One reader e-mailed me to ask if I was a religious liberal. My side nearly exploded as it tried to absorb the crush of my resultant and hearty laughter. No! I am no religious liberal! I tried religious liberalism for a bit. I nibbled on it like a dense fish foolishly flirting with a hook, but quickly discovered that it tasted of the same old, failed, and unmistakable humanism of bygone years. I’m also not a religious conservative either. It’s just as distracting. This detrimental pair happily share the two sides of a sad coin of codependency. I chucked it into a wishing well a long time ago. My wish? To go far beyond that dichotomy; to dive into Gospel.
I have a Two-sided Coin and No Pockets!
Are We Willing to Make Adjustments to Heed God’s Call?
Many of us ask God for an assignment, or look hard to see where God is at work, but then hesitate or refuse to make necessary adjustments. Jesus exemplifies willingness to make an adjustment: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Other Biblical examples: Noah could not continue life as usual and build an ark at the same time (Gen 6); Abram could not stay in Ur or Haran and father a nation in Canaan (Gen 12.1-8); Moses could not stay on the back side of the desert herding sheep and stand before Pharaoh at the same time (Ex. 3); David had to leave his sheep to become a king (1 Sam. 16. 1-13); Amos had to leave the sycamore trees in order to preach in Israel (Amos 7.14-15); Jonah had to leave his home and overcome a major prejudice in order to preach in Nineveh (Jonah 1.1-2; 3.1-2; 4.1-11); Peter, Andrew, James, and John had to leave their fishing business in order to follow Jesus (Matt. 4.18-22); Matthew had to leave his tax collector’s boot to follow Jesus (Matt. 4-18-22); Saul (Paul) had to completely change directions in his life in order to be used of God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9.1-19).
A Christian Digg Sort of Direction for Scribe
I’m broadening the scope and direction of The Daily Scribe a bit. I’m heading in the direction of a Christian Digg sort of thing (thank you Pligg!). Christian news, articles, opinions, and editorials are the new focus. A few hand-picked blog feeds are being exclusively syndicated by your your friendly neighborhood Scribe Bot too. So, check it out and add your news!
The 1000th Comment
I’m nearing comment number 1000! The human being who serves up the 1000th comment gets a cool surprise! Shipping will be included, of course. O’ happy day!
WordPress 2.3-beta3
I’m running WordPress 2.3-beta3 now! I love it. Everything seems to be working well. Nothing broke. I’m amazed nothing broke because of the serious database changes in this version. I’m happy! The new tag feature is great too. Well done WordPress crew!
Overdressed by Caedmon’s Call
Awesome. I just downloaded the new Caedmon’s Call album. It’s called Overdressed. Seriously, if you are searching for some really great music craft, check out Overdressed. It’ll be playing in the background during our Sunday morning’s gathering time. I’ve been a fan since my undergraduate days, when I stumbled upon an album titled 40 Acres.
A Slow Blog Week
It’s going to be a slow blog week! I’m happily submerged into a pretty cool discussion about Anabaptism, Pietism, and Wesleyanism (the BIC’s 3 Streams) at Manor Church. I love this discussion. What a heritage! I pray the larger BIC actually begins to celebrate this deep heritage. I pray the BIC starts to take it very, very seriously as we all move forward into the individual calls God has given us. For example, you should be planting a church in the BIC because God calls you to do so, obviously, but you should also be planting a church in the BIC because of the BIC heritage, and not just because you want to plant a church and need the resources.
I Wonder about Jesus
I wonder what Jesus would think of our modern church planting methods? I wonder what he would say about all the effort we put into putting a production on the ground, rather than investing in authentic relationships. I wonder if he’d repeat his parable about building a house upon the sand, but shift it’s point slightly in our direction. I wonder if we’d respond with, “But Lord, we did all of this in your …” I wonder what would happen next.
Back from the MCC
I just got back from Mennonite Central Committee. I love that place! The people were fantastic too! I also got the grand tour of the facilities. Awesome place. I am so thankful that the opportunity to spend the morning there was offered to me. What a great, great work they are doing there. I hope they enjoyed my chapel talk about my personal faith journey and IMG!
Discipleship is the Key
Everything we do as followers of Jesus Christ - be it good or bad - can be traced back to one thing: discipleship. What does it really mean to be a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth? What does it really, really mean? The answer to that question will inform everything we do as Christians. Everything.