A Reformed Xian Journey

Christians & Social Justice

2008-04-30T08:07:00.008-04:00

at some point we lost our edge. and honestly, i don't know if i can even claim to have ever had this "edge". the edge i'm referring to is the desire to get up and serve Xp with our lives, not just our "hearts." don't misunderstand - giving our hearts and minds to him is essential, and i in no way want to "undervalue" that truth. but if we claim to be under his lordship - how do we prove it? how do we show the world that Xp has claimed us and changed us? have we convinced ourselves that we can be claimed but not changed?

maybe we assume that our lives were pretty moral to begin with, and all we needed was a little "heart" change. but we have to stop spoon-feeding ourselves this lie. we were dead in our sins before Xp gave us life [eph. 2:5], and to be dead in sin is (in one sense) to live a life devoid of service to and for Xp. before him, we didn't serve him & we didn't serve the world; we served ourselves.

our lives must reflect the change we have expereinced, and in this way our worldview must change. the world is not someplace we must endure while we intellectually soak up as much theology as we can. the goal isn't to know as much as we can about Xp before we die. knowledge doesn't save and knowledge isn't the goal. knowing him, glorifying him, serving him, these are the goals.

he put us here to bring him glory and to change our world with his gospel.
And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matt 22:35-39

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?' And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matt 25:35&40

we're called to love - and to love is to serve Xp willingly and in doing so, to show the world his love. this isn't a call to go put gospel tracts on urinals and coffee shop tables... this is a call to go and serve those in need. this can happen on your block, in your town/city, or in our shared world. i've been reading a book that has challenged me to start thinking outside of myself and to take serious Xp's call to serve. the true gospel is inherently "social." let's reclaim the service of Xp to a needy world.

i needed a shove in the right direction The Revolution was that needed shove. the very first chapter sent me immediately to this website: blood:water mission - check it out. read the book. get up and serve, and keep me honest by asking me if i'm doing the same.

A Neo-Pilgrimage

2008-03-20T10:08:00.000-04:00

i just recently read Presence Centered Youth Ministry by Mike King. it's excellent. i've been challenged by/through this book to engage and consider my personal journey to/with Christ, and to seek ways and opportunities to come into the presence of God in worship personally and regularly. this blog is intended to follow this journey. i think knowledge has over-run experience for me... i want to find the balance that i've lacked. (plus i named it my "neo"pilgrimage cause i love all the "neo" and "post" terms that are tossed around in this our "post"modern culture... so i decided to make my own... [though i'm not sure how "neo"pilgrimage should be defined] with that being said, you obviously can't question my relevance or the relevance of this blog, since it is self attested as: neo and postmodern... and now i'm confusing myself... happy reading.)

Deepak Chopra's Jesus

2008-03-20T09:36:00.000-04:00

Do you have a spare 30 min? Watch this interview with Deepak Chopra: http://www.bordersmedia.com/shows/live01/chopra.asp

I have to be honest - I'm very intriged by this new release. It is interesting to observe how he weaves Scripture into his ideas, completely isolated and distorted, but present throughout. Having just enough knowledge from 2+ years in Seminary to make me dangerous, I find myself enjoying tracing heretical themes that run throughout Chopra's interview. Eastern religion and Gnosticsm seemed to be wed together as he creates a "God-conciousness"-oriented special understanding/knowledge (gnosis). [Plus, his book apparently has worksheets in it. So that's fun.] I can't justify purchasing this book outright - maybe from a used bookstore in a couple years, or a summer read from my local library... either way, once I have actually read his work, I'll get back to you.

A Sidenote: Attacks on the faith come from all angles, and some of the most dangerous are those that subtlely alter the truth of Scripture. Deepak Chopra has dedicated his book (and his life for that matter) to skewing the message of the Gospel, but I'm not sure I'd call him subtle.

(Also: His interview reminded me of Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park... which helped keep me entertained)