com
Giants Shall Fall
Three years ago today I wrote the following on my blog…
Love
Had to check in. I’m sitting in a room with computers on the 6th floor of a very fine hotel in downtown Chicago at 10pm on a Sunday night. I’m reading the hurt pouring out from those I love on a stupid website. For those and anyone else out there that may be feeling the same things, I just wanted to let you know that I love you and am personally praying for you and your families. Please feel free to call or email me anytime.
Three years ago today my dad stepped down as minister of the Tecumseh Church of Christ after 15 years of service.
I had to be in Chicago for work that day, but I knew it was coming. I sat lonely in a hotel room looking at messages of hurting people posted on a website and had no idea what the future held for me, for my parents, or for my walk with God.
This wasn’t an amicable breakup by any means. This was your typical church split due to differing directions of vision. It was the tipping point of many years of struggle. People were hurt and relationships were broken, but it was the beginning of my journey for Truth.
My personal relationship with God had finally started taking shape when this happened. I had recently started attending a men’s group regularly and we had been praying for God to make the changes necessary for us to make a difference in our community. We sure didn’t have this in mind though.
A couple months later I did find peace with the decision, and a bunch of us started a new church with a fresh vision. Above all my relationship with God greatly benefited. Many of those broken relationships have since healed, but it hasn’t been all smooth sailing to say the least. We are still dealing with humans here, but I can easily say that I have grown tremendously in those three years.
It feels like a lifetime ago when dad preached his last sermon about slaying giants, but it’s still applicable today. I continue to face giants on a daily basis, but as long as I put my trust in God that he will, in fact, make all things work for the good of those who are called according to his purpose, I’m good to go!
7 Burning Questions
The current issue of Relevant features an article with the 7 burning issues of our generation. They had some of the leading voices in the Church today respond to them. Click the links below for a synopsis of their answers.
1. InJustice
2. Homosexuality
3. Faith
4. Politics
5. Culture
6. Consumerism
7. War
Check out the May/June 2008 issue (#33) for their complete answers.
As a followup to this series, I listened to a recent edition of American Public Media’s Speaking of Faith, where host Krista Tippett presents a conversation among three generations of evangelical leaders (two of which were involved in the Relevant article) — Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne — about how (or if) Christians should be involved in politics. The event was part of a larger pastor’s conference in San Diego sponsored by Zondervan.
You can listen to or download various audio formats on the Speaking of Faith site or watch the video online.
Very good stuff!
7 Burning Questions – Politics
The current issue of Relevant has a feature article with the 7 burning issues of our generation, and they have some of the leading voices in the Church today respond to them. I thought I’d highlight them in seven separate posts. Here is burning question number four…
Politics: Is either party right?
We need Christians in the Republican party calling their party to have a higher priority for nonviolent peace-making and being a good global neighbor rather than a dominant global bully. We need Christians in the Democratic party who call their party to a greater concern for sexual integrity and respect for life in all its forms. — Brian McLaren
Christians should embrace a consistent ethic of life, rejecting the selective moralities of Left and Right where only some human lives are considered valuable. I criticize Democrats who don’t see abortion as a life issue, but I also take issue with Republicans who see it as the only life issue. The Church should address every assault upon human life, protecting the unborn, victims of pandemic diseases, genocide, human trafficking, the death penalty and even America’s unjust wars. — Jim Wallis
I have issues with both parties, but one thing I do not have any issues about is that the Bible is God’s word. He says life begins at conception (Psalm 139). I will always support the pro-life candidate because we already have almost 50 million unborn children who have died since 1973. — Cindy Jacobs
If I may comment as an outsider on your present election, I think one of the healthy things about it is that the Christian Right is not able to say, “Here is one candidate whom we must support because he is clearly God’s choice.” — N.T. Wright
A Christian is not supposed to vote on one issue. It’s tempting, but it’s important to have the whole picture in mind, to think who is best suited to run the country and take it in a direction that we would support. — Nancy Ortberg
Check out the May/June 2008 issue (#33) for their complete answers.
Other Burning Questions:
1. InJustice
2. Homosexuality
3. Faith
7 Burning Questions – Faith
The current issue of Relevant has a feature article with the 7 burning issues of our generation, and they have some of the leading voices in the Church today respond to them. I thought I’d highlight them in seven separate posts. Here is burning question number three…
Faith: What is the biggest problem facing the Church today?
One of the most dangerous things in the Church today is the prosperity gospel that God has come to bless you and give you health and wealth. The Christian experience becomes just about what you can get. But Jesus is saying, “If you want to find your life, you better give it away.” — Shane Claiborne
We don’t believe God. We don’t believe the vision of God. We don’t believe who He is. We don’t believe that He’s good. We’re not captivated by that vision. Because if we were captivated by the vision of the goodness of God, I have to think that over time other things would fall into place. — Nancy Ortberg
Reason, to many, is discounted; people don’t really do that stuff very much. If you try to mount a sustained argument, looking at evidence and thinking it through, people don’t want it. They want sound bytes, slogans and so on. The Church ought to be at the forefront of helping the wider world think wisely. But along with this goes a wise reading of Scripture. — N.T. Wright
The world is defining us by the attacks of aggressive secularists, best-selling authors who admit to being anti-theists. They will continue to define us unless we learn how to define ourselves–and not only define ourselves, but live out our faith in such a way that people can see the invisible Kingdom made visible in our midst. — Chuck Colson
We’ve gotten comfortable carrying on a version of Christianity that has drifted farther and farther from what God intends. We have various versions of Christianity that are dangerously at ease with racism (as long as it’s not too overt), with a kind of idolatrous nationalism, with political partisanship that trumps our identity in Christ, with complacency about injustice and with consumerism that makes life consist in the abundance of possessions one acquires. — Brian McLaren
I think the biggest problem might be self-righteousness. What to do about it? Repent, publicly and often! — Steve Brown
We need to get back to a biblical worldview. Why haven’t we attacked the big problems in the world, such as systemic poverty, violence and abortion? We need to learn to love God with our minds, not just our hearts and souls. — Cindy Jacobs
Check out the May/June 2008 issue (#33) for their complete answers.
Other Burning Questions:
1. InJustice
2. Homosexuality
