One Club Golf

Golf is a game for every age and for every season of life. It can be enjoyed by people at all skill levels and socio-economic status. However, it can be a fairly expensive habit. Especially if you buy into the big promotional hype of products endorsed by Tiger Woods and others. (I paid $35 for my driver at WalMart.) Dude!

But golf is a game of tools. There’s a standing joke in my family that a man can do anything if he has the right tool. No golfer in his right mind goes out onto the course without an array of clubs in his bag. Each club serves a purpose and has a specific application depending on where your ball is lying. Club selection is critical.

We are beginning a new conversation regarding the doctrine of atonement. Atonement tries to answer the question, “What is the nature of Jesus’ saving work?” However, most of us have engaged the atonement question with only one club in our bag—that of “penal substitution.” (Jesus took my punishment.) Let’s begin to explore others.

(Our conversation is inspired by Scott McKnight’s book, A Community Called Atonement - reviews here and here)

• What is your experience with the game of golf?
• What is your understanding of the atonement?
• How does what we talk about here shape you?

Blue Like Jazz

 

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WiFi Jesus

Wireless technologies have made advance ments exponentially even in the last decade. GPS navigation systems, cell phones, internet, computer networks. And the future will be even more amazing.

All of us are acquainted with the term WiFi. It is a “brand” label created by a huge advertising firm known as Interbrand. It is not an abbreviation for anything. But we recognize its power and influence in the marketplace.

I’ve been thinking about a metaphor to update the one Jesus used when he said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” – John 15:5

As I pondered the services I purchase from Cox in my own home, I wondered if there was a parallel in changing the claim of Jesus to “I am the Modem; you are the wireless router.”

If that doesn’t pose a sacrilege to you, ponder its possibilities. What if our incarnational approach could be called WiFi Jesus?

• What is your biggest frustration with technology?
• What do you see in the WiFi metaphor?
• How do we keep ourselves available for the free flow of power and information?

Paradox

Life is filled with Paradox. All of our lives we have heard our parents and teachers recite proverbs, many of which are contradictory. Here’s one example. It is said, “You can’t teach and old dog new tricks.” But just as often we have also heard, “It’s never too late to learn.”

So which is it?

Following Jesus also holds paradox after paradox. In fact the very essence of God is that He is One God expressed in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the Trinity. The teachings of Jesus are filled with paradox. How are we supposed to know what to do?

Join the conversation as we try to sort out the truth and the beauty of dancing with paradox. How can we embrace the mystery?

• What are some other conflicting proverbs that you have learned?
• Which makes you more uncomfortable, having all the answers or not having all the answers?
• How do we embrace the mystery?

the necessity of gods

In a pluralistic, multicultural society like the one in which we live, there are many stories that are unique to each of us. Those stories help define who we are and how we look at the world. Some call them worldviews, others call them narratives.

In 1995, social critic and educator Neil Postman wrote a book called The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School. His first chapter, “The Necessity of Gods” describes the need we have for a common mythology or a metanarrative in the public discourse in order to create a public through public education which has a common purpose.

As we look at Postman’s assertion, “[T]he idea of public education depends absolutely on the existence of shared narratives and the exclusion of narratives that lead to alienation and divisiveness,” we must also look at ourselves.

Let us ask: Has the Church contributed positively to the shared narrative in public education, or have we contributed to the alienation and divisiveness?

• Who or what were the gods of your high school?
• What has the “Church” contributed to the shared narrative of public education?
• How can we contribute in a positive way to the common story in America?