I’m not totally sure where this post is going… so be patient with me. We’ll go somewhere and I think I have a point, just not sure if I’ll find the point along the way.

You know the game Telephone? Where there is a line of people and the first person comes up with a message and whispers it to the person next to them. They whisper it to the person next to them. And so on, until you get to the end and the last person announces the message. Somehow the sentence “Look at those beautiful blue skies by the sea” turns into “The cat throws beautiful poop pies on Chelsea.” If you are like me and grew up going to church camps, you probably played that game and then got a message about how gossip is similar. You may tell someone something but then they could pass it on and somehow it ends up being something totally different that could hurt someone. (Let’s not have the discussion about the true reason gossip is wrong- it really has nothing to do with the fact that your message might be misheard and told improperly. But that’s not my point today.)

I think telephone is a funny game. It’s always entertaining to hear how it’ll turn out. But what’s even more fascinating is when multiple people can listen to the exact same thing, but hear something completely different.

I was at a meeting last week at church. Someone asked me how Stephen was doing so I started giving my update. One of the men in the room hadn’t heard the story so I gave a quick recap. “Well Stephen was in an ATV accident and beat up his face pretty good.” Another man in the room said, “OHHHHHH!! An ATV accident!” I looked at him and said, “Yeah, an ATV accident.” And he laughed a bit and said, “I thought he was in an HEB accident!! I wasn’t sure what happened and I was scared to ask. An unruly cart or something like that? I just couldn’t figure it out.” (For those of you who don’t live in Texas, HEB is a grocery store.) Hilarious.

This weekend I went to the Women of Faith conference at the Toyota Center. I have been to my fair share of conferences throughout my life but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this one. I was excited nevertheless. I was going with a big group of women from my church. A friend of my mom’s came in town for the weekend so I was going to get to spend time with her. Another bonus – Lauren and her mom met us there. So after work on Friday, I headed downtown to find the hotel. I wasn’t nervous about my drive into “the city” but soon realized that I was arriving a few minutes after 5:00. Not fun. Not fun at all. I only had to do one U-Turn and cut off one person to get to my location though. I think that’s a win.

We walked to a nearby restaurant to grab a quick dinner before the 7:00 session started. It seemed to be a neat place except for the man at the table next to us that didn’t understand that he wasn’t actually part of our conversation. I almost turned into a 3rd grader and said, “This conversation is between A and B, so C your way out of it.” Yes, I know. We should have been Christ to him and loved him. We tried. But when he kept staring at me (like super creepy stare) and smiled and said, “Cat got your tongue?” all of my friendliness vanished.

We headed to the Toyota Center and this is actually the point of my post. I know the quickest route from Point A to Point B is a straight line, but I like to take you on the scenic route. I make no apologies.

Like the ATV/HEB confusion, I think every woman heard something different this weekend. We were all sitting in the same arena listening to the same speakers but we all heard different things. If we are going to be completely honest, this conference wasn’t my cup of tea. I came with my Bible and a journal for note-taking. I didn’t use either. My cup of tea includes the Bible and large quantities of notes. These speakers were funny and had great stories to tell about some rough lessons they’ve learned. I know they reached many women and I definitely see their passion for the Lord in what they are doing. There just weren’t many things that were said that really left a mark on my heart. But there was one thing.

On Friday night, Steven Curtis Chapman took the stage. I love him. LOVE him. His music is beautiful and his heart for God is just amazing. He told a story about when he and his wife were about to go meet their first adopted child, Shaohannah. His wife Mary Beth struggled with a few fears before they met her. What if she didn’t love her the same as she loved her biological children? What if she just couldn’t love this child enough?? But when she took Shaohannah in her arms, she was overcome with love. She instantly loved this child more than she could ever imagine.

They grew to have a new understanding of Christ’s love. He says He’s our Father. What does that mean? How could love us all the time, no matter what? Could he really love me more than my own dad? More than my own mom? There are so many of us, how does he even have enough love to love us all?? I can understand that He loved Jesus, Jesus was His own son. But me? I am half Kurt, half Alice. How could he love me as I’m His own?

