Dangerous Grace

From  a classic post by Michael Spencer at iMonk: Grace Is As Dangerous As Ever

...Real grace is simply inexplicable, inappropriate, out of the box, out of bounds, offensive, excessive, too much, given to the wrong people and all those things.

When God’s grace meets us, Jesus has to order away the accusers of our conscience. Satan. Religion. Parents. Church members. Culture. Morality. Legalism. Civility. The oughts. The shoulds. The of course we know thats. The I’d like to but I just can’ts.

Jesus orders them away so he can tell us that grace is doing what only grace can do, and we must go and live in the reverberation of forgiveness. We must live with the reality of grace when it makes no sense at all, can’t be explained and won’t be commodified or turned into some form of medicine....

...at the heart of true Christian experience is this inexplicable, annoyingly inappropriate, wondrously superlative experience of Jesus saying, “I don’t condemn you. Go and live your life.”

He says it to the divorced. To the expelled. To the unemployed. He says it to criminals. To perverts. To the damaged and the worthless. He says it to cutters, to whores, to greedy businessmen, to unfaithful husbands, to porn addicts and thieves. He says it to the lazy, the unholy, the confused and even the religious. He says it to you and to me.

It’s how he changes lives, and it’s as dangerous as ever.

Cruciform Faith

Holy Week Thoughts at Internet Monk:

At Mockingbird, they have this helpful entry on the subject of “Theology of Glory” in their site glossary:

Theologies of glory are approaches to Christianity and to life that try in various ways to minimize difficult and painful things, or else to defeat and move past them, rather than looking them square in the face and accepting them. In particular, they acknowledge the cross, but view it primarily as a means to an end – an unpleasant but necessary step on the way to good things in the future, especially salvation, the transformation of human potential by God and the triumph of the Kingdom of God in the world. As Luther puts it, the theologian of glory ‘does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and, in general, good to evil’ (The Heidelberg Disputation, Proof to Thesis XXI). This is the natural default setting for human beings. A theology of the cross, by contrast, sees the cross as revealing the fundamental nature of God’s involvement in the world this side of heaven.

That last sentence is striking. “The fundamental nature of God’s involvement in the world this side of heaven” is the way of the cross.

People don’t like that. I don’t like that.

I want a God I can see, not a God who is hidden.

I want a God who will convince me beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is living and active and on my side.

I want spectacular answers to prayer.

I want to witness remarkable events that can only be explained by God’s intervention.

I want tangible evidence that faith pays off, not only in the end but here and now.

I want a God who solves my problems, eases my pain, answers my questions, and makes me successful.

I want God to enable me to do good works so I can feel good about myself and my contribution to the world.

I want to be made strong, confident, optimistic, fit for the long haul.

I want insight into how life works so that I can follow the right steps and help others do the same.

I want a God who makes a way in the wilderness, not one who leads and leaves me there.

I want fulfillment in my work, health and happiness in my family, grace and cooperation among my neighbors, peace, security, and ample provision in my world.

I want to hear God speak. I detest silence.

I want God to show up when I need God. On time. Bringing what I need.

I don’t want a God who bleeds, who thirsts, who worries about his mother, who lets clueless, cruel people drive nails through his hands and feet, whose lifeless body is carried away by weeping women and timid men.

I don’t want a God who forgives people who do things like this. I want them to pay dearly.

I’m with the crowd here: “Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.”

Show us, God. Prove yourself. Let us see, let us hear, let us experience your power and glory.And the one on the cross says not a word.

We Need Our Brokenness

"Now we come to something very important. The constant emphasis on the victorious life or the good Christian life is the Antichrist as it pertains to the gospel. Here’s why. If I am _________ (fill in your favorite victorious-life terminology), then will I be in a position to be grateful for what Jesus did when he was executed on the cross? Perhaps at first I will be overwhelmed with gratitude toward Christ. But over time, as I find that I’m capable of maintaining victory in my life, I will need Jesus less and less. I still want him to meet me at the gate on the way into heaven, but right now I’m doing great without him. I’m a good Christian.

If you embrace this take on the Christian journey, it will kill you.

We need our brokenness. We need to admit it and know it is the real, true stuff of our earthly journey in a fallen world. It’s the cross on which Jesus meets us. It is the incarnation he takes up for us. It’s what his hands touch when he holds us.

