Stuffy old Christians have it right? Perhaps….

A comment was made last week by one of the people in the pub that when taking communion the week before, he felt they’d just kind of “rushed it” and didn’t take it very seriously. Little was said, it was just kind of “something to do during one of the songs.” Do modern churches water down the true Gospel to make it as inoffensive as possible? Is “Gospel-lite” that is actually heard better than “Gospel Supreme” which weirds people out?

So therein lies our discussion for this week. Let us weigh in the two extremes and perform a little cost/benefit analysis. In one corner, we have a church which is very modern. They have modern sounding music. You can come dressed however you wish–you may not even be sitting in a “pew” but a chair or even around  a table of some sort. It’s very comfortable and non-confrontational–totally not what your non-christian friends think church is like.

In the other corner lies a church where they use antiquated terms “thee” and “thou” and call other believers “brethren” (creepy, right?). In this church, they sing hymns written usually 100-200 years ago in a style far removed from anything one would find on the average person’s iPod playlist. The tone of the service is very traditional and challenging to follow.

On one hand, I find myself quite uncomfortable sitting a service that is being played out like some folks’ idea of how church was done 100 years ago. I mean, isn’t God living and active in this world? Why are they clinging to lost ways? But on the other hand, the reverence with which they approach God inspires and humbles me.

In a more “comfortable” church, the message can potentially be stated in a manner more clearly understood by a contemporary audience (didn’t Jesus speak in what was then considered contemporary terms, after all? Can anyone say parable?). However, is this sometimes carried so far as to make people place their lives first and their faith second? They only come because it’s comfortable and it “fits”?

I see merit and fault in both approaches. I will leave you with two videos which I feel poke fun at both extremes. See you Tuesday 17th at 7pm!

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Funny Video w/ Biblical Ramifications…

I ran across this recently…seemed appropriate to watch in view of this week’s court ruling. Whether one agrees or not, the Christians in the video make a statement I find terribly disturbing, “we just ignore THOSE verses.”

To me, Tuesday nights at Alehouse Pub is not about necessarily finding the world’s most profound answer to theological questions (although it’s fun when it happens), but rather to prevent myself and others from ever being able to make the same statement as the Christians in this video. Come on Tuesdays prepared to challenge what one thinks…to HEAR those other verses, and to be the one who shares those “other” verses with everyone else.

…and the beer is great. Enjoy the video.

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Divine Healing: Fact or Fiction?

Reminder: NO MEETING THIS WEEK. NEXT MEETING IS AUGUST 10th.

Last week’s discussion of sin was intriguing. We’ve all heard of the various descriptions of what sin is…in essence it’s the putting of ourselves before God…but the interesting question was raised by Jake, “okay, great….so why do I care?” It’s sometimes fun to attempt to figure out things like the essence of sin, but it’s another thing entirely to have a true reason to actually care why this information is valuable. I can’t speak for everyone there, but for me at least, I know I care about the nature of sin because I can’t come back into fellowship with God before I first see that I have removed myself from Him in some way. Once I’ve recognized it I can turn back to Him.

But I digress…this week (August 10th) is about divine healing. We’ve all seen the crazy preachers on the t.v. heal those in wheelchairs and cast out demons…or at least they appear to be doing these things. Although there are certainly charlatans out there, why do we so quickly discount miraculous healing when the Bible is very explicit about God’s healing power in our lives. Perhaps even worse, what does that say about our faith, that we doubt so completely in God that we can’t bring our disease and injuries to Him?

For me, this is not a question answered simply by talking about God’s healing power. One’s answer in this matter hinges quite profoundly on how one view’s God’s relationship with the world today. How active is God, exactly? If he isn’t active in our lives (or at least when it comes to healing) when did He stop? (Because he clearly at least USED to be involved in this sort of thing.) If he is active in our lives even to this day, what is God’s ultimate purpose? What is He trying to accomplish on this earth right now? I believe one’s answer to this question has a direct impact on whether one believes in divine healing.

See you NEXT Tuesday!

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So, um, what exactly is Sin anyway?

We use the word all the time. We call certain actions sins. We call certain beliefs sins. We even call certain ways of thinking and living sins. But do we really know what sin actually is? What is it, really?

