Postmodern Renaissance Culture Revolutionary

Pigs, Demons, and Tombs, Oh My Luke 8:26-39 The out of context kingdom Jesus felt compelled to leave his comfort zone to bring the kingdom to people who didn’t receive it Jesus began his mission with “the kingdom of God is near” He then began to take this message from one end of the Jewish countryside to the other One day, he decides to go across the Lake of Gennesaret and lands in the region of the Gadarenes For us, this story doesn’t really spark much interest in quickly reading through - Jesus does his thing by casting out some demons On a closer examination, there are some clear signs that Jesus left his comfort zone here First - the Gedarenes were Gentiles - they raised pigs Second - the first place Jesus enters is a cemetery of Gentiles Third - in the cemetery, there is a person who is running around threatening people while naked Jesus casts a multitude of demons out of the man We know that the demons flock into the pigs and the pigs jump off into the water and die The man is re...

Sermon notes for Father's Day, June 16, 2019 Path to Christian Fatherhood 1 John 2:12-14 Father of a different sort Being a Christian father is not so much about raising children in your household Being a Christian father is about training the children in Christ to mature That includes our household children, but also the members of the body of Christ who come into the faith The writer of 1 John addresses three age groups: children, young men, and fathers There are two words for children that both imply immature people The word for young men is pointing to people in the prime of their lives The word for fathers addresses those who have matured Since there can be inferred that there were women involved in this community of faith, we can deduce that children, prime of lifers, and fathers addresses males and females But it doesn’t address these groups in terms of age - it is faith development For the community that the writer is addressing, the body of believers is broken into 3 ...

I am sitting here, pondering if I should even bother writing this. There really isn't much use in this space anymore. You who have decided to stick it out with me, I truly appreciate it. I write for myself most of the time. I recognize now that my opinion and voice really don't have any impact on my family, the churches I serve, the denomination, or the world. It sounds pompous to think that I feel like I could make an impact beyond the sphere of my little world that exists in my head. It is my ambition, though, to make a difference. I write this, knowing that it won't produce anything other than the combining of atoms in what we have come to know as cyberspace. Next week, the Oklahoma Annual Conference will convene to prepare itself for the ministry of the coming year. For the first time in a while, I will not be going for the entirety of the event. I will only attend one day. There are a number of reasons why I won't attend. One of those is the degree of stress that...

Review: Sex, Purity, and The Longings of a Girl’s Heart Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal (Baker Books) As a pastor who has worked with youth in middle school and high school for over 20 years, dealing with the subject of sex has been integral to a balanced approach of helping young people mature. And as a human being, I haven’t always been the greatest at communicating on the subject. I am always on the lookout for new material about youth and sexuality to expand my ability to guide young people. Baker Books provided this review copy in exchange for a fair review. The focus of the book is fairly apparent. This book deals with sexuality and young females. I appreciate the forwardness of the authors in dealing with this area of sexuality. Many people find it difficult to be upfront about their sexuality, but it seems that the cultural history of “only naughty girls talk about sex” has limited the frank conversations that young women need. The authors approach this sub...

A Fractured Quadrilateral In the previous piece, I wrote about the four identified sources of authority within the history of the Church of Christian faith. Experience, Tradition, Scripture, and Reason have all risen to be the primary source of authority for a faith community. In some cases, the rise of a new form of primary authority has created a conflict between faith communities. There have been obvious splits within the history of the Church over these points of difference. I also alluded to John Wesley and the integration of all four sources into his work in the area of theology. The United Methodist Church took what John Wesley did and have found a unique identifying theological framework. In the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, our polity and doctrinal guide, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral is described. It has become a reference point over the last 40 years that United Methodists could point to as something that we shared in common. Recent events lead me to believ...

Forest of Authority This is quite long. It is a piece I have written to explain a new metaphor I am using to teach the different faith traditions. It is also the first part of an examination on where I believe we stand as Methodists in conflict with one another. In the years that I have been teaching church history, I have commonly used the analogy of a tree. It helped to point out the development of the different “branches” of the Christian faith. It was easy to show how one denomination is related to or different from, other denominations. In the last few months, I have begun to shift the analogy. Now I use the image of forest instead of a single tree. The move to a new picture has come as a result of preparation for Bible study in 1 John as well as the ongoing institutional and philosophical crisis of the United Methodist Church. I began to see that one source was not sufficient to understand the current reality of the Church universal. I felt that a different picture has become nec...

