Paul must have known that his reading audience in Corinth would be reading these letters thinking, “Paul is a complete idiot,” “He doesn’t grow the church the way Apollos does,” “Paul is weird,” “Paul sure seems stuck on himself and his way of following Jesus,” “Paul just doesn’t understand what it’s like to live in Corinth,” and so on.

I find myself identifying with Paul’s missionary plight more and more in recent days.  I wish I didn’t.  I mean, even the religious elite in his own movement (i.e. Peter and the Council at Jerusalem) would look down on him … not to mention his former tribe (the Jewish leaders).

And yet, in the face of opposition from every side, and even from those who should be supporting him, Paul writes:

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. - 1 Corinthians 1:27

It’s frustrating to be considered foolish.  It’s frustrating to have “the system” breathing down your neck because leaders have aligned themselves more closely with the cultures of this individualistic, business-driven world than they have the Prince of Peace and God’s Kingdom.

Part of me wants to see the “shaming of the strong.”  God forgive me for that, even as much as I forgive the strong.

Still clinging to foolishness …

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
How do you deal with walking the foolish path of Jesus?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.Related Posts:

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I said aloud “Ecky Thump!” (Ever since receiving the latest White Stripes CD by the same title, spelled “Icky Thump” I’ve become fond of the phrase.) Loosely translated from northern England, it means “What the heck?”

Has Christianity really become so irrelevant that all the main stream media can consult us on is yoga? Well, that does nothing to make me feel we are being missional. I can see it now …

“Hello, Pastor Niece?”

“Please, just call me Brian.”

“Well, um what is your stance on the yoga debate?;

“Excuse me?”

“I’m with the local paper and wondering where you and your congregation stand on yoga.”

“Well, some yoga poses do require you to stand … those are the easier ones. I used to do yoga three times a week when I was in the theatre. Is that what you mean?”

“I guess we’re wondering if you think it’s Christian or not.”

Good grief! Our Lord must shake his head in shame and disappointment when Christendom leaders like John MacArthur say that to relieve pressure and stress we should read the Bible rather than push our bodies through physical practices like yoga. Has he ever tried to read Job when stressed? Give me a break.

Apparently, we still suffer from the neo-Platonic divide of mind and body. This is a notion Jesus and the first disciples never expressed. The body was the body … and the mind was just a part of the body. The gospel of Jesus was for the whole person … the whole body.

If it didn’t make the Church look so ridiculous, I would laugh at the whole thing. But in reality, it’s heartbreaking to see that we have so distorted the message of Jesus, and been so unable to live the gospel, that now we are consulted on such silly things.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
What have you noticed lately that is an “Ecky Thump” moment?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
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Tags: Headline News, Doug Pagitt, John MacArthur, Ecky Thump, missional

I’ve been in discussions with like-minded folks and listened (or read) patiently while someone blasts my “radical” notions.

Having been an English (and Theatre Arts major) in school the first time around, I thought I’d put to use some of those history-of-the-English-language skills.

RADICAL: etymologically, the word “radical” comes from the Latin (radix) meaning “to the root.” Feel free to check me on this by clicking here. Looking at radical’s synonym visual family yields this:

From this visual it seems that a “radical” is someone who is revolutionary or extremist to the root about something in particular.

Don’t you think the Christian faith, the Christ-follower is to be radical? Shouldn’t we be engaged in life-long transformation to the root of all that we are? Shouldn’t every aspect of human experience be under constant conversion to the very base of all we do? Shouldn’t our core theme be radical discipleship? It seems this is what Jesus often calls for, invites others into. When Jesus says, “Come and see,” accepting that invitation means a life of change … to the root.

So allow me to stir up the hornet’s nest some more …

Here’s another un-truth I’ve learned from the church: the world is made up of two kingdoms (dualism).

I learned from the church that we Christians should gather in the “church” building as often as possible so that we might escape the evils of the world, be discipled to be more unlike the world, and be equipped to go out and win the world for Christ.

I don’t find that world-view with Jesus at all. Our ancient spiritual ancestors from the pages of Hebrew scripture displayed a type of dualism. They saw good and evil. Sometimes they saw both good and evil coming from God (try to make that one fit in our postmodern orthopraxy!). They felt “called apart” as a specially chosen people.

