Abide

Okay so I have going to this group on Sunday nights that they call DOXA. I know I should know what that means, but I don't. For all I know it could mean sell your soul, give you money and sacrifice a goat but I don't think so. Last Sunday we sat around and talked about the idea of the vine and branches that Jesus used to illustrate what it meant to be one of His disciples, as recorded in John 15. We were also given the assignment of reading that chapter and meditating on that illustration over the course of the week, to see what stood out to us individually. For me, I have continued to chew on the picture of what a grapevine looks like. When I look at a plant, whether it be a tree, bush, shrub or vine I don't see pieces - I see the whole thing. Meaning, yeah a tree is made up of a trunk, roots, branches, leaves and seeds - but it is all still a tree. Also, with the passing time the whole structure continues to grow and sooner or later, even though in your mind you know that it all started with a seed you can't help but see the tree as being completely connected as a whole entity. Another way of saying it is; the top branch is connected not only to the trunk but also to the bottom branch as well as the deepest root. The youngest seed is connected to the oldest leaf, etc. Now if Jesus is going to decompartmentalize the plant by saying that He is the vine (or trunk) and we are the branches then it is not only true that we cannot separate ourselves from Him, but we would not be able to separate ourselves from one another as well because through Him we are all connected. And this whole paragraph is a rant that I didn't mean to focus on so I will move on now.

What I did want to focus on was the idea of being grafted with Christ and what that means in our day to day lives. It is the whole idea of being able to truly say that in my life there is no way to pinpoint where my life is separate from Christ, or as Paul put it in Galatians 2:20; "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer life, but it is Christ who lives in me". Is it true that I can be so intimate with Christ that my life really is an extension of His life on earth and if so, what does that look like? The following is my opinion and, as always, please know that you are invited to share yours as well (and yes agreeing with me and sharing it will go along way to boost my ego). I truly believe that the key to the ministry if Jesus, and the work of God on earth, is recognizing and seizing the opportunities as they present themselves. Jesus said clearly that His ministry was "watching what the Father was doing and doing likewise". The miracle of Jesus was that, in the records we have of Him, He always knew the right thing to say or do to the right person at the right time. Even in His willingness to be martyred for the sake of humanity, it wasn't until the right time. It is widely known that some of Jesus' travel to certain regions was to avoid other regions where He would have been hunted down as well as instances where He fled through the crowd as they were going to stone Him or throw Him off a cliff. Other times we have recording where He walked into entire communities of the sick and impoverished and only heals a few and then leaves. Also in His teaching, there were times where He was very direct in what He was saying and other times where He spoke in riddles. All of this to say that Jesus was the master of recognizing what was needed in each particular situation.

I would even say that was the difference in the ministry of the disciples pre and post Pentecost. Pre-Pentecost we see instances where the disciples either failed to recognize an opportunity because they were focused on meeting their own needs (ie John 4) or they recognized the opportunity but failed to see what was needed for the situation (ie Matthew 17). On the other hand, the first half of the Book of Acts is dedicated to telling the stories of how the disciples reacted to situations they found themselves in. I would submit that the "Filling of the Holy Spirit" was/is not for the purpose of endowing the disciples of Christ with the abilities to react in supernatural ways. The purpose is to endow the disciples of Christ with the ability to recognize, just as Jesus did, what God is doing in the world around us and to act accordingly.

So, back to the original question; "What does it mean to Abide in Christ?" To me it means this, 1) Recognize the fact that as I am grafted to Christ, I am also grafted to everyone else who is "called according to His name". 2) To be a "minister" of Christ means to live my life as normal and as I am doing that when I see the opportunity to extend His hand or speak His words, do so knowing that as I do - He does. 3) Maturity in Christ means to recognize more and more the opportunities to rest in the knowledge of both 1 and 2.

