Easter #7 :The Atoning Servant

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody
does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence-Jesus Christ,
the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for
ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to
know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but
does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if
anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how
we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
                            1 John 2:1-6, New International Version

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he apostle John wrote this letter, which we call the book of 1 John, to reassure believers in their faith and to counter false teachers and teachings. The letter is untitled and was sent to several congregations, probably between A.D. 85 and 90. This letter is short. However, John covers vital themes for communities of faith; themes such as sin, love, the family of God, truth and error, and assurance.

John says his purpose in writing the letter is for the readers and listeners to not sin. However, if they do sin, they have Jesus Christ, who speaks to God the Father on their behalf. Jesus, in a way, is like a lawyer, a defence attorney. He represents and defends us before God. (The flaw in this simile is the fact that it paints God as a harsh judge. God is not harsh. God judges; God is not judgemental.)

Jesus Christ, John writes, is “the Righteous One;” righteous means right and correct; yet so much more. It means upright and moral. It means justifiable and genuine. Only someone so righteous could speak to God on our behalf. Only someone so righteous could defend us and our sins. Only someone so righteous could atone for us.

Jesus Christ, John writes, is “the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world.”
An online dictionary defines atonement as “satisfaction given for wrongdoing or injury; making amends.”

The Christian concept and definition of atonement is this and so much more. The Christian concept and definition of atonement is the fact that Jesus Christ makes us “at one” with God after we have separated ourselves from God by sin. The Christian concept and definition of atonement brings about perfect forgiveness of sins. Atonement erases sins and writes the word “forgiven” over our lives and spiritual journeys.

Forgiveness is not easy. In fact, forgiveness is hard; forgiveness can be extremely difficult. In our relationships with friends and family, in our relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ, in all our relationships in life, forgiveness is hard. We find it hard to forgive wrongs made against us. We find it hard to ask for forgiveness for wrongs we’ve committed. Imagine forgiving every sin of every man, woman, and child who has lived, is living, and will ever live on the face of the earth. This is what God has done through Jesus Christ the atoning sacrifice. Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice, the perfect atoning sacrifice to bring about perfect forgiveness of sins, perfect salvation, perfect cleansing, and perfect atonement.
             

Gordon Hinckley said: “Believe in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and our Redeemer, the Son of God, who came to earth and walked the dusty roads of Palestine to teach us the way of truth and light and salvation, and who, in one great and glorious act offered an atonement for each of us. He opened the way of salvation and exaltation for each of us, under which we may go forward in the Church and kingdom of God. Be not faithless, but believe in the great and wonderful and marvellous blessings of the Atonement.”
             

The Christian concept and definition of the atonement found in the life, ministry, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ is wonderful; it’s marvellous; it’s a Godly blessing.
             

Jesus Christ is the atoning servant. He suffered; was humbled; was sacrificed; and became the atoning servant the world so desperately needed, needs, and will need for years to come.
             

              Jesus Christ is the atoning servant I need.
              Jesus Christ is the atoning servant you need.
              Jesus Christ is the atoning servant we need.

Christ embraced the cross for the world and every man, woman, and child on it.

Writer: Mark Braye and his wife Nancy are officers in Essex, Ontario, Canada. They have two children, pictured above, Hannah and Micah. The four of them love to play and watch Sesame Street.

To Hell in a Handbasket (or Easter Basket)

Following Jesus this Easter by Geoff Ryan

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rucifixion precedes resurrection. That’s the way it works. In emotional, psychological and spiritual terms this is always true. You can’t get to Jesus unless you go through John the Baptist, you can’t get to Easter Sunday morning without living through Good Friday, you can’t resurrect until you’ve been crucified.

But there is one more step involved that we rarely talk about in church circles. As you had to go out into the desert to meet John, a crucial passage takes place been crucifixion and resurrection - there is a whole “day” that was lived between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

As Protestants, even more so as evangelicals, we can’t wait to get to Sunday morning:  all those hot cross buns and chocolate eggs, the world becomes soft and pastel coloured, we buy gifts for our kids as if it’s a mini-spring Christmas. If we wear a cross around our necks then it will be an empty cross, because we are a resurrection people.

As a kid growing up in this milieu I always considered Good Friday a drag. It was a somber, gloomy day, inevitably it rained and family dynamics took on a serious mean. The city seemed hushed and quiet.

Saturday brought some relief. It was a filler day, basically dead time. We still kept a low profile, but Mom and Dad cut us more slack than the day before. The expectations on us to be sad started to ease and with mounting glee in our hearts we gathered ourselves for Sunday morning.

I expect that had I grown up in a Catholic or Eastern Orthodox family, it would have been the other way around. I would have worn a cross with Jesus still on it and I would have been all about Good Friday (or “Passion Friday” as the Orthodox call it). Remember Mel Gibson’s film of a few years ago? Gibson is a Catholic and he made a very Catholic film, entitling it “The Passion”, and focusing exclusively on the crucifixion of Jesus because for them that is where all the real important stuff happened.

