Well, I have hobbled to the computer and am attempting to do this with one of my feet propped up on an open desk drawer. My life has been a bit different lately. My minor surgery seems to have been successful although I have yet to actually see what they did. Hopefully when they remove the bandages on Monday, the expression will be good and not a "well that's odd" look. I have also learned that TV is pretty much worthless, but I did start and complete a really great book. The title is THE DANGEROUS ACT OF WORSHIP Living God's Call to Justice by Mark Labberton. Dan and I both heard him speak at the National Pastor's Convention and, although we had not heard of him, decided he was our favorite speaker.
I enjoy reading. I don't do it as often as I should, which whether I want to admit it or not, is my own choice. There are a few books I have read though, this being one of them, that have to really seep in over a few days. It offered some really insightful ideas about how and why we worship. I have been trying to share some of the ideas with Dan, but they are still trying to form something in my own heart and mind, so it is hard at this point to articulate them. However, I did want to share some of the key points not only so that you could ponder them, but so that I could ponder them again.
"...we need to continue to grapple with whether our faith or our culture shapes our lives more. What are the distinctives that might lead us individually or as a community to live more kingdomlike lives? Here are some helpful questions....
"Are we ready to live life in God in our town, or do we still insist on living in our town and try to fit God in? Are we convinced that these two options are not the same thing? Are we convinced that God's serious plan for healing the nations in Jesus Christ involves us? That it means picking up our cross and laying down our claim to ourselves in real sacrifice, and that it will change our lives?
"Are we going to let our class, race, job or money set the terms and priorities of our life, or do we want to be seriously kingdom-minded and kingdom-hearted?
"Are we willing to let the gospel do the deep redefining work of establishing us in our new humanity, or will we only let it do a little sprucing up?
"Are we willing to let Sabbath-keeping redefine the weekly rhythms of our lives, calling us to lay down our activities, cease our multi-tasking, stop our consumption, recalibrate our priorities and redefine--for the sake of truly seeking God, for listening, differently and intently for the Spirit, for remembering the passions of God for love, justice and mercy? Are we ready to seek God in our personal and corporate worship so we live to God's great honor?
"Are we willing to do the hard work of thinking beyond the categories of conservative and liberal in order to allow the kingdom to reorder the categories of issues that matter and that escape easy categorization? Are we willing to do the hard work of acting out the consequences of seeking justice, even when the cost is that our sense of self and life is fundamentally altered?"
It wasn't necessarily a hard book to read, but the topic is definitely not light. The main premise for the book and the theme that is repeated throughout comes from Micah 6:8 "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" It seems simple enough, but yet it seems to be so lacking in most of our lives and in the lives of our churches.
Now I am getting to that point where there is way too much info to share and my leg went to sleep quite some time ago. I hope I can continue this book report throughout my recuperation process. I know that the more I keep thinking about it, the more I want it to make a difference. I don't want to close it and think about the great points that were made and move on to check the channel guide one more time.
My leg is pretty much numb now, so I'll ramble on just a little longer. These past few months I have almost felt like my faith had ceased to exist. I know, that may be a bit overstated, but not by much. I have felt like most of my human relationships (with the exception of my immediate family - God doesn't give us more than we can handle as I think that would have put me over the edge) have been broken, or at least not functioning properly. I am learning once again that if my relationship with God is broken, well...you get the picture. The other day, someone, who can remain anonymous for now, said to me "God doesn't work". It kind of hit me in the stomach, that I had been living my life that way. Things weren't as I thought they should be and I was beginning to think that very same thing. Let's pack it in, go back to where we started, God doesn't work. The very day that was said to me, God gave us the opportunity to see that He is definitely not broken, and does indeed, still work. I am beginning to see that my vision of how life works needs to be redefined not just "spruced up".
This was much more than I started out to do, but thank you for indulging my own self-analysis of life.
Rekindling the hope -
JAH
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