$20 will get you the “When Justice Shines” CD/DVD and the PDF of the book of your choice emailed to ‘ya

When Justice Shines CD & DVD
The Justice God Is Seeking PDF

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When Justice Shines CD & DVD
The Worship God Is Seeking PDF

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$25 will get you the “When Justice Shines” CD/DVD and both PDF’s emailed to ‘ya

When Justice Shines CD & DVD
The Worship God Is Seeking PDF
The Justice God Is Seeking PDF

+ +

 

not a bad deal ... hope you take advantage of it!

so ... got this crazy idea - but think it just might be a significant step towards the next chapter of what we are up to here in the LA area.

I’d really love to facilitate/host a “non-school” that would launch in the fall of 2009. It’s been an idea that’s been percolating for some time now - and it just seems that about a year from now things should be in a place where we can pull off something like this. The basic gist is this ... a snap-shot at best - but a beginning:

let’s intentionally gather a group of people together in the foothills of LA from all kinds of walks of life, cultures and expressions of Christian Experience and carve out 3 to 4 months to explore together the impact of seeking first the Kingdom of God in regards to community, the arts, the rhythm’s of spiritual life (both individual and communal), justice and theology.

there would be several values that would mark our experience together:

      1) SHARING

much to experiment with here ... but sharing would be the posture of the whole adventure. For example - instead of charging some kind of fee for being a part of the journey - we’ll just sort out what we all have to bring to the table and pool our resources together to pull it off. That includes finance, housing, teaching, eating, working ... everything really. Kind of risky - but sounds like the kingdom to me.

we all come with an attitude of “open hands” - hanging to everything quite loosely. There will need to be some structure - a skeleton to hold it all together if you will - but flexibility will be paramount. We are not after some uptopian fantasy ... but simply want to dig in trying figuring out community in an urban North American context and wrestle out it’s implications on current church (and church planting) structures and models.

      2) NUANCED TRUTH

a good friend of mine - Peter Fitch (who is a prof at St. Stephens University and Vineyard pastor) - has a great approach to exploring truth.

                   

“… it is unacceptable to pretend that all readings and interpretations (of the text) are equal …”

we certainly will be engaging in dialogue and debriefing with the attitude that everyone brings something valid to the table for discussion and input - but don’t want to get lost in such a post modern haze that we loose the ability to respect those who bring “nuance” - or deeper understanding to the text of scripture, life experience and spiritual journey. Also - it will be critical to engage from a perspective of embracing the (whole) church - rather than one of rejection.

there will not be a typical lecturing process and/or schedule - but definitely there will be trusted teachers/mentors who will move in and out of our time together to bring nuance and depth.

      3) THE RADICAL MIDDLE

our theological compass will be set towards a kingdom understanding ala Ladd, Wimber, N.T. Wright, Don Williams etc. It is my observation that there is currently quite a vacuum in Christian exploration in regards to providing community that holds tight to the tensions of kingdom theology. So much of our current approaches to the expression of our faith are designed to try and alleviate the tensions of a naturally supernatural life.

we want to fully embrace the implications of living in the “now and the not yet” - “the time between the times” - both theologically and experientially.

      4) DOIN’ THE STUFF

it would be so wrong to see this time as one that is disengaged from people ... there is no way we can fully discover what we’re after without engaging in the culture and the societal brokenness around us. We will be developing rythmns of community expression that will welcome the poor and marginalized - engaging at various levels in justice within the framework of LA. There may be an international component to this - but that will need to be determined a bit later.

like Jesus said “... GO and learn what this means ...” (Matthew 9)

      5) LIFE CHANGE

the dream is to engage in something together that really will change us ... I know that is the purpose of any thing like this - but hey - why not state it again ... clearly. We will gather to invite change in our perspectives and our lifestyles. The tricky part will be discovering how to hold each other accountable ...