Proverbs tell us that the man of God avoids all extremes though and the kicker in this particular resurrection is not that a dead man came back to life as that had been done before - Lazarus, for example. What was special about this one is what he died with and what he rose without. In comparison with Lazarus’ episode was a simple party trick.

The physical exigencies of the crucifixion isn’t what finished Jesus off. When the soldiers came round to break his legs, as they usually did as an act of belated mercy to cut short the suffering of the executed, they were surprised to find that he was already dead. What actually killed him was this:  every sin ever committed, from the beginning of time to the end of the world, from The Fall to The Apocalypse - every lie and theft, every act of abuse and betrayal, every punch, every gunshot, every overdose, every single bad thing committed by every person who ever lived…all this was trammeled into a single concentrated mass and driven into his soul. No man - or God - could survive this. He who was without sin became sin for us; behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; etc.

What happened next? Where did he go with all this sin? Picture, if you can, Jesus with his arms outstretched, absolutely full and piled high with our sins. The Bible tells us that he took it to hell (the Orthodox acknowledge this better than the rest of us, look on any Russian crucifix and you will see a cross bar for Jesus feet to rest his feet on, pointing downward toward hell and, in the case of a really ornate crucifix, a pile of skulls and bones). He took it all to hell, because that is where this sort of stuff belongs, and he left it there. Then, and only then, he rose again, with his arms empty and without our sins. That’s what makes this particular resurrection so important for the human race.

Sure what happened on Friday is most important and so is what happened on Sunday morning. Without either of these events bookending our annual commemoration, Easter would not be, well….Easter. But let’s not forget what happened on Saturday and maybe this year, especially what happened on Saturday.

Going to hell with Jesus! What an Easter that would be.

Writer: Major Geoff Ryan is co-founder of theRubicon and was publisher for three years. He is co-ordinator of the 614 Network and organizes the bi-annual Urban Forum. His interests include writing, politics, coffee and his children. Geoff and his wife Sandra minister in Regent Park, a social housing project in downtown Toronto, Canada.   

Lent Musings (4 of 5)

 Prayer

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ecently I was asked by a friend of mine if I would come to a local park, notorious for it’s street activity, to speak and pray at a vigil that she was organizing. The vigil was both to remember women who had recently been murdered in Toronto’s sex trade as well as to stand in solidarity with each other in a peaceful protest as to the evils of this trade.

The friend who asked me to do this was a survivor of ‘the life’ herself. She had worked the trade for more than a decade until finally one night whilst in the midst of a bad trip on her favourite drug of choice, crack cocaine, she had a life changing and miraculous encounter with the Living God. She hasn’t looked back since and has committed her life to God and to journeying alongside people involved the trade. She is truly one of my heroes and a reminder to me whenever I see her that God does in fact still work and move in miraculous and life altering ways today.

I was warned before going that there would be conflicting agendas at play at this vigil. There would be people of different religious faiths present and all kinds of ’spirituality wars’ taking place. I was also told that there might be a group of advocates there whose whole premise is that the sex trade is a viable and perfectly acceptable vocational option for women to be in; as long as it is their choice as a woman to make. Despite my reservations, I accepted the invitation out of respect for my friend who had asked me to come and do this.

So when I got there, in the pouring rain I might add, I found myself one of very few men in the midst of some very strong and committed women; some of whom looked very tough and even perhaps angry. I was pretty much freaking out.

The vigil started with an aboriginal drummer and a First Nations smudging ceremony for anyone wanting to participate in that cleansing ritual. Then it was my turn to speak and pray! What on earth was I going to say that could possibly address this crowd and not do further damage to their image of Christians, of men, and of God?

Back to Lent

The 3^rd of the 4 ‘Acts of righteousness’ of Lent is prayer. (Matthew 6:5-15) Prayer is one of those many theological conversations that can get tricky really fast. “If God knows everything already, why do we need to pray? If God has a plan and it is already in motion, what difference will my prayers make? Why should I even bother?” These questions are all too familiar and are definitely important to flesh out. And I won’t even attempt to try and answer these in any thorough way. But I will say that after a lifetime of trying to figure out what it means to live as a Christian, that prayer is absolutely vital in the Christian walk. It does change things (both internally and in the world around us), and is a non-negotiable for anyone who identifies themselves as a Christian.

In the world we live in, we are exposed to constant distractions, noise, and choices. Everywhere we look, some advertiser is vying for our attention. I’ve been told that the average city dweller is exposed to at least 5000 ads per day. So all day long, from the time we wake to the time we go back to sleep, we are being bombarded by people telling us what to wear, drive, eat, think, buy, and do. How can we possibly hear the voice of God amidst all the noise?

