Ron Cole : off the map...navigating life.

" Forest Life: by Shane Crash "...radical, scandalous redemptive imagination

For years I have been exploring the idea of faith on the fringe of church-ianity and beyond. I like to explore what I call, " radical, scandalous redemptive imagination." I believe our old maps are worn out, in a landscape that has changed dramatically, and continues to undergo rapid change...old maps can not take us into new lands. I believe poets, story tellers and artists have the uncanny ability to be new world prophets...to resurrect old myths, create new metaphors to recapture the imagination of humanity towards a horizon of hope.

Shane Fulgrum ( Crash ), is a new world prophet. I was away from the computer, cell phone and all forms of social media last week and immersed my self into a draft copy of Shane's upcoming book, " Forest Life."

Shane said, this as to " Why I Wrote Forest Life "...

Even after all this time, I still don’t know how to live. There are moments here and there when I understand some of the things that I need to live. I need good friendship. I need to write and I need quiet emptiness. Unfortunately, I still spend too much time thinking about things that make my brain bleed. Sometimes I just think so much that my brain will shut itself down in a futile attempt at self-preservation. I haven’t been able to transcend my frustration and anger for society and its inability to match up with my ideals. My ideals being peaceful coexistence and productive progress. Some people reconcile this sadness by telling themselves that God’s gonna come back and fix things up real nice. I want to believe nice things like restorative theology, but I just can’t. I am understanding of those who subscribe to comforting narratives. I’d rather not see the world as cruel and chaotic, but I digress. Hence, my attempts to understand how I should live in a world that doesn’t make sense.

Although Forest Life is almost entirely fictional, the frustration and struggle of the lead character often mirrors my own irreconcilable sadness and confusion. Existence is a strange thing. It was on a cabin porch in the Tennessee dusk, nearly three years when I realized that my experience was a universal dilemma for conscious freethinkers. And so as the sky grew salty and the winds picked up, the rain began to fall through a halo sunrise and I found my story – the story of Emmett.

I have had the opportunity to follow Shane through his website, and musings on Facebook...he thinks deeply, he struggles and wrestles with life, any idea of faith can not be contained to a building, a book or any system of salvation. Shane's musing are messy...sometimes it looks like vomit on a page. They may not be attractive, but, they are shockingly real.

" Me? I'm afraid if God does exist, if there is a creator, he's just as confused about life and death and love as I am. Mostly I'm afraid that I'll continue to exist after I die."

" Why are you afraid of that?"

I'm silent for a moment. I collect my thoughts and wait for the desperation to recede.

" If I do continue to exist, if my reality and perception continues on in some other plane, it means that everything happening here means something. I'm worried I won't figure out what it all means in time. Sometimes I feel like I'm doomed to screw it up and be punished for it. Maybe I'm already being punished." I can hear the emotion in my own voice, making it a shade huskier. I wonder if Maraye notices. ( Forest Life, page 64-64 )

Emmett, is the main character in this story, and if we're honest we'll see a bit of Emmett is us, or in the friends around us. If we're honest Emmett's story is " our " story...a story deeply embedded in life, and the struggle to make sense of life, here, now...and somehow beyond.

This was probably one of the most faith-filled books I have read in a long time...maybe somewhere along side " William P. Young's, The Shack." If you have all your theology nicely sorted out in your " God-box ", this book will stretch you...maybe get rid of your box all together. This book looks at guilt, forgiveness, hope, redemption, love, pain, suffering, death, life, heaven, hell...but it does it not in a nicely mapped out theological landscape...it does it in the messiness and chaos of real life.

There were times I was reading and I had to remind myself that this is the writing of a 25 year old young man. Shane is wise beyond his years...he is a wise spiritual sage in a young man's clothes. For the life of me, I can't remember wrestling with such thoughts at a young age.

