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 The sad thing about living in a Western influenced culture is that we rarely have the opportunity to hear and learn from our brothers and sisters in the East.
Kenneth Bailey, an American Presbyterian minister/professor who spend 60 years (1935-1995) in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus, tries to remedy this issue with his book “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies In The Gospels.”
“Middle Eastern Christians have been called the forgotten faithful. The world knows that across the centuries there have been Jews and Muslims in the Middle East. For the most part, however Middle Eastern Christians evaporated from Western consciousness after the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451. Few are aware of the existence today of more than ten million Arabic-speaking Christians who possess a rich heritage of ancient and modern literature. Speaking a Semitic language, these Christians are a people who live, breathe, think, act and participate in Middle Eastern culture; they are rooted in the traditional ways of the Middle East. Their voices, past and present, need to be heard in biblical studies.” (Preface, pg 11-12)
Accordingly Bailey draws from a collection of Syriac, Hebrew/Aramaic and Arabic commentaries, Bible translations and other writings to bring a fresh look at the message of Jesus. It is this connection to our Eastern family that makes Bailey’s book so refreshing and welcoming.
In other words, this isn’t a novelty book full of ‘new’ theological ideas. Nay, a lot of what he says is similar to what I’ve heard before or has worked out myself with the Lord. The genius of the book is Bailey’s reliance on the Church Fathers of the East who illuminate the culture around the life of Jesus.
Continue reading Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey
 Saint Justin Martyr “We have learned from the prophets, and we hold it to be true, that punishments, chastisements, and rewards are rendered according to the merit of each man’s actions. Otherwise, if all things happen by fate, then nothing is in our own power.
“For if it be predestined that one man be good and another man evil, then the first is not deserving of praise or the other to be blamed. Unless humans have the power of avoiding evil and choosing good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions-whatever they may be….
“For neither would a man be worthy of reward or praise if he did not of himself choose the good, but was merely created for that end. Likewise, if a man were evil, he would not deserve punishment, since he was not evil of himself, being unable to do anything else than what he was made for.”
-Justin Martyr (110-165 AD) First Apology chap. 43
 This last Sunday service was a a tad different as we looked at the church history between Acts chapter 28 and today (Act 5 Scene 2 in the Grand Story of God).
While history may not be in the Bible, this is a very, very important topic as God did not stop working after St. Luke penned the final words of Acts. He is very much active today and He has always been active within history.
There is a reason that the majority of the Scripture is written as history – Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Jonah, Matthew, Luke, Mark, John, and Acts. They are all history books detailing the work of God among humanity… and if God deemed it important enough to include the history of the Jewish people in His Sacred Text, than I feel it is important to know the history of the Church, birthed with Jesus and infused with the Holy Spirit.
The prophet Jeremiah speaks to this in the sixth chapter:
16 This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
-Jeremiah 6:16
The “ancient paths” => we are not alone on this journey. There have been many followers of Jesus who has walked this path before us. Hebrews 12:1 says that we are “surrounded” by a “great cloud of witnesses” who are cheering us on – encouraging us to finish the race set before us by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Continue reading Church History (Act 5 Scene 2)
 For the first since April 1927 the famous detective Sherlock Holmes is back in print with a new canonized adventure chronicled by Dr. John H. Watson.
That is correct, the Conan Doyle Estate, who has ultimate control over the writings and characters developed Arthur Conan Doyle, has authorized commissioned a new Sherlock Holmes novel. The author they chose to write is iconic novel was none other than Anthony Horowitz of Alex Rider fame, which by the way are fairly good young adult adventure books.
The book in question, “The House of Silk” , was published a few months ago on November 1, 2011. Luckily Boise has a good library system and I was able to read this iconic book within a timely manner. 
My reaction to said book? I loved it!!
It was captivating and thrilling from the get go with Dr. Watson writing in the preface why he choose to lock the manuscript up in a vault with instruction for them to be published 100 years later:
“It was impossible before – and I am not just referring to Holmes’ well-known aversion to publicity. No, the events which I am about to describe were simply too monstrous, too shocking to appear in print. They still are. It is no exaggeration to suggest that they would tear apart the entire fabric of society and, particularly at a time of war, this is something I cannot risk.”
In having finished the novel, I do have to say that Dr. Watson was correct – the crime that was committed involved people throughout the highest reaches of society and would have caused untold damages had the people of London known about it at the time. Granted, in hindsight, that might not have been that bad of a think knowing the nature of the crime…
Regardless, the novel is self was fantastic! I can’t really say if the writing style was “Doyle-iss” as I have not read the original is quite some time – that and I’m not really a textual criticism scholar. All I can say was that enjoyed myself thoroughly and hope that Anthony Horowitz will write some more.
