MLK's Idea of Prayer

One of my prayer places (Lake Erie, Monroe, MI)

Prayer, for Martin Luther King, Jr., was:

• a gift from God
• something that had infinite dimensions for exploration
• a spiritual quality that must be consistently cultivated
• facilitating an intimate relationship with God
• being-led into the presence of God
• Sacred time
• Self-purification time
• responding in a spirit of humility to the activity of God's grace in daily life

(From Lewis V. Baldwin, Never to Leave Us Alone: The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King Jr., x-xi)

MIKE BICKLE video on "Fasting as a Lifestyle" (At Redeemer, 8/14/12, 7 PM)

MIKE BICKLE video on "Fasting as a Lifestyle."

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 7 PM, at Redeemer.

All are invited to come see this excellent, challenging teaching by Mike Bickle of International House of Prayer.

Prayer and Fasting friends - this will culminate our two months of praying and seeking God about God-led times of fasting.

Religion Makes People Better

Four Star Nursery, Carleton, MI

When I converted from weak agnosticism and practical atheism to Christian theism, immediately I began to be a better person. A process of morphing from self-centeredness to other-centeredness had begun, and continues to this moment. I am certain that I am a better husband to Linda with Christ than without him.

Christianity has made me a "better." [Not "best."] I have met countless people for whom this is true. Their "religion" has made them kinder, more giving, sacrificial, and as a result has morally improved our culture. This is true, in spite of the rantings and raving of the atheistic "Four Horsemen" who have ridden through town and are now heading off into their own darkness.

Why be concerned wth them if they've left town? Because they've left a smearing residue which states, falsely, that religion makes people worse, even evil. Internet village atheists pick up this mantra and mindlessly repeat it, thinking they have said something intellectual. This idea can be debunked.

Today's Chronicle of Higher Education agrees, in Tom Bartlett's fine essay "Dusting Off GOD: A new science of religion says God has gotten a bad rap." It's worth a read. Here are some of the bullets.

• Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, two of the "Horsemen," beieve that religion is "malevolent." Religion "poisons everything." "Religion is obviously bad for human beings, condemning them to ignorance, subservience, and endless conflict, and we would be better off without it."
• But would we be better off without religion? Bartlett says "you have to figure out what religion does for us in the first place. That's exactly what a loosely affiliated group of scholars in fields including biology, anthropology, and psychology are working on. They're applying evolutionary theory to the study of religion in order to discover whether or not it strengthens societies, makes them more successful, more cooperative, kinder."
• These scholars, many of them atheists themselves, consider the New Atheists to be "ignorant, fundamentalist, and worst of all, unscientific."
• The issue here is not whether God exists, but whether it's helpful to believe God does exist, and if this makes people better rather than malevolent.
• Bartlett refers to a "study that found that religious people were, in some instances, more likely to treat strangers fairly. Or the multiple studies suggesting that people who were prompted to think about an all-seeing supernatural agent were less likely to cheat. Or the study of 300 young adults in Belgium that found that those who were religious were considered more empathetic by their friends." Like many Jesus-followers I know of, I have given money away to needy people and causes. We do this because: 1) We believe there is a God; 2) we believe all we have in life is a gift from God, and we are God's stewards of his resources; 3) God has a preferential option for the poor; and 4) God can instruct us what to do with his money, which will include giving it away to meet the needs of others. My "religion" fuels altruism.
• "A growing body of research suggests that religion or religious ideas, in certain circumstances, in some people, can elicit the kind of behavior that is generally good for society: fairness, generosity, honesty. At the very least, when you read the literature, it becomes difficult to confidently assert that religion, despite the undeniable evil it has sometimes inspired, is entirely toxic." This is the point David Sloan Wilson makes. And, Wilson, professor of biology and anthropology at Binghampton University, is an atheist "who is interested in finding out what religion does, from an evolutionary perspective, for individuals and societies." Religion, reasons Wilson, "bestows an array of evolutionary advantages on groups of believers."
• Wilson has "declared that Dawkins and his fellow New Atheists "don't understand the nature of the beast" and yet still "go on and on in a very ignorant fashion."... Wilson contends that [militant atheist P.Z.] Myers and the rest are fabricating a cartoon version of religion, one that doesn't grapple with the science, and deciding on the outcome (religion is bad) before the evidence is in."
• University of Michigan anthropologist Scott Atran describes the New Atheist idea of religion as malevolent as "moronic. "I don't see anything in the New Atheists' work that tells us anything at all about religion," he says, "and I think their ad hominem attacks are ridiculous.""
• "In a recent Science article, Atran and Jeremy Ginges, an associate professor of psychology at the New School, cite evidence suggesting that "only a small minority of recorded wars" have been mainly motivated by religious disputes (though making distinctions between religious and political causes is notoriously knotty). They complain in the article that the New Atheists are quick to remind everyone how fundamentalism fuels Al Qaeda but neglect to mention the role of churches in the civil-rights movement. The New Atheists are, according to Atran and Ginges, cherry-picking the horrors. "Science produced a nuclear bomb. Therefore we should throw away science," says Atran, to illustrate the baby-bathwater logic. "Sometimes it can be really noxious, and other times it can be quite helpful.""

