Vineyard church Archives - Lisa Colón DeLay

Eps 66: Pirates & Getting High (Transcendence) – Guest Kester Brewin

Today, my guest is author and friend from across the pond, Kester Brewin. Our conversation covers fascinating topics about human nature and the history of drug culture and the Jesus movement, the surprising backstory about colonial era Pirates and mutiny few of us have heard, along with some of Kester’s personal journey.

MAKE SURE to scroll down to see a playlist of other episodes I know you’ll like and a subscribe option. Thank you so much for listening in. A wonderful summer lineup of guests is coming. Like, next week’s guest: Mike McHargue (Ask Science Mike).

(If you hear some audio you’d like to share. Simply click the red and white Clammr icon below! SO COOL!)

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SHOW NOTES

on Pirates, and Getting High (Transcendence)

Check out Kester’s
WEBSITE
TWITTER
• Math teacher, by day
– started VAUX community, and is the author of a number of books

The Complexed Christ

Mutiny (about pirates and democracy)

Here’s his UK TED talk

4:00
What Pirates are actually all about.

In culture and film and even theology.

An act of self determination.

Everyone was stealing. Pirates bought themselves more years.

Skull and crossbones, a symbol of death, is turned into new life.

Pirate radio and other uprisings that set riches into public circulation.

9:00
Theology, Piracy and Peter Pan

Overcoming the Father and the piracy of that.

12:30
Kester’s book Mutiny

He tackles two stories.
The Prodigal Son – retold as a tragedy
and The Odyssey

~If you’d like…read the PRODIGAL SON parable in the Bible HERE.~

When children become free.

MIN 20:00
The latest book
Getting High A Savage Journey to the Heart the Dream of Flight

An argument with Peter Rollins about the infinite.

The ancient and ongoing quest for transcendence;
wanting to lift away.

Humans can’t fly.
Flight, space, mind trips, charismatics, emotionalism

22:00
“Up there” becomes spiritual, like fire straining to reach the lights of heaven.

24:00
Flight is seen as a sin at first.

Balloonists (first “flyers”) refer to the experience as spiritual.

25:00
Space program of the 1960s
LSD counter culture
And the pentecostal movement
Technology has spiritual weight, meaning and significance to humans.

Lonnie Frisbee hippie has experience meeting Jesus in the bible.

Beach music brought into church and known as worship tunes.

John Wimber and the Vineyard church

Middle class Christianity

Hell’s Angels, working class men.

29:00
Kester’s religious background

Toronto Blessing 1990s

mind trips and technologies trying to lift us out because of anxiety.

Apollo missions were evangelistic.

34:00
The stress and need to lift off especially seen in poor communities.

Link to Kester’s audio presentation–a half hour meditation called ‘High Flight‘ – for BBC Radio 4’s program called “Something Understood”.

Episode 7 – Vine Grafting; special guest Ray Hollenbach

Show Notes Episode 7 – On Grafting Grape Vines and Special Guest Ray Hollenbach

Click to listen now:

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This episode was brought to you by…

Life As Prayer: Revive Spirituality Inspired by Ancient Piety

<br />
Learn about 16th century Brother Lawrence and how his understanding of God’s presence continues to affect lives today.

It’s a fact: the plants that produce wine grapes don’t come from seeds. You can’t “sow grapes”. More on that soon.

And later, Student of Jesus blogger and disciple-maker Ray Hollenbach and I talk about the fruit of the spirit (debunking the most common myth about it), and a little bit about the Vineyard church he is a part of, and what his “Deeper” seminars and workshops are all about.

Wine segment:

Wine grape plants don’t come from seeds, so how are vineyards created?

There are two main ways commercial growers get their fields ready for a grape harvest:

The first way is to plant seedlings taken from healthy and mature grape vines. This means that a harvest of good grapes for wine is 4-5 years away. Booo.

The second way is to use an older and mature vineyard and graft in (attach) new plants into the vine.

They prune down the top of the plant. They chop it nearly down to the ground, and expose some of the top to the vine stem. Then, they graft living plants into it. The grafting process means that whole new varieties of grapes in just one year, using the original root system to obtain all the necessary nutrients. Grafted in plants can also inoculate older vines against certain diseases with disease resistant pants (usually hybrid seedlings) that make the whole system healthier.

It can cost $150, per plant, to graft in new vines and it’s done in a precise sort of way with notching the root stem, adding in plants and sealing them together so they merge.

