Been so consumed lately with this pilot film (DVD) project, Camp Wattabunchaphun: Treasure Hunt, that I’ve neglected these pages. That, and I’m posting another blog over at www.hallowedgroundproductions.com. It’s worth a look, along with a plea for strategic prayer partners to join our production team.
It was interesting to chance upon the following article in Esquire Online, alongside other articles the likes of, “The Best Bars in America.”
What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff? By Shane Claiborne.
"This radical Christian's ministry for the poor, The Simple Way, has gotten him in some trouble with his fellow Evangelicals. We asked him to address those who don't believe." Read more: www.esquire.com/print-this/shane-claiborne-1209
Wish I would have written this, but then it might have gotten me in trouble with some of my fellow Salvationists; Time to get real, don’t you think?
JN
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Startling!
There are some startling statistics on Sunday School's influence, or lack thereof, over at www.ArmyBarmy.com: November 7 post. I’ve preached it til blue in the face and it is the thesis of my book on same subject: HOPE: A Flight Manuel for Prospective Angels: Join the flight! For more information go to www.joenoland.com - Creations.
I’ve preached the dangers of our complacency on this subject so much that people have stopped listening to me, i.e. “The Sky is Falling!” and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf!” There are some fresh voices over there, give them a listen. Our future depends upon it.
JN
I’ve preached the dangers of our complacency on this subject so much that people have stopped listening to me, i.e. “The Sky is Falling!” and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf!” There are some fresh voices over there, give them a listen. Our future depends upon it.
JN
Saturday, October 31, 2009
FSAOF!
As a retired TSA officer, in some ways I feel like a former officer. And as a retired Commissioner, I probably get a little more respect than others, but believe me there are a lot of similarities between “former” and “sent out to pasture.” I’ll not bore you with the parallels, except to say that since being “pasturized” my understanding and empathy has increased greatly.
This said to plug a blog site for former Salvation Army officers, www.fsaof.blogspot.com. I drop in periodically because the well-written posts and discussion following helps me keep everything in perspective. I would recommend the same for every not yet “pasturized” leader because your day is coming soon (considering the age at which most top leaders are appointed), but more importantly because the insight gained there will provide balance to your personnel related decision making during the interim.
JN
This said to plug a blog site for former Salvation Army officers, www.fsaof.blogspot.com. I drop in periodically because the well-written posts and discussion following helps me keep everything in perspective. I would recommend the same for every not yet “pasturized” leader because your day is coming soon (considering the age at which most top leaders are appointed), but more importantly because the insight gained there will provide balance to your personnel related decision making during the interim.
JN
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Recasting the Bible in Our Own Image!
After reading the posts below, check out another over at www.slightlyirreverent.blogspot.com. A bit irreverent I suppose, but worth the read.
JN
JN
Revolution of Holiness!
Check out this link: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17301 I’ve selected out two excerpts following (Key words: Fundamentalism, Materialism, Holiness):
“This “spiritual lung” that is Africa risks two “dangerous diseases,” he warned. "First, a disease that has spread throughout the Western world, namely practical materialism, combined with relativistic and nihilistic thinking.” The second, he said, is “religious fundamentalism. Mixed with political and economic interests, groups claiming different religious affiliations are spreading in Africa.”
"We need to focus increasingly on the 'high standard' of Christian life, that is holiness. Pastors, and all members of the ecclesial community, are called to be saints.”
Hmmm. It wouldn’t be farfetched to juxtapose America with Africa. Or Canada, or Great Britain or Australia or (place here if it fits) or Methodists or Baptists or (place here if it fits), would it?
Let me make it personal, and paraphrase a little here if you don’t mind. “We need to focus increasingly on the ‘high standard’ of Christian life, that is holiness. Officers, and all Soldiers of The Salvation Army, are called to be saints.”
Hmmm. Was the Pope speaking to me, personally?
JN
“This “spiritual lung” that is Africa risks two “dangerous diseases,” he warned. "First, a disease that has spread throughout the Western world, namely practical materialism, combined with relativistic and nihilistic thinking.” The second, he said, is “religious fundamentalism. Mixed with political and economic interests, groups claiming different religious affiliations are spreading in Africa.”
"We need to focus increasingly on the 'high standard' of Christian life, that is holiness. Pastors, and all members of the ecclesial community, are called to be saints.”
Hmmm. It wouldn’t be farfetched to juxtapose America with Africa. Or Canada, or Great Britain or Australia or (place here if it fits) or Methodists or Baptists or (place here if it fits), would it?
Let me make it personal, and paraphrase a little here if you don’t mind. “We need to focus increasingly on the ‘high standard’ of Christian life, that is holiness. Officers, and all Soldiers of The Salvation Army, are called to be saints.”
Hmmm. Was the Pope speaking to me, personally?
JN
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Plumb Line!
The above borrowed from JustSalvos.com.
Tattoos of Compassion
My wife’s brother was in hospice care towards the end of a long battle with cancer. When Doris and her sister-in-law first saw the nurse assigned to him—spiked, multi-colored hair, body piercings and tattoos up and down both arms—they were not sure they wanted this particular person looking after their loved one. After watching her in action, their impressions began to change.
