Week 4 Wed
I’m guessing that Marx was one of the, if not the, first thinkers to draw such a clear connection between the social structure/the relationship between the classes and the economic structures in place, what kills me about this is that he had so much good to say and yet at the same time missed the mark. Would his voice have been more beneficial had he simply commented on the dynamics that he saw, rather than commenting on what it meant and where the world was headed? Is it acceptable to expect this of anyone?
Bevans Ch 4
It’s going to be interesting to see how I respond to the different models, especially since the ‘Translation Model’ connected with me right away. I like the stability of being connected and true to the heart of the gospel, yet at the same time having the flexibility to adjust to the surrounding context. The challenge of this model, aside from agreeing on what the “heart” of the gospel is, is keeping in mind that we ourselves are interpreting and determining what is flexible and what is fixed from a culture and context that we can only read about. That said, the translation model makes sense and seems helpful in informing our perspectivs and relationships with different cultures.
Week 4 Mon.
Joe Boyd and the rest of Apex’s leadership response to the realization that Jesus wouldn’t be doing what they were doing on Sundays seems a bit rash, but was it? We can sit back and say that the transition could have and should have been done differently so as not to scare people off, but isn’t that exactly what Jesus did? After building gatherings of thousands and ‘committed followers’ of hundreds, Jesus scared all but a dozen or so away with a few “rash” comments. From a church growth model we could criticize what Jesus did, but looking at what came out of it, namely the scope of the church today an its ability to grow through diversity and persecution, do we really have grounds to question what he did? Granted, this is a different time and place, but doesn’t Apex have fairly solid ground to stand on? Slow change may have been more conductive to helping the congregation “catch the dream”, but then you risk building on a faulty model. If it’s broken, fix it. At some point don’t you need to trust the voice that is whispering in your ear, “Build it and they will come.” I guess this is a tough question for me because I know that massive change is easier to adjust to than is small change, at least once you accept it, and because I doubt that I have the endurance to stick with something that I know is broken in the hopes that over time it can be bent to something better. This isn’t a lack of commitment on my part, at least I don’t think so, it’s because I’d rather just toss the whole thing in the furnace and see what survives. The furnace isn’t fun, but what comes out the other side is often beautiful, valuable, and strong enough to build on. Wouldn’t it be nice to know what that is sooner rather than later?
response to Michael
I loved Michael’s comment that “culture asks the right questions”. Instead of being depressed that God can be hard to find in culture or art, though as I’ve said before I believe He is there, we should be more appreciative of culture’s own searching for God. Culture effectively reflects, at least in part, the questioning and searching that is present in individuals. The Grunge movement that came out of Seattle in the 90’s became powerful in much of the youth and young adult culture because it reflected the searching and angst of so many people. Kurt Cobain’s death was mourned as if he had been the religious leader of so many disconnected youth, and maybe he was. Perhaps the better question is not “what is culture saying”, but truly is “what is culture asking?” I we figured that out, then maybe we could answer.
Bevans Ch 3
I’ll be honest, I liked this chapter because it was short and because it offered a moderating perspective on the use and applicability of models. On the one hand they are useful because they reveal truth, but at the same time they do not perfectly nor completely reveal all truth. Stepping away from the theological applications for a moment and going back to my comments on Marxism from last week, this moderation is what was lacking in Marxism. There was value in Marx’s perspective on the relationship between economic structures and social dynamics, but what Marxism lacked was the desire to step away from the ‘model’ and reevaluate information through different models. Instead it stuck to its one way and, rightly or wrongly, floated down the river of 20th century public perspective as associated with communism and its horrid failures. What scares me is the potential for this to happen to the proponents of any model, the church is not immune from this reality.
Cobb ch 3
Having spent a day in the Van Gogh museum staring in aw at individual painting for hours, I connect easily with Tillich’s earlier position that there are/were “secular” artists that communicated aspects of the divine better than those commissioned by the church. It is unfortunate that he was let down by them as he recognized a “sense of separation from the ultimate source of meaning.” I wonder if this was a transition that took place in the world around him or if he simply began to see the world around him differently? If he had placed a hope in the secular art community that they would continue to reveal the divine and build towards a revival that took place outside the walls of the church, then it is no surprise to me that he was let down. At the same time, the presence of the divine in secular art can still be found and it can be used as a tool and a stimulus in the interaction between the secular and the spiritual communities. The revelation of beauty and the art of creation are two aspects of secular culture that, I believe, are revelations of God’s nature and have the ability to connect with people on an emotional/spiritual level which is less well defended against a dialog with the divine than is their intellect. I believe that how we react to art and entertainment in the secular world depends more on our expectations of it than on its actual quality.
Week 3 Wed
Allot of the stuff that was covered in class today connected with me, from the quote “…Kingdom demands transformation of all human reality, and the church must be an agent.”, to the concepts of practicing justice and service as the central act of community rather than the things you build towards, and leaders as facilitators in missional churches creating the context for good things to happen. I believe that, in a large part, our Western culture has decided what the church is and how to relate to it. Depending on our own beliefs and histories we relate to it in a positive or negative way. If these new-ish concepts continue to grow in the church, and I hope that they do, I think that there will begin to be a major shift in the way Western culture identifies with the church. Those who disliked and rejected the traditional form will have to reevaluate their position, and those who like the way it was will have to decide if they are going to try to hold on to the old or embrace the new. This could be one of the most interesting and exciting times in church history and I’m glad to be around for it.
week 3 MLK
Martin Luther King Jr. is, without a doubt, one of the most influential and important people of the 20th century. Not just because of what he did but also because of how he did what he did. The civil rights movement may be the stage that he is known for, but the impact and the lessons of his life reach far beyond the issue of civil rights. His “Dream” may not be fully realized yet, but I believe that it will. Not because I am an idealist who believes in the goodness of man, but because I am a hopeful person who believes in the sovereignty of God. I believe that Mr. King’s message connected and still connects with people of all nations, races, and creeds because his message is connected to the nature and desires of God which are genetically present in each one of us (if at times hidden). Cultural scientists can say what they want to about the environment, experiences, etc. of each person determining who they are, and they may be right on many levels, but I believe that the authority and power of Mr. King’s life, and the impact that he has made on culture, reveals something deeper.
