[ON the left] Just my adorable wife witting next to some strange brunette man - honey stay away from him please. [Right] Kristy Irons and Sean Calvillo - classic, uncomfortable and priceless... how awkward.
7.17.2006
Sweet Unspeakable Joy
[ON the left] Just my adorable wife witting next to some strange brunette man - honey stay away from him please. [Right] Kristy Irons and Sean Calvillo - classic, uncomfortable and priceless... how awkward.
Good Times
Had a great and relaxing weekend with my Joy, who has decided to make our home more domestic with sweet details and slight furniture rearrangements. We had the Kovacs wedding that I officiated on Saturday night at Meeshee's former place of business, the Surf & Sand in Laguna Beach. Awesome weather and very cool dinner. We got to reconnect with the Newlywed Schulte's and found out that they psychotically went down ski slopes in Whistler on Mountain Bikes! All I could think about was the Vorbaus [friends Alex and Kristin] "raspberries" from a spill on their honeymoon in Greece... thankfully, the Schulte's rode their brakes all the way down the mountain and no injuries to report.
To wrap up the weekend, we celebrated Kurian's 26th birthday by gathering at his favorite place in the world - the beach [Corona Del Mar]. Actually, he hates the beach but for some reason, we forced him to hang out there. We played beach bocce, ate smores, shared affirmations for the lil guy. The Irons', the Sogos, Meesh, Whit, Kristin, Huy.... a whole slew of college students and many others came to cheer on another year in the life of the infamous and tireless Kurian. Here is a group pict [thanks Sean] that sorta came out.
6.13.2006
He's Wright
"Oh, you liberals!"
"Oh, you conservative fundamentalists!"
"You are so anti-intellectual!"
"Just because I read the Bible LITERALLY? At least I have a relationship with God!"
Anyone tired of this seemingly endless stream of typecasting and "throwing the baby out with the bath water" mentality in learning [or failing to learn] from the appropriation of God's Word by different perspectives?
Each side has their biases and misreadings of scripture.
Read a great book by NT Wright on the Authority of Scripture. If you are tired of the Bible wars and need a fresh understanding of what the "Authority of Scripture" looks like - this is a refreshing perspective that moves beyond the unhelpful stereotyping of "conservative" and "liberal".
Wright lists several of the general ways in which they fail to admit their own inadequacies. Ofcourse, there is plenty more than that - he spends most of the book clarifying what he means as the Authority of Scripture from a biblcal narrative perspective since many people fail to recognize that this is "shorthand" for a much more detailed and nuanced definition.
He also outlines a brief history of how scripture was generally interpreted within the church community throughout the centuries which enables us to understand the role of tradition [that it is not equal to Scripture itself as those familiar with some Catholic hermeneutics or the Wesleyan Quadrilateral might be tempted to misconstrue it to be] and the role of "reason". Reason itself has changed in its meaning from centuries before to what it means today so Wright articulates this as well. Wright is a scholar but he is very accessible.
Basically, he addresses 3 Key Questions:
1. What makes the bible authoritative?
2. How can the bible be appropriately applied and understood?
3. How can its author [assuming we have approp applied and understood] be brought to bear on the church and the world?
Point: The bible is a way that God's Authority is exercised - it is THROUGH scripture [all authority is God's - Rom13.1, John 19.11, Matt 28.18, Phil 2.9-11, Isa 40-55, Rev 4-5]...
A sample of some pitfalls in [mis]reading scripture:
To paraphrase Wright: "To rediscover who God is and His rule over and over. It is not info about God or true info alone... it is ACTIVE in bringing about renewal. The readers become actors in the story [pg. 30]."
He concludes on pg. 114 [following with 5 strategies to honor the authority of scripture]:
"'The Authority of Scripture' ... offers a picture of God's sovereign and saving plan for the entire cosmos, dramatically inaugurated by Jesus himself, and now to be implemented through the Spirit-led life of the church precisely as the scripture-reading community.
1. Totally contextual
2. Liturgically grounded
3. Privately studied
4. Refreshed by appropriate scholarship
5. Taught by accredited church leaders
Hopefully, this will move the discusssion forward about applying and understanding God's authority through His word as the scriptural community.
Personally
This study has reminded me of the unique power that God's Word has - thus to be careful as I read it. Careful meaning, humbly and not uncritically - open to varying perspectives - not to agree with but to be open to highlight my biases.
Not enough time. The ongoing argument for 99% of Christians who say they don't read the bible more throughly. We allocate time to what we value - just look at how much time I spend in coffee shops or the gym. Is God's Word not a change agent? I don't want to go to the gym - but I do it and feel great when i do. I don't like broccoli, but I feel better after I eat it so I eat it again. I value my health... and the One who gave me my physical capacities in the first place? Yup Erin, even when you don't feel like it - you will benefit, trust me.
