Saturday, October 9th, 2010

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

(Check out the  Fall Fiesta Flier for more information!)

One of the casualties of 9/11 was never recited when the victims were named.  That casualty?  WWJD.  The slogan, along with the bracelets and other paraphernalia produced by Christian manufacturers was at the height of popularity when the Twin Towers went down.  WWJD laid under the rubble along with the other victims who were so tragically killed on that day.

Like all expressions of pop Christianity, there were justifiable criticisms of the WWJD fad.  Is “What Would Jesus Do?” the right question?  Don’t we just project our own ill-informed assumptions about Jesus when that question is asked?  Don’t we need to ask “What did Jesus do?” and look to the Gospels for an answer?  Can we really know what Jesus would do in our contemporary circumstances?

Yes, there were always problems with simplistically asking, “What Would Jesus Do?”  But as religious fads go, I think this one was pretty good.  While we can’t know exactly what Jesus would do in every situation we face, we need to carefully, prayerfully learn what the Gospels tell us of his life and words.  Then with a faith-filled, imagination we can ask, “What must I do to follow Jesus in this particular circumstance?”  If the stories of the life of Jesus have infiltrated our hearts and shaped our character, asking, “What Would Jesus Do?” makes sense.  The question serves as a reminder not to simply go along with the consequentialist thinking.  Consequentialist thinking asks, “What must I do to make things turn out the way I want them to turn out?”  Or, as we have heard it expressed, “The end justifies the means.” This posture is so prevalent in our world and it justifies everything from marital affairs to torture – always for a good cause, of course.

Yes, 9/11 killed WWJD because that wasn’t the sort of question that was likely to provide the kind of answers that most people – including most Christians – were prepared to hear.  To even raise the question shortly after the terrorist attacks inevitably caused discomfort and resentment.  Those who ventured to display the bumper sticker that asked, “Who Would Jesus Bomb?” were often met with displeasure.  How dare anyone ask such a question when we have a job to get done?!  “We need to do whatever it takes!” many people said.  And they definitely didn’t mean “We need to do whatever it takes to follow Jesus.”

But that is what we must do.  Jesus called people to follow him without qualification or exception.  He called people to a “whatever it takes” kind of discipleship.  To seriously follow him we need to keep reading and prayerfully pondering the Gospels.  We need to keep our eyes on the Jesus presented in the scriptures, not just in our hearts.  Then we need to ask of our behaviors, our priorities, our values, our passions, our positions on various issues: “Does this look like Jesus?”  If it doesn’t look like Jesus, it is unworthy of a Christian, whatever “it” might be.

The name of Jesus gets evoked plenty in all sorts of quarters.  But his name too often gets associated with behaviors and ideas that are totally out of keeping with Jesus as he appears in the Gospels.  Too much that passes for Christian doesn’t look like Jesus.  It looks harsh, judgmental, and exclusionary.  It lacks tenderness, grace, hospitality, and generosity of the sort that Jesus displayed.  So if WWJD is dead, maybe we need to start asking, “Does it look like Jesus?” and only accept into our lives the things that do.

Grace and Peace,

Craig

 The 2009 General Assembly marks what may be the biggest Disciples conversation ever. Employing social technologies proven to help large groups hear each other, the 6000+ Assembly Disciples will sit face-to-face to address what it really means to live into our newly stated identity.

“We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.  As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us.”  - Statement of Identity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

    Bell Choir – ages 8 & up.  No reading skills necessary.  Rehearsals: Tuesday 5:45-6:45 p.m.

    Choir – high school & up.  No reading skills necessary.  WE ALWAYS NEED MEN!!!  Rehearsals: Tuesday 7:00-9:00 p.m.

    Joyful Noyz – middle & high school music students.  Arrangements are written to highlight each student’s skills and abilities.  All instruments welcome.  Students must have at least one semester of band/orchestra or private lessons to join.  Auditions are quick and painless before or after church or on Tuesdays. Rehearsals: after church on the 3rd and 5th Sundays of the month.

          Administrative/Filing – adults or high school students who wish to help file music are always welcome.

          If you have questions or want more info, email Trysch at GodzPurpleFluter@hotmail.com

August 28 – 30, 2009

          Are you in High School?  Are you interested in learning how to improve your leadership skills?  Come to Jigsaw where we will explore ways to improve your youth group and develop your leadership skills.

          Early registration cost is $105 and forms are in the church office.  One adult volunteer must go with the youth interested in going.

          Imagination.  When we’re little it seems we have no shortage of it.  But when we grow up most of us put our imagination on the shelf along with the toys we once enjoyed.  Imagination is for kids.  Reality is for adults.  Or so we sometimes think.

