Religion vs Relationship

Here are some thoughts culled from recent meetings together around the subject of religion and relationships.

• Religion is me trying to build something to reach God. Relationship is God pulling me into fellowship with himself.
• Religion uses hype, PR and strategic marketing to grow in numbers. Relationship uses humility, truth and divine wisdom to grow in love.
  
• Religion is obsessed with what people see on the outside. Relationship is passionate about what goes on in the heart.
• Religion demands obedience. Relationship draws me with love.
• Religion seeks to own and control people. Relationship seeks to love and set people free.
• Religion uses guilt to manipulate others. Relationship extends grace to build-up others.
• Religion loves to track numbers. Relationship values quality over quantity.
• Religion is very concerned about being right. Relationship is very concerned about you.
• Religion lectures. Relationship listens.
• Religion attempts to speak for God. Relationship let's God speak for himself.
• Religion teaches us to pray to God. Relationship teaches us to talk with God.
• Religion is centered on man's work for God. Relationship is centered on God's work in us.
  
• Religion is boring, overbearing, formal and stuffy. Relationship is intense, humbling, casual and messy.
  

Thanks to all the saints I meet with for these thoughts and insights.
What would you put in your list of Religion vs Relationship?

A Tale of Two Settings

The church meets here.

Here I sit down and listen.
I'm a face in the crowd.
I pay my tithe here.
I get a cracker and juice once a month.
My children are taught by trained staff.
There are programs for everything.
The service will last about an hour.
The stained glass is lovely.
The pastor will shake my hand.


The church meets here.

Here I interact with others.
Everyone knows my name.
I give when there is a need.
The food is awesome!
My children learn by watching me.
Program? What's that?
We will be done when we are done.
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree
My brother will stir my heart.

Missionary Night

Last Sunday night we had a visit from a brother seeking to leave his employment as a Software architect to become a missionary. He won't be in a grass hut in some distant land, but right here in the USA. He will be supporting bible translators in the field with his IT skills. We didn't get a slide show but we did get to watch a video from Youtube. I would like ask anyone reading this to pause right now and pray for Steve, Glenda, Stephan and Evan, that God would grant them grace and guidance in their endeavor to publish the word of God. You can check out his blog at http://www.moitozo.com /wycliffe/home.

This opened up a whole discussion around the concept of mission; as in what is my mission and how do I carry it out? The conversation only got started before we ran out of night. To be continued....

God on Trial

I watched "God on Trial" the other evening and I was both disturbed and inspired. Disturbed by the idea of putting God on trial and inspired by those who held faith even in the face of suffering. I was struck also by the idea of God being terrible and awesome.

Is God guilty of murder and suffering? If all things have there origin in Him then perhaps he is. There would be no sin and suffering if God had not created man with the will to choose. If God is guilty of causing suffering and death, then how could he possibly be brought to justice?

If only God himself could be brought down here among us humans and be forced to taste of our suffering. Betrayal, loneliness, suffering at the hands of cruel injustice and a painful death would be a fitting punishment for what God has done. After sharing in our suffering, God should set everything right and bring all evildoers to justice.

Unchruch

On this blog I've used the term "Alt-Church" to describe an alternate view and expression of the church. Recently in our discussions together, we have been tossing around the phrase "unchurch". I'm sure in some minds it might suggest some form of lost-ness as in the phrase "bring your unchurched friends". I am actually borrowing the pharse from the home-school movement.

There are homeschoolers who advocate a form of home instruction that is student-led with parents acting more as facilitors than teachers. In this view the world is the classroom and children are free to pursue whatever interests them. This philosophy of education is commonly referred to as "unschooling". Unchurching is a similar philosophy.

In the unchurch model the world is our parish and we are free to follow Christ where ever he may lead. Rather than professional clergy watching over us, we are responsible to watch out for each other. Spiritual growth comes through sharing in the Spirit together, serving one another in love and teaching is both by word and example.

