A Few Good Quotes

“The foundation of our philosophy [i.e. theology] is humility.”
– Crysostom

“When a certain rhetorician was asked what was the chief rule in eloquence, he replied, ‘Delivery’; what was the second rule, ‘Delivery’; what was the third rule, ‘Delivery’; so if you ask me concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, first, second, third, and always I would answer, ‘Humility.’”
– St. Augustine

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Happy Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING DAY 2006
November 16, 2006
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
A PROCLAMATION
As Americans gather with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, we give thanks for the many ways that our Nation and our people have been blessed.

The Thanksgiving tradition dates back to the earliest days of our society, celebrated in decisive moments in our history and in quiet times around family tables. Nearly four centuries have passed since early settlers gave thanks for their safe arrival and pilgrims enjoyed a harvest feast to thank God for allowing them to survive a harsh winter in the New World. General George Washington observed Thanksgiving during the Revolutionary War, and in his first proclamation after becoming President, he declared November 26, 1789, a national day of “thanksgiving and prayer.” During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln revived the tradition of proclaiming a day of thanksgiving, reminding a divided Nation of its founding ideals.

At this time of great promise for America, we are grateful for the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and defended by our Armed Forces throughout the generations. Today, many of these courageous men and women are securing our peace in places far from home, and we pay tribute to them and to their families for their service, sacrifice, and strength. We also honor the families of the fallen and lift them up in our prayers.

Our citizens are privileged to live in the world’s freest country, where the hope of the American dream is within the reach of every person. Americans share a desire to answer the universal call to serve something greater than ourselves, and we see this spirit every day in the millions of volunteers throughout our country who bring hope and healing to those in need. On this Thanksgiving Day, and throughout the year, let us show our gratitude for the blessings of freedom, family, and faith, and may God continue to bless America.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 23, 2006, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.
GEORGE W. BUSH

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Missional vs. Evangelistic

I was recently listening to a short podcast by Mark Driscoll. Driscoll was addressing the differences between an evangelistic church and a missional church. Here’s the basic run-down:

• Evangelistic: A church that is actively engaged in evangelism, developing a ministry/ministries that is influenced and focused on the needs of the community
  in order to attract people to the worship services. (A.K.A. Market-driven)
• Missional: A church that makes no special changes in structure, ministry, focus, or emphasis under the influence of any worldly outside source but instead, places an emphasis on the importance of its members going out into the community, bring the Gospel to the world. (A.K.A. Nonmarket-driven)

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Planting Churches in Oregon: What Does it Take?

I’m not an expert in church-planting. I’ve never claimed to be one, nor am I doing so now. However, I have seen church-plants come and go, fail and succeed. I tend to think that I’m a little more in touch with modern Oregon culture than many of the church-planters I have personally been involved with. Again, that’s not intended to be an insult – just an observation. I’m 26, I’ve been in Oregon since I was 20. My age group, in Oregon, is a group that never really had any contact with the church. Their parents walked away from it, conclusing that the church and its leadership was something to despise or, at best, be suspicious of. And therefore, most in my generation in this state were never really exposed to the benefits and blessings (and hardships) associated with being a part of a body of believers, much less, ever see a need to make Christ their Lord.

Unfortunately, many of the church planters that I have had conact with come from the old school: they want to convince everyone that there is in fact absolute truth and life is really “black-and-white,” the grey that we may percieve is merely proof of Satan’s grasp on most in this world. It’s that very absolutism that has caused so many to reject many of the churches teachings and dismiss its stories as nothing more than myth.

Many are quick to criticize (actually I have been criticized for this) my thinking on relating to modern Oregonians. But I don’t care. What they see is a young postmodern willing to compromise the essential truths, preach a gospel of good works, and be completely market-driven – all points that stand in sharp contrast to what the Bible teachings. They tend to become rather upset with me and work to straighten me out before waiting to see where I want to go with things.

