My Beautiful Idol - Review

My Beautiful Idol by Pete Gall is an autobiographical journey through five years of transition in the life of the author. Gall originally self-published this work and it is his first published book.

My Beautiful Idol is a story of seeking, recognizing and following God. Gall records his journey of faith and life chasing God’s will from a highly paid career in Chicago to Denver and through a series of jobs, ministry settings and relationships. Scattered throughout the narrative are lessons about the reality of poverty, the desire to be loved and God’s dream for individual lives. Gall is open with his thoughts, emotions and struggles in his life during the five years that are recorded in the book.

I found the narrative to be moderately compelling, but at times tedious and repetitive. There was insightful wisdom about life and relationships sprinkled throughout the book that I found to be fairly interesting. I recommend this book to those looking for open honesty in the life of another.

Gall, Pete. My Beautiful Idol. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008.

Finish It - Journey of Faith (4 of 5)

This series is about your thoughts. Each day I will post a sentence starter and invite you to finish it with a comment.

The next step in my journey of faith may be…

Did Peter know what he meant by saying, “You are the Christ?”

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 a breakout group studying Mark 8:27-30.

Peter’s confession is the first human confession that is recorded in Mark. To this point in the narrative the naming of Jesus identity had come from demons that had been cast out by Jesus.

I think that Peter knew what he was saying. He would have likely had some understanding of the expectation for a messiah and what that might look like. However, I do not think that Peter understood the depths of the truth that he was saying and the nuances of how this would actually take place.

There are two places where I think Peter may not have fully understood what he was saying. Jesus is savior not just for the Jewish people, but for all of creation. Also, suffering was a key part of Jesus journey to resurrection.

You can find previous responses to questions coming from this class here:

• Why are the disciples so clueless?
• Why did Jesus not want to be identified?
• Had the disciples heard of Jesus before?
• How were books of the Bible chosen?

Davidson vs. Kansas - the journey

My wife and I really enjoy watching college basketball. This lead to a dilemma last Sunday night. I was leading the 5:00 PM worship service and she was on duty at the church as well. This meant that we were going to miss the Davidson / KU basketball game. However, we taped it on our DVR and were planning on watching the game when we got back.

Nicole was adamant about not finding out who won until we watched the game ourselves. I did not find out the final score, but did not mind finding out who had won. I found out that KU won, but did not know the final score.

When we got home we watched the game from beginning to end. Here is the amazing thing - even though I knew the destination, the journey was really fun. It was a great game and knowing the final outcome did not spoil the excitement of watching each play.

I believe that this is like our Christian journey - We may have a picture of the ultimate outcome (God wins) but that does not take away from the journey of becoming a deeply committed Christian.

Influencing the United Methodist Church

Last week one of my colleagues asked, Are you comfortable with the influence that The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection has on the United Methodist Church?

Yes, I am comfortable with the influence that Resurrection has on the denomination. I think that Resurrection seeks to represent the extreme center in the United Methodist Church and within the religious dialogue in the United States. I think that this is a voice that is desperately needed within the denomination and a voice is able to speak in meaningful ways to those outside the denomination - both non religious persons and those of other denominations. I believe that Resurrection is thoroughly Christian, Methodist and Wesleyan and I feel great about those influences shaping the denomination.

However, I also recognize that there are many churches and leaders across the world that are working for renewal within The United Methodist Church and within local churches. I think that Resurrection has a lot to learn from others as well. I think that the denomination is healthier with many congregations and leaders actively seeking and working toward renewal.

Every day that I am at church I pray for spiritual revival in Kansas, renewal within The United Methodist Church, wisdom and endurance for delegates to General Conference and Resurrection’s purpose, vision and journey. I believe that all of these can be and are influenced by the others and I hope to be a part of God’s work in this place and time.

• What do you think about all this?
• Do you think that Resurrection has an influence on the denomination? If so, is it an appropriate level?
• What congregations do believe have significant influence on The United Methodist Church?
• What individuals do believe have significant influence on The United Methodist Church?
• What other topics did I leave out of this conversation which need to be addressed?

Sex, Gender and the Bible

On Sunday night, Nicole and I had the great opportunity to be a part of a small group teaching from the newly released - Prayer: A Small Group Curriculum. I had a great time.

I received a follow up email from Nelson, a member of the group, from a conversation that we had that evening. He had some questions as a follow up from watching a few videos on YouTube. They are:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W81H4scyEc
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATrl2HWUJO0

I listened to several minutes of each video and my sense is that the main topic being raised here is that of intersexuality and the way that gender is addressed in the Bible.

This is a topic around which I do not profess to have expertise, but I will do my best to respond to the topic. I believe that gender in the Bible is identified as male and female. I do not believe that there is any reference to the possibility of intersexuality. This may be partly a result of the scientific worldview at the time - not having any idea about chromosome arrangements.

I believe that God created humans as male and female. What does this mean for those who experience intersexuality or are transgender? God loves each person - no qualifications. As a Christian, I am called to show God’s love to others, to help others on their journey of discipleship and to receive help in my journey. I am called to perfect love of God and neighbor.

I recognize that I did not nearly address this topic comprehensively. This is a subject around which I continue to think, grow and learn. What do you think?

Grasping the Trinity

How do you feel about the Trinity? How long did it take for you to start to get a grasp of it?

I feel good about the Trinity. I agree with deviantmonk in the comment on Physics of the Trinity.

As far as I’m concerned, [the Trinity is] the bedrock of Christian theology, worldview, ethics, and whatever else.

As far as getting a grasp of the Trinity, I believe that there is really only a continual journey deeper into the mystery. The more I think I know the more I realize I do not know. However, I would say that beginning to grasp the concept of the Trinity started thinking about analogies (some of which were mentioned at the taster), such as neapolitan ice cream, a shamrock, water in three phases. However, I do caution these comparisons as greatly lacking and should not be the end of seeking to understand. I think that the most faithful way of understanding the Trinity is to begin with the narrative of scripture.

Different forms of this question were common - look for some additional thoughts on this topic soon.

This question came out of a young adult small group taster last Sunday morning in which I taught about the question “What is the Trinity?”

Belief in the Trinity

Do you think it is important to God that we believe we understand the Holy Trinity or do you think He wants us to constantly be trying to understand?

I think that it is important that we have faith that seeks understanding of the Trinity and many other theological concepts - atonement, salvation, forgiveness. Some of these we experience, some of these we seek to understand, and for many of them we do both. In regard to the Trinity, I believe that it is more important to seek a relationship and experience interaction than to think about or try to understand.

I do not think that it is a faithful response to say that we fully understand the Trinity. I think that there is a balance between knowing / understanding and fully understand the Trinity. Our journey at Resurrection is one of knowing, loving and serving God and this is a journey that will likely not be complete in this life.

This question came out of a young adult small group taster last Sunday morning in which I taught about the question “What is the Trinity?”