I think autumn might just be my favorite season. There's something about the smell of decaying leaves, the cold, crisp air and the bright sunshine. It reminds me of playing soccer for my high school; and makes me think of carving pumpkins and jumping in leaf piles and building a fire in the back yard to roast marshmallows. While we officially have three more days of summer here in the northern hemisphere, it's definitely felt like autumn the last few days in London.
There's also something spiritual about the change of seasons. And no, I don't want to become a Druid. It's just that there's this reminder that things won't always stay the way they are. The earth is constantly changing; and I think that change is good for my soul. All my senses have been heightened.
I sat outside at lunch on Wednesday to pray. I watched the clouds rush past in the wind and the sun peak through to warm the pavement where I sat. I saw people riding past on bicycles, women walking back from doing grocery shopping, and people rushing past in their cars or airplanes. In all of it I felt some of the delight God feels in his creation, and my praying was furthered by the experience. Yesterday we went to the Tate Modern art gallery. The girls love describing the art to us. Afterwards, we sat by the Thames and ate Chinese at a street fair. Everything felt right with the world. So praise God for autumn.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Rethinking Life with Tuck Bartholomew
Tuck Bartholomew has a great post at Common Grounds Online, discussing the implications of Romans 12 as a communal call to sacrificial living. Tuck writes:
The church is a new humanity in Jesus Christ, and the way we rise from our natural conformity to the broken habits of life is through celebrating, talking, reading, worshiping, thinking, and serving together as God’s people. Paul wants us to press God’s mercy across the spectrum of life...
Whenever I read something like this, my heart always starts beating faster. Partly because it scares the heck out of me. It confronts the way I've bought into the hum-drum stories of comfort, wealth, security that our culture tells.
But it also excites me; because this is what life is all about. Becoming part of a new humanity with Jesus and his people is a story worth being part of.
Go check out Tuck's article, and let it challenge and excite you toward giving yourself in community with God's people for the sake of God's world.
The church is a new humanity in Jesus Christ, and the way we rise from our natural conformity to the broken habits of life is through celebrating, talking, reading, worshiping, thinking, and serving together as God’s people. Paul wants us to press God’s mercy across the spectrum of life...
Whenever I read something like this, my heart always starts beating faster. Partly because it scares the heck out of me. It confronts the way I've bought into the hum-drum stories of comfort, wealth, security that our culture tells.
But it also excites me; because this is what life is all about. Becoming part of a new humanity with Jesus and his people is a story worth being part of.
Go check out Tuck's article, and let it challenge and excite you toward giving yourself in community with God's people for the sake of God's world.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
The End of the Story
Ever wonder what's so good about the good news the church proclaims?
Today at Sunday worship at Church on the Corner, Mark gave a sermon in his "Chaos Theology" series on Meaning. Lots of really good stuff - there should be a link soon on his blog (he's probably just getting home from the evening service now). One of the things he said is that in sharing the "good news" with people, the church tends to focus on the mechanism of salvation, without giving much time to the end or the goal. In other words, we talk a lot about the death/resurrection of Jesus (maybe also about his life if we have the extra time) - but then we leave it at that. We tend not to take people to the end of the story of redemption, where God makes all things new.
Here's one practical example of where this might go...bear with me, please, because I'm still working this out and would love your thoughts:
Last night we had lots of storms moving through the area. My children were afraid of the thunder. As they went to bed, we read the story of Jesus in the boat with his disciples. Jesus falls asleep, a storm comes up, and the disciples wake him up in a panic. With a word, Jesus calms the wind and the waves. Jesus is in control of the storms, I told my girls, and he loves you and is here with you now.
Now, everything we read and talked about is true, and I don't necessarily think I should have said any more to them last night. But the story of redemption doesn't end with Jesus calming the storm. And it doesn't even end with him reconciling us to God. It ends with him re-creating the heavens and earth. That picture in Revelation 21 of a new heaven and earth is an unbelievable ending to the story of history. It says that storms - fear, chaos, destruction - are not the final word. Not only are they under Jesus' control, but they don't have the final say. There is a day coming when all that chaos and destruction are gone.
