My Place Today...

Writing in my apartment in Two Harbors.

My Place Today...

A night of writing...and thinking...

Tweet by Rick Warren...

"cgfletch: RT @RickWarren: Guilt by association is the childish tactic of those with feeble minds & arguments.If u smell it know their logic is bogus."
--http://www.twitter.com/cgfletch/status/26628127241

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My Place Today...

Greg Boyd Tweet...

"cgfletch: RT @greg_boyd: What if u framed every day-& every moment of every day-as a adventure in God? THIS, I believe, is the central task of discipleship."
--http://www.twitter.com/cgfletch/status/26327235654

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Liturgy...

There is a liturgy inherent in the lyrics of the songs sung in a bar - and that liturgy  resonants with the Imago Dei. Jesus is not beyond, but in the midst of our existence-hence the Incarnation.

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Fw: Update » Greg Boyd (Gregory A. Boyd)

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-----Original message-----

From: "Greg Boyd (Christus Victor Ministries)" <admin@gregboyd.org>
To: cgfletch@yahoo.com
Sent: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 01:38:59 GMT+00:00
Subject: Update » Greg Boyd (Gregory A. Boyd)

Update » Greg Boyd (Gregory A. Boyd)

---

“Not Dead Yet” Returns! Posted: 30 Sep 2010 04:29 PM PDT ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE??!!! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, my band (NDY) will be playing Friday night, Oct 8, at the Dugout Bar in Mahtomedi (Suburb of St. Paul), from 8 - 12. We play Top 40 Hits from the 70’s thru Today. Fine, we’re not U2, but WE SURE KNOW HOW TO THROW A PARTY.  And its for a great cause — kids in Haiti! Not only this, but now that I use  a metronome, we don’t end songs twice as fast as we started. (And some of you thought we couldn’t possibly improve!) So spread the word, invite your friends and we hope to see you there. Greg

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Tweet by Alan Hirsch...

"cgfletch: RT @alanhirsch: Genuine authority comes from truth we have made our own. -- R.J.Neuhaus,"
--http://www.twitter.com/cgfletch/status/26011406599

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My Place Today...

The 508 Bar in Minneapolis...

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My Place Today...

At The 508 Bar in Minneapolis...

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Tweet by Greg Boyd

cgfletch (@cgfletch) has shared a Tweet with you:

"cgfletch: RT @greg_boyd: 4 those concerned w the alleged "prize fighter" violent Jesus of Revelation (a la Mark Driscoll), check out my blog @ www.gregboyd.org."
--http://www.twitter.com/cgfletch/status/25813682814

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Church Is Not A Building...

'Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." "Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."'
~ John 4:20-24 TNIV

'"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.'
~ Acts 17:24



Church is not a building. Church is not an event that takes place on Sundays. I know, its how we think of it. "I go to First Baptist." "We are members of St. Luke's." "Is it time to go to church?" Much to our surprise, that is not how the Bible uses the term. Not at all. When the Scripture talks about church, it means community. The little fellowships of the heart that are outposts of the kingdom. A shared life. They worship together, eat together, pray for one another, go on quests together. They hang out together, in each other's homes. When Peter is sprung from prison, "he went to the house of Mary the mother of John? where many people had gathered and were praying" (Acts 12:12).

Anytime an army goes to war or an expedition takes to the field, it breaks down into little platoons and squads. And every chronicle of war or quest will tell you that the men and women who fought so bravely fought for each other. That's where the acts of heroism and sacrifice take place, because that's where the devotion is. You simply can't be devoted to a mass of people; devotion takes place in small units, just like a family.

We have stopped short of being an organization; we are an organism instead, a living and spontaneous association of individuals who know one another intimately, care for each other deeply, and feel a kind of respect for one another that makes rules and bylaws unnecessary. A group is the right size, I would guess, when each member can pray for every other member, individually and by name.

