A different look at the crucifixion.

http://brianzahnd.com/2014/04/dying-sins-work/

Church Father Athenagoras description of the term "son" of God

Reading lately the book Early Christians by Eberhard Arnold. In one passage he gives a verbatim quote by one of the early church fathers Athenagoras (133-190 A.D.) who was a philosopher, possibly a Platoist before he was converted to Christianity.

What follows is one of the most lucid descriptions of the meaning “Son of God” that I have had the pleasure of reading:

“I have shown sufficiently that we are not atheists, for ours is the one God, uncreated and eternal, invisible, immutable, incomprehensible, inconceivable, to be grasped only by the mind and by reason, surrounded by light and beauty, by Spirit and power to an ineffable degree: he by whose word the universe was created, was set in order, and is ruled.

However we also acknowledge a son of God. Let no one think it ridiculous that God should have a son! For our thoughts about God the Father and the Son are very different from the myths of the poets who represent that the gods are in no way better than men. The son of God is the Word (Logos) of the Father.

He is thought that shapes and power that creates; for according to his pattern and through him is everything made, the Father and the Son being one. Since through the unity and power of the Spirit the Son is in the Father and the Father in the Son, the son of God is the thought (mind) and the Word (Logos) of the Father.

If, however, in your superior intelligence you should wonder what is meant by the expression “son,” I will give you a brief explanation. He is the first begotten to the Father, but not as if he were created. God, the eternal mind, had the Word in himself from the beginning; He is never without the Word. Rather the Son came forth to be formative thought and creative power for all things material. With this the prophetic Spirit also agrees, saying, “The Lord created me in the beginning of his ways for his works.”

Further we teach that the Holy Spirit, who shows himself at work in the prophets, is also an effluence of God, flowing from him and returning to him like a ray of the sun. How can a person know his way about if he hears people decried as atheists who confess one God, the Father, and one God, the Son, and one Holy Spirit, and who prove that these have one power in their oneness and yet are different in their order.

We can love only those human beings to whom we listen, and love is the heart of the spiritual way. No one can ever learn to listen to God who has not first learned to listen to human beings. The one who cannot listen cannot love either another or God.                          

Morton Kelsey

Absolute good.

Anne Rice has this quote From Walter Cardinal Kasper on her site:

“Jesus is different from John the Baptist. He does not lead a life of withdrawn asceticism apart form the world. He does not cut himself off and retreat into a monastery like the Qumran sect. He approaches people and lives among them. In one sense he could be said to be an enlightened secular man. To him the world is God’s good creation; and its things are good gifts to mankind. He is not too proud to eat with the rich or to be supported by pious women (Lk 8.2-3). Nor, on the other hand, is he a ‘liberal’ like the Sadducees. He does not think he can satisfy his religious obligations by the correctness of the orthodox, and specific cultic and ritual observances. The will of God takes over totally. Many of his sayings reveal a total claim and fundamental seriousness. He is concerned about everything. This ‘abandoning all’ leads him to a break with his family (Mk 3.20-21; 31-35), makes him homeless in this world (Mt 8.20). But he is no zealot or fanatic. His zeal is never brutish. And he is different from the Pharisees. He is not pious in the average meaning of the word. He teaches neither religious technique nor moral casuistry. He calls God his Father, whose love breaks down all categories and frees people from anxiety (Mt 6.25-34).”

It's a good day today.

Am I seeing things...or do most of the conversations/theories/arguments on God I'm reading from all sides seem to contain a tremendous amount of word parsing.

This isn't a diatribe about Bill...I would imagine he simply recognized the legalistic bellicosity of our culture and, as a product of that culture; responded in a manner that left him in the best possible light.

I think it's called human nature.

Here's a press release from Todd Hunter on a new transition:

Three Is Enough Groups – Spirituality For the Sake of Others
Todd Hunter, former National Director of Alpha USA, launches new ministry to focus on spiritual transformation

Boise, ID, April 2, 2008

Effective April 1, Todd Hunter (51) transitioned from his role of National Director at Alpha USA to launch a new ministry focused on helping pastors and lay leaders reach a generation that has become disenfranchised from the church.

Under the new non-profit, Society for Kingdom Living, Hunter will develop his writing, speaking and professional activities in the areas of conversational evangelism and the 21st century church. Hunter has a passion for evangelism but is convinced that Christianity in America has a massive image problem that stymies most attempts at evangelism. With the basic premise that Christianity needs to be re-practiced in order to help make followers of Jesus in this generation, he is developing resources and events that include writing a series of three books, the first to be published by InterVarsity Press, developing conferences, and teaching at key seminaries.

