Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Forgiveness adapted by James Littell from the Bible [Matthew 18:21 – 35]

Forgiveness adapted by James Littell
from the Bible [Matthew 18:21 – 35]

Peter came to Jesus and asked, “How many times should I forgive a friend who does me wrong? One time, two times?” Jesus shakes his head and Peter continued, “three times, five times...as many as seven times?”

Jesus replied. “God, Peter! How many times are you gonna ask me? And, if you are gonna keep these kind of friends, then I guess you ought to be prepared to be extremely forgiving. So, I guess more like seventy seven times!!!” Peter shockingly threw his hands in the air and said, “What the fuck, Jesus?”

Jesus yelled and began a story. “Peter! Listen! The Kingdom of Heaven, (which y'all think is in a 'galaxy far, far, away' exists in the 'here and now' on planet earth, ...but I don't have time to bring you up to speed with 'Emerging Church' theology), is kind of like Bob DeNiro's character, Sam “Ace” Rothstein from the Martin Scorsese film, Casino.”

“Rothstein had plenty of money, power and the ability to kill and have you buried in the Nevada desert when crossed. He also had some friends, clients and employees that had taken gambling markers from the Tangier's Casino and never repaid. Both Sam and the casino were interested in getting these debts off the books. So, Frankie Blue Eyes was escorted by Rothstein's personal detail into the director's office and was unable to payback the $750,000 he lost gambling six months prior. Since he couldn't pay, Sam ordered that Frankie and his wife and his three children and his entire estate be sold on the black market to repay the debt.”

“Frankie, filled with panic and fear, fell to his knees and grabbing hold of Rothstein's pant leg begged, 'Don't fuckin' do this!! I swear I can find the money! Shit man, really? Don't hurt my children!! Fuck my life! I will do anything. I can pay it back! Please just give me more time! Please?' So, the Tangier's Casino having granted Rothstein the authority to cancel debts took pity on old Blue Eyes and erased everything he owed from the books.”

At that moment, Peter gasped and reached for his sword out of sheer habit! Jesus reacted, “What the hell are you doing? It is just the two of us and I Am telling the story. Relax, I Am not done yet. Geesh!” Peter holstered his sword and muttered, “O.K. Jesus”, as he bashfully kicked a stone with his left foot.

Jesus continued. “Frankie, who had been earning his living as a landlord, returned to his family and hugged and kissed his wife and children. Then he went out to visit a tenant who owed him $6,000 in back rent. Blue Eyes screamed at the tenant and while having him pinned by the neck up against the wall he yelled, 'You are gonna pay me that $6,000 you owe me you Jew fuck! You fuckin' momo! You are gonna pay me back every last Goddamn cent, so help me God and Mary mother and Joseph!! Do you hear me? I promise if you don't pay me, you will not live to see your daughter's birth!'”

“After that outburst, the tenant grabbed Frankie's ankle and pleaded, 'Don't fuckin' do this!! I swear I can find the money! Shit man, really? Fuck my life! I will do anything. I can pay it back! Please just give me more time! Please?' So, old Blue Eyes, being a real son of a bitch, had his minions evict the tenant and taken to the desert to be buried alive.”

Peter again whipped out his sword impulsively and wanted to attack Frankie Blue Eyes. Jesus laughed so hard he wept. “Peter, put your sword back in its sleeve. Frankie is a character and I am just using this story to illustrate one of the ways you can recognize what the present Kingdom of Heaven looks like.” Peter laughed as he explained, “ I know, I know! I just get so excited and I am kind of impulsive, I guess.”

Jesus finished the story. “When word got around that Blue Eyes was forgiven his debt and had his tenant whacked for just $6,000 of back rent, everyone and their brother was really pissed so they began texting and emailing Rothstein about the situation. When Frankie Blue Eyes was brought back in to see Rothstein, it was all over.”

