ranting on religion

There's an interesting topic being discussed here about this book written by Spencer Burke on the controversial subject of Hell. This is apparently a hot topic within the Emerging Church crowd, especially since McLaren's book on the topic came out. I wanted to touch on this quote Scott McKnight used in his review of Spencer Burke's book:

1. We need to get beyond religion. The problem today is “religion” – institutionalization of the Christian faith, focus on propositional creeds, driven by Sunday morning services, and propped up by the economy of the church that keeps people coming back and the staff fully paid.
2. We need to get beyond religion to find a spirituality.
3. We need to discover that following the way of Jesus can get us beyond religion to find this spirituality.
4. What we will find beyond religion is grace.
5. People who will take us into that grace, where we find the “sacred beyond religion,” are heretics. Jesus was the “original heretic.”
6. Panentheism is reality: we are all “in God”. This is not the same as “pantheism” which contends in one way or another that all is god.

Please bare with me while I rant about this...

1. I'm tired of the "we need to get beyond religion" thing. I know that's the cool, emerging church kind of thing to say, but it's crap. We need to get beyond ourselves. We need to get beyond our hang ups. We need to realize that "religion" in itself is not a four letter word. God is big on religion, at least that's the impression I get from the Bible. He's not a fan of empty religion. He doesn't want lip service. This doesn't mean he's opposed to religion, just our crappy attempts at it. Seems to me that a fairly good part of the Pentateuch is concerned with God dictating the details of forming a religion for his people. He likes liturgy, smells & bells. He likes spiritual discipline. He appears to be a fan of order and structure.

I'm also slightly appalled--though not surprised--at his assumption that creeds are somehow a bad thing. They are essential tools of defining who we are as a people. The early church--people much closer to the Apostle's than we are--thought creeds were important. It's this contempt for our fathers that condemns us to reinventing the wheel over & over again.

2. Sorry but what we need to do is let spirituality infuse our religion and let our religion guide & form our spirituality.

3. Following Jesus is going to lead us toward godly, Spirit-empowered, living religion. Jesus didn't come to destroy religion but to show us how to have true religion (Matt 5:17).

4. Religion is NOT opposed to grace. It is where we encounter grace, receive grace and practice grace.

5. Sorry, but I just wanted to vomit after reading that one. Jesus was a heretic?! Are you kidding me? Sorry, but heretic has never been considered a positive comment/trait. I can't even talk about this one.

6. Sorry, but we're not all in God in the same way. This gets to the neo-universalist argument Burke & McLaren trumpet: "How could a loving God send someone to Hell?" Um, are we not reading the same Bible? Sin separates us from God. Sin cuts us off from God. Sin makes us dead. It's the human condition. God made a way through Jesus, but you've got to be in Christ to be saved, to participate in the life of God. The NORMAL way for that to happen is through baptism and faith. That is what those messy, inconvenient creeds remind us about. This doesn't mean that God can't act in an extraordinary, supernatural way to those who never heard the gospel, but it also doesn't mean that everyone is automatically made a part of the Kingdom by default.

What I don't like about...

Catholicism

• the whole priest abuse scandal & cover up attempts by numerous bishops
• insisting on celebacy for clergy
• using bad theology to justify bad doctrine: a priest acts "in persona christi" and represents Jesus as the groom with the bride as the church therefore priests can't be married
• claims of infallibility preventing the church from admitting/correcting mistakes
• encouraging a dual-caste system of religious/clergy vs laity

Evangelical Protestantism

• shallow, oversimplistic approach to faith
• general lack of any sense of history or connection to the historical church
• extreme individualism leading to a me-first, me-centered approach to spirituality
• poor attitude towards children--they're often tolerated as second class citizens

Emerging Church

• Brian McLaren
• Too much effort spent trying to reinvent the wheel
• Theological sloppiness
• Some, not all, can be too critical and prideful

