August 04, 2006

Check Out My Article on TheOoze.com

Hey! TheOoze.com published an article I submitted months ago! Check it out:

http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=1229

20:25 Posted in Blog, Emerging Church, Theology | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this

March 13, 2006

Walking the Labyrinth

Schweitzer UMC, where I direct the Young Adult Ministry, has laid out a labyrinth in the family life center (a.k.a. Gym) for the season of Lent leading up to Easter Sunday. People (not just members of Schweitzer) are able to come by the church at most hours of the day (until 9 PM) to walk this bodily prayer and to meditate on God. Although I've taken this spiritual journey online, I've never physically walked a labyrinth before. I came from a background where things like labyrinths are pretty much unheard of.

This afternoon, I decided to go into the gym and to pray in silence and contemplate as I walked through the maze-like substance. I had some naive idea that God was just waiting to pour out a startling revelation to me. Somehow, I thought that I would be mystically infused with a spiritual knowledge I had never known before. I was so looking forward to achieving a sort-of new state of awareness or something like that.

As I walked into the gym, I was disappointed to find that there were two elderly ladies already walking the labyrinth and praying silently. I admit, my first thought was, "Oh, great!" I had hoped to be alone for this experience. But, I decided to start walking anyway. When I "walk" the labyrinth online, I always take my shoes off as a symbolic gesture, and so I did the same for the real thing. And I began walking.

As I began slowly walking - perhaps expecting this revelation - I found myself becoming distracted with these ladies on the road ahead of me on this circular path. I looked down and tried to focus my thoughts on God, and suddenly, I could think of only one thing: how utterly impatient of a human being I was (am!). Wow, I didn't expect THAT revelation. But, I kept walking. And as I walked, I found my thoughts showing me all the times in my life when I'd been impatient with people. I thought about the times I've been unteachable and unmotivated. I thought about how often I had been guilty of seeking approval from others, and thus, failing to be authentic to who I am and who God created me to be.

Kind of seems like I'm beating myself up here, doesn't it? I wasn't expecting to have those thoughts, but the more I walked, the more I began thinking about how unworthy I am to even be here, communicating with God, but how God has brought me in here in spite of all that. And I began to realize how truly blessed I am. I began feeling the urge to slow down along the journey and to take in all that God was teaching me. And before I knew it, I looked up to see that the elderly women had long left the building. I hadn't even noticed.

As I made my way to the center of the labyrinth, I picked up a Bible that had been placed at the center. I closed my eyes, asking God to illuminate something. And I opened to Psalm 106. The Psalm talks about the sins of Israel, becoming infused with the sinful ways of the Egyptian culture and thus, becoming enslaved by that very culture, and how even still, God heard the cries of Israel.

I placed the Bible down and began my journey back into the world again. I began to think about the very sins I was being dealt with about on my journey into the center. I thought about how those things - though not what I would consider to be as big of a deal as the Israelites' sins mentioned in Psalm 106 - were still limiting who I was and what God was wanting me to be. I thought about how critical I've been of others. And as I made my way out, I recited the Jesus Prayer along with The Lord's Prayer and other Psalms I had memorized. And the neatest thing happened to me: suddenly, I began to feel an indescribable peace as if God were walking behind me and guiding me through the labyrinth. I stopped at the exit/entrance and gave thanks to God. I didn't want the journey to end.

I share this with you because if you haven't experienced it, I would encourage you to take this journey. Allow God to mold you as you walk this Medieval bodily prayer. It's an experience you won't forget. And it's one I will take again soon.

NOTE: The labyrinth in the photo is NOT the one at Schweitzer. I'll post that one as soon as I can take a photo of it.

22:25 Posted in alt.Worship, Theology | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Christian

March 08, 2006

What's Up with Satan?

Does it ever seem like a lot of churches have forgotten about a major character that has been a part of Christian and Jewish theology for thousands of years? I'm talking about Satan (1 Chronicles 21:1): the "Designated Accuser" (Job 1:6), "The Evil One" (Psalm 109:6), "a devil" (Mark 3:23), the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31), "The Great Dragon - ancient serpent" (Revelation 12:9).

I've noticed over the last decade that many modern and emerging churches have become increasingly silent on the doctrine of Satan. I think a good reason for this is that for a good part of the twentieth century, many churches (particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical churches with a Charismatic bent) placed such an emphasis on the doctrine of Satan, using their worship services as a sort-of "tribute" to Satan, blaming him for their bad decisions, their addictions, their sicknesses, and deaths of their loved ones - that it almost seemed as if "the enemy" was mentioned (and therefore given unintentional glory) more than Christ. (How's THAT for a run-on sentence? Hope my high school English teacher doesn't read that!)

Throughout the 70's, 80's, and 90's, many Charismatic churches would often use Paul's metaphor of "the God of peace" coming down on both feet and stomping Satan into the dirt (Romans 16:20) as a literal law to be taken into their own hands...or feet. Some churches would often feature "Satan Stomping" services in their congregations, with Christians literally stomping an invisible devil under their feet. There were songs that arose out of this kind of thinking like "Enemy's Camp" which talks about "the enemy" throughout the entire song: "I went to the enemy's camp / And I took back what he stole from me / Took back what he stole from me /... He's under my feet / Under my feet..."

So what about this character "Satan"? The Old and New Testaments of the Bible have very different descriptions of this being. There are twelve references to Satan in the Old Testament (not including "the Serpent" mentioned in Genesis). Ten of those references are in Job, which is one of the earliest writings in the Bible. In these Job references and in Psalm 109, this mysterious being is compared to a Prosecuter or a Legal Accuser. In Job, Satan is actually presented as being an angel under God who goes to earth to find fault with Job and to test the limits of Job's faith, accusing him of sin for all of his bad fortune. 1 Chronicles speaks of Satan as seducing David into taking a Census of Israel.

In fact, the Jewish faith does not hold the same theological position of Satan that most Christians do. Satan is not considered "The Devil" (that reference isn't given until the Gospels) because they feel that would indicate two Gods: the "god" of the underworld" and the "God of the heavens" and that cannot exist in Monotheism. (see whatjewsbelieve.com)

But the New Testament (particularly in the Gospels and in Paul's writings) describes Satan as quite literally an enemy of God. Satan is seen as a being of evil and the cause of the destruction of God's creation. In Revelation, a vision of John tells of a future time when God will restore all of creation and punish Satan for a thousand years.

I guess the thought I want to delve into here is: I certainly believe there is a real Evil in this world. We see this evil expressed in terrorism, racism, violence, and sex crimes. And I believe there are forces more powerful than human might that seek to destroy God's creation and goodness. I also believe in a goodness in God that is ultimately more powerful and that will restore all of this Evil's undoing. Sometimes, however, I wonder if Satan becomes an easy target and a point of blame for our sins and destruction. Sometimes, in order for us not to take the blame for our own mistakes, we look for a spiritual point-of-blame, and I'm not sure Satan is always directly responsible. Don't get me wrong. I certainly believe Satan is the ultimate and indirect cause of all evil. Just a thought. Any of yours?

11:50 Posted in Theology | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this | Tags: Christian