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Dragon_Fire777
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Name: Jon
Country: Canada
State: Ontario
Gender: Male
Interests: Interests? Well, the man upstairs is first i suppose, then the girl in MI called Holly... then singing and such, and my family, and school, and my crew at RC.... and people around the Promise land called Canada. Also, a guy named John Clayton. He runs a site at http://doesgodexist.org/ and it's sweet. It' all about science and creation and how everything works to prove Christianity... check it out for sure.
Expertise: MAC
Occupation: Student
Industry: Research
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  Knutson777
Member Since:
5/24/2004
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| Dearest Reader. In this entry, there is talk of Church politics and my personal opinions. Take it or leave it... but perhaps this portion of my walk will be understood a little better (to myself mainly) if I type it out, and guess what, your totally invited into this conversation.
Perhaps my opinion is rather futile in the overall discussion of Church Community and what that means, but here is what has been heavy on my heart as of late.
In the day's of old, church was done a specific way. It was formatted, it was structured, it was 'that ol' time religion.' There's an obvious struggle then between generations of Old and New ideas. Our parents (not literally, but that C of C era), and their parents were raised not to ask too many questions, or perhaps, not to ask the tough questions. "We believe what we believe because this is what Jesus (or more like Saul) says and here are the scriptures... etc, etc..."
But when generations butt heads against each other, there seems to be no guild lines or equal grounds for discussion. It always seems to be a wrestling match where left-wing scholar is in the ring with right-wing scholar and they go at it. But you see, it's not a matter of winning... I think what the younger generation is more interested in the matter of discussing with a lack of conclusion.
For example, there is an impression (that might be true or not, but so be it) that the leaders and people who are "so much more learned" in the ways of church community have it all figured out, and their job is to teach the younger minded generations why this is the only way church functions. This is a turn off.
And so I'm troubled.
I'm troubled because it's not even fair. They can't ask a question about controversial issues because they fear that they will be emotionally flogged or verbally beaten with scripture and that undertone which says "it's this way and here's why..." So when someone reveals their thoughts, they are immediately crushed or, better yet "Corrected."
Perhaps our younger generation is offended by that. Perhaps they hate it when people are conclusive and don't let others come to their own understanding.
"If we just read the Bible for what it is, we would all agree." No. The church fathers did that and they all came to different conclusions.
So my question is this. Why do we come to church? I mean, besides the Lords Table... why is it that we are there? If we come to church only for the LT, then we might as well be doing this in our homes and saving ourselves the hassle of preparing for Sunday. "Well, we come together because we are commanded.".. O.K... but... why? You see, if our intention is to come and make sure other people got it right, we're missing the point. Christ didn't come to slam the good news down peoples necks. He came to serve. This speech, however, that we use, reflects that problematic attitude. Even if we don't mean it (and I would suggest we normally don't mean it). I highly respect people like Dr. Kronenwetter because he is constantly aware that his tone, non-verbal and verbal skills always effect how the information he speaks, is heard.
So here I sit. Troubled.
There is an obvious answer that I am alluding to, but I have a hard time being convinced that everyone comes with the same expectation. Thus is why I envy community churches who are truly autonomous, and leave all that crap at the door and say "We're here to serve and worship the maker of the universe through Love and service."They don't have time for little issues about the holy spirit, womens roles, or instruments because they are so busy with the work of God. People don't gather because this is the "True Church" but because this is where the work of the Lord is being done. Imagine if we were so consumed with acting like Jesus that we didn't have time to worry about the minor details? We didn't have time to defend our views on instrumental music because we were totally consumed with Love and Service for others...
I think the toughest part to swallow is that "I don't need to know the answers." I am full of questions and in my brain, I want to know how to do things perfect... but that's not what I'm called too. I'm convinced of it because Christ doesn't tell me how to do everything perfect. I don't have to have my life perfect to live in accordance to God. If that was the case, no one would come to church, because in one way or the other, we're all messed up. Just admit it, it takes an amazing load off your shoulders. I remember when I admitted that... finally. It was in College, 3rd year. I simply said "I'm done pretending that I have it all down. I don't get it most of the time, and I'm ok with that, because I don't need to know." When I admit that to myself, I no longer have to be the Moral Police (Pharisee?) of my religious law and call everyone out on stuff. Instead, I can come to the cross, broken, lay my heart at the foot of it and lift my hands in the down pour of my crucified Savior's love.
