encounter

What About the Blog?

2011-10-25T23:48:00.002-04:00

We've decided to keep the blog alive so that you have acces to the wonderful conversations we've had through the years at Encounter. We hope to keep these conversations going in worship@twelve and hope to see you there Sundays at noon in the main auditorium.

"Great" Friday!

2011-04-24T11:18:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all who helped with the Good Friday Experience. It was a meaningful time of reflection and I believe that everyone who attended was really blessed by it!

HELP NEEDED for Communion Setup this Friday

2011-04-19T14:39:00.002-04:00

As Jared mentioned last week at Encounter, we're responsible for setting up communion for the Good Friday Experience this Friday. We heard from 3 or 4 people, but we still need help with communion, and with ushers and hosts. Let Jared know if you can help.

As we reflect on Christ’s ultimate sacrifice this week, we invite you our GOOD FRIDAY EXPERIENCE this Friday, April 22nd at BranchCreek. Come anytime from 4-8pm and you’ll have the opportunity to experience communion, the stations of the cross and a short “unplugged” worship service. Services are 30 minutes and are offered at 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30. Childcare is provided through first grade.

Perspective

2011-02-01T07:53:00.005-05:00

Sometimes we feel like we have it all figured out . . .

yet we lack the perspective to see the whole picture . . .

Special Offering

2011-01-21T14:48:00.000-05:00

One of the hurdles that we've faced in Encounter and in the Family venue is the antiquated technology in the 100 Auditorium. Chris Benge has done a phenomenal job in determining what pieces could be used and what pieces needed to be replaced, and we've been moderately successful thus far. But one of the biggest complaints that I hear is that the image on screen is too small or fuzzy or dropping out. It's been our biggest challenge over in the Family venue where the screen in the whole message!

I'm pleased to report that a family from within the Encounter community stepped up and made a generous contribution toward the project, paving the way for the entire infrastructure to be re-worked! Just last night, Chris was able to run new high-definition cabling from the computer to the existing projector, and the sharpness of the text was instantly noticeable! We're now only about $5000 away from being able to purchase the new projector, which is the last piece in the puzzle.

It's my hope that a few families from within the Encounter and Family venues will step up and meet this need. Prayerfully consider if God is calling you to be one of these families and mark "projector" on your offering envelope. This will ensure that your gift will go straight toward the completion of this project!

A Perfect Movie for Apologetics

2011-01-13T09:21:00.000-05:00

I don't usually like the programming on TBN...OK some of the stuff I downright hate and find embarasing for Christians. But I've always enjoyed the music videos on JCTV. Well they also play Christian movies. Wait, hear me out...I know you're stifling your gag reflex and having visions of bell-bottomed Believers being terrified in the '70's era apocalyptic trainwreck "A Distant Thunder"or "A Thief in The Night." But the modern ones are actually quite good.

I was up early with asher this morning and caught the film, "Another Perfect Strager" and thought it was a remarkable piece for Apologetics or defending our Christian faith. [As an aside, isn't it ironic that we make no apologies for our faith in Christ, yet we call the study in defending the faith apologetics? Maybe Jared can shed some light into the etymology there...]

So check out the movie! Find it on JCTV or NetFlix or click the image above for the website.

Greetings from the Detwilers!

2010-12-27T19:15:00.008-05:00

Dear family and friends, far and wide - here are a few photos as we wish you a belated "Merry Christmas" and an early "Happy New Year"!

Elizabeth is a freshman in high school, and Jonathan is now in middle school. Both are doing great. Kim returned to teaching full-time this fall. And me? Well, I'm the one taking the photo!

Among the highlights for the year was a special trip to the White House, courtesy of one of my cousins, who works there (how cool is that?!). We also enjoyed celebrating Kim's parent's 50th wedding anniversary at Disneyworld.

And if you ever wondered what heaven looks like, well, here ya go! This is the annual TubaChristmas, that Jonathan and I participated in (you can see us, if you look close, on the far left, about two-thirds of the way up).

May God bless you as we move into the new year. With much love, from Dave, on behalf of the whole Detwiler family.

New Era, New Look

2010-12-04T01:21:00.000-05:00

So are you as excited as I am about the changes? I know that we've been making a big deal about the new Family service and the Image project, and perhaps you've felt like Encounter has played second fiddle to the new venues. Nothing could be further from the truth! We're working hard to make sure we don't change that which makes Encounter unique, challenging, relevant or take away from the wonderful community that has been worshipping together for the last seven years.

So let us know about some of your experiences over the next few weeks. What things do you find meaningful? What still needs some improvement? We value your feedback!

No Encounter Tonight!

2010-11-27T10:02:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder that we will not be meeting tonight. Instead, join us Sunday night at 5:30 for the new era of Encounter!

Future Steps for Encounter

2010-10-30T20:30:00.000-04:00

We have been looking for some time now at how we can better fulfill our mission as the Encounter Community. There are 3 important steps that we are taking to start this process that you should know about.

First, we have created an Encounter Directional Team that will really help us to move forward in 2011 and beyond. They will provide direction and leadership to Encounter on a team level, engaged in prayer and conversation on behalf of Encounter.

Secondly, it has been decided to move to the 100 auditorium, or what was formally called the “Mini.” In our survey several weeks ago, the majority of people were in vocal support of moving spaces, recognizing that if community is one of the values of Encounter, then we really need to be in a space that provides for that in greater ways.

Thirdly, after meeting with several different groups of people, from those who attended the meeting last week, to many other leaders at Branch, to several other churches that have either Saturday or Sunday evening services, we have decided to move Encounter to Sunday evenings at 5:30pm.

After hearing everyone's voice and spending the week in prayer, we met as a team yesterday to make a final decision and we all really felt that God was leading us in the direction of change. We believe it will help us in our mission to make more and better disciples of Jesus. Is it the magic pill? No, there are no shortcuts in building relationships with our neighbors and introducing them to Jesus. But we want to do what we can to aid in what the Spirit is doing in people’s lives.

We have several reasons for making this decision and if you were in the meeting then you were able to see the list we made, but I just want to mention a few of them here:

First, our mission as Christ-followers is to be among our friends who don’t know Jesus. If our unchurched friends are hanging out with each other Saturday nights on a regular basis, it might be better for our mission to be among them, giving ourselves space to speak about Jesus to them. This is better accomplished if we aren’t taken away from them each weekend on Saturday evenings to attend Encounter. We might even persuade them to attend with us on Sunday after spending time with them on Saturday.

Second, as leaders of Encounter, we want to use our time together to equip each person here to be the most faithful follower of Christ that they can. And even in the best of circumstances with our most faithful attenders, attendance is still often intermittent. There are just so many activities, trips, and events that happen on Saturday night that it makes it nearly impossible for most people to make it every week.

We know that this will be a challenge since many of us have adjusted our schedule over the years. But we hope and pray that if this is your church family that you will continue to worship with us. Our goal is not to lose anyone and we pray that even if this creates some conflict with you that you would be willing to just try it out, for say 1-3 months.

Now, when will these changes take place? They will both take place on November 28, so please do not come on a Sunday night for Encounter until that date. In addition, as we make that move, we want to mention that the core distinctives of Encounter are not going anywhere. Our upcoming Christmas series will be going through the text of Luke 1-2 and we will begin 2011 looking at the extremely practical letters of John, 1,2, and 3 John to see how we can, as John says, live as children of God.

Please be in prayer with us over the next several weeks as we make this transition. May it help us in bringing more and better followers of Christ into the Kingdom of God.

New Chapter

2010-10-24T10:37:00.003-04:00

I've always had two great loves: music technology and music ministry. In my senior year of college, however, I was at a crossroads. Either I pursue technology and recording or pursue music ministry through seminary training. In the end, I chose the former and spent the last decade in the recording studio recording and producing albums. I was livin' the dream!

The last two years have been extremely difficult for the music industry. With the proliferation of home recording studios coupled with an extremely poor economic climate, there has been less and less work. Amy and I soon realized that we wouldn't be able to support our growing family with two part-time incomes. We had to make some tough decisions; Amy went back to work full time and I left the music world to be a stay-at-home-Dad. The transition was really difficult, and we weren't sure how it would work, but we steeped out in fath knowing that God would catch us.

God knew the desires of our hearts and revealed a plan far better than we could have imagined! For Amy, he provided a family-friendly job that challenges her every day, and she loves it! Then, an invitation was extended for me to join the family at BranchCreek, where I've been serving as a volunteer for over 7 years. God affirmed every step of the process, so I knew that this was where He wanted me to be! I accepted and became the Associate Worship Director under the guidance of my friend, Dave Detwiler. This, to me, was real treat as we've cultivated a friendship over the years; now I can call my mentor my colleague!

This new role allows me to continue to provide leadership for the Encounter community that I love dearly as well as chart the course for the new Family worship service. And it's no accident that He chose a guy with three small children to lead a service about worshipping together with your family. God truly is in the details!

Some might say that I chose the wrong path at that crossroads back in college. Or perhaps I took a 10 year detour in finding my true calling in music ministry. But I know that God was preparing me for exactly this season in my life; He knew that I would draw from my past experience for my leadership role at BranchCreek. I'm really excited about this new chapter that God is penning in my life and in the history of BranchCreek!

Encounter By The Numbers

2010-10-22T13:53:00.005-04:00

Here are the highlights from the Encounter survey we took several weeks ago:

Our average age is 40
55% are married
28% are single
17% are single again

There are 91 kids living at home in the Encounter community.

Far and away the top answers to “one thing people find most meaningful about Encounter”: Music, Teaching, and Sense of Community. These have been the same answers for several years.

When we took the survey, this is how people were connected to Encounter:
2% were first time guests
4% were second time guests
8% have attended Encounter for less than a year
14% have attended Encounter for 1-2 years
20% have attended Encounter for 2-4 years
48% have attended Encounter for 4-7 years

Do you feel moving to the other auditorium is a good decision for Encounter?
Yes: 69%
No: 13%
Unsure: 14%

Would you continue to attend Encounter if it were held on Sunday at the time best for you?
Yes: 62%
No: 25%
Unsure: 8%

__________________________________________

If you would like to receive a pdf of the entire survey with its responses please let me know and I would be happy to send them to you.

If you would like to participate in the discussion about moving to Sunday nights, please join us this Saturday night at 7:45pm in Rooms 405/406.

Venues Upcoming

2010-10-15T14:53:00.004-04:00

Hello all - I know Dave posted his "visual" of what is upcoming a while ago, but Mike A, our communications director, just released the "mostly" offical rendering of the new logos. We'll all be getting cards this weekend with these graphics to help us understand these new gatherings.

