A little over a year ago I posted a multi-part review of Leonard Sweet’s book “So Beautiful.” This week I started his latest work, “NUDGE.” I will be providing a full (probably another multi-part) review of this book in the coming days/weeks. Anyway, the point of my mentioning So Beautiful in relationship with NUDGE is my first impression following the preface and opening comments of the first chapter. While I thought So Beautiful was the culmination of much of the thinking and study from Len Sweet, it appears at first glance that NUDGE is an extension of the MRI (missional, relational, incarnational) model in practice. I am excited with what I’m reading; very excited. I feel the welling up in my soul exclaiming; “yes, yes, YES!” Let me share a teaser quote from NUDGE and show you what I mean… Sweet writes:

I believe the lifeblood of evangelism is not propositions, but prepositions. For God to do something through us, God must be doing something in us. If we are not always evangelizing ourselves, we have no business evangelizing others. In fact, it is usually as God’s grace courses through us to someone else that we become aware of God’s love in and for us. Evangelism is an invitation for broken people together to meet the Christ who loves broken people. We all are damaged but loved, crushed but cherished, with a divine embrace. When love is the motivation for evangelism, nudging is love in action. And the cracks in our broken vases are where Jesus leaks out first.  ~~Leonard Sweet; NUDGE p.28

I love this. I want to live in this constant and continual state of awareness of God’s Presence working in me and working through me…working in others and through others… to perfect and transform the brokenness of a creation He desperately desires to reconcile and restore. It is a divine mystery that is unfolding right in front of us and I don’t want to miss a nanosecond of it. Apparently, it takes a “nudge” every now and then to move us to action.

More to come…

Now Reading: NUDGE by Leonard Sweet is a post from: iCrucified

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Middle Road, Broad Road, or Narrow Road? Which one do you follow?

Jesus, all or nothing…half-hearted is idolatry.

I get what Francis Chan is talking about… (check the video below).

Middle Road? is a post from: iCrucified

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Redeemed, renewed, restored, recreated, resurrected! Reestablished, reconciled, restarted, RESURRECTED!

Do you believe, he asks? WHY YES, I answer! As a matter of fact… I DO!

Live it. Believe it. Resurrection. Recreated. IMAGO DEI. Reestablished. Renewed.

Resurrection is today.

I think I’ll watch this a couple hundred more times… Brilliant!

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Post tags: Jesus, Life Abundant, Resurrection, Rob Bell

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Me Too is a post from: iCrucified

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RESTORED and Reestablished is a post from: iCrucified

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h/t to Floodgate productions

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By: John H. Armstrong; ISBN – 978-0-310-32114-9   Zondervan Publishing

FUTURE (Part 3) “The Missional-Ecumenical Movement”

John Armstrong begins this concluding section of Your Church is Too Small by discussing the nature and definition of the “True Church.” He also poses the question whether the “True Church” exists at all. The answer, he says, is “yes;” the True Church does exist… it is God’s community of people on earth. Quoting Paul, he writes: “This ideal church is made up of all people everywhere ‘who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.’”

Personally, I agree with Armstrong that we need an objective starting point if we are to work toward a believable, Biblical, and sustainable unity in the Church. He says the great problem with the famous dictum: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, freedom; and in all things charity” there still remains that one Christian’s non-essential is another’s essential. How true, but we must still find a grounding point or points to proceed on the path toward Biblical (Love) unity. He cites Lesslie Newbigin’s convicting remarks below:

“The world will always, consciously or unconsciously, judge what the church says by what it is. They will interpret the printed epistle by the living epistle.” (p.139)

I continue to wrestle with and process the thinking in this final section, especially chapter fifteen. I’m not sure I fully understand the subtle nuances and intricacies of what Dr. Armstrong purports with regard to “fruit inspection” and determining “who is a real Christian.” As I said, I’m still processing this chapter (and likely, will be doing so for some time), so I don’t have a lot to speak on it at this juncture. I will say that some of the questions I am sorting through regard church discipline, “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” “wheat and tares,” and whether or not (and how) “judgment and/or fruit inspection” precludes discipline…there are more questions, but these are dominating my thoughts rather prominently at the moment. Suffice it to say, this is a very thought-provoking chapter; at least it is for me.

