Story with Eugene Peterson

A great interview with Eugene Peterson. Some excellent thoughts on Community and Story.
I encourage everyone to take 29:40 out of their life to resource yourself with some great thinking.
Thanks to Kat for sharing this with me, so I can now share it with you.

Roaming through Romans #2

So what is the Good News or the Gospel? I have conducted my own little personal uncredited questionnaire over the last week asking people that question. I have had many responses. Here's a small selection:
'A type of sermon where people are asked to invite Jesus into their lives'
'God's love for the world'
'That we can all have a relationship with Jesus because of the cross'
If I was to list the rest they would be all different to these one, with some being similar just communicated differently.
I even heard a 'Gospel' message in the week before easter asking people to accept Jesus and go to heaven or live eternally separated from him in the fires of hell.
So what then is the gospel? There seems to be a varied response to this question.
For the apostle Paul the gospel is that Jesus is King and that he is exercising his power in a very different way than the powers of this world do. NT Wright notes that 'The good news is not, first and foremost, about something that can happen to us. What happens to us through the 'gospel' is indeed dramatic and exciting: God's good news will catch us up and transform our lives and our hopes like nothing else. But, the good news that Paul announces is primarily good news about something that has happened, events through which the world is now a different place. It's about what God has done in Jesus, the Messiah, Israel's true King, the worlds true Lord'. (Wright, Paul for everyone, Romans, Pg 4)
I wonder whether what is often missed today is this idea that Jesus is King?? I wonder whether in some places the way the gospel is shared encourages 'easy believism'. I think this is evident in the way we 'ask Jesus to come into our hearts'. This is a truism in that Jesus does come and live within us. But it does promote the idea that we are still King because Jesus is joining us rather than us joining him and entering into a relationship with him as King and Lord. NT Wright uses a great phrase called 'believing obedience'. I think that this better encompasses our life response to the good news.

Roaming through Romans #1

Romans 1. Jesus is King . Paul opens his book to the Romans by addressing the Christians gathered in home churches that he is a slave of King Jesus - set apart for the God's good news. Today we don't like words like allegiance, obligation or obedience. These are often frowned upon in our post-modern world where we like to be our own King and run our own show. So although we see Paul letting Rome, Caesar and Christians in the first Century know that Jesus is the worlds true King and that this is Good News, we too today need to hear this same announcement. There is only one crown -and it belongs to Jesus, not us! Too often we are the ones who want to wear the crown and sit on our own thrones and rule our own little worlds. Paul reminds us here and elsewhere in Romans that Jesus is the worlds true King and the one who deserves all the honor, worship, obedience and thanks. So may we dethrone our selves - hand back the crown to Jesus - enthrone Him in our lives and live in obedience and allegiance to King Jesus. May we join Paul in announcing Jesus as King, and partner with God in claiming the world as his own.

10,000 Hours of Practice!

Malcolm Gladwell says that if you want to shine, put in 10,000 hours.
A new book by the Tories’ favourite sociologist claims practice is the secret of success in sport, business, art and science.

I was interested to learn that research has shown that to be successful at anything you need to spend 10,000 hours in practice. This means that if I am questioning why my Driver doesn't go the distance of Tiger Woods', then it is because I clearly haven't spent enough time practicing. If my tennis backhand is not as damaging as the Fed X's, then it is because I haven't practiced enough. If my piano scales aren't as sharp as what Bach's were, then it is clearly because he spent more time practicing than me.

The article goes on to say..
“The tennis prodigy who starts playing at six is playing in Wimbledon at 16 or 17 [like] Boris Becker. The classical musician who starts playing the violin at four is debuting at Carnegie Hall at 15 or so.The obsessive approach is particularly evident in sporting icons. Jonny Wilkinson, the rugby player, Tiger Woods, the golfer, and the Williams sisters in tennis have all trained relentlessly since they were children. Much of Britain’s Olympic success is down to a combination of natural ability and sheer dedication. Victoria Pendleton’s emphatic gold in the women’s sprint cycling in Beijing came only after humiliating defeat in Athens four years ago. After training for four hours a day, six days a week the 27-year-old finally reaped the rewards. Rebecca Adlington, the 19-year-old swimmer who won two gold medals at the Beijing Games, has put in an estimated 8,840 hours of training since the age of 12. Bill Furniss, her coach, said: “When I first saw her, what stood out was the fact that she was so willing to take the pain and make sacrifices.”