As I’ve said in my first of these Lent musings, this season is a time of defragmentation. It is a time to refocus on the things that are important and to leave behind those bits and bites that have gotten stuck in the cogs our system and have jammed up our ability to process the world and our place in it. Often these little fragments of pollution make it impossible for us to even know that we are children of God and beloved by Him. So during Lent it is crucial to cut ourselves off from the noise for periods of solitude and prayer. These quiet times help us to hear the voice of God and avoid the distractions. They are times to shut out the lies being sold to us all day long and to focus on what is real and true. They are times to wake up from our sleep and oblivion to the fake world that has been created by corporations and other principalities and powers all around us and to see through the fumes to the truth. I have the awesome privilege of going to L’Arche Daybreak, the place where Henri Nouwen spent his last days, and taking retreats there whenever I can. I get to sleep in his house, hang out in his library, and reflect in silence on God, life, and the world around me. It is a gift that I could never properly express my gratitude for and one that I got to access for 2 days just last week. And I left feeling refreshed, focused and rejuvenated yet again.

That retreat reminded me that I believe in prayer. I believe in communal prayer with other believers and I believe in prayers of solitude. I believe it can be done while walking down the street of sitting on the subway or riding my bike. I believe it can be creative and spontaneous. I believe it can be powerful when read in a liturgy. And again, I believe it changes things because the God we pray to is the Creator and Preserver of all things. God is the Great Physician and can heal our world, our sicknesses (both physical and emotional), and our complacency.

I’ve said it better than I could write it here in this video that I did in preparation for a conference last year. So check it out if you have a few minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl4aIOv4Pzs

Back to the Vigil

As the drum ceremony was still underway, I silently prayed to God. Now I don’t speak this way very often, but as I prayed I felt a calmness come over me and felt as though I were being given the words to say and to pray. And while I struggled to get on track with Lent in the early weeks of the season this year, as I’ve admitted in my first post, I believe this was a turning point for me this Lenten season.

I said something like this;

“I’ve been working alongside folks who live on or close to the streets of Toronto for the past 20 years now. Back in the early days of my work, I was with a group that tried to reach out to folks who were working in the sex trade. 2 or 3 nights per week we’d go out in the middle of the night and hand out hot chocolate to women, boys and transvestites who were working the streets, in hopes of befriending them and letting them know that they are loved. We’d also hang out in all night coffee shops where women were known to take breaks in between tricks, again in hopes of somehow getting a message to them that they are loved and the beloved children of God.

It didn’t take long for me to be overwhelmed with emotions ranging from heartbreak to rage over what I experienced. The heartbreak came from getting to know some of the working girls and learning that they really didn’t have any hope of getting out of the trade, and had resigned themselves to their ‘fate’ in life. The rage came from watching men drive around in their mini-vans with their baby seats installed in the back, and picking up boys or women or transvestites in order to get their sex fix, and then heading back home to their wives and kids in the suburbs. I was also enraged with the pimps who were so horrible to ‘their girls’, and the culture we lived in which glorified the so-called profession of ‘pimp’ on TV, movies and in music. I felt helpless doing the work and I knew I needed to get out before my emotions took over and destroyed me. So I left that work behind.

Lately I ride my bike to work every morning. I currently run a shelter for men who are homeless. As I ride to work at 7am each morning, I ride through Toronto’s ‘low track’. (An area where very poor, addicted, and desperate women work the trade in hopes of snagging a john on their way to work in the morning. They often work for their next ‘hit’ of drugs.) As I ride through, I want to stop and talk. But I don’t because I don’t know how that will look to people driving by and I don’t know how the girls will respond to me if I stop. Will they think I’m another john? Will they think I’m a cop? Will they get mad at me for interrupting their business? So I keep on riding by without saying a word, just like all the other traffic. And as I ride through, I feel helpless and heartbroken.

But in the midst of my helplessness, I do not feel hopeless. I have hope that there is a way out of the life. I have hope that there is something better. And my hope rests in God, the creator and preserver of all things. The God I worship is bigger than the sex trade. He is bigger than crack cocaine. She is bigger than guns and gangs. She is bigger than pimps, bikers, and johns. He is bigger than drug dealers and organized crime. And she is able to overcome anything. My God gives me hope.

So before we go any further, let us pray to God.

Father God, I pray that you will be with us tonight and that you will make your presence known to us.

Mother God, I believe that you are here and that you know us by name. I believe that you love each of us, no matter what we have done or where we have been.

Creator God, I believe that you are a just God and that someday, while we don’t really know why you continue to let life be difficult for so many people, you will make everything right for all of creation.

So God, I cry out to you in faith and hope that you can and will make everything right, and that in the meantime you will watch over each of us and over our friends who are working the streets on this night.

I pray all of this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ,

Amen.

 Easter is just around the corner. 

Writer: The Concise Oxford is written by Dion Oxford who, along with his wife, Erinn, and daughter, Cate, live in Toronto, Canada and are committed to journeying alongside people in the margins of society. He and Erinn have spent a combined 30 years working amongst folks who are living on the streets of Toronto. Dion is a recovering Salvationist who currently worships at an evangelical Anglican church but still works for The Salvation Army at the Gateway, a shelter for men experiencing homelessness. He and his wife see the solution to homelessness as the church taking seriously the two great commandments of loving God and loving our neighbour. He likes to read, write, fly kites, cycle long distances, watch TV, play in his band and hang out with his friends.

Easter #5 : What do you reckon?

