God's Keynote
via Rudy via Jason Clark

posted by Jimmy at 10:10 AM | |

 
Really Bummed
There are times where I really, really dread the contract web-developer gig...today is one of those. Terry had set up a chance for several of us to visit the Monastery of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek today. I've been looking forward to it as a chance to get together with friends and be renewed a bit. But I had to pull an all-nighter last night trying to make a January 1 launch date for a client's website and just couldn't make it.

So...I'm sitting here waking up, still needing to work on web stuff, and feeling very frustrated that I'm missing the experience and the conversations.
posted by Jimmy at 9:52 AM | |

 

Santa can wait

A lot has been made recently about the fact that certain very BIG churches in our country decided to... ahem... pre-empt their Sunday morning services this past week so that people could celebrate the holidays (GASP)... I mean, the ONLY holiday that anyone SHOULD or even DOES recognize during this time of year... which is Christmas for you pagan atheists out there who don't know the reason for the season (insert jingle music).

Sorry about that, folks. The ol' sarcasm regulator blew a fuse. Now, as I was saying, a LOT has been made of this. One church here in town, right next to my house, nonetheless, put on its marquee "Yes, we WILL be here on Christmas Day" then listed the times of its services. Yes, they were proud of it.

The decision has been lauded by pomo and anti-mega church types. The guys over at Stupid Church People went so far as to say that maybe, just maybe, people wouldn't go back. Of course, regular attenders are taking pride in the extra grace they're bringing on themselves by sacrificing family time around the tree to make sure God gets his two hours of the week.

The funny thing is that I actually think we have the whole thing completely backwards.

As one who takes the "two or more" description of Christian fellowship pretty literally a lot of the time, I find that informal gatherings with smaller numbers of believers are much more conducive to the practice and perpetuation of the values of the kingdom. However, I do believe that there are times when large, corporate gatherings are... well... good. Good in that they can be constructive to individuals, the body, and the kingdom of God on earth.

I would think that one of those times when it would be good to have large gatherings of the body would be on the day of the celebration of Christ's birth. Another would be the weekend we remember his death and resurrection. Ideally, it would look like these small bands of people, commissioned to enact the words of Christ and embody his vision of reality on this earth, crawling out of the woodwork they normally function in to gather... to show themselves as the universal body. For a few spots on the calendar, debates and divisions would be laid aside. People would come in order to be recognized as part of a much larger body, then go back to their everyday functionings inside their small, intimate communities, where they live out their callings in the dirt and mess of life.

I once looked down on those that only crawled out of their lives to get their butts into church on Christmas and Easter. Then, at one point, I felt guilt and shame for being in that group. Now, I'm not so sure that that isn't the way it should always be.
posted by Stephen at 9:30 PM | |

 
Hubble Reveals Moons and Rings Around Uranus
Yes...that is the actual headline that I got on the National Geographic XML feed for this article.

If you don't get it immediately...just think about it. The laughter will come.
posted by Jimmy at 1:28 PM | |

 
Second Interview with Tony Jones
The second interview that Tony did with StupidChurchPeople.com is now online.

I'm telling you...if you are interested in the emergent thing in any capacity you should listen to these interviews.

Tony has also done an interview with outoffellowship.com. You can find it here.
posted by Jimmy at 1:09 PM | |

 


These guys did an interview with Tony Jones on their podcast. Interesting to listen to if you're pro-Emergent, anti-Emergent, or blah-Emergent. I believe this is part 1 of 2. On his blog Tony calls them "long-time critics of Emergent". I'm not sure what that means...does it mean that they are asking questions about Emergent?

This is the first time I've seen this site, btw. It's interesting. I don't agree with everything they've got going, but I've added it to our blogroll just so I don't forget to check them out from time to time. The post right before the Tony Jones interview is a good one. Through their site I also found another site called demerging. I didn't read all the posts there, but I like the definition of demerging.

