A Transition for The Well

For those of you who follow my blog but are not a part of The Well, I wanted to let you in on some changes that are taking place with our church.

Before we launched The Well, we learned about another missional church in Broad Ripple—Trinity—that had some astonishing similarities to what we envisioned the church to be. Over the past two years, I have developed a good relationship with their pastor, Todd Fisher, who has become a mentor to me. Whenever we would meet, we were always amused at how different we both were in our leadership styles and gift mixes, and yet always aware of how very similar our visions for church were. At various points, we would discuss the possibility of working together and bringing our communities together.

Recently, we made the decision to make that happen. As you can imagine, there are many details that I’m leaving out of the journey that led to this partnership, but there are several indications that this has been orchestrated by God.

What this means for me and my fellow “Wellers” is that we’ll be surrendering our name and our logo. For the foreseeable future, we’ll also discontinue our Sunday evening worship gatherings and, instead, will be joining our Trinity brothers and sisters on Sunday mornings to gather and celebrate.

However, we will continue to have our house churches in Hamilton County and will continue reaching out to serve the poor, the outcast, and the abused who live among us but are nearly forgotten amid the affluence of our community. In other words, those of us of The Well who have been the body of Christ to our Hamilton County neighbors are as committed as ever to continuing to be the body of Christ right where we live. Our little missional community is still very much alive and well!

If you’re interested in learning more about Trinity and our mission, I invite you to visit our website at www.indytrinity.org or drop in and experience a worship gathering with us some Sunday morning.

What Will You Do?

While on Christmas break, I read the book, "Terrify No More" by Gary Haugen, President of International Justice Mission. This is a remarkable book that tells the stories of some of the rescue efforts by IJM, but primarily that of dozens of young girls trapped in the child sex industry in Cambodia. It was heart-wrenching and heart-breaking, but also inspiring and hope-filled.

Haugen shares a quote early in the book. It's one that I've read before, but haven't spent much time processing. Lately, I can't stop thinking about it. It's by Edmund Burke:

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

I would just like to invite you to think about that quote in light of the global atrocities that are occuring in places like Gaza, Zimbabwe, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo and many others. We have so much influence--as citizens of the U.S. and as followers of the God of the Universe! We need to speak out. We need to give our money. We need to offer our time and our talent. We need to pray. This is hell and it looks nothing like the picture of life abundant that Jesus invites His followers to bring to their neighbors--of the local and global variety.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

What will you do?

MLK

Well, I realize that my posts have been less and less frequent. Sorry about that. I haven't felt particularly inspired to share anything lately. And, of course, things have been a bit busy.

But, I'm nearly finished with The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. and I have been so moved by the life of MLK. I told my sister that it's unfortunate that we never learned more about him in school, but it's a flat out tragedy that we never studied him in the church. This is a man who lived in submission to the Holy Spirit and his life plays out like a story straight out of the New Testament.

There are so many fantastic quotes that I'd love to share. Best thing you could do is go check it out at the library (that's what I did). But, here's an excellent quote King gave less than a month before he was shot and killed:

"You know Jesus reminded us in a magnificent parable one day that a man went to hell because he didn't see the poor. His name was Dives. And there was a man by the name of Lazarus who came daily to his gate in need of the basic necessities of life and Dives didn't do anything about it. And he ended up going to hell. There is nothing in that parable which says that Dives went to hell because he was rich. Jesus never made a universal indictment against all wealth. It is true that one day a rich young ruler came to Him talking about eternal life and he advised him to sell all, but in that instance Jesus was prescribing individual surgery, not setting forth a universal diagnosis. If you will go on and read that parable in all of its dimensions and its symbolism you will remember that a conversation took place between heaven and hell. And on the other end of that long distance call between heaven and hell was Abraham in heaven talking to Dives in hell. It wasn't a millionaire in hell talking with a poor man in heaven, it was a little millionaire in hell talking with a multimillionaire in heaven. Dives didn't go to hell because he was rich. his wealth was his opportunity to bridge the gulf that separated him from his brother Lazarus. Dives went to hell becuase he allowed the means by which hi lived to outdistance the ends for which he lived. Dives went to hell because he sought to be a conscientious objector in the war against poverty.

