Perks of the job

My new job is in Selkirk, which is a good 50 min. drive that I actually don’t mind this at all. It gives me time to listen to music and wind down after work so I don’t bring work home with me. Another positive is that 50 min is a perfect amount for a podcast/sermon. So I have the pleasure of listening to a lot of good conversations that have been quite thought provoking. I just wanted to share some of the highlights that have deepened some question that have I’ve been mulling over for quite sometime.
Emergent podcasts:
- Doug Pagitt from a recent emerging – mainline conference - A couple years back a friend asked me what would summarize Jesus’ message. My response was naturally ‘Kingdom of God’. This I found without any base is sort of a sell-out answer, mostly because it has no real understanding for too many Christians I’ve meet. As I described the Kingdom of God, it is obviously appealing to many with community, social justice, dignity, compassion, etc. (many of the reason why people say they like Jesus, but not church or Christianity) My friend then asks is this Kingdom of God only for people who believe in God or Christian—how can a non-adherent be involved in this kingdom? I think when we had this conversation I was stumped. The podcast begs the question why are is the church so concerned about keeping the lines of in and out so strict (sounds similar to many of the matter Jesus challenged the Pharisees about). I am no longer convinced that a need for commitment prior to inclusion is necessary or even congruent with Jesus’ message. I tend to align myself more with a Celtic model, which emphasis fellowship first and inclusion prior to any commitment. I can imagine many people from my evangelical past being wary of this model. However, I believe that Jesus was all embracing and to invite all to His Table because Jesus invites all.
- Scot McKnight: The Whole Gospel – McKnight is becoming on of my favourite authors/bloggers. For a long time the sinner’s prayer has been the cause of much frustration, mostly because it tells only part of the Gospel. McKnight begins his podcast sharing a conversation he has with a pastor of a mega church. The pastor asks why the college-age demographic is in constant decline. McKnight simply states because the sinner’s prayer does not really require it—Jesus’ has saved their sin—the church is nowhere in your gospel presentation. Not that no followers of Christ have come from a sinner’s prayer model, but I think it is a harder sell to go from say this and your sins are forgiven to well actually you have to give up all this and pick-up your cross. In a class on the emerging church last semester at Prov this idea of ‘hook and switch’ came up again and again. I think part of the problem is due to wanting to make the Gospel as appealing as possible, so we make it as simple as possible, which naturally takes away many central themes and stories found in the Bible.
- Mars Hill Bible Church – I have been a avid fan of Rob Bell and this community for about 2+ years now. I think the thing about Bell that is most appealing is his need to be authentic, which I tend to agree with. I want a faith that does not require me to neglect scholarship and affect my everyday life. Currently, they are going through a series called ‘God is Green’, which I am finding thought helpful on my journey. I continually identify with the sermons that emphasise how the bible continually talks about the redemption of all creation. The last preacher was Dr. Matthew Sleeth (http://www.servegodsavetheplanet.org/), who has an amazing story of making a huge lifestyle changes that include quitting his job as director of ER, after finding a link between the environment and various medical conditions. He questions that the rate of breast cancer in North America of 1 in 7 and in Northern China of 1 in 40 is purely a coincident. Give Mars Hill a listen I’m sure you’ll find it rewarding.