Posts Tagged ‘christianity’

Thoughts and Links on Recession and Economic Crisis

October 11th, 2008

Well, it seems pretty official now (well, it has been official for a little while but I’m just getting around to writing about it) – America is definitely in a financial and economic “crisis”. People are clearly stressed and worried about where it’s going to go and what’s going to happen next.

Bryan and I may be all the way across the ocean in Europe, where the effects of the American financial down turn are just starting to be felt, but we personally have been feeling the pressure for months. I feel like in some ways we were feeling the pressure and stress of all this before most other people. We were laid off back in July, before the markets crashed and all the talk turned to bailouts. We left on fairly good terms with our boss and actually talked with him this past week and found out firsthand about how much has changed for the company in the past few weeks. Honestly, I couldn’t help thinking “wow, it’s a really good thing he fired us when he did.” Not that I think we deserved to be fired, I don’t at all, and not that I’m glad we were, I would much rather have a steady pay check, but I know good and bad business when I see it and it was good business for him to fire us. Our jobs were helpful and beneficial to the company but not essential or necessary. I have a few business owners in my immediate circle of friends and family and I understand that sometimes firing people is just good common sense.

Anyway, enough of my random tangent, what I really wanted to do in this blog was pass on to you some articles about the economy and stress and dealing with this financial crisis that I thought you might find interesting. So, here it goes…

I just read this article on Yoga Journal’s web site about the Yoga of Money, I thought it was interesting and thought I’d share it with you.

I was reading Christine Sine’s blog today and was both humbled and inspired. First I read this blog she wrote about financial stress. I have been struggling to trust God during this time of uncertainty and her words were a good reminder that God does still provide for his people and he will provide for Bryan and I, at just the moment when we really need it. It was also a good reminder to continue to live generously and openhanded even in times of uncertainty. The second blog of hers that I read was even more touching for me. She will occasionally share liturgies that she has written on her blog and the one that she shared this week was all about Faith in Turbulent Times. It was beautiful, and inspiring and encouraging and challenging all at once. It will be a prayer that I come back to often in the weeks and months to come.

I found this post on Cerulean Sanctum entitled Still-in-the-Red Friday? – Further Thoughts. This post asked churches and Christians if they were ready for recession and how they were preparing to respond to the problems that so many people will face in a recession. The body of Christ clearly has a responsibility to provide for and assist and help the “least of these.” What does that look like in a recession when it is likely that the so many of the church’s members will have lost jobs and tight belts? Even if this we recover quickly from the current economic crisis these are important questions to ask – is the church prepared and how do we help those in need around us?

I love how the Mustard Seed House in the Seattle area is wrestling with these questions. The first article I read there discussed how a few weeks ago they had gathered a variety of people from their community in Seattle to discuss ways that Christians and churches should prepare for recession and how Christian communities could prepare to help others during times of recession. They share here some of the ideas they came up with at that meeting. I also found this article from them with ideas about things people and churches have done during recessions in the past. It talks about some great ways to live simply in community and how that can help financially.

EDIT: I just found this site that explains the whole mortgage/financial crisis through a cartoon of stick figures – I found it to be a helpful, creative and easy way to understand what’s going on and how we got here.  

Hope you enjoy reading these and maybe they will get you thinking about how you can be prepared and actively involved over the coming months of recession.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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“Naked” Church: Church in a nude art exhibit

September 8th, 2008

Our Church moved to a new location yesterday and I loved the new venue, but it made me laugh a little. You see most Sunday’s our church meets in smaller separate groups either at the Springer’s house (an English speaking gathering) or at the Flek’s house (a Czech speaking gathering), but once a month we all come together in a larger venue to talk and worship together as a community.

So, yesterday we had our common gathering in a new location at this great little café right by Old Town Square. So, what made me laugh about the location? Well, the room we were meeting in was also used to display art and the art it is displaying right now is a nude exhibition. All of the pictures on the wall were black and white pictures of nude women. Some were tasteful and just slightly suggestive and others were full frontal nude shots. What a setting for church, right?

