As we continue to develop the vision for Arch Street Presbyterian Church, we've been spending some time in theological exploration! In this exploration, we've been conversing on what we imagine worship should and shouldn't be. I will share my thoughts and invite your comments! Please share your own list!
Worship Should:
-Present and experience the good news of the gospel (giving people hope and encouragement)
-Express how God has spoken to humanity in history and continues to speak in our current time
-Bring people together in a way that breaks down physical barriers of division
-Lead a vision of community that treats all people as children of God
-Motivate and teach the community to go forth into the world as promoters of peace and justice.
-Send people forth into the world
Worship Shouldn't:
-Avoid difficult concepts or stories in Scripture
-Water down prophetic messages
-Be too focused on individual experience
-Serve as an emotional high or be a place to show off piety
-Exclude the curious, doubters, and ‘enemies’ of the church
-Promote social or societal norms that are divisive (family models, wealth, and appearance)
-Serve as a practical ‘how-to experience’
-Always leave people feeling “comfortable”
-Promote wealth or prosperity
-Ignore sacred traditions or new models
-Worry about pleasing everyone
-Fear silence
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
money!
Ok, no one seems to talk on my blogs! I know I'm somewhat of a hypocrite here...I'm pretty bad about commenting on other people's blogs! Why are we this way? Is it just one more thing to have to do? Regardless, I will continue to try to promote discussion!
We interns have been discussing quite the interesting article! It's about money, that wonderful topic we like to avoid in church discussions!
Read it HERE.
I offer you all the questions I submitted for my intern supervision group:
1. Money is rarely talked about enough in our church. We face some
radical statements such as: "sell all you have to the poor." We also
realize the importance of making a living. How do we navigate this
tension between having enough and giving away? How does toleration of
inequality fit into this model at all?! Where is the servanthood in
this if you are the rich one completely void from suffering?
2. The role of the state versus the church in addressing economic
inequality is an interesting issue. Many are of the mindset that the state, not
the church, should not focus on ensuring economic welfare. However,
this is confusing charity with justice. Scripture is quite clear, in
both testaments, that the latter is what is to be strived for. In
Israelite society and religious law, ALL people were to ensure welfare
and practice radical hospitality. I don't need to go down the road of expressing how this is present in the NT either! How can we reconcile these ideas of justice with our
current culture?
3. To this earlier point, the church is very convinced that it must be
about "charity," which is fine in and of itself. However, the church
is rarely found pursuing justice or being prophetic about inequality.
Especially if they have guys like this speaking in their church! How
can the church maintain a posture of justice-seeking and being
prophetic without crossing sacred bounds of the delicate church-state
relationship?
If you are at all confused about why a Christian should be passionate about such things, I urge you to see what the wise Walter Bruggemann has to say about it!
That would be FANTASTIC if you could talk about this in the comment section! Otherwise, I hope it's something to think about.
We interns have been discussing quite the interesting article! It's about money, that wonderful topic we like to avoid in church discussions!
Read it HERE.
I offer you all the questions I submitted for my intern supervision group:
1. Money is rarely talked about enough in our church. We face some
radical statements such as: "sell all you have to the poor." We also
realize the importance of making a living. How do we navigate this
tension between having enough and giving away? How does toleration of
inequality fit into this model at all?! Where is the servanthood in
this if you are the rich one completely void from suffering?
2. The role of the state versus the church in addressing economic
inequality is an interesting issue. Many are of the mindset that the state, not
the church, should not focus on ensuring economic welfare. However,
this is confusing charity with justice. Scripture is quite clear, in
both testaments, that the latter is what is to be strived for. In
Israelite society and religious law, ALL people were to ensure welfare
and practice radical hospitality. I don't need to go down the road of expressing how this is present in the NT either! How can we reconcile these ideas of justice with our
current culture?
3. To this earlier point, the church is very convinced that it must be
about "charity," which is fine in and of itself. However, the church
is rarely found pursuing justice or being prophetic about inequality.
Especially if they have guys like this speaking in their church! How
can the church maintain a posture of justice-seeking and being
prophetic without crossing sacred bounds of the delicate church-state
relationship?
