speaking of profiteering...

I receive weekly emails from WorshipTogether.com. They offer free lead sheets weekly, and I'm more than happy to use what I can that's free because leading worship music these days means learning new music constantly. I appreciate the service and have even recently subscribed, through the church, to their monthly new song resource.

That said-- I received an email yesterday announcing a seminar coming to the area next month. It seemed standard fair for this sort of thing, until I read the bottom of the page. If you can't/don't need to attend the afternoon seminar for $55, you may still attend the evening worship service. For only $10.

Yes. These folks who are leading a seminar for worship leaders are bringing the day's teaching to a grand finale with a great big dose of table turning heresy. You must pay for worship. (Their words.) They didn't call it a concert; they called it worship. And it costs $10 to worship with these fine worship leaders. They must be a lot better at it than Jesus, since he never charged for worshiping with him.

holy courage

Andy had the courage to admit that he and his family went to the Holy Land Theme Park. With photos. Interesting...?

High Hoops

By David Hayward.

I just love this one.

representing Jesus

From Kingdom Grace:

"If we represent Jesus, it isn’t okay if people think we’re an ass."

Enough said.

more than what I do

From Drifting Free, by Erin Word:

"However, that place deep within our spirit where we hide away our freedom can be integrated into our various responsibilities with an honest admission that there is more to us than the things we do, the roles we play, and the needs we fill. We can allow those “other” aspects of self to surface and shine. If we chose not to fear the unknowns of the ocean, setting ourselves adrift into ourselves, we just may find that those around us will find healing - healing through the touch of a free woman."

Now, if only my dear friend Erin can teach me to do this. If I were to be honest, I'd ask what if there is no room for the rest of me in my life? The things I do, the roles I play, and the needs I fill seem to take up 110% as it is.

community and belief

Pete Rollins, The Fidelity of Betrayal:

First- let me apologize for the length of this passage. I couldn't find a suitable way to break it into 2 posts. Second, I would much appreciate your comments on these thoughts of Rollins'.

"...if a Christian is sharing his or her faith, the discussion will likely concern a set of beliefs that one is asked to accept--beliefs that will often include the existence of God, the deity of Christ, the existence of sin, and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. If these are accepted then the individual will be asked to engage in certain behavior, that is, to pray, repent, and join the local church. Then, once this has taken place, that individual will be welcomed into the Christian community, being invited to get involved in the life of the church."

"This approach works with the underlying idea that belief is of prime importance in Christianity, followed by behavior, followed by belonging. In contrast to this let us briefly consider the birth of an infant. When a child enters the world she does not begin with a system of beliefs that must be accepted before she belongs to the family. The infant, in a healthy environment, begins her life with absolute unconditional acceptance. The infant belongs to the family as the family now belongs to the infant. As the child grows she gradually learn to engage in the various rituals in which the family engages. These will include times when the family members eat together, play together, relax together, and so on. Then the child will begin to form a set of beliefs about the world into which she is already embedded. these will generally begin by mimicking the beliefs of the parents. Then these beliefs will likely come into conflict with hose of the parents, as she attempt to wrestle with the world for herself and test limits. And finally she will often come into some equitable relationship with the parents' beliefs, agreeing with some and disagreeing with others. Within a healthy, loving family each of these stages will be welcomed and allowed room to breathe."

"This approach thus places belonging first, followed by behavior, followed last and least, by belief. This model is what we find in operation within a broadly Hebraic approach to faith, and approach that emphasizes belonging to the community and engaging in the shared rituals of the community... What is important is that, regardless of the doubts and beliefs we have, we know that we have a vital place in the community and are encouraged to remain involved in the traditions--traditions that, at their best, provide ample space for doubt, ambiguity, and uncertainty."

For an interesting parallel observation, see Tony Jones' post Is Virtual Community True Community?.

the call of faith

Pete Rollins, The Fidelity of Betrayal:

"If the truth affirmed by Christianity lay in something that people could intellectually grasp, then the truth of faith would be something that one could hold without ever hearing or following its demand. But Christianity, as a religion without religion, is too elusive to be held in this way. It does not allow for such a divorce between the hearing and the happening, for its saying does not occur in that which is said, but rather in the undergoing of an event. The divine Word, like that spoken of in Genesis, results in life being birthed in the depths of our being... However, the call of faith is one that is heard only in its transformative effect. It is a still, small voice that is heard only in being heeded."

my valentines

look at what the creative loves of my life made for me this valentine's day!