Because I am His own. Just as Shaohannah belongs to the Chapmans. Just as my friend Lyndsey belongs to her parents. Wholly and completely. Without condition or exception or an asterisk. Adoption is a beautiful portrait of unconditional parental love.

As a childless married woman, this hit me. I don’t know if that’s God’s plan for my life. I would love to have a half Stephen, half Chelsea child. But it’s possible that God has other plans. And, my gosh, God’s plans are fabulous. So if He chooses adoption for us, we will gladly accept that calling on our life. Maybe He’ll want me to learn a lesson about what love is really all about. I don’t know. I’m sure there are many women who didn’t hear that message. They heard something else, something that God wanted them to hear. All I know is that SCC’s message was something I was supposed to hear.

On Sunday morning, we watched a NOOMA video called Lump. Can you guess what it was about? Love. Specifically a parent’s love for their child. Hi God, I hear you. So I’m going to chew on these things for a while and see what I’m supposed to learn. If you have any morsels of truth, share away.

For now I’m going to focus on the sentence Rob Bell spoke to his son: “There is nothing you could do to make me love you less.”

Просто чудесное видео, объясняющее отношения, между полами исходя из книги Песнь песней. Второй фильм из серии Nooma. Это вдохновляющие короткометражные видео с духовным смыслом. К сожалению есть только одна серия с русскими субтитрами. ( при просмотре обязательно включите субтитры в углу плеера YouTube ).

⁴⁶Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

– John 1:46

Rob Bell’s Nooma video “Dust” can perhaps provide some helpful background information on this passage:

Nathanael’s opinion was par the course for how everybody viewed Nazareth in Jesus’ day. It was a blue collar town filled with laborers, not scholars or educated men.

Bell mentioned how the best of the best – the brightest – would follow the way of a single rabbi. Usually, these men would not come from Nazareth, it was a town made up of men who were surely a few fries short of a happy meal.

So, when Christ comes along teaching and preaching things that turned the world of Jewish law and custom on its head, everybody reacted the same way as Nathanael: “Nazareth? This guy is from Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding! What good can come from Nazareth?”

Yet Christ taught, and He taught with authority. He challenged popular rabbinic conceptions regarding the Law; in the Sermon on the Mount, every time Christ begins a teaching with, “you have heard it said…” He is taking something from the Law and turning it on its head.

Christ is showing the inability of anybody to live up to the requirements of the Law, and thus their need to trust in His forthcoming death.

Jesus’ teaching on the Law was radical – revolutionary. No one had even dreamed anything even remotely similar to the way Christ interpreters and applied the Law. His teaching truly was original, inspired, and authoritative.

And who taught in this way? A man from simple, lowly Nazareth, the place from which no good could come, from which no man could ever learn intricacies of the Law, let alone the revolutionary understanding Christ understood and taught.

With Philip I say to you, come and see. Come and see Jesus Christ, the Son of God who has come to teach a new way of life by covering your sins with His blood. Come and see Jesus Christ who knew we couldn’t meet the requirements of the Law, so He did for us. Come and see the teacher who didn’t just teach us how to live, but sacrificed Himself on a cross to offer us eternal life and the opportunity to live an abundant life (John 10:10).

Come and see Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

É incrível como Deus é misericordioso e deixa clara sua vontade, por mais que tentemos retrucar.

Ontem no Plano B [www.planob.org] foi mostrado esse vídeo e ministrada uma pregação que confirmaram o que temos discutido nos últimos meses no “Pão Diário” (nosso simples culto de adoração a Deus na faculdade).

Dizer não… Está aí um dos meus maiores inimigos. Dizer não para as coisas ruins é ao menos confortante, mas e dizer não para as coisas boas? E quando as conchas que enchem suas mãos são a família, o trabalho, o namorado, a faculdade, os amigos, a igreja? E quando essas conchas são parte do plano de Deus para sua vida, mas você tem enchido tanto as mãos que não é capaz de pegar a estrela-do-mar?

Quantas vezes nos pegamos tão ocupados e obstinados a alcançar um sonho que esquecemos do nosso real objetivo, fazendo das paradas no caminho traçado por Jesus a nossa “Jerusalém”.

