Monday, June 21, 2010

Bringing people together... yep that's what I do! Frank Viola meets Jon Cardwell


I while back I was point to a "friend" who did a critique on The Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. I thought that the friend was not totally fair in his critique as it was more about "believism" as Frank and Leonard were not phrasing things EXACTLY as this fellow (and his friends) want things phrased.

Frank was very gracious in all this as I express my own frustration to the "friend"...

Anyway, I introduced the two via Facebook.com and this is the result.
From Frank Viola's blog:

"This blog post will feature two responses. The first is a response to a critique that Jon Cardwell wrote on my new book Jesus Manifesto before it released. I was monumentally impressed with Jon when he personally reached out to me and invited me to respond to his critique. He was both gracious and up-standing to do so.

I accepted his invitation and responded. Jon kept his word and posted my response on his blog, Justified by Grace, as a “guest blog post” the second he said he would. Jon and I have had very friendly interchanges since then. He told me that he was very happy with my response, which I found encouraging.

Back to that in a minute." Click here to read more.



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Friday, June 18, 2010

Happy Father Day... even for the fatherless...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZAkx6RlCLA


Father’s Day is coming up fast and I have mixed emotions. While I am glad to be a father, my own father died when I was young. This seemed to set me apart from other friends at times. Being fatherless often left me empty, but especially at times when not having a father sort felt like it was being rubbing in my face. Father/son camp outs or any other events that were father/son made me feel unwelcome. Father’s Day though made me want to just hide.

Yet, now that I am a father, I find it wonderful at the same time. Not that I am being “honored” rather that I am honored everyday to have two wonderful children I love very much. My life has been truly changed and opened wider by Fischer and Ciana. While I may still struggle at trying to figure out how to be a father, I am thankful for the men who did guide me on my way. Without their guidance and prayer who knows where I would be now. Mostly, I am thankful for my Father in Heaven who promised to be my Father as he promises all who are fatherless. He is the Father of the fatherless. If you did not have a father, be it he died, left you abandoned, remember the One True Father who will never leave you or forsake you. This is true even if you have a father who was not emotionally there or even abusive. The One True Father loves you far greater than you can imagine.

The hardest thing all of us have to do is trust Him… and even in that He will help you.
With God, there is no fatherless day...

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Wednesday, June 09, 2010

The bible, imagination, and the universe


Jon Trott stated an interesting question on Facebook.com:


"The Bible is not as much a book as a Universe. The more we can live inside that Universe, seeing through it into whatever issue confronts us, the more we can hopefully live authentic Christian lives."

Just a few thoughts came to my mind so bear with me.

Logos not only means "word" but also has in it the idea of a conversation... in fact it is an on going conversation. While I see this encompasses the imagination of God (which is unlimited) it is also a universe unto and for us. In fact it may be multiple universes all interconnected.

Gen 11: 6. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

God states what we can imagine we can do. Whatever we plan (imagine) we can do... the imagination is incredibly powerful as such that one can make what is nothing (pure imagination) into something (in the case of Genesis, the tower of Babel.) What if this power was in line with will of God?

What if the bible was the fuel of the will of God to inspire the imagination to come into one universe (mind of Christ) and accomplish all God has planned?


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Saturday, June 05, 2010

Limited Atonement: A humorous look


Thanks to Don Jobson aka Ben Currin for the laugh!


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What to do with Mike Warnke




What to do about Mike Warnke?

Mike Warnke was a major force in the late Jesus movement. His book the Satan Seller sold millions and I even read it. In some ways I felt a kinship with Mike as I also dabbled a bit in the black arts. While I was never close to being as Mike Warnke stated he was, to hear the story of a man that deep in Satanism make it out by the grace of God inspired me and embolden me. I finally had a chance to see Mike Warnke in concert in the mid 80s… I was deeply moved by his message of grace and hope to the freaks and weirdos that most people would not reach out to.

Then it happened.

Mike was exposed as a fraud and I was crushed. Even his book the Satan Seller took on an ironic and yet cryptic new meaning. I wondered how someone could lie so boldly and so many would eat it up as I did. I wondered at why no one had stepped up and confronted Mike Warnke to help him see his error. I marveled at the integrity that those at Cornerstone Magazine had to have and the hard decision to make in exposing Mike Warnke. In my mind these people are heroes….

However, many years have passed and I rather forgot about Mike Warnke. I then become friends with Jon Trott who was one of the journalists who uncovered the story of Mike Warnke and Laura Stratford (who I hear is now claiming she was a concentration camp victim under the Nazi’s… she seemed to just moved on from one lie to another, but that is another story).

Since coming to know and love Jon, I looked over the expose’ on Mike Warnke and see how it all unraveled and how they tried many times to get to the truth… I believe they did. Mike Warnke was called out and then put under supervision of his church (or whatever it was… maybe board?) and after a time of being counseled he would be restored to ministry… and oh what to do with Mike Warnke.

While I admit I do have some bitterness still against the con Mike committed against me and others personally I am conflicted with the truth of Grace and forgiveness. I, in my own mind and heart do forgive Mike, bit do I see him fit for ministry as he once was? I read the paperwork that shows Mike did all he was supposed to and still wonder… is it all a con… again?

I am at a point were I am like Paul and Markus. Markus ran away from Paul at a crucial time in his ministry and Paul did not trust Markus after that. Barnabas who also traveled with Paul took Markus under his wing and restored Markus. Many miss that later, Paul mentions Markus in a loving way as if stating all is now well between him an Markus. I am only at the point of not trusting Mike Warnke and do not want anything to do with him… but I pray for a Barnabas to be able to love and work with Mike and maybe, I also will accept Mike Warnke with open arms.

But, I think that will still take time for me…


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