So perhaps I wonder then... is it really going to make a hill of beans if I fight about the Holy Spirit, or Women's Roles or Instrumental music? Is that going to trump the fact that I have spent all my time fighting about those issues and not served anyone? Have these things stopped me from service? I would admit... probably, yes.
My fear is that I get to heaven and God say, "Why didn't you serve anyone? Why didn't you clothe the naked? Feed the hungry? You were so persistent to talk about how to do the easy stuff that you forgot about why I put you there! Who cares if you listened to Acappella, Chris Tomlin or U2... did you serve?"
I like admitting to the brokenness. It means I don't have to fight the "issue" battles. It means that my relationship with the Lord is personal. It means that I get to serve the Lord without worrying about the minor details. So I find myself, on my knees, broken, at the foot of the cross... ready to serve and Love...
Convicted.
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| I have a question.
I started thinking about this today as I said farewell to friends in the States for a day. They all left me today to commemorate the many soldiers who have fallen and died for their country.
It's Memorial Day!... So.... Happy Memorial Day....? Is that what I'm suppose to say?
Then I began to wonder... I wonder how American's celebrate the fallen men and women who have sacrificed themselves for Freedom?
The answer?
Barbecues.
That's right. Not many actually go to a battle field, or a memorial service, or pause for a few minutes to remember... but they go to their families/friends houses and eat.
Now... I'm not passing judgment, but just a thought.
At first, I thought, well, we do the same for our Holiday the week-end before. We celebrate Victoria Day... but then I thought... but Victoria Day isn't about our fallen soldiers. We celebrate the Queen Victoria's Birthday which was on the 24th. Forth hence why Canadians call it "May 2-4 Week-end... that and they get drunk on 2-4's of beer. Happy Birthday Queen-ie." I think that's a pretty correct version of a typical Canadians Birthday party.
Then I thought... How Odd. BBQ's for memorial days. For example, Nov 11th, Canada's "Remembrance Day", there are all sorts of ceremonies and such; the whole country stops at 11:00 am and pauses for a few minutes to remember... but I don't think I remembered any BBQ's or special food ordered or cooked on that day.
So there it is. Anyone want to help me understand how those two things connect? Is it a "Family/Friend" oriented thing? "Be with the ones you love (or can stand)?"
I just don't see the connection. Perhaps it was a good time for family to gather (friends too) and it just kept going and going. Same as other occasions, I suppose (Christmas? Thanksgiving?) I would have thought that it would have been geared more towards the current war overseas... but... perhaps I don't get it because of my Canadian Education being my orientation and, to be honest, we don't know much about our American sisters because, we don't care about American History. Just like they honestly, don't really care about Canada.
Still, the question remains.
Perplexed,
Jon
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| Did you know that on a box of Wal-Mart's "Great Value" Gummy Candy 'Sour Tongue Teasers (Fruandise gelatinee)' there is a warning that says "Allergy Warning: May Contain Traces of MILK and WHEAT."
Now, I'm no rocket scientist, but how in the world does Milk and Wheat
a) get into Gummy Sour Keys and
b) get into any Wal-Mart products?
Are they mixing all the ingredients for all their items side by side?
Milk... Wheat? Really? Gummy Keys? ....... Really? So weird... leave it to the Americans to have this issue.
And you want to know something else about Gummy Keys???? Their delicious.
Grace and Peace,
Jon
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| Perhaps I have a bit of a problem when it comes to “Church.” You see, I’ve been taught that when I go to worship service, I am worshiping God. Granted, there is truth in this. There is some quality about “going to church” that I can appreciate and understand as acceptable practices that the Lord finds pleasing. I think he likes to hear us sing, to be honest. Doesn’t matter if you’re as musically talented as Joanne Newsome, I think he likes to hear it.
There is, however, another side to this. You see the Church (as a whole) is divided among person to person. There is a strong theological call to be unified in Christ, but… what does that mean? Unity? Unity? Really? The brothers unified in Christ. Perhaps the only way that I see the brothers unified in Christ is the fact that we all arrange to meet at the same time every week (and even that doesn’t happen most of the time). Let me explain…
There is a bothersome realization that I have come to know within a church community. Every Church gathering you go to, you will find the heavyweights in the fellowship. These people, when they speak, whether out of humility or arrogance, seem to rally the troops to one side or another of the line in the sand. Think of it like the scene in the movie “Hook.” Two people square off, on either sides of a line. Pan on one side, Roffio on the other. Someone makes one argument about Biblical Hermeneutics or Contextual Interpretation (mainly their own interpretations) and all the followers rally behind the individual who can pull out the best Scripture and Verse to support his point.
