The Next Evangelicalism

I loved this clip - it is a cool opportunity to sit in on a conversation with some great Asian-American Christian thinkers and leaders. Soong Chan had some really cool thoughts to challenge us with, in particular realizing how captive our thinking, our theology and our churches are to Western thought.

I'm definitely adding this to my "to-read" list.

Interview: Soong Chan Rah from Eugene Cho on Vimeo.

Interview with author Ron Martoia [Part 2]

...continued

5. I found in a simple google search a number of overly-demonizing critiques of your work. How do we work to be the change in our church communities and handle the often 'demonizing' accusations of those who disagree?

Yes great question and yes I am a reincarnation of the devil himself apparently according to those website along with a host of others you and I know. I think gentleness is the only road on this one. Stages of human development and faith development tell us that you can't grasp a different level of development other than your own center of gravity. So I don't have hope for others to just jump in head first. But I do think there are some very well place questions we can ask that really put people in a place of evaluating whether or not the Christianity they are defending is the real deal, their personalized construction overlaid with all sorts of baggage, or a modernistic version that has canonized the way we have been doing it the last 200 years as THE way. We have to ask really good questions about the core issues and the outcomes we are getting.

6. Others who criticize your work say you analyze the problems well and it resonates with them, but you offer few solutions. It seems to me that your work intentionally offers a great framework for us to take and adapt in our context and sphere of influence. What do you say?

Well you are apparently the careful reader (lol)! Here is the deal, everyone wants in the box packaged answers. That is a product of the assembly line industrial revolution. We have been doing that for some time. Go to conferences get the in the box small group stuff, or evangelism training package or the usher greeter training kit.... you know what I mean. So people want more of the same. But if we haven't learned anything in the last 100 years haven't we learned that all the in the box programs really haven't brought deep lasting life change? I am convinced that indigeniety is the key. You need some sound processes that you indigenize in your local context in ways that work with who you and your leadership team are for the ethos of your church and the people you are trying to reach. One size does not fit all in fact one size means it fits everyone poorly. So I try and avoid the platitudinous prescriptions that people are always pressing for.

7. If you were asked to boil the whole of Scripture down to its most basic elements, what would those be?

We are imago dei creatures infected as we are, and the good news is that shalom wholeness and wellness is available to every single person which reverses that infection. Our role on the planet is to broker that shalom wholeness and bring everything back to the original edenic state. That includes me, others, and the entire creation.

8. If you could mentor us in only a few sentences, what would you say to young leaders in the church of the U.S?

Don't let anyone convince you to do reruns, do overs or keep doing the way we have always done it. Reflect and seek interior quiet more than you do. Help people navigate liminal space more than pump them full of doctrine. Give up monologue and engage in dialogue. The million dollar skill set into the 21st century will be dealing with great emotional process in your own life and the lives of those around you. It is the #1 I'm being asked about these days and one of the main things I am talking about.

Thank you so much Ron for taking the time to not only answer my questions but also to speak into our lives.

If you haven't read his books, they are a must read on your list. You can find out more about Ron Martoia and some of his current projects on his Velocity Culture site.

Thoughts?

Missional Ministry

This is a re:post from Craig Groeschel's Swerve blog. I thought this was a great insight on how to live our Christian lives and go about making disciples.

If you plan to reach the next generation for Christ, don’t ask them to believe what you believe, instead invite them to do what you do.

Beliefs are a dime a dozen. This generation has seen every variety of spiritual beliefs you could imagine (and many you couldn’t imagine).

They’re extremely turned off by people who don’t live what they claim to believe.

This generation doesn’t want to hear about what you believe. They want to see your beliefs in actions. And if you’re daring enough to live like Jesus, you’ll have a shot at reaching the next generation.

• If your version of Christianity is limited to what you’re against, you’ll not likely reach many.
• If, on the other hand, your faith is so alive you must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and love the outcasts—all in the name of Christ, the King, you will attract interest.

As strange as it might sound, if you truly live a missional and Spirit filled life, the young generation might join you and do what you do, then one day believe what you believe.

I think this is a great model for discipleship, stop instructing people to believe the way you do and just start inviting them to do what you do. Thoughts?

God the Father? Pt. 2

On my trip to Boston earlier this week I had the opportunity to teach a Theology 1 class. The professor for the class asked if I could talk about how theology affects ministry. I thought it was a good opportunity to hear the students' voice in a discussion I've been having as of late regarding how our relationship with our parents can affect our perception of God.

Something that stuck out to me in the discussion with the students was from a girl named Allie, who had grown up in a broken home, like many others that I work with in Teen Challenge and around the world. Allie mentioned that in her early years as a believer she had trouble identifying God as her father because of the abandonment and failures in her own family. She said clarity came as she got older and was able to understand a little more the nature of God and as she aged, her mother and other family members became more intentional in affirming her and making sure she understood that her father leaving was not her fault.

In part 1 of this series, I asked what is looks like to be intentionally involved in a child's life who is lacking a parent? I believe Allie's story begins to answer that question, we must affirm that the situation in their lives are beyond their control, that it is not their fault and help them develop an understanding of the unfailing fatherhood of God. Any thoughts?

God the Father? Pt. 1

Over the last couple of days I've been reading through a book by Donald Miller titled "To Own A Dragon: Reflections on growing up without a Father." Donald Miller is one of my favorite authors because of his raw honesty and I enjoy the wit that he adds to his writing. I was actually looking for one of his other books, "Through Painted Deserts" when I decided to pick up this book- The library didn't have the other.

Initially I thought, I grew up with a good father-this book might not apply to me. Oh, how wrong I was. I got about 5 chapters deep and Donald Miller started speaking into my life, as a man now, and as a future father.

Miller begins to discuss how our parents and the authority around us influence our perception of God, the Father. For most of us, our parents weren't perfect, and for a lot of us we grew up without one or the other- and those things affect us whether we realize it or not. We can believe that God is present, real, and active: but like Miller touches on, we can forget that He is a father, He isn't a distant authority figure, but He is close, personal and present in our daily lives.

I want to share this from Miller's book, I'd love to hear some of your thoughts:

"I started thinking about the wisdom that is handed down when we have authority figures in our lives. We learn a trade by submitting to authority, we learn a work ethic by submitting to authority, we gain an academic life by submitting to authority, and more than any of this, we learn who we actually are by submitting to authority. And when we have earned authority ourselves, we teach others, because for so many years we have been taught. A guy like me, then, who has a resistance to authority, is begging to be useless. What I mean is, he isn't receiving any advice on how to live, and in turn he isn't able to hand advice down to those who are coming behind him. And if he is handing down advice, it isn't good advice. I mean it isn't tested and tried by years of experience."

Is there some knowledge and wisdom that children who are missing one or both parents have to learn on their own?

If so, do we have a responsibility to pass that knowledge on to children who are lacking that authority figure in their lives? Can we even be that sort of presence in their lives? If so, what's that look like? Thoughts?