Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Organic god - pt. 1

Last night I read about half of Margaret Feinberg's The Organic God (which Jim was nice enough to give loan me). I just heard Margaret speak a couple weeks ago, and some of the stories came from the book. That is largely what it is - stories from her life. And I like that. It's a nice easy read, and I think it's just what I needed right now. If you need to rediscover God again - in a relationship "stripped of all pollutants and additives of this world" - I recommend it.

Here are a few snippets I want to remember from the first part:
  • In chapter 3 she talks about a guy who started a church basically by asking people one question (my sum-up): "What do you love about Jesus?" Rather than trying to tell people they *should* love Jesus, or telling people *about* Jesus... he just asked what they love about him. Sounds like a good evangelism strategy to me... because it's not a strategy at all.
  • On p. 78 she talks about her dislike of cutesy little phrases. I couldn't agree more. She says, "Phrases like these get under my skin because even if they are fun to read, they don't require reflection. They may contain a 'ha-ha' moment but no real 'aha' moment. True wisdom, on the other hand, might have the ha-ha, but it always delivers the aha." Yep.
  • And on p. 85: "But as I practice the art of listening to God, I am discovering that He is surprisingly talkative even in the silence. Prayers are not going unanswered as much as he is responding in unexpected ways. Listening to God's voice requires more than just my ears; it requires my eyes, my mind, my spirit, my entire being to recognize the God-nudges in life."
So, let me ask you... What do you love about Jesus? Really, I'd like to know.

Peace out; and in.

2 comments:

Jim said...

Well I'm glad it has provided what you needed. It's a Festivus miracle!!!

dan said...

Ha! Absolutely. And without even needing the 'airing of grievances.' :)