datmacman @datmacman-blog - Tumblr Blog

What is The Right Thing to Do?

How does one determine what is good? Is it discovered, dictated, or determined? Will it still be good tomorrow? In another culture? These and many more ethical questions and possible decision paths are the topic of Nullens and Michener’s book The Matrix of Christian Ethics. The purpose for the book is to promote “an embrace of responsible postmodern thought with a deep concern for justice and the well-being of the other. W desire to engage in a deeply Christian ethical reflection that moves beyond a modernist ideal of individual rights due to our sameness as human beings to an acknowledgment of the wonder of our diversity and complexity.” (pg. 45).

The authors take the reader on an historical journey through the development of moral argumentation which includes four basic approaches: consequentialism, principle ethics, virtue ethics, and value ethics. They unpack the historical roots of each and present some philosophers who represented those approaches and who contributed to their notoriety. Without apology the authors then turn to the God of the Bible and his relationship to ethics. They use Micah 6:8 as a key verse delineating what God deems to be ‘good.’ “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

I particularly appreciated how the authors related ethics to community and did so by using as a foundation the Trinity. I agree with them that “Christian Trinitarian ethics, then is social ethics. There is no individual Christian ethics per se; it is always social.” (Pg. 157). This is important in western, North American culture where unbridled individualism can neglect societal need in order to satisfy personal preferences or desires. I cannot think of a decision that impacts only oneself.

Another appreciated topic is that of the Kingdom of God. The authors made a very important statement relating to Matthew 6:33 regarding the demand to seek his righteousness and his Kingdom. They write, “Righteousness is a summary of God’s will as it i and will be manifested in his kingdom.” (pg. 169). This is an important clarification for the often misused application (in my opinion). Too often, people expect Kingdom righteousness to be appreciated in this world and even to win benefit. But, it does not always have this effect and can even be rejected and demeaned. This is not to say that the follower of Christ should not seek and reflect Kingdom righteousness! It is to say, however, that one may not escape negative response from this world’s kingdom.

In the last chapter the authors provide a very practical format for thinking through ethical dilemmas one may face. The format includes the following phases: 1) Collect Relevant Information, 2) Formulate the Particular Ethical Problem(s), 3) Consider the Problem in View of the Matrix of Commandments, Values, Character, and Consequences, 4) Consider Alternate Solutions, 5) Make a Decision, and 6) Evaluate. I believe this format will be very useful in almost any ethical situation and I plan to use it. In fact, there is an issue in a church that I am consulting which is a prime candidate for using this format.

How about you? Are you facing any ethical issues which could be helped using the above format?

The Matrix of Christian Ethics by Patrick Nullens & Ronald T. Michener

#lgp3 #dmin #nullens

My Why

528VE can be found at this link:

http://www.following2lead.com

#528VE

Jesus says "Go." Church says "come."

The problem that I wanted to identify and clarify is the difference in function between a "come" ministry and a "go" ministry. So, using the look, see, imagine, show process I began to draw. (I am one of the “'I can’t draw, but...' people, otherwise known as the Yellow Pen people (or highlighters) because they’re often very good at identifying the most important or interesting aspects of what someone else has drawn." pg. 24) I am NOT a drawing type person! But, I am pleased to find out that even the most simple drawings can communicate. Roam is right! That process then led to further clarification by applying the Objects, Quantities, Position in Space, Position in Time, Influence (cause and effect), and finally the why. All of those are not readily recognizable in my drawings, but most are.

The "SQVID" reminders were very helpful! In my drawings I chose Simple, Quality, Vision, Comparison, and Change. I continued to scribble and soon went through 6 folded pieces of letter sized paper folded in half. That provided 4 napkin sized frames per piece of paper! Eventually the ideas and pictures started to come into my "mind's eye" and then they made it to the paper.

I really enjoyed the book and I do believe I will use the approach often when I need to communicate an idea, even when I feel confident that I can communicate it verbally! The added value of the picture can only contribute as long as I am careful not to add detail which does not fit.

napkin one: traditional church ministry says, "come to grow"

napkin two: "come" ministry focuses on growing big head through the inside activities of preaching, teaching, groups, etc.

napkin four: "go" ministry uses inside activities to equip, teach, inspire, train in order to prepare people to go

napkin five: "come" ministry focus on head while "go" ministry engages whole person in real life activity

napkin six: "go" ministry focuses on head (knowledge), heart (wisdom and passion), hands & feet (action)

napkin seven: "come" ministry does not immediately impact daily life (symbolized by the house), "go" ministry penetrates daily life as a natural matter of course

*Roam, Dan (2009-12-31). The Back of the Napkin (Expanded Edition): Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures . Penguin Group US. Kindle Edition.