This is the wisdom of Brother Andrew, who smuggled Bibles into communist countries for decades. It's the model, frankly, of the church in nearly every country but the U.S. Now, I'm not suggesting you don't do whatever it is you do on Sunday mornings. I'm simply helping you accept reality - that whatever else you do, you must have a small fellowship to walk with you and fight with you and bandage your wounds. This is essential.
~ John Elderedge, Waking The Dead, 192

My Place Today

St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Minneapolis.

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Interesting tweet by Rick Warren both in its content and timing.

cgfletch (@cgfletch) has shared a Tweet with you:

"cgfletch: RT @RickWarren: Jesus showed the cost of loving & reaching unbelievers is to be misjudged by pharisee believers.Can u handle that for love?"
--http://www.twitter.com/cgfletch/status/24871071353

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My Place Today...

Twins game with Brooke at Target Field in Minneapolis.

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My Place Today...It Has Been a Long But Very Good Day...

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Hmmm...

"The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls (or apparently the bathroom walls too)..."

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Tension in the Midst of a Juxtaposition...

“Our day-to-day life is bombarded with fortuities or, to be more precise, with the accidental meetings of people and events we call coincidences. ‘Co-incidence’ means that two events unexpectedly happen at the same time, they meet…” ~ Milan Kundera



“…but places are full of mystery as times are, and almost from the start I knew that, of all places, it was the one that was right for me.” ~Frederick Buechner

“I always try not to get too attached to a place, to objects or to people.” ~ Sabina from the movie, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Amazing Words from Rich Mullins...

Rich Mullins was an amazing person and these words that he spoke at one of the last concerts before his untimely death in 1997 are profound and full of wisdom. The last couple minutes of the video clip I find the most telling and interesting and at the same time provocative. Provocative because the words he speaks require a reaction, a need to contemplate what it is a disciple of Jesus is to be like and about. Rich's words beg the question: what is the Kingdom of God really all about? To answer that is to be a follower of Jesus.


“Jesus said whatever you do to the least of these my brothers you’ve done it to me. And this is what I’ve come to think. That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my savior and Lord, the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of all the popular evangelical preachers. But they’re just wrong. They’re not bad, they’re just wrong. Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in a beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken....”
~ Rich Mullins, 1997

More Thoughts on Jesus and Life…Celebrating Manifests the Kingdom of God!

I must and we all must be who God created us to be…as the theologian from New Jersey sings, “It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.” To be human, fully human as Jesus was when he walked on the same ground as we do is to be fully alive, to be experiencing life and life abundantly (John 10:10). Saint Irenaeus wrote, “The glory of God is man (woman) fully alive” – we were created not merely to exist but to be what God created us to be, in all the fullness of our humanity.

GOD is gracious--it is he who makes things right, our most compassionate God. GOD takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me. I said to myself, "Relax and rest. GOD has showered you with blessings.

Soul, you've been rescued from death; eye, you've been rescued from tears; and you, foot, were kept from stumbling." I'm striding in the presence of GOD, alive in the land of the living! I stayed faithful, though bedeviled, and despite a ton of bad luck, despite giving up on the human race, saying, "They're all liars and cheats."

What can I give back to GOD for the blessings he's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation--a toast to GOD! I'll pray in the name of GOD; I'll complete what I promised GOD I'd do, and I'll do it together with his people. (Psalm 116:5-14 The Message)


Dr. Gregory Boyd commented on the lifestyle of Jesus in this way, “Have you ever wondered why Jesus took a couple days out of his short ministry to attend a wedding feast and then waste a miracle changing water into wine for a bunch of people who had already had a lot to drink, when there were undoubtedly crippled children all around Palestine who could have used that miracle? Have you ever wondered why Jesus often took time out to go to parties (with prostitutes and tax collectors no less!)? Have you ever wondered why Jesus rebuked the disciple who complained that a woman was wasting expensive ointment by pouring it onto Jesus’ feet, when, as a matter of fact, the complaining disciple was right in claiming it could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor (it’s estimated that the ointment was worth up to a year’s salary)?”

