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The California Adventure – Elaine et al

morscher — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:05:38 +0000

We were super psyched after meeting with the three JF’s (Jesus Freaks) the day before and we wanted to visit Elaine Stedman on Monday; however, the trip is a long one (over seven hours to Medford Oregon) and we were a little apprehensive because she is pretty old and we’re quite the posse. But Elaine assured us we were welcome (she cooked for us the day before a multicourse meal) and we figured it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity so off we went. We went up the direct route through the middle of California. The drive was long but there was great fellowship and many cool sites. We went by Mount Shasta – a large volcanic-formed mountain which still has a glacier on it. Mark got many great pics. We made it to Elaine’s at about 1:00 PM – right on schedule. We were greeted with overwhelming warmth. In addition to Elaine were three of her daughters, Lynn, a former elder of PBC and Ken (from Michigan) a worship leader who currently teaches on worship at Pacific Bible College. We were well fed and had great fellowship. There were many interesting discussions surrounding Ray, the early days of PBC (F), living by the New Covenant, reaching the lost, the worship service, the importance of buildings… to name a few and not without some healthy debate. We were all sort of amazed that we all came together like this and definitely figured the Spirit is behind it. We stayed at Elaine’s for probably four or five hours and on our way out visited Ray’s grave with Elaine and her oldest daughter Sheila. It was a beautiful late afternoon and we enjoyed a good time of prayer at the gravesite before we headed west to the coast. Though pretty old, small in stature and with her voice failing, Elaine was warm and possessed a spiritual depth that compelled you to listen. It will be hard to top the visit with Elaine at al. We then went to the coast to take the scenic coastal way home and stayed overnight in Crescent City CA, just south of the Oregon border. The coast there looks like something out of a calendar with a rocky coast, waves crashing, and light house. Unfortunately it rained on the way home so the scenery was diminished somewhat, but even so, the redwood forests were quite amazing as well as what we could see of the coast. We made a stop in Arcata, which had a “hippy” community, to look around and get some lunch. It was a bizarre place which extolled the use of marijuana and multiple pagan beliefs. It felt absent of life – very similar to the feel at Berkeley. It was a stark reminder of the world we live in and why we are here. A stark contrast to the heavenly fellowship we experienced the day before. We eventually got back to San Fran late that night – the scenic route was a rather long route. One theme that seems to resonate in all our discussions so far is that God is up to something. There is a sense of unrest out here amongst these veteran revolutionaries, similar to what was sensed back in the seventies. The world is messed up, there is no purpose, and only the Lord holds any real answers. It really is amazing to see the hope and sense of expectation in the eyes of these older revolutionaries and then to think that perhaps the Lord wants us to have a part in it. As we look for open doors we turn today to Sacramento and the JFs. We are hoping to meet with them in the next couple days to see the lay of the land and discuss the spiritual forces for good that seem to be aligning themselves there. Stay tuned.

The California Adventure: Berkeley

morscher — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:20:05 +0000

The five NEO Xenoids arrived Saturday afternoon to a sunny San Francisco to see what the Lord may have in store for us on the left coast. We got to our hotel on the bay and started putting together a plan of action for the week. The first stop on our adventure was a visit to Berkeley on Sunday. And what an adventure it was! We met three Jesus Freaks who drove up from Sacramento (about 100 miles away): Doug Shearer, his wife Sita Shearer and their longtime coworker Doug Krieger. These guys were in the middle of so much that happened at Berkeley and played a huge part in the Jesus movement that flourished in the 70’s. They gave us an extensive tour of the campus and surroundings. We spent all day walking up one side of the campus and down the other, seeing some of the famous sites of the “Free Speech” movement and their former ministry hot spots. It was such a blast to hang out with these three spiritual powerhouse. Even though these saints were in their 60’s, they proved more than up for the task and their joy and enthusiasm was contagious. Especially Doug Kreiger, though ill with bronchitis, did not want to miss the opportunity to meet us. In fact he seemed to outpace us and was always leading us on to the next site to see. We found out later that the Shearers had to take Doug to the hospital on their way home to Sacramento. The atmosphere at Berkeley however is a very dark one. We searched the campus for evidence of a Christian influence and found practically nothing. There was one “Veritas” Christian group for graduate students and the next closest thing was a Seventh Day Adventist group? From the posters and advertisements, it seemed like every other Eastern religious, New Age, earth-cause, sorcery, or activist group had a presence at Berkeley, but not Christianity. It definitely felt like we were walking through the dark alleys of the devil’s stronghold. One of the things that has given us some pause about Berkeley as a target is the absence of student contacts there. In order to start or get involved in a college-based ministry we feel an open door would be at least a few students who want to work with us (similar to how we’ve started things at KSU). Nothing is certain, but this is our initial impression both from going there and discussing things with many of our contacts. There is still much more to investigate. We are looking at other universities. Santa Cruz south of the bay is one possibility. Even more promising may be Sacramento itself. More to come on these fronts as well as our very edifying meet with Elaine Stedman and some of her family and friends on Monday.

Jesus Freaks Return to Berkley

kmccallum — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:04:59 +0000

Instructions: scroll through the image list, below -- hit the "i" (info) button to read the picture description. [flagallery gid=2 name="Picture Gallery" skin=nightclub]

Wolven Legacies

jrumel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:26:23 +0000

In the dead of night I tread the path as usual. Everything's familiar; the trees, the chirp of local insects, the cold earth beneath my pads. It's too peaceful! Like the war isn't even happening! Nobody's found us yet, I should be thankful really. After all, who'd expect Wolf Kin to live in the treetops. I reflect on past days. Slavery, torture, execution, genocide, murder! Magic, love, freedom, trust. They're all parts of my past in one way or another, a part of me in ways. I can't dwell right now. Not tonight anyway. I have watch duty, no slacking off like last time. Surrounding check complete! On to step 2: track check. None on this side of the DazzleWood. Funny name right? The humans saw fit to name everything at first glance, without reguard for anyone elses opinion. It stuck better than Snagroot Skyspring, though the forest is less dazzling since the fairy population dropped. It's best the humans don't know about the Spring Tree anyway. My third check is for signals in the distance. One fire to the south, "... Need... Shelter... For... Children..." Humans of course, we refer to our young as pups, usually. "... Need... Food... Badl..." That's disturbing, a signal inturupted? Children invoved? Some one has to check it out. "Trouble, Tim?" I turned to see Spike hanging upside down from a tree branch, smiling as usual. That goofy hair of his hanging a near foot in length. To any human he'd seem a silhouette, a shadow at this late time. Though I could easily define his every detail; his loosely worn shirt, his oversized pants, his brown eyes and each of the light brown hairs on his head. "Yeah, I think a caravan has fallen under attack! I think children are in danger!" I turn to rush toward what was now a pillar of smoke. "Hold up. YOU intend to fight?" Spike couldn't help but laugh. It's true, I'm not known for physical strength. It's not common knowledge that I even HAVE strength. "It's a few Human Hunters. They shouldn't be hard to get rid of." I lied through my teeth. They'd need to be forced to leave, and that's where being passive fails. The pillar now read as a bunch of clumped smoke. Either a kid got hold of the signal cloth or someone's being fried. I rue the thought. The clumpyness subsided. A breaf cringe was all the invitation Spike needed. "Nah, not with me on their tails, they won't." He smiled even wider, "Let the others know what I'm doing. I'll be home before breakfast." A quick flip from the branch and he was ready to go. His hair remained in form, it was a mystery how his hair stayed that way. Before I could remark he was gone. A few moments brought a loud whoop. He found his target. There must not be many to deal with. Another whoop revealed that he was fine on his own. Fight Freak! Back to the list; surroundings/local: nothing of interest, Tracks: none, surroundings/distant: a few other fires breathed light smoke upward. Camps of some sort. Well, home calls. A quick report should get some aid for any victims that Spike helped. I hope they're okay.

Official post #1

jrumel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:38:49 +0000

Well, first off I'd like to thank Keith for building this blog for me. Expect random, expect emotion, expect furries, expect fanart, expect fanfiction, expect anime/manga, expect chaos.

Ramblings of such: official post #1

jrumel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:05:13 +0000

Temporary Post Used For Theme Detection (c1262a1f-142a-469e-b48a-e49f9b2a114a - 3bfe001a-32de-4114-a6b4-4005b770f6d7)

kmccallum — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:13:30 +0000

This is a temporary post that was not deleted. Please delete this manually. (e060c8b8-e206-49ea-8aab-9ea51014cb59 - 3bfe001a-32de-4114-a6b4-4005b770f6d7)

Lent Picking

lbeech — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:20:13 +0000

It must be the Lenten season, right? Turn on the television or the radio. McDonalds promotes its filet-o-fish sandwich. The campy wall bass now calls out via cell phone to those seeking a "meatless" repast. The local news reports on people heartedly devoted to completing the Northeast Ohio fish fry circuit, after all you only have forty days to partake in all that battered, fried goodness. So many parishes to hit. So little time. People suddenly are giving up the things they love. Some deny themselves sugar, others "smokes." Denying oneself pleasure is the object of the season. Then there are those who cease to consume meat. One will abstain from all meat including fish for 40 days while another will substitute red meat with fish on Fridays only. People seem to pick and chose what they do. Are there rules? I've asked people why they abstain from meat, substitute fish on Fridays or why they give up anything during the season of Lent. Most people answer that don't know why they do it. It's just what one does during this time of year if you're Catholic. Many evangelicals say that they just like the idea of giving up something for the Lord. My favorite reason for abstinence comes from those who have no religious motivation. They just want to fit in with their Catholic and well-meaning Protestant friends. It's fun to fit in. I grew up in the Lutheran Church. I had little exposure to this concept of giving up something for Lent. Lutherans observed the Lenten season and were encouraged to solemnly consider Christ's sacrifice and our relationship with our Savior, but did not practice fasting (honestly, I never met a Lutheran who would willingly give up a meal). It wasn't until I attended the public high school that I came into contact with this idea of seasonal abstinence. (How fitting that this season was the forerunner of bikini season). At first, I was rather perplexed by the Lenten practices. Quickly, I warmed up to the idea that I could do something for God to show Him just how great I was and how much I loved Him. I had always been drawn to the idea that somehow I could validate my devotion to the Lord through some act of my will. What better way to prove your love than to impose self "suffering." I found this ritual completely delightful. The bonus was that as a teenage girl, I could refuse to eat and it would be considered godly and not psychologically unhealthy. Godly devotion trumps parental concern. I win and get to serve God. What could be better? That was the perpective of a teenager who struggled with a border line eating disorder, but is it much different from how Lent observers reason today? Seriously, how does giving up something benefit God? What can man do for the Lord that God lacks? It seems that people who observe Lent through self denial are well intentioned. They desire to worship the Lord and to honor Him. Many seem very sincere in their abstention, sincerely mistaken. The Lord himself points out the folly of misguided human tradition.

Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote. Isaiah 29:13

Jesus rebukes the religious people of his day in Mark 7: 7-8.

"Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God. For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

No where in scripture does Christ command that his followers participate in a 40 day fast of remembrance commemorating his death and resurrection. The only rituals which Christ instituted are communion and baptism. Now people have told me that fasting is a way to draw near to God. They say that spiritual disciplines are a means to see more clearly the way and will of the Lord,"For man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Perhaps they are onto something. Didn't Jesus fast for 40 days and nights in the desert prior to entering his adult years of ministry? Didn't Jesus, who happened to be God, do battle with Satan in the wilderness, weilding the word of God as his only weapon? Perhaps this is the goal of eating fish on Fridays? Yes, clearly I am Lent picking. My main beef (he-he) with Lent is not that people want to be near to God or even that they have a need to reflect on what Christ accomplished on the cross. Those are good things to consider. What vexes me is that people, through human rituals and observance, are trying to be righteous before God through their own efforts. This is just plain madness. Paul raved about this foolish tendency in Galatians 3.

1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. ²I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? ³Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Christianity is all about freedom. Freedom from sin. Freedom from "works" and the law. Freedom from slavery. Freedom from death. Galatians 5:1 reads:

¹It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

So, let's not deceive ourselves during this traditional season of penitence. We are not bound by rules or regulations, nor do we need to observe special seasons and festivals. Each day we live in Christ is a victorious feast of community in relationship. The rules have been abolished. There is no need for filet-o-fish advertisement campaigns. No longer a need to fill McDonald's coffers with slave money. We are free to eat meat - free to dig into a Salisbury steak dinner on Friday. I say free the fish!

Feelings

Elli — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:20:14 +0000

So, i started writing and this is what came out: "I haven't written in awhile because I literally haven't been thinking. I got a new job which is great but I totally functioned out. Someone once told me thatif I were to work, I would feel better. I doubt that person would be reading this so I'm just going to say that I do feel better. The long hours on my feet make are helping me lose weight, that's always a plus. The opportunity I get to be with so many different people daily is amazing and I get lots of money. So yeah, I feel great! But someone asked me today how I feel. And I honestly didn't know and made up some bull shit answer. Then as I was thinking, all of these emotions came flooding out that i haven't touched in two months. So i'm going to type some and you can make what you want out of it. For one, nothing is the same anymore. I feel like I am sprinting through opportunities and jumping straight over problems that should be solved. There is no rest or break and I feel like I just want to enjoy it while everyone else is 30 seconds ahead of me. Is it really just me? We used to hang out and talk till midnight with nothing planned, just conversation. We used to celebrate eachother and cry into one anothers shoulders. We used to hug eachother-boys and girls-as brothers and sisters, not as crushes and lusts. So what happened? I feel so far away from where I started and where j started isn't anywhere near where I should have been. It's so different which is okay. But it's just so different. And it might be because they left. They all went on to be adults, looking back at first but now not even a glimpse. And it was fine at first but now I just want to grab them and ask them what do I do? It's so fdifferent without you here. I never appreciated you fully but now I wish you all were back. And now that I wish it, you wouldn't dream of it. You look at me like I'm the same emotional child I was. But I'm not psychotic anymore, just crazy. And you are so much older but I can grow up. And you know so much more but I can learn. And sometimes I still expect you guys to care, until I have to remind myself that they have their own problems and that they don't use Twitter anymore." ...then i pressed publish and my computer freaked out... so it didn't publish. thank god. now, i am going to publish my feelings, the ones that are significant. and to do so, i have to start with this verse: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thankfulness, present your requests to God. phil 4:6 this is my favorite verse right now. my parents were are always throwing it at me and i would never listen, until i sat down and read it myself. the first time, i was frustrated. i gave my problems to god and nothing happened, right?! then i gave up and continued freaking out, all by myself, worrying alone. put everything on my back and woe is me. then i read it again. and i thought again. and i thought again. and i thought again. and i thought maybe, maybe it will work. maybe. and i was like, god

The Hijacking of Christianity

kmccallum — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:35:50 +0000

They first tried killing us in the arena. Then they stole our name. And still "the state" continued killing Christians. But somehow people are unaware that "the state" hijacked our name.

Choice

tsmith — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:17:10 +0000

My name is Thomas and I have free will.