#lgp3 #dminlgp #roam

Circles?

How to make sense of my relationships. It is a mess!

The family circle, friend circle, believer circle, church crowd, casino crowd, baseball crowd, doctoral cohort circle, target shooter circle, Eastern Europe leaders circle, ministry colleage circle, and many others! Some intersect, some don't! Some you would expect to intersect don't and some you don't expect to intersect, do! Go figure!

Honestly, Abe, We Need Your Humility!

I am 63 years old and in all those years I have never heard so much of Abraham Lincoln as I have in the last decade. From both sides of the political spectrum, candidates and incumbents alike have called upon Lincoln's shadow in hopes of justification for their views and/or policies. It is sometimes amusing and often down right insulting to the past President, to hear the loudest voices attempt to fit their feet into his tracks. They are stumbling! And the place of their stumbling is both easily identifiable and damning. Ross Douthat points it out,

"But we must not boast of being God’s instruments, or pretend that we understand the full scope and direction of the story. Our exceptionalism must be a provisional exceptionalism, in other words— expectant but not presumptuous, perpetually tempered by humility and open to correction and surprise."

America is in dire straits in almost every way: politically, socially, economically, religiously, etc. It is easy to slip into the apocalyptic current and become pessimistic, or, to take the messianic approach and press one's solutions and bill them as God's will! Abe, we need you! We need your humility. I need your humility! I hear the voice of Proverbs, "The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility" (15:33).

Reading this book has been a humbling experience for me. I have been guilty of both the apocalyptic and messianic approaches and both without humility. What is particularly humbling is to be reminded of how powerful the gospel is and that it alone holds the cure for personal and national wholeness. In the ministry of making disciples and developing leaders it is only the life-giving dynamic of the gospel that accomplishes true spiritual formation and leadership worthy of following.

Douthat's book also hit a chord with me when talking about the need for a renewed Christianity to be ecumenical and confessional. In that context he wrote, "'Parachurch' efforts and 'emergent' communities cannot replace institutional churches. The common ground of a 'mere Christianity' cannot be allowed to become a lowest common denominator. The political causes that often unite believers from different churches cannot be allowed to become more important than the gospel itself."

At times I have allowed a cause to become larger than the gospel. Thank you, Douthat, for the rebuke! As large as the challenges are that face our society, they pale when compared to eternity's promises. This too is applicable to the ministry of discipleship. Spiritual formation must be just that, the work of the Spirit in re-birthing and growing the nature of Christ in the believer. It is tempting to peddle one's preferences and/or biases at the expense of the word. "Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, . . ." (1 Pet. 2:1).

This book does a great job of explaining a perspective of the recent demise of traditional religion in America. It has been most interesting and challenging for the purpose it was written, to challenge the church to engage renewal, first in personal pursuit of the gospel and then for social benefits. I am very encouraged, however, for the added benefit the book offers in for the ministry of discipleship. The emphasis on humility and confession and the balance of personal and public expression is much appreciated.

After having met in the hall and discussed our common vision, let us now go into our rooms and flesh out lives in the particular ways of our calling!

Douthat, Ross (2012-04-17). Bad Religion. Simon & Schuster, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

#lgp3 #dminlgp #douthat

discipleship

I posit that Jesus' discipleship is still the best way to make disciples. I believe it is the most effective in terms of both quality and quantity.

Knowing and Controlling One's Bias

A Social History of The Media is a history book. It's stated aim is "to show the relevance of the past to the present by bringing history into media studies and the media into history." Overall, I enjoyed reading the book. Both Asa Briggs and Peter Burke wrote in a clear, understandable, and enjoyable style, presenting the social media history as a moving picture of the development and advance of accelerating technology.

I particularly appreciated chapter 7 “Media Convergences.” Briggs wrote about the development of the information society and how that “information was considered the organizing principle of life itself” pg. 233. This society quickly “went global with the advance of information networks” and resulting in what he called the “trinity of information, education, and entertainment” pg. 234.

Living through these fast evolving dynamics and reading about them can be overwhelming but also very encouraging. As one whose ministry is focused on leadership development, the convergence of media and the diverse venues to facilitate the transfer of information and to conduct educational behaviors creates a wealth of optimism. I am thinking about distance learning throughout Eastern Europe where lean finances prohibit expensive travel, lodging, and physical conferencing. Mentoring and discipleship can be augmented in situations that would have been almost impossible. Cross gender discipleship can be more safely conducted, small and large group sessions can be facilitated even cross culturally!

