Life from the bottom up

"Pursuing a well-lived life, many people articulate a hierarchy of priorities, something like God first, family second, job coming in third, and hobbies at the end....

Such attempts to deliberately direct your energies, rather than live by default, are worthy of respect and probably successful for some. But...rather than starting at the top and going down, I think a better answer is to start at the bottom. The Apostle Paul wanted us to believe that a foundation existed on which we should build our entire lives. He wrote in 1 Cor. 3:11, "For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ." - Ardie S. Goering (Mennonite Weekly Review, March 2, 2009)

This article reminds me of something I heard (or maybe imagined?)  years ago--that if we think of human life as a kind of time-line that we might draw on a piece of paper, we can't put God on that time-line.  Instead, God is the page--the eternal One who exists beyond and before and over and in us; the One who can't be contained by time; the One who holds us and all of our times.  So too with all of our priorities and to-do lists--God isn't just one more priority or thing to do, but the ground, the foundation for everything else both in life and ministry.

Mar 27, 2009 at 8:51 PM

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The Passion of Jesus

My sermon title for this morning is "The Passion of Jesus" which focuses on Jesus cleansing the temple in John 2:13-22. That Scripture text was also the focus for last Sunday's Rejoice! devotional by Amy Dueckman.

Amy began her devotional with: "I love my church!" Then after detailing why, and relating her comments to the text of Scripture, she concluded, "What can you do to make your church a better place? Today as you go to your house of worship, thank God for it and think of one way you can support one person you see there."  Thanks, Amy, for your encouragement.

Mar 22, 2009 at 7:22 AM

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A Matter of Faith

I heard on the news that Canada’s science minister got himself in hot water when he refused to answer the question, “do you believe in evolution

Some responded by raising questions about whether or not he should be serving as science minister at all; others focused on the larger issues of the relationship between politics and religion, and religion and science.

It raised a lot of questions for me too, beginning with the way the question itself was phrased. Do you believe in evolution clearly makes evolution a matter of faith rather than strictly a matter of science as some proponents seem to argue. But if evolution is a matter of faith, why is it then seen as some kind of litmus test of scientific competence? Is faith in evolution somehow more “scientific” than any other faith? Why is it assumed that having a personal faith is a negative thing in the public sphere? Especially when Christian faith (in spite of all our human failings) has also been a positive social force in the abolition of slavery, the development of orphanages, schools, and hospitals. And why is religious faith considered personal and private and something we can’t talk about—is there a way of talking about faith that is honest, intelligent, genuine, and compassionate, that respects the faith of others and leaves room for dialogue and even disagreement? At least, that’s the kind of Christian witness that makes sense to me.
 

Mar 20, 2009 at 7:33 AM

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From Simply Jesus to Jesus Matters

Last year at this time, I was in the beginning stages of writing a chapter for a book on Jesus with the working title Simply Jesus.

Since then, the title has changed from Simply Jesus to Jesus Matters; my chapter--which focuses on following Jesus--has been moved from being the last chapter of the book to being the very first chapter; between my writing partner (Peter Sensenig), the two editors (James R. Krabill and David W. Shenk), and me, there have been 6 different revisions (not including the initial writing and re-writing that I did on my own!); I learned how to use Moodle (an on-line platform used by educators to develop on-line courses, which can also be used to share and comment on works-in-progress like my chapter); and now finally my work is done!

My last revision has been approved by the editors and sent to the publisher, and Jesus Matters is listed in the 2009 Herald Press Catalog. The Catalog lists the publication date as March 3, 2009, but the book isn’t actually out yet, and there’s no information about it on the Herald Press website yet either. But the print catalog says:

Jesus Matters
Good News for the Twenty-First Century
 

People around the world are intrigued by Jesus Christ, and he is popular with most North Americans. But do we honor the Jesus of the Scriptures? This book commends the Jesus of the Bible. Each author works with a young adult to consider the various ways Jesus encounters people today. Topics include Jesus and creation, Jesus and the cross, Jesus and salvation, Jesus and mission, and Jesus and the future. Authors include Stanley Green, Amy Barker, Michelle Hershberger, Willard Swartley, Jack Suderman and April Yamasaki. Edited by David W. Shenk and James R. Krabill.
Paper: $16.99
Classification: Religion/Christian Theology/Ethics

I’ll have more information once the book is actually available!
 