“Sam looked at him and said very matter of factually, 'You fuckin' fuck! I erase your debt because you begged me to and you immediately go muscle some guy over a measly six grand? Shouldn't you have also shown the same type of mercy upon your tenant? Don't you even think about apologies right now you mudda fuckka! You see that hammer over there? You see that fuckin' saw? Well, we are gonna break your fuckin' skull with that hammer and saw off every last one of your toes and fingers with that saw because to whom much is forgiven, much love and forgiveness towards others is expected! Now you just got three-quarter of a fuckin' million dollars wiped clean from your record and the first thing you do is have somebody whacked for $6000? Let me tell you somethin'. You done fucked up the last time! We are gonna lock you up underneath this casino with nothing but cheerios and water to eat. Then, we are gonna keep you alive and torture you every day until you are able to repay the $750,000. You know why? Because we don't fuck around with forgiveness. It is a serious principle! Now get him outta here!'”

…..................................................................................................................

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

- Matthew 18:35 (NIV)

Rick Warren on "Life"

This is kind of funny......I typically don't get all excited about Rick Warren, but I do like this interview....check it out.  Tell me what you think.

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.  God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD.

Poopy Diapers

   

 

Poopy Diapers

"The apostle Paul counts all of his good things excrement compared to the righteousness Jesus gives us through faith.  We as children of the King do not need to produce goodness to be good. We simply are righteous by our recognition of Christ's work in our lives.

Because, He does not need us for all of the "Hot Shit" we can do.  He loves us because of the wonderful children we are."  -  Heather Lunde

I recently read this article entitled "Grace, or what is this crap and why is it on my hands?" It is written by Heather Lunde and was found on the OOZE.

Click below and see what you think:

Download grace_or_what_is_this_crap.pdf

Bono & Rolling Stone

   

Bono & the Rolling Stone Interview

A few months back, I posted about the U2 DVD "Vertigo", live from the United Center in Chicago.  Recently, I took the time to read through the Rolling Stone interview with Bono.  If you haven't had the opportunity to read it, click below and do so.  Pay attention, particularly to the section on Spirituality.

Download bono_interview_rs_nov_05.pdf

The "Polar Express"

My thoughts on the "Polar Express"

We showed this at Lighthouse last night and I sort of took notes the whole way through.  Just thought I would share them on the blog.  Let me know if this movie struck you in any sort of way.

It Begins....

Everyone is asleep, the night before Christmas.  When the “boy” is awaken by the sound of the Polar Express.  I love this; already the train has come to give the biggest skeptic in the movie with an invitation to the North Pole.  Notice the train comes for him.

He doesn’t even get on at first…….it is after the train takes off that he decides to jump on at the last minute when nobody is watching him.  Somewhat independent and stubborn he is?

His first impression on board the train is of happy singing children.  Second impression is the geeky, annoying kid that knows everything.  I guess there is one of those in every group, a “know it all”.

Then the boy, for a moment turns into my friend, Andrew.  He pulls the emergency cord to stop the train for “los lonely boy” to get on board.  I find it interesting that the “boy” is in a state of disbelief himself, but is concerned about helping others get on board.

Train in progress…….headed to the North Pole, on the journey.

As the train is in progress, “Hero Girl” loses her ticket to ride.  The “boy” chases after her to return her ticket. He runs into the intoxicated “Hobo”, who claims to be the “King of the train”, and “King of the North Pole”.  A conversation about the North Pole transpires, doubt enters the picture and the “Hobo” recognizes the “Boy” doesn’t want to be “bamboozled”. 

Our “Hobo” suggests “Seeing is Believing.”  The “boy” wonders if he is dreaming or if this is real, if there really is a North Pole and a Santa.

There comes a point just after this conversation where the “Hobo” rescues the “boy” from the roof of the train on skis.  The “boy” ends up tumbling down the train’s coal car and into the engine room.  When he pokes his head out, he has found the “Hero Girl” with the missing ticket.

Does it seem obvious here that in attempting to do something for someone else (return the ticket and prevent the “hero girl” from being kicked off the train), he is led further in his journey by the “Hobo”(whom the “boy” follows by faith).  The “Hobo” helps lead him to the girl with the missing ticket and gives him permission to explore, ask questions, and have doubt.  Then just before the “Hobo” leaves the train top on his skis, he tells the “boy” to jump, and instantly he does.  The boy takes a leap, a jump and trusts the instruction of the “Hobo”.

