bryan's blog

Koinonia

bbellamy — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:56:41 +0000

This morning I met with a UMW circle and led a lesson on For the Love of God: The Epistles of John by Justo L. and Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez. In the book, Gonzalez talks about the importance of Koinonia, a Greek word typically translated as fellowship. When we think of fellowship, we think of gathering together and enjoying one another’s company. It’s sitting around the table for a meal or talking with one another at a party.

But Gonzalez points out that koinonia was a term used to describe a business relationship, a partnership of sorts. The koinonia was similar to what we refer to as a corporation. So when the author of the epistle John writes to his readers that the reason for the letter is so they “may have fellowship with us that our joy may be complete,” he does not mean that they all need to get together and hang out, he means that they should partner up. They share a common inheritance and a common promise and they share this with God through Jesus Christ. I cannot imagine how this idea would effect early Christians. Most of the members in the early church were impoverished and struggling to survive. Many were slaves. These were not the type of people who were invited into the koinonia, most of them did not have the finances or the rights to own property or make business arrangements. And yet, here in this letter they are being told that they are in a partnership, a corporation, with God as the CEO. To say that they felt as though they had value and worth would be an understatement.

Though I doubt this is a new concept in biblical scholarship, it is the first time I have encountered this understanding of koinonia, and it has impacted me greatly. To think that we have this type of relationship with the Creator, that we are in a partnership with God, is a revelation to me. If this is true, then we have a common goal, a common vision with God. We should be working toward bringing the kingdom into fruition, letting Christ work with in us so that together we might change the world. We are supposed to be in a partnership with God, the question is have we been good partners? Have we really worked with God toward making God’s vision a reality? If I’m honest with myself, I doubt that I have. I’ve sold myself short, I’ve taken the easy way out, I’ve been cynical and haven’t fully believed in God’s vision. And yet, God patiently waits for me to come back into the koinonia, to come back into that partnership. Perhaps, this time I will.

Influencing vs. Embracing

bbellamy — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:19:01 +0000

When I woke up this morning, I immediately logged on to Hulu and watched some of the commercials that I missed during lasts night’s game. Every morning news show I saw had a segment about the Super Bowl ads. And when I came into work, My Yahoo! buzz bar had an article ranking the ads from best to worst. Since the late 90′s the advertisements during the Super Bowl have become almost as significant as the game itself, a testament to the power of pop-culture and advertising. Corporations pay up to $3 million for a 30 second slot during the game with the hope of creating a buzz-worthy commercial that will capture the attention of the average American consumer and influence how and what they purchase. Does it work? Absolutely, usually in subtle ways that we do not recognize. Advertising, whether it be on television, radio, print or digital dramatically influences our behavior and in many ways our opinions. If all things are equal we might select a certain product because of an advertisement we saw. However, if a rival product was cheaper or better in some way we would probably purchase it. Influencing a consumers behavior is okay, but what corporations really want is brand loyalty, for consumers to embrace their brand. When this occurs, the consumer will purchase their product no matter what it cost (within reason) or how it compares to other products. Embracing a brand also means that consumers talk to their friends about the product and the corporation. We as consumers are the most influential form of advertising for a corporation – we are the most effective means of influencing the opinions and behaviors of our social network of friends, family, and acquaintances.

This brings me around to our faith. So often we allow our faith to influence us – by this I mean that we let it guide us to some degree when it’s convenient for us but the moment something better comes along we’re pretty quick to put our faith on hold – but we don’t embrace our faith. Embracing our faith means that our faith doesn’t just influence us, it becomes us. We live our lives through it, we lead others with it, and we share it with our friends, family, and acquaintances. To embrace our faith means that we become disciples, followers of Christ who learn his teachings and carry his message out to the world. As disciples we are not simply followers, but are being molded and shaped to lead, to influence and ultimately to bring the kingdom of God into fruition.

This coming Sunday, February 13, we are going to explore the first statement in Arborlawn’s vision, “Embrace the challenge to lead and the faith to follow.” I personally feel that this is a monumental moment in life of the church and in the life of InSearch worship as we explore and define who we are. If you are around, I hope that you will come and experience worship with us at 11:11am. If not, you are always welcome to listen to our sermons online.