[and yes...school is out. It's not that I've got time on my hands. I'm trying to work on to web-projects that are behind deadline but my brain is fried, so I find myself browsing and posting several times.]
posted by Jimmy at 1:47 PM | |

 

Images of Christ
Check out this site: http://www.freymanc.com/ Make sure you scroll down and follow on the image links at the bottom. It takes a bit to figure out because of the navigation setup. There are eleven or so groups that have several series in each group with images. You should end up looking at pages like this one.
posted by Jimmy at 1:32 PM | |

 
What Jesus Really Said, cont.

The Temptation of Jesus
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit and having received the proper physical examination and being okayed by his personal physician, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into a retreat center in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days (except, of course, during the evenings...because it would be crazy to fast for forty days without eating) and at the end of them he was fairly hungry. He had trimmed up really well by that time, too, and his self esteem was the highest it had ever been.

The Widow's Offering
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow could have put much more money into the treasury than she did, if only she had followed the basic financial principles found in the Scriptures. If she had been a better steward of her money, and had more faith, she would have multiplied it and could have given more....and could have enjoyed more of the blessing for herself, too."

[Dr. Zedler has found that some manuscripts contain this variant ending to this passage:

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this woman has spent too much on herself and there is nothing left over for God. What she should do is go ahead and write a check for the amount she SHOULD give to God. Then, she should trust God to fill her account with enough to clear the check. But she won't do that, because not only is she selfish, she has no faith."]

Paying Taxes to Caesar
Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"

"Caesar's," they replied.

Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's--exactly 10% of your income."

And they were amazed at him and wondered if he meant 10% of the gross income or after taxes.
posted by Jimmy at 12:53 PM | |

 

All I'm Going to Say On This...
Okay...no links...you'll have to do your own work. Apparently the Osteens haven't heard Richard Roberts' ORU Chapel message that I saw last week where he said, "Some say a private jet is a luxury. It's not a luxury, it's a necessity!"
posted by Jimmy at 9:14 AM | |

 
Speaking of Misquoting Jesus...
More of our What Jesus Really Said... translations. We have revised the current English translation by working diligently for at least 30 minutes to an hour on the oldest New Testament Manuscripts in existence (which were erroneously thought to be written in Greek around AD 50, but were truly written in the King's English in AD 1611--we think we have found the world's oldest copy on a Mardel's shelf here in Tulsa dating from circa AD 1987). Here is more of our exciting work:

False Prophets
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves—which would make a really cool sci-fi, horror movie. Kind of like aliens in ‘The Thing’ So watch out for them…cause it would be pretty amazing.”

Lord, Lord
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, ‘Cool…you’re good. C’mon in.’”'

More On False Prophets
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Of course, with genetic modification you could probably pick grapes from thornbushes. So always remember, with man this is impossible but with science all things are possible. Plus, even plants that bear bad fruit or even no fruit can be very decorative…so we should always have some false prophets around just for décor.”
posted by Jimmy at 6:32 AM | |

 
Bart Ehrman on Misquoting Jesus on NPR
Another good interview from NPR, this time on Fresh Air from December 14th. Here's the intro to the article:

Scholar Bart Ehrman's new book explores how scribes -- through both omission and intention -- changed the Bible. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why is the result of years of reading the texts in their original languages.

Ehrman says the modern Bible was shaped by mistakes and intentional alterations that were made by early scribes who copied the texts. In the introduction to Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman writes that when he came to understand this process 30 years ago, it shifted his way of thinking about the Bible. He had been raised as an Evangelical Christian.

Ehrman is also the author of Lost Christianities: The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew, which chronicles the period before Christianity as we know it, when conflicting ideas about the religion were fighting for prominence in the second and third centuries.

The chairman of the religious studies department at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Ehrman also edited a collection of the early non-canonical texts from the first centuries after Christ, called Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament.

