Try describing the church by its “isness”

Lately I’ve been chewing over how regularly some folk find it important (important to them that is) to tell me what the church isn’t, or from their perspective “what it ought-to-be as belief and behaviour”...

For me (and I suspect Jesus too) the best enjoyment of what the church is, is community ... of course I could be wrong, but don’t assume I am ... think about it this way ...

As community the church is no mere repository of correct doctrines or exemplar of divinely desired human behaviours; it is a family of incarnation, interaction and fallibility ...

Why not try describing the church by its “isness” ... not its aint’ness

How hard can it be?

Don’t be afraid of simple answers to challenges of daily life.

Remember, true simplicity is always based on the profound ... that’s why it’s workable ... "don’t mistake depth for difficulty”.

In other words, “when the waters deep swim!!!”

When I get to church, what do I do then?

Hey, over some years now I’ve been at many churches with the worship motto, “enter to worship depart to serve”. For a while it seemed an OK slogan, but then I got to thinking (dangerous) ... “is this experience more like, an in one door and out the other deal?” Because we ‘all know coming to church and participating is important, in fact it was Jesus’ thing.

Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom (Luke 4:16).

Jesus not only was at church in his day, he knew how to participate as a worshipper in community. When he entered to worship and departed to serve, it was not an in-out experience but an “into it” reality.

Christian public worship is a high faith-community priority. We don’t just come to church, we are church. As church we come together to “do church”. Like Jesus, being together as the people of God is “our custom”.

In “chewing over” on this one I’ve become aware of 7 public and participative worship actions, attitudes and engagements of Christian custom . . .

Enter expectantly

Engage communally

Pray fervently

Worship passionately

Listen integrativly

Respond personally

Leave missionaly

Since you are reading this, you are most probably also likely to go to church sometime ... so when you next get there, ask yourself “how’s the participating?” -

Methinks I will.

Some "original" one-liners

As a kid (I was not born at the age I presently am), I started the practice of making “one-liners.” Problem was back then they weren’t written or generally received as insightful and wise … in fact often my quick mouth/mind got me in trouble. Still does; even though it got me ‘caned’ a couple of times in high school days, I remain a faithful follower of the “Qoheleth tradition”.

So, here are a few “outputs” from my ruminations over the last twelve months . . . 

• "Does life get out of you what it puts into you?" - JCD

• “A master plan for life … envisage your future, make decisions and plans – then, just keep getting out of bed. - JCD

• “Getting older means you are alive … dead people don’t age well” - JCD

• “God and us have at least one thing in common … we can choose to forgive the sins of others” - JCD

• “God is for us – We did not recruit Him … He called us, delivers us, and He works for our good. He really is for us, even though at times it sure doesn’t feel like it!” - JCD

• “Life is an it, you are an is … remember that is’es outlive it’s”. - JCD

• “Our best response to the Divine gift of life on this earth is to love it, live it, and not loathe it before we leave it”. – JCD

• “Remember nothing’s impossible ... and not every ‘far-out-thing’ needs to be dismissed as improbable!!” - JCD

• “When we respond to revelation through human conscience we appropriate grace”. - JCD

Pentecost 2009

This year’s Easter celebrations are now fifty days into the “rear-vision mirror”. Like life, the year drives on. Christian faith and its community, the church, celebrates journey and expects its future from the perspective of “historical present”. The God of the past, and Lord of the future, lives in its present. As the last book of the Bible opens, Jesus self-introduces as he that is, was and is to come – Lord God Almighty (sorry Bruce).

The church’s “historical present perspective”, began with the coming of the Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost; this weekends’ celebration.

Jesus had called women and men around him during the period of his historic ministry. He told, taught, and through himself showed his Father to them. Through his presence with them, Father God was among them. Those first-followers lived, learnt, cared, acted and made a difference in the lives of others because of the presence of Jesus the God-Man’s being there as centre and circumference of their pilgrim community. But wait ... there’s more. The third person of the Divine trinity was personally and powerfully present in the life of the God-Man, the Spirit himself was with them. Life and faith were exhilarating. Then Easter came, with Jesus’ arrest, trail, death and resurrection – had their pilgrim community come to an end? No just a rather abrupt transition.

This radical shift of the community’s divinely centred pilgrimage is continuity through the coming of the Spirit, now not just with them – also, in them. Saint Luke describes how Jesus prepared his followers’ understanding for transition.

Then Jesus said to them, "Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled." He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. Saying to them, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You're the first to hear and see it. You're the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you're equipped with power from on high – the Spirit himself will be in you."

I can hear a question in the listeners, “so Jesus, when can all this happen?”

This weekend ... it’s Pentecost!

Christian Churches in my geographical community (yours' too) celebrate journey and expect the future from the perspective of “historical present”. The God of the past, and Lord of the future, lives in our present. The coming Spirit has not only come ... He still comes!

Self-rejoicing; lifelong habit that outlasts life

Just finished Easter as triumphant celebration, my annual celebration that death is again overcome through resurrection, but death still happens.

Death is inevitable. I’ve seen it. I will experience it. I just won’t engage in retrospective reflection on the experience

Been reading and ruminating with my old friend Thomas A’ Kempis again, who reminds me that the fear of death or planning its avoidance is futile. For this reason I should strive now to live in a way that the hour of my death will be characterised by rejoicing, not by others, but by me; self-rejoicing.

Self-rejoicing is a one of the few “life habits” which will certainly transcend death.

“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.” Philippians 4:4-6 (Message Bible)

When icons become idols

Been thinking; “Icons existed long before they appeared on my computer screen”. Duh?! Hey, stay with me, I'm going somewhere with this . .

Icon is a Greek word meaning image.

It is the same word used in Genesis 1:27 : when God said, "Let us make humans in our image" and again in Colossians 1:1 5 : “Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation”. To Eastern Christianity where their use originates, an icon is specifically a sacred image which represents biblical stories or personalities, painted in accordance with Church traditions. But icons are more than pictures, they are “image windows” ... to see God more clearly, by seeing through them.

The power of an icon is to see through it ... not look to it. Just look to it, it can become an idol. Appreciate the art, reflect on the significance, "see through it", and it serves as a “window of forming my Christian spirituality”.

How can an icon become and idol?

Icons become idols when we no longer see through them as windows of reflection beyond their artful symbolism. When we allow them to become clouded we look to, and not through them. We only see what we have previously seen, expect to see and invariably will always see. Freshness and inspirations from ‘beyond’ are subtly replaced with images of achievement expectations, measurements of performance and judgmental projections into our struggle for achieving self-imposed behavioural standards. The clouded window becomes a mirror of reflection.


Our icons become idols, don’t need tearing down ... they need window-cleaning. Their very nature is to resonate with the Spirit’s voice in our reflective visualisation of God’s eternal nature in our temporal and communal life. Their voice is always ‘today inspiration’ for our pilgrimage in company with one who is, was and is to come.

When icons become our idols the problem is not them, it’s us. A fresh iconoclasm is not the remedy for misuse, and abuses of their proper use ... it's spring-cleaning time for our 'icon collection'..

The icons portrayed on the ‘walls of our worlds’ are broadly sourced. Eastern Christian communities, persons in the biblical narratives, passages in sacred text, the creation called ‘our planet’, saints in Christian and world history, or the ever-expanding engagement of ‘art’ in the breadth of its’ forms stock our galleries.