Before I sleep I normally lie awake and think of the future. I've resolved I can't understand life the way I can understand an equation or formula. For so long I've wanted to find concrete answers or die trying. It's hard at first to find comfort in not knowing or to make peace with it. But I think it is the only way to make it in this life. Getting stuck on a question only makes me estranged from the world. ( Forest Life, page 174 )

I can not say enough about this book...buy it, buy a copy for friends...have conversations over coffee, re-kindle some redemptive imagination, discover a new kind of faith in the midst of this profound human drama called life.

Oh yeah, Shane said this about writing the book...

" When I started writing Forest Life, I was suicidal and drunk because I had lost someone I love to a tragedy. Afterward, my question was this: why love when death and suffering are inevitable? I won’t reveal my solution to this problem, but I do present it in the pages of the book. These are only a few of the issues I grapple with in the story and I hope that you’ll read the story and consciously address your own uncertainty and fear."

You can pre-order the book...here.

Being Jesus in Nashville...Jim Palmer

 If we we've hung around " church-ianity " for awhile we've heard the term " born again ". Jesus talked about it to Nicodemus during their roof-top meeting in the dark of night.

Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.

Somehow, this became another commodity of church dispensed only under the right conditions, by the " right " people. Some hands and some God manipulation, Abracadabra! It's interesting think about birth, the 9 months inside the " mother ship " floating around in this deep dark void, our life supported by the umbilical cord. Suddenly the contractions of birth start and we are literally squeezed and pushed out into the world. The doctor grabs the scissors and cuts the cord, and there is that brief anxious moment...when the baby inhales that first breath of the world outside.

I think if anything, I didn't understand " born again " until I left the church. Inside the womb of the church, faith-life is pretty much supported by the nutrients it provides...it can become very comfortable. But when you leave the church, and you grab the scissors and cut the cord yourself it's that same anxiety...can I survive, and breathe...can faith-life survive outside the womb of the church. Many, many people are finding, yes it can...abundantly.

Jim Palmer said this in a recent interview with my good friend Bill Dahl...

Through religion people have absorbed a bunch of ideas and beliefs about themselves, God, others and life that govern their identity, relationships and way of being in the world. It’s as if we’re trapped inside a story that is rigged to never lead to the freedom, fulfillment and abundance that people want and Jesus promised.

 

I devoted a year of my life to being Jesus in Nashville, where I live. What I thought that would mean and what actually happened were two totally different things. That year flipped the religious script in my head, and gave me a new courage to be a fully expressed human being in ways I never imagined possible. I started the year convinced I needed to live the life of Jesus and then discovered that the life I needed to live was my own. Free at last! My story almost never made it to print. Despite two near-death experiences and being branded a heretic by my Christian publisher, the book came to fruition as a result of the encouragement and support of my divine nobody friends. 

You can read the full interview ( here ).

 Diana Butler Bass says this in her new book, " Christianity After Religion: The End Of Church And The Birth Of A New Spiritual Awakening."

" Have we lived the majority of our lives in the context of this awakening, struggling towards a new understanding of God, how we should act ethically and politically, and who we are deep in our souls? What if this awakening is not exclusively a christian affair, but rather a certain form of christianity that is playing a significant role in forming the contours of a new kind of faith beyond conventional religious boundaries? Is America living in the wake of a revival gone awry or a spiritual awakening that is finally taking concrete...albeit...unexpected...shape?

Strange as it may seem in this time of cultural anxiety, economic near collapse, terrorist fear, political violence, environmental crisis, and partisan anger, I believe that the United States ( and not only the United States ) is caught up in the throws of a spiritual wakening, a period of sustained religious and political transformation during which our ways of seeing the world, understanding ourselves, and expressing our faith are being, to borrow the phrase, " born again." Indeed, the shifts around religion contribute to the anxiety, even as the anxiety gives rise to new sorts of understanding of God and spiritual life. Fear and confusion signal change. This transformation is what some hope will be a " Great Turning " toward a global based community on shared human connection, dedicated to the care of our planet, committed to justice and equality, that seeks to raise hundereds of millions from poverty, violence and oppression.