Orthodoxy

• Way too tribal/ethnic
• Perceived lack of evangelistic concern/effort
• Not willing to be more flexible in worship
• Triumphalism to the extreme

surreal dining experience

We went to Moe's Southwest Grill tonight for dinner--$5 burrito night! Anyway, we're sitting in the dining area where they have at least one TV tuned in to the Animal Planet channel. The TV is muted so it's merely there to serve as visual noise. So far there's really nothing out of the ordinary. That's when I noticed what was showing on the TV. Animal Planet was running a show about medical use of maggots. They were showing images of infected, non-healing flesh wounds as doctors placed "sterilized" live maggots in the wounds to clean them. It's exactly the visual images any restauranteur would want to show to a room full of people coming to my business to eat with their friends and families.

spiritually schizophrenic

I've been feeling rather schizophrenic lately, drawn in different directions by different expressions of the faith. This has been stirring in me for some time and has become more pronounced this summer. I'm not really sure what to do about it if anything. I've been reflecting on different spiritual traditions, the positives and negatives, and how I feel/respond to each.

Catholicism
I was born and raised Catholic. I came to know Jesus as a Catholic. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit as a Catholic. I have a degree in theology from a Catholic college. I was married as a Catholic. Two of my daughters were baptized in the Catholic church. Needless to say I have a certain affinity towards Catholicism, but I am no longer a practicing member of the Catholic church. For those unfamiliar with our story Lisa & I left the Catholic church to join the Vineyard in 1996-97 (it was a process). We didn't leave because we were angry or disgruntled, but because we felt God calling us to the Vineyard & the larger Body of Christ. We didn't know if it would be temporary or permanent--and still don't quite frankly.

If you've never been Catholic it may be hard to understand, but there is a deeper identity there than just a denominational affiliation. Being Catholic carries with it a sense of identity in much the same way as being Jewish is more than just holding to a set of religious beliefs & practices. I have found very few, if any, Protestants who can relate to this. As a Catholic you belong to a certain people group, a subculture. Ironically, it is what many in the emerging church are now trying to create in their own communities. The other positive about Catholicism is its inclusiveness. There is a united diversity in any Catholic parish, just like any family. On one hand you may have a charismatic prayer group, on the other a rosary group, but despite their differences there is that deeper sense of belonging that unites in spite of the differences. You don't find this in Protestant churches. We've become too fractured, our diversity is a source of division and resentment. Protestants have managed to form their own denominational clicks that gather similar groups together to the exclusion of others.

Evangelical Protestantism
I'm not sure I've ever really been an evangelical, but I've been living in its culture for about 10 years now. I do believe that having a personal faith is essential, but I don't buy the idea that reciting the Sinner's Prayer is the only way to do that. I am very grateful for the experiences and opportunities I've had within the Vineyard. The emphasis on Kingdom theology and being naturally supernatural has provided a great answer to some of the stranger excessives of charismatic theology/practices. The Reformation was crucial in challenging and correcting various abuses in the Catholic church & likely ultimately lead to the wide-spread changes in the Second Vatican Council. We need to be reminded of the importance of having a personal faith and devotional life, the primacy of scripture and the priesthood of all believers. Within the Vineyard in particular (my experience of evangelicalism) the importance of worship has been a great influence in my life.

Emerging Church/Neo-Monasticism
This is really where we've been at for the last few years. Matthew's House has been an experiment in doing church differently from day one. We've sought to capture some of the simplicity of the early church by meeting in our homes in some informal gatherings. We've helped people detox from churchy religiousness and reconnect with a simple love of Jesus and one another. We've experienced great relationships and treasure everyone we've come in contact with, even those that have decided that our little form of church wasn't for them. We've been able to teach ancient methods of prayer (lectio divina, daily office, etc) and develop a deeper understanding of baptism and eucharist than many had previously. Through the wonders of blogging we've made real friendships with people who share similar passions and ideas. There has been a greater sense of genuineness in our weekly gatherings than in many of my other experiences with church. I deeply love and care for the people who have decided to come along side of us on our own spiritual journey, and have been blown away by the acceptance and openness to new ideas from them. I think there are some definite similarities between what we're doing and what some are calling neo-monasticism--small groups of people committed to sharing a common purpose of life, a common meal & worship, and common values.

