QotW

Several "Quotes of the week" that I really like

first from U2's new CD No Line ON The Horizon

I can stand up for hope, faith, love
But while I’m getting over certainty
Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady

Out from under your beds
C’mon ye people
Stand up for your love

Love love love love love…

I gotta stand up to ego but my ego’s not really the enemy
It’s like a small child crossing an eight lane highway
On a voyage of discovery

Also:

Its not if I believe in love
If love believes in me

And from John Philip Newell

I do not believe that the gospel, which literally means "good news," is given to tell us that we have failed or been false. That is not news, and it is not good. We already know much of that about ourselves. We know we have been false, even to those whom we most love in our lives and would most want to be true to. We know we have failed people and whole nations throughout the world today, who are suffering or who are subjected to terrible injustices that we could do more to prevent. So the gospel is not given to tell us what we already know.

Rather, the gospel is given to tell us what we do not know or what we have forgotten, and that is who we are, sons and daughters of the One from whom all things come. It is when we begin to remember who we are, and who all people truly are, that we will begin to remember also what we should be doing and how we should be relating to one another as individuals and as nations and as an entire earth community."

(This came from a response to Tony Jones' Blog Post)

Just some thoughts to think about!

Exploring Framing Stories(Part 1): What Are They?

As a photographer, one thing that you consider when taking a picture is what's called framing.  Framing Is deciding how to take the picture that best tells the story that you want to tell.  The picture here is one that I snapped while kayaking down the Colorado River on the Nevada boarder.  I decided that I wanted to capture the landscape and water, but I also wanted to frame the picture so that it told the story that we were kayaking in the middle of the beauty.  I also wanted it to tell the story that I was not alone, so I snuggled my kayak up next to my wife's (as close as we could get) to try and show the beauty and intimacy of our trip.  In other words, the story that I wanted to tell in the framing was that my wife and I were sharing in this beautiful experience in nature.  I know that myself and my wife are outside of the frame, but that is on purpose.  Framing stories don't always give away the full details at first glance.  

My Bible Study Group has been reading Brian McLaren's Everything Must Change on Sunday Nights and discussing it.  I have gotten far more out of the book this second time of reading because of 1) paying more attention to the details, and 2) because of the wonderfully insightful comments that have come from members of our group.  

One thing we talked about last night was the idea of the Framing Story: The story that informs how we understand and interpret life, culture, and religion.  Just like the picture analogy, the way that our story is framed and focused determines how we act and react to the world.  McLaren uses an example of 2 different religious/Christian framing stories.  

Conventional Framing Story: This says that basically we are all a sinful product of the choice of our Adam and Eve ancestors, and that we are all doomed to eternal punishment in hell because of this "original sin" and our "sinful nature".  Therefore, Jesus came to save our souls from hell and give our undeserving selves a chance to go to heaven because he took the place for us on the cross and through his resurrection and defeat of death.  However, this "grace", although offered to all, is only given to those who fall into the "selected category" (this is both the Calvinist view of predestination, and the view that only those who become a part of the selected religion, "Christianity").  "This is the Good News" 

In this framing story, the purpose of Christ was to "solve the problem of original sin, meaning that he helps qualified individuals not be sent to hell for their sin or imperfection.  In a sense, Jesus saves people...from the righteous wrath of God, which sinful human beings deserve because they have not perfectly fulfilled God's just expectations, expressed in God's moral laws.... Those who receive [offered grace] enjoy a personal relationship with God and seeks to serve and obey God, which produces a happier life on Earth and more rewards in Heaven".  (EMC pg. 78-79)

Emerging Framing Story: God created the world as good, but human beings have rebelled against God--both as individuals and groups-- and filled the world with evil and injustice.  God wants to heal humanity and the world from its sickness.  Left alone, humanity would spiral downward in this sickness and evil.  

Jesus came to address the question, "What must be done about the mess we're in?"  This question refers to the general state of the world as well as the specific context of "his contemporaries" living under domination of the Roman empire and the need for liberation.  

