Greetings everyone,
Class was really a blessing to us today. We appreciate the insight and the discussion that has come about in the last few weeks. We finished the third sermon and are moving on to the fourth sermon. We will also be looking at Matthew and Luke.
Today we talked about waiting again, but as a beatitude. When we think of the beatitudes, we call to mind the sermon on the mount. Jesus gathered his disciples around him, and began to preach to them by telling them that those who are blessed in his kingdom are those who are often seen as cursed in the world. Blessed are those who mourn, who hunger and thirst for righteousness. We don't enjoy waiting. Waiting sounds like a waste of time to us. But Bonhoeffer calls us to think about a different type of waiting. Waiting becomes a beatitude in the sense that we wait for God expectantly, knowing that he will come.
We hope that, as you wait for Christmas this week, you will find peace in the waiting. We hope that you will see God.
I hope you all have a wonderful week.
Bryan
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
December 14, 2008
Greetings all,
I'm sorry today's post will be short, but time is a precious commodity right now.
Today we had a full class and great discussion, something I am so thankful for. In the past few weeks, it seems to us that the class has really grown into a group of people that care about one another and one another's perspectives. This is a great blessing to be a part of.
Today we finished Bonhoeffer's second sermon and also looked at Micah 5. Most of us came away from our discussion thinking about waiting in a different light. This will be most helpful to us as we delve into Bonhoeffer's third sermon next week. Ultimately, Bonhoeffer asks us to wait in a position of trust and deep faith. Bonhoeffer challenges us and our faith, and invites us to take our current faith and examine it closely for the purpose of growing that faith into a deeper trust, into a "sure and certain knowledge."
Have a blessed week.
Bryan
I'm sorry today's post will be short, but time is a precious commodity right now.
Today we had a full class and great discussion, something I am so thankful for. In the past few weeks, it seems to us that the class has really grown into a group of people that care about one another and one another's perspectives. This is a great blessing to be a part of.
Today we finished Bonhoeffer's second sermon and also looked at Micah 5. Most of us came away from our discussion thinking about waiting in a different light. This will be most helpful to us as we delve into Bonhoeffer's third sermon next week. Ultimately, Bonhoeffer asks us to wait in a position of trust and deep faith. Bonhoeffer challenges us and our faith, and invites us to take our current faith and examine it closely for the purpose of growing that faith into a deeper trust, into a "sure and certain knowledge."
Have a blessed week.
Bryan
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Sunday December 7, 2008
Thanks to everyone who attended class today. We had tremendous attendance and great discussion on what I thought was a difficult topic. Bonhoeffer's second sermon challenges us from the opening scripture -- Moses is told by God to go to the top of the mountain, to look over the valley into the promised land, to see all that he had hoped for during the wanderings in the desert and the bold proclamations he made to Pharoah, and then to lay down and die without entering. What a challenging scripture, and what a challenging picture of our good and gracious God.
Bonhoeffer puts in front of us a different perspective on God and on Advent. Bonhoeffer asks us to do what so many of us today have trouble doing -- to love God absolutely even when we don't understand our lives and God's action or his inaction in them. A dear friend of mine and I have discussed this many times in the context of marriage and relationship. We all talk about loving one another in truth, but few of us really think about what that means. In the context of relationship, it means seeing the good and the bad in someone, acknowledging that good and bad make them who they are, and still choosing to love them. To love someone, anyone, in truth means we don't ignore the tough parts of their personality. It means we encourage when we'd like to pick on them. It means we hold them up when they cannot do it themselves. All of this is very difficult to do with someone we can see. How do we do it in the context of our relationship with an inscrutable and unseen God?
Bonhoeffer would tell us to stop thinking of God as unseen, but rather to see him in the faces of the least of these. Bonhoeffer would tell us that we have to go to the top of the mountain with Moses, see the vision of our unfulfilled hopes, and trust in the wisdom of a loving God. Will you go to the top of the mountain this Advent season, trusting that our good and gracious God will be with us as we live in the midst of unfulfilled hopes and dreams? Will we sit in front of the Christmas tree and think about the present we really want the most, and still love our God when we know that the present we desire with all of our hearts won't be there this year? Sometimes we just have to sit with our God and wait.
Ultimately, we Methodists affirm the power of choice, but I think we sometimes want to make choices that God is not interested in us making. We have the power to choose to love in the midst of difficult and uncertain times. We have the power to choose to trust when our hopes are unfulfilled. In short, we have the power to choose the most important things in this earth.
Blessings to each of you this week. We will see you next week.
Bryan
Bonhoeffer puts in front of us a different perspective on God and on Advent. Bonhoeffer asks us to do what so many of us today have trouble doing -- to love God absolutely even when we don't understand our lives and God's action or his inaction in them. A dear friend of mine and I have discussed this many times in the context of marriage and relationship. We all talk about loving one another in truth, but few of us really think about what that means. In the context of relationship, it means seeing the good and the bad in someone, acknowledging that good and bad make them who they are, and still choosing to love them. To love someone, anyone, in truth means we don't ignore the tough parts of their personality. It means we encourage when we'd like to pick on them. It means we hold them up when they cannot do it themselves. All of this is very difficult to do with someone we can see. How do we do it in the context of our relationship with an inscrutable and unseen God?
Bonhoeffer would tell us to stop thinking of God as unseen, but rather to see him in the faces of the least of these. Bonhoeffer would tell us that we have to go to the top of the mountain with Moses, see the vision of our unfulfilled hopes, and trust in the wisdom of a loving God. Will you go to the top of the mountain this Advent season, trusting that our good and gracious God will be with us as we live in the midst of unfulfilled hopes and dreams? Will we sit in front of the Christmas tree and think about the present we really want the most, and still love our God when we know that the present we desire with all of our hearts won't be there this year? Sometimes we just have to sit with our God and wait.
Ultimately, we Methodists affirm the power of choice, but I think we sometimes want to make choices that God is not interested in us making. We have the power to choose to love in the midst of difficult and uncertain times. We have the power to choose to trust when our hopes are unfulfilled. In short, we have the power to choose the most important things in this earth.
Blessings to each of you this week. We will see you next week.
Bryan
Monday, December 1, 2008
Advent
I waited a bit before updating the blog because I wanted to get to Advent. I read the newspaper over the weekend and realized that we as a country are experiencing a more frenetic and difficult Advent than in years past. Shoppers converged on stores at the earliest of hours the day after Thanksgiving in hopes of finding the best deals. Many are facing a Christmas season with less than they had last year. We are fearful of what will be announced in the news tomorow. Even today it became official that America has been in a recession for some time. Where is the good news? Where are good tidings of great cheer?
Our class from two weeks ago looked at Bonhoeffer's first sermon in the book of his Christmas Sermons. We also took a hard look at the Parable of the Talents. In looking at this parable, we concluded that there was no way to simply extrapolate a lesson from this parable. It must be looked at and read in context. Jesus' words paint a harsh picture of a master who demands the impossible from those who might not be capable of pulling them off. The parable can't be read simply to stand for the proposition that we must do all we can with what we have. Rather, perhaps it is a commentary on the impossible situation many face when they work for difficult, unforgiving bosses.
