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New Wine spills its soul…
The Uncommon God and The Common Good (Recording)
Dr. Paul Louis Metzger addresses the concern of the collapsing evangelical church with the hope of an Uncommon God who gives up his life for the common good, and the church must follow in this Uncommon God’s footsteps.
The Uncommon God Panel Discussion (Recording)
A group of pastors and church community outreach leaders from the West suburbs of Portland reflect upon their churches’ struggle to bring the gospel of their Uncommon God to their communities for the common good. Listen here to this Panel Discussion.
Gethsemane
(A parable of sorts… I had a similar idea before reading any of Peter Rollins’ The Orthodox Heretic, but consider it a tribute anyway)
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. So take this cup from me. Unless you say otherwise, I’ll assume that is your will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch, for if danger comes we may need to leave quickly. We all know that the spirit is willing, but if you keep watch, we won’t have to prove it.”
Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back he found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man will be delivered from harm. Rise! Let us go to Rome! We will be safer there.”
Just after they left Gethsemane, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. Unable to find Jesus, the men seized the seated disciples who had not fled to Rome, and they took them, without any struggle, to Pilate to be crucified.
Tyler Akers’ The Death of Americanity
I always find myself quite challenged by my good friend Tyler Akers’ site, and since New Wine’s next event will be about a collapse-proof Evangelical Church (June 15th), I was delighted to see Tyler posting some of his thoughts about Christianity in America.
In his post titled, The Death of Americanity, Tyler suggests that Christianity in America is:
a mix of American nationalism–and all that it implies (consumerism, materialism, isolationism, arrogance and apathy, zenophobia, historical and cultural ignorance, missionization by Americanization, simple, propositional faith claims with no new way of being, etc)–mixed with anywhere from a semblance of the Christian message to a fetishization of some of its most obscure and useless dimensions…
While in my opinion Tyler correctly describes the state of affairs concerning what he calls Americanity, his post is not a cynical rant that leaves you in a state of despair.
And perhaps this is why Americanity will fail, too, because it has tried as it may to cover up the radicality of the event of the Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection, the events that change everything and leave nothing in tact as it was, except as a new order of love, constituted by charity and community and zeal.
Here Tyler is trying to turn things back to the reality of Christ, and all the implications that come with Him. Whether or not you agree with his assessment of Christianity here in America and the urgent need for change, I am sure you agree with having Christ at the center of our faith.
I for one am looking forward to June 15th. It will be interesting to hear how Dr. Metzger and other panel members address this issue.
New Wine Podcast: Interview with Milan Homola
An interview with Milan Homola executive director of Compassion Connect, an organization whose goal is to demonstrate the love of Christ through cultivating healthy communities.
Milan and I explore aspects of the New Wine, New Wineskins paradigm and how Compassion Connect is uniting local churches to serve their neighborhood at a most crucial time.