just keep on swimming. keep on swimming. i feel like dory. life is anything but normal or regular. i keep on going, working the angles. there is no formula but discipleship demands one thing, to emphasize the centrality of attention to God. i think that this can be done through three angles. while eugene peterson (one of my heroes, o regent and vancouver stills woos my heart) calls this trigonometry for pastors, i think it basically outlines the life of a disciple, afterall, God is interested in building a kingdom of priests not simply worshippers, or merely people who like to sing and feel good about themselves. (1 peter 2:5,9)
three basic acts: "so basic, so critical, that they determine the shape of everything else. The acts are praying, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction. Besides being basic, these three acts are quiet. They do not call attention to themselves and so are often not attended to. In the clamourous world of pastoral work nobody yells at us to engage in these acts. It is possible to do pastoral work to the satisfaction of the people who judge our competence and pay our salaries without being either diligent or skilled in them... The three acts constitute acts of attention: prayer is an act in which I bring myself to attention before God; reading Scripture is an act of attending to God in his speech and action across two millennia in Israel and Christ; spiritual direction is an act of giving attention to what God is doing in the person who happens to be before me at any given moment." (Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor, p.2)
The acts—prayer, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction—are acts of attention to God in three different contexts: oneself, the community of faith, and another person.
What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation -- A toast to God! I'll pray in the name of God; I'll complete what I promised God I'd do, And I'll do it together with his people. ~ bono citing psalm 116 from the message bible before "where the streets have no name" at the elevation tour
more from the man :: "If we get our information from the biblical material there is no doubt that the Christian life is a dancing, leaping, daring life." — Eugene Peterson
now dance with me. anybody? hello?
more working the angles ::.
[our munchkin at 12 weeks]
and yes, it's a boy!
booya!
posted by affectionate @ 6/14/2005 09:27:00 AM
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