Theology

Study and Meditation- Day Two

How to Study

“Where the head goes, the body will follow.” In high school I played defensive nose guard. The position is usually right in front of the offensive center and behind him is the quarterback. Too often the center would have his head down while focused on snapping the ball. I learned very quickly that if I was fast enough to push on the back of the center’s helmet before he could look up, he would go face down into the turf while I made the sack.

“Where your focus goes, the body will follow.” Not long after I began college, a friend of mine needed help moving some furniture he bought from a family that was moving. This family lived way out in the Ozark, down a dirt road and near a creek. It had rained most of the week but when we went to pick up the couch the weather had cleared up. We loaded the couch into my pick-up and headed back to his apartment. While driving down the now muddy dirt road, I reached over to change the music in my CD player. When I turned my head to the right the truck drifted right: Right off the road that is. Thankfully, I did not drive into the creek but I did have to spend all of my Christmas money on a tow truck to pull me out of the ditch.

“Where the mind goes, the body will follow.” “The Old Testaments instructs the Israelites to write the Laws on gates and doorposts and bind them to their wrists so that they might be a reminder to them (Deuteronomy 11:18). The Purpose of this instruction is to direct the mind repeatedly and regularly toward certain modes of thought about God and human relationships. The ingrained habits of thought that are formed will conform to the order of the thing being studied. What we study determines the kind of habits that are formed.”-Richard Foster

1) What is it that you spend most of your focus or study on?

2) Have you ever had a moment or a season where what you were focusing on lead you “off the road?”

3) Spend some time reading and focusing on the following passages:Deuteronomy 6:1-12, 11:16-23; Psalm 1; John 15:1-17.
 End you time in prayer asking God to help you keep your eyes and study on Him.

Firm on the Rock, Theology

Which Jesus Do You Follow?

My Jesus

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ,
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be bless me with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sands

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that You follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side
Or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we’d recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He’d prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I’m tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I’m not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like My Jesus

Todd Agnew
Reflections of Something

Theology

Study and Meditation- Day One

Introduction
The words Study and Meditation carry with them a whole host of presuppositions and attitudes. For some of you, the word Study conjures up feelings of excitement and possibilities and yet, with some the word reminds them of long hours spent in fruitless pursuit of elusive grades. For many the word Meditation seems like it has no place within our churches. It is even frowned upon by some because it seems like a mystical practice devoid of any real use. What are we to do with these words?
It is our hope that by week’s end we will have a greater understanding as to what Bible study is and how meditating on God’s Word can help bring us more than just a few moments of quiet and serenity. Study with meditation will transform us. As we begin this study this week I challenge you to turn off your T.V., your cell phone, and your PDA. Log off the computer and file away that brief.

Begin this study with a prayer asking God to help you concentrate on His word. Pledge to Him your desire to grow and change into the likeness of His Son, Christ Jesus. Pray that prayer right now.

Study

“The purpose of the Spiritual Disciplines is the total transformation of the person. They aim at replacing old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits. Nowhere is this purpose more clearly seen than in the Discipline of study. The apostle Paul tells us that we are transformed through the renewal of the mind (Romans 12:2). The mind is renewed by applying it to those things that will transform it. ‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.’ (Philippians 4:8) The Discipline of study is the primary vehicle to bring us to ‘think about these things.’” – Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline (62)

How do you view Study? Is it a task you enjoy or dread? Why?

What pressing issues or concerns might keep you from studying this week? How can you change your schedule or mindset to allow time for study and meditation?

Read Romans 12:2 and Philippians 4:8. Read them a second time. And a third. As you begin to focus on these verses, pray that God will begin to change you this week.

Theology

Going Deeper

Over the summer I was approached by one of the ministers at my church to help them write some curriculum based on the spiritual disciplines. The idea was to create a week’s worth of study so that everyone (teen to adult) could have a basic idea of the different disciplines and could participate in living that discipline for a week. Out of all the spiritual disciplines, the leadership chose enough for 7 weeks of congregational study. That means that they combined some or tweaked some to fit within the week timeframe. I was assigned the discipline of Study and Meditation. I finished writing my week back in August but the study was not introduced to the congregation until this morning. Study and Meditation ended up being week one. I have created a blog for our church to use over the next 7 weeks to interact with and to take the studies into a realm of community. I believe that this will be a time a growth and renewal for our church. It is very exciting.

