Mea Culpa – a reminder of what the church is called to be

April 30th, 2008

Every now and then I’m given some very painful reminders of what the church is called to be about. This usually happens on a daily basis; however, some linger with me for days. {I could spend an infinite amount of time of defining and unpacking what the church is called to be about, but that would detract from the story and bore both you and me. For now, let’s simply say the Church is to be Jesus to the world.}

A few months ago we had a wonderful couple visit our church. Immediately leaders and pastors of the church recognized that we needed them there at the church. They were great models of what Christian faith and family looks like in word and action. They were also cool and stylish while maintaining a humble and comforting personality. In simple words, they came across as authentic Christians. After several months they decided to look elsewhere for a church home. The talk and tenure of conversation around the church was like Lebron James suddenly deciding Cleveland was no longer a fit. Angst was high over what we could do or should have done to keep them because like I said we all recognized they would be strong leaders and a great addition to the life of the church.

Over the past few months we’ve also had some adults, who have never been baptized or attended church more than a handful of times, join the church. The Lead Pastor at the church posed a question yesterday. “Would our church be as upset if these new Christians were to depart?” Ouch!

In the grand scheme of things I think the strong-faithed couple will be OK. They’ve most likely, according to someone in the church, found another church home and will continue in their pilgrimage of faith. Would the new Christians have fared as well? Probably not. The church [universal] is called to be the Body of Christ, or to say it even simpler it is to be Jesus. How many times have we gone after the mature Christian and not seen those that don’t even know who Jesus’ is. Maybe all they know about Jesus is a cuss word, crazed propaganda used as a means to control, or who knows. If the church is to be Jesus we’ve got to be seen eating and drinking with both the rich and poor, liberal and conservative, leaders and followers, gay and straight, cultured and uncultured, the famous and forgotten, and all ethnicities.

I’ve always been a fringe person. I’ve never fit into one group or another and because of that have felt at times ostracized by all groups. Because of this, I’ve felt I’ve had a better grasp on speaking to those in many categories and no categories, but feelings can easily suck us into fantasy. As soon as my Lead Pastor posed the question, I felt an immediate need to repent and ask for forgiveness – not just from Jesus but those that I’ve ignored, intentionally or not, all in the name of running after the popular. I thought I had a better grasp on reaching out to all, but my fantasy just allowed be to pick and choose instead of being open to whomever is in front of me.

Forgive me and help me be more accountable to being Jesus to all.

Peace,

Revslick

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How should Christians debate public policy?

April 15th, 2008

Nicholas Wolterstorff in an interview in the March 25, 2008 issue of Christian Century has the following question and response:

How would you evaluate the way that religious views and identities have entered into electoral politics in the US in recent years?

“I think the fundamental considerations that we ought to employ in debating political issues are justice and the common good: what does justice and the common good require? But I find, to my dismay, that when politicians do seem genuinely motivated by their religion, often their goal is not to secure justice and promote the common good but to secure power for their party. They try to use the levers of power for their own advantage. And in the process of doing so, they often heap abuse on those whose positions they disagree with, treating them with profound disrespect. That’s wrong.

So I defend the right of Christians and other believers to use religious reasons in deciding and debating political issues. But there are right ways and wrong ways, good ways and bad ways, of employing those reasons. And we have seen a lot of wrong and bad ways in recent years.”

Wow!! What a concept.  Christians using the public sphere not as an arena from a position of destructive power (negative and atrocious power at that) but from a position of power for good.  I think this is what makes the name Christian have such a bad taste in many people’s mouths.  From televangelists to the so-called Religious Right they have used their Christianity as a weapon to freely condemn and judge while offering little to nothing wholesome to the agenda.

Here is a framework that not only contributes to the good, but also doesn’t hold non-Christians to a Christian standard that they haven’t even made their own.  What are the things that lead to justice and does it contribute to the common good?  At least this would give a surface boat to which we can then dive deeper and deeper into the complexities of the issues of justice and common good.

Are these adequate considerations to employ in debating public issues?  If not, what should they employ?  Are there others?

peace,

RevSlick

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One thing well

April 2nd, 2008

Barbara Wendland’s Connections has an interesting comment on what the one thing pastors should do well for Sunday worship.  In the article she quotes a bishop that quotes Harry Emerson Fosdick.