Dr Boyd concludes his thoughts, “Everything Jesus did — including his celebrating — manifests the Kingdom. What Jesus’ superfluous miracle, frequent partying and acceptance of expensive worship reveal is that life under the reign of God isn’t just about ministry and work: it includes celebrating. Yes we’re to live self-sacrificial, radically generous lives. But life as God intended it includes celebrating weddings, drinking wine, going to parties and engaging in extravagant worship. These aren’t “breaks” from Kingdom living: they’re important aspects of Kingdom living!

-taken from http://www.gregboyd.org/uncategorized/dont-be-a-scrooge/

“What can I give back to GOD for the blessings he's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation--a toast to GOD!”

Divine Milieu...U2 - "A Sort of Homecoming"

"What can I give back to GOD for the blessings he's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation--a toast to GOD!" ~ The Psalmist



And you know it's time to go
Through the sleet and driving snow
Across the fields of mourning to a light that's in the distance.

And you hunger for the time
Time to heal, 'desire' time
And your earth moves beneath your own dream landscape....

And your heart beats so slow
Through the rain and fallen snow
Across the fields of mourning to a light that's in the distance.
Oh, don't sorrow, no don't weep
For tonight at last I am coming home.
I am coming home.

Divine Milieu...U2 - "Red Hill Mining Town"

The glass is cut
The bottle run dry.
Our love runs cold
In the caverns of the night.
We're wounded by fear
Injured in doubt.

I can lose myself
You I can't live without.
We see love, slowly stripped away Our love has seen its better day.
Hangin' on...

Hmmm...

cgfletch (@cgfletch) has shared a Tweet with you:

"cgfletch: RT @timastevens: A example of a church NOT in touch with the culture http://ow.ly/i/3CMZ (if you don't laugh, you also might be out of touch)."
--http://www.twitter.com/cgfletch/status/23032895853

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Divine Milieu...U2 - "So Cruel" - Hmmm...

“…music was like a rose blooming on a boundless snow-covered plain of silence.” ~ Milan Kundera

“…it was a sense of beauty that cured her of her depression and imbued her with a new will to live…” ~ Milan Kundera



She wears my love like a see-through dress
Her lips say one thing, her movements something else.
Oh, love, like a screaming flower
Love dying every hour.
Ah, you don't know if it's fear or desire,
Danger the drug that takes you higher?
Head of heaven, fingers in the mire
Her heart is racing you can't keep up.
The night is bleeding like a cut
Between the horses of love and lust we are trampled underfoot. ~ U2

“…everything normal is beautiful!” ~ Milan Kundera

Dragonfly...

This picture and the place in which I was at when this Dragonfly and I met may be interesting or coincidence, or both? Milan Kundera has this to say about coincidences, “Our day-to-day life is bombarded with fortuities or, to be more precise, with the accidental meetings of people and events we call coincidences. ‘Co-incidences’ means that two events unexpectedly happen at the same time, they meet…” and so…if you were where I was and knew the significance of the place and time of it all (I may explain less cryptically in the future) you too would, I am convinced, find this picture interesting and wonder about the coincidence of it.

L'Chai-Im...To Life...

And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the LORD your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the LORD your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire--oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.” ~ Deuteronomy 14:23-26 ESV

I fully understand the differences and implication of the Old and New Covenants and that this passage is undeniable a part of the ceremonial law within the context of the Old Covenant that Yahweh established with the nation of Israel to set them apart as his people so that they would be a blessing to all the nations that they had contact with.

Jesus, a Jew, living in the first century C.E. in the geographical region associated with the history of and tradition of the Jewish people and its cultural milieu was intimately aware of the Torah and the passage quoted above. It is my contention that the passage and the explicit principles of joy, celebration, rejoicing and worship all hold pride of place within the heart of God and as Jesus is the, “exact representation of the Father” he could not but help exude the Father’s heart for his creation to celebrate.

