tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-98948852024-02-20T12:09:59.997-05:00lighthouse/searchlight churchparticipating in the mission of the light of the worldUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger336125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-79355734895501790082022-09-05T17:11:00.000-04:002022-09-05T17:11:50.584-04:00INDEX to Key Posts and SeriesThis blog is in archive mode at this point, but there are some things on the site from years past that are of significance to me and (I still think) to the church of this decade. So I am indexing a few of those posts below. In some cases they are the lead post of a series (and subsequent links are found in that lead post). In other cases they are single posts that stand out to me (or to others). I also encourage you to scroll down and use the "tag cloud" to explore topics of interest. It is a kind of topical index to the full contents, which stretch back over many years.<br />
<ul>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2015/09/missional-life-in-smaller-church-repost.html" target="_blank">Missional Life in the Church</a></b>: an index of key posts (including the "Wednesday Night Experiment!") on how my church (Good Shepherd) stretched outside the walls of the church over a number of years <br />
</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2015/09/scotland-round-up-repost.html" target="_blank">Church and Culture</a></b>: a index of posts after a trip to Scotland; it occasioned significant reflection on church and culture back home<br />
</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2015/08/grace-and-truth-repost.html" target="_blank">Grace and Truth</a></b>: a short reflection on a three-sermon series I preached; one of the most theologically significant I think I've done; there are some <b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2015/08/this-is-grace-repost.html" target="_blank">follow-up comments</a></b> on that series by some folks in the congregation <br />
</li>
<li>Two "What Is?" series: <b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2013/04/what-is-pastor-pt-1.html" target="_blank">What is a Pastor?</a></b> and <b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2013/04/what-is-church-pt-1.html" target="_blank">What is the Church?</a></b> <br />
</li>
<li>And a few standalone favorites<br />
<ul>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2016/03/communication-and-community.html" target="_blank">Communication and Community</a></b>: on civility in the public (and church) sphere</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2017/05/ten-commandments-more-than-list-of-rules.html" target="_blank">Ten Commandments</a></b> (more than a list of rules): on an "ordered" life</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2015/10/hope.html" target="_blank">Hope</a></b>: specifically on "Is there hope for the PCUSA?" but with broader (hopeful) implications</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2013/05/jury-duty-accountability-and-light.html" target="_blank">Jury Duty, Accountability, and the Light</a></b>: reflections on spiritual accountability elicited by serving on jury duty</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2010/08/band-camp-banjoes-bluegrass-and-jesus.html" target="_blank">Band Camp, Banjoes, Bluegrass, and Jesus</a></b>: what bluegrass taught me about the church</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2007/04/scars.html" target="_blank">Scars</a></b>: on Jesus and loss</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-30142701497884217502020-02-29T07:30:00.000-05:002020-02-29T10:51:10.593-05:00Arthur Brooks NPB20<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAIFHTE9MerWCkfPHZy3guszsESTETZ9kHTJp5QfQsqOpgMN0dDov95aAzd_TFDdcpacaD4NLa8qiKPOVZfejhAlNV9p8qTvydFboa_WX9P-4pCohMZkB-55j88ZfrY1nPX4C3g/s1600/love+your+neighbor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAIFHTE9MerWCkfPHZy3guszsESTETZ9kHTJp5QfQsqOpgMN0dDov95aAzd_TFDdcpacaD4NLa8qiKPOVZfejhAlNV9p8qTvydFboa_WX9P-4pCohMZkB-55j88ZfrY1nPX4C3g/s320/love+your+neighbor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I watched the 2020 National Prayer Breakfast live on C-Span on February 6. I was profoundly moved by the words of Arthur Brooks.Yet I did not hear much about his speech afterwards. It was overshadowed by other news including the President's own comments at the event.<br />
<br />
I think Brooks' comments were so important and timely for our country that I want to lift them up without reference to the President, and invite others to read, watch, and consider them on their own. I believe they are a good and godly word to those with hears to hear, starting with ourselves.<br />
<br />
<b>A Follower of Jesus</b><br />
<br />
After an impressive introduction (see end of this post), Brooks introduced himself saying, "I'm not a priest, not a minister; I'm a social scientist and university professor. But most importantly I'm a follower of Jesus, who taught us to love God... and love each other."<br />
<br />
<b>Crisis and Opportunity</b> <br />
<br />
At the outset Brooks identified the biggest crisis facing our nation as "a crisis of contempt and polarization that is tearing our society apart." He promised not to depress us with his remarks, but to show us that in this crisis resides the greatest opportunity people of faith have ever had to lift our nations up and bring our people together.<br />
<br />
His description and identification of this crisis rang true for me, and with his promise to show the opportunity therein for people of faith, <i><b>he had my attention!</b></i><br />
<br />
<b>Love, Moral Courage, and some Homework</b><br />
<br />
I listened closely over the next 14 minutes as he talked about Jesus teaching to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Brooks made practical application to the world of politics by sharing an example from his own family. To contrast disagreement and <b>contempt </b>("they are stupid and evil") he described his parents as very different from himself politically, but people he loves deeply. He asked the group at the prayer breakfast, "How many of you love somebody with whom you disagree politically?" Brooks said that <b>moral courage </b>isn't (necessarily) standing up to your enemies or those who disagree with you; rather it is <i>standing up to the people with whom you agree on behalf of those with whom you disagree.</i> Stepping (leaping?) right past those who call for civility and tolerance, Brooks said Jesus didn't teach us to tolerate our enemies, but to LOVE our enemies. He then gave three homework assignments to flesh this out:<br />
<ol>
<li>Ask God for help - because this goes against human nature</li>
<li>Commit to reject contempt - disagreement is one thing and good, but disagree without contempt</li>
<li>Go out looking for contempt and turn it on its head - this is how we'll change (and heal) the country</li>
</ol>
<br />
I highly recommend digging in to Brooks' remarks directly. You can read the text of his remarks <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/07/arthur-brooks-national-prayer-breakfast-speech/" target="_blank">HERE</a> (if you can't access that see <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/s6pvkj3y808ei7w/arthur%20brooks%20-%20NPB20%20transcript.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">HERE</a>), and a video (14 min.) of his remarks is below:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="330" src="https://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?c4857713/user-clip-arthur-brooks-npb20" width="512"></iframe><br />
<br />
----- <br />
<b>Arthur Brooks: </b>According to the introductory remarks, Brooks is the "professor of the
practice of public leadership" at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is also
an author and <i>Washington Post</i> columnist. He was also president
for the previous ten years of the American Enterprise Institute, a
conservative think tank. He is an economist, with notable work on
culture, public policy, technical economics, and the sources of
happiness; he is also a classical musician. His remarks at the prayer
breakfast are from his recent book, <i>Love Your Enemies</i>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>*Photo by Nina Strehl on Unsplash</i></span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-82755416070192702462020-02-27T07:11:00.000-05:002020-02-27T07:17:15.324-05:00Willing to Be Uncomfortable - How to Change the World, pt. 4<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkAZ8Zy60GxWLSxR-WVinq1onEZQl1_if5haDf7ni0_p4FR1uAg4QZfWwELa_GryTRz1P3XBDI0Jm7wgH0PV_LNt17Np6XloNP-Pgg9P6i0bEUnFHyF5Dx5Zrt1eJdHlHSTYP0w/s1600/bryan+stevenson+-+headshot+sq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1151" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkAZ8Zy60GxWLSxR-WVinq1onEZQl1_if5haDf7ni0_p4FR1uAg4QZfWwELa_GryTRz1P3XBDI0Jm7wgH0PV_LNt17Np6XloNP-Pgg9P6i0bEUnFHyF5Dx5Zrt1eJdHlHSTYP0w/s200/bryan+stevenson+-+headshot+sq.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan Stevenson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>I was so fortunate to get to hear Bryan Stevenson speak at Davidson College on January 28. Just the previous week Heather and I went to see Just Mercy (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4916630/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">imdb</a>), the movie based on Stevenson's life work through the <a href="https://eji.org/" target="_blank">Equal Justice Initiative</a> to pursue social justice for falsely imprisoned and unfairly sentenced juveniles and people of color.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>The event at Davidson filled up the original venue and then sold-out the basketball arena. He spoke to the gathered crowd on the topic: "How to Change the World." From what I've come to learn about his life, if anyone has the clout and experience to speak to such a lofty topic, Stevenson does. He shared four points, all after framing his work in his own faith and desire to "get to higher ground" with the people he works with. I'd like to look at each of his points in a series of posts and draw a connection with the work of the church, which is also in the business (under God's leadership) of changing the world. </i><i><i>Here's a short (3 1/2 min.) video summary of his presentation (<a href="https://youtu.be/9vI7UPuCUrE" target="_blank">VIDEO</a>).</i></i><br />
<br />
<b>How to Change the World, pt. 4: WILLING TO DO AND BE UNCOMFORTABLE</b><br />
<br />
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<div class="_1l8RX _1ByhS">
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@breakyourboundaries4?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Matt Collamer</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/suffering?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></div>
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<b> </b>Bryan Stevenson's fourth point is at once obvious and difficult. I don't know of anyone who actively dislikes 'comfort' - but it is often the enemy of godly change. Stevenson shared story after story of his choices to leave his comfort-zone and enter into the suffering and struggle of others. It is there - in that space - where such justice and life-change happened, both in his clients' lives and (often) in his own.<br />
<br />
As I am writing this I am returning from a conference in a familiar setting: Providence Presbyterian on Hilton Head Island. My family would often vacation there when I was young and we would go to church at that church. If you know anything about Hilton Head, it is not a place you would associate with discomfort, at least not for those vacationing there. One of the distinct memories from my childhood attendance at that church, however, was the pastor's benediction. After proclaiming God's Word to a group of largely affluent parishioners he would pronounce these words as part of the benediction: "Remember, Jesus came to comfort the afflicted...and afflict the comfortable. Figure out which you are." (Or something like that... It's an old memory!) I was struck by the idea that Jesus would introduce or invite the comfortable to enter into affliction or discomfort. Bryan Stevenson's words reminded me of that benediction and challenged me freshly to be open to and willing to do and be uncomfortable.<br />
<br />
Church can be a very comfortable place: familiar friends, encouraging messages, prayers for personal and others' needs. But that is falling short of Jesus' purpose of His Church. We need to be challenged, stirred up, sent out, and boldly entere into an uncomfortable world. That's what Jesus did, and it's what he called us to do (see John 17 again). He does not send us helpless or without resources; but he does send us. And to Stevenson's point, that's one way God changes the world.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-17306691494103654232020-02-26T07:24:00.001-05:002020-02-27T07:16:51.094-05:00Stay Hopeful - How to Change the World, pt. 3<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkAZ8Zy60GxWLSxR-WVinq1onEZQl1_if5haDf7ni0_p4FR1uAg4QZfWwELa_GryTRz1P3XBDI0Jm7wgH0PV_LNt17Np6XloNP-Pgg9P6i0bEUnFHyF5Dx5Zrt1eJdHlHSTYP0w/s1600/bryan+stevenson+-+headshot+sq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1151" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkAZ8Zy60GxWLSxR-WVinq1onEZQl1_if5haDf7ni0_p4FR1uAg4QZfWwELa_GryTRz1P3XBDI0Jm7wgH0PV_LNt17Np6XloNP-Pgg9P6i0bEUnFHyF5Dx5Zrt1eJdHlHSTYP0w/s200/bryan+stevenson+-+headshot+sq.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan Stevenson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>I was so fortunate to get to hear Bryan Stevenson speak at Davidson College on January 28. Just the previous week Heather and I went to see Just Mercy (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4916630/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">imdb</a>), the movie based on Stevenson's life work through the <a href="https://eji.org/" target="_blank">Equal Justice Initiative</a> to pursue social justice for falsely imprisoned and unfairly sentenced juveniles and people of color.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>The event at Davidson filled up the original venue and then sold-out the basketball arena. He spoke to the gathered crowd on the topic: "How to Change the World." From what I've come to learn about his life, if anyone has the clout and experience to speak to such a lofty topic, Stevenson does. He shared four points, all after framing his work in his own faith and desire to "get to higher ground" with the people he works with. I'd like to look at each of his points in a series of posts and draw a connection with the work of the church, which is also in the business (under God's leadership) of changing the world. </i><i><i>Here's a short (3 1/2 min.) video summary of his presentation (<a href="https://youtu.be/9vI7UPuCUrE" target="_blank">VIDEO</a>).</i></i><br />
