Denominations and Diversity Article

Great article by Urban Faith on Denominations and Diversity. Check out link below-

http://www.urbanfaith.com/2011/08/denominations-pursuing-diversity.html/

Ten Ways to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King

1.) Lift up the Importance of Education

Too many young people have no sense of the lives sacrificed for integrated schools and access to higher education.

2.) Lift up the Importance of Participation in Democracy

Lives were also sacrificed for the right to vote for all citizens

3.) Lift up the Beloved Community

This was Dr. King bringing the vision and values of the Kingdom of God into the mainstream of the nation. It’s also a wake-up call to the church to connect evangelism and justice.

4.) Plant and Develop Multi-ethnic and Missional Churches

11:00am on Sunday morning still remains a segregated hour in too many churches

5.) Study Matthew 25:31-40

Develop an understanding that the first drum major for justice was Jesus

6.) Teach little children the stories of Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges in church Sunday School classes.

(Especially in non African-American churches)

7.) Go to Washington D.C. with your family and see the monument in his honor.

Hold me accountable to this one.

8.) Develop a serious and fruitful friendship with someone of another ethnicity/race.

9.) Explore deeply and confess your own racism, prejudice, sexism, and neglect of the poor.

10.) Thank God for how far we’ve come.

We’re not where we should be, but don’t act like God hasn’t brought us a mighty long way. Balance your lament with praise.

Just a Few Words

Maybe like me, you felt today as if the weight of the world was upon you. In your own power you were trying to provide all the answers, take care of all the business, and find time for your family as well. As the day comes to an end there’s still an opportunity to do what should have been done at the beginning. Approach the God of the universe with the weights upon your shoulders. Allow God to lighten your load. None of us have the ability in our own might to handle the full load of life’s journey. Find the rest and the strength your soul desires.

Disciplined or Driven?

Right after I posted, “The Art of Discipline”, I began to think about being disciplined verses being driven. My thoughts were based on my reading about Gideon in the book of Judges within the Old Testament. Even though he was used by God to bring great victory in war on behalf of the nation of Israel, his victory soon turned into idolatry.

I would think that it took great discipline and submission to follow God in only taking 300 warriors into battle against thousands and come out victorious. The discipline comes in terms of putting yourself in position daily to hear from God and then the discipline to follow all instructions when all odds seem to be against you. Then there’s the discipline of being a trained and ready warrior as well as providing leadership by example to those following you into battle.

When your in the position of leadership discipline can soon turn to a state of being driven. This is when the purpose and plan moves from being about God, to being about you. After deliverance and victory brought about by God, Gideon was driven to receive the credit and to be rewarded. Instead of worshipping the One who brought victory, he became self wanting.

Where being driven can become self-centered is when we seek to gain power for ourselves instead of living a life of discipline, empowered by God. Leaders who are driven must be cautious of the power-seeking nature of wanting to be in the driver’s seat. Be careful that in being driven, you desire to drive life by your own power. This driven life is about wanting power and control verses being empowered by God and under the control of the Holy Spirit for a larger purpose. I desire that my life be bigger than me, but I fight the temptation daily to be driven to make life all about me.

Gideon in making victories brought on by God about himself, took riches and built what would become an idolatrous shrine. Within the next generation of his family there was murder in the form of one of his sons killing all of the rest of his sons except one. This murderous son was driven by the desire of rulership over the family and the nation. This murderous son lost sight of the disciplined life of being led by and empowered by God. Instead he was driven by seeking power in his own might.

May we seek the life of discipline over the life of the driven.

The Art of Discipline

I’m a huge Minnesota Vikings football fan. This usually causes me to become sad year after year with the disappointment of another year without a Super Bowl win. Those who know Super Bowl history know that the Vikings have lost four Super Bowls and have not been to a Super Bowl since the 1970′s. We have lost 3 NFC Championship games over the last 20 years as well, with the 1998 and 2010 games being the most painful (At least for me). I provide this introduction because the Vikings released a Pro-Bowl offensive lineman last week for being overweight. He reported to training camp at about 400 pounds. This has made me wonder about discipline. Wasn’t making millions of dollars a year enough to keep him in shape? The answer is no. The next question becomes then, “What drives one to be disciplined?”

I began running about a year ago. I now run about 4 days a week. I never thought I would like running. To be honest there are days when I don’t. What causes me to get up and run? Discipline. I don’t say this to brag because all of my attempts at discipline are not successful. Some of the enemies of discipline are procrastination, distraction, discomfort, and challenge. You can pursue something that takes discipline and the moment it gets hard, give up. I have many examples of this in my life. The question now becomes, “What fuels discipline?”

Discipline is ultimately fueled by something beyond ourselves. For me that is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit provides an empowerment and equipping beyond what I can manufacture on my own. The Holy Spirit is a counselor (John 14). As a counselor, the Holy Spirit reminds me of the true character and values for living life more abundantly. The Holy Spirit reminds me that you can’t separate discipline from discipleship.

The Holy Spirit is also the place where we find communion with God. This is where we experience God’s great love for us. This makes discipline not something we pursue because of law, but because of love. Discipline is not a checklist, but an art. Discipline is a dance whose rhythm comes out of intimacy. It’s connected to a Covenant with a loving God. When I dance with my wife, I experience the art of our Covenant together. I’m reminded of our love and commitment. We must be willing to dance with our God daily. Discipline is part of this glorious dance.

Can The Church Do What Government Can’t? (Or Won’t)

Last night I watched the major cable news channels’ coverage of the deal to address the budget crisis within the United States of America. The President and the Speaker of the House both announced that a deal had been struck to keep the government from defaulting. This deal for many critics is too little and too late in terms of action. There is still a long way to go in terms of a longterm solution. Add to this that the dysfunctional division and extreme ideological politics of the two major parties continue to be a problem. Right now the Tea Party and the Congressional Black Caucus are two groups that could throw a monkey wrench in the whole process of a real solution. To try avoiding major cuts in expenses in the budget and the raising of taxes on the most wealthy of Americans is hard to understand. An ugly situation is going to take ugly answers that include major compromises. Looking at all this political division and dysfunction led me to some thoughts about the church. My thoughts began with questions.

Is this the right time for the church to do what government can’t? Is there a need for a reconciling church like never before? Here are the thoughts at the core of these questions. One, there is a need for Christian evangelicals and mainliners to do what Democrats and Republicans can’t or won’t. Evangelical and mainliners need to come together and forge a national faith-based agenda for life and community transformation. This agenda must remind our country that first and foremost that church is about life transformation. It also must show a connection between life transformation and community development. The community development portion of the agenda must have measurable outcomes addressing issues that are concerns in Scripture such as the poor, the lost, the stranger, and the marginalized. The church could become a major Kingdom force in America like never before thru such a move. Second, the increase of multi-ethnic and missional churches must become a top priority of every major Christian denomination as well as evangelistic organizations. The political division in this country is connected to historic racial and class divisions. The church has no credibility if it continues to be the most segregated institution in the nation.

There is a great window of opportunity for the church as both the government and economic institutions live in crisis and dysfunction. This move would also be the solution to the crisis that the church of the United States of America is currently in.