Eastern Orthodoxy
My good friend Clive and his wife joined the Orthodox church about 18 months ago. Clive is batting for the cycle having been Catholic (we were college roommates & taught at the same Catholic high school), then left with us to join the Vineyard before making the trek to Orthodoxy. I'll admit that his conversion threw me for a loop initially. I've had limited experiences with Orthodox liturgies which I considered painfully dull and Spirit-less. Like many I had a prejudiced view of Orthodoxy as backward & overly ethnic in its nature. Clive has helped chip away at those perceptions. I've spent time looking at Orthodox theology and am very drawn to it. I love their embrace of the mystery of God and their authentic historical connection to the early church. The OCA (Orthodox Church in America) is a English-speaking, ethnically neutral expression of the faith. They are attracting evangelicals in large numbers--there was even an entire Vineyard congregation in CA that converted. Unfortunately, there are no OCA churches in Lakeland and with commuting 2-3 hours a day during the week I'm not up to another long commute on the weekend to visit an OCA parish. I would like to see what their liturgies are like sometime.

Franciscanism
Lisa & I both attended the Franciscan University of Steubenville (OH). For four years we were surrounded by Franciscan priests and Franciscan spirituality. We both became members of the Secular Franciscan Order--Lisa permanently professed & I finished my noviate year before graduating. We have always felt a closeness to Francis and his simple example of following Jesus (heck we named Clare after Clare of Assisi, Francis' friend & companion). I often still wear my Franciscan TAU cross. We have tried to live our lives in accord with Franciscan values. Of course, part of the Franciscan spiritual feeds back into some of the Catholic qualities I mentioned previously.

I guess I'll end things for there now by bring things around full circle. I'll try to post some of my critiques of some of these traditions soon. There's certainly a ying-yang effect that pulls me in one direction then pushes me away again. I'm not really sure what I'm getting at with this post. I think that right now there's a stirring and longing within me for something, but I'm not sure what that is yet.

pics from my new camera

I accidentally deleted my previous post about getting my new camera. Here are some pics I took with it.

busy, busy

I haven't been blogging much lately--been pretty busy. I'm turning 35 this week. I remember when that sounded like an "old" age, definitely a grown up age, an adult age. Now that I've made it here, it doesn't feel that old.

my little artists

In May, Mary had one of her art class paintings from school selected to be placed on display at the Polk Museum of Art here in Lakeland. That's her pointing to her painting of a kitty (the one on top) when we visited the museum.

Last month, Anna was awarded a two-week scholarship to the museum's summer art sessions. She had classes in sculpting clay, three-dimensional painting and "big" painting. That's her standing next to her big painting masterpiece painted on a 4x4 piece of plywood. I love the painting, but I can't figure out how & where to hang a 4x4 piece of plywood in our home.

I'm very proud of both of them. I've really missed Lisa and the girls this week & can't wait to have them home tomorrow.

Declaration of Dependence

Today our nation celebrates it’s independence; I want to celebrate my dependence.

I’m dependent upon my God for all that I have. Every breathe, every heartbeat, every sunrise & sunset is gift from above. More than that, I have a God that loves me with a perfect, unfailing love that knows no limit. I am completely dependent on that love for any faith, hope or love of my own. I am utterly dependent on God’s grace to give me life, not just physical life, but real life in Him that will never die.

I’m dependent upon my wife for making and keeping me the man I am today; for making me complete. Lisa’s been at her parents’ house for a couple days and it has made me realize how much I love & need her. She is my soul mate. I don’t sleep as well when she’s not in the bed. I feel that part of me is missing. I depend on her to make me the whole person I am.
I depend on my girls to make me a better dad, and to better understand the Father’s love for me. I depend on them to bring me joy and make me proud. I depend on them to teach me how to love like the Father and how to receive unconditional love. I depend on them to make me laugh and to make me smile.

I depend on the Church and my church to help me live out my walk with God. I learn the value, joy and hardship of being in communion with others. I see the diversity of God while at the same time see his unity as well. I’ve depended on the Church to carry on the teachings and truths of Christ, to give me the scriptures and traditions (good & bad) to learn from. I depend on those who have gone before me, like Francis of Assisi, to give me an example to follow of how to be a good disciple.

