RISE AGAIN
24
Apr
2011
We Believe in the Holy Spirit . . . Right?
12
Apr
2011
The Holy Spirit is not an amorphous abstraction. Spirit is active and embodied in our efforts to transform ourselves and transform the world.
This was a long Minnesota winter. My snow-bound friends and I bemoaned the stubborn cold and the elusive thaw. We collectively longed for spring and for the warmth, the growth, and the new life it brings.
The renewal of life associated with spring reminds me of the activity of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is known in scripture and theological tradition as the life-giver, healer, and Perfector of creation. One of the “two hands of God” (Irenaeus), the Spirit draws, awakens, and breathes new life into creation and humanity.
In its original form, the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) simply asserted, “we believe in the Holy Spirit.” In 381, more was added: the Spirit is “the Lord, the giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified.” The Holy Spirit was understood to be fully divine, an equal “hypostasis” (person) with the Father and to the Son. Why did it take so long for the Church to articulate clearly and emphatically that the Spirit is fully divine and equally worthy of worship, prayer, and praise as the Father and the Son?
Why Evangelicals Need Lent
14
Mar
2011
by Tim Suttle
Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell used to tell a story about a mission he flew in his F2H Banshee off the coast of Japan in 1950. He had missed the rendezvous point when his instruments mistakenly picked up a signal leading him away from his aircraft carrier. Lovell felt hopelessly lost as he flew circles in the dark over the stormy Sea of Japan. As he tried to use his map light, suddenly all of the electronics in the cockpit shorted out and everything went black. A bad omen he thought, until he began looking down at the water below. With the absence of light in the cockpit his eyes began to adjust to the dark, making it possible to see the faint trail of phosphorescent algae which had been churned up by the propellers of the carrier. He began to follow the trail which lighted the way home to the carrier where he landed safely. Were it not for the failed light and the resulting darkness, Lovell might have been forced to ditch his plane. The darkness saved him.
Pastor Dan & the Power Team
07
Mar
2011
Pastor Dan is laying on a bed of 500 nails, with more placed on top. Then a 300 pound block of ice is laid on top. Then bam! The ice is shattered by the mammoth power of TIMBER! Pastor Dan passed the initiation and is now an honorary member of the Power Team!