Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

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

Waco Pastor dies in Baptismal

Kyle Lake of University Baptist in Waco, TX dies during a baptism

TESTING THE FAITH
Electrocuted pastor's final prayer: 'Surprise me, God'
Ironic theme in case of Christian minister shocked to death during baptism

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Posted:

November 6, 2005

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

The theme of the final prayer delivered last week by a Christian pastor who was electrocuted during a baptism was, ironically, "Surprise me, God." That disclosure came this morning on the national radio program, Coast to Coast AM, by Terry Esau, author of "Surprise Me, a 30-Day Faith Experiment," who had been invited to speak at the University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

During a service last Sunday morning, Rev. Kyle Lake was standing in waist-high water as he prepared to baptize a woman. When he reached for a corded microphone, the 33-year-old was jolted by electricity, and did not survive. The woman going to be baptized was unharmed.

The incident took place just minutes after the 800 members in attendance had prayed aloud, "Surprise me, God."

When asked if he thought the events were result of asking to be surprised, Esau, who witnessed the electrocution, said, "I wish I could answer that. I honestly, truly don't know. That gets you into all kinds of really, really hard questions. 'Does God cause everything to happen?' or 'Is there tragedy and chaos and stuff in the world because it's the natural consequences of humankind and our freedom of choice?'"

Esau speculated on what Lake could have said about the stunning event, wondering if the young pastor might have quoted from a well-known bumper sticker reading "[Garbage] Happens."

"I think he would have said, 'There are laws of nature, electrical laws, and they were violated that day and I was in a really bad place where the violation happened.'"

Esau addressed some 4,000 Baylor University students the following day, and invited them to question and wrestle with what happened, saying God is not intimidated by our questions, though Esau couldn't explain why the tragedy occurred.

"I see a lot of people who are going, 'You know, we don't know how long we get to live. And maybe I should take more seriously this day that I have. Maybe I should look more at what is the purpose of my life. Who is God? How does He fit in with me? What's my story? What is our story? Where do we go from here?'

"If people can start wrestling with these questions instead of just putting their lives on cruise control and saying, 'It is what it is, I need to make money, I need to be comfortable,' then I think good has come from it. I think Kyle would be pleased with that."

University Baptist Church has posted part of Lake's final sermon on its website, as he wrote:

“Live. And live well.

Breathe. Breathe in and breathe deeply.

Be present. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.

On a crystal clear, breezy 70-degree day,

roll down the windows and feel the wind against your skin.

Feel the warmth of the sun. ...

Taste every ounce of flavor.

Taste every ounce of friendship.

Taste every ounce of life.

Because it is most definitely a gift.”

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

Larry King & the 25 Evangelicals

Larry King had on some of Time Magazines top rated most influencial evangelicals in America this week.  Good news is that Brian McLaren was in the list.  Bad news is ......well, I'll let you figure it out.  This is a very difficult topic for me, the whole evangelical - let's take a stand - down with gays - anti-abortion - keep "under God" in the pledge - don't take away my Ten Commandments statue - Tinky Winky is gay - Sponge Bob has a gay agenda - Janet Jackson showed her boob - VInce Neil said the "F" word on New Years - kinda' thing.

Maybe the Black-Eyed Peas said it well when they released the song, Where is the Love, last year.  Where is the Love?  I'm asking.  Or have evangelicals just turned into a nationwide precinct of morality police?

I have posted a link below to the transcript from the other night.  You may also want to check out Steve Argue's Blog on this same subject.

Larry King transcript Tuesday Night [ McLaren, Jakes, LaHaye, Graham]

Read the transcript for yourself, but here's my thoughts:

It really seemed that McLaren came across most graciously....One of the callers agreed and pointed out that Jakes and McLaren spoke with a bit more grace than the rest. Although, I think Franklin Graham usually comes across well. I just get tired of the "Oh my God!!! It's the last days, we're in the end times." stuff.

I guess what frustrates me is this lack of Love that seemed to go out over the airwaves. These opportunities ought to be moments for the body of Christ, I mean "evangelicals" to shine. You know, light in dark places. Aren't we supposed to carry the message of hope, grace and renewal?  I feel like someone disconnected the tap from the keg of Living Water.