so ... there’s the snapshot - there will have to be a ton of process and things to figure out if this thing were to happen. But I thought I’d just throw the idea out there and see if there would be any interest at all. One of the goals as well would be to see if the Lord doesn’t pull together a group of people from out of this experience that would walk away with a sense of calling to continue building together in LA.

enough for now ... let me know what you think ...

woke up this morning to this ... thought I would share it with you. My good friend Noel Isaacs (Sherab Bhutia is his Nepali name) is the one writing. We’ve partnered together in all kinds of community work in Nepal and North East India ... the villages that he is referring to are up in the Himalayan mountains northwest of Katmandu. They sit at about 12,000 feet and are quite remote.

if you feel compelled to help - drop me a line through the contact link and I’ll let you know what to do. I am in communication with Noel and a group of friends who are connected to that area of the world. Any help would be appreciated.

Dear friends
Greetings and it was really great to meet all of you and thank you for
your strength and encouragement.
I got home yesterday and still in a jet lag. but i needed to ask you
for your prayer and help.
Shyam and I started getting phone calls from Nessing and Gadlang today because
last night and today in the morning a strong cyclone and heavy wind
swept through those villages and most of the houses been destroyed by
the heavy wind. In Gadlang we lost the whole roof of the church and
Prem the over seer there also lost parts of his house roof and same in
Nessing too. Many of our believers lost 60 % of their home. some
caught fire and still burning in smoke. The misery goes on and on.

Our pastoral staff team had a meeting today and Shyam as an APC made a
request so that we can send a team immediately for providing support
and stand with them. We request you to join in with us to help our
vineyard family have some relief.

Thank you and do let me know how you want to respond.

Thank you
Noel isaacs

at the very least engage in some prayer for these guys. These kind of situations create amazing opportunity, but also especially in the more rural contexts of Asia, open a door to significant spiritual warfare. The buddhists in the area have already been giving us significant grief after the recent death of Kamatashi’s wife to cancer (the community leader in the village of Nessing), and who knows how they will now try to lay this tragedy at the doorstep of the believers. Please mobilize significant prayer for the people in that area and pray that Noel and Shyam have great wisdom in not only dealing with our community in the hills, but in how to engage with the village people and the other religious leaders there. Having said this, we must be thinking about how to help beyond our Vineyard relationships and into the Hindu and Buddhist communities as well.

from as far back as I can remember in my Christian experience - the book of Revelation has been at the center of controversy.

I was raised in a very staunch conservative stream of the church which embraced a hard core “pre-millenial” view eschatologically, and in fact many of the local churches in this denomination required that church members sign on the dotted line that they believed in “pre-trib, pre-millenial” or membership was forfeit. Later, as I stumbled into more of the charismatic church expressions, Revelation again was very much in the forefront - largely because of the roots of the Jesus People movement coming out of the 70’s which placed a heavy emphasis on the end times.

again ... there is definitely a resurgence of teaching and thought surrounding this NT book.

I find it all quite intriguing. As someone who embraces a pretty orthodox view in regards to Scripture, I certainly don’t want to loose any of the import of this book and it’s relevance to unpacking what the Christian faith is to look like - both practically and theologically.

Here’s a few thoughts of mine that “guide” me as I wrestle with the place and impact of the book of Revelation:

1. we need not fear a sense of mystery

so much of our faith has a mystique about it ... that does not frighten me in the slightest. I think it is important to retain this posture when we approach books like Revelation. In fact ... mystery seems to be part of the point. I am all for figuring out as much as we can - but want to embrace the “wonder” of it all as well.

2. the book must be seen within the larger context of kingdom theology

this book - as is all the writings of the NT - is written within a larger framework of understanding. For me, so much of the book takes shape as I embrace it within the larger understanding of the theology of the Kingdom of God. It just makes more sense to me as part of the larger kingdom narrative - and the story is much larger than just the last bit. It is not a door way into something bizarre and disconnected from the rest of my faith, nor is it disengaged from the rest of the church’s (historical) journey reserved for some elite group of end time Christians ... it is the natural conclusion to an incredible kingdom story of which I am a part.

