Week 3: Texts: Greatness, Leadership, Power

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 Last week, the Fresno Bee ran a story about a pastor friend of mine who takes text messages in church.  Click: "Churches embrace texting technology".




On a lighter note, here is one church's video that they show in services to enforce their "no cell phone use" policy:   

We'll continue talking about texts out of contexts.

All "texts" are text messages which must be figured out

I got some intriguing text messages in class last week, remember?

One had no context, but I was able to at least guess who sent it by looking around for anyone blushing..>>
This anonymous person sent me some quotes from "Big Bang Theory."
But since I had not seen the show, I had no context for interpreting them.
They were "literary world" messages for which I had no "historical world"

context to apply them in my 'contemporary world."




 Here are some "out of context" texts I'll use tonight.  They are "literally true" of  my "historical world," but they can be misleading unless we have context and genre:

• "I once went shopping with Paul Newman." (context here)
• 'I once prayed with Ray Bradbury" (context here)
•  "Bono took me to church in Sacramento" (context: next to last paragraph here). 
•  

And even though this third celebrity isn't nearly as famous as the other two, I used it
as an illustration of tonight's topic.
(My Dack Rambo story?  Click here  to read all about it, and for the sequel click:
" I Deny the Resurrection and I am not straight."
(uh, better click that title and get the context!)



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I can't wait to see your "One Great Person" worksheets and videos.
Tonight's topic is "Greatness, Leadership, Power."

The symbol for tonight suggests that a biblical model/worldview often looks like the CEO/top-down model turned downside up..

Jesus came to serve.
             The last shall be first.
                           That's who is great.




BUT before we go any further:



Give a quick, gut-instinct, first response answer; filling in the blanks for these two sentences:

1. "In England, they drive on the __________ side of the road."
2. "Boy, you can sure tell _________ is at work in the secular world nowadays; all you have to do is look around!

We'll come back to these questions later..but. Click here to see my suggested "right answers."

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Tonight we meet a couple of great contemporary servant-leaders:

like the little sphepherdette/llamaherder I filmed in Peru:

(rest of that story here)
 

and like this guy with the glasses:




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Then of course, we'll look at = Jesus' approach to greatness, leadership,  and power .


We suggested he was

• CULTURAL
• CROSS-CULTURAL
• COUNTER-CULTURAL

1)CULTURAL:


"All divine revelation
 is culturally mediated."
-Leonard Sweet, "Aqua Church 2.0," p.. 67...context

"Culture/matrix is with you...even when you go to church"

2)CROSS-CULTURAL:


-Remember, "In England, they drive on the ______ side of the road."


-Remember our discussion of the temple tantrum and why it was so cross-cultural?  Here's a brief article.

More info:

• Temle tantum/torn curtain
• Breaking Down Walls: Temple Courts
• Cleansing The Temple: How Many Times And What Does It Mean?

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• Note the cross-cultural implications of Jesus' two feedings of  the multitude:

• see:

  • The Other Side-Decapolis 
  • Feeding of 5000 and 4000 
  • "Box Lunch"

  (diagram below by John Stevenson, see 2nd link above)

  Feeding of the 5,000	Feeding of the 4,000
  Mark 6:34-44	Mark 8:1-9
  Took place after the multitude had been with Jesus for one day.	Took place after the multitude had been with Jesus for three days.
  The multitude was mostly Jewish.	The multitude would have been mostly Gentile.
  Took place near Bethsaida  on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee.	Took place in the Decapolis on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
  Jesus used 5 loaves and 2 fish.	Jesus used 7 loaves and a few small fish.
  There were 12 small baskets of leftovers.	There were 7 large baskets of leftovers.

  
  
  
   see:
  Piercing The Darkness (Decapolis on the Other Side of the Lake"
• see slideshows of the Van Der Laan videos from tonight"

>>"When Storms Come (Sea of Galilee)"

 and

>>"Piercing The Darkness (Decapolis on the Other Side of the Lake"

Here's some of my video from both sides of the Sea of Galilee:


This map will also mean a lot to you after tonight's class:

  What's do "great" about taking the "cross-cultural" walk through Samaria?

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3)COUNTER-CULTURAL:
 see John 5:19, 30, Philippians 2:5-11


So the last will be first,
and the first will be last

map credit kingPin68

More versions here.







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Then we apply some "Three Worlds" theory to Matthew 18 and the topic of "Who is great?":




Page 22 of Syllabus,Matthew 18 Outline:


1 Question #1: Who is Greatest?

2-17 Responses (each are counter proposals)
2-10 Response #1: Children
2-4 Counter Proposal: Accept children
5-9 Threat: If cause scandal
10 Show of force: Angels protect

12-14 Response #2: Sheep
12-14 Counter Proposal: Search for the 1 of 100 who is lost

15-17 Response #3: Brother who sins (counter proposal)
15a Hypothetical situation: If sin
15-17 Answer: Attempt to get brother to be reconciled
17b If fail: Put him out and start over

18-20 Statement: What you bind or loose

21-22 Question #2: How far do we go in forgiveness?

23-35 Response #1: Parable of the forgiving king/unforgiving servant


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Click links on "literary world" discussion of the passage:

• MATTHEW 17:24-18:35
• “WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER”:LITERARY STRUCTURE AS A KEY TO MEANING IN MATT 17:22–20:19 BY DAVID M C CLISTER
• EXAMINING THE CHIASM OF MATTHEW 17-2

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We might see the whole unit as a chiasm with inclusio.  See below (copied from here):

Jesus foretells His death: Matthew 17:22-23

A. Jesus speaks of giving freely/sacrificing self: Matthew 17:24-27

B. Little children are the essence of the kingdom: Matthew 18:1-7

C. Sacrifice the body for the sake of the kingdom: Matthew 18:8-9

D. Do not despise what God values: Matthew 18:10-14

E. Entreating a brother about sin or offense: Matthew 18:15-17

F.Agreement between Heaven and Earth: Matthew 18:18-20

E. Entreating a brother about sin or offense: Matthew 18:21-35

D. Do not despise what God values: Matthew 19:1-9

C. Sacrifice the body for the sake of the kingdom: Matthew 19:10-12

B. Little children are the essence of the kingdom: Matthew 19:13-15

A. Jesus speaks of giving freely/sacrificing self: Matthew 19:16-20:16

Jesus foretells His death: Matthew 20:17-19

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We'll spend a few minutes acculturating ourselves to Philemon, prepping for our final paper.  Video:

SHHHHHH... don't tell...The other day a tab appeared at the top of this website, it says
"Philemon help?"/  Whatever you do, do not click it..unless you want tons of help for your Philemon paper.


Put The Big Red Button on your site



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We'l also spend some time prepping for the questions on the Bruggemann  "Using God's Resources Wisely"book  due nest week.
I just found out that much of the book is a free online read here.

Remember: we cut down the readings assignments for next time:  Besides the Bruggemann assignment, reading is ONLY Proverbs 10-15, and chapter 6 and 8 of Hauer and Young,
(and assignments are the questions on those chapters)

THIS MAY HELP...an audio of a sermon by Bruggemann on many of the themes of the book is found

here