everything is spiritual

unoffended, part 2

So beyond questioning God...there's really the issue of not being offended. What did Jesus mean when he told John blessed is he who is not offended? I think he meant that there is a blessing that lies in the acceptance of the way God chooses to work in our lives. This is a definition of 'offended' :

1. To cause displeasure, anger, resentment, or wounded feelings in.

Is what is happening in your life right now causing you to be offended at God? There are definitely some things in mine that I have been offended about, but didn't even realize I was! It's a really good thing to get gut-level honest with God and take him up on his offer in Isaiah 1 to "come and reason together" with him. There is such freedom in knowing that He can handle anything I've got to bring, and He is not rocked by it. His love is unchanging. So rather than act like I'm not offended, I am trying to choose to work through it. How 'bout you? What are you offended at God doing in your life? Are you questioning him? Do you care enough to try to work through it?

unoffended

Do you ever doubt God? I mean like really, to the core question if you're totally off-base with this whole Jesus thing? Or when the crap hits the fan do you ever think..."Either God is up to something...or the world is spinning out of control, and I'm a total nut-job...and frankly, I'm leaning toward the latter." Growing up in the 'church' I guess I had a mindset that it was wrong to EVER question God...I mean, it was just something that was really bad, and I felt like if I did, then I probably wasn't really 'saved'. I mean, I did question, many times in fact, and occasionally, still do. (OK, since we're being real - it's more than occasionally). Do you know that if you are or have ever been a question-er, whether openly or deep down inside, you are in good company? Matthew 11 gives us a glimpse of John the Baptist's mindset after he was thrown into prison (before he was, ya know... beheaded...). It says he sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask "Are you really the Messiah...or should we keep looking for someone else?" Talk about seriously questioning what you know deep down to be true! If even John questioned Jesus, basically saying "Look, are you the real deal? 'Cause this is NOT going down the way I had pictured..." I somehow figure I'm OK to question too. I'm sure John probably hadn't factored in this turn of events in his ministry itinerary. I know there are sooooo many times that I think about my life and what we are doing (church planting) and think "God, this isn't really what I signed up for...are you sure we aren't done this yet?" I'm a 'results' person, and it's hard for me to go through the 'dark periods' where it seems like God isn't really speaking, and I don't see much happening. I, like John say "Are you really for real about this?" And, honestly, it feels good to know that I'm not alone in my questioning - for Pete's sake, John SAW, talked with, was related to Jesus!! And he was still caught off-guard by what seemed like the less than perfect play of events.

But the last part of Jesus answer is what's been rolling around in my head this week... "God blesses those who are not offended by me." Hmmmm... not offended... still chewing on this... and will be talking about it tomorrow night at Celebration.

More to come...

what IS koinos??

We tried several months ago to get this blog off the ground, and life sort of got busy and, well...it just never happened. So I'm going to try again. While I have a personal blog where I share my personal family stories, useless ramblings, recipes and other random things, I'd like this blog to be a place where people can come to feel a commonality in some way.

I was wrestling with what to re-name this blog for the 're-launch' of it. It was originally called "Koinonia Klips," but none of us liked that. I decided to do a Wikipedia search of the work 'koinonia'. I found lots of interesting things about the whole concept of koinonia, and thought I'd post it below to give you an idea what our church, Koinonia House, and this blog are all about.

The spiritual meaning of koinonia

The word has such a multitude of meanings that no single English word is adequate to express its depth and richness. It is a derivative of "koinos," the word for common. Koinonia, is a complex, rich, and thoroughly fascinating Greek approach to building community or teamwork.

Koinonia embraced a strong commitment to Kalos k'agathos meaning "good and good," – an inner goodness toward virtue, and an outer goodness toward social relationships. In the context of outer goodness, translated into English, the meaning of koinonia holds the idea of joint participation in something with someone, such as in a community, or team or an alliance or joint venture. Those who have studied the word find there is always an implication of action included in its meaning. The definition of the word is quite rich in that there are many connotations because the word used in a variety of related contexts.

Sharing

Koinonos means 'a sharer' as in to share with one another in a possession held in common. It implies the spirit of generous sharing or the act of giving as contrasted with selfish getting. When koinonia is present, the spirit of sharing and giving becomes tangible. In most contexts, generosity is not an abstract ideal, but a demonstrable action resulting in a tangible and realistic expression of giving.

In classical Greek, koinonein means "to have a share in a thing," as when two or more people hold all things in common. It can mean "going shares" with others, thereby having "business dealings,” such as joint ownership of a ship. It can also imply "sharing an opinion" with someone, and therefore agreeing with him, or disagreeing in a congenial way. Participation is vital because vital as the members are sharing in what others have. What is shared, received or given becomes the common ground through which Koinonia becomes real.

Relationships

"Koinonos" in classical Greek means a companion, a partner or a joint-owner. Therefore, koinonia can imply an association, common effort, or a partnership in common." The common ground by which the two parties are joined together creates an aligned relationship, such as a "fellowship" or "partnership".