ketsdablog

I found this from the Associated Press:

Couple Arrested After 'Passion' Debate
Thu Mar 18, 2:43 PM ET


STATESBORO, Ga. - A couple who got into a dispute over a theological point after watching "The Passion of the Christ" were arrested after the argument turned violent.

The two left the movie theater debating whether God the Father in the Holy Trinity was human or symbolic, and the argument heated up when they got home, Melissa Davidson said.

"It was the dumbest thing we've ever done," she said.

Davidson, 34, and her husband, Sean Davidson, 33, were charged with simple battery on March 11 after the two called police on each other. They were released on $1,000 bail.

According to a police report, Melissa Davidson suffered injuries on her arm and face, while her husband had a scissors stab wound on his hand and his shirt was ripped off. He also allegedly punched a hole in a wall.

"Really, it was kind of a pitiful thing, to go to a movie like that and fight about it. I think they missed the point," said Gene McDaniel, chief sheriff's deputy.



Amazing, isn't it? The devil doesn't care what we know as long as we don't know Christ - not just "about" Christ, but really know Jesus intimately, love him, trust him, surrender to him. I hope and pray that what you know leads you to know Him (whom to know is life eternal).

Have a blessed Sabbath.

"My responsibility today is to note the emerging trends underway at the end of this century and their implications on effective ministry in the coming years." "We're moving from incremental and exponential change to radical discontinuity from all that has come before. The world twenty years from now will not be recognizable."

This is from the introduction of Easum's workshop "Emerging Trends for Effective Ministry in the 21st Century." Certainly we want the church to be effective. The question is, "What does 'effective' mean when applied to the church?" Is a church effective because it has survived for a long time? Because it has a large amount of money in the bank? Because it is large? Because it changes the community in which it is located? Because it baptizes a lot of new Christians every year? Because its members act like Jesus?

Certainly the church can't be effective if it isn't ministering to people - and ministering means "serving". So how can the church effectively serve people? Which people? Is it enough to serve the people inside the church or must the church effectively serve the people outside the church if it is to be considered effective?

Easum described "what was" and "what is emerging". Check out these pairs of words, the first word describing what was and the second word in the pair describing what is emerging: stable/unstable, predictable/complexity, static/fluid, order/chaos, law/permission, linear/random, rational/emotional, decency/intoxicating, rigid/adaptive, structured/bends (blends), explanation/experience, "do you understand?"/"have you experienced it?", books/the Net.

Does this give you a feel for the cultural changes taking place in our world? I don't know about you, but I will be very challenged to live in this emerging world, and even more challenged to serve those who are comfortable with it (indeed, who know no other way of being in the world!). (I was grown, married and had a kid before I got my hands on a computer. My six-month-old grandson, Jakob, has three computers in his crib - entertaining him, teaching him, stimulating him with words, lights, colors, movements that respond to his input!)

The rules by which we play the game of life are changing: from propositional truth (what we believe) to embodied truth (how we live); from a print culture to a digital culture; from a linear world view to a "loopy" world view; from a world led by credentialed professionals to one led by gifted and authentic "amateurs".

The primary characteristics of this emerging world are speed and blur and flux.

The ultimate question is: What is non-negotiable/eternally signficant to God's mission, because all else will probably change!

Here are some of the questions he asked:

What is the difference between "being missional" and "doing evangelism"?
What does it mean to live in a world where one's spirituality is more important than credentials?
How do we transition from handing out data that informs people to offering an experience that transforms people?
How will we help people grow spiritually instead of just teaching them more about the Bible?
How will we "be" the church instead of "going" to church?

Through a generous contribution by the Ohio Conference, we were able to do an all-day workshop with Bill Easum, noted author, church consultant and "futurist", specifically tailored to our church and its needs. On Sunday March 7 a group of about 70 Kettering church leaders and potential leaders met from 9am to 5pm in the Fellowship Hall to hear Bill's wisdom on what's happening in our world and how the church can related to it. We spent about half the day in taking notes and the other half of the day in asking Bill questions. I wish everyone could have been there (although logistics made that impractical). Those who attended were church board members, ministry leaders, and those whose names were submitted by church board members as potential ministry or governance leaders.

Easum (and his associate Tom Bandy) have been in the forefront of those who have been considering how our rapidly changing world challenges the church to find ways to communicate the gospel effectively. Through their books, consultations and workshops, they have helped many churches understand what is happening in the world around them and how they can adapt to that changing world without compromising the Biblical message or the faithfulness to the mission Jesus gave the church. Most of us, because the church insulates us to some degree from the world, don't fully appreciate how radically different the world now is from the world that we were born into and grew up in. An afternoon spent talking to a non-Christian unconverted unchurched 15-year-old would be a major eye-opener to many of us. We would quickly discover that he/she is so different from us that we might have more in common with an aboriginal from New Guinea! Yet it is this 15-year-old that we must evangelize if we are to accomplish the mission that Jesus gave us because - very soon - our part of the world will be filled with his/her grown-up counterpart.