André_Thouin_1 — (how to graft plants and trees)

Grafting plants has been done for thousands of years. In the bible, the church is compared, by the apostle Paul, to a wild olive plant grafted into an olive tree. The first audience hearing Paul’s words would understand this word picture: the church is an introduction of something very new. Something able to impart a whole new vitality into the current understanding of religion and closeness with God.

Sparking your Muse

An interview with Ray Hollenbach

Ray Hollenbach writes at Students of Jesus.com

He does the Deeper Seminar nationwide.

View his YouTube Videos on his new channel.

Interview Notes –

Minute: 4:30

Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 New Living Translation (NLT)

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

4:48

“Fruit of the Spirit is not a gift that we get; but come as a result or outcome of natural (spiritual) health”. -Ray Hollenbach

6:30 – How parenting matures us in the same way that “making disciples” matures us.

7:30 – The Impossible Mentor

8:30 –

“The goal of the Christian Life is NOT to get to heaven.”

9:47

The Vineyard Church

• John Wimber

10:06 –

12:20

Grape Vines

13:50

Grafting

14:40

“Jesus taught practically and transpositionally.”

(i.e. interacting with the transcendent in a practical way)

15:30

Student of Jesus Videos

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Guest Writer: Jeffrey Roop on 5 Insights of Upside Down Leadership

Jesus and Peter — Jesus as Servant (Upside Down Leadership)

SherryCamhy — Peter Upside Down, by Sherry Camhy

Thank you to Jeff Roop (not to be confused with Jeff Roop, Actor: Vampire High; born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) for weighing in on Leadership today with this article.

Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is a common theme within Vineyard churches with the emphasis on function rather than position or title. With mega-churches to simple church networks covering the spectrum of faith communities in the Vineyard, how the function works out will vary depending on the size of the church. I have reservations with churches adopting business models of leadership. The church is not a business with a CEO but the Body of Christ with Christ as the head.

The life of Jesus is the oft cited example of servant leadership. Some have raised the question though of service over leading [TheJesusVirus.org] Authority is often the issue under consideration regarding matters of leadership. Jesus puts it to rest as far as hierarchy goes: not so among you, the greatest is the servant of all. He presents the upside-down view of the Kingdom of God regarding authority.

Kingdom authority is different than the leadership offered in the business world. The world system is (often) beastly with no worries of serving others (although this is changing on some fronts). Those within the Body of Christ are called to submit to one another and to Christ. This would seem to include those in leadership.

Now with this level playing field of mutual submission, what of Hebrews 13 and other references to leadership? If we interpret these passages in light of the example of Jesus Christ, I believe authority and leadership will look different from commonly understood. Consider the following:

1. Recognize those in leadership as gifts to the church. (Eph 5) We often recognize the manifestation of certain grace gifts (charisma) in practice so why not recognize those people as gifting the church?

2. Reflect on their influence. As I’m seeing leadership, influence and persuasion are key. The words shared by them are not ultimate but should lead us to contemplate on the final Word, Jesus Christ. The ultimate authority is in Christ and any other authority is derivative of Him and reflecting His character.

3. Look to their example. In a few places the Apostle Paul encourages an ‘imitate me as I imitate Christ.’ I’m sure such imitation will not be 100%, yet we should be able to see something of Christ reflected and modeled in their life.

3. Help them and befriend them. Often in traditional churches, those in leadership face crushing loneliness and spiritual fatigue. If the opportunity presents itself, be a friend and support them as a friend, not as a leader. Allow them to be a simple brother or sister in Christ.

4. Reserve judgment. Too often when someone in leadership falls for whatever reason we tend to rush to judgment. Remember, they are frail human beings like the rest of us. They too can stumble and fall. They are not out of reach of grace. If you face this in your congregation, help to lovingly restore them in a spirit of gentleness.

5. Always look to Christ. Any leader in the church should point others to Christ, who is the True Shepherd. If the leader creates dependence on themselves rather than Christ in the church, the authority of Christ is being subverted. I’ve heard too much talk of leadership, authority and submission lead to fear and control. Those in leadership are to be a sign to others, guiding them to freedom, love and service found in Christ.

Questions

Only Jesus Christ is the head of the church, the question before leadership is this, are you willing to give up control for the sake of an authority found solely in service? When did ministry become means of authority rather than the place of service?

Thanks, Jeff!
Well, friends, let’s continue the discussion. What are your thoughts on Leadership, and servant leadership? Do you embrace the “Upside Down model” Jeff mentions?

Resource:
My alma mater Evangelical Theological Seminary has an ongoing initiative called Center for Leadership Impact with events and training for leaders in the community and business world. You may find it helpful.