What’s really interesting about this 10,000-hour rule is that it applies virtually everywhere,” Gladwell told a conference held by The New Yorker magazine. “You can’t become a chess grand master unless you spend 10,000 hours on practice.

SO...this 10,000 hours of practice doesn't only apply to sports or music. It applies to reading, cooking, public speaking and wait for it.....drum roll..... READING THE BIBLE.
Think about what this says about reading and understanding our bibles. Speaking to many people today it seems that reading the bible is certainly a struggle. Many seem to struggle in understanding the scriptures. Many think that the scriptures are out dated and don't speak to us today. But could this be because we haven't spent any where near 10,000 hours reading the bible? Could this be because we haven't spent 10,000 hours becoming proficient in hearing what God was saying through the authors to the culture and situation of the day and then thinking through how this speaks to us today?? Practice makes perfect.

Let's not get discouraged by this figure thinking I will never be able to read and understand the bible because I haven't spent enough time at. But let us rather be encouraged that the more we read and seek to properly exegete the texts, the better we will get, and the more we will understand and the more it will change our lives (if of course we let the text speak to us).

Take it one minute at a time, one hour at a time and see how much more proficient you become in delving into the truths and wonders of Gods amazing story. This is a challenge for me and one where I want to see the 10,000 hours achieved. So, if you are reading this, then please pray for me that I will schedule and prioritize more time reading and in exegesis of the text. Thank you.

Reference: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article4969415.ece

The Pew Platform Divide

Over the Easter Period, our church hosted what we called 'The Easter Experience'. It was a chance for people to interact and engage with the Inexhaustible, Inclusive and Intentional Love of God. The idea was to look at breaking down what I call The Pew Platform Divide. You know what I'm talking about...the big wall that is erected between the Platform and the Pews.It is often unseen on Sundays but I think it's proof is evidenced in the lives of many during the week who dont interact or read the word of God; who don't pray; who find that the bible doesn't speak to them; and who wait for Sundays for the pastor or preacher to teach the scripture to them. Don't get me wrong, I think it is imperative that the pastor preachers, but I fear that in our consumerisitic, quick fix, microwave society, people are simply waiting and happy to be only taught from the pulpit on Sundays rather than engaging with God through conversation, community, prayer and scripture 24hours / 7days a week. And I think that the Pew Platform divide only encourages this. Let me explain. I think this Divide allows for people to simply attend, listen and spectate in church. Often the way we 'run' our church services allows people to simply disconnect from what is being said and ultimately God and simply be polite by listening quietly and not snoring or rustling the church newsletters. But my understanding is that our faith is one of action, one of participation, of engagement and interaction, of community and conversation. May we explore ways to encourage greater participation in church, greater interaction with God's love and truth and clearer ways for people to see that our faith is one that should always be done in community. Perhaps in all our attempts to encourage people to have a 'quiet' time or 'private' time with God each day (which I think is super important) we have forgotten to tell people that our faith is lived out in community and conversation. Our faith is not one confined to the fourwalls of our church buildings or an hour on Sunday morning, but one that should be experienced and shared around a good glass of wine; over Cibo's coffee (or the Coffee Barun); in the car on the way to school; around the dinner table at night; even on the internet!! I know I have jumped around alot in this post, but I wonder if people like being spectators in church; I wonder if they don't like to engage in conversation or interact with Scripture because maybe God will speak to them...and maybe they will be required to follow, obey and change their lifestyle!!!!

Follow this link to see one of the Blog stations that was part of the Easter Experience. Read the posts and make comments. Engage with the thoughts in the blog. http://easterexperience.blogspot.com

Everything you Unexpected.

I drive a Mazda - and the other day I received a promo to test drive the new Mazda 3series. The slogan read 'Test Drive the Car that's EVERYTHING YOU UNEXPECTED'. After reading this I thought 2 things...1. Why should advertising companies come up with good slogans that speak about God's Kingdom. Another example of this is SGIC'S Un-worry - it's great. 2. And number 2, this idea of EVERYTHING YOU UNEXPECTED I thought was a great way to picture the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is upside down to the thinking of this world. It is everything we unexpect. It is supposed to be different - it is the rule and reign of God in the now. I think God's kingdom looks different than we often think it should. Often, I think we try to make God more 'relevant' and more 'cool'. When really his Kingdom is everything we unexpect. Perhaps we shouldnt be so focused on making God, the Church, Christians what we think people will be attracted too, but rather, let us let God rule and reign as the King of our lives and let us see God do EVERYTHING YOU UNEXPECTED.