Summer long work

Few classes, and things I will work on.

• Church Administration (in process) A. Balog 3
• Introduction to Christian Theology (in process) E. Titus 3
• English composition
• Hebrew 1 and 2
• Reading for my Thesis

Nothing more nothing less.

 

Laci the student.

the not so good grades

Its been awhile since I have posted here… but I had NO TIME.

I got some grades now, and I got an official “battle plan” that shows me, what I have to accomplish before I get my degree…

My grades are not what they are usually, but I guess I have to be satisfied for the season… being a pastor in Vukovar, transitioning to South Budapest, with a pregnant wife and two kids… at the moment I have to be satisfied with ANY amount of success in studies…

SO here are the grades:

Church History: Reformation   (3)

Advanced Spiritual Formation   (5)

Old Testament: Sacred writings   (2)

Pastorology  (4)

“THE BATTLE PLAN“ 

Current ECTS of completed coursework: 96

Practical Ministry (fulfilled through Pastoral work) 9

Total completed ECTS: 108

• English Composition (in process) 3
• Pastorology (in process) 3      (DONE, 4)
• Church Administration (in process) A. Balog 3
• Introduction to Christian Theology (in process) E. Titus 3
• Systematic Theology I E. Titus 3
• Systematic Theology II   E. Titus 3   (DONE 2)
• History & Philosophy of Religion 1.5
• Sociology of Religion 1.5
• Hebrew 1 3 (in process)
• Hebrew 2 3 (in process)
• OT Exegesis 6
• NT Exegesis 6
• Biblical Theology of Peace & Justice (or Biblical Ethics) 3
• Gospel and Culture 3
• Patristics 3
• Methods of Teaching 1.5
• OT Theology 3
• NT Theology 3
• Current Issues in Theology 1.5
• Catholic or Orthodox Theology 3
• Contemporary Issues in Ethics 1.5
• Current Trends in Christian Mission 3
• Marriage and Family 1.5
• Diploma Thesis 6

Total ECTS needed: 72

STILL A LOT TO DO… might not finish it by June, 2010…but the dream remains…

Laci who seeks the LOGOS

From the Spiritual Formation page…

I have closed down that page since I have finishedthe class.

Here is the summary and the quotations from the books…

Spiritual formation class

Quotations from Dwight L Grubbs: Beginnings

• S/F is a journey, a pilgrimage… …into Christ and into ministry.

• Often we know (history, Theology, Bible)as people in ministry,

• Often we do (Homiletics, counseling, administration)

• but we are not being (self awareness, integrity, spirituality)

• In order to be effective ministers we need to know some things, be able to do some things, but most important of all, we need to be a certain kind of person.

• Being in Christ is the foundation, upon which knowledge and skills can be added in order to support an effective ministry.

• The most important vow we could take would be the commitment to inner transformation.
• we tend to forget about retreat, relaxing and we overwork ourselves…like we forgot about grace.

GODs best love letter to the world is a church composed of spiritual people

I. FOUNDATIONS OF SPIRITUAL FORMATION:

1. Salvation: Experiential and intellectual…both needed
2. Spiritual Theology: Used to be called ascetical or mystical theology, few people call it Formation theology> Intentional spiritual development. Spiritual theology has to do with Christ’s redemptive work in the individuals soul. It fits under applied or practical theology. “To be involved in the “outer world” of work and ministry without proper attention attention to the “inner world”of devotion and personal growth, is to risk a vocational disaster.”
3. Mysticism and asceticism: Mysticism is the belief that one comes to know God by putting oneself before God in open receptivity to what God would do in the soul…achieved by quietly waiting. Asceticism is the belief that one comes to know God by working at it, by practicing the disciplines of self-denial and separation… achieved by human effort. THE CONTEMPORARY BELIEVER is open to the unexplainable workings of GOD, and experiences a direct communion with God… this is the modern mysticist. THE MODERN ASCETIST is one who denies self in such ways as living simply. achieved by less success orientation and more service orientation.
4. Historical Foundations: Experiental (mystical) way of Salvation… Luther…
5. Rationalism: many famous protestant (and not just protestant*in my opinion)theologians are denying the mystical part with rational arguments… But a personal relationship with anyone involves, emotions, desires, that often can be hardly explained with the ratio…
6. Relatedness: To become involved in the practice of spiritual formation is to become involved with people. It is primarily a relationship or more accurately a combination of relationships… Or with the word from proverbs: “there is wisdom in multitudes of counsel” Looners can miss spiritual direction… The “Ideal image” is that we can be in a perfect union with GOD, we can imitate Christ, and we can he life in the Spirit. : The “Ideal practice” insists on a healthy balance between one’s experience with God and One’s service to God and the whole inhabited Earth. MARK 3:13-14 JESUS models spiritual formation. The first and the best program…”to be with Him“
7. Process: it suggests that there is a beginning point, that there are goals, and there are procedures, but also that the spiritual formation is never really finished. We are becomers but we never totally become… There is always a need for more growth, insight, cultivation of gifts, development of maturity. The minister (I believe that it is true for every person) needs to decide to become formed by: -scripture, the church, and the Spirit… ( Be aware of 5 things… page 36.) Spiritual transformation is mainly God’s domain. Spiritual formation is our feeble attempts to cooperate with the gracious initiatives of a loving God, to the end that we more nearly live our lives “in Christ”.