"And I come by here to say that America too is going to hell if she doesn't use her wealth. If America does not use her vast resources of wealth to end poverty and make it possible for all of God's children to have the basic necessities of life, she too will go to hell. I will hear America through her historians, years and generations to come, saying, 'We built gigantic buildings to kiss the skies. We built gargantuan bridges to span the seas. Through our space ships we were able to carve highways through the stratosphere. Through our submarines we were able to penetrate oceanic depths.' It seems that I can hear the God of the universe saying, 'Even though you have done all of that, I was hungry and you fed me not. I was naked and you clothed me not. The children of my sons and daughters were in need of economic security and you didn't provide it for them. And so you cannot enter the kingdom of greatness.' This may well be the indictment on America." (King, Martin Luther, Jr. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York, NY: Warner Books, Inc., 1998.)

King gave that speech over 40 years ago and I'm afraid we haven't learned much since then. But, I have hope. My hope is that the Church will become the Church and lead the way to ending poverty--in America and around the world. To helping people experience abundant life; to experience the good news of the kingdom of God that is available here and now. We must turn our eyes and ears beyond our suburban bubble...this heaven on earth that we've created for ourselves. We must display compassion and generosity to the hungry and sick around the corner, and around the world. The church is not the body of Christ unless it is breaking itself open and pouring itself out for them. Otherwise, what have we learned from Jesus?

We celebrate Jesus' birth next week. A lot of people need to know why this is good news for them. I pray that you and I will show them. Be a blessing. Merry Christmas.

An Evening With Steve Quinn and Heather Bays (& Me!)

Hey everybody...on Friday, December 5, there is a benefit concert for International Justice Mission at Northview. Steve Quinn and Heather Bays are the featured vocalists, but the real draw to the concert is me on the piano. Get your tickets ASAP--they're free at Northview and I'm sure they're gonna be gone soon now that word is out about me playing piano.

Seriously, I hope you'll come. The concert is gonna be great (it's Christmasy!), but the cause is even greater. International Justice Mission is an amazing organization doing a tremendous amount of good in this world. Their main objective is to bring an end to child sex slavery, which affects 2 million children worldwide. Visit www.ijm.org to learn more about what they do.

Click here to view a video about IJM and human trafficking.

I hope to see you there! Visit Northview's website for concert and ticket details.

Beware the Shopocalypse!!

Shannon and I watched the documentary, "What Would Jesus Buy?" last weekend. I heard good things about it when it came out in the theater last year, but I never got around to seeing it.


If you get a chance, try to pick it up. It's surprisingly entertaining--we laughed out loud at several points--and very educational. Some of the facts and supporting stories of consumerism will absolutely shock you. Check out the film website: http://wwjbmovie.com/

Whatever you do...see it before Black Friday!

Hands & Feet

Wow, I've really dropped the ball on keeping fresh posts on my blog. Sorry everyone!

My friends at The Well and I have been serving with some local child abuse organizations for nearly two years now. Our interaction with them has made us aware of the severity of child abuse and neglect in our community. It has also caused us to raise questions about why more followers of Jesus aren't involved in addressing abuse and neglect. In January, we began having discussions about ways that we could get Christians and churches to step up and bring hope and healing to some desperate families in Hamilton County.





The result of our discussions is Hands & Feet: Churches Uniting to End Child Abuse. I won't go into detail about it here, but I invite you to visit our website: www.handsandfeethc.org to learn more. We have our first presentation on November 10 at Bridgeway Community Church and I'm very excited about the potential.

If you'd like Hands & Feet to come to your church, please email me at ryan@handsandfeethc.org. If you'd like to attend a presentation, you're welcome to come to any of them. We'll post upcoming presentations on our website. Let me know if you have comments or questions about Hands & Feet! I'd love to get your feedback! Thanks!

Created For Good Works

My friends at The Well and I are doing a quick read through the book, "Holy Discontent" by Bill Hybels. This is part of our exploration of the mission and purpose that God has for us as individuals, and for our church.

We're getting to the meat of the book now and I want to share a quote from this book that I hope will challenge you to consider your holy discontent--the good works God wants you to invest yourself in.

"Ephesians 2:10 says that 'we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.'

