Being Versus Doing Part Uno

This idea is where my heart has been a lot recently.

"Cultures are not born in a vacuum. The fuel of a culture is what is referred to as ethos. The fuel of ethose are values, which I am convinced are deeper and more primal than beliefs. It is far more important to change a person's passions than their beliefs. You can believe many things without being passionate about them, but you cannot be passionate about something without believing in it. The revolution Jesus began 2000 years ago does not simply change our theology, but more powerfully it transforms our pathos. The dynamic tension between the message and the culture is not about what Jesus once said but about what Jesus is saying. The intersection is not simply between an ancient message and a contemporary context but between an eternal God and this moment in history.
The real issue facing the church is not essentially about methodology or even preserving the message; the real issue is why the church is so unaffected by the transforming presence of the living God. Jesus lives in every time and place in human history. He both makes Himself known and manifests Himself through the Body of Christ. We should give up our role as preservationists -- the church was never intended to be the Jewish version of the mummification of God. God is not lost in the past, He is active in the present. Our mandate is to continue the revolution Jesus Christ began 2000 years ago. The Scriptures are more than our textbook; they are our portal into the presence of God, where we not only come to know His mind and heart but also are transformed to become like Him." -- Erwin McManus, "The Church In Emerging Culture" pg.247.

This is what I'm talking about when I speak of being versus doing, what McManus calls changing passions instead of beliefs. The key sentence in the quote is the first sentence of the second paragraph, and why I believe we have nowhere else to turn but away from our institutions, programs and work, and completely back to Christ and our personal and collective identity in Him. To quote Steve Fry, otherwise "we will be forever healing the soul and never aligning the spirit."

Spirit

I love this picture...a coloring page for my kids. It's just really simple and I appreciate the fact that Jesus doesn't look like a wimp.

"Jesus replied, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. So don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."

Been thinking a lot about John 3 lately. Without giving away my teaching for September 24, the phrase "born again" has got to be reclaimed. This has nothing to do with "getting saved" as if it were something we could get anyway. It has everything to do with understanding the role of Spirit and spirit in our lives. To be born again by water and Spirit is to be regenerated, a new creation, new DNA, a whole new identity. To miss this truth is to live life in our own strength and miss the abundant life that Jesus came to give.

By the way, pray for Carrie Wenzler today, she's in surgery at Hershey. Should be home on Sunday.

San Francisco

Returned recently from San Francisco. Sheri and I went there so I could officiate yet another wedding of a former student/intern. The wedding was beautiful.

San Francisco is a great city. The wedding was in Sausalito, so we had to cross the Golden Gate Bridge four roundtrip times. I remember watching this special on the History Channel (which I watch because I'm a nerd) about the engineering marvel that it is. It's one of the world's largest suspension bridges which means that the bridge is literally hanging on the cables that run up and down from the main cable that is suspended off of the two towers. The towers are what I was most "wowed" by. They're huge. In my imagination, I pictured this apocalyptic scene from Planet of the Apes or The Matrix sometime after global warming, nuclear holocaust and country music have caused the end of the world as we know it, and those two towers were still standing. They are that strong. It made me think differently about God being a strong tower.

Definitely one of the coolest things I've seen and San Francisco is one of the coolest cities I've been in. It actually made it into my top five.

Top Five Favorite Personally Visited American Big Cities
(population 1 million or more)

1. Philly -- I just love Philly. Maybe it's a hometown thing (though I'm actually from a western suburb). Every time I am in Philly, I love the vibe. I love cheese steaks, the Eagles, the rude people, South Street, the Italian Market, Center City, streetball, the Sixers, the brownstones, the cobblestones, the stoners, the history (love the history!), the pretzels, the ethnic diversity, the music scene, and the colletive hatred of anything Jersey. Philly rules.

2. Chicago -- Chicago's a great town. I've been there mostly for meetings and conferences at Moody Bible Institute which is in the heart of the city. It's clean, the people are Midwesternly friendly, and the art, music, and museum scene is great (you have to go to the Contemporary Museum of Art). I also had a huge encounter with God in Chicago in 2001, so it's got spiritual sentimentality for me. Great town.

3. New York -- New York is full of energy and beauty. It's really cleaned up its act since I was a kid; I love the law about no smoking inside anywhere. I really like NY City for its history of immigration as well, as the Gateway to America, the world has come to us and the fire of the melting pot began there. Central Park is a great place to chill. I also deeply respect all New Yorkers for how their city handled 9/11.

4. St Louis -- I lived there for five years, and it's a great city. It doesn't have a huge downtown, but the people are so friendly and hospitable. Most every tourist thing is free, which is great. Forest Park is a smaller version of Central Park and every bit as good. The Delmar Loop is a great place to chill, with the best cd/record store I've ever been in. St Louis pizza is horrible, but the pork steaks, ribs and root beer can't be beat. By far the greatest baseball town in America. But the people make the city...great people.

5. San Francisco -- Set in the mountains, these people just build houses on hills everywhere...it's unbelievable. The traffice is horrendous, but the vibe is great. Take a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge and drop into Sausalito for an incredible view of the bay from some great coffehouses. Union Square is one huge moving mass of shops and humanity that is a great place to hang out. The thing about California is that most people you meet aren't actually from there. I stood outside on a sidewalk for a bit (an hour) while Sheri shopped and I heard so many different languages. It was really cool. Great people too, didn't get to meet a lot, but those I did interact with were really cool.

I think I'm going to go into tourist book writing. Peace out.