Here are the things I've been thinking about over the past few days:

• Are you celebrating "World Communion Sunday" this weekend?  And if so, how?

• How far should we go in emphasizing inter-generational ministry in our worship gatherings?

• Rather than "ditching" the name "Christian,"  let's start living as people-of-redemption, and earn back the reputation we've soiled (or even ruined) over the years.  Let's reject our consumeristic urges to simply go out and acquire something new, so we can just start over. Let's be willing to do the hard work, the right work of redeeming our mistakes and showing the world what Christ-ians are supposed to look like.

• Within the United States, is anyone actually flying the "Christian flag" OVER (i.e. higher than) the "American flag"?

• What are people saying who have now watched the docu-film, "Jesus Camp"?

• My wife and I are still working at reducing our ecological footprint. I'm not hearing anything that would lead me to think that very many others are doing the same -- especially within The Church.

Blessings.
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image credit: © Nicola Vernizzi, iStockphoto.com

Cathy Bushnell was our special guest this weekend here in Barstow.  A Free Methodist missionary to the children of Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Burundi, Cathy -- who spent 20 years in the mission field of public schools in Long Beach, California -- is now an extraordinary teacher, equipper, and mentor to a host of after-school tutors and daycare workers in East Africa.

Our congregation seemed to bond immediately with this amazing woman and servant of Christ; and I can already see how God is using her humility, faith, and dedication to ignite in several of our people a passion for overseas missions.  Cathy doesn't return to East Africa until January, so we're already thinking of having her back later this Fall to help us train our first short-term overseas missions team (which will be a HUGE answer to our prayers).

I so respect what Cathy is doing for the children she's working with -- but I also respect her for the fact that she is a TYPEPAD BLOGGER!!!  You can check it all out at Notes from the Bush.

I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me in the future about Cathy and the work she is doing for Christ.

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A brother asked Abba Matoes:  What shall I do?  My tongue causes me trouble and whenever I am among people, I cannot control it and I condemn them in all their good deeds and contradict them.  What, therefore, shall I do?  The old man answered him: If you cannot control yourself, go away from people and live alone.  For this is a weakness.  Those who live together with others ought not to be square, but round, in order to turn toward all.  Further, the old man said: I live alone not because of my virtue, but rather because of my weakness.  You see, those who live among people are the strong ones.

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Written in a simple, straightforward manner, Walter Wink's Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way is a great read for at least two reasons:

1. It quickly unmasks the deceptive polarization of activists vs. pacifists, while presenting the modus operandi of Jesus as a preferable and very do-able "third way" of responding to injustice.
2. It is an engaging book that's difficult to put down.  And because of this and its brevity (only 103, 4"x7" pages), it's perfect to either give away or make available to others for the purpose of generating meaningful dialog regarding war, peace, violence, pacifism, civil disobedience political persuasion, etc. from a Christian perspective.  This would be a terrific book for use in a small group, house church, family study, or workshop setting -- and it even includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter.

from the back cover:

More than ever, Walter Wink believes, the Christian tradition of nonviolence is needed as an alternative to the dominant and death-dealing "powers" of our consumerist culture and fractured world.  In this small book Wink offers a precis of his whole thinking about this issue, including the relation of Jesus and his message to politics and nonviolence, the history of nonviolent efforts, and how nonviolence can win the day when others don't hesitate to resort to violence or terror to achieve their aims.

Reflective of the book's brevity, Wink wastes no time hammering some key issues:

"Nonviolence" is identified by many as the injunction to be submissive before the authorities. Romans 13:1-7 has been interpreted as an absolute command to obey the government whatever it does. "Turn the other cheek" became a divine ultimatum to slaves and servants to accept flogging and blows obsequiously. "Love of enemies" was twisted to render the oppressed compliant from the very heart, forgiving every injustice with no thought of changing the system.  Nonviolence meant, in the context of this perverse inversion of the gospel, passivity (p. 3).

Most Christians desire nonviolence, yes; but they are not talking about a nonviolent struggle for justice.  They mean simply the absence of conflict.  They would like the system to change without having to be involved in changing it (p. 4).

Ouch!  I confess.  I'm usually guilty of avoiding conflict while "praying" for peace. I believe in justice and in the pursuit of justice, but am too rarely found taking a public stand for the same. Comfort is addicting.  Lord, have mercy on me!

Abba Sisoes the Theban said to his disciple: Tell me what you see in me and in turn I will tell you what I see in you.  His disciple said to him: You are good in soul, but a little harsh.  The old man said to him: You are good but your soul is not tough.

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Watch the trailer by clicking... here
or... visiting here.
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And then weigh-in and tell us what you think -- of the movie, of the reality it attempts to represent, or anything else that comes to mind.
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In many churches and Christian circles, a type of hugging is practiced that often seems just plain weird to ordinary folks.

Commonly known as "Christian hugs", "holy hugs", or simply "church hugs", many people consider these sort of hugs as wimpy, contrived, and fake.  Take, for example, the sentiments of this blogger who went to church with a not-so-great attitude and who really needed a hug:

"... And now I gotta slap a smile on my face and go to church. Just let me sit in the back row, away from everyone. But no, tonight I had to sit in the very front and help people. I don't wanna help people, the whiny voice in my head was saying.

And then I saw MM, who gave me the biggest hug ever; not one of those fake-church hugs, but a real one. That put a smile on my face."

The New Testament is clear: "Love must be sincere" (Rom. 12:9); "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart" (1 Peter 1:22). Phoney hugs just don't seem to fit.

Having spent the majority of my young adult life on the staffs of megachurches, the do's and don't of "hugging" have always been stressed (e.g. no full-body hugs, no long hugs, "A-frame" or "hip-hugger" methods are preferred, etc.). But what do our "hugging rules" communicate to the world-at-large?  And when we "correct" someone who gives an ordinary hug -- even though it wasn't given or received inappropriately -- what risks might this be to our mission of loving people like Jesus did, even when religious folk consider it scandalous?

Abba Euprepios said: Bodily things consist of matter.  The person who loves worldly things loves stumbling blocks.  When we lose something, therefore, we should accept it with joy and thanks, as we have been relieved from care.

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"The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others and by himself.  He enters the community of Christians with his demands, his own law, and judges the brethren and himself accordingly.  He acts as if he is the creator of community, as if it is his dream which holds the community together.  When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash.  So he becomes first an accuser of his brethren, then God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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Abba Nilus said: Do not want things to turn out as they seem best to you, but as God pleases.  Then you will be free of confusion and thankful in your prayer.