I stayed up last night because I wasn't tired. I watched the sun rise over the trees and illuminate everything. I had lunch with Kyle, who is a sweet brother. I visited Keith, B, and Dar; which made me smile. I drove home, and made dinner. I talked on the phone for 31 minutes and 41 seconds. I "studied." <-- LOL! I'm leaving in 14 minutes with my brother Mike to get Ice Cream. [Update] Mike called and told me to wait for him, he was going to be late. It really excited my heart. Free will really is amazing. I choose to have a relationship with Jesus with my free will. Some people choose to destroy relationships with greed and affairs but I'm into restoring relationships; or at least trying. I'm into 5 minute conversations, just to see how your doing. Most people are into 5 texts. People really try to plan out their lives, however I don't know whats going to happen in mine. I make a lot of bad choices and the great thing about it is that I have Free will. However having a relationship with Jesus is helping me make smarter choices. Choose a life with Jesus. It's just that simple.

Red Skelton Was a Funny Guy

Rick Yoerger — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:50:53 +0000

Some folks were commenting on Facebook about this 'Red' video and I felt inspired to write. The timing of the creation of this old video is interesting – the year before the Kent State shootings of 1970. Red Skelton was a funny guy. I remember him (I was 12 and didn't know Christ from Satan, although I think I had some vague belief in a god). At the time of this video, there were a lot of people (mostly young and sort of hippie types ;-) who were bucking the establishment - and not all of their reasons were bad. They lost faith in the status quo, world system. But, their solution was a bit misguided and they looked in so many wrong places for the love and justice they desired (sounds a bit familiar doesn't it?). I think I understand where most of you are coming from... and most of you may actually know Christ - praise God. However, please allow me to very respectfully share a little different spin on this. Even if the government gives us its blessing on praying prayers and mentioning God in song at your local public school, it does not automatically follow that spiritual revival will come to the hearts and minds of people in this country - or any other country for that matter. God's priority is clear...

...God our Savior,4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.1 Tim 2:3-4 (NASB)

It's because of my relationship with Christ, through forgiveness of my sins, that I am able to tell others about the love of God through Christ. So it's me speaking the truth in love to fellow believers (for personal growth) and speaking the truth in love to those who don't know the good news while working in tandem with the Holy Spirit, is what will really have impact in a dark and dying cosmos. When I exercise faith in Christ I can go anywhere I want to pray, or preach, the gospel. That's my freedom in Christ. And - that is a very God given power. So, I don't need to have the government tell me I can do that – God has already given me all the encouragement and support I need.

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always , even to the end of the age." Matt 28:16-20 (NASB)

Let us not be misguided and weak (believe me, I can relate to how easy that is because I’ve been there and done it). But, take courage and speak it forth in love! There is a way to be respectfully bold and know where the power lies.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 (NASB)

A Challenge to Parents, Part 2

dardrops — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:45:57 +0000

Ah, the confusion of parenting! People angst about a lot of things in life – career, relationships, identity. But I think parenting is the one we angst over the most.

Why? Because we feel that the way our kids “turn out” reflects on us. There is an unspoken consensus that our kids are just an extension of us. How they behave and perform feels like a window into what goes on in our home. And that is scary! Really, how many of us would want a reality television show about our family broadcast around the world? There are expectations coming at us from all over the place. Grandparents always seem to have something to say to us about our parenting. It doesn’t seem to matter how good (or bad) they were at it, they always seem to want to give their 2 cents worth. “I never let YOU get away with stuff like that!” “Kids these days!” “If he were MY kid, I’d….” Family members, whether close relations or not, also have an opinion. The most commonly used statement seems to be, “In our family, we do it this way. You ought to try it.” Not to mention the unspoken but clearly understood judgments that come your way when the kids are misbehaving at the family reunion. Schools, too, inflict their value system on us. There is a lot of pressure on kids and parents. There’s a very specific mold that kids are supposed to fit into. Most kids never seem to make the grade unless they are top students or athletes or just really good at blowing smoke at the teachers. (I was one of those kids.) I recently spent a day at my youngest son’s junior high school and was struck by the amount of pressure that is put on these kids. Their day is packed full from the first bell, each teacher piling on expectations. And it seems that a student’s performance on the standardized tests is a reflection not just on the student but on the teacher, too. And they pass that pressure onto the parents. We have a very flawed if not completely wrong view of identity. We draw our identity from all the wrong places. For example, we view ourselves from the lens of the culture which comes mostly from the media. Are we thin enough, smart enough, pretty or handsome enough? Do we have a degree from the right university? Is our house nice enough? Is it decorated with the right colors, the right furniture? Are our clothes from Macy’s or Walmart or the thrift store? Are our lawns weedless enough? Are our kids in the right extracurricular activities? Man, the list is endless.

We also frequently draw our identities from our families. Are we the good son/daughter or the bad one? How are we doing following the “rules”, often unspoken, of our family? We’ll form our identities based on a negative or a positive reaction to our upbringing. We either struggle our entire lives to break free of our families or try to live up to them. Here’s a scary thought. Our identities can also, falsely, be taken from our church communities. Are we spiritual enough, good enough, faithful enough to “hit the mark”? All of these places are the wrong places to look. Just when we feel we’ve measured up to some standard, someone better comes along and ruins it. It’s one thing to live our lives based on the wrong identity but it’s even more tragic when we pass this along to our children. They are going to have a hard enough time figuring out their own identity let alone when they become responsible for bolstering ours. We need to get our identities from the right source; otherwise the whole parenting adventure is one huge, selfish and frustrating endeavor. As a parent for 21 years, I always get a kick out of people who want to have children because they think children will love them back or fix their floundering marriage, or make life better for them. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Children, by their very nature, are powerless to give us anything. They are dependent, selfish creatures. They are demanding, self-absorbed, and as rawly sinful as they can be. They’ll run your “love bank” completely dry in no time. And that’s just as babies or young children. Just wait until they are teenagers! If our identities are based on the performance of our children, we are doomed. They are bound to disappoint. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE being a parent. It has truly been one of the greatest adventures of my life. But it has also been God’s most effective wine press for me. Being a parent means there is no escape for our flesh. God can and does use parenting as a tool to bring us to brokenness and therefore to great joy. However, we can also choose to become more selfish and carnal. It does come down to the question of where the source of identity is. For us Christians, our identities should be soundly locked on what God says about us. We are created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26, 27) No other created being has this identity. We are not animals, and contrary to a popular belief among parents, our kids aren’t either.

We are free from condemnation. (Romans 8:1) Therefore, even when we mess up, God does not condemn or reject us.
God’s love for us provides eternal security and real permanence. (Romans 8:39) Our kids do not. They will leave us someday and that is the way it should be.
We have been given the Body of Christ. (Romans 12:5) When we are struggling and feel hopeless about our kids, our brothers and sisters in Christ are there to encourage and come alongside us. I can’t imagine being parent without all the incredible support I have had from my Body of Christ.
God provides wisdom for parenting and all other things and gives His goodness to us. We do not have to strive to BE good. (1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 2:16) So even if our kids say they hate us, it shouldn’t shake our confidence or turn us into evil reactors. (If you are a parent of adolescents, you understand this already.)
In the midst of spiritual warfare over our kids’ lives, God provides victory. (2 Corinthians 2:14)
We actually are new creatures in Christ. (2Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6) The barriers of a dysfunctional family and/or personal sin no longer enslave us.
Our new family IS God’s family. God is also the Father of our children. We are adopted sons and daughters, eternally secure with God, have received forgiveness for all our sin, have every spiritual blessing, are holy and blameless, have knowledge of His plan and get the joy of being a participant in it. (Ephesians 1)

So before we look further at the Parenting Challenge, it would be good to get our identities straight! A Challenge to Parents, Part 3 coming soon.

An observation on two verses in 1 Peter

j. ramsey — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:42:17 +0000

For some reason I have had a particular passage of Scripture stuck in my head of late. I don’t mean for the last day, or week. For the last two months or so I’ve had 1 Peter 1:3-4 just rolling around in my noggin. I’ve been reading and re-reading and re-re-reading it. I’ve researched it online using 3 different Greek lexicons. I’ve read it in numerous translations. Whenever I’ve got some idea or concept in my head that I can’t seem to get over, I can usually trace the reason back to some immediate necessity- maybe it was a topic of conversation with friends or the subject of study at home church. That is not the case with 1 Peter 1:3-4. I think I just woke up one morning reciting it in my head. That isn’t the first time something like this has happened. One morning I woke up and thought about Pachelbel’s Canon in D for two hours. This is the first time, however, that the thing has stayed with me for a protracted length of time. So I decided that I might as well get some use out of this prolonged meditation. I could either be willing or unwilling, meditative or not. I began what is basically a word study of the original passage as it is in Greek and what I found fascinated me. I’m not sure exactly why I find it fascinating. I just know I do. Maybe someone needs to know what I’ve found out, someone who would read this. I don’t know. Anyway, I decided to write my findings as a blog entry. As my meanderings took me through different translations and paraphrases, I decided (much to my own surprise) that I preferred the King James translation over all the others. I’m not a KJV type of person, normally. But something in it clicked with me, and I consider it the best expression of the ideas in the original Greek. So here are both verses of 1 Peter 1:3-4 as the King James renders them: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. I know, it sounds all dry and crusty- but it isn’t. I love how this passage starts with a blessing to God. The writer goes on to recount all that we have in our knowledge with Christ- mercy, hope, inheritance, a future. That pretty much covers it all. What I used as the focus for my word study is that bold part, specifically the words in italics- incorruptible, undefiled, fadeth not away. Obviously they mean what they say but in another sense, they mean something else completely. When the writer says our inheritance is “incorruptible,” he doesn’t only mean that it can’t be corrupted. I’ll explain. Those three English words are trying to explain three ideas- (in the Greek)

Aphtharton
Amianton
Amaranton

The translator rendered them as

Incorruptible
Undefiled
Fadeth not away

In studying this verse it was hard for me to envision, in a productive way, the inheritance which is ours- which these words describe. We’re even forewarned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 that “…As it is written, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive the things that God has prepared for those who love him.” So here in 1 Peter, we’re getting a more thorough explanation of what has been prepared- our inheritance. It’s even worth noting the way these Greek words are spelled and that there is alliteration present in the Greek. We see the presence, in all three words of the “ἀ,” the Alpha or as we call it, the letter “A.” In Greek, the alpha is the negative. For example, in the word “atheist,” we see it in the negative position of the “Theos.” So we can rightfully conclude that the literal translation of the word “atheist” to be “Negation of God,” or “Without God.” In this passage from 1 Peter we can start by assuming that

Aptharton
Amianton
Amaranton

Are conveying the negation of the idea they would imply in their non-alpha form. (I don’t know any Greek, so bear with me here.)

Aptharton: This literally indicates the lack of ability our inheritance has in terms of decay, basically the negation of decay. Anything “decay” is, our inheritance isn’t. In studying the term I’ve come away with the (hopefully correct) idea that to even ask the question “Can our inheritance decay?” would be meaningless and is unanswerable. The idea of decay does not have any bearing whatsoever on such an inheritance as this one reserved in heaven for us.
Amianton: literally describes a state of the absolute negation of the Greek “miano,” which means “to taint.” The closest way we could say this in the English language would be to say it is absolutely pure. Again, with the presence of the Alpha we may safely conclude that not only is our inheritance pure, it is not even possible to talk meaningfully about it outside of a state of complete, absolute purity.
Amaranton: I think this is the most interesting of the words used because it has an association with horticulture. This literally indicates the lack of ability our inheritance has to wither and fade, such as plants do. It is sourced from the “Pthio” idea- to wither. It is not insensible to say that amaranton is the negation of withering.

I’ve walked away from this word study with a much deeper understanding of what 1 Peter is trying to get across- within the first five verses no less!

The Body Electric

Kalie — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:10:22 +0000

I sing the Body electric, With much more melody than Whitman, For I sing a Body that is even more beautiful Than that which is made with fear and wonder. I sing the Body eclectic, Made up of many members, Not take-a-class-and-sign-a-covenant And become a member members, But hands that serve, Feet that GO with the gospel, Hearts and minds that make disciples, Eyes that fix themselves on Jesus As they run the race relentlessly. Ears that hear the voice of the voiceless And mouths that speak for them, And for all the ears which will not hear Without a herald. I sing the Body electric, Which shocked me out of death, Paddles on a heart that did not love. A mustard seed faith Led to a miniscule prayer Which asked for friends And led me to the Body electric Through a different type of friend Than I bargained for—boy, Was that friend a good one. But that mustard tree didn’t stop there. It led me to a precious blossom In gray hoodie and jeans, Better than I could ask or imagine—best Friends are forever in the Body electric, Faithful foundation from fire. When I asked for a fish I didn’t get a stone, Or a fish, but a feast. As some slipped away, A cat crawled in and lay on my lap And taught me a gentle zeal. This is why I sing the Body electric, A shock to life, a spark to love. The Body eclectic, A feast full of friends, The Body eccentric, Strangers in a strange land, The Body of Christ.

To: The High Schoolers, Introduction and Part 1: Dont Take High School For Granted

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:08:49 +0000

INTRODUCTION

This is a "Learn from my mistakes" type blog. I've made a lot of mistakes growing up through high school, so I have decided to share them with you. The point of this post and the several others that will follow, is to inform you of which mistakes I made. Eleanor Roosevelt put it just right,

"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself."

Phil Knight, founder of Nike once said,

"The trouble in America is not that we are making too many mistakes, but that we are making too few."

Now even Phil Knight, probably a millionaire or even a trillionaire by now, realizes the importance of learning from other peoples mistakes. I'm sure his company has done plenty of things wrong, as well as learned from these mistakes. If you were planning on starting a business, you wouldn't just go and start a business without first researching what exactly you need to and not to do.

As a high schooler, you feel as if the rest of your life, your adult life, is so far away! But be careful, before you know it high school will be over and it will be decision time. College or no college. Thats really the only thing teachers will warn you about. Do your teachers tell you "although high school seems rough at times, its nothing like what college will be for you"? At least for me, in high school, almost all my teachers would alert us "we are doing it this way to prepare you for college". Now I wasn't the best student in high school (which i regret completely) but I did do all of my work (well... most of it) and absolutely none of my high school curriculum prepared me for any of what I have to do in college. Sometimes I wonder if the teachers really do feel like they are preparing us. Maybe after a whole year of students dropping out, not applying for colleges, and some kids going to jail, they go home and weep. Cry about how they've failed, and wonder why they even chose teaching as a career. Its either that or they just dont care. Most of my teachers were too caught up with being Mr. Cool-Guy. If your going to be a teacher, learn from their mistakes. (I laugh as writing that) But thats not the point, the point is that I might not be the most messed up college-aged male in the world, but throughout my Christian life I have made more mistakes then what would be easily believable. And even though I have learned from many mistakes, I'm still making some, that one day I might write to the new-age college-aged kids.