We all understand that if we are to take seriously the commission given to us by Jesus to "go ye into all the world", we have to figure out how to communicate to that world. If we were to become foreign missionaries (which some of you have done), and go to some very distant and different land, we would have to become students of that land in order to be effective missionaries. We would have to learn a new language. We would have to learn a new culture. We would have to learn new ways of doing things, new tools, new ways of transportation, new customs. We all understand that when it comes to taking the gospel across the salt water. But the most needy mission field now is not across salt water: it is right here in our own backyard. The neediest unreached people group right now is made up of people like that 15-year-old, and they live right in your neighborhood. How are we going to reach them? What language do they speak? (Try talking to a 15-year-old and you will quickly learn that they don't speak your language!) How do they think? What do they need to know? What is their culture?

We know that some things are non-negotiable and that other things are changeable. We know that there's the "gift" and there's the "wrapping". But which is which? Unless we can clearly tell the difference, we are in trouble. We might throw the gift out with the wrapping. Or we might keep the wrapping and discard the gift. The gospel is the gift and the way we communicate the gospel is the wrapping. What's essential? Is the bible essential? Is the King James Version essential? Are pews essential? Is a hymnal essential? Is music essential? Is morality essential? Vegetarianism? Sabbath-keeping? Dress standards?

Unless we understand the culture, we will have a hard time deciding what belongs to the culture and what belongs to the gospel. Also, unless we understand the culture, we will have a hard time deciding what can change and what must not change.

We all know the stereotype of the Victorian missionary who came to the islands to bring the people the gospel and insisted that they all dress in Victorian-style clothes because he (the missionary) thought that his style of dress was essential. So you have tropical islanders dressed in woolen suits and neckties and convinced that that is essential for one to be a Christian.

One of Easum's main points was that the 21st century is going to be a lot more like the 1st century than it will be like the 20th century. In future posts, I'll try to summarize his presentations.
I will post some of the highlights of the workshop here for everyone to read and benefit from.

Some of you have noticed the links in the banner at the top of the page. These are ads provided by Google, the search engine, because it analyzed the content of our blog and saw that we were interested in Jesus. I checked two of the ads and they are very well done. Somebody was thinking! They created some websites that will reach people and help them to know Jesus. Click on the links and see what these folks have done! Their websites are attractive, informative and winsome. Bill Easum said last Sunday that the Internet of today is like the Roman roads of the first century - they both facilitated the spread of the gospel.

The Jesus Institute

The Life

Chris and I went over to the Kettering Rec Center to check out the skating social tonight. It was really cool (more than just the temperature)!

I don't skate. Everybody wanted to know why I wasn't out on the ice so I told them - my feet are allergic to ice skates. Actually, I skated when I was a kid growing up in upstate New York - there was a pond near my house that froze over - but it was years between that and the time Chris persuaded me to go skating when we were newly married. I was in foot-agony by the time I got to the ice, and after a turn around the rink I was sure that my ice skates were really hydraulically operated foot-vices that were turning my wide, flat feet into very narrow feet.

Anyway, everyone at the rec center seemed to be having a great time and I found myself thinking how important it is for the church to play together.

Fred Goddard was whizzing around like a pro. His son Brian was clearly no stranger to skates. Shannon Velasco was there with Alex and Adam. The Shull family was well-represented. Grandpa Ted held the baby while Donny and Greta skated with the rest of the family. Marykay Manchur was all by herself for a while, but then Fred showed up and proved that Canadians really are born with ice skates on their feet. There were lots of other people there and everybody seemed to be having a good time.

A big THANKS to the folks who planned this. Let's do a lot more. It would be great to have an all-church social event of some kind every month.

If you're new to blogging, you might find it a bit confusing until you realize that the oldest posts are at the bottom and the newest ones at the top.

Also, be aware that blogs are pretty much uncensored communications and some of them can be pretty raw. I wouldn't go checking out any old blog you find unless you are prepared to be shocked. Some of the strangest people seem to have the strongest urges to let the world know what they are thinking.

Several people have asked me about the reality of crucifixion, questions stimulated by the R-rated realism of the film The Passion of the Christ. Here are a couple of links you might want to check out:

At http://www.apu.edu/infocus/2002/03/crucifixion/ is an article about crucifixion by a science teacher at Azusa Pacific University. On that web page there are some references to other scholarly materials, including an article that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

At http://www.marshill.org/agony.htm is an article by a physician on medical aspects of the crucifixion.

It is hard for us to believe what Jesus went through for us. Sure, the physical suffering was not the whole story, but it does help us to see just how much he loved us that he should do such a thing for us. It would have been so easy for him to put a stop to it at any time, but he went through with it because he knew that there was no other way to save us - and we were too precious to him not to save. What is sin that it should require such a sacrifice? What kind of love is this that it not only lays down its life for us, but does it in such a horrible way? As I watched the movie, I just kept thinking, "Lord, how you loved me! How could you love me this much? Forgive me for not responding to your love more fervently!

Christianity Today magazine has a special section on their website dedicated to The Passion of the Christ. Click here to go there.

Several people have asked about the ugly baby in the film (someone asked last Saturday night at the "Meet the Cast" program). Christianity Today got so many questions about it, they went and asked Mel Gibson! If you want to know what he said, click here.

