Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Irresistible Cross (Irresistible Quotes #3)
I am continuing with my series of quotes for Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. The first one here, though, really got me to thinking...
“… there is something profoundly unsettling about a church that has no crosses. True, the cross is not always seeker sensitive. It is not comfortable. But it is the cornerstone of our faith, and I fear that when we remove the cross, we remove the central symbol of the nonviolence and grace of our Lover. If we remove the cross, we are in danger of promoting a very cheap grace. Perhaps it should make us uncomfortable. After all, it wasn’t so comfy to get nailed there. (p.106-7)
I remember a conversation I had with a friend when I was in college. He was really turned off with the songs (hymns) we sing in church that talked about the blood. You know, "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus..." "There is a fount that's filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins... " You know, just reading those words does seem a bit gory, but it reminds me of the terribly high price of my sin. The fact that Jesus Christ was willing to pay that price is incredible. The fact that the Father sent the Son to endure what He endured is even more amazing. As unpleasant as the cross may be, it is central to our redemption.
“… there is something profoundly unsettling about a church that has no crosses. True, the cross is not always seeker sensitive. It is not comfortable. But it is the cornerstone of our faith, and I fear that when we remove the cross, we remove the central symbol of the nonviolence and grace of our Lover. If we remove the cross, we are in danger of promoting a very cheap grace. Perhaps it should make us uncomfortable. After all, it wasn’t so comfy to get nailed there. (p.106-7)
I remember a conversation I had with a friend when I was in college. He was really turned off with the songs (hymns) we sing in church that talked about the blood. You know, "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus..." "There is a fount that's filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins... " You know, just reading those words does seem a bit gory, but it reminds me of the terribly high price of my sin. The fact that Jesus Christ was willing to pay that price is incredible. The fact that the Father sent the Son to endure what He endured is even more amazing. As unpleasant as the cross may be, it is central to our redemption.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Irresitable Quotes, Part 2
I continue in my postings about The Irresistible Revolution, by Shane Claiborne. This first quote really hit me about the way we lead people to follow Jesus and then leave them there: “I came to realize that preachers were telling me to lay my life at the foot of the cross and weren’t giving me anything to pick up.”
[Tom, not Shane: In other words, new believers need to know what to do. I find that a great point. Just expecting people to figure it out on their own leads to people falling back into old ways. Let them know at the beginning that God has some special, life validating thing for them to do, like serving someone who needs it.]
He describes something he calls "Spiritual Bulimia" – [believers] consume large amounts of [spiritual] food but vomit it up before it has a chance to digest. [Ouch!]
“I used to be cool. Then I met Jesus and he wrecked my life.” (p.41)
“We decided to stop complaining about the church we saw, and we set our hearts on becoming the church we dreamed of.” (p.64)
“What would the world look like if we truly believed?” (p.84)
“Cynicism takes very little energy.” (p.100)
[Tom, not Shane: In other words, new believers need to know what to do. I find that a great point. Just expecting people to figure it out on their own leads to people falling back into old ways. Let them know at the beginning that God has some special, life validating thing for them to do, like serving someone who needs it.]
He describes something he calls "Spiritual Bulimia" – [believers] consume large amounts of [spiritual] food but vomit it up before it has a chance to digest. [Ouch!]
“I used to be cool. Then I met Jesus and he wrecked my life.” (p.41)
“We decided to stop complaining about the church we saw, and we set our hearts on becoming the church we dreamed of.” (p.64)
“What would the world look like if we truly believed?” (p.84)
“Cynicism takes very little energy.” (p.100)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Irresistible Quotes, Part 1
Yesterday was the introduction about Shane Claiborne's book, Irresistible Revolution. Here is the first set of quotes.
“There is a pervasive sense that things are not right in the world.”
“…most Christian artists and preachers have remained strangely distant from human suffering.”
“…rarely do we see that the sickness of the world has infected each of us.”
“This thing Jesus called the kingdom of God is emerging across the globe in the most unexpected places, a gentle whisper amid the chaos.”
“…the elephant and the donkey [think political party mascots] are the largest and the most stubborn of animals.”
“…the bear and the bull of Wall street are aggressive…”
“A pastor friend of mine said, ‘Our problem is that we no longer have martyrs. We only have celebrities.”
“Only God is awesome.”
“Dualism has infected the church, a dualism in which folks separate the spiritual from the political or social.”
All that, from the introduction.
To find out more about their community, go to www.thesimpleway.org
“There is a pervasive sense that things are not right in the world.”
“…most Christian artists and preachers have remained strangely distant from human suffering.”
“…rarely do we see that the sickness of the world has infected each of us.”
“This thing Jesus called the kingdom of God is emerging across the globe in the most unexpected places, a gentle whisper amid the chaos.”
“…the elephant and the donkey [think political party mascots] are the largest and the most stubborn of animals.”
