Eddie Walker

What is church discipline? Why don't we practice it?

posted by Unknown @ 12:54 PM 0 comments

I am not sure if it was last week or the week before last that the Underground Seminary here had a discussion concerning the politics of Jesus. N.T Wright states the following, "With a certain oversimplification we can trace easily enough the three options open to Jews in Jesus' day. If you go down the Jordan valley from Jericho to Masada, you can see evidence of all of them. First, the quitest and ultimately dualist option...separate yourself from the wicked world and wait for God to do whatever God is going to do. Second, the compromise option taken by Herod: build your fortresses and palaces, get along with your political bosses as well as you can, do as well out of it as you can and hope that God will validate it somehow. Third, the zealot option...say your prayers, sharpen your swords, make yourselves holy to fight a holy war, and God will give you a military victory that will also be the theological victory of good over evil...He [Jesus] was neither a quietist nor compromiser nor a zealot."

I find that today there are still these three options available. At times these options can be combined to form a convoluted mess. However, typically I see the Western Cultural Christian as a mixture of the compromiser and the zealot. Why else would we have Christians that are Capitalists, Nationalists, Republicans, Democrats, etc.? I have a hard time believing that Christ would adhere to any of these. If we are to excuse the fact that we adhere to any of the above by claiming that we live in a different Cultural Context, then I would have to wonder as to we can pick and choose those aspects of Christ's life and teaching that are transcendent versus those that were limited to His context. How do we manifest in our lives a much more simplistic view of the Sermon on the Mount? When do we stop justifying our lives? If Christ lived counter-culturally then how do we? I wish that discussing theology and apologetics was all that it would take to live out a Christ like life and convince others to follow suit. I have decided that my political stance is one as a Theocrat and that my view of a socio-economic system falls under Communism. I am a Communist in the true sense of the word. NEVER has Communism existed within a country. It has always been SOCIALISM. I wish that people would get it right and stop perpetuating ignorance. Communism relates to the way in which people share their lives and possessions with one another. I am also quite tired of people claiming to be Anarchists. If this is your claim then how can we accept Christ as our Lord or King. If you claim anarchy, then specify or define what that means. Does that simply mean no government? Or are there other things that are communicated within that.

I will complete this rant with one last discussion. It concerns apologetics. I am tired of people claiming that they don't believe in God or they don't believe in Christ. These claims are fine as long as they are validated by some sort of knowledgeable or intelligent reason. (Not to say that I am okay with people refusing Christ, specifically referring to the fact that I won't be annoyed). N.T. Wright discusses many historical reasons for Christ substantiating prior to His death and resurrection that He was the Messiah. He states that Christ had to validate himself as Messiah prior to His death because the resurrection would have meant very little to the Jews at that time had he not. N.T. also discusses the fact that there were plenty of men that came prior to Christ and after Christ that had claimed to be the Messiah, however, they failed in a number of ways. All this to say that there are plenty of reasons historical and otherwise to acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Messiah. When people say things like, "Well I just don't believe that." I want to say things like, "Well then, you are a moron." It's not a matter of belief, it's fact. Now, whether you want to be a follower or not is a different story. I have ran into too many people that try to describe what they believe, however, they consistently do an ineffective job at articulating any of it because they have never given it thought. This would be an acceptable answer, "Hey, I have never thought about it." So my question is to all of these people, have you not thought about eternal life or eternity because you don't think it exists (meaning all we have is this life, Hedonism), or do you not care? Either of these answers would be acceptable. Just as long as I don't have to hear another moronic response. Another unacceptable response is one where the individual espouses a world-view that is purely synchratic (sp?). Synchratism is where people pick and choose a variety of beliefs to construct their own. This is totally ridiculous. This is to say that, "Hey, me in all of my infinite wisdom, have found out the answer. It was here all along in all of these religions, however, I was able to construct a religion using the right ingredients from each of these." And my response is, "NO, you didn't, you are an idiot, how can anyone else follow this? If you are the only person on the planet that believes this and if you believe that you are right, then everyone else is wrong."