This awakening has been under way for sometime now and has reached a crucial stage, as a new " Age of the Spirit " has dawned. Theologian Harvey Cox points out that this turn toward spirituality as the new form of faith started in the previous century. The 1970's were a significant period in a long process of moving away from old-style religion towards new patterns of faith. In the last decade, this shift has accelerated exponentially, sweeping millions more into both discontent and the longing for change. " ( Chapter One )

Millions of people are leaving the church searching to find real faith, and it is in this sea of discontent and longing for change that Jim Palmer pastors. Through his two previous books, " Wide Open Spaces " and " Divine Nobodies " he has strummed a chord that resonates with many many people. Jim is doing alot of life coaching, counselling, talking...helping people navigate these unchartered waters. Jim commented in a recent e-mail, " I feel like my upcoming book has the kind of message that could effectively be taking a stand on something that really matters. A lot of folks have shared this journey with me the last several years. They are ordinary people, many from a Christian background, who have been shedding religion and no longer support the view of Jesus promoted by the institutional church – one that leads to condemning people of other faiths, forces Christians to adopt beliefs and practices they often cannot live up to or support in good conscience, and requires people to promote a message that divides human beings in the name of Jesus, in the name of God. Jesus stood for the worth and value of every human being. What if this was our starting premise and we  courageously worked towards a world that works for everyone. I started the Occupy Religion effort because I believe that the 99% of those who follow Jesus want to embrace him as central to their relationship with God and spirituality without it creating division and hostility in the world. "

And again, from Bill Dahl's interview with Jim...

What I learned in my year of being Jesus is that Jesus was special, not because he was more divine then the rest of us, but because he was courageously more human than most. I wish I could convince people that they are born into this world as complete and whole human beings with equal worth to God as Jesus of Nazareth. In the eyes of the religious establishment we might be nobodies but we are divine nobodies, as much a child of God as that nobody Nazarene carpenter. This is the message I would like to get through to fellow survivors of childhood abuse. It’s the message I would have wanted to express to the 10-year-old girl sex slaves I encountered in brothels in Southeast Asia in my work as a human rights activist. As an ordained minister, it’s the message I wanted to deliver to a Christian friend who said, “I am a piece of shit to God, which is why I need Jesus.” It is very difficult to convince people that they are good and beautiful human beings when religion has sufficiently convinced them that they are “sinners” and despicable to God. It’s also difficult to deliver this message when institutional Christianity has convinced us that acknowledging the divine in every human is a betrayal of God.

 

People have Jesus so wrapped up in layers of religion that he and his truth are virtually unrecognizable. The prostitutes and notoriously irreligious people of Jesus’ day got Jesus better than anyone else, and were the people Jesus preferred to associate with. I think I’m going to go into the streets of Nashville today and beg the tattoo artists, single moms, waitresses, artists, and all the nobodies who wouldn’t be caught dead inside a church and beg them to share with the world who they know and have experienced God and Jesus to be.

I have been blogging here for almost ten years now. I think most readers will have seen my journey evolve to exactly where Jim Palmer is. I have written 1,774 posts on this blog, I have had 2,211 comments and 185,947 page views...I have never asked for anything, nor should I expect to get anything. But here's the thing, I really really believe in what Jim Palmer is doing. There are very few pastors that are in Jim's place helping people find faith, retain faith and live faith in the " Wide Open Spaces." Jim also said this to me last night...

Hey; it's Jim. I wanted to touch base with a few folks about, Being Jesus in Nashville. So, suddenly it was up on Amazon! Wasn't expecting that. I haven't broadcasted it publicly that the book is technically available for purchase because I am still working out the details with the International Justice Mission and the Tourette Syndrome Associationabout donating a portion of each book purchase to their efforts. As you might remember, for a season I traveled abroad with the IJM, and I have TS. But in anticipation of the official book release, I wanted to give you a heads up.

You can help me, you help Jim, you can help International Justice Mission and the Tourette Syndrome Association by buying Jim Palmer's " Being Jesus in Nashville "...it will challenge you to live your faith to it's fullest in the midst of your Nashville...your neighborhood.