<br />
<b>How to Change the World, pt. 3: STAY HOPEFUL</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFl0L-BLHcwuaB-KmS0HJP_dTyqvJs4jnULfWpmWhf7lYNd5SfuBbwQiZfZ8pAoThtfgeiHbnapq9tvwQbVafZ8Qmf9q1Xe-pZlGDKDO_u8axVlL6Z6rKes953OtIiA4sPkZIUMA/s1600/adult-aged-baby-care-226617.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFl0L-BLHcwuaB-KmS0HJP_dTyqvJs4jnULfWpmWhf7lYNd5SfuBbwQiZfZ8pAoThtfgeiHbnapq9tvwQbVafZ8Qmf9q1Xe-pZlGDKDO_u8axVlL6Z6rKes953OtIiA4sPkZIUMA/s320/adult-aged-baby-care-226617.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="level__left">
<div class="level__item">
<div class="js-copy-attribute-content photo-page__adp-cta__container__attribution">
Photo by <b><a href="https://www.pexels.com/@freeimages9?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">icon0.com</a></b> from <b><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-aged-baby-care-226617/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">Pexels</a></b></div>
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<b></b><br />
<b> </b>If anyone had cause to lose hope, it might be someone like Bryan Stevenson, who works with people who have (in many cases) been wronged and who sometimes do not get justice, even with the involvement of the Equal Justice Initiative (or the fervent prayers and long wait of family and friends). But HOPE was precisely what Stevenson lifted up as one of the essential components of his work and changing the world.<br />
<br />
Of all that Stevenson said, this had the most immediate connection to faith; and he did not hide his own faith as a source of inspiration and hope in his own work. Hope points to a rightness, justice, and good purpose to work toward. What a dismal world indeed it would be without hope. You might think that the church would be one of the beacons of hope in the world - in fact, it <i>should</i> be. But all too often these days Christians struggle to be hopeful. Whether it is hopelessness at the pain and need in the world, or the seeming cultural shift away from God and faith, or the dwindling attendance, support, and participation in our churches, we struggle with hopelessness. But what a good word to us all - and particularly to people of faith - to stay hopeful! Indeed, we believe that there is a good God, acting with good purpose, working around us and through us for good. Let us hope and press forward.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-89948136039542476172020-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:002020-02-27T07:16:40.676-05:00Change the Narrative - How to Change the World, pt. 2<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkAZ8Zy60GxWLSxR-WVinq1onEZQl1_if5haDf7ni0_p4FR1uAg4QZfWwELa_GryTRz1P3XBDI0Jm7wgH0PV_LNt17Np6XloNP-Pgg9P6i0bEUnFHyF5Dx5Zrt1eJdHlHSTYP0w/s1600/bryan+stevenson+-+headshot+sq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1151" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkAZ8Zy60GxWLSxR-WVinq1onEZQl1_if5haDf7ni0_p4FR1uAg4QZfWwELa_GryTRz1P3XBDI0Jm7wgH0PV_LNt17Np6XloNP-Pgg9P6i0bEUnFHyF5Dx5Zrt1eJdHlHSTYP0w/s200/bryan+stevenson+-+headshot+sq.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan Stevenson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>I was so fortunate to get to hear Bryan Stevenson speak at Davidson College on January 28. Just the previous week Heather and I went to see Just Mercy (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4916630/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">imdb</a>), the movie based on Stevenson's life work through the <a href="https://eji.org/" target="_blank">Equal Justice Initiative</a> to pursue social justice for falsely imprisoned and unfairly sentenced juveniles and people of color.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>The event at Davidson filled up the original venue and then sold-out the basketball arena. He spoke to the gathered crowd on the topic: "How to Change the World." From what I've come to learn about his life, if anyone has the clout and experience to speak to such a lofty topic, Stevenson does. He shared four points, all after framing his work in his own faith and desire to "get to higher ground" with the people he works with. I'd like to look at each of his points in a series of posts and draw a connection with the work of the church, which is also in the business (under God's leadership) of changing the world. </i><i><i>Here's a short (3 1/2 min.) video summary of his presentation (<a href="https://youtu.be/9vI7UPuCUrE" target="_blank">VIDEO</a>).</i></i><br />
<br />
<b>How to Change the World, pt. 2: CHANGE THE NARRATIVE</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> Mr. Stevenson did not accept that the stories told about his clients were the complete or final word about them. He challenged and then is working to change the narrative: people of color are not inherently criminal or untrustworthy or violent; children are children, not adults. He says that a narrative of fear and anger (around race) allow us to justify indecent responses to crimes... there is a demonstrable difference in sentencing and outcomes based on skin color.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsaS_ixqNoqNqSOuF-ZGkRElqoAZf3OQZm-vKSdwaVnv8rtf8GNXiIAfbczkpOOn08FVpz7ARl8c6sQdjYJO9-CnA7OxpAa2LxhTM17ghMGvmSqzOdII2Vh5vEsDnpyqVwE9rFw/s1600/lenses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsaS_ixqNoqNqSOuF-ZGkRElqoAZf3OQZm-vKSdwaVnv8rtf8GNXiIAfbczkpOOn08FVpz7ARl8c6sQdjYJO9-CnA7OxpAa2LxhTM17ghMGvmSqzOdII2Vh5vEsDnpyqVwE9rFw/s320/lenses.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="_3bJ2H CHExY">
<div class="_1l8RX _1ByhS">
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@dtravisphd?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">David Travis</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/perspective?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></div>
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What would it mean for the church to challenge and change the narrative around race - to see the world and our stories through a different lens? The narrative that people of color are inherently criminal, untrustworthy, violent, or "less than" permeates our society. There is demonstrable data of such throughout spheres of criminal justice, education, health care, housing, and politics. While at first blush one might think the church would be an exception to such realities, it is still one of "the most segregated hours in our country."<br />
<br />
<b></b> The church needs to rediscover and proclaim biblical themes (narratives!) such as the following:<br />
<ul>
<li><i>imago Dei</i> -- all humanity (male and female) is created in the image of God, with all the dignity inherent in that truth</li>
<li><i>unity and equality in Christ </i>-- the Apostle Paul wrote that in Christ there is (no longer) distinction to be made spiritually or inherently between male/female, slave/free, Jew/Gentile. </li>
<li><i>God as qualifier of the called</i> -- neither God nor Jesus sought out the elite or the educated or the prosperous, though they did not avoid them either; rather, God and Jesus often called someone from the edge of society (or beyond the borders!)</li>
<li><i>Pentecost and Revelation</i> -- both the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the scenes of heavenly worship in Revelation depict people from many/all tribes, tongues, and nations gathered. This is the biblical and holy picture of God's design for humanity and the narrative that the church needs to be proclaiming and working toward.</li>
</ul>
Stevenson noted that to get from here to there we need an era of truth and justice - and I thought: repentance. <br />
<ul></ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-82824074679219718932020-02-24T08:00:00.000-05:002020-02-27T07:15:56.216-05:00Get Proximate - How to Change the World, pt. 1<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkAZ8Zy60GxWLSxR-WVinq1onEZQl1_if5haDf7ni0_p4FR1uAg4QZfWwELa_GryTRz1P3XBDI0Jm7wgH0PV_LNt17Np6XloNP-Pgg9P6i0bEUnFHyF5Dx5Zrt1eJdHlHSTYP0w/s1600/bryan+stevenson+-+headshot+sq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1151" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkAZ8Zy60GxWLSxR-WVinq1onEZQl1_if5haDf7ni0_p4FR1uAg4QZfWwELa_GryTRz1P3XBDI0Jm7wgH0PV_LNt17Np6XloNP-Pgg9P6i0bEUnFHyF5Dx5Zrt1eJdHlHSTYP0w/s200/bryan+stevenson+-+headshot+sq.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan Stevenson</td></tr>
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<i>I was so fortunate to get to hear Bryan Stevenson speak at Davidson College on January 28. Just the previous week Heather and I went to see Just Mercy (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4916630/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">imdb</a>), the movie based on Stevenson's life work through the <a href="https://eji.org/" target="_blank">Equal Justice Initiative</a> to pursue social justice for falsely imprisoned and unfairly sentenced juveniles and people of color.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>The event at Davidson filled up the original venue and then sold-out the basketball arena. He spoke to the gathered crowd on the topic: "How to Change the World." From what I've come to learn about his life, if anyone has the clout and experience to speak to such a lofty topic, Stevenson does. He shared four points, all after framing his work in his own faith and desire to "get to higher ground" with the people he works with. I'd like to look at each of his points in a series of posts and draw a connection with the work of the church, which is also in the business (under God's leadership) of changing the world. </i><i><i>Here's a short (3 1/2 min.) video summary of his presentation (<a href="https://youtu.be/9vI7UPuCUrE" target="_blank">VIDEO</a>).</i></i><br />
<br />
<b>How to Change the World, pt. 1: GET PROXIMATE</b><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgFXGbM3-z95ukKy2kxalz-p9YWi3LYVq-Uk_xrjTmv06FSL2YDQUhmZwXCRWXnVec2E3tkTOtOLvewkQ6NSK488YIf5UzZhHvVMl11caNNx7oiIOLFJtSJW4sMs_GE4qeXu5Uw/s1600/annie-spratt-gq5PECP8pHE-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgFXGbM3-z95ukKy2kxalz-p9YWi3LYVq-Uk_xrjTmv06FSL2YDQUhmZwXCRWXnVec2E3tkTOtOLvewkQ6NSK488YIf5UzZhHvVMl11caNNx7oiIOLFJtSJW4sMs_GE4qeXu5Uw/s320/annie-spratt-gq5PECP8pHE-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<div class="_1l8RX _1ByhS">
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@anniespratt?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Annie Spratt</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/comfort?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></div>
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I don't remember if Stevenson made the point or if my own mind went there so quickly, but Jesus was the exemplar of helping people (and changing the world) through getting proximate. He was no ivory tower Messiah, but spent his days along the seashore, in the outer court of the Temple (where women were allowed), in the Judean countryside and in the neighboring country of Samaria. And even bigger picture, he is named "Emmanuel" or "God with us." He is God-in-the-flesh, born into the world to live and move among us.<br />
<br />
The church cannot miss the example of Jesus nor the challenge of Mr. Stevenson. We cannot remain within our walls and and carry the Good News into the world. Jesus great prayer for all of us who would follow after him was that God not take us out of the world, but send us INTO the world even as he was sent. (cf. John 17:13-21) Mr. Stevenson reminds us of what is a great Gospel truth: to love and serve others and to change world requires that we get out, in, and among the world... that we GET PROXIMATE to the neighbors and communities where God would lead us.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-53896776076066949032019-06-24T08:00:00.000-04:002019-06-24T08:00:01.911-04:00Thoughts and Prayers<b>THOUGHTS </b><b style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Woman Doing Praying Hand Gesture" class="js-photo-page-image-img" data-pin-media="undefined" data-zoom-initiated="true" height="320" src="https://images.pexels.com/photos/41942/girl-praying-hands-eyelashes-41942.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&h=750&w=1260" style="background: rgb(155, 115, 104) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; max-height: 75vh; max-width: calc(50vh); min-height: 300px; min-width: calc(200px);" width="213" /> </b>are powerful things. Indeed, Jesus taught that our thoughts come out of our hearts, revealing who we really are. The Christian scriptures speak of "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." And those same scriptures are described as a two-edged sword, "able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Believers are challenged to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."<br />
