I think we've all heard the gospel so i would like to focus on some areas of thought that are relatively new to me especially in light of the "story formed life."
One of the most important things that have struck me in this class is how important it is to share the gospel (to myself) in the context of creation and the fall. Without the story of creation we do not have any sort of idea of what things should have been and what the point to all this is. Without an understanding of the fall we have no true concept of loss, desperation, or need. now we do have our own story but one thing that i am learning is that the story of loss and redemption is so much bigger than us. the more that we come to an understanding of this the more we will understand the gospel, the history of humanity, and , ironically, ourselves as individuals. i think the only story of sin that i was ever really told or understood was a very personal account of how i can look into myself at what i do or can't do and see how much i need God. the epitome of all this is the "rock bottom" line where everyone meets god at the bottom of a bottle 1 minute before they were planning on committing suicide. while this is important it is only one aspect and a sign of a much greater sense of fallenness. bigger than that, we have the fallenness in our church, our city, our country, and our race (humanity). biblically, these are referred to quite frequently yet it is so counter-cultural to accept responsibilites for other peoples actions that we do not focus on the idea much at all.
the second main idea that i had in regards into believing the gospel is the necessary implications that it brings on ones life. if the gospel can be boiled down to two main points it would probably look something like this:
1. we are fallen
2. we are loved
if i really beleive this about myself than it would only make sense to beleive this about everyone else. this was the problamatic thing that i ran into this week. here are some areas of introspection that i would like to focus on in the weeks to come that all hinge on my true belief of the gospel.
- If i truly believe those two points my natural reaction would be to identify with the fallen around me instead of judge them/us. this is not my natural reaction. in fact, not only is it not natural but i don't think that i do it much at all.
- the other main thing that struck me was the extent that practicing the gospel should be natural assuming that you actually believe it. if we really found ourselves in a story like the prodigal son, having run so far and been accepted by a father so much, it seems like it would be so easy to celebrate that joy and pass it on to others by extending grace to them. instead i constantly find myself in this battle of the wills of trying to practice things that actually go against what seems natural. this leads me to the action point that i need to take. i would like to study and experience the gospel both academically and emotionally in a way that will actually cause a natural reaction that is visible in my life. i don't think that this is an easy process but ultimately i think that it is the only option that has the potential for true life change.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Week 2 - The Fall
In week two of the course we covered a topic that I have only really discussed in academic or theological settings as opposed to practical life application settings. In light of this course, though, it makes sense why, in order for someone to truly grasp who Jesus is or even who they are, they must have a firm grasp on the Fall did in fact happen AND what it is.
I think one of the first things that hit me this week was that God did not plan or intend the fall. Whatever viewpoint of God's sovereignty or omnicience that you have this is and can not be a possibility. It is different to say that God knew the fall was going to happen but his plan for the human race was one of love and was expressed in the beautiful design found in creation.
therefore...
the Fall was in fact probably the greatest tradegy that has occured in all of human history. The direction that we were heading and the resources and blessing that we were given were the greatest gift that any human could ask for. When it was stated in Gen 3 that man would NOT have eternal life because of adam not trusting in God, adam was devestated. in a sense, we should feel this same amount of devestation. in this same chapter it is promised that there will be one who will come and crush the serpents head. this became the israelites obsession. one moment they were living in a garden and the next they were cast out with the curse of work, the curse of pain in childbearing, and first and foremost the curse of death. the only promise that they were given is that someday there will come One who will redeem and save. this sense of need and this longing for a messiah is the context that the israelites lived in day to day.
so what does this mean for me/us?
I'm starting to realize that while i have heard about the fall and know ABOUT it i have never really believed it or associated myself with it. in order to fully inderstand my need for Christ i must first have some sort of idea not onllly for my own personal depravity and fallenness but the need for the entire human race, the line from which i have come. It is in this context that the gospel of Jesus actually becomes the good news and Jesus become an actual savior to save a fallen person and people group instead of a santa figure that brings good gifts to good people.