 A few months ago I was the very happy winner of a book giveaway by Tony Campolo on his website, RedLetterChristians.org (which I highly recommend reading!). The book that I won was called “Stories That Feed Your Soul” and is a collection of nonfiction inspirational short stories revolving around the following eight themes:
- Freedom From Condemnation
- The New Life In Christ
- Intimacy With God
- The Call To Rescue Creation
- Living With Hope
- Praying In The Spirit
- God’s Plan For Us
- The Assurance We Need
At first I read one story per night while putting my son to bed, but soon I found myself eagerly eating up the stories as I saw the hand of God working in each situation. They truly did bring to light some of the nuances of living out our faith day-to-day while causing me to stop and reflect on my life.
The stories are also very useful in communicating complex ideas and theological points. Point in fact, I paraphrased one of Tony’s stories in my sermon last week on a whim as it just seemed to fit and, would you believe, it was the one thing folks remembered! Why this may not reflect good on my sermon, it does highlights the power of stories – perhaps that is why Jesus taught in parables? 
Below is the story that I paraphrased (and which will be read in its full this coming Sunday) as a teaser for the 117 stories included in Tony’s book. Enjoy and be blessed.
Continue reading “Stories That Feed Your Soul” by Tony Campolo
 I don’t know if you all have heard or not, but I just found out that N.T. Wright released translation of the New Testament last fall called
“The Kingdom New Testament.” While I have not read it (although I am saving my pennies to get it!), Scott McKnight gives it the following praise:
“Better than any translation I know today, other than the most literal of translations (which have an entirely different problem), I hear the author’s Greek behind Tom’s translation. Still, Tom Wright is much more in tune with rendering the Greek NT into contemporary English, and that’s the subtitle of the KNT: A Contemporary Translation. He does so with elan at times. The translation is brisk and energetic, it’s gender neutral, and it has some real surprises that will make you smile — and provide insight at the same time….
“There is something quite distinct about Tom’s translation: he wants the reader to feel the 1st Century, to hear a Jew call Jesus “Messiah” or “King” and he wants his readers to know that the word “righteousness” just might not cut through ecclesial thickets and deserves to be translated at times a “justice” and (I observe in Matt 5:17-20) as “covenant behavior.” So, yes, there’s a touch of the new perspective, or as Tom calls his approach, the “fresh” perspective, but it’s very even-handed and not at all overdone.”
Yeah, I think I am going to have to figure out a way to get my hands on this Bible – especially as I’m getting ready to dive into a new sermon series on of the life of Jesus…
UPDATE @ 11:00 AM : My lovely bride found a great deal this morning and ordered this Bible for me!!! She is SO AWESOME!!!
 Rev. R.W. Schambach (April 3, 1926 - January 17, 2012) Deep inside the boiler room of a USA World War II navy destroyer on patrol off the coast of Japan a man made a decision that would change trillions of lives. The decision was a simple one in nature as it was a decision to follow Jesus Christ and to rely on His grace.
The man who made that decision was none other than Robert William Schambach, or R.W. as he became known.
In the years following that decision, RW attended school at Central Bible Institute in Springfield, Missouri, before joining A.A. Allen in crisscrossing the USA praying for the sick and talking about Jesus. Those years were formative for RW as he learned how to listen to the voice of the Spirit watch as God healed the multitudes of every illness known whether it be physical, spiritual, and/or emotional.
Later on RW struck out on his own becoming a ‘tent’ revivalist, hauling his trademark tents to every major city in the USA. People of all status, faiths, ethnicity, and gender all crowded into these tents to hear about Jesus.
At some point in his life, RW setup his headquarters in East Texas and started broadcasting his sermons over the radio. Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I remember listening to his sermons every day throughout the summers and learning about the faith that I will one day teach to others.
Continue reading Bye R.W., You Ran Well And Finished Strong
 Last week Phil Strout, the Vineyard USA National Director Elect, announced twelve of the members of his new “Executive Team” or national board. While there are still a few appointments pending, I have to say that I am pretty pleased with Phil’s section as it gives the board a well-rounded view of what God is doing throughout the USA.
The Proposed 2013 Vineyard USA National Board
- Current Members Who Will Continue:
- Brian Anderson –Southwest Regional Overseer and Vineyard Church North Phoenix (AZ) pastor
- Mark Fields –Missions Task Force Director
- Michael Gatlin – Church Planting Task Force Director (as of May 2011) and pastor of the Duluth Vineyard (MN)
- Happy Leman –Midwest Regional Overseer and pastor of The Vineyard Church – Urbana (IL)
- Rich Nathan – Large Church Task Force Director and pastor of the Vineyard Church of Columbus (OH)
- Rick Olmstead –Greater Rocky Mountain Regional Overseer and Vineyard Church of the Rockies (Fort Collins, CO) pastor
- Lance Pittluck –Western Regional Overseer and Anaheim Vineyard (CA) pastor
- New Board Members:
- Phil Chorlian – North Jersey Vineyard (Teterboro, NJ) pastor and current Regional Church Planting Coordinator for the Northeast
- Jeff Heidkamp – Editor of “Cutting Edge” magazine (a Vineyard USA church planting resource) and co-pastor of the Mercy Vineyard (Minneapolis, MN) with his wife Le Que, who leads the Vineyard USA National Ethnic Diversity Task Force.
