Church

January 3, 2011 in Sermons, Teachings with 7 Comments

Table of contents for Graffiti

  1. Church
  2. Trinity
  3. Grace
  4. Atonement
  5. Salvation
  6. Sanctification
  7. Faith
  8. Gospel
  9. Evangelism
We've all seen the words scrawled on buildings downtown.  Sometimes the words are offensive.  They mark territory.  They tell you you're not welcome.  Other words are beautiful, created with obvious love and devotion, inviting us to see the world through the painter's eyes.  Some consider it vandalism.  Others consider it urban art.  We all call it graffiti. The words we use to talk about God can be the same.  Sometimes words like Redemption, Salvation, Grace, Gospel, even Church - these words can become barriers, boundary markers that bury the beauty they originally held under debris from years of (mis)use. Let's recover these words.  Let's dig through the debris and uncover the power and beauty of these words so that they change us again.  Let's see to the picture God is painting with fresh eyes.
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  • http://facebook.com/bea.is.4.bryne?refid=22 Bryne Helen Lewis

    is recovering a lost meaning the only way forward? or can these symbols and concepts be reinterpreted? recovery seems to be an inside job, tending towards reinforcing territorialism.​ whereas reinterpretatio​n allows for "outsiders" to have a voice in what these symbols might mean today.

  • http://facebook.com/bea.is.4.bryne?refid=22 Bryne Helen Lewis

    i used the term "outsiders" with some trepidation.the​ question really is- how much of a potential population do you want to engage in community identity formation before they have in fact chosen to identify with your community?i think that answer varies from community to community, but in christianity's case, as the potential population is everyone, the number of people we include in the conversation should be equally numerous and diverse. if we accept that christ redeemed all humanity (potentially, i you like), then the term "outsider" shouldn't really apply. However, I find that most people default to looking in rather than out when key concepts are on the line.But if you want a list for reals, I think contemporary artists, thinkers and writers, community activists, and of course people from other faith backgrounds (of ambivalent faith affiliations) should inform the conversation about what these terms mean... especially how/what they communicate... like you said, we need to be reaquainted with these concepts. in the same way we no longer see graffiti on a familiar commute, we may need another set of eyes to remind us of the beauty (or danger) apparent in our core concepts.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=547111123 Bryne Helen Lewis

    is recovering a lost meaning the only way forward? or can these symbols and concepts be reinterpreted? recovery seems to be an inside job, tending towards reinforcing territorialism. whereas reinterpretation allows for "outsiders" to have a voice in what these symbols might mean today.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=504026416 Jr Madill Forasteros

    In that sense you're right... 'recovery' is sort of moving backwards...But i think in order to build something new, it's profitable to clear away the clutter of accumulation. Sort of a Spring cleaning - sort through all the stuff that's piled up and figure out what's junk and what's good to keep.I think that at least gives us a good place to start building. Whom would you consider outsiders to - for instance - a discussion of what 'church' means?

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=547111123 Bryne Helen Lewis

    i used the term "outsiders" with some trepidation.the question really is- how much of a potential population do you want to engage in community identity formation before they have in fact chosen to identify with your community?i think that answer varies from community to community, but in christianity's case, as the potential population is everyone, the number of people we include in the conversation should be equally numerous and diverse. if we accept that christ redeemed all humanity (potentially, i you like), then the term "outsider" shouldn't really apply. However, I find that most people default to looking in rather than out when key concepts are on the line.But if you want a list for reals, I think contemporary artists, thinkers and writers, community activists, and of course people from other faith backgrounds (of ambivalent faith affiliations) should inform the conversation about what these terms mean... especially how/what they communicate... like you said, we need to be reaquainted with these concepts. in the same way we no longer see graffiti on a familiar commute, we may need another set of eyes to remind us of the beauty (or danger) apparent in our core concepts.

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