imagining how the church can reorient around mission

It is the 4^th of July. In many ways, at this moment, I grieve about what I see happening in and to the U.S. I don’t mean to sound overly dramatic, but I’m genuinely worried about its future.

I find it unnerving that the recent Supreme Court ruling about Presidential Immunity falls so close to the day we celebrate our shared freedom. Regardless of who is president now or the potential of a convicted felon returning to the office, I do not believe the role entitles anyone, anyone to be above the law. IMHO, it is a setup for some very bad stuff to transpire. What is the line? “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” If you call me a cynic, you would not be wrong, but anyone occupying the most “powerful” job in the world makes me at least a bit nervous, but even more so when we essentially are telling whoever that person might be that there are some illegal actions that can be done with impunity. WHAT??? Even typing that feels like an electric shock just went through my body. It is dreadful how badly that insults my sensibilities. This is abhorrent and could very well contribute to the very collapse of our land. Again, does that sound overly dramatic? Perhaps, but I am 66 in a few days and I am not new to this game. It may be slow and incremental, but anyone who is not concerned is not paying very close attention. read more

As I arise this morning to pictures and videos of a church full of people worshipping (some who I know personally) while a group of angry, torch bearing white supremacist rallied outside in Charlottesville, my heart is in knots. I honestly feel sick.

It feels like our world is going insane.

 

May God give my brothers and sisters who are there grace, courage, and protection and…

May God give the same to white Christians to use their voice to speak out against the hatred that is seemingly growing in our land (many who were quick to use their voices in protest of BLM rallies). Sadly, I hold little hope that they will use that same vigilance and protest regarding what happened last night.

 

May Christ, who is our peace and has broken down every wall, raise up his true church.

r

Here is a talk a gave a month or so ago at Life Center, here in Spokane. Immanuel is partnering with LC in our new church plant. The text for the talk is taken from Ephesians 2.

 

I wanted to put this out before it moved from the front of my thinking. A few of us have been very concerned about the increase in violent activity in our city (here is a different recent post about this). The question I have been grappling with is what is the church’s response to such issues. To be honest, the complexity of urban violence is beyond me. What can be done? What can I do? I am not sure.

Liv Larson Andrews

One thing we (Eric Blauer and Liv Larson Andrews) arrived at was we did not want to become desensitized to how these brutal acts fractured shalom. I believe many Americans are becoming fatigued by the constant cascade
of news of this kind; that they are in a way de-selecting it for their possible choices of issues to be concerned about.

What we concluded was we wanted to publically grieve and
passionately intercede. In real time, that meant that we would go humbly stand in front of “The Hop” (the location of a recent murder) and do a Liturgy of Peace. It wasn’t against anyone or even to gain some attention for our
activism. It really was for us (because our hearts are broken) and for God
(because we believe that prayer is more than just aligning ourselves with God’s
way – it actually is efficacious). We wept…we interceded and we marked the spot with the sign of the cross.

I have to admit, I am a person of great inner tension. Sometimes I come from some activity and wonder what it was for? Was it for me or for Jesus? Was it healthy or stilted. In short, I’m a bit of a tortured soul. But I want to testify that praying for our city on Monroe St. on Friday at 5:30 with two fantastic ladies might have been one of the “purest” acts of Christian service I’ve been involved with for some time. I’m grateful.

Christ have mercy! May shalom rest on Spokane.

r

Honestly, it seems like there are a millions things on the minds of Americans right now and the potential of entering into another war seems like a strange little (and inconvenient) “gnat” only mildly clouding our attentions. We have been in international conflict for so long, for some it just seems like a “same old, same old” thing.  I can remember not long ago that when our country was on the precipice of a international conflict (war) people would freak out.

Have we become that desensitized? Are we that callous? Does it not alarm you that our country is about to drop more bombs…on a different country?

Christ have mercy.

With Pope Francis, I say, “Let the cry for peace rise up across the Earth!”

I came across this today and felt like posting it, particuuarly as our country continues in its warring posture and stands on the precipice of another engagement.

We call a poor man “Lord” and in his name determine friends and enemies on the basis of who has oil for us. read more

I don't usually put a lot of political stuff on here, but I do post stuff that relates to peace and how to live lives of shalom.  Here is a quote at the first Republican debate from the "crazy" Ron Paul about the war in Afghanistan.

"[Bin Laden] wasn't caught in Afghanistan. Nation-building in Afghanistan and telling those people how to live and getting involved in running their country hardly had anything to do with finding the information where he was being held in a country that we give billions of dollars of foreign aid to, at the same time we are bombing that country." read more

I posted yesterday a call to those who lead in the Body of Christ to seek the “low place.”   The magnificent portion of Schaeffer's book, No Little People, was our starting point.  He mentions in the book two reasons for moving to humility.  The first one is here. Today I want to share the second.

The second reason why we should not seek the larger place is that if we deliberately and egotistically lay hold on leadership, wanting the drums to beat and the trumpets to blow, then we are not qualified for Christian leadership. Why? Because we have forgotten that we are brothers and sisters in Christ with other Christians. I've said on occasion that there is only one good kind of fighter for Jesus Christ–the man who does not like to fight. The belligerent man is never the one to be belligerent for Jesus. And it is exactly the same with leadership. The Christian leader should be a quiet man of God who is extruded by God's grace into some place of leadership. read more

Depicted in this photo, an image from an anonymous source on the ground in Egypt, is a team of Egyptian Christians forming a massive human shield to protect their Muslim countrymen as they prayed during the violent protests yesterday. Beauty amid the chaos.

via www.good.is

I think this is a wonderful (and hopeful) picture in the middle of profound chaos.

 

In the Bible, the word shalom is usually translated into English as “peace.”  So when I think of shalom, peace is the first idea that comes to mind.  Although there are some rather bloody moments in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, I do believe that God wants His people to be peaceful, and he wants peace for them.  So when I think of God’s shalom, I usually tend to branch the idea out of peace.  In Jeremiah 29:1-7, God instructs His people to live among the people of Babylon.  He doesn’t want them to become like them; but he does ask them to live peacefully amongst them.  He tells them to plant gardens, build houses, and marry their sons and daughters.  These are not things people tend to do when they are in a state of war; on the contrary, these are things people do after the war, when peace reigns in the land and they are free to go about their lives once more.
 
I’m beginning to realize that tension is a major theme with God.  He wants us to live peacefully in the culture He places us in, but He also wants us to be separate and not actually be part of the culture.  That creates a major tension, and I really think it will look different in each individual life  It would be so much easier to just make a choice between living completely separate from culture or completely immersing in culture and ignoring God.  But that is not what we are called to do.  And now we have to figure out, each person for him or herself, what that will mean in their individual lives.
 
– Diana C.