Thursday, September 13, 2007

Adventures in Missiong the Point

To steal a title from Tony Campolo and Brian McLaren, I think often our lives become adventures in missing the point. The issues that we make significant and of greatest importance are often issues that confuse the call of God. The more I travel this journey of faith, the more I become convinced that buildings, budgets, and statistics are a waste of time if we are not staying focused on the work of God. So what is the work of God? I think the principle work of God is building relationship. Relationship with God first, and then as a product of our relationship with God, others. Not just the people who are like us, but with all people. People of different race, economic group, sexual preference, political outlook, or any other difference. The point of this whole thing called life is not to create division, but to build relationship with all people and God.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

More Than Salvation

I think that it is easy to miss the point in this thing called life. It is really easy to miss the point in this glorious and mysterious thing called the church. What if relationship is more important than salvation. Now before you think I have completely lost my mind hear me out. What if the key to our life and the church was found in relationship, not only human to human, but our relationship with God. I contest a full relationship with God can only be accomplished through the grace offered by Jesus Christ. Yet, I think God is looking for more than to simply have us all be saved. I think God longs to be in relationship with us, a deep, meaningful, and intimate relationship. In fact it is fractured relationship that brought about the need for salvation, but salvation does not repair the breech of relationship. The repair is only done by developing the relationship with God, that God longs to have with us.