Beyond Church Walls

Authentic Discipleship

Administrator — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:25:05 +0000

I read an article on-line today titled “Mass on Sunday: Obligation or Opportunity?” The intent of the article was to encourage Catholics to attend Mass motivated not by the fact that the church labeled missing mass on Sunday a mortal sin, but because they should obey out of love for God. Furthermore, they would reap the resulting spiritual benefits. The writer stated that “Our Catholic moral life is essentially relational.” Later he said,

“In the end, the moral obligation to attend Sunday Eucharist is summed up by saying that the Church earnestly desires that everyone who is “obliged” to be there would indeed be there — not because they “have to” but because they “want to.” “

Finally,

“The challenge here, though, is not really one of bringing moral clarity to the question of the obligation of Sunday Mass attendance. The two real issues are (1) providing good Eucharistic liturgies in every parish every Sunday, and (2) providing good catechesis to individuals and families about the essential nature of Sunday Eucharist to a life of mature discipleship.”

Relational life but summarized in a Sunday ritual? A mortal sin to miss it, yet should not be done out of obligation? Sunday Eucharist essential to mature discipleship? If this sounds like doublespeak, we might consider that the religious priorities of Protestants are often not much more than a modification of the above.

We’re all familiar with religious obligation and programs vs relationship, but I wonder to what extent Jesus’ way of helping his followers grow into mature disciples is common to most Christians either in or out of religious institutions. I borrowed a paragraph from my book, When The Church Leaves The Building to illustrate the point:

“I finally concluded that Jesus never managed anyone’s life or taught anything that was not illustrated by his own. Rather, he invited those who would follow him to “come and see.” Those who took him up on the offer saw where he stayed and how he lived. They saw him communicate with Father and eat with sinners. They watched him respond to the harassment from the religious leaders of the day and to the praise of others who heard him teach or saw him perform miracles. And as he walked with them, he used simple illustrations to teach them how to stay connected with Father and to love one another in the face of everyday challenges. In short, Jesus led mainly by example. His life was open and vulnerable to all who were willing to “come and see.””

David Fredrickson

the new board game that could save your soul.

Administrator — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:40:33 +0000

Just in time for Christmas:

bob humphrey

Another Identity Check

Administrator — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:39:12 +0000

I’ve about had it with sports. My teams never win. Doesn’t matter whether its basketball, football, baseball or foozeball. Of course most recently it’s been baseball. I follow the Giants, and obviously they didn’t make it to the play-offs. My second choice was the Rockies, but they blew it near the end of the season. So I chose the Dodgers, but they were eliminated. Then I went with the Angels, then the Philly’s…and so it goes through every season. Heck, I could place my hopes on a contestant for a hotdog eating contest and he would most likely throw up halfway through.

Problem is I take it personally. It’s like if my team is a loser, I’m a loser too. Must be a problem with identity here. I guess when Paul said that God always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, he wasn’t talking about sports even though ball players often point to the sky after hitting a home run.

Okay, so my pain doesn’t last long after a loss. But it’s amazing how many undeserving areas of life we can attach pieces of our identity to besides sport’s teams. Political party, denomination, church, occupation, financial status, social status, possessions, hobbies, etc, etc. All of those things have the potential to rip us off big time, yet not one of them has the slightest relationship to who we are in Christ.

David Fredrickson

Getting fixed?

Administrator — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:49:32 +0000

Sometime back, David and I were having a conversation about grace. And as the conversation progressed, another one of those institutional perspectives I had regarding grace began to crumble. You see, back in the institutional church, grace was what was needed to fix me. I was on a continual hunt for the things that needed fixing in my character. So much so that it soon began to overtake any sense of relationship I had with Christ. I mean, wasn’t I supposed to work out my salvation with fear and trembling? Isn’t that what grace was for? Sort of like a Band-Aid to cover me until I was really fully acceptable to Christ and ready for the works of ministry.

Well as our conversation went on, it began to dawn on me how much it means to actually have a relationship with Christ where his grace is the fundamental aspect of that relationship. To be sure, the revelation of his grace has redeemed many of the lies and strongholds of the enemy that I had previous believed in, but that was really more of an incident by incident application of grace. The bigger picture has begun to be revealed that the grace of God is not so much about “fixing us” as it is covering us and receiving his life in the very areas that we are the weakest. No wonder Paul exulted that when he was weak he was strong because he understood the infusion of the life of Christ in his weaknesses. So it’s not about me getting fixed, it’s about him transforming my life even with my weaknesses.

bob humphrey

Just for Fun

Administrator — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:25:59 +0000

Thought you might get a kick out of this email exchange with a sage in North Carolina.

David Fredrickson

From: “donatkin ”
To: Rev Bruce Carlyle
Sent: Tue, October 6, 2009 7:28:10 PM
Subject:

Dear Reverend Bruce,

My wife and I have spent the evening going through all of your Lessons on Christianity series. We are extremely excited about your wonderful church and would like to visit.
We have been saving up our tithes for 38 months, and finally know what God would have us to do.
Here’s the problem: In none of your series do you provide an address!

Dear Mr. Donatkin,

After much prayer together with my senior board member and financial advisor, it has come to me by revelation that your name with just a slight adjustment in the spelling actually provides prophetic affirmation to the generous nature of your heart. Simply replace the k with an o and you’ll readily see what has heretofore been hidden to all but the spiritually astute.

Tapping even deeper into my gift of insight I have discerned that your accumulated tithe will reap the greatest return if you placed it, as it were, at the feet of the apostle who stewards this glorious work. You have addressed your email to that very man.