Deus nos criou para muito além do que limita nossa visão, e cada sonho nosso, por maior que seja, não se compara aos planos que Ele tem para cada um de nós.

Não é errado pegar as conchas, elas só não podem impedir que tenhamos acesso à estrela-do-mar.

“Buscai primeiro o reino de Deus, e a sua justiça, e todas estas coisas vos serão acrescentadas.” Mateus 6:33

Deus abençoe a todos.

I always look forward to Rob Bell’s session when he is at Catalyst.   Rob is the pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, MI. but is probably better known for the “Nooma” series of videos he has produced.  He is also a popular author and Conference speaker.  

He began his session by telling about a conversation he had recently had with a young  pastor who said he wanted to quit. Rob asked him to draw a pie chart of what he does every week.  He had been a pastor for a year and wanted to quit every day.  Then Rob said, “So I asked if he practiced Sabbath.” and there was total silence.  At this point I knew that my lifestyle was going to be challenged!

The Sabbath rest is one of those concepts and truths that I intellectually agree with, but which is so counter-cultural that I do not practice it with any consistency. I am just too achievement oriented to take the time for silence.  But let’s get back to Rob Bell. 

He next tackled the prime directive of church growth: Bigger is better.  He reminded us of  what happened to Jesus in John 6 – “…from this time on many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him…”

Jesus laid down his expectation and they didn’t think they could fulfill them so the crowd thinned.  What would Jesus say to modern church growth experts that say if you do A then B then C, then there will be growth and numbers? Sometimes the crowd thins, and people leave, even ones who are close to you.

Rob hammered his point home by tell the story recorded in Luke 21.  Jesus saw the rich giving large gifts and a poor widow giving a small gift yet even though the rich had given more money Jesus said that the poor widow had given more than all of them.  The poor widow gave “more” out of her poverty than the “more” that the rich gave out of their prosperity.  More is not always more.  What we naturally think is an important measurement may not be how God measures things.

Rob continued his assault on the status quo by appealing to John 5:19, where Jesus says, “the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing.”  His work comes from a grounded, centered, calm place where He only has a few things to do, and He sets out to do it.  He is not distracted.  He is not stressed.  There is a difference between something that is hard and difficult and something that is a burden.  Rob’s point: God will not give you a burden you can’t carry.

Rob pointed out that of the ten commandments in Exodus 20, the first 9 are external and measurable,  but the last commandment about coveting is not externally observable.  Rob believes that the “tenth” is sort of  a reward for following the first 9 rules: if we do then we won’t have a problem with the 10th rule because we won’t want anyone else’s life.  Then he went for the jugular by applying this to ministry! 

Rob asked “Have you had a deep dissatisfaction with what you’ve done?  Are you carrying this burden for this thing you’re building for God?  Have you stressed about the size of your church or organization?  Do you carry the burden of feeling like you have not accomplished enough for God?”   Then came the application: God wants to set you free from that.  Jesus wants you to simply enjoy the place that you are at and the work that is in front of you.  At this point I was squirming in my seat but there were more questions to come.

“Is there any way in your ministry, that you have neglected to take care of yourself?”  Rob reminded us that we are called by Jesus to “love your neighbor as yourself.”   Rob’s point: We need to take care of ourselves so that we can be energized.  At this point Rob asked the pointed question he had asked the pastor in his opening story “Have you been observing a sabbath?  Which day of the week are you busy doing nothing?  Which day of the week have you set aside to feed your own soul so on the other six you have enough food to share with others?  Which day of the week can you not be reached by phone or email?”  I was sweating but Rob was finished!

“Does your spouse get your very best, or does your spouse get what is left over from the church? Do your kids get your very best, or do they get the scraps?” Ouch!  (I bet there wasn’t a pastor or any chuch leader at Catalyst that didn’t feel like they had been punched in the gut) We all know it but Rob hammered it home - our children pick up on what really matters to us without us saying a word. If it is not going well at home, it will not go well at church.

Rob ended by inviting us into the peaceful, calm place in the center of Jesus’ love.  Jesus invites us to simply enjoy the place that we are at and the work that is in front of us.  His love isn’t based on accomplishment.