- Jay Pathak – Mile High Vineyard (Arvada, CO) pastor and Greater Rocky Mountain Church Planting Coordinator
- Dianne Leman – Current Women’s Task Force co-director, co-senior pastor of The Vineyard Church – Urbana (IL) and Co-Regional Overseer for the Midwest Region with her husband Happy (it sounds like Dianne’s role is being enlarged so I’m listing her as a “new” member)
- Becky Olmstead – Current Kids Ministry Task Force Director, co-senior pastor of Vineyard Church of the Rockies (Fort Collins, CO) and Co-Regional Overseer for the Greater Rocky Mountain with her husband Rick (it sounds like Becky’s role is being enlarged so I’m listing her as a “new” member)
 Deep inside of us we all want to think that we are unique – some special and different than everyone around us. And on one level that is true as our personalities, physical features, background and the essences that make us “us” is unique and different.
Yet on larger level we are not unique. Instead we all tend to take on the characteristics of our culture and, to a certain level, the characteristics of our generation.
In the reading the book “The Millennials: Connecting to America’s Largest Generation” by Thom S. Rainer and Jess Rainer I was really struck by how much of my thinking and values were shared across the 77.9 million people born in the United States between 1980 and 2000. (Being born in the first half of 1980, I am on the forefront of this generation – the largest, by the way, since the 75.5 million Baby Boomers of 1946-1964.)
For example, for years now dating back to high school, I have stated that my goal in life was to ‘change the world.’ I remember singing worships songs on that theme and wanting to live life that made a mark on history versus simply existing. What I didn’t know that that this value of making a differences is a common across the Millennnial generation regardless of religious affiliation.
Another common value is the Millennials desire to be relational and to seek out mentors and teachers who can help them move forward through the twists and turns of life. This value is vastly different than the previous two generations (Boomers and X) who typically valued independence and threw off the ‘chains’ of their elders and struck out on their own. Given that the Millennials saw the difficulties caused by this, it is not too surprising to me that we decided to seek out advice and guidance.
The third shared value is that Millennials tend to have an innate desire to learn. If things continue, this generation is on track to being the most educated generation in the world with over 30% of the generation graduating college. Again, this perpetual desire to learn is something that has defined my life as I have continued to read widely and pursue postgraduate education.
Continue reading “The Millennials” by Rainer and Rainer
 One of the most popular myths in the USA is the one in which a person success against all odds by themselves. These are the ‘rag-to-riches’ stories told throughout the nation to give hope to those ‘without’ while boosting the pride of those ‘with.’
Yet as Malcolm Gladwell shows in his book “Outliers: The Story of Success” these stories are far from truthful. Instead they leave out very important details about how a person rose through the ranks – details that show that individual people own a ton more to their ancestors, the people around them and their cultural than perhaps they want to admit.
Take for example Canadian hockey players. If you look at the birthdates of all the professional hockey players in Canada you will find that an overwhelmingly number of them were born in January, February or March versus the other nine months of the year. Why is that?
Well in Canada, the youth hockey league determines eligibility based upon birthdates with a start time of January 1st. Therefore children born closer to the beginning of the year have longer to develop physically and mentally than their team mates who were born at the end of the year. This advantage causes them to stand out among their peer which gives them more face time with the coaches who like to encourage start players. As time goes on, the slight advantage of a birth date builds into a huge advantage that eventually leads to disproportionate birthday numbers mentioned.
In continuing along those lines Gladwell shows how ‘rags-to-riches’ superstar Bill Gates – the college dropout turn world’s richest man – owns his success not to his own work ethic, which does helped mind you, but to the opportunities given to him by his family. As in, Gate’s parents put him in an exclusive preparatory middle school which just-so-happened to have both a Teletype Model 33 ASR terminal and the mainframe computer time to run it – something virtually unheard in 1968.
Continue reading Being Part of the Tapestry of Life
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Who Writes This Mess? My name is Joshua Hopping and I am a Son of the Most High journeying through a foreign land following the Wild Goose (i.e. the Holy Spirit) one step at a time.
As I journey along the Way, I have the privilege of serving as the bi-vocational pastor of the Payette River Vineyard Christian Fellowship. I am also a voracious reader who loves studying church history, theology, and world missions.
This blog, "Requisite Danger", is a record of what God is teaching and showing me as I try to follow Him wherever He leads as well as occasional random thoughts. I pray that you will join me in this journey through online/offline interaction as this life is lived in community.
May His grace and peace be upon you.
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