A rather Australian take on Easter by Barry Gittins

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

 ¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

 ¹⁵“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”  (NIV)

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ne day Jesus was walking down the road with his mates when the subject of ‘who is this bloke?’ came up. Well, says Jesus, what do you fellas reckon?

Think about the question for a moment, and the fact that Jesus felt led to ask it in the first place. Say that you are Jesus, and you’ve been leading a group of fellas and women around the place. They’ve walked off the job to hang out with you and do what you ask. They’ve seen some weird stuff; some beautiful and amazing, some scary and gross.

Why use them as a focus group? Why ask them how your rep was going?

Jesus was criss-crossing Galilee; his fame was spreading. While people may disagree about who he was and what he was up to, mostly they would acknowledge that he was savvy and talked a good game. Jesus knew his mission was getting people talking. He was teaching, healing, doing stuff that nobody had seen before in their lifetime.

Jesus knew he was news. But what did this pack of apostles know about it? Did they understand what was going on?

It was probably quiet for a bit. They were a competitive mob sometimes, and no-one wants to look like a dill, or say the wrong thing. Word on the street, they told him tentatively, was that he was a ‘blast from the past’ prophet, like Elijah, Jeremiah or John the Baptist (one of Jesus’ cousins, we’re told) brought back from the dead. The same question may have been duly repeated to the same audience. Maybe it just hangs in the air, unanswered.

What do you blokes reckon?

Simon Peter pipes up, as bold as brass. You’re it, mate; the chosen one. The son of the living God. Pete jumps at a chance to dream. To connect with the divine.

If we are going to try to live as Christians, as ‘little Christs’, then we will do well to take a leap as well.

If we don’t ask the question - what do I reckon? - then we’re not taking faith in Jesus seriously. And if we don’t try to answer the question? Well then, we are not taking ourselves or the Bible seriously.

Jesus’ answer to Pete is interesting. Jesus says Pete knew what to say because God revealed it to him; that power and authority would be based on the truth that he, Jesus, was the son of God and that ‘the gates of hell will not prevail’.

Jesus was claiming divinity.

When we quote Jesus in a non-Aussie way, Jesus was asking his followers, ‘Who do you say I am?’ The ‘I am’ is a big giveaway there right there, for many pundits, as it’s the name God gave Moses back in the burning bush chat: I am.

Christology - the study of Christ - tends to come from above or below; people emphasise Christ’s divinity or humanity. The Salvation Army, like many Christian churches, puts it a different way. We see Jesus as a bloke who was also God: ‘truly and properly God and truly and properly man’ according to the Army’s doctrines.

This Easter, what does that mean to you? What does that mean, in terms of how you live your life?

Some Questions:

What do you think of when you think of God?
What does God look like? What does he do? Say? Want?
How do we know who Jesus is?
When do we work it out, if ever?
How can we answer that question?

The Salvos believe that ‘he that believes has the witness in himself’ (I John 5:10); that we know God in our heart of hearts - what does that mean in terms of how you try to communicate that truth?

Writer: Barry Gittins is a Melbourne-based writer, lifelong Salvationist, husband (to Trudy) and father(to Emily and Benjamin) who seeks God in everyday encounters. A frustrated poet and playwright, he has worked for the Salvos’ Australia Southern Territory in various roles since 1991: as a journalist (for Warcry, The Young Soldier/Kidzone, The Musician),technical writer and CD-ROM author in corps program (mission development), senior review editor (Warcry) and editor (On Fire). He currently works as a social program and policy consultant (writer/researcher) for the social program department.

Easter #4 : PETER

by Maxwell Ryan

The pale translucent dawn wiped the darkness from craggy hills and spilled over into the valleys. It was going to be a hot day, despite the present chill in the air.

A man was running, stumbling in the half-light as if chased by demons - or the shadow of defeat that he could not face. The gnarled roots of olive trees burrowed and interlaced the earth as if possessing a life of their own. The man didn’t see them, and before he knew what was happening the coarse rope of a flopping sandal caught and threw him, full-length and face down, on the stony ground.

He was winded and lay there as if dead. His legs, grabbing this respite in the mad rush from the city, throbbed and ached with growing intensity. Forcing his eyes closed, the man tried to bring order out of the chaos of his darting thoughts.

There were the voices - the low, profane voices of Roman soldiers as they sat around the fire or stamped cursing, in the unwelcome chill of the night air. Then there was the girl: black-haired and lithe, she moved easily among the soldiers with her wine skin. The man watched her.

Her dark eyes flashed and danced as she eluded the clumsy paw of an over-eager soldier, and her high laughter sounded above the general confusion and noise. “Sir, I’m only a poor girl and I have a widowed mother and sick brother at home, would you like to buy…”. The liquid Aramaic of the sales pitch stopped as she bent her head and peered closely.

Harsh and discordant, she shouted wildly, “Here’s one of them, here’s one of them. I saw him with the Man from Galilee!” The sudden silence of the courtyard lived briefly.