I'm very hesitant to bring it up, but how do you think a story like this might play in New Orleans? I mean, I don't think there's a whole lot of comfort in saying "the storm is under God's control" and "God is good so we have to trust his goodness in the midst of this". O.k., I realize that there's probably some comfort there. I also realize that churches in the surrounding area aren't offering words...they're busy taking care of people, and that's way better than any words at this point. But I think at some point, the church needs to finish the story and say "You know what? This storm sucked. The government's response may have sucked. But all that destruction, all that chaos - they don't have the final say. There is a day coming when there will be no more sea to flood our cities and brew up monster storms. Those storms have their day, but they are not the final word."
[update] I just read this great post by Adam and it helped solidify the vague feeling I had that something was missing in what I said here. It's this: All that help the church is giving people - that's the concrete demonstration that God is making all things new. It's the tangible evidence that the new creation is coming, because it's the new creation entering now. It's the "proof" if you will, that the story isn't over yet.
Today at Sunday worship at Church on the Corner, Mark gave a sermon in his "Chaos Theology" series on Meaning. Lots of really good stuff - there should be a link soon on his blog (he's probably just getting home from the evening service now). One of the things he said is that in sharing the "good news" with people, the church tends to focus on the mechanism of salvation, without giving much time to the end or the goal. In other words, we talk a lot about the death/resurrection of Jesus (maybe also about his life if we have the extra time) - but then we leave it at that. We tend not to take people to the end of the story of redemption, where God makes all things new.
Here's one practical example of where this might go...bear with me, please, because I'm still working this out and would love your thoughts:
Last night we had lots of storms moving through the area. My children were afraid of the thunder. As they went to bed, we read the story of Jesus in the boat with his disciples. Jesus falls asleep, a storm comes up, and the disciples wake him up in a panic. With a word, Jesus calms the wind and the waves. Jesus is in control of the storms, I told my girls, and he loves you and is here with you now.
Now, everything we read and talked about is true, and I don't necessarily think I should have said any more to them last night. But the story of redemption doesn't end with Jesus calming the storm. And it doesn't even end with him reconciling us to God. It ends with him re-creating the heavens and earth. That picture in Revelation 21 of a new heaven and earth is an unbelievable ending to the story of history. It says that storms - fear, chaos, destruction - are not the final word. Not only are they under Jesus' control, but they don't have the final say. There is a day coming when all that chaos and destruction are gone.
I'm very hesitant to bring it up, but how do you think a story like this might play in New Orleans? I mean, I don't think there's a whole lot of comfort in saying "the storm is under God's control" and "God is good so we have to trust his goodness in the midst of this". O.k., I realize that there's probably some comfort there. I also realize that churches in the surrounding area aren't offering words...they're busy taking care of people, and that's way better than any words at this point. But I think at some point, the church needs to finish the story and say "You know what? This storm sucked. The government's response may have sucked. But all that destruction, all that chaos - they don't have the final say. There is a day coming when there will be no more sea to flood our cities and brew up monster storms. Those storms have their day, but they are not the final word."
[update] I just read this great post by Adam and it helped solidify the vague feeling I had that something was missing in what I said here. It's this: All that help the church is giving people - that's the concrete demonstration that God is making all things new. It's the tangible evidence that the new creation is coming, because it's the new creation entering now. It's the "proof" if you will, that the story isn't over yet.
Uncle Stockton's Tomato Gravy
When I was a kid my family used to spend a couple weeks at the beach with my grandparents and cousins. My uncle used to make this stuff he called "tomato gravy". We've had lots of tomatos from our plants (including this giant weighing in at 1 pound 2 ounces), and I needed something to do with all the tomatoes. So I decided to try my hand at my uncle's recipe. To my surprise, it turned out exactly as I had remembered it. Really brought back the memories from childhood. It's amazing how taste can do that.
Becoming English
To all my English readers (if there are any of you): I apologize up front. I realize that my 9 months in your country have done little toward making me English, apart from the few surface details I'm about to enumerate.