I’ll post this week’s study here. You can also join us at Seeking the Face of God and participate in the study with us.. I hope that you too may experience spiritual growth and encouragement through this study. Please be praying for this effort. If you have time, stop by the blog and give encouragement to the others who are involved in this study as well.

Thanks.

Theology

Christus Victor

But He rose up from the dead
and mounted up to the heights of heaven.
When the Lord hath clothed Himself with humanity,
and had suffered for the sake of the sufferer,
and had been bound for the sake of the imprisoned,
and had been judged for the sake of the condemned,
and had been buried for the sake of the one who had been buried,
He rose up from the dead,
and cried with a loud voice,
“Who is it that contends with me?
Let him stand in opposition to me.
I set the condemned man free;
I gave the dead man life;
I raised up one who had been entombed.
Who is my opponent?
I am the Christ
I am the one who destroyed death,
and triumphed over the enemy,
and trampled Hades underfoot,
and bound the strong one,
and carried off man
to the heights of heaven,
I AM THE CHRIST.”

-The close to an Easter sermon by Melito of Sardis (AD 195)

Amen.

Firm on the Rock, Popular Culture

Top Ten of All Time

On our trip to Searcy a few weeks ago, my wife got annoyed with a little music habit of mine. I love ranking my music. It isn’t an exact science with me though. When a great song plays on the radio or on Tv, I’ll announce, “This song is definitely in my top ten” or “Ooh, top 50 song right here.” The wife was convinced that my top 10 was comprised of at least thirty songs. Well, we went through my iPod and came to the conclusion that there are only about thirteen or so in my top 10. She forced me to pick 10 and only 10. I picked eleven. For my money, “Hey Jude” and “Let It Be” are so similar and so great that they should share a space. I’ve listed them below in no particular order other than how I would like to listen to them on a single disc. The CD begins with the building crescendo of sound in “Streets” to the final lonesome guitar licks in “Ledbetter.” Enjoy.

Micheal’s Top Ten Favorite Songs of All Time:
Where the Streets Have No Name by U2 (The Joshua Tree)
Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan (Highway 61 Revisited)
Every Breath You Take by The Police (Synchronicity)
All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix (Electric Ladyland)
Walk On by U2 (All That You Can’t Leave Behind)
Round Here by Counting Crows (August and Everything After)
In My Place by Coldplay (A Rush of Blood to the Head)
Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (Nevermind)
Hey Jude/Let It Be by The Beatles (Hey Jude- single/Let It Be)
Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam (Lost Dogs)

Runner Ups

In My Life by The Beatles (Rubber Soul)
One by U2 (Actung Baby)
With a Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker
Last Goodbye/ Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley (Grace)
Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel
Let’s Stay Together by Al Green

News, Popular Culture, Rants

Hidden Agenda

5 Comments

Believe it or not, music executives do not have the consumers best intrest at heart.

I have been an iTunes user for 3 years now. For me, when it comes to listening to and purchasing legal music downloads nothing is easier and more flexible than iTunes. For .99 cents a song I’ve become my own DJ. I can buy only the songs I want and I can purchase most albums for $9.99. Apple also offers iTunes Originals, your favorite songs and the stories behind them from influential artists such as Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morrisette for under ten bucks. Steve Jobs, Apple’s top dog, has been adament about the .99 cent song price since iTunes inception. The music buisness embraced Apple and easily agreed to the price structure. They were despearte to break the illegal download buisness. iTunes, within a matter of days, rocked the world and turned millions of people into legal downloaders. iTunes effectively saved the music industry which, at the time, was beginning to see the first major losses of the download era. iTunes allowed the record companies to legally get downloadable music into the hands of consumers and still retain control. That is when the dollar signs began flashing. When iTunes became the phenomenom that it is, music execes suddenly turned on this new technology. Record execs began to push jobs to raise the .99 cent cost. They began to whine and complain. They again started crying that downloadable music was hurting their buisness. Jobs called the greedy. So do I.

Today I got a little hint at their greediness. A Reuters article shed some light on just how greedy record execs truly are. Warner Music’s Edgar Bronfman might be wishing he could retract a statement he made last week at an investor confrence. I’ve bolded his touchy comment below.

Record executives, however, are seeking some flexibility in prices, including the ability to charge more for some songs and less for others, the way they do in the traditional retail world.

“There’s no content in the world that has doesn’t have some price flexibility,” said Warner Music Group Corp. chief executive Edgar Bronfman at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia investor conference here. “Not all songs are created equal. Not all albums are created equal.

