Thursday, June 7, 2007

incarnation


incarnation. Fancy word for Jesus was really a guy/ the God in the flesh who walked around with us and thus understands our world as it really is and feels.


thus said, I have had some people ask about the pics I put on the blog, how I relate to other churches, what I think of emergent christianity etc.


whew!


um, let me answer it sideways or perhaps in a socratic sort of way.


What should church look like?

What should christians [little christs] look like?


now that, and the answers we provide are the true test of maturity.


Rome, Corinth, Phillipi and other New Testament churches looked wildly diverse. Paul tried to standardize a few things but still had to address cultural differences and doctrinal diversity that went too far. All that to say I think there are a ton of good churches that look like all sorts of things. When I was a hedonistic convert who didn't know anything about holiness the hard-core fundamentalist church was exactly what I needed and God's will for my life. When I was transitioning from knowing about God to experiencing God the charismatic church was exactly what I needed. I don't think God has an either / or template for churches, He loves them all as his children. So I don't spend a whole lot of time evaluating them based upon where I am right now. Frankly, it's none of my business.


What I do focus on is what I am supposed to be right now. I have learned from postmodern churches; charismatic; seeker; baptist; methodist; and a slew of other things. That wasn't my plan...it was his.


So now I am trying to be incarnational to my generation. I want to enflesh Jesus to my culture as Jesus did to his...paul did to his...St Francis did to his...Billy Graham did to his...


So I have an earing to disarm people. I read fast-company to know what is going on. I am green because Genesis and the Law tells me to be so. I wear jeans and a t-shirt to preach because I believe that's what Jesus wants ME to do.


If I were 25 I might want to be hip in a shallow sort of way; but at 41 I want to be relevant and incarnational in a Jesus sort of way.


If you have never read "the Jesus I never Knew" by Phillip Yancy I highly recommend it. It is easy to forget how shocking, subversive, revolutionary, incindiary, and wildly unpredictable Jesus was. The traditional religious community was utterly offended and confused.


indeed


the religious community is probably the most likely to be confused about God.


I seek to end the confusion as best I can. By being me...trying to be more like Jesus every day. Odds are I won't bore people, but they may and have questioned my motivations.


Which is fine...this is starting to sound defensive and I'm really not defensive about it at all. All I am trying to say is: If you ever wonder why I am doing what I am doing the answer is this. "I'm trying to be more like my Jesus." Now I may screw it up royally, but trust 1 thing. My intentions were good.


incarnation. Such a simple and strange little christian word. But trying to live that word out, may be the most dangerous thing you could ever imagine. And living that out will be very different for different people with different cultures and missions.


which is why he gave us another word. A word for how he relates to us. A word for how we are COMMANDED to live with one another.


Grace

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