Pastor + Author
Over the next while, I’ll be revealing the research and work that I’ve done on mid-size communities. It’s been a two year journey and this weekend we are introducing the concept publicly at our services (www.beulah.ca).
Check out this in-house produced movie that will introduce some of the history around us engaging in this conversation.
This movie is part 1 of this series and the introduction to mid-size communities.
Check out part 2 for an infographic explaining mid-size communities.
In The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship, Dallas Willard magnificently preaches a simple and basic message on discipleship, of which is commonly missing and misunderstood in many churches today.
I love the way that he breaks down the misconception that there are different levels in being a Christian, since this is the exact problem that has made discipleship an option, rather than a baseline requirement for being Christian (i.e. this is the great omission that he is talking about). I appreciate the fact that he is not just calling Christians to change, but that he is actually expanding the scope and call to all people by emphasizing that following Christ is “the fulfillment of the highest human possibilities” (Location 312).
[Read more…] about Book Review: The Great Omission – Dallas Willard
Here is the difference between Jesus, Confucius, and Buddha according to a Chinese individual that A.B. Simpson knew of (from A.B. Simpson’s The Fourfold Gospel).
“I was down in a deep pit, half sunk in the mire and was crying for some one to help me out. As I looked up I saw a venerable, grey-haired man looking down at me. His countenance bore the marks of his pure and holy spirit. ‘My son,’ he said, ‘this is a dreadful place.’ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I fell into it. Can’t you help me out?’ ‘My son,’ he said, ‘I am Confucius. If you had read my books and followed what they taught, you never would have been here.’ ‘Yes, father,’ I said, ‘but can’t you help me out?’ As I looked up he was gone.
Soon I saw another form approaching, and another man bent over me, this time with closed eyes and folded arms. He seemed to be looking into some far-off, distant place. ‘My son,’ he said, ‘just close your eyes and fold your arms and forget all about yourself. Get into a state of perfect rest. Don’t think about anything that could disturb. Get so still that nothing can move you. Then, my child, you will be in such delicious rest as I am. ‘Yes, father,’ I answered, ‘I’ll do that when I am above ground. Can’t you help me out?’ But Buddha, too, was gone.
I was just beginning to sink into despair when I saw another figure above me, different from the others. He was very simple, and looked just like the rest of us, but there were the marks of suffering in His face. I cried out to Him: ‘Oh, Father, can you help me?’ ‘My child,’ He said, ‘what is the matter?’ Before I could answer Him, He was down in the mire by my side; He folded His arms about me and lifted me up, and then He fed and rested me. When I was well, He did not say, ‘Now, don’t do that again,’ but He said, ‘We will walk on together now;’ and we have been walking together until this day.”
This is my last post of this series and summarizes a missional Christian response to death and tragedy.
As I was searching for articles on tragic death, I discovered that there was not a short supply. However, what overwhelmed me was the fact that tragic deaths take place every moment of the day and all over the world, but not every tragic death gets recorded in a news medium. This is a personally painful topic for my family and I, but it is also as painful for millions of others who are dealing through a tragic death.
Christians are notorious for offering “packaged” and over simplistic phrases of comfort to others grieving through a loss – many reflect on the trite phrases that Job’s friends offered to him, in the Book of Job, as he grieved the loss of his family. Since death is something that shakes our entire reality, what ought the Christian response to death be? After all, regardless of one’s faith journey, we are all seeking to find meaning, comfort, and healing in light of these senseless tragic deaths.
So what ought the church’s missional response be to tragic deaths? For it’s congregants and the wider community?
[Read more…] about A Missional Christian Approach: Perspectives on Death – Part 6/6
This fifth post of my series summarizes the atheist’s view on death and tragedy.
For an atheist, death is final, so when Rebecca Hensler’s infant son died, remarks such as, “He is in a better place,” “God has a plan,” or “Now he’s an angel,” did not make sense for her. “Grief Without God is a Challenge for Atheists” is an article that describes how atheists are finding comfort with one another as they look for a way “to process grief and sorrow without the trappings – or support – of religious ritual and belief.”
[Read more…] about Atheist: Perspectives on Death – Part 5/6