<br />
Thoughts are powerful things... far from being meaningless or powerless, they reveal who we are, they can re-shape our way of seeing the world, and they can influence our actions and those of others. If I am truly<i>*</i> thinking about Hurricane victims, I am more inclined to grow in compassion and empathy, speak of their plight to others, and be moved to action myself. <br />
<br />
<b>PRAYERS</b> are similarly powerful things, if truly* offered and practiced. As modeled in the Psalms, prayers cover the full gamut of human emotion and experience. Like music, they are a way to express the height and depth of pain, joy, sorrow, elation, gratitude, and more. Jesus further modeled and taught his followers to seek and pray for God's will to be done. Lest that seem pointless or without power, note that God is described as compassionate, just, merciful, wise, loving, and much more. To pray against racial injustice or for victims of natural disasters is to seek healing, justice, truth, mercy, relief, deliverance, and more. Like "thoughts" prayer aims us in a good and godly direction and releases us for action and ministry. Beyond "thoughts" prayer seeks to orient our wills towards the goodness of God, out of our own natural desires and self-focus toward loving, serving, and blessing the community and the world. True prayer re-orients us toward others as it re-orients us toward God.<br />
<br />
So yes, I get as frustrated as the next person when "thoughts and prayers" are thrown out there as a seemingly meaningless phrase. But give me a person who takes thinking and praying seriously, and I am heartened for the influence and impact they will have for good on the world around them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Just as one can say "how are you?" in passing or "fine" in response, we do often throw out empty or near-empty phrases like "thoughts and prayers." My desire for myself and in this post is to lift up real "thoughts and prayers" that are sincerely offered and actually practiced as truly potent things in this world. (Similarly, an authentic inquiry of "How are you, really?" can open up significant conversation and interaction. That's a good thing, too!)</span></i><br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
References: Matthew 15:19; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Hebrews 4:12; Romans 12:2Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-52500369201914057202019-06-20T14:22:00.001-04:002019-06-20T14:22:48.634-04:00Does the Church Have a Future?<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img alt="Woman In Grey Shirt Holding Brown Cardboard Box" class="js-photo-page-image-img" data-pin-media="undefined" data-zoom-initiated="true" height="266" src="https://images.pexels.com/photos/761999/pexels-photo-761999.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&cs=tinysrgb&h=750&w=1260" style="background: rgb(178, 151, 65) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; max-height: 75vh; max-width: calc(112.5vh); min-height: 300px; min-width: calc(450px);" width="400" /> </div>
<br />
Recently I had lunch with a long-time church member and friend. Right after "You having the salad buffet?" he asked: "What do you think is the future of the Presbyterian Church?" He was talking about our particular branch (the PCUSA) and his question had been fueled by visiting more than one Presbyterian church that was down to a handful of elderly members as well as one historic church that had disappeared altogether. He also mentioned a report he had read about the overall membership decline of the PCUSA.<br />
<br />
Now I didn't know all that when he asked. He just dropped the question and looked at me. But my mind kind of went in the same direction. I said, "It's struggling; that's for sure." I also mentioned aging congregations and difficulty reaching younger generations as well as retaining the members we already had.<br />
<br />
I thought of the theological fights of the last generation, but I think those are neither or salvation nor our downfall. Or said another way, I think the whole enterprise that is "church" in the U.S. - Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, and more - we're all experiencing the reality of post-Christendom. That is, it is no longer an expectation that to be American is to be a church-going Christian. And I don't think that's a bad thing.<br />
<br />
It's not new news that we are living in a post-Christendom reality. Europe has already preceded the U.S. by a generation or more, though because of church-state ties there it looks a little different. But why is it not a bad thing? It is not a bad thing because the Kingdom of God has always been <i>other</i> than the kingdoms of this world. It is not a bad thing because the Savior who became least and who sits on the eternal throne has always been <i>other</i> from the rulers in this world.<br />
<br />
We have enjoyed the boost of a supporting culture for most of my lifetime (not to mention since the time of Constantine!), but that cultural support has come at a cost. It wraps raw Christianity in a coat of compromise and confusion... it becomes so easy to worship the cultural, what's entertaining, the flag, the President, our privilege, or the power of the country instead of the ONLY one to whom we owe complete worship, service, devotion, and love.<br />
<br />
I am reminded of King Saul who heaped armor and his large sword onto the shepherd boy, David, in order to fight the giant Goliath. It was unnecessary, well-intentioned, but misguided. God's direction and power were what was needed.<br />
<br />
The pews may be emptier, but we also now have the opportunity and clarity to empty the definition of "Christian" of all the add-ons and syncretism that have accumulated. That won't be automatic either; in fact, our default seems to be to long for the former days. But let's not miss the opportunity for God to shape our future more along the lines of "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done." That's a future I can look forward to!<br />
<br />
<i>Further reading: check out my "<a href="https://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2015/10/hope.html" target="_blank">Hope</a>" post from several years ago. </i> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-74493262181799113882019-06-20T13:57:00.000-04:002019-06-20T14:24:10.234-04:00Truth Landing: Speaking to Open Ears and Hearts<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-7321" data-attachment-id="7321" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"lev dolgachov","camera":"Canon EOS 5D Mark III","caption":"technology, home and lifestyle concept - close up of man working with laptop computer and sitting on sofa at home","created_timestamp":"1394030300","copyright":"lev dolgachov","focal_length":"85","iso":"400","shutter_speed":"0.00625","title":"close up of man working with laptop at home","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="" data-large-file="https://i1.wp.com/thebarnabascenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Truth-Landing-June-2019-Austell.jpg?fit=584%2C390" data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/thebarnabascenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Truth-Landing-June-2019-Austell.jpg?fit=300%2C200" data-orig-file="https://i1.wp.com/thebarnabascenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Truth-Landing-June-2019-Austell.jpg?fit=2508%2C1672" data-orig-size="2508,1672" data-permalink="http://thebarnabascenter.org/truth-landing/close-up-of-man-working-with-laptop-at-home/" height="265" src="https://i1.wp.com/thebarnabascenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Truth-Landing-June-2019-Austell.jpg?resize=584%2C390" width="400" /> </i><br />
<br />
<b><i>We are no longer to be children, tossed here and there… <br />
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up <br />
in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ... </i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><i>~Ephesians 4:14a,15</i></b></div>
</div>
<br />
Consider this recent online exchange I was following. Names are changed for privacy's sake<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Timothy: <i>Here's my newest hymn, written this afternoon and sung to [a familiar] tune! </i><br />
<br />
Reggie: <i>Will certainly not be timeless; destined to pass away and look very dated... Those who will be singing hymns in 100 years will not largely be [of your theological/political persuasion]. Experimental religion or radically political flashes like this lyric create almost nothing permanent, even though we can marvel at it for a few seconds, like a firework, before it disappears from sight and from mind.</i><br />
<br />
Sheila: <i>There is nothing wrong with writing hymns/songs/psalms for the moment and for a specific community... Reggie, please consider being more constructive rather than condescending. Also... only God knows what will be happening in 100 years!</i><br />
<br />
Reggie:<i> ...The fact is, critique is not condescending. I never said that writing for the moment is wrong. I said that it's bound to be forgotten.</i><br />
<br />
Thomas: <i>Reggie, brother, critique can be constructive or condescending. It is possible to say what you said in a constructive way (and perhaps have it 'land' in a more helpful way than it did) and I think you missed the mark.</i></blockquote>
<br />
What a real-world example of speaking (or not speaking) the truth in love... of the potential to build up or tear down. It may well be that what the critic had to say was legitimately true; he certainly thought it was. But it came across as condescending (AND an attack). <br />
<br />
If we believe we have truth to speak, what a tragedy if the way in which we convey it actually drives people from that truth! We have done the opposite of what we intended. But if our words can 'land', truth has a soil in which to grow. In this exchange, Thomas could have piled on - "Reggie, you're a real jerk; leave Timothy alone!" But Thomas spoke truth to Reggie, about missing the mark... and Reggie was able to hear it; it landed.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Reggie: <i>"Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others." That's from a prayer that I sometimes return to. In thinking about my comments, I think I've not acted in the spirit of this prayer. Asking Timothy to forgive me the offense I've caused.</i><br />
<br />
Timothy: <i>It is forgiven. Thank you for your apology!</i></blockquote>
-----<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cross-posted from a blog post I wrote <a href="http://thebarnabascenter.org/truth-landing/" target="_blank">HERE </a>for the Barnabas Center in Charlotte, NC</span></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-60586104926152864332019-06-05T12:08:00.000-04:002019-06-05T12:14:29.157-04:00Seeing What We Can't Yet See<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Related image" class="irc_mi" data-iml="1559750433765" height="207" src="https://www.math.brown.edu/~banchoff/gc/Flatland/Visitmed.GIF" /></div>
I recently read an illustration by C.S. Lewis from his chapter on "Transposition" in <i>The Weight of Glory</i>. He is trying to explain the challenge of understanding (much less communicating!) spiritual things from the perspective of our physical/material world. (HT to Rebecca Reynolds for posting the Lewis chapter that prompted this reflection)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Let us picture a woman thrown into a dungeon. There she bears and rears a son. He grows up seeing nothing but the dungeon walls, the straw on the floor, and a little patch of the sky seen through the grating, which is too high up to show anything except sky. This unfortunate woman was an artist, and when they imprisoned her she managed to bring with her a drawing pad and a box of pencils. As she never loses the hope of deliverance, she is constantly teaching her son about that outer world which he has never seen. She does it very largely by drawing him pictures. With her pencil she attempts to show him what fields, rivers, mountains, cities, and waves on a beach are like.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>He is a dutiful boy and he does his best to believe her when she tells him that that outer world is far more interesting and glorious than anything in the dungeon. At times he succeeds. On the whole he gets on tolerably well until, one day, he says something that gives his mother pause. For a minute or two they are at cross-purposes. Finally it dawns on her that he has, all these years, lived under a misconception. "But," she gasps, "you didn't think that the real world was full of lines drawn in lead pencil?" "What?" says the boy. "No pencil marks there?" And instantly his whole notion of the outer world becomes a blank. For the lines, by which alone he was imagining it, have now been denied of it.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>He has no idea of that which will exclude and dispense with the lines, that of which the lines were merely a transposition - the waving treetops, the light dancing on the weir, the coloured three-dimensional realities which are not enclosed in lines but define their own shape at every moment with a delicacy and multiplicity which no drawing could ever achieve. The child will get the idea that the real world is somehow less visible than his mothers' pictures. In reality it lacks lines because it is incomparably more visible.</i></blockquote>
<br />
