|
to our web journal for serious
Christians who want
more.
God has been revealed ultimately in
the incarnation of the Son with
nothing less & no substitutes
than the whole of God. How well we
grasp the who, what and how of God's
action to make known the whole of
God for relationship, the deeper our
relational response can be to
involve ourselves with God and thus
to truly know God and live together
as the experiential reality of God's
family. For this relational process
to be of functional significance, it
must be without reduction -- that
is, nothing less and no substitutes,
just as God responded to us in Jesus
Christ.
As defined in our statement of
purpose above, this journal is
established to get to the heart
of our whole person, to develop
intimacy in our relationships
(first with God, then with others)
and to practice church as the
family of God among ourselves
and in the world. Discipleship, when
not reduced, brings all of these
together in God's whole,
fully understanding what it means to
be true followers of Jesus Christ --
specifically in the relational
context and process of the
relational progression in which
Jesus constitutes his
followers. Thus, authenticity of our
person, in our relationships and as
his church are core issues which
will be addressed ongoingly in this
journal. And whether you have a
modernist mindset or worldview or
tend toward postmodernism, you will
be stirred by change as well as
challenged to change --
specifically, redemptive change in
which old matters need to be let go
and allowed to die before the new of
Christ can be raised up to
experience. Those of you who
seriously want more in your
relationship with Jesus and seek him
particularly for the experiential
elements of your faith and for
deeper relational significance in
your journey with God, both
individually and corporately, will
benefit from study in this
journal. Additionally, those seeking
further and deeper understanding of
how our faith needs to function in
the world will be challenged, if not
confronted, by the overlapping
studies available to engage not only
as an individual but together as the
body of Christ.
Yet, keep clearly in mind:
To be
informed about God
is the study of Scripture and
theology, to
know, truly know, God
is the work of intimate
relationship.
Too much Christian practice has been
reduced to substitutes for the
vulnerable incarnation of Jesus
(especially between the manger and
the cross), or to settling for less
than God's intimate presence. Under
these conditions Christian identity
becomes ambiguous or shallow, both
among ourselves and in the world. If
we are to get beyond "simulations"
in our relationship with God and
beneath "virtual realities" in our
practice to the root realities of
our faith, we have to engage God
directly in the vulnerable
self-revelation "in the face of
Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6) while in his
Word. The following interrelated and
overlapping studies are provided to
help us more clearly perceive the
face of Jesus to be able to be
relationally involved with him
directly (without substitutes and
simulations) in order to truly know
him and to experience God's deepest
desires for his people (without
settling for less or virtual
realities).
While these studies overlap, each
has its own emphasis, whether
focused more on practice or
theology. Yet, all the theological
discussion is presented to function
in practice. Whatever study you
undertake, we encourage you to
engage each of these studies in
sequence because the chapters are
progressive. Pray to anticipate
God's deeper presence in your life
and for the Spirit's further
transformation of your mind and
heart.
Spirituality
STudy:
click here
Authentic spirituality is only about
intimate relationship with the
triune God; intimacy is defined as
hearts open to each other and coming
together. Following Jesus,
Knowing Christ: Engaging the
Intimate Relational Process
focuses on developing this
relationship with Jesus whose
life, person and words,
particularly between the manger and
the cross, incarnate and thus
establish God's design and purpose
for us -- the relational context,
the relational process and
relational progression to the
Father. A Study Guide & Growth Plan
is also provided to assist your
involvement.
Essay on Spirituality is also
now available.
click
here
Discipleship
study:
click here
Discipleship is one of those
Christian words or concepts that has
been used loosely, defined in
various ways or simply ignored in
individual and corporate practice. The
Relational Progression: A Relational
Theology of Discipleship
formulates the relational imperative
for all followers of Jesus (both
individually and corporately) and
gives coherence to all the various
theological aspects of the
transcendent God vulnerably engaging
us for intimate relationship as his
very own in his eschatological
plan. Thus, discipleship integrates
spirituality and Christian community
in God's whole.
