complexity.

As I listen to the economic stimulus ideas being put forward by both sides of the aisle, I am amazed.  Sometimes the amazement comes from the obscene amount of money that the government wants to spend, other times I am astonished by the lack of sympathy that people can exhibit.  But either idea, one thing is for certain, their is great complexity to what is being proposed.  The second you make one change, it starts the process of changing ten others, and if you do not look down the line, your actions can have totally unintended consequences.  Life is always complicated and complex and I am thankful that I can be part of a community that recognizes the complexity of life.  More so, I am thankful that Christianity (at least Biblical Christianity) addresses the complexity of life.   

I wish life wasn't as complex as it is, but at least I don't have to decide how to spend 800 billion dollars.

what to do with passion.

I am really a big fan of John Eldredge and his writing. If you haven't read any of his works, you really should. He promotes our relationship with Christ, the battles of spiritual warfare, and how our passions and desires fit in to this faith we call Christianity. I got an update from his blog today and it truly resonated with what I believe some of my motives have been in launching Riverbend Community Church. Take a look at it here:

http://www.ransomedheartblog.com/john/2009/02/finding-church.html

I believe that what the church is lacking, at least in America, is a passion for life itself and all it has to offer. As Eldredge states, we are called to live life to the fullest, and you can't do that by supressing your passions. One of the precepts of Riverbend, is this thing called the New Covenant. Jesus talks about this in the gospels, but in essence, it is God giving us passions and desires that match His. But sometimes it feels as if the North American church is paralyzed by this idea of "passion" and "desire" of anything that isn't a praise song or Bible reading. I am glad that Riverbend is not one of these types of Churches. God has given us his Word, his edicts, his direction to help guide us, yes, but more so, to point us in a direction of knowing Him in relationship. That is the purpose of a church- to experience life (with all the passions God has given us) with others who are pursuing a relationship with the Maker of All. What's your purpose for Church?