Deacon Pat 11-21-2009 Finding God

Thinking the Faith for Today : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 1 Thinking the Faith for Today Deacon Pat Necerato Thinking About God Part 1

Opening Prayer : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 2 Opening Prayer Father in heaven…Make me worthy to serve others through my words and actions. Show me how to provide them peace and joy by my understanding and love. Dearly beloved Word of God, Teach me to be generous, To serve you as you deserve, To give without counting the cost, To work without worrying about my own struggles, To labor without seeking rest, To spend myself without looking for any reward other than that of knowing that I do your holy will. Holy Spirit, Lord of Life and Love…restore joy into the hearts of all church ministers and leaders. Teach them to serve faithfully. Magnify their work so their efforts may reach your objective. Draw all church workers to work in your energy and not their own. Restore the joy of those church ministers who are serving without happiness. And grant inspired movement to those who assist in serving the people of God. We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord…Amen.

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So What Exactly is Service? : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 4 So What Exactly is Service? The Word “Service” is sometimes misunderstood… Service can mean military service…or it can mean public service…or even sometimes restaurant or internet service. Two common words most of us know also mean service. One of them is: Samurai – it means to serve Diaconate – it also means to serve But the true meaning of service depends on who you’re serving and how you’re serving: Yourself? Or others?

Christ Exemplified Service : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 5 Christ Exemplified Service Christ came to serve all mankind. The mark of Christ is service. Where other people wonder: “WWJD”?...ministers “DWJWD” they “DO WHAT JESUS WOULD DO!” THEY SERVE OTHERS! But sometimes we get...

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11/22/2009 Thinking About God 6 Frustrated And it seems nobody is listening to us...and all we want to do is...

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11/22/2009 Thinking About God 7 SCREAM! Ever happen to you???? Well don’t worry...we all have these...

Tough Ministry Situations : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 8 Tough Ministry Situations And these are our challenges everyday… Think about those difficult ministry or life situations that you have had to face? How did you go about making sense of these situations? and…

How do we handle these : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 9 What is the model by which we evaluate, interpret, and explain reality and allow it to inform our actions within this world ?... In other words… How do we handle these Tough Ministry Situations

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11/22/2009 Thinking About God 10 Where is God in all of this? So what we must do is…

We must learn how to… : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 11 We must learn how to… Intentionally Think About God in light of our daily life experiences. So…in order to make this decision…we might now ask…

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11/22/2009 Thinking About God 12 What does it mean to Think About God? Why do we Think About God? How do we Think About God? How does, what we Think About God, inform our decisions and actions?

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11/22/2009 Thinking About God 13 What does it mean to - Think About God? And let’s remember that thinking about God is an “intentional” discipline… it is an “active” rather than a “passive” endeavor.

Thinking about God = : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 14 Thinking about God = A “fundamental attempt to make positive and constructive statements about who God is – and who we are in light of who God is”… And the interesting thing is… Theology

Thinking about God is aCommunal activity… : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 15 Thinking about God is aCommunal activity… We can only fully understand who God is – and who we are in light of who God is– in community and in conversation with each other. And thinking about God is also…

Relevant… : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 16 Relevant… Theology, when intentionally spoken about within the community, will address the reality of the community – and therefore it will have a higher degree of relevancy to each person. However, there is a problem with this...

The Problem of Measurability : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 17 The Problem of Measurability Some will say that thinking about God is irrelevant because it is not measurable…in other words… the worlds of Spirit and flesh are separated… the world of the spirit is perfect and the world of the flesh is imperfect... and therefore, is left up to opinion and personal values. But there’s another problem…

The Problem of Utility : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 18 The Problem of Utility States that value is measured by how useful things (thoughts, beliefs, etc) are to us…if it brings us personal gain, then it is of value to us. Meaning: I pray…I don’t get an answer (according to my timetable)... therefore…thinking about God is not useful… so what do these problems mean…

The Mistake of Measurability and Utility : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 19 The Mistake of Measurability and Utility Measurability - assumes a separation between what is spirit and what is flesh. This is unfounded, particularly in light of the Incarnation. Utility - There are some things that transcend the merely useful.