"We were all created to do good works. I was created to do good works. Just as confidently, I'm here to tell you that you were created to do good works, which explains how I know that you have a holy discontent banging around in your brain somewhere--if you're alive and kicking today, then there is a specific work that you are expected to do. There is a set of tasks with your name on it that God has given you to accomplish, and long before you actually arrived on the scene, God planted certain seeds in your soul that he remains whole-heartedly committed to watering, growing and making into something beautiful, if you will let him.

"God is looking for someone just like you--someone who gets wrecked on planet Earth by the things that wreck him up in heaven--so that he can sign you up for service. I assure you that there is something out there that God is waiting for you to grab on to so that he can use you to help solve it. It wrecks you, it wrecks him, and he is ready for you both to do something about it."(Hybels, Bill. "Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire that Ignites Personal Vision." Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007.)

What's your holy discontent? What are you doing about it? It's what you were created for. If you're not sure what it is, then I'd encourage you to 1) pick up a copy of this book 2) read it 3)get on your knees and pray 4)get up and go explore some of the hurt and pain in this world and allow God to reveal your holy discontent to you.

By the way...I've got 2 extra copies of this book. I'll sell 'em cheap if somebody out there wants a copy.

Q & A

One of my favorite theologians is Greg Boyd. He's also a pastor and author. I've recommended his book, "The Myth of A Christian Nation" and consider it one of my top 5 favorite books. I think every Christian should read it--especially as we approach an election.

Greg has also recently created a new website where he blogs and keeps a list of topics for Q & A. I have enjoyed reading through the questions and Greg's responses and I think many of his ideas would benefit other Christians. So, here's a link to Greg's Q & A page: http://www.gregboyd.org/qa/
From this page, you can access all his other pages. Anyway, I hope you find it as helpful and thought-provoking as I do.

Protect Our Kids Act

Hello my friends...
I'm not a big fan of Oprah's, but she had been running previews for her show today all weekend, so I tuned in. The topic: child pornography and online predators. I was horrified by what she reported. Most of you know that I'm increasingly investing myself as an advocate for abused kids, and I thought I had seen and heard some pretty awful stuff. But what I saw today was disturbing and heart-wrenching. Kids, toddlers, even infants being sexually molested and raped while photographed or videotaped in the act. The footage gets traded or sold online.

This is happening to shocking numbers of children and the predators (who oftentimes are the children's own parents) are growing at a rate so fast that our judicial system cannot keep up with it. I've spoken with the staff at Chaucies Place (the child advocacy center for Hamilton County), where I learned that sexual abuse is an ever-increasing problem locally. So much so, that the same type of undercover Internet investigations unit that was made popular from TV's "To Catch a Predator" is now operating in Hamilton County--with a particular focus on Fishers.

I hope that each of you will do what you can to reach out to advocate for these kids. They need our prayers, and they need us to act on their behalf. There is also legislation that can be passed that will funnel a lot more funding toward those who are trying to bring the predators to justice. That was actually the point of Oprah's show today. I hope that you'll go to the following link to learn more: http://www.oprah.com/dated/oprahshow/oprahshow_20080911_predators

Please go here to learn what you can do to encourage our Senators to pass the necessary legislation: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20080911_tows_predators
God...please break our hearts for these kids. Send Your Spirit to comfort and heal them. And send us to act in any and every way that You call us to partner with You to bring protection and hope and love to them. In Jesus' name we pray.

Thanks everybody. Blessings...

Jesus is My Friend

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I've been working on some things that I'll be sharing with you soon. In the meantime, here is a sick music video that my lovely sister sent to me. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-NOZU2iPA8

"Crazy" Quote

Here's a tasty morsel of a quote from "Crazy Love":

"Ronnie, a blind boy who lives in eastern Uganda, is unique not because of his circumstances or the fact that he is blind, but because of his love for Jesus. If you were to meet Ronnie, one of the first things you would hear him say is, 'I love Jesus so much, and I sing praises to Him every day.'

"One of Ronnie's closest friends is a girl who is deaf. What stands out about these two isn't that they are handicapped or very poor, but that they are totally content and obviously in love with Jesus. They possess very little of what 'counts' in our society, yet they have what matters most. They came to God in their great need, and they have found true joy.