May God make me believe that to the core of my soul!

Zondag 18 oktober om 13:30 uur is het weer zo ver. Je bent welkom voor een zeer inspirerende middag. De OASE is een middag die je niet mag missen: we delen heerlijk eten en hebben goede gesprekken, er zijn allerlei hoekjes met kunst, video, bijbels, actiemogelijkheden, iconen en kaarsen. Kom tot rust of wordt uitgedaagd! De sfeer is ontspannen en open. Wat je achtergrond of overtuiging ook is… je wordt van harte uitgenodigd mee te doen. Kijk hier voor een impressie.

Deze OASE staat in het teken van een bijzondere aflevering van de NOOMA dvd serie: “You”. Laat je kijk op geloof en Jezus eens helemaal op z’n kop zetten doordat je iets leert over de achtergrond van het Romeinse rijk in de tijd van Jezus. Waarom was het christelijke geloof ooit zo revolutionair? Wat zagen die mensen in een Joodse rabbi die nooit veel invloed heeft gehad? En waarom heeft dit geloof zo veel levens veranderd? En natuurlijk: worden wij nog steeds uitgedaagd?

We kiezen deze keer voor een kunstzinnig verwerking waarin jij je eigen avontuur voor je leven mag bepalen. Wat is er voor jou belangrijk?

Als je de OASE bezoekt… wil je dan om 13:30 uur aanwezig zijn voor de lunch? Neem iets meer om uit te delen, gelijk aan het aantal mensen dat je meebrengt. Tot zondag!

Adres: Rembrandtlaan 20, Soest

A good article outlining the dangerous connection between Rick Warren and the contemplative/emergent group such as Richard Foster, Rob Bell and others.  Once again, focusing on trusting, unsuspecting, wanting- to- please- others high school aged kids.

from Apprising Ministries Rick Warren:Love Next Gen!

(Ever wonder why Rob Bell uses NOOMA instead of Pneuma, Greek for the Latin meaning breath, wind or spirit…because like the spelling of the word, the teaching is a fake – almost, but not quite the truth.  Hmmm…most of us would still believe a lie by any other name is still a lie.)

J.K Gayle has entered the feminine language conversation, writing a series of posts. The first tackles how Jesus described himself in the gospels with reference to women; the second featured Clarence Jordan’s translations of the same passages, and the third collects some references within the tradition that were new to me, but more importantly, looks at the “de-feminising” effect of translation into Greek from Hebrew of a lot of Jesus imagery. There’s some bits and pieces I want to reproduce here, basically because I’d like to be able to access them easily.

• Leviticus 14:10, Isaiah 53:7 and 2 Samuel 12:2-3 all reference the sacrificial lamb as a ewe-lamb. Christ’s title as ‘Lamb of God’ is a feminine one.
• Links for uses of feminine language in Augustine: Homily 3 on the 1st Letter of John, and from Sermon 369:

Whoso knows that he is born, let him hear that he is an infant; let him eagerly cling to the breasts of his mother, and he grows apace. Now his mother is the Church; and her breasts are the two Testaments of the Divine Scriptures. Hence let him suck the milk of all the things that as signs of spiritual truths were done in time for our eternal salvation, that being nourished and strengthened, he may attain to the eating of solid meat, which is, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 Our milk is Christ in His humility; our meat, the selfsame Christ equal with the Father. With milk He nourishes you, that He may feed you with bread: for with the heart spiritually to touch Christ is to know that He is equal with the Father.

and

Our savior, born of the Father apart from any day…. Go on being filled with wonder; the one who bore him is both mother and virgin; the one she bore is both speechless infant and Word.  Rightly did the heavens speak….  Give suck, mother, to our food; five suck to the bread that came down from heaven (Jn 6:58), and was placed in a manger….  Give your breast to the one who made you such that he might be made in you, who both gave you the gift of fertility when he was conceived, and did not deprive you of the honor of virginity when he was born; who before he was born chose for himself both the womb from which he would be born and the day on which he would be born.

• Links to the prayers of St. Anselm and Julian of Norwich.