With all of this, I hope you won't be discouraged. As we discussed over the past few weeks, Advent is a season of waiting. We wait with great expectations, fueled by a hope born of faith given us by God. We put our trust not in the things of the world, but rather in God. Remember to take a step back from the planning and preparation for Christmas day, and revel in the waiting. Breathe a little more deeply and slowly today. In a publication I got in the mail today, one of the writers quoted Psalm 80. In Psalm 80, the text for the first Sunday of Advent, we read "Good Shepherd, lead and restore us. Lord God of hosts, shine your face upon me. God of restoration, give us new life." If you get discouraged this week, breathe this prayer -- God of restoration, give us new life. And then wait to see how God might answer.
Our class party is this Saturday evening. We hope to see you all there.
Have a blessed week.
Our class from two weeks ago looked at Bonhoeffer's first sermon in the book of his Christmas Sermons. We also took a hard look at the Parable of the Talents. In looking at this parable, we concluded that there was no way to simply extrapolate a lesson from this parable. It must be looked at and read in context. Jesus' words paint a harsh picture of a master who demands the impossible from those who might not be capable of pulling them off. The parable can't be read simply to stand for the proposition that we must do all we can with what we have. Rather, perhaps it is a commentary on the impossible situation many face when they work for difficult, unforgiving bosses.
With all of this, I hope you won't be discouraged. As we discussed over the past few weeks, Advent is a season of waiting. We wait with great expectations, fueled by a hope born of faith given us by God. We put our trust not in the things of the world, but rather in God. Remember to take a step back from the planning and preparation for Christmas day, and revel in the waiting. Breathe a little more deeply and slowly today. In a publication I got in the mail today, one of the writers quoted Psalm 80. In Psalm 80, the text for the first Sunday of Advent, we read "Good Shepherd, lead and restore us. Lord God of hosts, shine your face upon me. God of restoration, give us new life." If you get discouraged this week, breathe this prayer -- God of restoration, give us new life. And then wait to see how God might answer.
Our class party is this Saturday evening. We hope to see you all there.
Have a blessed week.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday November 16, 2008
Greetings all! It was good to see so many of you in class today. For those of you who had other commitments, you were greatly missed.
Today we began our Advent series on Bonhoeffer and the Christmas story. We are using Bonhoeffer's Christmas sermons as a guide through the Advent season, and specifically through the Christmas story as foreshadowed in the Old Testament and as told in the gospels. We are hoping for a couple of guest speakers in December on the subject. We shall see what we are able to do in that regard.
For those of you who missed today, we introduced Bonhoeffer. For a quick two minute introduction to Bonhoeffer, see this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHp0c49ql5s. You might find these additional clips interesting as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F_Bxi-l8fc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAmAQEATxSg&feature=related
There are others out there, some better than others, but you get the idea. For those of you interested in the article about Bonhoeffer that I used today during the class, here is the link.
http://escholarship.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&context=scjr
The featured topic from that issue was Bonhoeffer. Here is the rest of the journal.
http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/vol2/iss1/
We looked at the Christmas story as told in Matthew and in Luke, and also mentions of it in Isaiah 7 and Micah 5. For next week, we encourage you to think about the things you are thankful for as we look to Thanksgiving, and to read Isaiah 7 along with the Christmas sermon we will be e-mailing around this week.
We closed today with a brief introduction to the coming season of Advent. Advent, we learned, is about waiting. We wait expectantly for the coming savior. If you remember how eagerly you anticipated Christmas morning as a child, perhaps you can begin to think about what Advent is really all about. We wait patiently for the savior, but patiently does not mean without real longing and real emotion. Sometimes our souls cry out for the touch of our Lord and we wonder why there is no response. Bonhoeffer lived in this world, where God was mysteriously present and yet absent.
For now, let's close with Bonhoeffer's belief in the power of prayer. For Bonhoeffer, who fought against the Nazis in Germany, prayer was resistance. It wasn't a way to prepare to resist. Think of this as you talk to your Father in heaven this week. Resist the urge to despair. Resist the urge to give up hope, for hope is the essence of real longing. We hope that the savior will come. We long for his touch in our lives.
Peace to you this week.
Bryan
Today we began our Advent series on Bonhoeffer and the Christmas story. We are using Bonhoeffer's Christmas sermons as a guide through the Advent season, and specifically through the Christmas story as foreshadowed in the Old Testament and as told in the gospels. We are hoping for a couple of guest speakers in December on the subject. We shall see what we are able to do in that regard.
For those of you who missed today, we introduced Bonhoeffer. For a quick two minute introduction to Bonhoeffer, see this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHp0c49ql5s. You might find these additional clips interesting as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F_Bxi-l8fc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAmAQEATxSg&feature=related
There are others out there, some better than others, but you get the idea. For those of you interested in the article about Bonhoeffer that I used today during the class, here is the link.
http://escholarship.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&context=scjr
The featured topic from that issue was Bonhoeffer. Here is the rest of the journal.
http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/vol2/iss1/
We looked at the Christmas story as told in Matthew and in Luke, and also mentions of it in Isaiah 7 and Micah 5. For next week, we encourage you to think about the things you are thankful for as we look to Thanksgiving, and to read Isaiah 7 along with the Christmas sermon we will be e-mailing around this week.
We closed today with a brief introduction to the coming season of Advent. Advent, we learned, is about waiting. We wait expectantly for the coming savior. If you remember how eagerly you anticipated Christmas morning as a child, perhaps you can begin to think about what Advent is really all about. We wait patiently for the savior, but patiently does not mean without real longing and real emotion. Sometimes our souls cry out for the touch of our Lord and we wonder why there is no response. Bonhoeffer lived in this world, where God was mysteriously present and yet absent.
For now, let's close with Bonhoeffer's belief in the power of prayer. For Bonhoeffer, who fought against the Nazis in Germany, prayer was resistance. It wasn't a way to prepare to resist. Think of this as you talk to your Father in heaven this week. Resist the urge to despair. Resist the urge to give up hope, for hope is the essence of real longing. We hope that the savior will come. We long for his touch in our lives.
Peace to you this week.
Bryan
Sunday, November 9, 2008
November 9, 2008
Greetings all. It was good to see those of you who attended class today. For those who could not, you were greatly missed.
We completed our series today on Faith and Politics. Most breathed a great sigh of relief. Over the next few weeks, we will be entering a time of focusing on the Advent Season, and the Christmas story as revealed in the Gospels. We will also be looking at the Advent Season through the eyes of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and a collection of his Christmas Sermons.
