A Charge to Keep I Have

I have taken lately to carrying around the text of one of my favourite hymns, A Charge to Keep I Have by the Anglican priest Charles Wesley. I have done this in mind primarily as a means of getting myself properly focused for work. I work at a hospital and while my main role there is an orderly I am always reminded by both patients and staff or the importance of allowing myself to be used by God in the hospital. Most of the staff know that I am studying theology with the view of being ordained as an Anglican priest and they always ask me questions about faith as well as comment on my behaviour, determining how ‘Christian’ it is. Thankfully most of the time it’s a positive response and I’ve even had an effect on those I work alongside with most now making sure that they don’t blaspheme. I have been excited by the conversations I have been able to have with many of my colleagues at work about God and His Church. One lady even  brought pictures of her confirmation.

I have also been able to minister to the patients. I work at a Roman Catholic hospital so many of the patients belong to a Christian denomination in some way allowing me to freely bring up religion always respectfully at course. Three things so far have stood out 1. Most of the Anglicans I meet aren’t practicing but were baptised in the Church of England 2. Had a great conversation with one lady about sacred music for about 20 minutes and 3. An interesting debate with an Atheist for about 15 minutes. All those things considered I have also been stuck afresh and continue to do so by patients’ experiences in hospital. Most are there for operations of a non-life threatening nature and leave after a few days but some; some don’t quite make it home. I have also met some who have been in there for months on end and have they have shared with me their pain and their suffering.

All this motivates me to be the best witness to Christ I can possibly be to both my co-workers and the patients. I ask God before every shift to open up doors for me, and for my co-workers in particular that I may be able to have Godly conversations with them. I have found the words of A Charge to Keep I Have particularly helpful in forming my prayers, my thinking and reminding me of the privilege and opportunity I have at the hospital. This has spilled across into my entire life. The text of the hymn now takes pride of place in my wallet, where the picture of my girlfriend should be and every time I open my wallet now I am reminded of the charge I owe to God and to my fellow man. I still have a very long way to go in surrendering myself before God and allowing Him to shape and use me according to His will but it is something I strive to do each and every day He gives me. I share it hoping that it may be of some use in your lives as much as it has been to mine. I will comment on the text in a later post.

        A charge to keep I have,

               A God to glorify,

               A never-dying soul to save,

               And fit it for the sky.

               To serve the present age,

               My calling to fulfill;

               O may it all my powers engage

               To do my Master's will!

               Arm me with jealous care,

               As in Thy sight to live,

               And oh, Thy servant, Lord,

               Prepare a strict account to give!

               Help me to watch and pray,

               And on Thyself rely,

               Assured, if I my trust betray,

               I shall forever die.

           

            Reverend Charles Wesley, 1707-1788

Peace and Blessings

The Centurion's Confession

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith..." Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. – St. Matthew 8:5-10, 13


As an Anglo-Catholic this passage carries great significance for me. In those moments just before the Blessed Sacrament is presented to the people with words spoken by St. John Baptist, those who intend to receive the Holy Communion pray the Centurion's Prayer three times, beating their breasts. “Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed.”

My meditation on this passage, however, is not intended to be (directly) sacramental in focus. Rather, I call our attention to the theme of Christ's divinity as shown through the exercise of divine authority.

This passage is remarkable because of the faith of the centurion. By faith, I do not mean hope (which is quite different) or reliance upon God (though, this aspect is present). The centurion's faith is the confession of Jesus' divinity. How do we arrive at this conclusion? Israel had seen prophets and miracle workers in the past, and the Jews tended to treat Jesus in that manner. Thus, this Gentile comes to Jesus seeking a miracle, and Jesus responds in the way you might expect a prophet or a miracle worker would, “Shall I come and heal him?”

We would expect this godless Gentile to say 'yes,' and then Jesus would pray over the sick man. Instead, the centurion says, “No, I'm not worthy. Just give the order and it will be done.” There is a striking contrast between a prophet praying for God to heal someone, and God himself commanding a healing and not even being physically present with the one who is ill. This centurion recognized that Jesus was in fact God, believed in his heart, and asked for the healing with trust (faith) that God would answer his prayer. And Jesus says, "Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would."

As we approach the season of preparation that anticipates the Easter Feast, consider the faith of the centurion. Offer your own sin-sick body to God saying, “I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed. I believe you are the Christ the son of the living God. My Lord and my God, thou dost not forsake us.”

