Why can't we all just get along?

This February saw Rob Bell's publisher release a short video promo for his new book Love Wins. It was intended to stir conversation about the book and played up controversial questions Bell wrestled with in its pages.

Almost imediately, prominent Christian leaders took to the web, condemning the book and Bell himself.

After John Piper famously tweeted, "Farewell Rob Bell" with a link to the video on February 26th, it set a firestorm in Christian circles.
Needless to say, an influential Christian leader publicly condemning another - implying he was no longer part of the faith - drew obvious and significant battle lines.

Most of the criticism from the public came on the side of Piper in deeming Bell's teaching as heretical and calling his views universalist. And maybe they are. But what really struck me was that all this criticism was lobbed before anyone actually read the book.

This is no more a criticism of Piper, as it is a condoning of Bell... but shouldn't all Christians try to handle disagreements differently than how this public fiasco unfolded.
When non-believers see Christians attacking each other the way they have been around this book, it gives ammunition to the arguement that the actions of Christians actually keep people away from Christ rather than drawing them to Him.

Why would non-believers want to be like us when all they see is our hate and judgement?
Jesus once said that his disciples would be known by their love for one another [John 13:35]
As I've already said, this isn't a defense of Rob Bell either...
I've read the book and been to see him talk about it and a Q&A about it too, and personally, I don't agree with every idea in it. But it did challenge me. It caused me to look at beliefs I've long had in a new light. It made me reexamine scripture about things I honestly hadn't explored deeply enough.

In the end, the book helped strengthen my faith. It reaffirmed things I already believed, and by examining some new perspectives I hadn't considered yet, it brought me to a more robust understanding and belief in Christ - even if I didn't always end with complete agreement with the book.

And I think that was Bell's point.

He seems to like to ruffle feathers, popping religious balloons and looking at things from new perspectives. That was the whole point of the publisher's short video released before the book's release date... to ask questions, to provoke, to start conversations and stir things up. Which it certainly did!
I guess my point is, we don't have to completely agree with everything someone says to learn from them. God has given us all discernment.
God can use a wide variety of people and ideas to draw us closer to him.
And in the future, let's not try to let a hate-filled controversy erupt because of a marketing video.

X

Keeping it real

We can find four qualities within Jesus' communication that accomplishes His ability to make Himself accessible to everyone....

1# NARRATIVE_ Everyone loves stories and Jesus' teachings are full of kind Samaritans and forgiving fathers.

2# SIMPLICITY_ Jesus always offered truths in small bite-sized pieces. Even with this simplicity, the pharisees never understood and even His disciples (who lived with Jesus for 3 years listening, watching and learning) missed the point.

3# FAMILIARITY_ Jesus ALWAYS communicated through familiar examples. Many parables and stories were based on fishing, house-building and farming.

4# CONCRETENESS_ Even when dealing with spiritual theological ideas, Jesus always kept grounded. He used physical, visual images . . . pigs trampling pearls, moths and rust, and eye plucking. Physical examples to back up His statements . . . a coin, a small child, a man with a withered hand.

Jesus kept it real.

X

Opposites attract

To make a connection we have to draw near to someone.

This was Jesus' way.

"The word became flesh and dwelt among us"

This word "dwelt" literally means "to pitch a tent".

Jesus didn't live in a nice mansion in the 'beverly hills' of Isreal and then commute into the rough areas and then back to his penthouse on an evening. He set up camp right in the middle of the people He was trying to reach.

He spent time with them, ate with them, lived through the highs and lows.
This "drawing near" not only effected His actions, but His words also.

Parables are used by Jesus on nearly every page of the gospels and they formed the foundation of Jesus' communication.
Parable is taken from the words "Para" (near) and "Ballo" (to bring) = "Near-bringers".
Jesus never tried to discuss theology with the everyday people of Galilee. He used these "Paraballos", these "near-bringers" to bring His principles and lofty ideas down into the dust of the market streets and desert roads.

In this day and age we have made the assumption that "clever people use big words".

Jesus' approach was the exact opposite.

He sought to bring His communication closer and more accessible to everyone.

X

On their turf

Matthew 8_15-13 tells of the remarkable faith of a Roman officer, but an emphasis is all given to Jesus' character... His desire to meet people in their own space. At the drop of a hat He was willing to stop what He was doing, change direction and go to a complete strangers house.

Meeting with and spending time with the Romans was almost as bad as associating with the sick, prostitutes and tax collectors, but this was Jesus' way.

Communication.

Jesus wasn't like Robin Hood, steling from the rich to give to the poor.
Jesus gave to everyone.

He preached in the synagogue.

Touched and healed the sick.

Dined with the religious elite.

Sat and drank with adulterers and prostitutes.