3. spiritual warfare is REAL and does bleed into the natural time line, international affairs and events of human history

where ever my hermeneutic and/or theology takes me into the crazy maze of images, creatures and intrigue of Revelation ... one thing is clear - we are caught in a cosmic struggle which impacts all of us in an ever increasing way until the full consummation of the Kingdom of Heaven. This battle is real and I will know it’s impact at all levels of my life.

4. the call to the simplicity of faithfulness and obedience to Christ is the safest way to live - in all times

the more complicated we make things, the farther away we will find ourselves from the heart of our faith. Of course, I am not advocating a Christianity that is devoid of intellect or theological wrestling ... but to loose the “simplicity” of what it means to be a follower of Jesus is a dangerous thing that opens us to aspects of gnositcism and elitism in the church - that quite frankly frightens me. As Wimber used to say, “the way in is the way on” rings truer and truer to me, especially as the end of times is upon us.

5. any interaction with the prophetic elements of the faith requires a posture of humility and meekness

enough said

come Lord Jesus

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness (meekness - prautēs and adjective praus) and respect ...” (1 Peter 3:15)

some “blogs” ago I mentioned my deep disappointment that I don’t find much “meekness” in the church world - both in how we deal with each other internally, nor in our responses to the culture around us.

here’s how Vines unpacks it’s meaning:

The meaning of prautes is not readily expressed in English, for the terms of meekness, mildness, commonly used suggest weakness and pusillanimity to a greater or lesser extent, whereas prautes does nothing of the kind. Nevertheless, it is difficult to find a rendering less open to objection than ‘meekness’; ‘gentleness’ has been suggested, but as prautes describes a condition of mind and heart, and as ‘gentleness’ is appropriate to actions, this word is no better than other translations. It must be clearly understood therefore, that the meekness manifested by the Lord and commended to the believer is the fruit of power. The common assumption is that when a person is meek it is because they cannot help themselves, but the Lord was meek because he had the infinite resources of God at His command. Described negatively, meekenss is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all.

the last bit there really gets me ... “it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all”. That is awesome - to come to such a place of security in who you are in God that you’re not occupied with your self at all. Trippy ... this posture seems to be in significant short supply in LA ... lol. Couple this with the other dynamics of “meekness”: total trust in the sovereignty of God; a disposition closely linked with humility; the ability to face even persecution without retaliation because of a deep security in the love and purposes of God; and an ability to “let go” of the use of power as a means to an end.

it is to be one of the natural developments of a character that has been impacted by the presence of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:23). It was the distinguishing mark upon the character and ministry of Christ (Matthew 11:29; 2 Corinthians 10:1) and it would seem, a major ingredient of christian community (2 Timothy 2:25; Ephesians 4:2). It also, as noted above - is the posture out of which we engage with those who question our faith whether with antagonism or sincere inquiry. It is an inner disposition of strength and confidence that is expressed via gentleness and respect in the way that we relate to God and to each other.

so much to process here - but I am really gripped by the insight of Peter. Always be ready to engage in dialogue - be prepared to clearly give an answer for “what” you put your hope in ... but be meek and respectful.

The sands are shifting and the church (in my opinion) is being thrown into somewhat of an identity crisis. Seemingly lost as the culture all around us is in the throws of redefining itself - everything from the abortion debate on through to marriage, morals and money - it seems that we can slide to somewhat of a “weakened” explanation of the christian faith desperately (it appears to me) trying not to offend (I’ve been fascinated by some interviews in the news media of late of a couple of prominent “megachurch” leaders) or we become brash, and dare I say even arrogant out of a “need” to set everything right (no pun intended) in the name of God (I’ve been equally fascinated by the fundamentalists and charismatics as well - both political as well as within the church).

maybe we should take a little advice (for ourselves) from Colin Powell as he stated in an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN in regards to the posture of the Republican Party:

