You may already know that I have a bit of an aversion to Christian-ese and labels. I find that all too often, us Christians are so quick to throw around buzz-words and discuss the next hot-button issue, meanwhile abandoning the issues that really need discussing.
Yesterday, I asked some of my fellow Rejects on Facebook and Twitter to share with me a few of the buzz-words that they too are sick of hearing (as a side note, if you aren’t following me on Facebook or Twitter, what’s up with that? No worries, let’s just kiss and make up).
You all had some precious gems to add to the list of over-used Christian terms, things like:
A lot has been happening within my church body. There have been huge moves of the Spirit and God displaying His power and providence in unexpected ways. (To catch a glimpse of what’s been going on, read this).
So much has been happening that I have had little time to share, simply because there hasn’t been time to keep up. Excitement and hope is springing up within me and all I want is to share it with all of you.
Then, the other day I read a post from Frank Viola, where he asked his readers to share stories–scratch that—testimonies of God’s power and faithfulness.
So, today I am totally, completely, %100 stealing that idea from Viola and asking you to do the same. I can’t share everything with all of you right now, but I can certainly be encouraged and lifted up by you sharing about God’s power in your own life. More than that, we can be edified by one another.
The Questions: What has God done in your own life, or those you know, that was a clear answer to prayer and His power displayed? Has He healed someone? Resurrected a marriage? Brought a clear answer to a seemingly hopeless situation?
When has God performed a miracle? Made the impossible possible? What is the story of God’s faithfulness that you stand upon? When He showed up for you in a big way….
May our testimonies be a witness to those yet to know the Lord and may our own faith be bolstered in reading one another’s answers.
I know that as I begin this post, there may be a few individuals who might disagree with me and that’s okay.
Of course, despite what people often assume, I’m really not looking to pick a fight. This is just a question I have been mulling over lately:
How important is theology?
I am obviously no theologian, nor do I pretend to be, so please take this fact into consideration. Yet, I know many Christians who might, maybe, if backed into a corner, outright consider themselves to be theologians.
There is nothing wrong with this–thinking of yourself in those terms, I suppose. Yet, as of late, as my church body has begun living out what it truly means to make Jesus Christ the Head of our church, theology seems less and less important.
So much has happened this week, I almost feel overwhelmed. Except that much of what has happened has been the moving of the Spirit and God doing big things (more to come on all of that).
Not to mention, there was so much awesome stuff in the ol’ blogoshpere this week–stuff I couldn’t wait to share with all of you.
So let’s get to it:
Will There Be Gays in Heaven? Craig Gross of XXX Church is the real deal. He seems to me to be one of the few really well-known, highly respected Christian figures who just gets it. What is “it?” Jesus. The article he wrote for CNN is a perfect example. Truth and grace, all over the place.
Little Girls and Hotties. Do you have daughters? If so, then you need to read this post from Karen Yates about modesty and our little girls. She asks us what the boundaries of modesty should be for our daughters and gives tons of practical examples. Good stuff.
Stop Trying to Imitate Christ. I introduced Jamal Jivanjee to you a while back. He has quickly become a powerful and edifying resource for me. This post from him is a prime example, filled with the richness and truth of Jesus and His Word. If you’ve ever struggled with trying to “act like Jesus” and failed, please read this.
The Circle Unbroken. Cathleen Falsani is one of my favorite Christian bloggers, although it’s rather unfair to call her a “blogger” because she is much much more. She is an author and writer first and foremost and this post from her tells you why. It is all of the beauty, simplicity, and loveliness of Jesus’ church and how it can look so different and yet still reflect Him.
The True Gospel. Not a single post this week got me as pumped and excited as this one. A taste: “Religious jargon will become fossils and equally nutritious. A new sweeping movement of the gospel couched in the terms of our culture and swept through communities by the Holy Spirit is coming.” Um, yes and yes!
An Inside Peek into my Church. If you desire to see and read what my church life is like, my friend Donald, has posted a letter essentially chronicling our church activity over the last month or so. Healing? Check. The Holy Spirit in abundance? Check. Prophesy? Check. God’s people being ignited? Check. Go on, I know you’re curious. (While you’re there, check out the rest of Donald’s blog. He speaks truth like no one I know and I love it!)