DISCIPLINE:

1. GOD gives graceously

2. It does matter how and what we think for it influences our actions…

3. We need a game plan if we are to grow in discipline

I. GIFTS:

GODS gift is that we have the potentionals to learn, grow and change. To become.

II. THINKING:

Our mindset shapes our decisions and commitements

Holiness is a way of living in a vital relationship with the LORD, not a set of rules or etc.

Holiness is an adventure, a journey, a pilgrimage. Not a burden.

LIST OF DISCIPLINES: (are what we do in order to grow in CHRIST)

First list taken from Richard Foster:

I. Inward Disciplines:

1. Meditation

2. Prayer

3. Fasting

4. Study

II. Outward Disciplines:

5. Simplicity

6. Solitude

7. Submission

8. Service

III. Corporate Disciplines:

9. Confession

10. Worship

11. Guidance

12.Celebration

HE ADDS the 9 Gifts of the Spirit from Galatians 5:16-25

IV. Character disciplines:

Disciplines that develop a God-like character, providing evidences of the Spirit of GOD.

13. Love

14. Joy

15. Peace

16. Patience

17. Kindness

18. goodness

19. faithfulness

20.gentleness

21. Self-control

…and the last five he calls:

V. The ministry disciplines:

22. Witnessing

23. caring

24. Visioning

25.Leading

26. Equpping

Significant areas we need to pay attention to are:

1. Prioirities

We can chose a lifestyle that enhances personal and spiritual growth, or we can choosework-habits and attitudes that wear away at the soul.

Priority pie:

2. Time menagement

If we do not manage our time, others will or the circumstances will.

HINT: – make daily and weekly time schedules

- Discern: what needs to be done and what is that someone says you need to do it

- Expository teaching reduces the preparatory time(Haha, I like this one… I have never thought or learned to do any other way… )

3. Leisure

Wrong understanding is the biggest problem…

-too much pull of needs

-too much push of theology .

4.Physical fittness:

- Reduce salt and sugar

- Cut snacks and sweets

- drink a lot of water

- much fruit and veggies

- WALK

5.WRITE

it should be a daily discipline

it produces clarity, insight, growth, it is therapeutic, produces wholeness.

DIRECTION:

(Spiritual direction)

1/ a spiritual director is a person who at my invitation monitors my spiritual developement.

2/ a spiritual director is a spiritual mentor.(friend, soul friend, mentor, etc.)

WHY THE NEED for spiritual direction?

1. Words like Community, congregation, covenant, etc are all over the Bible.

Mark 3:13-14 to abode in HIM, to be with HIM

2. Socio-psichologicalreasons:

THe human race was created to live in community

two basic needs we have: – TO love and to be loved

- to speak and to be spoken to

3 . historical reasons:

History validates the use of spiritual direction.

4. Biblical reasons:

N.T.

JESUS provided us with examples

- perfect model who practiced spiritual disciplines

- the disciples learned from there mentor…

O.T.

I. Samuel 3:1-21

Eli and Samuel… Mentor and disciple. great picture

Spiritual friends are:

- mentors of the devotional life

- Fellow-pilgrims on the spiritual journey

- guides who walk with us through struggles

-teachers who listen, evaluate and study with us,

- witnesses who share what GOD is doing in their lives

- directors who guide us to resoureces, urge us, and confront patiently.

- creators who inspire us the will to go on, and the courage to wait.

SPIRITUAL SAINT ARE NOT:

- Super saints

- Persons who will do the praying for another

- givers of quick, easy answers

- dispensers of advice.

- psychotherapists or counselors,

- convenient “dumping” places,

- Managers of another’s spiritual life.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

We are free, but our freedom is not an excuse for lack of accountability…

As Christians we will give an account before GOD.

