c young adults
A continued conversation of topics relevant to our world.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Psalm by the Young Professionals 
Following a study of the Psalms using Walter Brueggemann's book The Spirituality of the Psalms our small group wrote the following psalm:


war
abuse of power death isolation this world makes you crazy
vacant
insignificant over-stimulated disenchanted overwhelmed magnitude of need
sorrow
frustrated tired exhausted hate my boss
manipulation
pessimistic stressed money ties helpless always disappointing someone

Rain

shining through nervous quiver don't be afraid
embrace
give more true colors change do the right thing
comfort
sensitive confident blessed finding calm within the storm
tight
relationship praise watched over always hope for the future
fabulous
love excited grace zipper You give life purpose
peace

posted by bill mangold at 7:02 PM 0 comments  
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Why? 
I'm curious. Why do you guys go to the young pros small group? As one who is thinking about the future of a church plant and considering small groups, I'm contemplating the purpose(s) and goal(s) of them. So I need your help. Why do you guys go? For what purpose(s)? Please, be honest.

posted by jch at 3:27 PM 4 comments  
Friday, February 03, 2006
Flame 002 - Follow Up 

Last night we had a great discussion centered around sex and sexuality within the context of a Christian belief and ethic. The NOOMA video "Flame 002" served as the catalyst for our look at three words in the Hebrew language used to describe love.
'raya' - translated literally as friend or companion
'ahava' - is the love of the will. Commitment, passion
'dod' - carouse, rock or fondle
In our discussion, Patricia asked how we as the church arrived at the idea that sex was only to happen within marriage and what scriptures deal specifically with these issues. Which was a great question and something we will explore in greater detail in the coming weeks. She followed that up with asking what the Manhattan Church teaches or believes about sex and sexuality?

Her second question didn't receive an answer, but I was able to find a sermon that Tom preached on June 29, 2003 that deals specifically with the issues of sexuality, identity, and commitment. I encoded the sermon and it is available for downloading via the links at the bottom of this post. Please feel free to post any comments here on the blog based on the sermon or on our discussion last night.

I am confident that the sermon will give us more to talk about next week and further help us start to wrap our minds around this often times uncomfortable and delicate aspect of life and our faith.

Click here for direct mp3 download (right click on link download file on your computer).

Click here for iTunes link to subscribe to the MCOC Podcast where this and other sermons can be downloaded.

posted by J-Wild at 3:33 PM 25 comments  
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
RealSex Seminar 

This is going to be really, really good. Lauren Winner is currently a Ph.D. candidate in American Religious History at Columbia Universtiy and has written for several publications like The New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly Christianity Today, and Christian Century. She has also written two books "Girl Meets God", and Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity".

Here is a little excerpt from her latest book so you can get a feel for her personality and what the seminar will be like:
Chastity: it is one of those unabasheldy churchy words. It is one of the words the church uses to call Christians to do something hard, something unpopular. It is a word that can set out teeth on edge, and it is the topic of this small book.

Chastity is one of the many Christian practices that are at odds with the dictates of our surrounding, secular culture. It challenges the movies we watch, the magazines we read, the songs we listen to. It runs counter to the way many of our non-Christian friends organize their lives. It strikes most secular folks as curious (at best), strange, backwards, repressed.

Chastity is also something that many of us Christians have to learn. I had to learn chastity because I became a Christian as an adult, after my sexual expectations and mores were already partly formed. But even many folks who grow up in good Christian homes, attending good Christian schools, and hanging out with good Christian friends - even these Christians-from-the-cradle often need to learn chastity, because unchaste assumptions govern so much of the contemporary society.