I find that it is something like that trying to raise children in the faith or share the faith with those who do not yet believe. We can teach all the stories and behavior and beliefs (and we should!), but until they have their own experience of the Triune God, it is something like that dutiful boy believing in his mother's artistic depictions of something greater... and also that feeling of 'blankness' - or sometimes anger - when a the faith of a parent (or pastor) cannot substitute, finally, for personal faith and experience.<br />
<br />
Yet I also find infinite hope that one's experience of God is not, ultimately, up to my human effort. That final (or kindling) spark that is faith comes from God alone, and God is indeed faithful.<br />
<br />
----- <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>*The image above comes from "Flatland" by Edwin A. Abbott. It is an analogy-story exploring the limitations of seeing what we can't see using math and geometry. I read it in 5th grade and was taken with the (intended) application to spiritual matters.</i> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-6471105319554716522019-06-04T16:23:00.002-04:002019-06-04T16:37:30.811-04:00Hard Hearts and Gracious Hope<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img alt="Red Amazon Danbo on Brown Wooden Surface" class="js-photo-page-image-img" data-pin-media="undefined" data-zoom-initiated="true" height="133" src="https://images.pexels.com/photos/14303/pexels-photo-14303.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&h=750&w=1260" style="background: rgb(157, 97, 36) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; max-height: 75vh; max-width: calc(112.5vh); min-height: 100px; min-width: calc(150px);" width="200" /> </div>
This past Sunday I preached (<a href="https://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2019/06/lost-love-revelation-21-7.html" target="_blank">LINK</a>) on the need to balance truth and love. Then today I ran across a similar theme in 2 Timothy. In a chapter dealing with truth and error, the Apostle Paul holds out this gracious hope:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>… perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, <br />and they may come to their senses… <br /> ~2 Timothy 2:25b-26a</i></blockquote>
God’s grace and His ability to transform the heart, mind, and soul of a person extends far beyond anything we can imagine. The hardest heart, the most stubborn spirit, the most entrenched position – it can all be changed if God is involved. This isn’t to say that MY persuasive words will change someone, but that I do not want to find myself working counter to what God would do.<br />
<br />
It’s interesting also to note that what happens in this hopeful scenario is not that my opponent would become convinced of the truth, but that my opponent would be repentant. That is, the one to whom I am being kind, truthful, and patient, would turn toward God in faith. It is that broken and repentant heart that then leads someone to know God’s truth.<br />
<br />
I see this scenario played out and subverted all the time, from the embattled positions held in theological and political fights to my years in youth ministry to my own parenting. Attacking an opponent, even if we are “in the right” usually just pushes them further from you and from the truth. Cultivating kindness and patience in a relationship opens hearts to hear the truth and change; it helps truth 'land' in fertile soil where it can grow. (And sometimes that soil is my own!)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>*This reflection came from an extended series on truth and error in 2 Timothy 2, found <a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2010/08/truth-and-error-1-intro-2-timothy-214.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</i></span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-45742793181385453922017-05-25T17:19:00.002-04:002017-05-25T17:19:58.825-04:00ten commandments - more than a list of rules<i>Re-run blogpost from several years ago, and from a <a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2010/03/ten-commandments-exodus-201-17.html" target="_blank"><b>sermon </b></a>on the Ten Commandments.</i><br /><br />I realize that most often we look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) as a list and consider each one as a self-contained unit. But the Commandments function as a whole, as a legal and moral whole. Formally, they are presented as a covenant document. There are several covenants in the Bible, but at heart each is God graciously reaching out toward humanity and offering to intervene and help in the human condition. If you look at the Ten Commandments as a whole, you can see the way they describe an order to life – a pattern of living in obedience to and relationship with God. And it is that ordered life, which would also be understood in Scripture as a blessed life that is in view for all who would trust God.<br /><br /><i>A God-ordered Life</i><br /><br />I-III. The first three commandments describe a God-ordered life with God alone as priority, vision, and worthy of worship, love, and service. They speak of God alone in the highest place, the place of worship, love, service, and obedience. Nothing is to take God’s place or even compete. It is the supreme and sole priority of God in our lives that orders all the rest of life. So these commandments speak to idolatry and worship, to obedience and disobedience, to service and to selfishness. <br /><br />IV. The fourth commandment (Sabbath) describes a God-ordered life in terms of work, rest, and time. Often you will hear the commandments sub-divided into the first four about God and the last six about human relationship. But the Sabbath commandment bridges between. Most importantly, it speaks not just of one day in seven, but of all seven days. It marks out our time as all belonging to God, subject to the commandments already given. And part of ordering our life under God is to not to over- or under-prioritize work, rest, or the balance between the two. Issues of work, recreation, family time, personal time, exercise, health, rest, and worship are all addressed in this commandment. It is a prime example of how the Commandments bring order and structure to our view of time and life.<br /><br />V. The fifth commandment (parents) describes a God-ordered life in terms of home and family. So submitting our lives to God’s leadership and worship not only affect our use of time, but also our relationships. The commandment to honor parents is more than respecting mom and dad. It requires something of children, but also of parents. It gets at all of family life, from respect to obedience to communication to how parents and children should relate throughout life. <br /><br />VI-IX. The sixth through ninth commandments describe a God-ordered life in terms of our neighbors, not taking from them selfishly, but loving them selflessly. Murder, adultery, stealing, and lying all take from those around us. Their inherent selfishness breaks the first commandments and the community implications breech what Jesus will later call “love of neighbor.” In these commandments, we see that God’s design for humanity is not just individual and internal, but societal and missional. Indeed, you do see in the Ten Commandments what will be lifted up clearly in the New Testament, that the greatest commandments are love of God and love of neighbor. <br /><br />X. The tenth commandment uniquely points towards a New Testament perspective, where we must even guard our interior thoughts, guarding against temptation and the sinful attitudes that lead to sinful actions. This aspect of the Ten Commandments is often overlooked; we think of the Ten as major crimes or sins of commission. But here we see that continued longing for what we don’t have is itself sin. Is this not Adam and Eve’s original sin in the Garden?<br /><br />What God holds up to us in these Commandments is a picture of life ordered according to God’s wisdom, justice, and love. The Law may be compared to a parent’s rules for children. You may play in the yard; but not in the street. It is not only the rule, it offers safety, security, and in the extreme, even life over injury or death. So also, the Ten Commandments are not rules to hamper us, but rules to set us free. Keeping or breaking the Ten Commandments isn’t about salvation. Breaking them doesn’t take you out of consideration; keeping them doesn’t purchase you a ticket to Heaven. Rather, they form a description of what a God-ordered and blessed life looks like. To the extent that we experience that, we begin to get a sense of how good God’s Word and will are for us. To the extent that we fall short and live in disarray, we realize just what was lost in the Garden.<br /><br />These are not rules by which we should measure and ask, “Am I good enough?” The answer to that question is that we are ALL dead in sin – dead in sin! Rather, the Ten Commandments are an example of God COMING AFTER US, to breathe life and hope into us – to offer us boundaries and a home and a place of safety in a fallen world where we are already at play in the street. God is already initiating His rescue plan. So our attentiveness to the Commandments at once shows us how lost we are and how God is already coming to find us through His Word.<br /><br />God’s Law cannot save from death, but <i><b>for those living in the ashes between Eden and the End, the Commandments offer a temporary shelter in the present world, with all the hope of a God who is coming to save us from death itself.</b></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-78908183989664604262017-01-01T17:22:00.000-05:002017-09-22T08:23:05.873-04:002016 Round Up<b><span style="font-size: large;">2016</span></b> has been the subject of much commentary from the election to the seemingly full spate of celebrity and other deaths. After fourteen years of ministry at Good Shepherd, the session also gave me a second sabbatical, which I used primarily to write and record original music (more below). <a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2015/12/2015-round-up.html" target="_blank">Last year at this time</a> I wrote about leaning back into "core ministries" as the church re-captured its vision after focusing on a capital campaign for several years. Like the previous two years, we also had some staff transition with our youth director, Joanie, leaving to get married, and with our children's ministry director, Melissa, stepping away from her church role at year end. So we enter 2017 still in staff transition. I have named several areas of new ministry and focus (men's ministry, racial reconciliation, youth ministry w/new staff), but also still look forward to seeing where God is leading us in 2017. As in past years, I would name some highlights (and benchmarks) for this past year.<br />
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<b>Sermon Series: </b>I don't always preach in series, but when I do, I often enjoy the cumulative effect of building on a theme or digging deep into a topic. We had several this year:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/02/dark-season-where-is-god-2016.html" target="_blank">"Dark Season of the Soul"</a> - looking to Lamentations and Psalms of lament to see how people have called out to God in the most challenging seasons of struggle, loss, and discouragement</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/03/things-we-leave-behind-2016.html" target="_blank">"Things We Leave Behind"</a> - a series focusing on what it means to trust and follow Jesus as disciples</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/05/god-as-in-pentateuch.html" target="_blank">"God As... in the Pentateuch"</a> - series by Kathy Larson during my sabbatical, focusing on the character of God as revealed in the first five books of the Bible</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/06/doers-of-word-book-of-james-2016.html" target="_blank">"Doers of the Word"</a> - series from the book of James by guest preachers in the congregation while I was on sabbatical</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/07/summer-series-2016.html" target="_blank">"Summer Series"</a> - various themes and sermons during the summer after returning from sabbatical</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/09/lessons-from-philemon-2016.html" target="_blank">"Lessons from Philemon"</a> - series on race and identity in Christ</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-good-shepherd-psalm-23-2016.html" target="_blank">"The Good Shepherd"</a> - series on Psalm 23</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/11/stewardship-2016.html" target="_blank">"Stewardship"</a> - series on our stewardship, consecration, and thankfulness as God's people</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/12/adventchristmas-2016.html" target="_blank">"Advent/Christmas"</a> - this year's Advent series and Christmas sermons, focused on knowing God through Jesus, as seen in his teaching and relationships<br />
</li>
</ul>
<b>Individual Sermons:</b> three sermons that stood out as "most downloaded" as well as meaningful to me. It is interesting to me that two of them came from our 'number' series early in the year and that the three represent a nice range of interests (spiritual struggle, spiritual discipline, spiritual health).<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/03/leaving-our-culture-luke-71-10.html" target="_blank">"Leaving Our Culture"</a> - we are "dual citizens" of our nation (and culture) and the Kingdom of God, but our first allegiance must be to the Kingdom of God</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/07/three-compassions-luke-71015.html" target="_blank">"Three Compassions"</a> - compassion is a necessary first step to living and loving beyond ourselves and what we and the whole of the human race needs to survive and flourish; written in response to the racial conflict manifesting in the summer of 2016</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2016/07/while-nations-rage-acts-423-31-psalm-2.html" target="_blank">"While the Nations Rage"</a> - God's sovereignty is an anchor in the midst of the unrest, anxiety, and issues swirling around us in the world today</li>