The reality of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection securring the believer’s place in heaven is incredibly difficult for a non-believer to accept. Realistically – dare I say it – it’s difficult even for a believer to accept when he/she thinks about it. Just ask yourself, what scientific finding or personal experience supports the idea that a human being is even theoretically capable of coming back to life after being dead for 3 days? Really, how believable is that? I’m a pastor, I fully believe it, but I have no basis for believing apart from the fact that I made a decision 10 years ago to believe it. There is absolutely no verifiable, empirical, or a priori evidence to suggest that this could actually happen. Therefore, a church-planter anywhere in America – but especially in Oregon – must be understanding and compassionate toward the difficulties associated with making a decision for Christ. I believe it is okay to be a little sloppy with your theology up to a certain point. Baby-steps is the key. As a person matures in their faith, the theology can be fine-tuned.

I wanted to write this post primarily for the purpose of relaying a few ideas I have about it takes to plant a church in Oregon, specifically in Eugene. I spent 4 years in Eugene as a college student, I saw first hand the spiritual difficulties that exist in such a community. Furthermore, I believe it worthwhile to make sure that I point out that I am viewing church planting through the eyes of and as it pertains to the Christian Reformed Church. Unfortunately, this group has repeated failed attempts at planting in Oregon – hence the reason why there are only 5 in the entire state and they’re all in the northern Willamette Valley.

1. Be “Green.” Environmentalism is so big in this area that it is practically a religion unto itself. As “stewards” of God’s creation (Gen. 1:28) even we as Christians have a responsibility to care for the environment. Tranditionally, the church has come to be viewed as the antithesis of environmental care. I believe that a church-plant in Eugene would be able to make tremendous inroads into tthe community if they would take an active role and interest in preserving and caring for the world we live in. The “Gospel of Green” can be preached in a number of ways: (1) Using only recycled products in the services and promotions; (2) Meet at a location with easy access via public transportation; (3) Plan church events that coordinate with or involve members in environmental clean-up days and the like.
2. Encourage Political Involvement. Let me be clear: The church as an organization has a God-given obligation to stay out of politics (Mt. 22:15-22, et. al.). However, the people of God have a God-given obligation to be involved in every aspect of human life (Mt. 5:15-16; 1 Cor. 9:19-22). Do you see the disctinction I’m making? The church-plant should encourage its members to take an active interest in the actions of local, state, and national government. However, it should refrain from any language or message that suggests political preferences, obligations, leanings, or affiliations. The message should be one of challenging the people to study the issues and candidates and make political decisions based on the teachings of the Bible and the needs of society. The “Gospel of Political Involvement” can be preached in the following ways: (1) Sponser and promote non-religious, non-partisan voter information meetings; (2) Offer opportunities for eligible members to register to vote; (3) Regularly remind members of their responsibility as American citizens and Christians to vote for the leadership and policy decisions of the community and nation.
3. Be Untraditional. The common meaning of the statement, “I’m spiritual but not religious” is that the person is interested in spirituality of all sorts but rejects organized religious movements. There is a belief that religion divides and causes war – division is a form of discrimination; war kills, unjustly taking the life of another living being. The Christianity many are accustomed to seeing is one that goes to church on Sunday morning, then goes home and beats their spouse, drinks like a fish, commits adultery, and tells everyone at work why they’re going to hell while their salvation is secured. A church becomes untraditional by: (1) Giving its members a reason to be excited about God; (2) Helping its members experience a personal encounter with God – often done using emergent church techniques such as “Prayer Labyrinth,” contemplative/meditative music, and other “out-of-box” elements; (3) Tackle life’s tough questions head-on; (4) Cancel church from time to time and send the members into the community instead.

Eugene is a very diverse community that rejects the stuffiness of trandition. If a church-plant is to be successful, it must learn to adapt to these changing trends and become a little sloppy in its ministry. Planting a church in Eugene is not impossible, it’s just not possible to do the same way it’s always been done…

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