Eclectic Christian Christmas Disco
By Michael Bell
Some of you may be wondering what has happened to the Eclectic Christian Christmas giveaway contest. Well, I put the new header graphic up early because I liked it so much. Here is the link to the original contest along with contest rules.
If you still want to enter the contest (there are still lots of prizes still to be won), here is the original header that was used for the basis for the contest.
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fun | 
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Posted by Eclectic Christian
Christ on the throne
By Michael Bell
This is Part 1, of a multi-part series looking at the deity of Christ. Here are the links to the Introduction and Table of Contents.
As we begin, it is important to clarify just what we mean, and what we do not mean, when we say that Jesus is God.
We do no mean that there is more than one God.
Many have tried to portray Jesus as a god, but not the Almighty Lord God, and as a result try to make him less than God. Yet, the scripture clearly teaches that there is but one true God. Several of these verses are listed below.
Isaiah 43:10b (NIV) – “… Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.”
Isaiah 45:5 (NIV) – “… I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.”
Isaiah 45:21b-23 (NIV) – “… And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”
Isaiah 37:16 (NIV) – “O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.”
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV) – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
Mark 12:28-29, 32 (NIV) – One of the teachers of the law… asked him, “of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one, answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one…” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.”
What does all this mean? Since the Bible clearly states that there is only one true God, we are left with two options. We can either believe that Jesus Christ is the LORD God, or we can believe that he is not God, or “a god” at all. If we try to call Christ “a god”, we are then saying that there is more than one God, which, as can be seen from the above verses is definitely not biblical.
What do you think? Your comments as always are welcome?
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Posted by Eclectic Christian
Christ on the throne
By Michael Bell
The deity of Christ is one of the most important elements of the Christian faith, and one of the foundational points for all of the creeds. Yet ask the average Christian in the pew how they support it from Scripture, or how the theology developed, and most would be hard pressed to give an answer.
This is the topic that I have spent more time on than any other over the last twenty years. I had been challenged on the topic when I was quite young, and as a result it was one of the primary reasons that I went to seminary. I really wanted to understand some of the biblical and language arguments that were being used both for and against the deity of Christ.
What will follow will be several short posts, on what I feel are some of the best arguments for the deity of Christ. As far as comments go, I will allow further support and challenges to what I have written on individual passages. I would ask that while the series is unfolding, that people focus their comments on the scripture texts in question. At the end of the series I will allow for a more general free for all. Also, I will keep most of the posts at an introductory level so that they are understandable for a wide audience. If anyone wishes to put forward Hebrew or Greek arguments, I would be happy to debate them in the comments section of each post.
Update: It is very difficult (if not outright wrong) to put God into a box. It is impossible to describe the infinite in finite terms. Human words simply can not do justice to the task of describing the infinite God. So understand that I am not trying to delineate the edges of the box, rather it is my attempt to say, “Here is what we do know about the deity of Christ. Please understand that our knowledge is imperfect, and our understanding of the topic is imperfect, but we present it as best we can so as to improve your knowledge and understanding.”
This page will serve as the index page for the series. When a post is complete, it’s link will be below. The posts will follow in the following order:
Some of the arguments you will find compelling, others less so. But I believe that taken as a whole they will provide compelling evidence that the Bible teaches, and the early church believed that Jesus Christ was God. You may also find some arguments missing that you had previously heard. That is probably because I did not find them that compelling. I would be interested in what you have to say about them when we reach the end of the series.
One final note. I recognize that I am only telling half the story here. That Christ is recognized the the Church as fully God and fully man. I am not so nearly well equipped to tell the second half of the story, the humanity of Christ. It will have be told at another place or time.
I will be posting usually every two days, so the whole series will take about a month to unfold. I hope you find it of value.
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Posted by Eclectic Christian
By Michael Bell
And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24
Why is it that participating in a meal together can invoke such strong memories, and not necessarily of the meal itself but of the people involved? Let me tell you a little story.
