Completed "The Jesus Creed"

"The Jesus Creed" by Dr. Scot McKnight proved to be a great read all the way through! It was one of those interactive reads where you are forced to pause, reflect, examine, repent, and then act. In Chapter 21, "Surrendering In Jesus", Dr. McKnight wrote, "Surrendering ourselves to love God is not giving up things for God so much as giving ourselves to God." In another post I previously stated that I was using "The Jesus Creed" as sort of a road map on my Lenten my Lenten journey. The aforementioned quote proved to be a rest stop, a place to camp out a bit and repent. During lent we think of things to give up, which is not a bad practice, but the call is to give up ourselves. It was a good reminder of God's claim upon my life, the whole of my life. The whole of my life includes my time, resources, decisions, family, rights, and I'm sure you get the point. It is the call to a very old word known as devotion, it is the consecration of ones' self to God. After all That is the Jesus Creed, To love God with our entire self, and to love others as our self! Check it out for yourself!

The Jesus Creed

As a part of my Lenten Experience, I have meditating and trying to live out the Jesus Creed. For those of you who don't know, The Jesus Creed is a book written by New Testament scholar Scot McKnight. The Jesus Creed is simply the Jewish Creed, the Shema combined with loving your neighbor as yourself.

"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." [Deut. 6:4-5]
[And now Jesus adds a verse from Leviticus. 19:18.]
"The second is this: "Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these."

In his book, Dr. McKnight encourages readers to use the Jesus Creed as guide toward spiritual formation. He believes that this creed was the core of all that Jesus taught and exemplified. He writes, "For Jesus, love of God and love of others is the core. Love, a term almost indefinable, is unconditional regard for a person that prompts and shapes behaviors in order to help that person to become what God desires. Love, when working properly, is both emotion and will, affection and action."

Needless to say this book is proving to be a challenging, and a prophetic read. It continually calls me back to that original human task, reflecting the Image of God.

LEGENDS...

Growing up "the son of a preacher man" meant that I spent incredibly long hours in Church. Sometimes it was frustrating but the majority of the time it was full of excitement, comedy, and adventure. When it came to giving advice, no one beats the legendary Sam Benas. Watch the video (courtesy of Myron Boyd) to get a glimpse. This is an old video of a service taking place in the Church I grew up in! The one and only Mt. Carmel Holiness Church in Chicago.

A Long Hiatus .......

What's happening people? Since I last blogged much in my life has changed. For starters I am no longer living in Roc City (Rochester, NY), but my family and I have left the east coast to settle in the midwest. We are now living in Ft. Wayne, IN. I know what you're thinking........"How in the heck did that happen?" Don't feel bad, my wife and I often wake up asking ourselves the same question. In short in I accepted the invitation to serve as a youth pastor for a community here, and my life has been a wreck ever since...not really!

If anyone ever tells you that whenever you decide to follow God, that everything will go perfectly.."Don't Choo Believe It!" Ask Abraham, Elijah, Paul, or just ask Jesus! We looked intensely for several months to find a house or an apartment and we came up short each time. Either it was out of price range, too small, or it was just sold! As you can imagine we were terribly frustrated, with no place to call home, some generous folks opened their home to us. We have been living with them for 7mths now, and we have learned a great deal about hospitality and generosity. They have not only opened their home to us, but they have opened their lives to us. They have taught us what it means to hang on to possessions loosely! They, truly recognize everything they have as a gift from God, and part of their enjoyment has been watching my family and I enjoy their home. To be honest folks I don't know if I could do this before meeting them. You see I enjoy community but doggonit what's mine is mine! The Feays' have truly shown us what God is like. How did they do this? Not by opening a Bible, but rather opening up their lives. As you all know I am not against opening the Bible, but I think that too often we forget that God is continuing to write His story in our hearts within the context of our own lives. I guess community is not just sharing space or things, but more so the sharing of our lives. I wonder what kind of story we live out for others to read? Anyways all this to say this blog is now back open!