"Because we don't usually have to depend on God for food, money to buy our next meal, or shelter, we don't feel needy. In fact, we generally think of ourselves as fairly independent and capable. Even if we aren't rich, we are 'doing just fine.'

"If one hundred people represented the world's population, fifty-three of those would live on less than $2 a day. Do you realize that if you make $4000 a month, you automatically make one hundred times more than the average person on this planet? Simply by purchasing this book, you spent what a majority of people in the world will make in a week's time.

"Which is more messed up--that we have so much compared to everyone else, or that we don't think we're rich? That on any given day we might flippantly call ourselves 'broke' or 'poor'? We are neither of those things. We are rich. Filthy rich."

(Chan, Francis. "Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God". Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook Publishers, 2008.)

Crazy Love

I’m on a roll lately with picking really great books to read. CrazyLove is my latest read and it is fantastic. Francis Chan is a pastor / author who just recently exploded onto the evangelical scene, mostly, I think, because of the guys at Catalyst who have brought Chan in to speak a few times. But this guy is the real thing and he doesn’t hold anything back in his challenge to Christians. For me, the main thrust of the message is this: you can’t use your church as an excuse for not living the way Jesus taught us, and showed us, to live. In chapter after chapter, Chan lays out all of the reasons why we should love God with every ounce of our being and model our devotion and commitment after Jesus—in our time, money, talent, everything. And he’s not just teaching it, he’s living it. Chan sold his house and moved into one half as big to free up his funds to give to the poor (just one example of many that prove this guy gets it).

I think Chan accomplished what many of us in the ‘burbs thought Shane Claiborne couldn’t with “The Irresistible Revolution.” Even though Shane is just a regular guy, his specific calling had a polarizing effect on his suburban readers. But Chan’s the pastor of a mega church (like it or not), and he claims to be teaching the same stuff to his church as he is writing in this book. If that’s true (and I have no reason to believe it’s not), then it’s a wonder that he’s still got an audience in the wealthy community he’s teaching / reaching out to. Anyway, he appears to be proving that you can do this "way of Jesus" stuff in the burbs.

My only major issue with Chan is his eschatology (theology of the afterlife). Having just finished “Surprised by Hope” by N.T. Wright, I found myself cringing at all of Chan’s references to our glorious eternity in heaven. If you haven’t read “Surprised by Hope” (yet), my comments here may confuse you. But, I pray that more and more church leaders will begin to convey a more accurate/Biblical picture of life after death and, in Wright’s words, “life after life after death.” Wright’s insights in “Surprised by Hope”, applied to Chan’s references to the afterlife, would have actually made Chan’s book better!

Anyway, go get “CrazyLove” and read it. It’s another quick read, and if you let it, it will challenge you to make changes to your life that will honor God and draw you into a deeper love of our Savior.

How To Read the Bible

Numerous studies have shown that self-professing Christians today do not have a biblical worldview. We don’t live by kingdom values. We live by the standards of the kingdom of the world. To a large extent, this can be traced to a failure on the part of professing Christians to spend time studying the Bible. Oftentimes, a professing Christian will try to read the Bible, but they don’t understand it, or aren’t sure if what it’s saying is actually what they are supposed to do. So they give up.

Please allow me to offer some tips on how to really study the Bible effectively so that you get the most out of your time and also learn how to apply what you learn to your life. Transformation, after all, is the objective—to become more like Jesus!

First, every Christian should own (and read) the book, “How to Read the Bible For All It’s Worth.” This book is crammed full of practical wisdom on how to get the most out of your reading of different parts of the Bible.

Second, the authors of “How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth”, Fee and Stuart, recommend using the TNIV or the NRSV as the most reliable versions to study with. I would like to suggest, that if you’re going to get a new copy of one of these Bibles, please spend the extra cash and buy the “Study” or “Life Application” versions of these. They’ll have some comments on each page to help you understand what the text means.

Thirdly, if you are studying the New Testament, then I highly recommend Tom Wright’s “For Everyone” series. Wright is a leading New Testament scholar, but does a knockout job of bringing culture, context, hermeneutics and application to everyone…not just scholarly minds. He hasn’t finished the series yet, but you can get started with the series. Go to this site to see which books are currently available.

