Worship, ain't what you thunk!

 Worship, it isn't what you think. The New Testament doesn't show you a clear plan or description of what we would call a worship service today. Which moment in time do you base your worship experience on ... the earliest church meeting in the Temple? The struggle to integrate the non-Jews into the kingdom of God that was likely still fresh up until 120 A.D.? Or the handed down worship of the faith tradition you are a part of? 

Yes, there are many layers in between these, but in reality, Acts, Romans, and 1 Corinthians have a lot to say about freedom in worship that is less restrictive than most any worship service today, yet also more open. 

Justin Martyr (100 AD - 165 AD) was on trial before Rusticus, he was asked where Christians gather to worship and he responded, “Where each one chooses and can: for do you fancy that we all meet in the very same place? Not so; because the God of the Christians is not circumscribed by place; but being invisible, fills heaven and earth, and everywhere is worshipped and glorified by the faithful.”

Culture Wars

In a 1997 speech, Heston rhetorically deplored a culture war he said was being conducted by a generation of media, educators, entertainers, and politicians against: "...the God fearing, law-abiding, Caucasian, middle-class Protestant-or even worse, evangelical Christian, Midwestern or Southern- or even worse, rural, apparently straight-or even worse, admitted heterosexuals, gun-owning-or even worse, NRA-card-carrying, average working stiff-or even worse, male working stiff-because, not only don’t you count, you are a down-right obstacle to social progress. Your voice deserves a lower decibel level, your opinion is less enlightened, your media access is insignificant, and frankly, mister, you need to wake up, wise up, and learn a little something from your new-America and until you do, would you mind shutting up?"

Did Heston feed into the culture war he says he deplored? Was he just working his base to fuel his side? 

I have come to understand that the media and social media have only strengthened the need to work up your base and further widen the gap because only the most sensational clips will go viral, make the news, and be talked about ad nauseam. 

If you are a true peacemaker then maybe your role is to break down these barriers by helping uncover the financial motives of the moguls, media, and social media. Maybe it isn't just to uncover, but to undercut them in some real way. When exposing the unhealthy nature it also sweeps in a great change for a better culture of love and respect. 

What ideas might you have for this new wave of culture making that might be more generous than greedy? And is my labeling of these powerbrokers as greedy inappropriate? 

Embodied Neighborliness

 Colin Fagan wrote this on his Facebook wall:

Today's Pondering:

In our technocratic age neighborliness has been so universalized that it no longer has any local meaning.  Regardless of what technological use has formed us to believe, there is no neighboring without deep rootedness and connection to ones local placement.

In other words: there is no neighboring on Facebook or Twitter as they keep us from being together as embodied persons. I can only be a true neighbor with those that I can engage with as whole persons. Theologically, the Christian life emerges from the primal action on the part of the Father to enter human personhood in his Son, thereby sharing in the most intimate manner with humanity. Neighboring, then, shares in the embodied life--even the embodied life of those with whom we may want to disregard or hate--which is a life lived in close proximity not kept at a distance.

*****

Who are you spending real face time with?
What neighbors have been in your home for a meal?
Consider how you love and how you feel God calling you to love.

That nasty 1%!

It is not just at your office or church that the 10% do most of the work... it is everywhere! It is actually a bit more complex. The square root of the total group does 50% of the work. And the square root of that group does 50% of the total work. The same thing happens with money, movies, and most everything! 

Jordan Peterson explains it all in this clip: https://youtu.be/UmUdcWk6Vfw

Generous

Coach pays for the opposing school to start a football program, then to keep the school open. Next thing you know he's the head coach and his former team won't play his team.

http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/24263583

Killing It!

In this series, Killing It!, we will be looking at Ephesians 4 and scientific research as we explore these topics: 

1. Killer Criticism (Oct 10)

2. Contempt Kills (Oct 17)

3. Defending Death (Oct 24)

4. Killer Walls (Oct 31)

Getting out of any relationship is often painful, but with these four tips you can make it even more excruciating. But when you want to save that relationship... we will cover how to correct these common errors as well. 

P.S. This is negatively slanted because y'all interact more with intense messaging and it is October. 😉

Maybe this is of use?

Have you ever had a spare screw, do-dad, tool, or something sitting around that you knew was needed, but you just couldn't place what it was connected to? That is kind of how I feel about this blog. 

I am not so disciplined to write regularly, things that are out of site are out of mind, and many things I do write about are just for me. So... this thing and tiktoks and vlogs and such ... ugh ... great ideas, but I need to actually do something useful with them. 

So I will try a few different ideas and see what comes as a result. 

above below - poem

there's nothing above and nothing below

if you understand then you know sorrow

death of parents whether good or bad

brings on an aching that's more than just sad

i'm longing for connection in constant reflection

yet feeling an awkward new sensation of rejection