</ol>
<b>Testimonies:</b> this was a year of meaningful testimonies shared in and with the church; some are included below; I started to note "this is amazing!" next to them, but they are all amazing and really significant testimonies of God's goodness!<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202016/01-10-16%20testimony%20-%20Eric%20VanderHeide.mp3" target="_blank">Eric Vanderheide</a> - shares about fear and discouragement</li>
<li><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202016/07-24-16%20testimony%20-%201%20-%20Will%20Meeks-Youth%20Mission%20Trip%202016.mp3" target="_blank">Will Meeks</a>, <a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202016/07-24-16%20testimony%20-%202%20-%20Robbie%20Orr-Youth%20Mission%20Trip%202016.mp3" target="_blank">Robbie Orr</a>, and <a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202016/07-24-16%20testimony%20-%203%20-%20Elizabeth%20Austell-Youth%20Mission%20Trip%202016.mp3" target="_blank">Elizabeth Austell</a> - sharing about their experience on the summer youth mission trip</li>
<li><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202016/11-27-16%20testimony%20-%20Marlis%20Littleton.mp3" target="_blank">Marlis Littleton</a>, <a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202016/12-04-16%20testimony%20-%20Melissa%20Katibah.mp3" target="_blank">Melissa Katibah</a>, <a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202016/12-11-16%20testimony%20-%20Chris%20Orr.mp3" target="_blank">Chris Orr</a>, and <a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202016/12-18-16%20testimony%20-%20Megan%20Butler.mp3" target="_blank">Megan Butler</a> - sharing about how they came to know God through Jesus Christ</li>
</ul>
<b>Music: </b>one of the goals/habits<b> </b>I cultivated in 2014 was trying to regularly write or record music; I called this "Sundays for Singing," trying to post something each Sunday. I certainly didn't generate a post weekly, but it did get the wheels turning again. I was also excited for my friend, John Duncan, to get a life-long dream up and running in <a href="https://thebeathaven.com/about/" target="_blank">Beathaven</a>. It brings the opportunity of professional interaction, review, and submission of ideas to amateur musicians. I was pleased that John used several of my instrumental tracks (here's <a href="https://thebeathaven.com/shop/contemporary-light-ballads/robbie-theme/" target="_blank">one example</a>) in setting up the site and interacting with him around the Beathaven service has spurred some enjoyable musical creativity.<br />
<ul></ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-40322830593031139712016-08-29T15:51:00.000-04:002016-08-29T15:51:17.166-04:00New CD<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO67wk15RJxDIB1sHY0noDyHIAfYqje6aJ-kYgJdWuMonp_aywG6Z91HmDYA-azxhn6FXRZF0ZSOH7aG4SzGr6B6t_8geYsQMh1Eq383AumyHTOCXnjY6YZJ4E4F2lHpq9o2dllg/s1600/DOW+header+graphic+%2528pp+colors%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO67wk15RJxDIB1sHY0noDyHIAfYqje6aJ-kYgJdWuMonp_aywG6Z91HmDYA-azxhn6FXRZF0ZSOH7aG4SzGr6B6t_8geYsQMh1Eq383AumyHTOCXnjY6YZJ4E4F2lHpq9o2dllg/s400/DOW+header+graphic+%2528pp+colors%2529.jpg" width="98%" /></a></div>
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I am excited to announce the release of <i>The Depth of Worship, vol.1</i> - you can download for free on bandcamp (enter $0 when you name your price) and you can give it a listen there or in the player below. A short link for sharing is <a href="http://bit.ly/rmacd16"><b>bit.ly/rmacd16</b></a></div>
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Some of these songs started more than 10 years ago; most were recorded in my first sabbatical in 2008, and I was able to finish the mixing and mastering this past summer during a second sabbatical, thanks to my wonderful congregation at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church. (I also have about 8 new songs in the hopper... but still some work to do on them!)<br />
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Here are the liner notes, and explanation of why the project is sub-titled, "A Journey Home":<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wj-lfFYzKIxZTYkOfD6ppmriP4V648vpWJKyX8d9uSCruJKaRc9wJ6ZGJFvKqdaXcQoubBk5GZOjFHi-_JzYPR5vPMy6w27Zyx0SHgZS3A_x77iV-Xy_L-FieFfPvNSO1ZRwCQ/s1600/DOW%252C+journey+home+graphic.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wj-lfFYzKIxZTYkOfD6ppmriP4V648vpWJKyX8d9uSCruJKaRc9wJ6ZGJFvKqdaXcQoubBk5GZOjFHi-_JzYPR5vPMy6w27Zyx0SHgZS3A_x77iV-Xy_L-FieFfPvNSO1ZRwCQ/s320/DOW%252C+journey+home+graphic.jpg" width="320" /></a>The album began as a collection of contemporized hymns, most of which are early on in the album. As original songs were added and organized, a theme emerged of journeying home. Like the father in the prodigal son parable, the songs reflect the persistent, merciful, gracious, and abundant love of God for His children, even when they are far from home. The song lyrics move from the nearness of worship at the beginning to the presence of God during the wandering, to the joyful return to a loving Father's welcome. While I hope the hymns are useful in worship, I also hope the album as a whole will offer an opportunity to reflect on God's extravagant love that welcomes even the most prodigal wanderer home.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-40323354127452531392016-06-21T20:51:00.005-04:002016-06-21T20:51:55.982-04:00Preview CDI started contemporizing hymns back in the 90s. During my first sabbatical in 2009 I recorded several of my favorites along with some original music and got within spittin' distance of a full-band CD. Then I went back to my day job. :) I had every intention of completing the CD in a matter of weeks and to tide me over, I released an acoustic "preview" EP of five of the twelve tracks. I've given 100 or so of those away at conferences and to friends. Well, I'm winding down a second sabbatical now in 2016 and one of the things I was determined to do was to finish the first CD project. (I was actually more like a short bus ride, medium hike, and spittin' distance away... but nonetheless am preparing to release it.) I also was able to write about 10 new songs, but that's a story for another day.<br />
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I'm going to put the CD on bandcamp.com and in order to get the hand of how that works I have uploaded the preview EP from several years ago. It's free to preview or download and there is a link below. I hope to have the full CD up by the end of June. I am listening through the masters now and working on artwork, charts, and lyrics for the bandcamp page.<br />
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We already sing a number of these at Good Shepherd and at conferences where I lead the worship music; I hope this project will enable them to find wider usage and bless the Body of Christ.<br />
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<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3692202948/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 470px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://robertaustell.bandcamp.com/album/the-depth-of-worship-preview-ep">The Depth of Worship Preview EP by Robert Austell</a></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-71937763822365696952016-03-16T16:15:00.001-04:002023-01-26T15:16:46.509-05:00communication and community<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviPSE92DgGVxLALm89bYMhu1_pojEf73bGZllUBoVDGr7fO5qxeDOAe_H4aSAKn6mS650136hw2gAPJXDmr7w0DyEU5Ld3eium3H8-A1Xoy21xt0wSU11sJeR7j52COdul6BHwQ/s1600/armies-clash.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a> <br />
<i>In this election cycle I am reminded of a post I wrote five years ago at the time of the NC Amendment One vote. I re-post it in hopes that it will encourage, challenge, and embolden those who read it and desire the best for our community and country. </i><br />
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The North Carolina Amendment One vote has been on my mind and heart. My heart goes out to all who are personally grieving the outcome of the vote. I have a particular grief as well, a grief over our apparent inability or unwillingness to engage each other productively and compassionately. This was (and still is) nowhere more apparent than online, particularly on Facebook and in comments of various articles and sites. Now before you dismiss this as one more pitch for civility, here’s what I see as the grievous issue: <i>we are fighting a war with each other and we ALL are losing!</i><br />
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Neither “side” on the amendment issue was exempt from this. Even the word “sides” indicates only two tribes: for or against, with the other as the enemy. My Facebook wall was plastered with descriptions of a “war on marriage” and “hateful bigots” and the like. And tragically, these were not only friends of mine, but friends of each other. It’s so easy to post a sentence, label, or ‘like’ something and not have in mind the 100, 200, or 1000 friends it goes out to. I understand that we have strong opinions and feelings, but is that really what we think of each other? What is grievous to me is that we’ve lost the sense of compassion toward the other. Particularly in the last week leading up to the vote, just about every post I saw was some form of bullying (on both sides) – brute exertions of power and force to generate a desired outcome. <br />
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<i>“If you don’t vote ____, then you are against God!” (saw that on both sides)</i><br />
<i>“If you don’t vote ____, then you are against families!” (also saw that on both sides)</i><br />
<i>“If you don’t vote ____, I don’t ever want to speak or see you again!” (again, both sides) </i><br />
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And this goes out to… all our friends? <br />
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I’m not saying that strong opinion or feeling is wrong; it’s not. And I’m not saying that those who lost this vote should not be grieved or even angry; that’s human and natural. What I am saying is that if anger, force, bullying rhetoric, and political enemies are all we can muster, then it’s not going to get better for anybody. If this vote was “tyranny by the majority,” then the opposite vote in another year will be the same in the other direction.<br />
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There is a better way. It is simply this: <b><i>listening and understanding the other deepens community, and that is of benefit to everyone. </i></b><br />
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I did not post my position on Facebook. What I did do was sit down with the 7-8 people who asked me what I thought and listen, ask questions, and reflect together. I’d like to think they then did the same with 7-8 friends. Some of us agreed; some of us differed; <i>each of us learned and grew in the context of friendship and respect. </i><br />
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I’ll also go so far as to say that<i> in the context of that kind of conversation, one can actually express far more of one’s deeply held beliefs and opinions</i> than in the kind of salvos I saw regularly on Facebook and other online forums, because if you see me coming already declaring you the enemy, you are either going to fight or run. It turns out that there are a number of complex questions that we need to wrestle with as a society. That’s not going to happen in a tweet or status message. It <i>might </i>happen if we sit down to listen and understand. That doesn’t require you to change your mind or your vote, but it sure helps you put yourself in the other’s shoes, and that is what builds community and a common society.<br />
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If you want to know how I voted, let me buy you a cup of coffee.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-20742580236734503112015-12-31T07:29:00.000-05:002015-12-31T22:13:24.962-05:002015 Round-Up<b><span style="font-size: large;">2015</span></b> has been a full and different kind of year. <a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/12/2014-round-up.html" target="_blank">Last year at this time</a> I wrote about finishing renovations, new patterns of exercise and recreation, and looking forward to being fully staffed at church. For both myself and the congregation, 2015 felt like a 'recovery' year from a pretty exhausting 2014. Though that language seems to fit a personal workout rather than the overall experience of a community, it seems apt nonetheless. And where I anticipated being fully staffed early in the year, it was fall before we had new staff in place. (And they are wonderful!)<br />
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So as I look back on the year, I see myself leaning back into core ministries of preaching and leading worship, struggling (a bit) to maintain weight and exercise routines, and only rediscovering time and space for recreation and music late in the Fall. So what follows are some highlights of this past year.<br />
<br />
