Summer Reading List....

So, to take a quick break from my "Called to Community Series" I wanted to share with you the four books that I've picked out for my summer reading list.  Maybe you'll want to read one along with me.

May-

"Foolishness to the Greeks" by Lesslie Newbigin

How can biblical authority be a reality for those shaped by the modern world? This book treats the First World as a mission field, offering a unique perspective on the relationship between the gospel and current society by presenting an outsider's view of contemporary Western culture.








June-

"Prophetic Untimeliness:  A Challenge to the Idol of Relevance" by Os Guinness

The buzz among evangelicals today is about relevance and reinvention, about new ways of ''doing church'' through revising, innovating, borrowing, mixing, and experimenting. Yet, says Os Guinness, in our uncritical pursuit of relevance, Christians have actually become irrelevant. By our determined efforts to redefine ourselves in ways that are more in line with the modern world than are faithful to Christ, we have lost not only our identity but our authority and significance. Prophetic Untimeliness addresses this issue by giving practical, constructive solutions for living with integrity in the midst of modern pressures. Guinness explores what it means to be both faithful and relevant, and how to be truly relevant without being trivial or trendy. Readers will be challenged to develop ''resistance thinking,'' an approach inspired by C. S. Lewis that balances the uncomfortable truths of the gospel with the pursuit of relevance. Only by being true to Christ and living with integrity and wisdom will we meet the needs of a world that is hungry for some really good news.

July-

"Resident Aliens:  A Provocative Christian Assessment of Culture and Ministry for People Who Know that Something is Wrong" by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon

In this bold and visionary book, two leading Christian thinkers explore the "alien" status of Christians in today's world and offer a compelling new vision of how the Christian church can regain its vitality, battle its malaise, reclaim its capacity to nourish souls, and stand firmly against the illusions, pretensions, and eroding values of today's world. Hauerwas and Willimon call for a radical new understanding of the church. By renouncing the emphasis on personal psychological categories, they offer a vision of the church as a colony, a holy nation, a people, a family standing for sharply focused values in a devalued world.




August-

"Nudge:  Awakening Each Other to the God Who's Already There" by Leonard Sweet

Brace yourself. In Nudge, author Leonard Sweet sets out to revolutionize our understanding of evangelism. He defines evangelism as “nudge” – awakening each other to the God who is already there. Sweet’s revolution promises to affect your encounters with others, as well as shaking the very roots of your own faith. So brace yourself.

Once finished I'll try and recap/review the book.  If you'd like to read one of these with me and have discussion, I'm very open to that.  Please email me at soilforthesoul@gmail.com if interested.  Thanks!

The Call to Community: United in Forgiveness or The Untold Story of Judas

Judas...what thoughts are stirred up in your mind when I mention that name?  Deceit, lies, death, and pretty much a heep of other negative words and thoughts.  Yet, at one point in time Judas, the disciple, was part of the fold.  He was trusted by our Savior, by the other 11 disciples, and those who followed Jesus at the time.  He was a part of the inner group of Jesus' best buds. 

Then there seems to be a shift.  It's pretty clear when it takes place.  You know the whole part where Judas turns Jesus over to the authorities.  He sold his Savior and friends out over money.  Yikes...not good.  Okay, we all know this story, but there's a part of the story that might be a little unfamiliar.  In Acts 1:15-26 the disciples are all gathered.  Let's see what's going on there...

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, “Brothers and sisters,^[a] the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
 ¹⁸ (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
 ²⁰ “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:
   “‘May his place be deserted;
   let there be no one to dwell in it,’^[b]
   and,
   “‘May another take his place of leadership.’^[c]
 21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
 ²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

I want to key in here on something that we don't talk much about regarding forgiveness.  Have you ever thought about how much it hurt for the disciples to find out that someone they trusted, Judas, could do such a thing?  It would almost seem impossible to forgive a person for doing such a thing.  Yet in verse 16 Peter stands up with full authority and says that we've come to the conclusion that this was supposed to happen.  Even still it makes one wonder what the disciples felt regarding Judas.  If it were my I'd have a hard time forgiving. 

Yet we know that forgiveness is one of the hardest things for a person to do.  Oftentimes our forgiveness of someone is never heard or felt by the person that has done us wrong, but the act of forgiving is still necessary even if that person never finds out.  What happens when we don't forgive someone for wrong doing?  Our hearts begin to turn dark, bitterness and anger sets in, and we see a side of our humanity sometimes that we never thought existed.  Voicinig it is very important, especially to those who hold us accountable.  But more important is living it out.

I'm sure the disciples voiced their forgiveness of Judas to one another and most importantly to the Father.  But if we look in the last part of these verses, we see them living it out.  They understand that they have to move beyond the Judas incident and move forward with selecting another apostle to join their ranks.  In doing so, they are saying we forgive Judas and we are moving on, reconciling the situation.  This is where Matthias is chosen. 