“If for some awful reason you onle have time to prepare one thing well for Sunday worship, work on the pastoral prayer.”

Barbara disagrees and says if a pastor only has time to prepare one thing well for Sunday it should be the sermon.  I agree 75% with Barbara on this one; however 25% leans toward crafting the liturgy for the service as well.  As a pastor, I’ve the seen and heard fabulous sermons fall flat because the rest of the service doesn’t jive with the sermon.  I’ve also seen mediocre sermons shoot the moon because it fit with the whole of the service.  Now I’m starting to wonder if the mix should be 60/40 or 50/50.

What’s your opinion?  If your pastor only had time to prepare one thing well for Sunday, what would it be?  Would you prefer it to be the sermon, prayer, liturgy, communion, children’s message, songs, etc.

Peace,

Rev. slick

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Easter – what should an Easter service look like

March 26th, 2008

Happy Easter!!

I pray you had a blessed Easter. If not, read further…

This past week’s Easter service was strangely disconnected for me. It hit home further when Monday I read the change therapy blog. As I struggle with why, let me pose a question. What should an Easter service look like? When you approach the Easter service are there parts of the service you expect a certain way? What expectations do you have? What is your ideal Easter service? Be free to describe the hymns/songs, scripture, sermon, prayer, and more.

Peace,

Revslick

Posted in Christian Calendar | 1 Comment »

Holy Week – how do you experience Holy Week?

March 19th, 2008


View of Holy Week prayer labyrinth at All Saints Church Wokingham

Originally uploaded by areadeandavid

It is Holy Week. This is climax week for the followers of Jesus. For all the books that continually come out to explain the events of the last days of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, none can live up to the height of this week. I’ve read many books that explain it this and and that. Some do their best and some do their worst, but none can compare with the simplicity of just experiencing Holy Week.  Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not the experience is overwhelming.  For me, I like to begin the week of Monday – Wednesday in prayer  or reading one of the Gospels if I have time or at least the last few chapters.  Next I look forward to commemorating the Last Supper and Good Friday through some church service.  Finally, there is the awesome experience of Easter!

In the rural South the tradition for Easter were Sunrise services, which still bring back warmth of community.  I truly loved the sense of community Easter sunrise services bring, but I rarely connected to the worship – primarily because I’m a natural night owl.  It wasn’t until I attended an Easter vigil service at a Roman Catholic church and later Eastern and Russian Orthodox churches that the worship experience on Easter became truly alive so I usually find time to attend an Easter vigil service.

How do you experience Holy Week?  Are there memories that bring you closer or keep you away from experiencing Holy Week?

Peace and blessing on this Holy Week,

Rev.Slick

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What is your hermeneutic?

March 10th, 2008

Christianity Today has an interesting online quiz. It rates your biblical hermeneutic, which is simply the lenses (of baggage) we use to approach the bible. This takes into account the many times we flip flop between conservative and liberal Christian viewpoints.

Have fun and let me know what score you come up with.

peace,

Rev. Slick

Posted in Bible | 1 Comment »

Devotions – Stations of the Cross

March 3rd, 2008

One of the best approaches from Lent to Easter can be found using the devotion The Stations of the Cross also called the Way of the Cross; Via Crucis; Via Dolorosa; and Way of Sorrows. The importance of this devotion is to help us make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer to the most important scenes of Christ’s suffering and death also known as the Passion of Christ.

The Traditional 14 Stations of the Cross from the Roman Catholic tradition:
1 Jesus is condemned to death
2 Jesus takes up his cross
3 Jesus falls the first time
4 Jesus meets his mother
5 Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross
6 Veronica Wipes the face of Jesus
7 Jesus falls a second time
8 Jesus comfort the Women
9 Jesus falls a third time
10 Jesus is stripped
11 Jesus is nailed to the Cross
12 Jesus dies on the Cross
13 Jesus is taken down from the cross
14 Jesus is buried.