I think one of the first things that hit me this week was that God did not plan or intend the fall. Whatever viewpoint of God's sovereignty or omnicience that you have this is and can not be a possibility. It is different to say that God knew the fall was going to happen but his plan for the human race was one of love and was expressed in the beautiful design found in creation.
therefore...
the Fall was in fact probably the greatest tradegy that has occured in all of human history. The direction that we were heading and the resources and blessing that we were given were the greatest gift that any human could ask for. When it was stated in Gen 3 that man would NOT have eternal life because of adam not trusting in God, adam was devestated. in a sense, we should feel this same amount of devestation. in this same chapter it is promised that there will be one who will come and crush the serpents head. this became the israelites obsession. one moment they were living in a garden and the next they were cast out with the curse of work, the curse of pain in childbearing, and first and foremost the curse of death. the only promise that they were given is that someday there will come One who will redeem and save. this sense of need and this longing for a messiah is the context that the israelites lived in day to day.
so what does this mean for me/us?
I'm starting to realize that while i have heard about the fall and know ABOUT it i have never really believed it or associated myself with it. in order to fully inderstand my need for Christ i must first have some sort of idea not onllly for my own personal depravity and fallenness but the need for the entire human race, the line from which i have come. It is in this context that the gospel of Jesus actually becomes the good news and Jesus become an actual savior to save a fallen person and people group instead of a santa figure that brings good gifts to good people.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Some ideas on belief...
I originally was going to make one giant post for week 3 but decided to create this as a separate one because i think it deserves its own thought and response category.
As far as the first point I have been thinking about what it means to actually believe something and what teh ramifications of that are. Or, equally, if you do not truly believe something what the ramifications of that are. The most applicable way of explaining this is to show my initial reaction when reading the Bible, studying the gospel, or even just looking at a hero. I think my first reaction is to try and change my actions to match or mimic whatever actions i think are good. This is a pretty faulty way of doing things because most of what i do is motivated by my belief system. when i look at pornography i am looking at it because fundamentally i believe that i will be happier or better off or more satisfied than actually listening to god's commands in regards to sexual morality. this is a very stark and important distinction to make. i think my most common mode of operating is to assume that i believe truths found in the bible and gospel because i have heard them when in fact my life would prove that i do NOT in fact actually believe them in faith. In some ways this may seem discouraging but in a whole nother sense it can provide quite a bit of freedom because it does provide you a and the only true sense to change your actions and that is to change your belief. Ultimately it can only be god that softens our heart but through a class, like this, i have found that having your own beliefs thrown in your face and having them challenges with scripture really acts as a catalyst for some thought and therefore change. it really does all begin, though, with being willing to ask yourself the questiong of: "maybe i don't really believe all these things that i think i do, or claim to?" Even though this is a very simple question, i think that it may compose 90% of the work load in changing a belief system, especially if you were raised in a christian family and were tought that you actually believe something just because you "know" it. From there though, that is where the real work begins. I think that i will need alot of meditation that is baptized in prayer and scripture reading. these latter two i am particularly bad at.
As far as the first point I have been thinking about what it means to actually believe something and what teh ramifications of that are. Or, equally, if you do not truly believe something what the ramifications of that are. The most applicable way of explaining this is to show my initial reaction when reading the Bible, studying the gospel, or even just looking at a hero. I think my first reaction is to try and change my actions to match or mimic whatever actions i think are good. This is a pretty faulty way of doing things because most of what i do is motivated by my belief system. when i look at pornography i am looking at it because fundamentally i believe that i will be happier or better off or more satisfied than actually listening to god's commands in regards to sexual morality. this is a very stark and important distinction to make. i think my most common mode of operating is to assume that i believe truths found in the bible and gospel because i have heard them when in fact my life would prove that i do NOT in fact actually believe them in faith. In some ways this may seem discouraging but in a whole nother sense it can provide quite a bit of freedom because it does provide you a and the only true sense to change your actions and that is to change your belief. Ultimately it can only be god that softens our heart but through a class, like this, i have found that having your own beliefs thrown in your face and having them challenges with scripture really acts as a catalyst for some thought and therefore change. it really does all begin, though, with being willing to ask yourself the questiong of: "maybe i don't really believe all these things that i think i do, or claim to?" Even though this is a very simple question, i think that it may compose 90% of the work load in changing a belief system, especially if you were raised in a christian family and were tought that you actually believe something just because you "know" it. From there though, that is where the real work begins. I think that i will need alot of meditation that is baptized in prayer and scripture reading. these latter two i am particularly bad at.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Week 1 - Creation
The Text for week one was Genesis 1 and 2
The first thing that takes place in the class is a midrash discussion. midrash was a jewish tradition of teaching that was characterized by dialog and interaction. in this case the bible passages were being shown on a screen and jeremy lead the discussion by asking questions and responding. the discussion was fuelled by everyone asking and responding to questions and comments.
