Decisions..Decisions....A New Covenant Life

Greetings in Christ. As of now many have probably already heard the situation that occurred between Gabriella and I yesterday. For the confused, upset, and indifferent minds, I right this blog to explain my current understanding and way of looking at things.
Just to give a brief re-cap, Gabriella and I got into an argument about my actions that seemingly led to me being labeled a "cheater". All of this came from a situation that was blown out of proportion on her part, and poorly managed on mine. It resulted in a bit of craziness and facebook confusion to say the least.
So whats going on? Well, I am in love with Gabriella and many who are reading this have been involved in the conversations that I express this over and over, so bear with me. We have had our ups and downs through our almost 4 year relationship, been through many discussions with others, and have been labeled "un-equally yoked", "fornicators", etc... In any relationship this would be chaotic, so it has played a toll on ours.
Obviously, now is a time of decisions. Is this relationship healthy, is it going to work, can we somehow get over this, etc.. I clearly understand that these things need to be thought about, discussed, prayed about, and acted on. But what I would like to express is a clearly cohesive decision-making understanding of the New Covenant given to us through Christ Jesus.
Many people will say, "God wants you to do this...", "God made this happen for a reason", "God is telling you...", etc..and thinking through this way of thinking has spurred me to disagree. The New Covenant put an end to the "old order of things (Revelation 21:4 )". Jesus Christ has given us a way of freedom to truly freely choose what we would like to make of our lives, I don't have to wonder in fear if this relationship will keep me out of heaven or even pray for hours about God revealing a special truth to me concerning Gabriella and I. That is the blessing and the curse of the New Covenant, you are truly free to do what you want with your life and accept the consequences as they may be. We need to stop putting God into a situations He has not put Himself in. Yes, God is Sovereign over everything and that is understood from the outset, but God is not making things happen in Gabriella and my relationship, it is simply the nature of things. I value practical advice and I guess that somewhat attributes to my understanding of Christ Jesus and the ways that pleases Him.
Basically, the decision making process I propose is that we have the freedom to choose to do whatever we want with our lives- that essentially is the New Covenant. With that blessing of freedom comes the fact that our decisions will ultimately lead to consequences that none other then ourselves have brought to fruition. I don't have to fear that I am walking out of God's will either way I make the decision and that goes for most decisions, but I can trust that the divine nature of things will work that way.
What is God telling me? Well, as Hebrews chapter 1 explains that God now speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ which we understand to be the Word of God (John chapter 1). I am not in the Bible, but God's divine truth guides my decisions and will produce the fruit in my life that needs to be there as long as I persevere and continue to:
"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness....(Matthew 6:33)".
Please continue to keep these matters in prayer and that I may find rest in His presence.
In Christ, seeking blessings,
Mike Miano

The Threat of Islam?!?!?!?

