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Kingdom and Empire.

For those of you looking for reads on the issue of the Kingdom of God and the Roman Empire, here are some places to start...

Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus [Thomas Cahill]
Matthew and Empire: Initial Explorations [Warren Carter]
In Search of Paul: How Jesus' Apostle Opposed Rome's Empire with God's Kingdom [John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed]
Jesus, Justice, and the Reign of God: A Ministry of Liberation [William R. Herzog II]
Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as the Pedagogue of the Oppressed [William R. Herzog II]
Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder [Richard A. Horsley]
The Message and the Kingdom: How Jesus and Paul Ignited a Revolution and Transformed the Ancient World [Richard A. Horsley and Neil Asher Silberman]
Paul and Empire: Religion and Power in Roman Imperial Society [Richard A. Horsley]
The Liberation of Christmas: The Infancy Narratives in Social Context [Richard A. Horsley]
Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans [Peter Richardson]
Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire [Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat]
The Seven Cities of the Apocalypse and Roman Culture [Roland H. Worth, Jr.]
The Seven Cities of the Apocalypse and Greco-Asian Culture [Roland H. Worth, Jr.]

The book, however, is Christ and the Caesars by Ethelbert Stauffer. Incredibly hard to find, but well worth the effort... it's a gold mine, the holy grail!

Ye Olde Church BBQ.

Does church function better with food? In an effort to answer the age old question, we hosted a bbq at our place for South County United last Sunday night. Here are a few pics... notice the happy, happy people. Hhhmmm...

Jewish Reading List.

For those of you who have been asking for some reading on the Hebrew mindset, here are some great reads. [Sorry for the long list.. I got a little carried away!] Anyway, just pick out a few that seem of interest and then move on from there. Ones that are must reads, or are great places to begin are marked... Enjoy.

Texts and Commentaries
JPS Torah Commentary Set [Nahum M. Sarna, editor]
The Chumash:The Stone Edition [Rabbi Nosson Scherman and Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, editors]
Everyman's Talmud: The Major Teachings of the Rabbinic Sages [Abraham Cohen]
The Spiritual History of the Dead Sea Sect [David Flusser]
The Five Books of Moses [Everett Fox]
The Bible as it Was [James L. Kugel]
The Mishnah: A New Translation [Jacob Neusner]
The Essential Talmud [Adin Steinsaltz]
Jewish New Testament Commentary [David Stern] - a must have!
Complete Jewish Bible [David Stern]

Judaism
The Gift of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels[Thomas Cahill]
Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses [Bruce Feiler] - an easy, fascinating read!
These are the Words: A Vocabulary of Jewish Spiritual Life [Arthur Green]
God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism [Abraham Joshua Heschel]
The Sabbath [Abraham Joshua Heschel]
I Asked for Wonder: A Spiritual Anthology [Abraham Joshua Heschel]
Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians [Lawrence Kushner] - must read, right now!
Eyes Remade for Wonder: A Lawrence Kushner Reader [Lawrence Kushner]
The Book of Words: Talking Spiritual Life, Living Spiritual Talk[Lawrence Kushner]
God Was in This Place and I, I Did Not Know: Finding Self, Spirituality and Ultimate Meaning [Lawrence Kushner]
Biblical Literacy: The Most Important People, Events, and Ideas of the Hebrew Bible [Rabbi Joseph Telushkin] - another must read!

Jesus and Judaism
Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus: New Insights from a Hebraic Perspective [David Bivin]
Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts [John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed]
Sketches of Jewish Social Life [Alfred Edersheim]
The Life and Times of Jesus Messiah [Alfred Edersheim]
Jewish Sources in Early Christianity [David Flusser]
Jesus [David Flusser]
Judaism and the Origins of Christianity[David Flusser]
Jesus and Judaism [E.P. Sanders]
Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith [Marvin R. Wilson]
The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is [N.T. Wright]
The Jews in the Time of Jesus: An Introduction [Stephen M. Wylen]
Jesus the Jewish Theologian [Brad H. Young]
The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation [Brad H. Young]

Stuff for Your Mind.

