Monday, November 11, 2002

•••Doctrine and Mission in Balance By the way, did I mention that the Consensus site published a pretty decent article on the relationship between doctrine and mission? It's unfortunate and ironic that some like the Jesus First folks mentioned by name appear to view Doctrine and Mission as rather polar priorities in the life of God's people. To quote my favorite Mission/Evangelism prof from seminary, "Doctrine drives mission!" But then again, what does Prof. Kopitske know? He only spent a couple of decades in Paupaua, New Guinea as a missionary in the field. Why in the world would WHAT you actually teach and believe (that is, your doctrine) matter to those who graciously determine they will hear you out on a given matter? /sarcasm off One cannot engage in the Lord's mission without teaching what the Lord taught. But we live in a day and age where every corporation defines it's "mission statement" and "vision statements." One must allow, I suppose, for the possibility that corporate America has actually improved on the Lord's own mission, one devoid of definite doctrinal content...   1:00:04 AM   googleit 125     itemlink->

•••Third-Last Sunday of the Church Year Call me a wacky preacherman, but I do love the end of the Church Year. For those of you entirely unfamiliar with the liturgical year (by way of athiesm, agnosticism, or bland American so-called-evangelicalism), the last Sundays of the liturgical church year focus on the last things: eschatology, the study of the end times. Being one of those sorts of persons who actually believes the world had a beginning at the hands of the Creator, I likewise believe God's created time has an end. This is most famously confessed in the words of the 1st Century Apostles' Creed: "He [Jesus, that is] will come again in glory to judge the quick and the dead." I had the morning off, no preaching -- just sitting with family and worshipping. (Long story short, a scheduled mission festival was cancelled at the last minute due to the parish Pastor being Called elsewhere to service. Thus the people of his parish preferred to forego the Mission Festival where I was to preach in order to better prepare a farewell service for their pastor.) Anyhow, I had the privelage grown rather rare in recent months to actually listen to a sermon in stead of preaching one. And again it dawned on me how I do love this time in the liturgical year. It's a tremendous reminder of how transitory and temporary are all things -- indeed, even life itself. Far from the gloom and doom often associated with the teachings of the Last Things, the most important things are brought into clearer focus for the Christian: life eternal, as it touches life here and now. I don't mind if the world ends tomorrow. Or my own life. Honestly. I also don't mind if the world lasts another several thousand or hundred thousand or more years. But I like being reminded that the Biblical signs are fulfilled in our age, even as they have been in prior ages and will be for whatever ages are to come. I like being reminded each year (through the liturgy and otherwise) that today my life matters -- certainly to the others God puts in my life, and even matters to the God who created it. It's a great time of year. We are mortal. But even our mortality matters, In Christ, **the preacherman**   12:42:13 AM   googleit 124     itemlink->