Even the explosion of games is encouraging! I am not a “gamer” but the metaphor of gaming can provide a platform upon which new discipleship paths can be constructed and then “played” out among any number of people without geographical restrictions. I never imagined I would look at games to pick up ideas about how to facilitate discipleship!

So, the book was good in that I benefitted from the history lesson as well as the ideas that were stimulated. However, I was greatly disappointed by the section in chapter 8, written by Briggs, which discussed the events surrounding 9/11. I think he made two errors. One, I am not convinced that the whole section, given the way it was written, contributed to the stated purpose of the book. And, two, I believe it was written with an unsubstantiated bias.

The section does not relate any new or different historical information about media nor cyberspace which is the topic of the chapter. He did relate information but then offered opinion without any substantiation. Example. Concerning 9/11 he wrote that e characterized the American response to 9/11 as “The characteristically American response of the Republican administration quickly destroyed any hope of the initial unanimity of feeling being sustained. . . .” pg. 290. He may be right! But, his statement is not a historical fact as much as it is his opinion.

Another example is the text concerning the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay. He wrote that the prisoners were interned without specific charges. As true as that may be, he offers no purpose for how his statement contributes to the purpose of the book or the chapter and does not open the possibility that there may be mitigating circumstances for why the prisoners are being interned. (For example, a large number of prisoners having been released have been traced to new terrorist activity.)

The book accomplished it’s purpose and I must set aside my angst over the author’s bias. I am greatly encouraged not to make the same mistake.

Media: Rescue or Ruin of Relational Discipleship?

I woke up this morning at 3:45 a.m. and knew that I would not fall back to sleep. This is not uncommon for me. Many have the same experience after passing age 60, I am 63. The upside is that I am awake when the house is very quiet and I can read and write uninterrupted which is what I have been doing for the past 5 hours. During this time I have written a number of emails to people in Eastern Europe with whom I am doing some discipleship. I am so thankful for email, messaging, facebook, skype, etc. But, I look forward to those ministry trips when I can engage personally and relationally. Media fills some gaps, but does it also create crutches?

To the extent that discipleship includes some transfer of information, or content, the development and advance of media has certainly helped discipleship. Briggs noted the comment by Martin Luther about the printing press as “God’s highest gift of grace” (pg. 24). Printing good material for easy distribution certainly helps discipleship and providing the Bible to all believers was certainly an aim of the reformers (pg. 63).

I submit that the advance of print media has contributed to the demise of obedience based discipleship and to the rise of rationally based discipleship. This advance ran parallel to Enlightenment ideas which where circulated by books and periodicals with amazing speed. There is now little information that is not easily available to the public. Armed with numerous translations of Scripture, commentaries, and other printed and audio media, a believer is lulled into thinking that discipleship is mostly the intellectual (rational) cataloguing of spiritual content.

This has largely effected the North American Church and was greatly enhanced by the Sunday School movement of the 18th century. Even to this day, many churches offer “classes” which are advertised in their bulletins as being “discipleship” opportunities. Christian book stores offer many “how to” discipleship books divided up into convenient 13 chapters that fit nicely into a 3 month quarter of lessons. This dynamic has contributed to the demise of obedience based discipleship which relies upon relationships and community.

Someone once said that there is no spiritual growth apart from accountability. If that is true, then discipleship that is rooted in relationships where obedience is readily observed is critical to the advance of the Kingdom. The advance of non-personal media has certainly contributed to the discipleship enterprise. But, it must not totally replace the personal and relational dynamics that contribute to obedience and ultimately to the maturation process we call “discipleship.”

I’m off to meet with a pastor with whom I have a mentoring relationship. We confirmed our meeting and talking points by sending text messages and email. I resourced him by email with attachments. We talked by phone yesterday. But, today we meet, face to face. I get to look into his eyes during difficult questions. I watch for how he responds to humor and to accountability. I get to encourage him personally.

Community and Seeking First the Kingdom

Perhaps it is my age that causes me to reflect on verses that have impacted me over time. Soon after crossing the line to trust Christ rather than self, Matthew 6:33 loomed large in my mind. Seeking first the Kingdom of God is the chief pursuit of life. There are times when I wonder where I would be if I had made other choices that would have distracted, if not inhibited, spiritual development.

The one component that has been lacking lately in my life is strong faith community interaction. When in Hungary, I was on a team of 6-8 other couples and we were very close. We did life together and it was GOOD. I am really enjoying the interaction with my doctor of ministry cohorts even though it is all electronic communication.