I depend on my nation and various levels of government to provide safety and security for my family, and for financial stability. While I know that it is God whom I ultimately trust for these things, I recognize that he uses earthly government to bring these things about too.
I’m glad to have freedom, but I’m grateful to be dependent.

name change

you may have noticed that this is no longer "tom & lisa's blog" but just "tom's blog". that's because lisa has her own bloggy thing going on now.

emergING not EmernGENT

Revelant Magazine had a good article on the Emergent movement, not to be confused with the emerging church. Emergent is the more formal organization that includes guys like Doug Pagitt and Brian McLaren. Just for the record, our community may be considered part of the emerging church, but we have nothing to do with Emergent. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Emergent gang. I'm particularly concerned with much of their theological sloppiness and careless disregard for the importance of doctrine. We've been studying some church history in our gathering and tonight discussed some of the background around the Council of Nicea. They considered theological terminology & the finer points of doctrine to be very important, thankfully or else we might all be Arians instead of Christians. I get the impression from some of their recent writings that Pagitt & McLaren wouldn't necessarily be too upset about that as long as we could all just get along.

Anyway, there was a great quote from Len Sweet in the article, and I think it holds true for the emerging church as well as the Emergent gang. The article mentioned that Sweet was concerned that the overemphasis on how we do church has taken the focus off Christ. Then Sweet says:

"And that [the overemphasis on how to do church] brings me to a related issue: confusion between relevancy and recency. Some of the most relevant things are not the most recent, but the most ancient. Without a historical sense, or the spiritual discipline of histoical context, there's confusion between keeping relevant and just keeping up. we have to be in touch with the culture but in tune with the Spirit."

I've been thinking much lately about this kind of stuff; about being the church, about being community, about being connected to the larger Body of Christ, about theology and history, about worship and liturgy.

I was right

Nacho Libre is hands down the funniest movie of the year. I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard. Funniest movie I've seen in a long time, if not one of the funniest I've ever seen. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it was very funny.

close call

seven comments on ben roethlisberger's recent accident:

• 1. he is one lucky s.o.b.
• 2. i think he owes every steeler fan a minimum of $500 for mental anguish

3. does it make me a bad person to admit that my first reaction to hearing that he was seriously injured while riding his motorcyle was "there goes the season"?

4. he's an idiot. wears a helmet to work because a 350-lb lineman might hit him, but doesn't wear one while riding his motorcycle when a 3000-lb car could hit him.

5. i hope the little old lady that hit him has police protection because steeler fans can be absolutely insane when it comes to anything negatively impacting the team.

6. here's hoping he'll be ready for the start of the season.

7. i'm guessing his next contract is going to have some language in it about riding motorcycles--especially without a helmet.

7. anyone riding a motorcycle without a helmet is an idiot. lawmakers that have repealed laws requiring helmets (like in PA or here in FL) are idiots too. it's against the law in FL to ride a bicycle without a helmet, but not a motorcycle. go figure.

Rats!

I woke up to a sight like this greeting me this morning in my bathroom. That'll get your blood going! I gentlely closed the lid and walked back through the bedroom. Lisa woke up and asked what I was doing. "There's a rat in the toilet" I calmly replied. I put on some work gloves & went back into the bathroom. As I stared at the toilet I played out my options. I could: A) flush the poor little bastard, but that could clog the toilet, B) grab him & run out of the house then throw him across the yard hoping a stray cat would find him, but then again he could just come back in the house, or C) reach in there and hold him under the water to drown him, but he could bite me. Then I saw it, the plunger! I used that to drown the little guy then grabbed him by the tail to dispose of the body. This is the fourth rat to meet his/her untimely dimise on my watch & each time the grim reaper has taken a different form: trap, poison, squashed by a pot & drowning. Next time I'm going for a flaming aerosol can. Until then no more blindly sitting in the dark during a late night potty run.

playing along

Alan and A started this whole thing about posting pictures of their bookshelves so I thought I'd play along and post some shots from mine as well.

