Desperate for a miracle – Sick and tired of being sick and tired – Made up her mind to get to Jesus – among a host of other pithy sayings that I’ve heard trying to capture what’s going on in Luke 8.  Particularly, preachers tend to zoom in rather quickly to the part where a bleeding lady made her way to Jesus amidst the crowd.  And who can blame them?  Her story is quite amazing.  Yet, one does well to consider the narrative context of her miracle.  In fact, Luke 8 seems to form an identity tapestry, of sorts, as Jesus reveals who he is and the authority he wields through a series of miracles.

Jesus returns from the Gerasenes’ land, where he threw out a “Legion” of demons that occupied “a certain man.”  Upon Jesus’ return, a synagogue ruler, Jairus, comes and falls at Jesus’ feet and begs him to come to the ruler’s house.  Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter (his only daughter) was dying.

I like how the ESV renders verse 42b – “As Jesus went…” The implication is that Jairus asks Jesus to accompany him to his house, the place where his twelve-year-old-little-girl is at the point of death, and Jesus responds by journeying with Jairus.  No flamboyant declaration.  No dynamic demonstration of what is to come.  Jesus simply comes alongside Jairus in a walk, however briskly, to the place of Jairus’ need.

In the panic of things, whenever we call on (even beg) Jesus to respond to our crisis, it’s easy to think that he hasn’t moved in our behalf at all.  This is especially true if we don’t see a jaw-dropping demonstration of the miraculous.  If things aren’t quickly rectified in the manner that we think they should, it’s tempting to think that God doesn’t really care and hasn’t moved an inch in our direction.

Yet, in this narrative Jesus moves.  And without giving away too much of the story at first, Jesus’ movement toward and alongside Jairus had no immediate consequence on Jairus’ situation.  Jesus.  Crisis.  Petition.  Response.  The response of Jesus, however, appears to be insignificant.  His presence simply accompanies Jairus.

How might this help things?  What difference does God’s presence make in our lives, especially if our crisis doesn’t change?  Moment by moment – step by step – doubt by doubt – fear by fear, Jairus walks.  It’s different somehow, though.  His steps have an accompanying cadence – what seems to be a gracious echo of God’s presence.

to be continued…

Monday Greetings!

Hey, everybody.  I want to thank you for your continued prayers for my dad.  He is doing some better but still in a lot of pain.  The doctors still aren’t quite sure what is going on with his shoulder.  However, mama said that Saturday night Daddy was able to sleep for a number of hours without having to get up and go to the recliner (to relieve pressure on his shoulder).  So, that’s definitely good progress.  If I’m not mistaken, he goes back to the doctor today.

Also, Dee and I are getting a bit closer to the close of our first house.  While in BHM, we’ve been renting for a number of reasons.  Mainly, we weren’t certain as to whether Dee would pursue her PhD at first.  And we didn’t want to purchase a home, especially considering all the upfront costs, without knowing that we would be in BHM for more than 2 years.  So, this is definitely a new process for us but exciting nonetheless.

In fact, the last several weeks have been full of research concerning this purchase.  So, as things come to a close ( ), I’ll be glad to get back to my normal reading schedule.  A friend mentioned that he was interested in studying more about the different views of the atonement.  Therefore, I’m considering venturing in that direction for a few blogs in the not-too-distant future.  There are two resources through which I look forward to working – Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament & Contemporary Contexts (Joel Green & Mark D. Baker) and The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views (Thomas R. Schreiner, James Beilby, Paul R. Eddy, and Gregory A. Boyd).  If there are any good resources with which you are familiar concerning the Atonement, please let us know.

Blessings,

Shannon

Christian Greetings!

If you will, there is a pressing prayer need that my family has.  My dad, Pete, has been suffering these last several days from severe shoulder (right) and upper back pain.  He has been a construction worker for many years and, therefore, is impacted seriously from such an injury at both work and home.  The last several days Daddy hasn’t been able to sleep but maybe a few hours each night.  He has seen a doctor on numerous occasions with what seems to be guesswork at best in diagnosing the problem.  The next step is an MRI that, hopefully, will be scheduled today.

I’m asking our faith family to pray specifically for these (and more as the Holy Spirit leads you):

1.  My dad’s complete healing from this affliction.

2.  He needs to be able to sleep and hasn’t been able to do so because of the pain.

3.  Financially, my parents’ insurance will only pay a few hundred dollars toward the diagnosis and/or treatment (which probably has already been surpassed considering the first several doctor’s visits).  Thus, they need God’s continued blessing in this regard.

