SEX AND THE SUBURBS

Yesterday morning we concluded a seven week journey into the depths of our being as males and females created in the image of God. It's been an amazing process, draining yet energizing. A number of people questioned my sanity - "seven weeks on sex, what are you going to talk about for all those weeks?" Believe me, I just scratched the surface. If you would like to listen to any of the messages, check out our podcast site, Thinking Out Loud.

Special thanks to Rob Bell for turning me on to a great book, "The Holy Longing" by Ronald Rolheiser. These words served as a center piece for our series:

"Sexuality is the energy inside of us that works incessantly against our being along…Sexuality is a beautiful, good, extremely powerful, sacred energy, given us by God and experienced in every cell of our being as an irrepressible urge to overcome our incompleteness, to move toward unity and consummation with that which is beyond us. "

Here are the six books I leveraged in my study and preparation. If you are interested in delving deeper into the topic, I would encourage you to take a look at any of them. You'll be glad you did.

Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity (Laureen Winner, 2005, Brazos Press)

Winner writes not as a theologian or a Biblical scholar, but as a female follower of Jesus (read her journey through Judaism to Christianity in her book, Girl Meets God) living in the midst of a sexually saturated society.
Sexual Ethics: An Evangelical Perspective (Stanley Grenz, 1990, Westminster John Know Press)

Stan is one of the most important theological voices in the missional and emerging church movement. While his earthly work was completed with his unexpected death last year, his writings continue to shape the mind and heart of the community of faith. Stan was my theological mentor during my doctoral studies and his pursuit of sound theology was always to the glory of God and in service to the Church.

The Unauthorized Guide to Sex and Church (Carmen Renee Barry, 2005, W Publishing Group)

Barry’s book includes a historical sketch of the development of the community of faith’s perspective on sexuality from Old Testament times, through Jesus’ ministry and the evolution of the Church in Western civilization. As she discusses issues that at times have divided the church she writes, “Our responsibility as maturing Christians is to learn, to think, to ponder, to pray…and to allow the Holy Spirit to change us into more exact likenesses of Christ through the process.”

The Holy Longing (Ronald Rolheiser, 1999, Doubleday)

What can a single, celibate, Catholic priest teach Protestants about sexuality? Quite a bit actually. The primary purpose behind the book isn’t really about sexuality but rather the search for an authentic Christian spirituality. There is a great chapter on sexuality and spirituality near the end of the book but I would encourage you to read it all!

Sex for Christians (Lewis Smedes)

A classic book written in 1970’s in the midst of the sexual revolution by an evangelical psychologist, ethicist, and theological thinker (who was also one of John Ortberg’s primary mentors). While you may not agree with all of Smedes’ conclusions (and the language is a bit dated), this is an important contribution to the literature.

Sexual Character: Beyond Technique to Intimacy (Marva Dawn,1993, William Eerdmans Publishing)

Dawn is a reformed theologian with a Ph.D in ethics and the Scriptures from Notre Dame. She is a prolific author and her journey includes numerous physical challenges. In this book, Dawn explains the difference between social sexuality and genital sexuality and discusses the forces in our technological society that jeopardize true intimacy. Thoroughly biblical and yet very practical - the book raises questions that apply to issues like friendship, marriage, divorce, dating, homosexuality, and abortion.

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THE GOAL IS SOUL

Yesterday afternoon we launched our first Soul Cafe at Aldo Coffee in Uptown Mt. Lebanon. To borrow a phrase from a large coffee company based out of Seattle, our “venti dream” is to take worship outside the walls of the church and move it into the marketplace - to develop a coffee house liturgy you might say. We were pumped to fill the place up with people and even more to fill the place up with soulful music and conversation. The 90 minute experience was a mixture of music, guided discussion around the tables, a brief message on soul and more music.

Anybody out there doing this kind of thing? I would love to dialogue with you about the possibilities. “For what does it profit a person to gain the whole world but lose their soul?” (Jesus).

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WORSHIP LEADERSHIP AS AN ART FORM

“I believe being a worship leader is the highest of all art forms, to worship and call people into the presence of God.”

-- U2 frontman Bono, discussing Christian and secular music with a small group of reporters after the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday February 2

What do you think about this statement?

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INDESRCRIBABLE

Ok, truth be told - Chris Tomlin is one of my favorite worship leaders. I know he is missing from my list on the right side of this page, but that will be fixed shortly. This past Sunday about 30 of us from Christ Community Church trekked to the North Hills of Pittsburgh to spend an evening with Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, and Louie Giglio for the Indescribable Tour. When an amazing evening of worship. Scripture, music, a huge sound system, captivating visuals, and a powerful message from Giglio, all guided and directed by the Holy Spirit, formed a beautiful mosaic of devotion to our God.

Here’s why Chris is one of my favorite worship leaders: he writes memorable songs. He is masterful at crafting a melody that quickly becomes a part of you, freeing you to bring your song of worship before the Lord. When we put our worship set together for last Sunday’s worship gathering, we decided to do a bunch of Tomlin songs in honor of his visit to Pittsburgh (we did the same with Matt Redman songs the week before). As I reviewed our catalogue of songs, I was amazed at how many of Chris’songs we actually sing.

I thank God for songwriters and worship leaders like Chris and Matt; they are indeed true gifts to the Church. Join me in raising a prayer of thanksgiving to our great God. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good - His love endures forever!”

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