Chapters sixteen through eighteen discuss the missional-ecumenical paradigm that Armstrong hints at throughout the book. It is here that he really spends some time and focus developing the heart of his passion; additionally, he shares his mentors and some of the more significant influences that have helped him formulate this missional-ecumenical paradigm.

I mentioned that I first became aware of Your Church is Too Small from a review by Michael Bird on the euangelion blog site. He brings to light a repeated point and call by Armstrong to return to paleo-orthodoxy as a springboard toward unity. I think Michael Bird captured this call very well, so rather than repeat it myself I will share his thoughts here. Michael writes the following:

A recurring theme is that unity is important for our mission and also the necessity of returning to our ancient roots. Armstrong’s recipe for trying to achieve that is sevenfold: (1) Cultivating a commitment to restore the sacraments; (2) increasing our appetite to know more about the ancient church; (3) express love for the whole church and desire to see the church become one; (4) blend practices of worship, devotion, and prayer from all three streams of the Church (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant); (5) increase interest in integrating more liturgical depth and structure with spontaneity and freedom in the Holy Spirit; (6) provide greater involvement in signs and symbols of worship such as crosses, banners, and clerical vestments; and (7) continue a commitment to personal salvation, solid biblical teaching, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

I was greatly inspired by the examples and resultant fruit that was shared by communities that are practicing this spirit of missional-ecumenism. Personally, I long for this type of community. I stand in the camp with those who agree that One Church is what the Lord has intended for His people.

The final chapter is Armstrong’s concluding thoughts and prayer for the Church. I not only agree with his thesis, but have been refreshed and inspired to press on in pursuit of the vision. As I said in my opening statement, I believe this is a very important book. It raises many questions (some of which I am still working through myself), and prompts us to do some serious examination of our own hearts and ambition. I am reminded of something I read from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together where he proposes that many of us (Christians) are in love with our own version of God’s Church…we fight tooth and nail for it, but our version is not the Vision of God for His Church (my paraphrase). We build idols from our beliefs and destroy each other in the process of worshiping those beliefs over the God whom we claim to be serving. I am thankful for this book. I am sure I will be referring to it and the well-documented resources and bibliography. I think it should be read by pastors and lay leaders alike. Armstrong includes a few discussion questions at the end of each chapter that are helpful to kick-off  conversations if a group or leadership team wanted to read the book together.

Disturb us, Lord… disturb us from our idols and disturb us from being idle. Disturb us, O Lord, indeed.

A Link to many more reviews of Your Church is Too Small

Book Review: Your Church is Too Small ~pt.3 “Future”~ is a post from: iCrucified

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By: John H. Armstrong; ISBN – 978-0-310-32114-9 Zondervan Publishing

PRESENT (Part 2)

Restoring unity in the church today is the premise and discussion of part two in Your Church is Too Small and Armstrong almost immediately asserts that the Apostle’s Creed is a tool to help us reestablish unity. He goes on to cite Augustine, Luther, and Calvin as strong supporters of the Creed being a unifying bond and teaching tool for all Christians. Dr. Armstrong claims; “We find no other document in early church history, apart from the Bible, that served a greater purpose in uniting Christians in their common faith.”

In this age of questioning everything and the penchant for deconstruction of most orthodox beliefs, I found John’s points addressing the need for a confessional basis very appropriate and timely. He proposes that we need a way of grasping the basic intent and message of the Holy Scriptures. I think the questions he poses make excellent starting points to answer that bigger question. He asks; “What did the first Christians believe and why did they believe it?” And, another very good question; “Before there was a completed Bible, how did the church understand and confess the living message of Christ?” Great questions I think, and I agree with Armstrong’s assessment and confession as he concludes these thoughts; he writes:

“We never stand alone when we read and interpret the Bible. With a grasp of history and tradition, we are able to read the sacred Scriptures in communion with the ‘one holy catholic and apostolic church.’”

“Studying how the historical church understood the Scriptures greatly helped me, but it wasn’t easy. I had to learn to humble myself and truly listen to other voices outside of my cultural and generational context. My teachers included Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians.”

