The Empire Strikes Out

Josh Frank has been blogging at (not so) daily thoughts about the Faithful Practices in Youth Ministry Conference in Nashville, TN.

Here is an excerpt from Kenda Creasy Dean - Lecture 1: "The Empire Strikes Out"

Begins w/ a video parable "training fleas requires placing them in a closed glass jar. after 3 days, fleas will never jump higher than the height of the jar. their behavior is set. and their offspring will automatically do the same.
is this like our churches? yes, a lot of yesses (always done it this way, above our comfort zone, change is good - you first)

The Empire that Struck Out: Christendom. People think we're still functioning in this Empire that has struck out. Was always more about the emperor than it was about Christ. Reason to gather everyone around in the guise of a "Christian nation." Assumed everyone was; if you weren't, you were a social outcast.
We try to form XN young people into Christendom, into a jar that no longer exists.

What a great description of the church - the description is great not the fact that this is what the church is too often like. [Alan Hirsch in The Forgotten Ways, has a section on Christendom.] It is so sad when we see churches failing to be active, creative followers of Jesus Christ.

I was listening to a tape by Ruth Fazal: Coming Up Out of the Wilderness: Vol 1: Fresh Oil. Graham Cooke speaks on the tape and says:

...you always know where you are with God...
...you never know what he's going to do next.

It's that last line we often have trouble with...
...because we don't really believe the first line.
We don't understand who we are in Christ,
we don't know (deeply) the Father's love,
we don't know the ongoing filling, empowering of the Spirit,
we don't dance with the Trinity.