I mean, we all might agree murdering someone for no reason is a “sin.” But is smoking? Why don’t we agree on this? Do we have to? And if being a Christian is about not living “in sin,” but yet the Bible is also very clear, in Romans 3, for instance, in saying that every single person is a sinner.

So I’m interested not only understanding what sin is exactly–but in how we’re supposed to deal with sin if the Bible says we’re all sinners! Jesus piles it on even further in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) by basically saying we even sin half the time just by thinking!

So what is a man (or woman) to do?! One thing I intend to do is…pray the cooler has been fixed and the beer is colder than it was last week.

Note: I am gone next week at a conference. So after we meet on July 27th, the next meeting will be Tuesday 10th.

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Agree to Disagree?

Last week (2 weeks ago) we talked about situations which can/do divide people from each other. The issues discussed were so varied as to include parenting methods, politics, and at one point even communism (thanks for that, Cory). This leads us to the next natural question(s).

I think we can all agree God does not smile too happily upon people putting up walls between each other over personal differences; we should be seeking reconciliation and wholeness. However…the question is sitting out there on everyone’s mind:

Is there every a time, or is there ever an issue, which is so important–so central–that a differing opinion warrants division. In other words, when is it okay to allow divisiveness between oneself and another? Can someone else believe something which justifies you severing contact with them forever and live divided always? When does one not “agree to disagree.”

Now, I already know what the tempting answer to this is. It would seem to be natural that there is no room to argue over the fact that Jesus conquered death and sin on our behalf to save us. Surely someone who does not believe is someone who has cast our Lord aside for the world. But does this warrant division? Further, I’d like to point out Hitler, Charles Manson, David Koresch, and even Satan himself all believe in Christ–yet I would find myself wanting very little to do with any of them.

So think hard about division. Think of the people you are divided from and why? What should we do about it? Are we supposed to always seek reconcilation in all things? What if our offer of reconciliation is refused? How far should we continue to try? Or should we say “Good riddance?”

See you Tuesday (July 20th) – Alehouse Pub @7!

–Cheers!

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Tool beckons me to stall

I’m seeing Tool at Arco Tuesday night, so we must forestall a week.

However, for it being just dudes last Tuesday it was pretty intense. Of course, when we’re all downing obscure ales like they’re going out of style intense takes on a different tone. Where the world calls an intense conversation an argument…I’d call our intense talk more of a…well, an intense TALK. But it was good; you had to be there. In short, we were all somewhere between Marxist communism and Ayn Rand’s commercialism and debating the viability of various political discussions against how viable they were with Christianity. Honestly, I can barely recall the conversation now because I mainly remember thinking that my Imperial Red Ale from Mad River was sensational and the table next to us was saying some really sketchy stuff.

No matter the case…next Tuesday we need to pick up where we left off. So some topics (like communism) divide Christians. This is clearly not right, as we pretty well unanimously decided on Tuesday. However, are there topics which are worth taking a stand on? Are there places where, as a Christian, one decides a line has been drawn and anyone who disagrees on this point is justifiably separated from us? The cliched answer is to say everyone must believed in the saving work of Jesus…but Charles Manson and Hitler believed in Jesus and did terrible things and I don’t want them playing in my sandbox. So…bring me some good stuff next Tuesday.

When is it justifiable to absolutely be divided over an issue? What can possibly be that important? And why? I know too many Christians putting walls up over the most trifling of issues and I refuse to believe I’m the only one experiencing this. On the other end, when faced with such a situation, what is the proper response? What should one do when one is confronted with a potentially divisive issue?

Let us pray next week brings us many more tasty options to choose from. And wish me joy on my 9th Tool concert Tuesday night!

Cheers!

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Drink on Your Own

Reminder: there is no meeting this Tuesday, the 29th; I am on a mountain biking trip in Lake Tahoe. We’ll be meeting again next Tuesday, July 6th–same bat time; same bat channel.

Last week was awesome. Brad and Jen came for the first time, and brought with them a southern perspective we’ve been sorely lacking. There was a moment when we’d put four very different ideas of what the Bible was all about out on the table and were beginning to discuss when I just kind of sat back and smiled because the variety of opinions was refreshing. I had a great time.

