I have always been fascinated by the well-developed and thoroughly thought-through ideas taught by John D. Martin on the Kingdom of God. His teachings and the teachings of others like him are what first drew me to Anabaptism in general and to conservative Mennonites and the “Charity Movement” in particular. Of course, as with any other movement/denomination there were things I didn’t fully understand, some of them purely cultural oddities, but the radical ideas as delineated in the following blog post by Christian thinker Greg Boyd, are some of the touchstones that have aided me in my quest for a practical and intellectually satisfying Christian reality.

Original post | About Greg Boyd

A Word to my Mennonite Friends

Hello friends,

I plan on getting back to the problem of violence in the Old Testament soon, but today I want to share a marvelous experience I had last week.

About eight months ago I spoke at a conference at Hesston college (a Mennonite college) on faith and politics (I posted on it here). While at this conference I sensed very strongly God telling me there was some sort of relationship I (and possibly the church I pastor) was to have with the Mennonites. More specifically, at the end of the conference I received a very clear and burning message I knew I was to share with the Mennonites. Whatever else this “relationship” entailed, I knew it included sharing this message. Yet, I had no idea when or how this message was to be shared.

Then about two months ago I received an invitation to speak at a historic gathering of Mennonite leaders in Columbus, Ohio. When the Executive Director of the Mennonite denomination (Jim Schrag) explained to me what he hoped my talk would accomplish I got goose bumps because it was exactly what God had put on my heart at Hesston seven months earlier. I have rarely been part of something that was so obviously providential. I was humbled and delighted to be given this important assignment. My message was — and is — basically this.

There is a beautiful and powerful grassroots Kingdom movement arising all over the globe that Mennonites in particular need to notice. Millions of people are abandoning the Christendom paradigm of the traditional Christian faith in order to become more authentic followers of Jesus. From the Emergent Church movement to the Urban Monastic Movement to a thousand other independent groups and movements, people are waking up to the truth that the Kingdom of God looks like Jesus and that the heart of Christianity is simply imitating him. Millions are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus are called to love the unlovable, serve the oppressed, live in solidarity with the poor, proclaim Good News to the lost and be willing to lay down our life for our enemies. Multitudes are waking up to the truth that the distinctive mark of the Kingdom is the complete rejection of all hatred and violence and the complete reliance on love and service of others, including our worst enemies. Masses of people are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus aren’t called to try to win the world by acquiring power over others but by exercising power under others — the power of self-sacrificial love.

What many who are being caught up in this movement lack is a sense of tribal identity and historical rooting, and many are looking for his. A central feature of post-modernity is the longing to “live in a story” that’s bigger than oneself. Many, therefore, are looking for a tradition they can align with.

The only tradition that embodies what this rising breed of Kingdom radicals is looking for is the Anabaptist tradition (which the Mennonites are heir to). This is the only tradition that consistently refused political power and violence. This is the only tradition that made humble, self-sacrificial love the centerpiece of what it means to follow Jesus. It’s the only tradition that isn’t soaked in blood and the only tradition that looks remotely like Jesus. Many (in fact, most) of the early leaders of this movement in the 16th century paid for their non-compliance with the Christendom paradigm by being martyred. This tradition is a treasure to be cherished. And it’s a tradition whose time may have come, for this is precisely the vision of the Kingdom that millions today are waking up to.

The irony is that, just as millions like myself are running toward this treasure, many Mennonites are running away from it. In the name of becoming culturally relevant, the distinctive, radical aspects of the Anabaptist tradition are being downplayed by some as they become “mainstream” American Christians. For example, some Mennonite churches now allow national flags on their premises — even in their sanctuaries! This was always taboo among Mennonites, for they have always (wisely) been keenly aware of the danger of mixing the Kingdom with nationalism. So too, some churches are now letting their Kingdom message get co-opted by politics — some on “the right” and others on “the left,” which in turn is beginning to create tensions in the church. And some churches have even begun to back off the centrality of their stance against violence.