If you are at all confused about why a Christian should be passionate about such things, I urge you to see what the wise Walter Bruggemann has to say about it!
That would be FANTASTIC if you could talk about this in the comment section! Otherwise, I hope it's something to think about.
Monday, November 9, 2009
lots of exciting happenings!
This is another one of those boring diary/journal type posts...one with more substance is upcoming, I promise!
So anyway, I had one of those weekends where you're up and about the whole time. Saw several wonderful friends from college and seminary, including: Gabe Ford, Chris Burton, the UPS flag football team, and the Harrold sisters.
Friday, Gabe drove into town from Delaware and we walked to see The Walkmen at UPenn, who put on a HECK of a show. It was in Irvine Auditorium, a gorgeous chapel with a huge organ. Strangely, there was hardly anyone there! We talked a lot of music, which I will post on later.
Saturday, Chris took a train to Philly and we drove out to Gettysburg, PA to watch Union Presbyterian Seminary dominate in the Luther Bowl, a flag football tournament held by Gettysburg Seminary. It was great seeing seminary friends again and long for the days of playing sports on the quad! We drove back that evening to catch "Rhythms of Transformation," an event at BSM, put on by Project Home. There was an art show, mostly of art done by homeless people. As Chris said, the pain of the artists really shone through in their art. Music at this event was awesome, and culminated with Philly Blaco, a Brazillian drum troupe band that brought the house down! After this, we trekked over to get my official first Philly steak since I've been here at PAT's steaks.
Sunday afternoon, downtown Philadelphia was graced by the presence of Glen Hansard (ONCE, The Frames), in town with his band "the Swell Season" to perform that evening!
I apparently missed him at first when he was in Starbucks, however, caught a glance of him later that evening. Apparently, he gave 2 free tickets to a member of the broad street community who was doing what he usually does - play his keyboard right outside the starbucks on the street. I thought this was an awesome move by Glen, who had told our friend that he is always out looking to invite fellow musicians. Our youth initiative minister, erika, was invited to join our friend for the concert, which featured backstage passes! Go Glen!
Worship at Broad street was highlighted by the song "cathedrals" by Jump Little Children, performed by some of our amazing musicians. The song was chillingly beautiful and filled the space and the moment beautifully!
Sunday evening, I joined my good friend from PC, Brittany, and her sister Adrian, for the EAGLES/COWBOYS game! Even though they lost, I had a great time witnessing the ridiculousness of Eagles fans! We made a good friend out of a very drunk man who was starting all of our cheers. Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the 4th quarter thanks to faithfully defending our honor against an irate Cowboys fan.
Still on a high from the weekend. It's always great to catch up with good friends and to keep doing things you love. I've missed that lately! Much love to my friends out there and I eagerly look for opportunities to share experiences with you all!
peace,
Mike
So anyway, I had one of those weekends where you're up and about the whole time. Saw several wonderful friends from college and seminary, including: Gabe Ford, Chris Burton, the UPS flag football team, and the Harrold sisters.
Friday, Gabe drove into town from Delaware and we walked to see The Walkmen at UPenn, who put on a HECK of a show. It was in Irvine Auditorium, a gorgeous chapel with a huge organ. Strangely, there was hardly anyone there! We talked a lot of music, which I will post on later.
Sunday afternoon, downtown Philadelphia was graced by the presence of Glen Hansard (ONCE, The Frames), in town with his band "the Swell Season" to perform that evening!
I apparently missed him at first when he was in Starbucks, however, caught a glance of him later that evening. Apparently, he gave 2 free tickets to a member of the broad street community who was doing what he usually does - play his keyboard right outside the starbucks on the street. I thought this was an awesome move by Glen, who had told our friend that he is always out looking to invite fellow musicians. Our youth initiative minister, erika, was invited to join our friend for the concert, which featured backstage passes! Go Glen!
Worship at Broad street was highlighted by the song "cathedrals" by Jump Little Children, performed by some of our amazing musicians. The song was chillingly beautiful and filled the space and the moment beautifully!