 

September 11th...don't burn, buy a copy

At first, I was filled with anger in response to the Florida Pastor who plans on having a Koran Bonfire to commemorate the terrorist attack of 9/11 on the World Trade center. Despite what this pastor believes it will do nothing more than fuel the flames hatred, misunderstanding, fear, oppression...and isolating, separating humanity into us and them...those we like, those we dislike. This act greatly diminishes the sacredness of "all" humanity. I have shared my story here before, of my Islamic friend Najeeb whose community I lived in for a year.

It is one thing to speak out against terrorism...but burn, destroy the sacred story of faith community in the context of the global village is itself an act of terrorism.

It uses fear and threatens to intimidate or coerce for political/religious purposes. To blame what happened on 9/11 on the Koran would be incredibly simplistic. It was done by a small radical fundamentalist element of the Islamic faith. That have twisted, distorted and manipulated sacred texts for the own purpose out of context. It is no difference than the long list of atrocities committed by Christians using the Bible for centuries.

Maybe the Florida pastor should read the list and meditate on its content for a while. There is bad element with in the Islamic faith...but our hands are not clean either. But the good news is, it is not the dominant element with in either faith. The majority that seek to find common ground, to share stories of compassion, hospitality, grace, mercy and God's abundant love need to be more vocal. I love this story of St Francis during the crusades. We need to get to know one another, interfaith co-op's and partnerships with our communities. We need to have meals with one another...enjoy the flavours and sounds of each other's cultures.

I can not find anywhere in the gospels where Jesus engaged in another faith in this manner. The story of the Samaritan woman at the well certainly blows our minds as the what the redemptive imagination of what interfaith conversation might look like.

Anyways, enough said. I suggest rather than burn a copy of the Koran, buy one and read it. Or if your going to burn one...burn a copy of the Bible at the same time. We've certainly done enough evil with it in the name of God.

There is a nice interview with Carol Off of CBC's " As It Happens " talking to another Gainesville Florida pastor, Larry Reimer, about Pastor Terry Jones plan to burn the Koran. It's nice to hear progressive voices of faith and compassion in the midst of the craziness. (Listen to Part Two)

Spiritual Abuse Recovery: Barb Orlowski

I'm excited that this book, " Spiritual Abuse Recovery: Dynamic Research on Finding a Place of Wholeness " has been published, hot off the press and ready for people to access. It has been a long period of gestation for Barb Orlowski, to finally see her " baby " birthed. I'm guessing I first talked to Barb when she was working on her doctoral dissertation at the Associated Canadian Theological Schools, the Graduate School of Theological Studies of  Trinity Western University a couple of years ago. I know from the updates along the way it was a tremendous amount of work, and research on a very sensitive subject. But through her work, she has gathered data from interviews across the landscape of the whole church ; big and small, cross denomination; evangelical, mainline and traditional. It is a must read for the whole church, to help us better understand spiritual abuse, and move forward from dysfunction to wholeness.

Book Description

What factors contribute to active Christians in ministry leaving their church and becoming exiting statistics? Every year dedicated Christian people leave churches because of spiritual abuse. The stories of people who left their home church because of a negative and hurtful experience paint a picture of a widespread occurrence which beckons consideration by church leaders and church congregants alike.

Spiritual abuse, the misuse of spiritual authority to maltreat followers in the Christian Church, is a complex issue. This book shows how people processed their grief after experiencing spiritual abuse in their local church and how they rediscovered spiritual harmony. Their spiritual journey shows how one may grow through this devastating experience.

This book offers a thoughtful look at the topic of spiritual recovery from clergy abuse through the eyes of those who have experienced it. It invites church leaders to consider this very real dysfunction in the Church today and aims to demonstrate a path forward to greater freedom in Christ after a season of disillusionment with church leadership.

