If Strauss and Howe are right -- we're do for a season of crisis that will fundamentally re-shape the structure of how things are done in our society. Truth be told, we can see inklings of that crisis already: Our nation is at war with a completely different kind of enemy; we are threatened by North Korea and at tension with China. Energy and Environment concerns threaten to turn the channels of power upside down. And, as we saw in yesterday's post, a cynical culture of exploitation threatens to overwhelm people of basic goodwill.
So what is to be done? Strauss and Howe suggest how America can prepare for this Crisis (or deal with it since we're likely already into it) and how we as individuals can prepare. Today, I'm focusing on the individual side. "Picture yourself and your loved ones in the midst of a howling blizzard that lasts for several years," they say, "Think about what you would need, who could help you, and why your fate might matter to anybody other than yourself. That is how to plan for a saecular winter." (317)
Their suggestions:
Rectify: Return to classic virtues People will know who is reliable, trustworthy and helpful, and who isn't. People will begin to shun those who are only out for themselves. Now is the time for building a reputation of trustworthiness.
I look back to the old Boy Scout law as a fine list of the classic virtues that we all need to build within ourselves. A Scout is trustworhty, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent (to which my troop would always add "and hungry"). The church is a school for such virtues -- not because we believe that they're what saves us, but because we believe that the Holy Spirit works in the redeemed and sanctifies them. Our opportunity in the church is to take the opportunity to point to the classical virtues as expressed in scripture and call on people to pray that the Holy Spirit works these virtues out in their lives.
Converge: Heed emerging community norms Don't isolate yourself from the majority "Appearances will matter. Justice will be rough, because society will require more order but have fewer resources and less time to impose it. As technicalities give way, innocent people will suffer. If you don't want to be misjudged, don't act in a way that might provoke Crisis-era authority to deem you guilty." (319). This is one of the more disturbing ideas in the suggestions. I suggest that we as Christians cannot just go along with any emerging community norms. However, there is a point that we must do our best to co-operate where we can.
Bond: Build personal relationships of all kinds Relationships will help us weather the storm -- knowing and cultivating these relationships at all levels is key. See the film Hotel Rwanda for
a real world example of how one man leveraged every relationship he had to save his life and the lives of others during the genocide in Rwanda.
The church, when working right, is a breeding ground for such relationships. If we also send our people out into the world to be involved in community organizations, then we expand that relational power. This is the time for us to take seriously I Corinthians 12.
Gather: Prepare yourself (and your children) for teamwork Lessening individualism, showing how you can work well with others, how you can respond to authority and work within given limits -- these will be great skills for the trying time ahead.
Again this is a great opportunity for the church as we challenge people to engage in ministry together. Pastors will have to learn to be less the center of the show and encourage more teamwork. Churches will have to become even more missional by sending people out into the community to be involved (note that this does not mean that churches should compromise their message, only that they should share their resources) -- empire building by pastors will have to slow down or halt altogether.
Root: Look to your family for support A return to extended family as a source of people upon whom we can rely. Again, I suggest that we continue to look to the church as a kind of second tier extended family. There are a lot of people who are alone in a city, far from relatives -- they will need support and connection in the trying times.
Brace: Gird for the weakening or collapse of public support mechanisms Institutions will be able to provide less and less -- this is a great opportunity for churches to step in and meet needs -- if they are prepared. Many churches will be stuck in the 70s trying to support a seeker sensitive megachurch model. People will need practical help with bills, kids, family, job hunting, learning to do more with less, etc. I predict that people will care less and less about whether the church has a power point slide show on Sunday -- they'll care more and more about whether the people in the church care for them and they hear about hope in Jesus Christ.
Hedge: Diversify Everything you do Here they're talking about hedging investments and skills -- the flexible people will be able to survive well. Those who keep learning new skills will prosper. Don't put all your investment eggs in one basket.
To these suggestions I might add:
Practice simplicty and contentment The disciplines of the church: fasting, prayer, sabbath, bible study, fellowship -- all these disciplines teach us how to be content with less. There will be less to go around, so we might as well get used to it. Also, if we learn how to get by with less, we'll have more to share -- the less we're attached to material things, the more willing we are to part with them. Such sharing forges bonds that will help us through the Crisis time (think It's a Wonderful Life)
Prayer I believe the Holy Spirit is what will carry us through the crisis and enable the Church of Jesus Christ to prevail. We need to pray that God would so shape us -- that He would grow within us love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, and self-control. We need to pray that the hard hearts in our culture will be softened and that there would be a massive turning to Christ because of this crisis.
Study What did the culture do (and the church do) during the previous crises. What was right and wrong about what has happened in the past?
I think that this crisis time will be a great opportunity for the church to be the church. It is also a great time for us to communicate the message of the saving power of Jesus Christ. In the resolution of the crisis time, social norms for the next 80 years will be established. It would be wonderful for the church to find a way to plant the seeds for the church to prosper on the other end of the Crisis.
Ultimately, no-one knows the course the crisis will take -- how severe it will be or what it will look like. We may even now be at the river's bend, about to ride the rapids through. I look forward to your thoughts on how we can persevere and thrive.
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Index to the Fourth Turning Series
First post
Concepts of Time
Crises of American History
American Awakenings
Generational Archetypes
Supplemental Articles
Kruse Kronicle: Index on Generations
American Thinker article: "Parkinson's War" (thanks Chris Larimer)
Ypulse -- Ypulse provides daily news & commentary about Generation Y for media and marketing professionals.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
A Call for Sanity, Please!
Quotidian Grace links to this story that dropped my stomach into a free fall. A young woman in Sugar Land, TX was shot in the head by two young men who simply had a "morbid curiosity" about what it would be like to shoot someone in the head. Teens killing teens not out of wrath or anger, but out of curiosity. My heart aches for this girl's family and friends -- and honestly, as a father of two daughters, I tremble.
How have we gotten here? Most of us have had those urges that we dare not tell others about -- the urge to slap a stranger, the urge to stand in the middle of a church service and shout profanity. It is usually a tickle at the back of the head "what would it be like if..." Most of us also have sense enough to immediately quash the urge -- a developed moral sense, an understanding of consequences, a realization that this is a temptation from a tempter. We call it a conscience -- that inner Momma holding the roller pin in her hand.
Somehow, for these two young men, these barriers didn't exist -- somehow, when Satan came with his little mind virus, these boys defenses were so nonexistent that they gave in to morbid curiosity.
Perhaps we will cluck our tongues and say it is a shame -- perhaps we self-righteously say "where were the parents".