As you go into this week, I hope that you will carry with you the expectation and anticipation associated with the coming Advent Season. Bonhoeffer writes that "Celebrating Advent means learning how to wait. Waiting is an art which our impatient age has forgotten. We want to pluck the fruit before it has had time to ripen. Greedy eyes are soon disappointed when what they saw as luscious fruit is sour to the taste. In disappointment and disgust they throw it away. The fruit, full of promise rots on the ground. It is rejected without thanks by disappointed hands. The blessedness of waiting is lost on those who cannot wait, and the fulfillment of promise is never theirs. They want quick answers to the deepest questions of life and miss the value of those times of anxious waiting."
We are as a nation in a time of anxious waiting. We look forward to the coming year as a time where everyone, regardless of whether we voted for one candidate or another, anticipates a better time. We look forward to restoration and the fulfillment of promises made. The question is, are we willing to both be patient for the fruit to ripen and to do the hard labor of picking that choice fruit when it is ready? We should all be a little more attentive to the times and to our role in society today as people of faith. Judgment is not our vocation; rather, we are to love and to wait patiently for the coming Savior. We are to pick the fruit from the highest branches and help those who cannot reach it. In short, we have great responsibilities as people of faith who live in great abundance in a community of faith.
God bless you all this week.
Bryan
We completed our series today on Faith and Politics. Most breathed a great sigh of relief. Over the next few weeks, we will be entering a time of focusing on the Advent Season, and the Christmas story as revealed in the Gospels. We will also be looking at the Advent Season through the eyes of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and a collection of his Christmas Sermons.
As you go into this week, I hope that you will carry with you the expectation and anticipation associated with the coming Advent Season. Bonhoeffer writes that "Celebrating Advent means learning how to wait. Waiting is an art which our impatient age has forgotten. We want to pluck the fruit before it has had time to ripen. Greedy eyes are soon disappointed when what they saw as luscious fruit is sour to the taste. In disappointment and disgust they throw it away. The fruit, full of promise rots on the ground. It is rejected without thanks by disappointed hands. The blessedness of waiting is lost on those who cannot wait, and the fulfillment of promise is never theirs. They want quick answers to the deepest questions of life and miss the value of those times of anxious waiting."
We are as a nation in a time of anxious waiting. We look forward to the coming year as a time where everyone, regardless of whether we voted for one candidate or another, anticipates a better time. We look forward to restoration and the fulfillment of promises made. The question is, are we willing to both be patient for the fruit to ripen and to do the hard labor of picking that choice fruit when it is ready? We should all be a little more attentive to the times and to our role in society today as people of faith. Judgment is not our vocation; rather, we are to love and to wait patiently for the coming Savior. We are to pick the fruit from the highest branches and help those who cannot reach it. In short, we have great responsibilities as people of faith who live in great abundance in a community of faith.
God bless you all this week.
Bryan
Sunday, October 12, 2008
October 12, 2008
Today in class, we told some of our favorite stories of Jesus. We discussed how his life and his words were often cryptic, yet he leaves us no doubt as to who he was.
Next week, we will continue our journey through faith and politics. If you have topics you would like to discuss, please feel free to e-mail me with them.
As we enter another week, pray for one another in our class that we might have peace in the midst of this great storm.
Next week, we will continue our journey through faith and politics. If you have topics you would like to discuss, please feel free to e-mail me with them.
As we enter another week, pray for one another in our class that we might have peace in the midst of this great storm.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Return of the Blogger!
Sorry to everyone for letting the blog sit dormant for over 6 weeks. I can't believe how quickly time passes.
Today's class was a good one. We finished our series on Christianity in America in the 21st Century. We had a great discussion on the "Heart of Christianity," and specifically about Marcus Borg's desire to boil Christianity down to a fundamental essence. According to Borg, here are the five fundamental tenets of Christianity, or the "Heart of Christianity":
The reality of God.
The centrality of the Bible.
The utter centrality of Jesus.
A relationship with God is known in Jesus. Christianity is not primarily about believing; a relationship involves a much deeper part of ourselves than simply the content of our minds.
A concern for the transformation of ourselves and of society.
We discussed in class whether Borg's project was laudable or misguided -- should we boil Christianity down to five principles, or is it far more complicated than just these five principles? I think we can all agree that the early church fathers and mothers sought to do essentially the same thing in the creeds. The Apostle's Creed is the same sort of statement, but different for a variety of reasons. The most important difference, according to Borg, is that Borg's "Heart of Christianity" relies not on intellectual assent to doctrinal statements but rather trust in the person of Jesus Christ. Christianity, according to Borg, is about being a part of the "way" of Christ, not about rigid belief systems.
Ultimately, we all decided that we liked Borg's project, but felt that new Christians or the unchurched might not really get an understanding of some of the more important parts of Christianity if he or she was to just read these five fundamentals. While I am not suggesting that Borg has left the church out of his five statements (read The Heart of Christianity to see for yourself), there is nothing specific about the church in the five statements. For me, I think the fact that the church is the continuing presence of Christ in the world is an essential component of Christianity today. I also think that we lose sight of something crucial in Christianity if we hurry past the cross and the resurrection without considering whether they were necessary. Jesus' life was important, and manifests the "way" in which we should live. But in his death and resurrection, I do firmly believe that something was accomplished in history that was unique and unquestionably necessary for us to be in relationship with God.
For those of you still interested in definitions related to Christianity in America in the 21st century, we will be watching Adam Hamilton's video series over the next 3 weeks which discusses different denominations. On the 24th of August, we'll have a joint class with Discovery to discuss Pentacostalism. I hope those of you who grew up Pentacostal like me will be at the class. It should be very interesting.
Starting on the 31st of August, we will begin discussing storytelling and listening as an act of love, which just so happens to be the name of a book that we are now reading. If you are interested, check out the book (Listening is an Act of Love) before we start the class series on the 31st of August.
A few more points before I sign off. First, although I agree that we need to understand the early Christian church in order to get a better understanding of who Christ was, I am not convinced that everything after the early church is inauthentic Christianity. I think we have learned a lot in the last 2000 years, and while not perfect, neither was the early church.
Second, here are a few links for your edification over the next week. The last one is a great article from the New York Times about a group of people who read to those who no longer can read for themselves. Proof that there is still good in the world!
www.anevangelicalmanifesto.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPmPsTAMZKM (Marcus Borg discussing the way)
http://www.brianmclaren.net/ (emerging church issues)
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations.htm (chart of denominations)
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE6D6113EF932A35751C0A961948260&scp=9&sq=reading%20elderly&st=cse
Happy reading, and have a blessed week.
Bryan
Today's class was a good one. We finished our series on Christianity in America in the 21st Century. We had a great discussion on the "Heart of Christianity," and specifically about Marcus Borg's desire to boil Christianity down to a fundamental essence. According to Borg, here are the five fundamental tenets of Christianity, or the "Heart of Christianity":
The reality of God.
The centrality of the Bible.
The utter centrality of Jesus.
A relationship with God is known in Jesus. Christianity is not primarily about believing; a relationship involves a much deeper part of ourselves than simply the content of our minds.
A concern for the transformation of ourselves and of society.