Endorsements for Back Cover

 "In an age of increasing calls for strong church leadership, this book is a gift to church leaders and those who have been severely hurt and abused in our churches. Through careful research and an insider's perspective, Barb has opened up both pathways for healing from church abuse and insights for leadership to ensure that potential future abuse is stopped."
—Alan Jamieson, author of A Churchless Faith

"What we refer to as spiritual abuse was a concern for Jesus in his earthly ministry and it is a common problem today. It is, therefore, surprising that more attention is not given to it by today's Christian community. Barb Orlowski, however, does take it seriously as she offers insight into the causes of bad church experiences and how to recover from them. Her counsel alerts people to the dangers of spiritual abuse, and if leaders hear her, they will be less likely to become part of the problem . . . I encourage you to read it."
—Ken Blue, author of Healing Spiritual Abuse

"Dr. Orlowski's research has provided a balance for various perspectives on the experience of woundedness. She listens to the voices of the wounded and lets them inform us of their reality of feeling disappointment and disenfranchisement, tragedy and turbulence in the Church . . . For recovery, Dr. Orlowski gives an excellent starting point—the voice of the wounded—and follows that with the grace of God demonstrated through hearing the voice of God and basing recovery on the Word of God."
—Kirk E. Farnsworth, author of Wounded Workers

You can purchase a copy of the book by contacting Barb Orlowski  at ( info@churchexiters.com ). She will have books available, autographed if you like...and details about cost of the book and postage.

christian sub-culture...how many people can we drown in the shallow end of the pool

 

Listen to Dick Staub, Part two... " The Culturally Savvy Christian " ... a stunning wake up to the prevailing christian sub-culture of the North American evangelical church.

Click ... < HERE > ... to listen.

Dick Staub...The Culturally Saavy Christian

Dick Staub turns the reins of The Kindlings Muse over to his trusted friend Bill Hogg a man with that rare blend of wisdom and wit delivered in the tongue of one who speaks in the accent he swears we will hear in heaven. They are talking about Dick Staub’s newest book “The Culturally Savvy Christian: A Manifesto for Deepening Faith and Enriching Popular Culture in an Age of Christianity-Lite,” described by scholar/pastor NT Wright as “an urgent book for our times.”

For those not familiar with Dick Staub, he hails out of the Pacific Northwest in the Seattle area. He has been engaged in the conversation of faith and culture for years. He does a live podcast from Hales Ales Brewery & Pub , Seattle’s Fremont District,  every Monday night at 7pm. After years of interviewing the shapers of American culture-authors, business leaders, educators, politicians, futurists, theologians, filmmakers, musicians and trend-watchers - Dick Staub is emerging as one of today’s most experienced and thoughtful observers of ideas in contemporary culture.

I'm barely in Dick's new book," The Culturally Saavy Christian ", and from the small bytes I've tasted...I'm ready to digest a whole more. Bill Hogg is doing the first of a three part interview around the book, and you can listen to it ...click < here >.

From Genesis...to BiosLogos

Just finished reading Francis S Collins book, " The Language of God." Francis S Collins is one of the worlds leading Geneticists, the leading scientist in the " Human Genome Project." A follower of Christ, and a passionate scientist who seeks to merge creation and evolution.

Having  a post-secondary education in Biochemistry and Cellular Biology, and working in a clinical laboratory for almost 25 years, I have never been at odds with the idea of creation and evolution not being compatible...that they are not a threat to each other. In fact in my mind, they express a more awesome, and mind boggling image of a creator God. Anyway, below is are a few word bytes of Francis S Collins...

A God, who is not limited is space or time, created the universe and established the natural laws that govern it. Seeking to populate this otherwise sterile universe with living creatures, God chose the elegant mechanism of evolution to create microbes, plants and animals of all sorts. Most remarkably, God intentionally chose the same mechanism to give rise to special creatures who would have intelligence, a knowledge of right and wrong, free will, and a desire to seek fellowship with Him. He knew these creatures would ultimately choose to disobey the Moral Law.

Francis S Collins proposes to name theistic evolution as BIOS through Logos, or simply BiosLogos. Bios as the greek word for " Life ", and Logos as the greek word for " Word." To many beievers the Word is synonymous with God, as powerfully and poetically expressed in those openninh lines of the Gospel of John, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Woed was with God, and the Word was God." " Bioslogos " expresses the belief that God is the source of all life, that life expresses the will of God.

