Guest Blog - Praying for a Better Prayer Life

This is a guest post from Kyle Holt of The New Parables and The Bible in Rhyme. From his blog: Each person is called to use the talents God gave us; to be a voice of one calling out in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for Him.”

I fall short in my prayer life. My wife says the same, as do a lot of my friends. Despite the fact that we are called to be in prayer constantly, it is a struggle setting aside time to speak to and listen to God. I feel like a poor example of a good prayer life. But I have a great mentor.

He’s not prideful. He is not vain. He is probably the happiest and most faithful person I know. However, he can be really, really selfish. But that can be excused, as he is only two years old. He is my son, Noah. One of the most beautiful and inspiring things about my son is that he reminds my wife and I to pray. At every mealtime he holds his little hands out to each side and says, “Prayers?” And he wants to make sure we say the right prayer, the one he is familiar with:

“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food.”

We had Pastors Andrew and Nicole over for dinner one night, and I began saying a different prayer. Noah was having none of that. He started trying to interrupt me so that we made sure we said his prayer. It was important to him that he participate. And it was wonderful to see that prayer was important to my son so early in life.

At nap time and bedtime, Noah knows that after we read our third story, it’s time for prayers. So he stretches out his hands again, and we say a different prayer. It’s a modification of a prayer my parents taught me as a little boy.

“Dear God, we love You. Protect us. God bless Mommy and Daddy, little Noah, grandmas and grandpas, Uncle Bryce and Aunt Amanda, cousins and friends, and everyone in the whole wide world. And all the puppies. Amen!”

The ‘puppies’ part was imperative to him, and the Amen is always emphatic.

Christ tells us that we must be like little children when we come to him, and in my son I see how true this is. His faith is unwavering, unquestioning, unintentional, unrelenting, unshakable, and undeniable.

If my faith were but a mustard seed, I know I could move mountains. My son’s faith shakes the ground I walk on. If each adult I knew prayed with the fervent intensity that I see in my son, his little friend, or the masses of children I see at church, I guarantee this world would be a better place.

God, I ask that You help me pray like my son. That You forgive me for not giving You the time You deserve. And God, help me not forget those puppies too.

AMEN!

Last Chance!

This is the last chance to Name Your Price on Church, Faith and Theology Books. My loss is your gain.

What is proper church attire?

I received the following email from a Resurrection attender last month. I have included my response below and some additional thoughts. They have each been edited for anonymity.

Email Received:
Has Pastor Adam ever broached the subject with the congregation on appropriate attire when attending church? I imagine that this is a rather sticky subject, to say the least. When I was leaving church yesterday, I noticed two teenage girls walking out in front of me. Even though it was cold outside one of these girls had on extremely – and I mean extremely - short shorts that bordered on vulgar. WHERE ARE THE PARENTS???!!! I hope you don’t think I’m a prude because I try to be open-minded and accepting of other people……as I think about it, though, maybe that’s why teenagers wear clothing that’s inappropriate for the occasion because we’ve all tried to be so accepting. Go figure.

My response:
Thanks for your email. To my knowledge, Adam has not talked publicly about public attire while I have been here at Resurrection. I understand your concern. I agree that some clothing may be less appropriate for public. In this and other issues, I think that there is a balance between accepting people where they are and holding them accountable. My hope is that as a congregation we are holding each other most accountable to their journey of knowing, loving and serving God toward becoming a deeply committed Christian. How this journey applies to clothing style, as you witnessed, is interpreted differently by different persons.

Further Thoughts:
I have found that the question of attire is not limited to teenagers or those for whom parents may still feel responsible. I feel that the question of the interaction between parent and student is another issue.

As I have thought more about what is appropriate to wear to church, I am not too excited about having a dress code for what is allowed and what is not allowed from someone that is a part of the worshipping congregation. I think that one’s standards for dress while worshipping should not be less than standards for dress in any other public space. Whether they should be higher or different in some way is an open question for me.

What do you think?

The Most Important Parts of the Story of Jesus

At the conclusion of the three week study on the Gospel according to Mark I asked the class to reflect on two questions. I found the responses to be fascinating. Each person has a distinct understanding of Jesus. I feel that all of the following are good responses to the questions, but each person may react differently depending on where they are on the journey of faith.

Questions to the Class

• If you were telling someone the story of Jesus for the first time what would you want to make sure and not leave out?
• If you had to tell the story of Jesus to someone in the time that it takes a stoplight to change from red to green (let’s say 1 minute), what would you say?

Responses from the Class

• God loved us
• God sent his son
• We can have eternal life
• Resurrection
• Jesus’ birth
• Jesus took on our sins
• Jesus accepts us where we are
• Loves everyone
• Big picture - connect with the story of the Old Testament
• Invitation to relationship for benefits
• Jesus ministry - inclusiveness, compassion, kindness
• Witness to how Jesus has worked in one’s own life
• Is there anything you would die for?
• Opportunity for a personal relationship

Is Christianity the only missionary religion?

I have had the opportunity to lead the Builders Sunday Morning Small Group for three weeks studying the gospel according to Mark. This question was from the final class meeting.

Is Christianity the only missionary religion? The answer is no.

From the Wikipedia entry for missionary - “A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary’s faith; someone who proselytizes.”

From this entry and others, I was able to find a few a little more information on particular religions.

Religions that have missionary efforts

• Buddhism
• Christianity
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Islam
• Jehovah’s Witnesses

Religions that do not have missionary efforts

• Hinduism
• Judaism

This is certainly not a comprehensive list of religions, but perhaps gives an idea about the division. Some religions are more comfortable with pluralism, which has a direct impact on whether they carry out missionary efforts. This was an interesting question for me to research as I had not really thought about this question before. Thanks for the question!

