Simple Kingdom Theology

I recently talked to a friend of mine about a concern his family shared about our church's practices. You know, the happy conversations we like to have with our loved ones. The shared concern was that our community practices the art of liturgy and that, to them, it was a work of righteousness from "dead religion." This has not been the first time I have heard a complaint about liturgy, and it will certainly not be the last. Two years ago, I was a student chaplain at ORU and was required to lead a weekly devotional discussion with the guys in my dorm. Towards the end of our first meeting, I pulled out printed copies of a liturgy I found in my book of  Common Prayer . I thought this action would help unify us as a dorm community as we lifted up one unified prayer to Christ. However, I was confronted by a wide-eyed freshman who wanted to know if I was Catholic and if he needed to move hallways. He had already taken the time earlier that week to point out that I was weari...

"The stocking were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there." -  Twas the Night Before Christmas  by Clement Clarke Moore Stockings and presents are fundamental hallmarks of Christmas time. It is hard not to become giddy at the sight of gifts wrapped up, tied, and gently placed under the warmly lit tree. We all look forward to Christmas morning when we can tear open the crisp wrapping on the gifts that our loved one have picked out for us. The anticipation is almost unbearable to children: I am sure that a lot of us at one time or another asked, "Aw! please, please, please, can we open just one?" The gifts are ours, they have our names on the tags, they are promised to us. However, they are not ours  yet  but are to be opened on Christmas day. What would have happened if the children in Moore's poem did not put their stocking up for Santa? Would he have still given them the good things that were theirs since he now had no...

It was a not-so-silent night, and I doubt that all was calm. It certainly was a holy night— holy means different, and different could mean “weird,” right? And it was technically bright, but mainly to the shepherds who were scared out of their wits by that angelic host. So, no, I don’t think, “Silent Night, Holy Night” is a fair telling of what really went on when God came into the world. And now that I’ve deconstructed your mother’s favorite Christmas carol, let me cut to the chase: The night we sing about— but only after Thanksgiving— and celebrate on December 25th, was not what we so often make it out to be: quaint, soft, white—like a Thomas Kinkade painting or one of those Precious Moments angel figurines. If you can find it in a Hallmark store, it’s probably not Christmas. Rather, when God came into this world, it looked entirely different from what our brains are ready to imagine. It was gritty and tense. There was political intrigue and social stigma. Honestly, it looked...

It is the most wonderful time of the year. With Thanksgiving at a close, it is time to break out those grandiose sweaters, watch terrible Hallmark movies, and listen to Sufjan Stevens'  Silver and Gold. It is officially the Christmas season. I love this time of year. However, as much as I love sugar cookies, hot chocolate, and watching Elf  every chance I get, that is not why I love this time. To me, it is the spiritual events taking place I will stop you here before you stop me. This post is not a cliche "reason for the season," "war on Christmas," or "putting Christ back in Christ mas" articles that annoy the living parasites out of us. While I love baby Jesus and the incarnation, December 24th/25th is just the beginning of what is going on. December 2nd marks an important day for Christians. It is the start of the Advent, which is the start of the entire Church calendar. To me, just as the nativity narrative sheds light as to why we have ...

I am currently in my final year at Oral Roberts University as an undergraduate student. As a result, I am spending much time working on my Senior Paper. The primary text for my Senior Paper is John 18:33-19:16a, and one of the themes that is central to not only this specific passage, but the entire Gospel of John, is the theme of "truth." John's Understanding of Truth The Gospel of John is unique from the other three Gospels in the New Testament; whereas Matthew, Mark, and Luke--commonly referred to as the Synoptic Gospels--are incredibly similar to each other in narrative arc and shared content, John stands somewhat alone in his storyline and his content. For example, while the word "truth" (in Greek, it is alēthia ) appears only 7 times in all three of the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John uses this word a total of 25 times!  What, then, does John have to say about "truth"? And also, what does he mean whenever he uses this word?  Usua...

I was first introduced to Lectio Divina a little less than a year ago in a college class on prayer. Since then, I have used Lectio Divina to move from intellectual knowledge about scripture into an encounter with the Divine One. Lectio Divina is Latin for “Divine Reading” and is a practice which combines prayer and scripture reading. This method of meditating on scripture is rooted in the Benedictine order of Catholicism, and it emphasizes reading the word of God to know the one who is the Word (John 1:1). In his letter to the Romans, Paul wonderfully illustrates the heart behind Christian prayer which consequently is also the heart behind Lectio Divina. Romans 8:26–27 Paul states:  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of Go...

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, For the sake of your steadfast love and faithfulness," (Ps 115:1–2) In the year 1610, Galileo Galilei was looking through his telescope and noticed that Venus has full phases of orbit similar to the moon. This observation led him to discover the common understanding today that the earth revolves around the Sun. Galileo had the realization that the planet he lived on, with him included, was not the proposed center of the universe. Sometimes I think we can spiritually be in a place similar to 1609. Maybe I am alone in this, but I love being in control. I love having power and being complimented on the individual skills I hold. Does it not feel good to win a competition? The throne of power is immensely tempting to sit on. However, I know for sure two things happen when I sit on it. First, I view myself more highly than others, an...