exchanged living.

"The problem with “cheap grace” is that it does not go far enough. It fails to understand..."

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:18:43 -0400

“The problem with “cheap grace” is that it does not go far enough. It fails to understand that the goal of god’s grace is nothing less than Christlikeness. We want to believe God to escape the consequences of our sin, but we do not want to believe Christ to deliver us from our sinning. We want to enjoy the pleasure of sin while escaping its bitter consequences. But the Scriptures call us to a like which is radically Christlike, or to say it another way, one which has been transformed into the character of God. This is the goal of the gospel, the goal of grace.”

- John Oswalt, Called To Be Holy, p. 6.

One Big Question for Small Group Accountability

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:41:17 -0400

I have been a worship leader in some form or fashion for 10 years. Over that time, I’ve both participated in and tried a number of ways to facilitate regular, healthy spiritual growth with those I’m serving with. Some of these approaches have lead to good formation and growth; others have been absolute flops. It’s been trial and error, and graciously, many who’ve endured these experiments in team development have stayed on and continue to serve in our church today.

Last night, our team at Hope took our first steps in developing a better system of accountability within our team. As a team, part of our task is to sing and lead with integrity, and accountability will help us grow as both witnesses to and evidence of God’s grace and holy love. There are some great lists of accountability questions out there, but I chose to begin with some of the questions John Wesley used in the early Band Meetings. I’m hoping to write a little on these questions in the future, but I wanted to start with the one big question that leads to all the other great questions:

How is it with your soul?

We don’t often ask questions like this in our conversations; honestly, we don’t even talk like that most of the time. If we were honest, we might not even want to answer this question in our own hearts, let alone to a group of people. Yet this question gets to the root of the one reality that must be addressed if we are going to honestly move forward in holiness as the people of God: we must open ourselves up to speak honestly about the condition of our own hearts before God.

Why bring this up with your worship team, you may be thinking?

First, this question reminds us that the goal of our team is not successful Sunday mornings or a tight set list; it is to become more like Christ. We can often get so caught up in the task of pulling things together for the worship gathering to happen that we forget that God’s purpose in calling us together is to transform us into the image of the Son.

Second, this question reminds us that the condition of our hearts matters more than our musical offerings. Musicians are easily defined by what they do in the church, to the point where the state of our hearts before God can get lost in the big picture of making Sunday happen. This question reminds us that we are not simply what we do, and Jesus came to transform both who we are and what we do.

Finally, this question reminds us that the journey of becoming more like Christ is one that we take together. Your soul matters to me. It matters because we’re a part of each other now; in Christ, we are one. My health is part of our health. My hinderances hinder us all. Yours have the same effect. This question brings the corporate, collective nature of transformation into the light: we are transformed together by the present Christ through the Holy Spirit in the community of faith.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this question (and some others I’ll share soon) begin to impact our team.

What are the big questions that have impacted you in accountability situations?

Teddy Ray: Encounter or Entertainment

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:14:33 -0400

Teddy Ray: Encounter or Entertainment:

A great post on worship as an encounter with God by Teddy Ray, one of the pastors of the Offerings Community in Lexington, KY. He mentions the idea of being surprised in the worship gathering and offers some great thoughts on how worship designers can create space for this transformative surprise that comes when God reveals himself in our midst. Looking forward to more on this from Teddy.

Thinking Pentecost… what songs are your churches singing...

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:00:16 -0400

Thinking Pentecost… what songs are your churches singing this week as we celebrate the sending of the Spirit?

Finished!

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:50:30 -0400

This past Saturday, I graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary. It is weird to even write that. Asbury has been such an incredible part of my journey over the past four years; as I begin to reflect on it, I am overwhelmed with the grace of God and how he has worked in and around me through my education there. When I went through new student orientation in 2009, JD shared with us that seminary may not be the best four years of our lives, but he prayed it would be the best four years for our lives. While time will tell, I have a feeling that prayer was answered.

I am thankful for the community there, and for the support my family, friends, and community at Hope offerred me as studied at ATS. I am excited to be able to offer myself back to you all in ministry in a way I couldn’t without having been formed by the ATS community. Greater things are yet to come, and while I don’t know what they are, I’m excited about the possibilities.

A funny take on titles of the Bible by ilovecharts: Books of...

Fri, 11 May 2012 07:45:00 -0400

A funny take on titles of the Bible by ilovecharts:

Books of the Bible

We saw one and thought we should submit our version.

-twentyonehundred productions

"Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion.

Wed, 09 May 2012 09:36:37 -0400

"Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion.

"I'm dying of thirst," said Jill.

"Then drink," said the Lion.

"May I—could I—would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill.

The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. . .

"I daren't come and drink," said Jill.

"Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.

"Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go, and look for another stream then."

"There is no other stream," said the Lion.

Photo

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:49:45 -0400

Link and Prezi for Last Week's Sermon

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:58:16 -0400

Here’s a link to our Hope Media Player, where you can hear my sermon from last week. Also, here’s the Prezi and the clip from “Blood Diamond” I used. Thanks for the encouragement and feedback.

I'm Not Dead Yet...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:15:33 -0400

I know things have gone quiet here. I’m in crunch mode trying to finish up seminary, and I’ve had a rather full plate since Holy Week. I’m probably going to take an official break from the blogosphere (weird word) until after May 20th, though I may post some random things from time to time. Until then, be blessed.

