To me Church is…

To me Church is like a Wedding, a Memorial and a Grand Opening, it’s like a party,

like a neighbor welcoming you in for cookies (fresh baked) and like a playground for children. It should feel like a space that can be sacred and quiet and joyful noise-y.

Church should feel like there is no “right” way to behave, just respect, love and mutual upbuilding. It should feel like a place to ask questions, to stumble and fall (figuratively and literally). It should feel active, alive and full of stories. It should feel imperfect and incomplete (because we all are), it should be rich in tradition yet lacking in all stuffiness. To me church’s should feel more like AA, College Ministries and

Children’s Museums. It should feel like birthdays and Christmases, Yoga and Meditation, Gardens and Sunsets. It should be full of music and laughter, whispers and wahoos, hugs and kisses. Every single door of the church should be wide open, it should be advertised on craigslist and facebook, there should be huge signs welcoming everyone thru the door, and it should be as easy for crawling babies to find a comfortable spot as those in wheelchairs or who have to pace constantly.

It should be a place to find surrogate grandparents, helpful aunts and uncles and annoying brothers and sisters….It should be a place where interruptions are welcome, surprises are a good thing and change is associated with growth! Church should be Home; at least that’s what it is for me.

Is the Holy Spirit Spiral Shaped?

Holy Spirit, breathe into us your light, your life, stir up hope in us. We confess that we go in circles, trying to find our own way to God, help us to ask for directions, move us on the path towards you Lord, God. Lead us into a spiral, instead of in circles! we pray this in your most Holy Name. Amen

Once Upon a Time: there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. (John 1:1-3) Before creation, there was chaotic nothingness, an empty mess, energy without form. God Took in a deep breath, and let it all out

And Said, Light, let there be Light

And God saw that it was Good.

Then God took the light and separated it from the Dark. Separate, the light shone within the darkness, and because they were now separate, the light could not overcome the darkness (John 1:1-5)….

And God came up with names: the light is Day, the Darkness is Night.

Then Evening Came, followed by a new morning, and so that had to have been the 1^st day…

Then God said, “Let me separate the waters from the waters….and God did this by taking a deep breath, and then blowing a bubble, so that there was water above the bubble and water below the bubble but space inbetween,

and it is in this inbetween space that we love, how many of us our living in-between in some way? Truly, here we live between the waters, and by through and in God’s love, we love. We live in the space between the waters, knowing many waters cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it. (Sol. 8:7)

Then Evening Came, followed by a new morning, and so that had to have been the 2^nd day…

And God said “hmmm, I will gather the waters together, in one place, and let dry land appear.” And it was so.

God named the dry land, earth, and he named the gathered waters seas.

And God saw that it was Good.

Then God said, “Earth, you can make food: shh….plants, you can each hide seeds, and Trees can make ALL KINDS OF FRUIT (and it will be delicious) ssshhhhh! And the fruit can also have fruit.

And it was so

The earth became full of food, the plants each multiplied themselves by twenty, thirty and a hundredfold.

And God saw it (tasted, no wait) was Good

Then Evening Came, followed by a new morning, and so that had to have been the 3rd day…

And then God knew that light must always shine, so he made lights for the daytime and lights for the night time. Ones that can turn with the seasons—for though I am the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8) these can be signs: signs of the seasons, signs of days, and signs of the years. And then God made two shining lights, the greater to keep the day, and the lesser to keep the night, and the stars.

And God saw it was good.

Then Evening Came, followed by a new morning, and so that had to have been the 4^th day…

Then God said, let there be living creatures in the waters of the sea and the waters of the sky: fill it with schools, gaggles and groups and God made multitudes of creatures fish and flocks of birds could zoom across the sky!

So God created Sea Monsters, and creatures to move together, of every kind, teaming the waters and spreading across the very sky.

And God saw it was good.

And, they were so Good that God’s next words spilled out not as a creation, but as a blessing—Go and be fruitful! Join me in creation! Help me to fill the waters, the seas, up until the sky is overflowing with life. Blessings be on those who live, for they have the power to give life!

Then Evening Came, followed by a new morning, and so that had to have been the 5^th day…

And God said, now to the earth—I want there to be countless variations of life—from those who stampede, to the creeping and crawling creatures. Let there be wild animals all over earth!

