Jonathots Daily Blog
(3476)
I have participated in thousands and thousands of …
Now, what shall I call them? For if I refer to these as “performances, shows or gigs,” religious people will give me the holy frown of disapproval because I have trivialized the spiritual significance.
But by the same token, referring to my efforts as ministry, worship leading or any other divine terminology makes me reek of pretension.
Of course, worst of all is the safe, but vanilla describer, “presentation.”
I run into the same problem when I try to decide whether to say a robust “Praise God” or a timid “thanks be to God.”
Do I go for the full dunk in baptism, or settle for some other plunk?
Should communion be unleavened bread, or a golden loaf?
Wine or Welch’s grape juice (which many denominations insist was Jesus’ preference)?
And I think the most intimidating crossroads of all is settling whether our Christian faith is ground in social commentary or revivalism.
That’s why the tambourine is pictured today. A tambourine can scare a Lutheran or a Methodist to death–almost as much as a printed bulletin with liturgy makes a Baptist tremble.
It just doesn’t seem to occur to us that defining the word “ministry” requires taking a long gaze into the lifestyle and actions of Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus was both contemplative and flamboyant.
He had the strange notion that the profile for what he did in blessing others was contingent on what they needed, and not confined to the Book of Common Prayer.
So to one person, he said, “Be healed.”
He touched lepers.
He spit on someone else.
He stuck his fingers in another person’s ears.
And he shouted to raise the dead.
He would have upset a lot of people.
Jesus didn’t worship miracles; he didn’t minister miracles–he performed miracles.
He showcased the Gospel in stories, told with colorful description and high-flung gestures.
The church has lost Jesus because it has focused on either social gospel or revivalism.
Jesus was the Son of God, who came to teach us how to get along with each other–with a tambourine in his hand.
So the good news is that we need both social commentary and revivalism.
The better news is, when we actually mingle the two, we suddenly become more relevant.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
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Jonathots Daily Blog 
Good News and Better News… October 30th, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3476)
I have participated in thousands and thousands of …
Now, what shall I call them? For if I refer to these as “performances, shows or gigs,” religious people will give me the holy frown of disapproval because I have trivialized the spiritual significance.
But by the same token, referring to my efforts as ministry, worship leading or any other divine terminology makes me reek of pretension.
Of course, worst of all is the safe, but vanilla describer, “presentation.”
I run into the same problem when I try to decide whether to say a robust “Praise God” or a timid “thanks be to God.”
Do I go for the full dunk in baptism, or settle for some other plunk?
Should communion be unleavened bread, or a golden loaf?
Wine or Welch’s grape juice (which many denominations insist was Jesus’ preference)?
That’s why the tambourine is pictured today. A tambourine can scare a Lutheran or a Methodist to death–almost as much as a printed bulletin with liturgy makes a Baptist tremble.
It just doesn’t seem to occur to us that defining the word “ministry” requires taking a long gaze into the lifestyle and actions of Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus was both contemplative and flamboyant.
He had the strange notion that the profile for what he did in blessing others was contingent on what they needed, and not confined to the Book of Common Prayer.
So to one person, he said, “Be healed.”
He touched lepers.
He spit on someone else.
He stuck his fingers in another person’s ears.
And he shouted to raise the dead.
He would have upset a lot of people.
Jesus didn’t worship miracles; he didn’t minister miracles–he performed miracles.
He showcased the Gospel in stories, told with colorful description and high-flung gestures.
The church has lost Jesus because it has focused on either social gospel or revivalism.
Jesus was the Son of God, who came to teach us how to get along with each other–with a tambourine in his hand.
So the good news is that we need both social commentary and revivalism.
The better news is, when we actually mingle the two, we suddenly become more relevant.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
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- Good News and Better News
- Good News and Better News--a quick review of Jonathan's previous performance, and what he discovers are he journeys.
on October 30, 2017 at 1:48 pm Comments (1)Tags: baptism, Baptist, Book of Common Prayer, communion, frown of disapproval, gigs, good news and better news, immersion, leper, liturgy, Lutheran, Methodist, ministry, performances, praise God, presentation, raise the dead, relevant, religious, revivalism, social commentary, tambourine, unleavened bread, Welch's grape juice, wine