Bioslogos doesn't try to wedge God into the gaps of our understanding of the natural world; it proposes God as the answer as the answer to the questions science was never intended to address. such as " How did the universe get here?" " What is the meaning of life?" " What happens to us after we die? Unlike the theory of intelligent design, Bioslogos is not intended as scientific theory. Its truth can be tested only by the spiritual logic of the heart, the mind, and the soul.

How is this consistent with the theological concept that humans are created, " in the image of God." Well perhaps one shouldn't get to hung up on the notion that this scripture is referring to physical anatomy...the image of God seems alot more about mind and spirit than body. Does God have toe nails? A belly button?

How could God take such chances? If evolution is random how could he really be in charge, and could he be certain of an out come that included intellegent beings at all?

The solution is readily at hand, once one ceases to apply human limitations to God. If God is outside of nature, then he is outside space and time. In that context, God could in the moment of creation of the universe also know every detail of the future. That could include the formation of the stars, planets and galaxies, all of the chemistry, physics, geology and biology that led to the formation of life on earth, and the evolution of humans, even right to this moment and beyond.

In that context evolution could appear to be driven by chance, but from God's perspective the outcome would be entirely specified. Thus God could be completely and intimately involved in the creation of all species, while from our perspective, limited as it is by the tyranny of linear time, this would appear a random and undirected process.

In the twenty first century, in an increasingly technologiacl society, a battle is raging in the hearts and minds of humanity. Many materialists, noting triumphally the advances of science in filling in the gaps of our understanding of nature, announce that belief in God is an outmoded superstition, and that we would be better off admitting that and moving on. Many believers in God, convinced that the truth thet derive from spiritual introspection is of more enduring value than truths from other sources, see the advances in science and technology as dangerous and untrustworthy. Positions are hardening, voices becoming more shrill.

Will we turn our backs on science because it is percieved as athreat to God, abandoning all of the promises of advancing our understanding of nature and applying that to the alleviation of suffering and the betterment of humankind? Alternatively will we turn our backs on faith, concluding science has renedered the spiritual life no longer necessary, that the traditional religious symbols can now be replaced by engravings of the double helix on our altars?

Both of these choices are profoundly dangerous. Both deny truth. Both deminish the nobility of humankind. Both will be devasting to our future. And both are unnecessary. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. He can be worshipped in the cathedral as well as the laboratory. His creation is majestic, awesome, inticate, and beautiful...and can not be at war with itself. Only we humans can start such battles. And only we can end them.

Saint Augustine writes, " What kind of days these were, it is extremely difficult, or perhaps impossible for us to concieve. " He admits there are probably many vailid interpretations of the Book of Genesis: " With these facts in mind, I have worked out and presented the statements of the book of Genesis in a variety of ways according to my ability; and, in interpreting words that have been written obscurely for the purpose of stimulating thought, I have not brashley taken my stand on one side against a rival interpretation which might possibly be better." ( Saint Augustine, The literal meaning of Genesis 20:40 )

The book is a great read, a combination of CS Lewis's , " Mere Christianity ", and NT Wright's " Simply Christian ". The book is beautifully written, a great merger of science and faith...all weaved through Farncis S Collins own conversion.

God on Mute...part two

What I like about Pete Greig's God on Mute is it's got-level honesty, vulnerability, rawness and authenticity. There is no plug and play mentality like the Prayer of Jabez, where you download a piece of scripture into the rubble of your life and suddenly all the territories of your life are increased.

God on Mute, reveals the reality that unanswered prayer is a journey through seasons...where beyond cliche' answers...that far greater truths can be found in the mystery of discovery.

Much of Pete's reflection comes from navigating the dark endless valleys, deserts and occasional mountain tops with Samie...the diagnosis, brain tumour, surgery and continuing seizures. It was a book that Samie needed when she was ill...in the midst of struggling with unanswered prayer...the book offers a sense of humour and hope.