Thanks for your involvement, J.K.! I really appreciate your input – you’ve taught me a lot in these posts.

Nooma is by Flannel and currently features Rob Bell.  Greg Gilbert, of 9 Marks, is not a fan of the short films (part 1, part 2, part 3).  With Gilbert’s review as a point of contact, and following this consideration of postmodernism, here is a reflection on viewer assumptions and story, and how we can use Nooma.

Misleading lost people?

From the beginning of his review, Greg Gilbert (GG) focuses on Nooma’s teaching.  More importantly, he views Nooma as teaching.  He notes that Rob Bell is billed as a storyteller, but quickly moves on, saying that the films are “Sunday School lessons with an extra dose of cool”.

From there, GG goes on to find a series of problems with Nooma.  Nooma never really deals with the cross or the resurrection.  It doesn’t deal with the pervasiveness and severity of sin in the face of a holy God.  It focuses on Jesus’ Kingdom ethics, although it seems to leave out the difficult and offensive teachings.  GG sees in this a neo-moralism.  GG also wonders (fittingly) that if Nooma is so good at being authentic, honest and engaging, why hasn’t Nooma yet brought this approach to the most demanding and disturbing elements of the gospel?  In the end, GG concludes that Nooma misleads lost people, and he finds the films overall to be sub-Christian.  But is this the end of the story?

GG’s concern about Nooma is a concern about propositions. And because GG finds Nooma to be incoherent at this propositional level, Bell is either a “consummate communicator not communicating very well” or some kind of universalist.  Yet GG has overlooked Bell’s postmodern angle on ministry. We see this most clearly when GG quotes from Velvet Elvis, and finds Bell to be promoting universalism:

We can trust [God’s] retelling of the story, or we can trust our telling of our story.  It is a choice we make every day about the reality we are going to live in.
And this reality extends beyond life.
Heaven is full of forgiven people.
Hell is full of forgiven people.
Heaven is full of people God loves, whom Jesus died for.
Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for.
The difference is how we choose to live, which story we choose to live in, which version of reality we trust.

Is this universalism?  It certainly is for GG — but GG has read this text with a modernistic concern for propositions.  (In case you’re wondering, just put aside questions of limited or unlimited atonement for the moment!)  Bell’s reference to ’story’ suggests that this text should be read from another angle.  If we re-read it, these words are not a propositional statement but a narrative invitation.  In other words, this is not a claim that all people are saved and just need to realise it; it’s showing that salvation becomes our story when we step into God’s story.  In propositional terms, this means that salvation becomes true when we believe the gospel.  This passage is not a modern truth-statement but a postmodern invitation.

Making sense of Nooma

Within our modernistic Western Christianity, we’re automatically inclined to use Nooma as a modern teaching tool.  We show Noomas to our youth groups as though they’re sermons; we include them in teaching curriculums; we treat them as if they contain propositional nuggets that viewers can simply absorb, take away and apply in their own lives.

But what exactly is Nooma?  Apart from Flannel’s own explanation, we can figure it out when we look again at what happens in the films.  GG makes much of the ‘taught’ content of Nooma — and Nooma certainly does contain propositions, such as the benedictions with which Bell ends each film.  Yet, when we take off our modernistic lenses, the Nooma films are stories. Nooma is indeed an attempt to present the gospel, as GG notes, yet it’s not the kind of gospel presentation that GG insists on.  We should not expect Nooma to contain a watertight, ‘adequate’ set of gospel propositions, because it functions at the level of story.  Nooma interacts with its viewers by providing them with a new story to interweave with their own.  GG is worried about ’slippery’ language and an unclear audience, but that’s kind of the point: Nooma is messy, not neat.  Nooma is not a modern teaching tool but a postmodern conversation tool.

It seems to me that the difficulty with Nooma is not the films themselves, but the way people use them.  This is not to let Nooma off the hook. The questions that GG raises are serious ones, and his propositional critique is still useful, because we don’t live in an exclusively postmodern world.  People have not simply abandoned propositions and, as a result, GG’s fears will undoubtedly be realised with some people.  When Bell ends ‘Rhythm’ by saying, “May you realise that you are in relationship with the living God”, not every viewer will take up the call to explore this.  People are lazy, and some will just think, “Well, good for me”.