Sunday evening, I joined my good friend from PC, Brittany, and her sister Adrian, for the EAGLES/COWBOYS game! Even though they lost, I had a great time witnessing the ridiculousness of Eagles fans! We made a good friend out of a very drunk man who was starting all of our cheers. Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the 4th quarter thanks to faithfully defending our honor against an irate Cowboys fan.
Still on a high from the weekend. It's always great to catch up with good friends and to keep doing things you love. I've missed that lately! Much love to my friends out there and I eagerly look for opportunities to share experiences with you all!
peace,
Mike
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
What's the point of church anyway?
I apologize for taking forever to do a new post! Quick update: things have been in fairly high gear over here as both campuses prepare for the end of the year sprint! At BSM, the Breaking Bread program has been going full force! This has been an incredible opportunity to witness what it means for 100 poor, often homeless, people to come in, get food, and be treated as humans for a couple hours out of their day. We offer lunch and social services such as haircuts, a clothing closet, benefits bank, and hygiene kits to name a few. I've enjoyed these meals as it gives me a chance to really develop my relationship with the regulars that come in our doors. They have incredible stories to share. At Arch Street Pres, we have been gearing up for the Advent season! We are looking at starting some mid-week afternoon services for the working population in downtown Philly. The congregation has been gaining momentum and life thanks to 2 great sundays where we had meal fellowship following the service! As far as my personal self is concerned, call or visit to see how I'm doing!
I've also been lacking inspiration for posts, which may be a case of some fatigue - it can be hard to keep up with all the posting! I hope you all have enjoyed my post-bible study reflections on Wed., I'll try to keep those up!
For tonight, I am posing a VERY SIMPLE question and I would like COMMENTS! Pretend that you have not grown up in the church. For those that haven't, this may be easy and I encourage your comments as well! Try to take all your pre-conceived notions of the church away for this...
WHY would you choose to start going to a church?
Both BSM and Arch Street are at a point where they are examining what Christian fellowship means and how it can be enacted. There is some hesitancy to this because both are founded on the deep theological assertion that the faith community is not built for church members in themselves, but for purposes of living out the radical gospel in the world to serve others. How do these two relate? I'm not going to say any more because I am curious to here thoughts from those of you who read this blog. We are created for conversation, not lectures!
So think of that question and answer in the comment section...NOW!
Also, as I have mentioned earlier, I encourage you to join an online conversation at The Church Is Alive. This week, Carol Howard Merritt wrote an excellent post on this very subject I bring up this evening. I encourage you to check it out! That is, after you answer my question!
peace,
mike
I've also been lacking inspiration for posts, which may be a case of some fatigue - it can be hard to keep up with all the posting! I hope you all have enjoyed my post-bible study reflections on Wed., I'll try to keep those up!
For tonight, I am posing a VERY SIMPLE question and I would like COMMENTS! Pretend that you have not grown up in the church. For those that haven't, this may be easy and I encourage your comments as well! Try to take all your pre-conceived notions of the church away for this...
WHY would you choose to start going to a church?
Both BSM and Arch Street are at a point where they are examining what Christian fellowship means and how it can be enacted. There is some hesitancy to this because both are founded on the deep theological assertion that the faith community is not built for church members in themselves, but for purposes of living out the radical gospel in the world to serve others. How do these two relate? I'm not going to say any more because I am curious to here thoughts from those of you who read this blog. We are created for conversation, not lectures!
So think of that question and answer in the comment section...NOW!
Also, as I have mentioned earlier, I encourage you to join an online conversation at The Church Is Alive. This week, Carol Howard Merritt wrote an excellent post on this very subject I bring up this evening. I encourage you to check it out! That is, after you answer my question!
peace,
mike
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
waiting
6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 7And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. 8Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
9It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 10For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
-Isaiah 25:6-10
"I'm waiting for dinner," one of our guests said at Bible study tonight when prompted with the question "what are we waiting for." There is both humor and deep truth in this answer. The question meant to be answered on a deeper level, yet dinner was happening in about 30 minutes. This reflects a deep truth about waiting...it's hard!
The upcoming lectionary text for this Sunday contains a passage from Isaiah that speaks of a feast that is to be waited on (Incidentally enough, I preached a sermon on this for class last spring). This feast is greater than what we can possibly imagine. It is a celebration of the final victory of the Lord after a long period of anxious waiting.