Regardless of the cultural climate of America in 2010 in which we live and the heritage of which we are either consciously or unconsciously affected by, it does not negate the biblical principle of the passage from Deuteronomy nor the lifestyle example of Jesus. If we are to be consistent with the orthodox Christian believe professed in all the ancient creeds that Jesus is God, then to not take seriously how he lived and that he stated, “if you have seen me you have seen the Father” we live a delusion of what the life is that Jesus came to bring and what he came to completely free us all from.

The specific words from the passage in Deuteronomy that caught my imagination are, “…spend the money for whatever you desire--oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves” I cannot help but wonder if in the mind of Jesus while at the wedding at Cana after his mother requested he help the wedding celebration continue by making more wine – that the heart of his Father for celebration did not overwhelm him. Perhaps even the passage from and principle from Deuteronomy passage came to his mind? He then not only makes wine but it is “the best” wine! Amazing! God the Psalmists tells us, makes, “…wine that gladdens human hearts…” (Psalm 104:15a).

Not surprising that later Jesus when confronted by his critics says this:

"To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: "'We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.' For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by all her children." (Luke 7:31-35 TNIV)


It is hard for me to conceive of Jesus not drinking and eating and celebrating life! To the degree that it is difficult for this to be imagined or accepted by evangelical Christians says more about their sensibilities and desire to sanitize and cage Jesus by their proclivities and prejudices and as a result obscure the reality of who and what Jesus was and is.

So…to prepare for the wedding feast and banquet with the Lamb at which time Jesus will, “…drink again of the fruit of the vine…” (Luke 22:18) go out with some friends and meet some new friends and begin to create communities and raise a glass of “…wine or strong drink…” and give thanks and rejoice the life, “the abundant life” we have because of our Savior.

As Tevye sings in the movie, The Fiddler on the Roof:

God would like us to be joyful
Even though our hearts lie panting on the floor;
How much more can we be joyful,
When there's really something
To be joyful for.

To life, to life, L'chai-im!
L'chai-im, l'chai-im, to life!
It gives you something to think about,
Something to drink about,
Drink l'chai-im, to life! l'chai-im!

In my mind the wedding in Cana was not all that different from the one portrayed in film The Fiddler on the Roof and in some way, some mystical, mysterious way Jesus is at all weddings and at all places forever with us, for he is the ZOA – the LIFE!

TO LIFE L’CHAI-IM!

Divine Milieu...Brandi Carlile - "Late Morning Lullaby"

"I would darken my window so I can fall asleep,
While the critics frown down on the hours,
I keep that leave me...

Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming,
Your real world away..."

My Place Today...

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Divine Milieu...Dave Matthews Band - "Bartender"

"The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become."
~ Milan Kundera



"Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water'; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.' They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, 'Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.'"
~ John 2:6-10

Divine Milieu...Brandi Carlile-"Let It Be"

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My Place Today...

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My Place Today...

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My Place Today...

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Imago Dei

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My Place Today...

My Place Today...

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A Poem For Sunday - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

A Poem For Sunday - The Daily Dish By Andrew Sullivan

My Place Today...Common Roots cafe in Minneapolis with Amber. Making our way back to Two Harbors.

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My Place Today...

Amber at the Acoustic Cafe in Winona on her 18th. birthday.

My Place Tonight...

I know it has been some time since I have written or posted on here. Been a bit distracted with moving into my new apartment (the parsonage) above Dunnigan's Pub. Also, Bar Church and reading have been taking up some of my time. Seems like I have been in a reading mood this summer- since I last commented on what I have read I think these are what I have read: "Rock Priest" by David Pierce, "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, large sections again of "The Barbarian Way" by Erwin McManus, "Freedom of Simplicity" by Richard Foster, and part way through "The Myth of the Christian Religion" by Greg Boyd and "The Politics of Jesus" by John Howard Yoder.

Hopefully, I will again be writing more soon. Have been spending quite a bit of time with the barishoners at night and while doing so thinking a lot about Jesus and who he hung out with and what he was accused of and what he was called as a result. Mind blowing to me to think about what God did and where God went. Jesus is amazing and a complete counter-cultural subversive revolutionary for the Kingdom of God! Can we really believe we can be any less? We are called by the King to come and follow him...Amen!