First I would like to start out my greeting all my readers, it has been a while, but as many of you may know I have been busy, busy, busy with raising funds for Israel (which is very much still needed - http://www.riskybusinessforChrist.weebly.com), re-launching new ideas for Freaked-Out Fellowship, living the ups and downs of being in love with a beautiful woman, and being involved in an awesome local expression of the body of Christ (Messiahreformed.com).
` So what did you think of the title? Great! I would like to start out by defining IGNORANCE. Ignorance is the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, education, or awareness. We see this very much in common conversation these days, when people speak on matters they don't know much about. If you read through the book of Proverbs this topic is addressed very much and thus is why as people of God we are told to watch our tongue, or just simply don't speak all that much.
The topic of Islam has always been of interest to me. Before I had come to Christ, I studied Islam under a Shiite imam, and was fascinated and still somewhat am with the devotion to Arab culture. Obviously through studies I have come to believe that Islam is false, and that Christ is the Son of God.
The way many Christians have gone about the discussion of Islam has always bothered me. I remember when I first came to Christ and would foster discussion with Muslims, I would always hear Christians have an issue with me saying allah as a term for God (allah means God in Arabic, even Arab Christians use the term), or say "be careful when reading the Quran". My immediate response to these issues has always been to question the foundation of Christian in these peoples minds, why would we as Christians be so scared of false doctrine, when our doctrine is so clear and true? I still to this day don't understand how many can have a flimsy foundation in Christ (Matthew 7:20-27).
I read and see many Christian books, movies, and discussions that speak against this scary demon of Islam and the threat they pose to us as Christians. This is just ludicrous. Islam is as false as any other religion or ideology that fails to see the truth in Christ Jesus (read through 1 and 2 Epistles of John). That would go for Jews, Buddists, Atheists, and the like. We can not be hypocritical in our approach of truth especially when we are suppose to be people marked by truth and love.
Another good example would be my up and coming renewal fast that I am participating in for Ramadan. Now Ramadan is an Islamic festival of fasting, prayer, alms giving, and study. Muslims believe that Ramadan (which will be August 11 to September 9 of 2010) is the time that the Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. I do not believe that the Quran is a holy text or the prophet Muhammad proclaimed the truth of Christ but I see opportunity for a unifying factor and a time of renewal for myself and all who choose to participate. What would Jesus do? Many Christians are seemingly troubled by this idea as you can see by reading about the participation in Ramadan by Brian McLaren and other Christians he congregates with. Why not create a unifying factor with Muslims? I would love to explain more about what my Renewal and Study festival will be like.
Of, so this brings me to the reason for this blog. Just days ago I heard that "they are trying to build a mosque at Ground Zero", and the response isn't that great from many people, especially Christians. I thought the immediate aggravation I was seeing from people was crazy and decided to do some studying (Gabriella and I like to have these conversations, so always researching). As a former 9-11 Truther and being very involved into the studies around September 11, 2001, I have a heart for this topic just as I do Islam. After researching I have realized that this was once again a hyped up issue and still is, and many people are mis-informed. The Cordoba Initiative is looking to build a cultural center with emphasis on better Muslim-West relations, that does not sound like a mosque to me! The idea sounds great and would foster much needed discussion and also help the healing process and blame many have put on Islam as a religion. You can read about it here- http://www.cordobainitiative.org/?q=content/cordoba-house-new-york-city.
As Christians, we need to really develop a loving conduct for both people and truth, they are intertwined, so we must develop both. Believe it or not, in both the Bible and the Quran, Christians are marked as people devoted to love and truth, do we really live up to that title? I did some reading this morning into Muslim-Christian relations in history and you may find it quite interesting, here is the link- http://www.soundvision.com/Info/jesus/MuslimChristianRelations.asp.
Thanks for reading and I hope this fosters great discussion and study.
With love for Truth and people, in Christ Jesus,
Michael Miano
http://www.freakedoutfellowship.weebly.com

Re-Jesus: The Missional Church PART 2

Ok, so we ended yesterday’s post on ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church rather abruptly and I had a lot more to say.

Entering into the last couple chapters which focused on ReJesusing the organization we have come to call church, and we must ask ourselves, “Is this really what Jesus intended for His movement”?

A good equation for us to consider is
Christianity- Christ= Religion.

A great sociological explanation into what we are experiencing in the Church is a problem with routinization of charisma. This means that it is hard to channel the Charisma that Jesus Christ ushered into the movement we call- Christianity. Do I hear someone saying, “Lack of Spirit”? This is more the reason we must ReJesus, and re-encounter Christ daily. The comparison of Christ to the manna of the Israelites was a “fresh one”. It must be renewed daily.

It’s interesting to note, that I have had these conversations with many people, basically, what was Jesus Christ trying to do? It also implies who He was. I see the Jesus Christ in the gospels, gathering a group of men around this hope that once the Old Covenant was fulfilled, and the Messiah ushers in the New Covenant, it will be an end of the world as they knew it. This good news produced such an excitement and controversy, which “turned the world upside-down. Many people seem to differ on what Jesus Christ was doing, which affects what we believe He is doing today. Way of life (life in New Covenant)- Religion (Old Covenant).

Christianity = the anti-religion!!!! But rather, “a radically alternative vision of the world and thus initiates an ensuing mission to change the world in order to fulfill that vision”.

A great quote, which is pretty much my testimony, was said in the book and I will hold on it forever!!! “…the strange and wonderful God-man has invaded our life with purpose and freshness”. Is that the Messiah you follow?