Andrew Bird, one of the greatest and most creative singer/songwriter/whistler/violinists of our time, has a song about a celebratory feast at the end of times called "tables and chairs."
Hope is the operative word here. Hope for a bountiful feast. Hope for your first meal of the day. Hope for peace. Hope for equality. Hope for truth and justice to prevail for those who are oppressed. The results of this wait for hope is a celebratory feast for all to enjoy.
Our meals at Broad Street Ministry (particularly the No Barriers Dinner) are seen to many as a bountiful feast. The makeup of race and socio-economic class in the room give a taste of what a feast in the kingdom of God looks like. However, peace, equality, truth, and justice have not prevailed yet. There is always a level of anxiousness in our meals at BSM. We all recognize how rough our world is. Are we simply to just sit back and wait for things to get better before we can celebrate?
No. This wait is one of action. The hebrew origin of the word for "wait" here is "qava," which in its verb form here stands as an intensive, repeated action. Thus, a more accurate translation is "to look eagerly for." This hardly sounds like sitting and waiting to me! It's a reminder that we are in the "Kingdom Between the Times." The kingdom is here, yet not completely. Christ has come to liberate us from sin, yet problems still exist in our world. We have responsibility in this world to work towards peace, equality, truth, and justice. Then, when we just can't wait any more, the kingdom of God we have hoped for all our lives comes to free us from oppression and sin for good.
What does this kingdom look like? Who knows! That's where hope comes into play. Yet a bountiful feast is a wonderful way to imagine the joy found in this time. May we continue to work for the kingdom!
I know we're gonna meet someday in the crumbled financial institutions of this land
There will be tables and chairs
Pony rides and dancing bears
There'll even be a band
'cause listen after the fall there'll be no more countries
No currencies at all
We're gonna live on our wits
Throw away survival kits
Trade butterfly knives for adderal
And that's not all
Woah!
There will be snacks, there will
There will be snacks, there will
There will be snacks!
-Andrew Bird
9It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 10For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
-Isaiah 25:6-10
"I'm waiting for dinner," one of our guests said at Bible study tonight when prompted with the question "what are we waiting for." There is both humor and deep truth in this answer. The question meant to be answered on a deeper level, yet dinner was happening in about 30 minutes. This reflects a deep truth about waiting...it's hard!
The upcoming lectionary text for this Sunday contains a passage from Isaiah that speaks of a feast that is to be waited on (Incidentally enough, I preached a sermon on this for class last spring). This feast is greater than what we can possibly imagine. It is a celebration of the final victory of the Lord after a long period of anxious waiting.
Andrew Bird, one of the greatest and most creative singer/songwriter/whistler/violinists of our time, has a song about a celebratory feast at the end of times called "tables and chairs."
Hope is the operative word here. Hope for a bountiful feast. Hope for your first meal of the day. Hope for peace. Hope for equality. Hope for truth and justice to prevail for those who are oppressed. The results of this wait for hope is a celebratory feast for all to enjoy.
Our meals at Broad Street Ministry (particularly the No Barriers Dinner) are seen to many as a bountiful feast. The makeup of race and socio-economic class in the room give a taste of what a feast in the kingdom of God looks like. However, peace, equality, truth, and justice have not prevailed yet. There is always a level of anxiousness in our meals at BSM. We all recognize how rough our world is. Are we simply to just sit back and wait for things to get better before we can celebrate?
No. This wait is one of action. The hebrew origin of the word for "wait" here is "qava," which in its verb form here stands as an intensive, repeated action. Thus, a more accurate translation is "to look eagerly for." This hardly sounds like sitting and waiting to me! It's a reminder that we are in the "Kingdom Between the Times." The kingdom is here, yet not completely. Christ has come to liberate us from sin, yet problems still exist in our world. We have responsibility in this world to work towards peace, equality, truth, and justice. Then, when we just can't wait any more, the kingdom of God we have hoped for all our lives comes to free us from oppression and sin for good.
What does this kingdom look like? Who knows! That's where hope comes into play. Yet a bountiful feast is a wonderful way to imagine the joy found in this time. May we continue to work for the kingdom!
