ReClaiming Paul Conference

Nazarene Theological Seminary and Emergent Village partnered together to host the conference devoted to a fresh look at the apostle Paul. Some have viewed Jesus and Paul as being antagonistic towards one another or telling a different story of God. I have never had issue with Paul while looking at him through the lens of Jesus.

The presentations were academic and the conversations were practical. It was beneficial for all of us to mix university and church worlds, Nazarene and Emergent worlds. It seems to me, this is what is needed to advance peace talks rather than smack talk.

It was fun to visit with Ron Benefiel, Tony Jones, Doug Paggit, Tim Keel and hang with friends Brent Peterson, Jim Wicks, David Charlton, Dave Curtis, Scott Comfort and Dave Sharpes.

A Politcal Prayer

Found this on Tim Keel's blog who found it on J.R. Brigg's blog:

A Prayer of Confession

Forgive us O Lord: A Prayer for American Politics
Forgive us O Lord, for being divisive rather than working to build unity.
Forgive us O Lord, for striving to be right more than striving to be kind.
Forgive us O Lord, when we desire to be understood more than to understand.
Forgive us O Lord, for placing our hope in a person, a system, a government - rather than in you alone.
Forgive us O Lord, for complaining about politics rather than thanking you for our freedom.
Forgive us O Lord, when we use our mouths - and our email forwards - to tear down "the other."
Forgive us O Lord, for spending more time and energy thinking about the Empire than the kingdom.
Forgive us O Lord for speaking poorly and wishing ill will on another candidate.
Forgive us O Lord, when we are known more for following a party than for following the Risen Christ.
Forgive us O Lord, for claiming that God is only on "our side."
Forgive us O Lord, for claiming and proclaiming that one political party completely and accurately represents the politics of Jesus.
Forgive us O Lord, when we forget that the heart of the king is in your hands.
Forgive us O Lord, for being more excited to speak to others about our candidate than about our Savior.
Forgive us O Lord, when we think this prayer is for someone else we know and not for ourselves.

Give us grace to treat others with dignity and respect, even in the midst of our differences. Give us wisdom - not just with what we say and do, but how we say them and do them - so that we may not represent our political party, but that we may represent the one who has given us True Life.
Amen.

Kansas City Trip

Kansas City BBQ!!!















Jacob's Well -
Host of ReClaiming Paul Conference

Global Ministry Center

From Headquarters to Global Ministry Center.

From Inner city to Suburbs.

From American centric to American centric.

Cross Style Splits or Cross Style(s)

Resetting the American Dream - V

10 Practices to Reset our Standard of Living:

1. Work - Get the best paying job possible and work full time with at least one day off per week.

2. Family - Life is easier with a partner and it's cheaper to stay married. Then raise kids and teach them your values.

3. Education - Get then give your children an education (12 free years of public school plus life lessons at the dinner table) that prepares them for character choices and career opportunities.

4. Thrift - Live simply, within your means by saving money to make purchases and avoiding consumer debt.

5. Morals - Do not break the law, practice ethics and love your neighbor.

6. Health - Maintain your well being with prayer, proper rest, diet, exercise and recreation.

7. Responsibility - Keep your word, pay your bills, stay committed to relationships and make things right when they go wrong.

8. Give - Tithe, give to charity and volunteer to serve in the community.

9. Prosperity - Use your wealth to bless others and to maintain justice rather than creating a class system.

10. Remember - it's a dream, not a promise or an entitlement. Be thankful and content.

Resetting the American Dream - IV

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

- Emma Lazarus

Resetting The American Dream - III

Presidential Quotes:

"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves."
- President Jefferson
"May our country be always successful, but whether successful or otherwise, always right."
- President Adams
"Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and the savings of frugality."
- President Tyler
"It is the responsibility of the citizens to support their government. It is not the responsibility of the government to support its citizens."
- President Cleveland
"The prudent, penniless beginner in the world, labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land, for himself; then labors on his own account another while, and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This…is free labor--the just and generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way for all."
– President Lincoln
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."
- President Kennedy
"We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And that makes us special among the nations of the earth."
- President Reagan

Resetting the American Dream - II

"I just wanna prove somethin'—I ain't no bum . . . It don't matter if I lose . . . Don't matter if he opens my head . . . The only thing I wanna do is go the distance—That's all. Nobody's ever gone 15 rounds with Creed. If I go them fifteen rounds, an' that bell rings an' I'm still standin', I'm gonna know then I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood . . ."

- Rocky Balboa

Resetting the American Dream - I

Buzz words have been added to our currency of words... foreclosure, bailout, rescue plan, corruption, partisan, debt, trillion, rights, bankruptcy, 401k, crisis, financial markets, recession and depression.

Who's to blame?
wrong question (if I answered it would hurt your feelings)
What can we do?
I think it is the right time to reset The American Dream.

The definition of The American Dream has changed. It was "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". It is now lust, license and the pleasures of huge debt.

In the next 5 posts, I'll give you some things to think about and 10 ideas to adjust our standard of living.

Movie Theatre Church - Week 6

The end of the Story: God's Coming

John 3:16,17 summarizes the story of God's love mission to heal the world. He does not have our faces on his divine dartboard! He will re-create a new heavens and earth and we get resurrected bodies, just like Jesus.

Word of the Day: INFLUENCE

We are asked to join in the work of the Lord. We get to co-re-create!

"Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can."
- John Wesley

Religulous

Just saw the movie/documentary with some friends. A few thoughts...

Bill Maher is a smart man and surprisely did not offend me as expected. He was more honest than most and came from a position of doubt and "I don't know" about religion.

It seems to me he asked some tough questions any normal, thinking human being would ask. Questions about talking snakes?, living in a big fish for 3 days?, virgin birth?, similar religious myths?, homosexuality in nature?, prosperity of the religious not helping the poor? and end times violence???

Bill is not the only one with questions of doubt. I think a more helpful posture to have is one of seeking truth with him instead of arguing truth against him.

Some principles...

1. Drop the Fundamentalism. Admit that we have doubts too. Go beyond the I'm right and you're wrong debate posture. Seek truth, don't defend it militantly.

2. Deepen our Folk Religion. Give Biblical answers rather than bumper stickers. Read the whole counsel of God, engage in challenging dialogue and develop a sound theology.

3. Depend on Revelation. Truth is greater than the western mindset of the scientific method. God reveals himself in a Person not in arguments of doctrines, tenets or practices.

After Jesus is raised from the dead, we find this verse in Matthew 28:17, "When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted".

Movie Theatre Church - Week 5

God's Church.

She's a Gomer of a gal but ain't she beautiful!

Word of the Day: INSPIRATION

Pentecost is the restoration of divine respiration. God Breathed... over creation, into man, to divide the sea, into Christ's dead body, into the disciples of Jesus and into the Church.

Take a deep breath. God's Spirit is forming us into being...

A Jesus Community

always seeking to know God,

connect with people and serve others.