Comments on: The Barbarian Way http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way Sniffing out the work of God in the world... Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:45:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Andrew Battistelli http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66629 Andrew Battistelli Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:31:24 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66629 This book has been quite significant to my journey as it's taught me that we're all dealing with the same God through different eyes and different actions to live for him. Quite possibly we see others who are bold and we should be thankful and glad and rejoice that they are and others who are quiet and humble and soft spoken and be glad that they are all apart of the Kingdom of God, we all have something to share, sometimes it's raw and sometimes it's polished so much we think little of it. This book has been quite significant to my journey as it’s taught me that we’re all dealing with the same God through different eyes and different actions to live for him. Quite possibly we see others who are bold and we should be thankful and glad and rejoice that they are and others who are quiet and humble and soft spoken and be glad that they are all apart of the Kingdom of God, we all have something to share, sometimes it’s raw and sometimes it’s polished so much we think little of it.

]]> By: Kathy http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66587 Kathy Thu, 02 Aug 2007 22:54:12 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66587 Todd!! PTL and bless you for being Jesus to those that so need Him and His love, grace and mercy. Will you keep us posted? I'd love to converse with you on my blog, if you'd do me the honor of a visit. Bless you and your group. May the LORD bring His great harvest from your planting and watering!! Todd!! PTL and bless you for being Jesus to those that so need Him and His love, grace and mercy.

Will you keep us posted? I’d love to converse with you on my blog, if you’d do me the honor of a visit.

Bless you and your group. May the LORD bring His great harvest from your planting and watering!!

]]> By: maybetodo http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66585 maybetodo Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:40:34 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66585 I love this quote. If anyone would like to be more "barbarian" there is a group of us here in St. Louis that have moved into one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the region, to try to live out the Gospel. Come join us. God has given us a 65,000 a square foot abandoned catholic church, so we have lots of room. Last night I heard the sounds of gunfire up the street and I thought, first, I'm glad I'm already dead, second, I hope one of the kids that we work with was not involved. We have a lot of kingdom work to do here. Come die with us and live like you never have before. Todd maybetodo@mac.com North City Church I love this quote. If anyone would like to be more “barbarian” there is a group of us here in St. Louis that have moved into one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the region, to try to live out the Gospel. Come join us. God has given us a 65,000 a square foot abandoned catholic church, so we have lots of room. Last night I heard the sounds of gunfire up the street and I thought, first, I’m glad I’m already dead, second, I hope one of the kids that we work with was not involved. We have a lot of kingdom work to do here. Come die with us and live like you never have before.

Todd
maybetodo@mac.com
North City Church

]]> By: Jeanna http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66576 Jeanna Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:35:27 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66576 Cari - I've been wanting to read Baldwin's book - now I want to read it even more. Thanks for sharing that quote! Cari - I’ve been wanting to read Baldwin’s book - now I want to read it even more. Thanks for sharing that quote!

]]> By: candy http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66575 candy Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:03:41 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66575 Oh, I love this quote. I'll be spending the next 3 days in a prayer room on a girl's Chrysalis and that is exactly what we will be doing - battling for them - warring in the Spirit. Sometimes it gets ugly and dangerous in there. Sometimes it is filled with peace and joy but we have to be ready for anything. It is a battle for their hearts. God will win. Cari, I love the quote from "The Unusual Suspect" too. I needed to hear all of this today. Oh, I love this quote. I’ll be spending the next 3 days in a prayer room on a girl’s Chrysalis and that is exactly what we will be doing - battling for them - warring in the Spirit. Sometimes it gets ugly and dangerous in there. Sometimes it is filled with peace and joy but we have to be ready for anything. It is a battle for their hearts. God will win. Cari, I love the quote from “The Unusual Suspect” too. I needed to hear all of this today.