We discussed in class whether Borg's project was laudable or misguided -- should we boil Christianity down to five principles, or is it far more complicated than just these five principles? I think we can all agree that the early church fathers and mothers sought to do essentially the same thing in the creeds. The Apostle's Creed is the same sort of statement, but different for a variety of reasons. The most important difference, according to Borg, is that Borg's "Heart of Christianity" relies not on intellectual assent to doctrinal statements but rather trust in the person of Jesus Christ. Christianity, according to Borg, is about being a part of the "way" of Christ, not about rigid belief systems.
Ultimately, we all decided that we liked Borg's project, but felt that new Christians or the unchurched might not really get an understanding of some of the more important parts of Christianity if he or she was to just read these five fundamentals. While I am not suggesting that Borg has left the church out of his five statements (read The Heart of Christianity to see for yourself), there is nothing specific about the church in the five statements. For me, I think the fact that the church is the continuing presence of Christ in the world is an essential component of Christianity today. I also think that we lose sight of something crucial in Christianity if we hurry past the cross and the resurrection without considering whether they were necessary. Jesus' life was important, and manifests the "way" in which we should live. But in his death and resurrection, I do firmly believe that something was accomplished in history that was unique and unquestionably necessary for us to be in relationship with God.
For those of you still interested in definitions related to Christianity in America in the 21st century, we will be watching Adam Hamilton's video series over the next 3 weeks which discusses different denominations. On the 24th of August, we'll have a joint class with Discovery to discuss Pentacostalism. I hope those of you who grew up Pentacostal like me will be at the class. It should be very interesting.
Starting on the 31st of August, we will begin discussing storytelling and listening as an act of love, which just so happens to be the name of a book that we are now reading. If you are interested, check out the book (Listening is an Act of Love) before we start the class series on the 31st of August.
A few more points before I sign off. First, although I agree that we need to understand the early Christian church in order to get a better understanding of who Christ was, I am not convinced that everything after the early church is inauthentic Christianity. I think we have learned a lot in the last 2000 years, and while not perfect, neither was the early church.
Second, here are a few links for your edification over the next week. The last one is a great article from the New York Times about a group of people who read to those who no longer can read for themselves. Proof that there is still good in the world!
www.anevangelicalmanifesto.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPmPsTAMZKM (Marcus Borg discussing the way)
http://www.brianmclaren.net/ (emerging church issues)
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations.htm (chart of denominations)
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE6D6113EF932A35751C0A961948260&scp=9&sq=reading%20elderly&st=cse
Happy reading, and have a blessed week.
Bryan
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Am I Normal?
The title of this post is, of course, both a rhetorical question and the title of the video we watched last Sunday during class. For those of you who did not get a chance to see it and to the extent you are interested, we can provide a copy of the video to you or the links. The title of this post is not designed to elicit comments from you about whether you think I am normal or not!
We enjoyed being back in class this week. While last week was a wonderful experience, we missed the fellowship of our class. We are excited about having you all over to our house next weekend.
Today, our class focused on following up on the BBC video, Am I Normal? We discussed the video and whether it was thought provoking or merely irritating. We all ended up somewhere in the middle of that discussion ... parts of it clearly provoked us to think about the way we are perceived in the world, but the video was not representative of Christianity as we see it today.
This should give us pause. The video itself leads us to believe it is time to discuss Christianity and how it is perceived today. Over the next few weeks, we are going to focus for a little while on Christianity -- what it means to be a Christian in the world today, how Christians are perceived, the real and semantic differences between Evangelicals, mainline denominations, the emerging church, conservatives, right-wing and liberal Christians, the Christian right, etc. We will be asking some hard questions and also will be presenting data about the way Christians are perceived, rightly or wrongly. We will also discuss our role in changing the way Christians are viewed in the world today, if that is an appropriate underaking.
We have many other topics to cover, and we will get to them. But in our view, there are few topics that are more deserving of our attention than this one. We look forward to class in the coming weeks as we work out what it means to be Christians in the 21st century. Have a wonderful week.
Bryan
We enjoyed being back in class this week. While last week was a wonderful experience, we missed the fellowship of our class. We are excited about having you all over to our house next weekend.
Today, our class focused on following up on the BBC video, Am I Normal? We discussed the video and whether it was thought provoking or merely irritating. We all ended up somewhere in the middle of that discussion ... parts of it clearly provoked us to think about the way we are perceived in the world, but the video was not representative of Christianity as we see it today.
This should give us pause. The video itself leads us to believe it is time to discuss Christianity and how it is perceived today. Over the next few weeks, we are going to focus for a little while on Christianity -- what it means to be a Christian in the world today, how Christians are perceived, the real and semantic differences between Evangelicals, mainline denominations, the emerging church, conservatives, right-wing and liberal Christians, the Christian right, etc. We will be asking some hard questions and also will be presenting data about the way Christians are perceived, rightly or wrongly. We will also discuss our role in changing the way Christians are viewed in the world today, if that is an appropriate underaking.
We have many other topics to cover, and we will get to them. But in our view, there are few topics that are more deserving of our attention than this one. We look forward to class in the coming weeks as we work out what it means to be Christians in the 21st century. Have a wonderful week.
Bryan
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Evangelicals -- An Article from the New York Times
All,
I thought you would be interested in the article that my friend sent me from the New York Times given that we are going to be discussing what it means to be an evangelical in our class soon. My friend is quoted in the article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/us/01evangelical.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Have a wonderful day.
Bryan
I thought you would be interested in the article that my friend sent me from the New York Times given that we are going to be discussing what it means to be an evangelical in our class soon. My friend is quoted in the article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/us/01evangelical.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Have a wonderful day.
Bryan
Monday, June 2, 2008
Christian Spirituality -- Sunday June 1
Greetings! Thanks so much for the great discussion on spirituality on Sunday. It is wonderful for us to see the class becoming a community of believers who support one another on the journey towards perfection.
For those of you who missed class or had to leave early (because you sing for us in the choir -- we are so thankful for the choir), we had great discussion about our personal and corporate journey towards Christian perfection. We discussed Christian spirituality, and what that means for each individual. We talked about the difficulties we all have in finding sacred space for our time alone with God. One of the things we realized is that we need to find some space at the beginning of class to listen to one another's prayers, concerns, joys and thoughts and to listen to God for a moment. We inevitably have more material than we can get through every Sunday, but it strikes me that since our goal is community and conversation with God and with one another, we need to create more sacred space in our own class. We will strive to do this, but we welcome ideas on the best way to do this. Please send us an e-mail or give us a call.
One of the things we really appreciated about the class was the personal nature of your comments. We heard you share your stories, and we felt that we all experienced a taste of what Christian spirituality is during our class. Thank you all for coming and sharing last week. It struck me that we have so much to learn from one another's stories. Keep sharing!
Next week, we will have a video that comes from the BBC called "Am I Normal?" I really enjoyed watching this video. It will challenge you all, and we will probably discuss it during our next class to see what your thoughts were. We will also be discussing Marcus Borg since we are encouraging you to go see him at the Mercy Center June 13 and 14. If we don't finish our discussion about the video or Mr. Borg, we will continue the next week.