If you're interested in this topic, I would recommend that you read Bruce Metzger's The Text of the New Testament: It's Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration. It is the best that I have seen on the ancients texts and the processes used by scholars to decide what to include in the Greek Editions of the New Testament. I enjoyed listening to Ehrman's interview, but I also felt that without some knowledge of the issues most people would over-simplify Erhman's comments (in order to either to attack or embrace his concepts).
posted by Jimmy at 8:21 PM | |

 
Great Interview with Carlton Pearson on This American Life (NPR)
Wow...as someone living in Tulsa this interview is very insightful. Here is This American Life's snippet concerning the interview:

Heretics
The story of Reverend Carlton Pearson (pictured), an evangelical pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His church, Higher Dimensions, was once one of the biggest in the city, drawing crowds of 5,000 people every Sunday. But several years ago, scandal engulfed the Reverend, he was denounced by almost all his former supporters, and today his congregation is just a few hundred people. He didn't have an affair. He didn't embezzle lots of money. His sin was something that to a lot of people is far worse ... he stopped believing in hell.

posted by Jimmy at 8:12 PM | |

 
What Would You Do For A Joe Momma's Pizza?
Nice little commercial Blake has put together for his place. Mmmm...why don't I eat there more often? Blake...I miss you and your pizza. Maybe Zed and I'll will drop in this week while we're eating with some students. What do you think, Zed?
posted by Jimmy at 8:10 PM | |

 
More "What Jesus Really Meant..." Passages
Adding to the correct translation of the Scriptures that common sense and comfort require.

The Sheep and the Baby Goats

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. But that's okay...I mean, its not like they were sitting right outside your door. I understand how hard it is to know how to respond and get involved. I feel really bad for you that you weren't fortunate enough to live in a place where there were people in need--I wasn't saying that thing about "doing it for the least" to make you feel guilty. I'm also sorry that I equated you with goats...that wasn't very nice. But some goats can be really cute...you know, when they're babies. That's what I was really thinking of when I thought of you…baby goats.'

"Then they all went away to eternal life."

The Parable of the Lost Coin

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? No...of course not, its only a coin. She moves on to something more important."

Treasures in Heaven

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Of course, the best thing is to have treasure in both places.”

posted by Jimmy at 7:50 PM | |

 
Venus de Milo and the Scriptures
I was part of a discussion recently concerning the Canon of Scripture...is it complete or not and should other books have been included.

My first answer is that if I trust the Bible at all then I have to trust the process used to create it as well.

Overall, the issue of "did they pick the correct books" doesn't bother me. I don't view it as a "get it wrong/get it right type" of thing. Those are the ones that were chosen and are the ones the Church has used historically. It doesn't exclude my ability to read something like the Gospel of Thomas and find meaning in it. Just because it wasn't chosen doesn't mean it is completely invalid (although obviously if it goes against the Canon it would technically be considered heretical). I also don't think Christianity will ever again be at the place globally to come to the same concensus of opinion on which books should be used to measure doctrine and practice.

I think of it kind of like an art thing...it's difficult to ask "did the artist get the picture correctly" or "did he leave something out". How would you have him/her fix it? It is what it is. Maybe a good picture of the Scriptures is the Venus de Milo. The arms are missing...so it isn't quite complete. The process of time may have damaged it in some way. But what could you or I add to it to make it more complete or fix it without ruining it? Who would dare do it? It is beautiful as it is...at once incomplete and whole.

What a great peace of work for our God who reveals Himself and hides in the clouds, and who is at once God and Man.
posted by Jimmy at 4:56 PM | |

 
More American Bible Version Quotations
We're continually working on our American Culture Bible Translation (ACBT) here at liquidthinking. Our goal is to create a translation which will feel a little more comfortable to us. Some have suggested that we call it the "What Jesus Really Meant..." Version (WJRM). Some day we may publish a complete set...probably starting with our own Gospel of Thomas type "Sayings of Jesus" thing. Here are some old and new ones for your reading pleasure. More to come later (since it doesn't seem we have anything else to say right now):

The Rich Ruler
A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"I’m glad that you called me good, that you recognized Who I really am." Jesus answered (making clear that He was the third person of the Trinity), “You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"

"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "Well, that sounds good. So, now, what would you like for me to do for you. I want to make you as comfortable as I possibly can….maybe you could get involved in our inner-city ministry program.”