So, my message to the Mennonites, in a nutshell, was (and is) this: Cherish Your Treasure! Not in a prideful way, of course, but simply as a precious gift God has given you and that God wants to give the world through you. Be daringly flexible on all matters that aren’t central to the Kingdom (e.g. worship styles, dress, etc.), but be utterly uncompromising on all matters that are central to the Kingdom (viz. everything that pertains to living a Jesus-looking life). My Mennonite sisters and brothers, you have what multitudes in the rising Kingdom movement are longing for. You can provide a home to so many who right now are looking for one. If you hold fast to the faith you’ve been entrusted with (Jude 3), you may just find your fellowship exploding in the years to come. For, I believe, the Anabaptist vision of the Kingdom is a vision whose time has come.

I am deeply humbled and honored to have been invited to share this word with the leaders of the Mennonite Church last week. My prayer is that God uses it to prepare them to fulfill the vital role God has for them in the Kingdom movement he’s inspiring in our day.

Blessings

Greg

Youth Bible School 2009… what a blessing, what an opportunity!  661 young people gathered together listening to sound Biblical teaching for an entire week.

What did we learn?

From David Janzen’s messages on Studies in the doctrine of Faith we looked back through the annals of time and reviewed the lives of several men and women of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11. We explored the reason for their faith and how the same power that upheld them during times of extreme persecution and hardship can be ours, thousands of years later. Out of these sessions, David’s graphic description of Noah’s faithfulness in building the ark over a 120 year period, will remain etched in my memory for a long time.

Dean Taylor spoke on the familiar theme, What Would Jesus Do? Standing in front of the crowded auditorium, he grabbed a can of spray paint and wrote on a white cloth-covered stand, “What if Jesus really meant Every word that He Said?” This remained the theme for his messages during the rest of the week as he explored areas of Jesus’ teachings that are often overlooked by the broader evangelical church community.

John D. Martin’s sessions on Seeking God’s Kingdom, was for me a culmination of many of John D.’s previous messages on Kindom living. He told several familiar stories as well as some that I hadn’t heard to illustrate the vision that Jesus left us on how we are to live our lives as Kingdom citizens.

The evening revival services, conducted by Leonard Guenther, John Ray Nolt, and Mark Brubaker, were times of soul searching and repentance. Several young people turned over their lives to Jesus and found glorious victory over sin after these evening messages.

I am amazed each year at how Earl Fox, the chorus director, is able to get 600+ young people to sing together in four part harmony for Sunday evening’s Youth Choral Program. Added to that the controversial removal of one of the song selections midway through the week, and one can only attribute the strength, patience and wisdom of this man to God.

Prayer and Sharing was a highlight to me this year as nine of us young men shared our thoughts and poured out our hearts to our Savior and Lord. Youth Testimonies were similar as several young people shared about God’s work in their lives to a broader audience. Both of these times are so necessary in Bible School as they deal with areas in life “where the ruber meets the road” as it were.

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I took several photos this year which you can view at the password protected link below. Also included in this album are the group photos that were taken by Roger Weaver.

Link to Album
Username: guest
Password: (first word lower-case of first song in chorus book)

I have been really challenged in the last two weeks after returning from the Middle East in how I invest my God’s time. Here’s a quote from an excellent message (worth the time investment) that God used to kick-start some changes I’ve had to make in my schedule for the things that really matter.  Full Audio Here.

The concern that I have… is not first and foremost that we will fall into some great scandalous sin. My greatest concern for us is that our spiritual passion and zeal for Jesus Christ will be drowned in triviality. That our love for the Savior and our service for His kingdom will grow cold as we waste our lives on a million different allowable, permissable, absolutely inconsequential pursuits. And all the while, all around us there’s a spiritual battle to be fought, and there’s Gospel Truth to be gloried in, and there are souls to be won for Christ, and there are churches to be built, and there are nations to be won for Christ, and children to be discipled and hurting people all around us who are dying in their addictions…  Are we going to be Salt and Light?

