God The Master Artist!

Every morning I wake up to breath-taking views of the Chesapeake Bay.  It seems every morning that God paints the sky with color and beauty reminding us of His creativity.  Creativity is something I really enjoy. I enjoy art, sculpture, architecture, wood craving, music, dance,  film, and other forms and expressions.  Whether its poetry, lyrics, metaphor, or stain glass windows, God gave each of us creative expression to communicate our stories, histories and the things we hold dear.

      

  In an age of post-modernism, story, metaphor, symbols, art, and creative expression has become necessary in an age when "words" take on new meanings.  John 1:1 opens with "In the beginning was the WORD."  When God began expressing words, worlds were created.  When we speak words- worlds are created also.  There is power in words but more importantly we need to understand words are limited.  There are worlds of expression.  St. Francis of Assisi once said, "Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words."  I love creativity.  I love coloring my world.  I love filling our home with music, art and story.  One of my favorite people, Phil Pringle, communicates the gospel through canvas painting and sculpture.   When you explore art you can assign meaning to it that might have a different meaning to you than the artist intended - however, it speaks to you!

   Art can become expressions of worship. Of course, many people in times past thought artist expression meant that people worshiped the art vs. expressed worship of our creator through art.  Recently, I learned some interesting backgrounds to folk art expressions done by Quaker Edward Hicks. Edward Hicks (April 4, 1780 – August 23, 1849) was an American folk art painter and distinguished minister of the Religious Society Of Friends. He became a Quaker icon because of his paintings.  
     In 1812 his congregation recorded him as a minister, and by 1813 he began traveling throughout Philadelphia as a Quaker preacher. To meet the expenses of traveling, and for the support of his growing family, Hicks decided to expand his trade to painting household objects and farm equipment as well as tavern signs. His painting trade was lucrative, but it upset some in the Quaker community, because it contradicted the plain customs they respected. Quaker beliefs prohibited a lavish life or having excessive quantities of objects or materials. Unable to maintain his work as a preacher and painter at the same time, Hicks transitioned into a life of painting, and he used his canvases to convey his beliefs. He was unconfined by rules of his congregation, and able to freely express what religious words could not.  His most famous paintings were a series entitled, "The peaceable kingdom."  In each of these paintings he painted differing expressions on his animal's faces to communicate what was going on in the Quaker community at the time of his paintings. But what is most interesting is how many times he paints William Penn making a treaty with Native Americans.  In one of his paintings he has Penn making a treaty under the natural bridge of Virginia.  I found this odd until recently when a friend told me a family story from Alabama. 
       A friend of mine learned that her family was saved during a massive conflict between her family and the native american population in the early 18th century.  Her grandfather told her the story of how the conflict was resolved.  Family legend has it that William Penn traveled down to Alabama and made a peace treaty between the native tribes and the family and the family was saved from a great massacre.  Wow! I thought this story might explain why Hicks put William Penn in so many of his paintings in differing places other than Philadelphia - making a treaty.
      Another great friend of mine, Australian evangelist Tim Hall, has also found art as his expression of his appreciation of Australian culture. Tim has funded many of his oversea ministry trips by painting and selling his art so he could minister in places no one else would go.

    So, recognizing the importance of art.  I envision myself over the next years finding ways to tell the story of what God has done here in Annapolis.  The last 10 years has been an incredible journey.  I am amazed how God has taken time to speak to me personally on so many little and big ways through images, art, music, and stories.  There is power in a story when God incarnates himself in it.  One of the churches that impacted my life when I was in my early teenage years had a motto plastered above its altar area.  It read, "Little is much, when God is in it."  If you look around your city, look around your church facilities, or even in a local mall - look at the images, the art, and listen to the music and ask - Is God speaking?  Can he possibly be working in and through the signs and images of our culture?  
    Romans 1: 20 tells us "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..."  So next time your wake up... stop and look at the sky, the lake, the mountains, the trees or flowers and remember that God himself is speaking to us in very creative ways.

What Is Discipleship?

What is Discipleship?

Jesus exhorted us to go make disciples of all people (Matt. 28:18-20)

In the History of Christianity, the disciples were the followers of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel. In addition to the Twelve, the gospels and the Book of Acts refer to varying numbers of disciples that ranges between 70 and 120 to a "growing multitude". Jesus controversially accepted women and those outside the circle of Israel’s faith among his followers, though it's not clear they were disciples. In the book of Acts, the Apostles themselves have disciples. The word disciple is used today as a way of self-identification for those who seek to learn from the teachings of Jesus.                                                                            

            There are four important aspects in discipleship

Accountable Relationships  

Relationship is at the heart of the Christian Faith, reflecting the fact that we as human beings have been made for relationship. Relationships are at the core of who we are as humans. When God created humans he put them into relationship, first with Him and then with each other.  From the very beginning of creation, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”  The writer of proverbs states, “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.”  It is in relationship that we find out who we are as humans and what matters most in life. Whether it is an individual broken heart, or whole families and societies devastated by relationships gone bad, relationships reflect our deepest human struggles. They are the source of our most profound joy and pain. From love to hate, relationship is at the depths of sin and at the heights of moral virtue.  Compassion, sacrifice, forgiveness trust… betrayal, murder, adultery, revenge.  Each is rooted in relationship. Scripture teaches us that God made people, with all their goodness and failure, for himself and also for one another.  This is at the foundation and heart of discipleship.  We believe that our spiritual growth with God is intentional and conditioned by interpersonal relationship with God and One another.  Discipleship can be defined as “an intentional response to others – especially God- that promotes well-being.”

Christian Formation

Christian formation involves opening ourselves up to an experience with God and others. Our focus is to break down the walls and barriers that hinder our relationship to God and others and explore the underlying causes to those roadblocks in our lives. Secondly, the discipleship process explores the maturity continuum of our adult lives and how our faith assists us in accomplishing the tasks of each stage of life.  Both Emotional and Spiritual Growth are a part of this process.  If we do not grow emotionally we cannot grow spiritually. Growing up in Christ is a process and involves becoming accountable to God; others and ourselves; learning the scriptures and how they apply for our lives; and building relational wholeness in our lives.

Teaching

Another aspect in discipleship involves teaching. Our discipleship process is designed to help new followers of Jesus formulate a Christian worldview and it will transform their thinking, assumptions, and mindsets. How does one do this? It requires, in part, challenging our learning about how to have a relationship with God, the Bible, and learning how life was designed by God to work. Our teaching process will focus on the nature and purpose of accountability, the history and background of the bible, and personal transformation.

Service

We are all called to put our faith into practice! We now take the relationships, mentoring, and learning, and carry it out in daily life. This is often expressed in service projects and missions, but that is only a small, although necessary aspect of service. Service is how we live our lives and model His character on a daily basis to those around us! When we are in ministry, we need to realize, it is not what I do, but whom I can equip. As we practice by reciprocating what we have learned to others, we will also be built up! 

All four of these aspects of discipleship collate and build into each other synergistically. Discipleship can be skewed and people fall away if any of these four aspects are let go. We will lose valuable opportunities to share and teach one another if, as Jesus stands at the door and knocks, we are watching TV and ignoring His door. Remember, the focus is never the task in and of itself. Rather, it is the glory and worship of our Lord and the enabling of one another to do and be better at living the Christian life. What we learn and do here during our short time together will echo throughout the vastness of eternity!

Every person who wants to follow Jesus needs to be discipled. Do whatever it takes to get someone who has been a follower of Jesus and reflects his nature to disciple you.  Don't be afraid to ask them until they or someone else takes the opportunity to invest in your life.