by emma | Dec 13, 2008 | Books, Faith
“Writer Anne Lamott says that the most powerful sermon in the world is two words: “Me too.”
Me too.
When you’re struggling,
when you are hurting,
wounded, limping, doubting,
questioning, barely hanging on,
moments away from another relapse,
and somebody can identify with you –
someone knows the temptations that are at your door,
somebody has felt the pain that you are feeling,
when someone can look you in the eyes and say, “Me too,”
and they actually mean it –
it can save you.”
[From Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell]
by emma | Dec 11, 2008 | Books, Faith
I’ve just finished my second read through of Jesus Wants To Save Christians, the latest Rob Bell book. Been mapping out a little of the directions it goes in…
Whose land is it, anyway?
A story about progress
East of Eden
An economy based on fear -> keeping us safe is v profitable
The cry of the oppressed
Anti-kingdom
An empire of indifference
Exile as a consequence of infidelity
A new Jerusalem, a new kind of exodus
Suspended promises
What kind of Son of David are you?
What do you do when your religion isn’t big enough for God?
Swords into plowshares
A story of movement: no one city/ religion/ perspective/ worldview can contain it
If the church gets converted, the whole world will follow
America as empire -> the bible is oppression narrative
We forget God by forgetting the widow, the orphan, & the refugee
Confusing blessing with entitlement
“American lifestyle is not up for negotiation” -> oil
Vicious cycle of the priority of preservation
Military spending -> empires accumulate
Founding of America & its wealth -> Native American genocide?
Followers of Christ missing the central message of the Bible?
Symbol of the revolution -> remember -> good gift
Being the Eucharist costs -> body broken, blood poured
“Me too”
Jesus wants to save us from ____
by emma | Dec 9, 2008 | Faith
I got to hear Brian McLaren speak last night in Glasgow, on the last of his Scottish dates. The evening was split into a short talk, followed by a panel Q&A session, trying to ground some of what Brian said into a Scottish context. I had to leave after Brian’s talk – flatmate duties called!- but he said a few things that grabbed my attention…
He shared a host of new metaphors that we could translate the metaphor ‘kingdom of God’ into; to reclaim the subversive, political, intense images it evoked among those who first heard it.
I was struck by his comments on John the Baptist, about how he moved out to the margins and began baptising people on the fringe, not at the temple in Jerusalem; how it was this prophetic statement that we can’t depend on what happens at the religious centers anymore.
One metaphor Brian suggested was the sacred ecosystem of God. He talked about the ecosystem as a dance of reciprocal giving and receiving which we are invited to be a part of, and that sin in this metaphor is abusing it, forcing it to dance to a different rhythm.
In a brave move, he suggested the insurgency of God as a new metaphor.
We are the translation that matters most. How do we embody and live out the kingdom?
Perhaps the thing I found most useful was a new metaphor for describing the emerging church: He used the idea of a tree growing.
As a the world changes, the outer ring of a tree has new pressures put on it, and must change as a a necessity. In the same way, the people on the fringe of any tradition are those who will be most affected by cultural & societal changes, which leads them to change and re-imagine new ways of doing things.
[I may create a little graphic for this later, depending on how I feel…!]
All in all, a good evening with some new things to think about. Good to see Stewart again, along with many other friends! Stewart, Neal, & Wendy were all there… care to balance out my view?
by emma | Oct 1, 2008 | Faith, Words
Blessed be the longing that brought you here
and quickens your soul with wonder.
This poem by John O’Donohue, as featured on Julies blog.
Every day I play the role of a beggar. I look to the charity of others, seemingly wanting something for nothing to feed my ego and the overwhelming need to belong. Every day I play the role of a hooker. I try to see the words, ideas and actions I think might make me desirable to others, often against my own better judgment, in order to get the emotional validation I need to survive.
These words by Tim Huff, as featured on Jonnys blog.
by emma | Sep 25, 2008 | Faith
Came across this the other day via Los…
Love Takes Balls is about discovering the limits of our own love and then learning to throw away those limits.
It’s about redefining love using God’s example – boundless, with no quid-pro-quos. Expecting–and sometimes getting–nothing back in return. It takes courage, strength, and total commitment to love like this.
What if right now, everything we knew about love was suddenly turned “upside down.” Challenged. Tested. No limits. What if we came to realize that everything we thought and believed about love, grace, and forgiveness was wrong.
Find out more about People of the Second Chance / Love Takes Balls at Deadly Viper Character Assassins.
Wow… have you got the balls to love like that? What’s stopping you?
by emma | Sep 13, 2008 | Books, Faith
I read Brian McLarens latest book, Finding Our Way Again, on the train back up to Glasgow yesterday. In it, he relates a story of being in a church one morning where they used a particular shared confession in the service. I was struck by it, and wanted to share it…
Gracious God,
our sins are too heavy to carry,
too real to hide,
and too deep to undo.
Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer
bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgement.
Set us free from a past that we cannot change;
open to us a future in which we can be changed;
and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image,
through Jesus Christ,
the light of the world. Amen.
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