At the North Pole……

“Los Lonely Boy” is still on the train, afraid to get off because Christmas has never worked out for him.  What has been promised or communicated to him about Christmas so far has failed him.  Now he has arrived at the real thing but is afraid to trust it because of all of the things that failed him in the past.

The girl with the missing ticket, or “Hero Girl” and the skeptic, or the “Boy” are both willing to help “Los Lonely Boy” off the train.  They are willing to trust in Christmas together, as community. During this attempt, the train car is derailed and takes the three on a different journey from the main group to a different part of the North Pole.

On the journey of the North Pole…..

The “Hero Girl” begins to lead them by following the sleigh bells.  She can hear them but the skeptic, “Boy” cannot.  Look at these three, the “Hero Girl” (confident, joyful, unafraid, trusting, hears the bells ringing), the skeptic “Boy” (untrusting, confident, doesn’t buy into it), then there is “Los Lonely Boy” (lonely, doubtful, afraid, doesn’t want to get burned again.

These three kids, because of the attempt to come along side the “Los Lonely Boy”, have been taken down a different road than all the rest.  They are afraid, uncertain, and not sure if they are making the right decisions.  They fear they will miss out on the real deal and all of the excitement that everyone else will get. However, their journey or path leads them right into Santa’s gift bag.

Out of Santa’s bag and at the Celebration of Christmas…….

All of the elves and the kids gather round to experience Christmas…..everyone is happy and joyful, they can all hear the Sleigh bells ringing.  The sleigh bells are known to be the most beautiful sound; they are singing Santa Claus is coming to town, thousands of them. 

The “boy” is the only one who cannot hear the bells and he becomes immensely frustrate.  Finally, he gives in to what has been tugging on him this entire journey.  Belief has been pounding on his door the entire ride.  He experiences the communal enjoyment of Christmas that is happening all around him and he wants to fully experience it too.  He wants to hear the sound of the sleigh bells.  At the very moment he utters the words, “I believe”, he begins to hear the bells ring.

Back at Home…..

The Conductor leaves this: 
“One thing about trains, it doesn’t matter where you are going. What matters is deciding to get on!”

“At one time most of my friends could hear the bell……..the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.”

Final thoughts:

Santa refers to himself as a symbol of the spirit of Christmas, and suggests the true spirit of Christmas lies in our heart.

When the boy is asked if all of this was just a dream, he answers, “No!”

The tickets they all received upon leaving the North Pole:

“Know it All”  L-E-A-R-N
“Los Lonely Boy” Rely on/Count on
“Hero Girl”  Lead – the way
“Boy”   Believe

Scripture: Replacing Authority

In Scott McKnights most recent post, he writes on his blog, "Jesus Creed", the following:

Click Here for Scott's Blog, there are plenty of comments that accompany this article.

Replacing Authority  by Scott McKnight
Some of you will remember a previous post when I suggested that a “purple” theology probably will not find the word “authority” as the appropriate word for Scripture. Now, I have no truck with the word “authority” apart from the fact that I do not believe it tells us enough about what our relationship to Scripture is and what it ought to be. So, I’m suggesting we find another.

I know that for many of us the doctrine of Scripture is presuppositional and prolegomena to all we do. I fear that such an approach will turn the Bible as God’s Word into bibliolatry and idolatry, where mastery of the Bible is equated with loving God and others. Scripture is God’s gracious gift to us, but that doesn’t mean that every extreme is justifiable. We are in need of a new set of categories for understanding Scripture.

I’m suggesting we use the term “identity.” The term “authority” is that of power — it tells us that we are “under” something. The term “identity” speaks of the Spirit who is at work — in the world in God’s redemptive work, in the Church as the community of faith, and in that community as it tells the story of God’s redemptive work. And I’m not suggesting that we understand “identity” as filling the same spot as “authority,” but that we learn to see Scripture (not so much as the Authority) but as what gives us our Identity because through it God’s Spirit speaks to and guides us.

