Greatest Gift Remix

A few days ago I published a new article on the Presence site called 1Corinthians 13: The Greatest Gift Remix. It’s a reworking of Paul’s impassioned plea to his readers to renounce their pride and practice love. Understanding there is a unique context there, I take Paul’s text and put it in a contemporary setting. It goes like this.

Y’all want to go viral with the next big thing. You’re uploading the monuments to yourself onto YouTube. You’re hoping that a publisher discovers the genius of your manuscript. You’ve been working on the best damn praise band in the land.

That’s all cool. You’re striving for great gifts. Yet I will show you a still more excellent way.

If my album goes platinum, but don’t have love, I’m an out of tune guitar or a clanging cymbal.

If I’m the smartest guy in the room, and understand all mysteries and have all knowledge, but don’t have love, I’m a big zero.

If I believe all of the ‘right doctrines’ and can recite entire books of the Bible; if I’m the only person in history who has figured out the difference between homousia and homoiousia, but don’t have love, what good is it?

Read the entire article here.

Transmillennial 2008 Registration Open

Registration for Transmillennial 2008 is now open. This will be our 20th annual conference. The theme is All Things New. We’ll be at Glen Eyrie Castle in beautiful Colorado Springs on September 10-13, 2008. You can take a look at the entire brochure on the Presence website.

Parousia…Pageantry, Polygamy, and Protests

Who said religion in the United States has been marginalized? The several recent well-publicized events have exemplified the prominent role religious expression plays in American public life.

First, (with a nod to B.B. King and U2) the Pope came to town. Media crews followed Benedict XVI from the time his plane landed. The national news networks broadcasted a speech George W. Bush described as “awesome.” At the United Nations, the pontiff addressed the issue of human rights. Millions of viewers watched ornate ceremonies — in baseball stadiums and in a New York City cathedral. The public witnessed Benedict entering a synagogue, participating in an interdenominational Christian dialogue, and praying at Ground Zero. Fascinatingly, all of this unfolded in the American northeast corridor — perhaps the most nonreligious (but media saturated) region of the country.

Second, polygamy as practiced by the FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) made headlines as law enforcement authorities took hundreds of children into protective custody. The group has been accused of forcing underage girls into arranged polygamous marriages in the name of God and God’s supposed prophet, Warren Jeffs. Curiously, the women and children have been in front of the cameras while the men have remained (mostly) unseen. Although allegations of child abuse are the primary legal issue, the fascination with polygamy (which is practiced in several regions around the world) has made this a cause célèbre. Religion is the context of this entire episode.

Third, the Olympic torch relay has been protested throughout its trek. Several issues have sparked the incidents. The most immediate stems from China’s rule in Tibet, the raucous demonstrations in Lhasa, and Beijing’s relationship with the Dalai Lama (the leading figure of Tibetan Buddhism). Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama toured the United States — with less fanfare than the Pope — participating at the Seeds of Compassion Forum in Seattle and speaking on university campuses in Michigan and New York.

Skeptical onlookers may have perceived all of this as little more than a three ring circus. However, the allure of these incidents illustrates the powerful pull of religious sentiment. America is an extraordinarily religious nation where religious expression of every form thrives. Nevertheless, one meta-religion surpasses them all. Celebrity. We’re drawn to the Pope, the polygamists, and the protesters for the some of the reasons we watch Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Paris Hilton. The recent events have captured the imagination of a people obsessed with scandal and stardom of all varieties.

Thanks, in part, to stars like Bill Murray and Richard Gere, the Dalai Lama has obtained pop idol status. One day he may be offered a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame — even if most folks have little idea of who he is or what he stands for.

The FLDS debacle combines sexual intrigue, religious fervor, exploitation of children, and law enforcement. These ingredients are staples of American pop culture. And besides, the episode resounds with reverberations of Waco and the Branch Davidian affair.

The Papal pageantry captures the quintessence of what we normally associate with religion. Special clothing, mysterious observances, esoteric rituals. These elements partner with crowds that are normally reserved for rock stars and the ongoing fall out from the sexual child abuse tragedies to create a week-long mini-series.

This intense week of public religion reminded me of the Apostle Paul’s visit to Athens. After perusing their religious displays, he spoke to the crowds on Mars’ Hill about their zeal. Translating Acts 17 into today’s context, I imagine him saying something like this.

Ladies and gentlemen, I perceive that in all things you are very religious. As I passed through your cities and surfed the internet, I considered the objects of your worship. I sense that in all of your actions you are bowing at the altar of unknown God.

This one whom you worship and seek without knowing is the one I’d like to talk with you about. Look, God doesn’t need you to build monuments or to regularly pay homage at a special building on a prescribed day of the week. God isn’t commanding you to administer grace through officially sanctioned formal procedures.

