This is the first in a 3-part article called "The New Missional Paradigm"; it's something of a manifesto on the intersection of church, community and business management.
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While God has every right to punish us, he instead took the punishment upon his own self, scandalizing himself with the love that he has shown us. Why would he do this? Because our eternal purpose is to be loved by God. Since God has loved us, we can now reflect that to our children. Consequently, fully engaged intimacy with our children is the single most effective method of behavioural correction we will ever find. We can provide no better preparation for a life of loving God, than by setting this stage of intentional, loving, un-discipline. What our children need is to be honoured by us, to be served by us, to be 100% engaged by us.
Read MoreIn 2007, Maija and I moved to Finland, and I've been working from home ever since. What started as a 3-month trial that we assumed wouldn't work, has become a litmus for my organization; both our Executive Director and our CFO now work remotely, commuting back to the office only every few weeks. I'm lucky enough to get to stay home most of the year :) On my last few visits to the office I've been struck by the differences in what can be accomplished in the office, and at home. I recently came across a post from Justin Wise, asking for product suggestions that could help remote workers. It got me thinking about the things I have to do intentionally, as well as the things my office counterparts struggle with. I'll share briefly some of the things I've learned, and then respond to Justin's request for products that would help.
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King David enjoys status higher than a lot of Christendom and Judaism's other heroes and figureheads. Even Jesus is called the Son of David. I've been thinking recently how much this exposes flaws in modern Western Christianity. Somehow, King David managed to be the only person in the Scriptures that God said was a man after his own heart. Countless books have been written about David, or following the model of David, or otherwise encouraging a Davidian element in our lives. Obviously he is venerated and held in hugely high regard. And yet, we know that in a moment of passionate love for his God, he ran naked and nude down the main street of town. We also know that in a moment of passionate lust, he raped a man's wife and then murdered her husband. Rock on!
Read MoreFor as long as I can remember, I have valued open and clear communication. I strive to communicate myself clearly and concisely, and I am frustrated when I fail to communicate myself, or when I witness mis-communication. I firmly believe that friendships, families, corporations, and governments function BEST with the minimal limits to their communication, [...]
Read MoreWhat if Jesus hanged out with prostitutes, corrupt tax collectors, and other sinners… not because he primarily wanted to convert them, or because he wanted to illustrate some lesson, allegory or principle…but because they were his friends, and he loved them. Thoughts inspired by nakedpastor. [...]
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I look forward to the day when people, en masse, realise that they don’t need to (and can’t) do anything to earn God’s favour, and start to simply live with Christ (rather than for Christ). This is from Wayne Jacobson’s book – He Loves Me – via my good friend Dallas. The emphasis is mine. As you...
Read MoreIt’s become my conviction that fundamentally we are not supposed to follow the Ten Commandments. I mentioned this in my post about The Shack… the perspective that I fundamentally follow Christ, and he may lead me where he wills. I want to dig into that a bit here, because I think choosing to follow the [...]
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