I’ll admit that I don’t know much about Mike Yaconelli. Brian and I used some Youth Specialties stuff back when we worked with the youth a few years back, but I’d never heard him speak or read anything of any real substance that he had written. This week would have marked his 65th birthday, and I have seen a YouTube video tribute to him posted on several sites in memory of him. (It’s a great video - search “Mike Yaconelli tribute.” It’s worth your time.) Watching that video made me curious what else Mr. Yaconelli has said. Here are a few other quotes from a really interesting man who loved Jesus enough to speak the truth when the truth needed saying:

It’s not about perfection; it’s about our intimacy with God, or our connection, our relationship with God. Once we get through that, once we realize that we can be imperfect, flawed, broken; those kinds of things are the ingredients of spirituality.

We’d like to have it all neat and orderly. We want to be able to measure it and control it, but the reality is that Jesus is a mystery. The Christian faith is a mystery. The disciples spent their entire time following him going, “Uhh, what the heck are you doing? We don’t understand what you’re doing and we don’t know why you’re doing it.” And when he would explain why he was doing it, they still didn’t get it.

I am beginning to understand that faith is not the way around pain, it is the way through pain. Faith doesn’t get rid of the opposition, it invites it over for dinner. Faith doesn’t give you the winning point at the last second, it ties the game and sends you into overtime. Faith doesn’t give you the solution, it forces you to find it.

The power of the Church is not a parade of flawless people, but of a flawless Christ who embraces our flaws. The Church is not made up of the whole people, rather of the broken people who find wholeness in a Christ who was broken for us.

I want a lifetime of holy moments. Every day I want to be in dangerous proximity to Jesus. I long for a life that explodes with meaning and is filled with adventure, wonder, risk, and danger. I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous. I want to be with Jesus, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

The grace of God is dangerous. It’s lavish, excessive, outrageous, and scandalous. God’s grace is ridiculously inclusive. Apparently God doesn’t care who He loves. He is not very careful about the people He calls His friends or the people He calls His church.

For the Christian, there is no distinction between the sacred and secular. Everything a Christian does is an expression of his faith. He does not make choices based on the religious significance of the alternative. As a Christian he makes the choice that is a logical extension of the values he has derived from his faith…

We’re attempting to convince the world how good Jesus is by how great we are. This is precisely how Madison Avenue sells toothpaste, automobiles, and underwear. People don’t need any more images of success, wealth, and power; they’re surrounded already. What they need are their sins forgiven. What they need is healing. What they need is love.

The tragedy of modern faith is that we no longer are capable of being terrified. We aren’t afraid of God, we aren’t afraid of Jesus, we aren’t afraid of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we have ended up with a need-centered gospel that attracts thousands…but transforms no one.

What is the appropriate response someone on a worship team should give when people stop you after church and say “Worship was great today!”???

I’ve had a draft of this post for over a year now(is that a record?) and posts like the recent one at iMonk made me dig it out and finally finish it off. Hope that it’s of some benefit to you…

Joe over at Jungle Pop has a post which has me rethinking the standard interpretation of 1 Cor 11:27. To get the feel for it you need to read quite a bit of the surrounding verses. I’m just gonna quote the minimal amount here but you really should take a second and read all of 1Co 11:20-34

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. (28) But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. (29) For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. (30) For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. (31) But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. (32) But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. (1Co 11:27-32)

For the traditional interpretation of those verses I’m going to reference Eric Svendsen’s post on the same topic :

According to the standard reading of this passage, each participant of the Lord’s Supper should be engaged in introspective contemplation before and during the Supper lest he eat the Supper in an “unworthy manner” and thereby “be judged” for failing to “judge the body rightly.” This involves confession of any residual sin, quiet examination of the heart, and somber reflection on the sobriety of the event. Consequently, it seems to make good sense that the mood of the church during this event would mirror that of a wake.

Eric’s explanation of these verses are what I grew up with and what I hear almost every Sunday that we have communion so I assume that this reading is fairly common among evangelicals. But what Joe argues(and Eric in his post) is that the traditional meaning is not the one we should draw out of this passage. What they argue for is much less egocentric and much more concerned with the people we are communing with. Joe summarizes this quite nicely :

But this isn’t what Paul meant. The whole passage is referring to abuse and disregard for the poor while commemorating the Lord’s Supper at church. The more well-to-do were making a mockery of what Communion was supposed to represent - the ultimate selflessness. As believers (let’s give them the benefit of the doubt), they were worthy to partake of the Lord’s Supper, but they were doing so in an unworthy manner.