“…the bear and the bull of Wall street are aggressive…”
“A pastor friend of mine said, ‘Our problem is that we no longer have martyrs. We only have celebrities.”
“Only God is awesome.”
“Dualism has infected the church, a dualism in which folks separate the spiritual from the political or social.”
All that, from the introduction.
To find out more about their community, go to www.thesimpleway.org
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Irresistible Reasoning and Thinking
I just finished Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. (I'll try to remember to add some links tomorrow. It is late.)
I have to admit I knew this was going to be a tough read from the get go, but it was a good tough. Challenging like crazy, but good challenging. Made me think, and pray, and meditate. Now, before I flip through the book and quote some of the underlined or corner folded down pages, let me just say that this book brings me back to some college days thinking. There was lots of radical thinking going on it the late sixties and early seventies. Some of it was awful. Some of it was thoughtful. Some of it was mournful. Some of it was meaningful. Some of it was biblical.
Thinking, especially thinking critically, is a scary thing, sometimes. It is much more comfortable to just assume that the way we do things is the way they should be done. This kind of assumption often gets Americans in trouble when they travel overseas. (Been there. Done that.) It also can be very uncomfortable for church people, ministers included. We just assume everything we do is rooted in the Bible. Yet, a lot of what we do has less rootage in the Bible than in tradition, comfort, and familiarity. Any believer that thinks their church is tradition-free needs to re-think that position. There are churches that would go ballistic if the Oak, Cherry, or Walnut pulpit were replaced with a shiny Plexiglas model, and vice versa.
Personally, I do not believe that everything we do has to have a biblical root. Some Christians think that there should be no instruments in church, but a pitch pipe is okay. Others think the piano and pipe organ only. Others would say that if it plays music, bring it on. (Funny thing is, I like all those kinds of music). But I digress.
What Irresistible Revolution does is make you think. Sometimes, the thoughts are, “Oh yeah. I can see that.” Other times, the thoughts are, “Woe is me (and us) for I (we) am (are) undone. He makes a strong — very strong — argument for his position, but, (thankfully!) seasons it with grace.
There is much to glean from this book. It should get a wider readership among people my age (58). The young are reading it. (I ask a friend recently out of seminary if he had read it, and he said, “No, but I think I am the only person who hasn’t.” In his age group and circle, he may be.) It will scare a lot of folks in my age group. It will make others mad… real mad… really, really mad! But too many folks are way too comfortable, having not entertained a critical thought in years.
Do I agree with everything he says? No, but I don’t know anyone I agree with on every possible idea or topic. What is important is thinking, getting into the Bible, and praying it through. You may come to different conclusions. But you may find yourself changing as well.
I have to admit I knew this was going to be a tough read from the get go, but it was a good tough. Challenging like crazy, but good challenging. Made me think, and pray, and meditate. Now, before I flip through the book and quote some of the underlined or corner folded down pages, let me just say that this book brings me back to some college days thinking. There was lots of radical thinking going on it the late sixties and early seventies. Some of it was awful. Some of it was thoughtful. Some of it was mournful. Some of it was meaningful. Some of it was biblical.
Thinking, especially thinking critically, is a scary thing, sometimes. It is much more comfortable to just assume that the way we do things is the way they should be done. This kind of assumption often gets Americans in trouble when they travel overseas. (Been there. Done that.) It also can be very uncomfortable for church people, ministers included. We just assume everything we do is rooted in the Bible. Yet, a lot of what we do has less rootage in the Bible than in tradition, comfort, and familiarity. Any believer that thinks their church is tradition-free needs to re-think that position. There are churches that would go ballistic if the Oak, Cherry, or Walnut pulpit were replaced with a shiny Plexiglas model, and vice versa.
Personally, I do not believe that everything we do has to have a biblical root. Some Christians think that there should be no instruments in church, but a pitch pipe is okay. Others think the piano and pipe organ only. Others would say that if it plays music, bring it on. (Funny thing is, I like all those kinds of music). But I digress.
What Irresistible Revolution does is make you think. Sometimes, the thoughts are, “Oh yeah. I can see that.” Other times, the thoughts are, “Woe is me (and us) for I (we) am (are) undone. He makes a strong — very strong — argument for his position, but, (thankfully!) seasons it with grace.
There is much to glean from this book. It should get a wider readership among people my age (58). The young are reading it. (I ask a friend recently out of seminary if he had read it, and he said, “No, but I think I am the only person who hasn’t.” In his age group and circle, he may be.) It will scare a lot of folks in my age group. It will make others mad… real mad… really, really mad! But too many folks are way too comfortable, having not entertained a critical thought in years.
Do I agree with everything he says? No, but I don’t know anyone I agree with on every possible idea or topic. What is important is thinking, getting into the Bible, and praying it through. You may come to different conclusions. But you may find yourself changing as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
