Thanks for visiting my blog, Serving Bread. Here you'll read stories, insights, reflections and ramblings from a campus minister, father, husband and Jesus-follower. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The unspoken assumption in nearly every Christian use of that phrase is that our cultural activity will change the world for the better. But why do we asume this? Changing the world sounds grand, until you consider how poorly we do even at changing our own little lives. On a daily basis we break our promises, indulge our addictions and rehearse old fantasies and grudges that even we know we’d be better off without. We have changed less about ourselves than we would like to admit. Who are we to charge off to change the world? …
If our excitement about changing the world leads us into the grand illusion that we stand somehow outside the world, knowing what’s best for it, tools and goodwill and gusto at the ready, we have not yet come to terms with the reality that the world has changed us far more than we will ever change it. Beware of world changers—they have not yet learned the true meaning of sin.
— Andy Crouch, Culture Making, pages 199-200
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
In short order, we are going put an end to the reckless conduct, corruption, and unbridled greed that have caused a crisis on Wall Street. (John McCain, 9/16/08)
- The McCain family owns a fleet of 13 vehicles
- The McCain family owns 8 properties
- The McCain family is worth around $136 million
…
Barack Obama: “No one is pro-abortion.”
Barack Obama: “I’ve got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
During my Sabbatical, I have been doing some work around the house. We recently moved the children to share a room, and converted the third room to be what we are calling “The Sabbath Room.” It will serve as a library / guest room / prayer room. I repainted the room, removed the carpet and installed laminate flooring, and scavenged craigslist to furnish it.
In developing the room, I envisioned a kind of desk / table for the room that I have not been able to find used and I did not want to fork out a fortune for it. So, I built it. (It seems that I’m not the only one who has taken up some sort of carpentry during this Sabbatical season) Carpentry is by no means a strength, but I have to say I’m pretty proud of my creation, and I’d like to think that Jesus as carpenter would have been proud as well…
Here are some pictures:
 |
 |
| The Sabbath Room |
The kids enjoying the Sabbath Room |
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
Summary:
In this part of his book, Crouch surveys the story of Scripture, focusing on how God (and humanity) created and shaped culture. He looks at the creation story, especially how God was at cultivating and creating culture in the midst of the physical creation we see around us.
Crouch points out how the low point of human culture is exemplified in the plain of Shinar in Genesis 11, as the people of the world tried to create a building toward the heavens.
Crouch goes on to trace the story of the people of Israel, leading the conversation toward Jesus, the supreme culture maker. Jesus was not just a teacher, but one who created a new paradigm and culture for people to embrace. As Crouch writes, “As innovative as his teachings were, his adversaries seem to have been most provoked by his actions… Jesus did not just teach creatively; he lived creatively, and the guardians of the horizons were unsettled by him” (138).
Jesus as culture maker introduced people to the Kingdom of God that was meant to touch every aspect of a believer’s / follower’s life.
Crouch continues the story until the glorious picture in the book of Revelation that paints a picture of perfect redemption. All things that are broken will be redeemed, and the heart of the image is in the city of the New Jerusalem. Culture will be “rescued, redeemed and transformed.” One of the interesting things that Crouch speaks of is what heaven will be like. Not only will it not be boring, it will also not be Sunday Morning lived out for eternity.
Crouch imagines that our eternal life in “God’s recreated world will be the fulfillment of waht God originally asked us to do: cultivating and creating in full and lasting relationship with our Creator.”
Lessons from Part II:
- Christians have transformed Kingdoms. Crouch summarizes the work of Rodney Stark who tried to understand how the early church grew to become a powerful force within three hundred years. One of Stark’s observations was that the early Christians “were not cut off from their neighbors–the culture they created was public and accessible to all.” I once heard a pastor exhort his flock (in a sermon) to create a hedge of protection between them and the non-Christians around them. The church would have never grown had the early believers heeded the teachings of this pastor. Also, Christians were at the forefront in caring for the sick during the various epidemics that hit the Roman empire. Nursing and caring for the needy authenticated their faith and created space for people to see faith at work.
- Embrace the best of the culture around us. Crouch imagines that the best of our culture will be with us for eternity, for the best is a picture of God’s gift to humanity. And we may be surprised that in heaven, we will enjoy the works of many non-believers (whether it be art, food, architecture, etc…) I think Crouch has his fingers on a new way of proclaiming the gospel and doing evangelism—point people to God when we see the best in people. Thank people fo the ways that they have allowed God to do the best in them. How empowering it is for anyone (whether believers or non-believers) to be thanked for the ways that their works point us closer to God!
- God lifts the needy. Many of us will be surprised of the ways that God will lift up the last to be first in the Kingdom. I find myself so caught up in learning from the powerful and wanting to be like the powerful that I forget that God will/does confound the wisdom of the world. I find myself losing sensitivity to how God may be speaking to me through the least around me. During my Sabbatical, I am learning to hear God through my 3-year old and my 8-month old.