And here are some snippet’s from Eric’s post that flesh out the actual meaning of the passage a little more :

The very first thing to note here is that the Greek word translated “worthy manner” (a very good translation of the word, by the way) is literally “worthily.” This refers to the manner of eating not the state of the eater. In other words, Paul is not saying one comes under judgment for eating the Supper while in an unworthy state. He’s saying rather that one comes under judgment for eating the Supper in an unworthy way; in context, by illegitimately excluding the poor from the Supper—who were, after all, part of the “body” of Christ represented by the “one loaf” (1 Cor 10:16-17).
…
The point here is that no one in Corinth died for eating the Supper without first confessing residual sin. No one died for eating the Supper in an unworthy state. Indeed, lest there be any question in the mind of the reader concerning his state of worthiness at the Supper, let me see if I can put that to rest once and for all. You’re NOT worthy to partake of the Supper. I’m not worthy to partake of the Supper. No one is worthy to partake of the Supper. Thank God that Christ has called us to the Supper and accepted us in spite of our unworthy state.

The reason the Corinthians were dying was because they were excluding part of the body of Christ (the poor) from partaking of the body of Christ (the bread) for illegitimate reasons (Peter and the Jews were guilty of a similar offense when they excluded the Gentiles from table fellowship in Galatia, thereby failing to be “straightforward with the truth of the gospel,” Gal 2:11-13). That was the “unworthy manner” by which they partook of the Supper, and for which they were “eating and drinking judgment” to themselves.

To me, this interpretation just falls more in line with the whole of scripture. The purpose of the Lord’s supper is not to navel-gaze but to look to Christ as we somehow(don’t ask me how) participate with him at the table. And we do this in communion with the particular fellowship of believers we happen to part of. It might require some de-programming of the personal, how does it affect me gospel that we’re inundated with, but I believe that it’s the right way to go.

[Warning: serious melodrama ahead!]

Peanut butter used to be a staple in my diet. I have actually eaten whole jars without a single slice of bread - by spoon only. That seems like an eternity ago to me. A little over three years ago I was given a complete battery of allergy tests and I was told I was allergic to nearly everything - including peanuts. Never mind the fact that I had actually had a PB&J sandwich the morning of my testing with no ill effects. Never mind the fact that peanuts had never bothered me before. From that moment on, I was to carry an epi-pen and stay away from one of my favorite foods. No more spoonfuls of peanut butter. No more peanut butter cookies. And worst of all, no more Reese’s Cups. I couldn’t even lick my finger when I was a little messy making the girls’ lunches! (sigh) I think this must be akin to some level of hell. Tempted daily by what I couldn’t have. I’ve tried several “alternatives” to peanut butter, but none of them quite had that je ne sais quoi.

But not anymore. Today Brian brought me the best anniversary gift I’ve ever received. Quite possible the best gift ever given. For our 15th anniversary, my beloved gave me this:

Sunbutter is made from ground roasted sunflower seeds. I know it sounds kind of nasty, but believe me its taste is soooo yummy and creamy and surprisingly peanut-y! For those who really want to know the details, it’s a little stickier than your normal PB, and it does have a slight sunflower aftertaste, but I could get used to this stuff. When I realized exactly what my dh had just given me, I actually cried tears of joy. I’ve already eaten 1/4 of the jar with a spoon. They even have recipes for all those yummy PB goodies I’ve been avoiding at the fellowship meals at church. If this stuff tastes as good when you bake with it, my husband has just changed my life!

Now if only the Hershey’s folks would make Sunbutter Reese’s Cups…

*Okay, okay, I guess it comes in a close second behind Jesus as a salvation gift for all mankind.