PART 1: DON'T TAKE HIGH SCHOOL FOR GRANTED

To say I tried really hard in high school would be, well, half true (maybe just a quarter true). At some points during high school I really did put my best foot forward, but just one good foot is not enough. High school (if you went to a public school) is basically free! School fees at high school are the same they were in elementary school, SUPER CHEAP! On top of that, if you start off doing really well in high school, you can do post-secondary and goto college for free, while still in high school, like Adam Esterle. He will almost be a sophomore his freshman year of college. On top of that, basically to be almost prepared for college, you have to have done very well in high school. Its as "simple as dat" as Kid Cudi would say. Because I didn't fully take advantage of everything offered in high school, I've struggled through my first semester and am already doing the same this semester. Their is homework every night, more than I've ever had. (Point is college is tough for me. What was my mistake? I took high school for granted). Did you know that college is very expensive? Tuition for my first year at Kent was already $8,430. On top of that you have to buy books for all your classes, this semester (not including last semester) totaled something around $230. Also, every semester the school you are enrolled in also has a fee (I am enrolled in the College of Business at Kent State), the fee for my school was $60. Most classes have small fees, and so on. But know this, if you do amazing in high school you most likely wont have to pay a dollar for school. There are many scholarships available that will cover your whole tuition as long as you put some effort towards earning them. Some of them you need to write essays for, explaining why you want it, or why your a good candidate. But overall its not that hard.

A few tips...

If your a senior, your already late at applying to colleges, but if you have applied, do your FAFSA now (even if you are rich, there are scholarship opportunities waiting for you just for filling out some online paperwork
1. If you've done terrible all of high school and dont even understand how you are even considered for graduation, college might now be for you just yet, take a year off (contrary to popular belief) it might be harder to start back at school, but you need some time to get focused, make some money to pay for school and so on...
If your a junior, this summer start applying to college
If your a sophomore and have been taking high school for granted, you still have time to turn everything around, get focused, get a planner, do all your homework, and put the most effort you ever have in school
If your a freshman, its only your second quarter of high school, your 100% safe right now if you got straight F's your first semester. Rethink what you've been doing wrong and do better!
If your a high schooler, read this post, ask questions to people older than you who have done everything you have, don't look at college like you have to figure out everything for yourself, be humble, let some people help!

Back to Berkley!

kmccallum — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:47:41 +0000

I owe San Francisco a deep, heart-felt debt: that city was the cauldron (boiling pot) that drove me to smoking pot! The characters, musicians and revolutionaries working out there fomented a social revolution that was in full swing as I entered High School at my most-vulnerable age. My "older brothers" in the revolution knew what they were doing when they burned American flags and torched the universities, but us High School kids were clueless, and we just did all the drugs! (Well, not me as much as others I know, like Jim Swearingen, below...) Is it time to pay back a debt to Berkley? Sure, why not? Christians carry a torch of Revolution far more terrible in its implications (in a sweet way) than any revolution arising from those universities! No, I'm not kidding--read about it at the NeoZine. One favor deserves another... Oh, what a struggle of prayer, correspondences, discussions, and angst, and sometimes I feels like I'm staring down a lion's open throat to contemplate such a direction for our ministry. (WTF are we going to do there, smoke weed?) Yet things are moving. As Elaine Stedman recently wrote to me, "Aslan is on the move!" She has a good point. If you remember the movie, things started heating-up when he was on the prowl (in a nice, spring-like fashion!). I found an old Xenos friend is prominently placed in the administration at Stanford university--But wait! Are we even interested in a university ministry? I guess so! (He started that job about the same time I began corresponding with Lambert & Elaine.) And he writes, in part:

Of course I remember you Keith. I would be happy to get together when you are out this area. Alas, we are housing a new grad who is doing an internship at [Ray Stedman's old church], so I can't offer you a place to sleep...

Ain't that a hooter! We really aren't looking for a place to sleep, dude! (Thanks for the consideration, though.) But we are looking for a good place to torch! And then they put me in touch with this sharp-minded, heavy-hitting sorta dude named Doug Shearer. While reading his Web, I find this written by Sita, Doug's wife, and suddenly it all makes sense...

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Doug and I and our three kids moved to Berkeley in 1971 to share the good news with the thousands of young people seeking love, peace and meaning for their lives. They flooded the San Francisco Bay Area with “flowers in their hair”...

These people were at the center of the Jesus Freak movement, which also spawned our Columbus ministry. But there's more:

We rented a large home where several young girls moved in to be discipled. Brothers and Sisters houses were established to provide an escape from the drugs, sexual excesses and spiritual darkness that prevailed on the streets. Families took in new believers who were transformed into “fishers of men” by returning to the streets the next week with us to share the good news with others...

Ministry houses in Berkley!? It sounds all-too familiar, doesn't it?

Take It To the Streets, Baby!

Reading the front page of Doug's Web site is like reading our own conversations lately, even to the extent of sharing an abhorrence of Calvin's legacy! There's also some pretty radical dudes associated with this effort, like the "Fireball Ministries" (!?) dude named Paul Coca who has "'been doing street ministry for over twenty years" and "provides about 70% of our music out on the streets." I wondered why Lambert kept sending me to "street ministries" (I do look a little ragged and rumpled, but give me a break! I'll get a hair cut!), until I realized that street people out there are quite different than street people out here! "All the nuts roll West," as native Californians say, and they're referring to all the young drifters and roamers looking for something after graduating from High School buy a van and go to California and fill the streets. Oh wait... that's like...our favorite age group, isn't it? It reminds me of this song right here (the musicians came from San Francisco, too!):

Volunteers of America!

(Click the link to listen)

Go to the SOS Ministries page or read Doug's "Appeal to My Generation" and you'll see their call for "Volunteers of America" to join the fight! Christians are abandoning the tough places. Why? It feels like you're looking down a lions' open throat! But it's all good--step aside, Mr. Coca, and make room for the Scottish Keith... How will they feel about a band of crazy Cleveland dudes coming out there with "torches", tromping all over their playground? (We'll try to be civil, of course.) Doug responds to my inquiries:

What an exciting e-mail. We share so much in common - including some long-time friends, Lambert, Elaine, and, of course, Ray. It would not only be my pleasure to meet with you when you're out this way, it would also be my honor. Let's stay in touch. In Christ, Doug.

Yes Doug, let's stay in touch! Cleveland is coming your way!

(Just don't tell him about the Cleveland bottle incident at Browns stadium...this and the Drew Carey Show pretty much explain Cleveland.)

A Challenge to Parents, Part 1

dardrops — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:40:59 +0000

I’ve been thinking about writing a blog about parenting for quite awhile. Funny thing is, the longer I think about it, the harder writing it becomes. After all, it’s a complicated issue – and a touchy one. Frankly, there’s a lot of Christian and secular books out there--so many it’s overwhelming. I mean, how do you decide who’s right and who’s wrong?‘ I mentioned to Elaine Stedman that I was trying to do this, and she suggested that since I was 50 now, I just "might" be able to start doing it. But "be careful," she said. Very wise counsel. I don’t know about you, but I find that even the Christian parenting books don’t seem to quite scratch the itch. There’s stuff on how to keep your child from being sexually active before marriage, whether to schedule your baby or not, how to discipline, courtship vs. dating, how to disciple your child, and on and on. Most of these books have something good to say, a few have something great to say, and quite a few actually suck. There are a few books out there that discuss how to lead your child to Christ. And recently, a few have come out about how to get your child to make the Christian faith their own and not leave the church. Good questions that need answers. But even here, it is mostly hand-wringing. Few seem to have any answers. Don’t get me wrong. Reading those books is a good thing. There are a lot of good ideas, ones that will help in the everyday life of parenting. However, for me, there was something missing. It seems that most Christian parenting books focus “How to raise good kids.” And what they mean by “good” is kids that don’t do drugs, have sex before marriage, are respectful, get good grades, keep their rooms clean, learn responsibility, and so on. All of this is pretty good stuff, but…as far as I can tell, none of the authors are writing about how to raise kids that are radical Christ-followers or kids that can love sacrificially or kids who know how to have real Body Life. Honestly? Remove their emphasis on daily family devotions and what you have left is how to raise a good American kid. The scary thing about that is that America is part of the kosmos, the counterfeit kingdom Satan has set up to distract us from God’s Kingdom. Parents are rightfully concerned with where their children end up. And statistics say we are losing the war. The Barna Group reports that 61 percent of young adults who attended church as teenagers are now spiritually disengaged. LifeWay Research states that 7 out of 10 Protestants ages 18-30 who had attended church in high school stopped attending by age 23. Scary stuff!! The topic of parenting is on the front cover of the January 2010 issue of Christianity Today. The title of the article is “The Myth of the Perfect Parent.” The article comments that, as Christian parents, “Our most consuming concern is that our children ‘turn out’.” What this means is “that our Christian faith and values are successfully transmitted, and that our children grow up to be churchgoing, God-honoring adults.” I don’t know about you, but I find this slightly lacking. Do we really want our kids to grow to just be churchgoers? We definitely want them to be God-honoring adults, but what does that mean exactly? There’s a lot I don’t know—about parenting and an infinite amount of other things. However, one thing I do know, there is no formula for raising radical Christian kids. Radical Christ-following parents raise rebels and apathetic kids, too. The author of the Christianity Today article, Leslie Leyland Fields, discusses spiritual determinism. This is the belief that if we just do the right things in the right way, we can ensure godly kids. I agree with her assessment that this is a faulty belief. There are plenty examples of radical believers in Scripture who raised unbelievers and even kids who ended up hating God. We often forget—our children have free wills of their own. Often, despite having the best home with an amazing Body of Christ, they use their free will to choose against God. There is that annoying fallen nature that ruins everything. But this does not mean we just throw in the towel on parenting. There are some foundational principles we need to “hang our hat on.” If even “doing it right” fails at times, “doing it wrong” brings even more peril. My premise is that the American church has gotten it wrong more than it’s gotten it right. It has fallen into Satan’s trap of settling for the acceptable outward behavior of our kids without ever dealing with their heart. This is what God sees when he says in Isaiah, “Then the Lord said, ’Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote…’” We do this with our children because this is what we are doing with ourselves. Often we parents are the ones who are deceived. If we don’t understand God’s perspective on grace, the Body of Christ, the Mystery of godliness, then how can we possibly expect our children to understand? I do know this. If our kids don’t see in us, in our relationships, in our priorities, that the Kingdom of God is the most exciting, the most rewarding, the most stimulating thing in the universe, they’ll go somewhere else to find it. In my next blog, discussing the foundation.

Nothing extraordinary but everything amazing

Elli — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:17:06 +0000

There are times in my life when my heart tells me not to feel. It tugs at every vein and every muscle trying to tell me it's okay not to feel and it's okay not to care. And I regret to report that in Elli world, most times I comply to these wishes... To where my heart really is: individualism. Individualism is a belief in the importance of an individual and the virtue of self-reliance and virtual independance, according to the dictionary app on my iPod. Once one (or maybe in this case just me) so once I submit to this urge, to the pulling and proddings of the individualism, I wallow in self pity. My life becomes everything individualism promised me but flipped... So the opposite. I realize that I feel everything I hate. I get lonely, bitter, jealous and melancholy to the point where all I can see is two feet in front of me and that's ok. Why? Because it's ME! And what I thought would be care-free turned into a sandstorm of feeling on everything. It's true, when I submit I don't care. I don't care at all about the important things but on the other hand I care about everything. I care about EVERY FRAKING DETAIL ON EVERY DETAIL OB EVERY DETAIL OF EVERY INSIGNIFICANT FACT. It's horrible! And this promise I made that it is going to be okay? It's never okay. I've been to that place many times. I call it Frank because it keeps coming back when I don't want it to. Frank scares me. He is the epitomy of everything I fear and everything I love rolled into one... But not everything. He makes me feel so superior and so regretful and so hot and so guilty... It's heartbreaking. It's also a law. Frank is scary. I mean what if I get stuck with frank?? What if one day I go out and never come back? Frank wouldn't care. He would just make up more lies to keep me satisfied. And I would tie a blind fold over my eyes so I wouldn't see all the rubble and destruction I would leave behind. Would anyone be able to get me? ...Frank would then say: would anyone even try? I would say no and keep walking with him blindly and lovely. Frank scares me sometimes but I can't blame frank. I tried blaming others but that just made me closer to Frank. It's a dark an depressing thing, I am. It's the truth. I'm dark and I walk blindly... I am melancholy and I am weak. I am hopeless and a materialist. I am an individualist. I am individualism. No I'm not. I was all of that and a huge bag of chips. Sometimes I convince myself I still am that way. I want what I want and I need what I want to be who I am. And when I start saying my name is frank... That's when I turn my head to see a huge gray bloody rabbit whispering in my ear that I could be so much more.... Who am I? I remember who I am. I know! As you have seen above, I thought I had it down. I'm elli and I'm smelly. I'm the shit and I'm the wit. I'm blood and I am guts. Doesn't this just scream teen angst? I should write songs, everyone would buy them :) but I'm not that! No, I remember being reborn. I remember leaving all of that even if it is only a few inches to be what I am today. So who am I? I know who I am. I am a light of the world (Matthew 5:14) I don't have to walk through these sharp ridges so blind, I have a Father that leads me an shields me (John 1:12). I may not be the shit here, but there is someone who can keep up with my mood swings and temper yet still thinks me a saint (col. 1:2). I'm not always going to fit in this world but that is because This is not my home, I don't belong here (1 Peter 2:11). And best of all, I am the friend of someone who knows unconditional love and someone who is with me always. I am friends with an almighty king that does not reign terror whenever I go astray but sheds tears because I know He will miss me! Who am I? I am Christ's frond (John 15:15). No matter where I go with Frank, there is a light out of the corner of my eye that reminds me of who I really am. Though I may try to cover it, it's always there. I'm going to try and live on my own. I'm going to fail. I'm going to love the world... But I am a new somebody. I know I can walk away from that past because that isn't me anymore. God reassured me that he is here. He shows ne everyday with such amazing relationships he has given me. He shines through in the smiles of my sisters Erin and Anele, in my best friends Adi and Asta, in my most caring parents, and in my loyal comrade in crime Katie. He shows his love through Carrie who teaches me how to be like Him. He shows his compassion through Adam and Jordan who put up with me no matter how annoying or hard headed I get. He shows his humor and joy through those funny ladies Brooke, Brandi, Jessie and Catie... He has given me the body who show just a fraction of his sacrifice but is still enough to overwhelm any person. He gives us love which is a warm blanket no one can refuse on days like these. He has given me so much. So much. I'm just a silly girl. Not to him. To him I am I daughter. And a spoiled one at that. Today I said bye to Frank because I found-AGAIN-a significance that lasts and that loves me no matter what. I'm going to love God, too. I may not be worthy but he made me have purpose and gave me light. He gave me a life worth living... Thank you, Lord. Thank you thank you thank you! I love you and I need you and I'm sorry for the pain I have caused you. Please help me love people the way you do and show me where to go! I am excited for your will to be done and amazed you have chosen me to work through! There's no way I can repay you but giving my life to you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so! I honestly don't know why I wrote that down but i'm going to keep it. The point is that the lord has freed me from all that I was. He has given me opportunity and a chance if successful life. Sometimes I am blind and foolish butcher forgives me. And I forget and it hapend again. But love brings me back and his love holds me and... It's what I live for. I didn't really have a point when I started writing today but that's a damn good one so we are going to keep it ;) what the lord has done with me...

