Three Nails

I must apologize for not being as prepared as I would have liked to have been for Sunday’s gathering. I had so many ideas and things that I wanted to gather together into one thing and it did not come out clearly at all. I am sorry and I would like to clarify my thoughts and continue the conversation from Sunday.

Lisa was right in saying that we should not shy away from the difficulties we find in scripture and I would like to flesh out my thoughts on the first part of Eph 5.

First, I dont think that the gospel condemns people. I think the law condemns people and it is the gospel that allows us to be reconciled God and enables us to live in harmony with the law in a way that was impossible before the cross.

I believe that the things listed in eph 5 are specific works and specific types of people that are condemned, but i dont think they refer to actual people in the church (to which the letter was written as Nicolette pointed out). When we give our lives to the Lord, we cease to become idolators, we cease to be people who are sexually immoral and we become children of God, loyal to him alone (Eph 1-4, esp. 2:1-10). We may still find ourselves setting up idols and being covetous or sexually immoral (I am sure every single one of us has been guilty of one or all them throughout our lives as Christians), but we are not condemned, we are redeemed. I believe that while we are still sinners God accounts us righteous by the work of Christ on the cross (if anyone can word that better or if I am off on my understanding of this theological concept of imputed righteousness, please comment). Therefore, while we may fall into idolatry or sexual immorality or covetousness, I don’t believe that we are idolators or sexually immoral or covetous.

My hope on Sunday was to draw attention to a tendency for us as Christians to expose sin by dragging sinners into the light as opposed to allowing the light of Christ that shines on us to transform the sin we encounter. The church is a community of overwhelmed and discouraged sinners who have been redeemed, that have been awakened and raised from the dead that Christ may shine upon us. I believe darkness is worked out within the body as Christ shines upon us. I don’t think that was made clear on Sunday, but I hope this helps clarify my thoughts a little.

i would love to hear other reactions and questions on this topic, please comment.

I had a wonderful conversation last night with Lisa and she asked a very good question that I would like to propose it to everyone else…

Who should be invited to the communion table?

The Episcopal stance is any baptized believer who desires it, but what do you think? Take a look at some scripture (Gospels, end of 1Cor, Acts, etc) and let us know.

i just finished reading Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott. Lamott is the daughter of Kenneth Lamott who was a liberal writer in the 1960’s. This is a collection of essays of a sort about her life and her perspectives on faith and living it out in a real and culturally aware context. she takes the “christianese” stigma and throws it out the window in stories that relish in awkwardness. in three nails style she is “walking proof that one can be both reverent and irreverant in the same lifetime. Sometimes even in the same breath.” there are bits and pieces throughout i don’t always agree with, but other stuff she’s dead on. it’s definitely worth reading. maybe this is something that could be added to the library as well.

I am finishing up a book by donald miller (the author of blue like jazz) called Seaching for God Knows What. It is worth checking out. He has a very honest and passionate way of writing and what he has to share gets the the heart of the gospel. Take some time to check it out if you think about it. I am going to see if I can get a few copies for what will eventually become the three nails library of goodness. We will see about that when I get back in September. Take care all.

I’m sure you’ve heard that question many times in your life. Maybe you’ve even heard it several times today. It’s a default small talk question, or perhaps a way to address a person that you’ve been unable to talk deeply to for some time. Whatever it is, it surrounds us nearly ever day.

Last night in our worship gathering Chris Thyberg directed a discussion on the concluding verses of Ephesians 4, focusing on ideas of spiritually sensitivity and deepness of community living. How do we speak the truth to one another in love, and how do we give one another truth as opposed to what is merely true or factual? As I was thinking over last night I thought of a practical way that we can engage one another in the Three Nails community (or elsewhere, for that matter).

The question “How are you doing today?” is an incomplete question for at least two reasons. First, we’re so acclimated to the question that we can almost answer it without having to think. Seconly, it’s a closed question. Closed questions are conversation enders rather than openers. There are only a few “correct” ways to answer a closed question. So for the “How are you doing today?” question our set of default answers is something like “fine”, “good”, “not bad”, “alright”, or whatever. There is no next step to this question. It oftentimes leads to an awkward silence where the tone of the conversation has to be reset.

Something I believe we can do in Three Nails, whether it’s with people that we see everyday or people that we only see on Sunday night, is to ask more open questions. Ask questions that will lead to a deeper level, rather than to a simple “yes” or “no”. Instead of asking “How are you doing today?” ask “What was the hardest part of your day?”. Instead of asking “Is there anything I pray for you about?” ask “What can I pray for you about?”. There is a key difference in the kinds of the conversation that an open question will lead to rather than a closed one. Think about it the next time you’re about to ask about someone’s day.

