Jim Pace not only is a clone of Scott Van Pelt from ESPN but he's also a pastor and lead navigator at [nlcf] in Blacksburg, VA and author of Should We Fire God? to be released April 8, 2010
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Just over a month ago, news that John Piper had tweeted a farewell to Rob Bell, in response to his newest book, , took over evangelical blogs, the twittersphere and secular news agencies.
The fervor over whether or not Bell was a universalist; or whether Piper was being unfair was almost instantaneous. Many people, myself included, were asked our thoughts.
As I was working on my response, I heard from my good friend and former pastor, ,
that he was going to handle the issue in a six-part series. I have just been able to read it, and it is fantastic. I will be posting the links to his blog over the next five days.
The reason that I will post a link each day is in the hopes that the posts will be read in the spirit they were written in. When I was talking with JR on the phone about a week ago, he shared that he hoped that people would read the content and reflect a bit, not just just to the next one or try to get to the answer.
Obviously, if you just want that, you can just stay on his site and do so 
but I hope you will give his answers some reflection.
This isn’t to say you agree or disagree with everything JR says, but he does provide a great foundation upon which the continuing conversation can be had. And what I like is that he tracks the discussion a bit through history. Like it, like it, like it.
So, here is post one. Take a look and I’d love to know what you think!
Peace, Jim
The last of this week’s prayers of reflection…
FIERCE and friendly Lord, we feel alone, but even here in school and in this class we discover friends we did not know we had. The discovery that we are not alone both gladdens and frightens us Sharing life threatens loss of self. Give us the grace to learn that we have no life not shared. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, make us in your image so that we might be worthy witnesses of the joy that comes from your claiming us as friends. AMEN. Stanley Hauerwas –
Peace, Jim
Today’s prayer…
REVEALING and terrifying God, whose very revelation is mystery, forgive our frightened attempts to possess you. You have created us for yourself, but we find that hard to believe, much less live. So we strut across your creation as if we really understood you. Theology becomes our way to try to be in control, dear God, even of you. So we ask for the humility that comes from the unavoidable recognition that you insist on our being your people. What an extraordinary thing. AMEN. Stanley Hauerwas —
Today’s prayer…
SAVING God, free us from hardness of heart, take from us all pride and pretension, strip us clean of all that makes us incapable of being witnesses of your gentle love. Make us worthy agents of your peace, so that even as we contend with one another the world may say, “But see how they love one another.” AMEN. Stanley Hauerwas
Peace, Jim
Today’s reflective prayer for the season of Lent…
DEAR God, who saves by entertaining us us with the magic of your kingdom, help us to know and thus be your magic so we can be instruments of your peace. You give us life, wonderful enthralling life, that grows through dispossession. Help us to know that the life you give us is not a zero-sum game, that love cannot be used up but rather increases with its sacrifice. How wonderful it is to be your people. AMEN. Stanley Hauerwas
Peace, Jim
Today’s reflective prayer…
LORD of time, who became time by calling Abraham and Sarah to be our forebears, we confess we are not sure we are ready for all this. Our lives so often feel like the meandering of those lost in a wood so thick we cannot even tell when we recross our previous trails. We undo what was done and then complain we have no past, nothing gained. We are so busy, but we fear our busyness is but a distraction necessary to hide from ourselves that we are lost and do not know where we are. Help us to take time to rest, confident that the time created by Christ’s resurrection is our only true time. Grant us serenity. AMEN. Stanley Hauerwas
And we begin a new week of reflection and preparation for the resurrection of the Messiah.
I have been asked why I used the prayers of Stanley Hauerwas for the structure of this prayerfully reflective season. He certainly has some controversial theological positions on a variety of issues. My reason for using Prayers Plainly Spoken as the source for reflection isn’t to speak to those positions. The reality is that as I have read his prayers over the years they have spoken to my soul. They look at God from a slightly different angle than I typically do.
And speaking to your soul and guiding you to reflect on God more fully seem like good things for a collection of prayers to do. :)
They have blessed me and I truly hope they are blessing you.
Today’s prayer is a repeat, but I think it bears repeating…
LORD Almighty, we say we want to serve you, we say we want to help others less fortunate than ourselves, we say we want justice. But the truth is, we want power and status because we so desperately need to be loved. Free us from our self-fascination and the anxious activity it breeds, so that we might be what we say we want to be — loved by you and thus capable of unselfish service. Stanley Hauerwas
Peace, Jim
I pray these postings are being a blessing for you and that Hauerwas’ words are
Our prayer for today…
STRANGE Lord, who would rule your creation through the crucified Son of a carpenter, make us workers in your kingdom. We want to work, but so often our work turns out to be nothing but busyness. We think that if we are busy we must be doing something that you can use. At least being busy hides our boredom. Yet we know you would not have us busy, having given us the good work of prayer. Help us, in our busyness, learn to pray–so that all our work, all that is our lives, may glorify you. In a world that for so many seems devoid of purpose, we praise you for giving us the good work of praise. AMEN. Stanley Hauerwas
Peace, Jim
Okay, this is just funny. Please note the Leprechaun flute that is shown towards the end.
Because we deserve a shot at that gold too.
Peace, Jim
Here is today’s prayer…
END of all our beginnings, Lord of time, who alone makes time a gift, remind us we are creatures with a beginning. We confess we often forget we are your timeful creatures. We fear the forgetfulness our death beckons. We are driven frantically to work, thinking we can ensure we will not be forgotten, ensure our own place in time. How silly we must look to you, ants building anthills to no purpose. Help us take joy and rest in your time, eucharistic time, a time redeemed through Jesus’ resurrection, that we can rest easy in our dying. You have given us all the time in the world. May we take pleasure in it. AMEN. Stanley Hauerwas
Peace, Jim