Neviusology 227

Where I have been

First of all, sorry for not posting anything in almost a month - I haven't felt like I really have had anything to say. I feel like have been in a place of pensiveness for the past few weeks and I am happy to say that it has been a place that I have not tried to shy away from. During this silent period I have also taken, what I believe to be, a few steps forward in my spiritual journey. One of the reasons I agreed to move back to NJ was because I felt like it was time to take some "steps of faith" in regards to connecting with a community of faith and after about 6 months I can honestly say that I have a sense that the community we have aligned ourselves with is where we feel comfortable to "flesh out" what it means to be apart of a community again. So, I have continued to have conversations with John and Beth Jackson and they have graciously allowed me to join in with their leadership team for "The Sanctuary". What this means, I have no idea. At this point, I am not leading anything or really even "doing" anything. I basically just sit there and try to provide comedy relief by being sarcastic - something that I have always been very gifted at! I am still not really interested in "leading" anything, but I do believe that I have the responsibility to be involved with the community I align myself with and I thank the people at the Sanctuary for: 1) Not pushing or rushing Erica and I to be apart solely based on our previous experience. 2) Respecting the fact that we are still learning how to guard one another (and Kayla now as well) but still be open to life in a community. 3) Not pushing us away from being involved and observing the involvement of others until we feel ready to jump in head first. It is truly because of these things that we have been comfortable enough to move forward at all. I would also like to take the opportunity to restate my opinion that just because I talk about moving forward in my spiritual journey and being involved that does not mean that I am moving towards "full-time ministry" (meaning, collecting a paycheck from a non-prof org. again). I really have no idea what I am saying right now or what I mean by the last statement, maybe that is why I have been pensive lately - because I am silently excited about the safety I feel to figure things out and the freedom to move forward as I see fit, but at the same time a little apprehensive of where that might lead. With all that I am I want to live and breath truth but at the same time I don't want to wall myself off from those desire to hear it from my life. I just wish I knew what that looked like. To quote someone that I deeply respect, the statement that has haunted me since I heard it - "In the absence of light, darkness prevails - so I am out trying to save the world...".

To all that read this, Thank you for your grace.

Neviusology 226

Experiment

Okay, this week I am going to try something new. I was very inspired by the way people responded to the post "Heed "the Call"", probably because it only inflates my massive ego. Anyway, what I am going to do with this post is ask a question and see if a conversation can begin from it. I usually use this space to rant (and yes try to start trouble at times), but let's see what happens if i hold back on sharing were this question cames from and just pose it to you the reader.

Have you ever come to the point in a particular project, or maybe life in general, where you realized that you could go no further on shear talent or previous knowledge alone?

So Long Stallion!

Okay so if you have ever had more then a 10 minute conversation with me you know that I live and die by the Rocky movies (except Rocky V, that just sucked!). And, if you have ever had more then a 10 minute conversation with me about Rocky you know that I have always considered them to be parables of life and have sought to gleen ever bit of meaning out of them (except Rocky V, that just sucked!). So, of course I went to go see the new one and yes - it made me cry about 3 1/2 minutes into it.

Since I have clung so hard to these movies all my life I have come to see the character of Rocky (Not Sly mind you) as a reflection on myself. Yes, it is true that I have always seen myself as the underdog and I still believe that if you live your life with passion and go after you dreams with all that you are, refusing to let anything stop you, that you will truly be successful and inspire others to do the same along the way. As Rocky puts it so elequently in his current chapter "Life is a fight and it is not how hard you hit that matters. The true measure of a man is how many times he will get up after life hits him with all that its got". Anyway, in the first few minutes of the movie you realize that Adrian has pasted a way and that this is going to be the underlying current of the movie. This made me ball because, if you have watched that other movies you can see that above everything else Rocky's greatest victory was his relationship with Adrian and that his drive stemmed from that relationship as well. (ex. in Rocky 2, Rocky wasn't able to give it his all until he had Adrian's blessing). Yeah you know where I am going with this, my relationship with Erica directly paralells this. So, watching Rocky sit at Adrian's grave made me think about what life would be like without Erica and yes the reality is that it would suck worse then Rocky V.