Identity invites us to conceptualize our relationship differently than the term “authority,” which invites us to see ourselves in submission (which is not the worst thing in the world, to be sure). Identity, I am suggesting, gives us the opportunity to rethink our relationship to Scripture in terms of a pneuma-shaped identity.

And our relationship to that Scripture, that Theo-Drama (to use Vanhoozer’s term, The Drama of Doctrine), is that we listen to it as the script we are to live, as the script God has used with the community of faith, as the script to which the Church has always turned — and in so listening, our “identity” is formed, shaped, re-formed and re-shaped. It is our identity, and it gives us our identity.

We are invited in the term “identity” to find ourselves as God’s people in listening to God’s Word.

Let me also suggest that I am not surrendering “authority” so much as seeking for a term that does more justice to our relationship to Scripture.

Searching for God knows what

Searching for God knows what

What if small minded boxed in formulas were not the truth? 

Don Miller writes this about returning home after a christian book writing seminar:

"I returned home and began pouring over my bible, looking for formulas I could use  for my [future] book of daily devotions. And I have to tell you, this was much more difficult than you might think. The formulas, in fact, are hidden. It seems when God had the Bible put together, He hid a lot of the ancient wisdom, so basically you have to read into things and even kind of make things up to get a formula out of it. [sarcasm] And the formulas that are obvious are terrible."

"For instance, a guy named Stephen was miserable and then he became a Christian, and then he was stoned to death.  This formula of course, was not good enought to make the cut. And for that matter, neither was the one about Paul, who was a murderer before he became a Christian.  And then, he was blinded while traveling, met Jesus in a burst of light, and then spent various painful years moving from city to city, prison to prison, routinely being beaten and bitten by snakes.  No formula there [sarcasm]. Then I moved on to Peter, who was rescued from a successful fishing business only to be crucified, and some historical accounts claim along with his wife. And of course that wouldn't work [as a formula for the book of daily devotions]."

"So I decided to ignore the actual characters of Scripture and just go with the teachings of Jesus. And that is when things really became difficult.  Apparently Jesus had not heard of the wonderful tool of acronym.  He mostly told stories, some of which were outlandish.  Step one: Eat my flesh.  Step two: Drink my blood. "

"Of course, I got frustrated.  And it really got me thinking that, perhaps, formula books, by that I mean books that take you through a series of steps, may not be all that compatible with the Bible."

"It seems if there were a formula to fix life, Jesus would have told us what it was."

Apparently Jesus hid the formulas in his words, and left it up to guys like Joel Osteen, John Hagee, Hal Lindsey, James Dobson, and others to figure it out for the rest of us.

Or, is God such a relational God, a God of fellowship, that He sent His Son to redeem and call us into a relationship, a fellowship, a journey with Him.

As it is written on the Blue Like Jazz website:
"Before the gospel of Jesus became a self help formula, it was an invitation from God, for us to know Him. One hundred years after the invention of the printing press, 60 years after Martin Luther kick started the reformation, and 30 years after John Calvin would write his institutes, William Shakespeare would sit down in the thick of the dust and explain to an Elizabethan audience the relational dynamic of reform theology. Not a list, not ideas, but Beauty, Love, desire, and sacrifice. God dying for man, man dying of himself, and the two united in death."

Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more will we be saved from God's wrath through Him.
For if when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His son, how much more having been reconciled shall we be saved through His life? 
If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. 
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. 
-  Paul's letter to the Romans

Download searching_for_god_knows_what_ch_1.pdf

What the Bleep Do We Know?

This movie is being hailed as quite possibly the most bizarre movie one might ever watch.  It seems to be offending and drawing criticism from all people groups, as well as enthralling and drawing praise.

It is currently being shown in many arthouses and alternative film theatres around the country.  This film was also shown and discussed with Chris Seay in one of the workshops at the most recent emergent convention (San Diego).

What the Bleep do we Know? will be shown during the month of March at the Knickerbocker Theatre in Holland, MI.  It seems interesting and worth watching, given that one of the individuals being interviewed in the film is a "35,000-year-old spirit-warrior channeled by a psychic who looks like she could be an ABBA alum."