Dj Carleeezy behind the music

DJ Carleezy — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:00:20 +0000

well i was thinking for a while what should my first blog be about, and BOOM it hit me super hard that alot of people dont really know me.. I know you can say o hey i know carlell he's from bedford and all that jazz.. but i thought it'll be sweet actually explaining i guess you could say my life story... So here we go on my lifes journey, it all started way back on the fateful day of march 28 year 1991 when i was born at some weird hospital in parma forgot the name but that's the important part i was born with an inlarged heart and they really didnt know if i was going to live or not. So I spent the first few weeks or so of life all tubed up in the hospitals with the machines monoriting my heart and of course everything turned out ok as you can see, but every year i still have to get my heart checked to make sure its still ok. For the majority of my life my mom and dad were divorce. The only memorys of them being married was some arguement they had and whatever i have seen from old tapes of them on family vacations etc. So growing up in the early years my father was pretty much my escape from my mom. My father was the coolest nicest father ever and i know everyone probably thinks that about there's too lol. However, i grew up in fear of my mother because she didnt hesitate knowing the verse "spare the rod spoil the child". So i would get beatings or whuppings as i say with random objects like a belt or sometimes a hanger or an iron cord or maybe even a tree branch...And doing these beatings were to show me that i had did something wrong for example i remember i got a whupping for not clapping my hands in church or not singing or standing up. lol real silly stuff or if i didnt wash the dishes or chores any little thing i guess you can say...So i grew up very scared of my mom and i still was until maybe last year, its pretty crazy....but i forgave her for all the crazy things she did and still does. Also growing up i had a terrible addiction and her name was FOOD I loved food a lil too much. I would go crazy eating and drinking alot going to all you can eat buffet the works and you can see where thats gotten me. thank god im breaking that habit, i was ALMOST 400 pounds at one point, i wont go into too much detail but with the help of god im breaking this terrible addiction. I have been on the losing weight train and im loving the benefits haha. So a little bit about my school life. the most i could tell you about school for me is that i hated it with a passion. I dont know why but i think it was because the kids were so cruel to me because i didnt fit in. i was fat, poor, and definatly not cool so people took advantage of me because im soo super passive and basically made school suck really bad. dont get me wrong i had some good days but most of it consists on me getting bullied, and i know what your thinking how could THE CARLELL HOWARD get bullied. i couldnt answer that question, haha, i just dont like violence or fighting, im just like that. High school on the other hand wasnt so bad but i think it was because i was on the football team, but people still found ways to make fun of me and stuff.... I had some so called friends i thought were my friends but it turned out they were not, just like everyone else. On top of this my sophmore year my father died...Now the reason for my father's death is a real rollercoster.. It started off he wasnt feeling too well, so he decided that he should finally go to the doctor to get it checked out. So the next thing i knew was that his ulcer had bursted and they had to do surgery, which meant he had to be put in a medical coma. So i was like ok he should be fine, he's a strong guy. he's my father the strongest man i know.....But that didnt happen they decided to keep him in that coma so that he can heal faster and better i guess. if i remember right they also had him hook up to all these machines you know checking his blood and heart in stuff and had him on oxygen. i dont remember why he needed the oxygen thing though. After a day or two in the coma they decided to take him to cleveland clinic downtown because they have a better facility and more air. long story short they found out that after all this treatment he had become brain dead because of being in the coma too long and he never came back. So i took off of school for about a good 2 or 3 weeks just being all sad and depressed in stuff it was a rough time...So a few days into school this kid bryan bassett who i never really talked to alot but considered him a friend asked me one day if i wanted to come to this bible study with him and i said sure and soo did my mom.. So i came out at met all these people who were sooooooo nice to me probably the nicest ive ever been treated and soo loving and my heart was filled with soo much joy and from that day on i decided to pursue coming out here to xenos gaining close relationships in the body and learning as much as i can about the true meaning of gods grace and his plans for us because the fundy way was not teaching any of this. So thats why im so thankful to be apart of this loving body of christ which show's love and are very serving and i just want to thank everyone for being just there for me and soo serving and even if its a little thing your doing i appreciate it soo much because not too many people looked out for me like everyone here has thanks alot i love all you guys :) And now with all your knowledge i've been giving i have decided to actually pursue college and learn as much as i can and im actually loving it thanks again for pushing me ps: sorry about if there's like bad punctuation and stuff thats from not caring about school but im learning, thanks for reading my blog i hope you learned a little more about me and my life growing up

Use Footnotes!

kmccallum — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:21:57 +0000

Hey everybody, now you can put cool footnotes in your blogs. It's simple: wherever you wish a footnote to appear, enclose your footnote text in double-parenthesis. Make sure you have a space before the double-parens and after the double-parens. ((You should be seeing a footnote here!))

Ilikegettinglost

Elli — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:24:36 +0000

someday, i'm going to publish everything I have ever written and I will be the most hated person in the world! Oh my mind. How I hate thee.

The Saddest Lie, Part 2: Can't Complain

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:37:47 +0000

Hey man, how's it going? Eh', can't complain.

Are you kidding me? Why can't you complain? This world is terrible! I know that there is only one thing that makes me feel like I can't complain. That one thing is God. I know most of the time at school or at the office I especially feel like complaining. Actually, if you know me well you probably know I like to complain no matter where I am at. To say you "can't complain" when your stressed at school, or to say the same when your enslaved by the man at work, is a lie. Why not complain? People may even like you better if you tell the truth. Don't get me wrong, complaining too much is not the right idea, but getting some feelings out is. Work might not be the most appropriate place to do that, but whether or not people want to hear it, they will at least act like they are listening. Usually people have someone at work they can talk to, but mostly just nonsense. Why waste time debating sports, your favorite music, or even clothes? Why not use your free time wisely and talk about whats wrong, with you, with the world, with the person your talking to. Are you all stressed out about school? Let some people know! Is work rough? Tell somebody!

The Saddest Lie

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:18:49 +0000

How are you doing? Good.

Ninety percent of the time (rough guess) you will get that answer or different variations of the same thing. Sometimes its the truth. If someone asked me right now how I was doing, I'd say good. Although I know I would say the same thing if I was doing bad. Why must we lie so frequently?

Is it because we just want to avoid a serious conversation? Or is it because we feel like we are "doing good" even though underneath it all nothing is good and we are severely depressed. No one wants to admit that kind of thing.

How are you doing? Well I'm severely depressed.

I doubt you'll ever get that response. We are personal beings, yet we have become so impersonal.

Berkley, Here We Come!

kmccallum — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:31:32 +0000

Every so often I run across a cool brother or sister the Lord uses at the most-opportune time to give me a sense of direction. In this case, it was my new friend Lambert Dolphin, from the West Coast, near San Fran. In a series of correspondances concerning our ambition to incite authentic Christian Revolution to the West Coast (as opposed to that creepy, sissy stuff McLaren & Co. yap about), I wrote to him summarizing my position. His answer was most warm and welcoming.

My Letter to Lambert

My dear brother-in-Christ: As you probably know, I’m agitating Revolution, and there is much evidence of our Savior’s kind favor towards this effort. He continues to bring young, gifted, zealous Christian converts to us from among the “Lost Millennial Generation”. I feel such a deep, heart-rending burden to get these rather uneducated (but terribly excited) brothers heading the right direction—heading into “The Fight” rather than away from it. The poison of “Personal Peace and Prosperity Christianity” is so lethal and pervasive among older Christians! You mentioned earlier that you thought I was an evangelist, and while this is possibly true, the undeniable truth is that I’m an agitator. (Is there such a spiritual gift? I hope so, because I certainly have it, whether it’s a gift or a curse!) I’m afraid I'm the Abbie Hoffman-type (lots of hot & acerbic air), and I need to be surrounded by the Jerry Reubin-types as organizers. So this is why we must come to Berkley and foment Revolution. And I think Our Savior is grieved about Berkley and the darkness surrounding it.

And so Lambert responds:

Howdy Keith, Back in the late 1930s my mom got her first washing machine. It had a rotary, vertical agitator that worked fine on small loads but bogged way down on coveralls and heavy stuff. Yes, churches DO need Agitators like you. But the situation is so bad I wonder if small foot-ball sized nuclear bombs might be more effective? That might reveal the black hole at the center of a good many congrtegations? The polarization in the Church of Laodicea these days is amazing to me. Jesus is outside knocking. He would like to be invited in. Many of the Lord’s closest followers are also outside the assemblies just as Jesus is. This seems to me to be paving the way for the final form of the church—the harlot church of Revelation 17. For the first time, Jesus tells his followers to just plain leave. Not all churches are Laodicean of course. Churches like the other six depicted in Rev. 2-3 are to be found in the world around us as well. The folks I know in Laodicean churches have a vague sense of stress and distress, but little awareness of the huge changes in the world scene which started happening about a year ago. By all means Agitate! I think the reality is that only a remnant of professing Christians in this country is serving our Lord in such a way that the Spirit is breaking into the world through these people. I listened to Dallas Willard’s Q&A sessions in Menlo Park at least three times with great interest, http://mppc.org/toughquestions. He is a prof of philosophy at USC and is used to faculty members students. He talks about the near-total ignorance of what the Bible says, or our need to read it all, and to begin to act on what we hear. “If you plan to go to heaven, go now,” he says. It seems to me that God is still very much retraining evil in the world. What we see is more really ugly stuff breaking loose through around the edges, but I think most people live in denial of the “wrath that is to come.” Movie attendance is way up. The people I know who are surviving economically are usually keeping a low profile. Times like these make more and more of the Bible appropriate, timely, applicable but hearing truth and not acting on truth, leaves one worse off than before. It is nice to hear from you my brother. I think there are several subjects I wanted to bring up, but right at the moment I can’t think of them. Shalom, Lambert Billy Graham, 1949 "When God gets ready to shake America, He may not take the Ph.D. and the D.D. God may choose a country boy ... God may choose the man that no one knows, a little nobody, to shake America for Jesus Christ in this day, and I pray that He would!"

And Then?

So Lambert then proceeds to give me some contacts and further instructions on how to establish a beachhead there at Berkley. I am most-earnest in my prayers that something very concrete and wonderful will come of all this!

Are you or were you Already Gone?

morscher — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:28:39 +0000

I just read the book: Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer, (Master Books, Green Forest, AK: 2009). In it, Young-Earth Creationist Ken Ham and marketing researcher Britt Beemer seek to understand the plight of American Christianity as we see more and more young people leaving the church, and in most cases, never returning. They do some exhaustive surveying of those who have left the church and discover some startling statistics. Of the 20-somethings raised in a Bible-based church interviewed who no longer attend church regularly, 95% attended through middle school, 55% attended through high school, and only 11% attended through college: i.e., 90% were Already Gone by the time of college. From their findings, much of this loss is due to doubts these students have about the Bible. In addition, about two-thirds of the youth leave the church by the time they are a young adult. Their exhortation is for the church to wake up and be the church (body) it was intended to be, faithfully adhering to and teaching from the authoritative Scriptures in a way that is relevant (defensible) to culture and history. There is much that I think is very true and that I agree with:

The dismal state of the church in America and how it is losing it's youth
How the authority of the Word has disintegrated in the church today
The church really can't change culture (105)
Music is a minor element to the church at best - truth is relevant and needs to be the emphasis (110). In fact, much of the emphasis and approach for music in the church has no Biblical basis at all (127).
Hypocrisy and the institutionalizing of church is a major reason why young people leave (110ff)
The need for more interactive ways of teaching the truths of Scripture and apologetics, e.g., small group settings (125ff), similar to the early church
Focus on youth and young adults (135) -- in fact a major priority should be to equip and let them lead and reach out to their own generations (160-161)
The need for revolution (141)
The opportunity to win some of those back who have left the church

I applaud the authors for their uncompromising view of Scripture as authoritative and the need to quit being lame in the way it is presented or glossed over in favor of "worship". I also appreciate their candor and critique of the way we do church. Not only the worship service but also Sunday school -- which is not getting the job done. The emphasis on Bible stories and entertainment as opposed to the Bible as real and historical undoubtedly plays into the doubts raised in the minds of teenagers and young adults who encounter the sophisticated arguments of the kosmos. In addition the reliance on Sunday school to be the source of Bible teaching as opposed to the home. However, I do disagree with the Young Earth view advocated by the authors and a missing element to their view of reaching the younger generation. First, their emphasis on a Young Earth apologetic overshadows much of the good things they have to say [1]. Undoubtedly they would probably counter that I am compromised and fail to uphold the historical truth of a six 24 hr day creation and have allowed "millions of years of evolution" to creep into my view of Scripture which results in the decline of Scriptural authority and relevance and eventual milk-toast Christianity. However, I do not believe that Scripture mandates the Young Earth view at all. There are plenty of good arguments for the days of creation not referring to 24 hour periods [2]. It may be true that the advent of naturalism and evolution may have influenced some of the old-earth interpretations of Genesis 1. However, that does not mean that they are merely compromises. The fact is that Genesis 1 is a single chapter with few details compared to the enormity of what happened during creation (the few details in Genesis 1 about creation do compare relatively well with what little is known from science). The emphasis in Genesis is the creation and fall of humanity and how God did and will deal with it. I agree with the need for effective teaching and training in handling the truth accurately, knowing the arguments of the kosmos and the apologetics to counter those arguments which includes the historical reliability, inspiration and veracity of Scripture. My experience is that Genesis 1 is not the biggest stumbling block as the authors make out. Yes it is thrown out there but there are very reasonable answers and one typically finds other issues at the heart of people's antagonism towards Scripture, God, and/or the church which are just as if not more important to defend as well. Some of this was addressed in Chapter 6 of their book, but I think it needs a much bigger stage. I'm curious if the age of the universe is something we could "agree to disagree" on. I could, but the Young-Earth apologetic appears to be so intricately tied to everything else in their view, I'm just not sure. Second, I feel the book is missing or underemphasizing a significant reason for the loss of young people to the kosmos which is that the church is not just here to teach and emphasize truth, but it is here for a purpose: the ministry of reconciliation to the world. We are God's ambassadors we have purpose - when young people realize this things become much more relevant. The book lacks an outward focus to reach the lost. Speaking the truth in love is the combination that must be balanced and emphasized. The lost need to see and experience the love of God which lives in the church and which touches them as people share the gospel with them in a life-giving way and not just for the purpose of "winning converts". The authors touch on this at the end with the application that students can be equipped to reach out to their own generation, but it is really much more than that. They need to experience and be active parts of the living Body Of Christ in which Scripture is wielded (which is stifled by the institutionalizing, worship service-oriented practices of most modern churches). When those truthing-in-love relationships are seen by the world people are drawn to Christ and that age group can turn from a declining population to one of vibrant growth. It seems to me that is the hope for this generation. It's also why I am so thankful to be part of a fellowship where students are a vibrant part of the church and not only sticking around but leading their peers to Christ. 1. When trying to show how far things have gone astray, their examples overly emphasize the decay of a Young Earth view of the world with those who have left the church. For example, when listing the negative beliefs of those who attended Sunday school and now have left the church, six of the sixteen characteristics (more than a third) dealt directly with a view contrary to the Young Earth position (39). 2. The account of Genesis 2 where man is created followed bya the population of the garden with foliage, with animals, the naming of the animals, followed by the formation of woman out of man took longer than 24 hours of Day 6 in Genesis 1:24ff. Some claim that Eve was within Adam on the 6th Day (positionally or metaphorically) and was brought out later (on the Eighth day?), but this seems as much of a "reading into the text" as saying that the days of Genesis 1 could be very long periods of time. See Gleason Archer's A Survey of Old Testament Introduction for different views of the interpretation of "day" in Genesis 1.