We should ask "where have we failed" -- we've become a culture that celebrates nihilism and death -- look at the slew of torture and kill flicks that have come out in the past few years: Saw I and II, Hostel, Wolf Creek, The Hills Have Eyes, Devils Rejects (just to name the ones that I'm aware of) -- they've all been huge hits -- and they graphically depict inhuman acts of torture -- in Hostel, it is torture that is being done out of "morbid curiosity". (and for the wise guy that asks "did you see the movie?" -- i read extensive reviews on imdb.com -- these things aren't high art here -- they're splatter flicks)
Look at the graphics and lyrics of hardcore acts such as Slipknot, Korn and Rob Zombie. Look at the trend of exploiting the pain of others for profit that is the hallmark of Howard Stern, Jerry Springer, and copious radio shock jocks. Can we open our eyes and see the mess that we've allowed to happen. And if anyone dares raise their voice, they're dismissed as a censor and a threat to first ammendment rights.
The problem with such things is that by having such violence and exploitation readily available, we normalize it. We allow the world to be filled with images and stories that make it seem perfectly OK to abuse another person for our own "morbid curiosity" -- and then we act aghast when someone acts out on what has been normalized by the culture.
I suggest we need to de-normalize exploitation.
It needs to become socially unacceptable to be a purveyor of such sleaze. What would it be like if we told movie theater owners that as long as they showed films like Saw, we would not bring our children to their establishment to see films like Cars. If enough people said it, there would be a few safe havens. Perhaps even some theatres would start advertising that they are clean.
What would it be like if we told local advertisers that we would not support them if they advertise on "shock" stations -- if enough people did so, it would make a dent. These exploitation mavens are dollar driven, and we need to make it financially hurt when they so hurt our culture by normalizing filth.
What would it look like if we walked into Barnes and Noble and told them that as long as they had a huge section of Erotica sitting right next to the collection of books on children and parenting, we would no longer patronize their establishment? Has anyone thought about this -- must we continue to let what is normal be established by the major media corporations and large conglomerates. There is plenty we can do to send a message back -- and to say that it is no longer OK to tempt our children with "morbid curiosity" about killing, exploitation, and destruction.
Please, readers, tell me what do you think we can do together?
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Posts with similar themes:
Book review of Farenheit 451
Builders and Destroyers
The Aristocrats -- does anybody with sanity really care
A Casino for Broadway Commons: Bad Idea
How have we gotten here? Most of us have had those urges that we dare not tell others about -- the urge to slap a stranger, the urge to stand in the middle of a church service and shout profanity. It is usually a tickle at the back of the head "what would it be like if..." Most of us also have sense enough to immediately quash the urge -- a developed moral sense, an understanding of consequences, a realization that this is a temptation from a tempter. We call it a conscience -- that inner Momma holding the roller pin in her hand.
Somehow, for these two young men, these barriers didn't exist -- somehow, when Satan came with his little mind virus, these boys defenses were so nonexistent that they gave in to morbid curiosity.
Perhaps we will cluck our tongues and say it is a shame -- perhaps we self-righteously say "where were the parents".
We should ask "where have we failed" -- we've become a culture that celebrates nihilism and death -- look at the slew of torture and kill flicks that have come out in the past few years: Saw I and II, Hostel, Wolf Creek, The Hills Have Eyes, Devils Rejects (just to name the ones that I'm aware of) -- they've all been huge hits -- and they graphically depict inhuman acts of torture -- in Hostel, it is torture that is being done out of "morbid curiosity". (and for the wise guy that asks "did you see the movie?" -- i read extensive reviews on imdb.com -- these things aren't high art here -- they're splatter flicks)
Look at the graphics and lyrics of hardcore acts such as Slipknot, Korn and Rob Zombie. Look at the trend of exploiting the pain of others for profit that is the hallmark of Howard Stern, Jerry Springer, and copious radio shock jocks. Can we open our eyes and see the mess that we've allowed to happen. And if anyone dares raise their voice, they're dismissed as a censor and a threat to first ammendment rights.
The problem with such things is that by having such violence and exploitation readily available, we normalize it. We allow the world to be filled with images and stories that make it seem perfectly OK to abuse another person for our own "morbid curiosity" -- and then we act aghast when someone acts out on what has been normalized by the culture.
I suggest we need to de-normalize exploitation.
It needs to become socially unacceptable to be a purveyor of such sleaze. What would it be like if we told movie theater owners that as long as they showed films like Saw, we would not bring our children to their establishment to see films like Cars. If enough people said it, there would be a few safe havens. Perhaps even some theatres would start advertising that they are clean.
What would it be like if we told local advertisers that we would not support them if they advertise on "shock" stations -- if enough people did so, it would make a dent. These exploitation mavens are dollar driven, and we need to make it financially hurt when they so hurt our culture by normalizing filth.
What would it look like if we walked into Barnes and Noble and told them that as long as they had a huge section of Erotica sitting right next to the collection of books on children and parenting, we would no longer patronize their establishment? Has anyone thought about this -- must we continue to let what is normal be established by the major media corporations and large conglomerates. There is plenty we can do to send a message back -- and to say that it is no longer OK to tempt our children with "morbid curiosity" about killing, exploitation, and destruction.
Please, readers, tell me what do you think we can do together?
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Posts with similar themes:
Book review of Farenheit 451
Builders and Destroyers
The Aristocrats -- does anybody with sanity really care
A Casino for Broadway Commons: Bad Idea
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
The Fourth Turnings: Generational Archetypes
Is there truly a spirit of an Age? Can we speak of generational stereotypes? Marketers certainly think so -- we've been sliced and diced demographically. Marketers target boomers differently than Gen x'ers or Millinnial children (see for instance Ypulse, a website dedicated to understanding marketing to the Millenial Generation. So if we approach generations differently when we're trying to sell a cylander of artificially colored sugar water, then perhaps we can view each generation as unique as we look at the unfolding of history.
Strauss and Howe believe that each new generation is shaped by some defining event that happens -- and their life stage at that time will shape how they then appraoch culture later. For instance, after a Crisis period is resolved, the generation that was in young adulthood (a Hero generation that was on the frontlines of the battles) returns home to consolidate their victory and raise their children in peace. The children that are born post crisis are indulged, protected, cherished, coddled, and looked upon with great hope -- they after all are the future -- they are the future for which the hero generation was fighting. However, there is this strange generation between the two -- those too young to fight the battles, but who have a living memory of living through the crisis -- they were protected, but largely told to keep their place -- they bide their time and come of age in the peace following the crisis, expanding their creative capacities.
So here we have three archetypes allready, by Strauss and Howe's designation they are: Hero, Artist, Prophet. During this post crisis period (known as a high) there is stabiility and conformity and an emphasis on social cohesion. But when the Prophet generation begins to mature, they question the order that was built out of the crisis. They have no living memory of the crisis remember -- they question the conformity and social order. As the prophets move into maturity, they question the social order -- this becomes the tumultuous time that we've referred to as an Awakening. A new generation is being born in this awakening, but they are largely left alone because society is preoccupied with the changes going on -- this new generation is called a Nomad archetype, because they're often left to their own devices and prior generations have very low expectations.
