Revolutionary Jesus - Brian Zahnd

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know, we all want to change the world
—The Beatles

The revolution of Christ is the radical alternative to the unimaginative politicism of the religious Right and Left.

Jesus is not apolitical. Far from it. Jesus is intensely political! But Jesus has his own politics — and they cannot be made to serve the interests of some other political agenda. As Eugene Peterson says, “The gospel of Jesus Christ is more political than anyone imagines, but in a way that no one guesses.”
The politics of Jesus are set forth in the Sermon on the Mount — and neither the Republican nor the Democratic party have any intention of seriously adopting those politics! They simply cannot. The politics of the Sermon on the Mount are antithetical to the political interests of a military and economic superpower. 

The problem with both the Christian Right and the Christian Left is that they reduce “Christian” to the diminished role of religious adjective in service to the all-important political noun. But as Karl Barth taught us, God cannot serve some other interest, God can only rule. …
Conventional politics is a contest to gain the use of coercive force. But Jesus rejects this method. In the politics of Jesus the world will be changed by non-coercive love or not at all. It’s not the task of the church to change the world by legislative force. It’s the task of the church to be the world changed by Christ. This is revolutionary in a way that conventional politics never can be. …
The church doesn’t need to enforce this revolution, the church only needs to live it. To those who will dare to adopt the politics of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city built upon a hill cannot be hid.” (Matthew 5:14) 

CLICK HERE to continue

Are Christianity and Art Mutually Exclusive? Cindy Brandt

 I am a little late to the train, but I have been watching the netflix original series, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The first episode had me laughing out loud almost the entire time. I adore Ellie Kemper, she does an amazing job playing the role of a 29 year old rescued out of a cult, trying to make it in NYC. Along the way, we meet other characters. Kimmy takes a nanny job for a woman named Jacqueline, who we find out in episode 3 is of Native American origin, which is funny because she is played by Jane Krakowski who is blonde hair and blue-eyed. 

This surprising subplot can either be interpreted as clever satire, a social commentary on cultural assimilation or it could be construed as unnecessary offense—cheap shots taken at a minority stereotype for a laugh. The point is, the producers didn’t play it safe, they are walking the tightrope of respectability, one misstep could mean death for their humor and the show. 

Good art requires that gutsy risk-taking. Not reckless, but smart rule-breaking. 

CLICK HERE to continue reading

Jesus - Lion and Lamb - Brad Jersak

Video Review of Jersak's 'A More Christlike God' - Boyd Barrett

He's All In - Greg Albrecht

The story world painted in the first chapter of the book of Job speaks of Satan showing up at God’s house for a visit. Details are not provided, but we get the idea that Lucifer did not bring flowers.

It didn’t take long before the Prince of Darkness started to condemn Job, one of God’s servants. Reading this story the other day, I was thinking of another way we might imagine the Evil One visiting our heavenly Father—but this visit wound up on the cutting room floor when the final version of the Bible was edited. You may remember comedian Bob Newhart, who often set up hilarious scenes he imagined happening with the phrase “it might have gone something like this.” I’m thinking that Satan visited God one day and the discussion went something like this:

Satan: “You know, you talk a good fight, but I don’t see how you could really love the men and women you have created. Why don’t you put up or shut up?”

God: “What exactly do you have in mind?

Pulling out a deck of cards The Adversary gets down to business: “Let’s talk about it over a hand of poker. We’ll put all our chips on the table—winner takes all.”

God: “You really don’t want to play with me!”

Never known for humility, Beelzebub blustered: “Let’s get it on. Do you mind if I deal?”

God: “Deal whenever you want—I AM ready."

Robocalls from Hell - Zack Hunt

CA Church’s Robocall Campaign: “You Are Going To Hell If You Are Not A Member Of Our Church” - See more at: http://zackhunt.net/2016/01/21/ca-churchs-robocall-campaign-you-are-going-to-hell-if-you-are-not-a-member-of-our-church/#sthash.QI1C6RBD.dpu

CA Church’s Robocall Campaign: “You Are Going To Hell If You Are Not A Member Of Our Church” - See more at: http://zackhunt.net/2016/01/21/ca-churchs-robocall-campaign-you-are-going-to-hell-if-you-are-not-a-member-of-our-church/#sthash.QI1C6RBD.dpufCA Church's

CA Church’s Robocall Campaign: “You Are Going To Hell If You Are Not A Member Of Our Church” - See more at: http://zackhunt.net/2016/01/21/ca-churchs-robocall-campaign-you-are-going-to-hell-if-you-are-not-a-member-of-our-church/#sthash.QI1C6RBD.dpuf

 CA Church's Robocall Campaign: 

"You Are Going to Hell if You are Not a Member of Our Church"

CA Church’s Robocall Campaign: “You Are Going To Hell If You Are Not A Member Of Our Church” - See more at: http://zackhunt.net/2016/01/21/ca-churchs-robocall-campaign-you-are-going-to-hell-if-you-are-not-a-member-of-our-church/#sthash.QI1C6RBD.dpuf

CA Church’s Robocall Campaign: “You Are Going To Hell If You Are Not A Member Of Our Church” - See more at: http://zackhunt.net/2016/01/21/ca-churchs-robocall-campaign-you-are-going-to-hell-if-you-are-not-a-member-of-our-church/#sthash.QI1C6RBD.dpuf

 

Confession: I didn't realize robocalls were still a thing. 