Shouldn’t a short film be clear enough to use freely without fearing its consequences?  Well, no.  Think about a traditional channel of Christian truth: the modern teaching sermon.  Do we think that a sermon’s listeners should be left to their own devices, to individually digest it?  Of course not.  Knowing God is not about holding to a list of propositions.  Truth is both propositional and relational.  Any channel of Christian truth, whether sermon or Nooma film, ought to be couched in relationship, within which ideas can be teased out and explored and tested.  And, while a sermon may not have Nooma’s messiness, it can just as easily be ignored, for all its modernistic clarity.  What Nooma is aiming at, however, is a different kind of clarity — the textured, tactile clarity of narrative.

Nooma will not work in a vacuum — but then, nothing does.  As Flannel says, “Nooma is an invitation to search, question, and join the discussion”.

Part of a loose series:

• Which bridge?
• Missing the boat on postmodernism
• Further up and further in (What is Rob Bell on about?)

The other week I was searching for uses of feminine language to describe God. It turns out I’m not the only one, and I found a few more usages at a few blogs around the ’sphere. Halden started by draw my attention to Melissa’s blog. She quotes Augustine:

My father and mother have abandoned me (Psalm 26:10). The psalmist has made himself a little child in relation to God. He has made God both his father and h is mother. God is our father because he created us, because he calls us, gives orders and rules us; he is our mother because he cherishes us, nourishes us, feeds us with milk, and holds us in his arms (Exposition 2 of Psalm 26, par. 18).

I looked for a way to gain the strength I needed to enjoy you, but did not find it until I embraced the mediator between God and humankind, the man Christ Jesus, who also is God, supreme over all things and blessed forever. Not yet had I embraced him, though he called out, proclaiming, I am the Way and Truth and Life, nor had I known him as the food which, though I was not yet strong enough to eat it, he had mingled with our flesh; the Word became flesh so that your wisdom, through whom you created all things, might become for us the milk adapted for our infancy (Confessions 7.18.24).

James K. A. Smith also mentioned in the comments a further reference in Augustine to ’suckling on the Breast of Jesus’ in his sermons on John or 1 John, but I couldn’t find evidence of it.

Charis drew my attention to Tim Bulkely’s e-book on the subject (Suzanne recently linked to it here), which ferreted out some scriptural language:

But I’ve calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul with me is like a weaned child. (Psalm 131)

But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget the infant at her breast, or a loving mother the child of her womb? Though these can forget, I will not forget you! (Isaiah 49:14-15)

From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who gave birth to heaven’s hoarfrost? (Job 38:29)

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! (Luke 13:34 and similarly Matthew 23:37)

The Old Testament references to ‘Shelter in the Shadows of your wings’ may also be a similar reference, although it is less clear. Psalm17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; and 91:4), and she goes into a lot of detail on how here.

And Dave Belcher in the comments to Halden’s post, mentioned mentioned Julian of Norwich (also mentioned by Doug Chaplin):

God chose to be our mother in all things
and so made the foundation of his work,
most humble and most pure,
in the Virgin’s womb.

God, the perfect wisdom of all,
arrayed himself in this humble place.

Christ came in our poor flesh
to share a mother’s care.

Our mothers bear us for pain and for death;
our true mother, Jesus, bears us for joy and endless life.

And he also mentions the Odes of Solomon (which I was heretofore unaware of):

A cup of milk was offered to me, and I drank it in the sweetness of the Lord’s kindness.
The Son is the cup, and the Father is He who was milked; and the Holy Spirit is She who milked Him;
Because His breasts were full, and it was undesirable that His milk should be ineffectually released.
The Holy Spirit opened Her bosom, and mixed the milk of the two breasts of the Father.
Then She gave the mixture to the generation without their knowing, and those who have received it are in the perfection of the right hand.
The womb of the Virgin took it, and she received conception and gave birth.
So the Virgin became a mother with great mercies.
And she labored and bore the Son but without pain, because it did not occur without purpose.
And she did not require a midwife, because He caused her to give life.
She brought forth like a strong man with desire, and she bore according to the manifestation, and she acquired according to the Great Power.
And she loved with redemption, and guarded with kindness, and declared with grandeur.
Hallelujah.

