Thoughts on life, love and faith by Plasticmind.

3 December 20061. Honour:

Maybe this link will help you out: http://www.larknews.com/december_2006/secondary.php?page=3

4 December 20062. ren:

We just finished a book by Bill Hull called Choosing the Life.
I really have to recommend it. In it he discusses having an environment of grace and relationships of grace. By creating an environment of grace and relationships of grace we encourage transparency, and thus true honesty and trust. With true honesty and trust comes the ability to submit ourselves to one another. And in submission to each other we are able to grow and to help each other grow. We cannot encourage and strengthen each other in Christ if we are unaware of the questions and struggles there. How safe you feel sharing your inner struggles is up to you. Certainly it depends on with whom they are being shared. So, I suppose the transparency is depending on the trust. And the trust is dependent on the respect and the grace. In a relationship where no grace is offered, who is going to be transparent. There transparency means a beat-down. Where grace is present, transparency mean spiritual fellowship and nuturing. I don't know if that helps any, but it's what I though of when I read your post.

4 December 20064. xpressionccr:

There is a line in the musical "Wicked" of which this idea reminds me:

"There are precious few at ease
With moral ambiguities.
So, We pretend they simply don't exist."

Have you read "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. There is a section on questioning that I thing speaks beautifully to this. Go. Read it now! Quick. Quick.

4 December 20065. xpressionccr:

I thing? yeah...that's cool. I THINK!

4 December 20066. jscottkill:

I struggle with serious doubt all the time, because the hard truth ot the matter is, there is absolutely no way to establish absolute truth absolutely. I am not saying it doesn't exist; what I am saying is there is no way to know anything beyond the verifiability of the senses, which are fundamentally flawed. So, finding truth about problematic things, like say--the Doctrine of the Trinity or gay marriage, is very tough.

I find comfort not in absolute truth, but in probability. It is possible that the universe is a series of random firings and that life is merely a fortunate run of the numbers, but I find it more probable to beleive in purpose and a Driver of that Purpose. All things are possible, not all things are probable, and that's good enough for me--it has to be, or I'd find no way to be content with anything.

4 December 20067. jscottkill:

How would one get an MP3 of "Ill Fly Away" (your version)? I'm thinking of doing it as part of our worship at church.

4 December 20068. cmjackso:

I love what "ren" said. I was raised in an atmosphere where the leader was above everyone. The pastor or the couselor appeared to have it all together and therefore helped those of us below him who actually struggle. I don't think they intended that sort of pride, but it came across that way. I am more comfortable learning from and sharing with a leader who is humble and open. I think there are definitely boundaries, though. If you stay in the ministry, you will have to find your own balance.

5 December 20069. Dave:

I agree,
Although It is important that a leader be honest to his subjects, It is also important that he remain a strong example for those underneath him.