Next week, we’ll be starting a two-week/two-parter of sorts. The wide variety of opinions expressed last week got us to thinking about how, technically, Christians should be part of the same family–God’s family–and yet we’re the first to divide ourselves over differences of theology or, in many cases, differences of politics or philosophy. Just to stir the pot a bit–for fun’s sake–next Tuesday we’re asking everyone to think about some opinion or belief or practice they do/believe which other Christians are most likely to disagree or have a major problem with. For some of this, we’ll have so many to choose from we’ll have to share several. For others, this may prove difficult. My advice is this: think of other Christians whom you really do not like or of whom you really want nothing to do with. What is it that separates you? Don’t sell it short as just a “personality” issue. If you’re as flawed as me I guarantee you that you’ve put a wall up between yourself and another Christian based on some political/theological/philosophical difference. Come ready to share and stir up some trouble!

Our goal is not an argument–although some of that may briefly ensue and I’m kinda pumped about that. The point is to directly confront ourselves with a situation where we are tempted to distance ourselves from another Christian based on a seeming difference…only to overcome this difference and restore our “family” relationship again.

Since we won’t be actually trying to “solve” most of these controversial actions/beliefs, this will naturally lead to a second week where we discuss the things that every Christian MUST believe and that there is NO flexibility on whatsoever.

Until Tuesday, July 6th–be thinking about something you do or believe which other Christians will not like! Oh, and it’s Zach’s birthday today and he just got married on Saturday, so raise a glass in toast to Zach! Happy Birthday brother!

–Cheers!

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Is the Bible Even Relevant/Authoritative to Me Today?

I mean, it was written a LONG time ago to different people. But before I dig into this, I must address something that truly upset me this last Tuesday:

In a surprising twist of events, the Ringwood Old Thumper Ale that used to be my favorite beer (I hadn’t been able to find it in the last 2 years though) was a severe disappointment. I walked in to Alehouse all pumped to see my old fav’ on draft and two sips in I was missing one of my beloved IPA’s. But that’s the fun of a place like Alehouse, I may not love everything I try, but it’s fun to keep trying new beers each week. My second beer more than made up for it, Mad River’s “Imperial Red” was mind blowing and if God is indeed good, they will still have it next Tuesday for me.

But I am off topic already. The woman/submissiveness talk was surprising as well. We had several guys and two girls present, and the strongest advocates for differentiated roles for men and women were coming from both of the ladies! All of us guys were like, “surely we are all equal before the cross,” or “how can we truly limit what God is able to accomplish just because of patriarchal heritage? But both ladies spoke of how they really felt men and women were different from each other; they are good at different things and think differently. To them, a woman is in her best spot by supporting a man as they work together as a team, supplying their different talents to the same aim, working complementary to each other.

This led to a natural question about the Bible’s applicability to our modern lives. As great as the Bible is an all, it WAS written for an an ancient Jewish culture. I think we really run into huge misunderstandings if we simply take a statement meant for them and carry it over straight to our modern lives now. I’m not saying the Bible is irrelevant, but this can be a huge problem if not given serious credence.

So next Tuesday’s (6/22) topic is: How much authority/relevance does the Bible really have for me today?

I took a class on this at Simpson called Hermeneutics, and I luckily still have the textbook. So I’ll be studying up there. For this week’s topic, I really suggest you ask everyone their opinion on this matter. Ask your pastors. Ask your friends. Ask your co-workers, even if they’re not Christians. I’m as interested in an atheist’s opinion on this as anyone else’s. This is an issue which each Protestant denomination can differ greatly on, so I look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts.

Cheers!

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Skipping this Week

Due to a laundry-list of inconveniences I’ve made the executive decision to move this week’s meeting to next Tuesday. We’re still talking about the ladies and the whole issue of submissiveness–should be fun. See you next Tuesday!

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Women! Ladies! Girls! Females! Submissive?

Yes, we’re going for it. It’s time to discuss this whole woman thing. The sort of cliched picture I was sort of raised on is that a Christian woman is completely submissive to men, and in no circumstances belong in any form of authority over men.

Is this true? Or is it a hyperbolized form of the truth? Or is this a complete misunderstanding of the Bible? We’ll find out next week, but I suspect this will prove to the one of the more controversial discussions we’ve had yet.

On another note, I actually cannot make it on Tuesday due to graduation at my school. So I’m trying to either skip a week or move this next one to Wednesday. If you have a strong opinion on the matter, let me know before I make an executive decision!

–Cheers!

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