the journey

Goodbye Jay

stoneydeathchamber
Originally uploaded by TMN.

I met Jay about a year and a half ago.

I met (and visited) him due to the concern of one of his previous co-workers--who happened to be a friend of mine too. So, we went together on several occasions to visit Jay.

Though I could never condone his actions-- they were horrific & unconscionable--I do question two things.  First, how could a man who was haunted by voices be deemed competent for trial? And how can a civil society justify what happened yesterday?

Yesterday, in the city of Huntsville, Texas, the State of Texas executed Jay for the murder of his wife, mother-in-law and unborn child.

Like the old lapel pin that circulated 10 years ago, I find myself asking this over & over again:

Why do we kill people to show people that killing people is wrong?

When Jesus said love your enemy, the prisoner, the forgotten & marginalized, was he kidding?  When he forgave, offered grace & a second chance, was that something he only did?  Or is it something we're to do as well?

Think about it.

Goodbye Jay.

How do you experience the Holy?

I ra:n across an interesting unscientific survey at explorefaith.org.  It suggests that I'm the "companion type."  Here's their explanation:

Companions are people who naturally connect with the Holy One through their relationships with others. They believe that God is present in everyone and look for the spark of that presence when they are with others. They look to others to help them make sense of their own faith, and trust that God will speak to them and lead them through the words, actions, and holiness of other godly people. They relate best with God through shared interaction. They tend to spend more time praying and worshipping with others than by themselves. If they were to meet God face to face, they would want to have those they love with them.

In the Bible, Ruth was a good example of a companion. After her father-in-law, brother-in-law, and husband died she became a companion to Naomi, her mother-in-law, even though it meant leaving behind all that, for her, was familiar and expected. Through Naomi’s personal faith and the faith of Naomi’s people, Ruth felt the touch of the Holy One and discovered a new way of living and being. She allowed her new faith community to be the primary source of her spiritual transformation.

To determine your type, click here to take the survey.

Tags: spirituality, spiritual type

Cool hockey photos on Flickr

  Caps 184 
  Originally uploaded by Off Wing Opinion.

[Click on photo.  It's Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars!]

Thanks to a heads up by Off Wing Opinion, I was introduced to several NHL photo sets posted at Flickr.

Other photo sets include Washington vs. Philly, NY, Atlanta, Buffalo, Boston, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Anaheim.  And, ummm, you get the picture.

Have fun sorting through the photos.  Some are better than the others (duh), but you'll run across several gems like this one.

Click here to begin the fun.  :-)

Just believe

The song said "just believe," but is that all there is?

Can Christianity be reduced to nothing more than belief-- intellectual assent, affirming a creed, believing the difficult-to-believe?  Well, here's what NIB says about this:

 Paul then explains this with a remarkable statement, one of the clearest in all his writings, of what precisely Christian faith consists of. It is not, for him, a vague religious awareness, a general sense of the presence of a benevolent deity.  It is the confession of Jesus as Lord [which was an act of treason & marked by a counter-cultural lifestyle] and the belief that God raised him from the dead.

Source: NIB, vol. X, p. 664.

Tags: belief, Christianity, Christian belief

What is a Christian?

Does it involve believing, following, trusting or maybe producing fruit?  Well, here's what Scot McKnight posted on this topic:

First, if you ask Jesus in the first three Gospels, the Synoptics, I think you could answer the question with this: the one who follows Jesus. I could give fill a small truck with references from the Synoptics about this, but I’ll just give this one: Come follow Me, Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, James and John (Matt. 4:18-22). And then Luke 9:23 says this following is something done ever day.

Second, if you ask Jesus in the Gospel of John, you get this answer: Believe. The word “faith” or “believe” (these English words translate the noun and verb coming from the Greek root pist- in words like pistis and pisteuo). What does it mean to “believe” in John’s Gospel? Well, we can begin with John 1:12 and 3:16 (the famous one) and then jump around in John’s Gospel and we get ideas like abiding, following, trusting, and obeying.

