Communion is celebrated by Christians on every continent and possibly now in every nation-state on the planet. In part, communion serves as a picture of the unity of the Body of Christ. Originally a shared meal based upon the final passover celebration enjoyed by Jesus and his disciples, it has become one of the very few things which is held in common by an incredibly diverse community all over the world. That's why it's called communion. How strange that this symbol of Christian unity would be the source of division and exclusivity. Catholic, Orthodox, and numerous Protestant denominations have held that it is "religiously illegal" to share communion with other brothers and sisters who are not part of their specific Christian community. Closed communion is an oxymoron. It is a contradiction in terms. And I believe it breaks the heart of God.

I am reading a book called Kissing the Leper, by Brad Jersak. His church is part of the emergent reformation going on. They have ordained mentally disabled people of faith in their congregation who have an uncanny ability to speak, albeit disruptively at times, straight into the heart of a situation. They also listen to children who have a track record of spiritual discernment. They practice an open table at communion for absolutely anyone hungry for the forgiveness of sins offered by Jesus Christ. Jersak does a wonderful job exegeting the cleansing of the temple passages, pointing out that some of those normally excluded from the temple courts (the lame) were the first to come in after he had made space for them. It was there that Jesus proclaimed his Father's house was to be a place of prayer for all nations (i.e. even the ultimate excluded community: Gentiles).

How can we challenge centuries of tradition and encourage a renewed sense of community amongst all who love and follow Jesus as their savior?

The book, Generation Me, by Dr. Jean Twenge, identifies some pretty scary realities about the post baby boom generation. Today's count at Amazon.com when searching under "self-esteem" brings up over 80,000 books. Twenge argues that the emerging generation has an overly inflated view of self. She credits this to a kind of "I'm the King of the World!" revolution in the 70's and 80's which promoted an emphasis on self. This obsession with self is also present in the Church, at least the Western church. Twenge even quotes The Purpose Driven Life, whose focus seems to be my purpose, or perhaps God's purposes through me. There is an incredible amount of teaching on an individualistic, personal relationship with Jesus, and very little on what it looks like to be a community of faith relating corporately to Jesus and serving those on the outer rim of social acceptability. Not all of the teaching from an individualistic perspective is bad. There is truth to the fact that we are each fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God. But conversion and discipleship in the New Testament, as I read it, had much more a communal orientation. Households came to faith, and the behavior of entire churches was commended or admonished.

I suffer a crippling self absorption, a fascination with my work, my walk and my world that leaves little room for others. Even when I think of others, I am prominently featured in the thinking. Tracing the trajectory of my dreams, even those dreams of loving and serving others, always seems to bring me back around to self. "How will this act of selfless service be perceived and celebrated?" lurks in the back of my thinking. Writing a book has fed this pre-occupation to some degree. Blogging can be an expression of an inflated self (I open up my thinking to the world in the expectation that what I have to say is of interest or even important for others to read).

Lord teach me poverty of spirit, meekness and true servanthood.

This might seem like somewhat of an irreverent question. My apologies for all the sensabilities offended by this thought. Maybe it would be a bit more tasteful to ask about the nature of structures and systems and governance in heaven. Colossians tells us that in Christ all things in heaven and on earth were created, "whether thrones, dominions rulers or powers..." Col. 1:16. No, I'm not going to make a stupid joke about heavenly thrones being toilets. But there is something about governance and power systems which are beautiful, and which exist both on earth and in heaven. Revelation talks about a heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. There is a physicality to it, and it is measured in Revelation 21. Jesus talks about many houses or mansions being prepared. Surely not all of these are figures of speech. There must be something of architecture, something of ecosystems, something of social structures that exist in God's perfect plan for humanity at the end of all time. In God's original creation plan, the cycle of consuming things and excreting waste were wonderful elements of his purposeful design. What a bummer if there is no food in heaven, requiring at least some production and preparation. What if there are no spices, no animals, no cultures, or worse yet, no beer in heaven. Something about that just doesn't sound right. I realize not enough is said in Scripture to answer my question definitively. But what if all that we know and have learned here on earth follows us into heaven and is utilized. That creates a sacred urgency to understanding our creation, learning how to govern well, exercising godly stewardship, resourceful engineering, environmental management, etc. Will God just create stuff that we use and toss? I don't think so. I think this life is training - learning to exercise proper authority and healthy community and resourceful stewardship. Things which will be highly transferable in the next life. What's your opinion?