My thoughts on the 2015 Follow Me Conference
As many of your know last weekend America took one step closer to becoming a kingdom of priests and a holy nation at the 2015 Follow Me conference. Although I only attended two days I know that my opinion is held in high esteem by many who won’t read this- so I have in some degree of futility decided that my thoughts ought to be placed here. Since MJ expressed great admiration for the 3 part testimony this report will be in three parts.
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Why would anyone ever want to be a Christian?
(This is the reflection I wrote at the Midwest Summer Bible Conference 2015)
Luke 9: 25
“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”
Desmond Tutu once said: “The church is meant to be a failing community”
“Follow me” are the most repeated words that Jesus ever said. It’s worth noting that Jesus’ most repeated command was not an imperative to a specific action (pray 5 times a day or recite a mantra) but an invitation to a relationship, “Follow me” means “come to me.” In this article my purpose is to answer the question: why would anyone ever want to be a Christian?
Have the Conversation on LGBTQIA – Part 4
Here is my last part of the LGBTQIA conversation presentation. Even as I share these articles, my PowerPoints are changing, correcting and transforming. I plan to continue learning and refining my thoughts.
Have the Conversation on LGBTQIA – Part 3
Thousands of former members have noticed the oppression at UBF stemming from spiritual abuse. Hundreds have documented their stories publicly on the internet. A few have spoken up about the threats received when you disobey your Korean shepherd. I share with you now yet another layer of oppression at UBF. If you are not cisgender and heterosexual, you have another layer of burden to deal with. The clear UBF teaching on homosexuality is that such people are not merely immoral, but are like swine flu, spreading throughout the world. Gender and sexual minorities are spoken against at UBF as the harbingers of the end of the world and destroyers of society. I seek to have the conversation however. Here is part 3, which I have completely changed after learning about Alan Turing.
Affirming and Non-Affirming
(The picture may be the response of some on “both sides” to “the other side.”)
What I will no longer say. Probably until a few years ago, I would have stated boldly and unequivocally, “According to the Bible, homosexuality is a sin.” But I won’t say this any more. It is not because I’m afraid of being “blasted” or “labeled,” which is actually kind of fun. But it is for these reasons:
First, I’d much rather say, “God loves homosexuals, and I love you too.”
Second, it’s because I have a much stronger, better, positive and affirmative message of the good news of God’s grace to declare unashamedly and primarily (Ac 20:24). Continue reading →
The Tank Man: Language Defines Reality
A Chinese protestor blocks a line of tanks heading east on Beijing’s Changan Blvd. June 5, 1989 in front of the Beijing Hotel. The man, calling for an end to the violence and bloodshed against pro-democracy demonstrators at Tiananmen Square, was pulled away by bystanders, and the tanks continued on their way.
Before you read this article please watch this clip. This is one of my favorite clips of all time: Tank Man Raw Footage
If you do not know who this man is, he is known as the tank man and the event is the protest of Tiananmen Square June 5, 1989 (the year I was born, an auspicious year!)
Have the Conversation on LGBTQIA – Part 2
I plan to continue sharing each summary. Feel free to jump in at any time. I hope to share my reactions to questions posed to me from time to time by people of the non-affirming conscience. Whenever I say “God is love”, the response is often, “But God is holy.” The non-affirming conscience rightly concerns about the holiness of God. Are we disobeying God? What is God up to? Is there any possibility that God could be doing a new thing among gender and sexual minorities?
Have the Conversation on LGBTQIA – Part 1
The defining question of the church in our generation, like it or not, has become this: What is your view on homosexuality? So instead of pretending this question is resolved or superficial or even clear-cut, I and others have been working to “have the conversation”. Today I want to begin sharing the outline of my four-part presentation that I developed as a result of attending the Reformation Project Leadership cohort in Washington D.C., led by Matthew Vines. This conversation is difficult to have in many churches because the topic of homosexuality lies at a somewhat odd and often dismissed intersection of sexuality and the gospel. Here is part 1 of my presentation, the introduction.
Is America Free?
The spark of this article is a lecture we held at West Loop entitled “Homo-liturgics (Understanding our humanity through the act of worship and the litrugy).” A Liturgy is a sacrament, ritual, a form of public religious worship. Liturgies denote what is valued by the worshiper. We discussed the liturgies of the church, represented by the Christian Calendar such as Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, etc. And then we have the liturgies of the state; if we look at the US calendar we see Valentine’s Day, Super bowl Sunday, Black Friday, Memorial Day, etc. We see the values of capitalism, nationalism and consumerism.
Notes for Midwest Conference 2015 Part 1
We are a few weeks away from the Midwest conference. The questionnaires were carefully made and chosen. I have developed below some other notes on the passage Matthew 9:1-13
In this passage our Lord is brought a man who is paralyzed. After proclaiming his sins are healed Jewish leaders accuse him of blasphemy. At this Jesus heals the man and sends him away. The second part is on the calling of Matthew.
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