From LaHaye, I just seemed to hear a bunch of scary, monster like, boogeyman babble. This may sound critical of me because you cannot hear my tone nor see my face, but LaHaye and his wife sit there with plastic faces and gold rings and talk about all of their long years in ministry. It appears the LaHayes believe ministry is about starting anti-gay, anti- abortion women's movements and writing scary, violent, horrifying, bloody, and quite possibly untrue depictions of the end of the world. Granted, if I had the LaHaye's money, I might have the plastic face and the gold rings, too. But I sure wouldn't write crappy novels.

I want to see us be about carrying the message of hope, grace, and renewal. I want to do the message....and I am still trying to prayerfully figure out how.

I would love to hear any of your thoughts.......

James

Shane Claiborne: To Iraq

Here is something I just read, written by Shane Claibourne, founder of the "Simple Way' ....

TO IRAQ by Shane Claiborne

I am going to Iraq because I believe in a god of scandalous grace. If I believed terrorists were beyond redemption, I would need to rip out half of my New Testament Scriptures, for they were written my a converted terrorist. I have pledged Allegiance to a King that loved evildoers so much He died for them (and of course the people of Iraq are no more evil or more holy than the people of the US) teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for. While the terrorists were nailing Him to the cross, my Jesus pleaded that they be shown mercy for they know what they were doing. We are all wretched, and we are all beautiful. No one is beyond redemption and no one is beyond repute. May we see in the hands of the oppressors our own hands, and in the faces of the oppressed our own faces. We are made of the same dust, and we cry the same salty tears.

I am going to Iraq in the footsteps of an executed and risen God. I follow a Jesus who rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey at Passover, knowing full well what He was walking into. This Jesus of the margins suffered an imperial execution by an oppressive regime of wealthy and pious elites. And now He dares me and woos me, come and follow, take my cross, lose my life to find it…with a promise that life is more powerful than heath, and that it is more courageous to love our enemies than to kill them.

I am going to Iraq to stop terrorism. There are Muslim extremists who kill in the name of their gods. Their leaders are millionaires who live in comfort while their citizens die neglected in the streets. I believe in another Kingdom that belongs to the poor and to the peacemakers. I believe in a safe world, and I know this world will never be safe as long as the masses live in poverty so that handful of people can live as they wish. Nor will the world be safe as long as we try to use violence to drive out violence. Violence only begets the very thing it seeks to destroy. My King warned His followers, "If we pick up the sword we will die by the sword." How true this has proved to be throughout history. We armed Saddam in the conflict against Iran, and we armed Bin Ladin in the struggle against the Soviet Union. Timothy McVeigh, the most terrifying domestic terrorist in US history, was trained in the Gulf Was where he said he turned into "an animal."

I am going to Iraq to stand in the way of war. Thousands of soldiers have gone to Iraq, willing to kill people they do not know because of a political allegiance. I go willing to die for people I do not know because of a spiritual allegiance. The soldiers have incredible courage, courage enough to die for something they believe in. I pray that Christians would have that same courage. The command of the soldiers is handed down, rank after rank, from a human commander in chief clinging to the myth of redemptive violence. My mandate is straight from the mouth of my heavenly King, through the lips of the Prince of Peace - to love my enemy, and yet I still falter. May we cling to the Truth that every human is created in the image of God. Do we believe the children of Iraq are just as precious as the children of New York? A love for our own people is not a bad thing, but why should love stop at the border? We, the people of Rebirth, have an allegiance that runs much deeper that nationalism.

I am going to Iraq as a missionary. In an age of omnipresent war, it is my hope that Christian Peacemaking becomes the new face of global missions. May we stand by those who face the impending wrath of Empire and whisper: "God loves you, I love you, and if my country bombs your country, I will be right here with you." Otherwise, our gospel has little integrity. As on of the saints said, "If they come for the innocent and do not pass over our bodies , then cursed be our religion." May our lives interrupt terrorism and war, in small ways, in large ways, in moments of crisis and in everyday rhythms. These are extreme times. And I go to Iraq as an extremist for Love.