Special importance for those involved in ministry…

Models and Mentors page 98

A Mentor:

- cares about you as a person

- guides you to growth resources

- prays with and for you

- confronts you firmly but lovingly

- provides encouragement

- cultivates your creativity

- assists you in examining your motives

- demonstrates hope and optimism

PRAYER page 115

-Prayer and ministry are inseparable

- Praying and reading of the word go together

Two kinds of prayers:

-Active: I am doing the talking I am sending my requests

-Receptive: more listening, less talking

One does not need to speak in order to pray.

Models:

- Our father

- Jesus Prayer: (pg.121) “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”

Position…

Takes it from Richard Foster: Palms up and down page 128

WRITE A JOURNAL

“Our enemy majors in 3 things: Noise, hurry, crowds”

Knowing about GOD is not the goal.Meeting is. pg. 160

“God Does not ask anything of you except that you let yourself go and let GOD be GOD in you”

Meister Eckhart

ExclusionandEmbraceisms

So here are the thoughts of THA VOLF from his teaching at ETS. Yesterday.

Please get some coffee, so some more blood would be in your brain, and remove any object you could throw at your monitor… he is stretching the borders… he might make you mad

Here comes his thoughts…

Do Christians and Muslims Believe in the same GOD?

- I don’t want to answer this question. I rather want to research how we can come to an answer.

- There are 4 Issues (at least) we need to research:

1. What is the word used for GOD?

GOD and Allah are meaning the same just in two different languages. When Christians were translating the Bible to Arabic, they were using the word Allah.Which means GOD, just as in english.

So we can overcome this boundary…easily.

2. GOD and Allah are referring to the same “object”? (even though GOD is not an object… but there is no other word to use at this point)

Theological argument:

Christians and Muslims both look to GOD/Allah as the creator, say that GOD is one… etc. So when they are “pointing their fingers” to who GOD is they are pointing their fingers to the same “object”, thing, = GOD.

3. Do they mean the same thing, do these 2 objects have the same characteristics?

As an Example he brought Anthony Hopkins playing in two different movies. He plays two different characters, but Anthony Hopkins stays Anthony Hopkins.

So the bottom question is is their God and our God described with the same characteristics, personalities….?

Is there continuity in the description of God?

He said, he will not answer this question, because we have not thought enough about this, yet.

4. Our stance towards God, our Worship?

There are different ways to worship different gods…

A, Rightly worshipping the right GOD (as described in the book of Revelation)

B, Wrongly worshipping the wrong god(s) (As described in the Prophetic books in the Old Testament OR Serving yourself instead of GOD)

C, Rightly worshipping the wrong god/idol (From Christian perspective this is the most interesting…)

We can easily fall in this one, because Christian worship is two fold:

- Vertical: Regular, normal worship

- Horizontal: Helping our neighbors

D, Partly rightly worshipping the partly rightly understood GOD

Ex: I. Corinthians 13:12, Now we see through a glass, and we do not know GOD in HIS entirety …

THESE WERE HIS MAIN POINTS. After these came the questions.

? The question of the unknown god in Athens (book of Acts) came up. were they rightly worshipping the Unknown GOD?

ANSWER: Volf answered with the example of Peter and Cornelius. When it is said that: Now I see that in every nation there are people who rightly worship GOD. ( I think this is a bit taken out of its context, but I will have to check it…)

? Hebrews 1:3 and Philippians 2 point to us that the focus of our worship IS JESUS, HE is the imprint, how he sees this Issue with the Muslims?

VOLF ANSWER: There are differences, Many differences, and more CHRIST centered we are the less overlap there is with Islam or Judaism or any other religion for that matter.

? The fact that we do not know GOD totally (the unknowability of GOD) does it open a door for the possibility of a partly right worship together?

VOLF ANSWER: NO.

Few more questions…were, but let me share only two more thoughts

1st coming from Zoran Kahvedzic, student from Zenica, Bosnia.

“This whole desire to reconcile the two religions is coming from a global interest. Which was not raised in the first 2000 years of Christianity. Instead we miss treated the Muslims (we do not have to go far back in the history of the Balkans to see this, Orthodox priests blessing the Serbian weapons before going to battle, Croatian Catholics doing the same, and of course Muslims on the Bosnian side doing the same), with all the crusades and everything…Why not instead of trying to reconcile (from global interest) just be truly people of the word of God, showing them true Christ and Christianity instead of again being lousy Christians who try to reconcile, from interest…”

OVER.

