Message By Ben Redmond

Message By Ben Redmond

Message By Ben Redmond

Message By Ben Redmond

Sleeping Beauty
Message #4

February 17th 2008
Sleeping Beauty
Message #3

February 10th 2008
Sleeping Beauty
Message #2

February 3rd 2008
Sleeping Beauty
The Theology of Art & Aesthetics
Message #1

December 24th 2007

The story of the nativity is a strange one.

The King of the universe comes to live on the ramshackle third planet of a backwoods solar system in a technologically infantile time period to conquered peasants. He’s born in hayseeds, chased off to Pyramid town by a puppet ruler with abandonment issues after being warned by wizards…all so he can grow up to make tables and chairs before dying on a telephone pole.

Strange.

And yet, it is precisely this strangeness that makes the narrative so potent.

Our King humbled and emptied himself, lowering his estate to come unwelcomed into a time and place that had no honor left for heroes. He gently rebuked the misconceptions of power and privilege, caring for those our world has forgotten, and somehow caring for us as well. He reinvented our understanding of truth and love, gave us anew language for peace and hope, and restored that which is most beautiful to the commonality of our spirit.

When he was broken and bloodied, he returned with an even greater measure of forgiveness - simultaneously inditing our violence and redeeming our tears.

The nativity is a strange tale — it’s a love story where Prince Charming has no wealth to speak of, but surprises his Princess with a kingdom unlike any other.

The story of the nativity is a strange one.

The King of the universe comes to live on the ramshackle third planet of a backwoods solar system in a technologically infantile time period to conquered peasants. He’s born in hayseeds, chased off to Pyramid town by a puppet ruler with abandonment issues after being warned by wizards…all so he can grow up to make tables and chairs before dying on a telephone pole.

Strange.

And yet, it is precisely this strangeness that makes the narrative so potent.

Our King humbled and emptied himself, lowering his estate to come unwelcomed into a time and place that had no honor left for heroes. He gently rebuked the misconceptions of power and privilege, caring for those our world has forgotten, and somehow caring for us as well. He reinvented our understanding of truth and love, gave us anew language for peace and hope, and restored that which is most beautiful to the commonality of our spirit.

When he was broken and bloodied, he returned with an even greater measure of forgiveness - simultaneously inditing our violence and redeeming our tears.

The nativity is a strange tale — it’s a love story where Prince Charming has no wealth to speak of, but surprises his Princess with a kingdom unlike any other.

The story of the nativity is a strange one.

The King of the universe comes to live on the ramshackle third planet of a backwoods solar system in a technologically infantile time period to conquered peasants. He’s born in hayseeds, chased off to Pyramid town by a puppet ruler with abandonment issues after being warned by wizards…all so he can grow up to make tables and chairs before dying on a telephone pole.

Strange.

And yet, it is precisely this strangeness that makes the narrative so potent.

Our King humbled and emptied himself, lowering his estate to come unwelcomed into a time and place that had no honor left for heroes. He gently rebuked the misconceptions of power and privilege, caring for those our world has forgotten, and somehow caring for us as well. He reinvented our understanding of truth and love, gave us anew language for peace and hope, and restored that which is most beautiful to the commonality of our spirit.

When he was broken and bloodied, he returned with an even greater measure of forgiveness - simultaneously inditing our violence and redeeming our tears.

The nativity is a strange tale — it’s a love story where Prince Charming has no wealth to speak of, but surprises his Princess with a kingdom unlike any other.

The story of the nativity is a strange one.

The King of the universe comes to live on the ramshackle third planet of a backwoods solar system in a technologically infantile time period to conquered peasants. He’s born in hayseeds, chased off to Pyramid town by a puppet ruler with abandonment issues after being warned by wizards…all so he can grow up to make tables and chairs before dying on a telephone pole.

Strange.

And yet, it is precisely this strangeness that makes the narrative so potent.

Our King humbled and emptied himself, lowering his estate to come unwelcomed into a time and place that had no honor left for heroes. He gently rebuked the misconceptions of power and privilege, caring for those our world has forgotten, and somehow caring for us as well. He reinvented our understanding of truth and love, gave us anew language for peace and hope, and restored that which is most beautiful to the commonality of our spirit.

When he was broken and bloodied, he returned with an even greater measure of forgiveness - simultaneously inditing our violence and redeeming our tears.

The nativity is a strange tale — it’s a love story where Prince Charming has no wealth to speak of, but surprises his Princess with a kingdom unlike any other.

“When Two Worlds Kiss’ is a saying the rabbis of the ancient world used to talk about death. It was a way of describing the removal of the thin veil between our world and the next one. It was a moment of truth and connection where the lips of that reality welcome ours with a kind of sweetness.

This series is a brief commentary on Paul’s first epistle, the earliest written piece of the New Testament, the most enthusiastic and pastoral book of the Bible — I Thessalonians.