Citation - Wikipedia contributors, “Missionary,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Missionary&oldid=209656492 (accessed May 5, 2008).

Home Buying

Nicole and I have started down the journey of looking for a home to purchase. It seems to be a good time to buy and we have received numerous comments about it perhaps being a good idea.

It is not easy to predict how long we may be here in the area. We plan to serve in Kansas West after Resurrection and are trying to be faithful with our resources in the mean time.

We are in the middle of being pre-approved for a loan at our bank, met with a realtor (from a recommendation from a friend) yesterday and are going to look at a few houses today. It is pretty exciting and we hope to be able to find the right place. One thing at a time though…

What is the best conference to attend?

I always hope to continue learning for my own faith journey, leadership, and to be a part of renewing the mainline church. One of the ways that this can be accomplished is through networking and learning at conferences. I personally recommend and will be presenting at Leadership Institute, but I am also considering the following possibilities for events to attend in 2008 and 2009.

• June 6, 2008 - Seed Conference
• June 8-10, 2008 - Envision: The Gospel, Politics & The Future
• June 11-13, 2008 - Arise Arts Conference
• June 26-27, 2008 - Unplugged
• August 7-8, 2008 - The Leadership Summit
• August 14-16, 2008 - Echo: Church Media Conference
• October 2-3, 2008 - Leadership Institute
• October 8-10, 2008 - Catalyst Conference
• October 20-23, 2008 - The Internet Ministry Conference
• October 24-25, 2008 - Change the World
• November 6-8, 2008 - worship in a postmodern accent…
• April 21-23, 2009 - Origins

Do you have any experience with any of these conferences? Which of these do you recommend? What other learning / leadership / conference opportunities would you suggest that are not listed here?

Christianity for the Rest of Us - Review

Christianity for the Rest of Us by Diana Butler Bass was published in 2006 by Harper San Francisco. Bass is a well known author, speaker and thinker among mainline protestants. Christianity for the Rest of Us is a result of a three year study that was “designed as an in-depth ethnographic investigation of vital, healthy, viable and growing mainline Protestant congregations through field research across the United States” (Bass, Christianity for the Rest of Us, 295). Within these congregations, Bass sought “to discover whether a common pattern, language, and spiritual logic were taking shape in a variety of congregations in different parts of the country” (Bass, 4).

In the first section, Bass addresses the question “What happened to the neighborhood church” (Bass, 13)? She addresses shifts that have taken place in society and within local congregations in the United States over the past 50 years. This background sets the stage for the particularities of renewal within the churches studied. Each of ten “signposts of renewal” among the congregations are addressed with concrete examples from local communities. These signposts of renewal include: hospitality, discernment, healing, contemplation, testimony, diversity, justice, worship, reflection, and beauty. Finally, Bass uses the metaphor of shifting from tourist to pilgrim to address the potential for individual, communal and world transformation.

This book is a well written mix of individual examples and big picture topics. There is a concreteness to each of the signposts of renewal as they are all grounded in particular examples from local congregations. Bass does not provide a detailed blueprint for change, but instead paints a vivid picture of what the experience of vitality looks and feels like within a local congregation. Bass writes for a particular audience - liberal protestant congregations - and at times is a bit harsh on those outside of this group.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those thinking seriously about renewing the mainline church. Church leaders, pastors, and mainline Christians looking for renewal within the church would enjoy this book.

Bass, Diana Butler. Christianity for the Rest of Us. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2006.

How do you innovate?

I had a conversation recently that started me thinking about innovation and how it happens at Resurrection. My tendency is to look at other congregations and say that they are far more innovative than we are. However, that is often in terms of use of technology and physical facilities.

My conversation partner suggested that Resurrection is not innovative in some areas and actually bleeding edge innovative in others. This helped me shift the question from:

• How do you innovate?

to

• How do you innovate?

The first question is one that focuses more on tactics and implementation of new and different things. It also seems to imply a change from the way that things are currently happening.

The second question is one that focuses on a self-examination of current systems and processes. It also helps with the recognition that it is unlikely that any given congregation will be able and willing to be innovative in every possible area.

I feel that both questions are important.

What do you think? Do you find yourself asking either of these questions? What is your response?

Guest Blog - Psalm 68 in Rhyme

This is a guest post from Kyle Holt of The New Parables and The Bible in Rhyme. From his blog: Each person is called to use the talents God gave us; to be a voice of one calling out in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for Him.”

I really appreciate that Pastor Andrew invited me be a guest blogger. I was trying to think about a couple of different types of blogs I could post, and this was the first one that popped in my head.

I mentioned in a previous post about my work on The Bible in Rhyme (www.thebibleinrhyme.com). I have Genesis 1 on the website, but I thought I’d post another section here. After you read this, I encourage you open up the Bible and compare it to Psalm 68 in the Bible. My hope is that The Bible in Rhyme will be a portal to help people open up and explore the Bible in total. I welcome your comments (good, bad, and ugly) here or on my blog, http://thenewparables.blogspot.com.

Psalm 68

May God arise and scatter his foes.
The wicked will perish as everyone knows.
Sing to the Lord who rides on a cloud.
Extol your praises, crying aloud.
A father to orphans, the widow’s defender;
He honors believers and cuts down pretenders.
We marched through the desert with You as our guide
and gained our inheritance, though we were tried.
Great was the glory of those who announced
God and His name, but those who denounced
His honor were struck down, peasant and king.
But all who have seen His power now sing.
God sends one thousand chariots out
and crushes His enemies. Now who will doubt?!
The twelve tribes have come proclaiming a song.
Egypt and Cush will submit to the throng.
Announce that He’s come across all the earth.
All who know Him know what He is worth.
Wherever we tread and wherever we trod,
He will be with us. Praise be to God!