Epicenter Conversations

Recently, the wife of the grandson of Horatio Spafford passed away. Horatio Spafford is widely known as the author of the beautiful hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" (number 530 in our hymnal if I'm correct in guessing).

Having never heard anything more than the moving story of the tragic event that gave him the hymn prose, I was interested to read this article about the legacy he and his family left in the Middle East.

After such painful life-events, what a beautiful story his children and grandchildren have created, all because of a dedicated father & follower of Christ.

Labels: boldness, spirituality, unity

This past weekend in our Epicenter class we discussed evangelism (again!) in light of Galatians 3 and 4, with reference to Samir Selmanovic's chapter about Finding God in the Other in Emerging Manifesto of Hope, and incorporating a few ideas from Rollins' How (Not) to Speak of God.

Here is how it came together for me. If we agree that God is bigger than our church, denomination, and religion, then we must admit that God is at work among others outside of those areas. I envision God's work in each life and community as a process of breaking through barriers and thus enabling us to know/see God more clearly. There is a distinct possibility then that each of us in one way or more will have a clearer picture of God than others. These windows of connection with the divine would likely be more dissimilar and therefore potentially more synergistic and complementary between individuals from more dissimilar backgrounds.

Traditional methods of evangelism which seek to bring others to our own perspective with little or no consideration for their own perspective insinuate that we have the only valid window on who God is. This ignores the fact that there are barriers to our own vision of God which others in their journey may have overcome. Perhaps by following the advice that Paul gave to the Philippian communities of Euodia and Syntyche we could come together and mutually benefit from a two way evangelistic conversation. "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

In How (Not) to Speak of God, Rollins describes the evangelistic activities of Ikon, a nontraditional monthly Christian gathering in Ireland, as they go out to be evangelized. In the process of asking others to evangelize them, they open themselves up for the opportunity to be edified. In addition, the others are respected and valued (i.e. loved), opening a relationship to foster conversation. Then, everyone involved in the conversation is stimulated to think about and share their own experience with God. Ideally, this leads to communities of questioning, seeking, and growing disciples.

I find this vision of evangelism inspiring and it dovetails with the concept of a faith based media discussion group that some of us have talked about starting in our area -- more on that later. For now, if anyone wants to evangelize me, comments would be welcome.

Labels: community, diversity, Epicenter, evangelism, Galatians, religion, spirituality

This past weekend our class met in the boat house at Aldridge Botanical Gardens next door to the church.   I arrived early and reflected on Galatians with terms of 'justification' and 'gospel' swirling through my mind as red-eared sliders, bluegill, and carp rippled the glassy surface of the pond.   The morning sun burned away the early haze and things became clearer.   The sharper focus revealed a beautiful unity in the vibrant pond community and for a long moment I enjoyed becoming part of something greater than myself.

Justification and gospel are generally preached and conceived in modern terms of personal intellectual salvation.   Recently, theologians such as N.T. Wright have insightfully proposed that Paul would have viewed those concepts in a more experiential communal way -- as a description of the unified and active community made possible in Christ.   What if these perspectives are two of many integral facets in the complex concepts of justification and gospel?   Perhaps our comparison of the modern and ancient perspectives should be both/and rather than either/or.   Things are taking shape and a pulse quickening picture is appearing, but there is no one to share it with.

Disrupting the calm surface, a stone sinks to the bottom and stirs up the mud.   The fish scatter.   The turtles dive.   I turn back to Galatians and the momentary clarity is replaced by muddled questions.   What is the gospel?   What does it mean to be justified?   These are spiritual things we must discern together.

Labels: community, Epicenter, Galatians, nature, religion, spirituality, unity