“She’s a liar, she doesn’t  know what she’s talking about.” The man’s voice was high-pitched and dry with fear, and trembled slightly. “That no-good, misbegotten daughter of Belial can’t see with the eyes that Jehovah put into her worthless head. I never saw the Prisoner before.”

Curses, now stumbling through disuse upon his tongue, flowed in a dirty stream from the man as the girl clutched her wine skin and backed off.

The outburst had not died on the air when the man heard the slap-slap of marching sandals against the flagstones of the courtyard. A platoon of soldiers moved to his immediate left and he turned quickly to watch. For an instant the solid line of soldiers parted and he could see, not six feet away, the face - but especially the eyes - of the One who meant the most to him. This Person looked at him - through him - beyond him.

The man dropped his eyes and momentarily hid his face in his hands. Then he turned and ran blindly. The hills, the familiar hills, called as he left behind the flickering lights of the city and ran eastward into the paling dawn.

The throbbing in his legs subsided as still he lay on the ground.  Over and over again, with insistent regularity, the thought pounded through his brain: “But I didn’t mean what I said. . . I didn’t mean it . . . I didn’t mean it.’ Those eyes still looked through him and, as they did so, they pierced his heart.

But now the crisis was past, and the fear had gone, to be replaced by hard resolve.  He stirred and then sat, up, wiping his face and pushing back his hair.  Calmly he said to himself, “I must go back, immediately.  He might need me.”

The man arose, bent down to pick up the broken sandal and then walked slowly down the hill toward the city. There was no running now - Peter knew that - and he was warmed by the thought, deep inside, where it really mattered.

There were things to be done, and things to be suffered - perhaps. He’d need all his strength for this troubled present and uncertain future. The pall of defeat receded swiftly as now he strode with purpose. Those beautiful, impact-ridden three years with Jesus were not lost at all. For Peter had made a promise by the rocky shores of Galilee those many months ago.

His word, and his life, had been given; who was he to take them back?

Writer: Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell Ryan is a former Editor in Chief in Canada and the UK. In retirement has been a copy editor of theRubicon and the author of two series on theRubicon - Resurrected Writers and Thinkaloud

Comm 2 Comm #1:No Boundaries! | Blame Jesus!

Joe Noland plays the “Blame Game”

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 ommissioner Jim Knaggs interviewed me on isalvos.net the other day, with the video recording now available for viewing 24/7. One of the frustrations of a live interview is the limited amount of time for each answer, and that feeling afterward of, “I wish I’d said this or that,” or “clarified a point more thoroughly.” The beauty of the Internet is, that after viewing the video, you can return here for a more complete rendering, and for an answer to those questions that weren’t asked due to time constraints. Again, in order to keep these posts concise (and readable for busy schedules), I’ll spread them out, writing a separate one on each question.

The first question asked for my observations on new and exciting initiatives occurring in the Army today, with an emphasis on creativity, imagination and innovation. For those of you too busy to view the video, let me regurgitate here without all the “Uhs” (gonna have to work on that), and add the “this or that’s.”

I felt led to preface my answer by stating that innovative/creative thinkers/doers are free spirits and need space and freedom from boundaries in order to function effectively. A controlling environment inhibits creativity and innovation. Fear paralyzes. Permission empowers. Creativity doesn’t fare well in fearful, controlling cultures, so one must become a risk-taker in order to create - a rare commodity in most institutional circles today (Wow! Why couldn’t I have said it this way on air?).

Thus, unfortunately, we are not as innovative as we once were, but there are some pockets of it to be found around the world if one examines closely. This isalvos webcast, one part of a more comprehensive cyberspace evangelism revolution being initiated in the Australian Southern Territory, is one of them. The whole concept of a virtual, cyberspace corps as part of isalvos is about as innovative and exciting as it gets. And they haven’t even begun to scratch the surface. Imagine the potential (Wish I’d said it this way originally).

Steve Court  (ArmyBarmy.com, JAC, et al) is an Army pioneer in this area, along with Geoff Ryan and the Rubicon.org, both Canadians by the way (Blame Canada!). This was risky business and I know they took some heat along the way. There are no divisional and territorial boundaries in cyberspace and to venture out there, without controls, makes manager-leader types uneasy and edgy. One prime example is “WARdrobe: Army Apparel,” created by Fulton Hawk on Facebook (Join the group). Imagine, contemporary Army wear promoted worldwide without permission from the Trade Council, or whatever they call it today? No boundaries. No fear! This is exciting, groundbreaking, innovative stuff.  It drives anal-retentive (a Freudian phrase) types crazy.

By the way, Bruce Redman, Queensland, Australia, has taken over the reigns of theRubicon.org and Steve Court is now based in Melbourne, Australia with ArmyBarmy.com (Blame Australia!). Hey, this is where the action is (Blame Knaggs!). And they’re opening new, innovative Army corps right and left, with “People Count!” keeping the focus on those getting saved and enrolled as a result (Blame the Holy Spirit!).

Reminds me a little bit of early day Christianity. Jesus was a risk-taker, breaking boundaries, doing innovative stuff. The establishment wasn’t happy with him. Crucifixion! Resurrection! Omnipresence! (Cyberspace)

“I am the resurrection and the life!” - No boundary known unto man.”