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cgfletch (@cgfletch) has shared a Tweet with you:

"cgfletch: RT @greg_boyd: Just wondering: How does an Islamic Center focused on peace "desecrate" Ground Zero when Strip Clubs in the same neighborhood do not?"
--http://www.twitter.com/cgfletch/status/21465502430

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cgfletch (@cgfletch) has shared a Tweet with you:

"cgfletch: RT @greg_boyd: If Revelation confuses you or freaks u out (a la "Left Behind" nonsense), read Bauckham's Theology of the Bk of Revelation (1993). Great!"
--http://www.twitter.com/cgfletch/status/21353885895

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cgfletch (@cgfletch) has shared a Tweet with you:

"cgfletch: RT @greg_boyd: "What is defined as real is real in it's effects." The Thomas Theorem.  Lord wake us up to our socially constructed MATRIX!"
--http://www.twitter.com/cgfletch/status/20918636893

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Bar Church - Week 2...The Parable of the Lost Sheep...

Divine Milieu...U2 - In A Little While...and Peter...

"...know that your fellow believers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."
~ Peter

U2 In Solidarity With The Iranian People...

Deep Calls To Deep...

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Iran must release or try US hikers held without charge for a year | Amnesty International

Iran must release or try US hikers held without charge for a year | Amnesty International

US Hikers Were Seized in Iraq | The Nation

US Hikers Were Seized in Iraq | The Nation

Free The Hikers Rally in Duluth, July 31, 2010

July 31, 2010 marks one year of detainment for 3 American Hikers | FOX 21 Online

July 31, 2010 marks one year of detainment for 3 American Hikers | FOX 21 Online

One Year Anniversary of American Hikers in Iran | Northland's NewsCenter: News, Weather, Sports | NBC, CBS, MyNetworkTV, and The CW for Duluth MN / Superior WI | Local News

One Year Anniversary of American Hikers in Iran | Northland's NewsCenter: News, Weather, Sports | NBC, CBS, MyNetworkTV, and The CW for Duluth MN / Superior WI | Local News

‘Bar Church’ brings new ministry to unusual setting in Two Harbors | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota

The story was picked up by the Duluth News Tribune and appeared in this Sunday's edition of the paper.

‘Bar Church’ brings new ministry to unusual setting in Two Harbors | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota

FREE THE HIKERS!

FREE THE HIKERS!

Bar Church from MPR Radio...

An unlikely venue for a church service: the local bar | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ

An unlikely venue for a church service: the local bar | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ

‘Bar Church’ draws a crowd | Lake County News Chronicle | Two Harbors, Minnesota

‘Bar Church’ draws a crowd | Lake County News Chronicle | Two Harbors, Minnesota

My Place Tonight...At Pizza Luce in Duluth with Brooke at Michelle's Going Away Party...

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My Place Today...At The Depot on 1st Ave. Mpls with Amber...

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Some Thoughts and Bar Church...

"Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."
~ Jesus (John 7:37b-38)

Michelle Singing...



Well I haven’t blogged for awhile, have been busy with life – reading some, working ambulance shifts, making a few trips back and forth between Minneapolis and Two Harbors and hanging out with the girls and Cade.

As far as reading goes over the last few weeks I have read, Not the Religious Type: Confessions of a Turncoat Atheist, by David Schmelzer, The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard and Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer – all great books!

This past Sunday was the first Bar Church Gathering at Dunnigan’s Pub in Two Harbors and it went very well! Inspiring music, community, talk about the true thirst quencher, sharing of stories of life, coffee, donuts, food, drinks. The Kingdom of God breaking through!

Michelle Jordy sang and played guitar and shared some of her journey with everyone…we will all miss her as she is leaving this Friday to move to Atlanta to minister to the homeless and drug addicts and do street ministry.