Fourthly, if you are studying the gospels, then get a copy of the book, “The Upside-Down Kingdom.” This book is absolutely brilliant and is rich with additional cultural and contextual thoughts that bring the text to life and help us to see how Jesus’ words carry over to today. The way I use it is to turn to the back of the book where there is a “Scripture Index.” You can look up whichever verses you are studying and it will take you to the page or pages where the author addresses that particular verse.

Lastly, if you choose to study the book of Luke (as we are at The Well), then be aware that Dr. Gregory Boyd has spent the last 2.5 years slowly teaching his way through Luke at his church, Woodland Hills. Boyd’s insights are profound. You can listen to his entire sermon or you can download the Covenant Study Guide or the Individual Study Guide and you’ll find a written summary of the teaching with several questions for reflection and application. It’s a little challenging to find the Lukan text you’re searching for, but with some trial and error, searching through the Sermon Archives it can be done.

I hope that if you’ve struggled with studying the Bible, that you’ll give these things a try. God certainly doesn’t want the Scriptures to be a mystery to us. He wants us to dig deep and uncover the richness of the Scriptures and the way to abundant life that we find within them.

Save Darfur

Every Thursday, I get on my knees and I pray for the genocide in Darfur. After praying, I got another email from the Save Darfur campaign making me aware of more violence. This time, I’m learning that women and girls are being raped by Sudanese security forces, militias, rebel groups and former rebel groups.

It’s hard for me to understand how we (humanity) watched the Rwandan genocide happen and then stand by and allow it to take place again in Darfur. God most certainly is not pleased with His children for our lack of intervention. We are His hands and feet. We hold the keys to the kingdom. And yet, our sisters and our mothers are being raped. Hundreds of thousands have been killed. Over 2.5 million people have been forced from their homes and into refugee camps. This is hell.

Can I invite you to get involved? If you’re a follower of Jesus, then this is happening on your watch and mine. We must do what we can, no matter how small. First, stay informed. Be aware of what’s happening and make it personal. Out of sight, out of mind is no excuse. Go to www.savedarfur.org and browse the site and be sure to sign up for email updates. Those will give you opportunities to sign petitions and take action. Please also consider making a financial contribution. Every little bit helps, and Save Darfur accomplishes their goals in peaceful and non-violent ways.

Imagine what it would feel to find out that your mother, sister or daughter had been raped. You must believe that this is how God feels. Let the Holy Spirit break your heart for these people that God loves. We must take action. And as we do, may God’s kingdom come and His will be done in Darfur as it is in heaven.

Holy Discontent

If you’re familiar at all with the Willow Creek model of church, then I think you’d be a bit surprised at the metamorphosis that founding and lead pastor, Bill Hybels has been experiencing over the last few years. It seems his heart and his theology are expanding to include God’s kingdom purposes for addressing the hurt and pain of this world.

In his book, “Holy Discontent”, Hybels does a solid job of helping his reader to get involved in those kingdom purposes. There are a lot of great moments from this book that are worth sharing, but I think it might be best to give you an overview, so here’s the book description from the back cover:

“What is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, or get near it, you just can’t stand? What reality is so troubling that it thrusts you off the couch and into action? This is what Bill Hybels refers to as a holy discontent: a personal ‘firestorm of frustration’ that, although sparked by that which is terribly wrong, can catalyze fierce determination to set things right. It is often during these eye-opening, heart-hungering moments of engagement when you will hear God whisper, ‘I feel the exact same way about this situation. Now let’s go solve it together!’

“Hybels invites you to consider the dramatic impact your life will have when you willingly convert the frustration of your holy discontent into fuel for changing the world. Using examples from the Bible, his own life, and the compelling experiences of others, Hybels shows how you can:
- find and feed your personal area of holy discontent
- fight for it, even when things get risky
- follow it when it takes a mid-course turn

“Eradicating AIDS. Fighting extreme poverty. Reigniting love-starved marriages. Embracing marginalized people groups. Feeding those who lack food. Speaking words of encouragement to those who need it most. Learn to lean into your holy discontent so that this generation can benefit mightily from your bold, bright contribution.”

