Phoenix Affirmations

This is a post unrelated to my LVC work, but still worth sharing.  If you're looking for more of my experiences in Milwaukee, check out my other posts.

I finally finished reading Asphalt Jesus by Eric Elnes.  SO worth reading.

In a nutshell, it's about a group of people who take a closer look at Christianity to get down to the heart of what this religion is all about, or as the tagline says, "finding a new Christian faith along the highways of America."

Rev. Elnes and others put together this new creed of sorts, the Phoenix Affirmations, boiling down their beliefs into 12 statements under 3 categories, coming from the greatest commandments: 

"You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind," and "you must love your neighbor as yourself." (from Matthew 22:36-40)

Three loves: God, neighbor, and self. 

A quest to love like Jesus loved and loves; to find that despite our differences in beliefs and divisions of denominations, we are more similar than we think.

I encourage you to read these.  See what you think.  Maybe even read the book.

If nothing else, 

don't forget to love.

The Phoenix Affirmations

Version 3.8

Christian love of God includes:

1. Walking fully in the path of Jesus, without denying the legitimacy of other paths that God may provide for humanity;

2. Listening for God’s Word which comes through daily prayer and meditation, studying the ancient testimonies which we call Scripture, and attending to God’s present activity in the world;

3. Celebrating the God whose Spirit pervades and whose glory is reflected in all of God’s Creation, including the earth and its ecosystems, the sacred and secular, the Christian and non-Christian, the human and non-human;

4. Expressing our love in worship that is as sincere, vibrant, and artful as it is scriptural.

Christian love of neighbor includes:

5. Engaging people authentically, as Jesus did, treating all as creations made in God’s very image, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental ability, nationality, or economic class;

6. Standing, as Jesus does, with the outcast and oppressed, the denigrated and afflicted, seeking peace and justice with or without the support of others;

7. Preserving religious freedom and the church’s ability to speak prophetically to government by resisting the commingling of church and state;

8. Walking humbly with God, acknowledging our own shortcomings while honestly seeking to understand and call forth the best in others, including those who consider us their enemies;

Christian love of self includes:

9. Basing our lives on the faith that in Christ all things are made new and that we, and all people, are loved beyond our wildest imagination – for eternity;

10. Claiming the sacredness of both our minds and our hearts, and recognizing that faith and science, doubt and belief serve the pursuit of truth;

11. Caring for our bodies and insisting on taking time to enjoy the benefits of prayer, reflection, worship, and recreation in addition to work;

12. Acting on the faith that we are born with a meaning and purpose; a vocation and ministry that serve to strengthen and extend God’s realm of love.