So four archetypes that cycle through the four ages of man - moving from childhood, to young adulthood, to maturity, to eldership. Each generation playing a different role in society as they enter the life stages -- and therefore driving what will come next.
Think of this: GI Generation (Heroes) come home and build the great 1950s culture of Happy days. The Silent Generation (Artists) remember the war, but enjoy the idyllic season of growing up in Buddy Holly's america (think Happy Days). The Baby boomer generation (prophets) is born just after the war. But then when the baby boomer generation begins to mature (say around 20 years after the close of the crisis -- think mid 60s), they question the social system (does anybody remember the 60s and 70s??). As they're busy self-actualizing, they're giving birth to a new generation that receives considerably less attention than they did -- this generation becomes a generation of slackers (can we say Generation X anyone?). However as these slackers come into their own and the boomers self actualize society into a thousand different fragments, there becomes a new emphasis on co-operation and investing in children --
the unravelling that is precipitated by the self-actualizing zeitgiest from the Awakening may just propel us to a new crisis and that new generation (the Millennials) may well become the heroes -- the next GI generation that has to serve in the front lines of the new crisis.
Or think this scenario: The revolutionary war heroes had a whole generation of artful and subtle compromisers (John Quincy Adams for instance). But in the Post revolution era of a High, there was significant expansion and exuberance in America (Louisiana purchase anyone?). The children born during that time of exuberance would when they came of age be the catalyst for a little event known as the Second Great Awakening - a spiritual revival that broke out from the 1820s-1840s. Then, there is a season of unravelling as the prophets of the various religious and personal movements begin to battle (Bleeding Kansas?), until after about 20 years of unravelling, there is another crisis (The Civil War).
Crisis, High, Awakening, Unravelling
Hero, Artist, Prophet, Nomad
Which, if we're on the verge of crisis now, our 20 year olds and younger are the heroes who will bear the burdens -- the Nomads (that us Gen Xers) will have to be the tough decision makers -- the Pattons, the Eisenhowers, the Shermans, the Grants, the Stonewall Jacksons. The Prophet Boomers will make their prophetic voices heeard by goading the faithful into the breach. And the Artists will tend, nurture, and shepherd the generations with wisdom.
Challenging thoughts for challenging times
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Index to the Fourth Turning Series
First post
Concepts of Time
Crises of American History
American Awakenings
Supplemental Articles
Kruse Kronicle: Index on Generations
American Thinker article: "Parkinson's War" (thanks Chris Larimer)
Ypulse -- Ypulse provides daily news & commentary about Generation Y for media and marketing professionals.
Strauss and Howe believe that each new generation is shaped by some defining event that happens -- and their life stage at that time will shape how they then appraoch culture later. For instance, after a Crisis period is resolved, the generation that was in young adulthood (a Hero generation that was on the frontlines of the battles) returns home to consolidate their victory and raise their children in peace. The children that are born post crisis are indulged, protected, cherished, coddled, and looked upon with great hope -- they after all are the future -- they are the future for which the hero generation was fighting. However, there is this strange generation between the two -- those too young to fight the battles, but who have a living memory of living through the crisis -- they were protected, but largely told to keep their place -- they bide their time and come of age in the peace following the crisis, expanding their creative capacities.
So here we have three archetypes allready, by Strauss and Howe's designation they are: Hero, Artist, Prophet. During this post crisis period (known as a high) there is stabiility and conformity and an emphasis on social cohesion. But when the Prophet generation begins to mature, they question the order that was built out of the crisis. They have no living memory of the crisis remember -- they question the conformity and social order. As the prophets move into maturity, they question the social order -- this becomes the tumultuous time that we've referred to as an Awakening. A new generation is being born in this awakening, but they are largely left alone because society is preoccupied with the changes going on -- this new generation is called a Nomad archetype, because they're often left to their own devices and prior generations have very low expectations.
So four archetypes that cycle through the four ages of man - moving from childhood, to young adulthood, to maturity, to eldership. Each generation playing a different role in society as they enter the life stages -- and therefore driving what will come next.
Think of this: GI Generation (Heroes) come home and build the great 1950s culture of Happy days. The Silent Generation (Artists) remember the war, but enjoy the idyllic season of growing up in Buddy Holly's america (think Happy Days). The Baby boomer generation (prophets) is born just after the war. But then when the baby boomer generation begins to mature (say around 20 years after the close of the crisis -- think mid 60s), they question the social system (does anybody remember the 60s and 70s??). As they're busy self-actualizing, they're giving birth to a new generation that receives considerably less attention than they did -- this generation becomes a generation of slackers (can we say Generation X anyone?). However as these slackers come into their own and the boomers self actualize society into a thousand different fragments, there becomes a new emphasis on co-operation and investing in children --
the unravelling that is precipitated by the self-actualizing zeitgiest from the Awakening may just propel us to a new crisis and that new generation (the Millennials) may well become the heroes -- the next GI generation that has to serve in the front lines of the new crisis.
Or think this scenario: The revolutionary war heroes had a whole generation of artful and subtle compromisers (John Quincy Adams for instance). But in the Post revolution era of a High, there was significant expansion and exuberance in America (Louisiana purchase anyone?). The children born during that time of exuberance would when they came of age be the catalyst for a little event known as the Second Great Awakening - a spiritual revival that broke out from the 1820s-1840s. Then, there is a season of unravelling as the prophets of the various religious and personal movements begin to battle (Bleeding Kansas?), until after about 20 years of unravelling, there is another crisis (The Civil War).
Crisis, High, Awakening, Unravelling
Hero, Artist, Prophet, Nomad
Which, if we're on the verge of crisis now, our 20 year olds and younger are the heroes who will bear the burdens -- the Nomads (that us Gen Xers) will have to be the tough decision makers -- the Pattons, the Eisenhowers, the Shermans, the Grants, the Stonewall Jacksons. The Prophet Boomers will make their prophetic voices heeard by goading the faithful into the breach. And the Artists will tend, nurture, and shepherd the generations with wisdom.
Challenging thoughts for challenging times
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Index to the Fourth Turning Series
First post
Concepts of Time
Crises of American History
American Awakenings
Supplemental Articles
Kruse Kronicle: Index on Generations
American Thinker article: "Parkinson's War" (thanks Chris Larimer)
Ypulse -- Ypulse provides daily news & commentary about Generation Y for media and marketing professionals.
Monday, July 17, 2006
What is an Emergent Neo-Puritan
Ever since I put this blog up, I've had as my "About Me", the following text:
"Father, husband, pastor, cultural exegete. A part of the Southern diaspora, an emergent neo-puritan, and a witty epicurean."