As a volunteer shocked me recently with an obvious statement - himself being an agnostic all of his life and finally examing the evidence, becoming a Christian - he said:
Uh... YEAH! And if He has something to help us become more like Him, a participant in his movie of redemption... maybe I should take the time to go beyond a surfacey reading [not that a little "hit" like a devo is bad] to allow the story to penetrate my hardened "MTV-desensitized" will.
So that I am empowered to fully participate in His story the way He has always wanted me to - with the divine and revolutionary principles of grace, love and truth that REBEL against the spiritual status quo.
God has called his change agents to be changing as well. He made me to use my heroic desires and imagination as I encounter the world daily. But if I do not know HOW or WHY then I am like a martial artist who hasn't practiced for years - not as effective as I could be. People are desperate to know hope and renewal - ofcourse God offers the answer through the LIVING WORD Christ. Erin - step up to the dinner table - eat heavily and often.
I admit, I appreciate Wright's thoughts.
Check it out... great sermons and articles. www.ntwrightpage.com
Comments?
Feel free to post comments - have you experienced frustrations in your own discussions with others regarding the authority of scripture?
How do you grapple with submmitting to the word of God? What areas in your life is it authoritative and what areas might you overlook its authority?
How has your tradition colored your lenses of God, reading His word? What are the benefits and the dangers of this tradition?
"Oh, you conservative fundamentalists!"
"You are so anti-intellectual!"
"Just because I read the Bible LITERALLY? At least I have a relationship with God!"
Anyone tired of this seemingly endless stream of typecasting and "throwing the baby out with the bath water" mentality in learning [or failing to learn] from the appropriation of God's Word by different perspectives?
Each side has their biases and misreadings of scripture.
Read a great book by NT Wright on the Authority of Scripture. If you are tired of the Bible wars and need a fresh understanding of what the "Authority of Scripture" looks like - this is a refreshing perspective that moves beyond the unhelpful stereotyping of "conservative" and "liberal".
Wright lists several of the general ways in which they fail to admit their own inadequacies. Ofcourse, there is plenty more than that - he spends most of the book clarifying what he means as the Authority of Scripture from a biblcal narrative perspective since many people fail to recognize that this is "shorthand" for a much more detailed and nuanced definition.
He also outlines a brief history of how scripture was generally interpreted within the church community throughout the centuries which enables us to understand the role of tradition [that it is not equal to Scripture itself as those familiar with some Catholic hermeneutics or the Wesleyan Quadrilateral might be tempted to misconstrue it to be] and the role of "reason". Reason itself has changed in its meaning from centuries before to what it means today so Wright articulates this as well. Wright is a scholar but he is very accessible.
Basically, he addresses 3 Key Questions:
1. What makes the bible authoritative?
2. How can the bible be appropriately applied and understood?
3. How can its author [assuming we have approp applied and understood] be brought to bear on the church and the world?
Point: The bible is a way that God's Authority is exercised - it is THROUGH scripture [all authority is God's - Rom13.1, John 19.11, Matt 28.18, Phil 2.9-11, Isa 40-55, Rev 4-5]...
A sample of some pitfalls in [mis]reading scripture:
- Failing to recognize our biases - no one is objective.
- Worshipping the bible vs understanding it as a vehicle for the grand narrative
- Failing to recognize its Jewishness and its areas of continuity [the church's adoption into spiritual israel through Christ] and its areas of discontinuity [Paul grapples with this and the Jewish laws in the NT]
- Disregarding the context of the different "acts" in the narrative [Eden, Fall, Israel, Jesus, Church]-let alone the genre, author's intent, etc.-in understanding the scripture to our present lives, etc.
- Not a list of rules , commands but REALLY a STORY, a Narrative in which we participate in...
- Opens human imagination [within the stream of the narrative ofcourse] to participate and live wisley
To paraphrase Wright: "To rediscover who God is and His rule over and over. It is not info about God or true info alone... it is ACTIVE in bringing about renewal. The readers become actors in the story [pg. 30]."
He concludes on pg. 114 [following with 5 strategies to honor the authority of scripture]:
"'The Authority of Scripture' ... offers a picture of God's sovereign and saving plan for the entire cosmos, dramatically inaugurated by Jesus himself, and now to be implemented through the Spirit-led life of the church precisely as the scripture-reading community.
1. Totally contextual
2. Liturgically grounded
3. Privately studied
4. Refreshed by appropriate scholarship
5. Taught by accredited church leaders
Hopefully, this will move the discusssion forward about applying and understanding God's authority through His word as the scriptural community.