So to Summarize – Thinking About God is: : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 20 So to Summarize – Thinking About God is: Our attempt to know who God is – and who we are in light of who God is… A communal event in that we can only truly know God and ourselves in Community. Necessarily appropriate – and relevant – particularly when done in community

How do you Think your Faith ? : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 21 How do you Think your Faith ? Thank You for Thinking about, Thinking about God… How do you Think About God? End of Part 1

Thank you… : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 22 Thank you… Any Questions

Tough Ministry Situations : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 23 Let’s take a moment to think about the hardest, the toughest, the most difficult, and the most unpleasant ministry situation you ever had... Then discuss with two or three other people – share what you learned from it...how did God enter the situation... Tough Ministry Situations

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11/22/2009 Thinking About God 24 Deacon Pat Necerato Part 2 Welcome back… Thinking the Faith for Today Thinking About God

So now the question is:Why do we Think About God? : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 25 So now the question is:Why do we Think About God?

We Think About God... : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 26 We Think About God... To make sense of our lived experience We Think About God in order to not only better evaluate, interpret and explain our lived experience but also in order to inform our response to our particular experience… AND...

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11/22/2009 Thinking About God 27 Christian thinking is a dimension of Christian being Christianity isn’t a veil to shield us from the world, but rather a way to think through what the world gives us AND…

Unfortunately… : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 28 Unfortunately… Christianity is becoming less of a reality in America … Christianity can no longer claim an exclusive or even privileged position in a postmodern American society… So now we may ask…”why do we think about God, anyway…”

Summary - Why do we Think About God? : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 29 Summary - Why do we Think About God? Because we want to make sense of our lived experience Because Christian thinking is a dimension of Christian being Because Christianity in America is becoming less of a reality everyday…and we must make it a reality… So…what’s next…?

We have to learn “How to Think About God?”And we have to learn more about him... : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 30 We have to learn “How to Think About God?”And we have to learn more about him... What’s next is…

Our questions about God are… : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 31 Our questions about God are… How do we know these things about God? Where did we get our information? How reliable are our resources? Which resources do we assign greater authority? The Church has the answer…

How do we Think About God? : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 32 How do we Think About God? Scripture It is Historical Older and Newer Testaments It is Received by Faith It is learned It is Authoritative Reveals the God of faith And…

Scripture is… : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 33 Scripture is… The Bible… contains a vital and indispensable historical component for Christianity -. It is of immediate and primary significance because it is the sole witness to this foundational history. Is there anything else…?

Yes…we have our Tradition…which is : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 34 Yes…we have our Tradition…which is Tradition Doctrinal Creeds and Confessions Domestic Received from church and family And…

Tradition : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 35 Tradition Tradition means to “hand over.” Christian faith is an historical faith…it is handed over, not only from the early church but also from our parents and grandparents… Is there anything else…

Yes…there is the experiential aspect also : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 36 Yes…there is the experiential aspect also Experience Personal Individual Experience Communal Cultural Experience

Personal Experience : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 37 Personal Experience Experience is something that we don’t receive from others but rather … something we gain for ourselves…it must be lived to be meaningful. and Experience is transitional…from one generation to the next...for example:

Personal Experience and its’ relation to Thinking About God : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 38 Personal Experience and its’ relation to Thinking About God Middle Ages – disregard for all things temporal (200-1300) Renaissance – disregard for most things spiritual (1500-1700) Reformation – transfer of authority to scripture opens door to personal reception and interpretation (1550-1600) Enlightenment - made an absolute of the human intellect, elevated the knowable, tangible, and measurable (1700-1800) Romanticism - point of departure for faith is not reason nor authority but experience, from the world of reason to a world of emotionalism-preface to Post Modern (1800-1900) Post Modern - Thinking About God is not rational thought but broad experientially based intuition or “feeling” (20th Cent) What About You…How Do You Think About God…

Thank You for… Thinking About God : 

11/22/2009 Thinking About God 39 Thank You for… Thinking About God Deacon Pat Necerato Thinking the Faith for Today As Saint Augustine said… "Our hearts are restless, until they rest in thee!"