Why have I given the title Exclusion and Embrace-ism. Without the last tree letters that is the title of Miroslav Volf’s book that got him famous. he wrote it on the subject of grace… it is indeed a good book (very intellectual), a less intellectual is Philip Yancey’s: What’s so amazing about grace, and an even less sophisticated is: Grace changes everything by Chuck Smith. All 3 are amazing books. written on different levels…and all three are helping to understand GRACE.

Any how. I think this whole issue of him researching this subject, meeting with the main leaders of Islam, is rooted in his desire to research what or where can we Embrace and what are to be Excluded…

Why starting with the Muslims? why not reconcile the Christians first (Protestant, Catholic, orthodox, …)? There were and there are many efforts on that… but not too many people have took it one step further. YET. He is doing that now…

We can agree with his points or not… I personally think that now he might have went a bit too far… but I do not want to draw my conclusions… lets see what he will come up with in few months… a year or two…

Lazo von reporter, out.

1 2 5

In one week

I got two grades

both fives…

Biblical greek 1st semester: 5

Spiritual formation 1st. sem. : 5

man if I would keep up this speed in 2 years I could get a Ph.d Summa cum Laude at Oxford

Lazo von S.C.L.

Psalm 19 (I can’t even imagine)

- The heavens Declare the glory of GOD

- The sky proclaims his handiwork

- Day to day pours out His speech

-night to night reveals knowledge

7-11

- The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul

- The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple

- The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart

- the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes

- The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever

- The rules of the LORD are true and righteous altogether,

- more desirable then gold, fine gold

-sweeter then honey,

- the servant is warned by them and by keeping them there is a great reward…

- keep me from: Hidden faults, presumptuous sins, no dominion over me,

- then I will be blameless and innocent of transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Especially the verses 7-11 are simple incredible… I can’t even imagine the strength and power of HIS word…

The wildest thing is in verse 4: In them HE has made a tent for the sun. I mean honestly HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD????????

Can you imagine???? I can’t.

Lazo von unable

another quote

“We do not want, as the newspapers say, a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world.” 

G.K. Chesterton

Cheap grace

…Is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross“

                                                                                      Dietrich Bonhoffer

N.T. Exegesis: Mark

- Professor: Catherine Kroeger

We shall see how this class will look like… so far its deep Γρεεκ fight…

She knows, she is capable of giving it to us… but this is my first Exegesis class and I am not sure where this class will go to, where it will end…

Be back later

 

Lazo Out

Pastoral duties FOR REAL…

So here are several good things I have learned… Sorry for the delay…

Few things that are “kinda” important… and I am only briefly writing about them…

- A call from GOD, recognized by other pastors and the fellowship… eliminates the self proclaimed pastor issue…

- The best place to prepare for any kind of ministry (including pastoral) is THE CHURCH.

- its important to chose the right mate, that will be supportive of our work,

 John 10:3-5 Personal  intimate relationship between the pastor and the sheep… The sheep recognizes the voice of its pastor and runs away from others… So how do we look at the guest pastors ministry?

- a pastor is to sacrifice himself for the sheep.  now that   is a tough one… if I am married, with kids, where is the limit? My present view is that my family is priority… And I have to prioritize… but in a way that I weight it. Which one is more important….

- DO NOT make an immediate diet change. just like we as humans do not do that, we should pay attention to it in the spiritual feeding too.

- a pastor is to fight for his sheep and protect them…

THE GREAT OMISSION(s)

Did you know that there are 2. and that they differ a bit…?

Read: Matthew 28:18-20, and John 20-21

M: Baptism and teaching them

J: Peace, Holy Spirit, Sin

- There is no church model which we should imitate.

- culture and church are very closely tight.

Encouragement : There is no such person who was able to please everyone…

- a pastor is a  lightening conductor. He gets burned the others around him are safe and saved

A pastor is to: – preach the word(servant of the word)

- tend the sheep

-lead the sheep

COUNSELING:

We can help only to those who ask for it.

The human is created with 3 things: Body, Soul, Spirit. Kind of like water H20.

Gen.2 Spirit of GOD within(breathed into) the human body became our soul.

Between the several books that we got advised to read… I have set my eyes on Lawrence Crabb: Basic Principles of Biblical Counseling.  I will post my review later…2 weeks later… when I read the book and wrote it…

Grace and Peace to you…

I am outta here…

Lazo

INTERESTING INFO: John Wesley was beaten by his wife… It is interesting to say the least.