God on Mute draws insights from some of the great writers on suffering, such as St. John of the Cross, Elie Wiesel, CS Lewis, Brennan Manning and Philip Yancey. It is really a book on the practicalities of prayer: how it works; why it doesn't always work; how to get better at it; how to navigate the disappointments without losing your faith; and how to cope with those who seek to interpret your experince for you.

Now I know that sounds like a lot of " How to ", but Pete has an amazing ability as a writer to spread his thoughts out that they don't come across as a formula.

The book is broken into three larger pieces searching for biblical answers to the intellectual problems of unaswered prayers: God's world and the way it seems to work; God's will and the way it seems to interact with human free will; and God's, the cosmic struggle between good and evil.

Pete and Samie's story is not everyones...but it gets close, we all share the experience, we all struggle with prayers not being answered as we would like. The book is much more than their personal journal of a painful journey, it is filled with good quotations, good stories and solid preceptions of what the bible says about prayer.

Some are going to look at this book and judge it by its cover. It looks and feels like one of those " emerging books." Not that is a bad thing, but some will suspect it's content will be soft, lacking real truth and content. Nothing could be further from the truth. Don't be fooled. This is by far one of the most serious books on prayer I've read in a long time. It is a must read!!!

Pete offers 16 reasons why prayer might not be working...

1. Common Sense; Am I asking God to do something stupid, meaningless or illogical?
2. Contradiction; Are my prayers likely to be conflicting with those of someone else?
3. Laws of Nature; Are my prayers potentilly detrimental to the natural order or to the lives of others?
4. Life is tough; Am I expecting God to spare me from stuff that's just common human experience because of the Fall?
5. Doctrine; Does my prayer reflect God's character and his promises in the Bible? Might it be out of line with his will for my life?
6. Second best; Although my desire in prayer is for something good, is it possible God has something even better in store for me?
7. Motive; Are my prayers essentially just selfish?
8. Relationship; Is there an opportunity here for going deeper in my relationship with God?
9. Free will; Am I expecting God to override someone's free will?
10. Influence; Am I trying to exercise ungodly power over a person's life in prayer?
11. Satanic opposition; Is my prayer in line with God's will but experiencing resitance from the powers and principalities Paul spoke about?
12. Faith; Do I really believe God can do this?
13. Perserverance; Do I want it enough to keep praying?
14. Sin; Getting brutally honest, is there some secret sin sin you need to confess?
15. Justice; Am I actively seeking to express God's love for the poor?
16. None of the first 15; Am I trying to find answers where I need instead find trust?

What I like about Pete's list of 16 reasons why prayer's are "not answered" , a phenomeno-logical way of saying " they were answered but not according to my designs "...is their completeness, there honest rational thinking, and their biblical foundation. They are not simple answers; they are well thought out, lived ideas that lead us to reflect and meditate on why it is that God, at times, does not answer our prayers.

Jesus himself suffered the pain of unanswered prayer during His Passion. In the  Garden of Gethsemane he uttered the heart breaking cry of dispair, " Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me." Pete Greig says that Christians must also embrace what Jesus said next: " Yet not what I will, but what you will." The power to choose God's will instead of one's personal preferences is the defining human opportunity, he says. It means saying " yes " to God, no matter what the cost.

Pete uses the frame work of the Easter drama to gude readers into a deeper understanding of prayer, suffering and sacrifice. The journey through the three days of the Pssion asks the hard questions:

• Maunday Thursday: How am I going to get through this?
• Good Friday: Why aren't my prayers being answered?
• Holy Saturday: Where is God when heaven is silent?

Finally on Easter Sunday, every prayer is answered. Living as we do with the hindsight of Easter, " we know God may be silent but that he will speak again ", Pete says. Christian faith is based on the greatest story ever told about suffering and silence, miracles and hope. The story of Christ's agony, abandonment, and eventual resurrection reamins the hope for a hijacked world.

I highly recommend Pete Greig's , " God on Mute ", I have no doubt on my journey, it will be a book I will go back to time and time again.