Anyone still living under the myth that religion is inherently evil would do well to read this article and follow up by studying the likes of Wilson, Atran, et. al.

Redeemer Ministry School - Learn to Hear the Voice of God

In July I taught my Spiritual Formation inn the M. Div. program at Payne Theological Seminary. A main theme that runs through my class sessions is: listening for and to the voice of God. I assume God wants to speak to his people and does so. God has not only done this in the past, but also continues to do this in the present. Psalm 95:7-8 says:

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.

Today. Hearing God's voice...  presently. Now.

The idea and reality of the voice of God for us is a river that runs throughout what we do and teach at Redeemer Ministry School. Right from the beginning, as I teach my Spiritual Formation class in RMS beginning September 11, the focus will be on listening for the voice of God. "When God speaks to you," I will say to my RMS students, "write it down in your spiritual journal."

All of our RMS classes have, either explicitly or implicitly, a "voice of God" component. If you want to grow in the area of hearing God's voice I invite you to join our 2012-2013 Redeemer Ministry School class this year.

Our 39th Anniversary

Linda and I bought this pair of coffee cups at Chicago's Marriott O'Hare,
where we spent the first night of our honeymoon together.
I am pulling one of these cups out and drinking... sipping...
coffee from it all this week.

August 11, 1973 - Linda and I were married.

Today we're taking the entire day to celebrate 39 years of marriage.

I love Linda. Linda loves me.

Our love feels strong. Our love is strong.

Our shared faith in Jesus is what glues our love together in marriage.

We're far from perfect; therefore, our need for Christ to reign in our lives.

He does.

He has.

He will.

Today we thank and praise Him for this.

River Raisin Jazz Festival - Michigan's Best (Aug. 10-11-12)

Is this the best Jazz Festival in Michigan? Could be. Because...

• Legendary jazz pianist Bob James - Saturday night
• Legendary trumpeter Arturo Sandoval - Sunday night
• Brilliant jazz guitarist Chris Standring - Saturday - 5:45
• Brilliant jazz guitarist Chieli Minucci - Sunday - 5:45
• Our own Alexander Zonjic - incredible flutist
• And many more....
• Three days...
• Free...
• Very cool river setting and atmosphere...
• Aug. 10-11-12

I Support the Real Revolution

When I signed up to follow Jesus I did not realize I was joining a subversive, revolutionary movement to transform culture and the world. One of my new Jesus-mentors handed me a book. I looked at the title and thought, "What the heck is this?" The little book was called Revolution Now. The cover looked like some underground graffiti message.

I didn't have the theological and hermeneutical skills to interpret this; viz., that I had been a captive to a dark, drug-filled, alcohol-abusing, perverted sex-thing, and was now taken captive, for freedom, by Jesus. I was "redeemed." Rescued. Set free. Things in my life would never, ever, be the same again.

And they haven't, since the inner revolution happened.

Want to see culture change? Sick of all the trite media love-languages that rise for a moment only to evaporate in the hands of the bondage machine? Forget the idea that politics or money or sex can rescue humanity. We've had several thousand years of this and we've not really changed, right? Changing the exterior of a person, or exterior cultural realities, affects no real cultural transformation.

The Real Revolution is inward. It is a heart-thing. Change the heart, and the cultural exterior follows. I still march to the sound of Jesus, having given up my misguided expectations that we can save ourselves, by ourselves, using our own mental abilities.