House church could fill that void. The New Testament picture of the house church faith community is one of a group of people closely connected, interacting often, encouraging one another in the pursuit of the Kingdom. Many distractions rudely interrupt that pursuit. We need one another to maintain that pursuit FIRST, as a matter of CHIEF concern.

If house church means moving the meeting place to a house a few times per month, then true community will not happen. House church is not a different model of doing church. House church is a life-style. As the years go by, I long more for life-style change rather than pragmatic and program changes that make little difference. Seek first the Kingdom of God as a life-style!

Who will d(o)(upe) Theology?

It was a rich experience to interact with the members of this cohort in Korea regarding their engagemnent in this dmin journey. What is the motive for engaging such punishment?!?! What is the intended life outcome? What will the dmin journey contribute to life after the journey is over? What questions will be answered? What questions will be raised? Each person related to the above in uniquely different ways. I anticipate that this cohort will make meaningful contributions to theology and to the various ministries they represent!

Near the end of his book David J. Ford poses five important questions facing theology in the next millenium. In the introduction of his fifth question he states, “Presupposed in the previous questions about the central subject-matter of theology, its responsibilities, institutions, and dialogues, is the person of the theologian. The third millennium’s theology will obviously be shaped by those who do it, including perhaps the reader of this book.” My first reaction to this question, before I read the following paragraph, was one of alarm.

I am very alarmed by the trajectory of most academies regarding their approach to theology. I agree with Ford that the best practice of striking a balance of responsibility to the global academic community, to the religious community, and to the society in general. It does not seem that many academic institutions diligently work to acheive that balance. The unbalance skews the theological discipline in whatever way the local academic community leans. Basically, the theological task ends up close to one of the two extreme types, first or fifth, in Frei’s continuim.

In the public institutions in America there is a strong bent towards meeting the responsibility to the academic community with very little, if any, interaction with the religious community. Some interaction takes place with society at large but in those engagements the representatives of the academy are usually active and those representing society are passive. The academy becomes the teller and society the listener.

Why is this happening? One possible reason is the move away from a worldview that is at least closer to that which might be called a Biblical worldview. More do not operate from that vantage point and less do. I think there is another contributing factor. I think the church has failed to work hard to assist believers to become good theologians which in turn has produced a church that is unprepared to engage in critical thinking and theological discussion. In the face of challenge, the church has retreated in fear and allowed the academy to operate without their input.

This sentiment was captured by Ford, “there is often among religious people massive suspicion of academic education, especially when it has theological content. This makes theological responsibility towards them often a risky matter, especially when it requires public discussion of controversial matters.”

I mentioned earlier that I was at first alarmed by Ford’s question as to who would do theology. But the author reminds us that Jesus, the author and perfector of faith (Heb. 12:2) will do theology! And He invites us to join Him to do theology! My alarm was replaced with the confidence that God will continue to speak to His people and reveal Himself so that theology is accomplished to glorify Himself.

The five questions in the last chapter are good questions and provide fertile soil for critical thinking. I have already touched on the last question. Questions three is also of interest to me, “How can academic institutions be shaped so as to serve their threefold responsibility?” This is a mine field with little intellectual empathy and lots of arrogance on both sides and much distrust enimating from the church.

The church must take the first step and it must sustain the pursuit. It must find ways to establish trust relationships with the academy and society resulting in constructive dialogue. It will be interesting to see the various ways that will happen. Do you know of instances of such activity?

Ford, David (2000-02-24). Theology: A Very Short Introduction (p. 174). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.

Theology and Discipleship

GayMarie and I were always close, really close. I never knew her mom or her dad but we were inextricably linked by blood and some magnetic relational chemistry that still grips our connection. Her mom was killed in an auto accident when Gay and I were about 4 years old. After her mom's death she and her baby sister went to live with her aunt and her grandmother. Often, my family would visit Gaymarie and her little sister. During those visits over the years we became fast friends. GayMarie's mom was my oldest half sister from my father's first marriage.

A young man fresh out of Bible College was planting a church in my home town. My brother had already started tagging along with Jesus and was inviting me and my wife to do the same. We too became smitten with Jesus and the young church planter helped my wife and I to express our commitment to Christ. Before one week had passed he asked me to lead prayer meeting! I had no idea what such a meeting was but he assured me that he would help me through it. Within a month he asked me to begin preaching on Sunday afternoons in a nearby senior residence gathering. The pastor met with me often to talk about studying the Scriptures, applying them, and communicating it's truth to others. Discipleship was what was happening even though I barely knew the word or what it meant.