“Well,” answered the ruler, “I don’t have much time.”

“That’s really okay,” responded Jesus, “it only takes one Saturday a month, just a couple of hours.”

“Great,” said the rich ruler, “I think I can do that.” And the man went away joyful that he had had the conversation.

Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “See, to be a part of my kingdom you get to follow all of your dreams and desires—plus you get eternal life….that’s the way it is with God. Why don’t you guys go on home to your businesses, families, and friends. I'll see you on Sunday.”

Worry
Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Here’s an idea. Something I’ve been thinking about. What if you didn’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. What if life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. I’ve been watching the the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more might he clothe you, if we have enough faith! Awhat if you didn’t set your heart on what you will eat or drink; not even worrying about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them."

"Nah…never mind. That’s dumb. Everyone in the world knows we need to worry about these things. I’m sorry. Dumb idea.”

Blessings
Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

"Better yet for those of you who are rich,
for you have already received stuff and will get more later.
Better yet who are well fed now,
for your stomachs are full now and later.
Better yet you who laugh now,
for you continue laughing
Better yet for you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how to get somewhere in this world."
Then he turned, paused, and looked back to his disciples, and said:
"On second thought, you poor don't deserve blessing.
You just don't want to work.
And same for you hungry.
If all we did was give you hand-outs, you'd never make anything of yourselves.
And you who weep,
You must not have enough faith."
posted by Jimmy at 8:21 AM | |

 
Monday Night
Hey gang...back in the swing of things. We're meeting tonight at the St. Patrick's. We'll gather for the Vesper service in the Book of Common Prayer at 6:30 PM, discussion should start around 7:00 PM. We'll be finished around 8:30 PM.

If you need directions to St. Patrick's give me a call 813-3258. No childcare tonight.
posted by Jimmy at 3:46 PM | |

 
What's The Deal With Tulsa?
I heard today about another pastor here in town (just down the road from me actually) who has had an affair. He was one of those guys that seemed to be and was known for being sincere. It's very heartbreaking. We've had something like this happen fairly often and in some cases it has been very much a headline in our community. One married youth pastor was caught when a local news show was simply doing stories on prostitution and he was the "john". Another (once again a married guy with children) had a sexual affair with a student and was accidentally caught in the act by police. A couple of cases of male teachers/youth-workers messing around with young boys. And there are others. Does this happen everywhere, or are we so disfunctional in our ministries that something snaps here?

Lord, please provide healing to these congregations and Jesus communities, as well as all those involved. Provide restoration, mercy, and justice in the places where they are needed. Heal us.
posted by Jimmy at 1:43 PM | |

 
Real Live Preacher
Two great posts by Real Live Preacher. The first one is a response to a reader about God's judgement. The second (for me) is about what church is and feeling good know that this is the heart of many Jesus followers right now.
posted by Jimmy at 4:39 PM | |

 
Monday Night
Hey gang...back in the swing of things. We're meeting tonight at the Zedler's. We'll be continuing our Scripture study, but I'd also like to talk a little about my post-Florida thoughts as well as Advent. We'll gather around 6:30 PM, discussion should start around 7:00 PM. We'll be finished around 8:30 PM.

If you need directions to Zed's House of Prayer, give Zed a call at 743-7725 or give me a call at 813-3258.
posted by Jimmy at 12:15 PM | |

 

Florida
Okay...the Florida trip was great. Good being with family and friends in such a beautiful place. Amy, Jake, and I got a chance to just spend some time together on the beach and one day running around. Jonathan treated us to some great seafood as well. Our hotel was amazing...as a matter of fact the picture above isn't a postcard. It's a photo I took from our balcony. Here are some more.

yeah...watching the sunrise over the Atlantic from our bed...well, it was rough.

Amy almost cried when we left.
posted by Jimmy at 9:01 PM | |