“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” - “No boundary known unto man.”

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth” - “No boundary known unto man.”

“…and about 3000 were added to their number that day” - “No boundary known unto man.”

Freedom! No Boundaries! No limits! Isn’t that what we’re celebrating during this Easter season?

Blame Jesus!

Writer: Commissioner Joe Noland’s ministry can be summed up in three words: chaos, creativity and controversy - three elements implicit in any successful innovative endeavor. Cecil B. DeMille, renowned producer of Biblical epics, once wrote, “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” Joe’s mantra reads, “Creativity is my drug of choice.”  Access Joe Noland’s complete bio, among other things, by clicking into his website.

A Future of Officer Training

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he issue of Officer Training comes around time and again in SA discussion. It’s somewhat of a hot topic since so much development goes on in our SFOTs/CFOTs. I’d just like to share some vision, some hope on Officer Training myself.

What I wonder is what the future of officer training will look like. Already the scene is changing. I know many of the training colleges are now linked with Christian colleges near their locations. Continuing education is now a standard part of most curriculum as well. But where are we going with all of this? What is the goal of our education centers? What is their purpose?

Is the goal to one day have our training colleges on par with Christian colleges? Should we seek to make them on the same level as evangelical seminaries? Why should we be like them? In what ways do we need to be different?

Perhaps there is room to expand the idea of training itself. For one, why is it that our educational facilities are only for those who want to be officers? I know they are called colleges or schools for officer training, but our soldiery could benefit from the same kinds of instruction! Could there be a day when our institutions offered education for all Salvationists, while only commissioning those who wanted it? D.L. Moody’s mission in founding a school was to train “Gap-Men.” These were people who were trained in ministry but who stood between the laity and the clergy. They bridged the unfortunate social gap which sometimes appears. We could be training the same kind of “Gap-People.”

What about specialization as well? Can training expand to accommodate the youth worker, the social service worker, the theologian, the bible scholar, the preacher, the counselor, the worship leader, the children’s minister, etc.?

The old Methodist model of quick training gets people onto the field in a hurry, which is what is needed in a revival. But when there’s no revival you’re training people for what doesn’t exist. We need pastors, not revivalists. We need teachers and counselors and children’s ministers and all the others because we have churches now, not revival halls. Ask the basic question: What are we training cadets for?

Are we training them for reality or for the reality of past ages?

Finally, what is the potential of training colleges? What is the limit to “education” as we, The Salvation Army envision it? Perhaps its time to take a look and imagine a bit. Let some new ideas flow as we try and realize our potential in regards to Christian education. It would be a shame to think too small in education. So what is the future you see for our training centers? What is the need on the field that we should prepare officers and soldiers for? What can you do to help us realize that goal?

And to those who staff our training schools:

How do you see our training facilities in the future?

What is your vision?

Writer: David Witthoff is a Salvationist from the Oakbrook Terrace Corps. He recently graduated from the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago with a BA in Pastoral Ministry. Currently he lives in Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA where he is working towards a Master of Arts in Old Testament and a Master of Arts in Biblical Languages at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. David enjoys writing music, exegeting, sci-fi tv shows, running, soccer, languages and talking about the Army with his friends. His hope is to be the best soldier, student, and teacher of the scripture that he can be.

Lent Musings (3 of 5)

“My religion is absurd!”, he said to the middle aged priest as they sat together in the arena watching the hockey game. The two, as fate or maybe even providence would have it, had just met because their tickets were beside each other. They struck up a conversation in the first period, drank a couple of beverages and shared some cheers together, and then the inevitable question came during the third period; ‘What do you do for a living?”

Sheepishly and expecting a reaction, my friend, the husband and father of three that drinks beer, occasionally cusses, and loves hockey admitted that he was an Anglican priest.

Well the reaction he got was swift and exponentially more intense than he ever imagined. “You’re a priest. NO *&$%#* WAY! You guys aren’t supposed to be cool.” When the initial shock had worn off, the man admitted, “I don’t know one single person in the whole world who goes to church regularly. I believe in God and everything but I can’t stand what I remember about church…

Your religion seems pretty cool but my religion is absurd!!!”

Back to Lent

Continuing on from my last piece about the four ‘acts of righteousness’ of Lent, the 2^nd of these four is taken from Matthew 6:2-4 and is known today as ‘giving to the needy’ or ‘giving alms’. Sadly, this is a significantly unfortunate translation of the original text. ‘Acts of mercy’, from what I’ve been told and have read of original biblical language scholars, is a far more accurate translation of what Jesus was saying at the time. “What’s the difference?” you might ask. Well here’s how I see it broken down into practical terms.

Giving to the needy

While giving to the needy is of course important to do, and while there are many needy people in the world who really require those of us who have extra to give some of that away to them in order for them to even survive, this should not and must not be the end of our concern for those who are poor and needy. It should, in fact, be just the beginning.