Item 1: I drank tea last Wednesday, and liked it. I'm talking real English tea with milk. If that isn't impressive enough, I also had a scone - no, check that, two scones - with jam and double cream on top, and I thoroughly enjoyed it all.
This was at a party hosted by one of the Wednesday group from Bethel.
Item 2: Cricket. That's right all you Americans, I said Cricket. I figured out the rules, and now I'm hooked. It doesn't hurt that England have been playing very well this summer in the 5-match Ashes test series against Australia. They're up 2-1 with one draw and one match being played as we speak. With about a day and a half left to play, England have about an even chance of winning the match and the test series. You can get scoring updates and a good explanation of the game from the BBC.
Oh, and one more thing: According to a recent advertisement I saw on the Tube (I think it was for Harrod's), it's very English to apologize up front.
Item 1: I drank tea last Wednesday, and liked it. I'm talking real English tea with milk. If that isn't impressive enough, I also had a scone - no, check that, two scones - with jam and double cream on top, and I thoroughly enjoyed it all.
This was at a party hosted by one of the Wednesday group from Bethel.
Item 2: Cricket. That's right all you Americans, I said Cricket. I figured out the rules, and now I'm hooked. It doesn't hurt that England have been playing very well this summer in the 5-match Ashes test series against Australia. They're up 2-1 with one draw and one match being played as we speak. With about a day and a half left to play, England have about an even chance of winning the match and the test series. You can get scoring updates and a good explanation of the game from the BBC.
Oh, and one more thing: According to a recent advertisement I saw on the Tube (I think it was for Harrod's), it's very English to apologize up front.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
People to see
Tomorrow is Divi day at London City Mission. This means we all get together for a morning of singing, prayer, and listening to preaching. I usually dread the day - sorry guys, but it's pretty boring. I found out that it used to be pay-day in the mission, back in the days when missionaries were paid in cash.
But tomorrow I'm looking forward to; because I have people to see:
Norman - the finance guy at LCM, also in charge of their properties. I want to find out if there are other trusts in London that own houses like the one we're living in, who might be interested in housing a church-planter or two from the USA. It's a long shot, I know, but if they exist, Norman will know about them. Plus, he'll probably have a great story to share.
Terry - He's one of the ministry directors. I'd like to get together and just get to know him a bit.
Henk - Runs Café Forever and is one of the elders at City of Peace church on the Isle of Dogs. This guy knows his part of London. I want to spend an afternoon with him, just walking around Tower Hamlets and listening to Henk describe what he sees.
So that's my divi day - it's about the relationships. Oh yeah, and then the Passerelli women meet me and we go to lunch!
But tomorrow I'm looking forward to; because I have people to see:
Norman - the finance guy at LCM, also in charge of their properties. I want to find out if there are other trusts in London that own houses like the one we're living in, who might be interested in housing a church-planter or two from the USA. It's a long shot, I know, but if they exist, Norman will know about them. Plus, he'll probably have a great story to share.
Terry - He's one of the ministry directors. I'd like to get together and just get to know him a bit.
Henk - Runs Café Forever and is one of the elders at City of Peace church on the Isle of Dogs. This guy knows his part of London. I want to spend an afternoon with him, just walking around Tower Hamlets and listening to Henk describe what he sees.
So that's my divi day - it's about the relationships. Oh yeah, and then the Passerelli women meet me and we go to lunch!
Friday, September 02, 2005
Emerging Church and History
Here is Jeffrey Jue's article on the Emerging Church's take on church history - specifically the period of the Reformation. Jeffrey was one of the instructors in my Salvation 2 class at WTS, and I always appreciated his excitement for whatever he was teaching.
The gist of his article is that while seeking to maintain a historical connection with the church that has gone before, the emerging church has largely ignored the Reformation church of the 16th and 17th centuries. This is because emerging church leaders have blindly accepted the view that Reformation theologians were corrupted by the enlightenment and rationalism. They have discounted Reformation theologians as being shackled by modernity, and thus find them irrelevant for today's postmodern world. In his own words:
The Emergent Church is not introducing a new Christianity completely detached from any historical roots. Yet the postmodern periodization of history has contributed to the utter neglect or at the very least gross distortion of Reformation and post-Reformation history and theology. Other than a hollow view of Semper Reformanda, the Reformed tradition is abandoned as a meaningful theological partner in their “emerging conversation” with postmodernity.