still alive

Elli — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:25:34 +0000

About a week ago, I think, I was telling one of my great friends that I am never going to be "ok" in answer to an innocent question: Are you okay? Well, now that is kind of embarrassing... I'm such a drama queen. But, a couple of days ago I found myself thinking I am happy now but i am always going to be sad. I stopped myself as I thought of what the hell I was thinking... And I remembered what my mom said once again. Sometimes, when I was acting too angry or being a grinch, my mom would tell me i was being irrational and that this was my choice to be this way. I would storm out thinkinhg that i was perfectly rational for acting this way because I couldn't control how I felt! Well, I think one thing 2009 brought was that that wasn't rational at all... because I can choose to be happy and I can choose to be mad. And I feel so free. I changed the thought: I will always be happy. I may be sad now, there are many things that make me sad, but I have a true joy in me that burns so bright that I feel I have no reason to be sad ever. It's a true love that I would do anything for. I want to share it with everyone! So there is no cold again. I can choose to be joyful, to love people, to be productive and to spread the Word... it's all free will, and it is so beautiful! Then, I was watching battlestar galactica (for those of you who haven't gotten this far yet, I will try to be as vague as I can) where one cylon was angry for being so human... but it didnt faze the other as she said that free will is the greatest thing. HAH cylon! they are pretty smart little shits. No lie. i just felt I had to share that because I am choosing to share it because I am choosing to be happy :) That fire that they call love can't go out. Sometimes it is hidden and it's true, the real love is scarce. But the love is strong even in the weak. And that love has gone through so much to get to the enslaved, and to show a path of freedom through the flames, all for the evil. What a great love! Thank the Lord, Merry Christmas! "this is real, this is me, I'm exactly where i'm supposed to be..."

Two Thousand and Fine

Kalie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:22:15 +0000

How was 2009? It was just fine. Compared to last year it was fairly un-dramatic for me, in a good way. But of course serving the Lord never lacks excitement. It was the year of The Article, the year we learned that persecution actually grows a church. It was the year we moved to the Michaleks. The year of the gum grafts, so everyone got to see how anxious and obsessive I am. The year Neil took Perspectives—always a dangerous move. And the year we took our second stab at buying a house, but couldn’t. Probably the biggest change for me was moving to the Michaleks. It was such a great decision, I can’t believe it took us so long to make the move! So thank you Dar for suggesting it, and Mark and Diana for having us! I would definitely recommend “married ministry houses” to anyone with the space. Or even if you don’t quite have the space, which is probably how the Michaleks feel, squished into the top story of their house with a baby—no, a toddler! It’s probably how my spaghetti feels, too. Living with others revealed my sin, as I expected. Diana indicated she felt like I judge her. I wanted to ask, “Why do you feel judged by me?” But I caught myself as I realized the answer: because I was judging her! As much as I loved living with her, I couldn’t help thinking she was doing everything all wrong. It was stupid stuff, and I had to learn how to let it go and realize there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Apologizing to her and talking about it brought us closer, though. I’m not judgment-free, but it always helps to recognize it and remember how sinful and irrational I am, and how God graciously saved me from worse judgment than I know. What I really love about living there is getting to hang out with Diana so much. For the most part we get a running commentary on each other’s lives, and I love it! Whenever we get back from a meeting or just hanging out with someone, we can share what happened. We always mourned that we didn’t get to live in a ministry house together but now we had this awesome opportunity. It’s also fun on the rare occasion that all four of us are home and get to talk. Now I’m glad our last house deal fell through. Seven-tenths of a mile is close, but eight doors down will be way better! This year also taught me to let indigenous leaders lead their church. I should’ve caught the idea after stepping aside in the Michalek home church a year and a half ago, to their great success. But I must be a slow learner, as I was still micro-managing Word like we did back when they were in junior high. A word of advice: when the students start complaining about activities, it’s time to let them take over. We also allowed only a select handful of “experienced” students teach home church, and a swarm of a dozen adults hovered over their meetings. With the help of Lina, Keith, Rolland Allen, and the students we slowly realized it was truly the students’ ministry. It never was ours and never would be. Still, it took a minute for the implications of our revelation to penetrate. We made a few attempts at delegation and succeeded in bringing on more students leaders, but we finally got it when the students decided to have home church every week, plan their own activities, and decrease the number of adults per meeting. Next thing we knew, the home church was seeing forty or more students each week. We decided to split, at least for a while. Roland Allen says, “The wind blows where it will” (wind = Holy Spirit as per John 3). We never know where he’s going to take us next. No matter what home church you’re in, one of the best lessons you can learn is that it’s never really your ministry. It’s the Lord’s. We refer to it in first person possessive for simplicity’s sake, and that’s fine. But it’s never really ours to control, ours to grow, or ours to take our identity from. So think about where the Wind is blowing and how you can cooperate, and give others the chance to participate, too. In related news, Neil took Perspectives class this year and we went to The Journey Deepens missions retreat. We didn’t conclude much, but I did learn a lot about my fleshly willpower. Keith confronted me about it (while I was trying to have an infantile argument with him). I always sort of thought my strong will was sort of a good thing (although I knew some drawbacks). I knew if I was accomplishing things because of my will and not God’s power, it was worth nothing, but I don’t think I really believed it. That I can function through tasks and get ‘er done isn’t actually a strength if I’m not relying on the Lord, because “when I am weak, then I am strong.” So my will needs to break, is what I really learned from our missions inquiry. We’re still on our “journey” to discern God’s role for us in missions, but we’re not charging ahead at breakneck speed anymore, and I’m content.

Slumdog Love Ethics

Kalie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:17:55 +0000

I just saw Slumdog Millionare for the second time and was struck by a scene that perfectly depicts how love ethics works. When Jamal finds the grown-up Latika, married to a selfish, chauvinistic man who obviously doesn’t cherish her, he tries to convince Latika to run away with him. But she’s too scared. She’s an orphan who was forced to beg by a cruel overlord who sold her into this marriage. But at least now she’s relatively safe, living in a mansion with servants and some semblance of security. Certainly she can survive her husband rude and angry behavior if she is at least clean, clothed, and fed. Like Latika, we feel safe in our sin. Whether it’s the decision to start a relationship with Christ or to take a new step of faith in walking with Him, the old way seems so much safer. It’s difficult to leave our pet sins, and even harder to leave the world of familiarity in order to follow Christ for the first time. Being rescued from slavery sounds nice, but will it really happen? And what awaits us on the other side of freedom? Jamal longs to redeem Latika so he confides, “I love you.” But such effusions bear little relevance to her situation so she coldly responds, “So what?” She is hardened by the world enough to know romantic love alone cannot save her. But then Jamal demonstrates a different type of love when he promises, “I'll wait for you at the train station every day at five, until you come." He is expressing sacrificial love. Jamal tells Latika what he will do, and how he hopes she will respond. But his act of sacrifice and hope does not depend on her actions. He will love her by waiting for her everyday whether or not she comes. He’s really saying, I will be there for you, no matter what you do. Jamal’s sacrifice is no doubt mixed with his own interest in the beautiful Latika, and his power to save her is nearly non-existent. Yet his demonstration of love is similar to Jesus, who in essence says, “Here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to die on the cross for your sins. I’m going to offer you this free gift of forgiveness, a relationship, and eternal life. And all you have to do is ask for it.” He died for all everyone's sin, knowing that most people would not accept His grace. But that didn’t change His decision to sacrifice for us. So often I am too afraid to speak the truth to someone, or too selfish to love someone when it costs too much. I’m afraid of what the other person will do, or that they won't do anything at all. But sometimes I've chosen to take the approach of Jesus and Jamal by letting someone know, either explicitly or through my actions, “I love you, and here’s how I’m going to show that. Here’s how I’m going to sacrifice for you.” Maybe it’s as simple as, “I’ll call you again next week.” Sometimes it’s setting boundaries: “I will hang up the phone if you continue this inappropriate behavior.” Other times it’s just being there, or bringing up difficult topics by speaking the truth in love. This is what 1 Corinthians 13 means when it says “love never fails.” It means love always wins. Victory isn’t getting someone else to do what you want. Winning occurs when we learn to love another, regardless of the person's response. And so often God uses our acts of love to bring redemption in another person’s life. But that depends in part on the person's free will, which is why Romans 13:10 says, "As far as it is up to you, be at peace with all people." When we are willing to let God mold our hearts, we will experience the victory and power of real love.

The Peace

kmccallum — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:48:37 +0000

Where is peace? Is it a theory or a reality? The video shows the formidable barriers to peace and martyrs like Martin Luther King who used the Jesus Revolution approach. It compares the tired, old institutional-church approach proposed by Brian McLaren, compared against the Jesus Revolution. [flashvideo file="http://repo.neoxenos.org/videos/ThePeace_conv.flv" /] NOTE: McLaren's claim that Martin Luther King's success was due to President Lyndon Johnson is historically untrue. The Civil Rights movement pre-dated President Johnson. King's movement was always the initiator, while politicians like Johnson climbed aboard only as the movement gained mass popularity. King himself attributed all his guidance and success to Jesus Christ, not Johnson, but McLaren never gives credit to Jesus Christ

gloves

anele — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:31:11 +0000

my first real blog i dont know if im doing this right. i wrote this like a month ago but...that the hey. Kalie made me do it. I really don’t like writing, so kalie made me do it. Haha If you are a grammar freak I command you to stop now b/c continueing will give you a heart attack. If you have low self esteem please continue reading. At least you can spell words that have more than three words correctly. This will make no sense to you so im sorry. It really doesn’t make sense to me either. 48. the nerds. The emos. The jocks. The cheerleaders. The gamers. The flirts. The goofs. The skaters. We no longer have labels. We have our own stories. We are one. Thursday. The dead labels fall and we become alive as brothers and sisters. We awaken to the real war with the enemy. I, so undeserving to do his will. Who am I to be blessed so much to watch him working the youngest of us. The young punks. The underdogs who Christ himself served with. Bring in the greatest harvest. I only watch in awe. How amazing he is! So young they are not yet bitten by those they feed. How fearless and courageous. May it never die! May no one smuther their fire! I have bites on my hands I will not let heal. I pick at the scabs to remind myself of the pain. I reach my hands out wearing gloves to protect me and conceal. But they see my gloves and run. Who wants to be embraced by one who wears gloves and treats you like an illness?! I lie to myself that the gloves are my hands. Perfect and strong. “I do just fine, me and my gloves. It is you that has the problem!” Lord, take off my gloves and clean out my wounds. Though it stings, I can now be healed to do your work your way. More bites are coming. But lord I find peace and thankfulness in you.

You are richer than you think. Or are you?

morscher — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:19:31 +0000

What if you found out you are one of the richest persons in the world? Would that change your outlook on what you have and what you do with it? Maybe you don't feel that rich, I know I don't most of the time. If you are that rich and you don't feel that rich, perhaps something is wrong with your perspective. I would even go so far to say that if we are off here, we are missing out on something "revolutionary" and "disestablishing". Since Thanksgiving break I've been watching Frontline video on the credit card crisis while exercising (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/), reading Ecclesiastes, listening and watching Bruxy Cavey's teachings on our narcissistic culture (http://www.themeetinghouse.ca/) and analyzing our church and my personal finances. I highly recommend all of these activities. Bruxy's teachings and the Frontline episode are really quite revealing about our culture and our personal outlook on what I need and desire. In many ways we are trapped, deceived, and bombarded with messages saying "I need this… now" or even worse "I deserve this now". Given the pervasive credit available, whether credit cards, home equity, student loans, etc…, and the desire of the money lending industry to trap you into always having debt we then go and get what we "need/deserve". The final result being that we are enslaved to our debt -- when we already have more than most people in the world (see below). Solomon would have one word for this sort of life --> meaningless. I think the real tragedy here is that we miss out on the joy of being able to give. We get life sucked right out of us. Jesus said "It is better to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). This of course doesn't just pertain to financial giving only, but it certainly includes it. In addition there is tremendous blessing and joy that comes from giving of your self to others (Jn 13:17). To give what we have, or rather what we've been given, is merely a response towards the love poured out by Jesus for us:

But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. 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 through His poverty might become rich. 2 Cor. 8:7-9

In fact, if we've been given more of something (like we have), it's so that God can use us to support building His kingdom and to give it to those who are in need:

at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality; 2 Cor. 8:14

So, where are we at with respect to the rest of the world? Pretty well off! Here are some statistics:

From several different measures, the household wealth of Canada and the US makes up about 30% of the total wealth in the world -- but our combined population is about 5% of the total population of the world http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_of_wealth
Based on UN reports from 1999, 3 billion people (nearly half the world's population) live on less than $2 per day while 1.3 billion get by on less than $1 per day. Seventy percent of those living on less than $1 per day are women. With global population expanding 80 million per year, World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn cautions that, unless we address "the challenge of inclusion," 30 years hence we will have 5 billion people living on less than $2 per day. http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/wealth_distribution1999.html
- The combined wealth of the 1% richest people in the world is equal to the combined wealth of the poorest 2.5 billion people in the world

From the study: The World Distribution of Household Wealth. James B. Davies, Susanna Sandstrom, Anthony Shorrocks, and Edward N. Wolff. 5 December 2006. (World Institute for Development Economics Research at United Nations University)
- The richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. The bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth. (they define wealth in the classic sense of assets minus debts).
- The top 69.8% of Americans are part of the top 10% wealthiest people in the world
- For reference, the median income of US households is about $50K in 2008. If your household income is over about $30K, you are in the top 69.8% of the US and in the top 10% of the world http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf (though this is a different statistic than wealth, it should get us in the ballpark)

So, where does that leave you? The average charitable giving in the US is about 2.1% of GDP http://www.un.org/partnerships/YStatisticsUSCharitableGiving.htm. That's actually pretty good, the US being one of the most giving countries based on quantity and percentage http://www.cafonline.org/pdf/International%20%20Giving%20highlights.pdf. But is a couple percent or even ten percent that much when you consider that we are some of the wealthiest people in the world? On top of that we either feel like or we actually are just barely making it because of our debt load.

