Today is Lent, it marks the start of a 40 day countdown to Easter (not including the Sundays). Some Christian traditions pay more attention to this day than other. Some closely follow a traditional calendar of celebration.
Catholics, Lutherans, and Anglicans tend to follow seasons and celebrations more closely than their low church brothers and sisters, including the ever popular evangelicals. In fact, what you observe is the churches who try the hardest to be relevant to society around them, tend to ignore church seasons and festivals unless they are major ones like Easter and Christmas. Continue reading »
I wrote about the first two which were: the urge for justice, and then the appreciation of beauty and culture. This edition will explore the issue of spirituality.
Admittedly, I took the hiatus from completing this series because I myself couldn't articulate coherently the aspects of spirituality. Sure, I could do it theologically, and I could even go on about my experience, but I felt there was something missing from my explanation that would be necessary.
Much more has been written on spirituality than what's included in this article, but even now sometimes 'spirituality' exceeds definition. And that's just the thing with spirituality: you know there's something there but you can't quite put your finger on it. Continue reading »
There was a time when you could build a church building, throw out a few flyers, and swing open your doors to waiting patrons congregants and poof--you had a church.
This 'cathedral' model of church also implicitly and explicitly carries a certain baggage that I don't find very congruent to how churches operated in the first two centuries.
For example, you sit and face the front and quietly listen to what's being propagated to you, thus there is limited participation. It also establishes an 'us them' mentality: you are the congregation, you are over in the pews; we are the clergy, we stand by the altar. Your job is to stay and pay, our job is to pray and preach. Continue reading »
January 6th was Epiphany. Most people don't have any connection to the day but the answer to some of life's biggest questions are rooted in what it commemorates. That sounds pretty significant so why don't more people know about it? Well firstly, it's a part of the church calendar, so not your typical Hallmark event. Secondly, if you don't follow any liturgical traditions then you've probably overlooked Epiphany.
This wasn't the case in the early church where two major feasts were commemorated. The first was obviously Easter. The second wasn't Christmas--it was Epiphany. Continue reading »
December marks a change in the Christian calender from ordinary time to Advent--a time of expectations and waiting. It's a moment where we can remind ourselves of the good news of Christ's arrival into the world, and a time to permit this announcement to re-order our lives and communities.
...On one hand while there is an expectation for the culmination of biblical prophesies and promises, at the same time there’s a raw humanity to it all: a teenage girl is expecting – morning sickness, cramps, unreasonable cravings. Her much older fiancee is trying to figure out ways to get rid of her and save face. Within all of this mess an expectation emerges that points to a renewed hope for the world. As Mary and Joseph sneak into Bethlehem under the stars, there Jesus smuggles himself into humanity...
On the other hand Advent gives us a reason to stop and wait, pushing away the stress of the holiday season to recapture the images of the first nativity scene.
So why is Advent important and what does it have to do with hope? Continue reading »
I was reading a blog post from a Canadian in BC on his observations regarding the close of modernity in our Canadian culture. He was lamenting about a young local church leader who was caught in clutches of 'the old-system' thus making his voice all the more meaningless in an ever changing culture around him, of course unbeknown to him (the leader).
Whether it be issues of doctrine or theology, or just some assumptions on the 'way things should be', there appears to be a growing disconnect between church culture and regular culture. Should there be a divide? Is it necessary to maintain a degree of mutual exclusivity with church culture in order to preserve belief/faith? Are there a better ways than the current, "convince someone they're sinners and lead them to Jesus," mentality? Is there more to faith than the same fluffy or boring sermon coupled with bad music or a lifeless liturgical tradition? Or are there other ways to approach faith so it translates into a contemporary vernacular?
To break it down without the big words: I'm curious to know if the way church is 'done' today must necessarily remain contentious and backwards to a growing majority of people who are not a part of one.
If churches operated in the world of ice cream they wouldn't even be vanilla because even that has taste. Before you think I'm advocating for a better product of church--something that fits my palate (chocolate mint please)--let me state that I'm not looking for more something that looks or sounds more 'relevant' to me. I don't want to consume the latest fad of church because ultimately that's not going to help me pursue my spiritual quest.
The last time I went to an average church service I was so bored that I vowed never to go back. That's a big deal coming from someone who used to do the church thing, sometimes twice, sometimes three times a week. Part of the reason why I I lost interest in the typical church scene was because something inside of me was certain there was more to faith and spirituality then the same 5 point 45 minute sermon, the same labored music, the same announcements, the same prayers for healed body parts.
It probably boiled down to the fact I got tired of sitting in a chair for 75 minutes on a Sunday doing nothing.
Dave Fitch is one of the reigning theologians in the missional dialogue. I have his first book and will get his second, in fact I use the first one as part of a training/discipleship/development book for leaders in our church. He also blogs regularly and I want to use verbatim his contribution to the top ten things anyone who wants to join a missional church should NOT EXPECT.
If you're curious to know more about us then here are some elements which you will not find. It's not a bad thing, it's just not our posture and we don't find it necessary in order to fully translate the gospel message of redemption into our city. Continue reading »
Rob from King's Bridge put together a video asking the question around Kensington, "What is Church". It's a nice cross section of perspectives in the video that should open the eyes of those who think they have all the 'church answers'.
What are your thoughts? What does it mean to be a church? Do you need certain things to be a 'church'? Or can anybody just gather and call themselves 'church'?
I got something pretty ridiculous in the mail. I thought mailings were so 1980's but apparently some folks still try their darnedest to attract bodies to events using snail mail. Check out the front image of what arrived.
It's not too often you find America's right wing fundamentalist agenda seep over into Canada, but in conservative Calgary it's sort of inevitable. In October the 'Prophecy Code' will be in Calgary at the Big Four building for a two day affair. My first thoughts are, "wow the Big Four? how will they fill that place?". My second thought was, "man, I hope they don't fill that place."
I want tread lightly in this post, anytime one comments on other Christian movements they open themselves up to a lot of strife. However, when organizations come into my city with a certain message that reflects a small contingent of overall Christian history, it's worth posting in my mind.
Apart from that, here are some additional thoughts on this whole 'prophecy code' and comments on the overall perspective they and others represent. Continue reading »
December marks a change in the Christian calender from ordinary time to Advent--a time of expectations and waiting. It's a moment where we can remind ourselves of the good news of Christ's arrival into the world, and a time to permit this announcement to re-order our lives and communities. 