Nooma - a just voice for the feminine

I love the Nooma DVD presentations featuring Rob Bell. Since I've been on Facebook I have signed up to be a 'fan' of Nooma which means I am invited to watch the premieres of each new video they release. They usually have them available to watch for free for 2 days then they take it off and the only way you can see it is to buy the DVD.

The latest Nooma DVD is called 'She'. It's hard to say which is my favorite Nooma but this one certainly grabbed my attention. I think it actually gives a welcome and liberating voice to the women of this world who have suffered marginalization and oppression at the hands of the church (dominated by men in leadership). I am grateful for Rob's voice of justice and I know many women (and men) who would welcome this message. Sadly I know many women and men who would not welcome this and i hope they would be open to dialogue and teaching on this issue.

Rob Bell speaks of a number of feminine images and metaphors use in the bible to describe God that may come as welcome relief to those who feel alienated by the dominant masculine images we have of God. Is that attributed to the male dominated leadership we have had over the centuries? We have only been taught a half truth about who God is and now our language and our songs refer to God in the masculine where in fact much reference to God in scripture is gender neutral language or as Rob says, 'God transcends and yet includes what we know as male and female'. He talks about how in the Genesis 'poem' created man in the image of God and female in the image of God. There is a masculine dimension to God and there is a feminine dimension to God.

I think it's a shame due to the constant oppression of women in all levels of church leadership that we have in a sense being robbed of much teaching and pastoral ministry expressing the fullness of the nature of God. What's worse is that the bible in which we find so much Good News about the equality of gender and the diversity of the gifts, has been used against women to shut them down and hold them in a lower class when it comes to authority on scripture, teaching and expressions of ministry as gifted by the Spirit of God.

And what about women in leadership? If you get a chance in the next 12 hours to view the screening of this presentation 'She', have a look at how Rob describes women as integral to the leadership of the early Christ movement. And if you think the Apostle Paul is against women in leadership i encourage you to not only read your bibles again but take some time to learn about the context into which he is speaking and the culture. We do great injustice to scripture when we can't be bothered even with a little exegetical work. Rob Bell even argues that Paul was the first person in history to argue for the equality of the sexes when he writes to the Galatian Church stating that 'in Christ there is neither male or female.'

Rob says, 'if you don't have her perspective, if you don't have her wisdom, if you don't have her leadership, you're not just missing her, you're missing out of something central to who God is'. He goes on to apologize to women who have been made to feel second class by the church. Good on ya Rob, we need more voices like yours.

If you are female and reading this and can relate, I want to encourage you. We desperately need more women taking up ministry with the church. We need more women preachers, teachers and pastors. I look forward to experiencing something more of the fullness of the expression of who God is through God's people.

Shalom
Mark

Healer - exposed or misunderstood?

I don't normally buy into scandalous stories that come out of failure's of the Christian church, but this one has caused quite a stir not only in the media but among my friends and colleagues. I've even had a friend from new york email me wondering if i can confirm the rumors they are hearing in the USA about Michael Guglielmucci.

In responding to this story I am aware that I have as much trust in the integrity of the media to report a true story as much as I do trust in the integrity of the mega church culture in Australia. I am suspicious of both and their practises concern me.

For the story and the video Hillsong apparently don't want you to see, click on this link

So is the story true? (this was the question posed by my friend in USA). I can only assume at this stage that it is given the stir among my friends. It's interesting that when you go to YouTube to take a look at this infamous video of Michael Guglielmucci singing the song 'Healer' at Hillsong Church in Sydney, with an oxygen tube strapped under his nose, you get this message:

"This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Hillsong Publishing"

I have friends and acquaintances who like to bag Hillsong at every opportunity but I don't think they need any help this time. So why have they taken it off air? What don't Hillsong want you to see? Are they trying to protect their faithful believers from being misled or hurt? Most will have seen the video already so why rip it off? Why is it so hard for the Christian church (in general) to let their 'dirty laundry' air, show that yes we too can have egg on our face, we're prepared to be held accountable for it and yes we will journey with the untidiness, uncomfortable exposure and hurt together. It's all just a bit much to ask I guess. As the story allegedly exposes, we Christians like to create our own alter realities that we can control. We don't really want to deal with the cold hard facts. It becomes a political game of avoiding truth and we construct our own version of it.

Even tough I don't live far from Edge South Church and I have friends who attend the church so deeply affected by this controversy I really don't know much about the whole situation. All i knew was that Danny's son Micheal was very sick and it was hard on the family and now this story comes out in today's paper. I guess more truth will be shed on the issue when Michael himself gives a statement to the media tomorrow.

However here is my reflection regardless of the outcome. The damage is done. not only does this story damage the reputation of the church, and it's ability to operate with integrity and transparency, but Michael's family must really be struggling right now as is his church. I agree with the spokesperson, Michael and the church really need our prayers. But I would broaden that out to the Church in general. It will take so much longer to restore trust in those who have been hurt by misleading claims and even harder for all christian communities to gain the trust of those who sit on the fringes a criticise. Yes it's easy to criticise the Church particularly those who have built themselves up on a culturally acceptable model of raising pastors and musicians into celebrities and making promises about the impossible them seemingly making it happen. And the critics will show no mercy now that the media has exposed one as (allegedly) lacking in integrity and falling from the pedestal on which one has constructed and the church around them has allowed them to construct.

My sadness extends far beyond this single story and towards the greater issue of the belief among some Christian Churches that they must build their own kingdoms and draw hordes of people towards it by any means possible. I've heard stories from friends who have been involved in some of the more well known mega churches that make me shiver and my skin crawl. Stories about method and theological reason behind some bizarre practises that seem to be counter Gospel.