“... the attempt to use polarization for political advantage backfired ... there is nothing wrong with being conservative. There is nothing wrong with having socially conservative views - I don’t object to that. But if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities ... (we cannot) just influence by ... principles and dogma. I think the party has to stop shouting at the world and at the country, I think that the party has to take a hard look at itself ... ” (adapted from http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/11/powell-gop-polarization-backfired-in-election/)

where’s the meekenss?

perhaps I may take some liberty and use some of Powell’s words as a challenge to us:

any polarization that we create for “spiritual” advantage will (and does) backfire ... yet there is nothing wrong with being Christ followers. There is nothing wrong with unashamedly embracing the teachings and life of Jesus - there is no need to water things down for fear of loosing our voice. But - if the church is to have a future in this culture, it must face some realities ... we cannot just influence by good principles for living on the one hand - nor a rigid dogma on the other. We must stop shouting at the world and at the country. We need to take a hard look at ourselves.

where’s the meekness?

never forget my first exposure to “The Matrix” sitting in a theater in rural India as rats were scurrying across my open toed sandals ... what a collision of realities!

was just watching it again with a friend from the streets of LA who was desperate to watch it. Although I never got caught up in all the hoopla when the movie was released in regards to the NEO character (if there was any “christian” reference I always thought it was more about ‘me’ being a “new creation” than anything), I was definitely impacted by the Kingdom imagery as the alternate reality of the Kingdom of Heaven collided with that of the current age.

in seeing it again one ‘quote’ really stuck out to me ...

“THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN KNOWING THE PATH, AND WALKING THE PATH”, Morpheus

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm ...

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plow, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

Listen to Podcast on iTunes | Direct Audio Link

had a great time with the community that gathers down in Torrance. Charles Lee is such a good friend and I am very encouraged by the continuing sense of connection and destiny between myself and their emerging dream for community and justice. They have two gatherings on a Sunday morning, and each session ended up being quite a distinct teaching from the other ... so they put both up on their podcast. The first message is pretty straight up stuff out of James regarding the poor and community, and the second session ended up focusing on the centrality of relationship in kingdom mission. Enjoy!

Listen to Podcast on iTunes

this teaching is a session that I taught at a conference called “Deeper” in Golden, Colorado during May 1 - 3, 2008. For some reason things seemed to just gel as I was sharing ... the band thought it was one of the clearest presentations I’d given on the whole “worship and justice” thing in a while. According to conference organizers this teaching has been the most requested of the gathering so we thought that we’d pop it up here on the site. Hope it inspires ...

Download Part 1 MP3 | Download Part 2 MP3

Vineyard Area Pastor’s Meeting
Valley Vineyard - June 25, 2008

Download MP3 | Download Notes (PDF)

Once a month or so some of us from the Vineyards in the LA and Ventura area hang out ... this time I was asked to share whatever “was on my heart”.

I was really honored to have the ear of some of these key Vineyard leaders in our area and took it quite seriously. This is what spilled out. A few friends got wind of what was up and suggested that I just push the “garage band” record button on my mac. I did ... and we captured what happened. Seemed like it might be a cool thing to put up on the site ...

Hope you enjoy ... remember that it is quite focused to Vineyard leadership - but I’m pretty sure that it’s palatable for a wider audience.

Let me know what you think ...

New Tunes
(check here often for new downloadable songs and charts of the new stuff)

in partnership with Bob Hartry - taking advantage of his stellar production and musicianship - the new songs that have, and will emerge - will be available here ...

given the nature of the ever changing industry and the music culture that is surfacing - we are delighted to find our way into the much more “grassroots” dynamics that are emerging - so these downloads will be for free ... if you want to support what I’m up to and my continued efforts to create new music - you are more than welcome to pay any amount that you think is appropriate ...

our dream is to have studio quality versions of the songs available for your listening and use on a very consistent basis ... eventually we will take these tunes and then capture them in a live scenario, documenting them in that environment via DVD.

please enjoy and rip to your ears content