I was with a group of young people on Tuesday trying to learn a new song and no one happened to have a pitch pipe along. That steel cookie just doesn’t always make it into our pockets along side the requisite wallet, mobile phone and keys. So we stumbled along and made do without it for the duration of our song learning efforts.

Later, I got to thinking about how if we could just use our cell phone’s ability to play audio and use a pre-recorded set of auditory pitches, we wouldn’t ever have that problem again, since most people always have their cell phone with them. So I went hunting online to find something of that nature that would work for our future music endeavors. I came across the Online Pitch Pipe and figured the MP3’s found on that page would be just the ticket.  Unfortunately, they are no longer available, but thanks to our friends over at the Internet Archive and their Wayback Machine, I was able to download the files from the 2005 version of the website.  I have linked to them below in a zipped folder which you may freely download and unzip before loading them on your cellphone.  Now before anyone argues that the sound from a genuine free reed aerophone is far superior than the sound of an electronic micro-sized speaker on a cellphone, I will quickly agree.  However, having your cellphone blow the pitch is better than no pitch at all    So, I wouldn’t recommend this as an alternative for any of us Mennonite, Beachy or other Acappella singer-types on Sunday morning at church, but it works for impromptu singing events when the Real McCoy isn’t available.

Enjoy!

Cellphone Pitch Pipe.zip

Today I joined the crowd of 3 billion +  other fellow humans who have watched the Jesus film, the most watched film in history.  The film will turn 30 years old this October and I was amazed at how timeless it is as is the message it carries to viewers.

Anytime I watch a film, I look for a back story and this one did not disappoint.  Here it is from Wikipedia:

History

The film’s origins date back to 1945 when a young businessman named Bill Bright wanted to privately finance a film about the life of Jesus Christ^[1] that was entertaining, biblically accurate, and which could be translated into non-English languages. Rather than making a film at that time, Bright went on to found a Christian ministry to reach college students called Campus Crusade for Christ in 1951.

In 1976, with Campus Crusade’s influence spreading beyond college campuses to sports, the marketplace and other aspects of society, Bright turned his attention once again to filmmaking. Hollywood producer John Heyman approached Bright to fund a project to put the entire Bible on film. The project would eventually be scaled back to just one book of the Bible, the Gospel of Luke, and be financed primarily by Campus Crusade supporters Bunker and Caroline Hunt^[2] for a sum of $6 million.

A team of 500 scholars and leaders from secular and Christian organizations began to research historical elements for a film about Jesus. Filming took place over the course of several months throughout the Middle East.

Jesus was produced by John Heyman, a German-born Jew. British Shakespearean actor Brian Deacon was hired to play the critical role of Jesus himself. The part of MaryRivka Neumann, and the part of Joseph was played by Yosef Shiloach. Former Jesus Film Project director Paul Eshleman, who was on location during much of the principal photography and even had a small non-speaking role as a Roman soldier on horseback, revealed in the DVD’s audio commentary^[3] that Deacon (the son of a Catholic mother and a Protestant father), was so committed to the film and its message that he read several Bible translations a day in order to make certain that he properly presented Christ’s teachings. Because Deacon developed pneumonia during principal photography, doubles were used in certain scenes. Eshleman also claimed that Niko Nitai, who played Peter, became a believer during filming and that the man hired to play Jesus’ corpse later entered a seminary. was played by

Some locations mentioned in the Bible, such as the Jordan River and what is believed to have been the home of Simon the Tanner, were used in the film.

After each day’s filming was completed, the footage was sent to a panel of biblical scholars for review.

Instead of creating a parallel story for the film or embellishing the biblical account, as is the case with other religious films such as The Ten Commandments or The Greatest Story Ever Told, the filmmakers chose to adhere as closely as possible to the Gospel of Luke. Most of the film’s dialogue comes from Luke, which was chosen after John Heyman sought advice from clergy and scholars. Many responded that the screenplay should be based on just one Gospel, and that Luke should be used because of its completeness.

Scenes for The Story of Jesus for Children, which removed much of Jesus’ more violent scenes and added more appropriate ones for younger viewers, were filmed concurrently with those of Jesus.