Honestly when I first walked in I didn’t even notice the pictures because I was busy setting up some crosses and candles on the tables. When I finally did notice them I have to admit I felt a little uncomfortable. I live in Europe and I have seen some pretty risqué things since moving here. I try to be open-minded. I love art and have often admired nude sculptures and works of art. But, looking at these women completely exposed in newly taken black and white pictures I saw myself. In a weird way I suddenly felt very exposed as I looked at them and that made me feel very uncomfortable.

Throughout the course of the night something changed, though. By the end of the time I could look at these pictures full on and see not only beauty but freedom. By the end of the evening I didn’t feel uncomfortable looking at the pictures any more, instead I could genuinely admire them.

It got me thinking about nakedness, and vulnerability, and openness, and authentically. It got me thinking about being who you are and allowing others to genuinely see who you are. Honestly, even though I would consider myself fairly cultured those pictures on the wall last night were some of the first truly nude pictures I’d ever seen. And it makes sense that they would make me feel uncomfortable and awkward at first. But, as time went by the shock factor wore off and I was able to really look at them and appreciate them for what they were. I wonder if the same is true with being vulnerable with another person or another person being vulnerable with us – at first it feels really uncomfortable and awkward, we’re not used to it, but then after a while it becomes more natural and we can be more vulnerable and accept another’s vulnerability more fully the next time we are faced with it.

Here are a few other reasons that I like the pictures on the wall and a few other things that it got me thinking about:

  • It reminded me that when we come before God we do so naked. There is nothing we can hide from Him. He created us and He knows us intimately. We are always as exposed before God as the women in the pictures were before us. And yet, God doesn’t look on our nakedness and feel uncomfortable (like I did at first) and he doesn’t look on our nakedness and judge all the little faults and failings and love-handles and wrinkles, instead he looks on our nakedness and calls us His beloved.
  • It also reminded me that I want to live authentically before God and others. I don’t want to try and cover myself up and be something I’m not. I don’t want to try and hid my true self from others and make myself look better than I am, or even just different than I am. I want to be free to fully expose the person God made me to be at my core. I want to allow others to see my true self and live from a place of deep authenticity.

So, overall I liked “naked church”, as my husband nicknamed this week’s gathering, and I’m looking forward to next time.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

Photographs by Beth Stedman

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Follow-up: A Personal Relationship with Jesus

June 12th, 2008

Ok, so I think that it’s time for a follow up to my entry A Personal Relationship with Jesus. Now that I’m not writing out of frustration and have had a chance to collect my thoughts a little bit better and talk through this with some people (not to mention all the helpful and interesting comments to the post) I think I could now write a more coherent blog on my thoughts. So, here it goes…

First, allow me to say upfront that I do believe it is POSSIBLE to have an intimate/personal relationship with God/Jesus. It is clear throughout scripture (Old and New Testament) that God did have very intimate and personal relationships with His creation. I also believe that through Christ’s action on the cross “the curtain was torn” (as Rita graciously pointed out) – we CAN enter God’s presence. We CAN have the type of intimate relationship with him where we can ask anything of him and tell him anything. We CAN have full confidence to enter His throne room and know that we are forgiven and loved. Also through Christ’s redeeming actions we have now been given the gift of the Holy Spirit – God comes and makes His home with us and lives among us – we CAN personally talk with and walk with God through the Holy Spirit.

Second, I do believe that God desires for us to have a personal/intimate relationship with Him. In the beginning Adam and Eve “walked with God” in what seems to be a very intimate way so it seems that God’s original intention was for that sort of open, naked and unashamed type of relationship. God also has continually reached out to His creation calling them to Himself and ultimately making the way clear for them to come to Him through Jesus.