Third, if you ask the apostle Paul — and why not just settle with something like Romans 10:9-10? — we get something like this: a Christian is someone who believes in salvation through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and who is filled with God’s Spirit.

Fourth, if you ask the apostle John — and read 1 John on this one because the answer jumps from the page — a Christian is someone who loves God and who loves others and who walks in the light of that love.

We could ask other NT writers, but I think you get what I’m getting at: Who is a Christian is answered by different writers with different language games. Do they point to one basic answer? Yes, I think so, but I don’t think it can be reduced to one of these words — like believe or follow or obey — but I also think we can reduce the whole to each of those words. I hope that makes sense. If we are careful, we can say the one who is a Christian is the one who follows Jesus or who believes in Jesus or who loves God, but when we do that we need to keep our eyes on the other writers. They’re in our NT to make sure we know there is more than one way to say important things.

Source: Jesus Creed

Tags: Christian, Christianity

Flickr Friday

"Untitled"
Originally uploaded by kcowekung.

[Click for better detail.]

There's not a whole lot to say about this photo.

• It leaves me with a strange, ookie spookie feeling. 
• I love the detail, composition and definately the color(s)!

Have a great weekend, everyone. Stay warm & dry.

pax,
meb

The last days of the Baptist church

Last Days of the Baptist Church
Originally uploaded by fotofacade.

[Click on photo for the rich detail.]

Taken just before it was closed:
The Temple Street Baptist Church
Middleton UK

Strange architecture. I bet people will pay a mint to purchase one of the pews for their great room/family room or patio.

Enjoy.

Using descriptive adjectives

Instead of a vision or mission statement, how about the use of descriptive adjectives.  Maybe something like this?

Transformational
When we gather for worship on Sundays, or in small groups during the week, may our encounter with God in Christ truly shape who we are. Seeking more than an emotional arousal or intellectual critique, let us join those who have gone before us and submit our minds, bodies, and souls to the living Lord.

Communal
Whether at a local house gathering, a church potluck, or the Lord's Table, may God grant us hearts of hospitality, embracing one another in the unity of the Spirit. Let us be an authentic community that journeys together, bearing one another's burdens and speaking truth in love.

Missional
Every day may we be Christ's presence to the hurting, lost, and victimized people of this often-unjust world. Let us welcome the stranger and offer words of life. Joining hands with churches around the globe, we participate in what God is doing everywhere to redeem the world to himself.

Source: Reclaiming the Mission

Tags: mission statements, vision statements

What's the solution?

If today’s 20- and 30-somethings are repulsed by the foibles& failures of institutional Christianity, then what’s the solution:

• How about the conversion of the church? Not the conversion of Christians, but the conversion of institutional Christianity!  Is it possible for a bureaucratic nightmare such as institutional Christianity to make this kind of dramatic turnaround? Is it pollyannaish to believe that it can?
• How about a “church-less” faith? Why not kick back, stay at home & watch Joel Osteen instead?  Should we abandon the church altogether & live life independently? Is fending for ourselves the logical solution?  Or does that simply set us up for another set of problems?  Such as, loneliness, self-absorption, unconnectedness, purposelessness.
• How about claiming an ancient faith? Not a faith that’s all about power, privilege & possessions. Not a faith out of duty, obligation or habit. But something closely akin to The Way– the small band of Jesus-followers who were in madly in love with God and others. The kind that was servant-hearted & sacrificial. The kind that embraced the hurting & marginalized--who knew the names and needs of specific poor people--and embodied the values and character of Jesus.

Wouldn't that be enough?

Tags: Christianity, institutional Christianity

Another reason I'm no longer a Southern Baptist

Some of you might not know that I was trained in Southern Baptist Seminaries, served in Southern Baptist Churches & was ordained by a Southern Baptist Church.

That was a long time ago, however.

But pleeeeeeze. Don't associate me with nonsense like this. It's intolerant behavior like this that gives Christianity a black eye.

HT: Bob.blog (Jordon Cooper, Scot McKnight, etc.)

Source: Dallas Morning News

Tags: SBC, Southern Baptist Convention