‘Giving to the needy’, if it ends there, simply becomes a charitable act that doesn’t involve relationship and often comes out of guilt and pity as opposed to love and joy. If Lent becomes a quaint fasting from chocolate or coffee for 40 days and a collection of a few bucks saved on those items to give away to a self-denial fund or to send off to Haiti for disaster relief,  then we’ve entirely missed the essence of what Jesus was on about when He referred to ‘acts of mercy’. If we only give away some extra cash to ‘those poor folks who I don’t really know but I feel really bad for’, but don’t take the time to invest of ourselves into the lives of others, we are missing the point altogether. If we only ‘give to the needy’, we participate in the perpetuation of neediness as we don’t take the time to get to know the people in need and walk with them through and possibly even out of that neediness.

Acts of Mercy

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Lent is a season of getting back to basics. It is a time to practice spiritual disciplines that help us stand against the tide of darkness that continues to bombard us from within and without. It is a time to focus on the life of Christ and implement habits and practices that help us to become more like Him and less like everything else around us.

Well, in this area, Christ modelled not only a willingness, but a desire at the core of His being to be amongst ‘the needy’. He didn’t do this with any strings of church growth or evangelism attached. He did this out of His love and compassion for others. He did this because it brought Him joy. He did it because he was repulsed by society’s willingness to leave people behind based on their socio-economic or cultural status. He did this because it was an extension of who he was and what He stood for.

How did He go about this? He did it on both relational and systemic fronts. He befriended people that the religious elites of the day considered unworthy. He ate meals in homes that were frowned upon by the upper class. He hung out with prostitutes and tax collectors. He partied at weddings. He was unwilling to accept gifts and offerings that would make Him rich and powerful. He lived simply and daily demonstrated faith that His Father would provide His day-to-day sustenance. He healed the sick and made the blind to see. He touched people who were unclean. He dwelt among the people and refused to live apart from them. He turned over the money tables in the temple and destroyed idols that humans had made to replace the living God. He spoke truth to power at any cost and paid dearly for it. He refused to bend His knee to Caesar. He overcame very real temptations from Satan himself.

These, therefore, are the acts of mercy we need to challenge ourselves with this Lenten season. Lent leaves us with choices to make. Jesus asks us at Lent; ‘Do you want me? Do you actually believe me or are you just saying that? Do you have faith in me or are you just pretending? If so, then take up your cross and follow me. My yolk is easy and my burden is light.”

My theological and practical conviction is this; if we were about ‘acts of mercy’ a whole lot more than we were about ‘giving to the needy’ (or in our Army context might the term ’social services’, of which I am a part, be an equivalent?), people outside the church might actually stop and take notice of us. If, while the world was crumbling all around us and people could look to the way we live as though we were actually standing on the only solid ground to be found anywhere, than we might have far less conversations like the one I outlined at the beginning of this piece.

(I’m attaching the link to a video I made a few months back that perhaps does a far better job at articulating what I’m getting at than anything I could write.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3WfuMZci0Y )

But until then, perhaps the guy at the hockey game is right and our religion, like his, truly is absurd.

Still longing for Easter,

Dion

Writer: The Concise Oxford is written by Dion Oxford who, along with his wife, Erinn, and daughter, Cate, live in Toronto, Canada and are committed to journeying alongside people in the margins of society. He and Erinn have spent a combined 30 years working amongst folks who are living on the streets of Toronto. Dion is a recovering Salvationist who currently worships at an evangelical Anglican church but still works for The Salvation Army at the Gateway, a shelter for men experiencing homelessness. He and his wife see the solution to homelessness as the church taking seriously the two great commandments of loving God and loving our neighbour. He likes to read, write, fly kites, cycle long distances, watch TV, play in his band and hang out with his friends.

Easter #2 :Why Easter “Sunday”?

S

unday-the Lord’s Day? We are told in the Scriptures that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. In that case, we would have to call it “The People’s Day.” Besides, Sunday isn’t really the Sabbath, as Jesus would have recognized it.

I have always wondered why we have collective worship on Sunday, and when I ask those I think will know, I always get the same indoctrination: “It’s the day that Jesus rose from the grave.”

Based on study and research, I have reason to challenge that answer.

A familiarity with the Jewish calendar will enlighten us to the fact that Jesus rose on what we would refer to as Saturday night. Therefore, the reason we worship on Sunday has very little to do with Jesus being raised on Sunday. Secondly, the reason we worship on Sunday is due to an ancient spat between the surviving Pharisaic Jews and the surviving Nazarenes after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.
When the Temple was destroyed, the Pharisees escaped to Yavneh and the Jewish followers of Jesus ran to the mountains of Pella as they were told to do in Matthew 24:16. Since that time the Jews and the Church have created obstacles to keep one another from being unified.

“The Church forbade believers from keeping the Jewish feasts and began to meet on Sundays, while, in reaction to the Christians kneeling for prayer, the Jews adopted the standing position while praying the Amidah” (Dr. Ron Moseley, Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church).