In the Midst of the Super Bowl Hype

bbellamy — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:59:12 +0000

For the past couple of weeks we have been inundated with information about the Super Bowl here in Arlington – the parties, the celebrities, the advertisements – all of the hype that surrounds this epic event. Sadly, in the midst of of all the talk that surrounds this sporting event is another issue that will go relatively unrecognized, human trafficking – young boys and girls who are manipulated or forced into prostitution. It is estimated that somewhere between 10,000-20,000 young people will be or have already been trafficked into the DFW Metroplex for the Super Bowl only to be exploited for profit. It breaks my heart, not only that this goes on, but it is deemed as acceptable behavior. Please explore the Human Traffick 911 website, sign the petition to stop human trafficking, and if you have time listen to this incredible Think podcast. I hope these resources will open your eyes to a growing problem in our community and in our world and I ask that in the midst of all the Super Bowl hype that you will keep all those who are being exploited in your prayers.

What happens after we die?

bbellamy — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:08:17 +0000

It is a question that crosses our minds at various points throughout our lives. As a pastor, I probably wrestle with the question more than most. There are various scriptures we use in memorial services that talk about death and life after death (selected scriptures from 1 Corinthians 15, selected scriptures from Romans 8, Revelation 21:1-7, 2 Corinthians 4:5-8, Ephesians 1:15-23, Ephesians 2:1-10, 1 Peter 1:3-25, Revelation 7:2-17, etc.). Most of these offer assurance and comfort of a here-after but do not describe it in great detail. The reality is that I don’t think any of us can or should be able to describe the afterlife in great detail, it should remain a mystery in some degree, but just because we cannot describe it or understand it does not mean that we should fear it. Still, if life is all that we have experienced – if we rather arrogantly presume we understand what life is – the unknown of death has an element of fear. Perhaps that is why it is so difficult to say goodbye to loved ones, why we grieve for such long periods of time. In our rational minds we suspect/know that there is something after this, we’ve been assured of it in scripture, but there is an element of doubt and of course the pain of loss.
As Christians we have a strange relationship with death. We find hope in death. At a funeral we come together not only to celebrate the life of a person we have lost, to remember the impact that they had in our own lives, and to acknowledge the new life they have begun. But also in some way a funeral service should renew our own hope and faith in the world that is to come as well as stress the importance of living our lives well. We come together to be reminded of the promise of Christ, the promise that not even death can keep us from the love of God.
It also reminds us that we should not simply shrug off the finality of death. In thinking about death it only stresses the immediacy and importance of what we do with the short life God has given us – a life that we should not squander. One day, a community of faith will gather at our own funeral service to remember us and celebrate our lives. Hopefully, they will remember us well, but more importantly, hopefully they will remember the moments that they encountered Christ through us.

This weeks sermon 1-23-11

bbellamy — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:45:03 +0000

I am fascinated by signs. I think that it is amazing how much information we can communicate with just a picture or a word. We use signs to communicate important information quickly, but because only a small amount of information can be presented certain nuances are inherently lost. For instance, a caution sign tells you to be careful, but it doesn’t tell you what to watch out for necessarily. In the same way, the church, in it’s attempt to share the Gospel to as many people as possible, often processes deep theological ideas and doctrines into manageable and memorable sound-bytes. In doing so, a lot of the rich detail is lost. For the past two weeks we have been exploring some of the messages the church sends out to the world. The first week we explored what it means to be open. The second week we explored the concept of repentance (U Turn). This week as part of our “Signs” series we’re going to explore what I feel to be one of the most difficult and often harmful mixed-message that comes out of the church, the paradoxical belief that we are created in the image of God and yet are a broken and sinful people who are in need of God’s forgiveness. This belief, by itself is not harmful, in fact it is probably one of the most beautiful concepts in the Christian faith; but in its sound-byte version it is often condensed down to “you are a sinful and broken people” and the divine spark that dwells within us all is left unmentioned. Where are we to find hope if all we hear is that we are broken? It is similar to constantly criticizing a child – how are they to overcome adversity if they do not believe they have any value or redeeming worth? The truth is they can’t and neither can we.

Which brings me around to my discussion question for the week – what other mixed messages does the Church/Christians send out to the world?