But, here’s where I was/am struggling… I think that it’s true that we can have a personal relationship with God (what good, good news!) and it’s true that God desires to have a personal relationship with us (even better news!), but I get frustrated when people (especially people in the church) tell others that they HAVE to have a personal relationship with God and it HAS to begin right now and it HAS to look a certain way, otherwise they aren’t “saved” (read: going to heaven). That bothers me.

First, I do believe that God desires relationship with us and calls us into relationship with Him, but I also believe that He does that incredibly graciously, He doesn’t force or push, in fact it seems to me from my personal experience, He knows and allows me to even pull away at times and He still works through that. In fact I think some of those times when I haven’t felt as “intimate” with God have been some of the most formative in my relationship with Him – He has used them to stretch me more into the person that He desires me to be and to reveal new truths about himself to me.

Second, I’m not sure that having a “personal relationship” with Jesus is really the mark of “being a Christian” or “being saved” or “going to heaven” – I think that someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus is probably a Christian and “saved” and “going to heaven” (whatever that means), but I think (at least right now at this stage in my journey) that there are many people who maybe don’t have what we would consider a “personal relationship” with Jesus but who God is still saving and who are “Christians”. And I don’t think that I have the right to say that they aren’t just because their relationship with God is more distant or more ritualistic instead of “personal”.  So, it bothers me when people make having a “personal relationship” with Jesus the tell all sign of whether or not someone is saved – when they make it the end all be all – because personally I don’t think it is.

The third reason I struggle with this is that it seems to me when people say that we need to have a personal relationship with God they have a very clear picture of what that means and anything outside of their picture isn’t having a personal relationship with God. Basically they often seem to be saying that if you don’t read your Bible every day and don’t go to church every week then you must not have a personal relationship with Jesus – and personally I think that’s Bull****! (Please excuse my language, but I feel strongly about that) There are many ways to relate to God and many ways God chooses to speak to us. Yes, we have been given a great gift in having before us the very Word of God and we should cherish it and dive into it and allow God to speak to us through it, but it is not the only way to relate to God and my reading it or not reading it daily is not the only tell tale sign that I do or do not have a personal relationship with God. Same with church – we should meet with God’s people and we DEFINITELY need community to grow but I don’t believe that has to look like going to “church” in a church building every week and I don’t believe that if someone doesn’t do that they don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.

It seems to me that God has many children whom he graciously allows to relate to Him in more distant ways (maybe just for a time or maybe for their whole lives), but they genuinely believe him and submit themselves to His Lordship and reign in their lives and genuinely seek to follow Him. And who am I to say that just because their relationship with God doesn’t fit my definition of “personal” (or even really isn’t personal but genuinely is more distant) who am I to say that they aren’t “saved” or to say that they have to change and start relating to God this other way and have this one type (i.e. personal) of relationship with God. Who am I do devalue God’s slow and gracious work in their lives?

I guess my problem isn’t so much with whether or not having a personal relationship with God is good – I think it is good and I would say that my own relationship with God has often been very personal and intimate. My problem is with saying that having a personal relationship (especially one that has to look a certain way) is necessary. My problem is with arrogance and not leaving room for people to be and relate to God in the way that works for them at that stage in their lives. It seems that God leaves a lot of space or us so why can’t we leave a lot of space for each other?

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

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Round Up From Around The Web: Leadership and some other stuff

June 2nd, 2008

Once again it’s time for a round up from around the web edition J Now that we are back in Prague and starting to settle back into a routine (though it has been thrown off a bit by the jet lag) I have been able to catch up on some of the blogs I like to read and I found that there has been some very interesting blog entries while I was disengaged from the blogosphere.