His address is: Reverend Bruce Carlyle, 777 Perfection Lane, Holy City, CA. 95666

Thanking you in advance,

Rev. Bruce Carlyle

p.s. To reap an even larger return on your tithe, you should consider the interest on that which has been held back these many months.

Dear Reverend Bruce Carlyle, Honored Sir:

This is absolutely amazing! D-O-N-A-T-O-I-N. With just a little more MANIPULATION, one could invert the second “O” and the “I” and get “DONATION.” You cleverly left that second adjustment for me to discover for myself, confirming that I, too, can hear from God.

Based upon this latest revelation, I have decided that God would have me use the accumulated tithes w/interest to start my own church.

Thank you for setting the example for others to follow.

The Reverend Don Ation, Founder and President of NewFundLand Higher Joy Fellowship and Ponzi Club unLtd.

Shake off the dust

Administrator — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:06:15 +0000

I was recently at a meet-up group for Christian business folks. It was fascinating to see how they were wanting to develop relationships focused on business not just to discuss Christianity and business. Yet as the meeting went on I began to also notice they kept bringing up the struggle of ‘maintaining’ their faith in the workplace. I actually enjoyed the meeting but felt bad for them because it seemed that they had equated their ‘faith’ with maintaining the standards of the institutional church. When I was given an opportunity to share I reminded them that this meeting is a most powerful gathering because each of had Christ in us and that just the gathering of us together and sharing life was already creating an impact. I don’t think they were expecting that, but it’s always fun when believers get reminded to shake of the dust and sit enthroned again. Isaiah 52:2

bob humphrey

Giving Grace

Administrator — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:35:42 +0000

Recently on a flight out of Spokane I sat next to a lady who was in the wrong seat. Father wanted her to sit there, though, so when the passenger to whom the seat was designated arrived, he told her to stay there and he’d take her seat.

She said she was a missionary on her way to India, but her church wouldn’t “send” her because she had divorced her bisexual husband. She figured it is God who sends, not man, so she left without the affirmation of the church. We had a stimulating conversation about religion vs the grace of God, and by the time we ended that leg of the journey Father’s blessing and affirmation on her was almost tangible. From her email reports, she’s having the time of her life in India.

Religion has a way of talking up grace while keeping people from living in it. I believe Paul called it “frustrating the grace of God”. The Message puts it this way:

“Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.”

Makes you want to keep giving grace to the people you live with, work with and play with. I guess that’s home missions.

David Fredrickson

Constant relationship

Administrator — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:40:41 +0000

I love the changing of the seasons. We recently had a monster 1 day storm that officially ushered in fall to the Sacramento area. For some reason fall brings times of reflection for me. I just kind of hit the replay button, and look at what’s gone on lately. Without a doubt the largest thing that easily rises in me is the sense of my relationship with Father. There’s been a bushel full of things that have uh shall I be diplomatic, not gone as expected, but my relationship with him has always been the constant.

For 20 plus years of intense IC leadership involvement, all I could look back on were the wouldas and shouldas sprinkled with a few events that people actually enjoyed, and looking to my planner to wonder when the next planning meeting was and how much I was going to have to convince the folks to attend it…. on time. My relationship with God? Well, not bad as long as I was ‘about my Father’s business’. That’s right, Christ died so that I could join the new firm.

I’m sounding like the people that used to get on my nerves when they would blithely say “God will take care of it, brother” OK fine. But I still need two more ushers!!! whoa. I still get the shivers thinking about how wound up I would get over those events, especially the holiday ones. Harvest festivals, Thanksgiving, and of course the Christmas programs.

So now even w/o all of my attention on IC things, my relationship with him is always the constant.

bob humphrey

Communion

Administrator — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:43:12 +0000

A good friend and I spent last weekend in the heart of the Rocky Mountains at Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada with a group of brave folks who are struggling with the issues common to all who dare to paddle upstream in the transition from religion to relationship. Uncertainty, fear of fruitlessness, pain of rejection, loneliness, unpredictable present, unknown future.

Messy stuff. But to me, it was like a banquet that had been carefully prepared and served in the middle of the wilderness. It was the very essence of the Lord’s supper. Broken Bread, poured out wine.

Strangely, the raw words shared from the heart of a lady who had “been born in the church” as she put it, collided with Father’s heart and stirred something at the core of my being. She had lived through the kind of tragedy and pain that contradicts every religious concept of God. She told us she is angry at God and still can’t see much light at the end of the tunnel. She had just enough hope to hang in by her fingernails. The language she used when responding to the mention of a verse used as a Christian cliché would have offended a religious person. And the grace and love of Father was all over her. It was as if he was smiling through his tears.

Religion would have us hide our flaws with catch phrases, fake faith and feigned love. And the greatness and glory of Father would never be seen.

David Fredrickson

Christian day care?

Administrator — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:01:20 +0000

I had a fascinating conversation with an acquaintance the other day that got me thinking. He and his family are always doing something spontaneous and interesting on the weekends. I asked him where he gets his ideas to do such cool adventures. He goes “you know some of the best days are the ones you didn’t plan for. We throw our bikes on the bike rack and just go.” I wanted more, I mean how are you inspired to do these things? He replied it’s because of the relationship I have with my kids. (He has a daughter and son both preteen.) They each are so unique and special and because I know them and enjoy being with them. He had determined that his kids would never have to be in a day care, even at the sake of limiting their income potential to do so.

Hmm the same way Father loves us. I don’t think he paid the price he did just so we could be raised in an IC day care errr week-care.

bob humphrey