An appropriate quote, I think, for this blog:
"I bear in my life of faith today the drama of Israel, the fruit of the costly discussions of Nicaea and Chalcedon, what Francis of Assisi mined in the mysteries of evangelical poverty, what thousands of obscure believers have affirmed of the power of hope in their responses to persecutors. And our successors will, in their time, be enriched by what African and Latin American Christianities in their contexts are working out before our eyes. The communion of saints is not relegated to the register of merits or of prayer. It already involves the fundamental plan of faith."
-Jean-Marie Roger Tillard
Showing posts with label Community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Community. Show all posts
Friday, September 28, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Right Interpretation
This beautiful quotation comes from Richard B. Hays, a professor of New Testament at Duke and one of the foremost Wesleyan Biblical scholars of our time:
"No reading of Scripture can be legitimate, then, if it fails to shape the readers into a community that embodies the love of God as shown forth in Christ. This criterion slashes away all frivolous or self-serving readings, all readings that aggrandize the interpreter, all merely clever readings. True interpretation of Scripture leads us into unqualified giving of our lives in service within the community whose vocation is to reenact the obedience of the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Community in the likeness of Christ is cruciform; therefore right interpretation must be cruciform."
-Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul, p. 191
"No reading of Scripture can be legitimate, then, if it fails to shape the readers into a community that embodies the love of God as shown forth in Christ. This criterion slashes away all frivolous or self-serving readings, all readings that aggrandize the interpreter, all merely clever readings. True interpretation of Scripture leads us into unqualified giving of our lives in service within the community whose vocation is to reenact the obedience of the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Community in the likeness of Christ is cruciform; therefore right interpretation must be cruciform."
-Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul, p. 191
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Authentic Community
In this fragmented and individualistic culture, my suspicion is that the deep longing of a majority of people - whether they know it or not - is to experience authentic community. But where is this authentic community to be found? As a follower of Christ, I would love to say that this community can only be found in the church, for such is the ideal that is presented in our Scriptures. Too often, however, this is not the case.
What is more often the case, in my limited experience, is that church is a "place" people go because it has become "the thing they do on Sunday morning." They trickle in, find their normal seats amongst others of the same color, listen or watch the show and go home, without uttering more words than the proverbial "good morning" to an usher or the collective "amen." In bigger congregations - the so called mega churches - the sanctuaries are more like movie theaters. You come in and take your seat near the aisle, making sure that you leave several seats between you and the nearest fellow worshipper, without realizing how foreign this mentality is to the historic People of God. My friends, this is not authentic community.
To my surprise, I have seen authentic community at the neighborhood Starbucks. It is clear that people know each other as most people who come through the door are greeted warmly, not only by the employees but by several patrons. The employee hands them their favorite drink and asks how they are doing, genuinely interested in the answer. There are people of all races, and diverse languages can be heard spoken in adjoining tables. For many, it is like coming home to family.
In our local Starbucks, there is a developmentally delayed woman named Francis who often comes in. She is never with anyone, so it appears that she lives by herself. What is amazing, however, is that the entire community has adopted her. Every employee knows her by name and knows what is going on in her life. Most of the regulars know her and regularly welcome conversation with her - she often will interupt patrons to say "hi," and be invited to join them. One night, we noticed that she had fallen asleep in a chair. No one bothered her or woke her up to ask her to move along. When she did wake up, she was a little disoriented. It was dark out and it was clear that she didn't know what she was going to do. One of the men noticed her apparent consternation and proceeded to call her a cab, wait with her outside for it to come, help her into the cab, and pay the driver out of his own pocket. It seems to me that this place has all of the marks of authentic community.
What is unfortunate is that, although they do community well, at the end of the day Starbucks can only offer a person a warm beverage and a clean, well lighted place to sit awhile. The church has in her possession the treasure of the living Gospel, with the power to transform lives. But this treasure is often obscured by inauthentic community. If the church could begin to live into the ideal of her Scriptures, we might see people pining for the Story in the way they now pine for a white chocolate mocha.
