:: M squared T ::

:: Friday, October 31, 2003 ::

SKUBALA, or the Vicissitudes of Cooperative Living

I took a task today to make about 10 bucks working for our ministry's handyman/contractor to clean up from the water damage earlier in the fall. It was supposed to take a half an hour to pick up paint chips with a shop vac.

Except when I found the shop vac, it was full of, well, excrement.

Raw sewage.

Which had evidently been sitting there for a while.

It took more than an hour to clean it out.

But I'll get paid for that, too, eventually. Nonetheless, it was a bit disgusting.

:: Matt 10/31/2003 06:53:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

PRWJ

PRWJ = Personal Relationship With Jesus

First of all, read the following: J. Smith and Davis for the context.

In my comments to J. Smith, I wrote:

"I think that the worst part of "personal relationship with Jesus" is that we've de-personalized it by disconnecting it from the Kingdom. "PRWJ" becomes a means of securing our own personal salvation (long time from now, far down the road, on the other side of death ONLY) instead of a joining with the work of God in the kingdom.

"I honestly feel that if we stay in the stereotypical "PRWJ" mode, we end up using God for our own ends (our salvation) instead of "living for the one who died and was raised on our behalf." (II Cor. 5:15)"

This tends to make our faith idolatrous. We begin this "Personal Relationship" so we can go to heaven when we die. This can, at times, be attempting to manipulate God to our ends - just like the average pagan.

Ultimately, the kingdom is personal because Jesus, in some mysterious sense, is the kingdom. (cf. Muggeridge in Willard, Divine Conspiracy, 1) Therefore, I choose to retain "PRWJ" because it does speak to the fact that the kingdom is not yet another abstraction (like we have done with "truth"), but is, in fact, intensely personal and related closely to the person of Jesus Christ.

:: Matt 10/29/2003 08:06:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Will the Real Christians Please Stand Up?

Lectio Divina

For the love of Christ constrains us; we believe this: that one died for all, therefore all died. And he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who died and was raised on their behalf.


II Corinthians 5:14 - 15
Trans. M Squared T

What if we were to make this verse the deciding factor on whether someone was a Christian? Beyond the Rule of Faith of the Gospel, this transformation from "living for ourselves" to "living for Christ" indicts me and many others within the church today.

Living our own dreams - those separate from those of the Gospel - denies the Gospel.

This means our salvation transcends escaping Hell and experiencing Heaven - or "eternal separation from God" and "eternal presence of God" as some like to express it. Salvation is a lifestyle as much as it is an end. The "so that those who live..." phrase above is not so much a command ("you WILL live this way or else") as it is the expression of God granting us the ability to do something we've wanted to do but have been unable due to the reign of Sin, Evil and Death in our lives.

Do we want it?

If we choose to make Eternal Life only an end - only something that will take place after we die, we explicitly and specifically deny that we desire to be in the presence of God. Therefore, we choose Hell, here and now, for the here and now.

Now why on earth would we want to do that?

By choosing to make Heaven only an end, we declare ourselves separated from the presence of God here and now, utterly and completely - therefore, in Hell. Instead, I want to live for God here and now, in his presence, to experience his salvation Today, as a down payment of better things to come in the future.

Thanks Be To God.

:: Matt 10/26/2003 01:23:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Ah, But I Wish It Didn't Hurt

I've discovered that my job as the coordinator of Service Ministries has gotten a bit personal. I'm involved with a group here in town once a week now, along with some people from my church. And it frustrates me to no end that I am not in charge. This is really what "killing the flesh" is about, isn't it? I've talked a good show, but now when the rubber hits the road, I'm frustrated. My self-importance is being hammered on. I'm not the shining star. I'm working the basic stuff, behind the scenes, away from the glory. And it hurts.

Dare I say it? I need even more of this... bring it on, God!

:: Matt 10/22/2003 10:23:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Google's BlogSpot Ads

I find Google's attempts to provide advertizing relevant to my page amusing. Like when I was talking about my window project, it was all home repair. The more explicitly theological I get, the more Christian websites get put up there. When I talk about random stuff (like baseball) it gets confused and goes blank. What'll it do now?

:: Matt 10/21/2003 12:44:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Baseball

Ah, poor Cubs.

Ah, poor Red Sox.

Next year, folks... next year.

:: Matt 10/17/2003 06:53:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Busy Days Are Here Again

My days have been busy this week - enough that blogging took a back seat. Here's the rundown:

Sunday: My friend Mark was baptized Sunday morning at University Baptist Church, expressing his commitment to Christ, acting out death to sin and resurrection to life in God. Praise God!

Sunday Afternoon: A relaxing, enjoyable run with my running buddy, then out for a beer to watch the beginning of the Cubs-Atlanta game.

Sunday Evening: Sat down with a friend and housemate to review material from a Bible study we're in - and he decided to become a Christian. We prayed and his life has changed - I'm amazed. This is the first time this has happened like this with me. Praise God!!! (P.S.: The passage we were studying was Philippians 2:19 - 30.)

Monday: Ah, class. Yes... driving 2.5 hours to Chicago, and back. And a minor conversation with a Ford County Sherrif's Deputy about 11:10 PM on Illinois 115. Driving too fast is expensive.

Tuesday: Slept in because I got home late. Worked all afternoon and evening. Went to the King's Club International Ministries to work with kids. That was an experience, let me tell you. Cubs lose 9 - 8.

Wednesday: Schoolwork and meetings. Yum. Bible study on Philippians 3:1 - 11. Cubs win 12 - 3.