Pax Christi,

Stephen Hilgendorf

"O Religion, Here is Your Triumph"

[If you don't already, you should know that I study history.  It is the window through which I seek greater understanding of myself, my God, and our world.  My specific interests involve the history of the church, theology, and popular religious sentiment (how people lived out their faith).  You will very likely see many of my blogs having something to do with these issues.  My goal in this has always been to examine history in light of theology and theology in light of history.  This wedding of perspective is critical to who I am and how I think.  The following is a good example.]

Doing some reading today on the history of religion in 18th-century France, I came across a very powerful quote.  This quote was voiced by a frenchman who watched one of the many executions then happening in Paris.  Then, as is often the case now, a minister of the Church was present at the execution to help care for the spiritual needs of the accused prior to death.  This is what the frenchman wrote about the minister:  "I saw him embrace the wretch, devoured with fever, as infected as the dungeons from which he was taken, covered in vermin.  And I said to myself, 'O religion, here is your triumph."'


Imagine the scene for one moment:  Here is a dirty, sweaty, disease-ridden convict.  He has perhaps been languishing in a dungeon for months--unwashed, uncared for, friend to only rats and the walls of his cell.  His hair would be unkempt, his beard a mess.  He would have lice and all manner of creepy-crawlies about his person.  His rags may be the very ones he wore when first put in prison.  Surely this was a creature to rival even the hideous appearance of the lepers in Jesus' day.  This man walks up the scaffold to the noose--appearing more animal than human.  At the top of the stairs is a hangman and a minister.  The minister prays with the man, administers his last rites, perhaps asks for a confession.  Then, amidst the boos and mockery of the crown, the minister embraces the disgusting, vile man--a last comfort to a dying soul.  Yet this resonated with the observers.  The minister, and the church he represented, not only helped, but embraced a man society had cast aside.  "O Religion, here is your triumph."

Don't those words ring powerfully in your ears?  Watching the priest love the unlovable and care for the soul of the soulless, the observer couldn't help but say: "O religion, here is your triumph."  And it is the same today!  When we minister to the sick and the needy--"O religion, here is your triumph."  When we forgive the unforgivable and embrace the outcasts--"O religion, here is your triumph."  When we open our doors to the downtrodden, eat with the "sinners," embrace the broken--"O religion, here is your triumph."  When we bring light to the dark and hope to the hopeless--"O religion, here is your triumph." When we love with a love that is not our own, but from God above--"O religion, here is your triumph."

Why a triumph?  Because God has told us that the greatest commandments in the Bible (the Law) are to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.  LOVE.  Love is and has always been the answer.  On that scaffold, the minister loved the unlovable and embraced the disgusting, putrid, vile man before him.  To use a biblical analogy--he washed the man's feet.  He was not proud; he served the man in love.  As a church, when we LOVE someone, we triumph.  When people associate our congregations, our buildings, our testimonies with love, we triumph.  When we are described not as religious elitists, but as men and women of compassion, of tenderness, of love, we triumph.  When we do for "the least of these" what we would do for ourselves, we triumph.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE--"O religion, HERE is your triumph"

I want to be a man that loves more.  I want to be in a congregation that loves more.  I want to be part of a  global church that loves more.  The church, my mother, is a loving mother at her very core.  Everything about her yearns to love the Father better and share HIS immense love with HIS sons and daughters.  Everything in her wants to embrace the vile, disgusting creature standing in front of his noose.  I pray that the church will be released to love the world in ways she has never done before.  I want a relational church, a messy church, a church not afraid to take in the needy, not afraid to hug the disgusting, unashamed about their desire to share God's love with the sinners, the broken, the orphans, the widows, the adulters, the sick, the dying--"O religion, here is your triumph."

This love does not mean, however, that I want a church who betrays her principles to be more "accepting."  Far from it.  True love does not lower itself, but rather uplifts its recipients.  Think of a father.  Does a loving father lower himself to the level of his child, coddling him, serving him, pandering to his every whim?  No.  That's absurd.  Those are the parents we mock at dinner parties and barbecues while their kids are screaming and being brats. Rather, the good father is the one who pushes his son, desiring him to grow and develop into a man of character, refined in adversity, and perfected in Christ.  The best father is not the one buying their kid chocolate everyday, but the one teaching the child how to enjoy chocolate.  The church's love needs be the same.  So many today believe the Church needs to surrender its values, lower itself to the ways of the world to be more approachable, more loving, more accepting.  That's as absurd as admiring the coddling father.  No, the church needs to love the world in ways that redeem it and not in ways that encourage it to continue down paths of destruction.

