The Red-Headed Step-Child of the Trinity?

Posted on 24. Dec, 2009 by stevehart.

0

From Jonathan Dodson, church planter in Austin, TX:

The Holy Spirit is, for Evangelicals, the red-headed step-child of the Trinity. It’s a shame, really shameful. We’ve allowed our fears of charisma to get the best of us, leading to a devaluing of God and a disfigured relationship with him. For those struggling in this area, I strongly recommend that you take your eyes off of charismatic extremes and place them back on the Spirit. Begin talking to Him, know him through study, and consider all the commands to “pray in the Spirit” and begin talking to the Spirit in prayer. One reason we are weak on the Spirit because we are weak on prayer. It is the Spirit who knows the depths of God and freely discloses the understanding of God’s will and Word (1 Cor 2). Therefore, to cut Him off is to diminish our understanding (and enjoyment) of God. It stifles the advance of the Gospel.

Here are some practical steps:
1. Repent for diminishing and ignoring the third Person of the Trinity. Repent for sinful self-reliance and fear-motivated neglect of the Holy Spirit. Mortify the sin that has been an obstacle to your knowing and walking with the Spirit. Receive God’s gracious forgiveness in Jesus and rejoice that the Spirit is in you!
2. Begin addressing the Holy Spirit in prayer every day. Talk to him as a Person; don’t ignore him as an energy force. Ask him for filling and direction for your entire day. Ask him to guide your decision-making, to direct your thoughts, and to fill your heart with affection for Jesus.
3. Read the Bible with a Holy Spirit lens. Look for him in the Bible and ask yourself: “Who does this text tell me the Spirit is?” Then, refine the way you relate to him. It’s like getting to know your wife, the more you study here the better you can love her.

Continue Reading

Western Seminary Courses In Spokane?

Posted on 10. Dec, 2009 by justinbryeans.

0

Rick Capezza is working with Western Seminary to gauge interest in a seminary course offering here in Spokane. This course would be offered in the form of a hybrid,  with a professor traveling from Portland for one weekend to teach. The rest of the course would be completed via distance. If interest is high, Rick will use his relationship with Western to get them to offer more classes in Spokane. He is also asking for input on what course topic might be of interest to those who are interested in taking a course. He needs at least 8 students to make this a possibility. Western Seminary is an ATS accredited seminary with a missional emphasis. Feel free to message Rick via facebook/ecclesia or call him at 279-5636 for more information or to express your interest. If you are interested, please express this interest to Rick, so that he can get back to Western with a number of possible students.

Continue Reading

The World Is (Becoming) Full?: A Quote & Thought On Incarnation For Advent & Beyond

Posted on 10. Dec, 2009 by justinbryeans.

0

mountainsbeyond“The world is full of miserable places.  One way of living comfortably is not to think about them or, when you do, to send money.” (Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains)

I’m currently reading Mountains Beyond Mountains and find myself constantly replaying this line over and over in my head, as well as feeling the ache it induces in my body.  It screams of the need for I/incarnation, and seems a fitting accompaniment to this Advent journey and beyond.

Continue Reading

Next Gathering: Wednesday January 6, 2010

Next Gathering: Wednesday January 6, 2010

Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by justinbryeans.

0

Good to see all of you who were able to make it out to The Porch last Wednesday.  Our next meetup will take place on Wednesday January 6, 2010 at Vintage Faith (All Saints Lutheran building) in Browne’s Addition at noon (bring your own lunch).  Finally, here’s the book that Steve mentioned, which is available through The Book Parlor.

Continue Reading

Gospel: Rich and Sharp

Posted on 24. Nov, 2009 by stevehart.

0

Here are some thoughts from Tim Keller that are shaping my thinking along the lines of the Hirsch’s central confession of “Jesus Is Lord.” I felt like there was something “off” about his presentation of it, and I think Keller hits it on the head. The whole article can be found here and the audio messages are here. This quote comes from his message on Church and Culture.

“Where do we go from here? First and foremost, we need a richer yet sharpened understanding of the gospel. Evangelicals today are in turmoil over the nature of the gospel. Many look at the traditional evangelical gospel and complain that it has been individualistic, shallow, and ‘gnostic.’ A classic street version of it was ‘Jesus died for your sins so you could have a personal relationship with him.’ They argue that this older articulation of the gospel gives the impression that escaping this world into heaven is all that matters.
“In the place of this older formulation, many evangelicals say that the gospel is ‘Jesus is Lord, the kingdom is at hand.’ In this narrative, Jesus’ death doesn’t assuage God’s wrath against our sin so much as it absorbs the world’s evil and violence. In his death he defeats the powers of the world, shows the way of non-violence and service, and calls us to join his kingdom community and work for peace and justice in the world. Those who speak in terms of kingdom and overcoming the powers rather than substitution assuaging the wrath, want a gospel that shapes the practices of the Christian in the world. They see the effects of a more individualistic gospel on people who treat it as just a ‘get out of hell free’ card that does not transform their lives. In general, the counter-culturalists and many of the evangelical relevants lean toward this way of communicating the gospel.
“The trouble is, however, that this way of speaking often obscures the sharpness of the distinction between Law and Gospel that the Reformers expressed so well, and which was at the heart of the great awakenings. We are saved by grace through Christ’s work, not through our own work. If the gospel is mainly, ‘repent of living for yourself and join Jesus’ kingdom program’ it can be just one more legalism. The pietists and the conservative activists will rightly object that the law-grace distinction is often obscured in the efforts to show the gospel’s rich relevance to human life and problems. We must get to the place where we see both the richness and the sharpness of the gospel. Even more, we must see it is its sharpness that makes it so rich. The implications of the gospel of grace-not works can transform and reshape all attitudes, views, relationships, and cultural interactions. Look at how this works out in the Corinthian letters. When Paul denounces the Corinthians’ divisions and party spirit (1:10-17) he says that they comes from pride and boasting, a betrayal of the gospel of sovereign grace (1:26-31.) When Paul deals with the issue of sexual sin and discipline in chapters 5-6, he gives directions for behavior and grounds his appeal in the gospel of justification (6:11) and the fact that they were ransomed by the death of Christ (6:19- 20.) In 2 Cor 9:13 he says that radical, humble generosity is being ‘submissive to the confession of the gospel’ (i.e. materialism fails to take seriously the gospel of Christ’s sacrificial death for us.)

“Similarly, in Galatians 2:14 Paul challenges Peter’s racist attitudes toward Gentile Christians by insisting that he was not ‘walking in line with the truth of the gospel,’ that truth being the gospel of forensic justification. Gospel ministry, then, is not only proclaiming it to people so that they will embrace and believe it, it also teaching and shepherding believers with it so that it shapes the entirety of their lives, inside the church and out in the world. For evangelicals to move forward, they must be able to come together around a richer understanding of God’s will for a renewed world without losing the sharpness and power of the classic Protestant understanding of the gospel. If our strategy does not arise out of our grasp of the gospel, then will be just one more effort to control culture through some technique. We will then just be like everyone else.

“If we do arrive at a consensus, and together hold a rich and sharpened understanding of the gospel, what will our strategy for engaging culture look like?”

Continue Reading