We used a reading from Brian Wlash this past (Palm) Sunday. He basically drew a picture of what the stones may have seen on that ‘Jesus’ parade into Jerusalem. Pretty Cool!
I got a chance to see Michael Frost (writer of Exiles and The Shaping of things to come) in Cobourg yesterday. Besides the great time I had with my brother who also attended, the day was quite refreshing. Michael seems to be very humble and sincere in his approach. He had lots to say about the churches intention to be missional. There were some great stories regarding his own experience of learning and leading.
Some of the things he touched on were…
- Mission is always based in community and should never be individually driven
- When moving towards a missional approach do all you can to stay connected to your local church…motivation should be people driven, not frustration driven
- We can’t rush God’s mission…it will unfold as we live life in Christ
- A leader’s life is watched…so live well (i.e. marriage, behaviour, service, commitments)
- Let Jesus be Jesus…don’t turn him into something we want, but follow him and preach him for who he was and is
- He also pushed NT Wright as someone to read…which is always a plus…
Pretty cool stuff. The reason he was in Cobourg was because the HUMANA conference in Miami was cancelled (I guess they figured the Super Bowl could mess things up)…so he came to Canada instead…only a 40 degree difference in temperature.
This conference was sponsored by NYFC (northumberland)!
Check out this recent article on Women taking the relational aspect of Jesus to a place the scripture never inteneded.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/december/17.56.html
I remember the church I used to attend singing songs like, “…let me know the kisses of your mouth, let me feel your embrace…” and thinking, you guys are a little over the edge. Jesus isn’t my wife he’s my leader, my Saviour & my God.
I was away with my wonderful family last week. No cable, No internet, No Phone…Just Family, a cottage and books.
I finished or read:
“Simply Christian” from NT Wright. I can’t get enought of this guy. This book is a concise understanding on what it means to be Christian. Beautifully written. It brings the reader back to basics that have been lost as well as opens us up to a fuller understanding of what God’s intentions are with humanity. My favourite phrases are: ‘…putting the world to rights’ & ‘…God’s space and our space converging…’. Very worth whatever price you pay.
“Night” from Elie Weisel. This book won him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. It is a diary of sorts about his Auschwitz experience. It’s a short but compelling book that opens ones eyes up to what happened. I couldn’t sleep the night I read the first half. The images were not leaving my mind. It’s amazing to see his response to GOD both during the story and then in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Both raw & sincere.
“Eat this Book” from Eugene Peterson. This is an exposition of John’s Revelation words from the Angel to ‘Eat the Scroll’, the bible. It reminds one of how far we’ve really moved from scripture in our life and the life of the church.
“The Rest of God” from Mark Buchanan. I only read part of this book and decided to put it back on the shelf for reference. I’ve come to realize that Mark is a hit and miss writer. His first book, “Your God is too Safe” is his best work by far. His second book on “Heaven” was not worth buying. His Third book, “The Holy Wild” was also good, and this last one is a stretch. It’s 200+ pages on understanding the Sabbath. He should have made this a 100 page book and it might have been better.
Just thought I’d let you on what I’ve been reading.
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