<b>Sermon Series: </b>I don't always preach in series, but when I do, I often enjoy the cumulative effect of building on a theme or digging deep into a topic. We had several this year; here are the indices:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/02/holy-habits-law-as-teacher-2015.html" target="_blank">Holy Habits: the Law as Teacher</a>: patterns and practices God established that still cultivate and develop a healthy spiritual life</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/04/tested-with-us-and-for-us-2015.html" target="_blank">Tested with Us and for Us</a>: on the benefits of Jesus' humanity to identify with us</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/05/what-is-good-news-2015.html" target="_blank">What is the Good News</a>: a basic look at several aspects of the Christian message</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/09/teach-us-to-pray-lords-prayer-2015.html" target="_blank">Teach Us to Pray (The Lord's Prayer)</a>: our longest series by far, we looked at scriptures to understand (and pray) each phrase of the Lord's Prayer</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/11/welcome-wanderers-series-2015.html" target="_blank">Welcome Wanderers</a>: working through Ephesians 2 to see how extraordinary is the gracious welcome offered through Jesus Christ</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/11/psalm-24-2015.html" target="_blank">Psalm 24</a>: a three-week study on Psalm 24 that really covers the whole biblical story</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/12/advent-2015.html" target="_blank">Advent</a>: a look at the hope, love, joy, and peace of God w/personal testimony</li>
</ul>
<b>Individual Sermons:</b> three sermons that stood out as "most downloaded" as well as meaningful to me. It is interesting to me that two of them came from our 'number' series early in the year and that the three represent a nice range of interests (spiritual struggle, spiritual discipline, spiritual health).<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/01/waiting-on-god-psalm-37-acts-7.html" target="_blank">"40: Waiting on God"</a> (Psalm 37:1-7a, Acts 7:20-36) - three stories of having to wait on God</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/02/1-in-10-tithing-deuteronomy-14-matthew.html" target="_blank">"10: Tithing"</a> (Deuteronomy 14:22-29; Matthew 23:23-26) - this was the first time I had preached on tithing <i>not</i> during the "stewardship season" of the church; it was a profound text for me to work through</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2015/09/fit-for-what-hebrews-121-11.html" target="_blank">"Fit for What?"</a> (Hebrews 12:1-11) - what does spiritual health look like? and how do we get started?</li>
</ol>
<b>Testimonies:</b> this was a year of meaningful testimonies shared in and with the church; some are included below; I started to note "this is amazing!" next to them, but they are all amazing and really significant testimonies of God's goodness!<br />
<ul>
<li>Cynthia Roberts (<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202015/05-10-15%20testimony%20-%20Cynthia%20Roberts.mp3" target="_blank">audio link</a>, 7 min) - responding to the question "Where have you seen or experienced the Good News of Christ?"</li>
<li>Marty McKenzie (<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202015/11.29.15%20testimony%20-%20Marty%20McKenzie.mp3" target="_blank">audio link</a>, 5 min) - responding to the question "How have you experienced the HOPE of God?"; Marty shares personal loss and struggle and how hope in God has sustained her</li>
<li>Karen Katibah (<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202015/12-13-15%20testimony%20-%20Karen%20Katibah.mp3" target="_blank">audio link</a>, 6 min) - responding to the question "How have you experienced the JOY of Jesus Christ?"; Karen, a senior in college, shares about the uncertainties of graduating from college and the joy she has discovered in following God's leading</li>
<li>Cynthia Roberts (<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202015/12-20-15%20testimony%20-%20Cynthia%20Roberts.mp3" target="_blank">audio link</a>, 4 min) - responding to the question "How have you experienced the PEACE of God?"; Cynthia shares about the loss of her mother and God's peace</li>
</ul>
<b>Music: </b>one of the goals/habits<b> </b>I cultivated in 2014 was trying to regularly write or record music; I called this "Sundays for Singing," trying to post something each Sunday. I certainly didn't generate a post weekly, but it did get the wheels turning again. Here are a few unpolished examples:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.robertaustell.com/2015/01/dear-refuge-of-my-weary-soul.html" target="_blank">"Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul"</a> - a worship song by Kevin Twit (Indelible Grace) to a text by Anne Steele; wonderful words for those struggling in this world</li>
<li><a href="http://www.robertaustell.com/2015/04/hail-day.html" target="_blank">"Hail the Day that Christ Arose"</a> - an encouraging song by Steve and Vikki Cook (adapted from a Wesley hymn text) about the benefits of Christ's resurrection</li>
</ul>
I was also excited for my friend, John Duncan, to get a life-long dream up and running in <a href="https://thebeathaven.com/about/" target="_blank">Beathaven</a>. It brings the opportunity of professional interaction, review, and submission of ideas to amateur musicians. I was pleased that John used several of my instrumental tracks (here's <a href="https://thebeathaven.com/shop/contemporary-light-ballads/robbie-theme/" target="_blank">one example</a>) in setting up the site and interacting with him around the Beathaven service has spurred some enjoyable musical creativity.<br />
<ul></ul>
<b>Health/Fitness </b>- Just a few benchmarks to mark (for myself) where I am. Still running and walking regularly, though I've put some weight back on this year. (here are <a href="http://www.robertaustell.com/2013/12/personal-highlights-2013.html" target="_blank">last year's data</a> also shown +- below). Everything is a little shorter and slower, but still a significant amount of work. Big goals ahead for 2016!<br />
<ul>
<li>Jan-Dec: approx. +5 lbs ...but still down 25 from pre-2013</li>
<li>279 (-61) workouts in 213 (-40) hours</li>
<li>155,000 (-49k) total calories burned </li>
<li>502 (-153) mi. running + 400 (-71) mi. walking = 902 (-224) total miles</li>
<li>Longest Run: 10.1 mi. [did this 2x, but no 13.1 runs this year]</li>
<li>Fastest Runs: <ul>
<li>1mi: 7:59 min/mi</li>
<li>5k: 10:09 min/mi</li>
<li>5mi: 10:07 min/mi</li>
<li>9mi: 11:35 min/mi </li>
<li>10mi: 12:18 min/mi</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-74803812542699416082015-12-01T10:21:00.000-05:002016-01-02T09:49:51.440-05:00refugees, faith, and freedom<i>I worked on this post off-and-on for two weeks and was still holding it, thinking I could improve it. And, I wanted to link to numerous articles I had read that I thought were helpful. But, instead, it has just sat in the draft folder for too long. So, I'm posting and will come back and add to it, if so led. I'd rather do that then not ever post it at all.<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1.1.15)</span></i> <br />
<br />
<b><i>Thanksgiving week, 2015</i></b> <br />
<br />
Particularly since the acts of terror and loss of life in Paris, the question of how the U.S. will respond to Syrian (and other) refugees in days to come. Rather than speak quickly, I have read widely and pondered deeply because the question of how to respond is interwoven with compassion, faith, religion, politics, nationalism, fear, and many other factors. No one person or article can address the question fully; sadly, many have not addressed the question meaningfully at all, but have added to the problem by circulating false information and (intentionally or not) fanning the flames of fear.<br />
<br />
After pondering whether and what to add to the fray, I want to focus on one particular part of a response and then link to some of the articles and commentary I have found most helpful (and accurate).<br />
<br />
As a Christian and pastor, my first response has to do with faith and the teachings of Jesus, that kind of response has been handled well by others.<br />
<br />
<i>Thought, Speech, and Action</i><br />
<br />
One meme I continue to see online goes something like this: "If you had a bowl of 1000 smarties and you knew 10 of them were poison, would you eat any of them?" One more accurate and thoughtful response points out that the actually percentage of refugees who have proven to be terrorists is more like .005% AND if you knew that each smartie you didn't eat meant the death of a woman or child, then yes, you sure would take the risk. Another outright lie suggests that "most of the refugees would be 20-something Muslim men of fighting age." Not only is that completely distorted and untrue, but it crystallized for me a point that I have not seen addressed well or at all: that is the distinction between thought, speech, and action.<br />
<br />
In this country, THOUGHTS are our own (at least legally!). We may try to shape and sway them through media and marketing, but at the end of the day you can't read someone's mind and you can't <i>make</i> them think something they don't want to. We also have written into our founding documents that SPEECH is free and protected. There are some limits on that, like shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater, but broadly speaking, free speech is protected and guarded, even when it cuts against deeply held public values. Where we draw the line on stepping "out of bounds" is with ACTIONS. If you break the law (and are caught), you are arrested; there are consequences. That is true of running traffic lights as well as it is of committing treason.<br />
<br />
So, you can think all day long about driving 100 mph on your local Main Street. You can make speeches and publish blogs about your belief that driving fast is okay (as long as no one is hurt). You may run into trouble if your "speech" starts to cross the line into threatening others... that's the gray part. But you will certainly be arrested and punished if you head out to Main Street and put the pedal to the metal.<br />
<br />
I know there are some exceptions to all that, but ponder the refugees for a moment. Are we really ready to say that <i>all </i>should be kept out of the country because <i>some </i>might have thoughts <i>many</i> of us don't agree with? Is that our standard for justice, much less for compassion?<br />
<br />
"But, there are surely some refugees that might harm us!" you say. Well illegal action or definitive intent to commit illegal action needs to be the line, I respond. Think about some other implications otherwise of that "one in a bowl of smarties" meme.<br />
<ul>
<li>I read in the news that some percentage of young black men are in gangs and commit violent crimes. Does that mean we should enact laws against ALL young black men for thought, speech, or for a certain statistical profile? </li>
<li>I read in the news that some percentage of school shootings are by young white men who (often) identify or are described as fundamentalist Christian and/or white supremacists. Does that mean we should enact laws against ALL young white men? against fundamentalist Christians? against white supremacists per se?</li>
<li>I read in the news that some percentage of Catholic and evangelical Christians so strongly believe abortion to be sin (and morally equivalent to murder) that <i>some</i> commit criminal acts. Does this mean we should enact laws against all Catholics and evangelicals? against all who identify as pro-life? </li>
<li>I read in the news that some Christians (and Muslims and other religious groups) teach and preach that homosexual sex is a 'sin' and should be considered legally as hate speech. Does this mean that doing so should be a jailable offense?</li>
</ul>
It's one thing to be part of the "in-group" and decide that the person you disagree with should be penalized for a different belief. But if you do that based on thought or speech (or only on statistical data!), you are crossing a line that needs to be carefully examined before "they come for you."<br />
<br />
I believe one of the great strengths of our democratic republic is the freedom of thought and speech we have written into the fabric of our society. We forget it sometimes, to our great detriment and moral loss. (Japanese internment, McCarthyism, etc., etc...) So, in addition to the many other good reasons to welcome men, women, and children who are fleeing horrific torture and death, let us not forget the very freedoms we cherish as we wrestle with protecting the freedoms we cherish.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-59803401659602957892015-10-29T10:40:00.001-04:002015-10-29T10:40:26.918-04:00hopeI was recently quoted in an article by Jodi Craiglow entitled, <a href="https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/today/1115-evangelical/" target="_blank">"Is there hope for PCUSA evangelicals today?"</a> I thought I would bump my old article to the top of my blogs in case anyone wants to read the quote in its fuller context.<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<i>In mid-January 2012, Moderator Cynthia Bolbach and a group of
other ruling and teaching elders posted a video entitled, "Hope for the
PC(USA)." They invited others in the church to share with the church
why we believe "this to be the beginning, not the end, of what God has
planned for us." What follows is my answer to that invitation...</i> <br />
<br />
I
have great hope and conviction that God is alive and well and at work
in this world in which we live. That was just confirmed in person as I
sat at the corner coffee shop and had a conversation with the manager
who has become a friend, who shared some of her own personal burdens,
the help she gains from her recent faith, and her desire to follow God's
leading in her work and life. That she had no church background or
desire to know God did not stop God from pursuing and finding her.
