iCrucified

Archive for the ‘Past Writings’ Category

“If you want to exercise the priesthood of your soul, do not let the fire depart from your altar…” Origen – from Sermons on Leviticus.4.2.

I am including a link to a teaching I shared a couple years ago titled Rekindle the Romance. I believe it is helpful for us to remember and rekindle…fanning into the flame the passions of our heart renewed for our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Manuscript here (I am also including the original teaching in the audio file below, if you care to listen)

A couple of years ago, disturbed by the trend of “political correctness” and how its pervasiveness had crept into the celebration of Christmas, I sat down and wrote a poem. I received a poem today that reminded me of the one I had written and thought I’d blow the dust off it and post it here.

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The Holiday Tree  By Jeff Borden

T’was the month of THE BIRTHDAY when Yule Greetings are heard;

Yet there was something amiss because none had occurred.

His birth has been celebrated in the US of A;

For more than 200 years it’s been called Christmas Day.

We’ve made it a party with family and friends;

Invited the strangers and those that weren’t kin…

Decorations with lights, and shiny presents are many;

Bountiful feasts filled with singing and joy is aplenty.

At some point in time we seemed to lose sight,

Of what the day really stood for…what our Creator made right.

His name would be Jesus, God with us, Emanuel…

And men were redeemed by His blood when it fell.

We praise Him as God and we call Him the Christ,

But for lack of attention His day has been heist.

He warned us of scoffers and those who’d oppose;

It seems they’ve arrived here, right in front of our nose.

We called the day Christmas after His name they would say;

Now that name’s not “PC” so it’s just “HOLI – DAY”

A statement Christ made makes me tremble and groan;

“If we disown Him, us too…He’ll disown.”

Some say all roads eventually end up in Glory,

But the truth of that lie is told in this Story:

“He is the Way, The Truth and The Life…”

By following Him, we lessen our strife.

We’re taking Christ out of Christmas and booting God from our land;

We think we know best, it’s the folly of man.

A long time ago, there was another lost soul…

His ego deceived him; yes his pride took its toll;

Shaking his fist at his God, as he looked to the sky…

He screamed with defiance, “I’ll be like the Most High!”

Since the Garden of Eden a choice must be made,

Who will you serve, which master obeyed?

The seed of Adam is tarnished; the seed of Jesus is true…

The question to ponder is…which seed are you?

Merry Christmas

Last weekend Laurie and I hosted and led a marriage enrichment weekend retreat. We shared portions of our testimony with video curriculum to supplement the teaching. One of the testimonials was me sharing some of the “standing stones” aka “God-encounter-markers” of my life. I have uploaded a .pdf copy here for reading.

Here’s one from the archives in honor of our Fourth of July holiday coming tomorrow. I had planned to post this later, but was advised my access to the internet may be restricted tomorrow. So, I have been forwarned…and I’m acting proactively in accordance with that forwarning. This was a message I shared four years ago. I was reminded of it not too long ago and thought I’d dig it out and share it again through a blog posting. So, here it is… Independence Day Read the rest of this entry »

For several years I have been considering the mystery of Christ and His bride, the Church. I’ve concluded that I may never have a firm handle on that great mystery; at least not in this physical life, but I continue to ponder, continue to learn, and continue to be surprised with ongoing revelation with regard to this gloriously divine union. A few years ago, I penned some of my thoughts on this topic for an assignment in one of my theology classes. A portion of the back story of my current mental processing can be found here for those persons who are interested. For those less adventurous travelers, read on for my latest thoughts…

So, continuing with my thoughts and extending the metaphor of Christ and His Bride throughout the Biblical Narrative and present day, I see disconnections everywhere. This is something that has been ongoing and developing in my mind for quite some time, it is almost for certain that I will omit pieces of this puzzle in my mind. I apologize up front for failures of clarity, but welcome questions and discussion at any time.