Here’s a version popular in Protestant churches based completely on scripture
1 Jesus prays alone Luke 22:39-44 Take this cup from me
2 Jesus is arrested Matthew 26:47-56 Have you come with swords?
3 Sanhedrin tries Jesus Mark 14:61-64 Are you the Christ?
4 Pilate tries Jesus John 18:33-37 Are you King of the Jews?
5 Pilate sentences Jesus Mark 15:6-15 Crucify him!
6 Jesus wears crown John 19:5 Here is the man.
7 Jesus carries his cross John 10:17-18 I lay it down of my own.
8 Simon carries cross Luke 23:26 Simon the Cyrene
9 Jesus speaks to the women Luke 23:27-31 Weep for yourselves.
10 Jesus is crucified. Luke 23:33-34 Jesus on the cross
11 Criminals speak to Jesus Luke 23:39-43 Today you will be with me.
12 Jesus speaks to Mary, John John 19:25b-27 Woman, this is your son
13 Jesus dies on the cross John 19:28-34 It is accomplished.
14 Jesus is laid in tomb John 19:38-42 There they laid Jesus.

Pope John Paul II wrote similar Stations of the Cross based on scripture
On Good Friday 1991 The Pope celebrated the following stations:

1. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 25:36-41
2. Jesus, Betrayed by Judas, is Arrested. Mark 14: 43-46
3. Jesus condemned by the Sanhedrin. Luke 22: 66-71
4. Jesus is denied by Peter. Matthew 26: 69-75
5. Jesus is Judge by Pilate Mark 15: 1-5, 15
6. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns. John 19: 1-3
7. Jesus is made to carry his cross. John 19:6, 15-17
8. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus. Mark 15:21
9. Jesus meet with the women of Jerusalem Luke 23: 27-31
10. Jesus is crucified Luke 23: 33-34
11. Jesus promises paradise to the thief Luke 23: 39-43
12. Jesus speaks to his mother and disciple John 19: 25-27
13. Jesus dies Luke 23: 44-46
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb Matthew 27: 57-60

Essentially, praying the stations of the cross help us reflect and experience on the mystery of Christ’s salvific suffering. It reminds us that we are not alone in our own sorrowful journey; Christ our savior is walking along with us giving us the strength to face our pain, fears and disappointments, reminding us every step of the way of the future glory of God’s hope and salvation.

A mega list of different versions of the Stations of the Cross can be found under Lent and Holy Week of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

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Early Church Memories

March 1st, 2008

Waymarks:

First reflections of Church

I’ve been fortunate or unfortunate to have been raised by a Christian household. To me it was always freedom filled. I was allowed to question, investigate, and experience many forms of Christianity (primarily of the United Methodist denomination), but there were certain responsibilities as well. My mother was extremely active in the church, and the major rule at the house, concerning church attendance, was that you went to church on Sunday or you gave up your Sunday conveniences (no TV, friends, phone calls, etc.). This was OK with me, for the most part, except when I was 11 and decided I had gone quite enough, which last for two Sundays before I had my fill of no TV and friends.

My first recollection of church was when we lived in Tupelo, Mississippi. We attended Lee Acres UMC (now Cornerstone UMC, thanks to a pastor that bought into some rubbish that changing a churches name will change the church or attract people). I remember splitting my skull on a table while playing tag. I remember walking to church with my sister arm-in-arm and going to church as a family. I remember friendly faces, and smiles of warmth and compassion. I remember a pastor (Rev. Don Wildmon, before his revelation) who always had a warm smile. I remember cold chairs that could be moved around during church. The church had folding, metal chairs in the sanctuary, which has shaped my liturgical ambiance to this day in declaring that the worst thing a church can ever do to their sanctuary is install pews!! I remember bible stories acted out and read and sermons that both intrigued me and put me to sleep. All of the memories basically add up to one basic experience: church is good. I know I wasn’t perfect at church. I’m sure I was just like my children – active, hard to settle down, inattentive, inquisitive, unsure of the ‘adult’ rules of conduct during worship, and I’m sure there were off days, and on and on. With all this I would have to say I have a thankful heart and give credit to the church and to my parents for helping to instill in me early memories of church being a good place filled with good memories.

 

This has helped to reinforce in me a belief that no matter how ugly church can become and still be in some situations and places it is still a place that has its origin in something good.

What about you? What is your earliest memory of church? How has it shaped your image of the church?

 

side note: I’ve always been one to not reflect much on my memories, which makes the experience turn into a chore and tedious exercise in frustration and futility; however I’ve found the practice to be enlightening as well. Hopefully, this will become better with practice.

 

Posted in Waymarks | 1 Comment »

Christ Benoit – the mystery

March 1st, 2008

chris benoit
chris benoit,
originally uploaded by uncle jesz.

mystery, sadness, regret, grief, why??