Now, the term RADICAL TRADITIONALISM, struck a strong chord in my mind, pretty much to the point of me trying to incorporate that term into the mission statement of Freaked-Out Fellowship. Radical Traditionalism is exactly where I am at in my walk with Christ, which is to return to the original way of Christ, but express it in our day. Terms like 21st Century Apostles, or even New Monasticism, are examples of radical traditionalism.

A big issue I see in most traditional churches today is the lack of mission. The lack of a common cause will mobilize no one. We must unite under a common cause, and be mobilized by it. That is what we see Jesus Christ doing with the apostles in the Word of God. I have spoken about this time and time again; my favorite passage in Matthew is Matthew chapter10, where we see Jesus sending out the apostles. How much better is our worship, services, fellowship, and reason for being when we are on mission??? My concern is how can we say that we have experienced the truth of the gospel or understand it, because mission is simply the outward impulse of the effects the gospel has on us as God’s people. Judge the tree by the fruit it bears??

So, with all of that said, let me conclude with the invite, are you ready to be involved in a radical movement, “the conspiracy of little Jesus’, why don’t you be the one to ignite a fire (figuratively) in your area, let’s go!!!

“If passion is eliminated, faith no longer exists”.

Love you all more and more, by the goodness and grace of Jesus Christ,

Michael Miano

ReJesus - The Missional Church

I just finished reading ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, and I have to say it might just be another huge factor in my growth. The book has come at a pivotal part of my growth in life (Isn’t it awesome how God orchestrates things?).
Well, let me start with a personal point. When I first came to Christ, I was sent out and equipped to be a radical. Besides the fact that I was in a prison yard where Muslims, atheists, and agnostics ran rampant, brother Paul also let me know from the 1st moment I chose to follow Christ Jesus, that I was called and sent out to be an ambassador.
As of the latest development in my Christian walk, I have learned how to read the Bible in a way that makes perfect sense, truly in context. This has led me to embrace the Preterist doctrine. To be a little critical of what I have seen within some Preterist circles, I see a need to re-connect to the missional Messiah. Therefore, this awesome book could have come at no better a time.
The book starts with a great analogy. When a computer needs to be re-booted, it requires a complete do-over, and must go back to the beginning basic functions. Basically, in order to re-Jesus, we must go back to the basics (do I hear a call for Matthew chapters 5-7 anywhere? (smiles)).
A great quote which is so true in all areas of life and I couldn’t have said it better was: “Jesus is the center of all, the object of all, whoever does not know Him, knows nothing aright, either of the world or of himself” (Blasé Pascal). I can testify to that because before I came to the saving knowledge of Christ, life just didn’t seem to make much sense, but know as a Christian, every day I try to figure out how can the world make sense to those who are stuck in it????
The book goes on to remind us of who Jesus Christ is in the gospels, without us fashioning Him into our images (they even showed pictures of different “Jesus’, and quotes from the movie Talladega Nights, ha ha “Jesus is not a baby anymore!!”.).
“There is no doubt that we face a SPIRITUAL, THEOLOGICAL, MISSIONAL, AND EXISTENTIAL CRISIS in the West”. Anyone disagree? Consider the million and one denominations, why??? Consider the loss of the radical rabbi/ messiah Jesus Christ.
Another astonishing fact about the book was that the authors mixed many of the different mentors/ authors and concepts that I have been admiring a lot lately. For example Shane Claiborne, Erwin McManus, Walter Bruggerman “prophetic imagination”, and some others. I do not consider it a coincidence that these are all linked minds; rather I believe we are onto something here my friends.
“The conspiracy of little Jesus’”- I have come to adore that term, because that’s exactly what Christianity should be called. That’s exactly what I had in mind when the vision for Freaked-Out Fellowship came into play. Just picture it, little Jesus’ all around, everywhere in our neighborhoods starting little revolutions in public and in private lives. The comparison to V for Vendetta was good as well.
I enjoyed the motto of the 3 Latin terms, imago Dei, participate Christo, and mission Dei. = could be said to be the essence of Christianity.
Quoting from Robert McAfree Brown, “Our task is to create foretastes of the Kingdom of God on this planet-living glimpse of what life is meant to be…” Great quote, although as a preterist, I believe we are living in the kingdom of God, which means to presents of the living God with us now, and a fulfilled Old Covenant. Our fulfilled hope is a reality that Christ is ever present with us, and we can live in His presence without priests or artifacts.
Imago Dei, was brought to a new vision for me, especially as an evangelist. Considering that we are all made in the image of God, and some have allowed that to fade by letting this world captivate them, our goal is to identify the image of the Creator in all people, and tease it out. Wow! Talk about being on mission! “I desire to be the man who restores these lost children to God”!
As I read through the book and considered the quote “God is the one who conquers…by capturing the imagination…” I thought about how God has gifted me with a vast imagination. Considering the New Monastic adventures, cross-carrying, sackcloth, denominational studies, etc- these have all been ReJesus moments in my life. That is what we need, constant renewal to the reality of Jesus Christ. Pretty much, a renewal of discipleship, and an enactment of 21st century apostles (Acting Out ACTS anyone?).
The book goes on to direct attention at the institutional church, and how scary it must be to go back to Jesus Christ. The founder of this entire revolution. A lot must change and it is much noticeable that many church leaders will not want to go back to the original because they fear “the whole edifice might crumble”. Well, I guess that battle is are you following Christ or not???
Well, I think that is enough. Honestly, these are only half of my notes from the book. Yes, they and I have that much to say. But maybe another blog soon or contact me and we can talk. My goal is not to write about it, but rather to begin the “conspiracy of little Jesus’, locally and abroad!
Love you all, thanks for reading this lengthy blog!
God bless, through the mighty blood of Christ Jesus,
Michael Miano
PS- please consider supporting my trip to Israel/ Palestine
http://www.riskybusinessforchrist.weebly.com