The next day one of the other nurses asked them if Bronte’ (the hospice nurse) had told them about her tattoos. She had not, so the nurse said to them, “Let me tell you.” She told them that Bronte’, originally from Scotland, had worked in an Australian AID’S hospice before coming to America. While there one of her patients said to her, “I know I am going to die soon, and when I do, no one will know, no one will care and no one will remember.
That evening Bronte’ went out and got her first tattoo. She approached that AID’S patient the next day, pointed to the freshly engraved tattoo on her arm and said to him, “Do you see this tattoo? It is for you. Every time I look at this tattoo I will think of you. Every time I touch this tattoo I will remember you. I care! You will never be forgotten.” And now tattoos are lined up and down her arms—the tattoos of compassion. The Body of Christ must line itself with the invisible tattoos of compassion.
William Sloan Coffin Writes:
"The opposite of love is not hatred but fear. 'Perfect love casts out fear.' Nothing scares me like scared people; for while love seeks the truth, fear seeks safety, the safety so frequently found in dogmatic certainty, in pitiless intolerance."
"I think the love of Jesus is indeed the plumb line by which everything is to be measured. And while laws may be more rigid, love is more demanding, for love insists on motivation and goes between around, and way beyond all laws."
God help us!
JN
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Peace, Perfect Peace!
I do not agree with President Barack Obama on every issue, but I support him because he is the elected leader of this land, motivated by compassion and a person of integrity. Therein is the rub; I write about “the rub” thoroughly in my book, “Lean Right, Love Left: Balancing the Body.” To show compassion is a sign of weakness for many, the religious establishment not withstanding. Reread The Gospels with this context in mind. Walter Brueggemann, in “The Prophetic Imagination” writes:
“In the arrangement of ‘lawfulness’ in Jesus; time, as in the ancient empire of Pharaoh, the one unpermitted quality of relation was compassion. Empires are never built or maintained on the basis of compassion. The norms of law (social control) are never accommodated to persons, but persons are accommodated to the norms. Otherwise the norms will collapse and with them the whole power arrangement. Thus the compassion of Jesus is to be understood not simply as a personal reaction but as a public criticism in which he dares to act upon his concern against the entire numbness of his social context.”
I go on to comment: “The emphasis here is on the “hurt” as opposed to the condition that created the hurt. The focus is not on the leprosy; it is on the person who is suffering the resulting banishment, stigma and pain. The focus is not on prostitution, adultery, homosexual or heterosexual liaisons; it is on the person(s) who will inevitably suffer the hurt (self-inflicted and “norms” inflicted) that will invariably accompany these lifestyle choices. Medical and social researchers take the condition seriously whilst Christians take the hurt seriously. In Pharaoh’s time the law was all that mattered. In Christ’s time compassion mattered more. Compassion is the preemptive counterpunch that will topple the forces of evil. You can’t get more radical than that!”
I’m one of 12 million Americans on Obama’s mailing list. Yesterday, I received the following email from the President:
Joe --
This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.
To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.
But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.
That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.
This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.
So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
I sit here nonplussed today listening to the hatred spewing forth because of this “peace” award, the religious establishment included. I understand the reaction in other countries, but here in America? This should be a proud moment for all of us. Although bestowed upon one person, it is representative of Democracy, everything this nation was founded upon and stands for (“It belongs to all people”). But then again, perhaps our priorities and values have changed down through the years. Peace isn’t as profitable or perfect for some. “Empires are never built or maintained on the basis of compassion.”
JN
“In the arrangement of ‘lawfulness’ in Jesus; time, as in the ancient empire of Pharaoh, the one unpermitted quality of relation was compassion. Empires are never built or maintained on the basis of compassion. The norms of law (social control) are never accommodated to persons, but persons are accommodated to the norms. Otherwise the norms will collapse and with them the whole power arrangement. Thus the compassion of Jesus is to be understood not simply as a personal reaction but as a public criticism in which he dares to act upon his concern against the entire numbness of his social context.”
I go on to comment: “The emphasis here is on the “hurt” as opposed to the condition that created the hurt. The focus is not on the leprosy; it is on the person who is suffering the resulting banishment, stigma and pain. The focus is not on prostitution, adultery, homosexual or heterosexual liaisons; it is on the person(s) who will inevitably suffer the hurt (self-inflicted and “norms” inflicted) that will invariably accompany these lifestyle choices. Medical and social researchers take the condition seriously whilst Christians take the hurt seriously. In Pharaoh’s time the law was all that mattered. In Christ’s time compassion mattered more. Compassion is the preemptive counterpunch that will topple the forces of evil. You can’t get more radical than that!”
I’m one of 12 million Americans on Obama’s mailing list. Yesterday, I received the following email from the President:
Joe --
This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.
To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.
But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.
That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.
This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.
So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
I sit here nonplussed today listening to the hatred spewing forth because of this “peace” award, the religious establishment included. I understand the reaction in other countries, but here in America? This should be a proud moment for all of us. Although bestowed upon one person, it is representative of Democracy, everything this nation was founded upon and stands for (“It belongs to all people”). But then again, perhaps our priorities and values have changed down through the years. Peace isn’t as profitable or perfect for some. “Empires are never built or maintained on the basis of compassion.”
JN
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