But it needs to love--"O Religion, here is your triumph"

I need to love.  I need to love more.  We all do...

I have seen the power of love firsthand.  I have spent whole summers loving on kids at summer camp, trying to show them just a fraction of the joy and affection God offers them.  I have ministered to the broken at this camp oftentimes.  I have sat with kids who tell me how thankful they are for a Heavenly Father who will never beat them like their earthly father.  I have put my arm around them and told them to rest in Him--"O Religion, here is your triumph."  I have worked in youth groups for years now, trying to show a spiritually-drained generation that there is exceedingly more love to be found in the Church and from God the Father than from drugs, money, and pleasure.  Though a hard message to sell, I have however seen kids on their knees in response to it--"O religion, here is your triumph."  In Australia, I helped the men and women of Hope Valley feed the homeless.  I saw how hard it was to love, to embrace someone who was disgusting in many ways.  I had to learn to love and show compassion despite smell, appearance, or personal comfort.  And yet I saw dozens at these events eating a good meal, socializing with each other, and knowing that all came from Christians who sought glory not for themselves, but for God--"O religion, here is your triumph."

I say that not to highlight what I have done.  On the contrary, I can do nothing without the grace of Christ.  I only say it to evince one simple truth--love for God and love for others BUILDS the Kingdom. Years ago, the frenchman noticed this kingdom-building love in the moments before the condemned man died.  How many more might see it today? Were the church to continue loving the world in meaningful, uplifting, and powerful ways, how much more might the Kingdom grow?

Love, my friends.  Love with reckless abandon.  Love your God and love your neighbor as yourself.  In so doing, we will triumph.

Yours in Christ,

Chris

Jesus the Oenologist (Winemaker)

And here is my first post (Well second not counting the introduction which indeed was my first post as it is counted as a post, and yet it is not because it doesn't share the same character as this one).

I was listening to a sermon on Jesus’ miracle at Cana on Epiphany Sunday and I found that I came to think far more deeply about the story than I had before. I had often used it jokingly in debates with Christians explaining that not only God condoned drinking but indeed Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine. A quick reading of the text can reveal an interpretation that this is just a simple miracle by Jesus, turning water into wine, and while that it is a perfectly valid interpretation there are far more levels to this story of which I will make mention of a few. What follows are a few reflections I had on various parts of the story arranged as they come up as the story moves along.

Here is a link to the text - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+2%3A1-11&version=NIV#fen-NIV-26102b

 1. What first struck me is that when confronted by His mother with the problem that the wine has run out Jesus’ response seems rather harsh, especially to our ears today. I can’t imagine what would happen to me if I dismissed my mother and just called her woman (In my mind at this point I imagined actually saying “Woman, Wo, Man, Woooooah-Man” but I digress. As I talk more about Jesus the more you’ll realise I can have a very different idea of what Jesus was like from most, but again I digress). One explanation could be that Jesus is asserting Himself and establishing at the beginning of His ministry that no-one has authority over Him, not even His mother. No-one can come to Jesus commanding or demanding something to be done, it is only by His will that it will be done. Of course the funny thing is after Jesus’ pretty much refuses in verse 4, Mary in verse 5 assumes He will do as she requested! And in verse 6 He does it anyway which probably makes you think that my first point is rendered invalid. Even so in this interplay between Mary and her son in verses 3-5 we get a picture of what a typical mother-son relationship can be, involuntary-volunteering is what I am reminded of. It also makes me wonder what Jesus and Mary were like as He was growing up. It almost sounds like this kind of episode happened quite often and Mary was just expectant that Jesus would do what she requested. Perhaps after His reply Jesus realised that He should do it not because Mary commanded or told Him to, but that it should be done regardless. Maybe Jesus said no and then though, “That means now wine for me either.” Who knows but what I do know is that this reflection has taken up longer than intended and it might seem that I’m rambling. So has my first point been worthwhile? “Yes, no and I’m confused,” seems like the proper response.