One of the barishioners wrote this on her Facebook after the gathering,

“They open (Dunnigan’s) at 11 for church. It was a great service too. Mostly it is a good place to sit back and meet new people and kind of find yourself again. It’s not traditional, its not judgmental, but more a relaxing and accepting community of people that would normally not be together sharing their lives and helping each other. Overall, this was the best Sunday morning in a very long time for me.”

All that were there thought everything went very well and we are going to keep meeting on Sundays and continue to see and experience what God is and will continue to do.

More stories will be coming soon…hopefully…

Here are some of the barishoners hanging out after the gathering...

My Place Today...

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My Place Today...

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My Place Today

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My Place Today

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My Place Today...

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Buechner on Worship...

“Phrases like Worship Service or Service of Worship are tautologies. To worship God means to serve him. Basically there are two ways to do it. One way is to do things for him that he needs to have done - run errands for him, fight on his side, feed his lambs, and so on. The other way is to do things for him that you need to do – sing songs for him, create beautiful things for him, give things up for him, tell him what’s on your mind and in your heart, in general rejoice in him and make a fool of yourself for him the way lovers have always made fools of themselves for the one they love.

A Quaker Meeting, a Pontifical High Mass, the Family Service at First Presbyterian, a Holy Roller Happening – unless there is an element of joy and foolishness in the proceedings, the time would be better spent doing something useful.”

Community, The Imago Dei, and "...the words of the prophets...."

While at the Thirsty Pagan last Wednesday night I noticed something written on a piece of paper behind the bar up on the wall - and the lyrics from a Simon & Garfunkel song, The Sound of Silence came to mind,

"'The words of the prophets
are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.'
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence…"

What was written on the wall there was this, "Religion is for people that are afraid of going to hell and spirituality is for people who have been there..." I thought about that and realized the profoundness in it and then I wanted to change one word to make it more true and relevant. So I re-wrote it with Jesus rather than spirituality.

So now it is, "Religion is for people afraid of going to hell and Jesus is for people who have been there..." Simon and Garfunkel were right about where you may find the words of the prophets?

"Blessed..."

“The religious system of his day left the multitudes out, but Jesus welcomed them all into his kingdom. Anyone could come as well as any other. They still can. That is the gospel of the Beatitudes.
Just look at the list of the ‘written off,’ of the ‘sat upon, spat upon, ratted on.’ It is interesting that Simon and Garfunkel got Jesus’ point in their old song, even though many of us ‘scribes’ miss it."

~Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy



Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit
Blessed is the lamb whose blood flows
Blessed are the sat upon, spat upon, ratted on
O Lord, why have you forsaken me?
I got no place to go
I've walked around Soho for the last night or so
Ah, but it doesn't matter, no

Blessed is the land and the kingdom
Blessed is the man whose soul belongs to
Blessed are the meth drinkers, pot sellers, illusion dwellers
O Lord, why have you forsaken me?
My words trickle down, from a wound that I have no intention to heal

Blessed are the stained glass, window pane glass
Blessed is the church service makes me nervous
Blessed are the penny rookers, cheap hookers, groovy lookers
O Lord, why have you forsaken me?
I have tended my own garden
Much too long

~ Simon and Garfunkel, Blessed

A Cup Of Grace...Revisted...

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
~ Psalm 34:18 TNIV

I have been reading Dallas Willard’s, The Divine Conspiracy and this afternoon I came across a couple of interesting things that he wrote in light of this blog “A Cup of Grace” and especially the original inspiration for the blog. Almost a year ago now, while on a short-term Youth Works mission trip to inner city St. Louis I was struck by what I have borrowed from Brennan Manning – the notion of the "divine milieu." Manning wrote, “Living by the gospel of grace leads us into what Teilhard de Chardin called the divine milieu – A God filled, Christ-soaked universe. A world charged with the grandeur of God. How do we live in the presence of the living God? In wonder, amazed by the traces of God all around us.” In a similar way Willard commented on the world in which we live in this way, “Jesus’ good news about the kingdom can be an effective guide for our lives only if we share his view of the world in which we live. To his eyes this is a God – bathed and God – permeated world.”