In the evenings, my brother would join my wife and I to talk about the issues of life and what the Bible had to say about them. Often we would talk until midnight and lay down our thoughts about what God's word meant for the challenges of life and what we would do if only He would put us in charge! Unbeknownst to us, we were doing theology.

GayMarie and I are like discipleship and theology. We are closely related but not exactly the same. In the book Who Needs Theology by Stanely J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson, I was gripped by the importance of doing theology and applying theology as a disciple of Jesus. The book states, "Perhaps no aspect of existence is of greater concern to us than our lives as individuals. Does theology say anything about this? Can we look at personal life through theological eyes? Not only can we, but we must. Being a disciple demands that I view myself through the lenses of Christian faith, a process that involves at least two crucial aspects."

Doing theology helps us answer the question, "Who am I?" To answer this question one must get outside of oneself and see the larger picture of the world we live in and the creator who made it. This is largely an intellectual exercise but it must find practical application if it is to result in a personal relationship with the creator. The linkage between doing theology and relating to God is discipleship; walking with Jesus who connects us with God, not just our knowledge of facts about Him.

GayMarie and I and our spouses have grown as family over the years. We are very similar but also different. We started doing family before we knew what it mean to be family. Theology and discipleship are closely related, you might say they are family. When theology and discipleship walk closely, one's relationship to God is enhanced and one's life is enriched. When one's motive to do theology is to pursue relationship with God, theology is honored!

I often work with young people who are eager to study theology and talk with others about their studies. However, they are not always as eager to engage relationship with others who are not doing theology. I wonder if this belies an issue with their disciplemaking capacity? They must bring their interest in theology into harmony with developing relationships for the cause of discipleship. What do you think?

Olson, Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Who Needs Theology. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

discipleship starts at home

We are a culture of 'outsourcing' and we do this in almost every sector of life. We outsource our cooking, worship, car care, laundry, education, missions, news input, pet care, and the list goes on. Do we really outsource the discipeship of our children? How could we evaluate this charge? Count the hours we invest in personal interaction? Are a few quality minutes really equal to the numerous hours spent with non-believing educators? What do you think?

check out previous post

check out making progress in previous post

Making Progress

Ternopil Missionary Institute is my next ministry engagement. I will teach for one week on church planting, discipleship, and leadership development. Many of the students are from Central Asia. Pray that they will be equipped to plant churches in their home countries where western missionaries cannot plant churches.

I will also consult with the Ukrainian Campus Crusade team. They want to address their leadership development ministry.

I am now 6 weeks into a DMin program at George Fox Universtity. It is going well and I am beginning to regain and improve my critical reading skills. I have penciled out my dissertation focus which is to examine the non-supernatural interpersonal relationship skills of Jesus Christ expressed in His discipleship and leadership ministry.

Simple Church Conference with Tony & Felicity Dale

Do the masses regard critical thinking?

I wonder if I am on the brink of falling into a pessimistic fog regarding the current state of the current world's chaos. We (dminlpg3) are engaging a conversation about critical thinking, what it looks like, how it works, and how to apply it. I have little doubt that there are good critical thinkers in every culture though they may approach and reflect the discipline differently. But, do most people even care about critical thinking?

I have had a few conversations during the past week about rash comments concerning the present world's chaos, specifically about those in Muslim world who are protesting. I heard many crazy and rash comments about solutions, few would pass muster before the Kingdom court. When I began asking questions that pushed for careful thinking most just retreated into their own egocentric or sociocentric cave.

My daughter is a fifth grade teacher in a public school. I discussed the issue of critical thinking with her and asked how the public shcool was equipping students with good thinking skills. She looked at me with laughter! She made it clear that the last thing the school prepares the students to do is to think! The school simply wants the students store facts in their memory so that they can pass the federal tests so that the school will continue to receive financial subsidies.

Well, I'm not going to fall into pessimism! The Lord Jesus Christ is King and His Kingdom is expanding and penetrating every nook and cranny of our planet! Now, I turn my head with hope to the future!

#dminlgp

Simple Church Conference

Today and tomorrow (Sat & Sun, Sep 15-16) Marian and I will attend the Ohio Valley District Simple Church Conference. Felicity & Tony Dale are the presenters. I am very excited about this conference and the potential to encourage the planting of simple churches. I believe the planting of simple churches is the most effective and efficient church planting ministry available to EVERY believer and church.

If you want to impact your neighborhood, your town/city, your region with the gospel of Jesus Christ, begin planting simple churches!

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

datmacman