Thankfully. Mercifully. Gloriously!<br />
<br />
I have great hope
that God is alive and well and at work in the part of the Church called
the PCUSA. I see it as I share stories with friends across the
presbytery and across the country. For instance, I see it in my good
friend's church - a "transformation church" that has struggled to cling
to life, battled the prospect of change, and embodies new life in
Christ. Despite struggle and tears, even accusations and opposition, I
have heard and seen the Gospel of Jesus Christ SHINE through her and
those remaining to become God's church in their neighborhood. I see our
presbytery responding to a vision of becoming less about institutional
maintenance (survival?!) and more about asking what God is already doing
through the congregations of our presbytery. Despite resistance to
change, guarding of territory, and fear of the unknown, I have seen the
Spirit stir and move in and among our presbytery.<br />
<br />
I am not ignorant or indifferent to the challenges before us. John Vest's <a href="http://johnvest.com/2012/01/11/embracing-the-pathos-of-our-situation/" target="_blank">"Pathos" post</a>
was piercingly truthful about the ways we fail and fall short. But my
hope is not pinned to institutional "success," human merit, or
theological position. Honestly, I have been disappointed by people all
across the theological spectrum; I have also been greatly encouraged,
challenged, and witnessed to by people all across the theological
spectrum. People are people... and they sure aren't God. My hope comes
from a conviction that God's ability to move, work, help, and save is
not dependent on human success or faithfulness. That doesn't let us off
the hook in terms of faithfulness or obedience, but it sure keeps me
from becoming hopeless.<br />
<br />
Finally, I have great hope
because of my own congregation and ministry. And lest that seem obvious
or self-promoting, that hope comes precisely because of my own keen
awareness of my limitations and failures. One of the ways I describe our
congregation is "ordinary people; extraordinary God" - and I mean every
bit of that. There is nothing I would deem good or bad, faithful or
unfaithful, Jesus-centered or wayward as Hell, in the denomination that I
don't also encounter in my own congregation and my own life. And God
keeps showing up, stirring us up, calling us back, cleaning us up, and
sending us out under the Word, sealed in the Spirit, and following the
Son.<br />
<br />
Thankfully. Mercifully. Gloriously!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br /></blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-11203347302300374242015-09-23T11:05:00.000-04:002015-10-29T11:06:14.977-04:00::SCOTLAND ROUND-UP:: [repost][repost]<br />
<br />
A trip to Scotland in summer of 2014 was enjoyable and wonderful in and of
itself; it also occasioned significant reflection, as demonstrated in a
number of blog posts. Here is an index of those posts.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/08/i-know-those-words-but-dont-know-what.html" target="_blank">I Know Those Words but Don't Know What You Mean</a> - a look at some of the cultural challenges for 'outsiders' to a given context (whether a country or the church)</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/08/insider-language-addendum.html" target="_blank">Insider Language Addendum</a> - even at best, church often defaults to a "minimum hospitality threshhold"; can we do better?</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/08/when-floor-puts-ceiling-on-ministry.html" target="_blank">When the Floor is a Ceiling to Ministry</a> - a living example of a church far exceeding the "minimum hospitality threshhold"; a study in faithful change</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/08/change-is-death.html" target="_blank">Change is Death</a> - change is hard and feels like death (and some things do die); but there is hope when God is involved</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/08/change-is-life.html" target="_blank">Change is Life</a> - three examples of different approaches to change in (and out of) the PCUSA</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/08/change-is-what-you-need-to-ride.html" target="_blank">Change is... What You Need to Ride a Scottish Bus</a> - change is not the thing in and of itself</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/08/can-you-spare-some-change.html" target="_blank">Can You Spare Some Change?</a> - reflection on generational roles in change</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-human-touch.html" target="_blank">The Human Touch</a> - a Scottish dance party provides a picture of the community God desires the Church to be</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/09/just-get-over-it.html" target="_blank">Just Get Over It</a>
- attending a musical/play at a Scottish festival reminds me that
listening and understanding the other deepens and benefits community</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/09/family-connections.html" target="_blank">Family Connections</a> - concluding reflections on how shared experiences leads to deeper relationship</li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-28854905300008293522015-09-09T10:58:00.000-04:002015-10-29T10:58:48.449-04:00missional life in the small(er) church [repost][repost]<i><b> </b></i><br />
<br />
<i><b>Some key posts gathered into one list. </b></i><br />
<ul>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2009/09/wednesdays-out.html">Wednesday Night Experiment</a> (series)</b>
- initial description and follow-up reports of our experiment of
pushing the Wednesday night church meeting outside the walls into the
neighborhood. Some exciting results!! Continue reading about year two <a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2010/10/wednesday-nights-out-year-2a.html"><b>HERE</b></a>.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2009/02/defining-missional.html">Missional Identity in the Small Church</a> (series)</b>
- this series chronicles the visioning, communication, implementation,
etc... of a missional identity at Good Shepherd. This material was
compiled for a workshop I taught, but comes from an officer retreat in
2006. The initial link has links to the successive posts.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2012/09/each-one-bring-one.html" target="_blank">Each One Bring One</a></b> - our September 2012 outreach emphasis with a home-grown video from our drama and children's ministry</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2008/07/vbs-on-road.html"><b>VBS on the Road</b></a> - the story of taking our Vacation Bible School outside the walls</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2008/07/searchlight-in-training.html"><b>Searchlight-in-Training</b></a> - a missional look at parenting my young daughter</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-than-cookies.html"><b>More than Cookies</b></a> - narrative of two memorable days in ministry that highlight our growing missional mindset along with the <i>mess</i> and the <i>glory</i> of being a lighthouse and searchlight church</li>
<li><b><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2010/08/truth-and-error-1-intro-2-timothy-214.html">Truth and Error</a> (series)</b> - study of truth and error in the local church from 2 Timothy 2</li>
<li><b>Frost Defines Missional (<a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2008/05/frost-defines-missional-at-pgf.html">part 1</a>, <a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2008/05/frost-defines-missional-at-pgf-pt-2.html">part 2</a>, <a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2008/05/frost-defines-missional-at-pgf-pt-3.html">part 3</a>)</b> - blogged through Michael Frost's presentation on missional church at the 2007 Presbyterian Global Fellowship conference</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2009/08/talent-challenge.html"><b>The Talent Challenge</b></a> - a real-life missional "parable of the Talents" exercise; two follow-up reports below<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2009/08/talent-challenge-mission-benefit.html"><b>Mission Benefit Concert</b></a> - a $20 talent turned into a fabulous fund-raising concert for our missionaries in Spain; raised $1800!</li>
<li><a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2009/09/talent-challenge-fruit.html"><b>Family business in Nicaragua</b></a> - a $20 talent sent to our missionaries in Nicaragua purchased equipment for start-up sewing classes</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-47901077085361642832015-08-26T10:52:00.000-04:002015-10-29T10:53:24.302-04:00this is grace [repost][repost] <br />
<br />
After the messages on <a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2015/08/grace-and-truth-repost.html" target="_blank">"Grace and Truth"</a> I saw this description of that worship
service posted on Facebook. I'll also include my follow-up comment and
another... to be sure there are days when we don't get it right, but
then there are days like this where we catch a glimpse of God's purposes
in the Church... and it's pretty glorious if you're looking (or as more than a few spiritual directors have named it: "cultivating the discipline of noticing" God's presence)!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="mvm _5pco" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
<i>PRISCILLA: One of
the many reasons I love having the opportunity to celebrate communion
Sunday with all of you is the kids. For whatever reason, even the youth
seemed to be sitting with family today, my own daughter sat with me. As
service progressed and I would glance around I saw so many children
being physically loved on in the pews. This was not just the little ones
either. Teenagers were getting and openly receiving love all around the
sanctuary. Middle-schoolers ended up on someone's lap or holding a
hand. One family's 3 elementary aged children all ended up on the 2
parents laps. These visuals added so much to the service this morning.
Thank you all for sharing your precious children with this community of
believers!</i> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="mvm _5pco" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
<i><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987624:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987624:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987624:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987624:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$4:0">ROBERT (me): I
also heard babies cooing, giggling, and fussing (and wouldn't trade it
for anything); I saw our good friend with the stroke pat a young boy on
the back as they arrived at the Communion Table to leave something</span></span><span data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987624:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987624:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987624:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$0:0">
in the Ten Cents a Meal basket; I saw a couple of guys from the men's
group home worshiping all-out; I saw some new faces eagerly engaged in
worship; I saw some folks I know are struggling with the whole idea of
faith, but are there checking it out because someone they love is there.
It is a very beautiful thing and I am beyond blessed to pastor this
flock.</span></span></span></span></span></i> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="mvm _5pco" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
<i><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987656:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body"><span data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987656:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".hb.1:3:1:$comment679930671468_987656:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">RUTH: For
here is Jesus, welcoming all into HIS family - the young and the old,
the strong and the weak, the puzzled and the calm, the grieving and the
peaceful, the lonely and the scared. All looking so diverse on the
outside, yet all made in HIS image, all with eternity set in their
hearts by HIM. And this is what LOVE is - this is GRACE.</span></span></span></i> </div>
</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-50385454120333685032015-08-05T10:42:00.000-04:002015-10-29T10:45:59.226-04:00grace and truth [repost]<i>Monday Musings are reflections on things I've been pondering lately. They may be a result of the previous day's sermon or come from my own life or the ministry I'm involved with. As with any of my posts, I invite your comments, questions, or further reflection. Thanks for stopping in!</i><br />
<br />
Early in 2014 I was preaching on truth and grace and one of the dear members of the church was led to create a grace and truth banner for our sanctuary.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Rb7mhFAg0xFMzHGbtXmWsquJw7BO_eRdEqnbspygNWf8QsGeu-zGCfyBqWFFWnqTc5J0CJ0oK-TJjApQHIPEEx9GhGRiyXnbEbI05z1xAO3GKoudmUdeLtzqTzY_J9g4oAM-Pw/s1600/grace+and+truth+banner+-+gspc.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Rb7mhFAg0xFMzHGbtXmWsquJw7BO_eRdEqnbspygNWf8QsGeu-zGCfyBqWFFWnqTc5J0CJ0oK-TJjApQHIPEEx9GhGRiyXnbEbI05z1xAO3GKoudmUdeLtzqTzY_J9g4oAM-Pw/s1600/grace+and+truth+banner+-+gspc.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I used that banner as a sermon illustration and it grew into this graphic, which spelled out a little more of what I think Jesus was teaching. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4zos_Ami-cdspi83N6jOrL66byf1j4prTzkhikcNRoKciYHfdToymtvlR5o4xbBMlj343kOxoGCcZZCqIuVyxYipkxDA5yV8UpUJuGCMrgxb8DzveZPcWGt7gmADwI9ff-ESPA/s1600/grace-truth+graphic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4zos_Ami-cdspi83N6jOrL66byf1j4prTzkhikcNRoKciYHfdToymtvlR5o4xbBMlj343kOxoGCcZZCqIuVyxYipkxDA5yV8UpUJuGCMrgxb8DzveZPcWGt7gmADwI9ff-ESPA/s1600/grace-truth+graphic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The gist of the idea is that real grace and real truth are inseparable. There is a false grace ("license") and a false truth ("legalism"), but the real thing is held together in Christ (literally, IN Christ - embodied in as well as taught by).<br />
<br />
Further, in that space between grace and truth there is FREEDOM, specifically two freedoms. There is FREEDOM TO FAIL, which is an important freedom. It is the freedom to hear the truth of God’s Word and be found both guilty and still wanted and loved. We settle for believing we are not guilty or for finding others who look worse than we are. Yet we are not righteous before God. And here’s the Good News: we are not cast out, but we are chosen, wanted, and loved.<br />
<br />
