There is a good discussion going on over at Eleven started by Kyle and provoked by Sam (I think Sam provoked the whole thing from the start). It's about "Church" - it's relevance to our lives personally. Here's the comment I posted (but the other comments are better than mine - check it out!)
Sometimes, in discussions like this it seems like we are trying to determine whether church is necessary or not for one to be a Christian. I believe we can not "escape" the church if we are a Christ follower. It is something Jesus is building and nothing will stop Him from building that church.
Sometimes it seems like people think I've given up on church but I never have. It's just important to me to try to deconstruct our modern idea of church - it's not very close to original version, in my opinion.
It's interesting to me that Jesus never called his followers "Christians"; Christians didn't even first call themselves Christians; the "world" first called us Christians. Christ folowers were originally called just that - Christ's followers or disciples; later the Followers of The Way. A follower denotes movement and BEING; something we are actively doing and pusuing. Now - today - we call ourselves Christians and name our churches but don't focus much on what it means to be a Christ follower.
I fully believe Jesus didn't come to start a new religion called Christianity. He camed to call people to follow Him. Those followers ARE his church. When I think of church in these terms it is impossible for me to think of church as something I go to. I'm not saying we shouldn't go to meetings or worship or fellowship. If we a following Jesus we will worship together, pray together, work together - aren't there about 30 "one anothers" in the New Testament part of the Bible that indicate what our life together will be like - what we are - what we are doing?And the first Christians did "meet" from house to house and in the temple. So there are meetings whether in houses or in buildings.
What Sam or Kyle or whoever started all this is trying to put out on the table concerns "why" of "going to church" and the "what" is the church - not the "whether" we should go to church.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
No sugar tonight in my coffee...
I decided to fast something this Lent. Mainly to join a lot of the church that I had written off before - more Christians fast during Lent than any other time, I think. And also because I think fasting is "good" for a body. But I don't like to do it.
So I decided I would need to fast something that would be a sacrifice and for me that would be coffee. So coffee it's been. No coffee since Ash Wednesday. My body has missed it. (I didn't fast caffiene - so Excedrin has been helpful). My soul has missed it. I love the smell of coffee. I love the routine and ritual of my morning coffee. I love relaxing with a cup of coffee and i love getting going with a coffee. I love conversation around a cup of coffee.
But it's been good in a strange kind of way. It's good to tell the "flesh" "NO" sometimes. It's good to remind the body it's not the boss of me. And not to dicotomize myself too much - it's good to remind the soul who's in charge as well. Man shall not live by coffee alone.
Anybody out there fasting over Lent? How's it going? What are you learning this time through it?
So I decided I would need to fast something that would be a sacrifice and for me that would be coffee. So coffee it's been. No coffee since Ash Wednesday. My body has missed it. (I didn't fast caffiene - so Excedrin has been helpful). My soul has missed it. I love the smell of coffee. I love the routine and ritual of my morning coffee. I love relaxing with a cup of coffee and i love getting going with a coffee. I love conversation around a cup of coffee.
But it's been good in a strange kind of way. It's good to tell the "flesh" "NO" sometimes. It's good to remind the body it's not the boss of me. And not to dicotomize myself too much - it's good to remind the soul who's in charge as well. Man shall not live by coffee alone.
Anybody out there fasting over Lent? How's it going? What are you learning this time through it?
Trip to Indiana
Brenda and I got a chance to get away this weekend for a quick trip to Indiana to see our son Ryan and his lovely fiance Kristen. They are getting married May 5 and if you can't tell I'm excited about this. I'm especially excited about welcoming another daughter to our family. (The reason I have 5 boys is because they are boys - we kept trying to have another girl it never worked.)
The occasion for our trip was a shower for Kristen which Brenda was invited to attend. The trip to Anderson, Indiana is 337 miles which means almost 6 hours of driving for me. Brenda doesn't like to drive unless she has to and I don't mind driving but when I drive I usually get into a "zone". I turn on my music and get lost in my own thoughts.
Brenda doesn't like the "zone". She considers it a shame to have ridden 6 hours with a person and not to have had some conversation with them. I find no problem with that and figure I could be a good truck driver. But on this trip to Indiana I decided I would try to be more of conversationalists and stay out of the "zone".
I did pretty good at least on the trip out. I cheated because I need help - so I looked around on the internet and got a printable list of "discussion" questions for married couples. We took turns picking numbers and answering the questions. It went better than I thought it would and I think I got points from Brenda for it. I really did enjoy it and learned some stuff about my wife.
On the way home we were both talked out from the weekend and she got a little sleepy so I did enter the "zone" and listened to some good classic rock tunes half of the way home.
The occasion for our trip was a shower for Kristen which Brenda was invited to attend. The trip to Anderson, Indiana is 337 miles which means almost 6 hours of driving for me. Brenda doesn't like to drive unless she has to and I don't mind driving but when I drive I usually get into a "zone". I turn on my music and get lost in my own thoughts.
Brenda doesn't like the "zone". She considers it a shame to have ridden 6 hours with a person and not to have had some conversation with them. I find no problem with that and figure I could be a good truck driver. But on this trip to Indiana I decided I would try to be more of conversationalists and stay out of the "zone".
I did pretty good at least on the trip out. I cheated because I need help - so I looked around on the internet and got a printable list of "discussion" questions for married couples. We took turns picking numbers and answering the questions. It went better than I thought it would and I think I got points from Brenda for it. I really did enjoy it and learned some stuff about my wife.
On the way home we were both talked out from the weekend and she got a little sleepy so I did enter the "zone" and listened to some good classic rock tunes half of the way home.
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