Summer of Love

The Summer of Love at Honey Run Campground on Worthley Pond in Peru Maine was a must do event. The mix of folks attending was pretty eclectic. We had folks who were living in a structured community (Church Community international), an unstructured community (Weiman Community) and those not living together but seeking to foster community (Alt-Church). A lot of time was spent just being together and sharing stories. Here as an overview of the weekend:

Friday - Everyone had arrived and settled in by late Friday afternoon. After supper we went right to work on the important task of roasting marshmallows and talking around the campfire until around 11 pm.

Saturday - During the day people were swimming, hiking, attending the blueberry festival, napping, hanging out at camp. After supper we had an awesome wild Blueberry dessert made from foraged berries and scrounging. We had a blast singing under the group cover. I laughed myself to tears with Mikes reggae rendition of "I've been working on the railroad".

Sunday - Breakfast in the rain - broke camp in the rain - goodbyes in the rain.

We're looking forward to next ye

Seder

We gathered together to celebrate a Christian Seder. We reclined on the floor because we were free and ate our meal while retelling the story of our deliverance from the is evil world. This was a time to proclaim liberty and freedom through the grace of God in Jesus the Messiah. Bitter herbs to remind us of the bitterness of sin and charoset to remind us of the sweetness of salvation. Next year in the New Jerusalem.
Come Lord Jesus.

Christian Passover?

We are planning a Christian Passover meal to commemorate our freedom from the bondage of this world. The words "Christian" and "Passover" are not normally seen in the same sentence. After all, Passover is a Jewish thing, so what could that have to do with Christians? In returning to our primitive roots as Christians, we find ourselves acknowledging our Jewish origins. It should not be forgotten that Jesus was a Jew, being the son of a Jewish woman and that 2/3rds of what we hold as sacred text came to us through Jewish prophets. While we are not justified by the works of the Law, nor are we obligated to keep it, we can learn from the ancient feasts of Israel.

Jewish Passover commemorates Israel's escape from Egyptian bondage. For those of us who are not Jews after the flesh but after the faith of Abraham, Passover has a different meaning. It was on Passover night the Joshua the Messiah felt the sting of betrayal. On this night he washed the disciples feet to show that we are all servants of one another. On this night the New Covenant was ushered in and commemorated with the drinking of the cup and breaking of the bread. On this night, the ushering in of complete atonement began. This is the night we remember when we have communion.

Rather than deliverance from slavery to Egypt, we celebrate our deliverance from this corrupt world. We celebrate the hope of Resurrection and anticipation of Messiahs return. We rejoice in the salvation purchased for us, not in the blood of an animal but through the sacrifice of a perfect offering. We are preparing to leave this world. We will join with our brothers and sisters across the ages in The Great Feast of the Lamb. So pack your bags and kiss your cares goodbye.
It's Canaan or bust!

Meeting Report 3-30-08

Two couples, four kids and brunch with Jesus. Not much small talk, mostly big talk about what was on our hearts. After meeting all this time on a sporadic basis we felt that most were looking for a change. We decided to float meetings on Sundays that rotate around the fellowship. I'll let you know how that goes. Communion was unleavened bread and a good bottle of wine. We sang a Capella praise, giving thanks to God to glorify His name.

Meeting Report 3-15-08

We met for a pot-luck supper at 5:30 pm. We started with the song "God and Man at Table are Sat Down". God did sit down at table with us. We ate and and talked about what was on our hearts then we went to prayer and song. Fellowship and worship with the saints, at table with God, there is no better place to be.

01/26/2008 Meeting Report

We met at the Tougas' on this cold January morning for breakfast and fellowship. We had some great sharing around the ideas of freedom, priesthood and gifts. Each shared their heart regarding where they felt God was directing them. We gather to encourage one another in our walk, to challenge one another and to urge one another on to good works. It's awesome and scary to watch God work by His Spirit among us. We have no vision except what God reveals, no direction except His leading and no plans except His word.

10/06/2007 Meeting Report

Lunch at Bob and Cyndi's was accompanied by pleasant weather tasty food and good fellowship. Much time was spent discussing what subject areas we wanted to explore together in the scriptures over the coming months. We did a little do-wap praising of God (you had to be there) and we spent a good amount of time bringing needs to the Father in prayer.