I am not an expert on chastity. I am not a theologian or a member of the clergy. I'm just a fellow pilgrim. What follow in this book is no more and no less than one person's reflections on the process of learning to practice chastity. I don't offer instructions or hard-and-fast rules. Instead, I offer a flawed example, a few suggestions, some thoughts about what works and what doesn't work, and the occasional reminder of why, as Chrsitians, we should care about chasitity in the first place.
I have read most of the book and it is a candid and honest look at striving to be chase. I really want to encourage all of you to come to this seminar. You can call the church (212) 737-4900 or e-mail me for more information.

posted by J-Wild at 12:12 PM 0 comments  
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Invisible Children 

The Heir Force from church is putting on a screening of this film on Thursday at 7:30 pm. Since we do not have Bible study, I want to invite all of you to come and watch this powerful movie. All the information is on the flyer, and let me say this would be the perfect thing to bring a friend or collegue to. I hope to see many of you there. Have a great week.

Jason

posted by J-Wild at 11:12 PM 0 comments  
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
I'm So Worried! 
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life..." - Jesus

There are many things that I fail at as I try to live out my faith, but these words of Jesus' get me everyday! I worry about flying, Levi, the Youth Group, the subway, Iraq, the Church, flying, Ira, flying, my family, my health, my income, getting sick, being a parent, going to the doctor, having more kids, and the list can go on and on.

I actually worry about less things now than when I was younger, but the things I worry about carry bigger ramifications for my life. I manage my worry a lot better than I did in the past despite deeper things to worry about, but it's been a long hard spiritual battle for me that continues at this very moment. There are those of us for whom worry is a nagging frustrating part of life, and others for whom worrying is debilitating and is often times so consuming that it infects every aspect of life. For those who are truly afflicted with worry sometimes scripture isn't enough to get over the anxiety and other kinds of help are needed.

It's important to remember that no matter what degree a person worries, it doesn't change the character and nature of God. I think Jesus it trying to communicate that God's love for us is already a foregone conclusion, so worrying won't influence him to love or care for us any more than he already does. It's this desire to be in control, even control of God, that fuels worry. Jesus knows that worrying for one thing leads to worrying about other things, and so he spends time reminding us of God's character, his provision, and his promises.

I found this song, and besides being funny, I think it gets to the real nature of worry. See you on Thursday.

"I'm so Worried" (Click link for iTunes store)
from Monty Python's Contractual Obligations Album

I'm so worried about what's hapenin' today, in the middle east, you know.
And I'm worried about the baggage retrieval system they've got at Heathrow.
I'm so worried about the fashions today, I don't think they're good for your feet.
And I'm so worried about the shows on TV that sometimes they want to repeat.

I'm so worried about what's happenin' today, you know.
And I'm worried about the baggage retrieval system they've got at Heathrow.
I'm so worried about my hair falling out and the state of the world today.
And I'm so worried about bein' so full of doubt about everything, anyway.

I'm so worried about modern technology.
I'm so worried about all the things that they dump in the sea.
I'm so worried about it, worried about it, worried, worried, worried.

I'm so worried about everything that can go wrong.
I'm so worried about whether people like this song.
I'm so worried about this very next verse, it isn't the best that I've got.
And I'm so worried about whether I should go on, or whether I should just stop.

(pause)

I'm worried about whether I ought to have stopped.
And I'm worried about, it's the sort of thing I ought to know.
And I'm worried about the baggage retrieval system they've got at Heathrow.

(longer pause)

I'm so worried about whether I should have stopped then.
I'm so worried that I'm driving everyone 'round the bend.
I'm worried about the baggage retrieval system they've got at Heathrow.

posted by J-Wild at 1:32 PM 1 comments  
Monday, May 30, 2005
Breathe, blog! Breathe! 
Clear! bzzzt! ...3...2...1... Clear! bzzzt! We got a pulse! Phew. We almost lost this blog. It was on its last gasp. I could hear the death rattle. :)
SOOOOO.... here's a coupla things. First, for those of you who weren't there, Alona did a fantastic job leading the discussion on the Lord's Prayer and fasting. This Thursday, I'll be leading the discussion on the next section of the Sermon on the Mount about "treasures in heaven" and next week Jason will be leading. So, this Thursday, it's all about the Benjamins, baby. Well, "Benjamins in heaven", anyway. And I'll keep it short. Promise. :)
Also, I wanted to try and start a list of songs that we all know that a leader can just whip out and lead without having to use sheet music. Personally, I find music in my hands very distracting while trying to worship because all I'm thinking about is "major third, B-flat, E minor, fifth, modulate..." so if we could go to more "devo" style songs I think it would fit our group better and be more conducive to a small group setting. But, if we need to hand out music and/or lyrics to learn new songs than that's cool, too. So, that being said, and comments below REQUIRED, leave some names of songs you would like to sing on Thursdays below. And if any of the ones listed you don't know, let everyone know in the comments, too.