Survey Results

2010-10-14T15:22:00.003-04:00

Hello all - I apologize for the lack of posting lately. We have a lot of exciting changes coming up for Encounter and my attention has undividedly been with those changes as of late. But the responses from the Encounter survey are in. We will be posting them next week for everyone to look at. But we did want to send a special invitiation for anyone concerned with moving Encounter to Sunday nights. As we consider this possibility we want your input. If you have concerns, or even if you are decidedly for a move to Sunday night, please come to Room 405, at 7:45pm after Encounter next week, October 23. We will speak as candidly as possible about the possibility and hopefully have a healthy dialogue.

Thanks everyone.

Family Service: I'm All Ears!!

2010-09-29T15:20:00.007-04:00

Julia Spencer's comment in the last post made me realize that we have the invaluable opportunity to get your input as we're designing the family service. So with that in mind, what are you looking for in a family worship service? Here's the rough draft that we've sketched out thus far:

The first 20 minutes would involve music, dance, sketch comedy, art, puppets, or other forms of experiential worship and would vary from week to week. It's designed to be interactive and enjoyable for parents and children alike. The kids would be dismissed just before the message, which is recorded from the 9:00 Sunday main service and played back on DVD for the family service. Finally, we'd have an offering and response time during which we'd have more live music to respond to the message.

As always, your thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated as we move forward in this Family Worship experiment.

Introducing BranchCreek Venues

2010-09-28T00:55:00.008-04:00

I'm a visual person, and when first presented with the new offerings at BranchCreek, I had to see it to wrap my mind around it. Maybe you're like me and need to see the changes that Jared proposed on Saturday. I created the image above to illustrate the new service offerings.

What's exciting about this new direction for BranchCreek is that we're offering four distinctly different services each of which has the potential to reach very different audiences. It makes the church even more accessible to even more people!

The Face of Encounter Worship

2010-09-25T15:24:00.000-04:00

Tonight marks the end on an era. Tonight at Encounter, Aaron Bishop will bless us one last time with his heartfelt worship.

I've had the honor or working with Aaron pretty much from the beginning; we've been trading off Encounter worship duties for as long as I can remember. I've worked at a number of churches over the years and have never met anyone that "gets it" as much as Aaron...myself included! Aaron continually raised the bar and challenged me to seek the Heart of worship; to be transparent and let all the cares of the day fall away. When Aaron leads, his authenticity is unmistakable. You know that he has a deep love and conviction for Christ that is evidenced in his playing and singing. I joke with him that he has a repertoire all his own like "Sweet Holy Spirit" and "The Wonderful Cross"...songs that he gravitates toward as a worship leader. It's during these "Aaron Songs" that we see the true joy that corporate worship brings to him. That joy fills the sanctuary, penetrating the even the coldest of hearts. Its' that joy that I've found so inspiring and has driven me to bee the kind of worship leader that Aaron is.

Aaron & Lisa, Nora & Ian will be missed by the Encounter community, but we're excited about this new chapter God is penning in their story.

God is Love - Michael Gungor Band

2010-09-21T14:06:00.004-04:00

I usually reserve my thoughts until after I have seen everyone's comments but I thought this was a good message and a well-done video. If you disagree...then I will label you evil, call you names, misrepresent your view points, talk about you behind your back, and hopefully cause other people not to associate with you as well. Oh wait...

New Arrival!!

2010-09-11T23:30:00.001-04:00

Amy and I are elated to announce the early arrival of Asher Daniel Gerhart, born Wednesday, Sept. 8th at 12:58 pm at Lehigh Valley Hospital. He was born 10 weeks early and weighed in at 3lbs 3oz, so he's officially smaller than Annie (if you can believe that!)

Amy was discharged Friday and Asher will be staying in the NICU for about 6 weeks. Pray for Asher's continued growth and that the Father will give him peace and comfort in his unfamiliar surroundings. He's doing really well, we just can't wait to bring him home and complete our little family!

So, You Wanna Be In the Band?

2010-09-07T00:18:00.003-04:00

Just read a really good article from Don Potter on worship...
Check it out here

When do you feel most alive?

2010-09-01T17:22:00.002-04:00

Many of you know that I deeply respect evangelical statesman John Stott, now well into his '80s. He was asked the question in the post title above, and here's what he said:

"Spiritually speaking, I think I would have to say, 'in public worship.' I think I know what it is, in public worship, to be transported above and beyond myself, into a world of ultimate reality, with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. And I think there is almost nothing that convinces me more of the reality of God than public worship. With a congregation, one is just lifted into heaven."

Here's an interesting question to kick around. If that is not even close to how you would answer the question, why do you think that is the case? What can we be doing to approach our times of worshiping together in such a way that we truly encounter God?

Childlike Faith

2010-08-27T14:09:00.001-04:00

Mosque at Ground Zero

2010-08-15T22:58:00.002-04:00

There has been a lot of heated discussion about the building of a mosque near ground zero in NYC. The latest news that I've heard is that the plans have been approved that they are moving forward with the construction.

But why the protest? I can certainly symphasize with the families of those who lost loved ones in 9/11. I can't even imagine their pain. And the fact remains that the terrorists that piloted those planes were Muslims. Or were they?

I don't believe the Muslim faith condones killing of any kind, let alone the mass murder of innocent civilians. Those men were extremists that distorted the message of their faith and carried out unspeakable acts of violence; much like Christian extremists who bomb abortion clinics. Muslim leaders have publicly denounced the actions of the 9/11 terrorists and have emphatically stated that they do not practice true Muslim doctrine. Christians have done the same thing by distancing ourselves from misguided followers that bomb clinics. After all, that's not the Gospel; that's the manifestation of their own legalism and misinterpretation of or disregard for Scripture.

America was built on religious freedom, and I welcome a mosque at ground zero. I look forward to open and honest dialogue with them about my faith and will listen when they share theirs. I won't be changing my mind, so I welcome the discussion. But we can't hate or have an irrational fear of an entire people group based on the action of a few extremists that don't even represent the faith.

Define Truth in 1-3 Sentences

2010-08-13T23:05:00.001-04:00

If someone asks you about "truth" - what it is and how we can know it, what would you say?

Overturning of Prop 8

2010-08-12T14:48:00.001-04:00

In case you hadn't heard - California's proposition 8 to ban gay marriage was recently overturned by a Judge Walker. Here are some evangelical leaders and their responses:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/augustweb-only/42.11.0.html

[HT: Daniel Kirk]

Less Is More

2010-08-02T17:42:00.004-04:00

I ran across an interesting article today about a guy who chose to live simply and resist excess, even though he did pretty well for himself. His name is Derek Sivers, and he is the creator of CDBaby, the on-line music retailer. He recently sold the company to DiscMakers for $22 Million (or so I thought) . . .

Check out his story:

The Future of Evangelicalism in America - R. Cizik

2010-07-30T13:23:00.004-04:00

A few days ago Richard Cizik, who used to be the vice-president of the National Association of Evangelicals, did an interview with NPR [Fresh Air] for the first time since he was asked to resign his post at the NAE in 2008 because of things he said the last time he was on NPR.

At one point he talks about his views and declares "We are the evangelicalism of the future in America." My question is: do you think he is right or wrong? And do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing?

Click here for the article and if you have a chance be sure to listen to the interview.

Loving the People Who Hate You

2010-07-29T10:10:00.006-04:00

It is easy for Christians to acknowledge that we should love our enemies. But usually by "enemies" we mean people we will actually never interact with, people who do us no personal harm. I am thinking of our world's "Hitler's," those larger-than-life characters from our past or from across the globe who do atrocious things.

And by "love" we usually mean "am not angry at." But as the great theologian DC Talk once said, "love is a verb." We should want the best for everyone, even our enemies, leaving "retaliation" to God. But we should also love our enemies with our actions.

What about the people who you actually know and who actually hurt you? Who betray you? What about the person who borrows $400 from you and then drops you like a bad habit? Do you try to get your money back or do you "give them your overcoat as well"? What about the person who publicly makes fun of you in the office? Do you want secrectly to slash their tires or do you secrectly want to wash their car?

As Jesus says, "32 If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate."

Luke 6:32-36

Do Faith and Science Collide?

2010-07-27T13:06:00.003-04:00

I have long been an advocate that both sides of this debate are looking at the problem incorrectly. Here is an atheist I agree with (on this point at least!):

Read the Article Here

Wisdom from an Atheistic Philosopher

2010-07-20T10:26:00.002-04:00

"All [people] have the same defect: they wait to live, for they have not the courage for each instant. Why not invest enough passion in each moment to make it an eternity? We all learn to live only when we no longer have anything to expect, because we do not live in the living present but in a vague and distant future. We should not wait for anything except the immediate promptings of the moment. We should wait without the consciousness of time. There's no salvation without the immediate. But man is a being who no longer knows the immediate."
E.M. Cioran, On the Heights of Despair, 111.

Unity & Diversity

2010-07-19T21:43:00.001-04:00

Recently, I wrote the following as my Facebook Status:

Jared Byas

...is thankful for different denominations. It reminds me that God celebrates diversity and desires unity, not uniformity.

It created a bit of a stir amongst my "friends" so I thought I would bring it over here and see if anyone else wanted to agree/disagree or discuss.

Think Small

2010-07-19T12:49:00.000-04:00

Muslims in Churches

2010-07-16T11:07:00.002-04:00

There was an interesting story on NPR yesterday about how much backlash the Muslim community is receiving from trying to erect Mosques in America. You can listen to it or read it here. There is a lot to talk about as it relates to the proper Christian understanding of these events but one story stuck out in particular:

SIEGEL: Were there any particular conflicts, say, over mosque construction that really struck you as a epitomizing that sort of conflict?

Prof. AHMED: They did. For example, in Columbia, the mosque had been attacked and burned.

SIEGEL: This is in Columbia, Tennessee.

Prof. AHMED: And the mosque had been burned down. There was graffiti, swastika, et cetera. And there were of course very heartbreaking stories. Muslims telling us that, look, we were born here. This is our country. And now people are saying leave this place. Where do we go to?

And at the same time, what was very encouraging is the Reverend Williamson, who is the local pastor of the Presbyterian Church, gives the community - the Muslim community - the keys to the church and says: This from now on can be used as your house of worship. So in this crisis, we also see great acts of charity and courage and humanity.

What do you think about what Rev. Williamson did in light of your Christian convictions?

A Thought From Alan Hirsch

2010-07-08T20:02:00.002-04:00

"A question we pose is this: What is it about the holiness of Jesus that caused "sinners" to flock to him like a magnet and yet managed to seriously antagonize the religious people? This question begs yet another, even more confronting question: Why does our more churchy form of holiness seem to get it the other way around - to comfort the religious and antagonize the sinners?"
-Alan Hirsch in untamed: reactivating a missional form of discipleship

The Toothbrush Revolution

2010-07-07T14:19:00.004-04:00

It has become apparent to me after reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love, David Platt's Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream, and Alan Hirsch's Untamed over the last month, that my life is entirely too safe and domesticated for the gospel. In reality, I have no need to trust God. I can trust my paycheck, my savings account, the safety of my neighborhood, and the fact that I will be "wise and responsible" enough not to get myself into shady situations and then just tell people that I am trusting God - usually for something that is almost trivial for my daily life.

