Tag Archives: cross

What if Christ was a Verb?

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I recently learned (probably from Seth Godin) that there are two types of roles: certified and performative. Roles defined by certification can be faked; for example, a man can sit in a medical office, examine patients, and give advice without really being a doctor. Conversely, the mere act of executing a performative role makes it authentic: if you get on a stage and sing to an audience, you are a singer, regardless of whether you are “qualified” to be there.

Today, as for much of its history, being a Christian is primarily defined by certifications: baptism, confirmation, membership, statements of faith, etc. As a result, there are endless arguments (and divisions) regarding about who is “really” a Christian.

What if it was other way around? What if there was something we could do, such that the very act of doing it was proof that we are being united with Christ, regardless of our beliefs or motives?

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TGR-S2E5: Unlearning Idolatry

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Next Tuesday, June 16, 2020 our Biastes public discipleship men’s group will continue using The Great Reset in Education as a lens to explore issues of racism and repentance in the wake of the Killing of George Floyd.

The Great Reset, Season 2, Episode 5

Question

How can we retrain ourselves to measure everything against the reality of Jesus Christ — instead of our own understanding?

Cf. Peter rebuking Jesus — and vice versa (Matthew‬ ‭16:21-25‬)

Perspective

Create systems where we are repeatedly:

  1. Emptied of our shame via the cross
  2. Submitting ourselves to be filled with power by the Holy Spirit
  3. Using those to connect transformationally with the Other
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Christianity Beyond, Draft 1

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Bringing Heaven to Earth. One Cross at a Time.

[Update: see my background thinking in Draft 2]

Christianity Beyond is a movement of ordinary people who are learning how to make the same kind of extraordinary impact as the Jesus they love.  We honor all the ways people have sought to follow Jesus in the past and present, but dare to go beyond that in order to demonstrate to a watching world just how good and worthy Jesus is.

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From the Kingdom to the Cross: A Confession

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I feel like I need to repent of something.

For the last decade or so, I have been focused on understanding and promoting Transformational Christianity, which is based largely on Kingdom theology.  I believed — and still  believe — that the Kingdom of God is a powerful Biblical metaphor for understanding what the church and Christians are supposed to be doing on the earth.

But I think we’ve missed something.  To be fair, everyone else in the gospels — the crowds, the disciples, even John the Baptist — also missed it.  But that’s still no excuse. Especially since we have their example.

We have forgotten the cross of Christ. We have preached the life of Jesus in the gospels, and the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts, but overlooked the crucifixion that made both of those meaningful.  We have sought the glory of Christ without sharing in His sufferings.

We want to bring the Kingdom of God — which is a good thing.

But we have tried to bring the Kingdom without first going to the cross. Which is a bad thing.

Oops.

Dear God,

Forgive me for falling into the same trap your early followers did, of getting so excited over the promise of the Kingdom I totally missed what you were actually doing. I confess that I still do not understand the cross of Christ, or why you had to die.  Which is why I resist the fact that I have to die. And forget to tell people that they have to die, as Jesus did.  We have — forgive the pun — watered down Baptism to an empty ritual, instead of a way to share in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I am sorry. Please forgive me by your grace, by that very same death on a cross I have so foolishly neglected.  Have mercy on those I may have misled or failed to help along the way.  Help me to do my part in bringing back the fulness of the gospel to your people.

And, um, please let me know if there’s anything else important that I’ve missed…

I ask this in Jesus name, Amen.