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Soon after I posted my thoughts on being “Trail Broke” (i.e. leading by example), I ran across a post by David Fitch that posed some of the same questions yet with a slightly different spin.
In his post, David, who, BTW, is a bi-vocational pastor and seminary professor, asked the question of what is the job of a pastor:
a.) lead everyone individually into the Christian life that I [the pastor] am already living? or
b.) to lead everyone into joining in life with God and His Mission wherever that might lead?
As the post developed it became clear that to David that the first option lend itself to a pastor who thinks that they have already achieved the “perfect life” and can now “give it to someone else.” In other words, it a leadership model that assumes that the leader is “ahead” of the everyone else on journey and is simply showing them all the way forward.
 The second option, which David heavily promotes, is a leadership model that places the pastor “among” the people as someone who is journeying together with them “into the depths of life with God and His Mission.” The beauty of this model is that it frees the pastor for having to be perfect or having to have figured out everything beforehand. Instead they are just another Jesus follower who is growing with everyone else through interactions with the greater body of Christ.
Needless to say most of us when presented with the above choices would gravitate towards the second options as it defiantly sounds better than the first. Yet, I would have to say that I have seen and been around pastors who, whether or not they admit it, lead based upon the model of the first option. In fact if you look up the twenty most used qualifiers for successful Christian leadership in America you would get a list of words that reflect the essence of this leadership model hidden in ‘Christianese” language.
However, I must also admit that I’m uncomfortable with David’s second leadership model as I don’t think it fully recognizes the difference between a pastor and a non-pastor. Or to say it differently, I believe that those who are called by God to serve in the role of a pastor/teacher are held at a higher level of accountable than those who are not.
Continue reading Leading From Within The Herd
 The church/school bell had just rung, calling everyone to worship (the school we met in has a pair of old bells that we ring seven times before church each Sunday). And there I was pacing outside, asking God what I was to do as in a few minutes I would have to walk into the gym, pick up my bass guitar, play a few songs and then teach on intimate heart of worship – a topic that is close to my heart and one that I wish every Jesus follower would/could grasp.
It was in that moment of silence before the activity of the day, I heard two words spoken to my heart from my Lover:
Trail broke
In the colloquialism of the American West, a trail broke animal, which is usually a horse, cow or donkey, is one that is used to walking down a trail either as a lead animal or as one following the lead critter. In the case of a horse, being trail broke normally refers to a horse that can be counted on to follow a trail rather than always trying to get of the trail and into the ‘wild’ areas.
For a cow the phrase normally refers to a one that is used to being driven in cow drives and is content to follow the lead cowboy wherever he takes them. A trail broke donkey is similar to a trail broke cow, only a donkey is usually the lead animal in a herd of sheep, who will follow the donkey wherever it goes. In such a case, the lead donkey has the unique task either following the shepherd in front of the herd or, in the case when the shepherd is off corralling a renegade sheep, it follows the trail the shepherd left until otherwise directed.
Continue reading Trail Broke
My friend Jason Clark, a brilliant pastor theologian in the UK, was recently asked by the UK Vineyard AVC to help teach folks how to integrate theology into their lives and churches. The result of this is an amazing video of Jason sharing his life with a class and address why we, as Jesus [...]
Worship in the park
Over the next few weeks I’m going to be teaching a bit on worship and was wondering if any of you have any thoughts, comments or questions concerning worship…
Below are some of the things bouncing around in my head that I’m thinking about addressing:
Trusting God – We [...]
Recently I heard the following phrase coined during the Jesus Movement of the 1960 and ‘70’s that helped motivate a generation of Jesus followers:
“I’d rather burn out for Jesus than rust out.”
I know the heart behind the phrase was one of excitement and joy at being able to do great [...]
 As I was studying for last week’s sermon it hit me that perhaps Jesus’ family was actually influential and, if not well off, perhaps “middle-class.” Knowing that this differs from the common belief within Christianity that Jesus was a poor itinerant teacher from a low social class family I thought I was post my logic and see what you all thought.
Items of Thought:
Carpenter Family – Despite debates on the exact meaning of the Greek word used, it is generally accepted that Jesus’ adoptive father Joseph was a wood worker (i.e. carpenter). However what is not usually thought about is that a carpenter is a highly skilled trade that would have been in demand. Especially since Nazareth’s neighboring city of Autocratis was being rebuilt about the time that Joseph was living in the area.