I highly recommend this book. It’s a very quick read…but it’s well worth devoting extra time to process and to pray about. Go figure out what pain God has wired you to help bring relief to…and then do it! It’s what you were created for!

More Surprises

I want to share one last quote from N.T. Wright's "Surprised By Hope." I actually purchased the book because I was curious about Wright's analysis of Scripture as it relates to the afterlife. As much as I enjoyed reading that bit, I have to say that my favorite part of the book was the final third of the book, where Wright applied the "hope" to come to our mission--the mission of the church in all that we say and do. Here's a teeny tiny sampling that I hope you enjoy:

"One of the things I have most enjoyed about being a bishop is watching ordinary Christians (not that there are any 'ordinary' Christians, but you know what I mean) going straight from worshipping Jesus in church to making a radical difference in the material lives of people down the street by running playgroups for children of single working moms; by organizing credit unions to help people at the bottom of the financial ladder find their way to responsible solvency; by campaigning for better housing, against dangerous roads, for drug rehab centers, for wise laws relating to alcohol, for decent library and sporting facilities, for a thousand other things in which God's sovereign rule extends to hard, concrete reality. Once again, all this is not an extra to the mission of the church. It is central.

"When the church is seen to move straight from worship of the God we see in Jesus to making a difference and effecting much-needed change in the real world; when it becomes clear that the people who feast at Jesus's table are the ones in the forefront of work to eliminate hunger and famine; when people realize that those who pray for the Spirit to work in and through them are the people who seem to have extra resources of love and patience in caring for those whose lives are damaged, bruised, and shamed, then it is not only natural to speak of Jesus himself and to encourage others to worship him for themselves and find out what belonging to his family is all about but it is also natural for people, however irreligious they may think of themselves as being, to recognize that something is going on that they want to be part of. In terms that the author of Acts might have used, when the church is living out the kingdom of God, the word of God will spread powerfully and do its own work." (Wright, N.T. "Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church". New York, NY: Harper Collings Publishers, 2008.)

Surprised by Hope

I'm back again to drop another quote from N.T. Wright's book, "Surprised by Hope". I have to tell you--this book has become one of my top favorite books. For the first time in my life, I think I truly understand how Jesus' resurrection, and our eventual resurrection provide us with the Christian hope. In light of this fresh understanding, I feel like I'm seeing the purpose of my life in technicolor--no longer in black and white.

Go get this book. Set aside 3 months and work your way through it. Read it with a friend and discuss it as you go. You'll emerge from your study with an understanding of what to expect when life "as you know it" is over--the understanding the very first Christians had! But, more importantly, I think, you'll have a renewed sense of purpose in your faith, and in how you spend your days on this earth.

Here's the quote I promised. I may be back in days to come with another sample. Hopefully, these teasers will work their magic and you'll read this treasure for yourself. Do it. I'll look for your thank you note in a few months.

"But the most important thing to say at the end of this discussion, and of this section of the book, is that heaven and hell are not, so to speak, what the whole game is about. This is one of the central surprises in the Christian hope. The whole point of my argument so far is that the question of what happens to me after death is not the major, central, framing question that centuries of theological tradition have supposed. The New Testament, true to its Old Testament roots, regularly insists that the major, central, framing question is that of God's purposes of rescue and re-creation for the whole world, the entire cosmos. The destiny of individual human beings must be understood within that context--not simply in the sense that we are only part of a much larger picture but also in the sense that part of the whole point of being saved in the present is so that we can play a vital role (Paul speaks of this role in the shocking terms of being 'fellow workers with God') within that larger picture and purpose. And that in turn makes us realize that the question of our own destiny, in terms of the alternatives of joy or woe, is probably the wrong way of looking at the whole question. The question ought to be, How will God's new creation come? and then, How will we humans contribute to that renewal of creation and to the fresh projects that the creator God will launch in his new world? The choice before humans would then be framed differently: are you going to worship the creator God and discover thereby what it means to become fully and gloriously human, reflecting his powerful, healing, transformative love into the world? Or are you going to worship the world as it is, boosting your corruptible humanness by gaining power or pleasure from forces within the world but merely contributing thereby to your own dehumanization and the further corruption of the world itself?" (Wright, N.T. "Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church". New York, NY: Harper Collings Publishers, 2008.)