But Jesus fulfilled what they were progressively learning: God is dreaming to reconcile all of creation to God’s self!

Grappling with this revelation causes us to stop looking at parts of the world as sacred and parts of the world as … well, the world. All of it is God’s creation. All of it is sacred. All of it is being reconciled.

The question for the church is: Are we engaging with God’s activity in reconciling all of creation? Are we making disciples outside the church walls (into all the “world”)? Do we really believe that God’s grace goes before us and that Christ’s Spirit is already at work everywhere?

What I’ve unlearned about dualism is that Christ-followers should see all of creation as Jesus sees it. This is called messianic. And we see ourselves in this creation as ambassadors of and co-workers with the Messiah … everywhere we go!

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
Do you have a dualistic or messianic view of creation?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS. Related Posts:

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Tags: radical, Christian, Christ-follower, discipleship, un-truth, dualism, messianic

Now I’ll finally spell out my perspective … a perspective that has been honed that last few months (and will likely change with time as perspectives are want to do).

I’m reminded that Paul often wrote, “This is from me and not the Lord.” So be warned, this is of Brian and not necessarily the Lord (but it certainly doesn’t run counter to what I understand of Christian history and Jesus’ own ministry.)

A minister should have two primary purposes:

• to preach the gospel;
• to equip others to be ministers;

Let me flesh these two purposes out a bit. Preaching the gospel is much more than what happens in a Sunday worship gathering. At present, the faith community where I serve holds two Sunday worship gatherings … each addresses a different learning and participatory style. Consequently, the two sermons or teachings I give each Sunday are often delivered quite differently with different emphases (although the theme is always the same).

When I am done with the Sunday sermons, teachings, dialogues, experiences, I know full well I’m not done preaching for the week. Yes, one aspect of preaching is being God’s mouthpiece. But an equally important part of preaching is the way I live my life. I must strive for Christ to shape me into a walking example of Paul’s admonition: “Follow my example as I follow Christ’s.”

I don’t say what Paul says, but rather I try to live in such a way that my example can be followed. That means I am a servant, a giver, an encourager, a God-bearer.

Now, I’ve been preaching this way long enough to know that I will have both good soil and bad soil in my sphere of influence.

What is good soil? Those persons who desire to be and experience Jesus above all else.

What is bad soil? Everyone else.

Can bad soil become good soil? Absolutely … but the outcome is not my responsibility. I simply spread the seed and leave the rest to the Spirit of God. When I find good soil, I focus the majority of my energy, time, and resource in that good soil.

This will inevitably mean that I can’t spend much time with those not hungering to be disciples. I hear the groans now: “Isn’t a pastor supposed to treat all parishioners the same, after all?: In a word: No! A pastor who operates through this fruitless exercise may be more spiritual than even Jesus. Because Jesus invested his time and energy and resource in the good soil; not the bad. The greatest waste of my life would be investing in bad soil.

Now about equipping others to be ministers. This is exactly what Jesus did. He gathered twelve around him, invested his life in them, equipped them, and sent them out to ministry. Sure, one proved faithless. But through the rest of that rag-tag bunch, the world was turned upside down.

What if I invest in equipping just twelve other people? What if I disciple them to grow in grace? What if I enable them to be ministers who preach the gospel by the way they live their lives and, in turn, they equip others to be ministers? I think at least Coastal Georgia might be turned upside down!

So that’s what I believe my calling is: preaching and equippping. I’m not called to:

• steady a sinking ship;
• mediate petty, un-Christlike arguments;
• be a quivering mass of availability;
• lay down God’s call and vision for the selfish desires and wrong thinking of others;
• marry and bury people;
• run programs;
• be the only dispenser of grace in a faith community;
• etc., etc., etc. …

Oh, I may do some of that … only in as much as it serves the core calling. And in that calling, I am fearless for I trust a God who consistently and without fail weaves beauty out of brokenness.