God on Mute...part one

A few weeks ago I received a copy of Pete Greig's new book " God on Mute: Engaging the silence of Unanswered Prayer." I was asked by Pete's publisher if I would give it a read and post some thoughts on the book.

For those not familiar with Pete Grieg, he is one of the founding leaders of 24-7 Prayer, which started as a single night-and-day prayer room in England and in five years grew into an international movement committed to prayer, mission, and justice. I believe now, 24-7 Prayer is active in 63 countries and still growing. Since prayer is his life's work...Grieg admits " getting hijacked by a prayer movement isn't exactly a conventional career move " ...it's his job to search for answers: " Those of us who spend our time encouraging people to pray and sharing amazing stories about it also have a sworn duty to care for those whose prayers appear not to be working."

Getting Pete's book was rather timely, I was in the midst of finishing the liturgy for Sorrow to Glory, my father-in-law who had been battling cancer would take a turn for the worse and eventually pass away on March 18th, bring with it all the emotion and struggle I had with my youngest brothers tragic passing 10 years ago.

My father in-law was surrounded, immersed in prayer by numerous churches, prayer rooms, friends and family. With treatment the doctors gave him a good prognosis. His wife, a devout follower of Jesus, married to her husband for 60 years...a good and faithful servant, held that mustard seed of faith and prayed her heart out.

My brother, 34 years old...a wife a 2 kids, was a diabetic who had a reaction and died less than 3 ft away from his insulin syringe that he was trying to get to.

We pray, and we pray...the answer seems to be a resounding " no ", or even worse an almost deafening silence that seems to say " I don't care ." In this darkness, and in this deafening emotional storm of silence we continue to pray for " why?"

It is here Pete Grieg in his book, " God on Mute ", confronts the perplexing, painful silence of unanswered prayer.

You would almost think being the poster boy of a prayer movement, that engaging the silence of unanswered prayer would not be the best sales pitch for selling prayer. But silence in prayer is a reality. Maybe in our comfy churches we don't talk about it much because we think in the back of our minds we might be giving the impression that God is on vacation on some remote island in a neighbouring galaxy.

But so many people have been broken by the silence of unanswered prayer in the midst of suffering. But in God on Mute, Pete's gut- level honesty, vulnerability, rawness, and authenticity in dealing with the subject bring hope and life. Pete doesn't default to quick-fix theologies but provides with some deep truths to reflect on for sure footing when the proverbial rug has been ripped out from under our feet.

God on Mute, comes from a depth of experience...from real life. When 24-7 Prayer was gaining momentum with rooms being birthed around the Globe. Pete's wife Samie was diagnosed with a life threatening brain tumour...in the midst of that, their prayers were met with a resounding silence. In the confusion, the emotional storm, Pete had to be there for his wife Samie, and his two young boys.

Tomorrow in Part Two...I'll share my thoughts on what is probably one of the best, if not the best books on unanswered prayer.

Brennan Manning podcast...Ruthless Trust

Dick Staub, Seattle resident and well known faith and culture conversationalist has a great podcast he's pulled out of his archives. Brennan Manning is the Catholic-priest-turned-itinerant-evangelist who wrote the popular Ragamuffin Gospel. In Ruthless Trust he explores the question: “Can God be Trusted,” and moves the conversation beyond simple intellectual assent to a deeper experience of joy found in passionately trusting God. A gem of an interview found in the Dick Staub archives from a man who knows whereof he speaks.

My book case contains every book Brennan has written. I find myself constantly going back to them, like the joy in visiting a dear old friend. I had the wonderful experience a few years ago with a group of friends, to hang out and listen to Brennan for a weekend. I can remember seeing him, and seeing this weak tired aged man and thinking...he's never going to make it through the weekend.

But when ever it came time for him to speak, it was like he plugged into something that was way beyond him. I have never heard such wisdom, clarity, simplicity, compassion and humility. Anyways, if you've never heard Brennan speak before, I highly recommend listening to Dick's interview with him...

This is Part One of a series of Four