No-one has ever asked what any of it meant. I've had a few folks make aside comments like "I'm not sure what all that is" -- but no-one has ever actually asked.
Until now.
David McCrory gets the honors for asking the question -- specifically wondering what an emergent neo-puritan is.
So, here's me explanation of the whole thing (more than what David asked, but I'm in a mood to explain myself). The Father, husband, pastor, and cultural exegete are pretty self explanatory.
"A part of the Southern diaspora...." As a southerner (born and raised in Columbia, SC), I've come to find that the American Southeast has a distinctive and complex culture -- often ridiculed by much of the rest of the world. Where the rest of the nation sees NASCAR and country music as the South's great contribution, I see something much more. It is a way of life that celebrates family heritage going back for generations (my grandfather's first question upon meeting someone was "Who are your people?" - meaning who's your family). It celebrates nature and earthiness and the outdoors. There's a slowness and a gentility that even today persists. In the south, even the most well to do men are a little bit good-ol-boy when they put on their cammies and go hunting. There's a richness to southern quisine, southern literature, and southern music that I would not trade. There's a slower pace gives me room to breathe. I could wax rhapsodic for a long time -- but the point is that it is my home and the cadences of my thought were tuned in that culture. As we live in a more connected world than ever before, I find southerners dispersed all through the country and indeed the world -- still identifiable more or less. Hence, the Southern Diaspora.
"Emergent neo-puritan" -- this is a bit of a wisecrack on my part. Let me preface this by saying that I have many friends who are in churches that could be classified as "emergent" -- these churches are filled with good faithful and solid disciples who genuinely seek Christ.
But let me be quite frank -- I'm pretty sick of the term emergent. I've read so many articles that speak with breathless anticipation of the Emergent revolution. I find it amusing to think that there are leadership articles trying to help churches become more emergent -- as if it were a matter of engineering. Step 1: introduce electrified music Step 2: Get a prayer labarynth Step 3: grow a goatee or get a tattoo.
And then there are the legions of posers -- the "cooler than thou" Christians who have found churches where they can have good coffee, talk about semi-interesting books (I'm sorry, but I just can't call Blue Like Jazz interesting -- I've tried reading it three times and Miller's style just grates on my nerves). These folks gravitate to what I might call "corporate emergent" -- the megachurch clones that engage in a neverending quest to be relevant, but in so doing, strip the church of everything that makes it a distinctive refuge."
I speak now as a disciple, not as a pastor. I don't really want my church to be "relevant" -- I want my church to be deep and mature and grown up. I want my church to be a place that reflects a deep grounding in the Rock of Israel, the Strong Tower to whom I can run -- Jesus Christ, the righteous one. I long for a church that has old people and babies -- not just a bunch of twenty and thirty somethings looking to relate to one another. I want to go to a place where worship isn't just "cool", it's special and heartfelt and spirit-filled. I hope for a church of characters who walk lovingly as disciples of Jesus Christ, striving to take every thought captive and have every arena of their lives express the truth of the gospel.
That's the kind of life the Puritans encouraged at their best. Yes, there's a wide range of thought in the Puritan movement -- yes there were lamentable errors. But they got a lot of things right. I want to emerge by going backward -- back to the passion for a whole life Christianity. Hence, emergent neo-puritan.
Now I realize that this is exactly what is happening in some emergent churches -- but those are the churches that don't make a big deal about being "emergent". I take this as a general rule of thumb -- when a church works on selling their new focus ("were going to be emergent" "We're going to be missional" "were going to be purpose driven"), they usually get sidetracked from focusing on Christ to focusing on technique. The churches that are doing it well are not making a big deal about it because their focus is upon Christ and growing disciples and being subject to scripture.
Finally, "witty epicurian" -- that's an inside joke for my brother, and maybe David Thomas. Nothing more to it than that.
Hope this helps, David, and others of you who were just plain curious.
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
"Father, husband, pastor, cultural exegete. A part of the Southern diaspora, an emergent neo-puritan, and a witty epicurean."
No-one has ever asked what any of it meant. I've had a few folks make aside comments like "I'm not sure what all that is" -- but no-one has ever actually asked.
Until now.
David McCrory gets the honors for asking the question -- specifically wondering what an emergent neo-puritan is.
So, here's me explanation of the whole thing (more than what David asked, but I'm in a mood to explain myself). The Father, husband, pastor, and cultural exegete are pretty self explanatory.
"A part of the Southern diaspora...." As a southerner (born and raised in Columbia, SC), I've come to find that the American Southeast has a distinctive and complex culture -- often ridiculed by much of the rest of the world. Where the rest of the nation sees NASCAR and country music as the South's great contribution, I see something much more. It is a way of life that celebrates family heritage going back for generations (my grandfather's first question upon meeting someone was "Who are your people?" - meaning who's your family). It celebrates nature and earthiness and the outdoors. There's a slowness and a gentility that even today persists. In the south, even the most well to do men are a little bit good-ol-boy when they put on their cammies and go hunting. There's a richness to southern quisine, southern literature, and southern music that I would not trade. There's a slower pace gives me room to breathe. I could wax rhapsodic for a long time -- but the point is that it is my home and the cadences of my thought were tuned in that culture. As we live in a more connected world than ever before, I find southerners dispersed all through the country and indeed the world -- still identifiable more or less. Hence, the Southern Diaspora.
"Emergent neo-puritan" -- this is a bit of a wisecrack on my part. Let me preface this by saying that I have many friends who are in churches that could be classified as "emergent" -- these churches are filled with good faithful and solid disciples who genuinely seek Christ.
But let me be quite frank -- I'm pretty sick of the term emergent. I've read so many articles that speak with breathless anticipation of the Emergent revolution. I find it amusing to think that there are leadership articles trying to help churches become more emergent -- as if it were a matter of engineering. Step 1: introduce electrified music Step 2: Get a prayer labarynth Step 3: grow a goatee or get a tattoo.
And then there are the legions of posers -- the "cooler than thou" Christians who have found churches where they can have good coffee, talk about semi-interesting books (I'm sorry, but I just can't call Blue Like Jazz interesting -- I've tried reading it three times and Miller's style just grates on my nerves). These folks gravitate to what I might call "corporate emergent" -- the megachurch clones that engage in a neverending quest to be relevant, but in so doing, strip the church of everything that makes it a distinctive refuge."
I speak now as a disciple, not as a pastor. I don't really want my church to be "relevant" -- I want my church to be deep and mature and grown up. I want my church to be a place that reflects a deep grounding in the Rock of Israel, the Strong Tower to whom I can run -- Jesus Christ, the righteous one. I long for a church that has old people and babies -- not just a bunch of twenty and thirty somethings looking to relate to one another. I want to go to a place where worship isn't just "cool", it's special and heartfelt and spirit-filled. I hope for a church of characters who walk lovingly as disciples of Jesus Christ, striving to take every thought captive and have every arena of their lives express the truth of the gospel.
