Archive for the ‘Church’ Category

On Healing

Monday, July 6th, 2009

The following is an excerpt from a conversation I am having with a friend of mine about miraculous healing, I thought it was worth sharing:

My overall sense from what I have heard you say so far (and I might be way off here) is that you place a high importance on supernatural healing, both physical and psychological.  And I guess I wonder where that comes from.  I mean, I see the importance of healing and exorcisms in the gospels, and I believe that the healing that Christ manifested is still available to us now, and I believe that the future Kingdom of God is something at hand, now. But, I guess, for me, instead of wanting to say that the future Kingdom is breaking into the current Kingdom particularly in things like supernatural healing.  I would argue that the current world is infused with the in-breaking Kingdom of God and that every time there is a healing in this world (be it supernatural or aspirin) it is a sign of that in-breaking kingdom.  I can’t say exactly why I feel like the difference is important, but I do.

Their Reply:

QUICKLY, from Genesis to Revelations there is a pattern where God reveals his nature through  teaching and demonstration.  Has this changed because of Western philosophical materialism/and the influence of Greco/Roman dualism on the church culture?

My Response:

I think what has (potentially) changed is the way we understand and speak about God’s “demonstration”.

So, in a world of competing deities (Egypt) we see and tell the story of locusts and plagues.

In a world of traveling healers (Jesus) we see and tell the story of healing and exorcisms.

In a world of science and governments (ours) we see and tell the story of Mother Teresa and doctors without borders.

I am not saying that plagues and locusts and healing and exorcisms don’t still happen. I am only saying that God is active in all things that work for life and freedom and He always has been. And only looking for it in the same ways as we see it in the stories in scripture is to miss out on a lot of what God is doing in the world today.

Posted in Church, Faith, Miracles | 3 Comments »

story fatigue

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Recently i purchased Mark Scandrettes book Soul Graffiti, and surprisingly i ended up having to put it down after a couple of chapters.  It’s not that i thought it was a bad book, or i disagreed with his points.  Its just that i feel like i have “story fatigue” or something.  I mean Mark’s life sounds awesome, and the things he is courageous enough to do, i envy.  But his life is not my life and its not even a realistic ideal for my life — our situations, gifts, and areas of greatest faithfulness are just too different.  And so reading it was just bringing me down.

At another time in my life, i’ll probably pick it back up and hopefully be able to get everything out of it that many of my friends have, but right now i can’t.

I post this not as a critique but because its making me begin to wonder about the limits of testimony, of “hearing each others stories” like we always talk about.  I don’t know, maybe testimonies are a first step and the next steps are process and application?  But whose responsibility is the processing and the applying?  Is it all in the listener or does the teller have some responsibility to bridge that gap as well?

I’m just wondering to myself, that’s all.

Posted in Church, Conversation, Emerging Church, Story | 1 Comment »

My trip to London…

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Several years back Tara and I took a trip to London. At the time I was much more, “Yay America” than I am now. But I remember thinking, pretty much the moment I got there, that you know maybe other countries know what they’re doing. All of a sudden I began to see the world as a place of dialogue and cooperation where no country, even my own, had all the answers. I know that seems obvious, and had you asked me before I am sure I would have said the right thing, but somehow being there made it true to me in a new way. And it’s not like I had any deep political conversations with any locals. Just being there was enough.

When I first became a Christian I was very much involved in a very unique, successful (and now somewhat notorious) church plant up in Seattle. The attitude there was very much we are starting this church because every other church has it wrong. And that was pretty much my attitude. That was, at least, until I went to seminary. At seminary, studying with folks from all kinds of traditions (Baptist to Unitarian) I realized that though I didn’t agree with all of them on everything, they all had something to contribute.

My view of the church, like my view of the world when I went to London, became a place of dialogue and cooperation where no church, even my own, had all the answers.

Posted in Church, Conversation | No Comments »