In the ongoing battle between the American Dream and the Christian Dream, the former has been winning. I was reminded of this for the fourth time (I have to assume God is trying to tell me something...) after reading some good thoughts from our German Anabaptist brothers and sisters:

Toothbrush Revolution

Why Do We Gather?

2010-07-06T20:31:00.004-04:00

Some thought-provoking thoughts by our very own "rich0" that he posted in the Comments section of a previous post. I think that he is onto something very important here and it's time for many of us to start questioning the assumptions we take into our weekly gatherings. I would encourage you to think about (and comment) why it is that you come out each week (or every other week, or monthly...):

"...when the Church meets, we should probably think about why we meet. Just why do we all drive out every week to get together, beyond the usual sense of obligation? What is it that brings us together? Is it...our love for Christ, our love for the worship team, or our love for our favorite teaching pastor? I think our services have to be Christ-centered or else we miss the whole point. I'm not sure there is necessarily anything wrong with having regular teachers in a service... However, we have to remember why it is that we get together. If we feel more in common as Americans or fans of Jared's teaching than we do as Christians, then perhaps we're missing out on something.

Hmm, at the risk of drifting off topic a little, let me go on a little bit more about why we gather. Why is it that lots of people bother to gather someplace, in general? Usually it is to take advantage of some opportunity that benefits from an economy of scale. It is a lot cheaper to put together a first-class fireworks display once for a town than to try to do it in every individual's back yard. It is a lot easier to hire a professional teacher and pay him to teach once a week than to have one-on-one tutoring sessions at home (I'd argue that the internet actually changes this economy a bit). It is much more practical to install a single professional-quality sound and lighting system and have a single set of musicians rehearse once a week than to, well, I'm not sure what people would do in their own homes if they weren't attending a concert-quality worship service (clearly it isn't cheaper than watching a worship DVD on your home theater).

Hmm, just why is it that we all drive out to gather together every week again? :)"

Posted with permission from the author

July 4th & Christians

2010-07-03T14:46:00.003-04:00

Here are a few thoughts to chew on since tomorrow many Christians will say nothing about Independence Day in their worship gathering and will in fact judge those who do and many more will bring America so heavily into their gatherings that it will be hard to tell whether it is God or America that is being worshiped.

Scot McKnight: A Set of Thoughts For July 4th

Do you have any thoughts about the proper Christian attitude towards American Independence Day?

The 19 Theses of Brueggemann

2010-06-26T12:12:00.006-04:00

One of the most influential writers for me has been Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann. Little did I know that he was the main speaker at an Emergent conference six years ago, where he spoke about "some things he's been thinking." I resonate with a lot of what Brueggemann says here but not all of it. It's a long video but I encourage you to listen to at least his 19 theses, which run for about the first 10 minutes, and then let me know your first reactions. What parts do you resonate with and what puts up red flags? What parts encourage you and what parts concern you? If you can't get the video to play on your computer through the blog, click here.

*Update: Rich has found these theses written: click here to read his theses rather than watch/listen to them.

Also, I have deleted the "embedded" video since it didn't seem to be working for anyone. So to watch it click here.

Oil Spill

2010-06-25T10:21:00.002-04:00

A friend of a friend of mine recently wrote an article on the oil spill for RelevantMagazine.com on ways Christians should be responding. I thought it was insightful in that he notices the ways Christians aren't reacting and bemoans the fact. What are your thoughts?

Read the article here.

go: the story of the patriarchs

2010-06-18T09:26:00.003-04:00

June 19
go: the story of the patriarchs
Who are the patriarchs?
Jared Byas

June 26
go: the story of the patriarchs
Does God speak through story?
Jared Byas

July 3
Encounter Picnic

July 10
go: the story of the patriarchs
Abraham’s Call [Gen 12-14]
Jared Byas

July 17
go: the story of the patriarchs
Abraham’s Covenant [Gen 15-17]
Jared Byas

July 24
go: the story of the patriarchs
Abraham’s Life [Gen 18-20]
Rick Martin

July 31
go: the story of the patriarchs
Abraham’s Bind [21-23]
Dave Detwiler

August 7
go: the story of the patriarchs
Isaac [Gen 24-26]
Jared Byas

August 14
go: the story of the patriarchs
Jacob’s Beginning [Gen 27-28]
Dave Detwiler

August 21
go: the story of the patriarchs
Jacob’s Marriage(s) [Gen 29-31]
Leah Macinskas-Le

August 28
go: the story of the patriarchs
Jacob’s Brother [Gen 32-33]
Jared Byas

September 4
go: the story of the patriarchs
Joseph
Rick Martin

September 11
go: the story of the patriarchs
How can we go?
Jared Byas

Being A Dad

2010-06-17T10:07:00.003-04:00

This week we will be introducing our new series on the "Patriarchs" and what better way to do that than by launching it on Father's Day? One of my favorite verses as a Dad comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-25 but it won't fit in my message for this Saturday so I thought I would post it here and then give a few comments about what it means for me:

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

¹⁰ When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you...when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery...In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?" ²¹ tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²² Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders—great and terrible—upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. ²³ But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers. ²⁴ The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. ²⁵ And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."

A few thoughts:

I love that God wanted a love for him stamped on the heart of the Israelite father before he impressed them on his children. And I love that the "impression" was in the "everyday" and part of life, not a set Bible study time, but integrating God's desires into sitting, walking, lying down, and getting up.

I love the emphasis on remembering in order to pass on. When we have children (physically or spiritually) we don't simply pass on what God wants us to do but also why we can trust what he says. Remember what God has done for you and that will give you a heart that wants to please God. What is the legacy we are passing on to our children? In the history of the Israelites, they did well to pass on the laws and the obligations to their children but they did not do well in passing on the meaning: "That we were slaves but God has set us free."

What kind of God gives us laws and rules? The kind of God who knows what is best for us even if we do not. The kind of God who acts like a Father. "The LORD comanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always propser and be kept alive, as is the case today."

Just some random thoughts for today.

"Who Decided on What Books?"

2010-06-13T09:26:00.003-04:00

[A number of people in the Encounter community asked if we could post some of my teaching from last night on the blog, so here it is. It’s a rather long post, but I hope you find it helpful.]

The New Testament (NT) was not simply dropped out of heaven into the hands of the early church. Nor was it written all at once, in one long document. No, there are 27 separate books or letters that at some point were each identified as Scripture, while other documents around that same period of time were not seen to be God-breathed.

This is referred to as the process of “canonization,” or the “canon” of the NT—a word that refers to a “standard” or an “authoritative norm.” In other words, the canon of the NT refers to those documents written shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus that are understood to be God-breathed and therefore authoritative.

So, how did this actually come about? Who made the decisions of what to include and what not to include in the NT? While some wild theories are out there, it’s important to clarify that the process was not one of the Church arbitrarily deciding what was Scripture, but rather one of recognizing certain documents as being God-breathed. Respected theologian J. I. Packer puts it this way:

“The Church no more gave us the New Testament canon than Sir Isaac Newton gave us the force of gravity. God gave us gravity, by his work of creation, and similarly he gave us the New Testament canon, by inspiring the individual books that make it up.”

Perhaps this analogy will help: My guitar, which I’m quite fond of, by the way, is a Taylor guitar. And Taylor guitars have some distinctions that I can easily recognize. So, when I enter a room full of guitars, I can within seconds recognize which guitars are made by Taylor. I’m not arbitrarily calling certain guitars Taylors whether they really are or not; I’m simply recognizing the guitars for what they are. And if I wanted to collect all of the Taylors and put them in their own room, I could easily do it. This, in a sense, is how the process of canonization was carried out.

Of course, the process was gradual, and even messy at times, but that shouldn’t surprise us. Christianity was not a legal religion for the first three centuries – in fact, Christians were often subject to persecution prior to AD 313, and this made it very difficult for churches to work together and come to a consensus on those documents considered God-breathed.

Plus, the sheer fact that churches were spread throughout the Roman empire meant that the process would be slow. It’s not like they could email each other, or have video conferences! Nor could they order copies of, say, Paul’s letter to the Romans from amazon.com!

Further, keep in mind that ancient documents were hand-copied on large scrolls, and one scroll could hold no more than about the length of, say, the Gospel of Matthew. Combining documents into book form (although still hand-written, of course) didn’t even exist until well into the second century, so just getting the documents out to people was a bit of a chore.

So, is 300 or so years a long time for this process? Perhaps not, considering these challenging circumstances. But the truth is, most—if not all—of the 27 books of our NT were recognized as God-breathed and used in the churches throughout the Roman empire by the end of the second century—within about 100 years of these documents being written.

Here’s a brief overview of the history of this process:

First century—concerning Jesus:
• Jesus confirmed what we call the Old Testament (e.g., Luke 24:44).
• He fully submitted to the authority of Scripture (e.g., Mark 12:24).
• He declared that his teaching was from God (John 7:16-17).
• He told his apostles that they would continue his teaching (John 14:25-26; 16:12-13).

First century—concerning the apostles:
• Peter confirmed that in Scripture, prophets “spoke from God” (2 Pet 1:20-21).
• The apostles were aware of speaking the word of God (e.g., 1 Thess 2:13).
• They—or those close to them—wrote the documents we now call the NT.
• And they wrote other documents as well (Col 4:16; 1 Cor 5:9).
• Paul calls Jesus’ teaching (recorded in Luke) “Scripture” (1 Tim 5:18).
• Peter refers to Paul’s letters as “Scripture” (2 Peter 3:15-16).

Second century:
• NT documents continued to be copied, collected and read in churches.
• About 140, Marcion, a heretic, presented his own list of authoritative books (consisting of an edited version of Luke, and 10 of Paul’s letters); this likely encouraged the church to think through this issue.
• About 150, Justin Martyr affirmed regular use and authority of the Gospels, putting them on the same level as the OT.
• About 200, a list from Rome affirmed 21 NT books as authoritative (all but Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation; these books were questioned by some).
• New Testament documents were commonly referred to as “Scripture” at this time.
• Terms “Old Testament” and “New Testament” began to be used.

