I recently read this: http://www.tektonics.org/af/christianmyths.html

“God is my buddy, Jesus is my friend. The modern hymn calls Jesus a “friend” and some may appeal to a verse in John where Jesus calls his disciples “friends”. But the understanding of the word is decontextualized. People of the time of the Bible did not “get to know” each other as modern persons in the West do. A “friend” meant a person who looked out for your practical interests — not someone you had beer and watched football with.

But really, even a more common view can be misleading. Many evangelists speak of a “personal relationship with Jesus”. The phrase is used to mean something not too far from the “God is my buddy” idea, in essence meaning we can talk to Jesus any time, and so on. If I had to correct this, I would say that what is required of us is a patronal relationship with Jesus. The NT explains our relationship with God in terms of a client-patron relationship, one in which God, patron, is remote; and Jesus, as a broker, mediates between ourselves and God. Then we do have the indwelling Holy Spirit as a broker as well; but though the Spirit supplies us with mediation and perhaps power, there is nothing to show that the Spirit is some sort of intimate conversation partner. And finally, since people of the ancient world seldom “got to know each other” personally (as is taken for granted in modern, Western society) there is no way that NT writers could have had an idea like a “personal relationship with Jesus” in mind in the first place — not as we perceive it.”

It doesn’t say where the guy gets this idea from… so I’m not sure, but what concerns me is his attack against using the words “personal relationship with Jesus.”  If Jesus doesn’t mean “friend” in John 15:15 in the same way that we think of when we read the word “friend” then obviously the translators are missing something.  I tend to doubt the guy because if it didn’t mean “friend” in the same way that we think of the word “friend” then why didn’t the translators translate the word as “associate” or something like that.  I think that would fall within the semantic range of the greek word filov . Of course the lexicon lists “friend” as the first meaning for the word filov .

To all the greek scholars out there… do you agree with this guy?  Is the word “friend” decontextualized and if we recontextualize it for our modern day setting,is the meaning more along the lines of patron or associate? 

Do English Ministry congregations in Chinese churches make an impact on their community?  Do you know examples of mature english ministries that are still attached to Chinese speaking congregations that are actively impacting their communities?  Do you admire any english ministry congregations and are there any churches that we as a Chinese church should look to as a model? 

Yesterday at church, there were two guys who were smoking outside our church.  I think they were hispanic, though I cannot be sure.  They drove up in a Civic SI.  I noticed them, but didn’t think much of them.  They were workers in a neighboring business since our church is in a commercial complex.  Joe asked me the question, “Who are those guys?  Do they go to the church?”  I knew the implication of the question.   Our church should be impacting their lives for Christ. 

Do you know any english ministries in Chinese churches that as a whole impact people other than middle class/upper middle class educated Chinese on a regular basis?

“Come on, you know what I mean…”

Those are words that come from a person who doesn’t know the power of words.  We might know what you mean, but we probably don’t KNOW what you mean.  Words do not just communicate a message, they also motivate and inspire.  Some words might communicate the bare minimum of meaning, whereas if you chose a better word, it would communicate a FULLNESS of meaning. 

Do you know what I mean?

The definition of Fundamentalism according to wikipedia :

Fundamentalism originally referred to a movement in North American Protestantism that arose in the early part of the 20th century in reaction to modernism (see below, “History”), stressing that the Bible is literally inerrant, not only in matters of faith and morals but also as a literal historical record. This original “fundamentalism” holds as essential to Christian faith five fundamental doctrines:

1. the inerrancy of the Bible,
2. the Virgin birth ,
3. physical resurrection ,
4. atonement by the sacrificial death of Christ, and
5. the Second Coming .

Hmm, I don’t consider myself a fundamentalist, but maybe I should… according to this definition.

Check out my version of the diet sandwich.  No mayonaisse, no oil, no cheese.  Ingredients are:  whole wheat bread, turkey, grean leaf lettuce, tomatoes, peperoncini and mustard.

Total calories: around 300.

I ate two of them and it tasted a lot better than the Subway diet sandwich.  I think its because of green leaf lettuce rather than iceberg lettuce.

I tried the Subway diet sandwich… no cheese, no mayonnaise, no oil.  That stuff supposedly doubles the amount of calories you take in.  The sandwich tasted kinda gross.  It tasted like iceberg lettuce and cucumbers even though I had my favorite ingredients (pickles and banana peppers)…

“The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for 1) the numerical growth of the Body of Christ in any city, and 2) the continual corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a city.  Nothing else–not crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, growing mega-churches, congregational consulting, nor church renewal processes–will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting.  This is an eyebrow raising statement.  But to those who have done any study at all, it is not even controversial .” - Tim Keller

Wow.

I know its not meant to come across like this, but sometimes when people say “My Mom is the best Mom in the world!” or “My job is the greatest!” or “My church is so awesome!” its kinda like saying “and yours is not!” hahah.  Sometimes I feel like pointing out why that person’s mom is NOT the best mom in the world.  Or why their job isn’t that great, or why their church is not that awesome. 

Maybe its a byproduct of xanga and people announcing things that normally would not be announced. 

I firmly believe that Chinese-American Christians are SO SHELTERED.  I mean seriously we probably know of people who struggle to make ends meet, do drugs, have casual sex, are homosexual, are single parents, are divorced etc… but how many of us have deep meaningful relationships with those people.  I am just speculating, but typical Americans are probably surrounded by those things every day.  I know I view those things at a distance.

The Padres have the best run differential in the NL West.  Our pitching is the best pitching staff in the majors!

I’m going to a Padres game tonight.

BEAT LA!