Jesus is going after the heart. That... is simply brilliant.

For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. - Matthew 6:21

The mouth speaks what the heart is full of. - Matthew 12:34

The evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in the heart. - Matthew 13:19

For out of the heart come evil thoughts. - Matthew 15:19

Love the Lord your God with all your heart... - Matthew 22:37

The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart... - Luke 8:15

Jesus: Revolutionary of the Heart.

I support the Real Revolution.

A Prophetic Screaming for Authenticity

Little girl dancing in Detroit

Thomas Merton writes:

"Today, more than ever, we need to recognize that the gift of solitude is not ordered to the acquisition of strange contemplative powers, but, first of all, to the recovery of one's deep self, and to the renewal of an authenticity which is presently twisted out of shape by the pretentious routines of a disordered togetherness." (Merton, Contemplation In a World of Action)

Merton wrote that in the 60s. It's one of his typical, true, from-God prophetic words. Here is a word that only gains strength as the years have gone by. It screams today, in a world where authenticity (from Greek autos, = "self") is buried beneath mega-googles of triviality and inconsequentialness.

Redeemer Ministry School - Fall Schedule & Classes

Redeemer Ministry School - prepare to grow in heart, soul, mind, and strength!

Redeemer Ministry School Fall Schedule:

Sunday, September 9 - New students join in our worship service (if possible).

Tues./Wed., Sept. 11-12 - Student orientation - Community Building, with Jim and Denise Hunter.

Thurs., Sept. 13 - Student orientation with RMS Staff.

Tues., Sept. 18 - classes begin.

Nov. 22-26 - Thanksgiving Break

Friday, Dec. 7, last day of fall classes.


Redeemer Ministry School's Fall classes, days, and times are:

Spiritual Formation
Description: In order to be used by God as an agent of renewal and transformation one must themselves be in a continual place of personal renewal and transformation. This course will combine times of personal prayer, spiritual journaling, and teaching from biblical and historical resources on what it means to dwell in the presence of God and be renewed and transformed.
Meeting Information: Tuesdays, 9:30am – 1:00pm
Instructor: Dr. John Piippo

Kingdom of God I
Description: The main teaching of Jesus was about the “kingdom of God” or “kingdom of heaven.” This course will present the major interpretations of the meaning of the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed. Students will learn to understand the real Jesus from the perspective of God’s kingdom message.
Meeting Information: Tuesdays, 5pm - 8pm
Instructor: Jim Collins

Bible Study Methods I
Description: This course will provide students with systematic methods of studying scripture. Through those methods students will also learn how to practically apply their understanding as they study different books of the Bible.
Meeting Information:  Wednesdays, 9:30am – 1:00pm
Instructor: Josh Bentley

Intimacy & Identity in Worship
Description: True worship and adoration comes from intimacy with God. It is founded on the understanding of God's great love for you. Intimacy & Identity in Worship will focus on building and furthering that love relationship with Him while defining what a lifestyle of worship looks like. This class will include an in-depth look at Song of Solomon and Old & New Testament character studies.
Meeting Information:  Fridays, 9:30am – 1:00pm
Instructor: Holly Benner

Want to join us for the 2012-2013 year?
See registration information here.

E-mail me with any questions - johnpiippo@msn.com

Or call me at: 734-242-5277

Multitasking Prevents Deep Understanding

If you want to learn how to play guitar, you have got to mono-task. You have to practice, and that practice has to be focused. The more your mind links to other things, the less productive your praacticing will be. I know this as a guitar player myself, and as one who has taught guitar for many years.

The same applies to relationships. With people, and with God. Multi-tasking is the enemy of real relationship.

The same applies to academic excellence. I learned how to study while doing a bachelor's degree in philosophy. I gained an ability to mono-task and stay focused on the subject matter. This carried through my Ph.D work. And, into my philosophy classes at Monroe County Community College. No laptops or texting allowed in my classes! You'll never understand the modal version of the ontological argument without extreme focus. The neural-linking brain is a disadvantage to deep learning.

Here are a few things I've written about multitasking.

Multitasking Is the Enemy of Real Relationship

You Can't Multitask the God-Relationship

Solitude and Leadership (and why multi-taskers are poor thinkers)

Overcoming the Main Spiritual Problem of Today, Which Is...

Multitasking Degrades Performance