4.  For my dad to continue to lean strongly upon God’s grace and mercy during this time.

I greatly appreciate everyone’s prayers and support thus far.  My dad has been in the Kingdom for about 7 1/2 years now and is one of the most committed Christ-followers that I know.  I am confident that he will serve Jesus whether he is healed of this affliction or not.  However, I believe it breaks God’s heart for his children to suffer, and we’re asking, in agreement with our faith family, for Jesus to heal him completely.

In faith,

Shannon

What if the Church awakened to find that she was not many but one?

What if those who were separated by misunderstanding and fear came together?

What if leaders followed and those who followed led?

What if worship moved beyond routine and singing beyond rehearsal?

What if power wielded was loving service rendered to the poor and forgotten?

What if there were no sound systems, stages or spectators?

What if God is really simple and his church too complicated?

What if rhetoric turned to conversation and sermons to Good News?

What if love doesn’t hurry and God didn’t wait?

What if we dance with no music and laugh over family meals?

What if we see Jesus, hear the voice like many waters and sense the fire of his presence?

Would I change?

Hey all!  

I have been working through Wolfgang Vondey’s newest book, People of Bread: Rediscovering Ecclesiology.  (“Ecclesiology” means “the study of the Church as a biblical and theological topic”)  Now the Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Regent University’s School of Divinity, Vondey is a COGTS alumnus.  He is originally from Germany and was raised Roman Catholic.  But now he is an ordained minister in the Church of God.  It reminds me of what a good friend said a few years back, “Catholics make good Pentecostals.”  (But that’s another post altogether.)

This week, I would like to explore some important points in chapter one – A New Image for the Church: Reviving the Theological Imagination

Throughout the Scriptures there are numerous images which represent greater (sometimes ineffable) objects and/or realities. Whether pictures, symbols, figures, metaphors, or analogies,¹ these images “stand between us and the reality we envision, often because we have no direct recourse to the object itself” (p. 14). This is not to say that the image is just like the object which it represents, but that there is a relationship between the image and its object.  ”Images help us visualize, illuminate, and comprehend, in the true sense of the word, ‘to imagine’ a reality that is otherwise distant, invisible, and incomprehensible” (p. 14). And no one biblical image portrays the fullness of God, the Church, etc.  Hence, there are various images used in the Scriptures which together portray the dynamic reality behind what they represent.

When talking about the nature and purpose of the Church, early Christian writers commented on images used especially in the NT. Of note, the most popular images discussed were concerning the Church as the people of God, the Body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Such an emphasis was “greatly influenced by the emerging doctrine of the Trinity” (p. 16).  Yet, there were other early Christian writers who suggested additional images.

• Clement of Rome (1st century bishop) used the image of the Church as Christ’s army.
• The 2nd century document, Shepherd of Hermas, used the idea of the Church as a primal creation of God, represented by the image of an old woman.
• Cyprian of Carthage used the image of Noah’s ark, the sun and its rays, a tree and its branches, and a fountain and its many streams to illustrate the unity of the Church.
• Cyprian, Tertullian and Augustine often called the Church “mother.”
• Hilary of Poitiers, Ambrose and Jerome also referred to the Church as a woman.

Importantly, when the early Christian writers used additional images, they were careful to relate such images to the thought world of the NT.

What are some images of the Church which you have heard or used that attempt to capture the nature and purpose of the Church (or God, salvation, etc.)? What are some of the benefits of the image/s?  What are some dangers in these images?  Is there a particular image that you remember from childhood (or another time) that helped you understand a difficult theological idea?

Peace,

Shannon

¹ Paul Minear notes some ninety-six images of the Church in the NT.  See Vondey, People of Bread, p. 15.

I first read The Shack by William Young earlier this year.  My husband, Shannon, had heard a preacher talking against the book and decided to check into it.  He read the first chapter online and decided to buy the book.  He and I read the book together and really enjoyed the story.  Since then, we have heard some people give rave reviews of The Shack while others contend that it could be harmful to Christianity.  Since it has become such a hot topic, I thought I would give my opinion of the book here and ask for yours. 

The Shack is the story of a man, Mac, who has lost much in his life.  Through his painful experiences, he has also begun to lose his faith in God.  I do not want to spoil the plot, so I will try carefully to keep from doing that while giving you some vital information about the book. 