And it was so.

And God saw it was Good

And so full of life was God, that God knew what to do next, and drawing in a deep breath, God spoke words that rang with the fullness of God’s being.

“Hmm….let us create something in our image, something that shares our likeness. They can be the keepers the fish of the sea, the keepers of the birds of the air, keepers of the tamed cattle, keepers of wild things on the earth the keepers of every creepy thing that creeps on the earth.

So God created earthcreatures/humans in God’s own image. In the image of God, God created male, and in God’s image God created female. Male and female, God created them.

Again, God’s voice rang out as a blessing over those beings he had just bespoke. Blessing them, God said “Be fruitful and multiply, Fill the earth and subdue it (with love). And have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

Then God said… “Look! I have given you all the seeds that grow upon the face of the earth, and every tree with seeds in its fruit…You shall have them all for food! And every beast of the earth, every bird of the sky, and everything that creeps upon the earth, Everything that has my breath of life (Genesis 2:7), everything that I have blown my spirit into—for I have attached the sinews, put meats on the bones, covered them with skin, and breathed the breath of life, and all creatures have come alive and realize I am God (Ez. 37:5-7). Everything that has the breath of life, I have given, every green plant is yours for food.

And it was so

God saw everything God had created,

And God saw it was Good Indeed!

Then Evening Came, followed by a new morning, and so that had to have been the 6^th day…

Heavens and earth were finished, and

And on the 7^th day, when God finished his handiwork, and he rested.

So God spoke, blessing the 7^th day, on which he did not work, and he hallowed it. The 7th day is a blessing for stillness, rest and creativity. The 7th day was made a day of Sabbath. On the 7th day we practice what all who has breath should know: Be still and know that I am God! (Ps. 46:10)

Because on the 7^th day God rested from the work he had done in creation

These are the accounts of the heavens and the earth, when they were created, In the day that the Lord made heaven and earth!!

All things came into being through God, and without God not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in God was life, and the life was the light of all people. (John 1:3-5)

Why?

Because it through our Creation, we Learn about our end. Its through knowing God better, we learn about our true being. God is the beginning and the end, and God began life with Words of Love and through a filling of the void. Though we live inbetween–After God Breathed out the world, and after God Breathed Jesus back in to himself, but before God breathed his entire being into the world. Giving us space to be, space to live, love and breathe, space to become Co-creators with God, discovering and naming the world. We live inbetween, but we know the beginning, and we know the end….it is full of God’s breath, full of the life and light of the world, it is full of love. We are to fill and subdue the world, not with our own ordering and control, but with life! Fill the world with life, light, breath and love! Know God, know ourselves and know the Alpha and the Omega. Pray for the end of the world, pray for the fullness of time, pray for “God’s Kingdom to Come” and rejoice in what is promised to us then.

‘You know those…

‘You know those moments when you are fully aware of God? That nanosecond-to-a-second fullness of time where you and the universe in it are connected and the beauty of the divine exists? Since we are only human we can only take in that immenseness for a moment in time, but that is part of why we are in a community of faith instead of just living as individual believers!’

A Pastor Katy Theological Apostrophe hehehe

Smee “I think I’ve had an Apostrophe”

Hook “I think you mean an Epiphany”

Smee “LIghting, just struck my brain”

Hook “That must have hurt”

When do you Experience God repost

Reblogged from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2013/07/where-do-you-experience-god-well-answer-me/

(Studies say that what conservative churches have over mainline is that we are not good about directly testifying about who God is in our lives)

Where do you experience God? Well, answer me.

July 28, 2013 By Peter Enns Leave a Comment

I actually did this. All by myself. Quartered and stacked. Three rows deep. I did this.

I had lunch a while back with two friends visiting the area, home for a few weeks from their normal lives in Kenya.

In the course of conversation, one of them asked me, “Where do you experience God?”

My inner recovering Calvinist quickly surfaces and I think to myself,

“Mind your own business. And another thing, we don’t ‘experience’ God. We read about him and formulate thoughts about him. When we do experience God, it may be in a harshly worded book review, perhaps a knock-down-drag-out doctrinal debate in a session meeting, or, as in the good old days, some form of physical punishment.”