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.

Some thoughts...

Well, I really enjoyed last week’s blog, so it was hard for me to want to write another one. I figured, if I had one thing to say to the world or even more so to the Body of Christ, it would be to exercise prophetic imagination, so why continue???
Well, I am learning over and over that life is a journey of learning, and I guess that is what makes is exciting. Once we stop learning or think we got it all together, we are doomed.
So the reading I have just finished was my pastor’s book – Reading the Bible with New Covenant Eyes (author- Alan Bondar). This was a great read, and provided much insight into my latest doctrine framework of – Full Preterism.
I wanted to share some thoughts………
A great analogy that Alan used in the book was the story of Galileo Galilee. If you are not too familiar with that name I will explain a bit. Now Galileo was a “scientist” who proposed a new finding about the way we looked at the universe. In the 1600’s it was assumed that the sun stars, etc revolved around the earth (Ptolemaic theory of geocentrism). What Galileo proposed was the heliocentric theory of Copernicus, which said that everything revolved around the sun. Well this was heresy, in science and church, IT CONTRADICTED THE BIBLE!! Or did it????
One part I found quite amusing (oh and yes, I went and looked it up after Alan mentioned it; you all should know me by now!!).I was amused by the fact that some scientists wouldn’t even consider looking through the telescope at his findings, oh Lord how stubborn we are. I truly do believe that once we think we got it all together, we have dumbed ourselves down.
Now why am I ranting about this?? Well, that situation is a lot of how we approach Biblical doctrine. We fail to look through the telescope at views that could very well be right, but we feel we got it all together. Where is the humility??
I would strongly urge all to pick up a copy of Alan’s book and read it, yes you can read it with critical eyes, I am sure Alan would approve, but in the end – the earth will revolve around the sun. 
Also, as I have been delving into a full preterist understanding, I am realizing how much the prophetic imagination is needed. Since our hope has been fulfilled, and we are surrounded by a world living in desperation, how do we spread this hope? We all know what the Word of God says about hope deferred don’t we? Well how can we help a lost world understand that hope is PRESENT?? = PROPHETIC IMAGINATION!!!
“a very dangerous thing, likely not only to irritate all scholastic philosophers and theologians, but also to harm the Holy Faith by rendering Scripture false”. – Oh boy, we need not be as “stubborn as an asp”.
In love and joy- of a fulfilled hope,
Michael Miano

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