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The first question here really rubbed me the wrong way. After thinking about it for a bit I think that the right-wing [really annoying people] have tried to ram this "kirche und kinder" [stuff] down our throats, and I responded with some anger at what I felt were the underlying assumptions to some of the questions that were asked. I ended the response with what I felt was the reality of the North-American vision of what "home" was. I do believe that our living space, and what we put into it and the amount of time spent maintaining it and the stuff in it can become an idol, and that idolatry is encourage by the society around us. I feel like the Christian American Dream is just the secular American dream with a little fish stamped on the corner.
20. What do you feel is the importance of the home in the Christian scheme of things?
I am not sure I understand the question. Do you mean the home as an institution, as a concept, my home, your home? By the Christian scheme of things do you mean the middle class white suburban Christian scheme of things or do you mean the lower class ghettos of the Third World Christian scheme of things?
The home means different things to different cultures, and they each partake of the image of God and the sinful nature. It is our job to remember that our Savior didn’t have a home. “Foxes have their dens and birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” And to carefully examine our homes and concepts of home for divergence from His Kingdom’s culture.
The home, as I have felt called to live into it, is a place where rest, nurture and hospitality occur. I think that other people may be called to live a home life that looks different than mine, for example not everyone has the gift of hospitality.
The home can be an important place, but can also become an idol that takes our attention off of God.
21. What vital elements, in your understanding, are necessary to sustain and nourish
one’s own spiritual life?
Prayer, study, prayer, times specifically set apart for being alone with God, being involved in the mission of the church, did I mention prayer? Seriously, our relationship with God requires a great deal of intentionality. If we wish for that relationship to grow we must invest the same things that we would in any other relationship based on deep love.
22. How does your loyalty to Christ relate to your commitment to Friends?
Christ has called me to be committed to the part of His body called the Friends. After reading the teachings of the Friends I have found that in reality I have always been a Friend, I just didn’t always know it.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Next few very controversial questions
Now we are getting into the meaty questions. In a couple of weeks, I am going to be interviewed, and expect my responses to these questions to be questioned more deeply.
16. What are your convictions in the area of Stewardship?
There are two areas of stewardship that need to be constantly relearned.
1) Money – My wife and I spend time every month going over our budget for the next month. We budget for our responsibilities, bills, gas, tithes, food etc. After we determine our responsibilities we also budget for savings. We usually have between $300 and $600 left after those things. We budget about $60 for dates and $40 for fun, then I pray and ask God who needs the rest, and we give it to who God leads us to.
2) Time – Nothing tells you your priorities like looking at your schedule. “Am I using the time that I have in the way God has called me to?” is the question that I ask, and struggle with. I am doing much better, but finding a balance between the responsibilities God has given me and my need for rest is a difficult task.
17. How would you state your own position in regard to the respect for human life?
I believe that human life is a gift from God. I strive for a consistent ethic that affirms the sanctity of life. I firmly believe that being concerned with life goes beyond the question of existence to “Do I in my actions and words affirm the image of God carried in every human being?”
18. What does it mean for you that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?
I should decorate it better. Seriously though, I think that we can very easily abuse our bodies in the name of getting God’s work done. I am not in the greatest physical shape ever, and I have come to see that when I am not healthy and taking good care of my body I am not as able to do the work that I am called to well.
We are set apart for the work of God, and we need to care for our bodies well.
19. What do you think should be the contemporary Christian witness to human
sexuality in the light of Scripture and the current debate?
I think that the Church needs to have a consistent witness to sexual ethics. I think the church is getting caught up in a pointless debate, of course the accepted lifestyles of our culture are not Godly! Welcome to the way things have always been. How is it such a shock that the people who come to church are sinners in need of a hospital? We have a lot of plank/speck stuff going on right now. Is the church just as vocal about ALL forms of extramarital sex and pornography? I think our best witness is to treat every person who walks through the doors of our churches the same way Jesus treated us when He first met us.
16. What are your convictions in the area of Stewardship?
There are two areas of stewardship that need to be constantly relearned.
1) Money – My wife and I spend time every month going over our budget for the next month. We budget for our responsibilities, bills, gas, tithes, food etc. After we determine our responsibilities we also budget for savings. We usually have between $300 and $600 left after those things. We budget about $60 for dates and $40 for fun, then I pray and ask God who needs the rest, and we give it to who God leads us to.
2) Time – Nothing tells you your priorities like looking at your schedule. “Am I using the time that I have in the way God has called me to?” is the question that I ask, and struggle with. I am doing much better, but finding a balance between the responsibilities God has given me and my need for rest is a difficult task.
17. How would you state your own position in regard to the respect for human life?
I believe that human life is a gift from God. I strive for a consistent ethic that affirms the sanctity of life. I firmly believe that being concerned with life goes beyond the question of existence to “Do I in my actions and words affirm the image of God carried in every human being?”
18. What does it mean for you that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?
I should decorate it better
We are set apart for the work of God, and we need to care for our bodies well.
19. What do you think should be the contemporary Christian witness to human
sexuality in the light of Scripture and the current debate?
I think that the Church needs to have a consistent witness to sexual ethics. I think the church is getting caught up in a pointless debate, of course the accepted lifestyles of our culture are not Godly! Welcome to the way things have always been. How is it such a shock that the people who come to church are sinners in need of a hospital? We have a lot of plank/speck stuff going on right now. Is the church just as vocal about ALL forms of extramarital sex and pornography? I think our best witness is to treat every person who walks through the doors of our churches the same way Jesus treated us when He first met us.
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