Yet another commenter, Brad, mentions Calvin making references to God as mother as well – I’m not familiar with Calvin, but I’m sure there are readers who are, if you’re interested in ferreting out these references.

All in all, a good haul for the cause of feminine language in the Christian tradition to describe God!

Esse video é uma palavra do Pastor Rob Bell onde ele fala sobre as tempestades que passamos na vida e de como Deus se faz presente em cada uma delas. Ele dá o exemplo de uma experiência sua com seu filho Trace.
Sempre que vejo esse video me coloco no lugar de Trace. Meu conforto é saber que Deus está sempre comigo.
Assista ai e depois deixe seu comentário.

It is always a challenge to come up with a good small group study.  Sometimes we do traditional Bible studies and sometimes we study a book by some Christian author.  This year we decided to try something different.  We ended up going with the vide series by Rob Bell called Nooma.  These are short videos that look at biblical truths in a creative way.  They are challenging and yet understandable for people with little or no biblical background.  They are good for people from whatever stage of faith journey.  The first study went really well and we had some of our best conversation and personal discussion.  If you want to learn more about Nooma you can go to their web-site here.

Are you in tune with God’s big symphony?

Over the last wee while I’ve been looking into resources to compliment the existing training and reading materials we have to help prepare ourselves to support people coming into our centre dealing with pregnancy crisis and pregnancy loss.

Unfortunately for my bank account, and fortunately for Rob Bell and others the stall I was working on at the Momentum Conference was directly opposite the ‘bookshop’.

More precisely a stand full of NOOMA DVDs that were £1 off…I decided I would get one that folks in our smallgroup didn’t already have, but also wanted to see if I could get one that might be helpful in the work I do too.

And I spotted ‘Matthew‘…which I glazed over at first because I thought it would be something to do with something else. It turned out it was about dealing with grief and loss.

I bought it hopeful, and wasn’t disappointed. In 10 minutes Rob mentions several topics that are touched on in our pregnancy loss support programmes – grief, loss, pain, anger, bitterness, blaming yourself…

A few of us in the centre have watched now, and think it’s good – though we decided on Friday that we prefer the booklet to the actual video bit.

During our training we have to challenge our thinking and bring out experiences we’ve had to help us empathise and better understand the emotions our clients may be going through.

So thank you Nooma.

Matthew has been added to our shelf of resources.

Just to update on the conversation that’s going on concerning feminine language (that I’ve been taking part in here, here and here): Peter Lopez piped in, wondering why anyone would choose to describe a human male in female language? The conversation going on there is interesting. Suzanne linked to Rachel Barenblat’s poem that uses feminine language in worship, and to Doug’s songs featuring feminine language. Suzanne also posts on how the ‘Judge of Widows’ is not a solely masculine name, based on allusions to the Song of Deborah, in addition to her ongoing discussion about use of ‘mother’ imagery in describing God.

I’m enjoying this conversation (and hope that more people choose to take part in it), because there some more uses of feminine language coming to light in the comments around the web. hiscrivener mentions research into the roots of the Hebrew  ‘Shaddai’ in the ugaritic for ‘Womb’ (I’d love to hear more about that, if you’re reading this, hiscrivener).

However, one major issue that continues coming up is the concept of ‘Who cares?’, or more astutely, ‘Surely we’re talking about physical attributes applied to a non-physical being (an anthropomorphism), so why the big deal?’. I think it is important for two reasons.

Firstly, because I fear (in the words of Rachel Barenblat in a comment on an earlier post) that our image of God might calcify, resulting in a mis-characterisation of God, or worse, injustice done in that mis-characterisations name. I think that if feminine language describing God were more prevalent, much argument regarding sexist, feminism, or male chauvinism in the church would be in turn less prevalent. I also think that at a personal level, feminine language describing God opens up avenues of relationship that otherwise would not be open (not limited by God, but by me).