What is more often the case, in my limited experience, is that church is a "place" people go because it has become "the thing they do on Sunday morning." They trickle in, find their normal seats amongst others of the same color, listen or watch the show and go home, without uttering more words than the proverbial "good morning" to an usher or the collective "amen." In bigger congregations - the so called mega churches - the sanctuaries are more like movie theaters. You come in and take your seat near the aisle, making sure that you leave several seats between you and the nearest fellow worshipper, without realizing how foreign this mentality is to the historic People of God. My friends, this is not authentic community.
To my surprise, I have seen authentic community at the neighborhood Starbucks. It is clear that people know each other as most people who come through the door are greeted warmly, not only by the employees but by several patrons. The employee hands them their favorite drink and asks how they are doing, genuinely interested in the answer. There are people of all races, and diverse languages can be heard spoken in adjoining tables. For many, it is like coming home to family.
In our local Starbucks, there is a developmentally delayed woman named Francis who often comes in. She is never with anyone, so it appears that she lives by herself. What is amazing, however, is that the entire community has adopted her. Every employee knows her by name and knows what is going on in her life. Most of the regulars know her and regularly welcome conversation with her - she often will interupt patrons to say "hi," and be invited to join them. One night, we noticed that she had fallen asleep in a chair. No one bothered her or woke her up to ask her to move along. When she did wake up, she was a little disoriented. It was dark out and it was clear that she didn't know what she was going to do. One of the men noticed her apparent consternation and proceeded to call her a cab, wait with her outside for it to come, help her into the cab, and pay the driver out of his own pocket. It seems to me that this place has all of the marks of authentic community.
What is unfortunate is that, although they do community well, at the end of the day Starbucks can only offer a person a warm beverage and a clean, well lighted place to sit awhile. The church has in her possession the treasure of the living Gospel, with the power to transform lives. But this treasure is often obscured by inauthentic community. If the church could begin to live into the ideal of her Scriptures, we might see people pining for the Story in the way they now pine for a white chocolate mocha.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
A Communion of Bloggers
Introduction
I suppose this first entry should be something by way of an introduction, though if you are reading this, my hunch is that you were prompted by an email of mine and already know me quite well. But for all you careless typers who were actually searching for Janet Jackson or Debra Lafave and got me instead (my sincere apologies), allow me an introduction . . .
My name is Jackson Lashier and I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with my beautiful wife Julie (who may be asked to contribute from time to time - people generally find her more interesting). I was born and raised in Iowa and did not consider leaving until a call to ministry brought me to Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. It was there that, among other things, I met my future wife, some amazing friends and mentors, and felt a change in my calling, one to teaching. So it is that we now find ourselves in Milwaukee (from the tobacco and gambling capital to the beer capital) where I am currently attending Marquette University pursuing a PhD in religious studies, with an emphasis in historical theology. Julie is a hospital chaplain at St. Luke's (which has more employees than the entire town of Wilmore) serving patients on the neurological floors. Though these positions might seem hellish to some, we feel that we are exactly where God has called us to be and are quite excited as we stand on the precipice of this journey.
I begin this blog at the prompting of JD Walt, my friend and pastor, who thought that it might be interesting to log my experiences as a fledgling PhD student. While my first reaction was no, thinking my experiences would be interesting to no one - at times not even interesting to myself - it did strike me that the material I am learning and the thoughts they are provoking in me might be of interest to a few, particularly to those who, like me, are struggling to navigate faithfulness in surroundings that seem increasingly unfaithful (this comment is not directed at Marquette, but in general the world at large). So it is that I begin.
The Inspiration of the Name
The content of our Creed is fascinating to me. The Fathers were obviously selective at what they chose to include for they left out many articles of faith that we might deem crucial today - the role of Israel, the inspiration of the Scriptures, and the manner of atonement come immediately to mind. But what they did include, alongside belief in the Triune God, was this phrase: "I believe in the communion of saints." What this suggests to me is that, equally important to belief in a God who is three-in-one is belief in a living community of followers. We do not, in other words, come to saving and sanctifying knowledge of God outside of a community.