In conclusion, I heard a quote, I don't remember the source but it states, "Only those who are willing to live for their beliefs, are willing to die for them." So for those that "believe" something, stop "believing" and live it. I wish this applied to those who didn't follow Christ as well because at least they would have some sort of integrity. However, I must love them anyways, and I believe that it's clear that that is what Christ is trying to communicate. That people are frustrating and we must love them in a radical way. This is a struggle. In reference to the apologetics comment I will quote St. Francis's instructions to his followers, "Preach the gospel by all means possible and if it's necessary you could even use words."

posted by Unknown @ 12:40 PM 0 comments

everybody, check out buynothing.org, this is a sweet little website that defines in many ways how I feel about the consumerism that our culture promotes.

posted by Unknown @ 8:08 AM 0 comments

Interestingly enough, I don't have anything to say, (that's really not all that interesting). Anyways, yesterday was pretty cool, I got a chance to walk down to the Short North area of Columbus with my buddies Phil and Fez and see some pretty different aspects of the community. We went to this pretty sweet micro-brew, Barley's, and had some good beer. We then came home and played hours of video games. This is something that I never do, however, it was a good time. Other than catching up, I am fairly concerned because I have no idea as to how to connect with these guys that hang out on N. High. When I say hang out what I mean to say is that they are whino's (sp?) and bums. I am not sure what their story is, however, I am not sure that giving them money everytime they ask is effectively needing either their spiritual needs or physical one's. I am not sure that I should even use the word "effective." I am thinking about hanging out on N. High and possibly building some relationships with these guys so that I could really connect and figure out where they are at and what their all about. Anyways, if any of you have ideas let me know. Starbuck's isn't too shabby. It just makes me realize how old I am. These college kids come in and I have NOTHING in common with them. It's pretty interesting. I feel as though there is little for me to say other than, "what can I get you?" Hopefully as I build a rapport with these kids I will be able to hang out with them or talk about real issues. Real issues for most of these kids consists of discussing the Buck-Eyes. I believe I will be getting some voice lessons pretty quickly here, one of the guys in this community, Ryan, might be able to squeeze out some time from his busy schedule me out, since I am practically tone deaf in both ears. That's about it for now.

posted by Unknown @ 7:49 AM 0 comments

Oh, yeah read what trey writes on the connectedness of community.

posted by Unknown @ 9:29 AM 0 comments

If I knew how to set up a link I would do it, go to epiclife.blogspot.com. I hate being technologically deficient.

posted by Unknown @ 9:28 AM 0 comments

By the way, read the stuff below this, If anyone knows of a better way to Blog, let me know. blogger is pretty limiting and squawkbox sucks. Just a note.

posted by Unknown @ 9:14 AM 0 comments

Hey, as of right now I am trying to get into a schedule, a routine, a rhythm that will work out well for the rest of my stay here. I had work this morning. it was fabulous. I work at Starbuck's on Campus. It's pretty sweet, I mean the people are cool and I always wanted to work in a coffee house. It's really odd to be working in one after you go to college and snag a couple of degrees. It's a little bruising to the ego, but I am not all that concerned. God clearly has me their for a reason. Anyways, I am very happy to be working, I feel like my life has some sort of purpose now. That's really cool, I am still looking for a place to take voice lessons, so hopefully that works out some time in the next week. The music thing is going really well, I got hooked up with that guy Robbie and he consistently blows my mind with what he can do. It's really quite intimidating and humbling all at the same time. It's good for me. I read some Bonhoeffer yesterday, talk about convicting. I read his chapter in The Cost of Discipleship, chapter 18, the Disciple and Unbelievers. Bonhoeffer states, "Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating." He also states, "But I bring God's judgement upon my head, for I then do not live any more on and out of the grace of Jesus Christ, but out of my knowledge of good and evil which I hold on to. To everyone God is the kind of God he believes in." All I can say is WOW!!! I am a bastard and commit this horrific sin daily. "....if we are on the look-out for evil in others, our real motive is obviously to justify ourselves, for we are seeking to escape punishment for our own sins by passing judgement on others, and are assuming by implication that the Word of God applies to ourselves in one way, and to others in another." In chapter 17, The Simplicity of the Carefree Life, Bonhoeffer states, "Likewise it is man's bounden duty to work and do things, and yet withal to know that it is Another who nurtureth him: it is not his own work, but the bounteous blessing of God." He also states, "Neither anxiety nor work can secure his daily bread." Talk about a smack against our culture....I have been a pragmatist for so long and Bonhoeffer states that this is in no way fits into the philosophies of Christ. For so long I have tried to creat a new spin on what Christ was saying. I believe that there are passages that carry much depth... However, when Christ calls us to have faith like a child I believe that He wants us to approach his words and apply them with the simplicity that a child would. I child would merely listen and then obey. When God says, "Seek first the kingdom of God..." He does not mean that we should seek first His kingdom after our practical needs our met. Anyways, my poor attempt to provide a commentary on this book will not do it justice. So run, don't walk and make it a priority to read this book, it should dramatically shape the way in which you live and will hopefully be the impetus for counter-cultural living. By the way, if you haven't checked out this website, go to www.buynothing.org. It's a must. And to quote my buddy Fes, "Today isn't Thanksgiving, is it?"

