#laypeople

[tonreihe]

“So much great Christian fiction (Kristin Lavransdattar, The Brothers Karamazov, and that grande dame of gay Christian lit, Brideshead Revisited) shows secular life taking place in the shadow of the monastery. Monastics are in community not only with one another but with all those for whom they offer prayer. In the same way celibate laypeople can provide havens, for one another and for married people. Our work and our prayer can provide refuge.”

—Eve Tushnet, Tenderness

[wally1266]

"The Gifts Christ Gave To The Church"

“The Gifts Christ Gave To The Church”

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.— Ephesians 4:11 NLT

Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT

Christ has given 5 gifts to the church, these are known as the 5-fold ministry. They are not given to the leaders so they can do all the work. They are given to the church leaders so that they can equip the laypeople…

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[advancetheking-blog]

When I read Acts 2:43 and saw that "many signs and wonders were taking place through the apostles", I thought to myself, why was this only happening through the #apostles? Though at least "3,000 souls" had been added to the #Faith, who were "continually devoting themselves to the apostle's teaching", either signs/wonders weren't happening through them, or weren't happening enough to merit Luke mentioning this. If they had all been filled with the Holy Spirit, all had faith in the name of Jesus, the same faith that Peter said healed the lame man, not His own #power or piety or title, but faith in that name, then why were these moves of #God limited to the apostles? And then I read this verse and it made sense. The people didn't dare associate with them. They respected them as apostles, as leaders, as men of God, but did not fellowship with them. Essentially, the #laypeople viewed the apostles as being on a different #level then themselves. And we do the same thing today. We look at the way God moves through one of His children, one who has risen to a certain #status or #position in the Body, and see the things they do as "special", and then begin to view the person as "#special". But that person has just accepted their role as a #vessel for the #Lord. The only "special" thing about them is what God is doing through them, and He is doing it through the same Holy #Spirit that He has made available to all of us. But when we view the person as special, then by default we are not.And if we're not special, at least not the way they are, well then we don't capable (or responsible) for moving in the way, speaking in the way, or living in the way those "special Christians" do. But if Jesus lives in you, than you are more than capable. And you are also responsible. Yes we have leaders, and individuals who God has appointed to certain offices in the church. But it's not to hold them at a higher level than you. It's not to view them as their own "special" clique. And it's not just so they can be the ones who look the most like Jesus. It's so you can. Read #Ephesians 4:11-13 #Jesus #Christ #Christians #Christianity #advancethekingdom #advancetheking

[megatimburton1fan-blog]

exercise shorts? you mean pajamas. 

[what-quintessence-of-dust]

Me: *Refers to people who don’t read as laypeople*

[motiontozero]

In Asia, laypeople generally relate to Buddhism devotionally. But in America, when laypeople engage in these traditions they most often want to relate to them solely as a yogic path, beyond devotion. The problem is that they have all of the problems that lay Buddhists have always had. Trying to force yourself into the yogic path while living with all of the distractions, complications, and follies of the lay life may not always work so well. Some Western converts to Buddhism associate devotional practices with religions they don’t like, and so they reject the deep devotional traditions of Buddhism. But there is more to it than what they see on the surface. Initially, Shin devotion might appear to be very dualistic, but the deeper you go, the more yogic it becomes. Some Westerners also don’t seem to understand that Zen Buddhism or Tibetan Buddhism—all these paths—have very strong devotional elements along with the meditative-yogic aspects. In fact, the deeper you go into the yogic dimension, the more devotional you become, because you realize how unenlightened you are. In some approaches to Buddhism, you try to get rid of emotional attachments, but not in Shin. We want to treasure the blind passions, the defilements, because they are the fertilizer for realization. It’s hard to make the passions disappear, but they can be deepened into wisdom and compassion. Some people use the word “transform,” but I don’t like it myself. The passions don’t become something else; they become more pungent. Pungent dharma. That’s Shin Buddhism.

Mark Unno