The Resurrection

Hey everyone. Sorry for not posting in such a long time. I've got a lot on my mind these days, but haven't had anything particularly earth-shattering to share with the world.

However, I am finishing up a book by N.T. Wright called, "Surprised by Hope". I intend to return in another blog and share some additional thoughts about this book. There's A LOT packed into this book. The subtitle reads: "Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church." Yeah. Only N.T. Wright could rethink this stuff in 300 pages. Anyway, for all you Christians out there who (like me just a few years ago) think that heaven is the last stop--you're wrong! Go get this book and work (it will be work) your way through it.

Here's a sample, and, like I said, I'll come back later and give you a little more:

"...the use of the word heaven to denote the ultimate goal of the redeemed, though of course hugely popularized by medieval and subsequent piety, is severely misleading and does not begin to do justice to the Christian hope. I am repeatedly frustrated by how hard it is to get this point through the thick wall of traditional thought and language that most Christians put up. The ultimate destination is (once more) not "going to heaven when you die" but being bodily raised into the transformed, glorious likeness of Jesus Christ. (The point of all this is not, of course, merely our own happy future, important though that is, but the glory of God as we come fully to reflect his image.) Thus, if we want to speak of "going to heaven when we die," we should be clear that this represents the first, and far less important, stage of a two-stage process. Resurrection isn't life after death; it is life after life after death." (Wright, N.T. "Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church". New York, NY: Harper Collings Publishers, 2008.)

The Way of the Heart

I just finished reading "The Way of the Heart" by Henri Nouwen. In my ongoing effort to learn to abide (John 15), I found this book to be really helpful. Nouwen builds his book around 3 primary practices that are far too often missing from our modern lives: solitude, silence and prayer. This is a short book, but contains remarkable insight into the reality of our (Christians) distraction, and the way that we can step outside of the frantic pace and enter into a lifestyle of abiding as Jesus did.

The section on solitude was a great reminder for me of the importance of being alone with God regularly. Who among us would argue that we are better people for stopping to be with God on a daily basis? In solitude we become aware of our sinfulness and develop a compassion for others who sin and are in need of grace.

The section on silence was also a great reminder. The book of Proverbs is full of wise sayings that are intended to help us learn to keep our mouths shut. As my friends know, I'm still learning this. When words are many, sin is not absent. Silence keeps us from sin, it teaches us to listen, and when we submit our will to God's, it teaches us to speak only what Jesus would speak.

Finally, the section on prayer taught me that prayer is not merely an intellectual effort where I try to find the right words to say to God. Prayer is much more than words. Of particular benefit to me was Nouwen's insight into the Apostle Paul's meaning in his charge to "Pray without ceasing." I think I understand this now, although it will take awhile for me to develop this habit. I'm intentionally not revealing Nouwen's thoughts on this here, in the hope that you'll take the bait and get the book.

While I don't intend for this to be an exhaustive book review, I will offer one criticism...a word of caution to anybody else who picks this book up per my recommendation (and I really hope you will!). While Nouwen is clearly in touch with reality, he does tend to drift into concepts of connecting with God in your heart / mind / soul that are abstract and ethereal. At least, that's how it feels to me. Perhaps a more experienced and gifted person of prayer would be able to follow, but I confess that Nouwen lost me a few times. But, I'm the kind of reader who can digest the good and discard the (for me) undigestables. All in all, this was an excellent book...and a nice bite-sized read (only 95 pages) for anyone and everyone trying to learn to stay connected to the Source.

Is Missional the New Emergent?

I just read an excellent article by Alan Hirsch (author of The Shaping of Things to Come; The Forgotten Ways). I thought he did an excellent job of articulating the difference between a missional church and an emerging / emergent church. I, for one, am glad he's helping to delineate between the two. It would be easy for people to make inferences about The Well (or any other missional church) because they assume we're an emerging church. And while I don't have anything against the emergent movement, there are definitely things about it that are controversial--and in ways that I (and The Well) don't wish to be controversial.

Anyway, click here to go to his site and read Hirsch's brief article. Enjoy!