These are some of the random thoughts that I took away from the midrash:
- From the very beginning we get a look into the character and attributes of God. He is an artist and expreses creativity. If you want to get a better look into why God created the heavens and earth, go and ask your local artist why they create art. Their answer will reveal the character of God.
- Starting in verse Gen 1:27 we get the first case for Imago Dei (that man was created in the image of God). This becomes the ultimate groundwork for how we are to view all humans.
- Because of this we have no right to devalue the worth of ourselves or others. This is where we should derive our ultimate sense of worth and apply it to those around us. This will directly battle against our natural process of valuing people based upon their performance or any other criteria that we naturally gravitate towards.
- In Genesis 1 we are given some answers to the question of why we were created and why we are here. These are questions that need to be addressed by everyone.
These are some random thoughts that i have that revolve around the content of what i learned in the creation week but also the method of teaching things via the "story formed life". I've been realizing that it is very difficult to fully and accurately explain the gospel without beginning at creation. If you do not begin at creation and the fall and you go straight into being told about Jesus than Jesus becomes a part of my life to the extent that i realize that i need him. For me, i was told that i accepted jesus into my heart when i was 4. because i did not have much of a grasp of the creation or fall or how it fit into that story. because i only feel like i need jesus on the merit of my 4 year old short comings, accepting jesus becomes more of a straegic move that i make to get out of hell and or make my life better. this cheapens grace and elevates my human position to a point that seems to diminish the gospel incredibly.
One of my final thoughts, that piggybacks, on this previous idea is coming to grips with what god's original plan was in creating adam and eve and placing them in a perfect garden. i've never really spend much time considering what god's actual "plan" was. in studying and meditating on gen 1-2 for the last 2 weeks i've come to grips with the fact that what happened with the fruit at the tree knowledge of good and evil was probably the biggest tragedy in all of human history. right now i say that in a very academic sense but i think to truly understand the gospel i must start to believe that through faith. the effect that this will have on my viewpoint of god, the human condition, and my own need for the gospel is prfound.
This week i would like to begin focusing on what it means to view all humans as created in God's image. I would also like to attempt to think through the story of my life in light of the narrative that God was the beginning and is the center.
i could proofread this but i would be way less likely to ever post again.
The first thing that takes place in the class is a midrash discussion. midrash was a jewish tradition of teaching that was characterized by dialog and interaction. in this case the bible passages were being shown on a screen and jeremy lead the discussion by asking questions and responding. the discussion was fuelled by everyone asking and responding to questions and comments.
These are some of the random thoughts that I took away from the midrash:
- From the very beginning we get a look into the character and attributes of God. He is an artist and expreses creativity. If you want to get a better look into why God created the heavens and earth, go and ask your local artist why they create art. Their answer will reveal the character of God.
- Starting in verse Gen 1:27 we get the first case for Imago Dei (that man was created in the image of God). This becomes the ultimate groundwork for how we are to view all humans.
- Because of this we have no right to devalue the worth of ourselves or others. This is where we should derive our ultimate sense of worth and apply it to those around us. This will directly battle against our natural process of valuing people based upon their performance or any other criteria that we naturally gravitate towards.
- In Genesis 1 we are given some answers to the question of why we were created and why we are here. These are questions that need to be addressed by everyone.
These are some random thoughts that i have that revolve around the content of what i learned in the creation week but also the method of teaching things via the "story formed life". I've been realizing that it is very difficult to fully and accurately explain the gospel without beginning at creation. If you do not begin at creation and the fall and you go straight into being told about Jesus than Jesus becomes a part of my life to the extent that i realize that i need him. For me, i was told that i accepted jesus into my heart when i was 4. because i did not have much of a grasp of the creation or fall or how it fit into that story. because i only feel like i need jesus on the merit of my 4 year old short comings, accepting jesus becomes more of a straegic move that i make to get out of hell and or make my life better. this cheapens grace and elevates my human position to a point that seems to diminish the gospel incredibly.