Jeffrey goes on to propose that the Reformed tradition has much to offer the emerging church, and he offers three examples of how Reformation theology could be useful to the emerging church.
First, I think the examples he offers are excellent, and could be multiplied a hundred-fold. I'm excited to see one of the faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary getting involved in the emerging church discussion, and hope others will follow suit. [If anyone has knowledge of other articles/sites where WTS profs are offering helpful suggestions for the emerging church, please post these in the comments].
The biggest issue I have with the article is that I'm not sure his assessment that the emerging church has neglected Reformation history and theology is accurate. One of the more influential voices of the global emerging church on the web is Andrew Jones. In this post Andrew mentions a number of churches that are emerging from within the Reformed tradition, and he argues strongly (both here and in a few other posts - sorry I couldn't locate the others, Andrew) for emerging churches to remain connected to their ecclesiastical/theological roots. There are a number of us (Alan, Jerry, Jeff, Michelle, Krissy and Pat, just to name a few) who are seeking to emerge from within a denomination (the Presbyterian Church in America - sorry Pat, I know you're EPC) that has arguably one of the strongest links to the Reformation church and theology. I'll admit we haven't emerged very far yet. But I'd say for all of us that whatever theology we do, it will be strongly influenced by our connection to Reformed Presbyterian churches.
Sure, there may be some within the emerging church who come from traditions that have already neglected the Reformation, and there are others who self-consciously do so on their own, but these do not represent the whole of the emerging church. Your thoughts?
The gist of his article is that while seeking to maintain a historical connection with the church that has gone before, the emerging church has largely ignored the Reformation church of the 16th and 17th centuries. This is because emerging church leaders have blindly accepted the view that Reformation theologians were corrupted by the enlightenment and rationalism. They have discounted Reformation theologians as being shackled by modernity, and thus find them irrelevant for today's postmodern world. In his own words:
The Emergent Church is not introducing a new Christianity completely detached from any historical roots. Yet the postmodern periodization of history has contributed to the utter neglect or at the very least gross distortion of Reformation and post-Reformation history and theology. Other than a hollow view of Semper Reformanda, the Reformed tradition is abandoned as a meaningful theological partner in their “emerging conversation” with postmodernity.
Jeffrey goes on to propose that the Reformed tradition has much to offer the emerging church, and he offers three examples of how Reformation theology could be useful to the emerging church.
First, I think the examples he offers are excellent, and could be multiplied a hundred-fold. I'm excited to see one of the faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary getting involved in the emerging church discussion, and hope others will follow suit. [If anyone has knowledge of other articles/sites where WTS profs are offering helpful suggestions for the emerging church, please post these in the comments].
The biggest issue I have with the article is that I'm not sure his assessment that the emerging church has neglected Reformation history and theology is accurate. One of the more influential voices of the global emerging church on the web is Andrew Jones. In this post Andrew mentions a number of churches that are emerging from within the Reformed tradition, and he argues strongly (both here and in a few other posts - sorry I couldn't locate the others, Andrew) for emerging churches to remain connected to their ecclesiastical/theological roots. There are a number of us (Alan, Jerry, Jeff, Michelle, Krissy and Pat, just to name a few) who are seeking to emerge from within a denomination (the Presbyterian Church in America - sorry Pat, I know you're EPC) that has arguably one of the strongest links to the Reformation church and theology. I'll admit we haven't emerged very far yet. But I'd say for all of us that whatever theology we do, it will be strongly influenced by our connection to Reformed Presbyterian churches.
Sure, there may be some within the emerging church who come from traditions that have already neglected the Reformation, and there are others who self-consciously do so on their own, but these do not represent the whole of the emerging church. Your thoughts?
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Poofy Hair
O.k. Jeff, this one's for you. Here I am just after my appointment at Toni & Guy's. Notice the classic "Blue Steel" look I have about me.
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