"Jesus' response to this says, 'I have been sent by God with this good news--that God loves humanity, even in its lostness,...God graciously invites any and all to turn from his or her current path and follow a new way.  ...You will be transformed, and you will participate in the transformation of the world, which is possible, beginning right now.' This is the good news. Jesus came to be the saviour of the world, meaning he came to save the earth and all it contains from its ongoing destruction because of [humanity]."(EMC pg. 78-80).

As part of his transforming community, we can experience liberation and participate in the liberation of others.  We can be partners in God's "global transformation and liberation," as well as deliverers of hope and justice.  

_--__--_-_

So here we are with 2 Christian Framing Stories.  It's kind-of like the picture.  I have other pictures taken where I zoomed in on the landscape.  The story that those frames tell is that I saw a canyon with  river.  But when I zoomed out and reframed the picture into its original context, we find that there is far more to the story than a pretty landscape.  We see a narrative form that involves a more accurate perspective: that we were actually floating on that pretty river between the canyon walls, which is a completely different experience altogether!

This is the same with looking at these different framing stories.  Many people are forsaking religion and church because they are working out of a different framing story than the conventional one put forward by our religion.  One that perhaps has zoomed in way too tightly in it's focus so that we've only been focusing on a portion of the picture.  Framing Stories are important, and I want to focus more on that in a second post.  

For right now, what do you think about "framing stories"?  What are other framing stories that you see or have experienced?  What does it mean when we are working with multiple framing stories under the same religion?   Where does this mean we go from here?

I know this is 101 for many people, but I am finding more and more people that need to hear this because they haven't heard it before.  I'll speak more about that in my second post.  

Your thoughts!

(Photo by Justin Bowman)

Blogging WIth Pictures

Check out my new Photoblog: IMAGinE Photography

I will post pictures that I take and sometimes talk about them. I sometimes will just post them to see what thoughts and feelings it might invoke in others.

Check it out and let me know your thoughts!

j

World AIDS Day

(The Whitehouse raising awareness on World AIDS Day!)


Click to see how you can make a difference: ONE

Heavenly Motivation

This post is inspired by several things: ongoing thoughts and discussions I've been having, track #3 on Brett Dennen's newest CD, A book I've begun reading to review for The Ooze, and the teaching/video from church this morning (Listen Here).

I've grown up with the idea that Eternal Life, and the cross+resurrection was the FULL motivation and message of Christ's time on earth. When immersed in Conservative evangelical thinking growing up (not picking, just an observation), it seems that the focus is, as Rob Bell puts it in a recent interview, "focusing on only the last few chapters of the story." It seems that it is easy when focused SOOOO much on the Eternal Life angle, one forgets that there is more to the story of Jesus and God that precedes the "Easter Story".

Wade Bradshaw (in the book above) promotes that Heaven is the motivation for Christian living. He's not the first to mention this. I've heard countless sermons talking about how eternal life in Heaven should make us live in a different way. However, I don't think I completely agree with that. Is the hope of Heaven supposed to be our motivation? When Christ talks about the Kingdom of God and eternal life, was he trying to use that hope to motivate people to live in a correct way? Perhaps the answer to this is both, "yes" and "no", or simply "it depends".

Here's where my thoughts have gone of late. What if we took away the cross from the story of Christ? What if we took Eternal Life off of the table all together? Would there be anything left life changing? Would there be any reason left to follow Christ or to choose to worship God?

Would Jesus still be "worth" following?

Now look at how we think...the idea that Jesus has worth or value usually comes to most of us because we believe and are grateful for what God has DONE for us. It isn't because God is God, but because God gives us ______. I think of the phrase, "God has delivered me". Sounds like some sort of package or exchange; like, "I'll worship you God in exchange of your giving of _____."