That's the kind of life the Puritans encouraged at their best. Yes, there's a wide range of thought in the Puritan movement -- yes there were lamentable errors. But they got a lot of things right. I want to emerge by going backward -- back to the passion for a whole life Christianity. Hence, emergent neo-puritan.
Now I realize that this is exactly what is happening in some emergent churches -- but those are the churches that don't make a big deal about being "emergent". I take this as a general rule of thumb -- when a church works on selling their new focus ("were going to be emergent" "We're going to be missional" "were going to be purpose driven"), they usually get sidetracked from focusing on Christ to focusing on technique. The churches that are doing it well are not making a big deal about it because their focus is upon Christ and growing disciples and being subject to scripture.
Finally, "witty epicurian" -- that's an inside joke for my brother, and maybe David Thomas. Nothing more to it than that.
Hope this helps, David, and others of you who were just plain curious.
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Friday, July 14, 2006
The Fourth Turning: American Awakenings
My great great grandfather, RY Russell, was a preacher during the mid-19th century. In the 1820's and 1830's, he preached revival and experienced amazing results -- it was that hotbed season of renewal known as the Second Great Awakening. A renewal of interest in spiritual things was happening all across the country -- people were beginning to look inward and assess the state of their hearts and souls and look for meaning beyond the meaterial world.
Yesterday, we talked about the seasonality of Crises in American culture, however Strauss and Howe posit that Awakenings are also seasonal. Just as the crises lead to a reformation of societal structure, so the Awakenings lead to a reformation of the inner lives of folks in society. "While a Crisis rearranges the outer world of power and politics, an Awakening rearranges the inner world of spirit and culture. While a Crisis elevates the group and reinvents public space, an Awakening elevates the individual and reinvents private space." (46) If a crisis is the bitter winter through which a culture must go, then an awakening is the hot sticky summer. Just as the Crises run on an 80-100 year cycle, so do awakenings -- only offset by 40-45 years. So, roughly 40 years after the start of a crisis period, we can expect to enter a new awakening period.
True to form, Strauss and Howe lay out a map of the great Awakenings that have occured in Anglo-American history since the Reformation:
The Protestant Reformation (1517-1542) In addition to the continental effects, the Reformation transformed England from a bastion of Catholic Loyalists to a Protestant stalwart.
The Puritan Awakening (1621-1649) A golden era of reformed theology that led to a renewed emphasis on Christ's lordship over all aspects of life. The postmillenial hope that puritans held fired their imaginations to seek out the New World and build a city shining on a hill.
The Great Awakening (1727-1746) After settled colonists hardened into rigid european class distinctions, this great season of revival shaped the revolutionary generation, stamping them with a passionate individualistic faith.
The Transcendental Awakening (1822-1844) A season of renewed spiritual interest that led to the abolition movement, and to the creation of new sects (many of the heretical -- like the Jehovah's witnesses and the Mormons)
The Third Great Awakening (1886-1908) A season of reform, utopianism and birth of the social gospel.
The Consciousness Revolution (1964-1984) The time in which new age movement, modern charismatic movement, and the New evangelical movement all came into their own as shapers of American culture.
Now a few things bear noting. One is that the renewed interest in spiritual things, as Howe and Strauss talk about it, is but a sociological phenomena -- this says nothing about the movement of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit moves as it will. There are examples of Spiritual movements that occur outside the bounds of these Awakenings (consider the 1859 prayer revival in New York, or the 100 year prayer vigil held by the Moravians). What Strauss and Howe identify are simply cultural indicators of broad interest in spiritual things.
Also note that the culture tends to be pretty indiscriminate about the spiritual offerings -- witness the proliferation of heterodox offerings during the "consciousness revolution" and the "Transcendental Awakening". The criteria for public receptivity seems to be what is scratching the itch that the current structure isn't meeting. For instance, the calcified and cold faith of the early 1800s, while doctrinally correct, left an opening for heterodox thinkers who emphasized the heart.
Now if Strauss and Howe are correct, then we're not due for another Awakening until around 2040 or so. However this doesn't mean that there aren't things we can't do to prepare. It seems the best thing to do is to develop an authentic Christianity that is balanced between heart and head. We can prepare by living the spiritual disciplines out in our communities -- the whole counsel of God proclaimed will challenge us to live out just that balance. We can minister to the poor, the needy, and the hurting -- for that is not only our calling, but it is often what fires the imaginations of the masses in an Awakening.
Most of all, we can pray --for as I said earlier, an Awakening is only a time of public interest. We must pray that the Spirit would grant a renewal to the church so that the church might be prepared for the Crisis ahead and the coming Awakening beyond. We can pray that the church would be strong and ready to respond, rather than a decadent institution tottering on the need of reform (which is what gave heat to the Reformation and the Puritan awakenings).
I look forward to your thoughts -- Be back with you on Monday
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Index to the Fourth Turning Series
First post
Concepts of Time
Crises of American History
Supplemental Articles
Kruse Kronicle: Index on Generations
American Thinker article: "Parkinson's War" (thanks Chris Larimer)
Yesterday, we talked about the seasonality of Crises in American culture, however Strauss and Howe posit that Awakenings are also seasonal. Just as the crises lead to a reformation of societal structure, so the Awakenings lead to a reformation of the inner lives of folks in society. "While a Crisis rearranges the outer world of power and politics, an Awakening rearranges the inner world of spirit and culture. While a Crisis elevates the group and reinvents public space, an Awakening elevates the individual and reinvents private space." (46) If a crisis is the bitter winter through which a culture must go, then an awakening is the hot sticky summer. Just as the Crises run on an 80-100 year cycle, so do awakenings -- only offset by 40-45 years. So, roughly 40 years after the start of a crisis period, we can expect to enter a new awakening period.
True to form, Strauss and Howe lay out a map of the great Awakenings that have occured in Anglo-American history since the Reformation:
The Protestant Reformation (1517-1542) In addition to the continental effects, the Reformation transformed England from a bastion of Catholic Loyalists to a Protestant stalwart.
The Puritan Awakening (1621-1649) A golden era of reformed theology that led to a renewed emphasis on Christ's lordship over all aspects of life. The postmillenial hope that puritans held fired their imaginations to seek out the New World and build a city shining on a hill.
The Great Awakening (1727-1746) After settled colonists hardened into rigid european class distinctions, this great season of revival shaped the revolutionary generation, stamping them with a passionate individualistic faith.
The Transcendental Awakening (1822-1844) A season of renewed spiritual interest that led to the abolition movement, and to the creation of new sects (many of the heretical -- like the Jehovah's witnesses and the Mormons)
The Third Great Awakening (1886-1908) A season of reform, utopianism and birth of the social gospel.