Nor does God want you to escape to the desert so you can live in an undisturbed community of religious elites. God certainly doesn’t command you to force anyone into relationships-especially marriage, and certainly not with young children.

And God isn’t interested in you employing violence or threats to make the point that you are in favor of peace.

You don’t have to show up on tv or YouTube to be known by God. God loves people who have never been chased by the paparazzi. Aspire to live a quiet and peaceful life. Pray in your closet. Give in anonymity. Understand that pure religion is visiting and delivering widows and orphans.

God knows that you are seeking, and God is near-very near-each one of us. We find God in every offering of kindness, gift of food to the hungry, and act of compassion to our fellow human beings. We find God in the faces of all people when we look deeply into their eyes, knowing that God has transformed us from glory to glory. We discover God when we hold still and peer into our own hearts. We see God when we look with the eyes of love.

In God we live and move and have our very being. As the poets have said, “We are also his offspring.” Since we are the offspring of God, you are a unique demonstration of God as much as everyone else.

Since we are the offspring of God, we shouldn’t think that the Divine Nature is accessed by saying long prayers, belonging to a privileged group, following the dictates of a self-proclaimed prophet, or journeying to a special place.

The word is near, even in your mouth and heart. The special group of God’s people consists of the two or three gathered with you right where you are. The special place is the here and now. The true pilgrimage sends you deep into your soul, allowing you to empty yourself so you can find yourself.

Listen to the one who showed you that equality with God was not something to be coveted. Instead, he made himself in the form of a servant, and went to the cross.

God has overlooked all of our ignorance, and is now calling us to turn from our fruitless thinking because God has delivered the world by keeping the promise to make us all in the divine likeness. God has blessed all families of the earth, whether or not they have their own reality show.

Changing the way we see God and God’s presence with us will raise us up to experience real life and undergo a living transformation we have not yet begun to imagine. Love is the ultimate expression of godliness. Where there is fame, it will fail. Where there is celebrity, it will pass away. Where there is religion, it will vanish. So, if you want something eternal, love; because love never fails.
~~~~~
Originally published on April 21, 2008. (c) Presence International. Parousia is a free Transmillennial publication of Presence. To receive Parousia in your inbox each week click here.

Post-Eschatological Hope

Over a decade ago, I participated in a small Bible study and fellowship group. Like all small groups, each of us brought our unique perspectives and outlooks to the conversation. Among others, the group consisted of a math teacher, a carpenter, and an engineer who had become a stay-at-home mom.

In the course of a couple years, we exchanged ideas on everything from Genesis to Revelation—and a whole lot more. One evening, the conversation turned to “hope.” We studied several contexts referring to hope. We saw the New Testament discusses a living hope, a hope that does not disappoint, and helmet of hope. Paul talks about the hope that abides alongside faith and love. There is the hope of eternal life, a blessed hope, and a better hope. The epistles invite their readers to know the hope of their calling, to lay hold of the hope set ahead of them, and to be ready to give reason for the hope within.

When you read the New Testament, you get an overwhelming sense that there’s a whole lotta hopin’ going on.
~~~~~~~
Read more here

The Redding Brothers

Nothing transforms the world like music. Music is a spiritual experience like noting else. It surrounds us in side and our in auditory experience that we hear with our ears and with the ear of the spirit.

Let me direct you to some creative music by The Redding Brothers. Micah, Gabe, and Josiah are doing stuff unlike anyone else. Their music resonates deeply and their lyrical genius will cause you to think about your life and the world in a new way.

We’re excited to have The Redding Brothers as our special musical guest at Transmillennial 2008 in Colorado Springs this September 10-13.

Matthew 25 Remix

And the King said to those on his right hand, “Come, you blessed of my father, and inherit the kingdom prepared for you; for when I suffered hunger in the Sahara droughts, you gave me food. When the river was polluted, you dug me a well. When my ethnic group faced genocide, you protected me.

“When I lived under a bridge, you took me in. When I was addicted to meth, you cleaned me up. When I was in prison, you visited me. When I had HIV/AIDS, you give me medicine. When I had an abortion, you comforted me. When I was aborted, you mourned me.