stuff

• Lisa and I celebrated 13 years of wedded bliss on 5/22. I meant to blog about that back then but time got away from me. There's been ups and downs, there's been times that were better & some that were worse, there's been sickness & health, we've never been "rich" but we've been poor and through it all I can't think of another person on the face of the earth I would have rather spent this time with. God really new what he was doing when he put Lisa in my life and I am very grateful for that.
• I know that there tends to be a good amount of healthy (and unhealthy) criticism of politics and blind patriotism by those in the emerging church scene. I myself wrestled with recent decisions regarding the use of military force in Iraq. On this Memorial Day I remain grateful beyond words for the sacrifices made by those who gave their lives, and continue to do so, for my freedom.
• Theology matters. Understaning who God is matters. It might seem boring or confusing but it is not trivial. Asking theological questions, asking deep questions is never a waste of time.
• History matters. We do not exist in a vacuum. The bible does not exist in a vacuum. We are part of a people with a history that stretches back for centuries--and I'm not talking about all the way back to the 1500's. Understanding how the Church has interpreted scripture, what it has taught about spirituality and morality helps shape our own spiritual development.

welcome to the 21st century

the ponchak house is now wireless. hot diggity!

What the?!

I was recently reading an article by a leader in my current denomination. The article was about the importance of tithing & budgeting as a church, not just as individuals. Along with the usual crap about God blessing people in a twisted a quid pro quo theological system--you know, the more you give, the more He'll bless--was this little gem of advice:

"When you break it down, our budgets should look something like this:
10 percent of your budget should be given to benevolence, missions, or outreach.
10 percent should go to your savings account...
20 percent should go toward ministries -- children, youth, worship, men’s, women’s, etc.
35 percent of our budgets should be designated to our salaries.
25 percent of our budgets should be designated for building and operation costs."

So 60% of a church's budget should pay professionals to do what we should all be doing (ministry) and to pay for a nice place to meet. That is why we have decided not to do the typical church thing. Our 2005 budget looked like this:

• 56% - Benevolence: locally & globally (tsunami & hurricane aid)
• 23% - Group functions: meals, art supplies, etc.
• 15% - Operating costs: website, corporation fees, software, etc.
• 6% - Miscellaneous expenses & savings

I like to know that I am a part of a community that spends the most amount of the money being offered each week on helping others in need. I think that is a much better use of our resources, and a much more scriptural practice. Personally, I'm not satisfied with only 54% of our money being spent on others, I'd like to see that figure be much higher. Can you imagine what the world would be like if the church as a whole got it's budgeting in line with the heart of God? What if our benevolence budget was given the priority & percentage that our building and salary budgets? What if sold our multi-million dollar auditoriums and sanctuaries and gave that money to the poor? I seem to remember Jesus recommending something like that.

nfl draft 2006

I confess to being a bit of a draft nerd--though not as much as I once was. In 2000 we had just moved to the Tampa area and I entered an on-line draft contest on the Buccaneers' website. You had to fill out you own mock draft. I finished in second place out of all the entries & missed first place (tickets to a game) by just one pick. I did get a nice prize package of shirts and hats for the Bucs which I promptly gave away since my loyalty remains with my Steelers. I'll be hanging around today checking in on ESPN or NFL.com to keep up with who's picking who. Since my boys are the World Champs they're scheduled to pick last which makes it very difficult to figure out who they'll take. They need a safety or a center. They'll also need to replace Randle El as a slot receiver/return man/trick play threat. I'd like to see them take Michael Robinson (QB-Penn State) to fill the trick play role. He was QB at Penn State, but also played receiver & running back there as well.

new photos

I got tired of the slow upload time (even with our cable modem) for Fotopages so I just created some of my own photo albumns for now. Click here for pictures of our vacation up north last month.

If anyone out there knows of a better, easy to use, free photo hosting site please let me know.

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

We gathered as a community last night around a backyard campfire for our easter vigil service. We read the Old Testament stories of God's calling and saving his people. We shared the light of Christ from our easter candle, and shared in his body & blood during communion. At the start of our celebration of the empty tomb I recited the Exultet, the ancient Easter proclamation. It is my favorite prayer/hymns of the church so I thought I'd share it here as well.

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father!

This is our Passover feast,
When Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night,
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery,
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night,
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin.

This is the night,
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all
defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night,
when Jesus broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:
"The night will be as clear as day: it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy; it casts out hatred,
brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed, when heaven is wedded to
earth and we are reconciled to God!

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your people's solemn offering.

May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.