There has been a real growth in the focus of Rick Warren’s ministry in the past 12 months or so.
He has publicly expressed regret at his inaction over the situation in Africa and other places, particularly in regard to Aids devastation.
This article is great, and merely reinforces my belief that Rick Warren is on the right track. He does not apologise for his conservative beliefs, but does put his faith and love into action. I love what he says here, “The New Testament says the church is the body of Christ, but for the last 100 years, the hands and feet have been amputated, and the church has just been a mouth. And mostly, it’s been known for what it’s against. … I’m so tired of Christians being known for what they’re against.”

Aint that the truth.
It reminds me of this line from U2, which I suspect is directed at churches,
“You speak of signs and wonders, But I need something otherI would believe if I was able,
But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table”

Here is the bible reference. Matthew 15:21-27: Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

As a church grows and becomes strong, it can and should do more in this area. This is what secular people applaud when they see a church doing, and what Jesus called us to do when He said, “as you have done for the least of these, you have done for me”

Rick Warren Interview

Here is some grabs from an interview with Rob Bell, the author of “The Velvet Elvis” and producer of the NOOMA videos. That reminds me, there is a new one out, I must grab it!

“He’s fond of punk music, he surfs and has a trampoline in his yard, but he also knows Hebrew and Greek and can preach the gospel astutely, and, apparently, with great appeal.
So much so that Mars Hill, the congregation Bell co-founded with a small group of friends seven years ago, is one of the fastest growing churches in U.S. history, drawing more than 10,000 worshippers each week (plus another 30,000 or so who download MP3s of the weekly services from the church Web site.) “

“The Emergent (or Emerging) church is a largely youth-oriented movement within evangelical Christianity that has appeared over the past 20 years and is characterized by its attempts to deconstruct — and then reconstruct — what it means to be a Christian today. Bell bristles at the Emergent label, insisting it’s one he’s never applied to himself or Mars Hill”

I love Rob Bell’s stuff. He is seriously the best preacher I have ever heard, for this generation. His message of grace, true spiritual freedom is awesome. Rob Bell inspires me to plunge deep into the stories of the Bible every time I hear him speak.
LINK

They deserved to win, after coming back from 50 points down. As much as I cant stand them, it was an extraordinary effort, Juddless.
Where too for Geelong? After winning the Pre Season Cup they were a premiership fancy. Now they have shown us how fragile they are.

After the boring as game we were forced to watch on Channel Nine’s Friday Night Football last night, there is only more bad news for Footy Fans. Essendon have five more Friday Night Games.
The Bombers were not just beaten last night, but thrashed by 138 points by Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.

Thank goodness there is one Friday Night that will be worth watching.
Roll on Round 14 Fri 7 July Fremantle v Essendon Subiaco Oval
I wont be there, unfortunately, I will be in Sydney. Have to find a sports bar somewhere that night.

Link

Saturday Night Football tommorow. But no Saturday night Clive
We are coming up against a team which has won a few games in the last few weeks, including a nail biter against premiership favourites Adelaide.
Yet I am feeling pretty confident about this one.
Richmond just smell like a very brittle team, one that could implode at any time. With no Richardson, who truly is a good player, and no Nathan Brown, where are their goals going to come from?
Interesting to see Schoefield being dropped. I watched the tape from two weeks ago, and I counted once, just once, that he hit a target. Unfortunately every time he has possession of the ball, I can feel the whole crowd groaning.
However even old leather face wont be able to coach them to a win this week.
GO YOU MIGHTY DOCKERS!

You know what else? I have a feeling that Geelong might get up this weekend as well. What a great Monday paper that would be! GO YOU MIGHTY CATS!

In a follow up to my previous post about Laidley and a leaders responsibility.
This from The Australian
“The family’s “son and brother” was a “very passionate, long-time Kangaroos’ member and supporter. They stressed his death was not related to the “verbal exchange with Dean Laidley”.
“Andrew had been receiving support and counselling for depression. We hold no grievance against Dean Laidley or North Melbourne Football Club.”