The Village of Nazareth – Speaking of Nazareth, I recently read that the principle reason behind the foundation of this town was to create an Jewish outpost in the predominantly Gentile area of Galilee (Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey). If this is correct, and I have no reason to think otherwise, it would mean Joseph was a highly skilled builder in a town that was part of an active movement to take back the land for the people of Israel through a policy of occupation.
Mary’s Family Connections – Jesus’ second cousin through his mother Mary was Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Zechariah was an Aaronite priest who served within the Holy place of the temple. This is interesting as the temple priests at the time were known to be corrupt with the high priest position going to the highest bidder. In such an environment, Zechariah must have had some political clout to be able to be assigned such a prominent position. Perhaps it was this connection that allowed Jesus to sit and talk to the teachers of the law when he was 12 years old instead of being swooshed away with all the other young children…
Joseph’s Family Connections – In addition to be a carpenter, Joseph was a descendant of King David in a time when one’s position on the social ladder was primarily determined by one’s family. Even though Joseph might not have had a mansion, he still would have had some social influence, which may explain why the synagogue leaders of Nazareth were willing to let Jesus speak at the beginning of his ministry. (Think about it, even if the duty of reading the Scriptures were rotated among the male members of a synagogue, there would be a ‘pecking’ order as determined by one’s political and social standing within the community.)
Continue reading Perhaps Jesus Came From An Influential Family….
Dr. Michael Bird (PhD, University of Queensland) recently wrote a short but eye opening post about the first person to read St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.
Namely the posts centers around the following questions:
So who delivered the letter to the Romans then? Who was Paul’s envoy? And if the Romans [...]
My heart fell in love with the song “Form Us” by Casey Corum/Anabeth Morgan back in May at the National Conference as I felt that it carried a prophetic message for our church as well as the Vineyard Movement as a whole:
Form us, make us Mold us, shape us
To be like you, [...]
 I had originally planned to attend church this morning in Cebu, Philippines…but as with a lot of traveling plans, things did not work that way. Nope, instead of attending a Vineyard Church, I attended a church of a different kind.
A boxing church.
Yes, boxing – as in Pacquiao versus Marquez III.
For those who don’t follow the sport of boxing, Manny Pacquiao is a Filipino boxer turned politician who is rated the best pound for pound boxer in the world. He has won six world titles and championships in four different weight classes – a crazy, unbelievable record!
Juan Marquez is a Mexican boxer who has won eight world titles in three weight classes. He originally fought Manny in May 2004 where it was considered a draw. Four years later the two met again (March 2008) where Manny won by a very, very slim margin via a judges vote.
Today was their third fight – and one that everyone was hoping would end in a knockout. Sadly the winner was once again determined by the judges after 12 rounds – at 2.5 minutes per round, that is a hour of fighting!!! Talk about fitness and stamina!
Continue reading A Church Of Another Kind
 While I love John 1:1, I don’t think we use that verse in the same way the Apostle John meant it. In the Greek culture the term “logos” (translated as “word” in English) carried with it an understanding of a certain form of Greek philosophy started by Heraclitus (535-475 BC) about the principles of order and knowledge.
The John wrote his gospel, he was writing it as a testimony against the Gnostics heresy that was spreading throughout Christianity. These Gnostics believers claimed that Jesus was purely spiritual and not human in way, form or fashion.
In John 1, the Apostle took on the philosophical underpinnings of Gnosticism and said that the divine logos that started the world became human – an amazing claim then and now!!
As such, it is a huge error to equate the Bible (our written scriptures) with the logos of John 1:1. They are NOT the same even though we use the same English term “word” to refer to both the logos of John and the bound copy of scriptures we use today (ie. the Bible).
Furthermore (as best as I can tell), the Bible itself uses the term “scriptures” to describe itself. The phrase “word of God” is never used in reference to the Bible or scriptures but in reference to a spoken message given by God or the living Jesus (as mentioned above) or, in some books, as the heart behind the Old Testament – depending on the book, the author and the context surrounding the phrase.
I say all this as a warning against building a theological viewpoint upon a modern English translation of a 1st century Greek text. Not that I’m saying that you all are doing that… it is just that I have heard John 1:1 used to defend the notion that the Bible as we have it is the same as Jesus:
If Jesus is the word of God and the Bible is the word of God then the Bible is, more or less, Jesus.
Continue reading Challenging Our View of Scriptures
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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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