Into the point out of the person

I suddenly finish "Out of the question...into the mystery", from Leonard Sweet.
The book started with a very intriguing reflexion about Abrahan faith test, the author declares a great result in obedience test, but a great failure in relationship test. Sweet brings lot of evidences about Abraham and Isaac that I had never noted, shame on me when I readed just to remember history and not detaily. Shame on me when I discover on many times on my life that I was very obedient to my mission but by detriment of my wife and doughter, this is a great lesson from this book.
While is common to find churches with concerns about jurisdition, excellence, and tasks oriented, I have see them made nice events but lacked on relationships.
Though many of the chapters I was reading like as I have hard a lot before, when I have finished I realize the importance of this matter. Christianity is relationship based, not only with God, not only with brothers, not only to other people, but also to their expression: our world (creation as expression of God) and our arts (our expression). It is good when you see some churches awaking to this reality:

"Being a Christian is more about relationship with God than beliefs about God; more about the presence of God than ther proofs of God; more about intimacy with truth than the tenets of truth; more about knowing God's activities than knowing God's attributes. It is time to move from a religion that seeks to comprehend God to a relationship that seeks to encouter and be a home for God - to move from points and propositions and moralisms to mystery and paradox and participation in the divine life."

Wellcome Kairos' people!

After see some links from Kairos' site to my blog, I have discovered a link from the church to my blog, I feel deeply honored of that!
Wellcome Kairos' people!

Interview

Here's a new game I found in Rick's blog, he answered a questionare from another friend and I asked to join according to the rules below.
Here the question Rick chose for me (Thank you Rick!):
1) What's one of the major things you think about living in Brazil that's different than me living in the United States?
Here in Brazil things are much more unpredictable, I can tell I could get an hour to reach a point in the city, but we must have a broad tolerance (it is from 15 to 45 minutes). When I were in Chicago I was asking for a bus driver where would the bus go, so when her time to go camed she interrupted me to go (here, I could spent more minutes with the driver), also it was difficult to get used to have all the changes prior to get the bus
2) What is the top-rated TV show right now in Brazil? Do you watch it? What's your favorite TV show on right now? What's it about?
Our top TV show is always our soap operas, the one is at TV is called "Owneress of a destiny", it is a story about a woman that lost her baby at 70ies and find her now, but her step mother try to separate them. I don't like it, there is a lot of sex and violence, it usually has 200 chapters and is at TV from Monday to Saturday. After I got cabo, I stopped to watch this kind of program. Our Big Brother is also very watched. But my favorite TV shows are at cabo, some reality shows: Amazing Race, Americal Idol, Queer eye for a straight guy (just after church) and Apprentice and some series from US: Desperate Hosewifes, Joan of Arcadia and Frasier.
3) How many people have you talked to today? Can you name them all?
My boss, Martin(from Argentina), Adriana (from Colombia) - callconference, Roberta, Clarice and Andrea, my place partners; Andre, Juliana and Fernanda, my job partners; Nelson, from accounting. Elaine, by MSN. My wife, doughter and the doctor, today was our first talking about our baby.
4) What is your favorite style of music, and your favorite CD right now?
I usually like Rock and pop, but I am very open to other styles. My favorite CD now is that new one from U2 "How to dismantle atomic bomb"
5) You're flying to the US for a conference and I'm picking you up at the airport. Where would you like to go first - local siteseeing, your hotel, or the restroom? Why?

The first thing I would do is going local siteseeing. I rather use the opportunity to be at different place to know what's different there. I can rest later.
Though when I went to Chicago, I spent all night awake at plane, when I landed we went to hotel, to Willow Creek at a morning service but at afternoon I had to sleep, I was sleeping standed.

The Official rules of the Interview-Game
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions
6. I will answer reasonable follow up questions if you leave a comment.

What happens when you are hard to forgive.

Last Monday we have a great event of pseudo-marriage (they could not really marriage because they are not divorced) of Ronaldo, our best soccer player. It was a very great opportunity to spread all kinds of gossips. Ronaldo chose the Chantily (France) castle to marriage and spent millions of dollars to guarantee it would be a dream come true.
It was sad to see all his friends with very serious faces going to the celebration, they seemed too worry because of the press and lots of photos. Ronaldo builded a very solid scheme to block all press to his marriage, later we will have the fortunate guy that could take some photos of it. It was discussed a lot, celebreties need the press to climb but move them out later.
The sadiest think was when Daniela (the bride) expelled a girl that entered the pary together with a gest (her friend). She had problem with this girl earlier when she used to date another guy in Brazil. The thing is that people are talking more about the expelling than the marriage itself. The girl is a model and her payment lifted 900% after what happended.
It happens when you are hard to forgive, when you are intentional to show that people must be punished, they got to be rewarded by your anger.

The beginning of another great adventure

Here he/she is!
We have begun our year with a great surprise, our family will be greater and we received a big gift from God, one to love and to care for our Dad.

Jesus didn't like to eat alone

"Jesus often did things alone, but it seems he didn't like to eat alone. He invited strangers and friends to eat with him without preconditions and accepted meal invitations from almos anyone"

Leonard Sweet, Out of the question into the mystery
Add to checklist - To lunch alone is a boring thing indeed, try to lunch not at a time convenient to me but at a time convenient to join with others to meal.
I knew a mall where the common place to meal were somewhat restricted, therefore they encouraged people to lunch at empty chairs even when the table (for 4 people) where occupied by one or two people. It is ironic to see how embarassing it got to be!

License to sin

It's Carnaval, this is our biggest holliday, as it usually stays at the beggining of the year, most people (and even business) uses to take the year seriously after Carnaval, in January people set up their vacations and Carnaval is a sign that after that, most people are back to work. Even churches have slow attendance in January and waits this holliday to start their seasons.
This a huge holliday, it's ever on Tuesday, and people back to work after Wednesday ashes. As it is a big holliday, we have many churches seting retires to youths, I used to go every Carnaval to a retire, I had good moments on that. As I lost contact with youth ministry, now I'm at home.
Carnaval was a ancient party tolerated by church where people used to have a more free behavour before ashes, this is the spirit of the party here (except for the observation of lent), people go to party very ready for casual sex. We have parties at TV with a very liberal behaviour.
It is ironic the origin of this party, it implies a very religious concern but in a legalistic context, where the sin is a need to be avoided instead of a bad thing that brings bad consequences to ourselves and to our relationship with God.

The Emerging Church

Last week I was able to finish "Emerging Church", from Dan Kimball, I have also good personal referencies from him. This book is very nice referenced and I liked the comments made through all book from Rick Warren (Saddleback), Brian McLaren, Howard Hendricks, Chip Ingram, Sally Morgenthaler and Mark Oestreicher (I know the first two, but started to like others).
The books adress very well a big problem church is facing today, mainly to gather youth. I believe we have a kind of abuse of the solutions purposed last years so that many churches rather trust in the solution than in core Christinism itself. All of this problems helped us to lost much of our authenticism, I believe the problems is the faith in solutions and solutions abuse, I went to Willow Creek tree years ago, and I think they provided me nice solutions also, I think those are tools to be used and would be very worth here yet.
The book made me understand very well the elements of many of the emerging churches I have became a fan (many of them are listed at left). There are a lot of insights that broaden my alternatives to think about church. I don't know if I would apply them all, as even Dan told, this is a matter of sensivity of how we are today, here in Brazil we have a certain kind of post-modern mind spreaded throughout youths, but I couldn't notice yet if they are as spiritual as to be close to lots of elements showed at the book. This is not to say I am not going to shopping and trying the insensus and candles at different smells.