For those, like me, who seem to stumble more often than not, Christ in this community is really our only hope to becoming more like the God who created us. But too often, I think, we limit that community to the people we see, that is those we see every Sunday (or whenever your Christian community meets). This is unfortunate because, not only is our true community spread across all nations of this earth, but it is spread across the last 2000 years. And there are countless ones who have gone before us, struggling to live the faithful life in much the same conditions which now face us, whose wisdom is invaluable for our growth.
The Intent of this Blog
The hope that I have in establishing this blog is to begin a conversation with my fellow bloggers about the "Holy Mysteries," a term which covers, not only all theological and doctrinal truths, in other words, "orthodoxy", but also how we live faithfully in response to these beliefs, in other words, "orthopraxis." I hope to bring in conversation partners from the early centuries of the church and I invite others to do the same. I will do my best to be a regular poster, as schoolwork will often dictate, and I look forward to any comments I may receive. May we experience communion, not only with each other, but with the saints through the ages, who knew what it was to truly see God.
I suppose this first entry should be something by way of an introduction, though if you are reading this, my hunch is that you were prompted by an email of mine and already know me quite well. But for all you careless typers who were actually searching for Janet Jackson or Debra Lafave and got me instead (my sincere apologies), allow me an introduction . . .
My name is Jackson Lashier and I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with my beautiful wife Julie (who may be asked to contribute from time to time - people generally find her more interesting). I was born and raised in Iowa and did not consider leaving until a call to ministry brought me to Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. It was there that, among other things, I met my future wife, some amazing friends and mentors, and felt a change in my calling, one to teaching. So it is that we now find ourselves in Milwaukee (from the tobacco and gambling capital to the beer capital) where I am currently attending Marquette University pursuing a PhD in religious studies, with an emphasis in historical theology. Julie is a hospital chaplain at St. Luke's (which has more employees than the entire town of Wilmore) serving patients on the neurological floors. Though these positions might seem hellish to some, we feel that we are exactly where God has called us to be and are quite excited as we stand on the precipice of this journey.
I begin this blog at the prompting of JD Walt, my friend and pastor, who thought that it might be interesting to log my experiences as a fledgling PhD student. While my first reaction was no, thinking my experiences would be interesting to no one - at times not even interesting to myself - it did strike me that the material I am learning and the thoughts they are provoking in me might be of interest to a few, particularly to those who, like me, are struggling to navigate faithfulness in surroundings that seem increasingly unfaithful (this comment is not directed at Marquette, but in general the world at large). So it is that I begin.
The Inspiration of the Name
The content of our Creed is fascinating to me. The Fathers were obviously selective at what they chose to include for they left out many articles of faith that we might deem crucial today - the role of Israel, the inspiration of the Scriptures, and the manner of atonement come immediately to mind. But what they did include, alongside belief in the Triune God, was this phrase: "I believe in the communion of saints." What this suggests to me is that, equally important to belief in a God who is three-in-one is belief in a living community of followers. We do not, in other words, come to saving and sanctifying knowledge of God outside of a community.
For those, like me, who seem to stumble more often than not, Christ in this community is really our only hope to becoming more like the God who created us. But too often, I think, we limit that community to the people we see, that is those we see every Sunday (or whenever your Christian community meets). This is unfortunate because, not only is our true community spread across all nations of this earth, but it is spread across the last 2000 years. And there are countless ones who have gone before us, struggling to live the faithful life in much the same conditions which now face us, whose wisdom is invaluable for our growth.
The Intent of this Blog
The hope that I have in establishing this blog is to begin a conversation with my fellow bloggers about the "Holy Mysteries," a term which covers, not only all theological and doctrinal truths, in other words, "orthodoxy", but also how we live faithfully in response to these beliefs, in other words, "orthopraxis." I hope to bring in conversation partners from the early centuries of the church and I invite others to do the same. I will do my best to be a regular poster, as schoolwork will often dictate, and I look forward to any comments I may receive. May we experience communion, not only with each other, but with the saints through the ages, who knew what it was to truly see God.
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