Stoplog Lake Waterfall
For me, one of the best meals ever, had to be from one of the times my Dad and I made bread on a stick, cooked over a fire, during winter camping with his Scout troop. The recipe and process were both simple. You took Bisquick, mixed it with water, wrapped it around a long stick, and slowly browned it over a low fire. Not only was it nourishment, but it warmed you up on the inside when the temperature might have been 20 below zero outside your snow shelter. Of course it wasn’t just about the bread, it was about spending time with my Dad, learning from him, enjoying the outdoors together, and all the memories associated with that. And my mind goes so easily from those memories to memories of summer camping, portaging into Stoplog lake, fishing, mixing blueberries with instant pudding, for a quick delightful desert. Memories like waiting with the canoe in a shallow rock cave at the edge of the lake while a rainstorm goes by. They bring on other memories, like playing in the natural jacuzzi and waterfall created by the stream that enters the lake. There are no bad memories of camping with Dad, but they are certainly powerful ones.
It is too bad that we don’t have direct memories of that last meal that Jesus spent with his disciples. Imagine how sharing a meal with Christ would make our memories of his so much stronger. I would love it if I could remember Christ in the same way that I remember the time I spent with my Dad. But in many ways partaking in the Lord’s table, how ever often you do it, is building memories of your relationship with Jesus Christ and of all he has done for you. Thinking back on how a meal spent with my Dad now means so much more to me that just the meal itself. Next time I take communion, I will certainly remember that this is more than just a little ritual, it is meant for us to think long and deep about Christ and all that he went through in order to bring about our salvation.
And yes, Bread on a stick, is certainly an experience I am going to have to share with my kids this winter. In doing so I will have to tell them the story of how I did it with my Dad, and how Christ did something similar with his disciples, and told them to continue to doing it as a way of remembering him… Just like I do with my Dad.
4 Comments | communion, easter, holy week | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian
by Joshua Hearne
“So he is called man, not only that through his body he may be apprehended by embodied creatures, whereas otherwise this would be impossible because of his incomprehensible nature; but also that by himself he may sanctify humanity, and be as it were a leaven to the whole lump; and by uniting to himself that which was condemned may release it from all condemnation, becoming for all men all things that we are, except sin—body, soul, mind, and all through which death reaches—and thus he became man, who is the combination of all these…”
~Gregory of Nazianzus
I love this idea of Jesus as the leaven for the whole lump of humanity.
So, God became man not just because it gives us a means to understand God and commune with him. Rather, it is so that God can join us in our suffering and sanctify us as if by proximity. He intermingles divinity with humanity.
It reminds me of Psalm 22.
My God, my God, why have you deserted me? Why are you so far away? Won’t you listen to my groans and come to my rescue?
I cry out day and night, but you don’t answer, and I can never rest.
Yet you are the holy God, ruling from your throne and praised by Israel.But I am merely a worm, far less than human, and I am hated and rejected by people everywhere.
Everyone who sees me makes fun and sneers. They shake their heads,
and say, “Trust the LORD! If you are his favorite, let him protect you and keep you safe.”
You, LORD, brought me safely through birth, and you protected me when I was a baby at my mother’s breast.
From the day I was born, I have been in your care, and from the time of my birth, you have been my God.
Don’t stay far off when I am in trouble with no one to help me.
Enemies are all around like a herd of wild bulls. Powerful bulls from Bashan are everywhere.
My enemies are like lions roaring and attacking with jaws open wide.
I have no more strength than a few drops of water. All my bones are out of joint; my heart is like melted wax.
My strength has dried up like a broken clay pot, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You, God, have left me to die in the dirt.
Brutal enemies attack me like a pack of dogs, tearing at my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones, and my enemies just stare and sneer at me.
They took my clothes and gambled for them.~Portions of Psalm 22
This is the one that Jesus quoted on the cross. It’s significant to me because it was written by the psalmist many years prior to Jesus’ crucifixion. It’s a lament to God from the Psalmist. You can hear the notes of complaint and suffering in the voice of the psalmist. Interestingly enough, Jesus calls upon this suffering psalm to represent himself. He questions himself and all the suffering.
This is a beautiful picture. Not of a God who remains aloof and distant. It is a dramatic picture of a God who joins with us in our suffering and understands the pain and expresses our anguish to himself as we have expressed it to him in the past. God joins humanity in our suffering.
To once again quote Gregory of Nazianzus:
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? …But, as I said, he was in his own person representing us. For we were the forsaken and despised before, but now, by the sufferings of Him who could not suffer, we were taken up and saved.” ~Gregory of Nazianzus
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Posted by jhearne0
About seven years ago, two of my friends became Pastors of two different churches in our area. Both churches were struggling, having less than 100 people.