Third century:
• No list of authoritative documents has survived from this period.
• Origen (185-254) wrote commentaries and sermons on most of the New Testament documents, suggesting they were recognized as authoritative.
• Certain documents continued to be questioned by some (those mentioned above).
• Criteria applied in such discussions included the following: Was it written by an apostle, or one close to an apostle? (Apostolicity); Is it consistent with what we know to be Scripture? (Orthodoxy); Is the work widely recognized by churches as authoritative? (Catholicity)

Fourth century:
• 303-306, Diocletion persecuted Christians, sought to destroy all New Testament documents
• 313, the Edict of Milan made life much easier for Christianity
• About 325, church historian Eusebius wrote of “recognized,” “disputed,” and “spurious” documents. Recognized: Four Gospels, Acts, Paul’s letters, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John, Revelation; disputed (by some): James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude; spurious: various documents (Shepherd of Hermas, Didache, Acts of Paul)
• In 367, Athanasius wrote the earliest surviving list that recognizes the authority of all 27 New Testament books, suggesting there was a wide consensus by this time.
• This list is affirmed at Councils in Hippo (393) and Carthage (397). [Both in North Africa]

Fifth century and beyond:
• About 404, Jerome completed his influential Latin translation of the Bible; it matches our Bible today (39 OT books, without any Apochryphal works, and 27 NT books).
• Further confirmations came from Jerome (414) and other Councils (e.g., Carthage again, 419).
• 1546, at Council of Trent, Roman Catholic Church included Aphocrypha in their canon (various books written after the books of our OT, but before the time of Jesus; however, the Jews have never included these books in their canon).
• In recent years, some Gnostic texts written in the latter part of the 2nd century or later) are regarded by some as authoritative, but this is highly debatable.

So, for those who claim that the Bible cannot be trusted because of the way it was put together, I’m convinced that no reasonable case can be made for that. On the contrary, in my estimation, how it was put together actually increases our confidence in the reliability of the Bible. That is, it wasn’t some arbitrary decision made by power mongers in the church. There was no cover up; no deception.

Rather, it was a gradual, steady process where the Holy Spirit guided the churches throughout the Roman empire, and through very difficult circumstances, to recognize those documents that were truly from God—books that reveal to us the way of salvation, and provide us with all that we need to know to live godly lives that bless others.

Ouch

2010-06-05T12:57:00.007-04:00

I have to be honest, most of the time William Lane Craig just doesn't do it for me. He will be smarter than me when he is 90 and in the final stages of Alzheimer's, I can accept that, but sometimes I just find him less than convincing. For those of you who don't know, he is a Christian apologist, meaning he is a smart Christian who helps to defend us less smart Christians.

But I did run across this video and felt really bad for the other guy...

2010-06-01T00:13:00.001-04:00

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Some Thoughts on Genre...

2010-05-26T16:14:00.001-04:00

As I stated in the message this past weekend, one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves when interpreting a biblical book is: what type of literature am I reading? We subconsciously (in American English) pick up on certain "signs" that tell us how to read certain types of literature. For example, if a book begins "Once upon a time..." I am going to read it as fiction and probably for children. On the other hand, if I pick up a newspaper, I am going to expect it to be factual and accurate. So, what are those genres in the Bible?

Old Testament Genres:

Legal Codes - Leviticus
Genealogies - Numbers
Annals [Historically based narrative accounts usually focusing on political and military exploits] - Joshua, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings
Prophetic Books [collections of the speeches and symbolic actions of the prophets] - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Minor Prophets
Psalms/Odes/Songs - Psalms
Wisdom - Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes
Apocalyptic [narratives that use symbols to interpret historical crises] - Daniel

New Testament Genres:

Gospels - Mark, Matthew, Luke, John
Letters - Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, etc.
Homily/Sermon - Hebrews
Wisdom - James
Apocalypse - Revelation

Now, it's important to note that even within biblical books you have different genres. For example, Chronicles begins with a genealogy but is also an annal. There are also "wisdom sayings" scattered throughout many of the biblical books.

But hopefully this is a helpful starting point to understanding the different types of literature we find in our Bibles.

Revelation Follow-Up

2010-05-24T07:59:00.003-04:00

Later this week I will be posting a "Guide to Biblical Genres" as I promised during the teaching this past week. But before I do, I wanted to open the blog up to discuss the teaching and any comments you might have about how to read the Book of Revelation. If you missed the teaching it should be up as a podcast sometime this week or uploaded to our website, http://www.encounteronline.org/ under "Recent Messages."

How were you taught to read the book and were you taught that there were other legitimate ways to read it? Would you put yourself as a "Futurist" or a "Preterist" and why?

About the Interview last Saturday

2010-05-13T08:01:00.003-04:00

A few people have expressed their concern, or at least their confusion, regarding the interview we featured at the end of Encounter last Saturday. So, this Saturday Leah will be sharing the following, to help clear things up a bit:

We wanted to follow up a little from the interview we had last week. We understand it may have surprised some people, and Dave Detwiler has been receiving questions, since Jared is on vacation. Dave was not involved in the planning of the interview, nor did he get a chance to hear it or Jared’s set up of it, but he and Jared have talked about this subject many times, and so he has been responding to those few people who have expressed their concerns.

Here’s what Dave wrote to one person in the Encounter Community:

I would encourage you to talk with Jared when he returns from vacation, but I believe the intent [of the interview] was to help people absorb the personal aspect of the topic - that real people are dealing with their sexuality, and the issues are complex (most share that they didn't choose to have same-sex feelings), and so we must be careful to be thoughtful and loving in our response, as we should be in talking with anyone about anything.

I was reminded the other day of just how complex the issues are, when a fellow staff member shared of a lesbian couple they know who have recently had triplets, where one woman provided the eggs which were, after fertilization, implanted in the other woman who gave birth. And they are spiritually hungry. So do we invite them to church? How would/should people react? And how would we proceed in their situation? Complex, indeed!

The problem, of course, is that Christians have historically (and often currently) reacted to those practicing homosexuality with condemnation and hatred, or at least disgust - and that in a way that suggests that that area of sin is somehow worse than other areas of which we are much more tolerant.

I tried to help lay all of this out, along with the biblical teaching on the subject, when I taught on it a year or two ago. We have not, and will not, be changing our position from what I stated at that time (and if you missed that teaching, we can get a CD for you), as the Bible does clearly identify homosexual practice as a sin - although not as a worse sin than others.

Let me know if you have any specific questions that I can address. But, again, talking with Jared would be best, as he can clarify further what he hoped to accomplish in having the woman share her story.

[Back to Leah now] I myself was involved to a minor extent with the planning of it, and I did talk with Jared afterwards. We agreed that he could have been more clear in stating that Encounter was not taking a stance with this interview, nor were we looking to change our stance, as Dave noted. Rebekah was invited here simply to tell her story, because stories are powerful. Jared will be back next Saturday, and I’m sure he would be glad to talk to anyone about their questions.

I also talked with Mike, and he told me that last Saturday was Becky’s first positive church experience. So we’d like to thank the Encounter community for the love you all showed.

He Gives, He Takes Away

2010-05-12T23:38:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, Amy and I were at a routine screening ultrasound for the twins when the technician noticed a problem. The doctor came in, assessed the situation, and told us that he was very sorry, but one of the twins didn't make it. He was kind and compassionate as he answered all our questions as we dealt with the death of a baby we had grown to love. Just the idea of twins was surreal; it was an unexpected thrill that I've longed for my whole life. But just as suddenly as it arrived, the dream vanished.

Ironically, we had to rush home so I could lead rehearsal for the worship team. Nothing like singing praises to Jesus hours after you learn that your baby died. I was numb and still in denial; I knew that when the full horror of the day's events hit, they would hit hard and it wouldn't be pretty. I told myself that if I could just get through the Encounter service, I could deal with the news afterward. Mother's Day, of all messages . . .

I can't tell you how hard this has been. But God is good despite our circumstances. We have two awesome kids that just fascinate me every day! And we have one healthy baby on the way, which–like Annie–the doctors said was impossible. How can I get angry with God when He's already blessed my family with so much? How many miracles do I need to see before I believe that He's got my best interest in mind? I don't know why He chose to give us twins then take one away, but I know that He is good and He knows what we need, and that's enough for me.

Inside the Mind of Encounter

2010-04-30T09:11:00.004-04:00

The results are in!

Here is the lineup for the upcoming series,

based on the highest number of responses given by you!

May 22: The Book of Revelation [Jared]
May 29: Why So Many Interpretations? Part 1 [Jared]
June 5: Why So Many Interpretations? Part 2 [Entire Teaching Team - and more!]
June 12: Who Decided on What Books? (A look at Canon) [Dave]

"Did he say TWINS?!"

2010-04-29T09:11:00.001-04:00

If you missed Encounter last week, I shared the incredible news that Amy is three months pregnant with TWINS!! The announcement seemed to fit perfectly with Rick Martin's message on rejoicing, so I wanted to share our miraculous news with our Encounter family.

You guys have walked with us through our adoption of Josiah, the unexpected arrival of little Annie and now the anticipated arrival of the twins in November. Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement; we truly consider the Encounter community our extended family.

You can read more about the details in our blog

Jennifer Knapp

2010-04-28T10:24:00.003-04:00

I don't meant to start any more contention on this topic but I did find it fascinating that Jennifer Knapp, a well-known Christian artist, has recently come out as a lesbian. It's more fascinating because she had a concert in our own back yard (Sellersville Theatre) about a month ago to promote her new album - and I saw many BranchCreek and Encounter attenders present.

Anyway, she did an interview with Larry King this past week and I wanted to pass along the links [it's in 4 parts]:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Music Notes: Feeling "Loopy" and Songwriting

2010-04-27T00:57:00.005-04:00

I thought that it might be fun to begin a "column" on the general goings on of the music ministry at Encounter, and I thought that "Music Notes" was a cute title.

Feeling "Loopy"

If you were wondering what we're doing with the laptop up on stage on Saturday nights, we're using it to run Ableton, a software package that provides both a click track for the band and percussion loops that can be blended in with the band. It may seem "high tech" for worship, but David Crowder has been doing it for years and folks like Matt McCoy (Willow Creek) and Paul Baloche have made them an integral part of their worship sets.

The challenge is not to get distracted by the technology; it's not up there so we can worship the glowing Apple logo (even though I'm as evangelistic about Apple as Dave D. is about USC...) It's main purpose it to unify the band by providing a steady tempo that we can set song by song. That allows the band to truly worship along with the Encounter community rather than being distracted by issues with the tempo or the sound on stage. And there are some really cool thing that it will allow us to do down the road as well . . .

Songwriting Forum

We've had a great response to the songwriting forum! About 12 people have expressed an interest in serving God with their creative gifts, and we've already got some songs completed. We'll probably be sharing them with you during our offering time over the next few weeks. Check out the songwriters blog to hear some of Mark Troyer's songs that we recorded at our last gathering.

