the Journey

"Really" following Jesus...

 

I have been reading two books lately. More than two, actually (yes, at the same time). On the left, Ed Dobson's trek on living for an entire year like Jesus would... and, on the right, A.J. Jacob's quest to live the words of the Bible as literally as possible. 

I'll blog more about them later. Here's the point of this post, though. It's dawning on my just how much these men wrestle with the text- and actually wrestle with what it means and how to really "do" it. Granted, they come at this from two different perspectives. Dobson is a former pastor at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids (most notably, for most readers here, he's the pastor that launched Rob Bell's Mars Hill Bible Church by training Bell as his associate and then sending him with several thousand people on the first Sunday). 

As a retired pastor, Dobson is struck by how many times the Scripture actually puts him at odds with his evangelical counterparts. For instance, should "pro-life" be limited to our stance on abortion, or does it affect how we view poverty, torture, clean drinking water, and other forms of humanitarian relief? And, why is it that the church is largely uninvolved in the things that Jesus was extremely involved with (ministering to the poor and marginalized, and relationally connected with those who could not make it to the religious system...)?

On the other hand, as an agnostic that is merely doing a year-long experiment to see if religious can take hold of him if he gives it a whirl (and, very likely, because he has a book serial book deal), Jacobs is stunned by how parts of the Bible actually work. Community is real. Serving changes you as well as those whom you serve. Prayer does connect you with God. The Sabbath is hard to get used to but is a welcome refuge...

Still processing. More to come.

Servolution

[Posted by Andrew Jenkins]

I recently read a book that is so much in line with what you in our church have been doing... living... striving to do more of... 

Here's the link on amazon.com to catch more info, in case you're interested, by the way...

And, there's a website to the book as well: Servolution.org

Servolution chronicles Pastor Dino Rizzo's journey (he is a pastor in Baton Rouge) through meeting practical needs in the name of Jesus while declaring the Gospel. It has helped me see more of what we need to be doing to better do what we do:

* More networking with other churches (which we began last week).

* Celebrating our volunteers more (which we will begin doing- you are the ones that make it happen).

* Thinking and dreaming bigger than we could have imagined (doesn't Ephesians 3:20-21 tell us to do this?).

He writes that "a Servolution is not an event; it is a culture. Infusing this culture into the DNA of your church will change the view of the world and your perspective of the needs of those around you. This movement is rumbling throughout the body of Christ - a revolutionary army of people ready to take up this mandate. We are actively pursuing the lost, the forgotten, and the poor to show them a God who is passionately in love with them." 

Jesus Wants to Save Christians- Book Review

i have struggled for years trying to understand the idea of God's Kingdom.

seriously.

it's either here or it's not. right?

i have heard sermon after sermon over the years concerning the kingdom, or at least pieces of it, and they always left me wanting. when i would ask questions for clarification, i would get nonsensical responses about this ethereal kingdom we could not see or hear or touch or smell. or i would be told that "we see dimly now" and we would not be able to understand until we see Jesus.

but how do we live in a kingdom we cannot understand, and why did Jesus talk about it so much if we were not meant to understand it?

did He want to confuse us?

i don't think that is right.

as well, i have struggled with keeping the story of God and His people one story, not making some sort of break or divide at the turn of the testaments.

i wondered exactly how the pieces fit together- how the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New were the same. how we who follow Jesus are connected to those of old, who followed the pillars of fire and smoke for those decades.

i had a lot of ideas. but there was always some connection point missing.

i finally found the connecting point. with a little help.

thank you Rob Bell.

i read Jesus Wants to Save Christians. it is a smoking hot book. simple insights, but such depth.

the connection point i was missing is one of the beginning points for Rob in this book.

Sa'aq.

this is it. this one word is what i was missing. it makes the whole idea of God's Kingdom make sense.

this is the Hebrew word for cry, as in to cry out. like the blood of Abel cries out from the ground in Genesis 4.10. and like the Israelites do in exodus 3.7.

it is the cry of the oppressed. it is the cry of the broken, the hurt, those in need of rescue.

every time that the Sa'aq goes out, God answers.

that's it. everything began to fall into place.

see, the original covenant between God and His people (found in Gen 12.1-3) said that God would bless his people in order that they might bless the whole earth.

He gave them specifics about how to treat people, like taking care of widows, orphans, and lonely travelers (reminiscent of some new testament teaching, huh?). He wanted His people to love people. other people. people like them. people that were different. He wanted them to depend on Him, share their stuff, and care for one another well.

that is the key. God hears the Sa'aq of people (sometimes even to the detriment of His own people, which is why they fell into exile). He called a people to Himself who would do the same.

Jesus embodied that idea. He heard the cry of the oppressed, the broken, those in need of rescue, and He invites us to be a part of that same purpose, to be a part of God's Kingdom. to live a different way. a better way.

as i have begun to understand that idea, Scripture is much more alive. things that made no sense before suddenly mean everything. the Kingdom of God permeates everything and Scripture becomes our directives for living in that Kingdom.

all of Scripture is now read in a different light.

i am beginning to understand how God's Kingdom is both here and not. i understand how to be a part of it. i understand much of what Jesus wants me to do in order to hear and answer the Sa'aq of the broken, hurt, wounded, and those in need of rescue.

those in that condition- those crying out- they all want the same thing. they want to win.

so the answer to their cry is the story that we carry, the story we joined when we claimed allegiance to God's Kingdom- the Gospel.

see, the word Gospel is actually a war cry. it means "victory!". it is the opposite of Sa'aq. it is not the cry of those who are losing. it is not the cry of those who are behind with no hope of catching up.

it is a cry of people who have won. it is the cry of people who have defeated the enemy.

our part in this Kingdom is to carry the one answer- the Gospel (Victory!)- to all of those who Sa'aq. it is to tell them that rescue has come and it came through Jesus as He ushered in God's Kingdom.

it changes everything.

it impacts everything.

we then are the bearers of all that is good and useful and purposeful. we carry the one answer to the global Sa'aq rising from broken people searching for rescue- wanting to win.

He wins. we win through the Gospel- VICTORY!

i want to do it. i want to carry the answer to those who are crying out, asking the question, wanting to win.

thanks to you, Rob Bell, for listening, for sharing, for pointing out the truth and helping to put the jagged pieces together.

by the way, i do recommend the book. it is obviously a lot more in depth than this single post, and he says things in a way i cannot. check it out for more. great book.

The Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell book

Sunday morning I mentioned a new book that reframes the way we think about success. We often consider the “most successful” people as those who work the hardest, dedicate themselves to spending the most time practicing something, and have the most innate giftedness and drive. Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Outliers (his name for those who excel and lie out of the normal bounds of what is expected) contends that we should look at things differently.

He argues (persuasively and with many examples) that success is characteristic of those who are most talented, most gifted, and have an innate drive... but, success is also attributable not only to those factors, but also to the opportunities surrounding those individuals... In other words, successful people are both 1) born and 2) made at the same time.

This is interesting to me right now, because we are looking to take the Gospel and live it- and bring change- to an area where there isn’t much “success.” My belief is that if we give these people an opportunity (one of the chief ingredients to success) then they will be successful. Such is the point of the book. Anyone who is interested in going further follow the links below:

To the amazon.com site: click here. 

To read a TIME Magazine article online about the book: click here.