It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted anything.  Sorry about that.  I’m just now getting over what’s been a whirlwind of bronchitis. After about 1 1/2 weeks, I thought it was behind me.  And then – round 2!  Thankfully, I don’t think round 3 is coming.

So, I post this in anticipation of what’s to come.  I’ve got various blog series on the horizon that I’m pretty stoked about.  And I’d love to hear your thoughts about some subjects that you’d like for us to cover.  Simply email us via the contact link on the blog site.  Or you can message me via Facebook.  Also, a good way to keep apprised of new blogs is to subscribe via Feedburner (which can be accessed by clicking the “Follow” link that is below the site header).  That way each new blog is sent to your email account.

As many of you know, we’ve entered into my favorite time of the year.

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!” 

Not only were Dee and I married in December, we’re super excited about Chloe Grace who should be with us in January.  Also, some dear friends usually come and visit us each year during January.  Nothing is definitive for next month, as of yet, but we hope they can make it around the time that Chloe is born (hint, hint). 

We were blessed to have my mom and grandmother come visit with us a few weeks ago.  They helped (or supervised – lol) us decorate the tree and put up our limited array of Christmas decorations; all while we listened to Christmas music.  Surprisingly, we are a bit limited on Christmas music.  I’m not sure what happened, but during the move (or maybe before), we lost our Christmas cds.  So, we’re down to one cd – Glee’s Christmas cd (2010).  And we put it on repeat!  It was a great, relaxing evening with family.

This past week Dee and I had the privilege of ministering at a youth camp in Statesboro, Georgia. We were responsible for two chapel services a day, as well as helping out with other daily activities. It was definitely a learning experience, for students and adults alike; but what an amazing opportunity to hang out with students and share with them from God’s word.

As we considered what text/s that we would delve into throughout the week, our hearts & minds kept gravitating to Matthew 5. Now, my goals were lofty at first. I wanted to cover the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) and give a big-picture overview of the sermon altogether. However, as the week progressed, we sensed the Spirit leading us to slow down a bit and camp out in Matthew 5. Particularly, we hammered away at the tendency of many to adopt a popular-yet-superficial, flaky definition of “blessed” or “happy.” What does it mean to be blessed? How might we attain true happiness?

We’re inundated with so many voices that speak into our lives telling us what it means to be “blessed” or “happy.” As followers of Jesus, the question arises – How might Jesus (re)define happiness or blessedness? In what ways might Jesus’ definition critique (or outright denounce) the ways we oftentimes approach this topic? Surprising to some, these questions are very practical in nature and have implications for how we attempt to live out our faith in Jesus.

Matthew 5 in so many ways flips on its head the societal definition of these terms. And sadly, it seems to be a message that the Church has either deemed overly idealistic or not for our time, as if it simply describes the future of God’s Kingdom with no relevance for today. Yet, what if Jesus’ teachings captured in the Sermon on the Mount actually describe what the Spirit-filled life of a disciple of Christ looks like? What if Matthew 5-7 affords us a glimpse of what Jesus-followers look like over against the individualistic, violent, self-centered ways of the (rebellious) empire in which we live? Maybe that’s why it hits us as being so foreign or, at the least, as being awkward.

Interestingly, Matthew 5 starts off with numerous onlookers being privy to what seems to be inside teachings for Jesus’ disciples (note Matt 7.28). And although there were crowds surrounding Jesus during this sermon, it was his disciples who approached the great Rabbi, in what appears to be a posture of humility, in order to submit themselves to Jesus’ teaching. Glen Stassen (Living the Sermon on the Mount) insightfully explains how Jesus’ hearers would sense echoes of Moses as Jesus “goes up the mountain,” preparing to speak God’s word (cf. Exodus 19).

I asked the students not to be offended when I talked with them about a “wordy-dird.” I would have to say the “d-word” in order to get my point across. There was no way around it. Granted, the adults also didn’t seem too happy about this. But it had to be done.

“Right out the gate, I think that the context of Jesus’ sermon drives us to discuss the issue of discipline.”

We have to wrestle with the fact that it requires a consistent posture of humility in order to submit to Jesus’ teaching. Practically speaking, this posture is connected to Christ-honoring habits (a nicer word than the “d-word”) wherein we submit ourselves to hear and obey the teachings of Jesus.

Initially, there were chuckles. However, afterwards we discussed the difficulty of such discipline. Showing up regularly to church services doesn’t guarantee it. Wearing Christian T-shirts, not cussing, speaking Christianese, giving a few dollars every now and then in the offering, etc. doesn’t guarantee it either. In order to embrace the disciplined life of humility before God’s word, we must stop defining Christianity according to comfy, Americanized, individualistic ideas that we hold onto while justifying an un-disciplined lifestyle. Put differently, we must die to our old ways of living/existing and learn the ways, will and word of Jesus. Such humility is Spirit-empowered and honors Jesus, positioning us for true happiness.  After all, true happiness is directly connected to our relationship with God.

part 2 coming tomorrow…

Renovatus church in Charlotte, NC has put together a documentary regarding “Understanding and Overcoming Evil” that is definitely worth checking out.  In it one will hear interviews of various theologians/pastors (e.g. John Christopher Thomas, Steven Land, Stanley Hauerwas, etc.).  To see the video, click here.

Shannon and I have been out of town for about a week and a half. I had a math conference in Gainesville, Florida for a few days. On our way back to Ga, we visited some friends in Valdosta (Jason, Candy and Joshua). Then, we went to visit our families in Vidalia, GA while Shannon was preparing to preach in a series of meetings at Cornerstone Church. Everything went well, and I thank God for his mercies during both the conference and the church services.

It is amazing to see God work in the lives of people and change them into new creations. That is what happened this week in the services. Shannon spoke three messages from Romans 12 (Holy Rebellion, Rebel with a Cause, The Heart of the Matter) and once from Acts chapters 1 and 8 (Turning the Church Inside Out). They were timely messages about rebelling against the worldly system and living a transformed life in the midst of a secular world (as one follows the Holy Spirit). He spoke about the need for community – that one cannot be “saved” without developing relationships within the community. He cried out for the church to reach beyond our own comfort and into the community which surrounds us that is dying without our intervention. We must reach out even to those people around whom we may be uncomfortable, as they need to see the story of Christ exemplified in our lives.

While we were grateful for this time, we are both happy to be back home in Birmingham. We missed all of our Alabaster Church of God family and our friends in the Birmingham area while we were gone. We missed our fellowship at The Bridge meetings and going to Habaneros after church on Sunday. To all our family at Alabaster: We missed you; we love you; and it was so good to see you last night. (To those who couldn’t make it last night, we look forward to seeing you soon.)

Just one last thought: Where would we be (as Christians) without a family of faith? How has your church family impacted your life? Please take a moment to thank those people who have helped you along your journey to living in Christ.

Peace,

Dee

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.

AJ showed me this video while Dee and I were at the Jay’s Inn… Thought you would enjoy.  

Blessings,

Shannon

Humility – a necessary component in Theological reflection.

Just a quick reminder that I’m finishing up my last writing project for the semester over the next few days (parts of which I’ll probably post a few weeks from now). And when we return from Georgia, we’ll have a more regular posting schedule (as well as have new entries for the podcast – The Bridge LIVE).  Thanks for everyone’s patience during this roller coaster semester.

We love you all and pray that you have a blast during Christmas!  

Peace,

Shannon

More clips from Greg Boyd’s Lecture…

Part 5 of 13

Part 6 of 13

Part 7 of 13

Part 8 of 13

Part 9 of 13

Peace,

Shannon