I think Bruxy is right. One of the most revolutionary things we could do is to forsake the ethic of this kosmos, which is to get what we don't need, and instead give. Jesus certainly took this approach and when we use what we have to serve others in the context of building His kingdom it becomes very powerful and disestablishing. That is real freedom. What will the rich credit lenders going to do if people decide "I don't need you"? How far can we reach people with the gospel if we invest in building God's kingdom rather than a new iPod? How cool it is to be able to help out those who are less fortunate than you! Give the Lord a shot. He only needs a few fish from us to meet the needs of many. When we do that sort of thing we reap true riches.

Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 2 Cor. 9:6

The Course of This World

kmccallum — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:31:08 +0000

A video that depicts the way we're treated in this world... [flashvideo file="http://repo.neoxenos.org/videos/ephesians2b_conv.flv" /]

How to get to heaven?

kmccallum — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:30:04 +0000

A video interview of various, random souls caught by our cameras... [flashvideo file="http://repo.neoxenos.org/videos/HowToGetToHeaven_conv.flv" /]

Are they hopeless cases?

Elli — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:31:11 +0000

For school, actually for our school newspaper, I am writing a feature story on the porn debaters, Craig Gross and Ron Jeremy. It is a feature so I decided to fill it with information about what Gross's overall goal is. I think this quote explains it... "We're trying to reach a new audience and so we can't just do things like our parents did, like the generation did before us," Craig Gross. So, his objective is basically the same as ours. But, that is not the point. The point is that this quote came from an abc news article titled "Does 'Jesus Loves Porn Stars' Bible Go Too Far?" In the context, the quote is used to explain why he ordered the porn star Bibles. Beforehand, the article refers to how the American Bible Society refused to print Gross's Bibles because they are "out of a sense of propriety" and the "wording... was misleading and inappropriate." Immediately after Gross's quote, ABC quotes the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Albert Mohler. "These younger guys seem to say that older evangelicalism is just out of touch," Mohler said. "In a rush to be relevant I think these guys have crossed a line that I would not cross and i would not commit." Soo... From what I am getting, he is saying he is against the Jesus Loves Porn Stars Bible. And this is where my opinion comes in... Now, when I read about the American Bible Society (let's call them ABS ) and Mohler's view one main thing popped into my head: they are basically saying Jesus doesn't love people who sin as much as porn stars. Now, this kind of makes my head hurt thinking about it (i'm taking this medicine that gives me headaches already plus whenever I look at the high school, I think I may die of such a head pulse. but that' not the point) because at the begining of the article--before ABS & Mohler--ABC News quoted Matthew 18:19 and started with "Christians agree that the Bible commands them to 'go and make disciples of all nations' and that Jesus 'came to invite all sinners' to be his followers and 'save people who are lost.'" If you have not already figured out my point, my question is if these people are christians who read, preach and follow God's word, HOW would they come to the conclusion that it isn't okay to reach out to people like porn stars? There was a comment I really admire on this article that doesn't say it better. Basically, he says Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners... he would visit people whether they were prostitutes or an average person. I really admire Craig Gross's work, his faith and his attitude towards all of this. (He posts hate mail on his website--from christians and non--lol.) I would be so frustrated! Like in the last homechurch teaching I taught, it said how God worked through Paul to give compassion to a demon possessed girl, God's enemy... and when I talk to people about God and they say that they aren't worthy of Him, I'm just so surprised like I was at these quotes, you know? There could be a lot of reasons as to why people grow up thinking that God's grace doesn't reach them. But, the reason to why people think God only loves them and no one on such low a level as porn stars, that just stumps me. I see no reason... But, I could be wrong. If anything, I would be more surprised that God gives grace to people who think so that others aren't interested, aren't worthy or are too hopeless to be reached out to.... Well, that statement could totally back fire on me. But, I'm gunna leave it. So, thats something I found interesting.

The Plan

Domanator — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:14:52 +0000

The Plan While living in Garfield Heights my parents got divorced. After the divorce, I moved to Bedford. Had there been no divorce, I probably would have gone to Garfield Heights High School in instead of Bedford. Could I still have met Neil Brooks? Possibly, but it definitely occurred in me going to Bedford High School. I was able to get involved in the high school “BBC” ministry in because of this. I was not at all planning on going to Kent State University but God led me there and I moved into the ministry house with Eric Kinnel, Mark Michalek, and Eric Schoofs. I got a pretty nice paying job at Chipotle as soon as I moved to Kent (I kind of screwed up that job 3 years later). I went to graduate school, which was a really tough time in my life. The schooling required a lot of time and there was very little time to work. I also sacrificed a lot of relational time and went into a rut where I became disconnected and really felt like I had little to offer. I felt like people did not really see my value any longer because I was very disconnected. In early 2007, I also exited the Word ministry after my main disciple left and I considered it a failure. God did teach me a lot through this. It wasn’t really a failure as the cell group I led with my disciple did produce some fruit during its short existence. It was in that group that Mikey Hudock and Justin Duchaine started coming around. Exiting Word was probably a good thing as I needed to collect my thoughts at this point. It’s kind of weird because soon after leaving, the “promotions” jobs started coming that would have been impossible to do with the obligations of Word. God got me tied into the “promotions” scene that many of you know about, which was an amazing way to keep myself afloat. They were high-paying jobs with low commitment. It’s kind of amazing that God even seems to award my most frivolous desires. Right after I got my master’s degree, I started working at every Indians game for two months doing a promotion there and making nice money. I watched batting practice daily and still have bag filled with Major League baseballs that I caught. I was missing some meetings during this time but I was also at a point where I really didn’t want to relate with anyone and wasn’t really enjoying or serving anyway. This promotion lasted for two months, and soon after I ended, I amazingly received a promotion job that lasted 6 months working for AT&T. Very few people in the promotional world have had a job quite like this one that paid as well, lasted so long, required so much responsibility, and was completely local (other than a few short trips to Indianapolis to help out there)! This job helped pay off a lot of debt I had incurred from not being able to work much during my time in graduate school. Again, I was missing some meetings, but honestly it did not really matter because I wasn’t going to serve anyway. God taught me so much more than going to home church could have done at the time. Around this time, I was meeting with Dr. Morscher for weekly breakfast sessions. He was feeling me out and seeing what I was thinking. Although there was little progress in my spiritual life during our meetings (as he duly noted), I really appreciated his time and effort and adopted an “I will not let you down” attitude. I needed time, however. I also had a lot of tough conversations with Mark as I my presence in cell was phantasmal. I always had a dream of being a traveling businessman. You get to travel on someone else’s money and you do not have to maintain consistent relationships if you are frequently away. God let me dabble with this through promotions and showed that although traveling can be fun, it is largely miserable when gone for extended periods of time. I do enjoy these trips because I love exploring, but being away from the Body of Christ does suck. Amazingly, God showed me my dream through these jobs so I would know it wasn’t what I wanted. Because of this, I’m not wondering right now. Also, God will still hook me up with small jobs like these once in a while because he does know I enjoy them and like exploring new places! As the AT&T promotion was ending, God got me a job as a substitute teacher. Although this job does not pay great money, I really think there was a reason for being a substitute for 2 years! Yes, I was not rolling in the dough (although I was still able to supplement my income through promotion jobs) but my responsibilities after work were virtually nonexistent. As God knows, being a first year teacher is extremely difficult and time consuming as one must learn the content over again and preparing lesson plans from scratch. It would have consumed a great deal of my time. I needed the time to get right spiritually again. I needed the time to spend in relationships and taking baby steps to repair them. I do not act quickly so I needed a long time do this. It was frustrating at this time but I was never really too worried about money. God has shown me time and time again that Matthew 6:33 is true: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “ I didn’t have ton of money coming but still wanted to make sure I fulfilled my pledge to the church. Just this past September, I put a big check in the “hat” to fulfill my pledge even though the money could have gone elsewhere. It seemed like right after that money started pouring in as I got paid for a lot of my promotional jobs around the same time. I also received a call from a virtual school for a job interview! I found out about virtual schools through someone I was working with on a promotions business trip in North Carolina. I applied for one in Ohio and astonishingly ended up getting the job in October. I now get to work from home and have tons of flexibility in doing that (including listening to music and talk radio all day which is great). I was blessed with this amazing job that only 6 social studies teachers in Ohio have. I am extremely grateful for the job that God has given me and I can still have plenty of time to relate while doing it because the job saves so much time over a regular teaching job. I do actually travel within Ohio for my new job, and although it’s usually in my least favorite city of Columbus, it is sometimes Toledo or other places and it’s still fun and I still feel like it’s something God gave me. After getting the time to get my life back together while substituting, I began to get the feeling that “I’m back.” I regained an ability to relate with people and really felt appreciated and just felt like my old self again before regressing. I’m in the Chill ministry once again and enthralled to be there. Now I am sitting here on my birthday feeling really loved by all of the birthday wishes, and I feel that to an extent that it is representative of better relationships and am really thankful for the love. Now it is a theological conversation to discuss whether this was God’s plan all along, but I do know this: God definitely uses so many negative things for good. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

Baptism

Elli — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:05:02 +0000

thought i should start posting what i write... this is just the beginningggg... The 2009 NeoXenos baptisms, held Sunday, September 13, began with a potluck and proceeded to the beach for individuals’ testimonies. Neil Brooks explained the symbolism of water baptism. Then fourteen people being baptized proclaimed how Christ’s power changed them. Adam, a high school senior, spoke of his Christian home life and how he accepted Christ at an early age. But he started doing drugs and trying to control his friends. After Adam met people from Word, the high school group, he soon became interested in following God and now wants to lead others to experience God’s love. Asta, Rachel, Mandy, Mike and Jim also experienced some knowledge of Christ in their home. Jim Watson had the wrong idea of what God wanted. He was taught that non-Christians were bad. He read Galatians and could not believe he worked so hard when God’s grace forgives all. After that, he knew he was wrong and started a real relationship with God. Mike was raised Catholic and went to a private school. His Bible teacher showed him the way to have a relationship with God. But he became a “dormant Christian” and made bad decisions. God worked through Mike’s daughter Shelly to show him the depth of her Christian friendships. Now Mike is “happy to know I’m going somewhere and I’m happy to know I’m not going alone.” Mandy asked for salvation ten years ago. She thought God wanted her to be a good person while living a comfortable life. She began to wonder, “Is there much significance in my life?” She understood she was sinful and decided to have a personal relationship with God after realizing, “He already forgave me!” She’s learned God won’t finish working on her “until the day I die!” At eight years old, Rachel accepted Christ. She was made fun of, became bitter and started doubting God’s love. After some difficult disappointments she came to a Bible study with Charlotte and Leah. She started building friendships as her relationship with God grew. Now she’s serving others and inviting people to see what she experienced. Asta grew up in Xenos. She believed since she went to church, she would go to heaven. During middle school she was fearful and desperate to please people. And with her sisters she acted selfishly. At summer camp she heard a teaching about self image and realized she should “not fear for God is always there.” She became bolder after deciding to follow God, and has led many friends to know Jesus. Emil was lost in every sense while living as his own god, but it left him empty. Then Jeremiah and Michael asked if he had a personal relationship with God. He didn’t know what they meant until he read John 3:20: “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” Life became a lot more peaceful after starting a relationship with God, and his other relationships have benefited too. At 15, Liz deemed her life worthless. She struggled with depression and was constantly in and out of the hospital. She became involved in men, drugs and cutting. Finally she asked God for help and for Jesus’ death to count for her sins. “I’m worth something! I’m worth everything to him!” she exclaimed. She is learning to depend only on God for her significance. Eleni, Doug and Laura had religious backgrounds before accepting Christ. Laura and Doug grew up Catholic. Laura “knew He was there on Sundays.” She tried to be a good person and after hearing about God’s grace as an adult, she was afraid to accept it because she thought it might be a sin. Nicole assured her it wasn’t, and Laura asked God for His free gift. Since then her relationships have deepened as she became more open through God’s grace. Doug was raised Catholic but stopped going to his family’s church in his teens. Later on, his wife Lisa started going to Xenos meetings. Lisa invited him for a year, along with Rick, and Doug finally agreed to go. At his first Bible study, he felt like Keith was talking right to him. Doug became a Christian after learning more about the Bible. Doug is excited to learn more but says God’s grace was the most important truth to learn. Eleni grew up with a big Greek family in a big Greek orthodox church. She left the church because she did not understand it. Her father verbally abused her and her college scholarship fell through after an injury. Eleni then looked to men for love, but was raped while still mourning the death of a family member. She met Kate on her first day at Kent State. Kate pushed her to think about her life, eventually leading her to pray to receive Christ. Eleni says she cannot do anything without God. Matt started his story as an agnostic Darwinist. He was rebellious, depressed and empty. One day, after a period of partying, his girlfriend invited him to a Bible study. He went and got answers to his hard questions about how God and science could coincide. The love of the fellowship shocked him. He received Christ during Labor Day camping. Matt has learned what true joy is through loving and serving others. “It’s not something you find in the world,” he observed. Dave was raised Catholic but turned to Wicca. He loved to argue about Christianity, even after coming to a Bible study with his girlfriend, a new believer. The teachings seemed oddly relevant to his life. Then everything started going downhill. He finally gave in and accepted Christ’s payment for his sin. “The love was weird but the more I saw, the more it made sense,” he said about Christian community. “People started serving me, and the weird thing was that I wanted to serve them.” Trisha recalls eight years ago when God started working in her life, but she became bitter since then. She went home church just to make friends, but the Bible teachings caught her attention. Then she heard Evan’s testimony at a Bible study and wanted to find out how to become a Christian. She talked to Jackie and prayed to receive Christ in a restaurant booth. Jackie told how Trisha wanted “to do this so I can benefit other people,” and Trisha knew she could only do this through God. The day ended after 14 brothers and sisters emerged from the water, demonstrating both unity and diversity in the Body of Christ. From married people to high school students, God works in uniquely personal ways while bringing people together under his grace.

Welcome To The Kosmos!

kmccallum — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:49 +0000

It's all about talkin' smack--a language these guys know well. Learn from the best... The video above was used in a Bible teaching that "Everything has Changed!" Jesus proposes a different way to approach the world...

Will You Make Me Feel Loved?

kmccallum — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:08:25 +0000

The "plight of the Infantile" as depicted by Bryan Bassett and Adam Esterle's street interviews where they ask the basic Infantile question: "Will you make me feel loved?" [flashvideo file=/videos/InfantileLove_conv.flv /]

Debating Satan

kmccallum — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:37:22 +0000

Exerpts from the ABC Nightline debate between Christian and other world views, starring Mark Driscoll. [flashvideo file=/videos/Nightline_conv.flv /]

quick blog

Elli — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:44:52 +0000

In other news… there is so much. School wise, I have been trying to do better, pumping out good grades so I will be prepared for post secondary if it happens. I have a feeling I’m not going to know for a while. Also, Word is going through some drastic changes. Basically, the adults are stepping back and students are stepping up. We are taking over the forums, schedules, teachings and activities. This step has the potential to make us very unified. To make that happen, I think it requires much prayer, from everyone. And as of right now, I don’t think that’s happening. People seem to be dying to be right and have it their way. I might be wrong but it is just the feeling I get when we meet, independent. So, if you’re reading this, please pray for Word. J

Another thing I have been thinking about is trying to be compassionate with people. I tried this before but I, as predicted, failed. But lately, I have been asking God to show me how to love people. I don’t think I’m loving people as much as I should but it has been a cool experience to be going to God about it. There really isn’t any excuse for me now, haha, so I guess I should start working on it.