Encounter Forum: Faith & Government

2010-04-24T15:51:00.003-04:00

For all those who have been involved in some of the discussions taking place on this blog: we will be having a face-to-face conversation about these topics on May 4th from 7:30-9pm. This will not be a debate or information session, it will be a chance to put a face to a viewpoint and try to truly understand each other's positions. I will be moderating but we hope all who come can share. There is a limited number of spots (appx 12-15) that will be filled first-come, first-serve. So if you would like to participate please send me your RSVP to jared.byas@branchcreek.org and how many will be joining you. I will let you know at that time if a spot is still open and give you the address where we will be meeting (I don't want to post someone's address in an open blog like this). Next weekend I will be opening this opportunity up to the entire Encounter community if there are still spots left.

If you have any questions about this event please leave it in the comments or send me an email.

MythBuster 2.0

2010-04-22T09:46:00.003-04:00

There are some interesting things happening these days. Here are two related stories and I would like to get your thoughts on the relationship between the two:

First, someone from Encounter sent me a speech that was given by Adam Savage, 1/2 of the MythBusters duo (If you've never seen MythBusters, you are missing out), to the Harvard Humanist Society. Click Here For Speech

This speech reminded me of what has happened in the conservative evangelical world as of late, namely, Dr. Bruce Waltke (very popular Old Testament scholar and author) resigning or being asked to resign from his position at an evangelical seminary because of a video he posted saying that if Christians don't accept evolution they will quickly become a "cult." The video has since been taken down but here is the story done by ABC News: Click Here for Story.

What are your thoughts on these stories?

Left to Tell

2010-04-20T21:05:00.003-04:00

I just finished this book, Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza. The story is her story of the Rwandan Holocaust in 1994. She hid along with 6 other women for 3 months in a bathroom the size of an American powder room. She was raised in a catholic household, with Jesus serving parents. Her parents served their neighbors the way we as Christians are called to serve others. Her parents were born with the Tutsi heritage, although, they never looked at others based on what tribe they belonged to.

They placed a foundation of faith in Immaculee's life. This faith, guided her through one of the worst times in modern human history. She grew in her walk with God amidst the horror of her country. I was amazed, inspired and in awe of the awesome love God has for each one of us through Immaculee's story. Her story is one of horror, faith and forgiveness. I urge you to read this book if you have not yet done so. God will use this story to break your heart with what breaks His. We can look at the people that committed the genocide as murders, evil, sadistic, terrible souls, but God can look at them as children who have lost their way. And because Immaculee spent so much time in prayer with God in a bathroom hiding with 6 other women, she was able to know the heart of God.

Please read this story. Get into the heart of Immaculee. Share her pain. Feel her forgiveness. See her faith in action. See why she was Left to Tell.

Inside the Mind of Encounter

2010-04-11T12:21:00.003-04:00

As we finish up our series on Philippians we need your help for our next series!
It will be called Inside the Mind of Encounter and we will be delving into topics that the Encounter community has questions about. So, for this to work, we need to know what you have questions about.

So, please put your suggestions in the comment section (or if you don't want to do it publicly email me at jared.byas@branchcreek.org ) and I will pick from them to do this 4 week series.

Suggestions include any particular passage of Scripture (just give me the Bible reference) or any particular topic. Again, I am not promising that it will get chosen but I will be picking from them for this series. Each week will be a different topic with some time for Q&A and other elements.

We will be opening this up to the larger Encounter community this coming weekend but we wanted to give you bloggers the first crack. So let us know what's on your hearts and minds!

Relationship Between Faith & Politics

2010-04-08T11:12:00.002-04:00

What is the relationship between these two? Besides the fact that they are in the list of things not to talk about in public...

This has been at the heart of several very good discussions we have been having on this blog. If you're willing, there is a nice survey that will possibly help identify where you fit on the spectrum:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2008/summer/11.23.html

There are two quizzes and then you go back to the original page and put yourself on the grid. I am a "Quiet Critic" - something I didn't realize! Then they give you some books to read that are from that perspective. I will be reading the ones from the "Quiet Critic" perspective first so that I can see if that really is where I tend to fall but then I want to read the others as well so I can understand where other faithful Christians land on this important topic.

I hope you'll do the same.

Let us know in the comments which quadrant you ended up on and if you think that is a good description of your views.

The New Civil Rights Movement

2010-04-06T08:23:00.065-04:00

I came across this video clip this week and it really made me think. In light of the recent conversation about social justice, I'm wondering what you think as well.

While I'm not an advocate of homosexuality, I do believe in equality. And just to be clear, we're not talking about pedophile preists or sexual deviants; this is about those in committed relationships that aren't afforded basic rights under the law. Or they are forced into hiding (especially within the church worldwide) for fear of shame, scorn and condemnation.

How do we reconcile same-sex attraction and love with the scripture? If homosexuality is sin–into which we are all born–then same-sex attraction would be just as sinful as a man lusting after a woman. In this case, we would all agree that he should resist the natural desire (sin nature) to lust after a woman and abstain from sex until marriage. For same-sex attraction (same sin?) we would advise that they resist their natural desire (sin nature) for same-sex relationships, but we offer no solution. Marriage is off the table. It seems incredibly unfair . . .

One thing is clear: we need to do a better job of welcoming homosexuals into the church with open arms. They are hurt and broken and have been beat down by the stigma attached by decades of the church's intolerance and ignorance. I was talking to someone recently that likened it to the new Civil Rights Movement; that 10 years from now, we will look back with bewilderment that homosexuals weren't afforded these basic rights because of their sexual preference.

Current Reading List

2010-03-31T11:25:00.010-04:00

It is my custom to post what I have been reading lately. I usually do this anually but my current list really reflects some of what I currently think as well as the way I think so I thought I would share. Here are the books I am in the process of reading. [Feel free to click on any of them to buy them or read more about them]. And yes, I always read 3 books at a time because I have idea-ADD and have a really hard time concentrating on one topic for too long at one time.

What is the rest of the Encounter community reading? Make sure you comment.

The Last Word: Scripture & the Authority of God
by
N.T. Wright

Manifold Witness: The Plurality of Truth
by
John Franke

Whose Community? Which Interpretation?:
Philosophical Hermeneutics for the Church
by
Merold Westphal

Wysteria and Pride

2010-03-29T00:43:00.002-04:00

We have wisteria in our backyard (pictured above), and I always look forward to this time of year when it begins to bloom. The blossoms are a beautiful shade of lavender and it fills the air with a soothing fragrance. There are a few weeks where the weather is absolutely beautiful and Amy and I will just sit in the patio and enjoy the atmosphere it provides. The photo above shows you what the wisteria will look like in a few weeks. This is what it looks like right now.

Wisteria is actually a thick branch-like vine that wraps itself around healthy limbs and chokes them to death. It grows at an unbelievable rate, and because of the thickness is rather difficult to cut. As hard as I try to keep it under control, it manages to grow and spiral its way around everything in it's path.

Jared talked about pride on Saturday night, and I thought about my wisteria. How my own pride had wrapped itself around the healthy aspects of my life and suffocated them. I do my best to cut it back, much like the treacherous vine, but I can never really excise the root of my pride.

While our acts of kindness and generosity may blossom and fill the air with a sweet fragrance, if the foundation of that blossom is a mangled vine of pride, then our acts are merely a display, not true acts of generosity and grace.

When I looked at that vine today, I realized that I had a lot of work to do.

How do you read your Bible?

2010-03-25T14:45:00.003-04:00

While the discussion from our last post rages on below, I was curious about your "tradition" or habit of reading your Bible.

That is to say

What do you hope to "get out" of your reading of the Scriptures
How often do you read the Scriptures and do you think "how often" is important?
Do you read full chapters or just flip it open and read whatever is on the page?
Are you interested primarily in understanding God's bigger story or primarily interested in "what it means for me"?

I will start.

I would say that I hope to understand who my God is and who I am in my reading of the Scriptures. When I look at the Bible to understand "what it meant back then" I am getting a glimpse at how God has interacted with people throughout biblical history. When I look at the Bible to understand "what it means to me right now" I am getting a glimpse of myself - that is, as James says, the Bible acts a mirror.

John Calvin says as much back in the 16th century, excuse my major paraphrase: to understand God you must understand yourself and to understand yourself you must understand God.

Alas, that is what I hope to get out of my Scripture reading. But graduate school has really made it difficult to get back to the "what it means for me right now" part of reading the Bible. It's a work in progress and I am slowly coming back around to a good balance.

Perhaps my answer to the "how often" question can be a post in itself at a later date...

I personally read full chapters since a word or sentence is contextual - meaning, it doesn't have a definite meaning until it is surrounded by a context. For example, if I said "piece of cake," you wouldn't know what I meant because it could mean several things, including my offering you a dessert or my sarcasm about the upcoming calculus test, or my belief that my current project will be easy to accomplish. So, I opt for full chapters or units.

But, that might not be the only legitimate way to read Scripture [I think it should be done first but then we don't have to stop there] as in the case of the ancient practice of lectio divina.

Have you thought about when and how you read your Bible?

Social Justice & Glenn Beck

2010-03-19T09:37:00.002-04:00

Leah sent this to me the other day and I am just getting a chance to read it. What do you think? Is it the duty of Christians not just to care for the victims of social injustice but also to take on the structural ills of social injustice? For me, this is not a partisan issue but a question of what the Bible calls Christians to be about in the world, regardless of the political situation.

Give this short article a read and let me know what you think:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/03/12/beck.boycott/index.html?hpt=C1

P.S. That's me with a group of students in an Urban Ministry Seminar from Westminster with Jim Wallis two years ago when he spoke at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

"What Shall I Do With Jesus?"

2010-03-14T22:36:00.009-04:00

We had an awesome night or worship at Encounter last night; both through the music (from the Liberty University worship band Light) and from Dave Detwiler's convicting teaching about grumbling.

[And by the way, if you see Jared, thank him for bringing everything together for the band . . . it was a huge undertaking and everything went great!]

This morning, Amy and I visited Bridge Community Church where our long-time friends Cibbey & Meredith attend. They don't have a building of their own, so they meet in a Synagogue in Cheltenham; a neat place to study the Word of God! Ironically enough, the pastor's message was very similar to Dave's, and I wanted to share sme of the points that really hit home for me, personally.

The context of the sermon was the arrest and prosecution of Jesus leading up to His crucifixion. As Jesus stood before Pilate (who couldn't find any charge to hold Him) the Jewish leaders demanded that Jesus be crucified. They were able to force his hand, however, by basically accusing Pilate of insurrection if he didn't. By conceeding that Jesus was the King of the Jews, Pilate would be conceding that there was a king other than Caesar, a charge that would cost him his position if not his life.

As Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd, he said, "Here is the man." But the Jews basically said, "No He is not our King...we want a NEW king." Their grumbling ultimately led to Jesus offering His life on the cross.

So when we grumble, we're saying, "we want a new king." Instead of pledging our allegiance to King Jesus, we align ourselves with our own kingdom; one in which we sit on the throne. Remember the Pledge of Allegiance? We used to recite it every day in elementary school. Think about the words to that pledge.