More stuff from the catagory of "a mind is a horrible thing to waste"! Enjoy and be stretched...

For those of you who love the teachings of Rob Bell, here's a link to some video of his teachings at Willow Creek. Props to Robin for the heads up on the link.

An excellent dialogue with Brian McLaren and others from PBS on the emerging church. Part one is an interview with Brian, while part two is a panel conversation.

If you have not been exposed to the teachings of Dwight Pryor... you've been missing out! I've been following his teaching for a while now. There are a couple cool downloads on his site. In addition, he does this week long intensive teaching in community called the Haverim School of Discipleship in the fall, which I'm taking a serious look at. Check it out. [Anyone up for a trip to Grand Rapids in November?] There is also an online learning community called the Haverim Study Community which looks intriguing.

Teachings from Robert Farrar Capon. Incredibly insightful stuff... enough said.
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin
The Father Who Lost Two Sons

Engaging Culture Redemptively.

Here's an amazing post from Mike and Craig at XXXChurch.com about their trip to Erotica LA. I think that these guys are doing some of the most amazing ministry, truly engaging culture where it is with the message of the wholeness and restoration. From knowing these guys, I know how much hate email they get over what they are doing. I'm a huge fan of what they are about. I wish there were more people who thought so far outside the box, they forget there was a box to get out of...

Props to Mike and Craig for all they are doing in bringing the message of Jesus to a world that needs to hear the message of freedom... Also, the picture of Wally the Wiener is just classic! [What will the boys think of next?!?]

Something about the Ocean.

Spent the day with the family at the Ocean Festival in San Clemente. Jamie had to work the morning, so the kids and I went down to eat at La Galette and met up with Jamie when she got off. This was the first time we've hung at the Ocean Festival. Very cool. The "grassy knoll" area was filled with art and other vendor booths, including a guy who custom designs rugs shaped like surfboards.

We spent the rest of the day as a family walking the pier, watching the surf contests, and enjoying the water. The red tide is gone, and the waves were going off. It was so refreshing and energizing to just be, to hang with the kids in the surf, throwing sea weed at each other, and enjoying God's creation. The girls and I let the waves crach into us, seeing how long we could stand without being moved. They laughed and giggled so hard. I kept saying, "Why are you squeeling like little girls?" Then I realized... they are little girls. Hhhmmm.

There's something about the ocean for me. It reminds me of what life is all about. Being in the ocean reminds me of God's immensity and his love for us. Floating in the water you feel a part of something so much bigger than yourself, something more powerful than yourself. You become a part of it - distinct, yet somehow in union with it. Like a wave that is distinct from the ocean itself, yet of the same substance. It is different from the ocean, but is a part of it. So it is with us and God. We are distinct from him, but are of his image. Gotta do some more thinking about the ocean metaphor.

Anyway, I need to get some sleep as Josh and I are heading out in the morning to sample some early am surf. Should be great.

Tillich on Truth.

Finishing up The New Being by Paul Tillich and came across these thoughts on the nature and reality of truth. Consider this...

But for those of us who dare to face the question of truth may listen to what the Fourth Gospel says about it. The first thing which strikes us is that the truth of which Jesus speaks about is not a doctrine but a reality, namely, He Himself: "I am the truth." This is a profound transformation of the ordinary meaning of truth. For us, statements are true or false; people may have truth or not; but how can they be truth, even the truth? The truth of which the Fourth Gospel speaks is a true reality - that reality which does not decieve us if we accept it and live in it. If Jesus says, "I am the truth," he indicates that in Him the true, the genuine, the ultimate reality is present; or, in other words, that God is present, unveiled, undistorted, in His inifinte depth, in His unapproachable mystery. Jesus in not the truth because His teachings are true. But His teachings are true because they express the truth which He Himself is. He is more than His words. And He is more than any word said about Him. The truth which makes us free is neither the teaching of Jesus nor the teaching about Jesus. [pgs. 69-70]