SO TELL ME:
Are you preaching and equipping? If so, how?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS. Related Posts:

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Tags: perspective, preach, gospel, equip others, ministers, community, Jesus, ministry, disciple

Why?

As stated on NPR’s Morning Edition large agribusiness interests (lobbyists) are just too strong. The richest 10% of American farmers and farming industries pour millions into congressional campaigns and threaten to oust incumbents over this one issue. All the while, the Farm Bill increases persecution of the poor world-wide and on US soil.

As Christians, we are to speak truth to power. Yet, there comes a time when power must embrace truth and act truthfully. How can our representative form of government be an authentic republic when the “power” entities succumb to threats to their power, rather than embracing truthful ways of living and being even at the expense of their power?

An example of truthful living … I’m a pastor. But God did not call me to be a pastor, rather to preach the gospel (in words and by the way I live my life in community). Now, it could be said that a pastor wields power (though it is ebbing away in our post-Christian society). That power is usually within one’s own faith community. When I am faced with the choice of living and/or speaking truthfully OR clinging to my power of influence and being well-liked, I must choose being truthful … even if that comes at the expense of my “pastor” position. I can always be truthful to the call to preach/live the gospel … though I may sacrifice the “power” of pastoring in order to do it.

Are our politicians called to be truthful representatives that make right choices on behalf of the republic, or are they called to be career politicians that must be powerful members of Congress at all costs?

SO TELL ME:
What power do you sacrifice in order to live truthfully?

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS. Related Posts:

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Tags: Farm Bill, agribusiness, persecution, poor, power, truthful

Ideas are brimming these days. Before my traveling began, God was already tipping the dominoes on several different chains of events that could have significant impact for the kingdom in the earth. Seeing what God is doing and searching to find my place in it leads me to several observations:

My frustration level is higher and God’s progress is diverted only when two things happen–

I disobey the Lord’s prompting by not carrying through with what God is inpsiring in my heart; either because of fear or because the inspiration usually doesn’t fit within the usual parameters of “doing church” (though it spurs us on to be the church); OR

I attempt to control the beginnings of what God is doing for what I perceive to be the logical results.

Guess what … God’s activity is most prevalent when I just jump into what God is already doing … when I call for those I serve to jump with me into God’s future … when I don’t waste time on “bad soil” that isn’t willing to let go of comfort zones and step into the Spirit-led future of Christ.

So, I’ve jumped! I’m in 100%.

Living this way as a Christ-follower in a Christian faith community is an organic way to be the Church. It’s messy, somewhat chaotic, unpredictable … but alive and so much better than what the Church has encountered for 40+ years.

Imagine a faith community that actually means something to its neighborhood, its neighbors, its city and county. Imagine people discovering how uniquely God has created them for just such a time as this. Imagine a God that does not even see a box and calls us to be more than outside a box, but to be blind to any parameters as well.

Sounds like what was happening when Jesus, Peter, and Paul were alive. Sounds ancient. Sounds like the future, too.

SO TELL ME:
Are you ready to jump? If so, what are you jumping into?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

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Tags: praying, relationship, God, kingdom, inspiration, doing church, be the church, God’s activity, future, Christ, Christ-follower, faith, organic, Jesus, ancient

I was suffering from a migraine headache last night … nothing seemed to be working to rid me of it. I put a pot of water on to boil so I could drink some tea. As some of you know, I’m partial to Traditional Medicinals teas. They are organic, fair trade, delicious teas.

While waiting for the water to boil, I read the inside of the box which stated the principles of this company:

KNOWLEDGE, EFFICACY, SUSTAINABILITY, PARTNERSHIP.

KNOWLEDGE – Growing from the lessons of yesterday and the experiences of the world.
EFFICACY – Investing in something that works well.
SUSTAINABILITY – Living as if there is a tomorrow.
PARTNERSHIP – Building on equitable relationships.

Wow! It occurred to me: here as a tea company whose leaders are conducting themselves like Christians. This are principles that should result in us from the life and love of Christ.

We should use head knowledge and knowledge learned from experience in shaping the present (and future).

We should strive for excellence in all we do, ensuring that the work of the kingdom is something that works well.

