What are you Screaming with your Life? - An Alternative Story

" He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches." (Matthew 13:31-32)

Ok, well wanted to make a video because I believe I can explain the passion of the kingdom of God that is welled up inside me so much better on video or in person, but I’m going to try this method.
Lately I realized through reading and talking with others that the Biblical narrative as a story, causes some questions. For example, why did God choose to operate the way He did? Why Jesus? Why the "Kingdom of God, etc..I have come to realize there is great reward in understanding the "Kingdom of God", and I'm not talking about some "die and go to heaven stuff", I mean more for the here and now, you know "live your best life now" type of stuff.
So what is it?

Let's take it from the beginning. As you open the book of Genesis you meet Adam and Eve, these are the people who God is in covenant with (which means relationship). Most of us have heard the story of the apple of sin many times, so we know that Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Now God created us for a relationship with Him, so God obviously sees the need for some rules in His people. Now we pause..

Why did God want a people? God in His divine wisdom created the natural order of things, the why's and what's of the world, therefore the reality that all good things start as small movements actually isn’t man made sociology (read Margaret Mead) but rather wisdom of God
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”-Margaret Mead

So, God takes this small people come to be known as Israelites (the people of God) and institutes a Law ( a fence you could say) to keep them separate from the world. These are the people God cultivates and blesses through time. Many "prophets" pop up here and there and are a bit radical, some see visions concerning the future that will grow beyond the fence and dream of this (the hope of Israel).

As with any spoiled child, these people of God began to feel self-righteous about there doings, and began to condemn all things that were not as they saw fit, and as time progressed they became divisive and hard hearted to the things of God, it was no longer about God’s glory, it became about the preservation of their way of doing things (Biblical language- Pharisee).
Then the Messiah was born. We read about this miraculous virgin birth in the beginning of the biographical books of the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John- called they Gospels, which we will get into in a moment).

Jesus Christ, known as the son of Joseph, was born the son of God, to fulfill the hope of Israel- the kingdom of God. This kingdom would be the fulfillment of all that the prophets had spoken about and would be the hope of Israel, this is the good news.
Jesus Christ steps on the scene and immediately declares “The kingdom of God is at hand”. Basically the time is now, and he begins to explain.

Now, remember the verse in the beginning of this blog? Re-read it. You see how God works? He started small, instituted a way for this plant to grow separate from weeds and other plants- now he is going to open the gate and let the plant grow in the garden and take over!
Think. Reaping the garden will occur (judgment), cleansing, and then freedom!
As a Christian, you, me and others are this over grown radical garden. The good news Jesus Christ was declaring is that “another world is possible”! He said that to those Jews in His time to let them know the way God has been operating with you guys in the fence is over and a new way is going, and that same concept must be reverberated throughout our time today!

Out of the 12 men that followed Jesus Christ, 11 of them understood what He was saying and drew inspiration from their heroes (the Old Testament Prophets) and as Scripture says “turned the world upside-down”. That is how this kingdom stuff works- we must begin to renew, re-invent, re-imagine another world!

So my question to you? What exactly are you screaming with your life? How are you growing outside the fence?




Good Inspiration concerning this kingdom:
“We are convinced that Jesus came not to prepare us to die but to teach us how to live. The kingdom of God is not just something we hope for when we die but something we “live on earth as it is in heaven.
...but throughout ages, beautiful saints have lived faithfully, giving us hope that a set part people can fascinate and bless the world.
...a movement of people who stepped out of the empire that was oppressing them and began creating a new way of life.
..Christians should be troublemakers, creators of uncertainty, agents of a dimension incompatible with society”.
-Quotes from books written by Shane Claiborne