…My humanity, my sin, it’s all me. And I need Jesus to love me like I really am: brokenness, wounds, sins, addictions, lies, death, fear…all of it. Take all of it, Lord Jesus. If I don’t present this broken, messed-up person to Jesus, my faith is dishonest, and my understanding of faith will become a way of continuing the ruse and pretense of being good.

I understand that Christians need — desperately — to hear experiential testimonies of the power of the gospel. I understand as well that it’s not pleasant to hear that we are broken and are going to stay that way. I know there will be little enthusiasm for saying sanctification consists, in large measure, in seeing our sin and acknowledging how deeply an extensively it has marred us. No triumphalist will agree that the fight of faith is not a victory party but a bloody war on a battlefield that resembles Omaha Beach.

But that’s the way it is. I’m right on this one.

Michael Spencer, Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality pp. 147-149

HT: Internet Monk

A Quiet Life

From a thought-provoking piece by "Chaplain Mike" at Internet Monk, commenting on 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12

...for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. (1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 ESV)

...My life is the one I live with my family. My life is the one in which I do my daily work. My life is the one I live among my neighbors, my friends, in my community, with the people in my congregation and at the ball field. Because I’m a writer, the context of my life includes Internet Monk and the people I meet through participating in these daily discussions.

No matter how hard it is, I have to fight every day to keep the main thing the main thing, to recognize real life for what it is, and to let Christ live in and through me in that context. 

To help me, I have clear apostolic instruction. Paul’s words to me are:

Be a quiet person, a person of peace.
Don’t stick your nose in places where it doesn’t belong.
Work hard.
Focus on the people you know and excel in love toward them.
Local, quiet, pastoral.
It’s the apostolic way.
It’s Jesus-shaped.

How much healthier would I be, would you be, would the Church be if 1Thessalonians 4:9-12 defined our life and witness?

Jesus-Based Spirituality

Yesterday the Internet Monk site re-posted the late Michael Spenser's classic 2009 article entitled Jesus Shaped Spirituality. Spenser at that time had just gone through a thorough re-evaluatoin of his spiritual life based on a filter described below. It is well worth a read or a re-read- Never been said better!

What does Jesus-shaped spirituality look like?

1) It is a spirituality rooted in the Biblical story. It is a spirituality that grows up in the narrative of the Bible and within the categories of the Biblical worldview. Most particularly, it is a spirituality of the Biblical story that is finally and completely about Jesus and understood in Jesus.

2) It is a spirituality where God comes to all people: in Jesus, through the incarnation, the Gospel, Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit.

3) It is a spirituality where God is available, immediately, through the mediation of Jesus, to all people, in the power of the Spirit as revealed in the Gospel.

4) It is a spirituality where Jesus is the ultimate sacrament, and all sacraments are visible, actual participations in Jesus as salvation.

5) It is a spirituality where the Kingdom of God is present everywhere and God’s people are called to be workers for and proclaimers of the Kingdom wherever God has placed them.

6) It is a spirituality especially manifested where the Gospel is explicitly heard, believed and practiced.

7) It is a spirituality where God is known, experienced and worshiped as Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as revealed by Jesus in scripture.

8] It is a spirituality of the compassion of Jesus for the whole range of human brokenness. It is a spirituality of kindness, gentleness and generosity to the hurting, the lonely and the wounded.

9) It is a spirituality where all people are called to the decisive act of public, intentional discipleship, inaugurated in baptism and continued, when possible, in a local church.

10) It is a spirituality of grace as understood in the teaching and actions of Jesus, and through the grace of God revealed in the Gospel.

11) It is a spirituality of inclusion, particularly imitating Jesus’ inclusion of outcasts, touching of lepers, respectful treatment of women, outreaches to Gentiles and liberating miracles for those who were considered beyond help, hope and forgiveness.

12) It is a spirituality that takes place in a movement of cross-cultural church planting. Jesus shaped spirituality is formed in the context of the outcomes and values that contribute to cross-cultural church planting, particularly in places where the Gospel has not been heard.

13) It is a spirituality that is shaped, whenever possible, in local churches and under the ministry of local church leadership. It is a spirituality that receives the ministry of the Spirit through the broadest possible experience of the church of Jesus.