The book opens in the good part of Mac’s life, and we are taken through a series of events that cause Mac’s world to crumble.  He becomes only a shell of the man he used to be, and his wife and children also struggle through life in the face of extreme loss.  One day, while Mac’s family is away, he receives a letter that changes his life.  He travels to a remote shack in the woods, where he proceeds to experience God in a dynamic and tangible way.

I think Young’s portrayal of the nature of God is one of the most beautiful that I have ever seen.  He shows that God is not constrained by our misconceptions or limited imaginings of him.  God is more dynamic than we could ever imagine, and his utmost concern is that we have a thriving relationship with him.  This is easily seen in how God reveals himself to Mac in The Shack.  This has been an object of consternation to various people who criticize the book for not being theologically sound.  However, I think the portrayal of God in The Shack captures many beautiful facets of the love of God that we see in the Scriptures, even if it is quite untraditional.

While there are some theological nuances in the book with which I disagree from a Pentecostal perspective, I think this book is one of the best books I have read all year and would encourage anyone who wonders about the nature of God and where God is in the middle of a bewildering situation to read this book.

Please let me know your thoughts, especially if you have read the book.

Blessings,

Dee

Last night, our pastor (Robert Barnes) had us to think of one situation in our lives in which we need God to move and change things.  He then spoke about the power of Jesus to heal, deliver, conquer, save, love, create, etc. and asked us when we thought about that thing on Monday (today) to say to the situation, “Jesus is the Son of God.”

First, Jesus is the Son of God.  This name, this powerful name, is the name at which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess one day.  The name above all names.  The name that contains so much power that demons flee, situations change, bodies heal, people repent, lives transform at just the mention of this name.  Whatever situation you need altered, this is the name on which you should call.

Jesus is the Son of God.  He didn’t just die on that cross – he rose again.  He is not dead but is alive and is able to handle our problems.  When we pray, we do not pray to someone who cannot hear.  We pray to one who is, who was, and who is to come – the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end (and everything important in between).  He is and will always be.

Jesus is the Son of God.  He is the only one with authority to change the situation.  There is no other beside him.  He is the way of life.  He is the truth.  He is the door to enter into a relationship with God, and beside him there is no other.  There are no other “sons” of God who can change your situation.  He is our one and only hope – and what a great hope he is!

Jesus is the Son of God.  He is not just the ambassador from God or God’s agent to humanity.  While he is both, he is so much more.  He knows God in an intimate and complete way.  If we are to know the heart of God, who better to show us than his Son?  Being the Son of God, Jesus has ultimate authority over all powers and principalities, over all people and things, over all situations and trials.  He is unlike any other person who ever existed; he is God’s only begotten son.

Jesus is the Son of God.  He, as the only begotten of the Father, is full of all the same glory as the Father – full of grace and truth.  He is of the same type and substance as the Father, yet able to commune with a fallen humanity and provide us with redemption.  He is God, yet human.  Of the substance of the divine, yet understanding all of our afflictions.  100% God, yet 100% man. (Try to understand that math!)

Jesus is the Son of God.  That word that encompasses all that the creator of the universe is.  God.  Divinity.  Glory.  Absolute perfection.  Amazing Love.  Words cannot even begin to describe his greatness.  Yet he chooses to love a fallen creation.  He lavishes grace and love on us?  How?  How great is the father’s love towards us, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us?  God, who is in complete communion with himself, who needs nothing.  God.

How can I worry about any situation, when I think about this simple sentence: Jesus is the Son of God?  How I can even think that he would not see me through the fire?  How can I even doubt his love toward me?

Thank you, God, for reminding me of how breathtaking you are.  You are altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to us.

Blessings to all,

Dee

Just a quick update regarding Robert.  He met with a liver specialist in Savannah who told him that his liver damage was the worst he has seen in years.  The hematoma has not dissipated yet; hence, his organs are pressed to his left side (causing much pain).  The doctors are waiting about another 10 days or so for the hematoma to shrink in size; if not, they say that they must take some sort of action.

Please continue to pray for Robert, Chasity and Parker.  Chasity hasn’t felt well these last few days and also needs God’s healing hand.  

Dee and I miss lil’ Parker… He lit up the house while in Birmingham.  

Thanks so much for your prayers and support.