That just doesn't seem to be how it should be. See, Jews worshiped God long before Jesus and the Cross came along. They simply thought that God was WORTHY of worship. The disciples followed Christ without the promise of eternal life up front. There was something about following Christ that offered a better life in general. It's almost like he wasn't GIVING us something, rather it's as if he was unlocking the potential within us. The potential to live a better life, to build the Kingdom of God on Earth, and to better the lives of others. Heaven, whatever that is to each of us, was just icing on the cake so to speak. I don't think it was meant to be a motivator, rather a support. Hope gives us support in the hard and tough times in our lives. Yes, hope can motivate, but I'm not convinced that this was the main purpose of Heaven. I've seen many people in the hospital utilize hope, but it, more often than not, brings them peace rather than motivation. Actually following that logic, after hearing some of the stories I have heard by a hospital bedside, the hope of Heaven as a motivator would not encourage them to cling to life or to fight in order to keep living. Although it can motivate, I don't think that it is the reason for hope. Heaven and eternal life is NOT the primary motivator, rather, wanting to live a life of contentment, purpose, and calling should be.

I think that's one reason that I talk to many evangelicals who could care less about ending world poverty, fighting diseases like AIDS, and taking care of the environment. When you think that the point of Christ/God's message is the cross, heaven, and the return of Christ to, "make a new heaven and a new earth," then why worry about those passing issues. The focus of life for so many who obsess on the "last couple of chapters" is DEATH! Death to get to the afterlife and "converting" others to think this same way is the way to live life? That just seems a little off compared to the full story of God and Christ.

If Christ came to give life and hope...then perhaps we should not be focusing so much on the afterlife, but the path in front of us that journeys through the present life.

(photo, "Road to heaven" by john @ lightproofbox)

Wordplay

This pic/ word-art is a result of a my friend and I playing around on the magnetic board in the Spiritual Care Dept. @ WakeMed. We were just goofing off and all of the sudden something profound appeared in front of us.

We talked about how it can mean different things for different people, but it actually has two meanings for me. One is from what I've discovered about myself during my CPE time, and another about what I've encountered while working with people at the hospital.

Mark Liked the word "Serenity" better than "Compassion" because that was what spoke to his life more.

What about you. Does this have any meaning to you? Any other word you would (re)place in this wordplay?

Also check out some Wordles I've made at the bottom of my column on the right.

In The Midst Of Suffering (A Prayer)

Photo by: Justin Bowman

I heard a prayer today. I'm not being condescending towards this person, it's just that a word stood out in that person's prayer today that struck me as something that I've heard said all of my life, yet didn't listen to and think about until now.

The prayer:
Help us to learn to worship you regardless of what's going on in our lives.

That one word stuck out like bold print on a white background:) I thought about what this was truly communicating (although to be fair, I'm not sure that what was said was what was meant... sometimes people aren't as cognitive of words and meaning as we should be). To be clear, I know the person meant well in his prayer.

REGARDLESS: (Wiktionary)
1) Having no regard
2) Actioned in a way which shows no consideration for a subject or the status of a situation.
3) Paying no attention to.

I think God has consideration towards the things in our lives. I don't think it is realistic to have no regard towards the things weighing on your life... in fact, I my personal belief is that God wants us to see him in the midst of all aspects of our lives (positive and negative).

I think that there is a lot of dualistic mentality about worship. Like I said, I'm not sure that this is what this person was ACTUALLY trying to say, but I HAVE heard people pray and say things about leaving what's bothering us outside the door in order for us to be able to worship. Does life/reality keep us from worshipping? Do we need to check reality/our lives at the door in order to "learn to worship"?

I think what the person meant to say (in the context of the theme/topic for today) was something like this:

Help us to learn to worship you even in the midst of the things going on in our lives.
or
Teach us to how to find/practice worship in all things in our lives.

I think that this is a more Biblical and practical goal.... but a MUCH harder thing to learn and put into practice. We shouldn't, and CAN'T put aside what's going on in our own lives in order to "do worship", since worship isn't an event but the attitude in which we approach life. Therefore, the REAL challenge is bringing worship into the situations in which we find ourselves each day.