Oh, and here’s the Monty Python clip alluded to above, just because I can’t stop thinking about it:

Relevant || @ScotMcKnight on Connecting Friday and Sunday

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:05:31 -0400

Relevant || @ScotMcKnight on Connecting Friday and Sunday:

“The full Gospel of Jesus Christ is an intertwined story of life, death and resurrection. Easter Sunday is meaningless without Good Friday, but Good Friday is equally as meaningless without Easter Sunday.”

Read on, and may your weekend be one of revelation as you focus your heart on the great Love of God revealed in the cross and resurrection.

"The cross had to be carried and endured before it could be preached. Jesus came to become the..."

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:11:32 -0400

“The cross had to be carried and endured before it could be preached. Jesus came to become the sacrifice, not clarify the concept of sacrifice. He did not come to teach about the cross, but to be nailed to it. He came that there might be a gospel to be preached.”

- Thomas Oden, The Word of Life, p. 344.

Centurion: Experiencing Holy Week Through Fresh Eyes There are...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:32:00 -0400

Centurion: Experiencing Holy Week Through Fresh Eyes

There are few better ways of understanding the events of this week than to stand inside the story of Scripture and see things as they might have been seen. My friend Sean Gladding is telling the story of Holy Week through the eyes of the Centurion over at Seedbed. The Centurion (from Mark 15:39) sees Jesus in a way that everyone else in the book of Mark seems to miss. How did he come to this conclusion? Hear it from his perspective this week…

Here is a video to introduce this series; it began a few days ago, and it is well worth catching up on as we move forward this week. Sean has already told us about how the Centurion first became aware of this strange Jewish Messiah, the events from Palm Sunday, and shared today about how this man caused trouble in the temple. Chase the links to catch up, and follow along this week at Seedbed.

Slow down Katniss by 25% and what do you get? Will...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:43:57 -0400

Slow down Katniss by 25% and what do you get? Will Ferrell.

from captaintightpants

Seven Minute Seminary || The Book of Mark Dr. Joe Dongell gives...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:29:45 -0400

Seven Minute Seminary || The Book of Mark

Dr. Joe Dongell gives a 7-minute overview on the book of Mark. Especially for those of us reading through this gospel right now at Hope, this offers a fresh bird’s eye view of the book as a whole. Enjoy-

from Seedbed.com

Angry Beard || A Stop Animation Film Maybe this is why I a part...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:33:02 -0400

Angry Beard || A Stop Animation Film

Maybe this is why I a part of me still hates shaving…

Thanks to Robert for sharing this.

tastefullyoffensive: [humon]

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:21:36 -0400

tastefullyoffensive:

[humon]

Killing the Heir (Lent Reflections)

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:46:05 -0400

Holy Week is getting closer, and the more we read in Mark this Lent, the more it becomes clear that Jesus knew exactly what lie ahead of him on the road to Calvary. In our reading today, we find the parable of the greedy tenant farmers:

A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.

When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.

He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.

Have you not read tthis Scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Mark 12:1-11)

Notice some of the obvious points of the parable. First, the land is the owner’s, not the tenants. Second, the tenants live in such a way that obscures or even denies that the land is the owner’s and not theirs. Third, the owner expected the tenants to produce a harvest on that land. Fourth, regardless of what the land yielded, the tenants not only didn’t keep their end of the deal, but they then abused those sent to act on the behalf of the owner. They beat, abused, and even killed those who were sent to them. And finally, the son, whom they should respect because the land is his (by proxy of inheritance) is killed, the embodiment of their view of the owner’s true relationship to the land.

There is something incredibly twisted about this story and the way that the tenants act that the audience, and we as readers, inherently pick up on, and it is not just the distorted view that that have on the land. The tenants not only live as if they are owners; they see themselves as rightful heirs of what is only the son’s. All of the signature actions of faithfulness in this kind of relationship are gone. There is no respect. There is no honor. There is no fulfillment of what was promised. There is no gratitude.

There is a real danger in seeing yourself as the rightful heir of something that is not really yours. In the economy of God, promises abound, and the gracious provision of God (to which we are called to be stewards) can easily be taken as an unalienable right to which we are automatically entitled. This kind of thinking, when chased to its end, always leads to the same place: a jealousy and envy so poisonous that the rightful heir ends up dead so we can be satisfied.

This kind of distorted entitlement put Jesus on a cross. And it always will.

In reading this parable, I’ve been challenged today to take a moment to be thankful for all that God has given me. I am not entitled to a bit of it; it is all a gift of his grace. when I see myself as the owner of my life and not a tenant (or steward) of it, I live in such a way that could easily reflect the tenants of this story: I’ll refuse to offer back what is rightfully God’s, I’ll scorn and hate those around me who call me to faithfulness on his behalf, and ultimately I’ll put the son to death afresh instead of gratefully embracing the death he has already offered for my rebellious past.

I want to be a better tenant of what he’s entrusted me with. I pray you will be as well.

"Affinity" (R.S. Thomas)

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:28:13 -0400

"Affinity" (R.S. Thomas):

pejohnston:

Consider this man in the field beneath,
Gaitered with mud, lost in his own breath,
Without joy, without sorrow,
Without children, without wife,
Stumbling insensitively from furrow to furrow,
A vague somnambulist; but hold your tears,
For his name also is written in the Book of Life.

…

Seedbed || The Logistics of Salvation

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:54:58 -0400

Seedbed || The Logistics of Salvation:

Interesting spin on the idea of logistics as UPS’s constantly-running commercials during March Madness. What do you think of this idea?