In my previous post, I mentioned what made Christ Benoit great as a professional wrestler and that is why it is so hard to get out what I’m feeling about the circumstances surrounding Benoit’s death. By now most of the US has caught up with the wrestling community on the death of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and son Daniel. If you haven’t heard the news or followed the reports the best place I’ve found is in the articles section of Impact Wrestling and search for Benoit. I’ve been praying daily for the families connected to them, the wrestlers and friends that knew them, and the fans who felt attached to Chris Benoit in whatever fashion. It is truly a tragedy, but it is one we may never understand.

We can speculate all sorts of theories: could it have been done by others (conspiracy theory and probably the least likely unfortunately)? Could Benoit have done this because of a concussion, which triggered uncontrollable acts? Could Benoit have done this because of chemical mixtures (steroid and others) or because of detoxing from said mixtures? Could Benoit have just snapped? Who knows?? What I do know is that dark forces (whatever name or description you want to call it) were indeed at work in this horrible event!! Some of the best comments from the wrestlers on this have been by RVD (blog article), Booker T (radio comments) and Victoria’s Myspace (comments).

So far, this is the mystery… I’m fairly comfortable with mystery especially the mystical and primarily Christian mysticism, but this is one mystery that leaves my stomach queasy and for all those who have the same thoughts or experience my prayers go out to you.

Peace,

Rev. Slick

Posted in first blog attempt 2007 | 2 Comments »

Benoit the performer

March 1st, 2008

This week has been a week of turmoil for the professional wrestling community with the death of Chris Benoit and his son Daniel and wife Nancy. Let me begin by first stating that for all that have been affected by this tragedy my prayers go out to the performers, fans, and friends my heart and prayers go out you…

Pastors have many and varied ways of relieving stress. For most of us, it is a combination of tv/movies/books, exercise/sports, and eating. The following speaks mostly for the male pastors I know and the tv shows they love to watch. Most of the pastors that I know, including myself, love to watch hard-nosed action after stressful and/or boring church meeting to destress. I know one older pastor that said if it wasn’t for The Untouchables he would have quit the ministry during his first year of church service. As the tommy guns were fired, he imagined the paperwork and insane rabbit chasing from meetings being riddled away. For others it has been watching college sports. I know one pastor that actually preached a revival while listening to their college team’s playoff game. That’s dedication!! – a little over-the-top but dedication..

For me, one of the shows I continually search for stress relief after mental and emotional church overload has been professional wrestling. I grew up on Mid-South Wrestling from there I watched programs from the AWA , CWF , WCCW , NWA , WCW , WWE , and currently TNA and don’t see a stopping place. For the most part, professional wrestling story lines are morality plays, i.e. good guy vs. bad guy. These athletic soap operas are soaked with allegories of David vs. Goliath, Good vs. Bad, The Unknown vs. The Known, Survival of the fittest in all forms physically, mentally, and spiritually. These warriors give of themselves not just for the simple act of entertainment but a myriad of associations with the very core of what it means to be human from simple admiration, motivation, suffering, sacrifice, and beyond.

After years, of watching one gets acquainted with the characters and usually picks several wrestlers they admire and look up to as modern day heroes. One of my favorite wrestlers to watch was Christ Benoit. He was the ultimate professional both in and out of the ring and was brilliant in his execution of kayfabe. Countless of people will testify to his dedication to the ring work and fan appreciation. If you were to see a Christ Benoit match, you knew what you were getting – 110% every single time!!! I can recall my favorites such as Benoit, vs any of the following: Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Booker T, or Kurt Angel. One of my dream match for people he’s never wrestled or that I’ve never seen them was AJ Styles or what if he wrestled Karl Gotch or Dynamite Kid in their prime. For many of his matches, it was David vs. Goliath situations where he faced a much bigger opponent, but he never gave up, always kept coming, again and again and again. Many people admired his never-say-die attitude and his aggressive mat work. His tenacity motivated me time and time again when I was ready to give up on many a church conflict and for that I applaud and salute Christ Benoit. He also bled and shed sweat and tears for professional wrestling to the core, which is so disheartening when one considers the circumstance of how he died. For that, I’ll have to post tomorrow.

Posted in first blog attempt 2007 | 1 Comment »

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