Circle of comfortability December 3, 2008
Posted by David Hiran Watson in Daily Life-Walk, Faith, God, People, Relationships, Social Justice.Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Kenny Luck, The Irreligious Christ, The Meeting House
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So, as I wrote in Ways to deliberate, yesterday I had a book study on Dream: Have You Caught God’s Vision? (here’s the Amazon link). The chapter we covered is called The Velvet Touch, and talks about the people we tend to shy away from, and the subjects of inclusion and exclusion. While the book is geared toward men, this chapter applies to all people, and challenges the reader to look at how and why Jesus was so inclusive in who He associated with and ministered to.
The fact is that Jesus was EXTREMELY counter-cultural to the establishment of His day. I think that is something as Christians we tend to forget, for we have become used to the wedding of church and state that occurred for many decades and (I think) is still ingrained in western Christendom’s psyche. Perhaps the degree of ingraining is lessening, but we still do not en masse view Jesus’ message the way the 1st century Jews and early Christians would have.
Some of the things we tossed about during the discussion were the types of people each of us tends to shy away from, and also the various reasons why we exclude. Reasons such as: a focus on a person’s inabilities as oppose to his/her abilities; a failure to look beyond the external and see that person as a person – someone who has hopes and dreams and likes and dislikes and a personality; fear of rejection or judgment from others if we’re seen associating with this person; and the list goes on.
A couple of points of hope we ended on were that firstly, recognising the tendency to exclude within us is the first step to changing (think Step 1 in a 12-step AA program). Secondly, our responsibility is not to just recognise when we are being exclusive, but when others around us are, and even point it out to them. This should be done in love and with gentleness, but should sometimes be done nonetheless. The person who is excluding another may not even realise they are doing so, and may appreciate it being pointed out to them in a supportive way.
DH
PS. I may post some more on the idea of Jesus being counter-cultural. If you’re interested in hearing more, and especially if you’ve never heard Jesus being described that way, check out The Meeting House and specifically the sermon series The Irreligious Christ by teaching pastor Bruxy Cavey.
Discriminatory Ban Occuring @ York University June 12, 2008
Posted by David Hiran Watson in Social Justice.add a comment
There was a vote at York University by the YFS (York Federation of Students) to ban pro-life groups at the school. The vote went through 8-0! You can read more about it here. It’s a fuller post written by Pastor Brendan Witton, senior pastor of Church Without Limits. His post contains more information on YorkU’s administration’s response, as well as suggestions on how you can get involved in voicing your opinion on this ban. Personally, I think we should all speak out against this ban – not primarily because the ban is against pro-life groups, for your stance on the abortion issue is not the point. This ban goes against the ideals of freedom of speech, especially considering that YorkU is a secular university!
DH
In The Trenches May 24, 2008
Posted by David Hiran Watson in Daily Life-Walk, Faith, God, Social Justice.add a comment
Pastor Brendan Witton from Church WIthout Limits recently had posted on his blog:
Mark Batterson passed on a great quote from Vince Antonucci:
“If you aren’t close to someone who is far from God you may not be as close to God as you think.“
It sounds catchy and cute, but if you meditate on what it means, it’s quite a bold statement. I know there are many Christians who can say they are close to someone who is far from God, and that they are seeking to be a light unto that person, showing them how much God loves them and how much they need Him. But I think there’s a stronger revelation now in the (North American) church that faith without works is dead. James puts it this way in James 2:14-17:
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
James continues this teaching through to verse 26, giving examples from the Old Testament of how faith and deeds go hand-in-glove.
As I was thinking about this, I was reminded about the message of I Heart Revolution, which in a similar way is focusing on worship and social justice going hand-in-glove.
I think one thing to remember in considering these messages is that change starts with little steps. No matter where we are on the spectrum of deeds displaying our faith, we can always strive for more – more sensitivity, more conviction. A great example I think about that here in Toronto we face every day is the question of whether to help street people asking for money. I know many Christians (including myself at times) who have given into the fear that because there are some scammers among the street people, we can’t trust anyone who is asking for money, and so we shouldn’t give. The ways I try to grow past that fear is to be sensitive to God’s leading and have a heart of compassion. Because, while the Bible does call Christians to be wise as serpents, if we give out of a heart of compassion and the other person handles that gift irresponsibly, that is ultimately their problem, and not ours. We have then done our part in loving our neighbour, in worshipping Christ through our actions, and in backing up our faith with deeds. (Please note: I am not advocating we become a fountain of money, giving every time we are asked. I don’t give every time someone approaches me. That’s where, if you are a Christian, the guidance of Holy Spirit comes in. But I believe we should make the choice to give or not based on God’s guidance, not on our convenience or the business of our schedules.)
DH
I Heart Revolution May 22, 2008
Posted by David Hiran Watson in Documentary, Movies, Social Justice.Tags: movie review
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I saw Hillsong United: I Heart Revolution tonight. It’s supposed to be a documentary on worship and social justice. It was an interesting documentary – more of a cross between a documentary and a worship dvd. There was a lot of concert footage and about 90% or more of the audio track was songs sung at the concert(s) shown; every single song played is also on the I Heart Revolution cd. There was some good comments though on social justice, and connecting worship with justice in our Christian walks. There was an emphasis on how the two go together. There was also footage of some of the things the band did while touring – activities involving social justice (ex: spending time with the outcasts, etc), and things that were just plain old fun (ex: touring the city, clowning around on the sidewalks, etc). There was lastly footage of the people in the cities they visited – candid shots if you will. All three types of footage were mixed together and played over top of the audio track; the 10% or so of the time when the audio was commentary, the footage was usually of either the people commenting or the band being involved in justice activies. The other 90% of the time, the mixed footage was played over the song. It was a well-designed juxtaposition: concert footage of believers surrendered in worship against shots of the rest of the city. If you get a chance, check out www.i-heart.org.
DH
