Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Tabula Rasa
I heard the song a couple of years ago. It was by Al Denson and the title was unusual, Tabula Rasa. It's meaning should be clear to every Christian because when we come to Christ, we get one. Tabula Rasa means "clean slate." It's what happens when we are born again. The old has gone and the new has come. That is how the song applies the message, but today I want to suggest a new application. Tabula Rasa for the church.
What do I mean? Well , what would the church look like if we started over with a clean slate. What if we examined the way we do everything. What if we trimmed the fat? What if we ground our sacred cows into hamburger and directed ourselves away from our man made traditions? What it we measured everything we do, every program we run, every ministry we try too do and measured them against the Word of God and the example of Christ? What would happen? How would the church look and would the world (remember the ones Jesus came to save, the ones God loved enough top give His son for?)? Would the resulting product be a more pleasing bride to the Lord? Dream with me for a moment or rather, dream with God. After all it's supposed to be about Him, isn't it. When as the last time you asked God what His dream was for your church? In all of our visioning for the church, is that ever taken into account? My thought is that this kind of thinking will rock the church to it's very foundation, it may not be for the faint of heart, it will irritate the comfortable but isn't that what Jesus did? Do you have the guts to go to God and say what do YOU want the church to be? Will you make that a matter of prayer for you? And will you follow His leading when He gives you an answer?
At my church we have taken the first step. I call it the Tabula Rasa challenge. I placed a blank canvas on an easel at the front of the church and stocked it with markers and paints. The challenge is this. The congregation has been asked to pray that very prayer, "What do YOU want this church to be Father?" They are then asked to create their picture of what God is showing them. This will be our reminder of God's vision for the church. Of course everything will be checked against the Word of God ad the example of Christ. So far We have a representation of art, symbolizing the use of our individual gifts in service and worship of our God, the vision I got was a red cross, like the logo for the Red Cross, symbolizing the fact that our church needs to be a place of healing, the third symbol is a heart symbolizing a place where people can come and find the love of Christ. It is an unfinished piece a work in progress but when it is finished it will represent God's vision for our church.
We have determined to upset the apple cart and slay any sacred cows we find. We are determined to be Tabula Rasa to the glory of God. How about you?
(0) comments
I heard the song a couple of years ago. It was by Al Denson and the title was unusual, Tabula Rasa. It's meaning should be clear to every Christian because when we come to Christ, we get one. Tabula Rasa means "clean slate." It's what happens when we are born again. The old has gone and the new has come. That is how the song applies the message, but today I want to suggest a new application. Tabula Rasa for the church.
What do I mean? Well , what would the church look like if we started over with a clean slate. What if we examined the way we do everything. What if we trimmed the fat? What if we ground our sacred cows into hamburger and directed ourselves away from our man made traditions? What it we measured everything we do, every program we run, every ministry we try too do and measured them against the Word of God and the example of Christ? What would happen? How would the church look and would the world (remember the ones Jesus came to save, the ones God loved enough top give His son for?)? Would the resulting product be a more pleasing bride to the Lord? Dream with me for a moment or rather, dream with God. After all it's supposed to be about Him, isn't it. When as the last time you asked God what His dream was for your church? In all of our visioning for the church, is that ever taken into account? My thought is that this kind of thinking will rock the church to it's very foundation, it may not be for the faint of heart, it will irritate the comfortable but isn't that what Jesus did? Do you have the guts to go to God and say what do YOU want the church to be? Will you make that a matter of prayer for you? And will you follow His leading when He gives you an answer?
At my church we have taken the first step. I call it the Tabula Rasa challenge. I placed a blank canvas on an easel at the front of the church and stocked it with markers and paints. The challenge is this. The congregation has been asked to pray that very prayer, "What do YOU want this church to be Father?" They are then asked to create their picture of what God is showing them. This will be our reminder of God's vision for the church. Of course everything will be checked against the Word of God ad the example of Christ. So far We have a representation of art, symbolizing the use of our individual gifts in service and worship of our God, the vision I got was a red cross, like the logo for the Red Cross, symbolizing the fact that our church needs to be a place of healing, the third symbol is a heart symbolizing a place where people can come and find the love of Christ. It is an unfinished piece a work in progress but when it is finished it will represent God's vision for our church.
We have determined to upset the apple cart and slay any sacred cows we find. We are determined to be Tabula Rasa to the glory of God. How about you?
Seminary
A friend asked me about whether or not I had a seminary degree. This was my response.
In answer to your seminary question. No I don't have one of those or any other for that matter. I got through high school, knew I was going to be an artist, but my parents refused to support the idea of me going to art school As a result I went to school for electronics engineering. Lasted a year, flunked out and began my training in the hard knocks art academy. This basically involved me working insane hours to do what I loved, sometimes people paid me and sometimes they didn't. I did all kinds of jobs to support my habit everything from designing grocery circulars to stage backdrops and just about everything in between plus a lot of "real jobs." Eventually art became a major idol in my life and I had to give it up for six month. It was cold turkey. It was after that time that my work became "His." When I got the call to ministry, I began working out of the Bible and studying a lot. Eventually I enrolled in our denominations academy program which is a three year night school for people who are second career ministers. That's how I ended up getting ordained. In fairness while I don't have a formal degree, the people that taught these courses were fantastic and extremely knowledgable.
Some days I feel like I should go to seminary, but most of the time I think that would be more to satisfy man's expectations than God's. Right now just keeping all the irons that I have in the fire keeps me too busy to think about it. In the mean time my goal is to spend time at the feet of Jesus and allow Him to qualify me. He has been ultra faithful so far. My lack of formal training forces me to take God at His Word and over all I think that can be a very good thing.
(0) comments
A friend asked me about whether or not I had a seminary degree. This was my response.
In answer to your seminary question. No I don't have one of those or any other for that matter. I got through high school, knew I was going to be an artist, but my parents refused to support the idea of me going to art school As a result I went to school for electronics engineering. Lasted a year, flunked out and began my training in the hard knocks art academy. This basically involved me working insane hours to do what I loved, sometimes people paid me and sometimes they didn't. I did all kinds of jobs to support my habit everything from designing grocery circulars to stage backdrops and just about everything in between plus a lot of "real jobs." Eventually art became a major idol in my life and I had to give it up for six month. It was cold turkey. It was after that time that my work became "His." When I got the call to ministry, I began working out of the Bible and studying a lot. Eventually I enrolled in our denominations academy program which is a three year night school for people who are second career ministers. That's how I ended up getting ordained. In fairness while I don't have a formal degree, the people that taught these courses were fantastic and extremely knowledgable.
Some days I feel like I should go to seminary, but most of the time I think that would be more to satisfy man's expectations than God's. Right now just keeping all the irons that I have in the fire keeps me too busy to think about it. In the mean time my goal is to spend time at the feet of Jesus and allow Him to qualify me. He has been ultra faithful so far. My lack of formal training forces me to take God at His Word and over all I think that can be a very good thing.