posted by The Root at 2:39 PM 3 comments  
Sunday, May 15, 2005
That weird "covenant of salt" thingy 
It took a while (yes, I obsess), but I found out some things about this concept that we were all blanking on Thursday night. According to the Midrash, it has to do with the meats that were eaten by the Levites from the sacrificial table. Salt was used as a preservative to keep the sacrificial meats from spoiling (and also because it was mandated in the Torah - Lev. 2:13), so salt became a symbol of permanence and battling against corruption. Since it also was eaten by the priests who offered up the sacrifice, the figurative expression surfaced calling it a "covenant of salt" directly with Yahweh. Interestingly, I found out that "salt" plays a major figurative role in most of the Ancient Near East religions and even throughout Asian religions as a symbol of fidelity and preservation, most of the time dealing with relationships like marriage or friendship. (Coincidentally appropriate considering we've become the "bride of Christ.") So, apparently, this whole "salt of the earth" thing in the Sermon has to do with preparing the world to be an offering to God. This further cemented the idea that Jesus taught about how all followers of God were now intrinsically pure and could enter the holy of holies and offer their sacrifice, thereby all becoming priests in their own right.

posted by The Root at 6:41 PM 0 comments  
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Murder, Adultery, and Divorce 
Beth and I will volunteer to facilitate the discussion next Thursday night. Facilitate means that we will not be approaching the level of preparedness that we had for The Beatitudes. :)

There is a lot to cover this week -- 36 verses on some heavy topics. Please read the text today, right now in fact. Here's a link. It's a quick read. Finished? Good. So why is Jesus talking about murder, adultery, and divorce? Was there some confusion about whether these are Do's or Do Not's? What is he saying that we didn't already learn back in Exodus?

If you have insights or questions between now and next Thursday, post them on the blog. I'll do the same.

Brandon

posted by Brandon at 6:11 PM 1 comments  
Friday, May 06, 2005
A little more on Retribution Thinking 
This was mentioned last night, but we didn't really get into it. Here's a little more on the Israelite worldview that explains further where the Jews were coming from when they listened to Jesus's teachings on the mountainside and also Jesus's teachings themselves.
Retribution thinking - "God blesses the goodies and curses the baddies". As we talked about last night, there was no "evil force" in the world of Ancient Judaism other than the desire for selfishness within the human heart. There was only God. God was responsible for everything and everything was to be attributed to Him. But, to BLAME God for the bad crap that happened to you was a BIG no-no. The biggest no-no of their entire religion actually. Job 2:10 (actually the whole book!) deals with this idea. That was their faith: God is everything and all comes from Him (this is the uniqueness of Judaism, even from modern Christianity). Their faith was based upon belief and trust in Yahweh IN SPITE of the crap in their lives. (Later on, the idea of "Satan" as a proper name and entity is developed to avoid the blaming of God altogether. Frankly, it was an easy cop-out that also allowed them to further assimilate into the various polytheistic religions of the cultures that conquered them. A few other reasons too, but that's the main one.) Deuteronomy 30 sums up Jewish Retribution Thinking very well. Also, Isaiah 45, as it concerns God being responsible for both order and chaos. And remember, any reference to "good" or "evil" in your Bible's translation of the Old Testament is referring to the Hebrew words "tob" and "ra" (which are VERY broad terms and not as absolute/black-and-white as we have made them) or an actual changing of the words (yikes!) from "order" (hesder) and "chaos" (tohu vavohu).
That is a VERY simplistic overview, but I didn't feel like I explained it satisfactorily last night. So, hope this makes more sense. :)

posted by The Root at 1:25 PM 0 comments  
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