What is the kingdom?

Another word that I hear thrown around a lot is "kingdom". Kingdom values. Kingdom living. Establishing His kingdom. This word is used by Christians to promote a lot of different political views, social responses, and even theological positions. Often opposing views are formed using this same word is the evidence that their view is correct.

My friend Aaron asks some questions about this.

I think that our understanding of the kingdom will have a great deal of affect on how we live and what we believe.

So what is Jesus talking about when he refers to the kingdom?

What does our understanding of the kingdom tell us about how we should live?

What is justice?

There is a lot of talk in Christian circles now a days about justice. But justice is rarely defined.

So how would you define justice?

Jesus Christ crucified

I Corinthians 2:1-5
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

How often do we focus on the wrong things and the wrong methods?

The spread of Christianity

"Christianity was born in the Middle East as a religion, moved to Greece and became a philosophy, journeyed to Rome and became a legal system, spread through Europe as a culture- and when it migrated to America, Christianity became big business."

Reactions?

Paying for good grades

The latest idea to improve education in Chicago Public schools is to pay students for good grades. $50 for an A, $35 for a B, and $20 for a C. Are you kidding me? Do they think that our tax dollars just grows on trees?

Some obvious problems:

• Teachers pressured by parents to give good grades
• Where will all this money come from?
• A bigger motivation to cheat
• Fast cash, no delayed gratification ~ this is not how life works

This idea is quite a stretch in my mind. Maybe I am just old fashion.

What do you think about this idea of improving education?

Sarah Palin and the complementarian

I have noticed that the nomination of Sarah Palin has not only livened up the presidential race, but it has also generated a lot of discussion on the roles of men and women in society. Many who are excited about Palin's nomination also hold to a complementarian view of the family in which the man is the head of the household as talked about in Ephesians 5. So I have a series of questions for people to consider:

Can someone support Sarah Palin in her bid to be the VP and be a complementarian?

Is there a difference between male and female roles in the home and in society at large?

Does supporting Palin mean that men and women's roles in the workplace should be exactly the same?

Is there any correlation between male and female roles in the home, in the church, and in society at large?

Where is the outrage?

Several others have alerted me to the fact that at least 125 people were killed over the summer here in Chicago. This report compares this figure to the reported 65 people killed in Iraq over that same time period.

I am wondering, where is the public outcry. People gather for big protests over a war in Iraq. Few people seem to notice when twice as many people are dying in our city as in a war torn country.

Why is this not a bigger deal to people? Where is the national outcry for all of the lost American lives?

Multicultural Ministry

For anyone involved in a multicultural church or who would like to see their church be more multicultural, I would recommend David Anderson's book Multicultural Ministry. As someone who has spent over ten years in multicultural ministry, I found Dr. Anderson's book to be quite helpful and encouraging. He is an engaging author and also a veteran practitioner.

I personally believe that more of the church should be intentionally seeking to be multicultural and this book can give churches some helpful insight into how to move in that direction.

Has anyone else read this book? Any other suggestions of good resources for multicultural ministry?

Young and unashamed

I am encouraged. Over the last month or so, I have been noticing a common theme. The theme is in a group of young people who are not ashamed of the Gospel. When I say the Gospel, I am speaking of the message of the Gospel that Paul talked about in Romans.
The message that says that all are sinful.
The message that says that all deserve punishment.
The message that says that Jesus died to save sinners.
The message that says that God is sovereign and in complete control of past, present, and future.
This is the Gospel that I am speaking of.

The people that I have been noticing are people who I have been around the most lately. I have listened to them. I have conversed with them. I have observed their passion.

This group that I am talking about is for the most part under thirty years of age. Some of them are just teenagers. They are almost all from the city. Most grew up “poor”. All lived or live in the “hood”. Many of them don’t have a relationship with their earthly father. Most of them are black. Some of them are Hispanic.

They are actually all individuals. All of them have names and individual stories. Each have their own personality. Some are very soft spoken and others are bold. A lot of them know each other, but some of them have no earthly connection.

But they have a so many things in common.

They share a common commitment to the Gospel as I began with. But they are not postmodern in their gospel like many of their white suburban counter parts.
They may dress more casual then their “modern” parents.
They may not be bound by a sense of strict rules like no dancing or no rap music.

But they are committed to the traditional Biblical Gospel.
They are committed to the authority of scripture and sound doctrine.
They believe in pursuing holiness as a lifestyle.
They care deeply about the lost.

They are not looking to follow the trends of “enlightened” new theology. They care about the poor because the poor are in many cases their family, their neighbors, and their friends from childhood. But they have not put concern for the poor ahead of the centrality of the gospel like many of their white urban counterparts.
They still talk about Hell.
They still say that there is only one way to God.
They call abortion and homosexuality sin.

I could list their names, but the list would be long. Most of them will never receive worldly recognition. But their faith and their stories are an encouragement to this quickly aging urban Christian.

I am inspired by these urban prophets, reformers, evangelists, and servants.

“Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

Has anyone else seen this younger generation of reformers?

Any thoughts? Sound off.

God is in control

Last night, some men from our church spent time discussing Romans 9 and the fact that God is in control. The sovereignty of God is comforting, but sometimes the situations of life still seem overwhelming. Here are some examples of circumstances that Christians in our community have faced or are facing:

• Preparing for college when most in your high school will drop out before graduation.
• Your brother steals your identity leaving you in debt and with bad credit.
• You find your 20 something neighbor dead in her bed.
• Trying to trust God and others knowing you have been abused.
• Being harassed by police for “looking suspicious” while walking down the street.
• Moving from place to place as a child because your mother can’t keep a job or pay rent.
• Your 12 year old brother is shot and killed while riding his bike.
• Your mother is fighting for her life with cancer.
• Trying to follow Christ knowing your mother has AIDS and your brother is in and out of jail.
  

The Christian life was not promised to be easy. Sometimes life can seem unbearable. On our own we want to quit. We may even question God.

But He is in control. He knows best. We must learn to trust him. I have learned that from the Christians around me. I am inspired by their faith and their perseverance. It is a testimony to their belief in a sovereign God.

Do you have trouble believing that God is in control?
Are their situations for you that cause you to question God or his judgment?