A lesson from Acts...

Well, it has been a long, long time since I last posted anything to this blog.  The reasons are many, time and scheduling as much as anything.  However, I thought I'd take a minute and upload a lesson here from Acts 6.  Many of you know that I have been doing some graduate work at the Fresno Pacific seminary.  It has been a great time of learning, perhaps as significant as any I've had.  So, with that in mind, I'm sharing the last study that I have completed.  Please note that this is a formal study, more for the "instructor" than for the "student."  We use the acronym FORRMAL to describe the process of attempting to do both "exegesis" (original intent, meaning, understanding at the time of the writing) and "hermeneutics"(what does it mean to us today.  So the FORRMAL is the process for doing this work.  This study is my own, but I use resources of those much smarter than me.  So, if you don't like it, that's my fault.  If you think I sound pretty smart, well, that's most likely because I'm using smart resources.  The study is on the pericope (passage) of Acts 6:1-7.  If you want the first 6-7 sections are exegesis, the last section, "Living the vision," is the hermeneutical part.  I hope you enjoy it, sorry for all the jargon.
Acts "FORRMAL" study

Did we forget to graduate? Are we that guy/gal?

Remember that guy in high school that everyone thought was really cool.  He had an awesome car, won Valley in some sport, and was the guy all the guys wanted to be and the girls wanted to be going with.  Remember when that guy graduated, but then decided to hang around after school in the high school parking lot for YEARS!  He went from being that "awesome guy" to being that creepy guy.  It was sad. 

I had lunch with a couple of friends this week and one of them said that he felt like a lot of people never graduate from church.  When they should be moving on to start something new, they just hang around and poison the water for the freshman.  I started to wonder if that wasn't me. Did I forget to graduate?  Did I forget that the church was supposed to go into the world?  Had I become the 5th or 6th year senior, afraid of moving on to start something new?  Is there a large group of us hanging around our old stomping grounds, forgetting that the world is waiting for us to bring Christ to them?  Did I forget to graduate?  Did you?

The most dangerous post I've ever written...

When I sat down to write this post, I was really concerned about it.  It seems like such a simple task, and yet I think it is in many ways a difficult and daring one.  How do I reveal my beliefs without stepping on others? how do I explain it without judging? what if people judge me? what if I decide later that I don’t believe that way anymore?…. I was then reminded of something I taught recently in a class, the three reasons why most projects  never get started: apathy, pessimism and despair.  I do not want to be subject to any of these.  So for that reason I am committed to initiating, to go forward, to take the risk.  I only will add one caveat: these are my thoughts and beliefs, today.

I believe that God is and that, as the Deuteronomist (author of Exodus) said, God will be who God will be.  I believe in God the Creator, God as Elohim (God of Gods) and God as Adonai, the holy YWH.  I believe that God is bigger than

Does it really matter?

Well, I couldn't drag out many comments on my last couple of blog posts about the "spiritual life" and how we cultivate or grow it, so let's table that for now.  I think it is a very important conversation, fundamentally important in fact, but it has to be a conversation and so I'll wait until I can facilitate one.
But that brings me to today's thoughts, "what really matters?"

I had a wonderful opportunity to visit a church this weekend that was totally new to our family.  The demographics of the congregation were very similar to VCCOC, with the exception of a stronger 20's something presence.  The facilities were nice, the people friendly, and the worship was enjoyed by all.  The preacher was young-ish and brought a heartfelt message which he communicated with an adequate amount of feeling and polish. In our discussions afterward, our group focused on some things we liked and some things we weren't as excited about, but in all we felt good about the experience and would likely go back given the chance.  None of us had been there before, so it was a sort of "blind date" with a church.  If any of you have done this before, you know the results can be disastrous.  In our case however, the selection was well made.  One of the best things about this opportunity is that it gave me a chance to reflect on what really matters to me about a church.
So I'm asking you, what really matters?  Is it the style of music in worship (this church had both instrumental and a capella)?  Is taking the Lord's supper weekly a must have?  What about baptism?  Do we need to mention that?  Should we examine the list of 10 (it's almost always 10) core beliefs and see if we can live with them?  Is there a necessary bible version that should be endorsed?  Women's roles?  Men's roles?  Doctrinal compatibility?  What really matters?

More to the point...how?

So let me be specific about the question I was trying to pose in the last post:
"How do we cultivate our spiritual life?"

More on our spiritual life...

I really appreciate all the feedback I received on the last post.  Taken as a whole, most commenters agreed that our "spiritual life" is not some subset of our life in general, but is perhaps our overarching, upper-story life.  Perhaps it would be safe to say that it is that "life" that is God centered and led, that "life" that connects us with our Creator.  John Ortberg talks about living in the "flow" of the spirit and draws on the imagery of the river of life, flowing from the garden.  When we are connected to and in that flow, we are God centered and God led.  Would it be too much to suggest that we experience the true blessings of a Christ centered, Christ led live when we bring our other "lives" (family, work, school, church) into that same flow?
So the follow up question is: how do we bring our "lives" into that same flow?  (How do we connect the upper-story with the lower-story?)
Can't wait to hear your thoughts....

The question of the day....

What does the phrase "spiritual life" mean to you?  Thoughts?