This is where the Church suffers. I’m going to call it, “The breakdown in Unity.”
We view our religion and spirituality like it’s some sort of rulebook. Rules, although they do exist in religion and more specifically Christianity, do not make up the framework for our belief and Faith. So when it comes to the topic of being unified, it’s almost like we sit in Bible Class with all our different opinions… “discuss” them back and forth, come to no conclusions and then pray “Thank you Lord for this Unity…………” Once when I heard this, my head popped up while everyone else was bowed “in prayer” and I had the most perplexed look cross my cubby face.
This is tough to swallow after being force-fed this “Unity Talk” for many years. I heard people say “All the brethren should all have the same Faith… one Faith together.” I use to go through life (in my teen years) not wanting to fall out of line or stray from the straight and narrow. If I screwed it up, I felt the weight of guilt on my shoulders, especially as I walked into the church or bible class setting the next week. It also, might I add, didn’t get lighter but heavier when I approached the Lord’s Table. Here’s the first break down. If we’re unified, where is the feeling of sharing the burden?
“What am I going to do with myself,” I’d ask. “Is there any point in asking for forgiveness? I know I am going to screw it up again. If I didn’t ask for forgiveness and died tonight, would I be condemned or is God bigger then that?”
Then it dawned on me. What if religion wasn’t about making the cut? Better yet, what if being called to be a Christian wasn’t about making the cut? What if it wasn’t about the rulebook but about seeking for Truth? The problem with thinking like this was that there were a lot of things that happened on Sunday that conflicted with this. Songs we sang that were the “good ol’ hymns” suddenly had problematic sentences/stanza’s in them. I would say “wait a minute, I don’t believe that.”
My view of Satan also changed. To be honest, I gave him more credit then he was due. I would blame him for every shortcoming in my life when really; it wasn’t him to blame but me. “But God, if Satan hadn’t made me think that…” “But God, Satan is really attacking me right now…” Where was the blame really to go?
I started to listen to people conversations about Satan as well. I heard a lot of talk about him being so active in their lives, yet… honestly; he probably had nothing to do with their misfortunes. I concluded that it wasn’t Satan that screwed me up… it was me. When I told some people about that, they didn’t like that at all.
They would protest: ‘How could it be me? It’s not my will to think these things or for these things to happen…’
‘No,’ I would respond, ‘But is it possible that these things (e.g. death, sickness, poverty, misfortune) could be parts of life that are not controlled by Satan?’ (They didn’t seem to appreciate that comment either. Regardless… I changed my understandings of this Satan character.)
So what is it now about Church that rubs me the wrong way? Well, perhaps it’s a lack of evident unity.
Yes, we are brothers and sisters in Christ.
Yes, we meet every week, three times at least.
Yes, we believe in Jesus.
Yes, we take the Lords supper.
Yes, we believe in Baptism (full immersion). But to call this unity…? That might be stretching it.
So where am I going with this? Well, for starters, I think we need to let go of a few things. First off, the rulebook of Jesus Christ needs to turn back into what was formally known as the Biblical Scriptures. Take it out of the hands as a weapon for legalistic debate and actually open it to learn something new. Second, learn something new, and be willing to learn something new. The founders of the C of C use to pray that the Biblical Scriptures would encourage them but also Challenge and Change their lives….. Which means that the way they live would change, and the way they worship would change. And it worked… for a few years, until that authority died away and someone decided to formalize our worship. This goes back to my beef at the beginning. I have an issue with Worship Services that are a template. They are the same all the way though… oh sure, the Sermon is different, but we are doing the same things, over and over. I once heard an elderly gentlemen say “It use to be that you could go to any Church of Christ in the country and know what was going to happen…” I freaked! How scary. Sometimes I wonder if God looks at our worship services and changes the channel because he’s seen that episode before. It’s not that I want it to be “up and happening” or a big “hu-raw”, but… honestly, if something different happened every week, I think my attention and focus would remain active. Going to church would change from being a Sunday morning task to an occasion that I looked forward too. It’s not that it’s a show or a production, but it would be what we call in the communication field, engaging, and yes, that would be exciting. Not because I need my spirituality to be exciting and pumped… but because it would be a breath of fresh air. It’s like when your really dehydrated and you grab that glass of cold ice water. That first few gulps always feel so good and refreshing. The church, in the 1940’s after the depression, had that. It was refreshing. It was great, but somewhere along the way we just kept drinking the same thing and our thrust stopped. We were now just getting hydrated… there was no refreshing or renewal. Perhaps now our souls starve for something new to drink.