The Consciousness Revolution (1964-1984) The time in which new age movement, modern charismatic movement, and the New evangelical movement all came into their own as shapers of American culture.
Now a few things bear noting. One is that the renewed interest in spiritual things, as Howe and Strauss talk about it, is but a sociological phenomena -- this says nothing about the movement of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit moves as it will. There are examples of Spiritual movements that occur outside the bounds of these Awakenings (consider the 1859 prayer revival in New York, or the 100 year prayer vigil held by the Moravians). What Strauss and Howe identify are simply cultural indicators of broad interest in spiritual things.
Also note that the culture tends to be pretty indiscriminate about the spiritual offerings -- witness the proliferation of heterodox offerings during the "consciousness revolution" and the "Transcendental Awakening". The criteria for public receptivity seems to be what is scratching the itch that the current structure isn't meeting. For instance, the calcified and cold faith of the early 1800s, while doctrinally correct, left an opening for heterodox thinkers who emphasized the heart.
Now if Strauss and Howe are correct, then we're not due for another Awakening until around 2040 or so. However this doesn't mean that there aren't things we can't do to prepare. It seems the best thing to do is to develop an authentic Christianity that is balanced between heart and head. We can prepare by living the spiritual disciplines out in our communities -- the whole counsel of God proclaimed will challenge us to live out just that balance. We can minister to the poor, the needy, and the hurting -- for that is not only our calling, but it is often what fires the imaginations of the masses in an Awakening.
Most of all, we can pray --for as I said earlier, an Awakening is only a time of public interest. We must pray that the Spirit would grant a renewal to the church so that the church might be prepared for the Crisis ahead and the coming Awakening beyond. We can pray that the church would be strong and ready to respond, rather than a decadent institution tottering on the need of reform (which is what gave heat to the Reformation and the Puritan awakenings).
I look forward to your thoughts -- Be back with you on Monday
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Index to the Fourth Turning Series
First post
Concepts of Time
Crises of American History
Supplemental Articles
Kruse Kronicle: Index on Generations
American Thinker article: "Parkinson's War" (thanks Chris Larimer)
Thursday, July 13, 2006
The Fourth Turning: Crises of American History
Imagine a society-wide crisis; not an event observed through the comforting reassurance of Katie Couric's nightly news, but a harrowing dark night of the soul that is viscerally experienced by every citizen. Imagine a time of rationing, public calls for sacrifice, and unity in the face of daunting odds. Imagine staring down upon the assembleds hosts of Mordor ready to sweep over your castle walls and wipe your civilization out of existence.
Now, imagine such a crisis every 80-100 years. That's the thesis Strauss and Howe present. Yesterday, we talked about their view of the cyclical nature of time -- today, we look at the seasons in the cycle -- or rather, one season: winter. Just as the solar calendar cycles through a summer and a winter solstice (and a spring and autumnal equinox), so does culture go through similar seasons of growth, maturity, decay, and death.
Strauss and Howe pull a Joseph Campbell and look across cultures to rituals of "cultural renewal" -- and they see that every culture recognized in some way the cyclical nature of time. And as time passes from one cycle to the next, they recognize some dark season (like the three nights of darkness of the new moon) to help break ties with the old cycle and introduce a new age. They talk about ancient rituals of purification, chaos, and feasting that marked the transition from one cycle to the next: “In the typical new year celebration, the ancients assumed that an aboriginal god or king had once died for [the purpose of purification] and that a sacrifice (literally, a ‘making sacred’) had to be reenacted before each new circle could start.” (32) On the other side time is restarted afresh and anew and culture is revitalized.
Now, the concept here is well and good -- but as an aside I must confess wariness of their language for it seems to miss out on the once for all nature of Christ's sacrifice -- it misses out on the continual nature of Christ's ongoing work in the heavenlies (see Hebrews for more on this one). We don't approach Easter as some newfangled Day of Atonement for renewal of our culture -- rather Easter is a commemoration of a renewal that has already happened once and is available to us continually (not seasonally) by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In their quest for cultural archetypes, they miss out on what is truly unique about Christianity.
Their main point, however, is not sociology of religion, but looking at patterns of society. And this is where Strauss and Howe really have done their homework. They show chronologcially the great crises -- the winters of Anglo-American culture (which roughly happen every 80-100 years), which reshaped the foundational ways in which culture worked. After these crises, everything was different:
Wars of the Roses Crisis (1459-1487) -- Medeival feifdom-structured England is torn apart by competing houses for the throne. However England emerges from the crisis as a modern monarchial nation-state with a strong centralized administration ready to direct the course of the nation
Armada Crisis (1569-1594)-- England is a protestant Isle nearly alone in the rising tide of Spanish Catholic Hegemony. England emerges as a global superpower with an expanding world empire.
The Glorious Revolution Crisis (1675-1704) American colonies are backwaters in the empire, suffering terrible defeats by the Indians and the French, and neglected by England who is locked in a life and death struggle with Louis XIV of France for control of the world. America emerges from the crisis as a viable cosmopolitan culture, and England emerged triumphant over their rival superpower.
The American Revolution Crisis (1773-1794) The American colonies establish themselves as an independent state and successfully launch an experiment in self-government that would soon inspire revolution in the old world.
The Civil War Crisis (1860-1865) -- America begins as fractured regionally, economically, and socially. It emerges with a strong Federal government and a true sense of being a union.
The Depression and World War II Crisis (1929-1946) -- transformed the isolationist America, mired into decadence and stagnation of the roaring twenties, into a global superpower whose business and industry created an economy that was the envy of the world.
Were there other crisis moments? Certainly. Did they re-shape the structure of culture in the ways that these events did? Not at all (there is the exception of the summer-counterpart seasons -- the Awakenings -- more on those another time).
Now here is a sobering thought -- by Strauss and Howe's timeline -- we're due for another culture shaking crisis right about now. Could it be that the rise of radical Islam, combined with the threat of totalitarian regimes in North Korea and China could precipitate a new crisis? What about an oil/energy crisis? What about a bloated and ineffective beauracracy (see this great article Chris Larimer pointed me to). Could it be that post 9-11, the pace of change in our culture has accellerated to a point where our institutions are teetering on a precipice waiting to come tottering down. Will it take another Katrina, another terrorist attack? And what ought we do to prepare?
Perhaps we need to learn from what people did to weather past crises? Perhaps we need to re-learn good old fashoned spiritual disciplines (like community, simplicity, gratitude, etc.) that the church should have been teaching us all along. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this -- and I'll be sharing more as we continue to work through the book.