So my question to you is this, knowing that God has given us the authority to forgive those who have done wrong to us, what's stopping you from doing so?  And secondly, how are you reconciling the situation and moving past it?  I want to add that this is not an easy subject.  It's also not easy forgiving.  However, if we are to live as righteous people of Gods Kingdom we must forgive and reconcile. 

Chris

The Call to Community: United in Prayer

There's a question that I keep asking myself and it has to do with being called to community.  One of the hardest things to come to terms with, even most recently, is regarding my call to ministry.  It seems that every 3 years I experience this question as a storm that lingers in my heart till an answer can be found. 

I've just wrapped up my third year serving at St. Luke's UMC in Indianapolis, IN and so this question has come up.  As we, St. Luke's, experience a transition from our Senior Pastor leaving, to an interim, and then on to another Senior Pastor, this sense of urgency has arisen around the idea of "the call" to ministry in my own personal life.

So I'm asking myself the question, what is your call to ministry look like Chris?  Rather than give you the full argument that has been taking place in my heart and mind, I will sum it all up with one statement...I am called to the greater community.  Meaning, that my call is to the Church of Indianapolis.  This calling is not one that is held down necessarily by a specific doctrine of belief, other than my own personal doctrine.  It's not one that is specifically held down by a denomination, which could be thrown in with the whole doctrine idea.  It's not one that is specific to anything but allegiance to Christ, the scripture, relationship, and serving.

So I would tell you that I serve on staff at St. Luke's UMC, but I feel called to the Church of Indianapolis.  St. Luke's is just one community within that larger community.  So then I started asking myself, what would happen if as pastors and servants of Christ we put down our petty arguements, stopped trying to say that our church is better than yours, and started focusing on the bigger picture?

Paul, an Apostle of Christ, was called specifically to cities or churches in a city, such as the Church of Antioch as one example.  There was only one church in Antioch and it was the Church of Antioch.  I thought I would take a step back to where some of this stuff began and look at the passages in the Book of Acts.  Jesus' ministry on Earth, as it was, was concluding and a new era was about to be ushered in by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  But before that there's a passage that I wanted to look at that talks about unity in the body and community.

That passage is Acts 1:12-14...

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk^[a] from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

I especially like verse 14 where it says, "All these were continually united in prayer,"  What would our communities look like if our Pastors were all united in prayer?  What if we came together and prayed with each other once a week?  How would our communities grow closer to God?

This is why I think we need to make a shift away from our current thinking that we "belong to ______ church", you fill in the blank, and move more to this idea that the "church" is not just one building, but a movement of believers in Christ.  How would things look if we were unified in prayer as the disciples were?
What would your city, town, or community look like if your Pastors were united in prayer?

Chris

"I like or dislike ________________ (insert famous Christian authors name)!"

Holy fire from the gates of Hell!  Seriously, there have been lots of comments and discussions regarding certain Christian authors, their belief's, and where they stand on things in the last few weeks.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, feel free to Google search "Rob Bell" or "John Piper".

I'm not really here to discuss specifically the reactions or my thoughts to this conversation.  Although I am somewhat guilty of asking some of those questions on my Facebook page, I'm here to talk more about where we are as believers in Christ.

¹ Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?
 ⁵ What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.
1 Corinthians 3:1-8

So the Apostle Paul is speaking to the church in Corinth and if you don't know anything about this church, you should know that they were doing some pretty dirty things.  When I read this passage this is what I glean from it compared to the last few days. Some say "I follow Rob Bell!" Others say, "I follow John Piper!"  Some even say "I follow _____________ (insert your favorite Christian authors name here)!" 

The church in Corinth was participating in hero worship.  It's kinda like when you go to a church and everyone is all about the pastor, but very few are about Jesus.  Hey, and I'm not knocking pastors because I am one.  But when did all become about the men and women leading and not about Jesus?  There's absolutely nothing wrong with reading an inspiring book.  Especially when you feel that it's helping you grow deeper in your relationship with Christ.  The problem is when you turn to those books/authors and worship them as your hero's.  As Paul says, they are only servants. 

Think about it his way...take out a piece of paper and follow the outline below:

1.  Write down the name of the person that led you to Christ.
2.  Write down the name of the person/people that discipled you in your first years as a Christian.
3.  Write down the name of your favorite pastor, author, or someone you look up to in your faith.
4.  Write down the name of someone that you are currently following because you aspire your faith to look like theirs.

Here's how mine goes...

1.  My Mom and Dad
2.  My Sunday School teachers, A.B. Colvin
3.  Gary Hollingsworth, Leonard Sweet, Erwin McManus,
4.  My wife

I bet that many of these people disagree doctrinely, but probably agree on one thing...we all need to have a personal relationship with Christ.

So I ask you, who is Rob Bell?  Who is John Piper?  Who is ____________ (insert name)? 

The bigger question is Who is Jesus and why haven't I talked to Him lately?

Chris