Buy the DVD - What the bleep do we know?
Download what_the_bleep_study_guide.pdf
Download review_of_what_the_bleep.doc

The Holy Land - a film by Eitan Gorlin

The Holy Land - (recommended)

I finished watching this film a few minutes ago.... 
I found this movie very interesting, considering the cultural, spiritual, and religious context surrounding it.  I have written a brief synopis, and links to the film's site and trailer appear below. - James Littell

Set in Jerusalem, The Holy Land is a story of a young rabbinical student, Mendy who burns with passion and is frustrated with many of the customs of his jewish upbringing.

Taking the advice of his teacher, Mendy visits a strip-club with back room benefits in Tel Aviv, hoping to rid himself of his restlesness and return to his rabbinacle studies.

Mendy, while in the club, meets Sasha, a Russian prostitute who he begins to develop sincere feelings for, and Mike, a club regular and bar owner from Jerusalem.

When Mike invites Mendy to his bar in Jerusalem, Mendy begins to discover life outside of his rabbinacle bubble.  Arabs, Jews, and Christians alike all hang out and drink together at Mike's Place.  As Mendy adjusts to his new environment, he is not quite certain who he can and cannot trust.

As taken from "The Holy Land" website, "it is a story of doomed, passionate love and coming of age in troubled times --set in a world-famous place not unlike Rick's Cafe American or the Cantina in "Star Wars" -- "The Holy Land" explores the underbelly of real life in Jerusalem after the sun goes down and the tourists and Orthodox families go to sleep."

Click Here - The Holy Land Movie [ website ]

Click Here - The Holy Land - Movie [ trailer ]

Blue Like Jazz

          James Littell                  Don Miller

I used to think that I was alone in my frustration with my religious upbringing.  I was taught so many formulas, principles, 7 steps to this and 11 steps to that.  If I wasn't careful, I'd wind up in a 12 stepper.

I felt like god was nothing more than a system of do nots, not dough-nuts, but do-NOTS!!!  I wish god were a system of dough-nuts, cause that would taste real delicious.  Anyhow, I was told stories of this wonderful, gracious, loving god who we should know as father, and friend in Jesus.  But it seemed like there was always this catch....you know, like "Don't have too much fun or you might get to know the wrath of god.", or "Well, we serve a just god too."  Now, I am not saying that God is not a just God, or a God of Wrath.  I am simply saying that I believe for far too long, we have used certain characteristics that the Bible teaches about God to enforce and inflict are own agendas on other human beings.

We sing in church about God being a "God of Wonders". 
I am just not sure how much we believe it.  I would like God to help me to discover all of His wonders, or at least some of them. I don't even care if I am capable of understanding or even getting my mind around His wonder. 

I do know this, Jesus talked of seeing the Kingdom of God.  He spoke of entering the Kingdom of God.  He told Nicodemus that, "unless a man is born of the spirit, he cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God."

I believe one must first see it, and then one can enter into it.  I believe it to be right here and right now.  I believe it to be beautiful, mystical, tangible and very telling of God's wonders.  I want the Kingdom of God to conquer me and take me captive.

I want to share this excerpt from Don Miller's Blue like Jazz. 
Following this bit from Don Miller, you may click on the link below to read an interview with Don Miller.

"I love how the Gospels start, with John the Baptist eating bugs and baptizing people.  The religious people started getting baptized because it had become popular, and John yells at them and calls them snakes. He says water won't do anything for them, it will only get their snakeskins wet. 

But if they meant it, if they had faith that Jesus was coming and was real, then Jesus would ignite the Kingdom of God within them.  I love that because for so long, religion was my false gospel. But there was no magic in it, no wonder, no awe, no Kingdom Life burning in my chest. And when I get tempted by that same stupid christian religion, I go back to the beginning of the Gospels and am comforted that there is something more than the emptiness of ritual.

God will ignite the Kingdom Life within me, the Bible says. (John 3:3)  That's mysticism.  It isn't a formula that I am figuring out.  It is something God does."  It is something God is doing and will continue doing.

Download don_miller_blue_like_jazz_interview.doc