Isaiah 58: True Fast/Worship?

So, I stumbled back across a passage that I had forgotten about, and it was pretty intense. Isaiah is calling out the people of Israel about their fasting practices, and it's unsettling. When I read this I swapped out the word "Fast" for "Worship"... And it's kind of intense... Isaiah 58:1-8

¹ "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.

² For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

³ 'Why have we [worshiped],' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your [worship], you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

⁴ Your [worship] ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot [worship] as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

⁵ Is this the kind of [worship] I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call [worship],
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

⁶ "Is not this the kind of [worship] I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Yikes!

How often do we focus on Sunday mornings and forget that our worship spans beyond that time together... Worship is so much more than a once a week ritual!

We are called to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God... That is our spiritual act of worship!!! We cannot settle for going with the flow... We are called to be counter-cultural, to meet people's needs, to love people, to rattle cages, to be excellent examples of who Christ is... that is a huge order!!!

How can we do this? What does it look like to live life totally for Christ? What about the tough situations? What about the comforts of the American lifestyle? What does a life lived for the Lord look like in the 21st century!?

I Am All That Is Man!!!

So I fixed my car... Kinda...

I know nothing about cars... I also feel as though I am a failure in some regards for being a male who does not know about cars...

However... I just had my car stop working, and between me and my friend and his dad we fixed my car in a parking lot... It was nothing big and wasn't hard at all, and to be completely honest I didn't do a whole lot... but I still feel pretty good about it.

Now I feel like I can fix anything... I discovered my taillight was out... so I went in my trunk and I tore out my taillight and removed the bulb... then I hunted some live game...

anyway... I'm pretty amped... and I havn't posted in a while so I'm overdue...

The Way It's Supposed To Be?

This is not the way it's supposed to be...

It's not fair...

How does a girl who is nearing graduation and planning a wedding get diagnosed with Lukemia, and then within a year, leave behind a mourning husband and family?

I understand that sin entered this world, and I understand that God is beyond my understanding, but why is a girl who is seeking to serve God with her new husband struck down at the threshold of adulthood?

People always say, "Well this is part of God's plan, He will use this somehow"... But it is so hard to buy into that when you are in the midst of something like this...

It's just not fair...

This is not the way it's supposed to be...

Really Kuyper?

So I started talking about this with one of my professors a bit the other day...

Abraham Kuyper is a championed individual in the Reformed Tradition, and he did a lot of impressive stuff... He was a pastor, reformer, newspaper editor, Parliament member, and even Prime Minister... However, I am not in support of some of his ideologies. In fact, my interpretation of his ideals and influence frustrate me to an extreme...

Kuyper stood at the forefront of "pillarization" which was a movement that has had intense influence on Christianity. The idea is that Christians develop their own institutions and structures for the sake of being in Christian community and almost being the "light on a hill". This means the development of Christian schools, Christian businesses, Christian supermarkets, Christian fitness centers, Christian newspapers, Christian universities, Christian Sports Clubs, etc...

Hey here's a great idea... let's take all of the local Christians... and put them in secluded locations... then, all the "heathens" can see how much fun the Christians are having with their supermarkets, and how smart they get in their secluded schools, and how productive their businesses are, or how holy their sports leagues are, and then they can feel like they're missing out and want to join in on all the anointed fun!!!

That's what Jesus said about being salt and light right? Go create isolated institutions so that all those "pagans" can look at you and see what's up... But don't get your hands dirty actually getting involved in peoples lives and honestly sharing how messy you are/how God has worked in your life...

Way to go Kuyper... thanks for the seclusion!!!

What happened to being "in the world, but not of the world"? Or becoming "all things to all people for the sake of the Gospel"? How do you build relationships with those who do not know Christ by going through the Christian school system to then get a job at a Christian business so you can afford to go to the fitness center in your church and pay to be in the christian softball league?

All this stemmed from a discussion about Christian Bookstores...

I am not trying to say that all of these things are inherently evil or wrong, because everything can have its place, but how can we who are to be making disciples to the ends of the earth going to develop meaningful relationships with people unless we are actually in the world!?

Is there a proper balance between these christian structures and "secular" structures?
Should there even be a divide between Sacred/Secular? Or should we begin to look for God working in all things? We can't put God in a box by limiting God to revealing God's self through channels that we deem acceptable...

I think we need to be aware of how we are approaching the world, while also being aware of how the world is influencing us... I just think that seclusion is not the correct approach...


And that's all I have to say about that...

Child-like Faith?

So recently I had a bit of a revelation...

I was on Spring Break and was frantically trying to catch up on my schoolwork. I was spending like 6-7 hours a day at Starbucks reading all this lofty theology crap... Like we're talking various atonement theories and stuff that is just beyond me... And I was getting so bogged down, like really struggling, not only in understanding all the stuff I was reading, but I realized that since I have been in college, I often view my faith/Christ as an academic practice, and fail to acknowledge the simplicity that is inherent in Christ's work.