One church was made up of seniors, a group of people who some time ago had resisted change, and so had lost their subsequent generations to other churches. The other church had a cross section of families, but was struggling to make a go of it in rented facilities in a relatively small town.
In hindsight, both were uniquely and appropriately gifted, to lead their churches into significant growth.
In the case of the seniors’ church. The church had come to recognize that in order to not be closing the doors in ten years that there had to be some change. Change however would come at a snail’s pace. And the pastor had to have the patience of Job in order to keep persevering with small incremental changes that the seniors could tolerate. He had a true “Pastor’s heart” and spent much time visiting with people and caring for them. The church came to love their Pastor, and the church grew, largely from other churches whose seniors had become disenfranchised and were looking for a place to belong. The Pastor told me that his church had done a very good job of welcoming the new people, going so far as to change the language that was spoken in the seniors group, so that the newcomers would feel more welcome. The church is now twice as large as it was, still mainly seniors, but with more of a hope of a future.
In the other church, the new Pastor was quite a different sort. He was a visionary guy, with all kinds of ideas of how they could present and grow the church. His route was to go very contemporary, while not neglecting the importance of things like baptism and communion. Being contemporary, to him did not mean watering down the word, but presenting it in ways that were understandable and communicated to their target audience. They also put a strong emphasis on small groups, which they called “small church”, knowing that this was one of the best ways to see people discipled and grow. The thing that impressed me the most when visiting, was that they scheduled baptisms for every month, trusting that God would be moving in such a way, that people would want to follow Christ in Baptism. This church has now doubled three times in the seven years that he has been there. Half of the growth has been new convert growth.
What strikes me about both situations is this. Both models work. What is needed is the right Pastor for the right church. I would venture to say that if each of these Pastors had been called to the opposite church, that both of the churches would still be struggling along, if not closed.
One thing that the denomination of my previous church does, is require any church that is calling a new senior Pastor to do a extensive church and community analysis. This is done to help clarify and set their mission, vision, and values. Each potential Pastor undergoes corresponding testing. The church then is presented with a list of Pastors who are appropriate for their situation. The church can recommend that certain names be added, but these potential candidates also have to go through a vetting at the district level. The reason for this of course is to get the right Pastor for the right church, and avoid the sort of church blowups and meltdowns that we here about all too frequently.
I have received permission from the denomination to link to their free resources for those who would like to find out more about the process.
32 Comments | church growth, church life | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian
By Michael Bell
When I visit a church, I like to visit as if I am going to church for the first time to try and envision how a first time visitor would feel. These are all experiences either I have had visiting churches for the first time, or that friends of mine have had. I have combined them into a quasi-fictional account, as if all the experiences happened on a single Sunday, and I was indeed a first time visitor to church. I will tell you the purpose behind the story at the end of the posting.
I visited a church today. It was my first time in many years, but we had been having family difficulties, and a friend had suggested that a good church might be a good place to find help.
We wanted to go to the closest one, unfortunately it had no service time of its church sign, which looked like it had seen better days. So I tried the church website, no luck there, the church did not have one. I then tried the phone book, no answer on the first try, and no recorded message either, the second try I did get someone, (not sure who), who brusquely told me that the service was at 11:00 a.m.
So Sunday morning arrived, we decided we wanted to be early, so we got there at 10:55. The parking lot was full (I found out later that if fills up for Sunday School at 9:30). There was not much street parking available, but we finally found a spot 3 blocks away. By the time we got to the church, it was 11:05. Part of me wanted to just turn around and go home at that time, but we decided to persevere.
The church had two sets of doors. We were not sure which ones to go in, but settled on the big main doors. We cautiously opened the doors to the church to find… a completely empty room. After what seemed like at eternity, we heard singing coming from the double doors in front of us. A sign above the doors read “Sanctuary”, though I wasn’t sure what that meant. I slowly opened up these doors and I could see that we were entering in at the back of an auditorium. A man seated on a chair at the back, waved a folded piece of paper in our face. “Here”, he said, “you will need one of these”. It was program of sorts, though I could find no list of what was about to occur.
6 Comments | church life, Gospel | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian
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Word of the Day
Michael Bell
Joshua Hearne
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Joel Black