14) It is a spirituality that announces and practices the end of religion, because all religion is fulfilled in Jesus. What remains of religion and religious practice is completely transformed by Jesus into a New Covenant understanding of the people of God.

15) It is a spirituality that calls all persons, and especially disciples, to continual personal transformation by grace in every area of human nature, experience and relationship.

16) It is a spirituality formed by the practice of prayer, reading scripture, worship, servanthood, mission and simplicity, both individually and, whenever possible, in community with other disciples.

17) It is a spirituality that is consciously, exclusively and intentionally Jesus-centered. The center and the boundaries of Jesus shaped spirituality are Jesus himself, as revealed in scripture, especially in the Gospels. It is a spirituality that takes all study of Jesus seriously, but affirms that Jesus is revealed with the authority of God in scripture.

18) It is a spirituality with a hopeful, optimistic eschatology of the Kingdom of God, inaugurated now and coming in fullness, announcing in advance God’s judgment of the world and God’s vindication of his people.

19) It is a spirituality that is not dispensed or controlled by institutions, but is accomplished by the work of the Spirit through whatever means God chooses as the shaping, forming element.

20) It is a spirituality of creativity, freedom and cultural diversity. We are constantly discovering and rediscovering Jesus in new ways. It is a spirituality that honors and appreciates the discovery of Jesus by those who have known Jesus before us.

21) It is a spirituality that receives and evaluates tradition, authority and theology within a living experience of discipleship to Jesus.

He Isn't Interested in Your Best Life

Jeff Dunn at IMonk hit a home run this week with "The Homily" 

...I hate to be the bearer of reality, but not everything in this life is going to go your way. Even more to the point, God does not have your best interests in mind. God has his own best interests in his mind. And at times, his interests make our lives miserable. You want an example? Look at Job. God wanted to prove to the Accuser that Job would still praise God even if all of his “blessings” were taken away. God’s glory was on display, not Job’s comfort or prosperity. Do you want another example? How about Mary? God chose this young, engaged-but-not-yet-married girl to bring his Son into the world. How did that “bless” Mary? Her life was forever changed from what she had most likely envisioned.

The Gospel of Jesus does not guarantee us to become winners. As a matter of fact, Jesus championed losers. In his parables, he presented God as one who is constantly seeking after what has been lost. A lost coin. Lost sheep. A lost son. Jesus came, he said, to seek and to save the lost, not the found, not the blessed. Not the winners.

As a matter of fact, Jesus said the greatest loss we could ever experience would be if we sought to save our lives, to become winners. Luke tucks an interesting verse into Jesus’ teaching on his second return: Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. Winners become losers, and losers become winners...

....St. Paul tells us that God’s power is perfectly seen in our weakness. And that when I am weak is when I am truly strong. So I will rejoice in my sicknesses, in my distress, in my despair. I will rejoice when things are not going my way, when my life is turned upside-down by unforeseen circumstances. When I realize I am a loser, then I can take comfort in knowing Jesus has come to seek and to save me. This is the Gospel of Jesus.

This morning, remember that God is focused on his glory. And as hard as that may be to understand, and even harder to accept (for we are a very selfish lot), we are to be focused on God’s glory as well.

Remembering the I-Monk

Today I'm remembering Michael Spencer, aka "the Internet Monk," aka "I-Monk,"on the second anniversary of his untimely and too early departure from this life. I miss his writing so much. The blog-o-sphere is a better place because he was here.

The Internet Monk site has memorial postings up. RIP Brother Michael.
   

When to Shut Up

I like this!

we wrangle about the end of the world
and its beginning too
but when YHWH comes in the whirlwind
shut up, we haven’t a clue

From "Chaplain Mike" at Internet Monk

Not only do I like it, but I also think it's a pretty good summation of the message of the Book of Job.

Invited Into His Life

Insightful comments from "Chaplain Mike" at Internet Monk on the theological contant of Mary's song (The Magnificant) in Luke 1:46-51. 