So, that is a little in the life of Elli. It’s pretty cool I guess. A little lonely when I decide to be… but “we've got each other and that's a lot for love - we'll give it a shot!” OOOoooOooOooooOOOOoOoooooOOhhhhhHhhHhHHhhh yeah.

Oh and I'm gunna decide to be happy :)

yay me

Quick bloggg

Elli — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:42:27 +0000

Where I’m at right now is actually quite relaxing. I’m sitting at a computer facing a window that opens to the field in front of the high school. The frosty grounds are no stranger but I cannot help feel intimidated by the vast emptiness of it. The truth is, I can’t like it because it’s school. I want to get out of here, now. And I might have a chance! Stow offers an option to take college classes in your senior year of high school. Most kids take this because it is free so it saves money in college. I would go because I hate high school. Yeah, I would still be in high school but not all day, just a couple classes. One of my main concerns is that I just won’t be able to keep up. I’m not the brightest student and don’t really know what it is going to be like. Other than that, I’ve had a lot of encouragement to go for it… But then, what if it isn’t what is good for Word? I have no idea and feel a little anxious about it. I have been praying and am so anxious for an answer… Haha that’s not even right. I want to grow up. But I don’t. Pretty mature right? Lol. In other news… there is so much. School wise, I have been trying to do better, pumping out good grades so I will be prepared for post secondary if it happens. I have a feeling I’m not going to know for a while. Also, Word is going through some drastic changes. Basically, the adults are stepping back and students are stepping up. We are taking over the forums, schedules, teachings and activities. This step has the potential to make us very unified. To make that happen, I think it requires much prayer, from everyone. And as of right now, I don’t think that’s happening. People seem to be dying to be right and have it their way. I might be wrong but it is just the feeling I get when we meet, independent. So, if you’re reading this, please pray for Word. J Another thing I have been thinking about is trying to be compassionate with people. I tried this before but I, as predicted, failed. But lately, I have been asking God to show me how to love people. I don’t think I’m loving people as much as I should but it has been a cool experience to be going to God about it. There really isn’t any excuse for me now, haha, so I guess I should start working on it. So, that is a little in the life of Elli. It’s pretty cool I guess. A little lonely when I decide to be… but “we've got each other and that's a lot for love - we'll give it a shot!” OOOoooOooOooooOOOOoOoooooOOhhhhhHhhHhHHhhh yeah.

Hallowed Whine

lbeech — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:29:44 +0000

It happens each year. The air cools; the days shorten; leaves burst into brilliant color, soon to fall to the ground. Inside things are happening too. Lights are carefully placed on the mantel; pumpkins, ghosts, spiders, and bats fill my living space; soon it will be Halloween. I love this festive season. The kids look forward to trips to the pumpkin patch. There is firewood to be delivered and Jiffy Pop to burn. Leaf piles grow, inviting all to jump into with glee. Cider, don't even get me going about the cider. The smell of spiced cider simmering on the stove delights the senses and promises of pumpkin bread yet to be devoured. Soon jack-o-lanterns will be carved and pumpkin seeds will be roasted and seasoned to perfection. What a time to play dress up and to stay up late watching your favorite "scary movie." Kids visibly tranform into monsters, heros, princesses and frogs and run door-to-door demanding a treat else you suffer the risk of a "trick." Adults get dressed up as well, playing with their children and with one another. Oh, the games they play. These are the activities of the season - ingrained into our culture as much as apple pie and baseball, yet so many Christians stand opposed to these festivities. Why? This has always baffled me. Why stand outside and opposed to your culture? After all, most Christians have no problem celebrating Easter or Christmas, but Halloween, now that's a different story. I've heard Christians tell me that they want no part in Satan's holiday. Are they kidding me? What makes Halloween more depraved than any other celebration? They tell me that dressing up in monster outfits honors demons and shames Jesus. Seriously? Thay insist that Halloween is the day of witchcraft and black magic. Huh? Okay, One of my kids did dress as Darth Maul and Darth Vader. True, they used the Force and enslaved the free world through violence and oppression, but Satanic? I think not. Geez. Occasionally, Christians argue that this holiday was rooted in a pagan festival called the Samhain. Basically, the Samhain was a Celtic harvest festival which celebrated the end of summer at which time the Celts believed that the boundaries between the living and the dead were able to be crossed. In order to protect and hide oneself from these evil spirits, the living had to masquarade as the dead; thus, deceiving the Banshees, and therefore, escaping Death's clutches yet another year. To disguise oneself became a matter of survival in a dark world ruled by the fear of death. So, it seems that Halloween may indeed be linked to a pagan festival. But what of other more "Christian" festivals? Are their origins any less godless? Christmas's origins are as pagan as Halloween's. December 25th corresponds with the winter solstice. On that day, Romans celebrated the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. This was the birthday of the Unconquered Sun. This allowed for many solar deities to be worshipped on the same date. The Persian god Mithras, Roman Sol, and Syrian Elagabalus all were worshipped throughout the Roman Empire on the 25th. Christian Christmas also corresponds to the Roman Festival, the Saturnalia, where social roles were reversed, as masters became servants and servants masters, and much merrymaking occurred. The church fathers, such as Bede, even agreed that Christ was most likely born in the springtime. Therefore, Christmastime has more incommon with pagan celebrations and debauchery than with Christianity. Though Easter's origins can be tied to the Jewish Passover, many argue that this holiday has the most pagan of beginnings. The etymology of the word "easter" has its base in the names of fertility goddesses, such as Eostre. Most fertility goddess had festivals in spring which directly corresponded to the time of Easter's observance. Also, other "resurrection" gods were worshipped in the springtime. Among the "gods" celebrated are Bacchaus, Adonis and Attis. The most compelling correlation, which supports pagan beginnings for Easter, is between Attis and Christ. Attis was the consort of the Phyrgian fertility goddess Cybele. He was believed to have had a virgin birth and was gored to death by a wild bore after he self-castrated himself. He died as a result of this violence, but was reborn, bearing the scars of his death, as a eunuch. Therefore, many argue that Easter has a great, if not greater, connection to the occult. So, if Halloween is to be feared and avoided by Christians, then too ought Christmas and Easter. Perhaps Paul said it best in his letter to the Colossians.

¹⁶ So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. ¹⁷ For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. ¹⁸ Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, ¹⁹ and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. ²⁰ You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, ²¹ “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? ²² Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. ²³ These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. Col 2:16-23

See, we were set free from this world. As Christians we have a new freedom to live as beloved sons and daughters. We no longer have to worry about conforming to the things of this world. It's not about what you do or don't do. It's about who you are, because of who Christ is. Halloween is fun. Kids love it. Communities act like communities. It's one night a year that people go door to door and greet their neighbors. People slow down and talk to one another. It's fun and it's freedom in practice. If anything, Christians should be even more involved in this hallowed evening. Christians should have the best parties, have tastefully haunted displays, open their homes to neighbors, display the warmest hospitality, give out the best candy, and above all show your community that you are a part of it! This past weekend my friend, who's a Christian, hosted a great get together in our neighborhood. She invited friends and opened her garage to the local high school students. Those students put on the best PG haunted house in town. The high school students had a great time socializing. What an amazing way to be in the world and not of the world. This is Christ's witness - Christ focused love. Kudos, Angie. May Christ be glorified through your serving endevour. Christians, instead of whining about how terrible kids are and how wicked Halloween is, do something radical. Throw the best party in town - it doesn't have to be huge. Just make a statement for Christ. One that is anything but whiny.

Reformation Recollections

lbeech — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:19:38 +0000

It seems only fitting to acknowledge the earnest stance that Martin Luther took against the establishment when he nailed these 95 Theses to the doors at Wittenberg. He wanted to openly discuss these ninety-five propositions, but Pope Leo and the institutionalized church were not in a talking mood. They were outraged. Luther did not intend to break from the Catholic Church, but he saw that there were some heresies within the church that needed to be addressed. He was calling for repentance by using the language of the Vulgate, "Poenitentiam agite", as he quoted John the Baptist in Matthew 3:2 and later Jesus in Matthew 4:17. The rage of the mighty papacy rose up against Luther and thus ensued the Protestant Reformation. (Well, that's the short of it.) Being raised in the Lutheran Church, Reformation Day was an notable day. I recall that we would pile into our lemon-yellow Honda Civic and head over to Concordia Lutheran Church in downtown Akron. The stain glass window rose majestically into the sky. This was indeed a "mighty fortress." Concordia was magnificent in stature to our humble Redeemer in Cuyahoga Falls. We filed into the sacred space and donned our musty choir robes. I remember stumbling over the weighty robes as we entered onto the balcony to sing in celebration of the Reformation. ( I thought it was a balcony, but it could have been the main worship center.) It usually rained and that made the robes smell even more dank, but that never seemed to bother me. My eyes were always drawn upward to the brilliant glasswork before me. My mind and heart were fixed upon the song we were about to perform. I took this singing thing quite seriously, after all if it weren't for Luther and those Theses, I'd be a - dare I say - Catholic. You see, one thing a good Lutheran girl did not want to be called was Catholic. To this day, I'm not sure why, the idea of being Catholic brings a cold sweat to my brow. It think it all goes back to those revered Reformation services that paid homage to this brave act of independent thought. Luther was a righteous rebel. His act of defiance was a stand for the gospel - for grace alone. Tetzel was the name that made my blood boil. "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs." This phrase accompanied the sale of indulgences which Johann Tetzel claimed insured forgiveness for sins not yet committed. The monies from their sale went to the papal coffers to fund the building of St. Peter's Basilica. The charges Luther brought against Tetzel and the Church were scandalous. I, as a ten year old girl, was disgusted by the idea of paying for forgiveness. Sola fide was the slogan I recall to be paramount. I guess that is why I hated it when people would say to me, "Oh, a Lutheran. You are pretty much a Protestant Catholic." Gross me out the door. Even today I am annoyed when people lump Catholic's and Lutheran's together, but I digress. The lasting impact of my past as a Lutheran and my Reformation Day experiences is this, that if some doctrine or idea of man is contrary to the inspired Word of God then it must be challenged. So, as Luther we ought to challenge a doctrine that is in opposition to the gospel. We as believers, disciples of Christ and Fellow heirs to the Kingdom of God, must stand up and state was is true and right. If the institution is wrong - is errant - who cares. Abolish it. Tear it down. Get back in touch with the Head of the Church, who is Christ. We can repent - not only as individuals, but also as a church. Why become hostile when the way we do something is challenged or merely questioned? I recommend people revisit Luther's 95 Theses. They are an intriguing and illuminating read. I have included them below for your convenience. Dialogue is good. Pursuit of the truth - even better. Best is clinging to the truth - absolutely!

Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter. In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.

2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests.

3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh.

4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons.

6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God's remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven.

7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest.

8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying.

9. Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us, because in his decrees he always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.

10. Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.

11. This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown while the bishops slept.

12. In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.

13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them.

14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear.

15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.

16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety.

17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase.

18. It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of increasing love.

19. Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness, though we may be quite certain of it.

20. Therefore by "full remission of all penalties" the pope means not actually "of all," but only of those imposed by himself.

21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;

22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life.

23. If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very fewest.

24. It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and highsounding promise of release from penalty.

25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish.

26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.

27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory].

28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone.

29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.

30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission.

31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.

32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon.

33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him;

34. For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.

35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.

36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.

38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the declaration of divine remission.

39. It is most difficult, even for the very keenest theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition.

40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them].

41. Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest the people may falsely think them preferable to other good works of love.

42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.

43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;

44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.

45. 45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.

46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.

47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.

48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.

49. Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.

50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.

51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold.

52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.

53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others.

54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.

55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.

56. The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope. grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ.

57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them.

58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man.

59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church's poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.

60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ's merit, are that treasure;

61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient.

62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.

63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.

64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.

65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches.

66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.

67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the "greatest graces" are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain.

68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross.

69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.

70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope.

71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!

72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed!

73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.

74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth.

75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God -- this is madness.

76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.

77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.

78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.

79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.

80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render.

81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.

82. To wit: -- "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial."

83. Again: -- "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"

84. Again: -- "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?"

85. Again: -- "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?"

86. Again: -- "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"

87. Again: -- "What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?"

88. Again: -- "What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?"

89. "Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?"

90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy.

91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.

92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace!

93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!

94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;

95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace.

Let's Eat Some Humble Pie

J Small Z — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:21:46 +0000

Well, I'm here chilling at the Word Retreat of the Year. We got some really cool high schoolers. Elli, Jordan, Boggs, and even Ryan all got up to talk about how others and the Lord Jesus Christ have been changing their lives! I remember back in the day that these kids were straight-up punks! Mean, lean, prideful mofos! And here they are today, making themselves vulnerable to their friends, and being grateful for the shit their friends had to put up with when they had to battle with their shit, their pride, their sin. There was some serious tear jerkers as well! It's so beautiful to see these high school punks being so sincere and thankful for the shit they put others through, they're building some significance! Why the fuck are these guys being so humble! A bigger question, why is being humble such a powerful thing?? Rich began this retreat with a teaching about humbleness, why the heck would a teaching on humbleness even incite any excite from a bunch of high schoolers? If that were me in the day, I'd be like dude! This shit is laaaaaame! You know what, though, it wouldn't be just high schoolers, the world is lead by punks. Like the Rock, that dude has built a kingdom around himself, he earned his significance through 'Layin' the Smack Down' and pinning his opponent to the ground! That is how the world system works! It's all about being able to lay the smack down! Being able to beat your opponent to a pulp, then being declared the victor! The Rock is the perfect image of power in the world system. It's about muscle, badassness, talkin' smack, and being able to lay the smack down! It's a system that builds itself up by tearing relationships down! It's a system that builds autonomy, pride, and selfish ambition. But it doesn't work! The Rock may be able to sit down in his throne of the Wrestling kingdom, but truthfully, is he really significant? He's spent his life destroying the lives of others in the ring, and what's with him at the top? Nothing! He's on a throne where everyone hates him. The only reason why he's got fans is because he hasn't had to lay the smack down on them! He's built his entire life around destruction, but what has he got to look forward to? He's nothing but icon to the world, but in real life, he's got no significance! He's got no real love relationships! He's made himself isolated, but it's not all his fault. It's how the system works! It'swhat the world promotes! Building a life of autonomy from everyone else, and holding out for yourself! I saw the movie, The Wrestler, a couple months ago and that did an amazing job of depicting how cruel and evil this world is. It's about this all-star wrestler (just like the Rock), and he's grown old, he's become a thing of the past and his fans have moved on. Where did he end up after he lost his precious wrestling career? He ended up with nothing! He was a old hag, living in a trailer park, without enough money to even pay for his rent! He's useless, and there's nothing he can do to gain the significance he once had because truthfully, the significance the world offers is extremely finite and only lasts for a few years or not even that much! It's like that with everyone. You go to school, get a career, but once you reach your expiration date of usefulness to the system, you're thrown out! You're left with nothing! This is the way of the world, but Jesus Christ created something that last forever, love relationships. That's why it's so cool to see these guys making themselves humble and vulnerable! They're building some love relationships! They're building up relationships that they can take with them for eternity! But they ain't wimps either! Today, Christianity has become the puss and judgmental stereotype. Christians are running into their little nests. Their churches. And hiding from the real world! And they're becoming losers! But why? Jesus Christ came and created such havoc and uproar in the Roman and Jewish civilization that all they could was kill him! But even that didn't stop Him! Jesus Christ was the biggest badass in all of history! But how? All he came with was humbleness, kindness, and love. How does love create such an uproar? Such a havoc that the world could only kill him to try and stop him? It's because God's love is all about freedom! When Christ came, he exposed the Jewish leaders for their hypocrisy. He proclaimed himself to be God. He came to set the world free!