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Index to the Fourth Turning Series
First post
Concepts of Time
Supplemental Articles
Kruse Kronicle: Index on Generations
American Thinker article: "Parkinson's War" (thanks Chris Larimer)
Now, imagine such a crisis every 80-100 years. That's the thesis Strauss and Howe present. Yesterday, we talked about their view of the cyclical nature of time -- today, we look at the seasons in the cycle -- or rather, one season: winter. Just as the solar calendar cycles through a summer and a winter solstice (and a spring and autumnal equinox), so does culture go through similar seasons of growth, maturity, decay, and death.
Strauss and Howe pull a Joseph Campbell and look across cultures to rituals of "cultural renewal" -- and they see that every culture recognized in some way the cyclical nature of time. And as time passes from one cycle to the next, they recognize some dark season (like the three nights of darkness of the new moon) to help break ties with the old cycle and introduce a new age. They talk about ancient rituals of purification, chaos, and feasting that marked the transition from one cycle to the next: “In the typical new year celebration, the ancients assumed that an aboriginal god or king had once died for [the purpose of purification] and that a sacrifice (literally, a ‘making sacred’) had to be reenacted before each new circle could start.” (32) On the other side time is restarted afresh and anew and culture is revitalized.
Now, the concept here is well and good -- but as an aside I must confess wariness of their language for it seems to miss out on the once for all nature of Christ's sacrifice -- it misses out on the continual nature of Christ's ongoing work in the heavenlies (see Hebrews for more on this one). We don't approach Easter as some newfangled Day of Atonement for renewal of our culture -- rather Easter is a commemoration of a renewal that has already happened once and is available to us continually (not seasonally) by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In their quest for cultural archetypes, they miss out on what is truly unique about Christianity.
Their main point, however, is not sociology of religion, but looking at patterns of society. And this is where Strauss and Howe really have done their homework. They show chronologcially the great crises -- the winters of Anglo-American culture (which roughly happen every 80-100 years), which reshaped the foundational ways in which culture worked. After these crises, everything was different:
Wars of the Roses Crisis (1459-1487) -- Medeival feifdom-structured England is torn apart by competing houses for the throne. However England emerges from the crisis as a modern monarchial nation-state with a strong centralized administration ready to direct the course of the nation
Armada Crisis (1569-1594)-- England is a protestant Isle nearly alone in the rising tide of Spanish Catholic Hegemony. England emerges as a global superpower with an expanding world empire.
The Glorious Revolution Crisis (1675-1704) American colonies are backwaters in the empire, suffering terrible defeats by the Indians and the French, and neglected by England who is locked in a life and death struggle with Louis XIV of France for control of the world. America emerges from the crisis as a viable cosmopolitan culture, and England emerged triumphant over their rival superpower.
The American Revolution Crisis (1773-1794) The American colonies establish themselves as an independent state and successfully launch an experiment in self-government that would soon inspire revolution in the old world.
The Civil War Crisis (1860-1865) -- America begins as fractured regionally, economically, and socially. It emerges with a strong Federal government and a true sense of being a union.
The Depression and World War II Crisis (1929-1946) -- transformed the isolationist America, mired into decadence and stagnation of the roaring twenties, into a global superpower whose business and industry created an economy that was the envy of the world.
Were there other crisis moments? Certainly. Did they re-shape the structure of culture in the ways that these events did? Not at all (there is the exception of the summer-counterpart seasons -- the Awakenings -- more on those another time).
Now here is a sobering thought -- by Strauss and Howe's timeline -- we're due for another culture shaking crisis right about now. Could it be that the rise of radical Islam, combined with the threat of totalitarian regimes in North Korea and China could precipitate a new crisis? What about an oil/energy crisis? What about a bloated and ineffective beauracracy (see this great article Chris Larimer pointed me to). Could it be that post 9-11, the pace of change in our culture has accellerated to a point where our institutions are teetering on a precipice waiting to come tottering down. Will it take another Katrina, another terrorist attack? And what ought we do to prepare?
Perhaps we need to learn from what people did to weather past crises? Perhaps we need to re-learn good old fashoned spiritual disciplines (like community, simplicity, gratitude, etc.) that the church should have been teaching us all along. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this -- and I'll be sharing more as we continue to work through the book.
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Index to the Fourth Turning Series
First post
Concepts of Time
Supplemental Articles
Kruse Kronicle: Index on Generations
American Thinker article: "Parkinson's War" (thanks Chris Larimer)
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
The Fourth Turning: Concepts of Time
I'm following up with my earlier, pre-vacation promise to blog through the Fourth Turning by Strauss and Howe. This book was my beach reading all during the week (it beats The Nanny Diaries and Wicked).
So for this post, just a quick look at one of the foundational concepts - the flow of time. Strauss and Howe propose that there are three ways of viewing time: Chaotic, Cyclical, and Linear.
Chaotic time, they assert, is a view that sees no sequence or end goal in time. Things happen pretty much randomly. As they summarize, it is "...the belief that life is a billion fragments, that events come at random, and that history is directionless." (12) With modern deconstructionistic philosophy, we can see this in action - we must construct our own meaning -- we make a pastiche of all that has come before and recombine it in new and interesting ways that has meaning for us.
Then there is cyclical time -- the idea that seasons come and go. Time turns round back upon itself. This is evident in the seasons, the cycles of the moon, etc. However Strauss and Howe assert that such seasonality applies to cultures. And that is the thrust of this text.
Finally there is linear time -- the idea of unending progress toward an end goal. Strauss and Howe believe that this is the predominant view ever since the enlightenment and the reformation. They believe that this is the view upon which the American culture has been built -- think Manifest Destiny, think the march and progress of science.
Strauss and Howe believe that we need to move from linear thinking about time to cyclical thinking:
Thinking theologically, we can look at this in several ways. We might look at this as expression of various eschatologies -- pre-millenial thought believes that things will degenerate into chaos until Christ returns and sets things aright, postmillenial thought believes in a linear progression of improvement culminating in Christ's return, amillenial thought looks to types and antetypes that cycle throughout history until Christ returns.
One could also argue that all three modes find their way into Biblical thought. The times and seasons of Ecclesiastes point to cyclical thinking, the fulness of time and the awaiting Christ's return point to linear thought, while the intrusion of chaos in the lives of the righteous (such as in Job's life) lend some credence to chaotic time.
Perhaps Strauss and Howe are right that we've given too much preference for linear time in our culture. Perhaps they're right that we need to recover a sense of cyclical time to help us understand trends and generations. However, they seem to go to the point of a new stoicism -- saying that the best we can do is discover our place in history and play our role well. In some ways, their work is but Marcus Aurelius warmed over:
More to come later. Until then
Soli Deo Gloria
Index
First post
Kruse Kronicle: Index on Generations
So for this post, just a quick look at one of the foundational concepts - the flow of time. Strauss and Howe propose that there are three ways of viewing time: Chaotic, Cyclical, and Linear.