          But it’s not so!  An adult without imagination is a person who can’t see beyond what is in front of his or her eyes.  Faith sees something more.  The world with its wars, poverty, oppression, illness and pure drudgery is what we too often think of as “reality.”  In the face of this flawed reality, we desperately need some imagination.  Imagination powered by faith.

          Faith-filled imagination enables us to get a glimpse of a better world.  A bumper sticker reads, “Imagine World Peace.”  Some scoff.  But imagination is the first step toward change.  It allows us to incline our hearts and minds toward a brighter, more just, harmonious and God-blessed world. When Jesus taught us to pray to God “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” he called us to a prayerful imagination.  Imagination helps us realize that the world as it is around us isn’t inevitable and unalterable.

          “We walk by faith, not by sight” wrote the apostle Paul.  Those who are strictly realistic can only “walk by sight.”  That is not enough for those of us who walk with Jesus.  We believe he can make the impossible possible if we walk by faith.  Let’s be faithfully imaginative.  Let’s imagine a better world and a better church.  Then let’s live imaginatively and create a reality more pleasing to God.

Grace and Peace,

Craig

Sometimes people will ask, “Is your church independent or is it part of a denomination?”  To that question I’ve often answered, “Yes.”  Indeed, we are both independent and part of a denomination.  Our church is independent in establishing its own goals, calling its ministers, raising funds necessary for its work, setting its own policies, etc.  But it is also part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

But what are the Disciples?  Most people are somewhat familiar with Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians or Catholics.  But if you say, “Disciples,” many people draw a blank stare.  Some might even wonder if it is a weird little group from the mountains of Tennessee who handle snakes or howl at the moon or something of that sort.

Yesterday when the woman on the phone asked me, “What kind of church are you?” the answer that I gave was, “We are Disciples of Christ, a Christ-centered mainline denomination.”  That might not have helped as much as I would have liked, but it’s a start.

We are, indeed, Christ-centered.  The only confession of faith that we require of anyone who wants to be a member of the church is a heartfelt “yes” to the question, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and your Lord and Savior?”  Without a lively faith in Jesus nothing else about the church matters much.  He is our guide, our Redeemer, the revelation of God and focus of our praise.

But our church is also a part of a mainline denomination.  It is the smallest of the “mainline” – sometimes now referred to as “oldline” – denominations.  These are the churches that had a considerable amount of influence on the United States from its founding until about 1960.  Most of the U.S. presidents came from these churches.  Three presidents came from the Disciples of Christ:  James A. Garfield, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan.

Still, there must be more that can be said in answer to the question, “What kind of church?”  Our church is one that places a strong emphasis on Christian unity and inclusiveness.  From the beginning of the Disciples of Christ we have practiced “open communion.”  Not just members of our church, but all who accept Jesus are welcome to share at the Lord’s Table.  We believe the barriers of denomination, nation, class or race should not separate Christians from each other.  We are one in Christ.

We often speak of “unity in diversity.”  We don’t have to agree with each other.  Room is allowed for different viewpoints and perspectives on a host of issues.  We believe in the freedom – and responsibility – of all of us to studiously and prayerfully reflect on scripture and come to our own conclusions.  We can and should listen to and learn from each other.  But we do not condemn, exclude and divide over different interpretations.  The One who brings us together is far more important than whatever differences set us apart.

Perhaps some of the words from the Disciples of Christ identity statement offer one of the best answers we can give to the question, “What kind of church are you?”  We are part of a Christ-centered “movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.”  We believe of Jesus Christ that “he is our peace… and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” and all the diverse peoples of the world (Ephesians 2:14).  Instead of supporting the division and animosity between peoples, we “regard no one from a human point of view” (2 Corinthians 5:16).  Instead, we have been given “the ministry of reconciliation,” urging all to be reconciled to God and to one another in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

Grace and Peace,

Craig

          Remember how much fun we had at our 60’s Sundae last summer?  The food, music and accompanying slideshow took us right back to the 1960’s.  Well, this summer – on July 26^th – we’re going back in time again, but this time we’ll be visiting the 1980’s.

          Dig out your old photos…remember those crimping hairstyles, Princess Di haircuts, crazy hair colors and big hair.  Not to mention: colored mascara & eyeliner, bright fluorescent skirts, jean jackets, skinny ties, Peter Pan boots, corduroy pants, striped Levi’s (which had to be tight!), parachute pants, miniskirts, ripped jeans and plastic shoes…and then there were stone washed jeans, lots of polka dots, Michael Jackson gloves and anything neon.

          Start looking through your photos and bring them to the church office or email them to rpcc2@bellsouth.net, and then get ready for a FUN 80’s Bash!