thoughts

Atheist: Perspectives on Death – Part 5/6

July 1, 2012 By Daniel Im

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.”

An Old Insight on Theological Education that is Gaining Traction

June 1, 2012 By Daniel Im

I’ve been thinking and wrestling with the usefulness of theological education for a while now, and came across this older insight from one of the greatest theological thinkers out there – the late Lesslie Newbigin.

“It seems clear that ministerial training as currently conceived is still far too much training for the pastoral care of the existing congregation, and far too little oriented toward the missionary calling to claim the whole of public life for Christ and his kingdom.” – The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

He wrote this in 1989 and so many still haven’t realized this and made the necessary changes!

Book Review: The Missional Leader

May 28, 2012 By Daniel Im

The following is an analytical book review of The Missional Leader.

Roxburgh is one of the foremost leading thinkers in everything missional, yet he is a pastor at heart with over thirty years of experience in church leadership, consulting, and seminary education. He is also leads The Missional Network, which is an organization that is committed to resourcing missional leaders. On the other hand, Romanuk is an experienced psychologist with years of organizational consulting experience. He brings expertise in assessing and developing the potential of people in leadership roles.

The thesis of this book is that every church needs to move from a consumeristic model to a missional model, since the very nature of the church is to be God’s missionary people. Roxburgh and Romanuk explain how leaders need to make this transition first personally before being able to lead his/her church through this transition.

A New Form of Community?

April 26, 2012 By Daniel Im

In the 1960s, Edward T. Hall developed a theory based on the relationship between space, culture, community, and belonging. His research is becoming increasingly important for us as we discern how to better engage in community.

After all, the biblical mandate for us is to be in community, but what does that actually look like? The wineskins can change, can’t they?

Public Space (50+ people present) – Our weekend gathering or a sporting event is what the public space looks like. You belong, you are part of a community, you somewhat get to know those around you, but there is not much of an opportunity to really get to know others.
Social Space (20-50 people present) – This is a party-like environment where we are safe to decide who we would like to grow a deeper relationship with. It’s big enough that a newcomer won’t feel like they’re the centre of attention, yet it’s small enough that no one will fall through the cracks. It’s big enough that everyone will find someone to connect with, but it’s small enough that meaningful conversation can take place, without it being uncomfortable. You belong, you are part of a community, and it’s a safe place to take that next step.
Personal Space (8-12 people present) – This is the typical small group environment, where you intentionally are connecting with others to go deeper, share life together, pray with one another, and allow yourself to be known. Private information is shared, but this isn’t the place where you are completely vulnerable and baring your whole soul.
Intimate Space ( 1-3 people present) – This is an environment that you let only a few people into. It could be a spouse, a best friend, or an accountability group. This is an environment where nothing is held back and there is a lot of intentionality in sharpening one another, being accountable to one another, and being intentional in community.

In churches, we have been very intentional with the public and personal space, and sometimes with the intimate space, but not really with the social space.

Eerie: Perspectives on Death – Part 4/6

March 11, 2012 By Daniel Im

This fourth post of my series highlights a story that went viral because of it’s unorthodox ways and eeriness.

The fourth perspective on death that I am going to be exploring is the remorseful response that can be sometimes eerie when grieving a tragic death.

After Chadil’s girlfriend of ten years died in a car accident, he decided to marry his dead girlfriend, out of guilt, in a funeral/wedding ceremony in Thailand. In Pravattiyagul’s article, he comments that “the “wedding” was his attempt to right a wrong, however belated the gesture might have been.” Consequently, Chadil’s self-admission that he married her out of guilt reveals that he is journeying through the various stages of grief.

This story was not only viral in Thailand, but over 100,000 Facebook users shared it at the time Pravattiyagul wrote his article. When a story like this goes viral, individuals on the various social networking sites feel like they have the privilege to say things that they would never say to an individual grieving the death of a loved one. For example, one individual said,“Well at least he didn’t try to marry a guy,” while another said “OH NOWWW he wants to marry her…really???? That’s just gross and freaky. Wish she could just live again long enough to sit up and slap him for not marrying her after 10 years of going together.”

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