One of my final thoughts, that piggybacks, on this previous idea is coming to grips with what god's original plan was in creating adam and eve and placing them in a perfect garden. i've never really spend much time considering what god's actual "plan" was. in studying and meditating on gen 1-2 for the last 2 weeks i've come to grips with the fact that what happened with the fruit at the tree knowledge of good and evil was probably the biggest tragedy in all of human history. right now i say that in a very academic sense but i think to truly understand the gospel i must start to believe that through faith. the effect that this will have on my viewpoint of god, the human condition, and my own need for the gospel is prfound.
This week i would like to begin focusing on what it means to view all humans as created in God's image. I would also like to attempt to think through the story of my life in light of the narrative that God was the beginning and is the center.
i could proofread this but i would be way less likely to ever post again.
The Story-Formed Life
...is a 9 week discipleship training program. The format of it was created by my brother-in-law jeremy. This was the main reason why our family decided to come out to ky for 9 weeks.
There are 2 main reasons why i think this class is important for me.
the first is that i would like to see my life changed and be a stronger, better, closer, disciple of christ. in preliminary discussion about this class with jeremy it sounded like quite a few people's lives were being changed so this is the first thing that put the class on my radar.
the second reason why i feel this class is important is because i am thinking about replicating it, or something like it, in seattle. i have long been interested in church planting in seattle but always been hesitant beause of calling or confidence issues. the focus on this class is much more geared towards training, teaching, and equipping which is what i enjoy and feel like i was made to do and in some ways, am already doing. i do not have any idea what this will look like and don't really care yet. i have already been in talks with mike sabrucko (the associate pastor at our church) about partnering with him to disciple some men at the church and i'm sure the next 9 weeks will have a direct impact upon that but i think it will be much bigger. in order to prepare for replicating some of these ideas in seattle i will be going into this class observing and taking notes on the format, technique, and content. i will also be meeting with jeremy on a weekly basis to discuss the class both in terms of it's personal affect one me and the methodology of replicating it.
I think one of the first things i realized is that these two things may not always be compatible. often times focusing on the presentation only distracts from the whole point of the content and vice versa. i'm going to do the best i can but hope to prioritize the personal growth that needs to take place.
in reading this blog i hope some of you will see your place in partnering with me/us in learning/teaching the story-formed life.
These are the 9 weeks
Creation
The Fall
The Gospel
Lordship
The Holy Spirit
Disciplined Life
The Church
The Kingdom
Re-Creation
There are 2 main reasons why i think this class is important for me.
the first is that i would like to see my life changed and be a stronger, better, closer, disciple of christ. in preliminary discussion about this class with jeremy it sounded like quite a few people's lives were being changed so this is the first thing that put the class on my radar.
the second reason why i feel this class is important is because i am thinking about replicating it, or something like it, in seattle. i have long been interested in church planting in seattle but always been hesitant beause of calling or confidence issues. the focus on this class is much more geared towards training, teaching, and equipping which is what i enjoy and feel like i was made to do and in some ways, am already doing. i do not have any idea what this will look like and don't really care yet. i have already been in talks with mike sabrucko (the associate pastor at our church) about partnering with him to disciple some men at the church and i'm sure the next 9 weeks will have a direct impact upon that but i think it will be much bigger. in order to prepare for replicating some of these ideas in seattle i will be going into this class observing and taking notes on the format, technique, and content. i will also be meeting with jeremy on a weekly basis to discuss the class both in terms of it's personal affect one me and the methodology of replicating it.
I think one of the first things i realized is that these two things may not always be compatible. often times focusing on the presentation only distracts from the whole point of the content and vice versa. i'm going to do the best i can but hope to prioritize the personal growth that needs to take place.
in reading this blog i hope some of you will see your place in partnering with me/us in learning/teaching the story-formed life.
These are the 9 weeks
Creation
The Fall
The Gospel
Lordship
The Holy Spirit
Disciplined Life
The Church
The Kingdom
Re-Creation
The purpose of this blog
The purpose of this blog is to keep family, friends and everyone else who is interested, up to date with what we are learning/experiencing in ky for the next 9 weeks. I think there will be alot of formidable experiences and knowledge and i imagine it will be difficult to communicate all upon arrival so i figure that this is prob the best way to communicate AND a good way for me to personally debrief. my goal is to post once a week, while i am out here, and probably dump this after that, but we shall see.
please resond in any way that you think would be appropriate.
please resond in any way that you think would be appropriate.
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