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
Brian McLaren (of emergent church, New Kind of Christian fame) has written a post on his blog titled, “Why I’m Voting for Obama, and Why I Hope You Will Too: Reason 1.” I found to be an excellent and fresh post on how he plans to vote in the upcoming election.
Before you are offended and write him off as a liberal, I urge you to look at his arguments. He writes, “My top reason for supporting Barack Obama for president centers in the narrative I believe he frames his life and work by, in contrast to the narrative John McCain frames his life and work by.”
McLaren argues that McCain has framed his life as a warrior whereas Obama has framed his narrative as a reconciler. I find the language of narrative to be helpful. It gives us an insight into the worldview and leadership of the candidate.
Using his framework or litmus test, you may conclude that McCain has a more compelling (and biblical) narrative than of Obama, which would urge you to vote for McCain. I don’t think there is much disagreement that McCain does see himself as a warrior, though I would add that McCain has framed his life more as a reformer than a warrior.
Where I disagree with McLaren is whether a more biblical framework should propel people to vote for one candidate over another. Does it matter that Obama’s narrative “in harmony with the teachings of Jesus. Conversely, a narrative of domination and defeat is not: it is the way of Caesar, or what Jesus called “the kingdoms of this world”? Even if McLaren’s assessment is correct, should that be enough to vote for Obama? On the one hand, I think the answer is “of course.” We should be voting for the person who has a narrative and a worldview that we believe to be most aligned with that of Jesus. But on the other hand, this line of thinking can tempt us to assess a candidate’s theology. I am not looking to vote for the most theologically astute candidate.
No doubt there will be committed Christians who will vote for Obama this fall and committed Christians who will vote for McCain. How we perceive their narrative should be a helpful framework to assess their leadership.
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
I came across a study in the upcoming issue of The Atlantic Monthly that looks at why leaders matter and more importantly, why some leaders are more effective than others. Those who have spent any time in a leadership capacity may intuit the researchers’ argument which is that leaders who know their industry operate at a more effective level than those who don’t.
The researchers studied basketball coaches and found that the coaches (i.e. Phil Jackson) who spent time as players coached better teams than those who didn’t play the game. They found that
On average, teams with former all-stars as coaches placed six spots higher in league rankings than teams with coaches who had never played in the NBA
(Sports fans will be quick to point out all the ways that this is not true. For every Phil Jackson, there is an Isiah Thomas who ended last season 23-59. But the researchers looked at a broader picture of coaching and effectiveness)
The implications of such finding is that we need to help people be better players. When we are developing leaders, we need to pay attention to teaching them the basics of ministry, leadership and Bible Study. By learning the crux of the ministry and the foundations of the Christian faith, they will have stronger foundations to be more effective leaders in the future.
When we focus our attention on leadership development, it may be tempting to want to train people for leadership without developing the basics of following Jesus and ministry. For example, I sometimes find that many young leaders are on the track of being a pastor, going through seminary and jumping through all the hoops to pursue the call when they have spent little or no time participating in community and ministry. Their leadership is mostly information rather than relationships and experience.
I am reminded that Jesus invited his young followers to “come and see” before they were sent out for ministry. They were disciples before they were apostles.
Another implication (one that is closer to my heart) is that we need to be faithful with our ministry in the present. Faithfulness in the ministry that God has given us sets us up to be faithful if/when God may offer us greater leadership in the future. To ignore or demean the present calling because we don’t think we have yet “arrived” can serve to weaken a future calling.
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
Welcome to the last day of the local convention. The theme has been “Kingdom First.” Today’s topic: Real Transformation.
Continue reading ‘Independent Local Convention, Day 4: Real Transformation’
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
How should Christians engage or relate to culture? Andy Crouch tackles this question in his book, Culture Making. In Part I, he explores the concept of culture, defining the term and giving some helpful insights on how culture thrives and how Christians have related to culture. You can follow the discussion over at the forum.
Lessons from Part I:
- We have to learn to diagnose culture. Crouch provides a fantastic tool (5 questions) that empowers us to be better thinkers and ‘diagnosers’ of culture. We make far too many assumptions of how the world works and how culture works. These five questions will help us make sense of what culture and it’s implications. The questions are:
- What does this cultural artifact assume about the way the world is?
- What does this cultural artifact assume about the way the world should be?
- What does this cultural artifact make possible?
- What does this cultural artifact make impossible?
- What new forms of culture are created in response to this artifact?
- Christians traditionally mis-engage culture. What I mean here is that Christians tend to not know how to engage with various cultural artifacts. He identifies four ways that Christians can engage culture. First, we can condemn the artifact (remember the protests with the release of the Da Vinci Code?) Second, we can critique the culture. Third, we can copy culture (i.e. Christian music industry). Fourth, we can consume culture. Christians may condemn a cultural artifact which only brings more attention to it and might make Christians look idiotic in the process. Or we’ll create a parallel universe (like the Christian music industry) where we think we are engaging the larger culture, but we’re really not.