2. How much water did Jesus change into wine? In our sermon we were told that the amount converted from water to wine was equivalent to about 125 litres. 125 litres of wine, what a wedding! God’s abundance exceeds even our expectations. Of course wedding feasts back then went on for a least a few days if not for longer than a week rather than just the day we have now. Even accounting for the needs of a week-long festival that is still a heck of a lot. Running out of wine was a huge disgrace as often it was the only drink safe to consume. Water quality could not be guaranteed and wine was far and away safer to drink. To have a huge increase from nothing to well over 100 litres of the literal life-blood of the party would have relieved the bridegroom very much indeed. It ensured the party would last for a very long time. Also, finding out Jesus supplied 125 litres of wine to keep a party going helps deepen the unique image of Jesus that I have in my mind. But again I digress (For those keeping count that’s the third time I’ve mentioned it). On with the reflections

3. Not only is the wine good enough to continue the party but is indeed the best wine. Like many of Jesus’ miracles and especially so in the 21^st century modernising and just plain disbelieving people seek to play down or even deny that miracles happen. This is not confined to Atheists or non-Christians but many Christians today hold this view. A common view today holds that the more mankind learns about the natural world and the laws that lie behind them we cannot believe in ‘miracles’ anymore as eventually we will be able to find a scientific way to explain the miracle. Though as Jesus is the one through whom all things were created it seems absurd that God cannot perform miracles that subvert the laws of nature. God created all things out of nothing; it can certainly turn water into wine.

In verse 10 the master of the banquet expresses surprise that the conventional practice of a feast, that the best wine is served first and gradually reduces in quality, has been subverted and that the best is served last. That’s the only way it can explain it. He doesn’t ask the servants where it came from though they know but he asks the bridegroom who doesn’t. His response though not recorded would have run along the lines of, “Yes, that is exactly what I did.” That seems more plausible to ears than water literally turning into wine though that’s happened. Though when most of the people would have been either tipsy or just drunk (the wine being designated for party already being gone from at this early stage) from the crappier wine why then bring out the best when they can’t appreciate. That to me makes less sense than a miracle!

4. I want to spend a moment using the jars in the story as metaphors that can be applied to different groups and people. The jars metaphors can be applied to Israel, Judaism, the disciples, to us and many more. When applied to Israel and Judaism God has successively revealed Himself to His people and through them to the world progressively deepening the revelation of Go. Here in Christ we reach its fulfilment. God has become man. He was born, lives and walks amongst us as one of us. The fullness of the God is now revealed. Like the converted wine the best has been revealed at the end. The more God is revealed, indeed the deeper we go with God, the sweeter and better He gets. The more we drink of Him, the better and better He becomes to us, just like the wine at the party. The Old Testament and Judaism find their logical and their peak of development in Christ. All that has come before has merely served to prepare the world for the better and sweeter wine that is to be found in Christ. The Old Testament has been fulfilled.

Let’s apply the jars metaphor to disciples and to us. Though we may just contain water God can use us and transform us to be literally the life of the party. We are not called by God to be mere spectators but to be at the centre of events. Jesus wants us to be great in the world, to be a difference and to have an impact. Like wine at a party to bring joy and hope to the world. To bring people together and to draw people to Christ. The Disciples of Christ went from obscure nobody’s in the literal backwater of the world to not just begin but then spread the Church throughout the known world and beyond. Their impact upon history and their service to God is beyond measure. And it is all because they let their water, which represents their lives, to be used by Jesus and turned into something greater than they could have ever dreamed or imagined. 

We too can seen as only jars full of water, and while we can do many things, we cannot fulfil our potential to be sweet wine to the world. Only by giving ourselves over to Christ can we truly become man as Christ has done. I am reminded of John 15:1-6 where Jesus teaches us that He is the true vine and that we are His branches. That He abides in us and we in Him. With Christ in us we become not just good wine, but Godly-wine (yes the metaphor is being stretched a bit here but run with me people) or the very wine of God. Bringing us closer to Him, day by day uniting us with Him, bus also allowing us to become ever more fruitful people in the world. The work the Holy Ghost does in us becomes sweeter and sweeter to those around us the more we abide in the true vine, Jesus. We then become more and more the life of the party and the desire of the world the more we seek and surrender oursleves to Christ, and though we may face persecution those around us will come to know that only in Christ can true life be found. Our lives are saved by Jesus not just so that we may enjoy them to ourselves but that we may use our lives to bring life to others thereby becoming 'Partakes of the divine nature' (2 Pet. 1:4) and thereby drawing ever more deeply closer to God. May that be the prayer and desire of our hearts.

Only three digressions and all with the first two points. The last two were rather more serious but I hope that I have conveyed succinctly what was in my mind. Translating thoughts to paper has always been a problem of mine but hopefully you can get the gist of what I’m saying.