All partial kidding aside, my own experience in various expressions of conservative Christianity has not set me up to answer easily my friend’s question. The theology of immediate retribution on Chronicles, sure. Got that one covered. But not this one.

Which is a shame. I actually had trouble saying where I experience God. That bothers me.

I was taught–implicitly and explicitly–that the experience of God is something that…well…it’s good if you can get it, but don’t go looking for it. After all, experience is subjective and potentially misleading. Best to get your theology in order and leave subjective experience to the Charismatics.

I’ve been thinking a lot of about this over the last few years, and my friend’s question pushed me further along:

Experiencing God is the point.

I know some of you may wonder why I even need to write this, but:

Without the experience of God, what use is all our cogitating? What good does it to to reduce God to having either the right thoughts neatly arranged, or busying ourselves with the “work of the Gospel” when immediacy with God is not part of the package?

A life dominated by worry, fear, anger, etc.,–which commonly accompany the life of the mind–is a life where the experience of God is a theory, not a reality.

So, back to my friend’s intrusive question. I wanted to say–just to get her off my back–”in church” but (1) that’s not true, and (2) she knows I know it’s not true.

So, I think I said, “I don’t know. Give me a hint.”

Here the part of Pete is being played by an actor. Also, my trim is barn red.

She encouraged me to sense God’s presence by being open to God while doing those things that jazz me. I mentioned that I sometimes get very antsy while writing, and I feel I just have to go outside and stack firewood or paint trim for a couple of hours.

She suggested that was a clue about the kind of person I am and how I actually already do experience God along paths I don’t normally think about. I need to learn to keep my eyes and ears open.

I was taught from early on to experience God in reading the Bible, prayer, evangelism, and church. Maybe an occasional feed the hungry weekend.

Or a miracle in your life. Miracles are good.

My friend, however, was reminding me that God is bigger and more pervasive in his creation than these formulas. Is this too radical to consider–that perhaps God may be present in our lives in all sorts of “unconventional” ways; and what jazzes me may be telling me when those experiences are happening?

I am a “physical” person. I used to be an active athlete; I do a lot of work on our house; I still exercise; and I am fidgety–boy, am I fidgety. My friend pointed out that I even tend to express myself using “physical” vocabulary–”no need to jump off a cliff about it” is preferred to “no need to be so concerned.”

So, as I’m stacking wood or painting trim (or rebuilding rotted trim so I can paint it), I should learn to be mindful of what is going on inside of me those moments and ask God, “Where are you right here and now?”

Or maybe better, “How are you here right now?”

No bright lights of God’s brilliant presence–at least I hope not as I’m 20′ up a ladder–but perhaps deeper and more…soothing, peaceful. I don’t know. I’m new at this. Give me a break.

I am so used to accessing a far-off God through my mind, through words. Rather than me calling the shots, maybe I can cultivate a patient discipline of seeing other, less controllable, ways in which God is already part of my experience.

I’m sure I’m doing a rotten job explaining all this, but I’m fine with that. I do wish, though, that I would have been taught some of these things during my formative Christian years–especially in seminary.

On the other hand, it’s not like I can’t learn some new things and keep moving along on the journey.

I’m fine with that, too. And I believe, so is God.”

Yesterday’s Lec…

Yesterday’s Lectionary Text, when Jesus quiets the storm, is one of my favorites. What happens is there is a big storm going on, the disciples start to storm with it. And Jesus tells everyone *not just the storm, but the disciples too* to sit down and shut up–and to focus on the right things (ie don’t panic about the storm, look to God to walk with you during it). This is why the best thing to do during an argument is to stop everything and pray so we are less focused on our opinions and more focussed on God.

Mark 4: 35-41

Jesus’ primary message was NOT, “Try harder; the kingdom of God is here.”

https://katyandtheword.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/church-is-not-about-belief-in-jesus/ Exactly the kind of theological thoughts that I refer to in my post about Jesus, belief and how Christianity is doing it backwards.

Here is an interesting theology that is truly a new trend.