“When terrorists bombed me, you worked for justice. When governments held me without cause, you kept vigil for me. When forced from my ancestral home, you housed me. When my family was blown up on a bus, you wept for me.
~~~~~~~
Read more here

Parousia…Rereading The Story

The Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved stories of the past hundred years. As much as I enjoy the classic movie, I must that the same flying monkeys that scared me when I was a child still make me feel a little nervous.

Besides the fanciful and loveable characters, it seems to me that the appeal of The Wizard of Oz comes from the most famous line in the story. You know the magic words. So click your heels and say, “There’s no place like home.” The sentiment of “home” conveys belonging, welcome, and warmth. Feeling “at home” carries an ethos of safety, security, and sanctuary. Home offers you a sense of place. At least, that’s the archetype of “home.” Even if our actual homes are less than idyllic, the mental image of the model home resonates deep within our hearts.

Of course, The Wizard of Oz has other evocative themes. The ability to be at home whenever and wherever you are. The possession of what you desire most. The hero’s journey. The tendency to look outside ourselves for what we possess all along.

As adored and familiar as The Wizard of Oz is, it may be difficult to revise the way we tell the story. But can you flex your imagination and envision an alternative reading of the story? Keeping the entire narrative exactly as it is, a retelling of The Wizard of Oz will thoroughly alter our perception of Dorothy, Oz, and the message of the story.

Dorothy was an impetuous child. She disrespected her elders, visited a strange man in a wagon, and trained her ferocious dog to attack an old lady.

As a result, God sent a tornado to punish her. He swept her away to a bizarre world where she killed two of the residents and celebrated their deaths with freakish elves and demonic soldiers. In this peculiar realm, Dorothy cavorted with witchcraft, weird talking beasts, and evil flying monkeys.

After stealing a pair of priceless ruby slippers, Dorothy sought a way to return to Kansas. She seduced a human-like scarecrow, a metallic lumberjack, and beastly lion into accompanying her to a bejeweled city in order to rendezvous with a wizard who could send her home. She finagled her way into this city that was held under the despotic sway of the deceptive warlock. After berating her, he made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. He would send her home if she would perform an act of thievery. If she would steal a magic broom, he would help her return home. Dorothy consented.

In the course of the robbery, Dorothy killed the rightful owner. Upon returning to the city, she double crossed the wizard, and banished him when she discovered that he was from Kansas, too. (He has not been heard from until this day.) The wizard’s absence freed Dorothy to install her minions as puppet rulers of the city. Discovering from her spirit guide that she wielded magical powers herself, Dorothy returned home to Kansas where she waited to exact revenge on her unsuspecting family and neighbors.

That way of telling the story sounds more like a horror show than a cherished family tale. These are the exact same facts but told with a different tone, an unusual emphasis, and some suggestive wording. One way warms the heart. The other makes you want to take a hot shower and sleep with the lights on.

We have the God-given power to tell the story. Any story, including the Biblical story. For centuries, people have told the Biblical story in terms of humanity’s rebellion and God’s intense yearning to make us pay. That way of telling the story portrays an irate God who resolves to whack all humanity in a genocidal act of revenge because the first couple took a piece of fruit. He decided to give us a second chance by taking out his frustrations on Jesus. People who believe these facts in the right way will escape never-ending torture. Moreover, these believers need to think the right thoughts about the metaphysical make-up of the ineffable God, agree to a certain cosmology regardless of what the visible evidence suggests, and behave properly; otherwise, they’re going to regret it for a long, long time.

Those lucky enough to believe, think, and act in harmony with God’s revealed and hidden purposes call their good fortune “grace.” To them, God in his infinite mercy (we’re told) is waiting patiently for all people to come to their senses. Yet, the vast majority of them won’t. One day God’s patience will run out and he’ll get so fed up that he’ll send Jesus back to earth in order to end it all.

That, we’re told, is the “good news.”

No wonder there is so much anxiety around religion. This way of telling the story portrays God as a petty, neurotic, and secretive tyrant. It puts humanity in the position of seeking to appease this God by the performance of enigmatic rituals and adherence to arbitrary moral standards. It gives us all one chance to get it right. Our fate is sealed by death, and even God is bound by death’s decision.

I simply must believe that there’s a better way of telling the story. One that pictures God as something kinder and gentler than the godfather. One that honors God for walking with us through the hurts, sorrows, and wounds of life. One that depicts God as love incarnate. One that reads Christ on the cross as the ultimate expression of divinity with humanity. One that blesses all families of the earth. One that finds God to be infinitely immanent rather than completely separate. One that sees humanity’s comprehensive connection in the ultimate all-in-all. One in which God decrees, “There’s no place like home,” and so he makes his home with us — not as an abusive despot, but as a tender and understanding presence (Revelation 21:3).

You have the power to tell the story. This is not only your God-given gift; it is your inescapable blessing. No one has a monopoly on the story. You don’t have to accept anyone’s interpretation of it. So, begin telling the story in a way that makes it worthy of being the Greatest Story Ever Told. And when you do, you’ll discover a personal transformation and contribute to a new cultural awareness that will make all things new and reveal a New Heaven and New Earth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Originally published, April 7, 2008. (c) Presence International. Parousia is a free Transmillennial publication of Presence. To receive Parousia in your inbox each week click here.

New Book

We intend to release our newest book in short order. This will be a short introduction to all things Transmillennial. This is not a “doctrinal statement” or anything like that. Instead, it’s a communication device, a way for you to start friendly conversations about some complex ideas.

This will be a great opportunity to help people who know nothing about the fulfillment of all things to begin to see the big picture. It will offer some explanations on Biblical language and ideas. It will discuss things the judgment, resurrection, and the millennium. It will offer a glimpse into what fulfillment means for us today.

I know you’ll find this to be a great way to introduce your friends and family to the fulfillment of all things. It provides an introduction to things like the language of the Bible, the transformation of the ages, the meaning of the millennium, and life in the new heaven and new earth.

As soon as the publication process is complete, I’ll let you know.

A Pain in the Neck

“What a pain in the neck.”

That’s a simple declarative statement with little ambiguity. The words “pain,” “in,” and “neck” are all in common usage. They’re not obscure; so, you don’t need specialized training in linguistics to understand the denotation of the language. It means what it says.

As plain as this statement is, by itself it isn’t sufficient to communicate my intent. Taken literally, you might assume I have an ache somewhere in my cervical vertebrae. Maybe it’s a muscle ache, or perhaps I’ve been in a car accident that has caused whiplash.

That’s seems straightforward enough—unless you happen to understand familiar figures of speech employed in the English language. Metaphorically, having “a pain in the neck” connotes annoyance at a nagging problem, not necessarily related to one’s physical neck. “My loud neighbors are a pain in the neck. Computer difficulties are a pain in the neck.”

How can you determine the precise meaning of the phrase? How do you know if my “pain in the neck” is literal or metaphorical? You need more information. You need to know the context.