Hunter will begin this ministry by teaching and consulting on Three Is Enough Groups. These groups are designed to show people how to undo un-Christian faith by showing them that heaven is not the goal of Christianity - it is simply the destination. Being the servant - otherly people of God - is the goal.

Through his writing and teaching, Hunter will encourage churches and lay leaders to begin forming Three Is Enough Groups to help individuals pray, grow and serve. Keeping the groups small and focused insures that evangelism can happen anywhere, in the midst of people’s busy lives. Meeting in their most natural places of community – the workplace, school, or at the local coffee shop - Three Is Enough Groups will go on the Journey Inward of spiritual transformation and the Journey Outward of serving others. This will be done through the power of the Holy Spirit, for the sake of others - the least, the last and the missing.

Hunter will continue to be a consultant to Alpha USA and will remain on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He will have an active role in promoting Alpha, teaching on Alpha’s practices, building relationships and advising the organization on strategy.

Watched Elmer Gantry tonight. Thats probably behind the motivation to post my previous entry (the first in eight months).

I like Elmer Gantry.

Why? I don't know. Give me some time, a couch, and someone with a writing pad and I'll figure it out eventually.

Also, am I dreaming or are there physical similarities between Burt Lancasters Gantry and Seinfelds Kramer.

Here's a picture taken at the time of this post....getting a little grayer all the time.

Hmm..
Almost 8 months since my last post...2 months prior to the demise of Vineyard Downtown.
Probably the most you will ever get from me in the way of a postmortem is that it did do some good while it was there...and I hope that a few folks found something to keep them on a life long journey.

I still get requests from the local Vineyards to preach from time to time, and I do my best to comply but I find it a wrenching experience as I have reflected on my seven years of pastoring in the last six months.
I am well aware of my tendency to lay the blame for any assortment of church related maladies from the past few years at my own doorstep. However, I am also aware that self blame can spring from a false humility of which the flip side is assuming that we can take the place of the Messiah and make people, or situations better through the power of our own effort. It's really quite an insidious process in that it starts from a place of really wanting to help people, but all too often turns slowly into another method for controlling our environment and those around us.

Reese kicked this thought process off when he asked me seven weeks ago to preach on my life this past year. I told him I really did not want to talk about that because I had been trying very hard up until then NOT to think about it....Even as I said it I realized I had to begin processing somewhere.
And so I preached that Sunday and reintroduced myself to the folks in the Vineyard Augusta. I gave them the short version of the last fourteen years and then a slightly longer version of my mistakes and failures. I can't even tell you what I said because I was still processing while preaching. I do know I found it uncomfortablebecause I was forced to speak in a way that shed a less that favorable light on "Mr Hanson".
I think the whole thing is on a podcast on the Vineyard Augusta site.

What I CAN tell you is that I made one very good decision when we closed the doors in the last Sunday of October....The very next Sunday I was in church at Vineyard Augusta.

Not that I wanted to be there, in fact, a church was the last place I wanted to be. But I know myself at least well enough to know that I am a self reliant, self absorbed, and maybe even proud man that would rather go and have his own way and shut others out when it comes to the businesss of life...I've been down that road and it leads to nothing but trouble.
So...as miserable as I find it at times, I am forcing myself to be accessible in a way that allows others to talk to me, pray for me, invite me, and even to evaluate/counsel me at times. Mind you, this isn't happening in a rush. It's a slow, grudging, irritating battle that feels something like being tied down with water dripping on your forehead about every 30 seconds. And to be honest, I am still stalling on any type of involvement.

The big surprise for me has been my son Michael. He helps with the 3rd-4th grade boys on Wed. nights, goes to a small group and plays on the mens softball team...and shows up with his family at church on Sundays.

That's a very good thing.

I'm tired and I dont want to write any more for now.

Bet you didnt know Winnie the Pooh was this multi talented!

Jeff Miller and I went to see 28 Days Later the other afternoon. Nothing beats a good zombie movie for sheer entertainment. It did drag in spots which is why I still like the American versions better. More action, less talk... or plot for that matter. But then...really, please tell me you don't go to a zombie movie for any other reason than to see brains getting munched.
Braaaaaaaains.

I'm now in year seven of pastoring. I was reading an article that mentioned something like 70% of pastors leave the ministry by their fifth year. That means I've beaten the odds by two years....

Whoopee...

As many times as I've tried to talk myself into walking away, there have been an equal number of times That I've had to reevaluate my decision from the perspective of those who stubbornly continue to come each week. Now I hate "meetings" as much as anyone. And God knows I've heard all the arguments coming from groups like the Emergent folks and others which I won't go into here.
But thats really not the point.

Because what I or anyone else that has had enough contact/involvement with the church to be able to comment with any clarity think, doesn't really matter. Who are we really trying to influence here?