And in understanding that, accepting that, and rising in that, there is the FREEDOM TO LIVE. That’s also in that space and tension between grace and truth, in the presence of Christ. It’s a freedom to obey God’s Word, not because we have to, but because we want to. It’s the freedom that comes from failing and experiencing forgiveness. It’s the freedom God has designed us for. And it exists there in the middle space.<br />
<br />
That's the main idea I'm continuing to muse upon. You can read more in the three sermons linked below (especially the second one, where I first used this graphic). <br />
<ul class="posts">
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-space-between-truth-and-grace.html" target="_blank">The Space Between Truth and Grace (Matthew 5.17-26)</a> <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>initial illustration with the banner</i></span></li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/01/fulfilling-word-vows-matthew-527-37.html" target="_blank">Fulfilling the Word: Vows (Matthew 5.27-37)</a> <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>main development of the theme of redemption</i></span></li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/01/fulfilling-word-neighbors-and-enemies.html" target="_blank">Fulfilling the Word: Neighbors and Enemies (Matthew 5.38-48)</a> <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>identified an additional theme of reconciliation alongside redemption</i></span></li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-89879822160192576812015-02-18T13:51:00.002-05:002015-03-21T08:20:26.176-04:00Ash Wednesday 2015We cancelled our Ash Wednesday service this year (2015) because of weather. For those who want to have an Ash Wednesday devotion at home, here is some of what we were going to do tonight. I hope you find it helpful. In Christ, Robert<br />
<br />
Here is a video which captures the whole of the service; we were going to view it (5 min.) at the end as we prepared to leave. <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Is6weMrenls" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church<br />
ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE</b><br />
February 18, 2015<br />
<br />
<i> Tonight’s service will be mostly silence, scripture, and prayer. Use this time to shut off phones, turn away from text messages, lay aside schedules and work and projects. Try to slow down and enter quietly into the presence of God in order to consider “Who am I?” “Who is God?”<br />
Tonight’s service is a service of penitence. It is about coming before God in all our frailty, weakness, and sinfulness; it is about humbly asking, “Lord, have mercy.” Prepare your hearts and prepare your minds, for God is here.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Call to Worship</b> Isaiah 6:1-7<br />
<blockquote>
1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” </blockquote>
<br />
<b>God’s Word to Us</b> Who is God? Job 42:1-6<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
1 Then Job answered the Lord and said, 2 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” 4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ 5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; 6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”</blockquote>
<b>Prayer of Recognition</b> - finish these sentences from Job 42 in your own words as you pray.<br />
<ul>
<li>I have heard of you, but now I see you…</li>
<li>Therefore I retract and I repent…</li>
</ul>
<b>God’s Word to Us </b>Who is Jesus? Hebrews 5:5-10<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
5 Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you!” 6 In another place God declares, “You’re a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.” 7 While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. 8 Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. 9 Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, 10 he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him. (The Message)</blockquote>
Prayer of Identification - pray and ponder quietly as you identify with Jesus<br />
<ul>
<li>Cried out in pain and wept in sorrow…</li>
<li>What he suffered…</li>
<li>Jesus’ trusting-obedience…</li>
<li>My disobedience…</li>
</ul>
<b>-------------CONFESSION AND REPENTANCE-------------</b><br />
<br />
<b>God’s Word to Us </b>Who am I? Ps. 24:3-5; Romans 3:23<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Psalm 24:3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord And righteousness from the God of his salvation.<br />
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…</blockquote>
<b>Prayer of Confession</b> (read together)<br />
Most merciful God, to whom all hearts are open, to whom all desires known, from whom no secrets are hid, we confess and acknowledge our wickedness: we have robbed You of Your glory; we have not loved you with our whole being; and we have worshiped idols made with our own hands. Against you have we sinned. (Silent reflection)<br />
<br />
We confess that we have not loved our neighbors; we have not served them; we have hidden the truth of your grace from them in our deeds, we have clung to things that bring us good, rather than sacrificing for our neighbor’s good. (Silent reflection)<br />
<br />
Father, for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, forgive us and renew us. Strengthen our love and desire for you in these coming days, turn our hearts to You that we may delight in Your ways. Amen<br />
<br />
<b>-------------IMPOSITION OF ASHES-------------</b><br />
<b>Scripture </b>A Sign of our Penitence Genesis 3:19<br />
<blockquote>
19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”</blockquote>
<b>Imposition of Ashes</b><br />
<i>Please come forward down the center aisle as you are ready. Pastor Robert will put the sign of the cross on your forehead using a mixture of palm ashes and water. Spend the time before, during, and after in prayer and personal confession to God. Return not to your seat of solitude, but to the first few rows that Pastor Robert will indicate.</i><br />
<br />
<b>---------THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD’S GRACE IN JESUS CHRIST---------</b><br />
<br />
<b>Scripture </b>One Like Us Who Saves Us <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Hebrews 4:14-16<br />
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Psalm 113:5-7<br />
5 Who is like the Lord our God, Who is enthroned on high, 6 Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap…</blockquote>
<b>Prayers of Thanks and Intercession </b>(open)<br />
<b>Benediction</b><br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9894885.post-19774495686143972722014-12-31T22:00:00.000-05:002015-12-30T07:15:30.077-05:002014 Round-Up<b><span style="font-size: large;">2014</span></b> has been a full year. In my 12th year at Good Shepherd, we undertook a sanctuary and youth building renovation project; I was fortunate to be invited on a ministerial trip to Scotland; I tried to establish some new patterns of regular writing and recording (music); I continued to try to incorporate regular exercise into my life. Challenges included two beloved church staff leaving (and trying to cover their vacancies for most of the 4th quarter), the renovation campaign (did I mention that already?), and maintaining regular health and exercise...did I also mention that? :)<br />
<br />
Some highlights of preaching, writing, travel, health, etc... follow:<br />
<br />
<b>Sermon Series: <a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/04/it-is-written-2014.html" target="_blank">"It is Written"</a></b><br />
I don't always preach in series, but when I do, I often enjoy the cumulative effect of building on a theme or digging deep into a topic. Early in the year, having read an article about some "Red-Letter Christians"* who found Jesus' teaching at odds with other scripture (whether Paul or the Old Testament), I did an extended series looking at a number of places where Jesus quoted the Hebrew scriptures and used them as the basis of his own teaching and ministry. It was a fascinating study for me and the congregation seemed to get a lot out of it as well. (*Note: this view does not describe all so-called "Red-Letter Christians"; some, like Tony Campolo, simply want to take Jesus seriously and use this designation to point to all the things Jesus did say... turns out, though, for the critics of the Old that those red letters also encompass pretty much the whole scope of the Old Testament being spoken out of Jesus' mouth.) That study led right into Acts for Pentecost, and I just stayed there all summer with the "Into the World" series (<a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/09/into-world-2014.html" target="_blank">link</a>).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7mJ_qVSHjEbqbfx1DsdHOYy2-jvUNw9tI8QkTpENHgCMIzKh3X9hgi27XyfIsZhgwaWBvByU1-Bwgz5KtgEh1uohyphenhyphenKSlWqNBH5N9yWl5PvmQ6TwFLFqwsgzdbkr3I9oKIcZl0w/s1600/grace-truth+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7mJ_qVSHjEbqbfx1DsdHOYy2-jvUNw9tI8QkTpENHgCMIzKh3X9hgi27XyfIsZhgwaWBvByU1-Bwgz5KtgEh1uohyphenhyphenKSlWqNBH5N9yWl5PvmQ6TwFLFqwsgzdbkr3I9oKIcZl0w/s1600/grace-truth+graphic.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Individual Sermons:</b> three sermons stood out as "most downloaded" as well as most meaningful to me. They all were part of the series mentioned above (and really framed that whole series), but did more even than track the theme of Jesus' use of Hebrew/OT scripture. All coming from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, these represent much pulling together of my own thinking and real-life experience (in ministry and as a human being). The accompanying graphic (included here) captures much of it, but I commend these sermons to get a sense of what developed.<br />
Also, see the short overview of all three (also with links) on my blog <a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/01/monday-musings-truth-and-grace.html" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>. <br />
<ol><li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-space-between-truth-and-grace.html" target="_blank">"The Space between Truth and Grace"</a> (Matthew 5:17-26)</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/01/fulfilling-word-vows-matthew-527-37.html" target="_blank">"Fulfilling the Word: Vows"</a> (Matthew 5:27-37)</li>
<li><a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/01/fulfilling-word-neighbors-and-enemies.html" target="_blank">"Fulfilling the Word: Neighbors and Enemies"</a> (Matthew 5:38-48)</li>
</ol><b>Testimonies:</b> this was a year of meaningful testimonies shared in and with the church; some are included below; I started to note "this is amazing!" next to them, but they are all amazing and really significant testimonies of God's goodness!<br />
<ul><li>Mark Katibah (<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202014/Testimony-Mark%20Katibah%2011-9-14.mp3" target="_blank">audio link</a>, 5 min) - "How have you seen the goodness or greatness of God through our church? (shared on Nov 9 for "Church Matters, pt. 1"; <a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/11/church-matters-pt-1-luke-1835-43-luke.html" target="_blank">page link</a>)</li>
<li>Shannon Klar (<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/152082207/GSPC%20Sermon%20Audio%202014/11-16-14%20sermon%20-%20Church%20Matters%20Testimony%20-%20Shannon%20Klar%20(Luke%2019.1-10).mp3" target="_blank">audio link</a>, 23 min) - "What does it look like to encounter God's goodness and greatness and be changed?" (shared on Nov 16 for "Church Matters, pt. 2"; <a href="http://gspcsermons.blogspot.com/2014/11/church-matters-pt-2-luke-191-10.html" target="_blank">page link</a>) </li>
<li>Ray Ball (<a href="https://app.box.com/s/9vanwdsfhvex03oimbwz" target="_blank">audio link</a>, 7 min) - as part of our Christmas "Behold the Lamb of God" concert, I asked Ray to share part of his testimony to illustrate God's deliverance</li>
<li>Bentley Ball (<a href="https://app.box.com/s/8r6cvqwszy37z966b8sj" target="_blank">audio link</a>, 12 min) - as part of our Christmas "Behold the Lamb of God" concert, I asked Bentley to share part of her testimony to illustrate what it is like to wait on God (both the faith and the struggle)</li>
</ul><b>Scotland Reflections (<a href="http://robertaustell.blogspot.com/2014/09/scotland-round-up.html" target="_blank">index</a>):</b> a ministerial trip to Scotland proved to be one highlight of the year, particularly as related to theological/personal/ministry reflection. The main part of my blogging this year was thoughtful reflection on my time in Scotland, particularly around themes of change, culture, and community.<br />
<br />
<b>Music: </b>one of the goals/habits I cultivated in 2014 was trying to regularly write or record music; I called this "Sundays for Singing," trying to post something each Sunday. I certainly didn't generate a post weekly, but it did get the wheels turning again. Here are a few unpolished examples:<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.robertaustell.com/2014/03/the-temple-song.html" target="_blank">"Temple Song"</a> - about Jesus overturning the tables in the Temple in John 2; first guitar-arrangement of this original piano song with my friend, Gerrit Dawson; please excuse the "Christmas jammies"</li>
<li><a href="http://www.robertaustell.com/2014/02/say-something.html" target="_blank">"Say Something"</a> - a radio cover my daughter wanted to do; it was a blast just singing/playing with her!</li>
<li><a href="http://www.robertaustell.com/2014/05/friend-of-sinners.html" target="_blank">"Friend of Sinners"</a> - a worship song by Red Mountain Music to a text by Augustus Toplady; another highlight because my daughter played drums with me</li>
</ul><b>Health/Fitness </b>- Just a few benchmarks to mark where I am. Still running and walking regularly, though I've put some weight back on this year. (here are <a href="http://www.robertaustell.com/2013/12/personal-highlights-2013.html" target="_blank">last year's data</a>)<br />
<ul><li>Jan-Dec: approx. +20 lbs :( ...but still down 30 from pre-2013</li>
<li>340 workouts in 253 hours</li>
<li>204,000 total calories burned </li>
<li>655 mi. running + 470 mi. walking = 1125 total miles</li>
<li>Longest Run: 13.1 mi. (in 2:24:21)</li>
<li>Fastest Runs: gonna beat these all in 2015!<br />
<ul><li>1mi: 7:54 min/mi - a slight uphill... 7:27 going the other direction... so prob should average those together :)</li>
<li>5k: 9:38 min/mi (not sure why this is slower than the 5mi except that I only tried the 5k route a handful of times and have run the 5mi course a hundred or more times)</li>
<li>5mi: 9:02 min/mi</li>
<li>8mi: 10:47 min/mi </li>
<li>10mi: 11:10 min/mi</li>
<li>13.1mi: 11:00 min/mi</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com