It's probably because I haven't had a landline for years.

I think I do recall a robocall a while back that started off with the sound of a ship horn and continued with the promise of a free cruise if I just listened to a brief presentation, but I hung too quickly to claim my prize. It was the last robocall I’ve received. - See more at: http://zackhunt.net/2016/01/21/ca-churchs-robocall-campaign-you-are-going-to-hell-if-you-are-not-a-member-of-our-church/#sthash.QI1C6RBD.dpuf

I think I do recall a robocall a while back that started off with the sound of a ship horn and continued with the promise of a free cruise if I just listened to a brief presentation, but I hung too quickly to claim my prize. It was the last robocall I’ve received.

And it was way better than the robocalls some folks in Lodi, CA are getting from an area church.
According to a report from FOX40, pastor Ramon Wilson of The Right Way To Follow Christ Church, thought the best way to attract new members to his church would be a robocall campaign informing everyone in his community that they were going to hell if they don’t become a member of his church.

As crazy as this story is, I do love the lead in from the news anchors….

Anchor 1: …words used to recruit new church members. So, is it intimidation?

Anchor 2: Or is it an innovative way to get people interested in one local Christian church?

Lol “an innovative way to get people interested…”

Bless their hearts. They’re trying to treat this ridiculous seriously. They even go on to call it a “spiritual marketing campaign. But there’s nothing serious or creative about what’s going.

It’s Robocall Damnation™ for crying out loud.

CA Church’s Robocall Campaign: “You Are Going To Hell If You Are Not A Member Of Our Church” - See more at: http://zackhunt.net/2016/01/21/ca-churchs-robocall-campaign-you-are-going-to-hell-if-you-are-not-a-member-of-our-church/#sthash.QI1C6RBD.dpuf

CA Church’s Robocall Campaign: “You Are Going To Hell If You Are Not A Member Of Our Church” - See more at: http://zackhunt.net/2016/01/21/ca-churchs-robocall-campaign-you-are-going-to-hell-if-you-are-not-a-member-of-our-church/#sthash.QI1C6RBD.dpuf

CA Church’s Robocall Campaign: “You Are Going To Hell If You Are Not A Member Of Our Church” - See more at: http://zackhunt.net/2016/01/21/ca-churchs-robocall-campaign-you-are-going-to-hell-if-you-are-not-a-member-of-our-church/#sthash.QI1C6RBD.dpuf

Click here to continue reading on Zack Hunt's blog

On the Grill: An Inquisition of the Sincere - Brad Jersak

On the Grill: An Inquisition of the Sincere

Questions. Interviews, investigations, inquisitions. Grilling.

I’ve been on the grill a fair bit over the decades. Questions, so many questions. And I love questions. There is no greater favor you can do a vocational teacher than ask him or her a question.

These include the happy experiences of Q & A sessions where I really knew my material. Others were designed to be positive, yet felt stressful because the stakes involved were high: job interviews, candidacy committees or the closing viva (oral exams) for my post-graduate degree. Some interviews were promotional, whether on TV, radio or umpteen podcasts—but I still really had to be on my toes. I also underwent a few ambushes involving accusations that left a bitter taste.  Similarly, I’ve faced adversarial investigations where the interrogators were openly hostile—along with the growing pains of moving from defensiveness to detachment and what the Greeks called apatheia (freedom in Christ from being emotionally ‘hooked’).

But the most delightful, profound but highest stakes inquisitions I face come from earnest children with heartfelt queries of faith. The full transcript of one such conversation with a young teen is recounted in A More Christlike God (p. 15-18).

This week, I was served up two rounds of grilling by a very bright, utterly sincere nine-year-old. The parents are used to his never-ending barrage and are fully competent spiritual teachers. But over the last weeks, they’ve been deferring his questions for our inevitable meeting. “You’ll be seeing Brad soon. You can ask him.”

Round 1

Just as Mal (we’ll call him) kindly assured me he did not want to “disturb” me, so I insisted that his questions were most welcome. However, I added the caveat, “You are free to ask whatever you like, but I will also feel free to say, I don’t know.

Also, I will only respond with my ideas, not with answers.”