Speaking of the "Meet the Cast" program, Hazel Burns is presenting this Saturday night. The topic is "Mary: the Mother of Jesus." Dave Evans and (I hope - still unconfirmed) Joe Nicosia will be backing her up during the Q&A following. There were about 150 people there last Saturday night, including a lot of faces I didn't recognize. I think a number of people came across the hall following the (excellent!) vespers concert (good going, Jerry Taylor!). We still need to encourage our people to be on the lookout for people who have questions about the last twelve hours of Jesus' life and don't know where to go with them.

This was sent to me from the Columbia Union communications department. With all the criticism of the film and those who go see it, I thought you might be interested in the "official" position of our denomination. (David VanDenburgh)

"Some of you are wondering what your Church has to say about the film "The Passion of Christ" which made $117 million in sales this weekend. Here's what the Adventist News Network released about the film last week. You may have your own opinions and you may have news about how your congregation is using the release of this film to spread the good news of Jesus...please share!" ---Celeste [Ryan]


"THE PASSION OF CHRIST"

By Mark Kellner/ANN

"The Passion of the Christ," a US$30-million motion picture telling the story of the last 12 hours of the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, has already provoked a worldwide discussion about those events and their significance...

The movie has stirred controversy over the way it depicts the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus' day, men who agitated for His crucifixion. Some have derided the portrayal as anti-Semitic, while others, such as Rabbi Daniel Lapin, film critic Michael Medved and Gibson himself say the film harbors no such intent.

Several Seventh-day Adventist media ministry directors, as well as this reporter, were able to view the movie during a private, Feb. 16 screening at the 61st National Religious Broadcasters convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. We were part of an audience of nearly 3,000 people gathered in a convention center ballroom. As the two-hour film concluded near midnight, silence gripped the crowd as it filed out: apart from some praying silently at their seats, there was no conversation or noisemaking of any kind. The graphic, intense nature of the film and its impact precluded normal conversation for several minutes.

"During this private screening of 'The Passion,' we were overwhelmed with the impact, [and] not only on us," said Pastor Lonnie Melashenko, speaker/director of The Voice of Prophecy, an Adventist radio and television ministry based in Simi Valley, California.

"It was a profoundly spiritual display, amazingly accurate. I would strongly encourage those involved in the Sow 1 Billion effort to get out to theaters and offer the leaflets advertising the Discover Bible studies" to those leaving showings of the film, he said.

Melashenko added, "This movie will provide many witnessing opportunities. It's almost providential that it appears during the 'Year of Evangelism' for our church and the Sow 1 Billion campaign."

Pastor John Lomacang, of the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Illinois, also attended the NRB convention and the private screening. He said the underlying message of the film impressed him most.

"The strongest point for me was that Jesus was bruised for our transgressions," he said the morning after the screening. "If [Mel Gibson] was aiming at accurately depicting Jesus' suffering, he succeeded."

While he might have wanted to see a greater emphasis on Jesus' resurrection, Lomacang said such a turn "might have blotted out of our minds the suffering" of the Nazarene.

He also noted the film's effect on its audience: "It was the most quiet exit from a film that I have ever experienced."

Though the effect of the movie on audiences is expected to open up opportunities for evangelism, should Adventists dash out to cinemas? Not without considering the film's origins, says Dr. Angel Manuel Rodríguez, director of the church's Biblical Research Institute.

"Keep in mind that this is a Hollywood production," Dr. Rodríguez, who has not yet seen the film, told ANN. "The producer may be sincere, but there are other issues. Also, [Gibson] has his own theological views," he added.

However, he added, "there is nothing wrong with going to see a movie about Jesus. If it's as loyal as it can be to the Gospel story, there's nothing
wrong with watching it. We will have to see how intense this movie is, how loyal it is to the biblical text."

While Gibson, a "traditionalist" Roman Catholic who personally rejects many of the changes instituted by the Second Vatican Council, said he drew the story from the Gospel accounts, he also admits that the visions of two Catholic nuns, Anne Catherine Emmerich of France and Spain's Mary of Agreda, influenced his script. In an interview with David Neff, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today magazine, Gibson said "the film is so Marian," in its treatment of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Such elements may be foreign to many viewers. Dr. Rodríguez says that overall, the film will "put Jesus back into the social consciousness of the Western world. All of a sudden people are talking about Jesus' death and what it means."

Dick Duerksen, director for spiritual development at Florida Hospital, also viewed the film at a private screening.

"I don't think people should go see the film unless they believe that the Cross is the tipping point of eternity," Duerksen told ANN. "They're going to miss the whole thing."

"What impressed me the most about the film is the sounds of the audience; 10 minutes into the film, the weeping began and throughout the rest of the film, there were many people weeping, wailing, confessing sins, asking for forgiveness, and praising God for His grace," Duerksen added. "It was just overwhelming the way people responded."

Anticipating that the film will "become a subject of conversation" at the Florida Hospital's branches, Duerksen said tickets have been purchased for 50 of its chaplains, to prepare them for discussions with patients and others.