For more than a year now I have struggled with the idea of blogging and having my thoughts and ruminations out there in cyberspace for the whole world to read. It's not that I'm shy about expressing my opinion, just ask my family, but, like most other homo sapiens, I think I might crack if anyone is critical of my view. Or even worse what will happen to my self esteem if I bare my soul and no one cares or responds. However I finally said "get over yourself" and decided begin 2009 sharing my thoughts on the road of life.
Another consideration that plagued me for months was the question of what I would write about. Questions arose out of this. Would people be interested in the topics I chose? Would they care? Would what I write be relevant? etc. etc. What I decided was that I would write what I was interested in and not worry about the response.
That doesn't help a whole lot though because I have very eclectic wide range of interests. I love politics, sports, religion, history, geography, anthropology, theology etc. etc. But right now the issue that occupies my thoughts and interests me the most has to do with Jesus and how to be a practical authentic Christian in the 21st century. Therefore that is what I am going to write about. I believe that Jesus is still not only relevant today, what he taught and how he lived is a very practical model for all of us.
I'm not trying to blow any denominational horn or promote any particular church or set of beliefs. I just want to look at Jesus, at what he taught and see how it applies to us today. I welcome comments or additional insights and want this to be an attempt to help us to be more Christlike so our lives would daily have kingdom impact.
Since I am pretty much the female version of you I totally get your worry about people reading or responding so you will more than likely get a fair amount of comments from me...the other reason for that being that I can't keep my opinion to myself (have no idea where I got that from :)
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading what you have to share and will add a link to your blog onto mine. LOVE YOU DADDY! :)
Hey Glenn. I applaud your courage to put yourself out there. And you've picked a great topic.
ReplyDeleteI have been a Christian for more than 25 years, and like you, I've seen it all. I have been hurt and disallusioned by the church but have never lost my faith in God. In fact, I feel I have come full circle and have quietly settled into a very simple non complicated, non theological, non performance orientated relationship with Jesus. I think you and Mira had a lot to do with that.
You and I, and probably most of your followers of this blog, love books. I used to read everything that came out, but today I ignore most of it, as there is very little that I haven't heard. But there is a fairly recent book that has caught my attention. It is fresh, and is percisely what you are talking about..... being an authentic Christian in the 21st century. I want to recommend "The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything" by Brian McLaren. You may have heard of him from his previous book, "A New Kind of Christian."
Here is a clip from the editors:
Pastor and bestselling author McLaren explores Jesus's teaching, placing it in its Jewish context, analyzing its tenets and expression, and trying to work out how it should be lived today. McLaren starts with the assumption that the church may not have accurately understood Jesus's "secret message" (hidden "as a treasure one must seek in order to find"). He revisits the gospel material from a fresh—and at times radical—perspective. The church has focused on salvation as a means to "heaven after you die" for too long, according to McLaren; we should take Jesus at his word when he says "the kingdom of God is here now," and work to assist that kingdom by being peacemakers and loving others. McLaren admits to not exploring every topic here in depth, in an effort to keep the book brief, but he does an excellent job of capturing Jesus's quiet, revolutionary style—the prophet who spoke in parables, who didn't want people to talk about his miracles, who challenged established Jewish thought, and paradoxically found ultimate fulfillment and victory through death....... With this book, he has ignited a firestorm of praise and condemnation that continues to spread across the religious landscape. To some religious conservatives, McLaren is a dangerous rebel without a doctrinally-correct cause. Some fundamentalist websites have even claimed he's in league with the devil and have consigned him to flames. To others though, Brian is a fresh voice, a welcome antidote to the staleness, superficiality, and negativity of the religious status quo. A wide array of people from Evangelical, Catholic, and Mainline Protestant backgrounds claim that through his books they have begun to rediscover the faith they'd lost or rejected. And around the world, many readers say that he has helped them find-for the first time in their lives-a faith that makes sense and rings true. For many, he articulates the promise of what is being called "emerging Christianity."
I don't want to turn your blog into a forum around pros and cons of the book, but I did want to recommend it as I feel most of your friends would appreciate it who have not read it yet.
I remember during the Jesus People movement of the 70's we used to wear a button that was very simple. It captures the essence of what we're talking about here.......
"CONSIDER JESUS!"
Ken Waite
klwaite@golden.net
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ReplyDeleteHi Ken I've read A New Kind of Christian and liked it so I would like to read this book. I feel that Mclaren speaks out of the box and I like that.
ReplyDeletehiya glenn,
ReplyDeleteglad you have your first blog entry up and going...it looks and sounds great so far!
probably lots of people go through the thoughts that you have shared about even doing a blog, but i think it is a great form of communication, and even if it touches 'one life' it is totally relevent...(but of course there will be many who will want to read)...
so great start...great topic and i am looking forward to reading and gleaning from your insights....