Hey everyone. Just wanted to sent out a quick note that I’m currently in the process of finishing up the individual cell blogs. They’re all sort of in “default” mode right now, but they’re fully functional. I’ll be sending out an email to the Three Nails community at large in the next few days explaining exactly what I’ll be needing from each of the cells in order to get all this stuff up and running fully to your liking.

We’ve all been waiting quite a while for a fully functioning website. I hope everyone is as excited about it as I am. But if we as a community want to make this work, both for ourselves and for others who are curious about our community, we need CONTENT. Quality content. It’s now time for the rubber to meet the road. Either we make this worth our while by using this space as an active forum for our community, or we just let the space sit out there 80% unused like most of the weblogs on the web.

If you have an idea about the site please let me or someone else know. There are several ideas that are being developed behind the scenes, and they should manifest themselves soon.

If you’re a member of the Three Nails community and don’t yet have access to post on this main site please let me know. Email me at ianlukekane@gmail.com. I’m reworking the contact page, so you’ll soon be able to submit info via the webpage. Give me a few days to find time for finishing that. Be well everyone, and I’m sure we’ll be talking soon.

An official Three Nails Events calendar is now up and running on this site. Check in here to plan ahead and to find information about the times and places we meet. There are also the Episcopal Church Year readings and events, as well as cell group meetings, and details about each event. It’s easy to find and use. Just click on the Events link above. Double click on any event to learn more about it. If you are a mac user there is also the opportunity to download the calendar into your own Ical. Be sure to check the site often, as I will be editing the calendar about once a week.

- EMK

Anticipate a face-lift of our current Events page in the near future. If you would like to download my Three Nails iCal, email me at exteroception@gmail.com and I’ll get one out to you. For now, here is a worship gathering schedule:

July 3: Matt Niblack teaching, Kris Opat celebrating, Dan Harding leading worship.

July 10: Ian Kane teaching, Ian McCarthy celebrating, Kathryn O’Leary leading worship.

July 17: Kelly Dee teaching, Dan Harding celebrating, Martha D’Abruzzo leading worship.

July 24: Chris Thyberg teaching, Ian Kane celebrating, Ian McCarthy leading worship.

July 31: Dan Harding teaching, Kelly Dee celebrating, Trevor Baker & Megan Lindsey Baker leading worship.

August 7: Emily Kane teaching, Chris Thyberg celebrating, Nate Bartlett leading worship.

August 14: Ian Kane teaching, Kelly Dee celebrating, Ian McCarthy leading worship.

August 21: Martha D’Abruzzo teaching, Ian McCarthy celebrating, Chris Thyberg leading worship.

August 28: Kris Opat teaching, Dan Harding celebrating, Megan Lindsey Baker & Trevor Baker leading worship.

September 4: Chris Thyberg teaching, Ian Kane celebrating, Martha D’Abruzzo leading worship.

September 11: Dan Harding teaching, Kris Opat celebrating, Kathryn O’Leary leading worship.

September 18: Matt Niblack teaching, Chris Thyberg celebrating, Nate Bartlett leading worship.

September 25: Kelly Dee teaching, Kris Opat celebrating, Trevor Baker & Megan Lindsey Baker leading worship.

In Across From Me…Beauty. I blogged about a woman who is currently sitting across from me. Inspired by Ian’s post, I thought I might ask her if there was anything I could pray for her about, but her nervous response to my mere presence and her unintelligible response to my “hello” leaves me a bit deflated as I sit here watching her drink her coffee.

Please read my post about her and pray for the woman drinking coffee.

There’s nothing like riding public transportation at night for a reality check. The bus is a great equalizer. People of all kinds ride for the same purpose: to get where they’re going.

At any route, after work tonight I was waiting for the bus at Negley Station. I was alone for a while, just enjoying the evening sky, when I heard a singing voice approaching me. A middle aged man soon came into view, carrying his groceries. His voice was deep, but not overly full of bass. He was singing about God, and his voice was amazing. He sat near to me, and we sat alone together waiting for the bus. He kept singing and I just listened.

After several minutes of this, I asked him how I could pray for him. He asked me to pray that his children would have enough money to attend college for next year. So I just wanted to take a moment and pass the request along. Pray for the man who sings.