A Community Called Atonement Ch. 7 and 8

And now we arrive to chapter 7 and 8. I'm interested to see if we all agree that the cross is the center of the atonement. I'm also interested to hear what you all think of Scot's incarnational assessment of Jesus as the Second Adam.

Here's to discussing!

from I, Francis

Some thoughts that I thought were appropriate for our week.

"Jesus' cross was humanity's happiness, love's answer to all the whys, the resolution of every conflict, the overcoming of every tension and polarization, God's victory over death."





If the Son of God had died on the cross, I was saved.


All sadness would have to be banished.


Every one of us was lord of the world.


Every pauper was rich.


Every heart was satiated.


Every project was possible." p15





"Do you not know that my Most High Lord is God's Son?


And do you not know that he became a human being, and as if that had not been enough, a poor person? And how poor he became!


Just see how poor he is. He has nothing left at all.


He, the creator of heaven and earth, has himself come among us.


He did not send someone else, he came himself!


He did nothing to get himself accepted in the high places, nor did he bring anything along to make himself more comfortable.


He did not hide behind the wall of his might and his divinity; he accepted life as the last and least of us.


He was God and he became the poor one among us, the weak one, the wounded one, the calumniated one, the imprisoned one, the condemned one!" p16-17

What I'm Reading...

So I have the annoying habit of reading many books at the same time. I find I treat my books like my relationships...I just hate ending them. So for fun, I thought I'd put the books that I'm reading on here.***

So, I'm reading Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Intro for Christians by Lawrence Kushner. I've read this book in the past while I was perusing at the Messiah College Library. I relied heavily on the chapter on Teshuva (Jewish concept of return) for a prodigal son sermon I gave several years ago. The book is very accessible and can actually be read in one sitting, but is best processed over time. And I'm enjoying it again.

The Next book I am enjoying is The Shaping of Things to Come. This book was actually given to me by Doug, and I'm greatly enjoying it. I'll put some more thoughts from this book on this blog for a bit of discussion. Primarily the book hopes to get it's readers to see the world as a place God wants to shape through them, using the culture that they find themselves in.

God was in this Place & I, i did not know. This book is beside my bedside. Another Lawrence Kushner book, this one explores a variety of approaches to explain the time when Jacob dreams of the ladder and realizes that God was with him, even in the middle of nowhere.

Colossians Remixed. This book was recommended by Doug and also by Byron Borger. And Byron is actually mentioned in the forward. How fun is that? Well, I haven't gotten very far in this book, at all. I enjoyed the intro and have only begun the first chapter. But I already like the book, because it's written by a husband and wife team. Now that's cool. I'd love to do that someday.

I, Francis. I've wanted to read this book for quite some time. Ever since I have read the quotes in A Prayer Guide For Ministers and Other Servants. This is a unique approach to telling St. Francis' story. Carlo attempts to tell the story through first person narrative. It's quite fascinating. At times Francis is incredibly captivating and other times he's annoyingly emotional. But that's what makes it a good read.

Raising Your Child to Love God. This book was loaned to me by my Uncle Dan when I first got married. He thought it'd be a good read for being a youth pastor. It so happens that I forgot to give it back to him when I last saw him, but it's providential, because I am enjoying it. It's got great practical things on how to be a godly father and family.

***I linked all of these to Amazon, but if you're local, you can get them from Hearts and Minds.

Why I Love Hearts and Minds

We have a locally owned bookstore in town called Hearts and Minds. It's located in Dallastown, about 30 minutes from my house, but I love to get down there when I have the chance.

So here is why I love the place...

In a thoughtful and candid post, the owner Byron Borger explains to his readers/customers why he supports the emergent conversation and how the movement connects to his own story. As usual his post is laden with excellent book recommendations. It's almost an autobiography of the books that have shaped his approach to following Jesus.

As you read the post you realize that Byron doesn't just sell books, he actually reads them and allows the thoughts from the authors to affect the way he sees the world.