Somewhere I read an account of modern theologian Karl Barth and his experience speaking at some prestigious and highbrow conference. He was speaking on some complicated issues that I can't even pronounce to people with degrees I've never even heard of... And the story goes that one of the doctorate students asked Barth, "What is the most profound truth that you have come across in your study of the Christian Faith?" Barth froze and thought for a few seconds, and then began to slowly say, "Jesus loves me, this I know, because the Bible tells me so... Little ones to him belong, they are weak and He is strong..." Apparently people began to chuckle, and then realizing the severity of this basic statement began to fall silent...

In the midst of my theological frenzy examining the work of Christ, I had begun to overlook the simple truth that a child could recount. Jesus Christ, who healed the blind, fed the hungry, and raised the dead... is risen!!! I had to stop right there in the Starbucks and spend about 20 minutes just reflecting on the simple truth of the Gospel.

So how do we live out "child-like" faith?
Is there such a thing as pursuing knowledge "too much"?
How do we balance acknowledging the simplicity of the Gospel and our own need for complex structures and understandings?

It's a tricky thing... And I certainly do not have it figured out... I am still getting bogged down by my theology classes and the "Bible Study" that I am a part of which is more of a theology debate than an honest look at scripture and each other...

And that's all I have to say about that...

Cynical Much?

So over the last 3 years I have developed into one of the most negative/cynical people that I know... And I know some pretty negative people...

I have been talking about the Joy of the Lord a bit with some friends, and I catch myself more and more just focusing on the "bad" aspects of things...

I often justify it saying that I am not being naive, and I am being critical in order to improve things around me... but when it comes down to it I just like to bitch and moan because of assorted reasons... My own insecurities? My own failings? So that I can have an excuse to not perform well in areas of my life?

So what is the balance? How do I live life so that I am not the oblivious/naive individual, yet I'm not the cynical jerk that I have become? What role does the "Joy of the Lord" play in my life? How can I be so critical of everything when I have the knowledge and truth of Christ's work in my life? What steps do I take to get past this crap stage?

I don't get it, and I'm not there... I have been making an effort to focus my daily readings on the joyful aspects of scripture lately... But I'm still definitely struggling

And that's all I have to say about that...

Let's get them sinners and turn em' into Saints! - ???

So I'm in an Evangelism class right now... and it's bogus.

My professor has all the makings of an exciting teacher. He is from Africa, he is a pastor, and has had some crazy experiences... But this remains in the top 3 worst classes I have taken my entire life.

Our big assignment for the course was to go out and manufacture a relationship with a "sinner" to get them to turn to Christ and to record the process in a journal.

I can not explain to you how hollow and sleazy that feels... Christ calls us to love people. There is a lot involved with loving people (most of which I don't yet understand) and I am sure that building up faulty friendships with the intent of "exploiting" them and then moving on if the effort seems futile is not what Christ had in mind. I understand how necessary it is to share the 'good news', and I recognize that there is a definite sense of urgency involved, as we don't know what tomorrow holds for us. But I cannot get beyond the cheapness of a hollow relationship.

St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

I don't want to reduce sharing faith to just living your life or to give permission to be lazy evangelists, as this quote has been abused by so many, but I do think that inherent in loving people is the desire to share the 'good news' with them and to offer a helping hand as a true friend.

How do we get past the mentality of exploiting friendships, while still pursuing people who do not know the Lord?
How do we balance being lazy/timid proclaimers of our faith and trying to primarily show Christ through our day to day lives?
What part does Post-Modern Relativism play in this whole thing? I have been doing a lot of reading regarding 'emerging' generations and churches and am still trying to get a grasp on the level of pluralism and relativism that is inherent in Post-Modernity, but what approaches do we as Christians take in response to the troublesome aspects that come along with some of the freedoms and exciting parts of Post-Modernism?

And that's all I have to say about that...

Production Sunday?

Easter Sunday is an interesting day in the life of the Church. On one hand, there is the immeasurable joy that is celebrated in the fact that Jesus Christ, the one who fed the hungry, healed the blind, and spoke of peace is risen! On the other hand in American Christianity, Easter Sunday is one of two Sundays a year that pews are overflowing...

How do most local churches respond to this sudden influx of Creasters?

In my experience, churches spend significantly more time and energy preparing for the Easter Sunday worship gathering than the "regular" services. I have recently heard at least 8 or 9 church administrators/pastors/worship leaders say something like, "oh I will be so glad once were past Easter." Easter has become some laborious landmark along the way in the church calendar.

Why?

Is it so that we can glorify God through various ways on this exciting day in our faith?
Or is there frequently an underlying intention to impress all the visitors with our "production"?
Do we become self-glorifying and prideful when we try to compress all sorts of things into our worship gatherings that are not normally there? Skits, videos, special musics, choirs, special lighting/fog, dramatic backdrops, flowers, etc...
Where is that line between ordering a worship service so that it is smooth, flowing, and includes various elements and technologies, and simply putting on some "Jesus" production?
Are worship gatherings that are structured in the traditional way actually worship? or are they by nature an act of theater or show?
How do we continuously think about removing ourselves as distractions and allowing people to worship when it is practically in the job description to be a noticeable presence on a stage leading the body in worship?

There are countless questions, and I have just been wondering a lot lately if what we traditionally know as "church" and worship services are anything close to what God has called us to, and are what is actually edifying to the body.

And that's all I have to say about that...