“That’s not to say we want to raise prices across the board or that we don’t believe in a 99-cent price point for most music,” he said. “But there are some songs for which consumers would be willing to pay more. And some we’d be willing to sell for less.”

Think about that for a second. What he is effectively communicating is that he believes that he can suck more money out of consumers for hot, popular music. He is saying that he can manipulate you, the consumer, into paying whatever he wants you to pay for your favorite artists. In theory, an artist could be an .88 cent artist one week and a $1.50 artist the next. I am begining to see what the real problem is in the music buisness. Leadership. Small-minded, money grubbing leaders.

Sony Music wants to thank you for legally purchasing their music by adding an enjoyment tax. Here’s to you, music execs! Way to ruin the party!

Link
Via

Popular Culture, Theology

These Songs of Freedom

Redemption is a theme that I can’t get enough of. Redemption specifically colors my world as a believer in Jesus Christ but it is also a powerful theme that captures the hearts and minds of every human being. We all have junk or problems that we need deliverence from. From habits to coworkers to disfunctional relationships we human beings desire the light to rescue us. Modern movies, with all their focus on the anti-hero and the loss of genuine good and the rise of absolute evil after WWII, still wrestle with redemption. Just in the past few years we have seen moives like “The Matrix,” “Hellboy,” “Constantine,” “Garden State,” “Vanilla Sky,” and even recent movies like “Batman Begins” have all presented a forum where the act of redemption is presented in a way that makes us come to grips with what it means to be given a new life. Even “Finding Nemo” gave us a glimpse at a loving father frantically crossing land and sea to bring his son home. Redemption is everywhere.

You may or may not be aware that the second season of Lost began last night. I was immediatley sucked into the story of Oceanic Flight 815, which crash landed hundreds of miles off course on a mysterious desert island, early in its first season. The first episodes gripped me to my very core precisely because they dealt directly with the reality of what it means to be redeemed. What is means to seek redemption.

Today, Tyler Clark, dirctor of the Relevant Network, sent out a wonderful email detailing his love for Lost and his fascination with redemption. I wanted to post this section of the email.

“Three days ago we all died,” Jack said in an early episode. “We should all be able to start over.”

Each castaway has junk. They crashed on the island in need of redemption. Their sins–murder, drug abuse, lying to family, betrayal–have followed them through life, and the island is where they find salvation.

“It feels like these people have sort of sinned in their lives before, and now, they’re in an environment where they can’t talk to the people that they need to talk to,” Damon Lindelof, the show’s co-creator, said last spring. “They can’t close the doors that they need to close.”

Many Christians may be able to identify with Charlie Pace (The Lord of the Rings’ Dominic Monaghan), a rock ‘n’ roll has-been and recovering drug addict. Despite his hang-ups with drug addictions, he is a man of faith. He was once a devout Catholic who sought a life of purity. He remains a believer even though he struggles with his own self-control. Quite symbolically, Charlie recently found a hollow statue of the Virgin Mary with heroin inside. Carrying the symbolism a step further, Charlie found the heroin in the wreckage of a different plane crash transporting drug smugglers disguised as priests.

One promo for the new season features a voiceover of Charlie saying, “How long will it take for redemption? Like the chance to put the past behind me. To start over. Maybe that’s what this is. A second chance. An opportunity to earn forgiveness. They say that everything happens for a reason. I wish I could believe that.”

Many of the show’s actors like the redemption aspect of the show. “I’m a huge fan of redemption stories,” Fox said. “I’m very much into the idea that all of these characters are trying to escape a past version of themselves that you know; they’ve all made mistakes and harbored secrets and told lies.”

While odds are slim that the show will proclaim that redemption comes through Jesus Christ or that anyone will present the Truth of Christ in the faith-versus-science debate, Lost tells a story that allows you to present that truth.

If you would like to read the rest of the article, comment below and I will email it to you. The purpose of this post isn’t to make you a fan of Lost. All though it is a great show, the alphabet channel isn’t paying me to advertise their little show. At the very least I hope this post begins forcing you to rethink what redemption means. Not in the abstract but in the real world. I hope you can begin to see how hungry the world is for a second chance. Our second chance for a new life isn’t found on a mysterious island but in the creator of all things.

