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.
 

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