I dont think Laidley did anything wrong at all. Sometimes as a leader you need to be frank, speak the truth and share your own feelings.
In this case Laidley did not know the whole story. He did not know this guy was suffering from depression, and probably went to the Footy as a release from reality, and felt even more depressed when his team lost. (As a Dockers Member I can relate!)
Neither do I as a leader know the whole story when I am speaking to someone. Even if I ask for it, I dont always get told what is really going on. It’s not easy, all you can be is honest to yourself and honest to God, because if you choose to be a leader, or even have leadership thrust upon you, you will be misunderstood.

Having said all that, the title of the post is “Kangaroo Fan suffering”. No matter what sort of group of people you are leading, you must be sensitive to what is going on for them, if you are to truly be a great leader. Not fake sincerity, not use them for your own gain, not help them for your own ego. Loving and caring for and leading people does bring you joy, joy that is far better than seeing them used under your leadership for your own purposes.

Brian McLaren on The Da Vinci Code An interview by Lisa Ann Cockrel
With The Da Vinci Code poised to go from bestseller list to the big screen on May 19, pastor and writer (and Sojourners board member) Brian McLaren talks about why he thinks there’s truth in the controversial book’s fiction.
What do you think the popularity of The Da Vinci Code reveals about pop culture attitudes toward Christianity and the church?
Brian McLaren: I think a lot of people have read the book, not just as a popular page-turner but also as an experience in shared frustration with status-quo, male-dominated, power-oriented, cover-up-prone organized Christian religion. We need to ask ourselves why the vision of Jesus hinted at in Dan Brown’s book is more interesting, attractive, and intriguing to these people than the standard vision of Jesus they hear about in church. Why would so many people be disappointed to find that Brown’s version of Jesus has been largely discredited as fanciful and inaccurate, leaving only the church’s conventional version? Is it possible that, even though Brown’s fictional version misleads in many ways, it at least serves to open up the possibility that the church’s conventional version of Jesus may not do him justice?
So you think The Da Vinci Code taps into dissatisfaction with Jesus as we know him? McLaren: For all the flaws of Brown’s book, I think what he’s doing is suggesting that the dominant religious institutions have created their own caricature of Jesus. And I think people have a sense that that’s true. It’s my honest feeling that anyone trying to share their faith in America today has to realize that the Religious Right has polluted the air. The name “Jesus” and the word “Christianity” are associated with something judgmental, hostile, hypocritical, angry, negative, defensive, anti-homosexual, etc. Many of our churches, even though they feel they represent the truth, actually are upholding something that’s distorted and false. I also think that the whole issue of male domination is huge and that Brown’s suggestion that the real Jesus was not as misogynist or anti-woman as the Christian religion often has been is very attractive. Brown’s book is about exposing hypocrisy and cover-up in organized religion, and it is exposing organized religion’s grasping for power. Again, there’s something in that that people resonate with in the age of pedophilia scandals, televangelists, and religious political alliances. As a follower of Jesus I resonate with their concerns as well.
Do you think the book contains any significantly detrimental distortions of the Christian faith? McLaren: The book is fiction and it’s filled with a lot of fiction about a lot of things that a lot of people have already debunked. But frankly, I don’t think it has more harmful ideas in it than the Left Behind novels. And in a certain way, what the Left Behind novels do, the way they twist scripture toward a certain theological and political end, I think Brown is twisting scripture, just to other political ends. But at the end of the day, the difference is I don’t think Brown really cares that much about theology. He just wanted to write a page-turner and he was very successful at that.

Here is a reply to him
“The problem with what McLaren says here is that he cannot (or will not) distinguish what is malignant from what is benign. No one goes to hell merely for believing dispensational premillenialism, a theology of the end times that is portrayed in the “Left Behind” novels. Yet anyone who denies the deity of Jesus most certainly will, and this is precisely what is argued in “The Da Vinci Code.”

Left Behind People’s response

I find myself in the unusual position of siding more with McLaren than his detractors on this one because a lot of what McLaren is saying is true. People who don’t know church history have lots of false presuppositions. Yet I have an issue with anyone who won’t really explain clearly (propositionally) what he believes yet is telling me or others that what we articulate propositionally is false. (Mc Laren) Mc Laren ducks and weaves more than Josh Carr coming out of a crowded pack.