Another way to put this is that the Gospel calls me to take my part in God’s Story, not merely to say that God has come to be an actor in my own personal narrative. He has not only “done great things for me,” but “his mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation.” The Divine Author has written me into his grand narrative! I am now a member of that great communion of saints that is living out “His-Story” in the world. The Bible and church history is the record of my family heritage. I share in its successes and shortcomings, its accounts of God’s faithfulness and human failure. Now God calls me to link my life, my sense of meaning, purpose, and significance, and the living out of my vocations to that Story. Because Jesus is the Ultimate Actor and his work the climactic, decisive movement of the Story, he calls me to center my life in Christ. He comes to me as my “Savior,” putting to death the old, sinful, self-centered me and resurrecting me to walk in newness of life in Christ. I do not invite him to come into my life, he invites me into his. He transfers me from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved Son. In Christ, I enter and become part of his New Creation!

Much more good stuff at the link. It's life changing to realize that even more than we invite Jesus into our lives, He invites us into His!

The Classic "I-Monk Annual Halloween Rant"

Just re-read the classic The Internet Monk Annual Halloween Rant by the late Michael Spencer (whom I miss very much).

Caution if your read it - It might scare you! Boo!

IM Book Review: Counterfeit Gospels

From a review by "Chaplain Mike" at Internet Monk of Trevin Wax's book Counterfeit Gospels

In my opinion, Counterfeit Gospels: Rediscovering the Good News in a World of False Hope, by Trevin Wax, represents the best kind of thinking and presentation that evangelicalism has to offer the broader church today at a level that pastors and serious laypeople can appreciate and find useful.

It is written in simple, clear language, yet represents solid, informed thinking.

It is well-organized into a presentation that is readily understandable, logical, sensible, and easy to teach.

It communicates a clear perspective and strong convictions, yet does so in a gracious and winsome manner.

It interacts well, not only with the New Reformed doctrinal positions that the author clearly sympathizes with, but also with many ideas and trends in other contemporary evangelical movements.

It remains tightly focused on problems inherent in today’s evangelicalism. It does not deal with other questions that might be asked regarding corruptions of the Gospel in the broader Christian family, but this allows Wax keep his diagnostic and prescriptive energies pinpointed on his target audience without trying to do too much.

I really want to read this book1

Adrian Warnock's Book Review: "Mere Churchianity "

Adrian Warnock, a well-known blogger from Great Britain, has published at his blog a great three part review of the book Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality by the late Michael Spencer. Spencer was known on-line as "the Internet Monk" or the "I-Monk".  His website remains very popular and influential.

The review can be read at the following links:

Mere Churchianity Part 1: What’s wrong with the church:

Mere Churchianity Part 2: Where I disagree with Michael Spencer

Mere Churchianity Part 3: Bringing Jesus Back to the Center

Adrian begins his review by saying:

Michael Spencer was known to Christian blog pioneers as the Internet Monk.  Although he described himself as in the post-evangelical wilderness, and often locked horns with the likes of the pyromaniacs, he never lost the respect of most evangelical and reformed bloggers.  His message was bold. I would often strongly agree with around half of it and strongly disagree with the other half! We were both going to have our debut books published in 2010. Sadly, Spencer didn’t live to see the fruits of his labors as he died before his book was published. Under the care of his successors, his blog continues to be one of the most popular Christian blogs.

I feel that enough time has passed since his death for me to critically engage with his book without feeling embarrassed. I trust that if his wife and others who loved him read this they will hear my deep respect and love for the giant that Michael Spencer was and appreciate that despite my differences with him, I genuinely view him as something of a prophetic voice to the Western church. You see, I emphatically agree with him that there is much cause for concern. We cannot simply be complacent and continue fiddling while Rome burns I generally agree with most of Spencer’s diagnosis of what’s wrong with the Church. Where I disagree quite profoundly is how to fix it.

It has been almost a year now since I read the book, and I quoted from it several times last summer on this blog. With time for reflection, I think I can agree with just about all Adrian says about it.

It is still a very sad thing to me that the "I-Monk" died before his first and only book was published. However, God knows what He is doing. Spencer and his provocative writing on his blog and in his book has been, and will continue to be, greatly missed.
 

Jesus is Not a Self-Help Guru

Consider this excerpt from a "rant" by Jeff Dunn at the Internet Monk site:

Jesus is not a self-help guru. He is not interested in you becoming a better person. He could not care less with you improving in any area of your life. Because in the end that is your life. Yours. And he demands you give it to him. All of it. An unconditional surrender. He did not come to improve you, or encourage you, or spur you on to bigger and better things. He came to raise the dead. And if you insist on living, then you’re on your own. Good luck. Sign up for all the seminars, workshops and marriage improvement weekends that you can, because you’re going to need them.