As I continued to watch the movie I realized more and more how this series has always been more then just movies to me and that even through all the cheezy parts (Rocky IV, when Rocky is draped in an American Flag in the middle of Moscow saying "If I can change and you can change then we can all change"), I have adopted the drive to never give up. Now in no way does that mean that I would attempt to enter a boxing ring (I might be impulsive, but I am not punchy), but I truly appriciate the stories that we have been able to experience with Rocky of the past 30 years. He has led us through the end of the 70's when stories still meant something to a movie, then he walked with us through the 80's when no one cared about stories and only wanted blockbuster action and flash. He disappeared through the 90's when people only wanted better special effects and realistic violence and has returned to us in the 00's when the reconstruction of storytelling has emerged. Yeah the fight scene is ridiculous and down right awful, but it follows the plot line and builds to the climatic end when Rocky walks out of the arena to thunderous chanting and gives his final bow.

Thank you Rocky. Thank you for all the lessons taught and for giving me something to smile while encouraging me to keep running. Thank you for the food poisoning I got when I was a kid because I drank raw eggs. Thank you for showing me how to catch a chicken and that it is okay to go to the zoo in the winter. Thank you for teaching me how to bounce a rubber ball while I walked and for showing me that selling out by selling my image is truly being punchy. Thank you for teaching me that true humility is accepting the advice of those who were once you enemy and that even loosing the ones that you love can't hold you back if you don't let it. Thank you for goign out like a champ and not letting Rocky V be the end of your legacy because honestly, it just sucked.

Sincerely,

Eric "The Irish Stallion" Nevius

Neviusology 117

Kayla's first published work

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Heed "The Call"

Okay now lets begin by establishing some background on this topic. The opinion I am about to share has been something that has been brewing in me ever since I decided to step away from "Ministry". It is fueled by every conversation i have with well meaning folks who try to convince me to "get back in the ring, because God has a powerful CALL on my life". I have held back from sharing my opinion because I thought it would only cause trouble or people would only take it as something that I feel for now because of the circumstances that led to me stepping down. I can honestly say that neither one of thise are true and that I do not mean to cause trouble but it is time for me to just express this the way that I see it. The thing that led me to boil over on this subject was a news report on how the Archdioses of Philadelphia is launching this new recruitment campaign called "Heed the Call" because their numbers are far below what they need and in some instances there are Fathers who are pastoring two parishes due to lack of numbers.

Enough background, let me just say it- There is no such thing as a "Call" into full time ministry. It is simply a career choice that people make in the same way that people decide to be doctors or lawyers or teachers. That is all, no hocus pocus about God choicing some and not others. Also, to focus on such a "call" is manipulation by the church to convince young people who are passionate about wanting to do something for God into joining its ranks. The church in that way is a business and it is a sad thing that it has to resort to emotional and spiritual manipulation to recruit instead of looking to recruit like any other business would.

By my writing this I am not saying that there is no such thing as a call to ministry. Scripture is very clear that there is such a thing, but it is for everyone. 1 Peter coined the term "Priesthood of all believers". It is the responsibility of everyone who "believes" to minister to their neighbor (everyone they come in contact with).

It is my opinion that this mindset of being "called" into full time ministry is one of the core misconceptions that has led to the downfall of the American Church because it inevitably underminds all that Christ intended for His Church. The following are ways that it does such.

First it creates a higharchal society by saying that the person that the church has hired to be its "leader" has a special "annointing" and therefore a special connection with God that most others in the church do not have. I have seen this taken to the extreme in certain church movements where it is believed that to "Build God's Kingdom on Earth" means to build the biggest and baddest church on the block. One filled with nightclubs and bowling alleys to attract people to it. This mindset believes that if we put a Starbucks in our Santuary and throw midgets to raise the money for it then God will be happy and bless everyone (pastor and staff first of course) with earthly abundance. Sorry, I vented there for second - now back to what I was saying. One of the main teachings of this style of church is that "God has appointed the pastor and it is the congregations responsibility to submit to the will of the pastor in order to see the church grow". I know it has been about 2 years since I really sat down and studied Scripture, but doesn't it say somewhere that submitting ourselves to anyone or anything but God is an abomination and that allowing a person or thing to take the image of God is idolatry?