Ministry, Theology

Apropo

2 Comments

I removed a few posts from this blog earlier this week. I was deeply disturbed and frustrated that I had to do that. The posts that were removed were posts that dealt with my true feelings, hurts, and concerns about things I am currently experiencing in my life.

This post isn’t really about that though. I believe that this is an issue that goes deeper than just removing sensitive information because it made someone mad or uncomfortable. It is about more than being sensitive to one another. It is about how we treat people who are just trying to be real (When Keepin’ It Real Goes Bad). It goes back to the quote on the left side of your screen. It is about the secrets and hurts that we can’t share with one another. It is about the broken system we perpetuate.

The reality of life is that people get mad. People get angry. People hurt and people hurt one another. On paper, the way we are suppossed to deal with this is to live our lives openly without boundries or fear. Because of Christ Jesus we are free and our lives should echo that reality. We are the body of Christ. Brothers and sisters living their lives together. Off paper though, in the gritty reality of the fall, we don’t truly live this way. We are more like the CIA. We live lives of fear and silence. Of mistrust and loathing.

I was recommended a book called Distant Voices by Leonard C. Allen to help give me some perspective. It tells of the diversity within the early Restoration Movement, a fact that we in the Churches of Christ often forget to pass along in our stories. While placing this book in my online shopping cart another book caught my eye. The introduction to Tradition, Opinion, and Truth: The Emerging Church of Christ by Fred Peatross spoke directly to my hurt feelings today. In it he writes,

In the early years of my Christian walk I was influenced and convinced that Christianity was a rule-bound spirituality that emphasized external conformity rather than an inner change of the heart. Keeping the party’s elaborate system of rules was the evidence of my spirituality. As I grew older I became aware of my desire to do more. I had been cleansed of my sins and saved by grace, but I still felt bad, as if I needed to do something more. I felt that no matter what I did or accomplished, it wasn’t good enough. As I look back, I now realize that this was my first encounter with the inherited legalism of the church in which I grew up.

I continued to study the scriptures and as I did I began to see new truths. Many of my conclusions didn’t parrot the traditional interpretations of the church of Christ. I soon realized that this leagalistic Christian community I was converted in wasn’t a safe place to share my doctrinal thoughts. It was obvious that is you shared your problems, difficulties, or dysfunction you faced the real possibility of judgement rather than love and support. Same-based, perfectionist theology forces you to “keep secrets” for fear of judgement. It majors in judgement and minors in grace.

You’ll not find the church Jesus’ died for in leagalistic religion. You’ll find it in a small group of people called together by the vision of love found in Jesus. Haring a common Father, born through a common new birth, held by a common Lord, they persue a common course- the adventure of loving their neighbor as they love themselves.

As Christians, what are we about? How do we treat one another? I think we have bought in to the lie of religion. We convert to Christianity but we neglect our conversion to Christ. I am reminded of a line from the Irish theologian I am so prone to quote.

“I wanted to meet God but you sold me religion.”

What are we selling? We aren’t salesmen. We are Disciples. Let’s start introducing people to our Savior and rage against the broken machine of religion.

Books, Ministry, Theology

In the Name of Jesus

Over the weekend I finished reading In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri J.M. Nouwen. Nouwen, an incredible writer, wrote this book to the new Christian ministers who are taking up the mantle as leaders in this post-modern world. As his text, Nouwen turns our focus toward the temptation of Christ in the desert. He believes that leaders today are tempted by expectations and desires contrary to God’s leadership.

Jesus was first tempted to turn stones into bread. Instead of bread, today’s leaders are tempted to be relevant. Chasing after being hip and new takes our focus away from leading others to God. The remedy for relevancy is prayer. Prayer helps us tap into what is truly important. Our egos take a backseat when prayer call shotgun.

Leaders today are not tempted to jump of the roof of their churches but they are tempted to do spectacular things to gain popularity. To avoid this trap, ministers should look to the question and answer session Jesus gave Peter:

After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”
Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”
Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know.. You’ve got to know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

In John 21, Jesus tells us the secret to popularity and that is ministry; serving the people we lead.

The final temptation for today’s leader is… leading. After this exchange, Jesus tells Peter, ‘When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you’ll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go.” Becoming a leader for Christ means being led by Christ. Sometimes we are lead where we want to but more often than not we are lead where it is uncomfortable for us. We are not our own. Leading means being led.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is a leader or who wishes to become a leader. It was a great little read that packed a theological whallop.

Amazon

The Goal Is Soul