No matter what the audience, Jesus delivered the message in their terms and on their turf.

X

Seeking a connection

Communication doesn't begin with words, it begins with a connection.

Coming together, sharing of life and self, seeking to know and be known.

Community/Compassion/Communion/Communication are all rooted to "Com" [Latin] = "together". The word "Communication" comes from the Latin word "Communicare" = "to share together"/"to make common".

Many technological and scientific understandings have dumbed down the idea of "communication" as the transfer of information. The physical connection has become lost somewhere along the way.

Jesus was all about sharing together and making the connection

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."

From His first breaths in that dark, damp, smelly barn - to His final breaths on that dirty, blood-stained cross, His life (and death) were about reaching people.

X

Silence isn't golden

This issue of attentiveness isn't just a problem when dealing with other people. God can also feel the brunt of our self-centeredness.

I know personally, I have caught myself singing worship songs on a Sunday night, but my brain has been thinking about what to eat for supper, or whether to have tea or coffee after the meeting, or what I've got to do at work in the morning!

Singing these very serious words like "I surrender all to you" but obviously not meaning it.
Other times I have tried to have a quiet prayer time in bed and actually fell asleep mid-sentence! Could you imagine what it would feel like if someone fell asleep whilst you were talking to them?!

Just being silent isn't enough, we can appear to be quiet on the outside but inside we are making heaps of noise.

Jesus wasn't just silent, He was actively attentive.

Here are some ways we can be more like Jesus . . .

1# ASK QUESTIONS_ Out of all the questions asked of Jesus, He only answered 2 ! The rest He answered with another question of His own. This is a useful way to dig below the surface of what is being talked about.

2# REMOVE DISTRACTIONS_ Turn off TVs, phones, computers, music. Multi-tasking always takes away from the main focus. By 'sacrificing' these distractions, we are showing how important listening is.

3# BODY LANGUAGE_ Just as kneeling in prayer isn't necessary, it helps to focus us and give us a humble heart. So too body language says a lot about our listening. Eye-contact prevents further distraction and suggests openness and honesty.

4# TAKE NOTE OF THE "MARGINS"_ Jesus was all about spending time with the "invisibles", the poor, the alienated and the sick.

5# LEARN TO SEE_ Not visually, but to understand more about a situation or person. If we learn the family, culture or life-story of an individual, we can better understand and help.

Over time these disciplines will become habits and these habits will become character. It is difficult to live like Jesus, to live in the present. To not look back (reminiscing) and to not look forward (anticipating). It is only in the here and now that we can attend to others.

X

Lipstick

This attentiveness may look like a passive quality, but in Jesus case it is not.

It was ACTIVE.

Watching and seeking.

Jesus mainly paid attention to those overlooked by others. The homeless, the sick, the unlovely, the rejected. He reached out to people who had been told they were useless and gave them a use, worthless and gave them worth, undignified and gave them dignity, loveless and gave them love.

It's the little details that Jesus cared about.

Jesus took this attentiveness a step further with empathy and attentiveness of the heart.

It is one thing to attune our eyes and ears to what is around us, but far more difficult to open our hearts.

We long to feel understood and valued.

We are ALL insecure.

Rob Bell tells a story of a Red Cross package arriving at a concerntration camp. All it contained was lipsticks. Even though lipstick was probably the last thing on the list of things they needed, it actually worked!
Women lay in bed with no sheets and no nightie, but with scarlet red lips. Wondering around with nothing but a blanket drapped over their shoulders, but with bright red lips.

The holucaust was mainly achievable by taking away these peoples humanity.

Someone had turned them from numbers back into people again. The lipstick started to give them back their humanity.

X

Active Attentiveness

People crave attention (almost as much as oxygen!), this was the case 2000 years ago and still is today.
With the growth in technology we are in constant connection to the world (mobile phones, palm tops, lap tops, wireless internet, web cams and chat rooms) but without physically meeting eye-to-eye.

After having a conversation with someone not long ago, I was surprised to hear of their feelings of aloneness.

Lost in a crowd.

Mother Teresa said "As far as I am concerned, the greatest suffering is to feel alone, unwanted, unloved..."

We don't need more stuff, we don't need new medicines, bigger bombs, we don't need to know what the next solar system looks like. We need someone to listen to us, not as a 'patient', not just waiting for their turn to talk.

Someone to REALLY listen.

We are all attention seekers.

Too often I catch myself hearing someone speak to me without actually listening.

Picture a dusty side street, 2000 years ago in Jericho.

The hustle and bustle of the market traders, people getting on with their day-to-day lives.

Bartimaeus, blind and begging in his usual spot, people just pass him by.

Next minute, excitement, crowds of people pushing and shoving... "Jesus of Nazareth is here!"