What, new??? Sadly, yes… something new. New worship (personal and communal), new songs, new prayers, new brethren, new prospective, new understandings and a renewal of the scriptures. That means a change in how we understand the God we serve… it means taking our thumb off of him or dusting off that shoebox we have him in and letting him out to do what he does. To change and shape our lives.
So where does this leave us? I would argue, at a crossroads. We can continue to walk down the road we know. The road that we have all known and trusted for years… or we can step out in Faith and try something different, not because it’s broke, but because it’s refreshing to our spiritual souls. It’s not intended to give us a high or pump us up, but it’s intended to breath new lives back into our spiritual walks and cause us to discover the Lord in new ways.
May you, through your searching for Christ, experience Jesus in a way that turns your world upside down, ever ready for Him to figure it all out. Truly, enjoy the ride.
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| So let me tell you a little about my past week, ok?
This has been quite the experience. For the past week I have been working for a construction company called CHI Construction. This was one of those jobs that you felt like you were right some of the time, and clueless others. Let me explain.
My first day on the job, my boss was using words like "Banning Machine" and "Reamer." These terms I was unfamiliar with, as you might not be. So here I am, my boss telling me jobs to do with tools I don't know, and me trying to not screw up. That was last Saturday. Then Monday rolls around. I show up and meet the other hired hand (who was a 65 year old man/workhorse) who could probably kill me with one arm. He and I greeted each other but didn't really jive right off the bat. I was feeling like this was going to be like working with church folk, since they both are, but there was another level, where they were the smart ones and I was the idiot.
Anyway, Monday rolled around and I started doing new tasks, which means new names, new tools, new jobs and a really confused me.
By Tuesday, I got the hang of somethings. I jacked something up on Monday, but then the Boss did (and his was a bigger mistake then mine, so I didn't feel too bad). Tuesday we worked like dogs and didn't get a whole lot done. Wed was the same and so was Thursday. Wed night I came home and wrote about how excited I was that Thursday was going to be my last day. Then Thursday happened and about noon, my boss informs me that we will be working at least a half day on Friday. *sigh*... I was so glad it was coming to an end, but then I thought, "well, then I only have a day's left worth of work to do.... one day... less then 10 hours... i can do that."Then, that afternoon, my boss tells me that we will be working a few minutes later, which ended up being 30 minutes. Then Bible study and back to bed. Also, my Girlfriend has been out of town in Oklahoma for the past two weeks and my friends I get to talk to are heading away for the week-end come 4 o'clock. Here begins the hardest part of the week. From 4 o'clock on...
Church ends and I get home. Fall asleep after I talked to Holly and my alarm rings about 5 hours later. Out of bed, into the stinky work clothes and out the door by quarter to 7. On the job site at 7:01 (which I think was not a welcome gesture because my boss was cranky at 7:01, but I thought... "It's 7:01 am on the day I wasn't suppose to be here... one minute is the least of my requirements at this point." The day moves on.... slowly. Very slowly. Then the truck driver decides on his own that he is going to show up an hour and a half late, so that gets my boss in a sour mood. Then we finish the last beam... and receive notice that we have to make alterations on another beam...
At this point, I have given into the idea that I am going to be done when my boss says I am. Not when the clock says I am.
10:30 rolls in and we finally sit down to a break. The truck then shows at 10:45 and my boss goes to load him up. Me and Workhorse step out to finish the alterations on that beam and he heads down the hill to where the truck is being loaded. I follow... then I realize that there is nothing for me to do there, so I head back to the shed, where I pick up random things and put things in different places... moving tools together... guessing where they go. Placing random wood in trash cans, dusting off things (which was futile because it was in a shed, full of saw dust). After I figure there is nothing more for me to move about, I turn around (at about 12:30) and head down the hill towards the truck. My boss signals me over and tells me that I can go. My joys are overflowing. I tell him that I moved some stuff onto the skid and say by to him and the workhorse, confirming that I'll see the boss on Sunday.
I tuck my time card into my bosses lunch box.
I walk back to my car, place my crap in the seat next to me and roll out of the drive. I turn on a little Victory JoJo music and hit 80 km.
My body is now mad at me. It's because I have been a lazy blob since I got home and last week was a highly active job. I kind of wish I could keep working because it was a great workout, and the pay was good... but what long days. 10 hour days for almost 5 days.
So that's my tooting my horn. Thanks... had to get that out. Now Holly is home and I can talk to her (when she gets online). All I need is for the rest of my friends to come back and I'm square.
Later.
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