Check your e-mails for our fellowship that is upcoming in June. I will also send out a link to the video series in case you cannot make it to class next Sunday. You can watch them on YouTube on your own.
We hope that you all were able to take communion last Sunday. Part of our sacred tradition, and one of the great joys of being a Christian, is to participate in communion. It is always such a blessing; yet, in those few moments when we prepare our hearts for communion, take communion, and return to our seats, how many of you are struck by a desire to linger at the table? I know I feel like I need more time to prepare, to partake, and then to sit with the rest of the congregation at table. In part, that is why we decided to start our class. We enjoy lingering with you at table each Sunday.
Blessings to you.
Bryan
For those of you who missed class or had to leave early (because you sing for us in the choir -- we are so thankful for the choir), we had great discussion about our personal and corporate journey towards Christian perfection. We discussed Christian spirituality, and what that means for each individual. We talked about the difficulties we all have in finding sacred space for our time alone with God. One of the things we realized is that we need to find some space at the beginning of class to listen to one another's prayers, concerns, joys and thoughts and to listen to God for a moment. We inevitably have more material than we can get through every Sunday, but it strikes me that since our goal is community and conversation with God and with one another, we need to create more sacred space in our own class. We will strive to do this, but we welcome ideas on the best way to do this. Please send us an e-mail or give us a call.
One of the things we really appreciated about the class was the personal nature of your comments. We heard you share your stories, and we felt that we all experienced a taste of what Christian spirituality is during our class. Thank you all for coming and sharing last week. It struck me that we have so much to learn from one another's stories. Keep sharing!
Next week, we will have a video that comes from the BBC called "Am I Normal?" I really enjoyed watching this video. It will challenge you all, and we will probably discuss it during our next class to see what your thoughts were. We will also be discussing Marcus Borg since we are encouraging you to go see him at the Mercy Center June 13 and 14. If we don't finish our discussion about the video or Mr. Borg, we will continue the next week.
Check your e-mails for our fellowship that is upcoming in June. I will also send out a link to the video series in case you cannot make it to class next Sunday. You can watch them on YouTube on your own.
We hope that you all were able to take communion last Sunday. Part of our sacred tradition, and one of the great joys of being a Christian, is to participate in communion. It is always such a blessing; yet, in those few moments when we prepare our hearts for communion, take communion, and return to our seats, how many of you are struck by a desire to linger at the table? I know I feel like I need more time to prepare, to partake, and then to sit with the rest of the congregation at table. In part, that is why we decided to start our class. We enjoy lingering with you at table each Sunday.
Blessings to you.
Bryan
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Interesting Article from the NY Times
I wanted to point out an interesting article in the New York Times about a new book that might be of interest to some of you. The book is called The Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life. From some of the conversations we've been having about postmodernism and the rise of religion and spirituality, we thought you might enjoy the article. Perhaps you might even pick up the book. Notably, Fr. Richard Neuhaus offers his perspective on the book and while disagreeing with the author of the book on almost all hot-button issues, does agree with him that secular liberals have for too long sought to make morality a private matter when they, too, make moral arguments. They have simply refused to admit that this is what they are doing. Fr. Neuhaus is a brilliant scholar and publisher of "First Things," which is a great periodical for any of you interested in the role of religion in public life.
The link to the article is below. You can find Fr. Neuhaus on the web. You might want to read his article on why he is a catholic (I think that is the title). It is a great follow up to our discussions on catholicism.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/us/24beliefs.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=perceiving+2+fallacies&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Blessings to you all!
Bryan
The link to the article is below. You can find Fr. Neuhaus on the web. You might want to read his article on why he is a catholic (I think that is the title). It is a great follow up to our discussions on catholicism.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/us/24beliefs.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=perceiving+2+fallacies&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Blessings to you all!
Bryan
Monday, May 26, 2008
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
Greetings everyone,
First off, we want to say thank you to everyone who attended class on Sunday. Liberation theology was a huge undertaking for all of us, and we thought that the class went better than we could have imagined. Already, our group is demonstrating that we are more than up to taking on difficult topics and discussing them with both passion and respect for others. This is exactly what we were hoping for out of the Christians in Conversation class.
For those of you who were unable to stay for the end of the class, we ended with some really good points. We talked about scripture, including the Exodus story, and the ways experience influence our theology. We recognized that poverty and hunger play a role in shaping the theology of the oppressed. One class member closed by remarking that we need to remember the importance of the Holy Spirit, and being led and directed by Him in our daily lives. We could not agree more with this comment - we all need to be sensitive to the movement of the Holy Spirit both in our individual lives and in the life of the body of Christ. Truly, the Holy Spirit moves in mysterious ways. We pondered the need for each of us to be a voice for the voiceless in this world.
We ended class by watching Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. A few of us stayed for the entire speech, and we were touched both by his speech and the comments of a few who stayed to talk about their own experiences. It amazes us how much we have to learn from one another. Thank you to those who stayed and who shared out of their own pain and their own experiences. It meant so very much.
As we were thinking of the next direction to go, we felt pulled to talk about the growing focus in our culture on spirituality, and how we as Methodists and as Christians might think about the increasing focus on spirituality. Some think that spirituality can exist apart from institutionalized religion. This is actually a postmodern trend discussed in the following article which is heavy on philosophy:
http://www.integralworld.net/benedikter1a.html You may have to cut and paste this link into your browser if it doesn't automatically take you there.
As for next Sunday, our focus is not going to be quite so technical. We will start a discussion about spiritual growth. What do you think of when you hear the term "spiritual growth?" What is it that we hope to grow toward? What are the practices which might help us to grow spiritually? We hope that this might be the beginning of a discussion about spirtual practices (prayer, worship, fasting, service, scripture reading) that can be meaningful to us today. How can the traditions of the church root us in our current era of spirituality that sometimes overlooks church tradition? For those of you who are interested in the Wesleyan tradition of spiritual growth through the "means of grace," you might take a look at the following:
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/covenant/means.htm
Join us on Sunday for the conversation!
Until then, peace be with you,
Deb and Bryan
First off, we want to say thank you to everyone who attended class on Sunday. Liberation theology was a huge undertaking for all of us, and we thought that the class went better than we could have imagined. Already, our group is demonstrating that we are more than up to taking on difficult topics and discussing them with both passion and respect for others. This is exactly what we were hoping for out of the Christians in Conversation class.
For those of you who were unable to stay for the end of the class, we ended with some really good points. We talked about scripture, including the Exodus story, and the ways experience influence our theology. We recognized that poverty and hunger play a role in shaping the theology of the oppressed. One class member closed by remarking that we need to remember the importance of the Holy Spirit, and being led and directed by Him in our daily lives. We could not agree more with this comment - we all need to be sensitive to the movement of the Holy Spirit both in our individual lives and in the life of the body of Christ. Truly, the Holy Spirit moves in mysterious ways. We pondered the need for each of us to be a voice for the voiceless in this world.