Peace and Blessings,

Brett

To Be or Not To Be (Religious)

[Brett did a good job with the introduction.  I wanted to just emphasize one of his points: This blog is primarily for the edification of ourselves and each other, as brothers in Christ.  We want to build each other up, challenge each other to think about our Faith, make it more intimate in our lives, and practice articulating our thoughts.  We do not claim to be experts in any way, shape, or form.  Indeed, many readers might disagree with some of our claims strongly.  If so, comment and help us grow (don't tear us down).  Our blog is not designed to be instructive necessarily (as many blogs intend).  We are not throwing doctrine in anybody's face.  We just want to grow ourselves and promote "the examined life."]

Here is my first post....

So there is this video that has been making waves all over youtube in the past couple of weeks.  Evangelicals of many stripes have clung to it as a banner and many youth are promoting the video as their mouthpiece, the perfect articulation of a jaded, disenchanted, and suspicious generation.  The video is titled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus" and can be seen below:

http://youtu.be/1IAhDGYlpqY

Before I complain, I want to say that I REALLY like a lot of what this video has to offer.  His condemnation of false religiosity like that of the Pharisees, those white-washed sepulchers, is spot-on.  God is not looking for our outward show of faith, but our inward conversion.  This inner conversion will naturally express itself in visible actions, but those actions do not make the Christian nor do they impart salvation.  The book of Hebrews is fairly clear on these points.  In this, the video is great and I was touched by some of what he said about living insincere lives and needing to turn back to the heart of the gospel--Jesus--in light of our failings.  Bravo!  How many of us our simply "Sunday Christians?"  The video guilts accordingly.

On the other hand, I feel his poem has done "the church" and "religion" a great disservice.  Despite his claims that he "loves the church," his video evinces little sympathy for the institution.  If anything it gives voice to a generation already dissatisfied by a church that often seems close-minded and bigoted.  I have seen what the "christian" community has done with this video--using it as justification to pursue their individual faith devoid of a community of believers, to shun "religion" all together.  My friends, and I state this stronger than I ought, faith without the church is dead.  The church was established by God, given purpose in the Great Commission, and stands as the single-monument in our time to the authority of God on earth.  Is it a messy church? A corrupt church? A hypocritical church?  Absolutely!  But she is the "Body of Believers," "Christ's Bride," and we need to honor her despite her fallen nature.

Jesus did the same.  Despite the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, Jesus never renounced Judaism.  He did not come to abolish the Law, but fulfill it, right?  He still practiced the Law and observed the Feasts (aside from those things bordering on "religiosity"--preferring the spirit to the letter of the Law in these cases).  Jesus did not abolish religion, he embraced it!  And when he ascended into Heaven, he ushered in the age of the church, guided by the Holy Spirit and created for the sake of the Great Commission.  Jesus loved the church, he loved religion--because, in the end, they are vehicles we use to love Him.

Looking at religion and the church now--with all its many errors--and condemning them wholesale is just plain wrong.  The church, broken as it is, was commissioned and blessed by Jesus.  If it was good enough for Him, it continues to be good enough for us.  Condemning it as this poem does with a title like "Why I Hate Religion..." only serves to throw out the proverbial baby with the bath water.  Why?  Because the church is a good thing...

I once listened to a pastor tear-up when he described the church, his Mother, God's Bride.  By the end of his recollection he became angry and recalled how much he HATED people decrying the church, talking badly about it, and otherwise tossing it aside.  Why?  Because its "our church" he said.  "Is she broken, is she twisted, is she corrupt? YES!  But she is my broken, twisted, corrupt mother and she is Christ's beautiful bride.  NOBODY talks badly about her." I wish all Christians had this passion for the church.  Why do we let the world drag her through the mud?  Why do we talk badly about her?  Let's lift her up, flaws and all, before our holy and righteous Lord--using even our broken vessel as an instrument to "make disciples of all nations" and "baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit."  St.  Augustine once said, in his typical dramatic way, "the Church is a whore, but she is my mother."  There are few truer words than those.

[Really quick:  For any not familiar with religious jargon, let me take a step back.  The "church" can be defined somewhat imprecisely as the collection of all believers, both living and dead.  It is referred to throughout the Bible as the "body"of believers and anatomical metaphors serve to help us understand it.  Every believer is a part of the body, and like different parts of the body, they have different functions.  The church is also referred to as the "Bride" of Christ because metaphorically, she is God's helpmate on this Earth and He loves her intimately, sincerely, and mystically.  Because she is called the "bride," many Christians have taken to calling the church their "mother" to contrast with God the Father.]