The Jesus movement to me seems to be counter cultural as I read in my bible, yet there are Christian communities who seem to be confused and in doing everything to be 'relevant' and attract the crowds, they lose integrity in the message.

Last I checked, when a couple of disciples said to Jesus they wanted to have celebrity status and power he shut them down and said that if they want to be great they must be humble, they must be transparent in their motives, they must serve as a servant not be served, because the first will be last and the last will be first.

We have a lot to learn still about getting it right. It's not about making up dramatic stories to attract the sympathy of the masses, it's not even about getting people to come to 'church' (I have a whole other reflection about the church so stay tuned). And the foolishness of the Gospel is this; that we have integrity in presence and relationship with others, that our lives be transparent so that those who look at us with judgemental and criticising eyes will see ordinary broken people just like them, struggling along but at least struggling honestly, together. It's to not conform to the ways of the world but to live counter culturally as a transformed expression of the Spirit of God.

Shalom
Mark

Life is crazy

Hi all,

Did you miss me? Well I certainly missed blogging. Life just got crazy and I neglected my blog. Well I'm back! I've got so many blog posts just waiting to burst out of me so I'll attempt to throw some out now and wait for some responses to interact with.

Some of the extra curricula things that have kept me really busy lately have been the UNOH conference which was held last month. That rocked and I have a few reflections about that I wouldn't mind getting down. The other is the campaign I've been driving to get residency for my two friends Etienne & Adolphe (from the band Vox Congo). i have some updates on that I will blog as well.

But first I have some more pressing reflections bursting to come out so here goes...

Hope you enjoy my blogging and I look forward to your feedback. Oh and I just realized this is my 100th blog since I started blogging, woohoo is there some kind of prize for that like when an AFL player plays 100 games?

Mark

Win a Wii - name a church

Today I did one of those things that I do when I'm working hard all day and I miss lunch, I took a few minutes out mid afternoon and very naughtily sunk across to the fish & chips place across the road. i ordered a small bag of chips then sat on the bench and waited. As I sat there I noticed a pile of magazines (I love these trashy things always entertaining). So as I was flicking through the pages to see if there was anything interesting and this half page ad caught my eye with an intriguing title, "We want help naming a church..."

Yes I did double take on that one. And here's the punch line, offer a good name for a church and they give you a Nintendo Wii, no strings attached. Hey it got my attention! I'm interested in what people think about this one.

I must admit, it's a clever marketing campaign. Nowhere in the add is there mention of who this nameless group is or where they meet, just a couple of punchy statements about what they believe, which by the way, I was impressed by. No creeds or ancient churchy statements, just the facts. First up, they follow Jesus. Then there's a few statements about Jesus. He was radical, outrageous, hung out with trashy people, a non-conformist and a revolutionary, to sum it up. They then left a website at the bottom www.nameachurch.com.

I was curious enough to look up the website which is very simple and invites you to enter the competition. Thee are some subtle options like, 'would you like to know where we meet', so if you check the box they will contact you. But hey, the add go me in, not because I want a new game console but because I thought it was a daring way of coming up with a name for your church for one. It actually takes the ownership of the church's name away from the church (no member of the church is allowed to enter, the name is purely up to others). So I'm tempted to offer my suggestion and see how far this goes.

So is there an ethical dilemma here? Does Jesus need a marketing campaign? Or is it just us who need that? I wonder if our church needs a new name?

Mark

Dismiss or discern?

Just recently I heard a message from a speaker who visited Adelaide. While I couldn’t tell you everything he said, there was a profound challenge that stuck with me. He shared some stories in his message which were a bit beyond my scope of experience or understanding. They were stories that talked about the work of the Holy Spirit in some peoples lives, including his own. They were stories that for a reasonably conservative Churches of christ boy like me were difficult to take on board, process and reason with. Does God really work like that? Can that really happen? Can the Holy Spirit really give people visions and cause people to do things out of the ordinary?

The challenge he issued at end of his message was this. Try not to be so dismissive of everything thing you see or hear but be discerning of what might possibly be the work of the Holy Spirit. Once upon a time I would have given very little time to a thought or experience that was outside my accepted theological understanding or logical thinking. As I have matured I have learnt to listen and as I listened I heard this message, ‘be discerning rather than dismissive.’

This certainly doesn’t mean I have to believe everything that is thrown my way, but what is God is trying to break through to me in a new kind of way. Will I be open to meet God on God’s terms or will it always have to be on my terms? The classic default mode of approach for many young adults (from my experience of myself and my friends) is that of cynicism, sarcasm and ridicule. Maybe that is a protective defensive mechanism so as to not draw attention to one self so you don’t look like a fool (this behavior is not limited to young people). Yet sometimes as followers of Jesus, we are called to foolish behavior such as hope, love of the unlovable and faith. In fact it shouldn’t really surprise us that God would could be revealed to us in ways we do not expect.

Scripture is full of stories of people who when faced with evidence of the living God we serve, defaulted to dismissing the event or experience. Moses came up with a number of excuses not to respond to the experience he had of God in the burning bush. Thomas had a hard time believing that Jesus could live after being crucified and buried. And then there was the day the Spirit of God resided among the disciples on the day of Pentecost and everyone thought they were nuts.

Imagine just how much we would be missing out on regarding what God is doing among us and what God wants to do among us if we just dismissed everything that seemed abnormal or unexplainable. In my experience of the work of the Spirit of God, the revelation of the Spirit is always challenging, sometimes not welcome or expected, usually disturbing to our comfort zones and always moves us in love towards a concern for furthering the work of the kingdom of God.

So I rest this challenge with you. When the Spirit of God attempts to speak to you next will you dismiss it as something you don’t understand, or will to take time to discern just where God might want to take you.

Shalom Mark