We can see it reflected in Fantasy (which I think is primary a mirror of spirituality in the world)

Narnia, Tolkien’s elves, Oz, etc. posited that technology and progress was “taking over” and “obliterating” magic, and so magic had to be hidden and kept safe (this is also true in “Flight of Dragons!” love that movie)

Urban Fantasy (Charles de Lint and Neil Gaiman, etc) and Harry Potter signal a new thought which is that the magical/religious world is parallel to and layered with the “real” world, and once you discover it, you realize its been there all along….sounds like a conversion experience doesn’t it 🙂

I am living in parallel worlds, and I am a parallel girl…..hehehe

Jim Palmer writes “Jesus’ primary message was NOT, “Try harder; the kingdom of God is here.” Nor was it, “You have a lot of growing to do before you can ever expect to experience God’s kingdom.” Instead, Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is here.” The word “repent” (metanoia) means to change your mind or to see things in a way you have never seen them before.” This theology of the spiritual and physical world both paralleling and overlapping in such a way that your eyes are opened to them is exactly the turn fantasy has been taking recently.

HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

Jim Palmer

The language of transformation often works against us. We sometimes speak of “spiritual growth.” The idea of “growth” implies that spirituality is a process of stages in which we make improvements or progress toward becoming something more or different than what we are right now. Consider the possibility that you were born out of the image, likeness and being of God. The image, likeness and being of God is the underlying, unchanging, and fundamental essence of who you are. The truth is that there is nothing wrong with you the way you are. You cannot be improved upon, and there is never any diminishment of who you are. There is nothing more secure than your true Self and it is never threatened.

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WHy Church is not about Belief in JESUS!!!!

Every time we talk about belief in the Bible, the word is actually faith.

WAHOO! LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN: religion is about belief, whereas it should be (and spirituality really is about) faith.

For a handy chart with some scripture click here

Here is the deal

Beliefs are the limit of human capabilities, they allow us to stretch. Knowledge takes us only so far, beliefs are what we can do beyond knowledge

Faith is letting go to what we know or even believe, and letting the fullness of God to enter our lives. It is beginning to understand that God is beyond our ken, and there is something we live in

Belief is individual, its something you say to define who you are. These is why beliefs are so hard to change, because they are about who you are, and you have reasons for the beliefs you hold. A person (like your spouse or sibling) has a set of beliefs oftentimes they are not e–zzzzactllllyyyy the same as what you believe. Beliefs are a part of who you are. This is why people (and groups, like Presbyterians) have a set of beliefs.

Faith is communal, its about what holds people together. Its often more about the gaps and differences rather than similarities. Faith is what allows you to not know everything, its about practicing the give and take of beliefs. If you don’t have the energy or the wherewithal to believe or trust in something, you can come to a group where others can do what you can’t. When people ask Why do you go to church? Can’t I just believe what I want to at home? I completely agree…one can be spiritual, disciplined and have beliefs on one’s own. And these beliefs are important. BUT, faith is a community that allows for a deeper exploration that isn’t only about what we believe.

Beliefs are tenants that we hang onto. The structures by which we understand the world. As much as they are about who we are, they also are about how we relate to the world and what is important to us. They are the structure on which we hang our hats (philosophers are GREAT at this). Beliefs are something to hang onto.

Faith is a seed–its a small beginning of who we are that we allow to grow. Although it starts out with who we are, its more flexible, not defining our world but instead is something we can come home to (Chart), somewhere to live in the world of different beliefs. Faith holds onto us when we are lost, its what comes and looks for us when we can’t find our way back–Prodigal son, lost coin, lost sheep.

There is nothing wrong with beliefs, I think they are great…they help us to define our world and to express who we are….there are places for beliefs in Christianity–they tend to be during the time of confession, when we say who we are, what we believe first together as a particular church and then silently as individuals. Beliefs are wonderful.

Faith is different that belief though, and in all the places (except in 1st Timothy) what we define as belief is actually faith: epistw (pronounced epistu) .

(Probably because the disciples continue to say they have unfaith, which isn’t a word for us but disbelief is….ah, the logistics of language LOL). Many, many times the disciples and followers of Christ confess that they do not have enough faith…they ask for Christ to help it to grow.