Some back-story:

There was a time that I hated the church; not God, not Jesus but the church. Perhaps it is more appropriately stated that I hated what man, in his arrogance and ignorance, had done to the church. This whole thinking is a story in itself better saved for another time and place; however, out of it came the revelation that changed the course of my life. God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are united as One with the Church. There cannot be acknowledgement or acceptance of one without the other. The Church is the Bride of Christ; He was betrothed to Her before linear time began or the creation of the earth. He and She are promised and united as one. To dislike, ostracize, criticize, demean, disrespect, and/or hate the Church is the equivalent of doing the same to Jesus There are people (I’m sure) that would strongly disagree with my last statement, but I stand by it. I read the Bible to understand that the Church is the manifest reflection of Christ, and it is for the Church that Christ died, so She might be free to become all that He has been promised in His Bride. Anyway, moving on it was this revelation that helped me to realize that I have been called to work within the constraints and limitations of the church embracing her lovingly with patience, gentleness, kindness, and temperance helping her to become the spotless Bride that Jesus awaits. This church is not exclusive to a denominational preference either; it includes every group that would embrace the gospel as taught by Jesus and His apostles salvation through faith in the grace of God who sent His Son Jesus to die for the atonement of sins for all men born of Adam.

Fast forward:

Skipping a lot to get to this juncture of the story, but if I don’t I’ll end up on a tangent Lately (the past year or so) I’ve been studying, reading along, and following what is happening in the Emergent Movement (lots of branches under that banner), following research from the Barna Group with special emphasis toward western church trends, multi-campus churches, and the seeming surge in church plants with a questioning fascination and curiosity concerning the why of demographical and logistical need. I know there’s a lot there that’s fueling my interest, but it is important to know this because it is from those streams that I am collecting my data. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is another from my past writings. I think it is good to go back occasionally and re-read my position on topics. In this case, a paper written on the subject of “pastoral care” and what it means to me. My thoughts are attached in the link below:

Pastoral Care: A Subjective Interpretation of what “it” means to me

First, I should state my position that I believe fully in the position of “Entire Sanctification.” I appreciate how my church defines the position as well. Although my thoughts might have developed a little more completely in the recent years, much of my position can be understood from a paper I wrote a couple years ago (read it here).

This topic has resurfaced in my own mind due in part to a recent post from a friend (and past teacher of mine), Russ Veldman. I am including a link to his blog and this particular post/article for your own read. I hope you will take the time to consider it as it helps to define one of the very unique positions (and very important as well) in the Christian walk as defined by the Free Methodist Church and Wesleyan doctrine.

Link to Russ’ site and post on Entire Sanctification

Here is another from the iCrucified archives. This was a paper I had written following a series of lectures on leadership. While I understand the dangers of “burnout” exist and breakdowns occur, I do not believe they are an acceptable occurrence in ministry or life in general. That does not mean that I am not subject to the phenomenon myself or that I do not have compassion and sympathy for people going through it. What it does mean is that I think we can focus more intently on the harmony that God has designed and provided us to live in. When we realize the possibility of burnout is looming…when we sense that we are in danger of being over worked and stressed over issues in our life, it is time for an examination of our innermost selves. How are we aligning with God’s plan and program should be the interrogation. The attached paper includes more thoughts.

“Hitting the Wall”

Here’s another from my archives…

I had an assignment to do an “interactive translation” for a passage of scripture as an exercise for an inductive Bible Study. My choice was a selection taken from Ephesians 6:10-18; a well known passage describing the “armor of God.” My interpretation follows:

Dusk was upon us as night was rapidly falling. As I walked through the encampment weaving my way through the activity, my eyes caught the glow of an oil lamp through the open flap of one of the tents. I glanced toward the light to see one of the soldiers sitting slumped with a tired and weary posture. He must have sensed my staring at him for he looked up directly at me and our eyes locked…in that moment it was as if I had peered into his soul. I could read the years of effort in his eyes; the struggle of battle, worn into the wrinkles of his face…the despair that told of its triumph in the weariness of his posture and the fatigue that celebrated dominance over his muscles. I was somewhat shocked at what I saw and for a moment looked away from the soldier. It was at that moment that my eyes caught another sight; I focused on the banner of the regiment and began to scrutinize the crest that was emblazoned upon it. The crest of the banner and what it represented stood in stark contrast to the soldier with whom I had shared gazes. I stood; reminded of who I was and in whose power I was kept, and thought to remind by brother-in-arms of the revelation that had befallen me. Read the rest of this entry »

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