2011 has started with a roar.
Two weeks ago we tackled the subject of America being an empire. We used a line that went something like this "if you are part of a country that has the most powerful army in human history, then passages in the Scriptures that mention trusting in horses and chariots refers to you."
American Christians live in an empire and it is very hard to at adapt to empire rules.
This week we've another prophetic role to play - call Christians to rethink how they view immigration and undocumented migrants.
Pastors sit within the genre of role that Old Testament prophets sat with in.
Its an uncomfortable seat. It challenges the status quo.
It places you on the margins.
It causes you to be an 'alien and a stranger in a strange land.'
Familiar language - 1 Peter 1 & 2
Yet, its a language not reserved for pastors or priests. Peter uses it for all Christians.
It's this language that causes me tomorrow (Sunday) to call all Christ followers to be the people in our society that stand alongside the migrant - both documented and undocumented.
It causes us to rethink the immigration issue that sits near the top of this nations public, pressing issues.
So how brave have you been as 2011 started?
Or, how much have you really been a pastor in 2011?
Now, a trip to Kenya .... check out :
http://clanofissachar.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-40-and-what-i-really-think-about.html
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Other's Stay Silent.
Do you ever wish you weren't a leader?
Occasionally I wish I could walk into a room and not be looked to to lead - either formally or informally.
Occasionally I wish I didn't have to be the one making the decisions.
Occasionally I wish I had the luxury of sitting on the fence; or simply giving my opinion.
But the times I most wish I weren't a leader are when there arises a topic/subject which has to be spoken into.
Our January series [God, We Need A New Year] features me speaking on two topics that to date I've put off speaking on, but can't stay silent on any more.(fhttp://www.redeemerschurch.com/dlgMediaPlayer.aspx?id=880)
This is what makes leaders leaders, its especially what makes pastors pastors.
The 'leading' role of a pastor draws from both the priest, the prophet, the poet and the pastor.
As a poet we dream of what could happen if God's people fully grasped their inheritance; as priests we centre on bringing Christ centre in people's lives; but as prophets we speak boldly and prophetically into the issues around us.
Enter this Sunday and the topic of non-violence in a world that is growing to be as violent as any era in history.
Here's a quote I give:
"The Bible can be a very difficult book to understand if you are reading it as a citizen of the most powerful empire the world has ever seen."
The Bible was a book written from the underside of power. People of the book are underside power people. Yet we teach it, read it, study it as part of a nation that holds immense power.
So as a prophet pastor I need to speak out about the divine decree that clearly states 'if you live by the sword you will die by the sword.' And, i need to say that to a people who belong to a country that is only 5% of the worlds population but purchases nearly half of the world's weapons. I need to say it to many Christians who have served in our nations military. I need to say it to people who equate patriotism with support of their military.
But this is what leaders do.
What about this insight:
"If someone were to come along who would not compromise, a rebel who insisted on taking the only moral path, rejecting violence in all its forms, such a person would seem so menacing that he would be killed, and after his death he would be canonized or deified, because a saint is less dangerous than a rebel. The first and most prominent example was a Jew named Jesus!"
Brings us back to the topic of non-violence.
Occasionally I wish I could walk into a room and not be looked to to lead - either formally or informally.
Occasionally I wish I didn't have to be the one making the decisions.
Occasionally I wish I had the luxury of sitting on the fence; or simply giving my opinion.
But the times I most wish I weren't a leader are when there arises a topic/subject which has to be spoken into.
Our January series [God, We Need A New Year] features me speaking on two topics that to date I've put off speaking on, but can't stay silent on any more.(fhttp://www.redeemerschurch.com/dlgMediaPlayer.aspx?id=880)
This is what makes leaders leaders, its especially what makes pastors pastors.
The 'leading' role of a pastor draws from both the priest, the prophet, the poet and the pastor.
As a poet we dream of what could happen if God's people fully grasped their inheritance; as priests we centre on bringing Christ centre in people's lives; but as prophets we speak boldly and prophetically into the issues around us.
Enter this Sunday and the topic of non-violence in a world that is growing to be as violent as any era in history.
Here's a quote I give:
"The Bible can be a very difficult book to understand if you are reading it as a citizen of the most powerful empire the world has ever seen."
The Bible was a book written from the underside of power. People of the book are underside power people. Yet we teach it, read it, study it as part of a nation that holds immense power.
So as a prophet pastor I need to speak out about the divine decree that clearly states 'if you live by the sword you will die by the sword.' And, i need to say that to a people who belong to a country that is only 5% of the worlds population but purchases nearly half of the world's weapons. I need to say it to many Christians who have served in our nations military. I need to say it to people who equate patriotism with support of their military.
But this is what leaders do.
What about this insight:
"If someone were to come along who would not compromise, a rebel who insisted on taking the only moral path, rejecting violence in all its forms, such a person would seem so menacing that he would be killed, and after his death he would be canonized or deified, because a saint is less dangerous than a rebel. The first and most prominent example was a Jew named Jesus!"
Non-Violence: The History of a Dangerous Idea @ Mark Kurlansky
Brings us back to the topic of non-violence.
As prophet pastors of Jesus Christ who are called to lead - we need to lead even when the topic we need to speak into is volatile. It's what leaders do. The others stay silent.
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