Month: July 2015

A Vision For Community – Teaching Relationships In Our Churches And Schools

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Since Christianity is a relational faith and since Jesus said loving God and others are the greatest commandments it would make sense for churches and schools to teach classes focused on building healthy relationships. Many churches have classes for healthy marriages which is great, but what is needed even more is teaching on all types of relationships. Christians should become masters of relating to co-workers, neighbors, authorities, new acquaintances as well as friends and relatives. Christians should become skilled at saying the right thing at the right time. We should know how to speak words that resolve conflict and encourage others. People should remember us as someone who brings good things into their lives. Here are some ideas for creating a curriculum for building relationship relationships. Five areas of study could be: 1. Biblical teachings on relationships. Students would study the various biblical passages on relationships. Key passages would include Continue Reading →

listening, contemplation

What is Contemplation and Why Should I Do It?

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Contemplation is simply gazing on something in order to absorb it, not to analyze it or figure it out. Other words that describe contemplation are attentiveness and watching. An example of contemplation that many of us do is watching a sunset. Usually, when we watch a sunset we just gaze and enjoy. We don’t need to analyze the physics of a sunset or really think about anything; we are just observing and absorbing. Contemplative prayer is simply contemplation directed at God. It is not meditation, which is ruminating over something and trying to gain understanding. Meditation is good but it is different from contemplation. In contemplation we simply become attentive to God or whatever we sense God might be doing inside us. In the Pentecostal/Charismatic tradition people sometimes use the phrase “being in God’s presence” to describe their contemplation. In contemplative prayer, we invite Him to do whatever He wills, Continue Reading →

When Our Society Declines: Being Missionaries Everywhere

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It’s not really fair to expect unbelievers to act like believers. We are in this world as lights, not as adversaries to the world. We love our enemies as well those who are not our enemies (which I think covers everyone). If we change our mindset then we won’t be so discouraged when our culture becomes destructive. Instead of thinking we have a right to live in the kind of place we want, it might help to think of ourselves as missionaries in our community and our world. As missionaries we need to understand the culture around us. Since there is such a diversity of views wherever we go, our lives are a constant cross-cultural experience. Even talking to our neighbor is often a cross-cultural experience. We can think of our lives as a challenge to finding the right words and actions that will draw people to God. This is Continue Reading →