Wednesday, July 01, 2020
Wells (2019) The Future That is bigger than the past
Discipleship describes inhabiting that abundant life. Ministry involves building up to church embodythat abundant life. Mission names the ways that abundant life is practised shared and discovered in the world at large. 3
Jesus did not fundamentally come to redirect us from judgement and oblivion to safety and sublime bliss. Instead, God always purposed to be in relationship with us and foster our relationship with one another and creation. Jesus came to embodied that purpose, to encounter and challenge all that inhibits it, to withstand and demonstrate the overcoming of those obstructions, and to restore that purpose in in perpetual promise. 3
God of time and eternity, if I love thee for hope of heaven, then deny me heaven; if I love thee for fear of hell, then give me hell; but if I love thee for thy self alone, then give me thy self alone. Rabi’a 5
Church-must be regarded as places of encounter for the whole neighbourhood, with a mission to be a blessing to anyone and everyone who resides or spend time there. 9
Mammon is fundamentally the economy of scarcity. It is the world in which there is not enough to go around. Mammon means I must use all my energy making sure that of the limited amount of cake, at least I get enough on my plate. There is also a name for the other economy, the economy of the manager after he’s been fired. The biblical word for that economy is manna. Manna is the food god gave to the Hebrews in the wilderness: always more than they needed. 13
It is true that the time when Christianity and citizenship were virtually synonymous has long gone, that regular church attendance is much less common, marks of affiliation, notably baptism, unless the norm, and that recourse to clergy in times of life transition, especially funerals and weddings, is less prevalent. 32
The church will always remain a pilgrim people. Whenever you meet a bunch of Christians who feel they have made it, whether in strength of numbers, firmness of doctrine, righteousness of attitude of purity of life, you can anticipate that pretty soon they’ll be in trouble. Israel was formed on the way from Egypt to the promised land. The disciples were formed on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem. The church becomes one body as it is bound together on its common journey. It is always a work in progress . 143
Creativity increases with diversity and decreases with conformity. 153
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Jesus did not fundamentally come to redirect us from judgement and oblivion to safety and sublime bliss. Instead, God always purposed to be in relationship with us and foster our relationship with one another and creation. Jesus came to embodied that purpose, to encounter and challenge all that inhibits it, to withstand and demonstrate the overcoming of those obstructions, and to restore that purpose in in perpetual promise. 3
God of time and eternity, if I love thee for hope of heaven, then deny me heaven; if I love thee for fear of hell, then give me hell; but if I love thee for thy self alone, then give me thy self alone. Rabi’a 5
Church-must be regarded as places of encounter for the whole neighbourhood, with a mission to be a blessing to anyone and everyone who resides or spend time there. 9
Mammon is fundamentally the economy of scarcity. It is the world in which there is not enough to go around. Mammon means I must use all my energy making sure that of the limited amount of cake, at least I get enough on my plate. There is also a name for the other economy, the economy of the manager after he’s been fired. The biblical word for that economy is manna. Manna is the food god gave to the Hebrews in the wilderness: always more than they needed. 13
It is true that the time when Christianity and citizenship were virtually synonymous has long gone, that regular church attendance is much less common, marks of affiliation, notably baptism, unless the norm, and that recourse to clergy in times of life transition, especially funerals and weddings, is less prevalent. 32
The church will always remain a pilgrim people. Whenever you meet a bunch of Christians who feel they have made it, whether in strength of numbers, firmness of doctrine, righteousness of attitude of purity of life, you can anticipate that pretty soon they’ll be in trouble. Israel was formed on the way from Egypt to the promised land. The disciples were formed on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem. The church becomes one body as it is bound together on its common journey. It is always a work in progress . 143
Creativity increases with diversity and decreases with conformity. 153