The Gospel is this: We are dead in our sins. Jesus, too, is dead in our sins. But because he is very God of very God, death could not hold him. He conquered sin and death and rose again. And the only life we are now offered is the life he lives in us. Period. He wants us dead. He’ll do the rest.

Now, go read the whole article (If you dare!) -See Ranting And Raving @ internetmonk.com

Try Jesus?

Does following Jesus does give you the option to Try Before You Buy?  This is from a message by Chaplain Mike at InternetMonk.com on the text Luke 14:25-33

You can’t try Jesus. You can’t sample salvation. Being a Christ-follower is not a product you can fiddle with for 30 days, or a hobby you can explore. It’s not like tasting food or taking a test drive. It’s not like seeing if you enjoy playing the piano. It’s more like jumping out of the airplane with a chute on your back. It’s more like forking over more money than you ever thought possible and signing that final paper for your new house. It’s more like saying, “I do.”

I think that’s what Jesus is getting at in today’s Gospel.

• Making a commitment like getting married changes everything. All your relationships, the way you have lived your own life up until now. So does becoming Jesus’ disciple.
• Building a house means planning ahead and making sure you’re ready to go through with a long-term, costly commitment. So does becoming Jesus’ disciple.
• If you’re the leader of a country, and you’re going to declare war, you’d better make sure you have enough forces and firepower to win, because there is no turning back once you’ve made the call. That’s what it’s like to be Jesus’ disciple. It’s a huge commitment with high risks, certain losses, and no guarantees. And no opportunity to “try before you buy.”

Following Jesus is actually most like the ultimate challenge we all face—being born into this world and simply learning to live life. You and I didn’t get to “try out” life before we were born. We didn’t get to sample being babies, learning to walk, going to school, dealing with zits and falling in love as teenagers, and making all the decisions we have to make as adults. We didn’t get to choose our families from a shelf after having tried a number of other families first. Nope. We got what we got. We were born into this world with no chance to try it out first. No instruction manual was given to us. Just a family to help us, a world of knowledge and neighbors to help us, and a God to be our Shepherd, with goodness and mercy every day of our lives.

And that’s what it’s like to be a Christian with new life in Jesus. In Jesus, we are born into a new creation by grace through faith. Born anew. Born from above. We are brand spanking new creatures in Christ. It’s a new life. A new world. New relationships. New opportunities. New challenges. We didn’t choose it, he chose us for it. We don’t get to try it out first, either. We just take it day by day, learn to walk, and try to grow into respectable adult disciples.

Now, thank God, when we arrive in this new life, we find that we have a family provided for us. A Book to guide us. His Spirit within us. His provision to nourish and strengthen us. His promises and his presence to keep going.

But in the end, it’s life. There’s no trial period, and there’s no turning back.

Following Jesus does not come with a 30 or 60 day trial. You can’t sample it or take it for a test drive. When you take up the cross, it’s like stepping out of that plane. It’s like saying, “I do.”

It’s like being born again, with a whole new world and life in front of you.

Don’t Misunderstand the Ancient-Future Path

I am interested in the concept of combining historical liturgy, good doctrinal teaching and the experience of God's presence in Christian community.  Therefore, I was fascinated by this article by "Chaplain Mike," heir to the late Michael Spencer at the Internet Monk site.  - Don’t Misunderstand the Ancient-Future Path.  "Ancient Future" is a Robert Webber term (from the book Ancient Future Faith) for the combination of looking to the ancient heritage of Christianity and the future of ministry. Mike says:

There is no single uniform way of walking on the Ancient-Future path.

That is because “Ancient-Future” is not a formula. It is a mindset. It is a different approach, a different way of looking at what it means to follow Jesus as his church. In general, evangelicalism does not have the same That is because “Ancient-Future” is not a formula. It is a mindset. It is a different approach, a different way of looking at what it means to follow Jesus as his church. In general, evangelicalism does not have the same perspective. When people take to the Ancient-Future path, they are embracing an alternative point of view, not just certain practices.

 Read more at the link.