We ended class by watching Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. A few of us stayed for the entire speech, and we were touched both by his speech and the comments of a few who stayed to talk about their own experiences. It amazes us how much we have to learn from one another. Thank you to those who stayed and who shared out of their own pain and their own experiences. It meant so very much.
As we were thinking of the next direction to go, we felt pulled to talk about the growing focus in our culture on spirituality, and how we as Methodists and as Christians might think about the increasing focus on spirituality. Some think that spirituality can exist apart from institutionalized religion. This is actually a postmodern trend discussed in the following article which is heavy on philosophy:
http://www.integralworld.net/benedikter1a.html You may have to cut and paste this link into your browser if it doesn't automatically take you there.
As for next Sunday, our focus is not going to be quite so technical. We will start a discussion about spiritual growth. What do you think of when you hear the term "spiritual growth?" What is it that we hope to grow toward? What are the practices which might help us to grow spiritually? We hope that this might be the beginning of a discussion about spirtual practices (prayer, worship, fasting, service, scripture reading) that can be meaningful to us today. How can the traditions of the church root us in our current era of spirituality that sometimes overlooks church tradition? For those of you who are interested in the Wesleyan tradition of spiritual growth through the "means of grace," you might take a look at the following:
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/covenant/means.htm
Join us on Sunday for the conversation!
Until then, peace be with you,
Deb and Bryan
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Memorial Day
Thanks for a great conversation again last week. Our good talks have created a good problem, we have not yet moved through all of the material we had planned for the first five weeks of class. Luckily we are not on a schedule, so this week we will move forward with our discussion of liberation theology and take some time to talk about the articles posted earlier and again here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/world/americas/07theology.html?scp=1&sq=black+liberation+theology&st=nyt
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/weekinreview/04powell.html?scp=1&sq=black+liberation+theology&st=nyt
We'll use some of our new "quadrilateral" skills to address the issues: scripture (take a look at the Exodus story if you have some time this week, Chapters 1-15 are sometimes called the "liberation narrative," with the poem of Chapter 15 serving as the "grand finale" if you only have time for one chapter), tradition, experience and reason. We hope this conversation will flow out of last week's talk about why we choose to be Methodists and what that means to each of us.
Until Sunday, enjoy the sunshine and be sure to let us know if you have any special prayer requests or questions for class.
Shalom,
Bryan and Deb
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/world/americas/07theology.html?scp=1&sq=black+liberation+theology&st=nyt
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/weekinreview/04powell.html?scp=1&sq=black+liberation+theology&st=nyt
We'll use some of our new "quadrilateral" skills to address the issues: scripture (take a look at the Exodus story if you have some time this week, Chapters 1-15 are sometimes called the "liberation narrative," with the poem of Chapter 15 serving as the "grand finale" if you only have time for one chapter), tradition, experience and reason. We hope this conversation will flow out of last week's talk about why we choose to be Methodists and what that means to each of us.
Until Sunday, enjoy the sunshine and be sure to let us know if you have any special prayer requests or questions for class.
Shalom,
Bryan and Deb
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Interesting Editorial on Evangelicals
Yesterday I was reading the St. Louis Post and read an interesting editorial on Evangelicals. At some point, we should probably discuss what an Evangelical is and what it isn't. But that is for another class and another post. The link to the editorial is here:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/43F83F26D95353EC8625744400822750?OpenDocument
I thought the editorial might open up some thoughts on how Christians are often stereotyped and placed into a liberal or conservative box. For those of us subscribing to the blog and attending the CIC class, I think we should resist being categorized in such a narrow way. The fact is, our ethics should be guided by the principles of Christ. That means that we will often be difficult to categorize. We should consistently be the voice of the voiceless. We should be focused on poverty and its eradication. But we will also have strong feelings on moral issues. Some will feel that their opinions are not well-represented by either party.
Enjoy the article. May each of you have a blessed day.
Bryan
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/43F83F26D95353EC8625744400822750?OpenDocument
I thought the editorial might open up some thoughts on how Christians are often stereotyped and placed into a liberal or conservative box. For those of us subscribing to the blog and attending the CIC class, I think we should resist being categorized in such a narrow way. The fact is, our ethics should be guided by the principles of Christ. That means that we will often be difficult to categorize. We should consistently be the voice of the voiceless. We should be focused on poverty and its eradication. But we will also have strong feelings on moral issues. Some will feel that their opinions are not well-represented by either party.
Enjoy the article. May each of you have a blessed day.
Bryan
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day!
Greetings to you all,
We enjoyed our class so much today. We had great discussion and several new people who joined us. Welcome to you.
Today we covered postmodernism in a very general way. We traced the origination of postmodernism to the events at the beginning of the century (World War I, the Holocaust and the failure of Germany's churches to rise and oppose it, etc.), and grappled with how we as believers live in a postmodern era. The characteristics of postmodernism (emphasis on tolerance, willingness to question authority, belief that there is no Truth (capital T), but many truths that are personal and individual, focus on personal experience and story, etc.) create both opportunity and tension for Christians today. There is opportunity because we as Christians can enter society's dialogue about important things, and we can declare that our perspective deserves to be listened to just as others should be heard. There is tension because we struggle when society is hypocritical about tolerance. On the one hand, we have listened to many who preach the need for others to tolerate all worldviews. On the other, we've heard them condemn those who disagree with the way some choose to live their lives. In other words, postmodernism's version of tolerance is often such that society tolerates only tolerant people.
As one person in our class said today, postmodernism is no way to run a country, and some ideas are better than others. That said, postmodernism offers us something -- it calls to mind the way Christ treated people when he interacted with those who lived their lives in a way that was inconsistent with Christ's call for us to love God, each other and ourselves. We should listen earnestly to people. We should not judge (as another member of our class reminded us), but should begin a conversation with all because while the church's version of tolerance is not necessarily going to be the same as someone who believes all lifestyles and all choices are equally viable, the church must continue to be Christ in this world and open its doors to everyone with a loving call to be in relationship with the world and with Christ.
Next week, we will continue our journey through postmodernism, but will also discuss Methodism and the quadrilateral (scripture, reason, tradition and experience). We believe this is an important component of our class in general because the quadrilateral is crucial to understanding who we are as Methodists and Christians in Conversation.
Finally, we still intend on discussing liberation theology and the Rev. Wright/Barack Obama debate. I found a great article about former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan's perspective on the issue, and thought you might like it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-trueman/sunday-morning-segregatio_b_93029.html
Here is Peggy's article on the issue that I thought was enlightening.
http://www.peggynoonan.com/article.php?article=417
I hope you all are enjoying the class and the blog. Please e-mail us with comments or questions about the class. The link to this website is www.christiansinconversation.blogspot.com. We look forward to seeing you next Sunday.
Bryan and Deb
We enjoyed our class so much today. We had great discussion and several new people who joined us. Welcome to you.
