building on yesteryear's stories

A few months ago I had the privilege of attending a conference in Ohio called Innovation. At least half of the speakers really "spoke"to me. One, however, rose above the others. He was a young Adventist history professor from Loma Linda University (I believe).

His talk, Adventism 3.0, was built on the idea that like progressive, ever developing computer software, Adventism has been ever progressive and developing (versions 1.0, 2.0, and now 3.0). And by Adventism he's referring to Adventist theology. The concept of "present truth" has driven the search for how to truly follow God now, not just ancient tradition. He believes that Adventism has had to "adjust" it's theology in response to current experience that no longer works for it. Does that make the historical story of Adventist theology wrong or indicate that God must not have been guiding in the begginning. Absolutely not! God gently guides us in spite of our viewing Him and life through a "glass darkly", and I think may even allow us to percieve truth in a certain way to get us through a certain point in our experience.

What I find so refreshing about Julius is that it appears that he has a deep love for God's work through and in Adventism. Rather than throw it out because he believes differently than some of the more fundamental sides, he believes the historical story and beliefs of Adventism are great platforms for advancing fresh practical ministry to our sin wracked world.

For example.

2nd Coming Doctrine.
Rather than allowing our sense of urgency for Christ's 2nd coming to get us paranoid about every natural disaster and trying to make as many as possible believe doctrinal points exactly like us, we set about to work towards what it means to BE the presence and Body of Christ in our local communities-because the world urgently needs Christ's presence NOW.

Sabbath Doctrine.
Rather than focusing heavily on the "right dayness" of which day to go to church, use the principles embedded within the Sabbath to propel us to work for rest, equality, justice, and environmental responsibility-all ideals which are part of Godly ordained "rest".

And the Sanctuary Doctrine.
Here's one that I often wonder what practical application this has for today. I know as Adventists we have beliefs that tie this to what God is doing now in Heaven. But it often feels so "out there" to me. Julius has an interesting idea for how this historical belief can have "a" practical, current, earthly focus. I'll reffer you to his blog post for you to check this out.

HELP!

A word for desperate times.

Dallas Willard's thick masterpiece pictured here is one that I've been enjoying for "years" (ah, 3 or so). For some reason I haven't sat down and read it cover to cover. I'm only a little over halfway as a result of taking bits and bites from time to time.

Today I reflected on a couple more pages where he's expounding his ideas on the Lord's Prayer. The lines "have mercy on us" and "lead us not into temptation" were the phases to be unpacked.

In our modern society (or postmodern depending on what lingo you prefer to use) having mercy on someone simply means to give them a break. But apparently mercy meant something deeper in yesteryear. Mercy was more like pity. Most of us do not like to be pitied. It's embarrassing and humbling. It reveals our inadequacy. To ask God for pity is to swallow our pride and recognize our need of His mercy.

In keeping with the spirit of that line, the next follows suit. I've often wondered what the purpose of asking God not to lead us to temptation was. Why would God lead a person close to sin? Dallas says that temptation, while certainly including temptation to sin, is a broader term. It refers to tests and trials in general. Peter was very confident about being able to withstand the temptation that Jesus said he was going to fail in. Yet, he did indeed fail.

To ask God to spare us from temptation is to recognize that there are dangeraous trials in this life that, without God's intervention, CAN do me in. To believe that God will spare me does not mean He won't allow them to come my way. But it does mean I can trust Him to pull me through them and to spare me from the "lion's share". To forge ahead like Peter with a false sense of security is most assuradley a recipe for disaster.

So, I guess the 4 letter word in the post title above is pretty important for keeping my relationship with God in proper perspective.