"Jesus!" the blind man calls out, but the crowd tell him to be quiet. Jesus hears Bartimaeus' voice, recognizes a need and approaches him.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asks, waiting, listening.

Can this great man really want an answer from me?

Jesus' expectant silence confirms this to Bartimaeus and he is healed.

Jesus listens.

X

VOX blog

Hey homees!

No blog for a while now, sorry...I know I suck!
Ive been trying to deal with redundancy stuff and sort out how I'm gonna pay the bills and feed an extra mouth that will soon be moving into our house.

Anyhoo... Mr J T asked me to blog on the oakham VOX blog and I have posted my 1st on there. As you would expect the site looks pretty swanky. Please take a look, read, comment and get involved.

Facebook and myspace is SO last year!

Love you X

No tabernacle?...No temple?...Denied!

Once in the promised land and when the temple was constructed, the temple-worship was a continuation of the tabernacle-worship.

When Jerusalem was attacked and the temple destroyed, the Isrealites were forced to make changes to the way they worship.

With no sanctuary, no cult, no focus point, the Isrealites had to find some other way...

The torah.

They gave this book the central role, its laws and scriptures THE most important thing.

Synagogues are not mini version of the original temple, these were just meeting places for fellowship, praying and reading the torah.

This continued until Jerusalem was theirs once again and the temple was rebuilt. The temple served its purpose the same as the 1st until it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Worship was forced to change with times and situations, however it's centre and heart did not.

In the western world we have seen many changes in our attitude to worship and some of these changes have been widely recieved as positive and some not so (stupid dancing with ribbons!).

This is the end of my study on WORSHIP. I have no idea what to look at next, if anyone still reads this (welldone!) and has any ideas or something they wanna study & learn with me, then drop a comment and let me know!

Love you X

Tabernacle

During the patriarchal time (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph) worship is mainly informal.

There are no set patterns of worship.

There is no fixed location for worship.

Patriachal worship is spontaneous.

Worship truely begins (for the Isrealites) after God's act of deliverance, the Exodus.

The passover is not only a way of remembering, but also an act of worship.

At mount Sinai God revealed the ways in which worship should be expressed.

Sacrifice played an important role in Isrealite life and then also gave them a focus point to offer these sacrifices . . . the tabernacle.

Now this gave the people a very visual impression of God. The tabernacle was a portable temple and shrine that could be packed up and moved from place to place.

The main thing I want to stress to you at this point in the exodus story is that God showed them the way by a cloud and fire. The Isrealites didn't know who long they would be staying in one place or when it would be time to leave.

They may set up camp and stay for a couple of hours, or months.

They were totally dependant on God.

Love you X

Change

Worship wasn't invented by Matt Redman or even Graham Kendrick!

Worship isn't a recent invention.

It dates right back into the Old Testament.
To understand what the New Testament teaches us about worship, we have to first understand the Old Testament.

Many people find the OT hard to understand or struggle with how to relate it to living in 2008. Especially when it talks of the temple and sacrificing. But these seemingly unhelpful rules and instructions are at the heart of ancient views of worship.

So even though OT worship seems far from our 2008 christian worship, this is why it's important to start here. Patterns and values that are birthed in OT laws can be seen in our services today.

Again, we need to make sure that we don't treat this OT worship as a single absolute.

There are different forms used to express worship.

Obviously, the OT spans a large period of time and of course during the 39 books, worship wasn't static.

It changed.

It developed.

It grew.

This is mainly down to God's progression of revealing Himself to His people.

_DEVELOPMENTS IN OLD TESTAMENT WORSHIP_

Patriachal period = Sacred places

Exodus/Settlement in Canaan = Tabernacle

Monarchy = Temple

Exile = Synagogues

Restoration = Second temple

Love you X

Lost in translation

There is one verse in the Old Testament that uses all 3 Hebrew words that we've looked at.

The 3 windows into worship captured in just one verse.

2 Kings 17:35

It's interesting to see how different translations handle this verse.

"When the LORD made a covenant with the Isrealites, He commanded them: Do not worship [yare] any other gods or bow down [hawah] to them, serve them [abad] or sacrifice to them." NIV

In principle the words could all be translated "worship"_ "Do not worship . . . or worship . . . or worship . . .", even though this would be translated correctly, it is flat and misses the point. Alternatively, the RSV doesn't translate ANY of the words as "worship".

This passage is most deffinately about worship. Yeah sure, it's about what NOT to do. But what we should NOT do for other gods, we SHOULD do for the one true God.

The main thing to remember is that submission, service and reverence aren't alternatives of different forms of worship, but different angles of a single, complete activity.

WORSHIP.