Each morning while on the missions trip I would wake up early and make a pot of coffee and in a quiet corner of the old run down Baptist church that we were all staying in I would sip my first coffee of the day and there was grace in it and it brought some peace and clarity before I would read and pray. It was in those early morning moments that the idea of “a cup of grace” first came to my mind – the grace was tangible. This was, I believe, a result of the experiences in, or an awaking to, or an increased awareness of the “divine milieu “or “a world charged with the grandeur of God” and in that cup of coffee or at least in the space that the time drinking it provided each morning there was grace.

In connection with those mornings in St. Louis I found these words that Willard wrote interesting:

“The novelist Vladimir Nabokov writes of a moment of awakening in one of his characters who, watching an old woman of the streets drink a cup of coffee given to her,

...became aware of the world’s tenderness, the profound beneficence of all that surrounded me, the blissful bond between me and all of creation; and I realized that joy…breathed around me everywhere, in the spreading street sounds, in the hem of a comically lifted skirt, in the metallic yet tender drone of the wind, in the autumn clouds bloated with rain. I realized that the world does not represent a struggle at all, or a predacious sequence of chance events, but shimmering bliss, beneficent trepidation, a gift bestowed on us an unappreciated."

(Quoted in Dallas Willard’s, Divine Conspiracy, p. 62 from Vladimir Nabokov, from his story “Beneficence,” as quoted in Books and Culture, November/December 1995, p. 26.)

"Space and Grace...II"

"Space and Grace..."

Independence Day...

"Jesus' Declaration of Independence: 'Loose Your Life, Become a Servant, Pursue the Kingdom.' THAT, folks, is REAL freedom!!!"
~ Greg Boyd

Welcome to Steiger International

Welcome to Steiger International

RELEVANT Magazine - God. Life. Progressive Culture. - For (Too Much) Love of Country

RELEVANT Magazine - God. Life. Progressive Culture. - For (Too Much) Love of Country

Wake Up...Stay Awake..."Ya, sure...I'll go..."

"The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."
~ Paul from Romans 13:11 TNIV



“You ever have that feeling where you are not sure if you are awake or still dreaming?”
~ Neo

“Ya, sure…I’ll go…”~ Neo

Trinity...

The Birth of Two Kingdoms: A Fourth of July Reflection : Greg Boyd

The Birth of Two Kingdoms: A Fourth of July Reflection : Greg Boyd

Maggie..."Know, You Are Loved...As Are All That Are In The Dirt"

"While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?' On hearing this, Jesus said, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'"
~ Matthew 9:10-13 TNIV



“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”
~ John 19:25 TNIV

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.”
~ John 20:1 TNIV

“Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb…”
~ John 20:11 TNIV


“Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her.”
~ John 20:18 TNIV

Jesus...

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
~ Jesus



"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."
~ Jesus

"Only in their own towns, among their relatives and in their own homes are prophets without honor.”
~ Jesus

Kris Kristofferrson....They Killed Him....

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
~ Matthew 11:18-19 TNIV

Hmmm...Thoughts From Tonight...And What It Is All About - Not Law But Amazing Grace...

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?’ declares the LORD. ‘These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.’”
~ Isaiah 66:1-2 TNIV

"My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
~ Psalm 51:17 TNIV

“A Message from the high and towering God, who lives in Eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I live in the high and holy places, but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed, And what I do is put new spirit in them, get them up and on their feet again.’”
~ Isaiah 57:15 The Message

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” ~ Matthew 5:3 TNIV

"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory."
~ Matthew 12:20 TNIV

Divine Milieu...Kris Kristofferson And The Highwaymen - Help Me Make It Through The Night...

Divine Millieu...Kris Kristofferson with The Highwaymen - The Best Of All Possible Worlds...

"I said, 'It's nice to learn that ev'rybody's so concerned about my health.'
Cause there's still alot of drinks that I ain't drunk
And lots of pretty thoughts that I ain't thunk..."
~ Kris Kristofferson