I know we're gonna meet someday in the crumbled financial institutions of this land
There will be tables and chairs
Pony rides and dancing bears
There'll even be a band
'cause listen after the fall there'll be no more countries
No currencies at all
We're gonna live on our wits
Throw away survival kits
Trade butterfly knives for adderal
And that's not all
Woah!
There will be snacks, there will
There will be snacks, there will
There will be snacks!
-Andrew Bird
Monday, October 26, 2009
ordy shmords
Just want to give a brief THANK YOU to all my friends and family who have kept me in thoughts and prayers over the ordination exams. It's a long and tedious process.
I just found out today that I PASSED all of them! This is exciting news and I know this would not be possible without the help of all of you who read this blog who have helped me grow into who I am today.
So once again, THANKS! I love you all.
I just found out today that I PASSED all of them! This is exciting news and I know this would not be possible without the help of all of you who read this blog who have helped me grow into who I am today.
So once again, THANKS! I love you all.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
blind
46They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” 50So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” 52Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Mark 10:46-52
Who are we not seeing?
I had a lot of exposure to this text over the past week. First, I led our staff devotions by doing a lectio divina with the text, to explore what we hear this text call us to be and do. Next, I was in the weekly Bible Study where we studied the text. Finally, this was the text used for the sermons today.
The Bible studies are what always tend to stick out the most to me out of all others. This fact is quite a clear interpretation of this particular text! The interpretations you hear during the "no holds barred" Bible studies come from Bartimaeuses in our community. These are the people that are told to be silent, not to sleep in parks, not to ask people for money or help. Sometimes they are told, directly or indirectly, not to come to church (coats and ties are hard to come by!).
Have you seen a Bartimaeus? Possibly. Have you told him or her to be quiet? Probably. We all have at some point. Little do we know that this only means we are the actual blind ones. In this text, it is the one silenced by others that is praised for his faith.
A dear member of the BSM community (who will go by "Joe" to protect his identity) spoke up during our Bible study to point out the situation of this beggar. The beggar was on the side of the street, in the middle of everything. Joe mentioned how even though the beggar couldn't see, he could still hear the commotion going on all around him. Joe told us that he has hearing problems and would struggle with even that. Joe had been silenced his entire life and was having trouble relating to a beggar who had enough faith to petition Jesus for healing. This was a sad re-affirmation of what our culture has done to the Bartimaeuses among us.
This scripture reminds us that there is deep faith and an example to be learned in the Bartimaeuses in our communities. Perhaps it is time we stop silencing them and give them a chance to speak up!
Are we the real blind ones in this story?
Mark 10:46-52
Who are we not seeing?
I had a lot of exposure to this text over the past week. First, I led our staff devotions by doing a lectio divina with the text, to explore what we hear this text call us to be and do. Next, I was in the weekly Bible Study where we studied the text. Finally, this was the text used for the sermons today.
The Bible studies are what always tend to stick out the most to me out of all others. This fact is quite a clear interpretation of this particular text! The interpretations you hear during the "no holds barred" Bible studies come from Bartimaeuses in our community. These are the people that are told to be silent, not to sleep in parks, not to ask people for money or help. Sometimes they are told, directly or indirectly, not to come to church (coats and ties are hard to come by!).
Have you seen a Bartimaeus? Possibly. Have you told him or her to be quiet? Probably. We all have at some point. Little do we know that this only means we are the actual blind ones. In this text, it is the one silenced by others that is praised for his faith.
A dear member of the BSM community (who will go by "Joe" to protect his identity) spoke up during our Bible study to point out the situation of this beggar. The beggar was on the side of the street, in the middle of everything. Joe mentioned how even though the beggar couldn't see, he could still hear the commotion going on all around him. Joe told us that he has hearing problems and would struggle with even that. Joe had been silenced his entire life and was having trouble relating to a beggar who had enough faith to petition Jesus for healing. This was a sad re-affirmation of what our culture has done to the Bartimaeuses among us.
This scripture reminds us that there is deep faith and an example to be learned in the Bartimaeuses in our communities. Perhaps it is time we stop silencing them and give them a chance to speak up!
Are we the real blind ones in this story?
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