Secondly, I think that publicising  making it acceptable to use feminine language to describe God might minister in a new way to many women who otherwise miss out on an intimacy of association that they thus far miss out on. That intimacy should be there – it’s not new – women are made in God’s image. But they’re not encouraged to think of the parts of God that image is based on. I think that’s important.

But, I feel that tradition is important, so rather than simply create language to describe God, I’d prefer to search out existing language; people like Doug and Sue have shown that it exists. I hope I’ve clarified any confusion on why I’m interested in the topic.

About 5 years ago, I got a chance to watch a Rob Bell NOOMA video called “Lump.” I have watched it about 17 times since then, and it never gets old. There is no doubt that Bell is a fairly controversial character in todays church, but whatever you’ve heard, or believe, there is truth in this video. The victory, humility, and excitement that comes with the central idea of this video is a rush of emotion. But more than that, it’s a revelation that I am accepted and loved. Take the time to watch this video; we are the child and the Father tells us, “There is nothing you could do, that would make me love you less.”

The NOOMA series starts in the Wisdom Class on Sunday, September 20. We’re starting STRONG with the video titled “Sunday”. Here’s the description:

Why do we do the things we do? Why do we go to church or give money away? Because we’re supposed to or because we think God needs it? Do we honestly put on our best clothes for an hour once a week, stand and sit at all the right times, and sing all the appropriate songs for God’s sake, or because it’ll make us look better to the world around us? We’re tired of all the empty rituals and routines. And so is God. God hates it when we call ourselves Christians but ignore all the things he really cares about. He hates it when we go through hollow religious routines out of some feeling of duty or obligation. God doesn’t want the meaningless rituals. God wants our hearts.

Mary Craig and  I previewed the video last night and we’re excited for you to see and to create a conversation around it. I hope you have a great week!

It is 6 a.m. and I’m getting ready to go to Baby School in a few hours.  We’ll talk about that tomorrow.  Meanwhile I’m listening to some mixes for one of the projects that should available for sale soon after the Awaited makes the big entrance.  Clearly we don’t have enough to do – so Shop Girl has tackled two music production projects to pass the time.

Something else came up yesterday to remind me of the combined journey of Best Boy and Shop Girl this last 9 years or so.  Dreams of frustrated college freshman took a few years to materialize but Dot&Cross is making magic in LA right now with the likes of Francis Chan.  The journey has been a wild ride to say the least.  But they won’t go down without a fight or trying to make a difference in their world even if they die trying.

Best Boy and Shop Girl have quit a million times – winded from the long haul…then something happens.  There is another ray of hope, another light, another tunnel and off they go.  Get up and shake it off one more time.  One more project, one more concept, then scripts, storyboards, sets, shoots and soundtracks.

Ten songs – audio soundscapes that give yet another dimension to Noomas 015-024…other paths representing hundreds of hours of time investment.  Not unlike the whole gestation process – it is alot of work done in secret before the rest of the world gets to share in the joy.

This is our journey – not like anyone else’s.  I stand in awe of the things these two have helped create and glad to be along for the ride – wherever it takes us.

Velen van ons hebben wel eens de situatie meegemaakt, waarin we wel tot God baden, maar we het gevoel hadden dat God niet naar ons luisterde. En toch zijn er ook keren geweest dat wij ergens voor baden, of iemand die we kennen bad ergens voor, en de situatie veranderde daarop wél. Beantwoordt God onze gebeden? Soms, maar niet altijd? Of is het zo dat God altijd onze gebeden beantwoordt, maar dat hij soms gewoon “nee” zegt? Sommigen van ons zijn boos op God omdat hij de gebeden die we al jaren bidden niet beantwoord heeft. Waarom beantwoordt hij gebeden van anderen, maar niet die van ons? Of is bidden misschien meer dan God die luistert en reageert? Misschien zouden onze ideeën over en verwachtingen van gebed veranderen als we begrepen hoe Jezus bad.

Kom je ook, aanstaande zondag, 20 september, 2009, om 13:30 uur naar de OASE? Wil iets meenemen voor de lunch om uit te delen?

Adres: Rembrandtlaan 20, Soest