Love you X

Our God is an AWESOME God

The NT equivalent to 'yare' is 'sebomai'.

'Sebomai' occurs 10 times in the NT.

It means 'to revere', 'to be devout', 'to worship'.

[Matt 15:9 / Mark 7:7 / Acts 16:14]

This is another tie between OT & NT, creating continuity.

Worship as reverence of God.

Reverence involves awe.

Our God is an AWESOME God!

Love you X

Reverence & Fear

Our 3rd biblical view on worship is 'fear' or 'reverence' of God.

The Hebrew word is 'yare' and is found over 300 times in the OT. In most cases this word is translated to 'afraid' or 'fear'.

In 80% the object of fear is God.

This 'fear' isn't terror or dread, but awe and respect.

This 'fear of the LORD' is consistant with a way of life that is connected to an inner attitude of reverence towards God.

This way of life is an expression of worship.

Love you X

EVERYTHING is spiritual

Now, in the new testament there are 2 Greek words that convey the same message as 'abad'.

They are 'latreuo' and 'leitourgeo'.

'Latreuo' is found 21 times in the NT and means 'to serve' and 'to worship'. All of the uses of the word 'latreuo' are where service is offered not to other humans, but to God. [Luke 2:37 / Acts 26:7 / Phil. 3:3 / Hebrews 12:28]

The 2nd Greek word 'leitourgeo' is found only 3 times in the NT [Acts 13:2 / Romans 15:27 / Hebrews 10:11] (serving / ministering).

Worship, then, is the expression of service of God not only in religous gatherings, but in every area of life.

This is why if you one of the early christians about how spiritual they were, they wouldn't understand what you were talking about. It's not about what they did on the sabbath, but ALL THE TIME. There is no difference between church-life and life-life.

Everything is spiritual.

In Hebrew, the word for spirit and the word for breath is the same ['ruwah'].

Everything is spiritual.

This meaning of worship can be linked to how we call meetings 'services'.

But we gotta make sure our 'services' really are 'service' of God.

Love you X

Abad

So after looking at the first biblical word and the comparisons between 'hawah' and 'proskuneo', we can start to appreciate 1 part of the essence of worship:

WORSHIP involves humble submission to God.

The next biblical word group shows another side of worship.

Worship involves work or service.

The Hebrew term is 'abad', this word is found 289 times in the OT. Its meaning can be translated 'to work', 'to do', 'to perform', 'to serve' and 'to worship'.

It is most frequently translated as 'to serve' (125 times). The phrase 'to serve the LORD[Yahweh]' is used 56 times.

It is through this phrase we gain another aspect of worship (Exodus 3:12 / Deut. 10:12 / Isaiah 19:21).

The term 'abad' is frequently used during God's instructions for His people on sacrificial rituals and apperatus to enable them to serve (worship) in an appropriate manner.

Love you X

Inward & Outward

Next we look at a New Testament Greek word _ 'Proskuneo'. It is a verb to describe the action of prostrating, or to fall down in adoration.

As well as this outward physical display, it also has an inward attitude of reverence and humility.

'Proskuneo' is the most common word for worship in the new testament [John 4:20-24 / Revelation 5:14], just like 'hawah' is in the old testament.

This adds to the continuity between the OT and NT.

Both these words are about INWARD attitude reflected in an OUTWARD gesture.

Love you X

Bow down

The most commonly used Hebrew word is 'hawah', from the phrase 'hishtahawah' which means 'to bow [down]', 'to do obedience', 'to pay homage' and 'to worship'.

Of the 170 old testament uses of the word 'hawah', about 75 are translated as 'worship'. Around the same number translates 'bow down', 6 times as 'pay honour' and once as 'pay homage'.

BOWING DOWN was a physical response, an action. It was a mark of respect, you bowed to kings.

It was also an act of submission.

So as a word for worship, 'hawah' gives us the idea of honouring God and expressing sumbission to Him.

Love you X

3 words

If we wanna seriously understand worship, we need to look at what the bible says about it.

To know where we are going, we have to know where we have been.

The first step is to look at the original meanings behind the word 'worship'.

Originally the bible wasn't written in english (what?! but Jesus was a christian from oxford!), the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek.

In the old testament we see SO MUCH history soaked in worship (in all forms). A lot of this helps us to understand what worship is and how we should offer it.

There are 3 main Hebrew words used in the old testament for worship. Unfortunately the lack of expression in the english language means that they all translate to 'worship'.

In basic terms the 3 words break down to Submission, Service and Reverence.

These 3 words link in very well to the Greek words used in the new testament. This is another way (along with theology and prophecy) that the OT and the NT tie together and are consitant.

Each of these key words highlights a different dimension (or focus) that together make up worship as a whole.

Love you X