We should live like there is a tomorrow … not just for believers in eternity, but for all of creation (scripture is clear the God is reconciling THE WORLD to himself).

We should give ourselves to relationships that build on love (not just with those “in� the kingdom) … after all, the gospel is good for everybody isn’t it?

It’s amazing where we can see Jesus if we just keep our eyes open.

SO TELL ME:
In what surprising ways and places have you seen Jesus?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

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I feel it’s my responsibility to be as honest with such a dialogue as possible. The great ideas we read in books regarding the paradigm shift of the Church from a Christendom mentality to a practiced communal faith and life are just that — things we read in books.

Oh, they are happening somewhere. Someone has witnessed them. But not usually the ones who read the books.

I’m discovering that Christian life — being a follower of Jesus in relationship with other followers — is far more improvised than I read it described it books.

To truly be a follower of Jesus places us at odds with lots of folks. As a pastor who is a follower of Jesus, that sometimes means I’m even at odds with those who have been Christians longer than I’ve been alive.

It’s not easy. But it’s rewarding to know that we’re being obedient. It’s rejuvenating to see God actually working. It’s the stuff that someday could be the makings of a book.

But I’d rather live it than read it.

SO TELL ME:
Are you “in vocational ministry” and trying to “live it?”

SO TELL ME SOMETHING ELSE:
What’s it like for you?
——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

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Tags: chat, ministry, seminary, dialogue, Church, Christendom, faith, Christian, follower, Jesus, relationship

The Question:

I am assuming that you have an emergent church outlook. If this is a correct assumption, then could you tell me what the goal of the Emergent Church is? Specifically is there a reformation being sought or simply a separation from the present Church?

My Reply:

I wouldn’t say I have an emergent movement outlook toward the Church and ministry. Yet, I am sympathetic to much in the emergent movement.

That said, there are separatists in the movement. I do not identify with the separatists.

I do believe the Church should always be in the reform process. Much in the emergent movement helps in that endeavor. The difficulty with any spiritual movement is that it tends to become a religious institution. Look at the Protestant Reformation. A great move of the Spirit that resulted in more denominations than I can count or am even aware of … each with its own “manual� or governing policy. As I read Luther, I am convinced that’s not what he had in mind when he nailed the 95 to the door.

In our own movement (yet another “split� in Protestantism that emerged about 100 years ago), some spiritual leaders wanted to identify with the disenfranchised in society. 50 years later there is an emphasis in the heartland and southeast on holiness defined by what an individual does not do. Only in recent decades have we begun to remember and rehearse what began the movement titled “Church of the Nazarene.� In so doing, we are beginning to live a renewed and reformed faith.

Any good “emerging� perspective will make a half-turn toward orthodoxy while keeping a steady pace toward the future.

SO TELL ME:
Do you discern a difference between “emergent perspective” and “Emergent Church?”

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

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Tags: pastor, emergent, church, Emergent Church, reformation, separatists, reform, spiritual, religious, Luther, disenfranchised, Nazarene, orthodoxy, future

Now, let’s look at it from the world’s perspective. By world, I mean those not actively engaged with the system of the Christian religion.

A person in this context expects the minister to be optimistic, unobtrusive, and a sanctioner of faith in a progressive world.

This person will also be underwhelmed with me as a minister. However, I will come closer to meeting these types of expectations than I will the expectations of the religious person.

In Part 3, I’ll spell out my understanding of what is a minister to be. For now, I’ll say that I do see a progressive world … but not a world that faith must ask permission to enter. Instead, the world is defined by faith as expressed through the orthodox creeds.

The “religious” person’s expectations of the minister will reject the death required in God’s search for humanity. The person of the “world” will reject the life offered in God’s search for humanity.

Death must happen when we realize all our false notions of reality in the light of God’s great love for us. Life beyond our wildest imaginations can be embraced when we allow ourselves to be defined by our Creator.

SO TELL ME:
Is it easier for you to suffer death or embrace life?

SO TELL ME SOMETHING ELSE:
Has your idea of what a minister should be changed at all?

——-

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS. Related Posts:

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Tags: religion, perspective, Christian, minister, faith, progressive, orthodox, creeds, humanity