We’ll start with Godspace. I actually wasn’t as behind on her blog because she hasn’t been writing much lately due to being involved in a new change of direction that the Mustard Seed Association is taking. She talks about it in this blog called Quaker Discernment. I found the blog very interesting – I like the idea of decisions being made in community, but it does sound messy to me and I think I would find it very difficult in practice. But, I think that if you are going to say that you value community and people and that you believe that God can speak to anyone and through anyone then it is important to show that through your actions and not just talk about it.  It’s an interesting blog and I encourage you to check it out. Another blog that I found interesting on Christine’s site today was this one talking about how the FDA has approved cloned meat as being safe to eat. I personally found this interesting partly because I have very little faith in the FDA and if they say something is ok then I’m likely to think they are wrong (they have made a lot of mistakes before). I also find this interesting because I have a chemical sensitivity and am allergic/sensitive to a number of different foods. I struggle enough with my health and with finding healthy safe foods for me to eat – I don’t need another thing to worry about when buying food or eating out at restaurants.

Another blog that I found really interesting also related to leadership and decision making in the church but in a more specific and detail oriented way then Christine Sine’s blog. It was this blog entry by Kingdom Grace called The Missing APEs.The blog is a discussion of this article  in Leadership Journal written by Alan Hirsch. I found Grace’s comments on the article and the story she shared of her own experience to be very interesting and enlightening. I found both Alan Hirsch’s original article and Kingdom Grace’s blog about it very helpful and challenging and they gave me new language to think of leadership in and I always like when people can give me words for expressing my thoughts and experiences.

In reading through Kathy Escobar’s blog, The carnival in my head, I came across this blog. The prayer in it really resonated with me.

Ok, that’s it for now. Enjoy!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

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Selfishness…some thoughts and questions

March 11th, 2008

So, Saturday night my husband and I had an interesting conversation about selfishness… It was sort of a random conversation. It started out being a conversation about politics (my husband is a libertarian and very animate about wanting freedom and not wanting to be told what to do), then the conversation morphed into talking about freedom (freedom is one of my husband’s highest values and I’m not really sure that it is really all it’s cracked up to be – he calls me a communist, I tell him he’s selfish) and the conversation morphed again to talking about selfishness.

Basically the long and short of it was that my husband was saying how no one really does anything from purely selfless motives – we do things because of how they benefit us – he even pointed out that God seems to know this and plays to it by setting up a system in which the good are rewarded (thus giving a selfish incentive to do good) and the evil are punished (thus giving a selfish incentive not to do evil). He even went so far as to say that my choosing to love and follow God is selfish because “we love God, because He first loved us” – we love him selfishly for what he has done for us – Loved us. My husband has made this argument before and every time I try to come up with an example of a purely selfless act he ends up showing me how really it is selfish. It’s a strange argument we have every now and then. This time I got him to admit that there are some (though they may be rare) acts that are really selfless. But, this time though Bryan went a step farther after that — basically saying that selfishness isn’t bad – or at least that maybe some forms of selfishness aren’t bad. He asked why God created us and when I responded with “to bring himself glory” Bryan responded with “well, isn’t that a selfish reason”. I was stumped a bit. He went on to say that maybe there are different forms of selfishness – some being alright or even good – like when God who deserves glory desires glory for himself. Maybe we only have one word for selfishness but there should be multiple words for the idea. I was starting to think that maybe he was right that maybe selfishness when it leads to the pure, the true, the good isn’t a bad thing. But, I just couldn’t really accept it – I mean there is so much in the scriptures about dying to self and being self sacrificing and being a slave to God instead of a slave to self that I just couldn’t believe that self and selfishness isn’t as bad as I’ve always made it out to be.

It was about this point in the conversation that we both were too tired to finish and changed the subject – I sort of wish we had stuck with it a bit longer and hashed it out more, oh well.

Then at church yesterday I was really noticing how self-centered all the songs were – it was all about what God can, has, does do for ME. And it got me thinking about the conversation from the night before. Have we as Americans who value our freedom and independence and self above all else lost something about what it means to selflessly follow God? Or is Bryan right is there a place for selfishness even in our religion – can it sometimes be a helpful motivator to drive people towards God and towards the good? I tend to agree more with the first statement but it’s got me thinking, none the less, so I thought I’d share J

Rejoicing in the journey –
Beth Stedman

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