So what is wrong with the poem above?  Does it say all that?  No.  In fact, I think the author would agree with me on a lot of points I just made.  The problem with the poem as I see it is two-fold.  In the first place, what he does NOT say or make clear.  In the second place, how people have chosen to use his words.  With regard to the first, the author needed to make clear that "religiosity" is not synonymous with "religion" or "religious."  Moreover, that "religion" is not synonymous with "the church."  These are critical distinctions.  By this point in my entry, I hope you see why this is so.  Men of false religiosity do not define "religion" any more than McDonalds defines America.  Moreover, the impersonal and abstract word "religion" does not nearly get at the intimacy of true, community-based church life.  Man is a social animal, created to be together.  They are charged with carrying each other's burdens and uplifting each other in faith.  The church is real, intimate, and life changing.

This failure to precisely articulate what he was denouncing leads into my second concern--How people have taken and interpreted the poem.  You see, people equate in their minds today "religiosity," "religion," and the "church" all the time.  When I was talking to a girl about this very poem she basically said she agreed with it wholeheartedly because the church had gotten in the way of people truly finding Jesus for so long.  Do you see what she did?  She equated, without prompting, false religion and hypocrisy with "the church."  She equated witch-hunts and inquisitions with "the church."  Suddenly, the only institution in the world that directly helps one connect with God became the thing most keeping people away.  This is a sad belief and a sad testimony for any Christian to have.  The church does not deter people, people do.  Change hearts, don't leave the embracing arms of the church:  she is our mother, broken and flawed, but Christ loves her as a bride despite it all.  So people will interpret (and have) his words to be a condemnation of the church.  I have had "christian" friends who do not attend church use it to support their wild notion that a body of believers is not important.  I have had atheists use it to show us "christians" just how hypocritical we really are--even one our number condemns "the church" and "religion."  It is sad, but it is true.  This poem opened a can of worms and, despite great intentions, may have done as much harm as good.

So I found a poem I like a bit better, made in response to the original: "Why I love Religion, and Love Jesus:"

http://youtu.be/Ru_tC4fv6FE

I really think this one captures the true heart of the other poem's message.  I think it is very good.  Try them both on for size and see what you think.  I especially love how he articulates that those that love Jesus will do what Jesus asked--take communion, baptize, evangelize.  All these are done within the Church.  To go outside of it and not participate in these direct requests of the Father is an interesting way of showing love.

Regardless of which you like better, I merely remind you that it's never good to throw out the baby with the bathwater.  Moreover, the church is a whore, but dang it, she's my mother.  I will stick by her and champion her cause until the day I die.

In Christ (but only by his grace and love),

Chris

Introductory Remark - Or the gist of things

So how to write something following that page description by Chris? In my mind I think I also mentioned, “And without a beard” along with the, “If only you were a woman”, but that probably is only making it weirder. But they just don’t understand Chris and I. And that probably also sounds weird...........................on with the post.

The purpose of the blog is two help each other in our walks with Christ (I am not bothering to continue in the third person as Chris did in the introduction, I find it frustrating and confusing). This will include reflections on Bible verses/stories, religious views and news, sharing prayers and Christian music, links to books, articles, sites of interest etc., as well as comments and thoughts on other topics.  

The title of the blog “Evangelical Orthodoxy: International Reflections” comes from our joint desire to promote the Orthodox teaching of the church. Christian Orthodoxy does not belong to any one particular denomination (Chris is a Methodist and I an Anglican) but transcends denominational boundaries. Beginning with Christ and the Apostles it has been handed down to the 21^st Century. We both share a common concern since the 18^th century Orthodox Christianity has been continually attacked and watered down, changed and distorted by succeeding generations to simply reflect their views and beliefs. By sharing this we seek to be evangelically engaged in proclaiming the mystery of the Gospel, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again” which along the Incarnation lies at the heart of Orthodox Christianity. From our studies and from our Christian walks we will offer reflections on the history, traditions and teachings of Christian Orthodoxy, as well as its current place within the Church.

We will try to be witty, we will try to be interesting and we will try to be informative. Hopefully we even prove to be inspiring. Not all our posts will be about any one topic, they will be random and they will be vastly different in content and character. We encourage you to post comments, ask questions, challenge us on what is posted and to share this page. Chris and I do not pretend to know all but we do hope that we can promote discussion and dialogue on the Christian faith as well as the issues that face us today. We hope there will be something for everyone.

Whatever the case may be we offer the following project to God so that in all and through all that happens His name will above glorified and His Gospel be proclaimed. Humbly offering the little we have for His service.