Next, it takes the responsibility of ministering out of the hands of the congregation because now they have someone who is "called" and paid to do it. They are a professional and someone in the congregation might mean well but they don't have the training or schooling to minister as well as the pastor would so let's leave it to him/her. Question; "Didn't Jesus' disciples get ridiculed constantly for not having the proper training to be speaking and acting the way that they were? One of the constant complaints of pastors who lead churches are that they consistently struggle with getting people to get involved. The two reasons most people say that they don't "get involved" with what their church is doing is 1) Time (which is something that I will rant about in a few minutes) and 2) They feel like they are not qualified. Since when did you need a degree to love others? Maybe if the church leadership didn't subconsciencly communicate an "Us and Them" mentaility this problem would resolve itself.

In addition, it leads to more manipulation. Since the previous two statments become so evident in church culture, one of the main tools that a full-time minster will use to get people to donate either their time or money is to give lengthy sales pitches of how the persons life will be changed and/or blessed by giving what is being asked. These pitches often include examples of how others have received their blessings by doing such. Often these examples are of people who couldn't afford to give but did anyone as a way of convincing those who feel they are in the same position. Think about it, all this is is a spiritual info-mercial. I can flip through the channels on any given night and hear the same shpeal; someone started from nothing and found a way to make millions quickly and now wants to sell that secret to me (but of course the first 30-days are free). In the same way, I can walk into almost any church on Sunday and hear a story about someone having nothing but giving it to the church and now they are blessed beyond their wildest dreams (but of course visitors shouldn't feel obligated to give).

Finally, this mindset leads to undermining the family. Because of the marriage of career and spirituality, it often turns into a sence of "I am only a successful Christian when I am a successful Pastor". This minset is deadly to a family because ministry only stops when life stops and that is yet to happen. There is always more that can be done and when you are the one or one of the staff that gets paid to minister, "I am ministering to my family" is not a valid excuse to "call out". If you are not there to meet the needs of your congregation, they will find someone who is whether that means replacing you or finding another church altogether. If that happens then there is no one to give which means their is no one to support your "calling". So, eventhough you have missed time with your family for two weeks in a row - you have to cancel again. But don't worry they understand that you are "special" in the eyes of God and they will be satisfied to have what is leftover of you. The solution to this is to train your family to minister with you so that when you are called away the whole family comes and never gets a moment of rest just like you, but hey you are all together. I know this last paragraph has been more sarcastic then intellectual, but that is because intellectually the whole idea of sacrificing your family for anything is silly. Yes, I understand that the potential exists in all careers to sacrifice those you love for success and I know that this happens all the time. That is why I don't think that making ministry a full-time career choice is a wise move because statistically it has a higher potential to burnout the family then someother careers and that I think is sad.

To all that read this, may God grant us the wisdom and grace to minister to those around us. May He also grant us the decernment to recognize those who are only about building their own little kingdom. Finally, may He grant peace to those who give of themselves and strength to put their families ahead of their careers no matter the cost.

May His grace cover you in tangible ways.

Neviusology 116

Teaser

I just wanted to throw this up real quickly to show that I haven't died or abandoned thinking. Now that the holidays are over and I have the oppurtunity to collect my thoughts I am in the process of penning out my latest brain ooze. For the one person who actually reads this (thank you Erica) I figured i would take the oppurtunity to give a quick preview of the rant that is soon to hit the press. My next post will deal with my opinion of "God's call" and it is sure to be rated E-13 for violence to mainstream thought and suggestive themes toward rethinking what you have claimed to believe.

Good will and peace to all

Eric