Today we covered postmodernism in a very general way. We traced the origination of postmodernism to the events at the beginning of the century (World War I, the Holocaust and the failure of Germany's churches to rise and oppose it, etc.), and grappled with how we as believers live in a postmodern era. The characteristics of postmodernism (emphasis on tolerance, willingness to question authority, belief that there is no Truth (capital T), but many truths that are personal and individual, focus on personal experience and story, etc.) create both opportunity and tension for Christians today. There is opportunity because we as Christians can enter society's dialogue about important things, and we can declare that our perspective deserves to be listened to just as others should be heard. There is tension because we struggle when society is hypocritical about tolerance. On the one hand, we have listened to many who preach the need for others to tolerate all worldviews. On the other, we've heard them condemn those who disagree with the way some choose to live their lives. In other words, postmodernism's version of tolerance is often such that society tolerates only tolerant people.
As one person in our class said today, postmodernism is no way to run a country, and some ideas are better than others. That said, postmodernism offers us something -- it calls to mind the way Christ treated people when he interacted with those who lived their lives in a way that was inconsistent with Christ's call for us to love God, each other and ourselves. We should listen earnestly to people. We should not judge (as another member of our class reminded us), but should begin a conversation with all because while the church's version of tolerance is not necessarily going to be the same as someone who believes all lifestyles and all choices are equally viable, the church must continue to be Christ in this world and open its doors to everyone with a loving call to be in relationship with the world and with Christ.
Next week, we will continue our journey through postmodernism, but will also discuss Methodism and the quadrilateral (scripture, reason, tradition and experience). We believe this is an important component of our class in general because the quadrilateral is crucial to understanding who we are as Methodists and Christians in Conversation.
Finally, we still intend on discussing liberation theology and the Rev. Wright/Barack Obama debate. I found a great article about former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan's perspective on the issue, and thought you might like it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-trueman/sunday-morning-segregatio_b_93029.html
Here is Peggy's article on the issue that I thought was enlightening.
http://www.peggynoonan.com/article.php?article=417
I hope you all are enjoying the class and the blog. Please e-mail us with comments or questions about the class. The link to this website is www.christiansinconversation.blogspot.com. We look forward to seeing you next Sunday.
Bryan and Deb
Monday, May 5, 2008
Preparing for May 11
We enjoyed our discussion of Catholicism (and catholicism) with you all this week and look forward to continuing next Sunday, May 11 (Happy Mother's Day!). We began our discussion this week by discussing a few different quotes from the Pope. We then moved on to discuss Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Our take away from the discussion is that there are strong opinions on this issue, but that we already have a class that is committed to listening to one another and learning from one another.
We then moved on to begin to discuss postmodernism. For those of you who were not able to join us the link to the video on postmodernism and Judaism is below. Keep in mind that we just watched the first segment but the link will give you the entire piece. If you just want to see what we discussed, you can cut it off after the first couple minutes.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=97ekq9v8cak&feature=related
We will continue our discussion of postmodernism this week. We will emphasize the way Methodists have been taught to think about tough issues by using the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of scripture, tradition, reason and experience. We'll consider whether Wesley was a postmodernist ahead of his time. The article we posted last week on the topic will be helpful in this discussion. We'll also take some time to talk about future discussion topics (watch for a discussion of Mary in a few weeks after we do some research) and to lift up any prayer concerns we may have so that we may be in prayer for one another during the week to come.
Since liberation theology has been at the forefront of election coverage here for the past month or so, we thought this might make an interesting topic for May 18. While we have heard the term in election coverage in this part of the world lately, it has also been a significant influence in Catholic theology in places like Brazil. The following articles will illustrate the way this theology has been addressed by both Pope Benedict and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/world/americas/07theology.html?scp=1&sq=black+liberation+theology&st=nyt
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/weekinreview/04powell.html?scp=1&sq=black+liberation+theology&st=nyt
For those of you joining us for the first time, we are meeting in the fellowship hall under the sanctuary. If you need to leave early for choir or other obligations we understand, please don't let that stop you from joining us. And for those of you that travel, join us when you can and stay in touch via the internet when you can't. We are glad to be in conversation with all of you!
Peace be with you until Sunday,
Deb and Bryan
We then moved on to begin to discuss postmodernism. For those of you who were not able to join us the link to the video on postmodernism and Judaism is below. Keep in mind that we just watched the first segment but the link will give you the entire piece. If you just want to see what we discussed, you can cut it off after the first couple minutes.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=97ekq9v8cak&feature=related
We will continue our discussion of postmodernism this week. We will emphasize the way Methodists have been taught to think about tough issues by using the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of scripture, tradition, reason and experience. We'll consider whether Wesley was a postmodernist ahead of his time. The article we posted last week on the topic will be helpful in this discussion. We'll also take some time to talk about future discussion topics (watch for a discussion of Mary in a few weeks after we do some research) and to lift up any prayer concerns we may have so that we may be in prayer for one another during the week to come.
Since liberation theology has been at the forefront of election coverage here for the past month or so, we thought this might make an interesting topic for May 18. While we have heard the term in election coverage in this part of the world lately, it has also been a significant influence in Catholic theology in places like Brazil. The following articles will illustrate the way this theology has been addressed by both Pope Benedict and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/world/americas/07theology.html?scp=1&sq=black+liberation+theology&st=nyt
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/weekinreview/04powell.html?scp=1&sq=black+liberation+theology&st=nyt
For those of you joining us for the first time, we are meeting in the fellowship hall under the sanctuary. If you need to leave early for choir or other obligations we understand, please don't let that stop you from joining us. And for those of you that travel, join us when you can and stay in touch via the internet when you can't. We are glad to be in conversation with all of you!
Peace be with you until Sunday,
Deb and Bryan
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Preparing for Sunday May 4
Good morning everyone,
I hope you are enjoying the sunshine this week. We watched our youngest hit golf balls yesterday, so it is officially spring at our house. I wanted to give you a quick update about what we will discuss on Sunday. I stress the word "discuss" because Bryan and I are ready to talk less and listen more this week! For those of us (me, especially) who don't have degrees in philosophy we will have a very short outline of the ways we think differently in the age of "postmodernism" than we did in the "modern" era. One Methodist professor recently noted that this just means we are less confident that technology will lead to a perfect world, more willing to listen to other points of view about issues of ultimate truth and religion, and more committed to community than in the past. A lot of this is not new to Methodists who have long believed that as Christians we are called to think for ourselves (relying on scripture, tradition, reason and experience to guide us).
Her article can be found at: http://www.gbod.org/smallgroup/covenant/spring03/foursome.html
We are going to utilize Joe's suggested discussion topic: What do Methodist's think about the Pope and why don't we talk about him very often? Another interesting question is what the Pope thinks of Americans. If you have time this week, glance at some of his speeches online or check out the April 14 Time magazine article on "Why the Pope loves America."
The link is: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1727724-3,00.html
We'll count on the many former Catholics in the group to help us. We'll also spend some time tossing out ideas for future issues to discuss so come with some ideas you would like to share. Until then, please let me know if you have questions or prayer requests. We are grateful for the chance to be in conversation with you all.