]]> By: Cari http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66572 Cari Thu, 02 Aug 2007 02:49:17 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66572 Okay....I'm sure many of the people that frequent this site read books written with words I will never understand and can speak 5 languages. So....don't choke when I share with you the book I just finished reading. It's author is Stephen Baldwin. Yes...."the" Stephen Baldwin. Daniel, Alec, and Billy's little brother. Talk about the "Barbarian Way". Having grown up "in the church", it was downright embarrassing to read this book written by a wild Baldwin brother & come to the realization that I am a civilized Christian. I felt Stephen pointing his finger at me from the pages of his book: "So I would like to make a suggestion to all the believers in America: Wake up. Snap out of it. Get up off your lazy butts. And go and make disciples of all the nations. If you don't like what I just said, God bless you. But it ain't rocket science. Read the Bible. You know I'm right. Say what you want about the complexities of discerning God's will for each individual, but I'm telling you that if you aren't out there actively telling people about Jesus in the hope that they will come to faith in Him, you are not obeying God. If I've ticked you off by saying that, too bad. I hope it does. Statistics show that about 90 percent of you have basically treated Jesus' last words like you would a flipping fortune cookie. You read it, thought, oh how nice, and threw it on your plate and never thought about it again. God's plan is for you to GO. It's as simple as that." I read this book thinking that I was going to be so proud of him for changing his life, but finished the last page feeling convicted, lazy, and so sorry for being (as he so eloquently puts it) "nicey-nice. I'm ready to put on my Barbarian war paint and pick up my sword now. Don't know why I wasn't ready before. Never thought I'd learn this lesson from a Hollywood actor. Guess that's why the book is entitled "The Unusual Suspect". Okay….I’m sure many of the people that frequent this site read books written with words I will never understand and can speak 5 languages. So….don’t choke when I share with you the book I just finished reading. It’s author is Stephen Baldwin. Yes….”the” Stephen Baldwin. Daniel, Alec, and Billy’s little brother. Talk about the “Barbarian Way”. Having grown up “in the church”, it was downright embarrassing to read this book written by a wild Baldwin brother & come to the realization that I am a civilized Christian. I felt Stephen pointing his finger at me from the pages of his book:

“So I would like to make a suggestion to all the believers in America: Wake up. Snap out of it. Get up off your lazy butts. And go and make disciples of all the nations. If you don’t like what I just said, God bless you. But it ain’t rocket science. Read the Bible. You know I’m right. Say what you want about the complexities of discerning God’s will for each individual, but I’m telling you that if you aren’t out there actively telling people about Jesus in the hope that they will come to faith in Him, you are not obeying God. If I’ve ticked you off by saying that, too bad. I hope it does. Statistics show that about 90 percent of you have basically treated Jesus’ last words like you would a flipping fortune cookie. You read it, thought, oh how nice, and threw it on your plate and never thought about it again. God’s plan is for you to GO. It’s as simple as that.”

I read this book thinking that I was going to be so proud of him for changing his life, but finished the last page feeling convicted, lazy, and so sorry for being (as he so eloquently puts it) “nicey-nice. I’m ready to put on my Barbarian war paint and pick up my sword now. Don’t know why I wasn’t ready before. Never thought I’d learn this lesson from a Hollywood actor. Guess that’s why the book is entitled “The Unusual Suspect”.

]]> By: Kathy http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66569 Kathy Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:19:26 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66569 <i><b> “Somewhere along the way the movement of Jesus Christ became civilized as Christianity. We created a religion using the name of Jesus Christ and convinced ourselves that God’s optimal desire for our lives was to insulate us in a spiritual bubble where we risk nothing, sacrifice nothing, lose nothing, worry about nothing.” </b></i> Amen!! We have come to the point, I fear, that our identity and labor in His vineyard is encompassed within the brick and mortar walls of our 'church' buildings. 'Let outside take care of itself, I'm not going to put my life in danger to go THERE, to THAT neighborhood. They know we're here, let 'em come here.' But when THEY come here, let them stay in their own little corner and not be noticed. We certainly don't want them to be fully welcomed and integrated into full relationship with us and our kids. We truly HAVE insulated ourselves within the walls of our church buildings, within the walls of our "christian" friendships and simply seem to refuse to follow Jesus into the neighborhoods He always walked,taught, healed and comforted. Now, what is the solution to this fear and apathy? What will it take to bomb us out of our safe havens?? When will we truly die to this world to be alive in Jesus and what He wants of us and has commanded us to do? Is there a solution? My fear is we will be so weak and pampered that when hard reality in the form of true persecution comes to us we will not have the spiritual strength to survive, let alone reach out to help others in that persecution. Bless you, Mike for this quote. I pray we take it to heart, pray about it, not discuss it, but begin a true active reformation and restoration of Jesus' work on this earth. “Somewhere along the way the movement of Jesus Christ became civilized as Christianity. We created a religion using the name of Jesus Christ and convinced ourselves that God’s optimal desire for our lives was to insulate us in a spiritual bubble where we risk nothing, sacrifice nothing, lose nothing, worry about nothing.”

Amen!!

We have come to the point, I fear, that our identity and labor in His vineyard is encompassed within the brick and mortar walls of our ‘church’ buildings. ‘Let outside take care of itself, I’m not going to put my life in danger to go THERE, to THAT neighborhood. They know we’re here, let ‘em come here.’ But when THEY come here, let them stay in their own little corner and not be noticed. We certainly don’t want them to be fully welcomed and integrated into full relationship with us and our kids.

