Csquared Thoughts

evangelism

I've been mulling this around for a few weeks now. (Well, for years, actually, but this is the most recent incident that caused the mulling.)

We were talking about evangelism in adult education earlier this summer. There was some discussion as to whether it was the right thing or the wrong thing to do. Our organist and music director, someone for whom I have the greatest respect, pointed out that the book of Acts would be pretty boring without evangelism. True. In fact, it would be pretty much non-existent without evangelism.

But we live in a different world today. Setting aside the issue of missionaries (who have done both great good and great harm, depending upon the era, locale, and denomination), I'm not sure we have any business trying to convert people. If they choose to come to Christianity, we should welcome them. But to tell anyone that Christianity is the one true way I don't believe is right.

To me, doing God's will in the world is about love, healing, compassion, and social justice. What's it's not about is conversion.

Everything Must Change

I keep reading about Brian McLaren. He has a new book out titled Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope. He is a leader of the Emergent Church. He is on the board of Jim Wallis' Sojourners organization and has appeared at Grace Cathedral with Dean Alan Jones.

I haven't been quite able to grasp the intent and mission of the Emergent Church. It seems to involve social justice and ecological awareness based on the teachings of Jesus, but I'm not sure I could give a two-sentence explanation of what the Emergent Church is all about.

Can anyone help?

iTunes U

I was looking for a podcast in the iTunes music store today, and stumbled across something really cool: iTunes U. It's a collection of academic programs from various colleges. Participating institutions include Stanford and U.C. Berkeley. All of the programs I looked at were free. I downloaded an 11-part course from Stanford on the historical Jesus.

If you have iTunes look for the iTunes U link in the left-hand column of the iTunes store home page. If you don't have iTunes check out http://www.apple.com/education/itunesu/.

Cool stuff!

Love is Tough

Two years ago I wrote about Jesus and Peter, and their miscommunication about love.

In Matthew, Jesus quotes the Shema, and then tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Tough enough.

Last Sunday, Easter 5, in John, Jesus tells us to love one another. "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." That's tougher, because it's telling us to love with God's love, not with just human love.

That's hard, and often more than we can handle. Forget about tough love. Love is tough.

What I Understand...What I Don't

Andy of Sinning Boldly briefly maintained a blog on baseball. It made me think about my own view of sports.

I can watch basketball (the Warriors are in the playoffs for the first time in 14 years), or hockey (the Sharks are in the playoffs again), or football (49ers and Raiders, umm...never mind), and pretty much, but not completely, understand the game. Terry, on the other hand, thoroughly understands basketball, and all its subtleties.

For me, it's baseball I know and understand. I grew up a Dodger fan, listening to Vin Scully pretty much since the Dodgers came West in 1958. After moving to the Bay Area in 1985, I started following the Giants in the early 1990's, and the A's as well.

Baseball I understand, thoroughly and completely. It's ingrained in a way that basketball, hockey, and football aren't.

So when I left the Religious Science tradition in 1997, I had looked at Judaism and Eastern traditions, and as much as they had attraction for me, I realized that I really needed to return to what I knew, to my roots, to Christianity. I came back to a liturgical tradition, not what I grew up with, but nonetheless returned to what I knew.