Jesus was released by Warner Bros. in the United States. It was not a money-maker, losing approximately $2 million. While praising its “meticulous attention to authenticity”, critics panned Jesus for being “painfully monotonous.”^[4]

In 1981, Bill Bright created the Jesus Film Project organization with the goal of accurately translating Jesus into other languages and showing them around the world. The first translation was done for the Tagalog-speaking people of the Philippines. The organization works with thousands of missionaries around the world to show the film, sometimes to audiences who have never seen a motion picture. Distribution in the United States has included direct mail campaigns sponsored by churches to deliver a copy of the film to every address in select zip codes across the country. In 2004, the organization made the film available for viewing on its website in over 300 languages. Both Jesus and The Story of Jesus for Children are available in DVD and VHS formats. Audio dramatizations in a number of languages are also available.

I’d heard this before, but was recently reminded of it again when a friend emailed me the video.

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Here’s the story.

I just finished reading a great article written by Patrick Heatwole over on the FBlog entitled Why History Matters.  Check it out. It’s definitely worth your time!

I read this today:

When the LORD saw that man’s wickedness was wide spread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Then the LORD said, ‘I will wipe off the face of the earth: man, whom I created, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky–for I regret that I made them.’ Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”
-HISB

I wonder what history would look like if this cataclysmic event hadn’t occurred.

So in my search for the best savings interest rate, I tripped across the Christian Finance Blog’s review of Dollar Savings Direct (which by the way has a 4% interest rate on their savings accounts).  One of the posts on the blog was asking people to comment for the chance to win $35 worth of tax prep software.  I spent 60 seconds writing my thoughts about Christmas and a few days later was contacted with a congratulatory notice.  Not bad.  Of course, the odds weren’t stacked too hard––there were 11 comments

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Youth Bible School was such a rich blessing this year.  Times of conviction, repentance, and crying out to God melded with sweet fellowship, joyous amen’s, and heartfelt singing from the voices of over 1,000 people during the evening revival services.  Those are my memories of YBS.  Most of all, I met God at Bible School and was able to spend an entire week focusing on His Word and His Work, away from my work, the internet, business clients, and other distractions that steal my focus in my far too busy life.  Friendships were renewed, new ones begun and a better understanding on my part has begun to develop of what God has for my life.  Funny how the important things in life come into such clear focus the closer we are in fellowship with Him.

A few comments on the sessions:

Mose Stoltzfus’ study of the Life of Moses convicted me in areas of my life where I have given in to the “pleasures of Egypt for a season”, instead of allowing God to mold my life according to His Plan.

The Faith of Your Fathers by Denny Kenaston struck a chord in my heart as I considered the times I have sat down in that easy chair and viewed the landscape that my parents have fought for in the spiritual realm all the while allowing those convictions and open understandings of God’s Will to cloud over as I “meander in the maze of mediocrity”.

Chorus had me worried until the end of Friday’s session.  The selections were beautiful but quite challenging for all 670 of us to wrap our musical abilities around.  I would have to say that my favorite was the song Lord, I Want To Be a Christian in My Heart.

Profiles of Faith and Folly changed my perspective on some well-known Bible characters and taught important lessons about how character must be built in my own life through the experiences God sends my way.

Prayer and Sharing time was an enriching experience as 9 of us young men shared the burdens and convictions of our hearts each afternoon.  One thing that always strikes me during this time is how similar the experiences of all young men are.  We fight many of the same battles and encounter the same temptations along the path of life.  Prayer and sharing allows us to see the similarities and encourage one another to fight those battles and persevere in the quests that God has laid on our hearts.

Finally, the message on Sunday morning Survival After Revival by Rick Leibee, reminded me of some personal experiences in this area and helped me to tool up for future times of surviving the trials that sometimes come into our lives to test us after times of revival.

(One additional post about YBS with photos etc. follows this one. It is password protected.  The password is the last word on page 7 of this year’s chorus book.)