I have very sensitive antennae for matters of grace. I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it’s because talk of true grace - unpaid for, unpayforable grace (Thanks, Mike!) - is often just something we sing about in church on Sundays - if that. So when I read Jared Wilson’s thoughts this morning on what he calls “the new legalism,” I left with a smile on my face. Jared hits the nail on the head in several areas. I particularly liked these two paragraphs:

The real Gospel of grace, however, calls us to submit to each other out of reverence to God. A wife should submit to her husband not because her husband is deserving of being submitted to (because no husband really is), but because it honors God. A husband should sacrifice and serve his wife not because she deserves it, but because it is a reflection of how Christ loved us. The difference is that we do these good works — all good works — not because they will get us stuff or make us happy, but because they are done for and by and unto God Himself. They aren’t steps to __________; they are done out of reverence for Christ.

This is because the new legalism, for all its talk of grace and love and tolerance and anti-condemnation, is just like the old legalism in that it tells us not to be satisfied with Jesus. Don’t be satisfied with Jesus’ work on your behalf, it suggests. That’s not enough. Do more, be more, become more. Because the real goal is not satisfaction with Christ, but success in life. I can’t think of anything more “anti” the testimony of the New Testament. Health, wealth, prosperity, conquering dysfunction — the Bible just isn’t really concerned with this stuff. At least, not in the ways the modern church is.

You can find the whole thing here.

I thought about just editing my previous post but there were so many good comments that I decided to give them their own. Remember, these are common Christian phrases that have departed from Biblical language. Which is not necessarily bad, but you can’t just assume that you know what the speaker means relying on the words alone.

Thanks to all who commented!

Rey

• leave it to Jesus
• if the Lord tarries
• led by the Lord

Travis

• My friend is lost.
• He just needs to find Jesus.
• “Lord, just be with him.”
• God is in this place.
• After the service, we’ll fellowship.

Lynn

• check in my spirit

Rusty

• Isn’t God good!
• I feel led
• The presence of the Lord is in this place (this morning)
• With every head bowed, and every eye closed
• If you feel led
• Turn to the person next to you and tell them “…
• Give the Lord a clap offering
• God brought you here today

Ilona

• power of the Spirit

I had the privilege of accompanying my lovely wife to see Diana Krall this past Thursday. Great music and a lovely girl on my arm - what more could a guy want? Well, maybe just another 15 years or so with this same lovely girl. Perhaps even longer, if she’ll put up with me. Love you hon. You’re the best!

(Here’s a little sample of what we saw. I highly suggest seeing Diana and the band if you have a chance.)

It’s no secret that we Christians have our own inside lingo. Words like propitiation, redemption, grace, salvation, etc. are not used in the same way in the broader culture. And the case can even be made that Christians of different denominations use these same words with a slightly different meaning depending upon their particular theological persuasion.

But at least these are “Bible” words and we have a common reference point that we all recognize as authoritative. Have you noticed how many phrases we use to describe some kind of spiritual experience that don’t have that reference point? But we’ve heard them so many times we just accept it and move on? I have to think that communication of any real meaning gets lost in these exchanges.

I want to share some of these phrases that I’ve been collecting for a while. I thought about putting them in sentences but I didn’t want to push my own context onto your understanding. Plus, it was getting hard to come up with original sentences.

Let me know what you think or add some of your own.

• connected to God
• ask Jesus into your heart
• it’s not about religion, it’s about relationship
• don’t open yourself up to…
• call/called/calling
• invite Jesus into our worship
• laid it on my heart
• usher in the presence of God
• intimacy with God
• have a burden
• decision for Christ
• personal relationship with Christ
• God told me

It’s been a while, but the weekend video returns - and with Guest Star, John Piper! Thanks to Thinkling Philip for posting this piece which speaks powerfully against the prosperity movement so prevalent in the American church today.

..Have you heard that phrase before?

..Ever used that phrase before?

I hear it all the time. Maybe it is the town I live in or the circles of people I run with. Although I have heard it in several places I’ve lived and from various people with different belief systems.

So what do you think about that phrase? Do you agree with it? As an analytical person, I always feel a need to dig a little deeper into what a person truly means when they say that. It appears that they are implying that everything happens for a ‘Positive’ reason. Meaning that bad things only happen so that something good can happen later. Sometimes I feel like people use it to explain why people do bad things - like an excuse for sinful or just frivolous behavior. However, I could be reading too much into it.

What do you think? Do you have an opinion on what the phrase includes in its meaning? Do you agree or disagree with the statement?

Thanks for weighing in…