Thursday (today): My good friend, John ZuHone, presented "The Search for Extraordinary Intelligence: Evidence for Intelligent Design in Astronomy" to the Illini Christian Faculty and Staff. I will soon be able to say "I knew him when..." John is an Astronomy/Cosmology student at the University of Chicago. His presentation was excellent. Did you know that if you change the gravitational constant by a fraction of a percent, life can't exist? Astronomers agree that there must be some sort of design in the universe - but leave the questions of God to the philosophers and theologians.


:: Matt 10/09/2003 02:36:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

New Research Confirms 20-something Disconnect from the Church

A September 24, 2003 report from the Barna Research Group (www.barna.org) suggests that the dramatic decrease in church attendance by people in their 20s is largely due to two significant factors. First, there is a lack of mentoring by older adults in the congregation. 20-somethings seem disinclined to attend classroom-style discipleship programs. Second, many 20-somethings are "overlooked" in leadership roles within the congregation, perhaps because they are disinclined to be trained in classroom-style leadership seminars. Furthermore, the research indicates that many who were active churchgoers as teens have "dropped out" of church by their 20s.

This fits with my experience. In a paper presented on 21 March 2003 to Dr. Douglas R. Sharp and Dr. Karen Walker-Freeburg at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, I argued that "[college] students, upon graduation, often have great difficulty finding new churches in their new communities." This statement was based not upon research but upon the experience of my friends and aquaintences from college who were "pillars" of the church in college, but who have had one difficulty after another finding Christian community after graduation.

In that paper, I argued for five major factors in that "disconnect from community" after graduation.

1. Youth Leaders and "Home Church" Pastors encourage a consumer mindset in students by encouraging them to "shop around" until they find a church they like. "While this does help them to broaden their horizons, they do not realize that this is very ineffective for student ministry. Students end up trying many different places and some never settle in anywhere. This negatively affects their commitment level to any ministry – if they become annoyed, upset, or apathetic about the one they are in, they move on to something else. This church shopping mindset puts the students into a position of “looking to be served” instead of looking for ways in which they can serve. This is antithetical to the way of Christ."

2. "Campus ministries do not train students to face graduation effectively... Campus ministries, by their nature, focus on students while they are on campus. Unfortunately, few do much to equip students with skills and tools for life after college in any sort of direct or organized fashion. This tends to perpetuate the perspective that faith and the rest of life are separable, and that faith is not necessarily relevant to the rest of life. Moreover, campus ministries often spend so much time helping students “survive” college as Christians that they do not look much past graduation. When we are in “maintenance” or “survival” mode in ministry, we are not living out the kind of lives that God has called us to live.

3. "Community that exists in campus ministries is not as available outside of the student environment. Students leave college having experienced a lot of high-quality community throughout every aspect of their lives. When most take jobs elsewhere and move away, they make a break with that community they have known and are put into a position where they really need community but do not have the skills to find or make it. They have never had to find a church before in the same way. When they do find a church, their position in it is much more marginal than they had as seniors in a campus ministry. This is disappointing to people who were a leaders throughout their college careers. Few churches encourage the kind of leadership possibilities that campus ministries do for people right out of college.

4. "A massive culture shift has created a gap between the average local church and the faith experience of the students. This is self-explanatory. The Internet really took off starting in about 1994. Freshmen entering college in 2003 were born in 1985. They have grown up on the Internet. Their thought patterns have changed to a more web-based mode of thinking. Those who are new converts do not understand the “worship wars,” for example. The whole discussion makes no sense to them.

5. "Local church leadership resists recent graduates’ participation in leadership positions. We touched on this in section 3, above. Most churches reject the possibility of recent college graduate leadership outright. It is important for recent graduates to continue to learn from those who are older and wiser than they; but those who are older and wiser need to take a better look at the kinds of skilled, quality leaders they have among them in the 22 – 25 year old age bracket."

In the paper I continued with a list of proposals for change and a list of 100 points for discussion regarding ministry in 21st century America.

I would encourage your thoughts and critique.

:: Matt 10/04/2003 10:28:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Interviewing for Apostolic Life

Greg Ogden's new book, Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time quotes this "Memorandum" from "Jordan Management Consultants":

Memorandum

TO:
Jesus, Son of Joseph
Woodcrafter Carpenter Shop
Nazareth
FROM:
Jordan Management Consultants
Jerusalem

Dear Sir:

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.

We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely yours,
Jordan Management Consultants.

The quote can be found in Transforming Discipleship, p. 77. The original is here.

As a current seminary student, wrestling with "where to go next," this really sounds like the battery of psychological tests and other stuff our denomination and most "solid churches" want us to pass. Could we be banishing Peters and keeping Judases?

:: Matt 10/03/2003 04:03:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

James Manuscript

I got the opportunity to view a very old manuscript from the book of James today. It's a 3rd century papyrus of James 1:10 - 12, 15 - 18. The 15-18 side was up in the display case at the Spurlock Museum at the University of Illinois. For the scholars out there, this is P23, Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 1229.

It's in grade-A condition... all the letters are clear, except where there are some missing along the bottom due to damage. It's a great MS to try reading - the letters are all done in a clear, round hand, and it was written slowly, not like some of the others that run all the letters together in almost a "cursive."

I loved being able to lean over the glass case and read the Bible - written by someone so long ago. We are part of something bigger than ourselves!

:: Matt 10/02/2003 11:32:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...