I pledge allegiance to the flag

Of the United States of America

And to the Republic for which it stands

One Nation Under God

Indivisible

With Liberty and Justice for all.

If we could only pledge our allegiange to the cross rather than constantly grumbling about what's wrong with the economy or the worship music at Encounter or our finances. If we aligh ourselves with Jesus, we've answered Pilate's ultimate question: "What shall I do with Jesus?"

A Note From Rob Hess

2010-03-12T11:26:00.004-05:00

For those who don't know, Rob Hess used to be one of the teaching pastors at Encounter and recently took a job as a Navy chaplain, serving the Marines in CA. Here is an update he wanted to share with the Encounter community:

Hey, everyone! How are our fellow Encounter Christ-followers? I know it's been a long time, and for that, Heather and I apologize. The transition to 29 Palms and the West Coast has been a big one. Huge. We are finally getting settled, but we have and do miss you all greatly! You have no idea how much we've missed you. We still consider Encounter our family and BranchCreek our church home.

Things are going well here. The ministry has been incredible! My battalion, CLB-7, has about 500 Marines right now, and they keep me very busy. I spend a lot of time with the Marines. Going to the field for exercises (sleeping out in the desert in tents and training). PT. Lots of PT. We recently went on a 4.6 mile run that just about killed me - up hills, through the sand - you get the picture. I do a lot of counseling. Trying to bring healing to brokenness. My Marines can definitely use your prayers. Fortunately, the battalion staff (CO, XO, and other Officers and Senior Enlisted) is amazing. I have a great group of people to work with and am really enjoying getting to know them.

In May, we go to N. California for a month to do Mountain Warfare training. Then in August, we begin specific training for our deployment to Afghanistan. Right now, we are slotted to leave around the first week of March in 2011 for 7 months. Please pray for Heather during all of my training excursions. She flies solo during those times.

If you want to follow along with our experiences and stories, you can check us both out on Facebook and check out my new blog at www.blogginchaps.blogspot.com. We'd love to hear from you! We love to hear what's going on back home with you all. It makes us sad because we aren't there, but it also warms us to share in your stories. We are hoping to get back for a week sometime this summer so that we can visit with everyone. We'll keep you posted.

Well, it's a blog post, so that's probably long enough for now. We'll definitely keep in touch and I'll drop you a post from time to time.

We miss and love you!

Rob & Heather

The More You Know...About Philippians 2.1-11

2010-03-10T13:34:00.002-05:00

Based on our passage this past weekend here are some more thoughts I had that just didn't make it in to the teaching. These are of course, not polished and I haven't had time to view all the angles, so thoughts and comments are always appreciated.

The More You Know Phil 2.1-11 from Encounter Community on Vimeo.

A Challenge From Our Resident Graphic Artist

2010-03-04T10:15:00.004-05:00

Hello - Our resident graphic artist (by the way, if you want this cool title as well, and you are in fact a graphic artist, let me know, we need you too!) is coming up with some new concepts for our new Encounter postcards (although they are the size of a business card).

So, she wants you to answer this question:

"What does Encounter mean to you in 5 words or less."

It doesn't have to be/shouldn't be a complete sentence. Rather, what words are evoked when you think about Encounter?

Some examples include: "community," "bread," "Jesus," "Bob's awesome guitar shredding"

But we want these new cards to come from you, so what do you think?

Reactions

2010-03-02T18:48:00.003-05:00

A "friend" of mine on Facebook sent this to another "friend" on Facebook today. I found it disturbing both because of its obvious overgeneralization and stereotyping but also because it wouldn't make sense if lots of people didn't think it was true - which means that it far too often is true.

Other thoughts and reactions?

Peter Rollins

2010-02-24T21:42:00.006-05:00

I am going to see Peter Rollins in DC in April for a speaking tour he is doing. He has been a good source of thought for me lately so I thought I would share a recent interview on theooze.tv. Many of his thoughts might seem radical and controversial - which they are, but I am willing to give him a fair hearing. He really is not saying anything "new" and I think he would agree. Most of what he says here in this interview can be traced back to the medieval mystic Christians like Meister Eckhart or Christian philosophers like Soren Kierkegaard and Blaise Pascal.

Personal Responsibility

2010-02-23T21:54:00.004-05:00

Have you seen the Tiger Woods apology? What did you think? While I find his behavior reprehensible, I am encouraged to see that he's taking full responsibility for his actions. Even more encouraging is that his wife, Elin, is standing by him when nearly everyone expected her to leave. They're unbelievably broken, but by all appearances have decided to walk through this storm together.

Tiger confessed that his own selfishness led to this debacle; that he alone was to blame. He admitted that he felt "entitled to indulge in all that fame and celebrity afforded him." He felt that the rules of normal people didn't apply to The Great Tiger Woods.

Sound familiar? If we're honest, anyone who has ever served in any "up-front" ministry capacity has dealt with these feelings. I know I have. Not the 15 mistresses part of course, but the hubris that we're autonomous or somehow above the law. Scripture is filled with examples of narcissistic leaders so focused on their own greatness that they plunge their kingdoms into utter chaos. Nebuchenezzar. David. Pharoah. Insert your name here. I say that because at times, we all live dangerously close to that line that all these leaders walked.

Tiger is getting back to his Buddhist roots to deal with his addiction. He realizes that it's a Spiritual problem that requires more than counseling alone. While I know he won't find any of the ultimate answers outside of Christ, he's taking many of the right steps to get his life and his marriage back on track and begin the healing process.

My heart goes out to Tiger and his family in this difficult time and I pray that we can all learn from his epic fall from grace.

The KJV - Now that's the book for me!

2010-02-22T08:54:00.003-05:00

Now, I am no KJV-Only pastor (obviously) but I am aware that next year is the 400th anniversary of the very first King James Version Bible, the in/famous 1611. Regardless of your stance on the KJV, as Christians it is reason to celebrate. If you aren't sure why, take a look at this informative clip. It really marked the mass beginning of the Bible being able to be read and heard in the language of the people.

I found it extremely intriguing that famous atheist scientist Richard Dawkins is on board to celebrate the KJV's anniversary as well. See this clip for his reasoning. And for the official celebration of the KJV, he has even agreed to read Song of Solomon chapter 2 - you can listen to that here.

What translation do you use and why?

Some Hard-Hitting Thoughts

2010-02-19T12:20:00.004-05:00

In his book, GloboChrist: The Great Commission Takes a Postmodern Turn, Carl Raschke himself takes an interesting turn. The book is of course about Christianity and the changes occuring in the 21st century global church. But in the final chapter he has some interesting things to say about the climate we live in, which is, if I might add my own commentary, so ingrained in us Americans that it is hard to even acknwledge.

We are talking about consumerism. As Christians, we often fight over the silliest of things while we readily accept and celebrate something that really is so dangerous to Christian life. We really enjoy pointing out the specks but we all have the plank:

"Today's eclectic spiritualism, even in its Christian variations, is simply a cockier and more self-important subset of gloablized consumption, which promises anything anytime to anyone so long as it is enjoyable, satisfying, and undemanding. Just as the second-century church was fighting against Gnosticism, the Burger King Christianity of its own day and age, so today we are confronted with a GloboAntichrist in the form of a self-blinkered "have it your way" mentality, buttressed by an uncritical obsession with openness that ignores Jesus's demands of discipleship."

Making Change For Lent

2010-02-18T15:51:00.005-05:00

I have published this at Encounter on Saturday night, on Facebook this afternoon, and on the email a short while ago. If you check all of those, I am sorry for the redundancy! I just want to make sure everyone gets the word. So, here is my spiel one last time:

For less than a buck we can download any song we want from iTunes, buy a double
stack from Wendy’s, or get a large coffee from McDonald’s. But what if we could use our loose change as a way to thank God for what we have and to make an impact on our community? This project, Making Change for Lent, provides just such an opportunity.
This is an invitation to make true change this season – in our lives and in the lives of those in our area. This is not done through fasting or doing without certain things, as is historically the case during the season of Lent.

Two simple things for each day during Lent: a passage
of Scripture to read and a simple activity that prompts you to
gather loose change (see included calendar).

We will provide jars for you to keep your change during Lent and then be sure to bring your change to Encounter on April 10 and we will combine all of our efforts and donate the money to Compassion Corner and the Keystone Opportunity Center, a local organization dedicated to social justice. We understand the current economic climate.

But when you look at the calendar you will see that this is not meant to break the bank. It is meant to do three things:

1.Have us reflect on the many blessings God has given us and create a spirit of
gratitude.
2. Have us see that a little from each of us goes a long way in the Body of Christ.
3. Have us find ways we can simplify our lives.

If you need the calendar you can get it from the Encounter Facebook page, email me at jared.byas@branchcreek.org and I would be happy to send you one in pdf format, or better yet, come to Encounter this weekend and get one while you're there!

The More You Know...About Phil. 1:1-11

2010-02-18T09:20:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone, as promised I have recorded a short "thought for the day" about Philippians 1:1-11 that I couldn't fit into my teaching this past week. This will hopefully become more regular but only when there are good thoughts to share that we didn't get to in the previous week's teaching. I have dubbed these "The More You Know" after the ubiquitous and oft-mocked (oh and here) NBC public service announcements.

Go To Video Source.

Matthew 25 - How do you serve?

2010-02-17T12:21:00.004-05:00

^{³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.}

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

I put this section of verses down today, because I'm reading Richard Stearns' (President of World Vision) book called The Hole in Our Gospel. And the chapter that we (Jason and I) read today covers this section of the Gospel. I don't want to dumb down the book by giving a summary here. So, instead, I just want to ask how is it that you serve the least of these?

I want ideas and organizations where I can help out locally. Now. With and without Children. I feel an urgency to serve. I also feel the need to be wise about this though. So, I come here to seek your voice, your wisdom and where you serve the poor, the imprisoned, the hungry, the cold.

Cyber Devotionals

2010-02-08T17:49:00.001-05:00

In this age of portable technology, I'm more likely to pull up BibleGateway.com on my laptop than pull my Bible off the shelf. This morning I was looking for a good devotional, and I found one that I really liked (especially for today) as I look forward to our time together at Encounter this Saturday. Check it out!

crosswalk.com/devotionals/Crosswalk%20Devo/11625788/

And here's a question: Is doing "cyber devotionals" a bad thing? Is there something inherently more "Holy" in paging through those thin, gold leaf pages of my old Ryrie study Bible? Or can we accept the culture in which we find ourselves and concede that any study of Scripture, on-line or printed, is pleasing and acceptable to God? What do you think?

Encounter Weather Announcement

2010-02-06T15:17:00.002-05:00

Due to the ridiculous amount of snow we received today and our being "gun shy" about last time when we didn't cancel Encounter and a total of 3 came (although it was still a great time of worship) we will be cancelling Encounter this evening. However, all Sunday services will still go on as planned so try and make it out tomorrow if possible.