Mar 14, 2009 at 7:27 AM

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More on Vision

I'm very keen on our current work at visioning and discerning God's call for us as a congregation. It's something that we have often done in the past, and need to continue as God is continually at work in us. But I read something recently in the Mennonite Weekly Review that gave visioning a new spin for me.

In his column on "Everyday Peacebuilding," Robert Yutzy (February 9, 2009) comments on the visioning taking place within Mennonite Church USA.  And then he says, "Often, as we try to find our way, we focus so much on the distant horizon that we forget how to be church to one another....We can spend so much of our time analyzing where we have been, where we want to go and how to get there, that we spend little time in the here and now."  Then he quotes Catholic writer Richard Rohr:  "We are so preoccupied in getting the end right when we should be more concerned about getting the beginning right."

In this season of Lent, as we think again about Jesus' journey to the cross with the vision of his coming death firmly before him (Mark 10:32-45), may we also be attentive to our here-and-now journey as a church together, even as we envision for the future.  Amen.

Mar 12, 2009 at 2:44 PM

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Everybody Can Be a Deacon

This was going to be my sermon title last Sunday, based on Mark 10:43 where Jesus says, "whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant"--or literally according to the Greek text, must be your deacon. But late last week I discovered that it was still possible for us to have Zemedkun Baykeda from Ethiopia speak to our congregation on Sunday morning, so I quickly decided to shelve what I had planned. I'd certainly rather listen to Zemedkun speak on service!

We had never met in person before, but I already had great respect for him.  As Executive Director of the Relief and Development Association of the Meserete Kristos Church, he is actively involved in service in Ethiopia in very difficult circumstances.  Years earlier, when the Christian church was persecuted and underground,  he had been imprisoned and beaten over and over for his faith.  He shared some of this with our adult Sunday school class, saying how difficult that had been, yet he had learned, "We are not on this earth to enjoy life.  We are here to suffer, but there is meaning and purpose in that suffering, and there we rejoice and find the joy of the Lord." 

For more about our guest, please see mcc.org/acp/2004/Mar_Apr/aCP_MarApr2004.pdf (pages 14-15)
 

Mar 10, 2009 at 3:27 PM

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Why I joined Facebook and quit on the same day

It all started when my friend Craig sent me an email inviting me to see some pictures he had posted on Facebook.

I'd received invitations like his before, but my not wanting to bother signing up for one more thing had always outweighed my curiosity, and most people were very obliging in finding some other way to share their latest news and pictures with me that didn't rely on Facebook.  But I guess Craig's email was just one email invitation too many, so I decided to follow the link, sign up for Facebook myself, and look at what he posted.

It was fast, it was easy, and it instantly opened me to a world of many other "friends"--some real friends that I already know, some good acquaintances that I've actually met face to face more than once, and others that might be potential friends on-line.  I could see how some people might spend hours on Facebook and/or other social networking sites.

But I also quickly realized that this wasn't for me.  My profile looked very lonely without a proper picture.  And so far I only had my one friend Craig.  How embarrassing!  Clearly, I'd either have to put more time into Facebook, or pull out of Dodge before anyone noticed my very sorry looking page!

So I quit Facebook the very same day--actually it was the very same hour I joined.  My sorry looking page is no more, but according to Facebook it's not exactly gone either.  It's still there behind the scenes somewhere, ready to be re-activated at any time.  I'm not ready to invest the time at this point, but hey you never know, maybe if someone else sends me some pictures I'll be tempted to go back in, have a look, and at least add one more friend!

Mar 6, 2009 at 8:08 AM

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