Peace,
Deb
PS: for those of you who would like to watch the video of Frederick Buechner introducing himself that we listened to last week the link is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erAbpkQhuvM
I hope you are enjoying the sunshine this week. We watched our youngest hit golf balls yesterday, so it is officially spring at our house. I wanted to give you a quick update about what we will discuss on Sunday. I stress the word "discuss" because Bryan and I are ready to talk less and listen more this week! For those of us (me, especially) who don't have degrees in philosophy we will have a very short outline of the ways we think differently in the age of "postmodernism" than we did in the "modern" era. One Methodist professor recently noted that this just means we are less confident that technology will lead to a perfect world, more willing to listen to other points of view about issues of ultimate truth and religion, and more committed to community than in the past. A lot of this is not new to Methodists who have long believed that as Christians we are called to think for ourselves (relying on scripture, tradition, reason and experience to guide us).
Her article can be found at: http://www.gbod.org/smallgroup/covenant/spring03/foursome.html
We are going to utilize Joe's suggested discussion topic: What do Methodist's think about the Pope and why don't we talk about him very often? Another interesting question is what the Pope thinks of Americans. If you have time this week, glance at some of his speeches online or check out the April 14 Time magazine article on "Why the Pope loves America."
The link is: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1727724-3,00.html
We'll count on the many former Catholics in the group to help us. We'll also spend some time tossing out ideas for future issues to discuss so come with some ideas you would like to share. Until then, please let me know if you have questions or prayer requests. We are grateful for the chance to be in conversation with you all.
Peace,
Deb
PS: for those of you who would like to watch the video of Frederick Buechner introducing himself that we listened to last week the link is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erAbpkQhuvM
Monday, April 28, 2008
Christians in Conversation
Friends,
Christians in Conversation comes from years of trying to find a path to express our desire for community in a way that makes sense to others. To those of you who have decided to take a chance on us and join us for a conversational journey, we are so thankful for you.
Christians in Conversation is motivated by a desire to create a space where people from all backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives can join hands and hearts around God's table in "conversational communion." There are great opportunities for listening Christians to show how much God loves the world. It is with this spirit that we approach our time with you each week.
In our journey together, we are going to ask each of you to search your hearts about topics for us to discuss. Joe has already raised our first topic of conversation -- why don't United Methodists talk about the Pope? Thus, we will tackle the thorny issue of the relationship between the Protestant and Catholic churches. As with every issue we tackle, we hope to emphasize God's call for us to converse with one another lovingly, to build one another up and not tear one another down. Because of our consistent and strong belief in a loving God, we will therefore emphasize God's desire for unity amongst the body of Christ. That said, some will have strong perspectives that might offend. This will be particularly true in the future as we talk about issues such as the Christian right, the emerging church, poverty in America, the war in Iraq, drugs, teenagers, and other issues that weigh heavily on us.
Our role as facilitators will be to arm you with as many sides of an issue as we can find which are credibly supported. We also want to provide you a framework for understanding the numerous and conflicting voices that are present in the church, in American society and in the world. Here is the reason we want to talk about postmodernism -- if communion is our metaphor for the type of conversation we want to have, then postmodernism is the music that plays in the background while we talk. Postmodernism will inform the way we speak to one another, the types of conversations we have, and why we feel the way we do about so much of society and culture today.
Finally, we will discuss what it means to truly listen to someone. Again, listening will be a recurrent theme in our class. It is something we all could work on in our relationships with God, with nature, with others, and with our own hearts, souls and bodies. There will be times when we will have the temptation to succumb to being offended by others' perspectives. We will want to throw our hands up in disgust and say, "How can any thinking person really believe that?" Please don't. Stay at the table with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Hold one another accountable to God's call that we love one another as we love ourselves. Thus, as listening Christians, we will sit together even when it is uncomfortable. We will covenant not to silence anyone, but will rather encourage everyone on to the perfection that is our goal in this life.
Check the blog, or better yet, subscribe to it so you know when there is a new post. We will try and post links to the videos we watch in class, and to articles and other things that are relevant to the class. We look forward to the journey we will be traveling in the future together. If you miss class or if you feel better posting a comment to this blog instead of during class, please feel free. Just respect blogging etiquette (simply put, treat others as you would want to be treated) and everyone's privacy, even though the blog will not be open to anyone who has not attended at least one class.
Thanks to you all, and God bless.
Bryan and Deb
Christians in Conversation comes from years of trying to find a path to express our desire for community in a way that makes sense to others. To those of you who have decided to take a chance on us and join us for a conversational journey, we are so thankful for you.
Christians in Conversation is motivated by a desire to create a space where people from all backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives can join hands and hearts around God's table in "conversational communion." There are great opportunities for listening Christians to show how much God loves the world. It is with this spirit that we approach our time with you each week.
In our journey together, we are going to ask each of you to search your hearts about topics for us to discuss. Joe has already raised our first topic of conversation -- why don't United Methodists talk about the Pope? Thus, we will tackle the thorny issue of the relationship between the Protestant and Catholic churches. As with every issue we tackle, we hope to emphasize God's call for us to converse with one another lovingly, to build one another up and not tear one another down. Because of our consistent and strong belief in a loving God, we will therefore emphasize God's desire for unity amongst the body of Christ. That said, some will have strong perspectives that might offend. This will be particularly true in the future as we talk about issues such as the Christian right, the emerging church, poverty in America, the war in Iraq, drugs, teenagers, and other issues that weigh heavily on us.
Our role as facilitators will be to arm you with as many sides of an issue as we can find which are credibly supported. We also want to provide you a framework for understanding the numerous and conflicting voices that are present in the church, in American society and in the world. Here is the reason we want to talk about postmodernism -- if communion is our metaphor for the type of conversation we want to have, then postmodernism is the music that plays in the background while we talk. Postmodernism will inform the way we speak to one another, the types of conversations we have, and why we feel the way we do about so much of society and culture today.
Finally, we will discuss what it means to truly listen to someone. Again, listening will be a recurrent theme in our class. It is something we all could work on in our relationships with God, with nature, with others, and with our own hearts, souls and bodies. There will be times when we will have the temptation to succumb to being offended by others' perspectives. We will want to throw our hands up in disgust and say, "How can any thinking person really believe that?" Please don't. Stay at the table with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Hold one another accountable to God's call that we love one another as we love ourselves. Thus, as listening Christians, we will sit together even when it is uncomfortable. We will covenant not to silence anyone, but will rather encourage everyone on to the perfection that is our goal in this life.
Check the blog, or better yet, subscribe to it so you know when there is a new post. We will try and post links to the videos we watch in class, and to articles and other things that are relevant to the class. We look forward to the journey we will be traveling in the future together. If you miss class or if you feel better posting a comment to this blog instead of during class, please feel free. Just respect blogging etiquette (simply put, treat others as you would want to be treated) and everyone's privacy, even though the blog will not be open to anyone who has not attended at least one class.
Thanks to you all, and God bless.
Bryan and Deb
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)