Self-Deception

2010-02-05T09:44:00.004-05:00

I have begun reading an interesting (and short!) book called i told me so: self-deception and the christian life by Gregg A. Ten Helsof and I have found the topic fascinating. I have only read the introduction of the book but the reality that most people are self-deceived about who they truly are in the world is astounding yet rings so true. Here is one quote:

"A recent study revealed that 94 percent of the people who do what I do [college professor] think they're doing a better-than-average job...A survey of one million high-school seniors found that 70 percent thought they were above average in leadership ability, and only 2 percent thought they were below average. In terms of ability to get along with others, all students thought they were above average, 60 percent thought they were in the top 10 percent, and 25 percent through they were in the top 1 percent!"

Now, even just these statitistics raises a lot of questions: what does our style of parenting in America contribute to this self-deception? I am thinking here about those awful singers on American Idol whose parents said they were great and so they believe they are great even when the greats tell them they are awful. Don't know what I am talking about? See this great video about parents and American Idol.

What other factors lead to this self-deception? Are you self-deceived? Am I self-deceived?

I have a hard time with this because I think of myself as having a fairly accurate view of myself. My parents were always willing to give me a "dose of reality," as the video says. They complimented me when I deserved it and not when I didn't. I knew I could trust their critique and it didn't "lower my self-esteem." I know that parents can be mean and really damage a kid's self-image, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.

I don't feel that I belittle my talents or blow them out of proportion. I am completely fine calling myself "average" in many ways and on many topics. But do I really?

What about you?

Marriage Conference

2010-02-04T11:48:00.005-05:00

Just a reminder to sign up for the 2010 BranchCreek Marriage Conference entitled Marriage: The Journey. Click on either name above to go to the website where you can get more information or register.

The lineup for the plenary sessions are as follows:

Marriage: Add Communication & Shake by Jeb Shore
Marriage: Add Sex & Shake by Dave Detwiler
Marriage: Add Children & Shake by Jared Byas
Marriage: Add Fun & Shake by Chuck Faber

Turtle Power

2010-01-31T17:31:00.004-05:00

If you missed any of the services this weekend, you missed the The Sea Turtles playing their original blend of jazz/surf/fusion at the head and tail of the services, as well as being the main worship team band for the weekend. The band just finished their 2nd CD, which will be available soon at www.seaturtlesjam.com (the link is posted in the "links" section on the right. Be sure to check them out!

Eureka!

2010-01-28T15:15:00.003-05:00

How many of you know the story of Archimedes? The legend goes that this great Greek mathematician was asked to determine whether the laurel crown of King Hiero II was made of pure gold or if the goldsmith had cheated him. This problem plagued Archimedes for days on end. How could you find the density of an object without melting it down and making it into a normal geometric shape?

He just could not get the answer. The longer he thought about it, the further he seemed to get from the answer. So finally, he decided to rest, take a break from such deep thought. So he got into the bath. And as he was getting in, he immediately realized that the water displacement was his answer! He was so excited that he ran down the street in the nude yelling Eureka! (The Greek for "I have found it!").

While the story is suspect on many levels for actually being historically true, it is very true on many levels. Probably the most widely used truth from it is that when we step back from a situation we are usually able to return to it with a fresh mind and fresh perspective which leads to some good ideas!

All that to say, I have spent some time away from Encounter and my work as a pastor at BranchCreek over the month of January and I have come back refreshed and ready to help the Encounter community tackle new projects with fresh eyes. But it's not just me! There are many folks here at Encounter who have a passion for growing the kingdom, in their own way. Here is what is upcoming:

Sianny Christiani is still working diligently on her new art project for Encounter's easels that go up each week. They will feature people from Encounter, including a picture and a personal word about each. If you are interested in being a part of this, either behind the scenes, or being featured, please let us know in the comments.

Dave Gerhart is launching a new Songwriters Forum for the Encounter community. It has come to our attention that we have several talented writers, poets, and musicians at Encounter - many of whom have worked professionally or semi-professionally in the music business. And there are some people who just have a passion for music that lifts up the King and often think of encouraging lyrics! If you fall into either of these categories, let us know in the comments!

We will also be revamping some of the song repetoire that we currently use at Encounter - we will be adding some new things, taking some things out, and mixing up the order of service at Encounter to include more helpful and encouraging elements. If you haven't already, look down at the previous post about Encounter music and let us know your favorite (by favorite we mean most meaningful) songs at Encounter.

Chris Le is also working with a tech team to completely revam, revise, and reissue our website that should be out later this spring or summer. It will have many more interactive features but will also have the same resources available that our current website offers.

There are many other things happening at Encounter but many are still in the infant stage. But I am absolutely thrilled to see how many people have taken an interest in building up this community of faith, allowing various outlets for building relationships - both with God and each other, all founded on our common bond in Christ.

While these projects get under way keep in mind that we are also working on some ways for Encounter to keep getting more involved in the Mont-Bux area. Some of them will be conventional, like our involvement with KOC. Some, I pray, will be less conventional. But either way, may 2010 be a year that the Encounter community grows in our passion for the Gospel and the Great Commandments.

Songwriting

2010-01-23T14:45:00.001-05:00

I've always had a passion for songwriting. Not necessarily pop songs (although I tried for a while while living in Nashville) but sharing our common love and passion for Christ through original songs for corporate worship. I've written a few such songs over the years and have shared them with congregations in the past, but for some reason I was always hesitant to bring them to the Encounter community. Perhaps it was because I didn't want to seem like I was seeking glory or attention for myself rather than God. Or maybe it was because I never felt like there was an appropriate time to introduce them.

In one of our last meeting about Encounter, we realized that several people had expressed an interest in the concept of songwriting or worship-writing, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since! It's weighing so heavily on my heart that I know that He wants me to do something about it. Next time I lead, I'll share one to get the ball rolling, and with the collective talent in the Encounter community, I'm hoping that it will encourage others to join in.

How about you? Are you poetic or lyrical; have you ever had a desire to explore songwriting? Reply to this post with your e-mail address or write "Songwriting" on the response card at Encounter and we'll connect you with a group forming soon.

"Me and Jesus" or "Us and Jesus"?

2010-01-15T12:18:00.003-05:00

Our current teaching series at Encounter was prompted by Joe Hellerman's book, When the Church Was as Family (Joe and I served together as pastors at a church in Manhattan Beach, CA years ago; he also went to UCLA, while I, of course, went to USC, but we are truly brothers in Christ!).

Here's what prompted Joe to write the book: "The New Testament picture of the church as family flies in the face of our individualistic cultural orientation. God's intention is not to become the feel-good Father of a myriad of isolated individuals who appropriate the Christian faith as yet another avenue toward personal enlightenment. Nor is the biblical Jesus to be conceived of as some sort of spiritual mentor whom we can happily take from church to church, or from marriage to marriage, fully assured that our personal Savior will somehow bless and redeem our destructive relational choices every step of the way.

"It is my intention to demonstrate that our radical overemphasis on a personal relationship with God is an American - not a biblical - theological construction. What we find in the Bible, rather, is a God who seems at least as concerned with His group (me in relationship with my brothers and sisters in Christ) as He is with the individual (me in relationship with God)."

Thoughts?

Favorite Songs for Encounter

2010-01-13T22:33:00.002-05:00

Hello all - Welcome to 2010 on the Encounter blog! For our first order of business, I want to let you know that I have been a part of several meetings with some leaders from Encounter and some hopeful leaders for Encounter and I am extremely excited about what God can accomplish through this community in 2010. There will be several projects coming our way in the upcoming months so I pray you are prepared to grow as a community.

First up, we will be really focusing on improving how the community engages with the musical worship on Saturday nights. So here is what we need from you:

Please, in the comments of this blog post, let me know your FAVORITE songs that we sing at Encounter. This should be based on two things: (1) Does it remind you and teach you about God and his gospel? (2) Does it help you to emotionally connect to God and to the Encounter community?

So, without further ado, what are your favorite Encounter songs?

Goals for the New Year

2009-12-31T21:16:00.003-05:00

My wife got the Duggar book for Christmas, and I started browsing through it the other night. I was struck by how intentional they live their lives. It seems like everything they do is planned out, instructional for their children, and godly.
Skimming through that book got me thinking that I would do well to modify a few of my rituals, to live life with more intention for myself and for my family.
What are some of your goals?

Favorite Verse

2009-12-27T12:15:00.004-05:00

I'm curious..... And this comes out of the last post, and a Bible that my parents bought for Christmas. http://www.bibleacrossamerica.com/home.php My mom's handwriting is in that Bible (which I totally think is pretty cool!) But this sparked a thought....

What is your favorite verse? What is your life verse? What has meant the most to you throughout your life Journey in the scriptures? What do you grab onto when things are bad and when they are good?

My favorite verse is (something you'll see me quote often actually) John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

I come back to it over and over again. So, I've adopted it as my life verse. What's yours?

Matthew 3-7

2009-12-26T14:51:00.006-05:00

13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

12When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. 13Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
15"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, along the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned."
17From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.
21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
The Fulfillment of the Law
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

21"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brotherwill be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' 32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.[a]' 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

16"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Treasures in Heaven
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Do Not Worry
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
6"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
Ask, Seek, Knock
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Five Letter Word

2009-12-25T00:10:00.001-05:00

When did "Jesus" become a bad word? Chris Tomlin writes songs with "God" in most of the lyrics. When interviewed about his latest CD, Paul Baloche admitted that he intentionally used the word "Savior." A few years back, Joy Behar said, "Help me, Jesus" on The View and NBC executives decided to censor the broadcast by bleeping out the name. A teacher can't say in it schools. Our politicians are regarded as lunatics if they mention it. And if you hear it on TV, it's always portrayed in a negative light.

In this Advent season, we celebrate the birth of the one who will ultimately change history. In fact he will change the past, present and future for all eternity. To some his name may be unpopular or offensive. It may not sell as many CD's or get big ratings. But at His name every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. A multitude of angels announced His birth and the God of the universe became flesh . . .

". . . and you shall call him Jesus . . . "

Advent Conspiracy

2009-12-16T13:04:00.004-05:00

A friend of a friend started this program a few years ago...

My Top Ten Books of 2009

2009-12-14T13:41:00.004-05:00

I have done this the past several years and I liked it. It helps me remember all of the things I have learned and read this year. So here are a list of my favorite books from 2009. The popular level books have a link to them so you can click on the title and it will take to a website to find more information about them. They are split up into two categories: popular level and more academic. These are not necessarily books that came out in 2009, though some are, but books that were brought to my attention in 2009. Feel free to add your own in the comments!

