It has been a while

Hello my fellow Exiles,

It has been a while since I have posted; but I have two friends at church named Brainerd and Esther who have a blog and it has inspired me to blog again. I pray all is well with you my friends. It seems as though we are truly in an exilic state where empires are being reshaped, power structures being deconstructed, economic famines, and yes the Church, the Ecclesia is in diaspora, we are dispersed and yet regathered in new ways. To paraphrase the Didache, we are like grain scattered abroad only to be regathered into one Loaf. These are transtional times and yet we have a God who is a Missional Deity who goes with us in our journey and yet at the same time and more importantly we go with Him and His Agenda. In so many ways the Church has been on her Agenda which looks curiously like the Culture's Agenda; and we have capitulated Christ to a consumerist culture. The American Dream and the Kingdom of God has become one in the same; while we are lullabied to sleep by the values of this culture. Yeah we talk about confronting culture. Both sides of the divide speak of this in the Church; and yet each has sold its soul to the Pervasive Power of Public Opinion; though it is cloaked in Religious Rhetoric. Yet, each has sold out the Kingdom of God like Judas betraying our Lord. The Kingdom of God is drenched in the blood of God's only Son, and yet we have dyed it with the glitt and gold of American Individualism; and then we attached the name of Jesus to it. We build our own Kingdoms and then add Jesus as an appendix so that we are still Christian.

The Church who is the firstfruits of the Kingdom in Christ; has become an instrument of the state and not the voice of the Missio Dei in the world! It is my heart to know where is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost working and how can we as the Church work with God where he is working. Some who a spouse this doctrine feel that we have no need for the Church; but Scripture shows that the Elect has a reponsilbility to the world to proclaim the Kingdom of God in both word and deed! This is our baptism mandate and our confirmation responsilbility!

My Exilic Ecclesia, Let us join our Missional Deity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the proclaimation of the Kingdom of God and renewal of creation with the Gospel.