"Caring conversations" are a hallmark of a community that is growing. When we care enough to sit and listen to one another as well as struggle and challenge one another, the whole community benefits. Caring conversations among the church community happen between adults and youth as well as among fellow adults or fellow youth. In a very real sense, conversation - defined as dialoguing with one another - is vital to our life together. Without conversation, we will die. How do we foster places of caring conversations?
Peace,
Tim

I have heard all my life, "...love your neighbor as yourself..." What does that mean? Does it imply some unwritten understanding that you have to love self before loving others? Are we to infer that love of self takes a back seat, or even no seat at all, so that the "other" (whoever the other may be) feels loved?

I struggle further with this "love of neighbor" idea that some intinerant rabbi 2000 years ago taught. What if loving the "other" means never questioning how that "other" perceives or accepts the love? Are followers of Jesus called to love and not count the cost, or do we "shake the dust off our feet" when no one accepts it? Frankly, I feel that I want to clean my feet too quickly with some people and that I don't mind walking around with dirty feet around others. This love of other stuff is really complicated.

In telling us to love the other (whether God or neighbor), is Jesus calling his followers to something that we don't yet understand? What is going on? What does God's love of you and me tell us about my action toward another?  Sounds like we have enough for a good discussion here...

peace,
Tim

Imagine...
You're sitting in a coffee shop or favorite resaurant and someone, a stranger walks up to you. She sees that you are reading the Bible or some related "churchy" book. She makes a snide comment, "Looks like you're one of those Jesus believers," and stomps off to her seat near yours. What do you do? Do you respond to her off-putting comment or let it go, ignoring her? Do you hope to finish quickly your coffee and get out of there? Or, do you look forward to such an encounter so you can squash her "in the name of Jesus"?

How you respond tells not only her but, also you and every other person who heard the conversation, to understand how a follower of Jesus acts in public. What do you do?

I know you've been in a similar moment in your life. Perhaps the person was not so much a stranger; maybe it was the neighbor you never took time to notice. The truth is, modern people want less lip service from religious folks and more action. How you and I "are" in daily life really makes a difference. Let's discuss how to "be" Jesus' followers today.

Peace,
Tim

Acts 10. It's a turning point in some ways for Peter, the outspoken, forthright disciple. In a "trance", as the NRSV of the Bible says, Peter saw something like a sheet coming down from heaven. On the sheet were different animals, insects and "creepy-crawly things"; in other words, "unclean" things. Things that true, devout followers of Jesus would never be caught dead around. Then the voice from heaven says to Peter, "Kill and eat." In only the manner that Peter could act, he says, "No way! I have never touched anything unclean!" "What I have made clean is clean!" responds the voice.

"No way! I have never..."  "We don't do things that way..."  "I don't think that will work; we have never done that before." It took Peter letting down his guard before he could fully understand what the "voice" - read 'God' - was saying. Of course it takes any one of us some time before we, too, can hear what God is saying. I recently heard Brian McLaren say, "What we focus on determines what we miss." It's a creative way of helping us understand the ramifications of saying, "No way!..."

"What we focus on determines what we miss." Think about it. If I focus on the left, I miss out on what's going on to the right. If I focus on what's going on in front of me, I miss out on what's going on behind me. Where do we focus our attention to the detriment of other places? What are we missing? What could ministry look like if several people decided to focus on different places simultaneously? It would mean we would have to listen to one another. We'd have to trust one another's experiences. How hard would it be to adopt a new way of being?

Think about it...

Peter Rollins - an Irish author, theologian whom I got to meet in person in February, is writing a new book, The Idolatry of God. It's a thought-provoking title, but I wonder how many ideas we have about God that we need to let go of in order to truly experience the freeing, life-giving God? Today in text study with my colleagues, we wrestled with the word "joy". What does it mean? Can we explain it, or is it rather something to be experienced - something beyond words? How does one experience true joy? When? To what extent can you or I experience true joy in this life?

All of these seem like trick questions, meant to stump; or, they sound like depressing questions that lead to despair and hopelessness. It seems, however that true joy, whatever that means, can be experienced in this life and that can happen multiple times throughout one's life. What factors are important in order for someone to experience it?

Just some things to make you go, "Hmmm..."

Peace,
Tim

Today was a great worship service. Everyone seemed freed by God's Spirit to permit ourselves to laugh, cry, sing, pray and be God's people! The anointing and prayer at communion was especially powerful. What especially touched you? Was it the permission to talk with one another during the sermon? Was it the felt permission to clap our hands during the hymn of the day? Was it the levity after the children's sermon? Was it something deeper?

Worship is just one of the places we are given permission to touch Christ. Every day there are many opportunities that pass by us and we never notice. Why do we not notice God's presence? Why do we put so much emphasis on our own abilities and actions when we know that God may be moving us to places of action?

Peace,
Tim

Last Sunday, we heard from Acts 4, "...there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." For the second time, Peter makes his case for healing a crippled man who had lain at the Beautiful Gate. This time, he confronts the authorities who have obviously sensed a loss of power and influence among the people. The man was healed in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, "whom [you] crucified, whom God raised from the dead..."

It would be easy for Peter to fall into the same trap of power and influence as his detractors; he doesn't, after all, follow a leader who wields a sword, but who calls his followers to love their enemies, to forgive even the most sinful individuals.  My question, then: How does a faithful follower of Jesus hear and understand Peter's words that there is salvation in no other than Jesus of Nazareth? Are these words of exclusion, or is something more meant by Peter? It would be easy to use Peter's sermon in a way to incite violent reaction to anyone who didn't believe exactly like "I" do; how can "I" faithfully follow this Jesus in whose name is salvation?

PT