- We need to be cultivators and creators of culture. We need to preserve the best of humanity and create (like artists) cultural artifacts that engage the best of humanity.
Crouch writes,
I wonder what we Christians are known for in the world outside our churches. Are we known as critics, consumers, copiers, condemners of culture? I’m afraid so. Why aren’t we known as cultivators–people who tend and nourish what is best in human culture, who do the hard and painstaking work to preserve the best of what people before us have done? Why aren’t we known as creators–people who dare to think and do something that has never been thought or done before, something that makes the world more welcoming and thrilling and beautiful? (97-98)
In essence, Crouch is calling for Christians to be sort of cultural anthropologists with the mission that we challenge and exhort cuture toward the purposes and intentions of God.
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
Welcome to the third day of our local convention. Today, we will tackle patriotism. The theme of the convention is: Kingdom First. The topic for the day is: “Serving the Greater Good.”
Continue reading ‘Independent Local Convention, Day 3: Serving the Greater Good’
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
In Part I, I mused about the relationship between conviction and politics. In Part II, I will look at some of the issues and convictions that are particularly relevant in this election cycle. I think of this as the platform of this convention. In order of priority, the next president of the United States would ideally hold these convictions:
- Iraq. It does not matter whether someone was for or against the war in Iraq. What matters is whether he will address the mess we’re in. I don’t care whether Obama had better judgment for opposing the war or McCain had better judgment for supporting the surge. I want to know who will address the situation at hand (and that may not necessarily be to withdraw troops even though I’ve been against this war).
- Foreign Relations. The President of the United States is the head of state. The president will represent the United States to the world and will make decisions on behalf of our country. It is critical that the next president spend most of his energy developing relationships and mending relationships. Foreign relations matters more now than ever in our history. We live interconnected lives with the rest of the global community. The most important role that the President has is operating as the Head of State of the United States. And the most impact that presidents can have is in the area of foreign relations. Domestic policy is far more difficult to impact and change.
- The war on terror. What is this war on terror? Who is the enemy? How will we defeat it? Is it worth to have our resources toward this war? Someone, explain it and give us vision!
- Energy and the Environment. Americans are finally realizing that we cannot sustain our current energy policy. And there has been more of a shift in our culture to care for the environment. Christians, especially, are realizing how important it is to care for our environment. In this area, I am particularly disturbed that the Republicans are almost single-minded on “Drill, Baby, Drill.” I hear little or no mention of alternative energy and conservation. Personally, I am neutral on off-shore drilling, but it seems to be far from the silver bullet that will prepare us for another generation of energy consumption.
- A new economic model. Whether or not we think that our economy is fine and just going through a correction, there are some lessons to be learned. Consumers did not handle the years of relative “prosperity” and low interest rates with much maturity. The next president will have to address some of the problem spots of our economy. How do we make credit available to those with good credit? How do we reward sound investments? How do we allow people to take appropriate risks? What do we do about the inevitable insolvency of Social Security?
My Minor-Major issues. These are the issues that I care about, but are not necessarily forming my thoughts about this election:
- Abortion. I hate the idea of abortion. I don’t buy that it’s a ‘privacy’ issue. Reducing abortions should be a goal of anyone in the White House (whether he is pro-life or pro-choice).
- Gay-marriage. Christians should be on the fore-front of supporting human rights for all (including those who have lifestyles with which we disagree and even find sinful). Gay people should be given privileges (like hospital visitations). It’s funny to me that gay men and women want marriage like heterosexuals. We heterosexuals don’t do marriage very well (we get a big “F”). Why would you want one of our failed institutions? Regardless, I don’t think that gay marriage is a human right issue. Marriage is an institution that only makes sense within a heterosexual relationship. In my opinion, gay marriage is a sort of oxymoron.
- Healthcare. I don’t trust my government running healthcare. I think there are ways we can encourage and assure that more people get healthcare. I appreciate that the Democrats bring it up for conversation and wish the Republicans were less silent on the issue.
Issues I wish the candidates were talking about:
- Modern-day slavery. There are 27 million people who are enslaved today (more than the trans-atlantic slave trade that spanned 400 years). We need a surge to address this.
- Poverty. Even the democrats have become somewhat silent (this was a major issue in the primaries) on waging war on poverty. We need a surge to address inequality and the plight of the poor.
- Water-rights. Forget talking about oil, the next major conflicts in the world will revolve around water. We need new technology to help people get water.
- Traffic on the 405. I will vote and campaign to the first candidate that will GUARANTEE that I (Eddy) will no longer deal with traffic.
Issues I wish the candidates were talking less about:
- Earmarks. Are you kidding me? We are debating who requested more earmarks rather than how to end poverty?
- Governor or senator? Our system (whether we like it or not) doesn’t reward the presidency to the most experienced person. You have all taken great strides and have done much to earn your party’s nomination. Congratulations. Now move on from debating your experience to debating your future!
- Who is more of an outsider? Outsiders do not necessarily make great presidents. Just ask those who voted for Jimmy Carter!
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
Recent Comments