an itch to put ink to paper

I definitely want to start writing again, and I just filled up the first page of a new notebook with ideas, but now that I finally have a second to write, I'm at a loss for where to start and what to write about.

Who knows when I'll really get at it again...?

I am Iron Man

I watched Iron Man last night... it was well done and I enjoyed it
very much. I do want to call into question the seeming foolishness of
our own myths. This movie is the story of the chief weapons
manufacturer in the world who realizes that his weapons have gotten
into the wrong hands and are being used against his own country. His
answer? He devotes his life to the concept of the Iron Man. He fights
fire with fire. And the movie itself shows the flaw as the very
technology he pushes to develop to stop his enemies gets into those
hands and he ends up fighting a second Iron Man. Never does he put
his energy and genius into something a little bit more creative than
simply fighting back with bigger guns. When will we move toward a
third way? What options and ideas do we have? I'm still thinking.

fundamentalism vs. literalism -- a video

This video is, for the most part, in line with a few of the things I've been thinking about.

Conversations (thoughts on evangelism and discipleship)

What if we gave up our right to be right? Then maybe we might get somewhere, but it is a different destination than where we are currently headed. If you've read the last two blog posts then this post will make a little more sense (so read them if you haven't).

I am not going to try and talk somebody into becoming a Christian. I am not going to share with them all the wonders of the things and God that I believe in. Why? Everytime someone else does the same to me, whether Christian or Jehovah's Witness or Mormon or Seventh Day Adventist, etc., it makes me squirm, and I do not listen, and I tend to try and talk them into believing what I believe anyway. These not-so-conversations go nowhere. Why? Because we are both right. When two people are right there cannot be any discussion, there cannot be any debate, there cannot be any conversation. And without these things there cannot be any relationship.

And that is what I offer as an alternative to evangelism (as per the last two blogs): relationship. What is the best thing we can do for someone who believes something different than we do? It is not to show them how right the things we believe in are. It is to fall in love with them, to see the deep beauty of their soul. It is to get to know them, to listen to their story, to share life with them, to respect and take seriously what they believe (because we obviously want them to take seriously what WE believe). It is in this context that conversations will thrive... and if this is where love is, then this is where truth and beauty and goodness is.

Your thoughts?

"Make disciples as you are going..."

Jesus said, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on
earth. Therefore as you are going and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy
spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, even to the end of the age."

One thing to notice about this passage is that in the verses before
this (Matthew 28:16-17) the only people that Jesus was talking to were
the eleven disciples. So if we ignore for a second that these words
aren't really directed to us at all (as we usually do), how are we to
understand this, especially in light of my last blog post "Do unto
others..."?

As an answer to the questions at the end of the last post: I believe
that discipleship, and discipling, are a wonderful alternative to most
expressions of evangelism. The problem is that we the people called
Christians have not taken this statement seriously, at least not for
the last century or so (and I can't think of any evidence that points
to much of anything before that either...). And street discipling and
door to door discipleship are contradictions. Discipleship
demands a serious commitment to a serious relationship - and we're not
good with commitment.

Also in line with the thoughts of the last blog, if I am going to treat others the way that I would like to be treated, I would only come into a discipling relationship with someone who asks it of me. And I would only ask it of someone who has demonstrated wisdom, character and love in a very significant way. Most of us need to spend a decade or two under the wise gaze of a mentor before we think about discipling somebody else. And we have a long way to go before anybody around us (in the world or in our neighborhoods) would approach us to be discipled. We are hardly liked much less respected. What do you think?

"Do unto others..."

Jesus said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." What
implications does this have for evangelism? I don't know about you,
but I certainly do not appreciate anothers efforts to convince me to
think or believe something different than I do now. How about you?
Any thoughts? Any alternatives?

"better than dancing chipmunks"

This is definitely worth a post...

From: Finding Rhythm