you gotta just love ’em …
I got this email message today ...
Get away from earth with your godless emergent church, McLaren, perhaps to hell? Could you do it a little bit faster?!! It would help the rightious christians around the world, believing in the blood of Jesus Christ and not in Mystic from east and vatican, the door to hell..
What do you do with this kind of talk in the name of Jesus Christ and "righteous Christians?" Only one thing: don't respond to hate with hate, disdain with disdain, insult with insult, damnation with damnation ... but receive every "hit" with love and respond with love and blessing
When I do so, I realize that this person loves God (as he/she understands God), loves truth (as he/she understands truth), and loves his/her community (to which he/she must perceive me as a threat, even though I'm not). Sadly, his/her love for some things and people turns into something other than love for other things and people. But I can at least celebrate that there's love there, and I can seek to respond with love myself. Jesus said that out of the heart the mouth speaks, so rather than be offended by the words, I want to be compassionate for a heart that is so wounded that it must lash out like this. I don't know why, but I felt I should share these few thoughts today, in hopes they'll be of value to others who are the targets of this kind of religious speech, and maybe even for those for whom this speech is a first or second language. You don't have to live this way.
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just fyi – bargain alert
I just discovered that amazon is having a huge sale on my book Everything Must Change here. It's only $8.99.
This would be a great time to pick up copies for use in small group discussion ... together with the DVD study guide, which is $39.99 and very well produced.
And Secret Message of Jesus is also available for $5.49 here.
And Barnes and Noble carries my books in-store and online.
I've also posted sermon outlines for both books here on my site.
These kinds of studies might be especially useful during Lent. I think each would give Good Friday and Easter some new levels of meaning.
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quick update from central america
I'll be coming home in a few hours after a full and rich week in Costa Rica. Last weekend I was in San Jose speaking with the good people of Casona and Comunidad Pas and had the chance to catch up with my old friends Anthony and Ruth Chamberlain. It was also a great pleasure to work with another good friend, Junior Zapata, one of the funniest people and best speakers on the planet.
This week I've been with the good people of La Red del Camino in Fraijanes and Poasito, at the base of the Poas Volcano. This was the epicenter of the recent earthquake. It was sobering to see so many homes and farms damaged or destroyed ... and it was beautiful to see and hear the response of our host church here, Comunidad Cristiana Shalom, of which Roy Soto is pastor. They opened their facilities to become a shelter and feeding center. It's going to be a long process of rebuilding.
One theme especially caught my attention as I talked (in my serviceable but highly flawed Spanish) with many local residents. Several people mentioned to me "las vacas" - the cows. This is a farming community, and cows are important to them. In the aftermath of the earthquake, fences came down and farmers were in crisis, so the cows didn't get milked. This of course causes them pain and often leads to infections. Several people mentioned to me the haunting sound of cows in pain ... through the night and day ... until they were milked and given appropriate antibiotics. Several people also mentioned how in the aftermath of the quake, all the birds seemed to disappear for a few days. The people here prayed for the cows and they prayed for the birds to return (which they have now begun to do). Something about this struck me as ... good, and meaningful, and very human in the best sense of the word.
Next week I'll be in North Carolina, then at the National Prayer Breakfast, and then off to San Diego. Check my schedule for details if you want to come to the various events.
Also - if you're interested in being a virtual part of the NPB, you can do so for the first time online ... check here ...
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Live concert with Teresa Acquaviva
Listen to live tracks from a concert Brian and Teresa performed March 4, 1994:
1. Your Majesty
2. So Good to Me
3. Clues
4. Shirt of Cotton
5. Lord, Every Star
6. Criticize & Complain
7. Reminder Blues
8. If These Walls
9. Why God, Why
10. Broken Heart
11. Secret Thoughts
12. Sunken Corner
13. With My Whole Heart
14. Depersonalization Blues
15. Will You Keep Me
16. Never Be the Same
17. Give You Rest
18. Open My Heart
19. A Place Called Home
21. The Love of the Lord
22. A Woman Who Fears the Lord
Teresa Acquaviva is a long-time friend of Brian McLaren. She has recently released a new-age soundtrack instrumental CD called "Songs from the Border" with AMAdea Records. You can find her music at CD Baby or visit her Website for more information.
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Greetings from Costa Rica
I'm having a tremendous time with the Casona community in San Jose ... So many bright young leaders here. Tomorrow night I'll head to Fraijanes which was near the epicenter of the recent earthquake. Things there are still bad - I might be able to upload some pictures and share stories in a few days. In the meantime, I'm including a letter from my friend Roy who is a pastor there (after the jump).
0 Comments7 Minutes