Popular Level (in a particular order):

1. The Lost World of Genesis One by John Walton (2009). This is an excellent introduction for those who want a good biblically grounded view of Genesis One and how it relates to the Origins Debate rather than the scientifically grounded arguments we see in most popular-level books. I highly recommend it!

2. When the Church was a Family by Joseph Hellerman (2009). This book was written by a friend of Dave Detwiler's and will be the basis of our January series as we look a the idea of Church as a family we see in the Scriptures.

3. Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will by Kevin DeYoung (2009). This is a small book but a good brief look on biblical based decision-making with a good dose of humor. The subtitle is: Or, How to make a decision without dreams, visions, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random Bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky, etc.

4. "Myth of Sisyphus" by Albert Camus (originally mid-70s). This is an essay in a larger collection of the same name that was very influential in our study on Ecclesiastes over the summer. I think Camus and Qohelet would have lots of interesting discussions.

5. What are Spiritual Gifts? by Kenneth Berding (2006). This is a great introduction to spiritual gifts that really undoes a lot of what has been assumed about spiritual gifts. Berding goes through all of the texts in the New Testament that speak about spiritual gifts and provides a more contextual (and therefore more appropriate!) way of thinking about these "gifts."

Academic Level (in no particular order):

1. Reason For Being by Jacques Ellul (1990)

2. GloboChrist: The Great Commission Takes a Postmodern Turn by Carl Raschke (2008)

3. The Honeymoon is Over: Jonah's Argument with God by T.A. Perry (2006)

4. The Practice of Pastoral Care: a postmodern approach by Carrie Doehring (2006)

5. History of Sexuality volume 2 by Michel Foucault (1990) - Remember, these are academic. I wasn't going to write any commentary on these since most of you won't care but maybe I should on this one. Foucault is a certain kind of historian and this book looks back mostly at ancient Greek culture and how they viewed spouses and sexuality. It has great insights for how differently we see these topics today and it really helped me think about ways Christians should respond to the climate of modern America.

Some thoughts on my relationships...

2009-12-14T13:30:00.004-05:00

I read this the other night reading Dostoevsky (of Crime & Punishment fame) in his little essay "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man." I have no idea why but the way he described this world that he visited (that was actually like Earth before the Fall he says) made me repent of my negative attitudes and how unsupportive I can be to my fellow humans, not just in what I say, but in what I don't say:

In the evening before going to sleep they liked singing in musical and harmonious chorus. In those songs they expressed all the sensations that the parting day had given them, sang its glories and and took leave of it. They sang the praises of nature, of the sea, of the woods. They liked making songs about one another, and praised each other like children; they were the simplest songs, but they sprang from their hearts and went to one's heart. And not only in their songs but in all their lives they seemed to do nothing but admire one another. It was like being in love with each other, but an all-embracing, universal feeling."

I pray that spend more time admiring other people and singing their praises and less time critiquing them or showering them with sarcasm.

Spin Me Right Round Jesus?

2009-12-11T11:17:00.006-05:00

I am not sure what to think of this:

You Spin Me Right Round Jesus

Watch the first 2 minutes...

Here is the original in case you were wondering:

You Spin Me Right Round

Oh yeah, and there is a new Flo Rida version that was popular a few months ago but a little too graphic to post here...

Like I said, I am not sure what to think...

Readers Needed for Christmas Eve

2009-12-10T10:19:00.003-05:00

This year at the 11pm Christmas Eve Communion Service we will walking through the story of Jesus as the Son of God. We need 2 readers to come out on stage 4 different times to read a Scripture each time. If anyone is willing to serve in this way please reply to this post or email/facebook me. This will also be in the Encounter Email today. I don't like to do business on the blog but this is important! Thanks!

Global Warming, Creation Care, and the Christian

2009-12-07T13:18:00.002-05:00

Last week some emails were leaked and many skeptics of global warming took some things in those emails as signs that global warming is a global conspiracy. If you want to read more about it, I am sure you can just google it or click here. As the article I link to says, there has been a tremendous drop in Republicans who think that global warming is caused by humans.

But what has me really intrigued is that many Christians dismiss the mandate to care for creation based on global warming. It sounds rather self-centered and pragmatic to care for something only when it has the potential to affect you negatively. In fact, that sounds exactly like how the wider American culture usually responds to things.

My urgency for caring for the world God created is not wrapped up in global warming and its threat (or lack thereof) to humanity, it is guided by my theology that says humanity was created in part to care for creation and to rule over it. We are called as human beings to be good managers of creation. We are not given the right to exploit it and abuse it so long as it does not affect our way of life.

All that to say, whether it is global warming or just a global conspiracy might affect how I look at the scientific community but it will not affect my passion for taking care of God's creation as one who has been created in God's image and recreated in Christ's image.

What is your rhythm?

2009-12-02T09:40:00.005-05:00

As we go through the Season of Advent it often reminds me about the rhythm of life. In the medieval world there was no obsession with clocks and time but there was a broad interest in the rhythms of life. This is of course, very ancient since for most of human history people depended on the seasons that brought rain, harvest, planting, etc.

But since most of us have gotten away from the church calendar, because it is "traditional" and evangelicals (unrightly in my mind) tend to shun everything "traditional" and since most of us are no longer farmers, what dictates our rhythm of life?

When I was growing up, my family's yearly rhythm was dictated by my sister and my sports seasons. We were always working towards the late fall when basketball and volleyball season was starting, then we were able to relax in the late spring, then gear up for summer basketball and volleyball.

And so many things were affected by that: what we did as a family during those times, where we had to be and what we had to do. I think many families can relate to this.

For others, maybe it is the professional sports season: you spend the year getting ready for football season or you love all sports and so your outfits and nightly schedule depends on which sports season you are in.

For me in my adult life, it has always been school. I still talk in "semesters" and things lead up to or lead away from the beginnings and ends of semesters.

What are others? Think about your own rhythms and seasons and what they are centered on.

That was part 1. But part 2 is this: which of these rhythms and seasons are healthy and which are unhealthy? And do any of your rhythms center on the calendar of the Christian faith?

I repent of my anti-traditionalism and say: bring on Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and other significant days in the Christian calendar. I hope that I can eventually start rhythm-ing my life around these rather than my own selfish goals, dreams, ambitions, and agendas. How can I creatively use these events in the life of the Church to re-arrange my life in significant ways and teach my kids to do the same? That is my task for this holiday season...or maybe it'll be a New Year's Resolution.

Advent Thoughts

2009-11-28T13:50:00.002-05:00

No one can celebrate
a genuine Christmas
without being truly poor.
The self-sufficient, the proud,
those who, because they have
everything, look down on others,
those who have no need
even of God - for them there
will be no Christmas.
Only the poor, the hungry,
those who need someone
to come on their behalf,
will have that someone.
That someone is God.
Emmanuel. God-with-us.
Without poverty of spirit
there can be no abundance of God
-Oscar Romero

An Encounter Christmas

2009-11-20T08:54:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away. With that in mind, I wanted to let you know what is coming at Encounter. Our Christmas series will be called Immanuel. We will be going through Matthew's narrative of the birth of Christ but with an eye towards the incredible amount of Jewish background Matthew squeezes into three little chapters. We want to look and see how Jesus is truly Immanuel, meaning "God [is] with/among us."

November 28: Matthew 1:1-17 by Jared Byas

December 5: ENCOUNTER IS SERVING AT TIMELESS - No meeting in the main auditorium.

December 12: Matthew 1:18-25 by Jared Byas

December 19: Matthew 2:1-23 by Jared Byas

December 24: Encounter Communion Service @ 11pm by Dave Detwiler & Jared Byas

December 26: Matthew 3:1-17 by Jared Byas

America & Christians Part II

2009-11-13T08:23:00.002-05:00

Well, since no one has spoken up I'll expand more on what I am thinking of when I am suspicious with the relationship between our faith and patriotism. I think these two have been conflated in the consciousness of many Americans, especially by brothers and sisters in the South - God & Country is the slogan.

My first point is our relationship with Israel. I am not going to give my views on this but I am going to point out the bad logic I grew up with. On the one hand, it is believed by some that America is the "new Israel" - we are now God's chosen people as a country. This came from the early settlers in America giving justification for Manifest Destiny and other factors but today it is assumed by some groups of people. The bad logic is this: On the other hand, these same people believe that today's geographic Israel is still God's chosen country as well. Can it be both? Is Israel still God's chosen country and yet he has "adopted" another country as well - America? These folks seem to think so.
My second point is our relationship to God. Is America a Christian nation? Insofar as America has the most Christian citizens compared to other Western countries - I suppose so. But please, let's not invoke 2 Chronicles 7:14 anymore to describe the American situation: "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." This is poor biblical interpretation as it applies to the geographic country of America (not found in the Scriptures at all) what is spoken to Israel - a theocratic nation before the coming of Christ. In the context of this passage, Israel had an explicit covenant with God that He would let them stay in the land if they obeyed his commands. America was under no such explicit covenant.

The reason I began thinking about these things again is that I had a profound experience this past Veteran's Day listening to the stories of people who serve in the military. And as a follower of Christ, I am to love them and care for them - not out of patriotism but out of my commitment to Christ and his Kingdom. But how do I parse out the two?

Thoughts? I am guessing this might rouse some discussion...

America & Christians

2009-11-11T21:52:00.004-05:00

Guess what today is?

It's the anniversary of Kierkegaard's death - November 11, 1855.

Okay, okay, that is true. But that's probably not what you were thinking. It's Veteran's Day.

I was listening to NPR all day today and it made me want to ask this question:

What should a Christian's relationship be to the state?
Does Christianity and patriotism go hand-in-hand or are they opposed?
Is there a time when a person can be too loyal to country that it overshadows their loyalty to Christ? How do we know when we've crossed that line?

Any thoughts?

Replay: The Church & Our World

2009-11-04T10:09:00.003-05:00

I was just going back through some of the posts we've made this year and I just couldn't help but post this one again - take a look at it if you missed it the first time around.

HT: Justin Taylor

Year One

2009-11-04T09:45:00.003-05:00

Sarah & I watched the movie Year One last night and it really made me think about American culture and the Christian faith. Now, don't get me wrong - it's not a provocative movie, it's not even in a good movie. In fact, it's down right awful and I recommend for everyone NOT to see it.

But there is one scene that spoke to what was behind the entire movie. In the scene Abraham (yes, that Abraham - who is portrayed as an angry bigot) is telling the main characters all the reasons they should avoid Sodom and why God will destroy the city. And the punch line is the main characters basically saying "I am waiting for the bad part - all that you're saying sounds awesome!"

That scene (and the whole movie) really highlighted for me how opposite the values of the Christian community are from what is mainstream in our culture. And this post is not to point the finger at American culture - it is to ask, "Which will we choose?" And how do we relate to those in our lives that do not have the same value system we have?