posted by Unknown @ 9:11 AM 0 comments

I had quite an amazing day yesterday, I was able to hear Mark Palmer speak at a church in Springfield, OH. That was really neat. Palmer did an excellent job, the Spirit was truly speaking through him. I am sure that many were blessed as God used Palmer as His vessel. I then was able to play some touch football with my house mate Arin and some of his friends, that was really cool as well. We had a great time. After that I went to Sharon Woods Baptist Church where I received the tremendous pleasure of meeting up with the famous Jeff Lewis. That was cool, quite odd however, I talked to some big wigs in the Southern Baptist convention. I talked to a guy that is commissioned by the SBC to plant churches, I also talked to a guy that is the campus minister at Ohio State University. It was really weird because I felt as though I was talking to a number of the board members at the church. All of these gentleman approached me as I stood on the outskirts waiting for Jeff to finish answering some last minute questions. Afterward Jeff and I got a chance to catch up on about 6 months worth of stuff. What a blessing that was, he is an amazing encouragement and a wonderful man of God. Then I was able to come home and play guitar with my buddy Robbie. That was awesome. He and I are going to start a band. Needless to say I am incredibly excited, the guy is very talented and why he wants to play with me will remain a mystery. Anyways, I have an interview set up with Starbuck's for Wed. I am stuck with this quandry however, they are only willing to pay me half of what I was making while I was at the hospital. I am not so sure that this will be enough money to cover my bills. At this point in time I am wondering whether or not I should try to raise support. If any of you have any ideas please let me know. I was also informed, yesterday, that there is a missions conference in Urbana, Illinois on Dec. 27 through the 31st. I don't really care too much about what the speaker's are going to say. But I did hear that all of the different missions organizations will be there and I definitely want to go and find out which one I should get hooked up with. So we'll see what happens. Once again this email is totally incoherent and I hope that it makes some sense. Last minute thought, I forgot that today I was able to attend the Underground Seminary here that 64 King (that's the address here in Ohio). It was really cool. Apparently they just read Cost of Discipleship, which I am reading as of right now, and they just started N.T. Wright's The Challenge of Jesus. So I am really excited to get involved with that and begin my reading. Much has happened. God is amazing, however, I must continue to remain married to the idea that God is awesome and amazing even in the mundane.

posted by Unknown @ 6:17 PM 0 comments

Well, I'm out here in Columbus, OH. The weather the first two days I was here was absolutely beautiful. I believe that both days were in the 80's. That's all changed as of today. It has started raining and the cold weather will be here before I know it. That's alright though. If you all could please pray for me concerning a job that would be wonderful. I just started looking today. I only started looking online, but tomorrow I will actually be hitting the pavement...literally...I am going to walk around the neighborhood and find jobs that are close to the house...I am pretty excited about that...It will be rather interesting. I saw the Matrix Revolutions yesterday...that was a pretty amazing movie...I think that I could have done with out the last five minutes of the movie...for those that haven't seen it I won't really discuss why the last five minutes are not that great... Anyways...I am looking forward to what God is going to do out here in me... I am not exactly sure what that is going to be, but I am sure that it will be awesome...Next week I am going to try and get into some sort of routine between studying, the gym, and all of the other things that I would like to get accomplished. We'll see what happens.

posted by Unknown @ 1:17 PM 0 comments