Because of his great love for the church in Thessalonica, and because of his eagerness to help that church be continually formed into the image of Christ, Paul begins to offer teaching and counsel on living well as the people of God. We will refer to these insights as lovesigns, because they demonstrate Paul’s deep affection for the church. He doesn’t simply tell them how much he really loves them (though he is hilariously redundant with sentiments amounting to the same thing), but he does one better — he gives them “his very soul.”

“When Two Worlds Kiss’ is a saying the rabbis of the ancient world used to talk about death. It was a way of describing the removal of the thin veil between our world and the next one. It was a moment of truth and connection where the lips of that reality welcome ours with a kind of sweetness.

This series is a brief commentary on Paul’s first epistle, the earliest written piece of the New Testament, the most enthusiastic and pastoral book of the Bible — I Thessalonians.

Because of his great love for the church in Thessalonica, and because of his eagerness to help that church be continually formed into the image of Christ, Paul begins to offer teaching and counsel on living well as the people of God. We will refer to these insights as lovesigns, because they demonstrate Paul’s deep affection for the church. He doesn’t simply tell them how much he really loves them (though he is hilariously redundant with sentiments amounting to the same thing), but he does one better — he gives them “his very soul.”

“When Two Worlds Kiss’ is a saying the rabbis of the ancient world used to talk about death. It was a way of describing the removal of the thin veil between our world and the next one. It was a moment of truth and connection where the lips of that reality welcome ours with a kind of sweetness.

This series is a brief commentary on Paul’s first epistle, the earliest written piece of the New Testament, the most enthusiastic and pastoral book of the Bible — I Thessalonians.

Because of his great love for the church in Thessalonica, and because of his eagerness to help that church be continually formed into the image of Christ, Paul begins to offer teaching and counsel on living well as the people of God. We will refer to these insights as lovesigns, because they demonstrate Paul’s deep affection for the church. He doesn’t simply tell them how much he really loves them (though he is hilariously redundant with sentiments amounting to the same thing), but he does one better — he gives them “his very soul.”

“When Two Worlds Kiss’ is a saying the rabbis of the ancient world used to talk about death. It was a way of describing the removal of the thin veil between our world and the next one. It was a moment of truth and connection where the lips of that reality welcome ours with a kind of sweetness.

This series is a brief commentary on Paul’s first epistle, the earliest written piece of the New Testament, the most enthusiastic and pastoral book of the Bible — I Thessalonians.

Because of his great love for the church in Thessalonica, and because of his eagerness to help that church be continually formed into the image of Christ, Paul begins to offer teaching and counsel on living well as the people of God. We will refer to these insights as lovesigns, because they demonstrate Paul’s deep affection for the church. He doesn’t simply tell them how much he really loves them (though he is hilariously redundant with sentiments amounting to the same thing), but he does one better — he gives them “his very soul.”

Global scenarios of injustice and corruption are frequently viewed by USAmericans as something terrible somewhere else; yet, I believe that “somewhere else” is only a reality insofar as we neglect to think of the whole Earth as our home and the playground of our commonality. A transformation is required that unifies our understanding of global concerns and compels us to act on behalf of the disenfranchised and under-represented, to rise up — not with violence and hatred — but with concern and a with a voice that cannot be silenced by politics or economy.

Global scenarios of injustice and corruption are frequently viewed by USAmericans as something terrible somewhere else; yet, I believe that “somewhere else” is only a reality insofar as we neglect to think of the whole Earth as our home and the playground of our commonality. A transformation is required that unifies our understanding of global concerns and compels us to act on behalf of the disenfranchised and under-represented, to rise up — not with violence and hatred — but with concern and a with a voice that cannot be silenced by politics or economy.

Global scenarios of injustice and corruption are frequently viewed by USAmericans as something terrible somewhere else; yet, I believe that “somewhere else” is only a reality insofar as we neglect to think of the whole Earth as our home and the playground of our commonality. A transformation is required that unifies our understanding of global concerns and compels us to act on behalf of the disenfranchised and under-represented, to rise up — not with violence and hatred — but with concern and a with a voice that cannot be silenced by politics or economy.

Ever wonder what heaven is going to be like? A little bit scared about hell? Do you often fantasize about big dove wings, harp playing, and cloud surfing? Do you often tremble at the thought of little horny devils with pitchforks? This week we are exploring what the Bible has to say about what happens after we die. BYO harp and halo. Wings are optional.

A lot of people wonder about salvation; what does it mean to be “saved?” This week we are going to explore what the Bible has to say about the point in which we transfer from “death to life”, “darkness to light”, “sickness and the grave to life eternal”.

This week David McDonald takes us through an understanding of who we are as spiritual people - paying special attention to our infamous image-of-godness. We’ll explore the implications in terms of culture, ecology, and spiritual formation…and probably be privy to a host of off-handed remarks about weird Canadian trivia and jokes about male-pattern baldness.

Ever wonder about God … about what he’s like, or maybe even where he’s from? Ever wonder if he’s real, if his existence can be proven or if it shows a lack of faith to even ask these questions? This week in DOXA, David McDonald turns a scrutinizing eye to the “man upstairs” to see what makes him tick…and if Chris Rock will star as Jonah in the sequel to Evan Almighty.

