George Barna's Revolution

Today I was reading George Barna's book Revolution, in which he says, "...If we place our hope in the local church, it is a misplaced hope. Many well-intentioned pastors promote this perspective by proclaiming, "The local church is the hope of the world." Like most advertising slogans, this notion is emotionally appealing. The trouble is, the sentiment is not biblical. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the hope of the world. The local church is one mechanism that can be instrumental in bringing us closer to Him and helping us become more like Him. But as the research and data clearly shows, churches are not doing the job. If the local church is the hope of the world, then the world has no hope."

How do you respond to that? Do you believe that the Bible describes or promotes the local church (regardless of denomination or style) as we know it today?

The Stations of the Cross

Tonight, my family participated in a powerful experience together. Though it's an ancient practice, it's a new one for my six, eight, and ten-year-old kids. Around the table on our sunporch, I had created the Stations of the Cross to help prepare our hearts for the Easter celebration this weekend.

From the earliest of days, followers of Jesus have told the story of His passion, death, and resurrection. When people came to see Jerusalem, they were anxious to see the sites where Jesus was, and these sites became holy connections with Jesus. Eventually, following in the footsteps of Christ, along the way of the cross, became a pilgrimage visit. The stations, as we know them today, came about when it was no longer easy or even possible to visit the holy sites. In the 1500's, villages all over Europe started creating replicas of the way of the cross, commemorating the places along the route in Jerusalem. Eventually, these became known as the Stations of the Cross.

The Stations of the Cross are a powerful way to contemplate and enter into the mystery of Jesus' gift of Himself to us. It is an experience that involves the senses and emotions as I was reminded tonight. As I reflected on Christ's life and death with my family, it was very moving to let my kids hold the nails in their hands, smell the vinegar-soaked sponge, see the images of Christ crucified, and hear them read the Scriptures aloud. It's very rare for them to be speechless, but they were strangely silent during this experience.

They spent much time talking about it and asking questions, some for which Cam and I had no answers. And then we prayed. Each thanked Jesus for dying on the Cross and coming back to life. And then my youngest prayed, "I sure hope you don't ever get beaten up like that again..." I think he was really afraid that Jesus might. At least it got him thinking. Yes, it got all of us thinking.

I pray that this Easter, each of us (in our own ways) will take the time and space to reflect on what a gift God gave to us in His Son. If you have any stories to share on how you and your family engage in remembering Easter, I'd love to hear your stories. Meanwhile, I pray you have an awesome weekend.

A Revolution Has Begun

I've been reading Dallas Willard's "Revolution of Character," and he says this: "What an astonishing vision! The water of heaven flows through our being until we are fully changed people. We wake each morning breathing the air of this new world; we experience a new consciousness, and our character is transformed. We drop our deceitful practices, our insincerity, our defensiveness, our envy, and our slander, and we move outward toward others in genuine love."

This vision of what my life could look like is both inspiring (as I long to be a transformed person!) and a bit overwhelming (in light of how far I am from being that kind of person)... I'm wondering what kind of feelings it invokes in you, and if you believe this kind of life is really possible for you...

The Space to Engage

Today, I read a quote that said, "My blog is my pulpit. I rarely will preach in a church. It is on the blog where theological issues are discussed" (Rachelle Mee-Chapman, Thursday PM, Seattle).

It's an amazing world that we live in where we now have a forum for on-going dialog outside the walls of a church. My goal for this blog is not to have a place to preach about what I believe; rather my goal is to create a space where, together, we can have honest conversations as we each try to live life as an authentic Christ-follower. I hope this is a safe place for those in my faith community, Potter's Wheel, to raise challenging questions, share new learnings and push all of us outside our box. And I hope this is a place to meet new friends who are on the same journey.

Will you join the conversation?