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When Necessary, Use Money

The typical church atmosphere today is such that attendees are conditioned to put money into an offering plate and consider this to be a pretty decent way to spread the Gospel. hether intended or not, this method of helping, if it is the primary focus, keeps the average church-attender from actually meeting and connecting to needy people and it tells him that money is his best gift or good deed.

De-Powering the Name of Jesus

In the old days, Superman could move planets. As if that weren't enough, he could move multiple planets at once. Heck, he could even do this as a teenager! Somewhere along the line, the writers decided that this just wasn't believable enough, I guess, so they brought his powers down to a more realistic ensemble. You know, flying, heat vision, super-cold breath... the more normal things.

The Noise and Impact of Worship

How many fellowships are apathetic and complacent, perched in the middle of hurting communities and not lifting a finger to help, but instead singing songs one day a week about how good it is not to be a part of the riff-raff on the outside? Isn't it time we redeemed ourselves by our actions?

Good Deeds and Contradictions

When we're challenged or confronted with an argument about contradiction in Scripture, sometimes we can be taken completely off-guard. One of the worst responses in this kind of situation is simply to say, "I just take the Bible on faith," and dismiss the challenge as being made by an ignorant Christian-hater. The fact is, most of the time it's not the Bible we're taking on faith. Often it's the teaching of someone who pieced together some verses to bolster a themed speech.

Showing posts with label Social Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Media. Show all posts

10 September 2009

a jesus manifesto

7:57 AM No comments

This morning a friend sent me a link to a Facebook group for A Jesus Manifesto, a declaration of intentions (as dictionary.com puts it) that was written by Leonard Sweet, pastor, author, and well-known Church leader, and Frank Viola, author of several paradigm-challenging books such as Pagan Christianity and Reimagining Church. The Facebook group probably been around for a little while, but I've just seen it for the first time.

The manifesto may take a little while to read, and as noted on the Facebook page, "[The] page exists for those who wish to express their agreement with 'A Jesus Manifesto' by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. It is also designed to connect them with one another as well as to update them on events and resources related to the document." So don't go joining it willy-nilly -- to do so expresses agreement. Also, note that the Facebook page doesn't exist for debate. A link is provided to a site at which people can express thoughts and opinions.

I've read the manifesto once before and am in the process of reading through it again more meticulously. Several parts jumped out at me, such as this:

Jesus Christ cannot be separated from his teachings. Aristotle says to his disciples, “Follow my teachings.” Socrates says to his disciples, “Follow my teachings.” Buddha says to his disciples, “Follow my meditations.” Confucius says to his disciples, “Follow my sayings.” Muhammad says to his disciples, “Follow my noble pillars.” Jesus says to his disciples, “Follow me.” In all other religions, a follower can follow the teachings of its founder without having a relationship with that founder. Not so with Jesus Christ. The teachings of Jesus cannot be separated from Jesus himself. Jesus Christ is still alive and he embodies his teachings. (emphasis mine)

Interested in your thoughts on A Jesus Manifesto. I'm not sure of my complete set of thoughts yet.
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