Pete Rollins videos

The Singular Answer
Refusing to Lead

If you're in my area, Pete will be in Birmingham Alabama Wed and Thurs. next week. I won't be able to go, but I'm sure he will be interesting to hear in person.

My God is bigger than my God

Pete Rollins, The Fidelity of Betrayal:

"The attempt to render God present as an idea is reflected in so much of what passes as theology in the Western tradition. The result is a depiction of the theologian as type of alchemist or wizard. For instead of being evoked by the mystery of faith, the theological alchemist seems to expose it, while the theological wizard endeavors to evoke it. In this way so much theology is a means of attempting to render the ineffable as a legitimate object of inquiry rather than a circumspect discourse that limits itself to the effect of the ineffable upon the individual and community. In contrast to this the Christian must understand that the scriptural narrative includes a proclamation that we cannot grasp God within any narrative."

"... we must learn that in order to approach the God of faith and the truth affirmed by Christianity, we must betray the God we grasp--for the God who brings us into a new life is never the God we grasp but always in excess of that God. The God we affirm is then, at its best, inspired by the incoming of God and born there, but it is never to be confused with God."

Rollins on new birth

Pete Rollins, The Fidelity of Betrayal:

"This new life that is testified to constantly in the Bible, as our reflections show, cannot be thought of as something that one sees, touches, or ever experiences. It cannot be a mere object in the world. Rather, it can be thought of only as the incoming of that which transforms all our relationships with objects in the world. In short, it is that which fundamentally changes how we interact with the things we see, touch, and experience."

"Religious experience, in it's fundamental form, is not then an experience at all but rather a counter-experience, one that transforms our mode of being in the world rather than being reduced to some strange feeling. With the incoming of this truth nothing necessarily changes in the physical world, no new object enters our horizon. But in its aftermath the person is never the same again, for everything has changed."

"This means that the truth spoken of within the Judeo-Christian tradition transcends the mundane level of debates concerning the accuracy of certain historical claims, interesting as such debates may be. This does not in any way mean that parts of the Bible do not make historical, geographical, and archeological assertions, but rather that the real kernel of Christianity is referring to something infintely deeper, richer, and more esoteric than some factual claim that can be accepted or rejected without any significant change in the individual."

"Because of the utterly immanent nature of this transcendental birth, all reflection fails to grasp it."

common ground

We were sick last week. As soon as we got well, we got sick again this week. So- just ugh.

That said, I want to direct you to Grace's post called Finding Common Ground. She addresses the issue of homosexuality in the absolutely best way I've seen yet. Please read it if you haven't. I firmly believe that the church must collectively take the approach Grace has taken. We must. If love isn't first, then we aren't the church. Here's a little of what she wrote:

"As believers, both male and female, we are all on the journey to knowing God. Part of that journey is the transformation of our hearts and lives to the wholeness that He intends for us. Whatever a person’s struggle with sin or sexuality, we are to be a source of love and encouragement to one another, not judgment."

guilty as charged

David Hayward at nakedpastor writes:

"But isn’t it biblical, at times, to take upon ourselves the responsibility of the whole church and even the whole human race? Isn’t is right to occasionally fall on our knees just because we are a part of the human race prone to harming others and a part of an organization prone to abuse, and say, “Guilty as accused!“?"

And Pete Rollins writes this:

"Without equivocation or hesitation I fully and completely admit that I deny the resurrection of Christ. This is something that anyone who knows me could tell you, and I am not afraid to say it publicly, no matter what some people may think…"

"I deny the resurrection of Christ every time I do not serve at the feet of the oppressed, each day that I turn my back on the poor; I deny the resurrection of Christ when I close my ears to the cries of the downtrodden and lend my support to an unjust and corrupt system."

"However there are moments when I affirm that resurrection, few and far between as they are. I affirm it when I stand up for those who are forced to live on their knees, when I speak for those who have had their tongues torn out, when I cry for those who have no more tears left to shed."