How do we reach this truth? "By doing it," is the answer of the Fourth Gospel. Doing the truth means living out of the reality which is He who is the truth, making His being the being of ourselves and of our world. And again, we ask, "How can this happen?" "By remaining in Him" is ther answer of the Fourth Gospel, i.e., by participating in His being. "Abide in me and I in you," he says. The truth which liberates is the truth in which we participate, which is a part of us and we a part of it. True discipleship is participation. If the real, the ultimate, the divine reality whcih is His being becomes our being we are in the truth that matters. [p. 71]

Many at all times and in all places have encountered the true reality which is in Him without knowing His name - as He Himself said. They were of the truth and they recognized the truth, although they had never seen Him who is the truth. And those who have seen Him, the Christians in all generations, have no guarantee that they participate in the truth which He is. Maybe they were not of the truth. Those, however, who are of the truth and have encountered Him who is of the truth have one precious thing beyond the others: They have the point from which to judge all truth they encounter anywhere. [pgs. 73-74]

Absolutely brilliant. It reminds me of something a friend told me once. Perhaps truth is not something to capture, but something [or someone] to be captured by.

Thoughts?

Images from Ensenada.

As promised... a couple pics from Ensenada [props to Mike and Mark for the pics!]

Fellow Bloggers at TEAM.

I've been teaching at the TEAM Conference all this week, which has been energizing. The conference is designed for high school junior and senior leadership caliber students. It's been a full week of diving into teachings on the kingdom, the way of love, first century culture, the nature of the scriptures, and a whole host of other concepts. I've loved the sessions because people are so hungry to learn and be stretched. The questions being asked are incredible, as people are really opening up and asking the questions that really matter. Very freshing to be a part of such an event.

For an additional glimpse of the conference, here are some fellow bloggers I've run into here this week...

i am paradox
plunge
spiritual regurgitations
Living in the Kingdom
Answers to Life's Tough Questions
david@revolution

Mexico and the Smiley Box of Love.

A couple weeks back, our tribe spent a week in Ensenada with the good folks from Mexico Outreach from Azusa Pacific University. For those of you who do not know much about APU's Mexico Outreach, it's a pretty amazing ministry. During various times during the year they take students from all over North America into Mexico, linking them up with local churches and ministries for a week of service. What I love about the ministry is that is it not about the week per se, but about making connection between youth ministries and local churches and ministries in the Ensenada area. Their goal is to make long term relations connects for the Kingdom. Cool stuff and an amazing week. The Mexico Outreach staff took pics, so as soon as I get my hands on some, I'll post a few images from the week.

What made the week was linking up with the high school ministry from Presbyterian Church of the Master from our area in Mission Viejo. We hung out with them for a few days of ministry. They were working on building the roof/foundation for a second floor on a church on the outskirts of Ensenada. What was amazing to our family was how they took us in as family, especially Josh. Josh was so impressed with the ministry that he asked Jamie and I if he could go with the team [without Mom and Dad] back to the church to work for the day and finish the job! Mission accomplished... as one of the reasons we went was to expose our kids to the Kingdom life, a Kingdom that is so much bigger that living in America, and especially in South OC.

While there I also met some of the most amazing people from the Mexico Outreach office - Michael Schoon and Wayne Randolph. Great thinkers and great people. During the day we'd hop in a van and tour the ministry sites, getting a feel for what kind of ministry people were involved in. During our van rides we talked theology, culture, social justice, and a ton of other things. I have to say that the week was perhaps the most energizing that I've had in quite a while. Thought provoking and relationally refreshing.

In the midst of our conversation, Wayne turned me on to Good News About Injustice from Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission. I've had quite a few people tell me about the book lately, so I figured I better get a copy from those fine people at Amazon.com and feed my addiction a little more. Looking forward to diving into it in the near future. I've been thinking about the essential role of justice in the life of the Kingdom, so hopefully this will spark some more thoughts. Stay tuned...