I do meetings because there are a group of guys (mostly homeless) and some other folks who want to come in and have a cup of coffee and find a fresh frame of reference for God each week....and somehow that reference seems to find it's way into their living over the next week. I know because they come up to me and tell me the stories.

And thats what fascinates me....because no matter how desperately I may not want to be there at 1pm on any given Sunday afternoon...no matter what frame of mind I happen to be in....God chooses to come and work in the lives of us all.

Maybe if I can get past my own head and look at meetings as a privilege that God would allow me to participate in His work in the lives of others instead of a drudgery to be endured I've won 99% of the battle.

Been mulling over buying a Mac. All the latest updates for Windows have proved to be annoying to say the least. However I've found the price to be a major obstacle. i just couldnt bring myself to part with $1200 for a 13 inch notebook....Until last Thursday.
CompUSA had an online add for Acer dual core laptops for $449, and so I went in the morning intending to buy one. As I was in the store I happened to mention to the sales associate I had been thinking about a mac but couldnt stomach the price. She replied, "Oh..we have a 17 inch Mac Pro Laptop that was sent in for a toasted hard drive. Its been completely refurbed from the factory with a 3 year warranty." When I saw the price I couldnt believe it...about one third the $2800 price tag of a new MacBook Pro with the 3 year warranty included in the price.
I now own a Mac.....
Now all i have to do is learn this OSX.

One needs to retain a sense of humor about "doing" church in this wasteland we call American culture. And the church seems to reflect our culture in so many ways.
Over the years I have seen countless married couples form unhealthy emotional attachments outside the marriage because they felt their needs weren't being met.
In far too many cases divorce is the result.
People get hurt and friendships built over years are destroyed in a moment.
It's not unusual you know...read the legal section of any paper and it won't take long to see the value we place on marriage.
I've done more marriages that have ended in divorce than have endured....and all in all I think I would rather do funerals at this point...They seem to "stick" a little better than marriages (I'm chuckling here)...I mean, you have to laugh dont you? Our "christian" cluelessness about our eternal dissatisfaction with our current state i.e. jobs, relationships, our future...leads us to look everywhere except the obvious.
But thats nothing new...Judah's daughter in law had to disguise herself as a prostitute and have sex with him in order to get him to fulfill his familial obligation before God...had he listened to God on the matter, he would'nt have been standing there redfaced in front of all his relatives who were laughing behind their hands when his command to stone her led to an embarrasing exposure of his own hypocrisy. At least he was man enough to admit it.
....And here is where I get seriously disgruntled with people who go about casting stones.
Are divorces wrong? Yes! Do the parties involved burn all their relational bridges and emotional support? Yes. Will they go around with a sense of guilt the rest of their lives? Probably. Do other people get hurt? Yes. Does it affect how outsiders view our church? Definitely.
Do I question my own wisdom? You better believe it.
I certainly dont mince words with all the parties involved in matters like this.
On a personal level, I don't have much sympathy for people who cut and run...particularly if one party wants to try and salvage the relationship.
However...I keep coming back to the story of the Prodigal son.
To be frank....the Prodigal was an unmitigated ass who thought only about himself.
And he paid for it.
But then, who among us hasn't at some point
Sometimes we make decisions that will seriously affect the rest of our lives...and the immutable law of sowing and reaping means that we will certainly suffer the consequence of our actions.....But God is still in control is he not?
People aren't stupid...we all know well enough that we'll each get whats coming to us...in this life as well as the next.
So why resort to name calling, gossip, slander, and piling hurt on top of hurt. We'll all get our own brand of justice coming to us soon enough..Life IS short!
Rather, pray....pray for God's unending mercy for all of us...and before we cast stones, let each of us ask, "God, what is my part in this". Let us grieve over our sins as well as the sins of others and it may be that the Lord will incline His ear and grant us all the mercy that we so sorely need.
Some parties I continue to counsel...and some parties have taken their lives into their own hands and so there's not much I can do for them anymore...Nevertheless, I love them all....I really do.
When you get right down to it, Pastoring is not about being a great teacher/administrator/prophet/seer/visionary or all the other labels we apply to ourselves.
Pastoring simply means dispensing love in the same manner that God gives us.
Who are we to judge....better to leave that to the One that will one day dispense ultimate justice.

A friend of mine had an idea to do little video snippets of people interviews in our church with the idea of forming it as an invitation.
This is one of the best examples I've seen lately of that type of invitation.....winsome, curious, non-threatening.
This particular fellowship in New York has a dinner with interesting engaging speakers with a thoughtful perspective...and then follows up with an invitation to Alpha.
Nice.