Gal 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. NASU

So why go puss? Because Christians today have lost substance. Why did that happen? Because they turn to autonomy! They turned to the system! Christians today build institutions, buildings that cost time, effort, and most of all money. The system is the institution! Christ came to disestablish what the evil one has created! Not create another institution! Jesus came to tear down the isolation, tear down the undercurrents of hate and deception. He came to bring life, joy, and significance! Honestly, how can we have significance if we were just created randomly, or when we die we just end up like a minuscule bug... No, Christ came to rise us up! He came to replace our cold, dead hearts and gives us a tender, loving, caring heart!

Eph 2:4-6 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, NASU

Christ came to make us alive and place us as authorities in heaven with him! He came to place us in a position of real power. That's so fucking cool! It is so awesome to know that the God of the universe loves me and all his creation so much that'd be willing to offer us a way to be Kings along side his Son! And it is exciting to be apart of something that goes against everything the world system builds and represent. Praise God! Let's tear down this bullshit system that does nothing but try to tear down the relationships that matter! Let's rock this bitch!

So in a nutshell, I am super excited to see what this Word ministry can do. These guys have a heart and a fire to spread the Word and burn down the institutions that work to destroy the Gospel of the Lord. These guys have got some power and significance, and I know the Lord is going to be changing some lives! Let the love of the brethren continue...

Sucks to be you: Review of “Why we love the church”

jhughes — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:37:28 +0000

by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

Top honors in this year’s jaw-dropping title category go to DeYoung and Kluck’s latest “Why we love the church: in praise of institutions and organized religion.” That’s just about the opposite of what we’re saying at NeoXenos. For example, we emphasize how the word revolution captures what Jesus and the body of Christ are all about (and this is not a metaphor, but rather a literal revolution). We eschew the religious (i.e., man made traditions of “sacred” practices, often performed in a formalized or rote manner) and the institutional (i.e., formal organization into structures in the world system that operate according to the principles of the world system) in favor of the organic and relational. So naturally, I had to read this book to see how anyone could possibly be arguing in favor of organized institutional religion. Ultimately, I am convinced that this book is an argument against those who abandon the body of Christ in favor of some minimalist gathering that allegedly lacks essential functions of the church, such as body-life, the teaching of the word, and spiritual leadership and authority. This describes the organic/simple church people (e.g., Viola), Barna’s “revolutionaries” (i.e., lone-ranger Christians who belong to nothing and pray in the woods or on the golf course), and many emergent churches. Until reading this book, I was not aware of how widespread the “church sucks” movement has become, and I agree that fleeing the church in pursuit of autonomy, rebellion, and self-indulgence is tragically misguided. Turns out, the “church sucks” people haven’t made a clear case yet. They have an antithesis with no thesis, so it is unclear what constructive solutions they offer. However, it still sucks to be Kevin and Ted because they are stuck in the unfortunate position of having to defend organized religion, which can easily be shown to be a kosmos-inspired perversion of the ekklesia. For example, the best they can do with the Crusades is to say “well, they thought what they were doing was right…some of the individual crusades were successful in taking back Christian land, and you just don’t understand history right…you shouldn’t apologize for someone else’s sins...” Sorry, not good enough. We have to be able to condemn atrocities committed in the name of Christ, which in this case would involve contrasting what monarchy-controlled organized religious institutions were doing with what Jesus wanted his body to be doing. Turns out we have nothing to apologize for, because the crusades had nothing to do with the body of Christ. In preparing this review, I outlined the major arguments of the book, in order to get a sense of their reasoning. However, a point-by-point critique would be cumbersome and tiresome, as it ultimately boils down to three problems. First, they are dishing up reheated reformed/Calvinist theology. Second, they neglect the implications of the doctrine of the body of Christ. Third, they misunderstand the doctrine of the kosmos. Calvinism The authors correctly note that there seem to be two camps forming in the contemporary Christianity landscape; reformed and emergent (NeoXenos is neither). They are of the reformed theological tradition, so predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God make evangelism somewhat less urgent than it might otherwise be, as our role as God’s co-laborers is minimized. Being from the reformed tradition is actually ironic because that started as a revolt against the Catholic Church (protestant reformation, right?). Now that their organized religion is being criticized, can’t they see that any man-made institution may eventually run its course? Even Christendom’s control of Geneva established by Calvin was lost after his death by the creeping secularization of city government. One missiologist even called “churchless Christianity” the third reformation![1] Still, as the authors are Calvinist, they have to argue that nothing is really that wrong with the institutions of the church, so they insult and spin the statistical evidence in such a way to show that everything is fine. Perhaps this is necessary for their emotional health, because if the God is sovereign and His church is taking over the world, then evidence of massive failure is crushing. You see, as Calvinists they are saddled with the idea that the institution of the church should seek to reform cultures and societies in order to “redeem” the world. This is based on the idea that God’s sovereignty makes him active in all areas of life; sacred and secular. Given that all of life is religious to reformed theologians, it makes sense that people should be working to extend the will of God into every aspect of culture. Therefore, Calvinists would argue that the church should be promoting justice and mercy in the workplace, in government, and in schools. This leads to a practical theology of the church that includes things like taking over the government (like Calvin did), reclaiming “Christian” lands (like the crusaders attempted to do), or even running a recycling program out of your dorm room (because it’s “good stewardship”). One problem with this theological bent is that it can be a tremendous distraction from evangelism, as virtually anything branded as “Christian” can be labeled ministry. Another problem is that it misunderstands the kosmos, which we will turn to in a moment. Finally, it should be clear that Calvinism requires a strong healthy institution of the church, as the political clout necessary to “take back culture” only comes with well-funded, well-organized structures and systems that rule over masses of people willing to do the church’s bidding. Body of Christ The authors neglect the implications of the body of Christ, into which all Christians have been placed by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). They do not define the church clearly, and they confuse definition and function. They also fail to appreciate the importance of the body of Christ, as institutions of men do not easily lend themselves to “body life.” First of all, they never adequately define the church, because they confuse definition and function. For example, my wife is the person I married. Some of her functions are to support me emotionally and take care of our children when I am at work. However, any person who I look to for emotional support or trust with the care of my children may not be my wife, unless they are the person I married. In the same sense, the church does have some functions such as teaching the word, serving the poor, and exercising authority (e.g., elders). However, the authors claim that the church must be made manifest (i.e., exercise its functions) in order to “count,” and that minimalist definitions (i.e., 2 or more gathered in Jesus’ name) do not. This confuses function and definition, in the sense that a wife may not be very emotionally supportive and may not have children to care for, but nonetheless be a wife. That is, the Christians meeting in caves in China do count as churches, even though they are not “manifest” as organized visible institutions to the degree that the authors would like. Furthermore, the authors argue that salvation comes from the church to support the argument that all Christians must be “churched” (in institutions), which is simply false. At the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit places the person into the body of Christ, and they are in the church. Secondly, the authors do not understand the mystery of the body of Christ. They are angry at the “Barna revolutionaries” who have abandoned fellowship in order to play golf, but their complaint is designed to call them back to the institution. A more biblical view is to warn Christians about the sheer folly of failing to have consistent, enduring, and meaningful involvement with other Christians. There are perhaps 50 passages in the New Testament describing the relationships that Christians are to have with one another. These are the “one another” passages (not surprisingly!) and they include words that reflect deep involvement like “submit,” “admonish,” “encourage,” and “comfort.” I suspect that many of the members in good standing of the authors’ church organizations do not have meaningful relationships with their fellow Christians at the level called for by the New Testament. To these commands of scripture you could add the protective function of the body of Christ. For example, 1 Peter 5:8 states “Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour” in the middle of a passage about living in the body of Christ. The implication is clear; it is suicidal folly to wander away from the body of Christ. To willfully refuse to live out the “one another” passages is a most heinous sin. So the authors are correct that those who abandon fellowship are misguided, but their answer is more programmed, structured, religious organizations against which the revolutionaries are rebelling. That is not what scripture teaches, as the clear teaching of scripture is that the church is the assembly of people “called out” from every nation, race, age, and gender to comprise an organic, relational group of people built up in love to be inhabited by the Spirit of God. Kosmos This brings me to my final critique, which is that the authors misunderstand the kosmos. The church is called out from the kosmos, which is the world system inspired and controlled by Satan. The authors’ misunderstanding likely stems from their Calvinism, as the absolute sovereignty of God could be construed to imply that there is no part of the universe where His will is not possible. However, the New Testament teaches that the world system is under the authority of the devil, and that the Kingdom of God will be replacing the world system, not winning it over incrementally. There are powerful admonitions against love of the world system (e.g., 1 John), and compromise with the world system is likened to spiritual adultery and enmity towards God (James 4). Actually, the authors disrespect for the kosmos betrays them. They do dislike the shallow “meet and greet” in the church service that remind people of shallow impersonal business meetings, they don’t like singing songs from the Christian ghetto that are clearly an attempt to “Christianize” contemporary music, and they oppose middle-class American greed that is obviously compromise with the devil’s system. Furthermore, their forefathers rebelled against the Catholic Church, so why is it so bad that the youth today want to rebel against the traditions of any institution insofar as the traditions are detracting from scriptural ecclesiology? So ultimately, the authors do not like the kosmos but are blind to the ways in which it has infiltrated their religious organizations. However, the basis of the “church sucks” movement is that the church has been compromised by man-made traditions inspired by the world system, such as the lust for power of church leaders trying to influence national politics, greed and waste (e.g., so much of the budget goes to preserve the worship service cavern and equipment), and the whole-hearted pursuit of the “American dream” by all the pew-dwellers at the expense of cultivating the loving relationships described by the scriptures.

[1] Ralph Winter. “Eleven Fronteirs of Perspective,” International Journal of Fronteir Missions, 20, 136-141

NeoXenos DMT Retreat 2009

dardrops — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:11:35 +0000

The NeoXenos DMT Retreat of 2009 was the most edifying leaders' retreat to date. We gathered in Marblehead, Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie at the Rock of Ages Retreat Center. This year the number of leaders exceeded the capacity for the house. We had 44 leaders attend (with sleeping for only 36.) Our college guys graciously volunteered to sleep on couches and floors.

In the past year, we've undergone quite a few changes. Persecution and its resultant publicity, love ethics, new college ministry, a hopping high school group, and an emphasis on our freedom in Christ, revolution, and disestablishment. Religion kills, but relationship kicks butt.

I can't wait to see what this coming year is going to bring. We don't know what it will be, but...we know we're gonna follow the Spirit on this.

Be Spontaneous!

joesnake — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:51:08 +0000

In “The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church”, Roland Allen describes the beauty and genius of God and his kingdom – [that] “One or two little groups of Christians organized as churches…could spread all over an empire.” This whimsical and sanguine movement of Christianity, propelled by the Holy Spirit can’t be manufactured by religious institutions, church programs, or any amount of singing in the worship service a congregation may try. Explains Allen,

“…this is what I mean by spontaneous expansion. I mean the expansion which follows the unexhorted and unorganized activity of individual members of the Church explaining to the others the Gospel which they have found for themselves; I mean the expansion which follows the irresistible attraction of the Christian Church for men who see its ordered life, and are drawn to it by desire to discover the secret of a life which they instinctively desire to share; I mean also the expansion of the Church by the addition of new Churches.”

Allen’s expansion is native people evangelizing to other native people, 14-year olds witnessing to their peers, auto-mechanics sharing Christ with other auto-mechanics. So, although Allen writes as a missionary visiting foreign lands and dealing with their native peoples, the idea of “Spontaneous Expansion” is just as applicable to Christians working to establish churches in their backyards. Youth ministry in particular often resembles strange soil, even to those who aren’t that far removed from their adolescence. The Christianity that Allen is advocating is unlike the brand seen it most of America’s tired and failing churches. It is instead a powerful force, a revolution. Our job, as missionaries and church planters is not to try to control this force, but more akin to lighting and dropping a match in a dry forest. In Allen’s words, “If we want to see spontaneous expansion, we must establish native Churches free from our control.” However, this is a problem for missionaries who would rather come in and impose their ways and rules for doing “church” than raise up a competent indigenous person to do their own church. It flies in the face of institutional Christianity that would rather prevent cussing than unleash a revolution. Allen states a stern warning to those who attempt to try to control the movement of the Holy Spirit:

“We fear [spontaneous expansion] because we feel that it is something that we cannot control. And that is true. We can neither induce nor control spontaneous expansion…simply because it is spontaneous.”

After all, controlling behavior and implementing rules is easier than starting a revolution, but it’s nothing more than death warmed over. It’s the reason why the Church’s youth is being lost to the universities and the sultry seduction of the Kosmos. Moreover, starting a spontaneous, sweeping Christ-like revolution is impossible for men. As Roland Allen puts it, “The great things of God are beyond our control. Therein lies a vast hope. Spontaneous expansion could fill the continents with the knowledge of Christ; our control cannot reach as far as that.” An interesting application for Allen’s thesis is today’s youth which has become disenfranchised with their parent’s church. The church has driven them away with stale rules and moldy traditions that block access to authentic Christianity. Most Churches are quick to admonish cussing teens, while NeoXenos lets them teach bible studies full of their peers. While NeoXenos may not have the market on youth ministry, we are following Allen’s model for ministry. At Kent State, what started out way back when as a bible study of a few middle-school aged kids has become a ministry of almost 40 strong. The Holy Spirit is manifesting itself in the most unlikely sources, such as knuckle-headed teens praying with their friends to receive Christ. This seems improbable, but after all, as Allen points out, “For centuries the Christian Church continued to expand on its own inherit grace, and threw up an unceasing supply of missionaries without any direct exhortation.”