Monday, January 24, 2011

Identity

I just got back from a great weekend with our senior high youth.  Despite being the coldest weekend of the year, so far (that seems to happen a lot with this retreat) we had a blast.  Our main speaker talked about who we are in Christ with the theme of "Identity".  Our breakout sessions focused on God's dream for us, committed faith, re-envisioning what Salvation is (not just a moment, but an ongoing process) and how we define ourselves.

I think this idea of seeing ourselves as God sees us is so important especially in a youth culture that tries to define teens by what technology they have, how athletic they are, what kinds of clothes they have and numerous other factors having nothing to do with how God sees us.

Several years ago our youth put together a video about how God sees us as "holy and dearly loved" taken from Colossians 3:12.  Jesus calls us to not conform to the standards of the world, but be transformed into who Christ calls us to be (Romans 12:2).  Culture has all kinds of ways that it wants us to conform.  But Jesus calls us to follow him.

My hope for our youth and any others who read this is that we will continue to wrestle with how God is calling us to live, and how we can find our true identity in Him.

"Identity" from Mechanic Grove Youth

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream

Back in the Fall I decided I should start attending the Men's Bible Study at Mechanic Grove.  The catch was that it meets at 7:00 Saturday morning, and I struggle to operate that early on Saturday morning.  But it turned out to be an incredible blessing as I began to meet and have conversations with men of different ages.

Our focus has been guided by "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" by David Platt.  The book focuses on how we were created to proclaim the glory of God.  Platt discusses how our pursuit of the American Dream and materialism has taken us away from our goal of proclaiming God to the nations.  Platt advocates for a reduction in our pursuit of material wealth and radical devotion to God.  He shares many stories of people in his faith community who have sacrificed their own pursuit of the American Dream in order to allow themselves to better proclaim God's glory to the nations.

One story he shares that hit me was about a business man who wrestled with what Platt was saying about giving up our stuff.  The man came to the conclusion that he couldn't see God telling him when he got to heaven, "I wish you would have spent more time building wealth for yourself" (my paraphrase).

Platt discusses how millions of people are dying every day of starvation, poor water and preventable disease.  Billions more are doing so without a knowledge of Christ.  He also bears witness to millions in the underground church who have a fire for God not found in comfortable "Christian" America.

The book has some very provocative ideas.  The discussion within the Bible study has been incredible and convicting.  It has been interesting for me to read this book.  The theology used to build his case is somewhat Reformed which is very different for an Ana-baptist audience.  But the living out is very similar.  I think the discussion of how materialism is taking over in the American church is one that needs to take place and Platt's book helps to advance that conversation.

One of the men in the Bible study is fond of reminding us, "It's just like the title says.  It's radical."  But maybe that's the way a disciple is supposed to be.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Upside-Down Kingdom

My goal, at least to start, this year is to be more consistent in writing, if not for anyone else's benefit, than for my own.  I will start to include book reviews of some of the things I'm currently reading either for church or for my own.  With that said, here's "The Upside-Down Kingdom."

Donald Kraybill's book originally published in 1978 has continued to be printed and edited.  I finished reading the 25th Anniversary Edition from Herald Press.  Kraybill gives new insight into the world surrounding Jesus.  "The Upside-Down Kingdom" describes the radical message Jesus brought to his world and connects it to the message the church continues to live in a foreign, worldly kingdom.  He goes into detail about the history, culture and politics that surrounded the first century Jewish world with all of it's revolutions, religion, and empires.  Kraybill then discusses how Jesus message differed with that of the surrounding culture.  He discusses how Jesus consistently broke with cultural conventions to minister to the Gentile, Samaritan, sinners, women and multiple other people groups who Jesus should not have had contact with had he followed the culture.  Kraybill ends by challenging the church to continue to be a community that bears witness to and upside-down way of living.

I enjoyed this book.  Recently I've read other books (Myth of a Christian Nation, Jesus For President) which have a similar message.  Kraybill shows that this is not a new idea.  I learned a lot about the religious background and make up of the 2nd Temple period of Jewish history.  I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

As an additional plug Don will be speaking at Mechanic Grove March 6.  He'll be talking about Discipleship and also Amish faith during our Sunday School hour.  For more information visit: www.mgcb.org