The Gospel

A man in the back of a tram, it wasn't clear where he was headed. He was there when I got in and when I got out. He looked like any other guy on the tram, maybe a tourist. A woman got on; at first they seemed to know each other as she walked towards him and sat down on the seat beside him. Not a word was spoken however, as he pulled something out of the bag he had around his shoulder and handed it to her. It caught my attention so I strained to see what it was he shared. It was a tract, it had the Christian fish symbol on it and some words about the history of this little fish. The woman looked at it, opened it up and surveyed its content. The man looked away. A few minutes later the woman put the tract in her purse, got up and got out of the tram. She didn't acknowledge the man, and the man didn't acknowledge her. The entire interaction lasted no more than 5 minutes. Not a word was spoken, but everyone seemed to understand what had just happened. A seed was sown....

....at least in my heart there was.

"How many of us have learned too late that our initial idea, that by serving the world we will bring God to others, has eclipsed the wisdom that in serving the world we find God there. " - Pete Rollins

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Ambiguity

The other day I had a conversation with a friend about ambiguity. The issue we were discussing was how the church can deal with ambiguity, meaning the unknown. It is my opinion that people  come to church because they want answers to their questions, to feel secure and safe and to experience community with like-minded people. That's why, in my opinion, we have so many churches. Rather than incorporating other opinions into the community, they are pushed out forming their own group with like-minded people.
In our discussion about how a church can develop into a breeding ground of all kinds of people, where everyone feels safe to express who they are, how they feel and what they think, I posed the question about my own ambiguity: how do I deal with mixed thoughts and emotions within myself. Once I figure that out, I can relate to others in the same way.
I have been thinking about that and the truth is that I am OK with not knowing. I'm OK with not knowing whether the Bible is all true, or partly fictional. I'm OK not knowing whether only Christians go to heaven or others as well, or everyone for that matter. I'm OK not knowing whether God is a man, a woman or both. There are plenty more of these issues, and it's OK. Some things I have figured out for myself, some I hopefully will someday, and some might be mysteries forever. All I know is that God is bigger than we can imagine. Our imagination, our picture of who God is, is not God, it's a picture. Jesus used many stories to explain aspects of God. These stories are not God, they are stories.
I think it's easier to worship a God I don't understand. The less I understand about who He is, the bigger he becomes. Pictures of God as a Friend, a Father, a King, or a Judge, are all aspects of who God is, but they are not God. He is who He is. Can't get much more mysterious than that.
The community of believers would be best served if we go on this journey together, finding each other rather than pushing each other away, celebrating our differences, trying to understand  rather than convince each other. Celebrating ambiguity, rather than pushing it out.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Check your life at the door...

I wrote this after one particular church service where the opportunities of community were missed for the sake of program.

Check your life at the door

I walked in…

It was a place of beauty.

People loved and were loved and for an hour or so shared their lives. Their hopes, their dreams, faith and doubt…

…and Peace; Peace was the word for the day.

Parents lit a candle symbolizing Peace. Parents, whose son is fighting a war, lit a candle of peace; the irony of life.
And people stood around them, and prayed for them and for all the parents and sons and daughters fighting wars; and we prayed for Peace, Peace in their hearts, Peace on earth…

…and we sang songs of the Prince of Peace and celebrated His birth.

It was a place of beauty, people loved and were loved and shared their lives.

A man prayed, prayed for his son, soon to be baptized, he thanked God for the Peace he found and the Peace his son found and he prayed for the others. And we stood around when the son and the others shared their stories, shared their lives and for a moment we were one, and our stories intertwined. And then they were baptized and we celebrated with the sons and with the parents.

It was a place of beauty, people loved and were loved and shared their lives.

And the pastor spoke, and shared of his life, of the wars he fought, the victory and the defeat, and the Peace he found; and hearts were encouraged, legs were
strengthened, minds were put at ease…

It was a place of beauty, people loved and were loved and shared their lives.


I woke up from a deep sleep…

…I walked in…

…I checked my life at the door.

Faith for Monday

This is my attempt at starting a blog. Don't know what it's going to look like and what it's going to be about, we'll see how it develops. I have called it faith for monday because that's what has been on my mind and what I would like to explore. I have been in church all my life, but have sensed an increasing frustration with the disconnect between what happens in church on Sunday and what life looks like on Monday. I guess what I'm looking for is a faith that doesn't shy away from asking the difficult questions, without dismissing them with the 'easy' answers. A faith that is transforming lives and communities. Real people with real lives. What does that look like??