For Christians, the Bible is the primary authority in all matters of creed & conduct, belief & behavior. It is the stand alone document of the Christian faith and has bearing on every aspect of human love, human life, and human existence. David McDonald gives us the skinny on what the Bible is, where is came from, and how we can use it in real life. Practical stuff, eh.

Justice is one of those words that seems so broad because it means so many things to so many people. Some people believe justice is about equality; some believe it’s about giving, some believe it’s about helping those who are hard to love. What does it mean to you?

Scott and Taryn, former staffers at WW, moved to Charlotte, NC to plant a church called Watershed in January 2005. Westwinds is privileged to be able to share in supporting their congregation financially as they grow.

U.S. Americans love war imagery. True, we don’t all love war, but even our anti-war protests use combative language and often turn violent themselves. St. Paul recognizes that war will likely be at the forefront of international consciousness in the future, and so uses the metaphor of warfare todescribe the spiritual context between good and evil that rages inside of every person.

We abuse our families most. Whether that’s because we’re overly familiar with them and take them for granted, or because our families give us the most frequent opportunities to show our true colors–it always seems like issues pertaining to families are the ones that ought to cause us the most embarrassment. Today we’ll check out how Paul views family dynamics and their importance in relationship to the Kingdom of God.

It’s hard to find your way home in the middle of the night, but in the middle of the day the way becomes so much clearer. The Apostle Paul uses this metaphor to describe how we live–whether that’s in the darkness of our ignorance, or in the light of God’s wisdom. Today we’ll examine what it means to live in the light as exemplified by our speech, our behavior, and our affections.

People love to imitate other people–rock stars, movie stars, heroes and rebels–but that imitation often leaves us isolated from reality and from other people (after all, it’s hard to think of an example of a rock star or a rebel whose life is full of healthy and meaningful interpersonal relationships). The Imitation of Christ does exactly the opposite–full of Christ, we find meaning in engaging one another. No more pretense, no more lies or wannabees–in Christ, we all find our connection in one another.

Immaturity is exhausting. Being around someone who acts like a child is one of the most trying experiences for anybody, and the Apostle Paul takes great pain in this text to show us that God expects more from us than spiritual nursery rhymes and petty arguments. If, indeed, His blood flows through us then we have a mandate for growing up “healthy in God and robust in love.”

The Mystery of Christ is the unity of the Church. There–I said it. It took God almost 6,000 years of recorded history to lay that plan out for us all to see, and it only took me 10 words to wreck the surprise and reduce that mystery to a slogan. Thankfully, there’s more to it than that, and we’ll spend today looking a little deeper at the mystery revealed in scripture.

It’s nice to know where you came from, and–in these early chapters–Paul gives us our spiritual heritage. He lets us into the mystery of how much we owe and to Whom.

ORGANIC UNITY
What we know about God and what we do for God have a way of getting broken apart in our lives. At the moment the organic unity of belief and behavior is damaged in any way, we are incapable of living out the full humanity for which we were created. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians joins together what has been torn apart in our sin-wrecked world. He “sets” our belief in God into our behavior before God so that the bones–belief and behavior–knit together and heal. Now that we know that the energy of reconciliation is the heart of the universe, it is imperative that we join in vigorously to bring everything together and summed up in God. Ephesians describes a long-range plan to do just that.
(write up adapted from the introduction to Ephesians by Eugene Peterson for The Message)

The popular emphasis on church growth, marketing, and entrepreneurial leadership within churches ought to warn us that the Church in North America is feeling a little uneasy. More than uneasy, we are actually starting to feel marginalized and are using these common means as something to “bring our sexy back.” Yet, certainly God is calling us to more than just handing out plastic guarantees of a happy-go-lucky life. Today, we’ll take some time and talk about the kind of life that actually is promised when we refuse to sacrifice theological reflection on the altar of self-help spirituality.

Rites of Passage are potent experiences in pre-industrialized countries. They are things like coming-of-age moments, designed to teach people about who they really are. At Westwinds, we see Rites of Passage as rituals through which we are detached from our old lives. Once separated, we spend time being transformed. The conclusion of the “rite” is the reintroduction into our old lives as our new selves.

There are times in life when we begin to realize that we simply must do something different–we cannot continue to live this way. There are other times in life when someone else makes that decision for us – either through divorce or separation, dismissal from work, or interpersonal isolation. Today we’ll talk about what happens next.

Despite his proclamation that the temple would be destroyed and then rebuilt in three days, nobody really expected Jesus to come back from the dead. Likewise, nobody really gets what that must have meant to the faithful followers of the two-day-dead Jesus. Even George Romero would’ve been hard pressed to know in advance what Jesus would be like after death.

So what would he have been like? Did his experiences of after-death change him? Was he still the same Jesus? Or, is this the new Jesus?

For us, Easter is the proof within the pudding of Christian spirituality. It is the “so, there” of eight millennia of Judeo-Christian theology. It is the promise God has kept, and the promise God has made for tomorrow.