tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044850704103353185.post-46739485263629954332008-04-16T09:02:00.000-04:002008-04-16T09:02:49.715-04:00William Willimon is the Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. <br /><br /><em><strong>Notes from this session:</strong></em><br /><br />- The gospel has had friction and difficulty in every culture in which it has been preached.<br /><br />- "Show me a religion that is personal and private... religion by nature makes cosmic claims, HUGE claims, like 'Jesus is Lord.' "<br /><br />- "Today we say 'It's ok to be religious, but just don't let it get out of hand - be moderate.' "<br /><br />- American notions of democracy and pluralism have crept into the church and weakened the Christian witness.<br /><br />- After 9/11, we didn't reach out to the cross - we reached out to the flag.<br /><br />- Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke out against the war in Vietnam - not because it was pragmatic, but because he believed God's Word and His principles.<br /><br />- Jesus said for Peter to put away the sword - you live by the sword and you'll die by the sword<br /><br />- We follow a Jesus who was tortured to death by the government of his day, was killed and was raised by God<br /><br />- "I can't remember the last time I heard a really good prayer for Osama Bin Laden, as Jesus commanded us to pray for our enemies. Instead we are obsessed with our health needs."<br /><br />- "The purpose of preaching is to allow the risen Christ to walk in the congregation." - Bonhoeffer<br /><br />- We ask "how can it be that Jesus doesn't care about what I care about?"<br /><br />- We live in one of the most violent places ever to exist.<br /><br />- A lot of times, sermons are misunderstood - not because we didn't communicate well, but because of Jesus.<br /><br />- Be relevant to the culture, but be careful. Don't allow the culture to coopt the message.<br /><br /><em><strong>Takeaways (still processing...)</strong></em><br /><br />1. It does strike me as quite arrogant for us to be surprised when "Jesus doesn't care about what I care about." His priorities are laid out in Scripture, and when ours are not in line with those, they will not be the same. <br /><br />2. Praying for Osama Bin Laden - ouch. That hits close to home. When is the last time you and I did that? <br /><br />3. 'It's ok to be religious, but just don't let it get out of hand - be moderate.' This kind of thinking just makes me sick. I'm so tired of 'moderate' Christians. Either be sold out for Jesus and His Kingdom or do something else. Don't be lukewarm. God doesn't want that - He doesn't like that. Get serious or stop pretending and playing games.<br /><br />4. 'American notions of democracy and pluralism have crept into the church and weakened the Christian witness.' Hoo boy. As I search the Scriptures, I do not see the idea of democracy. In fact, when the majority voted, typically it was against the leaders that were trying to follow God. Democracy is not a spiritual ideal - I don't find it in Scripture. That's not at all a popular thing to say, but that's what I see. Following God is our priority - whether it is supported by majority vote or not.<br /><br />5. You live by the sword and you die by the sword... Jesus told Peter to put away his sword... does this have any ramifications at all for our views on the war in Iraq? When is it appropriate to go to war? Is it ever? (From a biblical perspective I mean) <br /><br />More to come...Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15311806312162439873noreply@blogger.com