We truly HAVE insulated ourselves within the walls of our church buildings, within the walls of our “christian” friendships and simply seem to refuse to follow Jesus into the neighborhoods He always walked,taught, healed and comforted.

Now, what is the solution to this fear and apathy? What will it take to bomb us out of our safe havens?? When will we truly die to this world to be alive in Jesus and what He wants of us and has commanded us to do? Is there a solution? My fear is we will be so weak and pampered that when hard reality in the form of true persecution comes to us we will not have the spiritual strength to survive, let alone reach out to help others in that persecution.

Bless you, Mike for this quote. I pray we take it to heart, pray about it, not discuss it, but begin a true active reformation and restoration of Jesus’ work on this earth.

]]> By: Brian http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66568 Brian Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:26:36 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66568 I do worry that we are far too eager to pronounce judgment on entire swaths of Church history. It's so easy to say: "early church-- good, but oh, darn that Constantinian shift!" We fail to recognize the true church-- always present, always loving, sometimes failing but never ceasing. We fail to trust in the mysterious providence of God and we simply reject any development that makes the Church different from what we would have it be. Now of course there is the constant need to renew and revive and reform the body, but historical over-simplification does not help us. I do worry that we are far too eager to pronounce judgment on entire swaths of Church history. It’s so easy to say: “early church– good, but oh, darn that Constantinian shift!”
We fail to recognize the true church– always present, always loving, sometimes failing but never ceasing.
We fail to trust in the mysterious providence of God and we simply reject any development that makes the Church different from what we would have it be.

Now of course there is the constant need to renew and revive and reform the body, but historical over-simplification does not help us.

]]> By: paul http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66567 paul Wed, 01 Aug 2007 03:40:37 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66567 I'm dead. I'll go. I’m dead. I’ll go.

]]> By: clint http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66566 clint Wed, 01 Aug 2007 03:03:22 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66566 "Jesus Christ wants to take us to places where only dead men and women can go." Strong Meat “Jesus Christ wants to take us to places where only dead men and women can go.”

Strong Meat

]]> By: Joel http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66563 Joel Wed, 01 Aug 2007 01:24:19 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66563 Not to start a fight, but that quote sounds like an underlying theme of the new Harry Potter book. Not to start a fight, but that quote sounds like an underlying theme of the new Harry Potter book.

]]> By: Brandon Scott Thomas http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66561 Brandon Scott Thomas Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:44:30 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66561 I LOVE McManus!! Thanks for this quote today. I'm coming to Abilene towards the end of August to lead worship for Welcome Week. Would love to grab coffee--scratch that--a Dr. Pepper and chat. Peace, friend. BST I LOVE McManus!! Thanks for this quote today. I’m coming to Abilene towards the end of August to lead worship for Welcome Week. Would love to grab coffee–scratch that–a Dr. Pepper and chat. Peace, friend.
BST

]]> By: Paul Mathis http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66560 Paul Mathis Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:58:03 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66560 I believe that "somewhere along the way" goes back to Constantine. Once Christianity was accepted and embraced for reasons of status, the focus started to turn away from Christ. Christianity has always been about identity. The early Christians' identity was based upon a man who willingly died on a cross. After Constantine, (for many) the "Christian" identity was needed to belong to civilized culture. Constantine did many good things, unfortunately, I think ultimately this post is his true legacy. I believe that “somewhere along the way” goes back to Constantine. Once Christianity was accepted and embraced for reasons of status, the focus started to turn away from Christ. Christianity has always been about identity. The early Christians’ identity was based upon a man who willingly died on a cross. After Constantine, (for many) the “Christian” identity was needed to belong to civilized culture. Constantine did many good things, unfortunately, I think ultimately this post is his true legacy.

]]> By: Justin http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66559 Justin Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:33:36 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66559 This post reminds me of a sermon I heard the other day. The preacher said that we make people saints because that is less challenging than calling them rebels. If we make them a saint, like we make Jesus a figure on a pretty stained glass window, then it seems less real and therefore convicts us less resulting in apathy. Great stuff mike! This post reminds me of a sermon I heard the other day. The preacher said that we make people saints because that is less challenging than calling them rebels. If we make them a saint, like we make Jesus a figure on a pretty stained glass window, then it seems less real and therefore convicts us less resulting in apathy. Great stuff mike!

]]> By: Brad http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66558 Brad Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:33:46 +0000 http://preachermike.com/2007/07/31/the-barbarian-way#comment-66558 If the way of Christ is counter-cultural, and it is, then why do people fall over each other trying to embrace and adopt post-modernism, or even the modern mindset for that matter? If the way of Christ is counter-cultural, and it is, then why do people fall over each other trying to embrace and adopt post-modernism, or even the modern mindset for that matter?

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