That's why I love the place.

And when I have a question about a certain topic, Byron will give me a list of books, with a brief blurb on each. Being so informed has made purchasing books from Hearts and Minds both engaging and enjoyable.

So, if you have five minutes, I highly recommend reading the post. And if you have more time, check out some of his other posts.

My favorite day

Did I ever mention that Thursdays are my favorite days? Or that Ben Folds is one of my favorite musical artists? Well, I regard Thursdays higher than Ben Folds, but sometimes I listen to Ben Folds on Thursdays.

But Thursdays are really my fav days because I get to spend them with the lovely child pictured above. Man, does she make me laugh!

Banksy

So I had never heard of Banksy before, but he was referenced in a recent Rob Bell sermon.

And so I googled some of his art. Pretty creative and cool stuff. The photo included was painted on the security wall that separates Israel from Palestine. This specific painting is on the Bethlehem section of the wall.

A Community Called Atonement Ch. 5 and 6

So, I was delinquint in putting up the post for us to have our discussion this week. But we have entered the fifth and sixth chapters. And it's getting a little thicker...

And I have to admit, I looked forward and found some really good stuff in the upcoming chapters. But we'll get to it when we get to it!

For now I look forward to reflecting with you on the implications of chapters 5 and 6.

A Community Called Atonement Ch. 3 and 4

As I approached these chapters, I was hoping that the first two chapters were more of a diving board and that the next couple chapters would more like the actual plunge. Although, the two chapters focused on "where a theory of atonement begins", I think Scot McKnight took his readers a little deeper.

I'm curious to hear your responses, especially to his thoughts on humanity (Eikon), sin as corruption, atonement as relational restoration...

Let the conversation begin!

Joy

What does joy look like?

I've been thinking about the passage in Hebrews where the writer describes Jesus going to his death "for the joy set before him". Here it sounds like the destination (the result of his death and resurrection) is the joy for Jesus. In this we see that joy is not the fleeting bounciness of a beach ball, but more like a tenacious bull dog that won't let go.

I read somewhere (I think it was John Ortberg's The Life You've Always Wanted) that "joy is serious business." Which makes me ask myself, how often am I intentionally developing this. I know that I ask myself how I can love others, but I don't often ask myself how I can be joyful. But as I think about it, being joyful invites others to experience the same joy...love and joy are intimately connected. Maybe I'm being picky...but I feel challenged to ask myself on a regular basis...am I set on the joy before me?

So...what brings you joy?

A Community Called Atonement Ch. 1 and 2

So, we come to our first discussion!

Before we get to the questions, since we'll all be posting from all over the US (and maybe even Asia) I think we should all give a brief intro. Name, location, family, work...etc, should be cool.

I'm excited to hear your thoughts on how McKnight is attempting to connect the kingdom of God and atonement. His bag of images and "game of atonement" made me laugh...but also gave me some hope, especially in light of his comments on how Christians can use theology as a dividing line.

Laughter

So, as the day winds down, Cadence gets silly. So, I caught her laughing...the movement of the camera is me coming closer to her...(obviously)...which made her laugh.

There's nothing quite as contagious as baby laughter.

A Community Called Atonement

Well, the time is quickly approaching. On Monday we will begin our book discussion. Cadence is getting ready and has already read the first 10 chapters. She's keeping it away from her daddy!

Beginning on Monday we'll begin the discussion on the first two chapters of the book. And even if you don't have the book, feel free to comment and add your thoughts.

New Nooma

So, my friend Brad linked the new nooma viewing, which is on their facebook.

The vid actually goes into the scripture where Jesus prays in the garden. So it was cool to hear after our discussion last week. And it was pretty awesome!

The free viewing is only available from noon today until noon on Wednesday.

So check it out!

Welcome to Doug Paul

So, my friend Doug Paul, has officially joined the blogosphere as a blog contributor. No more just reading other people's stuff. No more anonymous commenting. Doug is the real deal now.