Life as a Pilgrim

Well, this Sunday was a blessing. Annie, my co-conspirator in “turning the world upside-down”, and I went and did some open air readings from the Word of God, and had good discussion time- that’s what I call Church! The night before, I did some studying and really going through my mind and heart, and couldn’t get the topic of “pilgrim” out of my mind (this may have had a lot to do with my reading the Pilgrim’s Progress by Paul Bunyan earlier in the week).
So, I did as I usually do and researched. Conspire magazine is now online (http://www.conspiremagazine.com/) and sure enough this month’s topic was Pilgrimage. Wow!
A Pilgrim is described as someone who is in search of home. This caused me to think a bit, first off we know that the Word describes our home as a heavenly one (Hebrews chapters 11-13), also we are told to live as pilgrims.
So with that said, I began to dig a bit deeper. What really are we in search of? “Seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew chapter 5)”. Psalms 84:5- says that blessed is him whose heart is set on pilgrimage. Well, since I am not on pilgrimage for Jerusalem or Mecca, what really should be captivating me?
Our heavenly city as described in the book of Revelation is the presence of God. The presence of God is the kingdom of God. In Hebrews we read that the saints endured all kinds of torture to obtain and invite others; to this new city, thus the presence of God.
Being me, and being critical of all things, I still wanted to dig a bit deeper. How can I express this is my life, how can I explain and be an ambassador of this kingdom, if I don’t know the characteristics and how to define it??
LOVE, DYING TO SELF, RESTORATION, RENEWAL, REVIVAL, PASSION (PURPOSE), IDENTITY. – Characteristics of the kingdom of God!
Reading through Shane Claiborne’s book- Jesus for President (an awesome depiction of what life is like in the kingdom of God); I was loving the chapter titled: A Peculiar Party. He said, “we need to be about discovering lost relatives and forgotten ancestors”.
I thought that made a great point. As Christians we need to realize that we must begin to explain and re-iterate the kingdom of God properly. In our society, what do most conversations consist of- family, friends, activities, views, …that’s pretty much it. So how do we explain or world?
THE SAME WAY! Tell about our family in Christ, our holy days, our activities, etc…
This just once again puts into thought my vision of Christians as master storytellers, just like our Savior.
Let our pilgrimage be expressions of His presence.

Exercise: Prophetic Imagination

As a Jesus Freak, I think using our “prophetic imagination” is vital. I read Shane Claiborne’s book- Jesus for President, and the way he described how various Christians and communities are using this gifting, inspired me! Learning and understanding the “prophetic imagination” confirmed what was going on within my Spirit, and helped me better explain what I feel called to do.
Anyways, I just finished reading The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann. A great read!
To give a quick definition of what I understand the prophetic imagination to be, it is simply, using our minds to express the message that burns within us the same way the prophets of old did. Consider Isaiah walking naked to prophesy against Egypt (Isaiah chapter 20), Ezekiel cooked with human feces to display a message, and even our Messiah ransacked the temple which was being abused...Why? To get the message across!
“Concrete, passionate, and imaginative, prophetic in its form, prophetic speech is nonetheless “a sharp sword”, conveying a vision “designed to shock rather than edify”. Moderation is a delusion, and only extremists are in touch with reality”. Wow that puts things quote bold, I mean truly though, How much does this message (the Gospel) burden you or even more just fill you with so much joy you cannot help but be “freaked-out”??
Here goes a quote that confirms me (laughs) “...prophetic must be imaginative because it is urgently out beyond the ordinary and reasonable”.
Church- “…a community of peculiar discourse with practices of memory, hope, and pain that keep healthy human life available in the face of all the “virtual reality” now on offer in dominant culture”.
REALLY, WHAT WERE THE PROPHETS UP TO???
“The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture”. - Prophetic imagination isn’t about specific issues but more so the awakening of the people of Christ to WAKE UP.We have become way too domesticated. CALLED TO- CRITICIZE THE CONCIOUSNESS, AND ENERGIZE THE PEOPLE!!!(We have eternal life and even more, the presence of God).
“…assault of the consciousness of the empire, aimed at NOTHING LESS THAN THE DISMANTLING OF THE EMPIRE BOTH IN ITS SOCIAL PRACTICES AND ITS MYTHIC PRETENSIONS”.
WOW, SOCIAL PRACTICES……MYTHIC PRETENSIONS…
To energize is to provide hope, look at the old covenant and then look at what the new covenant through Christ Jesus offers. Do I need to energize us at all? What is our hope in?
Even as I read through my notes, I am being energized by the radical way of Jesus Christ. Is that what we exhibit? The book continually terms it “alternative”; I sit and think, what alternative are we offering to the world? What do they see through us, the body of Christ?
The book says it well; anyone that knows me knows that I am a bit of a rebel. I love the word and anything associated with it. A good point the book makes though, is that we are not going against any certain thing, but rather the false consciousness that is being given by dominant society (and I hate to break it to many, but that could even mean mainstream church, yes I said it).
A good contrast the book makes is between the Solomonic transformation if Israel and similarly how we can see it through the Constantine rule of the church. We have been watered down! Yes, I’m yelling it, can you hear me??
Criticize present= energized future!
“…imagination is danger. Thus every totalitarian regime is frightened of the artist. It is the vocation of the prophet to keep alive the ministry of imagination”. ATTENTION FELLOW MINISTRY LEADERS!!! WE WONDER WHY PEOPLE ARE NOT DOING MINISTRY, OR ARENT LEAVING THE PEWS DOING ANYTHING. WE MUST TEACH THEM- IMAGINE AND ARTICULATE!!
“…where passion disappears there will not be any serious humanizing energy”.
“What a commission it is to express a future that none think imaginable”- the call of a Christian! I am not of this world, with my God, all things are possible!
“The actions of Jesus are a scandal, for they violate propriety, reason, and good public order”- Make a Scene for the Lord!!!
A NEW POSSIBILITY- “The alternative community is to be shaped from the poor, hungry, and grieving is called to DISENGAGE FROM THE WOE PATTERN OF LIFE to end that other ordering, and TO EMBRACE THE BLESSING PATTERN”.
Our hope? The use of our imaginative consciousness, energy, and passion to “turn this world upside-down”, this makes all things possible, a whole new way to the obvious misery and incompleteness of the things of this world.
Well thanks for reading through this. Now if you ever have any questions about me, Michael Miano or Freaked-Out Fellowship, you can refer to this post. Well explained. Also, I would once again like to make mention of Shane Claiborne’s book – Jesus for President! A great example of prophetic imagination.
With knowledge of Him, and passion in pursuit of Him,
Michael Miano
http://www.freakedoutfellowship.weebly.com