~~~~~~~~~~
Read more here.

Parousia…Inspired by Awe

“I will give thanks to You, for I am awe-inspiringly and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.”
–Psalm 139:14

Sigmund Freud may receive credit for introducing the principles of modern psychology, but people have been trying to figure out who and what we are from the very beginning. Since we first developed self-consciousness, we’ve been seeking to understand what it means to be human.

For instance, the Genesis creation narrative asks more questions about the mysterious enigma of humanity than it provides dogma about the formation of the material universe. God speaks humanity into the divine likeness. God breathes the spirit of life — the divine wind — into humanity’s nostrils. In response, humanity rises from the ground, receives a holy wound, and obtains a commission to be fruitful and multiply.

Perplexing open-ended questions permeate the story. Is humanity a handful of dirt or a God-breathed creative partner? Are we in dialogue with spirit or slaves to unalterable universal laws? Is the essence of life found in naming and dominating others, or does intimacy require opening ourselves to the potential of sacred scars?

Intuitively and empirically, we understand our extraordinary complexity — individually and collectively. We experience life, self, and relationships on multiple levels: biologically, emotionally, interpersonally, culturally, psychologically, ecologically, and cosmically just to name a few.

Contemplating the spiraling tiers of our humanity is certain to make your head spin (not literally, of course). We possess an outer life and an inner one. Our make-up consists of the interplay between our sense of self, family, friendships, community, society, culture, and ubermind. The complete source, stuff, and goal of it all is God.

The perpetual divine-human emergence contains personal and transpersonal elements. Psalm 139 offers comfort in knowing that God understands you individually. God calls you by name, counts the hairs (or lack thereof) on your head, and knows your coming in and going out. At the same time, God transcends our egoic confinement and recognizes the comprehensive picture of all-inclusive interconnectedness. As Paul noted, all things are of, through, and to God.

Physicist, mathematician, and futurist Freeman Dyson describes the “unbounded potentialities of the universe as it becomes aware of itself through the action of life and intelligence” as the infinite in all directions. The prophet Daniel depicts this as the kingdom of God with an eternally expanding domain. Meister Eckhart calls God a sphere whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere. Awakening to just an inkling of the infinite in all directions fills your cup to overflowing with awe and wonder at how marvelously made you truly are — and continue to be. Your soul already knows it very well, and this blesses you to courageously go where no one has gone before-but where God already is. In Paradise Mislaid, Jeffrey Burton Russell muses, “Whatever we humans are, we are part of the cosmos, and we wonder about it, and that means that the cosmos wonders about itself …That the cosmos wonders about itself is deeply moving.”

We’re creatures with strata of deep structures composing the essence of our personal and transpersonal identity, and the layers continue to form. What it meant to be human 10,000 years ago is not what it means today, and today’s humanity is a launching pad for tomorrow’s. Perhaps we’ll never fully grasp what it is to be human, and maybe that’s the paradoxical point. Humanity, like Christ showed about divinity, is not something to be grasped. Continually asking the questions plunges us into the illimitable mystery. More than surprising us with hope or joy, it inspires us with awe. With our immersed into the unfathomable, we discover the divine blessing of finding our humanity as something to be lived rather than a problem to be solved. Behold! The wonder!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Orignially published, March 31, 2008. (c) Presence International. Parousia is a free Transmillennial publication of Presence. To receive Parousia in your inbox each week click here.