Personally
This study has reminded me of the unique power that God's Word has - thus to be careful as I read it. Careful meaning, humbly and not uncritically - open to varying perspectives - not to agree with but to be open to highlight my biases.
Not enough time. The ongoing argument for 99% of Christians who say they don't read the bible more throughly. We allocate time to what we value - just look at how much time I spend in coffee shops or the gym. Is God's Word not a change agent? I don't want to go to the gym - but I do it and feel great when i do. I don't like broccoli, but I feel better after I eat it so I eat it again. I value my health... and the One who gave me my physical capacities in the first place? Yup Erin, even when you don't feel like it - you will benefit, trust me.
As a volunteer shocked me recently with an obvious statement - himself being an agnostic all of his life and finally examing the evidence, becoming a Christian - he said:
"If there is a God, that's something to be excited about isn't it?"
Uh... YEAH! And if He has something to help us become more like Him, a participant in his movie of redemption... maybe I should take the time to go beyond a surfacey reading [not that a little "hit" like a devo is bad] to allow the story to penetrate my hardened "MTV-desensitized" will.
So that I am empowered to fully participate in His story the way He has always wanted me to - with the divine and revolutionary principles of grace, love and truth that REBEL against the spiritual status quo.
God has called his change agents to be changing as well. He made me to use my heroic desires and imagination as I encounter the world daily. But if I do not know HOW or WHY then I am like a martial artist who hasn't practiced for years - not as effective as I could be. People are desperate to know hope and renewal - ofcourse God offers the answer through the LIVING WORD Christ. Erin - step up to the dinner table - eat heavily and often.
I admit, I appreciate Wright's thoughts.
Check it out... great sermons and articles. www.ntwrightpage.com
Comments?
Feel free to post comments - have you experienced frustrations in your own discussions with others regarding the authority of scripture?
How do you grapple with submmitting to the word of God? What areas in your life is it authoritative and what areas might you overlook its authority?
How has your tradition colored your lenses of God, reading His word? What are the benefits and the dangers of this tradition?
5.29.2006
The Transition
Erin's "New Job"Well, I have been officially on staff at Saddleback now for over two months and it has been pretty sweet so far. I am the Personal P.E.A.C.E. pastor and I know, I know - what IS that anyway?
Basically, Rick Warren and Saddleback have felt God call them to respond to the 5 Global Giants of the world - [1] Spiritual Emptiness, [2] Egocentric Leadership, [3] Rampant Disease, [4] Poverty and [5] Lack of Education.
"The P.E.A.C.E. plan is designed to mobilize Saddleback church and thousands of other churches who are networked with Saddleback to respond to these issues in the name of Jesus Christ."
Part of the uniqueness of this strategy which differentiates itslef from standard missionary work is - it mobilizes the average joe and his small group to adopt an unreached people group or hurting people group to invest their time, talents and treasure in assisting them without causing co-dependency.
In other words, a small group of business associates decides to use their abilities and compassion to pick an unreached people group in Fiji. They build relationships and equip the people in how to run a business and maybe even provide starting material so they may start to generate an economy. Thus, it isn't free handouts but training that lasts a lifetime. All because the love of God compells them.
There are three parts of the P.E.A.C.E. plan [to check out a bit more www.purposedriven.com]:
- GLOBAL [focused on other countries]
- LOCAL [focused on the people groups in our areas like SoCal and North mexico]
- PERSONAL [which is equipping and training for the individual to love and reach out to the people they already KNOW in their lives].
My role is PERSONAL P.E.A.C.E. So far, my goal has been to discern how I can liberate the average Saddlebacker to share the love of Christ through the things they already do normally and helping them articulate the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who are ready to hear it. No, this is not knocking on doors and reciting a tract to someone! I am talking about delving into the hurts, needs and ideas that gnaw away at people on a daily basis and sharing in their personal journey to discover truth - what am I here for? Where does the evidence point to? Is their really a God who cares about me? If so, how on earth can I know Him and have a relationship with Him? What holds me back from discovering truth - is it emotional, intellectual or volitional? Will He really help me? Being a part of God doing lifechange is the most exciting place to be!
It is promising to be an awesome ride. I love the fact that Joy is on the coaster with me!
3.14.2006
A Week Off
Well - I am in between jobs right now and enjoying some time to do things that I haven't had time to do before. I get to sit in coffee shops and read - oh, I was doing that before as well. Man, I am really lame at this BLOG stuff. Why am I writing this and who is going to read this and/or who will even care? Irons help me out here.
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