Beginning with the final paragraphs of chapter eight, the first chapter of section two, Armstrong begins to point the finger at the destroyer of unity, sectarianism. He asserts that sectarianism is a work of pride and creates an attitude of exclusivity. Personally, and from my observation, I think his assertion is right on the mark. Chapter nine is used to flesh out the argument for sectarian attitudes being the chief cause for disunity in the Church with chapter ten being a wonderfully detailed presentation of data, observation, history, and thesis to support his case. I loved the humility and earnestness that Dr. Armstrong displays as he shared his thoughts regarding the text from Hebrews 12:14; he confesses, “Another text helped me discover fresh grace: ‘Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.’ I had to ask, ‘Was my effort to live in peace truly serious?’” This is a question we should all be sincere enough to ask ourselves and bold enough to answer honestly…that is, if we really believe that it was Jesus’ prayer and intent that we be “one” body.

Following the discourse on sectarianism, the flavor of section two in Your Church turns much more palatable and positive with chapter eleven and “thinking rightly about the church.” It is here that Dr. Armstrong begins to answer the question: “What is the church?” After carefully walking the reader through a number of negatives (what the church is not), we arrive at the following conclusion:

“The congregation is the church. One local congregation is as much the church as any other church. But the church is also the whole of all such congregations throughout the whole earth. So the church is both the local congregation and whole people of God.” (p.107)

Now, that will make some of us squirm. But, as Armstrong points out, what else are we supposed to do with Paul’s commentary to the Ephesians (Eph. 4:4-6)? I appreciated the diagrams and illustrations from Rex Koivisto’s work in One Lord, One Faith which helped me to see a visual representation of what it looks like to be the church working in unison with The Church. I think Dr. Armstrong puts words to Koivisto’s illustrations when he aptly states: “We are to be the church for them, not for us. We do this best when we begin to recognize the one church in our city. This concept would radically alter the ministry of almost every congregation I know if it were put into practice by the leaders.” I believe this. I really do. I cannot help but wonder what would happen in our society (and the global community) if we really started to live as the people of God, followers of Jesus Christ, choosing to deny ourselves and respond to our world as ministers of the reconciliation working with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength to restore the kingdom of God…what if… (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).

Chapters twelve and thirteen round out part two, The Present, with thought-provoking dialogue concerning the church and the kingdom of God and what role our history and tradition have in the convergence of the two. Although God’s kingdom and providential decree that “it will come” (His Kingdom) is sovereignly ordained, we (the church) are often quick to dismiss and/or neglect our partnership and role (which is also sovereignly ordained) in its work. This is a shame and I was deeply saddened as I was reminded how far we (the modern church) miss the mark of displaying the glory of our God before the world. Sadly, we spend way too much time, energy, and resources “straining at gnats and swallowing camels” when we have the ability and the mandate to be salt and light to the world. Sigh…I am reminded of Jesus’ remarks to his disciples (Matthew 17:17). I cannot help but think that we are missing an enormous opportunity to partner in blessing the whole world through the Body that is Christ’s, His glorious Church.

Tradition is the tie that binds the body; it is the objectivity of tradition that keeps us rooted and grounded in the story of God. Our pride and individualism show their bright colors (and ignorance) when we denounce tradition and refuse to acknowledge it as the gift that it truly is. Armstrong presents a wonderful case as he examines four components of Christian tradition: Biblical tradition, tradition in classical Christianity, the role of Scripture in tradition, and the wisdom of the church fathers. The sum of the evidence and examination of tradition’s role is best captured in these closing comments by Armstrong:

“The result of this schism is a small view of the church and a big view of our own importance. We have exalted our interpretations of the Scripture by boldly proclaiming: ‘My authority comes only from the Bible.’ Thankfully, many are waking up to the tragedy of this false individualism and are wisely looking for help from the three great classical Christian traditions and the scores of ancient writers who feed their hunger. This is paleo-orthodoxy, and it drives a growing number of us to embrace a much bigger view of the Church.” (p.130)

Part 3 - Future concludes our review tomorrow…

Book Review: Your Church is Too Small ~pt.2 “Present”~ is a post from: iCrucified

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The Redeemed is a post from: iCrucified

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Click here for a link to YouTube vid to “Wake Up” with lyrics posted

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