How will the Jewish calendar inform us that Jesus rose on Saturday night? The answer comes from research done by David Bivin and the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research. To the Jews, the day always begins with night. That is because of Genesis 1:5, which reads, “And there was evening , and there was morning-the first day.” First century Jews, using Nehemiah 4:21 as their guide, defined Nightfall as the moment when the stars were visible, which was around 7:00 p.m. during the season of the Passover.

In Matthew 28:1 we read, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” in Greek the Scripture reads, “Opse de sabbaton te epiphoskouse eis mian sabbaton…” (Late [of] sabbath, in the lightening to one of Sabbath). This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in Greek, but in Hebrew it makes perfect sense.

“Late of Sabbath” is a Greek form of the Hebrew phrase, “be-motsa’e shabat” (at the exiting of Sabbath), which means the hours that follow immediately after the Sabbath. “In the lightening to one of sabbath” comes from the Hebrew idiom, “‘or le-’ehad ba-shabat” (light to [day] one of the week). Used in this way, “light” is a synonym for “night,” referring to the night before the next day. In Hebrew, “light” can be used as an antonym for its literal meaning to speak of the dark hours that exist before a new day.

An example of this usage is found in ancient Jewish writings that give instructions for carrying out the search for leaven as directed in Exodus 12:15. The ancient writing says, “Light to the fourteenth [of Nisan] one must carry out a search for leaven by the light of a lamp.” The use of the lamp gives us a clue that the search was done in the dark hours.

“With this understanding, the Galilean women returned to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body shortly after dark on Saturday evening. It was then that they found the tomb already empty. Jesus, therefore, may have remained entombed only slightly more than twenty-four hours, being raised from the dead on Saturday evening rather than on Sunday morning. By the method of reckoning time in Jesus society, such a short period, scarcely more than a day-a part of Friday, all of Saturday, and a part of Sunday-would have fulfilled his prophecy that he would be raised from the dead on the third day after his death” (David Bivin, Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research).

Based on this historical information, it seems that the reason we worship on Sunday has more to do with a 2000 year-old grudge than a God-honoring recognition of the Messiah’s defeat over death and the grave.

In His dust,
Johnny 

Writer: Capt. Jonathan Gainey was born in Jacksonville, FL in June, 1969. He has been married to Staci, the daughter of retired Salvation Army officers, for twenty years and they have four children ages 18, 16, 12, and 4. Jonathan was commissioned as an officer in June of 2002, and is currently serving in his third appointment in New Bern, NC, USA. He is working on a Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is the creator and manager of the Flocks Diner website, where his passion for learning and teaching is expressed and shared through writing and a weekly podcast.

Easter #1:The Suffering Servant

            “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; by his wounds we are healed.”                        

These words from Isaiah 53 flash across the screen starting Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of The Christ. The movie was released in theatres on Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2004. The film portrays Jesus Christ’s last hours of life on earth before his crucifixion.

            The Passion of The Christ was hailed by critics as “a great epic film” and was called “powerfully moving.” It is most definitely moving. It affects you. It touches you. It shakes you. In fact, it’s a hard movie to watch; it’s a very dark film. If you’ve seen it, you know: the filmmakers do not hold back. It’s violent. It’s graphic. It’s horrific. It’s brutally honest in it’s depiction of the Passion of Jesus Christ. We see the crack of the whip, the tearing of flesh, the flowing of blood, and the nails driven into his hands. Jesus is beaten, battered, and broken. He’s crushed, crunched, and crashed. He’s whipped, welted, and wounded. He’s a cut, scarred, bloody mess. He is unrecognizable. The prophet Isaiah wrote: “…his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness…”

Isaiah foretold that Jesus would be “despised and rejected by men;” that he would be a “man of sorrows, familiar with suffering.”

Jesus Christ knew suffering well. Christ, through his suffering, cleanses the nations, everyone, not just white heterosexual Christians from North America. The writer of Hebrews tells us that by Christ’s “one sacrifice he has made perfect those who are being made holy,” and that can be anyone who calls on the name of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ “took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows…”

Jesus Christ “was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

This doesn’t make sense. This doesn’t sound fair. This doesn’t add up.

Jesus took up our sins. Jesus was punished for our sins. His wounds heal us. His suffering brings us peace.

There’s a scene in The Passion of The Christ where Jesus and the two criminals are being given their crosses to carry to Golgotha. Christ drops to his knees, holds the cross close, and says: “I am your servant, father. Your servant, and the son of your handmaid.” One of the criminals scowls at Christ and asks: “Why do you embrace your cross, fool?”

“Why do you embrace your cross, fool?”

Why did Jesus Christ embrace the cross?

Why did Jesus Christ become the suffering servant?

Christ embraced the cross to change the world.

Christ embraced the cross to bring about peace, wholeness, and salvation; and not just in the forgiveness of sins sense, but in the peace and reconciliation among nations sense, in the reconciliation of relationships sense, in the restoration of souls and the world sense.

Christ embraced the cross for the world and every man, woman, and child on it.

Writer: Mark Braye and his wife Nancy are officers in Essex, Ontario, Canada. They have two children, pictured above, Hannah and Micah. The four of them love to play and watch Sesame Street.