Belief is about telling our own story—telling who we are and why we are that way and what we believe

Faith is about a way of life, a way of faith, hope and trust in the Lord that is beyond us without God’s help. Faith is something we CAN’T hang onto by ourselves, its too big for us to understand. Its like when Peter walks across water, one minute he has faith–the fullness of God in him, and then it becomes too much and he has to let go and thus starts to sink. These moments are flashes, pieces where we connect via community and God to the fullness of life.

Ex:

Luke 17:3b-6

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them. The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

Note, the problem isn’t that the disciples don’t believe in forgiveness, no doubt they do. They just don’t necessarily have the capabilities to do that much forgiveness all the time, so they need more faith (more trust/hope/love from God) in order to be able to live a life of faith.

In Conclusion: Spiritual but not Religious …the church is doing it backwards Christians such as Peter Rollins, Jay Bakker and Jim Palmer deal with the problem of belief and doubt. They say that doubt isn’t counter to belief, its a part of it. I would dig deeper as say that both belief and doubt are a part of the richer, communal and God-intiated (and gift of) faith. (Faith Hope and Love, hence why LOVE is the most important, its about how you live things out, not what you believe)

The Church shouldn’t be a place of tenants and beliefs, it should be a community of questions and faith. The church should be a place for unbelievers to gather (the drunks, the prostitutes and the lepers should be taxi-ed in!)

•Ever notice that Jesus doesn’t go around touted his beliefs. Instead he ask people what they believe (or don’t believe) and then meets them there! (up a tree, by a well, at a stoning, on a cross)…The disciples certainly don’t always retain their trust in God. But, Christ doesn’t ask what people’s beliefs are before them, instead he works to increase their faith. And when people ask Jesus questions, he doesn’t tell them what they should believe, instead he asks them a question in return.

Essentially this scenario takes place over and over, the penultimate being the interchange with Pilate (Katy’s interpretation of events to follow)

Pilate: Who are you?

Jesus: Who do you believe I am?

Pilate: Are you the King of the Jews?

Jesus: So you say…

Pilate: You are the savior?

Jesus: If you think so….

Pilate: Just answer me, are you the King or aren’t you?

Jesus: You say I am, and all these people say I am, I don’t claim to be the King of the Jews, however, I will say this. Even if everyone stopped calling me the King, then the very rocks would say that’s who I am…just saying………

Note: not putting beliefs on others, just a discussion about where the community of faith was….that should be how the church exists!!!!!!

This is the call of the church, we are called not to a set of beliefs (that’s law people) but the gift of faith (YAY for saved by grace not works)……

I don’t know what I believe…but I do have a little faith!

For God so loved the world that whoever has (even a little) faith into him shall never die, but have eternal life

4 Things Millenanial/Youngish Christians Could do like no other

1. Recommend Reading Material. We all know that Christian literature can run the gambit from great to sappy. The question is, what are Christians reading that they find relevant? (I personally think Fantasy should be included ALL the TIME) Discuss.

2. Start rating Apps, recommending websites, etc. 7% of Christianity is under the age of 40. Hence media gap. Hence, great resources like the Daily Prayer App. What is daily prayer? How about the app? How is it different from the book? Why pick the PCUSA one? So far this app is a VERY insider thing. You don’t know about it unless you already know and love the Book of Common Worship…not good evangelism. Plus it would be good to have some feedback on what makes a good Christian app and what doesn’t (just saying). If you are interested look at the app here if you have it…please review it…or any other Christian media resource.

3. What do you wish Christianity addressed? Your young, your Christian…or spiritual and are looking for resources. What do you wish church’s had? Personally I would like a non-conservative Christian Parenting group, or a worship that was TRULY family oriented or a way to gather and discuss TED talks. All of these things would be awesome for me, how about you?

4. Environmentalism/Social Justice and Church–>Big Ticket issues are important, so important churches often don’t think they can handle dealing with them. But I think that the more we do, the better Kingdom Keepers we will be….discuss…..

Mighty God, giv…

Mighty God, give us loving hearts, so that they might become a garden. Root us in loving thoughts, so that we might blossom with the good work that is the fruit of your love. We pray this in Holy Jesus’ name. Amen.

A grace not works prayer

Tag: Love