So there you have it. It’s quite a list this week, don’t you think. I have so much to chew on and pray through from these writings alone.
Now, it’s your turn. What events, experiences, or words encouraged you, challenged you, or edified you this week? Or what angered you, convicted you, or compelled you to seek God?
P.S. Did you see the Modern Reject giveaway for the chance to win a Bible study series from the teaching power-house Kasey Van Norman? Don’t forget to enter to win and get the hook-up!
As promised (’cause I like to keep my promises, especially promises regarding Baskin Robbins that I make to myself), today is the follow-up post to yesterday’s post, Spiritual Gifts: Who Needs ‘Em?. Turns out, most of you believe in spiritual gifts after all. Cool. You even believe in the taboo, swept-under-the-rug, crazy, “charismatic” gifts like prophecy. Doubly cool.
With that in mind, I thought today I’d just share a little bit about how to actually discover your own gift, if you are so inclined, which you should be ’cause knowing your gift is crucial and will have tremendous impact on your identity in Christ.
This post is from the archives. However, members of my church family and I have been discussing spiritual gifts as of late. I forget how important and powerful the realization of your gifting truly is. With that in mind, I thought I would re-run this spiritual gift series.
I am also guest posting today over at Bianca Juarez’s blog, In the Name of Love. Bianca is a dynamo for Jesus, a powerful teacher, and worker in God’s Kingdom. I’m honored to appear on her blog today. Go show some love and check it out!
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Pet. 4:10)
I remember the day, the exact moment, that I discovered my spiritual gift. It was as if someone placed prescription glasses upon my face and what once was fuzzy became clear.
I suddenly understood why the actions of others made me want to scream with frustration. And still, why particular moments brought me such satisfaction and joy.
Since then, alongside my husband, I have been committed to helping other people see more clearly by plopping a pair of big thick spiritual gift glasses on their face.Continue reading Spiritual Gifts: Who Needs ‘Em?
A while ago, I had a someone email me and ask whether or not I believed the church pushes marriage. I immediately thought, yes, I think the church does push marriage.
But should it?
Do we really want the message that the church promotes to be one of marriage versus singleness? Is marriage a sort of spiritual achievement worth striving for and if so, where does that leave all those who are single?
So, lately my church family has been talking a lot about our “wish-dreams.” Our what-the-whats, you may be asking.
Our wish-dreams.
What’s a wish-dream? I know, it sounds like some sort of hippy-dippy, new-age malarkey, but it is so not. The term “wish-dream” was coined by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and has proven to be one of the most challenging ideas to my faith in a very long time.
A few weeks back, the consistently awesome Frank Viola, posted an excerpt of Bonhoeffer’s explanation of a wish-dream (if you have time, I encourage you to read the full excerpt. It is just too good not to). Many of those in my church family read it and we began sharing with one another our own wish-dreams.
Christians are territorial. Have you ever noticed this? We often walk around like we’re the *ish* and project a certain air of supremacy or snobbery.
We lay claim to our Christian-y things, like our music,our movies (which generally stink, by the way), our Bible, our worldview, our morals, our churches…
We are not very good at seeing other peoples’ boundaries. We only see our own. Often times, we only operate within our own sphere, but why? Why are we so territorial when it clearly contradicts the Gospel? Continue reading The Territorial Christian
You might be thinking that this title sounds familiar and you’d be right. A while back I wrote a post called “The Top 5 Lies Christians Believe,” and among them was the lie that Christians think happiness is a guarantee of following Christ.
I’ve had enough people write me and disagree with me on this particular point that I thought I should address it in its own post.
I’ll be honest, I don’t like this idea–the idea that happiness is not necessarily guaranteed to us believers. I don’t like thinking that God is more concerned with my holiness than my happiness or more concerned with His glory than my good times.
But when I look at the Word and when I listen to the Holy Spirit, I have never been left with the feeling that my happiness is important. That doesn’t mean our happiness is irrelevant to God, but rather less important than we tend to think.Continue reading Does God Want You to be Happy?
You may already know that I have a bit of an aversion to Christian-ese and labels. I find that all too often, us Christians are so quick to throw around buzz-words and discuss the next hot-button issue, meanwhile abandoning the issues that really need discussing.