Recently I have been pursuing the idea of journaling. I want take this up a more of a holistic, and hopefully more objective, gauge of where I am emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The problem of beginning this pursuit, other than my chronic laziness and pathological fear of beginning something new, has been the recurring theme of goal setting. This has caused me some measure of pain. I understand setting goals as a necessary step in making progress in achieving something. In my head I see why this is necessary. In my heart I feel that this is a critical part of my trying to develop personally and professionally. I just cannot get passed the wall that I see nothing as a goal in my life. I asked colleagues and friends about their professional and personal goals. They were helpful in making me feel inadequate. Or maybe incomplete in my desire for what I want to achieve. The intangible goals of life are easy for me. I see the back and forth of failure and success. I don't con...

In the effort to make my voice one of the many, I sent the following to the delegation of the Oklahoma Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. To the Oklahoma General Conference Delegation, I know you have received many viewpoints encouraging you to see fit to vote some way or another. My only desire is that you will vote the direction your heart leads you. Show integrity to what God has called you to live out. Be gracious in service to all in a spirit of love. Hope for the kingdom of God’s reign to be the ultimate end of any decision that will be made. I would contribute my voice to the decision about the plans that have been submitted only as a way to encourage you to see what many have seen as the least viable plan as a potential way forward for the future of United Methodists. The Connectional Conference Plan has been criticized as being too vague, requiring too much voting (in terms of the number of Constitutional amendments), and a stop gap measure “kicking the can furt...

I have been banned from posting personal things or controversial things on Facebook. That is the world I have come to live in now. For this season, I am isolated from the main outlet that I have used to voice my worries, fears, failures, and weakness as a sign that even pastors lives suck sometimes. So, if I cannot use Facebook anymore, then this shall be my outpost of sharing what is or isn't good in my life. I have, in fact, cut my Facebook "friends" down considerably. I have continued to follow those in the church as "acquaintances" only because it is still a way for THEM to share the suck of life. They are under no ban nor limitation for what they are allowed to post. But I have limited Facebook posts to only those I know can be there to hear what I say and express the appropriate response. But for this day, I felt I should share what has been happening in my devotion life. I have found a new desire to greet each day with a time of spiritual reading, Bib...

No, this has nothing to do with a singing competition with only CCM or hymns being sung. This has to do with a very real practice of idolatry that is being practiced in the American Church today. I have been chewing on a hunk of philosophical and theological gristle for a while now. Today was the day I finally got it worked on enough to get it out. By the way, for disclaimer sake: Due to the nature of the inflammatory, political, and potentially destructive nature of this post, it will not be shared on my social media platforms. If you are someone who desires to avoid issues that may be troubling to sensibilities, I suggest stopping here and returning to the platforms of communication you feel more at home with. If you wish to share this message, just ask my permission first. There, that's the formal stuff out of the way. I have been watching the landscape of the churches I have served very carefully for the entire run of my ministry. Almost 22 years of serving United Methodi...

Tomi Adeyemi drafts an amazing world where magic was crushed by an oppressive government. The gods responsible for magic have retreated from the people. And the king actively oppresses those who have the visible telltale marks that could possibly allow them to tap into magic once more. Adeyemi's hero is Zeile, a headstrong and impetuous girl who leaps into action without thinking through the consequences. She bears the marks of a magic user. And her actions lead her on a quest to restore magic with the help of her gladiator brother and a runaway princess. This isn't a simple quest story. This is a story of personal struggle. The author admits that this story, its characters, the world it takes place in, are all a reflection of the climate of racial tension that is present around us. Adeyemi writes in such a way that the emotions of our real world difficulties are present. Those emotions do not demand the reader to replace elements with real world counterparts. Those e...

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. The Come Back Effect lays out the approach that North Point Ministries uses in connecting with guests in an effort to bring them into the ministry regularly. Jason Young and Jonathan Malm come from a guest services background. The approach they highlight is very practical for churches to put into place. The basic theme is the subject of hospitality. The overall message is one of moving the focus of a church from providing a comfortable environment for the established church to providing an intentional comfortable and welcoming environment for guests. The practical suggestions are about taking your current collection of people, training them for maximum hospitality toward guests, and then empowering to live out their individual personality and gift or skill set in welcoming people who may have never had contact with the church. The strongest chapters that Young and Malm bring to this book are chapters on Recover Quick...