Ramblings of a Jesus Freak

The past couple weeks, actually I could even say the beginning of the New Year has been awesome, and AWE in every sense of the word.
Have had plenty of study opportunities, especially with the start of the new group I started called ACTing Out ACTS! Also, have had plenty of speaking engagements which have been both a blessing and trying.
So, the latest message that has been on my mind came from the Acting Out: ACTS study, we read through ACTS 1 and 2. Acts chapter one has always had a serious yet humorous tone to me, since we see the disciples at their lowest point after the crucifixion of Christ, (they are confused and seemingly defeated), then at the greatest point, (in which breeds a different form of confusion).
Acts 1 speaks about the proofs we have of the resurrection and the power we have received as witnesses to proclaim the gospel. But, what is the next action- stupefied! The apostles are depicted as being in so much awe of the ascension that they stand staring into the sky. HELLO! We have proof and power, GO!
Such a message for us in these times as well!
I have just read through Shane Claiborne’s book, The Irresistible Revolution for the 2nd time. Yes, the book is that good. I want to share some thoughts…
We seriously need to “experiment with the gospel”, that is what Shane and his community are trying to do. All of this is in an effort to “question the sanity of the consumer culture, the distorted priorities of the global economy, and the methodology of the welfare state…” It is long over due that we begin “rediscovering the Biblical reversal of our social logic”.
I love how Shane compared the “unbelieving activists” and the “inactive believers”. Oh, how these two disturb me and get me fired up! On one end the unbelieving activist needs to see salvation as saving our souls from sin and that salvation does not end with us, but in turn the inactive believer needs to see that we also need to see salvation as saving the world from this even system and that salvation does begin with us doing something!
“…another world is possible”. Isn’t that the rally call of the gospel? I see the problem as does Shane, that we sit at the foot of the cross, cry, worship, and lay our lives down, but never pick the cross up and follow Christ. Without mission, this doesn’t make much sense. Hypocrisy and millions of other “church issues” come from lacking mission, it simply gets boring!!!
The Word of God must not become stale in our minds and hearts. The minute that the Word is not pushing you to a reckless faith, you need to question your “Christian scholarship”. ..Ha ha shout to to Soren Kieregard.
How about Church by this definition? “A people on the margins giving birth to another way of living, a new community marked by interdependence and sacrificial love”. Yeah, that leaves me speechless too!
Galatians 2:20 becomes to hold a new meaning when we truly understand that seeing Christ through us is important to the lost. As Shane references many times the term “Namaste”, which means “I see God in you”. We need to “spend our lives for others”, or even as the book of Isaiah says “pour out our lives unto death”.
Here is my plea from my heart utilizing the words from Shane’s book:
“The doors of normalcy and conformity are dead. The time has come to give up on the doors and find a window to climb through. It’s a little more dangerous and may get you into some trouble, but it’s a heck of a lot more fun. And the people who have changed the world have always been the risk-takers who climb through windows while the rest of the world just walks in and out of doors…”
“We need converts in the best sense of the word, people who are marked by the renewing of their minds and imaginations, who no longer conform to the pattern that is destroying our world. Otherwise, we have only believers, and believers are a dime a dozen now a days. What the world needs is people who believe so much in another world that they cannot help but begin enacting it now” That’s it, honestly, I can sit and quote the whole book to you, yeah once again, its that good! Let the MUSTARD SEED REVOLUTION begin!!! Note- really read about the significance of the mustard seed, one word, Wow!
So in conclusion, as I said in a message I spoke last night. We need to start being risk takers for the Kingdom of God. We need to storm the gates of hell and save the lost and redeem the world all through and for Christ Jesus. As a new wise friend said to me last night, “we need to set up our tents next to hell, and save souls from the fire”. AMEN
Thanks for reading!