Actually, I really appreciate Doug and look forward to what he has to offer. He's a good friend (so good that he was my best man!) and I really think a lot of him.

If you get a minute, check him out!

Windows

Cadence loves to stand on her rocking chair and look out our front window. We take her there to wave goodbye or to knock on the windo so daddy can hear her while he's shoveling the walk. But she finds her way there on her own too!

We have purposefully placed that chair beside the window so that she can climb up there any time she wants. She loves watching the cars, birds, squirrels and dogs. She just soaks it all in with an attentiveness exceeding the normality for her age.

I'm wondering if much of parenting can be connected to this rocking chair and window thing. I think as parents one of ourroles is to expose Cadence to new vistas. We can show her, but we can't control her interest in the world beyond the window. I can put the chair there, but I can't keep her staring.

With love, peace, God--we can show her, but we can't make her interested. We can give her the regular rhythm of reading scriptures, loving our family and neighbors, night time prayers, involement with a faith community...but she will have to choose to own that rhythm.

My prayer is that through our passion for GOd that Cadence would fall in love with Him...that it would be like honey on her lips.

An Invitation to Discuss

So, a friend of mine, Doug Paul (not this guy), has suggested that we read a book together to stretch our thinking and encourage our spirits. And we have chosen A Community Called Atonement (as you can see) by Scot McKnight. If you (the 12 that read this blog) would like to join the discussion, we're going to do it right here on this blog starting on Feb. 25.

The format is simple. I will post a simple entry every Monday from which we will run a discussion through the comment section. Very similar to what we did on the Christianity Rediscovered book by Vincent Donovan.

So, if you'd like...purchase the book from Amazon or your local bookseller (like Hearts and Minds in York, PA)...and join in!

Grace and Peace.

Wrestling with God

As I have been thinking about Jesus' journey to the cross, I keep coming back to Jesus' time in the Garden of Gethsemane. I am struck by how Matthew describes Jesus in this scene...Jesus throws himself to the ground in prayer. This is not a light-hearted prayer, but a gut wrenching, lay-it-all-out-on-the-line prayer. He asks God, "take this cup from me...but not what I will." There is so much emotion here.

In the process of thinking about this, I am reminded of the time in Gen. 32 when Jacob wrestles with God at Peniel. Jacob's about to meet his brother, from whom he has been estranged for many years. The last time they met, it wasn't a happy meeting. So Jacob has sent all his family and belongings to the other side of the river where Esau is. He waits overnight, when he is met by God...in the form of a man...and he wrestles with him until he gets a blessing from the man.

For some reason my spirit is trying to connect these two stories. The background to each story is very different, but I think there are some profound connections...and I am wondering if anybody would like to venture in exploring those with me.

Any thoughts?

Jesus and Time

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus ever had to schedule out his week and if he did what it was like.

“Well, let’s see. I think I’ll walk on water on Monday and feed 5000 people, plus women and children on Tuesday—no, that won’t work, because I’m healing that blind guy on Tuesday and arguing with religious hypocrites—I guess I can fit feeding 5000 people on Monday—then since Tuesday is already booked I need to visit my mother on Wednesday and help that lame guy walk—oh yeah I can’t forget that dead girl I’m gonna bring back to life…that will have to be plugged into Wednesday as well—and Thursday looks like a good day weather-wise to do a little teaching on the mountain…that will probably take all day, so I probably can’t exorcise any demons until Friday—that activity will take all morning, so I can probably do some more teaching until the Sabbath comes at sundown.”

Hi Douglas Gregory Paul

You rock!

"Faith" by Robert Browning

O never star
Was lost; here
We all aspire to heaven and there is heaven
Above us.
If I stoop
Into a dark tremendous sea of cloud,
It is but for a time; I press God’s lamp
Close to my breast; its splendor soon or late
Will pierce the gloom. I shall emerge some day.