Wholeness
Study:
click
here
The pursuit of wholeness, or at
least the interest in it, can be
observed in different movements of
the global community. How Christians
have perceived of wholeness and
practice being whole have been
problematic, notably due to the
influence of reductionism. The
Person, the Trinity, the Church: The
Call to be Whole and the Lure of
Reductionism
formulates a theology of wholeness
based on the whole of God
constituted in the Trinity and
signified by the triune God's
ongoing response to our condition to
be apart from the whole -- the whole
of God in whose image our design and
purpose are created. God's
response was ultimately fulfilled in
the incarnation of Jesus, who is
the hermeneutical key
to the whole of God. In God's call
to us to be whole, Jesus is also
the functional key to intimately
bond with the Father as the whole of
God's family, which the Spirit is
bringing to completion in God's
eschatological plan. These roots
form the basis for any discipleship
and thus for all Christian
spirituality; yet, the lure of
reductionism has been a formidable
challenge to our practice to be the
whole of God.
Essay on Wholeness is also
now available
click here
Christology
Study:
click here
The portrait of Jesus we carry
around to give definition to our
Christian faith often does not
coincide with the whole of Jesus'
person in the Bible. Yet, we are
willing to make commitment to, build
churches with, go out on missions
for and proclaim a gospel about an
identity of Jesus, our perceptions
of whom tend to be incomplete,
perhaps even distorted and
ironically overly christocentric.
Such is the common consequence, for
example, when we detach his
teachings, examples, principles and
practice from the whole of his
person. This disembodies these
aspects of Jesus and thus fragments
their significance constituted to be
whole by the incarnation of the
whole of God and God's thematic
relational response to the human
condition.
Sanctified Christology: A
Theological & Functional Study of
the Whole of Jesus is a
theological and functional study
that seeks to fill or correct the
gaps in our understanding of Jesus
(both in churches and the academy)
to complete our Christology. This
study overlaps with our other
studies, yet it provides the central
theological basis necessary for all
of them and the necessary base for
coherence in the various aspects of
our theology. This is the
integrating nature of a complete
Christology, the grasp of which and
whom requires our involvement in
ongoing reciprocal cooperative
effort with the Spirit.
Paul Study:
click
here
The study of Paul has been an
adventure for biblical and
theological studies since the
Pauline corpus emerged--an adventure
in which some have gotten lost in a
theological wilderness and many have
plodded in a textual maze.
Understanding Paul has been elusive,
if not an enigma, while grasping his
thought and theology has been a
trial-and-error process, if not an
exercise in endless speculation.
Yet, Paul's prominence in Scripture
and importance for the Christian
faith and church remain in our
thinking despite the gap in
understanding the whole significance
of Paul. The Whole of Paul and
the Whole in His Theology:
Theological Interpretation in
Relational Epistemic Process
involves the study compatible for
both addressing critical issues
necessary to help close this gap and
engaging the vital process needed to
open the hermeneutic door to the
whole of Paul and the whole in his
theology.
Theology of Worship:
click here
When Jesus disclosed that the Father
seeks those who will worship "in
spirit and truth," (Jn 4:23-24), he
defined what is primary to God for
worship--our reciprocal relational
response to and vulnerable
involvement with him. This is in
contrast and conflict with the
assumptions we make about our
person, God and worship, assumptions
from which we give him something
less and some substitutes of
secondary significance. Yet, Jesus
ongoingly challenges and pursues us
for deeper relational connection
together to compose his new creation
family as experiential reality, in
which we can 'sing' a new song to
the Lord. This study, A
Theology of Worship: 'Singing' a New
Song to the Lord
examines these issues for this
relational outcome.
Worship
Perspectives: click
here
Worship is our fundamental
relational response to God and thus
is our essential involvement with
God in all we are and do. The
following perspectives and songs can
be helpful to you to go deeper into
the relational context and process
of worship--not as an activity-end
in itself but rather as more
intimate response directly to God
with relational clarity and
relational significance.
|
We want to hear from you!
Please feel free to
contact us,
share your thoughts,
questions, feelings. Let us
know if we can support you
further. We hope, we pray
that all contained here will
serve to edify, challenge
and encourage Jesus'
disciples, in order to build
up Christ's body, God's
family, the church. We are,
after all, sisters and
brothers in Christ, but
these truths need to become
functional for our practice. |
©2011
back to top
Hosted by Webnet77
|