Chaotic time, they assert, is a view that sees no sequence or end goal in time. Things happen pretty much randomly. As they summarize, it is "...the belief that life is a billion fragments, that events come at random, and that history is directionless." (12) With modern deconstructionistic philosophy, we can see this in action - we must construct our own meaning -- we make a pastiche of all that has come before and recombine it in new and interesting ways that has meaning for us.
Then there is cyclical time -- the idea that seasons come and go. Time turns round back upon itself. This is evident in the seasons, the cycles of the moon, etc. However Strauss and Howe assert that such seasonality applies to cultures. And that is the thrust of this text.
Finally there is linear time -- the idea of unending progress toward an end goal. Strauss and Howe believe that this is the predominant view ever since the enlightenment and the reformation. They believe that this is the view upon which the American culture has been built -- think Manifest Destiny, think the march and progress of science.
Strauss and Howe believe that we need to move from linear thinking about time to cyclical thinking:
Before, when cyclical time reigned, people valued patience, ritual, and relatedness of parts to the whole, and the healing power of time-within-nature. Today, we value haste, iconoclasm, the disintegration of the whole into parts, and the power of time-outside-nature....Yet the great weakness of linear time is that it obliterates time’s recurrence and thus cuts people off from the eternal – whether in nature, in each other, or in ourselves. When we deem our social destiny entirely self-directed and our personal lives self-made, we lose any sense of participating in a collective myth larger than ourselves. We cannot ritually join with those who come before or after us. Situating us at some intermediate moment eons away from both the beginning and the end of history, linear time leaves us alone, restless, afraid to stand still lest we discover something horrible about ourselves.(11)
Thinking theologically, we can look at this in several ways. We might look at this as expression of various eschatologies -- pre-millenial thought believes that things will degenerate into chaos until Christ returns and sets things aright, postmillenial thought believes in a linear progression of improvement culminating in Christ's return, amillenial thought looks to types and antetypes that cycle throughout history until Christ returns.
One could also argue that all three modes find their way into Biblical thought. The times and seasons of Ecclesiastes point to cyclical thinking, the fulness of time and the awaiting Christ's return point to linear thought, while the intrusion of chaos in the lives of the righteous (such as in Job's life) lend some credence to chaotic time.
Perhaps Strauss and Howe are right that we've given too much preference for linear time in our culture. Perhaps they're right that we need to recover a sense of cyclical time to help us understand trends and generations. However, they seem to go to the point of a new stoicism -- saying that the best we can do is discover our place in history and play our role well. In some ways, their work is but Marcus Aurelius warmed over:
* There is a kind of river of things passing into being, and Time is a violent torrent. For no sooner is each seen, then it has been carried away, and another is being carried by, and that, too, will be carried away.
* All that comes to pass is as familiar and well known as the rose in spring and the grape in summer. Of like fashion are sickness, death, calumny, intrigue, and all that gladdens or saddens the foolish.
* What follows is always organically related to what went before; for it is not like a simple enumeration of units separately determined by necessity, but a rational combination; and as Being is arranged in a mutual co-ordination, so the phenomena of Becoming display no bare succession but a wonderful organic interrelation.
* Always remember what Heraclitus said: 'the death of earth is the birth of water, the death of water is the birth of atmosphere, the death of atmosphere is fire,... (Meditations Book IV 43-46)
More to come later. Until then
Soli Deo Gloria
Index
First post
Kruse Kronicle: Index on Generations
Monday, July 10, 2006
Resources for Revival: Andrew Murray on Corporate Prayer
I'm back from my blogging sabbatical... this week, for our monday Resources for Revival, we have Andrew Murray's fine article on the necessity of corporate prayer in concert with private prayer. (click here for the complete fasting and prayer index from Monergism.com).
Murray says:
Murray lists certain qualifiers to help us know whether we're truly uniting in prayer or merely sharing the same space and breathing the same air while praying at cross-purposes. These qualifiers are:
1) Agreement as to the thing asked/prayed for -- this in itself is the shipwreck of many a prayer gathering.
2) Praying in the Name of Jesus Christ -- honoring the name of the living God, and being quite clear upon whose power and authority we're resting
3) The sure answer -- the confidence that God responds to prayer. Prayer isn't some meaningless exercise that we do before we set about the real work -- it is indeed the work we set about which then directs our future exercises of actions.
Murray concludes with this quote:
As we commit to the disciplines of fasting and prayer, let us not neglect the balance of doing so both privately, and corporately. Let us heed Jesus' warning in the sermon on the mount to be cautious in our corporate prayers not to be seeking acclaim of our fellows -- rather, let the private prayer be the taproot that energizes our corporate prayer gatherings.
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Resources for Revival Index:
Bill Bright on Fasting
Murray says:
"The bond that unites a man to his fellow men is no less real and close than that which unites him to God; he is one with them. Grace not only renews our relation to God but also to man. We not only learn to say "My Father," but "Our Father." Nothing would be more unnatural than that the children of a family should always meet their father separately, but never in the united expression of their desires or their love. Believers are not only members of one family, but even of one body. Just as each member of the body depends on the other, and the full action of the spirit dwelling in the body depends on the union and cooperation of all, so Christians cannot reach the full blessing God is ready to bestow through His Spirit unless they seek and receive it in fellowship with each other."
Murray lists certain qualifiers to help us know whether we're truly uniting in prayer or merely sharing the same space and breathing the same air while praying at cross-purposes. These qualifiers are:
1) Agreement as to the thing asked/prayed for -- this in itself is the shipwreck of many a prayer gathering.
2) Praying in the Name of Jesus Christ -- honoring the name of the living God, and being quite clear upon whose power and authority we're resting
3) The sure answer -- the confidence that God responds to prayer. Prayer isn't some meaningless exercise that we do before we set about the real work -- it is indeed the work we set about which then directs our future exercises of actions.
Murray concludes with this quote:
"Who can say what power a church could develop and exercise if it gave itself to the work of prayer day and night for God's power on His servants and His word, and for the glorifying of God in the salvation of souls? Most churches think their members are gathered into one simply to take care of and build up each other. They do not know that God rules the world by the prayers of His saints, that prayer is the power by which Satan is conquered, that by prayer the Church on earth has as its disposal the powers of the heavenly world. They do not remember that Jesus has, by His promise, consecrated every assembly in His Name to be a gate of heaven, where His Presence is to be felt, and His Power experienced in the Father fulfilling their desires."
As we commit to the disciplines of fasting and prayer, let us not neglect the balance of doing so both privately, and corporately. Let us heed Jesus' warning in the sermon on the mount to be cautious in our corporate prayers not to be seeking acclaim of our fellows -- rather, let the private prayer be the taproot that energizes our corporate prayer gatherings.
Soli Deo Gloria
Russell
Resources for Revival Index:
Bill Bright on Fasting
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